Well, its been awhile since I last posted, and so much has been going on. We had a great time at our first dressage show since last year, as well as taking a fun team to the Dressage Prix de Ville. Zigzag also completed the Combined Test at South Farm going around his first Preliminary Stadium course placing 2nd.
Angela Hambrick's Buenos Noches competed for the first time at Third level at both shows and was very relaxed. He got better and better as the weekends went along, and I am very excited for Angela and this horse's competition schedule this summer. Marian Shaughnessy's lovely mare Panglossian competed at 2nd and 3rd level at the first show and had respectable scores and went into the ring without missing a beat. At the Prix de Ville Marian competed for the first time at 1st level, and showed real class and composure throughout the weekend. Our Prix de Ville Team was also made up of some first timers to the rated dressage arena...Tracy Baker on Double Stuff, Cindy Pordon on Fahrenheit, and Clair Sulerzyski on Quintessential. They all worked very hard and had alot of fun. Tracy and Clair both scored in the 60s on their mounts and had very consistent tests. These horses had never been to a show of this nature, and both handled it very well. Cindy competed for the first time at 1st level and did an amazing job trying to get "Iz" to "play ball". Sadly, despite Cindy's hard work and good riding, Iz had other ideas. I am so proud of Cindy for her fortitude, perseverance and patience! She truly showed us what it means to be a good competitor!
Back at the barn, everyone has been working hard and riding lots of horses. We welcomed an old friend back to the farm in Sue Luria and her horse Cali, who came for a little tune up. Its great to have another prospective eventer in the barn! This past month I also had the pleasure of teaching the Barett Clan and doing some fun trail rides with Kim McConnell, Tom Barett, and his kids that were in from Europe. Its great having some new faces!
Speaking of new faces, the farm is really beginning to look like a five star facility, as renovations are in full tilt. The aisleways, washracks and atrium are almost done, and the new roof for the arena will begin this coming week. Be sure to check out the website (www.whitenorthstable.com) in the coming days for pictures of all the construction.
That's all for now...I have a date with Mom and the nursery to pick out more perennials!
