We have had a very busy July! After South Farm we took the dressage horses to NODA at Grand Haven, and while there seemed to be a black cloud over us regarding transportation issues, the horses were amazing! Tsjesse and I made our debut at the Intermediate I with great results. We had a 65 and change the first day and placed second both days earning the FEI Reserve Champion. I am so proud and fortunate to have Marian and Michael Shaughnessy giving me the opportunity to show this special horse for them! I also took York, owned by Angela Hambrick, and showed him in Training Level. This horse is a hunter who has found a new calling as a dressage horse with my long time sponsor Angela, and he did not disappoint. York won 2 of his three classes and was second in the third with scores in the high sixties and low seventies, earning him the Open Training Champion. I am very excited that Angela will be showing him herself for the first time in a few weeks; its been a long time coming, and I know she will be great! Myra and Mikey made their dressage debut, and did an awesome job at the Training Opportunity classes, scoring in the sixties. This is a fabulous match, and it is going to be so fun watching them develop. Huge thanks to Myra for all the hard work she did, and her patience through all our transortation issues. Thanks (and probably a few beers) is also deserved by Debi Smith and her husband "Smitty" who luckily took pity on me, and single handedly dimantled our trailer jack so that we could get it to lower onto the truck. This guy is a real life Macguyver. A hundred thank yous for helping us so I could get the horses home. I also need to send out a big THANK YOU to my Dad and Mom for being our stand in grooms, and especially my Mom for keeping me from completely losing it when it seemed like everything was going wrong with all our vehicles. She was a trooper and enormous help, loading and unloading the trailer, and running me home after all the work was done!
This month also took us back to South Farm where we competed at the unrecognized Mini Trial with Myra, Jessica, Tiffany, and you guessed it, Captain making his debut. Myra and Mikey had their first outing together at Starter, and did an amazing job, cruising around the cross country course in style, and clinching a great showjump round like champions! Jessica and Tiffany each made a move up to Novice and Training, and showed that they are ready to rock the move up! Their horses were both great, and they rode like superstars. Captain and I made our first outing at Novice, with a respectable dressage, and great but green rounds in the cross country and showjumping. This horse loves to run cross country, and everything is so easy for him! He has the best temperment, standing on the trailer by himself like a big boy, and being easy to handle all day long! My Dad hung out for a better part of the day, holding, grazing, washing, and buying lunch to keep me from keeling over running back and forth from the warm up areas. It has been really fun having my parents help out so much at the last few horse shows, and I hope I havent scared them off by putting them to work!
Our last show this month was at the Cobblestone Horse Trials, where Tiffany and Cisco competed in the Area VIII Novice Championships. This was the first time attending this event, and I can tell you we will be back! They did an amazing job on the cross country footing and all the courses were outstanding. Tiffany put in one of her best dressage tests yet and had an outstanding cross country putting her in third going into showjumping. She and Cisco were jumping great but had an unlucky rail moving her down to fifth overall, still an outstanding finish at her first championship! I am really proud of her for powering through, as well as for her excellent horse management skills, as Cisco was a bit foot sore, and she had to work at getting his feet comfortable throughout the weekend. Great job! Pictures coming soon!
We have this weekend off, and will be heading to Grand Haven with five dressage horses next weekend, and several of our clients making debuts at new levels. Good luck to everyone, and stay cool!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
South Farm Horse Trial
We had a very good outing this past weekend at beautiful South Farm in Middlefield Ohio, with Jessica Hart and Zophie coming in first in the Beginner Novice Rider A, Tiffany George Kete and Cisco racking up a big win in an extremely competitive Open Novice division, and Leah Fredericks and Earl coming in 3rd in the Starter A section. All these ladies had outstanding dressage rides, double clears XC, and superb rides in the stadium! It was so fun and exciting to be on the journey with each of them, and to see so many of their family members out supporting the team. We also had Ted, Myra and her cousin out on Saturday, helping and cheering the ladies on, sharing a good bit of camaraderie! I am so proud of how hard they have all been working, and it showed this weekend!
Thank you to Sarah Greer, Chris Gable, and all the volunteers who worked very hard to make this event spectacular; all the big and little details are noticed and appreciated so much by all of the competitors! Great event, and thanks for all your hard work!
Congratulations again to our ladies and their wonderful horses on a successful weekend!
Thank you to Sarah Greer, Chris Gable, and all the volunteers who worked very hard to make this event spectacular; all the big and little details are noticed and appreciated so much by all of the competitors! Great event, and thanks for all your hard work!
Congratulations again to our ladies and their wonderful horses on a successful weekend!
Birthdays to remember
When I look back at memorable birthdays, its hard to single out one extra special one because my family always made every birthday a fun and extraordinary day. As kids my Mom made amazing cakes for us in the form of Big Bird, a space shuttle landing scene, or other decorative miracle. We had big parties with friends that my Dad made sure had fun activities, and we always finished the day feeling like a queen, or king, if you happened to be my brother. As we grew older, the special birthdays continued with dinners out, festive birthday singing, and the quintessential Dairy Queen cake.
This year, my birthday was really something. My family, of course, was ever amazing, with fun calls from my brother and sister in law and a sweet little message from my neice in Switzerland, wishes from Chile from my sister and brother in law, and a yummy dinner with my parents and son (Ivor had to work) at a great restaurant in Chagrin Falls. My friends and co workers not to be outdone brought me a birthday lunch from scrumptious Lemon Falls, gave me lots of wonderful things (massages, DD gift cards and more) and got me a cake decorated with CLOVERS~and yes they even sang me happy birthday. The most incredible part though, was welcoming our new competition horse to the farm from Ireland.
Mandy, Jami, Myra, Ted and Sara welcomed him in style with a suprise champagne toast and cute signs the night he arrived. Its hard to believe that he has already been here a week now, and you would never know that he is only 5! Let me tell you, Courtney can really pick one! He is brave, calm, sweet, and loves to work! As soon as this guy is tacked up, you better be ready to walk to the ring or wherever because he is ready to GO! He hacks out great...actually he would tell you he prefers to be outside, and I did a jump school on him Friday and he is really going to be so wonderful. After a fun barn name naming contest, we decided on calling him Captain, and keeping Clover Joe as his show name.
I cannot thank ALL THE PEOPLE and there are MANY who have helped to make this all happen, and I still feel like its not real...I have had people give me tack, saddle pads, halters, a stall at the farm (THATS A BIG One), the HORSE (thats a REALLY BIG ONE), sponsors for farrier work, horse trailers, and so much more. A hundred thank yous are not nearly enough, as all the wonderful gifts I have been given are more than any one person could ever hope for.
Its been an unbelievable birthday, and so many people helped to make it more special than I could have ever imagined. That, itself is a truly exceptional gift.
This year, my birthday was really something. My family, of course, was ever amazing, with fun calls from my brother and sister in law and a sweet little message from my neice in Switzerland, wishes from Chile from my sister and brother in law, and a yummy dinner with my parents and son (Ivor had to work) at a great restaurant in Chagrin Falls. My friends and co workers not to be outdone brought me a birthday lunch from scrumptious Lemon Falls, gave me lots of wonderful things (massages, DD gift cards and more) and got me a cake decorated with CLOVERS~and yes they even sang me happy birthday. The most incredible part though, was welcoming our new competition horse to the farm from Ireland.
Mandy, Jami, Myra, Ted and Sara welcomed him in style with a suprise champagne toast and cute signs the night he arrived. Its hard to believe that he has already been here a week now, and you would never know that he is only 5! Let me tell you, Courtney can really pick one! He is brave, calm, sweet, and loves to work! As soon as this guy is tacked up, you better be ready to walk to the ring or wherever because he is ready to GO! He hacks out great...actually he would tell you he prefers to be outside, and I did a jump school on him Friday and he is really going to be so wonderful. After a fun barn name naming contest, we decided on calling him Captain, and keeping Clover Joe as his show name.
I cannot thank ALL THE PEOPLE and there are MANY who have helped to make this all happen, and I still feel like its not real...I have had people give me tack, saddle pads, halters, a stall at the farm (THATS A BIG One), the HORSE (thats a REALLY BIG ONE), sponsors for farrier work, horse trailers, and so much more. A hundred thank yous are not nearly enough, as all the wonderful gifts I have been given are more than any one person could ever hope for.
Its been an unbelievable birthday, and so many people helped to make it more special than I could have ever imagined. That, itself is a truly exceptional gift.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...
Call it what you want...karma, generosity, luck, blessings, sponsorship...I call it
Amazing
Unbelievable
A Dream come true.
From the time I started doing this sport I wanted to do something cool. I dreamt like good little horse girls do of having a "big time" horse that would compete on the national stage. My friend Janet and I were really extreme, and played with our Breyer Horses of Might Tango, Jet Run and a dozen others, "taking them to horse shows," and we were even known to run on hands and knees and jump books to "practice"! (You know you did it too!)
A lot has changed since then, (thank goodness cuz my knees really took a beating!) I have been given the opportunity to ride so many spectacular and amazing horses in the dressage ring, but have not had the same luck in the event world. It became apparent to me earlier this spring that while I know "Z" would jump anything for me, and try his heart out, Preliminary was probably going to be his topping out point. He is such a special guy and it breaks my heart, but I know that he is better off doing the job he loves at a bit lower level. So, the search began.
I think I looked at over 150 horses since February, and only a handful made the short list. For one reason or another, something would fall through or not work out, and the roller coaster that is horse shopping continued on. Then, in the most unexpected way I was given a game changer: some anonymous people offered to purchase me a competition horse for the purpose of competing in the upper levels. I was stunned at such a generous gift! It allowed me to pursue avenues that I would not have thought possible, and opened so many doors to finding a really special horse. Working with Alex Robertson and Bastian Schroder I must have looked at hundreds of video clips of horses in Germany, and we vetted one that didn't work out. They were so patient and really kept after it! I happened to give another friend of mine, Courtney Cooper a call to keep her eye out for me as well, and lo and behold, she was making a trip to Ireland the following week to look at horses for herself. She kindly offered to look around for me as well, and I didn't think too much of it until I got an email a few days later.
Some of you probably know Courtney or have heard of her and her husband Neal's place C Square Farm. Let me tell you, Courtney is an amazing lady. First off, she is a MASTER baker; I hope I get cookies this year. We have had the pleasure of working with Courtney on several buying trips, and she helped match us up with the lovely Zophie for Jessica. She has seen me ride a fair bit, and knows what I like, so I had full faith in her judgement.
When I got the call/email/video of two horses that she thought I might like, I couldn't get home fast enough to see the footage. Right off the bat, I thought Clover Joe was a great jumper with a good walk and canter. She sent video of her riding as well as the current owner, Steve Smith. They kindly posted more video at my request, and after talking, and thinking, and talking, and talking, (Courtney is a saint) and getting more pictures, we decided to go for it and vet him! I have never bought a horse without riding it before and never off a video, but I was confident that having Courtney ride him would tell me what I needed to know. I knew that whatever I bought needed to be a very good jumping horse with quite a bit of Thoroughbred blood, and that it was ok if it needed a little help on the flat. This horse was right up my alley. He passed the vet, and a deal was struck!
Now that everything is done, and arrangements are being made for his arrival from Ireland, its starting to sink in. I randomly get goosebumps and teary eyed when thinking/ talking/blogging about this whole process. It seems so surreal that people would do something of this magnitude for me. I have so much still to learn, and that they would put their faith in me is well, I don't know what it is. I am so completely touched that really I am speechless (not that you would know it from this book I just wrote).
Thank you Courtney Cooper.
Thank you Anonymous Friends who made this all possible.
How do you thank Santa Claus?
One Event at a time.
Amazing
Unbelievable
A Dream come true.
From the time I started doing this sport I wanted to do something cool. I dreamt like good little horse girls do of having a "big time" horse that would compete on the national stage. My friend Janet and I were really extreme, and played with our Breyer Horses of Might Tango, Jet Run and a dozen others, "taking them to horse shows," and we were even known to run on hands and knees and jump books to "practice"! (You know you did it too!)
A lot has changed since then, (thank goodness cuz my knees really took a beating!) I have been given the opportunity to ride so many spectacular and amazing horses in the dressage ring, but have not had the same luck in the event world. It became apparent to me earlier this spring that while I know "Z" would jump anything for me, and try his heart out, Preliminary was probably going to be his topping out point. He is such a special guy and it breaks my heart, but I know that he is better off doing the job he loves at a bit lower level. So, the search began.
I think I looked at over 150 horses since February, and only a handful made the short list. For one reason or another, something would fall through or not work out, and the roller coaster that is horse shopping continued on. Then, in the most unexpected way I was given a game changer: some anonymous people offered to purchase me a competition horse for the purpose of competing in the upper levels. I was stunned at such a generous gift! It allowed me to pursue avenues that I would not have thought possible, and opened so many doors to finding a really special horse. Working with Alex Robertson and Bastian Schroder I must have looked at hundreds of video clips of horses in Germany, and we vetted one that didn't work out. They were so patient and really kept after it! I happened to give another friend of mine, Courtney Cooper a call to keep her eye out for me as well, and lo and behold, she was making a trip to Ireland the following week to look at horses for herself. She kindly offered to look around for me as well, and I didn't think too much of it until I got an email a few days later.
Some of you probably know Courtney or have heard of her and her husband Neal's place C Square Farm. Let me tell you, Courtney is an amazing lady. First off, she is a MASTER baker; I hope I get cookies this year. We have had the pleasure of working with Courtney on several buying trips, and she helped match us up with the lovely Zophie for Jessica. She has seen me ride a fair bit, and knows what I like, so I had full faith in her judgement.
When I got the call/email/video of two horses that she thought I might like, I couldn't get home fast enough to see the footage. Right off the bat, I thought Clover Joe was a great jumper with a good walk and canter. She sent video of her riding as well as the current owner, Steve Smith. They kindly posted more video at my request, and after talking, and thinking, and talking, and talking, (Courtney is a saint) and getting more pictures, we decided to go for it and vet him! I have never bought a horse without riding it before and never off a video, but I was confident that having Courtney ride him would tell me what I needed to know. I knew that whatever I bought needed to be a very good jumping horse with quite a bit of Thoroughbred blood, and that it was ok if it needed a little help on the flat. This horse was right up my alley. He passed the vet, and a deal was struck!
Now that everything is done, and arrangements are being made for his arrival from Ireland, its starting to sink in. I randomly get goosebumps and teary eyed when thinking/ talking/blogging about this whole process. It seems so surreal that people would do something of this magnitude for me. I have so much still to learn, and that they would put their faith in me is well, I don't know what it is. I am so completely touched that really I am speechless (not that you would know it from this book I just wrote).
Thank you Courtney Cooper.
Thank you Anonymous Friends who made this all possible.
How do you thank Santa Claus?
One Event at a time.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Kentucky Wrap up
Sunday dawned sunny and hot with the temp at 85 degrees at 8am. Tsjesse was first on the docket at 8:15 (thankfully due to how hot it would be later)and was a bit tired after putting everything he had into the test on Sat, but did a good test finishing 3rd out of 15 in the final PSG of the weekend. This horse needs lots of carrots!!!! He was such a good boy and I was so proud and grateful to ride him for Marian and Michael Shaughnessy!
Tiffany was up next and put in a super confident, powerful stadium round on Cisco coming in within the time and leaving the rails in the cups. She did a great job training her horse this weekend, and while she may not have finished where she wanted, she learned alot about him, herself as a confident rider, and became a better horsewoman and rider than she already was. Great job! I then shot over to XC warmup with Jessica and Zophie, where Zophie told us she was super excited to finally run cross country! Jessica piloted her around the BN course with ease finishing in 3rd place! Congratulations!
Lastly, York and I had the Training Level Qualifier at 2pm. It was SO HOT! I think the heat got to him a bit and he put in a respectable test and got his qualifying score. The judges all seemed to really love this horse with only one of 6 scores being a 68.9 and the rest being in the 70's. I am very excited to see Angela ride this horse in competition and hopefully qualify for Regionals. I also need to give her a HUGE THANK YOU as the unsung hero this weekend, toughing it out with me in the blistering heat doing chores, bathing, grooming & tacking horses, and being such an immense pillar of support. It was so fun to have her there! She is one of my biggest supporters, and I can't thank her enough for everything she does behind the scenes!
As a side note on the whole 26 thing...
After I finished recounting the events of the PSG Saturday and recurring "26" in everything I have been doing lately to a friend of mine named Kristi, she said, "Well of course you won on Saturday, it was MAY 26th!"
Enough said. Lotto anyone?
Tiffany was up next and put in a super confident, powerful stadium round on Cisco coming in within the time and leaving the rails in the cups. She did a great job training her horse this weekend, and while she may not have finished where she wanted, she learned alot about him, herself as a confident rider, and became a better horsewoman and rider than she already was. Great job! I then shot over to XC warmup with Jessica and Zophie, where Zophie told us she was super excited to finally run cross country! Jessica piloted her around the BN course with ease finishing in 3rd place! Congratulations!
Lastly, York and I had the Training Level Qualifier at 2pm. It was SO HOT! I think the heat got to him a bit and he put in a respectable test and got his qualifying score. The judges all seemed to really love this horse with only one of 6 scores being a 68.9 and the rest being in the 70's. I am very excited to see Angela ride this horse in competition and hopefully qualify for Regionals. I also need to give her a HUGE THANK YOU as the unsung hero this weekend, toughing it out with me in the blistering heat doing chores, bathing, grooming & tacking horses, and being such an immense pillar of support. It was so fun to have her there! She is one of my biggest supporters, and I can't thank her enough for everything she does behind the scenes!
As a side note on the whole 26 thing...
After I finished recounting the events of the PSG Saturday and recurring "26" in everything I have been doing lately to a friend of mine named Kristi, she said, "Well of course you won on Saturday, it was MAY 26th!"
Enough said. Lotto anyone?
Sunday, May 27, 2012
26 strikes again!
When i arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park on Wednesday with two horses instead of the three I was slated to bring, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that my buddy Goodman had to stay home due to a slight injury. I should have known as soon as I saw my stall number...oh yes you guessed it stall #226 that God had something special in store for me this weekend.
Thursday we began showing, and I had Tsjesse in the PSG and York, Angela Hambrick's newly re-vocationed dressage horse at his first time in the Training Level. The competition was very steep and York was in the 70's, specifically 72 and 73, but still came in 4th and 5th. Tsjesse did a good test with some mistakes that put us in fourth with a 63. When checking ride times for Friday, I noticed I was in ring "R". Huh, what is ring "R" I asked the Secretary. She smiled and said "Its the Rolex Arena", and handed me a schooling sheet for when I could get in the ring to let him check out the atmosphere. I have always dreamed of riding in that arena, but never imagined it would be on a dressage horse!
Tsjesse was a star in the arena, and settled right in, hardly affected by any of the pomp and circumstance. I have to say I was a bit nervous and had a fairly good test until the changes, when I simply over rode, and tried to hard, causing us to have some major miscommunication and mistakes in both the fours and the threes. We got a 63 again. I was so mad at myself! Charlotte Bayley Schindelholz was watching my test and gave me a few tips as I exited that I stored away for my next ride. Luckily, I had the opportunity to ride in the arena again on Saturday, so I was determined to redeem myself.
Saturday was crazy! Jessica and Tiffany had come in on Friday for the event (that's a whole story of how they broke down on the road outside Cinci that I wont go into here) and I had to juggle trying to do my rides but also help coach them. We started the day with Jess in dressage and she did a good test. Then it was off to showjumping for her, where Zophie thought the cattle trailer was going to eat her for lunch. Jess did a great job riding through it, and had a double clear round. Thank goodness we had a golf cart, because I high tailed it back to the barn and started getting Tsjesse ready with the help of my friend Mary McKeon. Off we went for the long walk to the Rolex Arena.
I started warming Tsjesse up in the walk, doing lots of traver, renver, shoulder-in, and walk pirouettes, really driving home the consistency of bend poll to tail, and keeping the hind legs connected. As I progressed to trot, we continued on the same path, adding 10 and 15 meter circles again, addressing the balance, and bending. All of a sudden, I started getting more horse. I noticed that several riders were dismounting so I thought I would check to see what was going on . Apparently, the wrong ride times had been posted, and I had to wait 20 minutes! This is not good for a big, black Friesian in 94 degree heat! I dismounted as well, and stood under a tree until 20 minutes before my test. I finished my warm-up with lots of 10 meter canter circles to half pass, keeping him bent and balanced, and popped those changes each once. As I headed into the arena, I could tell he was a little tense. I just gave him a pat, picked up a trot and focused on moving his body so he could refocus. I had developed alot more cadence and carrying power in my warm-up, and he was right there throughout the test. We rode one of the cleanest tests we have ever done, and kept a good rhythm through most of the movements. I was thrilled. As I exited, the judge commented on what a great horse he was, and I said, "He is just so fun to ride!" and looked up at the score board. It was showing a 70.5%! I couldn't believe it! Then the announcer made the official score call and I was the new leader in the Prix St. George! I was stunned! Everyone started clapping, and Tsjesse was so proud of himself! We held our lead and won the class of approximately 10 or 11 on our personal best score of 70.526%. I can't say enough how grateful I am to Marian Shaughnessy for having me ride this spectacular horse, and I am enjoying every minute of learning!
Tiffany was dealt the short end of the stick in the coaching department as since my ride on Tsjesse was so late, I could only watch her for about 10 minutes before I had to get on York. She did a great test and was in the Top Ten in a class of 22! Meanwhile, York scored a 73 and was fifth again... Tiff went cross country as the last ride of the day and really shone as a rider, getting a hot tired horse through the finish flags. She really dug deep to get Cisco around as he was definitely affected by the heat, and I am so proud of her for getting it done safely!
Tomorrow Jess has XC, Tiff has stadium, and I have the boys in one class each. Hopefully we can pull off another great test, but in the meantime, check out this video of us executing our winning ride. Go Tsjesse! You are amazing my friend, truly amazing.
And as far as you 26's go, well, keep 'em coming! This is getting fun!
Thursday we began showing, and I had Tsjesse in the PSG and York, Angela Hambrick's newly re-vocationed dressage horse at his first time in the Training Level. The competition was very steep and York was in the 70's, specifically 72 and 73, but still came in 4th and 5th. Tsjesse did a good test with some mistakes that put us in fourth with a 63. When checking ride times for Friday, I noticed I was in ring "R". Huh, what is ring "R" I asked the Secretary. She smiled and said "Its the Rolex Arena", and handed me a schooling sheet for when I could get in the ring to let him check out the atmosphere. I have always dreamed of riding in that arena, but never imagined it would be on a dressage horse!
Tsjesse was a star in the arena, and settled right in, hardly affected by any of the pomp and circumstance. I have to say I was a bit nervous and had a fairly good test until the changes, when I simply over rode, and tried to hard, causing us to have some major miscommunication and mistakes in both the fours and the threes. We got a 63 again. I was so mad at myself! Charlotte Bayley Schindelholz was watching my test and gave me a few tips as I exited that I stored away for my next ride. Luckily, I had the opportunity to ride in the arena again on Saturday, so I was determined to redeem myself.
Saturday was crazy! Jessica and Tiffany had come in on Friday for the event (that's a whole story of how they broke down on the road outside Cinci that I wont go into here) and I had to juggle trying to do my rides but also help coach them. We started the day with Jess in dressage and she did a good test. Then it was off to showjumping for her, where Zophie thought the cattle trailer was going to eat her for lunch. Jess did a great job riding through it, and had a double clear round. Thank goodness we had a golf cart, because I high tailed it back to the barn and started getting Tsjesse ready with the help of my friend Mary McKeon. Off we went for the long walk to the Rolex Arena.
I started warming Tsjesse up in the walk, doing lots of traver, renver, shoulder-in, and walk pirouettes, really driving home the consistency of bend poll to tail, and keeping the hind legs connected. As I progressed to trot, we continued on the same path, adding 10 and 15 meter circles again, addressing the balance, and bending. All of a sudden, I started getting more horse. I noticed that several riders were dismounting so I thought I would check to see what was going on . Apparently, the wrong ride times had been posted, and I had to wait 20 minutes! This is not good for a big, black Friesian in 94 degree heat! I dismounted as well, and stood under a tree until 20 minutes before my test. I finished my warm-up with lots of 10 meter canter circles to half pass, keeping him bent and balanced, and popped those changes each once. As I headed into the arena, I could tell he was a little tense. I just gave him a pat, picked up a trot and focused on moving his body so he could refocus. I had developed alot more cadence and carrying power in my warm-up, and he was right there throughout the test. We rode one of the cleanest tests we have ever done, and kept a good rhythm through most of the movements. I was thrilled. As I exited, the judge commented on what a great horse he was, and I said, "He is just so fun to ride!" and looked up at the score board. It was showing a 70.5%! I couldn't believe it! Then the announcer made the official score call and I was the new leader in the Prix St. George! I was stunned! Everyone started clapping, and Tsjesse was so proud of himself! We held our lead and won the class of approximately 10 or 11 on our personal best score of 70.526%. I can't say enough how grateful I am to Marian Shaughnessy for having me ride this spectacular horse, and I am enjoying every minute of learning!
Tiffany was dealt the short end of the stick in the coaching department as since my ride on Tsjesse was so late, I could only watch her for about 10 minutes before I had to get on York. She did a great test and was in the Top Ten in a class of 22! Meanwhile, York scored a 73 and was fifth again... Tiff went cross country as the last ride of the day and really shone as a rider, getting a hot tired horse through the finish flags. She really dug deep to get Cisco around as he was definitely affected by the heat, and I am so proud of her for getting it done safely!
Tomorrow Jess has XC, Tiff has stadium, and I have the boys in one class each. Hopefully we can pull off another great test, but in the meantime, check out this video of us executing our winning ride. Go Tsjesse! You are amazing my friend, truly amazing.
And as far as you 26's go, well, keep 'em coming! This is getting fun!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Happy Mother's Day at Stonegate Farm
Happy Mother's Day to all our friends and Mom's out there! We had a fabulous weekend at the Winona Horse Trials. Tiffany and Cisco put in a solid dressage test sitting them tied for fifth in an Open Novice division that contained a few notable pros from the area! They followed it up with a great stadium round, and tackled the cross country on Sunday with panache. This pair has really come a long way since last year, and they jumped around the XC with style, poise, and an excellent rhythm throughout, landing them in fourth!
Jessica and Zophie made their comback in an Open Beginner Novice division with style! Zophie and Jessica had been on a hiatus due to an injury that required surgery and left Zophie sidelined since August of last year. Jessica put in her time and it paid off this weekend with a lovely dressage test, and nearly foot perfect stadium round. You would have never known they had not been on a cross country course since July as they rocked around the BN course with ease, and practically flawless tempo that brought her in 3 seconds under Optimum Time, clinching 3rd place!
We have this weekend off, and are looking forward to Silva Martin joining us for the day on May 22nd for a dressage clinic. We then head out to the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park for the KDA Dressage show and MayDaze Horse Trial. Until then, have a great ride!
Jessica and Zophie made their comback in an Open Beginner Novice division with style! Zophie and Jessica had been on a hiatus due to an injury that required surgery and left Zophie sidelined since August of last year. Jessica put in her time and it paid off this weekend with a lovely dressage test, and nearly foot perfect stadium round. You would have never known they had not been on a cross country course since July as they rocked around the BN course with ease, and practically flawless tempo that brought her in 3 seconds under Optimum Time, clinching 3rd place!
We have this weekend off, and are looking forward to Silva Martin joining us for the day on May 22nd for a dressage clinic. We then head out to the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park for the KDA Dressage show and MayDaze Horse Trial. Until then, have a great ride!
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