LEC Dressage Show

We had a great weekend at the Lake Erie College Winter Series dressage show the weekend of March 16-18th.  I took Goodman and Tsjesse, and was joined by one of the Assistant Trainers at White North, Mandy Williams and Sally Cutler's horse Saint. 

Goodman was a very good boy, and put in two condident performances at Fourth Level with no drama.  I was very happy with his work ethic, and test on Sunday, and it was great to have his owner Angela Hambrick there to enjoy seeing him compete. Goodman can sometimes be a victim of stagefright, especially in an indoor arena, and we were really proud of how brave he was!   Tsjesse did the FEI Prix St. George both days, and scored a 66.9% securing the FEI Championship at the show!  We were really excited.  He and I have finally figured out how to work together, and its been such a gift that his owner Marian Shaughnessy has given me the opportunity to compete him. 

Mandy and Saint had decided to tagalong at this horse show because she and Saint will be showing at the Prix de Ville this weekend on our team, and Saint had never been to a show.  Boy did "Saint the Paint" impress us!  He walked off the trailer like he had been doing it all his life, and settled right into his stall.  In the warm-up he had nary a spook, and went into the show ring like a pro.  While he was a little exhuberant in the first test, he put in a very solid second test and won both his classes finishing on a 65%!  We were exstatic!  Mandy has been working at White North for some time now, and has really blossomed as a coach and rider.  She began riding Saint at that time, and has been training him as a good all around mount for his owner Sally Cutler.  When it became obvious that he enjoyed the dressage work, she began schooling him a bit more and taking lessons to advance their skill set.  Mandy has worked very hard with this big guy, and its great to see them be so successful!  We cant wait to see how they do through the rest of the summer!

This weekend we will be taking five horses to the Dressage Prix de Ville, fielding a Low Team.  Our team of riders includes:
Mandy Williams and Saint
Sanae Tanebe and Panglossian (aka Leggs)
Tiffany George-Kete and Cisco
Leah Fredericks and Earl

I will also be competing Goodman and Tsjesse again in the Open classes.  Good Luck to all the riders at the show, and we are looking forward to a fun weekend!

Mandy and Saint having a pep talk
at LEC 3/18