Dressage at Devon

Buenos Noches owned by Angela Hambrick

October has been a marathon of fun events and competitions, and I decided the best thing to do would be to separate posts about each event.  So, grab a coffee, and enjoy the read!

Dressage at Devon was the first leg of our fantastic close to the show season, and I have to say it more than lived up to the hype!  I was so honored and humbled (but mostly freaked out!) to be in the warm up surrounded by people like Silva Martin, Cesar Parra, Lars Petersen, the Barteau's, Jackie Brooks, David Marcus, George Williams...the list goes on and on.  It was more than surreal, and also difficult to stay focused when half the people around you are riding legends.  Luckily, I had an outstanding support team with coach Charlotte Bayley-Schindelholz, groom Mary McKeon, and two fabulous owners, Marian Shaughnessy and Angela Hambrick to tell me stories that made me laugh, and keep the atmosphere from playing with my head. 

Goodman, aka Buenos Noches, kicked off our week under the lights in a fourth level test of choice in which he placed fifth out of eight!  It was so amazing to ride this spooky horse in the dark with shadows everywhere, and have him just do the job!  I was so thrilled with this little horse's performances...each day he was better and better, and stayed very confident (something we have worked very hard to achieve) in the ring.  We rode our best test on Sunday, and finished all the other days in the middle of a very competitive field of amazing horses.  We changed a couple things in the way we "bring him to the ring" and Charlotte got me viewing this horse from a different perspective, and it paid off.   I always think of this sweet horse as the little prince, but he came to the party in a big way, and told us that he is ready to be a grown up like all the other fancy horses.  Training him more like a "hot" horse, instead of a spooky distracted one, gave him a greater degree of fitness, and focus. I was so proud of how far he has come I thought my heart would explode, and I couldn't wait to call Angela each day and tell her what a superstar he was being.   I also saw how much more accurate and detailed I need to be in the tests holding my lines, and really developing movements ahead of time.  Watching so many riders be artists of this was hugely beneficial for me in recognizing where I need to take my own level of riding to be more competitive in the international classes.

Tsjesse and I competed in our first CDI (both his and mine), and it was such a fabulous learning experience, that I am still sorting out all the valuable information.  We did the jog on Thursday, and had fun getting all shiny and dressed up~a big thank you to my sister Mary who helped me find a great ensemble, and topped it off with a super cute hat that made the outfit!  Friday we competed in the Prix St. George and entered the Dixon Oval for the first time.  Tsjesse is usually a cool character, who comes to life in the ring like a peacock fluffing his feathers, but in this case, as soon as we entered the arena, I felt the breath get sucked out of him, and he was set back on his heels.  I have never had the occasion to have this particular horse feel nervous or actually scared which took me by complete surprise, and left me with a lot of riding to do in the ring.  We were able to get through the test, but had many mistakes, and a horse that never quite settled, even to the last halt where I could barely make him stand still.  It was very hard for me to understand that my stalwart partner had a case of nerves for the first time ever.  Its almost funny because this amazing horse has given ME the confidence to ride in the FEI, and been there for me when I have not been my best and greener than grass, and for the first time EVER he needed me.  I felt bad because I was unprepared for this to happen, and left the arena with a million things buzzing in my head.  Charlotte, ever the eloquent coach, smiled and said, "Well, he IS a horse."  She said alot of other things that helped hit home, but that one really made me stop and think.  We changed our preparation the next day for the I1, and I felt like I took a bit of a risk riding him early in the morning to school in the Dixon because after all he is a Friesian, and there is only so much in the tank.  It was definitely the right decision though, and this time when we went down the center line, I was ready.  I knew I had to "be there" for him, and I really felt that this time I executed with precision, letting him know I was right there with him every step of the way.  While we still had mistakes due to tension, we came out of the ring wiser and with a new found level in our partnership.   The best part though was even with the mistakes, he got three rounds of applause, making for a very special experience for Marian to see how much people appreciate her and her beautiful boy.

Thank you to everyone who made this amazing experience possible...owners, coaches, family (especially Mom and Dad who bought me a fabulous new short coat for early Xmas), coworkers, friends, and supporters.  Also, special thanks to Katie Gussenhoffen and  County Saddlery for sponsoring me and outfitting our saddles to keep the horses comfy. 

Lastly, and most importantly, thank you to the horses, for trying their best, sharing their special gifts, and teaching me something beautiful everyday.   

And to the Dixon Oval...we salute you, and will see you next year!

Tsjesse fan it Beielan owned by Marian Shaughnessy

Devon here we come!

As I mentioned in an earlier Blog post, Tsjesse and Goodman qualified and made the cut for Dressage at Devon this year!  It was exciting to find out that I would be doing my first CDI in Devon, but I must admit it felt somewhat surreal.  I thought after the summer we have had that there must have been some mistake.  Well, the ride times came out yesterday, and sure enough there we are....

I knew I was going to need some help getting the boys ready so I enlisted the help of trainer and friend Charlotte Bayley Schindelholtz to get us tuned up and prepared.  I knew I picked the right coach when we started working on the bending in halfpass in the first lesson with Tsjesse!  Charlotte really pegged both horses, and had me riding Goodman's "big boy" gaits (ahh my back!) right away.  We discussed a good plan, including body clipping both horses, "learning to run" with the horses in the jog (ahh my ankle!), not to mention all the things I need to do when I'm riding!

I am excited (and nervous) to compete these two horses for their owners Angela Hambrick, and Marian Shaughnessy, who have been two of my biggest sponsors over the past few years.  They have put their time, trust, faith and financial support in me for the last five or six years, and its so exciting to have the opportunity to bring their horses to such an amazing competition, and hopefully give them a special experience.

I have been trying to figure out my outfit for the jog, and found the most excellent shoes...there is a video of me practicing in them in a sweet outfit of brown breeches floating around out there (No blackmail please!) so now I just need an ensemble.  Or, I could just jog in the shoes, but I'm pretty sure no one wants to see that!  So much to do and only two days to go!

HOLD onto your hats folks,

WE ARE GOING TO DEVON!

TIme Flies!

Well, time certainly flies as its already nearly the second week of September!  We had a great outing at the Grand haven dressage show, with Angela Hambrick, Sanae Tanebe, and Jessica Hart!  Angela made her return to showing in style, coming second and first in her two classes on Saturday with great scores in the high sixties.  Unfortunately, York came down with a low grade fever and subsequently we had to scratch him on Sunday since he wasn't feeling well.  Angela's horse Goodman made his return to the competition arena with me after a break from a tendon strain, and while we had a few exciting moments, he mostly held it together.  Sanae showed great improvement over the weekend, with great scores at Training Level, and she and her horse Leggs are becoming a great team!  Jessica Hart and Zophie also put their best foot forward in the dressage ring, and these two eventers held their own with the DQs!  Everyone had great placings and our riders were in the top three all weekend!  Way to go ladies!  Thanks to our grooms Mary McKeon and Maggie Des Roches for keeping all of us on time and beautifully turned out!

August took us to the Erie Hunt and Saddle Club Horse Trial, where Tiffany and Cisco, Jessica and Zophie, and Captain and I all had move ups to new levels.  Well, for Captain it was his first recognized horse trial in the US, and despite a spotty dressage, he jumped around clean and within the time to finish in 7th.  I am really enjoying getting to know this horse, and cannot thank all of our sponsors enough for giving me the opportunity to ride this amazing animal.  Jessica and Zophie moved up to Novice like professionals, clinching the win with a stellar performance.  Tiffany and Cisco made the move to Training, and after a good dressage, went into cross country with a great plan, but sadly had a miss at the 3rd fence, a very upright wall and ditch. All was not lost however, as it did give us the opportunity to meet a fabulous new friend, TD Seema Sonnad, who went around with us after the event to school the XC.  Seema is an outstanding TD, focused on improving safety and the education of the competitors in a very positive fashion.  If only all TD's were like her!  Thanks so much Seema for all your helpful advice, and giving us the chance to help Tiffany and Cisco work through the wall, and some of the other questions on the course.  We really appreciated it! 

We also attended the South Farm Horse Trial Labor Day weekend, and Jessica solidified her move to Novice with a third and a clinic of a cross country round.  I am so proud of all the hard work she and Zophie have done this summer, and they have improved by leaps and bounds.  Myra Chudakoff and her horse Mikey competed in the Starter and did a great dressage but had a little problem at the water.  She did a super stadium round, and finished in 6th! We did get to school the water after, and Myra did a great job getting him confident and reliable.   Captain and I did our second Novice together, and after dressage were tied for 1st on a 28.  It wasn't to be though, as I circled between the last two fences to try and get closer to the time for the tie break, and inevitably came in two seconds over!  HEARTBREAKING!  We ended up fourth with a 28.8 (yes its was that close!) and a really awesome directors chair for tieing with Holly Taylor and Nova for the best dressage score of the show!  Thank you to Sarah Greer and Chris Gable for everything they do to make this such a special horse trial.  It always feels like home away from home to us, and thank you so much for the great prizes!

Finally, two quick notes... Tsjesse and Goodman both made the cut for Dressage at Devon!  I am so excited to compete these two horses for their owners at a true festival of dressage.  It will be my first CDI and you can believe I will be enlisting some help!

and drum roll please....Tiffany and Cisco made the trek to the AEC's in Fairborn Ga (with Myra as groom, cheerleader, support system/happiness guru extraordinaire) where they are currently ranked 5TH!!!!! after dressage in a very competitive (well it is a National Championship) Novice division. Keep the juices going and go take down that cross country course today!!!! More updates as we get them!
Go Cisco and Go Tiffany!

Busy July!

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!

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!

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.

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.