OCTOBER 2005
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October 23, 2005
Playing catch up again -- last weekend, Alyssa and I showed at Hazelwilde. Bailey did fantastic winning a second in the Green Pony hack and third in the Regular Pony hack. Classes at Hazelwilde are always good sized by local standards. There were thirteen ponies in the Regulars. I was so proud of Alyssa because she's really getting the hang of jumping the regular height. Bailey looks great over a larger jump as well. He got some good ribbons in his Green classes over fences but still needs a few more shows under his belt to get a consistent piece of the Regulars. We'll get there...
Today we went to Foxchase again. Alyssa was series Grand Champion in Student Equitation, so that was kind of cool. She was first, first and third, earning her Champion in Student Equitation today. Sarah decided to bring Merlin today and was second, second and first earning her Reserve Champion. Bailey was such a good pony in such a tough ring -- it's a very small indoor and it is difficult to make turns for green ponies, because the turns are like rollbacks on an equitation course. Bailey did all the steps today and was even third in one of his over fences classes. Merlin is an entirely new mount for Sarah and given his absence in the show ring lately, we decided to let him trot the course. He was very brave and Sarah did a great job on him.
I was bad and didn't bring my camera today so no pictures for this weekend!
October 8, 2005
Wow -- I've been really bad about
keeping this updated. Let's see if I can catch things up. First, Bob
came home about a week and a half earlier than expected so I was very, very
happy about that.
Horse shows have been going great. Allie was Reserve Champion in the Medium Pony Hunters at her last show. They had enough entries to split the ponies so it was nice to have Merlin compete against his own size category. Alyssa won some good ribbons as well. She got two seconds and a third in Student Equitation but a fifth in one round kept her out of the points for Reserve. She got good ribbons in Green pony but my memory is failing me so I'll have to wait for her to tell me again. All I remember is that I was really, really proud of my girls because they were so focused and were able to fix problems as they arose. They knew exactly what they wanted to do before they went in and they made their plans happen. So, even without the good ribbons, I was especially happy to see how well the girls rode.
Today, just Alyssa and I went to the show. We went to Foxchase. We were a little worried when we pulled in because there were only two other ponies there. As we started schooling, a few more trailers showed up and we ended up having a good sized Pony division. Alyssa did Student Equitation first. I don't think I've ever seen her try so hard during her flat phase. She won her flat class, was first in one over fences and second in the other earning her Champion. I brought my camera and got pictures and can't wait to see how those came out. By now, it should be clear, I'm a picture freak.
Bailey was a really good boy
considering his lack of experience. The show was held indoors (thankfully,
because all the other shows today got rained out). Although Bailey has
been indoors before, this indoor is a little spooky to a green horse because
there are plenty of places for the boogie man to hide. When we schooled in
the morning, he felt very peeky. But he was so brave and didn't stop at
one jump and was soon marching around like a pro. By the time he got to
Pony Hunter, he and Alyssa both had clear pictures of their jobs. Bailey
was second in the hack, then fourth and sixth over fences. In the class
where he was sixth, we tried to go with the plan of doing the correct striding
instead of the adds and Bailey decided he'd have none of that. He stopped
twice and during one of those times, Alyssa popped off. Like the pro she
is, she hopped right back, did the adds (which we decided was the better plan
since Bailey was feeling a little chickeny) and finished the course just fine.
An especially cool wrap up to the day -- Alyssa and Bailey did the combined
Junior/Adult Equitation division. Alyssa was third on the flat an won the
over fences. A very, very good way to end the day.
Got to see my girlfriend Terri Young of Clairvaux. Will include a link to her website soon, which goes live next week. She and I have been bumping into each other a lot lately. We always joke and say that if we tried to plan it, it wouldn't happen. To refresh your memory, Terri now owns my old horse, Buster. All three of my girls work for her. Terri is a wonderful horsewoman and is one of my favorite people.
News on me: nope, haven't gotten to ride in forever, except when I school Bailey. I really, really miss Justin. Sabrina moved to a barn just outside of Warrenton. A very good move for her but it doesn't make it possible for me to get out there. She and I decided Justin should be retired. He has an old injury that keeps him from jumping and would also prevent him from being sold. Yes, I'd love to take him but then I wouldn't be able to reach my goals of doing the Amateurs next year. So, we're working on getting him retired through the Thoroughbred Retirement Fund.
Work has been killing me. I've been working 10-11 hour days which would keep me from the barn even if Justin was close. I hoping my cramped schedule ends soon so I can have my life back.