2008 ARCHIVES

Morven

I decided to take Syd Kent to Morven because he was so green at Plantation. I felt like he needed to do a little homework before the three-star at Fair Hill, and with the help of my two friends Katie Prudent and Jimmy Wofford, I had some questions answered. Katie worked on having Syd more in front of my leg by getting him to lengthen and collect without getting crabby or trying to buck. Jimmy took off his flash and tweaked my position. I’m a great believer in seeking out different people who can help keep me at the top of my game. I feel lucky to have friends and professional like Katie, Jimmy, Silva and Phillip who can help me when I need it.

Katie and Jimmy’s advice paid off at Morven, though unfortunately, I didn’t have the best dressage. I keep learning more and more about Syd, and have to remind myself that I’ve only been riding him about eight months—even though I’ve owned him for a year-and-a-half—because of time off. My cross-country was really improved, though, and he was fantastic in the show jump. We ended up second and felt ready for Fair Hill.

Surefire employee Lillian Heard and Share Option had a great competition at Morven, winning the CCI*! Lillian was a true competitor all weekend—fifth after the dressage, double-clear cross-country, and just one rail on Sunday to slip into first place. Lillian is a fantastic student and employee and I think a real star for the future.

Maryland Horse Trials

Maryland was a great weekend for the young horses. Winston was better than ever and won his division of Training. Why Not did his first Training, was second after dressage on a 25.8, quite good in the show jump, and then had an unfortunate 20 in the second water when he jumped in so big that when he landed, his head went completely under the water! I almost lost my reins and couldn’t straighten him, so I zig-zagged and took a moment to get the water out of his ears, earning the 20.

Inmidair (pictured to the left) continued in his fabulous form, won the dressage in OPA, was good in the show jump, and just a little slow cross-country so finished second. Because I was slow, my good friend and student, Jen Simmons, won our division on J.B.’s Star—I’m sure there will be many more wins for them in the future.

Fair Hill

I ended up riding Alexandra “Po” Tatham’s horse, My Security Blanket (Linus), in the two-star because Po had an unfortunate fall at Middleburg and broke her arm. I had been helping her with Linus this fall, so was comfortable riding him at Fair Hill and he had a great weekend. Linus was very consistent in the dressage and though he scored higher than I would have wanted, I was very pleased with him. His cross-country was one of the nicest rides I’ve ever had, just a little four-footed in the first water, but otherwise he handled like a dream and we came in exactly on the time. He moved up to ninth after Saturday, and passed the jog with ease on Sunday, only to have an unfortunate four rails in the show jump. I’m not concerned that he wasn’t more careful Sunday—he’s made so many improvements over the last few months and I know he’s a better show jumper than he showed this weekend.

Syd Kent was exactly what I’d hoped for all weekend long. Our dressage was marred by two mistakes, but I’m confident that at some point he’ll be incredibly competitive in this phase, probably next year when he gets stronger. I was still pleased with our score, especially considering we were sixth to go on Thursday, which can sometimes score harder. Cross-country was great. Syd was a little green and twisting in the beginning but finished like a champ. My 4.8 time faults were costly, though—I would have liked to have had two zeros for time and should have been more aware of my watch. Syd jogged beautifully on Sunday after an easy Saturday night. I was lucky to be one of the few who went double-clear on Sunday—he was just phenomenal. He didn’t touch one jump, and though a little erratic, I was thrilled with his performance. I’m very excited about Syd for the future and certainly have my eye on the World Games in 2010 and the London Olympics in 2012. Fair Hill did a great job and I think they were smart to add the two-star to the fall championships. I think it greatly improved the competition, and hopefully their finances—and the rewards they can give out! I think it may help bring Fair Hill to international caliber, which is what we need to be competitive with the rest of the world.

As always, it was fantastic to have supporters—friends, family and owners—join me at Fair Hill. I couldn’t do it without them and feel very lucky. I owe special thanks to Lillian, Lizzie and Po for all their help and behind-the-scenes work.

I’m off to England right after Fair Hill to find a new horse for Maggie Sharp. I hope to spend the winter months training young horses and helping Lillian and Lizzie and the rest of my students prepare for the new season. I’m also ready for the ski season to begin!

Plantation Field Horse Trials

We had a good weekend at Plantation, and a great prep for our fall finale, which is Lillian and Share Option at Morven in the one-star, and Po and My Security Blanket in the two-star at Fair Hill, where I’ll have Syd Kent in the three-star.

My new horse, Inmidair (or J.R. as we call him), was second after dressage in his preliminary division at Plantation, show-jumped clean, had just a little time cross-country and ended up winning. He’s a super-fun horse and I’m really excited about his future. Po Tatham’s horse, My Security Blanket (Linus), was great in dressage in the Intermediate and was second after that phase. He show jumped clean, which was great because we’ve really been working on that. He was quite quick cross-country, only 1.6 time. Going faster on him made it a little harder to manage the ride—I hope I didn’t buzz him up too much for Po when she takes back the ride at Middleburg!

Syd was good in the dressage in the Advanced for the most part. Unfortunately, he gets a little backed up, and I did a poor job riding his changes. He needs to be better for Fair Hill and Plantation was a good measuring stick for us. Syd show jumped clean—I probably had my best round to date on him. His cross-country was a little green in places and I didn’t go for time with him—I know he can do that—I just wanted a nice round and a little wind work. We finished sixth overall.

I’d like to make a special note of the fact that the Surefire Team had a fantastic showing in the CIC*. Lillian had a great win with Share Option and rode all three phases beautifully. She and the horse really came together, which is great because I think both Lillian and I feel we’ve had a bit of a frustrating summer getting to the next level and she’s finally gotten there. It’s also notable that Hans Gerling was second on Clifton Jackaroo, Nikki Smith was third on Suzi Q and Jen Simmons was 10th on J.B.’s Star in the one-star. Also, Sinead Halpin was fourth in the two-star on Manoir de Carneville. They all had a good weekend and it was nice for the whole Surefire team to come together.