This is a bit of a delayed update, time gets away from all of us! Some things have been great since my last blog—I’ve made a lot of progress with Layla, who has now won three Novices. Storm and I had some good success to start and then some back-to-the-drawing-board training to make him more rideable. He’s super brave but also super careful, plus a little cheeky, and when I get it all back together he’s going to be a super competitive horse. The basics have to be good, and sometimes they can feel like they are but Storm was lacking a good response to my leg, so I’ve been working on that.
Sometimes, I think we get too familiar with our horses that we ride every day and it’s easy to be satisfied with good enough instead of really good. I feel it takes ten years to train a horse, and you always have to be refining your aids. I know all this, and decided to leave Storm with Phillip for boot camp while I’m away teaching a clinic. It’s always easier to ride someone else’s horse and always good to keep your training in perspective. As it was, Storm would have just been lunged at home, so I thought it was a good opportunity for Phillip to see where he is on a daily basis, rather than just having a snapshot into my training during a lesson.
Steely (Unbridled Numbers) did his first Intermediate at Morven Park but ran out of the smallest jump on course. I could tell from the jump before that something was not quite right. When I represented he jumped the first element but ran out at the second, so I retired on course. It turns out he had quite a splint that was really bugging him. He’ll have time off while that quiets down, and then will be back out at the end of June when he’s legged up. I’m looking forward to continuing Steely’s education at Intermediate, he’s such a nice horse.
I was fortunate enough to go to Kentucky, we were fortunate to have Kentucky! It was probably the hardest course I’ve ever seen there. I was hoping an American would win it, but as everyone knows, Ollie won for third time in a row. I think it was a fair course for the most part, and I found it super interesting to watch. One of the people I was really impressed with was Jonelle Price, who rode three horses and adjusted her ride to each to get the job done. She was so focused on the details as she went, and pushed herself to have every step go the way she wanted it to go. Not that other horses and riders didn’t do that, but it was very impressive she could do it on all three of her horses.
I felt bad for Phillip, who had some miscommunication with the starter and never got his watch started with Z. But Phillip had one of the best rounds I’ve seen him have in spite of that. I was super impressed with some of the American riders who really had great rounds, and think we have some beautiful horses for the future-Off the Record, Mama’s Magic Way, QC Diamantaire—were all impressive and so fun to see, especially with the WEG coming up next year.
Other than horses, my life has been filled with mostly mowing in my free time. With the beginning of June here, we’ll be back to some eventing and also the jumpers at Upperville and Louden Benefit—I can’t wait!
Sometimes, I think we get too familiar with our horses that we ride every day and it’s easy to be satisfied with good enough instead of really good. I feel it takes ten years to train a horse, and you always have to be refining your aids. I know all this, and decided to leave Storm with Phillip for boot camp while I’m away teaching a clinic. It’s always easier to ride someone else’s horse and always good to keep your training in perspective. As it was, Storm would have just been lunged at home, so I thought it was a good opportunity for Phillip to see where he is on a daily basis, rather than just having a snapshot into my training during a lesson.
Steely (Unbridled Numbers) did his first Intermediate at Morven Park but ran out of the smallest jump on course. I could tell from the jump before that something was not quite right. When I represented he jumped the first element but ran out at the second, so I retired on course. It turns out he had quite a splint that was really bugging him. He’ll have time off while that quiets down, and then will be back out at the end of June when he’s legged up. I’m looking forward to continuing Steely’s education at Intermediate, he’s such a nice horse.
I was fortunate enough to go to Kentucky, we were fortunate to have Kentucky! It was probably the hardest course I’ve ever seen there. I was hoping an American would win it, but as everyone knows, Ollie won for third time in a row. I think it was a fair course for the most part, and I found it super interesting to watch. One of the people I was really impressed with was Jonelle Price, who rode three horses and adjusted her ride to each to get the job done. She was so focused on the details as she went, and pushed herself to have every step go the way she wanted it to go. Not that other horses and riders didn’t do that, but it was very impressive she could do it on all three of her horses.
I felt bad for Phillip, who had some miscommunication with the starter and never got his watch started with Z. But Phillip had one of the best rounds I’ve seen him have in spite of that. I was super impressed with some of the American riders who really had great rounds, and think we have some beautiful horses for the future-Off the Record, Mama’s Magic Way, QC Diamantaire—were all impressive and so fun to see, especially with the WEG coming up next year.
Other than horses, my life has been filled with mostly mowing in my free time. With the beginning of June here, we’ll be back to some eventing and also the jumpers at Upperville and Louden Benefit—I can’t wait!
Layla finds it tiring to win all her events!
Horse Pilot breeches are great for running and riding!
Beautiful Storm at Hunt Club Farms Horse Trials. Thanks to Janet Gallay for the fantastic photos!
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