Surefire Fall

As it always is with horses, my season has been up and down, with some things going great, and some a bit unlucky. Luminati and Syd Kent both got hurt in freak accidents, but hopefully they’ll be back sometime next year. Fall has come and summer has gone, so have clients and horses. A recent highlight, though, has been that I got to do the Plantation 3-star with Inmidair, our first time back at that level since March. We had a really consistent test, probably the most consistent rhythm I’ve had with him. Show jumping was great, but I let him drift just a bit to the left in the triple and he just touched a rail behind. Cross-country he was amazing, it was easy, with a great rhythm, and I felt like we were both focused on the job at hand. JR even handled the water great, better than I did! I have to say that JR and I haven’t had the best luck, but when we put it all together, he’s probably the best horse I’ve ever had, and I’m really excited about getting the chance to do Fair Hill again with him. I’m pretty excited to take Duke of Diamonds (Dyson) to the 5-year-old YEH Championships at Fair Hill as well, and I think he’ll run at Morven before that, while JR will do a combined test there.

My workload has been a little lighter than normal lately, but I have been busy with clinics in the Boston area, Colorado and Louisville and I’m really enjoying teaching. I’ve developed some great relationships with the riders and I love helping them.

On the home front, it’s been a nice time for me to work on myself and restructuring my business, which I’m gearing more toward sale horses. Two new people have joined us to help out and learn, Ashley Emig and Elizabeth Egan. Both have horses to ride and are a nice addition to Surefire.