The big man, Duke of Diamond, 5th in his first CCI* at The Virginia Horse Park!
Its amazing that we’re almost into winter and from the temperatures, I’m a bit worried about how quickly it’s happening! I do love this time of year, though; first, it’s beautiful, second, not too hot and third, I have time to breath and reassess.
Fair Hill was great in some ways—my friends Babette Lena and Vicky Jessop had great trips around the two-star cross-country—but it didn’t go as well for Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair as they had an unfortunate fall at the second water. Because of this, Maya decided to reroute to California and Galway. The Tuesday after Fair Hill, she and her parents loaded up Cody and drove four days across the country; luckily, they’re all used to long trips! Cody’s such a tough little pony he didn’t care much, either. I was so happy that Maya made the decision to compete at Galway but was bummed that I couldn’t fly out to help her because I had Dyson entered in the one-star at Virginia. Galway went great for Maya, she told me she felt like her trot work in the dressage was not quite as good as Fair Hill but she didn’t make as many mistakes in the canter, either. She had a fantastic cross-country ride and was really pleased with Cody’s fitness and felt like she had a lot of gas in the tank. They had a beautiful round show jumping, with just the last jump down. What a great season for Maya, Cody and his owners, Dawn and Jonathan Dofelmier. They have a great horse and a great rider, and it’s been fun to see how much they’ve progressed this year alone.
Meanwhile, while Maya was braving the hot California sun, Kaylin Dines and I were braving the cold Virginia weather at the Virginia Horse Trials for the one-star. Kaylin had a nice dressage test on Why Not (Wyatt) and after one mistake, rode the canter work beautifully. Duke of Diamond (Dyson) and I had just too many little mistakes to keep us out of the 40s but his trot work was the best yet. The cross-country course was long and difficult, 7 minutes and 47 seconds, and for a young one-star horse like Dyson going up and down all those hills was a lot. His eyes were a bit wide open but he handled it like a champ and got better as he went around. Kaylin and Wyatt were great, also. Show jumping in the coliseum is always a challenge for horses and riders, but luckily Kaylin and Wyatt excelled and had one of the few clear rounds and moved up to 8th. The tight distances on the course didn’t actually suit Dyson and were a lot for a greener horse, but he tried quite hard and only had one down to finish 5th. I feel as though Dyson grew up a lot at Virginia and was quite brave cross-country, and in the long run the experience will serve him well next year.
My plan now is to work on getting sale horses sold and finalize plans for Aiken. Tom and I are going to see the Broncos play in two weeks while visiting my parents, and we hope to fit a ski trip before all the horses are back at it.
I’m happy to say that Syd Kent back in work and feeling awesome. I’m hoping to take him to Kentucky next year. Inmidair is happy and fat, quite sound, and turned out in his paddock. I’ve also got a new horse from France through Katie and Henri Prudent. She arrived the Saturday of Fair Hill and was just released from quarantine this past weekend. She was a show jumper jumped but jumped her first ditch this week. She’s a six-year-old Selle Francais that has done the meter-30 jumpers. I’m really excited to see what the season brings with her. Her name is Urrem and we call her REM.
Lastly, Tom and I were fortunate enough to attend Buck and Andrea’s wedding. It was beautiful and we had a great time and are so happy for them. It was so nice to see so many friends, though I felt like I didn’t have enough time to spend with everyone.
Fair Hill was great in some ways—my friends Babette Lena and Vicky Jessop had great trips around the two-star cross-country—but it didn’t go as well for Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair as they had an unfortunate fall at the second water. Because of this, Maya decided to reroute to California and Galway. The Tuesday after Fair Hill, she and her parents loaded up Cody and drove four days across the country; luckily, they’re all used to long trips! Cody’s such a tough little pony he didn’t care much, either. I was so happy that Maya made the decision to compete at Galway but was bummed that I couldn’t fly out to help her because I had Dyson entered in the one-star at Virginia. Galway went great for Maya, she told me she felt like her trot work in the dressage was not quite as good as Fair Hill but she didn’t make as many mistakes in the canter, either. She had a fantastic cross-country ride and was really pleased with Cody’s fitness and felt like she had a lot of gas in the tank. They had a beautiful round show jumping, with just the last jump down. What a great season for Maya, Cody and his owners, Dawn and Jonathan Dofelmier. They have a great horse and a great rider, and it’s been fun to see how much they’ve progressed this year alone.
Meanwhile, while Maya was braving the hot California sun, Kaylin Dines and I were braving the cold Virginia weather at the Virginia Horse Trials for the one-star. Kaylin had a nice dressage test on Why Not (Wyatt) and after one mistake, rode the canter work beautifully. Duke of Diamond (Dyson) and I had just too many little mistakes to keep us out of the 40s but his trot work was the best yet. The cross-country course was long and difficult, 7 minutes and 47 seconds, and for a young one-star horse like Dyson going up and down all those hills was a lot. His eyes were a bit wide open but he handled it like a champ and got better as he went around. Kaylin and Wyatt were great, also. Show jumping in the coliseum is always a challenge for horses and riders, but luckily Kaylin and Wyatt excelled and had one of the few clear rounds and moved up to 8th. The tight distances on the course didn’t actually suit Dyson and were a lot for a greener horse, but he tried quite hard and only had one down to finish 5th. I feel as though Dyson grew up a lot at Virginia and was quite brave cross-country, and in the long run the experience will serve him well next year.
My plan now is to work on getting sale horses sold and finalize plans for Aiken. Tom and I are going to see the Broncos play in two weeks while visiting my parents, and we hope to fit a ski trip before all the horses are back at it.
I’m happy to say that Syd Kent back in work and feeling awesome. I’m hoping to take him to Kentucky next year. Inmidair is happy and fat, quite sound, and turned out in his paddock. I’ve also got a new horse from France through Katie and Henri Prudent. She arrived the Saturday of Fair Hill and was just released from quarantine this past weekend. She was a show jumper jumped but jumped her first ditch this week. She’s a six-year-old Selle Francais that has done the meter-30 jumpers. I’m really excited to see what the season brings with her. Her name is Urrem and we call her REM.
Lastly, Tom and I were fortunate enough to attend Buck and Andrea’s wedding. It was beautiful and we had a great time and are so happy for them. It was so nice to see so many friends, though I felt like I didn’t have enough time to spend with everyone.
RSS Feed