Duncraven August 29th 2010

Candle has been burning at both ends for the last two weeks... so don't mind me if I'm not as insightful as I should be.

I did have a good day at the show. I took Ganowe in the Meter 1.25 class and he felt great. We were able to be the fastest clear to win.

Also went in the 10,000 Mini Prix at Meter 1.30... course and fences were great I really enjoyed some of the different things the course asked from us as riders.

Our out come in the Mini Prix was not what I had planned, haha, but we finished 10th and I felt really good about what I learned and accomplished.

I 'facebook stalked' someone we all know at the horse shows, Brian Livell, and on his FB he has a quote:

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

I don't know why, but for some reason it hit a cord with me and I'm going to use that to sum up the day.

Good Night all, see you Thursday and Saturday at Quentin :-)

Cheers - P

The Super 5's @ London Grove Horse Show - August 14th, 2010

FUN DAY!

I don't have anything super exciting to report and don't have any pictures (sorry).

Horses that I took to show (MY SUPER 5 YEAR OLDS - haha):
TINKA'S LADY
IRISH CHEER(aka BRADDOCK)
LA GRANGE

All three horses were great. They are definitely handling the new world of horse showing as a 'cool new thing'. The most exciting part is that as each class progressed they got better and better.

Tinkadid great in the L2's, and seemed very comfortable with the height while learning about turns and new jumps. I think after the first 2 classes she would have been perfectly ready to do a class in the L3's

Braddockwill need to move up into the L2's. He was very comfortable in the L1's placing very well in all three classes. Time for a step up buddy!

La Grangewas the coolest, as in he was very 'chill' and he jumped GREAT! Probably one of his best shows.

Okay, I'm tired and ready for bed! Night all :-)

-P

Sunday August 8th 2010 Berks County Mini Prix & Puissance

Hello Everyone! Yes I know its Tuesday, not Sunday but I wanted to wait until the pictures were up so I could share them...

I had such a great time and my horses; Judge Beautiful, and Ganowe 2 were just awesome!

'JB' was entered in the Puissance and since I entered late I was at the top of the order of go.. We made it to the 4th and final round at 5'4", by puissance record standings isn't huge but for my 3rd go at the puissance I was happy at the height to get experience. 'JB' was all game and seriously had it in her to keep jumping a big wall.

My lack of experience and not knowing where to be at the base got me in trouble in the final round having the fence down... but we were one of three to actually complete the two jumps and not to crash into them! Which was impressive to me and showed me how much heart my little girl really has... ps.. 'JB' is maybe, just maybe 16.1 hh and I'm at least 5'9" so, I was out there looking like I was on a pony! Great effort for the girlie considering the jump was bigger than she was!

Ganowe was entered in the $5000 Mini Prix and we were 3rd to go in the order out of 15... We ended up one of two horses that made a clear effort in the first go and went on to win the mini prix. It was such an honor to ride him, and then to have them put the ribbon around him made me feel so happy for him. He so deserved the ribbon, and I feel like he knew that's where he belonged. Ganowe is such a cool horse, and he loves to compete. It was nice to give him a good ride and I felt we were able to be a successful team together.


After we were all done and the horses were wrapped and on the truck ready to go home, they had a look in their eye that they were proud of themselves too. That's a good feeling.

Next show will be Vince Dugans, I'm taking Braddock and Tinka! Wish us luck :-)

-P

Having fun.. and taking care of yourself!

Well everyone, we had a great day yesterday at the Fair Hill Jumper Show.

I took Baggage, Tinka's Lady, Irish Cheer (aka Braddock), and La Grange.

It was a pretty hot day, but the horses did great.

I took Tinka and Braddock both in the 3' jumper class, and I was thrilled with the effort they put in. Both horses had never really shown, they had definitely never seen tents all around the ring, and lots and lots of people and horses all over. Both horses jumped around great depite the fact they were unsure of everything, and I got by on them trusting me! Thank goodness for that :-) Tinka ended up 4th, and Braddock was 5th!

Next class was the 3'3, and I took La Grange in that. It was his 6th horse show. I think he woke up on the wrong side of the stall! For some reason he was just not in good humor.. silly horse. It took two classes to mellow him out. We ended up 3rd in one class and 2nd in the Jumper Classic.

After the three 5 year olds showed (Tinka, Braddock, La Grange) I pulled out my Ace, 'Super Bags'. I really enjoyed riding him again. He jumped ONE time since showing him in May at Blue Rock so his first round in the ring was a bit playful! By our second round he was all game, and put forth some killer turns to produce a winner, winner, winner! In the Classic round we place 2nd.

Now, I have been beating myself up for this one.. A here are my reasons: I did not eat all day, I did drink a lot but by my very last class I was over heated, and was not 100%. I was getting dizzy and did not do my best. What made me upset was that I did not take care of myself. Its really important to do this. If you can't eat while riding you should prepare to eat that morning or eat a big meal the night before. I didnt do either one. So what cost me the class was not taking care of myself and there is no excuse! If you are expecting your horses to perform, you better be able to perform yourself! So a note worthy experience.

All in all a great day!

Middlesex

Sunday, June 27th, I took Ganowe 2 to the Middlesex Horse Show held at the New Jersey Horse Park. We shipped in for the $10,000 1.30m Prix. There were 20 entries, and I was on the order of go at 5th.

I walked the course with my mom, and explained the different things that I saw in the course. It was fun to share that with her. I gave her Ganowe to work with since she has been down from New Hampshire and she has completely fallen in love with him. So for her it was more exciting to watch the horse go since she had been riding him every day.

I on the other hand had not ridden the horse since our 1.40m course at Blue Rock which was in May...but I guess that it really doesn't matters when riding Ganowe. For me, the 1.30m course was my forth go at a bigger level course. I felt pretty confident in the ride I gave Ganowe. He felt perfectly confident, and very game to tackle whatever I pointed him at.

I've had Ganowe for a year this month, and not that I'm looking for a 'pat on the back' but we've come a long, long way and I think that our course at Middlesex was our first course that we really did together. It felt good. We didn't complete a fault free course, but we tackled the hardest elements with ease.

I wish I had the ability to show every weekend at this level, and continue getting to know Ganowe, but its easier said than done. I have to bring along the young guys and keep Ganowe fit enough to slip him in every once in a while. We will get there! I have full confidence :-)

Swan Lake

Wednesday June 23rd I took La Grange to Swan Lake in Littlestown , PA for the 5 Year Old Qualifier. Looking back at the day I was happy with La Grange, and I was pretty happy with the ride I gave him.

Swan Lake was our fifth horse show ever. I trust that La Grange can actually JUMP, so what we are working out is experience. He doesn't back off the jumps but he does see the score board and he does see the tents and the people moving around when we are on course, can sometimes distract him from jumping brilliantly and causing a rail.

I think what I realize is that I expect A LOT from this little guy. I think we can get so wrapped up into what we want, and forget to see where we've come from, and be grateful for all our experiences and improvements.

We finished 3rd in the qualifier. Our next stop is Princeton on Thursday and the Dream Park on Friday. Both shows holding the qualifier classes.

Pictures From Upperville