Pine Top

I had three horses this weekend at Pine Top and they all jumped great! After entering Cole (Rege Dvorsky and Jeanne Leone) in the advanced (his first) I moved him back down to intermediate after he missed his run at the Pine Top held two weeks ago. He's such a great cross country horse and this weekend was no different! He's really feeling his experience now and is super fun cross country. Basically I just tell him which direction to go in and he does the rest! He moved up 10 places to finish in the top ten. Liberty (McCuan) was also great xc. This horse is such an athlete and will take on anything I point him at! He's starting to feel very comfortable, even a little cocky. I don't mind as long as that means he keeps jumping the way he does! Raleigh jumped a super jump, really confident and bold until the coffin. Unfortuantley I just tipped off him. He was VERY surprised to see me on the ground and a little apologetic too! It wasn't his fault I told him, I just needed to put more SaddleTite on!
This weekend I'll be back in MD teaching, then heading to FL next week for some training.

Chloe with her two favourite charges, Cole and Liberty!

Another busy week here in Aiken with apparently the entire eventing population of America in town to buy horses! No complaints here, it certainly keeps us out of trouble! All of the horses are going well, in particular Cole and Liberty. Both are such different horses: Cole is such an honest and hard worker that gives 110% each day and really draws support and confidence from his rider, and Liberty is so athletic up for any challenge IF he respects his rider. Unfortunately his idea of testing that respect involves a series of well thought out, complicated routines encompassing all his skills including (but not limited to) spooking (forwards, sideways and backwards), bucking and turning around really fast. He has a surprisingly large variation in the combination of these skills. He also perform them at random times, although I would have to say the spooking occurs most often when the Llamas next door are standing at the fence and staring at us. The good news is that all I have to do to get his respect is not fall off! And I pat him on the neck for good measure! His dressage is going very well, his cross country is great and his showjumping is definitely improving. Cole's jumping impresses me so much, he really learns well and doesn't forget his lessons. He's easily becoming one of my favourite horses ever

I'm very lucky to be supported by a wonderful group of owners with the MacLeod, Taggart and McCuan families along with Rege Dvorsky and Jeanne Leone. My students and boarders also give the income and inspiration to chase my dreams, so thank you! Coming up I have Pine Top Advanced and Southern Pines II, with a trip to FL for training and a trip to MD to teach a clinic all mixed in!

Ice Road Truckers Pine Top style!

That is SOLID ice that the tractor is driving thru!!

Today at Pine Top was more like an episode of Ice Road Truckers! ALL THREE water jumps were frozen over! The organisers did an awesome job of breaking it up with tractors, trucks and any available vehicle! By the time we went cross country there was only the odd fragment floating around the edge.

This ten day period in February is always a busy one, with 4 shows. It's also the most popular for travellers searching for horses to buy and students to visit! All my horses have now done at least one event, most of them two. And the good news is they've all won ribbons! Both Full Gallops were true to level and tough as normal. I love these events and always seem to have a good go of it there. So far this year I've jumped approx 230 showjumps in a competition arena with just 3 rails! All the horses are jumping very well, particularly Cole and Liberty.

Raleigh at Full Gallop. Photo courtesty hoofpix.com.

For anyone interested, my schedule for the last 10 days:

Last Wednesday: Full Gallop, 5 horses plus 3 students

Saturday: Sporting Days, coaching students

Wednesday: Full Gallop, 5 horses

Friday: Pine Top Intermediate

Saturday: Pine Top 4 horses

Sunday: Pine Top 4 horses.

Now I'm sitting in an airport waiting for a connecting flight back to MD to teach for the next two days. Good luck to whomever has the first lesson tomorrow!

Liberty and I at the brush.

My great start to the winter season continues this week with all 5 horses competing at Full Gallop winning ribbons! Cole made a very solid return to eventing for the year by finishing 4th in the prelim. His dressage continues to improve, he was in the top 6 going into the jumping, which is fantastic! Liberty's first event since May last year was also a success, very close 2nd after the dressage on a 26. Clear sj then cruised around the xc. Trevor finished 6th in his debut and Ti and Ron put in very solid performances.

I have some great supporters between my owners and students, thanks for providing me with such nice horses and helping me achieve my goals!