Greetings from the stretch of I-75 somewhere between Hamilton, Ga and Lexington. We had a good weekend here at the show. Simba started out with a very workmanlike test on Friday. I have been really working on developing more action in his gaits and it must be working because he scored at 23.6!! What a champ! The training horses Ready and Slewboy each put in very good tests, both becoming steadier and more disciplined with every outing. the Training cross country ran early Saturday morning. I was instructed by my groom not to fall off this time. She said changing the cartrige in my Point 2 Air vest was way to difficult! The course seemed challenging with plenty to do but our boys handled it well and came back to barn a little smarter. I was proud of their clean rounds as it is only their second Training. Simba had show-jumping next and put in a clean round to keep his first place standing. I have been working hard to keep his step coming to jumps instead of setting up too early and I am thrilled with the way Simba is jumping. Poplar always has a lovely, open, foward feeling show-jumping and Simba stepped right up to make it look easy. Sunday we awoke to dark skies and looming thunderstorms but luckily only had to take cover once or twice. Simba jumped a very brave cross country round and seemed to have every ounce of confidence back after our last outing. I’m not sure he even remebers that we parted ways last time out, woops! The optimum time was a bit challenging but he finished the weekend in second place! I am so proud of the nearly perfect weekend he had! Slewboy jumped next and showed some improvement in the showjumping. He did have a few rails but also had some very nice moments. Ready was last to go on Sunday. I’m not sure if it was the gloomy weather or if Ready had a monster after him but he was extra spooky going into the ring. He really got his act together during the course and jumped well. We were all packed up and got the horses loaded quickly for the drive home.
It was a tough weekend for the sport at Poplar and Southern Pines so I am especially thankful for my good weekend and the happy, safe horses I have in the trailer now. Give your horse an extra pat this week and keep kicking!
Archive
This past weekend we headed to Rocking Horse Farm for their Winter III Horse Trials. We were excited to have some company from home, Amanda Volle and Brittany Jones, who drove down for some lessons and the competition. After a solid week of lessons and hard work we loaded up the trailers, eager to gain more experience. What an experience it was! The weekend proved to be an educational and slightly tough one, but we can’t win them all, can we?
Friday afternoon Simba put in a great dressage test for his first Intermediate. He scored a 36.0 and I was very pleased with his work ethic. As usual for Rocking Horse, the show jumping course was big and twisty. It proved to be a challenge for almost everyone and I hope Rocking Horse might re-evaluate it for future shows. Simba had several rails down but tried his heart out and I felt he actually did get better as the course went on. He certainly thought the jumps were a little big! I walked around the cross country course again and headed home to get ready for the next day.
Saturday started on a great note with Slewboy winning the dressage in his Training division! What a star! He didn’t get to continue the weekend, but we will get to that in a minute. Ready put in a good test, improving on his last score by several points. He is still a little green in the ring, but was much steadier this time out. Simba had cross country next and we made it all the way around to the second to last fence which was an ABC combo with a corner at the B element. He ran out at the corner, taking the flag down. I tried to get him over the corner on a second attempt but without the flag, it didn’t happen. I was believing with EVERYTHING that he would stay straight but he jumped up and way to the left and I couldn’t stay with him. :( I came off underneath him and got kicked around a bit. My vest blew up, which was kinda fun :) Anyway, we are both fine. I had my foot x-rayed this morning to make sure it wasn’t broken but it is only badly bruised. I decided to scratch the training horses because my foot was very painful. This was a disappointing ending to the weekend but thankfully, we are both ok and will be back to tackle another course soon.
If the foot is not too painful, I am eager to take advantage of all the opportunities here in our last week. There are tons of new cross-country jumps still to be jumped and maybe some show jumping rounds. I think all of the competition horses will benefit from it.
I am soaking up all the sun and warmth down here. We will head back next Monday, March 14th! See you soon and keep kicking!
Happy Monday everyone! What a beautiful weekend! We don’t mean to rub it in but it was sunny and warm this weekend here in Florida. Where else do they waive coats in the middle of February? The CW Event Team took three horses to compete this weekend and we are proud of each of them. Simba was 2nd in the Open Preliminary ending on his dressage score! I think he enjoyed himself quite a bit out on the cross country course! Ready for April and Gointoseattle rose the challenge at their first Training level event. It was a serious course for the first timers but they were both brave and jumped great! The show-jumping proved a challenge for most horses this weekend, but we are headed over to HITS to get some extra practice this week. 
Gointoseattle and Cathy looking confident last weekend at Ocala Horse Trails!
Ready for April, as usual, taking no chances about touching this fence!
I have attached a couple of flyers about some cross country schooling days at the Kentucky Horse Park so please get out and help out if you can!
Until next time,
Keep Kicking!
Greetings from sunny Florida!
The horses are all into serious work down here and went to the first competition of the season last weekend. Everyone came out for a good start and it was nice to be in such good company. We took three horses out; Simba, Slewboy and Ready. Simba had a very nice dressage test, scoring 29.1 to settle into 3rd place in the OP division. He came in Saturday morning with a small knock on his leg, so we decided to scratch him but he is fine form today. I was pleased with Slewboy’s dressage. He had a fantastic trip on cross country to settle into 6th place in the novice division. He had one rail in showjumping, showing much improvement. He was very happy to get to show-off for his owner, Gay Darsie. She drove over to see him. Thanks Gay!! Ready for April had a nice dressage test on Friday. He was fast and brave on cross country, putting out a great effort for his last novice. On Sunday he jumped clean to land in 6th place. All three boys will be out next weekend at Rocking Horse I where Ready and Slewboy will have their training level debut!
While those three have been working hard at eventing, some of the others have been experiencing the world at HITS, the huge hunter-jumper show here in Ocala! Forli has been jumping really well and gearing up for some hunter-jumper shows. With all the activity at HITS it has been great for these horses to go over and see it all.
We got some good news from home recently: Simba won a MSEDA award for Preliminary HT! Simba has really done a great job this last year and we are excited to see where the future may take him!
> We will update next weekend to let you know how the show is going but until then, we are sending warm thoughts your way!
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> CW and crew!
Good Times and Sunny Weather!
We departed a frigid Kentucky on Thursday morning with the snow falling. We were loaded down with horses (6), dogs(2), and stuff. I got a head start with the horses while Katie loaded up a few last minute things. Little did I know, it was the last I would see of Katie until Florida. After a quick stop in Georgia fora blowout, she made it in safe and sound.
The horses have all settled in here and are loving the sunshine and warm weather. With a hack and trot-set under their belts, they all went into serious work today. As usual, they were all great and we are excited about the 2011 season! Look for us at local events and stop in to say hello!
From the beautiful Longwood Farm,
Cathy
Katie
Simba
Ready
Slewboy
Forli
Ralph
T-bone
Cuppa and Bella!