Congrats to all of our riders who attended one of the hottest shows we do all year- in Raleigh. With a total of 9 riders we stayed busy but weren’t overwhelmed. Having Caroline and Luis makes a huge difference. We arrived on Wednesday to ensure we would have lots of time to acclimate to the rings and Indoor arena, as well as school for the Derby on Thursday afternoon.
The first order of business when we got there was to bed stalls. Brian slit open the shrink wrapped pallet of bagged shavings and thought I had walked away when he pushed them over to scatter them in order to move them to individual stalls. Talking and distracted, with my back to the shavings I never saw the tower of shavings coming when Brian, on the opposite side pushed them over. They knocked me down and I was lucky that only my leg was hurt. The following day when I was still uncomfortable I went to the doctor and an X-Ray confirmed that I had broken the fibula. The ice boot, pulsing, and surpass that I had been treating myself was exactly what was recommended. I’m going to continue with that, plus wear a supportive boot which should stabilize my leg and in four weeks should be as good as new.
Katherine Smith on Magnus returning from a vacation was good in their first National Derby- scoring in the mid to high 70’s. Kat qualified for the EJ Haun and made it to the final top 4. This is a great accomplishment qualifying as well as ending up in the top call back, considering she just started in in the 3’3 Juniors this year. She rode great during the rest of the show as well , and along with some great ribbons in the junior hunter division also won the overall Junior Hunter Classic with scores of 83 and 82!
Wesley Smith also rode very consistent, with her youngest pony in the Pony medal and Derby they earned ribbons in both of those special classes, a big deal since this was his first time in an indoor arena. I think he almost liked it better- Although he was also a pretty good guy as well as the regular division which took place outside.
This was Lindsey Rigney’s last show bringing Calypso back from his injury- he’s a special one and we didn’t want to rush it, so we started with a 3′ show, now this 3’3 show, and finally next month he will be competing in the 3’6 amateur owner hunter division. He was great with Lindsey, back to his jumping ways- including jumping out of his shoe two trips before he’s supposed to head in to his class; his specialty. Luckily there is a show farrier for these emergencies!
Chloe Collins just joined team Cedarhill and had a good show with us. Her horse is just recovering from EPM and they are taking it easy by staying in the children’s hunter division. She had qualified for the NCHJA Children’s Medal and since moving to Cedarhill has been working on her position. She is figuring out why we all have tight legs; and is even dropping stirrups of her own accord to speed up the improvement process. With some smooth riding and working hard to keep her leg in place she ended up second overall in the Medal Finals- a great job that we’re all proud of!
Davenport Hatcher, coming in from being out of town had a busy show with both Justin and Oro. Justin was naughty the first day but by day two we were on to him and Davenport had much improved classes. Oro was great all three days she showed him; Davenport still has lots to learn but we were proud of her for competing in her first National Derby ; she was the youngest rider in a field of close to 30! They were very respectable, scoring in the 70’s in the Derby and then continued to do well, earning a reserve championship in the Junior hunter division.
Gigi Phillips, our youngest and smallest, earned the biggest ribbon- a fancy championship ribbon with Gigi the pony. To say they were consistent would be an understatement; they won every class in their division except the model; Gigi was second. They also did the NCHJA Pony Medal and Derby where they proved again to be solid; neither of them having ever competed indoors before.
Haley Rogers showed Willow for the first time, competing in the children’s hunter division while getting acquainted with each other. They earned good ribbons in the division while figuring out a lot about each other. As a mount for Haley in the Children’s Medal, we were proud that Willow; never having shown indoors helped her earn a third place ribbon, right behind Chloe. They were great!
Clementine and Allyson had fun in the adult division- they had a bit of trouble going straight to get some lead changes but with the aid of a small spur and a reminder they did well. Allyson loves her chestnut mares, only having ridden her Enzo ( a bay gelding ) for a short while between the Jane, the horse that she learned to show on- a super kind but opinionated mare and Clementine, another great hearted honest but opinionated mare. The first was a jumper, the second, a hunter. Allyson is figuring out this hunter stuff remarkably fast and well.
Great job to all- Cedarhill just finished a great Grassroots Home show and now heads to Aiken for a C show before then heading up the mountain to Blowing Rock… Check back here for all the news!