6/15/09

5/31/09

5/26/09

Polar at Jersey Fresh CCI***

Katie

5/2/09

The insanly early morning (2 am!!) was well worth it as Josie and Flyer were super in the Training level at MCTA today. Both had nice Dressage tests. I've taken the flash off of Josie's bridle and she is much happier - and it showed! She did have two rails in stadium as she tends to get bored. She was awesome on xc and making easy work of the course! Flyer was great in stadium and xc. I schooled him over Prelim height early this week and he hit one jump fairly hard. After that he has been jumping really well! They are both showing me they very well might be ready do their first Prelim next month!

Flyer at MCTA

The next two days are going to be fairly hectic as I will be getting things ready for Jersey Fresh. Hopefully I'll stay too busy to get nervous! Polar has been awesome this spring and I'm really looking forward to next week!

Katie

4/26/09

I had a busy weekend at Loudoun with four horses going Training - Manny, Flyer, as well as Josie and Val who were moving up. It went smoothly as I had a lot of help! They were all super stars!! While I might not have agreed with all the Dressage scores (seems to be theme this year), they all had good tests for what they can do at the moment. They followed that up with good stadium rounds. Val took the prize for the clear round, even though Josie's rail was completely my fault! All of them were excellent on cross country - four clear rounds! I think I may have gotten some time with all of them, as I misread the optimum time with Flyer (first one to go). The important part was that they all jumped confidently and really well! Josie and Val are now Training horses! They placed 7th and 6th respectively. It was a very fun and productive weekend!

Katie

4/19/09

Yea - I can get online at home again! This computer is incredibly slow as it's an older version of Windows and the software I have for AOL is for newer versions, but at least I can check e-mail daily again. That is at least for now, I don't trust it in the long run. I'm looking into going wireless, which of course requires a new computer, sigh. Guess I'll be in shoes that have holes so huge that they about to fall off my feet for a while longer!

Now for an update on the past three events and weekends! Polar was awesome at the Fork - we did the CIC3*. I thought his dressage was great, the best he felt all year, so I was a bit stunned when I saw his score of 66. I did have an error when I forgot the halt/rein back, but still it was a lot higher score than I felt he deserved - especially compared to how his other tests scored this year. I watched several tests and they seemed to be scored more accurately. Oh well, c'est la vie!! The cross country was big and technical, requiring boldness and accuracy. Definitely the hardest course we had seen to date. It was also the best round we have had!!! Several people said they thought Polar looked really great - I have such an awesome horse! I was also a lot better about going faster and we were only 34 seconds over time! Show jumping was huge - it's amazing how much bigger 2 inches looks. My nerves got to me and I didn't give Polar a great ride which resulted in three rails. After the third, I settled in and the rest of the course went well. I was so happy with Polar, he was just super and we got that qualifying score for a CCI3*!

The next weekend I took Logan and Strider to the MD Short Course for their first event, both starting out at BN. It of course poured rain the entire morning! It was the coldest I've been at event all year. Considering I've been eventing since mid-Feb, there is something wrong with that! However, they both performed great. Strider won the dressage with a 36 and jumped clear to win his division! Logan was 3rd after dressage with a 31, he also  jumped clear to win his division! I was thrilled with both of them. The double wins made the miserable weather more worth it! Hopefully the weather will be better for their next event.

Polar and I went to Fair Hill this weekend and he was great as usual. He got a 36 in dressage! It's getting lower each time (at least at horse trials). Stadium looked small compared to the Fork - who would have thought 4'1" would look small? He jumped double clear in stadium, but I was a little disappointed in the cross country. It was a nice course, but a good first Advanced. It was on the small side and straight forward. Polar was good but it was just too small for him, so I was having a harder time getting him back as I couldn't run him up to the jumps like normal. There was a good question at the end that was big and he jumped that one really well. We finished in 8th! Knock on wood we stay sound over the next two weeks and we'll be going to Jersey Fresh to do our first CCI3*!!!

Katie

3/31/09

It's been a busy and fun past few weeks. Polar and I went down to Southern Pines to run the Advanced. Polar warmed up very well for dressage. Unfortunately a tent by warm up flapped in the wind right before we went in for our test which caused him to spook and created some tension. He still was good to score a 38, just over a point better than Pine Top! Cross country was awesome. I was better with the speed and we weren't in the slow group! He show jumped double clear the next day and we placed 6th!!!

Last weekend I took four horses to Morven. Flyer and Manny (aka Cosmic Jive) went Training. Manny is a new ride for me. My good friend Petra owns him and I've taken over the ride as she is pregnant! Manny is an incredibly fun horse. He hasn't done much over the past few years and only one Novice and one Training before that. He was good in the dressage, staying relaxed for a 35. He jumped super in stadium, just taking one rail when he jumped huge into a combination and got too close to the B element. Cross country went really well. Two green stops, where he jumped really well the second time. We were thrilled with him. Once he gets some more experience he is going to be outstanding!!

Flyer also performed well. He has improved alot over the winter, it's starting to really come together. He scored a 36 in dressage, almost went clear in stadium until the last fence! He was greatly improved on cross country, with only an unfortunate runout at a huge trakenher. He jumped it well the second time and it was a good learning experience for him.

Val and Josie both hopefully did their last Novice. The also went well all three phases. I need a bigger fence as I didn't ride them very well on cross country! I was pleased with all four. It was a good weekend despite the rain and mud!

Polar and I are off tomorrow for The Fork where we are doing out first CIC3*!! I'm excited. It will also be a nice break with only one horse! Fingers crossed I will also be able to get online at home when I get back so I can do better updates!

Katie

3/4/09

Event season has started, horses are shedding, and the grass is getting greener. Shouldn't that mean that spring and warm temps are on the way? It has been one long and very cold winter. I hate being cold and am so done with winter!

Polar and I had a brief reprieve from the cold when we went down to Pine Top mid Feb. It was gloriously warm! I don't want to come back. Ran Intermediate as a warm up for the year. He jumped super both stadium and cross country going clear in both.

We then went back down to Pine Top last weekend. The weather not so great this go around. It basically poured the entire weekend. I did manage to do my dressage in a brief dry period. Polar was pretty good to score a 39. I've started taking dressage lessons with Lauren Sprieser. We are on the right track! He show jumped really well, going clear. I did take some outside lines and got some time. They ended up having to cancel xc for Intermediate and Prelim. Fortunatly Advanced ran. The footing was really good. In spite of not being able to see some of the jumps all that well with the rain Polar was really good. We ended up placing 7th in our division of Advanced! Now I just need to learn to go faster!

The season really kicks into gear in a few weeks when the local events start. Looks like I'll be going every weekend. Can't wait! Hopefully I'll be able to do better updates. I came back from the first Pine Top to find out that my computer won't let me get online, grr. Hope to get it fixed as I can't afford a new computer. In the meantime I'm using a friends' computer to do e-mail once a week.

Should start to warm up this week. Hopefully we've seen the last of the cold!

Katie

11/08/08

To wrap up my event season for 2008, I took Flyer and Val to Waredaca and Rubicon. Flyer is going through a developmental phase, he is learning to
come in better balance and his gaits are getting much better. It is evident in Dressage as he is scoring 6-8 points better. However, I have lost him a bit for jumping. He hasn't quite figured out how to carry that balance up and over jumps. So the first part of xc hasn't been pretty. Then he gets going and has been great. I know we have work to do over the winter. I'm pleased with the results so far. He will be a much improved horse when he starts out next year!

Val was great both times out. He was second after Dressage at each event. At Waredaca, he thought the wavy panels in stadium needed a second look! He was super on cross country and finished 5th. At Rubicon he became a little distracted coming the the second fence and had a rare rail. Once again he was super on cross country. Unfortunately we were a bit slow! I'm not sure how that happened; he felt like he was going at a good Novice speed. When I asked people later they said we didn't look like we were going slow. I looked at my watch after the second to last fence, uh oh! I hustled as much as I could but didn't make the time, drat! Ended up in 6th, so still not bad! Val is no longer for sale as his owner has descended to keep him!

In an effort to keep my expenses down as low as possible I won't be having this page updated until the start of the season next year. Hope everyone has a
good break and fingers crossed this winter is a mild one!

Until February or March!

Katie

10/22/08

We had a great time at Fair Hill. The weather was perfect, which is something I don't get to say too often! It stayed cool and dry.

Polar was in the two-star. He had a pretty good Dressage test, I think I've gotten the warm up routine and timing figured out! Now we just need to work on improving the score over the winter! As this was the first time a two-star was held at Fair Hill, we didn't know what the xc course would look like. It was beautiful, very well designed and a true two-star. Polar was fantastic! He jumped everything extremely well. There was plenty of gallop room and I was able to work on going faster, and we stayed in the single digits for time penalties, which is an improvement for me! After seeing what was going on in the barns after xc let me tell you, I'm so glad to have a young and sound horse. I almost felt like I should be doing more than hand grazing and polticing his legs! But no need as he jogged beautifully the next morning. The stadium was all either big airy verticals or huge square oxers but Polar was jumping out of his skin! Unfortunately I got him slightly under powered to an oxer and he hit the back rail. Totally my rail, easily fixed!

It was a fun week and I'm thrilled with how Polar went. Now I can work on getting qualified for a three-star! As always huge thanks to my Mom who came out from Colorado to attend the event with me. It was great to have her help and to be able to stock up on things like socks and food!

Two more events left for the season. Check back to see how they go!

Katie

10/11/08

I took Majestic Valley (Val) to the Maryland Horse Trials today to compete in BN. He didn't see the point in waking up enough for Dressage. It was a bit warm today and he is fuzzy! He jumped very well in Stadium and Cross Country going double clear in both. He finished in second place!! Next time out, he will move up to Novice level.

Polar gets his hair shaved off tomorrow in preparation for his next three day. My Mom is flying in on Monday and we head up to Fair Hill on Tuesday! I'm looking forward to it. This will be the closest thing to a vacation I get - one horse, a phase a day and since my Mom will be here I'll have help and food!

Katie

10/08/08

A mere 5 1/2 months after he went into work and only 4 1/2 months after his first event ever, Irish Moon Dance is a one-star horse!!! He was a star the entire time at Morven. While his Dressage test didn't score very well, he did perform the best test that he can do at this point.

Irish isn't the fastest horse, and we did get time on steeplechase - we were only 6 seconds over though! I wasn't sure how close I would get so I was happy with that. Unfortunately he did pull a shoe, and we had a lot of time to make up after a spare was put on so we had to trot most of Phase C. He jogged well in the box and off we went to the fun part. He was just super!! Very green and he did get tired, but he kept trying and jumping well. We did have a glance off at a hard angle line - as I was the third horse on course, I didn't have the benefit of learning from others that it was better to go long there! However, with the time penalties on steeplechase and xc, I don't think it would have effected our final placing that much.

Irish Moon Dance at the Morven Park CCI*

He again jogged well Sunday morning. I wasn't sure how he would feel for stadium and was a bit worried that he would be tired and we might go bowling! Didn't have to worry about that at all - he was full of energy and very forward. In fact, we did a six stride line in five! I could have made him do it in six but I was pretty sure he would have the rail. He only touched one jump, which did come down. Everything else he jumped extremely well over!!

We are very proud of Irish. He tried very hard and did his best and that's all anyone can ask. He has come so far in a very short amount of time. I don't think too many horses can go from standing in the pasture for several months with only foxhunting experience to successfully completing a one-star in 5 months!! Morven was bittersweet for me as it was my last competition with him. Irish will be following his owner, Kim, to Arizona next month. She plans to event him and I'm sure he will clean up out there! Once I get all of his pictures I'll put them on the competition page. Check back later this month as they should be up by then!

Featuring Abigail at the FEH Championships

Almost forgot! I took Featuring Abigail to the FEH Championships on Wednesday. She was also a little star! It was her first time off property in any type of situation like that. There were workmen laying gravel on the road behind the ring which made things interesting for all the babies! Poor things, it was a bit too much simulation, but Abbey was great. She placed third in the yearling filly class. Probably could have placed second if I could have gotten her to walk better. We were happy with how she did. Afterwards, she even stood in the trailer so well that we were able to leave her to take advantage of the free food! She was very well behaved for a yearling at her first show! She is going to be stunning once she grows up!

Katie

9/29/08

Just a quick update - I took Val to the Maryland Short Course yesterday and he won!! He went Novice and was super, leading from the start with a lovely dressage test, improving drasticly in a week to score a 26! He went on to jump clear making it seem easy. I also did a stadium round at BN and Novice. He jumped really well both times.

This is going to be a crazy week. I'm taking Featuring Abigail to Moven on Wednesday for the FEH. Irish is heading over on Thursday for the one-star. I feel like I've been ridding Irish for a lot longer than I have. I counted it up yesterday - it's only been 5 1/2 months and here he is headed for a one-star!

Katie

9/22/08

Sorry it's been awhile since my last update. My groom Regina had her baby on the first (a girl, congrats!!), which was good news, but leaves me by myself with all the horses! Needless to say, I've been extremely busy and am exhausted by the end of the day. I think I'm still awake enough to write something up that makes sense!

I've also been busy competing the past three weekends. First weekend of the month I was at Seneca. Wasn't the best weekend due in part to Tropical Storm Hannah. I got up early on Saturday to get Irish and Flyer all braided and studded up. It wasn't raining when I left and I thought we might have missed it. Ha, what a nice thought that was. The radio kept telling that that i shouldn't be out if it wasn't totally necessary! And what were we crazy eventers doing? Hauling to an event, of course. It was the wettest I've been in a long time. All that was accomplished that day was that Irish did his Dressage test. After that the rain really came down and the rest of the day was rescheduled for Sunday. Poor Flyer never even made it off the trailer!

So, another super early morning, and off we went again. This time I didn't braid Flyer. I wasn't about to get up earlier than 2:30! Irish jumped well in stadium. Unfortunately, the lighting was funky at an oxer in the woods and I had a hard time getting us to it just right and Irish ended up slipping before it. It rattled him and he was backed off after that. Stupid Tropical Storm - messing things up! Flyer made up for the early mornings - he had a good Dressage and followed that up with a clear Stadium. Other than wanting another look at a huge down bank, he was great on cross country. He's almost ready for Prelim!

The next weekend I headed down to Five Points with Polar and Irish. Dressage day was interesting... poor Polar received a score that he absolutely didn't deserve. He was tense but obedient, had clean changes and was accurate. I was shocked when I saw his score, and still didn't understand why when I read over the comments on the test. But oh well, c'est la vie. With Irish, I started off doing the wrong test and didn't know the one we were meant to be doing! Fortunately I was able to go at a later time and get it done correctly! Irish was probably wondering what was going on! He did his best and got a decent score.

I went to this event determined not to have any stops on cross country. I kept telling myself throughout the course, stay committed - be aggressive. It
worked! Both the boys were great! Irish was back to his confident self, which I was thrilled to see after Seneca. Polar was awesome. There were two hard corner combinations and I knew if I didn't get over it the first time, I probably wouldn't at all! When I felt him waver a bit, I dug in and didn't give up and he was great! So we had our first clear at Advanced!!! He made those big jumps seem easy!

They both looked great the next morning. Irish show jumped really well. There was a hard line in stadium - a six or seven stride bending line, one stride,
tight four stride. After watching how tight the four could be I wanted to do the bending line in seven to make the four easier. Unfortunately, that didn't work! He ended up having the one stride down. That line just didn't ride very well in any of the levels. Polar show jumped really well as well, but had two rails down, not sure why because he felt great. All in all, it was a great weekend - Irish got his last qualifier for the one-star at Morven, and it was a great last run for Polar before the two-star at Fair Hill.

Yesterday, I went to Marlborough Horse Trials. The main reason was to get a sale horse out, but I didn't want to drive that far for one horse so I managed to scrounge up enough money to enter Josie as well. I was glad I did, as she was super! I was especially thrilled that she didn't flip out when I mounted because this has been our main problem! She had a lovely Dressage test, scoring a 26!! She show jumped really well. Unfortunately she did have a rail, which was my fault. She was also great on Cross Country. I've been jumping her in a hackmore at home and this was the first time I competed her in it. While we need to do some fine tuning, she was much better in it. I was kicking myself for the rail as it cost her the win! A pink ribbon is still pretty though!

Majestic Valley at his first event.

I took my new sale horse Majestic Valley, aka Val, to his first event. He was super as well! He looked great all braided and fancy. He had a great Dressage test, scoring a 33. After the third fence on stadium the light bulb went on and he was great! But Cross Country was where he really shined. He is a lot of fun to ride! Someone needs to hurry up and buy this horse - he is awesome!!

I'll be picking it up another notch as I head into the upcoming three-days. I thought I was busy before - hopefully Regina will be back soon! Doing everything by myself is hard work; I've been spoiled by not having to do the stalls everyday! Not sure when I'll get around to the next update. I'll try not to let it go as long so I don't end up writing a book! Wish the gray Irish boys luck at the three-days! I'll make sure to stay committed on cross country and give them good rides!

Katie

8/14/08

I had a great time at Millbrook - it was my first trip there and I hope to go back! It is an extremely well run event with lovely courses and I was happy to find that it even has some atmosphere. Of course any event that has free coffee in the morning and beer in the evening is great!

Polar and I had a good go in the Advanced. He got a little distracted in dressage, but tried his best and we ended up in sixth place. Overall cross country went really well. I feel like I'm right on the edge of being able to get the really good canter that we need at this level. Stadium was big and twisty. Polar jumped extremely well and was one of only three to go double clear. Once we get some details ironed out he is going to be competitive!

Irish was good as well. He didn't feel like doing dressage, but considering how far he's come in a short amount of time he's due an off day! He was great on
cross country, confident and jumping everything in stride. Now if he would just learn to open up his stride and move on in between the jumps! He also show jumped really well. Unfortunately, the one jump he slightly tapped was barely in the cups! I was happy with him though - three qualifiers down, one more to go!

I have the rest of this month off from eventing. I might not know what to do with myself. Well, that was silly of me - I have tons to do and will be working as always! However, It will be nice to not have to do any long drives until Five Points. I've gotten spoiled living on the East coast - back home we used to drive 6 to 8 hours for a Beginner Novice course!

Katie

7/31/08

While Stuart didn't go as well as I would have like it was a good learning weekend. And one really good thing is that it was a lot cooler in NY than VA!

Katie and Polar

Polar was on the verge of having a really good dressage test, but then he got into his old neighing habit. Ah, just when you think they are all grown up! Parts of the test were really good though. We would have broken into the 50's if I had left from the correct letter for the canter diagonal! One of those movements where it's hard to break habit. The two-star xc course was tough. One of the hardest I've seen, including Advanced courses! But, overall I was thrilled with how Polar felt. And I'm getting better about not being so slow and kept up a good pace for most of the course - and those parts of the course went beautifully. The two fences that I got Polar slightly underpowered to didn't go so well. By the time we got the the "B" element Polar had nothing to jump out of. I was disappointed in myself for not giving him a better ride. But I learned a lot and am determined not to make that mistake again! Polar has become much more ridable and I need to trust that fact. The good part is Polar was great - I'd rather it be my fault we didn't end up on the top!

Katie and Irish

Irish tried really hard in dressage and did the best he can at this point. His course was also tough, he was very green yet handled it well. Towards the end he started getting tired and two skinnys caught us out. I was still happy with him, considering he had done his first event just over two months prior! He tried his best and gained valuable experience. It rained the night before and morning morning of stadium. As warm-up was muddy and slick, I decided to warm-up early when it was quieter. I didn't feel like dealing with any bolting in that footing! So we did end up walking around for a while before we actually jumped the course. Irish had two rails down early, then woke up and jumped the rest of the course really well.

So, it was a good experience and both Irish and I learned a lot. All of us will be better next time out - which is next weekend at Millbrook. I've never been there before but have heard good things, so I'm looking forward to it!

Katie

7/13/08

I had several successful rides at The Maryland Horse Trials this weekend. Irish had a greatly improved dressage test, scoring a 35 which landed him in 6th place! He has come along way in the very short amount of time he's been with me. Once his muscling gets better, he'll be able to win! He show jumped great, with just one rail down due to some cross cantering. It turned out to be a good school for him as he didn't want to touch anything after that! He was super on cross country. It was bigger and tougher than Surefire, but he handled it well and was clear. Now he just needs to learn how to gallop! I'm thrilled with how he has taken to everything - he's only going to get better and better with time.

Josie was able to go out competing again as she took the spot of a horse that sold. Aside from trying to buck me off when I mounted, she was super. Who knew the time I spent galloping racehorses would come in handy as much as it has! Since I learned to jump on the young race horses, I'm able to get in the saddle quicker and have a chance during her wild moments! Once she gets over herself, she's lovely and so she went on to win the Dressage by 2 points! Her transitions still need a lot of work, but once that gets smoothed out we'll be able to increase that margin. She is such a good mover and very fancy, so we can get away with some bobbles at this level. She jumped really well, making light work of the courses and ended up winning her division!! She is defiantly a star for the future. Hopefully I'll be able to take her out again this fall so she can move up!

The beginning of this upcoming week is becoming a bit insane. Polar, Irish, and I are then heading up to Stuart on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to this - - Stuart is one of my favorite events, and it will also be a bit of a break for me. I have late rides, and two horses doing a phase a day. Ah, there will be down time and no early mornings! Well, maybe on Sunday as I'll have to get Polar ready for the jog - but hopefully even that will not be too early!


Katie

7/1/08

Aside from the Dressage, the horses and I had a great weekend at Surefire. Fortunately we are Eventers and are really there for the jumping! Polar went Intermediate to have an good warm up for the rest of the year. He jumped super and was clear in stadium and xc. He was definitely happy to be back competing and was full of himself on xc!

Irish did his first Prelim! Keep in mind he was standing around in a field just a short two and a half months ago and this was his fourth event ever!! He also jumped really well and was clear in stadium. I was thrilled with how he felt on xc. I just missed the line coming off the bank to the corner, otherwise he was perfect! For such an inexperienced horse he is coming along really well! I'm excited about this year with him.

Flyer went Training and put in a good performance as well - clear in stadium and xc. Unfortunately we incurred time on xc due to a dog getting loose and chasing us for three fences! I was hoping we would out run him or he would give up at some point. Flyer could have cared less but it was very distracting to me as the thing keep running in front of us and I didn't want to run him over. I eventually had to pull up so someone could grab it. I probably could have protested it but he wasn't in high enough of a placing and without someone actually timing it I didn't think it would go over. Oh well, important thing is Flyer jumped well!

Katie