Morven Park this weekend--PIX ARE UP!

[Invested1]

Who's going? Competing or volunteering...

I'll be there jump judging on Saturday.
Will be bringing my truck (plate: 2TowMy) -- Look for me if you have time.
Would love to meet more COTHers! :D

[LisaB]

Y'all suck that can go watch! I have to go to a conference on Sun. There's a TON of stuff this weekend I want to do too!
I wanted to see some of my trainer's students go.

[NeverTime]

I'll be there competing in the advanced. Thanks for volunteering Invested!

[LexInVA]

I might go with a new friend who just moved here. Turns out she's an equestrian and she wanted to know where all the horse stuff is in the area so I might give her the grand tour of what's around Middleburg.

[Tazzie]

I was looking forward to volunteering Saturday and then found out I had to work 9-5. Too bad. Hope it turns out to be a fabulous weekend for all the competitors and volunteers!

[Invested1]

I'll be there competing in the advanced. Thanks for volunteering Invested!

Very cool--good luck!!!

I'm happy to cheer for you (on the *landing* side of my fence :lol:) if you want me to! :D

[Elliot]

I'll be there in the one-star. I can't promise I'll look for anyone, as I'll probably be going around with a glazed look of terror on my face all weekend, but if you see me with my large (and slightly rotund) gray horse, say hi!

[eventgroupie2]

My hubby and I will be there volunteering. He is A,B,C Steward for the 1* and I am going to be helping in control. Don't know if we will have "jobs" for the rest of the weekend, or will just be able to enjoy cheering for all the riders. Hoping for a safe and fun weekend for all!

[piaffeprincess98]

I'll be there with GRC on Saturday. Not sure where I'll be stationed yet.

[GotSpots]

Invested and Eventgroupie - from those of us competing, huge thank yous to both of you for volunteering!!

[Dr. Doolittle]

Yes, thanks Invested! And I am envious :D

I wish I could volunteer on Sat.; argh, I have other stuff going on :sigh:, but maybe I will stop by to spectate for a couple hours (much as you always "threaten" to do with Tedi ;))
Sunday I will be there doing the CT...

Good luck to everyone, especially Nevertime and GotSpots (we have to root especially enthusiastically for those fellow COTHers ;))

[Invested1]

My pleasure!

I don't generally get to volunteer as much as I'd like since I'm usually competing but I figure that since my season is now over (:sigh:), it's a great time to get out and do some givin' back. :D

I'm hoping to JJ at Waredaca and Rubicon too.....

[Invested1]

Good luck to everyone competing!! You should have FABULOUS weather!!

Hope to see the COTHers I know and maybe meet some new ones! :D

[Dr. Doolittle]

Good luck to everyone competing!! You should have FABULOUS weather!!

Hope to see the COTHers I know and maybe meet some new ones! :D

I wish I knew which jump you'lle be judging; I'm planning to come by in the early afternoon to watch some of the x-country, so can stop by and say howdy--if I find you!

[Invested1]

I wish I knew which jump you'lle be judging; I'm planning to come by in the early afternoon to watch some of the x-country, so can stop by and say howdy--if I find you!

Just look for my truck. Or my UVa hat. :winkgrin:

Or I'll listen for you laughing. :lol:

[Dr. Doolittle]

Just look for my truck. Or my UVa hat. :winkgrin:

Or I'll listen for you laughing. :lol:

:lol:

[NeverTime]

So, how did it go for everyone?

I saw GotSpots gallop by on XC and she looked great. Invested, which fence did you end up jump judging?

For us, we had lots of fun but, as usual, racked up world-record time penalties. I just like to canter along. I need to learn to gallop...

[asterix]

So, reports??? GS, bambam, Dr D?????

[Invested1]

Invested, which fence did you end up jump judging?...

I was the double cabins for the 1* and fence 16a-d (don't remember what it was actually called) for Advanced.

How'd you do??

[Mustang51]

I was there saturday, spectating the 1* and a last minute jump judge for the advanced xc! It seemed like a great day over all. I was at fence 6 (the corner before the leaf pit) which was pretty easy for them, although I had to pick up the flag a whole lot!

This was the first time I'd been out to watch the 1* - I now see why Jimmy Wofford calls it a '1.5*' !

It was definitely interesting to watch the steeplechase. A lot of the horses and riders looked clueless on their first loop, but they all came around much stronger the second time.

[Lori B]

A friend and her horse, Lara Borger on Sassy JR, had a great weekend, but I was not there to see them go. He's a big lanky bay TB gelding, she's slender and blonde. Anyone see 'em go? They finished 5th on their dressage score, I was so happy to see.

Congrats to all competitors, thanks to all volunteers. Invested1, I am getting ready to do a little volunteering this fall too.

[bambam]

I will report for GS- she was in the top 10 of the one star!!!!! How cool is that!!!?
Congrats GotSpots- you and your boy looked lovely yesterday. Have you stopped smiling yet?
I am so impressed and am dying to do a long format one star- it looked like everyone had so much fun with it.

My personal report is slightly less glowing- we were eliminated in stadium. But it was because I was in schooling/cautious mode and decided to circle after landing from 2 jumps to set her up better for the next one and ooops that is too many at prelim (big brain fart)- so 2 technical refusals. That being said, HRH never even thought about stopping and was being a very very good girl so I am suprisingly happy with a day where I got eliminated :lol: HRH's mom messed up yesterday but HRH showed up ready to play- so I am very happy with that.
I saw Dr D's dressage test and it looked quite nice- I missed her stadium but have no doubt it was better than mine!! :lol:

[asterix]

bummer, bambam, but HOORAY on the "not thinking about stopping" -- that WAS the most important part, right??
(I have NO idea how many stops is OK on SJ and would have done the same thing, I'm sure)

[yellowbritches]

We went out on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the advanced cross country. We were SO impressed with the riding!!! Usually, there's at least a few that make us go :eek:, but everyone looked pretty polished and confident. A few rides we saw we commented that we might have done it differently, but the riders obviously knew their horses and made the most out of what they had. It was SO much fun! And it was a BLAST to see the Leaf Pit on the course...I don't think I've ever seen it ridden! Felt bad for the horse and rider who took a bath in the second water...it was just one of the unlucky moments.

Never Time, I think I saw your go...did you go the long way at the first "water"? You looked good!

[Elliot]

Well I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. We finished third in the CCI* Yippee! Anyone who was there and didn't know who I was now does, because I loudly talked my way around course, but it worked! My pony is the best. I promised him lots of turnout and very little human interference for the next month or so.

Enormous thank yous to all the volunteers. I tried to thank every judge who was out there on A and C, but I didn't have the chance to personally thank every jump judge on cross-country.

What a fabulous weekend. The weather was perfect. The footing was perfect. There were hardly any falls. If only I didn't have to go back to work today and back to real life!

[crittertwitter]

Finally back to work after an awesome weekend at Morven. We were there for our 1st one star, and it was such a wonderful and educational experience. As a support person, I was overwhelmed and constantly worried we were missing something. But it was so educational and so exciting. It was a phenomenal experience and it's really an accomplishment just to finish. The horses we saw were in great condition. I'm really impressed by what a significant experience the long format is. Twice the adrenaline, lots of discipline and prep. Just an awesome experience. Our rider, all kinds of nervous, blanked on her test in the middle of the dressage ring and Brian Ross was judging and popped his head out and very calmly told her to get organized. His comments during briefings, and that little to-do in the dressage arena, were very good, very supportive, and... I was just impressed.

The organizers and volunteers were so supportive and helpful and I just have to say thanks to everyone. And we're especially thankful for Molly Bull, who helped us prepare, and essentially held our hands through the whole thing. Couldn't have a better trainer!

[NeverTime]

Yes, we were the ones who chickened out on the bounce!:p I am bounce-phobic to begin with, and we had a "moment" at the angled tables immediately before that. (I've ridden that same question at both of our last horse trials and it went great, I think I took it a little for granted this time and didn't keep him straight on the line so we did a 2.5 in the 2.) Anyways, I didn't want to tap into his confidence too much (he'd also had to save my bacon and the ditch & wall where I went for the long one and he wisely added up despite me), so we took the long route. While that made my spectacular natural slowness even slower :lol:, he came around and gave me lovely jumps over the monkey trap and through the big water, so I'm trying not to kick myself too much for not trying the bounce.
And he was a little superstar at the Leaf Pit! It was so much fun and it was cool to jump something I've heard about for years. I was really happy with the way he jumped that, the other big table to the corner-drop-skinny combo at the top of the course, the monkey trap, the big brush oxer... I was happy with him a lot. :winkgrin:
Overall, I was super pleased with and proud of him, and disappointed in myself for not giving him a smoother, more forward ride. I think our last two HTs were better rounds (on my part), but then again, going out there this weekend, it was me who knew -and got a little nervous and over-excited - that this was Morven advanced. He was just going out to do his job.
I sometimes get frustrated that I go so slowly everywhere, but you know, I am so incredibly lucky to just be able to go do that stuff at all. He is the most wonderful, forgiving, spectacular, talented, sweet, big-hearted, tidy-kneed horse in the world and I'm so thankful to be a part of his world for all these years we've been together. :sadsmile:
Invested, I bet you saw some weird rides at your combo. That was a bizarre-looking, bizarre-riding thing. The fence before it, however, (the brick wall) might be the prettiest XC fence I've ever jumped.

[Invested1]

Invested, I bet you saw some weird rides at your combo. That was a bizarre-looking, bizarre-riding thing.

Actually, I really didn't!! We only had 2 riders go through looking less than great! :eek:

[Invested1]

Well I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. We finished third in the CCI* Yippee! Anyone who was there and didn't know who I was now does, because I loudly talked my way around course, but it worked! My pony is the best. I promised him lots of turnout and very little human interference for the next month or so.

So there was this one rider who rode the cabins simply beautifully--better than everyone else--made it absolutely look like a walk in the park. I put a star next to her name because I wanted to look her up and see how she did--unfortunately, I turned my sheets in and forgot her/her horse's name. Wonder if it was you?

They took the straight route on the double cabins and when they landed, the rider patted the horse and said, "You are SUCH a good horse!!!!" Gave me the biggest smile I had all day and I really hoped that pair kicked some butt. :D

[Elliot]

No, I took the long route at the cabins. My trainer told me to take the straight route, but it freaked me out that I couldn't see the line until I was in the air over the first one. So I decided that a few time penalties was better than a dumb runout, had a very quiet jump over the first cabin, did a tiny circle and went over the second.

I was on a big gray, and I spent the whole time shouting advice to myself and my horse. "Sit up, sit up!" or "Now there's a skinny coming up, so pay attention!"

[GotSpots]

I will report for GS- she was in the top 10 of the one star!!!!! How cool is that!!!?
Congrats GotSpots- you and your boy looked lovely yesterday. Have you stopped smiling yet? Nope. I've had the same grin plastered across my face since I landed after the last fence on Saturday morning. My horse was AMAZING and I am so very lucky to have the ride on him. I really urge everyone to support the long format - it feels special in a way that no horse trial or CIC does. As I said to a friend the first night - "Accepted" became my new favorite word, because it meant we had made it there through all the hard work.

What an incredible experience. I can't say enough how grateful I am to everyone who helped make the one star possible: all of you who organized and volunteered and helped out and answered my dumb questions and cheered us on. And most of all, I'm so very grateful to a unassuming skinny bay thoroughbred who tries his heart out and made a dream come true.

[JesslynW]

hey there, just wondering how many people actually took the long route at the cabins.... curiosity... I was the one flashing by in the teal, talking to my horse also.... aka, whoa, lemme set you up here. He really saved my butt coming into the second water. My reins were about a mile long after I gave him a little encouraging tap behind my leg over the hedge in. What a wonderful pony. Thought everything rode really well, and also remember looking over the brim into the leafpit thinking, oh s**t!!!!

[Invested1]

hey there, just wondering how many people actually took the long route at the cabins.... curiosity...

I was the jump judge there. I would say it was almost half and half (long route vs. direct route) with maybe a few more riders taking the circle.

[Invested1]

BTW--pix are up!

[Firefox]

where??

[Invested1]

where??

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/store.aspx?p=32041

[Dr. Doolittle]

I just wrote a LONG post--only to find that I had been logged out, so it got "eaten"--ARGH!

:(

Now I don't have time to RE-post because I have to go...:mad:

[octavian_jazz]

We had a great weekend. The long format was so much fun, my horse was wonderful, I really couldn't have asked for more. We ended up being 10th in the CCIY* division. I was crittertwitter's ride who went off course in my dressage test. I was extremely nervous and my nerves definitely had an impact on our dressage...we had a bad score! We still had a very fun weekend and we couldn't have gotten through it without lots of help from our supporters and of course trainer!

I believe that someone mentioned watching horses/riders struggling with the steeplechase the first time around, we definitely got off to a "rough" start, this was our long spot at the first fence (I was little shocked when he took off!):

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0EBK008T1A0084&po=84

Thank you to those of you who volunteered! :D If you were jump judging, I was the one in the white and black with the fleabitten gray with roached mane.

[crittertwitter]

We had a great weekend. The long format was so much fun, my horse was wonderful, I really couldn't have asked for more. We ended up being 10th in the CCIY* division. I was crittertwitter's ride who went off course in my dressage test. I was extremely nervous and my nerves definitely had an impact on our dressage...we had a bad score!

I think... in this one instance, this probably took some of the pressure off. My hindsight speculation. :)

[Lori B]

My friend's horse really took some long spots on steeplechase too:

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0EBK008T1K0120&po=120

Criminy!

[NeverTime]

GreyDun recently posted pictures of the advanced horse trials on the US eventing blog, too, which are fun to look at. I bet she'll posting CCI* soon, too, so check there for more!

Jumping into the big water (http://useventing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/morven-park-111.jpg), then the skinny brush (http://useventing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/morven-park-114.jpg), and the best part:

How it feels (http://useventing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/morven-park-116.jpg)to have gotten it done and be three easy fences from home! :D