[chestnutwithchrome]

New videos posted on the youtube page of them free jumping! The three boys all look like nice cute jumpers, although I am partial to Alluring punch ;-)

[Erin Pittman]

Individual video links:
Declan's Moon - http://youtu.be/By3ttUPSPho
Suave Jazz - http://youtu.be/yVflIjt52xE
Alluring Punch - http://youtu.be/Ndu7p5ElIwQ

Gunport got kicked between her first free jumping session on Tuesday and the video day on Thursday, so we don't have a video of her. Good news is that the swelling is down in her hock -hopefully she'll be back in form by Expo.

[Debbie]

I expect to see Alluring Punch at the Rolex trot up 6 or 7 years from now.

[betonbill]

Suave Jazz was definitely the hero. Punch is going to be very, very good with some age on him. Love these reports and videos.

[Alibhai's Alibar]

Individual video links:
Declan's Moon - http://youtu.be/By3ttUPSPho
Suave Jazz - http://youtu.be/yVflIjt52xE
Alluring Punch - http://youtu.be/Ndu7p5ElIwQ

Gunport got kicked between her first free jumping session on Tuesday and the video day on Thursday, so we don't have a video of her. Good news is that the swelling is down in her hock -hopefully she'll be back in form by Expo.

WOW! What a treat to see the videos!

[Alibhai's Alibar]

Here's my TDN blog about Alluring Punch, including a video of his victory at Charles Town, which was won in a very Alluring Punch-like way! http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2013/...ts-100_16.html

[Kalila]

Just LOVE Alluring Punch! Probably is going to be way out of my price range however when he goes up for sale.

[Alibhai's Alibar]

Part 5 in my TDN blog series about the Retired Racehorse Training Project. Meet Suave Jazz, aka "The Professor" http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2013/...ts-100_17.html

[betonbill]

Good luck to all three this weekend. Here's hoping that they are all stars in their individual ways and that we get to hear all about how it goes--in great detail!

[Kalila]

I expect to see Alluring Punch at the Rolex trot up 6 or 7 years from now.

I hope so! That would be great.

[betonbill]

Did anyone go and see how everyone did? We all want to know.

[Kalila]

Photos of their first day at Expo.

http://ellenponsphotography.zenfolio...a164#h52ae9d62

[Alibhai's Alibar]

Great RRTP Expo coverage by COTH's Erin Harty (and photos by me ) http://chronofhorse.com/article/ottb...ng-fresh-start

[BeverlyAStrauss]

All three horses were fantastic and the Dodon team did a great job- Thanks to their connections for allowing such fabulous horses participate- my personal fav was Declan but that is just bc he reminds my of my Wish horse- same attitude although Declan is a much better mover.......can't wait to see them all at the PA Horse Expo~

We also saw Tate who now has Solidify- they will be riding in a demo at Harrisburg-yay!!

[Alibhai's Alibar]

We also saw Tate who now has Solidify- they will be riding in a demo at Harrisburg-yay!!

Great news!!

Here's my TDN writeup about Friday's events: http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2013/...ts-100_22.html

[betonbill]

Wonderful write up as always, Sarah! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the Sunday exhibition, as I think lots of people tend to discount or ignore the good training the horse has from the track.

I'm really interested in the way this particular training challenge is being presented and how it is going. I think it's win-win for the TBs from both the track and the retraining perspective.

[Alibhai's Alibar]

Wonderful write up as always, Sarah! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the Sunday exhibition, as I think lots of people tend to discount or ignore the good training the horse has from the track.

I'm really interested in the way this particular training challenge is being presented and how it is going. I think it's win-win for the TBs from both the track and the retraining perspective.

Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I had to head back up to Jersey Saturday night so I missed Sunday's "Jockey Dressage" demo- I was looking forward to seeing it.

Both COTH and I think Eventing Nation had nice coverage of Sunday's demo.

[bdj]

I was there on Saturday!

The boys were great!
Alluring Punch is really impressive in person (even more so than in his photos) - he looks like he's an eventer already, and I really hope that we'll get to see him move up the levels. He wasn't totally focused in the Expo arena, and had a baby horse moment, but after his rider remounted, went right back to work like a pro. It's a tough

Declan is a bit of a ham. He knows he's pretty special, and it was very cool to see what a good relationship he and Steuart are developing. He's a gorgeous mover and has a beautiful rhythmic trot. Where you look at Punch and see Athlete, you look at Declan and see something of a dancer - he's got grace to go with the power. He's also a showman - you could see him watching the audience when he wasn't giving Steuart his full attention.

Suave Jazz, while not the fanciest horse out there, stole my heart. He just went with the flow and didn't seem fazed by anything. You want him to trot around the ring while people snap pictures? Sure. Canter in that small space? He did it, even though you could see that it's tough for him at this point. Jump some jumps? No problem! Stand quietly in the middle of the ring while Punch gets spooked and Declan shows off? Gotcha covered, boss.
Of the three, he's the one that I wanted to take home with me, no question. Declan is such a rockstar, and Steuart so clearly likes him that you want to see the two of them stay together, and Punch has so much potential that you just want to see him in the hands of someone who can take him to the top.

Love all three of these guys and hope that Gunport is feeling better - it was a shame that she wasn't able to come to the Expo, but hopefully, she and Michelle will be back to work in no time!

[BeverlyAStrauss]

Who will be at Harrisburg tomorrow to see the final? The horses all look fabulous BTW!

[betonbill]

Can't wait to hear ALL the details of the Expo. After all, a lot of us have been very invested in these horses these past months. I've heard they were stars.