[JWB]

We took my new OTTB, Money Holder off property (other than hacks) for the first time today. She last raced in August 2012 and we bought her from her race trainer in November.

Today she got to go to Rocking Horse for her first cross country school. We had seven horses leaving from the barn this morning, and she was a bit "up" (for lack of a better word) with all of the excitement of loading. There was a good bit of stomping, pawing, and letting everyone know she was there, but once we got under way, she settled down.

We took out five horses in the first group and left her to hang out in the trailer with a buddy. She whinnied for a few minutes and then decided her hay bag was much more interesting.

My coach (her trainer) rode her for the second session (it was just her and one other horse) and as long as she was working, she was happy. In the beginning, she didn't want to stand still while the other horse worked (complete with leaping through the air), but eventually, she began to chill out about that too, and by the end of the day she snoozed while her buddy did his courses.

She's been jumping small cross rails and logs at home, so I didn't think she'd do much beyond hacking and the logs, but she got bolder and bolder as the day went on. At first she thought the jumps might eat her and she gave them a TON of room, but she was really very honest about going forward and over everything, including her first ditch, bank, and water (ok - she just wanted to play in the water) and schooled pretty much all of the tadpole course, with a few BN jumps thrown in there.

I just can't describe how thrilled I was with her today. I knew I liked the way she looked trotting around, but it is always a gamble when you bring one home from the track without any sort of idea whether they'll have the mind to become an event horse. These are just baby steps, but I am feeling a lot more confident that she's got the mind she'll need to handle the job!

Here is a video of our outing - baby moments and all.

[Kris26]

I really enjoyed watching your vid... I bought an OTTB mare last year and I haven't been brave enough to go XC schooling yet, but I'm hoping to once the weather dries up a bit here.

Thank you so much for posting this, you guys look awesome, and she has the best expression, totally game, even through the green moments.

I hope to be doing this soon!

Good luck and keep us updated on your progress!

[Jamie2337]

What a lovely mare!

[GallantGesture]

Wow, that was awesome! What a good girl she is!!! That was totally inspiring, thanks so much for sharing! I bet you are going to have lots of fun with her!!

[Hippolyta]

Yay! good job (both of you!)!

[JWB]

I really lucked out with her - she's better than I could have hoped. I'm also fortunate enough to have an amazing trainer working with her. We'd be nowhere near this point if I was attempting to do this on my own.

[Dakotawyatt]

Beautiful red head! She looks like she's going to be a great little horse Congrats!

[JWB]

Beautiful red head! She looks like she's going to be a great little horse Congrats!

LOL- She's 16.3! Not so little.

[RSEventer]

Gorgeous horse! Nice first outing! wow!

[SBeventer]

What a lovely mare, thanks for sharing. Looks like you lucked out with this one!

[Peggy]

Really nice mare. I love her attitude--she seems to figure things out quickly and wants to please.

[kristinq]

I loff her! She is quite the looker, and you two look great together.

I giggled when she went through the water for the first time, she looked like she was having fun. What a positive, educational first time out!

[JWB]

I loff her! She is quite the looker, and you two look great together.

I giggled when she went through the water for the first time, she looked like she was having fun. What a positive, educational first time out!

She loves to play in water and this was no exception. Getting her in shouldn't be a problem as much as getting her back out. As soon as she got in, she wanted to stop and play.

We frequently find her standing in her water trough in her paddock with her head completely submerged and splashing.... Usually just the front two feet, but on occasion, all four. Her previous trainer had the same thing happen when she turned her out and had to get a rubber trough to travel with her. Thank God for Rubbermaid.

[Ambitious Kate]

Excuse me, I just wanted to interrupt your video, which I will get right back to in a moment, to say your horse has a lovely build, lots of 'bone', I thought at first glance, a great shoulder and looks like a fun, great investment. Great description of her first trip out, now back to the vid. Hope you don't mind if I share with a friend taking some horses out for the first time, and looking at horses to buy. She looks like a nice 'gamble' to have chosen. Good luck with her!

[JWB]

UPDATE - Jess did the schooling show this weekend (tadpole level) at Rocking Horse and won on her dressage. Next time out she's either just doing a ton of SJ classes or going BN.

Her dressage was really pretty good! The judge didn't give us a ton of comments but the scores were decent. Last time we had her out at a show, she thought she might be off to the races and took a good hour to remember basic manners like steering & stopping 101, but this time she looked around and went to work!
Here's a video of dressage - sorry, it's shot from my iPhone....

Show jumping (photo) was super crowded and it was out in the XC field behind the competitor barns. The hardest part for her was getting through the masses of people and into the ring. She was initially a bit wiggly but by the end, a very confident girl.

For XC, (photo) she acted like an old pro who had done it a million times, other than wanting to stop and play in the (optional) water. The jumps were way too small to hold her interest. She launched one little coop, but everything else was a very polite hop.

I'm so thrilled with this horse and can't wait to see how she does come the fall when recognized shows return to Florida

[blame_the_champagne]

Drool. She's just gorgeous! Best of luck to both of you!