OK, so I am probably the oldest pony rider in history, but it is just so much fun! My partner in crime is Foxcry Nicodemus, "Nick" (or a few other chosen names I will not repeat in public) for short. He stands VERY confidently at 12.1 hands, and let me tell you, he feels a lot taller than that. More times then I care to admit, I have jumped off him, only to hit the ground with my behind first—he just looks around with this expression of "DUH, again?!"
March 29th through 30th offered the last of the five USEF High Performance Eventing Training sessions, held either at Three Runs Plantation or Paradise Farm, both here in Aiken, S.C.
Katie Prudent was coaching our top eventers this time, concentrating on gymnastics as well as the controlled approach to fences.
The groups were split up in 3 to 4 riders, many of whom brought numerous horses. Imagine you had to ride in a group consisting of Phillip Dutton, Kim Severson and Doug Payne—talk about intimidating.
Yesterday was one of the reasons why I LOVE living in South Carolina—a balmy 83 degrees, bright blue skies, perfect footing and, oh yes, it is the end of February!
So instead of working on our new Grand Prix freestyle, my beloved Andalusian stallion Oyente' and I joined the fun-loving and highly entertaining Charlotte Nagle, Heather Carlson, Susan Trotter and Arden Mason for a leisurely hack. And yes, it was a blast.
A number of years ago, I decided to breed two of my competition mares (one successful thru FEI, the other in-hand) to one of my favorite stallions, with hopes for two healthy equine athletes. Well, fast forward a few years and here we are—starting those youngsters under saddle.
Cold start this morning—I got up around 4:30 to drive to Georgetown to pick up Robin. She did not want to bother the bus driver that early. However, it turned out that we did not have to leave that early after all, so we enjoyed a nice breakfast with other U.S. riders and drivers.
Once we got to the barn, everything started to move quickly—feeding the superstar, putting his magnetic blanket on (he enjoys the Respond blanket, as well as his Back on Track blanket), clean the stall while he eats, sweep up around the barn area and Robin started to braid him.
Finally, after spending two weeks in training camp at KER and three days at the Horse Park, Robin and Ralee got to compete in their first of three tests—today was the Para Team Test, and all I can say is: good job. They brought it home for the U.S. Team with a solid test, placing sixth in a highly competitive field of quality European horse-and-rider combinations.
Another day started at “o’dark hundred.” When I bicycled into the main area of the Kentucky Horse Park, I caught a glimpse of the deserted bus stop where just hours before thousands had been waiting. A little further in, I went through the checkpoint and encountered two freezing volunteers who had been there all night, protecting our horses. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for being willing to put your life on hold and help us here at the WEG.
Cold, it was COLD on Sunday morning, but we had plenty of blankets and yes, we have the famous U.S. Equestrian Team blankets.
Robin rode Ralee this morning in one of the warm-up rings. He was just incredible. After that we had a team meeting during which we received more information in regards to food vouchers, picking up clothing for horse owners, where the jog would be held and what to wear during the jog. Later in the afternoon we all walked down to the actual area of the jog and let the horses take a look at it.
We arrived at the Horse Park in a caravan of four big horse trailers and had to pass through three different inspections—vehicle, drug dogs and agriculture—before we were allowed to enter the check-in station. Here we were told to unload the horses, take all leg wraps off and wait until the WEG veterinarian (in our case Dr. Emerson) called us in. He and his staff checked each horse’s passport for correct markings and to see if all required vaccinations were up-to-date—something our Team Vet Dr. Kent has been diligent about.
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