Busy Weekend at Fair Hill Starter Trial and HPNJ

Lilybridge had an especially busy weekend, competing at back-to-back events. I spent the weekend coaching as all of my horses had a more relaxing weekend back at home.

Fair Hill:

On Saturday, we headed to Fair Hill Starter Trial in near-monsoon conditions. Cassidy Heitzenrater gave her own Go Devil Go great rides in the Novice, having one of their best dressage tests to date, a clear show jumping round and an educational cross country round. 

Jesse Connell added just two rails to her competitive dressage score aboard Tamulligan Fly for eighth place in her Novice division. Coloured Gem made his return to eventing with owner Emma Stradley. "Gem" didn't seem to have skipped a beat during his hiatus and added just one rail to his dressage score. A huge congratulation to my student Lyndsay Poole who moved her young horse Forte up to Novice and added nothing to their dressage score to WIN the division!

In the Beginner Novice, MacKenzie Verna sat second after dressage and added one rail to finish third with Your Lucky Day. Working student Jenn Catalano brought her mare Validation to do only a dressage test, and "Koffee" was very excited to be out and about. Joy Atwell made her much-anticipated eventing debut in the Beginner Novice with her young horse Ryker. They schooled us all in the jumping phases, finishing on their dressage score for third place. Emma also rode her young horse Good Prize in the Beginner Novice and he showed off his great brain with three great phases other than one baby moment at the ditch.

I was very pleased with all of these pairs' performances, but perhaps even more pleased to get home and out of the torrential downpour!

HPNJ Horse Trial:

We turned right around to head to the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trial on Sunday.  Tori Kager rode sales horse Stonewall Winters in the Training Level and they added just a rail and a bit of time cross country. We were so excited for Zehra Gundogan and Captivate to get back out there. "Cap" was feeling uncharacteristically fresh in dressage, but put in a clear show jumping round and finished the Training cross country confidently to redeem himself. 

Stonewall Winters and Tory

Annelise Aurillo rode Rasher to a great dressage test and a clear show jumping round. Though he had a disappointing problem spot on cross country, Rasher had a constructive day and overcame down bank demons that have been following him around lately.  Aberjoy had many things on the brain and dressage was not one of them, but Nicole Spiropolous put in excellent jump rides to finish on their dressage score for 12th of 23 in their Training Level division. 

In the Novice, Braden Speck rode Rosenharley Romello to a fifth place finish on his dressage score. Hannah Daneker rode Peace Proposal to finish on her dressage score for ninth in another Novice division. Tori Kager's young horse Sage Advice also added no faults to her dressage score.

It was a long but rewarding weekend as I am always excited to see my students' hard work pay off.  Next weekend we do not have a competition scheduled and then we will be back out at the Maryland Horse Trials the following week. 

Wishing everyone a happy and relaxing Fourth of July weekend!

Exciting New Sponsorship With KL Select & USG

For Immediate Release: Date:  June 22, 2015

KL Select

www.klselect.com

Stonington, CT 06378

KL Select & USG (United Sportsproducts Germany) are thrilled to welcome American 3-Day Event Rider, Erin Sylvester, to their team of sponsored professional riders.  

KL Select is the exclusive distributor of USG’s products in the USA since 2010, quickly climbing to the top of the US sales charts by offering a vast array of colorful & functional breeches, socks, saddle pads and matching fly veils.  KL Select also offers within the US market USG’s and Europe’s #1 rated Body Protector and Equi Air Bags.

Erin Sylvester, an established 4-Star Rider, owns & operates Lilybridge Eventing, located in Cochranville, Pennsylvania.  Lilybridge Eventing is a full-service training facility with a barn full of competition horses and developing riders of all levels who campaign at USEA sanctioned events.  

Erin and her horse, No Boundaries, received USEA’s 2014 Horse of the Year title following their string of international successes.  

Erin is currently using USG Safety Equipment, both the Flexi Body Protector and the Equi Airbag, joining the ranks of International riders like Ingrid Klimke, who only use Germany’s #1 rated Safety Equipment.  The USG Safety Equipment recently received the BETA 2015 Safety & Security Award, a top international recognition.

You can expect to see Erin sporting her USG breeches, in a variety of styles and fun colors, during her every day rides and in competition.  Erin’s horses will also be outfitted with USG Saddle Pads and matching Fly Veils.

Watching this talented young lady compete is a breath-taking experience, and it is with pleasure that USG-USA welcomes Erin to their team and    looks forward to keeping her safe and looking fabulous on her journey to the top.  Erin Sylvester’s talent clearly knows “No Boundaries”.

Learn more about Erin Sylvester and  Lilybridge Eventing atwww.lilybridgeeventing.com

Great Meadows Recap!

No Boundaries and Mettraise attended Great Meadows CIC3* this weekend as the first lead-up event for their Fall CCIs. I am extremely proud of both horses' performances.

This was Missy's first 3* completion and only her second Advanced run, and she took it all in stride. I was pleased with her dressage test on Friday evening; while she is still quite green at the movements, she is trying very hard to maintain composure and I was disappointed that her score did not reflect her efforts. She jumped out of her skin for a clear show jumping round on Saturday and then absolutely skipped around the cross country on Sunday.  I ran her quite slowly as her confidence was my top priority this weekend.

Missy Earned A Well Deserved Nap!

Bucky only did a combined test, and he couldn't have been any more bitter about it on Sunday when he had to watch all of the other horses going back and forth from cross country.  Next time, Buckster… 

His dressage test on Friday was very relaxed and obedient and he sat 9th on a 50.8. I am hopeful that his next time out I can ask for even more from him since he is so confirmed in the flatwork now.  He put in a great effort and pulled out a clear show jumping round on Saturday.

Great Meadows proved to be an excellent event, in spite of atrocious weather on Saturday.  I look forward to my two "big kids'" next outing to replicate and improve upon their results and to let Bucky run fast and jump big! 

A big thanks to Emma Stradley for taking great care of them this weekend and to Jess McCabe and Jenn Catalano for keeping the farm running at home.  Next weekend Team Lily is going back to back at the Fair Hill Starter on Saturday and Horse Park of New Jersey on Sunday.  The majority of our riders will be competing, so check back for a full recap!

Busy Weekend for Team Lily at Plantation June HT!

It was a busy weekend for Team Lily at Plantation, with twelve horses from within the barn competing across the two days.

On Saturday, Kaelen Speck and her mare Sweet Rebellion put in another stellar performance at Preliminary, adding only time to a competitive dressage score to finish second.  In the Training, Gabbie Ciccone had a great dressage test to sit in third with her Some Kind of Wonderful.  Her two rails in stadium were unfortunate but they followed that up with a double clear cross country round to bring home third in her Training division!

Nicole Spiropolous and her new ride Aberjoy completed their first Training together in good form, save for one unlucky rail and a green moment at the ditch on cross country.  I rode my young OTTB, Bold Tiger, in his first event of the year and he impressed us with a respectable dressage (in spite of a very short warmup) and exuberant jumping rounds to finish on his dressage score for seventh in the Novice.  Finishing right behind us in eighth on his dressage score was Stonewall Winters with Tori Kager in the irons. We were also happy to see students Miranda Webb and Lyndsey Barrett have great outings and add only time to their dressage scores in the Training and Novice, respectively.

Braden and Weasel in the warm up.

On Sunday we returned for the Unrecognized competition.  Annelise Aurillo and Rasher started the day off at Training level with a great dressage test followed by a near-perfect show jumping round and an educational cross country round. Rasher is still green at this level, and Annelise persevered to get it done out there and made us all proud.

In the Novice, Braden Speck won the dressage on an amazing 25.40,  unfortunately Weasel bested his jockey with a pony move in stadium but Braden redeemed himself with a great clear cross country round!  Heather Cooper finished on her dressage score for second in the Novice with Regal Dancer, with Jesse Connell and Corduroy close behind in fourth after a strong cross country ride.

Heather Cooper on Regal Dancer

Cassidy Heitzenrater competed Go Devil Go in her first outing of the season, and Cassidy rode extremely well through some rusty, green moments to have a confidence-building day. Summer working student Jenn Catalano had her mare Validation in the Novice and put in a nice dressage test but sadly their day was cut short after disagreements in show jumping.  We were disappointed that Mackenzie Verna and Hannah Daneker were unable to compete due to unfortunate circumstances and look forward to having them back out with the team in the near future!

All in all, it was a great weekend at our favorite local event and I am proud of all of my students for their hard work thus far this season.  Team Lily was also so pleased with our eventing community pulling together for our friend Seema; the love for her over the weekend was so apparent and well represented by all the riders sporting purple gear.  She was an incredible contributor to the sport and will be greatly missed!