Virginia/Waradeca Recap

Bucky approves of the new farm!! (Photo by Jenn Cain) 

Greetings from the new farm! I was excited to return to the farm and find that all of the horses had safely moved over and were happily settled in. They are really enjoying all the grass and the brisk fall weather. The last several weeks have been hectic even by an event riders standard. Before I delve into the successes of Waradeca and Virginia, let me take a moment to offer a huge thank you to all the parents and students that have made it possible for me to move into the new farm. In particular, I would like to thank Michelle Carson for her enormous investment of time and effort in painting and sanding. Thanks Michelle! I would also be remiss if I did not thank my family, especially my parents (who have given a certain credence to the rumors that they might be moving down in the near future). I am really excited about LBE's new location. I have not been able to find a fitting name for the farm yet. I am open to suggestions!

I am equally excited about the weekend we had at Virginia Horse Trials. Our weekend started, as it far too often does, at three in the morning on Thursday when I woke up. We arrived safely at the horse park and all three horses in the 1* were accepted for jogs. Paddy the Caddy, Merry Sioux, and California Comet all rode dressage on Friday. I hoped that Paddy would be better on the flat. I changed my bit earlier in the fall. He worked well with the bit for awhile but he started to fuss with it. I hope our flatwork will progress next spring. Paddy continues to be bold and smart on cross country. There were some challenges on the course which he met admirably. We capped off the weekend with one of two double clear show jumpings. Tori and Callie had a similarly successful weekend. They jumped clear around their first CCI 1* cross country on saturday. They laid claim to one of the nicer show jumpings in the young riders division. In a division where the rails were dropping constantly, the pair was controlled and balanced and had a nearly perfect round. The only real disappointment of the weekend was that Julie Henk and Merry Sioux didn't finish the final jog after having a great cross country. It is disappointing that their weekend was cut short.

LBE's presence was felt in the horse trials as well. Kaelen Speck and Sweet Rebellion continued to develop a partnership. They had a very successful outing in the junior novice. They finished third after a clear cross country. Well done you two! Hannah Daneker also earned herself a yellow ribbon in the open novice after a lovely dressage and a clear cross country. She has been very successful since moving up to the big "n".  Kaelen was equally successful on Regal Dancer in the training. She finished in fourth on her dressage score of 34.5. Also in training, Annelise and the Daneker's mare Parris had a very successful run. Annelise and Parris finished on their dressage score of 36.4. I hope that Parris's successful runs at Virginia and Maryland have rebuilt her confidence after her bauble at Plantation.

Waradeca was a final practice run for Tori and Callie before their first CCI 1*  and they finished very competitively in fifth. It was also a successful weekend for many of my students. Kaelen Speck flirted with moving up to preliminary in the preliminary/training on Regal Dancer. She started out tied for seventh on a 37 in her first preliminary test. She finished in third after a double clear cross country. Meanwhile over in the novice Kaelen and her new partner Sweet Rebellion continued to bond. They had one stop in cross country, but they had an otherwise successful weekend. Also in the novice, Hannah Daneker had a great run on her Classy Lady they finished on their dressage score in sixth. They were obviously ready to move up a level! Braden Speck and the very experienced Weasel finished the beginner novice in sixth after jumping double clear around cross country and show jumping. Well done Braden!

The season is winding down and many of the LBE family will be celebrating various holidays. Many of my horses are enjoying a little down time. Although some of them (cough Bucky cough) miss the attention, treats, and action of the competition season, the time off is important for them. I look forward to starting them up in Aiken!!

One last piece of news, I am pleased to report that Rasher has found a new home (or more accurately a new owner)!! I am thrilled that Rasher will stay in my program, and I hope that Annelise will enjoy her new horse. I look forward to seeing this pair compete soon!