Lilybridge Eventing

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Fair Hill

Bucky and I through the first water (Photo by Gayle Hughes

Fair Hill is the biggest competition of my fall season, and I came into it with a big goal. Coming off of my third place finish in the 3* at Plantation, I aimed to win the 3* at Fair Hill. Bucky has made such progress on the flat, and he can usually turn out a clear cross country. It is disappointing when, despite your best preparation, you make a frustrating error. The cross country course proved very challenging and shook up the standings more than I had expected.

Friday was a big day for me, Bucky and I have been really focusing on becoming more competitive on the flat. I have been tailoring his fitness and diet to give myself the best chance of a relaxed test. After his successful tests at Richland and Plantation, I aimed to score in the low 40's. His test was not as successful as I had hoped it would be. I watched the video after and it looked better than it felt. We had a few unfortunate slip ups in the canter work, but his trot work was improved. I placed further back than I aimed for. I hoped that Bucky and I would be able to turn in a quick and clean cross country and move up the leaderboard.

Derek di Grazia's course really challenge horses and riders while remaining safe. His courses are big and technical and take advantage of the terrain to test both horse and rider. The course got off to a rough start. Bucky was distracted by something around the second and third fence but he was able to jump over them. He was his typical self over the fourth fence but I had to pass the second/third fence to get to the water at five. He must have been focused on something else because he seemed surprised by the fence even though he had a good approach to size it up and understand it. In the past he would have hopped over the fence but instead he stopped. We managed to get through the rest of the course. he became more focused as the course went on. Bucky relearned a valuable lesson that if he has a stop his grandmother won't give him treats. I think he will go clear for the treats next time! My disappointing weekend finished on a high note when Bucky and I show jumped double clear. I am really pleased with the progress we have made in show jumping. Bucky is now on vacation after a very busy season. I look forward to what will hopefully be an even more competitive season next year!

I am thrilled that so many of my students and their parents were able to make it to Fair Hill to cheer us on. I am even more pleased that so many of them have helped me freshen up the Baker Barn! While I am not looking forward to the logistics of moving more than twenty horses, I am looking forward to getting everyone settled at the new farm. Also a huge thanks to my parents who have been a huge help. Next up Virginia! Before you leave be sure to watch the videos of Bucky's dressage and show jumping on our Facebook page.

Clearing the log oxen (Photos by J Blair)

Look at how focused these two are (Photo by Gayle Hughes)

Friday, October 11, 2013

RRTP/Middleburg Recap

Rasher and I at Pimlico (Thanks Tori for the picture)

It is a period of transition for Lilybridge Eventing: the leaves are falling, the cool air is coming in, and I am in the process of changing facilities. Since Plantation, my students have had successful runs at Middleburg Horse Trials and I had a great showing at the Retired Racehorse Training Project at Pimlico.

Lilybridge had a hectic day at Middleburg Horse Trials with my two rides on Gideon and Sweet Rebellion; Julie Henk's ride on Merry Sioux; and a training showdown between Tori Kager, Melissa Carson, and Kaelen Speck. Julie had a slip-up and got technically eliminated, but I am sure that they will have a great outing at their next show. I was pleased with both Gideon and Sweet Rebellion in the training. Sweet Rebellion finished in seventh on her dressage score of 34.10. I have been thrilled with the progress she has made throughout the season. She is a very careful jumper full of try. I am excited to guide Kaelen as she begins to build a partnership with Sweet Rebellion. I look forward to seeing them compete next year! Gideon was also successful, scoring a 43.60 on the flat and jumping double clear in both show jumping and cross-country to finish in 9th. Meanwhile three of my students went head to head in the junior training, and all three had successful outings. Melissa and her mate Bo Brown came out on top finishing on their dressage score of 34.50. Kaelen and her old friend Regal Dancer finished half a point behind Melissa in fifth after jumping going double clear in both show jumping and cross-country. Tori and her Avi finished in Eighth, only a few points behind Melissa and Kaelen, after dropping a rail in show jumping and jumping clear on cross country. Congrats on the clear cross-countries!

As soon as we unpacked from Middleburg, it was time to prepare for the Retired Racehorse Training Program's symposium at Pimlico. I am thrilled that I was invited to participate in this project. I have worked with Rasher throughout the summer. He was very well behaved; he managed to stay pretty focused even though there were large crowds. He is a very scopey jumper and got to show off his talent in the demonstration. He really impressed people when he leaped over a cross-country table from a trot. I hope Rasher finds a great rider to bring him along!

Next up for me is Fair Hill next weekend and moving in to my new farm. Hopefully I will see many of you cheering me on at Fair Hill. Thanks for checking in on me and my precious cargo of students and horses!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Plantation Recap

Missy and I clear the Ditch and Wall (Photo by J Blair)

I am writing this after wrapping up a very successful weekend at Plantation. I am thrilled that so many could make it to watch team Lily do me proud. I would like to thank Jill Tallman in particular for flying in from Massachusetts to cheer Bucky and I on. I was also thrilled to see Frank and his family, the Specks, the Kager clan, the Daneker's, and all the students and parents who made it out to watch. The weather was perfect throughout the weekend and I was very proud of my horses and my students. It was the first one star for Tori and Miranda. They should be very proud that they both managed to complete! It was a busy weekend for team Lily, I was riding four horses, one in the 1*, two in the 2*, and one in the 3*. I was coached Miranda and Tori while they competed their first 1*'s and Jenn as she brought home a blue ribbon for team Lily in the preliminary.

The competition started on Thursday with Mettraise's dressage. Missy (Mettraise) is still figuring out the flat work, but her test was better than her test at Richland. Hopefully, every time we go out we score just a little bit better. Thursday was also an opportunity to take a peak at the courses and build a plan for Saturday.

Thursday eased us into the competition, but things sped up on Friday with Bucky's (No Boundaries) test, Parris's (Peace Proposal) test, Cali's (California Comet) test, Espresso's test, and Wild Genius's test. I was very pleased with Bucky's test. He clearly wanted to show off for Jill. I was very pleased to be ninth in such a large and competitive division. I am hopeful that we have worked through his nervousness and found a warm up that relaxes him. Paddy the Caddy had a very nice test in the 1* scoring a 48.6 with Tori and Cali right on his tail with a 50.5. Miranda also got off to a good start with Espresso, they scored a respectable 61.3. Unfortunately Parris was naughty, ignoring my aids and putting movements in the wrong place. Finally, Jenn had a very consistent test in the preliminary and started off the weekend well placed in eighth.

In a break from most event protocol Jenn show jumped and ran cross-country on Saturday while Bucky and Missy show jumped and Cali, Paddy, and Espresso had a day to rest. Jenn was the winner of the day, going double clear cross-country and moving up from eighth to first. Well done Jenn! Bucky had a great day as well jumping having one of a handful of clear rounds in the show jumping and moving into fourth. No pressure! Missy had a dissapointing show jumping she wasn't able to focus and we pulled three rails.

Sunday was the big day for everyone. I am so glad that so many people were around to watch! The day was action packed with show jumping and cross country for the 1*, and cross country for the 2* and the 3*. Paddy show jumped clear and both Miranda and Tori jumped well. Missy was the first horse to go cross country. True to form, she was bold and quickly jumped around the course. I was very impressed with the way she handled the course. We moved up from 40th to 21st. Sadly, my run on Parris wasn't as successful. She has been struggling with drops, and although we schooled several in the lead up she stopped short at the fence before the drop and I fell off. Guess who will be schooling drops in the near future! The 1* was a more successful outing. Paddy continued to be fearless as he jumped around the course within the time. Tori and Miranda were equally as successful on their cross countries. Miranda jumped around double clear. Tori had an unlucky run by on course but she rode well throughout the course. Both Miranda and Tori learned a lot this weekend and I look forward to working with them to prepare for their next events. Finally it was the hour of reckoning. Bucky was very bold and fresh on course. We came in just under the time and finished in third! Well done Bucky!

Enjoy these additional photos and a few short videos: Thanks for reading and I will check in after the next competition!

Bucky bonds with his friend Jill

Bucky looks out for the next fence

Missy drops into the water

Missy heads towards the exit

Missy finds her way out of the water complex

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

August Update

Maggie keeps a careful eye on the farm

Photo Courtesy of WeatherBeeta

It has been a busy August for Lilybridge Eventing. I have been busy bringing Missy and Bucky back into work, my students have had successful several successful outings, And Rasher has been progressing nicely. I do apologize for the delay in posting but I promise to fill you in on all of Lilybridge’s successes.

I will start off with Millbrook, which seems fitting because Millbrook was an event of firsts. It was Missy and Bucky’s first competition after a break, and it was Tory and Cali’s first prelim as a pair. This is also the first time that Bucky and Missy have gone head to head in the intermediate and Bucky managed to edge out a win. I was very pleased with Bucky’s dressage test. He was tied for third in a very competitive division on a 25.6. I know he has the raw talent, and I am hopeful that we are bringing it out. Unfortunately Missy’s test was disappointing, she lost her composure going down the long side and put in some unasked for movements. We managed to recover and score a 39.6. Kaelen Speck had a similarly mixed dressage test. There e some lovely moments but her mount Regal Dancer was being difficult. Kaelen rode nicely and earned every point she could. Tori had a great first preliminary dressage on California Comet. They earned a 36.1 and started their preliminary career strongly.

If the dressage didn’t go according to plan, Team Lilybridge managed to pull it together for cross-country and make easy work of our courses. Millbrook has been a tough event for me, but I was determined that No Boundaries would cross the finish line this time. Thankfully it was a great first event for both Missy and Bucky, they were jumping great and I could feel that they were very excited to be back on course! Tori and Cali managed to make similarly easy work of their first Preliminary (save for one non textbook ride through the water). I was very proud of Kaelen who didn’t let her disappointing dressage hold her back. She rode very well around a big and technical training. Good job Tori and Kaelen.

I capped off the weekend with two clear show jumping rounds on both Missy and Bucky. I finished sixth on Bucky, and I finished just outside the ribbons on Missy. It was a strong start for both of them. I was proud of both Kaelen and Tori for all their hard work! Millbrook and Jonah Hill lookalike in our rearview mirror, we headed home to prepare for Waredaca.

My students had a very successful weekend at Waredeca. I was very proud of the riding on display. First off I would like to congratulate Kaelen Speck, She recovered nicely from her disappointing dressage at Millbrook and put in a great test to earn a 31.8 and second place after dressage. Great job Kaelen! Sometimes horses just don’t want to do dressage. Kaelen jumped double clear in both show jumping and cross- country and ended up wining her division. Also in Kaelen’s division Melissa Carson and Bo Brown went double clear in both show jumping and cross-country. They finished on their dressage score of 42.7 moving up from 17^th to 10^th. Meanwhile, Kaelen’s soon to be new partner Pet Me Pet Me had a very successful run in her training division. I got my lowest score ever on Mimi scoring an 18.60. I gave up my blue ribbon because I wanted to give her all the time she needed to get safely around the course. I am very pleased with her progress! In the preliminary Miranda Webb and Espresso managed to get another event under their belt. They had an unfortunate stop and a bit of time but they came out of the weekend more experienced and ready for the next event.

We had just finished unpacking from Waredeca when we started packing the trailer, minus one passport for Bucky, for Richland. He must have travelled oversees without my permission!Thankfully we managed to get the passport sorted out and started our long drive to Michigan. Thursday meant dressage for both horses. Missy continued to improve on the flat but she has a lot of work left to do. Our participation in the High Performance Training Sessions will be an excellent opportunity for us to make progress on the flat. I look forward to working with David O’Connor and growing as a pair. I no sooner dismounted from Missy than I was heading back out to warm-up on Bucky. I was very pleased with Bucky’s test. Bucky was very relaxed and focused on the test. I was thrilled with his score of 48 and his placing in the very competitive division.

Friday was a less successful day for Bucky and Missy. Both horses struggled with the large and technical course. Bucky took two rails and Missy took three. Both horses struggle with show jumping, but they have both made progress. Saturday ended the weekend on a high note. I am blessed with two bold and skilled cross-country horses. I was cautiously optimistic that they could both handle the challenging courses laid out in front of them. They both jumped around their courses beautifully. I didn’t finish in the top 8 with either horse, but this event was an important step in getting both horses ready for their fall seasons. They have both come out of work focused, determined, and ready for their next challenges.

I look forward to what the fall brings for my horses, my students, and myself. I think more will change than the leaves!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Maryland Horse Trials Recap

This weekend brought the caravan to Maryland, for the Maryland horse trials. I am pleased to report that it was a very successful weekend for Team Lily. Congratulations are due to Annelise and Your Lucky Day. The pair seemed to take the phrase "back and better than ever" as a challenge, and responded by winning their Training division. They had a beautiful dressage test, scoring a 26 and jumping double clear. It was exciting to see them make such easy work of the course. Congratulations you two!

As impressed as I was with Annelise and her mount, they were not the only successful pair this weekend. Miranda Webb, Eliza Crosby, and myself all competed on Saturday. Miranda successfully completed her second preliminary on Espresso adding no jumping faults to their dressage score. Eliza Crosby had an impressive dressage test scoring 28 and jumping double clear to finish in fourth in novice. I had two rides on Saturday. The Speck's Pet Me Pet Me continued to progress at novice. I was very pleased with our dressage test, which scored a 24, and our two clear jumping rounds.

My Training and Beginner Novice riders had an equally successful outing. Hannah Daneker and her Classy Lady had a lovely dressage test and jumped clear to finish in fourth in the beginner novice. I also rode my new project Go Devil Go in the beginner novice. I was very pleased with my cross-country and show jumping. I look forward to improving our dressage test. Meanwhile Annelise won her training division. It is quite a feat to win your second event back. Victoria Kager and her new find California Comet continued to bond and had a very successful outing in their training division. They had a nice dressage test and made the cross-country look easy. The pair finished in third. Right behind Tori was Kaelen Speck and her trusty companion Regal Dancer. They were tied for fifth after dressage, and finished in fifth on a score of 34 after two clear jumping rounds.

I am also pleased to announce that I have found a horse named Rasher to retrain for the RRTP. I am just getting to know him, pushing all his buttons and allowing him to acclimate to the atmosphere of a high energy (read chaotic) eventing barn. He appears to have a good disposition and be willing to learn. I look forward to working with him. Thanks for checking in, look in soon for the next update of the competing shenanigans of LBE!

Monday, June 17, 2013

A Successful Weekend at Seneca.

With Springs like that: Parris proves that she can jump with the big horses!

Thanks to Mike McNally for the photo

From Canada to Maryland in one week, such is the life of an eventer during competition season. I am glad to report that it was a successful weekend for my students and I. Parris and Espresso were both presented with the challenges of a higher level of competition. Thankfully this weekend demonstrated that both horses are ready for this challenge. In her first intermediate, Parris placed tenth after scoring a 40 in dressage and adding four points in show jumping. She handled the challenging intermediate cross-country course very well. It was a relief to jump clear! I am very happy with our seventh place finish. Miranda and Espresso had a similarly strong debut at preliminary. They started off the day with a 44 in dressage and two rails in show jumping. Espresso and Miranda proved themselves ready for preliminary by jumping clear and finishing in seventh. Well done Miranda!

My training students had an equally successful Saturday! It was an exciting day for Annelise Aurillo and Your Lucky Day. This was their first event since recovering from an injury and they staged a great comeback! It was a pleasure to see them jumping smooth and clear around the cross-country. I look forward to seeing them out there more. My working student Tori Kager and her new mount California Comet finished in sixth after going double clear in the junior open training. Melissa Carson was right behind Tori in eighth. She continued the LBE trend of jumping clear cross-country. Unfortunately Kaelyn Speck received a TE because of a misguided action by her trainer. I was thoroughly impressed by her riding; I can't wait for her to go out and kick butt at the next competition!

Sunday I rode the Speck's Pet Me Pet Me in the novice and Hannah Daneker and Classy Lady made their mark in their beginner novice division. Pet Me Pet Me finished in second place on her dressage score of 21.50. She felt great throughout the course. Hannah and her Classy Lady finished in third adding just one time fault to her dressage score. Great job Hannah!

I would like to end this blog by thanking my students, my owners, and my sponsors. I have been thrilled by the progress we have made together. I am very pleased with how hard my students work and how much progress they have made since the winter. I am also grateful to my owners and very pleased with the progress my horses have made this season. So far this year, I have successfully moved up Peace Proposal (Parris), Paddy The Caddy, and Metraisse (Missy). I have been continually surprised by how hard these horses try and how quickly they learn. I would not be lucky enough to ride these horses without the generosity of the McEntee's, the Danekers, and my parents (the original owners).