So far this summer, the Evergreen Classic goes down as my favorite horseshow. We were lucky enough to be stabled with a whole group of my favorite trainers and barns, and I had one of my absolute favorite humans on earth at the show to lend a helping hand.
I only took 4 horses, leaving Sadie’s mare, Socks, at home since she’ll be showing for the next two weeks in Canada. At age 21, I think she deserved a bit of time to relax before jumping around for the next couple of shows! So Sadie got to hang out at the show and mostly play around. She went rafting down a river with one barn, learned to ride a dirt bike with another barn, and pretty much ran amok every moment she wasn’t helping to set fences or groom horses for me. I think it’s safe to say that she had the best time of everyone!
As for the horses…..
FF Clintaro gets the first shout out. He was an absolute and utter star at this show beyond anything you would expect from a 4yo. He marched around the Baby Greens as we’ve come to expect of him, placing in the top 2 or 3 in every class. That was nothing new. What was new was his ability to pack around a timid beginner rider. He carried 12 year old Ava, who’s been riding for just a matter of months, into her first ever 2’3″ classes (the Short Stirrups) at one of her first ever shows. WOW! This video absolutely kills me. The trainer told the kid to trot the first fence and then continue trotting fences until she felt safe enough to canter. It’s not the smoothest round, but it shows his kindness and willingness to deal with less-than-perfect set-ups on course. This was with no lunge in the morning and no calming supplements or other types of “prep” for the show. This is just truly and honestly this horse’s natural temperament and brain. Wow!
FF Evita stepped up another level as well. She competed in her first rounds with 1.10m fences at the last show (Tbird in July), but they were the young horse classes that are set the way young horse classes *should* be. This show tested her a bit more with 1.10m YJC courses that were big and tough, and Evita jumped around like the warrior she is! She took a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in her three classes (the second came in the Qualifier class where the top 2 horses had 4 faults, but she and I were a bit slower than the winner – who happened to be former Flying F horse, Cormorant, now showing as Mr. Big Shot with his teenage owner and rider…I’ve never been so happy to lose to another horse before, lol!).
Cassiana SR was also phenomenal this week. She picked up wins in all 3 of her YJC 7yo 1.30m classes (though in two of them she was the only horse, so while the wins were not terribly meaningful, I was thrilled with her clear rounds nonetheless), and then a 3rd in her combined low/med Jr/AO Jumper class where she was the only horse out of the group who jumped the class at 1.30m. And she was fantastic in that class…we had the time, but had an unfortunate last rail thanks to her rider (me).
And William L was his usual good self. As a newly-off-the-track TB, I never thought he would be my most consistent horse, but at age 16 I have a pretty good handle on what to expect from him now. He finished with a championship in the 1.40m, a 3rd in the $5k Welcome Open, and a 3rd place in the $25,000 Grand Prix with a lovely clear first round and a speedy jump-off (with unfortunate faults).
I packed everyone up on Saturday night and am now packing up to head up to Canada for 2 weeks with the normal group of 5 horses. The one benefit of doing a show the week before is that no one has to school prior to the start of the show on Wednesday, which makes for a slightly easier week!
Happy trails!