So my summary of the show season is – WOW! What a season! Each horse was better than the last, and it’s not often you get to say that at the end of a year!
I broke my ribs in May in a freak accident at home right before the May Thunderbird shows, and that had the potential to derail my entire season. But it turns out that a barn full of stellar horses is a great insurance policy against missing out! Every one of them stepped up to make me feel safe enough to jump again starting 6 weeks after the accident.
The young horses transformed the most out of the group.
FF Clintaro proved that he is the ultimate junior/amateur mount with a final statistic count as follows:
4 different children rode and showed him – the 13 and 15 year olds each won classes on him. The 11 year old kid picked up a 2nd place and several top finishes. The 12 year old beginner was in the ribbons in every single class (out of 11-14 riders) despite trotting the first fence in several of the classes. How’s that for consistency? Tough to find that in a grown up horse, let alone a youngster in his first year of showing! Further, he did auto changes for all of them and never took a naughty step, despite having plenty of questionable distances thrown his way.
3 adults also rode and showed him – me (his owner), Tracey Epp (a pro in Canada who rode him when I broke my ribs), and an adult amateur friend who showed him in the Long Stirrups at his first show. He picked up top three finishes in every set of Baby Greens with a Reserve Champion in good company in the mix. Again, wow! Such consistency in a variety of weather conditions and under a variety of riders. And all of this for a horse who turned 4 in May!
I thought it might be interesting to put together a list of videos with each of the riders, so here are his rounds under seven different riders:
1. Me: https://youtu.be/zKh_hak0DOk
2. Tracey: https://youtu.be/nEYy-Ai-ebQ
3. 13yo: https://youtu.be/o4HvzVt1kug
4. 15yo: https://youtu.be/O_hhaxWdE4o
5. 11yo: https://youtu.be/ILgvPhFh_rc
6. 12yo (beginner): https://youtu.be/KdF3V54ED_U
7. My 9yo daughter: https://youtu.be/-X4hAnu9-Xk
On the opposite end of the spectrum, FF Evita earned the “most improved” award for the year. When I sat on her for the first time in Thermal, I was positive that she would not be terribly rideable without a solid year under her belt. And, as expected, she was brave but a bit scattered at her first show in April. I put her on Gastrogard on a whim in May, however, and what a difference that made! My horse instantly became quiet, tractable, and totally settled where she had been SO sensitive to activity outside of the ring prior. But if you had told me in April that we would be loping around the 1.10m like seasoned veterans by early August, I never would have believed it! And yet, that was the finish to the season. We’ll step up to the 1.15m and 1.20m over the winter to prep for the 6yo YJC classes, and I’m confident that she will be even more fun there than she was this year in the 1.10m. Being started a year late was certainly no handicap for this mare!
And Cassie – well, not much to say there. She stepped up to her first 1.30m and 1.35m classes in Thermal in the first few weeks of the year. She then got the opportunity to develop her ability to take the inside tracks through the rest of the season, and by the end was able to go head to head with the best in both the YJC and open 1.30m classes.
Sadie counts as one of my young horses as well, despite being slightly…well….HUMAN-er 😉 She transitioned into the jumpers to complete her first full season without stepping foot into the Pre-Children’s or Children’s Hunters. We might revisit the hunter ring next year, but it makes me happy to see her galloping around the jumper courses planning for her inside turns and learning what it takes to truly craft a ride in the heat of the moment. The Championship in the 0.80m jumpers at her last show was just the icing on the cake of a great time. And her transformation into my assistant, helper, and jump setter on all of the other horses was incredible! I love this kid so much, and I swear I’m not saying it just because I’m her mom!
Billy was once again the anchor of my herd, providing me with consistent and confident rounds in the 1.40m and 1.45m classes over and over again. Like Evita, if you had told me that this would be his role during his first year off of the track and on my farm, I would have said that you were crazy. Yet this was his 8th year in the 1.40m+ classes, and all I can say to him is, “thank you.” He is my heart and my champion and I am eternally grateful that he allows me to be his human <3
Now the horses get some well-deserved R&R for a month or two before we start getting legged up for some small winter schooling shows and the start of the winter season, which isn’t nearly as far away as it seems like it should be!