2013 has over all been a great year. I have been teaching and riding a lot, and have an excellent group of loyal clients. I think everyone is very excited about Team Challenge coming up in the next month. We will be sending two full teams at BN and N and one training level team. In 12 months my clients and I have bought and sold over $100,000 of horses. Each going to great programs with super owners.
Lewis came out early this season feeling great. I have decided to take the pressure off him and my self a little. It is so easy to put a tremendous amount of pressure on your self and your horse, especially if you only have one competing at the upper levels. You loose sight of what is important, namely this is suppose to be FUN not just for the rider but for the horse too. You get so focused on what events you have to hit to make it to the BIG one at the end of the calender that one bad go, one event being canceled will throw your whole season off and send you into a panic. So I have decided that what will be will be. If we have a problem in one phase at an event, oh well, that problem will be and can be fixed. Every time, question and movement is about the training you have put in. At this point, Lewis is pretty "programmed" and trained to do his job, but is overtly careful/spooky nature sometimes will sometime cause a glance off at a fence. He is unbelievably safe to jump with his good front end so mistake with him have always been fortunate that they are just penalties and not something serious. And admittedly there are always holes in our training that I am finding, not just with him but me too. Learning to ride is life long, something everyone needs to understand.
I was hoping to get to at least one advanced this fall with Lewis... but it isn't going to happen. An event we were planning to hit in June was rained out and for him, there were no other good choices that month. So we ran a prelim in July (where he was 2nd finishing on his dressage score) and went to River Glen in Aug at Intermediate (finishing 3rd) instead of making the trek to Millbrook for the Advanced.
Most recently Lewis and I ran the Intermediate at KY Classique. He put in a good dressage test and jumped very careful in SJ. Crazy weather plagued the event on Saturday and we ended up going XC in the rain/hail. It was so hard to stay focused with the weather surrounding us including lightening in the distance. He made a mistake at the second water and pulled him self off the log causing us to carry jump and time penalties. I was very happy he jumped the corner despite a mistake at the table 3 strides before. I had spent a week at Kyle's in June and literally jumped 40 corners... I keep repeating "I love corners" to my self before I go out of the start box.
Lewis making the Intermediate Track look like novice
After selling the lovely Jethro this spring I decided I needed to get a young horse of my own. I found "Clark" aka That's Why in April (whose name at the time was Why Not Spring). He had just raced April 18 and after 4 starts he wasn't showing any interest in racing. He wasn't showing any interest in being at the track AT all for that matter. After buying him I have heard all sorts of lovely stories about his naughty behavior at the track... laying down on the way to train, mounting track ponies, being aggressive to humans. Clark is not any of those things any more. He is a complete ham in the barn and really loves to jump... and he's really good at it. It is always hard to tell what a 4 year old is going to end up being in a year or two or more... but I have a feeling this one is going to do something important. He was suppose to be a quick resale... but I think I will hang on to him for at least a year and see what he is going to do (and if I can afford to compete two horses!) Clark just completed his second mini trial at Team CEO at BN (who by the way does a fantastic job making the entire experience so great for green horses and riders!) A little over a month had gone by since the first mini and he was by far much more mature about the whole experience. Clark is entered BN at Jump Start for his first recognized event and will then do Team Challenge at BN and hopefully N at River Glen if I have any money left. He turns 5 in January so next year will hold much more for him competition wise.
Clark
As for the most important part of Team That'll Do, which is That'll Do, Lewis will head next to Chatt Hills in Oct at Intermediate and finish the season at his favorite venue, River Glen. Hoping to continue to learn from our mistakes in the past and have some fun. Lewis is 14 years old and I have been lucky enough to have had excellent veterinary and farrier care for him ALWAYS so he is still as sound as he was several years ago. He has to date come out of the start box at Prelim 41 times, and 34 times at Intermediate. He is an AMAZING athlete, a true event horse. I owe him SO much. Coming up the levels as a young horse he looked the part to be a 4 star horse, and he still does. But he is 14, and the reality is he has little experience at Advanced. So maybe that big goal of ROLEX isn't going to happen... oh well. And now, if it does, it will be a surprise. How fun would THAT be? The best surprise ever. But until then, the pressure is off, events will be a fun learning experience for both of us. And most importantly, I'm going to enjoy the horses I have for what they are and what they have made me. And in a few years when Lewis needs an easier job maybe he will enjoy cruising a young rider around NAJYRC.
Lewis evaluating the course Map at Fair Hill CCI** 2008.
Enjoy your horses,
Jenn
