Melly, Annie and Lily were all cash cows today, earning money and long ribbons in the classics. All horses home safe and sound.
Such a fabulous morning have to report the results! Once again all double cleans for Grace and Amify, while momma Sarah and Sergei laid down an 80!! To go home with the red ribbon in the A/As. Meghan and Emily continued their winning ways and finished up show champion in the .95s, w/Shelby and Nick close behind as reserve Champions. Once again, DMS domination.Over in the Grand Prix ring Janna and Chloe not only won the high Jr/Am Modifieds but were Show Champions, in front of her personal cheering squad!! GP 5:45 start. Nono goes 10th.
Melly and Candi stepped out on the Grand Prix field in the cold morning fog and brought home the first blue of the show with a perfect round in the open 1.10s. Not to be outdone, Meghan and Emily won both their classes in the derby field with Shelby and Nick close behind to win the red ribbon. DMS domination! Once again Sarah and Sergei put down some lovely trips to uphold our hunter honor, and today we don't even know what ribbon Janna and Chloe won with their fabulous jump-off in the 1.20s, but we do know Lily and Lobster were second. Grace and Amify got a ribbon in every class they entered with two double clean rounds in the derby ring, and Melly had good rides on both Sotna and Lady.
And, would have got a blue if not for the voluntary withdrawal due to equipment failure!
Janna and Chloe got a pink ribbon, not a purple ribbon!!
Well, with the schedule change Acco missed the 1.15s he was entered in but just moved in to the 1.20s w/the greatest of ease! Reggie zipped around for a ribbon in the 1.20s also and they are both headed home tonite after their fabulous Dino massages. Over in the Derby ring Meghan and Emily and Shelby and Nick all jumped in and out of the wee forests for ribbons in all their classes. Melly and Lady moved up to the low mojams and, fresh off a family vacation, Janna and Chloe joined them. Janna didn't quite manage the entire course as her stirrup leather broke after fence #12, but she still got a purple ribbon,Just back from NY Lily piloted Lobster to a fourth place finish on the GP field. Sarah Hafner and Sergei upheld DMS honor in the hunter ring w/two lovely trips to earn third place ribbons in both their hunter classes. Melanie and Annie finished the day up w/double clean rounds and good ribbons in the Derby ring aboard Sotna and leChooch!
Meghan and Emily started this week off right w/two thirds in the Burgandy ring and Acco led the way in the Grand Prix ring with a double clean in the 1.10s for a fourth place finish! Reggie used his first round to familiarize himself with the cars parked in the ring, much the same way that Amify needed her first round to get comfortable w/the stone wall!
And really there are no words for Lady's extreme displeasure with having Macella ride her. Thankfully Melly will be back tomorrow.
Well, clearly a coaching error as both Melly and Annie had one time fault in otherwise perfect rounds and finished eighth and ninth in their classic this morning. Fresh horses in tomorrow and then Thurs will feature a Claudia/Trevor/Kathy birthday party!!
Caitano jumped a great first round and touched the first rail down in the jump off to finish seventh. It was a fun course and a fun night and it's so nice to have SHP developing so nicely so close to home.
Melly started the day off with two double cleans aboard Lady and Candi earning a fourth and sixth respectively. Nono finished the day up w/a super fun round in the Derby to finish fourth, altho after his long vacation there was virtually no hope of actually being able to participate in the victory gallop!
Candi started off the day in the morning fog w/a lovely double clean for a girlish pink ribbon. Extremely well rested Brno jumped an enthusiastic clean round to come home w/another (girlish?) pink. Caitano put down another clean round but got an Irish green, and Annie and Blue got a pretty 8th for their double clean. Melly and Sotna had a fast time w/a rail in the jump off, and Lady displayed her first day exuberance and had a rail jumping into the woods in the derby ring! Back 1st and last thing tomorrow.
Annie and leChooch pulled it off and won the $5K classic this morning w/Melly earning two neck ribbons for her two double clears as well. It was an all DMS victory gallop and a pleasure to behold! Melly came back and put down another beautiful double clean to finish up her excellent week w/a blue ribbon on Candi. Now it's all in the hands of the travel Gods.
Started off w/Melly and Lady winning the A/As w/Annie and Blue close behind them to finish third. Tomorrow they slug it out in the Classic w/Nate staying to watch!
The ladies were on hand to watch Brenda make her Grand Prix debut, and it was a very honorable one with only the C element of the triple coming down. Reggie also made his Grand Prix debut w/ease, just having the #5 oxer down. Lily and Lobster showed that they were a well seasoned team and ended up third for a good paycheck and a victory gallop.
Another beautiful morning here that couldn't have started off better as Melly and Candi made their triumphant return to the show ring together cruising to a lovely fourth place ribbon. A bit of a different story in the next class as clearly ChooChooBlue and Lady are far too well rested and somewhat overly "eager" as they demonstrated w/great lofty jumping efforts and general displays of enthusiasm. We would call those well earned ribbons! Heather Whitney stabled and schooled w/us and w/her win today rode her talented horse Bishop to the 1.20 championship, which represented a very nice level of consistency on their part. Acco finished his show by moving up another division and jumping a VERY double clean round to earn himself a fourth place ribbon and a paycheck. Kimber put in an appearance wheelchair and all and Brenda, Lobster and Reggie are all biding their time (in their respective fashions!) awaiting tomorrow's Grand Prix.
Well, with the beautiful mornings here and our 7:30 start time, Sotna and Melly had a lovely first round and Candi stepped back into the show ring and jumped a perfect round her first time since her traumatic class @ Woodside, with both of them taking home ribbons before 8am! Acco moved up to the 1.20s and was double clean for a fourth place finish, and Lily and Lobster and Macella and Reggie all did the tricky 1.35 class w/Lily and Lobster earning a fourth and Reggie and Macella seventh. Since it was Thurs, it was grilled cheese sandwich day, thanks to Melly!!
Simply fabulous day. Lady extremely happy to be back @ work, some squealing noises emanated from her for sure, on her way to her pink ribbon. It was also nothing but a pleasure to watch Annie and her beloved ChooChooBlue put down a double clean for their first round of the year! Sotna won the 1.15s and Acco jumped around them nicely for his first class of the show. Lily made the solo drive up w/her Rv and hopped on Lobster and jumped around the 1.20s, which Macella and Reggie got second in. Brenda jumped a lovely double clean inthe 1.25s to finish 3rd and Milou was double clean on his way to a red ribbon. We started @ 7:30 and are already done and gonna go on a "date" w/Charlie to a tire shop!!
WEEK THREE
Thanks to road warriors Charlie and Jessie all horses and house trailers home! Nearly monotonous report that Meghan and Emily were Champions Again! Of course in that same vein Kimber and Manny rode to a second place finish today to earn yet another long ribbon, and Melly and Sotna got themselves a ribbon also despite some rather poor advice on the entrance given by Macella (altho very entertaining to watch Sotna decline to go thru the gap I reccommended on the way to the first fence). Brenda made it three weeks in a row that she jumped the Sun stake class clean altho her jump-off left a bit to be desired, we assume she was a bit tuckered after her nocturnal liberty romp! And in another display of tremendous competitive consistency Lily and Lobster were once again in the victory gallop in the A/O classic sporting a white ribbon this week. We're all looking forward to riding @ the very improved DMS starting tomorrow.
Everybody had a great time watching the Grand Prix and Caitano was wonderful as usual, with only an unlucky rail in the grob marring his otherwise perfect round. Shelby and Nick finished up their show w/two third place ribbons and head back to Nevada mighty proud of themselves! Meghan and Emily once again won a blue in the jumper ring and Kimber and Melly were second and fourth respectively in their jumpers. Janna made it three weeks in a row that she and Chloe took home a long ribbon from the 1.15 stake and Acco did his first stake and altho he had to master his fear of the hospitality tent he persevered and got a long ribbon himself.
Well, pretty great trailer trash party w/Kerry, Colleen, Charlie, Jessie and Mousie all joining us for our feast. Shelby and Nick continued their winning ways in the lower jumper ring and Meghan and Emily got two good ribbons in the competitive equitation classes.
Acco found the parrot jump quite unappealing today, and somewhat mysteriously declined to jump it which was unfortunate as it was the third jump on his course. He did not find it to be @ all alarming when he went back out @ the end of the day however. You know, when he was not being judged!
Brenda was the Starr she is named and was 3rd in the 1.30s, while Natalia jumped a spectacular round in the 1.35s that was one jump too long for her as it turned out. Videos available of all the above! Melly and Sotna had a good round but a rail in the jump off and Kimber overcame her bruised leg to pilot Manny to a double clean third place finish in the AAs.Once again Lily and Lobster were the "closers", and once again had the fastest time in the class but once again had a rail and had to settle for third.
Great to have Shelby and Nick here as they joined Meghan and Emily and Simba and Calvin in lovely rounds in the lower ring. Above, Acco was just fantastic in the 1.15s as was Chloe, and Natalia had fun in the 1.20s. Lily finished the day up w/the fastest round in the A/Os but the very last rail and had to settle for fourth.
Brrrenda started wk 3 off right w/a double clean round, apparently completely unaffected by her wee crash last Sunday! Caitano was bitter that he had to go slow for his double clean! Chloe looked quite "refreshed", and Kimber and Calvin jumped a lovely double clean.
Natalia and Acco had lengthy tours of the cross country field and the Hayworths arrived w/Nick and established themselves as this week's Raptor residents. This evening we all humiliated ourselves w/pole exercises and expect the show ring to look downright inviting after that!
WEEK TWO
Not sure if I can remember all the successes!! Jean and Welf were champions in the A/A hunters, after winning the over fences again today. Jean also won a blue in the jumper ring aboard mighty Merlin, thus winning classes in the hunters, medals and jumpers all @ one show!! Grace won again and was Champion, as was Meghan in her jumper division! Meghan is also accumulating more points towards the Onondarka finals making yet another work-off and earning yet another ribbon! Melly and (the well decorated) Patti got ribbons in both their classes and Sarah and Sergi had two solid ribbon earning rounds, and Kimber and Calvin were 4th in their jumper class as they're starting to turn on the speed! Kimber and Manny had an unlucky first rail w/the fastest jump-off time and had to settle for 3rd, while Melly and Sotna had another good round and finished up Reserve Champion in the division! Macella and Brenda had a hot 1st round and just plain went too fast in the jump-off and wiped out, captured for everyone's viewing pleasure on both video and in a fabulous still photo. Everyone is fine and we still got 6th! Even tho she went last the entire barn stayed to cheer Lily and Lobster who finished second by fractions of a second in the exciting jr/AO classic, as well as earning show Champion in the division since they won every class they entered. Charlie should be just about home w/Merlin, Sergi. Amify, Candi, Patti and Reggie and I'll be home tonite and looking forward to seeing all the changes @ the barn. Happy July 4th!
Well Grace Hafner rocks, she won 3 out of 4 classes today!! Meghan was not far behind w/2 second place ribbons and Jean came in just behind Meghan, and much fun was had by all. In the top ring Janna was 6th in the stake class, and Kimber was 3rd and 5th in the A/As, w/Melly and Sotna finishing 2nd and 3rd and Annie and Natalia jumping two good four fault rounds. In hunterland Jean and Welf won the over fences and got a 3rd in the U/S, and Sarah had a landmark day as she was actually able to persevere and jump to a fifth place finish in the second over fences round after Sergi demonstrated some rather poor Soviet behavior in the first round. As usual the DMS gang had a good time @ tonite's Grand Prix, but it was not Macella's night to go clear. Hopefully next week in the big class.
Jean lived up to her name of the ribbon machine winning both the PCHA and the Eq O/F on Merlin today!! Acco was fantastic in the 1.15s jumping a double clean to finish 4th, and Brenda jumped great also earning a 3rd in the 1.30s! Melly and Patty are becoming old hands (in their second ever foray into the show ring) coming home w/a fourth from the lower jumper ring, and Sarah H showed up and jumped a lovely hunter round on Sergi, getting fourth in a huge class. Despite everyone jumping nice rounds we were stricken w/fourfaultitis in the A/As for Kimber and Manny, Annie and Natalia and Melly and Sotna. Kimber and Rambo were fifth in the Jr/Am Modified and Lily once again was "the closer" bringing home the blue for the second day in a row on Lobster in the Jr/AOs.
Freakishly good day...Meghan and Emily were 7th, w/Amify and Grace hot on their heels for 8th in the lower ring. Jean and Merlin were looking mighty fast, but ended up (quickly) jumping the wrong fence on their way to a speedy finish! Above, Lily and Reggie were great in the 1.10s and Janna and Chloe have to be the most consistent team in the barn w/yet another double clean round in the 1.15s for yet another ribbon. Things just kept getting better as Kimber and Rambo WON the Jr/Am modified, w/Annie and Natalia getting the green ribbon in the same class. Finishing up the day in style Lily and Lobster WON the jr/AOs!
Tomorrow Sarah and Sergi and Jean and Welfie kick in
Week two underway and both Acco and Brenda turned in clean rounds that were hampered by pilot error resulting in time faults, but Macella redeamed herself aboard Caitano who was 3rd in the 1.35! Janna and Chloe picked up right where they left off w/a double clean resulting in a pink ribbon in the 1.15s. Patty debuted in the show ring under her "stage name" of Skittles, and earned herself a regal purple ribbon under the capable guidance of Melanie. Melly also jumped Sotna to a green ribbon in the 1.10s and Amify came into town on the same bus as Sotna and started right off w/a win in the lower ring w/Macella. Tomorrow she and Grace will begin their week together. Kimber and Calvin had a nice round in the lower ring and Lily and Reggie got their second weekof showing started above. Tomorrow Meghan and Jean re-join the team to begin their week 2 showing. Special thanks to Dave who made the long trip down today to shoe.
WEEK ONE Kimber and Manny ended the week w/a win in the A/As and a Reserve Championship in the division! Annie came down and rode Natalia to a ribbon in the A/As, gearing up for next week. Meghan and Emily had a great work-off in the Onondarka (OK, her halt was a bit "brief") and was Reserve Champion in the .95 jumpers also! Jean and Merlin took a run @ them (as it were) and Jean and Welf had a great last day in the A/A hunters. Brenda was fantastic in the 1.25 stake w/a fast time in the jump-off but one rail to finish sixth. And Lily and Lobster totally rocked and finished second in the Jr/AO classic w/a fast double clean!
Well, Meghan finally won the first blue ribbon for DMS, by smoking the field in the .95 jumpers! Overall a fun day for Meghan who also had her annual birthday party today, which featured super cute custom cupcakes courtesy of Kerry and Colleen. Jean and Merlin were also fast in their jumpers, just not quite as fast as Meghan and Emily! Jean also brought home ribbons on Welf in the hunters, and Janna and Chloe earned the only "long ribbon" hanging by finishing second in the 1.15 stake! Kimber rocked today, finishing 2nd and 3rd in her first class and 3rd and 5th in her second class!! Melly and Candi had an unfortunate interaction with a panel,but lived to tell. Lily and Reggie had a super slick first round in the 1.00 stake, to finish in the ribbons. And Caitano was his usual wonderful self, altho the tight two coming out of the triple proved to be a bit more of a challenge than we were able to master!
Highlights included (but not limited to and in no particular order) Molly and Natalia winning a second and a fifth in their show ring debut together!; (special thanks to Jessie for not only bringing Molly and needed feed supplies but also helping w/all the horses thru-out the morning crush). Meghan and Emily getting good ribbons in both their equitation classes; Jean and Merlin winning a second in the PCHA and a 4th in the Caorousl; Milou laying down another double clean; Jean and Welf getting ribbons in all their eq classes; Brenda being a fast and fun double clean; Melly and Candi 4th in the A/A's, Simba and Rambo 6th; Lily and Lobster second again in the A/0's; and last but not least, it being Caitano's birthday all day long!
Acco started the day off being almost fabulous, just except that one little spook/run-out! Reggie and Lily just went ahead and showed Acco how to do it w/ a double clean that earned them a pink ribbon. Janna and Chloe whipped around the 1.15s double clean for a white ribbon and in the lower ring Meghan and Jean duked it out finishing second and third respectively, beaten only by DMS alumni Cariello! Jean and Welf won a very respectable fifth place ribbon in the Modified Hunters riding against all professionals, and Milou got to return to the jumper ring where he earned himself a fourth place today. Kimber's Irish lads, Brenda and Natalia all enjoyed the cross country field today, and Caitano did wind sprints there and thinks he might have a new career he likes it so much! Lily wrapped up the day w/ a slick double clean in the jr/ao's aboard Lobster finishing second. Braids go in tonite and tomorrow Molly joins the show team aboard Natalia and Jessie will be her chauffer and get some good riding in herself.
Started off with Acco making a nice debut in the big ring, as did Lily and Reggie. Not even bothering w/the 1.10s, Janna and Chloe started off w/ a clean round in the 1.15s! Kimber and Calvin also had a double clean round and Milou was a honorable hunter w/Macella. Apparently Brenda did not exhaust herself sufficiently in her trailering adventures and was a bit of a "rascal" (you guessed it, Charlie's word), but Caitano finished the day in his usual style w/a fabulous first round and a fun and FAST jump-off! Meghan and Jean have arrived and tomorrow will swell the ranks of ribbon winners.
Woodside migration is complete, thanks to much help especially Marci, Jessie and of course mostly Charlie. No mechanical mishaps, facility looks great,weather "beachy" and cool, Janna "did" the office...pretty much perfect except for the fact that Brenda kicked Lady in the trailer , altho Charlie is at great pains to object to this as a statement of fact, referring to the evidence as "circumstantial" But the circumstantial evidence is pretty ugly w/Lady in her standing bandages and stitches and planning to return home w/Charlie on Thurs. All those that could work today were really good and we're ready to show tomorrow.
A very good time was had by all as Caitano jumped a lovely double clean to canter around third in the victory gallop !!! Who says you can't be big and nimble?
Day-o-glory. Started off right w/Jean and Welf finishing the hotly contested three round equitation classic in fourth place and then stepping next store into the Grand Prix ring to pilot Merlin to a fifth place finish in the two round jumper classic!! Quite a week for Jean..Melly and Candi won the. Jessica Forsythe Classic and Kimber was both 4th and 6th! Kimber and Manny brought home the Reserve Championship from theA/As and Lily and Lobster were Champions in the Modified division w/Melly and Lady finsihing up Reserve Champions! In the 1.15s Sotna was Champion and Acco was Reserve Champion!! All home safe and sound.
Just wrapped up the "Flamingo Special" and adorable Sotna finished sixth with a clean first round and the first fence down in her fast jump-off! Lily and Lobster finished 8th with the fastest first round 4 fault score. Jerry came down to watch Acco's debut in the 1.15s which was a blue ribbon effort! Then Jerry jumped Motley around in the bottom ring when it was finished. Lady and Melly jumped yet another clean round in the Modified, w/Kimber jumping both her Irish lads around clean also! Jean brought joy to Merlin's heart w/two ribbon winning rounds in the Grand Prix ring in the morning classes and then went next door and was 2nd and 3rd aboard Welf in the hunters.
Grace Hafner celebrated her birthday in style by winning not one, but two blues today. Momma Hafner once again managed good ribbons against all professionals aboard her Ruskie, and Macella had a blast riding Welfie in the Trainer Eq and even got a long ribbon!
Jean arrived today and earned ribbons on both Welf and Merlin and tomorrow ventures into the Grand Prix ring with Merlin, much to his delight. Melly and Kimber were fifth and sixth respectively in the A/A's with a double clean round eluding both of them, and Lily and Lobster pulled a repeat win in the Modifieds with Melly and Lady right behind them. Sotna just went ahead and won her class today in preparation for tomorrow night's Flamingo Special, (tenatively scheduled to go around 5:30) where she will be Macella's diminuitive white hope! Big news of the day is that as mysteriously as Brenda succumbed to unexplained lameness, she recovered and looked completely sound today. Glory be.
Started off with Hafner power w/Sarah and Sergi laying down one lovely trip after another and getting ribbons in all four of their classes, against a big field of all professionals!! After just a couple weeks of riding since completing her first year of college in Boston, Grace still managed to earn a blue out of the jumper ring first thing!
Kimber and Manny jumped a slick double clean finishing second. Rambo jumped the standards with exuberance and Candi had a four fault round with Melly. Acco made his Brookside debut in the 1.10s and got a red ribbon for his efforts. Sotna was her usual self and also made a red ribbon effort in the 1.15s. When it was Lily and Lobster's turn they just wouldn't settle for anything but the blue, leaving the red for Melly and Lady.
Macella had a really fun ride in the trainer Eq aboard Welf and has two more rounds tomorrow, including a flat phase!! Brenda finished up the day with a rail in the jump-off of the 1.25s, but her exertions resulted in her being sore after the class, so she'll save herself for another show. Couldn't have asked for nicer weather today and we finished up w/a lovely pool party.
It was a glorious morning of showing with the sun finally out and the wind reduced to a stiff breeze. Camy and Natalia whipped out two consecutive clean rounds in the jumper ring to start things off right. Then Jean and Welf finished in, remarkably frisky for Sunday, but fine style with some rather spectacular jumping efforts to say nothing of snorting @ the freshly rolled footing! Jean then went next door to the jumper ring to give Camy and Natalia a run for their money, and were about to nail the optimum time, if only they could have found that very last fence!! Meghan and Emily were eighth in a huge NorCal 3' medal class and then began the road to the Onondarka finals with a 3rd place finish in the class, with an especially spiffy work-off.
With the help of many we are all home, unpacked, re-parked and built and jumped a fabulous course!!
Jean and Welf were really good today and were second(apparently the new DMS blue) in both their A/A hunters as well as fourth in a delightfully lazy under saddle class. Jean started her day off w/a sixth place ribbon in a 29 horse jumper class aboard Merlin and then earned a 3rd (which should have been blue) in the PCHA medal class. Meghan and Emily marched thru three successive jumper classes (a bit too fast in the first one for the optimum time!) In flawless fashion and tomorrow return to the equitation ring, with her ears stuffed due to the relentless wind. Janna joined the fun aboard Chloe and Molly and Claudia came and helped w/the mini-prix where Lily (after a mere six hour wait)and Lobster and Macella and Natalia demonstrated solidarity by each having two rails in the fun class. Big news of the day is the Scottish travelers, Kerry and Colleen, returned with tales of travel and their much missed good cheer.
Plenty of news to report today. Sarah Hafner and Sergi made the most of their last day of showing here and were first and second and eighth in their three classes today! It was also nice to see Grace back from her first year of college. Grace got to ride around on Amify who had a dress rehersal earlier in the day when Molly came to show her only to be sidelined by wrenching her back while tightening her girth. You read that right. Camy and Natalia did make it to the early classes and after recuperating from "statue shock", earned themselves a fifth place ribbon.
Lily and Lobster also earned themselves a pink ribbon in a smooth round as a prep for tomorrow's mini-prix! Milou finished his week up w/a quick double clean and a second place ribbon, and Calvin put another brick in the wall and got himself a purple ribbon. Jean and Welf were second in a really big flat eq class as well as earning top ribbons in all their hunter classes. Merlin was his usual adorable self and got two third place ribbons in the eq over fences w/Jean. The miserable wind that we endured all day escalated to a blustery gale by the time Meghan and Emily finally got their turn in the ring for their 12-14 eq over fences and Emily was not very pleased by the banners posted on the rail flapping loudly with the wind, but Meghan proved to be a match for Emily altho not in a ribbon winning sort of fashion!!
Charlie took a load of horses home today and will head out w/another load first thing tomorrow, leaving only Natalia to battle for DMS honor in the mini-prix for Macella. Kerry and Colleen finally escaped the Icelandic ash and are "back home", and Marci (and Max) came to the show in the pre-dawn light to help school horses, on her day off!!
Well, my favorite day of the week did favor us w/afternoon sunshine after a windy, chilly start. Amify started the day off right w/a second place ribbon in her optimum time class, with Jean and Merlin (pronounced Marlin today) close behind for a fourth place finish. Yes, you read it right, Jean and Merlin did the jumpers!! Milou jumped a lovely round, as did Calvin and then it was time for...Rocky, Rocky, Rocky, who could never be said to have a "lovely" round, but certainly enthusiastic! Altho he was somewhat bitter to have been sabotaged into a second place finish! Janna and Chloe also won themselves a red ribbon (are you starting to notice a pattern?) As did Sotna, leaving Reggie to come home with a yellow.
Over in hunter land Sarah and Sergi rocked being the highest placed amateurs in two out of three hunter classes and Jean made an excellent debut w/the Welfster, earning yet another, what else, red ribbon.
Despite the relentless grey drizzle the actual rain failed to materialize and a long first day ended with Natalia winning the 1.30s. Brenda struggled w/the "inmature" footing and pulled a rail. Reggie made a great debut, Sotna was her usual star self. Acco demonstrated a bit of belligerance as did Calvin, but they both jumped beautifully.It was great to have Janna and Chloe "rejoin the team" with a successful return to the show ring. Milou got to show off in front of Virginee who also brought Barcelona to the show and he won a blue!Meghan and Molly came and schooled in all the rings as did Jean who also put in her time w/the "inmature" show office. Round two tomorrow.
Nono got himself a long and pretty ribbon by being the FASTEST four faulter!! Caitano had a couple early rails and then hit his lick and jumped great! Headed home tomorrow.
The brothers grey were truly fabulous. Both jumped clean, altho Caitano did actually have to stop @ a fence he never ever saw @ all! Still, quick as a (big) bunny he cantered a circle and then finished the rest of the course in the same clean fashion he started it! Brno was just his usual brilliant @ Del Mar self, and jumped the very first clean round of the night in beautiful style.
Had an uneventful drive down and everything went smoothly @ the show when we arrived yesterday. It's absolutely perfect weather, cool w/some baby fog and sunshine peeking thru. Couldn't ask for better conditions for the great white wonders!
Caitano thought he was finally going to be able to participate in an American flat race and couldn't understand why we couldn't sprint (in his way) around the entire racetrack, while his little brother had a warm-up round this morning which he found tremendously disappointing for many reasons..the trotting in the corners and halting in front of the last jump all seemed wrong to him. And it was so promising with the little snaffle in warm up and all sorts of bucking, squealing and wheeling!
Peter, Lauren and Celly are making their way thru LA now and should be here soon and Marino has survived icing Nono behind without incident. Tomorrow Dino will work his magic and they should both be in top form for Thurs night.
Neither wind nor rain could stop Meghan and Emily from WINNING a big Jr/Am Eq class, placing 5th in the hunters and 2nd in her first ever Onondarka.Once again, killer cute! Also braving the stormy weather, Manny and Simba survived jumps blowing over mid-course and ended up in the victory gallop for the Children's/AA Classic, winding up a fabulous week of showing. Melly and Lady slowy lost their enthusiasm as they warmed up and waited for well over and hour while the jumps repeatedly blew over, but even w/o going today the two were still Champions in the Modified division! Molly and Amify had a fun jump school, which Claudia joined on Natalia, since their ring got closed down, and everybody else was smart enough to get out of the rain. Virginee left with the first load of horses mid-day and the rest of us are homeward bound.
Well it's official Brrenda is a star! 5th place finish in her first mini-prix and quite the crowd favorite.
Sotna was fantastic also, had one rail in the first round, which was quite an accomplishments considering she's been an "open horse" for about two weeks! Lily and Lobster jumped a spiffy round w/one unlucky rail to finish up their great week. The day started off right w/Jean and Merlin winning their hunter class and being second in the PCHA medal class! Molly made her Amify debut w/two double clean rounds in the bottom ring. Meghan and Emily ribboned in every single hunter class they entered today, including the flat class! Melly was three for three, winning two classes on Candi and one on Lady, and finishing up the AA division show Champion on Candi. Kimber and Manny jumped a fast double clean for a red ribbon and then left primary colors behind w/a rail in the jumpoff in yer second class. Kimber also had a great ride on the magnificent Calvin and Claudia gave Natalia a nice hack and some "sofa time" We'll see if we beat the rain for our final day tomorrow.
Well the gang's (almost, Molly comes tomorrow) all here and had a great day. Meghan had a great debut w/Emily going double clean to earn 5th in a big Modified Ch/AA class! Jean and Merlin laid down a perfect trip w/just a wee expression of joy @ the end that kept them from a top ribbon. Lily and Lobby were 3rd in the 1.30s and Kimber and Manny were smokin' in the A/As. Not over the same exact jumps as everybody else in the jumpoff, but still! Melly and Candi were a restrained 3rd and Lady just went ahead a won the Modified! Once again Calvin was the star of the day w/ a gorgeous early round for a 4th place finish. Milou also earned himself a ribbon today as did Sotna and Brenda who are both ready to do tomorrow night's mini-prix along w/Lobster and Lily. Tonite there was a fun hunter derby where the horses jumped in and out of the hunter ring to the jumper ring! Afterwards the Maddens once again hosted dinner, this time a pizza party and to my knowledge they've never had a pizza place,but then again I've never asked!
Just finished up a fun spaghetti dinner hosted by the show in Silky's. Turns out Bill and Dan Madden's first business was a spaghetti restaurant they named Don Vito's and started when they were 20 and 22 years old repsectively, and they ran it for 12 years. No wonder the spaghetti was so good tonite!.
Bill and Dan have also got the place looking great and it's nothing but a pleasure to be here. The horses clearly flourish in these conditions w/Calvin starting the day off right w/a beautiful ribbon winning go on the Grand Prix field in the first class. Even though it's only Calvin's second show of his life he just skipped the lower ring altogether and was really good in the big ring. Milou also made his big ring debut and jumped a nice first round but did succumb to the tempations of the big ring when he got to galloping in the speed class and knocked a couple down. Those were the last rails of the day for Macella, as Sotna stepped out and won the 1.20s and Brenda was second in the 1.25s! Kimberly got the pleasure of piloting Emily to a third place finishh and Meghan showed up late in the day (having driven all the way up from her Easter break w/her grandparents in Laguna)and had a wonderful school. Lily and Lobster jumped a smooth warm-up round and Camy and Natalia won their first class of the day, but had a little miscommunication in the second which resulted in a broken hackamore, or as Ned Glenn said "a hacknomore"!
WEEK SIX
Couldn't have asked for a nicer day to end our circuit on. Both Kimber and Melly got to be in the Parade of Champions and Isabelle finished her circuit by winning her class! Caitano had just the skinny down and otherwise jumped a brilliant round and Nono was a bit stunned by the quad, proving that he really is the little brother! Really fun to be out there twice in the richest class ever offerred on the West Coast!
Charlie and elfie here, Acco 7th in the 4s! Grey bros exc on the GP field and everyone got a ribbon in the A/As!!
WEEK FIVE
Into every life a little rain must fall, even here! Only Caitano shall hazard the muddy conditions this pm, otherwise Wk 5 done. Charlie and Marianne will do the early departure tomorrow w/5 horses and Marianne will be home for Tues and then head back down while Charlie heads back via haycountry. Lulu should arrive here tomorrow and Peter M will come down to assist in the exodus home which will still not be accomplished in one fell swoop @ the conclusion of next week.
Despite another good effort, no World Cup ribbons for us @ Thermal this year. All around a pretty tired looking group of DMS horses today, w/the extremely notable exception of Acco today.
One more chance @ glory this week tomorrow.
Isabelle and Barcelona started the day w/yet another fabulous round in the Level 2s. Next door Camy stepped right back in the ring in the Level 4s like she never missed a day on Natalia. Melly and Lady had the fastest time of the day in the Level 4s but snagged a rail on the way and Acco was not nearly as fast but jumped the 4s w/ease.
As usual everybody got ribbons in the A/As: Sotna, Candi, Rambo and Manny and their respective people!
Caitano jumped a clear round on the GP field in the Level 7s and, not to be outdone, Brrenda also jumped a clean round on the GP field in the Level 6s! Tonite we are all going to enjoy Melly's hospitaity watching the Grand Prix from her VIP table.
Started off in great style w/Natalia rtning to the show ring after her two week rest to win the Level 3s on the GP field and Sotna (who apparently never needs rest!) winning the Level 4s in the indoor ring! With the rt of the elf dressage was enjoyed by all today. Brno passed his final jog w/ease, happily same as every other week, and is happily lodged in his posh FEI barn awaiting his Sat glory. Bellino had a fantastic Level 2 on Barcelona and after his clean round on the Grand Prix field Acco decided he waas grown up enough to have his whiskers clipped off!
WEEK FOUR
Another beautiful World Cup round put down by Nono. Lady luck is still not riding w/us, as we had one rail...again, but boy was he super.
Once again everybody got good ribbons in the AAs and survived the desert thunderstorms.
Brrrenda Star started the day off in fine style w/a fast double clean on the Grand Prix field to earn herself a ribbon in the 5's. Isabelle and Barcelona set a good example by winning a blue so Milou copied them. And Calvin just wins a blue every day that he shows! Once again Melly and Simber were AA ribbon winners, and Melly and Lady and Isabelle and Sotna both got long ribbons in the Classic on the Grand Prix field in the twilight, which Kimber watched with her momma who is visiting this week-end.
Everybody got a ribbon in the A/A's today w/good double clean rounds. Isabelle rtd to the show ring w/a vengence also earning a blue w/Barcelona. Acco made a successful debut into the Level 4s, joining Lady and Melly and Brrrenda was fast and clean in the 5s. Caitano was his usual excellent self in tonite's FEI Grand Prix, but the ring was mighty small for him and two pesky rails came down before it was over.
Both grey brothers are in the FEI. barn today! Yes , we're going to try to navigate Thurs night w/Caitano!
Calvin, who is now officially. Kimber's, resumed his illustrious show careers with two more blues today. He and Kimber look like they are doing the Regular Working Hunters in the jumper ring! Both Brenda and Acco jumped clean first rounds w/rails in their jump-offs, proving that speed is tricky! Lady and Sotna jumped the Level 4s w/great enthusiasm and ease and tomorrow Isabelle returns to the show ring after being sidelined for a few days with a kidney infection, which is good news for Sotna and Barcelona. Milou also got himself a blue ribbon and will move up a division tomorrow.
WEEK THREE
Charlie returned last night w/Ian McFarlane,( now he's transporting people!) and all the things we figured out we'd "forgotten" once we got here! Tues Kimber had a great round on the field w/Rambo and Melly did both Lady and Candi in both the indoor and on the GrandPrix field and then Melly called it a week and headed home. Brenda was clean in both classes adding to "the ladies" ribbon collection and Sotna was second on the field in her section. Virginee and her people arrived Mon and everybody had very successful debuts on Wed, including Milou who was double clean w/Macella.
Bellini piloted Barcelona around the 1's and then dashed to pick up Camy from the airport, and Acco was his magnificent self (after elf preparation)and earned a blue ribbon. Brno passed the jog and is esconced in the FEI barn ready to try again and we are all tremendously amused by the dressage riders who have taken over Jumper 1 and both indoors and basically find all parts of our show completely insufficient and unacceptable!!Had a bit of wind, rain and mud but supposed to be nice for the rest of the week.
Beautiful day here today, Thursday. Brno was excellent in the Grand Prix, Brenda was 8th in the level 5s, Camy and Natalia were double clean in the A/Os and Kimber was fantastic on both Manny and Rambo. Acco jumped a good round in the 3s and Virginee's girls Hope and Briga were good on Juna and Nitza.
Everybody got a ribbon today but Macella! Camy and Natalia earned a sixth in a huge A/O class with a fast double clean! Kimber got a third on Manny w/a nice double clean and got a ribbon on Rambo w/ a time fault and Bellini and Sotna had a fast four fault jump off to finish w/ sixth. Brrenda jumped a spectacular round in the level 5s but due strictly to pilot error (she insists) and Brno also sufferred @ the hands of his rider having the last fence down after jumping yet another lovely world cup Grand Prix!
Simba and Manny laid down another double clear to end the week Reserve Champion! Isabelle and Barcelona finished up their week of showing and are preparing for their Tues clinic w/none other than George Morris! Milou had 3/4s of a good round, and all of Virginee's people wrapped up their fun week of showing and head home tomorrow with Meghan's new horse Emily in their trailer bound for DMS! Macella concluded her week with yet another pretty outstanding four fault round in the Sunday Grand Prix aboard Caitano. 2 am loading tomorrow for exodus home.
WEEK TWO
Week 2 is already underway and we've been joined by three of
Virginee's horses and Mama Cara arrives today with Claudia and Molly
coming down for the week-end and Isabelle's parents Kathy and Peter
joining us as well.
Yesterday's Level 3's gave her first blue to Brenda Starr as well as
having Kimber and Isabelle jump great rounds with Maryanne and Melly
even jumping the open water on Lady and Chuckie! So it begins...
What a busy week, hard to know where to start. Kimber finished up the week Champion on Manny and made a fantastic debut on Calvin Benning as well as jumping some big courses on Rambo. Meghan and Gus won a blue in every single class they went in and Meghan did a little catch riding on a lovely mare named Emily too! Cynara had a great week on Aah which was nice since her Dad got to come see her show for the first time ever! Both Sarah and Jean upheld DMS honor in the hunter rings and Colleen and Kerry even squeezed a jump school in on Gus and Chuckie.... edging towards ticket rounds! Melanie had another great week on Candi and moved Lady up to the Level 5s and the low A/Os. Lily and Lobster also had a good week and Lily was joined by the entire family in RVland. Camy and Natalia made their debut in the Level 5s and once again earned a long ribbon in the Fri night classic!
Isabella and Sotna had another consistent week w/a couple lovely rounds on the Grand Prix field that her proud parents were able to see. It was great to have the entire Roach family here and Annie once again contributing to the ribbon display this time aboard Chuckie, generously lent by proud mama Kerry, who also got to watch the elf pilot Chuckie to a ribbon on the Grand Prix field complete w/the open water! After a very inauspicious start, Acco had a brilliant week and Brrrenda Starr has hit her stride, if you will, winning her first blue and moving up to the 5s w/ease and next week will start the 6s. Brno was simply spectacular in Sat night's World Cup and Caitano was cheerful but still working out his big field partnership with Macella in Sundays Grand Prix, with exhuberance overtaking caution a few times!
Cara joined the activities this week as did Claudia and Molly and Fri night once again proved a highlight as Jean, Sarah, Kerry and Colleen hosted a suprise elf birthday party and video extravaganza @ their condo! Special thanks to Kerry for her steady camera hand and to both Kerry and Colleen for all their wonderful support and enthusiasm! Bon Voyage to Kerry as she heads home to England for a visit.
WEEK ONE Now that I've rejoined cyberworld (which took a village but especially Lily!) here's the belated week one wrap up. The grey brothers were great in their Grand Prixs with Caitano jumping a super round clean until the very last line. Brno handled a really big outdoor course fast! and with ease altho having both the first and last rail. Melly was on some kind of tear winning Fri nights classic on the field on Lady and being Champion in the A/As and winning Sun ams Marshall and Sterling Classic on Candi! Meghan and Gus finished the week with several blues earned over very demading courses built by Leopaldpo Palacio himself! Isabelle and Sotna went right into the A/As and had several good rounds incuding Fri night on the Grand Prix field in the Classic. The Camy and Natalia love story continues with a fourth place finish in Fri night's Classic and the two of them easily moving up to the Level 4's.
Kimber had a great week, being a model of quality consistency on Manny, managing to ride Rambo's first week "exhuberance" and delighting in the lovely debut of Calvin Benning who got a blue ribbon every time he walked in the ring and moved up a division a day! Lily and Lobster jumped six consecutive days in a row of tough courses some good ribbon finishes and Lily got her first taste of RV living and liked it. In addition to partaking in several lessons Kerry and Colleen watched Brenda Starr make her debut and watched the elf earn a blue of her own aboard the mighty Chuckie!
Sarah Hafner and Sergi made their horseshow debut in style collecting top ribbons in the hunters with one beautiful round after another. Jean and Merlin battled the twilight curse but were their usual winning selves during "regular" hours. And Cynara and Aah pulled a blue out of their division here @ Thermal!
In addition to all the riding we had a great birthday party for Liza and Jean on Fri night and there should be some pictures to document it!
Brno was a gentlemen and a warrior, as usual, and finished 9th with a fast four fault round over a grueling course. Foolishly, we substituted Caitano for Brno for the vioctory gallop and I think we can safely say we won't be repeating that anytime soon!
Caitano - clean in the Grand Prix!! Purple ribbon.
It started off mighty "crisp" this morning and Candi didn't seem to get quite warm enough to jump a clean round in her final class of what has been a stellar three week circuit for her, pulling the skinny down early in the course of the 58 horse Children's /Adult Jumper classic. Next came Kimber and Manny and following in the example set by Macella last night, got it all right but a little bit more slowly than Leopaldo had allowed for in his time allowed! It looked like Camy and Natalia were going to be clean yet again, when they had a heartbreaking last rail. Last to go, Melly and Lala nailed down a double clear to finish fourth ! In the 55 horse Jr/A/O classic Lily and Lobster went early and held on to a top five ribbon to earn their place in the victory gallop. Amazingly enough the whole convey arrived home without incident before nightfall, thus ending a very fun three weeks at Murieta.
Well this report is late but worth the wait! Nono jumped a beautiful round tonite in the World Cup. 2/10ths of a second too slow so he ended up 4th, but quite a thing of beauty. Melly started the day off right by winning the A/As on Candi and Camy showed back up and went right back to her winning ways aboard Natalia earning a seventh in that very same class. Kimber made it official, that under her guidance Rambo conquered his indoor demons, a great way to end their excellent show year. An unlucky last rail on Manny marred an otherwise lovely round, and Lily will rt to the show ring tomorrow for the A/O classic. Special thanks to everyone who made the drive up tonite!
So nice to be able to report on the day @ a reasonable hour and with such a good report. Lily and Lobster had a nice round in the indoor that yielded one time fault but was pretty much a perfect school for Sunday. Melly gave Cordula a really good ride in the indoor after Cordula attempted to display her new found end-of-showitis! Melly and Candi once again had the fastest time of the day in their jump-off but tipped the last rail down. Kimber gave Rambo yet another confidence building ride and they'll face the test of the indoor tomorrow. And Manny and Kimber had a lovely double clean to finish fourth in a huge class. The grey boys hacked (and bareback for Caitano as he has got a wither sore we need to heal ASAP) and Natalia is eagerly awaiting Camy's arrival tomorrow after suffering thru a ride with Macella.
Once again Caitano put his best four feet forward in tonite's Grand Prix, altho he did have two rails down over the leopaldo palacio course, he jumped a very nice round.
Chaos was king today, as we all scrambled for all we were worth to keep up with incessant ring and schedule changes . Despite missed course walks and rushed warm-ups everyone produced good performances and we're at the ready for tomorrow's adventures in showing.
There are no words for how great Camy and Natalia are together, two classes two clean rounds, including the Jr/Am modified!!!
The big grey brothers had a little fun humiliating Macella at the jog, but once the outside assistence was sufficient to achieve a jog, they easily obtained their credentials. Melly and Lala had a lovely round and Rambo remains deeply skeptical of the whole indoor with it's spooky acoustics and bright lights, much to Kimber's dismay. Melly took us to the picture booth and there are some fabulous pix from last week that we'll just have to break down and buy so everyone can see them!
