CatchRide

It has been a very eventful week here at the Hampton Classic. It all started off Tuesday with the USET class, which went pretty well. Today I rode Occra in the PHA and Medal before doing the jumpers on her, and as it turns out, she made quite a pretty equitation horse! She was also especially good in the speed class we did. Both rounds of the Sam Edelman equitation classic took place today, rather than having the second round Saturday, in anticipation of tomorrow’s weather. Sam Schaefer won with scores of 90 and 92, so congrats to her! It’s always a very fun and exciting class.
I personally was somewhat surprised that the horse show made the decision at midnight last night to keep the show running rather than evacuate. As of right now I’m still scheduled to show tomorrow, but depending on what happens with Hurricane Earl, I may have to scratch. A lot of horses are leaving early because there is so much risk in the bad weather we’re expecting here in Bridgehampton. This weekend is supposed to have good weather again though, so hopefully it will still be beautiful for the grand prix on Sunday.

What do you do with a four-day weekend and sale horses in Florida ready and waiting? You get back on a plane and show in Jacksonville. I’m leaving after school on Thursday and heading to the North Florida Labor Day show. Most people know the event as the Zone 3 Maclay Regionals, the first of the medal finals season. I’m not doing the regionals as I’ve done jumpers for past two+ years and only rode in a couple of Maclay classes this year.  But I’ll show in others and be there to cheer on the Quiet Hill gang in Saturday night’s pressure cooker. I’ll also squeeze in a few college campus visits in the area. Gator Nation here I come!

Home of Gator Nation - University of Florida

The remains of my summer in the East arrived via FedEx yesterday – 7 boxes and duffles packed with everything from breeches to lacrosse sticks. This was just one of the requirements to make my crazy summer of riding work. As a reminder, I rode 20+ horses and went to 7 cities, 5 states and 3 countries in 9 weeks. It involved just a little bit of insanity, from non-horse people perspectives anyways. Many juniors have similar tales such as co-blogger Audrey Keller’s China/HITS/Kentucky jaunt. Here’s some of what we go through:

1. Help support FedEx – we mailed two enormous boxes filled with show coats, breeches, boots, saddle, pads, bridles, rain gear, etc. at a cost of nearly $300. We paid extra for insurance. For the return to California, we shipped 7 separate packages, this time including lacrosse equipment (see previous posts for explanation). Nearly the same costs again. By the way, you can ship directly in duffle bags with zipties securing the zippered compartments.

2. Short term rental car lease – illegally driven by me (under 18 can’t rent). All my mom said when she gave me the keys was, “don’t hit anything.” The 9-week rental, midsized Impala, was $1800. I did ask for a sports car but mom just laughed.

3. Make any lodging work – airbeds (they’re not a leading seller for a reason), college dorms (bring ear plugs if you’re next to the jump crew dorm but beware, they won’t help when the fire alarm is activated at midnight), BYO fan (it came everywhere with me).

4. Put in the hours – before leaving each day, I cleaned my tack and grazed all my horses, even one’s that spooked, spun and had a grand time at my expense. Monday’s (day off) I would arrive to hand walk and graze or take one on a leisurely trail ride. Never say “no” to hacking any horse.

5. Any GPS is better than none – I brought a portable TomTom in my luggage ($179). To rent one was $19/day. It did take me in a few circles but I couldn’t have navigated to Manhattan by myself without it.

6. Be flexible – you can’t keep what you don’t own. I did well on an equitation youngster and then he was sold, gone, shipped off. It didn’t matter that I paid for show or hauling expenses or that I really liked the horse. I wasn’t buying him so I had to move on when he did. The next one was harder for me to ride but I had to try my best. Sometimes it takes more than a class or two to jell. Sometimes that’s all you get.

I’m on my 6th load of laundry. My summer already seems a distant past but one full of great memories and experiences. Tomorrow, senior year of high school begins.

FedEx helps you ride "across" country

I’ve been home for just a few days and the reality of not having a horse is setting in. Yes, it was a blast to ride tons of different horses all summer. Yes, I learned a ton and my riding improved greatly. But here in California, I’m horseless for the first time since age 4. My mom thought I would be burnt out after riding so much back East. Sorry mom, your plan backfired as I’m more eager than ever to ride, but on what? I went to a polo match in Bridgehampton, NY last week and thought about giving that a try, not just because of all the handsome Argentineans riding. It really looked fun and so fast and aggressive. I’m not quite ready to trade in my crop for a mallet. Perhaps one day.

I got back from Kentucky Tuesday after an exhausting two weeks. The Hunterdon cup was a great experience, though due to a late lead change I knew I would not make the test. Saturday and Sunday my jumper, Occra, was fantastic. This week all the ponies are in Kentucky for pony finals! Next week some of the horses from our barn will be in Kentucky for Derby Finals. Kentucky really has a lot going on this year.
As for me, I’m back in New York for a couple of weeks. The next major show we have is the Hampton Classic at the end of August. The Hampton Classic is my favorite show, and I love spending time out there, so I can’t wait for that! In the meantime though it’s nice to have some time for lessons and to relax a little in between shows. This will be the first weekend in more than a month that I’ve been at home the entire time, between China, HITS, and Kentucky! It feels good to take a deep breath.

Kentucky has been super fun so far! Week 1 went pretty well for me over all. My two horses were brought over to my dad’s farm Sunday evening after showing, so they could get turned out Monday and Tuesday morning. The horse show doesn’t offer any turnout, unfortunately. The North American Junior and Young Riders Championship also took place over week 1. It was really fun getting to watch some of the jumper classes, especially since some of my friends took part in it.
Junior hunter finals are Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and a few girls from my barn are competing in that. My favorite addiction of this horse show so far is the smoothie stand, more specifically the chocolate smoothie. I’m up to drinking at least one or two a day now. What will I do without them when I get home! Later today I have the Hunterdon Cup with my equitation horse. That class happens in the new indoor stadium, which is (thankfully) air-conditioned. The weather here has been sweltering. The class should be really exciting, and the 80-something horses in it will make this a very competitive class.

Does age really matter in showjumping? I always thought the prime age to ride/show/own a horse was 8-12. Here in Vermont at the 6 week summer series, I’ve seen just about every age, young and old, in some big classes. Take Royal Discovery, for example. I watched Molly Braswell of Quiet Hill Farm put in a stellar double clear performances on him in the $10,000 High Jr/AO classic, finishing 2^nd week 3 and 4th week 4. Royal Discovery is 19. Molly was 2^nd in the Washington medal on El Campeon’s Danish. Danish is 19. Congrats to Alexa Boggio for winning the children’s jumper classic on 16 y/o Thunderbay weeks 3 and 4. But let’s not forget the young here at the Harold Beebe Farm show grounds.  Jimmy Torano’s 7 y/o Winsom claimed top prize winning the Grand Prix yesterday and had consistent top placings in other classes. Robin Swinderman’s INXS won the inaugural Adirondack-Green Mountain Challenge Perpetual Trophy and performed well in the A/O hunters. INXS is 7.  My equitation mount, 7 year old Chi Wah Wah, was 3^rd in the Maclay out of 30 and is off to his new home. As with people, I guess age is just a number.

Jimmy Torano's 7 y/o Winsom claim victory in Vermont's week IV Grand Prix

Molly Braswell's 19 y/o Royal Discovery

I said goodbye to 7 y/o Chi Wah Wah who's off to a new home. Look for him to continue to shine in the equitation ring.

I arrived home from China on Monday the 20^th, and began showing again on Tuesday the 21^st. No break to recover from some serious jet lag, though I know the horses enjoyed having two weeks off. I went straight back to the show ring. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I did different one days. On Tuesday I won the PHA, but unfortunately I won the wrong class. I just needed 11 medal points, and I managed to not even make it into the test. Wednesday was a small improvement with a third in the medal, leaving just 5 points to go. Thursday looked like it was going to be the day, until about 5 minutes before the class when Cupid threw a shoe. Fortunately, the trainer at that farm, Twin Lakes, knew how to tack on a shoe, and saved the day with a temporary fix. I was second, and (finally) done qualifying.

Friday morning I headed up to HITS to show Occra in the Low Juniors. Aiden did not come because he is still lame and will need a long break from riding. Cupid got the weekend off since he did one days. Occra and I started off our round fine, but somehow I ended up on the ground about halfway through. I love Occra, but I think we need just a little time to get to know and trust each other better. My trainer had her do a level 3 class with me later that day just to get back in the ring, and she was good. We did the level 3 again Saturday for practice.

Tuesday I flew down to Kentucky for two weeks of showing here. Both Occra and Cupid came down on Monday, and I’m just having lessons on them until they show later this week. The show here is truly HUGE this year. I can’t wait to do the equitation this sunday!

July has been a crazy month, between all the showing, going to China for two weeks, coming home for less than a week, and then leaving for another two weeks. Of course, I can’t complain, there hasn’t been a boring moment yet!