Hello dear readers!

I know I owe you all a Tucker update, but will save that for another post.  Suffice it to say I’ve made some big changes lately, one of which has allowed me the freedom to do a lot more writing for Sidelines Magazine.  In this month’s issue, I wrote a really fun article about Lucy Matz, daughter of Olympian show jumper and Triple Crown trainer Michael Matz.

By the way, have you subscribed to Sidelines yet?  No?  Well, you should — I love it, and I’m not just saying that because my name is lucky enough to grace its pages these days.  Seriously, I keep mine with me all the time so I can read whenever I have a minute, and I end up reading it cover-to-cover every month.  If you don’t have a subscription yet though, you are in luck, because you can read my article about Lucy for free here.  Check it out!

I had so much fun researching and writing this article.  Lucy is incredibly sweet and, like her dad, seriously humble about her success and her quasi-celebrity status.  As for her pony jumper Wiseguy, well, I think you know how Tucker and I both feel about adorable ponies.  He’s a Connemara imported from Ireland, and he is pretty much the cutest guy ever:

Now put this pony in the Dixon Oval at Devon (you all know I think it’s the most magical place on earth), making the pony jumpers look just like a mini-grand prix, and I am straight up in love.  And Lucy is a great little rider.  She is without a doubt one to watch as she moves up to the Junior Jumpers this year.

For the interview, I asked Lucy about her rounds at Devon with Wiseguy in the NAL pony jumpers.  In 2010, Lucy won the class, but Wiseguy was a little, um, exuberant… and it wasn’t perfectly smooth.

In 2011, Lucy returned to Devon and was second in the NAL Pony Jumpers with Wiseguy.  Even though this round didn’t deliver the blue, it is pretty flawless.

When I asked Lucy which round she was more proud of (the winning round, or the better ride), she said she was happier with the 2011 round, where her pony was so good, even though it’s nice to win.  I know the feeling.  Some of the ribbons on my wall (yes of course I still hang up my ribbons even though I am supposedly a grown up) that make me smile the biggest are yellow, white, or even purple, because they remind me of an awesome round or a great day with the big brown horse.

What about you?  What makes you happier, the blue ribbon, or the good ride?

Congratulations to the winner of the first ever TTW Giveaway.  One of our facebook fans (now at 125 and counting!), Beth Stelzleni, of S-Squared Eventing at Wishing Tree Farm, is the big winner of a Sidelines Magazine subscription!  Congrats Beth, and thank you for liking the blog!

Beth says she never wins anything (though her show record speaks to the contrary), so I’m very happy she won our giveaway!  Beth is originally from Florida, and is now an eventing and dressage trainer based out of Athens, Georgia.  Beth has been riding for over twenty years.  She says this makes her sound old, but I’ve been riding even longer, and I still think of myself as a kid (with a law degree. . . how did that happen?) so I don’t think twenty years of riding amounts to old age at all.  She started out in hunter world (I knew I liked her) and now competes in eventing, dressage, and even ventures back over to H/J land to compete in the jumper ring as well.  She enjoys teaching students in all of these disciplines. . . so if you’re in the Georgia area and in need of a good coach, maybe you can look Beth up!

Beth, incidentally, has also put in a specific request for an Equestrian Heartthrob of the Robert Redford variety, and I must say that man has classic good looks that never go out of style, so I am more than happy to oblige.

Here you go, Beth!  How did I do?

Thank you all for liking TTW on facebook and for participating in the giveaway.  Hopefully there will be many more where that came from!

Tucker fans, I have an exciting announcement!  Sidelines has generously agreed to let me give away a year’s subscription to the magazine to one of my blog readers.  How cool is that?!

The May 2012 Issue

Entering the contest is easy — all you have to do is like Tucker the Wunderkind and Sidelines Magazine on facebook between now and May 15th (you’ll have to like both to be entered).  If you’re already following Tucker and Sidelines on facebook, good news — you’re already eligible to win!  (And, you’re already enjoying all the great stuff Sidelines has to offer and the hilarious stuff I find for your newsfeeds.  My apologies in advance if I ever make you spit coffee onto your monitors.)  And just in case you need another incentive to like Tucker the Wunderkind on facebook, Equestrian Ryan Reynolds and Equestrian Johnny Depp are there.