On Thursday, Wyatt WF, Avebury WF & Ruben WF had a road trip over to True Prospect Farm. Ryan Wood had awesome rides on Avebury & Ruben but sadly we had to leave the camera in the truck as there was a steady drizzle. Avebury was just on super form and he and Ryan had ear-to-ear grins the whole ride. Ruben was very obedient and focused on Ryan and enjoyed his jumping as well. Wyatt and I got to show off his fantastic gaits in a new venue and then he was a marvelous fellow who watched his friends do all that jumping stuff! I was quite proud of him for be so settled and calm in the high energy environment of the training facility...it is never dull over there and that is just what Wyatt needs to experience.
Saturday had a very early start with As You Wish WF's final event of the season at Rubicon Farm in VA. We had a lovely day with bright sunshine and the temperatures climbed from the 20's into the mid 50's by afternoon. Kitty had a good dressage test with no major bobbles, although it was a bit tough to focus totally on dressage as she could see stadium warm up, stadium, cross country warm up and start every time we turned away from the judge. As an FEI rider, I am really pleased with her test - Kitty is developing nicely towards a Third level horse with so much lift...it is a thrill to ride her each time.
Our stadium was fine - no penalties and some lovely jumps. The real highlight of the day was cross country. This was our first competition where it was not raining, so the footing was outstanding. Therefore, I felt no need to ride with the handbrake on and allowed Kitty to gallop on a bit more than in past rides! We were just 4 seconds over the minimum allowed time and had a clear run! I was very proud of Kitty as there were some challenging fences that did not bother her in the slightest. :) Announcer Brian O'Connor was heard saying, "Eleanor Rawle and As You Wish WF now clear over Fence 6 with a big jump." Kitty had a wonderful time and was quite disappointed to find the course was over in 4 minutes...
Sally Cousins deserves so much credit for teaching Kitty to be such a confident and bold jumper out cross country! She did a wonderful job with Kitty and is a really super trainer for anxious riders! Afterall, she has managed to help me get in touch with my eventing roots and shake off my ingrained DQ 'Whoa'! :) Thanks Sally! (www.sallycousins.com)
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