| Here
are some updates on my current activities... check back often
for more recent news! |
| --
May 2008 -- |
| May 13: |
| I am happy to announce that Amy West will be my new Administration Manager! She will be handling registrations for clinics as well as scheduling and invoicing for lessons and coaching. Please contact her at: or (780)781-0371 to book lessons or if you have any scheduling questions. So far for May we have clinics at Mind’s Eye May 17 & 18, at Beaumont May 19, at Cochrane May 23-25 (2 day or 3 day rates) and possibly another clinic in South on the last weekend of May, location TBA. |
| I also have an opening for a part-time and/or full-time working student. This person would need to be available at all the June, July and August competitions listed on the schedule page as well as working with me during the week for a minimum of 2 days a week. Compensation for the position is dependent on amount of days worked as well as experience; may include board for up to 2 horses, up to 4 lessons per week, coaching at shows and possibly hauling to shows. The right candidate would be very hard working, responsible, cheerful, and able to turn-out competition horses to a high standard. Please contact Amy West if you are interested. |
| May 7: |
| It is great to be home! I got home about 10 days ago after quite a long drive. I delayed leaving Florida because of bad weather reported in Montana and Saskatchewan (we can take either route home). After kayaking in the Gulf of Mexico and baking on a beach at a local Ocala lake, I decided the northern weather had enough time to settle and it was time to leave. It was sad to go after such a fun and successful season but definitely time to get back home. I got stuck in South Dakota for 2 days on the way home as the forecast of -2 and a few flurries turned into freezing rain, - 10 and a major dump of snow. The interstate was closed but luckily, I had already planned a brief overnight stop in Brookings SD so the horses were tucked up in big blankets and stalls before the snow came. When I finally left, the roads were clear and mostly dry, crossing the border was routine, and then it was time to look for a much missed Tim Horton’s! It was great to finally come up our driveway; there was still so much snow! |
| We had to cancel the April 26/27 clinic at the lovely Mind’s Eye Ranch near Morinville due to all the snow the Edmonton area had received. We hope to reschedule for later in May. The clinic in Red Deer May 3rd and 4th was able to go ahead with lots of sunshine and perfect footing in the water jump field. A big thank-you to our host Ulrika Vikner, and to Rebecca Pikkert for organizing the clinic. It was great to see some new faces and catch up with old friends. If you are interested, check the schedule page to see what other clinics are offered in May. |
| Three of the horses began light work this week after a few weeks of holiday. Kip is still on a break after his Three Day Event in Florida and will begin hacking in the middle of the month. Bob will begin competing again at Beaumont and then on to Millarville. He has had a month off and was quite excited to be back in work! Finn and Eddy have started back into work, however, unlike the cheeky Bob, they are perfectly behaved. You may see them out and about in June. |
| --
April 2008 -- |
| April 21: |
| Kip placed 19th at the Florida Three Day on the weekend! I was very happy with him over the whole weekend; it was a great finish to a fun winter season. Kip was more obedient in dressage although there is still lots of room for a more forward, expressive test, he scored a 56.9 was tied for 14th out of 30 starters. Our cross-country round was much straighter than it has been, with forward rides to all the fences for a clear round. However, although Kip was not pulling hard or being too fast, he was pulling down. This made for a very conservative gallop and tons of time faults as I wanted to come into the fences uphill and forward and that took a few seconds at every fence! Although our time faults took us well out of the placings, I think a little more experimenting with the bit will soon have us galloping straight, uphill and efficiently. That will be the goal for the next CCI**! Trot-up went very smoothly, it was nice to have a lovely sound horse on Sunday morning. I was happy with our show jumping, we ended up with 2 rails, (one was mine for sure!) but no time faults as we were able to turn quickly and smoothly to each line without as much resistance as last year. Lots of improvements were apparent in Kip’s performance, a nice ending with the all important qualifying score. I am thankful that I was able to work with David O’Connor; the lessons have really improved my horse’s way of going as well as focusing on the areas that I need to change. I plan to do more intermediate and another CCI** in the summer as we need the practice but for now, Kip will enjoy a month off and some time on grass when we get home. |
| April 8: |
| We have just returned from a 12 day trip to Poplar Place in Georgia and The Fork in North Carolina. The Fork had been in the middle of a drought that ended while we were driving in and turned the farm into a mud bog! There is orange mud on everything, unpacking and cleaning is going to be fun. |
| Poplar had mixed results, Kip was in the CIC** and although he came 11th, we had two stops at a combination. He took exception to the overhang/picture frame type of structure that was part of the second jump in the combination. As we stayed at Poplar for a few days after the event, I got to school it and he jumped in bad form, ears back, very flat. We may need to practice this type of fence! All the narrows on course went well, and Kip was very bold at the water. After Red Hills, I worked on corners and narrows at the O’Connor’s. David gave lots of feedback on position and we talked about how to hold the line. |
| We actually had no rails in show jumping but I ended up circling after a huge jump into a 4 stride and some resistance to my half halt, so we picked up 4 faults for that and some time faults. At The Fork, dressage was better, cross-country was steady, although quite slow. The organizer’s did a great job and changed cross-country from sat to sun to give the footing a chance to dry. Kip’s next outing will be the CCI** at the Florida Horse Park, we will be aiming for a qualifying score! |
| Bob was very naughty at Poplar. He started out well and was 1st after dressage in his division; I went off course in show jumping and racked up a bunch of time faults –oops! Cross-country started well and then at the approach to the 4th fence, a right turn down a slope to a large steeplechase fence, we did not turn right! By the time I actually got turned to face the fence we were 4 strides away at a slow canter. This pace is not recommended to jump a large brush on a green horse. After attempting to re-approach and having the same thing happen, I decided to call it a day. Polar has 3 separate start boxes, so for the next 3 days, Bob practiced coming out of the start box forward, jumping a fence and then turning right with no arguments. I think we had a break through because he went clear at The Fork! We went slowly because I wanted to make sure he stayed obedient. He was great; we also had a steady dressage and a double clear in show jumping. |
| Finn had a steady weekend at Poplar; we had not done a lot of dressage lately due to his time in the hunter ring so that was a bit mediocre. We had some time faults in show jumping and a steady clear cross-country. Finn was not quite himself at The Fork so I ended up pulling up, I rode him again when we got home and he was back to his lovely self so I am not sure if he got a little muscle sore from the mud. I did not mind too much as he had been so bold and responsive over fences at Poplar even with our time faults. He and Bob now have a bit of break from competitions before coming home. |
| --
March 2008 -- |
| March
18 : |
| My thoughts go out to The Red hills Organizers, Darren Chaicchia, Jon Holling, and Missy Miller. They all went through a lot of bad luck on the weekend. Jon and Missy lost horses on cross-country. Darren had a very serious fall and is in critical condition. The organizers at Red Hills do a wonderful job; this must be very hard for them and everyone else in the sport. Go to useventing.com for more news on the event and Darren’s condition. |
| Pine Top was two weeks ago and was good experience for Kip and Bob. Kip’s dressage hit rock bottom, very disobedient, we have lots to work on in that department. Lessons with David O’Connor have been great, we have worked on obedience and quality of the movement, but now I need to get in the ring more often. We did not have any rails show jumping but I circled before the last fence to regain balance as Kip had decided to charge, we got a bunch of time faults but it was good schooling. Cross-country was fun, one run-out in the water at an island one stride. My fault for coming too slowly and not having the horse in front of my leg, everything else was great! |
| Bob was a bit tense in dressage but still tried hard, he had a rail in show jumping. I decided to run cross-country with him as the course was quite progressive and fair. He started out a bit spooky and decided to whip around to the left between the first fence and the start box. After a little reminder about straightness, we set out again and he jumped clear with only one more circle to regain balance and remind him who is actually in charge. Bob did not go to Red Hills, he stayed home for a while to get more schooling under his belt, and his next outing will be Poplar Place at the end of March. |
| Besides the unfortunate accidents at Red Hills, it was a fun weekend. Although performance wise, not a personal best. Kip was much better in dressage, he was 7th, I was very happy with our test. We had worked hard after Pine Top and David was very helpful with some suggestions for the disobedience. Cross-country was at the very end of the day, we started out strong, Kip in front of my leg, and then we had a run-out at a narrow in a combination. The jump was part B, part A was in a fence line that continued in an L shape next to part B. After my run-out, I re-jumped A and had another stop. I did not know how to get to back to part B without jumping A again so I decided to retire. I was disappointed, especially after waiting all day to ride! We were not allowed to show jump the next day so I got to watch lots of the other riders and enjoy the trade fair and food stands. Red Hills is a wonderful event, tons of spectators, and everything is so organized. |
| Finn has been showing at HITS and doing really well. He just did 2 weeks of hunters. He placed in the under saddle class and looked great over fences. It is his first time in the hunter ring and he is getting all his strides and jumping really well around the courses! |
| --
Febuary 2008 -- |
| February
28 : |
Hi
everyone,
Fintan just spent a week with me in Florida so we have been
doing some tourist things such as touring some gulf islands,
watching dolphins and manatees, and eating wonderful seafood!
The horses had a light week and this is the first time I have
been near the computer in over a week. |
| Before
Fintan's arrival things were quite busy, the second Rocking
horse event had mixed results. Bob got very herd bound and after
a decent dressage and lovely showjump round, was very spooky
on cross-country, I retired and dropped him down to training
level for the Ocala event. He was still naughty on cross- country
and we got about a million time faults as I treated the event
as a "schooling" round. He is entered Prelim for the
next event at Pine Top in Georgia but may just do a combined
test. |
| Finn
has been great, he has placed in most of his classes at HITS
(jumper show), he was a bit spooky with some shadows at the
last Rocking horse event, we ended up with 2 stops cross country
but then jumped a very nice clean show jump round. Ocala was
great for him, he was lovely in dressage and showjumping and
jumped well around the cross-country to finish 2nd in his open
division. |
| Kip
has been practising being obedient; we have been riding with
David O'Connor about once or twice a week and working on consistency.
Kip was a bit naughty in dressage at Rocking Horse, and was
very good in both jumping phases. He moved up to Intermediate
for the Ocala event. Dressage is still a work in progress; I
made a couple mistakes in showjumping and had a few rails. Cross-country
was great, there were some good questions, Kip was wonderful
at all the narrows! I did have a silly run- out near the end,
I had relaxed a bit as kip was over jumping all the early fences
so I lengthened my reins and perhaps he felt bit abandoned or
naughty, not sure which. |
| So
our next outing is this weekend at Pine Top in Georgia, Kip
is entered in Intermediate, Bob in Prelim and Finn is on a break
from the events to do a bit more at HITS. The weather has been
great, Lorraine Laframboise from the AB High Performance program
helped all Albertans at Ocala, she was great and it was nice
to have some feedback and homework. |
| I
hear the Alberta deep freeze is over, I hope everyone is back
riding. I will be teaching a couple spring clinics and may be
teaching in Cochrane is early June. I will have more details
soon. Does anyone want to go out of province for May competitions?
Let me know... |
| --
January 2008 -- |
| January
31: |
| Hi
Everyone!
I hope everyone survived the deep freeze, it did not sound
fun. It has been frosty here a couple mornings; I even had
a touque on. Today was back to over 20 degrees today, had
to wear sunscreen. |
| Kip
has started lessons with David O'Connor, we had to work hard
the first week and I had lots of homework, much better this
week in dressage and jumping. |
| Finn
has been doing jumper classes at HITS, last week he had 3
classes and did not have any rails, he placed in 2 of the
classes and again placed in one this week. |
| Bob
is well, he has been working hard getting ready for his first
prelim this weekend. I wish we had a bit more time. We had
a disagreement today, he went left and I went right, it was
a long walk to catch him. He is jumping well but still a bit
tense in dressage. |
| Eddy
has done some schooling hunters at HITS as well as toddling
around at the farm. He is doing well and getting fit. I have
had lots of interest in him but everyone seems to be several
states away. |
| The
event on the weekend well, Finn was great in dressage, he
was second with a 31, and unfortunately I went of course in
show jumping! Cross-country was slow and steady, Finn has
not had a chance to school much yet. Kip was working on obedience
in dressage so the test was so-so in terms of movement, he
was great on showjumping, one of the best rounds I have had
on him, cross country was strong but obedient. Bob was a bit
tense in dressage, I think he will take a couple more shows
to settle down, his showjumping was a bit quick with one rail
and he was raring in to on cross country and we had to discuss
who was in charge. They will all go prelim at the next event
this weekend. |
| Tina,
Sandra and Carol have arrived at the farm, it is great to
see everyone, and we had a potluck this evening. Thanks for
the news from home for those of you who dropped me a line.
If you have time, let me know how things are with you.
-Becky
|
| January
16: |
| Hi,
we made it to Florida with only a few delays. The roads before
Regina were really bad but the rest was great! The horses
travelled quite well and had 3 days to rest, sunbathe and
recover. I was washing the truck and trailer as well as getting
organized while they were sunbathing! We had 24 degree weather
when we arrived but the last couple days have been quite a
bit cooler and there was frost on Tuesday morning. Oh well,
that did not stop us from having a lovely outdoor jump school
today at the neighbour's field. Our first event is in 10 days
so we start cross-country schooling soon and possibly a jumper
show this weekend. |
| Please
keep in touch, I would love to hear how your horses/hobbies/work
and play are going! I am trying to get my archaic laptop wireless
then I can e-mail more than once a week! And no, I am not
on facebook : ) My phone actually works this year so feel
free to call if you like. |
Tina;
I look forward to your, Sandra's and Marlene's arrival, hope
you have a very safe and smooth trip. I will be buying stock
at Mickey Dees when you arrive! Are you bring any pooches?
Everyone else has one. They all get along quite well.
XOXOXOXO
- Becky |
| |
|
****
NEWS
ARCHIVES
**** |
|
| --
November 2007 -- |
| I
have been invited to the David O’Connor clinic being held
in the lower mainland of BC later this month! The clinic is
by invitation only, both Kip and Finn qualified to attend. If
I can organize car pooling and taking time away from the office,
I would like to go with Kip, hopefully the weather co-operates. |
| I
have started riding a 3yr old Irish Stallion. He is owned by
Kim Hughes; he was imported about a year and a half ago and
just passed his stallion inspection in September. Go to http://www.dkhirishdraughtsporthorses.ca/index.html
to learn more about him. He is very sweet, his manners are much
nicer than my geldings and I am looking forward to starting
his show career in May. |
| --
October 2007 -- |
| Kip
and Finn went to the Spruce Meadows Harvest Classic Indoor Tournament
and we had a blast! It was the horse’s first time at a
recognized Jumper show and their first time showing indoors.
Both were very good, they handled the well decorated show ring
and the busy warm-up ring really well. I was happy with their
performance and placings. Although Kip thought the last class,
the 1.10 m Mini-Prix was cross country and had a few rails! |
| While
we were at Spruce Meadows, the AHTA year-end awards and dinner
was held in Red Deer. Apparently Bob (Good As Gold) won high
point for Open Training and Finn won the Registered Canadian
Warmblood for Alberta high point. Way to go Bob and Finn! |
| --
September 2007 -- |
| The
Avalon Event went well! I drove to Vancouver Island accompanied
by Amy West and Christine Austerman. We missed our scheduled
ferry and had to take the next one. It is really time to develop
a new(er) truck strategy as mine has many miles and seems a
bit tired! I took Finn and Kip with me. Dressage was good and
not so good, Finn had quite a lovely test for 2nd place and
Kip struggled with staying elevated and broke a few times at
the canter for a poor score. Show jumping was much better, Kip
jumped clear with time faults, Finn had one rail in the triple
and another unlucky one that he barely touched. Kip’s
cross-county was great; the course had a couple technical questions
as it was the BC Intermediate championships. Kip jumped around
clear with time faults as was the plan after he was a bit of
a run away at South Peace. I had a big smile after his round
as I felt like we were on the same page! Finn got a little spooked
at the trakaner, I let him have a look and then he cantered
calmly over it once he settled and understood the question.
Kip ended up 7th and Finn 5th in their respective divisions.
Their event season is now done, I may try to get to a jumper
show and some clinics this fall and winter. Christine had a
terrific event to end up 2nd in Intermediate and Amy completed
her first Preliminary to place 6th, way to go Amy! |
| --
December 2006 -- |
| December
5th: I spent the weekend at a clinic with Sonya Crampton
held at Windy Hills, just north of Stony Plain. The clinic
was great - Finn was in a Training group and Kip was in the
Preliminary group. We practiced show jumping exercises
both days with an emphasis on keeping the horses connected and
supple, while being able to adjust the stride and level of power.
Both horses improved over the weekend and I took away
some good homework. A big thanks to Sarah Cunningham for
organizing the clinic and the owners of Windy Hills for arranging
overnight accommodations for the horses as well as parking. |
| More
exciting news! The finalizations of travel plans for the late
winter and early spring... I will be spending February, March
and April training in Ocala, Florida! Students joining me will
be Tina Thompson, Jodie VellaGregory, and Barry Tyerman. Plans
include more FEI events such as CIC*/** and finishing our trip
with a CCI*/** (see “More About
Eventing” to find out about the FEI levels and CIC/CCI
classes) at the Florida Horse Park the third weekend of April.
I will be spending some of the Christmas season running
around sorting out details for the trip as well as getting the
horses as fit as possible! |
| --
November 2006 -- |
| November
16th: Last weekend I attended a great clinic with Penny
Rowland at Fieldstone Farm with Bob, the new horse. We
had a good time - a dressage lesson on Friday, grids and lines
on Saturday, and then courses, angles, and corners on Sunday.
Bob was so good that he got upgraded to the Training group
for Sunday! Penny was very positive; her excercizes were
progressive and allowed the horses to figure things out and
then adding in challenges for the rider. There was a fun
pizza and wine gathering on the Saturday evening with some great
videos, and it was nice to see friends from Calgary and Red
Deer as well as around Edmonton. Thanks to the Ziehlke
Family for organizing and hosting the clinic as well as letting
me bunk down on Saturday night! |
| My
next outing will be a clinic with Sonya Crampton the first weekend
of December. I hope to ride both Finn and Kip as Kip is
now fully recovered from his September injury and Finn is back
in work after a holiday. |
| --
October 2006 -- |
| October
13th: I just got back from a month long trip to BC
and WA. The main purpose of the trip was to get more experience
on Kip as we had some ups & downs during the summer and
I wanted to build some momentum for the winter. I also
wanted to do a little horse shopping. Finn also came along to
get more experience in the US. I stayed with Chelan Kozak
for the first few days and we had a great time schooling horses
by day and drinking wine by night. She made some helpful
suggestions with Kip and Finn and we had a blast setting up
multiple skinnies, corners, and combinations in her jump ring.
I went on to meet up with Barry Tyerman and Tricia Dahms
at the ferry on the way to the Avalon event on the island. |
| The
Avalon event was terrific! It was my first time there
and I really recommend it. The Winship family was very welcoming
and have put lots of effort into challenging and varied cross-country
courses as well as a large ring with terrific footing to show-jump
in. Kip was great too; he was steady and forward in dressage
and had a lovely show-jump round with only one rail down. He
was extremely rideable in both of those phases, and I look forward
to finessing his talent this winter and moving up the levels
in the spring. Cross-country was a blast; he was still
a bit strong so we took some time faults rather than blasting
around without any thought. We spent a few days after
the event schooling; Finn did not compete at Avalon so he got
to jump around and have fun after the event. |
| Then
on to the US... we all went south to Auburn, Washington to compete
at the Equestrian Institute at Donida Farm. Finn had been
going very well and we were 4th after dressage in training level,
even with a bit of unsteadiness. He then jumped clear
with no time around a fairly difficult training course. The
4th jump was a substantial bank followed by about 10 strides
to a big ramp over a ditch, then another 10 strides to a coffin!
After a clear show-jump round, Finn ended up 2nd! |
| Kip
put in another steady test at preliminary and then we set off
later the same day on cross-country. He was very good
- not pulling, and I looked forward to a great course.
The 4th fence was also a large bank similar to training level
but with a big bounce log on top and no option, but no problem!
Kip listened to the half-halt and then popped through
the bounce without a second thought, staying in front of my
leg but not pulling. Sadly, we were galloping between
fences later in the course and Kip lost his footing and had
a fall. When he was finally caught he had a gash between
his front legs. I am not sure if he caught some sharp sticks
on the brush jump or a cork when he fell. He needed 36
staples and was on stall rest for 2 weeks. I was very disappointed
although happy with all his previous efforts. He will
be fine once the cut heals. |
| I
stayed at Donida Farm for another week before moving again,
and finally ended up at Rainier for the North West Equestrian
Fall Gala event (NWEC). Before going to Rainier, I spent
a lot of time looking for another young horse in between schooling
Finn and doing laundry! I found a horse – Bob is
his name - and decided to trade Kip’s preliminary level
entry at the NWEC event for a beginner novice entry as there
were no refunds. Bob is a 5 year old Thoroughbred; he
has been to a few shows but never entered in a full event. He
has quite a personality and I look forward to getting to know
him better. Both Bob and Finn were quite good in dressage
and both ended up first in their respective divisions after
dressage, Finn with an amazing score of 23! I unfortunately
had a couple bobbles on Finn in cross-country, then fog the
morning of cross-country was very thick and you could not see
your fences until you were about 10 to 6 strides away. The fog
lifted later in the day but not soon enough. Bob went
in the afternoon and had a clear but green cross-country and
he felt great galloping. On the Sunday, both horses put
in clear show-jump rounds, Bob ended up first in his division
and although Finn did not place, I was thrilled with his dressage
and the experience he gained on the trip. |
| It
is good to be home. Bob is settling in, Kip is recovering,
and Finn is having a little down time. I will be back
to a regular teaching and office schedule and look forward to
participating in some clinics in the next few weeks. |
| --
September 2006 -- |
| September
6 th: I am still recovering from the South Peace event.
We went up early where I was one of the instructors at the three
day clinic before the event. Between teaching, racing other
riders on the quad, sampling the Grand Prairie night life, the
Swanburg clinic wrap-up party, and the “human games”
on Sunday night, we had a great time! Kip and Finn had another
good event, Finn finished first in training and Kip was seventh
with only one mistake cross-country. I have a few days to do
laundry, clean tack and re-pack in preparation for a month long
trip to the coast and then down to WA for more events before
the season ends. |
| --
August 2006 -- |
| August
22nd: Alhambra went very well for both Kip and Finn.
Dressage was smooth and forward, Finn placed first and
Kip was fourth. Cross-country was a lot of fun, Kip and
I had a much improved ride, more control and a better quality
gallop - no steering issues! Finn was also good; he galloped
around and started to figure out questions a lot sooner. Both
horses ended the event with steady show-jump rounds. Finn
finished in 2nd place (we had tied for first and ties are broken
by closest to optimum time, and we had gone a bit fast!), and
Kip was 3rd, I was very pleased with both horses! Brittany and
Davina also both successfully upgraded to Preliminary at Alhambra...
another reason to celebrate! |
| August
10th: The summer has been extremely busy with teaching
and competing! The horses went to Johvale again, Thompson
Country, and Rebecca Farm in Montana. I missed Millarville
due to getting sick, but luckily, Tina Thompson hauled Brittany
and Sailor to the event so they would not have to miss it. Thanks
to everyone who helped out! |
|
July has brought some ups and downs for Kip, he has been very
strong and I have been trying different bits. Although
I had more control at Rebecca Farm, we still had steering issues
and I ended up retiring. I was disappointed and will be
downgrading to Training for an event to regroup. I have
started riding Joanne Cameron’s horse Finn MacCool; he
upgraded to Training level and has been learning as he goes.
He is a lovely, careful horse who will benefit from exposure
to lots of different courses. He and Kip will both be
going Training at the Red Deer August event and Hazel will get
a break. Hazel has been going very well - she jumped clear
at both Johvale and Thompson, although I missed a fence at Johvale
and we were eliminated, but overall she was terrific. She
upgraded to Pre-training, or Novice as it is called in the US,
at Rebecca Farms. She went around cross-country like a
hunter with only time faults, and I was very happy with all
her jumping in Montana. |
| --
June 2006 -- |
| June
19th: The Derby at Mind’s Eye Ranch was really
fun. The course and the fences are great; the Warrener Family
has put a lot of effort into some great things to jump as well
as their amazing water complex. I rode Kip in the training/preliminary
division and it was good fun. There were not a lot of entries,
which was disappointing as they missed out on a great day. |
| June
12th: I just returned from teaching a busy clinic in
Cochrane. We managed to avoid the rain and had a great time
practicing cross-country! Thanks to Carol Berger and Tammy Cruickshank
for organizing and hosting me again. Our next outing will be
at the Minds Eye Derby on June 17th. |
| June
7th: The Alhambra event was a lot of fun! Unfortunately
I experienced a minor injury after falling off Hazel during
the warm-up, but she went on to a do a great test. Both Hazel
and Kip were fabulous and with well over 60% percent in dressage,
they both placed second in their respective divisions after
their tests. My fortunes were mixed on cross-country day; I
may have been a little distracted with my injury and missed
a fence on Kip and got eliminated. I was disappointed in myself
for the error, but at the same time very happy with the way
Kip went. Hazel was just great on cross-country and ended up
second in her division! |
| --
May 2006 -- |
| May
29th: Wow, what a busy 3 weeks! Our WA and BC trip
went really well, we had terrific weather for the most part
and everyone had a good time. The Rainier Event in WA was great,
we stayed and schooled and enjoyed the sun. We even managed
to catch a couple of Oilers games in between competing and driving!
Johvale was fun; Hazel placed after dressage and jumped really
well with just time faults cross-country and one rail in show
jumping. Kip is starting to go more forward in dressage, we
had one run-out cross-country at a fence similar to the one
I was eliminated at during the CCI*. I was happy that he jumped
confidently the second time and the rest of the course rode
very boldly. Davina Warrener is also a working student this
year and did a great job helping Brittany with the horses at
the event while I was coaching. We got home on the 23rd and
then I left 3 days later to attend the High Performance clinic
with Leslie Grant in Red Deer. The rain had stopped in central
Alberta and the footing was quite good for the horses. Leslie
is soft spoken, very positive, and made some really helpful
suggestions. The next outing will be the Alhambra Event this
weekend, the first Alberta show of the year! |
| May
8th: We are just about to leave for a 2 week trip to
Washington and BC. There will be 9 horses going for the whole
trip and a few meeting us at the Johvale event, so there is
lots of planning involved. I will be schooling Kip and Hazel
the first part of the trip and then competing them both at Johvale.
Brittany Rose has started in her position of working student
for this season; I am looking forward to having her help with
the horses on the trip as well as competing on her own horse. |
| --
April 2006 -- |
| April
26th: We had great preparation going into the CCI*
at Twin Rivers, however I was eliminated on cross-country. I
had a stop at a fence and then had great difficulty even getting
Kip near the jump again. I was disappointed but pragmatic that
this is a very new partnership on a young horse and there will
be some ups and downs as he develops. Danielle did really well,
finishing off a qualifying score in the CCI* with a clear showjump
round. She also placed 10th in the Novice division with her
new young horse so we had lots to celebrate on the drive home!
I will be home at the end of the week and then in Red Deer to
teach a clinic on the weekend. I look forward to seeing family,
friends, and students, as well as schooling my new horse. It
has been a great trip, lots of time to be an athlete and get
experience at more events. Thank-you again to everyone who supported
my decision to go south as well as to all those who came to
the fundraiser hall party, I could not have done it without
that help! |
| April
18th: Ram Tap went well; Danielle came in 9th out of
21 on her Prelim. horse and fifth place in Beginner / Novice
on her new young horse Maia who has never been to a show previously.
Great for Danielle!! We had good weather and during the show,
Kip was stabled nearby as he had the weekend off. Where he was
stabled, there were free range peacocks, ducks, roosters, and
large goats and that made for some interesting schooling. We
arrived at the CCI site Monday afternoon and settled in. We
had time to surf at Morrow Bay where the water is much colder
than in the South where we were; but we are getting to be tough
surfer girls anyways. First trot up is Thursday we will be getting
ready for that and may get to surf again one last time. |
| April
12th: Wow! I am now a surfer-girl! We have had some
down time lately as we’ve enjoyed a week off of showing. I’ve
had a chance to go surfing a few times. I am addicted already;
I’ve managed to use up a full bottle of sunscreen (UV 45) as
well as some Ibuprofen from my surfer-girl crashes with the
big waves and the ocean floor. I have now ridden the waves at
both Oceanside and Encinitas, CA and may have the opportunity
to go surf one more time a bit further north before leaving
for home. I am leaving tomorrow to coach at the Ram Tap Horse
Trials and then will go directly on to compete on Gold Twist
in the CCI* at Twin Rivers. My goal is to achieve another qualifying
score in preparation for upgrading later this season. Happy
Easter everyone!!! |
| April
4th: Good news, we completed the CIC* at Galway Downs
with a qualifying score so Kip and I should be able
to compete at the CCI* coming up at Twin Rivers in Paso Robles
the third weekend of April. We ended up 24th out of 36
starters, more than a quarter of the class did not complete
the event. The cross-country was quite challenging and
I was really happy with my young green horse! There were
many technical questions involving "skinnies" or narrow
jumps after long gallops as well as up and down hills. On
cross-country and stadium, Kip jumped at least a foot
over many of the oxers; there was a lot of "air time"!
The party Saturday night was good fun, the Canadians definitely
had a great time! |
| --
March 2006 -- |
| March
28th: What a great weekend, we just recovered from
the Santa Fe Hunt Race Meet on Saturday and their closing Hunt
on Sunday. Saturday Kip and I entered a cross-country
class where you had to come in closest to the optimum time and
you are not allowed to measure the course or know the time,
the pace was 475 mpm and Kip and I came third as we
were 5 seconds off the pace. On Sunday we hunted with
the Santa Fe pack, we rode in the first field, which is the
field that stays close to the hounds, gallops a lot, and jumps
the fence lines. We had a great time and finished with
a bang up breakfast! I hope to post pictures of the hunt soon. |
| March
21st: Copper Meadows was a mixed review! I was
entered to ride my new horse Gold Twist in Open Preliminary
and Danielle's horse in Intermediate for the weekend.
I was about to walk a course Friday morning via a leisurely
coffee and then ride dressage in about three hours when the
organizers announced "due to very inclement weather coming,
cross-country is rescheduled for this afternoon with advanced
starting at noon.." AHHHH, this was a new site for
me and I had not walked one course yet. Forget the coffee, I
ran off to walk the Intermediate twice, the prelim once and
get dressage ridden. During the intermediate test, there
were intermittent blasts of either the smoothie maker or a chain
saw (not sure which) so the result was not the best. |
With
a quick tack change, I was on to cross-country; we went clear
over the course and a bit slow as the footing was deep in places.
I was very happy with Danielle's horse as some of the
fences were quite demanding and were also jumped by the advanced
division. Another quick change and on to the new horse
Gold Twist, or Kip as he is called at the
barn. He was very green but obedient and we ended up tied
for 5th after dressage. Another quick change and we were
off on cross-country; we had a miscommunication at a skinny
combination early on and ended up breaking a flag. After
a quick conference with the jump judge who thought that we really
had not "officially" jumped the obstacle, we sorted
out our communication strategy; short reins and slow down, (perhaps
some bit shopping next week) and went on again at a very slow
schooling pace. After a whopping 60 penalty points for
going to slow, I was quite happy with Kip as the rest
of the round was bold, straight and fun!
Then the rain came; it rained all night and all of Saturday’s
activities were cancelled. There was a bit more rain Saturday
night and the footing was not looking good. The organizers
started stadium with novice and there was some sliding around.
As there was not a lot of sun to help dry the ring, I
made the decision to scratch the horses from stadium and save
them for the next weekend. Most of the upper level divisions
thinned out when they saw the footing. Despite the heavy rain,
it was a nice event and the organizers really bent over backwards
to fit everything in. |
|
March 6th: We have just gotten back from
a cold and rainy event at Flintridge, where Danielle won the
open Preliminary division. I have received good news,
my offer to purchase Gold Twist has been accepted,
and I am excited to have another upper level prospect and
will be competing on him at the Copper Meadows event! We
are hoping for some sun as it has been cold and rainy here
since the end of February - the event at Twin Rivers was even
frosty one morning! Brrrrr... |
| --
February 2006 -- |
| Feb
27th: Danielle
and I arrived at Kingsway Farm in Temecula, south California
on Feb 21 after 4 days of driving and a minor truck breakdown
about 20 minutes from our final destination. The truck
was fixed and we still ended up having a great clinic with David
O'Connor at Kingsway Farm on the weekend. I was able to
ride Gold Twist, a young event horse owned by the Linda
& Terry Paine, our hosts at Kingsway Farm. The weather has
been great, I’ve already been sun burnt! Danielle
is scheduled to show the next two weekends at events while I
look at some horses. One of the horses I was to be bringing
down, sold the day before we left and the other one went through
a minor but unfortunate temporary illness that left her unable
to cross the border until the end of February. So I am
not riding as much as I thought I would be. |
| Feb
20th: We
have just held our Winter Fun Hall Party Fundraiser. It
was a big success everyone had a great time! We raised
funds for my spring training in California and FEI entries later
in the year. Thanks again to the sponsors, volunteers
and all who attended! You can view more info on the party
as well as a listing of all our supporters on the Sponsorship
Opportunities page. |
| Danielle
Ziehlke and I leave on February 18th to train in California
for 9 weeks, kicking off the trip with a David O’Connor
clinic. Check this page for updates on the trip! |
| |
| --
Review of 2005 -- |
| Wow,
what a great year! Lots of changes and plans; Fast
Eddy upgraded to the CIC** level with much success. I
also aquired Say When (or Hazel as she is
called in the barn), a Westfalen Thoroughbred mare who placed
6th at her very first show/Event! Stephanie Dixon was
a great working student for the summer - we will miss her and
wish her luck at University. |
| Late
in the summer I made the decision to actively campaign at the
upper levels and qualify for the Canadian Eventing Team in the
next 2 years. I was given a great opportunity in the form
of some help to purchase another Preliminary level horse.
I have invested time this winter looking for the right equine
partner. The year ended with a trip to competitions in
California and although I had to withdraw from the CCI** at
Galway, CA and therefore missing a qualifier to become long
listed for the Canadian Team, I hope to compete at another CCI**
with Fast Eddy and move up to Advanced in 2006. |
| |
| |
****
2008 Schedule
**** |
|
| *
Clinics/camps may be open to all. If you are interested
in signing up for a clinic, please contact Rebecca for more
details. |
| (NOTE:
Bold = FEI Events & Italicized
= Participation is Unsure/Tentative) |
| January |
| 26/27 |
Rocking
Horse (FL) |
| February |
| 2/3 |
Rocking
Horse (FL) |
| 16/17 |
Ocala
(FL) |
| March |
| 1/2 |
Pine
Top (FL) |
| 14/15 |
Red
Hills CIC ***/** |
| 28/30 |
Poplar
Place CIC **/* |
| April |
| 5/6 |
The
Fork |
| 17-20 |
Florida
3-Day CCI **/* |
| 24 |
Depart
for Home... |
| 26/27 |
Cross
Country Clinic at Minds Eye Ranch (Morinville,
AB)
* contact Amy West (403) 843-4709
to register |
| May |
| 5/6 |
Cross
Country Clinic at Alhambra Stables (Red Deer,
AB)
* contact Becky Pikkert (403) 885-4645
to register |
| 9/11 |
NWEC
(WA) |
| 17/19 |
Johvale
(BC) |
| 31 |
Colorado
CCI **/* (CO) |
| TBA |
Cross-Country
Clinic at Cochrane Pony Club |
| June |
| 1 |
Colorado
CCI **/* (CO)
(continued) |
| 7/8 |
Beaumont (AB) |
| 21/22 |
Millarville
(AB) |
| 28-30 |
Cochrane
CIC *? (AB) |
| 28-30 |
Johvale
(BC) |
| July |
| 11-13 |
Thompson
Country (AB) |
| 19/20 |
Mind's
Eye (AB) |
| 24-27 |
Rebecca
Farm FEI CIC*** CCI**/*
CIC* (MT) |
| August |
| 2/3 |
VACATION
(July 29 - Aug. 6?) |
| 16/17 |
Alhambra
(AB) |
| 30/31 |
South
Peace (AB) |
| September |
| 13/14 |
Avalon
(BC) |
| 13/14 |
Copper
Meadows (CA) |
| 20/21 |
Alhambra
(AB) |
| 26-28 |
Twin
Rivers CIC***/**/* (CA) |
|
|
| |
