Canadian Premier 2019

After a month and a half of hard work at home, Wesley and I were ready for our second show, Canadian Premier at Thunderbird Showpark in Langley, BC. Personally, this is one of my favorite shows because of how it’s run, the constant big jumpers to watch, and the beautiful footing in all the rings. I was much more confident going into this show than the last. We did a month of no stirrup work and more schooling of Wesley and me over more complicated tracks. Sure enough, the jumps came more natural, and I gained confidence in our step, causing the fences to flow and connect more effortlessly. Of course, our rounds weren’t perfect. On account of our greenness, we got a little long, a little short, and a couple of rails. Those mistakes will fade away as we gain miles and more experience. I was super proud of Wesley for stepping into the Hunter Derby on Thursday evening and jumping all of the spooky derby jumps without even a hint of a spook. I was also proud of myself and Wesley for placing second in the WIHS Jumper Phase!

I don’t have much more to say about this show as I am delighted with how it went and how we improved every day better than the next. I’m excited to come back to Canada next week for the Odlum Brown Open! I want to thank John Turner, Quinn Partridge, Jessica Friedman, and my mom for making this week possible. Also, a great job to all other Thumbs Up Farm riders for putting in beautiful rounds throughout the week!

Spring National Inaugural Hunter Jumper 2019

What a way to hit the ground running! A week after Wesley arrived in Redmond, we took him to the Spring National Inaugural Show at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Initially, we were a little worried about how he would act at these showgrounds, given that the indoor ring is spooky. With echos, the racetrack behind the building often has loud cars on it during the day, and the occasional small plane will fly by the grounds to the nearby landing strip. Despite these distractions, Wesley took it all in stride and acted like he’d been showing in the arena his whole life. My trainer showed him in the 3’6” hunters and 1.10 jumpers at the beginning of the show, and when I arrived at the show on Thursday, we did a 3 foot low round to get into the ring. When Friday rolled around, and we had our age group equitation division in the morning. I was super excited to see how we fit together in the show ring. With the age group being only 3 feet, it was very welcoming and less stressful to do so. Wesley could not have been better for our morning classes, which we had top placings in, and I figured we were done for the day until my trainer told me that she entered us for the Dover medal later that day. My first 3’6” medal! Of course, I was excited but also incredibly nervous as we hadn’t jumped very big at home before the show and I had never been able to show in a 3’6” class before. Nerves set in, Wesley took care of me through our first medal and then throughout the rest of them throughout the weekend.

I did not expect to show at the 3’6” level so quickly, but I’m glad my trainer believed in me and allowed me to make mistakes that I took home to improve upon. This show I learned that I need to do much more no stirrup work and other strength exercises to build my strength as the jumps go up as I got jumped loose a couple times over some of the oxers. To make this show possible, I’d like to thank Quinn Partridge, Jessica Friedman, and my mom for an enjoyable week with my new horse!

Side note: I also got to catch up with my old barn, Blue Heron Farm, and their new trainer (welcome to the Northwest!) Ashley Williams! Very lovely to see them and their girls showing and great job to all of them as well over the weekend!