Evergreen Classic 2020

Woohoo! Back to the comfort of our own home in Washington! I was really excited for this show. I haven’t been to this venue since I rode ponies. I have only had good memories of these grounds, from having good rounds to playing in the river with my friends. Since this show was so close to home, the pressure was off and after the mental fiasco of Sonoma, it was really nice to ride in a local, more low-pressure horse show. I was interested to see if I would ride better given that I wasn’t as nervous here, my guess was that I would.

The 1.10s at the beginning of the week went well, only one rail on each day so I was happy. My horse was going beautifully and I was confident in how I was riding. Since this show was smaller, all the equitation was on Saturday. Only three medals, the USEF Medal, the Maclay, and the WSHJA Good Hands and Seat 3’6”. The first class was the WSHJA and It went very well, I felt like I was riding the best I’ve ridden. After the WSHJA, the Maclay was next and after completing that course I had to run over to Hunter 2 where I was showing a green pony for Adrienne Berg, talk about height change! Adrienne’s Pony, Stella, was good and after finishing up with her I went back on over to Hunter 1 to flat the Maclay. During the Maclay flat, the judge asked for the extended trot. Being the overachiever I try to be, I asked Wesley for a big extended trot which he did beautifully. However, going down the long side I heard the sound of metal on metal, I thought nothing of it, assuming he just clipped his front shoe with his hind leg. Going around the ring again back to that spot where I heard the metal I saw a nice shiny horse shoe laying in the dirt. Definitely ours. We lined up from the flat and we won the Maclay, being the first ones out of the ring and sure enough, missing a shoe. The farrier wasted no time coming to the ring and tacking our shoe on for us before we went in for the USEF Medal.

The rest of the day went great, I had rounds that I am very proud of and my horse was amazing. I was also very happy with Adrienne Berg’s pony since it was her very first horse show and she took it all in stride. I’d like to offer a huge thank you to Adrienne for the opportunity of riding and helping develop such a talented pony! Of course, thank you to Quinn Partridge, John Turner, and my dad for making this week possible. Now we are home for a couple of weeks before hitting the road for Wilsonville!

Evergreen Classic 2017

A super fun show, this show was filled with times at the river and watching jaw-dropping hunter rounds. I love these show grounds considering they have the vast open fields and the river in the back, which we can cool off in after a hot day. I was glad we were schooling on the same footing we were competing on, as last year we were schooling on grass. I was lucky enough to catch ride Teenage Heart Throb "Romeo" in the rated pony hunters. His first time in the rated ponies and doing the rated pony step, I was a little concerned about how well we were going to make it down. My concerns proved correct; the first two schooling days, we had trouble making it down the lines. By the time we started showing, we had figured out how to keep enough impulsion to jump well still but a ground-covering step to make it down the lines. The mid-day heat made even the smallest adjustments seem difficult. Romeo got tired quicker, but he gave his all, and he earned reserve champion in his first time in the rated ponies. This show was an excellent opportunity to pilot Romeo in the rated ponies, and I am super grateful for this learning opportunity.

Overall, this show was incredibly fun with swimming in the river, watching the mini Grand Prix, and showing in the rated ponies. I'd like to especially thank Remy Tait for my catch ride on Romeo and contact her for more info about him!