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!

Evergreen Classic, 2016

What a fun, but hot, this show was. I was lucky enough to ride Milo in the medium rated ponies and the pony equitation, and I rode What's up Doc in the small ponies. This show was at Meadow Wood Equestrian Center and had access to a refreshing river for competitors to escape the heat. Schooling days went terrific with the ponies; they both got used to schooling on grass and showing in dirt. They showed in the schooling ponies on Wednesday and Thursday in which Doc got champion and Milo got Reserve Champion in! This show was off to a great start, and the ponies were better than I could ever ask of them.

Friday, equitation day, was very successful with Milo and I winning every equitation round and snagging the champion as well. Milo was an absolute gem in his low round, as well. Over the next two days, Milo and Doc jumped their tails off in the hunters, and Milo was champion there as well. The two ponies showed me what they could do this show and helped me gain confidence as well as them. My proudest moment of this show was getting overall high point pony rider with Milo and having very consistent rounds with Doc. I was very impressed with my ponies and myself this show, and it makes me excited about how we will do at our last show in October.

Alpine Preview, 2016

Right after school ended, I headed to Cle Elum, Washington, to show Milo and Doc at Alpine Preview. As usual, I did both ponies in the rated ponies and Milo in the 2'6" open low hunter. First schooling day was pretty good, Ruel came to school us and all went well. On the first day of 2'6," schooling went super, Milo was fabulous, and we ended up winning one class and getting third in the second over fences round. I'm super proud of how we did because it was out of 18 entrees, including professionals, and the judge decided should Milo be on top. The second day of schooling 2'6", we came out with a second and a third and we didn't do the flat. I was sitting where our tent is set up, and I see my trainer bike down with a champion in her hand, and she points to me and says, "good job," and I was so confused. We ended up champion in the 2' 6" schooling hunters!

The next day, equitation started, and it did not go how we wanted. We cantered in for our warm-up hunter, and it went pretty well, we ended up second; but then, we went for our equitation over fences, and we started with two beautiful jumps, and we turned the corner for a bending line, it was raining and windy, and Milo saw something from the corner of his eye and spooked to the right, past the jump. He did that two more times, and we were excused, I was devasted: but it happens to everyone, and not every round can be how I want it to be. Next two days, hunters. First hunter day went awesome; Milo jumped everything, got third in our under saddle, and was super rideable; we walked back with a first, second, and third. Second hunter day went great as well, we got second in our first classic round with an 80, second in our second hunter round and first in our second round of the classic with a 79, winning the classic. After points were calculated, Milo ended up Reserve Champion in the pony hunters!

Doc and I didn't have a quite as a successful show, but he was equally excellent, we did the schooling 2'3" but didn't place in any classes due to some missed lead changes. In our first hunter round, we had a couple missed lead changes, but he didn't try to pull through my hands at all, a huge improvement! The second hunter round, we got all our lead changes, but I held him back too much to the single oxer, and we chipped it badly, but he was excellent with his lead changes! In the under saddle, he got a second under Malena Delgado, thanks, Malena! Overall, Alpine Preview was a considerable improvement for Doc, and I could not have asked more from him.

Pacific Northwest Hunter Jumper, 2016

Doc showing off his toes to nose jump

This show was my first show while leasing Milo and his and my very first time in the rated ponies. We showed in the medium ponies and, boy, it sure was fun. Our schooling days went a little rough as I was a little nervous, and Milo was pretty excited to be at a show. We had some beautiful jumps and some not so beautiful jumps but it all led to a rather successful weekend. Friday, our equitation and model day came along, and it went pretty well for Blue Heron Farm ponies, Doc won the model and Milo and I won the equitation over fences, and we won the equitation on the flat; in our other equitation over fences, we got fourth as we had some minor mistakes. We ended up pony equitation champion at our very first time in the rated ponies! For hunters, we had some small errors, but we had some beautiful rounds, and in one of my final hunter rounds with Milo, we scored an 82, the highest score of the ponies that weekend, I was so proud of my pony. In the end, we got pony hunter reserve champion out of eight beautiful ponies.

I also had What's up Doc "Doc" at this show for his first time in the rated ponies. He jogged in for the model and was stood up beautifully by Malena Delgado. The judge came in and looked the ponies all around, and Doc was put first in line, winning the model. I had only been riding Doc for less than a month, so he was still firm and quick to jumps; we also struggled with our right to left lead change. Doc only made it into the top three once more that weekend, getting second in the hack under Malena Delgado. After all, he's not the most seasoned pony out there, but once you have things figured out, he's a fun pony to watch and to ride. Our courses weren't perfect, but we had some beautiful moments and some impressive jumps, and that's what we will take away from this show.

I had a lot of fun at this show, and one thing I particularly enjoyed was the two stride in every hunter course; I haven't done many two strides at home, so to have one in all my hunter courses was fun! The ponies were phenomenal for this show, and for the first time in the rated ponies for all three of us, I think we did rather well and that this show was hugely successful. I learned a lot, and the ponies learned a lot, and it was an excellent start to our horse show season! Thank you so much, Jimi Norton, for letting me ride and show What's up Doc. He truly is a wonderful pony. As well as a congratulations Erica Smedley and Riviera for reserve champion in the .70 jumpers. Thank you to everyone who helped me with my ponies and helping me with double-duty! Of course, thank you to my trainer, Tara Devlin, and Ruel Johnson, for letting me show such an awesome pony and for keeping me the best I can be.