My Students

Many of my students have been busy competing these past few weeks as well and I wanted to write a little bit about what they have been doing.

First, we have made a convert! After several years of just lessoning for the pleasure of it, my student Helen McFie Simone did her first horse trials at the Bucks County Horse Park on October 11th. She rode in the starter class on her foxhunter Stratton. They survived the dressage and jumped clean on cross country. Helen said she couldn't believe how smooth Stratton was galloping around the course and how much he seemed to be enjoying himself. Unfortunately after such a great start they were then eliminated in stadium due to a spooky jump. Helen is still pleased, though, and is already gearing up for next summer when she plans to conquer starter!

At that same show, my students Sandra Stokes and Holley Russell also rode. Sandra, riding in the elementary class, scored a personal best in her dressage test. She jumped clean on cross country and then jumped clean in stadium with NO time faults (she likes to make VERY big turns) and finished second overall. Holley rode in the beginner novice class to boost her confidence after moving up to Novice in September. She cruised around the course with no trouble and was surprised at how much easier it felt this year from last year. She placed first in her division.

Two of my students also braved the foul weather this past weekend at shows of their own. Brittany Yard, a young adult rider who I taught several years ago when I was the principal instructor for the Amwell Valley Hounds Pony Club and I have again started to help this summer, did her first intermediate on Saturday at the New Jersey Horse Trials. She rode Gatsby III. The pair has had some bumps along the way at the preliminary level but they have won two of their last three prelim outings and placed second at the third one. On Saturday they jumped around clean with some time faults. Brittany also placed first in the novice division on a 29.4 her own mare Me Lady Rose. Brittany is planning to come to Ocala for a few months this winter to be my working student.

Lastly, Carmella Clark achieved one of her long-term goals this weekend at one of the final dressage shows of the season. Braving the pouring rain, she rode her horse Tachyon in their first recognized first level test, scoring a 61%. Carmella bred Tachyon and has trained him herself over the years with professional assistance. For the past several years Carmella has focused on dressage and she has been competing Tachyon at training level. This was a big move for her and I am proud of her for seeing it through even with the terrible weather! Carmella was also a great help to me last week. She devoted her whole day on Tuesday to helping me get Jet set up at Fair Hill.

It's been a good eight weeks for the team. Let the good times roll!