Tuesday Evening Dressage Success

We took a group to the Bucks County Horse Park last night to participate in their Tuesday Evening Dressage series.  The big fun of the evening was that my student Lynn Rzonca had never competed in a dressage show.  Her only show experience to date had been in the hunter ring.  As I've worked with her over the past few years, however, I've noticed that she has a knack for dressage.  Just a few weeks ago I talked her into purchasing her first dressage saddle and I also twisted her arm to commit to doing this Tuesday Evening Dressage show. 

Lynn rides my retired eventer Aly Cat.  Aly is absolutely lovely on the flat when he is relaxed.  At shows, however, he is not always relaxed.  I very clearly remember one of my early advanced level competitions on him where he stopped and reared in the middle of the test and I had to grab my top hat to keep it from flying off.  Lynn and I both knew that his behavior at the show would be up in the air, but it was also a big unknown.  Aly has been in retirement and he has not competed in any show for over two years now.  Aly also has been diagnosed with mild arthritis in his back and some days he comes out wanting to buck to go into his canter transition.  We were hoping that last night would not be one of those days!

As it turned out, I think Aly was thrilled to be at a show again.  He put on his Sunday Best and was on excellent behavior the entire time Lynn was on his back.  She rode two elegant and correct training level tests and scored a 67% and a 70%, winning both of her classes.  As I thought she might be, Lynn was really excited by the whole experience.  She loved that in dressage the rider knows ahead of time what they are expected to perform, and she loved the feedback that the judge gives in the form of comments.  I see a future Dressage Queen in the making.

I also had several other students at the show.  Gina Johnson rode another retired eventer, Highland King, to first place in the Novice Test B division with a score of 33%.  Holley Russell rode her own Lady Livengood in training level with scores of 61% and 62%.  Kristin Sutch and Ozzie rode their eventing test to practice for the Burgundy Hollow schooling show this weekend.

After Aly Cat was finished in the dressage ring he had another treat waiting for him.  Sandra Stokes is sharing Aly with Lynn this summer.  Sandra has more of an interest in eventing.  After the dressage was done, we switched Cat's saddle and took him out to the back strip to jump a few cross country jumps.  Gone was the lazy, half-asleep expression on his face.  The evil grin returned.  After a few of the jumps Cat careened maniacally around the field, giving Sandra a run for her money.  Luckily, Sandra doesn't take things personally and by the end of the school she and Cat had worked out a compromise of trotting to the jumps and cantering after them.  Fun was had by all.           

Show Results

The past two weekends have been successful for us in the show ring.  Last weekend I took Jet to the spring dressage show at the Bucks County Horse Park.  He scored a 63.1% in first level test three and a 63.7% in second level test three.  In his second level test he won second place in the class.  I was particularly proud of him for producing solid scores at second level.  This was the first time he competed at second level at a show and he was focused and steady.  These scores mean that I am only one score away from achieving my USDF bronze medal.  I need one more score above 60% in a third level test.  Jet will not be ready for third level this year, but Doc may be back in the show ring before the end of the year.  I am hoping I will finish my bronze medal requirements on Doc by September.  Currently, Doc has one more month of rest before he is put back into work.

This weekend I took Monte to the Plantation Field Horse Trials.  He had a prep this week in the form of the Lucinda Green clinic at Fair Hill.  Lucinda's clinics are always a coming of age experience for my young horses and true to form Monte grew about an inch in his brain throughout the course of the clinic.  In the clinic, Lucinda encouraged me to wear bigger spurs with him.  He is not slow, but when he decides to look at a jump he likes to try to run out.  The bigger spurs are a reminder at the right moment that he needs to go straight and do the jump the first time.  In the clinic they were a big help and yesterday on cross country I was glad to have them on as well!  Monte jumped clean in both show jumping and cross country (with a tiny bit of encouragement on the latter at the roller coaster) and finished on his dressage score of 35.5.  He placed third in his novice division.  Next week he will move up to training level.  Carmella, Gina, and Mr. Wetherill all came to help and spectate yesterday and after the week of wet and rain, it was a beautiful day to be at a show.

Next weekend is Seneca Valley in Middleburg, VA.  Jet goes intermediate and Monte goes training level.

  

     

Rad's Passing

I cannot let the day draw to a close without writing briefly about the passing of Lester T. "Rad" Hundt, Jr.  

Rad, nicknamed by his mother who loved the Radnor Hunt, was Mr. Wetherill's younger cousin.  He passed away last week from a heart attack, although in many ways it was a blessing because for the past two years he has suffered with Alzheimer's disease.  He was seventy nine.

I met Rad the first week that I moved to live at the Wetherills' Ardfuar Farm, almost ten  years ago now.  Stacey, the girl who was living here at the time, was taking a few days to show me around.  On one of the days we drove into Malvern to the tack shop.  As we walked out of the shop on our way to lunch Rad was just pulling up to the curb.  He thought about going into the shop to get what he needed but instead he decided that lunch with the two girls was much more fun.  He trailed after us as we went into the nearby pizza joint.  From then on it was set.  I was one of Rad's gang.  

Every year after that when I would compete at Radnor in the three-day, Rad would station himself at my stall, ready to graze or wash my horse.  This was a fantastic help, although it did have it's drawbacks.  Rad insisted that my plastic sweat scraper simply would not do.  He needed the traditional metal kind with leather grips that one held in both hands.  Rad was not one to change with the times.

Rad loved to stay current on the latest gossip, particularly the gossip on horses and love affairs.  In my case he seemed to deem my judgement of men adequate, because he mainly grilled me about horse gossip.  With Gina, though, he was forever in a state of dismay over her prospects.  When we would chat he would say, "Doesn't Genie (his nick-name for her) have a boyfriend yet?!"  Even if she did have a boyfriend he would still press me about this because in his mind the beau was obviously not up to snuff and therefore she still was in desperate need.  Even at his last visit to Ardfuar Farm just two months ago he apparently told Gina that she should "find herself a good Marine."

Rad loved his traditions, including the Radnor Hunt, walking the hounds, and the Devon Horse Show.  During a normal week at Devon he would be there every day in his box with his program in one hand and his score card in the other.  It was only fitting that he passed away during one of his most important weeks of the year, the week of the Devon Horse Show.  

Rad had warmth, charm, a wonderful wit, and old world manners.  Today was his memorial service with a reception afterwards at his own Radnor Hunt Club.  The day was perfect, and absolutely to his standard.  

I hope he rests in greener pastures.  I know many will miss him.  I know I will miss him.    

       

Spring Trip to Valley Forge National Park

Valley Forge National Park is about a twenty minute trailer ride from Ardfuar Farm here in Pennsylvania.  For the past ten years I have used it weekly to condition the event horses and for pleasure hacks.  It is a beautiful park.  Yesterday, Gina, Mr. Wetherill and I went for a ride there on a perfect Spring day.

Featured horses are Cody, Eddie, and Monte. 

Ashley's Show Schedule for the Summer

Hi All,

Here is the current schedule for the summer.  The goals are to get Jet to the Fair Hill ** in October, to get Monte to a * in Ocala in November, to play around with my new young horse Jasper, and to do some fun stuff along the way.  I have a few "Ashley" races scheduled as well as working on my USDF Bronze Medal.  By September I should also be certified by the USEF as a level II instructor (preliminary level) in their ICP program.  If you are local for any of this, come and watch or come and compete!

May 31st:  Bucks County Horse Park Dressage (PA), Jet 1st and 2nd level

June 3rd and 4th:  Lucinda Green Clinic at Fair Hill (MD), Monte 

June 6th:  Plantation Field Horse Trials (PA), Monte novice

June 9th:  Ashley coaching at BCHP Tuesday Evening Dressage

June 13th:  Seneca Valley Horse Trials (VA), Jet intermediate, Monte training level

June 24th:  Ashley 5K Tex Mex run to benefit the Wissahickon Valley Watershed

June 27th:  Surefire Horse Trials (VA), Jet intermediate, Monte training level

June 29th and 30th:  Ashley participating in the USEA Instructor's Certification Program jumping workshop (MA)

July 5th:  Fair Hill Starter Trials (MD), Russian GoGo, a.k.a. Jasper at his first event

July 18th and 19th:  Maryland Horse Trials (MD), Jet intermediate, Monte training level

July 28th to 30th:  Ashley participating in the USEA Instructor's Certification Program dressage workshop (CA)

August 2nd:  Ashley's 2nd annual attempt at the SheRox tri in Philly?

August 8th and 9th:  Fair Hill International Horse Trials (MD), Monte preliminary

August 21st to the 23rd:  Richland Park Horse Trials (MI), Jet CIC**, Monte preliminary

September 3rd:  Ashley's ICP assessment

Check back later in the summer for more updates!

-Ashley

Fair Hill Weekend

Jet moved up to intermediate this weekend at the Fair Hill Horse Trials in Elkton, MD and Monte continued gaining mileage at novice.  

On Saturday Jet's division ran.  He had a very mediocre dressage followed by a very mediocre show jumping.  His nerves were getting the best of him and when that happens he tightens his back and goes badly.  I was a bit discouraged with him and with myself for not being able to ride him through it.  He made up for it on cross country, though.  He jumped around beautifully over the straightforward jumps on the course and was a little bit surprised by the more difficult combinations that you find at intermediate, but was still honest and jumped right through them.  I felt it was an educational run for him.  He will run next at Plantation Field in early June and we will aim for a CCI** in the fall. 

Today Monte went at novice level.  With a steady test he was in the ribbons after dressage.  After show jumping I was jumping for joy.  He jumped clean and he was actually clever with his feet!  Monte has so much power but it is taking him awhile to get it all coordinated.  This was his first clean show jumping round in competition.  On cross country I gave him a 50%/50% chance of jumping clean, and the bad 50% won.  He stopped dead in front of two jumps and spun away, both because they were funny looking jumps.  One was a bench and the other was a log on top of a hill with no sight of the landing.  In both cases he jumped the second time, once he got a look at them.  On the rest of the course he seemed to be having fun.  This winter I tried to move him up to training level when he wasn't quite ready and I am paying for it now by having to spend more time building his confidence and showing him different types of jumps.  It looks like he will do another novice at Plantation Field and then perhaps we will look for a training level. 

In other news, my student Holley Russell won her division of Elementary at the Bucks County Horse Park today.  Congratulations Holley!  We are also all getting geared up for the Bucks County Horse Park schooling shows this summer as well as other schooling horse trials.  Please join us!

Ashley  

Back to Pennsylvania

I am back in PA and all it has done this week is RAIN!!  Was that the sun I saw today?  It looks so foreign.  

Next weekend Jet does his first intermediate at Fair Hill and Monte does his last novice before the big move up to training level.  Doc is annoyed at the bugs, but actually enjoying being on vacation.  The winter was intense.