MK EQUESTRIAN riders and horses enjoying some great footing and perfect weather at the April Fair Hill in Elkton, MD. Photo credits to Steve Berkowitz and Steve Parisan… thank you!!
Top Video: Puttin on the Ritz owned by the Klavans family in a double clean Intermediate SJ
Then from top picture on down…
Maddie Parisan and Carson finishing their first Intermediate HT with just a few time faults.
Robyn Weaver and her own Azrael putting in a double clear Training level XC
Camilla Grover on her Queen Bee also with a double clear in the Training level XC
A large part of my career is dedicated to helping riders achieve their goals- everyone's goals are so varied but each are just as important as another. Every rider has an individual way of learning and coping with challenges along their way to success. I am blessed to have come across so many talented and hard working individuals. Many congrats to my Maddie, Robyn and Camilla this last weekend and of course many thanks to the parents and friends that helped them make this possible.
This last weekend I was lucky enough to have a win on my very own THE Diesel Boy- a black American Warmblood bred a few miles away at MouseHouse Farm. "Leto" has been a preliminary horse for a year now and it's exciting to feel him so confident at the level. I believe he has what it takes to be competitive in all three phases and currently his talent is un-tapped. So exciting!
I also rode my American TB, Bristol Indian, in the preliminary. I am so happy that Phillip Dutton convinced me to go try this horse out. His gallop and his jumping style are something I've never felt before. Truly classy. I now know why so many people have no intention on straying from the American TB for their event horses. Bristol and I still have some work to do in phase 1… but I'm confident that we are progressing and he'll also be a competitive upper level ride. This weekend he just added .8 time faults to his dressage score to finish in the top half of his class.
Last but not least was my Intermediate ride. Puttin on the Ritz, a bay WB gelding owned by the Klavans. "Benny" has completely transformed into this grand looking event horse and the Klavans and I are so thrilled to see him happy in his job. His dressage was better than ever and his show jumping as good as could be. Unfortunately I went out on XC with the mind set of rolling across this incredible terrain and just didn't give him the time he needed to analyze his first accuracy question. Benny has always been great at accuracy on course. I took this for granted and learned a valuable lesson that day. Every horse needs the time to sort out what they're about to jump- it's our job as riders to give them that time. Unfortunately it was a costly error as at the Intermediate level horse and rider both need to be 100% sure about what's going on. Just wasn't our day. Back to some schooling and smarter riding:)… let's hope it was a small set back so we can get back in line for some more spring Intermediate outings!
All in all it was a fabulous week starting with a wonderful celebration of Passover with family and friends, lots of good riding and teaching and the week ended with a really fun Easter celebration. :)
