United States Eventing Association

It’s been a long few months since I wrote in January. I have been finding it hard to shake off the storm clouds (literally and figuratively) and I’ve been sounding way too “dark and twisty,” a la Meredith Grey (ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy).

I’m starting to understand why they picked Seattle to stage that show, because this winter, the rain has had an incredible ability to drown out any levity I could muster. It was getting to the point that suiting up like a north-sea fisherman was standard garb to walk out the door, and after what seemed like weeks of trotting the driveway–because there was nowhere else to ride–I have to admit, my enthusiasm was waning.

You all know I’m not one to spread the doom and gloom around, so what resulted from each of my previous attempts to write, was an unfortunate union of Pollyanna and Eeyore. I kept trying to make lemonade out of all my lemons, but it always had a funny aftertaste. I can finally say things are good without it feeling like a lie!

So here goes…

Winter: The Good, Bad, and Ugly?

At the risk of whining about my life and all the things that are going wrong in it… now wait a minute, that’s exactly what I want to do. Let me just indulge myself for a moment and then I’ll get a grip, move on, and look at all the good around me.

I consider myself a pretty optimistic person, and it’s not too often that I regard myself as unlucky. In fact, I’ve had a lifetime of luck and good fortune come my way, but it is beginning to seem like my next load of jolly good anything is currently bobbing away somewhere in the Atlantic, caught in the equatorial doldrums.

While I’ve managed to clear it up for the most part, his coat has been ravaged and he’s looking more like a leper than the strikingly beautiful guy he really is. Perfect timing for his first outing of the year at the Twin Rivers Horse Trials last weekend!

In preparation for the the event, I choked down the fact that it was time to buy new brakes for my trailer, and took it in. En route, my transmission went out in my truck, making a set of new trailer brakes seem real cheap!

Now, to really make this sound like a country song, my mom called amidst it all to say the family dog was really sick and had to be put down. Somebody said these things come in threes, but I’m thinking they forgot the detail about multiples of threes?? Since then, things have definitely turned around, or at least I’ve been able to refocus my perspective. Kelso’s initial tendon scan didn’t turn up any lesions and his second scan confirmed that everything looks perfectly fine. It’s frustrating to miss a couple months of competing him, but I will take the conservative rout any day when offered the prospect of a six to nine month lay-up. He’s very happy to be returning to full work and should be back out at an event before too long.

I had a great show at Three Day Ranch with McCool winning the Preliminary. Regan [Regal Promise, 6-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Arielle Eccher] did his first Intermediate. It was not my original plan to move him up so soon in the season, but with a strange turn of circumstances, that Wednesday night of the event I told him to put on his big boy shoes and he brilliantly obliged. McCool reaffirmed his cool-ness by scoring three 9s and a 10 in his dressage test along with a healthy serving of 8s.

He followed that up by jumping well the next two days. It was great to finally get to know him cross-country since we got rained out at Twin Rivers.

McCool was in second place in the CIC2* after a very good dressage test and moved into first after a clean show jumping, running under the modified schedule with dressage and show jumping Friday, and cross-country Saturday. With both horses leading in their respective divisions, Friday night was a little surreal.

Unfortunately our winning weekend came to an end Saturday afternoon, when McCool had a run out early on course, and two more later on. It was of course disappointing, but considering I had only gone cross-country with him once before at a Preliminary horse trials, it’s easy to see how our depth of communication was lacking. He’s a horse that wants know you inside and out before he’s comfortable performing for you, so I was able to look at Galway as a step in that process. A very public and well documented step!??Following Galway, I took Regan in the CCI1* and McCool in the CCI2* at the Twin Rivers International Horse Trials. McCool took an early lead with our best dressage test yet, and Regan followed suit with the best test of his life to stand second. Regan moved into first after cross-country having had a casual canter around, and McCool moved down to fourth after a silly little bobble. But he was fantastic otherwise.

He was a different horse than I had a Galway, and I can only guess what he’ll be like with a little more time. Both horses finished fit and sound enough for another go around. Both trotted up sound on Sunday and jumped great. McCool posted an easy clear round and kept fourth place.

Regan jumped the best round of his life but had one silly rail right at the end. With all the placings being very tight, he disappointingly slid all the way down to fourth. Both are having some well deserved easy time now while Finian and I tackle the CCI3* at Jersey Fresh.

We left on Monday to trek across the country and arrived safe and sound Thursday eventing. We are once again fortunate enough to be staying with Bea Cassou in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and spent today settling in, resting up, and catching up on everything that’s happened since our last visit out East for Fair Hill in October. It’s great to see everyone again and pick up where we left off. I feel like this is my second home and I’m so thankful to be here.??We’ll have lots of news in the coming week with competition starting Wednesday. Until then, have some lemonade!