Last time I checked in I was
heading down to the Pine Top Advanced. Now, here I am a month later getting
ready to head out to Southern Pines. Time sure does fly! I’ve certainly been
busy in the interim, logging a few thousand more miles on the old Subaru and
spending a few more hours singing to the hound dog. (Don’t judge, after 13 hours
in a car you might be a little nutty too!)
The Pine Top weekend was certainly
a full one. I ate at Tako Sushi with my favorite Alabamian who showed up on
that rainy Friday with much needed coffee. I worked on one of my favorite event horses out there, a
red-head named Houston who is simply the sweetest advanced Eventer I’ve ever
met. I got him looking a little extra
special for his first trip down to Red Hills, and trust me, there is not
another horse on this planet that I would stand behind while he’s loose in his
paddock and pull tail hairs! It’s a little tricky trying to find the rhythm
when I only appear for the shows, but the Surefire team runs quite smoothly so
it’s really easy to walk in and get to work. It helps too that Jan has just
lovely horses. I like every one of my charges in that barn but I must confess
to having a little crush on that Syd Kent. Watching Bettina Hoy work with Jan
and Syd was probably the highlight of the weekend, I love watching master class
lessons. It lights a fire for my own riding and teaching and I tend to go home
pretty charged up! Friday at Pine Top had me wondering if Eby’s float and did
anyone have paddles? Saturday was bittersweet. Pirate was the Surefire teams’
first horse on course and Megan totally rocked it! Syd was next up and left the
box looking like a superstar but got held shortly thereafter. It is always
nerve wracking to have a hold with your horse and rider on course, we all want
to see those ears come between those flags sooner rather than later. My heart
went out to Megan Moore and her team for not getting that moment, and seeing
Wyatt, Syd and Pirate on the trailer looking forward to another day made me
want to give them as many cookies as they could eat.
I
bid farewell to SC again and trekked homewards. The hound was totally exhausted
and snored the entire way to Virginia Beach where we spent some quality time
with old friends for the night and then home on Monday to get on my horse and
remind myself that I needed to hack him for a few days, not get on and try to
channel Bettina right away! I skipped Red Hills since Jan was not going, and my
other main client is recovering from surgery. Shannon Lilley and her
“Ballingowan Pizzaz” or Mango, is another of my teams and although sidelined
for a little while that woman is made entirely of iron held together by drive
and I’m certain we will be travelling together again soon! So I spent Red Hills
weekend prepping my young Event Team for their first outing of the season. Last
weekend we loaded up and took 6 teenage girls and went to a schooling combined
test. It’s quite an adjustment going from Kentucky prep to first ever combined
test. It really reminds you of the roots of the sport. At some point every one
of those Advanced riders rose their first dressage test in an open field. Our
kids really did a great job and I was proud to be there with each and every one
of them. A couple learned that staying in the dressage ring might be the
hardest part of a Beginner Novice test, and that on certain horses you can’t
take any jump for granted, but I think (hope?!) that every one of them left
with a desire to do it again.
The
next few weeks should be quite exciting, starting with Southern Pines, and then
packing up the “Galloping Vet” Dr. Keane to move North. The next weekend is the
first cross-country school with the Foxmoor Event Team and then heading
straight to The Fork. Until then!
Cat Hill, is a free lance professional groom and rider. She most recently groomed for Shannon Lilley at the Pan Am Games.
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