Geriann Henderson Tops Her Weekend In Grand Form at Rebecca Farm

Geriann Henderson and Kingslee took home the win in the PRO Tour Series Advanced Division at the Event at Rebecca Farm. They took three rails in the round, but were given plenty of breathing room by Heather DuBois in second place who also had three rails down. Geriann capped off what she described as an "unreal" weekend with Kingslee who jumped his heart out for her. As both are fairly new to this level Geriann plans to get more experience over the course of the summer and fall.

Kristie Nunnink led from start to finish to capture the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series with her very talented Holsteiner mare R-Star. Kristie credits Bruce Davidson, with whom she has been training over the past winter, with giving her the confidence to really perform well at this level. Florence Miller and Tuscan Sun won the CCI** and Emilee Libby and Nonsensical captured the CIC**.  For full results from Rebecca Farm follow the link.

Rebecca Farm Advanced - Day Two Leader Geriann Henderson

Ian Stark's courses always require commitment and forward riding, and most riders look forward to challenge of his courses although they usually have to deal with nerves when they first view the bold fences that they are faced with on the track. Riders who tackle the questions posed come home feeling like their horses improved all the way through the course and have grown in both confidence and maturity, and this is exactly the kind of feedback that the Scot likes to hear. Saturday the crowds came out to Rebecca Farm to watch riders tackle the cross country course. By the end of the day everyone had been given a true education on the kind of preparation and riding it takes to navigate the courses successfully.

At the end of the PRO Tour Series Advanced Divison, it was Geriann Henderson and her own Kingslee who survived the test unscathed with the only penalty free round of the day to take over first place on their dressage score of a 54.0. The Advanced Division took its toll on the rest of the field with rider falls and technical eliminations. Heather Dubois and Every Wish was the only other pair to complete the course in a division which is much smaller than usual this year. Geriann, who is an amateur from Florissant, Colorado described her round as "unreal, more than I expected"and was so excited that her horse Kingslee handled the course with such ease.

Kristie Nunnink and R-Star continued their fine form to lead the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series in the CIC***division at Rebecca Farm. Tamra Smith and Top Secret, owned by Krystie Bush, also had a penalty free round in the CIC** division to maintain their lead. For full results please click on this link.

PRO Tour Series at Rebecca Farm Day One

Sunrise over XC at Rebecca Farm

The glorious Montana open skies welcome all competitors to the unparalleled venue of Rebecca Farm once again this year. Montana Equestrian Events and the Broussard family always put on an outstanding competition, and although the field is smaller this year due to the large numbers of riders based in the United Kingdom preparing for the Olympics in London, it is sure to be another exiting year at Rebecca Farm with new course changes by Ian Stark.

Yves Sauvignon and Ruth Bley's Sanssouci put in a very steady dressage test to score a 38.7 giving them the overnight lead in the Advanced Division, part of the 2012 PRO Tour Series. Yves was doubly rewarded by also winning $3,500 in the SSG "Go Low For The Dough" promotion. The contingency bonus award had increased substantially when there were no winners at the Bromont Three Day Event in June. The SSG bonus award was not won in the CIC** division, where it is restricted to amateurs, juniors and young riders, which increased the SSG contingency bonus award to $3,000 in the cross country phase for that division.

Kristie Nunnink leads the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Division on a 50.6 with her own R-Star. The hombred 11 year old Holsteiner mare has been a longtime partner for Nunnink and their partnership continues to get stronger and more refined each time they come out. Tamra Smith currently holds the lead in the CCI** with Top Secret owned by Krystie Bush and Jordan Linstedt holds the lead in the CIC** with her own Revitavet Capato.

Rebecca Farm full results and live scoring - link

Photo - Courtesy of Rebecca Farm

REBECCA FARM WRAP UP by HANNAH SUE BURNETT

What an incredible week in Montana at Rebecca Farms. Between the riding, competing, walking courses, taking care of horses, parties & dinners there was hardly any time for sleeping! I had a wonderful time and Rebecca Farms and everyone who makes it happen really made an impression on me.
Thursday went quite well for me, having Harbor Pilot win the dressage in the P3D division. His owner, Mrs. Mars, and the head of her farm in VA, Sue Clark, were able to fly out and watch "William" go.

Friday was a bit more interesting with St. Barths dressage in the afternoon. He is a very firey little red-head and the mountain air must have really gotten to him because despite all my efforts to calm him down (wear him out), he was still very wound up going into his test. His canter work was quite tense, but fortunately his trot work was pretty decent so we scored a 57.6 putting us into 19 place. I was disappointed sitting on a horse who could be a top contender on the first day, but that's eventing & horses for you! Lots of course walking followed my test and I was racking my brain trying to remember everything to pack for the 10 minute box for William in the full-format the next day.

Saturday started quite early for us with William going out on Phase A at 8:18. Steeplechase was great fun, I think for both myself and William, and he really opened up his stride and it improved his rhythm. He recovered well from A, B, and C in the box and started XC with a giant stride and great enthusiasm for his job. We jumped double clear and kept our lead.
Nike went out at 11:40am so I had enough time to run back to the camper and check out my pictures of the CIC*** course, have a gatorade and focus on my next horse. He was really on fire out there--eating up every combination and really covering the ground. I was worried about the 3 water jumps because he had recently been a bit sticky into water, but he was very bold and quick through all of them. I put the pedal down between the fences but took some extra time getting him back to the angles, corners, etc. because I wanted to make sure I didn't make a silly mistake and get a 20. We had 8.8 time penalties & I was thrilled with him.
Karen had an awesome day with her two, Mandiba being double clear and maintaining his lead, and Quintus picking up a few time and keeping her in the top 3. Overall, a great day for team OCET!!

Sunday went by very quickly: starting with a jog at 8 for both my horses and then William jumped at 9:30. He put in a very classy round (except for an exuberant leap after a lead change...) and jumped double clear, winning the division on his dressage score. I'm thrilled to ride such a well trained horse (thanks David :) and honored to have the privilege to ride for Mrs. Mars. She's wonderful and I'm so thankful to be apart of her program.
Nike (St Barths) jumped at 1:30 and was very obedient and quiet. He warmed up wonderfully, you wouldn't have guessed that he had run such a tough and fast course the day before! We had one rail down because I dropped my hand in the middle of the two-stride to try and shorten him instead of just using my upper-body and voice. Darn! He couldn't have been better and I have a big, bad habit to kick now that I'm home!! Dick Thompson was proud of his horse and once again I'm so honored to ride for him. He is Karen's first owner and has owned for Jimmy Wofford also and I can't explain how appreciative I am for his support and kindness.
Karen had 2 double clear rounds and was 2nd on Becky Broussard's Quintus in the 2* and won on Mandiba in the 3*!! I'm pretty sure she was the only rider to have 2 horses double clear on Sunday--way to go KOC!

We all went to dinner at "The Brick House" on the farm and then got ready for our big flight home! All the horses acted like pros getting on the plane (I guess they are pros now!) and we had a great flight back.

A huge thanks to Sarah and Drew Kelly, the Broussards, Rebecca Farms staff and volunteers, PRO, Samantha Lendl, OCET crew stuck at home in the heat, Karen, David, Max, Brewster Walker, Sue Clark & my friends and family for the help, support and the opportunity to go on and enjoy such an awesome trip!
-HSB

THEY DON'T CALL MONTANA "BIG SKY" FOR NOTHING by Hannah Burnett

They don't call Montana "Big Sky" for nothing...


I'm not sure if any of us from the east coast are going to go home! This state is magnificent. The panoramic view is impossible to capture on camera. Even the horses stop and look around! Yesterday we went white water rafting, which was a good work out and we got a good icing with the glacier water. Sharon White and I jumped in during a calm part of the route and my feet were numb for an hour after we got off the river! The water was 46 degrees--refreshing to say the least!
It's hard to write much about the horses because we're basically vacationing out here, but my two are working-in quite well. They are feeling pretty fresh in the mornings with the temperature difference (about 40 degrees warmer in VA in the AM) but the sun quickly warms us up and the breeze is excellent.
Today David arrived and Karen and I had a quick jump school. The horses truly jump great on the soft, almost springy footing. We're looking forward to the jog tomorrow starting at 8am (Montana time:) and then I do dressage on Harbor Pilot in the Preliminary Three-Day at 5pm.

More soon...enjoy the pictures!!

HSB

WELCOME TO AIR HORSE ONE...by Hannah Sue Burnett

Today started bright and early, to make our flight at BWI we had to leave High Acre Farm in The Plains, VA at 4am to arrive & start loading at 6am. Despite a rather interesting detour to get back to our plane (where I may or may not have run numerous red lights, one of which might have been in front of a cop), we had easy travels and met all the other grooms, horses, drivers & riders…almost on time.
After everyone’s ID was checked we were allowed back to the airplane to unload all of our gear & start unloading the horses. The crew at Tex Sutton were amazing, everything was loaded promptly without rushing the horses. I was a bit nervous having a crew of men that I knew nothing about leading and caring for our horses on the flight but they couldn’t have been more professional or kinder. The plane was quite a bit smaller than I had expected-the normal-sized horses were loaded 3 across & the larger horses were in the very front and back of the plane, 2 across. The ceiling was low enough that the horses on the sides’ ears were touching the top.
Everything went very smoothly & the young horse I’m competing in the Preliminary Three-Day, Harbor Pilot, definitely ships better in an airplane than a horse trailer!! They hardly even moved the whole flight except for when we were landing because of all the noise. All the passengers were in the rear of the plane. It was funny cause we didn’t have any supervision. Just us, our seat belts, and a cooler of drinks!
When we landed in Kalispell, we stepped off the plane and immediately felt like movie stars! There were a crowd of around a hundred people to receive us. Thanks to Hawley Bennett, Brewster Walker and everyone who brought their trailers to ship us to Rebecca Farms. The horses unloaded great and before we knew it we were pulling into one of the most beautiful farms I’ve ever seen.
All the horses recovered well and although we’re all a bit jet-lagged with the time difference, we’re excited for our day Tuesday. Some of us are going white-water rafting!! Thanks to everyone at home for holding down the fort and a huge thanks to the Broussards and Sarah Kelly for making all this happen. We are all truly grateful and honored to be here.
I’m off to bed! More tomorrow…