Well we have hit the ground running after arriving home the first week of April! We had an exciting and very productive trip in Aiken where we met new friends, rekindled old friendships, and trained our hearts out. The horses all developed beautifully throughout our time there, with Skyfall making the move up to Preliminary and Captain and I contesting our first CIC2*. The dressage horses all did several shows, and our clients enjoyed success with Sue Luria and Valerie Lopez bringing home wins, Margot successfully navigating the PT level, Gretchen Colleran's Aslan bringing home wins and a Reserve Championship at Training and First Level, Sanae Tanebe obtaining her first qualifying scores for Regionals, and Jessica Hart Dolan's Oliver and I doing some great cross country education and a good trip at Sporting Days. Angela Hambricks Constantine had scores in the 70's at Training Level, and Marian Shaughnessy's Tsjesse returned to the show ring at Prix. St. George to earn a qualifying score. I think that my horses have never felt better or been more fit, and I have to thank Boyd and Silva Martin for all the help and coaching they gave me while I was there. When you have people that believe in you and seriously take time to help you as a rider and individual it truly makes all the difference. Hats off also to Cyndy and Barry Oliff and the entire Stable View staff; the facility ran like a top, and the amenities from the footing in the arenas, the grass gallop and trails, to the turnouts and human accommodations, allowed us to train our horses to their potential and keep them happy and healthy. Speaking of people that believe in you, thank you to all the owners who believe in my program and sent their horses to Aiken for training, and all our sponsors who help us do it with quality, class, and style. I am happy to be newly sponsored by Franco Tucci, and love our Tucci riding boots!
Since arriving home, we have gotten off to a grand start getting the outdoor arenas at River Edge Farm up and running, and getting resettled at White North Stable. I am pleased to announce that Brie Allen has permanently joined our team as our full time head show groom, a position that we drastically needed to keep the horses in good condition and all our gear clean and organized. We have had students haul in for lessons, and our first clinic with Boyd in a veritable snow storm! I am humbled that he still came despite the absolutely wretched weather and stood out there teaching in a blizzard. There aren't many coaches that would give you a proper hour lesson on your best horses in those conditions, not to mention that my husband Ivor stood there freezing to help do rails and whatever else needed done. I am truly blessed to have an outstanding group of people in my corner right now, and no amount of thanks could possibly be enough. Enjoy these photos from our trip to Aiken courtesy of Miranda Akins of Photography in Stride.
