The Schooling Days are a great place to go and catch up with friends, and shop for horses – I would have bought this one if I’d had more than loose change in my pocket! An OTTB going novice by Green Gator, he’s going novice but is also a perfect “mummy’s ride”, very happy to stand and gossip! Dorothy Crowell was very busy riding and coaching, as was Cathy Weischoff so I was disappointed not to catch up with them more than a brief hello, but very happy to meet Allie Slusher, our newest Kentucky eventer, who is not only talented and a dynamo, but charming, and I’m looking forward to visiting her farm soon to get a more formal introduction to all her horses for Eventing Nation!
Local trainer and rider Megan Moore also had a strong presence at the schooling day.
I saw all kinds of horses and riders, and all kinds of riding, good and bad. Steward, medics and vets are on hand, and it’s fun to watch as long as you can do so with a certain air of detachment, it’s a pretty mad day. Riders galloping at the popular jumps yelling “Heads Up!”, and then it’s basically a game of chicken, has anyone seen that film about the air traffic control, Pushing Tin?!
Loved this helmet!
Schooling the Sunken Road
Leah Snowden’s lovely OTTB Ivy League (stable name Harvey, Harvard, geddit?!) after a good session, he went beautifully. Out of an Indiana stallion he has Mr Prospector/Seattle Slew bloodlines but has a ton of bone, and Leah said he’s more like a labrador than a horse – I want him too! They’ll be out at May Daze, and for fear of jinxing them I won’t say more, but I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed!
Catching up on the latest!
Schooling at the water jump, look out for Allie Slusher on her Pan Am shortlisted horse Pierre (actually he’s hard to miss!)
Well done to everyone organising who survived the day, and a huge thank you to everybody. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, and thank you for making Eventing Nation part of your day. If you’re in the Kentucky region try and stop by the Horse Park this weekend for the Olympic Observation Jumper Trials in the Rolex arena, so much fun to watch; I could have spent hours in the warm-up drooling over Beezie, Margie, Reed, Ashlee… – it’s always fun to watch the very best of the best at the top of their game no matter what discipline I think, but apparently my children didn’t agree! The good news is you can watch it live thanks as always to the USEF. Chin up and thoughts to our friends in the down-trodden rain-sodden UK, the bloody British weather has got the best of Chatsworth too now, but will never get the best of the eventers’ spirit and sense of humour, to wit fantasy Badminton and Claire Lomas. Go Eventing Regardless!
