Memorial Day Weekend Memories at May-Daze at the Park H.T.

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all smiles w/ my best friend ;)🌟🦄💜

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There’s no better place to ring in the summer than Memorial Day weekend at the Kentucky Horse Park, especially if you’re galloping around those storied bluegrass fields on the back of a horse.

May-Daze at the Park H.T., which took place over the weekend, is a favorite event for many riders and the inviting, educational track and super footing always seems to bring out the best in horses. For such a massive horse trials that almost always draws a waiting list to get in– kudos to show secretary Nancy Clinkinbeard and organizer Maggie Wright, who deserve an award themselves! — May-Daze has always managed to maintain a friendly, all-inclusive atmosphere.

Congrats to the division winners of the 2019 edition:

Intermediate/Preliminary: Megan Edwards & Loughnatousa Reiner (26.0)
Open Preliminary: Megan Moore & Promisemethemoon (34.1)
Preliminary Rider: Anna Kjellstrom & Run Marvin Run (27.0)
Preliminary/Training: Erin Pullen & Foreign Affair (29.1)
Junior Training Rider: Cecilia Jones & Mooney Maguire 31.9
Open Training: Ryan Keefe & Point Nemo (26.4)
Senior Training Rider-A: Nicole Kowalski & BallinAgore Knight (28.3)
Senior Training Rider-B: Amanda Richard & Count Julian (26.9)
Training/Novice: Madeline Bletzacker & Drummer Boy (19.5)
Junior Novice Rider-A: Ruth Rosendaul & Kaloosh (29.8)
Junior Novice Rider-B: Jessica Syiek & Markham’s Moontide (28.8)
Novice Horse: Jennifer Coleman & SS Palantir (26.4)
Open Novice: Jane Musselman & Engapore (23.1)
Senior Novice Rider-A: Jordan Delgross & Misti’s Magnificent (26.9)
Senior Novice Rider-B: Kelsie Bricker & Loughan Glen (17.1)
Senior Novice Rider-C: Melanie French & Stargazer Lily (31.7)
Beginner Novice Horse-A: Sarah Shade & Bankers Mark (31.4)
Beginner Novice Horse-B: Sarah Shade & Stand Up Stand Out (28.3)
Junior Beginner Novice Rider-A: Aine O’Rourke & Oliver Twist (28.6)
Junior Beginner Novice Rider-B: Sierra Thomas & Chambery (21.7)
Junior Beginner Novice Rider-C: Olivia Yardley & Gentleman In Gray (26.1)
Open Beginner Novice: Beth Weisberger & Cobalt (28.3)
Senior Beginner Novice Rider-A: Thomas Lock & Jackmond (29.4)
Senior Beginner Novice Rider-B: Sheri Birmingham & Sterling’s Bailero (27.2)
Senior Beginner Novice Rider-C: Mary Clare Owdziej & Dakota (30.6)
Junior Starter-A: Emily Claire Allen & Noble Cornerstone (22.3)
Junior Starter-B: Olivia Lum & Bolero (27.3)
Senior Starter-A: Christiana Nash & High Shine (25.0)
Senior Starter-B: Dianne McMullen & Codetalker (23.8)

Recognize any celebrity five-star horses in that winner’s circle? You can’t fool us, Loughan Glen, we’d recognize those handsome amber eyes anywhere. He and Kelsie Bricker won their Novice Rider division on a score of 17.1 — glad to see this special guy out and about!

This guy is absolutely the best ever 😍😍 We have come a long way in the last ten months. From not being able to make it…

Posted by Kelsie Bricker on Sunday, May 26, 2019

You can view complete results here.

Probably because I have so many happy childhood memories the Kentucky Horse Park myself, from Pony Club rallies to family “Rolex” pilgrimages, nothing delights me more than seeing the next generation of eventers out writing their own KHP stories. And the young bucks were out in force at this weekend, which included no fewer than eight Junior divisions! Let’s have a look at some of their snapshots from the event.

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xc is our faveeee 🏃🏼‍♀️ – – here are some pictures from our show this weekend!! it was for sure our best show so far, we got our best dressage test of a 29.5 and was placed 5th. we then had a double clear xc round moving us up to second and added an unfortunate rail to end in 4th place of 20! so proud of this girl 💕 – – we have another event coming up in a few weeks at Barrington Illinois!! so excited for that! also, i will have an edit coming up later from this past show once i get all of the videos! 🤗 – – photo//xpress photos #flairstrips #usea #eventing #novicelevel #traininglevel #baymare #horseandrider #areaiv #areaiveventing #useaareaiv #eventinghorses #wingateeventing #lgec #areaivyr #areaivyoungrider #pippatheperfectpony

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First off this is my favorite picture of Ellie literally ever look at my freaking queen😍😍😍 Sooooo this show was… interesting. I learned a LOT and I have a LOT to work on in show environments. This was my first ever event, and ellie’s first ever event, and of course us being us, we went to the freaking kentucky horse park (where rolex and other huge shows are held) 😂😂😂. Ellie was an absolute super star this weekend, and I could not be happier with her or more proud of her. She tried her heart out and saved my dumbass way too many times. I already did a post discussing dressage and showjump, so ill just do a quick recap here: dressage was decent, considering that I didn’t really know my test (100% my fault😂) and considering that Ellie and I have had a grand total of ONE dressage lessons with my new trainer. I’m learning how to ride Ellie in a much more correct way and to use myself much more correctly as well, and both of those things are a process that takes time, so I am okay with not doing fantastically at dressage at this point in the summer because I know it’s only going to get better from here! Ellie kept her leads both directions in a more rocked back and correct canter, which is all we wanted from this dressage test so I am very happy with her. Showjump… oof😂 The warmup was AMAZING, I was riding well and Ellie was jumping fantastically. Then we entered the show ring. And I literally forgot everything that I had just learned. My brain went out the door and I rode like absolute GARBAGE. Ellie was a saint and tried her best for me in spite of me not supporting her at all, so again I am very happy with her. ***In saying this, I am NOT wanting people to be like “oh nooo i doubt it was that bad!!!” because it was. The point of me saying this is so that I can be 100% honest about my experience so that I can look back and see how far I’ve come, as well as to document the truth. Ellie was wonderful and I learned a lot and have a lot to work on. That’s the take away. Last but certainly not least, cross country😂😂😂 So jumps 1-10 actually went quite well, I’m actually very happy with how I rode them. (cont)

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Love it.

Ready to get in on some summer Kentucky Horse Park action? Today is the opening date for Champagne Run at the Park H.T., which takes place July 12-14 and offers Starter through Intermediate-Prelim divisions. Get more info here.

Go Eventing.