Michael Pollard is competing Schoensgreen Hanni this weekend at the Galway CCI3*. Michael and Hanni rerouted to Galway from Fair Hill after Hanni was diagnosed and treated for A Fib. Michael has generously agreed to keep us updated on all the happenings from inside the ropes. Many thanks to Michael and his entire team and thank you for reading.
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About this time last year the Badger was competing at the Pan American Games
From Michael:
Day one in the books here at Galway and so far the weather is batting 1000. Perfect temperatures and a warm smile on most faces make California a sweet place to come to a horse show.
You have to hand it to the Galway organizers; there are concerts every night, beer tents on course (oasis points, as this is the desert), and great courses at all levels. The improvement from last year is as visible as Robert Kellerhouse’s enthusiasm for the event is palpable when you speak to him. Even some of our prestigious East Coast events could learn a thing or two here.
The vet inspection went down without too much incident and Hanni in particular looked great (no bias here though). Buck provided a bit of comic relief when The Apprentice took exception to the flowers on the first trot up. 180 steps of perfect rein back later he got things going forward and was easily accepted.
I must say, it is always nice to have the first inspection out of the way. No matter how sound my horse is, I’m always relieved to hear I have been accepted. I believe announcers pause over my name intentionally, but I can’t prove it. Given the length of this journey and the difficulty in getting here it was particularly nice to get today done!
I had a chance to walk around the three star track with Phillip and Buck, and, like all Ian Stark tracks, it is big and bold. The bogey fence from last year (fence 5-6) still looks imposing, albeit with a slightly new look. I think the second water will cause some trouble, and if your horse doesn’t like ditch and walls…don’t start 🙂
It was nice to get insights from two guys who I respect a lot and I feel good about the course for Hanni.
One other nice thing about being out here with such a small east coast contingent has been to be able to talk and brainstorm ideas for the future with Phillip, Buck, and Samantha Lendl. We normally only see each other at horse shows where we are each riding 6-12 horses . The relaxed atmosphere out here and the spare time has gotten some good ideas on the table…stay tuned.
Relaxation ends tomorrow though…
I am really excited to watch some dressage tomorrow (maybe only a handful of times that sentence has been written in eventing). The horses out west are fewer in numbers, but I think the per capita quality is maybe even higher than the east coast. I have a relatively early ride in the three star and I’m really happy with how the Badger is going right now. She feels great since her A Fib has been treated and I think she is loaded for bear.
I think I hear some elevator music in the background as I write this so it must be party time! More to come…
PS: don’t forget to Like Hanni’s picture on the Galway Downs Facebook page, there is a pair of Dubarrys to the winner of most likes and super groom Katie has her eye on them 🙂
