First off, here are some pictures from this spring, Harry and O'Malley at Mill Creek P.C. competing at the Beginner Novice and Training levels respectively.
A lot has changed around Horse Heaven Farm this past spring and summer. As most people know, I lost my beloved Shorty this past spring. I had to make the hardest decision of my life, but I know that he is no longer in pain, and he is forever happy and running cross country with the likes of Teddy O'Connor and the rest of the fallen event horses.
On a brighter note, O'Malley and Harry have both been going great lately. O'Malley finished up the spring season with a run at Feather Creek in the Open Training finishing 8th, a run a Mill Creek P.C. in the Open Training finishing 3rd, and a final run for the summer at Texas Rose finishing 5th. He is getting faster, stronger and easier to ride every day. He went to a rated jumper show, which was the Go Preview in Oklahoma City, and he showed in the 3'3 and the 3'6 classes all week. He was good for most of his classes, and we used this a learning experience for the two of us to strengthen our show jumping abilities together. He placed 6th in the 3'6 High Adult/Am jumpers which in turn was the "Ride for the Ribbon" class, bringing home $50 :) I was so proud of him. He fall season is looking like Holly Hill running one last Training level, and then onto Texas Rose for his first run a Prelim again in 2 years!
Harry has been improving day in and day out. He still at this point remains for sale. He ran Feather Creek at Beginner Novice and it was an eye opening experience for the two of us. Harry then ran Mill Creek P.C. at Beginner Novice and he was night and day difference from Feather Creek just three weeks earlier. He finished 7th in a very competitive division, and he would have been higher placed if he would had a better warm up for dressage, however, when you are only allowed 15 minutes from the start of one ride the the start of your second horse, you don't' get much warm up to say the least :) He would have gone on to compete at Texas Rose, but a quarter crack gone bad, sidelined him for most of the summer. So Harry, spent his summer doing dressage and getting his fancy pants tuned up. He is now solid Training level with his dressage and is starting to learn Should In. What a star :) I took him to Feather Creek in July to school cross country and by the end of the he was jumping Training level, and never took one look at the Training Level water at the end of the course. Harry also did the Go Preview in Oklahoma City, and he did the 2'9, 2'11 and the 3' jumpers. By the end of the week he was back to the horse I knew he could be and was confidently cantering around the 3' courses on a loose rein. His fall season is looking like Holly Hill at Beginner Novice, and then Texas Rose at Novice if Holly Hill goes well.
So that's pretty much my spring/summer in a nut shell. School has started and Polo starts next week :) Until next time, Kick On
