Strathgartney Horse Trials

It was an eventful day at Strathgartney Horse Park today. Approximately, 30 horse & rider combinations from across the Maritimes compted at the PEI Horse Trials.

Because I enjoyed the eventing so much last year and really wanted to do it again I decided to give it a try this year with Kionus. He certainly jumped before but never competed at a horse trials, so it was a totally new experience. Boy did he enjoy it!!!!

The first phase, dressage, went well. It was very different from our regular dressage test but Kionus certainly did what he was supposed to. A little after lunch time, we were up for our second phase, the stadium jumping. Kionus was very eager to jump, he actually seemed to love it. In the rush, we took one rail but I was very pleased with his effort. And last but not least, our cross country the greatest rush of all! It was an amazing experience doing the entire course with him. Turned out Kionus and I placed fourth out of fifteen riders.

Ambre did an absolute wonderful job today. Trinny and her placed third in the pre-training division! Lots of improvement from last year! She also rode her new mount Wanja in the pre-entry dressage phase. She got 64% with a first place. Wanja went extremely nice for a four year old doing her first dressage test. Good job!

Overall it was a great day. The bit of rain towards the middle of the day didn't seem to bother too many people. I was very pleased with the way the horses went. The goal for the day was to have fun and be safe. I think we achieved that!

Now, the bags are packed and we will be on our way to Blainville tomorrow morning at 5! Maybe some Blainville tales and pictures later this week!

Another Practice Round Before Blainville

Saturday, Kionus and I had another lesson with Sue in Port Elgin. It was nice to have some time with her before the show in Blainville, which is next week. The temperature was extremly nice, it came close to 25 degrees! That is almost 45 degrees higher than the first time we went in January!!!

Kionus went well, we worked through most of our test exercises. Sue was very pleased with the way he was going. I guess going down to Strathgartney during the past week refreshed his mind!

If things go as planned, we will be leaving early Sunday morning for Blainville. I'm looking forward to the week! The first two days we will be doing mostly schooling with Sue and then compete Wednesday through to Saturday.

BUT...before we leave we're going to have a busy day at Strathgartney. Kionus and I will be going to the Horse Trials event Saturday June 24th. We are entering in the pre-training division. I'm sure it will be an interesting day since Kionus has never gone to a Horse Trials event... So later more about that!

Back on the Course

This past Wednesday evening we decided that it was time again to head down to Strathgartney to get back on the cross country course! It was a nice evening to give most of the jumps a try.

I took Kionus with me and we both had an absolute blast. I think he really enjoyed getting away from the dressage exercises. The jumps went already easier than last year and his canter seemed to be a lot more forward as well. In fact, he really enjoyed going for a good and fast run!

Ambre had her Bromont mount Trinny with her. They mastered some jumps of which Ambre thought she would never jump. To be honest, I never thought I'd be jumping those cross country jumps with Kionus. So guess, there is living proof....it's all do able! Just go out and give it a try. We all had an amazing time and it was great to be back on the course! Here are some pictures of our fun evening. At the top, Ambre and I discussing which jump to try next. On the right, Kionus jumping the ditch. And in the centre, Darren keeping a close eye on Ambre and Trinny who are jumping the vertical.

Whiscalina's Show Debut

Since we missed the training show last weekend Whiscalina made her first show debut this Saturday. We took her over to Venture Stables in Freetown Friday evening to get her familiar with the surroundings. We had a lesson with Sue that evening and introduced her to the show ring and she was very good! She didn't look at anything and it was like she had done it for years!

We entered in the training level I test early Saturday morning. She did everything I could ever ask her! I was absolutely thrilled with her! In our first test we received 64% and got a second place ribbon. She second test went even more consistent and relaxed; this was reflected in a little higher score of 65% and again a second place!

I was so extremly happy with her! As a 3 year old going to her first show I never could have asked and hoped for more! All she wants to do is please us, anytime and anywhere!

We had also entered her in the Sunday show in two training level tests. Unfortunately, we had a lot of rain Saturday evening and night. The show ring had gotten very wet and heavy. Since she is still young and did so wondeful on Saturday and wanted to end things on a positive note we did not feel the footing conditions were well enough to enter her again on Sunday.

Whiscalina will now be on a break for several weeks. She certainly deserves it after all the hard work and many new things she learned during the last few weeks. I'm sure she will enjoy the green grass!

Kionus Third Level & Overall Saturday High Score

The show weekend started Friday evening with a lesson from Sue. It was nice to get some schooling done and things went well. Kionus was ready to compete Saturday!

I was extremly pleased with him. The first test went very nice, I could feel there was a lot of improvement from last year. Everything started to fall into its place. Halfpasses, flying changes, transitions went smooth and felt easy. Our first test was rewarded with 66.66% and a first place ribbon! Second test went good as well, to me it felt better than the first but in this test we got 63.33% but again a first place ribbon.

At the end of the day it turned out Kionus and I had won the overall Saturday High Score award. We received a beautiful cooler and it fits Kionus just perfect!

We also did not enter Kionus in the Sunday show because of the footing conditions. Our next show will be Blainville, Quebec. Looking forward to that very much! Kionus will be entering in both third & fourth level in Blainville.