We have been tweaking Rosa's maintenance and it has really paid off. When I last took her to KY, for the CDI, she got tight and crampy because she was in season - just like people do. Laurie Cameron is a vet who specializes in mares and really assisted me with the problem. She discovered that Rosa had a little infection, which is why she wasn’t feeling 100%, and after that cleared up we put her on Regu-mate to keep her out of season, since she really struggles with that. She has been doing well on this new regimen.
She’s probably the best competitor I’ve ever sat on, and every time I sit on her she’s better. She’s still a little green in places, which is normal, but she’s turning into a real international competitor. Like I do with all my horses, I do a lot of fitness work with her, including a lot of walking and riding her outside the ring. I think that’s important because dressage horses spend a lot of time in the ring. A horse that is as dedicated as she is to what she’s doing, I think she needs a change of scenery now and then. We have thousands of acres next door in Runnymede, where Boyd gallops his event horses, and she loves it – there are hills and streams and sometimes I just work out there so she doesn’t feel pressured. She has fun working in the ring too, but especially with a hot horse like her, I think it’s important to channel that energy and be able to ride her anywhere. I feel sorry for the dressage horses that live in their stall and never set foot outside of the arena when they are ridden!
Zoran, Bonnie Stedt’s 8-year-old horse, is so exciting – last year at that same show he did Training level and now he’s doing 3rd and 4th levels and is going so well. He’s still a bit weak, so I do a lot of strengthening work with him. He's eight years old and hadn't done much before last year so I think he has some catching up to do. He tends to be wild in the warm-up but then he goes in the ring and is awesome. In 4th level it gets really hard with piroutetts and tempi changes and he handled it well. I’ve always liked him, but now that I have a relationship with him and know what I have, I feel like he’s going to be a real contender.
I rode Kymmy’s horse Hot Date in the 5-year-old young horse qualifier and he was phenomenal! He won and the judges loved him. He’s a really good horse and has a lot of quality. He’s still working on strength and fitness – he scored 8.4 overall, 8.4 for submission. They kept throwing 8’s at him, which is really exciting. I’m hoping the score is good enough for Kymmy to take him to Chicago.
Gracia rode Colin and he was great, she finished 2nd in 3rd level test 2 with almost 65%. He’s just getting more mileage and he’s for sale and keeps proving that he’s a good competition horse. Gracia is only 20 years old so obviously he’s a good horse for a Young Rider. They both did a really good job.
CLICK HERE FOR SCORES
I had several students competing and I was really excited about Michelle Holden, a trainer from North Carolina – she won the class Zoran was third in. She has a really nice mare that I’ve been helping her with and it was very satisfying to see someone whom I’ve helped along the whole journey do so well.
 |
| Syndicate Member Jessica Hart with Rosa Cha W |
Jessica Hart is a Syndicate member and came to watch Rosa for the first time. It was fun to have her there and cheering us on! There are two shares left in the syndicate if anyone is interested!
Now we’re focusing on getting ready to go to Chicago at the end of August: Benny, Di Solitaire and Fortissimo B are all qualified for the Five-Year-old Finals. I’m only allowed to ride two so hopefully Fortissimo B will be sold soon and somebody else will be competing him there! Hopefully Kymmy and Hayden will be there too in the 5-year-old class. Rosa, since she won on Friday at Lexington, will go in the Developing Horse PSG.
Here's a video of Rosa's daughter, Hannah Lu, competing this weekend:
-Silva
No comments:
Post a Comment