Bruce Davidson and Clayton Fredericks tag team the warm up.
Rolex was everything we hoped for.
Both the boys were doing their first four star. To have one ‘newbie’ at the four star level is stressful, it turns out that two is absolutely nerve wracking. After all, really and truly, until you are finished, ship them home and trot them up the next day, you really don’t know what you have. It’s a roller coaster ride of highs, lows, worries and achievements. We were a lucky team. Everyone had worked hard, everyone had done their homework, the boys were fit and keen to get out there.
Rocky was tense in dressage. He showed it by opening his mouth with a tense neck and jaw throughout the test. However….that was it. The only problem he showed was the tension, other than that he coped with the test, he coped with the ring, he coped with Selena’s Rolex nerves and he did his job like a trooper. We were thrilled and excited about his dressage marked in the future when he is more confident in himself and not second competitor in the ring on a cold windy morning!
Woody had been higher than a kite all week. ‘Foxwood High’…..be careful what you name your horse! He was ‘High” alright. He looks like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth but when he gets excited the exuberance has a tendency to overflow at the edges. He was gobbling back four great big feeds of Purina Trimax every day. He and Rocky both ran on Trimax, the joy of it is that they like the taste so much that feeding huge amounts of hard feed isn’t the nightmare it used to be in the days of making up your own grain mixes. Even in the warm up, Woody was still on his toes, giving the changes a little too much expression! We had given them both Omega Alpha RegenerEQ, Biotic 8 and Gastra FX to maintain the digestion during the intense work sessions and the very high percentage of hard feed to forage. We used a broad spectrum of the Omega Alpha supplements for both horses before, during and after Rolex to ensure they came through it in tip top condition. Woody held it together in the ring and looked like a star in the making. We were very excited about how well he did his changes (a difficult feature of the test on fit horses) and how much improved his mediums and extensions were, moves that he finds difficult. All in all, both horses gave of their best and behaved wonderfully in the big intimidating international ring.
Cross country was magical. First Rocky who ‘just’ glanced off one corner in the water, he and Selena have not been together very long and she feels that she is only now starting to get the most out of him. Although he had the one little blip, they jumped the rest of the course with scope and confidence. He was unfazed by the size of the questions and the numbers of spectators. Towards the end of the course he began to show he was a little tired in his gallop and Selena coasted him home, however, he was still jumping like a superstar and giving the fences lots of air. His ‘lots of air’ at the beginning of the course is what tires him. He uses himself in such a big way over each effort that he tires his body out. We will continue to build his core strength and fitness and try to get him to be more lenient on himself by jumping a little more conservatively on cross country.
Woody had the benefit of a pilot that had already been around the course. He and Selena cruised around making the course look smooth. He picked up 1.6 time penalties to add to his dressage score and Selena was thrilled. Both horses recovered very quickly in the ten minute box and were perky and ready to go the next morning. Woody was actually still bucking in the warm up for show jumping. Rocky took a fence out at the start of his show jumping course, maybe looking through it at the huge numbers of people in the stands. After that he rode the rest of the round perfectly, proving himself to be sound and willing to carry on with the competition. Woody jumped the first half of the course by braille, and gave us all heart palpitations before he decided he had better start picking himself up before something actually fell down! One beautiful clear round, one time penalty. He added 2.6 penalties altogether to his dressage score…what a boy!
Grooms Sean Dennis and Anne Marie Duarte.
We have a ton of people to thank. It takes a village. Jean Rablat and Arthur Tateishi, John and Judy Rumble, without you there were no ‘boys’ to do Rolex on. And of course the people who stayed home so that the barn at home was never a concern or a worry to Selena throughout her competition.
There were sixty beautiful horses at Rolex yet Selena’s two were picked out by the media over and over again for special comment on their condition. This is most certainly due to:
- Purina Agribrands who feed the boys what they need to do this job and look amazing while they do it.
- Omega Alpha, without their products we absolutely would not be getting the results and the recovery times.
- Anne Marie Duarte and assistant Sean Dennis who prepared and cared for the boys over Rolex.
Voltaire supply Selena’s saddles and this was the first four star she has done in her new Voltaires. Needless to say, Selena is pretty happy with her now saddles, she felt safe and comfortable and more important even than that, she felt her horses were also comfortable. Leather Therapy cleaned our tack and left if strong, flexible, clean and comfortable.
The boys wore their ‘Snuggy Hoods’ under their blankets to keep them clean and cosy at night. The Snuggys are comfortable and don’t slip. This was our first winter using Snuggy turn out hoods and we loved them. They kept everyone warm and sleek throughout the winter.
Selena herself is dressed to ride by FITS (best breeches I have ever worn), Charles Owen helmets, JoJo Sox that NEVER slide inside your boots and La Mundial custom boots. La Mundial is now a sponsor for the entire Canadian eventing team and has been making Selena’s boots since the last World Games. Let’s hope she gets to wear them at a new World Games in 2014. After Woody’s stellar performance we have our fingers and toes permanently crossed until August LOL
This year for the first time she was sponsored for her trot up outfits and her outfit to attend the Rolex Rider’s Cocktail Party by House of Angeles in Kingston. These people are AMAZING, they took one look at Selena, flurried their way around the racks and boxes and whoosh, there she was, looking like an advert from a fashion magazine. It’s quite something to go into a designer boutique and be ‘dressed’ by real professionals who know exactly what they are about. All three outfits were stunning and exactly right for the occasion.
We would also very much like to thank:
- The Datta Family
- Michael and Elaine Davies
- Brian Leith
- Dougie Hannum
- Bruce Davidson
Thank you all of you. You help us so much and so often it’s hard to know where to begin. We are very sure that O’Hanlon Eventing could not do what it does without your help. We are very very grateful that you choose to support us.
And all you out there, who bother to read our adventures and who send us your congratulations and support. You too are part of what it takes. Without the supporters at all the levels, there is nothing at all.
