Look at Zephyr, he made the program for The Fork 2016.
I have Selena here for just today. It is not long enough to hear all her news and recaps of the season’s competitions. The phone just isn’t the same as getting the ‘blow by blow’ of each cross country course from the rider in person. We watched video of the Carolina Horse Trials cross country and I really enjoyed it with Selena and Anne Marie adding their own commentary and background information as we watched.
Today was a blur of packing and unpacking the trailer. It’s a well used piece of equipment. Some of Woody’s show stuff is still up, some of Woody’s stuff has gone with Woody to PA (Woody has a LOT of stuff). All of Bentley’s stuff had to be loaded – that is Tori Morgan’s horse who is going to Plantation tomorrow. The trailer still looks very spiffy from it’s detailing in Florida. Ocala really caters to the horse world. You don’t just send your car or truck to be detailed, you can send your trailer too. They ‘acid’ wash it and it looks sparkly when they finish. We do the truck a couple of times a year just to make sure all the hard to reach areas get cleaned and we do the trailer once a year.
Selena has spent the winter in accommodation that does not have internet connection. There was internet connection at the barn where the horses were stabled, but it’s hard to find the time to do things on the internet when you are busy riding and looking after eight very demanding horses. As a result, she spent most of today on the internet catching up on everything she had missed online. She needed a day of little movement before climbing back into the truck tomorrow morning and trekking south once more, albeit only to Pennsylvania. Seven or eight hours feels like ‘just down the road’ compared to the hauls that she has been doing lately.
The wonderful Jan Smith at Chesterland has been keeping her experienced eye on Woody for us after the equally wonderful Lisa Marie Fergusson dropped him off. Woody is also having a couple of well deserved days to himself. He is being turned out and resting before he has to start the hill work. Ocala is pretty flat, there is the odd bump in the ground but it would be an exaggeration to call them ‘hills’. As a result, the horses that are running at Rolex where the rolling hills take a toll on even the fittest horse, are all scrambling to get some hill work in before the big day.
Bruce and Susie Davidson’s Chesterland Farm is THE ideal place to train an eventer, glorious hacking, lots and lots of hills, two big outdoor rings, a truly gorgeous indoor ring, cross country jumps including a bank and a splash. Everything you need plus one of the worlds most knowledgeable coaches. The place is a hive of activity with top riders from across North America getting help and advice from Bruce Davidson. Bruce is a tireless coach who knows when to push and when to back off. If he says you can do it, don’t give it a second thought, you CAN do it. What is even nicer is that there are lots of ‘not so top’ riders soaking up the lessons and the atmosphere, including the local Pony Club. Who knows what these up and coming riders are going to do with all that knowledge, but I am sure it’s going to be worth watching them.
