I am so very proud of Solo. He did his first Intermediate at Wit’s End in a blizzard (no kidding) and was fantastic. He did a really good dressage test with just one change of lead in his counter canter when he got a bit prancy. Beautiful stadium and a lovely cross country. There were plenty of questions out there but he seemed to really enjoy the extra challenge, almost as though he has been waiting for just that. He also seems very relaxed and happy with himself in general. I really think he really, really, really likes the bigger jumps.
He did his event on Saturday, had Sunday off and then we bundled him into the trailer on Monday morning to keep Mr. C. company on his farrier trip to Virginia. Selena was hoping to fit in a lesson on Solo with David O while she was down there. The drive down was really uneventful. Both horses eat and drink well on the trailer. Selena and I are the only ones who drive the rig and we are very very careful of our cargo. I think it really makes a big difference HOW the horses are driven as opposed to how long they are on the rig for. Both boys drank well, we have buckets kept half full that are tied up to the side of the trailer so that they can drink while we drive and we boost them with syringes of high quality electrolytes before and during long trips. They also munched their way through two whopping great hay nets and seemed very happy and content tucked up in the trailer whenever we stopped to check on them and top up the water and hay.
It was still daylight when we got there, it only took 11 hours including our stops. The horses went for a walk and a graze for an hour before we put them to bed. Virginia grass would appear to be tasty in the extreme.
The first thing we saw when we drove in was Jessica Phoenix’s trailer parked at the barn close by the O’Connor’s where we were stabling the horses. We were very excited, sure that we were going to be two of the first to meet ‘Jacob’, Jessie’s brand new son. Sure enough, the next morning Jessica and Jacob were at the barn. He is a gorgeous baby and very quiet and content with Jessica’s mother in full attendance. Jess has two grooms now, one for Jacob and one for Digby and his friends. It was fun to see her, she and Digby and the boys were leaving for Chatahoochi (SP) to show Jacob just what Mummy does in her spare time. We are looking forward to seeing her again at Bromont where she plans to do the CCI***. BTW – I just found out she won Chatahoochi!
Life at home is hectic. There are all sorts of horses to work. New just backed horses (always exciting) and our own homebred youngsters have to start under saddle soon. We have had some major renovation to our roundpen in anticipation of doing a lot of backing and breaking. We also had some new footing in our indoor and it feels wonderful to ride in now, all springy and light. The cross country course is partly ready and we have started some schooling over the fences on the higher ground. The water complexes and the jumps in the lower fields will be ready mid-month and so far NO bugs. I just love these cool nights and no buzzing pests, however, I went out and stocked up with fly spray last week, fly season is coming, like it or not.
The show season is revved and ready. This weekend it’s Will O Wind with Song of Songs, Dudley Do Right and Crosby, our three sales horses that wintered in Ocala. If all goes well and they have a happy confident run at Will O Wind, they will all upgrade at Grandview two weeks later where Solo will do his second Intermediate horse trial. The week after that is Ottawa and we will want to take some younger horses there, followed by Bromont where I hope to go myself as Solo’s groom. I can’t wait!
