I cannot believe it’s June already. Apart from anything else, the weather in May felt more like April and it took me a long time to emerge from my down jacket this year. But I have put it away and taken the duvet off the bed because it’s too hot, stopped covering each of the dogs up every night with their blankies….it’s WARM OUTSIDE. I can’t believe the difference it makes to the day.
I know it’s June when I look at the horse schedule. Things are heating up in more ways than one. This present weekend (writing this on a Sunday) is something different every day. It really started on Thursday when Selena took the three boys to Dreamcrest to school some corners. Corners at the three star level have shown up some straightness issues with Solo and Rocky, they are both still green at the Advanced level and sometimes they get it wrong. Selena is working hard on their straightness and on the Friday she and I drove up to Amanda and Jorge Bernhardt’s lovely farm in Mono. They are kind enough to host the Canadian team training camps there. Selena rode her three horses back to back under the scrutiny of Canadian team coach, Clayton Fredericks. It was a very hot day with a lovely breeze flowing over the arena we were using, the ‘peanut gallery’ sat in the shade of some beautifully sited trees around the arena.
Selena’s first session was with Nicole Parkin and Lexus, she rode Rocky in that session and they both worked hard. Her second session was Solo. I was impressed with all three horses how well they ‘tied to the trailer’. I know it seems like a basic skill that every horse should have, but these three are all three star fit and ready to leave for Bromont on Tuesday. At all times, one was in the trailer, one was outside tied to the trailer and one was being ridden right beside the trailer. Nobody called or paid any attention to the movements of each other, nobody pawed or fussed. Everybody did their job quietly, whatever the job happened to be at that moment. I must give kudos to Anne Marie Duarte and Selena for this, as I have not been to a show with them for over a year.
Woody was the last session and he was great. Clayton put up a red upright and had the riders jumping out of a canter pirouette with about four collected straight strides, then the fence. This exercise had caused varying degrees of difficulty during the three sessions. At the end of Woody’s session, he raised it another six inches or so to what looked like over five feet and Woody popped right out over the top of it like a Grand Prix show jumper.
Straight back home, barn by eight thirty pm, do up all the legs then bed because on Saturday Selena was loading early and taking four of our clients to a combined training at Temperance Lake Farm. We had a really fun day, the facility is lovely and the show was well run. Our ladies did a fantastic job and each of the four brought home a ribbon, two seconds and two thirds….way to go ladies! We are lucky in Kingston area to have a great series of short course events which are a wonderful introduction to the sport and good practice and schooling venues.
Today is Sunday and Selena is giving a Pony Club clinic in Brockville. We are big Pony Club supporters and she has been looking forward to going to Tess Greer’s farm, known to most of you as the home of Touch A Rainbow, and teaching her great bunch of Pony Clubbers. The weather is not wonderful today, but I know that as long as the thunderstorms stay away, nothing else is going to stop those kids having a good time.
Tomorrow we are back on the road really early to do another training camp with Clayton Fredericks in Mono. For those of you that don’t know, Mono is near Orangeville and can take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours to get there depending on the traffic as we pass over Toronto. Home tomorrow night, take the truck in Tuesday morning to have an oil change done before leaving by noon for Bromont…..phew….Bromont is going to feel like a rest.
Here is a video of Rocking at training camp with Clayton Fredericks.
