To try to ignore Winter, I entered Willow and Palantir in Paul Frazer and Spring Bay HT on back to back weekends. Of course, Palantir has very little experience and had never been to the KY Horse Park atmosphere before so I was not sure how he would take it.
S.S. Willow: Willow was really great at both shows. Scoring in the low 30’s each weekend, she is getting better and better every day. I had her teeth professionally done back in December. She is now becoming more and more rideable now that there is no pain to deal with. I had the best show jumping round on her at Paul Frazer, double clear and soothe as silk. Something I have really been working hard on. Grid work has been a huge help.
Spring Bay on Willow was good as well. She was 4th after dressage and we finished 4th overall. I rode a bit too crooked to the in and out and had one rail, but she was ridable and listening. XC was a breeze and we had a blast. I am glad she is 1/2 pony… tough as nails and has a very thick coat for the 23 degree frosty XC morning 🙂
May Daze next for Willow!
Palantir did the Beginner Starter and the Starter divisions at Paul Frazer, scoring in the low 30’s on both tests. He was very business like in his attitude and kept his manners all weekend. We also achieved Reserve Champion for the T.I.P. awards. He really likes to jump and has a fantastic Can-Do-Anything attitude – TBs are awesome.
At Spring Bay, it was very cold and windy. Palantir had a hard time keeping his concentration – there were many horses running sideways and blowing up all around us, so he joined in a few times. He was obedient in the dressage, just tight and nervous.
For the show jumping, he was really great. He is a little spooky, but maintains his forward motion and keeps getting to the jumps. He is very easy to steer and does not do anything wrong. I love how light he is on his front end and how eager he is to please.
XC was so much fun. The warm up was very scary for Palantir. He did not understand why horses were coming towards him, and jumping behind him. We had a few unexpected lateral movements here and there, but he kept jumping well. Once we were out on course, he was hunting down the next jump without rushing before or afterwards. I just can’t say enough about how much I enjoy working with him. Below are a few photos of him from Spring Bay – Photo Credit: Vics Pics @vicspicsequine
