OHJA Points

So I've been waiting forEVER for the Oregon Hunter Jumper Association to update their points on the website - and they're up! I have to brag a bit - not just about Keenan and I, but all the riders from Triple Rise.

Lauren and Bella:
4th in 3' Pre-Green Working Hunter (Open System)
4th in Adult Amateur Working Hunter (Open System)
2nd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat (Open System)
9th in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences (Open System)

Debbie and Houdini:
3rd in Adult Amateur Working Hunter (Open System)
8th in Large Working Hunter (Open System)
3rd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences (Open System)

Tamera and Cloudy:
2nd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
3rd in 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)
4th in 0.85-0.90 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
5th in 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
2nd in Low Adult Jumper (Regional System)

Kate and Titan:
1st in 3'3" Pre-Green Working Hunter (Regional System)
1st in Adult Amateur Working Hunter (Regional System)

Kristine and Q:
1st in Children's Working Hunter (Regional System)
1st in Open Working Hunter (Regional System)
1st in Children's Equitation Over Fences, 14-17 (Regional System)
8th in Children's Equitation on the Flat, 14-17 (Regional System)
11th in 0.85-.90 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
4th in 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper (Regional System)
1st in Beginning Jumper Rider (Regional System)
4th in Low Children's Jumper

Laura and Beau:
7th in Pre-Adult Hunter (Regional System)
3rd in Pre-Adult Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
2nd in Pre-Adult Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

Holly and Lucky:
1st in Long Stirrup Hunter (Regional System) - with 264 points!
1st in Long Stirrup Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
1st in Long Stirrup Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

Allison and Bijou:
3rd in Short Stirrup Hunter (Regional System)
2nd in Short Stirrup Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

Sophie and Jackson:
3rd in Pre-Children's Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)

Jessie:
1st in Children's Equitation Over Fences, 13 & Under (Regional System)
3rd in Children's Equitation on the Flat, 13 & Under (Regional System)

Honey:
1st in Pony Working Hunter (Regional System)

And, of course, my Keenan!!!:
1st in Large Working Hunter (Regional System) - with 225 points!
1st in Pre-Adult Hunter (Regional System) - with 213 points!
1st in Pre-Adult Equitation on the Flat (Regional System)
1st in Pre-Adult Equitation Over Fences (Regional System)

I must be dreaming

The success DID continue! Yesterday, Keenan and I took the championship for Pre-Adult Equitation! I was actually really worried that we wouldn't do too well because he and I were both so tired, but we held it together for one more day and did great! And that was in spite of me leaving out a fence at the end of our first round. I guess I was just rushing to learn my course and didn't realize after the outside line there was one more fence - I just left it out entirely. When I came out of the back gate and Sarah told me what I'd done, my heart just sank. I thought to myself - "there it goes." But because I got a first in my other round and won the eq on the flat class, I wound up ok. And that wasn't even the best part! My friend Laura, who also rides and works for Triple Rise, had won a first, second and third in equitation on Beau and we ended up with tying scores for the championship! Sarah was so delighted when we rode out of the ring, she threw her hands in the air and said, "my life is so good right now!" Laura and I stayed in our show clothes, threw some red Triple Rise fly sheets over our horses and had the show photographer take some pictures of us together. Other TREC champs and reserve champs were: Kate Laue's New Favorite (with Sarah aboard), Adrienne Potwora and her Captain Jack, Holly Brooks on Mollie's Lucky Me and Kristine on her own Elusive Q.

It was such a whirlwind of a week and I could not be happier with how it turned out - well, alright, I wish I hadn't left out that fence, and my OHJA Mini Medal round definitely left something to be desired but STILL! I am so excited for the rest of the season! The rest of my shows will take place at my absolute favorite show location, Hunter Creek Farm in Wilsonville which is beautiful, outdoors, close to my family and full of great memories. Come on, Early Summer Classic!

changes and pleasant surprises

There's a lot going on at Triple Rise this time of year. It's only January, but we're all preparing for the 2010 show season and for some of the girls, that means it's time for new horses! My mom and I bought Keenan back in October and since then a fleet of new horses have come to call TREC home and some veteran horses have new moms.
Kristine and her mom bought "Q" (Elusive Q) from a well-known stable in Portland and brought him home shortly after I got the Keenster. Q is a towering dark bay Thoroughbred with a heart of gold. He loves to make friends with anyone in his vicinity.
Mike and Mollie (barn owners) bought "Beau" (Beaudacious) as a lesson horse and he and Gabby have become pretty close. Gabby was leasing our trainer Sarah's first horse Szarka and now she's helping Beau learn how to relax and enjoy life a little more - he didn't even know how to eat treats before Gabby!
Jessie sold her horse "Patches" (Patchwork) to Anna just last week and brought home "Cody" (show name TBD) only yesterday. Jessie told me near the end of the show season that she was planning on moving up in the show world and would be selling Patches. I've always just adored that horse and, at the time, lamented the fact that I was too big for him. But then I realized I was being silly, that such a good, quiet, gentleman of a horse should be a first horse for one of the younger girls, "like Anna," I thought to myself. And lo and behold! I'm very excited to be keeping Patches around, and Jessie is ecstatic that he is staying where she can still see him every day.
TREC is also the home to "Tootsie," a new young pony that Sarah is finishing for a client. She's an adorable little blonde thing who lives next to Rapper and adores him.
I can't wait to see what this year will bring with the group of new horses and new owners at TREC!