Baby Henri meets some very special friends

These photos were taken in Henri's first week of life, but I'm just now getting around to posting them *sheepish grin*. This was his first real outing - of course, he slept the whole time, which was a-okay with me. The horses took varying degrees of interest in him - Keenan was a little on the ambivalent side (he did not understand how me holding the baby was better than the baby being in my tummy), Henry seemed afraid that the baby might eat him, Rapper was enthusiastic to the point of dangerous (isn't he always) and Reno...well, Reno fell head over heels, as I'm sure you can see. If Old Man Reno is still with us in a few years, I have every intention of him being Henri's first ride. Not that I'm anxious to pigeonhole our child, but if he wants to be the next Michael Matz, Jon French or David O'Connor, far be it for me to hold him back :)

Award Time again!

On January 8th, OHJA is having its awards banquet and I thought I'd just make note of some of our accomplishments ("our" meaning Triple Rise) from this year.

Open System
Lauren and Bella - 2nd 3' Pre Green Working Hunter
2nd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)
2nd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
3rd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Julie and Henry - 4th Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)
3rd 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
4th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Debbie and Houdini - 3rd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (41 +)
7th Large Working Hunter
6th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, over fences

Regional System
Kate and Titan - 1st 3'3" Pre Green Working Hunter
2nd Adult Amateur Working Hunter (18-35)

Anna and Patches - 8th Children's Working Hunter (13 & under)
2nd Modified Child/Adult Hunter
2nd Pre Child Hunter
4th Small Working Hunter
7th Pre Child Equitation, flat
7th Pre Child Equitation, over fences

Kristine and Q - 5th Children's Working Hunter (14-17)
1st Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter
2nd Open Working Hunter
1st Children's Equitation, over fences (14-17)
5th 0.95-1.00 Meter Jumper
4th Low Child/Adult Jumper

Sophie and Jackson - 3rd Children's Working Hunter Pony
3rd Pre Child Hunter
5th Pre Child Equitation, flat
3rd Pre Child Equitation, over fences

Jessie and Honey - 4th Pony Working Hunter

Missy and Keenan - 1st Large Working Hunter
1st Pre Adult Hunter
2nd Pre Adult Equitation, flat
2nd Pre Adult Equitation, over fences

Holly and Lucky - 2nd Long Stirrup Hunter
1st Long Stirrup Equitation, flat
2nd Long Stirrup Equitation, over fences

Alison and Bijou - 4th Short Stirrup Hunter
4th Short Stirrup Equitation, over fences

Tamara, Jakob and Cloudy - 5th 18 & Over Hunt Seat Equitation, flat
3rd 0.85-0.90 Meter Jumper
5th Low Child/Adult Jumper 3'

Jessie and Houdini - 6th Children's Equitation, over fences (13 & under)


We pretty much rock :)

Spectacular results

Fancy and Kate: Reserve Champion - Modified Child/Adult Hunter
Henry and Julie: Champion - Adult Equitation, Champion - OHJA Adult Medal
Lucky and Holly: Reserve Champion - Long Stirrup Hunter, Reserve Champion - Long Stirrup Equitation
Jackson and Sophie: Reserve Champion - Pre Child Hunter Pony
Patches and Anna: Reserve Champion - Pre Child Hunter Horse
Keenan and Missy: Champion - Pre Adult Hunter, Reserve Champion - Pre Adult Equitation, 5th - OHJA Mini Medal
Q and Kristine: 7th - OHJA Children's Medal
Keenan and Jessie: 3rd - OHJA Children's Medal
Bella and Lauren: 6th - OHJA Adult Medal

And major congrats to Tamara and Jakob who got 4th (out of 14) and 5th (out of 20) in two of their jumper classes; and to Allison and Bijou who competed in their first 'AA' rated show and did a phenomenal job!

Spectacular photos

Tamara and Jakob

Clayton and Keenan became fast friends

Keenan with his Champion sheet and Grand Champion ribbon


look how handsome my boy looks - fancy or no



I'm finally not jumping ahead!

2010 Medal Finals girls!

we're both a little tired, can you tell?

Jessie and Keenan, taking 3rd in the OHJA Children's Medal

Julie and Henry with their Circuit Reserve Grand Champion ribbon in Adult Equitation

Lauren and Bella

Anna and Patches

Kristine and Q

Sophie and Jackson

photos!

Oregon Summer Show

Wow, what a weekend! I'm still exhausted from it, so bear with me.
Keenan was an absolute stinker for Sarah in the Large Working Hunter classes but he and I won the Low Amateur 2'6" Hunter class on Thursday. That set us up for a great day on Friday - we got third in our schooling round but as soon as I got Keenan moving in front of my leg a little more we improved and won both our Pre-Adult Hunter classes over fences. We took sixth in the Under Saddle class because the other horses were "fancier" than my boy and Keenan spent the entire time trying to convince me that he didn't need to work hard. Saturday was, as has become my tradition, not as good. We got third in both our Hunter classes, but that was enough to clinch the division championship by 1.5 points (close one)! We also earned four more points toward qualifying for OHJA Medal Finals, now we just have to get a fourth place or better at this week's Northwest Spectacular to qualify!
The Hillcrest Starter Medal Final on Saturday night was, well, a complete disaster. I think it would have been okay if I'd managed to hold Mr. Keenan to a trot ALL THE WAY to the trot jump, but he decided that two trot strides was enough, then picked up a canter again. D'oh! We ended up finishing ninth out of ten competitors. Hey, that still got us a neck ribbon! A nice, pretty, light gray one. I'd really been looking forward to the victory gallop afterward, but as it happened, Keenan had a racetrack flashback and our gallop turned into a trot circle with a halt at the end in order to keep his sanity intact.
Sunday was like the calm after the storm. Even with as hard as I've been working, I'm not as fit as I should be and couldn't keep my legs from wiggling all over during the Equitation on the Flat. But, we did get a first and a third over fences, getting us reserve champion!
We had a great weekend as a barn:
Julie and Henry - Adult Amateur Hunter Champions, Adult Equitation Champions, Hillcrest Child/Adult Medal winner, Hillcrest Adult Medal Final winner, OHJA Child/Adult Medal winner
Holly and Lucky - Long Stirrup Hunter Reserve Champions and Long Stirrup Equitation Champions
Jessie and Cody - Children's Hunter 13 & Under Reserve Champions, Equitation 15 & Under Reserve Champions
Sophie and Jackson - Pre-Child Hunter Reserve Champions
Lauren and Bella - Pre-Green Hunter 3' Reserve Champions
Kristine and Q - Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter Reserve Champions
Also, Lauren and Julie rode in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Classic and even though they didn't place, they did really well. Katherine and Casper showed together for the first time in years and did really well, too!
Can't wait for Northwest!

we've got catching up to do!

Well, it's been forever since I've written anything, despite the many exciting events of the past two weeks. So I figure it's time for a little catch-up!

Our open house went really well. We had a great turn-out and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. I think we have a few new clients coming on board as a result and I know some parents are going to be interested in their kids joining the YMCA day camps we offer during the summer. My father in-law brought along Nathan's two youngest brothers, Zach and Levi, so that they could see what this horseback riding thing is all about. Zachery is an absolute natural! Laura had him up on Honey and I've never seen a kid have more confidence his first time on a pony. I think my favorite moment of the day had to be when Jessica was fielding questions after her second jumping demo - one of the children raised his hand and asked, "Are you going to be in the Olympics some day?!" It was adorable - "And talk about an ego boost!" Jess said.

The day after the open house, Sarah gave Nathan a special lesson on Phoenix since he didn't get to have a mini-lesson the day before - and, I suspect, because he's been doing a lot to help out at shows. It was great to see my husband participating in my favorite activity - and loving it! I don't know if it's because he's such a naturally athletic person or if it's because riding is something that he genuinely wants to do, but he rode really well - posted to the trot and everything! - especially for his first lesson. I've been offering to let him ride Rapper for months now, but he kept saying that he'd feel wierd and awkward and he didn't want any of the experienced riders to make fun of him. But now that's he's realized that he's better than your average beginner, and that all of the girls are behind him 100%, I think he'll be more interested in the idea.

Along with all the wonderful things that have been going on, we've had some bad luck, too. Poor Chloe (one of the mares who was born and raised at TREC and who is now in active training) seems to have borne the brunt of it all. Besides her mystery hives (a reaction to a still-unknown allergy), she was involved in a freak accident a couple of weeks ago that left her pretty scratched up and sore. During a lunging session, she somehow managed to get loose, jump out of the arena, tear around the driveway and bang up Laura's car. I wasn't there so I didn't see exactly what happened, but those seem to be the facts. Afterward, I helped Laura hold her still to clean out her wounds and let me tell you, nothing takes years off your life like trying to wrestle with a 16.2 hand mare who wants nothing more than to squish you into a wall. Then there was the incident that began with Cody spooking at a mud puddle and ended with Sarah getting kicked in the knee and spending the rest of the week on crutches. This all happened during a week straight of pouring rain while everyone was trying to get the barn and jumps spiffed up for the open house. Needless to say, it was a pretty stressful few days. I don't like to dwell on negative happenings (especially since things look like they're working out just fine), but I think it's important to point out that these things do happen. After all, they're part of life and learning to accept them and deal with them is the only way to learn and grow.

But now we're on to the heart of show season and things are looking up. We just wrapped up the Oregon Trail Classic, this week is the Early Summer Classic and the Country Classic weeks are just a month away! Kate is returning to Oregon, Julie will be showing Henry for the first time in two years and Chloe and Lana are along for the ride to learn what life as a show horse is like! It's going to be a great summer!

picture time!

Thought I'd share some of my favorite Triple Rise pics. There are some great ones on TREC's Facebook page and on their website, http://www.triplerisehorseshows.com/trec.html

Casper and Treasure, watching the Halloween party from their stalls.

Lena and Henry, being cute, looking for treats!

Baby Lex!

Titan and my husband Nathan, being silly.

My first picture with my guy Keenan.

Kate and Titan, on their way to winning another championship!

Me riding Juliet (Dance With Me), the mare I leased last year in the Northwest Spectacular show in Wilsonville.

Jessie and Patches, lighting up the equitation ring!

Juliet, Nathan and I at the Mother's Day Classic, my first "real" show.

The highlight of my season, being Co-Reserve Champion Pre-Adult Equitation at Early Summer Classic with Juliet. Kate and Titan were the other Co-Reserve Champs! A good day for Team TREC!