Sophie

Just had to post some super cute photos that Kate Laue took of Sophie and Jackson in the 2'6" hunter derby they participated in over the summer. Sophie has officially outgrown Jackson and is riding Bella now (Lauren got a new horse earlier this year - adorable baby Mona), so this was kind of their last hurrah. Sophie has ridden Jackson for the past two years and they have done very well together. I will miss watching them rock the house, but I'm excited for Sophie to move onto a horse. She is still learning Bella's quirks but those two ladies are destined to be a FORCE come next year!

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

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!

calm. cool, collected

Okay, so crisis over. I'm no longer freaking out about a rough week of lessons. There's nothing better for the nerves than two great lessons in a row. On Friday and Saturday, we had Medal Finals prep courtesy of TREC's owner and head trainer Mike. Both lessons were amazing. On Friday, Mike had us hike up our stirrups to jockey length and gallop around the ring. THAT was fabulous - I've always wanted to be a jockey/exercise rider and with Keenan being an ex-racehorse, galloping around like that was exhilerating. On Saturday we switched horses so that Anna hopped on Keenan, Sophie had Patches, and I wound up with Jackson Browne, our smallest pony. Small, yes, wimpy, no. It was actually really fun trotting around on that little guy. And our course that day had a few tough spots and a gnarly turn at the end but it was just a really fun ride. The whole two days made me feel so much better about the next two shows. I was reminded of why I love to ride and what it's all really about. I think these next two weeks are going to be a blast.

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)