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

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.

Oregon Trail show report

Kristine and Elusive Q

Anna and Patchwork

myself and Frampton

Jessie and Big Time

Lauren and Southern Belle

What a great way to kick off the outdoor season! The Oregon Trail was a new show this year and I opted to go to it versus the Early Summer Classic a week later - the single 'A' rating (as opposed to a 'AA') would keep the costs down and I wanted an opportunity to do well at a smaller show and rack up some points. Turned out to be a shrewd decision - although for a day or two there, it looked like I might not be riding at all. On Thursday afternoon, as Nathan and I were putting the finishing touches on our packing, Sarah called me from Wilsonville to tell me that for the past few days Keenan had been sore and stiff. So much so that Sarah had scratched him from the pro days' classes. He wasn't outright lame, she told me, but Keenan is a horse who very rarely gets sore. I told Sarah that I'd be coming up anyway and we decided to have the vet out first thing Friday morning to take a look and make sure there wasn't something more serious going on. I was nervous when I arrived at the show grounds on Friday - afraid that I'd see my poor Keenan in pain. I'll admit, I wanted to ride in the show very badly, but I was more concerned with my boy's health. I went about business as usual - namely, working hard to get that stubborn yellow stain off Keenan's barrel - just so we'd be ready. Thankfully, after watching me ride and doing some flexion tests on Keenan, the vet deemed him fit to compete and told Sarah and I that riding and putting him in a frame would likely be beneficial because it would stretch out and loosen his muscles. So, with less than an hour to go before my classes, I was rushing around getting he and I dressed and ready. We had an abbreviated warm-up that commenced with Sarah saying, "okay, go show!" And we came away with a first and a second! That's when I knew two things I'd only previously suspected: 1.) my horse can do absolutely anything, and 2.) he loves me a lot. Keenan hadn't been ridden in three days and even though he was sound, he was not feeling 100% - and he went out and performed for me in spite of those things! We totaled 21 points for our hunter division (1st, 2nd, 3rd and a 5th) putting us one point shy of reserve champion - and that was without doing our under saddle class and me riding like a sack of flour on the second day! What a horse I have!

Of course, one of the great things about Triple Rise is that ALL of our horses are incredible animals and the riders they are paired with are some extremely talented horsewomen.

Lauren and Bella:

three 1st and two 2nd awards in Adult Amateur Hunter = Champion

one 1st, one 3rd and one 4th award in Adult Equitation = Champion

winner of the OHJA Adult Medal

Anna and Patches:

one 1st, one 2nd and one 3rd award in Pre-Childrens's Hunter = Co-Champion

4th place in the Hillcrest Starter Medal

Kristine and Q:

one 3rd award in 0.95 meter Children's Jumper

one 1st, one 3rd, two 4th and one 6th award in Modified Junior/Amateur Hunter

one 2nd and one 3rd award in Restricted Equitation 14-17

Keenan and I:

one 1st, one 2nd, one 3rd and one 5th award in Pre-Adult Hunter

two 1st and one 4th award in Pre-Adult Equitation = Champion

And hats off to Jessie and Cody - in their first show together, they placed in almost every class! They are going to make an amazing team as they continue to grow and learn together. Another great show team Triple Rise!

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!

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!