Stanton Farms Horse Trials

Well - Traveler did it again! Traveler (my stallion) and myself hauled off to the Stanton Farms Horse Trials - USEA Recognized event and competed at Novice against the big boys. We did it, we finished and we placed 6th and were able to ride in the "Victory Gallop". I have always wanted to ride in a victory gallop and for the first time we did.

Linda V. came out to watch us and encourage us and take some AMAZING photos of Traveler - it was fun to meet her in person and discuss the wonderful world of horses. Thanks Linda for your time, effort and support!! I had a great time.

Stanton was HOT. Really, really, really hot. So, although, you can't probably tell from the photos, Traveler and I managed to compete 3 Days in sweltering heat and finish up, almost in the top 5. So close, yet....... another day, perhaps.

I am so proud of Traveler, he did a great job and we are learning together in our journey of riding and horsemanship. And at every event, we get a little bit better.

So here are more photos then you probably have time to view, but how can I resist? Here's the story.

Traveler - at the end of the Event, proudly displaying his 6th Place ribbon. (And no, I don't braid for stadium, it's what I hang on to if the going gets rough)
First Day - Dressage. Dressed in full "uniform" including a nice wool dress coat in almost 100 degrees. He did pretty good - we got a passable score. We did it, we finished and we did several of the movement quite nicely, the rest we need to work on. (Always something to improve on.)

And then Cross-Country. This is where we RULE! He did absolutely amazing - double clear - no refusals and we made time. We really have to push on the course - because Traveler does not travel the speed of a racehorse. But he is proving he can go fast enough.

Here we are at the end of the course - the fastest, most furious and most exhausting 4 minutes and 40 seconds of my life.

Second to last jump - at this point I know we are home free and we are at a full gallop.

The two above pictures are of the 3rd fence which was at a funny angle and I was a little concerned about a run-out. But no hesitation and you can see his ears are forward and looking for the next fence.

This was one of the more concerning fences - you can't see the water, but right on the other side is the water obstacle and we had to enter the water (without hesitation) and then pick up a canter to make it over this house. He did it!

Another view of that 3rd jump at an angle. No doubts about it, we are going over clear.

Here we are just warming up for cross-country. Trying to get "psyched" up for it.

(Nice headshot of Traveler - thanks Linda!)

And now on to Stadium jumping. He did pretty good here - we did have a rail down and then that threw us off and we had one run-out from approaching the fence incorrectly. But we pulled it together and circled around and finished the round. That's the hardest part - if you make a mistake, you have to instantly "regroup" and regain your focus and keep going because you are on the clock and every second counts.

And whew! Stadium is over, and we made it. Now for the Victory Gallop!

Here we are at the end - hot, tired and happy. This is one of those sports where you are just thrilled if you finish - and to get a ribbon and ride in the Victory Gallop is icing on the cake.

Today is a "no horse" day - I am recovering, but we will be back at training tomorrow and hitting another event in 2 weeks. Take a deep breath and here we go.....

(Thanks again, Linda - you are awesome!)