I can hardly believe it’s the middle of May already and Summer will soon be upon us. I wanted to remind you of upcoming competitions, our Summer Camp schedule etc.
The following Competitions are being offered in June and July:
Many of these have already opened. Please let me know ASAP if you are wishing to compete at these. As always, first come first served!!
· June 6th Plantation Recognized Baby Novice - Prelim
· June 7th Plantation Starter Trial Elementary – Novice
· June 13th Valley Hill Jumpers
· June 28th Bucks Country Horse Trails
· July 11th Valley Hill Jumpers
· July 16th – 19th Stuart Horse Trials (NY) Novice – 2**
· July 25th Plantation Starter Horse Trials
Summer Camp is running the following weeks:
June 22
July 6
July 20
August 10
August 17
Advance Camp runs:
July 27 – 13
August 3-7
In order to accommodate our campers and boarders/clients during camp weeks we are asking the ring be reserved for camp from 9am – 3pm Boarders/clients please try to ride before or after that time so it doesn’t get too crowded and everyone can have fun.
I will be continuing to teach, throughout the summer during camp hours, so please feel free to schedule a lesson. If you find it necessary to free ride during camp hours please contact me to schedule. We’ll do our best to accommodate everyone.
As always thank you for your continued business and support. I’m looking forward to a fun and enjoyable summer.
Susie
Susie Beale & Isabella II
Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
To Rolex and Home...
We arrived home safely in the wee hours of Monday morning, all very tired but glad to be home! Isabella was tucked in safely for the night, a few more carrots, and to bed we all went!
First thing Monday we jogged Isabella and she looked great, Chris Adair was certainly happy to have Isabella home! Although she did fly to Kentucky to watch us we had only a limited number of passes into the stabling area, so she did not get to see her as much as she is used to! ( I think both Chris and Isabella were in withdrawals!)
Monday was a day of unpacking and organizing! There is so much equipment for both horse and rider when you pack to leave for one of these competitions, it seems to double by the time you get home!! Now part of that this time, was because of all the wonderful gifts that we received for being a competitor at Rolex, my most prized of these, being a beautiful green with gold trim, monogrammed “2009 Rolex Three Day Event” wool cooler for Isabella, and for me a “2009 competitor” monogrammed hat :) I will treasure them!
I was of course, disappointed not to have been able to complete the competition, but this was, without a doubt, one of the greatest highlights of my life. What an honor to be at Rolex, Kentucky, competing against some of the best horses and riders in the world. Of all the years to go, this was truly a great one! Because Kentucky is hosting the World Equestrian Games in 2010 nine countries sent team members to compete here and get a feel for the course. I believe this is a record for Rolex and Isabella and I got to be there :)
This was a tremendous goal for me to achieve, and I can honestly tell you that I have learned so much in the last week. There is little to prepare you for the tremendous atmosphere that a competition of that magnitude, creates, and certainly there is NOTHING to prepare you for the size and technicality of the course!! But I leave Rolex behind for 2009 with my sights on another year…………………..I have learned and grown, Isabella has become a Four Star horse and we made it to Rolex and home!
I have received the most amazing support from my friends, my clients and my family all around the world. That in itself is the greatest gift of all, my family, my friends and my clients followed me to Rolex and home. If not in person, in spirit and love. I have received so many phone calls and emails from you all, congratulating me on my achievement of competing at Rolex, I am a stronger and better person for the experience that all the ups and the downs of this journey offered me.
A special thank you to Chris (my Chris) who quietly and stoically supported me these last weeks, the tears, the smiles, the laughter, the fear, the joy. Never once getting angry or fed up with my emotions, he is truly the most wonderful man that I could ever have in my life. My father, Jeremy and his wife Jan, for breeding such and amazing horse, and selling her to me four years ago! For all those dressage lessons, (I still need lots more). And of course for flying to Kentucky and keeping me calm with 3 minutes to go!!! To Lesley, my best friend who has been my greatest supporter for the past 11 years! To Phillip for making me the rider I am today, in 1996 when I rode around my first CCI* I would never have believed you if you told me I would go to Rolex in 2009 :)
To all those who have helped me with Isabella: Chris Adair, who has loved and cared for her, walked her in the pouring rain, trotted her in the freezing cold, and groomed her until she has shone! Malin who trotted and groomed her for hours! T who has been there each and every day (well almost) for the four years of Isabella’s eventing career, Todd my farrier, Kevin my vet. And everyone else……………………………………… Thank you. Thank you.
With this I end my “Road to Rolex Blog” but I thank each and every one of you for following me and supporting me. So many of you have said you will miss them. I too will miss them, I have enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts and my emotions with each and every one of you. I will do it again, I promise……………………………………… To ROLEX 2010!!
First thing Monday we jogged Isabella and she looked great, Chris Adair was certainly happy to have Isabella home! Although she did fly to Kentucky to watch us we had only a limited number of passes into the stabling area, so she did not get to see her as much as she is used to! ( I think both Chris and Isabella were in withdrawals!)
Monday was a day of unpacking and organizing! There is so much equipment for both horse and rider when you pack to leave for one of these competitions, it seems to double by the time you get home!! Now part of that this time, was because of all the wonderful gifts that we received for being a competitor at Rolex, my most prized of these, being a beautiful green with gold trim, monogrammed “2009 Rolex Three Day Event” wool cooler for Isabella, and for me a “2009 competitor” monogrammed hat :) I will treasure them!
I was of course, disappointed not to have been able to complete the competition, but this was, without a doubt, one of the greatest highlights of my life. What an honor to be at Rolex, Kentucky, competing against some of the best horses and riders in the world. Of all the years to go, this was truly a great one! Because Kentucky is hosting the World Equestrian Games in 2010 nine countries sent team members to compete here and get a feel for the course. I believe this is a record for Rolex and Isabella and I got to be there :)
This was a tremendous goal for me to achieve, and I can honestly tell you that I have learned so much in the last week. There is little to prepare you for the tremendous atmosphere that a competition of that magnitude, creates, and certainly there is NOTHING to prepare you for the size and technicality of the course!! But I leave Rolex behind for 2009 with my sights on another year…………………..I have learned and grown, Isabella has become a Four Star horse and we made it to Rolex and home!
I have received the most amazing support from my friends, my clients and my family all around the world. That in itself is the greatest gift of all, my family, my friends and my clients followed me to Rolex and home. If not in person, in spirit and love. I have received so many phone calls and emails from you all, congratulating me on my achievement of competing at Rolex, I am a stronger and better person for the experience that all the ups and the downs of this journey offered me.
A special thank you to Chris (my Chris) who quietly and stoically supported me these last weeks, the tears, the smiles, the laughter, the fear, the joy. Never once getting angry or fed up with my emotions, he is truly the most wonderful man that I could ever have in my life. My father, Jeremy and his wife Jan, for breeding such and amazing horse, and selling her to me four years ago! For all those dressage lessons, (I still need lots more). And of course for flying to Kentucky and keeping me calm with 3 minutes to go!!! To Lesley, my best friend who has been my greatest supporter for the past 11 years! To Phillip for making me the rider I am today, in 1996 when I rode around my first CCI* I would never have believed you if you told me I would go to Rolex in 2009 :)
To all those who have helped me with Isabella: Chris Adair, who has loved and cared for her, walked her in the pouring rain, trotted her in the freezing cold, and groomed her until she has shone! Malin who trotted and groomed her for hours! T who has been there each and every day (well almost) for the four years of Isabella’s eventing career, Todd my farrier, Kevin my vet. And everyone else……………………………………… Thank you. Thank you.
With this I end my “Road to Rolex Blog” but I thank each and every one of you for following me and supporting me. So many of you have said you will miss them. I too will miss them, I have enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts and my emotions with each and every one of you. I will do it again, I promise……………………………………… To ROLEX 2010!!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday Evening
Well sadly today Isabella and my, 2009 Rolex, came to an end. But we are both safe and will look forward to another day!
The day started with a final look at the cross country course, going back out to the jumps that I felt I needed to walk the line or count the strides one last time. My start time was 10.55am and the first horse on course was 10am, so did not have much opportunity to watch anyone go. But I had decided that I would be down at the Head of the Lake to watch the first rider go before scooting back to the stable office to watch a couple on the big screen TV that they had set up.
OK it is 10.20 and I must hurry to get on, vest, armband, number, watch, gloves etc etc! So much stuff! I am extremely nervous, I get on, and hack out to the start, going over every fence in my mind, thinking through my plan. It seems as if the early riders are making it around with just the odd refusal here and there. I arrive at the warm up to hear on the loud speaker that they are on a hold while they fix a fence. This takes them about 15 minutes so I adjust my warm up accordingly. At 14 minutes before I go out, I dismount, having completed my warm up, the girls cool Isabella out, sponge her with ice water. It was already a very warm day, but luckily there was a breeze. They grease her legs and my timer tells me 4 minutes. Gillian gives me a leg up, everyone wished me luck and I walk down toward the start. I am still very nervous! The starter tells me 2 minutes, the longest two minutes you can ever imagine!!! One minute, 30 seconds, 15, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 you may go! Out of the box we gallop, and immediately I am calm and settled, I know what to do, and I have the most amazing horse underneath me! Over the first, and a long gallop to the second, the third and fourth were two mushrooms each with a large ditch in front of them, I rode her very strong to these to set the tone for all the other ditch jumps on the course, and she flew over them jumping so high and well!!
In fact fence after fence she didn’t put a foot wrong! She truly showed that she was ready to handle this enormous cross country course! After fence 11 there is a long gallop to 12, around the bend I see Amanda leaning over the rope, I smile at her as she cheers me on :)
We came down to the big log at the head of the lake and I had decided that it would definitely be a 5 for Isabella and I. We jumped the log beautifully and headed down to the big brush into the lake, she jumped it absolutely huge and we landed in the water, we then had a bending line to a corner. I had my eye on the jump and so did Isabella, we got to the base and left the ground with her front end, but suddenly drifted left and got her head on the left side of the white flag. It all happened so fast, the flag came down with her right shoulder and she caught her right stifle on the edge of the corner. I gather my thoughts in a quick second and prepare for the option jump, we pick up a canter and came around toward the jump. But her heart wasn’t in it and she just scooted around it. This was just not her, I came around for what would be my final attempt, you only get three, and as I got close to the jump I pulled her out. She did not have it, something was wrong. I waved to let them know I was retiring, but they called my third attempt, even though I made the decision not to jump a refusal, so we were eliminated.
I walked her out of the water and dismounted, she had a small cut on her stifle but otherwise seemed fine. I walked her back, to the stable, it was a long way, and so many people congratulated me as a walked by. It was so amazing the support of everyone. One lady said, “Hold your head high, you are at Rolex, you made it!” That really made me smile, she was so right, I had made it!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Getting ready for cross country
The walk with Phillip this morning went well, but I can honestly say, it is an incredibly challenging course! A CCI*** in no way prepares you for a CCI**** !! This is another whole league…………………..I just really hope that Isabella and I can pull it off tomorrow :)
OK, so I have walked the course three times, and I keep waiting for it to look smaller…………………hmmmmm, not happening!!! There is one challenging fence after another, there are 30 obstacles on the course but 8 of the jumps are combinations, so there are really a total of 48 jumps. Three difficult water complexes, a very difficult sunken road, this is a pretty big vertical, one stride, a drop down, 2 strides, a jump up, one stride and a very tricky angled jump out. Later on the course, after the third water jump, there is a HUGE log, after which the ground IMMEDIATELY drops away, and I really feel the only sensible way to jump it would be with a parachute! A bending line of about 7 or 8 strides to TWO enormous step ups that are a bounce, (this means the horse does not even take one stride, they just touch and take off again) one more stride to a rather wide, but narrow house. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!! Very shortly after, come the double corners, the biggest corners I have even seen……….OK so I think you are getting the picture :)
Well Isabella and I took a ride out to a beautiful field way beyond the parking today. It was very windy, and extremely warm today. In her usual form, Isabella was spooking at EVERYTHING on the way out there, I was just trying not to fall off! Now that would be embarrassing:) But we survived the blowing plastic bags, flapping tents and all the other incredibly scary things :) We had a short gallop and returned to the barn with nothing uneventful :)
I ride at 10.55am which I think is good, because it is once again going to be very hot. I am both nervous and excited!
OK, so I have walked the course three times, and I keep waiting for it to look smaller…………………hmmmmm, not happening!!! There is one challenging fence after another, there are 30 obstacles on the course but 8 of the jumps are combinations, so there are really a total of 48 jumps. Three difficult water complexes, a very difficult sunken road, this is a pretty big vertical, one stride, a drop down, 2 strides, a jump up, one stride and a very tricky angled jump out. Later on the course, after the third water jump, there is a HUGE log, after which the ground IMMEDIATELY drops away, and I really feel the only sensible way to jump it would be with a parachute! A bending line of about 7 or 8 strides to TWO enormous step ups that are a bounce, (this means the horse does not even take one stride, they just touch and take off again) one more stride to a rather wide, but narrow house. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!! Very shortly after, come the double corners, the biggest corners I have even seen……….OK so I think you are getting the picture :)
Well Isabella and I took a ride out to a beautiful field way beyond the parking today. It was very windy, and extremely warm today. In her usual form, Isabella was spooking at EVERYTHING on the way out there, I was just trying not to fall off! Now that would be embarrassing:) But we survived the blowing plastic bags, flapping tents and all the other incredibly scary things :) We had a short gallop and returned to the barn with nothing uneventful :)
I ride at 10.55am which I think is good, because it is once again going to be very hot. I am both nervous and excited!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Dressage Day
So I can no longer say the “Road to Rolex” because I am here!!! Dressage is completed and now it is on to cross country!
Yesterday, Thursday, was a beautiful day. I could not have been luckier with the weather! In the morning I had another short lesson with my dad, Jeremy, and Isabella was just going great! Now all I had to do was stay calm and ride her:) Easier to say!!
By the time I was finished with this it was time to head back to our hotel for me to change into my formal dressage outfit. Top hat and tails for those of you not in the horse world! My nerves were getting me a bit by this time, and Chris had his hands full :) Back to the Horse Park and some quiet time just trying to stay calm
At 12.40pm I got on Isabella, this was 50 minutes before my dressage ride time, when Rolex is doing the time keeping they tend not to run late!! It is about a ten minute hack down to the warm up area and when I arrived there were a couple of riders schooling their horses. No one was dressed to compete though, just me, as I was the first to ride after the lunch break. I was hoping very much that they gave them a VERY good lunch and that they would be in a good frame of mind!! At 1pm the official for the warm up arena, informed me that he would be asking the other riders to leave and I would have the area to myself for my last minute preparations before entering the arena. All was going well, I had about 20 minutes to go and Isabella and I were staying pretty calm. Ten minutes later though………………………..only ten to go, I got a little frazzled. I was making her nervous by being tight and she started to swap her leads when I did not want her to. Jeremy stayed very calm as I was slightly unraveling, saying all the right things and trying to return my brain to a state of calm. Three minutes they say………………….oh crap oh crap oh crap, deep breath, deep breath, deep breath. “OK Susie we are ready for you” I turn and laugh to the steward, “that’s all very well for you to say, I don’t know if I am ready!” He laughs back and says, “have a great ride” I take a another deep breath and Isabella and I walk down the beautiful green rubber brick walkway down to the beautiful brand new arena. I cannot even begin to describe, I was just trying to stay calm. Jeremy had advised me to walk around the dressage arena in an attempt to keep both Isabella and myself calm. I approached the arena to the right at a nice collected trot, then as I reached about half way down the long side, while waiting for the bell to begin my test, I came down to a walk. I passed by the two judges booths at C and M at the walk and said good afternoon, with as much of a smile as I could muster! Just after I turned the corner at H the bell rang……………..another deeeeeeeeep breath! I picked up a collected trot and passed the final judge at E and gave her a smile. I actually felt amazing relaxed. Jeremy had said, “Jan (his wife) just schools the horses through the test”. This was to be my goal. I pick up my collected canted they open the boards at A and we canter down the center line at ROLEX!
I was pleased with my test, parts of it were as good as I could have hoped for, towards the end of the test, during the very difficult canter work, Isabella, (and I!) started to get a little tense, we made a couple of small mistakes, nothing bad, but it just knocked my score by a few points. But I was still thrilled. We scored a 62.8 which is 9 points better than we scored at Fair Hill last October, at the CCI*** which is a much easier test! And I got all the changes……………………………YEAH!!! I am fairly far down the pack, but I am still thrilled, the level of competition here is incredible, 9 countries are represented, including the British, French, Dutch and German Teams. I am thrilled to be holding my own in this incredible company!
Today is an day of walking the cross country course, …………………………………lots of times! I am off now to walk with Phillip and then will go out again alone a couple of more times.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday morning at Rolex...
We arrived safely on Tuesday evening, Isabella was checked in by the veterinarians and taken to her stall. We have a great location, close to the gate, opposite Phillip and in addition to our tack stall, we have another empty stall next to us! Big Score :)
Wednesday dawned a sunny but very windy day, Chris and I had spent the night with his brother Brian and family, who live here in Lexington. We arrived at the park stopped by to visit Isabella and check in with T and Cassie, and headed to the stable office to collect our competitor packet. You know it is a BIG competition when you have to sign that you collected your packet! After a quick review of the packet it became obvious one needed a 6 week short course in “Kentucky Horse Park Theory on Ticketing and Badges” :) WOW, I don’t think it could be much more complicated. But anyway, we think we now have a basic understanding of the multiple choices and colors of tickets, badges, bar coded passes, etc, etc!!!!
Yesterday morning I took Isabella for a light ride, just some stretching down, and wondered around trying to get a bit of the lay of the land. The Horse Park is under construction in some areas, as they prepare for the World Equestrian Games, which are here in September 2010. Isabella, thought all the tents for the press, food booths and shops were INCREDIBILLY scary, not sure where my brave event horse went?? !!
At 10am there was the First Rider Meeting, they welcomed us and all the Officials for the week. There are nine countries here competing!! Very exciting. At 3pm we had the first Horse Inspection, where all the horses are presented to the ground jury/judges to be accepted into the competition. ISABELLA ACCEPTED!!
At 5pm Jeremy arrived and the main grandstand was open to ride in, this is where my dressage ride will be. We had a great lesson and once Isabella decided that all the flags were not going to eat her, things improved.
It is Thursday, Dressage day, I am trying to stay calm!!! Of to have another lesson…………………………………………………………….
Wednesday dawned a sunny but very windy day, Chris and I had spent the night with his brother Brian and family, who live here in Lexington. We arrived at the park stopped by to visit Isabella and check in with T and Cassie, and headed to the stable office to collect our competitor packet. You know it is a BIG competition when you have to sign that you collected your packet! After a quick review of the packet it became obvious one needed a 6 week short course in “Kentucky Horse Park Theory on Ticketing and Badges” :) WOW, I don’t think it could be much more complicated. But anyway, we think we now have a basic understanding of the multiple choices and colors of tickets, badges, bar coded passes, etc, etc!!!!
Yesterday morning I took Isabella for a light ride, just some stretching down, and wondered around trying to get a bit of the lay of the land. The Horse Park is under construction in some areas, as they prepare for the World Equestrian Games, which are here in September 2010. Isabella, thought all the tents for the press, food booths and shops were INCREDIBILLY scary, not sure where my brave event horse went?? !!
At 10am there was the First Rider Meeting, they welcomed us and all the Officials for the week. There are nine countries here competing!! Very exciting. At 3pm we had the first Horse Inspection, where all the horses are presented to the ground jury/judges to be accepted into the competition. ISABELLA ACCEPTED!!
At 5pm Jeremy arrived and the main grandstand was open to ride in, this is where my dressage ride will be. We had a great lesson and once Isabella decided that all the flags were not going to eat her, things improved.
It is Thursday, Dressage day, I am trying to stay calm!!! Of to have another lesson…………………………………………………………….
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
On the Road...
So, I really am on “the road to Rolex”! It is 3.23 on Tuesday afternoon, Chris just took over driving and I immediately got out the computer! We are on I 270 the Columbus OH by-pass. Tug (Beagle) is lounging across the WHOLE of the back seat in the truck, and just cannot believe his good fortune that he is included in this road trip! As many of you will know, Tug rarely gets to accompany us to the events, but let’s face it we couldn’t leave him at home for ROLEX!
T, Cassie, Gelsey and Isabella (Bailey and Missy) are about an hour and a half ahead of us. They left home at 5.40am and Chris and I pulled out around 7.30am, after getting Amanda ready for school, packing her lunch, big goodbyes, etc!
The drive is going well, barring some on and off very heavy down pores…………and one little glitch. On the PA Turnpike about 3 hours into our journey, just 5 minutes after getting back on the road from fueling up, we had a blow out on the camper. Of all the luck in the world there was a pull off area right there and I just quickly pulled into it. Having experienced many a blow out over the years of trailering I knew immediately what had happened, in the same second, a moment of panic, as I did not recall seeing a tyre iron in the camper when I was loading it………………………………………… Well of course there wasn’t, and let me tell you , I know better, how could I possibly have forgotten to check for the breakdown equipment. Well, God was definitely looking out for me today………………….. would you know, there was a State Cop sitting right there! Lucky for us…………………….. I opened the back of the camper, in the hope that maybe I was wrong, but no………………no tyre iron :( Oh dear, but as I turned the State Trooper was walking towards me, and I ask him if by any chance he had one we could borrow, “Sure do!” comes the cheery reply and Chris and I look at each other with absolute relief! Thank you God!
After a very speedy change of tyre, Chris was amazing, we were back on the road, and once again heading to Lexington!
P.S. Tire or Tyre for the Brits and the Americans reading this :)
T, Cassie, Gelsey and Isabella (Bailey and Missy) are about an hour and a half ahead of us. They left home at 5.40am and Chris and I pulled out around 7.30am, after getting Amanda ready for school, packing her lunch, big goodbyes, etc!
The drive is going well, barring some on and off very heavy down pores…………and one little glitch. On the PA Turnpike about 3 hours into our journey, just 5 minutes after getting back on the road from fueling up, we had a blow out on the camper. Of all the luck in the world there was a pull off area right there and I just quickly pulled into it. Having experienced many a blow out over the years of trailering I knew immediately what had happened, in the same second, a moment of panic, as I did not recall seeing a tyre iron in the camper when I was loading it………………………………………… Well of course there wasn’t, and let me tell you , I know better, how could I possibly have forgotten to check for the breakdown equipment. Well, God was definitely looking out for me today………………….. would you know, there was a State Cop sitting right there! Lucky for us…………………….. I opened the back of the camper, in the hope that maybe I was wrong, but no………………no tyre iron :( Oh dear, but as I turned the State Trooper was walking towards me, and I ask him if by any chance he had one we could borrow, “Sure do!” comes the cheery reply and Chris and I look at each other with absolute relief! Thank you God!
After a very speedy change of tyre, Chris was amazing, we were back on the road, and once again heading to Lexington!
P.S. Tire or Tyre for the Brits and the Americans reading this :)
Monday, April 20, 2009
8.35 pm Monday night and madly packing…………………..we are really going to ROLEX!!!! I am running out to the stable to give Isabella 6 carrots! Those of you who know me around the horses will realize how unusual it is for me to give treats, but she surely deserves them tonight!
Yesterday we had our final gallop, Lesley and Tia accompanied us to Valley Forge Park and Betsy met us at the end to capture the moment on film. This morning I went to Chester Springs to have another dressage lesson with my Dad, Jeremy and it was decided that both Isabella and I can do all the movements, now we just have to relax and ride them with ease! He is truly a wonderful instructor :) I hope I can do his teaching justice on Thursday at 1.30pm! I will certainly do my best.
Must go and give her the carrots……….will write more tomorrow.
Yesterday we had our final gallop, Lesley and Tia accompanied us to Valley Forge Park and Betsy met us at the end to capture the moment on film. This morning I went to Chester Springs to have another dressage lesson with my Dad, Jeremy and it was decided that both Isabella and I can do all the movements, now we just have to relax and ride them with ease! He is truly a wonderful instructor :) I hope I can do his teaching justice on Thursday at 1.30pm! I will certainly do my best.
Must go and give her the carrots……….will write more tomorrow.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Less than a week and counting!!!!
By Susie Beale, April 16, 2009
It has been so hectic since our return from The Fork, I had wanted to update sooner but the days seem to be rushing by.
We arrived home at midnight from The Fork, we were exhausted but happy, Isabella was sound and I had managed to jump around a big advanced course. Monday she had the day off and I spent the day organizing my life, all the things that you put off when you are too busy or away! I am still far from caught up, but Mirar has been helping me with the paper work and slowly I hope to get things a little more organized on the home front!!
So Tuesday is was back to the drawing board, we spent all week practicing our dressage, and bit by bit we are improving! Saturday I took her to Valley Forge Park for our third from last gallop! The weather had been miserable and so the ground was very wet, we galloped quite a bit slower than planned, but came in safe and sound. She was then iced and poultice up for the night. When we gallop for training purposes we treat their legs with the same care as when they compete. Sunday we jogged her and she looked great! With no time to waste I opted not to give her the day off, and gave her a light flat ride.
Each day I have been spending 20 to 30 minutes working without my stirrups to strengthen myself, in addition I am religiously attending Physio Therapy and they are pushing me as hard as they dare. This week I graduated to the bike!! Yeah, not just the monotonous leg lifts J So day by day I feel more and more confident. In addition to Isabella I am riding 2 or 3 other horses each day to strengthen my body too.
Monday April 13th I drove to Phillip’s farm in West Grove for a jump lesson, prior to leaving, again not wanting to miss one day of dressage practice, I gave her a quick school, before driving down there. The jump lesson went great and he announced that we did not need to come back, he would see us at Rolex! “Bloody Exciting” was his exact quote :)
Tuesday I drove to Chester Springs and had a dressage lesson with my father, Jeremy Beale, (he has finally returned from Florida!) it was fabulous, he really gave me some great help, from there I drove straight to Valley Forge Park, for our second to last gallop. Yet again the ground was wet, in fact it was pouring as I got her off the trailer, yet again I was not able to go as fast as planned, but better safe than sorry. We gallop for one mile, and the target speed is 18 seconds per 200metres, hmmmmm, not even close J but it was wet!
Today I got the BEST changes I have ever had………………I cannot wait to ride her tomorrow and try them again! I made everyone come up from the barn and watch :)
Tomorrow morning we are going to Duncraven Horse Show in New Jersey to practice our show jumping, I will do the 1.2m class and the 1.3m class and come home. I think the show atmosphere will be good for us to practice a big show jumping course. When I come home I will practice the changes AGAIN :)
It looks as if I will have my dressage on Thursday afternoon, I am a little sad that it won’t be Friday because so many people who are coming down to support us will not arrive until Friday, but such is life. Isabella, Chris, T, Cassie, Gelsey and I will all leave Tuesday.
Thank you to all of you who are wishing me good luck! And to those around me who are without question, through all the ups and downs, emotional and physical, supporting me on my “Road to Rolex” and thank you Isabella for being such a wonderful horse!
It has been so hectic since our return from The Fork, I had wanted to update sooner but the days seem to be rushing by.
We arrived home at midnight from The Fork, we were exhausted but happy, Isabella was sound and I had managed to jump around a big advanced course. Monday she had the day off and I spent the day organizing my life, all the things that you put off when you are too busy or away! I am still far from caught up, but Mirar has been helping me with the paper work and slowly I hope to get things a little more organized on the home front!!
So Tuesday is was back to the drawing board, we spent all week practicing our dressage, and bit by bit we are improving! Saturday I took her to Valley Forge Park for our third from last gallop! The weather had been miserable and so the ground was very wet, we galloped quite a bit slower than planned, but came in safe and sound. She was then iced and poultice up for the night. When we gallop for training purposes we treat their legs with the same care as when they compete. Sunday we jogged her and she looked great! With no time to waste I opted not to give her the day off, and gave her a light flat ride.
Each day I have been spending 20 to 30 minutes working without my stirrups to strengthen myself, in addition I am religiously attending Physio Therapy and they are pushing me as hard as they dare. This week I graduated to the bike!! Yeah, not just the monotonous leg lifts J So day by day I feel more and more confident. In addition to Isabella I am riding 2 or 3 other horses each day to strengthen my body too.
Monday April 13th I drove to Phillip’s farm in West Grove for a jump lesson, prior to leaving, again not wanting to miss one day of dressage practice, I gave her a quick school, before driving down there. The jump lesson went great and he announced that we did not need to come back, he would see us at Rolex! “Bloody Exciting” was his exact quote :)
Tuesday I drove to Chester Springs and had a dressage lesson with my father, Jeremy Beale, (he has finally returned from Florida!) it was fabulous, he really gave me some great help, from there I drove straight to Valley Forge Park, for our second to last gallop. Yet again the ground was wet, in fact it was pouring as I got her off the trailer, yet again I was not able to go as fast as planned, but better safe than sorry. We gallop for one mile, and the target speed is 18 seconds per 200metres, hmmmmm, not even close J but it was wet!
Today I got the BEST changes I have ever had………………I cannot wait to ride her tomorrow and try them again! I made everyone come up from the barn and watch :)
Tomorrow morning we are going to Duncraven Horse Show in New Jersey to practice our show jumping, I will do the 1.2m class and the 1.3m class and come home. I think the show atmosphere will be good for us to practice a big show jumping course. When I come home I will practice the changes AGAIN :)
It looks as if I will have my dressage on Thursday afternoon, I am a little sad that it won’t be Friday because so many people who are coming down to support us will not arrive until Friday, but such is life. Isabella, Chris, T, Cassie, Gelsey and I will all leave Tuesday.
Thank you to all of you who are wishing me good luck! And to those around me who are without question, through all the ups and downs, emotional and physical, supporting me on my “Road to Rolex” and thank you Isabella for being such a wonderful horse!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
On our way home from The Fork!
By Susie Beale; April 5, 2009
Cross country day dawned with beautiful blue sky, and the wind had dropped to a much more moderate 5mph! The mud was almost dry and the conditions were perfect. The CIC *** started at 10.30am and so Chris and I went up to the course to see how it was riding. The course was big and quite challenging, with multiple combinations around the course. It was designed by Capt. Mark Phillips, and he is known for designing a challenging course. By fence 8 we had had only ONE fence that was not a combination or a related distance!! The course was causing some trouble for the CIC*** riders and so I knew I was going to have to really be on my game to ride around with no jumping faults. As I mention in my last update I was thinking that I would not jump all the way around, and after walking the course for the second time and watching the CIC riders go, I thought that I would pull up after the sunken road, which was a little over half way around the course. In order to be granted permission to show jump on Sunday, I had to go and find the Technical Delegate to inform her of my plan and ask permission to do this. Permission was granted and so back to the stable to tack up to head to warm up.
Well, as you can probably all imagine I was a little nervous riding up to warm up, I had not jumped Isabella in over a month, and the 3 times I had jumped horses at home in the previous week, it was not much over 2’6” and now I was about to head out around one of the toughest courses of the year to date! With jumps that had a 6’ spread at the top and almost 4’ high, banks, ditches and water!!
Warm up went great, as they were running a few minutes ahead of schedule they ask me if I was ready to go. I was so I headed out to the start. We took it nice and steady out of the box and had a perfect ride to the first fence, on we went, 2, 3, 4, and I started to settle. Fence 6 was a difficult combination left handed corner to left handed corner, as the direct route, that was an enormous question and I had already decided that I would not take that route, but take the left corner and then bend the line to the second corner on the right hand side. She jumped perfectly and on we galloped! We had a little stumble coming up the bank out of the first water, but Isabella is a super star and still found her was out over the table for a clean ride at the water. On we galloped heading out to the furthest part of the course and the sunken road. This for those of you who may not be familiar with eventing is: a jump, a drop down, one stride, a bank up, a stride and another jump. This is where I had planned on finishing my day and walk her off the course. Well like all best made plans…………………….. it didn’t ride as smoothly as hoped, yet again Isabella was a star and somehow got us over the final element! Oh dear I say to myself, I can’t possibly stop here, so on I go. Two more jumps, they go great and I realize I am just four jumps and the 3rd and final water complex from home, so taking it nice and easy I canter on home safe and sound! What a fabulous feeling, the confidence that I needed!
Back at the stable we washed her off, then iced and wrapped her. Next came all the tack cleaning, washing the boots, and general clean up! Chris did lots on hand grazing and he and Isabella are fully bonded!! At 5.30pm we jogged her up and she looked great! I on the other hand was a bit stiff and sore,(Not nearly as sound as Isabella!) so now it was time for icing Susie!! Ice packs on both knees and twenty minutes of sitting!! We then poultice her up, 20 more minutes of grazing and settled her in with her dinner! Her favorite part of every day!
This morning she looked fabulous, we washed off the poultice and jogged her up, all good! Show jumping next! Again the CIC went before us so we headed up to watch, the course was very hard and only 6 horses out of about 50 jumped clean. They very kindly lowered four or so of the jumps for the advance division by one hole! Quite generous I thought!! Due to my LARGE number of time penalties on cross country I was fourth to jump (reverse order of go) so I was glad I had watched a number of the other division go. We had only one rail down, I was thrilled, she jumped her heart out, and just pulled the middle rail in the triple combination. The distance was very long and we just didn’t have quite enough step to clear the middle oxer, pulling down the back rail with her hind leg. Otherwise she was PERFECT! Only 2 horses in our division jumped clean, so I will take my one rail!!
Chris was amazing! He had a crash course in grooming this week end, and rose to the occasion admirably!! I am so grateful to him for all of his help and support.
Cross country day dawned with beautiful blue sky, and the wind had dropped to a much more moderate 5mph! The mud was almost dry and the conditions were perfect. The CIC *** started at 10.30am and so Chris and I went up to the course to see how it was riding. The course was big and quite challenging, with multiple combinations around the course. It was designed by Capt. Mark Phillips, and he is known for designing a challenging course. By fence 8 we had had only ONE fence that was not a combination or a related distance!! The course was causing some trouble for the CIC*** riders and so I knew I was going to have to really be on my game to ride around with no jumping faults. As I mention in my last update I was thinking that I would not jump all the way around, and after walking the course for the second time and watching the CIC riders go, I thought that I would pull up after the sunken road, which was a little over half way around the course. In order to be granted permission to show jump on Sunday, I had to go and find the Technical Delegate to inform her of my plan and ask permission to do this. Permission was granted and so back to the stable to tack up to head to warm up.
Well, as you can probably all imagine I was a little nervous riding up to warm up, I had not jumped Isabella in over a month, and the 3 times I had jumped horses at home in the previous week, it was not much over 2’6” and now I was about to head out around one of the toughest courses of the year to date! With jumps that had a 6’ spread at the top and almost 4’ high, banks, ditches and water!!
Warm up went great, as they were running a few minutes ahead of schedule they ask me if I was ready to go. I was so I headed out to the start. We took it nice and steady out of the box and had a perfect ride to the first fence, on we went, 2, 3, 4, and I started to settle. Fence 6 was a difficult combination left handed corner to left handed corner, as the direct route, that was an enormous question and I had already decided that I would not take that route, but take the left corner and then bend the line to the second corner on the right hand side. She jumped perfectly and on we galloped! We had a little stumble coming up the bank out of the first water, but Isabella is a super star and still found her was out over the table for a clean ride at the water. On we galloped heading out to the furthest part of the course and the sunken road. This for those of you who may not be familiar with eventing is: a jump, a drop down, one stride, a bank up, a stride and another jump. This is where I had planned on finishing my day and walk her off the course. Well like all best made plans…………………….. it didn’t ride as smoothly as hoped, yet again Isabella was a star and somehow got us over the final element! Oh dear I say to myself, I can’t possibly stop here, so on I go. Two more jumps, they go great and I realize I am just four jumps and the 3rd and final water complex from home, so taking it nice and easy I canter on home safe and sound! What a fabulous feeling, the confidence that I needed!
Back at the stable we washed her off, then iced and wrapped her. Next came all the tack cleaning, washing the boots, and general clean up! Chris did lots on hand grazing and he and Isabella are fully bonded!! At 5.30pm we jogged her up and she looked great! I on the other hand was a bit stiff and sore,(Not nearly as sound as Isabella!) so now it was time for icing Susie!! Ice packs on both knees and twenty minutes of sitting!! We then poultice her up, 20 more minutes of grazing and settled her in with her dinner! Her favorite part of every day!
This morning she looked fabulous, we washed off the poultice and jogged her up, all good! Show jumping next! Again the CIC went before us so we headed up to watch, the course was very hard and only 6 horses out of about 50 jumped clean. They very kindly lowered four or so of the jumps for the advance division by one hole! Quite generous I thought!! Due to my LARGE number of time penalties on cross country I was fourth to jump (reverse order of go) so I was glad I had watched a number of the other division go. We had only one rail down, I was thrilled, she jumped her heart out, and just pulled the middle rail in the triple combination. The distance was very long and we just didn’t have quite enough step to clear the middle oxer, pulling down the back rail with her hind leg. Otherwise she was PERFECT! Only 2 horses in our division jumped clean, so I will take my one rail!!
Chris was amazing! He had a crash course in grooming this week end, and rose to the occasion admirably!! I am so grateful to him for all of his help and support.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Update from The Fork
Susie Beale; Friday April 3rd.
Just a quick update from The Fork Horse Trials, North Carolina.
Chris and I had a long drive yesterday in fog and rain, we had hoped to make the event by 3pm, but didn’t get there until 6pm. And it was still raining! I decided to skip riding her, I could see absolutely no point in getting myself and all of my equipment wet, (including Cynthia’s saddle that she had so kindly leant me!) We settled her in, sloping back and forth through the mud! Just imagine mud about 4 inches deep, and rain and you have a perfect picture in your mind of the conditions!!
We awoke to a beautiful morning, windy, but sunny and warm………………but still LOTS of mud!! We fed Isabella breakfast and then unloaded some more equipment from the trailer including all of her dressage tack, and quite by chance our next door neighbor had not come to the event so we acquired a tack stall!! A wonderful thing, this means we don’t have all of the equipment outside of her stall.
This morning I had a dressage lesson with Silva, Isabella was jumping out of her skin as we walked up to the practice arena. There were 4 dressage arenas going, flowers, tents flapping in the wind, golf carts, dirt bikes you name it, she thought it was terrifying!!!! I eventually made it to the practice arena with a little help from another horse and rider who “escorted” us past all the scary stuff! The lesson was very helpful and then it was back to the stabling area to get cleaned up and dressed for my dressage test.
We scored a 40.4 which is not our best, but I was happy enough with it, given that Isabella has had not turn out for 2 weeks, and I have ridden her 5 times in the last month, I will take it :)
The other scores range from 28 to 50 so I believe I am right in the middle of the pack.
At 4.30pm I walked the cross country course with Phillip, I think there were about 20 of us! The course is HUGE and more combinations that I ever thought was possible to put on a course!!! LOTS of corners and narrows. I have not decided yet how far around the course I will go, Phillip thinks that Isabella is ready and doesn’t need the run, but I think I need it for my confidence, so it is just a matter of finding the right balance for us both.
The forecast for tomorrow is 72 and sunny, and hopefully a little less windy, although I will say as I type this, it is 6.56pm and the mud is finally drying up, so thank goodness for the wind!!
Isabella is settled in for the night, and storing her energy for tomorrow’s big course!
Just a quick update from The Fork Horse Trials, North Carolina.
Chris and I had a long drive yesterday in fog and rain, we had hoped to make the event by 3pm, but didn’t get there until 6pm. And it was still raining! I decided to skip riding her, I could see absolutely no point in getting myself and all of my equipment wet, (including Cynthia’s saddle that she had so kindly leant me!) We settled her in, sloping back and forth through the mud! Just imagine mud about 4 inches deep, and rain and you have a perfect picture in your mind of the conditions!!
We awoke to a beautiful morning, windy, but sunny and warm………………but still LOTS of mud!! We fed Isabella breakfast and then unloaded some more equipment from the trailer including all of her dressage tack, and quite by chance our next door neighbor had not come to the event so we acquired a tack stall!! A wonderful thing, this means we don’t have all of the equipment outside of her stall.
This morning I had a dressage lesson with Silva, Isabella was jumping out of her skin as we walked up to the practice arena. There were 4 dressage arenas going, flowers, tents flapping in the wind, golf carts, dirt bikes you name it, she thought it was terrifying!!!! I eventually made it to the practice arena with a little help from another horse and rider who “escorted” us past all the scary stuff! The lesson was very helpful and then it was back to the stabling area to get cleaned up and dressed for my dressage test.
We scored a 40.4 which is not our best, but I was happy enough with it, given that Isabella has had not turn out for 2 weeks, and I have ridden her 5 times in the last month, I will take it :)
The other scores range from 28 to 50 so I believe I am right in the middle of the pack.
At 4.30pm I walked the cross country course with Phillip, I think there were about 20 of us! The course is HUGE and more combinations that I ever thought was possible to put on a course!!! LOTS of corners and narrows. I have not decided yet how far around the course I will go, Phillip thinks that Isabella is ready and doesn’t need the run, but I think I need it for my confidence, so it is just a matter of finding the right balance for us both.
The forecast for tomorrow is 72 and sunny, and hopefully a little less windy, although I will say as I type this, it is 6.56pm and the mud is finally drying up, so thank goodness for the wind!!
Isabella is settled in for the night, and storing her energy for tomorrow’s big course!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Road to Rolex- Part II
By Susie Beale; April 1, 2009:
Well, I have been a little slow in writing my next update. A great deal has transpired in the last 9 days and it has truly been an emotional roller coaster for me and all those around me. So without being boring I shall fill you in as best as I can!
Boyd and Isabella had a fabulous dressage test at Southern Pines on Friday March 20th, getting a penalty score of 34. This put them in third place which was not shabby with all the other extremely good horses and riders in their division! I did not hear from them on Friday evening, so I was checking the computer each and every hour to see if her score was up!! Saturday they had cross country at 10.30am and as Boyd had 7 other horses to ride, in addition to Isabella, I certainly did not want to trouble him with a phone call to see how she had run. Around 3pm, I couldn’t stand it any longer and so I sent a text! Back came a text that she had run fabulously, of course I was delighted, although I had still had no details! Then around 5pm, just as I was finishing teaching at home my phone rang, it was Phillip. The news was not good, she was a little off in her right front. After the horses gallop a cross country course, we ice their legs for 20 minutes, then later on that day, usually some four or five hours later we examine the legs and jog them for soundness. It appeared that it might be in her foot, her leg was tight and cold and there was no sign of any swelling or injury. Phillip and I decided that her would look at her again in 2 hours and call me again. It was a long 2 hours…………………………..but eventually the phone rang and the news was encouraging, she seemed a little better. We decided that she not be given any medication, they would pack her feet and poultice her up for the night, and Phillip would jog her in the morning to re-evaluate her soundness.
7.56am Sunday morning, the phone rings and the news is good “she looks perfect” are the words on the other end of the phone, I am delighted, and the decision is made that she will show jump. I don’t have an exact count but only a handful of the advanced horses jumped clean in the show jumping that day and Isabella was one of them! I talked to Boyd later that evening when he was on the road to PA with the horses and he said it was “ the best show jumping round of his life” and the Isabella had “tried her heart out”! I was so proud of her! She had finished in 7th !
Monday morning T leaves Cairn O’Mount to drive to Phillip’s stable in Unionville, about 50 minutes away, to collect Isabella and take her to the vet. I have decided that we should look into what may have been bothering her in her right foot so that we can hopefully avert the issue on future occasions. I am on my way to therapy and the phone rings, it is T. More bad news……………..this time it is her left front, there is swelling in her leg. Well she was headed to the vet for the right front, now we are going for the left front. As you can imagine, I am beside myself, after finishing on just a few time penalties on the cross country at a huge advanced track with Boyd, here we are with a fat leg. The other one, not the one that was bothering her on Saturday evening! It seemed as if things couldn’t get much worse, the hope of going to Rolex appeared to be diminishing fast.
After a scan of her leg it was determined that the swelling had been caused by a bandage and the vet was cautiously optimistic that there was no damage to the tendon on her leg. But the only certain way to confirm that was to wait and rescan in 8 days.
It has been a LONG 8 days, we have iced her leg 4 times every day, the girls that work for me, T, Chris, Mirar and Shanyn have been religious in their efforts to help Isabella in every way. On Friday, March 27th Kevin Keane Isabella’s own vet arrived home from Aiken SC. He very kindly agreed to see her that afternoon and examined the tendon. It was too early to rescan, but he and Phillip had discussed Isabella at length, and determined that she should go back into work. So Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday I took her to Valley Forge Park and trotted her for 25 minutes straight, up and down the hills. Each day watching her tendon like a hawk! It never changed and with each day I was more hopeful that there was no serious damage.
Tuesday came, and after a easy school in the dressage arena, T loaded her onto the trailer and we headed to Kevin’s for the scan. This would answer our questions on whether or not we would be continuing our “Road to Rolex” . I was anxious about the result but glad that we would finally know. Kevin had me jog her up and back and then in a circle, there was significant improvement from last Friday. (Luckily I was not the one being evaluated for lameness………..I would pass no test!) Dr. Mary Griffith put the scan on her leg and the result was better than hoped. The tendon looked tight and there was no change to it from 8 days ago. This news could not have been better!
So off we head to The Fork Horse Trials in Norwood, NC. Chris and I will leave here early tomorrow morning (Thursday) hoping to arrive in time for me to ride her. I have just received an email telling me that I have my dressage test at 1.55pm on Friday. This will be our final run before Rolex, we will do out VERY best to stay safe and sound, both horse and rider!!!!!
Well, I have been a little slow in writing my next update. A great deal has transpired in the last 9 days and it has truly been an emotional roller coaster for me and all those around me. So without being boring I shall fill you in as best as I can!
Boyd and Isabella had a fabulous dressage test at Southern Pines on Friday March 20th, getting a penalty score of 34. This put them in third place which was not shabby with all the other extremely good horses and riders in their division! I did not hear from them on Friday evening, so I was checking the computer each and every hour to see if her score was up!! Saturday they had cross country at 10.30am and as Boyd had 7 other horses to ride, in addition to Isabella, I certainly did not want to trouble him with a phone call to see how she had run. Around 3pm, I couldn’t stand it any longer and so I sent a text! Back came a text that she had run fabulously, of course I was delighted, although I had still had no details! Then around 5pm, just as I was finishing teaching at home my phone rang, it was Phillip. The news was not good, she was a little off in her right front. After the horses gallop a cross country course, we ice their legs for 20 minutes, then later on that day, usually some four or five hours later we examine the legs and jog them for soundness. It appeared that it might be in her foot, her leg was tight and cold and there was no sign of any swelling or injury. Phillip and I decided that her would look at her again in 2 hours and call me again. It was a long 2 hours…………………………..but eventually the phone rang and the news was encouraging, she seemed a little better. We decided that she not be given any medication, they would pack her feet and poultice her up for the night, and Phillip would jog her in the morning to re-evaluate her soundness.
7.56am Sunday morning, the phone rings and the news is good “she looks perfect” are the words on the other end of the phone, I am delighted, and the decision is made that she will show jump. I don’t have an exact count but only a handful of the advanced horses jumped clean in the show jumping that day and Isabella was one of them! I talked to Boyd later that evening when he was on the road to PA with the horses and he said it was “ the best show jumping round of his life” and the Isabella had “tried her heart out”! I was so proud of her! She had finished in 7th !
Monday morning T leaves Cairn O’Mount to drive to Phillip’s stable in Unionville, about 50 minutes away, to collect Isabella and take her to the vet. I have decided that we should look into what may have been bothering her in her right foot so that we can hopefully avert the issue on future occasions. I am on my way to therapy and the phone rings, it is T. More bad news……………..this time it is her left front, there is swelling in her leg. Well she was headed to the vet for the right front, now we are going for the left front. As you can imagine, I am beside myself, after finishing on just a few time penalties on the cross country at a huge advanced track with Boyd, here we are with a fat leg. The other one, not the one that was bothering her on Saturday evening! It seemed as if things couldn’t get much worse, the hope of going to Rolex appeared to be diminishing fast.
After a scan of her leg it was determined that the swelling had been caused by a bandage and the vet was cautiously optimistic that there was no damage to the tendon on her leg. But the only certain way to confirm that was to wait and rescan in 8 days.
It has been a LONG 8 days, we have iced her leg 4 times every day, the girls that work for me, T, Chris, Mirar and Shanyn have been religious in their efforts to help Isabella in every way. On Friday, March 27th Kevin Keane Isabella’s own vet arrived home from Aiken SC. He very kindly agreed to see her that afternoon and examined the tendon. It was too early to rescan, but he and Phillip had discussed Isabella at length, and determined that she should go back into work. So Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday I took her to Valley Forge Park and trotted her for 25 minutes straight, up and down the hills. Each day watching her tendon like a hawk! It never changed and with each day I was more hopeful that there was no serious damage.
Tuesday came, and after a easy school in the dressage arena, T loaded her onto the trailer and we headed to Kevin’s for the scan. This would answer our questions on whether or not we would be continuing our “Road to Rolex” . I was anxious about the result but glad that we would finally know. Kevin had me jog her up and back and then in a circle, there was significant improvement from last Friday. (Luckily I was not the one being evaluated for lameness………..I would pass no test!) Dr. Mary Griffith put the scan on her leg and the result was better than hoped. The tendon looked tight and there was no change to it from 8 days ago. This news could not have been better!
So off we head to The Fork Horse Trials in Norwood, NC. Chris and I will leave here early tomorrow morning (Thursday) hoping to arrive in time for me to ride her. I have just received an email telling me that I have my dressage test at 1.55pm on Friday. This will be our final run before Rolex, we will do out VERY best to stay safe and sound, both horse and rider!!!!!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Road To Rolex!!!!
By Susie Beale; March 15, 2009:
Well, I am sure you may be wondering what Isabella is up to while I'm sitting on the sidelines. Isabella is still in Aiken. With the weather in PA still questionable, the decision was made that Isabella would be safer in Aiken until Southern Pines Horse Trials March 20-22. So, with a bit of sadness, we dropped her at Phillip Dutton's Farm on Monday, March 2nd, with the plan that I would return to Aiken before my knee surgery and ride her hoping to compete at Southern Pines.
A week ago Thursday, Chris and I left PA at 8pm in the evening and drove to just south of Richmond VA, arriving around midnight. Early the next morning we got up and finished the drive to Aiken, completing in a record 10 hours total... Apparently that is a good time to travel! At 3pm I was on Isabella having a jump lesson! Saturday morning I had a flat lesson with Phillip, we worked on our flying lead changes. Well, More technique of how to prepare her properly for them as this is something she seems to feel is a little difficult! And we both need the practice :) At noon, the same day, I loaded her onto the trailer and we shipped to Aiken Steeplechase track to gallop. WOW!!! That was amazing, a beautifully maintained oval grass race course a mile long. We trotted once around, then picked up a canter. After about a furlong, we increased the pace, galloping at 20 seconds per furlong, this is not a full gallop speed but is quite fast! Isabella, being the quietest of the three horses in my group, was assigned to the back so I paced myself off the two horses ahead of me. We galloped a mile and two furlongs, it was a beautiful day, 85, sunny, with a good breeze which kept you at a perfect temperature. What an amazing feeling, aboard my truly amazing horse, along with two other Rolex bound horses, galloping on that beautiful race course! What an Experience! Sunday I took her out for a nice long hack, mostly walking as the galloping is hard on the legs and we like to give them an easy day after...
Monday morning, Chris and I headed home to PA, and for the second time in a week, I left Isabella behind in Aiken! Rest assured, she is in wonderful hands. Emma, Phillip's head girl is just superb, caring for each and every horse in an individualized manner and never missing a thing. Boyd Martin, from Australia, who is Phillip's assistant is riding her, and after some thought and discussion I have decided I will not plan to compete her at Southern Pines this coming weekend. Boyd has agreed to compete her and although I am disappointed not to be riding her myself I am excited to see how she has improved from her time at Phillip's Stable.
Boyd's wife, Silvia, who is an internationally known dressage rider was in Aiken last week, and to my delight rode Isabella! The text I received from Phillip read "Hi! Ur mare is going well Silvia here and got changes good". Well, let me tell you, that was music to my ears!! Now I am even more anxious to see how she goes for Boyd this week end! She jumped on Friday and gallop again yesterday, so I am waiting to hear how she looks today, hopefully all is well.
4pm Sunday: All is well, she got the thumbs up from her vet, Dr. Kevin Keane, who has been our vet for any leg injuries or other serious issues that we may have had, and will continue to monitor her through her training process to prepare for Rolex....
Saturday, March 14, 2009
FUN FUN FUN!!!!
Lots of cool events being planned for spring & summer. Lessons available for new students, lots of shows, paper chases, field trips, schooling, and new camp schedule... Come join us!!!!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Summer Camp 2009 Dates...
- June 22-26 Open to all levels
- July 6-10 Open to all levels
- July 20-24 Open to all levels
- July 27-31 & Aug 3-7 Advanced 2 week session (see below)
- August 10-14 Open to all levels
- August 17-21 Open to all levels
Advanced session riders attending July 27- Aug 7 must qualify in age and riding experience. Dates may very slightly to include the weekend of August 1/2 and 8/9 as well as some sleepover nights.
Tentative Show Schedule
- March 21 Blue Goose Dressage Show & Combined Test
- March 29 Point of View Horse Show
- April 5 Cross Country Schooling Unicorn Farm, DE
- April 11/12 Plantation Field HT (Training and Above)j
- April 18 Blue Goose Combined Test & Dressage
- April 18/19 FHI Horse Trials (Training & Above)
- April 19 Bucks Co Horse Park Combined Test & Dressage
- April 22-26 Rolex CCI****
- May 2 Fair Hill Starter Horse Trials (FHI)
- May 5 Cross Country schooling at FHI
- May 9/10 Plantation Field HT (BN & above)
- May 9 RHPC Jumper Show (not likely to attend)
- May 16/17 FHI (Novice & Above)
- May 19 Cross Country Schooling FHI 3-7 p.m.
- May 24 Cross Country Schooling FHI 12-4 p.m.
- June 6 Plantation Recognized
- June 7 Plantation Starter
- June 9 Cross Country Schooling FHI 3-7 p.m.
- June 21 Bucks Co Horse Park Recognized HT
- June 28 Cross Country Schooling FHI 12-4 p.m.
- July 5 FHI starter Horse Trials
- July 12 RHPC Starter Horse Trials
- July 25 Plantation Starter Horse Trials
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