Hickory Top May 2014

Scotsgrove went to Hickory Top Schooling Event last Saturday with 7 horses and 11 riders. Sarah had hurt a hip and was scratched. In eventing, if you scratch after Closing day ( specified on program) you can substitute either a horse or a rider, or forfeit your entry. Her parents were kind enough to call me, the ride was offered to Carson who had signed up too late to do three phases but was entered to do a ride a test in dressage and a cross country school.  That took us from 12 to 11 riders, but left us with 6 eventers, and 5 Ride A Test.

Eventing is the triathlon of riding. The same horse and rider must complete all 3 tests, and the rider with the fewest penalty points over the three phases wins. This organizer also allows entries to do a ride a test in dressage and/ or a cross country or stadium schooling round. Those are not placed and don't ride for ribbons, but do get the written dressage test back to learn from and get some experience.  This is the best thought out introduction to eventing that I have ever found. We had 5 Ride a test riders:

Rachel on Folly scored 39.4. Both were tense and we had some issues with getting that first halt, but it improved after that and I am very proud of Rachel for stepping up and going!  It's a big step!

Kara on Bill Bailey scored 32.2.  As Kara can't see across the arena, I jogged with to give directions and didn't get to see the ride!

Ella on Folly  scored 31.6 with a little smoother test from the mare.  Also a first time out and  a well organized and effective ride.

Yasmin on Folly scored 28.8. by now Folly was well organized and settled, and this pair has been together the longest. A very nice first ride in public!

Maddie B. on Bill Bailey scored 33.4. I jogged with her too as she had not had time to learn her test from memory, so I did not see her go! Maddie was another of our first timers!

All of these ride a test riders rode Introductory test B Walk/ Trot, walked cross country and watched the stadium jumping, so they are much more prepared for a first time event!

Amoeba is the first level at Hickory Top ( unrecognized schooling events can name their divisions as they wish and describe them as they wish) and the organizer suspends the usual eventing rule of "Unauthorized Assistance" by which a rider is eliminated if spoken to while riding a test, so I can coach from the sidelines and they can have a sidewalker or outrider with them on cross country. They also rode Test B Walk/ Trot.  Jumps were 18" with one 2' exception on XC and they were not yet being timed over fences. There were 4 entries in the division and we had 2!

Benay stepped up from Ride A Test last time to Amoeba on China. She scored 31.6 on dressage, putting her in first place at that point!  She set out on cross country, walking between fences, doing a few steps of trot, and coming back to walk. With each jump, China got a little more powerful over the fence and through the landing. Benay was doing a superb job of giving over the fence, then sitting back and down to slow and stop the mare. I was very proud of her riding!  by the time we got round to reentering the front pasture, China was landing in a pretty strong canter and wanting to go back to the trailers. She refused at the stonewall jump, I kept walking, sure that Benay would get her over on the second approach. I was right about that, but then the mare looked at me and shied right, away from me. Benay spun left and basically stepped down off her, but her knees buckled as she hit so she went down. The fall eliminates in the jumping phases, so we were done.

Katheryn, having been offered Folly to event, asked for the new horse, London Fog. She'd gotten in no more than 2 lessons on him and he has never jumped before coming to Scotsgrove very recently!  They scored 33.3 in dressage, putting them in 2nd after that phase. Katie tacked up Folly and went as her outrider, and they were clean cross country, then using Katie again as a sidewalker in Stadium Jumping, went clean to finish on their dressage score and, being the only one of 4 Amoebas to finish all phases, won the division! Great job!

  

Pre-Tadpole rides the same tests as Amoebas, but Unauthorized Assistance is back in play and they have to do it by themselves, no coaching,, no outriders or sidewalkers.

Carson took the ride on Bill Bailey, scored 31.3 in dressage and was in first place after that phase.

Danika on Skittles scored 31.6 for 2nd. Jiminy and Mallory scored 47.5 as Jiminy was leery of the white chain around the arena and would not go deep into his corners, was tight and tense, so "hollow" in his frame. He is very green and was overwhelmed. But he didn't get eliminated and was in 5th after dressage.  Hill Country and Maddie W. came in at 34.0 for 3rd!

Cross country saw Bill refuse jump 1, having been presented at an angle. From there on, Carson sent him straight to the middle of the jumps and no further penalties were assessed. None of our others had penalties on course, so we stood Skit in first, Country 2nd, Bill third, and Mallory 4th after this phase.

Stadium took a toll as Bill and Jiminy were each eliminated for 3 refusals on course, so final placings were Danika and Skit in 1st and Maddie W. and Country in 2nd!  Very exciting!

We went on to the usual victory dinner at Olive Garden and I did get the big white trailer in and out of Harbison Blvd!  We were 22 at table and very ready for dinner! Having met at the barn about 5:30 and gotten on the road a little after 6 AM, we returned and took care of horses, cleaned the trailer and unloaded tack, then put horses out to pasture. A long tough day and I am sure all our riders had no trouble sleeping deeply Saturday night!  I am very proud of all my riders!  They rode well and were good horsewomen taking care of horses between phases and showing great sportsmanship and camaraderie. My thanks to Laurie and Katie for a long day of great effort helping coach, tack, sidewalk, and a thousand other tasks!  It is a great barn family!

Shakerag Hunter Trails

Dear All,

Katie, Sarah B. and I loaded horses in the dark, Bob joined us in truck, and we rolled exactly on the planned 6:45 AM!  Got to Shakerag Clubhouse to enter and warm up at 9:15, and Trials began at 10 with Warm Up Over 2 foot fences.

Both Erin, who was entitled, and Tricks, who was not, went like very green horses, lots of looking!  It was a big class and we did not place. Class 4 was Hunter Trail, and was an interesting obstacle course. Tricks and I rode into the ring and had to pick up a jacket from a jump standard, carry it while we crossed a plywood on landscape timbers bridge, then put it on a fence, open a rope gate, pass through and hook it back,  dismount and lead over a log, remount, and hand gallop back to the center. While he had flatly refused to go near that bridge in the beginning, Tricks conquered his terrors and did it for me. The rest was all old hat to him, and I was very proud of his performance. We stood 5th, behind 4 long term members.

Our next was supposed to be number 11, so I put Tricks into trailer and looked forward to watching the girls! Suddenly they were announcing Handy Hunter, so I ran to read the course map while the girls ran to get my horse!  It was indeed a tight, handy course, with some specified gallop stretches and some trot fences.  He can turn on a dime and jump, so I was pretty confident. We trotted the first fence, jumped the next 2, on a circle, out of canter, then straightened downhill at the gallop to an in and out, folded back to jump the "in" from the other direction, come down the field to two "skinny" coops with big wings. One was to jump in, halt for 5 seconds, trot over the second, gallop across the field to a line of 4 coops, jump the second in the line, break to trot and fold back to jump the 4th coop in that line, and walk through a gate. The skinnies got to Tricks and he quit. I let him look, but as his back muscles started to relax, I legged him up, and we jumped the first. The halt was no problem, because when they mowed the field the mower had thrown mud and clippings on the face of the second coop and it dried there! He stopped dead in holy horror!  I had a full 5 seconds to negotiate with him, then got him to trot over the monster, but he landed determined to get away from it. We were supposed to gallop, and we did!  Flew the big friendly coop, next stride after landing he was back in trot and turned and was very handy over the other coop in the line, had already done gate once so that was no problem.  I finished the course still astonished and irate about the quits, as he doesn't quit very often, and I was thunderstruck when we won the class. A nice silver tray and our names engraved on a perpetual trophy in the clubhouse.

Katie was up next on Echo in Junior Hunter Over Fences and did a lovely job! Echo has been timid about coops and did look at the skinnies, but she put her leg on and he answered and they were clean over the course and stood third!  She not only made him look a mannerly junior hunter, but in Sissy's words, he looked like a reliable school horse! Katie was third!

Sarah took Truffle in Junior Hunter Under Saddle and rode well in a narrow area of undulating hill. She got her canter leads both ways, but Truff did slip on the wet grass and break to trot. She sat right into him and lifted him back to canter, on the correct lead, and she stood third in her class!

I was very proud of both girls! They really rode and looked great! 

Photos by Katie Tighe and she regrets not getting any of Sarah or herself!

Shakerag Hunter Pace

Dear All,

Abby and I got up early to be out the back gate by 5 am Fri to hunt with Shakerag at Brush Creek! Had a nice run and wonderful hound music! 

The group was going back to kennels and on to a meal at GinaBelle's, but that was out of our way, so we caught brunch at Huddle House in Danielsville and wandered gently home!

After lessons Fri we had a houseful, and the alarm went off at 4:15 again on Sat!  Great grooming and tack cleaning, loading of hay, helmets, bridles, horse health book, and finally, 9 horses and riders, and we were off by about 6! We had 3 teams in the walk/trot/canter division of the Hunter Pace.  Katie on Echo and Caitlyn on Rio, new rides out in public for both, did well, jumped a few of the jumps and had fun!  Soline on Mickey and Allison on her own Dee enjoyed the course, although Mickey was pretty excited to be off the home farm for the first time in several years! Sarah and Karson, on Clue and Billy, eventually joined Yasmin on Folly, Rachel on Truffle and me on Erin. It was Karson's first time out with Team Scotsgrove, as it was for Rachel and Yasmin.  The threesome was in the walk/ trot division, but we did have about 4 short canters. It was a 6.4 mile course. We were only 1 1/2 minutes off optimum time and won our division!  

The Club sported riders to lunch  and a raffle of mostly horse equipment (several of us won items!)  and then we loaded up and came home to take care of horses, clean tack and trailer, and put horses out to pasture! We had been about 10% of the entries for the day!  I left the barn about 5 pm!  I bet we all slept well last night! Thank you all for your hard work. We were complimented on our turnout (Caitlyn had pulled a lot of manes! but everyone groomed thoroughly), many members commented on the juniors being a breath of fresh air, and Yasmin at 8 was by far the youngest participant and created a bit of a stir!

~Leslie

Harmon Field Foothills Riding Club Dressage and Combined Test

We had a very satisfactory day at Harmon Field for Foothills Riding Club Dressage and Combined test. I took Erin for her first off-farm experience!  Emma took Echo, the first time either of them has been off farm to compete in several years! Sarah Bailey took Bill, and Katie took Mickey, both using it as a prep for Hickory Top!

The girls approved of the new truck and we made a quiet trip up. I was first up, with test A. I warmed Erin up for an hour, of high energy, and constant whinnying, lots of looking, but she did try to settle for the test and I was quite pleased with it. We stood second!  Sarah and Bill did Test B and it was a nice solid test, but in a big division and she did not get a ribbon.  I rode Test B in a different division, and Erin was still whinnying and distracted. In a little higher test, she could not hold her own but I was still pleased, and we were 6th.  

Katie jumped a pretty nice course on Mickey at 2'. I put Erin on the same course, not knowing what to expect, as she has trotted over everything that height at home, not bothering to jump. The full dress course, with flowers, numbers, flags got her attention. She jumped, and she is very like her mother, turning onto a line, focusing and being completely committed to getting it done! She was clean over the course and I was thrilled! We both learned a great deal! She about her job in life, and me about her!

Emma then rode Echo in a third division of Test B, and did a really lovely, tactful job of settling him and producing a very nice test! They were 6th!  Katie went back to jump a longer course at 2'7" and Mickey was not very confident or generous. I ran to the trailer for the crop, and they went back and had more success on a second course.  The set up was $5 a trip.....Jumping was not pinned, just available for practice.

We had a bit of a wait for Katie's dressage test, it sprinkled but did stop raining without getting heavy!  Katie was pleased with her Beginner Novice Test B, and her Mom got to see her ride! She came home with third place in a big division! So we collected our written dressage tests and ribbons, and came home to another hour's work taking care of horses, tack, trailer but with smiles on every face!

I spend next Sun at Harmon Field again, judging the Harmon Hopefuls horseshow!

Heads up, heels down, and kick on!

~Leslie

Jumping Branch from Ms. Leslie

What an exciting Saturday!

This past Saturday Ms. Leslie and Caitlyn with Katie and Allison on Bill and Truffle went to the schooling event at Jumping Branch in Aiken. Laurie and Gwen ran the barn while barn hand Abby rode in the Green Creek Hunter Pace. Needless to say, we were a hub of activity!

From Ms. Leslie:

As we were in one of the two Tadpole divisions and scheduling went the usual top division to more basic, we ambled away from the barn at 8:30!

It was a challenge to figure out the horse assignments for Sat lessons without Bill and Truffle, and I am trying to lighten the load on Folly, who is in the last month of her pregnancy. I have never had a mare with her work ethic - they've always insisted on a maternity leave, sometimes 6 months of the 11! But we got all lessons mounted and Laurie and Gwen ran the barn. 

We were on show grounds about 11:30 for 1:30 dressage ride times, so plenty of time for lunch and a relaxed warmup.  Allison rode first and did a great job on her first dressage test requiring a canter, getting both leads although Truffle is more than a little stiff on one side!

Katie has shown Bill several times with canter in the new Intro Test 3, but this was her first time doing Beginner Novice test B. She had their best test to date until Bill popped a shoulder and stepped out of the gate at A. Leaving the arena in an obedience test is usually grounds for Elimination but Katie threw him back in the ring and kept riding and never lost her poise and concentration. She and I were devastated. I found the Organizer and appealed for Katie to be allowed to jump for the experience and she agreed to Stadium but not XC.

We had about three hours to walk the two jumping courses so kids would know them. The organizer had chosen to run Stadium Jumping first - the historic order is dressage, cross country, then Stadium, but you can do either and some organizers prefer to sidestep liability by going this order, and eliminating problem competitors with jumps that knock down before you go to their solid XC jumps! 

Allison rode a perfect stadium course on Truffle, choosing a mix of trot and canter in order to be accurate, as others had missed jumps through a lack of control! Katie did her best course to date on Bill, choosing to keep him cantering throughout and they landed on the correct canter lead every time!

Allison had left to ride crosscountry when I very sadly collected Katie's number pinney and went to turn it in. Turn in was not where I expected, near the score sheets, so I collected the kids' dressage tests (you get the test form back from the judges!) and glanced at score sheets - Katie was in 7th place after dressage, no big ugly red "E" on the scoresheet! Glanced at the test form, judge had docked her 2 points for an error of test! But she had not been eliminated! I shot out of that shed calling her back, we slammed the pinney back on her, and off she trotted, just barely making it to the start box for her posted start time! Missing that would have eliminated us! The turmoil was probably the reason for a refusal at jump 1, but she disciplined Bill and rode the rest of the course without a hitch. Allison had also had one refusal on course, but both girls finished all three phases, which I regard as winning.

There were lots of horse for sale ads posted on the wall near scoresheets, and in that community the lowest price was $7500, one was six horses "each fairly priced 10k - 25k". Our girls were riding lesson horses, not competition horses but they were the riders with the deepest seats, and kindest hands out there! They rode forward and had a lovely rhythm to their pace. I am very,very proud of them!

We're ALL very proud of our riders! Congratulations!

New Additions!

Nope, that's not Dimples!
(photo by Emma Phifer)

While updates are proving to be slow, I just realized I could update pretty fast on the Whinny! This is our newest addition, Morning Glory. Leslie found her online up in NC and I think she's down for a two week trial, but we're already falling in love with her.

(photo by Jackie Smith)

Our other addition is Dunny's Blue Boy, fondly called Blue, is a sweet green gelding. He doesn't know much, but a lot of the advanced riders are giving him a great schooling. He's falling into the lesson string quite well.

(photo by AK McMillan)

Another addition is Mickey, an ex-racehorse and foxhunter. He's progressing in leaps and bounds here at Scotsgrove. While he's only being used for advanced lessons right now we're hoping this experienced gentleman will settle into his job as time goes on and memories fade.

OTHER NEWS: Pan and Emi have now moved back down to Berry College for the semester. I'll find some way to keep them on the website! Perhaps start building "Friends of Scotsgrove" their own pony pages... ^.~

Postponed Hunter Pace

It happened last year too... the soaking rains of winter. :P Poo.

Duke Power re-seeded grass all along under the power lines this fall and so there are tender grasslings up there. With the recent SOAK of a rain the footing is quite horrible and the grasslings are easily torn up. A week doesn't give the earth nearly enough time to dry out and that's if we don't get another rainfall.

So we are postponing to our rain date Jan 14th and hoping that by that time the ground will be better! Follow the Western Carolina Website to get the latest updates and changes!

Hunter Pace Dinner

As all of you know, the January Hunter’s Pace for Scotsgrove will soon be upon us before we know it! The official date is January 7th! The purpose of this event is to aid Leslie in improving Scotsgrove jumps and cross country courses for future events. 

If there is enough interest among the barn family, we could secure even more of those funds for more improvements if we could prepare the food ourselves. This is not Leslie’s idea, but a collaborative idea by a few of the barn family, and she does have a backup plan if we don’t have enough to participate, but, we could pull this off if there is enough interest!

Because this will be in January, we like the idea of chili and chili beans with crackers and/or cornbread muffins. It would be fairly easy to have several sheet cakes to serve for dessert. Maybe hot cider and/or coffee could be served as well. But we would work with whatever anyone decides to bring!

If any of you think that this is plausible, and are willing to help, please let Kathy or Leslie know.  The biggest commitment we will need is for those who are willing to make huge crockpots full of chili or chili beans for this day.

Let us know what you think. You can email Kathy at cdoglesby(at)aol(dot)com or Leslie through the barn email blast or Gwen at scotsgrove(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks,

Kathy Oglesby and Gwen Phifer

Hickory Top

   Well, yesterday was Hickory Top, and what a day it was!  Houseful of kids overnight, and Carol Neely was kind enough to bring a delicious dinner!  Really spoiled me!  Up before 5 am, but other people beat us to the barn! By the time I got there with group from house, Laurie, Caitlyn, and Lindsey were in full swing, horses were groomed and nearly all were saddled! Laurie had filled hay nets and Caitlyn had organized bridles, vests, and whips the night before.  Nick pulled in and we started loading, and were off by 6 am! It was a most impressive convoy going out Grand Canyon Rd at that hour!

   We were making good time and I was growing complacent when the trailer got a flat in Newberry. I had to go up an exit, go past by an exit, get back on and return to the trailer. Nick was changing the tire and I helped, and called Mable! Many organizers would have commiserated with our bad luck but held to their schedule. Rules are they assign ride times in advance, miss your ride time and forfeit your entry fee. Mable said keep her posted, she'd work with us. So we got tire changed and got underway. There was an unforeseen need for a potty break - I got off at an exit with signs for gas and fast food, but had to go quite a way to find a gas station. Then I felt like Simon Legree herding the group and chafing at the time! We got onto 77 with convoy pretty well strung out, and there was a major accident and we were stopped cold. Another call to Mable and she said "Come ahead, we'll make it work!"

Several of our cars had not been allowed onto 77 and were dependent on GPS to get to Mable's. Nick is a wizard with his rig, but it was too big to turn around on a concrete bridge when cops were trying to clear the road that way. They were predicting "hours" but then within 10 minutes waved us past 2 disintegrated cars...I was too scared to call Mable. Good thing too, because in the last 5 miles, the trailer blew another tire, we were out of spares, and Nick limped it in with all of us in devout prayer for the horses!  

   I called Mable from Piney Branch Rd and asked how she wanted to handle it. We agreed that Amoebas and Ride A tests would mount up and get going to dressage, PreTadpoles would scamper around learning their cross country course! Caitlyn and Katie got bridles on as I departed!  Sarah B was first up with Dimples for a Ride A Test and she got to walk to warm up arena, walk around once, trot a 20 m circle, change hands, trot a 20 m circle and get into competition arena and go!  Kayce's dad slipped into being the warm up steward and kept kids coming at me in order and kids took a lot of responsibility for their own warmups, with Caitlyn and Katie helping!

   Every rider put the morning behind them, squared their shoulders, and rode! I was very pleased with dressage tests!  Kayce had had two upsetting lessons with Blue last week, but she softened and gave him a great schooling ride and had much more success in competition!  Sarah rode a good test with Dimples. Chris and Truffles looked great! Morgan and Spirit had a rough start but quickly solved that problem and did better! Payton had Dimples as an Amoeba and also rode a nice, thinking test! Dimples has been known to leave the arena midtest, but Sarah and Payton weren't letting that happen! Beth did a Ride A Test on Skittles and also focused and did better as she went! Lindsey got PreTads around XC and back to ride their dressage tests. Despite many recent distractions, Leah has built an understanding with "Leah" who is formally known as "Carolina Pride", and was in first place after dressage! Ellie and Skit started out a bit stiff but softened and did better. Eden has worked hard with China and it shows! Summer had prepared with Mickey,  but he got kicked in pasture and was lame Friday, so we substituted Tricks, who has not been ridden much lately and who was having entirely too much fun being out in public! Summer never let him get to her, or get into too much trouble! Allison sat up and gave Pan the ride of his life! Nice dressage test! I missed Katie's dressage on Bill, which was in most part much improved from last time because she asked more of him, but he popped a shoulder and stepped out of arena...She brought him back and finished an otherwise nice test!

   When Kayce got to XC, she needed me, and I changed position to accompany her around the course. Nice quiet schooling round and no problems. With the Amoebas, there is no such thing as "Unauthorized Assistance" and things are allowed that would not be tolerated at other events, but it gives kids a nice safe chance to start eventing and that is why we go to Hickory Top twice a year!  I got back to start/finish area and watched kids going, answered questions, and was complimented by Mable that although we had arrived well over an hour late, our organization was such that she was now back to only being 15 minutes off her schedule! That was a good way for us to thank her for bending over backwards for us! I did not see much of Chris' trip with Truffle, but saw Morgan being successful with Spirit, which thrilled me! Saw Dimples try to leave the crosscountry course at speed with Payton, and Payton sit up and turn her and regain control! Lindsey then helped keep her under control and finish the course safely!

   The Leahs had a plan and a clear XC, leaving them in first after XC! Elllie got a taste of riding a powerful horse on cross country, but slowed Skit to a Pre-Tad appropriate pace and

had fun! Eden and China looked great on crosscountry. Tricks continued to frolic with Summer but they posted a good trip. Two jump judges did not pay attention and record her going by, but our own Charles, Anna's dad, was jump judging and saw her come out of the woods from the right direction so scoring was amended. Allison controlled Pan and posted a great trip! Katie was our one Special Novice, being timed, and Bill gave her one quit at a coop but handled everything else well.

Stadium scrambled things, as it frequently does! However, Chris and Truffle put in a round that had them win the Amoeba Division! A great job by Chris, and I thank Abby and Katie for previous trips and schooling Truffle. Spirit was revolting and got eliminated, but I lead him and helped Morgan get him around the rest of the course, and Nick got some amusing pictures! Kayce and Blue did a slow and steady progress around the course and were third! Payton put Dimples around for the experience, which some organizers would not have allowed, but it is a great learning experience.

  Allison had a fault-free stadium round on Pan, with some great, assertive riding! They stood third in Pre-Tadpole. Ellie and Skit looked powerful but stayed tied for second, with Eden on China! Carolina Pride was uncooperative in Stadium, and got eliminated for refusals. Summer won it on Tricks.

Katie had gone too slowly in Stadium at FENCE last time out, not used to being timed, and the 16 time penalties cost her a ribbon, though she did complete. She and Bill did their first stadium course that was cantered throughout and looked wonderful!

I am very proud of all our riders. They did not let the setbacks of the morning and the trip down get to them, they concentrated and they rode! It was a wonderful Team Scotsgrove effort! I thank the parents who volunteered, and those who stood ready but didn't know Mable to find her and get put to work. And as we loaded horses and headed to Olive Garden for the victory dinner, Kathy produced an enormous hamper of homemade cookies and treated all of us!  Without Patti, we did not get into the restaurant in time to all get seated together, but dinner was fun and the trip home thankfully uneventful!  Thank you all for a wonderful day!

Fall Schooling Show

The day got off to a brisk start, with a frost, but warmed into a very nice fall day. Many of my advanced riders were elsewhere, so the first division, at 2' 8" attracted no takers. Ellie rode demonstration rides in Division B with Skittles and did a nice job with his very enthusiastic self! Kara did a demonstration ride in the Equitation Over Poles on the Ground and did well.

Leadline attracted 5 riders and the judge worked them both ways on the rail and asked them questions to test their knowledge, and it was a tie for first place and everyone got a blue ribbon! Yasmin on Dimples, Madison on Skittles, Isabell on Jack, Olivia on Pan, and Ellie on Truffle were all nicely turned out and rode well.

Divisions D, E, and F were more popular. D was for students riding more than one year, walk/ trot.  Class 11 had 5 riders, and class 12, a repeat so horses could be used again, had 4. Class 11: Sarah B on Dimples won, Eden on China was second, Rachel on Skit was third, Brynn on Bill was 4th, and Benay on Folly was 5th. Class 12: Soline on Spirit was first, Grace Z. on Folly was second, Kara on Skit was third, and Katheryn on Dimples was fourth.The jumping class in that division was 12" Crossrails and had 8 entries: Sarah B on Dimples, Benay on Folly, Eden on China, Katheryn on Folly, Grace Z. on Dimples, Rachel on Folly, Brynn on Skit, and Soline on Spirit. 
We had some challenges with checking diagonals between fences, but learned a great deal! Grace Z. won it, Benay was second, Eden third, Brynn fourth, Katheryn 5th, and Soline 6th.  That gave Grace the Championship, and Eden the Reserve.

Division E was walk/ trot/canter, but to canter one by one. The jumping classes were 15".

Once again it took two flat classes to mount everyone who wanted to ride in that Division. Class 14 saw Payton win it on Bill, Kayce second, Benay third and Sarah B fourth. Class 15 was won by Hannah, with Katheryn second, Soline third, Beth fourth, Mallory fifth, and Eden sixth. Class 16, the first 15" Over Fences class was won by Kayce on Bill, second was Payton on Bill, third Soline on Mickey, fourth Hannah on Bill, fifth Sarah B on Dimples, and sixth Eden on an uncooperative Folly! Class 17, over a different course of jumps, saw Kayce first on Bill, Hannah second on Bill, Solline third on Mickey, Beth fourth on Skit, Mallory fifth on Folly, and Sarah B sixth on Dimples. So Division E Champion was Kayce, reserve was Soline, and a close Honorable Mention was Hannah.

Division F was Walk/Trot/ Canter in groups of 3. Soline won it on Bill, Kayce was second on Mickey, Thea third on Folly, Anna 4th on a very green Blue, Leah 5th on Leah, and Eden sixth on China. Class 19 was the first 18" Over Fences class, and Kayce won it on Bill, Anna second on Bill, Eden third on China, Thea fourth on Folly, Soline fifth on Skit, and Leah sixth on Leah.  Class 20 was a different course of 18" fences and Eden won it on China, Anna second on Bill, Kayce third on Bill, Thea fourth on Folly, Soline fifth on Skit, and Leah sixth on Leah, with some really pretty lines, but a couple glitches to mar it.

No falls and everyone seemed to be learning about performing in public! It takes some practice to be able to think, and ride, and breathe!

While we missed some of our faithful experienced show helpers who have gone on to college or are travelling this week/month, new kids showed up early to help and the show ran well. Laurie and Lindsey handled the ingate and tacking/stirrup adjustments, with Caitlyn and Ellie helping in the barn. Caitlyn commented later that having started out as the "barn baby" she was finding it strange to now be the "older generation" of responsible helpers! But it is exciting to have new ones growing up and stepping in to help!

Thank you all for your support of barn activities!

Green Creek Hunter Pace

With a two trailers full of horses and riders the Scotsgrove Riders made two trips to the Halloween Hunter Pace at Green Creek. Everyone had a great time!

Congratulations also go to Chris and Soline for getting Honorable Mention in the Trail Riding Division. Placing amongst all those riders is a feat in itself! Congrats girls!

Congratulations to Katie!

Yesterday Katie took Bill to FENCE for the Foothills Riding Club event and went Hopeful Division. She got a 7 on one trip down centerline, halt, salute, and an 8 on the other! Some very nice moments! One refusal cross country, on bright blue plastic barrels (and cross country jumps are supposed to be "natural"). Got it on the second approach and next was the water complex which he went through as if we'd schooled it all week! Finished with a nice jump over a coop made up and painted as a red barn, with shingled roof! One refusal on a full dress stadium course - flowers, scarecrows, pumpkins, brush boxes, etc. Great accomplishment to complete! I am very proud of our girl! You can catch pix at erikolsenphotography.com, she was #45 on Bill Bailey! His pix are worth seeing!

~Leslie

 

Sweets 4 Sarah

Sarah B. and Brynn are holding a bake sale during our Hunter Pace for Sarah McClintock. She has been diagnosed with a brain tumor after having double vision and migraines. Her surgery is scheduled for this week and everyone is very hopeful that she will make a full recovery.

For the bake sale Sarah B. and Brynn are asking the barn family to donate baked goods (nothing with frosting, all must be heat resistant!) that are already wrapped for sale. Everything will be priced at 50 cents, so all they need is individually wrapped treats! All proceeds will go to the McClintock family to help with medical costs. They are going to be at Scotsgrove bright and early on the 17th, so anyone that wants to contribute can bring their goodies that morning or plan for a breakfast of delicious muffins and cookies! Claire (Sarah B's mom) can be reached at cgbailey(at)bellsouth(dot)net if anyone has questions or wants to commit to a contribution.


Thank you to everyone for being the best barn family ever.

News from Leslie

Thank you all for understanding my recent absence during the trip down to FL to see Mother. She is recovering at a fast clip now, but I'm going to be on stand by if she needs me in the next few weeks. I now need to ask you to add Sarah McClintock to your prayer list. Sarah has just been diagnosed with a brain tumor that was causing headaches and double vision. She is in ICU which means we cannot visit her at this point but our thoughts and prayers will be appreciated, and I will keep you posted on progress and when we can visit and cheer her up, though I am told that all the doctors and nurses are being told that she rides horses at Scotsgrove!

 

Bob held a work day last Sat for the Pace which is Sept 17, and there will be another work day the 10th, about 10 am.  I appreciate the turnout of volunteers to help with the Pace! The Ruritans are aging and it takes the barn family to fill in and bring it off the way we all like Scotsgrove to do it! And good practice with the Ruritans this time, because if we are luckier than we were last year, we'll have one in January for Scotsgrove, by Scotsgrove!  This one goes entirely to benefit the therapy riding at Children's Home.

See you all soon!

Scotsgrove Hunter Pace

It's that time of year again! Our Hunter Pace!

Exciting Email

In an email to Leslie, Sabine let us know how much her Scotsgrove training has come in handy with her riding instruction in Spain. Leslie was so thrilled she had to share!

   I had a lovely email from Sabine. It's the first time in 7 years she is not in camp here, but she is riding!  "I just wanted to express my gratitude from across the Atlantic for your instruction and the horses we learn to ride on at home. I'm at a horse camp in Spain and the instructor was so impressed with "Your work" on my "basics" and the attitude I had with a difficult horse that he won't let me ride the lesson horses and put me on his Selle Francais jumper!  The wind up toy horses here are no match for the Scotsgrove education! Thank you for making us think one step ahead of each horse because it really works! The horse I am riding here is making me really work on supporting him through his turns and keep a dead straight even stride into each jump because if I don't, he won't jump at all!  His education is giving me the feel of what show jumping is all about and making me love it more and more. The instructor here is awesome as well, respectful of the horses' legs, and teaching about balance and contact and how to get the horse on the bridle with the leg. The big horse I was on was only in a rubber snaffle! He was very big about training the flat first, and getting your circles balanced before jumping. However, as much fun as this is and physically challenging, I miss the mental challenge of Scotsgrove horses, and wanted to pass on the compliments on your teaching. Scotsgrove is getting it's name out and about 3000 miles away! "

Hickory Top Spring 2011 By Leslie

Wow!  We had a houseful of kids Fri night. While I had said 4 AM was sufficient, I heard alarms go off all over the house at about 3. By the time I had breakfast at 4, the house was empty - they were gone to the barn!  The teenagers had spent several days texting and phoning and organizing - saddles, bridles, extra cross country bits, whips, even car assignments for the trip down and back!  Horses were groomed and saddled, and loaded onto Nick's and my trailers. We were rolling through the back gate at 4:53!  Target had been 5!

 

We made good time and were at Hickory Top about 7:30, target had been 8. First rider went at 8:30. I did dressage warm ups, Emi and Katie did cross country course walks, Laurie did stadium warm ups, though really we all floated a great deal and tried to be everywhere! With 12 riders (8 on my horses!), that was 36 warmups and 36 competitive tests!

We were 7 of 9 Pre-Tadpoles and the organizer, Mable Johns, broke it into 2 divisions so everyone would have a chance at a ribbon.

 

Pre-T  A was Allison, Soline, Eden, and Anna.  Allison rode a really nice dressage test on Pan. Soline and Bill moved smoothly through their test. Eden had chosen the very green China, but gave her a grand schooling ride. Anna and Cricket were a little excitable.

After dressage, it was Soline, the nonScotsgrove 2nd, Allison 3rd, Eden 4th and Anna 5th.

 

Pre-T. B was Kayce, Thea, Morgan. Kayce was tense last time and she and Dimples steeplechased out over the ring fence - three times! Once eliminated them, but Kayce was tough enough to keep coming back and to finish her test. Six months of hard work and she faced the same arena on the same horse. It was not the same Kayce, and they did a very nice controlled job with the test!  Thea had elected to take Spirit before she outgrew him. I was dubious, but she was determined and we went from runaways in the ring at home to controlled performances. She rode a dressage test that scored 6's and 7's on most movements ( the range is 0 -10, 5 being "sufficient", 10 being perfection.) I did not think the pony had that kind of day in him!  Morgan did a very nice job with Folly in her first time out!

They stood Kayce and Morgan tied for second and Thea down as third on the scoreboard.

 

Junior Tadpole was Leah and Brit. Leah had not had much ride time the last few months and Brit got a new horse for Christmas who has not done this line of work before. The prize list had called for Test B in dressage and that's what we prepared. 10 days before the competition the organizer called to say "Misprint! Test C!"  Both girls elected to learn the new test and produce canter circles,  instead of step down to walk/trot and PreTadpole. They were in a division of 7 riders. Leah does a very nice job with her mare but the lack of ride time and prep time told, while Brit and "Reilly" stood in second.

In the Senior division, Lindsey and her "Bailey" stood second!

 

Caitlyn and Skittles went Special Novice, with canter in their dressage test and were third of 6. Abby and "Wager" were Beginner Novice and had the best dressage test of their careers together!  Stood second in a division of 7 and beat a horse who was advertised for sale on the scoreboard for $8500.

 

Cross country went smoothly for Pan and Allison and they remained in third. Soline and Bill also "got her done!" Eden and the very green China completed, Anna and Cricket completed.   Kayce and Dimples had 2 refusals, Thea and Spirit were eliminated, and Morgan had three refusals at different fences. Coming from jump judging at Rolex, I misinformed her that 3 refusals would eliminate. At that level it will, at our level it's 3 at one fence or 5 total on course to eliminate.  Leah was eliminated Cross country, Brit had 2 refusals. Lindsey and Bailey had an uproarious good time flying around most enthusiastically!  It put them into first!  Caitlyn and Abby both had falls from refusals and were eliminated.

 

Stadium also took a cruel toll. Allison and Pan eliminated, as were Anna and Cricket. Soline stood first with Bill and Eden second with China. Morgan was eliminated but Kayce finished second! Brit and Reilly finished second! Lindsey looked down to pat Bailey between fences and missed the line to her next fence and got a technical refusal, knocking her from first to second.

 

But the team work all day, and the sportsmanship, was exemplary. Good kind riding and taking responsibility for the outcome, not blaming the horse. These are after all lesson horses, not competition horses. They can go and give the chance to participate reasonably safely (nothing in eventing is "Safe"). Kids had worked very hard to prepare, rode well and learned a great deal by participating, and had fun. Before we had loaded to come home, there was planning and jockeying for horses for December! What to change, what to work on....  There were 26 at the victory dinner at Olive Garden, some sleeping in vehicles after dinner, but horses were taken care of, trailers cleaned, tack cleaned and put away and everything put to rights before they went home. Amazing kids! I DO have the best kids in the world!  :)  Thank you all!

Rolex Wrap Up: Jackie

We started out on our adventure Thursday morning.  The Scott's Caddy decided it didn’t want to make the trip to Kentucky. (Me on cell phone:  “Hey Leslie, do you know your car is smoking?!)  Bob and Leslie back tracked from Hendersonville to Lyman to get the truck which turned out to be a good thing considering how hard the group hit the trade fair (saddles anyone?). 

Our car continued on and after lunch we stopped by Bass Pro Shop in Sevierville, TN and Bob and Leslie caught up and passed us.  Patti, Lou, Brit, & Sidney drove up Thursday night. 

Friday was on to the Kentucky Horse Park for dressage.  It’s amazing how so many people in a grandstand can be so quiet while a horse is in the ring.  All the horses got big rounds of applause after they finished their tests.

The Prince Phillip Cup for Pony Clubbers was also going on, which was very interesting to watch.  And then there was the trade fair with lots to look at (and buy of course).  Most of the crowd didn’t venture past that point but we went over and checked out the draft horses and the Hall of Champions.  Bob, Leslie, and Lindsey had a judge’s meeting Friday evening and were assigned jump 5.

Saturday was cross country day.  Bob, Leslie, & Lindsey had to be at the park by 7:30 and the rest of the group followed later.  We drove in each day down Newton Pike so we could drive past the horse farms.  Miles of 4 board plank fencing & horses grazing.  Horse lover’s paradise!

We parked near the main entrance & Lee, Emmi, Caitlyn, & Sidney went by the breed barn and rode the mechanical horses. One trots and the other canters and they apparently rode the canter one out because it was “lame” (i.e. out of order) when Lee, Lindsey & Katie went by Sunday morning.

Jump 5 was a good hike out but worth it.  It was a 3 jump combination with “A” jumping into the water, “B” jumping in the water, & “C” jumping out of the water.  Leslie had the best seat in the house.  NBC's camera was across the water from her.  Several of the Scotsgrovers walked the entire 4 mile course (some more than once).  I specifically wanted to see William Fox-Pitt and Lindsey wanted to see Mark Todd.  There were some falls on cross country but no serious injuries.  At the end of the day Mary King was first and second with her two horses.  The British team held 4 of the top 10 spots.  Did the Royal Wedding inspire them?  A very exhausted group got together for dinner Saturday night.

Sunday morning Bob & Leslie had breakfast with an old friend of Bob’s – Tish.  Bob said Tish had forgotten more about foxhunting & horses that most people will ever know.

I was shopped out & retreated to the grandstand and was eventually joined by Bob and then the rest of the group.  We had rain & storms Sunday morning but it dried out as the day went on.  We were able to watch the competitors walk the course, which was very interesting.

The Pony Clubbers brought the flags out for the participating countries.  One poor pony took one look at that huge crowd, got stage fright & and had to be escorted from the ring!  The nation & state colors were presented by the Lexington Mounted Police on two big grays that look like Molly.  The top 6 riders were show live on NBC this year.  Of course, two of those horses were Mary King’s, who finished first and second.  This was a first for Rolex.  There were lots of commercial breaks.  The Governor of Kentucky presented the winner her Rolex watch & winning check.  After the celebration ended we headed home. We had a wonderful time!

Update from Leslie

Dear All,

 

The 8 who were able to make it on Saturday to the Green Creek Pace all had fun. We can track results on WCHPace.org. in a day or two, though as we all went Trail Rider division so it's pretty hard to get competitive about it. More importantly, everyone had fun! Some were riding in independent teams for the first time and Katheryn was out for the first time, so everyone had plenty of opportunities to learn as well as to have fun with friends. All tack was cleaned, horses were taken care of, and the trailer cleaned such responsible young horsewomen! I am as usual bragging that I have the best kids in the world! Nick took pictures which he is planning to share!

 

For our Pace, my thoughts are that kids who signed up for horses in January but were rained out should get first dibs, and I will honor those sign ups. If you had a horse for the Jan dates and can not make the Apr date (no raindate!), please let me know, as we have several riders who would very much like to get a horse for this pace! 

 

Upcoming dates:

April 2  Carolina Cup Steeplechase in Camden.

 

Apr 16 Our Pace which will cancel lessons, but I will need volunteers.

 

Apr 23 Blockhouse Steeplechase. Admission is by car pass, which is expensive, but if you cram lots of people in or on the vehicle the price can be broken down to a more reasonable fee! Check with Tryon Riding and Hunt Club, which is a Chamber of Commerce type organization! Bob and I officiate, but barn will be open.

 

The following weekend is Rolex and our group is going up Apr 28, dressage 29th, XC 30th(where Bob, Lindsey and I officiate), Stadium Jumping and return home May 1. Laurie will run the barn in my absence.

 

Hickory Top is May 7, and that closes the barn, as so many lesson horses will be going to compete. 

 

Our Spring horse show is May 21. Then I may collapse in a small but happy heap! And get up to look forward to "camps"!

 

~Leslie

Scotsgrove Winter Hunter Pace

The fates were not with us this time - Trails will be saturated Saturday and I couldn't get them marked and get organized anyway, so we will cancel and normal Sat lessons will run the 15th, if possible! 

 Guess we'll all be playing it day by day with the weather that's predicted! I don't anticipate being able to teach Weds or Thursday by the sound of it!  Stay warm!

~Leslie