| The following is a blog that Alyx wrote for the Florida Hunter Classic Association's Horseshows in the Park website while at the Marshall & Sterling Finals |
| Monday, September 10th We finally made it up to New Jersey tonight! My mom, Jay (my horse), and our two Papillons left FL Sunday morning on our journey to Saugerties and the Marshall and Sterling Finals. After 10 hours in the car we arrived at our first overnight stop in Hope Mills NC at the Horsetel. We'd hoped it would be little cooler than back home, but it was actually hotter there! The owner of the farm, Patty, was very gracious and accommodating. Jay had a chance to spend a couple of hours in a paddock so he could stretch his legs before we tucked him in for the night. We were able to hook our trailer up right next to the barn, making it very convenient for us. Patty checked Jay during the night, and gave us a report and some treats for him in the morning. We're looking forward to our stop there on our return trip. We left NC this morning, arriving at Farrington Farms in North Brunswick after a 9 1/2 hour trip. Gary, the owner, was out front to meet us when we arrived. He and his wife, Sue, had a stall all ready for Jay with hay and water. After talking with them a while, we found out that their son Brian will also be competing at the finals in the Children's Hunter division. We're staying at a local hotel tonight since we're only about 2 1/2 hours away from the showgrounds. At least we can sleep in a little later tomorrow morning. I spoke to Corey's mom, Jyan, this afternoon. They're already at the showgrounds and are awaiting the arrival of Corey's horse, Mickey, tomorrow afternoon. She said we'd definitely have cooler weather up there; something to look forward to because it was in the upper 80's and humid even in NJ! I'm hoping to send an update each evening to let you know what's happening with our group of HSITP riders and, if everything works, some pics of all the fun stuff! Tuesday, September 11th We thankfully got a pretty early start this morning because it rained all the way to Saugerties. When we arrived almost had to swim to the barn; the grounds were a giant mud bog! Corey and her mom met up with us after lunch. No sign of Sarah yet, but we're guessing the empty stall in our area is hers. Other FL riders we know were assigned stalls around us; Katelyn Fellows one of Denna Johnson's pony riders, Michael Imparato, Felicia Coromilas one of his mom's students, and some riders from Brightside Stables. It was definitely nice to see so many familiar faces up here. Corey and I took Jay and Mickey out to the paddocks once the rain stopped. After they had a chance to expend some of their pent up energy, we went for a little ride and walked them around the showgrounds to acclimate them to their surroundings. Mickey wasn't thrilled at all and couldn't wait to get back to the barn. For some reason, the Grand Prix ring doesn't seem as big as it did last year. I'll probably take those words back once I have a chance to school in there tomorrow morning with Jay! Good news though, tomorrow we're supposed to have sunshine and temps in the mid-70's! Although, I did hear some ugly rumor about temps in the 40's Friday morning...brrrrr, too cold for this FL girl! Let's hope it's just a rumor! Wednesday, September 12th Sorry it's taken so long to get these updates posted on-line, but everywhere we go they seem to be having problems with their Internet access. The wireless at the hotel in NJ was down and they've been having problems all day today with the access at the showgrounds. We ended up driving to Ms. Denna's condo to e-mail them to Jeanne and Gayle. Hopefully, the access at the showgrounds will be fixed by tomorrow and I'll be able to send them in a timelier manner. A big thank you to Ms. Denna for letting me use her Internet connection! Well we finally had a chance to school in the Grand Prix ring today! Since my trainer Kathleen won't be flying up here until tomorrow afternoon, Ms. Denna graciously offered to coach me today and tomorrow for the ticketed warm-ups. I know my mom really appreciated the offer because I think she's more nervous than I am! Today Corey and I warmed-up in the schooling area first before even attempting the BIG ring, which I have to admit, really helped relax us. Of course, our anxiety rose a bit again as we headed toward the GP ring. Mickey had the most amazing look of shock on her face after she walked under the bridge and through the in-gate, but she settled right down and schooled over fences beautifully. Jay didn't want to go under the bridge and was a bit concerned about some of the planters along the wall at first, but once we started working and my anxiety dissapated, he did great! Yes, the GP ring is extremely daunting the first time you ride in it! There's nothing I've ever shown or ridden in that can even compare to it, especially the sheer size. I'm sure it's going to be an absolutely amazing experience once I actually get to show this weekend! My mom took some pics of us in the rings while we were practicing. Hope you like them! She'll be taking some more throughout the weekend. We're giving the horses the afternoon off because Corey and I have to do homework...yuck! Jay and Mickey will have a chance to just hang out. I'm so glad my mom got the paddock for our horses; they're really enjoying spending time out of their stalls. Since the weather is so incredibly beautiful today, we may take them for a little trail ride around the grounds before dinner if we have a chance. Sarah and her family arrived safely last night. We had a chance to talk to her mom Lisa since her stall is just across from Jay's. Not surprisingly, they were very tired and planned on taking it easy today after their long drive. I'll have more news for you tomorrow! Thursday, September 13th What a difference a day makes! Yesterday morning the barns were still pretty empty and there were only a few of us practicing in the GP ring. By this morning, most of the stalls were filled and schooling for the ticketed warm-up was limited to small groups of riders at specific fence heights. Each group was limited to about 8 minutes in the ring so you really had to use your time wisely. You were only allowed to go over designated jumps, so even though there were jumps set up on both sides of the ring, the ones available for schooling were limited. We wanted to get an early start before the ring got busy, and when we left for the barn at 8:00 am it was a whopping 48 degrees! I was very thankful that Corey's mom volunteered to feed Jay for us bright and early at 5:30 am. Now they're talking about temps in the 30's Saturday or Sunday morning! I'm convinced it's a plot to torture all the FL riders! Corey, Sarah and I were in one of the first groups for the ticketed warm-up. The horses did great, and Jay was absolutely perfect! The only thing we're a little concerned about is the scoreboard at the back side of the ring up on the berm. Apparently during the warm-ups yesterday afternoon they turned it on and the clicking noise it made every time the display changed spooked some of the horses. Unfortunately, both times we've been in the ring it was turned off, so that may be a challenge once we start showing. Hopefully the horses will just ignore it. After practicing, Corey, Sarah and I took the horses on a trail ride along the road on the back of the property. It's really pretty and the path is essentially a big loop. The only problem we ran into was some standing water next to a lake that none of the horses wanted to go through. Sarah tried to go over first, and Jocko said, "No way!" Jay's reaction was pretty much the same, so we decided to turn around and head back. We ended up taking the long way back to the barn by way of the paddocks and the lower barns (where all the horses for the dressage show that's been going on all week are stabled). Hope you like today's pics. My mom was able to get one right as Sarah, Corey and I entered the GP ring to school. You can see that they set up quite a few more jumps since yesterday. Then she was able to get some shots of all of us as we returned from our trail ride. My mom and I spent the early afternoon in a thoroughly exciting place...the local laundromat. We finished our clothes just in time to head up to Albany to pick Kathleen up from the airport. When we got back Corey joined my mom, Kathleen, the dogs, and I for a walk to the office to pick up our tickets for the year-end awards party tomorrow evening. On the board outside the office they finally posted the order of go for all the classes tomorrow and the official year-end standings for the top ten in each Marshall & Sterling division. My mom read the placings for the Children's Horse Medal and there was momentarily a look of panic on her face. They posted them in reverse order from tenth to first and she didn't realize it when she initially looked at it. Once she started breathing again she was able to see that I would be receiving the National Grand Champion honors and Corey the ninth place award. The HSITP riders really made their mark in this year's national standings in the most competitive medal division; there were over 430 riders in the rankings! Corey will be the first one of our group to show; she'll be competing in the Children's Hunter Horse Over Fences and Under Saddle classes tomorrow. She will be showing 28th in a class of 34; a very good place in the order. Please keep her in your thoughts and wish her luck! Tomorrow the fun finally starts! Friday, September 14th Since I didn't have to show today we visited the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a short drive away in Rhinebeck, NY. It was really interesting to see all the old antique airplanes, and it allowed my mom and I to spend some time with our friends from Chicago who came to watch me compete. We got back to the showgrounds in time to see Corey ride in her first hunter classes late that afternoon. Even though she was a bit nervous, she got through her course without issue. I have to admit though; I couldn't believe how many horses refused or ran out in the course! The girl whose horse was first in the year-end standings had a run-out halfway through the course and recieved an automatic score of 40. The flat class was an amazing sight to behold; over thirty horses in one of the outside rings with riders showing three and four abreast of each other. Talk about stressful! At least Corey and Mickey held their own amid the chaos. The best part of today was the year-end awards party in the evening! The party was catered by Tavern on the Green, so the food was absolutely incredible!!! After dinner Tom Struzzerri presented the year-end awards to the riders in each division. We were excited to find out just beforehand that, in addition to winning 9th place in the Children's Horse Medal division, Corey also picked up the 10th place award in the Children's Hunter Horse division! The Children's Horse Medal awards were the third or fourth division to be presented. Tom read down the list from 10th to 1st place. He mentioned that the Children's Horse Medal and Hunter Horse were the most competitive divisions this past year. I was so excited, I could hardly stand still. When I was called up for the Grand Champion award, a representative from Marshall & Sterling Insurance presented me with my ribbon and a silver framed award certificate that were given to all the top ten riders. In addition, I received a jacket (the one thing I REALLY wanted and have been working for all year) and a letter from Essex Classics for a riding shirt. As I was receiving my awards, all these people were taking our picture...it was kind of weird, but cool! When I got back to my seat, my mom laughingly said we could go home now because I got my jacket. After the awards presentation, Suzanne Vega performed. It was definitely an incredible evening I'll never forget! Saturday, September 15th Today I finally had a chance to show! Corey was kind enough to braid Jay for me and he looked quite handsome! The Hudson Equitation Classic was scheduled for 4:30 in the afternoon after the completion of some of the other divisions. Corey showed in the Hunter Classic early in the morning and once again had a smooth round. She looked so elegant in her shadbelly jacket! To get all 60 some odd riders through the class relatively quickly, they split the riders into A and B groups, and then set up dividers across the middle of the arena to create two separate courses. Corey and I were in group A (she was 18th and I was 26th) on the left side of the arena and Sarah was in group B on the right side. I was able to see Corey go, but didn't get a chance to see Sarah; although she did tell me Jocko had a hard time standing still in the in-gate and pulled a rail on course. When it was finally my turn to go, I was so nervous I wanted to cry. Jay did a great job getting perfect distances and making all the strides; although he did get a little looky at a 5 foot high green and white box with pumpkins and flowers surrounding its base! I, on the other hand, was rather stiff throughout the course. I was happy though because we got through the course without any problems. Again, I was stunned by the number of horses that refused and ran out; even ones that were in the top of the standings. All things considered, I think we held our own. Sunday, September 16th We were welcomed with 38 degree temps this morning! It was soooo cold and windy!!! Thankfully we all brought our horses' heavy blankets and had wrapped them up the night before. The Children's Horse Medal was scheduled to follow the Pony Medal at 11:30 am. I was 12th in the order of go, Corey was in the 30's and Sarah in the 50's. After making changes to some of the jumps after the Pony Medal we had the opportunity to walk the course. Kathleen and I developed our strategy; since Jay does so well in tight turns, I would take the inside line on several of the rollbacks. Once we finished walking the course, we hurried back to the barn to get Jay ready. By the time we got back to the warm-up ring, I was already eight riders out. They were moving a lot faster than they had anticipated. Jay schooled well and when they said I was two out, we headed to the in-gate. The course consisted of 15 jumps including a bending line of 4 jumps and two in-and-outs. I was feeling much more confident today; my goal had been to compete in the national finals, and here I was ready to go into the ring. Of course I wanted to do well, but more importantly, I wanted to get through the course with no refusals or run outs. It was pretty intimidating standing there looking out over the massive arena. We got over the first two jumps well, but as we took the inside turn in front of the green and white box and turned toward the next jump, Jay was thinking about running out and drifted to the right. There was no way I was going to let that happen, so I pulled his head around and got him over the jump, just barely missing the standard. Three more times throughout the course, he thought about ducking out, but I sat down and pushed him forward. He'd swap his lead as we approached the jump and say, "I don't think so," and I'd say, "Oh yes you will!" He even pulled a rail on the first jump of the second in-and-out at the end of the course. It was by no means our prettiest effort, but I got him over every last jump. I was quite surprised that some of my family members from CT who'd never been to a horse show and had come out to watch me ride for the first time could tell that Jay had wanted to run out on some of the jumps. I haven't seen the video yet, but I'm guessing it was really obvious. That being said, I was very pleased when the judges gave me a score of 62, which put me in the top half of the placings. There were a lot of riders who recieved much lower scores than that with horses that went around without any problem. I'm guessing they gave me credit for getting Jay over everything, even if it was ugly at times. Corey had her best round of the week today, and she was quite pleased that she got Mickey over everything. Sarah had a good round as well. Well we did it...we competed at the national finals and completed our courses; we all succeeded and achieved our goals! It was truly an amazing experience and I'm so happy I had the opportunity to share it with my friends and family! Thank you for all your support throughout the year and your fond wishes for us at the finals! And a big thank you to my parents, especially my mom; I never could have accomplished everything I did this past year without them! |
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