Horse Show Debut
About a month ago, right after the Arabian Sport Horse Nationals, I dropped off WF Angelina at Willow Hill Equestrian, Sarah & Tommy Doyle’s place, for dressage training. Sarah has 2 of Angel’s half-siblings in training currently, so Angel should fit right in. I’ve been thrilled with the progress that Angel has made while she’s been there, and this past weekend Angel made her under saddle debut at a show.
But first, we entered a sport horse in hand class. Tommy did an impressive job handling her and ended up with a score of 77. This resulted in Reserve Champion Half-Arabian Mare Sport Horse in Hand honors….reserve only to Sarah’s other horse, WF Goin Dutchm who scored a 79. Tommy also showed another 3 year old Dutch cross to a score of 77 and this gelding, WF Incognito, ended up as Champion Half-Arabian Gelding Sport Horse In Hand. WF Goin Dutch finished up with the highest score for the entire sport horse division, and WF Incognito and WF Angelina were tied for the reserve spot overall.
The following day, Sarah and Angel made their under saddle debut in Intro dressage. I figured it would be a good start to do a simple dressage test. They did great and finished up with a 67.5 and 2nd place out of 9. Their second ride later that day scored a 66.5 and also a 2nd out of 9 entries.
Needless to say, the debut was quite a success. The bad part is that the bar is set pretty high now, so hopefully we can keep it up next year! Pictures and video to come!
I want to tell you about a terrific horse novel that I just read called If Wishes Were Horses. It is the story of an 11 year old girl who loves everything about horses. She even thinks there should be a perfume called, Smells Like A Horse. Now that’s a girl after my own heart. She is a classic tomboy being the only girl growing up in a family with five brothers. Her character, strength, and passion for horses shines throughout If Wishes Were Horses as she and a special horse named Dealer make a dream come true. It is a wonderful family book that you will love to share with everyone who loves horses, as well as a great real aloud book for youngsters. Its the best horse book since The Black Stallion. I bought my copy while at Waldenbooks in Charleston Place Hotel while on vacation in Charleston SC earlier this month. IWWH is available in bookstores and online and direct from the publisher, Boxer Publishing. If Wishes Were Horse by Jean Jakob.
Enjoy,
Betsy Willis
Clarkesville, Georgia