May Daze Results May 25, 2009

Here are the results for Team CEO at May Daze HT….  It was a weekend of horses and riders getting their start in eventing, and boy what a start they got!  Here are the results for the big, competitive divisions….

Sheldon did his very first USEA horse trial this weekend!  He was darling….  After needing to ride him to the jump warmups to get to my students on time, Sheldon thought it was time to jump before dressage!  He settled, but his test was a little green and not nearly as nice as it was two weeks ago.  Still, he pulled off a 39.5 in dressage and jumped show jumping with just a single rail. He was great on XC and jumped double clean and really grew up all the way ’round!

Holly was terrific with Zephyr…. She rode his pants off!  They had an amazing, smooth, rhythmical XC round.  Unfortunately Zephyr pulled the plug on the table before the banks, for just 20 penalties.   Holly quickly jumped it and continued… Other than that one moment, they were brilliant!   I was really proud of Holly’s riding this weekend.

We and Kim H  did their very first USEA horse trial this weekend!   They jumped with just one rail in show jumping and just a peak on XC for a very successful start in eventing!

Ali and Alex had a great weekend… Some BRILLIANT moments in dressage,  with just a couple of moments against his rider for a 40 in dressage….  Then a terrific clean show jump round that was really nice…. And in my opinion, Ali and Alex’s best yet XC…. Smooth and consistent and right out of stride!  They finished on their dressage score at Training for a 9th place finish!

Hannah and Vaughn were terrific….  The dressage was quiet and accurate, and I was very happy with Hannah.  Just one circle in show jumping (oops) for 4 faults and a touch of time.   Then the most TERRIFIC cross country round you could possibly imagine!  Every single jump was right out of stride, right out of rhythm.  They were moving!  I was so proud of them!  They finished 9th!

Chelsea had another terrific weekend, this time moving her 5yo TB gelding up to the novice level very successfully.  He was a little playful in dressage for a 39, but it shows you what a nice horse he is that he can play and still score so well…  Then he jumped a wonderful clear round in his very first Novice!  Just a couple rubs in show jumping and Benny is now a successful novice horse!

Gretchen and Juby did their very first USEA horse trial!   They were 6th after dressage, and had a terrific show jumping round for a double clean round.  They had a terrific cross country round, smart and steady and riding right to plan…  They jumped double clean to finish on their dressage score in 4th place!

Trooper and Kim B  had a great run at Novice….  40 in dressage (they were robbed!), and a terrific double clean cross country round!  Many in her division were having rails, but Kim kept her cool to jump a terrrific double clean round and finish on her dressage score!  She moved up to a fabulous 4th place!!!!!!!

Ryan has a great first outing for the season…  I am so glad to start the season for him!  Of course, one of my mares just came in heat and he got collected shortly before competing… EEK!  Fortunately, he was a star, and put in a very good (if conservative) test for a 35.5 in dressage and a tie for 3rd… Even more fun, the stallion got to do his test in the middle of two other rings which were very close…. Now that’s focus!  He was really good in show jumping but my armband was dangling around my hand and I’m afraid I worked harder on not losing my armband than on helping Ryan.   He didn’t mind, and jumped double clear despite my distraction.   Then on XC, he was AMAZING!  I knew I was in a tie and that ryan is very, very fast XC….  So I had to come in close to the optimum, not close to speed faults, to break the tie…  He galloped around so easily!  Everything was clean and he galloped right into the water!  He was so smooth and easy everywhere and I looked at my watch and was quite early, despite our easy going rhythm…  So I trotted a bit before continuing on course…. LOL…. The announcer said “And Megan Lanzarone goes on an endurance ride!”  Lol…. It was pretty funny.  Turns out later I didnt’ need to worry about optimum….  The horse we were in a tie with had time faults and another had an unfortunate elimination, putting Ryan in 2nd place finishing on his dressage score!

My sister Beverly had a terrific return to eventing…. I believe her last horse trial was in 2005, and she has been busy living  a couple of hours away and being an engineer since then.  She has resumed eventing this spring, and has been driving 4 hours roundtrip to start riding Indy again.  Her hard work and dedication paid off!   Being the first rider for the day always hurts your score by a point or two… And bev was the first rider of the day at 7:30am!!  She performed a test so nice that even the judge couldn’t deny her… Putting her in 2nd with a 35.5!   Just a half a point off the lead.  She performed a spot-on showjumping round for double clear.   Then she jumped double clean around XC in the most beautiful, comfortable rhythm!   They finished on their dressage score, just 0.5 points off the win!!!  The finished 2nd in their first outing in four years!!!!!

May Daze HT May 21, 2009

The Training & Prelim will be doing dressage and show jumping on Friday….   Coursewalk times TBD for those levels, as we don’t know yet when they are jumping SJ.

Tenatively based on the need to find out SJ ride times, let’s plan on coursewalks for….

Beginner Novice Friday at 5:00pm

Novice Friday at 5:40pm

Let me know either here on via email if you’re going and you’d like coaching.   Here’s to a terrific weekend!

Widespread Chaos May 18, 2009

We’re so excited that Widespread Chaos has arrived!

I’m exhausted from competing this weekend and Chaos’ arrival, so just a short note for now and more later…. Coral had her foal last night!  She is a beautiful bay filly with a big star and no other white.  Coral very cleverly waited till I was out of town and wasn’t showing any signs of parturition, and chose to deliver all by herself.  What a surprise the girls had when they fed this morning!  So far all is good… She’s beautiful and HUGE!

I’m still a very nervous mommy….  Because we weren’t there, coral had stomped on the afterbirth a good bit, so it was impossible to decide if all was expelled.  So we are busy treating Coral for any possible complications, which is nerve-wrecking.  Chaos looks great so far….. She has a slightly elevated white blood count, so she is on a little medication for now and I’ll hear more back on the bloodwork tomorrow…. Please keep your fingers crossed that both ladies will continue looking great!  I’d like to postpone introducing her to everyone for a few days… Because I’m worried about her gaining strength, we are trying to keep the lower barn completely quiet, so please postpone coming to visit our little girl for a couple of days….. I’m eager to introduce her to all of you as you’re all like family!  But for a day or two, I’m worried sick (probably over nothing), but they are sooooo delicate at this stage.   I’d like to keep the lower barn completely quiet for a few days….  Keep them in your thoughts as I hope they continue to do well!  Foaling is such a complicated miracle…

I’m so excited to introduce Chaos to everyone… She is a 3/4 sister to Nemo!!!!!!!!!!!!       We’ll hear much more on the bloodwork for both tomorrow, so keep your fingers crossed…. For now, here’s a couple of pics!  (And on snapfish!)

One foal down, four to go!!!!!

Greater Dayton HT May 18, 2009

Wooooohooo!

Boscoe did his very first horse trial this weekend…  He was amazing!  He had a terrific dressage test, but I was a little dissappointed in his score of 40, since it was his best test ever and ever other time out he has scored under a 35.  The scores were a bit high—but then again, the same judge who scored Ryan winning the dressage last year on a 40.  Boscoe vowed to make up ground by jumping double clear in SJ and XC, even when many others came to unfortunate grief on XC.  He was AMAZING and gave me a  huge effort at every fence–soooooo much fun!  He finished 5th in his very first outing!

Hannah and Vaughn continue to impress…. Hannah had a beautiful test with really impressive trot work–I’m so proud of this kid!  (Now if we just master those pesky diagonals!)  I’m so proud of her hard work and determination.  Her cross country and SJ rounds were flawless…. I was so happy with her riding… We have a brand new Hannah!  She finished clean in all phases, though I left the show before they posted the scores so I’m not sure of the final placings.

Hopper was so much fun this weekend… He put in another good dressage test that I was very happy with.  He consistently puts in good tests and I’m so excited about his future!  He’s just getting stronger and stronger every day.  He placed 2nd after dressage in a big field of very nice horses, with a 33 in dressage.   He was terrific in show jumping….  He just touched the first fence when he was focused on the tents in the background, but jumped terrifically after that to have just the single rail down.  I’m so happy with his improvement in SJ.  He was amazing on XC, really listening and allowing me to lay down a blazing clear round where he was so very good at every fence.  He let me ride a course with very, very tight lines and very smoothly without wasting any time.  He had the fastest XC by quite a bit, and I was so pleased with him!  Almost every other prelim pair incurred time faults, but Hopper was so fluid he was able to jump double clean.  The leader picked up a couple of time penalties, beating hopper by just 0.6 faults….   Hopper finished 2nd in his division by just two seconds!  Lol…. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.  Hopper has now finished 2nd in three of his last five outings.

Jeri and Elijah had a great return to competition…. The pair haven’t had the opportunity to compete at Prelim in a few years, and this weekend was their triumphant return to the upper levels.   They proved that there wasn’t any dust to blow off, as they had a qualifying dressage, a terrific SJ round with just one rail at the final fence, and a lovely clean xc round!   I’m so excited for Jeri that she had such a terrific weekend…. She rode terrifically and really deserves it!

And for the real kicker…   Chelsea and Maddy both ventured out to their first prelims at Greater Dayton HT this weekend… They were amazing!  Both had very respectable dressage tests for anyone, esp in their first outing!  Both horses were really good in SJ… Basil was a little sticky as he was spooking at the tents against the ring, but Chelsea rode him well and handled the spooking nicely.  Bernie jumped a lovely smooth round for just one rail at the first fence for a 4/0 round.  Both girls had a TERRIFIC cross country round!!!!  I’m so proud of them….   We now have two new upper level riders in our midst, in addition to two new upper level horses!  Congrats girls on achieving such a lofty lifetime accomplishment!

I’m so proud of all!

Results from Flying Cross Horse Trials May 11, 2009

Despite being an out of town show, WOW did we have a big showing of horses and riders at the Flying Cross Horse Trials!

Taz competed in his very first horse trial this weekend!  Expertly guided by his working student partner Maddy, Taz was a star!  But then, what else could we expect? Everything we’ve ever asked of this horse has been easy breezy!  He had a terrific dressage test to score 37.  Taz is a lovely careful jumper, and jumped double clean in show jumping, being very brave around the very scary course.  He ate up the cross country, finishing on his dressage score to finish in 7th in a big division of 17 horses!  All in his very first event!

Katie has been working so hard… I am very proud of her determination and hard work.  It all paid off this weekend, as Katie had her career best dressage test!  Their test was fluid, accurate, quiet, and obedient, and the score well rewarded the good effort… They scored a 29!!  Case pulled off his characteristic rail-free performance in show jumping–boy is he a careful jumper!  Katie had an amazing cross country round, jumping clean and doing a lovely job of jumping right out of stride…. Lovely!  They finished on their dressage score of 29!!  They finished just behind two professionals, so she finished 3rd in the division of 15 horses!!!!

Sarah and Visa had a terrific debut together!!  They had a breathtaking dressage test… WOW!  Unfortunately a couple of logistical mistakes dropped them down a touch to earn a 40… But I know this will just keep improving!  They looked gorgeous.  Just one rail in SJ, and a clean round on XC!  They finished 11th in a big division and did a great job!

Elisha did her very first horse trial with Jeri this weekend!  She had a dressage test with moments of brilliance and great encouragement from the judge, to score a 37.    True to ELisha’s super tidy, careful jumping style, they had a scopey clean round in show jumping.  Elisha is very brave, and had a blast jumping clean on cross country!  They finished 5th of 17 horses!

Gretchen and Jubilee also had a terrific debut horse trial.  They had a nice, steady, accurate test followed by a clean jump round and a clean cross country…. What a terrific way to start a career together!  Gretchen did an amazing job in her very first horse trial ever….   We are so proud ofher!  She finished a terrific 9th of 17!

Our stars were shining bright this weekend…. Hannah and Vaughn also had their best ever weekend together…. Hannah rode SOOOOO well, for a beautiful dressage test scoring 39.  They were so elegant—I can’t believe our little Hannah is so grown up!  She had great control and poise in show jumping, and I loved their steady rhthym and terrific cadence.  They had a beautiful cross country round to jump clean!    I was so proud on all of their improvements this weekend.

Sheldon is a new debut for me this year… I bought him as a 3year old off the track in Michigan, and I adore him.  He is my gentle giant…. At 17.1 and growing, he’s a BIG boy!  He is very green and just starting his career (slowly and meticulously), but I know I am so very excited about him.  With all of the excitement yesterday at Sayre and trying to focus on my students, I wasn’t even able to ride him yesterday.  But I figured I’d school him through the steps of life today in warmup, but boy did he learn!  Today was his first ever horse show.  He was terrific, and performed a lovely, fluid, through test that I was very happy with.   (Even if I did the transition in the wrong corner—oops!)   Then he jumped around a really nice show jumping course double clean.   I was so thrilled with him, but not much time to enjoy—have to rush off to coach students!  Later he jumped round a gorgeous xc round…. He cantered the whole course, which is a first for him!  (Canter is hard when you’re built like a girraffe!)  I was thrilled with his performance and not worried about scores.  I spent the afternoon coaching…. Later, one of my students told me that Sheldon had scored a 25 in dressage!!!!      He finished on dressage score to win his very first horse trial!!  I have big plans for my big guy in the future!

Congrats to all the terrific riders this weekend!

Sayre Results May 11, 2009

Torrential rains on Friday were a bit foreboding, but as luck would have it Saturday dawned beautiful and breezy!  Saturday was a terrific day all around, and I am so proud of all of the students and horses!

GREEN STARTER: Joe and Pongo had a career high weekend, with the best show jump round they’ve ever had!  They had a great go at Green starter, with a double clear round. ~~~~~~  Michaela and Mouse debuted in eventing, placing a terrific 4th after dressage and jumping double clean in a big division to finish 4th!  This is surely a huge start to her eventing career, as she is just 9 years old!  ~~~~~~   Gemma and Buddy were an amazing success story for the day!  Gemma told me that she competed at Sayre last year, before we knew her, and didn’t get around.  This year, what a triumphant return!!!  Not only did she complete, but she was 2nd after dressage and jumped double clean to place 2nd in a BIG class!!!!  WOW…. What a huge day!  I’m so excited that her hard work is paying off!

STARTER: Ashlea wins the tenacity award for the weekend!!!  She had a terrific dressage to score a 24!!!   Then Gus had a little meltdown in warmup (in the middle of a field) and did some rodeo quality bucks!  In her first Starter CT, Ashlea pulled it all together to jump a great 1-rail round.    She rode a smart, safe course–slow but controlled.   That earned her a couple of time faults which dropped her to second, but I am SO proud of her tenacity and her success!  She finished 2nd in a big field of horses.

BEG NOVICE: Holly Werner and Zephyr had a terrific BN debut to the year, jumping really nicely and dusting the cobwebs off for the new season!   ~~~~~~  Kim Hicks had a breakthrough event, and looked really terrific!  They had just a single rail, and were fabulous.  I believe she ribboned…Anyone remember what place?    ~~~~~~  Gretchen debuted her gelding Beauty at Beginner Novice and had a great round… I think they jumped clean in their very first outing together, and Gretchen’s smile could be seen all the way back home in Louisville…. We’re so proud!    ~~~~~~ Boscoe was terrific… A good dressage test (plus two flying changes–he’s so helpful!)  gave hima 35 in his very first BN combined test.  He had a terrific round and just breathed on one single rail for a 4-fault round, finishing in 5th.  He was a hot little tamale all weekend, but a whole lotta fun!

NOVICE: Holly Wiedemann and Trevor also had a breakthrough event, with a really quiet dressage test. Trevor performed a brilliant XC that Katie accurately described as “poetic”, and I’m thrilled for Holly’s reward for all of her hard work!

PRELIMINARY: Ali and Alex had a great weekend in the Prelim…. I believe 5th after dressage, and 1 rail around a really tough sj course to finish 5th in a huge division of very nice horses.   ~~~~~~  Maddy did her second prelim CT this weekend…. She had a good dressage test and a 1-rail sj round, to finish 7th even against many professionals in a huge division!!  Talk about courage—the horse right before her fell in the sj round, and she still managed to pull together, focus, and have a great round.  They were fantastic!  Congrats!   ~~~~~~ Chelsea  also did her second prelim CT…. Basil and Chelsea had a much improved dressage test, and a really good sj round.   The finished just a hair out of the ribbons, but really proved their impending move up to Prelim!  I was VERY proud!   ~~~~~~  Jeri had a triumphant return to Prelim with Elijah, jumping a great round and I was so excited to see her so thrilled… This is a new pair for us, and we’re very excited about their future!

With two consecutive shows and two consecutive 5am mornings, I’m a little exausted…    (We arrived at Masterson at 6am on Saturday, and I taught at the show all day, then had a few lessons at Masterson and taught till 8:30pm!)  I can’t completely remember everyone’s exact results…. If anyone remembers a placing that I’ve left out, please email it to me and I’ll update it here!

The course this weekend was really tough, and I’m so proud of everyone for a job well done… I was proud to be with each and every one of you this weekend.  Congrats!!

And Gretchen and Howard and Mike, we can’t WAIT to see your fabulous pictures!