Bonheiden Showing

Friday in Bonheiden:
It was another successful day.  The star of the day was Karen Polle, winning both classes she entered on her two horses.  The 1.30 on With Wings, and the 1.40 on Whatever.  She really brought it on Friday, and no one could catch her fast times.  We were all very proud of her.  In the Jr. class, Meg O'Mara was second on her horse Sinatra in the 1.35 speed. Overall it was a great day, everyone's horses jumped well, and we all anticipated the following two days with the most important classes, the Nations Cup Saturday and the Grand Prix's on sunday.

Saturday:
The team was to show in the Nations Cup on Saturday night.  Our team consisted of Catherine Pasmore, Jessica Springsteen, Ricky Neal, and Reed Kessler.  Everyone rode really well.  There were a few unpredictable mistakes but everyone came back well from a possibly disappointing first round. After figuring drop scores, and everyone riding extremely well in the second round, we ended up second to Great Britain, a very competitive team.  We were all thrilled with this finish, and now we are ready to only get better from here next week.

Sunday:
This was Grand Prix day.  For the Juniors, I ended up second on Little Lady D'Elle.  I was first to jump off, which isn't the most desirable place to be in jumping off, but still there were only five in the jump off so I went for a clear, fast but not lightning speed time.  My horse jumped phenomenally, so I was very excited to be second.  Our streak of second places continued in the Young Rider Grand Prix for Catherine Pasmore.  Another great ride for her and her horse, with a fast jump off time and just one rail.  Jessica Springsteen ended up sixth, and Ricky Neal 8th.

Courses were difficult and well built at this show.  I was impressed by the quality of all the horses that showed, and the number of talented riders.  Everyone was competitive from every country.  It's been a long time since we have all shown against a completely new group of kids, from all over Europe, with spectacular horses and all different styles.  Some of the Belgian and British riders were truly impressive with their strength and precision.

Another really cool thing about showing here is that it's much more widely followed.  All kinds of people showed up daily, whether they knew someone showing or not, to watch the jumping.  It was like a sporting event almost, everyone had their meals and drinks out by the side of the ring and watched the horses... It actually got really busy!

Our horses are back at Henk Nooren's farm until Tuesday morning.  Today, Monday, the horses get their day off, hopefully able to turn out in the paddock and relax.  Tomorrow morning we will all ride together before the horses ship out to France!