1st Blog!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well since this is the first blog for CBC Sporthorses I figure for now I'll just give you guys a preview at what my kids are doing as well as some other lucky ponies that I've been given the opportunity ride and enjoy!

DJ - my little Arabian with a total Napoleon complex...oh how I love him! He is a total alpha male so things have to be done on his terms. His third level work is coming along so well I just wish his darn flying changes weren't so lethal! We had a lesson with my trainer today (Cindy Hutchison of Locust Grove, VA) and she adores him almost as much as I do. He was so stellar in his lesson we were able to get amazing collected canter work with no explosions and some really nice canter half-pass without the over exuberant flying at the end. Goodness, we are just going to work our butts off over the winter and that Bronze Medal will be ours next year, I can feel it!

Buddy - the goofball...my poor black horse is so lovely to look at yet so aggravating to ride! I took him to a show last weekend in Lexington and it was his debut at second level. The first test of the weekend was a little rough. Needless to say, his mother was a little nervous and the scored reflected it. After some recollection of the nerves and repeatedly reviewing the first test on the camcorder, the second test was a 64%! Not bad, seeing as how he really started working on second level movements a couple weeks before the show. The last test was by far the best with a 66%!! I was elated! I come home and give him a couple days off to reward him for his stellar performance at the show. When I went back to ride him again, it was as if I had brought an entirely different horse home from Lexington. We had forgetten how to circle let alone bend or have flexion in any direction and god-forbid I ask for a walk-canter transition, that was just speaking Greek! This really is frustrating seeing as how he was so good the previous weekend, but I guess I just chalk it up to a bad day and keep on plugging along so next season he will knock every one's socks off!

Jo - my over sized teddy bear...the horse that holds such a special place in my heart because everyone said he couldn't do it! But after a GAIG/USDF Region 1 Reserve Championship and a CBLM Reserve Championship, I guess they believe in him now! With such a powerful presence he demands the attention of everyone around him. He is showing 2nd level now and working on his third. After a couple schooling shows this year, I know next year is going to be his year! It will be our first outing together as an Adult Amateur pair but I have a good feeling about it. We're also going to try our hand again at the musical freestyles without Jono's personal additions to the program...I'm thinking something with heavy drums :) Keep your fingers crossed!

And now for a bit on the one's that aren't mine but I get to play with them anyways!

Raad - the little stallion that could...when you hear the words Arabian stallion in the same sentence, high strung, hot and flighty come to mind. Well, this anything but what this guy is. He is by far one of the sweetest, calmest and most intelligent horses I have had the pleasure to work with. Although his start has been a rocky one, he definitely knows the basics. Between me and his owner we will have him going in the show ring confident and correctly in no time! I think big things are in store for this handsome man for 2010!

Tessa - slightly out-of-shape...I have known this mare since she was bought by her owner as a 3yr old. Now she is 10 and has been a mother, a trail horse, and the bang around. It is time for her to come back and the show the world just how wonderful she really is. Coming from the noble Andalusians and athletic Thoroughbreds, she was born to be in the show ring. After a couple months of conditioning we should have her back and running in tip top shape in no time! Look out show ring, here she comes!!!