Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Time flies

Wow, has it really been a month and a half since I posted?!?!  Ahh!  So sorry for my lack of promptness!!  There has been a lot going on here at Rocky Start.  Where to begin?


Bug has been on hiatus since Fairhill.  He got a few weeks of no work at all, and he is now back to work on the flat.  He is so thrilled to be doing so much dressage! haha  He will start back to jumping this week, which I'm sure, will make his life worth living again.  haha

Renn had his big move up to Preliminary at Virginia the end of October.  Bonnie and I had been schooling him hard, and we were sure that he was ready.  I decided to do the Gambler's Choice jumper class with him the Friday evening before the show.  See the video above!  He was a superstar in the big colesium, and he even jumped the bogey fence at the end, a huge airy vertical with no ground line.  Renn was pretty full of himself for his dressage test the next morning.  Due to snow on the ground, they pushed XC back and we had to wait around all day to go.  The course wasa pretty good move up, however, Fence 8 abc was a very tough coffin in the back of the course.  The B element was the ditch off of a 90 degree turn.  The ditch was also hiding behind some tree limbs.  Renn thought he was going until the last minute, and unfortunately, I trusted him a bit too much.  He slammed on the brakes at the last minute, and I kept going.  Air vest deployed.  End of the show for us.  It was unfortunate, as I believe that if I could have represented, I would have gotten him over it.  We will work hard this winter to be sure that his confidence is back, and he's ready to go.  He'll do some Trainings in the early spring to see where he is before we decide to move him back up. 
Also, on the Renn front, I am offering a discount on stud fees for 2012 if you book before Jan 15.  Contact me for more information!  Check out the video of Renn in a lesson with Bonnie.


We have some new horses here at RSS as well.  I think I may have talked about them before, but I have more information on them now.
1.  Rosarita: 2005 Hanoverian mare by Rolling Stone (who is by the great Rubenstein I) and out of MS Amelia.  She is 16.2 hands and liver chestnut with a star and 4 socks.  She has a puppy dog personality, and she is very athletic and willing.  She was started late as a 5 year old then left for a year, so for her age, she's pretty green.  However, she is coming along quickly.  See the video below of her in a lesson with Bonnie.  It was the first time she'd ever done any grid or real polework.  I believe she will make an excellent young rider or adult amateur's horse.


2.  Whitfield:  2005 Hanoverian gelding by Wildcard.  He is 17 hands and bay with a star and 3 socks.  As with Rosarita, he was started late and then left for a year.  He is a sweet boy, but he is very sensitive.  He needs an experienced rider with patience.  He loves to hack out, and I am thinking that he may be best as a foxhunter.  We will see.  See the video below.  It is also from a lesson with Bonnie and was his first time doing grid and real polework.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMYaCLAMaoE&feature=related

3.  Fame de Bromont:  2002 Oldenburg mare by Walldorf.  She is a 16.1 hand liver chestnut with a blaze and high socks.  Fame was well trained then had an injury that put her out of work for awhile.  She is just coming back into work.  More information to come as she progresses into work.

In other news, I have decided to donate 5% of my income from lessons and training from Dec 5 thru Dec 31 to Cabin Creek TB Rescue.  In light of the new Horse Slaughter Bill being passed, I have decided that, even though I am financially strapped, I would like to try to help the rescues who are keeping as many horses out of the slaughter houses as they can.  I got my lovely Ellie Mae from Cabin Creek, and I plan to get as many as I can from there in the future.  There's nothing like an OTTB!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and remembered to be thankful for everything that they have.  I am very thankful to God for all that He has blessed me with.  Even when times are tight, I know that I still have it a lot better than many others.

Thanks for reading!!  Heels down, kick on!