The weekend started off a little rocky. It rained very hard on Thursday night. We were lucky to be in permanent stabling because the temporary tents flooded and sagged with sitting water. Thanks to the Poplar Place crew who did a fabulous job cleaning up the driveways and courses so that the event ran as smooth as ever!And the rain didn't seem to bother the Redbud horses much, especially Warren who did a lot of snoozing on his Equine Lite Mats.
Tucker's dressage was quite a pleasant surprise. Often he is tight... explosive even. This weekend he put in a very competitive test to finish right with the others. Then it was on to the cross country which is truly his forte. He rocked around making it look easy with a only time penalties on the tightly wheeled course, and he recovered very well in the box thanks to our great team! Show jumping was equally beautiful. Just one rail at the very last fence. Despite his small stature, Tucker looked like one of the more capable horses in the CIC*. We were all very proud of Stephanie and Tucker for finishing fifth, though Tucker seemed perhaps a little disappointed as the photographer could not make him 'smile' for his pictures!Romeo was like an old pro even though it's only his third event. He put in a solid test on Friday and show jumped well Saturday, though perhaps a little quick for Reagan's taste. Sunday he was ready for action. Going out of the box we all thought, "He loves his new job!". He had a small hiccup at one fence early in the course, but was a rockstar everywhere else, including the water, which was the worry fence. Reagan is doing a wonderful job making the leap from the hunter ring to the eventing world. We know it's not always easy!
And what can we say about Warren except 'you win some, you loose some'. Though we know he is a very talented young star, it just wasn't his weekend!
