Special Event: Grand Prix Sow Jumping @ LAEC Nov. 14,09

Hello Dears,

If you have been reading my Tweets (linked) you may have noticed how I recently have been involved in the equestrian side of the world more often again. Mother is now riding (and teaching) at Enterprise Farms located at The Paddock Riding Club and have been tagging along since Saturday (day of show). On Saturday we were so nicely blessed with two tickets to the Grand Prix Show Jumping show at LAEC. Gates opened up at 18:00 and we got there maybe around 18:30. The weather was cold but when the excitement came I was to forget about me regret for not bringing another jacket and also the need for my bathroom break. It was an amazing show with riders and horses including Richard Spooner, 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist (along with US team) Will Simpson, and Michael Endicott.

As we were waitng for the Excitement to begin, I looked around at how people prepared for this show. Of course a horse show being a horse show, there were differenet concession tables outside, but only till I started to pay attention did I see that people also saved their money and brought bags from VONS, coolers filled with real ceramic plates, bottles of wine and glasses to go with. Then I started looking at the box/chair seats that were closer to the action, -I'm still quite thankful for the tickets in the first place- I noticed they brought huge food trays, filled with all sorts of lovely things to nibble and get fat on. The audience was a clash Kyra K. windbreakers and Burberry trenches, Ariat paddock boots and suede leather stilletos.

Must I not forget the cute little Ridinig for Reading Stick Horse Parade, and music that went on as we so patiently waited.

Cristallo and Richard Spooner were first in the ring, making a clear round with good time ( I so blatantly forgot to wite down the time). Richard Spooner basially set the pace for the show, and exciting the audience with many "oohs and ahhs" that came after each jump. There were other riders and horses, fences that fell, some that respectfully quit, and others that took up too much time. Around 20:00 the 'Class Leaders' were JO Tristan and Nicole Shahiniansenson, JO Archie Bunker and Will Simpson, JO Apache and Richard Spooner, JO Cristallo and Richard Spooner. In the end, my favorites from the first part before the JO were, of course, Richard Spooner, Will Simpson, Michael Endicott, and Nicole Shahiniansenson.

During the whole jump off, I was basically either/or for Richard Spooner and Will Simpson; but when Michael Endicott rode my mother and I wondered whether he would pull a bunny from his hat. Richard Spooner again came first with his horse Cristallo and again set the tone and excitement for the jump off. Then Nicole Shahiniansenson came and made on tiny mistake of being too slow with taking too wide a turn and went past 40 seconds! Archie Bunker and Will Simpson came afterwards and beat Richard Spooner's first score with 35.60 seconds. Annnnd then Richard Spooner came again with Apache, and for a slight second, I thought Will Simpson would win, which was fine, but to be honest, I did have a teeny more want for Richard Spooner to win than Will Simpson. However, Richard Spooner and Apache beat Will Simpson's score which beat Spooner's in the first place with 34.01 seconds. El Sueno's Quanto VL and Stephanie Saperstein came, and honestly, I really did not give a care for her, she left the ring with 38.20 seconds. The jump off ended with Flexible and Rich Fellers with a nice 34.36 seconds; however, he dropped a pole earning him 4 points and obviously not winning.

So the victory and $50,000 went to Apache and Richard Spooner! Yes, $50,000. I do love jumping...

It was a nice show with a victory I was happy with, a various crowd, and weather that in the end did turn out to be, well, freaking cold!

with love,

Rebekka

Lena W. 3-1-2009

So currently I am sick, really sick! Like as in I haven't been this sick in a long long time! 

But I just wanted to come on and talk a little about the Lena Wedenmark clinic at Libra Farms on Saturaday, January 3, 2009. It was wunderful as always. 

I took a lot two rolls of film with me, which of course means that I snapped a lot of photographs. 

So I will put them up when I get them, hopefully tomorrow. My mother is a sick as well, so I'm not going to rush her to go pick them up. 

I was already starting to get sick then, so I was feeling a bit ugh. But Libra Farms is a wunderful place, so it made things a bit better. =)) And I really mean that. If I were somewhere else that wasn't as peaceful, I would probably just have felt worse. 

All the beautiful horses, and nice people. It's truly a pleasant experience every time. I just hope I can soon find a horse so that I can ride with Ms. Lena again. 

Currently, I am watching 90210, which is sort of making me feel better at the moment. Only thing I still can't stand is Annie and her weird face contortions. Odd! 

Lena Clinic on Sat 25-10-2008

The Lena Wedenmark clinic was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; we only went on Saturday with my mum's boss. Surprisingly not, she fell in love with Ms. Lena. Who wouldn't? Everyone that audits her or rides with her falls in love with her. She's so clear, so nice, and thorough -yes, that's different than clear. But that's not what I am here to talk about. I just wanted to talk about Saturday.

At the Lena clinics, I love watching all the horses and riders as they work out their problems and get the clear answer(s). This time was no exception. A lot of the horses are just so gorgeous. Especially this one horse at maybe around 3:15 PM. He was a beautiful 6 yr. old of the Rubinstein lines. He was truly a "world-class horse" as Lena said it. And let me tell you, he was! Just superb movement, energy flow, and great engine in the back. Lovely head/face, nice neck with muscles, and an over all stunning body and confirmation. Ms. Leslee, mum, and I were all talking about how he reminded us of Fritz. We thought that this is an example of what Fritz might be like when he gets out of his "iffy, 3 yr. old stages." I didn't get a chance to write down the horse and riders name, but he was stunning, as well as the rider.

Like always, I loved watching Ms. Catherine ride, the energy of the place, and the park-like setting that the property holds. The weather was perfect, to die for. Complemented all the trees, ponds, and hills that the places holds. Everything is so calm there. I prefer places like Libra Farms (the name of the place) and Ms. Leslee's Caddo Horses rather than Noble or Stargate. On our way out, we were discussing this matter of how everything is calmer and more homey at these kinds of places.

We had a good time, Mishael behaved well for himself, and watching the horses and listening to Ms. Lena was fun as always. We arrived probably around 11 AM and left, I'd like to say, a little after 6 PM. Seems like the time there just flew by.

-with love Rebekka

Devinette

...and this horse is instantly worth a lot of money!

WOW! is all I can say. And no, not just any horse can jump tall, it takes skill. I have seen a lot of horses with nice jumping lines who couldn't even jump this high. video courtesy of nadiaetseb

-with love Rebekka

Sir Donnerhal

Sir Donnerhal was a great horse! The Hanoverian breeder my mum rides for has a brood mare who is double Donnerhal. She is very pretty and you can definitely tell she has Donnerhal just by looking at her. She is sweet on ground, but I have heard that they are very thickheaded when under saddle. One of the horses my mum is riding is bred out of that brood mare, and he is gorgeous! He has an attitude, but he is also very brilliant, and has Olympic potential.

-with love Rebekka