Orion, Orion, Orion - what a great horse! At Millbrook and Richland Park, I purposefully kept him under wraps. At those two events I focused on practicing in the dressage arena, going a bit slowly around the cross-country, and show jumping carefully yet quickly. The result was that at Plantation I had a relaxed horse in the dressage, a nearly spot on horse in the show jumping and a perfect horse cross-country. And it’s not very often we get to say that about a cross-country round. It was good enough for 3rd in the Advanced and a win in the Area 2 Championships.
With help from Jules and Libby Anderson my dressage with Orion continues to improve. Their efforts showed in the ring on Friday in the form of a better quality trot and canter, though the medium and extended gaits aren’t there yet. In reality, the entire picture won’t be in place by the time Fair Hill rolls around, but hopefully I’ll still be able to have the same relaxation in what is sure to be a more electric atmosphere. Going into the show jumping I knew that not only were poles coming down, but that the time was hard to make. With that in mind I made the inside turn to the triple, which let me make the time, though did contribute to one rail down at the fence after the triple. And to be honest, on the cross-country Orion set the agenda. He made it clear from the first that he wasn’t interested in practicing, he wanted to gallop and jump. I didn’t argue and let him do just that, putting in the fastest time of the day.
And what about young Duelling Creeks Brew? He also showed the benefits of going to Millbrook and Richland Park. At those two outings Brew was a bit overwhelmed by everything around him — the tents, the crowds, and everything that goes along with a big event. But at Plantation he was right on his game, putting together his best three phases yet and finishing 6th. The coffin surprised him a little bit on cross-country, but everywhere else he was a perfect pleasure. And boy can he jump!
Hats off to Denis Glaccum for making the effort to raise the Plantation Field Horse Trials to a new level of success. Let’s hope he gets the support necessary to continue the trend. And a special congratulations to our summer working student Jody Romeo on her win at King Oak last week!
