NEWS
3/09/10
Welcome to the 2010 PHEventing season.
We headed south January 15th with ten horses. Myself, Autumn Schewiss, Lark Schewiss and Liz Lund, with Brook Schewiss flying in for the shows.
Ocala, Florida is beautiful and we all felt very lucky to be away from the snow and getting a head start on winter training.
HITS is on only five miles down the road so we were very fortunate to be able to get the showjumping cobwebs out before hitting the first event at Rocking Horse I!
Rocking Horse I went well, given the horses had been out of the snow two weeks! Liz Lund and Lady Hannah B were placed a very respectable 3rd in the IP. I gave Rich N Famous aka Rockstar a steady run at training, I was impressed at how mature he felt on the cross country. Lark Schewiss gave it her all in the Novice on Proximo. Brook Schewiss jumped a great double clear. No drama and everyone felt great about the events to follow.
Ocala II was two weeks later. Dressage day it poured with rain. Now when I say poured with rain, we are talking a Florida monsoon, and to add insult to injury it was cold!
Given the conditions, the best dressage tests were not being produced, but everyone handled the conditions wonderfully and surprisingly spirits were good!
The ground held up and there were solid performances by all. Autumn Schewiss, on her new horse, The Real Deal aka Moose, a striking Irish Sport Horse we had found down in Florida a week earlier. Autumn's goal is Young Riders so the pressure was on to get the two in a good partnership as quickly as possible. Congratulations to Autumn who rode Moose at training level and finished just out of the ribbons, not bad for only having had the horse a week!
Rockstar had yet another solid run at training level, bar nearly face planting in the dressage due to the conditions, dressage judge comment, "horse became very animated in the ring given the conditions!!!" Whoops- lesson learned! He was solid and confident jumping and felt really ready to move up, which was exciting. On a more amusing note, I hoped off Rockstar at the end of my cross country ride forgetting to unclip my air jacket, a bang went off and I blew up, not realizing what had happened I shouted 'I can't breath' thankfully Rockstar didn't spook and we were able to get me out of it! There goes my spare canister, it could get costly if I keep doing that!!
Lark Schewiss was riding Sneaky Pete in his first run of the season at Beginner Novice. Larky did a great job and definitely showed that she was ready to move up at the next show.
Brook Schewiss and the wonderful Limbit continued their success at Novice, yet again jumping a double clear just out of the ribbons.
There were two babies doing their first event at Ocala, Provda aka Eyore owned by the Schweiss' and Alyar owned by Emily Revire. I was riding Provda and Autumn was on Alyar. Not the best conditions for greenies who had never been to a show, let alone in a dressage arena! However, they both coped great and finished with very respectable scores. Provda and Alyar skipped around the cross country inside the time and each had a rail in stadium. Provda finished 6th and Alyar 10th, an excellent finish for both horses at their first event.
Next stop was Rocking Horse II for Autumn. Only their second event together but they already started to look like a team. Moose has a huge trot so its taken a little while for Autumn to get used to his gaits. She did a great test and jumped double clear in showjumping and cross county and finished 3rd.
Next stop prelim!!
Rocking Horse III was Autumn's first prelim with Moose and she did me proud. A qualifying score was her orders and this she did! A solid test that left her 6th in the JYOP, couple of rails showjumping and clear around the cross. I was very happy with her performance and she finished a very deserved 6th.
Rockstar made the step to prelim, I was so happy with my boy! Green in dressage, he has such huge gaits, trying to contain him in the small arena is going to take some work. I felt the jugde was tough on him score wise, but she said at the bottom of the sheet, 'when this guys gains confidence in the ring he will be amazing.' I can't argue with that!
Rocking Horse's showjumping ring is tough, its small and up to height. Rockstar jumped fabulous, he had three rails which totally suprised me because he was jumping out of his skin. Time for some homework in grids to make him a little sharper and I need to work on being more in the middle of him!
Cross country he was a machine, slow but that's what I wanted! I think I had a grin on my face the whole way around. For as little experience as he has had around the cross country, he feels like he has done it all his life. I'm very excited for his future :)
Liz Lund and Hannah B tackeled their first intermediate of the season, Liz did a solid test. An unfortunate miscommunication towards the end of the showjumping meant Liz fell and landed on her feet. Chin up, homework to be done and back again for the next show. That's what I love about this sport, if it was that easy we would all be Olympians!!
I rode Proximo for the Schweisses in the beginner novice. He was much better this weekend and very solid in all three phases to finish 3rd.
Larky moved up to novice with Sneaky Pete aka Pelaar. Pelarr isn't the easiest in dressage and Larky did a good job. They were both a little green in showjumping but made it through with a couple of rails. Cross country Larky rode her socks off and I was thrilled with her first clear round at novice, congratulations Larky.
We welcome Limerick to the PHEventing team, Larky's new mount. Limerick is a 15.2hh Connemara who has shown through prelim. Larky debuts with him at Rocking Horse Spring which is our next pit stop before heading home.
PHEventing also has another member added to the family-Barney (not sure were keeping it as his name yet). A 3yr old boxer, I got him from the humane society as a friend for Piggy, look for pictures coming soon!
12/01/09
PHEventing is making preparations to head South to Ocala, Florida this winter. PHEventing will resume training and lessons while located temporarily in Ocala from January 15th-March 15th. For more information on training and lessons please contact Philippa directly at philippa@pheventing.com.
10/26/09
Congrats to Philippa who is now a USEA ICP Level II certified instructor!
10/02/09
PHeventing headed for a wet week weekend in Kentucky. I was riding Sue Slocum's stallion Prince Halory in the training division. The rain poured the morning of dressage, Prince didn't really feel on his game and I don't blame him! His trot work was nice but he was behind my leg in the canter! He scored a 40-not great but he was there to get training miles and not be competitive. Show Jumping was early afternoon, the rain hadn't stopped all day and the arena was like a swimming pool! Prince was green in there, but tried, he wasn't so sure about the footing, jumping some things wonderfully and others being stuck off the ground. He had two rails, I was happy enough, Prince needs more exposure in the SJ ring and keeping his canter together is a work in progress!
XC was Sunday morning, it had stopped raining and we were all amazed at how well the footing had held up. Prince jumped a slow but clear round, he felt great on the course and I was very happy with his performance.
Student Courtney Ainsworth was back in the tack on her lovely Irish horse, Skyz The Limit. Courtney did a nice test, the trot work was lovely, but they got a little tight in the canter. XC was meant to be Saturday, but with all the rain it was postponed until Sunday. On Sunday morning we found a tiny puncture wound by Will's girth area that swelled up so she was unable to compete-it just hasn't been her year, winter training begins and she will be back to show next season.
None the less we had a fun weekend with Jill Mooney and Erin Miller, Congratulations to Erin who completed her first Preliminary! By the way the new Coliseum at the horse park is amazing...however no dogs allowed, which we discovered after walking around for about an hour with two of them, the funny thing was no-one said a word.
9/18/09
PH eventing headed to Lamplight for the American Eventing Championships this weekend and what a weekend it was.
We left Wednesday afternoon, unfortunately without Rockstar who had managed to fall in the field and make himself sore, he is totally fine but I decided he would be better not to run.
So, Skyz The Limit owned by Courtney Ainsworth, Prince Halory owned by Sue Slocum, Amirra owned & ridden by Audrey Blodger and Black Tie Affair owned & ridden by Shelby Strah all headed down to the beautiful Lamplight Equestrian Center to contest in the 2009 American Eventing Championships.
First up was Skyz The Limit aka Wil. It was decided I would ride Wil in the Preliminary Horse division as he has been off most of the season with unbalanced feet. Wil came to me on Saturday for some last minute training before leaving for Lamplight on the Wednesday. Wil is a horse I think very highly of and I was thrilled to have the ride on him. He is a very talented dressage horse but doesn't always try his hardest in this phase. I knew he could produce a competitive test if his brain was in the right frame of mind. Luckily for me it was, and I had the best ride on him I had ever had, there were some real 'wow' moments and I teared up on the final halt salute. Wil scored an impressive 31.3 which at the end of the day when 39 horses had been shown, he sat a very respectable 6th.
I walked the XC with Courtney, it was pretty technical-a nice course but it was defiantly going to be the toughest track Wil had ever tackled so I would have to be on my game. Wil has actually only done five preliminaries total, none this year and the last time I rode him was his first preliminary in July 2007...EEK!!! However, Wil is a wonderful jumper, so I knew if I rode him correctly he had the potential to make it look and feel easy. It had been decided back at the PH Eventing camp that I was going to 'go for it'. This we dually did-Wil was exceptional, he ate up the track and we came home 2 seconds under time. This double clear round moved us up to 4th place and there was less than a rail separating the top five for showjumping.
Saturday was showjumping day, I walked the course and everything looked good, time wasn't tight so I felt pretty comfortable that we could jump a clear round. Wil put in the perfect double clear and finished 2nd in the Preliminary Horse division.
I want to say a huge thank you to Courtney for the wonderful ride on Wil, not only is Courtney a fantastic client but a close friend who is so supportive in everything I do.
Congratulations to Liz Lund and Lady Hannah B who finished 10th in the competitive Preliminary Horse Division with a solid double clear.
I was also riding Prince Halory for Sue Slocum. Prince is a lovely 6yr old TB stallion who came to me two weeks ago for training. Prince did a 39 in dressage, I thought his test was much better than what I was given, however when I got the test sheet I was given a 9 and Prince a 5, so I guess the judge liked me but not him!! Interesting!! Prince has the movement and mind to produce a very nice test so I'm excited for his future.
Prince made the Novice course look and feel easy, he was ten seconds under time which left him in 14th over night.
Prince has had some issues with his showjumping in the past so I wanted to make sure he had a confident round. He had 1 unfortunate rail which dropped him to 16th overall out of 40 combinations. I was very happy with his performance and I look forward to moving him up to training level
Congratulations to Shelby Strah and Black Tie affair who finished on their dressage score of 32.1 with two foot perfect XC and SJ rounds to finish 4th in the junior training division out of 25 riders.
Congratulations to Audrey Blodger and Amirra. Audrey produced her best dressage score to date to sit 4th out of 52 horses and riders on a 30.0. Audrey jumped double clear on the XC which moved her up a slot to 3rd. It was tight at the top for showjumping day, there wasn't a rail between the top seven riders. Amirra is not the easiest to show jump and Audrey dropped a costly rail. Still, a wonderful result for Audrey and she finished 7th overall in the Junior Novice division.
PHeventing heads to Jumpstart in Kentucky next.
9/4/09
PHeventing headed to Richland Park this weekend. This is our favorite event of the season, being local turf, it was going to be a fun one!!
I just had the one ride this year which was really nice, Rich N Famous, in the Open Training. Much to my delight Rockstar produced his best test at training level to sit 5th in a competitive division. Rockstar showjumped well, we had a rail at the second part of the combination which was totally my fault.
Cross country he was his usual bold self. I had changed his bit since his last run and it worked really well, he put in a solid clear round with just a few time penalties and finished 6th overall. I love riding him xc and I'm really excited for the future.
Congratulations to all the PHeventing students who ran so well.
PHeventing now heads to the AEC's at lamplight.
8/10/09
PHeventing headed to Hunters Run Farm, in Michigan this weekend. The ground was a concern because it had been so dry, little did we know that was going to be the least of our concerns.
Dressage was on Friday, it was perfect weather, 70 degrees and sunny. I was up first on Sarah Chiazza's horse Prince Charming, aka Oliver. Oliver is always a fresh ride in the dressage so I wanted to make sure I had enough warm up time. Oliver warmed up wonderfully, in fact he was all business so by the time I went in to perform my test he was tired. Having said that, I was happy with him. He scored a 39 which I thought was a little tough.
Rockstar was up next, he warmed up well and seemed much more relaxed. He did a nice test and was on the aids, I was happy. He scored a 36, again the score wasn't as good as I thought but I really feel Rockstar needs the winter to really establish his dressage base.
Student Lucy Drinkwater was in the preliminary champs. Lucy has been working hard on her dressage and although the score didn't reflect this, I was happy with her test.
Audrey Blodger and Catlin Edwards were in the novice rider division. Both performed steady consistent tests. The scores were high, but that seemed to be the way for everyone.
The weather forecast, had scheduled rain for Friday night which would have been perfect for the cross country footing. Dave and Sue Emmons had done a wonderful job air rating the footing and the xc looked wonderful at all levels.
To our disappointment, it didn't rain on Friday night. However, it proceeded to start to rain at 7.30 am and didn't stop until later Saturday evening. The intermediate ran the xc, however it was slick and I wasn't sure I wanted Lucy to head out. We must have had 5 inches of rain on Saturday.
Our horses were stabled in an end row. With all the rain and being on lower ground our stalls slowly started to flood. Acting quickly, I went to the secretary and asked if there was somewhere we could move to. Everyone was very helpful and we ended up walking the horses in the pouring rain a mile down the road at Carol Leys lovely barn. We were so thankful for Carol taking us in! The horses settled in well and we were actually lucky to be able to exercise them in her indoor!
The xc and sj was postponed until Sunday. We were all hoping that it had stopped raining for the weekend. The footing was perfect and we were all excited to ride.
I woke up at midnight to what I thought was a tornado!! I was so thankful our crew of horses were not in the temporary stalls, Rockstar especially, hates the temporary stalls and would have definitely had a melt down. Knowing the horses were safe, I was a little concerned for my own safety, having an aluminum trailer hit by lightening would not have been good. I didn't sleep well at all, the thunder and lightening was thrashing and it was pouring with rain. I knew unfortunately we wouldn't be running.
Sure enough, Sunday am we were left with a total wash out. Sadly, but very sensibly the event was cancelled. We now had the task of getting out of the show grounds and the even bigger task of getting to the horses!!!
The gravel roads had flooded to the point we couldn't drive the trucks through the Mini river!! Carol Ley again saved the day. After the boys at Hunters Run towed us off the grounds, Carol gave us a back road route to get to the horses!
I just want to say a huge thank you to the whole Hunters Run crew, they handled everything amazingly. It was unfortunate that we didn't run, but. The safety for the horses and riders was much more important. There is always another event.
Pheventing heads to Richland Park next and were hoping the weather co operates!
8/2/09
Pre-Richland 2 day jump clinic, August 15th and 16th
Day 1- Group Grid work @ Ford Creek Farm, Lowell
Day 2- Stadium Course work and XC schooling at Shoeman Family Farm, Haslett.
Beginner Novice through Intermediate.
$195 per person which includes all trailer in and XC fee's.
Anyone who isn't going to ride at Richland is still invited! We will also have a beginner novice group.
Please Contact Philippa if you are interested
616-304-2076
philippa@pheventing.com
www.pheventing.com
7/28/09
Philippa is coming to Brook Schweiss' farm in Hector, MN August 10-12. To arrange a lesson contact Philippa at richards_philippa@yahoo.co.uk or contact Brook at brook@bifold.com
Lessons can be in dressage, cross country or show jumping.
The trailer in fee is $15.00, day stall $15.00 and overnight stall $25.00.
Lesson pricing is: $50.00 for a group and $80.00 for a private.
7/23/09
PHEventing now has openings for competition horses. Philippa has successfully trained horses from the ground up to the Advanced level. Please contact her for more information. Click HERE to contact Philippa.
7/22/09
Sarah Hughes' and her horses, For the Top, Atticus, Grey Expectations & Viraldi have left PHEventing. We wish her and her horses the best of luck down the road.
7/20/09
PHEventing headed to Cobblestone HT in Michigan at the arrival of the weekend.
As I write this I have very mixed emotions about the weekend. Student, Sarah Chiazza, produced her best test ever in the dressage. Sarah and Prince Charming aka Oliver have struggled in the dressage and finally after a ton of hard work Sarah broke into the 30's, I was thrilled for Sarah. Sarah and Oliver jumped a lovely clear round cross county which left them in 5th place over night. Unfortunately stadium didn't go as planned and Sarah had a freak fall, when Oliver nipped out at fence 5, thankfully Sarah only had a mild concussion and is fine. Sarah works so hard and I was so upset that her weekend ended up this way. Sarah more determined than ever will be back competing at Richland. Oliver will have a little stadium training with Aunt Philly in the meantime!!
Rockstar produced an average test and jumped a slow but very disciplined double clear round. Rockstar has reached adolescence and believes he now knows more about eventing than me!! I am all about producing a horse so his next couple of events are going to be all about Rockstar behaving and producing quality rounds and not being competitive.
Congratulations to Catlin Edwards who finished 8th on her new partner Spook in the Junior Novice division.
Two weekends off and pheventing then heads to Hunters Run HT.
7/13/09
Thursday July 9th PHEventing headed to Maui Jim Horse Trials in St. Charles, Illinois, with For The Top in the CIC2* and Grey Expectations in the CIC1*. The formal inspection was at 5pm and both horses trotted up beautifully and passed the jog with flying colors!!
Goose's dressage was at 11am on Friday morning. It seems to always rain when I do dressage on Goose and Maui was no different, the heavens opened when I got on, we warmed up alone in one of the bottom arenas in a thunder storm! Goose was actually feeling pretty good, dressage doesn't come naturally to him but I feel we are starting to figure things out! Goose did a nice and consisitent test, whinnying all the way through! I was soaking wet and needed a full change of clothes afterwards. I must admit when I heard my score I was shocked, 52 and 3rd!! Good boy Goose!!
The CIC* was a decent track, much bigger than anything we had tackled as a team. He was excellent! I couldn't have asked for a nicer, straighter ride. We were a little slow which dropped us in the placings but my main goal was a clear and that we did!!
Goose and I have an excellent showjumping record so I felt confident going into the last phase. As usual Goose jumped very well to secure a clear round and a 6th place finish, a great result!!!
For the Top stepped up to CIC** level, Alfie has only done three intermediates so this was a big weekend for him!!
As usual Alfie did a solid test, warm up was pure mush from the heavy rain earlier in the day so it was hard to get anything productive done. Alfie did a 51 which sat him in 4th after dressage which I was very happy about in a competitve division.
I walked the cross country and realized the track was going to be challenging, mainly the two water complexes, (some of you may not know that Alfie came to me with a major water issue) I knew I would have to ride my socks off!! To be fair to Alfie he was phenominal around the cross, he gives me an amazing feel over a fence because he is so scopey! The first water was causing issues, before I left the box only two horses had made it back through the finish!! Alfie started out great, we headed to the 'bogy' fence, the first water at fence 8. A coop on top of a mound dropped us into the water on a bending line to an in and out of triple brush boxes. Alfie jumped very bold into the water, he just didn't eye the first triple brush and ran out left, I represented and with some enocouragement from me he jumped out HUGE!! The rest of the course he jumped excellent and with a lot of confidence. At the last water he was amazing, held his line to the box skinny coming out, however, he did try and bank it-luckily I sat tight and we were fine, home and dry!!
Showjumping on Sunday was late morning, there were only nine of us left in the two star. Alfie jumped his socks off with a faboulos clear round. It was the nicest round he has ever done, somehow I managed to rack up nine time penalties. I was enjoying the round so much I didn't even think about time, but it didn't matter, Alfie held on to his 7th place. A very good result for his first CIC**
Congratulations to students Liz Lund who comepeted in her first Intemediate to finish 12th out of 35 starters and Lucy Drinkwater who finished 12th in the JYOP!
7/5/09
Goose and Rockstar traveled to South Farm, Ohio to run in the OP and OT. Goose was having a prep run before the Maui 1 star. His dressage was a little tense and he scored a 42 which I thought was a touch harsh, but it was Sally O Conner judging! I had a very nice, steady cross country ride on him, each time he goes out he feels better and better. On Sunday he jumped yet another clear round showjumping to finish 9th. I now feel confident heading to Maui CIC*
Rockstar did a green but solid test in front of Sally O Conner. He was feeling very bold cross country, jumping clear and inside the time. Rockstar was sat 3rd going into showjumping. South Farm has atmosphere and all weekend Rockstar had been wanting to 'explode'...he decided to do it in the showjumping much to the amusement of the crowd. When he trotted in the arena and saw all the people looking at what he thought was him, he grew four inches and acted like a naughty school boy. Although he jumped a clear round, we didn't need the bucking in the middle!!! Unfortunately he racked up five time penalties and finished 7th!!
Congratulations to student Shelby Strah and her lovely TB gelding Black Tie Affair. They won the OTB division from start to finish with a very respectable 31 double clear!
PHeventing heads to Maui Jim next.
6/22/09
PHEventing traveled to Pennsylvania for a wet weekend at Lost Hounds Horse Trials!
The Novice division ran all three phases on Saturday so student Audrey Blodger was busy. Audrey performed a lovely test in the pouring rain to finish at the top of the pack with her best dressage score to date of 30! Given the weather conditions the organizers of Lost Hounds did a great job. The showjumping was on grass, Audrey had an unfortunate two rails. The speed on the XC was sensibly made slower, Audrey jumped a great clear round and finished 2nd overall. Another great result for Audrey and Amirra, Congratulations!!
The training, preliminary and intermediate dressage ran on Saturday. With afternoon times myself, Lucy Drinkwater and Susan Prorak we were lucky enough to stay dry. The warm up area was very wet so not hugely productive, Rich N Famous aka Rockstar was doing his third training level event. Rockstar performed a steady and accurate test to sit 2nd in a competitive training division on a 36.
Student Susan Prorak was doing her second training level of the season. Susan did a nice test to put her in 9th after the dressage on a 42. Ella struggled in the wet footing, so her test wasn't as solid as usual.
Lucy Drinkwater was tackling her second preliminary on the lovely Garryowen. Lucy produced a accurate and soft test. Much to Lucy's surprise she sat in the lead in the OP with a very respectable 31.5
Sarah Hughes 'For The Top' aka Alfie was contesting in his third intermediate. Our test wasn't as fluid as it can be, but as usual Alfie was solid all the way through. And although I know we can both do better, I'll take a 32.1 and 2nd place after dressage!!!
The footing on Sunday AM was questionable, but the organizers of Lost Hounds did everything possible to allow the event to run. I was lucky enough to be the first one out on the intermediate track. For safety reasons the XC speed was lowered to preliminary speed. Alfie was great, he coped with the conditions and jumped a confident clear round, racking up just 6.8 time penalties.
Lucy Drinkwater and Garryowen jumped double clear, around a decent preliminary. Much to Rockstars disappointment, who then proceeded to squeal and buck in his stall, myself and Susan decided to withdraw the training horses. I felt these two relatively inexperienced training horses didn't need to run on questionable footing.
Showjumping was on the grass at noon. The footing had held up well, and a decent track had been set. We ran in reverse order which meat Alfie was second to last in. The SJ time was really tight. I watched a lot horses go who looked like they were covering the ground but were racking up time penalties. Alfie and I in the past have had issues with time, because I try and ride him too accurately. I knew I couldn't do that on this track, so tactics in the warm up changed!! I decided I need to 'go for it' riding a tight track and not to 'pick'. Alfie, as usual was jumping out of his skin. I rode overly aggressive in the five stride bending line and we tipped it in front, the rest of the course was lovely, we only got one time penalty and he finished a very respectable 2nd in his third intermediate. Alfie now heads to Maui to contend in his first two star!
Lucy and Garryowen had an unlucky two rails in the open preliminary division which dropped them to second. An excellent result for Lucy who was riding only her second preliminary. Lucy also won the award for the highest place young rider in the OP division.
Congratulations on another wet but successful weekend!!
PHEventing now heads to Encore Horse Trials with students and then South Farm Horse Trials with the preliminary boys and Rockstar.
6/1/09
Following the disappointment of not being able to go to Otter Creek because Alfie (For the Top) got stung by a bee and came out in Heaves, PHeventing headed to Indiana Horse Trials. We were lucky enough to get Alfie a late entry into the IP, and the weekend did not disappoint.
Alfie led the dressage with a solid test, jumped a super quick round cross country which left him in the lead over night. He jumped a fabulous stadium round, having 1 rail which was totally my fault and he won the IP division!
It was Atticus's weekend! He always tries so hard and we never seem to be able to get it together in all three phases. His dressage was lovely! We felt he was scored a little tough but needless to say I was happy and he sat 5th. He even got a 9 for his halt, and we have the picture to prove it!!!
Atty was his usual enthusiastic self across country and skipped around dead on the optimum time, which put us into the lead!
Stadium has always been our down fall at preliminary. He isn't easy but I was feeling a little more optimistic because he had jumped clear at Dayton two weeks previous. Without a rail in hand the pressure was on to get the job done! He was jumping out of his skin- At the second to last fence, I did everything wrong and how we didn't hit the fence I don't know! Atty tried his little heart out and jumped a fabulous clear round to win the OP!
Grey Expectations scored his best result at the preliminary level. His dressage is improving and put in solid test to sit 8th. Goose was a different horse XC and I feel very optimistic about his future. He is a horse I really enjoy showjumping, sitting 4th going into the show jumping I felt confident we could jump a clear round and put pressure on the two above me (also giving me a little breathing space if Atty didn't jump clear). He jumped a lovely clear round and took second honors behind his stable mate Atticus!
Rich N Famous tackled his second training level. Rockstar's dressage was at 7am on Saturday morning which was a shock to both systems! He just didn't settle in warm up and didn't produce his usual solid test, which was fine, as he is still green at this level.
I had a great cross country ride on him, he actually started to feel like he knew what was going on! We had an interesting moment at the water jump-much to the amusement of the spectators- I think he thought he needed to jump the whole pond. It was a log drop in, instead of popping in we took off about 5 feet into the air-luckily I was ready for him and we landed just fine and jumped the bank out. Poor guy, he is to bold for his own good! I was thrilled with his stadium round, he listened and jumped very well to put in a tidy clear round and moved into the ribbons to finish 8th!
Students Shelby Strah and Black Tie Affair jumped a determined double clear in her first run of the season to finish 6th in the TR.
Lucy Drinkwater and Garryowen tackled their first preliminary, jumping a lovely double clear to finish a very respectable 5th in the OP.
Amy Vandewood and Call To Assembly posted a successful first run of the season in the OBN to finish just out of the ribbons.
All in all a wonderful weekend. I am thrilled for Sarah Hughes, she is so supportive and it's nice when all the horses put in solid performances and finish in the top slots!!
5/19/09
Another successful weekend for PHEventing. Atticus scored his best placing in a competitive preliminary class to finish 4th. Grey Expectations had a successful run at his first prelim under Philippa to finish 6th. The up and coming Rich N' Famous made the step to training level look easy, finishing 7th.
Student Audrey Blodger scored her best result at an USEA event to finish 2nd in the novice rider division. Sarah Chiazza and Prince Charming jumped a lovely double clear to finish 13th in the novice rider. Lucy Drinkwater and her new horse Garryowen, rode under Philippa this weekend and won the training rider division.
A fun and successful weekend!!!
Philippa heads to Otter Creek this week with Sarah Hughes' For The Top, to tackle his first CIC**.
5/3/09
Sarah Hughes's three horses had a long trip to Virginia. For The Top continued his consitant start to the season jumping clean around the Intermediate at Loudoun. Atticus had a good run at his first prelim of the year, the 90 degree heat was a shock to all systems but they all recooperated very well. The new horse, Grey Expectations, performed a beautiful test and a double clear in the jumping to finish in 2nd palce. He is heading off to Greater Dayton to run his first Prelim under Philippa.
4/6/09
What a great start to the 2009 show season. Sarah Hughes' For the Top takes first place in the Open Preliminary division at Spring Bay Horse Trials in Lexington, Kentucky.
Philippa's other mounts, Atticus took 2nd in the Open Training, Grey Expectations took 9th in the Open Training and Rockstar took 2nd in the Novice Horse divisions. They all had a great run for the first show of the season.
Philippa was awarded the Outstanding Coach award due to her dedication and talent in training horses and coaching her students.
Student's Courtney Ainsworth and Skyz the Limit took 7th in the Open Training, Liz Lund and Lady Hannah B took 6th in the Open Preliminary and Audrey Bloger and Amirra had a great learning experience.
PHEventing is looking forward to a fun and eventful show season!
3/10/09
XC Schooling Dates:
April 18th at Hunter's Run
3/09/09
Philippa is excited to announce the newest addition to the PHEventing team "Grey Expectations" aka Goose. Congratulations and Thank You to Sarah Hughes for this wonderful and exciting new ride. Goose will debut at Spring Bay Horse Trials at the KY Horse Park in April.
2/20/09
Philippa has been accepted as a member of the American Horse Trials Foundation. For more information please visit www.ahtf3day.org.
12/15/08
Philippa has vaccancies for new training rides in 2009. Contact Philippa to have her train and compete your horses.
12/02/08
A big thank you to Sarah Raby, former groom, who is leaving the PHEventing team.
11/21/08
In loving memory of I'd Be Delighted
"May you continue your eventing career in heaven...such a talent"
Dedicated to the sweetest, bravest and strongest horse we all had the pleasure of knowing.
Love, PHEventing, xoxo
10/20/08:
Under the hands of talented rider, Robin Walker, For the Top placed 5th in the CCI* and Atticus placed 8th in the Open Preliminary at Midsouth in Kentucky. Philly would like to send a big thanks to Robin for his support and a big thank you to all of her clients for their overwhelming support. Philly is well on her way to recovery.
10/13/08:
Philly had a freak accident at the farm and is unable to ride at Midsouth this up-coming weekend.
10/01/08:
Philippa is awarded the USEA Area VIII Grant.
7/30/08:
Check out videos on youtube at:
7/24/08:
Check out an article about Philippa on USEA's blog website, written by Liz Lund.
7/20/08:
PHEVENTING.COM is up and running!
