Dressage@Devon 08 Diary

Tuesday, Sept. 23 DAD breed show
On this beautiful, cloudless day, I sat with my friend Dawn and watched some of the best young horses in the country pass before us. What a dream!

I like to watch horses that have some kind of connection to me, no matter how tenuous. Iknow a woman slightly who purchased a young horse in 2006, the same year I got Riley. She has a good eye, I think, and snatched up a yearling filly from a local breeder whose stallions are nationally known. The filly, Ruby, has been cleaning up at breed shows for two years -- last year and this year. Ruby came to Devon, and I was excited to see Ruby go. I attempted to videotape the triangle work, but whether the filly was just unsettled or the handlers didn't read her well, her run doesn't do her justice.


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With horses, you just never know, and that goes double for young horses. Based on Ruby's scores at other shows, she was definitely "a contender" for a top ribbon at Devon. In the video, you can see she's a quality girl, with a lovely walk. But in the trot around the triangle, she just never got into the rhythm with the handler, and when the assistant handler (in the middle) cracks the whip, it's all over. The few trot strides suggest her potential but judges have to score what they see.

Something similar happened at Dressage at Stone Tavern. Riley got a blue ribbon in his first class, which shocked me because one of the top two year olds in the country (a Sandro Hit son) was in the same class. In the second class, this horse was "back on top" with a super score, while Riley placed third. I can only guess that in the first class, the Sandro Hit son didn't show himself well -- through misbehavior, tension, whatever.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to videotape a filly named Showgirl, who scored an 87% on Tuesday -- that is the highest score I have ever seen. I missed seeing her Tuesday...