6/30/11: Pictures from Spruce!

Frances and Merlin after winning the meter 1.40 $15,000 Birchcliff Energy Barrage during the third week of Spruce.

Frances and Merlin in the prize giving ceremony. Every ceremony takes at least 15 minutes! Sometimes armed cavalrymen from the Royal Canadian Guard ride in the victory gallop carrying bayonets... The horses don't usually appreciate that very much!

Frances standing at the in-gate to the Meadows on the Green ring with Peter Leone.

Lucy and I getting our picture taken after winning the meter 1.30 Jayman Masterbuilt Barrage during the Skyliner Tournament.

Lucy getting her red ribbon!

Yogi in the grand stands at the International Ring.

Frances and I standing in our rain pants in the International Ring sizing up the meter 1.60 Grand Prix course!

6/25/11: Spruce Life.

As usual, life at Spruce Meadows is a continual cycle of work hard, party harder! Frances and I had a good first two weeks competing in the National and Continental tournaments. Today I am competing in the Final Four competition of the meter 1.40 division. The third week of Spruce is called the Skyliner Tournament and consists of meter 1.10-1.40 Junior/Amateur team and individual classes modeled after the World Equestrian Games. My meter 1.40 team, which is comprised of me, Frances, Reed Kessler, and Meagan Nusz, was second for the second year running in the team class. We were SO frustrated because we entered the second round in the lead and had some bad luck, including Reed's horse Flight pulling a shoe while on course, that dropped us to second place. Last year Frances had a jump blow down as she was approaching it during the second round and chaos ensued, so we're beginning to think we're doomed to bad luck in this nation's cup every year! Nepal has been jumping great all week and today we are competing alongside Caitlin Ziegler and her horse Touch Down; Lydia Ulrich with Santos Utopia; and Sage Flynn with Hot Pants in the Final Four competition. In this class, the four riders rotate between the four horses and our combined scores on all four horses determine the winning rider. There is also a top horse prize for the horse that has the fewest faults with all four riders. I'm very excited! All the horses are very talented and the riders are comparable, so it should be a very fun day. I'll let you know how it goes!

6/4/11: Winter in June... Welcome to Calgary!

After three full days of driving, we finally arrived in Calgary around 6:00 pm on Friday. The horses: Nepal; Lucy; Merlin; and Houston, and the people: Me; my parents; Frances; my brother, Alex; and the two grooms, Ramon and James all survived the journey. We looked a little rough getting out of the trucks because driving long distances has a weird way of making people look like they desperately need showers, but other than that we were no worse for wear. True to form, the weather was freezing and rainy while we unloaded the horses. Calgary has a nasty habit of having horrible weather issues, such as snow and sleet, in the middle of the summer. It's a big change for my family and I (as well as the horses, who are now feeling VERY fresh) after the 95 degree days we've had in Atlanta for the past month!

I also stayed true to Spruce Meadows style by going to Darby Arms, the small Irish pub near the horse show, the very first night we arrived. I got to see a few familiar Canadian faces, as well as some new ones. There are two Germans working for Spruce Meadows this year and I had a great time talking to them about Germany and the Pollmann-Schweckhorst family! The horse show world is surprisingly small.

Frances and I have been flatting the horses for the past few days and, although they're very wild, they seem to like it here. Lucy still finds the grounds a little intimidating. Spruce is famous for its elaborate awards ceremonies and the demonstrations it provides for the spectators' enjoyment. Yesterday, Lucy had her first run-in with a demonstration group when a giant carriage pulled by six draft horses drove by the schooling area several times while I was riding her. Although her eyes bugged out of her head a bit, she kept her cool and didn't take off or do anything crazy. I was very impressed by her relaxed attitude! I think she will feel at home here in no time.

Frances and I start showing on Wednesday! Houston and Lucy will start out in the meter 1.25 opens Wednesday morning, and Merlin and Nepal will have their first excursion into the International Ring on Thursday in the meter 1.45 open class. Hopefully all the horses will be ready to go! I am so excited to be back in Calgary and I can't wait to get started.

6/4/11: Pictures From Prepping for Spruce and the Endless Drive!

Yogi enjoying our new house in Calgary, and trying to stay warm in the Canadian "summer".

Frances and Karina Aziz socializing instead of working their horses.

The Pinetree Farms banner outside our barn!

The truck in the shop somewhere in No-Man's-Land, Montana just before crossing the Canadian boarder.

Getting the fuel filter changed in Big Red.

Driving down the highway in Montana. It was our own modern-day Oregon Trail adventure!

The horses sleeping in the trailer outside our hotel in Billings, Montana.

The liverpool in our jump field at home. We practiced lots of natural obstacles to get ready for the derbies at Spruce!

Me walking Nepal down a steep hill at the farm to practice for the long banks at Spruce.

Cliff built us a bicycle jump! It's the most challenging jump at Spruce. Last year I had it down in almost every class!

Frances jumping Merlin over a small fence at the bottom of the makeshift bank by the covered arena.