We could not have asked for better weather and better company the weekend of the Oct 16 for the Michael Pollard Clinic because Sammy attended with me on Willow. This was Sammy and Willow's first experience Cross Country and the fourth time for Rue and I. We learned so much and Mr Pollard is an excellent instructor. So. Much. Fun! We will be back.
Michael Pollard schooling Cerulean Nightlife in dressage.
We are lucky enough to have qualifying show for the Young Horse Show Series here in Georgia. We took Breeland, our two year old, to the show and Ben Barnes, who purchased our filly Remi, brought her as well. Both fillies were calm, obedient and insightful learning about the jump chute. Bree came in second place out of 10 entries and scored 9's on several techniques. Sadly, we will be unable to attend the Finals in Tryon in November but we will be back with three year olds for next year!
Rue and I had the privilege of working with Grand Prix rider, Tom Foley. Introduced to us by Ronda Stavisky, Tom helped us gain confidence in show jumping by introducing us to the liver pool and teaching us better turns and adjustability to the jump. Coincidently, Tom is from Ireland so he and Rue had that in common! We really enjoyed working with Tom and will hopefully be able to join him at shows in the future.
Lesson with Tom Foley
We spent the weekend at Big Bear, Pine Mountain, GA working with Olympian Kyle Carter in Show Jumping and on Cross Country. This was our third time to set foot on a Cross Country course and I am proud to say that I overcame my fear of banks thanks to Rue and Kyle's coaching. We had a fantastic time at this challenging and extensive clinic.
We are so happy for River that he found his forever home with Jackie Yates. He will grow up with Jackie's two retired geldings and then start his training for eventing in a few years. Jackie trains with Meg Morgan of Simply Southern Eventing.
Hannah Hollis has been riding and helping out at SLSH so she already felt part of the family. Riese is her Graduation present from her family. She will grow up while Hannah is in college and will be ready to show when she is graduates. Look for updates with Hannah with all the SLSH babies in the years to come.
We are so proud and flattered that Ronda Stavisky of Rising Star Farm has accepted Rue as one of her guest stallions and will represent him for 2021. Dr. Stavisky holds a PhD in Reproductive Biology from Emory University and currently stands some of the best jumping stallions in North America, if not the world. Their Olympic pedigree's and proven and impressive show records are awe inspiring. This December, Rue demonstrated his abilities and movement for Dr. Stavisky, both at liberty and through the jump chute at her farm in Silver Creek, GA. Rue will be standing at Rising Star this Spring and Dr .Stavisky will be handling all of his breeding contracts, collections, and shipments. We are beyond excited for this opportunity Rue has to offer his incredible pedigree, outstanding temperament and excellent conformation to more mares this upcoming year.
We did our first show at the impressive venue at Chatahoochee Hills in Fairburn, GA in September. Rue was third and fourth respectively in the show jumping phases. We also schooled Cross Country for the first time! I was so proud of Rue to be calm and cool at this very busy schooling show. There were many distractions, even loose horses, and Rue never batted an eye. He was so obedient and LOVED cross country. Now to get to work on my riding to get all of this together for 2021!
Sky was born June 11, 2020 and we were so surprised to find he had a blue eye. Genetically, his dam has an overo gene so even though we were hoping for a pinto, his markings are stunning. This colt is a full brother to Storeen.
A few weeks prior to Sky's arrival, we lost our beloved Rockett who has been part of our family for over 10 years. He was a Hanoverian cross that was an incredible jumper but his life was cut short by Cushings Disease and laminitis. Sky's big blaze reminds us of Rockett and his sky blue eye helped form his name. Sky is the limit for him for sure!
Krysten will be bringing Story along in upstate New York for eventing! We are so happy they have found each other and we are so grateful she is giving our boy a wonderful forever home. We wish them the best of luck in the future!
2020 has been a strange year so far. We have had an outstanding amount of rain this winter that has prevented any riding and with the virus outbreak, staying at home and social distancing, no trailering to outside venues. So when April decided be sunny and cooperate, we dusted off the tack and picked up where we left off this fall and got back into the saddle. The dryer, warmer weather is allowing us to get back in shape and for Rue to enjoy his favorite thing (besides cookies of course) ..... JUMPING!
It can be heart breaking separating the foals from their mothers, but everything is easier when they have friends. The mares went out with the rest of the herd, and the babies all were turned out together. After about a day, the calling to one another ceased and the foals played with each other and looked forward to mealtime. They will all start to learn the basics of grown-up horse life.
Day one was filled with grid-work and a challenging course with bending lines. Day two, we walked the course with Silvio to understand the track and how to plan our ride. The day ended with a Jump off between Silvio, Daniel, and Anna in a mock Grand Prix. Fun and educational to see how the course was to be ridden effectively by the pro's!
On Father's Day, we were remembering our dad and grandfather's. Sammy was home from college for the weekend and was able to see the birth of Bailey's foal at 10:30 pm that evening. It seemed fitting since it was a day of remembrance to name the filly, Reminiscence.
At Le Bonheur / Chatsworth Stud, Cerulean Nightlife experienced his first schooling show. He was such a good boy and jumped around the course with enthusiasm. The goal of the schooling show was to jump clear at the optimum time. He came in first place!
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