Old Ladies Day 2

There isn’t time to post much, with our big day tomorrow coming on quickly. Today was a day of many friends. The old lady contingent was enhanced by some young ladies and, of course, Harry and Weedy.

Bart and Derry spent the night out, then hopped into their trailers after breakfast and traveled to the National Equestrian Center at 7:30. The jumper ring started at 9 AM, but there were endless conflicts between rings, and our ring sat empty a lot. We were entertained, nonetheless, by a loyal gallery and eventually we showed in our one Low Adult Jumper class.

Kris had me go first on Derry today, and she produced a wonderful, double clear round to lead the class. That was, until Susan showed us all how it should really be done, and her double clear made for a clean sweep, winning all three Low Adult classes for the Championship. Bart was also very good, but I put him badly to a jump in the jump off, for a 4 fault jump off score and 5th. Derry was consistently second to Teah in every class, earning the Reserve Championship. What a treat to ride such a horse! The following three photos were taken by the professional horse show photographer, Alison Hartwell, who is a fascinating person, and a friend, in addition to taking great pictures.

After the class, we insisted on a photo of the old ladies on their horses, with Ali McCool, the young lady trainer of the Champion, Galatea. Harry took a great group picture.

Kathy Smith took a very nice shot of Bart and me after our class. We were all very happy with the horses. It’s incredible luck to have such generous creatures in our old age!

Cat (Mustang ambassador partner of Juniper, who was here for a jumpfest recently) took a fabulous shot of Bart over the final jump in the class.

After the horses were bathed and settled, we took them home for rest and relaxation and grass. Another photo of old ladies with young friends, as we were about to leave.

We returned to the show to see our friend Brandie Holloway inducted into the St. Louis Horseman’s Hall of Fame. We have watched Brandie ride since she was a fourteen year old phenomenon from Kansas, and she gained national recognition for her talent as a Grand Prix rider and trainer. She was a nice kid, with courage and skill, and she has continued to add to that the traits of gifted teacher, mentor and mother as an adult. Her eldest child, Hunter Holloway, was 3rd in the Omaha World Cup this year, destined for greatness beyond her mother’s perhaps, but Brandie is a person of unsurpassable character, as well as her skill as a horseman. This evening was a well deserved honor.

And now I must rest up for the final day tomorrow…

Be safe, be well. Slava Ukraini! Peace.