Spring and things a bloomin'

Some of the Daffodils in Bloom at Home - Gillian Cowley Photo

Hello All,

The last few weeks have been quiet ones...at least in terms of competing.

I was thrilled with Tag at Morven and was looking forward to riding him at Plantation Field but a small miscue with his sister Hope resulted in me being sidelined from competing for the weekend, which was in the end just as well, as the soaking rains caused poor Denis and Bambi to have to cancel Sunday.

The Glaccums' and every organizer try so hard and do so much, much of which goes unpraised or unnoticed, and after a day like last Sunday I can only imagine the cleanup they will have to do to make the grounds look like they usually do when we all show up in May!  Thank you in advance for the work!

Easter weekend had my Mother and sister Stefany come down from Massachusetts to enjoy the beautiful flowers and good food, two of my favorite things.  Our daffodils are in great form now and we have put some pictures up with the blog to let you see them....if you are in the area stop by, there are lots of different types and it makes the farm very picturesque.

More Daffodils - Gillian Cowley Photos

Food and cooking are another outlet for me and this weekend, with Gillian, my student and her mom, Page down for the weekend, we made two huge dinners which included a few new things, including veal scallopini which was yummy and a new recipe for Creme Brulee and Chocolate Mousse both of which were decadent!

We also have had several people in over the last few weeks looking at horses and several new horses have found home all over the country.  Leslie and Brittany Clark came from California and worked with me and Paul Ebersole in trying and purchasing Paul's young exciting prospect Porter II, Brittany was all smiles and we are excited about them and their adventures to come.

Also coming and finding a new horse was Kathy Rauch, who had the misfortune of coming on the Plantation Saturday to try several horses.  To say we were wet would be an understatement!  But she absolutely loved Liz Stewart's mare, It's Hilca, and she is on her way to NY as we speak!

Finally Erin Renfroe made a trip south from Massachusetts and ended up finding a beautiful young horse for her to take through the levels through us.  His name is Abercrombie and Kelli Temple had brought him over from England and they will be ones to watch in the future.

So, that's about all from here...flowers are out, horses are going well, and we head to Loudoun this weekend.

Hope all is well with you and we look forward to hearing from all of you,

Courtney

Morven and a week with Gillian.....

Hello everyone,

As the title suggests, Gillian Cowley one of my Summer working students came back for Spring break.  We had a great time with her helping in the barn a great deal and we celebrated her becoming an "old" lady of 15 by going out for crepes and cupcakes which were yummy!

Then it was off to Morven.  This was our first event after coming home from Aiken.  We ended up with Tag in the Intermediate, Nevaeh in the Training, Hope in the Novice and Gillian also in the Novice.

Neal and I were going to be studs and get up early on Saturday and drive down but thought better of it when we had the dreaded 8 AM dressage test so we were able to go down on Friday and enjoy the night there.

Saturday, was a good day with Tag putting in another good consistent test although I think I left some points here and there as he was in the Indoor ring and distracted by the noise outside and some people sitting near the ring.  He show jumped well, having one down and cross country he went around well as well, both of us finishing the course together this time!

I still have more homework to do to find the right bridle for the jumping phases but it seems the dressage tuneups I have been having have been paying off so that is rewarding.

Nevaeh went next and had a lovely test although at the last halt she tripped and had one of those splat moments for a halt...oh well, she was 5th in a big field so I was pleased with her.

Nevaeh in Stadium Jumping

She found the show jumping distracting and the cold, windy weather also did not help our girl and we had two down which was disappointing.  She went on to jump like a lion though cross country and I finished with a grin and laughing about her.

Saturday afternoon we headed off to Middleburg for some shopping which was fun.  It is a great town with lots of nice shoppes and I have to say sometimes it is just nice to get away from the barn!

Sunday morning it was time for Gabby and Gillian and they were first to go in their big junior novice division.  I think Gillians test was her best ever and she earned a 28.5 which was great and put her in 5th where she finished with a double clear.

Gillian and Gabby on Cross Country

Hope also went novice and her work in the dressage phase will continue but boy, does she know how to jump!  She had a double clear but there were some scoring irregularities that were not corrected until after we left so she was given some time but no worries, she lived up to the family name of "Star."

Here's hoping all of you are enjoying Spring like weather and lots of green grass,

Courtney