Fall Fantasy - Our "Last" Show of the Year...

Jess & Snaps win the halter, Grils walk the course.
Rain delayed the Fall Fantasy Show the first time and fires and poor air quality threatened to postpone it again but the air at the Simi Valley Equestrian Park was crystal clear and it was the perfect day for a horse show. We arrived on time, thanks to the help of our great haulers Sharyn & Alex! We had a full load with 12 horses and even more kids in tow! Lela and Meaghan were there to help which made the day run smoothly.
Julez & Coco and Alexandra & Persja, jumping
The order of the show was interesting - we had our halter class in the morning (which they created just for us - thank you, CVAHA!), then jumping - and then Liberty! We ended scratching horses that were tired from jumping and skipping some jumping classes because the horses weren't tired enough.

Hannah & Jade jump, Jordan on Crimson
For the kids, the jumping classes are the best, for the parents those are the most nervous. Liberty is every one's favorite though. Gracie put on a show but took even longer to get caught! What a joy to watch with our Liberty Champion at age 24!

Gracie, our 24 year old Liberty Champion!
Dru was the winner and she put on a show - running & bucking (too bad she could not have played before her classes!). Bella was beautiful too. She was surprisingly easy to catch and is so pretty in motion. We can't wait to ride her. :)

Our pinto Half-Arab Liberty horses!
All of the girls did a great job jumping their courses. The hunter hack class was the starter and everyone placed - what a great warm-up class it was.

Pictures by Lilian & Jordan
Lilian came bright & early and was smart in the shade and captured all of our most precious moments. Julia and Hannah felt that Coco and Jade were too tired after all the jumping so they scratched their flat classes and practiced judging the show.

Emma & Dessa win at their first show.
It was a great opportunity since the Reichman's brought their mare TJP Eroika and Jill Contreras brought her mare WC Haley. Both mares were national quality and a joy to watch and judge.

Pictures by Jordan Parr
Crimson was bucking (more than normal) so we decided to scratch her classes. Jordan was devastated but still took Dessa in the cross-rail class to humor me mostly. She spent much of her day with the camera and captured outstanding pictures of the girls and horses (some which can be seen here).

Mandy & Snapper show in style.
Mandy took the train up to show Snapper and presented her beautifully. She had not ridden since June and did a great job and they placed well in their classes. Jessica showed Snapper in the walk-trot and won all of her classes and earned the High Point of the Day Award.
Kate, riding Dru for the 2nd time, did great!
Kate made a cameo and took Dru in a jumping class but wasn't feeling well so Brooke offered to show her since she felt like Lola was also tired from the jumping. They did great! Dru really likes Brooke.

Brooke showed Dru & Lola
Dessa had a full day and started showing with Grace. They looked beautiful and did well. After her classes, Grace was Jordan's art director/photographer's assistant/model.

Jordan & Crimson, Grace & Dessa
Emma showed Dessa in the Walk-Trot division and was just as spectacular. She is ready to show in the canter so for the "Walk/Your Favorite Gait" class, she opted to canter and it was a good decision, since she won this huge class!

Alexandra & Persja, Spidey & Jess. Hunter Hack Class.
Alexandra and Persja had a great show too. I don't think Alexandra realizes how good she is and I was so proud of her for remembering and jumping a full course at her first away show. They had fantastic rides.

Alexa & Poet move up to walk-trot-canter.
Alexa and Poet have moved up to the walk-trot-canter classes and did an amazing job hanging with the big girls! Alexa even showed in the Hunter Hack Open class and did a great job.

Kristin & Gracie and Lily & Persja
The best part of the day was watching Kristin and Lily showing in the big leagues! Those girls are so cute and they both rocked their classes!

Lily & Persja. The girls come home.

Holiday Horse Camp - Back at Spring Valley!

Hannah & Bella

Oh, it seems like just yesterday when we were able to hang out all day at Spring Valley Arena. Plenty of shade, room to tie, jumps, and a real bathroom!

Jessica rode the biggest & smallest horses

It was so nice to be back for the day and it was great having Lela back to help us. She gave the girls their Saddleseat lessons and it was nice having her there.

Alexandra & Persja, Hannah & Jade

We made a project for Ashley, turned the younger horses loose to be chased, enjoyed cheesy bread, watched a few lessons and then rode for 2+ hours!

Kate & Dru, Emma & Dessa

All of us were able to take turns and we adjusted the jumping course for all of the riders.

Brooke jumps Snapper & Dru

It was a nice reminder to our days of summer and we all had a fantastic time! Even the ride home was fun.

The ride home.

Beach Day for Summer Camp Staff

As you know there is only one week out of the year that we can visit the beach in Carpinteria. Due to the Snowy Plover bird and the California Sea Lions, there is only one break in November when both animals are in their other homes and we are allowed access to the sandy beaches.

Also, during this week, there has to be a low tide time that is optimal for riding.

As you can see, everything has to be just right in order to ride on the beach. It was serendipitous that this year the tide was perfect on a school holiday and in the early afternoon.

Carpinteria, here we come!

First let me say if nothing else, this was probably the happiest day in Dish's life. He was able to run free on the beach and chase birds, run after the girls and make new friends both human and canine along the way.

The horses were not sure of the water, but they all came around eventually and did surprisingly well. They really enjoyed cantering on the shores and we even let Angel loose so she could roll and run free. She followed Coco back and forth on the sandy shore while Hannah rode Poet in the water and wet sand.

It was a glorious day and we enjoyed cantering back to the hot dog man who insisted we buy Super Springs. Ha, ha!

(P.S.) We missed you Ashley and the other staff so we will have to go back next year!