Write-Ups by Ann Grenier
ATF 2 Phase
August 13
Thanks Richard for coming out last week for our 4th schooling show. We have one more show on October 13th. Please join us. One more opportunity to earn points for the Champion Saddle Pads. Send entries in early please! Thanks! Pictures are free for the taking. Enjoy. (webmistress's note, pictures will be posted shortly! Our photographer was very prolific!)
GMHA 3-Day half star
August 1-3
Liz M. and Luna went straight from Fitch's Corner to Vermont for her first 1/2 * event. She was a star and finished in 9th place out of 24 young riders. She had a blast on the steeplechase and may consider becoming a steeple chase jockey instead of going to college... just kidding Jill. The XC was a championship level course and very challenging. She was great and went clean and finished up going clean in stadium to get her the grey ribbon! Congrats!
GMHA Horse Trials
August 1-3
Liz continued her marathon of events switching horses onto Rue to completed in the August Horse Trials. Rue faced his most challenging course yet and Liz was happy with his progress. One stop at a trakhener kept her out of the ribbons, but they finished happy and Liz was well... Tired. Megan was the star of the weekend. She showed her catch ride Bailey who was boss and finished in 4th place in her Novice division having a fantastic dressage, clean XC and easy stadium! Great Job girls!
Fitch's Corner
July 26-27
This was my first time to Millbrook, NY for the Fitch's Corner horse trials. WoW! What a beautiful event. It was like the Rolex of the lower levels! The XC course was large and in-charge! A beautiful gallopy course was maxed out with each jump being like a piece of art. Our stars for the weekend were Elizabeth and Olivia who both placed after three strong phases. Liz finished in 5th place in her Training division on Luna and Olivia finished in 3rd in her Preliminary division on Tacaro. Michael and Ann were robbed by Mother Nature of our shot at the victory gallop. Michael was an inch away from a ribbon but a storm that nearly blew us away lead to the cancellation of the show before Novice stadium. The event also had JOUSTING demonstrations! They wouldn't let me try it on Ozzy, but I think if this eventing thing doesn't work out, we could be jousters!
ATF 2 Phase
July 30
Thanks Richard for judging the dressage at our two phase. The show went off flawlessly and we all had a great day. Thanks for everyone who trekked out. Results and updated points race to follow soon. Sorry Novice and above folks about not capturing you on film, but the photographer wanted to ride too! Pictures posted (thanks Ann!), Results
Huntington Horse Trials
July 12-13
This past weekend, Michael made quite a comeback that I hear might be picked up as an Lifetime Channel movie someday. They say Brad Pitt is being considered for the role of Michael . After being in 16th place after dressage, a double clean stadium and XC round sky rocketed him all the way to 8th place. Ann and Ozzy finished in a heartbreaking 4th place after they won the dressage with a score of 29 and had a clean XC leaving them in 1st before stadium. But of course, Ann blew it with two rails that dropped her to 4th place. Ozzy and Ann are in rail boot camp to try to correct the problem ASAP. Marissa and Epic had a bit of a rough outing, but did complete their 3rd Novice which is still an accomplishment if you have been following her progress with Epic who is making her work hard. Olivia and Tacaro completed their 2nd Prelim finishing in 5th place. She is working hard to be ready to do a one in the fall and looked to be on the right track. Next Up... Fitch's Corner
Stoneleigh Burnham Horse Trials
July 5-6
After a drenching rain passed, a few members of the ATF team headed down to Stoneleigh Burnham for their summer horse trials. While the rain passed as we pulled into the show, the damage was done to the footing leaving it mucky, yucky, and icky. Megan and Alac sloshed through the mud to make a great comeback from a tough dressage test and take home the 8th place ribbon. However the brightest star of the event was our seacoast friend Bethany and Viper who WON their novice division. They were in 6th place after dressage and a clean stadium round jumped them all the way to first place. A clean XC clinched their win. Congrats Bethany. Long live the Spunky Peanut!
Groton House II
June 28-29
This weekend Alison, Megan, Liz, and Olivia took on the challenging Groton House 2 weekend. The star for the weekend was Megan and Alac. Coming home from a semester in England, she only had a few weeks to prepare both her and Alac for the event. They should be proud to have successfully navigated the Training/Novice division. As we know, Alac's strong point is not dressage, so Megan worked her way back up the ranks going clean in XC and no stops in stadium. Alison and Otto had a great dressage ride to be in 4th place after dressage. This is a real accomplishment at GH2! Cross country and stadium were very challenging and she crossed the finish line smiling both times! Elizabeth and Luna were also happy to complete their hardest training ride yet. Oliva had a respectable dressage ride, but a small woopsie-bobble on XC. The team is off to Stoneleigh-Burnham next.
Apple Tree 2-phase
June 26th
Last Thursday, ATF hosted it's second two phase for the season. The riders came out in droves to make this one of the largest shows we've ever had. Shawn had his hands full with the trailer maze, but amazingly managed to get everyone in and out without the jaws of life. Thank you to Richard for staying out in the rain to judge everyone and give your input. Congrats to our winners! Check out the results and the updated points race. Please join us for our next show on July 30! See ya there! Results Posted, Points Race
Groton House I
June 21-22
Editor's note: Correction: In the recap for Groton House 1, I mistakenly wrote Melissa and Epic instead of Marissa and Epic. Who's Melissa? As most of you know, I just had a birthday and I think they say the mind is the first thing to go. Sorry Marissa. I'd say it will never happen again, but it might!
Groton House I was held last weekend. The weather was beautiful except for a brief, but rather freezing rain shower while Alison was finishing up her great weekend on Otto. They rode in the Prelim. Division and finished in 5th place. She will return to Groton House for the second, harder weekend at Prelim. Also competing was Melissa and Epic. Riding at her first Groton House, they had a very successful weekend being in the ribbons after dressage and rising steadily to take home 4th place with double clean jumping rounds. Also at Novice was Ann and Ozzy who were in a 4 way tie for second place all weekend. Unfortunately, Ozzy was a little too excited on XC and finished with the fastest time out of the 4. After a clean stadium round, she took home the 5th place ribbon. In her fifth attempt at Groton House, Ann finally got to ride in the Victory Gallop. Sam and Rue had a successful weekend also finishing with a respectable showing and double clean jumping rounds. Michael was poised to also participate in the victory gallop, but a few rails and one senior moment left him out of the ribbons. However, he did have solid jumping and a good respectable dressage ride. And finishing out the weekend was Liz and Luna. Her dressage test was not quite her usual stellar performance, and a tough judge left her with much ground to make up. XC day was fun and she went clean, however, one rail in stadium finished up her weekend. She will also be back next weekend to hopefully regain her position at the top of the charts.
Valinor
June 14-15
Since Ann was unable to attend GMHA (stupid waiting list) she opted to head down to Valinor to have a go at their Novice course. While the course was infected with growling logs and horse eating rocks, Ozzy took Ann around the XC course jumping well in-between spooks! They finished in 4th place. A few other people attended Valinor, but would prefer not being mentioned in the recap since some other horses weren't quite as brave when faced with the sneaky monsters out on course!
GMHA
June 7-8
Please accept my heart felt apologizes for getting this recap out to you so slowly, however, the GMHA organizers only just released the results ... and since I was not there and didn't remember every result... I had to wait for the official postings. Plus I wanted to make sure that the 27.5 Michael was swearing he got wasn't a figment of his overactive imagination. But alas, it is true. The planets aligned, the heavens opened, angels sang down upon him and Michael Wesson scored a 27.5 in his Novice division riding the test of a lifetime. He finished on this score to bring home 3rd place. For the rest of the crew, while they could only look on in awe and take notes, their scores could not even come close. However, the ATF crew did turn in a stellar performance with two riders trying out new divisions. Marisa and Epic rode in their first Novice class. She had a great dressage test and he was a star on XC and stadium. They finished in 6th place. Emily and Coryelle went to their very first sanctioned event and finished in 8th place. Olivia and Tacaro made the giant leap up to Preliminary and finished in 4th place. Riding for the first time at GMHA, Kira and Bailey had an amazing dressage test scoring in the 30's and also finished in 4th place in BN. Elizabeth pulled double duty on Luna and Rue. Both horses were in the training division and she finished 4th with Rue and 3rd with Luna. What a roll she is on! And of course Alison and Otto were there and had a wonderful dressage test and finished 7th. Everyone brought home a ribbon! Good Job!
Groton Pony Club
May 18, 2008
Last weekend, the spring GPC 3-phase went off without a hitch. In the BN division our newcomer, Melanie won her division with Shari, while Rachael took home third place with Blue. Also shining was Kira and Bailey who won their division on their dressage score of 34.2! Rochelle and Heather took Alac as a catch ride to the show as Maggie was a little off. They both did very well considering they had never jumped on him! heather took home 2nd and Rochelle was 3rd. Finally finishing up the BN division was Emily and Coryelle. They finished in 2nd. Making their debut together, Catherine and Dodger had a good first outing coming in 6th in her Adv. Elem. division.
Photographers
(dressage, stadium and XC, featuring division winners)
King Oak Horse Trials
May 10-11, 2008
Much better weather this week for the eventing team. Saturday was supposed to be a wash-out, but the skies cleared just in time. On Saturday Olivia and Elizabeth took on the training course. Elizabeth is ON A ROLL right now with her amazing win on Luna. Olivia finished 7th on Tacaro. They are pumped up and moving up to Prelim. at GMHA. The beginner novice riders also showed on Saturday. Rachel took Blue to her first show on him and fought back from a tough dressage to take home 8th place. Haley and Magic showed a lot of progress and scored a 39 on dressage! They narrowly missed out on the ribbons after one rail in stadium. Making her recognized event debut was Caitlin and Gulliver. She has a blast and is ready for more. Alison had Regal for the weekend. One rail in stadium cost her the blue, but she finished in 4th place anyway. Finn was a big boy bravely going around XC and finishing in 5th place.
On Sunday Alison took a much happier Otto around the tough prelim course and finished in 4th place. In Novice, Ann and Ozzy narrowly missed the 2nd place ribbon by one rail in stadium, but were much more in sync. They happily finished in 4th place. Sam and Rue had their first outting together. A rough dressage score left her fighting to get back in the ribbons. A clean stadium and XC brought her back to 8th place.
Next Up Groton Pony Club
UNH Horse Trials
May 3-4, 2008
There we were, finally at the first event of the season for which we have patiently waited for six months to compete at.. and we get the worst weather imaginable. I can't imagine the weather could get any worse, so we may be in luck for the rest of the event season. It was pouring rain for dressage, pouring rain for stadium, and pouring rain for XC. If the rain wasn't bad enough, it was approximately 44 degrees out! However, despite the gloomy weather, ATF came out and shined. The star of the event was Liz M. and her two horses. She took home a blue ribbon on Rue in the Novice division and followed that up with a red ribbon with Luna at Training level. This will definitely help her defend her National Ranking on Rue in the Novice division.
Ann took Ozzy out for their first outing together. She will definitely be enjoying a competitive dressage horse this season. Her first dressage score was a 29 in her Novice division. A double clean stadium and XC left her in second place. The pair took home the award for the lowest score for a UNH alum and a ribbon by the American Connemara Pony Society for the lowest score by a Connemara pony or half breed.
Two other riders shining in the Novice division were Michael W. and Bethany O. Michael wowed the crown with a dressage score of 35 and continued to climb up the standings with a good stadium and clean XC. They finished 5th. Bethany and Viper also had a great dressage score of 35.5 to put them in the ribbons after dressage. Another good stadium round and fun XC ride had her seeing green with a 6th place finish.
In Beg. Novice our star was Marilyn and Finn who made their eventing debut together. Marilyn completed her first sanctioned event aboard Finn. She got some great experience and mileage this weekend. They will be a force to reckon with after a few more rounds. Kira also completed the weekend with a sixth place finish aboard Bailey. Her dressage was good enough to put her in the ribbons after round 1, and XC boosted her up to 7th. Haley and Magic completed their second event together. Aboard the oldest horse at the show, Haley and Magic were in the ribbons after dressage, jumped clean in stadium and had a blast on XC. I believe they finished in 5th place.
Alison took Otto around the Prelim/Training course. After a challenging dressage test, he jumped himself back into the ribbons with an amazing stadium and XC round. Brittany was also at UNH with her "school year" barn Hilltop. She rode one of their horses in the BN division and had a great time. She was reminded how much fun XC is. She finished in the ribbons, but as of press time, I'm not sure the exact placing. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of her soon when school gets out!
Well, Lets hope King Oak next weekend is a little warmer and less wet!
From Alison: The ATF event team got a great start at the UNH horse trials this weekend. Despite the miserable weather they put in a great performance. Resulting in:
Captain, Ann Grenier - 2nd Open Novice and recipient of the UNH Graduate low score award and the Connemara low score award.
Co-Captain, Michael Wesson - 5th in Open Novice
Elizabeth Mudge - 2nd in Open Training on Luna, 1st in Open Novice with Rue
Kira Lovas - 7th in Beginner Novice
Haley Farwell - 5th in Beginner Novice
Bethany O'Lone - 6th in Open Novice
Marilyn Mariano - Finished her first sanctioned event on Finn!!!
Congratulate them all when you see them!!!
ATF 2 Phase
April 26, 2008
The first ATF 2-phase went off without a hitch this weekend. We had a few showers early on which cleared up and the rest of the day was dry. The rain actually helped us water the jump course so we didn't have to deal with any dust. I guess that is the silver lining! All our riders showed off a long winter of hard work and look poised to shine this season. The points race also began this weekend for the beautiful champion dressage pads. Keep track of your points on the web site! A special congratulations to our new riders who joined us over the winter and competed at their first ATF show: Emily Wilson, Kylie Spencer, Anna Groves and Melanie Shelsky. RESULTS
Groton Pony Club
April 20, 2008
The 2008 showing season started today (for us that stayed up North this winter ...) with the spring Groton Ponyclub 2-phase. Apple Tree Farm had a great day and brought home many ribbons. Making her Novice debut was Marissa R. and Epic. She had a beautiful test and clean jumping round and brought home 3rd place. Sam also successfully negotiated the Novice course with a beautiful jumping round and finished 6th place in her division. Ann had her first outing with Ozzy. They finished in 2nd place.
Making their beginner novice debut was Emily and Coryelle. They won the dressage and finished up with a wonderful jumping round to take home the blue ribbon. Mom Marilyn and her new horse Finn also rode in the BN division. they are going to be a tough pair to beat when they get some more mileage together. They finished in 4th place. Kira and Bailey showed great strides with her dressage test and finished up in 3rd place. Rebecca and Gulliver also finished in 3rd place. In the advanced elementary division was Brian and Fergie. They were great and took home the second place ribbon. Watch out Area 1... Apple Tree Farm is going to have a great season!
Sporting Days
Aiken, SC
March 12, 2008
Buckley - 1st
Finn - 2nd
Regal - 4th
Bethany - 5th
Liz - 1st - novice - on her 34 dressage score!
