April 28-29, 2007

This was definitely a weekend of firsts for many Champagne Wishes Riders and Horses. Marilyn and Brian Jarvis and their two horses competed in their first horse trial event ever! They have both hunted for many years, but this was their first event and I think they may be hooked. Paul also rode Tera and Sheryl's horse, Mero, in his first event. Paul, Brian, and Marilyn all rode in the same Novice division. Mero was first to go and put in a perfect test, which would prove to be the winning test of the division. Mero looked liked he had been in the dressage ring all his life, he is really something. Brain was soon to follow with Odin, but Odin was more concerned with getting back to his buddy, Hokie, than with concentrating on dressage. Brain did an excellent job and made it through his test without any blowups or errors. Marilyn was next with her horse Hokie who was as equally concerned about missing Odin, but managed to put most of his worries behind him and put in a nice test. Show Jumping was next for the newbies and they all did great and were ready for cross country the next day. Cross country brought a mixed bag of results, but this is what makes eventing what it is. Mero didn't even want to come out of the start box, but Paul managed to get him over the first fence without problems, but unfortunately couldn't get Mero near the second fence. Mero was so concerned with the people around the fence that he couldn't seem to concentrate on the fence itself. Babies can be frustrating to start, but Mero will certainly get better with each outing and learn that there are no monsters lurking under fences. Brian had a blast around the cross country and was jumping everything out of stride with Odin until a dreaded patch of stone dust. Odin slammed on the breaks and Brain when flying through the air. Brain quickly remounted after figuring out he could continue and finished the course foot perfect. Because the fall was not due to a fence, he had no jump penalties and he still had no time penalties even with the mishap. Way to go Brian!!! Marilyn was having an equally successful XC round on Hokie until the dreaded water. Hokie thought it was best not to get his feet wet to Marilyn's dismay. Bummer, he was jumping everything else like a pro. Back to schooling water with Hokie until his next event.

Although I have focused on the newbies this write up, many other CWF riders rode this weekend, including DeAnna and Klink, Pat and Hershey, Christie and Luka, and Colleen and Swizzle. They all had a great weekend and were happy with their ponies. Another first to mention is Pat's clean Preliminary XC round, which was rewarded with 6th place. Well done Pat! Christie also had a great weekend to finish in 3rd place in the Training. Colleen also rode like a champ and got Swizzle back on track with a 4th place in the Novice.

See Results for individual placings.