Surprise, Surprise!

Rachel was unwell during the final Grand Prix day of the Ottawa Capital Classic (see previous post) and spent the next 3 days in bed.  She finally dragged herself out of bed and prepared for Halton Place and the Emerging Rider class which she was hoping to place in.  She did place but not high enough to be the "Emerging Rider" champion. 

About 3 weeks later she was again very ill with a severe sore throat, fever, body aches, etc. etc.  Off to the family doctor who prescibed an antibotic for the nasty throat and bloodwork for an atypical case of Mononucleosis.  Lo and behold, guess who had Mono!  She probably had it during the final week of the Capital Classic and this was a rebound because she didn't rest in the interm.  Because of the spleen enlargement there's been no riding for 5 weeks, (maybe a little bit late to worry about this but....) ultrasound on Tuesday and here's hoping everything is back to normal so she can get back in the saddle again.

While she was home, feeling truly awful,  a package was delivered by Canada Post.  Even though she wasn't able to compete on the Mini Prix day, she had accumulated enough points over the 2 weeks to emerge as the 1.0M Champion at the Ottawa Capital Classic.  What a nice surprise when you're feeling really low....thank you to Anna Mees for allowing Rachel the opportunity to show Gracious Me!

Back in the Saddle

September 29th seen Rachel climb aboard Stormy for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks.  It was an adventure as he couldn't believe his good fortune and tried to take advantage of it whenever possible. He still hasn't been turned out, that will probably happen early next week but in the meantime he's enjoying his walk, trot around the indoor arena.

Today we're off to Scotiabank place for the Equestrian All Star Grand Prix at 11:00am & 7:00pm with a performance by the Superdogs at 2:00pm.  Should be a fun day and hopefully I might get a picture or two!

$3500 Jr/Am 1.30M Classic

Today was the $3500 Jr/Am 1.30M Grand Prix. All week horse and rider have struggled with rails (at one point Rachel referred to herself as a "lumberjack" for all the wood she was laying down) but today it all came together. Although not a clean round, it was very well ridden and the effort put in by the little guy with the big heart was second to none. We couldn't have been more pleased with the result.

Rachel & Stormy received tips from Gillian Henselwood which were much appreciated and special thanks to Jeff McKessock for laying the groundwork with his ongoing coaching and support.

Kudo's to the show organizers who excused jackets because of the extreme heat and humidity.

We've gone back to the farm for a few days of R&R but will be back at the show on the 19th!

Time to Shop

It's a bittersweet time. The decision has been made to look for a new horse capable of taking the rider to the higher levels. The goal of reaching the 1.30M level has been reached with a double clear and a 6th place finish at Classique Internationale de Blainville. Horse and rider will maintain at this level but he's just a little guy (with alot of heart), so its time to shop around.