Clearly 2 busy weeks of showing at Sonoma Horse Park was not
enough, we just had to go out for more!
In our mind, shows are like potato chips, you can’t stick to just one
(or 2, or 3, or 4….). We decided
to make a weekend getaway over to Sacramento for Rudy Leone’s beautiful Golden
State Horse Show. Off we went with
Peter and Nickel in tow for the $25,000 Jennifer Marlborough Memorial Grand
Prix. It was a beautiful weekend,
the sun was shining, but not too hot, the grass field was perfect for jumping
on and the competition was fierce.
Our boys, still new to their partnership with FCF Pro Chelsea, showed
everyone yet again how wonderful they are. It was another tough course, this time set by 1996 Olympic
designer Linda Allen. Once again,
fence heights towered up to a 1.50m and widths over 2m, but it was not an issue
for our powerhouse boys. First
went Peter, who bounded over the rails with room to spare, only meeting with a
little trouble when they came in a bit too fast for a very tight
combination. Peter’s solid
effort landed him in 10th place, a great result in a competitive
class. Nickel was up next,
learning from the mistake with Peter, they slowed their pace and were rewarded
with a flawless clean round.
Yay! The jump-off was an
exciting one, with round after round clocking in faster than the previous. Last to go: Nickel and Chelsea were met
with some hard luck and what can sometimes happen after a busy day jumping on grass:
torn up turf. When making the 2nd
to last turn, Nickel’s left hind hoof caught in a hole, causing a massive slip
and majorly lost time. They were
able to regain composure however, battle on and finish in 5th
place!! The ultimate competitor,
Nickel never gives up, what an amazing horse he is. After the class, we quickly loaded up and hit the road back
home. A great end to a great
day. This gypsy-like life is a
busy one, but we wouldn’t trade it for a thing! Coming up next on the FCF calender: Beach Party June 6-9 and Sonoma June 12-16, let us know if you'd like to attend!
P.S. A quick little thank you to Katie Janousek and George for their help over the weekend in getting our 2 boys ready and warmed-up for their classes.