Excitement and things to come...bring on the fall season!

Here in Virginia the last couple of weeks have been absolutely gorgeous (minus Hurricane Irene, which is another story). Clear blue skies, low humidity and fall weather and somewhat of a novelty around here in August and I am certainly not complaining! I always get more motivated in the fall, I have to say its probably my favorite time of year, especially for riding. The sweltering days of summer with heat indexes of up to 110 degrees as they have been this year makes it hard to condition and train horses.  As a general rule, I really don't compete too much in the hottest months of the year (ie, July and Aug) but concentrate more on lessons and improving weak areas. This summer has been especially long and hard for me and my horses as I have been preparing for my USPC "A" test despite the heat and humidity. Acquiring proper instruction and maintaining the condition of an upper level horse is taxing on ones wallet so needless to say this past spring/summer has been incredibly stressful on me. To be honest it almost reaches a point where its not even fun anymore, pass or fail I'm just ready for this damn test to be over with!

 Anyways returning to my original point...as far as eventing goes i love the fall! The horses feel good when the air is crisp and even a little chilly and there is nothing quite like preparing for cross country day on a gorgeous fall morning. I have even more reason to be excited about the fall event season this year as I just bought a very promising young event prospect. I pride myself on having a good eye when it comes to looking at a green, young horse and imagining what he is capable of, what job he is best suited for. This young horse I just purchased has all the right pieces to be a competitive upper level event horse. He stands a leggy 16.2 hands with a sloping shoulder, gorgeous topline and perfect angles. He is, I think the most balanced youngster off the track that I have ever ridden and his temperament is amazing. His name is Abraxas, Braxen for short. Of all the horses I have had pass through my hands, i feel as if this horse is the most talented I've ever had. He just has that IT quality, i think he may be the horse for me

          Abraxas, off the track 2 weeks, ridden by Shelley Heckles of Classic Bay Eventing.

I look forward to writing updates on his progress. In the meantime, I better get back to work!