Busted Down & Still a Winner!

It was a rough journey getting to GMHA this weekend. The truck was "fixed" after a questionable trip home from Stuart Horse Trials 2 weeks ago, but 72 miles from home we were stranded on the side of the Maine Turnpike. Thank goodness for fellow rider Lauren Leavitt, who was behind us! Once a tow was arranged for Sue and Hershey (unfortunately they had to scratch), Lauren and Emily loaded Billy in the dark and continued on to Vermont.

Worried about not having a trainer on-site for Emily, we ran into Susan's friend Carol Kozlowski, told her of our situation, and she became the coach for the weekend. THANKS CAROL! Emily felt great after her dressage performance on Friday and was excited about XC, held on Saturday at GMHA. The course was challenging for every level. There were several falls and many jump penalties. But Emily and Billy were stars, being one of only 3 in the Jr. Training Group to finish the day with a double clear round ... good enough to push her from 10th to 3rd.

The show jumping round wasn't hard (so says Emily) and Billy was ready to go! They held strong to finish 3rd.

THIS WIN WAS FOR YOU, SUSAN! We missed you and hope we don't have to do too many shows without you.

Have a great ride until the next show!