Here is a short clip of Duke and I. It had been a while since posting anything ( 6 months! ) so I thought I’d put up something a bit more current.  He is doing great and I am thrilled. We are preparing for the upcoming show season, and having a lot of fun.

Emily and Duke enjoying thier ribbon at Regionals

We had an eventful show in Scottsdale for the Region 5 Championships!

Friday night it rained over an inch and flooded everything. Very beautiful to see that much rain in the desert!  All the competition arenas were moved under cover, so the show DID go on, but we all had to be flexible and resilient. Most folks warmed up in the RV parking lot, ( like skiing moguls!) or you could choose 6 inches of slick mud.

Emily and Duke pose with their Reserve Champion ribbon and saddle pad.

I got to ride in the Equidome for several of my rides, which was kind of  cool because it’s such a nice venue, but Duke was very tense and afraid. The raised seating and flickering light was scary for him. We had scores from 6o-64%, with the better scores being ridden in the outside covered arenas – not the Equidome.

Despite the Equidome and the lack of warmup, Duke and I managed a Reserve Championship! Congratulations to Karen Lencyk, Region 5 Champion. See my videos. or visit youtube for a short clip of the ceremony.

Heather did a great job in the arduous conditions with some good scores in the mid 60′s and some good placings in super tough company!

Heather and I went to the RMDS Championship in Colorado. Heather did fabulous, placing 5th in VERY competitive field of 18.I had a high score of 68%, and a 67.179 in the championship class. In that class, I tied for 2nd place with two others, only .04 points from the winning rider. So we all did good! I shared a third place ribbon, and the tie breaker took the reserve.

"Heather waits with her class for the Camptionship awards ceremony and victory gallop! "

" After a test."

"Emily and Duke pose with their ribbon."

Heather and I went to the gorgeous town of Estes Park. Heather did great with scores in the mid 60′s. Duke and I won 4 out of 5 classes with scores in the low 60′s. Great to be around such extremely tallented riders, horses and international judges. I had three judges for every single ride! Great experience. What a beautiful place, well worth the drive!

Duke and Emily debut at the Luna Rosa NMDA schooling show. We showed Third level tests two and three, scoring 64.6% and 66.1% respectively. I couldn’t have been happier with Duke’s availability and his happy attitude! A fun time was had by all, a big thank you to all my supporters!

" Duke with one of his blue ribbons". What a pretty boy.

Paula helps me with my stock tie...Thanks Paula!

We had a lot of fun at the first Santa Fe Equestrian Center Fun Day show. THANKS to the SFEC for the Fun Day!!

" Heather gets a hand full of blues! Fun!".

"I'm so proud of my ladies! Great job Aimee and Heather!"

"working piaffe with Andrew's help"

Attended a wonderful, challenging clinic at Santa Fe Sport Horses this weekend. WHAT a great teacher, and what fun we had. Thank you Andrea for hosting and organizing this clinic!

Quantum Leap

Three years old May 1st. What a handsome boy!

New Working Student
Welcome Erin Scully, really looking forward to your apprenticeship.

"Erin & Jet"

I made the decision to geld Quantum Leap. He is now a gelding and can look forward to a simpler life as my riding horse.  He will be starting under saddle very lightly this spring and summer as a three year old.

" Having a little fun with a tumble weed"