On the Road to Ocala

I'm on the road to Ocala with Rox and Joey for the team training session before everyone ships out to Mexico for the on October 15th. The horses arrive today and Capt. Phillips gets in tomorrow from coaching the US team at Boekelo in the Netherlands and we'll be training with him for the next several days.

I had a great two-day stopover in Aiken to break up the drive; we got down there Thursday night and were able to do some hacking and flat work on Friday, and I had a wonderful gallop on both boys yesterday. It was perfect weather and it worked out well for both of them.

Leading up to the Pan-Ams I feel great and Rox feels great. As Alternates we are ready for anything: everything’s in order and ready to go and we’re packed and organized as if we are going, because if we end up on the team it’s going to be at a moment’s notice. It’s a weird position to be an alternate because you probably won’t go, but you have to be ready anyway.

We have a great team and I don’t want anything to happen to anybody but if it does we’re ready to help out. Rox is going the best he ever has: all this training has been great for him and he’s learning a lot every day. Joey’s tagging along so he can stay with me and stay in training and it’s been nice having him with me – even though I’m taking lessons with Mark on Rox, Joey is benefiting from that too.

The only tough thing about all this traveling is Joey doesn’t travel on a truck and trailer all that well – it’s a lot for him. I’m keeping that in mind and trying to break up the drive, which is why we stopped over in Aiken, and I keep giving him fluids. Rox is generally not a stressed-out horse and he’s handling it all really well.

Phillip has my young horse Ray and is taking him to the Young Horse Championships at Fair Hill, since I won’t be able to ride him there. We’ve been working up to it all year so I’m sorry to miss the event but glad Ray will still get to go. I’m trying to be a good owner and not text Phillip every five minutes. Ray's my baby!

The Irish horses that came over this summer are doing wonderfully, but unfortunately between my schedule and the rain, which caused both events they were entered in to be canceled, they haven’t had a chance to compete since their first schooling trial at the beginning of September. They’re in work with the girls working for me at the farm, and the owners are being patient. They’re doing well and muscled up well, they just haven’t had a chance to show it off yet! If they haven’t sold by then, I’ll take them to Aiken and get them out and showing. http://www.blogger.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif/img/blank.gif

We will be home to New Jersey in time to get a couple of weeks of training in before Joey ships to the CIC3* at Galway Downs in Temecula, CA. There are several riders heading out there from the East Coast and Samantha Lendl from PRO is arranging the flights, thank God, because it’s complicated with all the horses flying from different places!

I'll be updating the blog from Florida, so stay tuned for more!

-Kristin