Dunnigan Hills Dressage
Photos from the small but mighty show at the Woodland Stallion Station, October 16 & 17
During these COVID times we find ourselves experimenting new shows, in an attempt to make up for the lost time this spring and summer. Dunnigan Hills was one of those new shows so, we weren’t sure what to expect when we signed up. All we knew was that we needed another show to get the horses more experience before we take them to the Desert Dressage I & II, for 10 straight days of large scale showing. Dunnigan Hills turned out to be perfect, offering a variety of challenges to help prepare our mixed bag of horses and riders.
Our crew arrived to sustained high winds and excessive heat. Eyreka started showing signs of heat stroke before the end of the day. During the schooling session, all of the horses except Emily the pony were a little excited. Foxy was so lit up that he looked like he was warming up for the Olympics.
Luke, who is in top form was only to show on Saturday and had a very good class. He took home a 66.6% and was the most solid he’s been at PSG. In the last two months, we’ve seen him come into his own, physically, and he’s become a really solid competitor.
Starboy showed both days. On day one he did excellent. A clerical error on day two landed him and Eyreka in a class that she was not expecting and had never ridden. Eyreka was game to give it a try, then just before she was to enter the arena, a loose horse came barreling through the warm up. Starboy was well behaved but the residual tension took its toll on his scores.
Tennley and Emily were awesome as always. They scored a 69% on the first day and won a prize for best turnout. They are still doing intro level but Tennley’s test accuracy is getting better all the time, and Emily is getting more fit. As a senior horse, it’s important that we keep things slow and easy for her. We want her to have many more, healthy years with us.
Foxy was a brilliant but had a lot of tension and a few mistakes during his test. One of the judges approached Allida later to say that he’s an incredible horse and as soon as she gets some relaxation, he’s going to be SUPER. But that’s really what these small shows are for. A chance to have a good experience and work through the show nerves.
