Monterey Springfest 2010

April 14-17

Sterling: Open Western Pleasure Champion (with Sale) and Stake Champion (with Janna), Friesian Western Pleasure Open Champion (with Janna), Friesian Western Pleasure Stake Champion (with Julia)

Chopper: Friesian Walk and Trot Open and Stake Champion (with Janna), Open Pleasure Driving Champion (with Sale), Open Pleasure Driving Stake Champion (with Ron)

Ate: Reserve Friesian Huntseat Pleasure Open and Stake Champion (with Janna)

Majestic: Dressage Suitability Open and Stake Champion (with Janna) and Open English Pleasure Champion (with Sale), Open Eng Pleasure Stake Champion (with Janna)

The Monterey 2010 show started off with a bang....literally..... Ron drove the big truck and 6 horse trailer down with Sale, our marvelous groom/rider/trainer from holland.  I drove separately, meeting them at the fairgrounds to unload the horses and unpack.  While i was in the horse show office, collecting our numbers, the door  flew open and Ron frantically announced "Janna, i just backed into your car!!"  Not the best way to start a horse show...things could only get better.

Ate showed first, and he is my favorite horse.  He is a lot of horse, and i think some judges (likely) think he is too much horse for huntseat pleasure.  He is ALWAYS a handful the first class at a horse show, and he was 2nd in the huntseat pleasure open----second, i might add, to the marvelous gelding , Kalypso,  a BSF gelding sold to Debbie Stuart from Nicasio, and 3rd went  to another BSF gelding, Bodega, owned by Barbara Lieback.  I rode Majestic to a win in the dressage suitability open and stake, and Sale  got to use his brand new saddleseat suit--and expertly rode Majestic to the win in the Open Eng Pleasure.

My 82 yr old father and his wife, Connie, dove all the way up from so cal to spend the week with us. They had tack cleaning duty, after every afternoon performance. 

I decided to surprise Ron with a couple nites of a romantic "getaway" (reservation was made before he backed into my car!)  at the quaint Spindrift Inn on Monterey Bay---what a unique, and VERY romantic bed and breakfast right smack on the water!  My friend, Liz, gave us the keys to her family's cabin in Carmel, which we thoroughly enjoyed  with my parents for the rest of the week.

Chopper just keeps getting better and better---and he handily took the Walk and Trot division, and earned the blue in the open pleasure driving with Sale at the reins, and in the stake, with Ron at the helm.  Chopper will be hard to beat--he is amazing; but we DO have to practice the walk before the next show.

Sterling was truly the star of BSF at Monterey. The  17 yr old who i fondly call "Sterling mule", demonstrated that he is not ready to retire, by winning 4  western pleasure classes.  Another first for Sale, he showed Sterling to his first western win of the show. I took over for the next two classes, and Julia drove down from Chico State to show Sterling to a victory in the Friesian Western Pleasure Stake. Sterling's favorite part of the class is when the announcer calls for the "line up!"...only sometimes the announcer has not called for it yet, and sterling thinks it is time to go to the middle:(  Fortunately "Sterling mule" behaved himself and stayed on the rail for all four of his wins.

Ron has spent the winter belly aching about how we sold his best driving horses---Stormy and Marko, but we don't think he will belly ache too much more---as he sure has a good replacement horse to drive this year...Chopper!  Ron came back early from his guys weekend in Mendocino, to drive Chopper in the Open Pleasure Driving Stake, and he did a marvelous job.

On the final day of the show, it was "all in the family" tri-colors---a super way to end our first show of the season. Majestic switched gears from dressage to saddleseat, to win the Open Eng Pleasure Stake with me.  Julia rode for the first time since July last year, winning with Sterling, and Ron picked up the Tass Jones Photography gift certificate in the driving stake. 

And we had a bottle of J champagne waiting for us at the barn when we got home, compliments of our incredibly thoughtful customer Marielle. THANK YOU!!!!! What a nice surprise to have waiting for us at the barn.

BIG CONGRATS to BSF sold friesians Bodega and Kalypso who also performed very well at this show!!!!  Debbie and Kali were HIGHPOINT (friesian) WINNERS OF MONTEREY SPRINGFEST!!!!