Congratulations, Shea & Coby!!!!
Qualified for and rode successfully at Region 8 Finals, September 2012
We are very proud of you...........................
Shea has joined us as helper-extraordinaire since 2010; and in 2012, she and Coby officially became part of the team!
Here they are warming up for their first show; a video link for the test is below.
Video Link: Shea & Coby, Critique, First 2 (Katie Rocco)
www.youtube.com/watch
Meet Impressive Edition (Coby)
Proud Mom!
CVDA Article
CVDA Newsletter, Summer 2012
We are a serious bunch of dressage amateurs – a HR director, a business owner, a hand therapist, a surgeon, a professional thoroughbred breeder. We know how to focus; and we know how to worry over the slightest thing – leg is too wobbly, horse needs more activity, why can’t I release that half halt correctly? Sometimes when we get together we end up watching lots of the day’s videos, and sometimes we are more hard on ourselves than we should be.
So what would you have seen, if you’d peeked into the truck on the way back to S. Woodstock from dinner on Saturday night after a long day of the first Critique of the summer? Four perfectly mature adults completely dissolved in laughter; seriously, not sure how I was able to drive. Hysterics for the whole trip, giggling like a group of teenagers. The context probably won’t strike you as too funny – basically it had to do with an announcement that there is a culture somewhere out in the world where people marry trees. (“Branching out?” quips Anna…… and the puns keep coming.) The announcement came from a new member of our group – a junior rider multiple decades younger than the youngest of us, participating in her first event with her first horse. Was she nervous? No. She was proud of her critique ride, and not in the least interested in dissecting the video. She was enjoying herself. She did a fantastic job. And in some ways she was an inspiration to all of us.
I have always admired Heidi and Bob Gill for the work that they do with young riders – their team looks professional and has fun at the same time. Part of me always wondered where and why they find the time to do this well. I am not a parent, so mentoring a youngster riding is a thoroughly new experience for me. It was a little busier than usual, but riders learn to take responsibility for their horses early, and I just felt like I was helping any one of my friends. I wasn’t nervous for her like a parent might be, but I was just as proud of the way she handled the weekend. I have to admit, I think Heidi and Bob are on to something – perhaps adding a junior rider to the team is just exactly what we all need to keep things in perspective. After all, dressage should be about the process, and an injection of light hearted fun and responsibility for something other than yourself can only emphasize all the great reasons that we ride. We talked about it on the way home – well, the older members of the group did. She was asleep before we hit I89 for home, curled up with her ribbon in her hand.