http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/groesbeck-receives-broussard-grant

I was absolutely gutted to not make it for this night. I am so appreciative of the USEA Endowment Trust and the Broussard family for their support. Congratulations to all winners and award recipients!

Whenever you have a few spare dollars, consider donating to the Endowment Trust when you renew your membership as it goes a long way toward supporting the Eventing community.  I know I will be making a donation from here one out in the hopes that I can help someone else’s dreams come true!
http://useventing.com/news/usea-annual-meeting-members-and-year-end-awards-dinner

As we approach the Winter Holiday Season, be sure to treat your loved ones (and your horses!) to some extra special gifts.

Want to give your BFF a little extra pizzazz to her show turnout? Order her a FULLY CUSTOM Frilly Fillies Ear Bonnet! Nancy Dein hand-makes each bonnet to your specified dimensions and colors, and you can even chose the fabric for the ears! Add beading, rhinestones, or custom logos for even more sparkle.
Frilly Fillies Ear Bonnets

Want to upgrade your friend’s riding experience? Treat him AND his horse to an Equine Comfort Products Cotton Correction Pad so he can create a customized fit with ANY saddle! Combine it with an ECP Grip Tech Pad and he and his horse will be show-ring ready!
Equine Comfort Products

Can’t afford diamonds? Get the next best thing: custom Spur Straps from Elegant Accents! Tennis bracelets are out, boot bling is in – don’t let your girl get caught riding out of style!
Elegant Accents Facebook Page

Tired of your loved one complaining about cold fingers while doing barn chores? You could offer to do them for her, OR you could get her a really nice pair of Heritage Winter Gloves! Better yet, do both 😉
Heritage Performance Gloves

Of course, if you want to make a really big gesture, you could go all-in for a custom Revere Saddle. I hear Santa’s elves are incredibly talented saddle crafters 😉
Revere Saddlery

Hello again, all!

So after a whirlwind September and October, I finally have had a chance to sit down and update the site! All of the photos and videos from the American Eventing Championships and Fair Hill International are now cached under their appropriate pages — I was gloriously reliving Wort’s great moments in dressage and show jumping while uploading the videos :).

Speaking of Wort, he is doing marvelously here in Florida and has adjusted to his East Coast life quite well. He had his shoes pulled and is spending some down-time in the pasture with several other geldings and seems to be thoroughly enjoying his vacation; his mother is the one itching to get back in the tack and work on all the things we learned this year!

In the meantime, we still have a handful of horses in work here at BDJ Equestrian. I am getting to know the other girls (and guy) really well, especially since we all share a house! They are a fun bunch and have been a huge part of me being able to be comfortable so far away from home; it isn’t easy showing the new kid the ropes in the middle of two big FEI season-enders and moving the barn from PA to FL, but they have done a great job at getting me into the swing of things and making me feel at home. I am really looking forward to kicking off 2014 with them.

Hopefully as each of you come to the close of the year and the last shows of the season you are able to look back on all that you have accomplished in 2013 and be satisfied. I hope that each of you came by both equal amounts of success and failure, for it is only through our struggles that we can truly grow and challenge ourselves to be better, and it is only through our successes that we can be encouraged to keep trying harder! I will be the first to admit that 2013 did not bring the sort of results I had dreamed of, but it would be shortsighted of me to say that I am disappointed by the way my year ended. I am coming out of this year a wiser and more experienced rider than I went into it, and that can never be a bad thing.

Especially now, as we all begin sit down with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving and upcoming winter holidays, I encourage you to reflect on the positives and negatives of 2013. What were the new ideas and helpful lessons you took away from the year? What are you hoping to improve upon next year? Who were some of the people who made a positive difference in your life these last twelve months, and how will they shape the way you live and ride in the next twelve?

Though I can’t be with each of you in person, I am sending out a toast to healthy and happy horses, smart living, smart riding, and to all the loves ones (two-legged and four) that make your life rich with joy.

Happy Trails,

Katy and Wort

First of all, Wort and I are both totally fine!

Second, huge apologies for the delay, my phone died early in the day and electricity is scarce here.

Today obviously did not go as we all hoped and dreamed, and I am thoroughly bummed to have not been able to better represent the West Coast today. I had every intention of kicking butt!

To sum up the ride, I had a very good warmup and was quiet-headed in the box, but once I started on course I went to a frenzied place in my head, although I was not necessarily aware of it at the time. What I intended to be an aggressive, attacking ride turned into an unsettled ride that shook Wort’s confidence enough to cause problems in various areas.

He was FANTASTIC over the ditch-wall to chevron and flawless in the difficult hedge-oxer-corner line early on course. Our first problem didn’t come up until 13a, the keyhole in the main ring. It was a shock to have a stop there, but clearly that means we were out of sink. On re approach, he jumped quite cleverly through the tough keyhole-corner-corner line, but even then I knew I wasn’t riding my lines well, and I think that sort of unsettled us both.

We kicked on however and had two more great rides, and then a sticky stop at the first element of the coffin. He was SUPERB on reapproach, jumping effortlessly over the tough angled line out over a hedge wall. And I mean seriously game!

We then got another several great jumps under our belt, including a great go through the second water (I even “hailed a cab,” something I have never done in my life – maybe all this time around the Davidsons is getting to me!).

We then came to the huge double brush table; Wort put in a big effort but we landed in a heap, and I was late to find my line to the corner following. He knew it before I did and had no chance to prepare for the corner around the turn. When I came again, I think he had finally had lost enough confidence to call it a day.

I learned so much from today that I don’t think I could have learned on any other course. I can’t say that I wouldn’t change any of it, but since I don’t have that option I am closing to look on the bright side of life 😉

One, learning to stud for the terrain and then adjusting to the different way my horse felt with them was a big thing. I think bigger studs take away a bit of the normal spring he has leaving the ground, which was enough to make us both rattled for a few fences. I am not unhappy with what we went in, it was just a new feeling that we both had to get used to.

Two, I was not prepared for how quickly the turns and combinations would come up. I was “late” in several areas (including my dismal attempt to ride  the last brush table/corner), and that for sure affected Wort’s confidence. However, I will say that we were also pretty damn good in several areas and he busted his butt trying to make things work!

Three, and most importantly, I got a good wakeup call today about needing to slow down my thoughts and let my horse settle into the course. I came on too fast too soon, and I think more than/in combination with One and Two, it shook our foundation. 

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, Wort drug me back to the barn after the vet box with two minutes of gallop left in him, and he is trotting circles around me on our evening walk.

ON THE EVEN BRIGHTER SIDE, I have all winter and spring to work with Buck and work on these holes and our confidence. I am sure I will start 2014 softly to get our groove back, but I think we will live to win another day.

AND THEN BEST PART IS, I have the most loyal and ardent supporters at home all across the country (and world) cheering me on. I am grateful for every one of you!

And last but not least, I am grateful to USEF and Land Rover for giving me the opportunity to compete at Fair Hill. I will never forget my first trip here, and it certainly won’t be my last.

Kick on,
Katy and Wortimus Prime

http://eventingnation.com/

http://useventing.com/news/video-highlights-day-1-2013-nutrena-usea-american-eventing-championships

Incredibly honored to be the recipient of a USEF Land Rover grant to attend the Fair Hill CCI3* next month! Many thanks to Land Rover as well as everyone as USEF.