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What an awesome week we all had in Flagstaff! Never mind the cool weather and afternoon rains and lightning displays, the riding was great! A large group, including myself, Lynn Boice, Anna Calek, Beth Glass, Beth and Rachel High, Debbie Legner, and Nancy Orta, made the trek from Tucson up the mountain to avoid the heat and get a judge's critical perspective. Most of us arrived a few days early and spent a wonderful July 4th celebrating with Robin Ritter and enjoying the fireworks from her backyard. Many thanks to Robin and her husband, Mel, for opening up Le Hotel de Ritter.
I can't emphasize enough how proud I am of the group. Everyone tried their best, performed beautifully, and was so much fun to be around. We also celebrated birthdays with Glenda Toll and Nancy Orta. Saloma+ also had her official 21st birthday just after the completion of the show.
Huge "congrats" go to Lynn Boice and Never Say Never (Nellie) for earning the 1st level AA Championship with a
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67%. They are an elegant pair who have come light years in the past few months (Nellie in particular!). Beth High and Mondstrahl earned the High Point Trakhener Award for the second year running. I think I see a hat trick on the horizon. Beth's daughter, Rachel, made her debut at Training Level on Harry sPotter. Michelle Manshardt beautifully coaches Rachel, but I couldn't resist mentioning her achievements. In her first show, Rachel scored a 61% from Janet Brown! Plus, she made little Harry canter on the left lead--a difficult thing for a pony to do, sometimes. Anna Calek and Kaibab did wonderfully and won a couple of blues while keeping all their scores between 61-69%. Nancy Orta and Saloma+ literally danced through their tests. Nancy, in only her 2nd recognized show in over 6 years garnered 4 2nd places and had scores up to 72%! All this from a classy little 21-year-old Arabian mare. Despite a fairly miserable performance the first day in thunder, lightning, and heavy rain, Neblig and I bounced back Saturday and Sunday to earn scores up
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to 67% at Third Level. Debbie Legner and her mare, Desert Rose, also competed in their first recognized show together. Debbie did a great job and earned her first qualified rider score by getting a 61%.
The most thrilling moment of the weekend for me, however, was competing on Bogotta+/ in our first Intermediaire 1. I was just a tad nervous the first day. Fortunately, Bogotta+/ was in good form and carried me through. On our third attempt Sunday, we earned a 60.75% for our first USDF gold medal score. We also won the FEI Open High Point. I was lucky to have my husband, mother, and sister there to support and encourage me. I must say I am also fortunate to have Ellie Stine-Masek as my coach and mentor. Without her help, I never would have progressed this far with Bogotta+/.
Congratulations to everyone! I know there were many others from Tucson represented at the show and TDC should be proud of how their members performed at the out-of-town shows.
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Spirits are way high at Aim High now that construction has resumed and the new barns are enroute from the factory! After such a long process, we are so thrilled to finally be able to have the end in sight and to start planning more fun and educational horsey activities for our boarders, as well as Tucson dressage enthusiasts. We'll keep you posted!!
Lots of hot news for July
The week of the Fourth was celebrated by some of us in the cool (and somewhat rainy) weather of Flagstaff. Anna Calek hauled her horse, Kai, my Noah, and my daughter's pony Harry sPotter up that treacherous mountain pass to the glorious land of pine trees and breezes! Hallelujah! We arrived three days prior to the start of the show so we could leisurely prepare for the grueling competition ahead. The Aim High gang joined up with Jennifer Parker's Agape Dressage Team for
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some long, relaxing trail rides through the woods. Then it was back to work, as Jennifer put us through our paces in some pre-show lessons. We had a great time sharing comradship with friends from other Tucson barns and even met up with our long lost pal, Alicia Nicholas.
Much of the Tucson crowd hooked up to spend Independence Day together. We had the best vantage point in Flag for fireworks at the home of Robin and Mel Ritter. (Thanks!) A very wickedly competitive game of Arizona Monopoly was played. Apparently DQs do not like to lose at any challenge.
The show itself was a blast despite the damp afternoons. We came home with an armful of ribbons and some very helpful comments on our score sheets. I'm very proud to say that eight-year-old Rachel and Harry sPotter placed in two of their three training-level classes at
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their first-ever recognized show! Way to go, Honey!!!
In other news
Jim Norris and his horse, Zuni, have been observed taking more frequent lessons with local trainer and judge Heather Irbinskas. Will we be seeing this talented pair in the showring soon? Watch for updates!
Rumor has it that Michelle Manshardt may have a new interest in life beyond horses (what else is there?). A clue may be that she's checking her watch furtively during her Friday afternoon lessons. (Editors note: A reward has been offered for information that leads to the solving of this mystery.)
Alice Furguson is looking really good on her Arabian gelding, M&M. What's your secret, Alice??
(Continued on page 7)
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