Dressage at Devonwood 2019

Last weekend was the 20th anniversary of Dressage at Devonwood. I can't believe I can still remember the first show and seeing the facility for the first time. I remember competing with my half-Arabian SB Flame Dancer at FEI. It is amazing to reflect on how much the quality of the horses and riders has changed over that time period.

Prom Date (Pablo x Hohenstein, pictured eyeing his fancy ribbon) had a fantastic weekend, winning 3 of his 4 Third level tests with scores right around 70%. Saturday he outdid himself with a fantastic test, scoring almost 75% and winning the 2nd-4th level High Score of the day. Unfortunately he went from "I'm a rockstar" mode to "I see dead people" mode and Sunday he spooked and bolted his way through the entire canter tour of his test! Goofball.

Conversely Cathlyn (Flemmingh x Weltruhm) started out a little rough Friday in her second level tests, then settled into a grove Saturday and Sunday, finishing with scores solidly in the mid 60s in her last 3 classes. It was a good confidence-boosting way to go back to recognized shows after our disastrous first outing in March, where she was convinced the judge's stand was going to eat her and I could barely get around the arena!

Student Tom Murray improved from test to test in the Grand Prix, finishing the weekend breaking 60%! I was very happy with how much he and Balanchine have improved over the last couple months and throughout the weekend.