This past weekend I made the 10 hour + trip from Fairfax, VA on Friday after work to Aiken, SC (with an overnight pit stop in Florence, SC), and returned on Sunday.

I had originally taken Wanda to Aiken for a few reasons, with the greatest being the fact I have no arena at home and the ground was making it increasingly difficult to ride. Not to mention the fact I had just gotten a new job downtown, and the hour and a half commute to work made it near impossible to get home in time for riding daylight. Wanda and I had been having stops cross-country last year, so I decided it was best to send her to work with Ryan Wood, Jennie Brannigan, and Phillip Dutton, a pretty great threesome of tough event riders. If anyone was going to straighten my mare out, it was going to be them!

I entered Wanda in the Paradise Horse Trials on February 20th with Jennie as the rider (Phillip was unable to take the reins at the time), and she had a chance to compete her at Novice for the first event of Wanda’s season. Unfortunately they had a stop xcountry, but Jennie did a great job on the correction and they had a steady finish. I spoke with her after the ride, and we talked about the fact that it is purely a mareish behavioral issue, since Wanda decides to shy left more than 3 strides from the fence. Mares! Jennie assured me she had Wanda’s number, and worked with her over fences for a while afterward.

Jennie Brannigan and Wonderbaar, Novice at Paradise Horse Trials 2/20/11

Unfortunately, Wanda became sick with some kind of horsey flu, so she was out about 2 weeks. In that time, Jennie had a horse land on her while schooling and snapped her collarbone, so Ryan took over riding completely.

When Wanda was better, Phillip took her Novice at Pine Top to see if he couldn’t work out the kinks. He said she went pretty straight and forward, and they ended 4th. I talked with him for a while and we talked about what I needed to work on with her attitude and how to make her an easier ride xcountry. I’ve entered her in CDCTA, so hopefully I will be able to try out the new ‘shoes’ to see how she goes 🙂

Phillip Dutton on Wonderbaar, Pine Top HT 3/20/11

Saturday I had a great jump lesson with Jennie (she’s such a trooper with her broken collarbone!) and Wanda felt fantastic. I’m really looking forward to this competition season. Let’s see how it goes!!