On May 3rd, 2025 we had another fun activity at Win Green in Rhoadesville. The weather was lovely for the 12 horse and rider pairs and the judge and volunteers who came out. We are so lucky to have a place like Win Green available to us and a person like Kelly Adams who keeps it in top shape. We can’t do these things without judges like Halley Bell who are very focused on education and volunteers like Jen Lamb and Carolyn Briggs who are willing to jump in and do anything necessary at any time.
Jenny came to set up with me on Wednesday and came back to help on Saturday morning. Finally a huge shout out goes to Ildiko Foreman and Lisa Mendell who trekked all the way down here to manage the event on the day so I was able to go to my childhood best friend’s mother’s memorial. My mom ran the barn and was the trainer so her mom did the mothering for both of us for many years. I was very thankful that these spectacular and already super busy board members offered to allow me the chance to say goodbye.
We had scheduled a combined test but due to low entries and a wide span of abilities we decided to modify the format. There were no divisions, no scoring and no ribbons but everyone had about 10 minutes for each phase. In the dressage portion, this allowed them to start with a full test of choice then re-ride a small portion of their test that didn’t go well, try a new little something under supervision of the judge or have a chat with the judge after their test to get some pointers for the future.
Out on cross country, I marked a starter course with options for lower and higher jumps nearby. With the extra time on course, riders were able to ride their course as normal but re-jump something that didn’t go smoothly or start with a confidence building version of a jump type and double back for a challenge option.
Everyone had a good time, learned a lot and went away more educated and more confident than they came in. A second thanks to all the folks who came out and all the folks who helped out.
Kate