My sister Laurie and her horse Rusty spent four rain-soaked days in Auburn, Washington, last week. They competed in the Regional Arabian Sport Horse/Dressage Championships at Donida Farms.
Yesterday morning, Laurie and her friend Mary Ann had their gear all packed up for an early start back to Sandpoint. When Laurie went to the show office to tell them she was heading home to a warm house where her feet could thaw out, the officials told her she'd better stick around a while longer. She insisted that she'd spent enough time shivering in the rain and wanted to go home.
Figuring she was pretty intent on leaving, they said, "Well, you should stick around because you've won a championship."
So, Laurie did. She also had to get her 7-year-old gelding Rusty all gussied up one more time for the presentation. Well, when it was all over, she learned that Rusty not only won one regional championship; he also won a second. He's the Region V champ in Training Level AOTR (Amateur Owner to Ride) and Training Level Open.
So, I guess it was worth the long drive, the cold feet and the shivers for Laurie who competed against trainers and some well-established dressage riders with horses a lot bigger and taller than Rusty.
Rusty is Half Arabian and Half Quarter Horse. His father is owned by Pat and Monica Gunter of Sagle. His half-sister is April, Barbara's mare. She was pictured on an earlier blog posting this past week.
These horses are about as pretty as they get----both duns, both born within a month of each other to Kelly (Rusty) and Phansey (April). While April exhibits the traditional Quarter Horse look with Arabian refinement, Rusty is more long and athletic-looking. Both are hard to beat as halter horses, having racked up their share of championships in that department.
Both horses and their riders receive wonderful instruction from one of the best dressage teachers in the nation. Barbara and Laurie have been working with Betty Tukey ever since their college days at the University of Idaho when Betty taught at R Lazy J Stables in Pullman, Wash. This veteran instructor, who's worked with U.S. Olympic Equestrian teams, now lives in Denver and comes up once a month to work with my sisters and other riders at their arena in Colburn. She once characterized her equestrian mission as "bringing dressage to the hinterlands."
If all goes according to plan, Laurie will be riding Rusty at the Sport Horse Nationals in Nampa, Idaho this coming September. And, that will be pretty cool, because she has a nephew who covers sports for the Nampa newspaper. And, he might just take her picture and write a story about her.
Congratulations to Laurie and Rusty.
My sister Laurie riding Rusty at this year's recent Eastern Washington Arabian Show in Spokane. This past weekend Laurie and Rusty took two regional championships in Auburn, Wash.
Yesterday morning, Laurie and her friend Mary Ann had their gear all packed up for an early start back to Sandpoint. When Laurie went to the show office to tell them she was heading home to a warm house where her feet could thaw out, the officials told her she'd better stick around a while longer. She insisted that she'd spent enough time shivering in the rain and wanted to go home.
Figuring she was pretty intent on leaving, they said, "Well, you should stick around because you've won a championship."
So, Laurie did. She also had to get her 7-year-old gelding Rusty all gussied up one more time for the presentation. Well, when it was all over, she learned that Rusty not only won one regional championship; he also won a second. He's the Region V champ in Training Level AOTR (Amateur Owner to Ride) and Training Level Open.
So, I guess it was worth the long drive, the cold feet and the shivers for Laurie who competed against trainers and some well-established dressage riders with horses a lot bigger and taller than Rusty.
Rusty is Half Arabian and Half Quarter Horse. His father is owned by Pat and Monica Gunter of Sagle. His half-sister is April, Barbara's mare. She was pictured on an earlier blog posting this past week.
These horses are about as pretty as they get----both duns, both born within a month of each other to Kelly (Rusty) and Phansey (April). While April exhibits the traditional Quarter Horse look with Arabian refinement, Rusty is more long and athletic-looking. Both are hard to beat as halter horses, having racked up their share of championships in that department.
Both horses and their riders receive wonderful instruction from one of the best dressage teachers in the nation. Barbara and Laurie have been working with Betty Tukey ever since their college days at the University of Idaho when Betty taught at R Lazy J Stables in Pullman, Wash. This veteran instructor, who's worked with U.S. Olympic Equestrian teams, now lives in Denver and comes up once a month to work with my sisters and other riders at their arena in Colburn. She once characterized her equestrian mission as "bringing dressage to the hinterlands."
If all goes according to plan, Laurie will be riding Rusty at the Sport Horse Nationals in Nampa, Idaho this coming September. And, that will be pretty cool, because she has a nephew who covers sports for the Nampa newspaper. And, he might just take her picture and write a story about her.
Congratulations to Laurie and Rusty.
My sister Laurie riding Rusty at this year's recent Eastern Washington Arabian Show in Spokane. This past weekend Laurie and Rusty took two regional championships in Auburn, Wash.
1 comment:
Ah, the memories... same weather, mostly the same results... as my brother and I were dragged to show after show every weekend in New England. (dragged was our version at the time), the difference was Mom was into American Saddle Bred classes in the 1940's and switched to Jumper Class in the 1950's.
Bravo Laura and Rusty...
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