June 1&3, 2012: The Farm Rallies After An Unexpected Storm......

                  On June 3rd, Thornridge shows their local spirit by summarily running the MDA Olney Schooling Show.  L-R: Lizzy (secretary), Katheryn (misc jobs), Claudia (Organizer and all of the above), Amanda (Gate Keeper), Suzanne ( Scorer), and Phoebe (Well, I only drove the bus = horse trailer).  Katheryn, Amanda, and Suzanne also ride in the show!!!  By the end of the day , after taking the ring down, we were all giddy -- all MDA garb was loaded into Claud's BF's truck and he carted off a very tired crew back to the bus/trailer.  My ever stubborn self was worried about overloading the tail-gate, so I started walking back to trailer on foot.  But, once I saw everyone was having so much fun, I decided to hop on the side running board and hitch a ride, too. OMG, Thank goodness the tail-gate and running board held us all!!!!! 

Suzanne & Country Bumpkin made their 2012 debut much stronger then last year....even the official photographer of the show commented to me how amazing they looked compared to last year.  And, thank you Suzanne for making, well, I suspect 40+ slider sandwiches for the Thornridge Crew for the day.  I ate 5 of them myself........Yummmm!!!!!!

Katheryn & Donnermagic made their 2012 showing debut, with a move up to 2nd level.  It did not surprise us at all that the pair was high score with a 73+%....did I mention that this pair showed the highest level for the entire show.  Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FOLKS, THIS IS CLAUD'S BF!!!!   MEET BRIAN!!!!  I arrived home from a 18Hr trip from FL to meet him myself in March.  I am sure he was much more pleasant then me that night....LOL!!!  He has been very disappointed to miss most weekend shows with us so far this year, but, he got a taste of our life at Dressage at Heavenly Waters last weekend, AND still came back for more on the following Sunday for the MDA Schooling Show.  Brian got roped into setting up the arena for the show and then he was the official "RUNNER" for the day.  Poor guy, he and Chuck need to find some guy-time to commiserate about the horse women in their life.  I suspect that his "running" enthusiasm may wane into a slow walk at our next show -- but, I know he is a keeper and will still be there, whatever pace he chooses.

Somehow my pics did not load in the order I had hoped, but, here is a photo of the massive mud-water-rapids that our farm endured on the Friday prior to the schooling show. I have been here for 13 years, through hurricanes and tropical storms....never has the stream expanded 500 feet on either side, much less wipe out massive expanses of fence lines.  Not to mention that the entire side shed of the house flooded with 6 inches of water. Chuck & Brian had the fence line fixed in less then 24 hrs, Phoebe never saw the need for flood insurance when you live on a hill, so will deal with that loss later..... :(  In the meantime, there were shows to get off to...............

Amanda & Duke continue to ROCK!!! This wonderful AHS 3yo strutted his stuff with scores up to near 70% at MDA Show -- all intro levels shown.  The exposure at these shows for our young stock is invaluable.  Next show will be the first in a series of Recognized Material 3yo Classes.  Wow, what a bright future this Hanoverian has!!!!!!!!!!