This month both Promise and Peyton left for their new homes. We’ve had Promise since we picked him up as an unraced three-year old thoroughbred at Charles Town Race Track. He was then steel gray, beautiful, sweet, and quiet. When he left he was dapple gray, beautiful, sweet, and quiet. His constancy in the Tebogo barn these past few years made his absence that much more alarming. But then the pictures and reports started coming in from his new family in Bermuda. Yes, that’s right. Sweet Baby Promise whose only complaint in the world was that he didn’t care for the cold, landed himself the perfect situation with a loving family in Bermuda. This is a horse who absolutely loved to horse show – and a few days after hitting the ground, they took him to visit at a horse show there. Of course he’s settling in well, I thought to myself as I read the recent email – he’s doing what he loves, with people who love him, in an environment that absolutely suits him!

In the meantime Peyton is with his new owner’s trainer, Danny Warrington, at Jersey Fresh. He’ll spend some time up north with Danny before making the move to Texas to live with his delightful new owner Delphine. We’re certain that Peyton thinks he’s at Jersey to compete with the big boys in the 2*. We’re also certain that it will be a joy to watch Peyton and Delphi journey toward their 1* together.

Crumpet at Lexington

Back at the barn the next batch of OTTB’s is coming along beautifully. Paige took a bunch of her crew – Crumpet, Seattle, and Corey – to two horse shows in a row. First they went to HITS Culpeper where Corey competed and the two youngsters went to watch and learn. And learn they did. By the time they got to Lexington Spring Premiere the following week they were absolute pros.Crumpet is now competing in the Baby Greens and completely looking and acting the part (we feel this suits his way of going, and way of thinking much better than eventing).

Seattle is only four so the challenge with him is restraining ourselves from jumping everything in sight! He is just a super brave and honest young horse and incredibly athletic as well. Paige was thrilled with his progress over the course of the past few weeks.

Paige came home then Katie dashed out with Grubby and Peyton (pre-sale) to Loudoun Hunt Pony Club Horse Trials at Morven Park. It was another one of those weekends where most of the eventing world’s eyes were on Kentucky while a few others worked to get their young propsects around a challenging Novice course!

This weekend Paige (not an eventer) will be taking Stanley (also not an eventer) to Elysian Hills for a starter horse trial. We’ll be sure to report back on how that all goes! Also this weekend Katie will take Snowbird, Grubby and Pandora up to Unionville, PA to compete at Plantation Horse Trials (a perennial favorite with us here at Tebogo). Then two weeks after that it’s just Snowbird and Pandora down to Lexington, VA for the Virginia Horse Trials where Pandora and Katie will compete in their first CCI1*.

With Peyton and Promise moving on to their next adventures Paige and Katie are looking to their next prospects – Seattle, Stanley, Crumpet, Pele and (coming soon!) Eduardo – with a whole new level of promise and anticipation!

The First Show Jitters

Seattle and Stanley were our willing if slightly suspect co-conspirators today. They loaded up in the trailer like good boys and off to Sandstone we went. Once we got there Paige unloaded the first boy (slightly concerned but really all business). The other was left behind. All alone. In the trailer. There may have been pawing. Maybe some pathetic sounding whinnying. Possibly the trailer was rocking when I first got there.

It’s just one of those things – you have to power through. Most horses will attempt to register some form of protest over having their little worlds rocked in such a manner. Once you power through a few times – this experience actually becomes a part of their little world and voila! You have a show horse. ( And that’s when we transfer the babies from our “Coming Soon” section to our “For Sale” section. Until then, they’re still cooking.)

First Time for Everything

Fortunately we were at a well run, well organized, friendly schooling show. I’ve said it before and I will say it again – we would not be able to do what we do without having so many of these around us. So many opportunities to make the transformation complete. Come April, and the recognized horse trials and horse shows – these boys will be the real deal.

Today we saw flashes. The dressage tests were, according to the (kind) judge – a little tense. But the boys put in solid tests – obedient, focused, hitting all their marks. They were so good in their stadium rounds I was tempted to try and get them in the next division up. But it was raining. The boys had done so well. It was time to reward them with the quick trip home where they walked off the trailer triumphantly, went to their stalls, ate some hay, and took nice long naps. We might have been jealous.

Sunday marked the return of the final horses that made the trip south for the winter. Like the babies had the day before, Peyton and Pandora, fresh from her 4th place finish in the Prelim division at Southern Pines II, walked triumphantly off the trailer, into their stalls, ate some hay and then had a nap. One wonders what this now worldly pair had to say to the babies who stayed home for the winter. Hopefully something helpful and supportive like, no worries kid, it just gets easier.

While we mostly obsess and write about our collection of off the track thoroughbreds, Tebogo also owns and campaigns a couple of lovely Irish horses: Fernhill Solar – cause everyone has to have a Fernhill horse – and Sportsfield Candy, both ridden and competed by Jenn Simmons. Dave competes a kiwi thoroughbred, Clifton Imperial, as well as his horsey soulmate, the English thoroughbred Tangle Top. Top that collection off with a rather flamboyant Dutch horse, Lestaire (Bing to his friends and family), also ridden by Jenn, and you have the complete set of who competed. Overall it was a fantastic weekend.

What makes a weekend fantastic? First the obvious – good weather (I’ll admit, I’m a weather wimp), a well-run event (I would find this event hard to top when it comes to efficiency, good communication, and exquisite footing), and horses and riders putting in their best efforts with big smiles on their faces. Check, check, and check! Add to that equation some great friends who not only pitch in with the endless tack changes, photographing of equine greatness and keeping of riders and horses fed and watered – but that make me laugh until my abs hurt on the ride home – and you have a fantastic weekend.

The babies, Irish and American, were exceptional. We have watched Peyton truly grow up this year.  As I stood by the first combination on the Novice track I watched horse after horse stop, nearly stop, or, sadly in one case, pop their rider out of the tack as they tried to read the bank and then the water down the hill in the soft early morning light. I was starting to worry – were we right to ask Peyton to have a go at this, only his second Novice run? But then, I saw Katie’s pink jersey heading toward the jump and Peyton cantering along and badabing, badaboom, they went through without so much as a hesitation. Peyton is such a good jumping horse that we sometimes toy with the idea of campaigning him as a jumper – but the horse loves cross country. You see it in his face each time he goes out. He’d probably be a stellar hunt horse as well.

Pandora is only six but I still tend to think of her as one of the “babies”. But there she was, clocking around the prelim course like it was old hat. She missed first place by less than a point (Katie groans as she’s reminded), but she didn’t care. Pandora had the look of a horse who knew they’d done good. The extra cookies and treats might have tipped her off.

Next horse trial is back to Southern Pines for Pandora and then the next big outing will be back in home territory – Morven Park! Since we’ll be there in full force again I can almost guarantee a tailgate.

OTTB Sale Horses Go Recognized in Aiken, SC

First a quick report on the Aiken contingent. As  anyone who follows our Facebook pages knows – Peyton and Snowy went to their very first recognized horse trial this past weekend at Paradise Farm and they both were fantastic! (And by the way, if you haven’t “liked” our Facebook page – please do so! We try our best to keep the status updates fun and informative.  Tebogo Sport Horses Facebook page. )

Both boys finished in the ribbons in their big open classes and according to Katie who had the pleasure of piloting them around their first cross country courses – they were a blast to ride! Looking at all the pictures on HoofClix it was amusing to notice Katie’s big smile as she pats them on the neck as they trot across their first waters. A big day in any fledgling event horse’s life.

Newest OTTBs for Sale Get Up To Speed in Virginia

Back up north in Virginia, Paige is hard at work cooking up the next batch of prospects. Pele, Stanley, and Seattle are at various stages of their baby horse education, those very first few lessons which make all the difference in the world for a young prospect.

Seattle is already jumping, flatting well and progressing steadily every day. Stanley is currently Paige’s favorite as his sweet people-pleasing demeanor is hard to beat. He also bravely jumped his first jumps last week including “scary” flower boxes and baby oxers. Willing, brave and honest will probably be the headline for this horse. And finally Pele is up and going! Mr. Cool as I call him – handsome and steady – Paige is just starting his flatwork education which he is taking to like a duck to water. Today, another big day, Pele’s first solo hack. He was perfect and according to Paige – really seemed to enjoy himself! (Nothing like a 60 degree February day to get them started hacking out well.)

This upcoming weekend Katie will take her mare Pandora to Pine Top for her first Prelim run of the season and then the week following baby Crumpet heads to HIS first event. We’ll update sooner rather than later with all these exciting “firsts” of 2012.

Katie’s schedule is as follows:

• Feb. 5 Sporting Days Schooling show (yes, this has come and gone – pictures with blue ribbons to come soon.)
• Feb 11-12 Pine Top
• Feb 17-19 Paradise Farm Horse Trial
• Feb 22 Paradise Farm Jumping Derby
• Feb 24-26 Pine Top
• March 2-4 Sporting Days Horse Trial
• March 7 Sporting Days Schooling Show
• March 8-11 Southern Pines I
• March 14 Sporting Days Derby
• March 21 Jumping Branch Derby
• March 23-25 Southern Pines II
• March 26 – HOME!

As I said to Katie when she sent me the schedule, that looks FUN! And EXHAUSTING! But hopefully mostly FUN! Of course not all the horses are going to all the events. She’s got a few that are ready to rock and roll at the recognized events and a few that need to do little field trips and jumper derbies. It is what we love to do with the young prospects – get them out and about – no pressure. Getting them to understand that not every trip on a trailer means they are going to the track to race! Aiken is amazing for this because as you can see from the schedule there are so many lovely opportunities to get this part of their education done.

Now, as mentioned, Sporting Days Schooling show has come and gone and sure enough, Peyton (Zippy Cat Rules) won his Beginner Novice Division. He finished on his dressage score of a 30.5 wherein he got an “8″ for gaits. Not too shabby a start to the 2012 event season!

Local Jumper Show in Middleburg, VA

First trip out was at a local show here in Middleburg, Virginia. Foxchase holds both hunter and jumper shows throughout the year and for some reason we mostly kept missing them. But Paige noticed that a Jumper show was being held on January 14th and saw it as the perfect opportunity to get the greenies out to see the world a bit before the first rated show of the year.

Morning arrived and it was very, very cold and very, very dark but off we went. Paige took Kaz and her own new horse Corey, a just turned 9 year old, sweet, solid, brave hunk of a horse who has never ever been to a show. Luckily on top of being brave and handsome he has an A+ brain because when we got there we found ourselves in the midst of QUITE a few ponies. Kaz was remarkable but of course – he’s been to two shows in his life so that made him officially the old pro of the group. Paige took him in the indoor and he jumped around like he’d been doing it his whole life. Clean and fast!

Then Corey went in and over-jumped everything, apparently offended by the Hopeful Jumper fence heights. With that we head home – by then it had warmed up to 23 degrees.

Stonewall Country Horse Show

A few days later Paige packed the trailer for the first rated show of the season, Stonewall Country Horse Show held at the Virginia Horse Center. This time it was Promise, out to try his hand at the 2nd year Pre-Greens, and the now worldly Kaz and Corey ready to rock the Hopeful Jumper division (.80 meters or 2’6″ ). Promise knocked the cobwebs off after a couple of months of not showing and rocked around his new height with ease.

And the excited report on Kaz came in over the phone from Paige: “He was brave! And honest! And quiet!” Apparently both Kaz and Corey were mildly offended by the height of the fences so they will be moved up for the next Stonewall show coming up in February.

So an excellent start to 2012. Now trailers are being packed for the Aiken-bound horses who leave in a week. And once they leave, the new batch (Pele, Stanley, and Seattle) will be started up in earnest.