Training Journals
Learn more about the training progress of horses currently for sale at Tebogo Sport Horses, as well as those that we have trained and helped find new homes.
Progress North and South
The problem with not keeping up with a Training Journal when you have a barn full of young horses who are learning in leaps and bounds is that you quickly get to the point of too much to report!
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.
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 than later with all these exciting “firsts” of 2012.
Aiken Adventures
The winter Aiken event season is already going gangbusters. Katie has set up Tebogo South at Full Gallop Stables in Wagoner and she is settled in there with Crumpet, Peyton, Snowy, and her own horses Pandora and Norman (Norman, not a thoroughbred, but still very sweet!).
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 of a 30.5 wherein he got an “8″ for gaits. Not too shabby a start to the 2012 event season!
Week of January 23: First Horse Shows of the Year
Well it’s official – the first horse shows of 2012 are under our belt!
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.
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.
January is good for…
Goal setting, planning, making resolutions. Got those covered.
Of course as we all know making plans and setting goals with horses can be an exercise in frustration tolerance. You have your plan, they have theirs. Sometimes, bless their hearts, things go better than expected. Sometimes, not so much.
But you can not work with horses professionally and not have a plan. So this past week Paige Cade, Katherine Adams and I sat down to map out the first six months of 2012.
Sadly, the Olympics are not on our goal list. This year. Taking Snowbird Beginner Novice and Novice is. Attacking the puddle jumpers with Kaz and Seattle – also in the works. Throwing a leg over Pele and Stanley for the first time – nearly as exciting as an Olympic go, not quite as much glory. But it all starts somewhere.
Winter in Virginia and Aiken Horse Country
Pandora, Crumpet, Peyton, and Snowbird head to Aiken, SC
Aiken is definitely on the books for February and March. Katie will take Pandora, Crumpet, Peyton, and Snowbird and will be based out of Full Gallop Farm. She is excited as she has every right to be – that is an exceptional line up of young horses. Pandora will continue her Preliminary runs. Crumpet and Snowbird will rock out the Beginner Novice and Peyton will be going Novice by March. We have taken our time with Peyton (some horses require this) and we think the pay off is just around the corner. His jumping and flatwork have progressed at such a rate recently that even we are a little taken aback. And we were expecting this turn of events!
Indoor Training and Hunter/Jumper Shows in Virginia
Paige will stay here and hold down the fort while making good use of our indoor (with its fancy new footing) and the winter A shows held at the Lexington Horse Center here in Virginia. Promise will begin his Pre Green Highs year at the Stonewall show there. Paige’s own new horse Corey will also head down as will Kaz, both to compete in the jumper ring. So far the winter has been mild (though it’s unexpectedly snowing as I write this) and the hope is to be able to keep Seattle, Kaz, and Promise going and showing and for Paige to start Stanley and Pele in earnest, maybe even getting them out to some local shows.
Spring Plans
Once the winter is over then things really get rolling. The eventers will go to Morven, CDCTA, Fair Hill, Plantation, Virginia Horse Trials. The hunters and the jumpers plan on HITS Culpeper, Lexington Spring Encore, Upperville. It is a full book but an exciting one. I’m not going to lie – when Katie, Paige and I finished our planning meeting I felt a little preemptive exhaustion! But I know from experience that once the ball starts rolling the adrenaline kicks in, and we get into a groove and then somehow it all just seems perfectly doable. Almost normal. And even fun.
First outing of 2012 is the local Foxchase Jumper show next weekend (if this snow decides to stop.) Look for updates and pictures soon!
December is good for….
Shopping, lessons, eating. We have all three covered.
Since Santa might be reading let’s start with where we’ve been good – lessons. Both Katie and Paige have been catching up on their lessons and working on their homework with their various charges.
Winter Lessons: Fun With Grids
Since I’ve known Jenn Simmons (I won’t say how long cause it’s long enough to date us all, sigh) winter lessons have been all about fun with grids so I was not surprised when I ambled out to the outdoor to see Katie and Peyton make their way through a series of gymnastics. Peyton is a smart horse, a sharp horse, so I was equally unsurprised to watch him figure it all out. His brain just whirs and his footwork is quick – bounces and grids that incorporate poles on the ground were pretty much sorted out after one time through.
Pandora has come back from her vacation like she owns the joint. We were joking the other day that her thought bubble reads, “Do you know who I am?!” She is keen and ready to get back in the game. While this was evident in her jump lesson with Jenn it was even more so during her dressage lesson with Inga Janke.
In the meantime Paige is squeezing in lessons left and right with Gavin Moylan before he heads for Florida. This week Kaz, Seattle, Kiwi, Promise and her own pony Snapdragon all head over to The Oaks to be put through their paces. All were truly impressive in their own rights – Promise because he came back from his break better than ever, Kiwi cause he never misses a beat, Kaz because his increased confidence in his new job is impressive, and Seattle because he has fully earned his new barn name of Baby Genius.
Horse Shopping and Growing the Tebogo String
Next – shopping. We’re technically full but the thing is this – we are so very picky when buying horses to add to the Tebogo string that finding them is no easy task. So if one comes along that fits all the criteria (looks, age, size, temperament, soundness, etc) we are forced to buy them. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
Enter Molten Lava. Mo? Lava? Cake? (he doesn’t have a barn name yet) is exquisite – a 5 year old with plenty of starts under his belt he is now resting and relaxing over at Simon’s View. Pictures forthcoming.
Finally, eating. Why do we have so many friends who are so blessed with exceptional baking skills?! We’ll power through. Because while December is good for eating, January is good for diets.
Week of Dec 1, 2011 Christmas Shopping Tebogo-Style
After a brief end-of-season lull things are starting to pick up again. But given that idle moment and left to our own devices – we naturally took the opportunity to shop. It is the season, isn’t it? Granted while most folks were heading to malls and big box stores after Thanksgiving – we head to a couple of barns to do our shopping. But still, the effect was the same. We are officially enjoying the holiday spirit.
And what did Santa deliver us? Three lovely, adorable, sweet as pie prospects.
Seattle Primero
First we got Seattle Primero. Seattle is just three (he would say, “thwee”) and he truly is sweet as the day is long. Brave as all get out, straightfoward, and a fast learner. He is bay, 16 hands (today, we’re thinking he might grow a bit still) and has “THE” canter – that comfortable, rocking horse canter that you just want to ride all day long.
Hesistant Groom and Stanalama
Next in were Hesistant Groom (who we are thinking of calling Snowy or Snowbird) and Stanalama (barn name, Stanley, of course.) Snowy is a gigantic rose gray which means he will be quite the attention-getter in the show ring. Once we get him there! Snowy just finished racing at the end of October so he is currently enjoying a well-earned break over at Simon’s View.
Stanley is hanging out with Snowy until he puts on some weight and hopefully a bit of a topline (the hills at Simon’s View are exceptional for passive work-outs!) Both Stanley and Snowy are four, so come January we will get them both directly into a full time work program. So far, they have lovely expressions, are polite and easy to handle. Hopefully that carries over to their under-saddle temperaments!
The promise and excitement that comes with new prospects is of course, for us horsey girls, an unmatched experience. What will they be like? Where will they want to go and what will they enjoy doing? It is all just hope and wonder at this point. Perfect for the holiday season.
Week of November 14: Kaz and Kiwi Rock Raleigh
This week Paige loaded up the trailer and took Kiwi and Kaz down to the Jump for the Children Benefit Show in Raleigh. While a bit further afield than we like to travel the show always proves fun and worthwhile – and this year proved no different.
Kiwi Brings Home Blue and Heads to Lexington, VA
Kiwi was a MACHINE – entering six classes in three days and never touching a rail. He competed in the 1.0 meter and the 1.05 meter classes and came home with a clean and clear blue ribbon finish each time out.
Having impressed Paige with his steadiness both in and out of the show ring, she has decided to take him down to Lexington, VA next weekend to compete in the 1.10 meter classes offered at the Thoroughbred Celebration show there (another one of our favorites – naturally!) Look for a report next week on his move up!
Kaz Handles First Show Ground Experience Like an Old Pro
Kaz went along for the ride, not to compete, but for an introduction to horse show life. We weren’t sure what to expect as it was our first time taking him off the farm for an extended period. He was a complete super star! I’m not sure why we were surprised by his calm demeanor in the stabling area – after all Kaz is one of our more “experienced” horses in the ways of the world. Having raced over 30 times over the course of several years – he’s been there and done that!
What overjoyed us was his workman-like attitude under saddle in the hectic show environment. Paige was fully prepared to need to lunge him before working him. Turned out – not necessary! She got on, hacked him around the grounds, went into the warm up rings and worked away. Each day he steadily improved both his focus and performance and by the end of the week he was clocking around the 3’6″ course as if he had been doing it his whole life.
While we were planning on Raleigh being the last show of 2011, we are now excited to add on the Thoroughbred Celebration next week so that Kiwi can experiment at the higher levels and Kaz can enter the show ring and further his education. Peyton, while an event horse, will probably go along as well, because we’re all about cross-training the babies!
Week of October 31: Pandora For the Win!
Virginia Horse Trials in Lexington marked our last horse trial of 2011. We may still show up at a random unrecognized event but looking at the calendar and everything we’ve done – it felt a fair place to end the season.
Success at VA Horse Trials for Pandora and Pockets
Pockets went Novice, and Pandora went Preliminary. Peyton got loaded up on the trailer at the last minute to take advantage of a stall reserved for Perfect (who we just got a glowing report from this week from his new owner.)
Since this was the year of natural disasters, perhaps we should not have been as surprised by an October blizzard! Luckily for the organizers and the competitors – the snow mostly moved along, leaving just an annoying amount at the Horse Center. Cross country was moved up to before the storm for some and postponed till after the snow melted for others – and somehow the show went on.
This proved most fortuitous for Katie and her own mare Pandora – as they won their Preliminary division! What a way to end the season!
Pockets was his normal, wonderful, steady self the whole weekend. He was tied for third after a lovely dressage test which scored a 31. He jumped a clean stadium round in the very atmospheric indoor coliseum, and then jumped clean around the cross country. His tiny speed fault dropped him to fifth but he was unaware of this little snafu and felt pretty good about jumping clean!
Back at Tebogo
Back at the ranch Paige kept the rest of the gang going despite the crazy weather. No rest for the weary as the Raleigh horse show is just around the corner.
On a personal note – since I recently purchased the wonderful and amazing Smooth Rider from Bobby Meyerhoff for my own personal dressage pursuits, I have found myself with less time to devote to my all around buddy Neon Delight.
I bought Neon off the Penn National track several years ago and since then he and I have dabbled in just about everything together – from horse trials, to A-rated horse shows, to riding all over hill and dale here at home. While not a world beater – Neon makes up for it with his beauty – both inside and out. He is also a People-Person – he loves human attention and seems to prefer human to equine company.
Seeing him pine for more attention I made the difficult decision to sell him – and probably would selfishly have kept him for myself if not for the absolute perfect buyer coming to Tebogo and falling right in love with Neon. Paige had already introduced me to Beth, a friend and former student from Virginia Beach, and her adorable child Beebee, some time ago and I knew Beth was the perfect human to dote, spoil, love and appreciate Neon for all that he is. I’m thrilled for Beth and Neon – and wish them all the happiness in the world together.
Week of October 24: Perfect’s Perfect New Home and Waredaca
Although we thoroughly enjoy bringing along the prospects, and getting them to shows and horse trials, and really enjoy winning ribbons and being on horses that are highly competitive – the actual point of the exercise is to find them their perfect new homes so that we can start the process all over again with the next batch.
This week it was Perfect‘s turn to leave Tebogo and start his new adventure with his fabulous new owner Mary C. Mary is an adult amateur who rides with Lainey Ashker, has competed to the Intermediate level (on a thoroughbred) and was looking for her next prospect.
She fell in love with Perfect (it’s hard not to, he’s exceptionally sweet) and got along with him great. We wish her every happiness with young Perfect and hope to see them out and about in Aiken this winter.
In the meantime Katie shipped out with her own mare Pandora to participate in their first long format event – the Waredaca Training Three Day. The week went perfectly with Pandora, the five year old, behaving as if he she had been doing this sort of thing her entire life. Katie could not have been more pleased with her mare. They ended up 4th in their division.
Week of October 17: Measures of Success
Two weeks ago Paige and Katie loaded up both trailers and head to Maryland Horse Trials Unrecognized at Loch Moy. It was jam packed with trailers that were jam packed with young horses and/or young or inexperienced riders. This made for an interesting day.
Keep in mind that this was the same weekend as Fair Hill International. So not more than an hour away many of our friends and colleagues were running THEIR lovely horses around the 3* track at the same time that we were running our lovely horses – around the Elementary Track. But it all starts somewhere – even those beautiful, elegant, wildly fit and athletic creatures at Fair Hill one day started by jumping a log on the ground. It was just one of those juxtapositions that reminded you – it’s all about the journey.
Tebogo Horses at MD Horse Trials
So – back at Loch Moy we had babies Crumpet, Peyton, and Kaz as well as the more “mature” Pockets and Pandora. Pandora of course just successfully ran her first prelim but Katie wanted her to go out and practice her dressage test. And Pockets had missed an event due to a high nail so he needed a little extra trip as well. We expected them to give the young ones a good example to follow – and our plan seemed to work!
Crumpet
Crumpet could not have been better. When Katie and Paige shot off with Kaz and Pandora for their extremely early dressage tests (ie, before 8am, i.e., it was still dark during warmup!) I was left to groom and tack Crumpet up. To be reminded – he is 3. And huge. And has not been off the farm a whole lot and he is now in the middle of a very crowded horse trial. But like I said, couldn’t have been better. Stood like a pro tied to the trailer, trotted off with Katie, did his adorable dressage test, and then jumped both his stadium and his cross country courses with wide eyes and a brave heart.
Kaz
Kaz took issue with the apparently evil rope that the stadium steward had to move to allow entry into the ring but other than that, he too was perfect. About three admirers asked if he was Irish. He is rather large of bone.
Peyton
Peyton got to the dressage warm up when it was most crowded so naturally he had the most to deal with – or I should say, Katie, his rider, had the most to deal with. But he finally did take a breath and march in and got the job done. Stadium wasn’t perfect but he made up for that with a flawless cross country run. His jumping form and his instincts continue to impress me and I’m certain given the right amount of time and attention this is an upper level horse in the making.
Pockets
Pockets of course was foot perfect the entire day. That’s just how he rolls.
So – there were no victory gallops, no press conferences afterward, and very little fanfare after all (Katie, Paige and I were too tired to even enjoy a celebratory beer after that day). But it was a HUGE success for us nonetheless. Who knows really – maybe one day Crumpet will take his turn at Fair Hill. In the meantime his first time out was an achievement worthy of much praise and many carrots.
About Tebogo
On 100 acres in the heart of Virginia horse country, Patricia and Dave Vos have created a beautiful place for OTTBs to find new careers. Learn more about Tebogo Sport Horses.