Settling in was an exhausting feat and for three girls the amount of lifting and unloading we did was enough to put a body builder to shame! Okay maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much! We were greeted with the lovely weather that we venture down to Aiken for and all the horses seemed to settle in quite nicely! Once in Aiken it has been all business. We currently have sixteen horses and only two of us to do all the barn chores. Allison is very hands on though and that helps us out along with the help of Jessica Rich. Without her Grace or I would not see a day off, so thank you! With all the horses this has left me to do a lot of the riding and I am averaging about five or six a day and that has been an absolute privilege.
Chloe has been doing great and has really matured since last year which I am incredibly excited about! We have been working a lot on our dressage and I believe it shows. She has done several dressage shows since being here and was quite good at our first show of the season. Speaking of our first show that was two weeks ago at Pine Top in Thomson, Ga. Chloe was very rideable in the dressage, show jumped a clean round and rocked around the course feeling good and confident! I really have a good feeling about 2012!
I leave tomorrow for her first advanced run of the season also at Pine Top. On top of working on her dressage the selectors have all said I need to work on her making time on cross country. Last year she was quite green at the level and I never really pushed her to make the time. This season I have been working to have her be a bit more fit and I am excited to see what I have!
On top of competing Chloe I have had the great opportunity to sit on Allison's horse Burger. Since Virginia I have been sitting on him quite regularly and really enjoying it! He has really helped me ride Chloe better and just getting the chance to sit on such a talented horse on a regular basis has been really great. I competed him at a local show here, Full Gallop and he was really quit super! He is currently for sale and would really excel in the hands of a young rider.
All in all Aiken has been really good to us! We have a great group of horses, the weather has been fantastic and of course we are all excited that show season has started! It is fun to be in a town that is literally filled with equestrians. Our local gas station has a sign saying "welcome eventers" Our local yoga studio has an equestrian class and of course its nice having all my friends so close. Jennie Brannigan and I go back to California days and now to be in Aiken together? The eventing community really is small! We have a new working student coming soon and I know Grace and I are equally excited for some extra help around here! SmartPak is also coming soon, in time for my birthday actually! What better way to celebrate then with that crew?
Now off to pack for Pine Top!
I will be sure to keep you all updated!
Xoxo
Kelly, Chloe and Buckleigh
uSmartpak swag
It would not be a blog post without buckleigh!
And last but not least I leave you with a baby picture of Chloe and her best friend Radar. Does not get much cuter than this!
