Mette had a chance to ride with Klaus Balkenhol again the weekend of February 3-6 along with a lot of other top riders and horses from California. Mette found it fun and inspiring to be part of this group. She had a very good workout on Sunday. Mette felt better about her ride and both she and Klaus felt that Basquewille was going a lot better than he had the last time she rode with Klaus. On Monday, she got a chance to ride again and Basquewille went even better than on Sunday and she got a lot of credit for her “ones” and for her passage work. Mette says this clinic again reminded her how important “the basics” are in riding and that there really are no short cuts. You must start from the “ground up.”
Mette also brought Taison this time just to use the good facility of Brookside. She used the galloping track to practice forward and back and flying changes. It was great because there was no stopping: she was able to go and go and Taison really enjoyed it.
The clinic had started on Friday, but Mette didn’t arrive until Saturday. That evening, the owners of the facility, Keith and Linda Walton hosted a great barbeque party in a beautiful setting for all the riders, Klaus and his wife, and the resident trainer.
Mette hopes to have another chance to ride with Klaus before the Del Mar show at the end of April.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Friday, February 3, 2006
Report on First Horse Show of 2006
Mette competed in her first show of the year at the L.A. Winter Dressage show at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank last weekend. Mette was grateful for the wonderful preparation help she had from Birgitta. She brought three terrific horses to the show: Rockefeller, Basquewille and Cory Walkey’s stallion, Edelweiss de Bonce. Rocky won his first Training level class at the show and placed 2nd and 4th in his other two classes. On his first test, the judge wrote: “Super horse!”
Edelweiss was amazing in so many different ways. He has not been shown in a long time and this was Mette’s first time showing him, so she didn’t know what to expect. He behaved very well, not only in his stall, but also in the warm-up and show ring. It was a highlight to win the Intermediare I division on him in good competition. In the Prix St. Georges, they were beaten by only a couple of points and finished just behind Günther Seidel, Sue Blinks and Shannon Peters. (Note: A reporter from the "Chronicle of the Horse" called her for an interview about Edelweiss because he had done so well at the show).
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