Great Last Show of 2008!

At the Dressage Holiday Special at LAEC the weekend of December 6 , Mette won Prix St. Georges on Cory Walkey's horse Coby 727 with 69% and was second place in the same class on Taison with 66%. The two horses were also first and second in Intermediaire I. Mette was very pleased with her ride on the two horses and felt that it was a great last show of 2008. She is looking forward to bring them out again next year, as well as all of her other horses.

Mette takes Taison and Royal Luck to the USEF Regional Championships

Mette took two horses to this year's regional championships held at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Mette showed her own horse, Taison (see picture below), at Prix St. George and Emma Maclaren's horse, Royal Luck, at Prix St. George and Intermediare I. Mette was very pleased with both horses and we are all looking forward to great things from them in the coming year.

Mamma Mia!

Cory Walkey, owner of Mill Creek, threw a fantastic fall party on the premises. There was great food, drink, entertainment and a group of dedicated fans sang a song in honor of Cory. The song was a recreated version of "Mamma Mia" in which the lyrics were changed to make the song all about Cory Walkey. On-lookers were impressed and amused, if not completely blown away, by the talent of the group. A great time was had by all. Singers from left to right: Anna, Kat, Mette, Lindsey, and Tracy.

Taison Qualifies for the 2008 USEF National Championship for Developing Horses in Kentucky!

During 2008 show season Mette's goal was to qualify Taison for this event. The top 20 horses in America each year are picked to go. The test is similar to Prix St. Georges,but at the finals you ride both the Developing Horse test and Prix St. Georges test. The finals are September 12-14. Mette is proud of Taison for making the top but has decided not to go. The trip is very long and expensive and Kentucky is very hot and humid this time of year. Mette says: "Of course I would like to go; that's what I have been trying to do. But I think it's better for my horse to stay home at this time and wait until next year. As a 9 year old, he will be even more prepared and competetive for a trip like that."

Mette wishes all riders and horses at the Championship all the best of luck!

Basquewille Retires from the Show Ring!

After two Grand Prix wins in the CDI show at Pebble Beach in early July, Mette has decided that Basquewille deserves to retire from the show ring on a high note--while he’s still healthy, happy and well. Unfortunately Basquewille got an abscess in his hoof shortly after he won the Grand Prix Invitational at the World Cup in April 2007. The problem, which took almost a year to resolve, took a lot out of him. He has done so much for Mette and he’s not only a horse that gave her a lot of pleasure in the show ring, he’s also inspired her daily work. He has a work ethic that is very special and has a heart of gold and always tries his best. He is the type of horse that if he had a broken leg, he would never give up and would just keep on working. She would like to leave the show ring while he’s still doing well. Basquewille has given Mette so much that she doesn’t want to keep showing and showing him. He is healthy and sound now, so he will remain with Mette at Mill Creek. Mette will continue to ride him to keep up her own Grand Prix level riding skills. She will not ever sell him and will keep him with her for the rest of his life. He will still be number one in the barn. Mette feels very fortunate to have had a horse of his caliber who has taken her so far in her riding career, particularly on the extremely competitive California show circuit. Since Basquewille has done so much for Mette, she wants to show her gratitude by allowing him to leave the show ring with all of the dignity and respect he has earned over his long, successful career.

July 2008 Pebble Beach update from Mette

At the Pebble Beach Dressage Show in early July, Mette was able to bring all four of her horses for the first time in a long while since she’s been so busy showing clients’ horses. Mette showed Rockefeller and Donatello for this first time this year and she had fun getting all four of the out together. Pebble Beach in July is perfect for showing: rolling fog, 60° and Mette even had to warm up in a jacket. Mette says her horses “thought they had died and gone to heaven!” They enjoyed the fresh and healthy weather after the 110° weather at home over the previous few weeks. Overall, the show was very successful for Mette and her horses: Basquewille won two Grand Prix classes; Donatello won three of his classes and was second in two; Taison placed well and was also champion in Prix St. Georges; Rockefeller still thinks that he can just go on his looks. Mette thinks Rocky is such a gigolo; he does well, but is not ready yet to show it in the ring. He will be super one day, but has not been in the show ring enough, so he just needs go out more. Mette was very pleased with all of them them. She says “.I know I have great horses and I just have to keep on working! I really enjoy the journey.”

Now that the heat of the summer is here, Mette is taking her horses down in their work to give them a break from the hotter months. She will start working them harder again in the early fall and perhaps take them to a few shows in the fall to get ready for the new show year.

June 2008 Show Update

For the Flintridge show over Memorial weekend, Mette brought 4 of her horses, plus 5 or 6 of her clients and their horses also went. There were about 10 horses leaving from Mill Creek and everyone was excited. The window for high performance shows in California is much smaller than the window on the East Coast. They start in December and finish up the last CDI first weekend in June. Because there are fewer CDI shows in California due to the shorter season, Mette needed this show. But this season has been hard to get going overall and unfortunately the weather wasn’t on Mette’s side for the Flintridge show. Memorial Day weekend at Flintridge started out perfectly and then the hail, rain, thunder and lightening broke loose. The stalls and rings were flooded and everything was miserable (see the photo of Toni Hubenette below in the flooded ring at Flintridge). The weirdest part about it was that if you came back to Mill Creek, the weather was fine, so the storm was very localized. Mette stayed with her horses that night from Thursday to Friday and on Friday, the main ring for her classes was closed. Some of her clients stayed because they needed qualifying scores, but Mette decided there was no reason for her to show her other horses under these conditions and brought them home on Friday. Mette noted that in her 20 years competing at Flintridge, the problem had always been that the weather was too hot (add in fact the weather the previous weekend was over 100 degrees), so this unseasonal storm was a big surprise and disappointment.

Mette’s next show will be in Pebble Beach on the first weekend in July. She’ll take Basquewille in Grand Prix and Taison in the Developing Horses division. It’s the last chance of the season to qualify Taison for the Developing Horses finals in September. She will also bring Donatello and Rockefeller, so Mette is really looking forward to this show.