Xena at VADANOVA

Manny and Harry's little (1/2) sister Sayyida (barn name: Xena) is off to Bruce Griffin Sporthorses http://www.griffinsporthorses.com/ to be started under saddle and prepared for her mare inspection this November in Murfreesboro, TN at the ATA Annual Meeting and Convention. Bruce says she is a joy to work with; willing, smart and very eager to please. At the end of her 2nd week, we decided to send her to VADANOVA (Virginia Dressage and Northern Virginia Sport Horse breed show). Though wide-eyed and tense, she nevertheless scored a more-than-respectable 71.9 and took the high-point Trakehner ribbon.

June 27th - Inavale had both highs and lows for Manny. Several jumps just 'looked funny' to him, so he had to take a good look (one he even had to walk up and put his nose on) before jumping them. He went thru the water - even thought it might be fun to stop and splash around in it - which Sara was thrilled about b/c the complex was structured much like the dreaded Aspen Farms water. While he jumped everything, because of the stopping and examining they ran out of allowed stops and were eliminated.

Sara has decided to slow him down a bit and let him get some more seasoning before doing another HT. He will jump anything, but is taking a bit longer to understand the questions asked. So the rest of the summer, Manny will school multiple courses, attend some event derbies and accompany Sara to clinics she's teaching. She thinks he will be fine once he has a better understanding of xc courses and jumps. The pair head to a 2wk clinic leading up to the Event at Rebecca Farm, where Manny should get a super opportunity to gain some valuable experience.