The past three weekends have been a whirlwind for our crew of horses competing on the Alabama Hunter Jumper Association circuit. Guerry Force and Carlyle Brown have loaded up horses and spent their weekends showing at the Windwood Equestrian Show, the Falcon Hill Farm Hunter Show, and the Dean Equestrian Show. Each weekend our riders improved their game and came home at the top of their divisions.
In her second horse show away from home at the Windwood Equestrian Show, Sophia Lathum piloted Whispering Hill in the Walk Trot 9 & Up division. The pair came away with Reserve Champion honors after placing in the top of 3 of every class. In the Crosspole division, Mae Moody and Cup of Joe took home prizes in every class out of a large division of 16 entries.
Sophia and “Casey” with Amy Knowles
We had two large ponies compete in the Children’s Pony Hunter division. Sarah Carson Hill and Bates Moody rode their ponies Benlea Rain Dancer and Cup of Joe to top 3 finishes in most of their classes; both pairs had a great learning weekend where they tackled new skills.
Kate Knowles and Kingsley competed in the 1.00 Jumper classes which were held on Windwood’s grass field—an excellent experience for Kate and “Dax,” who recently made the switch to the jumpers after spending a couple of years in the Children’s Hunters together.
Lillian Reynolds and Willie Be Mine competed in the Children’s Hunter division and came away with the win in the Children’s Equitation on the Flat and Children’s Hunter I. They took 2nd in every other class.
The following weekend, our riders competed at the Falcon Hill Farm Show which we hosted here at Fox Lake Farm. We love having Molly McCown, owner and head trainer of Falcon Hill, host her show here while her farm is under construction.
Sarah Carson Hill and Benlea Rain Dancer took home Champion honors in the Children’s Pony Hunter division. The pair won both of their hunter over fences classes and the Children’s Pony Equitation over fences. Bates Moody and Cup of Joe were close behind, with 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the same division.
Lillian Reynolds and Willie Be Mine conquered the Children’s Hunter division and the Low Hunter division, taking home Champion and Reserve Champion honors. Lillian and “Willie” took the blue in 4 of their classes. Lillian also had the opportunity to show Willa Rose Akins’ Rhapsody for trainer Molly McCown, who so kindly asked Lillian for the ride. Lillian took home Reserve Champion honors aboard “Bubbles” in the Modified Hunters.
Lillian and Willie with one of their prizes from the Falcon Hill Show
Kaelin Taylor and For Fun competed in the Long Stirrup Hunter division and won every class except for one—in which they took home 2nd. Kaelin and “Noah” really put it all together and had an excellent show. Kaelin won the $500 Challenge in Ring II; she also took home Best Child Rider on a Horse in Ring II! We are so proud of the hard work Kaelin has put into her partnership with Noah over the past year.
Kaelin and Noah with their $500 Challenge ribbon
Brynn Smith and Whispering Hill tackled the Short Stirrup Hunters and the pair won the Equitation on the Flat and took 2nd in both of their over fences classes.
At the Dean Equestrian Show, hosted at Rolling Hills Equestrian Center, our girls continued their winning ways.
Lillian Reynolds and Willie Be Mine dominated the Children’s Hunters division, winning 4 of their 5 classes and taking home Champion honors. Lillian also claimed 2nd in the $500 Dean Show Services Challenge with a score of 84, as well as Best Child Rider on a Horse! Lillian works hard every lesson and has progressed so much over the show season; we love seeing our riders’ hard work and dedication pay off in the show ring.
Kate Knowles and Kingsley competed in the .95 and 1.00 Jumper classes, coming away 4th and 5th, and 1st and 1st respectively. Kate beautifully executed some new skills she’s been working on at home in lessons and laid down great rounds.
Our ponies had a really solid day in the Children’s Pony Hunter division. Sarah Carson Hill and Bates Moody both improved upon their performances each time they entered the ring and were rewarded with good ribbons, including a back to back 1st and 2nd finish in the Children’s Pony Equitation over fences. Sarah Carson also claimed the Reserve Champion prize for the Children’s Ponies.
In the Walk Trot ring, Maggie Blackstone and Molly Hagler made their horse show debut away from home! Maggie piloted Whispering Hill to a win in her second hunter class and Molly took home multiple top 3 finishes with Elliott. We are so excited to have these girls horse showing with us. Their hard work at home is paying off in the show ring.
All of our horses have a couple of weeks off before we resume horse showing at Brownland Farm and the H&G Auburn Horse Park in October. We will spend time lessoning at home and hosting our annual fall party while we are all in town to enjoy it.