An Interview with Tamie Smith

Tamie Smith was kind enough to take a few minutes out of her day at the December USEA convention and share some of her plans with me.

Tell me about the end of your 2012.

It was an interesting year!  It was fairly successful to begin with but I ended up having a fall at Rebecca Farm and breaking my leg badly.  So that side-lined me and I haven't evented since.  Well I did do the YEH Championships, but only by the grace of my wonderful horse did that go well.

Where are you physically now?

I haven't gotten the release from my doctor to event.  I go every 6 weeks to get checked as I had no bone where the break happened and my leg has to bind itself back together.  But, I have been going to dressage and jumper shows to keep myself improving in those areas.  (Tamie has since been cleared and is fully back in action.)

How have you kept your horses going during all that down time?

McKenna Shea and Kelly Loria came down to help me out and they have been unbelievable.  I also had Amy Fox there to run the program, and really just an incredible amount of support from all my owners and all my clients.  We just did it all together.  I'd be out teaching as they rode all the horses.  There were a couple that I sent out because they needed a more technical ride, and I got such great support from other trainers - Robyn Fisher, Gina Economou, Debbie Rosen ... they were all so great! We have such a great sport, such a supportive sport.

I understand you have couple new horses.

Yes, Jennie Brannigan called me just after I broke my leg to say "I found you a horse."  I told her I wasn't looking just now, but she said I had to fly out and look because the horse was really special and going to go fast.  So, I flew out.  The horse is Fleur-de-Lis (Milton), Matt Flynn imported him.  The Bubbles Syndicate purchased him & I am really excited about it!  I do have a couple shares still available.

He's 6, we'll start out training level as he's had a slower start.  He's done some show jumping.

I also have Normandy Soldier (Vinny) from Elsie Patterson, who I'm hoping will step up to the plate and be an advanced horse.  He's really cool, a really talented little horse.  You couldn't get Vinny and Milton to be any more different horses, Vinnie is 15.2 and Milton is 17.2!  But, Vinny is scopey enough and I think he's going to be something special, I'm really excited to see what he's got.  I so thankful that Elsie sent him to me.

What does your early 2013 look like?

We'll be at a dressage show in January out in Thermal, and will be at Galway Downs in February.  Actually,  I am booked to go to some type of show every week-end in February! 

We also have a tentative trip planned to Jersey Fresh, I have a couple students who need to go do the 3* and I have Fleeceworks Fernhill that I hope will be ready to do the 2* and Vinnie as well.  It is definitely exciting.

Congratulations on being awarded the $15,000 Rebecca Broussard National Grant.  What kind of difference will that make in what you do this next year?

It is so unbelievable.  The greatest thing is that the grant is a rider grant, not specific to a horse.  I didn't apply at first thinking it had to be towards a horse, but after reading everything more thoroughly, I realized it was for a rider.  I am so glad I applied!  I didn't think after my season was cut short that I'd be in consideration, especially with all the other terrific riders that were in consideration. But, I'm really grateful and it is going to change a lot for me.  

To start, I don't take as many lessons as I should due to financial reasons, so that's going to be huge to get more training for myself.  And, certainly it let's us look at more travel options for competition.

It is so generous of the Broussard family to do what they do for the sport of eventing.  Its not just running Rebecca Farm, and its not just owning horses, its their commitment to developing riders as well.  It gives us a leg up that we wouldn't have otherwise.  I couldn't be more thankful for it.

If you'd like to help Tamie with her 2013 goals, or any of the other SCES riders, you can make a tax deductible donation at http://www.scesports.org/Biographies.html.

Thanks for reading.  Jodie
 

An Interview with Jolie Wentworth

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  Jolie & her previous 4* mount - Killian O'Connor

I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Jolie Wentworth just after she was awarded the Rebecca Broussard International Travel Grant at the recent USEA Convention in Colorado Springs.  Here are some of the highlights from that interview.

As 2012 comes to a close, tell me how your season finished up?

The whole year was a difficult one, the spring & early season didn’t go as I would have liked.  But, as the season progressed and I got physically healthier* and stronger we went back in the direction we want to go and the year ended on a very high note.

Tell me about your current horses.

There’s Ari (The Good Knight) my advanced horse, who continues to progress and our relationship gets stronger.  Next year we hope to add the competitive side in to the equation.  We definitely want to return to Rolex and hope to be a competitive pair.

Then, there are the two younger horses Quinn (Bally Quinn) &  Gordon (Gordon Biersch) where I’m looking to do a 2* this coming year and take a look at advanced possibly for the fall.

Talking about Ari again, and his first experience at Rolex, how did he handle the big course & big questions?

Ari is a unique character in the fact that I felt like he came out of Rolex exactly the same.  He went into it confident and strong, but I because of my physical health I wasn’t able to help him in the way that I needed to have a better outcome, but he came out still confident and strong.  Our very next competition, at Rebecca Farms, he was just as strong and brave.  Nothing backed him off, nothing affected him, I think he’s just that unique horse where it would take a lot to back him off or take his confidence away.

 Jolie and The GoodKnight at Rolex

Now that we are in the “off season” what kind of things will you work on with your horses?

With Ari, we need to work on the flat!  Dressage is definitely our weak phase and we need to improve that quite a bit.  But, based on Galway at the end of the year, I think we are heading in the right direction.  Because I was physically injured in the Spring, I adopted a way of sitting on him that was not beneficial.  Tracy and I have been working on getting my seat back now that I am in a physically healthy place and that really started just before Galway & made our dressage so much better.

Quinn had a little bit of a rough year as well.  He didn’t get much attention in the Spring because we were concentrating so much on Ari & my lack of health didn’t help him either.  But, he is improving and he continues to be one of my favorite horses to ride.  This coming year is about giving him the time, giving him the confidence; coming back & letting him know that I am OK now so he can be confident in me as well. 

Gordon is just a baby, he was just learning, growing and maturing last year.  He has improved leaps and bounds and is turning into one of the nicest horses in all three phases.  We are quite excited about him, he just needs to continue to grow, learn and compete.

What kind of winter weather conditions do you have to take into account this next few months?

Well there is always the issue of footing with the wet weather.  We are on clay so when it is wet it really impacts our ability to work outside.  We have to work in the indoor ring and hack only on the roads, and while that isn’t all bad it does impact our ability to bring horses back from their little vacation, particularly with their conditioning.  But we always manage, we’re inventive and always find ways.

Speaking of vacations, how much time will you give the horses off and how much time will you take off?

Me, none … Tracy and I continue to work very, very hard while we are home so that we give everybody at the barn the time while we are there.  The Spring make us travel & doesn’t allow us to be there so we try to give everything we have while we are there.

The horses get about 3 weeks off, depending on the level they are going.  We don’t like to give them too much time, we don’t want to lose too much of the fitness that we work so hard to put on.  I think it is harder on them to go all the way down and then have to come all the way back, but they do get some real time off.

Looking now to 2013, when do you expect to do your first show?

We’ll likely start at Galway Downs in February.  They do nothing but put on amazing events that make you want to drive the 9 hours to get there.  That first show also seems to be really inviting for the horses, it doesn’t seem so big that it backs the horses off  -  so they get their galloping in and have their bodies get the reminders of running and jumping

You just received the “Big Becky” how will that impact what you get to do this next year?

It is fantastic!  The big thing it give us is freedom.  It gives us the freedom to pursue what we want and what we think is best for the development of the horses and myself.  You just can’t put a price on that.  If we want to use it for Rolex, or Europe, or jumper shows, the possibilities are endless because they don’t put any restrictions on it.  They want you to get better, they want your horses to improve and they want you to use the money for that. 

Knowing that the best laid plans don’t always happen, are there any big things you hope to do that are now made possible by the grant?

Knock on wood, hoping everything goes according to plan, we are hoping that we can go to Pau for the CCI****.  That would take the majority of the grant money but you seldom have the opportunity to have this large sum of money and we want to utilize it in a plane ticket and to get to stay in France a bit – to do something that would be very very difficult for us to do on our own.

Any last words/thoughts?

I want to take every opportunity to thank all the people that make this grant happen.  The vision of Rebecca Broussard, the support it receives from Jerome & Sarah is truly amazing.  It is terrific to be a part of this … after the award was presented, people from the selection committee came to tell me “I can’t wait to see what you do with this, I can’t wait to see how this unfolds.”  It is such a honor to have that quality group of people in my corner. 

If you would like to help Jolie, or any other SCES rider, pursue their 2013 goals, you can make a tax deductible donation at www.scesport.org/Biographies.html.

Thanks for reading! 

USEA Convention & Horse Syndication

It was a terrific day at the USEA convention - so many sessions and so much information.  SCES is here with an information booth and photos of some of our more active Upper Level riders.  I've attached a couple here.

Photo by Sherry Stewart

Photo by Sherry Stewart

I sat in on the "Owners' forum" where a lot of discussion was about the resurgence in syndication, with about 3 dozen new horse owner syndicates being formed in just the last year or two.  Did you know that you can contribute annual maintenance fees through SCES?  Those funds will be earmarked to the syndication. 

For more information on what SCES can do you for you, your competition, or your goals in eventing, please see our website for information.

Fair Hill Recap and Galway Preview

Fair Hill proved to be challenging both with the course and the weather, but quite a few SCES supported riders had terrific goes.  In the CCI**, Jennie Brannigan finished 3rd with Boyd Martin in 5th and 6th, Phillip Dutton in 7th and Susan Beebee in 10th.  Phillip also finished 3rd in the CCI***.

This week-end SCES riders will be competing at Chattahoochee Hills, at Holly Hill and at Waredeca.    And, of course the final CCI*** for the year will bring quite a few riders from the West Coast and a smattering from the East to Galway Downs the first week-end in November.

Good Luck everyone!

Boekelo, Maryland Horse Trials & Fair Hill.

The US team battled rain on XC day and a tough show jump course to finish 6th overall in the Team competition last week-end at Boekelo.  SCES was particularly pleased to see Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda (Ping) back in action!

Jennie & Ping at Galway Downs

Another SCES supported rider, Natalia Gurmankin, had a terrific outing at the Maryland Horse Trials last week-end, where she took her horse Legate out for their first run at Intermediate together.   They finished 4th in the OI-B division, adding just XC time to their dressage score.  

Jennie & Natalia will both be out again this week-end at Fair Hill International along with other SCES riders including:  Susan Beebe, Phillip Dutton, Lillian Heard, Boyd Martin & Allie Slusher.  Good Luck everyone.

For information on how you can provide tax deductible support for these - or other SCES - riders, please check out our website www.scesports.org.

Thanks!

SCES Supported Riders have a Good Week-end!

October 09, 2012

Last week-end saw quite a few SCES riders having very good week-ends.  At Woodside, Jolie Wentworth rode The Good Knight to 2nd place in the CIC*** and also picked up 2nd place in the CIC** riding Man on a Mission. 

Jolie Wentworth & The Good Knight

Photo courtesy of Lisa Dunckley

 

 Also in the CIC***, McKenna Shea and the lovely Landioso turned in a solid effort to finish 3rd.  We were further happy to see Gina Miles completing with her new horse SVR Ron.

 McKenna Shea on Landioso

Photo by Lisa Dunckley

The CIC** marked Barb Crabo's first run at 2* on Over Easy, who clearly found it so, as they finished 3rd.  Another horse new to the 2* was Fuerst Nino R, ridden by Andrea Baxter to a 4th place finish.

Out for the first time since their Olympic run, Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice were the Intermediate pair combo to finish on their dressage score finishing 3rd, behind Lauren Billys and her Pan Am mount Ballingowen Ginger who were 2nd.  The division was won, after leading the entire show, by Frankie Thieriot on Uphoria.

At Morven Park, Boyd Martin rode Trading Aces to 2nd place in the Advanced Championship division.

And, we wish good luck this coming week-end to Jennie Brannigan as she and Cambalda compete for the US Team at Boekelo.

Finally, continued wishes for speedy recovery to Caitlin Silliman, Karen O'Connor, and to our local friend Rachel Lathrop.

For info on you how you can support any of our riders, please check out our web page:  http://www.scesports.org.

Thanks!

Jodie 
 

January 29th Event at 3 Day Ranch!

January 29, 2012 

Print Entry Form from Our Website

One Day Horse Trials and Combined Test

1^st Place Award and Ribbons to 6^th Place

Walk-Trot - Intermediate Level

Pre-entries Close January 20, 2012

Horse Trial/CT Ride Times Available January 25, 2012

Extra rounds available at all levels.

Schedule

8:00 am Start Dressage One Day Horse Trial

Combined Test Dressage will be at the end Horse Trial Division

10:30 am Start Show Jumping

Riders may Show Jump in Cross Country equipment.

Show Jump will serve as warm up for cross country.

Classes and Levels

1.  Walk/Trot, USDF 2007 Intro. Level Test A , SM Arena, Fences not to exceed 18", 200 mpm

  6-8 effort in each jumping phase.  Water and Ditch optional.

2.  Elementry, USEF 2007 Training Level Test 1, SM Arena, Fences up to 18", 240 mpm

  8-10 efforts in each jumping phase.  Water and Ditch optional.

3.  Beg. Novice, USEf 2010 Beg. Novice Test A, Fences not to exceed 2'7", 325 mpm

10-14 efforts xc, up to 10 efforts showjump.

4.  Novice, USEF 2010 Novice Test A, Fences not to exceed 2'11", 375 mpm

12-16 efforts xc, up to 10 efforts showjump.

5.  Training, USEF 2010 Training Test A, Fences not to exceed 3'3", 425 mpm

14-18 efforts xc, up to 12 efforts showjumping.

6.  Preliminary, USEF 2010 Prelim Test C, STD Arena, Fences not to exceed 3'7", 500 mpm

14-22 efforts xc, up to 12 fences showjumping.

7.  Intermediate, USEF 2010 Inter. Test B, STD Arena, Fences not to exceed 3'9", 525 mpm

14-22 efforts xc, up to 12 fences showjumping.

1b-7b.  Combined Test Dressage and Showjump.  Levels correspond to above.

1c-7c.  Extra Showjump Round.  Levels correspond to above.

8.  Dressage Test of Choice.  Please bring two copies of test to be ridden, if not listed above.

One Day Horse Trials and Combined Test

January 29, 2012  Pre-entry close:  January 20, 2012

Print Entry Form from Our Website

One Rider and Horse Per Entry Form

Rider:________________________________Street:________________________

City:_______________________________State:_____Zipcode:_______________

TelephoneNo:___________________________Email:_______________________

Horse:______________________Level:  W/T__BN__N__T__P__I__

Division: Jr:___AM:___Open:___ Stable with:_____________________

One Day Horse Trials-W/T thru Training $120 x  ____= $________

Prelim/Inter $150 x  ____= $________

Combined Test-Dressage and SJ $80 x  ____= $________

2^nd Combined Test-same horse/rider             $50 x  ____= $________    Level:_________

Dressage Test of Choice $25 x  ____= $ _______      Test: _________

Extra Showjump Round $25 x  ____= $ ________

Stabling  $30 x  ____ = $ ________

Shavings: $9  x   ____ =$ ________

Drug Fee:   $5 x   _____=$________

Post Entry Fee: Mailed or Fax after 01/20/12 $25 x   ____  =$ ________

Credit Card Fee $10        =$  _______

Total Fees Due:       Checks Payable to 3 Day Ranch           $ _______

Card No.:_____________________ Exp.______Sec. Code_____Fax 951-506-2464

Mail to:  Margie Molloy, One BetterWorld Circle, Ste. 210, Temecula, CA  92590

If you are doing dressage test of choice-Please bring 2 copies of test of choice-if not doing USDF walk trot or USEA Test A Beginning Novice thru Intermediate.