Major Milestones for horses and riders at Equisential
It has been a long hot summer for us in Wellington, but in spite of that, we have had some important milestones for horses and riders. Fortunately, even with the Covid-19 restrictions in place, we were able to participate in several horse shows. We feel so blessed and grateful to Sarah Bushong-Weeks to have been able to show 4 of her horses in the Grand Prix division.
Damon’s Design HW made his debut in the Developing Grand Prix with scores in the high 60’s. It was the culmination of 6 years of hard work to take him from Training Level to Grand Prix, almost like graduating from Medical School! When you start out with a young horse and all possibilities are before you, of course, your hope is that he will become a successful Grand Prix horse. There were many twists and turns along the way but it feels wonderful to accomplish that goal and know that he still has more potential that we haven’t tapped into yet. Damon will be competing in the Lovsta Challenge in January 2021 and then on to the Open Grand Prix.
Destaque HI made his first fore’ into the Grand Prix arena with a strong start, scoring in the mid 60’s. We purchased him last April and spent the next year getting to know one another and building a partnership that gave him the confidence to be a good partner in the show arena. He is improving on a daily basis and is showing a lot of scope to become a good Grand Prix horse.
Eragon VO has been a rock star this summer, winning 2 of 3 of his Grand Prix classes. He is the most experienced at that level and he showed the “green Grand Prix” horses how to be successful in the arena. We are looking toward moving up the Grand Prix Special Test for the upcoming season. He is an amazing partner and is the picture of consistency. He has even garnered scores as high as 9 for his piaff and passage on the final center line of the test!
The most joyful event of the summer was Mary Anne getting the final score needed to secure her Gold Medal.? She did that riding Cenozoico VO in his debut in the Grand Prix arena. She was able to achieve the scores needed for the medal on 3 different horses, Wyatt, Royal Waltz and Cenozoico VO.? Next, she will be turning her attention to competing of Lord Lennox HW in the upcoming September show.