Holly Hill vs. The Pants

I say VS because the cards were not stacked exactly in his favor this weekend.

Lauren had been sick the week prior and not able to practice as much as she wanted, they didn't do the first Novice together 3 weeks ago, and it literally POURED for 2 days straight while they were in the Deep South. Louisiana man.

All that being said, I had the utmost confidence in my lil team because Yankee has been killin it at the CT & Jumper show game and training has always been a breeze for him (me, not so much). Plus, hes been in constant work since practically December and was more than ready.

For example,

yeah, he ready

He made the trek from Kansas to Louisiana like a champ, per usual and settled in for the next day with his  PJs and braids.

Dressage was...good. Apparently he screamed for his barn mate the entire time, which is exceptioanlly uncharacteristic of him, but still snagged a 34.5 in Training Dressage. Not too shabby. I wish I had seen it, but I'm quite proud.

An extra good photo of dressage for ya'll

My man has never scored well in dressage even though hes pretty fucking fabulous. Something about judges not liking TBs. Who knows. We sometimes made up for it in jumping, but the way eventing is going...ya'll know dressage is literally the most important phase now.

Stadium was tricky for Yanks. As I mentioned before, it poured for two days and thus, soaked the ground. For some reason they ran Stadium grass even though there was a ring. As soon as Lauren told me that my heart sank a bit. The Pants is a HUGE baby about grass rings. Very cautious and timid. Usually pulls a few rails because he is not forward enough. Honestly, who could blame him though for stepping lightly?

I advised to stud and just feel it out. I was super nervous to hear how it went.

Unfortunately, he pulled four rails, as I had feared. The Prince just didn't "feel it" that day and was a wee sucked back. Typical for him. I was disappointed, but that is his one quirk. I told Lauren to keep her chin up, XC the next day!!

Yankee came out strong on XC day though! He was a machine. See for yourself!



If that isnt working, the link for the video is HERE.

I about cried watching him tackle XC like a freight train. No qualms, whatsoever. Double clear!

Dat tail doh

Couldn't be happier ending on that note. Stadium on grass will always be an issue for The Pants, but luckily he has a bomb ass rider, trainer and support system to help him thorough it all! Honestly, XC with no penalties is amazing. I always managed to rack them up, so in all honesty I'm happy he has a rider than can take him where I cannot! Next time, buddy.