06/16/2026
GMHA brought a big challenge with the heat and humidity, but made me the proudest trainer seeing my students rise to that challenge and take impeccable care of their horses through it all. On top of some great rides and huge personal growth for all horse and rider teams, we also enjoyed lots of laughter and puppy snuggles, delicious home cooked food, ice cream, some great farmers tans when jackets were waived and we sweated off our sunscreen, and even some unexpected parrot exposure!
Michael Rach 's beautiful Bali knocked it out of the park in her FEI 6YO tests, scoring an 8.34 in the preliminary and 7.76 in the final. She also got more arena time at second and third levels, gaining greater trust and confidence, as well as ability to stay focused. She brought home 3rd level high point and 2nd level reserve, with scores around 70 percent in those tests all weekend, and is now qualified for regionals at both levels. She also learned to cross bridges, proved she's no longer afraid of bikes or strollers, and bravely dipped her toes into the GMHA creek! I am over the moon excited about the partnership this mare has already formed with me in less than six months together, and ecstatic that these scores make it a reality that we are going to Lamplight!!!
My "little" homebred Hops made his first level debut at this show and clearly was ready for the move up. He scored high 60s to low 70s consistently all weekend, at both 1-2 and 1-3, as well as a qualifying score for regionals. He was his usual confident, steady, happy go lucky self, even with a few big mishaps including a loose horse right next to him in the warmup ring. I'm still waiting to hear if he won first level high point of the show, but regardless, I'm so incredibly proud of the big goober for his consistency and amazing rideability all weekend.
I will let my students make their own posts and share what they'd like about their personal victories this weekend, but I am beyond proud of them for their hard work and dedication to their horses. I have to give a special shout out to the ones who put their horses first and made the hard decision to sit this weekend out. That makes me prouder than any big fancy ribbon!
After such a long cold winter and spring, this weather was a bit of a shock for all of us. The horses enjoyed countless Triple Crown Feed mashes of Stress Free Forage to help keep their water intake up and their tummies protected from the stress, as well as hanging in front of their fans and lots of showers. They came home looking great, and are enjoying a couple much deserved days off!
