Round one of cold hosing has begun….🥵
There are some of you out there that understand what a big moment this is…
Frank had everything put back together on Saturday and went to prime the engine and there was a feul leak. Nooooooooo
There was a brief moment where I thought I might need to seek some psychiatric help for him. 
Instead, I went and bought him a chocolate shake from Culver’s. 🤣
Today…..success!!! 🎉🥂
A perfect night with @abbykayband at Micky Finns!!
Elton
Full wrap up of a much more successful day at Silverwood HT to come.
But thought I would share Elton’s SJ round.
After an out of character 6 rails and a CR last weekend in Ky I was grateful Lisa Cannata let me do a last minute substitution for Elton, as I did not want to head into a 6 week break with that on my mind.
He put in a lovely clear round with just 2 seconds of time.
Good boy. Very relieved. 🥰
f course we have always thought she was special, but watching Gretta’s daughter Addie at only 5 years old spend the last 2 days teaching 6 year old Savanna how to trot on only her second ride ever, and 11 year old Hailey to canter on their first ever ride together…..Well …. A little piece of momma G is still with us. 🥰
Griff says… “too hot for horse show”
🤷♀️🤣
Roscoe
A little progress update on our Irish import Roscoe. We are so happy to have Lauren spending some time at ACF this summer.
She took Roscoe on his first solo appearance in our jump field this morning and he was super. This youngster is starting to show the talent we have been hoping for. ❤️
AC Irish Goodbye
Elton XC
Full wrap up of our weekend at IEA to come, but thought I would share my “unique” moment with Elton on Cross Country. This was a first. He decided there was a bank out of water that didn’t exist which made the 2cnd wedge near impossible. It was a bummer but bless him for being the overachiever he is.
🤣❤️
Grain bin makes a comfy pillow….
Addie 💤
For those of you always asking… YES they sleep standing up…
And YES they snore!
🤣😂🤣😂
Griff Stableview
A couple weeks late but sharing our last competition in Aiken at Stableview HT.
The weekend was a bit of a rollercoaster as this was his best dressage test of the trip. He was relaxed and obedient, even with horses galloping next to his ring on XC, which definitely created chaos for other riders.
We had an extremely frustrating 3 rails in SJ. I felt the round was smooth and he could have tried a bit harder.
He redeemed himself on XC, rifling around a big course with some tough combinations. This was the most “on task” he has felt at the new level. I own the one problem we had at a tough coffin combination. I was certain if I got the first element done, he would jump the ditch, as he is not a stopper, and thought there was no place else to go. I was clearly mistaken as seen in the video and paid for it.
Lesson learned!
So proud of both boys moving up early in the year and my girl Addie getting a great start!
Looking forward to the remainder of the season back home. ❤️
AC Graphite De Vains
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHUQf21XJQU
First
Very scary day for ACF South yesterday. Frank and I had just pulled out with Addie from Jumping Branch Farm HT (Elton had competed in the morning).
Frank received an alert from the security camera of movement and the footage below was what we were faced with. Our other 4 horses were all atypically in the barn, as we had decided to give them a little break from sun and bugs while Addie did dressage.
Needless to say our trip home was slightly quicker than the trip there. (Addie forgive us).
We started making frantic phone calls to all our neighbors hoping to get an update.
I am beyond grateful to Elizabeth Callahan and Robert for reaching out as soon as they got word of the fire, and it’s location. I must have asked Siri to call Didi about 10 times ( apparently emergency situations are not one of Siri’s strengths) 🤣
All of a sudden Didi was calling me offering any help.
We pulled up the driveway (I somehow managed not to hit any of the fire engines by about a hair’s width) and immediately loaded 2 more and headed back out.
Our friend and neighbor JP pulled in right after to grab the other 2.
The horses were understandably rattled, but thank goodness cooperated.
They were all safely relocated to Didi and Robert’s beautiful barn.
The stalls are about the size of small paddocks, so Griff and Addie were happy to share. ❤️
We were able to finally bring them all back about 10 o’clock last night. Still a bit smoky but seemed safe enough to let them head into their pasture. Frank was actually supposed to fly home and spend Easter with family today but with lots of hotspots still out there and him working until after midnight taking all the fence boards off of our burning posts he didn’t really have it in him to get up and catch a flight at 5:30 in the morning.
I know he’s very sad to not be with family today, as I am as well. But we again are so grateful for the safety of the horses and the amazing community that we realize we ha
Our sweet Addie had a second solo outing to Apple Tree Farm farm yesterday.
I remember the sheer joy I used to feel riding her mama Gretta.
Her daughter may not be quite as fancy or have quite the athleticism or be quite the star in the making. The joy is the same. 😍😍😍
AC Adelion
Although scores would not quite reflect my happiness with both boys this weekend, at the end of the day, they have both moved up a level successfully!
Carolina International is not only an incredible venue for competitors, but also an opportunity to watch the best in our sport prep for a chance at Paris. The weather was picture perfect, the courses challenging but beautiful, and all the extras provided to those in attendance a bonus.
Griff had a relaxed dressage and just a couple of rails on SJ. He came out of the box like gangbusters. Then an unfortunate fall on course resulting in the removal of a jump caused us to be held in excess of 10 minutes. It has been quite a long time since I’ve experienced a hold, and it is always tough on both horse and rider. He never quite felt the same after being released from the hold but still managed to jump around the tough track with just one stop at the last water, which was shared with the level above, and just a bit of time.
He has always been such a cool but challenging horse, and every step forward is a milestone.
I considered not running Elton around the cross country as it would not be called a “move up” course for sure. But he put in a nice dressage and double clear show jump, leaving us in 9th.
I figured I would head out and let him tell me how he felt. He was absolutely super at all the tough stuff and just had a couple of silly stops due to ride-ability. He can be quite bold and strong at times which is something I am still learning to manage.
Boy, I really love him though and such a partnership we are developing.
Overall a super fun weekend hanging out with great friends.
And most important… Frank was absolutely amazing helping me go back-and-forth between horses, at times with a very short turn around.
Always so grateful for all he does!
Roscoe
We were pretty blown away with our Irish import, Roscoe, handling his first ever horse show at Apple Tree Farm like a pro.
I thought the 2’ jumps looked huge, clearly he was unimpressed. 🤣❤️
AC Irish Goodbye
Griff SJ and Cross Country from Pine Top Modified.
AC Graphite De Vains
AC Sir Elton
It was Elton’s turn to shine this weekend finishing 8th with a double clear XC and SJ on our dressage score of 31 at Jumping Branch Farm.
Since his surgery to correct kissing spine he has become a wonderful partner and a blast to ride.
The 31 is an 8 point improvement from our initial competition, but I would love to shave a few more points off to put us closer to the top.
Homework!
Shout out to David Taylor for a super job on XC course design at all levels. 👏
Addie Appletree
Our sweet baby Addie had her very first solo outing today at Apple Tree Farm. There was definitely some calling going on, but so proud of her for staying focused and brave in Sj.
Even dressage was pretty darn good, although the train of shetland ponies in the adjoining ring was VERY intriguing. 🤣
AC Adelion
Bruces field
First Modified trip for Griff and I in the books at Bruce’s field this morning. Prepping for our move up at Pine Top in 2 weeks.
I could be a bit smoother but boy does he try. ❤️
AC Graphite De Vains
Griff Bruce’s Field
Our first month in Aiken was spent without a truck as it was repaired from an unfortunate deer encounter.
Now that it’s back trying to catch up on all the wonderful schooling opportunities Aiken offers.
Griff had his first Tuesday at Bruce’s field and put in quite a respectable round. Hopefully get Elton out tomorrow and will be ready for the weekend!
AC Graphite De Vains
