Underscore - 2021 TB Makeover Graduate

24/05/2025

Here's our teeny, tiny stadium round. A few bobbles for sure, but I'm proud of myself for remaining focused and learning to soften at the base of each fence, even when our approach was awkward or the last departure was stronger than I'd liked. I'm proud of Blue for shaking off his little spooks or little tantrums and moving along to the next challenge, one by one.

24/05/2025

We're so proud of Blueberry for finishing second and getting TIP champion in the crossrails combined test at Tuscany Hollow Stables! It was our first outing together in six months, and only our second in the past two seasons. We definitely have some homework to take forward after some minor tension in our dressage test and in our stadium warm-up, but we recovered well from a few mental setbacks and finished on a 31. Congratulations to our Graystone Stable stablemates, Bethany and Ziggy, for winning the training division!

24/05/2025

Blueberry and I are entered in the crossrails CT at Tuscany Hollow Stables tomorrow, so we had a jump lesson this evening to get ready. In true Stephanie fashion, she made sure the course included tougher turns and at least one fence that would be bigger than what we'll see at the show. Predictably, Blueberry is patient with my anxiety and reminded me that he's got this.

12/05/2025

Blueberry (pictured as a little guy) wishes everyone a happy Mother’s Day - especially his own mother Unspurned. Whenever we see the little flecks of red in his bay coat, we’re reminded of where it came from.

01/05/2025

Blueberry's swag from the The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program national performance awards showed up in the mail this week, so naturally we had to get a couple of photos of him after tonight's lesson. I think he was more focused on checking my pockets for cookies than the pretty ribbons.

30/04/2025

We were so, so lucky last week to spend some time with Unspurned, Blueberry's dam, at her home in Ontario. We also got to meet his brand new little sister, a stunning filly by Charlatan.

Unspurned is the horse who started this whole journey for me. I sought out Blueberry because of his mother, and therefore I owe her everything. It was wonderful to see her looking so relaxed and well, enjoying a breezy day on the farm where she herself was born. I think of her every time the sun catches Blueberry's tail and I see the red streaks he inherited from her, and it's lovely now to have a mental picture of her in the place where she's so loved and happy.

This little chestnut baby though, whew. She's going to be a handful. She's already clever, already spunky, and she has a lovely shoulder to her. I can't wait to see how she grows up...but I am not sure I'll envy the person who has to get her to keep all four feet on the ground if she goes to the sale.

14/04/2025

We've been so eagerly awaiting this package from For the Love of Ribbons and it did not disappoint! I have so many ribbons from Blueberry's show career and my own before him, but it's hard to think of ways to display them creatively. The wreath is rosettes from my horse shows at and the ornaments are from my time with Blueberry and Jitterbug. Will cherish these forever!

06/04/2025

Blueberry gave us a fright this morning. Apparently after being turned out in a new field with his faithful friend, something prompted him to try to jump his gate. We don't know exactly what happened, but our best guess is he got to running and playing, came galloping at the gate, and misjudged his own speed (and ability to fully clear the gate).

Fortunately, he escaped this misadventure with only a few superficial scrapes. I think of all the ways this tangle could have resulted in an emergency vet call, or much worse...especially when you see the way the metal is mangled. As our coach said when she sent us the first photo, he had angels with him today, and we're so thankful.

29/03/2025

Blueberry and I had a great lesson off the farm this morning as we take aim at our season opener next weekend. He seemed so happy for a change of scenery and easily snapped back in to the routine of working away from home. We even jumped a couple of small crossrails! Masterson Equestrian Trust (MET)

21/03/2025

We are so, so proud to announce that Blueberry was fifth IN THE NATION in all eventing OTTBs and the regional champion for eventers in the 2024 TIP National Performance Awards. We are so very proud of our little buddy.

As always, many thanks to our coach Stephanie, who was his partner for all but one of his outings last year. Our overall goal with his season as an eventer was to improve his confidence and emotional resilience (which we think has been successful); his wonderful placings last year were a nice bonus, and these awards are the cherry on top.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🏆

The performance awards recognize Thoroughbreds accumulating the most points at all horse shows and cover a wide variety of disciplines and experience levels. In 2024, 691 Thoroughbreds from 44 states and five provinces competed in more than 14,000 classes, divisions, and events. Awards were calculated in 16 discipline categories as well as 99 divisions and nine junior rider divisions. Category and division awards included the Green OTTB category for Thoroughbreds that last raced in 2022, 2023, or 2024, with generous sponsorship for these awards provided by Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA).

𝓟𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓮 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓹 𝓾𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂 𝓒𝓗𝓔𝓔𝓡𝓢 𝓽𝓸 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓹𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓼.

The complete list of winners and participants is available at tjctip.com/PerformanceAwardsWinners.

📸 Jumper Champion Brayden Gault and Jumper Reserve Champion Samuelle Leerkamp at the 2024 USHJA National Championships (Samantha Gault, photo)

19/03/2025

During last week's lesson, our coach noticed Blueberry was a little unmotivated as we worked on our dressage and decided to throw this little cavaletti into the mix. Sure enough, he brightened right up and found all kinds of new energy.

So often, keeping a horse's brain happy is just as important as keeping their body happy.