I know I'm being biased when I say this, but Aaron has the best guys that work for him. Trey and Abel drove I believe 18 hours, leaving Thurs afternoon and arriving at 5am Fri morning to drop Lizzie's horse off at a layover farm and then on to USET. We arrived Friday afternoon and had a warm up class. We went to dinner, headed to the hotel and they were up and gone by 5am the next morning! Abel takes care of our horses and the pride he has is off the charts. He said some of the other guys were asking him what he does to get the horses so clean and shiny!
 |
| Abel and Gregor |
Both Trey and Abel were there to do whatever needed to be done!
 |
| Trey and Abel |
Going over some last minute details before heading into the ring.
 |
| Aaron Vale and Sarah |
Working on the flat. Judges Karen Healy and Robert Ridland in the background.
 |
| Sarah and Gregor |
 |
| Sarah and Gregor |
The jumping section. Sarah started out strong, and her first seven jumps were unbelievable! Then they headed to the open water. Going strong with much determination, they got right to the open water and Gregor planted his feet. It was a dirty stop which is unusual for him. He had just jumped the open water on Friday but on Sunday, he wasn't having it. Obviously a sad moment but as we sometimes say, "that's horse showing for you." You can be on top of the world one minute, and on the bottom the next! It's a very humbling sport! As the mom, obviously the wins are better than the defeats. I hate to see my girls sad, upset, frustrated, etc but I also realize that these are all life's lessons. Life doesn't promise us things won't go terribly bad. It does promise us, however, there will be another chance. We are heading to Harrisburg for Medal finals and then Maclay finals! Life is good.
