Aaron Vale and Smartie $50k Kentucky Puissance

As we arrive in Lexington, Ky for Maclay finals, we also get to see Aaron do another Puissance on Smartie!  Smartie is Sarah's Jr Jumper and he passed the try outs once again to get the chance to jump an incredibly high wall!!

I thought I'd try and give Aaron some advice and tips before the class, this is the response I got.

Tonight was barn night and local barns came with banners, horns, costumes, you name it and made lots of noise in hopes of be the winner of a brand new Golf Cart!  They also really like Aaron and were not shy about showing it!!

They also won the Golf Cart!

In the end, even without my training tips (snicker!) Aaron and Smartie placed 2nd in the $50k Puissance!  The height of the first wall was 5'9", it then went to 6'3" and then to 6'9".  When it was just Aaron and Tim left, with the wall at 7', Tim and his amazing horse cleared the wall and Aaron and Smartie (who is no doubt just as fabulous at 6'9"!) did not clear 7'.  

Press conference after Puissance class!


Watch Aaron and Smartie's rounds!

Washington International Horse Show 2013

Stalls are in the streets!

Walking down the ramp to ride!

This was Lizzie's first time to qualify for Washington and she qualified in both Equitation and Jumpers!

The Washington DC show is such a fabulous show in the sense that it's located at the Verizon Center in downtown DC..... yes, horse stalls are set up in the streets of DC!  For one week, roads are blocked off and horses are trailered in from Prince George's Equestrian Center depending on when they show.  Just imagine for a minute semis of horses maneuvering the streets of DC!  To simply qualify for this show says a lot.  The Low Jr Jumpers took the top 23 riders.  The WIHS Equitation took the top 30 riders from the East and top 10 from the West.  It's very exciting to qualify for this show!

We flew into BWI Wednesday night and Lizzie was schooling her jumper at 11:30pm!  Her original schooling time was 3am but we were able to slip in early!  

Preparing to practice on the Equitation horse at
Prince George's Equestrian Center

Thursday was her first Low Jr Jumper Class and she had three rails down but rode great, Zadermus was great as well.  

Friday was Jr Jumper and the Hunter phase of the WIHS.  Lizzie was clear in the Speed class and ended up 6th in the Jr Jumpers!  The Hunter phase of WIHS didn't go as well.  Lizzie ended up with a score of 65 which was the average of the combined scores.  Call it "nerves", call it "making the first jump count" or just call it a bad round... it was disappointing for sure.

KC placing 6th in High Jr Jumper and
Lizzie placing 6th in Low Jr Jumpers!

Saturday was the Low Jr Jumper classic and the Jumper phase of WIHS.  Lizzie was the first to compete in the Jr Jumper classic.  Not really the spot you want to draw but you have no choice!  It's always nice to watch some rounds to see what others do.  Lizzie and Zadermus had two rails down but rode beautifully.  Both Lizzie and Aaron Vale, her trainer were pleased with how the jumpers went.  In the WIHS Jumper phase, they went in reverse order so Lizzie went 4th.  She received scores of 83 and 84 but had 3 time faults so her average score ended up being 80. They ribboned the top 10 of the class and Lizzie ended up 14th out of 40 riders.  Again, she and Aaron were both pleased with her round but knew there was no way for her to make the final cut.  That being said, it was an incredible experience and we look forward to next year and work hard to make the qualifying list!

Another exciting part of this show is the Friday night Puissance class!  Aaron rode Sarah's Jr Jumper Smartie and tied for 2nd place!  It was so much fun to watch them topping the wall at 6'6"!!  When it was raised to 6'11", Smartie decided that was more than he wanted to jump!!

Lizzie and Zadermus

Lizzie and Zadermus
Low Jr Jumper Classic
4th out of 38


To say that I'm crazy about these two is an understatement!  I've loved seeing how Lizzie and Z have grown and bonded over the last 6 months because exactly 6 months ago it was a different story!  Lizzie's trainer, Aaron Vale called us after a trip to Europe and said, "I really think you should buy this horse for Lizzie"  We watched a video of Z, Lizzie wasn't overly impressed but we trusted Aaron and made Z a member of the van der Walde clan!

Z arrived late last October and came to the November Kentucky show.  Lizzie did a schooling class on him and it was a disaster.... I believe her exact words were, "I'm not getting on that horse again."

Z went back to Florida with Aaron and spent the winter in training.

Lizzie and Z were successful during the Ocala Winter Circuit and are starting off the summer show schedule with a bang!  They have become great partners and I am hopeful that I will have more "bragging" moments.  It's a mom's job after all

Sarah and Ocala horse showing 2013

We love showing during the circuit in Ocala, Florida each year.  It makes leaving the wintery days in Michigan easier!  That being said, it's also much tougher to get qualified in the Equitation classes.  There are anywhere between 45-50 riders in each Equitation class!  For the riders, you have to make every round count!  

So proud of Sarah in this particular WIHS Hunter phase round.  She received a score of 87!  She placed 3rd in that class, 1st and 2nd place received scores of 88 and 89!  She had the WIHS Jumper phase the next day and received a score of 82 which placed her 4th overall with her combined scores!