Future Event Horse Championships!

The East Coast Future Event Horse Championships were held today at the Virginia Horse Center in conjunction with the Virginia Horse Trials. Cavalina had been to 3 FEH shows this summer - with 2nd, 4th & 7th place finishes, so I decided to make the trek to championships.

We left our house (between Annapolis & Baltimore, MD) at 6:40 this morning and headed to Lexington, VA. Between Washington DC traffic and stopping for a bathroom break, we didn't get to the show grounds until 11:10... but it was a beautiful drive through the Shenandoah Valley - right between the Shenandoah & Blue Ridge Mountains for most of the drive and the leaves were soooo colorful!

When we took Cav off of the trailer she settled in within 5 minutes and just hung out eating grass. She pulled a few "stunts" when we started practicing our trot before entering the ring, but once she was in there she was a star! When we came out they announced that we had a 72.1 and were tied for 1st! The last filly ended up getting a 73.4, so we were bumped into 2nd, but still won the tie based on her walk score.

The top two horses from the Yearling Fillies & Yearling Colts/Geldings classes were invited back for the Yearling Championship. By this time, I think she was getting a bit tired - she still showed great and we ended up 4th in that class (we did have the lowest score going in - the 2 colts had higher scores than the filly who won).

I'm estatic that we didn't come in last, as that was a recurring theme at her shows this year - she either does REALLY well or she's last. The 4 hour drive was WELL worth it. It was a great experience and she's proving herself to be quite the show horse - she hung out quietly (a first!) at the trailer between classes, loaded and unloaded perfectly, stood for her bath and braiding last night and hauled like a pro.

Can't wait for next year when we lose the awkward yearling-ness ;)
Ok, without further ado - PICTURES!

Walking the triangle


Trotting the triangle


Sprinting across the long side ;)




Waiting for results - the Chestnut on the right is the horse we tied/beat for 2nd.


With her 2nd place ribbon


Her only moment of impatience, waiting to trot for the Championship. Check out the crossed legs "Moooooom, I just wanna go!"


With her Yearling Championship 4th place ribbon

That's so awesome! I absolutely love the Virginia Horse Center, it's amazing. I was their for USPC Championships this year. Anyways, congrats! You did great. I love your filly by the way. ;)

Thanks, BB! I love her too :)
The VHC ASTOUNDED me - it's soooo huge. So many barns, stalls and arenas... it took me a good 15 minutes to find the show office ;)

Congrats on your awesome show! She looks STUNNING and I can't wait to see how gorgeous she is when she finishes growing and fills out!

Thanks, Strange! I'm super excited for her to grow up to - I love her being little, but I want to see and ride the finished product! I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures of her posted around the forum over the years :)

Ooooo. Can't wait to see your girl all grown up! And yes, the VHC is huge. My favorite part was the collisieum. We went in July when it was HOT and it was the coolest place. Plus, all the USPC sponsors had a booth set up so there was lots of horse-related shopping. :)

Congrats! She's a very lovely horse!

Just curious is that other chestnut filly yearling too? She looks huge to me (may be just an angle of pic?).

Thanks Kitten! :)
The chestnut is a yearling! She was HUGE, as was the winner. That particular horse was a Hanoverian - probably about 15.2h since Cav's about 15h now.

I'm running out the door, but I'll post a link later that shows pictures of all the horses that competed. They were all VERY nice - with great eventing potential :)

Here's the link to USEA's article & pictures of all the young'ins... I am in love with the trot picture they got of Cav!

EventingUSA Blog Archive 2010 USEA Future Event Horse Championships–East Coast

Kitten, the tall chestnut is Freudenfeuer - her pics are right under Cav's. The winner, Early Review, was also massive - her pics are right above Cav's.

May sound silly, but I liked yours and the 3rd place way over 1st place. What are they judged on? (just curious...) And the 2 year old winner is just beautiful too!