John Berney Equestrian: July 2011

Monday, July 25, 2011

It's party time...

Sad, but true, Euan is leaving us soon, off to start his new life in Texas. To celebrate all the great times we've enjoyed with him, the gang is gathering at Doheney at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10th. for a barbeque. There will be a sign-up sheet for food and beverages posted on John's board. (Rumor has that surfboards will be available for those who want to take to the waves.) Don't miss this chance to send him on his way in true Southern California style!

Our other "Elder Statesman"...

...Chestnut Hill, also known to all who love him as Devon. The big sweet Irish horse is ready to move into full retirement. Soon he'll be living at the pasture, hanging out with old friends including Poseidon and Gunther, under the watchful eye of Augustine. (And we're sure that Wendy will be keeping her eye on him, too!) He'll be missed, but he has more than earned his right to spend his golden years at leisure.

Victory Becomes A Marathon...

Three members of the John Berney Equestrian team spent a very long weekend at Blenheim for the Victory Horse Show this past Saturday and Sunday. Due to a limited number of entries, management made the decision to run all classes in one ring which made for very long days for John and our riders.

Maddie discovered that most of the hunter classes she wanted to show Concerto in were canceled due to lack of entries. On Saturday, she did bring home two blue ribbons in Junior/Amateur Hunters. Then, on Sunday, the pair made their jumper debut, placing third in the Modified Junior/Amateur and Preliminary classes, and sixth in the Mini Prix.

Our new horse and rider combo, Meghan McNamara and Here's Johnny placed second and third in the weekend's OCHSA Horsemanship classes, as well as placing third another day in the Equitation Medal. Oh yes, and she won the Equitation Medal one day, too! They, too, took a couple of spins in the jumper ring, picking up first and second place ribbons in the Pre-Training Jumper classes. Welcome Meghan and Johnny - we will do a photo feature on you very soon!

Makenna and Rich completed the trio of riders showing over the weekend. They were consistently in the ribbons in the Children's Hunter classes, and Makenna placed fifth in both her Open Equitation Classes, and in an OCHSA Horsemanship class.

Congratulations to all our horses and riders on their prizes and their tenacity for sticking it out through a long weekend of showing.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Horsepucky Excuse of the Week...

A new feature on the JBE blog - the best terrible excuse heard from one of our riders during the past week. This week's entry uttered by our boy jumper jock, Euan, is classic!

"I couldn't move up [to that fence I just buried my poor horse at] because you told me to keep my body quiet."

We'll be sharing these pearls of "horsepucky" regularly. If you hear one that you think must be shared, please send it to Margaret at maggiejazz@earthlink.net for publication!