News from Queensland
by Leasa Stephen
 

July was definitely been a full on and fun month... starting with the first weekend competing at Samford official dressage with both Cody and Gally. Extrememly happy with the day, particularly with Galanthus, who managed a wonderful 68% in the Elementary to win the class! Was just an awesome ride, Galanthus is feeling like he is coming into his own at this level... the medium test also went well, with a very respectable 2^nd place for Gally, and Cody coming in 4^th. I am still working on Cody’s strength and muscle development to help him along more in the Elem and Medium, so am very pleased with his results as well.

Galanthus

The following weekend saw me and the Stuartholme girls freezing up at the Interschool Champs up at Warwick. They did a wonderful job, under quite trying weather conditions on the first day, coming 2^nd in the dressage, and continued to place in every discipline throughout the weekend. A great result for all their hard work in the lead up! For us as coaches, we couldn’t have asked for a better group of riders to work with, great competitive spirit without the snippy-ness that competition nerves can sometimes bring! This competition saw the girls compete in the Musical Ride class, performing the Stuartholme Quadrille. This was great to watch and great fun to coordinate, and they just looked fantastic! The 14 strong quadrille team got a standing ovation from the crowd for their efforts...

The big FESTIVAL of DRESSAGE weekend was next on the list.... Sat 18^th at Pine Lodge, where over 2000 people came to see the best Festival ever! The Easi Response dontated to the Festival silent auction sold like hot cakes, so thank you so much for your continued support of this sport initiative. It is very very much appreciated!

Straight after the festival, was the next clinic with State Coach- Carlos DeCleermaecker, perfectly timed for a tune up, but after 6 full on days away from home/work, was nice to be back to some normalcy!

The final weekend of the month was NADEC official (Gold Coast)--- Galanthus scoring 69.8% in the Elementary after a super test! (one judge having us close to 73%!) And Cody getting 64% in the Elem I was very pleased with his improvement...

Feed wise- over half the Stuartholme team have now changed to Prydes feeds (thanks Ron for that talk last month- then having you at the Festival just backed it up!)... I have got Galanthus on Energy pak now in the lead up to all comps, as the extra energy boost is really helping him with that extra power and impulsion. And he loves the taste too, so he thinks he’s getting treats!  Above - Me and Ron Major from Prydes Feeds at the Festival of Dressage.

And so ended another jammed packed month in 2009! I have enclosed a photograph of my young stallion, Morriarty (pictured below.

Morriarty

I have had Morry for a couple of years now, but as I have Galanthus too, and I mostly go to competitions sans strapper, I have not wanted to compete two boys! So Morriarty and I have been training at home, and only had limited competition appearances.

He is EXTREMELY quiet, a joy to train and he learns things very fast, almost like he has done this all before. He is 7 years old, and by Friesian Stallion "Dirk" out of an Andalusian mare. Standing at 15hh ...  he is a real power pack!

Cheers to you all- See you at theToowoomba Two Star!

 

Leasa Stephen- Proudly a Prydes Rider!!!!

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