Emily Beshear

“Blue Devil” is now available for a new rider to enjoy. 1994 17.2 hand Irish Sport Horse Gelding.  ”Duke” has been part of our family for many years now.. first helping Jeff compete in his first 1* and Intermediate HT.  Then placing 3rd at the Bromont 2* and winning the MCTA Advanced HT once Emily took over the reins.  The past few years have seen him with owner Carrie Meehan showing her how to win at the Preliminary Level, including 2 AEC Championships, and giving her valuable experience at the 1* and Intermediate Level.  He is currently training with Emily in Aiken and is feeling great and ready to go.  Owners are open to both Sale and Lease options with a retirement home guaranteed with us at Brickland Farm.   As an added bonus there is also the offer of either a working student opening or reduced training (lesson) board with Emily…  the ideal way to make the most of all that this great horse has to offer! For more details on those options please contact Emily 434-960-2370 or email bricklandfarm@gmail.com.

Link to Dressage at The Fork 2011     Link to SJ at The Fork 2011

 The fanciest Brickland homebred to date, “Lancelot B” (Love Affair x Sweet Shananie), is going to follow his calling as a dressage horse.  We wish to congratulate the MacNair Family on their purchase and wish them the best with our sweet Leo.  Thanks go out to Pati Pierucci of Pierucci Dressage for connecting Leo with his new rider.  He will certainly be missed!!

Lauren Sumner Photo

At the beginning of the year Jeff said that my goal should be to complete 2 CCI***’s… Seeing that Quincy had only run one advanced horse trial I simply laughed and said why don’t we just aim to qualify for one first.  Well he definitely gets a big told-you-so now!  Fair Hill was our 2nd CCI*** completion of the year AND our 2nd top 10 finish at a CCI***.  What a way to finish the year! And now that I’ve spoiled the ending I’ll share the full weekend..

Fair Hill definitely had a packed field of top horses and riders and everyone was there with their A-game.  I was feeling that we certainly belonged there and had a good shot at starting off right in the mix but was realistic about the challenges that the cross-country would bring.  Quincy was very relaxed and focused from day one and had his usual pre-jog ride in a hackamore wandering around grazing at will.  Pretty intense  Once we realized my dressage would be on Friday I took Quincy out for a short gallop Wednesday evening and got my first feel of the deep footing.. That was Wednesday.. then we got 2 more days of rain (more on that later).  So Thursday consisted of an early dressage tune-up which went according to plan (with several moments of leaping and bounding just for good measure).  The ring was open for an hour of “familiarization” Thursday evening and it was quite a site to see.  Usually these times consist of walking on a long rein around the exterior of the rings… this was not one of those times.  This time the rings were fully open for schooling so Quincy and I enjoyed watching the 3* horses playing chicken  practicing their tests.  He found a nice parking spot, took a deep breath, and took it all in.  Exactly what I was hoping to do..  Friday morning we went out for another short hack and we were ready.  Quincy carried his relaxed, confident attitude all the way through the test and I was thrilled.  This was his first time doing the CCI*** B-test so I came out of the ring knowing I played it a little safe.  But I must be honest and say I was disappointed with our score of 54.4… In the end I need to work over the winter to add bigger movement within our work without sacrificing his great consistency.

However my thoughts quickly moved to cross-country day and whether or not we’d even be able to continue on with the weekend based on the seriously soaked ground. By the afternoon the sun finally came out and the wind picked up giving us a glimmer of hope.  I became more hopeful when we went out to walk and saw all of the footing being put at the base of the jumps.  The officials deemed the course good to go since all believed the wind in the overnight would help dry things out enough for us to safely run.  The good news was that the course did prove to be safe because of all the footing on the take-off to the jumps.  The bad news was that the ground was so saturated that the galloping lanes became a mine-field of deep holes.  My plan was to go to the warm-up and see how Quincy was jumping out of the deep footing and then decide whether or not I was going to leave the start box.  Trotting took a great deal of effort so we did very little of that.. Cantering felt slightly better but still quite unstable.. However the jumping felt great.  My concern was that warming up too much was going to wear him out but Quincy didn’t seem too interested in walking around.  So our warm-up consisted of standing.  I’m fairly certain he was the most laid back horse ever in a 3* cross-country warm-up.  Needless to say it gave me a little more reason for concern that maybe he just wasn’t feeling up to the task.. I love being proven wrong!! (not really but on this occasion for sure)  Quincy stayed in his sleepy state even when I went over to the start and jumped quietly over the first fence but when I asked him to gallop on the way to the 2nd fence he kicked it up a notch.  I started to feel pretty good about things until I looked down to find the best footing in the galloping lane and realized there was none.. That was when I made the decision to no longer look down and just get on with it.  Fortunately Quincy was more than up to the task.  He felt as though he was able to gallop on top of the deep footing and his mind seemed to stay relaxed and composed the whole way around.  It was a fantastic feeling having him so focused and confident.  My goal was to make his job as easy as possible so I didn’t press for the time and tried not to break my rhythm when setting up for all of the technical (and unrelenting) combinations on the course.  There were so many places that things could go wrong and many that specifically addressed areas of weakness for us.  But Quincy just had it all figured out and the only awkward fence we had was simply because he jumped too big through the coffin and got close on the way out over the skinny brush.  But in true Quincy fashion he handled it by jumping higher… After about 8 minutes I felt him start to get a little fatigued so spent more time setting up before turns and jumps but he continued to jump great and gallop on when we landed.  After the 4th water (yes there really were 4 water jumps) I was finally brave enough to glance at my watch and was thrilled to see we were only about 30 seconds behind (and I say about because I never bothered to actually wheel for minute markers).  We finished the course at 10:27, just 18 seconds over and the 4th fastest time of the day! What a super star he’s become!!!

The day went well for so many horses and riders which truly proves that this sport is all about the great partnerships we develop.  Quincy got back to the barn and didn’t lift his head out of the feed bucket and haynet for the next 2 hours straight.  He got loads more carrots than usual which was used to offset the increase in tormenting him with his ice boots. But he handled it all with the same poise he had the whole competition.  He was given the thumbs up by Jeff (whom received a little lecture about not jinxing things by saying he was going to be great the next day…) and then was tucked in for the night.

Sunday morning went as Jeff predicted and Quincy jogged great.  Then we got a start on packing to help the day go by since the 3* show jumping didn’t start until 1:30.  We were sitting 10th heading into show jumping with numerous horses all within 1 point.  Of course my goal was to jump around clear and I thought my chances were better than usual since the course consisted of 3 double combinations instead of a triple.  And Quincy felt great in the warm-up but it was not to be.. We had a fairly smooth round but an unfortunate rail at an oxer coming off of a short turn. Every time I start to feel disappointed by the rail I just think of what an awesome effort Quincy gave me on Saturday and realize it’s certainly not from lack of trying.  The horse tries so hard and has amazing heart.  I will be sure to focus this winter on trying to get rid of the annoying 4-fault show jumping rounds but will tell him all the practice is for me, not him

Quincy is currently outside tonight with his pony and no rug on and he’s happy as can be.. letting him get dirty and furry is the least I can do (for a few days at least…).

Thanks to everyone  for the support and encouragement throughout the past year.  We’ll enjoy our down time so we come out fresh and ready in 2012 to continue building on our successes. Thanks as well to everyone sharing these great photos.

Kat Morgan Photo

Kat Morgan Photo

Kat Morgan Photo

Andie Bicho Photo

A recent addition to our program, “Brickland Super 8″ (aka Marty), is a stunning upper level event prospect now offered for sale. With an uphill build and super athleticism this 2008 16.3+ hand Bay Gelding appears to have an excellent future.  Sweet personality and eager to please.  Most of his initial schooling has focused on a good flatwork foundation.  Hacking out and starting over fences.  At this point in his training he will need an experienced rider to continue his education and should be ready to compete in the spring.  The sky’s the limit for this one!  Recent vetting and radiographs. Price will increase with training. $8k

It seems anything you hear about the Morven Park Horse Trials this past weekend starts off with details about the cold, rain,  and mud…  I’m the first to agree that the conditions were miserable but I am so proud of how my horses (and riders) rose to the occasion.  The non-mud highlight of the weekend for me was Quincy’s first Advanced dressage score in the 20′s!  He just keeps building strength and understanding at the level which leaves me so excited. That was Friday…then the rain began. First up Saturday was the Advanced show jumping and while we did not jump a clear round I was extremely pleased with the way Quincy jumped around, especially the triple combination. I was a little slow to focus on our turns after the fences which caused a few time faults and a little slow to help him re-balance on the landing of the triple bar which caused a rail. I had already decided not to run the cross-country so I think I may have been just a little too relaxed about the whole thing but will certainly be focused on not giving up those extra faults on Sunday at Fair Hill!

The rest of Saturday went by in a blur with Jeff competing in his first Preliminary HT with Pacific Storm (“Winnie”) and me riding 2 in the Training HT, Patricia and Moose (his first Training).  By the end of the day we knew for certain that all 3 horses were seriously good in adverse conditions.  The highlight was Moose finishing 2nd!  And while I am as cautious as anyone else when it comes to keeping my horses safe and sound it is not always the worst situation to see how horses handle soggy conditions while they’re still competing at a lower-level.  We went out on each horse with the idea that if they felt at all unsure we would simply pull up but the ground held up remarkably well.  It was deep but not sticky or heavy and the horses were all very confident the whole way around.

We finally arrived at Fairburn after not the smoothest of journeys. I picked Chris  (my husband) up at the airport on the way. Well it seemed like a good plan until the airline lost his luggage. TS Lee slowed us down a bit but not as much as the blow out on 85, Moose and our 2 dogs seemed totally unfazed by the delay. We settled Moose in his allotted stall and set off to find the hotel. I swear I said left, Chris says I said right, anyway we got lost and then got stopped by the police who thought we were casing the joint! So by the time we got to the hotel it was time to go back and start with Moose. Blimey up all night and not a drop of alcohol had passed my lips, what’s going on. Weds and Thurs were spent settling Moose. He’s getting the hang of it and was very well behaved but it is still a lot for him to take in. I did my usual power walking while he takes in the sights and sounds. He worked well for Emily and we all felt very positive. As he walked out of the barn for his dressage on Friday I was very pleased with how I had turned him out. My plaits looked good, but thanks go to jacline for doing his forelock as my attempt was not the greatest.

His dressage test was not without drama as a horse got loose right at the ringside. There was a lot of commotion as two riders tried to keep it from entering the arena. Everyone looked except Moose, just a nod of the head was the only sign, Emily kept him focused and executed a lovely test that put us in 5^th place. I managed to video it all, but you can hear me say “ oh no “ at the loose horse. Thank goodness that’s all I said and the video is still be useable. My stomach went over as I thought our chance had been taken away before we had hardly got started.

Later we went out and walked the xc course and it was the turn of my heart to up it’s tempo. Not at the exertion of keeping up with Emily as she confidently strode around the course but at some of the questions the course asked, especially the water complex. I thought it was quite challenging for a novice and I had to keep reminding myself that it was the championships after all so it wasn’t going to be an easy stroll in the park. As Emily and Moose waited at the start box someone asked me if I was nervous. It’s a funny feeling really. Yes I had “ nerves’ but a nervous excitement. You really want them to do well, both to be safe and have a good positive round. But the strongest feeling I had was that I really wanted Moose to do well for Emily. She has worked tirelessly and patiently with Moose and I really wanted him to reward all her hard work. It might be worth mentioning at this point that I keep Moose at home and I trailer him to Emilys everyday. This I know is not the most convenient situation for her (not having him on site) but she happily accommodates me and I am very grateful for this as it enables me to be a lot more hands on and I also feel involved in each and every training session. I am taking it as a back handed compliment that whilst she allows this to be I must be doing an ok job. A huge cheer followed them up the hill from the water and a foot perfect round with no penalties followed. The video is on Eventing Nation. Thank you George, John and Coren.

So we went into the show jumping still 5^th. Poles were falling and Chris announced that  “ this is no good for my blood pressure” as his Moose entered the arena. We both had our hands on our heads as he brushed a couple but they stayed in place and with no time penalties finished on their dressage score of 28.3 moving up to 3^rd place. At the prize giving Chris got all choked up (I saved mine till I was washing Moose off) especially on the lap of honor. Emily could only allow him a canter around half of the arena though as Moose was getting a little too exuberant in the hackamore. What a super time we had at a beautiful facility. The organization was second to none and I was over whelmed at the prizes awarded to us. Thank you all very much.

Michelle

What a perfect weekend for the AEC’s at Chattahoochee Hills!  Thank you to Carl Bouckaert for hosting such a great competition and to all of the sponsors that make these championships possible.  We were fortunate to come home with a few bags of prizes the most of which going (yet again!) to Carrie Meehan and Blue Devil (“Duke”) for their win in the Preliminary Amateur divison.  This is the 2nd year in a row that the pair have brought home an AEC championship.  After a very good dressage test they were placed 3rd and added nothing to that on cross-country.  The courses at all levels were quite technical but they made it look easy.  The placings shifted quite a bit after show jumping in most divisions since the scores were very close.  Carrie did what she need to and rode a smooth and accurate round to finish on her dressage score.  We were all shocked when the top 2 placing riders had trouble and Carrie won again.

The next big bag of prizes went to “Moose” for his 3rd place finish out of 35 in the Novice Horse division.  I began riding Moose last winter so we’re all very proud of how far he has come in such a short time and excited with where it seems he’ll be able to go. Chris and Michelle Adamson (Moose’s owners) were on hand for the event and loved every minute of it. I’ll get Michelle to write a little something from the owner’s perspective soon…

View from the top of "Bit of Britain Drop"

Quincy and I had an awesome weekend in the Advanced division and while we were right in the think of it heading into show jumping an unfortunate rail left us in 4th for the final placings.  But the great thing about the AEC’s is that the prize bags go to 6th place!   Plus we won the Omega Alpha cooler for being closest to the optimum time on cross-country (we finished exactly on the time!). Definitely a great accomplishment in his 1st year at Advanced competing against so many veteran pairs. I’ll have lots of photos and video to share very soon so watch for the AEC updates! (yes we had to jump both of the skinny triple brushes that look like little specs in the photo…they weren’t that far away, the drop was that far down!)

We started the weekend off right with his best Advanced dressage test thus far (and certainly room for even better to come!).  Thanks to EN for sharing.  Here’s To You Advanced Dressage.

Read more about our weekend from the daily EN posts:

Dressage Day

Cross-country Day

Show Jumping Day

And just as a note to other competitors… I can easily say that the footing on cross-country was the best I’ve run on all year.  The courses were quite technical at all levels but overall had a great flow and rode really well.  I realize we did luck out with the weather but they’ve definitely done a lot of work to make improvements from last year.

We’re very excited to announce another great company joining our team of sponsors.  Eqyss has a superb line of grooming products for our horses and I’ve been a big fan for several years.  It all began when I was given a sample bottle of the Survivor Super Detangler Shine at an event and was amazed not only by how well it did detangle and shine the tails but the fact that it lasted for days keeping them silky smooth.  There are so many other super products that all help to create healthy skin, coats, and tails without using any ingredients that may be harmful to even the most sensitive creature.  This year I’ve seen fantastic results using the MegaTek Rebuilder on Quincy’s tail.  Somehow last year he managed to lose a large portion of his tail either by rubbing it or getting it stuck in something.  I had tried another product for a couple of months that was recommended to me with no results.  Within a few weeks of using the MegaTek Rebuilder I began seeing a definite thickening of his tail and after a few months the whole tail was thick and beautiful again.  It also works wonders on blanket rubs… Most recently we were thankful to have the Marigold Spray with us at an event that provided the dustiest shavings I’ve ever used. Within minutes the horses were shiny and dust-free with no worries about creating a slippery coat.  And there are many more products to help with skin and coat conditions as well so go to www.eqyss.com to find out more.  But my favorite aspect of the Eqyss products is that they all smell wonderful! If you’d like to see for yourself come and find me at any events that we attend this fall since I’ll have FREE SAMPLES to hand out.  Stop by at the AEC’s this week…

It appears the dry days of summer are gone so we’d all better be ready for the rain.. I thought I’d share a few of my “must have” Shires products that are certain to keep you and your horse comfortable at competitions this fall.  Any of the items can be purchased from www.shiresequestrian.com and you’ll be surprised by how quickly they appear at your door.

Shires Rider Rain Set

Shires MacWet Mesh Gloves

Everything I need in a glove… None of the bulk so you can keep the sensitive feel on your reins. No slipping no matter how wet (either from rain or sweaty horses..). The mesh helps keep your hands comfortable and even after several cleanings the palm and fingers never get stiff or tight. Plus they’re used by the British equestrian team and those guys certainly know about riding in the rain, especially based on the recent Burghley coverage! And not to worry, they come in black and brown as well for those wanting their hands to be a little more discreet…  Now for your horse (and your saddle):

Shires Rain Sheet

Shires also carries a great line of turn-out rugs and my new favorite “all-in-one” rug, the Thermoquilt Fleece Blanket.  The quilted exterior helps to keep shavings from sticking to the blanket but allows the moisture to wick through from the fleece lining.  Plus it just looks sharp! Quincy was sporting his at the Bromont CCI*** jog this past June…

Shires ThermoQuilt Fleece Blanke, Brushing Boots, and Rain Jacket

Having an 8 year old child has gotten Jeff and I watching shows that in the past we would have avoided… Currently it’s America’s Got Talent (Go Snap Boogie!!) and today after reading through the Pan Am team and alternate lists I found myself reflecting  on all the results shows we’ve seen.  The people sent home always have similar things to say..  the experience has been an amazing opportunity and I feel honored to be competing with such great talent.  Plus there’s always the statement that being so close is an inspiration to work even harder.  All of that holds true for me. I feel fortunate to have been named to the short list and to now know what it takes to be part of the US Land Rover Eventing Team.  But being left off the list has now given me a clear plan for the fall season. Quincy and I will be focused on the AEC’s and then onto Fair Hill for our 2nd CCI*** of the year.  And of course I’ll look forward to cheering on the fantastic horse and rider pairs that will be representing the US in October!!