This message is from: "Ed Sullivan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Thank you, Sue, for your very kind words here, and friendly support at the Laurels -- when will this ol' horseshow mom get over the jitters on show day?!!!!! Maggie had a great time and learned a LOT -- you can see her growing as a driver each time she competes at a CDE, it's so rewarding! There's still a lot of work to do on dressage, and they should try to school cones before an event, but didn't they SMOKE the hazards?!!!! You don't have to ask the pony which phase is her favorite.
Regarding turnout, Maggie and Andy felt that she was underdressed in just a country blouse, but I wanted to keep her looking young for awhile -- she's only 14 ! I learned sooo much as groom this weekend -- do all of you use black shoe polish on your harness, and parade gloss? What a difference it makes! As Sue says, the Laurels is a phenomenal event, really spectator-friendly, with all the driving -- including every hazard, oops I mean obstacle -- within sight of the main tent-- lots of vendors, US team members up-close and personal, jazz band playing... check out www.laurelscde.org and www.garyknollphotography.com to see what we mean. My one regret from our Laurels trip is that I wasn't videoing Nancy's marathon -- if only I had been recording Hazard 1, when her husband/navigator scooped up her whip off the ground, it was priceless! Ann in CT giving Riena another day off -- she earned it! ----- Original Message ----- From: mom Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 4:10 PM To: fjordhorse-digest Subject: Congratulations, Maggie Sullivan This message is from: "mom" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I had the privilege of volunteering at the Laurels at Landhope this past weekend, and what a pleasure it was to see our own Maggie Sullivan with Andy Marcoux as navigator/coach turn in a really lovely performance. 8th in dressage, FIRST in Marathon, she came in 6th overall in the preliminary single pony division . . . made some of those "older folks" sit up and take note! The turn out was perfect and the performance professional. It was great to see a Fjord pony among all those browns, bays, chestnuts and greys! Nancy Roemer also competed with her lovely fjord. Ran into some trouble on the marathon and was eliminated, but with real class continued the next day to drive the (very tricky) cones course for no score. It was a super weekend! I worked dressage warm up on Friday and got to watch all of the intermediate and advanced tests, then hazard timer on Saturday and cones outgate on Sunday. If you ever get the opportunity or have a yearning to volunteer at the Laurels, Bobbi Hager does an absolutely phenomenal job of organization, briefing and supplying all the posts. And they keep you well fed, watered and shaded :~). Hard to beat. Take care. Sue Freivald
