SEPTEMBER 24-26TH 2010; DENVER, CO

[-- SHOW MONGER]

"Denver Open Show"
Denver, CO
Issue 5.

I know, I know, you guys probably want to shoot me right now. But what can I say, with the last couple weeks of summer rolling to an end I just couldn't sit around. I finally have a moment to sit down and finish writing all the delicious results from the Denver, CO show (which thank God, wasn't nearly as hot as the show in Florida, but was easily just as long). Between the ridiculously large grand prix class, and the intense bitching sessions outside of the arena, I'm easily saying that this show was just loaded with ridiculous drama that I loved!

HUNTERS

PONY HUNTER

I actually think the pony classes are some of my favorites now, just because of all the catty drama that goes on between the actual classes. For the first time in a long time, a new face won the Pony Hunter class. Congratulations to Josephine Chacon on Orion's Belt, you have probably won yourself a couple of enemies along with that blue ribbon! Danielle Marks on her flashy little chestnut, Remembering Sunday were right behind her. Her round was almost immaculate, but apparently just wasn't as good as miss Josephine. But she seemed quite smug at the fact Faith Morris on my favorite pony Mi Amor came in third. Josephine Chacon made another appearance on a pony by the name of Ruth- the pony didn't sound like it'd be much, but moved and jumped a ten! Nova Bente on The Unforgiven had a solid fifth place round, her pony as quiet as ever, but perhaps a bit too quiet and behind her leg for anything higher. Park Hyo Jin on Macy's Lovely Doll had a great round until the last line, she just missed and added a step which threw them right off track for the blue. Josephine Chacon came out again (I know, three ponies!). This time on a pony named Naomi. The two had a rail down, but probably could have pinned right up in the top three ribbons. I'd imagine that she would be stoked to win the top three placings on all her ponies. I've come to the conclusion that Danielle Marks and Kasanova are slowly falling apart- thank God. She's had this pony for how many years? I'd be sick of packing her ass around too. We almost had a replay of the Pony Finals when Kaelee slid in to the fence on to her knees, almost tossing (I wish she would have) her rider in to the dirt. Unlucky for us, miss Marks has learned how to stay on. Well, at least for this time.

PRE-GREEN

There wasn't a huge crowd for the pre-greens this show. With only two different competitors, it didn't give us much excitement, but we did see a display of three very talented horses. Nova Bente on Switchblade had the winning round, the usual batshit crazy greenie seemed to have been mellowed down (drugged? I think it's a possibility) to have a great round. Alaska Black brought in her two (very colorful, may I add) horses to the ring. Machette and Retro Vinyl may both be oddly colored, but both of them are completely different rides. They by all means don't look easy, but I have to say- she made colored look pretty good.

PRE-CHILDRENS

Oh the pre-children's, another one of my favorite divisions to watch. Although watching same hunter course at a ridiculously low height gets a bit boring to watch, the Pony Princesses themselves make this worth it. In first place, much to my displeasure was miss Danielle Marks on her new pony Remembering Sunday. It looks like she found herself a new, fancier packer since her little bay doesn't want to do the job anymore. Shall we take bets on how long it takes this one to start stopping too? Jaimy Springer on Danny's Painted Dragster (interesting choice of name...) were our second place winners. Though the name might imply it, this pony (or perhaps small horse) definitely didn't have any drag, I think it had springs for feet as it cleared everything with inches to spare. Faith Morris on Toy Soldier had a round up to their usual standards, and probably would have taken the blue (like they usually do) if he hadn't missed a flying change behind, he was just a bit late and took a stride to get the full change rather than him cross cantering. But their score must have already been pretty damn high if that only bumped them down to third. Westerner (yes, that is a word) Emma Smith was seen out of the usual pleasure circuit with her horse Kiss My Sass. The little palomino actually could make a pretty cute hunter, if they got past the whole slow jogging thing. Shane Martin on Dublin In May were our fifth ribbon winners. Shane had quiet hands and solid leg, but they just had to work a bit too hard to get down the lines on stride to really have the whole “flawless” and effortless hunter look. Danielle Marks and Kasanova actually did not have a refusal this round, for the record. But the mare looked like she wanted to stop at the same fence, and I have never seen Danielle spur her horse and smack her ass as hard as she did at this point. I think the poor mare almost had a heart attack at her riders sudden change of heart, and jumped the shit out of the fence (it would have been even better if she would have been jumped right off her pony). I had high hopes for Mi Amor, but my favorite pony was back to her usual shit like behavior and stopped twice (and also had a fit when Faith did not let her stop at the gate half way through the course). Needless to say, the two finished up the division with seventh place.

CHILDREN'S/ADULT

The fences seemed to go up to an almost decent height when we came to the Children's/Adult hunter. Alaska Black on Ladies Man seemed to prove to us that these were still just speed bumps along the road- their course was effortless and it wasn't shocking when they came in first place. Josephine Chacon on Naomi were right behind her, with quite a change from the Pony Hunter- it always makes me a bit nervous to have a pony going at 3', but she stayed with her mount and caused them no extra stress to go around for a second place trip. Park Hyo Jin was in third place, her horse Cirque Du Soleil was as cute as a button; snapping up her knees at every single jump. Madison Clearview and Gossip Girl (who is rumored to be Grace Moselle's new favorite horse) was clean and clear, the little bay has a huge step! It wasn't surprising when they were in the top four placings. Josephine Chacon on Ruth were right behind her in the fifth place spot, a nice, clean round from the two. Alaska Black on Chelsea Dagger didn't have their best round, but Alaska still left the ring giving her mare good boy pat on the neck and a small smile on her face. I think the next two competitors need to share her enthusiasm and learn how to smile. Danielle Marks on September Lost did not look to happy as she trotted in to the ring, cranking the mare's head in and pretty much dragging her feet along at the canter- it wasn't the prettiest round I've seen from them. She just didn't look very happy (as usual). Our favorite medal failure, Kaitlyn McHail was right behind her on the I've-seen-you-have-better-rounds scale, after her stunt at the last show, it seemed like Blaise told her to take a hike. But I did see Carson coaching her in the warm up ring, that girl has gone from coach to coach to a ridiculous extent in the last couple weeks. I did see her trying to talk to Grace earlier, but the moment Blaise walked up she was gone. Josephine Chacon on Orion's Belt fell right down from the placings from first to ninth. The three foots just seemed like too big of a stretch for this one- perhaps the pre-children's would have been a better place for you two to go. Alexandrea Fox on Two Step Flash looked like they could have done well, but were riding a bit too quiet and added down the lines causing them to take the tenth place spot. Jaimy Springer on Polaris looked promising until a bad distance at the third fence caused them a rail- the two seemed disheartened from their on and just didn't pull it together to really make up for it. Retro Vinyl seemed to be giving Alaska Black quite a bit of grief, hauling her along down the lines- a couple of rails and a spook (that resulted in him taking off) caused them to fall back in to twelfth place.

WORKING

Madison Clearview on Gossip Girl had definitely claimed the blue the moment they walked in to the ring. With a big, elastic stride and an amazingly round jump, I really can see why this mare makes an amazing hunter. Jamie Manlow on Slippery Rock were our second place round, the horse didn't have as big of a stride as Gossip Girl, but definitely had a great jump! Alaska Black on Ladies Man didn't beat those two ladies, but seemed to awe everyone else with their terrific third place course. Salem Tansen on Tag You're It were as tidy and smooth as always, but Tag just isn't jumping as well as he use to. Danielle Marks on September Lost seemed to be a bit better, it looks like her rider finally pulled out whatever was shoved up her ass and actually rode- instead of sitting there bracing and pulling. Bravo, Danielle, you can actually not look like you have a broom pole shoved up your ass! Riley Tao-Sondergaard on Southside Desperation were our fifth place winners, Riley really seemed to have the horse connected and round today. Kaitlyn McHail on Velasco made another appearance, and I wasn't all to surprised to see it was a lot smoother than before. I'll give the kid credit, there was a time were she actually rode decently- and still does... sometimes. Jamie Manlow brought another horse into the Working Hunters, but didn't have as much luck on Mickey Mouse as she did with Slippery Rock. Park Hyo Jin on Cirque Du Soleil were good, but just not good enough to catch the judges eye to pin them any higher than ninth. Harmony Worth on Wedding Waltz were in tenth place, but her horse just jumped a bit too loose in the front end for this judges liking, I guess- because honestly I didn't see much wrong with this round. Kadyn Stone on Velocity weren't having much luck today, but he seemed to cover it up well by the end of the class to have two beautiful fences. Alaska Black started out as strong as usual, making me quite excited until her colorful horse decided to spook and shift left a bit too much to ruin the perfection of the whole round. Elanor Denali on VTKS Sweet Home Alabama did not have the judge's liking, the young girl and her saddlebredesque horse just didn't look like they belonged in the hunter ring. But that didn't seem to upset her, she walked out grinning and patting her horse like a little girl after her first course on her pony. Alaska Black really just wasn't having much luck as Chelsea Dagger slid in to a fence, and in to fourteenth place.

REGULAR

I was very happy for the Regular Hunters, because these actually were jumps! Kadyn Stone really got his act together on Velocity, even after a bit of trouble in the warm up ring these two clocked around for first place. Emily Madison seemed to hold the second and third spot on her two horses Smoldering Flames and Classic Idiosyncrasies. Both horses jumped and moved a ten, I was actually wishing my horse moved and jumped like her two. Sometimes life just isn't fair, you know? Darcie O'Dwyer on Athena made their way around in fourth, and definitely showed us that she was slowly going to climb her way up to the blue ribbon. Dekker Morrison on Winconsin Creek Dekker (… why is his name in his horses show name?) made it around quite impressively, even if his horse has his own name in its show name. Alaska Black just wasn't pleased with Chelsea Dagger's last performance, but definitely stepped up her game and fixed those mistakes to come in seventh place. Salem Tansen on Alakazam were just missing their usual lack luster, but managed to scrape up eighth place, which is definitely surprising for the duo. Park Hyo Jin on Cirque Du Soleil were right behind her, her horse just seemed tired from the plenty of jumping classes and wasn't jumping as well as she had earlier. Samantha Carlsen on The Cat's Meow didn't seem to really hold up to their show name, for her round really wasn't all that great- and the judges seemed to agree. Alaska Black on Ladies Man just really weren't having a great time, she looked like she was battling with him the whole way around the course, and I wasn't the only one who saw that with their tenth place finish. I was quite distraught when Faith Morris and King Nothing did not win, or even place in the top three. I always look forward to watching this horse go, and after a messy first couple of fences (bad decisions on Faith's part, or so I personally think) the two managed to barely clean it up to get around their course without a stop. For a moment I swore we might have had a replay of the show where he stopped twice in one class, but thank God he didn't. If he did it may have been an apocalypse all over again. London Cale on Requesting Back-Up lived to their show name- they definitely looked like they needed a hand as the horse just ran down the lines and stopped at the last fence because she just didn't make it down on stride. I was giggling like a little girl when I saw Danielle Marks getting dragged around on Ambition- who found it much more fun to take out strides and stop. Honestly, honey; if Grace was having issues with him, what made you think you wouldn't? Thirteenth place was definitely not a shock.

JUMPERS

WELCOME

Crystal Greene on Contradanze had the fastest time of the day for this division, with a clear round pushing them in to first. After yesterday's not so great performances from Alaska Black she seemed to pull it together today with second place on Retro Vinyl. Riley Tao-Sondergaard on Sie Mussen Jetzt (which I can't pronounce for the life of me, nor can the judges) were in third place. Faith Morris on her two ponies were milliseconds apart, with Toy Soldier being the faster time, she took fifth and sixth with him and Mi Amor. Danielle Marks looked chapped that Faith had gotten around faster than her, but her little hunter pony, Remembering Sunday did not agree that he should go faster and ambled along jumping as cute as ever. Nova Bente on The Unforgiven seemed to be taking it easy today as they walked out with a time worth seventh place. Our Pony Princess came in again wit Kasanova, and quite frankly, Danielle Marks really needs to stop showing the pony- I say she's done with her shit. Honestly, it's been how many years now? Kadyn Stone was going well, until a stop at the liverpool on Aftershock gave him more than just time faults. Macchette ridden by Alaska Black also seemed convinced that the liverpool was going to eat her, along with every single other fence. It wasn't too surprising when the usual bold jumper came in tenth.

LOW

Crystal Greene on Contradanze motored around quickly once again, snatching up the blue. It looks like Danielle Marks got her shit together this time, with a new pair of spurs and a tap of encouragement coming out of every turn, she really got her little chestnut motoring around for second place. Josephine Chacon and Orion's Belt were right behind her in third place. Mi Amor was being his usual wild self, but Faith Morris seemed to take it to her advantage and managed to get him around without stopping or spooking (too badly) with a quick enough time to snatch up fourth. Once again Josephine Chacon was right behind her, this time on Naomi. Nova Bente and The Unforgiven had a similar round to their last, I still love this pony to pieces- he's as cute as a button. Kadyn Stone on Adagio were our seventh place winners, his horse was jumping everything extremely big and carefully. I wasn't too surprised when Josephine Chacon was in the ring for a third time, but this time on Ruth- they just weren't as quick as they could have been. Like Kasanova, I say Toy Soldier is getting tired of (not so) packing Faith Morris around, he just wasn't jumping as expressively and as eagerly as I've seen him do in awhile. Right behind Faith was Danielle Marks with gritted teeth riding Kasanova around quite aggressively. After a good hard buck, I thought the mare had gotten her point across well that she did not want her rider digging her spurs in to her to make more canter. Unfortunately, a good harder spur and a jerk in the teeth had won that battle- if I were her I'd realize this pony was done being her bitch. The two managed a good six time faults, with the pony shaking her head and threatening to buck again around the whole course. Riley Tao-Sondergaard with his ridiculously hard named horse just weren't doing too hot with several time faults. Aleaxander Fox on Two Step Flash weren't as flashy as the name implied- a rail down caused their actually very quick time not to be in the higher ribbons like it should be. Retro Vinyl was giving Alaska Black nothing but misery once more at thirteenth place, I find it interesting how this is her second horse that had a heart attack coming up the liverpool. Honestly, horses make me shake my head. The blue tarp really isn't going to eat them, no matter how convinced they are that it is.

CHILDREN'S/ADULT

After riding the same course however many times she did, Danielle Marks took it to her advantage knowing the quickest turns and how everything rode. I wasn't too shocked when her and September Lost jumped back in to first like they had been earlier this season. Josephine Chacon made another appearance with all three of her ponies, taking up the rest of the placings. I wouldn't complain if I walked out of the class with second, third and fourth.

JUINOR/AMATEUR

Lucy Scullvanger on Miss Amelia Windsor were clean and clear in the Juinor's, walking out with the blue ribbon. Madison Clearview on Chance To Jam took the red ribbon- and may I add: Wow? He's definitely a... different ride from her cute as a button mare. Eleanor Denali was much more in place at the jumper ring as she came in third with VTKS Sweet Home Alabama. Faith Morris seemed to be riding this a bit more like a hunter medal round- everything was as smooth as silk and flowed like a river, but King Nothing made the crowd smile with his effortless jumping style. Velasco was actually looking a bit strong for once, Kaitlyn McHail definitely had a bit of trouble stopping after her course- it was honestly quite amusing, but she was quick enough for fifth place. Lyndsay Claiton looked a bit out of place, but had a pretty good course on Corona Darlin'. Danielle Marks was still getting hauled around on Ambition- and I was quite surprised that Grace actually let her bit up and throw on a pair of draw reins. It didn't help her stop much, just strap that horses head down as he took her for a ride (but, he did only stop once this time time around). Lee Ji Hyori had been so, so promising until two stops with Baloubet Du Rouet threw them out of being clear (and the blue) in to eighth place.

MODIFIED SPEED

Nova Bente on her incredibly handsome stallion Morgenstern (previously owned by Jace Raziel, Grace Moselle's crazy ex-boyfriend... a bit sketchy? I thought so too) had a great, quick round (although Vince looked like he wanted to hurt someone) and walked out with the quickest time for the divisions over three foot with a blue ribbon in in hand. Jamie Manlow on Mickey Mouse had a nice round, the girl has an incredibly solid leg and seat, just making everything look effortlessly today for their second place finish. Lee Ji Hyori fixed her mistakes from the Junior/Am, and had a nice, clean round for third. Emily Madison on Smoldering Flames did smolder everyone else (ha, funny, I know) with their fourth place round. Faith Morris on her incredibly handsome horse Rockefeller jumped everything with inches to spare with Faith barely touching the reins as they went along to fifth. Madison Clearview on a Chance To Jam were having a bit of trouble for the first two fences, but she did manage to get her horse back underneath himself to power around in sixth. Faith Morris on Carnegie flew around, I forgot how cute this horse really was. Lucy Scullvanger on Miss Amelia Windsor was having some trouble on course, but had some beautiful moments when she got it together. Alaska Black on Chelsea Dagger were just flying around, with her rider grinning from ear to ear as the horse jumped the shit out of everything. Apparently they just weren't as fast as they looked though- wider turns and the outside track added precious seconds they evidently couldn't have afforded. Tatiana Dalton on Ripcord were taking it easy today, though their time was slower their course flowed smoothly and didn't have me cringing. Danielle Marks on her two power houses just dragged her around as usual- bigger bits didn't seem to help the fact that she only ways like eighty pounds and is pulled down on to their necks half the time. Warwick and Ambition are beginning to look like more than she bargained for as they gave her twelfth and thirteenth place. I can't even say anything positive about Retro Vinyl, I think the height of the jumps was something Alaska Black's young horse couldn't handle, knocking down rails left right and center.

OPEN JUMPER

The fact that there were twenty three riders in this division was ridiculous. So I'm keeping this short and sweet. Austin Cahors and Black Magic Man got their shit together after quite the disaster in their last jumping show, taking the blue with them as they left. I hear she hasn't been seen since this show- was the heat and competition a bit to much for miss Germany to handle? Dekkeer Morrison on his horse with his name in it (Winconsin Creek Dekker) were in second place. Lyndsay Claiton on Corona Darlin' really worked hard for their third place. Faith Morris did damn well for her second grand prix, coming in fourth. Emily Madison was in fifth, with her talented horse Prince Charming. Lee Jy Hyori went down in placings from her last grand prix, but her horse jumped as wonderfully as ever. Samantha Carlsen on Notre Chateaux had tight turns and a quick time at seventh place in the large class. Faye Towning on Fly My Fire For Me took eighth, without a single problem on the demanding course. Nova Bente on Morgenstern had some troubles with this course, but riding as well as she does she got him going clean enough for ninth. Landon Cale and Avalanche took tenth, and seemed very pleased with it. Honestly, I consider myself a good rider- but in a class this big with this hot of competition, I'd just be happy if I made it around and didn't come last. Riley Tao-Sondergaard on Drommon Om Kobenhavn came in eleventh, and he seemed to have as much trouble on course as the announcer had trying to pronounce his name (which was quite a bit). Faye Towning came back on Bye Bye Shutterfly, but just didn't do as well as they had earlier on her other horse. Nova Bente on Malach De Zion weren't up to their usual standards- but still held their own. Nightly Pyro and Show Stopping Party most definitely did not stop the show, or have a stop once so ever with a clean round that snatched away sixteenth in this ridiculously big class. Harmony Worth on Wedding Waltz seemed to be a bit intimidated by the competition perhaps, and just didn't ride the course as agressively as she could have. Vince Black and Adeline just kind of flailed around like usual, the poor mare just needs someone who knows what the hell they're doing (or just dump Vince's ass in to a fence again). Sky Evans on The Dictator did well for such a big class, but just didn't have the same turns and speed as some of the others. Brooklyn Croft on BLC Gucci looked quite promising, until they slowed right down half way through the course with time faults. Faith Morris on Rockefeller had a rail coming out of the triple combination, along with Kadyn Stone. Both of their horses just came in with a bit too much step to the tightly set one strides. Emily Madison had a sad refusal at the open water, and with a rail in the combination she took up the group with a finish at twenty third.

GRAND PRIX

Austin Cahors on Black Magic Man just seemed to be on a roll tonight, stealing away a handful of cash and a blue ribbon to go with it. Learning from her mistakes in the earlier Open division, Faith Morris and Rockefeller were seconds behind her. Followed by Nova Bente on Malach de Zion, and her husband, Vince Black on Adeline (who actually had a decent round). Dekker Morrison had a nice, solid fifth place round. Darcie O'Dwyer struggled in the warm up ring, but definitely showed no issues on course at sixth place with her Irish-bred mare Athena. Nightly Pyro and Show Stopping Party cleared every fence with inches to spare, even with the width over some of the oxers that caused some trouble for certain pairs. Emily Madison and Prince Charming weren't one of those pairs though, nor was Jamie Manlow and Livin' The Hilife. Lee Ji Hyori's mount was quite hesitant when approaching the open water, but with a bit of much needed encouragement from her they made it over and finished the course resulting in ninth place. Sky Evans on The Dictator were brilliant, and almost tied with Riley Tao-Sondergaard but managed to beat him by a half of a millisecond (insanely precise timing, in my opinion). Faye Towning went back to back in placings, with fourteenth and thirteenth on Fire For Me and Shutterfly. Tatiana Dalton on Vanquisher had no troubles with the demanding course, along with Gensis Manning on her talented mount, Drache. BLC Gucci ridden by Brooklyn Croft didn't seem to come through the triple combination as cleanly as we thought she would. She had a rail down, along with Samantha Carlsen and Alaska Black. Faye Towning on GI Joe had time faults this time, and a refusal that evidently impacting them from reaching the top of the placings. Emily Madison and Grabbing The Gold most definitely did not grab the gold, but I'd imagine a mouthful of dirt as she slid off her horses neck with a nasty refusal half way in the course. Austin Cahors went from blue ribbon to no ribbon on Flight Child- who was really living up to his name, spooking and spinning away from almost everything. Needless to say, the Grand Prix was far from boring- but definitely a long class to be sitting and watching.

Okay... so maybe I have been partying a bit too hard before I go back to University. But what can I say? Forgive me, my gossip hungry friends. Now with Fall quickly approaching, I'm sure you guys are just as curious I am to see even more drama explode (because even if there was a lot, it wasn't enough for my taste), but I guess we'll have to wait for the next show. Until then,

SHOW MONGER