KMSHA International Grand Championships

October 27-30 found the Stoner Ridge crew at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park for the final show of the season. What a phenomenal facility! Both the arena and the barns are heated. Our stalls were in a perfect location - near the restrooms and arena and there was a large common area where we could cook and visit with friends. We got to visit quite a bit with Doug and Jill Drenik from Dry Ridge and Joe and Sandy Minard from Waterloo, Iowa. It was so much fun to get caught up with how their horses and families are doing. They had rented a Sky Box in order to view the show from the third floor. The boxes are actually enclosed, carpeted rooms with televisions, a refigerator, and comfortable furnishings. It was great to see so many folks showing this weekend. Both the Amateur and Novice Trail classes had to be split. That is good news for the Mountain Horse Industry! We had a good time watching Ella Tillery show outside the lead line class for her first time in the Pre-Juvenile class. Handlers walked beside the kids but were able to offer assistance if needed. We were proud of everyone's performance. Eleven year old Thomas Howard put in some good shows as did our amateurs Tim, Marcia, Nancy, and Kim. Our trainers did well also. Charlie won the driving class with Nugget who is undefeated this year. Mike had a great show winning with Diamonds in the Rough in the 2 YO Trail class. He also won the Open 4 Gait class with Wrangler which led to his Al Prewitt Versatility Award. Way to Go! Another highlight for us was little miss Jazzy. Not only did she win a tough Trail Obstacle class (SRF had 11 horses in that competition)she was awesome in the Natural Horsemanship class. Robert went through the course with Jazzy wearing a halter as designated by the class description. When he was done, he removed Jazzy's halter while still on her back. Then he went through as much of the course as he could with only a rope around Jazzy neck in the 2 minutes that was allowed for his freestyle. It was so cool! The goal of the class was to demonstrate true harmony between horse and rider. Robert definately accomplished that element. Mike also did a great job in that class placing second with Wrangler after cantering him bareback and standing up on him as well. Hats off to all these great horses, their trainers, and owners! Salute!