Some of Winchester Place horses’ second careers as show horses
Here’s what some of the new owners have to say…
“I hope you and all your horses are doing well! I wanted to give you an update on Proudly American and Proud Royal! First of all, thank you so, so much for letting me have Proudly American! (his nickname around the farm is Reagan but will still be called Proudly American at shows). He settled in right away and improves with each ride! He’s jumping about 2’7” right now and his dressage work is incredible. We’ve gone on trail rides on the farm and spent lots of time bonding. He LOVES attention! He’s such a talented horse and has a huge future ahead of him. I’m hoping to take him to some small shows over the winter and my big goal is to qualify for the American Eventing Championships with him next year! Proud Royal (aka Dempsey around the farm) is doing amazing as well. We haven’t competed any this year due to Covid, but we kept training hard and I’m hoping to go to some competitions with him over the winter and move him up a level in the spring. His jumping is incredible (he cleared 3’9” a few weeks ago with little effort and room to spare). He really struggled with his dressage work for a while, but just recently it clicked with him and he’s improving rapidly! Thank you again! I love those boys to the moon and back!”
“I brought Academic Bay home for the Retired Racehorse Project, but she is just too good to push. The horse for the year is truly a horse of a lifetime. 11th or 12th ride of her life in an indoor. 3rd ride since Christmas. Totally content and lovely in a fat Happy Mouth Eggbutt. I love EVERY minute spent with this little mare.”
“So excited to get rolling with this mare, Today, she let us vacuum and clip her at the same time while ground tied. She licked and chewed for everything we asked. She is not mareish, she is intelligent, clever, and with no muscle and no shoes moves like this… Next warm day we will free jump! At 5 years old, with very little racing, and a full sibling rocking around 1* and moving up to Intermediate next month, I’m more excited about her than I should be! Princess Grazia (Birdie) took to free jumping like a fish to water. Coming in from the field, with very little muscle, we didn’t push it much, but she easily cantered down the 3’3” for fun in her first session!”
“I wanted to give you Proud Royal’s results from his first trial! He did amazing and handled everything like a pro! We scored a 37.5 in dressage, which is a very good score for his first time out. He jumped around the show jumping clean without knocking any rails, and lastly on cross country he was a little spooky through about the first ¼ of the course and we had a minor run out at the 3rd fence. He jumped it on the second try and after that he got braver and braver with each jump until the last ½ of the course where he was 100% confident! We earned 3rd place!! I’m so proud of him! He’s such a smart guy! He will be moving up to the next level in his second trial the end of next month!”
Another Winchester Place Thoroughbreds success story :
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“Smart Bob did his first dressage show today and he was a super star! He is going to be soooo fancy. He totally trusted me and handled the new environment very well.“
“The boys are doing great! Smart Bob is getting more and more brave with each outing. He just won the Novice Championships in Area 8. He was such a good boy last weekend and finished on his dressage score.”
Smart Bob with his owner, Finley. They won the All Around 11 and Under Championships at San Juan Capistrano, CA. Finley and Smart Bob finished the year as 11 and Under Pacific Coast Horse Association Champions, the Best in the West!
“Today is a very special day!! Smart Bob turned 18 today! This guy is pretty much the greatest horse I have ever known! In a world of Warmbloods, this thoroughbred has proven over and over he can compete at top level in all 3 rings! He came to us from California as a horse Dylan would ride to get leased for the owners. We absolutely fell in love and knew he was the perfect horse to teach the ropes as she moved up from ponies to horses! He has become part of our family, as well as his amazing owners, Jennifer Michael Burger and Finley! It would take pages to explain how this horse and his owners have changed our life! So, cheers to Smartie for being a mentor to Dylan, Willow, and Kirvin. All 3 of my kids have shown him over fences and won great ribbons. He’s the horse of a lifetime! Happy Birthday sweet Smartie!”
“I just took Gracious Ray Flynn to a Young Horse Event competition for four-year-olds and he won! He was the highest placed American bred at the show! He has the most amazing jump.”
“I just got back from an event and I took Run Floris Run along with me just to get him out and about. He was such a good boy. He is very sensible and personable. I schooled him over cross country today and he was so brave. He jumped everything, played in the water, jumped on and off the banks etc. I LOVE HIM! He was great while I rubbed him down and wrapped him and was perfect in the trailer during the long 5-hour drive.”
“I love Run Floris Run! He is so amazing and has settled in so well here. I rode him in a clinic last week with Jimmy Wofford and he loved him too. I can tell already that he will be with me forever! He is going to his first show in two weeks.”
“Monte (Floris) was a star and won his two classes. This is our first outing of the year. It is pretty much non-stop from here on out!”
“Monte (Floris) is currently second in the nation in novice horses!”
“Bold Little Harry has been one of the sweetest, most honest horses I have ever trained and ridden! Wherever he goes, he draws admirers. His sweet nature is a magnet! He is currently jumping 3+ feet and doing 1st level dressage. He has most certainly fulfilled my dreams tenfold!”
“This was Mr. Inquisitive’s first show. He only did Hopeful Hunters, but out of 11 he got 2nd and 1 third. It was a lot for him to take in since the jumps were very attractive and lots of brush. I was so proud of him- he grew up a bit at that show.”
“Ensign is growing up and is looking lovely. She reminds me a bit more of Smart Bob now. Smart Bob and Monte were at a show this weekend. They were both wonderful. They both finished 4th in their respective divisions. Smart Bob was a bit fresh for him in dressage, so he did not have his best test. However, on a bad day he is still better than most!”