It’s official, 2020 is over and things are looking up! The beginning of this year has brought us lots of new partnerships! At the very end of 2020 we added two new names to Rodrigo’s roster of horses, Lord Lucio and Major Tom (formally Jammy Dodger). Lucio had been brought to the 4* level by American rider Taylor Alexander, so he was ready to take on big things with RP. Major Tom was only 7 when Artemis secured him with their eye on developing a top young prospect. Both horses have been wonderful additions to the group and we are ever grateful for the support of Artemis Equestrian Farm and the Clark Family.
We also forged new training relationships with Tory Ketchum and Maya Aryal. During the winter months in Wellington we were approached by Tory and Maya respectively. They are each such dynamic and supportive members of Amethyst, we are so glad to have them on board!
The most notable change through the winter and then spring season came from Carlito’s Way 6. Carlos was dipping his toe in the big Grand Prix ranks in 2020, but 2021 has solidified him as a dependable 5* mount for Rodrigo. He has now logged top placings and clear rounds in 5* Grand Prix and Nation’s Cups from Wellington to Europe. We look forward to how the rest of the year will unfold for him!
The end of the winter season brought us back to North Salem, NY. Our farm here has expanded to include 5 more stalls and a new all weather arena. We have Rachel Penner and Maya Aryal here training as well as Tory Ketchum just across the street at Foxy Meadow Farm. The Artemis horses live at their own farm in nearby Armonk. We enjoyed two weeks of showing at Old Salem Spring I & II, there were lots of ribbons and great rounds including a win for Maya in the High’s, a championship for Tory in the High’s, 2nd in the Medium Classic for Rachel and new ride Dynamit Nobel and a top three finish for Rodrigo and Quality in the Grand Prix!
Right on the heels of Old Salem, Rodrigo flew to Europe to meet back up with Quality FZ and Carlito’s Way! Both horses developed very well throughout the two weeks in Europe, solidifying the partnerships.
The closeout show of the first half of our year (promise to be better about blogging) was Upperville, Va. We brought a great group of horses. The show saw Tory back in the Grand Prix ring with her wonderful pattern Isaac. Maya also notched a great ribbon in the highs in front of a home crowd, and graduated from High School, go Maya! Rodrigo’s horses had a very solid week, the younger horses are developing so nicely and our trusty Venice Beach was back with a vengeance clocking two wins in the FEI ranking classes!
As always the most fun part is getting to do this alongside people we enjoy and respect! Looking forward to a great season to come and more blogs now that we finally have fiber optic wifi!
