June 29, 2008 — We only had two entries in the medium tour grand prix on Saturday. Jeanne Hobbs and “Teddy” had a very unlucky rail down but ended up placing with a fast 4 faults. Alexa Lowe on Credit Cruise jumped a super clear and joined the jumpoff of only 9 riders out of 59 entries. Alexa and Cruise have really gotten in sync on this tour. It has been so nice to see the evolution as he is a brand-new ride for her. She bought him after Florida this year.
You only get so many opportunities to win a grand prix in Europe so Alexa took a real shot and went for it. Unfortunately she had 2 rails but the horse jumped well and they still ended up a solid 6th place.
The show held a lovely banquet Saturday evening for all of us, families and grooms included–buffet, band, bottles of champagne and wine, beautiful courtyard setting. The management has truly made a huge effort to accommodate our needs.
We are all packing up today to be ready to leave in the wee hours of the morning–horses and riders for flights home. The grand prix doesn’t start until 4:30 this afternoon so it will be late when we are done.
Most of us are pointed back to the States but Michael Morrissey and Alexa are headed to Aachen to watch and support the “big” team there. What a wonderful upcoming experience, especially on top of this successful tour!
