Wednesday, September 29, 2010

It's Show Time!!


Yesterday was another entertaining day in Lexington!!! The mornings alway start at the hotel with breakfast...today we were learning new words from Kyle and Jessica. I was laughing so hard, my cheeks hurt!!  We then get taken by "shuttle" with our excellent driver "Pedro", AKA Graeme Thom to the show grounds.  This is also another highlight of my day, as Kyle and Selena keep going at each other.....which leads to another case of sore cheeks!! It is so nice to be a part of such a great team! Everyone gets along, which is a lot said with 5 girl riders and 6 girl grooms!!!

Once at the barn we did a quick jog of the horses and all looked great.  I decided that I would do some dressage with Ginny.  At the briefing in the morning we were told that we were permitted to compete in dressage with ear bonnets!!  Good thing because Ginny LOVES her "blue thinking cap"!!  



I wish I could have gone in the competition ring today,  as Ginny was so good!  I kept going thru all of the lessons I have had with my amazing dressage coach Nikki Zamora and we had a great ride because of that.  From 12 - 1 we were then aloud to "work" in the main ring, where we will compete.  This sounds like it would be a great idea, until you put 85 fit event horses in a ring together!  Needless to say, I rode Ginny in there for about 10 min and then quietly left. :)  I stayed on which made me happy!!!

I got to walk the XC in the afternoon and WOW!!!!  What an amazing job they have done here as every fence looks awesome!!  By fence 2 (They wiskey barrel table) you know you are on a WEG course!!!  It is very big and technical with a ton of corners.  The head of the lake has a very narrow angle brush in with a ditch in front...never jumped one of those before!!!  There are many tough questions and I will be walking the course again tomorrow with both Buck and Coach David!  After the excitement of walking the course, I ventured up to the Main Ring for the last few Team Dressage horses.  


I am so lucky to have seen Totalis perform live.  As soon as he came into the main ring, I got goosebumps!!  I am not a dressage expert by any means, but this horse is so much better than everyone else it is crazy!! Upon finishing he got a standing ovation from the crowd!!  I can not wait for his freestyle on Friday!!!  The evening was finished with Ravel performing for the USA... again, an amazing ride!!!  These horses make it look so easy and effortless, actually making dressage look fun!!!


We had a great "team" dinner with all of the grooms and riders, which has proven to be so important!!  It all starts tomorrow...Jog at 9am. Canada drew 20th as a country so we should be jogging around 10:30 am.  So excited and still can't believe I am riding at WEG!!! :)  


Can't wait to see my SBM!!!!  5 weeks is WAY to long!!! So happy the West Coast Peeps are starting to arrive :)


Good luck to all!!

xoxo Hawley and Ginny  :)

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF HAWLEY'S SPONSORS!!

It's a long way to WEG, and Hawley wouldn't have made it without the generous support of all her sponsors.
Check out their logos & information which is showcased on our blog & website! 

Daily Update

What at great day in Lexington....Even tho it was a rainy, cold, 55 degree day :) Ginny was a superstar in her jump lesson today (Thanks Susie and Buck for such great prep work!!!!!!) We went & watched team dressage (Canada was great!), and it got me inspired! Tomorrow the "big boys" go...Ravel and Totiila SUPER excited!! Even better, we get to walk XC!!! :) :) ♥ HB and Ginny

Monday, September 27, 2010

We've Arrived!!!



What a difference a few days makes!!! Ginny and I had a great training camp at Mrs Mars farm in Ocala Florida. We ended the camp with a great xc school and gallop up the hill. After focssing on the dressage for the days before, this was a very "fun" day for both Ginny and I. Needless to say, my little mare is fit and ready to gallop on the Kentucky grass.

We had a really fun last "team" dinner where we tried out our red lipstick that will be worn at jog!! (Check out Eventing Nation) There were a few motivational talks from coach Canada and I think that we are all ready and we all "believe" . I would also like to say a HUGE THANK YOU TO: FITS RIDING, OMEGA ALPHA, EQUISSAGE, MERIAL, ECOGOLD, HORES WEAR AND EQUINE CANADA!!!! It was a bit like Christmas when the UPS truck showed up with our team stuff!!! It was a really fun last night, until the alarm clock went off at 130am....time to head to WEG!!!!

Ginny got to travel with Columbo to Kentucky. It was an uneventful 12 hr trip. All the horse travelled great and settled into their "home" for the the next 10 days. Thanks so much to Graeme and Deb for getting the stalls ready... Ginny is basically sleeping on a pillow of shavings!! I got goose bumps when I looked out of my tackroom and saw the British Team arrive.... It is still a bit sureal to me that I am competing at WEG with the best riders in the world. The best part is when I was grazing Ginny, William Fox Pitt came up to me and said hello and asked me how my mare was doing!!!!! He knew who I was!!!! We had a great "chat". The New Zealand team is stabled just down from us and Natalia went quiet....Mark Todd walked by and said hello! It is so wierd to be hanging out with the people that I have looked up to for years.

We had our first ride today and Ginny was great!!! I only rode her once today and gave her the rest of the afternoon off. She had a good sleep all cuddled up in her shavings. Hopefully she is dreaming of a dressage test in the low 40's, clean fast xc, and a beautiful clean sj round!!

The opening ceremonies are this evening. I wll be marching in with the best riders in the world. I am so thankful to be here with one of the best horses in the world. If you told me 4 years ago that I would be at the Worlds, I probably would have laughed. I am not laughing now... I am part of a very competive team that has just as much ability as everyone here. This proves to me that if you work hard enough and make some big sacrifices anything is possible. Best of luck to all the competitors.

 xoxo HAWLEY AND GINNY

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

I just left a message for Hawley and completely admitted to phone stalking her to write her next blog entry......but the truth is, our girls are a little BUSY!!!

Even though they are hard at work training with the team, Hawley has found a little time to have some fun with Natalia and the Crew!  Can someone leave a comment on this blog and let me know who belongs to that cute little baby.  Enjoy the photo album, although it's a bit blurry b/c it was shot from Hawley's phone!!


Friday, September 17, 2010

Adventures of Two Road Warriors!


I was able to catch up with our favorite girls yesterday, as Hawley and Ginny were spending a bit of down time together, relaxing in this beautiful field down in Ocala, courtesy of Mrs. Mars!


Well, it hasn't been this calm and sedate up to this point.  After the conclusion of the AEC's, Hawley and Ginny had quite an adventure on their last evening at Chattahoochee Hills.  When Hawley went back to the barn to do a bed check on Ginny, she arrived to find her stall absolutely empty!!  She searched the adjacent area, but Ginny was no where to be found.  Ginny, the little devil, had escaped into the wide open space surrounding Carl Bouckaert's fantastic facility. There are some drawbacks to tracking down a fit 4* horse on such an expansive piece of land!!

According to Hawley, she did feel the need to work off her last meal, but taking a walk for over 2 miles to track down her coveted WEG partner was not what she had in mind. After finally finding her in the dark by finally hearing her knicker, this pair was reunited. Phew!!



The girls are now safely down in Ocala, enjoying the generosity of Mrs. Mars who is keeping them safe on her farm.  They had a fun jump school today & a little gallop.  Hawley will check back in periodically on her road to the WEG.


Cheers!  LT



Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Gin & Juice Named Omega Alpha Canadian Event Horse of the Month for July!

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August 31, 2010
 
Gin & Juice Named Omega Alpha Canadian Event Horse of the Month for July

Ottawa, ON—The Canadian Eventing Committee has named Gin & Juice as the Omega Alpha Canadian Event Horse of the Month for July.

Gin & Juice is co-owned by Canadian Olympian Hawley Bennett-Awad and American Linda Paine. The 10-year-old bay Thoroughbred mare finished fourth in the CIC3*-W division at the Event at Rebecca Farm held July 21-25, 2010 in Kalispell, MT.
Bennett–Awad of Langley, BC, and Gin & Juice were sitting in fifth place after dressage with a score of 49.6. The pair jumped clear adding just six time penalties cross-country moving them up into third place.  Eight faults in the jumping round dropped them just one spot to finish fourth with a final score of 63.6.
“Ginny has really come along this year with great results at Galloway Downs, Rolex and now at Rebecca Farm,” said Bennett. “I would like to give a big thank you to Omega Alpha for being such generous sponsors of not only the Canadian Event Horse of the Month Award but also of the entire Canadian Eventing Team. All my horses are thriving on their products.”
Canadian Eventing created the horse recognition program to celebrate the achievements of Canadian owned horses that represent Canada in North American competition. Canadian Eventing is also very pleased to have Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals’ generous support of this new horse recognition program. Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals will be providing each owner of the Horse of the Month with a generous gift certificate of $200 credit towards the purchase of Omega Alpha products of their choice.
 
About Canadian Eventing
Canadian Eventing is the committee of Equine Canada responsible for the sport of eventing in Canada from the grassroots to the international level. The Canadian Eventing Committee is comprised of 12 members, including two rider representatives elected by the Elite Riders Association. Directed by the Strategic Plan for Eventing, all Eventing activities are administered by this committee via six sub-committees with the support of an eventing manager based at the Equine Canada office in Ottawa. For more information about Canadian Eventing, visit www.equinecanda.ca and select disciplines then Eventing. 
About Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals Inc. is Canadian owned and incorporated in 1992, and with the approval of Health Canada, Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals has concentrated its efforts into producing and manufacturing herbal supplements and remedies. As a pharmaceutical company, all herbal supplements and health products manufactured by Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals Inc. are done so following rigid standards and uncompromising quality. Omega Alpha Pharmaceuticals Inc. specializes in formulations for enhancing equine health and performance, using the finest natural ingredients available. For a list of the wide range of products for the optimum health and performance of humans, equines and pets, please visit www.oapharma.com
About Equine Canada
Equine Canada is Canada’s national governing body for equestrianism.  A member-driven, charitable institution, it is the executive branch of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and the national authority for equestrian competition; the national voice for recreational riders; and the national association for equine welfare, breeding, and industry.  Equine Canada is recognised by the Government of Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national organisation representing equestrian sport and equine interests. For more information about Equine Canada, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.
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ATTACHED PHOTO
“Gin & Juice was named as the Omega Alpha Canadian Event Horse of the Month for July.”
Photo Credit— stockimageservices.com
Photograph may be used one time only, in relation to the above news item. Photograph also available in high resolution, please e-mail: jcull@equinecanada.ca
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