ROLEX CCI**** 2014

Thank you Sherry Stewart for these amazing photos!

Hawley's Interview after Cross Country!

Please help Sarah Braun and Candy!

On march first Sarah Braun's beloved young rider horse Candy underwent a very serious colic surgery and although she is insured, there are still overwhelming costs totaling over 10k! please consider helping this great girl save her amazing horse.

From Sarah: 
I've had candy for 6 years and she has taught me everything I know about riding. Two years ago she took me to the North American Junior Young Rider Championships and won a team gold medal. She has taken me farther than I ever thought possible; she owes me nothing, but I owe her everything. I love her more than words can describe and a life without her is not one I want to imagine. Insurance only covers $8,000 and I don't have the funds to cover the remaining costs. Please help give Candy a fighting chance. Anything will help and mean more to me then you will ever know...

Please click on the link below to donate! Anything helps!
http://www.gofundme.com/7857nw

New Family Members and Ponies at HBE

One of the newest families at HBE was kind enough to write the following blog for us this month. We look forward to welcoming them into the HBE family and feel fortunate to have them at the barn:

An act of sheer luck brought Hawley and my daughter, Elise, together. My husband and I were driving along all the horse ranches near Galway Downs in search of a new riding stable for Elise. We saw a lone rider on the side of the road and we asked her if she knew anyone who would teach a 7 year old. She told us that she taught lessons and she gave me her name. Being new to the eventing world, I had no clue who she was. She had to spell her name twice for me! One thing I learned very quickly about Hawley is that she’s very humble and down to earth. She didn’t give us a list of all her achievements, and she didn’t snub us because we didn’t know who she was. She just accepted us and brought us into her world. And what an amazing world she has shown us!!

Elise began taking lessons from her shortly after our encounter. Hank (Livingstone) was her lesson horse!  She was such a lucky girl!  Hank was amazing.  He took great care of her. He responded well and was very patient with her. You could see it in his big, beautiful brown eyes that he knew he was carrying precious cargo. Elise liked Hawley right away.  She’s a fantastic instructor and she earned my daughter’s trust and respect immediately. Elise fell in love with the sport and was convinced that she wanted to be a champion eventer, just like Hawley. That’s when our lives changed.

Shortly after that, Hawley told us that she found a great pony for Elise. Hawley told us that the pony was a sweetheart and would take Elise to the next level. I trust Hawley immensely, so I knew that this was the right move. Five days later, there was a beautiful Connemara pony waiting for my daughter. Hawley knew exactly how she wanted to present the pony to Elise. The great thing about Hawley is that she remembers what it’s like to be a little girl in love with horses. All the girls at the stables created a beautiful, blingy sign that said, “Congrats on your new pony, Cookie.”  (Elise wanted to name her dream horse, “Cookie.”)  They decorated the stall with streamers and balloons and put a large pink boa and bow around Cookie’s neck. Hawley brought Elise over to the stall and….SURPRISE!!! It was a day our whole family will never forget. Hawley was right. Cookie is one of the sweetest horses I’ve ever encountered. She’s such a good girl. Elise is in love!!!

All of the girls at HBE (Sarah, Holly, Chloe, Jordan, Ashlyn, Emilee, and the rest of the HBE crew.) went above and beyond to make that day special for Elise. They are dedicated, hard workers and they are always willing to lend a helping hand.They are wonderful role models for my daughter and it’s so much fun when we get to see them ride. They are all so talented! Elise also receives lessons from Sarah, who is wonderful. We spend almost every day at the stables and love every minute of it. We are surrounded by nice people and GORGEOUS horses. We are excited to see what the future holds for our daughter.  We’ll be happy no matter what she decides to do. But as far as Hawley goes, she will always be our friend we found on the side of the road.

Thank you everyone for all your support!

http://eventingnation.com/home/thoroughbreds-canada-emerge-as-big-winners-in-en-awards/

Livingstone Retirement Ceremony

Check out the amazing article on Livingstone's Retirement Ceremony!

http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/livingstone-has-touched-many-lives

"There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as Hawley Bennett-Awad walked into the main ring at Galway Downs for the final time on her four-star veteran Livingstone.

As announcer Mike Tucker read Bennett-Awad’s tribute aloud, she fought back tears while “Hank’s” support group, including Bennett-Awad’s husband, Gamal Awad, threw a cooler over his back and gave him plenty of pats.

Bennett-Awad chose Galway Downs as the place for the 23-year-old gelding’s final event and retirement ceremony. He finished on his dressage score at novice with her student Ellen Guthrie and was just as full of life in the ceremony as he was the first day Bennett-Awad sat on him.

“It’s a long time coming,” said Bennett-Awad. “The horse has been very special to me. I’ve had him for 19 years, and he’s so sound and willing to go. When do you draw the line? To finish on another double-clean round on his dressage score with an amateur rider at Galway Downs, he’s so well-deserving of it. I don’t think I’ve cried this much in a long time.”

Hank competed at the advanced level for 11 years, completing four four-stars, representing Canada at the Pan American Games in 2003 at Fair Hill (Md.), the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and the World Cup Final in Malmö, Sweden in 2005.

Bennett-Awad’s last competition with the Thoroughbred gelding (Wander Kind—Dancing Proud) was the 2008 Rolex Kentucky CCI*** where they finished double-clear on cross-country.

“I tried to retire him a couple of years ago, and he got so depressed and stood in the back of the stall,” she said. “With a horse that had his career, it’s all he knows. He loves to be brushed, he likes to be part of the team, he likes to have shipping boots put on him and hop in the trailer every now and then.”

Hank took Allie Knowles, who was then a working student and groom for Bennett-Awad, to her first advanced and has tought countless other students the ropes at the lower levels. He completed the CIC* at Galway Downs in 2011 with Breann Hall at the age of 21 before Bennett-Awad decided to drop him down to the lower levels.

Bennett-Awad learned the ropes of the upper levels with the gelding and said he’s shaped her career.

“For the longest time, I only had the one horse,” she said. “If I didn’t ice him and wrap him and take care of him, I had nothing. He taught me horsemanship. I never got the big win on him, but I’ve learned so much and you always think back now, ‘Well, if I had that horse now…’ With all the knowledge he’s taught me, what would have happened? He’s literally a part of the family.”

Buck Davidson, who’s been Bennett-Awad’s longtime coach and friend, won the CCI*** with Petite Flower at Galway Downs and was awarded the inaugural Livingstone Award.

“I started teaching Hawley probably 18 or 20 years ago, and it was with Hank,” he said. “When she first came to me, Hank had a broken leg. He had gotten kicked in the field. I got to see Hawley go from where she was to where she is now. Hank was a huge part of that. It’s funny to go back and watch the videos of Hawley riding Hank and see how she rides now. He never did anything other than just go.”

Davidson laughed as he recalled Bennett-Awad’s early career with Hank.

“Back in those days, Hawley didn’t go very fast, so the stories I would make up for her to have to make the time, I would just totally lie about where the minute markers were and stuff like that!” he said. “Hank was just happy to go in his big, fat, Happy Mouth bit, and Hawley just patted him like crazy at every jump, and they jumped every fence perfect, but it was so slow! It worked at the last Kentucky because they went clean within the time! We played some games to make it work, but Hank knew his job, and Hawley took care of him and loved him to death.”

Hank will spend his days at Kingsway Farm, right across the street from Galway Downs, and Bennett-Awad plans to keep him in light work until he decides it’s time to stop.

“He’s just the most honest, genuine animal I’ve ever been around,” she said. “I went from Pony Club to six four-stars, six three-stars, 11 CIC***’s all in a rubber snaffle that was the first bit I bought for him as a 4-year-old. When I [say] everything I have today is because of him, I truly mean it. I would not be here without that horse, and I’m just so glad I never ever sent [his sale tape] off. That was a life-changing day.

“He’s just taught so many other people in the meantime,” she continued. “He hasn’t won a gold medal, but he’s won so many people’s hearts.” "

Ribbons and Rolex and Pau...Oh My!

Check out all the exciting news below, shared by Hawley’s awesome working student and groom, Sarah Braun, who has been with her every step of the way this season!

Hawley Bennett Eventing started off the 2013 season with a Bang! Hawley, Eleanor MacLean, Katy Groesbeck and I welcomed Marta Tabatabai to team HBE to start off the new season, and then Hawley and the one-of-a-kind Gin & Juice took home two consecutive advanced wins at Twin Rivers and Copper Meadows. As if that weren’t enough, they then dominated at the Galway Downs Spring International Horse Trails, the CIC3* leading up to Rolex Kentucky. Galway was a great event for the rest of HBE as well with Eleanor winning her very first intermediate, Hawley’s third consecutive win on Ginny, and I took home the Blue in the Young Rider Preliminary division on a wicked cool mare, Gwendolyn.

After the excitement of such a great show, it was time to start getting geared up for a little something called the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. Apparently it’s kind of a big deal. I’ve never been before, so I guess I was going to find out what I was in for! So, the packing and count down began-- I packed, unpacked, and repacked every day until we left for the Twin Rivers Spring 3-Day which was a few days before Ginny and Hawley left on a jet plane.  Finally, all the ponies were loaded and off to Paso Robles, CA.  Ginny wasn’t competing but she got to tag along with all her friends; as they got to run fast and jump high she had to play in the white sandbox and practice her circles! She wasn’t too thrilled with that, but she was excited that Katy Groesbeck took home a pretty blue ribbon and a new saddle in the CCI2* and that Emilee Libby had a 7^th place finish. The sad part about the show was that HBE had to say goodbye to Eleanor and her horse Reilly as she headed back to Canada! 

On Monday after the show, I once again unpacked everything going to Rolex and repacked it and loaded it into the trailer. I couldn’t believe that Hawley and Ginny were about to head to the Blue Grass State early the next morning and that Rolex was right around the corner. Marta and I were up and at the barn at 1:30am to get Ginny all bubble wrapped for her little adventure. Once we got to the airport, we loaded Ginny’s entire luggage onto ‘Air Horse One’ and then it was Ginny’s turn to board. Hawley and Ginny were officially on their way, and I met up with them later in the week. We were lucky enough to stay at Allie Knowles’s facility in Pairs, KY until we vanned into The Kentucky Horse Park later in the week.

In the down time before the event, Hawley, a few others, and myself were invited to Keenland along with a few riders from across the pond. There was this one guy people call the “The Silver Fox,” I think his name is Andrew Nicholson or something – you might have heard of him – and also Austin O’Connor and Jonelle Richards!! It was a pretty cool day!

On Monday, Hawley, Ginny, and I headed over to The Kentucky Horse Park with Allie’s help. We got Ginny all settled into her new bedroom and unpacked and made ourselves at home. Monday and Tuesday were pretty laid back; we weren’t quite sure what to do with only one horse! Hawley had a few lessons from Buck Davidson and also with the new “Coach Canada” Clayton Fredrick practicing circles in the sandbox! Hawley’s best friend Maralee Paul and our awesome farrier from home, Tim Shannon, and this cool guy Bill Olson came out to support Hawley and Ginny along with Hawley’s mom, her husband Gamal, Ginny’s owners Linda and Terry Paine, Sue Church, Kim Liddell, my parents and a few others! It was a party, with everyone there to see The Juicer and her Blondie rock it at Rolex!

On Jog day I made sure Ginny had a shower and her pigtails were prefect and had her toes painted so that she looked fabulous on the runway. As Ginny and Hawley ran past the ground jury and I heard ACCEPTED, it finally set in that I was indeed at ROLEX! After jogs we went back to the hotel to put normal people clothes on and do our hair like normal girls and headed to Spindle Top Hall! I was finally able to meet my friend William in person, you know the guy that has won 11 CCI4*s and a few medals here and there… As I looked around I had to make sure I kept breathing, I was surrounded by the best riders in the world and I think I was a bit star struck! 

photo credit: Michelle Dunn

Thursday was the big day!!!! Ginny’s, well, not so favorite: it was the day for The Big White Sandbox, also known as Dressage day! Ginny and I both bonded pretty well on all our strolls to the main ring, a lot of hand walking and grazing to keep her settled. I think we both got our exercise, but at least there’s a ton of green grass in KY, there’s not so much back in California! When the time came for that long black flap saddle to go on Gin & Juice I made sure she had her quarter marks symmetrical on either side of her bum, her pigtails were tight and perfect, her tail was brushed, and her toes polished. It was then time for Hawley and Ginny to make their way down to the main ring, and that’s when I got nervous. As those two made their way down, everyone else from HB Eventing headed toward the stadium to watch the fabulous pair. As most of us know, dressage isn’t one of Ginny’s favorite activities, as she tends to get a bit wound up in the sandbox knowing what lies ahead of her in the days to come. But luckily over the years, Hawley has learned how to tame the Juicer and her wild side, putting them in the middle of the pack after a competitive dressage day.

photo credit: Bill Olson

Hawley had a jump school on Friday morning with Buck, and as she was warming up The Silver Fox was finishing up his jump school with Quimbo. I mean, I guess it’s an alright horse and he’s an okay rider….. ;) After Ginny and Hawley’s jump school, I hit up the trade fair to do a little damage with my plastic card, watch Hawley and Allie play with the Pony Club games ponies in the celebrity Games challenge, and watch a few dressage tests! Watching Allie and her mare Last Call was incredible as we all were watching the scores the judges were giving and when she halted and saluted the whole stadium went wild! Then I was curious to see what exactly a 4* cross Country course looked like, so I tagged along on a course walk Buck was doing. Yup! Big! Very Big! And very long; I couldn’t finish the course walk, so I went back to the barn to have a little discussion with the Juicer. I told her, you know what you have to do, and you’re good at it!

photo credit: Bill Olson

Finally, the best day came around!! CROSS COUNRTY DAY!!! Team HBE got everything all set up at the Vet Box and so the only thing left to do was to get Ginny and Hawley all decked out in their Navy and White battle gear! Once Ginny looked fabulous and Hawley looked fierce I did a once over to make sure they had everything, and they headed out to warm up.  Ginny and Hawley both looked great practicing more jumping logs and other things before going out onto course. Walking down toward the Start box with Ginny, Hawley, and Clayton, I had to take a few deep breaths and play it cool. The Starter started counting down, 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (oh boy!), 4, 3, (here we go), 2,1..and they were out of the box!! I ran over to the TV tent to watch, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest it was beating so hard, but Hawley and Ginny were just ping-ponging around like it was no big deal. When she was at the last water I ran back over to the finish twiddling my thumbs until I saw Ginny still full of fire and looking for more things to jump. The pair came flying past the finish, Hawley having to make a few laps around the vet box before Ginny realized she had to stop running! This horse is always full of run and fire; she’s a freak of nature! After she was oh-so-thrilled about having cold water poured on her and scraped off, humans touching her, and other horses galloping out of the start box and past the finish line, she got to go back to her bedroom to chill with some magnetic therapy, her fireman boots for her toes and legs, and some fluids. After a few hand walks and a jogging up and down the barn isle, she looked better than ever! Finally we tucked her in for the night in her bedroom with a few more bags of shavings and I could tell she was already thinking about tomorrow. More Jumping! Yay!

The final day of competition finally arrived, and thinking about having to head home the next day was not what I wanted to think about! When I got to the barn before the sun was even up, Ginny got to go for a walk before she had to go back into her fireman boots and magnetic therapy and get her hair did again. She loves those pigtails! As Hawley was getting did up for the final horse inspection, I made sure Ginny looked beautiful, and of course they strutted their stuff more alert than the first jog! After the final horse inspection, Hawley and Ginny were sitting in a top 10^th placing. Before the show jumping began, Hawley hopped on Ginny for an easy ride, and then we let her hang out in her bedroom for a bit to relax.

Finally it was time for the final phase; with Ginny’s pigtails in she got to have the brown short flap saddle on this time, and open front boots, which means not circles but hurtles, and boy does Ginny like to jump hurtles in front of a sold out stadium! Team HBE met Hawley and Ginny down in show jumping and watched them put in spectacular double clean round!! As my heart was beating out of my chest I screamed and shouted and threw my fists in the air, I was so ecstatic when Hawley and Ginny came through the finish! The pair finished phenomenally in 7^th place, we celebrated with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne as we packed up our home for the last week!

photo credit: Lee Ann Zobbe & Megan Brinks

The next morning we were at the airport for a 6am departure on Tex Sutton with the help of Maralee, Allie, and Gamal. We had to stop in Ocala, FL to pick up 20 race horses and then stop again in Dallas, TX to fuel up, and finally we made it to Ontario, CA and then had hour drive home to Temecula. The incredible journey to Rolex Kentucky was sadly over, and then we had to start thinking about our next event! What great memories I made at Rolex and not just as a spectator but as a Groom! I can’t wait to do it again!

The part about returning home that I was dreading the most was that Marta and her little mare headed back home while I was away Rolex, and we all miss her! But a week after returning from Rolex we welcomed a new hard-working girl, Elizabeth Henry, and she was put to the test pretty quickly; after being with us for just a few days we had an event at Galway. Hawley was riding 6 horses and I was riding 3 and it was my younger horse’s first prelim! It was a really fun show and I was pretty excited when I won the Preliminary again on the mare I won with at the last show!

photo credit: Betsy Braun

At the end of May was the Event at Woodside, which I was really looking forward to because it used to be my home turf. With a full load of horses and a truck full of girls for an 8 hour trip, we headed up to Northern California! I was excited to see some of my best friends from back home, my dogs, and be reunited with Eleanor and Marta. The weekend started off great, but I left with some disappointments and a lot learned. Hawley had a great weekend with all her young horses and some ribbons to add to her collection!

A couple weeks later was the Summer Event at Copper Meadows where I had a much better weekend and a big confidence booster, and Hawley had another great weekend with her young horses and also a second place finish in the Advanced with 5 O’Clock Somewhere, right behind Katy Groesbeck who took home first in both the Advanced and Intermediate. It was also an awesome weekend for Chloe Smyth at her first intermediate with a second place finish right behind Katy! HBE had a great weekend all around for everyone! Returning from Copper, we welcomed now the newest member of HBE, Holly Wenzell!!

Right after Copper Meadows I had a little vacation and spent a week home in the Bay Area and surprised my dad for a little early Father’s Day gift! After the Father’s Day weekend I headed back to Temecula. That week was a bit rough for HBE because Hawley had a spill XC schooling, and as everyone knows our sport has so many of its ups and downs and plans change, and unfortunately Hawley won’t be competing at Rebecca Farms in MT or Burghley in England. But, looking on the bright side of things, new plans have been made and the opportunity for both Hawley and Ginny to compete in France has us all excited at HBE! Hawley and Ginny have competed at Rolex, Badminton, and Burghley, and now hopefully Pau!!!!! Having never been to Europe or been out of North America even, I’m beyond excited to have the opportunity to go to France and to be a part of this amazing journey! While Hawley has been recovering, Gin & Juice has been on a field trip for a little Pilate’s instruction and lots of circle practice!  

Meanwhile at the end of June, Twin Rivers hosted the Area VI Young Rider camp, and we were lucky enough to have Jennie Brannigan, Allie Knowles, and Hawley as our instructors. The camp started off with a bareback jumping contest; I think I made it to 4’6’’ or something, somehow I stayed on!  It was a great weekend even though we cooked in a 111 degrees! A huge thank you to Jennie, Allie, and Hawley for their time and thanks to the Baxter family for the use of their phenomenal facility and to all the parents that make everything possible!

photo credit: Natalie Kuhny

 Everyone at HBE is counting down the days until we leave for Rebecca Farms, no actually counting down the days till we ARRIVE at Rebecca Farms! Does a 24 hour drive sound fun? No not really, but it’s definitely worth it; Rebecca Farms is the most beautiful place I have ever been to, and I know this is the show everyone looks forward to all year! I feel so honored to be a part of this amazing team and have the opportunities I’ve been given, to travel to some of the greatest events around the country and even the world in the near future! I would have never guessed this would have been me!

Wish HBE the best of luck at RF and see you all there!

Kick on, till next time

Sarah Braun

Bubbles and Rolex!

     It has been an incredible start to the 2013 show season for all of us at Hawley Bennett Eventing! Just coming off an incredible weekend at Twin Rivers! I was so thrilled to be tied on my Brother and Sister horses Ginny and Chunky after dressage and both finished the weekend very well, with Ginny winning a competitive Advanced and Chunky finishing seventh adding just one rail and a few time faults to his score! My young horses are all coming along very nicely, and I would like to extend a special thank you to the owners who make it all possible! I couldn’t be happier with how my Chunky and Ginny are doing as Rolex approaches…how is it almost here already?

        So much goes into getting ready for a four star event like this, so I am staying focused and making sure that everything is being done to make sure both Ginny and Chunky are in top shape, although especially Ginny has a great deal of natural fitness just being the wild woman she is. With the help of my amazing sponsors I know we will be looking and competing at our best. I would like to welcome Bardsley Products, JoJo Sox and Flair Nasal Strips to the list of my incredible sponsors. I am so excited about these products and know my horses will be sparkling at the jogs, and competing to peak performance as a result of adding them to my team.

        Probably the biggest news this month has been welcoming my newest horse Bubbles to the team! Veuve Clicquot AKA Bubbles is a 2006 TB gelding and I am so excited about this new partnership. Bubbles and I will be aiming for the CCI* at Galway Downs in November! My long-term goal for this very special horse is to compete at the Pan Ams in Toronto. I’m looking forward to celebrating many successes with Bubble in the future, with some Veuve Clicquot! I can’t thank my friend and coach Buck Davidson enough for helping me find this amazing horse!

      As always I couldn't accomplish any of my dreams without the help of my amazing team at HBE and my wonderful sponsors and husband! Can’t wait to see what this season will bring! Watch out for Ginny and Chunky at Rolex and GO HBE!