Wed Aug 27th- Took us 8 hours to get to Leta and Shawn’s barn in Culpeper, VA. Luckily we had no travel problems. As soon as we arrived in VA, however, it started raining. Apparently this rain is from Hurricane Faye. Ugh! Lucia traveled great and came off the trailer with no problems. We let her rest a while then I rode her at Leta’s…in the rain! Leta rode a young horse, too, and Pat took a lesson with Shawn. Lucia schooled great and Shawn remarked that Pat’s riding had greatly improved from the last time he saw him ride in the spring. I’m getting excited about showing Lucia under saddle tomorrow!
Thurs Aug 28- 
Still raining! Got up to meet the braider at 5:30am. Lucia looks lovely. Got to the show around 9am and they were just starting (they were suppose to start at 8am ) because they had to try to drain some of the water out of the arena. The ring was like a swimming pool! They also cancled the Three Year Old Hunter division because they didn’t have enough entries so I entered the Baby Green under saddle instead. There were about 20 horses in the class and Lucia went in like a trooper and gave me one of the best rides I’ve ever had on her… in the rain, in the mud, around all the jumps, in and out of all the horses, and in a ring we hadn’t schooled in! We ended up 4th! I was so proud of her! Then we did the Young Hunter under saddle. There were less horses in this class, but much stiffer competition. Some of the top hunter riders and horses in the country were in this class and we ended up 6th! Again, I was so proud of her!
Fri Aug 29- Finally stopped raining mid morning so Shawn was able to help me get Lucia started over fences! She was brillant! She has a nice jump and plenty of step. I can’t wait until next year when I can show her over fences. 
Sat Aug 30-
Shawn shows off Lucia’s trot in hand . Photo credit to Jordan Koepke.
What an amazing day we had! The day started early at 4am with the braider. We arrived at the show around 9am. Lucia’s first class was the 3 year old TB Filly in hand class and she came in 3rd! She looked beautiful, behaved perfectly, and moved perfectly! She was so good in fact, that Shawn wanted someone to show her in the Amateur handler class and since Pat was the only amateur we had…he was it! He quickly threw on Shawn’s sport coat, shirt, tie, and borrowed a pair of khaki’s while I entered him in the class. Shawn gave Pat a quick lesson in how to show a horse in hand and in they went! Pat did an amazing job and was against the top amateurs in the country! He came in 7th place! Later in the afternoon it was time for the Sallie B. Wheeler Hunter Breeding Championships for the East Coast. Lucia was in the 3 year old Filly class (open to both TBs and non TBs) and she came in 3rd! We were totally estatic!
Pat happily accepts his ribbon! Photo credit to Jordan Koepke.
I am so proud of Lucia and exteremly excited for things to come. I have a lot to work on with her to get us to the next step and I am competely inspired and energized to do that. Next year promises to be an even bigger year for this talented filly!