Damn, but this COTHer is elusive. I was greeter on Friday (nearly all day, and checked in nearly 197 horses), and finally got to meet her - ever so briefly. A long haul from Kansas and she pulls into the driveway looking perfectly coiffed and very chic! I make four trips to the barn over the two days, and spend time admiring her big gorgeous bay and miss her every time. He, of course, was sure I had treats. Hopefully, next year I will have better luck and be more accessible (i.e. less volunteering).
Hahaha!! I looked like a hot mess! There were people there I knew and hardly got to see them! 197 people!!! Oh my Lord!! When I started going to this show 5 years ago it was 120. I know it gets so busy there. Thanks again for a great show and volunteering!
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Hi Cindy 
Fellow eventer from the barn here!
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I am just really glad the show is growing! I do not want the sport to die out in the Midwest. Now we just need to get more here in Nebraska.
We parked over a 100 trailers on the property. 
Note the four new permanent barns (56 new stalls) with good ventilation; wash racks adjacent. We developed a traffic plan so people could drop off their horse and gear and then drive (forward!) to the designated parking areas. Four volunteers managed parking. Every time a trailer pulled in I was praying it had more than 1 horse in it! :eek: Dressage had the entire field to itself; stadium was relocated closer to the barns and squared off (no more skinny rectangular courses). John Staples built a challenging stadium course that required adjustability, but was eminently doable.
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The new permanent barns are lovely!! Special thank yous definitely go out to Susan and Megan for working so hard to be sure everyone had a great experience!! & the sweet fence judge who ran right over to give me a hug when I popped off on xc!!
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LOL. She was checking for broken bones while Brian O’Connor was asking whether it was code green or code red. But seriously, everyone had a great time. they take good care of the jump judges.
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I was there as well. Ran BN. Horse was not compliant and was bucking in the warmup and tried to take off whenever we cantered on xc. Had to trot much of the darn course, got overpassed (embarrassing), and then horsey was an angel for stadium the next day. Bummer for those that came off!
I have had a “Catalpa curse” as I fell off in 2009 then came back in 2018 and fell off again. This year my goal was to finish (starter), my stirrup leather broke on cross country but I was determined to finish. Everyone on course was so kind as I was trying to turn my neck strap into a stirrup leather. The parking situation this year was fantastic (and we brought two horses in one trailer haha). I love Catalpa and I will hopefully be back next year to tackle beginner novice!
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Hey girlfriend!!
My guy was exceptionally dick-ish in warm up, bucking and bolting everytime a horse went out on cross country. If you, your entire family and your horse were almost run over by a 17 hand Holsteiner, that was us! The antics continued as he refused to get anywhere near jump 2!
It was a great show this year. Both of my sons rode and had a great experience! It was very well run, the courses were very inviting and the staff and volunteers did a great job!
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Agreed ! I have always liked this venue and glad to see they are growing.
I could see you from where I was at fence 1. We couldn’t figure out what the problem was and didn’t realize that the leather broke (did not just slip off). Kudos to the resourceful use of the neck strap, and for completing the course! Hope to meet you in person next year.
I enjoy this event as well, although I found it a bit strange that the XC courses were exactly the same as the prior year. Anyone know why?
The plan was originally to have the courses changed this year. However, weather didn’t cooperate at ALL - the area had a terribly wet and cold spring/early summer, so moving fences would have torn up the ground too much. The owners also use many parts of the showgrounds for hay, so have to plan around that as well. By the time the ground could have held up to moving fences, it was too late to fill in bare spots (from where jumps would have been removed) so the decision was made to leave the course (almost) the same as last year. They also needed to rebuild the Starter course, as they didn’t run Starter at the recognized show last year.
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I just saw this! The metal piece on my stirrup leather broke off. I considered trying to go on without a stirrup but since we are just trying to build confidence, that didn’t seem like a good option. Hope to meet you this year.
Any of you planning the one the first week of May? My horse is still an a$$hat, bucking me off 2 weeks ago in the arena at home so the May outing may be BN then hopefully Novice the next weekend at home.
I am checking my calendar, but expect I will be there. Definitely going to need volunteers because we need to relocate XC fences for better separation from stadium. Entries open March 17. Max 103 riders in permanent stalls. One day show with option to school following day.
