Featured Rider - Corinne Ashton |
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Corinne Ashton (Part 1 of a 4 Part Series)
Dobbin
Lyphilius x Deal Debbie Deal 16.0.h.h Chestnut Thoroughbred Gelding, 1994
Rider/Owner: Corinne Ashton, Princeton, MA
No doubt that it is winter here! A barrage of ice, rain, snow, more snow more ice and rain then more snow, ice. Now I'm eagerly watching the weather for a break so we can make our break to sunny, sandy South Carolina!
So we had our best year ever, 2008 Horse of The Year, that means little Dobbin won more points than any other horse in the country! How great is that? But no surprise I hear you say after all he was number 5 in 2007 and he invented the Most Consistent Horse Award! And when was there last a HOTY out of New England /Area 1, Hallelujah Firsts all round??!!
I had packed my shorts and party dress for New Orleans to receive the great award but alas didn't get further than ½ mile down the road because of the ice storm and indeed just as well as power was lost for 9 days and champions need to drink water which became a scarcity...
He hates to travel but he also hates to stay home, he is a party animal and easily bored. He doesn't thank me for giving him time off in a field. It is not that he doesn't like being in a field it is just the he'd like someone to "play" with in a field. Dobbin's idea of playing is not everyone else's'!! I often tell him no one will want to be his friend if he bites that hard, yeah but there is something about squirming flesh..........! And I'm a vegan! Amazing what you'll put up with for a bit of blue ribbon!!
He loves life and what he does, I think even more now than ever, he is confident and comfortable in himself and would be a most useless lawn ornament anyway!
So he knows we are off soon, "please remove that stressed out middle aged broad who is feverishly packing and driving us all nuts" he pleads to all that pass! This too will pass I tell him and there may even be some grass in the fields where we are going, the white ground here will not subside for another 3 months and he knows it.
His body and mind are rested, he is strong, happy and ready for action. With all 
the weather issues he really has not been ridden since Fair Hill, the only option for us here would have been to trailer to a local indoor, he hates trailering, doesn't need to be bored going round and round, didn't want to risk the icy roads and anyway he was happy to wave the babies off instead!
So we pack up the crew, 9 ½, that includes Russ the baby miniature donkey that amuses everyone, some people have dogs as pets...
Also in that mix is my 13 year old daughter's (Marissa) pony, who has the title of junior working student, 3 of my own resale projects and 4 client horses. I also have a great 17 year old working student (Megan) but we will all be busy!
We are excited to be part of the Winter Training List and all that it offers when it comes to Aiken. Watch this space for the Dobbin/Russ Team in Action in Aiken!