The first go of the futurity is over. I’m happy about how my 2 horses showed against a lot of great horses. The judges are tough across the board. We’ve gotten used to seeing much higher scores in past years, but the horses competing this year in the open are very fancy, and certainly even though the scores are lower, the quality of the horses is just as strong as last year. I  think that we continue to see the quality of horses go up. 

I’m feeling great as I get ready for the second go. I’m not going to fall into the trap of trying to push my horses harder to please the judges. I suspect that some of the younger trainers, in particular, may be wondering “what do I need to do to get the judges to mark me?” They can get caught up in this mind game and overdo things, push the horse to hard.

I’m going to try to have good, clean goes in the second go-round and make it back to the finals.

Otherwise, we’ve been busy here, looking at 2 year olds (and finding some very nice ones!). We really had fun at the celebrity reining last night. It’s such a cool event and it’s great that it benefits Make A Wish.

My daughter, Sarah, shows on Tuesday with both of her horses, and I go again in the Open.

After the futurity, we’ll spend a few days here in Texas. I’m hoping to find someone to lease my ranch there. It’s a great training facility.

But I’m really looking forward to being back in New York. Here’s hoping for a white Christmas!