05/26/2026
When I bought this pony two years ago, I thought I bought him for myself. But actually, now I think I bought him for Pj!🥰 I have been watching him develop the confidence, strength, and coordination in this little soul, and it gave us great pleasure to be able to bring him to Devon, possibly the most difficult atmosphere to compete in, after only doing one combined test and a sleigh rally in the last year. Thor loved it! I think he even said that he would like to go on the Ferris wheel next time!😂🎡
As the schedule was running slightly early, we made our way over and were careful to stay out of the way of the combined drivers galloping and warming up for the carriage racing derby, which was so fun to hear the crowd get so excited over. Our sport needs to get excited about driving again! It was so nice to bring that back to Devon! However, when the time came for our class, what was so disappointing was that we found out a “fellow competitor” who knew we were there told management that we were not coming and we missed the gate by 20 seconds. Pj tried to be respectful to all the ponies as Thor has a very big stride so Pj mainly walked. The Oval was closed off to schooling for some reason. We were so proud of how relaxed he was and how much he truly seemed to enjoy the atmosphere! How embarrassing that our sport has become like the Hunters I left long ago…
Nonetheless, it gave him a great opportunity to warm up a little bit more and he attacked the cones ring with class! It was so much fun to watch him confidently enter the ring. I know that he truly wanted to be there with his dad. Definitely, a proud mama moment! The goal was to be consistent and relaxed and he did just that! Devon 2026, goals accomplished!💪🏽🤩
So proud of my honey, Pj, and all the work he has put into this special little guy who is only six coming seven! Many more years of fun to come, and we are very patient. Perhaps the biggest honor came from a compliment from Rodney Hicks, who was schooling one of his big beautiful horses. He told us that Thor was a spectacular creature! So nice of him to give him that wonderful accolade when he didn’t have to. A great horsemen himself, it was so nice to hear that. Thank you, Mr. Hicks! 🥰
A special thanks to Julia, a.k.a. Julia Goolia for all she does to help us and complete the turnout! We celebrate 22 years together on the Kendalwood team and couldn’t be without her. Thank you for your friendship and all you do!😘
As to learning who our fellow competitor was who lied, a bit more concerning that it has entered our sport…🤦🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️ but our joy cannot be taken away from all that was gained last night! It was so much fun, and I love that so many of the VSE competitors are joining in on the fun and tearing up the cones course! It will always be our top
achievement to develop talent and turn out the best we can and continue to support the sport we have so come to love! Onward and upward! Congratulations to all of our fellow competitors. You are all beautiful! It was so nice to see more than only a few turnouts in the ring again!🎠🎠🎠🎠🎠
