Last weekend was the first CDI of the Florida season, the Gold Coast Opener at the Jim Brandon Center. Everyone is gaga for the small tour championships, as this is a Pan American Games year. The PSG ran all day and featured some notables including several confirmed Grand Prix horses whose riders want to make a go at getting on a Team. And while the top horses in that class were fantastic—Heather Blitz’s Paragon is exactly as nice as everyone says he is, ohmygod—my focus was on the Grand Prix.

The Opener was a CDI-W, which meant that it was a World Cup qualifier. And the quality was quite high. I didn’t get to watch all the Grand Prix, though I did get to see my dear friend Liz Austin win the Grand Prix for Special, hoorah! But I did get to see all of the freestyles. It was a heckofa inspiring night!

There were no bad rides. Sure, a few mistakes here and there, but no disasters, no one who didn’t absolutely deserve to be there. A few rides stood out for me. Of course, the wonderful Swedish rider, Tinne, aboard Favourit was the winner, and they couldn’t have deserved it more. The horse is gooey but powerful, fluid but precise. It’s a stellar picture. And now, when Ella and I are schooling the passage, it’s Favourit’s hind leg that’s in my mind for inspiration. (Poor Ella doesn’t know what hit her.)

I also really appreciated the energy of Tina Konyot’s canter tour, and I just loved Shannon Dueck’s stunning young mare, Aysha, who did the whole routine with a soft, keen expression and big, floppy mare ears. Sigh! Beat still my heart.

The biggest thing for me was comparing Ella and where she is in our training together against the horses in the class. She certainly wouldn’t have been out of place there, and a few of the things I’ve spent some time on would absolutely have been competitive. But we wouldn’t yet be in the top group, score-wise.

And so I’m glad that we’re not showing at this level yet. Ella’s too special to get 63, 64 percents, and I think that’s where we would have been. Not because anything is wrong; she’s going great! But the polish and control required to score well in front of those five Big Judges? It’s amazing. We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto, and the standards are much, much higher.

So it’s not looking good for CDIs for Ella this winter, and I am a-ok with that. My young, gifted and sound horse will continue to train, and when we make our Big Debut, it’ll be the kind of ride that will inspire some other young, ambitious and obnoxious kid with big dreams.

Midge continues to be his lunatic self but is coming right along. And little Tres and I had a lesson with Michael last week, in which we all confirmed that he is like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way. I’ve got some folks coming out to try him over the next few weeks, and fingers big time crossed—he’ll make some timid lady SO happy, and once he’s gone I can bring Fender down, which I REALLY want to do. I’ve been thinking about how fun it was to ride him while I was home, and I’m jealous!