NorCordia SOLA DIVA, onward to Grand Prix! So aptly named.
Sometimes I have a horse that is so impressive we score well in tests that I’m not quite satisfied with as a trainer. I come out of the test swearing, but everybody else is smiling and we might even win with a big score! 
I’ve made enough horses in my life to not be sucked in by those tests. I know what I want to feel in a horse. For a few months now, Sola has given me a really good feeling at home… My team will remember the day I trotted her out of the training arena and schooled her on the lawn while singing AND she agreed to it. That was a turning point.
That was a turning point.I hoped one day she would agree to be a show horse. That was last weekend at WFEC!
Sola is so beautiful and SO TALENTED, but for so many months reminded me of my Cadillac—phenomenal to watch but difficult to engage from the saddle. Every test was a guessing game and I often wondered if she even knew I was up there. Honestly, I was just a monkey doing the steering and feeling lucky to make the right turns at the right times.
Until last weekend! The results at White Fences Equestrian Center look a lot like her other shows, but this time was different! Sola stayed in the conversation with me and I can’t tell you how important that is in developing a future Grand Prix horse. She let me ride her in the test. She waited when I asked, she carried herself (for the most part) and she let me ride! We still had mistakes but I can shrug those off now. They are correctible.
I am SO VERY PLEASED…and currently covered in goosebumps. These are the moments we live for.
On a side note, I’d like to give a big shout out to Adam Pollack at WFEC. THANK YOU, Adam, for many years of sport-building at your stable. You know I love your footing and your venue looks better every time you hold a show! WFEC in the springtime is FULL of exotic blossoms and beautiful trees. Such a beautiful setting!
You give our community “smaller” shows to test some of our green horses/riders and you have provided some of our best judges with valuable time in the box. I am always pleased to see the addition of championship classes to the prize list. Not to mentioned the fun and relaxed (ahem) dress code…
Here are a few photos Sola Diva staying in the zone and winning the USEF DH Prix St George! Thank you to the incredibly talented Sara Hellner for capturing these moments.
I’ve been waiting to exhale. Onward to Grand Prix!
