Swan gallops to championship at US event

FRIDAY, JULY 22: Patrice Swan and Jaeda Smith competed at HITS Culpeper with Swan coming away with champion at the Showday National and reserve champion at the Cavalier Classic.

They will also be participating in a freestyle dressage event in Richmond, which will have them make up their own dressage test to music and design their own costumes.

They will be spending the summer showing at the Culpeper International Shows HITS and the CVSJA shows. 

The duo will also be learning horsemanship skills in other disciplines. 

Their busy summer includes going to the Painted Horse Ranch where they will work with Mike Williams, who will be teaching them to ride cutting horses.  They will also be working on the mechanical cow learning aids to turning their horses to follow the cow. 

Many of these techniques will help them in the jumper ring on turning and galloping and following a track. 

Swan and Smith will also be working with Gary Shifflet, a blacksmith, learning hoof management and different reasons for different shoeing techniques — pads, bars, and corrective shoeing, as well as pulling a nail out of a shoe.