2006

This has been a very special year for me.

I married my husband and my best friend, Lee Sluser in February.  Friends and family were there to celebrate with us on this special occasion.  One day after the wedding Lee and I set out on our honeymoon.  We went to Cuba for two weeks and stayed in a beautiful Sandals Resort.  It was a dream come true! 

 After the honeymoon I moved into Lee’s home on a farm near Glenavon.  Luckly, I was able to find a place nearby to board my horses.  Sandy Assman took great care of Monaco and Lepanto during the winter months.

In March I was able to fly to California and ride with US Olympian Charlotte Bredahl Baker for two weeks. This was an amazing experience for me! I was able to ride Eskada (one of the top advanced horses in the US) and a young horse named Wictoria. I was even able to go to a show in Burbank to watch more incredible horses ridden by other Olympians. Charlotte is an incredible person and rider and I am so thankful for the fantastic learning experience. I can't wait to visit her again in the future!

In the spring we set out to convert the “grain farm” yard into a horse friendly yard.  My mother, uncle and grandfather helped Lee and I set up corrals, a tack room and crossties.  Thanks so much!

And in July my mother and Darlene Tingtved (my other mother:0) came out to help put up pasture fences.  It was 3 days of torture... the weather was the hottest of the summer with temperatures in the high 30s.  Lee and I did not have air conditioning at the time and we nearly cooked.  But everyone worked extremely hard and we got two pastures finished!  I cannot thank everyone enough!! 

2006 was the first year that Monaco at the PSG and I1 and the second year for Lepanto at the PSG and I1 level.   Two very special horses and stable mates began to compete against each other this year. 

We showed at the June Saskatoon Dressage show where Monaco won all of our classes with scores ranging between 65-67%.  Lepanto was just behind Monaco with scores in the low sixties.   What a great start to the year. 

 In our second Saskatoon Dressage show (July)  Monaco and I won all of our classes with scores ranging from 66% to 69.88%  And Lepanto was again close behind with scores in the low sixties.  This was an incredible show that proved just how consistent Monaco and Lepanto are at the advanced level.
The worlds best show team... Lee and my Mom (Shawna Camphaug) standing beside Lepanto and I.

In Aug Monaco, my mother and I traveled to Edmonton to compete at the Amberlea Dressage show.  Sayoko was able to fly from Japan to watch us compete.  This was the first time she had seen us since Monaco and I were third level in 2004!  We were nervous but Sayoko was super supportive and that helped to calm my nerves.

Monaco was Fantastic!  He won all of his classes with scores over 65% this was our first show with multiple judges at this level.   Monaco and I also won the Freestyle with a score over 70%!!!  Our highest score ever!  What an accomplishment... and to have Sayoko there made it even more special.

In September I had another dream come true when Monaco and I were accepted to ride in the Anky Van Grunsven Clinic at Spruce Meadows.  I am pretty sure I never stopped smiling!  We were able to work on our pirouettes and Anky commented that Monaco was a pirouette miracle!  Incredible!  I will never forget that lesson as long as I live!
Anky, Monaco and I

A week after the clinic with Anky we traveled to Red Deer to ride at the Alberta Provincial Championships and the Western Regional Championships.  Monaco was tired from all of the travelling (8 hours to Calgary and another 9 hours to Red Deer) but he put in really solid performances.  His scores were all in the mid sixties and he ended up third in his division and he was the highpoint Amateur Freestyle!  I am so proud of Monaco!

Thanks to Family and Friends for making this year so special and helping to make my dreams come true!