It is a new millennium indeed. The February RamTap Horse Trials went off without a hitch enjoying spectacular, sunny, mild weather. A straw poll found no one who could remember the last February run in Fresno that did not involve rain. The weather was perfect to highlight long awaited upgrades to Central California’s longest running event (and I hear tell, the 2^nd longest running event in the USA).

Burt Woods who has done a great job building courses for Twin Rivers, Galway and Woodside, put together some new and interesting questions for the Burtons at RamTap. Beautifully redesigned, the RamTap tracks from Beginner Novice through Advanced should spark lots of interest and higher entries which despite the facility’s Central California location have flagged in recent years, especially at the upper levels.

The promise of a new and improved Advanced course, bright and early on the 2007 calendar, brought out some of the Area’s best horse and rider combinations. All competitors remarked on the excellent footing and the quality of the Advanced and Intermediate tracks which had received the most obvious facelifts. McKinlaigh and Gina Miles, Livingstone and Hawley Bennet, Jennifer Wooten and The Good Witch and Tiana Coudray and King Street came in first through fourth respectively. Only McKinlaigh and Livingston went clean around cross country; only The Good Witch and King Street were clean and on time in Stadium. No one in the Advanced Division finished on their dressage score. 16 out of 21 of this coming weekend’s Advanced runners at Twin Rivers used RamTap’s Advanced and Intermediate run as a tune up.

Open Intermediate results: The first winner in the competition on their dressage score was Gin N Juice with Rider Hawley Bennet, who moved up from eighth place with two perfect jump rounds. Only second place finisher, Uni Griffon ridden by Lisa Marie Fergusson joined Stinkie with a double clear on cross country.

Andrea Baxter on Estrella: Photo Jennifer Bronson

Another new feature premiered at RamTap was the Young Riders’ Fundraising Pancake Breakfast. Young Rider Josh Barnacle and Area Scoring Wizard Dawn Benson generously donated time to feed early risers on Stadium day. Special thanks and kudos to Dawn, one of the Area’s mega-volunteers for standing up once again and pitching in to make an organizer’s inspiration a reality. The Young Riders hope to make the Pancake Breakfast a regular feature at Area VI events this season. Watch your programs and announcements for day and time! Rumor has it that Derek will be serving.