Andrea and Connie Baxter, hosts and organizers of The Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials for the beginner novice through advanced competitor, are off to a great start to 2007 in a year planned chock full of updates and challenges. In two more months entries are due for the May 4-6 CCI */**. TRRs eventing season will culminate with the final Adequan (Pacific Division) Gold Cup Challenge competition and September 28-30’s CIC ***. For this weekend, at final count 357 horses arrived for another perfect weekend in Central California. Cool clear nights and hot sunny days, were separated by biting frosty foggy mornings just to remind all that it is in fact winter.

Twin Rivers’ crew put in a lot of work over the short off season. New Bert Woods’ cross country jumps,mushrooms, turtles and a water complex bear made good looking and sometimes distracting additions to the already attractive upper level tracks.

Some firsts: Bunnie Sexton’s horse abandoned his rider on the cross country course to take a gander at the Novice riders in their stadium arena. His owner had no idea he was such an avid fan of the pretty rails (who says horses a color blind?) or perhaps he was faked out by the Stadium rounds very own stone wall and thought that was in his cross country plan (he didn’t get to do the course walk ahead of time). Also, this show ran on time, even when it meant Preliminary and Intermediate cross country divisions ran at the same time (at least for the first and last horse of each divisions).

In addition to thoughtful and continuous improvements to keep the cross country tracks challenging and inviting, the Baxters have added incentives for training barns to make it back for each show by offering entries and a year’s worth of free schooling to the barn that brings the most competitors to TRR shows over the course of the year. The Baxters are also assiduous about ensuring that competitors, their supporters and Paso Robles’ eventing fans have all of their service needs met for the weekend.

There were the usual suspects at the trade show: videographers and photographers and good eats (for California’s notorious foodies), the very useful tack shops to the relief of overworked grooms, parents and students who misremembered exactly what had been left over in the trailer from last season, custom saddlers, clothing (a shocking number of competitors don’t frequent other than tack stores and vendors at shows so socks, shoes, shirts, sweaters, jackets, hair brushes… all find customers), cold laser and ultra sound treatments, chiropractors and massage therapists for humans and equines. Missing was the gal with the foaming tool and herbal equine body wash. Last season she gave a lot of baths cross country day! Having done his market research, Austin Miles set up a popular and successful lemonade stand and chocolate cookie concession out of his mom’s tack room. Area VI Young Riders added a new touch to the trade fair melee with their "hire a groom for a day" fundraiser. In between competing and working for their own coaches and trainers, TRR competitors could retain the services of a local Young Rider for anything from fluffing your shavings and filling water buckets before you arrived to braiding and unbraiding, to mucking, cold hosing and babysitting. They’ll be serving pancakes on Sunday morning lead by celebrity chef Derek di Grazia. With this kind of commitment so early in the season, we know our kids are heading to Championships in August with winning in mind.

Going into Stadium Day, the rankings after dressage were scrambled up quite a bit as cross country took its toll in this early season going.

In Open Training out of 26 starters, Jessica Rice/Dillon, Amanda Volk/Irish Butterfly, Debbie Rosen/Smurf, Kristi Nunnink/Danny California, Elsie Patterson/Normandy Soldier, Anne Lindley /Bobby Hawk, Jolie Sexson/Foster, Nicholas Cwick/Elliot Bay, and Natalie Jensen/Wrigley are all within three rails of the top spot. Michelynn Sterling/Charmed and Keeley Mircetic/Miner’s Dream have to be double clear and watch for two rails to drop. The battle for first looks like it will be played out between Josh Barnacle and Leap of Faith with a two day score of 28.5 and Morgan Roundtree and Bonza Twis of Fate with a 26.

Open Preliminary has the following competitors in its top ten: Shannon Lilley/Ketel One, Nicholas Cwick/Tim Buck Two, Kristi Nunnink/R-Star, Vicki Koss/Look Sweet, Alexis Helffrich/Leyasta, Erin Kellerhouse/First Field, Gay Osborn/Quest, Brooke Phillips/Kiss in the Heather, Lindsay Connors/Fiat Lux and Alexis Helffrich/Spike hold spots 10 to 2. Kelly Prather and Amadeus start the day with a solid rail and then some in hand, finishing their first two days with a total penalty of 27.4

Young Riders Open Preliminary division goes into Sunday morning with Hannah Weems/ERISA Manja, Samantha Stewart/The Mistress II, And Fiona Graham/Good Barter in the ribbons but out of first place by more than three rails. Within three rails, Allegra Aiuto/Harley, Nina Moody/Gaelic Blessing, Ashley Anderson/Saturday Night Live and Tara McKenna Polkabla/Current Leader fill in the middle group. Tiana Coudray/Ringwood Master (39.1) and Morgan Roundtree/Sherwood (37.4) are within a single dropped rail of YROP leader Jamie Lawrence and Malik who stand in first with a penalty score of 35.2.

In the Preliminary Rider division, first through third spots are within a lone rail of each other: Erin Wiley and Killian III (33.3), Kate Gillespie and Renegade Reno (31.5), and Shannon Ward and Fire & Ice (31.1).

Some of the biggest upsets were evident among the 23 starters in Open Intermediate. Perhaps less surprising is that I pretty much stink as a forecaster and handicapper having completely jinxed ERISA Edward Jordan and David Adamo. That pair accumulated the most penalty points it seems might be possible and still be "legal" to compete in Stadium Round. Andrea Baxter and Tripod the Dog Baxter were seen cutting quite a rug at Saturday evening’s well attended and boisterous competitors’ party also in spite of or despite not the best day out on the cross country field. Leila Lucas and Mandolin’s Tune by comparison went to bed Saturday night with first place seeming comfortably in hand by nearly three rails with a 34.6.

Gina Miles and McKinlaigh continue to dominate the Advanced Division. Gina starts Sunday morning with a cool and comfortable 28.3. Young Rider Tiana Coudray and the fantastic King Street are competitive with a penalty of 33.2 standing close by in second place. Jolie Sexson and Killian O’Connor seem the only other pair within plausible striking range with a 36.4.

Photos and final results to be posted soon