Spring Festival was passed in at the yearling sales at $25,000 and later purchased by my friend Gai as unbroken 2 year old colt.  Gai contemplated standing him at stud but he was considered too small at just 15.1hh.  He won 1600m races at Scone and Wyong, but is a "stayer" ie a horse for races 2000 metres and over. His last race was in May 98 and now the ~real~ work begins to retrain him as a dressage prospect.  He is very  one-sided at the moment and quite fearful of being handled on his off side but is quiet, intelligent and responsive.  I plan to spell him for a few months while his system adjusts from a racing diet to non-heating rations more suitable for a riding horse (November, 1998)

Taken 13 Nov 98, the day he became mine
 

In January 2000, I hosted a Horsemanship Clinic with Mark Rashid from Colorado.  My friend, Catherine Bird who is an equine massage therapist, was keen to ride in the clinic but she didn't have a horse so, hoping that my work with him throughout 1999 would be enough, I lent her Spring.  Read Catherine's moving and inspiring clinic report here.  Spring did remarkably well with his novice rider and is now well on his way to being a lovely hack or dressage horse.

My son Josh has outgrown has outgrown his beloved Misty so my work is done and Spring Festival officially belongs to Josh. He will be his pony club mount - a far cry from the provincial racetracks of his past March 2000

Josh has found that the pressures of school work leaves him little time for Spring Festival and since Spirit is now a broodmare, Spring is again my riding horse September 2004