1998, 16.1h, Grey, TB Gelding
Chris is indebted to Denny and May Emerson of Tamarack Hill for the opportunity to take the reins on their homebred Paladin, aka Smoke. Smoke came to Chris from Denny in the winter of 2006 as a supremely talented athlete in need of careful guidance and development to reach his potential. Smoke is by Loyal Pal, a popular stallion of Denny's and was tremendously athletic, but also full of "personality." Denny trusted that Chris's sympathetic but firm style could tap into Smoke's talent. Having completed only two Novices with his previous riders, Smoke made rapid progress, quickly moving up to Preliminary in 2006. In 2008, Smoke successfully moved up to intermediate and will be aiming for a CCI** in Spring of '09 before heading on to the Advanced Level.