Plans, Lessons, and Jumping Solo

Everyone is starting to make plans for 2013.  Me, I am making plans for the next day.  Similar to what I do as a classroom teacher, I am letting my daily assessment and reflection of my ride tell me what my next steps need to be. 

An observation I made about myself this past year is that I ALWAYS jumped in a lesson or under supervision.  I always had someone there to “hold my hand” so to say, in case I was making mistakes.  With Craig, we’d jump advanced height in our lessons once a week, without question, but if I had to jump that height alone, I found myself questioning whether I should or not do it and fearing that I would make a mistake. 

This leads me to where I am now, this winter, jumping alone more often to work on working through situations on my own.  I don’t mean that everyone reading this should stop taking lessons, send your help away, and jump alone.  For me, jumping alone means having maybe two or three lessons a month and jumping more, or in my case at all, on my own.  My husband initially thought this was a horrible idea.  I explained to him that it would be fine and that there are people that live on the farm and would be driving past the arena periodically.  Also, my friend Maggie, almost always knows when I am riding or is riding with me.  I usually text her and my husband on my 15 minute hack back to the barn to discuss mistakes I made, movements that are improving, or opinions Frankie may have had during the ride (and yes…. She can be very opinioned!)    My advice to anyone riding a horse anytime is to let someone know you are going out for a ride.  So jumping or not, I let people know I am riding.

Craig has said from the beginning that I don’t get to jump enough.   I would agree with that.  Having only one (upper level) horse does come with its own set of problems.  Having another horse to practice jumping 4’ on would be nice but it is not in the cards for me.  I am currently not in the market for another horse so here is what we’ve decided will be best for my particular situation. 

I will, of course, continue to take jumping lessons.  We all need lessons from professionals to continue to improve our riding.  I plan to alter my schedule with her somewhat and jump her every 3-4 days.  These jump schools will be a combination of flat work or a light trot set and jumping a few jumps or through a grid by myself. It will not take the place of a lesson nor will I jump the same amount of jumps I might in a lesson.  This is basically to let Frankie jump and not have every jump school be BIG and it will also let me make a mistake and then allow me to use the tools I have to fix it on my own.  By continuing to have lessons, I don’t anticipate practicing bad habits.  These jumps won’t be max height but I will be making myself make decisions about my riding and not beat myself up for a whole week about a lesson if I had a bad jump or two.  It will allow me to get right back out there and jump again in a few days. 

The schedule will change as the competition schedule comes into play but for now, I am not thinking about showing.  I am thinking about training my horse and becoming a better rider for her.  She deserves the best ride I can give her.  

I am happy to report that we went to a local schooling jumper show last weekend BY OURSELVES!  Before my first class/ first round, a woman had a bad spill.  I was warmed up and ready to go but after watching her fall and lay there waiting for the ambulance, I thought that I could go home cause technically I HAD jumped…. In warm up and Frankie was good.  I didn’t leave… (Thank you Lindsay and Drew)   Frankie and I were entered in three classes.  She was clean in all three, and jumped clean jumps offs and won all three classes.  Now, there were not many people there at all but…..  I was competing against myself and this time I won….  The me that showed up that day to ride told myself how to go in and ride a smooth round, with soft arms and straight lines.  That was the me that won….  I usually find a way to mess it up and this time….THREE times, I did what I needed to do to jump well.   

Hope you all are having a nice winter and remembering how fortunate we are to have these wonderful creatures in our lives.

Heading into winter

We are on our way home from Chatt Hills CCI 2* at the moment. It did not go as planned however, I do feel like I was able to work out a few things on xc although in the end, I had three stops and was eliminated.
Frankie came out of the box and felt great. We jumped the big tables at 1,2, and 3 very well. I wanted to get a good pace going out of the box. This course started out big so I knew I needed to get going! The first question came with a turning corner question at 4a,b,c and she was brilliant! I was a little concerned about it because it encouraged a backwards ride and was very similar to the question at Fair Hill I was not able to get done the first time in the spring. Frankie came back to me well for the A element, turned right to the left handed corner and was on it, then turned left to a skinny brush out. We galloped three more big tables before running into a tiny pond to jump a log in the middle. We had our first stop there at the log because I did not ride it- I took it for granted! It was tiny and caught  me off guard for sure. We came back around to it and jumped it well and went on our way. Maybe I was still thinking about that jump as I made the turn to a big tiger trap type jump. I thought we were right on it so I did not add additional leg and she stopped but not dirty. I needed to react sooner- or at all. As I cantered away from it I wondered if she'd jump it now that she saw the huge ditch and knew how big it was. I looped around, she put her eye on it and took me right to it. From there we had another massive table over a ditch that I wanted to stay to the right of because the footing in front of it sloped downward and encouraged them to drop their shoulders. She sailed over it easily. We galloped up to the next question. I angled over a brush roll top, ran up the steep mound, had to turn off the path on the downhill side to a corner sitting at the bottom.  She held perfectly at the top of the mound, like I expected and I was able to keep a packaged canter down the hill, on the line I walked, to the corner. We galloped on and jumped a few more big galloping jumps. My final stop came at the A element of a house into the water. It was not the water, it was the terrain that got me. I jumped the log rolls at the top of the hill before the water and never put her back together as I cantered down the hill. I never pushed her back up and got her in front of my leg.
In FEI you are allowed three total stops and that was my third. I walked her back to the barns thinking about how amazing she felt at the corners and over all the huge tables she had jumped. She came off thinking she was amazing- and she was where I rode her. At this level I am realizing that she needs me to support her at all the fences. Bottom line. I need to ride her better to get the results I know we are capable of. She has shown me that she can do it. My three stops were at three different fences but all the same problem. I took my leg off and didn't ride her up to the contact.
I am disappointed for sure but only in myself. I am though coming home with an extremely healthy horse, knowing my dressage was much improved from last year, and the feeling of having fixed some issues with my gallop to allow her to jump as many big tables as we did- well! We didn't helicopter over anything!
From here we just keep pressing forward. I plan to go to Aiken and school with Jan and run a select prelim or two where I can focus on giving her a good ride and I will be setting up jumps at the bottom of hills at home to school frequently.
A huge thank you to Gail Jackson, Collyn Smitherman, and her dad Mr. Smitherman, for making it an enjoyable weekend! Collyn completed her second training as well!

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Gearing down then up again

I stayed on Plan A for quite some time this year.  Now I am not sure what letter of the alphabet I am on but I DO have a plan for that as well! 

The summer did not go as planned, nor getting to the 3* at Richland so I am faced with making a decision.  Do I put all of my eggs into one basket and go for a CIC3* this fall, if I could even find one I can get to, or do I play it safe and redo my 2* since that two year qualification runs out at the end of the year?  Well, without too much thought, I decided to redo the 2*, which gives me two more years to get the 3* done.  We are already qualified for the 3* but I just feel like Frankie and I need more exposure at the Advanced level. 

From there we will focus on our winter work and prepare for the February Poplar and Pine Top.  Jan will be in Aiken for the winter and I hope to get there for a long weekend before the Advanced at Pine Top. 

Here’s to hoping for another very mild winter!!

Trip to Surefire

The trip to Surefire did not go exactly as planned but I still learned a ton and had a great time!  Hannah Williams, her mom, Dorothy Curlin, and myself, set out for Surefire Monday June 11th at 4:30 am. Hannah took both of her horses so she stayed very busy all week.  Frankie LOVES the 2+1 box stall as much as she loves Megan Moore's horse bus!

When we arrived that afternoon, Jan discussed a schedule for the week with us.  She thought we should XC school first since there was a storm approaching that was bringing lots of rain and we may not be able to get out on course for a few days.  We began tacking up and off we went to the XC field.

I watched Jan teach Hannah first on her TB, Liam.  He can be quick so Jan had her slow it all down.  They made a lot of progress from beginning to end.  I warmed up and Jan sent me out to jump several things.  Frankie felt great so we headed to the back field to school the very downhill coffins Jan has.  We jumped a course that included about 10 fences and the prelim and intermediate coffins.  Before I went out we talked about the canter I needed at the coffins.  Frankie jumped well through the course.  Both coffins rode well, and Jan was pleased.  We both agreed I need to do it one more time just to get the feeling of the canter to the very steep, downhill coffins.  Off I went.  Tables one and two were intermediate size, flat top tables .... nice flowing gallop down the hill then back up the hill to a prelim size table.  I saw the galloping stride and Frankie saw an add that was not there.  I was pitched and tried to use my hand to break the fall on the far side of the jump.  There I was, roughly and hour after arriving at Surefire, sitting on the ground, hand bleeding and clearly not in good working condition.  Jan was right there so she had Frankie, who did not run off even when my vest exploded, and let me catch my breath that I had lost from the force of my vest.  Jan walked Frankie back we discussed the "miss" and how sometimes it just happens.

Kendal Tracy drove me the the ER while Kelty O'Donoghue took Frankie from Jan and did a wonderful job taking care of her and icing her while we were gone.  THANK YOU KELTY!  Kendal stayed with me for HOURS at the ER (and probably learned more about me than she ever wanted because they ask you so many questions) but we had a great time people watching.  Hospitals are interesting places.  Kendal kept me updated with what was going on with Frankie.  Another working student named, Hannah, whom I'd met last year, was getting dropped off with her young rider horse when we were headed to the ER and her Mom is a vet.  Jan had her Mom go over Frankie so I was relieved to hear that she checked out ok!  When Hannah and Dorothy finished up with Hannah's other lesson on Picante, and completed the feeding and all the wrapping, they met us at the hospital.

Tuesday was a day of downpours!  Hannah got SOAKED riding as I stood in the trailer and watched her lessons.  Jan got me into an Orthopedic Dr in Middleburg that day as well.  He was nice to see me on short notice.  Between the small fracture on my 3rd knuckle in my pointer finger and amount of soft tissue damage to the top of my hand, there would be no riding for me.  I think I expected him to have some magic dust! I am just glad that was all that I had done and I'd be back to my old self in no time.

Hannah with Frankie after tacking her up for Jan.

Jan rode Frankie the remainder of the time we were there and Hannah was able to get two lessons a day the entire week.  Frankie became more educated while we were there and Jan gave me some great tips on the flat to use with her.  Frankie looked amazing as I am sure you can imagine.  I am bummed that I was not able to ride more than the one day but I'm glad a minor hand injury is all that came out of the deal.

Jan & Frankie

In true me fashion, I am already planning on going back to Surefire to get the work in I feel I need to get done to be prepared for the CIC 3* at Richland in August.  Maggie and I have come up with a plan that I just have to clear with Tom!  

Jan & Frankie

I cannot thank Jan and ALL of the Surefire people enough.  Everyone was so helpful.  Hannah and Dorothy took great care of Frankie,and me as did the staff at Surefire!  Hannah has committed to a year at Kyle Carter's but has an invitation to Jan's- oh to be a kid again and have those types of decisions to make!!  I wish her the BEST of luck!  I will miss traveling with her and her Mom.  

Frankie and I are home now at Donamire and Maggie has been a HUGE help tacking her up for me to ride and doing all the things that require two hands- which is a lot of things I am learning!  Craig will be out to jump her this week as my hand is not quite strong enough to grip the left rein and Maggie will do some more serious flat work for me on her. I leave next week for a trip with my family to France so this vacation falls at a time when I need it and it will give mt hand time to heal.  I will be back just in time to be cleared and expect I'll be 100% by the time I return.  I have already improved tremendously!  I plan on returning to Jan's as soon as I get back from France.

My first event going into the fall will be the OP at Cobblestone.  With school beginning in early August my options are somewhat limited with where I can go.  So when looking at the schedule, I chose to go where I know they will take care of the footing and provide some questions.  It's too bad a venue has not picked up the Advanced HT we lost when Maui Jim went away.  I have not really made plans beyond Richland but I have several scenarios.  I like knowing all my options more than feeling like I only have one option.

Good luck to everyone at Mid-south at the KHP this weekend!!

Chatt Hills, Fun Times, & Good Friends.

I am definitely learning a whole lot these days and enjoying every second of it! I am the first to admit that I am green at the level.  At my last two shows, I have learned what happens when I don't have enough canter and what happens when I am not patient, balanced, and run her off her feet into technical combinations.  My motto this past weekend was to attack.... and well, I attacked and twice I over attacked!  She came out of the box really going this weekend and I had an absolute blast! 

We had one of best dressage tests this weekend!  I also earned a huge compliment from Megan Moore saying it was the best she's seen me ride! Wayne would have been so proud!  We had two stops on XC, for the same reason, and both at "A" elements.  Her attitude was not, "I am not doing it."  It was more like, "I cannot do it from that canter." Once I circled and organized, she answered the questions perfectly.  What I am thrilled with is how well she held her line everywhere!  I watched some more experienced riders take the option at the "D" element of the water and even though I thought about taking the option once we stopped at "A", when I landed in the water, look for my line up the angled bank to the skinny, it was right there!  She sailed through angle tables and negotiated the terrain at the corners. The sunken road was an A,B,C,D and the horses were asked to jump in over a solid roll top then down the bank and up the bank at an angle with a skinny angled bounce out at "D" inviting the horses to run out right.  Once I got my canter correct, Frankie sailed through straight as an arrow. 

Show Jumping is getting better.  At least when I make a mistake, I seem to make one.... even if I make the same one more than once!  I am getting better at knowing where I am in the shorter distances but when the distances are seven strides or longer, I have a tendency to disrupt the canter on the landing before I know if I need to stay the same, wait, or move up.  Two of the three rails we had were this exact mistake.  I jumped in and took a tug then found myself wanting to move up three strides out.  The other rail was a gentle roll out of the cups.  I left all my rails up out of combinations and that is huge for us.  Now, to just keep working on putting the numbers together.

I had an amazing weekend, with an amazing group of people from Lexington!  Tom was SUPER and very helpful all weekend!!  Having him there to support me is important so even though he probably does not LOVE it, he is a great sport about it all!  Jen O'Neil and Megan got Frankie safely to GA and all set up in her stall.  When I arrived the next morning, she was re wrapped, my packet picked up, and my stuff nicely placed in front of my stall.  What an SUPER group of friends.  Megan and Andrea were a huge help and both so incredibly positive as always.  As were Elissa, Lindsey, and Drew.  (So many KY people were there- it was almost like KHP South.)  Jen and I went around and around the advanced course, once even with the help of Micheal Pollard.  I know how disappointed she is in how the weekend turned out.  My other friends, Hannah Williams and Heather Johnston didn't have the best of weekends either but you've of never know it from their attitudes! I LOVE traveling with this group.  It seems we really understand each other and have formed our own little team.    I have surrounded myself with people that care about others and are excellent horsewomen.  May your next journey be as much fun as the destination!

Frankie Tee Shirts and What's Next!!!

Team Frankie tee shirts have been designed and will be available to order next week I hope! Shirts will be $20 and available in blue or white. I am having one made so I hope to have it posted online soon! These shirts will help fund a trip for Frankie and me go to Jan's this summer to prepare for the CIC 3* at Richland Aug 23-26. After that we plan to head to Plantation in Sept, before hopfully being quilified and goint to run the CCI 3* at Fair Hill in October! It is going to be an exciting summer and fall! Please buy a tee shirt and show your support! :)

Summer is almost here! There are only six school days left and for one of those, I will be at Chatt Hills. Frankie will leave Thursday morning with Megan, Jenn, Hannah, and Heather on Megan's horse bus and head to Atlanta. Tom and I will head down right after school on Thursday. Between my school team and my horse team, I am able to go to Chatt Hills for another Advanced run. I wish I would have been able to go to Jersey Fresh to run the CIC 3* this week but we had state testing and being present for testing is really the only thing that is nonnegotiable in my job so I consider myself lucky.

My principal, Kyle Sexton, has been very generous to me this year. It is hard to explain qualifications, "move up" shows, flow of competitions, and ALL the rules that go along with this sport to people that are not actively involved in the sport because let's face it- It sounds crazy most of the time! I also have no good answer for him when he asks me why, with the horse park right here, are all my shows are so far away and require two days off! Having his support is imperative and he has really worked with me this year and I cannot thank him enough! The support I continue to receive from my friends and coaches is just as important and always present.

I have had some great show jumping lessons from Craig in the last two weeks. As I was warming up yesterday for my lesson, watching Craig put the jumps in the 4'3" cups, I thought about how far we've come in a year, and how a year ago I would have NEVER jumped those jumps! I was just gearing up for the OP at Maydaze this time last year! It was just a surreal feeling as I even noted to myself how different her canter is and how different she feels in the bridle. If you find yourself in a rut right now, hang in there!! Peaks and valleys- remember! That is why we love this sport- we never truly "master" it. Horses will always humble us and even the best of the best have bad days!

I remember when I heard Mary King speak this winter and she talked about William Fox-Pitt having something like 7-8 rails in the show jump somewhere.... I thought to myself...."Well, no one WANTS to pull rails and we all try not to but if WFP can have that many.... I surly can have the many." (and I have).  By filling my head with productive thoughts of what I need to do to jump well, I don't have time to think about things that are not helpful and often distracting. Trust me, the canter can still get too quick, flat, and off the pace out of the turn, and my reins still get too long, and I let her neck get a little long at times but I am to a point where I can recognize, adjust, and move on. This is huge for me.

I hope your summer is filled with big dreams and that you don't let anything get you down! I will keep you posted from Chatt Hills!  Look for the tee shirt design to be posted next week!!

Peaks and Valleys

Well, another Rolex has come and gone. Now the Olympics seem very close. Jersey and Bromont are the only 3* competitions left before the games!  I LOVE the summer Olympics!!!

I was able to get in two more lessons with Jan and having her here right after the 3* was perfect timing. If Jan told me once this weekend, she told me 10 times to "let Fair Hill go." She's so right... No harm was done and now I know what feeling I cannot have in terms of gallop and contact when I am in xc warm up and leaving the box. Still... Ugh.  It seems in eventing you're either on a peak, waiting for a valley, or in a valley climbing to the peak.

Jan was able to watch us go all spring and knew exactly what she wanted to work on when our lessons began this week. Since I already blogged about day one, I'll start with the dressage lesson we had on day two. We started out leg yielding down the rail and in that exercise we worked on having the correct angle and focused on my position. Once we did this a few times around the area, incorporating straight steps now and then, I already felt a difference in her trot. By tweaking my position and Frankie leg yielding down the rail correctly, she was really working through her back! It felt very correct.

 From there we went to canter. Actually, we went to counter canter and lots of it! Jan seriously addressed Frankie's swinging haunches in the transition as well as my position through the transition. We did about 50 trot counter canter transition along the rail. I think I cantered on the true lead once each direction and we used it to 1/2 circle back into the counter canter. By the end of all of this work, Frankie was truly up in the bridle, carrying herself, and not tense at all. Needless to say, she felt great. From that work, the 1/2 pass felt rhythmic and flowing.

Yesterday we jumped again starting with the same exercises that we did on Thursday. I am happy that I only had to do it about 15 times instead of the million it felt like I had to do it on Thursday! We continued to work on Frankie carrying the bit so I could have a supporting feel, not a dragging me, running through the bridle feel- also not to be confused with no feel where she has slipped behind me.

By the end of the lesson, Jan had us jump a 4'- 4'3" course where we actually ADDED between an oxer and a vertical that walked 5 strides.  Jan had us do the six and I cannot believe how slow, balanced, and confident she felt.  She gave me such a collected and powerful jump and by adding the stride to get the six, early, the last three strides to the vertical were the same, she was not pulling, and she did not jump past her distance like we so often do!

It was really unbelievable that Frankie jumped so well out of that canter!  Jan and I discussed that in some cases in SJ, I may want to add on a 5,6,7 stride line so that when I jump in and she sees it, she does not run down to it and jump past her distance.  The key is deciding BEFORE I land that I want to add!  It cannot happen 1/2 way there because then I am just pulling to the next jump.  I told Jan that had we not worked so hard on our canter and had the exercises to build us up to a big course, there was NO WAY I would have believed that canter was possible to those jumps!  Jan laughed and said, "Yeah, I know.  I watched you SJ."  HAHA!  I think this is funny because at Pine Top I wanted to go around a jump to have more time to "fix" my canter and she said to me, "Sometimes I think you think you are fixing your canter but in really you are just going faster."  It's pretty amazing what she sees and remembers!

Luckily I will get to see Jan again this summer when Frankie and I go to Surefire for a week and then again when she's here for Young Riders.  We were able to discuss what my schedule with Frankie should be and I am looking forward to a great run at Chatt Hills next month!

Not just Rolex weekend!

Of course everyone is excited that Rolex weekend is finally here.....  However, this weekend is double exciting for me since Jan Byyny is in town coaching at Rolex, we are able to get together for lessons.  Jan originally had two horses headed for Kentucky's 4* this year but sadly, both had to be withdrawn.  The good news, both horses will return to competition this late summer/ early fall.  She has a wonderfully written blog series on the Rolex web site if you want to read more.

Lesson Day 1:  Thursday April 26th: 
Thursday was a jump day for us.  Jenn O'Neill and her upper level horse, Lewis, joined us for a lesson.  Jan asked me if I had anything specific I wanted to work on.... then paused and said that she had something in mind.  She wanted me to work on putting the numbers together.  I said, "Sure!  That sounds great!"  And in my mind, that sounded easy enough. 

Well, I did not know that these two little white boxes Maggie owns could be so evil!  LOL.  Jan had Jen and I canter the boxes on 5 strides, 4 strides, and 6 strides.  Jan mixed the numbers up and I quickly learned that adjusting the canter was essential and I learned that my canter was not very adjustable!  Needless to say, those of you who know Frankie can imagine that the 5 and the 4 were way easier than adding for the 6!  And doing the 6 strides did not mean pulling all the way down to the 2nd box with her running through my hand like a fire breathing dragon!  I am sure you are getting a visual! The exercise was to teach us react, almost before you landed in some cases, especially on the 6!  One time I actually got 7.  Well, getting 7 strides was not the exercise but what I learned was that I was unaware of the canter I needed to get the 6 strides until it was too late.

Next, we incorporated this to a 3'+ vertical to a 3'+ oxer line set on 7 strides.  We had to do the 7, 8, and 6 strides, both vertical to oxer then oxer to vertical.  I was happy that Frankie was getting better and the canter had really improved.  Lewis was really adjustable and they made this exercise look really easy. 

From there we did the same thing but jumped a 4' vertical on the diagonal line and from that jump we had to adjust the canter to get the 5 or the 6 strides to a 4' vertical out of the turn down to a 4' oxer.  This was tricky for me because it was out of a turn and when I "add" it is from pulling at the base of the fence from not seeing a distance and usually it's not on purpose!   It is at this moment that I panic and take my leg off.  The outcome is usually not ideal.  Luckily, all the work we did prior set us up for success.  I was able to adjust the canter before my turn to the first vertical and stay in that canter when we landed so the last two strides to the oxer, I was not pulling but supporting.  It felt great.  Had we started trying to do this with the jumps at this height, I would not have been successful and can only imagine how disastrous it would have been. 

Jan said she knew by watching me go at the two Pine Top's, Southern Pines, and Fair Hill that this was an issue that had to be addressed and as it turns out was my undoing at Fair Hill.  The "soft" jump into the corner combination, my lack of response, combined with me not believing in the adding stride then supporting with my leg, caused the first miss at the corner.  The second miss was my line.  I made the same mistake at the sunken road where I picked up my 3rd stop.  I came to the "A" element of the sunken road with a powerless canter.  I have a better feel today of a slow, balanced canter that has power- and that I can believe in, and I realize that was NOT the canter I had at Fair Hill. 

Friday we will have a flat lesson and I am sure it will be just as eye opening and something tells me there will be a lot of working on the canter!

Day 2 Fair Hill CIC 3*

   

Expensive lessons are sometimes the ones we get the most out of!  I earned myself three stops on the CIC 3* course today.  As I sit here at Fair Hill, with Frankie happily resting in her stall, I think about how strange it is that I am not upset.  I, of course, feel really disappointed in myself because I am capable of riding better than I did today but I am not upset or feel that I've lost any of the training we've added the last year.  Hell, a year ago I was entering the OP at Maydaze wondering if I'd ever even run the OI again!  Now look at us, we are running the Advanced level and qualified for the 3*!  I've had a GREAT spring and that cannot be taken away from me.  

I think today can be taken in stride for several reasons.  One reason is I have seen and heard of a lot heartbreak this year.  Early this year, my friend lost her horse, currently Jan won't be riding at Rolex this year due to injuries with her horses that are just enough to keep her from competing, and all the stories I've read and heard about riders trying to make the Olympic team.  Everyone in this sport works hard and sacrifices, and everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has days where it just does not go their way.  I am just feeling lucky that I will have the opportunity to work on what I need to so that I can give Frankie the ride and support she needs.  To sum all that up, I have been careful this spring to not let the highs get too high, so the lows (that we all know are inevitable), don't get too low.  

Jan warmed me up for XC and even though the ground was ROCK hard, I felt like she was really relaxed.... maybe a little too relaxed after the 35 min hack to XC warm- up.  Fences 1, 2, 3 were very simple and perhaps a tiny bit smaller than what Pine Top and Southern Pines threw at us so I never really got her into a good gallop before the first big question at 4A, B, a chevron then bending right in 4 strides to a left handed corner (with the ground really falling left- pulling you left.)  I galloped down the hill to 4A, stretched up and she came right back, a little too easily for her and she was no longer in my hand.  The soft jump I had at A, needed to be my clue that I needed to land and do something.  Oh... wait, I did do something- I pulled.  That is never the right answer and I know that.  Frankie thought about it and luckily knew the power was not there to jump the corner and ran out left taking out the flag with her face.  Now I really had a problem.  I was not real sure HOW to get back to the corner nor did I know if I could get her to jump the corner with the flag now gone.  I came around again hunting for a line.... nope; it was not there- circle #2.  I figured I'd try one more time and to my surprise, she jumped the crap out of it!  

From there we had a hammock then a table that allowed a little more of a gallop and she jumped them well.  Next we had to somewhat pull them off their gallop to make an "S" type turn to the first sunken road.  For fear of over riding her and using up all my power at the beginning of the sunken road, I did not do anything with my canter out of the "S" turn which left us powerless and flat.  Combine that with no leg and we all know the result.  It was not a jarring, sliding stop.  It was almost a walk/ stop.  

Jan and Wayne were both on course and were able to see the mistakes at both fences.  Jan was so positive as I walked over to her and says it happens to everyone and that it will happen again down the road.  She reminded me that I will have days where my inexperience shows and days that I don't ride as well as I can.  "The only way to get experience is to get out here and get it. Today showed your inexperience but this is an Advanced mare.  You will get it."  Jan said. We also talked about me never having her in my hand and how my reaction has to be to kick- never pull.    

I have spoken with Wayne too and he felt the same way- that I just never got her going and that she looked way too "quiet."  I have to admit, I was a little shocked at her quietness as well.

I always try to find the positive in every situation and in this situation there are actually several.  I learned several lessons today, the ground was REALLY hard so maybe it was a blessing in disguise, Frankie is smart and I am glad she knew I did not have her in the canter to get it done, nothing happened today that took away our confidence, and best of all, Frankie and I have the opportunity to get it right the next time.

Luckily Jan and I can have a mini- camp next week while she is in town.  I am prepared for a good butt whipping!  LOL. I deserve it after today and am actually looking forward to it!  

Hope everyone makes it to Rolex and that all the horses and riders have wonderful rides next weekend! 

Fair Hill CIC 3* Day 1

Well, day one is coming to an end.  I am having a great time and enjoying every second!  It is still hard to believe that we are here doing the CIC 3*!  I have not said those words (CIC 3*) a lot so when doing in-barns, having them check my arm band, and other reasons to identify what division I am in, I find the words, CIC 3* sounding so foreign as they come out of my mouth.
We did our in-barns yesterday and they went well.  Frankie actually stood while they looked over her.  This is way better than in the fall at the 2* at Chatt Hills when she was trying to take everyone out!
Finding the dressage, discovering "THE Tunnel," and hacking through the forest have been adventures in themselves!  When ever Lindsay or I ask someone where something is we get, "You know where they have stabling for the Fall 3-Day."  Or, "Oh, you run XC in the field where they run the Fall Fair Hill."  Apparently, having not ever been to Fair Hill is incomprehensible by some! LOL.  Well, we are here now and I am getting my bearings.  I actually made it over to dressage today in 28 minutes and did not take one wrong turn!
I was able to walk around the course with Jan at 8:15 this morning.  As always, it was very informative.  We spent the longest time at the waters that Jan warned will ride very BIG on the out fences, the coffin, and the sunken roads... Yes, two of them.  The first sunken road comes up early, has a one stride in, 21 feet across the bottom, and a significant bounce out.  I have very specific instructions here and Frankie bounced out of the water really well at Southern Pines so I hope to have the same feel here.  Jan is very specific about where to be out of the saddle and where to have your "butt down" to the fences.  I have also learned to walk distances but not to depend on the number and to be ready to ride what I get.  Often, especially with terrain questions, such as the second sunken road- which is an actual ROAD, if they shuffle down the hill it will come up different than if they leap down the hill.  This will be the same case at the second water.  It walks a 5, but that my not be what you end up with.  This course is going to give me PLENTY of opportunities to work on closing the left side by putting my left leg ON, left hand down, opening my right rein, and NOT dropping my shoulder right to try and direct her where to go.   The shoulder is not a good means of steering! The course looks fun and rideable.... and ride is what I will need to do.
Our dressage test was a huge improvement from the test we did in the Fall.  She is more rideable.  Wayne was able to see my test and his biggest comment was that I need to RIDE her in the ring.  I think I back off her for fear of that blow up she is  was capable of.  She was behaved today, got both changes and good scores on some movements.  Early in the test my curb chain came undone on one side and was swinging rhythmically, hitting her in the side of her face.  Luckily, after the third whack, if went flying through the air, free of the other clip.  She was really good through all of this.  I am finding pliers and closing those clips as soon as I get home!  We got a qualifying score of 67.5 and the good news is there is so much room for improvement! She is only getting better and better!
I wanted to send an update from here but now, I am headed to bed and going to try to sleep (hope my typos are minimal tonight!) - I am really excited about tomorrow!  We have a busy day and again, I am going to enjoy every second.  :)

10 Day Countdown

Today marks 10 days out from Fair Hill.  I have been counting down one way or another for some time now but with today being 10 days away from actually leaving for the show, it is all becoming more and more real.

I went last week to the USEF office and upgraded Frankie's passport from her National passport to an International passport or I as I like to call it, "Purple Passport."  I am learning it is a very surreal feeling when your dreams are actually happening. 

Since Southern Pines, and making the decision to enter the CIC 3*, everything pertaining to Frankie has been calculated.  Her swim days, conditioning days, hack days, and lesson days have been chosen with a deliberate purpose.  She feels so strong physically and is handling her level of fitness very well mentally. 

We went to Masterson yesterday to ride in the outdoor ring and work on the movements in the 3* test.  It was incredibly windy but she was very workman like.  I cannot believe how much she has improved since last Fall.  This test calls for movements we have yet to perform in the arena such as the 1/2 pass from quarter-line to quarter-line, canter serpentines (with counter canter), using the width of the arena before the flying change, and canter directly from the rein- back across X.  It all comes up quickly, even in the large arena, and will require me to ride around the arena very accurately.  I learned yesterday if I turn too early to the quarter-line, I fail to set her up correctly for the 1/2 pass and reach the opposite quarter-line between X and B too quickly without showing much lateral work.  If I turn too late, I struggle to make it to the opposite quarter-line between X and B before changing the bend and 1/2 passing back left to the original quarter-line. 



Let's just hope I can ride it better than I draw it!



I know, I know.... you are probably thinking.... "It's the quarter-line- everyone knows where the quarter-line is."  Yea, I was thinking the same thing when I was memorizing the test.  However, as I learned yesterday it MUST be 5 meters off the rail.  Not 4 meters, not 6 meters but 5 meters exactly.  I finally got it right a few times in a row so we moved on and continued to break the test apart.   Frankie worked very hard the entire lesson and seems game for the new challenges we are facing. 

I will try to post daily from Fair Hill.  My parents are coming and bringing their camper so that makes me really happy but unfortunately, I don't think Tom will not be able to make this trip as it is already quite costly.  He will get updates from my Mom. I will miss having his help.  Luckily, Jenn O'Neill is allowing Hannah Brand time off for the weekend and she is coming to help.  Hannah is Jenn's working student and I know her help will be missed at the farm that weekend.  I really appreciate Jenn letting her come and appreciate Hannah wanting to come to help out- even if she is only coming to see my Mom! Lol. 

Until next time- here's to dreams that really can and do come true.  I am living mine and cherishing every second. 

What's Next.....

Dr. Newton was out Tuesday for our post competition jog and was really happy with how Frankie came out of the Advanced run at Southern Pines.  Next, we are planning on heading to Fair Hill. 

As you can imagine, I am just beyond thrilled with how Frankie is going this year.  This time last year I was not really even thinking about competing, let alone AT THE ADVANCED LEVEL!!!  She has given her all for me and the bond we have is something I cannot explain.  That silly orange mare, even though she tries to bite anyone that touches her, except for Maggie, is very kind, forgiving, and truly is the center of my world.  Tom and the rest of my family have even scheduled our summer vacation around her.  They have been unbelievably supportive.  My Mom just drove 10 hours to help me and support me at Southern Pines and Tom drove me so I could work on Thursday and not take a day without pay.  I want to thank Tom for never telling me I can't do something and always being willing to help me find a way even when that "way" involves him. 

Thank you again to Megan, Jenn, Andrea, Hannah, and Dorothy for looking after Frankie until I got to Southern Pines and for being such a great support group. 

As Area VIII kicks off next weekend with Spring Bay, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy show!  I will be out there cheering! 

Southern Pines II Play by Play

What an exciting weekend Southern Pines II turned out to be.  I am working on this blog on our way home from the event and I will say again I am SO fortunate to have the friends, coaches, and support I do.  Without it, none of this would be possible.  My husband Tom played a huge roll this weekend in not only helping me get Frankie to Megan’s in the early morning hours but also in driving me to and from North Carolina. 

We woke up at 3:15 Thursday morning to get Frankie from her paddock at Donamire and drove her to Megan Moore’s farm.  Tom transferred all my stuff to Megan’s trailer as I unloaded her from my trailer and put her on Megan’s very large, very nice, 6 horse head to head trailer.  Huge kudos to Megan for driving this beast of a trailer!  She even took a slightly longer route to Southern Pines in order to give the horses a smoother ride than the mountains of West Virginia would have provided. 

Tom and I left as soon as I got home from work and arrived at the hotel around 1:30AM.  My Mom had arrived earlier in the day so Tom slept in and my Mom took me to the Carolina Horse Park early the next morning. 

Frankie gave me one of the best dressage tests she is currently capable of.  I made some changes in my lateral work the week before and was able to use the tools Wayne has given me INSDIE the ring.  I am thrilled and we continue to move in the correct direction.

Jan Byyny and I walked the course at 10:30 Friday and it was my first look at the course.  Again, she was very helpful in discussing this course, in detail, with me.  It was a very different course than Frankie and I have been around.  The course was mostly wooded with big jumps, technical combinations, and lots of terrain!  

Fences 1, 2, 3, and 4 were great to get you going and Jan cautioned me not to be too helpful since these fences were designed to let the horses make a few mistakes and get it together before the BIG ditch and rail at fence 5A.  Oh, 5A- I looked at this question and the option they gave the Advanced, several times.  It was HUGE.  I'm not going to act like it was not a big deal.  I walked up to it and was thinking, “Are they serious?”  I decided to try the direct route but knew the option if I needed it.  Luckily, although we left a couple of feet long to it (not ideal on an already MAX Advanced spread), Frankie is so athletic she quickly sorted herself out and had her eye on the B element that was 2 strides away.



My Mom finally sat down as we talked about this fence for quite a long time.

 



The next question was 7A, B, C.  It was a SKINNY house, 9ft to a drop; turn left in 4 or 5 strides to a right handed corner.  Jan cautioned me there to not be dedicated to a specific number but to hold my right rein off the drop and ride the corner off my eye.  Frankie went in 4 even though perhaps the 5 would have worked there too.  We had a small discussion about it on our way to the next “breather” fence before 2 large tables-(thank you Pine Top for preparing me for ANY tables or corners I will encounter this year)!

Next, we had the coffin that was two skinny houses on an angle over a ditch.  Looked “easy” enough compared to some of the other questions however; the “C” element was on such an angle that it seriously jumped you almost right into the woods!  Luckily, Frankie saw it and understood the question as we came out of the turn.  After that, we galloped up the hill, weaving through trees, to another table that jumped out at you before a galloped down hill to the first water. 

I later learned that the water had about 250 spectators there but oddly enough, I saw and heard nothing, only the splash of the water.  I think the biggest change I have noticed about myself over the last year is my ability to understand what is happening under me.  The water was a big drop in, that walked 3 strides across the water, up the bank, one stride on an island, bigger drop back into the water, 3 strides, up another bank, 9 ft to a skinny oxer/ log jump.  She was amazing!  I was very happy with my canter into the water but she felt like she stuck slightly on the landing of the “A” element so with that first landing stride being a bit short, I knew the 3 strides would not be there so I waited for the 4 that WAS right there.  Frankie jumped boldly up the bank, across in 1, and powered over the rails to drop back into the water- I knew that 3 strides WAS there and she bounced out easily.

From there we jumped 2 big tables before a run through a barn structure, gallop out, veer slightly right to these houses that were so angled you could have almost ran along parallel to them.  It came up FAST!  I did not have the line I envisioned when we galloped out of the barn and it walked a LONG strided one but I held the only line I had and Frankie jumped right through.

After that we had one of the only flat gallop stretches to another big rock table before the next combo.  It was here where I gained a good education about my canter.  This “A/B” combo was two skinny brushes, the first one, straight up, on a mound, to a three stride AND a 90 degree turn right to another skinny brush that was trimmed to help put you on the run out line.  Jan warned me that I needed to almost be trotting- I should be going THAT slow…  I thought the mound and the straight up part of the question would hold her a little so I was not AS slow as Jan wanted.  As Frankie POWERED over the brush and ½ way down the mound, eating up one of the 3 strides I had to turn, I knew I could not get it done although I gave it a good effort!  This mare is smart and if she does not see and understand, she won't attempt it.  I love her for this and it is this characteristic that I know will keep us safe.  I cantered around and picked up “B” as I was thinking… next time, I’ll be slower! (I later learned that Saturday morning, yes the morning of XC they announced over the PA- one time, that you could circle there without penalty.  Well, we were in the temp stalls so we could not really hear anything and the starter did not tell me either.  I am disappointed I did not know this because I would not have tried to get it done but you live and learn and bottom line is I need a slower canter.) We had two more fences, one through the sunken road then another trakkaner that was an angled tree over a large ditch. 

From there we headed to the second water.  Megan Moore had seen a few, not very good go’s here so she came to warm up to talk to me about it and the difference in the canter to this water as opposed to the first water.  At this water I needed a little more pace, but since Megan has been at all of our events this year, she reminded me that did not mean run.  This water was an airy rail (on frangible pins) one forward stride to a brush/ drop in, 3 strides to a corner in the water and gallop out.  Well, people were getting 3, 3 1/2 , and 4 there.   I came in a little bold but it worked out because she landed out from the brush drop and the 3 was there for us.  We galloped away from the corner up to another large trakkaner and on home through the finish over a nice final jump. 

With so much of this game being mental, I was totally tested this weekend.  After watching two OI horses in a row fall at their first water, our second water, and hearing, “loose horse” more times than I can remember, I was a little more rattled walking out to XC warm up than I have been in a long time.  They finally pulled the OI water off the course and I am glad Jenn did not have to attempt it.  The horses were NOT reading it right.  As for all the falls in the advanced, they seemed to be scattered.  The ditch and rail was being misread by horses too and it caused problems in the OI and the Advanced.  Megan deserved an “R” there instead of an “RF.”  She stepped off of Nemo after he banged himself on the OI Ditch and Rail- it was not a rider fall.  Megan did the right thing by Nemo and errored on the side of caution.  They are both fine and he jogged 100% Sunday morning.

It seemed liked FOREVER before I was able to show jump Sunday afternoon .  We literally had the ENTRIE trailer packed except for what I needed to show jump scattered on the ground outside my stall!  The OI went early then over the 2 hour break the show jumping course was the arena for exhibitions for the now gathering crowd.  I took a picture of the course map and texted it to Craig.  He called me and we had a virtual course walk discussing the distances and where I may have trouble.  I was unable to catch Jan’s course walk as I was up getting ready since I was in the ring early.  Megan walked the course with me and asked me if I had ever jumped in front of a large crowd.  It occurred to me that I had not jumped infront of a crowd this size- ever.  Megan talked about where Frankie may feel distracted and where getting to rail for a good line may be almost impossible.  We also talked about warm-up and how it would be crowded- something Frankie does not deal well with.  We decided the plan for warm-up would be to get in and out as quick as possible.  Since Megan, Jenn, and I all ride with Craig, we are really able to remind each other of what Craig would want us to do.

Although I had 4 rails down, they were all mine, all fixable, none of them catastrophic, and she felt GREAT after XC which is SO important to me.  Usually once things start going a little south, they unravel quickly but this time, I was able to make changes and by the last line- the triple to the 6 stride, I had sorted it out.  That is huge for us. 

We were out of the Carolina Horse Park in less than 30 min after I show jumped and Megan got all the horses home safely.  THANK YOU to everyone for such a great weekend.  My Mom drove almost 10 hours to cheer me on this weekend and Tom did more than his part, luckily he was able to get in two really good golf games while we where there!  Jenn let me borrow her groom, Christine, and Megan, Andrea, Hannah and Dorothy were all great and super positive the entire weekend!  I appreciate all the texts, well wishes, and FB messages.  Frankie is a very special mare and I am lucky to have her in my life. 

Short and Sweet

The packing for Southern Pines has begun.  Frankie and I ran through Advanced Test A this past weekend at the Snowbird Dressage Show and I was really happy with how she performed in the double bridle.  Hopefully, I will be able to produce the same results this coming weekend.  We are moving in the correct direction in our flat work and I really feel she is becoming more consistent IN the ring.
Dr. Newton came last Monday for her 2 week out jog and he is very happy with how she looks.  I couldn't be happier with how she feels and how much she seems to enjoy the work.  I truly believe this mare likes to be challenged and praised.  We jump with Craig on Tuesday and will have a dressage lesson with Wayne Wednesday before I head over to Megan Moore's to pack the trailer.  Jenn O'Neil and Hannah Williams are also going down on Megan's trailer.  It will be a really fun group. 
The entry list looks huge with 17 pages of riders from the Training to the Advanced level. 
I am excited that my Tom and my Mom will be able to be there with me for the weekend.  It is a long drive for all of us and I appreciate their support. 
To my friends that are headed to Poplar Place this coming weekend, GOOD LUCK! 

Countdown to Southern Pines

We are 17 days from shipping to Southern Pines so the countdown has begun! Things are starting to take shape for the trip. Originally Frankie was supposed to ride down on Jenn O'Neill's trailer with Lewis and Hannah Williams' horse Liam. That plan was changed slightly when Megan Moore offerd the 3 of us spots on her new 6 horse head to head. 


We all live about 5 miles from each other so this really made sense! The more the merrier! It will be a fun trip! I am also thrilled that my husband, Tom, and my Mom will be making the trip. Tom is really playing a huge roll in this Southern Pines weekend! He is taking time off work to drive me the 9 hours to Raeford, NC after I work on Thursday.  He is looking forward to playing a round or two of golf while he's there too! The plan will be to drive Frankie over to Megan's for a 4am departure that Thursday then I will go to work for the day. I'll meet Tom at home after work and off we will go. My Mom will be making her own 9 hour trip from PA and meet us there. It appears that we will arrive between 1 and 2am. 


It is really hard for me to send Frankie and not ride with her but I trust the crew that will be taking her. Jenn has always treated her as she would treat Lewis and from being at the last couple of shows with Megan, I know she and Andrea, Megan's groom, will do the same.  It really does take a village! 


I hate the fact that I am unable to pre-ride her on Thursday.  The way the two Pine Tops were scheduled in January, the first one was a one day on Friday along with the second one, as well; they each required two days off from work so I cannot take two more days to go to Southern Pines.  


Keeping with my positive attitude, it will all work out and it is what it is.   I am fortunate to be involved in two professions I love.  My work as a school teacher actually keeps me very balanced.  I work with wonderful people but they have their own things going on, just as I do.  When I returned on Monday from the Advanced at Pine Top, a few of my fellow teachers asked me how it went (and my team of teachers texted me through the weekend) but for the most part what I had just accomplished was unimportant and went unnoticed.  Talk about balance and a reality check.  To my professional development as a classroom teacher, completing the Advanced at Pine Top was not important.  However, I think that by showing the kids that hard work pays off, ups and downs will occur, you must pick yourself up and try again, and that dreams can be accomplished if you want it bad enough is a lesson that goes beyond the classroom.  I share my successes and failures with my students.   


I took a group of people XC schooling yesterday and once of them said to me, "You must still be on such a high from your Advanced run last weekend."  I honestly thought to myself, "Wow, that was just last weekend."  A lot has happened since that moment Frankie and I galloped through those finish flags.  I think if you work in a non-equine profession you are forced to have a balance that helps you get along in the "real world."


The next 17 days are mapped out with a busy work schedule of meetings, professional development, and getting acclimated to a new student teacher.  After that part of my day ends, the afternoons and weekends are filled with show jumping lessons, dressage lessons, swim days, hack days, and a dressage show.  I am looking forward to every minute because I know at any time, it can all change.  


Hug those you love and kiss your ponies.  :)   

Still on plan A

As we all know too well, plans change very quickly.  I took on the attitude last year to take things as they came and keep going as long as I was having fun.  That seemed to work for me.  This year, two HT's into my season, I am still on plan A.  That means I have at least 25 potential plans left and if I need to go to symbols and numbers, I am open to that too.   

I have learned a lot about myself in the last year or so.  Last winter I had to make a decision about my future with Frankie when the going got really tough and I was eliminated in the OI show jumping at Poplar Place in the fall of 2010.  The girls that were with me saw a lot of tears that weekend.  I do not know when things had started to go so wrong and I was so frustrated with myself.  This once exuberant mare that LOVED to jump had lost all her confidence and I had lost mine.

I took that winter of 2010/ 2011 pretty much off and spent it hacking around the farm with Maggie but not doing any serious work.  I needed to take a step back.  My family, husband, and friends were very supportive and never stopped believing in me but didn't push me.  If we wanted to ride, we rode, if we wanted to go to In and Out Market down the road and have a warm breakfast, we did that instead.  No pressure, no agenda.  I realize I needed those few months to decide if I was going to fight my way back and attempt to reach my dreams or if I was going to have a great prelim packer.  Really, either decision would have been fine but my personality is not one to be down for long.  I knew Frankie was better than the slump I had let us fall into.  

Jenn O'Neill convinced me that winter to take a few lessons with Craig Shegog.  When he came to the farm I told him I really did not want to jump over 2'9 and I did not want to jump any oxers.  We laughed about that this past week as we were discussing our mental game plan for my first Advanced last weekend.  Craig has really changed my entire thought process as well as really focusing on Frankie's canter, my ability to know what is going on underneath me, and to be straight- truly straight.  Everything is very calculated from the time I begin tacking up for my show jumping round, until the moment I finish my round.  This has given me productive thoughts to think about rather than giving me too much time to think about things that are not helpful. 

I was also able lucky enough to go to Jan Byyny's Surefire Farm this summer for a short training session before heading to Loch Moy to run the OI.  Jan noticed Frankie's unique jumping style right away.  We worked a lot on the canter and really built off what Craig had been saying and doing with us at home.  Frankie has this amazing ability to make you think you are on a 12ft stride when in actuality she is on an 8ft stride and going really fast.  I am now constantly thinking about my canter and not finding a distance.  Jan also saw right away that Frankie thrives off of positivity.  When she gets flustered or rattled things will fall apart quickly.  Jan was in KY last Aug for Young Riders so Frankie and I got several lesson from her that week as well.  Working with Jan paid off even more as we were able to walk around the XC and SJ courses this past weekend.  Having seen us at her farm, in competition at Loch Moy, and in KY she gave me specific advice to negotiate both the XC course and show jumping course at Pine Top this past weekend.  I am only beginning to scratch the surface with her and look forward to returning to VA this summer.

So now that I have kind of explained how I have seemed to climb out of a very deep, dark, lonely hole, I know that in a moments notice things can change.  I know I will take those proverbial steps back however, even in those steps backward, in my opinion; I will still be going forward even if those forward steps are baby steps. 

When people ask me this year what my plans are, I tell them to be safe, have fun, and enjoy every second of this amazing ride.  It has been difficult to make a long term plan for this year because I feel maybe I got so focused on where I wanted to be at the end of that 2010 season that I forget to listen to what Frankie was telling me she needed from me.  Perhaps that is how the downward spiral in 2010 came about- I forgot to listen.  I have spent the last year listening to her and our partnership is stronger than ever.  She had one of her best show jump rounds ever at the Advanced at Pine Top with only one rail down, that I completely own.  Then, she came out of the box on XC and settled into the gallop as quickly as ever and did not take one wrong step.  I cannot explain what riding a horse like her on XC is like.  The dressage, well it is coming along, Wayne Quarles is not being easy on us, and I am learning how to ride her while she is in the best shape of her life.  She is working really hard at it and I know it will come. 

Dr. Newton came out last night and was very happy how she came out of the competition.  We head to run the Advanced at Southern Pines next March 23-25.  After that, well let’s just say I know what shows are out there and I will make a decision after we run Southern Pines.  As my students and friends begin planning their show seasons, I wish you all the best of luck and a safe and fun 2012!

As I begin to build my web site, I wanted to start with a blog.  There is no better weekend to start it than this one.  As I reflect on the past year and how far Frankie and I have come, it is truly had to believe that we finished our first Advanced HT in the top 10.  For me, this is a horse of a lifetime.  I have learned that I do better taking it one day at a time and one show at a time.  I cherish every hack, every carrot, every kiss on the nose I am able to give her because this weekend was a tragic reminder that it can all change in a moments notice.

I don't think that I have ever experienced a day of such highs and lows as I did this past Saturday.  Running my first advanced with a horse I completely adore and have owned for eight years is something I have dreamed about for several years.   Watching a friend lose her partner is one of the most heartbreaking experiences of a lifetime.

I dedicate this first blog to Megan Moore and her wonderful partner, The Grasshopper, who passed away on XC this past Saturday.  Megan and I were stabled together this weekend and had been counting down the months and days until we ran this first advanced with our horses.  Megan, Jenn O'Neill, and I had decided that we would  be a sort of a support team for each other and not let each other get down- no matter what.  This weekend has left Jenn and I wishing we could hold up our end of the bargain.  There are no words I have to ease her, her Dad's, or Andrea's pain.  Hopper's last memory was galloping across the field.  He was with the person he loved doing what he loved.  

Live your dreams and cherish the moments you are given.