Everyones a little bit racist

I loathe Kentucky weather sometimes.

On one hand, the summers are blisteringly humid and even now, makes my very short hair curl. On the other hand, the winters come very late, but when they come they're hard and cold. And yes, both spring and fall are very, very, short.

Today and yesterday were my days off from the usual two plus horses due to said weather.

I just rode Sinari in the indoor and went to the other farm afterwards to clean up a few things, but became stuck in the social hour.

But first training:

Yesterday I had a lesson with Sharon, working over one of my favorite transition exercises (shoulder in to two steps of half pass and back to leg yield) and overall straightness (walk-canter transitions on the quarter line). We finished up with medium/extended trot to stretchy circles. Highly productive and the emphatic purpose of straightness and metastability allows me to put her anywhere I need to.

Also realised that I need to clean up the transition to the canter from the walk.

Coming back into work, she's become stronger, the break did her very good and she's becoming more adjustable as the days go by. Today I pushed her a bit, doing the three steps of super-collected canter and mini pir's (think half pass around the circle). In the end she was probably collected enough to do five alternating walk-canter transitions around the circle itself.

If this keeps up we're definitely doing third level by May.

I'm truly happy with her at the moment.

However my euphoric state ended when I hit the other barn and hit the social hour that occasionally goes on.

It was too cold for the regulars to show up, but one of the leasees were there etoling their success in making it into one of the local rags. I tried ignoring, but was sucked in to it.

Part of this annoyance is self made. Most of my friends are simply not horsey. They understand the paticulars but not the true dynamics of a barn, equestrian and dressage. I don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of, or really bitch about that stupid placement of the leg yield in first four.

So I rely on a few people who I can go to.

One of them loves to harp on me. Primarily because we come from two very different schools and grew up in vastly different backgrounds. I primarily grew up with the German training system in mind and I'm a Yankee and she with the French/Portugal school and was a Southern debutant.

On top of this she's breed bias. Hates what I bred May to ("the Dutch thing"). A virtue I really despise. In my book no breed is better than another breed. They all have their great virtues and detractions. Some are built for the sport both mentally and physically, and some won't get past training level.

But no one is better than anyone else and pushing personal breed choices down my throat isn't helping anyone.

On the side is the training issues.

Nine times out of ten, I can take whatever is dished out to me.

But lately for some reason, I've been frustraited. Nothing I do is ever really good enough. I'm continiously being compared, analized, watched, hounded. I'm the silly little child who doesn't know what she's doing. I'm really always wrong.

I'm really tired and I wish I could be allowed to train and address the problems how I see fit. I wish I could be able to control the training and have a say in mangement a bit better.

I'm not in the position to say much of anything nor do I really want to. So I accept it and move on.

Oh baby

We finally had enough break in the weather that we all could work consistently for three days straight and lo... life became a lot better.

Sinari is a rambunctious mess. To the point where there were no breaks. As my grandfather once put it: she really needed to blow out some carbon. So, at 50 something degrees today, I was happy to get her out and gallop hard. It was a well deserved break after Tomorrow and Sunday I have a lesson. There has been some talk of bumping the lesson schedule up to three times a week, which I'm all for at the moment.

May is doing exceptionally well keeping the herd in line with each other. One false move and the blonde children are told exactly where they belong. The old girl can still outrun most of the herd. It's entertaining to watch.

Bella began back this week with just easy ground work. I figured this would be the best way than dumping directly back into under saddle.

I've been thinking a lot about this baby. With this baby, Sinari's proposed in '11, it would make four, maybe five horses. Scary. Five to six total to handle (Bella, Sinari, May, Baby 1, Baby 2).

What worries me the most is financials.

The economy sucks. I'll admit that. I'm standing in the middle of a huge fire sale of bloodline, bloodstock and ponies that normally wouldn't be on the market at prices that I wouldn't normally be able to afford and it really makes me weep because its like being an obease person in a cake factory.

How I'm going to do this without killing myself or my long term goals (farm will be purchased in 2016, would like a new truck to haul with, and continue on showing, schooling at current schedule and open up a business) still remains to be seen. But the whole will/way thing should be kicking in.

First stop: the bank.

Back to the drawing board.

The weather outside is frightful.

The weather dipped into negatives last week and most of my riding plans went out the window until today.

We began back seriously on Tuesday, but then the weather came hard and quick. While I grew up the north, and I'm used to schooling, being in and around it. But when you break your bucket while chipping out ice, replacing bedding because it was so frozen it wasn't comfortable to walk, let alone sleep on, I took the hint. I let riding slide.

But I wasn't around horses. Being the Director of Pony Cup, I did a lot of work over the week to begin to put infrastructure within the show. We decided on a class list, levels of sponsorship and what direction the show should take. Even got a location (can't tell it's a secret). Made a lot of headway on it. Recieved community blessings from the upper-ups. Good mojo overall.

Redesign was so-so. Much of my ideas were shot down like clay pigeons and I'm working late every evening to get the update done. At least the weather cooperated with that. Even if the FTP didn't.

Coming back to riding has been wonderful and the horses are stronger than ever now. For now, getting everyone in shape is the top priority and it's slow, methodical work.

Part of me gets really frustrated at this stop and go thing. She's turning ten this year, and I feel that while we're making huge leaps of progress, and we can taste FEI somedays- we still have a long way to go. Still rusty on the changes, still no confirmed piaffe, an assemblance of a half pass.

But, today was straightness and keeping body alignment. My coach had a wonderful visualisation technique that worked wonders. Nose, withers, ribs and hips, keep these aligned and you have a thorough horse and everything else will follow.

I did have a few sucking back discussions with Sinari who wanted to slow (not collect) when I sat portions of the trot. A few well placed taps kept her energetically forward.

For me it was sitting. I found myself tipping forward a bit, but when I sat, I was still a little hovering. Relaxing into the motion, sitting and dictating the tempo became easier towards the end.

In the end, it was a very productive day.

May is still very pregnant and Bella is still very muddy (outdoor is drowned and repetitively frozen).

May hit her third trimester, and it's all starting to seem so eminent. I can almost see this foal, somedays I really dread it. Still unsure what I want to do for next year, but I think 2010 she might have a job as an ET recipient mare. Which works out a whole lot of solutions for the both of us until 2011, when I really want to do ET with Sinari.

Did find a stallion, but not telling who until the last bit of contracts are signed and I'm ready to proceed.

Overall, I'm ready to move forward again and I'm eager for the weather to stop being bi-polar.

Going for the trifecta

The glutton for punishment is talking to me again.

You know that little voice inside that says one more can't hurt? I have one that is extremely amplified when it comes to horses, riding and competing.

To me, more is merrier. I currently ride two. Handle 3.75. I always feel like I can get on another, train another, work more, achieve more.

Then I forget, I have a life outside the sport and the barn. One that involves a full job (plus a few on the sides, picked up two more clients on Friday), a chair position on National Pony Cup, a significant other and a few friends that would like to see me more in jeans than breeches.

Then there are actual time constraints. I forget how much time it takes to ride second level and up, how much time it takes to actually get on a green horse who doesn't always want to thirty minutes. What goals I have. How much training goes into reaching them, and well... cash also plays a factor (economists call it opportunity cost).

It's also not like I haven't had a few free rides land across my lap and a few offers to throw a leg over.

So when a nice, albeit green pony comes in at an extremely attractive price I can't help but look.

But I have to ask myself, with a baby on the way, with Sinari competing, with Bella training, and my goals to reach, what will a green horse add?

I think if I had to add an extra horse to the roster, I would like to at least have the opportunity to school up the levels (and I think I will have the opportunity to do). Still though, I can't help but ask.

Dream on

It's getting cold, and the days are growing shorter, and I'm retreating back into my indoor more and more these days with the odd gallop out on the crisp, indian summer afternoons.

The season is over and I'm breathing a temporary sigh of relief until December when we begin all over again. This temporary sigh includes remastering the freestyle, redoing a few websites and getting through second level.

Not to mention catering to my "real life". You know, significant other, potentially going back to school and J-O-B.

No one said being an amateur was easy, no one said the sport was a cake walk either.

Don't get me wrong, I love to compete. It brings something different to the table every year. But by Regionals time though, I'm ready to call it a done deal. This year wasn't any exception. I competed two under saddle for the first time, next year I might have three to four at various levels.

It also leads me to re-assess my goals. Everyone has a laundry list of stuff that they would like to accomplish short and long term, and I'm no exception.

Next year:

• I would like to earn my final scores towards bronze (just four away!). Be schooling/showing fourth level.
• I would like Bella to be confirmed first level.
• I would like May's foal to be going to the MSEDA breed show (preferably beating up on all the warmbloods;-)).

Long term:

• Confirm piaffe, passage, changes with Sinari.
• Condition Bella for second level.
  
• Qualify for the two year old jack pot with May's baby.

Then there are the lofty, perhaps unattainable, such as going after the Brentina Cup. Yes. I said it. I have the odd ambition to qualify for the Young Adult class. I know, I have sucker for punishment written all over me.

Unfortunately, due to rules, I can't qualify with the pony (no ponies or mules allowed) and I don't have a Grand Prix (or I2) horse. So I have a stick horse's chance in a fire so far.

Compounding the problem: you need to qualify via three (3) competitions with an average of 62 percent or better, and I think they need to be CIC* or larger. Luckily, there are two in my area, Paxton and Kentucky Dressage Association. The third international would be in Lamplight, a solid EIGHT HOURS away.

Like I said, it's a huge reach, but for some reason my crazy ambitions have a way of turning out.

Dressage Pony 2.0

I'm a geek.

Actually a huge one and I'm fairly particular about what I use. You see, I wrote in my Xanga account for YEARS (almost four I believe), and I've recently come to really not like the layout, formatting and the beyond basic services.

So I'm making a switch over to blogger.

My name is Kelly Gage, I'm an Editor, a writer, a web designer/content developer, Head of Marketing and above all-- a dressage rider.

Despite riding ala Amateur status, I'm pretty damn serious and my ponies. I ride six days a week, rain, sleet, snow or shine. I train with some pretty cool people and have the support of some of the best and brightest in their world.

And the ponies? Far from typical too.

There's Sinari, who is a '99 model welsh cob mare (pictured above), who I've been owned by since she was four. Extremely clever, handy and intelligent, she's my top horse at 14.1 hands. She's schooling straight through third, with fourth thrown in there. Recently showed second with the goal towards earning bronze by next year. Currently learning piaffe, passage and cleaning up the changes.

Then there's Bella, a silver-rated haflinger mare standing at 15.0 hands (owned by Deer Haven Farm). She's a willful tank of blond fluff, just starting her career and lucky to have the ride on her. But despite being green-- she's moving fast and tries extremely hard. She's a solid training level right now with learning first. Super comfortable mare. She should be debuing in spring.

Finally there's May- arabian broodmare and .5 (yet-to-be-born foal).

Together we make a team, and this blog is about their progression.