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.

When it rains it pours

Mud season started early with rain and apparently snow and my old wellies really need a make over.

Normally, this time of year is off because the outdoor is either frozen, under water or various states of disgusting.

I wouldn't know, since I'm at an indoor facility. But the mud is horrendous. Horrendous to the point of slipping is becoming habit and the horses are becoming sore from loosing their footing. Grooming has been an interesting experience.

Sinari has become sore from slipping out in the paddock, and we're on a walk regime. It's not a bad thing, she's becoming much more forward and we can concentrate on lateral work, halts, rein backs, pirouette work.

It's also the start of breeding season. Everyone is finalising their choices for their 2010 babies. Stallion shopping is a fabulous, nerve racking experience. I'm expecting my first in late-spring 2009. I plan not re-breeding directly, but am thinking about trying an embryo transfer.

Between my hypothetical matings, I had a small reality check. A good friend, and fairly important breeder asked the following:

Why do you want to breed this mare?

Truth be told, I love her.

Alright, love is nice, but what about her makes her so special she should reproduce? Why let her reproduce instead of buying something already on the ground?

In short, Sinari one of two sisters. The other one is in Oregon being a career mum. Her dam is alongside the sister and is not being bred to the right sire to produce more. Her sire is gelded. Sinari is the only mare of her breed training and competing at the level she's at. She's highly competitive, has tested well with verbands, and is continually proving herself in and out of the arena. She will be FEI and the breed needs more proven mares and less career mothers. She's conformationally sound, easy going and I wouldn't mind having a million carbon copies of her.

She is a valuable individual, on a personal and professional basis and would only give back to her community.

At that point I think I received blessings.

My biggest fear (aside from utter failure and breeding a FHOTD feature) is I become like every other breeder out there that I end up with more horses than I'd know what to do with and I'd be cash strapped at every turn. To the point where I wouldn't be able to achieve competitive goals.

My long term goal is to create a small band of pony mares that have not only proven pedigree, but are proven themselves. I want their offspring to always be in demand and be known more for the damline than the sire line.

But mostly, I just want FEI ponies.

And we're back

The saddle arrived Friday in a plain large, brown box that was lined with foam.

It was already opened by the boy, who probably knew I would tear open the box like an over-exuberant kid on Christmas.

At first blush, it looked way too narrow and I went into panic mode, finding my original tracings, matching them up with my flex tool and comparing the width. I even had nightmares about it running too narrow and Sinari coming up lame from the bad tracings.

Such is the life of a person who has a continually developing, hard-to-fit pony.

After my paranoia was sated after 10 hours of sleep, I took it to the local saddler and had her check it out. Vetted clean for soundness.

Then came the moment of truth, fitting it. I was itching to do it all day Saturday, but I had a few very welcomed company and it was delayed till the very end, but well worth the wait. By the time I opened my truck door, the smell of leather was heavy and heaven.

I threw it over the pony, and let it sit, ran my hands over it, under it, it fit at that point. I girthed it up, no girthy-ness (one of the best signs ever).

And then I girthed it up today with all the fittings and just a clean square pad and rode.

The ride itself was uneventful, Sinari is out of shape (as am I), and it was warm. I was more or less to see her reaction to it under saddle.

While she wasn't exactly forward (the saddle took my leg off), she was super soft in the bridle and deeply engaged, especially on what I consider her weaker side- the left. Lateral work is nice. Ride lasted about twenty minutes with her huffing towards the end.

The only thing I can pick on with the saddle is that it feels like I'm sitting on top instead of into the horse. This could be flocking issues, or the way the seat is designed (the twist) and I might invest in a ThinLine pad to help with adjusting/development issues.

Otherwise, no slipping, no sitting weird, no truly hard sides and no leaning.

Overall, I'm sold.

Halter gnomes

I've learned over the years from hard-to-catch ponies that preparation is half the battle. Mine aren't hard to catch, but they still wear their halters turning turn out.

Then again after being run down a few times or shoved past, the less you have to fiddle about, the better.

So when your in-training-to-become and FEI pony decides to go buck wild and then buck naked, loosing her halter in a large paddock just as the sun is setting, life gets interesting and you learn to make rope halters really fast.

I blame halter gnomes.

I swear every farm has one and is probably the cousin to the dryer-gnome who has a fetish for clean, warm socks.

My horses go out in their leather turn out halters, partly for the above mentioned reason and for various other concerns. One minor exception is May, who goes out without, but that's another story.

So after I put away the pony for the evening, I trekked back out to the now somewhat dark two or three acre paddock and begin the walk in 20 degree and falling weather.

I wasn't successful the first time.

Or the second.

But today in my morning trek, I found it. Perfectly intact, clip still clipped and not a seam broken. Whatever the halter gnome wanted with it, s/he had its way with it and left it for me to find.

And while I'm happy to have the turnout halter back, I wish they would be considerate and hang it up when they're done.

Hold it in.

Its been an active two or three weeks out of the saddle and I'm happy to see it passed by quickly.

I've been exhausted. Sixty hour work weeks where I have only one day off. It isn't fun. I became so sleep deprived that by Christmas eve, I fell asleep over dinner. I'm finally recovered, I went to a concert yesterday and outlasted most of everyone (which felt good being normal!). Sleeping for ten hours for four days straight does that.

The last two years have been like this due to work. Well, working for the world's largest retailer isn't exactly a cakewalk around the holiday and I'm trying to change that via a new employer. It's just a slow go. I'm sorely tempted by becoming a working student and just eating out of a can of beans.

The three weeks out of the saddle, while doing my body a world of no good, has allowed me to get some work done on the new websites for Anthelois and Gage, Deer Haven Farm and a friend. Deer Haven's is coming the quickest, complete with 500 gigs of goodness involving photographs. Among them, which I didn't realise , are these sets from the Poulin clinic. Sinari looks brilliant to the point where I cried looking at them. I look weird. But still, I see so much. Bella will come along as well.

The out of saddle hiatus is coming to a close- the saddle is ordered (34" Duett Fidelio) and should be here in time for the new year. Sinari has been conditioning since yesterday, just lunge work due to the crappy muddy weather. She broke out her road trot yesterday and gave me some brilliant extentsion that caught the eye of onlookers.

Speaking of the new year its time to review goals.

2008:
Horsey stuff:

1. Four scores of 60 percent (or better) at first and second to earn bronze (finished first level haven't accomplished second)
   
2. Dover Medal? (not even close)
   
3. Compete at all scheduled shows (yep)
   
4. Condition Sinari to fourth level. (yep)
   
5. Successfully breed May (yep)
   

Regular:

1. Complete second 1/2 marathon (no, ran out of time)
   
2. Put cash towards savings/continue financial stability. Budget. Repair credit. (yep)
   
3. Law school entry and exams (did so, but unsuccessfully and am trying a different route)
   
4. Pick up more German. (yep)
   

2009 holds so much more. In addition to the following, I may be expanding the team to add a new member (pony), finding a new job, returning to education and a bunch of other things but here's the rundown:

Horsey Stuff

1. Final four scores for bronze
2. Foaling/ Find home for May
3. Fourth level/PSG schooling
   
4. More education
5. Begin L program
6. Attend all scheduled shows/inspections
7. Expand team and promote ponies
8. Successful NDPC show (and expand to three rings)

Regular:

1. 70 mile bike
2. Start school
3. Smile more
4. Better job.

I have a long way to go and miles to go beore I sleep.

DQ'ed

I proudly say I'm a dressage queen.

DQ status usually comes as a negative connotation. We've all heard of the evil narcissistic DQ who hogs the cathedral-silent arena with perfect footing, excessively places demands, hates anything different and generally is just... evil.

But I believe there are good DQs out there. The ones who, while are fussy, are doing things for a larger persepective.

I'm not your typical queen. I ride ponies, I do my own chores and try to remain as nice as possible (most of the time). I can, in theory, only afford one lesson a week, and the other three come from a unique exchange. I ride with reiners, and go gallop out.

Being a DQ I can't resist the larger horses somedays and was contendedly planning a breeding program around them.

But since my eventual ascent to co-director status for the National Dressage Pony Cup, numerous conversations about ponies popping up, I've come to realise that I was on the right path to begin with (and what I was more comfortabling dealing with to start).

I've begun to realise the breadth and depth of my commitment to ponies, to the point where starting over seems not only foolish, but detrimental. Breeding and training elite ponies is no small task.

Training wise, the community is fractured. Mares are sent in to be breeding stock past the age of four. Stallions are breeding actively and breeders usually can't afford to send them off to be promoted. Geldings are just sold. There isn't a link between breeders and rides. There isn't a huge effort to track bloodlines as a larger whole.

So finding quality stock that is semi-broke and not breaking my wallet is incredibly tough. Finding siblings or patterns is even harder.

Finding mares that have not only competed above 4th level, but have excellent minds and pedigree are hard to find, if not damn rare. I have one of those coming up and people are clamoring for carbon copies.

So, the formula is clear. Find the very best mares, who have records/high rideability, compete them, breed them (via ET) and see what occurs.

Time will tell if the formula will work, but meanwhile, I'm gathering force.

Weathering the storms

Tis the season to be...

ah bah humbug.

The holidays are here. The saddle is sold, and my search is still going.

Because of lack of equipment and the odd work schedule, it's breaktime at the barns. One of the rare times I take off and catch up with the rest of the world. It's also regroup time for one of the show's I'm apart of. We're in the middle of a capital campaign and need to raise some serious funds this year. Also moved forward with the judges, and we have several new ideas going forward.

The pony has officially been off for two weeks now. She's had a massage, two apples and a number of other things done in between. I'm aching to get back to it, but with the current schedule at work, its better this way. Bella has been touch go for the past month due to several odd happenstances.

It has given me time to spend time with my mother-to-be. She's enjoying regular massages, grooming and treats. She's gained 100 pounds and waddles when she trots. Her blankets are maxed out to the ends of their straps.

And I'm hitting the end of mine. I look like a whale. I need to either step back into the saddle or cut back on the odd calorie intake.

Speaking of ponies, I think I have my breeding priorities wrong. I've always had the idea that I would end up breeding a couple baroque mares (PRE/Lusitano), but in reality, my programs have always been geared towards ponies. There's a huge demand for dressage-trained ponies. Dressage bloodlines and performance bloodlines.

I think I need to concentrate on something that I've always been concentrating on.