Blue Ribbons and other awards

 I don't know why this post got deleted, I just know I had to re-type it. I was nominated a few times

for the Liebster Award (Sixth Stride, Cob Jockey, Woven Web). So thanks for the nomination!

(I tried re-creating the post exactly how it was but, of course things get jumbled)

11 Facts About Me:
1. I ride two to three horses, six days a week on top of a forty hour a week job. Two exceptions to this are weather over 100 and sub 30 degrees. I maintain my amateur status, clean stalls, hang the tack, work for Christoph Hess, and manage my own company in addition to all of this. 
2. I was a vegetarian for 10 years. Animal Science changed this. 
3. I started my company wanting an education, and got much more than I bargained for. I've met countless people, and it's made me a better person and rider.
4. I was a professional journalist for 8 years. It's how I saw much of the world, and I wouldn't exchange the experience. I stopped because the industry was unstable, and the hours really pushed out riding. I made a then-choice to take a crappy job with stable hours so I could train.
5. I am dyslexic. I was in special education for 9 years.
6. I'm way excited about the quality coming up in my barn, but it's also intimidating that I have to live up to it.
7. I'm a pedigree geek. I love qualitative relationships and theory that doing ped work provides.
8. I live next to a pretty cemetery.
9. I love to sleep. You'll often find me conked out on the couch with a book, a cat and the TV going.
10. I used to hate texting and resisted forever about getting an iPhone. Now, I prefer texting and can't live without it.
11. I have good people. I couldn't do anything without them. 

1. Why did you start blogging and who in real life knows that you blog?
   I started blogging to track the progress and chart goals for Sinari. From there its evolved with the goal set and various things that are happening, the cast of characters also evolved as well. A lot of people know I blog, the cool thing (aside from getting comments) is actually meeting readership and getting to know their stories. 
2. Black or brown tack
   Black, but I covet a pair of brown (dark brown) schooling boots. 
3. Favorite Comfort food?
   Chocolate, and various mediums thereof.
4. Favorite Color?
   Red, blues, second runner up black. 
5. If you could ride any horse (living or not), who would it be?
   Too many to list. 
6. What other pets do you own?
   Two cats. Although they would question the word owner. 
7. What is your "hidden talent?"
   Being driven. 
8. You win the lottery, what would you buy first?
   More Grand Prix horses and pay off the house.
9. You can travel anywhere, for an infinite amount of time, with an infinite amount of money, where do you go?
   Europe, to train. 
10. You're intimidated by?
    Lack of knowledge, being out of my depth. 
11. Favorite movie?
    My favorite thing to do at the end of the day is to watch movies. I really don't have any favorite that I can specifically recall. But my Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts are well abused, and on my truly off days (rare) I love going to the movies if there's anything decent playing.`
    

From Woven Web:

 

1. Favorite racehorse and why?

Curlin or Rags to Riches. Classic distance horses have always been a favorite. I hope I see offspring in the sport horse arena.

 2. First racetrack you ever went to or wish to visit if never been?

Saratoga, made Keeneland look a little shabby.

 3. Favorite horse real or fictional?

My own. Perk of the job is I know wonderful horses, but seeing mine and how they're developing is the most exciting. 

 4. What color of horse do you prefer and which markings on it?

Inadvertently partial to chestnuts with bling. Bays and blacks are apparently popular too. 

  5. Who is your riding idol?

Kyra Kyrklund 

 6. Best place you've ever visited that isn't considered a major tourist attraction or is 'off the beaten path'?

OBX. 

 7. Favorite breakfast cereal?

Raisin Bran, otherwise granola in milk. 

 8. Favorite non horse animal? Can't be cat or dog either...

  Blue Heron.

9. What are you most afraid of? 

Being out of my depth. 

10. Could you ever see yourself training or competing in dressage?

I too aspire to make pretty twenty meter sand circles. 

11. Three people, dead or alive, real or fictional you'd have dinner with?

 a. Christoph Hess (I have dinner with him frequently)
 b. The Klimkes
 c. Felicitas Von Neuman Cosal

Crazy Kids

Photo by Susan Black

After a week of travel, Danazdor finally arrived over a week ago, Sunday morning, as I was pulling in with my morning coffee and plans to run horses through the jump chute.

His original ETA was for Wednesday that week, then pushed to Friday, then Saturday, and by that time, I just threw my hands up and wished that we crated him up with UPS.

Surprisingly, he came off the trailer no worse for wear. He was dusty, a little thirsty, and hungry. He hadn't dropped a single pound on his trip. Silly air fern.  We are just in case- going to start him on ulcer stuff because of the rapid change in grass quality and the long travel. He was popped back into place by Thursday by the chiro, and will probably have more body work done by my regular girl, Dr. Tummlin. But for a four year old that just criss-crossed the entire western US, and arrived at a busy barn, he is surprisingly mellow and no worse for wear.

After I rolled through everyone in the chute, I got to play with him a little bit. He's a ham on the ground, doesn't want to be chased, would rather be cuddled and thinks he's the best. He's the first horse that I know automatically poses for photos. He's also a carrot whore.

Because of the travel, the body work, the change in everything we're keeping it light this week, he was lunged the first day, and the second day was lunged/ridden to no drama or fireworks. After the adjustment, we rode one more time in the arena and hacked out, already feeling better. Sunday was a hack day, we took him and a barnmate out to Masterson to work the hills a little more extensively. He was quick to settle into the routine and worked very well in the arena and went trotting/cantering outside with very little fuss, just a little looky. The only thing I can fault him on is that he doesn't like water, and has no idea how to go through it.

He's incredibly obedient under saddle, but after riding horses with a lot of gears, this guy hasn't found his yet. This is mostly because he has to develop physically. He also carries tension over the back which really diminishes his gaits (which are flipping fantastic) so there's a lot of work to do with developing his hind end and more looseness. We've developed a plan of attack for his schedule (it involves hills, an aquatred and alot of transitions). Despite all this, he's easy and easy to sit, just lacks developing.


Looking at schedule, we might go out and do a few schooling shows through July and early August, and one of the local barns is hosting a low key show with a materiale class attached to it. It sounds like a good precursor to the fall shows that we're taking a solid aim for.  

But honestly, for a four year old, couldn't be more thrilled. 

Beat this summer

With the rain we've had, I feel the switch from hay to rice is in order.

Despite rain, horse show season is still going strong up here.

I'm currently sitting out with Sinari while we develop, the focus is really Fall and Florida for her, which makes me excited. Lately we've been returning to full collection (pir's and piaffe/passage work), while we clean up our act. The low-pressure year has really done well. I'm happy, she's happy, my gas bill for the truck is reasonable.

I'm really looking forward to taking her to a three-day clinic with a piaffe/passage specialist. It's been my one of my main weaknesses that I don't have a good feel for. I've ridden a lot of pi/pa, but never had to really put a full 12-15 steps on a horse before. The two's are cooking right along and the one's I don't know about yet, we have three. Which I suppose is better than one. 

Reba made her eventing start last weekend, scoring a respectable 36 and change in dressage (ending up first on the leaderboard), a double clear in stadium (no brainer), but cross country there was a bit of a disconnect and hang up and an untimely departure between horse and rider. More than a few people had hangups and issues on that maxed out course, including a few friends who were schooling training height and had uncharacteristic time penalties and a tree fall in the middle of their stadium round.

It happens, but this is why we have schooling shows. Otherwise, very happy with her and the progress she's made in a year. Her new rider is enjoying her very much.

Sincere's owner also keeps sending in updates. From the photos, he's matured incredibly well, developing more bone and a tad bit more height. His owner is incredibly happy with him (despite young horse shenanigans), and I couldn't be more pleased about the match. I think he'll go out to show in the fall too.


Fritz has put on massive amounts of topline and has been working his tail off with me, his owner and one of the other girls who is brave enough to hack him on hills (as a rule I don't do baby's first outings). His main problem is, as with all driving breeds gone to the sport, endurance. He gets the connection, holds it for about 20 meters and drops it. Takes about 20 meters to get it back. With the hotter weather, he can only really last for thirty minutes. So it's more and more emphasis on conditioning.

Finally there's another new face in crowd, Danzador MSM kinda rounds out the "hair

crowd". He's a co-owned project that I'm actually kinda excited about. He's another 2009 baby, bay, leggy, tall and a PRE. When I saw his tape he didn't wasn't a-typical PRE that I saw in Texas (short with legs tending going everywhere), but naturally uphill and this freaky for the breed front end. He passed vet and is somewhere in the US currently heading to Kentucky. 

Get Lucky

Since Reba made the switch to jumping, things have been progressing rapidly. She's gone from a fairly cranky dressage horse to a very bold, outgoing individual. She really enjoys her job and I'm happy to let her go and do it.

The mare has gone from simple questions to more complex and bold combinations. I've recently paired her with an ambitious local young rider who's good horse is out of commission from pasture accident and needed a leg up on quality.  People have been asking whether or not Reba was for sale or lease for a little while now (I typically sell my jumpers, keep the dressage horses) and until recently the answer was no, she was not for sale, but if the right rider came along, I would consider placing her with that person to keep her progressing and to give her owner a better candidate for when she breeds her.


From the tryout, it was pretty much a match made after the first ride. The kid has tact and good hands. Plus velcro for a position. The combination have really gained traction in the training and competition schedule. Reba is to be entered in a mini trial this upcoming Sunday at Spring Run and from there proceed to qualify for American Eventing Championships for BN or N.

Her barn (family owned/operated) is a departure from a one-person training operation as a training horse in a field. From what I've come to understand she's one on one with her girls and is getting worked everyday in some capacity.  In the end I think this is another progression Reba's career.

It seriously wouldn't surprise me if she ended up top ten at AEC this year in Texas.

It also kinda makes me wish I still evented in some capacity, but I'm still a bit of a weenie DQ these days to work anything bigger than a ground pole and do gallop sets. So vicariously living for the discipline is what I do best.

If you're going to play in Texas

We all arrived back from Texas in one piece. The place is pretty cool, and surprisingly diverse (I ran into more South Asian than redneck) with more than BBQ and crawfish on the menus.

It really was a tough in and out trip, we had a number of sales horses to look at and about 10 hours to look at them in. I'm never one for speed dating, and I can be really peculiar about what I'm getting on and what I'm looking at (for this trip I probably looked at well into 70 tapes just to get to 10). 

Collectively, the trip was productive, I got to know more about PRE's, Andalusians, and Lusitanos. I saw everything from 12 rides under saddle to FEI and back again. While the overall quality of the gaits varied for everyone, everyone consistently had good walks, and good canters. The mindset is very professional, the horses want to work, they look forward to it. Even the stallions we saw and I got to work with were uncomplicated and all business under saddle.

The training also ranged quite a bit from what I would consider typical to interesting.

It was a change of pace with some of the other sales calls I've been on over the years. While we did run the gambit of you're usual barn, to something out of the Walking Dead to mega ranch, it was the breeds (we tried Lusitanos as well) that remained consistent in temperament and for the most part movement. 

The best part was after a lifetime of just learning to sit the trot on bigger horses, these guys barely move you in the tack.

For the wanted travel it's nice to be home and back in my own saddles and bed. I saw my herd yesterday for the first time in three days. Everyone worked well in the now hot weather.

The babies continue to go forward we're now to the point of debating about which show to go compete at to get our proverbial feet wet. From past experience, schooling shows are the best and cheapest way to get a young horse to go around. While we're not doing the four year olds, training level has it's own finer points. So Fritz might go out at the start of August and re-aim for MSEDA (training level) and Devon (materiale/in hand).

Sinari will stay chilly until Fall. We have a few clinics (a piaffe/passage one in Ohio, Debbie and possibly another). The break from the circuit is doing her well and she's really rallying back from her back being sore.

There's also a few other trips planned out for the summer.

All my exes in Texas

We've been horse shopping as of late and it's taken me to some interesting places.

Like exotic locations such as Canada, New York and Virginia.

This weekend we're going Texas to look at a group of 10. I've never been to Texas outside of an airport (really, everything, including airports are just bigger), and my general knowledge stems from Discovery Channel, former presidents and CNN coverage. So I'm really curious to see a bit of the state and sample the flavor.

It's my first real trip since Florida, and it couldn't have come at a more needed time. I was starting to  go stir crazy in my own state. The herd and I have been patiently sitting at the farm now for four months, just working on things with the occasional lesson.

My adventure brings me to  Lusitano breeders and a couple small trainers who have interesting, but quality stock for the sport. We're not talking USEF Four Year olds, but something, maybe, for the Developing Horse.

Intially I just wanted to look at warmbloods, I didn't want to look at another hair breed. But after seeing a lot of good PRE and Lusitanos in Florida on the CDI arena plus hearing continuously good things, I figured I owed a look. Never figured on finding 10 that I actually like.

Going to a closed-book breed is a departure from what I normally look at and go for. I'm used to deciphering bloodlines for young horses, and looking at raw potential, but when a breed standard isn't exactly in sync with sport standard things become tougher. I go through what feels like twice as many tapes trying to find three decent gaits (temperament isn't questionable on a lot of these, just quality of gaits).

So it should be a fun, hopefully productive trip.

Fastest girl in town

Bi polar weather is here. One day it's 80 and the next it's 30 and raining. We're battling funk, mud, and the lack of time outside and being stuck in the indoor. When we're not indoors we're battling the gopher holes in the field on the tracks we use to do trot sets.

We're finishing up on the heels of Courtney King- Dye's clinic during derby week (learned lots) and have a lot of take home lessons to work on for fall. 

Sinari is slowly, but surely coming back into fitness and regaining strength where she was sore. A week off is essentially a month lost in fitness, and with a lighter season it's really imperative that we come back to fighting weight.

Her sessions are wonderful she's much lighter and seems to have come back to her normal cheerful self. However, when she tires, she tends to become a bit offended about asking her to dig deep. This is the residual from working with a sore back. I don't blame her, and I know eventually she'll work through.

Conditioning becomes harder because of the grass in Kentucky. With an all-you-can-eat buffet out in the field (we've been muzzled since early March), it's hard managing things to keep everyone on the right track as diets swing very wildly (bye bye good hay, hello first cutting grass...) 

We'll probably hit KESMARC fairly soon to help with the conditioning issue.

Fritz is rapidly growing up into a horse that I deeply admire. He's pretty much a goof on the ground, but a really solid citizen under tack, walk, trot and cantering both directions on the bit and actively stretching. He went out on the trail with another rider to start giving him a break from the arena and to start conditioning him on the hills. 

I've learned a lot from him in a short time. The Fresians, are not unlike other driving breeds, they have a hard time stretching over the back, they plow through the aids as an evasion, they aren't too laterally supple, they pick things up quickly, they generally are steadier and they prefer to trot above anything else.

Fritz is a bit of an odd ball in that way- he loves to canter, and his canter for 60 days under saddle is really very nice and he's more laterally supple than most, but comparatively he's still not as flexible as a normal dressage-bred three and a 1/2 year old. 

Despite all the drama lately, there is good news on the horizon. Debbie McDonald is coming to clinic in the fall, I think David Marcus will be coming in summer, and I think I have a game plan for consistent access to trainers and to make the final climb to Grand Prix with the pony. Not to mention those new faces on the horizon.

I'm still on the fence about showing the crew until we're more established at I-1 for the pony and solidly fit enough to do training level with the others. We definitely have a few fall shows, but actually having this time and break to just work and develop things without the pressure cooker of going to shows.

I was tempted by doing a few local schooling shows, but timing just hasn't cooperated at the moment.