What will become of us

Winter has become equally as busy despite the adamant refusal to move everyone south (I will regret

this later) for the winter season. It's snowed on and off again for two days, leaving my woods covered in unfashionable post Labor Day White.

Starting in December with a double convention days (USDF/USEA Area 8), each week is booked out with something to do, whether it be clinic, show, symposium, meetings, hosting and travel.

Before I even start making rounds I still have the horses.

Danzador, even through some awkward stages, is getting the knack of things. As a four year old, he offers a lot of glimpses into a really bright future. He just gets the lateral movements and has a really lovely balance point. More importantly, he never stops trying. The adjustability is being developed, which I think will come when he figures out more collected work. He's not going to be FEI five and six year old material but will be a good candidate for the Developing Horse or the straight FEI tests. He still has a lot of maturing he needs to do over winter and with some changes in the program he'll be just fine.

Sinari is still going on, she's come back into work and is regaining a lot of the fitness she lost. The little mare is pretty much getting the idea of the zig zags, and reeled off three's today without really thinking. The main goal is to push for the I1 next year and be schooling all of the Grand Prix work. She's working solidly every day, I just wish the footing would cooperate so we can get out of the arena more often, hacking up and down the driveway isn't what I call fun.

Reba's first year and a half with my team and her rider has come to an end, and I couldn't be more proud of what they've done in less than a half a season of eventing and showing. With Anna Kate in less than 10 overall events, she finished with minimal penalties and usually on sub 30 dressage scores. She won Beginner Novice at American Eventing Championships, was Reserve Champion on the Area 8 Leaderboard and started showing Novice at the end of the season. On a horse that has had barely a season of jumping and has only really returned to work last August this is very quick progress.

I honestly can't wait to see what next year, the second/third year of this project holds for everyone, in the meantime we're celebrating with some holiday downtime. The horses were chiro-ed on Tuesday and have had yesterday and today off. We'll return on Friday with some light work to finish out the week. Plus there's a few changes coming up that I'll announce when they're confirmed.

You Gonna Fly

Tis the season for conventions 

I'm going to USDF's convention, which is conveniently less than a half of a mile from my house, to pick up my Silver Medal, and to USEA/Area 8 to meet up with friends, coworkers and watch Anna Kate pick up her ribbons for the season. All on the same day, within three hours of each other.  

Aside from one busy day, the time is also well spent on conducting business and setting the tone for 2014. It's one part social, two parts financial planning for my team and a whole lot of fun in between.

Convention is also the underlying reminder of what ribbons really cost. 

For every title, ribbon, trophy and award handed out, there are thousands of hours, dollars and opportunities spent for a brief, very fleeting, moment in time. 

While I'm thrilled to have earned my Silver, I'm reminded of the miles traveled with the pony, the struggles of a first year at FEI, the permanent hatred I have for fourth level, the clinics attended and hosted and the time away from home while I collect it and celebrate the newest lifetime achievement. 

Everything has a price, and horses, are no different. I'm very proud of what we have accomplished and no one can take that away. But occasionally, I hear the peanut gallery's voices singing clearly that it's not fair, and you've just have had better opportunities. 

I can easily say life isn't fair. 

But better opportunities? I made those with sweat equity.  

A recent post on Facebook reminded me how concerning the future generation of horsemen are going to be if they aren't clever enough or hungry enough to find ways to, as Tim Gunn would say, "Make it Work". 

We aren't all blessed with bank accounts and silver spoons. Many of us grew up in suburbs and with parents that could barely tell the difference between a snaffle and spur (but were lucky that they didn't say no to doing crazy things), but in the end, the dollars didn't prevent us, we just made it work. 

It's disappointing to say the least that many insert-your-age-here somethings would rather lament instead of going forward, asking questions and give a little to get a leg up, then complain at the suggestion that they go work and earn their place at the table. 

Go and volunteer, go ask organizers if they need a hand for anything (the answer is usually a relieved yes), start covering events for your local equestrian magazine, attend class, go to shows and watch, scribe, run, put on events, network, DO STUFF. Change begins with the individual, and to be have a say in it, you need to step outside and do something. 

There is nothing preventing you in this world to going out and going after opportunities. There will be times where people will say no, there will be times where you (and many others) question everything you do, the quality you have; there will be times where that plateau for training and riding stretches out longer than a country mile. But, if you don't keep going, you stop being apart of what you want. 

So, question is then, how bad do you want it? 

How quick are you gonna get up?

The season is officially put to rest.

I got back on Thursday evening after I drove home from William Fox-Pitt's clinic that finished the day prior. I can barely remember how Friday was spent, except that I ended up at the barn riding that day and I was happy to be back to some version of normalcy.

With 200 plus people on both days, and some fun situations in between, it was well worth it and I had a blast. But somewhere between the final airport run and getting turned around on Route 50 because of construction traffic, I hit the wall.

I pulled over at an overlook and just sat there for awhile, wondering what I had just done and what it will mean. Probably sat there for a solid 10 minutes just looking out before my phone pinged with people sending on media, Facebook, and emails of congrats (Virginia has sketch signal and I guess things catch up when you stand on top of a hill). I found myself wishing for my horses.

The ponies didn't make the trek with me and earned some time off from the under saddle work. Prior to leaving, they were working really well. But at the clinic I found myself really wanting to ride in what little down hours I had and experiment with what was going on.

The horses didn't mind the absence so much. 

Prior to taking off, Danzador was working a little passage in hand and doing more than a solid training level/first level work, we even schooled a green change here or there. The last day with him was spent trying to find his gear for the lengthening, the horse doesn't quite trust where all his feet go yet, and can only give a solid five steps, but at least it's progress.

The last few days have been spent stretching and just getting him back in gear but yesterday, for giggles, we put him through a trail horse clinic. After the initial snorts and spooks, he became almost bored with the process as he tried to eat the tarp, the flowers, the sparkly confetti things.

As much as I raise dressage horses, they are horses first. They need to be exposed to a bunch of things that make them good citizens. Often times, as riders, we forget that, we try to sterilize the environment to make it safe, when in reality we're only doing ourselves a disservice. I also believe that submission, one of the core tenets of the sport, is first developed on the ground.  What you do there also reflects what's being experienced in the saddle.

I think he's missed the work, and the attention because he's come back looking more mature with a better trot and walk, his canter can be a tad scrambled but he's willing to collect and hold himself together. His walk canters are coming along very smartly. He's ready to do a show very soon.

Sinari's post hock injection work keeps improving, she's way more comfortable in the work and has returned to the level that she was at prior. We're still taking stuff slow, she lost a little bit of fitness due to the compensation she put her body through, but already she's lighter and softer in the bridle, she's not stuck in the back and she's happy about the work.

She's comfortable handling the three's and two's again, and I've been working on cleaning up the pirouette work. It's coming, it's just going to take time. But already she's willing to sit and wait more, just needs the strength. But already things are looking up.

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

I'm heading down a busy week of travel and riding.

First on the menu is the final prep for William Fox-Pitt's clinic, I'm pushing just over 200 people (riders, sponsors, auditors) for two days- during the week. It's by far and away the largest weekday clinic (if not clinic, Edward Gal was large, but not like this). This means packing the car, coordinating, doing laundry and having barn coverage.

Also during my trip out East I get to meet up with some old hunt friends that I met at Breyerfest in 2012. These guys are awesome and I haven't seen them in two years. So, I'm using this as an excuse to ditch the dressage gear and go have end of the season fun. I have a feeling that I'll be wrangled in to something that goes across country. I also get to see an old high school riding buddy and another few good friends. Either way, I'll be fine, hopefully alive after all of it.

It's also the week I generally start planning travel and shows.

On the docket for 2014 is air tickets to Europe for February to Holland for the KWPN stallion show and also co-oping it into a few other things. I would like to graduate with my L, and campaign the youngsters a little on the East. I will most likely make an stop in Canada at some point as well.

This week is also a heavy week for vet work.

While Danzador is clipped for the next few months, Sinari still needs to be clipped. Normally I'd have this done same day as the others but the one foible about Sinari is that she's petrified of clippers. No amount of coaxing, convincing will ever convince her otherwise. So drugs are necessary. Which means calling the vet out. 

We're going for a two for one special.

After a recent chiro session, we found that Sinari was also hyper sensitive on her hock and hock points.  This is a horse that's in six days a week of work, upper level work and has had joint support throughout her career (a daily oral, and a bi-monthly Adequan until Adequan decided to do some interior decoration of their plant then over to Legend) plus regular body work and has a good farrier. She goes on good footing, has properly fitting tack and everything has been done within reason.

But at 14 the work is hard, and has come time to inject the hocks.

I loathe injecting for the sake of injecting. I've been in barns and situations where the first answer is the needle and not really sourcing the issue (ill fitting tack, questionable footing, lack of development, no support, ect). My vets know this as well, as does the majority of my team that I'd rather avoid doing the unnecessary until options are exhausted and the horse dictates.  

Right now, she's dictating. She's still a little uncomfortable in the work, her normal good changes are sticky, the departs are a little rough going and she's not as fluid over the back. Then after her chiro work, she started telling us directly where it hurt. To make her comfortable for the next few years of competing/training, this is necessary.


After a decade of work, it's time. I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten away with it for so long and to have an honest horse to tell me when it's time. The injections went undramatically.

Danzador is doing exceptionally well, he's maturing into a fabulous young horse and gaining topline and fitness. He's so easy to ride, and as he's expanding his horizons, he continues to really try to figure things out. The other day he started doing changes, while they're green and all over the place he's getting the idea. He also started playing with baby half passes and park a bus in them pirouettes. While I still feel Sinari is smart, this guy is a brainiac sponge.He's just that quick to pick up on things and go for it. It's interesting, and very surreal when you have a horse that at four, can pick up on your mistakes quickly.

My next thirty years

In 2014, I'm 30.


I'm not sad that the transition is coming. My twenties have been nothing short of dramatic with a huge amount of personal and professional growth.

While the number is daunting in a way, I really am looking forward to getting older. It also means I'm reevaluating my life and where I want to go.

Recently, especially within the last five years, my focus has changed from just riding and being an amateur to exploring more options as a rider and an active participant within the equestrian community (and you thought I just did clinics...).

However, the problem I see, and continue to see with my age group is the constant struggle to find good horses, good situations and living hand to mouth. We are all searching and fighting for the same thing: a living, a top horse, a good barn and support crew. Even as an amateur, I've experienced it in some fashion, and I'm very leery overall to put my toe in without having a safety net and plan in place.

I'm very lucky in the regard that over the period of years I've created a good network, have access to good training, and now have access to individuals who are starting to make investments with me.  Sinari was one of those investments, Danzador is another, and there are a few more in the wings that I'm very excited about (I'm actually looking forward to winter in the north for once). 

By no means, am I made in the shade, and things are evolving.

Right now I'm finishing up a few projects that will set the tone for the next eight years. I'm looking at finishing Sinari out potentially at I2, maybe Grand Prix in the next few years and then retiring her to being a pasture puff. Danzador continues to grow up, he'll most likely follow the national test track and not the young horse track, and Reba is still going through the levels as an eventer. 


I guess the question I'm posing is where do I go from here?

There's a lot of answers. The first and most obvious is invest. Currently I'm expecting one new horse in to for 2014 (which brings my total under saddle herd up to 4), there is also the plan of breeding two, and one foal purchase for 2014 as well.

Alot of it is still fuzzy, and still a lot of details to be hammered out.

This represents the future of my program, which is scary to think how I'll spend the next six to ten years.

These bruises make for better conversation

I could complain about the month. It would probably make me feel better, but wouldn't be productive.

I'm not at Devon.

I'm at home. With an Eeyore-grey cloud looming around and a hairy bra from doing the fall clipping, a pile of laundry, puttering around, attempting to find shows to bring the babies out to while consuming my favorite pieces of chocolate updating the auditor/rider lists for Debbie McDonald and William Fox-Pitt.

I'm at home with my horses, one with a splint (he's getting better, back to work!), the other having back issues from a bad heat cycle that should hopefully resolve itself out within the next few days. Being grounded, temporarily, is the pits. The hairy bra takes the cake. But it gives a lot of time to regroup, refocus and live vicariously through others.

If there's one highlight in the bunch, it's Reba.

Reba was down in Texas for the AEC's. So without a competition on the horizon, I got to live vicariously through her and her rider the week for their final show of the season.

I was really excited for both of them to top out their year together at the championships, the two have gelled wonderfully.


It's been over a year since she's arrived, and despite an inauspicious start, I think she's finally found her footing, her rider and a career. I'm just happy to be apart of her journey and be able to help give back to the sport through helping someone help themselves.

In the meantime Reba's progressed from an out of shape pasture puff to a solid competitor to now winning the AEC's at the BN level. I'm tickled and it's a positive spot in a dour month. There are some ideas evolving for next season but nothing firm yet.

My other two are chilling for the moment, Danzador has returned to light work with me cold hosing/packing/booting up his legs every ride. Sinari is going through stretch days in a snaffle, I think she's enjoying working on this (seriously the pony can stretch for a 9) instead of grunting around the arena working on half steps.

Otherwise, uneventful if not somewhat productive. 

Don't let me down

Last week wasn't a competition highlight.

Sinari walked in tired and we both walked out frustrated with ourselves. We were fully on track for a 65 percent things came apart in the canter work on each day. The heat didn't help, nor did the footing, the crooked FEI warmup, I didn't help by intensively schooling throughout the week, plus having zero body work done prior to it. It didn't also help it was our first time back in six months in an important show. It was just a bad point in our career, and poor planning on my part. 

I look at the photos and the video from this year and the last, there are changes, huge changes in the muscling and balance points for the better, but like learning the walk pirouettes, it comes with a bit of an attitude at first.

Also downgrading her from I1/I2 work to the PSG also made her a bit mad throughout the weekend, and because of the new muscling- people were questioning whether she was a he.  A lot of mare owners quickly inquired to our breeding status and whether she was available for stallion services.

We'll work on through the issues for the winter with a good pair of eyes. I'm happy that's upcoming soon, and find a number of schooling shows to get our groove back. In the meanwhile I've gone back to playing around with the curb bit, maybe that'll sort things out a tad quicker.

The show itself was a great place to catch up with everyone. I ran into a lot of old pony friends, clients and caught up with them. It was the largest pony show to date with 73 pony entries and a huge FEI class. It was finally great to see this event enter into maturity and get the numbers.

Because it was local, I had to commute between barns so everyone was still being worked whether on or off grounds.

Danzador was surprisingly the highlight of the week, by the end of the week he was greenly schooling half passes and getting more consistent in the balance point. I like where his half steps are going. He too is lacking body work and it shows... badly. On the ground he's going over cavaletti, developing his mediums and trying to develop his back more. It's painfully slow work, but he'll come around. 

Devon is next week, and we hit the road again.