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Fair Hill

What a crazy year it has been. I can not believe my season is over and it's time to"rest".
I feel very driven right now and would prefer to be focusing on an upcoming task.
I'm sure all my horses will do dressage shows this winter. I will continue to work my rear end off on both my show jumping and dressage.
Summer shows so much promise and really surprised/amazed me at Fair Hill. She is such a young horse still. She has matured much slower then the thoroughbreds I'm used to. Man was she mature this week though. She took in the crowds at Fair Hill and rather then get upset or scared, she got excited and more obedient.!? It really is like she wants to do big things. The harder the challenge, the more focused she is.
This really rung true in the jumping phase. There were some solid questions with some bad lighting. Summer just focused  read the terrain, told me i didn't need to do anything and shined.
I am so excited for next year with Summer. I feel like her body is finally established enough to start training a bit harder which will help produce the dressage scores she deserves.
Beast and i continue to grow together.
This weekend was the hardest challenge we have faced to date for so many reasons.
Beast has changed physically so much. At plantation my planned striding was not always on point and i had to adjust a lot on course. What i mean is when you walk certain questions from jump to jump, usually it can be performed in a straight line (shorter distance) or a bit of a bow (longer distance). Beast has historically been a bow kind of girl. We generally opt to put an extra stride in. With the work we have done on her back and the change in her way of going, Beasts stride has changed significantly. Her gallop stride has also gotten much longer.
Anyways I had to walk my course with this new horse in mind. I think i did a good job but i could have done better. I just read an article by Doug Payne and he wrote about his thought process while walking the course at Fair Hill. He looks at each question, finds what could go wrong, what the terrain does etc, and then has a plan A,B and C.
This is something i will now do. I need to work on being Pragmatic. I am by nature not a planner or very practical or organized in my thought process. This is an area that my horses need me to improve on at the upper levels.
I think some things can only be learned by experience and i am grateful to have had a world full of experiences from this weekend.
Beast is so special. She will do whatever i tell her to do. I just simply have to always know how to tell her.
I can not explain how much that horse gives me and how amazing that is to me. She was so upset on course after her first run out that her confidence immediately wavered in herself.... Causing her second run out a few later.
In that moment i thought about retiring and as i cantered to my next fence i promised her i would at least give her a good ride to a few jumps before pulling up. I gave her a good go at the next two fences and she immediately gave me her unwavering belief in herself simply because i believed in her. (She then tried to run off with me a thru the coffin).
I dug deep, let my Puerto Rican alter ego take the reins and did that course and that horse justice.
That experience will forever be etched in my mind.
While i still lose sleep at night because of my run outs, i do know i could have never learned what i did with out that experience.
I simply decided to do her justice again and ride well the next day in show jumping. I had a ton of horse underneath me and actually flat schooled in the am before her later jump round. She felt relaxed and confident and better yet, she felt like she trusted me completely. We changed the day before. We changed as a team.
I will never be the same rider again. I will never be the same horsemen again. I am so in love with this sport and am so amazed by the horses that are as well.
I am so amazed by the people at that event and the experience that we all shared.
I am so beyond amazed with Sharon White and her ability to be everything that she is. I am in awe of her.
I can not thank the people enough that helped me or cheered for me at Fair Hill or along the way.
Alexis truly out did herself the entire week despite my sudden silence that would take over as i tried to focus.
She had that horse looking like a million dollars and catered to Beasts every neurotic need.
My husband and his unwavering support and belief. I am most amazed in his willingness to do whatever it takes to further my journey. He is the one that often has to help me pick up the pieces and keep life in prospective.
Hunter and his help.
Kelley and entertaining my weird need to just have her at the start and finish.
Kim and her Kim ness.
Sharon and Nick and everything they do.
Katherine and her doses of reality.
Stephen, Sharon and Vanessa and their amazing instruction.
The amazing Jeff Beshear
Team orange who would tell me to calm the f*@k down......
And everyone else that has pushed me good, bad or indifferent. Life is short and things can change so quickly. I am going to continue this journey and always try to do right by my family, horses, friends and myself. Every experience is what it is and this one was beautiful.
Sorry about any typos I'm not so into proof reading.

Summer is showing a real effort to handle all the goings on here at Fair Hill International!!!

Peeps.

Great day

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Mary Macklin" <mary.macklin1@gmail.com>
Date: Sep 5, 2013 8:06 PM
Subject: Great day
To: <mary.macklin1.comet@blogger.com>
Cc:

Mags and i had a great day!!!
We went to the barn around noon after doctor visits this morning.
Then we hung out and taught.

Do you know the only thing better then a working student? ....... An amazing working student.

And Do you know the only thing better then one working student?..... Two

Alison and Hunter trotted all the competition horses for me.
The guys at the farm only trotted up hill or on flat ground and walked down all hills. It's hard and slippery and too much stress on their bodies to trot down hill right now for my taste. Fortunately, Darenth has plenty of hills for us to choose from!!

Beast is being treated like the magnificent creature that she is and was taken to the plush turf at Sera Valley to do her 40 min trot day. She sported her new and improved hackamore.
She looked happy as a clam.
She was then given a moisturizing bath. Then towel dried and sprayed with moisturizer so her skin doesn't get itchy or tight. Then she was hand delivered to her waiting herd.
Somewhere in between there she kicked the wall almost hitting poor Kari.
Ah mares.

Laura and Alison looked amazing at SV. Maggie played under the watchful eyes of Piper while I taught.
Piper and Maggie played under the watchful eye of Myra.
That dog is so darn cool. She hid in the bushes and just stared at the girls playing, watching for any suspicious characters. Any time Maggie would go near the rocks or the edge of the water, Myra would come slowly out and stand next to her.
She loves her kid!
Mags and i then traveled to Olney to teach a bit more and now it's bath time for baby and bed time for mama!
I have a super busy five/six days ahead of me.
My best friend Jocelyn will get here on Sunday and i can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

The goings on of Red Hawke Eventing at Darenth Farm.

First and foremost, it is with great pleasure that I announce my new working student, Hunter Fabry!!!!!!
He is doing an internship through his senior year so I get to have him from about 1130 am on!!!!
I must say my tack has never looked better, my horses happier and everyone is getting the quality hacking and full amount of riding/personal time that they deserve.
Hunter is an excellent rider so I also have someone to help me school my horses. I even may have time to catch up on my blog!

The farm is doing beyond well. The electricity is getting finished in the indoor. This means we will have lights soon and I believe Sharon was testing out the giant fans yesterday!
We still need to plan our pole painting party.    All of our boarders are well as are the students and the horses in training. We are gearing up for an exciting fall season full of eventing, YEH, jumper shows, dressage shows, and combined tests.
Beast is wonderful. Something in her changed at Millbrook. Jimmy Wofford said this particular event was akin to her Bat Mitzvah.
She finally  has the confidence and presence that she always deserved to  have and carry. ......How ever there are days where it takes an hour before she stops acting like a fire breathing dragon. I will definitely have to rethink my warm ups, events and canter schedules. Beast plans to do the CIC 2* at Plantation and the CCI 2* again at Fairhill.
Ava continues to be, well, perfect.  I mean she has to get a bit stronger, carry a higher frame and develop a different top line but other then that there is not much to say. She shows up every day to work. Tries as hard as I ask her to and answers every question with ease. The horse is ready to run Prelim. Obviously that would be a bit quick since she only did her first event five months ago, so I'm developing her plan as I go. I will focus on her education, strength and exposure while trying not to put extra miles on her. I am also going to try to save money for her career next year. She should have an awfully exciting year in 2014!
Summer is working on her submission. It is the only area that ever affects her scores negatively. The horse has such enthusiasm.  
She also went from being pushy to a bit sensitive in this past year. I love her exuberance and love of jumping. In hindsight I may not have always brought enough discipline to her flat schools. While I will change that now, I do not necessarily regret the past. My goal will always be to produce horses that love their job, are confident, and eat cross country for breakfast.
Mr Duncan Doodles is a joy. Until we find his new forever home I am going to enjoy every minute I have with him. This gelding tries harder to please then any horse I know. He will be running training at Seneca.
That's all for now!

Millbrook recap

What a week!
First off a big thanks to the best husband in the world who literally juggled Maggie and Beast an awful lot!
I don't know what i would do with out him!
Ava was really amazing all week. She acted like a pro at her first big sleepover event. And BIG it was!
The dressage was miserable and it was very stressful to Ava. She trued very hard to keep it together. The stewards couldn't hear over the radios because it was raining so hard so they kept changing when it was my turn.
By the time we got to the ring, some horrid machine started backfiring and i thought the Piotr horse was going to lose her mind!
She tried very hard to be obedient in the ring and the judge rewarded her greatly for her good moments.
Ava was an attack horse cross country. That's all there was to it! If it was even remotely in front if her, she was gong to jump it. What a blast.
Ava was all business and very relaxed in show jumping. Such a high quality horse this one.
The Beast was fairly wild all weekend. She tried to contain herself in the dressage and was as obedient and correct as she has ever been. The flapping sponsorship signs were a great source of tension for the Piotr girl!
The cross country felt like an example of how cross country should be. Oh what a dream. That little house just feels free out there and i swear she just waits to see her line and I could just sit there and not do a thing!
I have changed the way i ride her slightly and by fence 5 b she was digging it.
"Let it flow". That's what Sharon told me to do and damn we did it! The Beast skipped around a course that caused a ton of problems.
At the end of the course my little red mare tried to run off with me!
.....I should have thought about this a bit more.
I decided to just graze Beast for an hour and a half instead of pre ride her for sj on Sunday morning. I thought hacking her would make her more tense with all the commotion. Mistake.
I should have got on and cantered her for a while and stretched her.
She was a total wild woman in sj. I have never had her be so .....well... Chestnut mareish!
This gives me a better plan for Fair Hill this fall. It's all about the journey :)
So happy to be home. All though i am exhausted!
Sorry about any typos. My phone has an aggressive auto correct!

The view at the grocery store....

The view from our bed room...

In New York

Work hard, play hard

Watch "Jennifer is a Party Pooper (7:12am)" on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjwofYhUJEM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Today

Today was a day off. Mags and I went to the doctor then went to Walmart. She dressed for the occasion.
We bought lots of sparkly belts, hair clips and white jeggings.
Now we are home and she is napping next to me before we bake cookies and paint our toe nails.
Tomorrow will be full throttle with lessons with Sharon White and teaching.
Beast is feeling AMAZING.
I can't wait to take her to Vanessa's on Friday and then Sharon's on Monday! This weekend we have a family trip planned.
This is a good time of year where balance seems a bit more easy to achieve.
Come mid July it will start back up full force!

I swear I will write a post soon....

Petunia rose keeps forcing me to snuggle.

Ava dressage at Fair hill! <3

Catch up.....

So today seems like a good day to catch up.
Our new rescue dog Petunia Rose thinks it's a good day to catch up on sleep. And cuddles.
Ava and Summer went to Fair Hill yesterday.
Ava was wonderful minus a few screams to summer during her dressage test. She scored a thirty and tried her hardest to show jump clean despite the mud and my great plans to kick for a long one on more then one ocassion. Cross country had it's fair share of technical elements and she just ate it all up.
Summer and Ava both had to deal with the grass warm up, in the rain, on a hill. Ava has stud holes, Summer does not.....but is getting them next week. Horses were slipping and acting a bit silly. Sumner was good in warm up but our ride time was delayed and she totally lost her focus.
I just kept kicking on.
The judge was very pleased with my riding and I must attribute that to Vanessa Swartz and Sharon White.  Everything I was complimented on is what I have been working on with those ladies.
Summer was second to jump and we decided to wait for another day. The footing was getting worse by the minute. Shes too nice to risk an injury on a novice.
Beast has had treatment for anaplasma for two weeks now.
She also had a bone scan which revealed some issues that we are going to start working on tomorrow.
I am taking the mares to Sharon Whites to jump with Jimmy and have Jeff Beshear (the vet) do whatever it is we are doing.
Callie has been sold.
I am excited for her new owners, but sad at the same time.
Time to do some cleaning before teaching this afternoon!
I might sneak in a power nap/cuddle with Petunia.

Mary Mack

Look what I just found....

Things are going to get good now!

Mary Mack

I'm not sure what happened in here....

Maggie let me sleep in until 730.....But this is what she was doing.

Mary Mack

Photos from our xc school!

OK and one extra.

Catching up....

Mags and I are trying to catch up on stuff.
We have had a bit of a rough weekend.
Beast was quite good at her first advanced.
I have worked very hard at becoming calm and focused while competing. The good news, I have achieved the goal.
The bad news, it is such a change for Beast xc, I will have to continue to be a bit over driven xc.
Oh and I can't get calm and lazy confused!
Maggie had a wonderful weekend with her cousins. They came to watch with my sister and brother in law on friday and saturday.
We came home saturday.
Our little jack russel has not been doing well. She went into kidney failure two weeks before Fair Hill. I think she hung around to get me through the weekend but on Sunday night, we had to let her go.
Losing a pet is so hard because it's like letting go of a part of your life. I'm going to hang on to Scruffy's little Jack russel tenacity and bring it to every cross country that Beast and I do together.
Ava shined yesterday doing flat work. Summer gave me some fancy trot work and I'm convincing her to give me her back at the canter.
Vanessa will get us all tuned up on Thursday. I want both girls in the 20s at Loudon.
Beasty was quite wild yesterday.(Back to herself!) She got a late entry into Loudon to get established before Jersey Fresh!
This afternoon brings lots of riding and lessons!

Mary Mack

 Ava!!!!!

 Hannah on Buckshot!

 Alison on Knick!

These amazing photos are courtesy of Nicky Shipley!!!!

Serra Valley XC schooling!

Horses getting air time!!!! (Buckshot and Duncan) Maggie and aunty Elisa locating tadpoles!!!!

Still catching up :)

After a bit of consideration, I think I am going to send the email to scratch my Beasty Bear from The Fork.
She had a small threat of tying up at Southern Pines and we had a solid plan for her to get to and through the fork.....Then on Saturday, I started to wonder, why am I hustling so hard and so much? I need to catch my breathe, my families breathe and my horses breath.
Beast is entered Advanced at Fair Hill two weeks after the Fork. I currently feel prepared for Fair Hill with out the extra run, but with realistic expectations for our dressage scores ;).  I do not want to bring a mentally and perhaps physically tired horse, with a tweeker of a rider to her first advanced. After conferring with the vet, the decision seems obvious!

In other news, I am excited about the upcoming unrecognized at Loch Moy which will be Summers debut and another novice under Ava's belt.
It will also be many of my students first outing!

Summer was a little star today doing flat work.
I glanced up to see what she had looked at (quite casually I must add). She had already looked away and focused inside the ring while I almost lost bladder control. Myra (my dog) was flinging the lunge whip up and down from the other side of the fence. The whip was flying ALL over the air and you couldn't even see the dog, just white fluffy hair! Summer acted like it was totally normal and continued the exercise that we were doing.
I love it!

Catch up!

It has been a busy busy couple weeks!!!!!!!!
I just settled in from returning from Southern Pines Horse trials where my Mahogany Beauteo placed third in the Intermediate!
It was quite a busy week and I am looking forward to catching up on some lessons and riding before going BACK to the Carolinas for The Fork!

While I was away competing, my students were busy representing at the Maryland Combined test!
Both Emily and Alison had their first outings of the year and they were a success!

Alison and Em have both been working hard at their dressage and show jumping.

Alison made clear improvement on Lord Knickerbocker. He received a 36 and a 31 in his dressage tests. Knick is such a great mover but he can be a bit tricky with the whole submissive part of the dressage. Alison is clearly doing a great job! Knick and Alsion also had a clear show jump round!

Emily took her new young horse out for the first time. Midas put in a solid test and also show jumped clean! These two are an exciting pair to watch for this year!

This week will bring show jump lessons with Sharon White, some cross country schooling, Morven Park and OF COURSE an Easter egg hunt for a certain Maggie bear!!!

Super proud

Of my student and friend alexis!
She placed second in her first event of the year, looking AWESOME!!!!!

Mary Mack

Best dog ever

Mary Mack

Mary Mack

Mary Mack

Aiken wrap up, warning explicit language.

The last bit at Aiken was awesome. I cant really think of the words to describe how it feels when all the hard work pays off, and you have the coolest Aiken friends on the planet.
This song/video about sums it up.
Please if you get offended by a crude sense of humor, or bad words please skip the video and just know that my trip was really awesome.

Happy horses all done with their work

Mary Mack

I don't know

Why it never stops being funny when they steal a bale and bring it in their stalls.

Mary Mack

Crazy week!

Yay Beasty!
Beasty was a bit tense in the dressage but a total dream the rest of the weekend ending 5th!!!
Callie warmed up beautifully but threw in some opinions in her dressage test!
The footing was questionable at best for show jumping on sat afternoon.
I was going to scratch callie but then decided to warm up and make a decision. Callie was a bit up in the warm up and tweaked my shoulder a bit so that made my decision easy! We scratched and she did not seem very happy about it!
Ava, Duncan and Fiesta continue to be angels. I think I had a break through with Duncan today.
I can't really describe it but it was like he decided "ok, she is boss mare". At the end if the ride, he stood perfectly while I untacked him. He wasn't tied to anything and he didn't try to shove the stall door open to run away! Progress
Ava has really made me fall in love.
As the time comes to choose what horse to sell, I think the most logical choice will be Callie.
I have mixed feelings but it just seems right.
Beast will be moving up to advanced in april (if everything continues as is) and this is an expensive sport!
Back to work!

Mary Mack

I was a good boy today!
More my favorite, fresh bedding to paw at, roll in and then pee on!
Mary Mack

Mary Mack

It's a beautiful day!!!

So far all the horses have been perfect!!!!! Lets see if Callie and Fiesta pull through!

Mary Mack

Early morning xc school!

I'm not actually sure where we are, somewhere near alisions in laws.

Mary Mack

Sometimes

It dawns on me that it's slightly odd to sleep in a camper for a month, eat cheap microwave meals, dress in excessively riding clothes, miss my husband and daughter so much that I cry and my three year old comforts me, and have a dog be my main companion.
But then I have days like the last few and I know I'm on the right track.
I'm sure this lifestyle isn't for most and it is hard. But the amount my five horses here have grown is astonishing.
One of my owners came this weekend and had the best rides on her mare Fiesta. Fiesta was perfect and it made me so happy.
She is acting so brave, excited to jump....anything, and less lazy on the flat.;)
Duncan is strong, delighted, and going really well. His ADD is satiated by the constant activity here. I have given up on trying to cure duncan of his need to sniff,snortle, shake, flap, paw, roll, pee on,  or pull down. He is relentless. He is so relentless that it went from cute to slightly annoying and is now hilarious.
Duncan can untie himself in the time it takes me to walk from his stall to the tack area. He has a NEED to know what is going on.
He has become polite and obedient under saddle and that's a compromise I'm willing to take!
Beasty is feeling Amazing! She had a massage by Sabrina Morris and holy crap! She is all tuned up and ready for Pine Top!
Callie has been on her best behavior. She is jumping in a new bit and it's freaking phenomenal. We will see if it helps me have better brakes xc this weekend!
Ava is a little star. She is sweet, happy, snugly, and definitely into this eventing thing. She will have a quiet week to come down from the intensity of last week. Being at Full Gallop is like being at a horse show every day, and her first event at Paradise was BUSY. She was perfect though!

I have watched tv twice since I have been here. I have no computer and my phone reception can be moody.

I do however have a resupply of jelly beans and chocolate which are a night time must!

Mary Mack

Today

Long days!
Duncan doodles was fresh this morning! He was excited by the many, many people here at full gallop. I think he thought it was show time!
There are a ton of people here now in training with Stephen. Add that to the people cross country schooling and we have a full house!
I was able to work thorough it easily and get him swinging through his back.
He is siting very well in his transitions.

Fiesta was a happy girl today. She came out fully focused and had a blast doing since show jumping!
Sgw was even the brave leader for a friends horse!

Ava is as prepped as she us going to get for her debut at eventing tom! I would have preferred to do more but I have faith in the little lady to pull through for me despite my shoulder injury.

I tried Callie in a new bit today. Now that I'm riding her with so much more leg, I need a different bit! She was a dream today!

Beasty was a good girl today.I do miss Vanessa though!

Katherine broke her finger today.
She is staying over tonight. We were quite pathetic trying to set up her bed. Her left hand is out of commission and my right shoulder is not much help. After the whole process pissed me off, I realized it was funny!

Thats all for now. I desperately need sleep.
I plan to catch up on communication with everyone this weekend (emails ,phone calls, etc).
I'm sorry I have been awol. It really has been crazy!
Also this weekend my two valentines will be with me!!!! I can not wait!!!!!
Mary Mack

Myra assists the hay thieves Callie and Duncan!

Mary Mack

The last few days

The last few days have been non stop!
Pine Top horse trials started sat and sun at 430 and 530 am.
After competition, the other horses needed to be ridden, evening chores, and at some point we tried to eat and shower!
Today and Yesterday have been raining. Everything continues on as usual, it just takes longer and is ridiculously dirty!
Ava cross country schooled. Girlfriend has a new reason to live! She was amazing, brave as a lion, and definitely requires a running martingale! Ava is a dream and has the heart of an upperlevel horse for sure!
Duncan has flatted, and done a little xc. Duncan continues to find amazing ways of reaching the hay stacked near his stall.
Duncan does give his all under saddle every day though so his"man" tendencies are easy to overlook.
This week we are going to work on continuing to soften and use Duncans back in both the flat work and show jumping. This weekend he will do a full Xc school.

Fiesta is working on moving forward off my leg whenever my leg asks. Even if there is something interesting/scarey/distracting/ whatever.
She did her first xc school and acted cool as a cucumber. Such a mix of different things make up this horse. I do love her but sometimes when I flat her I find my self counting to ten to stay calm. She is relentless at trying to not use herself. Relentless. Re-lent-less. She would be that super athletic kid  in school that was also ridiculously beautiful but has a donut eating problem.
Beast and Callie had a light day after being stars at Pine top.
Dave and Maggie are both sick and it's so hard not to be there to help them.
They are coming this weekend and I am desperate to see my little one.

I have Ava competing on Friday at Paradise and then will spend the weekend with Dave, Maggie, Melissa and her mom!

Back to work!
Mary Mack

Ava xc schooled check.
Clients horses done
Dave not here to pick me up while I wait out of the rain so I'm making Katherine do it.

Mary Mack

Someones trying to sleep on the job

Mary Mack