Isn't it funny when.....

You take a deadline away and your work is that much easier?
I had a jump lesson with Stephen before I left Aiken and my goodness Beast had wings. In fact she had wings, springs, a jet pack, and I had a brain.
Since that lesson I have had nothing but break through rides on Beast.

Knowing that I am just doing horse trials at the Prelim and Intermediate level this spring (rather then any CCI/CICs) makes me feel "right". I know that's a strange descriptive word, but it's the perfect word for me right now.
I think again that all of my personal and professional struggles can only help me be a better coach, instructor, or trainer. If I was a horse god knows I would be like Beast.

Learning for myself what my own reactions to pressure are makes me view the mares I ride a bit differently. Sometimes in order for them to become more submissive, they may just need a break. A hack day. A week of lunging.

In other news, every single one of my students looked amazing upon their first lessons back.
Absolutely not a single person regressed at all. Not one inch. So kudos to all of you!

I am happy to be back home at Darenth. I am happy to be back with my awesome working student Hunter (even if he greeted me today by a snowball attack as I got out of my car).
I am happy to be back in my routine at home.
I am happy to once again be fully immersed in my Yoga practice.

I had such an amazing stay at Mayadinya south. Julia Beamish was a most gracious hostess and I really had a blast with her! The accommodations (her cottage and farm) were spectacular as well.

Stephen came every week to Mayadinya and taught us. I also took all the mares to Full Gallop to school a bunch of times.

I do feel like Aiken is my second home. Especially Julia's and Full Gallop.

It's really nice to feel like I have "roots" in more then one place.

I have a busy spring planned with all my girls and guys ( two legged and four legged). We will be doing the Loch Moy schooling events, Morven, and Redland CT (with XC schooling) to start.

Off to bed for me!

Who am I

This Aiken experience has been much different then my past Aiken trips. I have gotten a chance to really reflect on my personal and professional goals and accomplishments.
My time spent working with Mr. Stephen Bradley has as usual proved to be beyond amazing.

My whole adult life has been spent driven by two thoughts.
"Where am I going"
And
"How do I get there".
Well where I want to go, is to the advanced level and how I have spent my time trying to get there is .....by any means necessary.
This has proven to be a roller coaster ride for myself, Dave, Maggie and my horses.
Last year was a good year. Probably one of the biggest years of growth for me in my own riding.
This spring I came to Aiken with a plan. I had a goal, a road and Beast was my ride there.
Beast is super fit, Beast is super sound and Beast has taken me to my goal. I can say with complete confidence that I am riding at the Advanced level.
Pine Top was going to be my chance to prove how far I had come to everyone.
Then it rained. Then I scratched. Then I realized something after being incredibly cranky for two days.
No one gives a shit about it but me. I don't have to prove anything to anyone but myself.

So where do I go now? My whole spring was based on Pine Top.

I started a train of thought that seemed to spiral to a lot of different areas. Money, time, my daughter, my husband, my horses, my students. There are so many factors.

I suppose what my goals come down to,for me, professionally is to be the best rider and instructor I can be.
I also want very much to be an excellent horsemen.

Beast is complicated. She is wild and insecure. She is my greatest teacher. She is outraged by the thought of holding a connection. She loves cross country and worries a bit in stadium. She spooks at silly things. She regularly kicks the vet when sedated. She is one of my greatest loves and she is probably not going to be competitive at the advanced level this year because of  dressage and the intense pressure involved at that level. These things are all facts that I must sort through. The pressure that I would have to put on this horse to do what I want to do is not fair. It could change, but right now I must honor my crazy chestnut mare. She is fifteen and loves competing. She can skip around intermediate cross country like a walk in the park. I will probably skip a spring CCI and focus on polishing the basics. I'm going to make my students a priority and work my patootie off with Ava.
Ava has all the parts to be competitive at the upper levels and hopefully I will get a chance to experience that with her next year.

Instead of buying a nervous break down I think we are going to buy some chickens and do a giant vegetable garden at home. I'm going to work with Vanessa, Stephen and Sharon as much as possible. I'm going to spread the knowledge and light that these folks give me and I'm going to do right by my horses.
I'm going to breathe and know that by this summer Ava will hopefully be going Prelim and prepping for a fall CIC.
I'm going to go where I'm suppose to go and just trust I'm in the right place.
I am currently happy. My horses are currently happy, I'm moving towards my goals and I'm doing nothing harmful to get there.
I believe in myself and my program and that is a good feeling.
Aiken this year has been a good experience..... Except for the not showering when we lost power. That part really was awful.

Get that water girlllllllllllllllllll

I'm a man.

Or close enough. Not just a regular man but a non showering, chain saw wielding, heavy lifting living in the same clothes i worked in, man. I slept in seven layers last night. My dog barked a lot because of the noises in the woods.
I came up with many escape plans from the Wagener townie that i imagined was out there, planning to kill us all.
One included driving my truck into Julia's house and saving the day.
My clothes are all filthy.
I swear that if my mares don't give me amazing results at the next few shows they are being retired.
I just got back to the farm and Kelley and Julia are collecting rain water from all of the melting surfaces. At least I live with other smart men.

Tomorrow my dressage times are five minutes apart. Kelley does xc then sj then dressage.

Let the s#*t show continue.

All of you that are sad about not being in Aiken. Here you go.

Catch up

So i have ten minutes to catch up with the past couple weeks!
Things have been great but crazy busy. The mares are all doing well.
Sharon (Summers owner) was able to come down and watch Summer compete. Sharon also got to do some trail rides and Hitchcock Woods! Julia's horse Frankie was a happy companion for Sharon to take along.
Julia has out done herself with putting all of us up in her lovely cottage.
Summer continues to learn at an incredibly rapid rate. I find this intense training with her provides me with excellent insight into her individual needs.
Summer is both cocky and a bit needy. I had no idea she would be as careful as she is over the bigger fences. She will be much more at ease at Paradise this Friday in the training. She has a jump school both today and Wed.
Ava is also prepping for the Training at Paradise this Friday. Ava has been a joy as usual, all though she is a true chestnut mare. She hates to be corrected and often takes it personally. I have to stay totally calm and level when ever I'm on this little lady.
The Beast just put in a solid performance at Pine Top. I do regular check ins with my sports medicine vet, Jeff Beshear. (Best Sports Medicine vet ever).
Jeff checked her for me the day after she ran the intermediate. We can be proactive this way, and i can know that she is 110% going into the advanced at Pine Top.
Myra is still being my number one fan. She accompanies me everywhere i go.
Julia is unbelievable and I'm so so lucky to be staying with her.
Steve-o has been helping me step my game up. I'm feeling pretty on top of things right now. I'm going to try harder each day and give a little more then the day before.
I miss my little Magalicious and Dave. I can't wait to see them!
I will be looking at everyone's spring schedules and can't wait to pick up with everyone!!!!! :)

Hi

Diploma?

http://tinyurl.com/qhyh2cy

Another busy day!
Dave and Mags are almost here. They will stay thru Monday.
Tomorrow we will take the mares to Full Gallop. They have a dressage show at the farm and I have lessons with Stephen in the warm up area.
Summer goes back on Sunday to do her first event of the year!

Beast practiced flying changes today. She has pretty easy clean changes one way but is slow behind the other way. Julia helped me tremendously.  It is really nice to have someone in the ring with an educated eye.
We broke it down with one walk step between and i think she may actually have reliable changes before too long!
Ava had another trot day. She is just loving Aiken.
Summer had an easy lunge day. She jumped yesterday and did a trot.
I am so lucky to be staying at such a lovely place.
The cabin is so airy and light filled and the horses are very happy and relaxed.
They get to be turned out 24 hours a day which they love. Beast stays in on cold nights that require a lot of blanketing since she is a weirdo.

I miss everyone back home.
I'm going to get ready for my little family to arrive!!!

Aiken

So the last few days have been wonderful but busy busy!
Six of Stephens horses arrived Tuesday as well as my friend Mandy and her horses.
Well actually Julia and i picked up Mandy on Tuesday early early am at a gas station where her and her horses encountered a truck hiccup while hauling down.
Mandy did not seem at all phased by the whole experience in true Mandy fashion.
We all went back to Full Gallop and settled the horses in. Stephen and the rest of the crew and horses are snowed in at home and hopefully arrive tomorrow!

All my mares are all in full work and have never felt better.
It is so amazing what this aiken footing, sun and atmosphere can do  for a girl.
Jeff came today and did a pre season exam on the girls. Beast looks awesome and "full of sass". We did flexions to get a base line and will check her again after her first intermediate of the year. Then if we are on track, she will run advanced at Pine top advanced.

Ava has been cleared. She has really felt great the last few days. I love her so much (except for when she spooked and ran me into a tree.)
We are doing a few extra things to treat her abscess wound. And of course finishing with her stupid leg trauma she got right before we came.
As Jeff put it, if she is going to some day take beasts spot, she has to give me something to fret about.

I'm not even going to start in on Beasts latest development with her blanketing weirdness. I just can't even sometimes.

Summer has been a super trooper. She has been reliable about everything. Reliable about begging for food, reliable about pawing if she is getting tacked and i walk away, reliable about being an angel when ridden.

Summer competes this weekend at full gallop then at sporting days and paradise. She will probably not spend very long at training level if i am able to train with Stephen as much as i plan while down here. This horse is really coming into her own this year.

Ava will get entered at Paradise (hopefully) tomorrow. She will first require a nap in the sun together.......
After her five thousand freaking treatments for her masochistic nature.

I have participated in another hot yoga class. This one focused on shoulders, hamstrings and hip flexors (the worst areas on all riders but especially me).
I was not feeling very zen. I was frustrated with my body. I am going to keep this up. If i expect what i do out of my horses I need to stay on top of my fitness, focus and flexibility.

OK I'm going to turn my white noise ocean waves on and go to sleep. Tomorrow's another big day and then my Dave and little magalicious arrive!

The beautiful view oy the window.

These pine trees are so lovely they just sway slowly all day.

Today was busy busy!
Julia (my house mate and gracious host) and I did our barn chores this morning then headed off to hot yoga.
The class was amazing. It may have been the best yoga class I've taken in a studio. The teacher was amazing and started out slow and then man we pushed pretty hard at the end. After yoga we got " green monsters". It's a trademark drink from the local amazing coffee place. It's full of yummy healthy things all blended into the most delicious smoothie ever.

Then it was back to the farm to load up Summer and Julia's horse Ninette for a cross country school at Full Gallop.
The horses were really wonderful. Summer continues to try to be such a big grown up. She has broken down the last reserves I had to not to get attached to her. I just simply love her and her cocky, sweet, goofy, elegant ways.
She was wonderful about every thing i asked her to do out cross country. She just seemed a bit bored by the smaller fences. Occasionally she would rather land and run a bit off the fences rather then turn. But that behavior seems to get to be less and less. She really seems to enjoy the life of an event horse.
Ava did some stretchy work at home today. She felt good but a bit anxious.

Tuesday Stephen and his crew arrive and I will be working for him half days.
Tomorrow is my last day before things really get busy!
Lights out for me!

Happy

We arrived!!!!

Well we are all settled in here at Julia's beautiful farm in Aiken!
The trip was wonderfully uneventful.

Dave and Maggie took me to the barn this am. I happily wrapped legs while Dave loaded more hay in the trailer.

Of course Ava bashed herself at some point before i got there this morning. This resulted in a slightly swollen leg and an unsound trot.
I did not cry or tantrum. I thought logically, sweat wrapped, gave bute (some, she wouldn't eat it all), set out uniprim to bring, and loaded the horses.

Then i cried..... And maybe dry heaved a few times.
I said goodbye to Maggie, gave Dave and Elizabeth a hug, got in the truck, and called Jeff Beshear.
For those of you who don't know the amazing Jeff Beshear, he is the best sports medicine vet EVER. He is going to be coming thru Aiken, he helps at all the shows, and he fixed Beast for me last year.
Any ways, he answered (cause he's the best vet ever.... So is Megan though. But she is not coming to Aiken at all)
And told me to sweat wrap-check, bute- check, pack smzs in case in better light i find a small puncture-check. He also told me to put a shipping boot on over the standing wrap to keep the leg protected. ......
OK crisis temporarily averted.

I did some driving.
I listened to some punk rock, rap, and chakra cleansing music.
I refueled, offer some perfect mares water.
I tried not to notice the 7,561 shredded tires along the shoulder of the highway. I like to think about what i would do if i had a blow out and then i worry that thinking about it will make it happen.

I seriously can't believe how good Summer was/is.
She's taking it all in stride. I think she kind of likes it.
Beast definitely likes it. She is in looooove with one of Julia's geldings.
Poor Ava looks exhausted.

I unpacked some hay bales....
I wished that Hunter, Dave, and Patrick were here.
Then i wished that Hunter, Dave and Patrick were here again.
Then i finished unpacking hay bales.
I ate a lovely salad, brussel sprouts, and cheese prepared by Julia.
I'm typing this and then I'm going night night.
I'm not proof reading or spell checking.

I also don't know how my blog got hacked before but it will probably happen again. :(