I hate change.
That being said... a lot has been changing. My horse is changing (mostly for the better), my job is changing (hopefully for the better), and due to all of that my drinking habits have been changing (most likely not for the better) haha. I kid!
Rori has been like a roller coaster for a little while. After my fall at Virginia Horse Trials back in May her confidence fell and with that her performance cross country plummeted. At Plantation Horse Trials in the beginning of June we went out at training and were standing in first after dressage and stadium. It was extremely hot and the cross country course was difficult, but not too difficult, or so I had thought. We ended with 2 refusals on cross country and I was completely baffled since that is usually our strongest phase. After talking about what had happened with Sinead and Laura we all decided it would be best to move Rori back to novice until her confidence goes back up.
Since then I took her out at Bucks County at the end of June and she went fantastic and finished 2nd in Open Novice beating out some really good riders. She started her cross country phase a bit nervous but definitely willing and finished up like a rockstar. I have her signed up for Olney Horse Trials in Maryland next weekend at Novice and if all goes well there I will be bringing her back to Training in August. I can only hope that we can get back on track from here and continue to move up as I had hoped before.
Moving onto barns! I'm moving.
Not far. Actually only 2 miles down the road from where I am now. Karen and I are moving our cliental from Pine Ridge Equestrian Center to a really nice and quiet place called Signature Equestrian Center. We've been in works of moving for about a month now and yesterday we finally got the OK to move in there in August. I'm somewhat nervous and somewhat excited. We have room if anyone is interested in coming in with us! Haha.
All the stress from Rori being up and down, and the barn / horse/ lessons / clients moving has been EXTREMELY stressful and I'm really ready to finally have a peace of mind about all of this. I could really use a mental break and my liver sure could too. August can't come soon enough :)
Hopefully I'll remember to update this a little earlier next time
-S
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
And so it goes....
“Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.”
- Roger Von Oech
That pretty much sums up my time at Virginia Horse Trials this weekend in a better way than me telling you that I fell off. But there, I said it, I fell off.
Although I'm sitting here and beating myself up over it time and time again, I knew it was bound to happen and I'm happy to say that neither Rori nor myself were hurt. In fact, it was a stupid mistake and greenness on my part. We were going into a log with a one stride to a bank down and I made the classic error of leaning at a jump, or in this case a bank. While walking the course with Sinead she warned me that Rori may look at it since neither her nor I had done one of these questions before. She instructed me to sit back and ride it carefully and expect she might chip and look but to sit up and keep my leg on her. Although these wise words were spoken to me just hours before I set out on course, I failed to use them while riding the combination and popped off the side.
Jumps 1-7 rode so nicely and while coming into 8 I tried to remember to slow down. While I slowed to the first part of the obstacle, I gunned Rori at the bank instead of waiting. While I was expecting the one stride, Rori made the RIGHT move and looked before she jumped and since I leaned, I fell, and before I knew it I was looking up at my horse galloping off towards the stables. *Sigh......*
Sometimes you have to fail in order to learn the lesson, but I just wish it hadn't been at a show we had drove over 8 hours to get to. However, years down the road from now when I'm winning my first One Star and people ask me how did you ever get through that tough bank combination? I will say, "Because I fell off at Virginia Horse Trials in the Training Rider division while leaning at a bank, and from then on I learned how to sit my ass back".
- Roger Von Oech
That pretty much sums up my time at Virginia Horse Trials this weekend in a better way than me telling you that I fell off. But there, I said it, I fell off.
Although I'm sitting here and beating myself up over it time and time again, I knew it was bound to happen and I'm happy to say that neither Rori nor myself were hurt. In fact, it was a stupid mistake and greenness on my part. We were going into a log with a one stride to a bank down and I made the classic error of leaning at a jump, or in this case a bank. While walking the course with Sinead she warned me that Rori may look at it since neither her nor I had done one of these questions before. She instructed me to sit back and ride it carefully and expect she might chip and look but to sit up and keep my leg on her. Although these wise words were spoken to me just hours before I set out on course, I failed to use them while riding the combination and popped off the side.
Jumps 1-7 rode so nicely and while coming into 8 I tried to remember to slow down. While I slowed to the first part of the obstacle, I gunned Rori at the bank instead of waiting. While I was expecting the one stride, Rori made the RIGHT move and looked before she jumped and since I leaned, I fell, and before I knew it I was looking up at my horse galloping off towards the stables. *Sigh......*
Sometimes you have to fail in order to learn the lesson, but I just wish it hadn't been at a show we had drove over 8 hours to get to. However, years down the road from now when I'm winning my first One Star and people ask me how did you ever get through that tough bank combination? I will say, "Because I fell off at Virginia Horse Trials in the Training Rider division while leaning at a bank, and from then on I learned how to sit my ass back".
Monday, May 2, 2011
The Horseman
"I pledge, now, on paper, that I want to help fend off the extinction of that rare species, the Horseman. I’m not going to take the easy way. I’m not going to do it for the money or the fame. I’m not going to trade my passion for prominence or popularity. Asa Bird, here is my promise: I'm gonna help you out dude, I'm gonna man-the-fuck-up."
This is an insert from a blog that I have come to love by Sinead's boyfriend, Tik. I found it during a late night, a few glasses of wine, and too much internet access. I've come to really enjoy surfing random horse sites, whether it eventing nation, USEA, or in this case, Chronicle of the Horse. It came up while searching some eventing blogs and when I saw the name it rang a bell. I soon found myself reading every one of his posts since they all seemed to line up as a story. He talks about his experiences with many famous trainers, how some were good to deal with, how some were not so easy to deal with, and all of them help me gain a little faith that there are more "sane" horse people out there than I thought.
I loved this quote because it really is true. A true "Horseman" is hard to find because so many people these days are handed things on a silver platter and never made to work for anything in their entire lives. The horse world has become about who has more money, a more expensive horse, or the latest and greatest tack and accessories rather than what is really important...knowledge, experience, morals, honesty, integrity....and the list goes on and on and on.
Growing up I rode at an old revised cow barn on ponies that never saw a show ring in their entire lives. They were back yard horses that we were only able to ride after we mucked 30 stalls, dumped and scrubbed every bucket in the barn, hauled hay, swept isles, and fed the horses at 5:30 in the morning. We rode them around in old ripped saddles or none at all while in a big grass fields or an indoor no bigger than a round pen, and you know what? We didn't complain. We didn't complain about what horse we rode because just being on any of them was a privilege. We didn't complain about work because it was time at the barn and that was all that mattered. I truly wish there were more barns like the one I grew up at still around, but sadly barns like these have either died down, gone out of business, or have been taken over by another person with different intentions.
If I do nothing else in my entire time as a trainer, rider and competitor I want to be a good horseman. I want to put the horse first at no cost. I don't want to put money ahead of what is right. I want to continue to tell the truth even if sometimes it might be the hardest thing to do. I want to continue to learn, grow and prosper with my training and always realize there are better professionals out there and there are always things to improve. And lastly, even when I feel like I've been beaten down too far, stepped on too often, and can't do this anymore... that I get up off my ass and realize this is what I'm meant to do and there is a reason I keep going back to this job every day, the horses.
This is an insert from a blog that I have come to love by Sinead's boyfriend, Tik. I found it during a late night, a few glasses of wine, and too much internet access. I've come to really enjoy surfing random horse sites, whether it eventing nation, USEA, or in this case, Chronicle of the Horse. It came up while searching some eventing blogs and when I saw the name it rang a bell. I soon found myself reading every one of his posts since they all seemed to line up as a story. He talks about his experiences with many famous trainers, how some were good to deal with, how some were not so easy to deal with, and all of them help me gain a little faith that there are more "sane" horse people out there than I thought.
I loved this quote because it really is true. A true "Horseman" is hard to find because so many people these days are handed things on a silver platter and never made to work for anything in their entire lives. The horse world has become about who has more money, a more expensive horse, or the latest and greatest tack and accessories rather than what is really important...knowledge, experience, morals, honesty, integrity....and the list goes on and on and on.
Growing up I rode at an old revised cow barn on ponies that never saw a show ring in their entire lives. They were back yard horses that we were only able to ride after we mucked 30 stalls, dumped and scrubbed every bucket in the barn, hauled hay, swept isles, and fed the horses at 5:30 in the morning. We rode them around in old ripped saddles or none at all while in a big grass fields or an indoor no bigger than a round pen, and you know what? We didn't complain. We didn't complain about what horse we rode because just being on any of them was a privilege. We didn't complain about work because it was time at the barn and that was all that mattered. I truly wish there were more barns like the one I grew up at still around, but sadly barns like these have either died down, gone out of business, or have been taken over by another person with different intentions.
If I do nothing else in my entire time as a trainer, rider and competitor I want to be a good horseman. I want to put the horse first at no cost. I don't want to put money ahead of what is right. I want to continue to tell the truth even if sometimes it might be the hardest thing to do. I want to continue to learn, grow and prosper with my training and always realize there are better professionals out there and there are always things to improve. And lastly, even when I feel like I've been beaten down too far, stepped on too often, and can't do this anymore... that I get up off my ass and realize this is what I'm meant to do and there is a reason I keep going back to this job every day, the horses.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Plantation "Field"...I mean, "swamp"
What a weekend! Rori and I headed 3.5 hours out to PA this weekend for our second Training at Plantation Field and it was eventful to say the least.
Flooded fields, flooded stalls, people unable to pull their trailers in or out of the parking, footing awful, soaking wet, and in the end a cancelled event. We started the day off with dressage in gail force winds and hurricane like conditions. Rori was fantastic scoring a 35.09 and placing 3rd/ 20 riders in our division. I made some technical errors, and the conditions were awful but she behaved beautifully and all in all I was really happy with how it went.
With stadium next and the weather becoming worse they were pushing people along way ahead of their assigned times. I jumped my stadium 2 hours ahead of schedule but in the POURING rain, and in footing that could suck the shoes right off of your horses feet. Although she was getting super stuck at the base of the fences and the turns were super dangerous, we jumped clean with 1 second time penalty. It was far from a pretty sight, but we got through our second phase in hopes of doing cross country the next day.....however, the rain continued.
...and continued
...and continued.
By the time I finished stadium they were announcing that they would be holding the rest of the jumping tomorrow so everyone prepared to leave (prepared being the key word).
Just as the footing had been horrible to ride in, trying to drive any sort of car / truck through mud is impossible. People trying to come in and people trying to leave were all stranded in 8 inches of mud and rain until saved by 2 tractors that pulled everyone to their destination. It was a crazy sight to be seen.
Flooded fields, flooded stalls, people unable to pull their trailers in or out of the parking, footing awful, soaking wet, and in the end a cancelled event. We started the day off with dressage in gail force winds and hurricane like conditions. Rori was fantastic scoring a 35.09 and placing 3rd/ 20 riders in our division. I made some technical errors, and the conditions were awful but she behaved beautifully and all in all I was really happy with how it went.
With stadium next and the weather becoming worse they were pushing people along way ahead of their assigned times. I jumped my stadium 2 hours ahead of schedule but in the POURING rain, and in footing that could suck the shoes right off of your horses feet. Although she was getting super stuck at the base of the fences and the turns were super dangerous, we jumped clean with 1 second time penalty. It was far from a pretty sight, but we got through our second phase in hopes of doing cross country the next day.....however, the rain continued.
...and continued
...and continued.
By the time I finished stadium they were announcing that they would be holding the rest of the jumping tomorrow so everyone prepared to leave (prepared being the key word).
Just as the footing had been horrible to ride in, trying to drive any sort of car / truck through mud is impossible. People trying to come in and people trying to leave were all stranded in 8 inches of mud and rain until saved by 2 tractors that pulled everyone to their destination. It was a crazy sight to be seen.
The stalls were no better. As we were getting ready to leave, the stalls began to flood. Since the stalls were placed on grass it just became mud and it was not pretty. Rebecca (who trailered to the show with me) and I put 4 bags in our 10x10 stalls and when we arrived in the morning they were a mud pit. Egh!
Sunday they cancelled the show because of the bad footing and inability for cars to come in and out of the field without the help of a tractor. Total bummer. But better to be safe than sorry especially since it's only April and the season is just beginning.
King Oak in 2 weeks! Hopefully the weather holds up :)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Updated Show Schedule
- July 30-31: Mike and Madi's Wedding
- August 1st: MOVE BARNS
- August 2nd: Cross Country Schooling
- August 6th: Pony Club Rating
- August 7th: Mets Game
- August 9th: Eventing Rally
- August 10th: Sussex Fair with Christa
- August 13-14th: Waredaca Farm Horse Trials
- August 16th: West Milford Equestrian Center
- August 21st: Great Vista
- August 28th: OnCourse Schooling Jumper
- September 5th: Starter Horse Trials at Bucks County
- September 7th-11th: American Eventing Championships
- September 24th-25th: Flora Lea Horse Trials
- October 1-2nd: OnCourse Schooling
- October 2: Burgundy Hollow Mix and Match Schooling Trials
- October 8th: Radnor Hunt Horse Trials
- October 9th: Starter Horse Trials at Bucks County
- October 16th: Oxbow Stables
- October 23rd: Clover Valley Schooling Trials
- October 29-30th: ESDCTA at the Horse Park
- November 6th: Bucks County Schooling Trials
- November 12th: West Milford Equestrian Center
- November 13th: Oxbow Stables/Clover Valley/ Bit O' Woods
Monday, March 28, 2011
start of the season = success
I'm happy to say that the start of this season has so far gone well for not only myself but also my students. Last weekend Katie and Mia started off the show season up here in New Jersey by making their debut as a team at Bit O' Woods Dressage and Combine Training test. All in all the show went super with Katie placing 2nd in beginner novice test A with 37 penalty points (63% dressage), 3rd in beginner novice test B with 31 penalty points (69% dressage), and jumping two clear rounds at starter and beginner novice level. Even though Katie was nervous she was able to pull off two really beautiful tests and gain a huge learning experience.
This weekend kicked off the beginning of the hunter/jumper season with Christa and Surprise making their debut at OnCourse in the beginner hunter and pleasure division. Needless to say they really pulled off a great show. With every jump course in the beginner hunter division they improved drastically and their flat class was flawless. In the pleasure they were against some stiff competition and held their own racking up a few 2nd and 3rds and missing pleasure by one ribbon. I couldn't be happier with how they showed and performed. The only thing I can't stand about these kinds of shows is how political it all seems. Maybe we can convince Christa and Surprise to dabble in some eventing or combine training this season as well ;) .
It's really a nice learning experience to watch these kids show and see how they react to the stress and situations that are presented to them. I feel like when I watch them I see little bits of myself with the worry and sometimes being too hard on themselves. It is a learning experience for all of us I suppose, but definitely one I want to and need to have. So here's hoping to the rest of the season being as successful as these two, with more ribbons, smiles, and laughs.
PS: Congrats to Sinead and Tate for winning the Advanced division at Southern Pines this weekend! Looks like their start of the season is successful too!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Love love love love
I love my horse. For real. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love her. I'm happy to say that my rides on her have really been coming together. This isn't to say that every ride has been perfect, because they haven't. However, each time something went wrong we were able to positively work through it, and get back on track without fighting. Even on her worst day I feel like we made good progress.
Last week I tacked her up in my jumping tack preparing for a fun and easy ride, but Rori had other plans. We get outside and she is spooking at everything in sight on the flat and just not wanting to concentrate. I learned awhile back that somedays it's easier to forget about it rather than fester on it so we warmed up quickly and went to jumping. She turned out to be FANTASTIC to jump...that is jump everything but the "scary" roll top. We went to the roll top and she reared up, spun around and tried to take off....hellllll no. This is what Rori used to do to me when I first got her, and I wasn't going to take a trip down that road again. In order to not dig myself into a deeper hole, I got off and lunged her over the roll top instead. She was nuts, but in the end she figured out for herself that it wasn't a huge deal and when I got back on she jumped right over it like nothing.
Although I normally am one to say to just ride through it, I know Rori well enough that on days like that one I can't fight her. It's funny because going off home property she will jump anything and everything, but as soon as something changes at home she becomes a complete wimp. I guess if I had to choose I would pick this over the alternative though.
I regress...she's been great, I'm really happy, and I think she is too. Life is good.
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