Oh yeah, I have a blog.

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

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".

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.

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.

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 :)

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

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! 

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.

Insert title here?

"If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong." ~Pat Parelli


Since my return from Florida I've had the chance to practice what I have learned on a few horses back home which I have in training, and I'm happy to say that it worked.  I'm not only happy that the horses are going better, but I am more thrilled that I am able to apply what I have learned on one horse to the ones I have in training with me.  It's tricky sometimes because I've seen trainers in the past learn a new tool and apply that to every horse that they work and I've found with my training that can't be the case.  


Every horse is different in it's own way; each has it's own form of evasion, and each has it's own personality and if you force one method of training upon every one, the results usually aren't that successful. I have some horses that evade through their shoulder, and I have some that evade more through their haunches, and then I have some that evade through both!  Being a good trainer is about listening and feeling exactly what the horse is doing and not getting stuck in a rut of "thinking" you know what the horse is evading from.  


Although after saying this, I do believe in order to be a good trainer you have to be aware that you will make mistakes with your training and you will not know the answer for every question the horse asks...however it's how you go about figuring out the answers that is most important.  For example, I rode a horse a few years ago that always gave me trouble about staying soft, and I remember always coming off of him frustrated that it never felt 100%.  It just so happened that the owner asked me to ride him again for her, and when I got back on I realized I never was fixing the problem before.  He rode the same way he did in the previous years and instead of getting so fixated on his mouth, I realized that his problem was in his shoulder.  After I fixed his shoulders everything else came together so fluidly.  I even gave the owner a lesson on what I had been working on with him and she was ecstatic about how he felt and now the horse is in training with me.  I think riding that horse is the most rewarding (besides my own) because I can really see how much I have learned and grown as a rider/trainer to help progress the horse and owner as a team.  


I didn't really intend on this blog going in this direction...but I guess that's where it ended up.  I guess the bottom line is, good training is important, listening to your horse is more important, and learning from your mistakes is the most important!


On a side note 2 of the girls are making their show debut on their horses this weekend! Fingers crossed all goes well :)

Tis the season to be showing....

Welp, March starts tomorrow which means the shows season chaos starts in 2 weeks.  I'm super excited about what this year will entail between my own showing, as well as the girls that I promised to bring to various shows with their new horses.  We will be dabbling in the hunter/jumpers, dressage, combine training tests and horse trials *phew*!  Here are a few of the girls with their new horses who will be packing around to shows with me: 

Katie and 'Mia'

This pony may be new to their rider, but not to myself.  This is Mia, a horse that I purchased as a 2 year old and trained and showed for the past 4 years.  I sold Mia to Katie (and Shelli) in January and they already looking like a real team!  I can't wait to see what is in store for these two this year.  I think with Mia's knowledge and Katie's talent they can accomplish a lot.

Lauren and 'Brit'

Meet Brit! This is Lauren's new horse that we got as a free lease from an old friend of mine, Kerry Rea.  She is a 6 year old cleveland bay / percheron cross who is very green, very big, very fat, very hairy but very sweet.  She has pretty much been sitting in a backyard doing trail rides for the past 2 years but she is smart and has a great disposition so I think she will be really easy to work with.  Brit will be making her show debut with Lauren this season and we are all super excited! 

Christa and 'Surprise'

SURPRISE! It's "Surprise"!  This is Christa's new horse that we got as  free lease from another old friend of mine, Lynsey Genaur.  Some of the old Oxbow people may remember Surprise since she was / still is owned by Lynsey.  She is a 17 year old cleveland bay / tb who has had a successful career in dressage and eventing, and we will be using to show in the hunters! 

There is a long season ahead of us and I just want the goal for everything (including myself) to have fun and leave each show learning something.  Whether the ribbon be blue, red, pink,green or non existent the bottom line is to know why you got what you did and how to improve for the next time around.  So here's to this year full of lessons learned, big smiles and some good times! 

PS: Rori says "Hi". 

Buh Bye Florida. Hello New Jersey!

So tomorrow is my last day in Florida and last day in this beautiful weather before we leave for New Jersey tomorrow afternoon.  As much as I have loved it down here I am so ready to go back home.  Although I can sometimes complain that I'm always working and super busy all the time, having so much "down time" down here has made me really miss working.  I really feel lucky to have a job that I enjoy doing.  I could never be someone to work in an office pushing papers all day long, and I'll take being out in the freezing cold or extreme heat any day of the week over something like that.

After being down here and learning so much I can't wait to go back and teach everyone what I have learned.  In the month that I've been down here I've learned so much and gained so much more knowledge about dressage and jumping that it really puts into perspective what I did know.  Just when you think you've learned 10% of how to really ride a horse correctly, you learn 20 new tools and realize that 10% was really only 1%.  It just goes to show that no one  knows everything there is to know about how to do something.  There is more than one way to skin a cat, and there is more than one way to ride a horse which is why learning is so important and it just shows that in order to be the best, you need to continue your education throughout your career.  Lessons are my favorite part about riding, and I just can't see how you can improve without them.

Speaking of lessons, I had another one today and it was fantastic (as usual).  We concentrated the whole time about keeping Rori soft and letting go of the bit on a long and stretching frame.  We worked within the gait, and through the gaits, the whole time keeping her soft and relaxed.

Another tool that I really felt like I gained today was how to use my arms correctly.  While watching Sinead and the other top riders take lessons down here I could really see how they used their arms to keep a soft connection.  They really kept that "bungee cord" effect with them in order to keep that soft connection and I could really feel myself "get" that today, and in effect Rori felt super.  If as a rider you are stiff and tight, it's only expected that your horse will do the same.  When she started running instead of tightening up or creating negative energy I kept my body more supple and really felt what needed to be done.  In the end I was able to allow a bigger stride without changing the relaxation and everything just "clicked". So cool!!  Now I just need to be able to keep all of these tools active when I get back into Jersey :)

Next time I blog I'll be sitting in sweats instead of shorts, and drinking hot chocolate instead of smoothies, but I'm ready!  New Jersey, here we come!

Great things!

Dear Rori,
I'm sorry for all those times I threatened to sell you and complained about how tough and awful you were.  I'm sorry for thinking you couldn't do any of this, and I'm sorry for thinking it was a bad decision to buy you.  You are the BEST horse and have taught me more about riding, myself, and being a greater horse person than any other horse could have.  You have also given me the confidence which I never had before.   Thank you.


Sincerely, 
Your grateful owner Sarah
_______________________________________________________________________
It's true. I have the best horse out there. Sorry for all of those who thought you did, because I know for a fact that the greatest horse is residing with me.  I am THRILLED to say that Rori and I placed 3rd today at Rocking Horse our first time going training.  It went so much better than expected and it was the greatest way to end my trip to Florida.

We placed third after dressage with a 32.7 and were able to keep it by going clean in stadium and cross country.  I rode our dressage pretty conservatively and didn't really go for our lengthenings as much as I could have which may or may not have hurt our score.  I figured for the first time it was better to keep her relaxed and get through the test smoothly rather than really ask for her lengthens (which those of you who know Rori, know how well she can really do them) and get her all jazzed up.  In the end I think that was a better decision and I'll take third!

Stadium was fantastic.  It was actually a pretty tough course which had a triple combination of 2 strides and some rather quick inside turns and she handled them all with ease.  Cross country was even better!

We walked the course yesterday (and then I walked it again....and again...) and it was definitely not easy.  Jump number 5 was a triple combination of a roll top that was placed on a slight incline and 2 strides behind it was a ditch that the horse could not see until one stride off the roll top and then 3 strides behind the ditch was a skinny coop.  She was a bit wormy but we put our game faces on made it through clean.  We also jumped our first corner (it was awesome!) , two banks up in a row, a HUGE and tricky trakehner, and a skinny located in between two trees.  Through it all she was fantastic and I'm so happy that Sinead made us do it...it was definitely the push that we needed.

Also, with our third place finish today and our first place finish last week at novice we are now qualified for AECs (American Eventing Championships) at Novice and Training! Not too shabby :)

Movin' on up.

"Horses do not pick this sport, they are drafted into it, so we must have patience and not get frustrated too easily..."

I read this quote in a magazine today and I thought it was one worth restating.  I feel every rider might need to remember this one day or another since it's so easy to get frustrated or off topic when we're trying to communicate with our horses.  

Anyway....I love my horse. This week I've had some really great rides that have really made me more confident about going training this weekend. 

Tuesday I flatted Rori by myself.  She started off a bit stiff but I think that was due to showing this whole weekend and then having Monday off.  So we started off slowly and we hit a point where things just weren't clicking...she felt heavy, running a bit through her shoulder, etc.  I know I've experienced this before and I know that I know the tools to fix it, but sometimes I get frustrated too easily, so I used one of my new tools which was stopping and thinking about it.  I took a minute to figure out how to fix it rather than getting frustrated and riding her incorrectly. What I  realized was that the problem had to be fixed by moving her haunches, taking away some of my bend and changing my circle size. When the problem was fixed, we were able to move on and then we progressed positively from then on forward.  I'm really proud of myself for taking a break and not getting frustrated because that has been such a bad habit int he past and it's my number one priority to break this season.

Yesterday we had a stadium lesson and that turned out to be excellent.  We worked a lot on improving myself, my position, and my approach to the jumps.  Before we were working a lot of holding Rori to the base and making her add in another stride when possible to increase her adjustability...since then, Rori has really improved and now I'm working on allowing to the deeper stride rather than holding.  It took a little bit of time but by the end of the lesson we really had some nice jumps and she really used herself nicely over them.  Throughout the lesson, I also focused on staying quiet with my movement in my position.  When the jumps get more difficult, technical or I think she might spook I tend to rush rather than wait so we addressed this throughout this lesson, as well as today's lesson cross country.  

This lesson I have been anxiously awaiting all week.  I went into today aiming to just stay relaxed and really trying to trust Rori.. and with that attitude there was not only a change in Rori's performance but mine as well.  We did some banks with four strides to a skinny, jumping in and out of water with one stride to another fence, jumping roll tops with one stride to water, and through it all Rori showed me how brave and talented she really is, and with that I became more confident with myself.  I was able to use what I learned in my lesson the day before in today's lesson and I think that made Rori more confident in me when taking her over fences that she may not have been too sure about. 

The first time we dropped off the bank to the skinny she was a little wormy about where she was going and instead of rushing her we slowed down and rode it with one extra stride and she jumped the skinny with great form.  The second time down she was more confident since I didn't rush her the first time and I was able to allow her throughout the line and it rode a lot more fluidly.  

Today I was also able to watch Mark Phillips give Sinead a lesson on Tate.  I really love watching lessons, whether they are by Mark, Sinead, David, Karen, or anyone else because I feel like I learn a lot not only about my own riding but a lot of good teaching methods as well.  I've discovered while being down here that no matter the level of the horse, there are going to be frustrating moments, times of uncertainty, or plateaus in the training.  The important thing is how we as riders deal with it and move forward rather than getting stuck in a rut or discouraged and being down here watching these advanced riders work through things has really put more things into perspective for me.  

All in all, I'm really excited about moving up to Training this weekend.  Friday we have dressage and stadium and Sunday we do cross country.  My goal is just to get through the show feeling confident.  I don't want to stress myself with trying to be perfect because in the end that just works against me.  If I can place my goal with just going in and being confident Rori and I can only learn, improve, and move on up from there.  

Change your attitude, change your outcome.

This weekend's show was GREAT!

Day 1 was dressage and it went completely fantastic and we placed 1st and scored a 22.5 (or 77.5% for the dressage people) which was my lowest score ever and the lowest score of the entire show which had to have had over 150 riders!

Day 2 was cross country.  The course was simple and nothing that we haven't done so I wasn't too worried.  The only thing I had to concentrate on was speed since at the last show I was working so much on keeping her quiet and letting the bit go that we were 1.06 seconds too slow.  In the end she went double clear and we kept our standings with 1st!

Day 3 is stadium.  When it comes to stadium I'm never worried about a stop but more about dropping a rail.    For some reason Rori has a tendency to drop a rail at shows because she's either tired, too fast and clumsy, or I bring her into a jump wrong, but today was successful!  She listened, I rode her well, and she jumped clear and clean and we finished 1st overall in the Novice Rider division.

I'm so happy with Rori, but more so I'm proud of myself for having a better attitude than I did at the last show.  The first show down here was stressful for me because I had too high of expectations and couldn't let things that went wrong go.  Instead of moving on and progressing I harped on the past and in turn, my rides later on in the show went downhill.  The difference in my attitude changed that of my horse's, and in the end produced a better (and kick ass) result.

Next week we're moving up to Training which neither Rori nor myself have competed in but I'm excited to give it a shot and challenge myself and my horse a little bit more.  I feel like if I can keep this attitude I can at least feel confident in all three phases next week and from there we can only move up!

So far, so good.

Everything I am slowing but steadily learning down here in Florida:

Simple Things Accomplished!:

• Rori now stands on the buckle while waiting for her turn to jump in the field
• No more power walking back to the barn like something is chasing her.
• Riding her in a rubber loose ring snaffle for dressage and stadium rather than a metal loose ring for flat and a cork screw for jumping

Tact:

• Being able to get stronger  and still with my hands out in front of me while my arms are staying soft, rather than tough arms and hands that pull
• Keeping Rori's feet moving actively under her rather than her throwing her shoulders out in front of her through the turns.
• Staying straight through the turns and concentrating on her shoulders rather than her mouth.
• Knowing when to settle and wait to a jump and when to allow but not push.
• Being aware of what lead she lands on
• Making sure I start asking her with a soft aid before going to a strong one.  By going straight to a strong aid she gets offended and the transition turns out worse than staying still and light.
• Understanding what the real issue is.  By this I mean not doing what so many riders do and get caught up in the feeling in the mouth, but rather sense what else might be creating an issue (ex: I was riding Rori the other day and she started to feel heavy but the issue was her haunches and not her mouth, when the haunches were fixed, she lightened on the forehand).
• Using a small circle to eliminate negative energy rather than pulling back.
• Staying still with my body.
• Having a "cruise" position where everything is soft and talking to the horse very little, and having a "ready" position when approaching the jump.  

Patience (not only for my horse, but for myself):

• Not changing the subject when she objects to what I'm asking her.  Keeping it the same and waiting for her to respond is what will create the tool.
• If something is going wrong, walk away, cool down, and recognize the real problem.
• Understand it isn't going to happen overnight. 
• It's going to feel worse before it feels better.
• Letting. It. Go. [ major work in progress]

I know there are more than what I have listed, but these are just a few that I definitely have found to help me and Rori progress in just the few short weeks we have been down here.

And one last note.  Looking back on my last show, and looking ahead on the one coming up this weekend, I realized something that I hadn't before.  I've always felt very independent when it comes to showing and have had the "I can do everything myself" attitude, but when it comes down to it I really appreciate my parents and boyfriend coming and supporting me at my shows up north.  Although I can get pissy and at some points wish they were not there, their presence definitely takes away some stress just because they give me down time from over thinking about what I'm showing in.  Whether it's having my mom helping me get prepared the day before, my dad coming with me to every show he can, or Mike, even when the Giants or Mets are playing, being a trooper and tagging along and helping whenever he can, I really appreciate all of it and am so happy to say I have such supportive parents and boyfriend when it comes to what I love doing.

Oh! And Rori and I are now on YouTube, check us out!

http://www.youtube.com/user/sarahstinne?feature=mhum

blah blah blah....

Where to begin?  Well, the past couple of days have been pretty cool.  I had the opportunity to watch David O'Connor teach more lessons to Sinead as well as the Canadian Team.  I also got a chance to watch some of the training sessions with Mark Phillips which was even more amazing.  Watching other riders really is a great tool of how to do something, as well as apply it to your own horse so those days were definitely beneficial.

Rori has been going really well...still.  We've done a bit of cross country schooling and stadium schooling working on being more technical, having her let go of the bit, and really relax and allow her to find her own shape over the jump.  We're jumping and flatting in a plain rubber loose ring and she has really taken a liking to it.  Now that she has so many more buttons and she is so much more responsive we're able to take away a harsher bit and replace it with a basic snaffle which feels great.

Today we went to training show to jump around a bigger course so both she and I could get a better feel for everything.  I jumped her around in the three foot class and she was super.  Really honest, nice and adjustable, and really let go of the bit and didn't pick any fights.  We stayed around to do the next class as well which was suppose to be a 3'3", but ended up being 3'3" - 3'6" and I really just did not feel ready for it so Sinead rode her for me instead.  To say the least, Rori did awesome.  She knocked one rail on the last jump which was definitely set at 3'6" and that is really just due to her greenness at the height.  I thought about pushing myself to do the class myself but I had myself all worked up on messing up that I ended up bailing which in hindsight, I'm disappointed.

I put way too much pressure on myself in fear of making a mistake or looking badly that I actually panic.  It's always been apart of me but I really feel it coming out while I'm down here which sucks.  I want to do well and improve but I can't get past the fact that in order to do that, I can't be afraid of messing up.  At the show there were so many big names, including the O'Connor's there, that I felt like if I went in and flubbed a jump or made a mistake I would look like an ass.  Sinead talked to me after and told me I really need to get over it because it's not helping me but this is something that has always been apart of me and I know it's going to take awhile to fix.

All that aside, after Sinead rode her she was really happy with how she felt in the class and thinks she could definitely be my one star horse (if we ever get there) and that does make me happy considering she wasn't too impressed with her when we first started working together only a few months ago.

Oh, and Mike Baudistel was here for the past three days so that made me super happy.  I miss him and everyone at home and even though I love being down here, I can't wait to get back home to "real life" with a job, my boyfriend, and a social life....

ponies, ponies, ponies

So I got asked a question the other day which I was surprised that I couldn't answer..."Where do you want to go with Rori?".  For some reason, I couldn't think of what to say!  I love eventing, and know that is where I want to be competing, but as for what level? I just don't know. 

Since I don't plan on selling Rori, I feel like the decision on how far we go is her choice.  We've been through so much, good and bad, and at this point I know her and feel we make a good team.  She has the talent to go wherever I want to go, but I really just want to go wherever we're both comfortable at.  I'm not going to push her past her abilities but I also don't want to limit mine.  At this point I'm excited about going Training at the end of February and my short term goal is just to do well and succeed at that level.  I guess anything beyond that will have to be addressed when it comes up!

Anyway...back to some Florida adventures!  These past couple of days I've had the opportunity to watch David O'Conner do some training sessions with the Canadian team.  After watching everyone ride down here I see how important it is to get the basics in if I want to succeed at the higher levels.  It gets so technical and if the basics are not there, things will fall apart.  I've watched some really spectacular riders and feel so privileged to be down here learning so much.  I have a lot of information that I need to "put on hold" for the future, but either way just watching these riders has taught me so much that I can bring into my own horse's training.  

Speaking of my own horse's training...she's been going fantastic!  Over the past week I've been working on using my body to get her to slow down, keeping my position, and keeping the half halt out in front of my instead of pulling backwards and loosing the energy.  To say the least, she felt amazing today!  I just did some light flat since she showed this whole weekend  but we were really able to pull it together and the result felt great (even Sinead noticed!)  Having Sinead keeping her eye on us everyday is really paying off and well worth the money I spent to come down here.  

On another note of my lovely mare, we've been trying to put weight on her for the past couple of months and nothing seems to have been working.  So today I had the vet come out and it seems she needs her teeth done desperately.  I always felt like I kept up with that pretty well but I guess our last dentist was not doing a good job since I have been using him for the past 2 years and the vet said it looked like she hadn't been done in that long.  So tomorrow the dentist comes to float her teeth and hopefully we'll see some positive results soon!

More later! Hope everyone else is staying warm...because we sure are!

Whoop Whoop?!?

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn." 
-C.S. Lewis


So simple, but so true.  This weekend I've had a lot of experiences in which I have learned a lot about eventing, myself, and my horse.  First of all, the competition down here is so much more serious than I've ever had to deal with.  At this show (and I'm sure the ones to follow) the horses are fancier, the riders are better, and the game is more technical.  Every competitor down here, including myself, came down here to do their best and show their stuff.  Showing up in my area you get a whole different crowd which can make the show sometimes easier.  All that aside, I'm still glad I came down here.  If I can show down here and do decent, I will be more than ready for my competition up north.  


My final results left me in 10/16 riders for my division.  Normally I would be rather upset with myself for this, but considering most of the people I was competing against have shown at Advanced, I'm happy for myself and my little novice level horse.  If I wanted to play the "well if game" I would be blaming myself for messing up in dressage and stadium moving our placing lower than it would have been....but I won't because I'm seriously trying to get that out of my system.  


All in all, I'm rather pleased for our first outing and I've gained a lot of knowledge and tools that I will be carrying over to my next show most definitely. 


Day off tomorrow for the horse and me.  I'm sure she will be happy relaxing in the sun :) 

Whomp Whomp...

Lessons learned:

1. Get over it.  You're never going to be on your game 100% of the time.  You're never going to have 100% of the tools you had the day before. You're never going to be perfect at everything.  And when all is said and done, you need to get over it and move on because tomorrow is another day, and tomorrow is another shot at improving.
2. It will never help when you're your own worst enemy.  Beating yourself over every thing that you "should have done but didn't" won't do anything but bring you down.  
3. Don't compare yourself to others. It's so easy to do the "well if" scenario when it comes to riding.  "Well if my parents bought be a $50,000 horse I could do that level too" or "If I started riding and showing when I was 5 I could be that great too".  We are all brought up in different situations and some of us benefit more than others.  It's life. How we deal with what we are dealt is more important and more productive in the end.
4. Learning to deal with "not winning" is much harder than it seems.  It's so much easier to be a good winner than it is to be a good "loser" (I use that term lightly).  Looking back today on past events I can't remember one time that I was satisfied with anything other than 1st place.  I know that's wrong and taboo to say, but it's true.  Even on days where I really had amazing rides but didn't win, or was off of first by a few points, I've always beaten myself up over it.  I'm a perfectionist for sure, but I'm learning now that I can't be.  It takes a huge emotional toll when I sweat things that I can't fix and it's something that I've really learned today about myself that I need to definitely address.
5. I love my horse.  No matter what, good or bad, I still wouldn't trade her for anything.  She is by far the toughest, most difficult, and most frustrating (at times) horse I've had to deal with but she's mine, and I'd rather deal with her than any other out there.

All this being said, and after looking back on it, today really wasn't that bad of a day.  I messed up a movement in my dressage test because I wasn't concentrating and got a 2 pt error which dropped us lower than I would have liked after dressage, however not terrible.  Then in stadium we pulled a rail going into a combination even though she was flawless during warmup because I let her drift to the left. So as hard as it is for me to say it...."oh well".  

Tomorrow is cross country and another day.  I'll update later with our final results.

Florida > Jersey

Choosing to spend the month in Florida was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. Period.  I haven't even been here a week and I've already learned so much and had some great experiences.  On Thursday I got a chance to watch Sinead ride 2 of her horses with David O'Connor as well as meet Karen O'Connor while she was teaching one of her lessons.  I got to see and hear a lot of what they were saying to not only Sinead, but to other really nice riders as well and it was really interesting to see how technical things get as the horse and rider team get better and how it ends up being the matter of really inches to make the horse perform 100% better. 

After watching Sinead's lesson, Rori and I had our first cross country school of the season.  Rori was a bit full of herself but bold and more than willing to jump whatever we put in front of her.  We got to do some Trakehners which she was great about as well as schooling some water options which again, she didn't bat an eye at.  What I'm really learning with her now is how to use less of my hands and more of my body which is definitely tough to switch over to, but the result is already positive.  I'm gaining a few more tools which are really helping with more technical situations as well as just being able to leave her a lone for a longer period of time.  

Today, we all got up early and Sinead rode in the Level 5 Jumpers at HITS with 2 of her horses in training (and placed 5th / 32 with one of them).  Even that is a really good experience because these riders come from all over the country (and Canada) to ride down here so there are so many different styles, techniques, and so forth that are really interesting to analyze.  Later on in the afternoon Rori and I had our stadium schooling before the show tomorrow and she was FABULOUS.  I rode her in a plain loose ring snaffle (which I've NEVER been able to jump her in) and she gave me one of the best rides.  By improving myself I'm able to use less "tools" to make the horse go right which is really a great sense of accomplishment.  

So tomorrow we're off to Rocking Horse to compete at Novice level.  We'll be doing dressage and stadium tomorrow and then cross country on Sunday. Can't wait! More updates later.

We made it...

We got out of New Jersey just in time! While they're getting inches of snow and negative degree weather, I'm in sunny, warm, and beautiful Florida :) The trip down was actually pretty good.  Very little sleep, and gas station food, but still good.  A special thanks to my parents for trucking it down here with me and Rori so we could do it in one day.  Rori has settled in really nicely and we are getting ready for our first show of the season this Saturday.  We're going out at Novice for the first 2 shows down here and then....*dun dun dun*...I entered us in our first training for the end of February! I'm sorta nervous but we will see how we feel when we get closer to the date since I have almost a month till we show at that level. 

Whelp...see ya later....

Florida bound!

Here we go....

It's almost here!

So Florida is just 5 days away and I can't wait! I've never been able to go to Florida since all previous winters I've been in school, so this is so exciting.  Also, I got my brand new Voltaire Design jumping saddle today, which is custom fit to Rori.  I'm so happy it came before we left since it didn't look like it would be in on time originally.

I feel like I have so much to do before I go there but I just don't know where to start.  I'm still working up until the day before we leave, which I know is going to be hectic but getting in a little more cash before we go will be nice.

I've signed up for our first 2 shows down there, both at novice level.  There is one more to sign up for and I'm tentative about moving up to training just yet.  I'm not worried about the height since I know we can both do that, but the combinations in cross country are going to be tough and I don't want to enter in anything that will make us look foolish.  *Sigh*. We'll see.  I think with a solid month of schooling and training with Sinead I should feel a lot more comfortable about going Training come spring time :) No need to rush anything.

Time to get some more things in order...Sunday is quickly approaching!

Show time!

So I have come up with a tentative show schedule for this season for me and the beast. This does not include all of the kids that I have promised to take to shows this summer...oh geeze.  So far this is what we have for everyone:

• January 28-30th: Rocking Horse Winter 1 (Novice: 10th/16)
• February 11-13th: Ocala Horse Properties (Novice: 1st/13)
• February 18-20th: Rocking Horse Winter 2 (Training: 3rd/12)
• March 20th: Bit O' Woods Dressage / CR (*Katie)
• March 26th & 27th: OnCourse Schooling 
• April 2: Saddlebrook Ridge Dressage / CT (*Katie)
• April 10th: Oxbow Stables
• April 16th - 17th: Plantation Field Horse Trials
• April 24th: West Milford Equestrian Center 
• May 7-8th: King Oak Horse Trials (Bring Katie and Mia)
• May 14th: Dad's 60th Birthday Party
• May 15th: Windy Hollow Hunt Dressage Show (*Katie)
• May 20th-22nd: Virginia Horse Trials
• June 4th: Dressage Rally at the Horse Park
• June 5th: Starter Horse Trials at the Horse Park
• June 11th: Plantation Field Horse Trials
• June 12th: Windy Hollow Hunt Dressage Show
• June 12th: Oncourse Jumper 
• June 18th: Sussex County 
• June 19th: Bucks County Horse Trials *(Bring Katie and Mia)
• June 22nd: Sussex County 
• June 25-26th: Sussex County 
• June 26th: Oxbow Stables
• July 2nd: Janice and Joe's Wedding
• July 14-17th: Stuart Horse Trials 
• July 22nd: Windy Hollow Hunt Dressage
• July 22nd: Smoke Rise 
• July 23-24: Fitch's Corner Area 1 Championships (Bring Katie and Mia if qualify**)
• July 30-31: Mike and Madi's Wedding
• August 6-8: Millbrook Horse Trials
• August 9-12th: Sussex A Show
• August 13-14th: Waredaca Farm Horse Trials
• August 16th: West Milford Equestrian Center 
• August 21st: Oxbow Stables
• August 28th:  OnCourse Schooling Jumper 
• August 29th: Smoke Rise 
• September 7th-11th: American Eventing Championships (*Bring Katie and Mia if qualify**)
• September 17th: Sussex County 
• September 24th-25th: Flora Lea Horse Trials *(Bring Katie and Mia)
• October 1-2nd: OnCourse Schooling 
• October 2: Burgundy Hollow Mix and Match Schooling Trials
• October 8th: Radnor Hunt Horse Trials
• October 16th: Oxbow Stables
• October 29-30th: ESDCTA at the Horse Park *(Bring Katie and Mia)
• November 5th: Bucks County Schooling Trials
• November 12th: West Milford Equestrian Center 
• November 13th: Oxbow Stables/Clover Valley/ Bit O' Woods

Obviously this is all subject to change but at least it's a start!

Whelp...

We leave for Florida in a little over 2 weeks and I decided since I will have a lot of free time on my hands.  So I said, "hey, why don't cha blog Sarah?", so I am.

First blog? Check.