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!