So much to cram into a day!!

Yesterday was crazy busy! (it was a typical Monday here in the busy stable of International Dressage apparently!)

But by my standards - we were hopping!! Our usual start time at 4:30 just had us finishing morning stables on time and then it was time for a quick breakfast, then tack up horses for Catherine and Patrick,  watch some lessons, then have some lessons - which I'll get to in a second and then more horses, chores, stables and then eventually some dinner. Which is somehow making a day that was jam packed with a ton of work and hectic scrambling seem so mundane and quiet! (must meditate on why that is at some point!)

So onto the lessons! Just last week, Catherine had taken away my stirrups to help get my knee up in the position where it belonged to allow my hip and pelvis angles do what they need to do so I no longer block the energy from the hindlegs from coming up through the back, into the withers and up into the poll. I think the Boss gave my seat a stamp of approval as she said the change is "the best thing she has done for my riding!" Plus the horses could not be going any better, so they agree as well!

Wyatt was my first lesson when it was still relatively cool. We had an amazing lesson with a strong focus on using my seat instead of my reins, perfecting our canter pirouettes and then improving our elasticity and straightness in the flying changes! There is not much to say beyond it is going great! The pirouettes are much better and I can start and stop them at will with good balance, uphill quality and control of the placement and forward energy. She is happy. I am happy and Wyatt finds them easy and fun now!  *picture a victory dance as they have been tricky for both of us to improve*

Wendy's lesson was in the heat of the day but she came out and did her best work to date! Lots more swing from her back, softness under the saddle and big push from behind with good lifting of the withers. She is a delight to ride every day as her neck and jaw are not an issue - she is uncomplicated in the bridle and getting more elastic in her connection under the saddle. :) Our medium trots were stellar show quality and I'm beginning to think she'll be ready for a horse show here at White Fences in a few weeks!

Today was move in day and Jog Day at Global for the big 2014 CDIO Wellington, so check the farm page for new photos and some snapshots from today. 

I am going to be working some at Global for Patrick and Catherine as well as time here at ID, so updates will be spotty until a real schedule is firmed up. There are not enough hours in a day but it is so much fun to be back in the big leagues of the CDI world! 

Sunday!

Sunrise looking west from the stable

Sunday is theoretically the Lord's Day and a day of rest. As the turnout is a bit limited, both of my horses had light work outs today and were super stars.

Wyatt looking towards the south

There is laundry to do, a run to the feed store, grocery store, general cleaning in the house and then evening stables still to go...oh and lunch. Then dinner and    B-E-D. I am tired and it is a busy week coming up with two horses in the Nation's Cup classes at Global! One small tour and one big tour! Very exciting and I can't wait to take some photos to share with you all!

There are new albums on the Farm Page - so check them out and I'll try to stay on top of updates this week!!

Wendy on the buckle enjoying some hacking

Saturday

Saturday 2/15/14 

Started the day with the usual routine and chores and then zipped over to Hilltop’s fabulous facility in Wellington with Meredith, Hotmail and Montrachet. As it was not my lesson or training session, I will just say that it is fabulous to watch two seasoned professional trainers work with talented horses repeatedly on the intricacies of improving the hardest of exercises. 

When we got back it was time to take a few of the horses for a hack around “the circle” aka Hannover Circle here in White Fences. We went past Lars Petersen’s, Michael Barisone’s...just to name a few! It was a lovely bit of time well spent and I particularly enjoyed how much my little friend Wendy relaxed and calmly took in all the new sights and smells. 

After we returned, Wyatt had a bit of a hack in the arena. We watched a egret (or something similar) fishing and moving from place to place in search of an early dinner. 

Speaking of dinner, I missed my lunch, so please accept my apologies for the short post. 

Catherine and Patrick have horses in the Nation’s Cup at Global this week, so I will get a good idea of how the competition schedule impacts life back at the main stable and schedule. 

Check back!

Friday! Happy Valentine's Day!

Friday Valentine’s Day! 

Lots of good things today!!! Wendy and I had a good school and worked on some of the exercises from our lesson with Catherine yesterday early in the morning. She and I have a slight tendency to lose our alignment in the changes - which results in a larger change in one direction and then a loss of straightness...so it was a great opportunity to be out in the large grass area and pick a distant tree on the horizon and ride uphill with good energy before asking for the change! Everything improved nicely and then we had plenty of power and good push from the hind legs. 

She is a very fun horse to work with as her mouth is uncomplicated, she is easy to sit and her responses are clear and uncomplicated - which means I have the opportunity to work on ME! while we practice and work on the exercises! Love little Wendy! Such a joy to ride each day as she is so similar to Waldaire and I do miss the big guy. 

Wyatt had a spectacular lesson with Catherine today. Things were a bit hectic when I warmed him up, so I worked on the things that I would have at home had it been a day of “just us” with no lesson quickly approaching...and it was a super warm up. The connection between leg and seat up into the bridle is fabulous now that Catherine has gotten my knees to stop blocking the energy out of the hindquarters! So light in the bridle, easy in the neck and jaw...just a joy! So when she was able to come to the arena, it was Game ON! Medium trots, transitions within the trot itself, ditto in the canter - always trying to keep the energy uphill and balanced without losing the self carriage. Then it was onto our pirouettes! The left one has been a bit of a challenge but today we had great timing, super collection and kept our rhythm with no mistakes. It was as good as the right and The Boss was very pleased with the improvements! 

Since I have been here at Catherine’s stable, she has been extremely generous and allowed me to watch other students and her own horses training. It has paid off in spades as I am a visual learner! It was fantastic to allow my mind and body to use the timing and aids as I have been “stealing with my eyes” (to quote The Boss) on Wyatt. He was flat out amazing!!! Catherine was pleased. I am ecstatic! It is has been quite some time since I was able to allow the horse to do things and not be “making” things happen. Our changes were fantastically balanced and straight by the end of the lesson. 

So tomorrow I am allowed to go to a clinic that Catherine is participating in - with my camera in hand! So expect lots of photos and some thoughts on the day late evening tomorrow! 

Thursday!

Thursday 2/13/14

I realized this morning as I walked down to the stable that I haven’t given you all an outline of the daily routine! Apologies!!!

My day begins at 4:30 with a (relatively) brisk walk down to the stable under an inky black sky with the stars appearing much brighter and vibrant than at home. As the landscape is quite flat with a distant horizon in all directions, the view is pretty incredible. As I help with stalls, hay, water and grain the sun slowly creeps over the eastern perimeter of the stable. We have a canal just to the right of the dressage ring with the Florida equivalent of “forest” on the other side. There is a resident alligator calling out to intimidate the frogs, birds and fish in the canal. I call him “Boots” as I believe that is a fine aspiration for a noisy gator! 

After morning stables there is a time for a quick breakfast and coffee. The first set of horses begin their daily exercise at 7AM. Riding continues uninterrupted until well after 2PM with lessons and training being tailored for each horse and rider combination. There is a small break in the schedule until 4PM when afternoon stable chores begin with mucking, transporting bedding to each stall for the next day, cleaning tack and polishing boots, setting up the stable for the next day and beginning to think about dinner for ourselves! 

After some down time in the evening, we do a night check and last distribution of hay and water around 9. Then it is time to go to bed and catch up on some sleep before starting the schedule all over again. 

For anyone that thinks that this is an unfair schedule or too much work to do in a day...well, it is not a bad situation in my opinion. Working with one of the world’s top rider/trainers and being allowed access to their full training system while interacting with their staff on a daily basis - it is a privilege to be allowed to be a part of the team caring for the superstars of the stable. And the amount of knowledge that is at your fingertips - how to braid, grooming tricks and tips, riding techniques, the training system and all the small details that make success more of a routine rather than luck! 

If any of my readers are interested in busting their butt to further their knowledge and riding skills - pop me an email and I will forward your resume to The Boss. If you are not organized, OCD about safety and cleanliness and a good rider, well, maybe work on those details first. 

Working on a Wednesday!

Wednesday! 

So today has been pretty amazing! I started with a good long hack on Wyatt! He’s been working hard the past few days and needed a day to replenish his energy, so we hacked around the property a bit with his new buddy Rubicon and Austin. We did not work on any thing fancy - just watched horses in their paddocks, a trash truck, several cyclists and a handful of joggers passing by the front gates. A very pleasant ride and nice break from the intensity of training the harder work.

Speaking of harder work - I got to watch multiple riders working on their seat and the connection from the hindquarters up through the back into the poll. Very, very educational and informative to watch the subtleties of the work and body mechanics of both horse and rider!! Lots of instantaneous improvements and dramatic changes for the horses - nothing is a better indicator of what is happening behind the saddle than to see the influence of the seat! 

Wendy had her lesson with Catherine today and was a very good girl. A lot of the focus is still on getting her to take longer steps behind - which allows her to elevate her forehand and have more suspension without becoming quick or hasty. Catherine had been helping several other riders with making sure their knees are where they belong on the saddle, so it was fabulous to then apply what I had seen to my own ride and then feel the big improvement in the way Wendy was going! Very dramatic and a strong reminder that if it is not going as well as I would hope or feeling the way that I would like - it is probably my seat/hips/knees blocking her forward energy and nothing more! It is never the horse’s fault - only mine! 

So the afternoon awaits with more horses to care for and stalls to muck. Hopefully the north is not too snowy or slick and Spring puts in an appearance shortly!!

Photos will be up on the Farm Page on FB! Check them out! 

Ah - Tuesday!

Livin’, learnin’ and lovin’ every second of this opportunity!!!

Tuesday brings more without stirrups work and a big smile to my face! After a somewhat abbreviated ride on Wendy this morning, I had an amazing lesson on Wyatt. Just so everyone does not think that it is all about Wyatt 110% of the time - there were lots of horses that were being shown to clients and lessons were the name of the game before the sun got strong, so the main arena was a bit crowded and she was my “warm up” horse today. We worked on having more activity from the hind legs, straight and correct flying changes and spent a few minutes working on my position (practicing what I had focused on in my lesson yesterday) - that was enough to call it a day with her and enjoy a nice hack around the property. 

(I forgot the cord that connects the iPhone to the computer, so they’ll have to be added later - sorry!)

Wyatt’s lesson focused on more work without stirrups (such a relief to just be without them!!!!). We did a bunch of transitions within the trot and canter itself with my seat being the primary aid controlling the tempo, balance and forward energy - not the reins or my legs. 4’s, 3’s, working pirouettes in the canter and developing more cadence in the trot without rushing - all controlled by my skeleton in the saddle. 

Both horses are so responsive and attuned to better riding. I am humbled and ashamed that I have not been honoring the contract with have with one another to be fair and honest in our dealings. They are very tolerant to have politely listened to me for so long and then graciously step it up to the next level the instant I start to ride more correctly. Horses are truly amazing!

Life in the stable continues to be an ever developing pool of knowledge and skills. Everyone is extremely friendly and kind and willing to share their life path of how they got to be where we all are at the moment. It is quite fun to be meeting and discussing horses with people from all over the country. 

So there is a bunch of grooming that will happen this evening. Beauty parlor time for Wendy!!! Her mane is a scraggly mess and too thick, so there will be some proper photos of her shortly! Wyatt will also be getting a few touch ups - a properly trimmed tail for one thing! :)

Stay warm and safe in the North! It looks/sounds like Mother Nature is really giving it to you all!!!

Monday Monday

Monday 2/10 -

Ahhhh, the joys of working without stirrups!

 I don’t know about the rest of my friends who read this blog and ride but if my stirrups are out of the equation - my position and seat are much more effective! By allowing my knee (which is often times too straight) to come forward and upward - my hips are forced into more mobility and allowing the horses back to be more supple with increased responsiveness! So rewarding and fun to make a fundamental change and have an instant response from the horses!!

So obviously I was happy with my lesson on Wyatt! Wendy had a light day with some attention being paid to my position and timing of the aids. It is wonderful to have a horse like her to work with as all of the material from my lessons can be practiced during our sessions together.

It was also a “regular” Monday here in the stable with lessons going on all day and training of the in house horses. It is fascinating to watch the dramatic improvements from all of the horses in just one week’s time! It will be quite fun to see what happens during the rest of my stay!

My sympathies go out to all my friends up north - I am trying to get Mother Nature to send warmer weather in your direction - I promise! Hopefully the Polar Vortex clears out in a hurry and more temperate weather arrives soon!!! Stay safe! Stay upright! 

Tomorrow has another lesson on the schedule for me with Catherine. I will probably school Wyatt with her again and then do Wendy on Wednesday. Austin, Michelle and Meredith are all offering to get some photos soon, so I promise to have those to share in a day or so! 

Apologies for the short post! 

I forgot my iPhone cord in my room, so my apologies - photos will be added to the Farm Page this evening if I can find the energy to head out again. Somehow starting at 4:30 makes for a long day! :) A very happy but long day...

Saturday! plus Sunday!

Saturday - 

Lesson with Catherine late morning on Wyatt working towards the overall look and feel of how Hotmail goes for her. Extremely hot and humid. If anyone at home wants to beat me with a stick for saying it is too hot - I understand completely but am already dehydrated and feeling ill, so there is not really any point. 

Sunday - 

Catherine is showing in the national GP class with Hotmail in the morning. It is technically a day off for the stable, but I will be riding both of my horses as their turnout has been a tad limited. Then it is beauty parlor day for them - the clippers will be in action and their manes will be tidied also!

But first up will be a trip to Global to root for The Big Boss! And take some photos! :)

I’ll report back at the end of the day with more photos, video clips and more training updates! 

ETA: 2pm update - Wendy was super for her early ride before we left for Global! Lots more looseness in her back, nicely up into the bridle and honest in her changes with good energy from behind! A++ for being such a good girl!

Wyatt was also stellar after we returned! He is back in his more mild bits and nicely balanced in the connection. He had fabulous changes, some acceptable half steps according to Austin and Meredith and was very good in the trot work. Another A student in the stable!

I am waffling on what to do for his turnout situation. Wendy is calm and relaxed in her paddock and he desperately wants to roll. Currently I am leaning towards hand grazing her near his paddock and having him wrapped/booted/bubble wrapped to the eyeballs so he can have a bit of freedom to be a horse again...but it is very possible that that could change by this evening. We shall see!

So the tack is cleaned and oiled. The bandages, saddle pads and towels are in the dryer and my brown boots are airing before I polish them this evening.