Something for nothing...

It's an old saying, repeated around dinner tables, bars, offices, etc, etc... there's a bunch of different ways to say it but basically, 'nothing in this life comes free.'

Oh contraire, my friend, I now offer you something free. FREE clinic sessions!!!

What's that you say? A FREE Clinic session!?!

Yes...

The benefit here is twofold - I needed a way to get my name out into the area for lessons/training rides, and a lovely local farm needed a way to get some exposure to their new cross country course and horse trials. Thus the FREE clinic was born.

Now, to prevent people from just bringing several horses and taking a bunch of clinic sessions for free, we are charging a small fee for any additional sessions ($40), but participants ARE NOT required to sign up for more then one! There is a $15 facility fee for each horse to help the owners of the barn cover expenses.

Now, you might be thinking about another very popular phrase "you get what you pay for." Well, I hope to greatly prove this wrong, and keep you coming back for more.

But... since there's no fee, why not give it a shot?

The clinic is April 10-11th at Five County Stables in Zebulon, NC. Your session options are 45 min. private dressage; 1.5 hours small group show jumping; 1.5 hour small group cross country. Like I said, you are not required to sign up for more then one, but you can do so if you wish. More information can be found at www.chorseeventing.com. You can sign up online, and pay by PayPal or credit card... or you can send in your registration along with a check -- doesn't matter to us!

See you there!

Splish Splash, I was takin' a bath...

Ah, I remember the days of my heated water, heat lamps over the cross-ties, and even electricity to run the body clippers (gasp). Now with my horses living out my back door, I am without the comforts of a modern barn. This doesn't seem to phase P in the least! He's quite enjoying the mud!

And so it begins the endless cycle of blankets, grooming, riding, blankets, riding, grooming, riding, etc. etc. etc.

I am happy he gets to roll around and "get all the itchies out" though!

Get that booty moving... 'laterally'

Ok, sorry attempt at a pun... it's just one of those days I guess.

Anywho... The rain and cold are serving as quite a successful way to avoid the too-fit problem I have with Prophet sometimes. We've been doing lots of walking, trotting and a bit of cantering, but mainly focusing on overcoming our severe ADD (both of us!).

Neither one of us really have a problem of just shooting off into full-speed ahead mode the minute my foot hits that stirrup. It's the little things like lateral half-halts, transitions within the gaits, stopping, standing, relaxing.... those kinds of things are our hang-ups.

So that's what we've been doing. LOTS of square corners, leg yields with varying degrees of angle, and stopping and standing, and learning to love it. :)

And suddenly I have this uphill horse who goes forward off my leg, rather then off a spook, and he is starting to have a lengthening, like, REAL-live lengthening. And suspension in his working trot, and collection at the canter, and all this other good stuff that I'm not really for sure what to do with because it's so unlike him.

And we have a lesson scheduled for Saturday with Karyn, and we'll probably lose it all in the ring, but for now it's really fun.

And since my lessons for tonight are canceled do to MORE rain (UGH), I think I'll go see about getting myself a nice (cheap) MP3 player that me and the Diddy-man can rock out to during our trot sets. :)

Ciao, ciao!

Becoming accustomed to the darker side of life...

Have no fear, next time you see me I will not suddenly be transformed from my usual optimistic, cheerful, glass-half-full self. No dark fingernail polish and chains and black clothes are on my shopping list. I may however need a stronger eye-glass prescription do to squinting through the darkness... yes the darker side of life is Prophet and I enduring night rides!

Seeing as our winter here in North Carolina has been less then Southern, morning rides are happening, but sometimes it's just so hard to drag myself out of my warm, soft bed to layer on 20 pairs of pants and shirts and trudge through the frost to walk and my very excited-to-be-alive pony. Yes, I do it, but on the occasion that I hit the snooze one too many times, I have to then ride at night.

P is actually much better behaved at night. Maybe he just can't see the booger monsters coming to get him, and therefore he doesn't shy as much, but we actually are getting some good work in!

Now if only the rain would stop making my field into a swamp, then we'd really be on the right track!

Oh... and Prophet DID have reason to celebrate last Friday -- our dressage lesson unfortunately got rained out, therefore he'll just have to wait until this weekend to get tortured. :)

Everyone needs a "Happy Friday Guy"

When I was in college (Go Ball State University!), my hero was this scooter riding, underwear-on-the-outside-of-longjohns wearing, masked, caped man who would emerge on Fridays riding his little wheeled thing throughout campus yelling "Happy Friday!". He would zoom in and out of the crowds of students at the busiest times of the day, echoing "Happy Friday" as he rolled on performing his civic duty. You could be having the worst day in the whole world, and really couldn't help but smile when you saw him.

I have a feeling that he could probably come up and steal your lunch, and you'd be like "Hey! Happy Friday"... complete with a thumbs up and everything. He just had that sort of star power.

Which is why I'm going to start thinking of P-monster as the Happy Friday Guy.

Fridays no longer mean a weekend full of nothing to do (well, really they never did for me, but that's besides the point). Now they mean the start of a weekend that will go by way too fast, full of lessons, and riding, and dinner dates. All fun stuff... it just goes by too fast.

But let's discuss why P needs to be the Happy Friday Man.

I rode the monster this morning, complete with frost and frozen ground. Now, he just got his shoes on yesterday, which usually means he is a bit short the next day. And if he doesn't feel good, he's NOT forward.

I just wanted to have a nice Friday morning hack... get the blood pumpin', come back to work after his day off, kick off a great weekend.

P decided this Friday was time to celebrate, with more celebration then any other Friday, ever in the whole wide world. (I guess I haven't ruined his weekend with word that we will be taking a dressage lesson on Sunday).

After a nice walk across the field, he let loose with a nice little hop/buck move at passing car. "Haven't you heard? It's Friday! Time to Dance!" Then he held it together rather well as I worked on some bendy/stretchy/free walk circles in the "field of scary things" aka neighbors. He then go very excited and did "The Ted"* for a bit just because it was fun.

*The Ted is a highly specialized move created by my now-retired superstar, in which the horse stays very light in the bridle, and proceeds to canter in place while throwing their feet WAY out in front of them. It's fun. Sometimes.

He then chilled out again, was good... but basically just wanted to celebrate the whole "being alive on a Friday" thing.

So... Just as to not get frustrated with his antics, I'm now going to visualize P as the Happy Friday Guy, zooming around on his scooter with a cape, mask and exposed underwear.

ETA: I forgot, HFG also gave out candy... to bad P lacks the opposable thumbs necessary for candy giving, because that would be a huge help in the "Don't get mad at me for being stupid" persona he's got going on.

We all need a little inspiration from time to time...

It's a heatwave! Up above 50 degrees today...

Need inspiration to get your spring sesson kicked off right? Here it is...

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night...

Ok, so it's night riding, but REM never did a a song called "Nightriding" so we'll just make believe.

Anyway, Diddy and I had to have a bit of a night school seeing as it was quite frigid in the morning. He was really good! I guess he couldn't see well enough to be spooky. :)

And sometimes they surprise you...

Let me paint you a picture...

I walk outside, and for the first time in a very long time, the ground isn't frozen... score! I change out of the cover-all/mudboot get-up into full-chaps and paddock boots, and walk down to catch the pony. He looks so calm and sweet standing in the far corner, begins to lumber up towards the gate, and hits the turbo... great. I catch him, attempt to have some sort of civilized walk up to the trailer, but that process turns into a series of bites, strikes rears, spins, spanish walking, etc... None of these moves are malicious-- he flat out just wants to PLAY! I attempt to tack him up, only to get a call that the farrier is coming early to trim the Ted, so back into the field Prophet goes (for the moment).

Bad idea, because then Prophet lets Ted know that now is PLAYTIME!!! Around the field they go... kicking up their heels for the first time in who knows how long (because of the frozen ground). Finally I get Prophet, which means I can then catch Ted. Let go of Prophet, who then proceeds to get Ted to continue playing -- while I'm leading him! Ugh...

Ted stands like a champ for the farrier. I pay. I run inside and John to tell him to grab the video camera since Prophet is being crazy and he'll "for sure" be doing the Spanish Walk today. My plan was to get it on tape (or at least have video evidence as to which way P ran after he dumped me).

I grab the now-standing-quietely-in-the-field-like-nothing-happened P-monster and tack him up, hop on, and he proceeds to be really, really good! Albiet a quick ride, with not enough warm-up to get in entirely 'through', but he had minimal spooks, no bolts, no Spanish Walking, and a very decent extended trot (which I did get on video, but I'm too ashamed to show because of my attrocious riding). Good Boy P-man!

So basically, that's my long winded way of saying I tried, and failed, to get THE "Prophet Spanish Walk" on video.

Ciao, ciao!

Mad Props to My Pops....

Yes, it's really, really cold. P-man and I have been doing our best to shun the coldness with our early morning hacks around on the frozen ground. Me in my coveralls, scarf, gloves, headband, Muck boots - him in his Baker Blanket and hackmore... we make quite the pair. He likes to take moments like these and express his distaste by doing his version of a Spanish walk (which I REALLY need to get on video so you all can see), and pretending that the neighbor kid's wagon is a horse-eating villain, left in the yard with the sole purpose of attacking us at the exact moment he relaxes. But none-the-less, we walk up and down the only hill on the property, doing endless leg-yields and free-walk/Medium-walk transitions. Today we even trotted! It was glorious. :)

So since things have been a bit slow, I figured I'd take this opportunity to give a bit of a shout out to my pops. He and my mom (who I wrote about a couple of days ago) are celebrating their 31st (I think) anniversary today, and so I thought it would be appropriate to give him a post.

My dad rides also (notice a trend here), but in a different way then my mom and I. Footing concerns? Not so much. Helmet? HA! Bending, Giving? What? But he's an amazing rider, and I envy his fearlessness. He was definitely much happier when I moved away from the Hunter Jumper ring and began eventing... at least he liked the cross country part (maybe not so much Dressage and Show Jumping).

When I wrote about my mom, it was about improving on what she had built. I wish I could say the same for me and my dad, but I do believe it's my brother who's taken on that roll. My dad wants to forever by 19... jump out of airplanes, barefoot ski, repel Australian style, ride around on motorcycles -- just be a daredevil in general. Definitely not so much my style (I take risks, but they are carefully calculated!). BUT my brother is the next step up from by dad. Daredevil doesn't even begin to describe him. At about 6'2" he's a baseball player by trade, but will pretty much try anything... and I mean ANYTHING. He carries on my dad's 'legacy', while I'm ok not being involved. :)

So, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! Hopefully T and I can continue to lead lives you can live vicariously through! MUAH!!!!;)

Those are some big shoes to fill...

One of my favorite memories is of tacking up a tractor tire in the barn with my best childhood friend, Sarah. I was probably about 7 and we were both the most horse crazy girls you could find. We were serious competitors, horses were in our blood, and we wanted every waking moment to have something to do with those crazy four legged creatures.... so, as the sun had long faded, we'd switch on the lights of my parents barn, and ride the hell out of the big ol' tractor tires.

To many people it may seem ridiculous, but to us, it seemed natural. We were in the barn, with the smell of horses, leather, dirt... it all was way more familiar then our own rooms.

We also thought it natural to jump on a couple horses in the school-horse field and gallop with the herd to the barn, no bridles... no saddles. We had falling off contests, rode the horses we shouldn't have ridden, and were just too young to care (but we were smart enough to hide it all from the adults). But... for all of us, horses were in our blood.

I thought for a long time that my grandmother was a famous horsewoman. To me she was, and that's all that mattered. She had some articles written about her, taught some clinics, and made crazy horses calm and sore horses feel better. She died when I was 8, but I still have all the pictures of her with a horse etched into my memory. The one of her and the horse both 'laughing' while wading through her pond, the one of her in the snow, the one of her with her voodoo seeds 'healing' the muscles of a poor little two year old off the track.

I remember taking a lesson from her on one summer day... it was hot and dusty in her little covered arena (it seemed HUGE back then), and at 7 years old, I had no idea what she was talking about when she told me to put the horse 'on the bit'. But I tried. I remember picking up (or maybe it was dropping off) the great Bruce Davidson at the airport and going to dinner with all of the adults when he gave a clinic in the area. I even remember her telling someone I was going to be an amazing rider someday. Of course at the time, I thought I was already an amazing rider... :)

Now I know that she wasn't famous, but she gave it her best shot. She wanted it really bad, but really didn't know what it was she was wanting.

And then there's my mom... who can outride ANYONE when it comes to the feel of a horse. Amazing to watch her work on the ground and in the saddle... frustrating too (for me!). She can connect with horses in ways that most of us will never understand, but doesn't have enough faith in herself, or in her process to take it where it needs to go. I've gotten to watch my mom go through her own stages of learning her gift - from when she had such a bad back (thanks to carrying me for 9 months!) she could only ride a gaited horse, to now winning her first attempt at endurance riding. She frustrates me because I can't always feel what she does, but she's even more frustrating because she doesn't trust what she does enough to be comfortable with it.

She's never pushed any learning on me. She'd fix my pony for me when I let him get pushy, but never force me to 'learn' what it was she was doing. I had rules growing up that in order to compete, I had to put in my time riding and helping in the barn, but if I didn't want to ride and compete, I didn't have to (that wasn't a choice in my mind).

So now here I am in my journey... I'm a bit different from many riders because although I'd like to be at the top of sport, I care way more about the partnership between horse and rider and making each horse the best IT can be, than I do about getting a bigger/better/more talented mount to take me up the levels. I want my clients to enjoy sitting on their horses each and every day. I want to help make each horse feel happy in its job, both physically and mentally.

And I want to fill the shoes of the previous two generations. I have their trials and tribulations to fall back on... and their mistakes to learn from. I want to help people help their horses (and help horses help their people!). say that 10 times fast. :)

Third time's a charm, right?

Hello 2010!

I'm not sure why I've been procrastinating about posting an update about what's been going on around here... every time I gave thought to it, by ears started smoking, brain started hurting, and my fingers just coudn't find the correct keys. But it seems I've gotten over that feeling for the moment, so here it goes...

First, let's reflect a little bit on 2009. For P-man, I think we learned a lot about eachother. I learned that he will be the one to teach me to truly ride, no matter how frustrating that process may be. He's shown me how talented he can be (when he wants) and how much of a cow he can be (when he doesn't want). I'm currently going back to the basics a bit with him, to get him more comfortable in his own body, so he's ready to fire off when asked to do so. I had a really nice little jump school on him right before NYE -- hopefully that set the tone for the coming year.

The whole C-Horse thing really formed itself in 2009. I couldn't ask for better sponsors, clients, friends, supporters, etc., etc., etc... I can only hope it will continue to develop and grow in the coming year.

So... now here we are at the closing of the 3rd day of the new decade, and it's bloody cold here in North Carolina. My clients are all amazing troopers and I have continued to teach and ride through the fridgedness. This is the time for making show plans, and finding those rays of motivation, and I have a great team to motivate me, and I hope I do the same for them.

To be honest, I haven't set my goals for 2010. There's a great post on Eventing Nation about focusing on the process, and that's what I hope to do. I want to develop monthly plans to focus on where I want to be in the immediate future, cause I know alot can change between now and the Fall season, and I really just want my horses, my clients, and myself to be the best we can be at that moment. I figure if we can do that everyday, then the bigger goals will form themselves!

So here's to a great 2010! One of my clients got me a great '10 calendar with P's pictures topping every month... I'd like to think of it as a sign that 2010 will be the year of the Prophet! :)

Ciao, ciao!

Thoughts from Jane Smiley...

A quote that I though appropriate to send us into 2010...

Most horses pass from one human to another - some horsemen and women are patient and forgiving, others are rigourous and demanding, others are cruel, others are ignorant. Horses have to learn how to, at the minimum, walk, trot, canter, gallop, go on trails and maybe jump, to be treated by the vet, with sense and good manners. Talented Thoroughbreds must learn how to win races, and if they can't do that, they must learn how to negotiate courses and jump over strange obstables without touching them, or do complicated dancelike movements or control cattle or accommodate severely handicapped children and adults in therapy stables.

Many horses learn all of these things in the course of a single lifetime. Besides this, they learn to understand and fit into the successive social systems of other horses they meet along the way. A horses's life is rather like twenty years in foster care, in and out of prison, while at the same time changing schools over and over and discovering that not only do the other students already have their own social groups, but that what you learned at the old school hasn't much application at the new one.

We do not require as much of any other species, including humans. That horses frequently excel, that they exceed the expectations of their owners and trainers in such circumstances, is as much a testament to their intelligence and adaptability as to their relationship skills or their natural generosity or their inborn nature.

That they sometimes manifest the same symptoms as Romanian orphans - distress,strange behaviors, anger, fear - is less surprising than that they usually don't.

No one expects a child, or even a dog to develop its intellectual capacities living in a box 23 hours a day and then doing controlled exercises the remaining one. Mammal minds develop through social interaction and stimulation. A horse that seems stupid might just have not gotten the chance to learn!


Ciao, ciao!