February in a nutshell

February was an interesting month...between snow, rain, lessons, ambulance rides, and doctor's appointments and crazy wildlife, it's been a little chaotic! Snow and rain are a total bummer when it comes to riding. Especially because the construction of the covered arena does not start until summer/fall, my riding is primarily done in a grass arena or a hilly paddock for conditioning. But them's the breaks! Mother nature is a fickle one and I don't want to make her any more lethal than she already is, so I accept her forecasts and work hard to work around her.

My lesson from Lynn happened at the beginning of the month when she made her first trip up from FL. The glory of the half-halt and the uphill canter were our focus and though it was not easy, great moments were definitely had! More to come later about our next set of lessons and future show plans.

The ambulance ride was not for me but for my father. To make a long story (12 hours in the Duke University ER) short, there were 3 trips to Durham, lunch in their fantastic cafeteria, 3 EKGs, 1 CAT scan, 1 MRI and 1 spinal tap that resulted in the procedure being repeated 3x because they had trouble getting to my dad's spinal fluid ending with 0 idea on what caused him to be there in the first place...Oi! What a day! But I do have to say, the doctors and all of the staff were fantastic! They were kind and gentle with dad but quick with results and showed real concern when listening to our questions and opinions.

Doctor's appointments came for me when I started experiencing back of the head headaches that were affecting me during the day and made riding very uncomfortable. It was eventually concluded that I had either a migraine/muscle pull that ticked off one of the lymph nodes in the back of my head which was causing my rather irritating headaches. After a shot of "super anti-inflammatory" and some lovely muscle relaxers that did much more that relax my muscles, I am back with fewer headaches, less neck pain and most importantly back in the saddle!

As far as the wildlife goes...it's as I stated previously, they are crazy! First, (something which I wish I had pictures of) our neighbor's 4 miniature donkeys and mountain goat got loose from their contained area and were making a field trip up to my barn. Rounding them up was a sight to be seen! In the end, everyone was returned to their appropriate living quarters and I can now add "donkey wrangler" to my equine resume! Next, our Russian ducks have decided to live between two ponds during the day which made everyone nervous thinking that they left permanently or worse had been killed due to our next wildlife problem. A fox has setup shop in one of the corners of the farm. He is quiet and shy but has a bum leg. Every once in awhile, I will see him laying down in the corner of the dirt paddock while the horses are out. It doesn't give me the warm fuzzies but I have come to the conclusion that he is just doing this for company, but I'll have to keep an eye on it. We are also overpopulated with vultures due to a deer that died on near the pond. Although they don't necessarily cause any problems they choose to leap into flight every time Khakie and I are on a trail ride...the poor guy is starting to get a complex! Last but not least is our newest inhabitant. Yesterday, I saw him/her moving through the back 5 acres (aka the hill arena) and boy was this sucker HUGE! Now, I love me some turtles but there was no way I was getting too close to this one! He/She is now residing in our pond and I think we may be in store for more of her kind and less of the ducklings this Spring :(

Here is the closest picture I could get of super turtle!

Now for current news...This weekend, Buddy and I are taking a training adventure down to Lynn's farm for 3 days of training. I think I will be completely exhausted by the end but I'm hoping to have a couple of break-throughs during this time. I am going to try and write everyday with it like a training journal and hopefully include some more pictures too! We have to start getting into show shape since the first one is the second week in April (eep!). Well, until next time!

The Gaited Dressage Wonder

I think today, I'm going to take a minute to talk about a horse that does not belong to me but I have been riding for the last couple of years. Although, I have been schooled and competed in saddleseat, it is not my first choice of discipline. But Khakie (aka KO, blonde pony, Khakie-man, turd etc.) is a different case. Due to his up and down health over the last four-five years from multiple illnesses, it is crucial that Khakie gets exercise six days a week. His mother, a close friend of the family, is a super busy business woman and needs help keeping him exercised. So, here's where I come in! Khakie had solid gaited training when I first started riding him and I got better at understanding his gaits/cues with time and the help of a gaited trainer. When the sicknesses came, there was lots of rehabbing done which meant starting from the beginning and helping him learn some of my cues as well. This is how its been for years. His mother has also branched out a bit with some driving lessons for her and KO and she asked me to do a little dressage with him just to keep his mind busy. That was all I needed to hear! First came the figures which was not all that easy dealing with a horse who has only ever gone straight in his entire riding career. Next came the laterals: leg-yields, shoulder-fore & shoulder-in. He was not all that enthusiastic with travers, but we're getting there. Walk pirouettes are really coming along and boy is he a champ at backing! My favorite thing thus far though is definitely the canter. Poor Khakie! Many times this horse has attempted cantering under saddle with different riders...me, a Saddlebred trainer, a TWH trainer, an eventer, a dressage professional, etc.and each time the outcome was very similar to that of a crab, legs moving rapidly sideways/diagonally/semi-straight. It was not comfortable or pretty to look at, so for awhile we ditched the idea. But since moving to NC and currently lacking a ring, I have had to get rather creative in my riding. We have a 5 acre open lot at the back of the property which is currently not in use so I have claimed it as my "hill arena" and only dry place to ride after rain/snow. With this I have been able to help in Khakie's cantering dilemma. After 6 months, Khakie can officially and confidently canter straight on the correct lead and perform 20m circles with ump and enthusiasm, HUZZAH! Now we still have our days where he acts like the red-head w/ blonde hair that he is with his little fiery temper but those are far and few. He goes to work trying to attempt whatever tasks I put in front of him being gaited or dressage and because of his quick thinking picks them up with ease. It makes me proud that a horse I have learned on can still learn from me and be good at it too even though it is not very conventional to his breed. Move over Warmbloods and Arabs, Khakie's hot on your tails!

Although this is not a lovely picture of him under saddle being the gaited dressage phenom that he is...it shows that Khakie is still very good at something, taking naps in the mud!

Happy New Year!

First blog of the new year...Yay! Well, let me start with Happy New Year! I hope anyone reading this had a safe and fun night last night bringing in 2011. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me and my mom. Although we did not suffer any safety issues so to speak, our way of bringing in the "New Year" was far less than happy :( Since moving to NC, we have learned many new things about our new neighbors including that there is no such thing as a leash law with dogs, no one feels the need to lock their car/house, and there is always reason to carry a gun! But one thing we were not aware of was the annual lighting of fireworks at private shindigs in the hours leading up to the actual event of the New Year celebration. Needless to say, the horses did not handle the festivities all that well. To make my story short, we spent from 6:00pm to 12:20 in the barn blasting the local pop station to drown out the "works", hand walking in the barn aisle, and feeding Hilton Herballs (perfect sugar free cookies to feed in occassions like these!) until the fireworks ceased and the air was no longer filled with smoke. We got home around 12:30 and promptly crashed, only recognizing the holiday the next morning. At least today we were together as a family, relaxed most of the day and ate a fantastic meal to top it off! Not too bad ;) As a plus, my dad also gifted me and my mother with tickets to the Broadway production of The Lion King at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) this month....I cannot wait, sooo excited!!!

Enough of last night, now to the good stuff: New Years Resolution and Goals! I have decided that I am not breaking things down into specific goals for me or my ponies but instead just general goals that I hope to be reasonably attainable and not just in my riding life but in my personal life as well. Enjoy reading them and maybe as time goes on and if you keep reading (lets hope you do ;)) you can watch...er, read that I accomplish a majority of them!

Resolution/Goals for 2011

• Finish the requirements for my Bronze Medal
• Qualify for the USDF/GAIG Region 1 Championships and Arabian/Half-Arabian Sport Horse Nationals in whatever level I choose to compete at this year
• Continue going to lessons, clinics, and any other form of continuing my education in dressage
• To keep improving myself with every ride on every horse by maintaining patience and an open mind
• Lose 15lbs to fit into my beautiful new show coat 
• Generally be healthier with food (portion control) and exercise (actually doing some besides riding!)
• Go to a play/concert  - currently scheduled for January 19th
• Enjoy more activities with my family
• Finish at least 10 books this year
• Get a new job that will help better support my love of the big 4-legged beasties :)

Until next time, Have a great start to 2011!

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to post this yesterday, but I just kinda ran out of steam and time :) Wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy Holiday Season from me and "the boys"!

Note: this picture was taken on Christmas Eve before we were blasted with 8 inches of snow! It features the "Nice" Buddy, "Naughty" Khakie and "Bah Humbug" DJ

First Snowfall

OK, I know I posted on here that I moved to NC and not ME! But seriously, our highs for the past couple of days have been in the mid 30's and into the teens at night...I am so not ready for that yet! It's only the beginning of December! We did get about 2 inches of snow last Saturday which marked the boys' first snow in NC. I did manage to snag a quick picture :)

Thanksgiving and Half-halts!

Thanksgiving, oh Thanksgiving! My favorite time of year! The perfect excuse to cook an unreasonable amount of food and eat most of what you've cooked while saving the rest for endless leftovers that can be turned into new recipes along the way :) But along with the excusable gluttony, we as a society are also meant to sit back and reflect on all that we should be thankful for during this year. So, last Thursday, I did just that (eat and reflect!). In the morning, I was fortunate enough to go down to the barn and greet three shining faces that were less than thrilled with me about feeding them slightly later than usual. The first thing I was thankful for were my healthy, happy horses. Although this year has been full of many ups and downs, my horses have been troopers and stayed healthy, content and understanding beings when I myself was not always having a great day. For this I am truly thankful. My barn mate (the mother of one of those three bright shining pony faces) who came down to the farm that week to enjoy the holiday with her family, came to help me clean the barn and also to enjoy her equine companion whom she is also very thankful for! For this, I am thankful for good friends. Without them, we lose a lot of support through good and bad times. My friends have been through a lot this year with their own personal lives, my moving and just losing some of them in general but without the ones who I remain close with I would definitely be lost in this world. So thank you to those of you who choose to remain my friend! After the barn, I made it back to the house and was immediately struck with the mouth-watering aroma of my mother's hard work in the kitchen and that brings me to my last major thankful thought which is my family. We were blessed this year that every one was healthy and very positive about the move south. But we were ultimately blessed to have each other during this transitional period. Without my parents, I would be wondering aimlessly because they are my sole support and my constant reminder to aim high and follow my dreams. I hope everyone can be as lucky as I am one day :)





Now, to the not so sentimental stuff...the day after Thanksgiving! Black Friday, the start of leftovers and early shopping galore! But not for this barn girl...well, I did thoroughly enjoy my leftovers ;) The day after Turkey Day was my second lesson with Lynn Leath over at North Star Training Center. Now, I know if you read my last blog I said I would write after my first lesson...well, if you actually read my blog I don't always keep my word on when I'm going to write next (that will probably be a forerunner on my New Year's Res..."keep to my promised writing schedule :)!) You can also assume that the first lesson went well since I said this was my second lesson with Lynn...haha I know I'm tricky! Alas I digress, back to the good stuff. So, as usual anytime I try and take my horses somewhere it threatens to rain...so I rubbed Buddy down as best I good threw on his shipping boots and ThinLine horse helmet (yes, he is a head banger and this one keeps his noggin extra safe!) and off to Chapel Hill we went. Buddy warmed up quite nicely with a swinging back, soft mouth and only spooked at the new poinsettias in the flower boxes twice! Lynn had me continue my work from my first lesson which was straightness and tweaking my body position (gee, what a surprise!). Even though our lesson was three weeks before, she had noticed a considerable difference in our straightness and decided to incorporate more of my friend the "half-halt". With this work we continued straightness on the long/short sides as well as circles but then threw in some serpentines in order to bring in the half-halt which surprisingly resulted in the beginning of half-steps...Yay for piaffe! Then we did this at the canter reminding Buddy to keep his hind legs active since he tends to walk with his back legs when I don't get after him...oops! After 45 min., Buddy and me were beat but I was thrilled with the progress and it's only our second time out. Next season is going to be AWESOME if we keep this up!



Until next time or the next exciting horsey moment occurs...Happy Horsing!

Happy Halloween

Just a short post to say Happy Halloween!! Can you tell I'm obsessed with horses?!?!? Hope everyone had a great night :D



Jumping Pumpkin

Dressage Pumpkin