Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in thumbelina115's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
7:58 am	Fall continues on in a fairy typical way around here. October has not exactly been a blaze of glory as far as weather goes- it has been very chilly and kinda rainy. Sounds like the summer, doesn't it? I really need to find some big old clippers and give the boys a bit of hair removal but the rain puts a damper on that activity. I really prefer to clip during a stretch of mild weather to give them a day or 2 to adjust to being a hairless wonder. From the looks of things they might be without that luxury thins year! September and October, despite being a couple of the better months to ride in New England are historically the slowest months of the year for me. Back to school brings with it back to Fall sports and back to hours of homework for the little kiddos. For the grownups that do not have a million kids to run to soccer practice this seems to be the time of year for trail riding and casual horse encounters. Despite the wet weather nobosy is really thinking about winter yet, and so my phone is not ringing off the hook for winter boarding. Bring on snow storm number one and that will all change (and usually by that time I'm full for the duration, we'll see!) The Holiday weekend was really busy though- lots of last hurrahs for the summer people and an extra lesson or two for the local riders. The weather was pretty darn good so it was a nice time. Jennie came back from college for hte weekend and came by on Saturday to work at my Day Camp. We had about a half dozen 1st grade kids and they were all very amusing. And a bit hyper... My beasts are having a good Fall so far. We have come to the conclusion that Draco is indeed dealing with an ulcer situation and we are treating it appropriately, and expensively with a round of gastroguard and then Succeed. When he was on bute Post-Regionals fiasco he was also on gastroguard and the improvement was significant. Coming off of it, he was good for about a week and then started being touchy again. I had him massaged and it did not make much of a difference. The Vet thinks that all signs are pointing to an ulcer, and since scoping is so invasive we're going to treat him without all that! Baffin is doing a good job learning to piaffe. It has taken him a few years to get his big booty in the game but (like many things) now that he has "got it" he has Got It! Gotta love big, red, opinionated horses. So, I'm off to brave the driving rain and 38 degree weather. Wish me luck. Feel free to check out this blog as well: http://middleagedwaitress.blogspot.com/ Enjoy! (Comment on this)
Monday, September 28th, 2009
8:23 am	The best laid plans,,,,,, Sometimes go awry! I have been a bit delayed in getting my thoughts about Regional's put down on "paper." The real reason for this has been my very busy schedule. Unlike last year, I do not have a giant victory to report. All of us in the horse world, especially those of us who compete as pros and have been showing for many years know that at some point it's just not going to be your day. Leading up to the show Draco had been feeling pretty good- he had been obedient in our training sessions but there had been an underlying feeling of (what boils down to) a lack of freedom in his movement. I wrote this off as being tension related to the season changing- often as it gets cooler he has a few weeks of being a tense little monkey. As is always the case before shows I did my nest to jeep him fit and fresh, relaxed (hmmm) and on a consistent training plan. Arriving at the show we had a decent first day workout- he was unusually calm in the lunging arena which really came as a surprise. Usually the first day in Saugerties he blows a gasket- something about being able to see the tops of peoples heads over the grassy berms sets him right over the top! This was not the case this year but I chocked it up to him finally acting like a grown ass man. Our ride was uneventful, he was slightly spooky and behind my leg (hence, the spookiness) but overall was pretty reasonable. My rides on Thursday were quite early and it was really cold. I had him in a 1st 1 as a warm up, feeling that a nice simple test would gently ease him into a great weekend. I did a "cold day" warm up and it just never came together. He was tight as a drum going into the arena and it felt dreadful- tight in front, no swinging over the back and no hind legs. I felt as though I should have been able to get better results after the extensive warm up that I had given him, but decided that my test later in the day would give me a chance to get him going well and to set things right. (btw- our 1st 1 scored a 66% for a 4th. Sadly, our best result all weekend.) I gave him a monster warm up for the second test, I worked on suppleness from every angle and despite my efforts gained very little ground on the tightness problem. Again, this reflected negatively in both his performance and scores. I hoped, going into day 2 that a warmer night and a day to relax from the long trip would be the key to unlocking his tight muscles. We had a warm up ride before our Championship test and I was determined to make good use of it. I am a smart rider at this point in my career and I have a really good plan of attack when it comes to getting a productive warm up and a positive test. But like I already mentioned- the best laid plans..... Our test was slightly more relaxed but felt like we were moving against a brick wall. I wondered if perhaps I had lost his hind legs somewhere on the drive to New York. I sent a search party out in hopes to find them before out 2 PM Championship ride. As my luck would have it, around 1:30 a huge front moved in and the skies opened up. Draco, unlike his big brother is not a bad weather horse. To say that the deluge was the final straw that broke the camels back would be a colossal understatement. I had solicited some advice from my trainer and was told to really ride him forward in the warm up and to go like hell, essentially. So I did. And once again, he just couldn't perform. He actually felt so screwy in my test that I chose to excuse myself, as I was really feeling as though there was more to this story than tension and resistance. That was pretty much the end of my weekend, which is not the best way to end up a show year. After hacking around and doing some poking and prodding the following day (still at the show) I was getting the feeling that he had some serious discomfort somewhere in his big bod. He acted really peculiar on the trailer ride home, much more restless and stressed out than normal confirming my feelings that he was not feeling right. I had the Vet come to visit a day or two later and we did a thorough check up. My feelings were that he had most likely put out his SI joint, was possibly suffering from an ulcer, or maybe from Lyme's. We ruled all 3 of those out which kind of irked me as it meant that the witch hunt for the problem was still on.... All she found (and honestly, for a sensitive horse this is a big deal) was a sore back. She ran some blood work and found that (something) indicating muscle inflammation was high. We gave him some bute, he still felt like crap. We put his back on track blanket on him with sore no more and lotsa love- he still felt like crap. I got him a massage- he was cured. YAAAAAY! And is going 100% better now- better than he has in months to be completely honest. He will be on a regular butt-rubbing schedule from now on (lucky beast!) At and after the show I had a lot of people treating me as though this was a giant loss, and not a minor setback. I couldn't help but to respond that I am not training for one show- I am training for the "big picture" and yes, it is a bummer to have a bad go at a major competition but that is all it is. A bummer. Not devastating, or sprit crushing or even tear jerking for heaven's sake! It took me a couple days to realize that it was a physical issue, not a training issue and from his quick recovery post massage we can clearly see that he was very sore and uncomfortable. There was nothing that I could have done to prevent it from happening, but I will be taking action not to try to keep him more comfortable and flexible. In horse shows, as well as in horse stalls, shit happens and it is best to figure out the problem and move on. Yes, I would have liked to have a better show but in the big picture it is insignificant. (AND, I got to spend a whole day with my BFF Amy, which made the whole trip worth it. I love her!!) Also, the NEDA competitors party is always a blast and we had a great time catching up with friends. Back home and back on track now, Draco is feeling so good that I'm sure we have found and fixed his problem. I'm looking forward to a great fall of training, and to better luck in the show arena next May! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
7:13 am	Ready for Regionals The weeks and weeks of silence do not mean that I have fallen off the face of the earth. I have been quite busy for starters and it (like spring) is the time of year that my days are a bit repetitive. Kind of like this: BEAUTIFUL DAY! Do chores. Ride. Teach. Ride. Do more chores. Ride. Teach. Do a million other things. Exciting for me, but not the most entertaining to read about. Draco and I are off to HITS tomorrow for Regionals. The weather has been so amazing lately and my fingers are doubly crossed for the trend to continue. I'm so tired of getting all the way there, only to ride in the terrible footing. AAARGH! After a going thru a testing time in his training about 6 weeks ago we have reached a good agreement about what is acceptable and what is not. He has been going extremely well and is just about as ready to head into a major competition as one can be. He popped a huge splint just under 2 weeks ago sending me into cries of horror- it was flipping HUGE! He is not a stoic horse, if he steps on a pebble he feels very sad and gimpy so I concluded that this splint was our one way ticket to staying HOME. Not the case, as for whatever reason he never took a wrong step, and after 48 hours of ice and rest it cooled right down and is now a distant memory (except when I look at its huge self every day. GRRR.) Then to add insult to injury the silly horse took me down and ran me over on the way to the arena a week ago. This irked me as not only do I possess some fancy footwork that usually keeps me out of these situations but I also was taken down so hard that I busted thru the knees of my brand new FITS. And then proceeded to bleed thru them, niiiiice. Oh, I also have a hoof print in the back of my thigh but that offended me less than the broken breeches. I rode like crap for a day or two because none of my body parts seemed to be functioning properly but then I made a full recovery and am now fine. GAHD!!! So, drama and injury out of the way we will head off and do our very best in by FAR the most competitive classes I have ever seen in my competition history. I feel like my classes offer more of a National Championship situation due to all of the people sneaking in from other regions.... Including the latest Pan Am Gold medalist (awesome. stay out of my class, you!) In all honesty, I enjoy competition and know that a clean and excellent test will be needed to place in the top 8. So bring it, becasue I'm not scared! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, August 24th, 2009
12:22 pm	I always feel like this at the end of the "camp season." Things screech to (what feels like) an abrupt halt, and all of my staff return to their normal lives. Which leaves me feeling either: A: VERY busy (like today) or B: VERY bored (NOT today.) I am in scheduling purgatory as the school year is just getting underway, but I feel that in a week or two I will have some kind of handle on my life. Well, my day planner at any rate. Not much time to catch up right now- my hope is to take a few minutes for an epic and dramatic review of the summer at some point this week. Three important thoughts before I head back to the barn: 1- Do not show up 20 minutes late to your 30 minute lesson 2- Do not show up 30 minutes early for your 30 minute lesson 3- If you do show up 30 minutes early for your 30 minute lesson, and by some stroke of luck I can fit your child in at that moment (and proceed to let her groom, tack and obviously ride) DO NOT, PLEASE, DO NOT say "****sniff*** done ALREADY" when I return her to you 45 minutes later. Gosh! (Comment on this)
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
8:23 am	FALL?? It is always rather disturbing to look at the calendar and still see "Summer" but to hear people around you talking about how it is "Fall." At this point, the only thing that still feels like summer is the weather. For a little over a week the forecast has been filled with the kinds of things that make the tourists very happy. Sunny, warm, magical, etc. For me, this means FINALLY the hay is arriving! Nothing could make me happier, as the dwindling pile was really getting to me. The nice summery weather has not tricked me, though, According to my schedule book Fall is here indeed. Camp is OVER. And there is no doubt about it- it was the BEST summer ever. I was genuinely sad to have it end which might be a first. The summer people are heading out en masse, and leaving me with a big chunk of free time. About that: ("Free Time") It is not something that I cope with well after a Summer of absolute madness. I continue to get up absurdly early, march to the barn to ride my magnificent horses, teach a couple lessons and then I'm like "whhhhhhhhhaaat" because it's about 11:30 AM and I'm D-O-N-E. OK, I exaggerate (but I am still done very early compared to what I am used to during my busy time.) I then proceed to putter around, most likely driving everyone crazy. Soon my Fall schedule will be in working order and I can have a bit more direction. Until then I will continue to kick tires, walk in circles picking things up and putting them down and generally being confused and rather unproductive. Bleh. Angie and I helped Jennie to celebrate her 18th B-Day last week. We had a truly fantabulous gift made for her (lucky.) A few weeks ago, during the last Day Camp, the little kids wanted to take a picture of the 3 of us. Since we had just had them pose as "tough guys" we did the same. And hilarity ensued. It was by far the funniest picture ever. I might have to use it as my new profile picture on here, because it is a sight to behold. Anyway- Angie had her hubby blow it up to 24x24 and print it like a big poster, with the caption "YOUR FACE! YOUR FACE!" in gynormous letters above our heads. It was the best thing that I have ever seen. Jennie LOVED it, obviously. We all laughed a lot and it was very fun and funny. I also made her cookies and we're going to take her to a nice dinner and try to not embarrass her with our old-ness and weird-ness. Hmmmm. My beasts are doing pretty well. Baffin is currently without a shoe, but until that happened had been going very well. Draco has been fluctuating between being very, very good and dishing out some fairly naughty moments. Typical 6 year old testing, nothing that I have not seen before and certainly nothing that I can't ride through! He really likes things to be "black and white" so I am trying to be painfully clear with him- LOTS of praise for his good reactions and quick corrections for his less pretty moments. Sounds like good basic training to me! We had a marvelous family party last weekend, Definitely one of the highlights of the summer for me so far. Lots of good food, fun games, terrific weather and GREAT company. It's always great to get (almost) the whole family in one place for a big old shindig. We ate SO much food that it was a miracle that any of us could fit into our clothing after the weekend was over. I guess that we all counteracted it with lots of badmiton, horseshoes, hiking and driving the golf cart (excellent exercise!) And doing tequila shots (more good exercise!) My parents hired a guy to cook all the lobster, clams and corn for us so for the first time ever my parents actually got to relax and enjoy their paaaahty. It was a good move, as my Dad ended up being all tied up stacking hay with me. We had quite the hay stacking time, so many people wanted to help that you could almost think that it was a FUN activity! We ended up doing multiple carts in record time- YAY! My Dad only got really crabby once or twice too, which is a world record. Well- there is a synopsis of the past few weeks. Maybe now that "FALL" is here I'll be able to be a more responsible blogger.... (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
8:07 am	If you all haven't figured it out, this summer has been very, very busy. My blogging has been the item to get the boot, as when I'm in the barn at 5:15 AM and leaving waaaaaay past my dinner time something has to go. The weather this summer has been absolutely atrocious. Like nothing that I have ever seen before.... To be brutally honest I have run out of words to describe the crap it has been so I'm going to shuddup and let everyone use their imaginations. I noticed a definite lack of "summer people" during the first two weeks of July. After we got over that hump (and still did 106 the week of the 4th, and 89 the week after that) we really got rolling. We did a record breaking (and back breaking- but still pretty fab) 139 the week of the 20th. Holy crapola, Angie, Jennie, Evan and I were busting some serious boot-ay. Something that has made me very happy about this summer is the level of orginazation that we have managed to uphold, and the way that my "senior" staff has been giving 100%. I am not sure if I have ever seen 3 people work so hard- and for the pathetic pay of love and donuts that really says something about their excellent work ethic. Awwww, love you guys. Air hearts and TB-Maj 4-EV-AH! (inside joke. Jennie is laughing at my geek face right now.) Evan spent over 2 weeks at my house working his poor little 14 year old fingers to the bone. And walking to the barn on drywall stilts- which is a story for another day... How much easier was everyones life with another competent full time staff member for those 16 days? Ummmm, much. He managed to learn the bizzare language that we speak in the barn in very short order, and now can be completely trusted to "run and grab the thing from the place" like a true champion. He can also be trusted to get all the horses tacked up, magically to the arena and get all the kids on with adjusted stirrups before I can even pull my head from my bum. He's mine people, so do not even think of offering him a good job for realy money. HAH! It goes without saying that Angie and Jennie have been doing a super good job this summer too. I never have to worry with those two in the barn, becasue they take care of business and get things done. And know to answer the walkie-talkie when I call. Oh, and they know to throw the horses hay when they gallop around. And they can do water in less than an hour too- amazing!!! I love them. I have been very smart to wake every day at the asscrack of dawn to get the boys worked. SOOOOO much better than leaving them until days end when I am completely tapped out and only wish to lie on the floor with my dog and groan. Baffin has been having the best summer ever. No idea what has clicked in his little chestnut brain but whatever it is, I hope it sticks around! Draco has been having some growing pains, and some saddle fitting issues. Now that I have the saddle all sorted out, I am planning to get his brain back in order too. We skipped up to Isaac Royal to fit in a couple tests in good weather mid- July. He really put forth a wonderful effort in the 1st-3, easily our best effort to date. We were rewarded with a rather horrifying and somewhat bizzaro 63.9% which made me say "YUCK" or perhaps a word that rhymes with YUCK? (just kidding. I'm a good sport.) Then we put in a clean and steady, but totally unremarkable 1st 4 and got a 69.7. Yep. Cos that's how the world works! There is not much to report beyond the comings and goings of the daily grind at the barn. I have plans to try to catch up in more detail soon- probably not this coming week as chaos and bedlam are about to strike again! There have been a lot of good and funny moments during our long days, and I will try to recount those in the near future. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
6:34 pm	The length of time that has passed between entries is a very good reflection of how insane it is here at WEC. All I can say is this: Thank heavens for ANGIE AND JENNIE and BILL HAYNES with his DAILY hay deliveries. GAHD! WHERE is EVAN?? Your FACE, your FACE More later (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
12:53 pm	And it has begun The first week of camp is over, and it went very, very well. I must say that I was more organized than I have ever been before (with the "behind the scenes" stuff) and it really paid off. The Day-Campers had a terrific time despite MORE horrible weather. It actually rained every day, some days more than others, but the sun did not come out until 1:50 on Friday when day-camp was officially over. Figures! I must say, it did not dampen our spirits and the kids were a fun group. It was also the 1st Pinecliffe week and that was very good too- no problems, things ran very smoothly. We ended up doing 106 total rides from Monday thru Friday. A good number, but not as many as last year. I believe that is due to the fact that we have several less day-campers and many of my "regulars" were on vacation due to the Holiday. Still, 106 with a "staff" of 3 is pretty impressive. More so when you take into consideration that we only run lessons with 4 horses at a time- no lessons of mass production here!! Today is the 4th, and several of the kiddos and I went to the Waterford Parade. For whatever reason the little buggers always beg to go and have a very good time. (it's not so exciting) BUT, the weather was great for a parade this AM and we all had a fun time being silly and trying to avoid the water-gun assault from the cheeky boys behind us. Needless to say, despite my cries of "we are GIRLS and we DON'T LIKE THAT" combined with the look-of-death they continued their epic warfare against us until a councelor pulled them off us. Thank you, we all appriciate your delayed reaction.. ;-) I know I have already said it- but the weather has been astonishingly bad this summer. As I type- our streak of sun (for 2 hours) has come to an end and it is thundering and pouring with determination. The mud is far, far worse than it was this spring after the snow melt. Actually, it is as bad as I have ever seen it and water is literally running down the hill 24/7. The second that the rain stops for 2 hours and things start to "dry" it dumps on us again and we pick up another few inches. It's gloomy, and damp. I am finding that it is really much easier to get thru a busy day with this sort of gloom though, than when it is 90 degrees and blazing sun. I have comfortable riding weather (at 5:30 am...) and I'm certainly not sweating to death while teaching. These are good and positive things and I'm soing to try to remember that when my hayloft runs out of hay, I loose another shoe in the mud (or a horse does) and I slowly drown in the epic ocean that was once my door yard. Grawr. Baffin was absolutely charming in every way all week, thanks to the chilly damp weather. He loves it! Draco felt fairly icky- most likely due to declaring shenanigans on himself in the paddock last week, tearing around (for about 40 seconds) pulling a shoe off and doing heavens only knows what else in the process. He was pretty sticky, and icky for a couple days and then started working out of it. He was not at all lame- just not himself at all. I was ready to pick up the phone to call the chiro for him when he took a decided turn for the better. So my hopes are, that after a restful weekend he'll start next week feeling good. The great thing about the past week is that we had some good laughs for a variety of reasons. The Cliffs (youngest age group) sang Biskit a hysterical song one day- you had to be here, but it was VERY funny. A bat got caught in the fly tape. A mole got stuck in his hole. We found a big, dead, scary snake. All the day campers wrote a funny story, and Angie added the funniest ending ever. I walked into walls, and dropped enough things to keep everyone amused. And we kept our chins up, deluge of rain and all. So, here's to another good one. (Comment on this)
Friday, June 26th, 2009
7:32 pm	Let the madness unfold..... Once again I am guilty of being a bad blogger. That is what happens at this time of year when things slowly take a turn towards what one might consider complete insanity. Monday is the big day when all the campers in the entire world show up on my doorstep ready to be entertained, taught to ride, given therapy and sang to, depending on the day. Fortunately since I (and Angie, btw) are both fluent in all those things, all will be well and we will magically morph those kiddos into equestrians, well adjusted individuals and opera singers with never a sweat broken. They will prance home, singing our praises (literally) and their parents will tip us generously (hah!) OK. Back to reality where we both have to actually work for a living, despite occasionally having to sing for our suppers. Oh well. We have great hopes that the weather is about to take a turn for the better. The past several weeks have been a lovely mix of rain, drizzle, pouring rain, more rain and so on and so forth. Bad for the morale and worse for the hay crop, which has been giving me painful heart palpitations. Gosh. And bad for the moods of the people who work at the girls camp that I run the riding program for. Nobody is smiling there (until I show up and allow them to laugh at my expence- I'm so nice....) The show last weekend was good. The weather, upon our departure looked extremely bad but ended up only being moderately horrific. Remarkably, despite my track record I did not get wet while riding except for the day we arrived when I got thoroughly drenched. Draco took one for the team and did his very best despite ocean like standing water in the arenas, loose horses kicking up all sorts of mayhem, and an arena placed in close proximity to a herd of cows- who were prone to stampeding, mooing with great enthusiasm and mounting one another to demonstrate their deep cow-love. Oh my. Despite the madness, I managed to score my 1st 71% of the season, won both of my 1st 4 classes and got a nice big reserve champion ribbon on Friday. I still have the glee of a pre-teen when presented with a long tri colored ribbon...... There were a couple of somewhat less successful tests too, none of which placed lower than 3rd, but leaping over puddles and shying away from loose horses does not tend to score quite as well. For whatever reason he was immune to the moo-ing cows and won that test. Since Draco is occasionally afraid of his own shadow this phenomenon remains rather mysterious to me, but what-ev. He did his first 2nd level test as well, and put forth a solid if not completely brilliant effort (I was really pleased.) I had a few very strange and rather questionable comments from the judge in my 2nd 2, which I ran by my own instructor (recent graduate of the r program.) I was advised to not take into any consideration the rather bizzaro comments, and to continue on the same why that I have been. I have been around the block enough times to know that every couple years you'll have a judge who says odd things that must be taken with a grain of salt. I try to learn from these experiences, but perhaps not so much from this one! (it was good for my horse to build his confidence in a harder test. But when a judge says that no matter what size a horse is, they should get 14-15 medium canter strides up a long side you just sigh and say hmmm. Because the 14.2 hand pony that I rode for years, Baffin and Draco most certainly do not take the same number of strides. But oh well, I respect all judges for their hard work and I do not have to change my training methods for every comment that I get!) I'm ready for a busy weekend which will include re-building my rapidly shrinking pile of hay (the hay guy is my BFF right now and I won't hear otherwise), going to a wedding, and all the other fab stuff that do on a weekend at home. It should be a good time! (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
1:00 pm	Yesterday the sun came out. It was a Christmas miracle!! Then today rolled around and it is pouring again (which is why I am inside and not fixing the fence.) OK. I have to take an inventory of the clumsy things/accidents that have befallen me this week. 1: I sliced my hand open on one of those cover things that conver a light switch. I was carrying a bag of shavings and just crashed right into it. I said "Oh, s**t, that's gonna leave a mark..." There was blood running down my arm so it did indeed leave a mark. 2: I was lunging Draco the other day before riding and I tripped myself and fell down head first. Well, knees and head first. I skinned my knees thru my pants, for real... But I jumped right back up and continued to lunge as though I meant to fall down cos that's what the cool kids do. 3: I hit my head on the brush box shelf in the tack room very hard. OW! 4: Just over a week ago I was ducking under the fence, stood up too quickly and took a huge strip of skin off my spine. It looked disgusting. 5: I was leading a horse who shall reamin nameless but is not mine and he freaked out. Somehow the leadrope went between my fingers and like, seperated them. There is now something wierd happening with my knuckle which has been making it hard to type. So I'm all "unyunreynueynuoenrn" with my spelling. More so than is the usual... I think that is it. Oh, I got distracted while cooking yesterday and forgot to add the sugar to the cheesecake cupcakes so they turned out all terrible, which is no great surprise I suppose. I bit into one and it tasted like toe cheese and I was all "ARGH!!!" Then I saw the sneaky little cup of sugar still sitting on the counter top and said "AH HAH." The horses are all far more coordinared that I am so they are just fine. Draco adjusted to the crapolicious weather and decided not to go "wheeeeee" anymore. Baffin is good too, we were hacking on Thursday and somehow he picked up a huge stone. It was wedged into his hoof/shoe so badly that my hoofpick bent right in half when I tried to get it out. So I had to walk him home like that (not that he was in the least bit bothered...) I hit it with a sledge hammer to try to get it out, but it wouldn't budge so I had to get my Dad to find some tools and pry it out for me. Which he did.... Perhaps my very serious grand prix trail time needs to be reconsidered! Seriously though, there is nothing that B likes more than going for a crazy adventure down the road. Waterford is a place where large, open spaces to ride in are alarmingly hard to come by. So we resort to hacking out on the road- meaning that your critter needs to be immune to speeding logging trucks. The road has a few good hills- and since Mr. B is needing to get back in shape the hill work is very good for him. And getting out and about is very good for his little brain as well. I have my eye on a big field up the road- I am considering asking the guys who owns it is I can ride on it a bit after he hays it. (it's a rad field- I wish it was MINE!) We'll see. I'm hoping very much that the rain stops soon. We're heading off to GMHA on Thursday and honestly, I really prefer showing in the not-rain. I'm not saying that it has to be perfect out- just NOT RAIN. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
7:21 am	The weather is astonishingly bad. The high temp yesterday was 50 and it did, as expected, rain all day. Draco was kinda like "squeeeeeeee" to ride, which was delightful. (really- he was just fine- I am so used to him being perfect though, that a tight day feels crummy! Spoiled!) In non- horse related news I actually heard back from the State Cops- and the Cop who pulled me over was legit. And is "being reprimanded and corrected" for his ass-hat behavior. Apparently, there was some sort of computer glitch so my licence info did not show up when I called. Anywasy- as bizzare as it was I'm glad that it wasn't some kind of psycho killer. I think that I should now get a get-out-of jail-free card for my troubles. Or a free pass on a speeding ticket at the very least. ;-) Well, time to stop dragging my heels and head out to enjoy another craptastic weather day. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
7:42 am	Just under 3 weeks until the begining of the end, aka: CAMP. As usual, I am as ready as I can be, atleast in paper. Mentally, I am rarely ready for that sort of onslaught! AHHH! All the critters are great. Draco continues to be brilliant in every way, suddenly able to half pass like a proper 3rd level horse (I haven't even asked for a 1/2 pass in months and suddenly **boom* there it is!) Not to mention the 2 perfect changes that he did last week, on purpose! Mr Baffin is also doing well. He's in a training schedule that has him really working- but for only 30 minutes per session. Since he is staying sound, improving, and getting more fit I'd say it's working! His canter is certainly not up to par yet, but with work he has been showing better moments of engagement. Overall- the past week or so has been normal. Business is picking up (summer is coming!) the weather was great until today (now it's crap) and everything is going well. I was on my way to my SIL's Briday shower the other day when I had a very strange encounter. I'm going to copy and paste the email that I sent to Angie- since it has all of the bizzare details and I don't have time to re-type it! So here's a bizzaro story for you. Honestly, no matter where I go the bizarre just follows me around. And no, I do not think that it has anything to do with my own odd personality so shuddup. I was driving to Jen's shower this past Saturday. For once I was running on time so I was not driving in my normal 75 MPH leadfoot manner. I was shaken from a daydream, when I suddenly spotted the blue lights of a State cop behind me. So, I pulled over to let him by (figured he was off to bust up some serious crime, ya know?) But OHHH NO, he was pulling me over!!! I took a quick status of my situation: Driving illegally in any way: NO, drunk?: NO (um, it was like 2 PM) have license etc?: YES. So I went into full on womanly charm mode, which I am obviously very good at (I was prepared to bat my eyes, pump up the non existent cleavage and act 100% blonde, in order to get out of whatever I was being pulled over for. You would do the same, I'm sure.) Here's how it went down: ME: What seems to be the problem?? Him: Do you know why I pulled you over? (way to answer a question with a question Officer Douchebag) ME: No, I have no idea (in sexiest voice possible, which was tricky since I was a really, really confused about why the flip I was being pulled over.) HIM: Your inspection sticker has expired. (let''s keep in mind- that he snuck up BEHIND me) ME: (in a bit of shock/relief) Oh, no it actually hasn't, see? (points) HIM: Ohhhhhhh. You're right... Well... Hmmmm. ME: OK, well are we all set here? May I go now? HIM: No. Um. Well, I actually need to see your license, and registration. (shuffles nervously, looks creepy) ME: (confused) OK, (hands em over) So at this point he went back to his cruiser and I started to feel freaked out. I locked the doors, rolled up my window and start having scary images of myself, featured on some sort of Dateline Special about rapists and murderers who pose as cops, who pull over unsuspecting innocent little ladies and then drag them into the woods, have their way with them and kill em! AHHHH! I pulled out my phone, all ready to call 911 if things got freaky. (or my Dad- which was the first thing that I thought of, proving that I am indeed pathetic.) BUT I HAD NO FREAKING SERVICE. I looked around in my car for a possible weapon, figuring that my kung-fu skills would not come in handy on the off chance that he decided to like, rip me out of my car. All I could find was one high heeled shoe, several pans of cupcakes (which I was hesitant to sacrifice) and a box of WEC shirts. I was like, great, what am I going to do- throw cake in his face and smother him with an XL kids polo shirt? Poke his eyes out with a high heel? Needless to say, my imagination was running away with me- but seriously- it was pretty sketchy. After a LONG time he came back. I put my window down 1 inch and asked if we were all set (please don't rape me, OMG I don't want to be the victim of an axe murderer!!) HIM: (LOOONG pause.) Handed my stuff back to me. "UM, yes. UM you can go now." (started walking away. turned around and said) "NEXT TIME you had better WATCH THAT?" ME: (horrified, chin hits chest) "WHAT? Watch WHAT? I didn't do anything wrong here!!" Him: Gets in cruiser and speeds away. I was pissed! But also glad to still be alive and un-sexually-assaulted thank you very much. And only a little late for the shower. And I was in rare form by the time I got there so I was extra sarcastic and immediately turned into the comedy hit of the whole party. Greeeaat. I called my Dad on the way home, because Josh was not even close to being sufficiently impressed by my tale of terror. Knowing that my Dad only needs the tiniest excuse to get wound up, I called him and told him the whole story. He was appropriately horrified, but also completely disgusted that I spent my time looking for an anti-rape weapon instead of sensibly taking down the ass-hat's plate numbers. Ahhhh, chapter 100,000 in the book of disappointments! He suggested that I call the State Police office thing and complain, which was a good idea and so I did. And, as luck would have it they had no record what-so-ever of the incident. My license was not run thru their system, and there was no report of anything having to do with me- or anything of the sort. The lady I talked to said that it was unlikely that it was some creeper posing as a Cop, but that they were going to look into the whole thing and then contact the Bridgton PD if they were concerned. (the whole conversation was quite a bit longer but I will spare you the tedious details.) What the HAIL??? Why can I not go 5 minutes without the bizzaro coming to find me!!! Anyways, I hope that you have learned a valuable lesson from this. NEXT TIME, WATCH THAT (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
7:19 am	A slightly delayed and (hopefully) quick show reoprt. I'm stuck indoors right now because it's 44 and raining. No lie- FORTY FOUR and raining. **sigh** ski pants here I come. The show was pleasant, fun and relatively uneventful. We had a very fast drive down- made it in a record setting 6.5 hours. Quite remarkable, actually! We arrived to find hot, but nice weather and the usual lovely stabling. My poor client Kim started off on the wrong foot by having a miscomunication with the unhitching of her trailer and ended up with her gooseneck in the back of her truck- ooops! They actually managed to get someone to give them a tractor boost and had it sorted in no time- and went on to have a good weekend... I had all 4 (3 in fact, becasue I scratched in advance my almost 4 PM 1st 3 on Sunday- gotta get home!) tests in the same arena. I had some concernes, as it happened to be an arena with many distractions. The "L" judges had a session and their seating arrangement was on a stage of sorts, and the stage had a flappy tent and a flappy skirt. Things that would for sure send Draco into fits of terror. This arena also happened to be placed in a perfect position to have a prime view of the watering truck getting filled with a spigot of horror (like a 15 foot hydrant, that shoots high powered H2o into this truck. oddly, D paid this no attention...) There were many other things as well, but I put them out of my head. Knowing the beast the way that I do at this point I took some serious time on Friday and just rode him around, and around, and around that arena until he chilled out. The I walked him around, and around, and around it the next AM. (just a side note- even last year there would have been no way at ALL that I could have brought him within 100 feet of the flappy scary tent- he HATES those with a passion and they are pretty much his biggest terror trigger.) So- to be able to go by it calmly was a huge step. My hard work paid off- and even though he was a bit "looky" in his first test he was still just fine. He improved on his relaxation as the weekend progressed and I thought that his tests were really a cut above what he did at NEDA 2 weeks ago. We had a bobble in his last test- I just warmed him up too much. As the first ride after lunch I thought that running on time was pretty much certain, but they ran 20 minutes late. So he was a bit overcooked when I finally got started. A good lesson for next time- I feel (in hindsight) that I could have let him rest and picked him back up with no problem! I managed a 68.8 a 69.8 and a 69.4 (in the bobble test.) 2 1sts and a 2nd. Consistent, if not astounding scores. I can not complain, as tests were being won left and right with 58% (and yes- you read correctly FIFTY eight percent. horrible...) the high score of the show was a 71% I believe so I felt competitive. He was extremely through and trusting too, which is such a big step for him. Honestly, once again except for the bobble test there was nothing much more that I could have done to improve on what he did. So- another good confidence building show for him! We managed to hit the road around 3:30 on Sunday, despite the many challenges of hauling out of the racetrack labyrinth of skinny pathways when everyone else is trying to do the same... We had made it to just barely the Mass side of I-90 when I blew a trailer tire with an astonishing explosion and much jerking around of my entire rig. AAAAHHHHHHH!!!! Actually I think my wonderfully coherent words went something like this "S**T that explosion was me!!! OH F**K, G**D***IT to hell, S**T F****ER!!!!!!" And as I pulled over, smoke, sparks, and chunks of alarmingly torn up tire following me I took a deep, calming zen like breath and changed that SOB in less than 15 minutes in a relaxed and inner-peace-like way (really. no sarcasm). HAH! Nobody ever called ME incompetent (and it they did they have to have a take-sies backsies now!) My Mom did a marvelous job helping me out and we have plans to become nascar pit bosses! My trailer needs a little love though- the explosion kicked the crap out of it and busted up some lights and bent my fender. What a mess! But all's well that ends well and we got home in one piece, no prob. Anh my horse is only slightly traumatised.... Well. Back to the joy that is my job, dealing with cold horses amd mucking stalls in what looks like a possibility of snow. YUCK. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
5:27 am	It was VERY hot yesterday- like mid 90's hot. WHOOO-WHEEEEE! The kind of weather where I am glad that baffin does not need a hard workout. Draco was just plain happy to be alive- he loves the heat, loves having his face washed, loves, loves, loves. Hopefully he hops off the trailer in 8 flippin hours still loving everything! Heading out in just a few minutes to spare the beast 8 hours of HOT traveling- it's mild now but I don't expect it to last long. Fingers crossed for a kickass show. I'm feeling like winning some prizes and merch..... Back in a couple days! (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
7:01 am	Unlike the day before our last show, when the weather went to absolute crap, today is looking splendid. It is supposed to get quite hot- but the way I'm looking at that is that Baby needs a bath- and hot weather is good for a big bath with the cold water! I had a fantastic lesson yesterday. Draco is almost always a good boy, with the exception of the rambunctious spazz outs that make him who he is. So when I have a ride that freakin' knocks my socks off I'm like "WOAH" I have a helluva good horse here. I rode my test real quick to wrap the lesson up and my wise trainer (who is also a wise judge) said: There is NO WAY that that would be less than an UPPER SEVENTY. I love her. I hope that the judges agree this weekend (we do have a rather notorious character for one test. My Mom is going to be on him like white on rice to be sure that he isn't birdwatching or stepping out of the judges booth to take a pee. No, seriously- I have seen this happen with my own eyes, no urban legend here!) Anyway, I'm not really worried, if he stayes focused and relaxed all will be well. We are as ready as can be, and I'm feeling good! In other news, Baffin was very good yesterday too. :-) I became reaquainted with Kara this week, as her owner has someone coming to take a look at her in a couple weeks. I'd love to say that we had an emotional and degightful reunion- but I'm actually fairly certain that she wished that I'd just get the heck out of her life! FINE!!! She was fine, and certainly not poorly behaved considering the time off that she's had. But I swear that I can see her rolling her eyes like "oh crap" when I darken her door. Funny beast... I made so many cupcakes this week that I broke my mixer which is a major problem. However, I bought that mixer for $8 9 years ago so it has done well for me. The "final" batch was a real winner too- pound cake cupcakes with chocolate kahlua ganache frosting... OH, HELLO- they pretty much kick some serious butt. YUM-O. That's about it from here. Off to muck stalls before it gets too darn hot! (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
3:23 pm	Today was a day where I was bombarded with impossible to answer question and difficult requests from my lesson kids. Case in point: "Sara, can you teach us our lesson in song." (btw, I actually tried. But they stopped me and said that "it needs to be more like High School Musical" that was all it took for me to put the kibosh on the shenanigans) "What is a supernova?" (I knew that one! But it does not pertain to horses. HAH!) "OH MY GOD. WHY is he DOING THAT????!!!!" (oh dear. this was in reaction to Chuck having his man-horse-parts out for some air.... "well. I said (long pause) (onto a lie) becasue he is sleeping and doesn't realise that he is being rude!" (nice save!) And the final oddity. A random lady called me last fall to inquire about lessons. 67 minutes later I got her off the phone, and even though I gave her a full resume, references, my website address, recent awards won, etc, she never got back in touch. (she actually indicated that she wanted a "friend" not an instructor. HUH? I don't even KNOW you??) I was returning home the other night after night check (take a note of that. NIGHT check) and there was a car in the indoor driveway. I stopped and asked if they were lost. It was that lady. And she wanted to have a chat with me about lessons and my theories and what I looked for in a student. (ahem. after nightcheck.) I very politely told her to please call me during normal business hours (I do have boundaries. and I'm not afraid to point out what they are.) We managed to get back in touch with each other just now. She wanted to schedule time to "come talk to me, see if we get along, and talk about blah blah blah." I told her that I would be very happy to answer all of her questions on the phone, re-provide her with references, but that she should just schedule a lesson because how else is she really going to know if she likes my teaching style? I don't teach when I chat with people..... Then she asked if I taught "everything" "you mean multi-dicipline" I asked, and she was like "ummm, yeah." So I explained how I'm an english/dressage specialist and how I have trouble believing that any instructor can be competently teaching dressage/western/huntseat/driving/parelli/trail. And she was all "I KNOW I've been riding for YEARS." ***sigh, ok...**** I love to meet new people and get new students, but I still firmly believe that she is looking for either a friend or free training advice and I'm not sure that I'm ok with either of those things. So anyway, odd day at work. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 15th, 2009
11:24 am	Before too much time goes by I'll wrap up this show report! Day two was nice and sunny, BUT there were some serious 40+ MPH winds. Thanks heavens that there were no scary judges tents, or things would have become interesting pretty quickly. My brave cousin Evan who always enjoyes a good show, showed up on Gramma's stoop, ready to go at 5:30 in the AM. (we were staying w/ my Gramma btw.) Now that's dedication for ya! He did a great job helping me with all the stuff that I needed help with and is a good kid. Yay! I had an earlier ride than the previous day so we got a move on. Evidently, the wind was not going to throw Baby D off his game becasue he warmed up great and off we went. I actually experienced something that has never happend to me before. I could not tell if the judge had rang the bell- it was so windy that I could not hear much of anything! I managed to determine that she had so in I went. And promptly started the wrong test! GRRRRRRR. I guess that I had lost a tiny bit of concentration, even though I gave myself a big mental shake beore going down the CL. He put in a good test though- one tiny bobble in the canter and that was it. Coming around the arena for the final few movements, he got hit in the head by a huge chunk of flying CRAP. He was like "aaak" and shook his head a bit- but kept right on trucking. It was most alarming! Apparently, we were not the only ones to go the wrong way (OR he was just really good at all the other movements) becasue we snagged another win with a 68.9. Oops on the bobbles, we would have had a 70% no prob. After lunch we had another go at the 1st 4, and I have to say, that he was a tiny bit pooped. He uses up so much energy behaving that it wears him down. It was not a bad test- but just not as good as the day before. As so often happens in the horse show world, we got the EXACT same score as the previous day- despite the fact that "yesterdays" test rode about 10 points better. We busted up our winning streak too, placing 3rd. Still, I'll take a 69 and change with a test that is not 100% flawless! So- overall a good show. A nice, confidence building first outing for him, complete with several wins and a needed qualifying score. We're off to Saratoga next week and hoping for another good outing! (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
7:30 am	OK, ok. So I didn't snag the 77% that I had planned on- but things still went pretty darn well! It was nice to arrive at the showgrounds to find pleasant weather, which was also 30+ degrees warmer than the previous day. That is the sort of thing that used to push Baffin right over the edge for some reason, when he was younger. Not Draco, he was just happy to be warm! He settled right in like a big kid and wasn't bothered by much. We had a very good schooling session and I let him take a good look around. He was very sensible, and took a few looks at the boogeymen but was very well sdjusted- especially for his first outing of the year. My first 3 test wasn't until 11:40 on Saturday, so I had a few minutes in the AM to walk him around before the show started to let him have another look. As I mentioned last year, the hand walking part of the day can be an adventure, complete with all sorts of nonsence and airs above ground. He was much better this year- and had a few hops but was overall much more mature and settled. The weather was warm, but quite variable, with off an on showers and breeze- it was juyst a funky weather day. Things stayed dry thru my warm up, but as I headed to the show arena the skies opened up.... TYPICAL!!! At once, 40 umbrellas went "POP" and as we neared the ring Draco said "OH SHIT!!!" "Hey friend" I said to him "Ir's just STUFF and you have to GO." I could hear the wheels turning in his head, as he debated whether to flee or to listen (kinda like the devil on one side and the angel on the other.) And, becasue he is almost 6 the angel won and he muscled thru. No big problems, just some tension which kept him from being as swingey and fluid as he can be. The comments on the test said exactly that! Since it's early in the season, and everyone has a few little bobbles we still won with a 66.9. I'll take it! We went out later in the day and NAILED the 1st 4- possibly the best test he has ever done. I was thrilled, and even more so when the judge stepped out of the trailer to praise what she refered to as "an amazing test and a wonderful horse." Whoot! I was pretty sure, given that I have ridden wuite a few 1st 4's in my day, that we were going to be up in the mid 70's, no problem especially since the judge was practically leaping out of her skin from happiness! So, I was a little bit like "eh" when I found that we had scored a 69.9. Not bad, and it was a qualifying score and a 1st out of 25- but still! When I looked at the test it was all 7's, which was just playing it really safe. But what can you do? And he had been so very good, that I was happy with the end result! OK. I have to call it a day now and get to work. Update on day #2 coming later. What will happen? Will it rain on me again? Will the weather go bonkers? Will my winning streak continue? Will we see some scary stuff (well, that gives it away...) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 8th, 2009
6:45 am	Well, I'll BE. The sun is out! For the past two weeks it feels like I have been able to put Draco thru every possible insane weather possibility (good pre show prep.) We have had 90. the the next day 40... And WINDY. And RAINY. And the surveyors came by and skulked all around the arena in their shiny blaze orange jackets. Mom has had her death umbrella out (eeek!) But even scarier than the death umbrella is the way that the rain makes the stairs out of the indoor all SHINY... DOOOOM!!! The cats have been very good at leaping out of the woods with no warning. There have been puddles, and tornados of leaves, and insane fluctuating temps, and all sorts of madness. I guess the moral of the story is, as far as weather goes WE aRE READY! (unless the weather is normal, then I don't know what we'll do.) we are heading off to NEDA Spring today and Draco is bathed, lessoned and looks like a big proper dressage horse. He has been very good, with just a few moments to remind me that he is still a kid. Honestly though, it's very different from last year when we were flying by the seats of our pants. If things go to crap this year it won't be because we aren't prepared! I am not planning on crap though, I'm planning to win everything and get a 77%. So watch out, all of you at first level. Here I come! RAWWWWWWWWWR!!! HAHAHAHAHA! (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
6:52 pm	And because sometimes things are just strange.... I'm on the cover of the Horse's Maine this month. Famous ;-) Out of the blue, the Mom of an adult client stopped by and said "I knew when I saw you looking at me from my pile of mail it was time to stop by." Once my confusion cleared, and I figured out what she was talking about she continued with this gem: "at first I thought it was some kid on a pony, then I realised it was you on some pony." As I point to my honest-to-god 16.3 hand, shiny, glisning with good health warmblood and say "ummmmmmm" she says "yeaaaaaah....**sigh** some little pony...." Like, 100% sincere. So I graciously smiled, and said yeah, he's great! And laughed for the rest of the afternoon... HAH! Then today, I walked into the Hannaford for a little shopping and witnessed two people, engaging in really hick-ish conversation, in really hick-ish voices in the middle of the dairy aisle. Giggling to myself, I tried to squeak by them when one of them greeted me. It was my parents neighbor (who, despite my attempt to be nonjundgemental, is a hick) and despite my best intention I couldn't help but to laugh out loud. GREAT. Now the neighbors think I'm crazy! **ahem** So, I finised up my shopping and headed on out where a random youth was smoking a butt and trying to get a soda out of the vending machine. He was about 12... But whatev. As I went by he engaged the soda machine in some sort of bizzare little dance battle. (ok) Then he said "YEEEEEAH!!!" I peeked over, he looked at me and said "HEY" I say (in exasperation) "WHAT??" he pointed to the pepsi cooler, goes all Gangsta and says "THAT". Riiiiight....... Then, just now Rufus was going for a toy, changed direction and completely took my feet out from under me and knocked me on my booty. Right on the granite part of our floor.... I was all like "OWWWW" and thought about having a sad little cry. Josh was all "omg, are you ok??" but I noticed that he sounded all funny... I looked at him and he was trying (very hard) not to hysterically laugh, so I ended up laughing my ass off and we both sat there and laughed for about 20 minutes. Because it was just that kind of day.... (1 Comment |Comment on this)