Well things have changed!!!

Well after a lot of thought and lists of pros and cons I decided to sell Kizzy. This was a very tough decision for me but one I had to make. Kizzy was a high maintenance horse that would never have been happy in a pasture at home or hanging with the family. At this point in my life I need that competition horse but I also need a horse that if something comes up with the family the horse is OK hanging out in the pasture relaxing...

This is not the end of my eventing goals as I still want to get back to competition. My goal is still to find a horse that I can compete up to Training (long format) and maybe Prelim level. The look is on although I have my sights set on a beautiful Thoroughbred in Portland.

A new adventure begins...I guess that is life:)

Back to it!!!

Well it has been a while since I posted again time flies when your having fun....Or really busy...Since I last posted my mom and I went to the World Equestrian Games (WEG's) and we had an amazing time. It was awesome to see such great talent and the countries that backed these wonderful riders. I got to see some of my all time favorite eventers like Mark Todd, Pippa Funnell, William Fox Pitt and Mary King. These are riders that I grew up idolizing and to see them up close and personal was an amazing experience and one I will not soon forget. We also did get to see the free style reining which was really great too boy those reiners can move. It still amazes me that neither horse nor rider gets dizzy while spinning... I've come back with a renewed love of the sport of eventing and my drive has become much stronger.

So now back to the real world. Since I've had so many work trips out of town and the WEG's I missed riding for about 2 1/2 weeks but after I got back we really hit it...

I had my first jumping lesson in about 2 1/2 yrs two weeks ago and it felt amazing. It is so true that the body never forgets. We only did ground poles and then popped over a single fence with ground poles but it was just to get Kiz and I working together and my feeling back. Since then I have been having a jump lesson about once a week. Since Kiz is young and we don't want to over jump her a lot of the lessons are over ground poles and very small X's or verticles. The idea is to get my position back to where it should be and our confidence level up with jumping and with each other.

I had a group lesson last Sunday with a few friends of mine and we worked on distances, balance and our positions. It was tough Suzy gives a great lesson and really makes you work. I realized at that point that I need to work out and do strength training if I am going to ride like I want to. We did a bunch of work in galloping position and my position is weak to say the least. Kiz was awesome in the lesson and was so flexible. If I asked to move forward she did and if I needed to collect and shorten she did I was so proud.

So now I will be riding 3 times a week with one jumping lesson and I am really going to work on my fitness at home too. This will make it more fair for both Kiz and myself. She is still a bit spooky but it seems to be when she is not being asked to work or she is being asked incorrectly by me. When I am focused and working her correctly she is not spooky. Plus she is 4 and still has a baby brain...

Her flat work is coming along nicely too especially her canter. She is really good when she is moving straight and on the aids but she has a tendency to throw her hips and shoulders out when ever she feels weak at something or if she doesn't quit understand. I have to learn to be quicker at responding to that and getting her back to being straight because like I said before if she is squirrely and not straight that is when she spooks. My aids have to be soft and clear with her so that I don't confuse her or make her heavy in the hand. I am learning to do half halts correctly though and that has been something that eluded me for many years.

All and all we she is coming along great and I am having a blast...Isn't that the real reason for all of this:)

The Good and The Bad...

Well it has been a while since I posted and it has basically been because I've been dealing with a lot Lately. As you know Kizzy went to Aspen Farm Horse Trials 3 weeks ago doing BN and she rocked placing 4th. Her dressage was very good...She stayed even throughout and even her canter transitions were very smooth. She did take a bit of an awkward growth spurt so she was traveling a bit downhill which is unusual for her. That was really the only thing the judge said that was negative at all so I was really excited. She was soft and responsive and even her halt at the end was nice and square and balanced. Chelsey has been working very hard on these details and so have I so it was nice to see our hard work pay off.

The show jumping was spooky for her but she just kept her feet moving and jumped like a champ. This was her first real show jumping round and the tents, flags, rakers and other people moving about was a lot to keep an eye on:) She again kept her feet moving and even if a jump got a bit sticky she would jump it. She had one unlucky rail with the tip of her back toe but all and all she was jumping balanced and round. Here XC was a lot like her show jumping with the new people walking about and jump judges by the fences there was a lot to take in. After the first fence where she was all over the place looking at the jump judges she was great. Even with the looking around and taking things in she never once stopped her feet. She always kept that forward momentum and that is reassuring. Chels said even when she gets a bit spooky she never feels like she is going to stop. I think with more schooling and more outings she will figure out that this is her job and she will really enjoy it. She really likes to go and see things so I think we will have a blast. I was so proud!!!

I also had a great jump lesson on Kiz which I was pretty excited about. It has been about 2 yrs since I jumped but it was amazing how fast everything came back. I still have to work on not jumping ahead but I know that and can usually catch it now. This was my first lesson back so we didn't do to much but we will progress from there. My biggest thing is keeping my shoulders back and up. Of course if I am thinking about not jumping ahead this comes pretty naturally so hopefully I can train my body to do this all the time. This winter is going to be a lot of hard work but I am ready:)


On a harder note we had to put Gunter down last week. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make and it still weighs heavy on my mind. He was just not comfortable and I could tell he was tired and sore. I had been working so hard to make him comfortable these last 4 months and it just wasn't working anymore. I know the decision was right but I miss him terribly. He was my best friend and my loyal partner for 26 years and not having him hurts so much. I will never have another Gunther but I am so glad I shared my life with him for so long.. I love him...

New addition! Welcome Levi!

I haven't written for a while because not a whole lot has been going on but now I have some news. We just bought Gage his first pony. A 10.1 hand grey Shetland gelding named Levi. He is only 4 so we are just really starting his training but he is proving to be a fun pony to work with and should be a quiet responsive pony for Gage to learn on. He is learning to lead and work with Levi now and really seems to enjoy it. I never knew how much fun it would be to work with a pony. They are small and so forgiving. He learns so quickly and since he is the size that he is even when he does throw a bit of attitude it is not a big deal:) We are going to have a bunch of fun teaching him to be a good kids pony and a good driving pony.

Kizzy is doing awesome! Ever since we got back from Montana she seems to have grown up mentally and physically. She is so much more chill about things and she really relaxes much easier when she is having a hot moment. Chels has been working her 5 days a week and jumping her with me riding her 1 day a week which is helping my confidence but I need to ride more. We have been doing ground pole lessons because I want to get jumping again and I have to start somewhere. Even with ground poles everything comes back even if my body isn't what it used to be.

Kiz is getting stronger and I am getting better with my aids so her flat work is really coming along well. I can get her round and listening while moving forward although sometimes she can get a bit lazy and not push from behind. We have been working a lot on her canter to get it more round with more push and although she can only do it for short periods she is starting to use her whole body instead of just cantering around being flat. I feel that once I start riding more which will happen after this weekend I will become more confident with my riding on the flat and over fences.

Aspen Farms has there event this weekend and Chels is riding Kiz Beginner Novice. I am a bit nervous because she is still so green. Chelsey is a great rider though and should give her a nice confident ride. After Aspen Kiz will be done competing for the year. She will be in only partial training with Chels so I can ride her 3-4 times a week with 1-2 lessons a week. With a whole winter of schooling, lessons, clinics and schooling shows we should be a strong partnership next yr. I can't wait to ride more and I think it will help me a bunch!!!

I will post how the show goes after the weekend...Wish us luck!!!

Montana was amazing!!!

We are back from Montana and it was amazing. I am so glad we went and Kizzy could not have been better. She did get last place but it was no fault of hers they were looking for a more experienced horse with more muscling and she had just turned 4 the week before. We didn't push her for this event and she did everything that was asked of her.

The YEH series takes place over one day. It starts out with conformation moves on to dressage and then finishes up with the jumping phase.

Kizzy went out to Montana a week before I did and Chelsey schooled her a bunch. They did ditches, water and other new cross country fences. Chels also did a lot of flat work with her. She settled right into the routine and there were no signs of the spookiness/hotness that I was worried about.

Cindi and I came out to Rebecca around 9:00 A.M. Wednesday to watch Chels work Kizzy with Jon schooling her for the trot out (conformation) that morning. She was awesome even with everything going on. She then had to get braided and spruced up. While they did that Cindi and I went and got her packet and walked around the FEI barn to see if we could see anybody famous:)

Kizzy is not the best at standing up square. Her build is really good but she can make it look really bad:) She trotted up and back like she was at Rolex and didn't bat and eye and everybody milling around. It was then a race to get her ready for her dressage test. Chelsey was riding Nick and Kizzy so we just kept switching horses throughout the competition. I brought Kiz over to the dressage ring right as Chels was finishing up with Nicks test which looked very nice. Kiz warmed up really well and she looked great. The beginning of the test looked wonderful and relaxed then a spectator sat down on the hill in front of her and it spooked her. Her canter transition right after that involved a bit of a kick out and it was pretty tense. I think if there would have been a crowd of people it would have been fine but because it was one man in the middle of a large space she wasn't expecting it...Aahh babies:) Her halt was a bit sideways at the end but all and all the test was nice and she received very nice comments on it too. After dressage Chels jumped on Nick and headed over to cross country with me running after with Kiz in hand. She was still so chill with all the other competitors working there horses and motor bikes zooming around I couldn't believe it.. When I got over to XC she noticed heads above the grass. You know when people walk in tall grass it looks like there heads are floating well this is a big thing for her she doesn't like the floating heads. She also was a bit overwhelmed with the course and the amount of people watching. The course consisted of two green role tops (not what you would expect in a field) and a bunch of really nice XC fences along with a bank, ditch and water. She was a little spooky coming into the big bright green show jump role tops but she went over them. She jumped the next two great and then came the bank which she usually has no problem with. Chels said she was looking at the flowers and stuff that were on the bank next to the one they were jumping and she wasn't focused on her bank. Although sticky she did get over it. The next jump caused a bunch of horses issues and she was no exception but she did get over it and then finished the course galloping through the water, over the ditch and over a log to a long uphill gallop. She was amazing!!!!

The rest of the week we watched some amazing rides and I got to hack and work Kizzy over the wonderful grounds. She was so good and it really gave me so much confidence that she really is going to be my next special horse. She is aimed for BN at the Aspen Farms event then she will be done for the year except for derbies, schooling shows and things like that.

We will have all winter to get myself and her confident over fences and more polished on the flat and next year we will hit the ground running:)

Leaving for Montana!

Well after a lot of hard work and a bunch of fun Kiz and Chels leave for Montana tonight at midnight. They will arrive in Montana with plenty of time to settle in and get some schooling in. Cindi and I will be leaving on Tuesday then stay throughout the whole event. I think it is going to be an awesome trip and a great experience for my young mare. I have been having such a great time. My lessons on the flat have been going great with her responding to my aids especially when I give them correctly. This is always something I will have to work on. I need to get my body to give clear precise aids instead of muddy ones. I have to make sure when I ask for something I get it. Chels has been jumping Kiz in the ring and out on XC and although she likes to check out what she is jumping she is a good jumper. She even did the ditch yesterday with no issues. I am very excited to get jumping again and I am hoping when everybody gets back Cindi and I can start jumping again. I would love to show Kiz myself towards the end of the year. My aim is Aspen Farms. I think that would be a great show for me and her to do together since she is used to it and so am I. I feel it would make it a great experience for both of us...

I am planning on running a 10K at the end of September before we go the the WEG's so I am really working on eating better and running. I hope all this work gets me ready for the run and in better shape for riding.

Well my next post will be after the event so hopefully I have a bunch of great news!!!

Wonderful lessons!

Walking and trotting through the water:)


BN Log!

Well I had two wonderful lessons and one amazing lesson.. So since Chels has been working with Kiz we always start my lessons with her riding Kiz. This is partly due to Kiz being on her toes a bit and partly due to my confidence. Well after the last few rides I decided I need to just get on and tough it out if she is full of it. All of the anxiety is in my mind and I need to get over that so what better way to get over it then to make myself do what I am anxious about. Ya know it really worked my confidence is getting stronger and I am enjoying my horse more.

Well enough about me Kiz is coming along great. We have really been working on her getting more relaxed and balanced. When she is balanced she is more relaxed and she is less fussy. I am still working on giving her nice clear aids and keeping my weight where it should be. I sometimes forget to use my whole body and it is amazing how responsive to that she is.. I guess it pushes me to become a better rider which is what I need.

We got to bring Kiz and Issy over to the main barn for the weekend and it was great. Chelsey got to do some schooling over fences and some nice XC work. The weather was finally nice also so we got to ride outside and I even jumped on her and got her going really well outside before Chels jumped. I guess she was a bit full of herself Friday but on Saturday when Cindi,Rick and I all rode she was awesome. She was listening to my aids and moving forward (well she always moves forward) in a balanced frame. When Chels got on to do some jumps she was chill and relaxed over the fences. We then took them out in the XC field and Chels did some schooling and even did a bit of water work. She was great! Chels will keep her going this week and introduce some more of the XC schooling to her work. I will get to have lessons with her and Cindi on Thursday and Friday. I should probably start jumping soon again so I can get my mind and body back into it. I miss jumping and can't wait to do it again. It has been almost 2 yrs so I need to get the cobwebs off..

I have such a good time at the barn and Cindi and Chels make everything that much more fun. I can't wait to go to Montana and Kiz is coming along so nicely it makes it that much more exciting:)