Christmas Day

It's Christmas day.

After opening gifts at the crack of dawn, a hearty Christmas breakfast, and a few hours spent cleaning up while the kids play with their new gadgets, I head to the barn around 1:00.

Today, I decide, I am going to let Jaliska just run around the indoor.

I get to her stall and of course she is delighted to see me. After telling her she is “the most beautiful horse in the world,” I hand her a Christmas apple. She is thrilled with my humble offering.

After a good morning pat, I strip off her heavy winter blanket and neck attachment, leaving her light wool under-blanket intact. I pick her hooves, brush her mane and tail.

We head to the indoor. After closing the sliding doors, I take off her lead rope and let her go. She races around the interior like Secretariat. Head held high, nostrils flared, tail arched. She looks like a champion.

I let her canter, prance and trot around for a good bit and once she has settled down, I leave her to hang out in the big open space while I head into the tack room to clean her tack.

Jaliska spots me
through the window.

I hook Jaliska’s bridle onto the metal holder attached to the ceiling so I can get a grip while lathering it up with saddle soap. The tack room, which is also the lesson viewing room, has two large windows into the indoor.  Jaliska sees me through one of them and proceeds to walk up to it, peering in to see what I am up to. 

She watches me work.



 






She continues to watch me, seemingly entranced, while I clean and condition her bridle, draw reins, girth and saddle.

I move to the opposite end of the room to organize her tack trunk. She moves to the window closer to me to get a better view.

She really is a funny horse.

After about forty-five minutes, I blanket her back up and give her two slices of hay. “See you tomorrow girl,” I say.

I start up my minivan and as I am driving past her stall I stop and roll down my window to say one last goodbye. Hearing me she turns around, leaving her hay, and pokes her head out to do the same.

I can’t resist. I hop out and hand her another apple. It is, after all, Christmas day.

Christmas Eve



Nicole, Mom, Max and Noodles snuggle up on
Christmas Eve.

 It is Christmas Eve.
After reading yesterday’s blog entry to my daughter she insists that we build a fire and read stories in front of it like we used to.

So after dinner and the customary opening of one gift on Christmas Eve, I proceed to read them a story in front of a blazing fire.  

The kids select a book about Greek mythology, a very popular subject with children their age after the phenomenal success of the Percy Jackson series authored by Rick Riordan.

Bobby and Nicole must have read each of his books at least four times through. No small feat given there are five and each about three hundred pages or so.

Bobby reads a book in front of the fire
on Christmas Eve.

The dogs hop on our laps to join in on the fun and it turns out to be a magical Christmas Eve.

All I Want For Christmas

It is almost Christmas.

All I want for Christmas is for Jaliska to go to Florida to train and compete for the winter. It would be a dream come true. As a matter of fact my training with Jaliska in Florida was one of the items I put on my Star Chart, a listing of things I want to achieve within five years (i.e. goals one would consider when shooting for the stars).

I created my Star Chart when I was in Germany after reading the book “Steering by Starlight,” by Martha Beck. Katrina my riding buddy loaned it to me to read during my two week training holiday there last summer.

Martha wrote that one should “not to be surprised if the things on their list actually happen within six months.” I do the math in my head. Let’s see. I was in Germany in late August so this would be within six months, four to be precise.

So I have a conversation with Jaliska while tacking her up for our ride.  “J," I say, "it’s up to you.” “If you want to go to Florida to compete with the other Grand Prix horses then you should KICK ASS during your trial ride with DJ next week.” “If not, well then, you should still do decent so as to not embarrass yourself.”

I am a big believer in “if it’s meant to be, it will be” and “if not, then something better is in store.”  We just might not know what the "better" is, yet. So I will leave it up to the universe to decide.

I bring J to the outdoor. The footing is very sloppy due to the heavy rain last night but since I am only doing a light ride “per vet orders” it will be fine.

I like to ride her outside as much as possible, especially now with winter upon us and along with it the fast approaching frigid, single digit temperatures. Once the ground is frozen, we will have no choice but to ride inside.

It is a crisp 30 degrees. It is dusk. I smell smoke from a distant fire. I love that smell. I find it comforting that somewhere, someone is being warmed by a real fire, the exception not the rule today.

There is nothing better than a roaring fire in the fireplace during the winter. I recall reading books to my kids on a blanket in front of the fireplace when they were little, around 4 and 6. One of our absolute favorites was “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” by Kate DiCamillo.

It was about this fancy china doll rabbit that was adored his little girl owner. But Edward did not appreciate her or the privileged life that he led. As a matter of fact he thought he was above it all and for some reason deserved better.  It was only after a series of significant and tragic misfortunes that he ultimately learned about true love. The moral of the story was to be grateful for what you have, it could always be worse.

In any event, I wasn’t thinking about Edward Tulane while in the outdoor ring this evening. I was just feeling the utter and complete happiness that comes from riding my horse in the chilly night air with a hint of smoke wafting through it from a distant fire.

Vet Check



What is that contraption and what is
she going to do with it?!

Well the mystery behind Jaliska switching her hind legs in canter is solved. The vet checked her today and apparently she has a sore back. 

Go figure.

The vet administers pulsating shock waves (a treatment commonly used on injured Grand Prix horses), gives her a chiropractic adjustment and shows me a stretching routine to do with her.

Within a week she is practically as good as new.

The vet administers pulsating shock waves
to treat J's sore back

The moral of the story is: 
If you think there is something wrong with your horse you are probably right.

Next time I will get Jaliska checked straight away.

The "carrot stretch" will help create more lateral flexibility

2011 Barn Holiday Party

Last night was the holiday party at the barn.  I took these videos of the kids setting up courses and jumping them. They were having great fun.

I recall “cantering” around the back pasture when I was about their age. Oh the joy of being young and so easily entertained.  

I really love this video of my daughter Nicole riding Tucker. She has so much fun riding with her girlfriends, Kayla and Lilah. They call themselves the PUFs which is short for pretty unbelievable friends.

I think that I might learn from the three of them and focus on just having fun riding and not so much on the end goal.  After all, the fun is in the getting there. It’s the journey, it’s the climb…

“Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb…”

                                                                                    Lyrics taken from "The Climb"
                                                                                    By Miley Cyrus

 

Some of the young riders at the barn 2011 holiday party.

Frustration

This is too hard.

If I am moving two steps forward and three steps back, am I actually moving forward?

I don’t think so.

I am so frustrated.

It's Just Like Driving a Car

Sam, with Nicole and Kayla,
rode J for me when I was sick.

It is my first lesson in over a week. I haven’t been able to ride as I have had the flu. This did not stop me from putting in a full week at the office (I love my job) but I was too weak to ride. It is not a good idea to be lightheaded and dizzy on a horse going over fences. Even I have my limits. So I asked Samantha (Sam) to fill in for me one day and then gave her the rest of the week off.

I could tell Jaliska missed me and that she was looking forward to our ride. She was so excited when she saw me that she kept turning circles in her stall. 

This was further confirmed when I went to put on her bridle and she just stood there, casually munching on what she knew was to be her last bite of hay, for at least an hour.  Normally when I approach her with the bit, she turns her head to the side as if to say “how rude of you to interrupt my morning snack.” It is rude, I agree. But the Prix awaits and missing a full week of riding has me further convinced that when I do reach my goal, I will in fact be the world’s oldest Grand Prix rider.

My lesson goes great for the most part. I have two major take-a-ways:

1. LEAVE MY HANDS ALONE i.e. stop fussing with them when preparing for a jump and, 
2. Stop sitting hard on her back after clearing the jump

I know I have been told this already but I seemed to have forgotten today. I blame it on my illness.

Actually, when you think about it, it really is amazing all that I need to remember when riding. Here is a list of what goes through my head at any given moment:

1. Did I start and stay on the right diagonal?
2. Is my back relaxed?
3. Is my seat soft?
4. Am I holding the reins properly i.e. hands at the right spot above the saddle and up towards her neck with my thumbs up and fingers closed in and around them?
5. Are the reins making a straight line to her mouth, taunt yet soft?
6. Are my elbows moving with her versus rigid?
7. Are my heels down and slightly pointed out?
8. Are my stirrups angled in towards my outer toe and is the upper ball of my foot resting on them properly?
9. Are my shoulders down, chest out and back straight, not arched?
10. When approaching the jump, do I look at it, locate the right spot for takeoff and adjust as necessary so that when she launches it is not too close or too far from it?
11. Did I frame her with my aids in preparing for the jump i.e. heels down, leg on, seat firm and body angled slightly forward while looking ahead, between her ears?
12. Oh yeah and did I breathe prior to the jump (to relax me) and then shortly thereafter (to relax her) and again at every corner?
13. Did I keep my hands forward and not sit hard on her back after she cleared the jump?
14. Did I ride her straight after the jump versus cutting the corner?
15. Is she on the right lead after the jump and if not, did I get her on the right lead?
16. Is there another jump I should be preparing for and if so am I looking at it with my framing aids in gear?
17. Did I remember to pat her for being such a great horse?

I am stopping now but know this list could go on FOREVER!

When my trainer points out yet another error, I defend myself by saying “there is a lot going on in my head,” to which he says, “Victoria, do you think about how you drive a car or do you just drive it?” I think of my list and then I remember Rule # 1:  Never talk back to your trainer. So I just nod in agreement, I just nod.

Just Keep At It

Today I did not feel so hot. I thought about cancelling my lesson but I decided to tough it out.

I was excited that Katrina was back in our group lesson again.  She had been busy riding the hunt every Saturday since it started back up in the fall. So it was the three musketeers back in action, Neal, Katrina and me.

We warmed up as per usual and then our trainer set up a diagonal configuration which consisted of a trot rail in front of the plank jump and then a second jump. He wanted us to canter four strides in between. Basically the same set up as my last lesson. You would think in that case, that I would nail it, not so.

It wasn’t until much later when he added a few more jumps and raised them a bit, that I did anything decent.  Today was one of those (frequent) days when I questioned my riding ability altogether (along with my senses in even considering a goal of anything more serious than a trail ride).

It wasn’t until later in the day that the advice of John Holmes (Pennsylvania as I refer to him) came back to me. “Keep at it,” he advised. “Don’t give up." "Three years ago I was riding like crap and wanted to quit, but I stuck with it.”



John wins a $25,000 purse
on Gideon.



It was a good thing he did. John won the 2011 Fieldstone Grand Prix along with many other big purse competitions this past spring and summer.

I guess I will listen to John, and just keep at it.

Jumping Lesson

I am psyched! This morning is my private lesson. I get to practice jumping. I made a point to check the weather forecast on Sunday to locate a good weather day so I could train in the outdoor because that is where the fences are.

The forecast noted that today, actually this morning, was the pick of the week. It is supposed to rain this afternoon and then the temperature will drop, starting tomorrow, and continue downward for the remainder of the week.

I generally avoid scheduling lessons on Tuesdays because GEF has its staff meetings at 10 and I don’t like to be late (and I don’t like to rush the time after my lesson either). However, I made an exception because with all of the rain we have been getting over the past SEVERAL MONTHS I have not had the opportunity to jump as much as I would like. To that end, I decided to plan ahead based upon the forecast (a novel concept which I plan to do weekly from now on) so that it would ensure me jumping, and there you have it. 

My trainer has me do some flat work to start to warm up me and Jaliska.

During her canter, he also notices her switching her hind legs. He says it’s because I am not supporting her head enough. I need to keep her head up at all times. So I try this, it seems to work. He also wants me to SLOW DOWN. I have a tendency to go TOO FAST. So I slow down to what I feel is a snail’s pace but it makes him happy, so we stay at this gait for a few laps.

Once Jaliska and I have sufficiently warmed up, he sets up a trot pole in front of the plank. J and I trot to it and jump the plank and then canter four strides to the green box. I am not in good form.

We work on my sitting up after the first jump and relaxing to the second jump. It seems that when I sit up, I move my body forward causing her to speed up and canter to the second jump in three strides instead of the four. I work on being relaxed. I also work on keeping my hands on her neck and heels down and out per my last lesson with Catherine.

Since we have added an extra jump, it no longer makes sense for me to keep my hands on her neck for two strides after the jump, like I did with just one jump (in my previous lesson). So much for consistency, what works for one, may not for two and so the story goes.

My trainer adds a diagonal jump set to the course. So on my left rein, I trot around the corner to the plank and jump it, canter four strides to the green box and jump it, then I round the corner and down transition to a trot, which I stay in until the cross rails and then I jump it and then canter three strides to the red box and jump it, canter to the corner and REPEAT.

It takes me several iterations to finally relax in between the jumps and then it all goes pretty well. If only I could do that from the get go….ugh! Practice, practice, practice.

Take away for the day: Take responsibility for your mistakes, never blame your horse.

For example, if you get distracted by, say someone walking up to the fence as you are headed for the jump, then say: “I got distracted by…” not “J got distracted by…”

I was once told that you can insult a trainer’s wife but not their horse. You get the point.

Group Lesson

Catherine is my instructor today.

Today I have a group lesson with Catherine as our instructor.

Catherine begins by honing in on my form. She explains that I have been using my knee for gripping. Instead, I should create some space between my knee and the saddle and grip more with my heel, with my toe pointed out slightly. When I do this, it causes my heel to go down (a good thing) and brings my leg to the correct position, directly under my seat versus more forward, where it resides when I grip with my knee.

She also explains that the outer part of my stirrup should be angled in against my outer foot, in order to secure it for optimal for jumping support. I adjust my foot in the stirrup as suggested.

We then move on to my hand position. I typically hold them directly above my lap. She explains that they need to be positioned much higher on my horse’s neck at all times. This “higher” hand position provides more control for me and more support for my horse. The reins should be taunt, creating a direct line between them and Jaliska’s mouth.

Catherine further notes that I sit upright which is more of the European style of “jumper” riding, but in the US riders are angled more forward. To correct this, she instructs me to move into my half seat or jumping position when posting, on the rise.

I practice all of these things to the best of my ability in trot and then canter.

We notice that Jaliska is still switching her hind legs in canter. Catherine explains that things like this are common after an extended illness (Jaliska contracted lime a month ago). She tells me to just “roll through it” and to “not to pay too much attention to it.” I try to do this.

We work on some jumps. Catherine sets up a cross rail and then a second and third, all in a row.  The jumping goes pretty good for the most part, except that Jaliska keeps cutting her corner after the third jump. I am instructed to stop her at the end a few times. When J and I are aligned straighter (versus cutting the corner), she lands on the correct lead (a good thing).

I have a lot to work on in adjusting my position. I think, though, that it will serve me well.

Thanksgiving Morning

It is Thanksgiving morning and it’s gorgeous outside, although a bit chilly. The best weather for riding.

I arrive at the barn late today. I spent a leisurely morning with the kids. I made pancakes for breakfast with scrambled eggs, English muffins and fresh strawberries to round out all the butter and syrup.

I am excited to bring my son to the farm. I love having him there with me. I also relish in the fact that he is outside, breathing the fresh country air, and doing chores (and away from his dreaded video games!).

This morning, given the hour, I fear we may be too late for water duty. We arrive and sure enough Peter confirms my thoughts. “They are all done,” he says with a smile.

Bobby sweeps the stable aisle

Bobby found a broom and is already sweeping the aisle.  It looks like most of the sweeping has been done too. It seems they got an early start for the holiday and we missed the boat for “boy duty.”

A thought then occurs to me as I am getting J ready for our ride. Why not teach Bobby the fine art of  grooming? So I ask if the idea of making tips was of interest to him, he perks right up from his sweeping. Yes, he says. “You can groom for me this spring at the shows and for your sister and her friends too."

"Grooming is good money, if you do it right.” He is really listening now. “Ok, so this is the deal, it’s pretty simple really; you brush and tack the horses and ponies for their riders. Let me show you.” I hand him the curry and instruct him on how to use it. Same with the brush and hoof pick. He is a natural, albeit a bit tentative, but I don’t blame him Jaliska is 16.2 hands.

He already loves J. One morning he was coming to the farm with me to water the horses when I told him about “J’s’ pre-ride ritual.” "Watch this," I tell Bobby. "When I say hi to J she will poke her head out her window and whinnies to say hello. She will then swing around, and if we run really fast and look in her stall, she will be peeing in preparation for our ride.” He laughs at the thought and sure enough when she whinnies, Bobby takes off running down the hill to the lower stable where he then quickly pulls open the sliding stable doors to peer into J’s stall. Sure enough, she has "assumed the position". She knows the drill.

Bobby thought this was hilarious and laughed for a good while. To this day whenever we refer to "J getting ready for her ride," he laughs. Watch J getting ready for her ride!

After we finish grooming her, I show him how to put on her front boots, the saddle pad, saddle and how to tighten the girth. After I put on the bridle, I show him how to fasten the straps. He does a great job and I think he likes it.

Bobby mucks J's stall

Next, it’s time to muck her stall (which had already been done as well, so there is just some fresh manure to clean up).  When he was finished, I told him that by spring he would be a pro at mucking stalls too. His expression let on that he thought that was an OK goal.

I told him "great job" and that he could now "hop on home.” I don’t hop mom, he said. Deadpan. This caused me to immediately grab, kiss and hug him. He seemed to be OK with my spontaneous burst of affection too, although at 13, I knew my days were numbered.

I bring J to the outdoor. Zoe, Lisa, and Catherine are riding. I say hello and happy Thanksgiving. It was so beautiful out. I could not stop smiling.

When cantering J she kept switching up her lead. Zoe thought it might be the mud, I told her “she has been doing this lately on her right lead and I don’t know why.”

I think to myself that she is confused somehow by my instruction, the thought depresses me. Zoe suggests that I “lift my right hand and put weight on my outside heel when going around the corner to support her.” I try this and it seems to work.

Zoe on KEC Amoura last spring

Zoe at the young age of 16 is destined for greatness, after all she won the 1 Meter Circuit Grand Championship at the 2011 Vermont Summer Festival on Jaliska. She is my hero, for only two months prior she had lost her beloved horse KEC Amoura to a freak illness. Amoura was J’s half sister.

       

Private Lesson

It is the day before Thanksgiving and I have a private lesson at two o’clock. It is a half-day at work so I had told my employees they could work from home if they wanted, needless to say only one other person besides me showed up at the office - Jim. Jim and I jammed and then I headed home as it was also a half-day at school and I wanted to there for my kids. I had given the sitter the rest of the week off.

Being a chilly, rainy day, we ride in the indoor. My trainer has me work on getting J in a good rhythm, to extend her trot i.e. lengthen her stride without going faster. I work on that and it goes pretty well. He also says to try to feel her soften in my hands (is it me or is this really another language, I mean seriously who else is going to know what soften in her hands means?!). I try to feel her soften, and she does.

I keep working on getting J to bend in the back left corner, but she keeps cutting it. I have been setting her up early, to no avail. She nails her bends at all of the other corners. So I point out this frustration to my trainer. He instructs me to “set her up early by using my left leg and lifting my left hand and to get her paying attention prior to hitting the corner.” Somehow, under my trainer's eye and instruction, she does so perfectly (brat). I seriously think she is showing off for him – they are, after all, both Irish…hmmm.

My trainer sets up a trot pole and small jump. I trot to it and jump it several times. She is pretty dead on center nearly every time. He points out that I have been lifting up my hands when going over the jump which causes her to lift up her head causing me to sit hard on her backside after the jump which makes her landing off kilter. He noted that my position was pretty good right up until the jump but one small change such as lifting my hands, caused her to land rough (how would you feel with someone slamming down on your backside just as you were completing a jump?).

My German trainer's niece jumps an Oxer
during the Young Riders Competition,
she placed third in the country

So I was instructed to hold onto her mane and keep my hands there for at least two strides after the jump. This seemed to work out really well and although my trainer is yelling me, it is in a good way (I had to ask as I was unsure). So all’s well that ends well.

My trainer then sets up an Oxer (two jumps set up back-to-back with some space in between them), and other than one jump where she took off at the trot pole and catapulted over it (where I proceeded to land on her neck but stayed on, I have good “stickiness,” he said) we did really well. It seems all the riding I did as a child paid off.

I really try to focus on my breathing. I take a deep breath several times prior to the jump and then again right before it and  once more after. I breathe, sit up straight and my shoulders down, leg on and heels down. Once I get to the jump I lean forward slightly and carry this position over the jump with my hands on her neck. I still forget to look between her ears but will try hard to do so next time.

I glance at the jump a few strides prior to it to gauge the right take off spot. I keep a firm grip with my lower leg to frame her in order to keep her impulsion coming from behind.

At the end of the lesson my instructor says “when you come in with a good attitude, keep your mouth shut, listen and do what I say, then it all goes pretty well.” OK so not quite sure how to respond to that, I  just nod my head. This seems to make him happy. I decide that if he’s happy, then I am happy. Note to all readers: it has taken me a very, very long time to realize that it is good to make (and keep) your trainer happy, for if they are happy then you are happy.

Thought for the day: Stickiness is a good thing.

10,000 Hours?!

To continue on from my previous post, Gladwell goes onto say that the most successful business people in the world such as Bill Gates, musicians like the Beatles and athletes such as star Canadian hockey players; practice on average 10,000 hours in order to perfect their skill.

When I read that I thought, OMG I am doomed! I just don’t have that kind of time. I AM TOO OLD!

So that is when two things hit me 1) 10,000 hours is to achieve world class status,  I just want to compete and finish a grand prix (and a mini grand prix would suffice!) and 2) what about all the hours I rode as a kid, surely they factor in too? Right?

So if my goal is say 7,000 hours and I achieved roughly 5,000 in my youth, then I only need another 2,000 hours to be able to compete (at a beginner level) in a (mini) Grand Prix.

This equates to roughly six years of training at six hours a week. Now that is doable. I am up for the challenge.

Outliers

I am off to NJ to meet with the CEO of American Standard Brands (ASB), Don Devine. Don and ASB are really great clients of my company GEF. They are big supporters of our Green Building Course for high school students (a burgeoning area for career and technical high schools).

At the Boston Logan Airport I perused the business book section for the flight and immediately, literally within seconds, honed in on Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. I loved reading his books: The Tipping Point and Blink and after quickly scanning some of the quotes on the front inside cover, I purchase it.

In reading Part One: Opportunity, it detailed how successful people really don’t rise from nothing, that they in fact are the ‘“beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities….that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways that others cannot.”  

To that end, Gladwell goes onto to showcase the Canadian hockey phenomenon as a key example to this statement. It seems that boys born from Jan 2 - March (i.e. right after Jan 1  which is the official Canadian eligibility cut off for age-class hockey) are, at a staggering rate, the stars of the game. Why this is so is that a boy who turns 10 on Jan. 2 has 12 months more to develop and mature versus those who are born prior to the Jan 1 cut off.  With a year growing advantage they are bigger and more coordinated and therefore more apt to be recruited.

So what does this mean? It means that a boy born after Jan 1 plays 50-75 games more per season versus his younger counterparts. He also receives the benefit of extra and better training and experiences which in fact make him a better player. So it wasn’t really due to the fact that he was bigger that made him better, he was selected because he was bigger and all the extra training and ice time made him better. The day he was born was his hidden advantage which brought him extraordinary opportunities. 

So what does this have to do with me and my riding? Well, it made me instantly realize that I do not have the early age advantage (hmmm...or did I?). So I started thinking about what hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities I have had and have now. Following is a list of what I came up with:

My hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities:

1)       I was given a pony and learned to ride when I was five and even though I never received professional training, I developed a natural seat and ability that I still have to this day.

2)      My pony (and later my horse) was kept in my back yard providing me the opportunity to ride whenever I wanted.

3)      I grew up in Florida which afforded optimal riding conditions year-round. Because we lived across the street from the bay and around the corner from the reservoir, on hot days we would literally go swimming on our horses. Note: this was also a great way to wash off all of the sticky orange juice we got covered with when the eating oranges while riding through the orange groves.

4)      Because my best friends, who were also my neighbors, had horses too, the primary form of recreation that I participated in growing up was, of course riding. I calculated that I spent nearly 5,000 hours riding between the ages of five and fifteen.

5)      Because my horse Nehi (named after the soda as he was a strawberry roan) was very spirited it forced me to think fast, develop a sturdy seat and a solid command of my horse.

6)      Because I learned how to control a very hot horse, it made me somewhat fearless. This has stayed with me, for the most part, to this day which is why I want to jump a prix.

7)      Fast forward to 2011: Due to a successful career in sales, I was able to afford a very good horse giving me an early advantage albeit at a late age, by having a superior jumper at the onset of my professional training.  

8)      Because a stable was built nearly across the street from where live, travel time to get there is inconsequential.

9)      Because the stable has an enclosed riding arena, I can ride any day I choose even while living in New England with its harsh weather conditions (cold winters, hot humid summers, heavy rainfall, and windy days). OK, so there are more gorgeous days than bad in New England and that is when I take advantage of the full outdoor arena and 700 acres of trails abutting the farm.

10)   Because with the stable, came excellent instruction in my Irish trainer which means that I don’t even have to travel for my training, except for a clinic here and there and of my summer trips to Germany.

11)   Given that I am an “early to bed and early to rise” practitioner, I ride at 5:30 every morning and am back in time to get my kids to school and off to work without skipping a beat.

12)   Because of the fact that I run my own company, I dictate my own schedule which means that I can lesson whenever I want; I just adjust my schedule accordingly.

13)   Because I am my own boss, I can take two weeks off to train in Germany, like I did last summer.

14)   Because my daughter rides too, it is a shared passion and I am her hero and role model which motivates me even further.

15)   Because my son is 13, I am teaching him responsibility and farm work through watering the horses and sweeping the stable aisles every weekend. The goal is to have him groom for me by spring show season.  OK, so this is not a hidden advantage or extraordinary opportunity, it just makes me happy to teach him farm work and to be around and appreciate animals.

So to summarize my hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities, I guess I have a few.

Happiness is Riding

This is my first lesson in almost two weeks. I ride with my friend Neal. We work in the indoor as it is very cold and windy outside. Our trainer puts up trot poles and then a small set of jumps which he proceeds to elevate after we clear them a few times. It really is fun.

He remarks after that I rode the most consistent that he had ever seen. It seems the time off from lessons and all the practicing with ground poles that Jaliska and I did during her lime recovery really worked.

My trainer notes that I need to make sure that I go over the jump with J versus being left behind or ahead of her. I am working hard on keeping a firm seat, with leg on and heels down to frame and support her for the jump.

Since the clinic I went to at the Equine Affair in Springfield, MA last week, I have been now looking at the jump, this is the same advice Elmar gave me. As long as I have her “in front of me” so that she is using her back legs for impulsion then she should not stop (which can happen when you don’t do these things while looking at the jump). That being said, I don’t stare at the jump, just glance at it to gauge my timing and distance so that I take off from the right location or spot in front of the jump. I then look straight ahead. I need to remember to look through her ears.

She veers to the right a bit. I believe this is because she is cutting the corner in getting to the jump, while if I had her fill the corner, it would leave me with more time and allow for a straighter trajectory in getting to the jump. I will work on this next time.

All in all it was a good lesson and I feel happy about my progress. 

Jaliska Gets Time Off

It was so cold and blustery and J looked so happy prancing around in the back field with her friends (Cranberry, TJ and Stella) that I decide to give her the day off, it is Sunday after all.

I did this even while knowing that I would not be able to ride tomorrow, Monday, as I am headed to New Jersey on business. But I also know that time off is a good thing for Jaliska. I ride her so much that a few days off will give her muscles a break and given she is in the field grazing all day; she does not need to be exercised.

I may even give her Tuesday off as it’s my company’s Thanksgiving feast. I will have a lesson on Wednesday, and riding her on Thursday, Thanksgiving morning, of course on Friday (because it’s my day off) and then another lesson again on Saturday.

So Jaliska gets three days off.

Stress Relief

This morning I wake at 3 am. My mind filled with the stresses of work. This causes me to get up immediately and head to my home office where I furiously begin typing and sending emails. I don’t feel any better. 

Note to self, don’t ever send out emails at 4 am to anyone other than yourself and then upon receiving, promptly delete them.

The author's son Bobby, 13, proudly displays his
Star Wars Lego ship.



I head to the barn at 7 am after kissing my son and wishing him a good day at school. He heads for the bus.


Sure enough after an hour with Jaliska, I am a person renewed.

Life with horse is a beautiful thing.



Question of the day:

How can you not love a wet, fuzzy muzzle?

Cowboy Take Me Away

I awake prior to the alarm going off at 4 am.

I pour a cup of coffee and head to my home office. After sending out a few emails and polishing off a bowl of cereal, I am off to paradise. I see my horse, her head is poking out of the window of her stall.  “Jaliska, good morning girl.” She whinnies. "I have an apple for you, here you go." She takes it in one bite.

I open the stable doors. It is a beautiful morning, like spring, nearly 50 degrees. The sunrise is truly spectacular. It's the color of a tropical drink, orange and red all swirled together. Just beautiful.

Jaliska enjoys her morning
ration of hay.

I grab a couple slices of hay to provide some energy for my girl and plug in my i-pod. I start singing “Cowboy Take Me Away” from the Dixie Chicks to her as I pick her hooves. I swear she is swaying to the music.

 

Jaliska suddenly spins around to look out the window. She hears what I can't with my i-pod  plugged in. I see someone walking by, unusual for this hour. “Hello,” I say. “Sorry, did my singing bother you?” He shakes his head no while laughing.


“Who are you,” I ask, not recognizing him as a boarder or stable hand. I am Rob from the hunt, I am here to lay down scent for the dogs.  “Oh, have a great day Rob from the hunt,” I say.

I remove all of the poles from the jumps
and place them on the ground.

Jaliska has already turned around, intent on finishing her early morning ration of hay. I leave her to it and head to the outdoor ring. I remove all of the jumps and lay the poles on the ground. “No jumping without professional supervision.” Barn Rule # 1. This was made very clear to me not so long ago in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS, we will leave it at that.

“The jumping is the easy part,” my trainer always says. Best for me to work on the hard part then. That would be getting to the the jump at the right distance, cantering the right number of strides in between and perfecting my gait while jumping the course, etc. etc. etc. This is what I will work on today (and for the rest of my life).

Jaliska contracted lime recently so after ten days of antibiotics, and my slowly building up her endurance, first walking, then walk trot, then walk, trot and a few minutes of cantering, etc. I am finally able to allow her to canter some poles.

Jaliska is on fire today, she is like a finely tuned machine as she manuevers the course. She is dead on center at every pole. She has missed jumping  just as much as me (if you call jumping ground poles jumping). Jaliska is perfection. My ride is a dream. Life is a dream, at the farm.