Back to California

    I am back in California!  I got to fly home with Sjapoer and I was really excited about that.  I have a few new concerns now though.  For example, in case of an air pressure drop – there are no masks for the horses. What’s up with that? I think I will have to noodle on that.  There are also no life rafts for them.  I had a plan to tie SJ to the raft so he could swim alongside us until we were rescued.  I spent a good part of the flight plotting how I would save him. I sometimes curse my wild imagination.

    Anyway, I have had a truly enlightening and empowering trip, but I am glad to be home.  I got to LAX last Tuesday. The apartment complex I stay in got renovated while I was in Florida and it looks great.  I am glad to be back with my roomie; grandma! I missed her smoothies. I have already eaten at my favorite taco shop ,Juanita’s, so everything is fitting back into a routine quite quickly. I am excited to begin the next phase of work and training.    Congratulations to all the other USA team competitors this summer across Europe and the Americas.  I have been honored to be even a small part of this explosion of the red, white and blue. Congrats to all my friends and fellow competitors at NAJYRC! 

    Definitely can say I like the SoCal weather better than anywhere else in America.  I do miss the green and the hazy mist of Washington and those 45 days of the best season on the planet.  But for overall broad perfection I can see why California is so expensive.  You pay for the weather.  Heading up to Oregon to visit my Nike family this weekend.  Exciting!  Have to go to New Student Orientation in Texas even though I have been going to school online!  

   But it is time to focus on being my best for Christine and Sjapoer!

My experience in Germany

   Well my first big European competition was a very exciting experience!  Before anything else I want to say thanks again to everyone who helped me to be able to be here.  The USEF committee and donors that made the program possible, I hope you continue this program because it is life changing and eye opening.  The Dressage Foundation, the Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund, and Lendon Gray and Courtney’s Quest Scholarship for helping to defer the financial costs and giving me the opportunity to stay a few weeks longer for additional training.  Thank you to my sponsors Custom Saddlery and IRH for making SJ and I look good and to do our best.  Thank you to Nike for giving me the privilege to represent you and the honor of having your spokesperson here to not only support me but to get to experience the amazing sport I love.  Thanks to Sheryl Shade the most supportive and knowledgeable agent anyone could ask for.  Thanks to their daughters Shade and Ryan for giving their mom’s up for a weekend so that I could have them.  Next time I hope to see you both here!  Thanks to Jessica Hainsworth a true friend and my partner in all things dressage.  These things would be so stressful without you.  David Wightman it was so fun getting to know you and I am up for staring contests, singing, and general goofiness any time.  Thanks for being there for us all.  Genay Vaughn one of the greatest rewards of getting selected this year was to get time to spend with you.  You always give me a reboot and I think you are the best friend a girl could have.  Catherine Chamberlain (Cat) thanks for being such a great teammate and being so supportive.  I enjoyed getting to meet you and hope we can do it all again soon!  I love your sense of humor and your focus.  George Williams, when I say we clicked in training I really mean that. I don’t just mean about riding, but politics, sportsmanship, strategy, teamwork and a list of other things.  I really appreciate all you did to help make me successful in the ring and out of it. I also want to say thank you for all the extra time you took with my “posse.” They were all awed and impressed.  Finally, to my extended family of supporters I have to say my heart overflows with your generosity.  Uncle James you were there every minute jumping in any way you could.  You went literally countries out of your way to be helpful and supportive.  You got people on trains, stood in line for coffee, carried bags and all manner of things, all while expressing deep interest and support for me.  Grandma and papa I know you couldn’t come physically because of work but you were here in spirit.  I love you and thanks to you and my mom for all your help.  You guys are the rock on which I stand.

     I put the thanks first, because if we put them at the end I know sometimes you just quit reading!  HaHa and they deserve top billing.  So What did I learn here.  First, I have to admit some of the most valuable things I learned here are not what I expected to learn. I had heard that shows here can be crazy.  At the RDHMW I remember Devon Kane telling us about the craziness she encountered here and it stuck.  Though I had been told how different it is, this is really something one must experience to appreciate.  Some of the things they casually do here, we would lodge a formal complaint about at home. Scooters with four kids on them zooming between mounted horses and jumping off right in front of you, while you’re walking on cement next to a moving tractor lifting bales of hay while a loose dog runs around your feet!  I kid you not! It is truly an atmosphere one must experience to believe.  It isn’t bad or wrong it is just totally a different culture.  I am so lucky to get to learn to deal with it as a young rider which is a great benefit of this program.  I think that Europeans grow up in this chaos which makes them more prepared for it later.  

    Second, I realized that while dressage has been my life for over a decade, this sport I love doesn’t have the same history or awareness and support it does in Europe.  I mean, I always knew it was ‘their’ sport but I didn’t realize what that meant until I got here.  The facility the show was at opened in 1322!  That is 450 years before the US became a nation and longer than we have been one!  The show atmosphere, and the stress got to me a bit the first day and I was nervous.  We improved every day as I got more comfortable. That is another great benefit of this program.  I didn’t do as well as I could and I am sorry for that. The individual day I started to put everything aside and to focus and I was lucky enough to move up to 12th.  The interesting thing was that from like 6th to 12th place we all were 67% so the spread was so close. It showed us how competitive my old guy can still be.  On freestyle day, SJ shines.  We ended up 7th so I was ecstatic with him.  We were warming up in a torrential downpour but just as we started to get ready to go in, the rain cleared up and the sun came out.  George and I had looked at my choreography (done by the brilliant Karen Robinson of Applause Dressage) and it was done so that there is space at the end to input things that might have messed up.  I had three different options we had worked out so that I adjusted a bit at the end.  I want to thank Karen for always making me the best freestyles. 

    Another thing for young riders coming over in the future, the June weather is unpredictable.  Bring clothes for all four seasons and layer.  Having lived the last few years in Southern California and Florida I haven’t been this cold in a long time. But the Germans do know how to put on a show regardless of weather! Almost 900 combinations with just jumping and dressage.  NAJYRC I don’t think has that many with eventing, endurance and reining.  The horses were fabulous.  I saw a pony passaging!

    I have to say sitting in the dining tent was a bit of a surreal experience.  At the table on your left there could be the Dutch with their vibrant orange jackets and pale blonde hair.  The Russians sitting next to them are leaning forward and are highly animated. Twenty seven countries are staggered everywhere speaking differently, looking different in their bright colors.  The atmosphere is electric.  NAJYRC is similar in that the Canadians are always identifiable in their Red. Yet this is really different.  It is as if 27 different groups like the Canadians are around and each has a history, an identifiable dressage story and characters.  But as I sat there, it felt comfortable and a bit like coming home.  We belong here and with enough support and experience we will continue to take a seat at the table and flash the red, white and blue. 

    Another difference is that there are guys here.  I don’t mean one or two in jumping, guys in dressage.  There isn’t just the lone one that makes him unique, special or identifiable.  There are dozens.  In fact, many teams had more males than females in jumping and there was a fair number in dressage. 

    The transport trucks here are awesome.  I will dream about the little one that is like a minivan with a box stall, and the full size half-million dollar Mercedes RV thing with the 6 stall and living quarters.  Wow.  Someday, if I can ever get one of those I will be in heaven.

    So far I haven't run over anything while driving around these narrow roads! My German is limited but I do ok speaking.  Driving without GPS would be a nightmare though because the words are so long that you pass the sign before you have sounded out half the word!

    Then it is home to Albert Court in California! 

   

Germany!

    My first week in Europe has been quite an adventure.  Sjapoer arrived with a little piece missing; his tail!  I guess he must have rubbed it on something, which was new for him.  It makes me want to cry as he always has had the most beautiful tail.  I am seriously considering a weave.  Haha.

    When I arrived in Dusseldorf there was a mix up on the rental car so I had to adjust my plan on the fly and I grabbed a train into Dorsten and then a taxi to my hotel.  The hotel is just a little B & B style place with a very nice lady running it.  She is taking great care of us and the food is good.  I think we are all gaining weight with all the rich foods.  We do some shopping at the grocery store.  Between Genay and I together our German is ok for shopping. 

    Jessica, Genay and I have been staying together and we basically have the entire top floor to ourselves.  There is a little spiral staircase out to a small widow’s walk with an amazing view.  The first day we were all so excited because you can see the big church from the window and it is a breathtaking view.  At five am when the bells ring every morning the view doesn’t seem quite so important!   The city is a typical little German village.  Gut Hohenkamp where we are staying is a beautiful facility.  

   George Williams has been coming over every day for lessons and Sjapoer has been doing well.  The cool weather here has really perked him up a bit.  I think he feels 5 years younger.  He has been a little frisky. 

  We have been getting out a little to do some sightseeing after riding.  One day we went strawberry picking.  The berries tasted really sweet and we had them for dinner on Sunday when EVERYTHING was closed. One afternoon we stepped inside the church, it was so beautiful. Another afternoon we went for ice cream and we have been to the tack and feed stores a few times.  The tack stores here are amazing.  I bought bell boots for 14 Euros! It is unbelievable how much variety they keep in stock.  Genay had some great photos of the stores on FB. Henrick took us to see the foals.  Talk about heaven, nothing could be closer to an equestrian’s idea of heaven than baby horses.

    We had one day that we had to drive up to Amsterdam to exchange rental cars. The car company had added all of these fees on the initial reservation and the car was almost 2000 Euros!  So we made a new reservation for less than half that and had to drive the car back to the airport.  We got there and they said they didn’t have any cars ready so we had to come back in about an hour.  We walked around Amsterdam and saw the cool moats.  Then we went back, and guess what?  They gave us the SAME car! A five hour ordeal for the same car! 

    I am starting to get excited and ready for Hagan next week.  Genay will be headed to Rotterdam.  Jessica is doing her usual amazing job being ‘mom’ for everyone.  I can’t imagine ever being on a team without her. 

    I have to again say thanks to everyone that made this amazing adventure possible. I am learning every day and the memories I take from here will be with me forever.  I can’t wait to see everyone coming over next week for the CDI.  I am grateful for such supportive family, friends and sponsors.  

And we are off!

   The packing continues! I was standing in a pile of endless polo wraps, blankets, and boots thinking to myself; I have something to cover any possible event or emergency that might arise for Sjapoer.  Yet, I am taking a bottle of aspirin and a few bandaids for me.  

    Sjapoer has just been loaded onto the transport and is headed to the airport!  On our last riding day in Florida, we had the opportunity to go canter on the track at Palm Beach Equine.  It was so nice to be able to stretch Sjapoer's legs before he left. Mom had been spoiling him with treats and had been banned from giving him any more. She enjoys turning Sjapoer into a Cookie Monster. Every time she comes to visit in the past four years we are usually packing to move somewhere; it is so common that the animals get all excited and feel displaced when she comes because they know something is up.  Odessa, my little schnauzer saw mom in the parking lot when she arrived, grandma was out walking her, and she heard mom’s voice and made a beeline for the car and stood at the door waiting to head out!  It was really funny.

    Speaking of moving, today I say goodbye to Wellington.  What a unique place for the equestrian world.  The format of packing so many shows into one place in such a short time is really intense.  It is also challenging, demanding and a whole new level of well ‘everything.’  Like everything it has its goods and not so good things.  It can be demanding yet distracting. It can be rewarding yet defeating.  But I would suggest anyone who can manage to have a season here or even part of one to do so.  It is a great teacher, a great eye opener and you will learn a lot about yourself and our sport.

    I am beginning to get the excited nerves about the new adventure ahead.  I am excited to get to spend time with my teammates and get to know one another. Friendship to me is one of the greatest benefits of life.  I hope we can get a little down time in Germany to spend bonding and developing those friendships. Auf Wiedersehen!

    

ThinLine Book Drive!!

The world is becoming a more diverse and tolerant place, yet we still have so far to go.  I think one of the reasons we are becoming more accepting is because we have become more educated and thus more understanding of the differences, histories and uniqueness around us.  As we learn about who people are, as we learn about why and how things and people became what they are we understand and with understanding perhaps we gain empathy.  

One of the things I hope to educate people about is the needs of Native people here in the United States.  As a part Ojibwa this is very personal for me. I could write for pages (and my mom could speak for days) on the state of the Native American being the result of the genocidal practices of the US government.  She could speak to you about the boarding school tortures, the coordinated effort to take land and to keep the Native and African from uniting.  She could talk about the growing crime on reservation land in the “Breaking Bad” style as nontribal criminal elements cannot be prosecuted by the tribal governments.  But I don’t hold the knowledge she does about the story of the Native people.  What I do know is that I can do something to help, to understand and to leave a mark by making the life of another better than I found it. 

I hope you can join me in this quest.  The Pine Ridge Sioux are some of the poorest people in the entire United States.  Their education system is sadly lacking in all the basic supplies we have at our finger tips.  They don’t have computers and the technology we take for granted in their schools.  Heck, they don’t even have enough paper and books.  So I want to join with ThinLine in their goal to promote a book drive for the population of the Pine Ridge Reservation. I found the ThinLine effort in an article on dressage daily.  I put the link below if you want more information.  I also put the direct link on the ThinLine site for more information about their efforts.  I hope to organize a book drive at my mom’s university and to further promote the effort whenever I can.  If you are interested in helping out contact me directly on my FB or email!  aydenmouse@yahoo.com

http://dressagedaily.com/article/thinline-lakota-project-bringing-native-american-artisty-pine-ridge-reservation?page=1

https://www.thinlineglobal.com/native-american-horse-tack/

Thank you!!

I am going to Europe as part of the Young Rider Tour.  I was so blessed to be selected, along with Catherine Chamberlain and Bebe Davis to represent the US in international competition this summer in Germany.  This is a dream come true. I mean really, I have written dozens of applications for things in the last few years and they always ask my long and short term goals.  My answer is always ‘to someday get the opportunity to compete for the USA in international competition.”  So here is the dream!
Now comes the time of getting everything ready to go! I am sad that I won’t be coming back to Florida after as I will return directly to California from Europe so I am packing up the apartment here at the same time.  Ugh, I am digging in my closet and sorting my stuff into different piles for boxing. Let’s just say it is a bit crowded here.
Jessica Hainsworth, the best sidekick and friend on the planet is coming with me to groom.  We met at the first RDHMW almost 5 years ago.  She has been at every major competition I've been to.  I am really excited to see her as we were supposed to visit over spring break but things got in the way.  We haven’t seen each other since our trip to Spain last summer.
I need to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make this dream a reality.  Mom and dad you are really great supporters of my goals and dreams.  I appreciate that you don’t make it too easy for me and that you have made me work hard, stretch and sacrifice for my dreams.  It makes them all that much more satisfying.  Grandma you know that I am the luckiest granddaughter on the planet.  I get to see you every day, and I have your unconditional love and support which is the foundation of my daily life. Endel Ots a huge and never ending thank you because without your last minute rescue I wouldn’t have even been able to qualify to go. Sheryl and Lori you have been amazingly supportive these last two years through the most difficult ones of my career. I have faced some challenge in growing up, in my career, and in my personal life and you have both stood by me and been a light in the tunnel to guide me.  I will never forget all your kind words, support and belief in me.  It really means a lot. Christine all I can say is I love you and I cannot wait to get home.  We have some great years ahead and I couldn’t think of anyone in the world I would want by my side and in my corner more than you. You are my inspiration and I strive to be even just a tenth of the kind of person you are. Thanks to all my amazing sponsors Nike for taking a chance on me and our amazing sport and for all you do for athletes worldwide.  Custom Saddlery thanks for always making Sjapoer look and feel great.  IRH for being both supportive and fun!  HGF for the support in my season in Wellington. Charlotte Bredahl for all the work you put in with Sjapoer and I this season.
Last but not least Lendon, I have to take some time to say how very much you have meant to me and to this sport.  I came to you a little over four years ago from Texas and you have shaped every day of my life since then.  Without your support, your guidance and your patience I would most likely have not been able to stay in this sport and I would not have achieved all I have done.  You have inspired, pushed, cajoled and dragged so many of us through so much.  All my love, respect and support in any way you need forever!

Road Trip!

I went back to Texas!  I came to my old stomping grounds at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy for the CDI.  I was lucky enough to catch a ride down with Endel Ots and his horses. 

The weather there wasn't nearly as brutal as the South Florida humidity.  I think SJ approved. Leslie Rohrer of the Houston Dressage Society arranged for us to stay at the totally awesome Isabella farms.  The arena was great (the mirrors are amazing), the grass was lush, the stalls big and the giant shade trees were everywhere. 

Grandma and I crashed at the hotel eating Chili's to go and catching up on sleep.  The last few weeks in Wellington were tough because with everyone leaving it seemed like a endless week of goodbyes.  I am so thankful to Kim Boyer and HGF for my season in Wellington.  HGF is so beautiful and the girls and I had a lot of fun learning and growing together.  I was excited for this weekend to see some of my old friends and I made some great new ones.  

Heading in the truck for 17 hours back to Wellington. Can't wait for whatever new adventures are ahead and it seems not so scary knowing that Albert Court and Christine are there somewhere soon!