New Info and an Update!

I have had a fun (not) few days. First, I woke up Monday feeling really crappy. You know the signs, feverish achy and overall crap. Then in the afternoon as I am blundering in misery about the apartment, I somehow mysteriously, totally wrenched my back. So within a matter of hours I am at the chiropractor getting electrode treatments, getting iced, and the usual ‘yanked’ around. Tuesday, I was supposed to have a lesson but the Dr. said no way I should sit in a saddle and get bounced around. I had twisted my lower lumbar and pinched a nerve. The inflammation and pain is not the worst part however; that is the boredom that comes from lying around all day doing nothing! I can’t stand to be inside all day. I have definitely realized I could never work in an office job. I literally felt like my body was pacing while I was sitting on the couch. I don’t do inactive well. I think after two days of this my grandmother might be ready to call in reinforcements.

The worst part is worrying about SJ. I haven’t seen him for two days. That is tough. I get worried that he misses me. That he wonders where I am. I guess this is how people feel about their soul mates; mine is just a horse! All you horse people out there know exactly what I am talking about. Ok, and you dog people (that means you Aunt Julie) know exactly what I mean.

I also feel anxious because I want SJ and I to be working on our goals. We have a lot of work to do if we want to be successful next year at Brentina or I1. I don’t want to miss a single day of working toward that goal. I also get frustrated because I have this AMAZING trainer in Jeremy Steinberg and I hate to miss even 5 minutes of his knowledge. So Wednesday, when I still couldn’t ride I at least got to go watch Jeremy ride my baby. It was the first time he sat on SJ. I was really excited to watch him.

Another positive thing this week was that International Riding Helmets did a featured rider FB post on me and it was so cool. One thing in the last few years I have been working on is getting sponsorships and assistance with the many costs and supports that are needed in our sport. I know this is a huge question for a lot of you junior and young riders. How to get help? My first advice would be to ‘brand’ yourself. You have to let companies and individuals know what you stand for and what you represent. Companies that have the same values and want to have the same image will be whom you seek out or who seek you out. I will have more on this strategy next time!

Another announcement this week; EDAP again in January! I am really excited. I have to say this is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite events in the year. It is better than a lot of holidays for me! I can’t wait to see everyone and get to spend noncompetition time together. Every year at EDAP I make new friends that become such a big part of my life. Genay, my big sis and I really solidified our friendship there last year. My great friend and the best ever Groom Jessica I met there my first year. You all know how imperative she has been to my success this year. Brandi, I met the first year and she gives me great competitive strategy advice! She even called me at NAYRC from Europe after watching my first ride to straighten me out for the second day! I visited her last week at the local show and we talked about our long term goals in dressage. It really helps having a peer group support network of fellow riders. I made these at EDAP! I already have visions of the new friends I will make and the old ones I will cement. We are going to have a lot of fun everybody! Let me know when you guys are getting into Wellington. I will be there a few days early so let me know your plans and we can all get together.

Some News!

I have moved to California! My trainer Jeremy Steinberg relocated from Kirkland, WA to Del Mar, California. I came with him to this more competitive market as it was a great opportunity for my dressage career. While the choice was not hard for me and I jumped on the chance, there were some ‘issues.’ For example, my parents were a bit distraught that I might give up my full ride education to Seattle University a private four year 40K a year institution! However, I called SU and the Redhawks graciously deferred my enrollment for up to two years with my scholarships intact. This gives me a bit of time to see where this opportunity leads me and the safety net of school later. I also intend to apply at UC San Diego and several other schools here for the spring. I also still have the transfer option to Cornell as well through my sophomore year. The next issue was expense. We had just moved grandma and I into a new apartment literally the day before Jeremy announced his move. That meant a broken lease, new deposits in California….ugh! But my amazing parents and grandma stepped up and continued their support of my goals by making all the pieces come together. THANK YOU!

The tricky part was heading to KY for the Festival of Champions; sending SJ back to CA not to WA and moving me and my stuff while I was in KY. My mom and grandma didn’t attend the FOC this year because instead they loaded everything into a Uhaul, made the 22 hour drive and unloaded the UHaul in the new apartment in Carlsbad in 3 days! They are amazing women. Ok, so they had a little help as mom brought Ryan Jordan, one of her former students and I got a friend of mine to help with the heavy lifting. They somehow managed to get it all in and have nearly everything but my boxes unpacked before I got home on Tuesday.

SJ got in Saturday morning. He is doing well and seems to love his new home. It is so beautiful here and the weather is perfect. I hear it is like this all year, sweaters in the evenings and morning. Shorts in the afternoon! I cannot wait to get to the beach. I am really excited to be at Ridgemar Equestrian center, mere minutes from the Del Mar horse park. Jeremy will have less flight time and be home more so I will be getting 3-4 lessons a week from him and when he is gone there are so many wonderful trainers here I have a plethora of amazing clinicians to see. I met the dressage trainer here Marie Medosi and she seems very sweet and welcoming. I am going to start working for her a few days a week.

I spent the morning working on my submission to the new owner’s website. I spent the day just hanging around the barn all day watching SJ. He isn’t known to be a great hauler so I have to literally sit with him all day to keep an eye on him. No one knows him like I do and they might not catch some change in his behavior as quickly after a long haul. I did have to meet the shippers at 7 am and I left without a coat, or having eaten so I learned a lesson about that…

A few glitches about moving in, exhaustion from the FOC and the move put me firmly on the couch most of the week! I felt mentally and physically depleted. But over the weekend I started getting my energy back and even started running every day. I need to build up my endurance. My knees hate pounding the pavement though. I may have to think of an alternative. Grandma keeps trying to encourage my getting out and about by telling me there are cute guys in our complex. However, I have yet to see one so I think she is making it up!

I saw Caroline Roffman is leasing Pie. My mom spoke to her about it but he has to stay and show in Wellington. She was really, really nice and the next time I get down there I am going to visit her facility. If anyone is going to be there I think he would be an amazing investment of your time and money! Also if you haven’t heard Tina Konyot is looking for working students. If I hadn’t already committed for the next few years here that would be a great opportunity! Check on it.

Jessica Hainsworth finished her applications for college this week! Good luck Jess. I have my fingers crossed for you. I know how hard it is to try to pursue dressage and an education for a lot of riders our age. I got an email from Megan Heeder from the same EDAP clinic I met Jessica at. She also has lots of questions about this subject. It seems to be perhaps one of the biggest issues that loses dressage so much young talent. I know it is becoming a bigger discussion topic with so many of the coordinators and supporters at the highest levels. Stay tuned for more on this topic soon.

FOC

So it has been another eventful week! It seems like these big shows are about months of planning and preparation and then days of frantic execution. No matter how much you plan ahead something always isn’t how you thought it would be. You forget your warm-up boots. Your horse refuses to go near the awards arena because he is terrified of carriages. It rains. It pours.

On Tuesday, after a morning lesson with Jeremy we had an EDAP dinner at our house. It is always so fun to get everyone together. I think one of the great benefits of many different junior and young rider programs are the friendships you build at noncompetitive events. I have gained such great support and understanding from other riders like my big sis Genay Vaughn. We rented a house together at FOC this year so we got to spend a lot of time reconnecting. I love her mom so much. She and my mom have got to be the two highest energy women I have ever met. Genay and I spent some time swapping mom stories you can be sure! I also wanted to say I am so PROUD of Genay. Her first year at Brentina Cup she and DW were Reserve Champion! You set a high bar for those behind you to live up to (and I don’t just mean in competition). I stumbled upon a deck of cards at the EDAP party and lets just say we are a group of very competitive people!

Wednesday was the jog and they are becoming a lot less eventful than they used to be for SJ and I. Maybe I shouldn’t jinx it. As you guys know, he and I have had a few moments in the past. He has lifted me several feet off the ground. My feet have somehow gotten under his. He gets so nervous and he keeps trying to move in closer to me. He is such a big guy though it is really hard for him to physically jump in my lap! Sometimes I think he has the spirit of a dog and not a horse.

The first day of competition I was not pushing him too hard. He really wasn’t feeling right and he gave a decent ride but I didn’t push him for brilliance at all. I went for accuracy and then messed up my counts. Why is it at home I can count to 3 and 4 but in the ring sometimes I leave the counting to SJ?

Friday I had a few baubles that were not too major and we ended up Young Rider Champions. It was really an amazing end to an amazing two years with SJ. Even our first difficult year together was part of the thrill of doing so well these last two years. We have come a long way together and he has given me such opportunities.

I went to the launch of the new website to match owners and riders on Friday night. Amazing idea! I will definitely be signing up soon. Be sure to check it out on FB and their website. ExperienceDressage.com

Saturday was the charity celebrity mounted games to raise money for USEF. It was so fun. I was horribly slow. I guess dressage has trained me for accuracy not speed. Anyway we raised I believe over 20,000 for USEF and had so much fun doing it.

I have been hanging out in Lexington ever since waiting for Brookledge to pick up SJ and take him home.

Festival!

Well the 2013 Festival of Champions adventure has begun. I flew to DFW on Wednesday morning. A lovely 4 am wake-up call for a 6 am flight. I arrived and walked out of the terminal and started to melt! My first order of business was changing into shorts to deal with the 50 degree weather change. Then mom had a dozen errands to run before the trip which was exhausting. We met papa for dinner at Olive Garden and then early to bed. It was time to start adjusting to the three hour time difference for FOC. In the morning it was off to get straightened by Dr. Bell. Every equestrian had better find a good chiropractor early the are worth their weight in gold. I see dr. Bell every time I am in DFW. Then it was off to shop for shoes for my jog outfit. Directly after we hit the road for a fourteen hour haul to Lexington. I wondered what mom would do this time to try to kill me, it is a family joke that every time we go on a long haul some event occurs where I get injured! I have had my head shut in the hatch door, been fed walnuts that I am allergic to and all sorts of trauma. It didn't take long until I found out this years. She spilled concentrated liquid ant killer in the car. Even after having the carpets scrubbed twice the fumes burned all the hair out of the inside of my nose. Friday bright and early we pulled in to Lexington. We went straight to Reese's Maple Crest Farms where SJ stays before we are in Ky. I just love her facility and dream of some day having such a place to calmly own. Everyone there is just so nice. They dote on SJ and with the deep thick green grass and the huge pastures I don't think he ever wants to leave. Then we were off to the house we rented for dinner and early bed. Mom found a different place then the one we normally stay at while in KY. It is even closer to the KHP but smaller so when we aren't here for region team events it is a perfect size for us. We are sharing with my sister-friend Genay Vaughn her mom and my groom Jessica Hainsworth. I am so excited to see them both. Part of the fun of these big competitions is getting to see them. Today it was back to the barn to feed, ride, clean and talk to my fellow Washingtonian pony rider Nadine. We had fun talking about what she can expect this week at FOC. I can't wait to meet my fellow mounted games team riders. Go team George Williams. Check out my FB to get the link to donate and help the United States Equestrian Team. The week will get crazy fast. I have a lesson with Reese Sunday and Monday then it is off to the KHP. The jog is Wednesday and then directly after a jr/yr meeting and then the welcome party. Thursday is the team test and Friday the Individual test for Young Riders. Saturday is the mounted games charity event and the competitors party. Then Sunday off on a new adventure I will tell you all about soon!

Kentucky again!

   Well I am getting packed for Kentucky!  Everything is getting washed, boxed and ready to go.  It feels like I did this only last week for NAYRC.  One question I wish someone had an answer for is how to keep barn Gremlins from making off with everyone’s stuff.  I mean when you get that pink embroidered bedazzled whip you thought it was the only one on the planet.  Yet inevitably there are 3 in the barn and none are yours!  So Jeremy and I have been having four lessons a week for the last month. One of the things I really do work and concentrate on is trying to implement the corrections and changes that he and the judges suggest.  I try to be open to exploring different ideas on how to tackle a problem or training issue.  You would be surprised where some of the biggest ‘ah ha’ moments come from. It is also amazing how long it takes to fix bad habits.  I have historically skinny chicken wing arms.  It has taken a very long time to get them tucked in!  I think because they grew before my body.  
  In the last few years you may have observed that I like to do research when I have a question.  I like to gather information, make lists and think about things for a while before coming to decisions.  Maybe this is a reaction to living with my "jump off the cliff without looking" mom, but I like to make powerpoints and files.  I also like to collect things.  I kind of horde and can’t stop collecting things until I have the set.  For example, remember happy meals at McDonald’s?  I always had to get every action figure in the set  Anyway, I have all my Breyer horses labeled with their model number etc. and I kind of laugh at myself about this.  My point is one of the suggestions I have to youth riders is to do the research.  Before I go to a show I look up who the judges, stewards, vet, show secretaries, and other personnel are at the show.  If I don’t know them already I google and try to find a picture.  I want to be able to say hello and call them by name or perhaps know something about them.  For example, the name of their horse or dog is always a great piece of information.  This helps me to relax around strangers and to make people of ‘power’ seem more human and less scary.  Try it and see if it helps you other shy people.  I know most people don’t think I am shy and I am not; AFTER I have that first opening to meet people.   
   Finally, I have been making jewelry for the last week.  I am so excited to see so many people in KY that have been so helpful to Sjapoer and I this last year.  We will be staying at Maple Crest Farms with Reese Koeffler-Stanfield again.  I have to say everyone listen to her radio show the next few weeks!  I can’t wait to tell everyone on her show about some big changes in my life coming up soon.  I won’t spill the beans until then so tune in to the Dressage Radio Show! See you all next week in Kentucky!

Sabine Schutz-Kery Clinic

So a few weeks ago we moved into a new apartment here in Kirkland. You know how when you move you find all kinds of things you forgot existed! I found a bunch of old clinic dvds! One of my all-time favorites was my very first clinic with Sabine Schutz-Kery it was at least 5 years ago I was about 13 but looked around 10 or 11 in the video. I was riding this Friesian named Teleos.  He was often compared to the quarterback of the football team in high school. He was absolutely beautiful but a little slow on the uptake. Anyway he was an infamous bolter and had been hanging out in the barn being ridden sporadically for almost two years. My trainer at the time, Bre Dorsett thought I could ride him. My mother was terrified but after a few months she quit coming to watch every time I sat on him.

In the clinic we were working on a bunch of different things we were having difficulty with; walk to canter transitions, haunches in and other issues. He was showing first and schooling second level at the time. I went through her clinic with me and wrote out a lot of really great suggestions she gave me at the time that helped not only with Teleos but to develop in my training.

First, I had to laugh at myself. I was so skinny and bony my little arms look so much like chicken wings; especially because I used to have a problem with tucking my elbows in. We started with shoulder in work in the trot. She told me to get off the rail to make sure he wasn’t just using the rail but that I was riding on the aids. She told me it was good that “when you change direction you are not taking the neck beyond the shoulder line. Keeping his neck between his shoulders makes him take the bending aids, because if you take the neck to far over, almost inviting him for the evasion to throw his shoulders out.”

When we switched to canter work she said to start on the side he does better to help him gain confidence. She said working on transitions was about quality not quantity. Had to make sure we had bend, he was supple and relaxed but alert in the walking mode. We talked the whole time as she said about “bend, bend, bend…because it really gives you access to his body. It really makes him elastic, supple and relaxed.” We have to‘gymnasticize’ our horses she said. She asked what ingredients you need to make a good walk-canter transition. She went on to list several things. He has to bend around your inside leg in order to set up to start on the correct lead. He has to be over his back so the neck has to be somewhat low and relaxes and he has to walk on his hind legs so that he can really push off the right way so he is not forehand oriented in that moment. He has to use his hind legs to start proper walk-canter transition.

In the canter his neck kept popping up. She said I needed steady aids in the turns of the canter circle because he was hopping. “So every step of turn in the circle is the same, yes you need to use your outside rein but not too much that it takes the bend away.” As we repeatedly did walk transitions she was adamant that I have the walk correct first. She said when “you get the feeling he wants to drop his neck and be round that is when you ask for the canter. That is not the drop of the neck where you drop into the forehand but he releases and carries himself. It still stays balanced. Do not let him drop the neck and then go on the forehand. Drop the neck but then pick him up into a bending aid so that he stays uphill in the shoulders-so it’s not as easy as just giving the rein because then start stretching down and he comes down in the shoulders. But when it is just right, at that feeling move away from inside leg, then outside leg back.” “Push him away from your inside leg before asking for canter. It is not a leg yield, but to see if he is responding in the ribcage. You are just looking for his response.”

Then once he is cantering ”be alert of the feeling when he wants to come back so that you are ahead of him in your driving aids.” The timing of the driving aids she repeated often. “Be ahead of him.” When he gets“stabby or quick in the stride you want a soft round jumping stride so supple him then.” Contact is not constant but has elasticity. Take and give.

She later said that ‘when he relaxes with energy is great. That is what is challenging in dressage. You want energy and power but with relaxation and not because they are tense or fearful.”

Then we worked on haunches in! First we did them at the walk and then trot. She talked a lot about why it was so confusing to him. We ask him to not just bend but to bend and go sideways. “ In a leg yield we don’t have the bend. In the shoulder in same bend but leg aids move away from inside leg. But on haunches in the inside leg with every stride (here my left) said to bend from pressure on rib cage and outside leg says to go over. It is confusing because you have two legs with pressure saying move over but both in opposite directions. He is traveling to left but ribcage is bending to right! Try to have equally bend and equally sideways. Each step inside leg asks for bend, and release and at the same time feed sideways driving aids into the bending aids from your outside leg. Main aid is your outside leg. Try to keep him supple from left rein. “Each long side we did haunches in each short side ten meter circles. She said this was to remind him to move away from the inside leg in the middle of the body, in order to get a nice curve.” Use the short side to regain the main ingredient. She said he had to understand that you don’t want either, you don’t want bend without sideways and you don’t want sideways without bend. Then “when he gets comfortable with the idea, then the suppler he gets the more angle we can get because it’s the rib cage suppleness that makes the angle greater.” She also noted that the inside leg is also responsible for keeping the trot moving and keeping him through the neck so he stays round.

He was a bit confused about this new stuff so she was adamant that he was evading because he was confused so not to discipline him but to keep riding all the aids so he had no option but to do the movement I asked for until he figured out how to make his body do these conflicting things.

By the end of the hour I had taken several layers I was working up such a sweat. That was the first of several great sessions with Sabine.

Lazy Days

This is the longest I have gone without a blog. It isn’t because life has been really exciting and I have been too busy. In fact, just the opposite is true. Things have been sort of wakeup, repeat the last two weeks. With my online schooling schedule running well into NAJYRC and fall already here I made a bucket list of a few things I wanted to do in my only two weeks of summer. I went paddle boarding, rock climbing and hiking. I took my grandmother to see the One Direction movie! We had the time wrong and got there really early so I went on stage and gave her a one man serenade to an empty theatre. She said it was a night to remember.

When my mom was here we went out on Jeremy’s boat to see Seattle. We drove out to the locks, parked and went to dinner. I got to drive on the way back. It was really pretty seeing all the lights. They even had these people that stand on shore and throw and twirl fire. It reminded me of my Aunt Julie who was a baton twirler. She said she used to light her batons on fire too; and my mom thinks horses are dangerous.

Both Jeremy and Shauntel were out of town last week. We worked on the same thing we have been doing for weeks; long and low. Get that back in the right position. But it is back to pushing this week as Festival of Champions is only 5 weeks away. I am already getting excited about seeing Reese, Jen, Genay and everyone else there. This week I had four lessons with Jeremy. I can barely move. Just when I think I am in shape or I have learned how to do something we push just farther. It is great but exhausting. So I spent a bit of time just hanging by the pool and catching up on the season finales of my shows from last season to get ready for the new season!

My dad is coming to visit this week! We are going to look for a used car because Audi is beyond elderly. I may have to get a truck for hauling a trailer. I guess that is a question for every horse girl. I need to find a one horse box stall trailer. Is there such a thing? Anyone know where I can find one in Washington or Texas?