Welcome back into the snow - and the Sixties can't come soon enough

It was almost today by the time JP picked me up last night

at the airport, welcoming me to a snowy Detroit. I couldn't sleep most of the night so I was reminiscing the awesome experience and also contemplating some things.

We all agreed that the four barns we spent the week in training had different vibes, from a bit 'charged' to relaxed and positive, to 'ugh!'. The 'ugh' didn't apply to the barn per se, it was a beautiful setting, but the training... A quite ugly example of how dressage shouldn't be, no less given by a German 'trainer' that sat crooked on the horse, rode in tennis shoes, heels up, while cranking on the horse's mouth, hanging on the curb rein. Off the horse teaching she was yelling at the horse. Very unpleasant.

Vanessa reminded us that it is important to focus on making the horses better while doing our best to be tactful with the owners when we see things we don't like. That will be a challenge for me, I do have a habit of going right to the point. (I now picture my close friends rolling their eyes and thinking that comment was a 'slight' understatement.)

The next challenge will be to find a way to practice in arctic temps. Yvonne suggested some movements under the blankets to keep the fingers from freezing. Ah, the Sixties can't come soon enough - temperature wise, I mean!