No blog update? - And awesome news from the Morgan Dressage Association

I am always happy when people ask "What - no blog update??". Especially if this is followed by "I miss your blog!" One of my closest friends in Germany keeps tabs on me via my blog, as I don't always have time for a lot of email exchanges. As she says "at least when I read your blog I know you are OK and I can follow what's going on with that part of your life."

Last week felt like I was living in my office, there was no time for much else. At least I didn't have to worry about the boys, they are always well taken care of.

Friday afternoon rolled around and an email popped up: "Dear Birgit, Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a scholarship from the Morgan Dressage Association". AWESOME!! I was thrilled, mainly because to me it means that Saumur (and the entire 'Team Saumur') gets the recognition so well deserved. The scholarship is to be applied towards training, and I am planning to take both Saumur and Remy to George Williams for a week. Now all I have to do is nail George down for a date... easier said then done. After all, the man is the USDF president, and has Olympic candidates training with him. And here I am with my two Morgans. Pretty amazing!

The Morgan Dressage Association is such a great organization. It all started when Sally Anderson, a board member, sent me a congratulatory note on behalf of the MDA for our USDF Bronze Medal. From there I started communicating with her and other board members. What a super combination: Morgan AND Dressage enthusiasts... and through the MDA I found Remy!

By the time I made it to the barn the stress of the week had been erased by the great news and the excitement of finally spending time with the boys. Once there I liberally distributed hugs, kisses and treats (I guess the treats were the most appreciated signs of affection).  I had a lesson with Remy, and 'Junior' amazed me once again. Even with several days of only playtime, he went right to work, picking up where we left off. Sandy has a good way of reminding me that I have to be very conscientious on how I ride Remy each and every time: Black and white - no grey area. "He is a sponge, and as such he retains everything, the good and the bad". Right she is! Remy has already figured out the routine, and is anticipating the canter departs. Or another example, we practised walk - halt transitions.. He got a lot of praise for being responsive... and then just wanted to halt at every opportunity. We worked on transitions, changes in the trot through the circles, first with a walk transition in the middle, then only by slowing down the trot. We also worked on the canter departs again, and managed to improve his right lead depart (left is great).

Today we had so strong storms that a lot of power lines in our neighborhood went down. In addition, the pouring rain had turned the fields into muddy slush, so the horses stayed in. High winds and stormy weather usually means 'use caution when riding Saumur', as he is extremely sensitive to changes. But with no turnout today I thought I'll give it a whirl (perhaps not the best choice of words in this situation), even though the storm shook the barn walls, rain pelted on the roof, and the doors rattled in the strong winds. Amazingly, Saumur stayed relaxed and calm, we went through our exercise program without a hitch. He must have felt very secure, every time Chambord went by Saumur made ugly faces and threatened him. Remy got a longing day today, no side-reins, just a longing cavasson. He was attentive, good carriage, no antics, very workman-like.

Gold-stars for all the boys - and a couple of Koelschs at the local brewery for the 'Riders in the Storm'.

A busy Sunday - with the first flying change of the year

Whew - what a day: Slept in (a change from the usual 5 a.m. wake up call), scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen, vacuumed, did the laundry, had two lessons, went grocery shopping, took the dogs for an hour long romp through the woods... It'll be fairly easy to guess where I had the most fun - and no, it was not scrubbing the bathroom!

My first lesson was with Remy, and Sandy helped me getting his right lead canter correctly. Remy is just so eager to please he gets sometimes ahead of himself. But he got the hang of it, now all I have to do is making sure he goes where I want him to go. Easier said than done..

Saumur was awesome today, concentrated, eager to work, despite snow and ice coming off the roof and other horses being worked at the same time. His sessions with Sandy during the week sure make a HUGE difference for us. I feel so lucky that we can work with her, there are VERY few people I would trust letting work with my 'PTSD' horse. Saumur clearly loves his work, and he blossomed due to it.

Today, after the walk warm up, we went right to the canter. Canter - trot - canter, Canter - halt - canter transitions, followed by right lead canter - halt - counter canter - halt - right lead canter, and so on. That got Saumur on the aids, and both of us to pay attention. In the counter canter Sandy asked me to move Saumur's shoulders to the inside and - voila: A clean, collected change! No humping the back up, no charging, just easy as pie. We then left the canter alone and did the trot half passes to leg yields, as well as really collecting the trot, until we got almost close to half-steps. Pretty neat.

So, off I go now to relax and celebrate - my (fresly scrubbed) bathtub is calling!

Did he read my blog? - Where is the rodeo cowboy?

Saumur is working hard, so today I thought I'll give him an easy workout and just longe him. Well, this 'mature man' showed me how he can still buck, kick up his heels, and really put on the afterburners. Mr. Wonderful sure demonstrated that he still has a lot of teenager in him, and he had a great time playing. I, on the other hand, was glad that I wasn't on his back. Sticking these bucks would have required a rodeo cowboy!

Remy (even after three days off) was 'Mr. Know-It-All': You want canter?? I'll give you canter!! It was really funny how he tried to show me that he thought he knew what I wanted. We just had a bit of a 'baby buck' once, at the same time Remy tried to sort out his long legs in the right hand canter depart ice and snow was sliding off the arena roof. The nice thing was that he came right back and we went on as if nothing had happened. I was still smiling - this one didn't need a rodeo cowboy today!

Chambord and JP also had a great ride. Chambord can run and buck with the best of them (Sandy says he's the fastest horse at the farm), but under saddle he doesn't require a rodeo cowboy - a cookie will do. He'll stop dead in is tracks when he hears the crinkle of a peppermint wrapping. JP just better makes sure to never run out of cookies!

A task for teenagers - or a fountain of youth?

During my lesson with Remy Sandy encouraged me to "really let him go forward". She also reminded me that it was important to give the aids by impulses and then let Remy alone when he responds. If he doesn't react, then I have to exaggerate the impulse. A good image is thinking of pony club kids, how they just kick and get on with it. Of course, it needs to be more precise: 'Kick' and then let go (and don't nag).

Well, 'kicking and letting go' is easy to do for the young riders, a bit different for the adults that have  "what if" scenarios in their heads. Sandy and I got to talk about young horse training and middle aged women... I remember a phrase I heard a while back "That's why God gave us teenagers", meaning put the spry young riders on the young horses and let them work it out. Some of my friends are exactly thinking that, dicey situations that are normal when dealing with young horses as well as the related occasional 'involuntary dismounts' are harder to overcome when one gets older.

I was joking that for me, Remy is my 'Fountain of Youth'. Riding Remy reminds me of my carefree riding days. I haven't had those since I had to retire Crissy years ago. This feeling of pure joy is hard to explain. Of course, I love Saumur with all my heart. He is a beautiful but tortured soul, and riding him has rarely been relaxing. It is much better now, but still, sometimes his past rears its ugly head.

Remy, on the other hand, is a blank slate, and yes, I fully expect him to do the young horse stuff and have moments of being a 'rebel without a cause'. Thankfully, though, he won't have old demons creeping up that will make him fear for his life. In a way Remy helps Saumur, not only by having me work on my basics again, but mainly by giving me this feeling of joy I can pass on to Saumur.

So, for me, my youngster is my 'Fountain of Youth' - and should I hit the ground I pretend to be a teenager, brushing myself off, hop on his back and kick on!

An early case of Spring Fever - and three horses in a two-horse trailer?

This Michigan non-winter sure brought on an early case of Spring Fever for me. Last night I took the dogs for a romp through the woods and came across some trail riders that seemed to have a blast. I have to say I eyed them with a bit of longing.

It's only February, but with the mild weather I can't wait to have the boys home. Just to have them nicker at me in the morning makes my day. And not to have to make the two-hour+ roundtrip sure will be nice, too. Of course, I'll miss Sandy and a lot of people at the barn, but we'll trailer-in for lessons on the weekends. Just a slight snafu: Three horses - and a two horse trailer... What's it gonna be: Leave one at home? Buy a new trailer? Get a companion horse for the one that has to stay home? All of a sudden the temperature of my Spring fever is dropping quite a bit, and the heart rate is going up. What would the doctor order?

A mirror of my distractions - where is the darn bubble?

Sundays are busy days at the barn, but yesterday it was unusually busy. I didn't even attempt to ride Saumur, neither he nor I (OK, mostly I) can handle the commotion and incessant chatter.

We were lucky in that at one point only JP and I were in the arena with Chambord and Remy. Chambord and JP did their thing, I tried to concentrate on Remy. My focus still wasn't the greatest, and sure enough, we encountered quite some steering problems. Remy 'hooked' on Chambord, probably because his big buddy seemed to be more fun than I. We cantered along the long side nicely, but then Chambord turned out to be quite the magnet - and we almost landed on top of him.

Too bad I had left my bubble at home - lesson learned: without 100% focus on my side Remy is looking for another playmate. Hmm, now I wonder if this doesn't apply to all males??

The mirror to your soul - do I want to see myself?

I started the day with 'Buck' - that's the only way I can stand ironing: by watching a good movie. I've seen 'Buck' umpteenth times by now, and still, I am fascinated. My first instructor, Julie Arkison, is a disciple of Buck and his methods. Thanks to her learning from Buck a lot of Saumur's issues could get addressed (i.e. trailer loading: from 8 hours to self-loading)

Buck's movie is full of pearls of wisdom, some of my favorites are "I don't help people with horse problems - I help horses with people problems". And the best: "The horse is a mirror to your soul - sometimes you might not like what you see, sometimes you will."

I guess that was a good prelude to our rides: all three boys were awesome! Remy's trot work was really good, and his canter produced a huge smile on my face. We finished with a great walk, soft and swinging, stretching correctly. JP recorded our ride, so I can revisit the fun.

JP and Chambord also were on a roll: these two are getting more and more in tune, their respective stiffness' is loosening considerably, and they had quite a blast in the canter. I already envision the trail rides in the Spring: A big white butt (Chambord's!) galloping off into the sunset, with Saumur (or Remy) happily giving chase.

In Saumur's lesson, Sandy changed our routine. Usually we warm up in the walk, then do the trot work, followed by the canter. This time we went right into the canter after the walk warm up. Saumur has become quite the 'cantering machine', he now stays collected, light in the bridle, with good transitions. We worked on canter half-passes, changing to leg yields, as well as canter - trot transitions. At first I was a bit surprised, because I thought "Canter - trot, that's young horse stuff". Sandy explained that it is actually hard for the upper level horses to do it, because they are so used to canter - halt, or canter - walk. The canter - trot transitions are part of the GP test. Well, I am glad to report we nailed them.

As a cool down we finished with a variation of 'The Box': Shoulder in across the arena, haunches in in the corner, shoulder in across the arena, haunches in in the corner, and so on. That really teaches the positioning of the horse's shoulders and the rider's legs.

During all our work Saumur stayed relaxed and happy, with excellent self-carriage and contact. No spook! So I can honestly say that I really liked what I saw in both of my mirrors, as did JP in his. I decided to check my mirrors frequently (and hopefully continue to like what I see).