Tuesday, April 19, 2011

lewie back home!

Lewie's mom picked him up yesterday and he got some new summer clothes. This handsome boy is styling!
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Venturing to the dark side of the H/J world

Good morning! I am definetly behind in updating what has been going on over the past two weeks, which has been some major changes, all GREAT! This morning I am headed in town to Aiken to the big time PSJ show that is happening this week. So the details of my officially leaving my office job will have to wait for a bit longer. Suffice it to say, I have been walking on cloud nine since I have traded my dress pants and heels for breeches and paddock boots along with changing from daily makeup for sunscreen :-).

By the grace of the horsey gods, several months ago I realized that I have neighbors that are also equestrians. Dustin Ball and Trina Green run Hadland Farm here in Neeses, SC about 4 miles from my driveway.They are two of the most entertaining, laid back people I have met in a very long time. Not to mention that they are fabulous horsemen and I have had a blast watching them fly over their huge show jumps. They have helped me with my show jumping and I am competing some of their horses to sell that show an inclination towards Eventing.

Today I am headed to Aiken to help them during the show this week, generally be the catch all person, warm up horses (that idea still weirds me out, can you imagine doing that in Eventing?,LOL!), fetch, switch horses, etc. I've never been to a  true AA fancy H/J show so you can count on lots of photos and feedback. Hopefully, I can slip onto the show grounds without alarms going off with a loudspeaker proclaiming "Crazy Eventer on the premises, lock up your horses!". I've got on my Dubarry boots, bling belt and pink polo but I think the MZ Eventing hat may give me away, oh well ;-).

Ciao!
Molls

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

the new arrival!

Lewie's mother, Shiela, sent him to boot camp for a week. He is an absolute doll to be around and is doing great learning his basics as well as working on his trailer loading.
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Monday, April 4, 2011

A Weekend Review

So, my well planned eventing schedule recently got slightly altered. After two weeks of torrential rain and not being able to jump I made the decision to not to go to FENCE horse trials this past weekend. I fretted over the decision but ultimately felt that I would really kick myself if I took Tia up there and we had an error that could have been prevented if I had only been more patient. Tia does best when she can see jumps and/or small xc each week. She is definetly  of the mentality "out of sight, out of mind" so if you don't school for several weeks and then take her out, it takes a while to get the wheels rolling again.

Once I cancelled my entry to FENCE, I scheduled a show jump lesson for Saturday with my neighbors at Hadland Farm, Trina Green and Dustin Hall. Then, Elaine has an opening Sunday for a dressage lesson and I arranged to meet up with Trina and Dustin for us all to do some light xc schooling. What a fun weekend! Trina and Dustin are hands down the most amazing people to jump with. Tia really responds to their training theory and we always come away from those works feeling like a million bucks. I haven't seen Elaine in a few weeks since I have been showing so much. First thing, we reviewed my dressage tests from this year's shows and discussed a game plan for future tests. Elaine and I both agree that Tia must go more forward in her tests but she also has to be soft and hold her own body. Well, and hour and a half later I think we were beginning ot get it, LOL....I finished on a good note with her then quickly switched tack to meet Trina and Dustin on the xc field.

Trina was schooling a TB mare that I am going to event for them to sell. For the last several months she has been babysitting an adult ammie so Trina wanted to let her have some fun on xc. This mare is a saint! Lovely mover, super form and a jump as smooth as silk. I'm really looking forward to showing her so stayed tuned for more updates on her. Tia and I  popped over some basic xc jumps, water, ditch, bank, etc. She felt like a rock star! I LOVE riding her and am so excited about her future as she is so game.

I will be jumping once more later this week and on Friday, packing up to head to Chattahoochee Hills. I have never been there but hear it is gorgeous.  I remember back in the day when the original Bouckhart farm was running, North Georgia. That was THE course to go too and if you could jump around that xc, you earned some serious respect. Overall,  I couldn't be happier than with the way Tia is training this season. Sure, her dressage needs more work but that is a never ending process that will continue to be finessed. Until next time, kick on!