Training Pains

Dylan is and has been a lot of "firsts" for me in terms of my equestrian education.  The two biggest "firsts" are probably that he is the first horse I have owned, and he is the first horse that I am training (with the assistance of my coach/trainer, Jenny Nell).

Of course, there is the adage that any time you ride, you are training...(or un-training!)...but for the most part, the equine companions I have worked with were pretty set in their ways...I could influence them to small degrees, but not really change their life view.

Dylan is much younger than most horses I've worked with (10), and while he sometimes thinks he knows all there is to know about the world...there is still a wide range of experiences I can bring forward to him to shape his future.  He had a pretty solid start as a youngster, racking up the blues with his teen-aged owner at training & first levels.  His second owner absolutely adored him, but was perhaps a bit intimidated by his antics - and Dylan learned that being a bully would sometimes get him out of doing things that were perhaps a bit hard for him.

As we move up the proverbial training scale, and as the work sometimes gets a little tough, Dylan will sometimes want to show me all his old tricks, to see if I, too, will feel a little bullied and back down.  In times like these, I resort to an old wisdom I learned from a riding instructor as a teen:  "don't pick a fight with your horse.  best plan is to find a way of compromise"  - if your horse absolutely refuses to go past the letter "A", and you are dead-set on getting over there...you are better off going to letter "C" for awhile until the two of you can find some common ground again.

I'm not sure how "Dylan the Bully" feels about "Erin the Zen Master" in these moments.  I can only imagine it must be a bit frustrating for him when he is trying to push all my buttons, and I'm "Ohm Mani Padme Hum"-ing through our trot-work.  But at the same time, I would like to think that he might be learning that the "bully-buttons" just don't work the same way they used to.   

Anyway...things are clickin' along.  Need to start getting sponsorships & fundraisers in order for next year.  Going to be a couple of road trips!!  Contact me if you have ideas! 

Inspiration

The hot weather seems to have broken, and with plans for Norway scrapped, and no real show schedule planned for the rest of the summer, I find myself with a bit of the ho-hums.  Kind of an odd mix of relief and let-down.  

Relieved in a way that I will be able to stay home and finish summer classes at school, and spend time at home with loved ones, and maybe take this chance to get my health re-organized.  I have been sweeping a number of things under the carpet for the past year that really need to get addressed in terms of my ongoing well-being.  My condition has been progressive in the past, but I was going through a period of "plateau", and my fitness was great, so it even appeared to some that some aspects were perhaps improved due to my increased fitness.  Unfortunately, things are slipping a bit right now, day by day.  It's a scary place to be, kind of like you suddenly realize the gentle slope you were walking on is suddenly a bit more steep than you thought, and you are having a hard time keeping your footing.

Anyway.

I will ride in a demonstration this weekend at the Evergreen Classic - I love doing demonstrations, both because I love supporting the organization I typically do them for (Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center), as well as I love having the chance to educate about what it is that I do...but it also helps give me my "mojo" back without the pressure of a horse show.  I don't need a qualifying score, no one is judging the roundness of my circles or the throughness of my trot (Except perhaps my coach!), I really am just out there to enjoy the moment with the horse.

Hope you all can find those moments to enjoy today, as well!

Demo is Sunday August 9th, just before the Grand Prix - come watch!

Welcome Friends!

A great deal has happened in the past 2 months, and I realized I needed to join the rest of the world, and make an attempt to be a bit more "tech-savvy", and start keeping this page as a place where friends new and old could come to get updates on all that's going on.

I must admit I tend to get a bit hyper-focused in my "day-to-day" - school, clinic, barn, home...so it will probably take some practice to make sure to include this piece!

I figured I would start by giving everyone a quick update, as well as my general plans for the next months...although a lot is up in the air at this moment.

In May I competed at the Para Equestrian National Championships & CPEDI3*, with my now 11 year old SWB Dylan.  It was his first big competition, and his first big "road trip".  He did amazingly.  I am so SO proud of how he handled everything.  The weather was poor the first day (the footing was more soup than sand!), but it just didn't even phase him.  I was concerned he might "burn out" by the end, and just get a bit tired or cranky, but his attitude was superb.  We ended up 4th overall in the National Championships, and won the freestyle for our Grade - absolutely incredible.  My parents were able to come down and see the freestyle ride, and they have not seen me ride since my disability onset in 2000.  Really an incredible day.

With that finish the US coaches thought I should consider taking my horse, Dylan, to compete at the Open European Championships for Para Dressage, which are taking place in Norway in August.  I am a "new kid" on the international scene - the more I can get in front of the international judges and ride well, the better.  There is something to be said for name recognition.

Sending a horse from Seattle to Norway is not exactly easy on the horse, or the pocketbook, though.  I didn't have the fundraising resources, and beyond that, I was a bit concerned about the length of the journey on Dylan, whom I have only had a year, and who is just now "coming together" in terms of his training & development...he is 11, but a "young" 11...I worried that such a long journey would unduly stress joints & muscles that are maybe not as strong as they could be, or would be in a few more months.  I'm certainly no expert, I'm not a horse trainer either....it was probably just more a feeling coming from a concerned "horse mama", knowing that we still have a lot of training to do before we are solid before next year.

So, I decided to try and borrow a horse in Europe, so that I could compete.  And this, is where little miracles have begun to happen for me!!  Mary Phelps of Dressagedaily.com posted an amazing article on my behalf when nothing had come to fruition on my end.  I was contacted by a number of incredible people - Rick Silvia of DreamStallions offered one of his amazing horses, Robert Dover posted my request on his website doversworld.com, I was contacted by the farm of Victor Alvares, and finally by Regina Moldan, who offered me 2 incredible horses to try.  

Trying to secure a borrowed horse before the entry deadline was challenging...but as it turns out, that was only the beginning.  The horse I submitted on the entry was for sale...and as it turns out, had a buyer shortly after the entry went through.  So, and appeal had to be submitted to change horses.  The organizing committee has been very helpful and supportive, and approved the appeal, so I was able to switch to Regina's other other horse.  

I learned just this week, though, that my coach has injured her shoulder, and will not be able to travel with me, and due to her injury & the required surgery & rehab, will need the assistance of my groom to help keep things running smoothing at home.

So...I am brainstorming options to find another groom & travel companion, and hoping to find someone at the competition who may be able to assist in coaching me.  

The latest news comes this evening, that the horse I am planning on competing on may have a health issue that would prevent him from being ready to compete.

Who ever said it was easy?

Who ever said it was supposed to be this dang hard? :-)

While I have not *yet* thrown in the towel...I definitely have pulled one out of the linen closet!

If I do stay home, I hope to spend some time with Dylan in training, I'd love to see his flying changes come together, and take him to a schooling show at 3rd level.  

Thank you so much to all the folks who have been performing miracles for me the past weeks.  I hope it comes together for a European adventure...but if not, the adventure surely doesn't end here, and I hope you'll join me on the road to WEG!!