Moving Forward in 2014

So you may have noticed its been all quiet on the O'Shea Eventing front for the last several months-- since July of last year! Well, the reason for that is both very simple and very complicated. Simply put, I went back to school last August. I am pursuing my MBA in Supply Chain Management at the Wisconsin School of Business. Its been a lot of work, and for the first time in my life, I prioritized something ahead of riding.

I decided to make this move for a lot of reasons, but they can be boiled down to one fundamental truth: I want to have the financial stability to compete my horses as far as they are able to go, with the ultimate, lifelong goal being to compete at Rolex.

Zahra as a 5 year old, killing it at Training Level

There's a lot of information packed into that truth. Owning horses is expensive. It's not any more expensive than having kids, but they do require a lot of your resources, both time and money. The primary way talented riders try to make it work financially is to go the professional equestrian route: teaching lessons, training other people's horses, pursuing sponsorships. However, what I found was that until you "make it," this route leaves very little time for your own horse (if you can even afford to own your own horse, and you're not just hopping from one client horse to another). I believe in the horses I have. They are both phenomenally talented, with all the scope and potential an adult amateur could hope for! I want to be able to give them my undivided attention.

Additionally, most serious riding accidents occur when on these training horses. Some times its because they were sent to you because they were dangerous, or because they are just getting started under saddle and they just don't know any better. Other times its because there is pressure to get a horse sold, so you move it up the ranks too quickly, and inevitably the holes you left in your training catch up to you.

So, my decision was to prioritize my career in order to better the equine situation. I'm looking for a job where I can have an interesting, successful career and simultaneously, separately, hone my skills with Zahra and Puck. This summer, I will be going to San Jose for an internship with a prominent tech company. Zahra and Puck will stay in the Midwest so I can focus on learning, but they will be in training with a local dressage trainer whom I respect. I'm looking forward to coming home to two finely tuned dressage ponies! But it won't be a completely horseless summer! There is a prominent 3 day event trainer in the Bay area that I've already reached out to in order to get to know him and his program. If San Jose turns in to a full time gig, I would want him as my trainer! And no matter where I end up in May of 2015, there are two and only two criteria for accepting a full time job:

South Farm 2013

1.) Is the job a good job? Does it make sense for my goals and interests?
2.) Is the area a good eventing area? Are there stables, trainers, and shows in the area?

So, its going to continue to be slow here at OE, with only a couple of shows this fall, but there is some VERY exciting stuff coming in the mid-term future.

June Wrap Up

It has been a very busy month! Lucinda Green clinic in the beginning of the month, Fox River Valley Horse Trials in the middle, and hosting the Kim Severson clinic at the end!

Lucinda is always an amazing clinician. She teaches something no one else teaches-- how to ride when it all goes wrong. And it so often does on cross country, that I think what she teaches ought to be required learning for anyone who wants to go out on a cross country course, at any level! Lucinda was very impressed with the changes in Baby Z during the last year! She did up our bit to a gag, which really helped us, but I'm pretty sure that using it even a couple times was enough to remind her she is in fact supposed to listen to me! By the Kim clinic, we were back in the Waterford with more obedience than ever before!

Fox River Valley was a bit of a weather rollercoaster. Hot and dry, then pouring cats and dogs, then hot... rinse and repeat! Z was a star, breaking into the 20s in dressage (my first time ever in the 20s!), double clean show jumping, but a bad jump into water cost us some time, and frazzled me enough that I went the wrong way for precious seconds! The footing was deep enough that we weren't going fast enough to make up for any mistakes, so we ended with 9.4 time penalties, dropping from 3rd to 7th. But at least Zahra doesn't know we didn't finish on our dressage score! She was such a star in the toughest conditions she has ever run in so far. Check the helmet cam to see how chewed up it all was by the time we went! Thanks to Adam for all the great pictures!

The Kim clinic had a very rocky start, with Kim's plane being cancelled Friday night, and delayed again Saturday morning. She finally made it in after 11, to O'Hare, and we got the first group started by 2:30 back in Madison. We rode all afternoon, some through rain,  getting everyone in, although the last group ended at dusk! I can't thank the awesome volunteers/co-organizing cohort who got things set up while I drove Kim from Chicago... and drove... and drove.... did I mention I took a wrong turn and we took I94 through Milwaukee? With all the construction and delays going up I-90, we only lost about 20 minutes, but still, a lot of miles covered that day! Everyone had great rides, and those that rode in March had all made obvious improvements in the past 3 months. It was great to see!

Sunday was finally a gorgeous day! The only gorgeous day we've had for Kim, I was afraid she was going to start hating Wisconsin! She started us off by making a galloping path for 350 meters per minute, 400mpm, 450mpm, 500 mpm, and 520mpm. This is the first time I'd ever timed myself to figure out my pacing, and it was hugely educational! Zahra covered the training speed without exertion, so I can stop fretting so much about time! This is definitely a tool we will come back to! Then we warmed up over a galloping oxer, did some serious gymnastics with the ditch, utilizing the very narrow triple brush on an off-set 4 stride line. After some work with the water, we were ready for our big trip to Ohio!

Otter Spring

So what's the opposite of humble pie? Victory cake? Whatever it is, I'm having seconds, because Zahra was awesome this weekend for our training level debut!

We had a less than stellar test that still earned us a highly respectable 36.4, putting us in 4th... I didn't feel that we put in that good of a performance, but Zahra's flashy movement made up for an otherwise lackluster test. We will be working hard on our figures between now and FRVPC, and who knows? Maybe I can crack into the elusive 70% Club! Part of me is still just happy to stay in the ring through the whole test, but as Z grows up, it's fun to start pushing her to be that extra little bit better each time!

Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

Cross country was perfect!! An ideal course to move up on, there was nothing that had me particularly worried as I left the start box-- a great feeling!! I rode without a watch, letting Zahra set the tempo, since I just wanted a good experience for her, and didn't feel obligated to worry about time. We came in about 30 seconds slow, but with a very happy horse and rider! None of the jumps gave her a moments pause, and she was incredibly rideable throughout the course.

Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

Show jumping day Zahra was a bit tired, not that I blame her after the Spring we've had! Our fitness program is behind where it should be for this time of year because of the late snows and persistent sloppy footing. We kept warm-up minimal to preserve her energy, but was very happy that she really lit up once we got in the ring! We got a bit flat to the first and sixth fences, having a rail at each. I don't think the height was any issue for her, just needs a little more fitness to really shine on Day 3!

Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

So yeah, if we had finished on our dressage score, we would have won. But then again, as Jon Ketzler always says "If I hadn't been bucked off in dressage, had 3 run outs cross country, and 4 rails in show jumping.... I could have won!!" It's a 3 day sport, and right now we're good in all three, but watch out once we get great!!

And look! We got a pretty brown ribbon!!
Image courtesy Adam Frizzell Photography

For all the pictures, please visit Adam's smugmug page.

Rolex Recap

We had tons of fun going down and watching the big boys go! Would have loved a bigger field, but it is an off year. Lots of rookies this year, which was way cool! In the postmortem, PD said on his facebook he'd like to see a CIC*** added. I'm sure he would, then he could ride 6 horses!! But I can't help but feel a 3* somehow cheapens the victory of the 4*, while at the same time hurting the other 3*s that are immediately before and after Rolex.  I think it would be much cooler to highlight our young horses, like they do at Le Lion in Europe. Let's have a 6 year old championship class! It would give US Breeders something to aim for, give some prestige to our up and comers with all the spectators (not to mention a great crowd experience!), and I think it would add more interest for potential owners as well-- a chance to get in at the ground floor maybe? Oh well, those are just my thoughts. Now on to pictures from Adam!

The entire gallery can be found here.

Jim Wofford at the Midwest Horse Fair

Midwest Horse Fair. Not the first place you'd go looking for quality eventing instruction, but this year was certainly an exception! The great Jim Wofford was on hand, and I was fortunate enough to be one of his guinea pigs! We had one mounted demonstration, and one lecture each day, and Jim did an excellent job of balancing the needs of the riders looking for precious nuggets of knowledge, and the spectating western pleasure public, many of whom didn't know eventing was a sport, or even that "Oldenburg" was a breed!

On day one, we focused on position. "Sit right to jump right" was the theme, and luckily for us, we all had a pretty solid position, but Jim still took the time to explain the perfect placement of the foot, and why the leg is where it is, and what is a two-point, for the sake of the audience. The jumps were very straight forward, to the point where they almost weren't a part of the equation, but it gave the horses a chance to adjust to the tense atmosphere. In lecture later, he continued with the position theme, but now incorporated dressage and cross country position into the conversation as well. Major take away: you WILL ride without stirrups. I've been too chicken shit up til now to drop my stirrups with the green bean, but I guess she's trained enough??

Describing correct upper body angle
Image (c) ShortHorse Studios

Day two's ride was lengthening and shortening, and the gymnastics were a bit more interesting, one set at the 'correct' distance, one set two feet short, one set two feet long. Generally, the horses who excelled at the short distance struggled at the long distance, and vice verse.  One horse was able to bounce the shortened one stride, while another horse was able to chip in a third stride in the elongated three stride! Because Z had been bum-rushing the correct distance, Jim predicted she would struggle in the short, but she was more willing to listen to me on the new exercise and came in quietly, making it look easy. Then, he told me "not even to breathe too hard" in between the longer strides, just let her go a bit, and she made that look easy too! Really nice to have a horse who can adjust after the Sgiltinator's famous trick of always-adding-a-stride-even-at-4'-but-still-not-touching-a-rail!!

Overachieving
Image (c) ShortHorse Studios

The afternoon discussion focused on conditioning, and I decided after that talk it was time to update my conditioning regimen, since everyone seems to use shorter intervals than I do!! Jim's interval system ((3)4 minute trots + (3)3 minute canters) is the way I learned originally, but somewhere along the way I learned to do longer trot sets, 15 minutes for young horses, 20 minutes for up to training level, 30 minutes for prelim/intermediate, and 40 minutes for advanced (followed by short canter intervals). Maybe a holdover from the long format days?

The third day was a gymnastic to prepare the horse for jumping a course. It was a one stride, followed by a choice. Three stride bending line to the left, two stride bending line to the right, or four strides to an oxer straight in front. By switching up which way you turn, the idea is to teach the horse to wait for your instruction. Once that's been mastered, the three individual jumps + the one stride can then be used to create a little course.

Image (c) ShortHorse Studios

The last lecture was "Trends in the Sport." This talk was pretty depressing. It was primarily about two things: drugs and professionals. The drugs was mainly about the hunter ring, but I'm sure there are some guilty eventers as well, basically winning "by the needle" instead of through good horsemanship. The professionalism discussion had to do with the fact that (and yes, Jimmy was this blunt): "if you didn't decide when you were 18 to go be a professional rider, you're not going to go to the Olympics. If you're 35, college educated, working 9-5, with kids, its not going to happen."  Well, I'm 26, no kids, but would still really like to pass through the finish flags at Rolex some day.... so I guess I'll keep working!

The Gang

Spring Bay; or, winter to summer in one weekend!

Well, I am over the moon with Zahra after this weekend! Her ridability has come so far since her first show last July, and really grown leaps and bounds over the winter, despite being stuck in the indoor since November!

Photos (c) O'Shea Eventing

Dressage was just about all I could ask for. It was her personal best, absolutely. She was soft and relaxed in her trot work, her canter departs were a bit early, but soft, and if I'd only halted at the right letter, she'd have done 2 points better! There's still room to improve, absolutely. Once soft and relaxed are the norm, then we can push for brilliance, but one stride at a time!



Show Jumping was very good. I put her in a couple bad spots (most notably, the double, I gave her a terrible spot to jump in, forcing her to really reach for B), but she's so athletic, she saved it for an easy double clear. I know this is where I need my work!

Cross Country was so exhilarating!! Having not been out to school, I felt like it could have gone either way. Maybe she'd refuse to leave warm-up, maybe she'd run off with me? But neither was the case, although she did try to keep galloping up the hill past #4, so I did have to set her straight there! You'll see it in the HelmetCam! She was spot on to everything, and by the time we were at 10, I was completely giddy! She was as happy to be out as I was, and all I had to do was point her at the next set of flags, and she'd take care of the rest!

We're both feeling fully confident to make the move up to Training at Otter Creek in a few weeks, although I do hope the Wisconsin weather improves well before that!

So it begins....

I have begun work on Mr. Puck in earnest now. For a while now I have been saddling him up and sitting on him, but I couldn't have gone anywhere even if I'd wanted to-- he had no "go" button installed yet! So we've worked in the round pen on verbal cues, in hand on pressure cues, and most recently, I began long lining him!

I've been the young horse crash test dummy for many years, but with my own Puck, I had to begin training the next generation, since I could not be in two places at once! Haley has been my able bodied assistant, first laying across him like a sack of potatoes while I walked him, then sitting up and going for a little pony ride. He has handled everything like a champ, so this weekend Haley and I let him do his first T-R-O-T!!

He was beautifully relaxed and uphill, no thought of naughtiness at all. His brakes are still a little questionable, but that, like the steering, will come. I can't ask for a better head on his shoulders!

We've gone at a snail's pace with Puck, making sure he was completely at ease with each new task before beginning the next, and it shows in how confidently he faces each new task, and how much he looks to me for support when he is unsure. It is such an amazing feeling, finally starting my own horse, and being able to do it completely my own way!

Next up, free jumping??

Puck as a yearling.
Photo (c) Shorthorse Studios

Love, Joy, or Both?

Sgilti at Otter Creek Intermediate.
Image (c)Xpress Foto

Recently, I looked back at Sgilti Lightfoot's (aka Wonderhorse) competition record. I remember our time together as fighting the odds-- a nobody horse and a nobody rider, coming together to take on the world! We defied the odds and defied expectations, and for that, Sgilti won an eternal place in my heart (and guaranteed retirement from my checkbook). But now, a few years and a few horses later when I looked back at the raw numbers, I see a very different picture. Sgilti and I were, quite frankly, not very good. Our dressage was middling, our SJ was not ideal, and even our XC record was littered with the occasional 20 penalties. So, is it naive of me to think of him as the greatest horse ever? Maybe. Or maybe it was this lack of perfection that drove me to keep fighting. Maybe if he'd been perfect, I would have rested on my laurels and "moved on" with life as so many aspiring riders are wont to do.

At the Florida CCI* jog
(c)Xpress Foto

Adam and I started dating at the end of Sgilti's career. He saw me enjoy my last few rides with the old man, then watched me struggle for a year with Wolfn, and now watches Zahra and I, and he said something very insightful the other day (good work for the non-horsey type!!). He said "I like watching you and Zahra, because you work together. It always seemed like you and Wolfn were working against each other. And Sgilti looked like he just did what he was told."


That comment got me thinking about Love and Joy. When you boil it down, those are the reasons I event: Love of my horse, and the Joy of the ride. Maybe its overly simplistic, but I feel like Sgilti competed for Love. He wasn't that good, and maybe it wasn't as much fun for him as I might have liked, but he did his best with his limited abilities to make me happy. He did it for me, and that took us pretty far. I Loved that horse. We worked our way up the eventing ranks together. We probably had no business competing at Intermediate, but he still did it. He gave me all he had, every day, even if it wasn't to be our day.

Oh, Wolfn is over jumping? What else is new?
(c)Xpress Foto

Wolfn, on the other hand, was supremely talented. She enjoyed cross country for the Joy of galloping. I remember the first time out on cross country with her, when I let her open up her stride, and she took it and flew. It was exhilarating! That mare loved to gallop! Everything else-- the jumping, the dressage, trailrides at speeds other than gallop... none of those things were really "her bag." But I got away with making her do this other work because it was so easy for her. It wasn't until I jumped her over a 4' oxer that she finally used herself--and she still wasn't really trying that hard!! Going around Novice and Training courses was a total snooze for her, so of course she did it. There was no challenge. But I wonder what she would have done had she not had the trailering issue, if we'd been able to move up to Prelim and Intermediate. Then there would have been some challenge. A certain level of Trust would be involved. Would she have ever developed that? Or would she have stopped trying as soon as the work got hard? I'll never know.

Zahra at Richland this summer
 (c) Shannon Brinkman

Zahra and Puck, I believe, fall in the middle. They are both purpose bred sport horses, so the natural ability is there in spades, but there is something more as well. Puck's never had anyone else in his life except me, and he trusts me wholly and completely, which has been hugely apparent as he begins his training. When I am calm and deliberate, he is calm and happy. When I am the least bit anxious (e.g., trying to carefully pull a tick off his chest), he dances around nervously. Either way, he feeds off of me entirely. Conversely, Zahra has been handled by many people, as she was born at a college campus. Her personality is stamped with an upbringing of love and devotion from all of her many handlers (just imagine being a cute foal surrounded by college girls, and you get the picture!!). So although she is puppy dog sweet, she did not inherently trust me when I first bought her. We had a couple big trust issues early on (detailed here, here and here). But this fall, I feel like we've finally gelled as a team.

This past Summer, Zahra competed for Joy, because it was easy. Next year, as it gets harder, I hope it will be for Love and Joy. And Puck? He already does it for Love. He'll learn about Joy next year in the fox hunting field!

♥ Puck ♥

How Puck Happened

Barb Gualco, owner of Sir Caletto (Puck's sire), asked me to compose a brief history of how Puck came to be. As I always do when given a writing assignment, I will share what I wrote with you!

Sir Caletto (c)Silverhorne Sporthorses

Wolfnbankersclothn (aka, 'Wolfn') is an off the track thoroughbred rescue from the MidAtlantic Horse Rescue. I adopted her in January 2007; she was exactly the horse I was looking for at the time: a talented thoroughbred mare who had raced a long time (3 years, in Wolfn's case) and came out sound on the other side. The intent was to have a horse to retrain, compete as far as she could go, and, eventually, have a mare that had what it takes to be the "mother of champions." I got all of these things out of Wolfn, but maybe not for as long as I would have liked.

Wolfn at her last competition. (c) Xpress Foto

She was a blast to retrain. She took to cross country immediately and became very competitive in show jumping and dressage. Unfortunately, an old racing injury kept Wolfn from ever trailering well, thus preventing her from ever really hitting her stride at a competition. The injury in question was a broken sesamoid bone. Although she had been given adequate time off before she returned to racing, and the x-rays at the time of her vet check gave every indication it would not be a problem, horses are (as we all know!) more complicated then that. Although she never once has taken a lame step in her life, the vibrations of the trailer are enough to irritate the injury, sending her flying off the handle, kicking the trailer violently.

Wolfn's lovely trot. (c) Xpress Foto

In the Fall of 2008, I decided it was time to breed her in the hope it might settle her down. My Intermediate horse was battling soundness issues, Wolfn wasn't trailering well to shows, and I needed to think about my next prospect. I consulted Gerd Zuther, a dressage clinician who knew Wolfn and I well, but more importantly, knows all there is to know about quality German stallions, as he has been an inspector for the Hanoverian Verband for decades. Gerd sat me down with the Hanoverian Stallion Directory and we went, page by page, through the entire catalog. He regaled me with tales of soundness issues, questionable inspection venues, and (very appropriately)  kept turning the page if the stallion couldn't jump! In the end, he chose two stallions for me to make a final decision. He said, "Choose either of these two, and you cannot choose wrong!" In a way, Sir Caletto was actually the underdog for me, since he was a gray, and I was terrified of having another gray horse!! But I took some time and really dug into both horse's history, personality, conformation, progeny, pedigree--everything I could find--and found that Sir Caletto came easily to the forefront.

In 2009, I moved out to Maryland for my first job, and brought my pregnant mare with me. She stayed with my trainer, Eric Dierks, while I struggled to find somewhere she could foal out. The thoroughbred barns wouldn't take a show horse, and the warmblood breeders wouldn't take a thoroughbred! Finally, I approached Hilltop Farm, the best of the best, and they said they would happily take my money!! That Fall, I took Wolfn to the GOV Mare Performance Test at High Point Hanoverians, where she showed everyone what a quality TB looks like, placing 2nd in the Jumping Performance test and finishing 4th overall in the Mare Performance Test.

Proof from Wolfn's GOV inspection. Very bad manners on my part. 

On May 5, 2010, Streetlight Manifesto was born while the barn staff were distracted by a colicking mare a few stalls down. Wolfn wanted her privacy (she was about a week late), and as soon as she saw her chance, she took it! 'Puck' was a completely healthy, normal baby.

Fresh squeezed!

At his GOV inspection in August of 2010, Puck was recognized as a "Premium Foal." He received very positive comments from the judges including, "It is surprising, considering his Jumping pedigree, but this horse has an excellent trot!"

Running with Mom

After the inspection.

Wolfn returned to competition for the 2011 season back in Wisconsin. Unfortunately the trailer issue had not abated, and much welding and many stitches later, I finally gave up on Wolfn's show career. Every time we made it to a show, she would be sore, and I would be a raw bundle of nerves. So she enjoys life in a pasture, and I focus on Puck. He is taking to working life easily. At 2 and a half, he already happily gives pony rides to my able-bodied teenage assistant, Haley. We know he's ready for more responsibility, but we've got lots of time. My goal is to have him walk-trot by March, when Gerd Zuther will be in town. How great it will be to show him what he helped me make!

I have high hopes for Puck. Wolfn had more talent than my Intermediate horse ever had, but her potential went sadly unrealized, and Sir Caletto was able to add soundness and sense to her fire and athleticism. Puck is the best of them both, and I know that he will be a force in the eventing world in the years to come.

Puck as a two year old. So sweet!

Midsouth, and a Fond Farewell to 2012

Midsouth was our final show for the 2012 season, and although Zahra and I were poised to have our best showing of the season, it was not meant to be. Dressage, I was horribly late to warm-up. After less than ten minutes, we did our first canter circling the ring before we entered. The test was tense, we go the wrong lead at first try going both directions, but I still actually had quite a bit to be proud of! Zahra is a high strung four year old. She has boundless energy and enthusiasm. So the fact that she could just march into that ring with no warm up and go to work is still pretty impressive! Nothing fazes this horse, and I think with a little more discipline she'll be unstoppable in the sand box!

Show Jumping was not all I could have hoped for either. We flattened going into fence two and pulled a rail, then pilot error between fence 4&5 put us on a rotten line to have fence 5 down as well. I need to work this winter on slowing my emotions down in the show jumping ring, and supporting with my elbow to keep her from flattening. Ledges, here we come?

But thankfully, no one events for dressage or show jumping. Cross country is what its all about, and we completely smoked that!! This girl knows her job, and she loves it! Check out the helmet cam on our youtube page. Ears forward the whole way round! I wanted to push her a bit faster this ride, and she did it easily, coming back to me nicely before fences and accelerating away from them. At Otter we had 0.4 of a time penalty. This time we were just 2 seconds away from too fast!! A few jumps I really set her up to, while others I let her choose her own spot (to varying degrees of success). I think its important she learn now how to take care of herself out there!

Eric Dierks coached me over the weekend, and it was fabulous getting his professional eye on us, giving us good things to work on for the winter. His knowledge and guidance has completely shaped all aspect of my riding, and imbued in me the passion for correct and methodical training. It's never been about winning for me, only about getting the best ride I could, and that drive comes from his early guidance. So when Eric said he agreed with me that Z could move up to Training next year, I was thrilled!!! She's mastered the basics. Time to up the ante!

See you in 2013!!

First Kim Severson Clinic

Organizer: (noun) Person who must be everything to everyone.
(c) Shorthorse Studios

How many clinics have I been to over the years? That's probably a scary number. But this clinic was different. This time I was the organizer. I wasn't the host, because the lovely Cindy Bonamarte graciously offered her wonderful facility, Geneva Equestrian, to us. And I wasn't the financial backer. Thankfully WDCTA was there with the capital to pay for all the fees while checks were cashed. Nope, all I had to do was gather all the pieces of intel, make sure everyone gave me all the things I needed, and then run around like a chicken with my head cut off to make sure Kim was where she needed to be, when she needed to be there, with appropriate beverage in hand, and that all the rails were in their cups!

When I started the process of getting the clinic together, I promised the Southwest Chapter that I would NOT need any volunteers!! This phenomenal group of women work themselves to the bone bringing in the best opportunities for riders in our local dressage community, and they seemed a little leery of stretching themselves too thin. But have no fear! I promised. We eventers do clinics a little differently! Thankfully, my group of riders and auditors did not disappoint me, and there was more than enough support to get it all done. Especially grateful to Cindy and her barn crew for getting jumps where they needed to be, organizing dinner Saturday night and even buying the riders lunch on Saturday! And of course, this clinic would not have come to be without the tireless support of  Donna Thomas, Mary Hanneman, Caryn Vesperman, Angela Genin, and DeAnn Howard (and really everyone else too!). Thank you so much for holding my hand through all the in's and out's of clinic organization and always remaining upbeat despite my constant barrage of questions!!

How I passed the time, waiting for Kim's flight to get in...

There were no shortages of bumps in the road-- like Kim's flight nearly getting cancelled Friday night due to a faulty airplane part, but finally making it into O'Hare by midnight. The farm was a full hour and a half away, so we went to bed just as Phillip Dutton started off cross country at the Boekelo Nations Cup in the Netherlands. Neither of us waited up to see how he did (just as well, since unfortunately he popped off at the Coffin). Her flight out luckily was uneventful-- a work colleague flying out of O'Hare that night was taken in to the basement because of a tornado threat!

Yes, it rained a bit. But the horses were super!
(c) ShortHorse Studios

Although we avoided any tornadoes the weather over the weekend was not terribly cooperative either. We were constantly under threat for a huge storm; Madison got pounded by rain, Chicago got pounded by rain, but right in the middle, Lake Geneva thankfully never got anything more than a steady drizzle. Both days we pondered, would we ride outside or inside? But both days we toughed it out, and people used studs they never even knew they had, buried at the bottom of their stud kits! We broke up the bigger groups so that people had less time to stand out in the rain, and I was very grateful to all the riders who were happy to "go with the flow."

Kim's teaching style was wonderful! She understands that there is no "one size fits all" approach to horses, and was willing to engage in a conversation with every rider. Each rider had their own goals to achieve during the lessons, and Kim made sure they succeeded. She was very easy going, easy to talk to, but also very firm about what she wanted you to do. Everyone I spoke to had wonderful things to say about how she changed their riding for the better. For me personally, it was realizing that my horse is running around with her nose in her chest, and that I need to get her up before the jump, and stay stronger in my core on the landing so she doesn't land and buck. I'm glad winter is coming since it should take me about that long to fix the problem!!

Head's up, Zahra!!
(c) ShortHorse Studios

On the whole, I think Kim impressed all of us very much, but also, I think we all made a good impression on her, so she will be back!! She commented on how nice it was to see so many riders so well mounted-- everyone had the right horse for what they wanted to do. We'll be working out the final dates in the next month or two, but keep your eyes peeled for an announcement about a clinic in the Madison area for early April. And next time, I'm getting someone ELSE to coordinate meals!