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!

Then and Now

The day Zahra arrived on the trailer from Virginia, we let her loose in the small indoor to let her stretch her legs a little bit, and I snapped this photo with my phone to show everyone my beautiful new horse:

One year later, my dad and I thought it would be neat to get a duplicate picture to see how much she's changed. So, my dad grabbed his exact same coat, and we put Zahra is the exact same (general) area, and I stood in the exact same (general) area, and snapped a few shots. 

I think the resulting photo comparison is pretty cool. She's bulked up her muscle tone a ton, her coat is nice and shiny, maybe even added an inch of height...? But generally she looks like a grown up horse, whereas in the first photo, she was still a bit juvenile. Also, I used a real camera this year!! This may have to become an annual tradition! 

Gerd Zuther and the Triplets

Gerd Zuther and the Triplets. 

Epic clinic, or epic band name? 

You decide.

This summer I have had the privilege of helping my friend Caryn start her "triplets." These three 3-year-olds were the result of a very successful embryo transfer of Caryn's Grand Prix Hanoverian imported from Germany, Salope, and international Grand Prix superstar, the Oldenburg (approved Hanoverian) Diamond Hit, who is standing at stud in Germany. Their breeding, build, movement, and temperament all speak to successful careers in dressage. How successful?  Well, I am but a humble eventer, who doesn't even know how to ask for any of the upper level movements, but I think in the right hands, there is nothing these fillies can't do. And in a less experienced amateur's hands? I'm pretty sure they'd still be winning national accolades.

The work this summer culminated in last weekend's Gerd Zuther clinic. For those who don't know Gerd, I'm not sure I can adequately describe what an amazing teacher he is! He is certified by the German Equine Federation (FN) as a "Reitlehrer FN” as a riding instructor and trainer for the three Olympic equestrian disciplines – dressage, jumping and eventing – with riding accomplishments that include multiple Grand Prix successes. His primary focus has always been training, with many of his students going on to compete at the Olympic level, including most recently Nina Lingon of Thailand.

awesome horses + awesome trainer = great success

Day 1 saw my horse, Zahra get her little behind handed to her by Gerd. Before the lesson even began, he had me hop off to show me where she lacked muscle in her hind end. When I got back on, he laid out some cavalettis and we spent the next hour working those undeveloped muscles, both with the cavalettis and flatwork gymnastics. She was completely wiped out by the end, but we had a good plan for the winter.

The first of the triplets, Diamond Dureza, was up next. She. Was. Perfect. Walk-trot-canter in a swinging rhythm with a supple back, and we even began introducing some more advanced stuff, like head to the wall leg-yields. She took it all in stride! It was a lovely lesson, on a lovely horse, and I am not sorry to say that this means Caryn will be taking over the ride on her after this! Although she has been such a pleasure to work with, I am excited that Caryn can finally begin to enjoy one of these girls after 4+ years of waiting!

Day 2 began as soon as I arrived at the farm. I came down to audit a bit before my ride, and no sooner than I'd sat down then Gerd called me out of the audience to help with a supremely talented but occasionally naughty 6 year old who refused to relax into his flying lead changes. Horse and rider were getting too frustrated with each other, so Gerd had me hop on. (Cue awkward moment when you realize you've never done a flying lead change outside of a jump saddle, and in jumping style). Going left to right, he'd let out a big buck, and right to left he would try to kick the rider's leg (and sometimes, he succeeded!!). A few bucks and kicks later, we finally got ONE quiet, correct flying lead change, at which point Gerd had me bring him back to the walk to do some half-steps to finish him off. Except, fatal flaw, the eventer had no idea how to ask for half-steps!! So, I just tried to hold him in front and time my leg aids to Gerd's whip, and we managed to get a few!! 

Next was my ride on Z. I could feel that she began the day still a bit tired. We focused on suppleing gymnastics for the whole ride, like double shallow loops down the long side, 4 loop serpentines, and riding off the track, lengthening down the long sides, flexing in the corners, but straight and sitting trot on the short sides. The final exercise proved to be too much for her exhausted little body: 3 loop serpentine, change of lead over centerline. She just could not consistently pick up the correct lead, in either direction! When we finally came to the cool-down, she could barely lift her back legs! So, hind end strength will be a huge priority over the winter. Clearly the little 3' jumps are not enough to make her actually engage those muscles!! What was really neat was how much I was able to push on her. Here she is, only 4 years old, but doing the same sorts of exercises my Intermediate horse Sgilti would have been doing when he was in his prime! So even though she struggled a bit, she's still on the accelerated track for greatness.

After my ride, I was completely wiped out. I wasn't entirely sure where I was going to find the energy for two more horses, so I was doing my best to relax and audit, when again Gerd called on me to get on the horse in the lesson! This was a more experienced pair, working on Prix St. Georges movements, but they weren't making it out of the warm-up because the rider was way over-thinking a straightforward walking leg-yield exercise. So I hopped on and did the exercise, and then demonstrated what the rider had been doing (with Gerd's help... I hadn't been able to tell the problem from where I was sitting). 

I got two good take-aways from these two quick helping rides-- first of all, Gerd thinks I'm a competant enough rider that he'll make me get on these well trained horses (squee!!), and second, I've never in my life ridden a horse so well connected as those two. Something to aspire to I suppose!

After that was the second triplet, Diamond Caliente. Unfortunately, she can be a bit of a hot tamale on the lounge line occasionally, and today was one of those occasions. Even though I feel that she could have stepped up to any challenge Gerd had given us, he chose to take it a little easier on her and we focused on developing a better connection. This was definitely an area we needed help with, so it was still a great lesson, and she was swinging and soft by the end of the ride.

And finally Triplet #3, Diamond Dolce. Gerd picked up right away that she was (currently) the least balanced, and so we worked in short spurts, doing lots of transitions and walk breaks so that we didn't push her past her fitness level. She (and every baby) needs to enjoy their work before the "real work" can begin. Our work focused on building up her strength and endurance so that she could better carry my weight, and it gave us a good game plan for moving forward.

People kept asking me during the clinic which is my favorite to ride, but the truth is, I like each of them for different reasons. They are all so athletic, they will excel wherever their lives take them. Hopefully I can do my best to keep up with them as their lives progress!

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!