Pictures!!!

The terribly scary covered competition ring

Cashew's second ride

Oslo's first extended trot in the PSG test

Raffa - Steffen's groom taking care of his top hat!

Oslo's one of many warm-ups in the competition ring on Wednesday

Cashew enjoying her stall!

Show Day

Firstly, I need to apologize for not posting anything for a few days. We haven't had great access to internet on the show grounds and we have been super busy with the three horses, especially since Oslo has been very difficult..... =(

On Tuesday I took Oslo out to the fancy covered show arena. We did one walk around and he felt so relaxed and calm! I even mentioned to mom as I walked by that he felt so relaxed..... if only I had known what was to come. The second time around the ring, he planted his feet into the ground and threw his head up to look at the highway in the background. From that point on, he would walk, stand still, or even trot. All he wanted to do was piaffe. He got himself so worked up and his whole body began to shake. He was all sweaty in a matter of minutes just from him shaking and piaffing. All I wanted him to do was walk! We took him out and tried to get him settled in the outdoor rings but he was just a ball of nerves. We put him away in the stall for the night and took him out three more times on Wednesday (only short stretchy rides each time - the goal was to get him relaxed, not tired). We tried to start out in the walk each time, but he just wouldn't walk. Therefore, I tried to stretch him over his back as much as possible in the working trot and by the third time I could stretch him in the canter. When he gets so nervous and tense he just tightens his back and it is nearly impossible to get him to stretch down and just let go. By Thursday he was getting more relaxed outside and I only stretched him once during the day just because I was worried about him getting tired from all the stress and work he had been through the past couple of days. I was feeling better about things since he was starting to settle, but he was still very scared of that covered show ring.

Today was show day and I will start with the positive:
Skippy was pretty good in his Intermediaire I test. He fell behind my leg in the trot work, but the judge commented on how good his changes were at the end of the test! He won a big green ribbon and we were happy with that since he had 9 or 10 entries in his class and that was his more difficult test.
Second positive: Oslo passed the jog with flying colours! Dad had to jog him since the jog was at the same time as my ride on Skippy. I rode Skippy at 7:39am and the jog started at 7:00am and he was the fifth on to go in. Oslo and I were then scheduled to ride at 9:21am. It was a crazy morning, but it helped prevent me from getting too nervous!

Now, Oslo had a fantastic warm-up, but that was outside. Lientje, mom, and I thought we were so ready and he was feeling great. The second I walked underneath the roof of the covered ring, Oslo lost it. His head went up (into the perfect frame, but that also meant his back dropped!) and his muscles tensed up. We proceeded down the centreline and halted for about half a second and proceeded into a beautiful exuberant trot that was extremely difficult to sit since he was not over his back anymore. The trot work went alright and we had good half-passes. He was very excited to go in the extended trots, which was good, but he wasn't very supple and we had some rythym errors since we couldn't balance all the energy. Then came the walk.... well that was what was supposed to be next. Oslo did about 2 steps of walk the entire test and for those of you who know, there is a lot of walk in the Prix St. George. He was just soooooooooo nervous and wanted to piaffe/jog. Then just before the canter transition he did the typical Oslo move: plant his feet and throw his head up to stare at something scary in the distance. When he does this his he just braces on one rein and I cannot move his head or kick him forward. Eventually I coerced him forward and we some how managed to pick up the canter. Our canter tour was decent and we only had one mistake in the three tempis. We got through it but he was so tight and braced. Our final score was a very disappointing 59.8% but for not walking at all, the tension, and the disobedience (stopping and staring!) I guess I couldn't have asked for much better. I was happy to hear Lientje say that I probably couldn't have ridden it any better and unfortunately that is just what you had to deal with. We have a plan for tomorrow to keep him more flexed and I need to think as if I was turning him on a circle each step of the walk. We can only do so much though and the bottom line is that Oslo needs to relax for the walk to be any good at all. Fingers and toes crossed that tomorrow is a new day for Oslo.

Skippy does the Freestyle tomorrow under the lights in the covered arena!!! I am excited, I just hope he isn't that spooky and that we can hold everything together in front of the crowd - no pressure!!! Hopefully it will be fun though. Skippy's music is just so awesome =)

Cashew is doing fantastic and I have ridden her a few times in the schooling areas. She is so brave and I am thinking she is going to have such a good temperament for showing! I cannot wait to get her to the barn after the show and really starting working on some stuff! She is just handling all the distractions so well here - better actually than some other horse I know of!

Arrival!

We arrived safe and sound yesterday afternoon. It was a much shorter day in terms of driving, having only about six hours on the road from Vegas to San Diego. We went straight to the Del Mar Horse Park, which in the end turned out to be the incorrect show grounds - we are now at the Del Mar Fairgrounds! This place is similar to Kentucky, being that it has hundreds of stalls and an amphitheatre type arena. In addition, it is a bit overwhelming to think that I will be riding in the same class as Steffen Peters and Guenter Seidel!!! So, in all honesty, I am definitely a little terrified, but at the same time, I am soooo excited to be here and eager to show! I still cannot believe we are here and this is truly such an amazing learning opportunity for me. =)

The horses arrived in good condition and I rode Oslo and Skippy today. Cashew just got lunged since she is green and had some excess energy from being cooped up in the trailer for the last couple of days! Oslo started out quite stiff, which we expected since he isn't a spring chicken anymore, but we were very happy with how he seems to be handling everything mentally. He seems fairly calm and willing to work. He even doesn't seem to mind his stall very much! So hopefully he is getting his mental game ready for the weekend and is finally starting to settle into this showing thing! Skippy was terrific today and showed almost no signs of being stiff from the trip. He had so much "go" which is very awesome for Skippy! Just needed some extra half halt! Cashew had a good lunging session and was in a bit of a shock about the warmer weather and having to actually work. But, once she "expressed herself" a few times, she went straight to work and she went really well. We kept all the training sessions short and sweet since it was the first time the horses have been worked in 20 degree heat for a while!!!

Talking about the weather..... I have already fried myself! My face, arms, and shoulders are a nice vibrant red =( I went to Steffen's barn this morning to watch Lientje and Steffen ride, in addition to meeting up with Michelle McWilliam who is also down here for the shows. Apparently, I was sitting in the sun watching for too long!!!

We went for groceries today and bought a gigantic bag of "Horse Carrots" at the grocery store for the horses! We have a months supply of horse carrots now and only paid $5.99!! We were so impressed that the grocery store sold carrots specifically for horses! You know you are in a horsey area/community when... lol

Till next time,

Bluffton to Las Vegas and Everywhere in Between

We headed out first thing in the morning, just after 6:00am, on Friday so that we could get to the Coutts/Sweetgrass border corssing before the veterinarian left for the long weekend. The trip was uneventful to the border and once we got to the border things went slowly, but smoothly. The border crossing was insanely busy because of the long weekend. We were lucky because we got to go in the "big truck lane" otherwise we would have been waiting in line for at least an hour. We then had to see the veterinarian at the border crossing who had to inspect the horses and sign our papers. The time spent at the border set our arrival time into Idaho Falls back by two hours and we had a really long day, not arriving to the barn in Idaho Falls until just after 10:00pm. Music on my lap top was the only thing that kept us going! The horses all settled in right away thankfully and we all had a much needed nights rest.

Today was a much more exciting drive since we got to drive Utah, Arizona, and ended in Nevada for the night. Southern Utah along with Arizona are beautiful because of the many canyons and dark red hills. Salt Lake City is a bit terrifying to drive through with the truck and trailer, but dad always does a great job driving within 6 lanes of busy traffic. Vegas is a similar story and by the time we pulled off the Interstate and stopped at the barn for the night, dad was fairly exhausted from the stress of the traffic. The barn we are at for the night is so cute and it is only minutes from the strip if you can believe that!!!

The horses have all been travelling quite well and they were very eager to drink today since the temperature started to rise once we hit southern Utah. By the time we crossed into the Arizona border it was 30 degrees. The horses are super spoiled at the barn tonight and have turnouts attached to their stalls, along with fans that are running continuously. Oslo seems to be very "chill" on this trip thus far (knock on wood), Skippy wasn't eating much the first day, which for anyone who knows Skippy, knows that is VERY strange. He seems to have settled in today though and is back to his "pigish self". Cashew, the newest member of the gang is doing terrific for only being 4 years old and not having hauled very much before. She has been really good loading everytime after a rest stop and seems to be keeping her nerves in check as well. She is a little superstar!

Goodnight from Vegas and I will update the blog once we arrive in San Diego!

One Day Until Departure

Hello everyone! Thank you for checking out my blog! My goal with this blog is to keep family, friends, and sponsors updated about my adventure to San Diego, California for some top-level dressage training and showing. Oslo and I have declared for the 2011 Pan American Games and are hoping to be in the top 15 Canadian riders which compete in head to head selection trials for the ultimate position: one of three spots on Canadian team going to Mexico in October to attend the Pan American Games. The goal of competing in the head to head trials is definitely one that will push us beyond our comfort zone, but through the experience, I know I will learn so much and grow a lot as a rider and competitor.

My first post is only being done a day before departure due to me writing my last engineering exam yesterday, Wednesday. Now that I have that out of the way (and boy am I relieved!) I am finally able to start packing and getting organized for our six week long trip. Not only do I have to pack for myself for six weeks, I also have to pack enough stuff for the three horses that I am taking. This brings me to the introduction of the three wonderful horses I get to bring down with me:

Oslo: my equine partner for six years now, KWPN Bay Gelding, 16.2hh, 15 years old

Skippy (show name: Bonafide): equine partner for almost 2 years now, Canadian Warmblood Bay Gelding, 17.1hh, 13 years old

Cashew: newest equine partner - we have only been together for about 3 weeks, KWPN Chestnut Mare (but trust me, she is NOT your typical chestnut mare!), 17hh, 4 years old

I am so excited to be taking all three of them! They are all such unique horses and having all three of them down in California for training will really allow me to develop as a rider. Therefore, I need to thank the owners of Skippy and Cashew for letting me take their horses on this journey with me. So, THANK YOU Grant and Claudia Wierzba and Allison Hagen. Never have I known such amazing horse owners!!! =)

Now, a little more about the trip: My mother, father, and I, with the three horses, depart first thing tomorrow morning, April 22. We need to get to the Canada/U.S. border early in the afternoon to have all the horses inspected by a veterinarian at the border. Then we will continue on to Idaho Falls and spend the night there to let the horses rest for a few hours. Then one more full day of driving to Las Vegas where we will spend the second night. This allows us to arrive Sunday early afternoon (the 24th). We will be driving straight to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and be staying there for the first week since we have our first show the weekend of the April 29th. After that show we will be moving to Steffen Peters' barn just East of Del Mar. We will be attending two other shows in California during our trip and all the other time will be spent receiving lessons from Lientje Shueller (Steffen Peters' assistant) and Steffen Peters.

The packing and cleaning awaits me, so I am going to leave the first post at that. I promise to update the blog as much as possible and dad is always on photography duty, so I am hoping to post tons of pictures as well!


Lindsay