Mark Todd clinic today. As much fun socializing too :) Tons of people here I don't get to see regularly so break times were fun. Details on the GRS blog though - too tired to copy it all. Summary: look where you're going and every transition counts! hahaha amazing how I can condense 8 hours into 8 words. Go English degree go!
hmmmm think that'll do for tonight. Cause really, the long version's already typed. And my brain is rapidly turning off...
Mark Todd Clinic - Day 1 :)
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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Day 1 of the Mark Todd clinic was really interesting and lots of fun :) Who's Mark Todd??? Well among other things, he was rated Rider of the Century by the FEI. So basically as good as it gets. From wiki:
--
Mark James Todd, CBE (born 1 March 1956) is a New Zealand horseman noted for his accomplishments in the discipline of eventing, voted Rider of the 20th Century by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, (Fédération Equestre Internationale.[1]
--
For more info, Google is your friend. Anyways... He stopped clinicing in North America more than ten years ago, so when I heard he'd be here for the Royal and this clinic, I was pretty excited *g*
The facility hosting the event is stunning. I don't think I've ever seen an arena with windows like that before :) Wow. And had a blast walking the xc course at lunch -- looks like so much fun! hahaha
All the levels did the same exercises -- the only differences were the heights of the fences and the degree of perfection expected *g*
At the very beginning they went into lateral work in walk and trot. Overly exaggerated as the goal was to stretch and supple the horses to jump, not aim for dressage perfection. They started with leg-yield, first to/from the quarter line and then across the short diagonal. Then it was into shoulder-in down the long side followed by counter flexion on the short side. The more advanced groups also did shoulder-in to traverse transitions.
This was followed with some pole work -- three poles down the long side. Canter them first 4 strides to 4 strides, then 5 to 5. Then 5 to 4, and for the more advanced horses 4 to 5. The focus here was accuracy and straightness. Riders that had trouble with their horses swapping leads, quickly found once they got straight they held the lead.
Then the jumping began. The next two exercises were done in alternate orders but seemingly not due to experience so much as temperament of the horses in the group.
One exercise was a 3 loop serpentine with jumps as you cross the center of the ring, half way between the center-line and the wall. Jumping into the wall to back the horses off. Focus on getting close to the base and accurate lead changes. The greener horses also had poles flat on the ground to switch leads over.
The other was cavelletti on a circle - five canter bounces. Focus on maintaining the bend and rhythm.
This was followed with an interesting gymnastic. Off the left in trot, pole to and X, one stride to an oxer. Land on the right lead. Canter two strides on a bit of a diagonal to the right. Switch leads over a pole and straighten out. 3 strides to a vertical. Land left and continue around the corner. Nobody had an issue with the jumps, but there was all sorts of problems with the leads. Mark didn't make a big deal of it, just had them keep asking each time and eventually the horses got the hang of it. Concept being to jump and keep paying attention.
The next gymnastic was a straight line, vert one stride "scary" oxer 4 strides easy oxer. Idea being that often in competition they'll put an airy vertical followed by a scary fence (this one was scary because it had barrels under it :) so the horse's attention is drawn straight to the scary fence and they pull the vertical because they don't even acknowledge its presence.
Then some courses incorporating any/all of the above along with a random oxer either just off the wall or jumping into the wall.
Ok so points of the day:
- EVERY transition counts. (ummm we don't want to consider how long it to A to knock that into my little brain, but I'm happy to say it's there now so I was pretty excited to hear it from the Master himself :)
- LOOK for your fence. Earlier than you think you need to.
- Obedience to the leg is absolutely non-negotiable; this should be established in the lateral work in the w/u
- Horse, esp if hot, should end each activity in his "happy space" relaxed and chilled.
- EVERY transition counts.
- LOOK for your fence. Each one, one at a time.
- You must never rely on your hands for balance. Corollary - hands should be soft and following - esp through gymnastics.
- Find and fix problems over poles before ever jumping (ie straightness, obedience, rhythm, etc)
- if the horse is arguing with your hand, fix it with the leg
- horse should reach for contact; avoid a "fragile" connection
- EVERY transition counts. Even the "oh thank god we're done" one.
- LOOK for your fence. Seriously.
- "oi" command. As in, sit up and listen to me NOW.
- focus on outside rein and riding forward through turns.
- EVERY transition counts.
- LOOK for your fence.
Can you guess which points were stressed repeatedly?
Fun day - looking forward to tomorrow :)
--
Mark James Todd, CBE (born 1 March 1956) is a New Zealand horseman noted for his accomplishments in the discipline of eventing, voted Rider of the 20th Century by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, (Fédération Equestre Internationale.[1]
He won gold medals at Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988) Olympics, the Badminton Horse Trials[12] on four occasions, the Burghley Horse Trials[2] five times, and as a member of New Zealand’s Eventing team he won gold medals at the World Championships in 1990 and 1998 (Rome), the European Championships in 1997, plus 20 or more other international events, and numerous other international individual and team titles.
In New Zealand he has been honoured with the 1998 Supreme Halberg Award[3] as New Zealand Sportsperson of the year and inducted into TheNew Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.[4]
Todd and fellow equestrian Andrew Nicholson, are the first New Zealanders to have competed at six Olympic Games.
On 25 April 2011, Todd completed a fourth Badminton victory riding NZB Land Vision, becoming the oldest winner of the event.--
For more info, Google is your friend. Anyways... He stopped clinicing in North America more than ten years ago, so when I heard he'd be here for the Royal and this clinic, I was pretty excited *g*
The facility hosting the event is stunning. I don't think I've ever seen an arena with windows like that before :) Wow. And had a blast walking the xc course at lunch -- looks like so much fun! hahaha
All the levels did the same exercises -- the only differences were the heights of the fences and the degree of perfection expected *g*
At the very beginning they went into lateral work in walk and trot. Overly exaggerated as the goal was to stretch and supple the horses to jump, not aim for dressage perfection. They started with leg-yield, first to/from the quarter line and then across the short diagonal. Then it was into shoulder-in down the long side followed by counter flexion on the short side. The more advanced groups also did shoulder-in to traverse transitions.
This was followed with some pole work -- three poles down the long side. Canter them first 4 strides to 4 strides, then 5 to 5. Then 5 to 4, and for the more advanced horses 4 to 5. The focus here was accuracy and straightness. Riders that had trouble with their horses swapping leads, quickly found once they got straight they held the lead.
Then the jumping began. The next two exercises were done in alternate orders but seemingly not due to experience so much as temperament of the horses in the group.
One exercise was a 3 loop serpentine with jumps as you cross the center of the ring, half way between the center-line and the wall. Jumping into the wall to back the horses off. Focus on getting close to the base and accurate lead changes. The greener horses also had poles flat on the ground to switch leads over.
The other was cavelletti on a circle - five canter bounces. Focus on maintaining the bend and rhythm.
This was followed with an interesting gymnastic. Off the left in trot, pole to and X, one stride to an oxer. Land on the right lead. Canter two strides on a bit of a diagonal to the right. Switch leads over a pole and straighten out. 3 strides to a vertical. Land left and continue around the corner. Nobody had an issue with the jumps, but there was all sorts of problems with the leads. Mark didn't make a big deal of it, just had them keep asking each time and eventually the horses got the hang of it. Concept being to jump and keep paying attention.
The next gymnastic was a straight line, vert one stride "scary" oxer 4 strides easy oxer. Idea being that often in competition they'll put an airy vertical followed by a scary fence (this one was scary because it had barrels under it :) so the horse's attention is drawn straight to the scary fence and they pull the vertical because they don't even acknowledge its presence.
Then some courses incorporating any/all of the above along with a random oxer either just off the wall or jumping into the wall.
Ok so points of the day:
- EVERY transition counts. (ummm we don't want to consider how long it to A to knock that into my little brain, but I'm happy to say it's there now so I was pretty excited to hear it from the Master himself :)
- LOOK for your fence. Earlier than you think you need to.
- Obedience to the leg is absolutely non-negotiable; this should be established in the lateral work in the w/u
- Horse, esp if hot, should end each activity in his "happy space" relaxed and chilled.
- EVERY transition counts.
- LOOK for your fence. Each one, one at a time.
- You must never rely on your hands for balance. Corollary - hands should be soft and following - esp through gymnastics.
- Find and fix problems over poles before ever jumping (ie straightness, obedience, rhythm, etc)
- if the horse is arguing with your hand, fix it with the leg
- horse should reach for contact; avoid a "fragile" connection
- EVERY transition counts. Even the "oh thank god we're done" one.
- LOOK for your fence. Seriously.
- "oi" command. As in, sit up and listen to me NOW.
- focus on outside rein and riding forward through turns.
- EVERY transition counts.
- LOOK for your fence.
Can you guess which points were stressed repeatedly?
Fun day - looking forward to tomorrow :)
Cowboy Rules
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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Very long but very productive day today.
Just got back from the new place and can I just say I can't wait to move! hahaha Next few weeks will be a *little* chaotic, but soooooo worth it in the end :)
Mark Todd clinic tomorrow! Woohoo :)
Cause it sort of amused me (particularly like #5) and my brain is spinning too fast to type anything coherent at the moment:
The Cowboy Rules:
1. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
2. Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.
3. Let's get this straight: it's called a 'gravel road' I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus Drive it or get out of the way.
4. They are cattle. That's why they smell like cattle. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-10 & I-40 go east and west, I-17 & I-15 goes north and south. Pick one and go.
5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 Combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
6. Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ducks/doves are comin' in during a hunt, we WILL shoot it outta your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.
8. Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and elk. You really want sushi and caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.
9. The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.
10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.
11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham and turkey.
12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! Oh, yeah ... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!
13. You bring 'Coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.
14. College and High School Football is as important here as the Giants, the Yankees, the Mets, the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.
15. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the fish.
Just got back from the new place and can I just say I can't wait to move! hahaha Next few weeks will be a *little* chaotic, but soooooo worth it in the end :)
Mark Todd clinic tomorrow! Woohoo :)
Cause it sort of amused me (particularly like #5) and my brain is spinning too fast to type anything coherent at the moment:
The Cowboy Rules:
1. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.
2. Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.
3. Let's get this straight: it's called a 'gravel road' I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus Drive it or get out of the way.
4. They are cattle. That's why they smell like cattle. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-10 & I-40 go east and west, I-17 & I-15 goes north and south. Pick one and go.
5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 Combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.
6. Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.
7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ducks/doves are comin' in during a hunt, we WILL shoot it outta your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.
8. Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and elk. You really want sushi and caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.
9. The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.
10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.
11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham and turkey.
12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! Oh, yeah ... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!
13. You bring 'Coke' into my house, it better be brown, wet and served over ice. You bring 'Mary Jane' into my house, she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, and have long hair.
14. College and High School Football is as important here as the Giants, the Yankees, the Mets, the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.
15. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the fish.
Last Friday night we danced on tabletops, took too many shots, think we kissed but I forgot...
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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ummmm yeah or maybe that was Friday night a decade ago. Someways it seems so recent and someways it seems a lifetime ago. But sadly *this* Friday night I'm essentially exhausted and really disinclined to write. So you get a few random disjointed thoughts and then I'm off to sleep.
Two new students today who I think will both fit in really well, so that's always exciting :)
Riding outside in November - also exciting :)
Seeing people posting on fb that they're done their xmas shopping? Well now really that's just a little excessive. When I think of all I have to do between now and xmas I can't even begin to contemplate shopping. Sheesh. If they could bottle that free time and sell it, they'd be rich!
Mark Todd clinic this weekend - super exciting.
Royal with friends on Wednesday - can't wait!
Out of town friend visiting on Friday - always fun :)
Finally managed to book a dinner date with a friend I haven't seen in ages -- about time!
Crossing off the first thing on my to do list: write to do list. Well that'll be a good thing when it happens. Wish me luck.
Hot bubble bath before bed... Well now that's a way better idea than writing a blog post just to write a blog post. And who am I to pass on a good idea?
Night!
Two new students today who I think will both fit in really well, so that's always exciting :)
Riding outside in November - also exciting :)
Seeing people posting on fb that they're done their xmas shopping? Well now really that's just a little excessive. When I think of all I have to do between now and xmas I can't even begin to contemplate shopping. Sheesh. If they could bottle that free time and sell it, they'd be rich!
Mark Todd clinic this weekend - super exciting.
Royal with friends on Wednesday - can't wait!
Out of town friend visiting on Friday - always fun :)
Finally managed to book a dinner date with a friend I haven't seen in ages -- about time!
Crossing off the first thing on my to do list: write to do list. Well that'll be a good thing when it happens. Wish me luck.
Hot bubble bath before bed... Well now that's a way better idea than writing a blog post just to write a blog post. And who am I to pass on a good idea?
Night!
It's still Thursday :)
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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Right so it's 11:00 -- sure I can type something to still qualify as today's post before midnight. Well I can if I ignore Facebook and email for a while.
So the news of the move is official and public now! I am sooooooo excited. Esp when things I'm not happy with at the current place cause grief (ugh, teaching in the dust-bowl tonight. Counting down till we move :) Photos and a map on the GRS fb page if you're interested.
For those I don't see in every day life -- for a wide variety of reasons I'm relocating my school. The new place is a little west of the current place, close enough that almost all of my awesome students are coming with me. Woohoo - pretty stoked about that. hahaha and basically everything about it is an improvement. Grass turnout, big stalls with mats, little to no mud anywhere, gorgeous indoor ring with excellent essentially dust-free footing, nice heated viewing lounge for parents, 95 acres of land (xc course to come!), heated wash stall, professionally built dressage ring, grass jump ring, awesome landlords -- everybody I've met has been super nice. And it's private -- it'll be just us. About the only thing I expect to miss at the current place is some of the people. I've made a couple good friends there and that's always hard to leave. But this place comes with good people too :)
But yeah the to-do list is growing about as fast as I can think... Prob time to start writing some of that down. And then maybe actually doing something about it. Yikes.
And even with fb open I'm still going to post in time. >;-P (ummmm not sure who that's directed at; just seemed appropriate somehow)
Later!
So the news of the move is official and public now! I am sooooooo excited. Esp when things I'm not happy with at the current place cause grief (ugh, teaching in the dust-bowl tonight. Counting down till we move :) Photos and a map on the GRS fb page if you're interested.
For those I don't see in every day life -- for a wide variety of reasons I'm relocating my school. The new place is a little west of the current place, close enough that almost all of my awesome students are coming with me. Woohoo - pretty stoked about that. hahaha and basically everything about it is an improvement. Grass turnout, big stalls with mats, little to no mud anywhere, gorgeous indoor ring with excellent essentially dust-free footing, nice heated viewing lounge for parents, 95 acres of land (xc course to come!), heated wash stall, professionally built dressage ring, grass jump ring, awesome landlords -- everybody I've met has been super nice. And it's private -- it'll be just us. About the only thing I expect to miss at the current place is some of the people. I've made a couple good friends there and that's always hard to leave. But this place comes with good people too :)
But yeah the to-do list is growing about as fast as I can think... Prob time to start writing some of that down. And then maybe actually doing something about it. Yikes.
And even with fb open I'm still going to post in time. >;-P (ummmm not sure who that's directed at; just seemed appropriate somehow)
Later!
Hey, that's a great idea! ummmm or maybe not...
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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I wonder if "physician heal thyself" applies to other careers?
hahaha so when I bought Athena she was starving and unfit and unhealthy. Now she's a good weight, very fit, healthy and happy. Yet somehow in my mind, she's still starving and unfit... So when the weather was nice on Monday so I'd go for a hack, I didn't think anything of it.
Despite the fact that the weather's been crummy for weeks so she's been stuck in the arena. AND she hadn't been ridden for two days.
Now if any of my students had told me they were going to do that, I would've either stopped them, or told them to go ahead but be prepared (depending on which horse and rider combination it was :) -- but for me? oh no, out I go without a second's thought.
*Almost* worthy of a "stupid should hurt" moment, but fortunately I clued in fairly quickly and as a result did *not* have to make the walk of shame...
hahahah well it all worked out ok in the end, but let's just say I had to wake up fast >;-P Our nice walk hack very quickly changed into a jigging sideways trot, which morphed into a *very* up canter... Eventually I got her down to the plateau where there's at least some room to work; schooled till she was quasi-rideable and then jigged our way back to the sandring to burn off some steam on safer footing. hahaha never got anything *good* that ride, but had a lot of fun. And eventually did get to go on our lovely walk hack to cool out. But even that was on a mission.
It just amused me my brain arguing with itself as she first started jigging. The one side surprised and "hey, this isn't like you" and the other side "you idiot, what'd you expect? She's fit, healthy, and hasn't been out in ages..." Fortunately the third part -- the one that knows how to ride -- dealt with the situation while the other two argued it out. hahaha
So today we had equally good weather so we went out again. Still slightly out of control (next spring is going to be fun :) but at least this time I was prepared for it. Walk/trot hack only to w/u. Back to sandring (rather than plateau) for our actual work. And then another w/t hack to cool down. And you know what -- I *actually* followed it. hahaha didn't even pretend to let her gallop. Although I have to admit that's more because the footing wasn't safe and I have absolutely no intention of setting her up to fall then because I was being overly responsible *g*
And I would just like to announce that it's November and I got to give my horse a bath today. Best. Weather. Ever. Would really like this to stick around for the winter :
hahaha so when I bought Athena she was starving and unfit and unhealthy. Now she's a good weight, very fit, healthy and happy. Yet somehow in my mind, she's still starving and unfit... So when the weather was nice on Monday so I'd go for a hack, I didn't think anything of it.
Despite the fact that the weather's been crummy for weeks so she's been stuck in the arena. AND she hadn't been ridden for two days.
Now if any of my students had told me they were going to do that, I would've either stopped them, or told them to go ahead but be prepared (depending on which horse and rider combination it was :) -- but for me? oh no, out I go without a second's thought.
*Almost* worthy of a "stupid should hurt" moment, but fortunately I clued in fairly quickly and as a result did *not* have to make the walk of shame...
hahahah well it all worked out ok in the end, but let's just say I had to wake up fast >;-P Our nice walk hack very quickly changed into a jigging sideways trot, which morphed into a *very* up canter... Eventually I got her down to the plateau where there's at least some room to work; schooled till she was quasi-rideable and then jigged our way back to the sandring to burn off some steam on safer footing. hahaha never got anything *good* that ride, but had a lot of fun. And eventually did get to go on our lovely walk hack to cool out. But even that was on a mission.
It just amused me my brain arguing with itself as she first started jigging. The one side surprised and "hey, this isn't like you" and the other side "you idiot, what'd you expect? She's fit, healthy, and hasn't been out in ages..." Fortunately the third part -- the one that knows how to ride -- dealt with the situation while the other two argued it out. hahaha
So today we had equally good weather so we went out again. Still slightly out of control (next spring is going to be fun :) but at least this time I was prepared for it. Walk/trot hack only to w/u. Back to sandring (rather than plateau) for our actual work. And then another w/t hack to cool down. And you know what -- I *actually* followed it. hahaha didn't even pretend to let her gallop. Although I have to admit that's more because the footing wasn't safe and I have absolutely no intention of setting her up to fall then because I was being overly responsible *g*
And I would just like to announce that it's November and I got to give my horse a bath today. Best. Weather. Ever. Would really like this to stick around for the winter :
Nanowrimo?
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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So it's November first, time for Nanowrimo!
Let's see - already on this month's agenda...
Normal 70-80 hour work week running the school and taking care of the horses
Back and forth to the new place showing people around, planning, organizing etc (I can't wait - every time I go there I get more excited!)
Mark Todd Clinic
Royal
Clothing orders
Plan and organize the move (this is proving to be more complex than I originally anticipated!)
Pack
Actually move
hmmmm so given that, I'm afrid I have to acknowledge that there is absolutely no way I can handle Nanowrimo this year. Booooo. Simply no space left for 50,000 words. So instead, I think I'll give the blog version a try. I can't guarantee interesting, or even coherent *g* but I'll attempt to post something daily this month.
And if you're a writer, a wannabe writer, or somebody who ever thought "maybe I'll write a book some day" -- now's your chance! Go to nanowrimo.org and have a blast :) I've done it a few times -- last year's story is even in the works of being published. And they provide plenty of procrastination options too. Enjoy!
Let's see - already on this month's agenda...
Normal 70-80 hour work week running the school and taking care of the horses
Back and forth to the new place showing people around, planning, organizing etc (I can't wait - every time I go there I get more excited!)
Mark Todd Clinic
Royal
Clothing orders
Plan and organize the move (this is proving to be more complex than I originally anticipated!)
Pack
Actually move
hmmmm so given that, I'm afrid I have to acknowledge that there is absolutely no way I can handle Nanowrimo this year. Booooo. Simply no space left for 50,000 words. So instead, I think I'll give the blog version a try. I can't guarantee interesting, or even coherent *g* but I'll attempt to post something daily this month.
And if you're a writer, a wannabe writer, or somebody who ever thought "maybe I'll write a book some day" -- now's your chance! Go to nanowrimo.org and have a blast :) I've done it a few times -- last year's story is even in the works of being published. And they provide plenty of procrastination options too. Enjoy!
Happy birthday to me :)
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Lauren Cude Horsfall
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Now those of you who know me irl or even who've been following the blog for a while (thanks for that btw!) might be questioning the subject line a bit because, well, traditionally my birthday falls in July.
And so it did this year too :) But Stephy and Paula decided that for my birthday they would take me wardrobe shopping.
Now this too might raise a few eyebrows since it's generally reasonably well known that I have less than no fashion sense (yes this is possible -- whatever I pick is *worse* than whatever I started with; it's a horrible downward spiral) and I also despise clothing shopping. So not something most friends would think of making a gift of.
But given how much I enjoy it (read avoid at all costs) an expedition was rather desperately needed, and at least with the two of them I was bound to spend most of the day laughing. And Steph has more than enough fashion sense for just about everybody I know put together, so there was actual hope of coming out looking somewhat put together.
So this seemed like a good idea. But in July, when my birthday actually occurred, Steph was busy dressing everybody in her extended family for her sister's wedding. And August was crazy busy with showing. And by September Paula was back at school. So between the three of us, this was the first day we could all arrange.
Somebody asked me once how I keep any of my friends living the crazy schedule I do -- I keep my friends because most of my friends are the type of people who are as busy as I am! hahaha so they get it. And we just schedule each other in weeks in advance if we have to :) It works. For the ones who matter, it works. And the ones who don't matter, well now they hardly qualify as friends do they?
Alright, so now we understand why I get a birthday in October. And how shopping came to be a "good" thing... hahaha
I taught in the morning so Stephy came and rode as well. Paula joined us at the barn and I took them and Hailey over to see the new place (ummmm more about that in its own post :) -- gorgeous day out, seemed a good time to show them around :)
So we dropped Hailey back at the current barn after our exploration and headed out shopping -- but like all dreaded things, shopping is to be avoided till the last possible second. So lunch came first :) mmmmmm yummy lunch. Of course after lunch I felt more like a nap then shopping, but Steph was energized enough for all of us so off we went.
And it was surprisingly painless. Paula and I mostly wandered and mocked the more horrendous fashions, while Steph bravely disappeared into the darkest depths of the store, every once in a while popping out to hand me something and let us know she was still alive, before disappearing again.
Every once in a while I'd get shoved into a box to try on a mountain of clothing -- and trust me -- this is a mountain I've no interest in photographing much less climbing! But being the good sport I am, I went along with this with only a modicum of whining >;-P Met one sales lady who was a bit of a nightmare, but other than her they basically all took one look at Steph on a mission and left us alone -- I'm sure they were looking at me and being eternally grateful I'd brought my own personal shopper and they wouldn't have to try to fix my lack of fashion.
Sadly, our shopping expedition was cut 3 or 4 stores short by them closing. awwwww. I was devastated, let me tell you. Or, you know, grateful. I always get those two words mixed up. English is a tricky language after all *g*
So in the end I had a reasonable collection of clothing that means I don't have to do this again soon AND it actually looks good :) So Stephy saved my first impressions *g* and I'm good to go. Sweet.
Now no birthday is complete without ice cream. This might be a July thing, but I argue it holds for all times of year. So we def needed to detour through a Baskin Robbins for ridiculously sized ice cream. mmmmmm ice cream...
So reality entered in for a bit and we went back to the barn to take care of the horses. Fastest night check EVER. But having three people who know what needs to be done and can divide and conquer helps a lot. Horses fed, watered, wrapped and blanketed in like 15 mins.
Why the rush? Well cause Stephy and I had decided while sitting in BR that we wanted to go to the movies. The movie that started an hour and 15 mins after that conversation. While we were 30 mins away from the barn that's 20 mins from the theatre. AND needed gas. And when I got to the gas station the pump wouldn't work because the attendant was on his own planet and neglected to push the button till I got annoyed enough to push the call button and wake him up. So yeah, little tight on time.
Paula decided she had to be all responsible and go home and study or some foolish thing like that, so *after* helping with chores (cause that's the kind of girl she is) she totally ditched us (cause that's the kind of girl she is :)
So Stephy and I made it to the theatre right about 7:15. Bought our tickets and junk food (cause you know, we hadn't had enough of that yet) and got seated just as previews were starting. Perfect timing really.
Movie was Footloose and it was SO much fun. I wasn't really expecting to enjoy it all that much, but it seemed the right flakiness level to finish off a fairly silly day. But I really enjoyed it. Up there with Grease or Dirty Dancing in the dance-chick-flick category. Just leaves you smiling and feeling like blaring the music on the way home.
Which is precisely what I did.
So thank you ladies for such a fun birthday! And a lovely deviation from my usual reality :)
And so it did this year too :) But Stephy and Paula decided that for my birthday they would take me wardrobe shopping.
Now this too might raise a few eyebrows since it's generally reasonably well known that I have less than no fashion sense (yes this is possible -- whatever I pick is *worse* than whatever I started with; it's a horrible downward spiral) and I also despise clothing shopping. So not something most friends would think of making a gift of.
But given how much I enjoy it (read avoid at all costs) an expedition was rather desperately needed, and at least with the two of them I was bound to spend most of the day laughing. And Steph has more than enough fashion sense for just about everybody I know put together, so there was actual hope of coming out looking somewhat put together.
So this seemed like a good idea. But in July, when my birthday actually occurred, Steph was busy dressing everybody in her extended family for her sister's wedding. And August was crazy busy with showing. And by September Paula was back at school. So between the three of us, this was the first day we could all arrange.
Somebody asked me once how I keep any of my friends living the crazy schedule I do -- I keep my friends because most of my friends are the type of people who are as busy as I am! hahaha so they get it. And we just schedule each other in weeks in advance if we have to :) It works. For the ones who matter, it works. And the ones who don't matter, well now they hardly qualify as friends do they?
Alright, so now we understand why I get a birthday in October. And how shopping came to be a "good" thing... hahaha
I taught in the morning so Stephy came and rode as well. Paula joined us at the barn and I took them and Hailey over to see the new place (ummmm more about that in its own post :) -- gorgeous day out, seemed a good time to show them around :)
So we dropped Hailey back at the current barn after our exploration and headed out shopping -- but like all dreaded things, shopping is to be avoided till the last possible second. So lunch came first :) mmmmmm yummy lunch. Of course after lunch I felt more like a nap then shopping, but Steph was energized enough for all of us so off we went.
And it was surprisingly painless. Paula and I mostly wandered and mocked the more horrendous fashions, while Steph bravely disappeared into the darkest depths of the store, every once in a while popping out to hand me something and let us know she was still alive, before disappearing again.
Every once in a while I'd get shoved into a box to try on a mountain of clothing -- and trust me -- this is a mountain I've no interest in photographing much less climbing! But being the good sport I am, I went along with this with only a modicum of whining >;-P Met one sales lady who was a bit of a nightmare, but other than her they basically all took one look at Steph on a mission and left us alone -- I'm sure they were looking at me and being eternally grateful I'd brought my own personal shopper and they wouldn't have to try to fix my lack of fashion.
Sadly, our shopping expedition was cut 3 or 4 stores short by them closing. awwwww. I was devastated, let me tell you. Or, you know, grateful. I always get those two words mixed up. English is a tricky language after all *g*
So in the end I had a reasonable collection of clothing that means I don't have to do this again soon AND it actually looks good :) So Stephy saved my first impressions *g* and I'm good to go. Sweet.
Now no birthday is complete without ice cream. This might be a July thing, but I argue it holds for all times of year. So we def needed to detour through a Baskin Robbins for ridiculously sized ice cream. mmmmmm ice cream...
So reality entered in for a bit and we went back to the barn to take care of the horses. Fastest night check EVER. But having three people who know what needs to be done and can divide and conquer helps a lot. Horses fed, watered, wrapped and blanketed in like 15 mins.
Why the rush? Well cause Stephy and I had decided while sitting in BR that we wanted to go to the movies. The movie that started an hour and 15 mins after that conversation. While we were 30 mins away from the barn that's 20 mins from the theatre. AND needed gas. And when I got to the gas station the pump wouldn't work because the attendant was on his own planet and neglected to push the button till I got annoyed enough to push the call button and wake him up. So yeah, little tight on time.
Paula decided she had to be all responsible and go home and study or some foolish thing like that, so *after* helping with chores (cause that's the kind of girl she is) she totally ditched us (cause that's the kind of girl she is :)
So Stephy and I made it to the theatre right about 7:15. Bought our tickets and junk food (cause you know, we hadn't had enough of that yet) and got seated just as previews were starting. Perfect timing really.
Movie was Footloose and it was SO much fun. I wasn't really expecting to enjoy it all that much, but it seemed the right flakiness level to finish off a fairly silly day. But I really enjoyed it. Up there with Grease or Dirty Dancing in the dance-chick-flick category. Just leaves you smiling and feeling like blaring the music on the way home.
Which is precisely what I did.
So thank you ladies for such a fun birthday! And a lovely deviation from my usual reality :)
All you Need to Know about Government Bureaucracy:
Posted by
Lauren Cude Horsfall
comments (0)
Pythagoras theorem: ...........................................24 words.
Lord's prayer:....................................................... 66 words.
Archimedes' Principle: ........................................... 67 words.
10 Commandments: ............................................ 179 words.
Gettysburg address: ............................................ 286 words.
US Declaration of Independence : .................... 1,300 words.
US Constitution with all 27 Amendments: .......... 7,818 words.
EU regulations on the sale of cabbage:....... 26,911 words.
Sort of puts things in perspective doesn't it?
Archimedes' Principle: ........................................... 67 words.
10 Commandments: ............................................ 179 words.
Gettysburg address: ............................................ 286 words.
US Declaration of Independence : .................... 1,300 words.
US Constitution with all 27 Amendments: .......... 7,818 words.
EU regulations on the sale of cabbage:....... 26,911 words.
Sort of puts things in perspective doesn't it?
Happy Birthday Mum!!!
Posted by
Lauren Cude Horsfall
comments (1)
Today my wonderful mother turns, as every woman must at least a few times in life, 29 :)
In related news, I've decided I need one of these tags for every part of life:
Happy Birthday Mum! Love you :)
In related news, I've decided I need one of these tags for every part of life:
Happy Birthday Mum! Love you :)
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