When I grow up, I'm going to be me!

So that whole "jump before dressage" concept... Applied it today in a new and unusual fashion -- free jumped Sienna again (superstar!!!) then about an hour later had a dressage lesson... And Miss Si GOT it!!! Woohooo! Seriously -- not just kinda-sorta going where I ask, but was actually on the bit and bending. And willingly :) I'm sooooooo excited. The light has gone on. Just in time too as that was likely my last lesson. Now just have to hope it won't go out again w/ the move and time off. Ah well -- I'm sure it can be recreated.

Ok so one more product check :) Food this time, of the frozen variety. The "smart-ones" (which I think is a weight watchers brand) individual desserts, are amazing. I've had 3 or 4 diff types now and loved them all. Soooooo yummy :) And apparently, for those who care about such things, not terribly fattening *g* Strawberry shortcake tonight -- was a little afraid of that one, figuring frozen spongecake and strawberries would not thaw out to be good. I was really happy to be proven wrong, so I thought I'd share :) Enjoy!

Theory of the day was "when dealing w/ a hot horse, it's better to skip a day then to have a bad day" -- as in when it's cold/windy/spinny type weather, or the hunt's riding through your land, or you just don't have any patience that day, or the stars aren't aligned right, or whatever, take the day OFF. Hence yesterday all the spinny horses (mine and two of Denny's) got cancelled cause this crazy windstorm picked up and it felt like the arena was going to do a Wizard-of-Oz maneuver. Sure enough, Si was a little reved when we started today, but not nearly as concerned as she would've been if I'd fried her brain trying to get her to work yesterday. Yet for those of us who tend to be too dedicated, convincing yourself to take the day off cause it's windy is easier said than done! hahaha Denny recommended skipping February when I go home :) I'm not convinced he was entirely joking either! How much would I LOVE to skip February??? Ah well.

Well I meant to start packing like three hours ago. Leaving VT I was ready more than a week early -- I had to keep unpacking stuff I needed!!! Here... Not so much. The weather was beyond perfect today. Hence why I haven't spent any time inside packing! >;-P hahahha Tomorrow's my last full day @ Tamarack. If the weather's as good as it's supposed to be, Smokey's going hacking :) And I'm *really* looking forward to it.

On that note, I'm off to pack. Seriously. Really I am... I mean it...

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I'm packing now...

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or I should be anyways
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why are you still reading this?

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seriously -- you're aiding and abetting my procrastination

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shame on you! >;-P


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hmmm I wonder if the dots would be saying anything in Morse code?

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I can't believe you're still reading this

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Good night :)

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:)

Last XC till winter's over...

Ok so it was snowing here what, like a week ago??? I took pics to prove it :) Well today, it was 29!!! Seriously. Friggin amazing -- Dec to Aug in a week. Although supposed to be around freezing again tonight. Absolutely insane.

Did XC this morn. Sooooo much fun :) N finally getting consistent. Just hoping I can recreate it when Sienna eventually gets to that point! Have to find other critters to jump inbetween I guess...

Have to say one of the kewlest things about lessons here is the people who join them. Girl riding a super-talented green-bean today who was an awesome rider. Horse she rode before the greenbean is hoping to upgrade to advanced this year, but will max out there (how much would I love that problem?!?!?! ahahah) Greenbean though... Lets just say very kewl to watch. And yet, everybody, regardless of level, gets told the same things. Apparently the basics really don't change *g*

Today's focus was on drop fences, ski-jumps, etc anything that involves landing lower than you take off. The difference in landing depending on your upper-body position and how huge a difference it can make -- for better or worse! hahaha And, of course, having the right speed/balance/impulsion -- which, I have to admit, makes all the difference in the world. Also working on changing the above combo depending on circumstance... Flat out gallop, set up for vertical fence, land galloping, balance for the turn, power out of it, coffin-canter to the ski-jump w/ slippery landing, balance down the hill, gallop on, etc etc etc...

Got vet papers today to bring Sienna home... Fingers crossed they don't change the requirements AGAIN between now and Monday :) Cause really, Buffalo is just not a fun place to be stuck. hahaha ok off for now. Later!

If you are walking on thin ice, you may as well dance.

So Miss Si was a superstar again today. Despite not being worked yesterday, she had a brain! AND did a group lesson! That's right -- other horses cantering around and towards her and she was alert but civil. The only concession made to her was we were allowed to canter alone (the others just cantered randomly as it suited them while we were working, but they kindly took a walk break so we could try). Otherwise she kept up and didn't lose it! This is huge progress. I was soooo happy. Yeah it's the little things in life :)

Of course now that she's in a rhythm, going well, and starting to understand what I'm asking, she's going to have prob @ least 2 wks off and I'll be starting over from scratch *sigh* But it's nice for the moment.

On a totally different note, my roommate's been having a battle w/ Devoucoux over a saddle that's been going on for TWO years; she finally went public with it, so I figured I'd share: http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=187433

Talley-ho!

So today I went fox-hunting for the first time (think old-british photographs). I've wanted to go for quite some time, but more for the experience than cause I really thought I'd enjoy it. Well omg I had SO much fun!!!! Wow. STILL grinning :) It was, admittedly, nowhere near the adrenaline rush of XC, but it was just fun. Everybody was plesant and welcoming, an awesome ride, and time just flew.



When I mentioned my concern about the actual "hunting" aspect of it, I was told not to worry because "the fox is way too smart to be caught by a pack of loud dogs." hahaha and sure enough, the fox survived the encounter -- although admittedly probably wasn't very happy about the whole experience, but he's still alive and well :)

How often have you been ready to go in the show ring in the middle of August, sweltering in your jacket and wondering whoever thought long, black sleeves were a good idea for a summer sport? Well of course we all know the tradition dated to hunting in England where warmth was likely a good thing... Today was the first time ever I've looked at my show jacket on a day where I had to wear it and thought "this isn't nearly warm enough!" hahaha fortunately for me, Lin, who owns Smokey, kindly lent me her warm hunt coat, so it was all good.

Well I have to admit the tradition and pagentry of the whole event appealed to me -- even if I did have to tie a stock tie stupidly early this morning *g* The colours and history... It was probably a pointless sport even a few hundred years ago (hunting in the King's forrest in England) but much of the tradition has lasted. The master we were following is 82 yrs old. I will be THRILLED if I'm going that strong at that age! Galloping and jumping in the woods. Wow. The huntsman, who does this full time as a profession, is responsible for training the dogs, managing them on the hunt, caring for them, and I think (but I could be wrong here) breeding them as well. This particular huntsman is the third generation to do so for this hunt, and his neice and (I want to say granddaughter, but that might not be right -- def some of the 3rd generation below) were both whips -- taking care of preparing the next two generations. Whips basically help corral the hounds and make sure they don't stray tooooooo far off course. Was quite the sight to see one at one point sitting alone probably a mile away, across a pond and up a hill, inbetween two trees, intent on the scene in front. A Roman sentry on guard... Or maybe just a rider watching a hound in the distance -- but my imagination is more fun :)

Oh more on the imagination gone wild -- the hounds rushing through the brush was a total horror-movie moment! Where the "creature" is approaching and all you can hear is the brush rustling and you can see the leaves move, but no sign of an actual being...

So some of the things I learned today:
- the dogs are not dogs, they are hounds. Fortunately I was warned about this *before* I went so no social blunders there.
- never pass the master. hahaha this one I actually knew about and was the primary reason I was concerned about hunting Zel :)
- Under no circumstances allow your horse to kick a hound (dogs are fair game, but don't kick the hounds :)
- It's also bad to allow your horse to kick another horse.
- Kicking a person is also frowned upon, but really they should be able to get out of the way. But don't kick a hound >;-P

Somebody today told me that hunting was all about relationships, and I found that an interesting concept. There is the relationship between the huntsman and the individual hound; between the huntsman and the pack of hounds; between hound and hound; between the huntsman and the whips and the masters; between the master and the field (there were 3 masters and fields at this hunt); between the rider and their horse; between the horse and horse; between horse and hound; and of course, between all of the above and the fox! hahaha

There were just over 60 people in the hunt today. Apparently that's big for a Monday -- sort of wonder how nobody has to work, but hey more power to them :) Everybody there fell into one of two categories: those who ride to hunt or those who hunt to ride. I would def be in the hunt to ride category -- go out cause it's a fun ride, but if the horses weren't involved there'd be absolutely no point. And it was pretty easy to guess by looking around who was in each category *g*

Possibly the most impressive moment was the complete and instant silence when the hounds lost the scent. That much more intense for the cacophony of sound that preceded it. And followed it :)

Ok well I think that's enough of a novel for now :) Only one pic, just before we headed out, here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5610916&id=823765365

Better to be a smart-ass than a dumb-ass!

Ok so there were a ton of brilliantly coloured birds around today -- mostly cardinals and blue jays. Was amazing to watch. Didn't have a good enough zoom on my camera for good pics though :( A shame cause it was pretty incredible.

So had a run-in w/ a real smart-ass today. His name is Higgins, and he's a mini-donkey who lives w/ Smokey. Well Higgins does NOT like it that I take Smokey away. Usually he tries to get in my way while I go to get Smokey and then haunts the gate till we get back (Smokey, otoh, couldn't care less about Higgins -- poor guy). Anyways -- Higgins today instead of following along behind, ran ahead and stood in front of the gate. hahaha perfect solution. Can't open the gate to take Smokey out w/ him there or he'll leave too and he simply wasn't about to move. Would've been quite the entertaining standoff if not for the fact that Smokey is higher in the pecking order and shoved poor Higgins out of the way! hahaha

So on a completely unrelated note -- typed this as part of a very silly waste of time on Facebook, but I'd be interested in hearing other people's take on it, so figured I'd repost it here... Really should refine it before reposting, but that's just not going to happen. Feel free to skip this paragraph if you just want horses! hahaha still with me? Ok -- here goes . . . I firmly believe that Facebook and other social networking sites are significantly changing our culture. Everybody growing up with them, becomes part of a "small-town" mentality -- regardless of where they actually live. Just think of it: the small town, where the news of Joe and Suzy breaking up flies around the town in seconds; where the kid you went to kindergarten with will be at your university graduation; where if you're having a bad day, lots of people will know -- and more will try to help... The kind of town that is thought of a cliche now, that all us worldly people are so far beyond, has gone virtual. People I went to kindergarten with -- and haven't seen in decades -- will send a smile if I'm having a tough day. I know which of my highschool "gang" married their highschool bf/gf -- and was happy to see it, even though I haven't seen any of them in person since senior year. Friends from a trip to Australia years ago, remain friends in ways that snail-mail could never allow. N, well, you get the gist :) Thoughts? Wow that one was long. hahaha

And back to the horses -- the key to riding Si is simple -- exhaustion. hahaha poor girl. Apparently running around as though she were being chased by demons for an hour two days in a row leads to a fairly tired pony. She was quite willing to walk today and let me work on stretching and bending *yawn* rather than just running around in circles :) So basically I have to hack her for miles and miles and miles until her maturity matches her fitness. Once the world's not quite so exciting, she just might be a very kewl horse! Sorry Mary -- looks like I have another one who'll do dressage much better after her gallop sets! hahaha

Ok off to feed the critters. I do love the country at night -- but I have to admit, reading a crime novel right before going out to feed is not the *best* idea in the world. At least not if you have a reasonably vivid imagination. Guess how I learned that lesson *sheepish grin*

Too tired to come up w/ a funky title...

So quote of the day: "she's a really good jumper" -- this from both Denny AND May about Sienna. Woohoo! N I had to laugh at the follow up "well that's a relief" from Denny *g* hahaha very excited now :) Now all I have to do is install a brain, and steering, and breaks, and we're set! No problem :)



Also more pics in the Smokey album. He's been fun -- there's something to be said for a horse who's *always* calm. You can just start working on whatever you want to do that day -- no need to find the brain first. Does save a lot of time in the long run. Have to admit it's not nearly as entertaining though :)

Countdown to coming home is on. But I'd really appreciate it if it'd warm up there first! For my horse's sake of course :)

Spring Fever

Alright so all of you who ride in any climate that has winter will be aware of the feeling that first ride in spring... The snow may not be all gone, but suddenly the temp is way up and the ground less frozen and you just HAVE to get outside after being stuck indoors all winter. And your horse clearly agrees. You get on outside and your nice, calm, well-trained critter grows an extra hand and starts bouncing. And it will likely be the most exciting ride of the year. Every year. Whether you want it to be or not >;-P

Well I always figured that was fair. They've been cooped up even more than we have so getting *out* is a big deal after winter. But I had to laugh today when I discovered that spring fever applies, to the same extent, even when "winter" lasts all of four days! hahaha yup horses were spinny spinny spinny. Even the ones who had been out every day of winter. I also discovered that my horse can canter for an hour (literally - her choice, not mine) and not be winded. I'm in trouble *g* Although getting her fit for XC is not going to be any sort of problem. hahaha

Says something for the LSMs (long-slow miles) of endurance training... That would be as opposed to SFMs (short-fast miles) that we tend to do in interval training for eventing. LSMs are mostly seen in endurance riding, but as Denny's done a fair bit of that I've seen it in evidence here. And indeed, Sienna's done mostly excessively long walking -- yet she can canter endlessly. So she's getting much fitter w/o the wear and tear on bones/ligaments/etc. Not terribly exciting I have to admit -- esp won't be exciting when I'm home and have nowhere to hack -- but effective.

Somebody told me yesterday to "have a nice weekend" -- caught my attention because of course when you work seven days/wk the "weekend" holds no special value. In fact the only way I notice it's the weekend is that the morning show I like to listen to on the radio on the way in, isn't on... An entirely different mindset.

Let's play a game . . .

So for those of you who want to improve your eye, but may not be able to jump often enough (for whatever reason) we have the hoofprint game :) hahaha The hoofprint game is a prime example of the "simple but not easy" concept in that you pick a random hoofprint somewhere in front of you and countdown when you're three (or for the "advanced" version, somewhere between 5 and 8) strides out. Then pick another print and repeat. Over and over and over again. It's amazing how when playing said game, the quality of your canter will improve -- it has to to be able to consistently meet the spots...

Anyways -- short and sweet :) Good luck.

Get off your high horse >;-P Literally.

So have you ever considered how much of our identity is connected to our jobs? Like seriously, one of the first questions when you meet somebody: "what do you do?" And your answer to that: lawyer, doctor, professional-mother, engineer, editor, riding instructor etc etc etc. . . will automatically have connotations that influence their impression of you. So when you lose the job, what happens to that portion of your identity? Personally I'd still answer I'm an X... (X is a GREAT job -- I highly recommend everybody try it at least once! :) But I'm not entirely convinced it's accurate.

Took pics of the snow today -- just cause it amused me to do so. They'll be up on FB as soon as I find my plug to upload them. hahaha hoping I didn't leave that at home! We shall see. I'll add the link if I manage it :)



hmmmm new president's had a busy first day :) Brilliant.

So today's theory was "you cannot train a high horse" -- high as in spinny :) As in you are either burning off energy OR training, but the two are almost always mutually exclusive. This goes back to the whole "the horse must be relaxed first" concept. Basically if your horse is spinny, lunge him or go for a long hack and THEN try to work, but if you get on and try to work right away, it'll turn into a battle. A high horse isn't going to be responsive to subtle aids, so you'll rapidly increase your aids (and you're likely to be at least a *little* tense riding a rather explosie critter)... N well, you can see where it goes from there...

Ok off to find my camera cord...

ps -- photo link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=207365&l=8cd2c&id=823765365

This day in history . . .

So watched the inauguration today. Really interesting. I love the symbolism of using Lincoln's bible... What an amazing thing though; not only for what it means that a black person has become president and the historical changes that attests to, but also, arguably more important, one with real ideas to solve a mountain of issues... Now we just need the Canadian version in our Parliament and all will be good. No problem.

hahaha I was watching the CNN version and enjoying reading the little text blurbs -- but the one that really amused me was that the secret service refers to the presidential limo as "the Beast". hahahha my Beast soooo outranks theirs >;-P

Miss Si was a superstar last night. Worked her late, after everybody else had gone home. So quiet and peaceful... She goes calmly for about 10 mins and then worries herself, so focus was on keeping her attention and not letting the spininess (what a word eh?) deteriorate. N she was awesome. Today, however, she was *spun* -- and the reason...? Snow. Yes, snow is *very* scary. Now admittedly the entire population of Southern Pines seems to agree, but it's a little disturbing for the move back! Now much as I'd be seriously bitter about snow -- it's only for today and tomorrow (the big fluffy kind) -- and by the wknd it's supposed to be back in the teens! Woohoo. I can handle two days of snow :)

That being said, yes it's official, I'm now unemployed from the job that was supporting my working-student experience, so I'll be returning home @ the start of Feb :( So much for dodging winter... On that note -- anybody who knows anybody looking for a writer, an editor, a project manager, or a web person (or any other random position) I'd love to hear from you :) Ok end of plug :)

As to the blog...??? hahaha well my ego was very happy to be asked what was going to happen to it :) Don't know how interesting the horse-stories will be for a bit -- at least till Si gets ready to go xc... hahaha but maybe I'll just randomly keep it going and see if anybody sticks around to read :) We'll see...

This post is for Paula... And anyone else who's been missing the blog :)

Ok so for the record -- they say you should never shop for groceries when you're hungry, but if you don't like to cook neither should you shop for groceries when you're full! hahaha got dinner on the way to groceries. Now you have to understand, the entire collection of food in my kitchen @ the moment includes one slice of bread, one egg, and about half a glass of fruit punch. So I had good intentions... But I came home with all of bagels and OJ. So breakfast is covered :) Don't know what's going to happen at lunchtime, but sobeit :)

And as to where dinner came from -- Hardee's. Why I waited so long to try it?!?! A shame that I've found it right before I leave. Classic eh? Anyways, if you're in the middle states somewhere and looking for a burger place, this one is in the pricerange of McDs, Wendys, etc but sooooo much better :)

I have to say the one thing guarenteed to make me feel incompetent -- my trailer :( Cannot back it up anywhere near where I want it to go (and yes I know the theory -- just can't make said theory work!) And today couldn't even get it to detach from the Beast! Sheesh. So the 19yo working student who's been driving trailers since she was like 10 is going to help me tomorrow *g*

So yeah -- horses :) Well the main reason the blog's been empty for the last few days is cause Si got her shots and so has been hanging out in her field, n really that's just not all that inspiring. hahaha certainly not as inspiring as my lack of groceries! Today she came out of the field -- n that *was* exciting. As in rearing and bucking and spinning in circles instead of walking calmly in a straight line. But hey, at least she's feeling well :)

So do you want the latest from dressage world or jumping world? Yeah I know, stupid question >;-P But we'll do both :)

In dressage -- the latest analogy -- you want to be a Damascus Sword. Particularly core muscles -- straight, ridiculously strong, and at the same time, incredibly flexible. Good luck w/ that :) Let me know how it goes.

In jumping it was philosophy day: "make a decision". Even if it's the wrong one -- better to make a decision, screw up, and learn from it then just wait and see what disaster happens next. Some *might* say this is applicable outside of the stadium ring too, but who knows :) Anyways -- the particular context of this was you're four or five strides out and see you're going to hit it on a half stride -- push for the long, or sit up and wait for the short, but don't just sit there and take what's given.

The few of you who know my preferred riding style won't be at all surprised that half way through my next course it's "you know you don't *have* to leave long EVERY time. Get deep to the next one." hahahah cause I don't always choose to leave long or anything. Particularly amusing as I don't think Smokey'd ever even *heard* of a long spot before me, but by the end of that round... hahaha

hmmm my half-glass of fruit punch is gone now. awwwwww

Was supposed to go hunting tomorrow but cancelled due to frozen ground. So NOT kewl. Everybody's *very* concerned about the deep-freeze. I just keep my mouth shut :) Supposed to be warm again by Mon though so all good.

Ok enough babbling for now :) Later!

Post # 101!!!!!

woohoo -- made it past 100 posts!!! hahaha don't know whether to be proud or disturbed by that :) And absolutely amazed by anybody who's actually read all of them! hahaha gold star to all of you!

So interesting comparison the other day... I had a jump lesson and Denny had asked us how we felt about our abilities wrt a certain skill and had us analyze where our skill level was. So I told him where my skill level was and that I felt it was about average and insufficient. If I had to pick only one thing that could be magically fixed wrt jumping, that's what I'd pick. Ok np. Pretty standard stuff. But then later, I was setting fences for another group and there was a new girl, maybe 17 yrs old, in it. They were asked the same question. Her response: "oh I'm great at it!" -- entirely sincere. N I didn't get the impression she was showing off or had an overinflated ego... She just sincerely felt that she had entirely mastered the skill in question. Fair enough. But the interesting thing is, when she was asked to rate her skill level, it was well below where I put mine.

So that set me wondering where the difference in viewpoint comes from... Is it simply age? At 17 (when my abilities would've been very near hers) would I have been equally confident that I was a star? Is it the difference between training w/ someone who continually tells you how good you are, vs training w/ someone who continually helps you to see what you can do to improve? Is it solely that our expectations of ourselves are different? Or is it entirely attitude? -- in which case is it good (positive, confident, etc) or not (hard to learn when you already know everything :)...?

Anyways -- there's your random philosophical moment :) Aren't you glad you tuned in to post #101?

Now yesterday I took Sienna around and led her over some of the baby jumps... Mostly daydreaming about when I'd *eventually* get to jump her for real... Well eventually came sooner than expected :) Yes that's right, today we both cantered for the first time under saddle AND jumped for the first time!!! Woohoo! She was sooooo good :) It helped that when I brought her out she was super-chilled (for the first time ever) so that was a good place to start. Prob had something to do w/ the fact that her buddy was in the ring and also super chilled (buddy had already been lunged for like 20 mins by the time we got there). So hopped on and before too long Si was trotting around like an old school pony (well most of the time anyways -- first time somebody cantered past her was a little exciting :). Cantered, successfully, BOTH directions. The right was a little harder for her, but she gave me the lead willingly enough. And it was actually a really nice canter to sit. Don't get me wrong -- classic TB, downhill, on forehand, etc -- there's a whole lot to work on there, but it def had a rockinghorse thing to it... Which I was thoroughly pleasantly surprised by :)

Yes and then we jumped! First we just trotted over a couple random poles on the ground (not related)... Then half an X hahaha... Then a real X... Not terribly exciting, I know. Not even 2' I don't think. Went back and forth a few times -- no probs. But the point is, she did it! And she did it willingly, and she got the general concept down. And she was chilled about it. Woohoo!!!!

hahaha ok so I realize this entire thing is exciting to nobody but me. But any of you who've worked w/ greanbeans b4 will at least appreciate the experience :) The first time backed, the first time riding w/o a babysitter, and the first jump are always the most exciting moments for me :) The first *anything* is usually a pretty big deal, but those three in particular :) And since Si was backed before I got her, the first two don't apply -- so I'm allowed to be excited about the one that's left :)

Jumping fun :)

THE most amazing day today :) Jump school w/ Smokey who did a serious jumper course AND kept up w/ the big kids! Including fun games like a fan, a sweedish oxer to a skinny (think one barrel wide) on a bending line, a triple (his first ever -- AND he did it w/ NO extra strides -- a serious accomplishment!), a corner, a liverpool, and a whole bunch of random jumps.

Again focus on getting/keeping/regaining the correct canter... And since 3/4 of the course was related distances, doing the above pretty much instantly. And Mr. Smokey now understands the "go" aid, which makes riding him a whole lot more fun :)

Sienna was also a superstar. Jogged in-hand w/ her over some baby-fences and she either stepped over them not caring in the least or cleared them by a solid 3'. hahaha can't wait to jump her for real! Hopefully if the weather holds the free-jump ring will have good footing and we can @ least see if she's got any natural talent :) What I was far more impressed by was that it was almost dark, cold, windy, and she was alone -- yet she never had a meltdown. This is significant progress :)

Ok well I'm zonked and must sleep. Still pretty happy from today's adventures though :)

Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.

Blog? What blog? hahaha ok ok I know I've been a little less than dedicated about writing here lately, but you know occasionally life gets in the way of the internet :)

So today's lesson was that "dressage should be fun" hahaha Yeah I know -- on what planet? Even the DQs I know never claim dressage is fun >;-P Challenging, interesting, addictive, and a few other such words -- but never fun... However, the point here was that to do dressage *well* you have to be relaxed. And too often people come into the ring look around and go "I'm in a dressage ring, in dressage tack, we have to do dressage NOW. PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN!!!!" and it gets worse from there *g* Now that might be a *slight* exaggeration, but the point is valid -- as soon as the word dressage is mentioned, people get tense... And then the tension goes to the horse, which makes the rider MORE stressed, etc etc etc. Not fun.

So what did we do? We goofed around like little kids on horseback, had a blast, and by the end the horses were moving unbelievably well. Classic eh? Of course I was tempted to take it too far *g* but I behaved myself :)

This all was after a repeat of the dressage w/ speedbumps lecture -- w/ canter work being used to improve the trot, and mini-jumps being used to improve the canter. Gotta admit -- it works, AND it's fun. So really, why not do it that way?

Super Short

So Sienna did XC today :) Woohoo! ahahha nah perhaps I should qualify that... Sienna went out on the XC course -- but I was behind her, not on her. *slight* difference. Although she DID go over a baby jump at a walk. Baby steps right?

30 things in 30 years -- follow up...

Ok so those of you who are actually reading this for the horse aspect of my adventures, you can stop reading here and rest assured you'll not miss anything about life and learning at Tamarack. For those who are reading cause you're my friends, family, bored out of your little mind, or all of the above, feel free to continue :)

As far as I'm concerned the day for reflection and dreams is my birthday -- not one dictated solely by the current calendar. Really, what sense does January 1 have? "In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar. Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary."(Gary Blair) And so, I count MY new year from the date of my birth -- that is, after all, a year for me.

That being said, all the interesting things about resolutions and goals tend to be published around this time of year, so may as well learn what I can... To this effect, I was reading an article about lists, the effect they have on our lives for good or for bad, and the power of them. They had some interesting ideas for lists that I'd never have thought of that are supposed to help you understand yourself etc etc. One thing though that keeps being stressed is to publicize your "resolution" (being new years and all). Tell everybody. Then you'll have that many more people encouraging you to succeed, and conversely, aware if you fail.

I've heard this before, but it's a hard one for me as I'm not one to publicize my goals. Generally I keep them very closely guarded until I pull them off -- perhaps one or two of my closest friends (you know who you are) will know of them but that's about it... I value my privacy too much to share what's truly important.

However, in my traditional go hard or go home style, I've decided to give all the experts' suggestion a shot and instead of keeping it to myself (as I have since I wrote it several months ago) or confiding in only a select few, I'll publish it here. For all the Truly Intelligent People to see (and some who I *know* are out there but haven't fessed up yet!)...

And yes I realize some of these things may change as I do over the next 30 years -- but hey, if we're still friends then feel free to call me on it :)

From the silly to the serious here are my 30 things in 30 years in no particular order. As always, comments welcome :)


1 have something I write published
2 earn PhD
3 run 5k
4 live, laugh, learn (this is only one thing really, not three, cause I intend to do them all together!)
5 repay student loan
6 get (and learn to use!) a serious camera
7 sleep (I'm going to need to after completing this list!)
8 learn enough Latin to be able to read medieval texts
9 let go of past hurts
10 make time for self
11 make time for friends (hmmm do these two conflict?)
12 have serious relationship (definitely conflicts w/ above two!)
13 compete intermediate level eventing
14 learn to cook at least one meal I'd be proud to make for company
15 expand my vocabulary
16 travel: visit Egypt, South Africa, Ireland (is that really 3 things???)
17 see the northern lights
18 change someone's life (preferably for the better!)
19 get a massage
20 buy some fashionable clothes (will need some help w/ this one!)
21 ride Trans-Wales Trail
22 do something w/ genealogy notes
23 climb to the top of a Mayan pyramid
24 go on a Canadian road trip w/ no predetermined destination
25 start riding school and make successful -- successful defined as self-supporting and me not having to work 7 days/wk unless I want to
26 win my fair share of Trivial Pursuit at the cottage (damn pink category!)
27 identify 100 things that make me happy (oh no, another list!)
28 parasail
29 live my imagination
30 do something w/ my photos
* win the lottery (this is a bonus item cause I can't personally influence the outcome :)

Only a man who sees giants can ever stand upon their shoulder.

Happy New Year!!! And all that :) Can't help but think this'll prove to be an interesting year. Certainly if you'd told me last Jan where I'd be THIS Jan and how much would've changed for me to get here, I'm not entirely certain I'd've believed you! I know now what I want to do when I get home, but not yet entirely sure how I'm going to pull it off! hahaha well we shall see. A phrase I came across that suits my thinking today: "Lots of roads lead to Rome, and some of them spend time to save money; others spend money to save time. Some are quite an adventure, while others are safer and less exciting. And some go to a Rome other than the one we associate w/ the Vatican." hahaha -- now some of you will recall my fascination w/ Rome played into this at the very beginning. See this photo http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4225752&l=31f8c&id=823765365 from the original road trip to see what I'm talking about.

Anyways -- after all the fun and games I DID eventually make it back to Southern Pines. Where it's not nearly as warm as it was when I left. Ah well. Miss Sienna was, obviously, spun; no surprise given that she hasn't left her paddock since I left! hahaha Conversely Smokey, who also hasn't done anything since I left, has been awesome. Dressage lesson the first day, stad the second, and today . . . XC!!! Woohoo. That's right -- XC on Jan 2nd. Not half bad :) He's getting much better about the whole gallop and jump thing... Fun fun fun *g*

So the phrase of the day for today, originally spoken by somebody for whom English is not a first language: "When coming downhill to a vertical you need a *chunky* canter". Now your guess is as good as mine as to what word should've been in there, but this image actually really works. You need a short, compact, together canter. Chunky it is! Well it amused me anyways :)