YAHOOOOO!!!!!

You can't have a weekend like we just had and have some silly, she-she title to your blog post. YAHOOOOO!!! seems appropriate.

We have returned from the Del mar CPEDI3* and I'm pleased to announce that we did quite well - we swept all three of our classes AND won the overall highpoint. Which means we won a Borne saddle! And earned our certificate of capability AND qualified for National Championships. Not a bad weekend.



We had the entire Team MP support system there: Ellen, Steve, Nancy, Julie, Katy, Mom & Dad as well as Scott and Devon. The two weeks prior to the show I was a mess. A complete and total wreck. Devon wouldn't let me spend too much time around MP as she didn't want me to "rub off" on her. Devon is a good assistant! Luckily we were able to spend a few days of training at Ellen's prior to Del Mar so I was polished leading up to the competition. And Steffen was able to squeeze us into his busy show schedule so we got a little tune up on Thursday after the jog.



There were 8 riders there for the Para division. There were three grade IV's (one with two horses), three grade III's, and a grade II. Two of the grade IV's were non US, one was Canadian, the other Australian. Holly Bergay was there too, but unfortunately had to scratch prior to the jog.


Our panel of judges included two of the judges for the WEG, one of them being the head judge, so the pressure to impress was really on. And I really didn't think I was going to do well. I had gotten a cold on the way to Del Mar and it was in full effect by the jog. I couldn't breath and I was afraid to take anything because of the athlete drug rules. And I couldn't sleep because I couldn't breath, so I was exhausted.



I was quite surprised by our win on Friday. I had received the wrong information about our ride time and we didn't double check the info ourselves so we almost had a tragic chain of events. As we were taking our time getting prepared for the Team Test on Friday, the TD popped by to check in on us. She was chatting away with us and then was bidding us farewell when she said, "see you in a half hour." I said,"What?! I'm supposed to ride at 8:45!" She said, "no, we have you at 8:15." Team MP went into overdrive. Devon braided at lightning speed, Scott groomed, I got dressed and Ellen through herself together (she was still at the hotel). I trotted to the warm up and had about 15 mins before my ride. Not much of a warm up. Ellen had to yell at me from across the ring because we didn't have time to put the head sets on.





As I trotted around the ring for my test, I got really worried. MP was feeling backed off and not warmed up. I put in a solid test, but I didn't think it was good enough. I barely had canter extensions and I didn't have trot extensions. I though I would get a low 60's. And the first report that came in was that I had received a 64.5%. We knew we had our qualifying score, but also knew that that score wouldn't cut it for international competition. Then it turned out we had again received bad info. I had received 645 points, not a 64.5%. So I actually received at 67%!!! That put us in first and was the highest para score for the day. It was a huge relief! And the two WEG judges gave us the highest scores. So we got a neck ribbon, a cooler and got to do a victory dance.

Then the pressure was off. Just like that. My confidence went back up, I was still sick, but I knew we were on the right track. And I knew I could ride the next test better.

The next day brought more exhaustion. I hadn't slept well and I was really sick. But at least we had the right ride time! I had a proper warm up and I felt like the test went well. Two of the judges agreed, the judge at C scored me 5 percentage points lower than the other two and placed me in third. Luckily the other two scores were high enough that I still got a 67% and still won the class. Neck ribbon/victory lap #2 & a basket of Mushroom Matrix! I could get used to this.






Day three brought a wiped out Susan, a wiped out MP and a tired groom. Devon had spent the whole weekend working her tail off, making MP look perfect and networking with all the other world class groom's: Ruben (Debbie McDonald), Fernando (Guenter Siedel), and Rafael (Steffen Peters). They were all showing her the ropes!

But day three was also the fun day - the freestyle! And boy was is a freestyle. I wasn't sure how it went but the crowd seemed pleased, and the judges had big smiles. And the scores reflected that! I received a 72%, and a 76% from the head WEG judge!!!! The weekend was over, it was successful and we could go home! But not yet, we had also won the overall highpoint which earned us the Borne saddle!

Team MP went to celebrate with a slew of photos followed up with Susan, Devon and Scott packing up the trailer and heading off into the sunset! I'll blog next week on whats to come, we ain't done yet!



Team MP

New Interview!

I was recently interviewd by the WEG Online Radio Show. You can catch the interview here.

Selected as "spotlight rider" for Horse Radio Network WEG program!

BIG EXCITING NEWS ALERT!

The Horse Radio Network has selected yours truly as a "spotlight rider" for their World Equestrian Games program. They will be follow one rider from each discipline in their quest to compete in the 2010 WEG. I had my first interview last week and although I was nervous, I can say it was really fun talking to "Glenn the Geek" and Samantha Clark. They were very easy to talk to and I look forward to my next interview. They will be following us for the next 16 months and will interview me every 8 weeks. I will post every time there is a new interview so stay tuned. In the mean time I suggest you check out their website and listen in to their other programs! You can find my interview here.

And so it begins...

The tornadoes passed and the sun was out in full force here in Wayne, IL for the kick off of the Lamplight CPEDI & USEF Para Dressage National Championships.

Andy's trip here was uneventful and he even arrived 12 hours early on Sunday night. We've been schooling since then and Ellen arrived on Tuesday so "training" started on Wed. Andy's been doing great and getting better each day.

The facility is unbelievable. It puts our shows in CA to shame (sorry but its true!).

There are about para riders here competing for national championships as well as some Canadians, Mexicans and Irish. The Bergay's are here too from AZ so we're sharing tack space and Andy's has had a girlfriend (Bella) since Sunday. Its very cool! There are 9 people in my class so for once we have competition! Yay! The events began yesterday (Thurs) with the inspection and jog, then today we ride the team test, tomorrow the individual test and Sunday is the freestyle.

The jog was a fascinating experience. The atmosphere here is intense with all of the horses and chaos in the barns. Everyone scurrying around to get their horses gleaming for the jog.

We went in order of our numbers so Andy and I were went 11th. It is intense because if the ground jury doesn't accept your horse you are done. Bye, bye. Thats it, finito. Plus we had never done this before so I was outrageously nervous. My trusty father meanwhile was hawking the process and has formulated all kinds of insights by the time our number came up.

And then we jogged...

And passed! Yippee! Andy was so cute. On the trot down we kind of lulled along, but on the way back he took over as if he were jogging me. It was like he decided I had no idea what I was doing so he would fill in and show me the ropes. He was so cute!

So far so good! Scott's here in full force with mega media so we will have many pictures and video to document the experience. And he's already capturing moments when people aren't looking. Here's a really cute one of Holly and Bella:

A long, long time ago.....

It has been so long! I am such a bad blogger. And I have photos and video to upload but I just can't seem to get it together. I swear I will try!
I had my first "day off" the other day. It has been a year since I have had a day off from work AND horses. Crazy! I'm trying to steer clear of burn out syndrome so I'm going to try and take some time for myself this fall which isn't proving to be easy. BUT if I don't do it now, it won't happen for a long time. There is so much going on and so much to come and prepare for next show season that I am excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. So I promise to get back on track with the blogging!

Here's the latest and greatest in Para-Equest land:

Ellen was just here....
Ellen came two weeks ago and really started to iron out the big trot! My abs are getting the workout of a lifetime! Ellen's lessons always center on feel which you can't get from anyone else. The horses always feel so good which makes the rider feel good. MP was finally able to sit & go for the extensions which has been a sticky point in our training. This move has seemed to unlock her and her ability to spring off the ground at the trot. Yippee!! I hope to have video soon.

Off to Seattle!
I leave on Sunday for the US Para Dressage Team training session in Woodinville WA. I'm not able to take MP this time because of weather concerns, but I will be able to ride a borrowed horse for the session. I'll post either from the session or on the way home.

New Freestyle....
I have a new freestyle in the works that I will debut in January. It is super fun and very international. It has a cabaret theme and brings MP to life! Diane Kernodle with Center Stage Musical Freestyle is working on it as I type and I hope to start working out the choreography soon.

More horses!
I feel like I'm riding lots of horses right now, but I guess I'm just riding more than one so it feels like a lot. My good friend Eva is now with child (wahoo!) so I'm riding Final until she gets out of the exhausting/sick phase. Final is an incredible horse but is tricky to ride so I have really been gaining some good riding experience from him. In fact I think I'm riding MP better now because of some things I've learned from Final. And he's also shrinking my waist! Its wonderful to have two top quality horses to ride and I really enjoy how different they are and what they both have to offer. Maybe I'll get to show the two as well!
Amigo is also under saddle now. He's still young and won't be out on the show scene for a year or two, but I think we can expect great things from him. He has top notch gaits and has been a blast to work with. I'm also riding three other horses here and there. My friend Jen's Lustitano, Paloma, Tessa's movie star horse Davingon and Barbara's new mare Catella. All three are unique, but tons of fun and they are teaching me new things. It is so good to ride multiple horses! I'll try and get photos of them to post in the future.

Whats next?
Show, show, show. I'm working out my show schedule for 2009 and it will be a doozy. It starts in the end of January and rolls right on through to Championships in Oct. I'm planning on going to the Para Champs in May and I'd like to try and make it to at least one, maybe two international shows in July and August. We'll see!

More soon I swear!

We made it into March edition of Equestrian Magazine!

The beginning...

70 degrees, sunny and pleasant. The Southern California weather was perfect for riders, horses, and spectators alike at the U.S. Equestrian Federation Para-Dressage training session held at San Juan Capistrano’s Shea Center January 19 and 20. Conditions were ideal for this newcomer to Para-Dressage, a competition that tests the combined skill and training of riders with physical disabilities and their horses.

Though I have ridden horses since I was 5 competing in hunter jumpers, combined training, gymkhana, western pleasure and dressage as a child, I only learned of the program from Dennis Callin just over a year ago. I was immediately convinced I had to get involved.

I was born without my left hand, but don’t consider myself disabled. The lack of a left hand has never stopped me from tackling an obstacle or goal. Ever. Most of my adult life I've ridden for fun and for the partnership a rider forms with a horse. I have had the opportunity to learn from incredible horsemen and women and I have spent the past 10 years honing my horsemanship and riding skills.

But it wasn't until Dennis approached me last November that I thought I could put all of that hard work and love of horses to use at an internationally competitive level. With the help of Dennis and my life mentor and regular trainer Ellen Eckstein, I was able to meet Katy Peterson, a professional from Salinas who offered to loan me her Prix St. George mare, Moneypenny, to compete towards the Para-Dressage events at the World Equestrian Games.

The pace was dizzying. After just one week together, Moneypenny and I were off to Shea Center for our first Para-Dressage training session. We arrived on Friday to find not only a state-of-the-art therapeutic riding center but also a refreshingly "green" philosophy in stable keeping. They treat their entire run off and the stalls are equipped with "comfort stall" mats among other things. The arenas were beautiful and the footing was light and fluffy: heaven for horses.

Training began the next day bright and early. I rode third and had a great first lesson. Everything was new: the horse was new to me, I was new to the horse, we were both new to team coach, Missy Ransehousen, Missy was new to us, and we were in a foreign facility. So we took it easy.

Missy was great, full of knowledge and experience. Best of all she had a great sense of humor. Because of our newly-formed partnership, she worked on simple yet important things like suppling, bending, accuracy, and forward. It was a great start to the weekend.

On the second day, Missy upped the anti to see of what I and Moneypenny were made of. My ride was fantastic, and I started to feel our potential as a pair. The other riders also had great rides and it was amazing to see the US team’s blossoming talent.

The weekend was a success and I now have an understanding of how important and competitive the USEF Para-Equestrian program truly is, which makes it all the more amazing that the staff and other riders were not only talented but genuinely friendly. Missy was a true professional and Pam Lane as well as the people from Shea Center. Sandy, Lauren and Dana were really helpful.

It was also a pleasure to meet and work with the other riders: Holly Bergay, Adria Di Maria, Elain Evans, Barbara Grassmyer, and Erin Waddle.For riders like us, the Para-Equestrian program is an amazing opportunity we might not have had otherwise. Speaking for myself, I left the experience wanting more and eager to dive into international level Para-Dressage.