MP turns 14& Ellen Clinic

Friday was MP's 14th b-day! She got to celebrate by working her tail off in 100 degree weather. But she was very happy about it. I've had a sinus infection so I took last week off from riding which meant MP had some siesta time in her pasture. It also meant that by Friday she was hot to trot. So even though it was 100 degrees for our first lesson with Ellen, MP was ready to go.

Our lessons with Ellen were great (as usual) and we just worked on perfecting things to get ready for the Champs in LA next month. Still working on letting her carry me and not pushing her constantly with my lower back. And now I'm trying to just get the technical stuff nailed down so I can count on 7's and 8's in my tests. Ellen was very pleased with our progress and I have to say after reviewing videos and photos from Jan I am too! It is amazing how much we've come along since first meeting in Jan. Plus we love each other which helps!

Yarra Yarra = awesome freestyle!

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post. Things have been busy, busy in the world of our Para E-Quest. Our latest show was fantastic! We were back in our regular form and it paid off at the show. We received a whopping 71% on our freestyle, and that was with two mistakes. Without these mistakes the score would have likely been a 75%!

I'm still trying to figure out this whole video thing on my blog, but until then I've posted a video of the freestyle from last weekend on You Tube. You can watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d14_K7FMspc

Maybe one of these days I'll be able to figure out how to post directly to the blog. TTFN!!

1-2-3, change-2-3

Ellen keeping cool while giving Eva a lesson

We had a fabulous week with Ellen at her place in Templeton. Eva, Jen and I all trailered down last Friday and got back on Thursday with our ponies Final, Paloma and Moneypenny. The horses were great, the lessons were superb and the company and time with Ellen was priceless.

Ellen's place is like a second home for me. When I go there it feels like going home to Tahoe - relaxing, comfy and warm. Plus it is so fun to catch up with Ellen and just be around her. Katie, Ellen's working student, was the true all star of the week. She is such a bright light in the universe and a truly talented horsewoman. I didn't catch and pictures of her riding, but hopefully next time we'll get some glamor and cowgirl shots of her!

Ellen keeping cool and giving Jen a lesson

All of the horses and their riders progressed nicely. Eva and Final are working towards their FEI frame and sealing the deal on her flying changes. Aren't they pretty??

Jen and Paloma and big breakthroughs on several fronts, the most important being that Paloma learned she can canter right. Paloma is a Thoroughbred/Lusitano mare that Jen and I were given as a project. As you can see from the pics, she's a fun project!! Jen is now her owner and is working towards showing her this fall. She'll do really well at a show.

The dreaded right lead canter. Katie showed Paloma she could do this.

It's good to be of Spanish heritage.

MP and I had several mini breakthroughs. Ellen rode MP and found that she wasn't quite "through" the reins - that is when you asked her to wait with the reins, she just kept on trucking. By waiting, she would then take bigger strides behind for a better carriage and a much smoother gait. It's like riding in a Cadillac vs. a dirt bike. We also had a breakthrough in our changes. Ellen noticed that rather than just riding the changes in stride I was essentially riding like their was a lull in the stride before the change. Ellen called this an "and." So I was riding the stride like 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3 AND change. The timing should actually be 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, change-2-3. So it is part of the stride. This has seemed to stick quite well. We've been home three days and I've had good changes all three. Plus I walk around all day riding changes in my head.

We're all getting pretty pumped for the Annual Show in LA, I think Ellen's team is going to do quite well!

Photos from the icky show

A nice moment in the not-so-nice test

I've been meaning to put up these photos for a few weeks now. Here are a few pictures from the horse show in Lodi. I'd like to forget the show, but these are nice photos.


Eva, Susan and Dennis sideline riding


Eva's always smiling after she shows!


Final digs extended trot

Yeah good!

Yeah! Good! Those words are so wonderful! And I was fortunate to get lots of them from Dennis this time. This was the first time Dennis had seen us since April and he seemed very happy with our progress. He really stressed that I need to improve MP's cadence in both her trot and canter. He also had me ride her more up in the poll that I had been. She felt wonderful! Small tweaks in our lateral work will result in higher scores like more bend in the shoulder ins and half passes. And I'm still working on her changes being with my aides. So I still have a long way to go, but I was really pleased with our lessons, our progress and I can't wait for October when Dennis comes back!

Ho hum

I've been dreading this post since Sunday. Our show did not go well. Our training sessions with Dennis were fabulous, but I think Moneypenny was worn out by Sunday. And a little sore. But I did learn a lot about her and myself. I learned that she is not an early bird. I woke her up at 4 am to get ready for the show. She was laying down and snoring and I woke her up. She wasn't very happy about that. And the past month her schedule has been off. There was smoke, then it was 110, then there was vacation followed by more smoke. So consistency was definitely not the name of the game. Then I basically had a solid week of hard riding with no days off. Not good. So by Sunday she was tired and uncomfortable. Luckily she still loves me and I still love her, so we're going to get back into our regular routine. I was bound to have a bad show and it is better that this happened now rather than when it really matters. But it still stinks!

As for me, I learned that I'm really bad at not doing well. I beat myself up and go through the "I should have done this, or this, or this." I have to work on just letting things be as they are, but learn from them and move on. I've been pining away for the past few days and as Scott says, "don't let this psych you out or else this will all be over before it even got started." Good advice. He's so smart!

Moving on....

A very long siesta, Hans Moeller scholarship, freestyle and more

It's been awhile since I've last posted, but that's because Moneypenny and I have been on a very long siesta! I've been to Tahoe with Scott and MPs been in a villa overlooking the Bareyessa hills. It's been great but I'm ready to get back in the swing of things in preparation for the state and regional championships in October.

I'm very excited to announce that we received the Hans Moeller Scholarship from California Dressage Society this year! The scholarship is for $1500 towards training and showing. This means we'll be able to finish out 2008 with a bang! Thank you CDS Scholarship Committee!

The freestyle coordinator came last night and I believe we have finished the freestyle! Just in the nick of time as I will debut it this weekend at Dressage in the Almonds. It is super fun. It's a collection of quirky ballroom songs.

Dennis Callin will be here this weekend to offer us some training. He comes all the way from Germany, so it's really great to have him. I'm sure to post with some pictures after the clinic. He will also warm us up at the show on Sunday. And help fine tune the freestyle.

That's all for now!