Maydaze 2011, Brandy and Lauren's first training!

Brandy asked if she could write this post and I told her she could. I'm sure she'll be very honest in the telling of her weekend...

So, please, take everything she says with a grain of salt...

"Hey guys! I bet mom keeps telling you how well she did this weekend, but I'm sure you know when she talks about herself, she really means me. I was a rockstar. Mom did pretty good, too, I guess, since she stayed on top of me this time. It's tough, being a horse, though, because you can't read the course map, so if your owner falls off, you're out of luck. Unless you can count. Then you can read the numbers. So, you might have heard about our last Novice at Poplar Place... it was kind of a tough weekend. I was really stressed, I didn't like it very much. I had a pretty good dressage test but the judge didn't like me, so we got a bad score, which is fine, I didn't like her either. I even saluted her at the end of my test by flipping my nose up, mom giggled but the judge just stared at me. Whatever. Dressage judges just don't understand. Then we went out on XC and mom fell off in the ditch. I guess I might have caused it, but I don't really think I did... I just wanted to look at see if there were really panthers in the ditch like my friend BabyFlo said there were. We did get to do stadium, though, and even though we jumped clean, it wasn't a great round, but I think mom learned a lot. We did get to school XC afterwards, though, and mom got to jump some training questions and I learned that she actually could ride decently... I got really stressed after all that excitement though and got a really bad tummy ache. Thankfully Aunt Megan had some stuff that made me feel better, but I could tell mom was worried about me that night.

Anyway, fast forward to Maydaze. We went to the Kentucky Horse Park, I'm much happier there, plus mom put some stuff in my food that made my stomach feel good. She called it ommm..omep...omeprazole? She also insists on feeding me this soupy stuff that looks like shredded paper... I think she calls it beet poop. I guess it's not that bad if you don't look at it, but when she tries to give it me, I always think she's trying to poison me. Besides... do beets even poop? And who would feed poop to their horse anyway? Can you blame me for being skeptical?

We got there on Thursday and mom rode me. We got some rain, but it kept it a little on the cooler side, so that was nice. I had a bath and got my makeover, and was happy to settle in for the night. On Friday morning, mom braided my mane, which usually means crappy dressage is coming. Auntie Megan braided my tail again, it makes my butt look good. Well, better than normal, anyway... my butt looks pretty darn good all the time.

  It was drizzly and cool when we went to do dressage. I had a good warmup, even though I did have a little perchie-moment before they called my number. I had to run sideways for a minute to make myself feel better, but then I settled down. My favorite part was the fact that they didn't stick their finger in my mouth with that nasty glove... something about a virus going around. I did a good dressage test, mom seemed pleased and I showed off some of my new moves... the best part is the canter lengthening. I can just picture myself in full armor, running at another horse with a knight on my back and a lance at my side... and then I have to go back to the crappy dressage stuff. But its fun to dream for a minute! Here's some pictures from my dressage.

After crappy dressage was over, it was time for stadium! I had a really exciting jumping lesson the week before with Aunt Amy... mom said I was "crazy" but I was really just enthusiastic. I was pretty good in warmup, especially because mom said she "couldn't see a darn stinkin' thing." It's okay though, because I was as cool as a cucumber and was totally not worried.

Mom finally got her stuff together and had a couple good jumps and we went off into the ring. I'm not going to lie, I was brilliant. Mom seemed pretty happy with me, she may have even cried a little. I don't know why people cry when they're happy, they should save themselves the effort and just feed me carrots instead. Crying seems like a silly use of energy.

Yep. I was pretty awesome...


Lauren in, here, I want to point out that I could HEAR Brandy's front shoes clinking together as she jumped around... I knew she had to be tucking her feet up in her armpits, but I didn't think she was that tight in front! Too cute!

Can you believe her? Mom just took the keyboard right out from underneath my hooves. I was busy typing!! Heifer.

The next day, I got to run cross country! THAT is the most fun EVER. I freaking rocked that course. It was not easy, the jumps were big and sometimes they came up kind of fast, in combinations of sorts. Mom did a pretty good job of riding me down to the base and telling me where to go and then waiting with her upper body. It's a good thing, too, because there was one really wide ramp that I thought I'd make things interesting and leave out the last step. Tee-hee... I'm pretty funny when I want to be. Mom did a good job sticking with me, thank goodness!

Here's Auntie Megan laying on the ramp. She's no shorty, either! Aunt Stacy yelled at Mom and Aunt Megan, she said "You need to know the #1 rule of walking move-up and, for that matter, any other courses. Do not look too closely at the height or width or depth of the fences. Now go walk the course again following that rule." Guess they messed that one up!

The first part of the course was pretty straight forward, a couple logs and barrels, a brush jump that mom said used to be scary to her. I guess not anymore!

There was a pond in front of me here, see my ear-dar in action? Mom thought I might launch in, but I was good and stepped right down like I should.

I had a lot of fun splashing through the water and doing a little skinny brush combination.

 I was SUPER good through the ditch combination... I guess I didn't really have an option, mom seemed pretty determined. Here's the series of pictures and their captions...

Game faces: on.

"Dear Brandy, please assess the ditch coming up. Thanks, Lauren."
"Dear Lauren, I'm currently assessing the ditch coming up. Please stay on top this time. Love, Brandy."

Brandy: I'M ASSESSING THE DITCH. I ASSESS that PANTHERS are living IN THIS DITCH.

Everything else on course has been 3'3", Ma, I guess this is meant to be jumped at 3'3", too! Hang on to your britches, girlfriend!

Suddenly, this little coop doesn't seem so bad!

Well done, Miss B!

The rest of the course was great, if I do say so myself. Mom said we were really slow, but I blame her. I could have run faster, but she didn't tell to, so... tough for her. I was really happy at the end of the course, I got a nice cool shower and mom took me to graze in the best clover patch I've ever seen. That afternoon, she slathered some white goo on my legs and wrapped me up so I was comfy and cozy overnight. I had a good nights sleep, and on Sunday I just hung out all day while my friend Anna rode.

We had a fairly unadventurous ride home besides when mom's truck was weird going up a big hill. It pulled great after that, though, so I was glad. Aunt Amy said mom maybe had some water in her fuel tank and its a good thing she got a 7.3, whatever that means. I hate trucks. They're loud and smell bad, kind of like Ari.

Mom got some cute pictures from the weekend, too, since Aunt Lisa was there. I like her, she comes and visits a couple times a year and sometimes comes to horse shows with us. Here is my favorite picture of Aunt Amy and Aunt Lisa with mom... There is a slogan they like that they use as the caption for this one...

Red on right, white on left, insanity in the middle...

Oh, by the way, yes, that is a training fence... in other words, I jumped it. See? I'm awesome.

Mom also rode around on this little scooter thing for awhile. It. Was. HYSTERICAL. It was smaller than Pumpkin, so mom looked really funny on it!

Thanks to Aunt Julie for a good laugh!

Mom also got to see a lot of her friends over the weekend too, Aunt Julie and Danielle were there from Nashville, and some of her friends from college, too, Kari, Elissa, Georgine, Melissa, Jessi-Person, Mary... it was like a Murray Reunion!

Mom told me to mention that she did, in fact, reach her goal of losing 20lbs by Maydaze. I'm glad, too, it's a lot easier on me when she's skinnier! She says her next goal is 10 more lbs by Midsouth... works for me! If I have to be fit, she does too! She has to buy a new dressage coat, even, because hers is too big! If anyone wants to buy hers, it's for sale!

Oh, here are my videos, too, if you want to watch me in action!"






Overall, a great weekend for Miss Brandy and myself! I couldn't be happier!

When I have a feeling...

about a horse on Craigslist...

I'm usually right.

I keep seeing this gal come up and I've got the feeling. Someone please go get her.

4 year old Perch/QH cross in Knoxville.

THIS is the kind of ad that we bought Brandy from and look how that turned out. If someone is interested, Kelly Wallace has offered to go check her out and I would give someone a deal on getting her started if they wanted to keep her with me for a few months.

Horsie ups and downs...

I'm waiting (im)patiently to report on my first training with Brandy, so you all will just have to wait until I get my pics to hear about that. Until then, here's a preview pic of us in warmup, courtesy of Lisa:

I love this picture because the look on her face is so her. "Seriously, mom? You can't find a spot to save your life and I'm finding it with my eyes closed. *sigh* The THINGS I do for YOU!" The ears are the icing on the cake.

When I got home, I was really excited to ride Ari, since he'd been somewhat neglected the week before. My plan was to run him at Midsouth, so it was time to buckle down. As you know, he's been a little funky in his left hind. I started him on MSM before I left and we're in the middle of a feed change. I got on and he was supple, forward and focused, with enough energy but not hot, he was lifting nicely through his back and felt great... except every five steps or so, he'd lose his left hind- it would twist out from underneath him and he just couldn't track up. *sigh* So we ended our ride and I put in the call to the vet... I was hoping to have him out sooner but he can't see Ari until next week Tuesday, so he's turned out until next week. I'm bummed to be missing the clinic with Vicky on Saturday and I'm just hoping it's something simple (chiro issue is what I have my fingers crossed for) so he can haul to Jim Graham's next weekend to school... his goal for the summer is to jump down into water... the first time I ask!

So, in the meantime, it looks like Brandy will be coming to Midsouth with me and Ari will possibly be headed to Champagne Run if we get him sorted out.

The other downer is the barn fire at Boyd Martin's barn at True Prospect Farm. He lost 6 horses and 5 others were admitted to the hospital for burns and smoke inhalation. I can't even begin to imagine the horror he and his students and owners are facing, but never to be underestimated, the eventing community has stepped up to support Boyd and his crew, both emotionally and financially. His working students living in the barn apartment lost everything, not to mention the horses, tack and other equipment. Absolutely devastating. Keep an eye on Boyd's blog and Eventing Nation for updates and if you're looking to donate, there are several ways to do so.

Also, a friend of mine lost her horse in the AL tornados a couple weeks ago. Her barn owner lost everything, including his prized stallion, a mare and her in-utero foal. I heard today that it looks like he's going to lose another of his broodmares.

And, non-horse related is that my psuedo-big-brother Kenny Foster is from Joplin, MO, which you may have heard was decimated by tornadoes. His family lost their house and everything else and will be working to pick up the pieces as time goes on.

Try to keep everyone in your thoughts as time passes, I can't imagine what any of them are going through.

More cuteness overload...

I haven't done much talking about my students here lately, but we went to a mini-event/combined test a few weekends ago, and a good friend of mine got some STELLAR photos of my gang, so I thought I'd steal them and post them so you could marvel in the cuteness of my "kidlets."

I know every trainer says they have the best students ever, but there is really no way anyone can have students as awesome as mine. They put a smile on my face (most days) and make my job worth it (most days). I love being successful myself, but I really have just as fun watching the kidlets be successful! Really!

So, without any further ado, please, revel in their cuteness.

This is Tori and her pony, Snickers. Tori is 11 and Snickers is a 12 year old AQHA mare who had belong to a college friend of mine since she was a yearling. Snickers landed with Tori about a month ago and Tori is working towards her first BN horse trial in late fall. She is fearless on Snickers and Snickers is just challenging enough to make Tori work a little bit.

This is Olivia and Major. Olivia is 14, Major is 12, I think, and he's a 14.3 Morgan gelding. EVERY PERSON should have a Major in their lives. He has brought Olivia up from the very beginning and now she is cruising around BN with him. His dressage is a work in progress but he is brilliant to jump and he and Liv have an amazing relationship. He is Mr. Personality and they are so lucky to have each other!

Amanda and Jazz make a great pair and have come such a long way! Amanda is 13 and Jazz is 8, we got Jazz from a hunter barn and she has been a fabulous horse to learn on. She has definitely challenged Amanda, but Jazz's slightly sensitive nature is well matched with Amanda's critical-thinking way of learning. They are moving forward together in great bounds and are looking forward to moving up to 2' at our next show. Jazz is ALL mare and Amanda is just as sassy to boot!

Anna and Murphy are another great pair. Anna moved onto Murphy from her "starter" pony to learn the ropes of eventing. Murphy is a teenaged Irish Sport horse who has evented up through the prelim and Anna is a 13 year old who has big aspirations, so they clicked right away. Anna is Murphy's third teenager and one of his favorite sayings is "WHY did you get me another teenager?!" Anna did her first BN at Maydaze and hopes to do plenty more this summer!

 Ansleigh and her pony Ronny, an Anglo-arab, are learning together and having a lot of fun, but also learning the ups and downs of eventing together! Ansleigh has borrowed sweet, aged Ibn from the gang at Southern Promise for a little confidence boost and is doing very well with him! Ansleigh is tiny but spunky and is proving to be a real DQ!



And now for the... more... senior... kidlet division...

Shannon and Pumpkin are another new team. Pumpkin was a diamond in the rough craigslist pony and Shannon is learning about eventing with Pumpkin while I teach him! He is by far one of my favorite ponies to ride and I only wish he was 16 hands! Shannon enjoys riding with her daughter Tori (well, sometimes) and we're all having a ball this summer learning together!

Kelly and Scout are working super hard and proving that hard work will pay off!! Also aiming towards their first BN in late fall, Kelly had dedicated herself to her goal and Scout is, somewhat grudgingly, coming along with her! Scout is a Belgian/TB and was a PMU rescue that Kelly has brought along herself, he is bold and never boring, especially because he is OBSESSED with his BFF, Pumpkin! Watch out for these guys in the fall!

Nancy and Ben are a match made in heaven! Ben is another PMU baby, a Belgian/QH cross that we got from a hunter barn. He has decided that he LOVES eventing, although dressage may not be his favorite, and Nancy has had a ton of fun on XC with him! He won at his first mini-event and is looking forward to many more exciting shows with Nancy. His bold attitude suits Nancy's gung-ho learning style and they put a smile on each other's face!



There are other students I should mention, too, although I don't have exceedingly cute pics of them from the last show:

Leslie and Sam- Leslie took (most) of the above fabulous pics. Look for Sam's eventing debut in June, and Leslie in late fall. Sam is a registered APHA 'Aint... he's very red and not very spotted and is basically an oversized Golden Retriever. If you're missing something, it's probably in his mouth.

Robin and Moose were my Charter Students! Moose is an Arab pony and Robin is an adult with stubby legs, so they make a great pair. Some days, Moose is so not-an-arab it's not even funny, and some days Moose is SO-an-arab it makes us all what to cry. Either way, it's been fun watching Robin and Moose learn together and their partnership grow over the years.

Laura shares Ronny with Ansleigh, though it seems that this summer, Laura has stolen him, fair and square! Laura and Ronny are another great match, some days they both have infinite patience with each other, and some days they don't! Laura is looking forward to taking Ronny to a mini-event or two this summer before grudgingly passing the reins back to Ansleigh!

Diana is Laura's younger daughter and Ainsleigh's little sister. She's hot on her sister's heels, riding her borrowed pony Danny and hoping to get her hands back on Ibn in the near future! Diana has a whole lot of gumption and is a definite "pony kid" who grits her teeth and gets the job done... sometimes I wish we could all be as gutsy as Diana!


And, not to be left out...

Have I mentioned how special my trainer is? And I don't mean special like "special," I mean special like "How many trainers do you know that take a vested interest in their students' students?" Here's Amy aboard Snickers, giving her a XC little tune up for Tori at the last show. Although, I'm not going to lie, I think she did it for her own selfish reasons... who wouldn't want to take a pony like Snickers around XC?!

As Amy says... "She's a go-getter!"

(And yes, I had too much fun writing this post!! I'm procrastinating because I got the wrong rider's pics on my CD from Maydaze, so I will give you a full first-training recap when I get my CD with the RIGHT pics on it!)

A quickie!

Just some notes:

• Ari has been on and off since Chatt Hills. Nothing I could quite put my finger on, but he was clearly NOT happy and not comfortable. I had his hocks done and changed to a different farrier to see if he could help support his unhappy hocks. I'm finally (two weeks later) seeing a positive change and am hoping to continue in this trend. I need to have the chiro out to have him adjusted and see if I can help his left hind. It's his weakest point right now and I'd like to keep him as comfortable as possible. He owes me nothing, but I do enjoy competing him and I think he likes his job, so we'd like to stay on that track as long as possible.

• Brandy is staring to "give" through her back. This comes at both a good and bad time, since it will greatly improve some of her dressage movements before we make the move to training, but it also means we've regressed in some of our movement to allow her to find her new balance. Dressage is an ever-morphing balance with tons of forward and back. Thats the joy (and the pain.)

• I'm officially entered to run training at Maydaze. I got Brandy in October of 2008, I have brought her along myself with the help of Amy and she's the one I will finally get the chance to run training on! My original goal was training in 2010, but I'd say 2011 is pretty good, considering! I'm very excited and will just be glad to have a positive run on her. 

• I took Pumpkin to Walnut Trace to school XC today- he was a rockstar. He seemed to really like it and I'm hoping this with throw the switch in his head that jumping the first time is the best answer- it seems like a lot of horses don't understand jumping a pole in an arena, but seem to love jumping logs and coops and "solid things" in a field. He was game and had a lot of fun! 

• I love my students. They make me smile. I like watching them grow more confident and their ambitions change and the lightbulbs when they finally "turn on." I have the best students in the world. So there.

I will do a recap of Poplar here at some point!

Things my horse spooked at today...

There is a saying- "Horses only spook at two things... things that move. And things that don't." It's pretty much true.

So today, I present you with a video blog...

I love eventing.

Badminton, Rolex, Area 3 championships. Three weekends in a row. Enough watching, I'm ready to show!

I'm busy, my life is hectic, there aren't enough minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week or weeks in a month, but somehow, when I think about putting one of my ponies on the trailer and heading down the interstate with some of my best friends to go to a horse trial, I can't help but get a little shiver of excitement down my spine, the butterflies start to gather in my stomach and I just can't wait to get to wherever it is that I'm going.

B at MTPC last year. This will be our last novice before going training at Maydaze!

 If I ever lose that feeling, I think it'll be time to hang it up. But right now, I can't WAIT to get out there!

How to make sure the 40% chance of rain becomes 100%...

Here's my schedule for today...

10:00- Shannon and Tori
11:00- Leslie
12:00- Robin
1:00- Amanda
2:00- Anne C
3:00- Leslie
4:00- Olivia
5:00- Nancy

Here's the radar:

If I had had only 1 lesson scheduled... there would have been NO rain!

Watching the next 6 hour forecast, its basically moving directly east immediately over 840 until at least 3 this afternoon. OF COURSE IT IS.