I Apologize

I have been without internet for the past 2.5 weeks and have dropped off the face of the Earth. I am sitting in London trying to update as much as I can at this moment. I have a lot to catch up. Sorry for the inconvenience and I will try my best! Have a great day!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Today was the first sunny day in I don’t know how long. The air is crisp and the birds are singing. I have seen the first buds of spring on trees and I think I’ve smiled more today than all of last week.
I watched Herr Schmidt ride one horse this morning before I decided it was just too nice outside to be standing and watching inside. So I hacked Roode on the unfrozen roads and we both greatly enjoyed it.
My lesson with H.S. was super. I really think I am going to have a breakthrough soon. In the beginning I could feel that Roode was just a bit lethargic. So I really pushed him over the edge today. I thought even though the feeling was not so great I needed to do something to make the quality better because I have been waiting for him to become stronger and show me a difference but today I just thought he was really taking advantage of my training skills. I thought ‘If my own position gets out of place then Herr Schmidt will yell about it and that’s fine but today I am going for it’. Herr Schmidt actually commended me for good riding today, which is actually very rare. I think I was actually good on my part with being steady and feeling more. It was Roode that was rocking the boat. I just sat there and pushed through it. I didn’t let my guards down this time. I was impressed at how he looked in the mirror. The quality was really great. If I keep this up then the quality is bound to become instinctive soon enough and we can count on it from the beginning.

The movements were not such a big deal to me today but they were a better show of what Roode can do when he works it. Herr Schmidt yelled at one point that he has a really good trot. The bending was better in the half passes and the canter pirouettes were a bit more difficult today just because Roode felt sore from the good collected work that he did yesterday. Also, we did the pirouette work toward the end of the lesson and by then Roode was a bit worked up into a white lather on the neck. But it was good for him.

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

I had an early lesson today. I was successful at keeping Roode relaxed and nice in the movements but I felt like the more I tried to push for better quality and all the cadence and schwung that Herr Schmidt keeps talking about, Roode only became a little quicker in the tempo.
The canter quality feels better than the trot now. Who would have ever thought, I know. The trot has not been as good as I know it can be. There is some kind of standard that H.S. has and I get the feeling that I will get there soon. Roode can do it and I will come to the point where I won’t accept anything less than his best. Otherwise, it was good for a Monday.
This Friday March 5th, I will meet Kyra Kyrklund and spend the day watching her in the U.K. I am so excited. Then the rest of the weekend will be spent sleepless in London.

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Paula and I woke up at the crack of dawn to drive all the way to Bremen to watch Hubertus ride Larinna in her 2nd Grand Prix. It was so great. They won with a 68.708%. Granted there were not many other international riders to compete against, they were still awesome. And there was a lot of shopping. I got Roode some red shipping boots. The others are too short. I bought myself some black and pick pairs of argyle riding socks of course. And then I got Roode some melon green polo’s. They are bright against a dark horse. They make Roode look black.
On our way back home, we stopped in Verden to explore the German Horse Museum. It was interesting. Unfortunately, I could not read much. Instead, up front I bought an old Reiter und Pferd magazine with Rohdiamant (Roode’s sire) on the front cover. I bought a museum bag and a burlap sack-like bag with the famous Blue Horse Painting on it.

Then for a moment when we arrived home, the sun was out so I put Roode in turnout where he was jubilant and disgustingly wet and dirty after rolling for what seemed like a 100 times.

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Herr Schmidt is in Bremen with Larinna. So I had Roode to myself today. As I was getting ready to ride, Paula came running and squealing into my barn. She was yelling about how Larinna just placed 3rd in her 1st Grand Prix. It was very exciting. Paula calls Larinna her horse because she knows her from another farm and they are both Swedish.

I only tried to ride Roode the way I thought H.S. would be teaching me if he were there. At some points I was successful and then some I had resistance that may have been helped if he were there. I wanted to just make it an easy day but I couldn’t quit. I did not do any canter pirouettes but I practiced a lot of tempi changes. Everything was good until I came to the twos which suddenly I could only do two and then I don’t know what went wrong. I had him straight but there was some lack of balance being established somewhere.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Another day at Fleyenhof is over. I wish I could re ride this one because it was so great. Roode is getting much stronger and the pirouettes have become very fun to ride. I have become confident enough to warm up on my own and now I can finish it in 10 minutes. Most of the thoughts that go through my mind as I ride the warm up are questions like is his neck low enough to work him over the back? Or are my hands and legs steady? And is he light and loose to the inside? And can I feel him in the outside rein and do I have the ability to half halt?
Roode’s schwung is getting so much better. He is swinging more in the back and I think the cadence has made a drastic change for the better. I love it. I can feel that Roode loves the work too. I give more breaks now too because I feel that we both need a breather after the work we’ve been doing.
4’s, 3’s, and 2’s are flying! I cannot wait to see what these can actually become. I am optimistic and hopeful that with more experience I will develop a better feel for timing with the leg changes and Herr Schmidt can stop saying that it is “my fault” all the time. It is my fault but I just need to keep at them. They are getting much better; I just often miss the last change. My other problem is not keeping Roode straight in the neck. So then the haunches are affected and the whole body becomes crooked. But, I am getting better and the quality of Roode’s gaits has improved immensely. As a funny side note, Herr Schmidt has turned to growling at me when I don’t do something correctly. I think it is a little bit funny but it scares me too.This weekend is a CDI in Bremen. Herr Schmidt is riding and tomorrow I am going to ask if I can go with them. Paula the groom is sure he will say yes but I can only hope. This CDI is about a 3 hour drive with the horses and they will be staying the night. I may have to see about accommodation.

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

The sun is out again. The sunshine never seems to last very long but it is certainly getting warmer again! I love it. So, for the first time since before Christmas, I hacked Roode on the roads for 30 minutes. With everything melting, the river has risen and is rapid. There is a small bridge to cross and I think I was more daunted by crossing than Roode was. He was brave but I was a baby. But my eyes were also about 4 feet higher than his and by my perspective the railing was easy to go over whereas he was snorting with his head low to the ground. I am so glad that he was good.

Two of the horses had to be moved to another farm nearby because we have no room with Diederik’s horses that came in from Holland. Caitlin from Australia asked if I could drive her in Herr Schmidt’s car because she is not confident with a manual or driving on the other side of the road and the car. While she rode the other two horses, I finished errands in Paderborn. : ) I like Herr Schmidt’s car.

Roode was super today. Every day is routinely the same but now we are getting through the movements faster because they have been good the first time around and now we have moved onto canter double half pass.

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

You will not believe who is here. Diederik van Silfhout is here at Fleyenhof to take instruction from Herr Schmidt. He was the Young Rider World Cup Champion and Champion in Portugal. He is Dutch. He brought 3 horses including Ruby and is only here for five days. He is such a good rider. He is not as good as Hubertus but he has such a nice position. It was nice to hear H.S. tell him the same things as me. I heard him tell him to sit on his seat once too. That felt good.