Back on Track

Monday, June 22, 2009
Roode’s back to work and he’s loaded with energy to burn. After six weeks off, he has started back stronger than I expected. I only started trotting and a little bit of canter for Herr Schmidt to have a look. After 10 minutes Herr Schmidt said he looked very good and to slowly now bring him back up to his work level. That permission granted nearly made me want to cry minor tears of joy. I was so happy! I can tell Roode feels happy too. Standing in a box is no fun. The best part is that he does not feel below where we left off. He certainly feels unfit. He’s winded after five minutes and a little unbalanced. But, the best part is that he was so nicely over the back from the beginning with this incredible feeling of engagement and natural swinging. I could feel it and then also see it in the mirror. What I could see in the mirror (trot) was both hind legs engaging with a short moment of suspension in the air before touching the ground again for the next stride. It is such a wonderful feeling. When you experience a trot like this, I think it proves the saying, “To be one with the horse”. I can feel it in my back as Roode just pounds out the rhythm. To me it feels as though the horse is lifting me and I’m lifting the horse off the ground every stride. I’m surprised at how thru my half halts were today also. I was able to control the amount of swinging and impulsion that kept coming. The important part of today is that I was not asking for impulsion anyway. It was just there. I came to realize that within the first trot around the ring, my thinking was wrong. What I was originally thinking was ‘As I pick up the next gait, keep in mind not push too hard. Just let him jog it out and see how it feels.’ Then feeling took over and I was suddenly thinking, ‘well he’s great! He’s really pumping a rhythm here, what I need is a half halt without losing the throughness and impulsion.’ Maybe the first time, I gave a half halt a little too strong and he suddenly found it as a good time to walk again. But with quick and subtle correction we were back on track without difficulty. I really love the way he felt today.
What exercises have you found helpful to improving your horses canter? Any one or two aspects in your approach that have made the most difference?
The exercises that I find most helpful for improving the canter are:
a) On a twenty meter circle and on the straight lines from the beginning, I must have control over the height of the neck. I must get the feeling at all times that the horse wants to go down. And if not, then that is all I can work on before moving on. With a horse that does not want to put the head down and come over the back, I believe then it needs to be exaggerated to put the head more down. It’s not the best feeling. Most horses have an issue finding the balance down there. It feels like they want to break the canter. The tempo can get hectic and the rhythm fast. It feels like there’s a lack in the ability to half halt and to steady the line of flexion. In Roode’s case, he shuffles to ease the work load it requires. I find that if it gets a little jarring, it is important to feel how to push beyond that, because at that point they are cheating the way of becoming thru and they are just running. With time and just experiencing the feeling, the horse quickly finds the balance and gains strength. The rider does also. It’s really just a matter of days and only 5- 10 minutes. Keep the gait 3 beat, whether it’s too slow or too hectic. I had the problem with Roode becoming too hectic when I first came. Herr Schmidt told me it does not matter in the beginning that the horse gets hectic as long as he is round and wants to go down. He told me that once this was accomplished then I could work on half halting to balance him more behind and bring the neck up, as long as the feeling that the horse wants to go down maintained. I think it creates a truly wonderful feeling after taking the time to push thru what challenges it seems can come with doing this exercise. And then give a good walk break before moving on. With Roode, I have found a greater degree of steadiness has come from this exercise. Attachment- I feel an incredible amount of positive attachment has come from this exercise. I get the feeling that my legs lie more closely and evenly to his sides and that I can sit in more without disturbing the throughness but to make it better. I get the feeling that I can feel how the mouth, hand, and hind leg attachment move together in balance. I then get the feeling that I can control whatever I may ask for as I work up the level of difficulty in the canter exercises. It creates a feeling of partnership.
b) To improve the canter more, I have learned that the next exercise is to do 12, 10, or 8 meter circles on the long side, preferably at E or B but wherever need be. I have felt and watched how this simple exercise can make horses so much stronger and improve the quality of the canter. I find it helps to build the uphill strength that Dressage requires and it’s a necessary set up for the bend that is required in the canter half passes and the pirouettes. It is important to merely just experience tons of small circles in the canter. It is important to NOT train them to exhaustion. It is too hard on the joints. The purpose is that you use them as a method to gymnasticise the horse’s body to make it stronger so that it will be easy to move on to the difficult movements. The reason to do them on the long side wall is because it provides support with space. It is important to know your line and the geography of the circle. I see Herr Schmidt ride 8 and 10 meter circles everyday right before he moves on to the half passes and pirouettes. Sometimes, he’ll only do one, and then he moves on to the movement because it was good enough. Sometimes he’ll do more. It simply depends on the feeling. And as simple as it sounds, I love this exercise. I have found with more practice that it confirms the end feeling that I described in part A. It is more difficult. It requires more awareness to feeling and a quicker effectiveness in the riding. With Roode, I find that I suddenly need more outside rein to make him through, to keep the neck low and turning on my line. The inside rein keeps the jaw soft and sideways (flexion), as H.S. says.
c) The third is moving more forward and collection on the straight line or the bent line. This is where I get a bit hectic. I find H.S. always saying, “Relax, relax, relax….ruhig (calm)” as his head is cocked funny and he’s watching my tension fade. When I actually understand the feeling, it’s very simple to train. I’m still learning, but I think I’ve about nailed it. It requires a feeling of sitting in a bit more and coming with a relaxed half halt at the same moment. It is the same to me for as much forward as you push and for as much collection as you push. When the feeling is correct, I feel I can do anything. I can finally even count the strides in the pirouettes. Before, it was always like an undercurrent pulling me (not a good feeling). I get the feeling now that I have gained more control merely by once again just experiencing the pirouette. I can now number my half halts and they are effective. I can almost control how many strides to take to get around. I can just feel more. On the other hand there is much update to be desired for further information and learning on this matter. The point is, Roode has a very good canter now and this, I feel, has also improved it.

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.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Roode was very good for a Monday. He gave me a good feeling from the start as we warmed up. He wanted to stay long in the neck and was very relaxed. The best part is that he kept a good rhythm and was better moving over his back which is not so typical with him. I made it a certain practice to concentrate on my hands that they were a little quieter but still effective. I think this helped him tremendously so that the warm up did not have to be so long. I was determined to leave my hands out of it today. What I mean was that I wanted to not have my hands be of any big discussion with Herr Schmidt. He never says much about them but when he does it seems as if the topic becomes about them and I feel that they come to interfere with the bigger and better things. And it worked! Something about this small focus helped with the training today. Most of what I kept in mind and more like monitored about my hands from the beginning was thinking, ‘Okay, I keep my thumbs up at all times with my hands together (Check). I keep them both on the same level (check). I need to keep both of my hands a little lower (check). Also, try to keep both hands the same length from the center of his neck or spine (check). Then, I check to make sure I make him loose and keep him loose to the inside rein by feeling him in the contact there. If it feels like he should yield more than I give a soft flexion with the inside hand. Sometimes, the flexion aid is so sensitive with him that I need nothing more than to feel his mouth with two fingers. Then at another time, he can be so stiff that I must feel to shorten the rein and flexion my entire wrist. Then when he yields I must try to make him long in the neck again. I maintain the contact on the outside rein at all times and ascertain how much forward and backward balance we have. It is such a fine line. The more I feel in my hands the more I push to develop an even better working gait. When all of these basics give me a good feeling, I move on to shoulder in, half passes, and the upper level work.

Today we only did two trot and canter half passes in each direction because Roode did them so well. Then we moved on to the pirouettes where Herr Schmidt complemented my beginning to gain a good feeling for how they should be. Roode did two nice trot mediums. We only did one trot to halt transition which Roode and I nailed it today after having a bit of a run in with a problem with these last week. Last week I was too abrupt and Roode stopped too much on the fore hand. We worked on a few of these last week but today was perfect. I loved it. I was right by mirror and I just looked to the side and I could feel my preparation and how Roode was feeling my aid to halt. He came right to it with his haunches engaged and BOOM! Perfectly square and his head was right on vertical…for like two seconds. Ha-ha I hoped everyone just saw that. It was awesome. I love halting my horse. He looked so prestigious in that moment too. I felt like doing a little dance.

Anyway, we did some four tempis. The first attempt was very flat and not straight. So we tried them again. They were good. They were big and uphill but still not straight. So I guarded him more with my new outside rein and inside leg (especially, because it is the haunches that he wants to swing in). One last attempt at the fours and they were very good. Then we did the threes, they were good too. Herr Schmidt said to finish with that, but then I asked if I could do a line of twos. He said yes of course. He said, “When the threes are good enough like that than do some two changes”. So I did two 2’s, then a three, then two 2’s again. But they weren’t straight so Herr Schmidt said to do them again on the second track by the wall and watch in the mirror. I totally butchered them. They were all over the place and off count. Herr Schmidt yelled at me about not giving the leg aids at the right time (story of my life). Then we did a diagonal again and they were straight but I missed count again and so I lost feeling of when to move my legs again. Ugghh. So, one last diagonal, and BANG! They were perfection in my eyes. Herr Schmidt counted to me and my legs were there never missing a beat. And Roode was right on top of it! He hit all seven! And the great part was that everybody else was walking with their horses and watching us! It was such a boost of confidence. Herr Schmidt kept saying how good they were and endeavoring into some more theory to me about how to keep them like this every time. That was kind of in one ear and out the other as I was so impressed with what we had just done. But, boy they were straight, uphill, and huge. I loved it! I love my horse! I cannot wait until tomorrow.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2009

Friday was so good, but frustrating for me. I felt like everything I had accomplished and confirmed from the day before was lost. I get these scary feelings that I won’t be able to return to correct training sometimes. But, I feel it is important to be humbled often I guess. Roode was super though, and even Herr Schmidt said so. We worked on our same system again and Roode was great accept for me. I just wasn’t thinking enough. I kept making stupid mistakes without feeling and I was just frustrated with myself.

Saturday on the other hand was fantastic. There could not have been a better way to end the week. I had an early lesson with H.S. that was not even a personal lesson. We all had so much to do this weekend, so H.S. gave me a lesson while he rode Donnelly. He was doing 1 tempis on the diagonal while instructing me to pay attention to my own horse while I was warming up. I don’t mean he was telling me to pay attention to my own horse but he was instructing me to do something like making my horse even loose in the jaw to the inside. I think it was also so good because I had a bit of time to think to myself and my own training ability. Roode was so good. And I even started to try to do some two tempis in the end on my own because I suddenly had time as I had done the other movements and they were good. So, I did first three twos and the second track and thought hmmm…those were really good for just refreshing them after a long time. So then I went to the next track and watched in the mirror and did two 2’s, a 3, then two 2’s again. Hmm. I thought, “This is really fun”. Then I went to the next track and I could see that Herr Schmidt was taking a break and watching and BuMmEr…I butchered the line. There was no count to be seen. The first was a two, then a three (woops), then another two, then a four. Herr Schmidt asked me what it was that I wanted. I said “Twos”. He told me that was fine but to do them again and be certain that I gave the right aid at the right time. So I went on the next diagonal and we did 5 really great twos. And Herr Schmidt missed it as he was passaging across the short side that I was about to turn on too!

Then I was fertig (finished). I was so happy with this entire week!

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Today was simply brilliant. I cannot wait to tell you all about it. Roode was so fantastic.

Also, today was the first day that we actually had some warm weather. The birds were out for the first time in weeks and they are still singing. The sun is brightly shining and it’s the perfect day to be riding.

Herr Schmidt was running a bit behind schedule for our lesson so we had a lot of time to warm up. As I began I felt like it was going to be a bit difficult to make Roode loose to the right. I persisted at working at it and staying relaxed. I monitored all small things constantly and I realized that a lot of this problem is my fault. I kept on saying to myself, “Outside rein makes him through and inside makes him loose”. Whenever it seems to not work I often resort to wagging his head (minor) left and right. Well, there was no more wagging today. I finally got it through my own head that if he just does not seem to be coming through, then push more with the leg, not the hands. So I pushed more with the inside leg and guarded my line with the outside leg. Suddenly, the rest of the looseness problem was history. I know this sounds so simple but I promise I apply this principle to my everyday riding just not effectively enough sometimes. It’s like the feeling that Jen was always trying to explain to me but I never quite understood. Well I‘ve got it now.

Once our lesson started, Herr Schmidt was complementing about how good Roode looked. We showed our best collected trot and I was stunned to see how great Roode looked in the mirror. When the feeling is right, I can push, half halt, then balance again, and continue the feeling instinctively. Sometimes, if I verbally whisper to myself when I am giving a half halt, it helps me think how strong they need to be and whether or not they were effective enough in that moment. Sometimes I give a half halt every stride and sometimes I get the feeling that it is not necessary for two more strides. I feel it in my seat. My back swings with his and if I want more than I push with my seat and a small leg aid. If he stays balanced and nice over the back then I can feel him in the rein and I continue the small half halting to keep him balanced while keeping the bigger movement. If I push more and he runs away from my seat and braces in the back then I give a strong half halt to bring him back and start again. I return to the loose inside feeling and the balanced outside contact. Sometimes I ask for more cadence and schwung and Roode pumps up for the challenge but can speed the rhythm too. Once I get the amount of cadence and schwung that I want, I give a half halt that makes the rhythm more relaxed but I keep the long stride by keeping my seat swinging as before and my leg touches him again in the half halting moment so that he knows to keep the big movement but to slow the rhythm. This has become very successful.

When we move on to lateral trot work, I shorten the inside rein for more flexion and bending. If a shoulder in begins unbalanced, I sometimes circle again or push more on the line to make it better. I am working on making the beginning start as well as the lines end. In half pass today, we did not even do many because Roode did so well at staying loose to the inside and bending. I decided today that when H.S. said more bending, I was going to do it no matter if Roode might get tight for a moment and offer an unpleasant display. Well, he was yelling for more bending and I thought that as effective as I wanted to be the next stride, I better get it now. I was then afraid that H.S. might yell at me for being too abrupt and that the choice was wrong but instead he said that it was the correct way and that sometimes he would need that. Even though he is a sensitive horse it is important to decide if I am not asking enough in a relaxed way or if he is just being a bit lazy and then he needs the correction like I did. It was not a very pleasant sight but we moved on and the half passes were well worth it. My first medium stayed big and trough too which sometimes has to be developed with more than one go at it. But the two we did were great.

After a break, we began the canter work. The quality was so good from the beginning and I am so happy that it is coming along so well. The half passes in canter are becoming much stronger. I am happy with the work and I think Roode is enjoying it too. The pirouettes are going much better also. I am finally learning how extra sensitive I have to be with Roode. The most common quick words out of H.S. in the moment is “RELAX, Relax, relax”, as he pushes his hand to the ground and cocks his head as he watches us. In both directions I need more inside leg and outside rein. Roode was just completely fantastic. I wish you all could have seen it. It was a brilliant lesson with some very small passage work on my own. I just wanted to make sure he still remembered the aids. I will ask Herr Schmidt tomorrow if we can work a little bit on the half steps.

Ciao.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

We had a better lesson today. I was more attentive to keeping my outside rein (left rein), going right, and really making sure that Roode was loose on the right rein. I think all this work made out for a really good lesson. Roode came more over the back and was more balanced in the half passes. And together, I felt that we were both more free when balanced as long as we both were not passing the wrong boundaries.
In the canter pirouettes, I was able to control them better now that I got my inside leg on more. This time I really exaggerated taking my outside leg off and getting my inside leg more active with him. Herr Schmidt keeps saying, “The inside rein makes him loose and the outside rein makes him through.” I think this principle is finally sinking in. And I am constantly too abrupt with my half halts and flexion aids. Herr Schmidt keeps telling me to be softer. He keeps saying that I only need two fingers to move ever so slightly with such a sensitive horse like Roode.
We did a line of fours and threes before finishing. The count was fine. Herr Schmidt only said that I need to not use so much outside leg for the next aid because it makes him crooked. So our next line of threes on the second track was much better.
Oh, and a side note of some actually very exciting news I think. Roode was out in turnout for an hour today. He was very happy and was not wild for one second which I thought was strange. The ground was frozen but the ice is gone. Thank Goodness! It was his first day out in a larger paddock. The only free time he has been getting is 15 minutes in the lunging circle where he goes wild and then gets bored quick and starts chewing at the wood.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Roode felt good today, but I did not feel like I rode too well. I continue to have problems with my left outside rein. I think to keep the contact there but I continually fall short of making it effective when I need to make him through in the body. Roode feels stiff in the right jaw and so I flexion and keep the contact there without giving him the chance to really move into the left rein where I want him. Without much notice, instead of giving him balance with a light inside rein, I would actually be hanging and working too hard for inside bend. When I finally got that old feeling for a split second where he became more balanced and pumped I could focus more on it and develop it again and again but the feeling only lasted for a constant of maybe 5 strides before I would have to get it together again. It was great work after solving that problem.
I am really trying to develop more cadence and schwung with Roode. He has every bit of it in him but it’s never his first choice. In trying to make him stronger with this, he is generally making a lot of progress. But, I want often want to make his neck too short. Herr Schmidt keeps telling me to take more of the curb on the outside and more of the snaffle on the inside when Roode gets too against the bit in the moment that I try to make a better trot or canter, and without making the neck short.

Oct. 10, 2008

Friday October 10, 2008
I arrived to Fleyenhof at 7:30. I was not sure if they started then but it was a good guess. All of the working students were just feeding. Roode was snoozing. I didn’t want to disturb him but the day was starting and I wanted to get in on it.
I tacked him up and hand walked him around the arena with four other horses working in there and boy was he fresh. He looked good though, very pumped and ready to try to get away from me…but he didn’t. I know his moves. Once he gave a good sigh of relaxation, I decided it was a good time to get on. I looked around for a mounting block…not a one. Oh no. I haven’t tried to mount from the ground in I don’t know how long. I thought, what is this? They have other girls shorter than me getting on bigger horses than mine… I hope nobody is watching, ok…I’m on. Hmmm, not too shabby. Perhaps the motivation to look good at the moment came from this really good looking Bereiter working there and he was riding in the arena also. But, I have soon found out that he has a girlfriend who is also an amazing rider from Finland, so I’m sure he wasn’t looking at me and with how good he was riding I’m sure his focus was very much directed at the horse. Okay enough about the boy…
Roode was very good just walking around the arena with the three to four other horses, which is not typical for him. He can get very nervous when other horses are coming to pass head on and he can pull some huge quirks and 180 degree turns if it doesn’t go well. So, with a lot of comfort and getting through in his body, he passes just fine. I was proud of him. We then marched up and down this nice paved road that goes beside the farm and took in the scenery. : )
After work I gave him a little ace and turnout in a small dirt paddock where he just basked in the sun. He was happy.
I went home and slept from 1:30 – 7:30. I didn’t know I was so tired. Craziness!

Oct. 8, 2008

Wednesday and Thursday October 8, 2008- October 9, 2008
From hanging out with friends the night before and having one last ice cream get together to finally getting home late the night before and doing some final packing, I believe I got a total of 2.5 hours of sleep before the big day. That was my fault. Maybe I’ll learn one of these days to prepare better.
I was very cool and relaxed about the whole thing this morning. I was very ready and I was only trying to remember last minute things until the transport came and the chubby old man missing his bottom four front teeth arrived much earlier than said and he rushed me. That kind of got me out of sorts but I handled it well with Beth and Mez’s help. We got all trunks and loads of baggage in the trailer and then I was preparing Roode who was so cool about all of it. I think he was the best he has ever been with preparing him to load and travel. Maybe he was just so surprised about the whole rush that he was just totally aloof to what was happening. And then, Roode loaded and all ready to go, I went off and completely forgot his fleece cooler. It was the nice one that I just bought last winter. What a bummer!
The Trailer ride to JFK was smooth and not to mention we arrived an hour early. The whole time there was surveillance in the back so that I could see Roode from the front. That was cool. The driver and I shared a little philosophy on on-time matters. He said he doesn’t like the guys who like to arrive the minute that was planned. He thinks you should always be at least an hour early. He said, “If you’re early, you’re on time and if you’re on time, you’re LATE!” I agree but not by an hour…maybe 30 seconds. We actually drove right off of the farm property to the minute he was just supposed to be arriving. Humph…
Once at JFK, we had 6 hours of quarantine. It went very well and it was boring. There were 9 other Arabian mares that were all in foal being shipped to Morocco. They were terrible when it came time to load and go to the tarmac. The first mare left and then they really started screaming. I thought Roode might start getting concerned and do the same but he turned to the far corner and pinned his ears as if to say “Please make it stop”. My ears were hurting too. Then he loaded fine with a trailer to himself and I went to meet him at the tarmac. I waited and waited. The other horses were there, getting loaded in their boxes and still no sign of Roode…hmmm. So, I took pictures of his box (I will post) and I waited some more. By this time I was sort of checking in with myself, ‘I should be exhausted, but I’m not…must be adrenaline’ (It was). It turned out that the holdup was getting through security. Some security pass card declined and then that is a very big deal. Anyway, so to the cool part, I got to load Roode in his box and he marched right on. He was a champ. Locked in and ready to go, I then took cool pictures and the “handsome for older men”…Dutchmen vet/grooms checked him out and I went to regular check in for the flight and loaded with the regular crew and went to the back and anxiously stood by the cargo door. By the way the flight was a KLM half passenger half cargo plane. That was very cool. Through the tiny back emergency door window I watched them load the horses. The lifts that they used were so incredible. It’s really hard to describe but the platform lift had these roller like things and they would pull the box on and put it into place and then it would lift to the height of the cargo and then roll the box on and then the same little roller things were in the plane and they could move the box directly where they wanted and then the box locks on tracks and then it is clamped on the bottom all around. Usually he won’t eat at all while traveling, but by this time (I believe it was 11pm), he was starving. Once all cargo was locked down and it was safe for me to go back to him, I climbed in his box with him and he was munching away at his hay and I stood there with him until after takeoff. I think I was more weirded out for the take off than he was. He didn’t move a limb. He just was a little wide eyed, and I think my eyes were wider. He went back to chewing hay and I watched us fly beside NYC thru his little window. The city lights were amazing from the night sky and then the plane turned and I couldn’t see anymore. Way to kill the romance huh? So, I went to my seat in the passenger area and I was out like a light. I got a little less than 6 hours I think and all I remember is waking up to the intercom saying prepare for landing and it was very bright outside.
October 9, 2008
I looked out the window and saw the beautiful Holland and I went back with Roode who looked like he may have had a good snooze too. The landing was just fine and relaxed. No biggy. I unloaded myself and almost had a little panic as I thought I might never find the horse hotel. But, the cool and logical part of me kicked in quick and I found it just fine. It would not have mattered if it would have taken me all day anyhow. I had to wait another 6 hours because of some missing papers on one of the other horses so I couldn’t leave either. I did a good job embarrassing myself in the meantime though. I thought I would just sit on this little ledge in the middle of the horse hotel and rest my eyes, but I fell asleep and woke up falling to the ground. I caught myself fine I wasn’t hurt at all but everyone saw it and chuckled.
I felt sorry for Roode having to stand in that box for the far more than necessary hours. But, I was eventually able to unload him and I walked him around until he looked a little more relaxed to load into a trailer again and then get to Germany. The drive to Germany was fine and uneventful, though it seemed like forever. At about 10pm on the 9th, we finally arrived to Fleyenhof. Roode was very happy as was I and he rolled and had his first meal since noon yesterday, the 8th.
The family I will be staying with came and picked up me and all my things and I went to sleep at 1:30am.

Flight Oct. 8th

So, this Wednesday is the beginning of a very big Journey for Roode and I. We fly to Germany Oct. 8th to begin our training at Fleyenhof with Hubertus Schmidt. I will keep posts here for the remainder of the year and the coming year '09. This will be a dedicated spot to journaling all entries for the experience ahead. I hope you enjoy them and ask anything you like.
The following entries were from previous months and have nothing to do with the big move.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Katie and Roode

Roode is doing very well! He got his highest score yet at the PSG at a show two weeks ago in Mystic. He got a 68.750% with a score of 72.750% from the judge at C. It was awesome and here's just a pic of him for a photo that was needed for The European trip I'm going on in 3 weeks!

Robert Dover

Last Weekend(May 17 and 18th) Roode and I rode as a Prix St. George Demonstration for auditors with Robert Dover. It was incredible to say the least. I've learned a lot. Roode was not super great but I'd rather him that than perfect with nothing to work on. He was basicly figity in the mouth and Robert helped with gaining that connection through leg driving aids and building Roode's confidence. He also helps with me gaining a real understanding of the quality of canter in which Roode must go! And boy, Roode was jumping. He was working harder than anything he had done in a while...we both were.

Before I even arrived to Massachusetts for the symposium, getting Roode ready to go was wild! After I gave him a bath and pulled some mane, he knew something was up and he turned into a very naughty, fire -breathing dragon. Then, he just almost couldn't contain himself once on the trailer but once moving he calmed. It was pouring rain when we arrived and finally my saddle came and we were able to get it fitted while there and it was super through the weekend. All 8 horses in the clinic were geldings and they all were very content all weekend. And it also stayed dry for the weekend and then started to rain again when leaving on Sunday. : ) and Roode was fine for the trip home...completely fine.

And then this entire week we've just continued with the same work and Roode just keeps getting better. Tomorrow, sat. and Sunday, We are having a Henk van Bergen clinic here at the farm and I am very excited..more to come. 5/24-25/'08.

Hot Stuff

Today, Roode was alright. We started work in the field and I think he was a little overwhelmed with the nice weather and working outside again. soo... he was a little had to contain and he wanted to just kind of blow through me and I had a tough time getting my half halts to really go through his body. But he got better and with all his energy, he became better with his HOT attitude. We then went into the arena to finish work with half steps and canter work. Roode did very well with the half step work. The issue there is only that he has an extreme talent for it but the rider has to be very correct. My half halts sometimes give the wrong message when I'm asking for collected walk or the passage. But, all in all he really sat down and gave a lovely passage that transitioned with the hind leg and ended nicely.

The canter work was a little frustrating. His shoulders get down hill and he stops moving his neck with the motion and the tempo can lose 3 beat. But we ended successfully. I'll add the positive...only I get frustrated when I cannot explain this problem and fix it.