Catch Up

Here's you: Bored reader. Here's me: S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D. I've been a horrible blogger but I'm re-organizing my life this weekend so I promise I WILL start being better. I've spread myself too thin but that's all about to change. In the meantime, I'll catch you up with my horse-y life.

Everything at SMC is going well, although I do feel a bit overwhelmed. Yesterday I went out, hoping to be home by 7 p.m. which gave me a little of three hours of riding time. Unfortunately, although I'm not totally complaining, I had six horses to ride. I managed to get to five of them before I absolutely had to get home. I love riding and I love helping SMC out but when I have that many horses to work in that short a time I feel stressed and rushed and do only a mediocre job (which totally annoys me). I got home around 8:30 p.m. and had tons of other work that needed to get down before I could relax.

Anyways, back to the horses... my mom and I made a joint decision to not go ahead with Zee. She is a wonderful horse but we both felt it wasn't the right thing to do. I have to admit, I was a bit heartbroken, but I'll get over it and as my mom always says: "There is ALWAYS a better one down the road." Zee is doing well though and people are lining up to come out and see her and the other 3-year-old, Zipi.

Tara has been good. I jumped her bigger this week, about 3'3", in preparation for the show on Monday, Oct. 8, in Clinton, CT. The jumps are no problem for her but she has been a little sticky on her right-to-left lead change. I don't think it is a physical problem though, just bad habit.

I didn't take any pics yesterday because I was s.t.r.e.s.s.e.d and rushed (see above apology) but I will try to take some on Sunday.

Off to Editing class now,

EDV

It's worth it

Whether you're interested in show jumping, dressage or just the horse-world in general you should subscribe to Phelps Sports. You pay an annual fee but it's well worth it.

Busy, Busy

Sorry, I haven't written in a while. I've been super busy with two part-time jobs and school (plus I've been sick...ugh), but I will try to be better about posting. And I still have not gotten any photos of the horses at SMC (I know... sorry again). For this post, I will try to give you an update on all the horses and a random photo (just to keep it a little interesting).

Zee- She's still my favorite. Michelle (SMC trainer/rider) will ride her two or three days per week and I'll ride her one. As of now, my mom is planning to come up the second week of October to look at her again and we'll take it from there. Remember when my mom was up a couple weekends ago? Well, she videotaped Zee and then watched it on the tv when she got home. She told me that the more she watched the video, the more she liked Zee. Good news for me...

Zipi- He is doing well. Melanie (a SMC rider/trainer) is working with him one-on-one now. I know that a woman was coming out to SMC today to look at both him and Zee. I'll let you know how that went as soon as I know.

Fitz- Melanie is also working with him and he's been going well. She jumped him over little cross-rails and flower-boxes yesterday.

Tara- She is doing super. After winning five out of six classes at the CMHSS show she got a couple days off. I jumped her 3' today which is a little bigger than we've been jumping. She was super and I plan to show her at a show in CT on October 8. She'll do the Adult Hunters, which is a solid 3'.

Lindy- Michelle has been working with her since she got back from her honeymoon. She's been super and might also go to the Oct. 8th show.

This week, I'll be at the barn on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. I PROMISE to get some pictures but, in the meantime, here is a random picture. Can you guess who it is? Hint: she also has a blog and was on an Animal Planet tv show. I took this picture at the 2007 Monmouth County Horse Show in Freehold, NJ.


Talk to you soon,
EDV

Huge Success

My alarm went off at 4am but it was worth it because the CMHSS show was a huge success. Tara showed in the schooling hunters and adult hunters, winning five out of six classes. She was super and I plan to show her again on October 8 a a show in Clinton, CT. Lindy was also a superstar. She's only 4 years old but you would have never known it. I schooled her in the morning and then showed her in four classes in the afternoon. She was so well behaved - even the judge asked if she was for sale. We got back to SMC around 3:30pm and my parents were waiting for me when I got there.

My mom watched me ride Zee (or as my dad likes to call her: Allison, Jr) and agreed that she is special. She videotaped, so I got to see what she looked like (up till now I've only ridden her and haven't actually seen her go). She looked even better than I thought she would. Needless to say, I was thrilled that my mom liked her.

I'm heading out to the barn this afternoon and will ride Zee, Tara and a new project, Lantana. As of now, I also plan to show Lantana at that October 8th show in CT. She is for sale as a prospective Jr/AO jumper. I've never ridden her before so I'll let you know how today goes.

And, as always, I'll keep you updated on Zee.

Talk to you soon,
Elise

Gearing up for CMHSS

Tomorrow, Sat 9/22, SMC is attending a Central Mass Horse Show Series show in Spencer, MA. I haven't been to this facility before but I've heard that it's a great schooling school and a lot of SMC's younger students will be going. I'll be schooling two horses, Lindy and Tara. In my previous post, I ran out of time before I was able to brief you on these two. So...

Tara: She came in with the other sale horses (Zee, Zipi, Fitz & Lindy) but the head trainer/owner of SMC Stables quickly bought her as a re-sale project. She is the most trained of all the horses and has competed at HITS Ocala and other top-rated horse shows. She is very classy (beautiful chestnut) and would make an extremely fancy Children's Hunter or Junior Hunter. I'll be showing her tomorrow in the adult hunter and schooling hunter divisions.

Lindy: She is 4 years old and has already been sold to a SMC customer. She is very mature for her age and walks, trots, canters and has just begun jumping crossrails. Tomorrow will be her second show and I plan on just riding her around the facility (getting her used to the atmosphere) and, if she feels up to it, taking her in one or two flat classes. After the show, the plan is for me to stop working her and for her new mom to take over.

On Sunday, my mom is meeting me at the barn to video Tara and Zee for potential sales. My mom and I have people in mind (back home in NJ) that might be interested in them. We also plan to free-jump Zee for the first time (keep your fingers crossed).

This afternoon, I'm heading out to the barn to ride all five horses and clean up Tara and Lindy for the show. If I have time, I'll give Zee a bath so she looks extra special for my Mom (yup... trying my hardest to have my mom fall in love with her).

I'll try to post on Sunday and let you know how the show went. Also, I'm going to try to add photos.

Talk to you soon,
EDV

The Projects

I think it is important for you to get to know the horses I'll be working with over the next few months (or at least until they get sold) so this blog entry will focus on each horse individually. Over the next couple weeks I hope to add pictures so that you can put a face to the name.

Zee - She's my favorite. She is very mature for only being 3 years old and is a very quick learner - she's less than 90 days under tack and already walks and trots outside of the round-pen and steers like a pro. I think I said this is my first blog entry, but she reminds me SO much of a grand prix horse I know. I think that, in the right hands, she could easily be a top-level jumper. My mom is coming up this weekend (Sept. 22-23) to watch her go (I'm not-so-secretly hoping that my mom falls in love with her and buys her, but that's a long-shot). Hopefully, we will free-jump her this weekend so I can get a better feel for her raw talent.

Zipi - Also, 3 years old. He has a very sweet demeanor but is more immature than Zee. A typical gelding, he tries to do what is asked of him but is not as quick to learn as Zee. He doesn't steer so well so usually I ride him in the round-pen or on a lunge line. I've ridden him free in the indoor ring but it's not so productive (it's kind of like a free horse because he doesn't always listen to me). There is one "issue" with him but I think it's only temporary. Last week, I attempted to work with him while other horses were being ridden and he had a mini-meltdown. He seemed confused by the whole scene. I just walked him around (on the ground) while the others rode around him in an attempt to get him used to the idea - I didn't get too far. But, the next time I rode him it didn't seem to have "fried" his brain or anything because he was calm and relaxed as usual (although, there was no one else in the ring). Besides that one issue he is a very sweet horse and I think has a good amount of potential. He just needs to grow up a bit.

Fitz: He is a 5-year-old Oldenburg. He has a very calm demeanor but, unfortunately, he wasn't broke until the same time as the 3-year-olds (90 days ago). Usually, the longer you wait to break a horse the more problems come along with it. Luckily, Fitz seems to be coming along fine. He had a bit of a setback with cantering but seems to have gotten past that. I ride him inside and out & walk, trot and canter. He is one of the sale horses that I will be working with exclusively.

I'm out of time for today, more homework to do for other classes, but I will tell you about Tara in my next blog entry. I've also been working with Lindy, a 4-year-old, but she is not for sale.

Thanks,
EDV

Intro

I've always been a fan of blogs (absolutely love I'm Quietly Judging You) but I have never started my own because I've always felt that I could never be as witty or as sarcastic as the blogs I love. Why write a mediocre blog when I can read a fabulous one? Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I am now forced to write a blog for my Online Journalism class at Northeastern University. We must post four to five times per week and include different writing styles, photos, etc. I've chosen to blog about the only true passion in my life: horses.

My mom is a trainer in NJ and I sat on my first horse before I could even crawl. My parents bought me my first pony, Skeeter, when I was 3 years old. She was the best pony in the world. I learned to canter on my mom's Saddlebred, Nelly, when I was in first or second grade. When I was about 10 years old, my riding changed direction. I grew up riding Saddleseat (often confused with Standardbreds, but completely different) but the closest Saddleseat barn was in PA (I grew up on the NJ coast). So, I switched to hunter/jumper world and was immediately hooked. For those of you that don't know, hunters and jumpers are those that jump fences (anywhere from under 18" to over 5' in height), usually in a sand or grass fenced-in area. I'll give you the shortened version of the next 12 years: for the majority of my riding life (1996-2004) I've ridden with Callan Solem and Carol Thompson at Quiet Winter Farm, located in Colts Neck, NJ. Carol, owner and head trainer at QWF, gave me amazing opportunities over the years. At QWF, I rode some horses that will forever have a piece of my heart (namely, Sinepuxent Bay and Castle Rock). I got the opportunity to show all over the East Coast at "AA" shows and, after my freshman year at Northeastern, I spent three months in Ireland riding and learning about the 3-day eventing world. Unfortunately, when I started college in 2003 my riding life took a blow. I went from riding six days a week to, if I was lucky, riding whenever I got to go home for the holidays.

Then, during the spring '07 semester, I found SMC Stables. I began taking lessons (about $75 a pop) so that I could get my "horse fix." In May, I informed the trainer that I would be going to Florida for the summer for an internship with a PR firm. To my delight, she asked me return in the fall as a rider (not a student) and help her with the sale horses. I was thrilled, to say the least. Now, I wouldn't have to pay to ride.

So, that's where I am now. I began during the first week of September and have been working four sale horses and one customer's horse. And, to add to my joy, I think I've found a "diamond in the rough." Zee, a 3-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare, is a spitting image of Callan's grand prix horse, Allison. I just love her. I think she could be a top-level horse when she grows up. My mom is planning to come up to visit next weekend and I'm going to have her look at Zee to get someone else's opinion.

That's about it for the intro. Today's class is about over and I have to run to my next class, Editing. For my next post, I'll talk a little about each horse individually and their progress.

Thanks,
EDV