So little to do, So much time...WAIT reverse that....

Do you all remember the first few weeks of school; you wore all your new clothes, did all your homework with all your new binders and notebooks, and you were always up before the alarm went off...well there was not much time for that at Will Coleman Equestrian! I am working on completing my first month as a Will Coleman Equestrian team member and I hit the ground running! There is so much to cover since my last blog...so be prepared for the roller coaster ride that is this post!!

I brought Vintage Trial and Pixie over to Will's on the first of the month and just a few days later we all shipped off to Stuart horse trials. Will had 6 horses going and I took Vinny in the prelim there. Stuart was a blast! It has been a little while since I have traveled with a large group of horses and an actual "team". Andrea, Will's head groom, and JD, one of the working students, left on Wednesday to ship up with the majority of the horses and Will and I left on Thursday with the final few horses. Stuart was the first outing in a while for allot of Will's horses since his injury earlier this spring. It is such a great event and is so well run that it made for a fun weekend. The courses were challenging but asked all the appropriate questions at the appropriate time. Vinny was a STAR! He is so much fun to ride around any course! Even though I had just been apart of WCE for a few days earlier, I was already starting to see and feel the affects of it in my riding at Stuart. I really believe that you must surround yourself with the situation that you want to be in. What I mean by this is that, after even just a few days of hitting the ground running at Will's farm, watching him ride his horses, riding his horses, and listening to him teach, I was able to take that level of dedication and thoroughness and it shinned through at Stuart.

I am rather hard on myself as a rider and, as most of us are, a bit of a perfectionist. While it is important to always strive to be better, Will was quick to point out to me how detrimental this could be. On the second day of me riding for him and us talking about all the horses, he stopped me and shared a few tips on tackling my mental game. Then, just a few days later, I trotted into that show jumping arena at Stuart like I owned it. Granted, Vinny is an unbelievable jumper, I jumped a clean round to finish in the ribbons. Go Vinny...it's your birthday...go Vinny. Oh--and get this--after Will jumped 6 horses and was indeed in the last division he got in the car and drove back to Virginia to be at home on Monday to ride the horses that were left at home! What a beast! Being surrounded by people that are willing to bust their butts for each other and for their horses alike is truly addicting. As most of you know it has been hot enough to fry and egg on your head, therefore we have been starting the barn early and at one point Will was on his first horse at 6 and I was on mine at 7!

After Stuart, Will went to Katie Prudent for a few lessons on some of the greener horses. Naturally, I tagged along to watch and Kassidy, another one of Will's students, went as well. On the way up to the lesson Kassidy shared on of her entrepreneurial ideas with us...a PB&J shop. I feel as though road trips really bring people together. They are also fun for some sight seeing...hence the picture of the Viking ship that I saw on 81N. On an educational note, the lessons were great to watch. Katie really touches on all aspects of a persons riding, from position to technique, and the horses really respond.

Vaunted is up and running again and ready to go! I am planning his fall schedule out and due to some financial constraints, I plan on attending some horse trials and the Plantation CIC***. I am very excited to get Will's help with Vaughn soon. Vaughn is still at Bonnie's farm right now as I have Pixie over at Will's. I am looking to find Pixie a new situation as she is super calm, sweet, and brave, but I really do miss having Vaunted with me. It is strange I know, but think of this: You know how when you get dressed in the morning, go out the door, and just as you are in the car driving out your driveway, you feel a large hole in the big toe area of your sock....yea that is what not having Vaunted with me is like...a large hole in my sock...and it's there all day. Everyone knows that feeling. So I would love to find Pixie a home through a lease to buy or something along those lines.

I am very excited about what the future holds. Will and I are looking to do some more teaching out of the farm and get involved with the eventing community more. So if you are interested in any help with your horse or just have a question please feel free to contact us! In the mean time, I am going to go do some laundry as I have gone through all my "new school clothes".