Cheeseburger in Paradise!

WOW! I want to start by saying a HUGE HUGE congratulations to everyone at Rolex 2010. I am honored to say that a few of good friends were competing at Rolex this year. Everyone looked amazing and there was allot of talent galloping around as well as leading the way. From an onlooker the weekend was a success. Oliver's fall was unfortunate and I know that we are all wishing him a speedy recovery. In allot of the reports about the course and the layout of said course, the general comment seemed to be that it was easier this year and more of a generous track. From a personal soap box I must reply with this, a four star is a freakin four star! I realize that to some extent the technical stuff may have been a little less than years past but the heights, widths, distance, and atmosphere is still that of a four star. After Vaunted and I jumped around Rolex in a confident, quick, and overall pleasant way, (in my personal opinion of course :) ) I was lucky enough to then travel over to Badminton with Bonnie. When I walked around that course I will say that it was a bit trickier with a few combinations and it never really let you take a breather. However, Badminton is known to have the reputation of being one of the hardest four stars in the world. Rolex, mind you, has the reputation of being the "largest stage" of the four stars. All that being said, when I heard people saying that Rolex in 2009 was like a 3.5* I must say it was a hit to the gut in some small way. The guts that it took for me to go out there on my little OTTB and jump around with all those people watching and warming up for the first time with the likes of Lucinda, William Fox-Pitt, Tim Lipps, and all the other big riders from all those other countries, was huge! To walk around the xc course Saturday morning with my number on and have people taking my picture, who mind you have no idea who I am, and then to walk up to the Normandy Bank and have Lucinda ask me what line I'm taking....almost made me vomit! The moral of this "rant" is that I want to give a MONUMENTAL high five to everyone that even entered that little event they call Rolex! I hope to cross that finish line a hundred more times in my life but I can only imagine that nothing can replace the feeling of crossing the finish line for the first time aboard my best friend. Non-the-less I will be sure and test that hypothesis out many times over and let you know my findings.

It was a bit hard to be at home this past weekend. I must give a big thanks to EventingNation. John did a great job covering the event and even though my internet at the farm is rather slow, we were still able to get his reports. Eventing is a much different sport than most and for that I know that we are all grateful! It is such a emotional and mental roller coaster. Which leads me into the title of this blog. You see I am a massive Jimmy Buffett fan. My parents are parrot heads and I guess I just grew up with it. I have a few major goals in life; aside from the glaring one, I want to live in a fancy hotel, and have the lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett. That means operating on island time! Oh, and get little umbrella drinks with every dinner, but that is just and insignificant detail. Not having Vaunted at Rolex this year and making the decision to let him do his thing for a bit has given me a bit of time to try and bring everything back to the big picture somehow....insert Jimmy. I must copy some of the lyrics from his song Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes;

I took off a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year

All of the places and all of the faces

Wonderin' where they all disappeared

I didn't ponder the question to long

I was hungry and went out for a bite

...
Chorus:

Changes in latitude changes in attitude

Nothing remains quite the same

Through all of islands and all of the highlands

If we couldn't laugh then we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport

Reminds me of places I've been

Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure

Makes me want to go back again

If it suddenly ended tomorrow

I could somehow adjust to the fall

Good times and riches and son of a bitches

I've seen more than I can recall

...

Oh, yesterdays over my shoulders

So I cant look back for too long

There's just too much to see waiting in front of me

And I know that I just cant go wrong

I mean, if you are an eventer, you have to be able to relate to at least one line of this song! We change out "latitudes" just about every weekend, nothing remains the same with horses, and we are often times being asked to change our outlook on any given day! For goodness gracious everyone knows how much I love to laugh!! The louder the better. At the risk of over analyzing I really do think that we cant look back for too long, like good ole Jimmy said there is just too much to see! It is so easy to get caught up in the what's hot and what's not thing. It is so easy to see who likes who and who is the new kid in class. It is so easy to blame someone else or worse the horse your sitting on. Now I am not saying that I have a specific reference or anything at all with this, but it is for my own mental clarity that I say this. As in any profession, you have to "play the game" to an extent to roll with the big dogs. That being said the scoreboard and results don't lie and you know what...if something suddenly ended tomorrow, we could all adjust to the fall. Being apart of a couple upper level event teams, I know how easy it can be to get wrapped up in the right now, the visions of good times and how much you want something. However the thing that makes the good things so much better, the speed bumps along the way. Oh that Jimmy Buffett, he is such a wise sailor and a savvy business man! So the next time you are eating a cheeseburger at a horse show, holding your best steed, take a moment and try recall the whole year and all those faces...(insert umbrella drink)...then give a laugh

Here is a fun link to this song live in the 70's: Jimmy

My Horse is WILD and My Phone is QUIET!

Bonnie told me 2 weeks ago that the next 3 weeks will suck for me. She was right. Last weekend the crew went to Fair Hill and I was at home by myself....I hate being by myself! I did have approx 6 horses to ride and chores to do so that was good fun.

However, any of you that know me know that I talk on the phone more than a Wall street stock broker...really I do. Not this week though. I want to wish all my friends at Rolex the very, very, BEST luck!! I also want to let them know that a phone call every now and again would not kill them! I love knowing whats going on from riders to grooms alike. On a side note, I am learning that this sport can be a funny scene as a profession. It is often times hard to describe the level at which you have to be dedicated in order to make a real go of it. Sometimes people get in and had no idea how tough it can be and decided that the upper level world is not for them. To each his own. For me, I love it, I thrive in it, the more I do the happier I am. That being said it makes it even harder when things don't go as planned.

I have said it time and time again, but it does take an army/village to get just one horse to the top. Therefore everyone invests their blood, sweat, and tears into that one thing. Everyone from the grooms, to the riders, to the owners, to the cheering squad, each have their own level of emotions involved. I have worked in several upper level barns when you have to go to plan B and it is amazing how everyone has to ban together. I must thank everyone for their support for Vaunted and I. Vaunted right now is such a pain in the butt!! He is wild...I have to graze him on a massive lunge line so when he tries to run away or leap, rear, buck, I can hang on. I am giving him all the time he needs right now. I am taking it rather slow and conservative. While he is sound, I just feel as though I need to let him tell me when he is fully recovered from the surgery.

Typically, I like to consider myself a bit of a realist. Meaning that I know horses get hurt sometimes and things don't always go according to plan. However allot of this sport is built on dreams. Isn't that odd, it is really a very odd profession, but we all love it. OK, so this is how I see it....please feel free to comment....but I've been doing allot of thinking and this is what I came up with; In order to be good at something, I mean really good, it seems to me that you have to devote 500% of yourself to said task. However, doing say may lead to some mild form of insanity and bad judgements and not doing the so called "right thing". Therefore how does one balance all of that while still being true to their beliefs and not getting sucked into the whole, "keeping up with the Jones' " thing. When I figure that one out I will be a freakin genius. I do think that it is different for each person. I believe that for me and only having one big horse, limited funds, and the strong desire to continue learning under someone, I have to keep moving forward. With that statement, it is important to me to make sure that I am true to my beliefs and what I know I am capable of. I know that I am capable of making the best out of what I have...I am going to hone in on those Mcgiver instincts. I am also going to take all the knowledge that came out of this and make sure I file it in the right place to one day pull it out again to help someone else. Not having Vaunted at Rolex this year does set me back a bit. However it has opened a few new doors that I might not have seen if I was at Rolex.

For example, a good friend of mine, Molly Bull is with child! Therefore she is wanting to send me her training/prelim youngster to ride and compete. Also we have been working on getting more sale horses in and riding and competing them. I have also been able to help a fellow competitor, Will Coleman, while he is healing from his fall at The Fork. All of this has been great. The bad part is that all of Will's stirrups are to freakin long and I have to roll them...all of them...how embarrassing! He only kind of makes fun of me for that. I love opportunities like this. You get to see how someone else's thought process works and how their barn is run and it is just another bit of information for the future. It is amazing what you can learn by just being around. It is also a good time to really take a look at where I can make my role more present in Bonnie business. I do love riding and teaching the working students but I also know that I am able to take this very situation and use it to lead by somewhat of an example. Everyone jokes that I am just a bit neurotic when it comes to my horses and my stuff and that is just how I am. However that neurosis definitely paid off this spring, in the simple way that I will be able to have a fall season and more with my horse. I could go on about this for years, but you get the idea.

This past few weeks I have been suddenly allot more laid back! It is funny how once you make a decision and remove the stress you are able to eat, sleep, and laugh allot more! As many of you can attest to...I laugh often and loud! Conor and Liz, our working students, have been loving the "skip the 4*" Ashley. We suddenly go out for lunch a little more and I am not having a panic attack over every little scrape or bump. Liz is on track to make the big move up to prelim in a couple weeks and Conor is on his way the the CCI** at Jersey Fresh. They both make me laugh NON STOP!! My good friend and fellow "Team Vaunted" member, Betsy Harrison, just sent me single handedly the most amazing gift I have ever gotten. She sent me this picture of a T-shirt that she made for Vaunted and I. It is amazing. I laughed so hard, I scared the working students. Lainey Ashker has always called my horse "Deer Head", she thinks that he has a deer shaped head. It has just stuck with everyone. So Betsy put, "Got Deer Head", on the front of the shirt...glorious!

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and that I will be writing you next week about how wonderful all the training horses that I have are. I hopefully will not be telling you that Vaunted got loose and ran down highway 15. He might though, he is really out of control. I am looking forward to see what other doors are available and ready to prove that a little hard work will go a long way. Until next time GOOD LUCK TO ALL AT ROLEX!!! Vaunted and I are ready to hear all the details when all you guys get home!

Everything Happens for a Reason...It still Sucks!

First I must start by apologizing for the tardiness of this blog. I have spent the last week putting allot of information together.

Allow me to digress for a moment or two. When I purchased Vaunted as a 4 y.o. OTTB, he had a few chips in his ankle as most race horses do. He then went on to compete at the CCI**** level with these chips and proved to be the machine that I only dreamed about. After much deliberation with my vet, farrier, and coach I made the decision last fall to skip the Fair Hill CCI*** and have Vautned's chips taken out to only aid in his future career. All went very, very well and he was back in action and looking better than ever this spring. I followed all the recommendation and did everything that the vet's and farrier suggested. Anyone who knows me, knows that when it comes to this horse, I would rather skip meals then let him go a day without what he needs.

After he got a few good runs in this spring he came up a bit foot sore and through some diagnostic work I found that the shoes that I had him in were affecting a few of his angles which in turn could make his ankle sore. Therefore I allowed him the time to cool everything down while still doing his conditioning work as I knew from chatting with my team I was not facing any possible long term damage. I knew this because of all the diagnostic work that I had done just to make sure that everything was in top shape structurally. I changed his shoeing and made the decision not to run him at 2 events. Well on Thursday just 2 weeks before Rolex, Vaunted came up a bit sore again. If you are a regular visitor to this blog, I first thank you, and second I am sure that you are aware of the uncanny relationship that Vautned and I have. That being said, on Thursday I made the decision not to take my wonderful horse to Rolex this year. He just needs a bit more time to let that ankle calm down after surgery.

This is the first season that this horse will miss in the nearly 8 years of competition. After talking to Dr. Brady, I could run him and see what happened and have some amount of confidence that nothing serious would happen. For me that was, in no way an option. I was joking with Bonnie that she should really be paying Vaunted for me to work for her and not me. He is the reason that I am where I am and he is, as corny as it is, my best friend. It was not even a question for me when I found out that after his next to last "hard" gallop, he was not 100% happy, to take him or not. This horse is an athlete and a competitor just like us riders. Therefore I knew that if I placed those jumps in front of him he would do everything in his power to make that a good run. I also knew that I may be compromising something else in him by placing those jumps in front of him. There is just no need for that.

I think that, for me, the hardest thing about missing Rolex this year is that Vautned will be missing it. That horse deserves to be out there on that course getting the recognition that he deserves. It also makes me a bit mad at myself for putting a bit more thought into his recovery back in Sept/Oct. The standard protocol for this fairly common surgery is a month stall rest. Vaunted has never been on stall rest in his life with me. For that I am lucky, one, and two, should have put that into consideration. His body is not used to being in a stall for that long. In hindsight, which is always 20/20, Dr. Brady says that maybe he should have started being ridden sooner and had more turnout a bit quicker. Well you live and learn right...and then get Loves...what a great commercial.

Vaunted is just going to have a couple weeks off and then start up again (without the 8 min. gallops) and he will be back this fall. It is very upsetting to me as this is my only horse and he is my world. However I must say that I am so lucky to have gone this far without a glitch in the time table. Not to mention that this is really very fixable and very much so just bad timing. Everyone says that the key to a good relationship is communication and well here you go! I am lucky to have several other horses to ride and compete and with Bonnie getting ready for Rolex I have been working with her as well as helping all of the working students get ready for there three days. Vaunted is a bit confused and now kind of a pain in the you know what. As he is rather fit and does not really understand why he is not getting messed with 24/7. That is kind of my thing, to bother him all the time. :)

I find myself suddenly able to eat large quantities and I have also become rather laid back...ha go figure, the Rolex diet is over and the stress level just plummeted. I however am fumbling with a few questions. We all have seen the change in the sport and it goes without saying that there are allot more competitors of my generation that find themselves in perhaps another tax bracket than the rest of us. Ok fine, that saying "keeping up with the Jones' " had to come from somewhere right. So the game is changing...so how does someone that has limited funds, a couple horses to compete, and a smaller resource pool to pull from, play this game now. Well this is what I have come up with. You put your head down, work harder, market, and sell the knowledge that you have that those others will never have. They will never have that knowledge because somethings you just cant buy. Again with the corny saying but I swear it's true! I have got some wonderful sale horses that are going to be going training/prelim this spring and summer and you never know what tomorrow will bring. In my case last week, it brought some bad news, but this is a new week and that is horses! Vaunted has given me allot of his time to work on furthering my knowledge and skills, and now I am going to give him, in comparison, a small amount of my time so he can get back to 200%. In the meantime I am going to pick up all the extra work I can find in order to get these pesky three day bills paid for!

My next competition is going to be Plantation Field with a 2 training horses that are for sale. "Isbond", who is another OTTB and Bonnie owns, and "Vinny", who is a new sale addition to our farm and is proving to be a very fancy high jumper! I added a picture of Isbond from CDCTA that Brant Gamma took. Vinny is also pictured with his owner. I am also hoping to get my little "Pixie" to here first show this summer. It's funny how when I cant make Vaunted work hard these other guys get to step up to the plate! We do have several openings for sales horses or training horses right now and welcome any inquires.

I would like to close this rather long thought process with a few very, very, very, large THANK YOUS. First to you the reader, second to FITS and Sheryl Rudolph, thank you so much for your support and great product. Third to Beyond Indigo Equine. Kelly and her team and Beyond Indigo have been generous enough to sponsor a web site for me that you will be seeing soon. Check them out at http://www.beyondindigoequine.com/ I would also like to send a big thank you to Mike J. Mcnally. You can find him at http://www.mjmsporthsphoto.com/ He has some the of the best photos that you can ever hope for! Also to all my friends that have listen to me, supported me, and understand how important this great horse is to me. I know that everyone will be cheering him on in a few months time.

There is going to be allot "going down" here at Point Above Farm in the next couple of weeks. Bonnie told me that now that I will be the calm one for the next few weeks, I get to keep everyone on the right track...oh great....cause I am so good at not getting distracted by shinny things. Just kidding, I only get distracted by things that spin.

Get In the Game

I am three weeks out from KY. I have been working hard on getting Vaunted where he needs to be at this point and I got the go ahead from Dr. Brady and from Bonnie to continue on with my plan. If I were to sit here and tell you that I am cool, calm, and collected, I would be lying so much that my nose would grow long enough that I could build a bridge to Australia.

Vaunted is looking good. He is at a good weight, well muscled, on schedule for his gallops, and has getting those half passes down. However I have got more things going through my head than a I-95 toll booth. It is now when I am so thankful to have such a great coach behind me. While Bonnie is also competing at KY and has her own demons to worry about she is so supportive of Vaunted and I. She just keeps telling me to be patient and to remember that I am on a horse that I have been doing advanced on for 4 years now and have a partnership that is iron clad. At the end of the day he knows how to jump, knows how to answer all the questions out on course, and knows how to do the movements in the dressage. My goal now is to put the polish on that and make sure that I don't let my insecurities transfer over to him. She just keeps telling me that Vaunted will tell me what he needs from me and what is right for that day.

Horses are horses. Each day is a bit different than before. Therefore each day has a new question to ask. I think that is really why we all love doing it so much, right? If they were the same everyday then we would all be on the Olympic team! That leads me into my next thought, "the team". I have been lucky enough to be approached a couple of times by either Mark or one of his group members about my horse and I. However there have been a few things that I still need to improve on before I go down that avenue. I admire so much those that are able to keep their composure while having the team and the thoughts of the team breathing down their necks. While I do want to be apart of that atmosphere and that intensity, I always think of what Kim once said to me. She told me that she thinks it is a blessing that she was not able to go to ride for the team in Atlanta. (I think that was when it was) At any rate, she was in her mid 20's and while she was very disappointed at that time she said it was in the long run maybe a good thing. She was young and she said she had allot to learn before she was able to go out and show everyone what she was made of. I must say, from what I have seen this sport is one that longevity is only going to help you. It is amazing to listen to stories of the true greats in the sport due to the fact that they have so much first hand experience with everything and their reasons for doing something is not just because they read it out of a book.

I take great pride in the fact that I am able to work for someone else and still compete at the upper levels. While it is with great thanks to Bonnie for allowing my to keep my horse as first priority, as she does with Murry, it is a learning experience everyday. I know that while I have been lucky enough to do all that I have at such an early part of my career, there is still so much to do and so much to observe. This game is very much mental as it is physical. That being said I think that for where I am at in this juncture, I have to work on my mental conditioning as well as my physical conditioning. Easier said than done but I will give it a go for the sanity of my horse and everyone around me! :) Without those people, I would not be here.

Having missed both Southern Pines and The Fork, I question myself and if I will be ready. Not my horse, me. I spoke with Bonnie about this and she said, "Ashley, how many horses did you jump today, 4, OK well you only have to jump 1 at KY and that one knows how to jump and knows your thoughts before you have them!" She is (as usual) right. I am lucky right now to be able to jump everything from Vaunted, to a training horse, to the little baby Pixie! Although these horses are at very different levels I have been able to work on myself and my position which will allow me to be better on Vaunted. So while I did steal a few of those "air sick" bags from the plane on the way back from teaching in KY, I will put them away for now and focus on today. Focus on what I can change and not what I can't. I know Vaughn, I know my coach's cell number,(and where she lives!) and I know how to ride my horse.

While all of that is rather heavy, I wanted to mention the clinic that I taught in Lexington KY this past weekend. I was lucky enough to be asked to teach the UKY Event Team. What a great group of "Kids". (seeing as how most of them are rather close to my age!) We had a wonderful facility, to which I must thank Marty Whitehouse for the use of her farm Red Gate. When I was flying into KY it was amazingly beautiful. What a wonderful place. However I got off the plane and saw a million and one signs for the WEG's. While I do not plan on attending as a rider, I still got nervous!! There were even coasters at the airport bar that were adverts for the WEG's. The clinic was a great success and it was fun chatting with everyone Sat. night. Unfortunately the UK game was on at the same time and there was a little sadness in the air when they lost...I am not a sports fan but I felt their pain. Also, as a funny side note, the guy on the tarmak kind of looked like Charlie Sheen...so I took a picture, then I got yelled at by the airline attendant to turn off my cell phone. I have this secret plan in life to be an airline stewardess so I obeyed the rules. Thanks you guys so much for a great weekend and can't wait to come back!!!

I am only sure about the inner working of a few of the upper level riders but I know that for myself, at 3 weeks out from a huge event....I am going to STOP second guessing myself and ride. I am going to listen to Vaunted and trust my coach and my plan. Oh, I will also probably start packing...Bonnie gets so mad at me because I am such an over packer....I'm like a boy scout, always prepared!

Ok...Here's the thing....

I am certain about a few things, and I do mean a few. They are: I am Ashley Adams, I ride a horse named Vaunted that I know, trust, and will do almost anything for, and we (being Vaunted and myself) are a month out from one of the biggest events in the world! People say worry about the things that you know, and folks, I gotta tell ya, that really doesn't make it much easier.

At the beginning of the season I had this great plan that was flawless.... well, shockingly, nothing goes as planned. I had to change a few things and skip Southern Pines and listen to my horse. I ended up taking him up to, my farrier, Doug Neilson in PA. Doug is the best farrier of all time! He is so receptive to my thoughts and to my talking and listening to my vet, Dr. Keith Brady at Old Dominion Equine. Doug looked at Vaunted's feet and spoke with Dr. Brady.

**Side Note** Dr. Brady is Kim Severson's vet and has been for a long time. Actually, Dr. Brady is the vet that did the pre purchase on Vaughn when he was a 4 year old for me. It is crazy to think that I have known him for going on 10 years and he has been with Vaunted from the get go...and it is crazy to think that he will still take my calls after all this time. I ask so many questions! He is also one of the few people that thinks my jokes are funny...it's the little things right. :)

OK back to business, Dr. Brady was concerned of the effects that Vaughns TB feet have on him when he runs fast and jumps high. So we took some pictures and did the works and came up with a solution, glue on flat shoes. I had him in a different shoe and turns out that good ole saying, less is more, is actually applicable. The only issue with this is that it takes a bit of time to get all things back in alignment when you make a change. That being said, I have made the decision not to run at the Fork for this reason. I know that I could run the horse and Dr. Brady and Doug say that it can be done and would not do any damage but may put stress on the angles that we are trying to fix.

Now comes the hard part. Going back to the things I know. I know that I have a horse that is good at what he does. I know that I have a horse that I have been running Advanced on since 2007. I know that the partnership that I have with this horse is not something to sneeze at. I know that the runs that he has had this season were good. I also know that I will not be missing any gallops or jump schools and that he will be fit. I can not predict what will happen tomorrow or next week, much less a month, therefore I will continue talking to my horse. That sounds silly and cliche but I think that is one training aspect that works for Vaunted and I.

Vaughn is my horse, my only horse. I had the pleasure of reading Sinead Halpin's blog earlier this week. If you have not taken a look at it, I highly recommend doing so. She was mentioning in the blog about making the sport bigger and getting more horses into it. I must say that I agree. We all know how hard it is to get the purse strings to allow us to get where we want to go. From vet bills, farrier bills, coaching, shows, board, costs, costs, costs, costs! Without help from others it is next to impossible to make the changes that need to happen in this sport to allow it to grow. For me personally there is no way that I could even dream of having another horse that is actively competing. I am facing some changes right now due to my finical situation. It goes without saying that we all are in this day and time. So the way I see it we must make somewhat of a "grass-roots" movement for the sport.

Personally, if I did not have a job that took care of my overhead for my horse and a small salary as well as side jobs, there is no way I would be able to compete at all much less the top level. We all question what we are doing and if it is all really worth it...give me a break that's life right. Life with an Advanced horse, or any horse of that matter, is no different. Until they can talk and Eventing can start producing more income and winnings, we are going to keep asking that worldly question. While I only have the one horse and a very limited budget, I cant help but think that if all of you out there that are on the same page as me, put our heads together and figure out what we can do to get more people into what we love to do, then that will make out sport better. That is a really long rant saying that it take a village to raise a child and a freakin event horse!!

My plan for Vaunted is to keep training and working on his fitness. As for me I am galloping race horses to make a few extra bucks and to get fit myself. It also teaches you to hold on. uhg. I am excited about the young horses that we have in the barn and I will be competing a few of them before I run Vaughn again, which will keep me sharp. Thanks Bonnie! I have full trust in my team and my horse. Now I just need to find that pesky Luck character and then I will be set. I am also watching some old Rolex and Burghley video's trying to get my head in the game. Thanks to all my friends that keep answering their phones when I call panicking and wanting to freak out! No, REALLY THANKS!!!

Until next time....somebody find me a four leaf clover!!!!

What you hear when you LISTEN

It is Wednesday before Southern Pines and I am in Virginia. I did have Vaunted entered in the Advanced at Southern Pines and on Sunday made the decision not to go. As much as I would love to go and compete and see all my friends and have fun in my old stomping grounds I have to listen to my horse as he is a major part of my team...well he kind of IS my team.

He ran so very well at Red Hills, despite my error. I also feel as though his dressage is on the upward incline and doing well. However when I rode him last week he just felt a bit dull. This is unlike him on so many levels. He is not a horse that comes out to work and does not give his all each and every time. Therefore I stopped thinking about myself and thought about him and what he needs from me at this moment and this point in the game.

When I did that I came up with several things. The first being my partnership with him. I know this horse better than I know myself. We have been through oh so much together and I know how he works. This is something that I have to trust and be a strong believer in. I have to put out of my head who else is on the entry list, when they last did a hard school or a fast run, and focus on what I know works for my horse. The other thing that I came up with is that I have to stop being selfish about what I want to do this weekend and remember that if I did not have this horse, I would not even have a reason to be out there! Vaunted also has a long and strong history, not just eventing but eventing at the Advanced level. That being said just because I want to be out every weekend and going and blowing does not mean that HE NEEDS to. This horse is boarder line unnatural when it comes to showing up to compete. He knows when it is game time and I swear he knows the blue flags, red on right, and he can count. He has had good runs all year and is really stepping his game up. I was talking to a couple of other riders who have their Advanced horses that have done about the same amount as Vaughn and some of them are only running one event before Rolex.

When I stopped looking at the calendar and when I started looking at my horse and really listening to what he was telling me I actually started to feel better about making a new plan. While the end result is the same the side roads are a little different.

When we are down south there is a great facility but not great turn out and they often times suffer with their feet from the sand and the pounding on the sand affect their bodies. Vaunted last week was telling me that his feet were bothering him and his body condition needed turnout and green grass.

When we were at Kim's the horses lived out all the time. Therefore that is what Vaughn thrived on for many years, that is what transformed his body from race horse to event horse, that is what I know he likes. I also know that I am sitting on a TB. He is fast, easily fit, catlike, and has less than stellar feet. You take the good with the bad. But let me be the first to tell you, I sure am glad at minute 11 to be sitting on this TB of mine!! (shout out to all those OTTB!)

I hope to one day have more than one Advanced horse at a time, but for now he is what I have and I am damn proud of it! That being said I have to take all the little extra steps to make sure that I will be able to keep it that way! I am rather over cautious I must admit, but by george he is going to come out stronger for it at the next one. We are taking this week to work on the dressage and do a couple extra trot sets.

Being the first one back to the VA farm is kinda nice. It is quite and calm. However this means that I am to "set the barn up". While you think that it shouldn't be that big of a deal....let me tell you what thus far has taken place. I get back to the farm and all is well. I start to unload all the extra stuff that I packed up from the south, you know the extra blankets, pads, massive trunks, awkward shaped boxes, large tubs, etc. All this stuff needs to go up the stairs to the loft, OK great, one small problem....most of these things are almost as large as me and match or double me in weight....so I have developed a pulley system. I look like a darn FOOL doing it but the job gets done. I also re bedded the stalls, no biggie right...well kind of. We typically use a tractor as the shaving pile is a little far and the stalls are a good size and take a lot of shavings. Well...this kid can't find the tractor. So good ole fashion man power it is! It actually is good for me to get the extra exercise, I guess. :) Doing the shavings is kind of like dragging the arena or the paddocks, instant gratification which I am all about!

Little Pixie also came back with Vaunted and I. She is doing well and working on the adjusting. Before we left the Gibbes she jumped a log and actually jumped so hard and big over it I was almost thinking it was the head of the lake! Good practice. She is having a bit of trouble getting used to her large paddock now but I am hoping she will adjust and stop acting like a loony race horse. :) She is really funny because she loves people and being around people and being in the barn but she is not a big fan of her own kind. IF only they could talk! It's like those movies that you watch when the mom sends her kid to Kindergarten for the first time and the kid wont let go of the mom's leg. Well I have a 15.3 hand kid attached to my leg.....and it is really hairy. Classic.

I took some pictures of the re entering of Virginia via highway 29 north. You know your going the right way when you see mountains. Just like you know your going the right way to the south when you see all those crazy signs for "South of the Boarder". That is also how I give directions, "yea go down 'till you see that funny shaped tree, then turn left there and go to the store with the cat in the window and turn right...". No wonder no one comes to visit me.

Clearly by this blog I have been by myself for a little to long...

Sometimes you feel like a nut sometimes you don't!

Let me first start by saying that Red Hills is a great event. It is very well organized, competitor and spectator friendly, and overall a great event. I was very glad to see so many spectators and the "big wig riders" out in full force this past weekend. Overall it was a good weekend for the event and for most riders. Just a couple miss-haps but nothing major. The courses were great and asked great questions. Of course in true Red Hills style the competitor parties were great! So thank you Red Hills!!

We left for the event at 4 am on Thursday morning. The trip was rather uneventful and smooth sailing for the most part. Until I got off of the exit ramp in Tallahassee. You see there was a large green sign at the top of the ramp that said "Horse Trials" with a large white arrow pointing to the left, so I went left, naturally. Now not only did I decide to go left due to the large green sign but also because there were several other horse trailers that were of the likes of John Holling and such, going to the left as well. A whopping 30 min later I finally found the freakin' place! I was within 4 miles of the event and I did probably 5 Uturns and drove up and down the same rode at least 3 times to look for these roads that are not to the left off the ramp but to the right....damn sign. Later I found out that if you go to the left then the roads all end up connecting behind the large bridge...gah. Bonnie, who drives this massive trailer with her truck (that is circa 1810 mind you) and can only go 70 mph max beat me to the event by a solid 40 min. I hate getting lost and being late! Anywho, we got there and unloaded the ponies, rode, and went off the the competitors party which was feeding us Bonefish, yum!

Dressage day was good. Vaughn was a little up with all the atmosphere as this was the first event that we have been to this year that has had "that show" feeling. The Advanced h.t. horses had to do the Advanced test B which in my opinion is the harder of the two horse trials test. Bonnie and I have been working on his ride ability in the arena and allowing the softness to show up through out the test. Brian seemed to like the direction that we were heading. Vaughn got a little up in the canter work but had clean changes and was rather obedient. My understanding of how he needs to be ridden in the dressage is finally starting to develop. He is not the biggest mover but very correct and has his share of cadence in the arena. We still have a fair amount of things to work on the polish up the test so watch out Brian! Vaunted ended up 2nd in the division just 2.5 points behind Buck's My Boy Bobby. All in all not bad for the first performance of that test.

On XC day I was the first out of the group. The course was challenging and I was really looking forward to having to jump through the crowds and questions. No question was to hard but the course definitely made you pay attention and hold a line. I was particularly worried about 2 main combinations. The double corners 6 strides to a large ditch and wall and a quick turn to the left to the 2nd water complex. The second water was a rather tall and long bounce in to a bending 4 stride line to a tall triple brush skinny out. People were talking about all sorts of lines and numbers in there. I know Vaughn and I knew that if I could get a good jump in and a good first stride and show him the flags he would go...but non the less I did have to make sure that I gave him a fair shot. I left the start box and he was SO ON!! He jumped the double corners so well I am pretty sure he could have done it without me and the water complex was done practically on a loose rein. This horse is a machine out on XC. He was good on the time and that course is NOT easy to make the time on. After the last water we had 2 fly fences which I was wanting to use as a test for myself. You see I have been working on seeing my distance farther out. I can usually see it 4 strides out but 7 is now my desired number. I changed Vaughn's balance and counted out loud starting and saw both fences 7 out. Sweet. Then you ran down a hill and went to the next to last jump and it was two cabins four strides turning to the left. I just never shortened his stride enough. He came down there on to much of an open step, jumped to far into the combo, landed slipped on the turn and got to the fence on a half step...there was no way for him to jump it...he did try though...this horse is a freak of nature. He is so honest someone should really nominate him for saint hood...he's nuts. I am fairly certain that he did not fall as I landed with the reins in my left hand and my hand was above my head leading me to believe that his head was then higher than the ground.....but I guess it happened so fast and it was the second to last jump so no one was there really to see it. Thank goodness cause I made a rookie mistake. A mistake that I know better than to make. I had such ride ability throughout the rest of the course that I took it for granted. I will not allow myself that freedom ever again. He jumped up as did I and both without even a hint of a scratch...not even a real dirt mark. So that is the good news.

The other good news is that as I was taking the long walk home I passed all the 3* riders. They all said "what happened you looked great?!?" I said (to all of them mind you I had to tell the story uhgg ) that i jumped in to big to the last combination and slipped in the turn and got there on a half step. Will Coleman came up to me later and said, "hey thanks man, I thought of you coming down to those cabins and almost did the same thing...I owe you one dude!" Well your welcome Coleman, glad I could help, no really I am.

I must say that even though my weekend did not turn out as well as it had started I know that it was a fairly good run. The horse jumped amazing and I made a mistake, that's all it was a mistake by me in the point two seconds that it happened. So that is very fixable. Also I know that we are on track which is comforting a month and a half out of Rolex. The horse answered all the questions and did it without even a second thought. I gave him a big pat and thanked him for all he does for me and I can only hope that is some horse way he understands. I then told him that if he does want to be naughty for the next couple of days when I ride him he is allowed to be...but only a couple. :)

I put in some candid's from Red Hills. The moon as we were driving, it was kind of creepy looking, Bonnie getting interviewed on Murry (what a ham he is), and that damn sign that confused the crap out of me!

We have allot of campers in for the week at Point Above Farm south this week. It is spring break for allot of kids...so I am sure they will do something note worthy that I will have to explain about in great detail!!
Until next time, go thank your horse