Virginia HT, Rubicon, and Cha-Cha-Changes

Summer is here! It has been so hot that you could fry an egg off of the show jumps! I love it. I must admit that I do enjoy the heat, the more I sweat, the more productive I feel. Vaunted on the other hand is not happy with me right now. He is full blown wild. He is usually this very reserved and quiet horse in the barn that just minds his own business, does not run around in the paddock, makes no fuss kind of a guy. Well not right now! He is talking to everyone, making a fuss, and trying to be a race horse again out in the paddock! He is going to give me ulcers...but it does make me happy to see that he is ready to actually start doing something other than just walking. I do miss competing him very much. I have never had to give him any real time off and I have to say that it really is not that much fun. However, I know it will be fun when we get to go out on that first course together again! We have been having working students arriving by the truck load this past week. It is very fun to have people that are excited about learning and respect the horses. I do enjoy teaching and showing everyone all the ins and outs of the sport. This means not just from the horses back, but when the vet shows up, the farrier, braiding, trimming up, packing for a show, the whole 9 yards! However, when you have so many people that things get done in like point 2 seconds, we have to come up with other things to do. So we gardened! (I do not think that is the correct way to say that, but seeing as how I could not have less of a green thumb, it seemed appropriate). I also have been able to get away for a bit with all this extra help and I was able to go back to my parents house for a day. My family, the Adams Family, has an Alpaca Farm. Their farm name is Empty Pockets Alpaca Farm. I have never actually seen an Alpaca before but they sure do look funny.

I have been very lucky to have 2 other horses to compete this summer. Isbond, a very promising young horse of Bonnie's, and Vintage Trial, a SUPER nice sale horse that I have in. Izzy is a young horse that Bonnie got off the track about 2 years ago and has proven to be the kind of horse that needs the slow and correct starting method. He is such a great horse but is rather large and a bit strong sometimes so while I am sure that you will see him in those big time arena's one day, it may just take a little bit. Vinny on the other hand is so much fun to have! He was sent to me via a friend, Jane Murray, to be sold as the owner's kid is going to college. Vinny is very easy to ride and loves his job. I have just started to get his name out there so I am sure that once he is seen he will go fast. Horses like Vinny make you really love the sport and all it's components.

Speaking of components of Eventing...one of them is the wonderful 4 and 5 am starts for the horse shows! I took Vinny and Izzy to VA HT the other week and we are just located about an hour or so away so we shipped in both days. I was the lucky one that got to see 5am on both days! Then the monsoon happened on XC. Poor Vinny, he needed that hat that had the little windshield wipers on it!! The place that they chose to hold the show jumping was a bit tough...it was rather small and went right to the edge of the ring so you could see the drop off. Both horses were OK with it though. Vinny had a cheap rail and Izzy is just a bit of a spook so the arena was a bit tough for him. Non-the-less I was happy to be back at a competition on a horse! This past weekend we headed out to Rubicon...at 4am! Rubicon is the event in the fall that everyone enters because, well, your still in the eventing season but you are almost ready for a break, and then at the last minute you scratch because all you want to do on the weekend is sleep and eat! So up until this weekend I have never actually been to Rubicon, I have entered Rubicon, but never actually been. It was a very nice event. They ran ahead of schedule and everything went rather smoothly. However, I did not know about this "VIP Parking" thing. I guess that there is this list that is on the fence as you drive in and you if you are on the list then you get to park at the front of the field by the water...well usually, I always check the list but this time I did not... and I was on the list!! It was like we were in the some fancy city trying to get into a snazzy bar. As for the event itself, Izzy was much better in the show jumping and just had 2 down due to his greenness. The cross country was a good test of where he was. He was very good at all the fences and was more than happy to jump everything but was just a bit strong in between. Bonnie is going to ride him at Surefire on a couple of weeks and I am sure that she will be able to make him look amazing! Vinny was a STAR. He is going to go prelim at Surefire and hopefully move on to a new home and teach someone how to go out there and have fun! Vinny ended up 3rd in the training.

I do have a bit of rather large news to share. On July 1, I will be working as Will Coleman's assistant trainer. I was helping Will out with his horses Twizzle and Nevile when he was broken after The Fork and he offered me a job. I feel as though it will produce many new opportunities for me and will allow me to continue to grow as a rider in a strong competitive enviroment. Will has so much to offer the eventing community and he is looking for me to help spread the word. We are looking to expand the teaching and coaching program. I strongly feel that between the two of us we will be able to cover any and all needs of students. From his strong show jumping background and my versatility with the horses we will be able to help everyone! I am excited at the possibility of being able to teach more and do a bit more riding. For me personally, I do feel that Will is going to bring a new spin on my riding. He is not like others that I have worked for as he does have the strong show jumping back ground that will make my thought process a bit sharper. As for Vaunted he is going to stay living at Bonnie's for a bit until he is back in full blown work. He is happy here and I will continue to live at Bonnie's so I can take care of him. I am going to be bringing Vinny over with me as well as the little mare Pixie. I am hoping to be able to sell both of them soon. Pixie is doing well and jumping around little courses as well as going in and out of water and up and down little banks. Bonnie has been very supportive of this move for me. While I was not looking for a job when Coleman approached me, I could not turn down the possibility for growth. I always say that in any position you stand to learn something and I know that this will be no different. Will and I are both very eager and excited to get going not only with more teaching and coaching but also getting horses in on training at all levels. We both share a focused and determined passion for making the best out of every situation. I also have a great respect for how much he cares for his horses. He made a decision not go to Germany with his four star horse Twizzle because of a small irregularity, that to many professionals would be nothing. However to Will, it is everything as he does not want to ask his horse to do something that may be 100% successful. I can relate. So if you are interested in lessons, coaching, or just stopping by to check us out at Tivoli Farm in Gordonsville VA, give me a call! As someone who listens to her gut professionally, I have a good feeling about this. Until next time, drink lots of water!

This is a sign that the farm manager put up because taxi drivers were driving through our farm becuase they said their GPS took them that way. If you look closely the bottom of the sign says, "GPS is wrong".

Not So Horse Related...But Horse Person Related

I realize that most people write their eventing blogs about their horses only. Well I think that is far to normal and typical. I strongly believe that everyone has their own spin on just about everything. It is clear by the vast types of riding styles, clothing styles, warm-up styles, etc. As I have said before, this job being a full time rider, is not just a job. It is a full blown lifestyle. Therefore when I think of "so and so Eventing" I think of all components of their style and flair. That being said I have to share this life story with you.

OK so, I was driving into town for a meeting and about half way there I was going around a curve and witnessed an accident. There was a motorcycle rider that totally wiped out right in front of me! He slid clear across both lanes of traffic right in front of me! I immediately pulled over to the side of the road. Now I must explain that I was driving my truck because my 1996 Subaru, is well, a little not so reliable. I was on a rather busy road and in a big truck I decided to pull all the way off the road to help the biker. I mean this guy totally ate it right on the pavement and for all I knew he had a concussion or a broken bone! So I jumped out of the car and turns out the guy was fine...he was really embarrassed and busted a few things on his otherwise very shiny bike, but all in all was fine. Chuck, I know his name was Chuck because he was a mechanic and it was on his shirt, started his bike and drove off. So I go and get back in the truck and go to take off...and then I didn't. The truck was stuck in the mud....I flip it into 4x4....I spin...I back up...I spin...I get out and take a look...I'm axle deep in the mud. Freakin' great. I was now going to be an hour late for my meeting and my truck had to get towed out, of a ditch, because I tried to help this guy on a motorcycle. So now my truck is covered in mud and I totally looked like that blonde girl that cant drive her truck. And I swear, all of this really happened!

Another recent traffic incident that I was in took place last weekend. Bonnie gave me the weekend off and I took it! I usually love to work. I try to take as few days off as possible as a day missed is a dollar less and a lesson lost. However, everyone reaches that point where you just need to take a day off. My very best friend Danielle Feiner was having a birthday celebration on Friday, the only thing was that D lives in Philadelphia. So I got in the truck and headed for 95 north. Only to get there and be halted rather quick. It should only take 4 hours to get to PA from our farm...it took me 8. uhg. It was worth it though. I got to live in the city for 2 days! I actually went rollerblading in the streets of Philadelphia! (insert the Bruce Springsteen song in your head and me on roller blades, trust me it's funny) I then went to Unionville, PA. I have several friends there and there was a bonus treat there in Unionville. A deep fryer. That's right a deep fryer. My city friends informed me of the proper way to deep fry just about anything. So we did! We deep fried everything from potatoes to a cookie cake!! It was great fun. Then I got back to VA slightly sick from the fried food. Oh the life we horse people can lead.

I just had to share these stories...when I actually get out of the barn I really don't know what will happen. Vinny and Izzy are going to VA horse trials this weekend and I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes! In the mean time check out these video's of both of them as they are both for sale. Cheers and make sure to drink lots of water after eating massive amounts of fried food. :)

Jersey Fun and Thoughts

So Conor and I just got back from Jersey earlier this week. While the event did not go quite as he had planned, it was a very successful event for him. He was able to ride his horse in a very smart way and reacted to what was happening. That is a hard lesson to learn let me tell you, I still have to remind myself it it. Kim used to always tell me that I must ride what is happening and not what I want to happen or what I think is going to happen. After Conor had his second stop on course he was very smart to throttle back on the pace and just ride the horse home on a good confident step but not pushing him against the clock. While we were watching him go around and waiting for him to get home, I must say that I was very proud to say that I was apart of his team at that moment. He made a few mistakes but the issues he had on course were his and very easily fixed. This he knows and therefore he was thinking of his horse out there and what the horse needed at that moment. If I am able to teach someone any one thing while they are here at Bonnie's, I would be so thrilled that it be the "listen to your horse and think of your partner" lesson. Well done Conor.

The course at Jersey was much different than it has been in the past. It was much more galloping and, in the CCI** at least, you were at your second minute in the early part of the jumping test. So that was great for the horses to get going. However John did make the course a bit more challenging in the back with the terrain. There were two long "pules" up the back hills. Everyone was saying that those pules really made their horses work. It was a good FEI course. The dressage judging was a little different at times. From what Bonnie said, you had three judges that all like specific things and those specific things really were not anything that the others really wanted. So that was a bit odd but clearly the horses that did well were very good. Show Jumping I feel is always hard there. I don't know why but I have always thought it is a challenging course and definitely makes you thing throughout the course. Which is good! So overall I quite like Jersey and think that the event is run very well and I hope to be back next year. Now if only they could get rid of the turn pike...so annoying! I now know why people up north have road rage. You have one group of people that is going like 12 mph and another that is going like mock 10. uhg.

Now onto a few other fun facts from Jersey. While I do like to help and was very happy to help Conor and his horse at Jersey, grooming for one horse, can be a little slow sometimes. Therefore I like to walk around and talk to EVERYONE and maybe create my own fun. Most of this fun at Jersey took place around the food. The Furlong's set up a breakfast and snack table at the end of the barns for all the riders and grooms and really anyone who is in the barns working. It is super nice and they had some of the biggest donuts I have ever seen! They were, no kidding, as big as my face....it was AWESOME. They also had bagels with peanut butter and jelly...there is nothing better than a good pb&j on a bagel. Ok so anyway back to the funny parts...one morning Doug Payne, Lillian Heard, and myself were chatting and eating and Doug challenged Lillian to a thumb war contest. Doug loves this contest. He is crazy and a huge cheese head. I can say this because he is one of my best friends. Well seeing as how Doug is built like the jolly green giant, his thumbs are as long as that darn New Jersey turn pike. Lillian was putting up a good fight but to no avail. Doug is still the thumb war king. BUT on more important news I was deemed the best dressed groom at Jersey! I must admit that I did actually make up the award, but that is neither here nor there. I like to wear nice blouses when at the barn. I just feel as though the "look" is part of the image. Therefore I was getting comments on my blouses and my accessories...so naturally I ran with it...straight to Eventing Nation. I may have an "in" with Eventing Nation as one of the vet's, Dr. Jeff Brashear, is the owner of the place where John keeps his horse in Virginia. Use all your resources, right! The way I see it, a win is a win! :) I was not able to ride at Jersey so I had to come home with something! I was proud of my win. I now need to go get some new blouses. You see I was so proud of my outfit that I was showing everyone...and I do mean everyone. I like to talk to people. So now I can't show up at the next event in the same blouses. That just would not do for the best dressed eventer. (Which is my long term goal, good thing that Silva Martin does dressage!) I have to at least rotate right?!

With Vaughn finishing his healing from his surgery, I have not been to an event since late March. As we did not plan on having time to take the young ones out much until after the spring three days. So needless to say I was so happy to be back at an event. It is funny when you try to tell "normal" people what you do for a living. The best way I have to describe it is that this job is not a job, it is a lifestyle. You are either willing to give up all your time for it or your not. I am. That being said all my friends, all my fun, all my stress, all my nerves, all my tension, all my laughs, all my jokes, all my energy is placed and takes place at events. I think of all the people and friends at events and to be honest I consider some of them as close to me as my family. This sport/job is so intense at times and so demanding that you don't see it as just a job or a sport and no one, but those that do it, understand and can relate. So for all of your people out there that have listened to me cry, stress out, freak out, wine, and overall ramble....I thank you ever so much!! I also encourage you to do the same to me! Chances are I have been feeling the very same way that you are and it all always comes full circle. I was so happy to see everyone at Jersey and see how many people were making smart decisions when it came to their horses and a few riders were quick to pull up on course and make the decision that today was just not their day and were looking to the future. I was so proud of Lillian Heard who finished 6th at her first CCI***. It was great to see her do so well. This is Lillian at the first Jog...so classy.

Next on the calendar for me is Virginia Horse Trials. I have 2 horses going, Isbond and Vintage Trial(Vinny), and they are both for sale. Also make sure to check out the Eventing Radio show next week as I will be Co-Hosting it again and guess what......wait for it......I am getting my own segment!! That's right, they must have gone full on crazy or have nothing better to put on the air than me! Just kidding, it is going to be the best thing that you have ever heard! :) Be sure to listen in and see what it is all about (as I am not really sure what it is going to be about, I am just going to run with it.) Vaunted is going to get legged up soon and I am going to make a plan for him. As far as the distant future I would love to get him over seas next year. It is very rare that you have a horse in your lifetime that you know will do everything in his power to get you through the finish flags and complete a big event. Seeing as how the cost of doing this is going to be very hard to cover I am looking at doing allot of fundraising now. I am looking to schedule clinics, lessons, talks, and sponsorship anywhere and everywhere. I am a member of the American Horse Trials Foundation which will make any and all monies tax deductible. No amount is too small and any situation will be helpful, so if you are interested in setting something up please feel free to contact me. The sport is sometimes lending riders to believe that you need to buy an expensive horse and have allot of money to make a go of it at the top levels. I am hoping to be living proof that you just need to have a good work ethic, never stop asking questions, and never turn down and opportunity to do anything! So until next time, keep kicking, go buy a nice blouse, and eat a pb&j that is all. :) Happy Driving.

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!