Just as I pressed “Post” for that last blog, I also got an email from Jeannie Gregory with some photos in it. Both photos are of Mckena and Abby! I was wishing that I had photos of them after I just sung their praises. Thanks Jeannie!!

Thankgod it is a rainy day today, I seriously needed a break. So at this very moment, I am making pesole soup and Toll House cookies. Delicious! While the cookies bake, Im going to update yall on the weekend.

The Derby was a total success! We had 70 people (or thereabouts) entered and hadconstant rounds throughout the day on cross country. Lots of people used the course as I intended, to help train riders and their horses. I encouraged trainers to let their students take second rounds and try moving up to a different course as student’s confidence improved. We also had new jumps, Mark has been motivated to make a few new ones that were beautiful out there. But outside the horse part, the most obvious  improvement were the concessions: El Rey taco truck and also an espresso cart. I partook in both. The beer garden was a success as well, I imagine that next year the word will spread and we are going to sell tickets.

I was the jump judge all day long and I love that job. I get to see all the rides and enjoy watching the riders and horses have fun. Watching a little girl on a beautiful horse who knows his job and takes care to be safe…. is priceless.

The Don Sachy clinic was fantastic. He motivates me as a teacher not only because he is very knowledgeable and experienced, but mostly because he loves his job. Im pretty sure that he wakes up every day and says how lucky he is to have this job. I have to agree, but sometimes its nice to have someone else refresh my love of horses and teaching. Jordan and I had great lessons on two green horses, Kat and Arnie. Both are very inexperienced and he gave us exercises to help the horses become “bird dogs” in their view of jumps. They were both hunting the jumps down with joy, AND getting lead changes!  That was exciting. The horse’s owners were there for both lessons and I think that they were having as much fun as Jordan and I were. I am really looking forward to watching two riders at Aspen, Mckena Knott and Abby Schatz. Both girls ride with Jessica Heideman and they rode in the clinic. Don gave Mckena huge advice on how to help her small strided horse bound around Prelim show jumping, which he finds challenging. And Abby has a talented horse who has a challenging personality. I wish them both luck at Aspen HT!

So, dont freak out and start worring about the Derby on Saturday. The rain is going to make our already good footing, even better! This photo is of our Southern Pines NC home during a deluge…. and we were under water in less than 15 minutes. This is to help you put this little sprinkling happening here in perspective.

Phew!  This weekend was amazing! I wish that I had photos of us to show you, I will eventually, but not just right now. I had a great weekend. I decided at the last minute, with help from Jordan and secretary Christina Gray, to move Taco into his first intermediate class at Caber Farm HT. It was a bit nerve wracking for me to go intermediate after a 3 year hiatus, and I certainly noticed the size difference. This weekend did teach me a lesson: that I really only give a little bit of myself for the lower levels…. Im not proud of this fact and I’m admiting it. Going Int. proved to me that I am a better rider at the upper levels, I focus better, have a clear plan, walk courses several times and execute the ride better. I am making a pact with myself to change my approach to the lower level rides and ride them as well as I do at the upper levels.

Ok – there, my confessional is finished. And now the details of the weekend: Taco had what I thought was a very good dressage test. Apparently, the judge thought differently. We placed 10/20, but I was happy with him… Taco, not the dressage judge. We had a clear xc and had a fantastic water jump. He had two green moments at the road crossing and the coffin – both jumps where a ditch thingy surprised him while he was in the air of the A element. Both times I reverted to cowgirl riding at its finest and Taco waltzed away a better, more educated horse. It was super fun to feel him gain confidence from each tricky combination. He was perky and acting up later that night during our walks, so apparently he thought he was some hot s#i*!

Show jumping was TRICKY! I was attempting to get a forward canter for him to approach the jumps with (he tends to love the quiet, underpaced canter)…. and encountered some rideability problems that I had not felt at prelim. He jumped me out of the tack at least 5 times, he jumped some jumps fantastic, and two were Bowling for Onalaska. Ive always been taught to let the jump be your hand, ride foward to the deeper distance to help the horse develop their own sense of self preservation. Not this guy – I rode him forward to the deep distance twice and had pick up sticks! Fortunetly, show jumping is almost my favorite phase, so I am motivated to get him rideable.

We have a busy week because we are getting ready for the French Creek PC Derby.. should be a ton of fun and we hope some of you, out there in internet-land, are going to come enjoy.

I finally have a few horses up on that sales page! Im keeping Tor up there because he is just so fun to look at, but there are three new horses that I love!  Jordan has been very busy with Cricket and Tigger, both of whom are getting great training with her. Tigger has been surprising me lately with his eager attitude to jump big jumps. They go to Caber Farms at BN this weekend and I think it will be a blast. Me? Im entered at Prelim, but maybe I should have moved up to intermediate with Taco. It might be a little late, but we shall see. Check out the horses and we have a few new boarders in the barn, Lisa Adape and Nash, and Joanne Silburner (of famed NPR) who is horseless at the moment.