Polestar Farms

I think we should all take a moment to acknowledge all of our friends in the east who did not catch Air Horse One out to Rebecca and are tortured by the weather out there. Not to rub it in, but today is a breezy 70 degree day. It is perfect spectating weather, as well as riding weather. My long suffering friend in Virginia just sent me an instant update to say that the heat index has risen to 106 from 105 this morning. My heart breaks for her. I think that all the east coast riders will go back and report that USEA needs to relocate to Montana.

The competition has been great this year! Dressage scores were very very tight and there were so many fancy, talented horses in all the (more…)

I am at the point of the summer (if you can call it that) where I am wondering why Im so tired all the time. Mark and I are convinced that the whole point of winter, is to make up for the long days in summer where we work late and hard. This year has been full of fewer projects than the past years, and its because the farm is finally maturing in itself. Despite that, I somehow find enough to do to fill the day. If the sun were not so bright at 8:45 pm, then maybe I would remember to go inside and feed ourselves!

Don Sachey came to Polestar again for a summer clinic, and we had a productive, fun time. There was lots of jumping on fantastic footing and everyone left with some really novel interesting instructions in their head. Don has a knack for finding new ways to explain old ideas. Havent we all heard to sit up tall in the saddle? Yet, somehow we still bend forward and influence our horse and jump quality in a negative way. Don had a great analogy  that really hit home for me. And since I dont have someone yelling at me every day to correct my position, I crave explanations that stick in my head that I can use in the future, and that work! He said to imagine that your hands are holding a limbo pole and you are about to limbo under it. This has the effect of tilting your hips so that they are under your shoulders, and it’s stable. If you just tell yourself to sit up straight, your hips are still not square underneath you and you will find yourself back to shoulders forward quite quickly. I get tired of looking at photos where my position is not as good as it should be, and Im thinking that the limbo analogy is going to help me. If you see me riding and Im tilting forward doing the trainer-on-a-green-horse ride, yell “LIMBO!” at me. I promise I wont yell back!

While I would love to tell you all about how Inavale went for Polestar Peeps, I am saddened to tell you that the more important news is that we lost one of our dear horses last week. Erica Temple recently bought a new horse, Frasier, the perfect horse for her to to go have fun on. Yet, she has barely had a chance to get to know him before tragedy struck on Thursday morning. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason why they colic, and we do our best to make sure that they are safe from risks in all aspects of their lives. And still awful things happen. I loved having Frasier here in the barn, even if it was for a few short months. He had a phenomenal jump and work ethic that he kept hidden from us on most days, hidden behind his laid-back Spicoli mask. He definitely was inclined to order pizza in the middle of a dressage lesson, rather than do another shoulder in! Im saddened to say that I d0nt even have a photo of him to show you all how beautiful he was. Erica and I had a good laugh that it turns out that she bought the one horse who would most teach her how to sit UP and RIDE! Frasier had a decent buck in him and he could whip it out anytime he thought you were not paying attention or if you were causing him to work too hard… or tipping forward as it turns out. Despite the fact that he rarely had his pencil sharpened and ready for class, he could cause me to gasp and laugh when I jumped him. I loved his HUGE jump and I dreamed of watching Erica master  his balance to feel it too.

No matter how long you own them, it hurts to see them leave us. RIP little buckaroo, may you romp through the fields with Max and my other beloved horses. Our dreams are dashed too early, we miss you.

Hi again,

Hi my peeps!!

Here is a short primer on how to best utilize the amazing power of the USEA website. You need to know these very important things in order to enter an event, and also this will prevent me from repeating myself to all of yall. The entries are due fast and furious this time of year, so you have plenty of opportunity to practice your skills!

Remember back a few years when Jon and Suzy could not seem to get a break from the weather during their events? Remember the first one where it rained 10″ in two days and they dropped an entire quarry of gravel on the XC course?  This weekend was total payback. Weather was a perfect 60-65 degrees, some sun, and most importantly the first drops of rain did not come til 3 pm on Sunday when we were packing up! Pretty perfect, especially since I am hearing from my friends back east how that even the water is sweating in Virginia.

Polestar was well represented at the Aspen event, and it was a pipe opener for most of my students. Mary, Lori, Shauna, Annika and Hank were all entered and had lots to work on throughout the entire event. Annika and Lori were riding their first events on their new horses and there is a steep learning curve anytime you ride a new horse at a competititon. The horse you thought you had at home, did not get off the trailer with you on Thursday. He was replaced with his ironic twin who enjoys throwing curve balls when you least expect it. Mary was riding in her first USEA recognized event on her longtime partner, Lancer. After two years of wanting to do it, she was finally, actually, participating. Hank and Jake had not competed since last year and he was probably feeling rusty as he looked around for the medical armband and the lost lucky stock tie. Shauna was riding her mare who only in the last 4 days seemed to find her brain from some dark musty pothole in her skull. She lost the brain sometime during her 4 month winter break, fell into said pothole with all the rain dripping down the mare’s ears. Me? I was riding greenie, Cochlear, who was at his first event ever. He also has had a very steep learning curve in the last 4 weeks where he not only learned how to jump, but also was starting to pick up his canter leads with relaxed regularity. My expectations were low (clearly), but still excited nonetheless.

So, you can see that this was not a group of folks who felt that they were Inittowinit! But we knew that the weekend was going to be educational however the cookies crumbled. While driving home today I was thinking that the most difficult thing for me was to manage my guilt that some students maybe did not get my full attention when they most needed it. Or, said another way, often when I am riding and coaching at an event, I have to hope that I have prepared my students well enough that they can cope without me on the ground guiding them through all the pitfalls of the day. Yes, I feel guilty! And I know that I shouldnt feel that way but, instead it is important for everyone to learn at some point that they are the ones with the partnership with their horse. They are the trainers of that horse becase it is their hands, legs and judgement that guide dear horse, not me from the ground. It is clear that when the horse changes his personality at an event, that the rider only has a split second to adjust to the new beast and ride accordingly. That is a tough task when you are at your first event and are just hoping that you know the rules and dont get eliminated for wearing the wrong color socks!

But enough of my waxing, you want to know how everyone did. The final results do not reflect the total weekend package, but here they are: 2nd place for Shauna, 4th place for Mary, 9th for Lori, 13th for Hank all in BN. Annika was 14th on Ringo in Training, Susan’s Dalesman was 7th in Novice horse with me in the irons, and Lear was 7th in the Zeit Capital Challenge Open BN!  Thats a bunch of ribbons, but ribbonsschmibbons. Most important were the little lessons learned:  that Lori pulled out her inner cowgirl and gave Max a piece of her determination (that she didnt know she had) in warmup when he decided to alter personalities. Mary brought out her A-game motivational speaker skills to help Lori find her inner warrior. Mary also discovered that she can meet some of the goals that she thought might be impossible for her to reach. Hank discovered that he loves to hang out with a stack of women more than he likes competing! Annika learned that she is extremely helpful to me and that I love her. Shauna got a big ole kick out of almost every day. Susan watched her lovely horse cause the least amount of stress/angst throughout the entire weekend, and I learned that I own one of the nicest young thoroughbreds that I have sat on since Goldfinch and Blueprint! All those (and more) are so much better than a ribbon!

Now, I know for sure that Boogie fits his name to a sharp, pointy T.  He has found ways to make me and him peek around every corner, worried about what might lurk there.

As you may remember, last summer my lovely husband posted a photo on Facebook of me laying in a hospital gown with my eye stitched up like Frankenstein. Boogie was my facial artist that day. I sat on him for the first time that morning, after taking weeks to introduce him to all the various implements of my trade. The bridle, the boots, the longe line, the saddle and girth.  All that, was introduced to Boogie, and he accepted every “friend request” with confidence and calmness. Never, did I dream that he has a tricky side to him that would continue to perplex me for months.

Over the winter, Wes, Jordan’s boyfriend, helped break him and Boogie became a lovely prospect. He went to a schooling show with Wes, and then I was working on leg yielding, trot poles and was nearly ready to start jumping and then I departed for California on the 3 week spring trip. I thought that Boogie needed a break and would benefit from some time in the field getting fat. But, my imagination was not reality! I returned home from the California trip and walked him for one day in the XC field. Next day, I was walking in the arena for 15 minutes when all of a sudden out of nowhere – he bolted and bronked harder than Ive ever felt a horse bronk. He was not even close to slowing down when I decided that I should probably check out from this bad hotel.

I have now spent the last 3 weeks scratching my head about this problem. I was back to square one – Boogie was incredibly suspicious, worried and fearful and I suspected it was because I came off of him. Ive vowed to never make that decision again (I did have time to come up with the idea to jump off while it was happening). Next time I will ride it out and make it better (I expect a flurry of comments on that…)

Every day for the last week, after the barn chores are all finished and it is quiet and peaceful here, that is when Ive been working on Boogie. I turn off my phone, I have a plan and I stick to it for consistency.  I have managed to get on, walk and trot many times, but sometimes turning left or right produces a held breath and a butt tuck scoot for him. Mostly, even when he and I are communicating well, he is staring back at me in the saddle with worried eyes. Yesterday, in a fit of creativity, I put a set of halter fuzzies on the bridle so he could not look at me. And Wallah!!! He was a lot better! For the first time in weeks, his ears were flopping, his breath was regular and his back was soft. I was incredibly relived and thrilled. Sometimes you need to think outside the box in order to understand horses. Its good to remember that our human reasoning is not horse reasoning.

Hi! Some of you have already seen the photos I have posted on FB, and they of course, include the fabulous scenery at Ram Tap. You are jealous, admit it. I think that it is important to include the power lines because it is the most memorable item to look at here. Ram Tap just would not be the same without it.  My current pink/tan and Dino’s poor dressage performance are not due to the electro magnetic radiation that is bombarding me, despite all the jokes.

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Phew! I am very happy to say that the waters have receeded from 18″ to about 8″ today.The photos down at the bottom are not nearly as impressive as they would have been if we had done this yesterday. The river has quickly drained but still, from our bedroom window, it sounds like we live the roaring ocean. The Pilchuck river is raging with such impressive force, especially for a nearly April day. The rains have pretty much stopped and my chickens are no longer hiding under Rosie for shelter. The good news is that the little lettuce plants are in no danger of drying up.

Cera Z has safely arrived to the farm!! with a little help from wonder-Mustang, Maverick. Somehow, Mav knows when he is supposed to be a good boy for his owner, Carolyn, and he becomes this wild hooligan for me and Jordan.  When I rode him out the driveway to meet the van, he was a perfect gentleman. He grazed while we completed the paperwork and got Cera walking off the van. Maverick helped lead Cera across the river bridge, exciting for all of us since the waters are really really fast now!! After several jokes about me getting on the bareback 15.1 boy and more jokes about Paso Finos and piaffing Mustangs…. I eventually mounted Maverick and wondered what possibly he was going to teach little, innocent Cera. Nothing good, I thought. I kinda wished I had a saddle on – its been years since I rode a rodeo on a bareback horse!

As you can see, he did admirably once he figured out his job,  and I am really glad to have Cera at home. She is happily munching on a bran mash and hay right now, and Im sure quite thrilled to not be in motion. She will miss the 3 little goats that made the trip from Florida with her in the next door stall of the van.  Cheers to Chris and Corey Miller in Ocala for breeding such a beauty. I am going to have trouble being patient for the next year before I back her!

Why cant some things just go according to plan? You spend weeks deciding details and figuring out the best possible course of action to take, and despite all your best planning and work…. the figurative poop hits the propeller.

I am very happy to tell everyone that Tilly has been sold to Nora Endzel and she will be moving to Illinois to fufill the topnotch broodmare destiny that she dreams of (and I dream for her). Due to a lovely convergence of luck, my favorite shippers, McLemore Transportation, were coming from Florida to pick up Tilly here in Washington. So, why dont they just bring with them Dino’s sister from Ocala while they are at it?! What a perfect trip. Ok – so Im thinking life could not be better. But then….. the doozie of all March’s rains descends upon us.

So, tomorrow, I am supposed to take Dino’s little sister off the trailer that she has been on since Florida. Take her down the ramp, and instead of walking her into a fluffy 14 x 14 stall, I will walk her through 18 inches of flowing, cold, river water? The poor girl will not know what hit her, Ocala was 87 degrees yesterday! And Tilly is going to need to leave her beloved Lucy (Dino’s mom) and load into a trailer after forging the longest water jump she has ever known?

Im wishing myself luck tomorrow, stay tuned for the final chapter.