The nature of the beast...

This is been a very exciting past 10 days...  I LOVE being back in my element in "the North."  It's so nice being near "my people," the ones that I love.  To make it even better, my two most favorite pony boys were along for the ride!

Renn post Novice XC, ready to strike a pose.

Last Saturday, Renn got to have his confidence boosting run at the Maryland Horse Trials.  He was in the Open Novice division against a lot of big name riders.  I have been working very hard on Renn's dressage.  He has world class breeding in dressage, so it is quite ridiculous for him to be getting 40's in the dressage!  Well, I was THRILLED after my dressage test.  Baby stallion was quiet, rideable, and quite forward and floaty.  He was so grown up!  I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.  He ended up with a 33.5!!!  His best score ever.  He went on to jump a very rhythmic, quiet double clear show jump round.  I'm glad that I decided to back him down, as he was a bit green and worried on xc.  Mostly, he was just squirmy to the water complexes. He was still double clear, though. :)  Funny thing is, even ending on a 33.5, he was still only 9th! 
I spent the week doing a lot of riding and teaching.  The boys were both super in their flat and jumping schools.  I had a lot of fun teaching all of my new students up north. :) 
Yesterday, the Maryland Horse Trials II was my big day of riding both horses (Bug in the Intermediate and Renn in the Training) in a one day, plus coaching a student!  It was my first time with all of that in one day.  Thank God for my friends, Elaine Ohler and Katie Douglas.  They helped me juggle everything and took care of the boys when I had to move on to the next thing.  They were soooo much help!!  Thank you, Ladies. :) 
I have been schooling Bug in the double bridle some, as I feel like it helps me really get him where he needs to be.  I decided to try it at the show, though it's not something I want to use forever.  I felt that he had one of the best tests of his life.  He was quite good.  Unfortunately, the judge did not agree.  We got a 41.6.  I was bummed.  I'm so frustrated with our dressage.  I KNOW this horse can get good scores.  I WANT to work my butt off to get it right.  I think I make progress, but the scores never show it.  *sigh*  Oh to be a natural dressage rider!  The superstar went on to jump double clear in the show jumping.  Though my show jumping woes are not completely fixed, I felt that it was a much better round than we've been having, even if it wasn't perfect.  I still have to learn to go forward to my distances.  Luckily for me, my superstar of a horse saves my butt when I mess up.  He is just SOOO scopey.  He went on to rock around the Intermediate XC like it was nothing.  Unfortunately, as always, I didn't push him enough to make time.  The biggest problem is, I don't ride at a true gallop to the fences, and he hangs in the air for soooo long.  We lose a lot of time from  being in the air.  We had 14.6 time penalties.  We ended up 10th in our division.  I am so disappointed.  I KNOW that we can do so much better than this.  I am determined to work hard, take lessons, and get this straight.  I have every intention of going to the CCI** at Fairhill this fall and holding our own with the big boys!
The baby stallion, Renn, had yet another lovely dressage test!  Actually, it wasn't quite as good as his test the week before.  He spotted the horses galloping xc next to the dressage and got a bit more "up" than the week before.  However, he still had some super lovely moments.  His score was a 34.  His excitement carried over to the show jumping.  Unfortunately, he was a bit wild and ADD.  haha  He was m ore worried about getting to the galloping part!  He had FIVE rails.  He went on to ROCK AROUND the xc.  He wasn't squirmy or backed off at all.  He was such a star.  Now, to figure out how to have that boldness but to still have a rideable horse for the show jumping!  I'm still really happy with him. 
I have to send out a big congrats to my student, Catherine Schumak, and her horse, Mr. Secretagentman.  They competed in the Junior Novice the first week and placed 3rd on a 33.9.  They went on to complete their first Junior Training with a 37.7 in dressage, one unlucky rail in sj, and a double clear xc!!  They ended up 8th in a big division of 19.  So very proud of them!  They're on the road to their big goal of the Training 3-Day in May 2012. 
I'm spending the day with my parents, then back home to NC tomorrow.  I will back up north next month for Waredaca. 

Thanks to everyone who has made all of this possible for me.  I feel so blessed with love and support.  I just hope that I can start bringing home some big finishes and making people proud! :)

Heads up, Heels down!

Just be quiet and listen...

Time is flying by as usual, and we're already here in July.  I can't believe it!  Tomorrow, I pull out with Bug and Renn for Maryland.  We will be staying up there from July 8-18.  I'm excited to be teaching some lessons, riding extra horses, and competing the boys.  Best of all, I get to see family and friends!! 

Originially, Renn was supposed to do Training at the first Maryland Horse Trials and Prelim at the second.  However, after having a less than stellar XC schooling session, I have decided to listen to what Renn is telling me.  He's just not quite ready to move up.  He wasn't acting like himself, and he lost a lot of confidence.  This isn't normal for him, so I've decided to take a BIG step back and try to gain back my "oh so confident" boy.  He will be doing Novice at the first Maryland and Training at the second.  Renn is only 7, so he has plenty of time to move up.  We will see how Maryland goes and then go from there. 

Bug is feeling great and ready to go!  He will be doing his first horse trial back since the CCI** at Jersey.  His dressage is steadily getting better.  He is jumping like a champ.  I've been working very hard, and I have big plans to do well this fall!  :) 

I want to send out congrats to a RSS student, Leigh Ana Castillejo, and her horse, Top O' The Hill.  They did the BN combined test at TTC earlier this month.  They showed a lot of improvement in their dressage, and they had the best show jumping round I've ever seen them have!  They ended up 4th in their division.  I'm very proud of them. :)

Well, that's all for now!  I'll check in during our big trip.

Heels down, head up!  Stay cool.

So Blessed...

I know, I know!  I just blogged a few days ago, and I'm back!

Here are a few pics of Bugger doing his thing at the Jersey Fresh CCI**.  Love that horse!

Congratulations are in order for Rocky Start student, Maddie Whisnant!  Her parents bought her a new horse for her 13th birthday.  His name is "My Daddy's Cash," and he's a 10 year old Appaloosa/TB cross.  He is quite fancy, and we are excited to help Maddie with her progress with Cash!

Check out this article that was written about Renn and Rocky Start Stables!!
Equine Globe, June 2011

We are doing a lot of work in preparation for our big trip north to both of the Maryland Horse Trials.  Catherine Schumak and her horse, Mr. Secretagentman, will also be making the trip.  We are very excited.

Until next time!!  Enjoy this break in the heat!

Love what you do...

Wow, I have really been remiss in my blogging!  Life has been full since I last posted, but I will try to be short and sweet. :)

1.  Bug and I got our CIC** qualifying round at Fairhill International the end of April.  His dressage improved vastly from the CIC at Poplar.  He skipped around all of the questions on XC, though I did go very slow due to the muddy footing.  Our show jumping left a lot to be desired.  We had one rail, which should never happen with this horse.  I rode very backward throughout the course.  I left Fairhill with a mission to improve our show jumping quite a bit.

2.  Bug and I completed our first CCI** at Jersey Fresh!  Our dressage was less than stellar, as I got a bit of a case of nerves and didn't really ride at all.  Add that to less than forgiving judges, and you get a not so spectacular score.  :(  However, Bug went on to conquer the VERY TOUGH XC course.  It was over 9 minutes long.  I was worried about Bug's fitness, as I had never run anything this long.  Also, I find that I really haven't gotten a good feel for 570 yet.  I think I'm flying when I'm really not.  haha  Anyway, Bug jumped through everything with ease.  I definitely crossed the finish line with a HUGE smile on my face.  He definitely has what it takes to compete at the top levels.  He LOVES his job.  We experienced a LOT of rain the night before show jumping, making the footing less than stellar.  Combine that with a bit of nerves, and you have some backward jumps at the beginning of our show jump course.  However, unlike at Fairhill, I realized what was going on and kicked on to a great last half of the course.  We were the first double clear show jumping of the day, and one of only 7 total double clears out of 30+ rides.  We completed our first CCI** in 18th place.  I am so thrilled.  Now, it's onward and upward to kick some butt in the CCI** at Fairhill this fall!  I have a lot of work to do.  My goal is to start completing in the top 6 at everything I do.  I truly believe we can get it together and make this happen!  He got a vacation after Jersey and is returning to work now.  His next outing will be the second of the Maryland Horse Trials.  Check out his XC video from Jersey!

3.  Renn completed two Training events at The Ark and the Virginia Horse Trials.  His dressage is improving daily, and he is a machine on the XC!  Unfortunately, our record shows a "20" at The Ark.  He jumped into the water with quite a leap and landed on all 4's.  He jolted me on landing, and I had to circle before going to the rolltop out of the water.  However, he's such a great ride on the XC.  His show jumping has been a lot better, though, he did have quite a few rails at VA.  I believe that was mostly because of great distraction in the coliseum.  The plan is to do Training at the first Maryland Horse Trials and move him up to Prelim at the second.  I am very proud of my baby stallion!

4.  I am excited to announce that Renn is being bred to 3 outside mares this month.  Elaine Ohler, one of my best friends from college, is breeding two of her lovely mares, a TB mare and a Paint mare.  Also, Carrie Hatfield of Michigan is breeding her lovely Trakener event mare, Tiki.  I love to follow the progress of Renn's babies, as I believe they are quite talented!

5.  Speaking of Renn's babies, "Spicy Rendition," owned by Paula Giammatteo, made her debut in the Hunter in-Hand classes at the Sandhills Classic.  She placed 1st in the 2 year olds class!  I am so thrilled to have one of Renn's first babies out and about in the show world already.  Congrats to Paula and Pepper!

6.  In more Renn baby news, congratulations to Catherine Schumak on the purchase of "Fuerst Love"!  It will be a lot of fun to assist Catherine in the training and competing of this very special Renn baby. 

I think that is the majority of the big news from Rocky Start.  :)  I would like to remind everyone to give their horses a big kiss and hug.  After hearing about the fire at True Prospect, it makes me realize that no matter what happens in the show ring, we must always remember that we are just so blessed to be around these incredible animals.  I thank God every day for blessing me, and I pray that my ponies will stay happy, healthy, and sound!

Until next time!  Stay cool!

You can stick a Fork in me....

.....but I am NOT done. :)

So, once again, my competition weekend did not live up to my hopes and dreams and expectations.  The Fork is a lovely place.  It's one of my favorite events.  The facility is gorgeous, the show is well-run, and it's just one of those venues that makes you feel big time.  

As usual, Bug was great for his dressage warm-up.  He felt really good, and I was determined to get the test done.   I was NOT going to panic if he misbehaved.  As per his usual, Bug went in the arena and started to get a bit fresh.  However, instead of having a panic and forgetting to ride, I just kept putting my leg on.  I rode every corner and tried to be as accurate as I could.  He actually settled right away if I put my leg on instead of panicking.  I left the arena knowing that the score wouldn't be stellar, but proud of myself for not shutting down.  We ended up with a 41, which isn't great, but compared to what we've been getting, it's an improvement.  We're making headway.  

After walking the XC course with Kim, I was feeling like the course was tough, but that if I kept my head, we could get it done.  Unfortunately, I had a panic at one combination that led to a 20. :(  It was a large open oxer at the top of a small knoll, landing in 6 to a very real triple brush on an angle.  I didn't quite have Bug in hand enough, and he decided to jump the oxer HUGE (the photographer got a picture of it, and he's jumping at least a good foot over it).  Instead of landing and putting him on his feet to go forward to the triple brush, I panicked and just rode to the triple brush.  He never even saw it.  The rest of the course was quite good.  We are really starting to work as a team and get the right spots.  I was so disappointed that I caused that run-out.  Otherwise, it was one of our best runs.  

Unfortunately, my brain fart moments carried over to show jumping.  All those that know my horse, know that he wants to jump around clean.  If there are rails involved, it's all my fault.  Well, we had 2 rails....and I totally forgot where I was going on course and had to circle.  Thus, 12 sj penalties!  I was appalled.  My mind was so out of the game.  I couldn't seem to concentrate on what I was doing.  My horse put in a huge effort, and I failed.  

If nothing else, this has renewed my determination.  It was the kick in the pants that I needed.  I am working hard, and I WILL do well at the CIC** at Fairhill.  Poplar and The Fork were learning experiences, and I will take the knowledge that I obtained and put it to use.  I WILL NOT let my horse down.  


We are heading to Kim's next week for lessons and a vet check-up for Bug.  After that, we head to the CIC** at Fairhill for Easter weekend.  


Thank you to everyone who supports us!!  Bug loves having fans, and I love having the support.  Knowing there are people out there routing for you makes the determination even stronger.


Chin up and leg on! 

 

Taking a tumble...

Unfortunately, my weekend going to Georgia for the Poplar Place Horse Trials was not all I had hoped and dreamed.  
The day before I was supposed to leave, the fun began.  I went out to feed the boys, and Renn's right hind leg, from hock to fetlock, were skinned and swollen.  The theory is that he got down to roll in his stall and kicked out a low board and got his leg stuck in the hole.  I was sure that the injury was mostly cosmetic, but nonetheless, he was out of going to Poplar.  Bug would be going the journey alone.  
I'll keep the Poplar recap and short as I can.  Our dressage was less than stellar.  His outline was good, though he was a bit more into my hand than he has been.  I did not pay attention to detail and accuracy, and it cost me big time.  We ended up with a 68.3, which is barely a qualifying score.  I was hoping to break 60, but yet another dressage disappointment this year.  This solidifies my thoughts that I need major dressage boot camp with Kim.  If anyone can push me to make it happen, it is her.
I walked the XC three times.  It was a stiff course that asked a lot of good questions, though it was very rolling and gallopy, which I was excited about.  My time was early afternoon, and I was not excited about waiting around being nervous all day.  What didn't help was that the Advanced XC was going very badly.  There were multiple horse and rider falls.  Buck Davidson lost a front tooth when his horse fell in the water.  Michael Pollard's horse randomly broke her leg galloping on course.  I send out my thoughts to the rider and owners of that special horse.
I made my way down to XC.  Bug warmed up great.  I was seeing my distances and feeling good about going.  Out of the box we went!  He jumped the first two perfectly and in sync.  He came down a large hill and got up a bunch of steam.  In hindsight, I probably didn't have him quite enough in hand as we went up the next steep hill to the panda bear at the top.  Bug was a bit strong and started to take off, then peeked over the side and thought, oh wait, that's not what I thought it was.  He hung his right front leg, but his hind end had already pushed off.  He had to twist fiercely to get over the fence and not fall.  This ticked me off of the side, but I wrapped my arms around his neck and hung on all of the way down the hill.  I was determined not to fall at the two star!  Unfortunately, there was no way for me to pull back on, and I had to drop to my feet and hit my butt.  
Wow, talk about a bummer!  Falling off at the third fence of your first CIC**.  Nice.  I have a lot of bruising on my arms from trying to hang on, a lot of sore muscles...but my pride has the biggest bruise of all.  After I walked my xc, and I would talk about the fences that worried me, I kept getting, "Ooooh, don't worry!  You're on Bug!"  I kept saying, "I don't want to take anything for granted."  It just goes to show that unluckiness doesn't play favorites!
I thank God that it wasn't worse.  Bug had a bit of swelling and soreness in his right stifle, but he seems to be almost 100% today.  Luckily, we have a Plan B, and we'll be heading to the CIC** at Fairhill the end of April.  
Our next outing will be at The Fork next week.  
This weekend, I'm heading to my alma mater, Wilson College, to teach an eventing clinic on Saturday and Sunday.  I'm really excited about that!  I hope to get to see a lot of my college friends.
Thanks for reading!  Keep your eye on the next jump!

Counting my four legged blessings...

I must start by saying that I am TRULY BLESSED.  I have two of the coolest horses on the planet!  If I didn't know it before (which I'm pretty sure that I did), I definitely know it after my weekend at Full Gallop Farm.  

I went down Friday to Aiken to have jump lessons with Kim.  Renn was having a hormonal day and was pretty wild.  However, I did the best that I could, and once we had a good moment or two, we quit while we were ahead.  I was praying that he would calm down for the show!  He's normally very well behaved, but you springtime can do crazy things to the boy's hormones!  

Bug's jump lesson was much better.  Kim really has me working on knowing where I am on the course at all times. She also has me riding more forward in my show jumping, as it helps to keep Bug from adding a chip in front of the fence and jumping way up over it and landing steeply.  He's so athletic, that I can place him under the jump, and he'll still jump up over it, but it's so hard on his legs.  I've been trying really hard to tune my eye in and tune myself into the rhythm of the forward that he needs.  It was quite a good lesson, and I was very happy with him.

Bug was entered in the Intermediate, and Renn was entered to do his very first recognized Training.  My student and friend, Naomi van Yperen, volunteered to tag along to groom for me, as this was my first event of the season running both horses and coaching a student, and I wasn't sure how it was going to work.  Thank God she decided to come!  Even though there seemed to be a lot of down time, my boys' times seemed to be really close together.  

Bug's weekend was a great one.  After walking the XC with Kim, I was mostly concerned about two combinations on course.  The first was a cabin- 2 strides, down large bounce banks-3 strides to a large corner.  In order to get to the corner, you either had to take a direct 3 but jump the corner at an angle with a great chance of a runout, or you could take it on a bit of a bending line and jump the corner squarely.  However, you would have to be quick to make the turn.  The other option, due to the way it was numbered, was to circle out after the bank and come back to the corner.  My plan was Plan B, to take a bending 3 to the corner.  The second combination that worried me a bit was a sunken road.  You jumped in over a rolltop drop, 3 strides across the bottom and up to bounce out over a wedge.  All of this was set up at a slight left to right angle.  

Finally, Bug was very quiet for his dressage!  I was so amazed that I forgot to really push him for brilliance in the test.  I just sort of rode around the pattern.  Oh, and lest I forget, I definitely halted in the wrong spot, earning me a -2 for an error.  :(  We ended up with a 42.3, which was not what I was hoping for.  I plan to really buckle down before Poplar and get this dressage thing together!  We were sitting about 18th or so out of 22 after dressage.  Disappointing.  

The show jumping was by Marc Donovan, and as usual, it was a great course with a lot of questions.  The show jumping at FGF is on terrain, so that always adds for some extra excitement!  I had walked the course with Kim, and I knew all of my striding.  Bug and I went in there, and we had yet another great show jumping round.  I feel like we are really starting to get it together.  He is getting a lot more rideable instead of just overjumping everything by 3' and shooting me out of the tack! :)  We moved up to be tied for 12th with our double clear round.

Cross country day was filled with nausea and apprehension.  haha  I BELIEVE in my horse 100%....but not always so much in myself.  My goal was to jump around clean and be within 20 seconds of the time.  I'm still learning how to go Intermediate speed and still take the jumps without riding too slowly.  With the CIC** at Poplar looming on the horizon, I knew that I really needed to try to get it done.  

Bug was a superstar!  He answered all of the questions with ease.  He did the step combination like a pro!  I later found out that I was one of very few to make it through the combination, and I was one of even fewer to do it without circling.  He made it feel so easy!  He tackled every challenge with style and athleticism.  Also, we ended up just 20 seconds over the time, which is exactly what I was shooting for!  It's tough to make the time at FGF due to the twists and turns and hills, so I'm very happy with that.  We ended up 6th out of 22!!


Here are the links to Bug show jumping and the steps combination on XC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyGB95reIdQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UTWBtyLiZo

Renn's weekend was pretty exciting as well.  I walked the Training XC the first day that I was there, and I was definitely rethinking FGF as a move-up!  It was a TOUGH course.  The questions were very tough and seemed more like a mini Prelim.  After walking his XC, I was thinking I might be more nervous to go Training than Intermediate! haha  He had a full coffin on a bend that was hidden in the woods, a water to water jump, a house to a set of 2 stride down steps to a double chevron, a drop into the water then up a mound and over a rolltop, and another down bank combination. 

Renn was very good for his trotwork in his dressage test.  He was pretty wild for the cantering, thus giving us a 46.8.  This put us second to last in his division of 20.  He went on to jump around the Training XC like a superstar!  Yes, he was very green, and there was some bobbing and weaving, but he jumped around clear and only 1 second over time.  His clear round moved us all of the way up to 8th!  There were so many stops and eliminations.  I was THRILLED that my baby stallion got around and with confidence!  He grew up as we went around the course.  Unfortunately, he is still very green in the combinations in show jumping, thus causing us to have 3 rails on Sunday.  However, we ended up 10th out of 20, and I am so pleased with him.  I told him that after that Training XC, they would all seem like cake from here.  

Check out his videos of SJ and the second water of XC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y43_UEVeOys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-ghlI91OQc
I am so happy with my boys.  I have two horses that I believe are going to make top notch upper level horses, and, hopefully, international stars. :)  I must thank everyone out there who has helped me on my journey.  I've been working my entire life for this.  I've never had the big bucks to just do it.  I've had to make my horses and take things one step at a time.  I'm just hoping that the road will keep going for me!  I would love to make the Developing Riders List, as I think that is a pretty cool accomplishment.  

I am seeking out sponsorships of all kinds at this point.  It is very difficult to make it all happen when you own your horses yourself.  If anyone has any ideas of places to send my proposals, or advice, etc, please let me know!!

Our next stop is Poplar Place Farm in Hamilton, GA the weekend after this one!  Bug is doing the CIC** and Renn will be doing Training again.  Say big prayers and wish us luck!  


Thanks for reading and keep kicking on!!