Time flies

Wow, has it really been a month and a half since I posted?!?!  Ahh!  So sorry for my lack of promptness!!  There has been a lot going on here at Rocky Start.  Where to begin?

Bug has been on hiatus since Fairhill.  He got a few weeks of no work at all, and he is now back to work on the flat.  He is so thrilled to be doing so much dressage! haha  He will start back to jumping this week, which I'm sure, will make his life worth living again.  haha

Renn had his big move up to Preliminary at Virginia the end of October.  Bonnie and I had been schooling him hard, and we were sure that he was ready.  I decided to do the Gambler's Choice jumper class with him the Friday evening before the show.  See the video above!  He was a superstar in the big colesium, and he even jumped the bogey fence at the end, a huge airy vertical with no ground line.  Renn was pretty full of himself for his dressage test the next morning.  Due to snow on the ground, they pushed XC back and we had to wait around all day to go.  The course wasa pretty good move up, however, Fence 8 abc was a very tough coffin in the back of the course.  The B element was the ditch off of a 90 degree turn.  The ditch was also hiding behind some tree limbs.  Renn thought he was going until the last minute, and unfortunately, I trusted him a bit too much.  He slammed on the brakes at the last minute, and I kept going.  Air vest deployed.  End of the show for us.  It was unfortunate, as I believe that if I could have represented, I would have gotten him over it.  We will work hard this winter to be sure that his confidence is back, and he's ready to go.  He'll do some Trainings in the early spring to see where he is before we decide to move him back up. 
Also, on the Renn front, I am offering a discount on stud fees for 2012 if you book before Jan 15.  Contact me for more information!  Check out the video of Renn in a lesson with Bonnie.

We have some new horses here at RSS as well.  I think I may have talked about them before, but I have more information on them now.
1.  Rosarita: 2005 Hanoverian mare by Rolling Stone (who is by the great Rubenstein I) and out of MS Amelia.  She is 16.2 hands and liver chestnut with a star and 4 socks.  She has a puppy dog personality, and she is very athletic and willing.  She was started late as a 5 year old then left for a year, so for her age, she's pretty green.  However, she is coming along quickly.  See the video below of her in a lesson with Bonnie.  It was the first time she'd ever done any grid or real polework.  I believe she will make an excellent young rider or adult amateur's horse.

2.  Whitfield:  2005 Hanoverian gelding by Wildcard.  He is 17 hands and bay with a star and 3 socks.  As with Rosarita, he was started late and then left for a year.  He is a sweet boy, but he is very sensitive.  He needs an experienced rider with patience.  He loves to hack out, and I am thinking that he may be best as a foxhunter.  We will see.  See the video below.  It is also from a lesson with Bonnie and was his first time doing grid and real polework.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMYaCLAMaoE&feature=related

3.  Fame de Bromont:  2002 Oldenburg mare by Walldorf.  She is a 16.1 hand liver chestnut with a blaze and high socks.  Fame was well trained then had an injury that put her out of work for awhile.  She is just coming back into work.  More information to come as she progresses into work.

In other news, I have decided to donate 5% of my income from lessons and training from Dec 5 thru Dec 31 to Cabin Creek TB Rescue.  In light of the new Horse Slaughter Bill being passed, I have decided that, even though I am financially strapped, I would like to try to help the rescues who are keeping as many horses out of the slaughter houses as they can.  I got my lovely Ellie Mae from Cabin Creek, and I plan to get as many as I can from there in the future.  There's nothing like an OTTB!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and remembered to be thankful for everything that they have.  I am very thankful to God for all that He has blessed me with.  Even when times are tight, I know that I still have it a lot better than many others.

Thanks for reading!!  Heels down, kick on!

When it all comes together....

"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."
-Frank Lloyd Wright

And so, the culmination of my entire competition year has come and gone, and I can't wipe the smile off my face!  Eventers always talk about the show where everything comes together....the show where your horse peaks at the perfect time.....that show that just goes right.  Well, I got to experience that at the CCI** at Fairhill International. 
My horse is amazing, to say the least.  Just over a year before our trip to Fairhill this year, he was at Viriginia Tech having emergency colic surgery for the second time in his life.  Being a poor up and coming professional, I was sure that I was going to have to put down my horse of a lifetime, just because I couldn't afford to pay for the surgery.  As with all things related to insurance, once there's an issue, it's uninsurable.  Therefore, I was looking down the nose of a huge surgery bill with no way to pay it.  Thank God for the awesome vets and surgeons at VA Tech.   They made it happen, and I will be forever grateful to them.  Between the vets and my AMAZING support team of people, we got Bug fixed, home, and paid for.  When I think back to all that my boy has been through, it makes this past weekend even more amazing!!
I also have to send a HUGE "Thank you" to Bonnie Mosser for coming all the way up to Fairhill to coach me for the weekend!  She kept me mentally straight and gave me a plan to stick to.  I am so grateful for all that she has done for me, and I'm looking forward to more!  My riding has improved so much in the short time that I've been riding with her.  She just says things the way that I need to hear them. 
So, the Clif's Notes version of the show.  It was HORRENDOUS weather for the first few days, though, I'm told it was nothing like a few years ago.  For that, I am glad.  Bug's dressage test was done in the rain with about 30 mph winds.  The weights in the tails of my coat kept hitting me in the back of the head!  Normally, this would have been just the thing Bug would have looked for to spook.  However, we both kept it together mentally and put in our best test to date!!  Yes, of course, we have tons to work on and keep improving, but I am THRILLED with how well he went.  Our score was about 12 points better than it was at Jersey in the spring.  That's quite an improvement!  This put us tied for 30th place out of 68.  I will admit...I may have done a happy dance in the stabling area when they announced my score.  My goal was to break 60, and we got a 59.2! :)

The XC course was tough.  It was definitely more of an Advanced test, and I was really excited to see how Bug would jump around it.  I knew if I kept my head on straight, and he saw the fences, we would be good.  However, I knew I needed to be as close to optimum as possible, which I have struggled with in the past.  Mud makes me a bit nervous, as I displayed at Morven, so I was anxious to see if I could pull it off.  I was number 57, so 50 some odd horses were going to run across the sloppy footing before I even got a chance.  Bonnie told me to take it a bit easy in the first field, as the footing was sloppiest there.  After I got over fence 11B, I was to gun it!  haha  Let me tell you, if I doubted that Bug could make time before, I'm certainly sticking my foot in my mouth now.  We were only 15 seconds over time on a 9 minute course!  For us, that is amazing!  I think we were 60 seconds or so over at Jersey.  I've finally figured out how to go fast and still be balanced and jump!  If the footing had been good, I have no doubt that we would have made time.  My little superstar charged around that course and ate it for breakfast.  He never batted an eyelash, just kept saying, "BRING IT ON!"  Our awesome round moved us up to 19th place! 

Returning to the barn all smiles, I realized that now, my nemesis of the year, show jumping was staring me in the face.  Yikes!  Could I pull off a good round with a huge crowd?  I tend to let my brain shut down.  Show jumping has been MY nemesis all year.  My horse is an AMAZING jumper, and he is very adjustable.  He can and will jump from ANYWHERE.  People say...what's the problem??  Well, the problem is, that makes it very hard to get your eye tuned to what's correct.  However, I knew that I had put in many hours with Bonnie, and I COULD do it.  I just had to step up my mental game and get it done.
After walking the course with Bonnie on Sunday morning, I knew it was tough, but I also knew that my horse could make it look like a child's game.  I bucked up my brain and put my big girl pants on.  Let me tell you, as I jumped the last fence, I definitely threw my fist in the air!  It was the BEST round of my LIFE!  Foot perfect.  Amazing.  I sooo wish I had it on video!  The cheer from the crowd was amazing!  The announced commented on the fact that I must be a crowd favorite, and that I was thrilled with how my horse went.  I guess he could tell because I was grinning from ear to ear. 
We finished 16th out of 68.  That isn't too shabby for Fairhill! Our entire score was still 5 points better than my dressage score at Fairhill! I am still grinning.  I love my special pony.  He is definitely my once in a lifetime horse.  I cherish him every day.  Just watching him in the field as he bosses around his pasture buddy makes me happy. 
Bonnie says to start studying the Advanced and 3 star tests, as we're going big next year!  Bug says, "I really belong at Rolex, but Advanced will do for now, I guess."  :) 

In other news, baby Renn is doing his first Preliminary this coming weekend at the Virginia Horse Trials!  Wish us luck! :)
Also, I have gotten a sponsor!!!  Snider's Elevator (www.sniderselevator.com) has graciously offered to sponsor myself and my ponies!  I'm so excited!  I worked there through college, and they carry a large selection of riding supplies.  Check out their website!  Sending out a big "Thank you" to them!

Mud, Sweat, and....er...Cheers!

Hello, hello!

Things have been super busy since I last posted.  Bug, Renn, and I made the trip up to Morven Park last weekend.  Let's just say, I'm very glad that my mom got me a set of Frog Togs for Christmas last year, as I got to put them to good use there!  The weather was abysmal.  Cold, pouring rain, and wind were in abundance on Saturday.  Renn competed in the Open Training division A in a field of 15.  With the horrible weather and the cross country running right by his dressage arena, I was worried that Renn might be less than attentive.  However, I must say, he was very strong, but he was willing and listening for the most part.  He ended up with a 35.9 which put him in a 4 way tie for 5th place.  The weather only got worse as his jumping phases were upon us.  I am soooo proud of my boy for the way he went in the horrendous conditions.  He jumped double clear around a tough show jumping course and went on to put in another double clear in the XC around a tough course with very slippery footing.  Baby stallion ended up 4th in that huge division that included a lot of big names!!  After talking with Bonnie, we have decided that Renn has earned his way to a move up to Preliminary at the Virginia Horse Trials!!  Yay!!
Bug was in the Open Intermediate A division with a field of 16.  He put in his best dressage test to date in the indoor arena with a 39.6!  We finally broke 40!  That was even with an accidental flying change.  He was quiet and relaxed.  What we really lacked was brilliance in the trot for better scores.  I was THRILLED with him.  All of the hard work that we've been doing with Bonnie is paying off!  He went on to jump a double clear round in the show jumping.  The footing had gotten even worse by the time that we went, and Bug felt it was neccessary to overjump everything by 3', so I was a bit discombobulated, and I didn't ride as well as I would have liked.  There were some great fences, and there were some not so great fences. 
Bug's XC was on Sunday, and the rain had let up some, but the footing was still horrendous.  The weather was very cold, though the wind wasn't as bad.  I decided upon walking the course that I wouldn't be trying to make time.  The footing was horrible, and with it being so close to Fairhill, I didn't want to risk him.  During the warmup, Bug was jumping huge, and upon jumping a big warmup rolltop, he landed hard and got his feet stuck in the mud.  We almost had a tumble.  I think it rattled both of us, as we just weren't ourselves out on course.  I wasn't going forward enough to the fences, and Bug was being extra careful in the mud.  He was all about adding the stride. 
We ended up in 7th place in the division, which made me really happy.  We made it around, and even though there are still things to work on, I feel like we're making progress. 
Fairhill is upon us, and we leave on Tuesday at 5 am!  The jog up is on Wednesday, and the dressage fun begins on Thursday.  We won't find out any of our times until after the first jog. 
I hope people will come out to watch us!!! 

I will try to keep everyone updated as much as possible at Fairhill.
All thoughts and prayers are much appreciated! :)

My own worst enemy...

I know that it's been awhile since I last blogged.  I hope this all finds everyone well!

After Waredaca, I went home and started to work hard with the boys.  I've been riding in what I like to call, "Bonnie Bootcamp" every week that I can.  We have been working hard on Bug's dressage and my show jumping, as well as Renn's show jumping.  I am determined to learn how to ride! :)  We also had a XC schooling session with Renn, and he was a superstar.  He jumped a lot of difficult combinations like a pro.

I took Bug to the Five Points Horse Trials the beginning of September.  I had a plan for our dressage, and it seemed to really work.  He was the most relaxed and supple that he's ever been in a test.  There's always more work to be done, but I felt like it was a big improvement.  As far as the judge goes, though, we only scored about 2 points better than Waredaca.  Oh well.  The XC was a big, gallopy course.  The optimum was just under 7 minutes, so I knew this would be a good test of whether we could make time on a longer course or not.  Bug was a superstar!  He was forward and bold.  We had one sticky moment going through the sunken road, as we've never done a proper one before.  I got a bit zoned on the A, B, C, D...lots of flags to overwhelm me!  Bug was great though and packed me through.  Other than that, we had a great round.  We were only 13 seconds over time!  If we had been more forward through the sunken road, that would have saved us even more time.  I was thrilled with him.  This put us in 6th place!

I walked the SJ course on Sunday with a bit of trepidation.  It was a very forward course, and I was already worried about  making the distances without the chip stride.  This led to me not quite finding my mojo in the warm-up and just running at things in the course.  We ended up with 3 rails, which is unheardof with Bug.  I was actually a bit worried that he was sore somewhere.  So, this dropped us down to 8th place. 

I was very bummed, but it definitely gave me more to work on.  I also learned that I need to really learn how to acquire mental toughness. 

Bonnie and I have been working hard on the boys ever since.  We are headed to Morven Park this weekend, where Bug will do his last Intermediate before the CCI** at Fairhill, and Renn will do Training. 

Also, in other news, I have 2 new consignment horses in.  Whitfield is a 2005 Hanoverian gelding by Wildcard.  He is 17 hands and a lovely blood bay.  He is a bit more of a sensitive being, but I think he will make someone a great horse.  Rosarita is a 2005 Hanoverian mare by Rolling Stone.  She is 16.1 and a lovely liver chestnut.  She is bold and very sensible and willing.  I also think she's going to be a lot of fun!  There will also be another horse arriving sometime in the near future. Fame de Bromont is a 2001 Oldenburg mare by Waldorf.  She is 16.2, I believe, and also a very lovely liver chestnut with a lot of chrome. 

Hopefully, this fall will be a great time for Rocky Start Stables and its students!  I'm excited to work hard and see how things pan out.

Until then...heels down, head up!

The Good, The Bad, and The...uh...Handsome?!

It has been an action packed month since I last blogged. 

1.  One big, exciting piece of news...  I have started taking lessons from Bonnie Mosser in addition to my lessons with Kim Severson.  Kim is over 4 hours away from me, and it is difficult for me to get to see her more than once every 3 or 4 months.  For someone that truly wants to be competetive in the big leagues, this just wasn't cutting it.  Bonnie has recently relocated to NC, and she's very close.  I have taken 2 jump lessons on each of the boys and a dressage lesson on Bug.  The change in myself and my boys has been amazing!!  It's sooo incredibly nice to have eyes on the ground on a regular basis.  I plan to continue riding with them both as much as I can.  

Bug and I at the MDHTII (photo by Mike McNally)

2.   Bug ran the Open Intermediate division at the Waredaca HT this past Saturday.  I can tell that all of our gallops are paying off, as he was a bit too big for his britches for the dressage.  He was quite frisky in the warm-up and never really chilled out.  To make it even more exciting, the arena was right next to the concessions stand, so there was smoke billowing over the fence from their oversized grill.  Bug was pretty sure it was the smoke from a fire breathing dragon.  haha  In his defense, he DID chill out for the last part of the test, and his canter work was much better.  I was definitely disappointed, though.  We ended up with a 44. 
However, in typical Bug fashion, he went on to redeem himself in the jumping phases.  Our show jumping round was the best round I've had since early this spring.  He was soft and listening, I was riding up to the fences, and I wasn't panicking and just running him off of his feet.  It was the best feeling.  We had one rail, which was totally my fault (as Bug will tell you!).  However, I was more pleased with that round than I was with most of my double clears this year!  I hope that I've finally got my groove back!
The XC was a very gallopy, very hilly course with a lot of good questions.  I was determined to be within 15 seconds of optimum, as I have really been struggling to make time at Intermediate.  I know that this is because of my underriding and backing up to fences.  We went out there and ROCKED around that course.  Every time I wanted to slow too much,  I kicked more.  Bug never backed up to a fence, and he never had one of those suspended in mid-air moments over a fence.  It was an amazing round.  He was CRUISING!  We came in just 12 seconds over time.  This was our fastest Intermediate round yet.  I couldn't stop smiling.  We ended up 7th out of 23 in a field of some big names.  Awesome boy!  *pat, pat*




Renn at the MDHTII (photo by Karen Wurster)


3.  Renn also ran at Waredaca in the Open Training division.  He was such a good boy for his dressage.  He was very obedient and submissive.  He lacked some of his forward energy, which probably cost us some points.  He got a 36, which isn't too shabby, but it's definitely not the best he can do. 
Renn and I have been struggling in the sj, as he either pays too much attention to me and ignores the jumps or grabs the bit and runs hellbent for election.  I know that he is capable of jumping well.  With Bonnie's help, I have been trying a new style with him.  He jumped great at Waredaca!  He had one rail where he probably wasn't paying quite enough attention, and I had one rail.  However, the rest of the round was quite lovely!  I was so happy with him.
Unfortunately, the XC was quite large for Training, and I was a bit worried that the ghosts of that bad XC school would come back to haunt us.  I was right.  He ended up getting eliminated late on course at the HUGE ditch at the coffin.  Otherwise, he was quite bold and brave.  I'm disappointed, but as things go with horses, you just have to keep training.  There's always something.  He'll be going XC schooling this weekend at The Fork to see if we can get that bold horse back.

4.  I have been accepted into the American Horse Trials Foundation, which means that I can now accept tax deductible donations!!!  If you want more information on how to sponsor me or have ideas to help me along this financially difficult road, please contact me!  There is a sponsorship proposal with more information on my website as well.

I think that's about all for now!  Bug and I will be heading to Five Points in a few weeks. 

Thanks to everyone for their support and for checking in!  Heels down, Chin up!

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.