Tag Archives for Eisenhower

Whoa, That is What a Lengthening Feels Like?

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No, there are no new photos or videos of today’s ride.  The camera stayed in the car; probably a good thing since, yet again, a thunderstorm showed up at the end of my lesson.  Still trying to figure out how I pissed off Mother Nature enough that she’s decided that it should rain almost every time my butt hits the saddle.  I’m predicting a tropical storm or hurricane September 7th and 8th when I try for the last time to get my qualifying score.

For the 45 rain-free minutes of my lesson, Ike was a stellar pupil.  We are continuing to challenge him beyond the Training Level skill set we need for competition.  Why stagnate when there is no reason?  Are we ready to show First or Second Level?  Oh no!  But we will never be ready to compete at those levels if we don’t take the first steps to learning the new skills we will need.

Today’s lesson started with shoulder in to haunches in while tracking in both directions.  I found that shoulder in to the left is easier to the right, but I can more easily move Ike’s haunch to the right.  Go figure.  It is also a challenge to keep the giraffe neck and body in the correct alignment.  How easy it is to overbend that neck…especially for the girl who loves her inside rein a bit too much (I’m a work in progress).

This collected work helped to set up some lovely canter work.  Ike can still get a bit too strong in the hand with the canter.  Speed Racer made an appearance yesterday – no delicate half halt was going to slow down the boy yesterday.  Thank goodness we had none of that today as we worked on trot-canter-trot transitions on a circle.  Ms. C then had us feed off to a trot down the long side of the arena with me asking for the next trot gear.  We knew there was another gear lurking about and today, we found it.  I half halted and rebalanced on the short end and then with the gentlest squeeze of my fingers, I offered my hands forward and POW! the next trot gear revealed itself.  It felt like we were floating on air down the long side.  I honestly squealed with excitement.  Ms. C let us know that we’d found our trot lengthening.  Ah, said the blind girl.  Ohh dear, said the girl who realized she will have to sit that trot at second level.

We managed to again find that fabulous trot in the other direction right before the thunder rumbled and reminded us that we should seek cover.  We finished with a few circles of stretch down walk and trot and quickly headed to the barn.

Ike and I are still in the infancy of our journey, but it is gearing up to be a heck of a ride.  Now time to do some core work so I can keep up with my horse!

Move Over Schleprock, Here Comes Eisenrock

scheprockIf you were a Flintstone’s fan as a child, you might remember the character Schleprock.  He was the poor soul who always had the rain cloud following him around Bedrock.  Well move over Schleprock, here comes Eisenrock with his unfortunate rider.  We seem to have found a rain cloud that doesn’t want to leave.

I have already filled you in on our lack of show last weekend because of the pouring rain at the ungodly hour of the morning, but there were two other rides this week that were either shortened or cancelled because of rain.  Make a note – if I am scheduled to attend a clinic or show, there will be a greater than normal chance for rain.  Keep that in mind when making plans and feel free to contact me to find out if Ike and I will be attending a particular event.

Our lesson was on Thursday afternoon this week.  When I left home, there were blue skies with some fluffy white clouds.  By the time I had travelled the 18 miles to the barn, there were some darker clouds looming on the back side of the tree line.  As soon as my butt hit the saddle, I heard the first rumble of thunder.  Super.  Ms. C had checked the radar and there was nothing to note.  How is this possible?  We decided to give it a go and got to work without further delay.  Our 25 minutes of work was stellar.  We focused our efforts on keeping Ike in front of my leg with a steady connection.  Once we had that, I asked for the next gear.  Ike could give me 5-6 strides at most and then he would get unbalanced so we’d slow things down.  There are still more gears to discover, but the thunderstorm decided that we would not find them on Thursday.  The thunder got louder and angrier and the rain arrived, so we decided to head to the barn rather than push our luck as the tallest moving object for any lightening to play, “tag, you’re it.”

Friday was supposed to be a fun show outing.  We were going to invade my friend’s barn that has a Friday afternoon fun show a few times a summer.  Never mind that it is a hunter barn and the classes are for hunters, western pleasure, and games (barrel racing, pole bending, and costume classes).  We were going just for the chance to get off the farm to school.  I’d planned to warm up and then enter the command class and the two flat classes…if Ike was calm and could do his stretch down trot, he could pretend to be a hunter for a few minutes.  Well, the forecast for the day was a cold front arriving midday with showers from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Wrong!!  It rained all afternoon and the rain stuck around until 5 p.m.  The show was cancelled and rescheduled for this Friday.  I will not state whether or not we are going so as to not doom the show to another cancelation.

We finally had the second half of my lesson yesterday.  Ike was in such a cooperative spirit that we worked on leg yield, leg yield to the right with a change of bend to left lead canter, leg yield to the left to right lead canter, and 10 meter canter turns to centerline.  So proud of the big boy.  He tried his hardest and succeeded at all of these exercises.  This was the sunny spot of the week.  🙂  I have no doubt that the rains will soon return.

It Wasn’t Worth the Ribbon

Hey Cigar, Did you hear that I didn't have to show this past weekend?

Hey Cigar, Did you hear that I didn’t have to show this past weekend?

A 3:00 a.m. alarm is rude.  It doesn’t matter if it is one of the dogs waking me, the radio, or the alarm.  It just is inhuman to wake at that hour, but that is what we horse people do when your show is 1.5 hours away from your barn and you get stuck with one of the earliest ride times.  So I let the dogs out to find that the forecasted rain did indeed arrive in the wee hours of the morning.  Great, my Polish luck strikes again (for those of you wondering, Polish luck is the polar opposite of Irish luck.  I have Polish and Irish ancestors, but sadly, no Irish luck.)

We forge ahead to the local Wawa for extra-large cups of coffee.  As we get back on the road towards the barn, it starts to rain harder and even harder still.  Ugh.  I check the radar on my phone.  The entire region is covered in a large green blob.  Super-duper.  Do I chance loading Ike and head to the show?  Will he even leave the barn in the pouring down rain; he is a bit of a fair weather fairy after all.  Do we drive 1.5 hours to ride in the rain, wait in the rain, and ride again in the rain?  Is the ribbon and the score worth it?  I envision a score of 55% with comments reading, “erratic trot around puddle,” “this is not a prix caprilli class, horse should not be jumping.”

One last traffic light before we head down the road towards the barn.  The rain comes down harder and the wipers are barely keeping the windshield clear.  I pulled the plug then.  No sense stirring up the horses when we aren’t going anywhere.  I’m sure my disappointment was evident.  I send an email to the show secretary.  I hear a flushing noise as my show fees float away.

When daylight finally came, I headed out to the barn to visit with the boys.  They were peacefully grazing in the rain.  Ah, Ike will leave the barn if the rain isn’t too heavy.  Felt like a wimp for not going, but given the information available in the dead of night, I made the decision that made sense at that time.  Hindsight is a pesky bitch.  She nags at you and pokes holes in your logic.  I sent her down the drain with the show fees.

Was I disappointed?  Yes.  But really, it is just a score and maybe just a ribbon if it had been a decent score.  So what?  I have an acquaintance whose horse was just released from the vet hospital after battling an infection and a stifle injury.  My friend who bolstered my mood last night is still grieving from the unexpected loss of her talented young mare (Thanks S!  We will uncork a few bottles soon!).  And today, a gentle draft cross at my barn was rushed to the surgical clinic for his second severe colic in three months – fingers are crossed that he survives the night.  For as large and as strong as our horses are, they are also amazingly fragile creatures.  We take them for granted when things are going well.  They can be gone before we have a chance to say goodbye.  Remember it isn’t about the ribbons, it is about the journey and having these amazing creatures as part of your life.

It Has Been How Long Already?

003Two years, that’s right, two years have flown by.  It was August 8, 2011 that Ike officially joined the family.  He started his journey to Virginia that day and arrived two days later.  My baby-faced three-year-old with 30 days of training is now a handsome, strapping young boy.  He continues to amaze me and I count my blessings every day that I have the privilege to ride him.

He is sporting a new bridle in the photo in this post.  Sadly, he has outgrown the one I purchased for him when I was in Wellington (well, duh, you can’t go horse shopping in Wellington and not hit the tack stores!)  The pretty bling browband that I had specially made for him sadly no longer fits either.  And, in case you weren’t aware, he also outgrew my old horse trailer; we had to buy the supersized two-horse bumper pull with a side ramp so there was plenty of room  to accommodate the giraffe neck.  Guess I should feel lucky that my saddle still fits him…

I still can’t believe how quickly he has progressed in his training.  Now some would say that with a more educated rider he would probably be further along, and I would not disagree with that statement.  Let me explain my reference point:  My dearest Cigar began his dressage education in 2005.  He was not the ideal horse on which to learn dressage.  “No!” was his go-to place.  “No, I do not wish to yield to your half halt.”  “No, I do not wish to canter with my nose near vertical.”  The talent was there, but the willingness was not.  That coupled with his propensity to injure himself made for a very slow journey out of Intro and Training Levels.  By fall of 2010, we’d barely clawed our way into First Level when his fractured knee ended his riding career.

Now Ike, on the other hand, is a very willing partner.  Cigar would call him a suck up.  We are discovering more and more gears as he grows stronger.  The lengthened trot I rode yesterday felt like it only took 8 strides to ride the long side of the arena.  Two years ago we were lucky to canter without me losing a knee on the fence while Ike’s legs were flailing around like propellers.  Just yesterday during our lesson, we started schooling counter canter.  While schooling counter canter, Ike actually performed an effortless flying change.  A bit of an overachiever like his mother.  Two years ago, Ike would drift left and right since he lacked the balance and strength to keep his body traveling in a straight line.  Yesterday, we attempted half pass at the trot with gorgeous results to the right and a decent effort to the left.  Wow.  So this is what it is like to see forward progress.  It is a giddy feeling.  Makes me wonder where we will be this time next year!

Happy Anniversary Ike!  We are so glad you are part of our family!

The Sweatpants Did It

Oh, thanks for finding my shoe. I don't know how I parted ways with it.

Oh, thanks for finding my shoe. I don’t know how I parted ways with it.

Are you asking yourself, “What the heck does that blog title have to do with anything remotely equine?”  Grin.  Today’s adventure is a good time to share a funny story about my brother.  When he was about Ike’s age (5-6 years old), my parents purchased a brand new pair of sneakers for him.  We aren’t talking Air Jordan’s or anything remotely that pricey.  It was the late 1970’s so our clothes and shoes weren’t remotely cool at all.  Flammable, yes.  Cool, not in the least.  They were functional and supposed to last at least through Christmas.

So my brother had only worn his new sneakers for about a month when they ended up with a huge tear in them that made them unusable.  When my mother saw them, let’s just say that she was less than happy.  “Jeff, how did this happen?  Were you playing with Dad’s pocket knife again?!”  “No, Mom, my sweatpants did it,”  my brother stated matter-of-factly.  Um, huh?  Sweatpants?  They must be killer sweatpants.  Needless to say that not even my father with professional investigative skills could drag the truth out of my brother.  To this day he will proclaim that his sweatpants ripped his sneaker….which is the segue to Ike’s latest adventure.

I head out to the barn today to ride.  It was cloudy and cool and you really could not ask for a better day to ride in August.  When I arrive at the barn, I noticed that Ike was in his stall, yet all the other horses were outside.  Hmm, this is a bit odd.  As I approach the barn, Ms. C emerges and shares the news – Ike has pulled his front shoe.  Oh, you mean that shoe with the Equi-thane that was just put on not 7 days ago?!  Yes, that shoe.  Great.  Thanks Ike.  Ike stared at me with his innocent, big brown eyes like he didn’t know why I was so upset.  I quizzed him on how this could have happened.  I got a blank stare.  I asked him if the sweatpants did it.  Still, no answer.

Luckily, to Ike’s dismay, unlike my brother and his sneaker, there was a witness to this crime.  Ms. C filled in the rest of the story.  The cooler weather invigorated Cigar who decided that it was a good day to cavort with his younger brother.  Havoc and mayhem ensued and during the melee, Ike left his gel pad and shoe in the middle of the paddock.  Awesome.  Oh look there it is , a $100 laying in the dirt.  Too bad that the gel pad is not reusable.  Thankfully, the shoe is.  Thankfully, there is hoof left.  Thankfully, our show is  not this weekend.

Now I know how my mother felt…and why her wine glass was so big!

Back to the barn tomorrow to meet the farrier and hopefully the weather will cooperate for a ride.  Our next centerline is 12 days away!

Adult Supervison Necessary

022As you know, I took a week off from my normal routine and went on vacation.  Time away is supposed to help you cleanse the mind and recharge the batteries.  Time away from the saddle on the other hand is not good for my riding skills.  Now you would think that a week should have absolutely no effect on our progress or my ability to ride my horse.  After all, Ike was worked by Ms. C, and I did manage to walk on the beach and boogie board which should both count as exercise.  That is all good and wonderful, but a week without proper riding instruction left me feeling out of sorts and I realized during my lesson today that I require regular adult supervision in order to stay fine tuned with my riding.

I know many people who ride and train their horses on their own with only occasional lessons or clinics when they hit a rough spot.  Some attend a monthly clinic.  Still others rarely if ever solicit input from anyone and never seem to suffer any dire consequences from the lack of assistance.  Ike and I would still be running into fences if we did not have our weekly lessons supplemented with clinics, extra lessons, and impromptu assistance when things go horribly awry.  I am the toddler who cannot be left alone for fear of ruining my horse’s natural talent.

My first three rides after my vacation were not my best effort.  We will blame one on Ike since he was a pill for most of the session.  The other two poor rides fall squarely on my shoulders.  No blaming the weather, the gunshots, nor the neighbor’s dog.  I could not seem to establish a steady connection, find any thoroughness at the trot, and cantered as if there was a fire in Ike’s tail.  Not good.  The entry fees have been mailed for my last 3 chances to qualify for the regionals in October.  We need to find our A-game quickly and get back on track.  I might have to resort to two lessons a week until I find my riding legs again.

In order to advance during yesterday’s lesson, we first had to back track.  Stand at the halt and flex your horse to the left and then to the right.  Sounds easy enough until you are told your horse is tilting his head rather than flexing….try again.  We ended up needing some ground assistance in order to unlock Ike’s massive head.  Finally, success.  Now you may walk.

Trotting was also challenging for me yesterday.  And we aren’t talking anything fancy – just trot on the rail and maintain a steady connection.  Don’t forget to half halt when necessary to rebalance your horse.  I finally brought Ike back to a walk and declared that I felt like a “$&**# idiot.”  Ms. C just matter-of-factly kept the lesson moving forward and did not let me wallow in self disgust.  Good thing.  With her coaching and guidance, I was finally able to find my mojo and ride my horse.  With only two weeks until our next show, there is no time to waste.  There are no “atta girl” points given in dressage tests.

Headed back to the barn today to attempt to replicate what we had by the end of our lesson.  Wish me luck.  This toddler is going to need it!

What The!?!

The Big, Bad Horse

The Big, Bad Horse

So I go out-of-town for a week of sand between my toes and I came home to an ENORMOUS horse.  I swear that Ike added 6 inches in height and at least 100-200 pounds while I was gone.  How is this possible?  What did Ike eat in the 7 days I was gone to bulk up that quickly?  I checked around the barn, but did not find any secret stash of steroids or evidence of weight gain powder residual in his food bowl.  Of course, I am certain that he really didn’t gain any height or weight in one week, but the mind sure can play tricks.

While I didn’t do much besides play in the surf and soak up some rays, Ike had to face the daunting task of performing for Ms. C on two days.  Luckily he was his usual stellar self for both of his training sessions.  She put Ike through his paces and confirmed that indeed, he is ready to move to harder concepts.  She played with pushing Ike forward and then bringing him back to a working gait.  There are more gears yet to be discovered.  Oh, dear.  While an extended canter does nothing to faze me, a huge extended trot is enough to give me the vapors.  Thank goodness that you can now rise the trot even at First Level.

Knowing that our (okay, my) next big hurdle is sitting Ike’s trot while keeping him together and keeping my legs from shooting out in front of me, that is what I worked on for my ride on Sunday.  Why not go full-out my first day back in the saddle!?  I used my SOS strap as best I could to help keep my ass in the saddle where it is supposed to be.  Also used all my yoga breathing techniques to keep me from holding my breath as I am prone to do.  Had limited success with the SOS strap since I then would forget to half halt and Ike would lose his connection and raise his head.  Arrrgh!  Oh yeah, as I was forgetting to half halt, I also managed to let my reins get too long so Ike was left to wonder what the heck was going on in the saddle.  He did his best at interpreting what he thought were my aids, but were in fact just me flopping around like a fish out of water.  And no, there is no video.

Today was a challenging day.  Ike must have woken up on the wrong side of the stall, because he was recalcitrant from the moment I retrieved him for the farrier appointment.  He tried to bite me.  He tried and almost succeeded in biting his farrier (he must have forgotten what happened the one time he did bite Phil…).  He then tried to bite me again.  Once the shoeing was done, he pawed the shavings in his stall until there was a hole near the door.  I yelled.  Ike then turned around and pushed with all his might on the stall door which got him a poke on the butt from me.  He then tried biting me while pinning his ears as I wrote the check to the farrier.

I decided to tack up to see if the mood would carry over.  Why yes, it did.  He tried to bite me as I tightened the girth.  He spit the bit out.  He even spit out his peppermint.  A squeeze from my leg resulted in an ear-pinning, cow kick to which I responded with a tap from my whip.  I got an ear-pinning, “I’m going to bite you” look from that.  Ike then sucked back and would not connect.  Then he decided to play giraffe and blow through my half halts.  After 30 minutes of arguing, we FINALLY had 10 minutes of pleasantness.  I considered that a success and dismounted.  Tomorrow is another day.  Hoping Ike has a better night’s sleep tonight.  Vacation is over!

You Know You Are a Horse Junkie When…

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1) It is 107 degrees with the heat index and yet you still put on your riding pants and black leather boots and give it a go.

2) You can count on two fingers the number of pedicures that you have ever had, yet your horse gets their hooves done every 5 weeks.

3) The equine family member also gets a set of very expensive shoes every five weeks along with their pedicure, but you have had the same pair of riding boots for the past 10 years.

4) Your horse has buttery soft leather bridles and halters, has a custom fitted leather saddle…you have “pleather” shoes and purses or you have a nice leather purse that you bought second hand on eBay.

5) The nutritional content of your horse’s feed is analyzed and scientifically calculated to increase performance.  You eat whatever you can find in the cabinet or whatever you can purchase from the fast food restaurant that happens to be on your way home.

6) Your tack is immaculate, stalls are cleaned on a daily basis, and water troughs scrubbed as soon as a little scum is noted.  In your own home, you can write your name in the layer of dust on the furniture and their is a small dog’s worth of dog hair lurking under the sofa.

7) Heaven forbid if your equine prince or princess not have their saddle pads and polo wraps washed after one use.  You use the “sniff test” to determine if you can squeeze another day out of your t-shirt and jeans.

8) There are more expenditures for horse-related activities in your checkbook than any other category.  As such, your horse’s budget is larger than that for your mortgage, car and food.

9) Weekends are planned around your horse shows.  Weekdays are planned around riding, vet appointments, feed store, and trips to the tack store.

10) The number of bookmarks for horse-themed websites and tack stores is far greater than all other bookmarks combined.

11) You can quote every horse show within a 50 mile radius over the next 6 months.

12) You have a credit card that is maintained just for emergency vet bills.

13) The hair care products used for your horse’s mane, tail, and coat are top of the line.  You purchase store brands.

14) The interior of your car is tan to better hide the barn dirt.  The upholstery smells of lederbalsam, horse sweat, and hay.  The smell is permanent.

15) The vet, farrier, and trainer are all on speed dial on your phone.  They are the only numbers committed to memory.

16) It is your birthday, but your horse gets more gifts than you do.  The same is true for Christmas.

17) Most of the artwork in your home includes a horse.

18) There are more photos of your horse(s) on the laptop than of any other occasion.

19) Horse show ribbons are an acceptable alternative to curtains or wall decorations.

20) You realize that all 19 things on this list are true, but you wouldn’t trade your horse or the lifestyle for anything.

And We’re Moving On Up, On Up…

005Well, okay, we are not moving into a penthouse suite, nor are we moving to the top of the training scale.  Only in my dreams do we piaffe and passage with the best horses and riders.  No, we are moving on to the next level of Ike’s dressage education which means we will begin schooling first and second level concepts in earnest.

The game changer was last Tuesday when Ms. C rode Ike.  She now knows exactly where Ike stands with his training.  Poor Ike can’t hide behind my poor technique or lack of skills anymore.  Ms. C likes how Ike responds in the Neue Schule bit; he is not too heavy, nor does he avoid contact with it.  She believes that he will have excellent lateral work.  She also said that he now has the physical and mental strength to handle the greater demands that he will now face.

Soooo, that meant that during my lesson on Saturday and my lesson today, I had to be focused and mentally ready to really ride my horse every single stride.  As I’ve stated in past posts, I have a tendency to turn on the cruise control and forget to half halt, shift my weight, move my leg, or do anything to improve Ike’s way of moving.  Ms. C yelling, “why are you letting your horse flatten?” or “where is Ike’s shoulder headed?” usually bring me out of my cruise mode and back to reality.  I’d say that having the ability to focus and ride every stride are probably two of those key elements that separate the talented riders from the rest of us.

So first on the list of skills to master as we embark on this next phase of our training is focus – I knew how to do it when I ran hurdles as part of my high school’s track team.  I could run by bleachers filled with screaming people and not hear a thing.  Nothing.  Nothing but the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement.  Not sure when I lost that ability.  Is it part of the aging process?  Maybe I need some ginko biloba to increase blood flow to the brain and thus, the brain’s capacity to think and stay focused.

The next skill to master is relaxing my arms and legs so that I can improve my sit trot.  If we are moving on with Ike’s training, then I need to be able to keep up as he masters the new skills.  What good is it to have a horse that is ready for Second Level when the rider is still struggling to keep her ass in the saddle without shooting her legs out and bracing.  This isn’t water skiing.  My sit trot during my lesson today was better than on Saturday.  I’ve noticed that there are times that it is still better to rise than to hunker down and fight for the sit trot.  With Ike, when I ask for a trot lengthening, it is better for me to get off his back…at least at this point in the training.  Today I would sit the short ends, lengthen the long sides, and then go back to sit trot.  While it might not have been the prettiest, I do think that we did okay with our efforts.

I’m very excited with where we are with Ike’s training.  I fought for seven years with Cigar and barely made it out of Training Level before his career ended.  He challenged me every step of the way and at times, I would get very demoralized.  I pretty much decided that I had no idea what I was doing.  Ike has helped me regain my confidence and realize that progress is possible.  It might even happen faster than I anticipated…

The Marshmallow Fluff Separation

010I’d like to share with you my story of the jar of marshmallow fluff.  You know the stuff, that small jar of white, sticky goodness that only ever was used for Thanksgiving dinner when I was a child.  My mother would mash yams with butter and brown sugar, then top them with apple pie filling, and then marshmallow fluff.  Completely healthy right?  Well we never seemed to use the whole jar, so the partially used jar would go live in the back of the pantry.  Now my mother’s pantry is as deep as a normal closet, so neglected food items have a tendency to hang out in the dark recesses and never see the light of day again.

One night in the fall of 2003, I decided to cook dinner for my parents.  I opened the pantry to see what was available……..that turned into a treasure hunt to see what canned item was the oldest.  The winner was clearly the bulging can of chicken ala king from 1978 (the year we moved into the house).  Anyone hungry for some botulism with a side of rice?

Anyway, I also came across the forgotten jar of marshmallow fluff dated 1984.  Do you know what happens to 19-year-old fluff?  It separates into two distinct layers:  the corn syrup layer and the layer of unidentified white stuff.  Yum.  Too bad that this predated the days of smart phones or there would be a photo to share.

Now for the $1000 question:  Why am I sharing the marshmallow fluff separation story?  Well, let me tell you why.  I got off my sorry butt and on Tuesday night, attended the monthly meeting for my local dressage chapter.  We are a small group, but there are some very dedicated people who keep things running.  And there are suckers like me that volunteer to be acting secretary because I felt guilty that I’d been so lazy for the past couple of years.  While at the meeting, I heard a story that saddened me.  It involved some members who were supposed to be working together, but things spiraled the wrong way, plans fell apart and the two factions separated…just like the marshmallow fluff.  Unfortunately, no amount of stirring was going to correct things in time for the group activity.  What a shame.  In smaller organizations, the breakdown of communication and teamwork can really hurt the organization as a whole.  I was not involved, so I know none of the specifics.  I just hope that going forward that everyone can put those feelings aside and remember why we joined this organization: our love of horses and the sport of dressage.

Equestrian sports might be a multi-million dollar industry, but there would be no shows without volunteers.  From the small local shows to the World Equestrian  Games, volunteers keep the show wheels turning.  There has to be someone to set up the show grounds, to beg companies to donate prizes and sponsor the classes, to keep the riders in the warm up ring up-to-date on their classes, or to sit for hours on end writing down the judge’s scores and comments.  Let’s give a big round of applause for the folks who are on the cross country course at each of the jumps rain or shine, those who are the runners or gate keepers, and those who sit in a windowless room calculating the scores as quickly as possible.  I coordinated volunteers for four years – it can be like herding cats – challenging, frustrating, and rewarding all at the same time.  There is no better feeling than when the show is over and all the ribbons have been handed out, to hear a thank you from a competitor for an enjoyable day.  That is what keeps you motivated to do it again and again.

So the next time you are at odds with another member of your association, take a moment, breathe deeply, and ask yourself, “Do you want to be one of the layers of the old marshmallow fluff or a well-blended jar of sugary goodness?”

Alison

p.s. Ike and I have our lesson tomorrow…work and weather played havoc with our riding this week and delayed our weekly tune up.