With horses, progress is slow. It can be hard to see the changes day in and day out, as we do our 20 meter circles and endless transitions. So the timescale of progress with horses is different than with other things. Looking back – and even while I was living it – Drifter’s progress once … More Throwback Thursday: Progress
Last night, I learned some tough news. Drifter’s owners have decided that they are going to sell him. While I was always aware that my situation with Drifter would end at some point, it did come as a shock that that time is now. Or pretty much now. I will still ride him until he is sold. … More Sad News & The End of a Chapter
This past weekend was the big finale show for the local circuit and it’s always a fun one. It’s an out of town one, so our team stays over in a hotel and it’s a full weekend of nonstop horse show goodness. We drove up Friday afternoon and schooled outside first. This went great, except … More Show Recap: WHJA Fall Finals
It has been two years since I started working with a wiggly, distracted baby named Drifter. And almost exactly two years to the day since he weighed in for the first time. He hasn’t said too much lately. I’ll have to talk to him about that. September 2014 | Age 4 Height: 15.2 hh at … More Drifter’s Diary: 2 Years Together
It’s been a challenging month or so with Drifter. I haven’t wanted to write much because I felt I needed to work through things before writing about what I now call our “creative differences.” Also, I didn’t really realize that I’d actually kept it bottled up until I got a little teary in a lesson and … More Overcoming Creative Differences
As I reviewed the photos taken at our last show, I realized something. The position of my back is terrible when landing off a jump. I mean, really bad. I think this realization was so stark because I’d also just finished watching a video of the winning rider in an equitation final, so of course she looked … More Baby Got Back (Problems)
A quick reminder: My goals for this weekend’s show were to have rhythm and clarity. I put them in that order because it’s hard to achieve clarity without rhythm and the level of control and calmness that it provides. And I also wanted to not die of heat stroke. So did we achieve our goals? … More Show Recap: Sweet Summertime
I am bursting with pride. Drifter went to his very first show this weekend. And he was a rockstar. He was a little nervous when we arrived, but settled right into his stall and from then on he offered a calm demeanor and willing attitude the whole weekend. I honestly went into the weekend totally prepared … More Drifter’s First Show
We recently had our first outdoor jumping lesson of the year. Actually, it is the only real outdoor jumping we’ve been able to do because every other time we’re planning on riding outside, it rains. #WisconsinLife Smaller heights to acclimate to the jumps that were just set up in the outdoor arena. Nice and easy, … More Video: First Outdoor Jumping of 2016
Over the weekend, I rode in an amazing clinic with Kirsten Nelsen. At the beginning, I had explained that Drifter is generally a pretty stoic guy, not super emotional or anxious. He tries very hard, and he’s a thinker. He sometimes needs to take a little extra time to think over difficult concepts; there have … More The Best Compliment I’ve Ever Gotten
