Ride with your Heart

Thursday Feb 24, 2011

I got a phone call around 1 o’clock in the morning from David, the manager and owner of the farm in Wisconsin. He told me he just arrived back to his house from Florida and he was looking at flights for me to get to Wisconsin in the morning! We thought about a 6 am flight, but decided on an 8 am flight to Atlanta, and arriving in Wisconsin at 2 in the afternoon. I was lucky on my flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee-I had a whole row to myself to stretch out, lay down, and sleep for the duration of the flight (two hours of sleep the night before was just not enough)! When I arrived in Milwaukee, Kevin (the other manager/owner) and David picked me up along with Kevin’s 3-month-old terrier, Bruce. We talked in the car on the hour long drive back to the farm in Watertown, discussing about our history with horses and learned more about each other. I got to learn about all of the prestigious breeding lines that the farm has… it was very interesting to understand how much goes into the process of crossing bloodlines.

When we turned into the farm an hour later, I was mesmerized; the farm is simply beautiful. Rolling hills covered with snow, huge pastures with horses milling around in them, and a beautiful barn and indoor arena. Kevin took the liberty of showing me around the stallion stable, where I met Silvia, (from Austria/Germany) who is one of the main riders, and Sarah, another rider and groom. They are the sweetest girls in the world and their knowledge of horses surpasses mine. They brought me from stall to stall, introducing me to all of the stallions, who were shocking! Each one of them is gorgeous, has a unique personality, and the best part of all: they all have the sweetest disposition. I have never met such sweet, docile stallions before, and I knew right away that the people on this farm knew how to handle horses the right way.

After a tour of the entire property, I put my things in the beautiful house I stayed in. Kevin showed me many videos of some of the stallions they have at the farm, and of one stallion they have in Germany named Hirtentanz. After watching the videos, Kevin and David took me out to dinner and to the town, which is 15 minutes away. By the time we came back, it was 9 pm and time to feed all of the young stallions & mares, and bring all of the babies and pregnant mares in. We fed and hayed the young horses who stay out 24/7, mares in one section, stallions in another. After this, we went to the barn with the yearlings and pregnant mothers are. This barn is on top of a hill, and overlooks the rest of the property. There are about nine babies, all under a year... and they are precious! Each one of them is so personable, and sweet, I have never seen such young horses be so mature and friendly towards people. After bringing all of them in (also feeding and haying the pregnant ones as well), we went inside, talked for a while, and then went our separate ways to our bedrooms. I went to sleep dreaming of the majestic horses who I would be riding in less than 10 hours.

Friday Feb 25, 2011

            I woke before my alarm went off, and when it finally came time to get out of my comfortable bed, I couldn’t have been happier.  I got a late start this day because Silvia had another arrangement early in the morning, so I got to sleep in until 9. I had breakfast with David and Kevin, who drove me down to the stallion barn around 10 am. I dressed in as many layers as I could, I didn’t realize just how cold it was going to be, so I had a long-sleeved shirt with two jackets over it. My riding pants and gloves are not insulated because of the summer heat in Texas, so they did not keep me very warm. Kevin gave me a pair of his nice, warm gloves to use while I wasn’t riding and they kept my fingers from freezing.

I walked into the barn where Sarah and Silvia were waiting for me, with Kalvin already tacked up for me to ride. Kalvin is a 4-year-old bay gelding, 17 hands. He has a very sweet disposition. I was so nervous to ride during the first day, I knew they would all be critiquing me and watching how I handled the horses. Kalvin needed a lot of leg, with spurs and a crop. He was a good ride, though sometimes difficult to supple. The main thing I had to keep in mind was that these horses are all youngsters, and I could not collect them up, as I would normally do with an 8 year old. I trotted and cantered around with him, with Silvia, Kevin, and David in the middle of the ring watching. They were also chatting to each other about other things, so it took the edge off from me a little bit. Overall, Kalvin is a very talented horse, who just needs a strong leg… he has such a sweet personality (unfortunately, I didn't get to snap a picture of him!).

            The second horse I rode that day was Imago. He is a 4-year-old black stallion with a star, 16 hands, and simply stunning to the eye. He was my favorite ride of the day. It felt so easy between us. He has such a gentle disposition, and has such a smooth trot and canter. He was very easy to collect and supple, all I needed to do was be his passenger and use a little leg. Both of our personalities are the same, so we got along great. It was rather unfortunate he was not in shape for me to jump– everyone was telling me he is such an amazing jumper and they really wished he was in shape to do so because I would absolutely love him!  I had a lot more confidence in myself and the horses after riding Imago, he is truly a talented horse and I was honored to be able to ride him. While I was riding him, Silvia rode another horse with me, which made me feel more comfortable to have another rider with me. She is such a talented rider, and I wish I knew as much as she did about young horses and dressage. During this time, a hopeful working student named Jennifer came to see the farm and have a tour. She was my buddy for the next two days.

Imago

            After riding Imago, it was time for lunch. Silvia and I took the stallions back to their barn and untacked them. We had to bring in 4 or 5 stallions from their paddocks, switch their outside blankets with their indoor ones, and then blanket and turn out the stallions we had ridden that morning. Kevin, David, Jennifer, and I went up to the main house to eat and talk about the horses and more about ourselves so they could get to know us better. We had an hour break, and after the hour, I was so excited to get back down to the barn and in the saddle and see what the next horse had in store for me.

            The third horse I rode that day was Hoffherr. He is a 4-year-old bay stallion, 17 hands, and the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. Silvia was riding another horse in the ring with me, and told me we were going to jump them. Fernando is the main rider/trainer at the barn (he is the reason they are looking for another rider, for he is moving to California). Unfortunately, he broke his collarbone, so he won’t be able to ride for another three months. Fernando came to give us a jumping lesson with the horses, and I could tell right off the bat that he has a substantial amount of knowledge about horses. I was extremely nervous when he first arrived, but he has such a laid back personality, I felt at ease as he shook my hand while I halted Hofherr beside him. We had a very short warmup because we were going to jump, so I didn’t get to have as much of a feel for Hofherr as I would have liked. He is such a willing horse, and will do whatever you ask of him. He was a little difficult for me to bend and collect, but that is to be expected from a 4-year-old! Silvia always started the jumping round first, and I would follow what she did. We started out with an X, then moved on to a bounce line. There were 5 bounces set up in a row, so the horses really had to use their backs and snap their knees up in order to clear them. Fernando told me he liked the way I ride, but I need to still my upper body and open my shoulders. Riding in front of him, Silvia, Kevin, and David was a lot of pressure, and knowing that I had to work on my position and try to ride better made it even more stressful, but I tried my hardest to understand how to get the most out of the horses. After the bounces, we had a 3 jump course: the X around to a diagonal fence, around to an oxer. I kept having huge spots with Hofherr, but he took it in stride and jumped from wherever I asked him to. Fernando’s biggest lesson for me was to find a rhythm with the horses. I really needed to be just a passenger on them, and to try not to think too hard. He told me I needed to ride with my heart, and not with my head. We ended on a good note, but I still wanted to perfect my ride with Hofherr (but I knew I had another day to ride him so maybe tomorrow would be better).

Hofherr

            The fourth horse I rode was Michaela. She is a 4-year-old dark dappled gray mare, 17 hands, and a total sweetheart. We also had a short warm up because we were jumping them again, so I didn’t really get to know her as much as I would have liked, but I was ready. The only problem with sweet Michaela is that she is a very spooky horse. Silvia warned me that there are monsters in the corners of the arena, and both her and Blitzlicht (the horse Silvia was riding at the time) were both afraid of the corners. Michaela is a horse who takes a few rides to get to know, and she was a handful! When we started jumping the X, I could barely get there in time because she was spooking at the corner. By the time she stopped looking/shying away from the corner, I had about 5 strides to collect her, get her attention back, and correct the pace. It was very difficult and challenging, but Fernando helped me move past that and just focus on the jump and what little approach I could get with her. I learned a lot with her. I understood more with her than Hofherr, just how much more of a rhythm I need with these youngsters. I loved the lesson, despite having a rough few jumps because of the corner monsters!  I received a lot of encouragement from Fernando, who helped me understand that Michaela is Michaela, and she is spooky sometimes, but that’s just her. It takes a while for her to trust her rider, and me, being under the eye of the trainers and owners, wanting to show the horses as well as I could, was already nervous from that, which didn’t help the situation with Michaela’s nerves.

Michaela

            By the end of the ride, it was time to feed the horses. I helped bring in the stallions who we had turned out hours earlier, change their blankets, and cleaned the tack we all had used throughout the day, while Silvia and Sarah fed and hayed the horses. By 5:30 we were done, and Kevin and David had left to go to the gym and to eat. Sweet Silvia took me out to eat some Chinese food, which was delicious. It was nice to have some hot food after such an eventful (and freezing) day! She talked to me about how she starts the horses there at the farm, and told me more about Austria, Germany, and her history with horses. She has so much knowledge with horses, I loved listening to her speak about her experiences with them, and appreciate everything she helped me with throughout this process. After dinner, Silvia dropped me off at the main house and I took the longest, hottest shower of my life! When Kevin and David arrived home, I spoke to them shortly, and fell asleep by 9:30… I was worn out and my legs were killing me (I wasn’t used to riding 4 horses a day, especially young ones)!

Saturday Feb 26, 2011

My alarm went off at 6 am, and the view of the farm before the sunrise was spectacular. My window overlooked most of the property, and it was so beautiful to see the early morning snow and the first rays of the sun peak up from behind the hill. I had breakfast alone in the kitchen and went up and put as many layers as I could because I knew that day was going to be long and cold. Silvia picked me up at the house at 7 and drove me down to the stallion barn. She showed me around the guesthouse where I would live if I got hired there. It is a beautiful house with views of the whole property. When we walked down the hill to the barn, Sarah had already fed and hayed the stallions, so it was time to put the outside blankets on the stallions who we weren’t working in the morning. I got to see Silvia work with a few of the 2 year olds. One she lunged in the arena with side reigns on for the first time. She did great! She also got on her halfway, to get her used to the feel of having someone sit on her. By this time, it was 9 o’clock, and Fernando wasn’t getting there until 10. I was so cold, I couldn’t feel my fingers or toes so Silvia advised me to go up to the guesthouse and warm up for 45 minutes before we rode. I had a Clif bar and stood in front of the heater for about 30 minutes, and walked back down the hill to the barn.

Today was a special day. I was riding Blitzlicht! Blitzlicht is a beautiful 4-year-old chestnut stallion with a star on his forehead. He is 16 hands and has a playful personality. He is Fernando’s favorite out of the bunch. Apparently, when Fernando rides him, he smiles the entire time and just laughs. Silvia told me that not many people get to ride him, so I should feel proud that I was going to. I was grateful to her for telling me this… it was a boost of confidence! Sarah had tacked him up for me, and I was very thankful for her help. He tested me a bit when I led him down to the arena and was very playful. Blitzlicht is a very talented horse; he is a great ride, and at times can be a little heavy. He has a great work ethic and I know he will grow up to be a very talented horse. Fernando was there and had me flat Blitzlicht, while Silvia rode Michaela and did a superb job with her. She got her past being afraid of the monsters in the corners, and had her looking fantastic!

Blitzlicht

The next horse I rode was Hofherr again. I was ready to have a better ride than the day before, and was excited to see how the ride would go. Sarah rode Eli (one of Fernando’s grand prix horses), and Silvia rode Blitz und Donner (Blitzlicht’s sire). We all warmed up fairly quickly and began jumping. This was one of my favorite rides of the weekend. I really started to understand Hofherr, and in the beginning we had some really long spots, but then Fernando started raising the jumps, had me find the right rhythm, and had me open my shoulders. We started doing fantastic! I loved riding him. He is a fantastic jumper and I know he will make a superb jumper when he gets older (although he already is one)! He was simply a joy to ride and I really appreciated Fernando’s help. His knowledge surpasses mine completely, and I only wish I could get into his head and learn everything he knows about horses.

The last ride of the day for me was on Imago. It was a short ride because he was going nicely. Silvia gave me some coaching, and he felt amazing. I couldn’t get enough of cantering him. I love that horse so much and already felt a bond with him after only riding him twice!

After riding, we brought the stallions in, blanketed and fed them, cleaned tack, and had dinner. I helped Kevin and David bring the youngsters in again before another extremely hot shower before bed. I woke up with a bittersweet feeling. I was so extremely happy to be there, yet so sad that I was about to leave a farm I fell in love with. I already miss the place, and am yearning to get back and start working with the fantastic horses and amazing people. It will be an experience that I will never forget. I already feel like a better rider, and I was only there for a few days. Each horse at the farm is spectacular and has so much talent and potential to be something great! The people and horses have all given so much to me, and I will always be thankful for the opportunity I had in Wisconsin. This experience was better than I ever could have imagined, and my fingers are crossed so tight for becoming a part of their team. 

Before the sunrise, from my bedroom window