I have made some of the strongest bonds with people from my Italian class. I like to think of them as my Italian family. Every single person who was in that class means the world to me, we would always meet thirty minutes before class started, just to catch up and enjoy each other's company. I cherished the times when we had class (as much as I could, in between studying Italian Literature and writing 9 page papers in Italian over Neorealism films). I cherish each and every one of them, and our trip to Italy will forever seal our friendships.
What is the second predictor of happiness? Pursuing something you love. I am proud to say that I now possess the top two predictors of happiness: The best friends anyone could ask for, and a truly amazing opportunity to work with horses. I felt a bittersweet feeling when I faced the fact I was leaving Denton. The bitter feeling is having to say goodbye to the people who make me so undeniably happy; the sweet is knowing I am going to continue doing what I know I was made for. Afterall, "When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have." -Winston Churchill
Friday May 20, 2011:
When we arrived at the course, Silvia and I were surprised because the grass hadn’t been mown in a very long time, so it was difficult to ride in, but great for the horses. We did a quick warm up, jumped a few jumps, then went straight around the course and the horses were fabulous! They barely looked at the fences (the ditch was the scariest for them), and we got over every one of them the first time. After riding Hofherr and Blitzi back through the river, Silvia tacked up Imago and we walked Hofherr with him back to the course so he wouldn’t have to go alone. Imago was a superstar over the course, and had a blast in the water too. I was so happy that I made it back to Wisconsin in time to ride with Silvia, and my first day back was such an exciting one!
Saturday May 21, 2011:
This was my first real day of work, and the six am wake up call was pretty difficult, but I was very excited to start my job here! I ate breakfast and got down to the barn by seven, fed the stallions and the mares (and Fred, Sarah’s horse!) while Sarah fed the three year olds who live outside. After the horses were done eating, we turned everyone out. Silvia and I tacked up Michaela and went down to the ring to jump her. Silvia rode her first, so I could see how she warms her up, working on keeping Michaela supple and relaxed. After a short warm up, Silvia jumped her over a course and they did really well! Michaela is coming along so nicely, and looks amazing. I got on her next, and warmed her up and jumped her over a course and felt very confident with her. Although it had only been a month since I had been here last, she already felt more mature and comfortable with jumping an entire course, at a pretty good height! I only had one close spot to a fence, and all of the others felt really good. I am finally understanding the rhythm I need with the horses in order to have a great round, and am very excited with the progress I am making! While we were working with Michaela, Sarah was working with Conny and then Tiny (both are three year old mares) in the round pen, and worked on building trust and getting them used to a bridle and surcingle.
By the time Silvia and I got done tacking up Imago and Blitz und Donner, Sarah was working with Testimonial (3 year old mare) in the round pen. Blitz started getting anxious and mad because I would ride Imago near Testimonial, and Blitz wanted Imago to know that it was ‘his’ mare. It is breeding time here at the farm, so the stallions get more excited when they see mares, so when Silvia and I were working with two stallions near a mare, both of the stallions wanted to show off and compete with each other to show that they were they were the best stallion. The power I felt from Imago was incredible and indescribable, I felt that I could do anything with him. He was extending his legs so far, and barely touching the ground with his hooves, he felt amazing. After Sarah was done with the mare, she took her out of the round pen and then the two boys calmed down to their usual gaits, and Sivlia jumped Blitz over a course and did a fabulous job.
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| Imago |
After cooling them down, it started raining so we had to go into the indoor arena while I lounged Kleo (a 4 year old grey mare out of Hirtentanz) with the “Combi” trainer while Silvia rode Bakira (a lovely 7 year old mare). Lounging doesn’t take a very long time, so when I was done, I went out and caught Cara Blanca from the pasture, and waited for Silvia to be done riding Bakira. When she was finished, we worked with Cara on loading her into the trailer. She had a bad experience a few weeks ago, so we had to gain her trust and it took about twenty minutes to get her into it, but in the end she seemed more relaxed and trusting with us.
We went to lunch for an hour after working with Cara, and then went back down to the barn to ride. Silvia gave me a dressage lesson on Hofherr in the indoor arena, and it was one of the best rides I’ve had on him yet! I felt that I could take him to our show at that very moment. He was so relaxed, and at the same time I had so much power and energy in his step, he felt amazing. I can feel that my overall position is getting so much better, and I am extremely happy that I am becoming a better rider already, and I’ve only been at the farm for a short time. Even when Silvia reminds me to keep my shoulders back, I can feel a change in the horses immediately, so it is very reinforcing to work on having my position become better as I get stronger, because the horses can really use their bodies in a better way.
After cooling out Hofherr, I rode Kalvin and Sarah had a dressage lounge lesson on Reba. Sarah was working on her dressage position in the trot with Reba, trying to become more relaxed and supple with her hips. With a hunter jumper background, it is difficult for us to try to ride in a dressage saddle, posting with your hips forward instead of a short up and down motion. I flatted Kalvin and worked on keeping him moving forward because in the indoor, he tends to suck back because the arena is smaller and he has such a huge stride.
By the time we were done working with Kalvin and Reba, it was time to bring all of the stallions and mares in to feed them. We hayed everyone, cleaned the tack, rolled the wraps, and blew out the isle and by five we were finished for the day.
Sunday May 22, 2011:
Sarah and I only had to work a half-day on Sunday, so we got to sleep in as long as we wanted to while Silvia did the morning chores and worked some of the horses. As my alarm went off at 9:30, Sarah knocked on my door and came in my room to tell me there was a new baby filly who was born the previous night! I quickly changed out of my pajamas and drove up with Sarah to the mare barn to meet the new baby. The mother is Annabelle and the father is Hirtentanz, and they produced a beautiful filly. She is dark bay, with a perfect star and snip, with four white socks. Sarah and I met Kevin in the barn, and he said the “foal alert” did not go off during the night, so he didn’t know what time she was born, but she was clearly a healthy baby. She was lying down in her stall when we got there, so we went in one by one to give her hugs and kisses and to praise Annabelle for being such a good mom. Usually right after being born, the babies are weary and nervous around people, but she let Sarah and me slowly crouch down to her and touch her; she even let me cradle her head and snuggle her nose. She is just precious!
After meeting her, Sarah and I went back to our house, ate breakfast, and then I started unpacking more of my boxes in my room. After our half-day off was over, we went back down to the barn at 12:30, and a new horse was there named Amonet (who we nicknamed Ace). He is a three-year-old stallion and a Blitz und Donner baby! He is very thin, has never been on grass in his life, and difficult to walk because he loves paying attention to anything else but us. Sarah and I brushed him and pampered him, did other chores around the barn, and lounged the three year old girls who are adorable but challenging to work with. Sarah has been working with a four year old mare named Sophia, a sweet mare who I have never ridden, so Sarah decided to give ma a lesson on her. She was difficult to get used to in the beginning, but with Sarah's help, we ended on a very good note. After untacking her, Sarah and I brought in all of the stallions and mares, fed, hayed, cleaned the barn and tack, and were done for the day
Monday May 23, 2011:
When we got down to the barn at seven, I fed the stallions and mares outside while Sarah fed the young ones out in the fields, and then we turned out the horses (it was Silvia’s day off, so it was up to just Sarah and me!). I tacked up Kalvin and Sarah tacked up Reba and we went out to ride in the hay fields. We walked and trotted them around the fields, and they were a little frisky. Because of this, we didn’t want to push them too hard so decided to end on a good note in the field, and then went into the outdoor arena to work them a little more. Kalvin is such a superstar now, and I am really happy with how he is coming along! After cooling them out and untacking them, Sarah and Kevin thought it was a good idea for me to learn how to drag the arenas. Every time I have attempted to drive a standard, I have failed, so I was a little nervous to learn how to drive and change gears on a huge tractor! Sarah was half sitting, half standing next to me on the tractor, and when I tried to start going, it lurched forward so hard and threw her off balance and she almost fell off! It was hysterical to me but I also felt bad because she could have gotten hurt! After that, I learned how to slowly make the tractor start moving, and learned how to maneuver it around the arena properly, and was left to do it alone while Sarah worked with a three year old stallion named Ryan. It took about 45 minutes for me to finish, but I think I did a superb job, especially since it was my first time dragging an arena! When I was finished, it was time for a quick lunch and then we went back down to the barn where I drug the indoor arena and Sarah worked with the young three year old girls in the round pen. I lounged Kleo with the combi trainer, and by the time I was finished, it was time for us to clean tack, bring the horses in, feed, hay, and blow out the isle. When we were finished with our work, Sarah tacked up her flea-bitten grey gelding, Fred, and I tacked up Fernando’s ex-grand prix jumper Eli. I was so excited to finally ride Eli, but unfortunately he was a little sore so I only walked him while Sarah rode Fred, who was extremely good!
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Tuesday May 24, 2011:
The next morning we fed all of the horses and turned them out as usual. Silvia tacked up Bakira, I tacked up Michaela, and we headed out into the fields. We walked, trotted, and cantered around the fields and showed the mares the cross country jumps so they wouldn’t be afraid of them, and both horses were fantastic! Silvia and I also met a friend out there, a red-winged blackbird we named Frederick. He follows us while we ride, guides our way, and makes sure the horses are behaving themselves. The field work we do is very fun for me, and great for the horses; it conditions them and gets them to use different muscles when we go up and down hills, and it is very good for their heads to get out of the arenas! There is a cut path that goes around every hay field, so we can gallop on even ground, and there is even a beautiful path that cuts through a huge section of woods that we can trot or canter in. Every time I go out in the fields and woods I constantly think about how beautiful it is and how lucky I am to be able to work here. I cannot wait until I get my first paycheck, which will go towards a helmet cam so I can share what our rides are like from my point of view! (Search for runhennyrun.com to see what I am yearning to get)!
After we were done riding Michaela and Bakira, I tacked up Hofherr (my favorite boy!), Silvia tacked up Blitz und Donner, and we headed back out to the fields to work them. Both horses were superstars during the whole ride, they didn’t flinch when we cantered by the scary cross country jumps. Since I will be riding Hofherr in an eventing show in a few weeks, I worked on galloping him at a decent eventing pace, to collecting him up for the proper balance (usually about ten strides before the jump), and he was a very good boy for all of it!
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| Hofherr (from Friday, 4/20) |
When we were finished cooling out Hofherr and Blitz, I tacked up Cara and Silvia rode Sophia in the outdoor arena. However, a new dressage horse was coming to the farm for training (named Spanky), so Silvia finished riding Sophia by the time I got into the arena. I had only ridden Cara once before, and knew she was a little afraid to be by herself in the arena without another horse in there with her, so she was a little difficult in the beginning because all she wanted to do was to have her friends with her. By the end, I had her relaxed and trotting on a long rein, and she felt wonderful! I really feel like I have a connection with her. I didn’t work her for too long since she was being so good, so I untacked her and met the sweet new horse, Spanky, who Silvia will be working with. After he was settled in his stall, we all went up for lunch and discussed how the day was with the horses. At one o’clock, we went back down to the barn, where I tacked up Imago and Silvia tacked up Blitzlicht. We took them into the fields again to walk, trot, and canter them all around the fields and into the woods. Imago and Blitzi were both very well behaved, and enjoyed the outing very much. After cooling out the horses, I lounged Seraphina, Silvia rode Hector, and Sarah worked with the three year old mares. By the time we were finished, it was time to bring in all of the horses, feed and hay them, and blow out the isles.
Wednesday May 25, 2011:
I had this entire day off, and it was cold and rainy. I relaxed inside for most of the day, unpacked, read, and watched t.v. After lunch, I went down and rode Hofherr to work on dressage with him for the show coming up. Silvia helped me with him, and he was very good and responded very well to my aids!
Thursday may 26, 2011
After feeding and turning out the horses, Silvia rode Bakira, Sarah rode Sophia, and I rode Cara. All three of us jumped them over most of the jumps (over cross rails and some small verticals) and eventually trotted a course with them! This was their fourth time jumping in their lives, and they were fantastic! Cara felt amazing, and I feel like we gained a lot of trust with each other. All three of us trotted into the lines and cantered the second one out, and the girls behaved themselves and acted like they had been doing it for years! We cooled them out and then Silvia and I got Hofherr and Blitz und Donner ready for the next ride.
Sarah helped us set up the bounces (5 in a row, each a half stride in between, so the horses land with their front feet, and immediately take off again when they land). Both stallions were amazing, and we all tried to help each other perfect our position over the bounces (instead of being in full two-point, we keep out chest up higher and let the horses just work underneath us). After the two stallions, we did the same thing with Michaela and Blitzlicht who were also very good! By the time we were done with the bounce exercise, it was time for a quick lunch and then back down to the barn again to free jump Hector and then Seraphina. Free jumping is what we do with the younger horses who don’t have as much experience with jumping. We set up three jumps in a row, with one stride in between, along the long side of the arena, let the horse loose in the arena, and guide him down the side of the arena so they can “free jump.” After free jumping them, I rode Imago long, low, and relaxed on the flat, while Silvia lounged Ace and Spanky, and Sarah worked with the three year olds in the round pen. We finished thirty minutes late, so we were behind and had to work overtime.
David and Kevin are in Germany with Hirtentanz, so Sarah, Silvia, and I are alternating nights of staying at their house to take care of the dogs and mare & foal barn. So as soon as I was done for the day, I packed an overnight bag and Silvia went up to help me bring in all of the young babies who were born this year, and feed them and their mothers. They are the most adorable babies I have ever seen!
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| Filly by Elmira and Blitzlicht |
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| Colt by Casio Pao and Hirtentanz |
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| "Secret Storm" by Stormn Doreen and Hirtentanz. |
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| "Peaches" [nickname] by Hettie and Imago |
Friday May 27, 2011:
I woke up at the usual time, went out and fed all of the mares a foals, and then put them all outside when they were finished. After I was done, I went down to the stallion barn and I tacked up Kalvin, and Sarah tacked up Reba. Since they were so excited last time to go out in the fields, we decided to warm them up in the arena first. Both were very good, so we decided to take them out in the fields. We walked, trotted, and cantered them all around the fields, while Silvia mowed more galloping paths and made more cross country jumps for later in the day. Kalvin was perfect, he remained calm and never got too excited or afraid of anything! He is maturing into such a wonderful boy. After untacking them, I went out with Silvia and helped her with the cross country jumps. By the time we were finished, we were behind the schedule we had set for the day, but it was necessary to make the cross country jumps to the right height as the show, and to make them super scary for the horses to get used to. While Silvia and I were finishing the jumps, Sarah thankfully groomed and tacked up Hofherr for me, and Blitzlict for Silvia, so we got out to ride sooner. We warmed up in the arena and both stallions were wonderful, so we went over the plan. There were thirteen jumps in total, each scary and difficult in their own way. When I was trotting up the lane to the fields, I found myself getting really nervous, and I don’t know why! We were at home, I was on a horse I trusted, and yet I was still nervous. I thought I had enough pace for the first one, but I knew early on that I didn’t. Hofherr was very scared of the first one because it was very tall with a haybales and a lot of scary things around it, so he spooked at the last moment and ran sideways. I took him back to it, spurred him a little, and then circled around and he jumped it perfect. The second jump was even scarier, and consisted of old, dark barrels and was pretty tall and scopy, but I sat back this time and really drove with my seat and we jumped it fine. The gallop to the third and fourth jump is a pretty far stretch, so when we got to there, I really had to collect him (which he wasn’t too happy about), but I had to take a huge spot because we were coming in too quickly, and we knocked it down (most of the jumps we made could be knocked down, unlike usual cross country jumps). After the fourth jump, we had to go down quite a steep hill, so while galloping, I had to sit back and make sure Hofherr wasn't too much on his forehand, because we had to round a tight corner to jump a one stride line of haybales. Hofherr was really scared of them, and after one circle, I went back and jumped it and he did it very well. I noticed that Sarah was up there videoing with her flip camera, but only noticed for a second before I had to make a left turn to the sixth jump, which was a step up combination. Hofherr was so good with it, so I gave him a quick pat and continued on to the next couple fences. There was a small hill to gallop up, followed by a very narrow jump with haybales and a huge blue box. I didn’t have enough power and rhythm, so Hofherr backed off from the scary jump, and we ended up going sideways away from it, but I quickly circled around and yelled “Get up!!” and he jumped it huge. After this fence, there was a gate sitting on top of haybales, and Hofherr got a little spooked by it but I sat up and really drove him forward to it. After those two, there was quite a long bit of stretch to gallop him out, so I let him go for a while, and then sat him back to go down a small hill, and sat him up for the next two scary jumps. Silvia and I had set up flowerboxes on top of jump blocks for jump nine, and it is very narrow and very tall. Hofherr was a little afraid of it, but went over it pretty well, and then the tenth jump was a tall green rollback fence. After this, there was a turn to go on another long stretch of galloping to a big stack of logs. We went over this one perfectly, and then there was one last long gallop stretch with two huge solid A-framed fences that were sitting on top of haybales. They were scary for me, but I kept the pace going and sat Hofherr back on his hind end, and we got over them very well. After this, we were done with the course and I trotted Hofherr out and waited for Silvia to come up with Blitzie. I only saw the last two fences of theirs, and they looked great! We walked the horses around the fields together and went back to some we had knocked, and set them back up. We discussed how our rounds were, and Silvia said Blitzlicht was very good, and only had a few run outs (I think at the same jumps I had!). We discussed the reasons behind them, and realized that it was our errors for not having enough pace, and as soon as we back off from the big fences, the horses start to back off as well.
After cooling them out, hosing them off, and giving them lots of treats, it was time for lunch. I was exhausted just from that one cross country course round, but I had the time of my life doing it. The ride that I had with Hofherr is the reason why I want a helmet cam so badly. I cannot wait to get one to show people who can’t ride, what it’s like to be on such an amazing horse and what it’s like to gallop through the fields and over fences. After lunch, Silvia went around the cross country course with Imago, who she said did extremely well, and was only spooky with a couple of the fences. While she was out with him, I lounged Kleo and Sarah worked with all of the three year old girls in the round pen. When Silvia came back with Imago and told me about it, she tacked up Michaela and I rode Bakira (for the first time). She was very good, and I am looking forward to riding her again! After this, I lounged Hector with side reins while Silvia rode Spanky, and then Sarah and I free jumped Ryan (he is such a talented jumper, I cannot wait until he’s old enough to ride!!). Because we had such a busy day, we finished bringing in and feeding an hour late.
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