There is something about birthdays that gets you thinking. About everything. But especially about the path you're on and the path you want to be on. Not always an easy task. I don't have any answers... yet.
I had a pretty cool unexpected birthday gift last week - I'm in "print" - well, online print anyhow! I went to the Win Green web site to take a look at some of their cross country jump pictures (if you haven't checked out or schooled their course - do! It's absolutely fantastic!)
http://www.wingreenxc.com/
When I clicked on the first page of their jump pictures, I did a double-take. Hey! I know that horse! Hey! I know that rider! I couldn't believe my eyes - but there was a picture of me and Katchi jumping over one of their new jumps! I stole the picture and posted it below. It was taken in April at the Lucinda Green clinic. It's not exactly like being put on the cover of the Chronicle of the Horse or the USEA's Evening magazine - but I was pretty excited to see Win Green had selected a picture of me to advertise their wonderful new big log jump! It's the little things in life!
Katchi also gave me a "gift" last week. And I'm still mad at him! He was showing off in the field (acting like a stupid idiot - sorta like, "hey mom, look! no hands!"). And what happened? He fell down. Right in front of me. Splat. He didn't stumble. Nope, it wasn't that simple. All 4 legs went right out from under him and he fell on his side making a 'thump' like I have never heard before. He flailed around a bit, got up, looked around, and ran away. I stood there, with my mouth open in total shock. There were a bunch of small children and parents around when it happened - they were horrified as well. Luckily, no permanent damage seems to be evident. But he's stiff, sore and knotted. Even my amateur hands I can find the knots - they're that bad. Courtney came out on Thursday and gave him a massage - her evaluation sheet was frightening! Knot, sensitive, big knot, knot, big knot, sensitive... Hopefully we are on the road to recovery, but what an idiot! I just want to shake him.
In the midst of all this, we managed to survive 100+ degree heat during our Boyd Martin clinic on Wednesday. Katchi couldn't bend so good, but he jumped like a champ. And the most exciting part of the clinic was when Boyd hopped up on Katchi! I was talking to him about some of the issues I'm trying to work through with my position, Katchi's balance, and his enormous jump. Boyd asked if he could have a go on him - and I ran for the video camera! There's a clip below. Seeing how well Katchi jumped for Boyd, it definitely shows me how much I have to work on. It's both exciting and frustrating. There's obviously hope for Katchi - but what about me?!
Today I spent the day as a dressage steward at the Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy. What a great day! My student Debi was also a dressage steward, and another student, Adrianne, was on golf cart duty! I've been a steward at dressage shows before, but this was way more fun! Eventers are just fun! A few months ago, Adrianne asked me about the benefits of recognized shows versus unrecognized shows. I had several answers, and it took me a little while to figure out my real answer. It's about bringing your A game because you're surrounded by the best of the best in the sport - even if they're riding Novice! I had so much fun today watching and chatting with the stars of eventing. They work amazingly hard and still manage to be so nice and hilarious! I'm still laughing at some of their antics with each other in the warm-up! And the best part is how supportive they are of each other - but, don't get me wrong, there was one SERIOUSLY competitive novice division today!! I walked the Training course when I was done with my volunteer duties - really sad I won't be riding it tomorrow! I thought it was going to be harder - but it looked great - including the new 2 steps down which showed up on the T course! Am really looking forward to seeing what they do with the course next week and to hopefully having a go at those steps!
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