Introducing ... Barn Cats!

Several people have commented that I've "abandoned" my blog ... and I say, oh no, I just haven't had a chance to update it for a little while.  Then I pulled it up, and realized that little while was, oh, about 8 months ago!  I guess that counts as abandonment.

In those 8 months, I built a barn and brought some horses home.  Little things.  But this first blog back is all about the BARN CATS that now populate that barn!  Last fall, the horses moved into an almost finished barn, and 2 nights after the construction crews finally vacated, I was in the arena riding under the new arena lights, when I heard it ... meow!  Meow?!?!  I went nuts!  I started calling to my mom ... A CAT! A CAT! BRING CAT FOOD!  It didn't take much to coax her into the new Trevi Manor barn, and she looked close to starving.  We were desperate to make sure she liked the place and would stay with us ... the cat's no dummy.  She figured us out real quick.  And so, "November" (on account of her arrival month) became out first cat.

Over the next 2 months, we're pretty sure she gained 6 pounds ... making her about 3 pounds on arrival.  Good thing she found us --- this would have been a rough winter on a little starving kitty.  November has proven to be the most incredible barn cat (well, tackroom cat might be more honest) -- and the only trouble with November's arrival was that she put a complete halt on our plans to adopt multiple cats from the Howard County Cat Club (the shelter that held onto my house cat, Schmoe, for 4 years while he was waiting to find me!) ... my mom and I had been watching their site for months, just waiting for the construction to sufficiently end so the kitties wouldn't be terrorized and run away.  But when November turned up and laid claim to the barn, we were so afraid that new cats would run her off, so we were a one cat barn ... until 3 weeks ago, when we finally decided November is here to stay!  And, so Howard County Cat Club brought a delivery of cats!  There are now 3 barn cats (tackroom snoozers) residing at Trevi Manor ...  November's new friends, Sebastian and Butterfly, are truly incredible cats!  Sebastian climbs EVERYTHING, and Butterfly flits around the barn like she's floating on air.  They really seem to love it, and we certainly love having them!  Having the horses home has been incredible, but having my own team of barn cats is the best!  And, we have one more on the way ... a senior kitty named Daisy, also from Howard County Cat Club.  She's been waiting at the shelter for many years for the perfect home, so she will join us in the spring when the weather is a bit nicer (though, I don't know why we're waiting for that ... we already know she will be the queen of all the tackroom kitties and she will never have to step a dainty kitty paw into the barn if she prefers not!).

November ... upon arrival.  PLEASE, CAN I LIVE HERE???

November hunting inside a XC jump

November living the tackroom kitty dream.

And then Sebastian & Butterfly arrived in the tackroom too!

Butterfly says that being a barn cat is a tough job.

Oh look, a barn cat actually in the barn! Be brave little Butterfly!

Sebastian believes this barn was custom made for him!  We can't believe all the places he can go!

 

Sebastian doing the high wire walk.

Oh yes, that's Sebastian too.  Way up there in the window in the roof.  Getting up was easy, getting down, was ... not.

Kinda looking like a barn!

I think the photos say it all.  This thing in my backyard is kinda starting to look like a barn. And I kinda love it!!!  Life is very very good.

The barn has dutch doors - but still no walls. Interesting.

Ah, we have a roof!

Mom testing out the newly arrived footing!  It passed inspection.

Mi taking the first spin around the new arena!

 

Mini mirrors on a giant wall -- anything is better than nothing and at least I have something to hold me over until we can properly mirror the entire wall.  

Barn Building - Last Day of Spring!

Barn building continues ... into summer.  What we had thought would be a project finished mid-winter, turned into late spring, turned into ... please oh please let me have a barn before winter hits again!  And all due to circumstances beyond our control - snow and snow and snow, then county bureaucracy.  Good times.  But so much has happened on the barn in the last week, I can't believe it!  Things continue to go in an order I didn't expect (just today, 4 windows were put into the walls -- we have no roof, and only framing on the walls, but we have windows!). Elmer and Sam, of Quality Buildings, and their team are doing a beautiful job and have been such a pleasure to work with!  I keep telling them I am going to make them crazy before this is all finished, and I think they're starting to believe me (poor Sam had to move the entire framing for 2 windows today by about 8".  And he smiled the whole time as I told him they had to move.  Poor Sam. But they had to move. Is there an eventing barn-building equivalent of a "bride-zilla??"  Oops, I might be that girl.)

Monday June 16

We have a "wall!"

Tuesday June 17

We have many "walls!"

Friday June 20 - last day of spring!

It feels like we almost have a castle!!

Barn's Still Building

It's funny how you have certain expectations for how something will be built, only to discover nothing happens as you expect it!  At this point in my barn building land, we have an absolutely beautiful concrete slab layout that looks strikingly similar to the architectural designs layout of my barn plans ... with a 3-D rendering of a wash stall in the middle! Not what I expected. Definitely thought walls and roof before floor. But even without walls, or a roof, I have to say it was incredibly exciting to walk sort-of-in (or maybe on) my barn this weekend!!

Barn Building: Week... Isn't it finished yet?!

My intentions of posting a weekly progress update on the barn construction has failed -- mostly because progress stalled due to 1) we're a horse farm, 2) we're in Anne Arundel county.  Thanks Maryland. And that about sums up the last 6 weeks of my life.  Amazing how you can do everything right, yet when a single individual yields unchecked power without an effective appeal process ... sorry, did someone say we live in the 21st century in modern democratic America??  Thankfully Maryland has some fantastic horse people in the area who were ready and willing to take on a good fight on my behalf -- and we won, in a roundabout way.  No restitution, no apology.  But the barn moves forward, so I guess that's something. And my advice to anyone building anything in Maryland: GET IT ALL IN WRITING.  Thankfully we did, so it just took 6 weeks to get someone with some sense to read that writing!  I can only imagine how much worse things could have been had we not.

So, here is this week's photographic evidence of building progress!

THE BARN!
Perimeter foundation done and plumbing going in.
The large walls on the right are the wash stall ... or what I loving refer to as the Trevi Manor prison cell!

Arena drainage and base installation -- SO MANY ROCKS!

Arena with hay shed/equipment storage wall ... ready for mirrors!

Barn Building Week 2

At the end of week 2, the "barn" and "arena" look painfully similar to the end of week 1.  The turn from winter to spring rain has literally washed away my hope of huge progress last week.  I refuse to post pictures as it would be like playing one of those games "can you pick out 7 things that are different between these 2 photos."  You'd get to 5 things pretty quickly, and then for the life of you not be able to find the other two.

But, two very exciting things have happened over the past week.  

1. Our arena builder came by to check out the land and discuss some details.  Stupid rain aside, there is a very good chance my arena will be done in early May. WOO HOO!  I will have to set up a lounge chair in the middle of it until the horses arrive.  If I can't ride in it, I can at least lay in it!!

2. The ground FINALLY dried out enough on a day above 20 degrees that I actually had 2 seconds to spare, so the first of the cross country jumps moved from the front yard into the side fields where the paddocks will eventually go.  If one more workman asked me "what the heck are those things in the front yard" I was going to cry! 

And one other pretty exciting thing happened just today -- after going back and forth in my mind a thousand times (plus at least 10 emails to my poor builder), I finally picked a color for the barn siding.  I'm pretty sure at some point my builder must have drafted an email to me that went about like this:  "Dear Crazy Lady,  whether you pick color A or the indistinguishable hue difference of Color B, if you want your barn construction to start next week, you need to pick one today.  A or B.  Pick one. We haven't even put a pole in the ground yet and you are making me crazy.  You. Are. Fun."   Thankfully he deleted that version and sent a much nicer version that included promises that I will love the barn no matter which color I pick and that if I hate it that much -- we'll figure out a way to fix it.  Bless him.  

Mini XC course with the new (very blue!) roundpen/outdoor stall.

Mini Houses!  I have plans for this area to be our mini "Head of the Lake"

Set the rolltop/bench strategically to let me mom sit and watch the building process - from a safe distance!

Barn Building ... glimmers of hope!

It's starting!  It's really finally starting!
Tuesday it snowed.  Wednesday the snow melted (or was blown away!).  And Thursday the sun came out... and brought with it a crew of excavators and equipment!  March 27 was a very good day at Trevi Manor! And so we begin: Week 1 of Barn Building.

The arrival of many men and much equipment!

Before you build, you must tear down: The shed meets its demise.

The shed - minus boat hanger - ready for relocation. And a very long silt fence has taken over my beautiful view.

Hows' the Barn Coming?

It's not.
Oh, are you stuck with county permit processing?
Nope.
Are there problems with the building plans?
Nope.
2014.  The year winter would not die.

March 3, 2014.

Snow: the reason absolutely nothing resembles a barn in this field.
Maybe next week...

Winter Lessons Learned on the Farm

It's incredible the lessons you learn and the things you accomplish over the course of just one winter week ... when living on a farm!

It's official!  The farm exists!  It has a sign!

Perhaps the most important lesson - when you live on a farm ... by yourself... and the tractor (and snow plow) live in a shed at the end of the driveway (behind the house) which departs the main road, goes down a hill, across a bridge, and up a hill  ... it is not - I repeat not - a good idea to stay very late at work in downtown DC when it starts snowing just before evening rush hour.  My little Camry made it down the hill, across the bridge, and not so much up the hill.  That was a fun night.  And by morning, the scene outside was white.  Pure white.  Thankfully, the power stayed on and I was able to take the opportunity to work from home the next day.  Because there wasn't a chance I was making it out until I taught myself how to run the snow plow!  Which brings me to a few more lessons.

It turns out, apparently, that just because the snow plow is attached to the back of the tractor, this does not mean that you have to plow snow in reverse.  Thankfully the tractor drives right over the snow and disperses the snow behind it!  After living through 2 winters in Syracuse, New York - I suspected there was a technique to snow plowing.  I have now confirmed that.  And I have also confirmed that I don't get it.  I'm capable of plowing the snow.  In whatever first path I make.  I am not capable to making the path any wider.  Shit.  Sorta like backing up the horse trailer.  I always love when some guy says, "Can you just move it 3 feet to the left?"  No.  I can park it just about anywhere, once.  I cannot, however, move it 3 feet to the left or right once I get there. Nor can I, apparently, move my snow path 3 feet to the left or right.  Excellent.

This represents almost 2 hours of work.  Clearly my skills need some improvement!

It also turns out, my tractor is pretty awesome.  It mows grass.  It plows snow.  And now, for the first time in its 20 year life, it found a new talent - it moves cross country jumps!  In the middle of the Polar Vortex -- Tyson Rementer was building the first of the Trevi Manor "mini-Rolex" cross country course!!  I convinced him to postpone delivery by a day to let it warm up to 20 degrees.  Awesome.  And so we put all our faith in my little 20 year old tractor (that came with the farm) that it could unload Tyson's works of art -- and it did not disappoint.  Although I have to admit I had flashbacks of the day Phillip Dutton was riding Katchi and he was bucking and bucking, and PD very nearly got unseated (once! Okay, maybe twice!) -- I so never want to be the girl who owned the horse who broke PD's arm. Or whose tractor crushed course builder Tyson Rementer.  We only had one little incident with a falling house.  Twice.  Stupid house.

When I warmed up a few days later and took a good look at the jumps sitting in my front yard, waiting to be drug around the fields -- I am excited beyond belief!  The jumps are absolutely fantastic!  Beautifully built and absolutely perfect for how I train -- let the horses learn to hold a line and be quick on their feet at 2'6" long before they have to do it at 3'6".  We have a mini corner and narrow tables and rolltops.  Now if Tyson can get some banks and ditches built early this spring - I really will be living in "mini-Rolex"!!!! Cannot wait to get the horses out and start jumping these things!!! Winter be gone!

Narrow houses & rolltops -- plus a bench and table!  Heck of a sight to see out my bedroom window!

Prelim Corner -- at Beginner Novice height!  PERFECT!

Hi.  I'm a Mini Corner.  I'm sittin' in a field.  Somebody, please jump me!!!  Please!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!!
It really is impossible to explain to anyone who doesn't have one -- just what it means to have a horse show mom.  But for those lucky girls who have a true horse show mom -- we couldn't ask for any better mom.  It goes far beyond driving you to the barn, helping you clean tack before a pony club rating or rally (oh wait, no, not that, that would be cheating), reading every horse book she could find just to explain it to you -- because you were only 5 and hadn't learned to read yet!  Videoing you at every show.  Videoing you at every lesson.  Videoing you riding at home just for a little extra help.  It's crying together when you tried as hard as you could and gave it every bit of your heart and soul and strength, but your horse still wouldn't jump into that damn water.  And when it finally all comes together, she's the first person you see, with a huge smile watching you cross the finish line. She's your biggest fan, your confidant, and your partner.  Sometimes she's your coach -- and then you remind her she can't ride and she gives you the evil eye.  She strategizes and analyzes with you.  She talks through your goals and how to get there.  She's the one who has secret talks with your horse and tells him to take good care of her little girl on that scary as sh#$! cross country course. Horse show moms do it for all the right reasons. It's shared passion and determination and perseverance. It's for the love of horses and everything they bring into our lives. It's for the love of the sport.  And it's for the love of her daughter.
Thank you mom for everything you've been and everything you continue to be. Happy Birthday!!
Love from a lifetime of ponies and me.  

Mom, me on Hoppy, with our neighbor Cindy (nope, not my sister!) 

Mom & Me showing together in the "Produce of Dam" class

Circa 1983: Me, on Cheval with my mom's mom (Granny)

Mom 2008 on Punky - the best horse in the world who rules the barn at Thoroughbred Placement Resources

2012 Aiken -- Katchi LOVES his glamma!

2013: Dressage Drinks at Rolex!

More news from the farm...

Winter life on the farm: seems like every day has become a battle against daylight -- literally, from sun up to sun down, it's a mad panic to get through the day's list of "activities."  I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I seriously need more minutes in an hour, more hours in a day, and more days in a week!  And while lots of things are coming together, we remain stuck, painfully close, to the start of the arena and barn construction.  There are still a few final pieces that have to fall into place with the county before we can break ground, and meanwhile the days just seem to fly by and we are getting more and more into winter weather which may prevent us from starting until spring  -- as I type this, the grass I have worked so hard to cultivate all year is smushed under a solid layer of ice.  Winter.

The farm sign post is up!  Just waiting for the sign to arrive.

A 3-D mock up of the barn - LOVE IT!!! 

We've made a few minor changes to the final plans from the image above -- little adjustments to windows, overhangs, and color scheme.  But, pretty much - this is the dream in virtual reality!  Six stalls are on the right side of the barn - 5 with double dutch doors (we've designed 1 as a "separation" stall for any horse needing a bit more security or isolation pre-FEI competition).  Two grooming stalls and the feed room are contained in the center extension area, with a wash stall, large tack room, and other storage areas on the left side of the barn (main hay storage will be in a separate building).  I'm sure it isn't perfect for everyone, but we are so very excited with the plans and layout -- they feel absolutely perfect for how we will use the barn and I'm certain the horses are going to believe it's a little piece of heaven!!

Trevi Manor Progress Update

As everyone keeps asking me "how's the farm coming along" -- I thought I might give an update!  If you come by to visit, it looks like almost nothing has happened in months, but actually loads of things have been happening... mostly in paperwork.  Jeeze, there's a lot of paperwork involved in building a barn.  Seriously, a lot of paperwork.

To start, I took the better part of 4 months, give or take a month (or two!), to create just the perfect layout.  I must have asked 20 horsey friends to review the drawings, and my mom and I have (seriously!) considered every detail of the layout -- for the horses, I was determined to maximize light and fresh air and give them a quiet and calm home with all their friends nearby. For my mom and me, I wanted to minimize every step possible to not add a single extra second to our daily routine!  I'm sure we'll have some things that don't come out quite right, but at the moment, I can't think of a single detail that isn't just perfect for how I want my barn to flow!  Katchi and Mi are going to be living in the Ritz Carlton come next year!!  I keep calling it my "6 million dollar 6 stall barn" -- thankfully, we're not at that point, but if anyone wants go that route, I have some pretty awesome ideas that could put you well on the way to that price tag!

We are also going through the obligatory paperwork of a site plan, nutrient management plan, demolition permit (for one perfectly lovely shed that is in the exact perfect location for my barn), soil and erosion plan, storm water management, and and and.  Like I said, there's a lot of paperwork.  The great news is, the end of paperwork is in sight, and I am really hopeful construction will start before the end of the year!  I'm meeting with our builder (Quality Buildings out of Pennsylvania) tomorrow to hash out the final details -- I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas to arrive tomorrow!  And then, I think past the initial excitement, and I realize when all this is really done and the barn is finished, I get to PICK OUT BARN CATS!!!!  Seriously, I may be just as excited about the barn cats as I am about the barn and having my fabulous horses just feet from my home!

And, as if I couldn't already feel the anticipation exploding inside me, then this arrives--

Golightly Sport Horses has a sign - in technicolor!!!!  A huge and overflowing thank you to Maureen Carr-York (Kerry's mom) for her bid at the 2013 Ride for Life silent auction that got me this hand crafted farm sign by David Tingley.  What a fabulous and amazing gift and what great memories I will cherish every time I come home to it! THANK YOU! It really is an incredible feeling to know that I am so very close to making this dream a reality, and having a sign ready to hang at the entrance is just about the final straw for me -- I can't take it any more - I'm going to burst!!!  

 

The Mums of Marlborough Horse Trials

As submitted to and published by Eventing Nation (with a few different pictures)  -- The Mums of Marlborough Horse Trials!
http://eventingnation.com/home/cherie-chauvin-the-mums-of-marlborough-horse-trials-not-done.html

Show Jumping ring steward Jen Amber holds a pot of mums for Intro Event competitor Kathleen Coyle’s horse, Rock N' Bid, who went on to jump a clear round. Photo credit to GRC Photo. Permission for use granted to MHT.

Last weekend, amidst the thrill of Plantation and the anticipation of the AECs, Marlborough Horse Trials hosted their 22nd annual event in Upper Marlboro, Md., on the beautiful grounds of the Rosaryville State Park. Upon moving to Maryland a few years ago, Marlborough quickly became one of my favorite events, and when I think about why, all I see are mums. Yellow mums and purple mums, and even red and orange mums. Mums everywhere — at dressage at A; mingled in with the pretty painted poles; and stuffed under, beside and on top of cross-country jumps all over the place. Marlborough Horse Trials has mums!

Marlborough is a hidden Maryland gem of an event. But perhaps I’m biased; as a rider, I’ve ridden around novice, training and prelim, always bringing home a ribbon and awesome prizes. And now, for the second year, I’ve been involved on the organizing side of the event. As a friend said to me this past weekend, “I have a whole new appreciation.” As cross-country chair — and now as this year’s co-organizer — I will never again look at a properly placed cross-country jump flag without awe and admiration. Apparently flags do not appear at their respective jumps on their own. I know — shocking. This year, we flagged five courses in about four hours with almost 20 volunteers — a huge improvement on our stats last year.  And I’d like to know why Buffy the Vampire Slayer never seemed to get a splinter in her hands. We could use her for flagging next year!

This year, Marlborough ran as a one-day event — running almost 150 horses through Beginner Novice to Preliminary on Sept. 21 — and running an Intro event the next day, followed by an afternoon of cross-country schooling. We are so fortunate to have the vision of Roger Haller behind our cross-country course, and I think Roger really had fun this year running the course over some new routes and playing with the addition of several new fences. Another amazing revelation being on the organizing side of the event is learning that Roger has a detailed plan for each level’s course all the way through 2018. That’s long-term vision! And who will make this vision a reality? None other than course builder extraordinaire Tyson Rementer. Marlborough Horse Trials is one lucky event.

Tyson, a chainsaw, and a beer bottle (in the rain) -- how do you think this ended??

Perhaps one of the neatest things about our event is that it runs on a state park, and this comes with certain special attributes. This year, our early morning dressage riders were joined by a large group of military service members out for a Saturday morning PT session in the park. Our sport has its origins in the military, so I choose to look at this as bringing us just a little bit closer to our heritage. We also have the flow of unsuspecting bikers, hikers and others who think they are heading to the park to enjoy a beautiful fall day only to stumble upon 100 horses prancing and jumping and running. Can you imagine their surprise? And what a great thing for our sport — snag the unsuspecting public and make them new fans of eventing.

To top off this year’s event, we hosted a Jim Wofford clinic over the competition course on Wednesday, Sept. 25. With 16 riders and five full courses to play with, Jim found himself in an eventing playground. We cannot thank him enough for spending such a beautiful day with us, and we hope to make this sort of schooling opportunity a permanent feature of Marlborough Horse Trials if the future. We wish to extend a huge thank you to all the riders, grooms, family, friend, and support teams who contributed to the success of each of our riders this weekend. We love hosting you all and look forward to 22 more years.

Jimmy demonstrating how to gather your reins after a drop fence.

Congratulations to the 2013 Marlborough Horse Trials division winners:

• Open Preliminary A — Katie Domino/Rush W
• Open Preliminary B — Lisa Mendell/Hokus Pokus
• Open Training — Courtney Olmstead/Young Lad
• Training Horse — Rosa W Lehnig/PL Irish Thunder
• Training Rider — Amy Boccia/Whisper Lea
• Novice Rider A — Suzy Gehris/Taking a Taxi
• Novice Rider B — Sherry Stephenson/Pygmalion Prince
• Open Novice — Skyeler Voss/MTF Cooley Caliber
• Beginner Novice Rider A — Wendy Wentorf-Owens/Landrada
• Beginner Novice Rider B — Kelsey Ann Quinn/Private Benjamin
• Open Beginner Novice — Michelle Warro/Ave Ravina
• Intro Rider — Michaline West/Double Exposure
• Open Intro — Myra McMichael/He’s My Beau

And last but not least, I want to extend a huge thank you for the tremendous efforts of the Marlborough Horse Trials board, officials and army of volunteers.  Thank you for making this event possible for more than 20 years.

Mi Does Dressage!

Very happy to report that Mi does dressage!  After his last less than stellar appearance in the rectangular sandbox, Mi earned himself a re-match... a chance to get his S*#@ sorted out.  And that he did!

Mi and I headed up to Loch Moy today for the final PVDA dressage show of the year.  He's really been coming together at home, but as soon as he sees that judge's box, little white fence, and evil letter boxes... well, the training has pretty much gone out the window!  But not today... he really held it together, and I was so very happy to have a relaxed and happy pony in that evil sandbox!

Mi's first test was so relaxed, he was almost too quiet!  I should have pushed for more, but I've never been able to do that!  So I was pretty darn thrilled with his 69.054 score and second place ribbon!! There's more in there, but now we're talking!

Mi and I had a relaxing break before we were up in the evil sandbox again... this time, apparently, in a bit more danger.  When Mi gets tired, he gets nervous.  Funny, because I think we, as riders, always think a second test should be a bit better with the horse a bit more settled - I'm starting to think Mi is a one-shot a day kinda guy.  After a quick watch of the video (THANK YOU KERRY!) of our first ride, I went into the ring determined to push for more in the second test.  But Mi was tired, hot, a little spooky, and a little rude -- so, he's a funny one.  But he pulled of a good test, for a solid 3rd place out of 10 horses, so really, we had a pretty awesome day!

We shall see what the future holds, but I really think today was a huge step forward in our partnership.  Exciting!

Did you see me do that dressage stuff ??? I was brilliant!!!