Welcome back old friends!

I am pleased to say that an old friend and client Beth Lose has rejoined our ranks with her two lovely horses Haven and Westy. Haven is a beautiful Oldenburg mare that Beth bred herself out of a Tb mare by Bacardi. She sold her as a 4 year old to be a broodmare at a top notch breeding operation in the area several years ago, and has recently had the good fortune to have her back. We will be breaking her out this month and I look forward to starting this talented young horses's competitive career. Beth also has acquired a gorgeous Westphalian gelding that has retired from his career as a hunter, and will be lessoning in the hopes of doing some dressage. Welcome back!

NEW DATE FOR BOYD MARTIN CLINIC!

Due to a change in Boyd's eventing schedule leading up to the WEG, we unfortunately had to postpone our Clinic. We are happy to announce the new date will be October 18th & 19th. Monday at White North and Tuesday XC schooling at South Farm, weather permitting. We will have a fun Q & A on Tuesday morning, as well as several vendors to check out. Don't miss out on some great training tips from one of eventing's finest!
See you there!

Four hooves forward…

Today Angela and I took Goodman for a lesson with Nancy Smith. We have been working with her for over a year now, and always enjoy her expert advice. We began in trot and she was very pleased to see Goodman moving consistently to the bit, and having a stronger outline and greater self carriage. We worked the shoulder in to half-pass to haunches in, and got some better quality half pass. In the canter we also worked on the half pass and walk canter transitions. Its amazing how a simple walk canter walk can show you how lacking your horse’s hind leg is! Goodman was a real star though, and quickly upped his game and began doing lovely transitions. We finished with some double steps, and a renewed sense of where to focus in his daily work. I am so proud of this horse because he continues to get better every day. His focus and confidence are building all the time, and he is more and more dynamic (is that possible?!) the stronger he becomes. Thanks to Angela for giving me the ride on this awesome horse! What a gift!

FOCUS.....

Focus is a funny thing...its hard to get right and easy to lose. Even in cameras with an "auto focus" the picture can sometimes look blurry when our hand moves or if it thinks there is not an "appropriate" subject to focus on. As I am sure all of you have experienced, this can really be maddening, as you hold the button down and the camera will not take a picture.

I recently came to the realization that I have "lost focus" on my personal goals as a professional. Not purposely or intentionally, but because other goals seemingly got in the way or began taking up my time. Its not like they disappeared from view or I forgot about what I want to do and where I want to go, but they just faded out and got a little blurry. Time to press the "refocus" button and re-evaluate the goals I had put in place at the beginning of the year.

There are so many little goals and steps to the larger ones it seems easy to lose track of everything, so I have decided to make myself a roadmap of each smaller thing to lead to the end result. I actually had to start from my goal at the end of the year (running Z Prelim) and trace it backwards in order to make sure that I dont miss anything. This seems to be very beneficial and is keeping me from getting distracted by the small day to day occurances that take up so much time. I also have come to the realization that having several areas with goals for clients/horses/career makes this a bit more daunting! It is going to be quite the juggling act, but I know with all the awesome support from my family, friends, and clients that we will all get there.

Time is ticking......

Busy Schedules & Birthday Wishes

What a busy couple of months we have had! After the fun at the Prix de Ville, we went on to two more dressage shows, a combined test, and lots of lessoning! Goodman and Leggs continued on to the Dressage at Grand Haven show as well as the Dressage Derby. Both horses are improving all the time and I am excited to say that they helped me earn my USDF Bronze Medal at the Dressage Derby. I am so grateful to all my clients for generously providing me with such lovely horses to ride. My medal scores were earned on Buenos Noches owned by Angela Hambrick, Legado de Rio owned by Angela Hambrick, Magion owned by Marian Shaughnessy, Panglossian owned by Marian Shaughnessy, and Riverdance owned by Betsy Daane. I could not have done it without them! I also want to thank Nancy Smith for all the excellent instruction and advice over the last year, fine tuning my dressage riding.

Zigzag went to the Combined Test at South Farm and went around his first Preliminary Stadium. He was a real trooper considering that he was a little (okay, alot!) foot sore behind. We ended up second and I was thrilled.

Jakob had his 11th birthday and we celebrated by having an outdoor campout with a few of his friends and then going to Geneva on the Lake with Aunt Minnie for some fun on the bumper boats and at the beach. All the boys had a great time, and my personal favorite was the campfire in our backyard and making smores. Thank goodness Ivor and Minnie were there or we may not have had a fire at all! My birthday was also this month, and I had a lovely couple evenings with Ivor and Jake, and then my parents at the Grand River Winery. My wonderful parents generously gave me a new top hat for dressage, and Mary, Tim & Jamie suprised me with the best showjumping boots you can buy for Z. Jake and Ivor gave me the coolest, tiniest, little pink ipod that is about the size of a stick of gum, and I promptly loaded it with freestyle music to ride Goodman by, and of course some U2 & DMB. I am so blessed and lucky to have such a supportive family. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!

While I haven't gotten Z to an event yet, we are having a good time working on getting legged up, polishing up our dressage, and getting more and more consistent at the 3'6" & 3'9".

Happy Birthday to all you June B Days!

Busy Busy Busy!

Well, its been awhile since I last posted, and so much has been going on. We had a great time at our first dressage show since last year, as well as taking a fun team to the Dressage Prix de Ville. Zigzag also completed the Combined Test at South Farm going around his first Preliminary Stadium course placing 2nd.



Angela Hambrick's Buenos Noches competed for the first time at Third level at both shows and was very relaxed. He got better and better as the weekends went along, and I am very excited for Angela and this horse's competition schedule this summer. Marian Shaughnessy's lovely mare Panglossian competed at 2nd and 3rd level at the first show and had respectable scores and went into the ring without missing a beat. At the Prix de Ville Marian competed for the first time at 1st level, and showed real class and composure throughout the weekend. Our Prix de Ville Team was also made up of some first timers to the rated dressage arena...Tracy Baker on Double Stuff, Cindy Pordon on Fahrenheit, and Clair Sulerzyski on Quintessential. They all worked very hard and had alot of fun. Tracy and Clair both scored in the 60s on their mounts and had very consistent tests. These horses had never been to a show of this nature, and both handled it very well. Cindy competed for the first time at 1st level and did an amazing job trying to get "Iz" to "play ball". Sadly, despite Cindy's hard work and good riding, Iz had other ideas. I am so proud of Cindy for her fortitude, perseverance and patience! She truly showed us what it means to be a good competitor!

Back at the barn, everyone has been working hard and riding lots of horses. We welcomed an old friend back to the farm in Sue Luria and her horse Cali, who came for a little tune up. Its great to have another prospective eventer in the barn! This past month I also had the pleasure of teaching the Barett Clan and doing some fun trail rides with Kim McConnell, Tom Barett, and his kids that were in from Europe. Its great having some new faces!

Speaking of new faces, the farm is really beginning to look like a five star facility, as renovations are in full tilt. The aisleways, washracks and atrium are almost done, and the new roof for the arena will begin this coming week. Be sure to check out the website (www.whitenorthstable.com) in the coming days for pictures of all the construction.

That's all for now...I have a date with Mom and the nursery to pick out more perennials!

Dressage Prix de Ville Udpdate

Well, its two days and counting, and everyone has been working really hard to get ready and put in good rides for the team. I am so proud of our riders and horses who are giving 110 percent to fine tune all the details. It has been alot of fun having so many dressage lessons all day long!

Marian and Leggs are really working like a team and showing some great trot work and transitions. Tracy and Stuffer have been refining their tests, and learning all the little details that help to make a good ride. Cindy an Iz have been working very hard on their lengthenings and I am so proud of their progress! They have really transformed the quality of the trot and canter over the last two weeks! Clair is pulling out all the stops with Quinn and has done a great job improving his canter and consistency. I am thrilled with everyone's dedication and hard work, and feel very privileged to be coaching our team. No matter what happens I hope everyone has fun and makes it a positive experience!

I also have Angela Hambrick's Hanoverian gelding Buenos Noches going to the show competing in the Third Level open classes. This horse is getting stronger and stronger everyday, and is finally showing some true half pass and pirouettes. He has begun to let me ride him a little more, and wait for me to tell him what is next instead of anticipating and taking over. I can't thank Angela enough for giving me the room to work with this horse on a consistent basis, as well as the opportunity to show him and try to get him going in the upper levels. He is extremely talented and I know she is as excited as I am to see what he can accomplish.

Good Luck to everyone competing this weekend...it is sure to be lots of fun!