Paradise Farm Horse Trials Feb.2009

Well folks ,we made it through another event.I think this was the best one yet.I can not remember when we had one with three days of sunshine.It was very cold and windy but at least the sun shone and everyone was smiling.

I was thrilled to host our sponsor ARENUS.They kindly donated a wonderful dinner in our beautiful sponsor tent on the Thursday before the event and about 45 people came.Sadly our keynote speaker Dr.Kopp could not get there to speak as we had planned as he got hung up in travel.But the food was excellent and we were able to greet those that came and talk .

Dressage ran smoothly with three hundred horses prancing around.Our great volunteers kept everything running smoothly in the four rings and we finished right on time.Immediately following we had a super crew attack the rings with a vengence and the sand arena was drug(dragged?)and up popped the show jumping course,ready for Sunday.Whew!The upper show jumping had been set up the week before.I was SO PROUD of our new sponsor jumps.Everything was very bright and shiny and really looked top shelf.

Cross Country day started very early and was FREEZING!We had to drive a truck thru the water jump at 6.30 am to break the ice that had formed the night before.The first prelim horse went out on course at 7.15 am as planned and the entire day went smoothly.There were only two falls that day and niether of the two ambulances ever had to move thank god.A GREAT DAY!!!
Riders loved the courses.It is a wonderful feeling to see horses galloping across the hills.Paradise is a great track.It is for the horses.The buzz afterwards from the riders was good.

Show Jumping day was also great.The wind was strong and blew a few jumps down here and there but people were tolerant.I think they found the courses challenging.There is no question that a bright course makes everyone ride better.

I was actually impressed and thought the riders were cheerful,helpful and positive this time.I did not feel the pressure that we've had in years past.The parking was orderly and worked well.To me ,that is one of the key parts of the puzzel,making sure everyone can get in and out without drama.This year the riders really helped out and followed the plan. I am VERY GREATFUL to them for that!The parkers were out there from 5.30 am till......and did a fantastic job.

The volunteers were as always amazing.It is a huge undertaking for all these people to come out,stand in the cold and do their jobs.Everyone develops their own systems for their tasks.There is always stress at the beginning but after a few hours into it,it's full speed ahead.

Two things that weren't the best.My new communications system did not work.The system could only be heard it you strained to hear.And the new radios were also insufficient.So we need to fix that up for the next one.Those are two huge parts to the puzzel but we managed to get through the whole thing unscathed!

I am very greatful to ARENUS for maing it a special event.They gave lots of prizes,information and help to our horses and dogs.They too were pleased with the event and the chance to meet lots of the riders.I cannot thank my volunteers enough for all that they did.There were many that worked the entire 4 days and many days in advance of the competition as well.

My farm staff deserve a million thanx and lots of extra money for all their extra efforts.Believe me ,it is not easy being at Paradise the last few weeks before the event.Everyone that is anywhere within fifty feet of me is put to hard labour and never gets any rest till they escape out the driveway.

I also want to THANK the RIDERS! You guys were very helpful and stayed out of the no horse zones and followed the parking and were on time and polite.Thankyou!Thankyou for entering early.

We know there a many that wish the event were over two days instead of three.We hope you will bear with us and enjoy the quality we try to bring to you over the three days.At the moment we do not have plans to change the system.Organizing this one competition is a very complex ,time consuming project and we hope you can enjoy what we bring to you the way it is.

I awoke today at 1.15 am and it is now 3.34 am on Wed.25 feb.I am getting ready for todays jumping derby.We ran out of time between Sunday and Wednesday.I changed my mind and have put the JD in the XC field as it was impossible to de-stake all the XC jumps necesary to move them all up the front field like last year.So we'll see how this works.I am hoping to put a water jump and a sunken road in the derby field for next year but we'll have to see.And I will need much more labour to pull it off.

It is very hard to complete all the details necessary to make a show day happen.Even an unrecognized one.Therefore,no sleep.After I finish in the office here,I am going to get dressed,brave the cold and go out there and move more stuff around before daylight.Trailers,warm up jumps,flags for jumping and parking.On and on.I have no idea how many people will even come today.We had a full house last year.Fingers crossed.

After today we will be in operation put back.That will take about 10 days to get the farm back to normal.I plan to move all xc jumps on skids and really give the back field an overhaul for next year .And while we're doing that, the eventers and other horses will be back in full work.Lessons will get cranked back up and we are still hunting.

So stay tuned to life in Paradise!

Countdown to the Horse Trials

I apologize to all my friends about being so neglectful of this blog. WE are in major countdown . Four days till it all begins. Though the Aiken event scene has been a buzz for several weeks, I have been a good girl,sticking to my January resolution to put the farm first so we have been busy here preparing for the Horse Trials, keeping the horses in work (I only get to ride mine every other day, but my owners horses get done first since mine do not come out till march) WE have been hunting a lot and having a SUPER SEASON! (Yesterday I played hookey and went out with Flat Branch and had a ball!)

Anyway, Dressage(four rings) and The Upper show jumping course is done. (Thank God) Those are 2 jobs that keep me up at night till they are finished. I really hope one day to spend more time with some experienced course designers as it is something I am very interested in. WE had quite a team to put up all the rings and the jumps. It's great fun when done early enough to allow for all the mishaps that always seem to pop up.

The name of the game is get ready early. Thats for sure. This year Paradise is honored to have the United States Equestriam Team riders come and train for a day on the cross country course, just 2 days before the competition starts. Though this adds to the stress level somewhat, it is an excellent kick in the you know where to make sure we are presentable early!

So the program is done (more or less), flags are up, and flowers are starting to sprout everywhere and gallons of stain are splashing about. Trees are planted, tents are going up, new water spickets and electrical sockets have been put in. There is a new sound system getting wired . I hope it works. Two new additions are the new upper road that I hope will prevent a repeat of last years tractor pull for all the giant rigs that had to fight the DEEP MUD for three days! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then we have bitten the bullet and gone wild with more radios! Lets hope these A:work,B:last a while! Communications is such a big part of the operation. And one of the many that send me round the bend.

So one of the last jobs is putting up all the stabling cards and moving 100 bags of shavings for the stalls. UGH. And yes folks, I am right there on that end to make sure they go in the right place. Who needs the gym? Personal trainer? Become an event organizer!

My favorite part of the event is seeing all the phases come together after weeks of stress and hard work. We have been so very very lucky with a great group of experienced friends that make it all happen.

With the help of our sponsor ARENUS, there will be some great prizes for the riders and we have built a few new jumps that are a definate addition to the event. ARENUS has been so generous with this competition, not only finacially but so supportive in helping make it a fun and informative experience for the competitors, by offering a barbeque and several seminars during the days of competition. I am honored to be a part of this company.

Barbie is riding the horses when I can't. This final week I stop teaching. It is safer for all concerned! Antonio and Ramon are doing everything imaginable. My mother is hot rodding it to Sams for all the goodies that go into the best lunches around! Todays request was for extra toilet paper(again!) and paper towels. I shall not repeat what she said here!

So stay tuned! Fingers crossed! WE are on go!

A Wonderful Feeling of Support

There are so many different sides to life in Paradise.The farm side,The horse side,Horse Trials, Fox hunting, Eventing, teaching, selling,veterinary, mowing,machinery maintenace,book keeping,fatique,emotional,employee,telphoning and communication with DIAL UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and the most important one,trying to maintain a balance.That one is right up there with trying to ride a straight line.

With the new year,I am excited about so many things.Already January has flown by.I mentioned in an earlier blog,December was not a great month for me.I had a feeling of tremendous loss and doom hung over me for weeks.I felt as if I had reached the end of Paradise as I had known it.

The devils are in great shape andI have grown up enough to have made an executive decision not to enter them in any competitions until March.This is difficult when there are so many competitions right in my backyard.But I have made the decision to put the farm first this year.I am lining up my ducks so that after the Paradise Farm Horse Trials I can go on the road with a clear conscience.It is after all a very long season.

Organizing the Horse Trials is madness.I am getting much better at writing off much of my normal riding time with time spent talking on the phone ,e-mailing or face to face with all the millions of people that are involved.Tasks that one should think would be fairly simple can take days and days.And if you are not there ,right on top of it PERSONALLY,you can bet you will have to do it over at least once.Many of these tasks used to reduce me to puddles of tears and the burning urge to walk around the farm with a loaded shotgun.Now ,after much practice I can simply smile and say,"How Nice!"

When things go right,and when so many people pitch in and join up,it is a great feeling.I have managed to collect all my volunters for the event in an organized fashion without tears.Everything is running fairly smoothly on the farm.We are at our maximum number of entries for the event.This is HUGE.I am VERY VERY greatful to all of the riders that have entered and to those that are on the waiting list,I am sorry we can't take more.

Putting on an event is very scary.There are many sleepless nights.What about this and that.Oh my God I forgot this.Endless issues creep up.You can bet that EVERYTIME you try to get on a horse or teach a lesson ,someone that REALLY needs to talk to you will appear.No matter how organized or well thought out you think you have it,you can bet something will pop up unexpectedly.Just like riding!

Not only do we have GREAT entries (thankyou thankyou thankyou) but I have a GREAT sponsor.Arenus!Last year they helped me get to the Us Eventing Championships with the three devils.This year they have GENEROUSLY taken on the title sponsorship of the Horse Trials.This also helps me sleep a little better.Working with Katie Pell and Ken Kopp always leaves me feeling on top of the world.

WE had a wonderful evening January 19 where ARENUS came and gave a delicious dinner and imformative presentation of their products and philosophys towards the care and well being of horses.So many friends came and listened,it left me with another great feeling of support from Aikens community.Even the busiest vets in town came to listen which meant a great deal to me! Thank goodness that meant most of Aikens horses were in good health that night!

Aiken is such a busy place.There is so much going on all the time.WE are blesed with this great group of people and wonderful town.The support I have received over the years has allowed to me to pursue so many things.Eventing all over the US and Europe, and being able to continue to ride this season is a great luxury.Without this support, it would be an impossible dream.So,once again ,Thankyou all for being there.

Charlie Ferrari

Yesterday while galloping through the Hitchcock woods after the Aiken Hounds in full cry,I kept thinking about how much I love the horse I ride,Charlie Ferrari.This hore is a TB gelding ,that raced,went up to 2 star eventing,knows fourth level dressage and at age 19 is just about the finest drag horse anyone could ask for.He is gorgeous to look at ,he moves like a dream and jumps like a stag.I have been riding this horse for years.He has hunted hounds and led the field with grace and speed and the lightest footwork imaginable.

He can fly downhill as easily as up.Yet he will wait and listen at anytime upon command.He reads the land as well as the hounds always looking and knowing exactly where to go and how to get there.He is a horse that gives me a thrill and a tear every single time I have the honor to ride him.

He fits right in at paradise and should definately be on the devil list as he delights in opening any stall door,throwing the bar down with a crash and gallops down the lane as fast as he can ,laughing al the way till someone comes to catch him which is another game in itself.This happens on almost a daily basis.There are always ropes and barracades around Charlies stall door (and he still gets out!)

He thrives on his hunting and gets very hurt feelings when I choose to ride another horse.I have been so blessed with fine horses to hunt.I must make mention of my Blessed Pierre.A different sort entirely but remembered with eqaul amounts of love and admiration.

To have horses like Charlie Ferrarri , a horse that will gallop and jump yet wait with the most extreme balance and grace is simply and honor and a thrill.That is the sign of a great hunter.I am sad when people think hunting is wreckless and dangerous.It does not have to be.It takes years and years to make a great horse.It takes time to get a horse to read your mind and know your every move.

Charlie has run off with me many times.He has stopped at fences and I have gone over his head.He rarely walks back to the meet and often jigs home in a lather.Those are not the signs of a great hunter.He hates the show ring and ALWAYS refuses at the show in the woods!I have walked out of the ring mortified more than once.Oh and he won't live hunt.Not patient enough to stand around for that!

But he always knows when it is Tuesday and Saturday.He always knows when I go to clip him out that he is going to fly with the Aiken Drag the way he loves to go.And for all his other sins,he is forgiven with a huge smile and the biggest hug I can give him around his hadsome neck.He is worth an oil painting,A perpetual trophy even a bronze in my mind.I hope everyone feels that way about their horses and their days out with hounds.

Hunting

It has been a while since I have written about hunting.It's POURRING rain today and it makes me think of England and hunting.Not that we always hunt in the rain but very often over there it was pourring and freezing but it was GREAT FUN and a real thrill.Hunting over here is quite a bit tamer.

The Aiken Drag is a different thrill from British hunting but a thrill nonetheless.This year we have had a season of many changes but most for the very best.We have a new huntsman,new hounds andI have a new horse that I think is going to be a very solid citizen next to my stalwart Charlie Ferrarri.

WE have put a lot of thought into how we can best manage the changes of our beloved Hitchcock woods,notably the rise in the number of live game in the woods.We have put a lot of thought into how best to improve the drag without changing its character for the changes in horses and riders of our fields.There are fewer people out these days that are comfortable with the speed and large fences of yesteryear.

And so with these changes we have had a super season so far with large fields in the second flight and hilltoppers.Those that take on the first flight have done so with aplomb and stay right up with the hounds.Another change is we have added a third drag to our days,one I am delighted with.

Galloping through the woods ,listening to our new hounds is something hard to describe.My horses have been so balanced and keen ,I can fly through the woods over everyfence with an open hand and say have at it boy!My horses know every turn,every hill,every jump with their eyes closed.It is sheer bliss twice a week.

I had the opportunity to go out with Red Mountain during the Masters Regional meeting on another delightful horse.Spencer belongs to my friend Taylor Myers and she graciously allowed me to ride him up there with Linda Mclean,Emily Smith and Katherine Gunter.Aiken hounds were well represented.Our green livery stood out amongst the field of scarlet coats with all the other Masters.The countryside up there was magnificent and the day glorious.It reminded me of how I love hunting.Sadly my schedual doesn't permit me to take enough time for these opportunities.

I had one more opportuntity to go out with Flat branch Hounds here in Aiken on my new horse Dice.Though I have been riding this giant for years, it is this year that he has decided to really enjoy hunting and have some fun.Again the opportunity to just be out there in the beautiful woods on a horse that it obediant,soft,interested in the hounds is one I never get enough of.There are so many fine people out there in the hunt fields as well,that it makes the experience all the more special.

I can't wait to go out with Whiskey road and Why Worry.We have so many choices here in Aiken it is amazing.It is so interesting to see the subtle differences with each pack and each different country.One can never get enough.

Hunting is the missing ingrediant to so many peoples riding.One has to pay attention to many things around them.It increases ones reaction time to things that are real and not subjective.It makes horses better without a doubt.Our Footing here in Aiken is the best on earth.
we are truely blessed.

AS I get closer to Eventing seasonI just wanted to express a few thoughts on hunting.

Better Riding Through Knowledge(not luck )Clinic 1

Paradise held its first Better Riding Through Knowledge clinic January9-10 .WE had a very enthusiatic group come ride for the two days.There were several riders that chose to ride privately on the flat and then there were show jumpers that practiced their skills in the ring for two days and then we had a SUPER group of Jumiors that came out for cross country.

The flat lessons are aimed at teaching the rider how to find a more balanced ride from their horses.There is a huge amount of theory given.Lots of time is spent talking about the mechanics of how to get your horse obiedient to the aids and how to affect his balance and get him to not lean or pull or drift.Huge emphasis is placed on straightness and how to achieve that.There is lots of stop and go,then we proceed to lateral work.The riders are made aware of specific body parts of their horses and how to manipulate them for various effect.It is great fun and hugely rewarding to me to see the lightbulbs go off and feel the enthusiam from the riders when they find the right buttons! And the horses go whew!Everyone smiles.

The show jumping always starts out with stop and go.Then we add poles on the ground and proceed to the jumps.Everything is progressive.We had three charming handsome men in the first group and had the addition of a beautiful blond the second day.Horses were all of varying degree of greeness but everyone completed a technical jumping course of bounces,triple combinations,skinneys,barrels and the brush box by the end of the weekend.Riders worked on control,direction,track,size of stride,leg position,you name it.WE had grunting,moaning,smiles,and screams of delight!And we had a huge cheering section for all the riders which always makes it more fun.

Cross country on Sunday was a group of three juniors that were keen,brave and effective riders.We worked on a safer cross country balance and emphasis was placed on the set up before jumps and then the gallop on the getaway.I use alot of small drop type questions with jumps in quick sucession to get the riders in the right position.AS usual God steps in with the use of the drops and the riders develope their own religion quickly!These juniors all ride to hounds and really show the benefits of that through their natural riding styles.Very exciting to an old fart like me that was brought up that way too.There is no doubt that riding out cross country whether hacking or hunting is the greatest way to learn balance.

A very enthusiatic group of mothers took milions of pictures and video of the session and Ben Baugh from the Aiken Standard came out to interview the children to add to the excitment.

It is hard to know what to call these clinics.I try not to scare people away with serious hard core horse language.I prefer to teach in a more relaxed way ,encouraging people to allow themselves and their horses to fumble and made mistakes.Hopefully through systematic excercises with lots of theory behind ,people and their horses can start to learn to progress by understanding what it is each excercise,each type of jump,each course,each dressage movement is asking for and why.How one thing needs to progressively lead to another.All levels of horse and rider benefit from these sessions.And everyone has a great time.Thankyou to all for supporting these clinics.I look forward to the next one January 31 and Feb.1.Stay tuned!

Hold Onto YOUR HAT!

I can't believe it is already the middle of January.I haven't been able to pull myself together enough to write but here we go again.Thankyou to everyone that has inquired as to why I haven't written in so long.It in inspires me to continue.

After my last blog and for several other reasons December turned into a horrifically complicated month.I had planned to take December easy.I did let the devils down so that gave me an extra six hours in the day.But many many other things crept up that led me to feeling like I had to pack it all in.I felt like I had to have a giant pillow of stone over my head the whole time,not a nice hat to wear.Let's just say THANKGOD January is looking better and we are back on track.

Life in Paradise is complicated.WE all wear many hats here.I wear a rider,teacher,Joint Master of the Aiken Hounds,Event organizer,Cook,maid,bookeeper hats.Barbie wears the grooms hat and excercise rider and volunteer coordinator hat at the Horse Trials(rapidly approaching),Antonio wears not a hat but a halo and does EVERYTHING,PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

January is a month of no sleep despit all the efforts.It is also a month of no chocolate or Alchohol!Can you say stress?The Horse Trial opens and we are on pins and needles waiting to see how the entries go.(We are SO SO GRATEFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!to those that enter early)Knowing about the entriers is so huge one can never know unless one organizes and pays for the endeavours of aHorse Trial.It totaly sets the standard for the competition in every way.Did I say THANKYOU AGAIN to those that enter early!!!!!!

Pulling the farm together for the event is one thing.Getting the devils ready for the new season another.Clipping ,manes tails,Entries,reguistrations ect.Hours and hours at the Dial up computer.AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

THANKGOD people are taking lessons again.December was very slow.Thankyou to everyone that comes.You all keep the ball rolling here.No matter what,I am never too busy to teach !

Hunting is in full force and we are having a fabulous season with our new hounds! I have even been able to get out live a few times.(MUST DO IT MORE!!!)I have 2 great horses to hunt and it is an extreme pleasure.Hunting is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they way to GO !

Clinics have been a riot to teach.WE have had lots of new people that are REALLY making an effort.It makes EVERYTHING ELSE SO worthwhile!

I will try and elaborate in some more blogs ASAP about each of those latter subjects later.Aiken is exploding as usual.So we are all trying to hold onto our hats.Good Luck