The Next Step

This weekend was a big one for us as we finally got to take the next step and move up to the Intermediate division . I have not jumped in an Intermediate class in five years after 30 years at the Advanced level.It was a big deal for me.

Peter Pan and Next Dance had to go without our fearless leader Pickles. God,we miss him. He kept our stable together with his all knowing eye and his quiet way. But he was there in spirit. I have not written much about Riverdance lately but want everyone to know that he is filling Pickles spot and is Jumping to the top of my standards weekly here at Paradise. Having him here is helping my eye and filling me with courage and confidence that I really can ride at this level again. The old grey mare ain't dead yet. I am an extremely lucky person to have been able to jump so many fine horses, all of whom have been made from scratch. Though there have been many ups and downs along the way, I am feeling great about the journey so far and I am thinking I may make it back one day to the "A" word now after this weekend.

What a luxury to get back to a large dressage arena. There is so much more room and the horses love it. Harry went first. He warmed up like a dream and I got all mushy and soft which kicked me in the you know where by the time my test was over. Our trot work was exemplary. Smooth and flowing, Harry felt like a big boy. Then came the long extended walk across the arena, followed very cleverly by the medium walk.......to collected....wait.....wait......wait..........canter. KABOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

We exploded into a very over exuberant mess of hundreds of thousands of single tempi changes, complete with foot stomping squealing on Harry's part as I INSISTED That he do what I told him. (Guess who won?) NOT ME!!!!! Both canters were a disaster as harry checked out big time. He is very sweet and sensitive and then thought he was in trouble(He was!!!!!)

I looked Brian Ross in the eye after my final salute and cringed and went out of the ring with my tail deeply squished between my legs! UGH!!!!!!!!! We ran the gamut with the scores. Lot's of 7's,8's and 3's!

I thought, I'd better fix this now and went back to the warm up and put Harry into the canter again and buried his head between his legs and asked for about 20 transitions. Then the counter canters , then the simple changes. Poof. Magic. Once again, God hit me in the head and said "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN NOT TO LET YOUR GUARD DOWN???? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RIDE?" I SWEAR , I'll try and get it right next time. I let my guard down , cross country with Handsome Harry the softee in Florida, which was VERY costly.I did it again in the dressage this weekend. OK.....NO MORE!!!!!!GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.Time for me to get it together.

Peter was more on the job. HE ALWAYS has a few special tricks to play, so I am much less apt to let my guard down and get mushy. Riding Peter is like sitting on an atom bomb wrapped in C-4 explosive. He can go in any direction at any time. He also warmed up rather well and only decided to have one explosion leaving the collecting ring to enter the MAGNIFICENT main arena.

I am very happy to report Peter did not drop any bombs in front of our Judge Brian Ross. One never gets a second chance to make a first impression and Brian has a VERY good memory! He is a popular judge that shows up in the most important places , so it's best to mind ones P's and Q's around Mr. Ross!

OK we lived through our first Intermediate Dressage. Peter was actually 5th and Harry 12th.

XC was a GAS. Harry went first and clocked around. I was conservative and careful. We had I think 6 time faults. I was very happy with that. The ambulance was parked in a surprise place right in front of our first combination. It was right on the line I wanted to approach the A element. So I chose to go a bit wide. I think I wasted a few seconds there. But not important. Harry was very true to the skinneys and various questions and galloped in an improved balance from our last outing. Progress.

Peter BUSTED out of the box and was on go.Only 2.8 time penalties and moved up to fourth place. Unbelievable. He is crazy agile.

The horses were not phased by the bigger fences or the large drop into the second water.They were fit and relaxed and right on track. We were elated.

Show Jumping was great. A terrific track by Jan Brodkin. The jumps were big and wide but her tracks are always fair and honest.

I was a little nervous and over rode Harry.I had two rails.He finished 9th. Peter had one rail and finished third!Amazing.

Overall,we could not have been happier. The devils were ready for this next step in their careers.They were confident and happy to do the job.I can work on my blips and issues.There will always be those.

We can't wait for the next one. Stay tuned!

From Sunday To Sunday To Sunday

Three weeks ago, I jumped down off my beloved Pickles with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, threw my arms around his neck with the biggest hug I could muster and promsed him it would be alright with me if he was last in dressage for the rest of his life as long as he jumped like he did that day. He rolled his eyes at my melodramatic promises and said "yea right", to himself I am sure.

The following week,after the most gallant of battles, I lost him to colic. Again I threw my arms around him and told him it was all going to be ok. HE did the same for me.

This weekend Barby and I had to load the trailer for Pine Top without him and we were in tears for the entire process. We can't even clean the tack or roll the bandages without having to stop and take a huge breath. Barby said she felt completely out of sorts all week. Something was missing. She was right. It was Pickles.

Tawn Edwards was so kind and sent the most beautiful white flowers with words that spoke the truth. Though Pickles was gone, I now had to take care of my other devils and not let them down. This was a secret message from above sent via Tawn and it hit me in the head like a bat.

Though we only had two instead of three devils on the hoof, Pickles was definately with us.In fact I am COMPLETELY POSITIVE he GALLOPED past the dressage ring behind the judge and MOONED Peter Pan as Peter stopped dead in his tracks at X and REFUSED to go forward for what seemed an eternity! We are SURE it was Pickles. I went from my elegant dressage seat to the full crowbar position usually reserved for the leaf pit at Burghley to try and proceed past C. I was able to recover the rest of the dressage test , leaving Peter a credible third behind Amy Tryons lovely horses.

We were happy with Harry's test. He is a love and not quite as much of a challenge as Peter, although he did catch me with my gaurd down in Florida two weeks ago!

Pickles left us alone in show jumping. Both boys had double clears which was exciting.

I had 7 times faults with Harry on the cross country. I still have some tiny balance issues to the jumps that take me extra time. Who cares.I definately think we have a horse for the future. Harry finished his class in third. Wow, great!

Pickles showed himself again about three strides out of the start box for Peters cross country round. When one has a great rapport with a horse, it feels as if your partner can read your mind. River was a mind reader at the biggest combinations this country has to offer. He would gallop up to them, sight them and just clearly say, "got it" and go. My favorite field hunter Charlie Ferrari is a complete mind reader. I could follow hounds on him with both of us blindfolded. The security of an experienced horse is truely a great feeling, like dancing with Fred Astaire......(Heaven, I'm in heaven.........)

Peter Pan had Pickles in his back pocket today. He never missed a lick and bombed around making the time and winning the class. Peter was a mind reader today. I am very ecited about moving him up a class and hope he contiues on this path! We couldn't believe it. We all cried at the finish.We all cried all day. We cried in the office. Everyone everywhere all weekend was so kind.

So this Sunday has brought us back up again. We did this for my friend. We did this for my teacher. Pickles has passed his great spirit and knowledge onto these younger devils. He taught them well. Thankyou Pickles.

Thankyou to everyone out there. What a ride...Stay Tuned!

More About Pickles

I spent a quiet day yesterday here at Paradise. I needed to be alone with just my friends.I was selfish and wouldn't even let Barby come to work.Pickles was laid to rest in a place of honor and I spent a lot of time with him.I have polished his halter and it hangs now in my office next to the most gallant picture of Riverdance jumping the A frame oxer at Rolex.One of the most significant memories of my life.The gleam of the brass now on my wall is a reminder from heaven to appreciate and feel the love and the knowlegde these horses have allowed me to experience.

The out pourring of love that has been sent to us here at Paradise has been overwhelming. Once again I must express my greatest thanks to everyone out there that is involved with the crazy journeys of the devils and life on this farm.

Pickles definately made an impression. He was so comlicated. He was such a worrier,just like me.I know I made him crazy at times,like I do everyone else. But I knew one day we would get together and we did.And now I know through him that If I really do wait long enough ,other things will work out too.

There were so many times I wanted to give up.There were so many times I could not unlock the door or even believe there was key for the door. There were so many days I would promise not to get in a mess with Pickles only to end up in a puddle of anxiety,depression,frustration.Why?Why? Why can't I get it right with this horse?What kept us in such a mess?

Pickles would often rear straight up. He could go up straight from the canter or a standstill.yet he was the quitest,most well mannered fellow on the ground. He definately spoke to me. It took me so long to hear him.

The main thing is I hear him now.I feel he gave me a big key yesterday.

The key is to be grateful and happy with what is and not what should be.The key is if you want to ride or even live a day you better shut up and wait for it and enjoy it while it is there.

To be able to ride with an open hand and not have to restrict and prevent the flow of the gait.We create all this stuff ,then won't let it happen.Really stupid.

Pickles is teaching me to open my hand. He is teaching me timing.He is teaching me about size of stride.I have let my strides be to big and strung out for too long.I will work hard to honor my teacher and my friend. I do not like the words half halt. I prefer almost walk.

My rides today will be in the honor of my teacher.I hope everyone learns to honor their horses as well.We are so lucky.I am looking forward to more conversation from my teacher.He is making me stronger.I will be better for this. Thankyou Pickles.I love you always.

The Sweetest Gherkin That EVER Lived

Last night at 1.30 am the angels came and took Pickles to heaven.He fought a gallant battle for 2 days and then it was his time to go.I wanted to throw myself on top of him and go with him.

I am so grateful to have known this very very special horse.He was bred in Georgia near Pine Top by Harry Varn. He came to me years ago from a friend named Emily Gainey.I loved him from the minute I saw him. He was practically unbroken. He definitely wouldn't steer or canter. Emily wanted to know what to do with him.After watching him haul her around I said "let me ride him."After 5 minutes I said "Leave him here overnight".As soon as Emily left that afternoon with great reluctance on her part ,I tacked him up again and took him out to my cross country field and we jumped the entire beginner novice course that very day.He just did it.I knew then he would never leave the farm.

Pickles had a long back. When he came to the farm,I almost named him sausage,but thought that might not go down so well.So he became a pickle instead.

Our relationship was not an easy one. Over the next 7 years ,I had many a war with Pickles. Sometimes he was a sweet gherkin and sometimes is was a dill.There were so many times I couldn't communicate with him.

I spent buckets of money trying to find out what was wrong with him.I had vets,chiropractors,acupuncture,saddle fitters,even a damn bone scan to try and find out why we couldn't get it together in our dressage and our jumping.Bottom line was,,,,,,,,,,I simply needed to take more time and learn to ride him.......There was nothing wrong with him. It was me. IT was us... But I knew I wanted the relationship to work. And he waited for me to learn how to ride him till the end.He waited for me patiently and clearly taught me more lessons than any horse.I will remember Pickles as one of my best teachers. Our relationship did work. It was worth it all. Every single bit of all the less than ideal times.

Barby said to me last night as we sat in the darkness crying our heads off,"I wish he could have taken you to the top."My respond was easy. "He did".

Though we never found nirvana in the dressage ring,I did find it in the jumping.After retiring Riverdance, Pickles moved up into the number one jumping spot. He was like an old pair of loafers. He was reliable,safe and true. He gave me consistant clear rounds on loose reins ,where I could jump the jumps with an open hand. He gave me exactly what I had been looking for for so long in my riding. Most importantly ,he gave me back my confidence and I knew he had the same confidence in me. My last round at Rocking horse was in a snaffle on a loose rein.

Pickles was kind. He was a worrier.He was very loyal. And he was loved by us all. Barby had a very special relationship with him.My vet ,Linda Hickey thankfully never left my side. I do not know what I would have done without her. I am indebted to her for the rest of my life. I promise you there are three people in Aiken today with tremendous headaches and broken hearts.

I just got his passport. I had just entered him in his first Intermediate.He is safe now. He is at peace. There is no more pain. And best for him,no more Dressage.No more of that damn small arena.Run Pickles. You can fly now with your head as high up as you want.God Bless you.

I love you Pickles. You shall go with us everywhere. I cannot wait to see you again.Thankyou my friend for your lessons.Thankyou for being so handsome and kind to me.Thankyou for everything you did for us all. You had so many friends. He always had children everywhere ask about him.

My final word is a simple one. Love

Kisses and Cookies

For our first competition of the season , Barby,The Devils and I packed up and headed out of Aiken VERY DECADENTLY on a WEDNESDAY for what was supposed to be a two day event Friday and Saturday.

We had a super trip down. The horses were very comfortable and had a chance to have a good rest in their new digs, Nancy and Alice gave us terrific stalls. We found a great place to hook up the trailer and got all settled in before TORRENTIAL rain started.It POURED for two days.The good news was we had lots of movies to watch in the palace (my trailer),the power worked without fail and our new blow up mattress worked a treat.We had a ton of laughs and some much needed rest. The days at the farm before our departure were CRAZY busy and I was on my last nerve.

Thursday was a very wet day. I rode each of the devils twice. VERY VERY WET! Lots of lightning and not great conditions but I was determined to stick to the plan.

Friday dressage was wet and windy.For the first time in the arena this year overall I was pleased with everything except my scores.Peter had a small hesitation right at A,putting in a halt step in his walk transition. This is a game he loves to play. Other than that I was a bit conservative with him yet pleased. Harry was having some sort of an issue with his left lead counter counter and was tenser than normal but made it through without problems.His normally fabulous walk was below standard for him but all in all we were delighted to finish 6th in a big class.Pickles spoke to me in the clearest voice ever about how he needed to be ridden. It was extraordinary. Not a huge fan of the small arena, he often gets nervous right before going in the ring and starts to barge through my half halts and starts to pull like a freight train. As I ride him in the fattest of eggbutts ,I am left totally at his mercy at the most crucial of times.So I decided to very intelligently jab him with my spurs to tell him to reconnect to my leg and he answered that little conversation with the steepest levade one could ever see. Oh great here we go........He clearly told not to go to my spur but go to my seat which he had clearly pulled me out of. It was a GREAT message from dear Pickles and God to simply ride better or else!We thought he did a great test for him though his canter was a little choppy.

It rained so hard ,our show jumping had to be post poned to Sunday,so Barby and I got to scive off and do a little shopping at the fab trade fair. I bought two really nice pairs of corduroy breeches and a great rain suit all on sale. WOW! LOVE THAT!Then it was time to walk the cross country and more movies!

The cross country course was GREAT. Lots of good angled questions. EXACTLY what I need to prepare for moving up to Intermediate. The jumps were big enough. There was lots of great galloping room and the footing was perfect despite the rain.It was a perfect first outing for us all.
Peter Pan and Pickles were almost faultless. Both made the time on loose reins and BUZZED the course. I told Pickles, I didn't care if he was last in dressage for the rest of his life if he continues to jump like that. He is just like an old pair of loafers!And Peter is like a guided missile.

Harry was very very good,but I made an really stupid but necessary mistake that I hopefully will not do again. I let my guard down at a three stride angled question and had a run out. I do not think I have ever had a glance off with Harry and I just softened ever so slightly and paid the price. EXACTLY what the course designer had hoped for!UGH!!!!!!So I quickly circled and he popped it like a pro and went on without a problem. I hated to let him down but it was a lesson I needed to be reminded of from above again. I was so lucky to have a third chance to fix it back with Pickles.God was telling me to slow down and balance more. I heard him ,I did it and was rewarded with a ride that redeemed my faith in myself and my boys. There were lots of kisses and cookies for the devils in the stables that night.I was delighted.

Sunday followed with three clear show jumping rounds.Though the Intermediate show jumping still looks big to me, I feel we will be ready by Chattahoochee to move up. Can't wait!

Peter was the star this weekend finishing third in his class. Pickles was 9th and Harry 14th I think due to my error. But I am not worried. I just have to ride better and pay attention.

We had a great trip home with everyone safe and sound. Next stop Pine Top for our hopefully last prelim before the big move up. I can't wait!Stay tuned!

Paradise Farm Jumping Derby

Two days after our Horse Trials Paradise offers a Jumping Derby in the cross country field. A jumping derby consists of show jumps to start,I think to get the horses up in the air and after that,a mini cross country course with banks ditches and our great water jump,then a few more show jumps just to make sure everyone can come back in control.We discourage speed and use an optimum time as we would for a recognized competition.

These jumping derbies are great fun,but we never really know how long they will last or who's coming as most people enter on the day.So it's a bit of a hurry up and wait thing. It was a bit chilly and windy on our day , but after our FANTASTIC event weekend , I cannot complain about weather or luck for a little while longer.I owe the weather Gods a lot after the gift they gave us last weekend! THANKYOU WEATHER GODS!!!!!!!!I bow to you in humble appreciation.

There is no doubt in my mind that six inches and a little sunshine matter!

We had great tadpole,Beginner novice and novice turn out. Training and Prelim seemed a bit thin. I was sad as it is CRAZY moving all the jumps around. The staking of every cross country jump is a NIGHTMARE to pull up in prep for the derby,but on the whole it was worth it. Many thanks to all that showed up.

So the shortish day allowed me to ride my horses. A prep I needed for my first day of Dressage lessons on the following Thursday. I am incredibly excited about the devils this year. I am really looking forward to getting back out on the road. That's why we do the derby so close to the event.

I love organizing the event and the derby but it is 12 Weeks of 24-7 and something has to get shorted. So that usually ends up being my horses. Customers horses come first and hunting and the lessons to try and keep the farm rolling.

The agony really sets in at night when I have to do the office stuff,which I am TERRIBLE at! FORTUNATELY Karen Kelly comes to my aid and handles the WRETCHED computer while I usually weep on the floor.I made it through all of January and FEB without any alcohol or chocolate !

I did break my fast the night before the derby though. I did not drink anything stronger than my new favorite peppermint tea,but I did eat chocolate and even a few cookies. But I'm back on my new thing now. Stress can really drive one over the edge.My self help books,shrink and personal trainer say I am allowed to go nuts every now and then. So nuts I went. YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

Stay tuned for updates on the devils. We are on GO!

Magic

Well,the event is now over. I can't believe it. WHEW we made it through another one.It was Magic. The weather was PERFECT. I may never ever be that lucky again but I will remember this weekend for a long time.

All the stresses and agonies of the pre-event leadup was worth it. It is hard to imagine the amount of hours that so many people put in to make a horse trials happen. Chris Owens worked steadily for three solid weeks building lots of new fences.They were perfecting. Everything rode just the way we wanted it to.

I was so pleased to see how well the courses rode. There was a lot of pre- cross country buzz at how big the riders thought the courses were.But from what I saw those riders were pretty pleased with themselves afterwards and knew they had some good horses under them when they were finished.

I was impressed by the quality of what I saw this weekend. The riders treated the event with respect. They knew when they came to Paradise that they had better be ready to play and play they did.The preliminary course allowed the riders to really have a crack at galloping and power jumping. Our three new combinations on the course rode very well.

The training,novice, and beginner novice course got everyone fired up as well.Owners and trainers were so happy to be able to stand up on the big hill and watch their horses gallop all the way round the course. The viewing at Paradise is truely amazing.

The dressage ran like clockwork. WE were done 310 rides exactly at 5 pm and then an amazing crew of people tore the dressage rings down and had the entire show jumping course up within and hour. We made it before dark. A new record!I am really having fun with my course designing. I look forward to attending more seminars . It is really fun to see ones plans come into fruition. Teaching so much and adjusting fences during the lessons has given me a great insight into course designing.The ring looked spectacular and the horses jumped really well.Saturday night we tore down the novice and beginner novice show jumping and added a few more jumps for the prelim and training course.

The USEA help a seminar for Technical delegates and used this course to analyze the show jumping phase of the event. YIKES I was nervous whipping up a course for the likes of two FEI officials!But they were kind and complimentary and had a few great suggestions which opened my eyes to a few things I didn't think about. I love it when someone teaches me new stuff!There's just never enough time to learn everything out there!

We had so many great people at the event.I was overwhelmed with appearances from a lot of people that are eventing celebrities from many different countries.It was magic for me. Paradise is an incredible piece of land and the courses really sparkled this time. The entire event did. It was magic.

I feel everyone had a great weekend. The moral was good this time. It is not easy to pull one of these crazy competitions off! A lot of people ask me why I don't do more events at the farm .NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!!!!Two a year is enough for me. I had a great time and this was very personally rewarding and we made several strong additions to the farm (which is the point of all this)but I am really looking forward to being able to put this to bed and get back to riding full time. The event is a solid 10 weeks of distraction from that.I have some very nice horses coming on for other people and the Devils are chomping at the bit.River has a sore foot right now but he'll be back soon.

There are far too many people to thank but Karen Kelly, Barbie Reeser,Nancy Russel,Mary Ringler,Bobby Stevenson and Mary Lewis,Antonio Hernandez, Nannie Ward,Chris Owens,Tremain Cooper ,these guys were outrageously helpful.

We all owe a huge THANKYOU to ARENUS for being our GENEROUS SPONSOR!And many thanx to all my other sponsors as well. We had great prizes for the riders. The winners left with bulging bags of serious goodies. That was another part of the magic. So many people came in at the last minute offering all kinds of fun things.

So a great THANKYOU to everyone. This was the best Horse Trials yet. We TRUELY were blessed this go round. I am very grateful.

Now it's time for bed.Tomorrow is another day!