While I hope everyone is reveling in the glory of the Olympic Games in Vancouver, can we just take a minute for me? A moment of pity for Eiren, with no TV and apparently no livestream coverage of the games on the Internet? Can you do that for me?  A little so sad for Eiren moment? Thanks. 

Every morning I start up my computer and check out the results from the day before. I watch video clips from CBC.ca and hope in vain that CTV will actually mean it when they say "watch live" on their website, instead of offering me the apology, "The video is not loading properly. This is a temporary problem. Please give us a minute while we access your video."  No, it is NOT a temporary problem. No recommendations on fixing the problem. So I go back to CBC.ca, developing a new loyalty, and enjoy the clips and pictures they offer. However, no video clips or pictures will capture the actual emotion of the athletes winning their events. To hear the roar of the crowd, the expressions of the athletes and all the people supporting them, the disappointment expressed by the other athletes who should still be proud to have made it to the Olympics… I want it live, dammit. LIVE. 

Maybe today will be my pissy-blog. Lets talk about other things that suck. Top of the list would be shoveling snow. (I  want to apologize for my forthcoming whine to any of my friends in VA/MD/PA that have been up to their armpits in snow. Let me say now, I am a sissy.) At my apartment we have a schedule for clearing the sidewalk, with each renter getting a 3-day block. My block fell over this past weekend, and of course it started snowing Thursday night and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon. Sonofabitch. I thought about playing the pity card, but my German isn't up to "I had shoulder surgery and really can't do this." So I shoveled and swept. Shoveled and swept, shoveled and swept. I dragged Karis into Munster with the pretense of going to stallion shows, but really it was to get her to help me shovel and sweep.  Thank you Karis! Despite her help my shoulder still was not happy with this kind of physical therapy program. For the first time in about two weeks I had to take pain medication and today no riding. I'm sure I'll be back at it tomorrow, but any setback is annoying. 

The only other annoying thing that's come up lately is my poor baby dog getting a very upset stomach and having a very messy and stinky 24 hours, including a rather horrible accident in my apartment. EEeeeewwwwwww… We had a very stressful Friday and Saturday morning, but luckily everything has sorted itself out and Maude is once again a happy puppy and I am a happy puppy owner. 

Now to the good stuff - STALLION SHOWS!! 

We just saw Valentine's Day come and go, thankfully not highly celebrated (or bought) by the German culture. However, the season for stallion love and matchmaking is in full swing.  What better way to spend the weekend than oggling available studs ready to offer their services? Now, if only one could do this with two-legged candidates...

Saturday we went to the German Trakehner Stallion Show, very luckily held here in Munster.  I'm not one of those freaky die-hard Trakehner fans, but a good horse is a good horse. I've seen some really beautiful and stunning Trakehners, and others that I just think 'ew' and look away.The same can be said for any and every breed of horse, but Trakehners just seem to have a reputation and people are black or white on the topic. My indifference to the breed was shaken up Saturday when my heart went pitter-patter for a few of these four-legged young gods. My new curiosity is the stallion Axis TSF. He was on the roster for presentation but like many stallions, bad weather kept him at home. However, I did see 3 of his approved sons and I liked them quite a lot. Two were Axis x Kostolany but a little hard to compare as one was only 3, the other a 7 year old jumper (the first Trakehner to be approved for breeding by the Holsteiner Verband! Impressive!). Both were leggy and elegant, and the 3 year old showed gaits and mechanics that made me drool and wonder if they needed a Canadian rider for his gorgeousness?  The third stallion was Ballzauber, owned by Darren Chiachia. A slightly different build but elegant, elastic, and gorgeous, this stallion is now in training with Edward Gal. There were a few other lovely boys at the stallion show, but Axis is the one on my mind at the end of the day.

If Saturday was horse-lover's cake, then Sunday was the icing. Through the fabulous Sabine Brandt I was able to get coveted tickets to the Paul Schockemoele Stallion Show in Vechta. Every year these tickets sell out quicker than you can say "how many Sandro Hit offspring do we really need?!" This year Sabine once again secured her own two tickets but I was able to buy them from her when she received two special tickets for the show. In 2007 Sabine sold her 3 week old colt, Sansibar, to Paul Schockemoele. November 2009, Sansibar was licensed for breeding and in a gesture to the breeders, Schockemoele invites them to the show to be recognized for being clever, awesome and kick-ass (probably not the words he used). So, Sabine got her new tickets and I got her old tickets. And holy crap, am I ever glad I did.

The atmosphere alone at the PS show is enough to get you giddy. Everyone there knows that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who would want to be sitting in your seat, but too bad, I got my ticket before you did. So you already feel privileged just by being there. Then you get The Show. Everything runs like clockwork, there are no lulls, no hiccups in the presentation. You never think, 'okay, I've seen enough of this one.' They have it mastered that you see just enough of a stallion and then the next one comes in. Even the great Sandro Hit and his super-son Sir Donnerhall didn't clog up too much time. 

The jumping stallions were spectacular, either free-jumping or doing a small course. It was funny to see the jump crew race against the clock to get the jumps set up and taken down in the fastest time possible. Did you know you can build up 4 fences from scratch in 23 seconds? Yes, it takes about 35 people, but when your name is Schockemoele, you have 40 people to do it for you. It was pretty cool, andI know I would jump more often if I had 40 people to build up courses for me like that! The jumpers Chacco Blue (Chambertin x Condender) and Dobel's Cento (Capitol I x Caletto II) both made me want to breed for jumpers. Chacco Blue was simply awesome, his rider being a show off and walking him up to a 5' fence. Just two strides out he'd pick up the canter and *voila*, it's that easy.  Dobel's Cento didn't go over any fences, but at 21 years old he has nothing to prove. He did not want to be ignored though and was all sorts of cheeky, galloping off (one might say taking off) with his young rider! 

The four-year old stallion Furstenball (Furst Heinrich x Donnerhall) stood out to me as the most delightful dressage prospect. He looked loose, bouncy, calm, and completely natural, where some of the other stallions looked very "put together" and unnatural in their extreme movement and expression. There were some other nice stallions, the four-year old Bentley being one worth mentioning, but Furstenball captured my fancy the most. Sir Donnerhall was gorgeous, but for his age I would have liked to see a little more training shown. But when you look as good as he does, flouncing around at the trot and canter will have to be enough. Sandro Hit looked good, but just doesn't do it for me. 

There is still one more stallion show on my schedule, the stallions of Dressurpferde Leistungzentrum, February 27.  I'm looking forward to seeing this collection of stallions and enjoying another day in Vechta. 

Sometimes I have weak moments where miss being in English speaking North America. However, the opportunities like this, to see two amazing stallion showcases in two days, takes away my homesickness pretty quick, because it's simply not possible to compare it to anything at home. 

And by the way, happy anniversary to me. Valentines day is about romance for some, for me it's simply a reminder that anything is possible. February 14th, 2008 was the day I landed in Germany, caught a taxi to Ingrid Klimke's barn, and started a new chapter in my life. Two years and counting...

Cheers,

Eiren

Yesterday I rode again! WoFrickinHooey!!!!  I'll get back to the riding in a minute, but here's what's been going on before this. 

I had an appointment with my surgeon last Thursday to check the progress of my recovery. I have to mention that I have, of course, a very good looking doctor and so have learned to write down any questions I have before my appointments as I go embarrassingly blank when he walks in the room.  And yes, I am a huge an idiot… Anyway, moving on. He said I'm about two weeks ahead of schedule with my recovery. Ahead of schedule. That I have almost full range of motion without drugs and have no problem sleeping through the night, pain free, is apparently not to be expected at this point. Cool beans. He said I can start cautiously working with weights but to not rush and be overambitious (good news for me - vacuuming my apartment and car in the same day would be considered overambitious). I got a paper for more PT and another to keep me from working for two more weeks. I will have another appointment with my doctor in two weeks to see how I'm progressing and if there's anything preventing me from getting back to work. God help me if that's the case. 

Doctor said I can just get started doing stuff because I can't ruin anything. I can hurt the muscles and feel pain, which would set me back, but can't actually do any damage. I don't know if this applies to horses spooking and running away as you are holding or leading them, and naturally I forgot to ask this since I hadn't written it down (jeeze!). I'm not so much afraid of the horses getting strong while I'm riding, but it's the unexpected, quick pulls when I'm on the ground that make me nervous. It was the young horse spooking while I was holding him for a client that put me over the edge to schedule my surgery, and when I think of that pain I get nervous. However, I know I have to just get on with things, at a measured pace, and put my fear away in some dark, unused corner of my brain where such horrible thoughts are stored.

Yesterday fear hid itself where it belonged when I sat on my favorite horse at Hermann's, the 5 year old I call "Flotto." I gave him this name this because I would buy him if I won the F*<king Lottery. Karis rode him first, making him supple, loose, and a little bit tired for me. When I got on it was like I had just ridden him yesterday. He was a polite, charming superstar and I had 15 minutes of happiness. Today I feel fine, maybe a teensy little bit of muscle strain, but nothing that will prevent me from doing the same thing tomorrow! It was fantastic and I miss it and I can't wait to get back at it.

Karis is doing a great job with the horses. She rides 10-12 horses each day and over the last week or so I have noticed a huge difference in her partnership with the horses. Yesterday was great. I could see by horse number 11 she was getting tired, but she is getting quicker and more confident in her timing and reactions. I have always enjoyed teaching Karis, and it just gets better each day as she gets into the groove here. It takes a lot of time to get to know the horses, as they are all so different. The first weeks are a bit of a blur, where you don't even remember their names, much less what are their strengths and weaknesses. Karis is now familiar enough with them that she can get to the real work, the progress and improvement. Now when she warms a horse up for Hermann, he'll come in and watch, tell me it looks good, and then he'll leave. He's trusting her enough to leave her to the work, knowing that she will continue taking them along the same path he's charted.  Now she is really training the horses.

So things are going well here. I'm happy to be getting busy again, teaching Karis and a few other riders during the day. Now that I can start riding again, I'm really looking forward to each day. I was getting horribly bored this past week, and though I do enjoy the extra sleep I get, my brain needs to get back to work. Hooray!!

Cheers,

Eiren