Hell Yeah!

I had my first horse show of the season today and HAD MY FIRST WIN IN GERMANY!!!!!! Riding the four year old stallion, Florentinus, at his first show!

That's the aptly named show of the big competition in Hagen this weekend. I have enjoyed going to watch this amazing show the past two years, but this year won't have the chance because of work.  However, due to the magic of the Internet, I can watch live stream coverage (and so can you!) by clicking here. 

As I type I'm watching the Grand Prix for Professional Riders Championships and as always I get this tightening feeling in my stomach because, dammit, I just want to ride!!

I have a lot of cool opportunities on my plate right now, and with these opportunities comes commitment. Although I think I give it my all when I'm in a job and I am committed to doing the best I can, I am a bit of a shy of commitment.   My whole life I've never lived anywhere more than 5 years. Maybe when I was a kid I spent 6 or 7 years in Saskatoon (for those who don't live there, I dare you to say Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ten times fast), but other than that, no. 

However, after two years already here, I keep adding anchors. I have a contract with my cell phone. I have a dog (which can easily get on a plane, so maybe she isn't an anchor). The biggest freak out for me is that I just got financing for a newer car. With a co-signer.  A German co-signer. 

It shouldn't, but this freaks me out more than a little. Even though I have no desire to change anything in my life and lifestyle, I am nervous to say, "yes, I'll be here for five years , you can count on me."  It makes me feel a little barfy inside. I imagine this is what a bride or groom feels like just before the big music starts and she walks down the isle. Yikes.

However, then I watch the riders in this Grand Prix class, one after the other, and I get a stronger feeling, this is what I want. 

And I am in a place now where this may not be such an outlandish dream. I have had amazing opportunity after amazing opportunity, first with Ingrid Klimke (I have to use her last name sometimes, because It floors me that it is Ingrid Klimke who answers my phone calls and gives me advice), then with Hermann Goesmeier, who most people don't but should know.  Now I'm riding at Gestuet Letter Berg, and the quality of these horses amazes me daily. The owner is as ambitious as I am, and we share the same long term vision and goals. 

At Letter Berg the oldest horses are five years old. While this is a long way from Grand Prix, if I look four or five years into the future, there it might be. This is something I want to commit to, the chance and the opportunity to keep dreaming. 

Just got home from a great afternoon with the stallions, where we filmed for the stallion DVD. I rode Florentinus, Instertanz, and Ratzinger, in that order. All the boys were polished and turned out beautifully by the team of supergirls in the barn. The sun was shining and all the boys were super.  I've only been riding Instertanz since Monday, so it was a bit of a challenge to perform like we were going in a competition. We had some miscommunications but he tried very hard and was super focused (for our first ride outside even!). Florentinus and Ratzinger were both reliable and fancy. 

I'll be anxious to see how the video turns out, the rumor is about two weeks wait.  It's always a bit intimidating to know you are riding directly towards or away from a camera, wondering how crooked you're sitting, are my pants still clean, how's my hair? Is my expression pleasant and happy or do I look like I have bad gas?  I felt naked without my hard hat, but there's a big image thing in this country and though I wear my hat every ride at home, I am not going to challenge the collective German dressage and breeding ideas and hope they believe that just because I wear my hat, it doesn't mean they're bad boys (run-on sentence from hell. Sorry, but I'm not in an editing mood.)!

I don't think I've done that much medium/extended trot in one day ever before, and I earned the two pieces of cake and pudding I had for lunch after riding. I'm going with the theory that I've also earned the beers I'm going to drink on a patio, in the sunshine, this evening.  

Happy weekend everyone!

Eiren 

Things are awesome.

This morning we brought the four year old Florentinus (Florestan x Londonderry) and the five year old Ratzinger (Riccione x Pablo) to Ingrid's for lessons. Ingrid will take Ratzinger over again in June, but wants to ride a show in mid-May that will qualify her for another big year end final. She asked me in a phone conversation if I thought the stallion would be ready if she just took him a few days before the show, and I asked if I could come for a lesson and she could judge for herself. Clever, eh? I had been hoping to get her help, and to get the boys off the property to see how they'd behave, and here a perfect opportunity just presents itself! 

I have been a little nervous at the prospect of taking the stallions to the first show, unknown grounds, and having no idea how they'd behave. They are generally fantastic at home, but once in a while those testicles get in the way and they become studs instead of riding horses. Most of the time it's just screaming and lifting the head to gaze seductively at anything with four legs. Sometimes it becomes more than that, and when you're sitting on top of that much power, muscle, and hormone, it can be a little intimidating. However, the best advice that ever sunk into my brain was: if you are scared, act brave. Fake it. No one will know the difference.  When I heard or read this (can't even remember) it had nothing to do with horses, but it applies to all things in life. I've reminded myself of this many times, in many situations. Act brave, even if I know it's a bunch of bullshit. That advice has taken me places and got me things I can't ever imagine I'd have if I'd let my fear of intimidating situations win.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the horny stallions and off the farm adventures.

So Ratzinger, being the oldest and therefor having the most developed opinion, went first. After a little lunging in the outdoor we went inside and began. The horse was incredible. He never gave me any attitude, just showed extra animation in his gaits and gave me a super feeling. He has 3 awesome gaits and we did the work from the 5 year old tests, with him showing off his balance and athleticism. I had the most incredible extended trot on him, just HUGE and uphill. And I sat it. Seriously, I can't sit his trot at home half the time if he's a little tight in his back (the problem is that I am not comfortable in the saddles we use, but that's a whole other topic), so I felt like a champion as we rocketed across the diagonal line. 

Next up was Florentinus. He's a year younger and so a little easier to convince that I am the boss, not his balls. As I expected, he was a champion today. He was quite excited when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and invited himself over for a little loving. Other than that he was focused and trying so hard. At four years old he's a teeny bit downhill right now in his growth stage, but has such an active hind end and the ability to lift that he still moves beautifully and with amazing balance. He's simply a gorgeous horse too. He has a face that makes you stop and stare, beautiful but still manly. His coat is the shiny, bright bay that just dazzles. Ingrid herself said he was the kind of horse that just draws your eye. This is good for competitions!

I was so pleased with both horses. I'm sure I'll be horribly nervous at the first competition, but this was an important step for me. They were both super focused under saddle, and I could even trot and canter them in a nice stretching frame without worrying that they were in the perfect position for bucking, and me in a forward seat with long reins. No worry at all.

The youngest of "my boys", three year old Hofmarschall, was left at home. I have no concerns about taking that little monkey out, I think my biggest problem will be getting past all his admirers. 

My job at Hermann's is going well too. Hermann has been inspired this week and full of lessons. Unfortunately, sometimes they are in the German language and style, which means just being cranky about what I'm doing wrong. But mostly I've been getting really great help with a few of the tricky horses and man, what a difference it makes. With his help I feel the horses get more loose and supple over the back, the contact gets steadier, and I can feel myself just falling into a better position. Though I'm always aware it can be better, I'm mostly satisfied with my position (when I ride in saddles I don't have to fight, as noted above). However, these moments where everything comes together, I feel my position get straighter, softer, and deeper into the horse. It's like magic and I want it all the time. 

Also very cool is that my friend Wiebke has joined us at Hermann's for about a month, in a working student position, until Brenda gets back here. Wiebke is riding beautifully, and brings her influence from Catherine Haddad into the arena. There are many roads to Rome, and it's been really refreshing and good for me to see a different approach in the saddle. I'm a bender, I bend horses.  I can't say exactly who taught me this or when this became my method, but it's what I do. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but always with forward. Wiebke brings the school of straighter positioning and more giddyup back into the mix. What's been awesome is to watch her work with some of the horses that make me feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. Wiebke gets on and they looks so nice, swinging and happy. Even though I give her help with her horses, I'm learning a lot from her. It's fantastic.

And that's that for now. Cheers,

Eiren

I'm way too tired to write anything interesting or useful (do I ever?), but I thought I should at least put a few new pictures up since I've been slacking to much. Brenda Owen took hundreds of pictures while she was here (I can't wait for her return, but more on that later) and I want to share some. I've just put up the three for now, but will get busy and put up more. I promise. 

The black horse is the three year old stallion Hofmarschall V, and the bay is the four year old stallion Florentinus V.  

Happy Easter,

Eiren