So much to say but feeling sick and need to get to work the minute my medicine starts kicking in. So in point form:

After my last update, Dante and I also rode an M** test Sunday, June 20th. He was so great once again and we placed 3rd! I love, love, love this stallion, and I love Ingrid for allowing me this chance to show a wonderfully trained, grown up horse!! Maybe this works, maybe it doesn't, here's the video.

Last week, Friday June 25th, I rode Fantastic Sommertanzer, a four year old Samarant x Fidermark gelding, at his first show. We placed 3rd in the Reitpferde class, despite him being convinced that the judges were very dangerous and may attack at any moment. This beautiful young man has a very bright future ahead of him, me thinks, and he's been a pleasure to ride & train! He's normally so brave, so I'm not worried about his shyness in the ring this first time. I think it was a great experience and he'll build confidence and get better and better. Look out world!

I dropped my Mumsy off at the airport yesterday after an amazing two weeks. We had so much fun together and I already miss her.

Brenda & Nicole at Hermann's are doing awesome, both girls are making progress with their horses and definitely making my job easier. I feel like we have a really good team now, it's so nice!

At the stallion barn life just keeps on keepin on. The clean up work has begun on the building that burnt down, and the horses no longer think big piles of scorched metal or cranes moving debris are unusual. It's one way to get them used to things.

Ok, I really have lots of pictures and more things to say, but I suppose I'd better get to work.

Cheers,

Eiren 

but before I do, I need to quick quick quick update!

My Mumsy landed Monday afternoon for a two week visit and it's been great having her here. The time is flying by!

Wednesday morning we drove out to the stallion barn, only to find that part of it had burnt to the ground. The huge building that makes up the hay & straw storage, machine storage (horse trailers, horse van, tractors, etc.), and mare & foal stables/sheds started to burn Tuesday evening around 6:00 pm and was still in flames when we arrived Wednesday morning. The hot walker directly next to the building also caught fire and was destroyed, and the indoor arena is quite damaged on that short side. Luckily all the horses were already out for the evening and they could focus on getting out all the machinery & vehicles. Staff are all physically okay, though four went in overnight for routine observation for smoke inhalation. However, they look exhausted and haunted, as I'm sure seeing the power of this fire and thinking what could have happened has simply drained them all. Yikes.

I was scheduled to show the stallions yesterday but cancelled because I thought everyone there had enough stress this week. I would have loved to show them, but right or wrong, it was the decision I made.

I did get to show Dante, Ingrid's wonderful 9 year old stallion today. I showed my first "S" level dressage test in Germany. "S" encompasses all the FEI classes, and a few national tests of the same level of difficulty. I rode S3, which is almost exactly a Prix St George, just missing a few flying changes. Seriously, if I start writing about it now I'll be up for two hours, so I'll just say I had such a fun time and promise I'll update more later.

Must. Sleep. Now. 

Thursday I showed in Coesfeld and won my Dressurpferde A with Instertanz! It was our second time in this class, our first outing we placed 2nd. As I'm beginning to expect, Instertanz was rideable, reliable, and brilliant. I made a mistake in the medium trot, asking to much out of the rhythm and he broke into canter. However, we recovered quickly enough to show some nice medium before transitioning back to working trot. 

My 18hh pony, Dutchman, placed 4th in the Dressurpferde A and then I rode like a moron in the Dressurpferde L, to finish "first reserve". Still in the top half off the class, but first one to miss a ribbon. Sigh. Dutchy did his best, but I rode the test like it was a race… 

Final class of the day for me was Reitpferde for 3 year olds. I took my favorite of my babies, Don Derry. He's an elegant gelding by Don Frederico x Londonderry. He is a bit nervy, likes to spook, but I tell ya, this is my horse. There's just something about him that I click with and I expect big things from this horse in a few years. 

Luckily we were second in the group of three, so he had a brave mare to follow around the scary ring. His steering was what one might expect of a 3 year old at his first show, and our left bend the entire time we tracked right was… creative? 

However, the judges liked him and we tied for 2nd place, only .08 from the winner. My little champ got an 8 for his gallop, walk, & type! While shaking hands during the awards ceremony the judge told me to "give more gas" in the trot, which should bump our 7 up to something more impressive. We certainly gave gas in the victory gallop, as Don Derry was too overwhelmed to canter on the right lead, so we zooooomed around at an extended trot that had the judges nodding in approval. 

Friday I was scheduled to ride Dutchman in the Bundeschampionate qualifier, but we all agreed that it was too early. I believe this horse is very much Bundeschampionate quality, but just not yet. So I rode some horses at the farm and was able to sneak off to the show to watch the warm up and qualifier classes. Ingrid and Dresden Mann won the warm up, and she placed 2nd with Ratzinger (he went to her barn last Monday, after our last awesome show together). Later Ingrid qualified for the Bundeschampionate with Dresden Mann in the class for 6 year old horses. He was a little less brilliant than in the warm up, where he scored a 9.5 for his trot!, but his quality is undeniable. Go Ingrid & "Alfie"!!

Saturday I went with Jim Koford and my new working student Nicole Vandervliet to Lingen to watch the Canadian team at the CDI****. We were able to watch the Grand Prix for Special, the Intermediare II, and the Grand Prix Freestyle, which Canadian rider extraordinaire Ashley Holzer won with her lovely Pop Art! It was such an inspiring show, and all of us couldn't wait to get on a horse Sunday morning! 

Besides the great riding, it was a fun social event. We all met some new people, as nothing brings you together like speaking English in a foreign country! Before the Freestyle I had a beer with my old boss Lars Petersen and a bunch of Danish riders. I was able to have a coffee with the Canadian riders Bonny Bonnello and Wendy Christoff. I know these two ladies from a lifetime ago, and they were both realistic and inspiring to talk to. 

I'm so excited that Robert Dover has shaken up Dressage in Canada, and that the nation is gaining momentum in the international circuit. All his riders had their game faces on, and rode like they meant it. While it wasn't the best showing for some, as a Canadian, I'm very excited to see such talent representing our country. It gives me a feeling of pride and hope for the future of our sport. 

Go Canada, go!

If I talked about two legged boys like this, I would be a woman of questionable values (no comments from the gallery please)…

As much as I gushed about Ratzinger, I also equally love Instertanz. This brilliant young stallion and I had our first win together Sunday, in the Reitpferde class for Four Year Olds. 

Instertanz had to deal with a VERY big mistake on my part. I assumed (once again, we know what they say about when one assumes) I was in the first group, without checking the start list. So I had a lovely warm up and was ready to compete, only to find out I was in the fourth group, which would start in about 50 minutes. Damn, damn, DAMN! 

My idea was just to get off for 35 minutes and let one of the girls hand walk him in the quiet arena for lunging. However, my boss said, "go walk him in the warm up. He needs to get used to this kind of stuff."

This kind of stuff meant about 40 children and ponies warming up in various stages of control, or lack thereof, preparing for the class going on in the indoor arena.  Oh, and POURING rain. Instertanz is a fan of ponies, not so much of rain. When the sky opened up and soaked us through, he just wanted to point his ass in the direction of the hammering rain and back up under the trees with the rest of the ponies.  However, he was a good boy and kept going.

Even dripping wet, he shone in his performance and character. The HUGE, bright red umbrella the judge used by "B" and the horrible sound of the plastic bags over the loudspeaker as they called the test out made him a little nervous at the beginning. However, unlike a lot of other youngsters that day, he held it together, got over his concerns, and proceeded to be brilliant. 

I am so so so proud of him, and yes, in love with him. 

This weekend is another show and I can't wait. I take Instertanz, Dutchman, and a three year old gelding to his first adventure. It's all good.

Cheers,

Eiren