The unofficial start of the 2012 show season has begun, with Ty and I heading off to Dunmovin Farm in West Chester, PA for a dressage schooling show. Since he was only shown lightly in 2011 because I chose to focus on Roze, I was very excited to get him back in the ring. He schooled so well this past week, I actually gave him Friday night off. He was wonderful warming up before our ride, like he's an old pro. Our test was ok, however the footing was way too deep for his liking and we pulled him from his second test. None the less it was great to get him out and know that he knows what the game is all about. We think he looks pretty good, but then again we're partial. We're starting to mark our calenders for shows this summer, so stay tuned.
Roze will likely not see the show ring this year, but will spend a lot of time with the vet. She's been all checked out to be bred and we will soon begin the process. We're very excited to see what she will produce, it's going to be a very long year!
I always find myself getting a bit anxious this time of year. It's between holidays and still too early to seriously think about next year's shows. I find myself having to sit on my hands and not push my horses too much too soon. December always seems to bring a peak from our fall training push, it would be great to have some shows around to gauge our progress, before taking the next few weeks easy while winter throws its worse at us. We'll be looking forward to an early spring to continue our plans and of course show!
One of our last hoorays before the inevitable freeze, was hosting a Dancing with Horses Clinic. It was great to see many of our friends and of course Roze and Ty were able to participate. I had rode Ty in one of these clinics a few months back, but he has progressed so much in his training that I knew there would be some changes. Sure enough his tempo has changed as he has collected more, so we got some exciting Cajun style music to ride to. I also rode Roze, she hasn't been out in awhile and relished the attention and chance to show off. We'll be working on choreographing a musical freestyle for Ty this winter for the next show season. Interesting enough, the NJ Arab shows are now offering musical freestyle classes, so there is a lot to look forward to!
So for the next few weeks, we'll be waiting out winter, quietly enjoying our horses and keeping them in shape, while laying plans for next year.
We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with as much hope and excitement as we have here at Roze Arabians.
Life and the journey of Dressage sometimes move at a snails pace and at times there are surprises along the way and we move forward by leaps and bounds. This past weekend Ty and I had the chance to participate in a clinic with Judy Westlake. I've had the opportunity to ride with Judy in the past and have always walked away with new tools and knowledge. Unfortunately the last time Ty and I rode with Judy, Ty had just recovered from his tendon surgery so we took it easy.
This time around was a whole other ballgame. Ty has been working very well. After a rough year he finally was beginning to feel like he was back where he was before his surgery. This weekend I fully intended on taking advantage of the chance to work with Judy and allow Ty to excel, it managed to exceed all expectations. Ty has officially blossmed into a true dressage horse and has shown some glimpses at his amazing potential.
Our first ride was on Saturday. We got off to a bit of a slow start, getting into a rhythm. We began by getting Ty working better off the outside rein and getting him to balance and hold himself up. We played with circles, sprialling in and out. We seemed to be just getting into the swing of things and the lesson was over.
Sunday I had scheduled two lessons, I wasn't sure if Ty was up for the test, but we figured we'd give it a shot. We picked up Sunday right where we left off on Saturday. Ty has an amazing memory and only in the past few weeks have I begun to truly realize how incredibly smart and willing he is as we've begun to start into new work again.
Ty was working off my outside rein, just as we had got him doing on Saturday. We then moved into working on the leg yield to encourage him to carry himself and work correctly off his outside leg. We worked through it at the walk, trot and then into the canter. We then played around a bit in the canter leg yielding in then going into counter canter.
Ty had a two hour break and then it was on to his second ride, a true test of both his physical and mental endurance. We picked the leg yield back up turning it into shoulder in. Again Ty picked it up quickly and efficiently. Then we moved back into the canter working our newly found shoulder in to perfect our 10m canter circle. We didn't quite master this movement, but have the tools. Ty was wearing out towards the end of our second lesson, but he was a trooper.
I could not have in my wildest dreams imagined we'd make this big of a leap this weekend. I knew Ty was a willing and talented partner, but his level of dedication to the task at hand left me speechless. Ty is still young and has a ways to go, but I'm confident that he has the talent to do something truly remarkable one of these days.
So our 2011 show season has officially ended. This season had a lot of highs and some lows. As always our season started out with high expectations and didn't go as planned. Roze was finally back in the show ring after a two year hiatus that included recovery from major hock surgery. Ty was back in the ring after his rookie season was cut short with a disappointing injury and recovery from tendon surgery. There was a lot on the line for my goals, I wanted Roze to earn enough points to receive her Legion of Honor and I wanted to have the opportunity to take Ty to Regionals and possibly Nationals, a feat I have personally been trying to achieve for years.
Our first show started on a rocky note, Roze was a bit rusty and Ty was fighting some body soreness. We opted after our first show to give Ty some extended time off to rest, finish growing and hopefully recover. With Ty off it also gave me the ability to focus on Roze 100%.
Roze's last show at PAJAG
Roze went on to have a fairly successful season. We successfully competed at second level. It was certainly a reach for Roze's ability but she tried very hard for me and earned respectable scores. She handled her very intense show schedule with her normal eagerness. I was able to earn one second level score towards my USDF Bronze Medal. We also made it out to some open dressage competitions where Roze earned a new career high score of 71.786%. The culmination of Roze's show season was that she ultimately received enough points to earn her Legion of Honor. With this success achieved and Roze growing weary of the dressage work we ended our season in June. It was a good note to wrap up what was likely Roze's last time in the dressage ring for awhile. She was happy to have the pressure off and we went on to try some new disciplines, trail ride and just enjoy some down time.
With Roze's shows wrapped up it was time to get Ty back to work and see if he would come back. We started back to work in August. It was a slow journey getting him back in shape. Unfortunately we missed Regionals and Nationals was out of the question as he wasn't in tip top shape. The time off seem to have done wonders for his body and mind. He came back eager, happy and sound. September was looking good and we did joke about entering him at Nationals last minute. I guess the fortunate part was the post entry fees were cost prohibitive and it was likely a good decision not to push our luck. I opted instead to enter him in one last show in October. It was an open dressage show and of course Ty was in great shape and I was sick as a dog. We went and tried our best, our scores were not what we had hoped for but Ty was back, we survived and made it through our tests and we have a good starting point to work up from for next year's shows. Ty also had the chance to participate in the Dancing with Horses clinic with Michael Matson. Ty was a hit at the clinic and really likes to "dance" to music. We enjoyed this clinic so much that we're sponsoring one locally and will try to put together a dressage musical freestyle for Ty this winter.
Ty warming up at Bucks Co. Horse Park
This winter Ty will be working hard to become a solid first level horse and start on second level. We have a great team of trainers and clinicians lined up to work with. Of course only time will tell if his talent and our luck will hold up. I'm sure we'll learn a lot along the way and in the end that's really what it's all about.
Roze's future in the show ring is a bit less certain. She will bred in the spring and it will really be up to her if she wants to compete and if she'll be comfortable. Managing her arthritis and hock issues is becoming ever more challenging. She's still very happy to work but definitely is not as limber as she used to be. Roze has went on to achieve more than I could have hoped for given the challenges she has had to overcome. She has given more of herself and worked harder then most horses would have ever been willing to do. Her future under saddle is hers to chose at this point.
If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep on walking.
It may seem strange to write about 9/11 on a blog about our horses, but I contribute the events of that day and the surrounding days as to why I'm back in Central PA and why I decided to pursue my dream of owning horses.
I was living in Northern Virginia, just minutes from the Dulles Airport in 2001. I was working in Herndon, VA on the morning of 9/11. I recall the moment one of my employees came in my office to say that there had been a terrible accident and a plane had struck one of the World Trade Center towers. We had a TV in our office that we immediately turned on and it began a day we'd never forget.
Not long after the first plane struck, I was to leave the office to head to Tyson's Corner for a meeting at our corporate office. Just before leaving my employee, whose wife had worked at the White House, came in and said that they were ordering an evacuation of the White House. At that time we still assumed that it was an accident and I left for my meeting, listening to news on the radio along the way. It was also strange to me that along my route, which contained numerous government and military buildings, snipers and armed guards had taken position on roof tops of buildings, keeping an eye on the sky.
By the time I arrived at my meeting location, the second tower had been struck, making it clear that the events of that day were going to be monumental. At my corporate office, a building that also contained government offices, the TV was on and business operations had ceased while everyone was glued to the news feed of NY. I remember the moment when the first tower fell, someone screamed and the rest of us gasped. I remember the pit that developed in my stomach that took months to leave. There was much talk to whether we'd be able to leave, they were talking about locking down the building. I made the decision to head back to Herndon, VA to get back to my staff and my property.
Again on the way back I was amazed by the number of snipers and the immediate change in security that was visible. From my office in Herndon, we watched the rest of the day's events play out. Being so close to the action, many rumors flew about other attacks or potential bombs, we felt as if we were in the middle. We heard many fighter planes flying over head, we knew one of the planes that was hijacked was from Dulles, we didn't know if there would be others and would they fall over us. We knew people who knew people in DC and at the pentagon, of course as heard about a plane in PA and the crash, my thoughts immediately went to my family in PA, fortunately no one on the ground was injured in the PA crash.
Late that afternoon I made the decision to leave work a bit early, I went to my house, packed an overnight bag, grabbed my dog and headed home to PA. I didn't sleep much that night, but felt much safer in the confines of my parent's house and was happy to home in Central PA. I returned to work the next day, but it made me realize that I was not the big city girl that I had tried to become and over the course of the following months took steps to find a job back in PA and made my way home.
The events of 9/11 made me very aware that our life is short and fragile, an awakening of sorts that my naive youth had not yet afforded me. It made me realize that I needed to follow my dreams and my passion and hold close to me the ones I loved as no tomorrow was guaranteed. It also made me keenly aware that there were people who wanted to do harm and take lives, life to me was a precious commodity and death had been something I always had a great fear of. Perhaps it was the unknown or perhaps it was the possibility of unfinished work or un-pursued dreams. In any case as I did a lot of soul searching in the following months and was renewed in pursuing my dreams and life passions.
In the spring of 2002, I moved back home to Central PA. Once I settled in, one of the first things I did was to purchase my first purebred Arabian. From there the rest is history and history is still being written.
While the events of 9/11 were tragic beyond words, the aftermath brought about a new hope and passion in many people and in our country. It's sad to see ten years later that our country has not held onto that renewed hope and strength that came in the days and months that followed, perhaps this anniversary will remind them again.
We will never forget the victoms who lost their lives and the brave men and women who gave theirs to try to save others. We'll also never forget the courage of those on Flight 93 who gave their lives to save others.
Summer is quickly passing by and I realized it's been awhile since I've updated my blog. Our formal show season in a sense has come to an end. Roze has done and given more this year than I could have ever expected. She has earned more than enough points to be awarded her Legion of Honor and has earned me one of two scores I need at Second level for my bronze medal. She's been a real trooper and exlemplifies the meaning of a willing partner, trying to please me more than ever.
During our last show in June Roze made it clear that she had enough of dressage and as I promised her (minus one lesson with Sarah), we took most of July off to relax, trail ride and pursue other avenues. We have gone on several trail rides in which Roze was the trusted and enthusiastic lead horse and we decided to attempt jumping again. It has been three years since Roze or I went over a jump, but being at a hunter barn, the opportunity is always available. One weekend this past month we decided it was time to give it a go and did Roze love it. She made it loudly and clearly known that this is her chosen discipline, at least for the moment.
Since our accidental discovery of Roze's love for jumping we have managed to squeeze in two schooling shows and a lesson. She has been eager, pleasant and willing during all our rides while jumping. We have some more lessons planned in the near future and will be looking towards trying some eventing. With this shift in direction we'll be leaving the Arab shows behind for the year and giving Roze an opportunity in a new venue. Stay tuned as I'm sure we will have some interesting adventures.
While you may be thinking that Ty has been left behind, fear not, he just had an extended summer rest, that has come to an end. Since Ty got a bit sore after our first show we gave him the last two months off to rest, recoporate and hopefully finish growing. He's slowly getting back into a work routine and we will start making plans for shows again soon. It was extremely challenging to have two horses at a show and while I would rather Ty was not sore, it did sort of work out for the better. He needs a bit of fine tuning but Ty has not forgotten his training. I expect him to come back better than ever.
