The Wise Words of Sam Witwicky

     No surprise that being away from home, a spoiled, teenage brat would suddenly realize how great her life back home was and how thankful she is. So, after being here for almost two months now, I couldn't help but jot down a list of all I have realized I am thankful for, and it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Watch out. Crazy things are happening.

1. My own room.

2. DVR on my t.v. (a huge one for me). Believe it or not, not having a DVR makes you eat more food. Proven fact I've encountered.

3. Home cooked meals (the closest I've come to one of those since being here is tacos and hamburger helper).

4. Having so many great friends I could call up any time who'd be willing to do something with a girl who always seemed to be gone.

6. Going to the high school football games.

5. Being able to watch movies, Razorback games, and t.v. shows in the living room with my family. (I secretly enjoyed cheesy family bonding times and these were perfect ways to make it seem nonchalant and just a coincidence.)

6. Being able to run in the exercise room and in front of a tv as I watched my most recent recorded show. (Running outside is something I've never been fond of and now am forced to endure.)

7. Having a television in the kitchen. (I always thought it was somewhat overkill having one there, but trying to cook (pancakes and hamburger helper are the extent) and watch t.v. in the living room is very, very difficult.)

8. Having cats that DON'T tear up everything they find or that don't lay on my clothes. (Ha, gotta love the cats here.)

9. Having my loyal dog by my side, whether outside, in the barn, or in my room. I miss her a great deal.

10. Being able to drive 25 minutes to visit my dad and stepmother any time I had the time and want to see them.

11. The crazy dachshund we call a part of our family.

     This may look like a pointless list to some, but to me it means everything. 

    To be completely honest, I did not think that I would miss my family and friends this much, and I did not believe too many people would miss me all that much as well. Of course, like almost always, I was completely wrong. Family was definitely something I took for granted. The great packages my mom sends me from time to time always make my day and a weekly phone call from my worried dad who continuously tells me to "be safe" are nice though.

     As for friends, I honestly didn't think I would miss them so much do to the fact I seemed to have hardly anything in common with anyone this past year at the high school. Due to my work load being incredibly heavy and my year competing Stoney being so crucial, I found myself stressed and tired a lot of the time. Although I tried desperately to be someone people wanted to be around, I felt like others didn't care either way as to whether or not I was around. I even found out at the end of the year I apparently had people just pretending to be my friend. How pathetic can that make a person feel? All you have to do is ask me. Because I was told by one person that people who don't necessarily know me tend to think I'm stuck up, I believed that everyone I knew perceived me in this way. I have never meant to come off as stuck up, but after having friends for such a long time who weren't all that interested in what I do, I finally excepted it this past year and didn't care that they didn't care. If that makes any sense at all. I guess that's why some got that from me. I thought most just saw me as "oh that girl who rides horses." Until I got here, I didn't realize there was more underlying all of the friendships I obtained. Although I was gone all the time, I enjoyed so much being around them and spending time with such great people, even if they didn't quite understand my passion. Once I was here for a few weeks and started getting texts and wall post on Facebook from my friends I left behind, I realized there were some who actually missed me. Crazy huh? I honestly teared up when I got a text from a friend (who I didn't see myself as too close to this past year) saying that things weren't the same without me there. I even have weekly phone conversations with a great girl who keeps me updated on all that is going down in Cabot, and I love hearing from her every week.

     Long story short, I didn't realize how many great people and things I was leaving behind. That's all it is.

     Don't get me wrong. I really do like it here and have learned so much in just the short time I've been here. Literally my first week here my brain was filled with more knowledge than I could have ever expected. I've learned how to better my horse's fitness, realized what type of food is best to build his weight/keep it on, and other great things a rider looking to go prelim should know. I have such a great facility to ride at with endless places to hack and trot.

     However, through it all, it has made me realize that my life at home, the one that I secretly couldn't wait to get away from, was far better than I ever realized. I took it all for granted and I wish every day it was as easy to see my friends and family as it was when living back home.

     Although the girls are great, it's quite lonely here, and I can't wait to visit home. Since Will was in England all summer and the girls didn't get to visit home for a week like they are usually offered (once in the summer and once in the winter), they are hoping Will will give them two weeks this winter to visit home, which can be split up in any which way (a few days at Thanksgiving and a few days at Christmas). I'm hoping this applies for me as well, but a part of me thinks it won't since I haven't been here too long.

     Everyday, I still tell myself I'm crazy for sacrificing so much for this goal. Like the incredible Sam Witwicky and his father said, "No sacrifice. No victory." I know that if I wasn't here, I wouldn't be seeing Stoney and myself moving up to prelim this soon. I can remember my mother mentioning it in the weeks leading up to leaving for Will's, and I just brushed it off thinking it was a fat chance. Looks like that incredibly corpulent chance has made its way to me.

     When coming here, my plan was to not move up to prelim until spring. It's beginning to look like God has a plan for me that I myself was not ready for. All I can do at this point is roll with it, because he has reminded me yet again that he knows way more at this point than I do and always will.

Interesting Recap of Five Points

     Stoney and I FINALLY got to compete at our first horse trials here this past weekend! Before I go on to describe how our interesting weekend played out, I would first like to apologize for not posting anything sooner. Seeing as we haven't competed at all, there wasn't much to talk about. I'm not even kidding. Each day of working on the farm kind of blurs together and I seem to lose track of time. We did, however, have two lessons with Bobby Costello (one show jumping and one cross country) which were really exciting, but for the most part, it's just been daily riding and lots of barn work and yard work.
     Again, before describing this past weekend, let me just say that the fact that we even competed and Stoney was sound was quite a feat on our part. This horse has gotten hurt four times now in the month and a half I've been here. I find this ironic when I had him at my house for a year and a half and he never had an injury. The only episode we seemed to have was when he got cast in the stall at Feather Creek Horse Trials, and even then he was not hurt and competed that weekend. What I also find ironic is how every time his injuries have happened, they have been within the week leading up to the show. He bumped his knee the week before a dressage show, he got caught in the fence and scraped up his leg two days before leaving for Waredaca H.T. in Maryland, and then he bumped his right front leg and got a splint on his left front doing God knows what the week before Five Points, the horse show we went to this weekend. Our vet, Tom, just said to take it day by day all week, with the splint hopefully healing well and not giving him problems, as well as icing it non stop, especially after riding. Every day this past week I kept holding my breath when we jogged Stoney each morning, hoping he was sound and mostly hoping he wouldn't find a way to hurt himself yet again before the show. Like I said, the fact that we were able to go and actually compete was a major ordeal.
      When walking the cross country course Friday night, I couldn't help but think of how every question on the training level course was something Stoney and I were more than capable of doing and were questions we'd either schooled or were already asked of us previously at another show. Height really isn't an issue with this horse. It's the combinations and more difficult questions asked of him that we are focusing more on. I also couldn't help but eye the prelim fences, thinking of how they looked quite fun and do-able for Stoney and I. This feeling that you get, the one where the level above you looks fun and the level you're riding looks boring and not challenging enough, is the feeling you get when you're looking to move up and almost ready to. Until this past weekend, I had not ever experienced this feeling while competing Stoney. It was only with Remi that I ever felt that we were ready for prelim. I can remember six months ago seeing preliminary level fences and thinking to myself, "There's no way Stoney could do something like that right now. We would probably both die." Boy how things have changed and in such a short time.
     Saturday morning started very early for us working students, and by early I mean up at 4 am (that's 3 am for all you back in central time zone) and out in the barn by five to take care of all the horses so we could leave for the horse park by six. It's only twenty minutes away, so we trailered out both days and the horses just relaxed in the four horse. I decided to get on Stoney an hour before my dressage time, seeing as he was a total butthead the previous morning when I tried to go through my dressage test, and I thought it best to almost just wear him out. Of course though, I would go out there an hour early only for me to pick up the reins after fifteen minutes of walking and him be a perfect angel the second I started putting him to work. I swear, this horse was game and ready to show his stuff. Even that morning on the trailer, he was a nousance and pawing the whole time. The second I got him out and began to saddle him, he stood still, got serious, and didn't even blow his gut out to prevent me from tightening the girth. He knew it was game time. So back to dressage warm up, like I said, such a perfect boy. I let him take a break since we still had a while, and as I began to pick him up again as we were getting closer, our amazing movement we contained previously had slipped away. With Stoney, he can either be extremely green/ADD/inexperienced acting on some days and extremely mature/incredible on other days. He started to revert back to his inexperienced self, whereas I would put my leg on only for greater impulsion, not speed, and he would squirt out from under neath me. However, instead of reverting back to my initial reaction of getting all handsy, resulting in him inverting and not moving forward with relaxation, I worked through it and got him back where he needed to be. Granted, it wasn't as amazing and effortless looking as it had looked previously, it was still better and acceptable. We ended up having a very exceptional test and pulled out a solid 40.0. After I saluted and thanked the judge, she complimented me on my horse, saying how he's "the kind of horse you like to see in the eventing world." I then thanked her again for her generous comment and she replied, "No, thank you." Seeing as I had the judge on my side, I had a feeling we would be placed well, and we were. We were 11th out of 30 riders after dressage. We didn't finish in the top five (which is our current goal at the moment), but I'd say that is pretty awesome for our first show back since June and our first time competing against these hard core east coast riders.
     So before cross country, I ended up having an unfortunate mishap which resulted in a black eye and two deep cuts on my face. Only a handful of people know exactly what happened, and I plan to keep it that way. I refuse to say what actually happened, but the EMTs gave me the okay to ride and then checked me once again before letting me go on course. With this happening only an hour before me needing to be on, I honestly didn't even want to go to the EMTs because I felt I had more important things that needed to be done. After seeing how deep the cuts really were and Jaz offering to take Stoney's braids out for me, I reluctantly went to have it looked at.
     Stoney and I started our course with him cross cantering and completely discombobulated all the way to the first fence, then landing on the wrong lead as we had to make a U-turn to fence two. I did, however, get a flying lead change out of him (: The course road quite well and I'd say half our jumps road well. The other half, however, didn't due to the fact that I couldn't see distances to save my life. I was either having to push him up to the longer one, holding my breath and hoping he'd jump from further away and not try to add, or I'd have to add and get really close to the base of the fence, just keeping my leg on the whole way til his feet left the ground. Not being able to find any distances could have had something to do with my previous injury to the head only a half hour before. Going out on course, I decided no matter where we got to the fence, I would just keep my leg on the whole way. Doing this, we would most likely be okay no matter how we got to the fence. We ended up having a stop at the water, but it was completely and totally my fault. It was a combination of a log with two strides after to a drop bank into the water. I rode it aggressively, just not as aggressively as I should have knowing my horse likes to peak at water. I just wasn't there for less than a split second, and that's all it took for Stoney to question it and refuse. The second approach, he had no hesitation what so ever and did not mind jumping in, another indication it was me and not the horse. What brings me frustration though is that literally a week ago with our cross country schooling with Bobby, we did the EXACT combination, a wooden coop with two strides down the bank into the water. After not having seen a cross country fence since the first weekend in June, I approached the combination and Stoney went in, only with slight hesitation. Obviously, another indication it was me and not the horse. Of course when I say it frustrates me, I mean I have frustration towards myself, not Stoney. And with my dumb slip up at our bank complex earlier on in the course, we could have easily had two refusals on course. Our 6th jump on course was an up bank (this being after a pheasant feeder and approached on a left turn) with a pretty decent size wooden roll top two strides after. Like I said, I couldn't find a distance to save my life. At the time, I didn't feel going for the long on this pretty decent bank was the way to go, so I added to make sure we really got to the base, only for me to have taken all his impulsion away from him. Way to go me. As soon as I got to the base, I knew there was no way we would get to the roll top in two strides and we'd have to add another step, resulting in a stop. I kept my leg on and kept riding as Stoney added three strides in the two strided combination. To my complete surprise and amazement, the horse ended up jumping the roll top practically from a stand still and pretty much crawled over it. I could not believe he had the dedication and made the decision to go for it even after I had completely failed him as a rider. He truly saved us, and I still can't believe he was so mature as to do something like that.
     After being exceptionally proud of my horse and extremely pissed at myself, my Saturday ended with me sitting in the ER for five hours that night while I waited for the doctor to glue the cuts on my face. Seeing at Kaitlyn still had to run Dudley that afternoon, I didn't get to the ER til around 5:30 (about four hours after my little incident). The cuts sliced completely through the skin and the white soft tissue could be seen. Thankfully, that was not torn and I did not need stitches. However, I now have two permanent scars that will be residing on my face for the rest of my life. What a thrill. I guess they give me more character.
     After getting home from the ER at 10:30, Sunday morning started yet again at 4 am for me and we were out at the horse park early and at it again. I got to kick myself yet again when I went to look at the scores that morning. If I had not made my stupid mistake the previous day and we had made it around with a clean cross country round, Stoney and I would have been in 5th place out of 30 going into show jumping. That was quite unfathomable for me and hard to take in. Our dressage was finally coming along and it was crazy to believe we would have been in the ribbons going into the final phase off our dressage score alone. I was so proud of my big man.
     After having a great warm up, Stoney jumped his heart out for me. We ended up having two rails, but both were mine. Coming out of a turn for fence five, a pretty decent size oxer with a related distance after to a vertical, I knew I would either have to push him up to the distance I saw (most likely resulting in him getting flat and hitting the front rail and also landing big and too fast to the next fence), or wait for it. I decided to wait and we just got a bit too close. He tried desperately but just couldn't leave the front rail up. After having to make a needed and huge jumping effort over another oxer, fence eight, we had yet another related distance to a skinny. I knew that it would be a miracle if we would even make it to the fence, let alone leave it up. Stoney, however, went for it, but the poor guy just wasn't put together enough (thanks to me) to jump it properly and the rail went down. Both of our in and outs, however, he really showed his maturity and improvement in leaving the rails up. He has finally gotten the hang of rocking his weight back onto his haunches before the fences in order to jump in a better frame and leave the rails up. We had no rails that were "just because" or his fault and I was so proud of the effort he put out. Like I said, he came out with his game face on. Even after the announcer shared our quite embarrassing amount of penalties we had racked up over the weekend, I came out smiling and quite happy. A random stranger standing near the ring complimented my round, saying it was well ridden and my horse was such a good boy. It only takes a few minutes of seeing a horse go to see if it is a nice mover, a great jumper, and has a good heart. I guess this lady was able to see how great my horse is. Without being biased in any way (ha, what a lie),I say she only saw a glimpse of how great a horse I have. <3
     The other girls also had really great weekends. Kaitlynn had a great cross country run on Benn as they made their second attempt at a prelim. Unfortunately, he was a little lame after and she withdrew to give him time off until the AECs. She had a successful novice round on her new baby she got only two weeks ago and managed to only disassemble a cross country fence and hit one stadium rail. All three of us counted that as a success! Haha Then Jaz finished in 4th in her prelim division on Pata, making for a great weekend before going to her one star at Plantation in a few weeks. Although on the ride back to the farm none of us said a word due to complete and utter exhaustion, we were all extremely happy with how the weekend played out.
     Even though it was not one of the best competitions for Stoney and I, I can honestly say it is definitely towards the top of the list with the proudest weekends of my horse's performance. It's nice to know that every mishap we had, every rail, was all because of me. None of the rails or refusals were his fault for a change. It's a great feeling knowing that now that my horse has improved and grown up so much, I just have to focus on myself more. This weekend, he showed for the first time that he craved for a great performance as much as I did. Not only did he show great maturity, a maturity that I have never seen come out in him, but he showed a great deal of heart and will to win. He got serious, down to work, and showed his stuff. At the end of the day, there is nothing more a rider can ask of their horse.

"One day, real soon, you're gonna win it"

     It's hard to believe I've been in North Carolina for almost two weeks now. Still, it hasn't been long enough for me to get completely into the routine of things here. It's like having to pick up an entire new lifestyle and familiar routine, one completely different than the one I've known.
     Although I am really enjoying it, I still can't get over how lost I feel every time I get in my vehicle to go into town. None of the radio commercials are familiar, nor are the stations, the broadcasters, and the traffic updates. I've managed to find four radio stations that are worth listening to; two country, one mainstream, and one mixed station. Besides the few people on the farm, I literally know no body. It's a lonesome feeling, but I'm sure it will subside, at least a little, once I know my way around a bit better. You think little things like that, things you don't even stop to give a second to think about during the day, wouldn't effect you too much when in a new place, but you'll be surprised. Back at home, I can travel all around town, not even giving my full attention to where I'm going, and before I know it end up at the place I wanted to go all along. Here, I've had to be very careful about that, because being the spacey person I am, I'll end up lost after missing a turn.
     As for Stoney, he is really settling in and fitting into the program really well. Since we've gotten here, he's had one day off? Sounds right. Nat was quick to see through his "illusionist" skills and faking engaging his hind end, so now every time he is worked, we are paying close attention that he is ACTUALLY using his hind end. Already, he is developing more muscle, or at least gaining back what he got when in Texas and lost when brought back home. His schedule consists of lots of flat work, lots of hacks with hill work, and trot sets. Did I mention that we're on the edge of the wildlife preserve? There are thousands of acres with tons of trails and hills to hack/trot on. It's insane. Stoney has quickly learned how to hack by himself and jog, two things he was not too skilled at before. Thankfully, we will be having a jump session tomorrow. I haven't jumped since I got here, nor the entire week before I left AR (do to heat and him overheating), so I honestly can't remember the last time he jumped. This is a reassuring fact, especially when he was down in TX jumping 5x a week. That was my needed sarcasm for the post if you didn't catch it. Anyway, I'm sure we'll jump on Saturday as well after he crashes through rails tomorrow. We'll just have to see. Maybe the baby brain has matured, but I'm afraid even his new found maturity won't be able to hold back his excitement. He just loves to jump.
     Added note: Nat is ridiculously found of Stoney. She has ridden him a few times now and loves how he knows all the "party tricks" and is a pleasure to ride. He really listens and with the exception of his ADD days (he's already had one of those here), he wants to honestly please all the time. She is in love with his personality and "very excited" to work with him were her words. She mentioned how she typically doesn't like dealing with other people's horses and only likes her own, but she said Ernie (of course) and Stoney are ones she really likes. And let me say it only took a day for Nat to start coming up with nick names for my man, including The Stone, Stone Monster, Stoner, and many other names she calls him that are inappropriate to repeat. If that wasn't enough, even the chiropractor loved him. When I jogged him for her she said my horse enchanted her and that he was a gorgeous mover. She even mentioned that when she sees him competing at Kentucky in a few years, she'll be able to say she did work on him. Ha. Nat even mentioned how I would be one of few who they wouldn't have to break the news to about needing to sell their horse and find a more athletic/talented horse to compete on. I can't wait for Will to see him. And the best thing about it all? He is the only grey horse at the farm, so he actually holds a little uniqueness. Even at Mike's farm in Texas, he just added to the grey club and became the fourth grey at his farm. I don't know what it is about grey horses, but it seems like all are owned/ridden by people in Area V and they're all competing training level. At Greenwood, there were six other greys besides mine in warm up with me. When I mentioned this to Jasmine, she was quite surprised there were so many, so maybe Stoney will possess a little uniqueness when competing over here. 
     So far, Stoney has gotten chiropractic work done, his feet done, and is quite happy. The vet, Tom, comes out once a week and we jog all the horses in work for him to keep an eye on and monitor. Shocking how Stoney would bump his knee in the pasture the third night here and it swell up to three times its normal size. However, never did he become lame nor was it tender, which was a very reassuring sign. Nine out of ten times, a horse will be lame if his injury is serious. After x-rays and being safe there was no damage to the bones, we decided to work to get the pocket of fluid in the front of his knee as small as possible before eventually having to stick a needle in it to drain. Thankfully, there is no fluid in the joint so it does not interfere with his range of movement nor will it cause problems in the future. It's just the weirdest thing. Like I said, leave it to Stoney. So as you can see, he has become quite accustomed to jogging and in a short time.
     So now I should probably get to the spectacular and  positive news that I bring to this post. Stoney and I went to a combined test at the Carolina Horse Park on Sunday with Nat, and he scored the best dressage score he's ever gotten. I know judges tend to give higher scores at combined tests than at actually events, but it was definitely the best test we've ever ridden, not even regarding the score. We got a 70, which would have translated to low thirties or high twenties in eventing terms. Pretty crazy when I haven't even been able to break into the thirties with Stoney in the year and a half I've been eventing him. The main difference was that he was more supple and was freely moving forward more with more impulsion from behind, as well as staying quite relaxed (for a thoroughbred) and the judges definitely recognized that. Nat was thrilled with it and when I came out of the arena, she told me, "one day, real soon, you're gonna win it." Even though it was extremely hot and I kept wondering why the heck I was out there, it was great for Nat to be able to see what we need to work on with our actual dressage test, like corners and better accuracy. With having a monster horse, who at any second if feeling like it could jump out of the arena, getting us eliminated (which he has tried once), I am a bit timid about getting deep into the corners of the arena and making corners my helpful friends.
     As for more great news, I mentioned to Nat about running a few prelims before the end of this fall and she acts as if she thinks it's a possibility. Of course, she hasn't seen us jump yet, but dressage is by far our weakest phase, and she's already turned that around in a week. She can't believe the progress Stoney and I are making together so fast. However, she said that she wants to wait until Will gets back this fall and works with me before letting me move on up to preliminary.
     As far as the place itself, the farm is beautiful. This state has no dirt whatsoever. At least I haven't witnessed any yet. It's all sand, which makes for great footing because even though it has rained EVERY DAY in the afternoon since I got here, there is never any mud. The arena is still perfect footing.
     As for North Carolina drivers, they are crazy and quite terrible. The occasional person you encounter back home on the interstate who cuts you off, tailgates you, or is just a complete idiot is how every single person is here. You would think they'd have more respect for horse trailers as well, but they have less respect than Arkansans. I can say this and not offend anyone from my farm seeing how Will is from Texas, Jasmine is from Iowa, Kaitlynn from Louisiana, and Nat from Australia. Literally no one is actually from North Carolina themselves, which is ironic.
     Well I've been quite exhausted every day being here. That's mostly why I haven't blogged at all. Usually when I get inside, I eat a late lunch and am usually napping before having to go out and feed at four. I've left the apartment twice, once going to Walmart and the other going to Chilis one night with Jasmine and her boyfriend, Max. It hasn't bothered me too much, mostly because I'm always tired and don't care to do anything anyway. Not knowing absolutely anybody is also a leading factor as well.
     As for the near future? We have a horse show in Maryland that Kaitlynn, Jasmine, and I are going to in a little over two weeks. Three weeks after that I am taking Stoney to an event at the Carolina Horse Park as well. I can't wait to see how he does (:
     We all have goals written up on the board. Kaitlynn's was to make cross country time on Ben (which she accomplished not too long ago), Jasmine's was to qualify for her one star on Pata (which she did) and is now trying to place well at AECs on O'livia. Will's is to win Burghley. We decided mine should be to place in the top five after dressage. That's a pretty nerve racking goal for Stoney and I! Once I've accomplished that, my next will be to successfully complete a prelim this fall, and then after that to qualify for the Junior Young Rider team for Area V for the one star. Nat agreed with my idea that once I go to Young Riders next summer competing at the one star level, my next thing to focus on would be to qualify for the two star team the following summer. I'm pretty excited with how bright my future looks (:
     I apologize for such a long blog, but when I've put it off for so long and had so many things happening, I couldn't help but write a book. Sooooo much has happened in such little time. I'll try to be better with posting more and shorter ones at that!

A Red Tongue Vs. a Hefty Marshmallow

     It's safe to say that the summer heat has finally arrived, and it has started to take its toll on not just Stoney but me as well. If I was excited about going to NC earlier, after this past week, I am even more excited now to be able to get away from this heat. It's hard to believe their average highs are about five to ten degrees lower than ours here, mostly because they have gotten more rain than we have. Yes, I'm absolutely green with envy.

     Personally, I prefer riding in the winter than the summer. I know there are many who would object, but besides having limited hours of daylight to ride and the horses' fluffy/constantly dirty coats, there really aren't any negative aspects. At least with being cold, you can always layer on more clothes to stay warm. I have no problem looking like a fat, hefty marshmallow on my horse. In the summer, you just sweat profusely until your clothes are soaked. I can't even go out and clean two stalls without being drenched when I come back inside after fifteen or twenty minutes. Can you say ridiculous? I'd rather blanket my horses every night then deal with all the flies/horse flies. But again, that's just me. I think most riders will agree that they would much rather not have to get up early every morning to ride their horse before the heat starts to dominate the day. Where I live, the only tolerable times to ride in the summer are before nine in the morning and after seven in the afternoon. It takes all my will to make myself get up consistently and ride that early when rather I could sleep in.

     Backing off my little rant of how I basically despise summer (which can't be helped much when living in the south), these past few days I've seen the heat really start to affect my horse. About a week ago I could tell he was a bit more lethargic when jumping, but these past few days, which happen to be the hottest days this year, have been extremely difficult. I guess it makes just a bit of sense that these record breaking highs would have an effect. 

     After checking Stoney's TPRs yesterday (because he was hyperventilating in an attempt to cool himself), I was surprised that his temperature came out as low as it did, reading at 101.0. His pulse was his average at rest as well, being at 36. My main concern I've been having is his respiration, which is 76-80 and is around what his working respiration should be. He's constantly hyperventilating and huffing, and it just is not something a horse owner wants to see. And just a side note though, for all of those who have every faked their horse's average TPR at rest and at work, either for a health and maintenance book or for a rally in PC (I blatantly admit I was one of them), it will be situations like this when knowing your horse's normal TPRs and if your horse's norm is below or above the average rates that will actually pay off. These are the situations that I appreciate having been in Pony Club and being an HB in horse management. 

     However, I now have the pleasure of getting to go out and check on/sponge Stoney every two hours. This is mostly due to the fact that once his water buckets have become half empty, the genius has picked up the new habit of grabbing the bucket with his teeth and tossing the water everywhere in an attempt to cool himself off. Not only does he ruin his bedding as a result, but I'm having to constantly go out and refill his water buckets. I don't know why he tries to pull off his innocent and unknowing face when he's standing there looking at me, the evidence having drenched his face and still dripping off his nose. What I don't understand even more however is what fascinates him so much about picking things up with his mouth and flinging them all over the place. He tends to do this every chance he gets, and after a year of it, it seems his water buckets have become the next victim.

     For the past three days now, the horse has been getting a tube of electrolytes shoved up his mouth once day, sponged every few hours, two fans blowing on him constantly (he had these before, so they don't necessarily count), and he is now drinking 5 gallons of red Gatorade a day, resulting in a constantly bright red tongue and mouth. Who would have thought that the picky horse, the one that will only eat apples on his good days, would end up loving Gatorade.

     Seeing him discontent and hot to the point of misery breaks me a little inside, and I honestly can't wait for him to be north east of here. I was planning on having a jump school with him before I leave, but with the weather beating him up, that looks very unlikely. I'm excited to see his face once we unload him at Gavilan farm, full of curiousness as he lifts his head and takes in his new surroundings. I'm even more eager to see him adapt to his new home and become happy and content.

     Hopefully my life will begin to become more interesting once I get to NC, and I'll have more intriguing things to type besides the unbearable weather that everyone already complains about. This won't be too long I suppose, since I will be leaving in four days. (:  Can you believe the countdown has finally made it to single digits?! ...Because I can't lol 

 Such an uplifting picture, I think. 102? And that wasn't even the high. It was still working its way up to 103 today...

 

     Four more days until I leave for the east coast? More like four more days of trying to endure and fight for survival.

Purple & Grey Look Mighty Fine

     I finally decided to give an update on how Texas Rose went. With summer school and writing an essay a week (I'm now starting on my fourth), I really haven't had too much of an urge to type more on here so forgive me. After having AP Lang Comp all year, you think I would have gotten used to all the writing but I guess when summer comes along it also brings with it a sense of laziness and no motivation. So practically a week later, I guess it's about time.

     So I had a flat lesson with Mike at about five in the afternoon last Thursday, and it was ridiculously hot. While tacking up, Mike asked if I knew my dressage test since it was different than the one I'd been doing all spring, and I lied like an idiot and said yes. His reply, "Good. We'll go over it." With that slap in the face, I paused what I was doing and looked up the test on my iPhone after he'd walked off, learning it in about five minutes, and let me just say, it showed.

     Oh, and let me just add this in real quick. I usually don't lie, especially to respected adults, so the ONE time I quickly say a teeny white lie, the stupid thing comes back to bite me in the butt. Duly noted karma. I promise you, I won't be doing it again.

     So for the next hour, it was evident I hadn't practiced the test on my horse. I could tell Mike was a little frustrated but he knew I hadn't ridden Stoney much and knew I'd have it by Saturday (especially when all we'd done was ride my test for an hour).

     It didn't take long for me to realize I wasn't feeling well after, and I just thought that it was heat exhaustion (since this has happened once before when riding with Mike) and blew it off. My body decided to tell me wrong as I ended up feeling like crap for the next twenty four hours with a stomach bug. Another punch in the face from karma? Hopefully it isn't that mean.

     I jumped the next morning and Stoney had improved drastically from not even two weeks ago when I was down before. Heather put him in a different bit and it really helped. Now he feels like a completely different horse. Scratch that. He is a completely different horse now.

     We got to the show, unpacked, and I rode again that afternoon. Stoney was dragging me around so that made for a great session. The next morning, our dressage didn't go that great. I reverted back to my old ways with riding and it showed. No, he didn't rear twice like at Greenwood, but he did leap to canter on two occasions. Oh Stoney, always having to make things interesting. The judge wrote "elegant horse, but rider needs to loosen up on the reins." Funny how when I did just that on his lengthening canter, he blew right past the letter we were supposed to trot at and didn't even trot until the next letter. He literally drug me around the entire arena. Last show, I realized we needed a stronger bit for jumping. This show, I realized we need a stronger bit for dressage because it was blatantly obvious that Stoney has no respect for the loose ring in his mouth. When I am able to get more leverage, I will finally be able to loosen up on the reins...AND then actually succeed in getting him back.

     Although it wasn't our best, I put it behind me and focused on show jumping. I get to warm up and pop over a few, then Mike has me come to a huge spread oxer. Stoney gets there on a half stride and just decides to sit on his butt and slide right into it, taking the whole thing, standards and all, down. Mike just stands there, and after a long pause goes, "Well...that was unusual of him." Tell me about it. I ended up getting a few more jumps in and went into the arena. It was like we were half way synced, if that even makes sense. I ended up with a rail and Stoney ended up with a rail. The first line I reverted back, yet again, to riding him like I used to, and we hit the front rail of the oxer that was the second fence. Stoney realized a little too late I wasn't going to save him and ended up hitting 5a. After that, the rest of the jumps when extremely well and we were finally back in sync like from the morning before. Mike honestly told me it would have been easier that weekend if I'd never even sat on Stoney before until now. Now that he has changed completely, I have to change the way I've learned to ride this horse for the past year and ride him completely different now.

Saturday: just chillin in his stall (:

     I can honestly tell you that on Saturday, I never even looked at what place I was in. All I knew was that I was probably last or next last after dressage and that because three people fell off in stadium (weird...), I'd probably move up a little even with my two rails. I knew though that I was no where near ribbon placing.

     Stoney jumped around the cross country course like it was nothing. Because it was on new land, there weren't any bank or coffin complexes built yet, just single fences with the exception of a bending AB and the water complex. Going from jumping clean at Greenwood to here wasn't all that hard. Not to mention their fences were extremely small for training. We did have a little scary moment at a small corner where Stoney decided to add once I'd gotten him up to a good stride. I swore we were gonna hit the ground, but somehow he saved himself and got over, though I'm still not sure how.

     Although it was extremely hot and the terrain was filled with huge hills, the big man never slowed and ended up coming in around twenty seconds before optimum. Sometimes I get so frustrated with his lack of technique and greenness that I forget to realize just how big his heart is and the bravery he has come to have.

     Many could say it wasn't a weekend to be that happy with, but I really was satisfied with it. The heart this horse has and the bravery he has is something that can't be taught. Technique, how he jumps, and how he carries himself can always be taught.

     The past few shows, his cross country is finally starting to come together. He's figuring it out. At this show, his show jumping finally started to see daylight, and it was a round that gave me hope that the next would be better and not leave disappointment like the one at Greenwood. He is finally getting it. Now that cross country and show jumping are finally beginning to fall into place, that leaves dressage to focus on. I feel that this bump in the road will pass with just more experience...annnddd a stronger bit. Maybe then we'll start to see daylight. Getting daily instruction and a good flat lesson at least once a week at Will's will also improve it substantially. I'm also hoping to go to Memphis for a dressage clinic with Wolfgang in a few weeks, and he ALWAYS improves our dressage. Somehow it always comes together and makes sense when training with him. And it gets even better than that. I have a two day clinic with Karen next week that I'm sure will be beneficial as well.

     My biggest fear right now is screwing Stoney up in the next four weeks until I leave for North Carolina. Mike assured me that I won't, but still, I'm scared I will. *Sigghhh* Negative thoughts are always a struggling battle. The fact that my kimberwick I ordered still hasn't come in after three days is stressing me out as well. Gahhh. I've also ordered the contraption that Heather had Stoney living in for six weeks, so if worse comes to worse, I could always just stand on the ground and lunge him in that once a week, more for my reassurance than anything.

     Oh, and did I mention that I got a ribbon? (: Seventh place baby. Heck yes. This is the first USEA event that Stoney has ribboned at. The fact that it was at training level and not novice makes it all the more better. I didn't even realize we finished in seventh until after we'd left, and I lucked out on a friend getting it for me who will be riding with me in the Karen clinic. It's safe to say this purple ribbon will be going to North Carolina with me. It's literally only a month away now! Looks like I'll only have to slave away here for four more weeks, as well as ride my horse in this terrible heat, and then it's goodbye humid Arkansas, hello North Carolina skies. Skies whose average temperature highs are about ten degrees lower than the ones here.  

First Trip to North Carolina

     As of last week, I can't get my mind off of North Carolina and I definitley can't make it focus on anything else. Going to Will Faudree's farm was incredible and I honestly can't wait until I get to move there. I decided I'd blog about my great experience there and all that I came to know while I was there. Soooo here we go.

     Wednesday afternoon, my mother and I set foot on our plane to Charlotte, NC. Because we ended up arriving at night, I was somewhat disappointed that I wasn't able to see the view of the state, but when arriving at ten o'clock at night, I honestly didn't care too much.

     Since we had to drive to Hoffman where Will's farm is located, we checked into our hotel at about one in the morning. Seven hours later I woke to get ready to go to the farm. I hardly ate anything due to my nervousness and the fact that I was finally going to meet Will and all the others on the farm. What worried me even more was the fact that I was going to ride one of his horses and not only has my riding not been consistent lately since Stoney is in Texas, but it had been a while since I rode someone's horse (as sad as that may sound, it's true). 

     When we arrived (about ten minutes early), I first met one of his working students, Kaitlyn, who I talked to and was very nice. She's from Lafayette, Louisiana so it was nice to meet another southerner. Since Nat (the barn manager and who helps Will run everything) was on the phone, mom and I went and watched Will who was out riding a horse, and it took me only a few seconds to see that this was one of his upper level horses he was riding. Then it hit me that this was Pawlow, the horse that he has been riding for four years and is trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Team with. I was astounded at this point.

     After talking to Nat about some things, let me just say, she is a complete riot. I began to enjoy her personality and humor right away. She reminds me a lot of Amy Conner. Soon, Will came into the barn and I was finally able to meet him. After talking with him and him asking me questions as far as what I'd done and what my goals were, he decided it was time to see me ride. He handed me the halter then said, "This is Ravi. Get him groomed and tacked up. Here ya go." I took a sigh of relief inside seeing that he wasn't going to watch my every move. Like he said, he's "not here to babysit."

     As soon as Will started working with me, he understood my riding abilities and the reassurance clicked with him of me being his working student. I got to ride this four year old gelding that was a spectacular mover and I had a blast doing some flatwork, gymnastics, and a few other fences on him. He was a pretty cool horse.

Say hello to Ravi, who I'm hoping I get to ride more once I get there :D

     Afterward, Will asked when the soonest would be that I was able to come, and since I switched my summer course to online, I told him I could come at any time. Will left for England today with a few horses, but Nat will be back as of July 15th since she does not wish to be in England all summer long. The two working students, Kaitlyn and Jasmine, are going to go over at different times, each for a week, to help him with the horses. Then Nat will go back and be there to help him with Burghley Horse Trials the first week of September. Will said that I could come as soon as Nat got back on the 15th and that her, Jasmine (who is certified in giving dressage lessons), and other trainers who Will uses, will be at his farm to help train Stoney and I while he is away.

     Hearing this, I was completely astonished and more than ready to come back here. Not only can I get into the swing of things before Will gets back, but also Stoney will not have to endure such a humid summer and I will not have to work at McDonalds until September. The world is finally coming around for me.

     As far as the apartment goes, it's attached to the barn and is two stories. It has a mud room, a full kitchen, a bedroom and full bathroom downstairs along with the living room. The upstairs loft has two, FULL size bunk beds as well as dressers, a closet, and another full bathroom. This apartment is easily about three or four times the size of a college dorm I'll most likely be living in my freshman year of college. Jasmine was extremely helpful with letting me know of things I should probably bring and that since her and Kaitlyn had been living there for two years now, they practically have everything that would be needed.

     Not only do I get to live with two, mature girls who seems extremely easy to get along with and talk to, but I will be getting to work my butt off along with riding many many different horses of Will's. I AM SO EXCITED. 

     After updating Will on my horse and what he has been doing, he said that after he sees the horse and how he is, he thinks that we should plan on competing him Training level this fall, increase his fitness over the winter, and then start qualifying for Young Riders 2012 in the Spring. I will still be riding for Area V. I wouldn't have it any other way. Living in the south eventing world for so long, I started to flip out when he said I'd only have the spring to qualify, but the great thing about the east coast is that there is a horse show every Wednesday and every weekend within a three hour radius of Will's farm. How incredible is that? Hearing of this gave me relief, but I was also glad about the fact that I do not have to rush Stoney now to move up and I think this will be really great for him.

     I can't even describe how much I am looking forward to going to North Carolina. The people I will be around are amazing and Stoney will be able to compete at so many different places it is ridiculous. With only five weeks until I leave, I have so many things I need to get, so many things I  have to do, and so many things I have to pack that I can't wrap my head around it all to even figure out where I'm supposed to begin. I guess I should focus on Texas Rose since it is only a week away at this point. Going to NC got my mind off of Stoney for a little bit and now I'm realizing I get to see him in three days (: Not only that, but he gets to come home after next weekend which is even better!

Yay for Analogies

     So I got the great opportunity to drive down to Texas this past weekend to get some lessons in on Stoney since, to my dismay, he is still down at Mike's. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond excited that he is down there and getting the beneficial training in that he needs, but I've missed him greatly.

     I got down there Friday afternoon after getting stuck in loads of traffic and taking a needed trip to Walmart, and although it was one hundred degrees out, I wasn't going to not get on him after I hadn't seen him in three weeks. So when I finally got there, I hopped on and did some light flat work. The second I started to trot him around, I could tell a major difference, but it wasn't until I put him into a canter that I noticed how incredibly different he felt and how much Mike and Heather had improved his overall frame with how he carries himself. They'd drastically changed him in only three weeks. He looked like a different horse when looking at him in the mirrors.

     Oh, and did I mention that he was about as strong as a rock? I mean, don't get me wrong, he was still his lanky and nonplump self (which is understandable when he's getting worked hard every day), but it was the fact that none of the weight he contained was fat anymore. He was pure, muscle. You could accurately compare him to Matthew Morrison who plays Mr. Schuester on Glee. Tall and lanky, yet unexpectedly hiding a six pack underneath it all. Yes, I just compared my horse to an actor from Glee. Coming back from my awful yet creative analogy, I'll say that his top line was like a rock, and every time I went to pat him on the butt, it took me by surprise at how firm and developed the muscles in his hind end had become. Now that he had been forced to carry himself in the correct frame, he was finally building the correct muscles that I've been struggling to develop in him.

A picture from Friday afternoon. I love my boy (:

    

     Because I got so excited and carries away with this, let me back up just a little. When I first arrived, Stoney did not show hardly a bit of excitement when he first saw me. It was kinda disappointing, yet not really surprising. It wasn't until after I'd ridden him and given him carrots (part of my needed Walmart trip) that he started to act like he missed me. Pshh. Boys.

     So Saturday started at 8 am for Stoney and I. Heather showed me what they'd been working him with, a nice little contraption that he's been living in so he learns his "new life" and "new way" of forever carrying himself. Riding him, even for 45 minutes, took everything I had. 

    A great description of our morning lesson --> Lack of riding on my part + body disagreeing with the strenuous work + EXTREMELY strong horse + moderate heat all = a great challenge for me.

     I know I know. I'm a wimp.

     I later rode at 12ish that day, where I then jumped Stoney with the nice contraption on.

     Another great description --> Not having jumped since Greenwood + stronger horse + tired horse + tired me + 100 degree weather = Heather yelling at my much deserved self.

     I had already mentally prepared myself for the yelling from Heather since I was very rusty and a little weaker so it didn't bother me. I actually enjoy the trainers who chew me out. Those are the ones that I get the most out of and thrive with. Weird.

     So after an exhausting day for the both of us, I went and took a two hour nap, ate, then slept for eleven hours, still exhausted when I went for my 10 30 lesson on Sunday. Let me just say, Sunday was still a struggle for me, but it was an improvement from our jump session on Saturday. Heather left the contraption a bit looser to see if Stoney would still travel in the correct frame and jump in the correct frame, even when he had a bit of leeway, and the good boy did. We even got a couple of smooth flying lead changes in that Heather was pleased with since she has been making me incorporate those into our warm ups and they're still a struggle for him.

     I left sore, but satisfied. And I also left with a raw inside knee. Old habits are always the most painful. Literally. It is always made clear when I haven't ridden enough because of the nasty rubs I get the pleasure of developing on the inside of my left knee, only the left, from my legs being weak and not supportive enough, resulting in me gripping with my knees like an idiot. It's the day after, I can't move an inch without feeling pain, and however, it's the best feeling ever (with the exception of my raw skin). This weekend was like a nice little wake up call to my body who was overly gracious for the break it was taking advantage of. It was about time it had to put in some strenuous work again. Heellooo wake up call.

     I am now positive that if I hadn't gone down this weekend to ride Stoney, Texas Rose (two weeks away now) would have been an ultimate disaster. Remember how in an earlier blog I said Texas Rose would either go horribly wrong or shockingly good? Yeah. It would have gone WAY horribly wrong. I'm afraid if I hadn't gone this weekend, I wouldn't be able to ride Stoney to the best of my capabilities, nor would I have been able to support his strong self. I am so so happy I got lucky and was able to go down there. And although it was so hard leaving my baby boy again, I thankfully will be seeing him in less than two weeks. About 9 days to  be exact (: Gah, I'm so excited. BUT, before I get to see my boy again, I will first be embarking on my trip to North Carolina the day after tomorrow to Southern Pines, where I will finally meet Will. I'm positive that some excitement awaits for me!