Here it comes! The big time! I am about to head off to Richland Park Horse Trials to compete against the best. I will be running Hannah in the CIC2* against riders like Bruce Davidson, Mara Dean, Eric Dierks, Leslie Law, Phillip Dutton (on 2 horses!), Becky Holder and many other very accomplished riders. So now I am mentally preparing for the next days upcoming events. Most importantly is keeping Hannah happy, healthy and sound. We embark on our adventure tomorrow and arrive late at the horse show. My goals consist of putting in a steady dressage test, as long as I am happy with it I won't let my score bother me. A clean jumping round on the cross country, I will be very happy if we make it in with under 15 time penalties, but most importantly I just want to jump clean and take it easy. Both Hannah & I are very green at this level so I am more looking for a good experience then a blue ribbon...or with this competition any colored ribbon! I look to jump double clean in show jumping, I will have to ride very smart in all three divisions and make sure to stay in the center of Hannah and out of her way.
I look forward to trying to keep everyone posted, I will not have internet access as I am kickin it old school and sleeping in a tent, but I will have my phone! I would love calls of encouragement so please feel free to give me a call anytime! Now it is time to focus on a steady, consistent dressage test!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Long Road Ahead...
Despite a long day, long drive & late arrival, I am here typing up my blog!
The ups and downs of eventing are never ending, but very humbling and they are the reason that I enjoy this sport so much!
So the good or the bad first?...well not really bad so we might as well start there.
I headed off to Wayne DuPage Horse Trials this weekend with Juliette to run her second preliminary horse trial. We left on Saturday, arrived in the evening, settled in and schooled the flat and walked the XC course. Surprisingly the XC course was a lot more demanding then I had expected. Pony put in her best dressage test yet, although only scoring a 40 point something she felt amazing, counter cantered both directions and walked the entire walking section! She was jumping great in show jumping but the rails were flying for the whole division! We had a lot of challenging Preliminary questions on the XC. Bending lines, skinny after skinny! Our first water complex was at the "old water" and we had to drop in over a rolltop drop to the water, across to a cabin and a bending left hand turn to a right hand corner - pony jumped it fabulously! Our next big question was up a bank, one stride off a bank, one stride off another bank, and a few strides on a bending line to a triple brush skinny - once again the pony jumped it like a seasoned pro! She has no idea how big she really is! She flew over the large tables, jumped the barrels bending line to another corner very well, took what is normally the Intermediate drop into the Maui Jim water great, landed took two the three steps and unfortunately stumbled across some bad footing. After sticking with her a few strides trying to right myself off of her neck, I hit the water while the pony scrambled to not trample me just grazing one of her hooves across my face...nose is slightly sore and I think my shoulder may have popped out, yet once again so at least I know that will be fine! All in all we had only a few more fences, she did all of the demanding questions on the course perfectly but we had to walk away with a Mandatory Retirement because you are no longer allowed to fall anywhere on the course according to the new rules. She really proved herself to being a Preliminary horse, its just hard when a 13.3 hand pony loses her balance, there really isn't anything to hold on to! I'm sure I will be sore this week, but it all comes with the long road ahead!
Now on to the GREAT news!
Students Maria Filsinger, Abby Turnacliff, Marianne Kelly doing their C3 eventing ratings & Katy Turnacliff doing her C3 & B dressage rating, all headed off to Riverfalls, WI. On Friday, the eventing group did formals and flatwork including switch rides and all passed with flying colors! Saturday morning they started out with longing, once again all passing that section and then began gridwork followed by course work and switch rides. All 3 passed the gridwork. Unfortunately Marianne's horse was being rather difficult and they didn't pass her when the course work began. Maria & Abby finished up the day with successfully passing their C3s and Marianne experience one of the lows of horses, but now knows what needs to be worked on at her next attempt, because eventers (especially eventers!) never give up!
Katy Turnacliff passed her C3 dressage on Saturday afternoon and did her B on Sunday. She used Hannah B as a her switch ride and had a great test, also passing her B rating!
Congrats to all the Pony Clubbers!
Then Maria put Pete in the trailer, headed East on 94 towards Illinois to attend the Wayne DuPage Horse Trials...in which I plotted last minute after she told me she passed. Originally we were going to go to Dunnabeck Horse Trials later in September but we are unable to attend due to a Ralph Hill clinic the same weekend. About 2 hours into the trip they had truck problems, were delayed 2 hours and didn't get to the show grounds until 11:30 that night! Pete was happy to be somewhere, it was nice and cool at night and he settled in well. Maria put a nice dressage test in the next morning, yet like everyone else had a few rails in the show jumping but they had yet to face their true test, the cross country.
Pete's history of having water issues was either going to prove to be fixed or yet show its ugly face...having two difficult water questions was really going to put Maria's riding and Pete's confidence to the test! Maria rode beautifully and due to my unfortunate departure between fences I was able to watch her skillful riding through the 2nd water complex. She tactfully brought Pete to the trot to present him to the water, he sort of shy-ed and slowed down but jogged down the huge 5 foot drop like it was a small step, across the water and out the bank one stride over the coop. I was absolutely thrilled to be able to see Maria handle the situation the way she did, I couldn't have been happier for her! She was all smiles (minus her one sad face of sympathy for the pony's mandatory retirement) when she returned to the barn! We were going over her course as we walked up to check scores once the horses were taken care of and as I was looking at the scoreboard and chatting with another rider who had an unfortunate departure about our mandatory retirements I didn't even check yet to see what she had scored. She stood by my side quietly waiting for us to finish our discussion. I turned to the scoreboard and was absolutely thrilled to see she had won the division! I didn't understand why she wasn't jumping up and down spastically because as soon as I saw the results that is exactly what I did!
I am so proud of my students over the weekend, they all handled their outcomes very maturely, learning from new mistakes made and quietly enjoying "their moment".
I am looking forward to running Hannah in the Richland Park CIC2* next week (wow that time flew by!) and the following weekend the wonder pony and I will make another attempt at the preliminary level at South Farm HT in Ohio. We have a jam packed fall season and I am looking forward to it immensely!
Stay tuned for updates on Pony Club camp this week, Becky Holder's Jr. Developing Rider Program to be held at Trophy Hill, cross country schooling at Otter Creek and more exciting adventures!
The ups and downs of eventing are never ending, but very humbling and they are the reason that I enjoy this sport so much!
So the good or the bad first?...well not really bad so we might as well start there.
I headed off to Wayne DuPage Horse Trials this weekend with Juliette to run her second preliminary horse trial. We left on Saturday, arrived in the evening, settled in and schooled the flat and walked the XC course. Surprisingly the XC course was a lot more demanding then I had expected. Pony put in her best dressage test yet, although only scoring a 40 point something she felt amazing, counter cantered both directions and walked the entire walking section! She was jumping great in show jumping but the rails were flying for the whole division! We had a lot of challenging Preliminary questions on the XC. Bending lines, skinny after skinny! Our first water complex was at the "old water" and we had to drop in over a rolltop drop to the water, across to a cabin and a bending left hand turn to a right hand corner - pony jumped it fabulously! Our next big question was up a bank, one stride off a bank, one stride off another bank, and a few strides on a bending line to a triple brush skinny - once again the pony jumped it like a seasoned pro! She has no idea how big she really is! She flew over the large tables, jumped the barrels bending line to another corner very well, took what is normally the Intermediate drop into the Maui Jim water great, landed took two the three steps and unfortunately stumbled across some bad footing. After sticking with her a few strides trying to right myself off of her neck, I hit the water while the pony scrambled to not trample me just grazing one of her hooves across my face...nose is slightly sore and I think my shoulder may have popped out, yet once again so at least I know that will be fine! All in all we had only a few more fences, she did all of the demanding questions on the course perfectly but we had to walk away with a Mandatory Retirement because you are no longer allowed to fall anywhere on the course according to the new rules. She really proved herself to being a Preliminary horse, its just hard when a 13.3 hand pony loses her balance, there really isn't anything to hold on to! I'm sure I will be sore this week, but it all comes with the long road ahead!
Now on to the GREAT news!
Students Maria Filsinger, Abby Turnacliff, Marianne Kelly doing their C3 eventing ratings & Katy Turnacliff doing her C3 & B dressage rating, all headed off to Riverfalls, WI. On Friday, the eventing group did formals and flatwork including switch rides and all passed with flying colors! Saturday morning they started out with longing, once again all passing that section and then began gridwork followed by course work and switch rides. All 3 passed the gridwork. Unfortunately Marianne's horse was being rather difficult and they didn't pass her when the course work began. Maria & Abby finished up the day with successfully passing their C3s and Marianne experience one of the lows of horses, but now knows what needs to be worked on at her next attempt, because eventers (especially eventers!) never give up!
Katy Turnacliff passed her C3 dressage on Saturday afternoon and did her B on Sunday. She used Hannah B as a her switch ride and had a great test, also passing her B rating!
Congrats to all the Pony Clubbers!
Then Maria put Pete in the trailer, headed East on 94 towards Illinois to attend the Wayne DuPage Horse Trials...in which I plotted last minute after she told me she passed. Originally we were going to go to Dunnabeck Horse Trials later in September but we are unable to attend due to a Ralph Hill clinic the same weekend. About 2 hours into the trip they had truck problems, were delayed 2 hours and didn't get to the show grounds until 11:30 that night! Pete was happy to be somewhere, it was nice and cool at night and he settled in well. Maria put a nice dressage test in the next morning, yet like everyone else had a few rails in the show jumping but they had yet to face their true test, the cross country.
Pete's history of having water issues was either going to prove to be fixed or yet show its ugly face...having two difficult water questions was really going to put Maria's riding and Pete's confidence to the test! Maria rode beautifully and due to my unfortunate departure between fences I was able to watch her skillful riding through the 2nd water complex. She tactfully brought Pete to the trot to present him to the water, he sort of shy-ed and slowed down but jogged down the huge 5 foot drop like it was a small step, across the water and out the bank one stride over the coop. I was absolutely thrilled to be able to see Maria handle the situation the way she did, I couldn't have been happier for her! She was all smiles (minus her one sad face of sympathy for the pony's mandatory retirement) when she returned to the barn! We were going over her course as we walked up to check scores once the horses were taken care of and as I was looking at the scoreboard and chatting with another rider who had an unfortunate departure about our mandatory retirements I didn't even check yet to see what she had scored. She stood by my side quietly waiting for us to finish our discussion. I turned to the scoreboard and was absolutely thrilled to see she had won the division! I didn't understand why she wasn't jumping up and down spastically because as soon as I saw the results that is exactly what I did!
I am so proud of my students over the weekend, they all handled their outcomes very maturely, learning from new mistakes made and quietly enjoying "their moment".
I am looking forward to running Hannah in the Richland Park CIC2* next week (wow that time flew by!) and the following weekend the wonder pony and I will make another attempt at the preliminary level at South Farm HT in Ohio. We have a jam packed fall season and I am looking forward to it immensely!
Stay tuned for updates on Pony Club camp this week, Becky Holder's Jr. Developing Rider Program to be held at Trophy Hill, cross country schooling at Otter Creek and more exciting adventures!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Preparing...
There is nothing like seeing something you want and knowing that it is out of reach...
Horses can be so frustrating at times. Currently I am in the search of a individual that would like to help me out with my goals. I don't have the financial backing to purchase another horse and am hoping to find someone who would enjoy helping me achieve my goals of getting a young horse for the future.
Anyway, unexpected things can also happen. The owner of Juliette, the wonder pony, just informed me today that we will be heading off to the Chicago area on Saturday (yes, in like less then 3 days) to attend the Wayne DuPage one day. Good thing this weekend was open! As I am sure you have heard me state before, making plans with horses is no easy task. My goals with Juliette are to get four solid Preliminary runs under her belt (so far has 1) and tackling the CCI1* course at Midsouth 3Day in Kentucky in the middle of October. Of course this is no easy feat considering I am riding a 13.3 hand pony...although I will be the first to admit my level of confidence in her is quickly rising to equalling my confidence in my own 16.3 hand 2* mare.
It is great to finally have another horse (well a pony) at the upper levels. We are hoping to continue to progress in the dressage as that is not her strong suite and keep tackling the jumping obstacles as they are thrown at us. Stay tuned for our progress throughout the weekend.
As far as Ms. Hannah B goes, we are headed off on the 22nd to Michigan to stay at Philippa Humphrey's farm in Rockford for a few days and then heading down to Richland Park HT. We will be doing the CIC2* and my goal is to finish in the top third of our division. I have had great runs at Richland Park previously and hope to continue to. Last year we had 1 run out at a corner due to pilot error (of course!) but none the less had a great, successful, educational weekend. I will continue to update my blog as often as I can, feel free to give me a shout if it is not often enough! eventrider@lizlund.com
Stay tuned for posts on shows, sale horses, students and more!
Horses can be so frustrating at times. Currently I am in the search of a individual that would like to help me out with my goals. I don't have the financial backing to purchase another horse and am hoping to find someone who would enjoy helping me achieve my goals of getting a young horse for the future.
Anyway, unexpected things can also happen. The owner of Juliette, the wonder pony, just informed me today that we will be heading off to the Chicago area on Saturday (yes, in like less then 3 days) to attend the Wayne DuPage one day. Good thing this weekend was open! As I am sure you have heard me state before, making plans with horses is no easy task. My goals with Juliette are to get four solid Preliminary runs under her belt (so far has 1) and tackling the CCI1* course at Midsouth 3Day in Kentucky in the middle of October. Of course this is no easy feat considering I am riding a 13.3 hand pony...although I will be the first to admit my level of confidence in her is quickly rising to equalling my confidence in my own 16.3 hand 2* mare.
It is great to finally have another horse (well a pony) at the upper levels. We are hoping to continue to progress in the dressage as that is not her strong suite and keep tackling the jumping obstacles as they are thrown at us. Stay tuned for our progress throughout the weekend.
As far as Ms. Hannah B goes, we are headed off on the 22nd to Michigan to stay at Philippa Humphrey's farm in Rockford for a few days and then heading down to Richland Park HT. We will be doing the CIC2* and my goal is to finish in the top third of our division. I have had great runs at Richland Park previously and hope to continue to. Last year we had 1 run out at a corner due to pilot error (of course!) but none the less had a great, successful, educational weekend. I will continue to update my blog as often as I can, feel free to give me a shout if it is not often enough! eventrider@lizlund.com
Stay tuned for posts on shows, sale horses, students and more!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials
Early Friday morning we all headed down to Iowa City to attend Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials owned by Susan Brigham and Jim McNutt. LLEventing had a large crew in tow, Liz was riding Juliette, owned by Katy Bloomquist Holub, at her first preliminary event. Keep in mind Juliette is the 13.3 hand grey wonder pony! Maria Filsinger & Pete doing their first preliminary as well, Abby Turnacliff & Ziggy Who moving up to the training level, Kelsie Holbrook & Tess moving up to the Novice level, Jen Johnson & Loose Cannon at their first show back since Jen's baby Sam, Morgan Samuelson & Ricky at their first show together competed at the beginner novice level, and Janelle Johnson & Royal Cootitan at their last beginner novice before they plan to move up to novice. As you can see we had quite the crew!
Liz Lund Eventing polo shirts came in, so we were all able to represent in style. We had a lot of comments on how great we looked and how much of a team we were.
As soon as we arrived the work began, unloading, filling water buckets, organizing trunks, cleaning tack, riding horses and teaching lessons. Friday afternoon involved everyone taking a dressage lesson and then doing course walks...to say the least I was a little tired after walking BN, N, T & P courses one after the other. We had some light rain on and off throughout Friday and it rained on into the night. We all headed off to eat dinner and get some sleep for a bright and early morning.
Arriving at the farm at 5:45am on Saturday I had to bathe and braid Juliette for her early dressage ride. She put in a great warm up on the grass and the studs I had chosen were of the appropriate size for the grass footing dampened from the previous night's rain and the morning's dew. As we began our final rounds around the outside of the dressage arena before we heard the bell, she became a little tense and tight, I did my best to keep her pushing into the bridle. We entered the ring and she put in a decent test, she flipped once in her counter canter which was immediately corrected, and rewarded for later, but over all had a steady test. The judge seemed to like the pony and complimented me for my soft giving hands even though the pony was tentative to accept the contact. We were generously rewarded a 37, to be 5th out of a competitive group of 20. I was pleased with Juliette's performance and we headed back to the stable to switch tack and put some larger studs in for some higher speeds and slicker footing.
We had a lovely warm up for the cross country. Everyone always is surprised when she enters the arena, you can almost see in their express "You are taking that pony at this level?!". She jumped well and was easy to adjust. We headed over to the start box and off we went. She had a great pace considering she has to take probably twice as many steps as the other horses in the division. She was great to everything, jumped strong into the water but I was able to hold to our bending line to the skinny. She handled everything like a champ and I am looking forward to stepping it up at a more challenging preliminary. She recovered nicely after the course adding only 7.6 time faults to her dressage score to secure her 5th place into show jumping.
The next morning she was anything but tired, she was bathed again (of course she loves her poop pillows) in the morning and then hand walked. As I tacked her up she was pawing at her stall ready to go! Again she had a lovely warm up, and jumped a double clear round in the show jumping which proved to be a tough course for a lot of horses and riders having rails come down and time on the clock. She finished 4th in her first preliminary, a very successful show!
I couldn't have asked my students to have performed any better. Almost all of them were moving up a level! Maria had a lovely XC round on Pete, he jumped into the water with out even questioning it, Maria rode it lovely preparing him for the drop in with a large trot circle. She had a double clean show jumping round and finished in 2nd place at her first preliminary! Abby Turnacliff & her horse Ziggy Who made the move up to training level and jumped clean around the cross country with only one rail down in show jumping to finish in 5th place. Jen Johnson and her horse Loose Cannon were back at it after delivering a beautiful baby boy and finished 4th in their novice division. Kelsie Holbrook & Tess made their move up to the Novice level to jump double clean finishing on their dressage score in 3rd place. Morgan Samuelson and her new mount Ricky, owned by Cindy Piper, competed at their first horse trials together at the Beginner Novice level and finished 2nd on their dressage score. Janelle Johnson and & Royal Cootitan (Ty) completed their final beginner novice, before preparing to move up to the Novice level, in style winning the division as well as the Madison Brigham Memorial Low Point Jr. award.
Congrats to everyone! Looking forward to our next adventure!
Stay tuned as Maria & Liz head off to South Farm HT in Ohio to compete Pete & Juliette at their second preliminary horse trials!
Liz Lund Eventing polo shirts came in, so we were all able to represent in style. We had a lot of comments on how great we looked and how much of a team we were.
As soon as we arrived the work began, unloading, filling water buckets, organizing trunks, cleaning tack, riding horses and teaching lessons. Friday afternoon involved everyone taking a dressage lesson and then doing course walks...to say the least I was a little tired after walking BN, N, T & P courses one after the other. We had some light rain on and off throughout Friday and it rained on into the night. We all headed off to eat dinner and get some sleep for a bright and early morning.
Arriving at the farm at 5:45am on Saturday I had to bathe and braid Juliette for her early dressage ride. She put in a great warm up on the grass and the studs I had chosen were of the appropriate size for the grass footing dampened from the previous night's rain and the morning's dew. As we began our final rounds around the outside of the dressage arena before we heard the bell, she became a little tense and tight, I did my best to keep her pushing into the bridle. We entered the ring and she put in a decent test, she flipped once in her counter canter which was immediately corrected, and rewarded for later, but over all had a steady test. The judge seemed to like the pony and complimented me for my soft giving hands even though the pony was tentative to accept the contact. We were generously rewarded a 37, to be 5th out of a competitive group of 20. I was pleased with Juliette's performance and we headed back to the stable to switch tack and put some larger studs in for some higher speeds and slicker footing.
We had a lovely warm up for the cross country. Everyone always is surprised when she enters the arena, you can almost see in their express "You are taking that pony at this level?!". She jumped well and was easy to adjust. We headed over to the start box and off we went. She had a great pace considering she has to take probably twice as many steps as the other horses in the division. She was great to everything, jumped strong into the water but I was able to hold to our bending line to the skinny. She handled everything like a champ and I am looking forward to stepping it up at a more challenging preliminary. She recovered nicely after the course adding only 7.6 time faults to her dressage score to secure her 5th place into show jumping.
The next morning she was anything but tired, she was bathed again (of course she loves her poop pillows) in the morning and then hand walked. As I tacked her up she was pawing at her stall ready to go! Again she had a lovely warm up, and jumped a double clear round in the show jumping which proved to be a tough course for a lot of horses and riders having rails come down and time on the clock. She finished 4th in her first preliminary, a very successful show!
I couldn't have asked my students to have performed any better. Almost all of them were moving up a level! Maria had a lovely XC round on Pete, he jumped into the water with out even questioning it, Maria rode it lovely preparing him for the drop in with a large trot circle. She had a double clean show jumping round and finished in 2nd place at her first preliminary! Abby Turnacliff & her horse Ziggy Who made the move up to training level and jumped clean around the cross country with only one rail down in show jumping to finish in 5th place. Jen Johnson and her horse Loose Cannon were back at it after delivering a beautiful baby boy and finished 4th in their novice division. Kelsie Holbrook & Tess made their move up to the Novice level to jump double clean finishing on their dressage score in 3rd place. Morgan Samuelson and her new mount Ricky, owned by Cindy Piper, competed at their first horse trials together at the Beginner Novice level and finished 2nd on their dressage score. Janelle Johnson and & Royal Cootitan (Ty) completed their final beginner novice, before preparing to move up to the Novice level, in style winning the division as well as the Madison Brigham Memorial Low Point Jr. award.
Congrats to everyone! Looking forward to our next adventure!
Stay tuned as Maria & Liz head off to South Farm HT in Ohio to compete Pete & Juliette at their second preliminary horse trials!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Midsummer Update
Alpine Farm hosted a hunter/jumper show in which we attended on June 25th. I brought Juliette, the 13.3 hand sale pony and showed her in the Level 2s & 3s. She jumped around very well. Student, Kelsie Holbrook and her horse Tess competed in the 0s, 1s and 2s and gained a lot more experience in the jumper ring.
The following weekend we headed off to Parkside Dressage show, also at Alpine Farm. Both myself on Hannah and Maria on Pete went to compete. Maria had a very successful weekend, winning all 5 of her classes at 1st and 2nd level with scores in the mid to high sixties. Hannah performed our first 4th level test, we had an amazing warmup with wonderful lateral movement and lovely changes but when we entered the ring she became a little tense. None the less I was very happy with her performance in the test as well as her 3 other 3rd level tests.
Attending our local jumper and dressage shows is a great way to get more ring time to help prepare for upcoming events.
Maria headed off to Chicago for Young Rider Camp with Pete and learned a lot of valuable information from her riding lessons to unmounted lessons.
The Liz Lund Eventing team has been working hard as we are preparing to head of to Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials July 30th-August 1st. Stay tuned for a horse show update!
The following weekend we headed off to Parkside Dressage show, also at Alpine Farm. Both myself on Hannah and Maria on Pete went to compete. Maria had a very successful weekend, winning all 5 of her classes at 1st and 2nd level with scores in the mid to high sixties. Hannah performed our first 4th level test, we had an amazing warmup with wonderful lateral movement and lovely changes but when we entered the ring she became a little tense. None the less I was very happy with her performance in the test as well as her 3 other 3rd level tests.
Attending our local jumper and dressage shows is a great way to get more ring time to help prepare for upcoming events.
Maria headed off to Chicago for Young Rider Camp with Pete and learned a lot of valuable information from her riding lessons to unmounted lessons.
The Liz Lund Eventing team has been working hard as we are preparing to head of to Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials July 30th-August 1st. Stay tuned for a horse show update!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Upset
This is the story I was working on for my creative writing class - enjoy!
The Upset
I never imagined that I would end up lying in this hospital bed with my dreams and future crashing down around me. I don’t remember the impact or anything leading up to it, all I do know is that I should not be here.
“3…2…1...have a nice ride.”
With those words echoing in my ears, we thunder out of the start box. Within seconds, Watkins is powering toward our first fence. This is what I live for, the sudden rush of adrenaline and the power of a 1200 pound animal beneath me. Each stride gets longer and freer as we head down a galloping lane, his hooves beating in perfect time with my heart.
As I come back to consciousness the rhythmic galloping fades into a slow, steady, high pitched beep coming from the heart monitor. At least I am awake enough to know the consistent sound means that I am somewhat living although I feel as if I have been run over by a high speed train. With blurry eyes I try and gain my focus to look around the room but my eyelids grow heavy as I sink back into unconsciousness.
We are nearing a difficult part of the course, where combinations and meandering lines take the place of nice, galloping fences. Watkins has found his rhythm, each stride powerful and purposeful as we head toward the next fence. I see it growing larger between his ears as we approach, and before I know it we are safely on the other side. People cheer as we head through the water complex, droplets scattering and reflecting the light like a million tears. I check my watch – it’s time to speed things up.
I burst into reality and try to reach up to wipe the sweat streaming off of my forehead only to realize I cannot move my arms. A white alien walks into the room and introduces himself as Dr. Finkley. As far as I can tell his straining hospital gown is at least two sizes too small, but his short round stature seems warm and comforting.
“Glad to see you awake Ms. Carlson, we have been waiting for you to come around. Your mother is waiting outside, shall I bring her in?”
I blink trying to comprehend what the doctor is talking about and stutter,
“sure”.
In a second my curly haired, rambunctious mother runs through the door. She hurries to my side and reaches for my hand but quickly retreats unsure as to where to put her hands. I don’t even want to see myself from her reaction. Before I know it she has tears dripping down her face even though she is smiling ear to ear. Still no one has said anything as I give her a confused and scared look.
She begins to open her mouth to speak as I blurt out the words,
“Where is Watkins? What happened? Is he okay?”
The smell of the sterile environment and latex gloves wafts into my nostrils as I blink cautiously and try to steady the spinning room. The white walls, white lab coats and white equipment blur together as I fade back in time.
We near the end of our course and I can tell Watkins is laboring. Each breath comes with a little more effort than the last, and his neck is frothy with sweat. Even still, I push on, knowing that too many time faults will drop us out of the lead.
“This is what we’ve prepared for,” I whisper into his ears as we gallop along, “I know you can do this.”
Quickly I come around as my mother’s words become a reality.
“You had a bad fall at the last fence, honey; it was awful; he tried so hard…”
Before she finished I cut her off,
“Well where is he? Is he going to be alright? It was my fault; I shouldn’t have asked him for more than he could have given.”
As I speak I begin to taste the salt from my own tears streaming down my face.
“Yes honey, he is alright, he is at home resting, and has missed you for the last week.”
“A WEEK?!” I shriek in disgust. “What happened, when can I see him?”
It’s the approach to the final fence, and my watch, large and luminous, is ticking down the remaining seconds far too fast. I push Watkins for everything he has, asking him for the long spot to the big table jump. He hesitates, and then takes an awkward half-step before launching off the ground with every ounce of effort he possesses. Even from take-off, I know it will not be enough. The fence looms too large in my view, and within a few seconds the world is turned upside down. I feel a sharp pain sting throughout my body as I see Watkins coming down on top of me, a second before everything goes black.
“It was just a bad distance, neither of you saw your spot and he gave it all he had and you stuck with him until you couldn’t hold on any longer,” explained my mother.
I now remember bursts of consciousness that come with my shortness of breath and the numb sensation tingling through my body.
“It seems Leigh Carlson has had a bad fall at fence 25. Please hold the horses out on the course as we make way for the ambulance to come through,” the announcer booms over the loud speaker.
I see the flashing lights and scattering of people. As I blink in slow motion paramedics are asking questions but I can’t make my mouth form any answers. I try to look around for Watkins but cannot find him anywhere. I can tell people are touching me and moving me around, strapping restraints on me, sticking needles into my arms, a breathing device is secured around my face but still everything is moving so slowly.
“I saw the whole thing and watched in horror as there was nothing I could do about it. I was scared to death and rushed over to you. You were hardly conscious and struggling to breathe. Your limbs were mangled in ways that they shouldn’t have been able to bend. The paramedics secured you to a back board with breathing support and rushed you into the hospital,” my mother sighs and mumbles off into silence as Dr. Finkley takes over explaining what had happened.
“You had emergency surgery to repair a punctured lung, but thankfully that was the only internal damage you had. I’m sure you are pretty sore, you broke four ribs, one which caused the lung damage, multiple breaks in your pelvis, a bad concussion and broke the right side of your clavicle as well as your left humerus.”
My jaw dropped as the injuries were listed off and all I could think about was how this would ruin my plans to make it on the North American Young Rider Team in my last year I was eligible to ride as a Young Rider. Instantly my mind switched to how thankful I was that I would be able to walk into the barn and see my Watkins once again.
“Thankfully nothing more serious happened and Watkins is safe and sound at home,” my instantly cheerful mother piped in.
I smiled at her in agreement as I thought about the next time I would be able to see and ride Watkins again.
As I climb up the podium to accept my medal, tears come to my eyes as I think that only six months ago I was lying in a hospital bed watching my dreams and future crash down around me. Not only am I thankful to be alive but I am able to ride again and realize that my dreams have come true. I made it to the North American Young Rider Championships and though I did not win the individual gold, I know that I will be back on top again.
I looked into the bleachers and see my mother with tears in her eyes. As we make eye contact we both know how lucky I am to be standing here. Our team accepts our award and we mount our horses for a victory gallop. I am thankful for the opportunity to be back atop Watkins again.
I close my eyes and wrap my arms around his muscular neck.
In an instant my eyes snap open to the bright lights of the hospital room and I realize my perfect reality is just a dream. It will be a long, tough road to recovery, but I know that thundering hooves, flaring nostrils and the smell of leather will be my whole world again someday. This is what I love and this is what I will do.
The Upset
I never imagined that I would end up lying in this hospital bed with my dreams and future crashing down around me. I don’t remember the impact or anything leading up to it, all I do know is that I should not be here.
“3…2…1...have a nice ride.”
With those words echoing in my ears, we thunder out of the start box. Within seconds, Watkins is powering toward our first fence. This is what I live for, the sudden rush of adrenaline and the power of a 1200 pound animal beneath me. Each stride gets longer and freer as we head down a galloping lane, his hooves beating in perfect time with my heart.
As I come back to consciousness the rhythmic galloping fades into a slow, steady, high pitched beep coming from the heart monitor. At least I am awake enough to know the consistent sound means that I am somewhat living although I feel as if I have been run over by a high speed train. With blurry eyes I try and gain my focus to look around the room but my eyelids grow heavy as I sink back into unconsciousness.
We are nearing a difficult part of the course, where combinations and meandering lines take the place of nice, galloping fences. Watkins has found his rhythm, each stride powerful and purposeful as we head toward the next fence. I see it growing larger between his ears as we approach, and before I know it we are safely on the other side. People cheer as we head through the water complex, droplets scattering and reflecting the light like a million tears. I check my watch – it’s time to speed things up.
I burst into reality and try to reach up to wipe the sweat streaming off of my forehead only to realize I cannot move my arms. A white alien walks into the room and introduces himself as Dr. Finkley. As far as I can tell his straining hospital gown is at least two sizes too small, but his short round stature seems warm and comforting.
“Glad to see you awake Ms. Carlson, we have been waiting for you to come around. Your mother is waiting outside, shall I bring her in?”
I blink trying to comprehend what the doctor is talking about and stutter,
“sure”.
In a second my curly haired, rambunctious mother runs through the door. She hurries to my side and reaches for my hand but quickly retreats unsure as to where to put her hands. I don’t even want to see myself from her reaction. Before I know it she has tears dripping down her face even though she is smiling ear to ear. Still no one has said anything as I give her a confused and scared look.
She begins to open her mouth to speak as I blurt out the words,
“Where is Watkins? What happened? Is he okay?”
The smell of the sterile environment and latex gloves wafts into my nostrils as I blink cautiously and try to steady the spinning room. The white walls, white lab coats and white equipment blur together as I fade back in time.
We near the end of our course and I can tell Watkins is laboring. Each breath comes with a little more effort than the last, and his neck is frothy with sweat. Even still, I push on, knowing that too many time faults will drop us out of the lead.
“This is what we’ve prepared for,” I whisper into his ears as we gallop along, “I know you can do this.”
Quickly I come around as my mother’s words become a reality.
“You had a bad fall at the last fence, honey; it was awful; he tried so hard…”
Before she finished I cut her off,
“Well where is he? Is he going to be alright? It was my fault; I shouldn’t have asked him for more than he could have given.”
As I speak I begin to taste the salt from my own tears streaming down my face.
“Yes honey, he is alright, he is at home resting, and has missed you for the last week.”
“A WEEK?!” I shriek in disgust. “What happened, when can I see him?”
It’s the approach to the final fence, and my watch, large and luminous, is ticking down the remaining seconds far too fast. I push Watkins for everything he has, asking him for the long spot to the big table jump. He hesitates, and then takes an awkward half-step before launching off the ground with every ounce of effort he possesses. Even from take-off, I know it will not be enough. The fence looms too large in my view, and within a few seconds the world is turned upside down. I feel a sharp pain sting throughout my body as I see Watkins coming down on top of me, a second before everything goes black.
“It was just a bad distance, neither of you saw your spot and he gave it all he had and you stuck with him until you couldn’t hold on any longer,” explained my mother.
I now remember bursts of consciousness that come with my shortness of breath and the numb sensation tingling through my body.
“It seems Leigh Carlson has had a bad fall at fence 25. Please hold the horses out on the course as we make way for the ambulance to come through,” the announcer booms over the loud speaker.
I see the flashing lights and scattering of people. As I blink in slow motion paramedics are asking questions but I can’t make my mouth form any answers. I try to look around for Watkins but cannot find him anywhere. I can tell people are touching me and moving me around, strapping restraints on me, sticking needles into my arms, a breathing device is secured around my face but still everything is moving so slowly.
“I saw the whole thing and watched in horror as there was nothing I could do about it. I was scared to death and rushed over to you. You were hardly conscious and struggling to breathe. Your limbs were mangled in ways that they shouldn’t have been able to bend. The paramedics secured you to a back board with breathing support and rushed you into the hospital,” my mother sighs and mumbles off into silence as Dr. Finkley takes over explaining what had happened.
“You had emergency surgery to repair a punctured lung, but thankfully that was the only internal damage you had. I’m sure you are pretty sore, you broke four ribs, one which caused the lung damage, multiple breaks in your pelvis, a bad concussion and broke the right side of your clavicle as well as your left humerus.”
My jaw dropped as the injuries were listed off and all I could think about was how this would ruin my plans to make it on the North American Young Rider Team in my last year I was eligible to ride as a Young Rider. Instantly my mind switched to how thankful I was that I would be able to walk into the barn and see my Watkins once again.
“Thankfully nothing more serious happened and Watkins is safe and sound at home,” my instantly cheerful mother piped in.
I smiled at her in agreement as I thought about the next time I would be able to see and ride Watkins again.
As I climb up the podium to accept my medal, tears come to my eyes as I think that only six months ago I was lying in a hospital bed watching my dreams and future crash down around me. Not only am I thankful to be alive but I am able to ride again and realize that my dreams have come true. I made it to the North American Young Rider Championships and though I did not win the individual gold, I know that I will be back on top again.
I looked into the bleachers and see my mother with tears in her eyes. As we make eye contact we both know how lucky I am to be standing here. Our team accepts our award and we mount our horses for a victory gallop. I am thankful for the opportunity to be back atop Watkins again.
I close my eyes and wrap my arms around his muscular neck.
In an instant my eyes snap open to the bright lights of the hospital room and I realize my perfect reality is just a dream. It will be a long, tough road to recovery, but I know that thundering hooves, flaring nostrils and the smell of leather will be my whole world again someday. This is what I love and this is what I will do.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Looking Ahead
Hi again!
It has been far too long since my last post - but late is better than never!!
I am sitting outside the trailer right now at Carriage House Farm having just finished my ride on Juliette (the wonder pony) in the Ralph Hill clinic. I thought it would be a perfect time to blog!
Well lets see what I have done since last time...I rode in the Jimmy Wofford clinic the weekend before my CIC2* at Otter Creek. I really enjoyed the ring work we did on Saturday and the different exercises Wofford set up. They really made you think about each step along the way. One interesting one I thought he set up was a vertical - perfect 3 strides to an oxer - perfect three strides to another vertical. It rode long from the vertical to oxer and short from oxer to vertical even tho mathematically it should have been perfect. It was a good exercise. The cross country day was pretty easy going and we just did a few small exercises - Hannah performed very well.
Then we were off to Otter Creek Spring and to our first CIC2*. With everything in line thanks to a lot of friends and family we arrived at Otter Creek on Thursday afternoon. Things were a little hectic at first as I had three dressage lessons back to back on all three of the horses I was competing but after that I was able to settle in, get everything organized, do my in barn and teach my own students later in the day. Friday I was up early for dressage. Hannah warmed up pretty well, she wasn't as soft and just stayed a little tense throughout her test but we scored a 64.2 to put us in 2nd place. The cross country looked challenging but very do-able. The three CIC2* riders all huddled in the barn as we waited for the go-ahead to get on our horses and start warming up. There were storms and we had a little over an hour delay then we all mounted and walked up to the warm up. Each rider ran clean on the XC, but we all racked up time because of the footing. We added 27.6 time faults to our score but kept our 2nd place position and the placings tightened up even more. Show jumping proved to be tough as I watched the first rider drop three rails. Hannah had a great warm up and didn't feel tired at all the from the cross country. She headed to the ring and knew what she was there to do. She jumped double clean - the only double clean at the 2* and Intermediate level! She was fabulous and we finished in 2nd place - couldn't have asked for anything more.
Juliette - also known as the wonder pony - was fabulous as well. She put in a lovely dressage test scoring a 40.5 to put her in 11th place out of 15 riders. No worries - she always makes up the placings on the cross country & in show jumping. She ran a lovely course - plenty of air time over the training level fences and of course no notice to the fact that she is just a 14.1 hand pony! She jumped a fabulous show jumping round and due to rider error she had a rail on the last fence. She moved up from 11th after dressage to finish in 4th place! What a good pony!
Just Truffle - a young horse owned by Ginny Buell was my third ride for the weekend. She was green and showed a little tension previous to mounting on Thursday so we decided to longe her a little before the lesson and before dressage on Friday. The longing helped her relax and she was able to focus on her test. She put in a steady test - a little behind the vertical at times but scored a 36.2. On XC she was a little green but jumped each fence and only added 4 time faults to her score. Show jumping she lost her head a little - each fence was fine but in between the fences was quite scary! She got around the course but definitely needs more ring experience! I wish Ginny the best of luck with her future shows!
Maria had a great weekend on Pete in the Jr. Training - to make up for the stop at Spring Bay early in the year she jumped a clean cross country round and Pete didn't even look twice at the water! She lost her mind a little in the show jumping ring and forgot where she was going, but thanks to her mega lead she was able to have two rails and still take first place!
Kelsie Holbrook rode Tess is the Jr. Beginner Novice and had a wonderful show. For never scoring under a mid to high 40 the 26.7 looked pretty good. She jumped double clean on the XC and a double clean show jumping round the finish in first place on her dressage score.
It was a great weekend for Liz Lund Eventing!!
Next we headed off to Carriage House Combined test to bump the horses up a notch. Unfortunately Pete, Maria's horse had some skin issues on his legs and wasn't able to attend (she is in Kansas now attending Queeny Park - her first show on Pete without me - good luck to her!) Juliette stepped it up quite a bit for her best dressage score to date! Not only was it her best score but it was her first time at the Preliminary level. She jumped amazingly throughout the show jumping course with once again (will I ever learn?!) having a rail at the last fence again! She jumped through the large course very well & finished in 4th place.
Hannah performed a lovely test at her first Advanced. She had lovely changes in the warm up but grew anticipatory in the test but scored a respectable 37.8. She jumped a double clean round in the show jump ring just in time to clear out before a storm hit...even though the storm only lasted about 10 minutes it was nice to be done before the bad weather.
Students Kristine and Janelle had a great show also. This was one of Kristine's first shows and she rode fabulously and finished successfully! Her daughter Janelle rode a lovely test and finished in the Beginner Novice in 2nd place. It was a great day again for Liz Lund Eventing!
The Ralph Hill clinic today went very well! Juliette jumped very well today we jumped a X from the trot (6 pony strides) to an oxer was one exercise. Then we trotted into a 3 bounce line. Then we had 3 - 10 foot canter poles to an oxer with a pole on the landing side. A tight turn to a 21 foot one stride vertical to vertical. They were all great exercises and the pony was great!
On Hannah we did something slightly different just to sharpen her up. We started with the X to the oxer exercise and the bounce exercise then just worked on jumping to oxer with a placement rail on take off from really tight turns. It really got her thinking and she was jumping very well.
Right now I am also working on finishing up one online class - creative writing - which when I am done I will post my story on here! Then I start two more online classes on Monday...eeek! Then one more late this summer and two in the fall and I should be done with school!! I can't wait!
So far I am off to an A rated Hunter/Jumper show the 23rd-27th of May at Alpine on Juliette to do some jumper classes with her and see if anyone in the jumper world is interested in her as a jumper pony. Sue Goepfert jokingly said she would find 2800 people to donate $10 so we could start a Pony Syndicate so I could keep the ride on Juliette! Wouldn't that be fun!
Following the H/J show I am taking Hannah to a dressage show at Alpine on July 3/4 to do some 3rd and 4th level tests to get some ring time. Then we are off to Montana to run the Open Intermediate at Rebecca Farm. I have heard wonderful things about the place!
After that I plan on doing the CIC2* at Richland Park HT in MI during August & then the Open Intermediate at Otter Creek in the fall. Following Otter Creek I will be aiming for a CCI2* at Fair or Chatahoochie in October...we shall decide as the time gets closer! I will try and keep in touch more often but with school and a busy teaching and training schedule who knows when I will be back next!
It has been far too long since my last post - but late is better than never!!
I am sitting outside the trailer right now at Carriage House Farm having just finished my ride on Juliette (the wonder pony) in the Ralph Hill clinic. I thought it would be a perfect time to blog!
Well lets see what I have done since last time...I rode in the Jimmy Wofford clinic the weekend before my CIC2* at Otter Creek. I really enjoyed the ring work we did on Saturday and the different exercises Wofford set up. They really made you think about each step along the way. One interesting one I thought he set up was a vertical - perfect 3 strides to an oxer - perfect three strides to another vertical. It rode long from the vertical to oxer and short from oxer to vertical even tho mathematically it should have been perfect. It was a good exercise. The cross country day was pretty easy going and we just did a few small exercises - Hannah performed very well.
Then we were off to Otter Creek Spring and to our first CIC2*. With everything in line thanks to a lot of friends and family we arrived at Otter Creek on Thursday afternoon. Things were a little hectic at first as I had three dressage lessons back to back on all three of the horses I was competing but after that I was able to settle in, get everything organized, do my in barn and teach my own students later in the day. Friday I was up early for dressage. Hannah warmed up pretty well, she wasn't as soft and just stayed a little tense throughout her test but we scored a 64.2 to put us in 2nd place. The cross country looked challenging but very do-able. The three CIC2* riders all huddled in the barn as we waited for the go-ahead to get on our horses and start warming up. There were storms and we had a little over an hour delay then we all mounted and walked up to the warm up. Each rider ran clean on the XC, but we all racked up time because of the footing. We added 27.6 time faults to our score but kept our 2nd place position and the placings tightened up even more. Show jumping proved to be tough as I watched the first rider drop three rails. Hannah had a great warm up and didn't feel tired at all the from the cross country. She headed to the ring and knew what she was there to do. She jumped double clean - the only double clean at the 2* and Intermediate level! She was fabulous and we finished in 2nd place - couldn't have asked for anything more.
Juliette - also known as the wonder pony - was fabulous as well. She put in a lovely dressage test scoring a 40.5 to put her in 11th place out of 15 riders. No worries - she always makes up the placings on the cross country & in show jumping. She ran a lovely course - plenty of air time over the training level fences and of course no notice to the fact that she is just a 14.1 hand pony! She jumped a fabulous show jumping round and due to rider error she had a rail on the last fence. She moved up from 11th after dressage to finish in 4th place! What a good pony!
Just Truffle - a young horse owned by Ginny Buell was my third ride for the weekend. She was green and showed a little tension previous to mounting on Thursday so we decided to longe her a little before the lesson and before dressage on Friday. The longing helped her relax and she was able to focus on her test. She put in a steady test - a little behind the vertical at times but scored a 36.2. On XC she was a little green but jumped each fence and only added 4 time faults to her score. Show jumping she lost her head a little - each fence was fine but in between the fences was quite scary! She got around the course but definitely needs more ring experience! I wish Ginny the best of luck with her future shows!
Maria had a great weekend on Pete in the Jr. Training - to make up for the stop at Spring Bay early in the year she jumped a clean cross country round and Pete didn't even look twice at the water! She lost her mind a little in the show jumping ring and forgot where she was going, but thanks to her mega lead she was able to have two rails and still take first place!
Kelsie Holbrook rode Tess is the Jr. Beginner Novice and had a wonderful show. For never scoring under a mid to high 40 the 26.7 looked pretty good. She jumped double clean on the XC and a double clean show jumping round the finish in first place on her dressage score.
It was a great weekend for Liz Lund Eventing!!
Next we headed off to Carriage House Combined test to bump the horses up a notch. Unfortunately Pete, Maria's horse had some skin issues on his legs and wasn't able to attend (she is in Kansas now attending Queeny Park - her first show on Pete without me - good luck to her!) Juliette stepped it up quite a bit for her best dressage score to date! Not only was it her best score but it was her first time at the Preliminary level. She jumped amazingly throughout the show jumping course with once again (will I ever learn?!) having a rail at the last fence again! She jumped through the large course very well & finished in 4th place.
Hannah performed a lovely test at her first Advanced. She had lovely changes in the warm up but grew anticipatory in the test but scored a respectable 37.8. She jumped a double clean round in the show jump ring just in time to clear out before a storm hit...even though the storm only lasted about 10 minutes it was nice to be done before the bad weather.
Students Kristine and Janelle had a great show also. This was one of Kristine's first shows and she rode fabulously and finished successfully! Her daughter Janelle rode a lovely test and finished in the Beginner Novice in 2nd place. It was a great day again for Liz Lund Eventing!
The Ralph Hill clinic today went very well! Juliette jumped very well today we jumped a X from the trot (6 pony strides) to an oxer was one exercise. Then we trotted into a 3 bounce line. Then we had 3 - 10 foot canter poles to an oxer with a pole on the landing side. A tight turn to a 21 foot one stride vertical to vertical. They were all great exercises and the pony was great!
On Hannah we did something slightly different just to sharpen her up. We started with the X to the oxer exercise and the bounce exercise then just worked on jumping to oxer with a placement rail on take off from really tight turns. It really got her thinking and she was jumping very well.
Right now I am also working on finishing up one online class - creative writing - which when I am done I will post my story on here! Then I start two more online classes on Monday...eeek! Then one more late this summer and two in the fall and I should be done with school!! I can't wait!
So far I am off to an A rated Hunter/Jumper show the 23rd-27th of May at Alpine on Juliette to do some jumper classes with her and see if anyone in the jumper world is interested in her as a jumper pony. Sue Goepfert jokingly said she would find 2800 people to donate $10 so we could start a Pony Syndicate so I could keep the ride on Juliette! Wouldn't that be fun!
Following the H/J show I am taking Hannah to a dressage show at Alpine on July 3/4 to do some 3rd and 4th level tests to get some ring time. Then we are off to Montana to run the Open Intermediate at Rebecca Farm. I have heard wonderful things about the place!
After that I plan on doing the CIC2* at Richland Park HT in MI during August & then the Open Intermediate at Otter Creek in the fall. Following Otter Creek I will be aiming for a CCI2* at Fair or Chatahoochie in October...we shall decide as the time gets closer! I will try and keep in touch more often but with school and a busy teaching and training schedule who knows when I will be back next!
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