Ride Strong 2012!

Ride Strong 2012! Live Strong, Ride Stronger!

The 2012 season has officially begun! With a few clinics under my belt, I am ready for Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials May 5th & 6th! Looking forward to getting Lucy back in the ring, out on a cross country course & jumping around the show ring at the Novice level! Hannah's 2012 debut won't be long after Lucy's at Otter Creek Spring Horse Trials May 18-20 at the Intermediate level. Lucy will also be running another Novice at OCF.

The Spring Forward Clinic at the Leatherdale Equine Center was a success. I rode Hannah with Kate Phillips on Saturday and we worked on the Intermediate Test B that I will be riding at Otter Creek Spring. We worked on improving her walk and canter as well as those fun walk/canter canter/walk transitions that she loves so much! I really enjoyed riding with Kate and hearing her input as to test riding vs. training riding. The next day I rode Lucy with Jane Braddock in the Ride a Course. I jumped Lucy through a few courses, working on keeping a nice forward steady rhythm.

I had a nice 10 day long "vacation" at Ken and Alison's while they were out of town in France. It only added a little more driving and 7 more horses to my work schedule! It is nice to be busy! I love spending time at their farm with their horses, they are so nice and fun to ride. From green babies to school masters. The dogs of course are the best part! Tini & Cozmo!

April 14/15 was a long awaited Ralph Hill Clinic! Held at North Brook Eventing Center, Jan Fisk's farm in Stillwater. It was, as usual, amazing! Both Lucy & Hannah jumped great. The first day we did some grid work and diagonal lines. The second day we weren't able to go out on the XC so we made do with what great stuff Jan had in her indoor to set up a makeshift indoor XC course! Hogsbacks, rolltops, triple bar, fake weldon's wall, chevrons and more! We even had a start box! It was so great to see Ralph doing so well. He has such great advice for all the riders and horses. We tried a new noseband on Hannah and she responded much quicker in it. Look forward to continuing to test it out!

I also took the girls over to Kim Barone's Farm, Raven Ridge, in Watertown, MN for a jump lesson. Kim had some great tips for more ride ability between fences on both the girls. I really enjoy working with Kim - she is a hunter/jumper rider and has really helped our show jumping improve.

Here is another sign that student Sammy Kelly made for me!

So as the winter has come to an end, my new singing, tambourine playing career has begun! I make regular appearances with Chris Brooks and the Silver City Boys Band at a variety of locations. Contact me for more information on our upcoming schedule! :)

Looking ahead we are off to school cross country with Jenny Warner at Otter Creek Farm on Friday April 20th. Looking forward to our first cross country outing! The following weekend we are off to Lexington, Kentucky to attend the ROLEX 4*. So excited! Ralph Hill and Eric Dierks are leading us on a Cross Country walk on Friday! It will be a great experience! Thanks to the Shirley's and Tracy Adams for this great trip!

We are still loving our barn we moved to last fall. Tracy has been nothing but accommodating and amazing! The polo fields right down the road are a GREAT place to do gallop sets, as well as all of the trails to do trot sets on. We are within hacking distance of four different cross country courses as well! I am looking forward to the weather finally warming up and riding in the sun!

Volleyball season has officially begun. My Tuesday women's league, Rack City, won our first game of the year. The Thursday co-ed team, The Flying Squirrels also won our first game! I am subbing on another Thursday team and we lost 1-2, but it is still so fun! I have been working out with Sam Berg at SNAP Fitness in Delano three days a week too! I am signed up to run in the Warrior Dash on July 1st in Afton, MN. It is a 5k obstacle course and looks likes a blast! I am also hoping to do a rollerblading marathon in September! Lots of personal goals!

All my students are doing great as well! Have a few more clients moving into the barn in the next few months, shopping for horses, signing up for shows and having fun! Lucy and Hannah are officially entered in their first shows! April is almost over and then the show season will be underway! I will also be doing another 2012 Liz Lund Eventing clothing order - so stay tuned for details! The Liz Lund Eventing/Ride Strong 2012 Bracelets have been ordered! If interested they are $10 a bracelet - contact me!

So stay tuned for XC schooling updates & ROLEX updates - soon to come! In the meantime have fun and RIDE STRONG!

Galloping in March?

Yes it is true! We are able to do gallop sets in March! How thrilling! The girls have been going down the road, doing trot sets, gallop sets and getting ready for the start of our season! It is very quiet at the farm right now, all but one of my kids are gone on spring break and I am busy working the horses and keeping them tuned up for their return.

I have been very busy working hard at the gym. 3 days a week with Sam Berg, my personal trainer at the Delano Snap Fitness. Oh man I have been sore! I have noticed the results and lost 1.5%! Whoop! We just signed up for the Warrior Dash on July 1st too! I look forward to that tough challenge!

So I have been working hard in the gym and on horse back. Doing trot sets in two point, working on really strengthening my lower leg position and getting back into "summer show shape".

It was great to go off to my first clinic of the season on Saturday! The Pierro's brought in Mike Mendell, Mike has competed through the CCI****, including spending two years training and competing in the UK, Ireland and Europe competing at Burghley. Mike also has competed at the Grand Prix level of show jumping and in upper level dressage. In addition, he has worked with young horses extensively from their first experiences with riders onward.

I really enjoyed his instruction. It is great to be picked on! We got really picky about my position and worked on just tweaking things slightly that improved my ride and made my horses happier. Worked on trying not to do my horse's jobs for them and just creating a forward rhythm and balance. He talked about how legs create, the seat contains and allows and the shoulders control the rhythm. We turned my toe out slightly and talked about landing more into my heel then on my thigh and knee. I really liked this change. We also discussed in detail what a half halt is. The half halt starts with the shoulders, close your shoulder blades together, then moved downward. The back, the butt and then finally the thighs. Of course the half halt is always begun with adding your leg, balancing how much of a half halt you need and how much leg you need. The hands always stay quiet. I found these articles written by Jim Wofford very interesting on leg position and galloping position very interesting.

Why a Vertical Stirrup Leather is Critical on Cross-Country - by: Jim Wofford

Improve Your Galloping Position for Cross-Country - by: Jim Wofford

Of course we have been road riding like crazy! Group trail rides, one day we even rode all the way into Delano and made a few stops! Lots of great outings over the last few weeks! The weather is supposed to be a little bit more "spring" like now, with some rain and cooler temps, but that is fine with me as long as we are well out of winter!

This next weekend is the Spring Forward clinic held at the Leatherdale Equine Center at the U of M. Kate Phillips will be doing a dressage demo clinic on Sunday, which I will be riding the Intermediate Test B on Hannah. Jane Braddock will be doing a ride a course demo clinic on Saturday in which I will be riding Lucy. It should be another fun outing! The next weekend is Easter, I will be busy farm sitting for 10 days, the following weekend is the Ralph Hill clinic, the next weekend I hope to go schooling at Otter Creek and the next weekend is ROLEX!!! So excited!

That is all for now - stay tuned! Happy Spring!

Conditioning

Conditioning Discussion 03/03/2012

Before you even begin thinking about how to condition your horse you must acknowledge the basic of your horses health:
-Teeth floated
-Teeth, jaw and mouth professionally floated every 6-12 months
-Level biting and chewing surface, no lesions or abscesses causing pain or inflammation
-No sharp hooks or edges, no chipped or broken teeth, no dead teeth which need removing
-clean smelling breath
-Proper alignment
-Health and circulation can pass from head to tail, foot to hear and throughout spinal system
-Chiropractor on a regular basis (a few times per year)
-A girthy horse may have a rib out, if your horse is girthy call a chiropractor (Dr. Kyla Awes!) Horse’s ribs move and can easily dislodge which causes discomfort and sever pain under the saddle.
-Ribs and vertebrae can easily be dislocated by just playing or rolling the field or stall
-Properly cared for feet
-Horses feet, depending on the season should be done anywhere from 4-8 weeks
-Make sure your vet and farrier are in communication about the needs for shoeing
-Keep an eye out for thrush or cracking and shrinkage
-Proper Nutrition
-Make sure your horse is getting good quality hay and a proper amount of grain depending on their weight and dietary needs
-The more work your horse has, the more food they will need
-Supplements are up to the individual owner, trainer, vet and farrier
-Free choice mineral and/or salt blocks
-Others
-Make sure your horse is worm free, doing a fecal sample for your veteriniarian will help you to create a de-worming program for your horse
-Regular vaccines depending on your area
-A proper baseline fitness in order to bring your horse into harder work


Once you have met all of the above requirements and have been working your horse on a regular basis you are able to begin to prepare for going to a show. Whether it a dressage show, eventing show, hunter/jumpers or any other discipline of your choosing – your horse needs to be in shape. You can build off of your current program – discuss a specific plan of action with a knowledgeable person like your trainer or your veterinarian before creating a program.

Depending on your schedule and how often you are able to ride, you will want to create a program suited to yours and your horse’s needs. For a horse preparing for an event at any lower level, I highly recommend riding at least 4 days a week. For horses competing at the training level or higher I recommend 6 days a week. Some horses may need more fitness training depending on their breed and some can even do two a day workouts.

When preparing for an upper level event, which requires more conditioning and fitness work, I schedule my “gallop” days every 5 days. Here would be an example schedule leading up to an event at the Intermediate level at the end of May.

-Throughout the winter – regular light work, walk/trot/canter, gymnastic work, small course work
-Starting March – back into full time work (5 days minimum) schooling harder dressage movements, longer rides, trot sets, and starting to do slow canter sets (3x3 canters).
-April – (6 days a week) Longer trot and canter sets (20 minute trots up to 3 times a week, 3x4 and 3x5 canters)
-May – Building to 3x6 canter/gallop sets, incorporating some short sprints, increasing trot sets to 30 minutes


When doing my trot sets in the indoor, I will incorporate those after a shorter dressage school, and as the weather gets better I may even do two rides a day, a dressage ride in the morning and a trot set in the evening.

Through April and May I would continue to do harder dressage schools and incorporate more jumping. Including exercises that may be seen at a horse show like triple combinations, bending lines, corners, skinnies and more. By incorporating these cross country questions into your show jumping school you are able to school the questions, without actually having to have the cross country fences.

Example 10 day schedule:

Day 1 – Dressage
Day 2 – Gallop sets (I always begin with trot work, at my level 20m to start)
Day 3 – Dressage & trot sets
Day 4 – Jump school
Day 5 – Day Off
Day 6 – Dressage & trot sets
Day 7 – Gallop sets
*Keep in mind you do not want to do gallop sets or jump schools back to back and before and after you do a gallop set you want to do some sort of schooling to loosen them up, even if you just get on and hack
Day 8 – Dressage & trot sets
Day 9 – Jump school
Day 10 – Day Off


This is what a typical program would look like for Hannah B. Of course take into account that sometimes you just can’t make it out to the barn, or you may not be showing at this level, you may have an emergency, lameness, too hard/soft to gallop, etc. The lower the levels the less time you have to spend conditioning, but you still must condition. Your “gallops” and trot sets will be shorter too.

It is important not to jump right into doing too much canter work. Trot work is the most important. It really helps to build up your horse’s endurance and strengthen their tendons. There are many theories out there on what the best way is to do it, but I think that trotting on either pavement or gravel is the best way to strengthen their tendons. This is more of the old school way because trotting on harder surfaces tends to cause more concussion on the horses joints. But trotting on softer surfaces tends to put more pressure on the horses tendons. You will adapt your own ways as you become more experienced.

Another important part of conditioning a horse is to know their TPR.
Take their TEMPERATURE when resting and after a hard workout.
Take their PULSE when resting and after a hard workout.
Take their RESPIRATION when resting and after a hard workout.


Cooling your horse down is just as important is the conditioning work itself. This is another good reason to know your horse’s resting TPR. Other signs to look for, that your horse is cooled out, breathing has returned to normal, no flairing of the nostrils and veins are no longer visible. Especially on a hot day after a hard conditioning workout like gallop sets, immediately get cold water on your horse. Their neck and inside their hind legs are great places to begin sponging/hosing because they have large veins in these areas. Just like an upper level horse after a cross country run, you need to get ice cold water on that horse as soon as possible. Granted you shouldn’t be working your horse to this extent, this is just an extreme.

Just as important as your cool down is your warm up. Always doing a 5-10 minute warm up no matter the work you are doing is important to get your horse’s blood flowing and heart rate up slowly. You wouldn’t hop right out of bed and go sprinting without warming up. Especially on your gallop days, you want to make sure to start out with a solid trot set. With Hannah her trot set warm up is 20 minutes before she does her gallops. Starting in the beginning you start with shorter times, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and building until you are at the desired time for your horse’s required level of fitness.

Conditioning Ourselves

So we spend all this time conditioning our horses but what kind of attention are we giving ourselves? I think it is just as important to condition yourself as it is your horse. If you expect your horse to be in top physical, mental and emotional condition you need to be as well. Being aware of your own physical fitness can be hard, especially at a younger age, well maybe even more at an older age! I just began working one on one with a personal trainer to begin to educate myself more about physical fitness and nutrition. Just like we study how much to feed our horses and when and what supplements they need and how much work they need – we must do the same. Make sure you stay physically active and eat healthy. Your parents or a personal trainer can help you come up with a fitness and nutrition plan for yourself. Also it is important to eat quality foods when doing harder work, at a horse show especially. Too much sugar and candy will make you crash, you want foods that will give you energy and keep you energized throughout the weekend. Electrolytes are a good way to replenish salts that you sweat out in your body as well. Same for the horses!

New Year

Ah well I haven't even posted a 2012 blog yet! Happy 2012! Already so much has happened and I can't believe we are almost heading into March and yes of course I am still stuck in MN. Although the winter hasn't been too bad, we still don't have any shows like they do in the south!

Although I wish I could be showing right now, we have had a fun time up here in MN. I have been hosting monthly group jumping clinics with ground demos like braiding, wrapping, conditioning, etc and hope to continue those throughout the year - of course depending on how many open weekends we may have!

I finally put together our tentative show schedule for the summer and I am SO looking forward to it! OF course it depends on how the spring is and if we can get out schooling. Right now we have plans to school before our trip to ROLEX, but of course we will not know if that will be happening until the day of!

Speaking of ROLEX - I am so excited to be attending this year! The last time I was at ROLEX was 2004 and worked on the Safety Committee with Katy Bloomquist. It was great to get to see behind the scenes and everything. I am so excited to go this year with my clients and new barn owner, Tracy Adams.

Well this blog is all over the place - lets get down to it! Here is the calendar so far for the year!

APRIL:
April 14-15 – Ralph Hill @ NBEC
April 21 – OCF XC Schooling (Lucy & Hannah)
April 26-30 - ROLEX

MAY:
May 4-6 – Catalpa Horse Trials
Liz on Lucy – Novice
May 12 – XC Schooling
May 17-20 – OCF Spring
Liz on Lucy – Novice
Liz on Hannah – Intermediate

JUNE:
June 2 – St. Croix Dressage Show
June 3 – Carriage House Combined Test
Liz on Lucy – Novice/Training
Liz on Hannah – Advanced
June 8-10 – Dressage at Alpine
June 16-17 – Ralph Hill Clinic @ Wildwood
June 20-24 – Alpine Farms H/J
Liz on Lucy
Liz on Hannah

JULY:
July 7-8 – Dressage at Alpine
July 13-15 – Roebke’s Run HT
Liz on Lucy – Training?
July 20-22 – Pony Cup (kids)

AUGUST:
Aug 2-4 – C3, B, A Ratings (Morgan-C3, Maria-A)
Aug 4-5 – Ralph Hill Clinic @ Jane’s
Aug 9-11 – OCF Summer HT
Liz on Lucy – Training?
Liz on Hannah – Intermediate
Aug 18-19 – OCF Dressage
Aug 21-27 – Richland Park HT (MI)
Liz on Lucy – Training?
Liz on Hannah – Advanced?

SEPTEMBER:
Aug 31 – Sept 2 – Steepleview HT
Liz on Lucy - Training
Sept 8-9 – Ralph Hill Clinic @ Schweiss
Sept 20-23 – OCF Fall HT
Liz on Lucy
Liz on Hannah - Intermediate

OCTOBER:
Oct 5-7 – Roebke’s Run HT EMILY
Liz on Lucy

Of course note the ? marks following the levels in the fall - it all depends on how the season is progressing and how the girls are doing! That would be the goal assuming all goes as planned, but as we all know with horses, that is a rare occurrence!

So in preparation for what is going to be an amazing year, I myself have hit the gym in order to get myself in the best physical shape that I can to be able to perform my best. Just like we do for our horses, we must do for ourselves. I started my personal training sessions at SNAP Fitness this week with my trainer Sam, she is great! We are making a whole new nutrition plan as well so that I can start fueling myself properly to become the better athlete that I want to be. I will be meeting with Sam 3x/week and she will give me a plan for the days I am not with her. Whooop! Fitness and better health here we come!

The girls are doing great! Coming back into full work now. Schooling movements on the flat, jump schooling and getting some indoor trot sets in! I can't believe it is almost time to start gallops! I hope the snow melts quickly & March is a friendly month for us! Lucy's jumping is getting much better. She is much straighter and thinking quicker on her feet. Thanks to my crash test dummy, Maria, who has been jumping her weekly! The bounce and gridwork seems to be helping her a lot! Hannah is jumping of course too, she is always so much fun to jump. Although she has quite a unique way of going, I like that way and am accustomed to it. I love my Hannah B. Of course 'I Love Lucy' too! They are both going to the Leatherdale Equine Center at the end of the month to do some demo rides. Hannah will be demoing a Preliminary dressage test with Kate Phillips and Lucy will be demoing a show jumping course, how to ride a course, with Jane Braddock. Looking forward to getting out of the "house" for the first time this year! The vet is coming soon to draw coggins tests on all of the horses so we will be all set for the year! This is the first year in awhile that my good friend Jen Johnson won't be doing our coggins! She is living in Washington now with her family and animals! We miss you Jen!

On another note, we finally have snow here! We got hit hard Tuesday night and a little more last night. Although the snow we got was heavy and wet - it did make everything look more beautiful! Of course until it melts and we have mud lakes in our pastures! It has been a good winter this year! I guess that is all for now - stay warm, drive safe and get those ponies back in shape!

Happy Hoildays Tune Up

Last year we had around 8 inches of snow outside already...as of now I just got done riding cross country at Carriage House Farm with Lainey Ashker! Heck - I'd take this any year over having snow on the ground already!

Hmm anyway so this blog clearly was started a month ago and left unfinished only to be started again on Christmas Eve while I sit on the couch at my mom's by the fire place recalling many memories from the year. Starting where we left off...

So yes, I rode in the Lainey Ashker clinic on November 13th. To sum it up it was awesome. Lucy of course, was a star, she knows it. Everything is about her and everything is over dramatic...the photos say enough about her personality!

Of course, as we seem to do best, we had to have a Liz Lund Eventing Party. Thanks to the host - The Shirley Family, for allowing us to have our party at their lovely home. The night was filled with over-eating, sharing some libations, gift exchange, hand stand contests and lots of chatter.

So far winter, as stated above, has been very mild...well pretty much non-existent. No snow and it is Christmas Eve....I mean what has this world come to! Well anyway it has made for some happier feet...well except on those few real cold days we had, the feet did NOT appreciate that too much. One of these years my feet will be the cause of me heading south for the winter...I'll blame it on the toes. So you will need to decide? Are you coming with me?

Lessons have been going well. There has been a very consistent schedule now that kids are in school and we have no shows or events on the weekends to attend. We had our first lessons with Alison Sader Larson at our new farm and are looking forward to having her in occasionally for tune ups. I am hoping to get some weekend group jumping lessons started - aiming for our first date to be January 7th. These groups will consist of gridwork and gymnastics followed by a ground session, learning about either braiding, wrapping, longing, clipping, or any other topic that is suggested!

Although the weather hasn't been horrible, there hasn't been any recent trail riding. I do have to say we have gotten quite used to our big, beautiful, well lit, well insulated, and well heated arena. We love it. We LOVE our new farm and of course the owner Tracy and all of her staff. On our fall trail rides the kids learned many different things from riding in groups, to crossing roads, riding on other properties, what to do in the case of....getting kicked, getting run off with, falling off, etc. Yes, yes, we do have fun!

Both the girls are fat, hairy and happy. Enjoying light work over the Holidays, well really light work since the end of the season, but soon to go back to some regular rides and tune ups so we can start to focus and plan for 2012, which is really right around the corner! The kids all seem happy, although we do miss the few that were not able to join us at EF. Savannah found a great new home for her previous horse, Curb Appeal, better known as Grady around the barn. She is currently on the hunt for a new partner.

Last but not least...as we head into the New Year and grow older...we must accept and welcome the challenges and adventures ahead of us. Huge congratulations to Maria, my one and only right hand (wo)man for her early acceptance to Standford. She will be off to sunny California next fall in pursuit of new knowledge and the college experience.

So next year I will be on the search of somehow finding someone who can fill Maria's very, very large shoes. Job requirements: groom, braid, drive rig, drive horses to and from clinics/lessons/shows/vet when needed upon no notice, teach, train, take order, the ability to say yes no matter what, take amazing photos and then at the end of the year collaborate them into a book, draw/paint/doodle the photos, listen, give advice, talk, care, have the ability to spell check, grammar check and provide input when writing papers, articles, letters or really anything...Ok anyway I'll stop before I realize to severity of the problem...maybe a few people would like to take on a few different areas?? Yes this is my way of saying Maria has been my lifesaver since day 1, before I had even known it. Even though I thought she was a little strange as she would arrive to her lessons, helmet already strapped to her head as she is pulling in the driveway, that was just a little insight as to how motivated and prepared this girl was to take on the world and ready to learn. She will go far in life and I hope to continue to be a large part of it.

Ahhh so yes as times change, so do we and we must learn to grow and adapt. We are all surprisingly stronger than we think, well I'd like to believe I am at least, and as we are presented with life's challenges it is all about how you react, how each little event shapes the rest of our lives. Just like this list of the timeline of top selling Christmas gifts (http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/769/a-timeline-of-the-top-selling-christmas-gifts-ever/) well we continue to change and each item or event that is new in our lives creates a list. Regrets and mistakes are just memories made.

Thank you everyone for being here, supporting me and the team. I am so looking forward to 2012 and well, green grass and the sun producing a little more heat...Have a GREAT Christmas or whichever Holiday you chose to celebrate. We all have so much to be thankful for - goodnight!

Cooking...

So for anyone who knows me knows that well, I don't normally cook. I don't really know how, I'm not one of those who can grab this and that out of the cupboards and fridge and throw it together to make some wonderful masterpiece. Well I thought I would give it a shot tonight. Um not the grab this and that part, I actually consulted an iPhone app with tons of great recipes. I found one for Filet Mignon, which I bought Rib Eyes instead due to the lack of meat in the meat department of my small grocery store...but anyway it also had a great garlic shrimp cream sauce. I wandered through the grocery store, making sure to get calls in to my mom and Connie Shirley to be sure to get all of the correct ingredients, I mean if it calls for heavy cream, why don't they just call it heavy whipping cream, since you know, that is what they call it in the store...hmph.

After all ingredients were collected I headed home to begin to prepare my findings. I marinated the rib eyes in a mix of red wine, soy sauce, garlic powder and some salt and pepper. I then soaked cut up green, red, yellow, orange peppers and onions in an olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper. I prepared the shrimp by removing the tails and cutting them in half. Things were ready so I began the cooking process.

I heated up the skillet to cook the rib eyes in and once it was warm I placed the rib eyes in the skillet and let them begin the sizzle. I then melted some butter and olive oil in another pan letting each ingredient melt before adding the next for the sauce. I added some Chardonnay, garlic, salt, pepper, more butter, olive oil and shallots. I then added in the shrimp and let them cook until they became a nice pink color. I placed the peppers on a banking sheet added a little more salt and pepper and placed them in the oven at 400 degrees. The kitchen was starting to smell good!!!

I kept an eye on the rib eyes and kept them turned so as to not overcook one side and cut into one to make sure they had a nice pink color in the middle, yum! The sauce was almost done so I heated up the potatoes and checked on the peppers in the oven. Everything was coming together nicely! Once everything was done I prepared each plate. The rib eyes were topped with the shrimp sauce which ended up not thickening as much as I thought it should so it basically ran all over the plate to mix in with the peppers and mashed potatoes, but thankfully it worked out perfectly and complimented both the peppers and the potatoes. Bryan & Todd (Bryan's brother) were thoroughly impressed and very full at the end of the meal! HA cooking success!

Very good for my first time really cooking a dinner...if anyone heard my last cooking baking story they would be impressed. I mean no one else I know has mixed up flour and powdered sugar, but I can tell you first hand it can be done! At least the second batch of cookies turned out! So I think I am going to continue to try and cook dinners on Monday nights, so stay tuned for more delicious updates!

If anyone wants the recipe click here!

Fall Colors & Winter Ideas

So as we have been settling into our new barn and show season has geared down we have all found a new passion...TRAIL RIDING! I can't believe the weather and how trail riding cooperative it has been. Elysium Farms has many many trails nearby, also located right down the road are the Polo fields which we have our own races against one another. Quite fun! Both of my girls are hairy, well fed (fat...) and enjoying their pasture at the new barn! Wheelock Whitney's 600 acres of perfectly groomed trails are right down the road as well where we enjoy trying to navigate and learn our way around the area.

Everyone heading out to hit the trails!

One of the many wonderful trails!

Stopping for a quick bite to eat at the Ox Yoke!

Lucy enjoying her new life as an eventer!

Our pile of mostly Charles Owen helmets while we went in to the Ox Yoke for lunch!

As we all are getting settled in for winter and waiting for the time to change tonight, I'm trying to brainstorm ways to stay motivated to "move" this winter and not just begin my hibernation of couch sleeping and tv watching so I joined InFit, a local gym that offers a variety of classes. So far I've taken a spin and yoga class, looking forward to kettlebell classes, kickboxing and many others! Winter volleyball has started and I play on a team with Bryan and four others on Wednesday evenings - so far undefeated, hope to keep the trend going!

Oh & I took up hunting this year! One of my students asked me if I enjoy killing things...sort of an awkward question but I'll answer anyway, it is the whole experience that is enjoyable - not necessarily the taking of poor defenseless animals lives...BUT I do enjoy eating meat, and somebody has to put dinner on the table! (HA if anyone knows me you know that I am NOT that person!) So I went up North to Remer, MN with Bryan, his uncle Larry & cousin Justin. Yes I got to kick back and be a guy for the weekend - it was quite fun! We ate a lot of meat and drank some beer of course. We headed out hunting each day in our camo and orange tromping through the woods looking for grouse. We spotted some and of course Bryan the hunting master shot the first one, Larry got the second and thanks to my hunting guide (Bryan) I was able to get one as well! Check it out!

That is the extent of my killing thus far...we went out bow hunting for deer in a few different tree stands and the ground blind but nothing came in. We spent one night down in Fairfax but again nothing close enough. Missed rifle opener this weekend but am enjoying my time at home relaxing for once!

So I've decided to try and keep up a winter blog as much as possible...things to do in the fall and winter: (if you're not lucky enough to go south for the winter season....)

- Shave horses. Of course this is as much fun as you make it. Last year we decided shaving letters and shapes into our horses rumps was a good way to make this more enjoyable!

- Trail ride while the weather holds. Of course as you can see we have been doing plenty of this so far! Who knows, maybe even when the snow flies we will make it out on the trails!

- Indoor group jumping days. So far we have this planned Thursdays after school and it has proven to be a blast! It is great to get all the kids at the farm at the same time and watch everyone struggle through the gymnastic exercises and circle torture bettering their riding!

- Plan a party. Hopefully we will be planning this before Holiday season - stay tuned for updates!

- Work out...well we all know how fun this can be in the winter but coming into the slow season and holiday season we all know to well how easy it is to pack on the pounds! Join InFit with me and we can take some classes together! I also am hoping to do the WARRIOR DASH early this summer so better get started training now! Trust me if I can get myself to the gym you can too! Rumor has it sports bras are on sale at Target too!

- Stalk Eventing Nation. http://www.eventingnation.com/

- Stalk Liz Lund Eventing . www.lizlundeventing.blogspot.com

- Join something - indoor volleyball team, rec hockey league, a book club, take a cooking class.

- Get your Holiday shopping done early - also making gifts can be more fun and personal to those you care about!

- Read - Well for me I typically read horsey books - one of my favorite sports psych books is Mind Gym - check that out for the winter and get your head ready to get in the game next show season! Other favorites are exercise books - 101 Jumping Exercises will keep you entertained in the indoor! As well as the Dressage book.

OK Now onto the real winter activities:

- Get a group together & have an ice skating party!

- Go sledding!

- Go skiing/snowboarding!

- Build a snow fort & make snow angels!

-My personal favorite is to go for a sleigh ride - I mean most people should go to a place that offers sleigh rides in exchange for money, but I like to keep it cheap and jerry rig my own contraption and attach it to Hannah and enjoy being pulled about in the snow!

-Another one is go on a road trip & video tape it Well if you can't go on a road trip just make a video...here are two of my favorites!
Florida 2010 & Janelle & Aanya :) (You may need to be friends with Aanya in order to view that video...but it is a great one!)

- Start a blog and try and find ways to entertain yourself by writing meaningless thoughts and posting them publicly not knowing really if anyone is actually reading them...hey I have fun doing it!

- Attend your Association's banquets! Tomorrow we kick off banquet season with Lead Hound Pony Club's year end banquet - looking forward to seeing everyone in the same place one more time this year! We will also have the CSDEA banquet coming up and I would love to attend the USEA Banquet one of these years!

- Well that is enough to keep you busy for awhile...I'm sure I will be back with some more random thoughts & ideas shortly! Trying to plan a Liz Lund Eventing party too - so stay tuned for more information on that one! Enjoy the weather while you still can!!!