Welcome Lucy!

Liz Lund Eventing would like to welcome it's newest member! Rhine Maiden (aka Lucy) has made the transition from dressage horse to aspiring event horse! She is a 2003 Hanoverian Mare by Rohdiamant and out of Desert Sun. She has successfully shown through 3rd level dressage and is trained through PSG. Liz purchased her from dressage trainer's Alison Sader Larson & Ken Larson. She just recently began her jumping career and has found to love it. When spring rolls around she will be ready to hit the turf and test out the waters to see if cross country will be her thing! Liz hopes the best for this little talented mare and has her eye on her for awhile!

Stay tuned for updates on Lucy as she progresses in her jumper training.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi Everyone! Done longing horses for the day, time to get ready to eat lots of food and be thankful!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for so many things! Most of all my parents, they have stuck with me through the good and the bad. I don't know what I would do without my mom. I would like to thank John Bergstrom, my step-dad, for putting up with this one crazy stepdaughter's lifestyle! My dad, who is missed everyday and my sisters, step-sister & step-brother, grandmas & grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc etc...my whole family!

My friends. They never give up on me, even though they probably know I will be in bed because I've worked horses and taught lessons for 10 hours and will probably be up early tomorrow ready to do the same thing!

My horses. Well technically I only own Lady Hannah B, but I am thankful for all the horses I have ridden, currently train and will train in the future. They are who I am.

My horsey-friends & clients. Always there being supportive and helping out, whether it is doing chores at the farm, taking lessons, educational sleepovers, grooming at horse shows, attending schooling shows and events, representing Liz Lund Eventing with their logo wear, or just being there.

The list is never ending...I have had a lot of great opportunities in my life so far and can only hope they will continue to expand. Thanks for everything everyone!

Enjoy your Turkey Day!

Liz Lund Eventing Schooling Show Results 11/20/2010

Lead Line
1st Place - Elise Brann riding Blizzy

Ground Poles
1st Place - Gabi Geraci riding Taco
2nd Place - Aubrey Rossi riding Roo
3rd Place - Elise Brann riding Blizzy
4th Place - KT Harrington riding Phayra

Cross Rails
1st Place - KT Harrington riding Phayra
2nd Place - Mia Geraci riding Blue
3rd Place - Gabi Geraci riding Taco
4th Place - Emily Miller riding Dilli
5th Place - Hannah Gordon riding Riesling

18''-21''
1st Place - KT Harrington riding Phayra
2nd Place - Erin Owen riding Clacny
3rd Place - Mia Geraci riding Blue
4th Place - Gabi Geraci riding Taco
5th Place - Emily Miller riding Dilli
6th Place - Skye Lundahl riding Blizzy
*Other riders - Kati Rossi riding Roo; Hannah Gordon riding Riesling

2'-2'3''
1st Place - Ellen Emrich riding Tango
2nd Place - Erin Owen riding Clancy
3rd Place - Sara Fogelberg riding Joey
4th Place - Janelle Johnson riding Aristotle
5th Place - Emily Miller riding Dilli
6th Place - Olive Youngquist riding Magic
*Other riders - Mia Geraci riding Blue; Hannah Gordon riding Rielsing; Morgan Samuelson riding Sammy


2'6''-2'9''
1st Place - Ellen Emrich riding Tango
2nd Place - Laura Sarff riding Emmy So Easy
3rd Place - Sara Fogelberg riding Joey
4th Place - Morgan Samuelson riding Ricky
5th Place - Janelle Johnson riding Aristotle
*Other riders - Savannah Ruhs riding Grady; Alex Lundahl riding Eclipse; Erin Owen riding Clancy

3'-3'3''
1st Place - Laura Sarff riding Emmy So Easy
2nd Place - Janelle Johnson riding Aristotle
3rd Place - Terri Zenz riding Tango

3'3''-3'6''
1st Place - Terri Zenz riding Tango

Gamblers Choice
1st Place - Laura Sarff riding Emmy So Easy - 51 Points
2nd Place - Ellen Emrich riding Tango - 43 Points
3rd Place - Savannah Ruhs riding Grady - 35 Points
4th Place - Alex Lundahl riding Eclipse - 22 Points

Switch Ride Group A
1st Place - Alex Lundahl riding Grady
2nd Place - Mia Geraci riding Blizzy
3rd Place - Skye Lundahl riding Blue

Switch Ride Group B
1st Place - Savannah Ruhs riding Eclipse
2nd Place - Morgan Samuelson riding Tango
3rd Place - Sara Fogelberg riding Lady Hannah B
4th Place - Terri Zenz riding Joey
5th Place - Ellen Emrich riding Sammy

4 Bar
1st Place - Connie Duff riding Emmy So Easy
2nd Place - Savannah Ruhs riding Grady
3rd Place - Morgan Samuelson riding Ricky
4th Place - Savannah Ruhs riding Eclipse

Chicken (no stirrups)
1st Place - Terri Zenz riding Tango (4ft)
2nd Place - Morgan Samuelson riding Ricky (3'9'')

Congrats to everyone today! Thanks for making today so fun and successful! Stay tuned for more information about the next Liz Lund Eventing Schooling Show tentatively aiming for January 2011!

Time to train...

We had our first snowfall this weekend...well we got around 8 inches of snow! I woke up Saturday morning really early to head out to the farm to load up Hannah and bring her to a nearby farm for the Anne Kursinski clinic. I didn't actually expect the weather men to be right but when I woke up there was already a few inches on the ground!

It took my normal 30m drive a whole hour to get to the farm. Maria was finishing chores and we loaded up Hannah and headed on our way slowly pulling through the unplowed roads in four wheel drive. The clinic was hosted at Kim and Andy Barone's farm in Watertown, MN - Raven Ridge Farm. It is a beautiful and WARM facility, a great place for the clinic.

Anne warmed us up on the flat first. She really emphasized carrying your hands in front of you and stretching long and deep into you heel. She also wanted me to carry myself slightly forward of the vertical, rather than sitting like a "dressage rider". New concept for me but I was more than willing to try it. She wanted to demonstrate her position so she got on Hannah and showed everyone how solid her position was and how we should work on getting ours to match hers. She really liked Hannah and thought she was very athletic.

We then warmed up over a small cross rail. We trotted to the fence, being sure ahead of time we were in two point all the way up to the fence, another new idea for me, but it helped me to stay lighter on Hannah's back. We then had to drop our stirrups on landing and halt straight. A very good exercise for balance and straightness. Here is a video.

Another exercise we did was to canter an oxer, left hand turn to a forward three stride oxer to oxer and halt at the end in a straight line. Here is a video.

One great thing she had us do to all of our fences was to count up to eight with the rhythm of the horse's stride. Another exercise we did was to jump an oxer four strides to the butterfly vertical, turn left over the arch bridge back to the oxer and then FIVE strides to the butterfly vertical. This helped us work on our eye and adjustability of our horse. Here is a video.

We also worked on a bounce line with three fences in a row. The next day we incorporated more bending and related lines and continued to work on being light.

We also held our reins like driving reins and worked on automatic releases keeping our hands wide and off the horses neck working on our own balance.

It was a good clinic, although things were very different then what I was used to, it is good to be open minded and I am really interested in learning different styles and techniques of riding to become better overall.

Another clinic I attended was one of Daniel Stewart's 'Psycho Clinics' taught by Dori Johnson. It was a great challenge and a lot of fun to ride with my students. The first exercise was called steps. There were 8 cross rails set up right next to each other in a zig zag formation number 1-8 on one side. The rules were that you couldn't cross your path or go to the outsides of fences 1 and 8. We were sent off cantering and Dori would tell us a number to jump...that was easy...then we were sent off cantering and Dori would tell us two numbers...the first number was the number of fences we had to jump and the second was the number that the fences had to add up to. For example, 2-6. So you would go and jump fence 4 and then fence 2, or any combination that adds up to 6 in two fences. Then she gave us three numbers, 7-3-21. The first number was the number fence we had to jump, the second number was the remaining jumps we had left, and the third number was the total of all the fences. So if we started with fence 7, we had two fences left to get 14. Then she would shout 6 evens or odds at us in any order and we had to jump those fences. Then she added three evens or odds at the end of the three numbers and that totally threw me for a loop! It was a lot of fun and the purpose of the clinic was the mentally stress the riders and see how their riding changed. It was a lot of fun!

The next exercise we did was called the box. This was a color and names exercise...more my thing but still challenging! There were two fences on each side of the square, about two strides across the center. You can jump all sorts of combinations. The fences we had were Blue, White, Canada, Teal, Ugly, Purple, Jungle and Green. We had to remember which fences were which and as we were cantering around she would tell us what jumps to jump, gradually adding more and more until we got to 8, Marianne Kelley even attempted 10! I could do 6 really well, but 8 was too much for me. The goal was to figure out an easier way to remember the course. Rather than remembering each individual fence, we would remember lines. Then when we got to 8 different fences, we would remember 4 different lines. It was a great concept to making course memorization easier.

Overall these clinics have been a blast! I am starting up dressage lessons again with Alison Sader Larson and look forward to continuing to work on our fourth level movements. I will also be taking a jumper lesson here and there from some local jumper trainers.

I am proud to announce I am hosing my FIRST ever Liz Lund Eventing (jumper) Schooling Show on November 20th and Trophy Hill Farm! It should be a blast, we have close to 20 different riders and over 45 rounds so far throughout the day! Classes range from lead line to different height classes, to fun classes like 'four-bar' and gamblers choice! Stay tuned to see how it goes!

Stay warm if you aren't headed south for the winter!

Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable - OCF Fall Recap

Otter Creek Fall Horse Trials was a success. I had Lady Hannah B running in the Open Intermediate and Juliette in the Open Preliminary. I had a lot to overcome as I headed into the weekend.

After having the last couple horse shows not go well, I was more nervous. Having prepared with lessons and the Ralph Hill clinic the weekend before, I knew that both myself and my horses were more then capable to conquer the upcoming challenges. One of the most helpful things I have learned going out and doing things that I am worried about, is understanding that the feeling of being uncomfortable, isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is just something you have to get comfortable with and know how to handle your reactions. "It’s not the situation but how you respond to it that makes the difference; it is within your control."

A book that I enjoy reading when I feel more nervous then normal is "Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence" by Gary Mack with David Casstevens. It is all the inspiration and encouragement I need to put myself in a better mental state. Although the book does not relate directly to eventing, the stories and quotes from the world of professional athletics can easily relate. Just like in horse back riding, you need to be able to control your thoughts heading out on your horse, whether it is into the dressage ring, the start box or the show jumping stadium. My favorite quote from the book is "You have to learn how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable."

We all know how much preparation and work goes into getting ready for one weekend. Weeks of hard work, gallop sets, dressage lessons, jump schooling, hacks and more. If you don't put in the work before hand, you can't expect to get out on the field and perform your best, and it isn't fair to your horse to not prepare them adequately for the game. "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

The book also talks about goal setting.
SMART Goal Setting:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
I had some very specific goals for Otter Creek. It wasn't to go out and win, it was to go out and perform my best. I had to overcome my latest fears of the potential to do bad. Because of my last falls, I had a lot of "what ifs" on my mind and I needed to clear my head of everything and go out there and do what I knew I could do, and that was put in a clean jumping round on the cross country. How did I know I could do it? Because I trust in my abilities to not over face myself, or put myself in a position that I am not ready for, and I knew I was ready because I have done it before. I had to push myself to take any self doubt out of my head, and replace it with confidence and self assurance that I was very capable of reaching my goals. "I may win and I may lose, but I will never be defeated." - Emmitt Smith.

I arrived early Thursday morning after a 2 hour drive in the pouring rain. I unloaded the horses and set up their stalls and organized the tack and feed stalls. I had special permission to walk my courses so I went over them with Kati Bodin and we came up with a game plan for each question. I then returned to the barn, soaking wet...literally all the way through and put on jacket number two. I tacked up Hannah B and headed out in the downpour for a dressage lesson from Alison Sader Larson. Hannah was great, as one dressage judge once wrote on my test "Good Mudder." I returned to the stable to put on jacket number three and wait for more students to arrive so we could work, again in the rain.

After the rest of my students arrived, we did lessons and then I rode Juliette. We settled the horses in for the night and hoped the weather would change overnight. Friday held early morning rides. Students Abby Turnacliff, Ashley Reut and Kelsie Holbrook performed in the Jr. Training Division dressage putting in good tests. Abby and Ashley competing for the 2nd time and training level and Kelsie moving up for the 1st time. I rode Hannah in the competitive Open Intermediate division and scored a respective 38.8 to put me in 4th place. Maria Filsinger and Pete put in a lovely dressage test to take the lead on a 34.8. Juliette put in a great test earning a 41.7 for a three way tie for 9th place. Morgan Samuelson & Ricky, Savannah Ruhs & Curb Appeal, Jen Johnson & Loose Cannon, Janelle Johnson & Royal Cootitan, Jessie Longe & Phoebe, and Kelsey Longe & Dance By Me all were riding at the Novice level and had good tests for the day. We were all looking forward to the cross country!

The weather report proved wrong, and we had sunshine on Saturday. We were all thrilled with the new forecast and although it was cold, the sun began to warm everyone up. Training was first to go for the day, so I warmed up Abby, Ashley & Kelsie and sent them out on course. Abby had an unfortunate fall at the fourth to last fence when Ziggy chipped in but didn't get his legs out of the way in time and the momentum sent Abby over his shoulder. Prior to her unexpected dismount she had a great round! Ashley & Rory had a wonderful round with one unfortunate stop at the ditch and wall but only added 5.6 time faults to their score to put them into 9th place. Kelsie had a wonderful first cross country experience at training level with a clear round putting her in 7th place.

Next was the Novice riders. I sent out Morgan, Savannah, Jen, Janelle, Jessie and Kelsey out on course. Unfortunately Savannah had a unplanned dismount into the second water complex, and Jessie at a dock fence out in the field. Although both riders were disappointed, they pushed on and helped the rest of the team out. Morgan, as expected, came in a little too fast on the speedy pony Ricky, adding 4.8 speed faults to their score, but Morgan now understands how important it is to maintain a steady pace and not run too fast (but nonetheless she was definitely having fun!) Janelle jumped a clean round to move up to 1st place and Jen also put in a lovely clean round moving her from 14th to 8th place. Kelsey also jumped a clear round moving them up to 6th place.

Next up was the Intermediate division. My first test of the day was to navigate Hannah clean around the Intermediate course. I had cleared my mind of any doubt or "what ifs" I had and put in my head visualizations of how my ride would go, positive thoughts only! After a great warm up we headed to the start box where Hannah jumped up and down in anticipation to get out on course. We galloped out of the start box and towards fence 1. We jumped clean and clear and headed out towards the upcoming questions on course. Our first question was fence 3, to 4A/B. We had to jump a vertical brush fence bending left hand turn to a triple brush skinny set at the top of a hill on a forward four stride to an even skinner triple brush skinny. Hannah navigated the question and galloped on to fence 5, a skinny cabin. We jumped the cabin and headed towards the water where we had a fence down into the water to another one on the mound back into the water. We headed to the picnic table to set up for the sunken road and jumped the bounce in, down the bank two strides across up the bank to another bounce out and ran on to a large table to a skinny cabin and down the hill to the second water complex. We had a large log drop in to a corner out. Next up was the weldon's wall, Hannah is so honest, I put her in right up to the ground line and she jumped on over. We headed towards another table in the woods to the down bounce banks on a bending line to a corner. We head to a vertical ramp on the tree line to the campfire vertical in the woods. We gallop up the large hill to a roll top and slowly slide down the backside to a triple brush skinny. Onwards we gallop to another picnic table and around the dressage ring to the coffin question, a ramp set on an angle one stride to a large ditch and two strides to a large brush vertical out on a bending line. After completing our last question we jumped the bench, the ramp and the final bear vertical and crossed the finish line. I was so happy that I was able to put myself in the right frame of mind to get through the course. Although we came in slow adding 23.2 time faults to our score, I came and did what I had set out to do, jump a clean cross country round. I was more then happy and my clean round had moved me up to 3rd place.

Next up was the Preliminary division, Maria & Pete were first to set out. Maria came up with a plan to ensure no eliminations at the water, which have been an ongoing issue of Pete's even before we purchased him. Maria put in a lovely round with only one refusal at the second water, a very good round only adding a few time faults to their score. I was very happy with her performance, we still don't know why Pete won't go into some waters and why he will go into others without even looking, but Maria has done a great job of working on building his confidence and getting him solid at the Preliminary level. Over everything else he is a machine, jumping everything out of a stride and not blinking an eye at anything else. We will keep working on him so look out for the two next season!

Then it was Juliette's turn to run around the course. Galloping up to the massive 3'7'' fences, that can be brushed up to 4'3'' with heights across the top up to 4'7'' and at the base 6'11'' with drops up to 5'3'' in height can be quite intimidating on a pony that is only 13.3 hands. But I couldn't ask for a better Preliminary Pony! She has so much power in the little body of hers that these preliminary questions are easy for her! She galloped out of the start box towards our first ramped roll top and flew over it, jumped up over the bike rack and over the large roll top towards a large ramped brush fence. Galloping on to fence 5 a skinny table and then a large roll top before the water. After galloping into the water we jumped the Otter and ran out of the water complex towards the large picnic table at the top of the hill shared with Intermediate before the sunken road. We jumped a coop one stride down the bank onto the road across to another vertical coop. We galloped on up the hill to a large table and then over some cabins back down the hill towards the second water complex. We had to drop into the water and gallop across to a vertical ramp out of the water. We then crossed the field to the large bridge question to the double bounce banks up and into the woods to a corner. Our of the woods to another vertical ramp on the tree line and to the camp site to jump two tents on an angle. We put in a lovely two stride and galloped up the large hill over a roll top at the top, slide down the hill to drop down a log drop and gallop out of the woods to another large picnic table (even bigger than the first and also shared with Intermediate) around the our coffin complex which was a roll top in, two strides to the ditch and one stride out over another roll top. We completed the course jumping the bench, the ramp and the vertical log and galloped across the finish line. I was so proud of Juliette, putting in a great round and adding 18.8 time faults, coming in faster then most of the larger horses in the division! We moved up from our 9th place tie to 4th place.

Overall the Liz Lund Eventing Team had a very successful day! I would like to thank everyone who helped get my horses ready and take care of them after my rides! The competitors party on Saturday night was a blast as usual, dancing on the picnic table, chatting with friends and fellow competitors around the bonfire and just hanging out reflecting on the days events and prepare for tomorrow's challenges in the show jumping ring.

Show jumping started at 8am when there was still frost on the ground. I warmed Hannah up and headed down to the ring to watch. Rails were flying left and right as we had to jump over a "pink course" sponsored by Jumps 4 Joy...which proved to be a challenge for just about everyone. Although I had 3 rails on Hannah I maintained my 3rd place position, which isn't common, so that right there tells your how many issues everyone had with the course! Overall I was very pleased with our performance over the weekend. A great way to end the season. I am looking forward to working this winter to improve even more for next seasons challenges.

There were 156 competitors at the horse show, and there were 1060 jumping faults throughout the day on Sunday, majority of them being rails and some of them being stops. I did the math for Poplar Place September Horse Trials, the same weekend, which had 206 riders and only 648 jumping faults throughout the day, which I also assume some were stops but most were rails. Obviously something was going on with our Jump 4 Joy jumps! I looked for reviews online but couldn't find anything. So far my experience with the Jump 4 Joy jumps has not been positive. The horses, even if they are jumping well are punished for doing their job. Despite this being said, we put in the best rides we could throughout the day.

Lady Hannah B finished in 3rd in the Open Intermediate division. Juliette 4th in the Open Preliminary with Maria Filsinger & Pete in 7th. Kelsie Holbrook & Tess finished 6th in the Jr. Training and Ashley Reut & Rory finished in 9th. Jen Johnson & Loose Cannon took 7th in their Novice division, with Morgan Samuelson & Ricky in Jr. Novice, with Janelle Johnson & Royal Cootitan finishing just outside the ribbons in 9th place at their first Novice event and Kelsey Longe & Dance By Me taking home the 2nd place spot in the division. Everyone had a lot of fun, it is always great when we all can get together and support one another over the weekend.

I would like to thank everyone for making the 2010 show season a successful one! I have come out of the season a better rider and teacher! I look forward to working hard this winter towards improving for the 2011 show season! Look out because Liz Lund Eventing is going to hit it hard this winter!

On another note, I will be staying in Minnesota this winter and am available for training and teaching either at my farm, Trophy Hill Farm or am willing to travel. I hope everyone continues to take lessons and set new goals for next year!

I will try and continue blogging throughout our training this winter. Stay tuned for updates on schooling shows and clinics this fall! Kick on and get over it!



Mind Gym Quotes-

“it takes years of hard work to become an overnight success”

"Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit"

"Create your own mind gym visualizing yourself overcoming mistakes and doing things well"

"Focus on the task – do not let negative thoughts intrude"

Derby Days!

We finally had some beautiful weather! I think I actually got some color back on my face! It felt good to be outside all day in the sun with a great group of people. Jean & Walter Kunz hosted a Derby at their farm, Steepleview Farm in Delano, MN. It was run great, thanks to everyone who helped out!

I had a lot of students riding, some of them it was their first show! Skye Lundahl, Mia & Gabi Geraci, and Olivia Shirley headed out and each did two rounds on the Starter course. They all learned a lot and had a lot of fun riding, watching and helping everyone out. Next was Alex Lundahl on a new pony, Savannah Ruhs, and Emily Shirley riding at Beginner Novice. They both had a blast figuring out their mounts! Janelle Johnson, Jen Johnson and Savannah Ruhs navigated the Novice course, figuring out the challenges of a higher level and navigating the course beautifully. Kelsie Holbrook, Jen Johnson, Maria Filsinger and myself competed in the Training division. We all had a blast and it seems the pony is back on her game after a slight bit change and some more schooling, she came in first place!

Tomorrow we head off to the Schweiss' farm in Hector, MN to go cross country schooling in preparation for Otter Creek. We are all looking forward to our "hometown" show in a few weeks! Liz Lund Eventing will have good representation! Stay tuned and kick on!

Pushing Forward

To say the least I feel stuck in a rut. The last 3 shows have not gone quite according to plan. Yesterday at South Farm was not an ideal day at a show. The rain was pouring down in sheets as it was maybe 50 degrees. It was cold and wet and miserable to say the least. Juliette's dressage was pretty good for her! She was relaxed but kept trying to leave the ring and head back towards stabling... She definitely did not want to be out in the rain and wind! We got a 38.7 - anything under a 40 is pretty good for the little pony!

Maria's horse Pete was pretty stiff and flipped in his counter canter, the judge was very unforgiving and gave her a 40. We headed back to our stalls to try and dry off and get ready for the XC. It was raining hard while we warmed up, you could hardly see and it blowing like crazy. Juliette was jumping fine, but once again kept trying to head back towards the stabling. She just didn't feel on and like she wanted to be out there, not a good feeling heading towards the start box! As we headed out, she felt under confident, backing off at the first few fences, I retired her after fence 5, knowing that what I had underneath me could become dangerous as the course progressed. I would rather be safe and sound to try again when she is more on her game.

Unfortunately, Pete would not go in the water. He stopped at our A element, a cabin followed by a one stride down a bank. He jumped on the second presentation but stopped and backed up, went forward and backed up again down the banks causing the jump judges to excuse them from the course. We decided it would be best for us to head on the road as soon as possible, so we packed up, stripped the stalls and headed out on the road. We stayed again at Vicky & Jordynn Sahagian's in Barrington, IL.

After sleeping in until 8am this morning, we ate breakfast and then headed to the Barrington Riding Center to do some XC schooling. The weather was great, cool and sunny. The horses felt refreshed and happy to be out. We jumped a few fences, and the pony felt "normal" again which was comforting. Peter went right into the water as well as a creek we found to walk the horses through. All in all, it ended with a great school as we prepare for the next Preliminary at Otter Creek Fall Horse Trials.

Though the team took a hit again this weekend, we will keep pushing forward and working hard to achieve our long and short term goals.

This weekend holds the Eventing Derby at Walter & Jean Kunz's farm in Delano, MN. A lot of first time riders will be doing their first show! It will be a blast! Sunday we head off to Hector, MN to the Schweiss Farm to go cross country schooling in preparation for Otter Creek.

Stay tuned...chin up, heels down & keep kickin!