I have no need for the gym. I ride Tess.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Everything is going here....yep, just going.

Irish on one of her little adventures!

The little horses are both well- getting chunky and getting WI-L-D (think Animal House).  They will both start work sometime soon, I'm sure they are both ecstatic for the opportunity to work- who wouldn't be?! Especially for me!? HA!  They are both the sweetest horses I have ever met (except for maybe Irish..) and I am sure they will get me off at some point, but it is going to be fun teaching them and to have them teaching me something--you never stop learning from the babies!! Whether you learn to hold on tighter or fall off a little more gracefully, your bound to learn something! I am going to get some fun pictures of them doing ridiculous things (hopefully without me on them!!!) and I will be sure to put them up! So cute, so excited!

The horses in training are so going super too!  Forest is doing great- he has finally been tracked down! He is a 14 year old OTTB-he is very loving and wants to make you happy.  He is starting to jump and has decided he might just like it...he has also decided he might actually like putting his little head down to do circles!  He is going to make someone a fun, fancy project pony and all around horse.  Africa is also loving life. She has decided she quite likes doing big kid things.  She is starting to play around with big kid circles and transitions and even jumped for the first time! She is adorable, and couldn't be easier or more fun to jump!  She is going to be a great little eventer--she jumped her very first ditch (it was natural people-don't have a stroke!)  with her little ears up. She has been quite proud of herself over the last few weeks, her ego continues to get even bigger! EK!  To learn even more about either of these two visit http://www.witsendeventing.com/. 

Clif is tolerating his stall time..and by tolerating I mean scaring everyone.  He is doing quite well for him, though.  He is turning into a chunk! I am quite happy about that.  He is getting better and better and enjoying his vet visits and daily attention-such a playboy! Also, he is greatly enjoying the amount of mints he gets on a regular basis!  Anytime he hears the wrapper he goes nuts--knocking things off the sink and being rude until he gets one....he looks like a small child in search of a lollipop!

Clif is still going out a bit each day-mostly for my safety!

Irish is doing quite well as usual!  She did her first show since July---her dressage show..she was great! She got a 29 on her Novice test and a 31 on her very first training level test!  I am so proud of her-she never stops trying and learning.  It's neat to have a horse that wants to always do the right thing no matter how hard it is.  She is also jumping like a little freak, she is doing so well that she is going to go to an unrecognized Novice next weekend, a Novice at Virginia HT, and then hopefully training at River Glenn or an unrecognized training at TTC in November!  So exciting!!

Did I mention that he also terrorizes the dog's water bowl?

Tess is also doing well.  She is starting to be a very fancy...when she gets the fancy trot she can still only hold it for a few steps, but in those few steps I wonder what happened to my little monster and who is this horse!?  Even more exciting, she is starting to be able to really canter....without totally falling on her front end.  Riding her everyday is like a full body workout, and we still are not past the point of smaller than 20m circles and one gait transitions (like walk/trot, canter/trot, walk/halt, no trot/halts).  I am honestly in pain by the end of my ride and cannot feel my abs for a few minutes, then when I feel them, I wish I didn't!  She's such a fun horse though, I am sincerely hoping she can have a good comeback and go show off for herself (yes she would have a gigantic mirror placed in her stall to brush her hair and paint her nails if she had thumbs!)!

Well, I just read Jimmy Wofford's Practical Horseman article and I was quoted. My life is complete.  I highly suggest you read it ;-).  Enjoy this great weather and great footing-go have a gallop! (even though the rain is annoying!)-

Hillary

And When You Least Expect It. . .. .

I am soooooooooooooooo glad the weather is finally cooling down! It's like Christmas come early!  The horses are all excited too, they now are wearing their sheets (hehe :) ).  At the moment everyone is happy, except for Clif and I.

It has taken me several days to actually sit down and write this because every time I do, I can't quite bring myself to type the words.  After Clif's amazing run at 5 points (more on that later...), he was not feeling so great-not horribly wrong, just a bit off and not happy.  He had a vet over on Thursday and what do you know, looks like your right front luck has returned.  This time it is a totally new injury to his suspensory, but while new and different, it is serious.  We are doing everything we can for him, helping him get back to normal as best possible.  While he could come back to do some upper level things, it does not seem fair to ask him for something that he would never ask of me.  My hope for him is for him to be happy, fat, sound and a novice/training level champion for my mom! (I already told him that I expect a serious amount of blue ribbons over the next 10 years).  It was like getting a good punch in the stomach when I saw the scans and like a getting another one just for good measure after talking to the vet.  I never actually cried until I talked to my grandmother...ever so wise...and she said "well Hillary, all you can do is thank him" and I completely lost it.  It is true-he has given me so so much and taught me so much, not only about riding, but about life in general.  He always was a class act; he was fun to ride, a monster for cookies and a beautiful horse even to just look at in the field. I did my first and probably last, long format CCI* with him- and for his performance there I will be forever grateful to him.  Clif won 5 of the 6 prelims he did in the Spring of 2010 (he was 4th in the other).  He (along with Tess-who would so furious to be left out of this, like seriously...I would get bucked off) gave me a 2nd amueter ranking in the country for 2010 as well.  It's funny that a horse can teach you about people, but he did. He showed me that a person has many different sides, you can choose to see them in any light you see fit; but if you try to be objective you tend to see the real deal--just like a horse, take a step back and you usually figure it out!  He has been my best friend for past 7 years and he will continue to be, now he will just be that best friend that you don't get to be around as much as you like and you can't ever seem to catch on the phone.  The good news there is that at least I can steal him from my mom and go hop around some jumps from time to time!  It would not be possible to ever put into words how much I appreciate him, adore him and will always try to do what is right for him. 
So for now, he is hanging out in the stall--- being completely unreasonable, rude and demanding....but hey I wouldn't have it any other way, where is the fun in being appreciated and adored?!

So back to 5 Points HT which I seemed to somehow deviated so very far from.  Clif had a pretty good dressage (Had I known it might be our last one I probably would have dared him a bit more...), I was very happy with how hard he tried.  His XC was awesome-if you had told me I would have that good of a ride I would have laughed.  He was truly perfect absolutely everywhere, totally game for anything.  Every fence was great, everything big felt easy, everything technical felt like gymnastics in a show jump ring--it was the best feeling, the most confident feeling I've ever felt, so I am sad I probably won't have that again for a while, but it's definitely something to work towards-it's honestly heavenly. His show jumping on Sunday was super as well- he had one of the few double clean rounds in his division, no thanks to his rider!  He is very special.

Everyone else is great. Irish is wonderful- she is going to a little dressage show this weekend...she doesn't know that, I'm just telling her it's a show so she'll think she gets to go show off in the jump ring, she will have a great big frown on Saturday going down that centerline....TWICE! HA!  Tess is going so well, I'm so surprised at how well she has come out of her lay up, she is doing light flat work now and will start real flat work in a few short weeks (that too will probably result in a very large frown, possibly even tears on her part).  Nic is getting fat and wild!!!! Doby is doing the same thing as well, fat fat fat, not wild.  So all our little small children our great.  My two horses in training from Wits End Eventing, http://www.witsendeventing.com/, Africa and Forest are doing well.  Africa is the 3 year old Formula One baby, she is named for a continent, so you can imagine her ego!   She is super though, she loves her job and she just lovessssss to push the boundaries, but in a nice way--she's a pretty fun little horse!  Forest, who is for sale, is getting better every day, I think he is going to make a super little event horse, hunter and dressage horse for somebody who wants to have some good all around fun!  He is incredibly gentle on the ground and only wants to please--and of course, I have turned him into a cookie lover :). 

Hope everyone is doing well!  I have included some pics since I have  been so bad about it lately!  Some are from now and some are from when I was at LFF!
Enjoy being able to tolerate being outside for more than 10 minutes!
Hillary

Dolly (aka Biggy Smalls! My little XC dirt bike!)

Tess's old habits die hard....but I can't bare to make her stop when she's so cute! ....I know my kids will be awful.



Kinley seriously wanted to go to the show!



Danehill Sunset (or as I call him, dobs)