Resolution......Fail.

Like the majority of people I attempted to make some New Year resolutions.  I said, "I will try to eat healthier"; unfortunately, I put the word try in there.  My thought process goes like this: "Hillary, eat better, you are going to hate sitting trot if you bounce any more"...when eating lunch..."I can't find anything healthy....Oh well, I tried!".  I might or might not be very good at finding the loop holes in my resolutions.   I do need to eat healthier; if I eat better then I feel better (not that my healthy is a normal person's healthy, but you get the idea).  I LOVE prime rib, bagels, pasta, cheeseburgers, pizza, ginger ale, fruit juice, chocolate oranges, nerds and garlic mash potatoes! If I could cut all those out I would quite literally die-- I would have nothing to eat and that would be so sad.  So I am trying to slowly learn to like things like lettuce, tomatoes (not ever going to happen), and spinach. Vomit.
Other than my epic failure of keeping my New Year's resolution, I have been working on sitting a bit straighter, using my "weight" aids better, keeping my body slower when jumping, and making my horses really use their hind ends all the time.  At the moment everyone is living in a grid; if they are on their best behavior they do a line in different striding each time- even the babies, they have to learn sometimes, guess it should be now!  Everyone is heading out the first week of February for their first shows of the season- that week is going to be INSANE! Tess will head to Full Gallop I Feb.1, Irish/Nic/Africa/Aly will head to TTC Feb.4, I am teaching a clinic Feb.5 and Tess will head back to Full Gallop II Feb.8.  Anyone betting on when I collapse? I'm betting Wednesday at 5 pm.  Luckily, I am escaping for 2 days the next week with some friends- it will be my first actual day off since my Christmas vaca! So Exciting!!!!!
This week I saw a facebook status that said "life's hard, get a helmet".  After I stopped laughing, I went on reading, but kept thinking about that quote.  SO TRUE.  It does you no good complain- somebody has it worse, always, so just give it up (because in reality if you have a horse your life cannot truly be that bad!).  Things never go as planned and sometimes they do just smack you right on the head as they are crumbling around you.  When you think you have it all figured it out your wrong, and no matter what it usually turns out just the way it was supposed to.
I also recently saw something that Will Smith said- "even if your in the right lane, if you don't move, your going to get run over".  I have decided that I love these quotes (along with "if you don't have time to do it right the first time, when do you have time?")- I have put on my helmet and am going in a lane, I might not be speeding on the Audubon, but damn it I'm driving--your supposed to enjoy the process right?!
So as this season really starts to take off I'm going to make like Nemo and just keep swimming.  My horses will get better and stronger everyday; I will get better everyday, and attempt to eat healthier...maybe; I will make an effort to have more in my life (genuine laughter=happiness=healthiness), people are incredibly unique and is good to keep yourself surrounded by them, you can learn so much; the more you know the less you know, so start working harder (at least in my experience; maybe I should wear one earplug so info can only go in one ear but not out the other!!)! These are the things that I am going to center myself around for the year, with the ultimate goal at the end of the year being: My horses are better and I am better. This is as serious as I get and I thought writing it down would force me to really work on it!
I hope everyone has found something to work towards this year whether it is to curry your horse more often, keep your thumbs up, see better distances, actually clean your car....or your house, or just in general live life a little more like a "normal" person :), so I wish everyone Good Luck with those resolutions...and remember your greens!
Hillary

If it IS the end of the world, you've got nothing to lose!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and an awesome New Year.
I was lucky enough to escape to Florida for a few days around New Year with Tess and Irish and my family.  We were all just SO excited for 60's and 70's- who doesn't love some sun and sweat!? Irish had not been back to my grandparent's farm since they brought her to me as a 3 year old- I think she was a bit nervous she was being returned, so she was on her very best behavior for the week! Good thing she hasn't figured out how much I like her and she still appreciates her life, maybe she should explain to Tess that that would be a great attitude of her to adopt as well!!!!

The Family On New Years Day

All the horses are super, everyone is growing up and is a year older now. Clif is having a WONDERFUL time being outside- but I'm sure that will soon grow boring and he will then want to be ridden, (this is when I want a working student- a poor soul that I can say "hey, that's my best horse, he's a blast to ride" --I will inaudibly mumble that he's a blast to ride when he is fit and in work and that when he is unfit he's an absolute monster- what you don't know can't hurt ya :)).

Baby Irish

Ramble and Nic also had their first outing of the year.  Ramble went to TTC to do a Preliminary combined test.  I know he has been getting stronger, more correct and more connected, but I have to say I was a bit surprised that he got a 21.9 on his test! He was VERY good; he was very obidient, polite and happy the whole time, and he tried so hard.  He really is an incredibly special stallion.  There are still several things I thought could easily be fixed in the test, so we will work on those and hopefully come out doing some fun stuff at shows this spring!  Ramble was also super for his show jumping-I, for the first time, did a good job of keeping his feet moving, which for him is so key.  That was the positive, now to work on all those pesky finer points. The devils in the details right?
Video of Ramble's dressage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXpfQRKixLs&list=UU64ZZkHK9YGpc4RpBpOyKeg&index=2&feature=plcp
Nic also got drug along because I had room on the trailer and he needs to know that a racetrack is not lurking around every turn.  He was SO good, he was a completely different horse than when he went last month.  He hacked around on a loose rein, xc schooled on a loose rein, and didn't ever seem to get nervous--he even hung out on the trailer by himself!  By now, it is not really a secret that I adore this horse, maybe it's the fact that we are both a bit of an old soul or we both have decided there is far too much to do to worry about everything.  I'm not sure what it is, but he is an incredibly neat horse and I have very high hopes for him.
Baby Nic's first XC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uGarZ7oBCQ&feature=related

Jac on his pony! SO CUTE!

I hope everyone is enjoying this unwinter like weather and getting back in the swing of daily life that does not include the holiday chaos!

Hillary

Red and Green is just sooo popular this time of year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is going to have a wonderful New Year!
Everything is going well here- all the horses had a few weeks of very hard work so that they could have an easy holiday week! Such skillful planning on my part, I know. 
All of the babies are little jumping machines; they have all cantered their first little course and are ready to be four year olds so they can learn some fancy new tricks. Africa and Aly are great- Africa really wants to learn and Aly is such a little freak to jump, it could not be much easier (Don't forget to check out Wits End Eventing if you would like to learn more about them!) Nic is just so wonderful- he is starting to stretch and he LOVES to jump.  He made his first visit to Sharon's a few weeks ago- he was a superstar! He jumped the baby logs and the baby ditch, and thennnnnn the big ditch- he thought that was pretty awesome and nearly bucked me off with his emotional outburst!  Little Doby is getting ridden now too, he is pretty cute and is going to be very fun soon.
Clif is now going out all day with his friends, Nic and Doby, and the love of his life.... Sammy- he and Sam stand with their noses touching, it is a bit odd to be completely honest.
Irish is coming back into work well.  She has now jumped a few times and is most excited that she finally feels a bit less neglected!  Her time off did her good, she feels much stronger in her body in her flatwork and, the best part, I can catch her again! The little brat!
Ramble is going quite well.  His flatwork is really getting stronger and I am starting to ride him a bit better when jumping.  He says FINALLY!  Little Rambles is the best behaved horse I have ever had, how he is a stallion I do not know.  He is a lot of fun just to have around the farm.
Tess is also getting back into the full swing of things- she had a lesson with Linda Zang and then a jump lesson with Sharon the next day. She still hasn't completely forgiven me for that one.  Linda helped Tess quite a bit- Tess thinks Linda should be locked in a tower far far away.  The next day Tess had a super jump lesson with Sharon.  Sharon loves Tess and Tess loves Sharon--she always has such good insight into what I need to do to make the princess happier and more cooperative!
So this holiday season I am thankful for my awesome horses- my great family- my wonderful friends- my crazy dogs and everything else I have in my life. Clif wanted to remind everyone just how lucky I am to have him, even if he is just sitting in the field being demanding and unreasonable. 
Also a quick Happy Birthday to Nic, Africa, Aly, Doby, Clif, Tess, Irish, Ramble and Sam--I will now have 3 four year olds, 2 five year olds, a nine year old, a ten year old, an elven year old and Sam will be 23! That seems like a pretty full house to me!
Enjoy your New Year and eat some good luck food!
xo
Hillary

Special Treats.

So, as a horse person, I know I am weird.  It is a fact, I have come to accept it, I no longer try to fight it.  I would rather be at the barn than out at a party, most of my best friends have 4 legs and weigh more than 1,000 pounds (for the ones that don't- thank god because you wouldn't fit in my little Saab if you did!), and I can tell you the weather 5 days out because I have already planned out everyone's blankets for the week.  It's a bit insane, kind of strange, very unique and makes people wonder exactly how hard you were dropped on your head as a child- apparently I was dropped repeatedly or else I fell off one too many times.  Over the years you tend to get all kinds of comments about horses- I think these are some of my favorites:

---"Is there someone there" ? No, that would just be me...by myself.... talking to the horses.  I didn't forget to take my meds and no, I do not expect them to answer.  I just like to pretend they understand me, it makes me feel better.  And being alone for 10 hours a day can get kind of lonely, so I try to not lose my ability to speak by talking to them.  I usually am yelling at someone, dog or horse...or cat, and telling someone else that I'm not yelling at them just because I am closest to them.  I'm sure they understand.  They know all my secrets by this point.  So if they could talk, I would paying them not to.


You need special treats to be so cute!



--In the 8th grade I got made fun of constantly for riding horses- most of the details can be left out because they are just too ridiculous to write- but, it somehow ended up that I was going to have "Hillary's Horses" when I grew up and ride in the Kentucky Derby.  Sadly, no one realized that by the 8th grade I was already too big to be a jockey- and I was not insane, 6 to 14 horses going 35 miles per hour 4 inches from each other- No Thank You I will not have another. However, they did seem to have get the Hillary's Horses right- I like it better as Hillary Irwin Eventing, but you take what you can get I suppose. 

--"You missed Homecoming for a horse thing?".  Yes.  I mean really? It's a gym that smells like sweaty feet with a few decorations to make it magical, filled with boys who still haven't figured out they need more deodorant if they are going to attempt to dance for that long and girls crying because their boyfriend broke up with them for the girl in the shorter dress.  So yes, I passed up that magnificent opportunity to take my 4 year old to his first show (Clif at the time) and my horse to a training (Monty--which he won on a 24!).  I did go to prom twice though, so that was all good fun. I went to my senior prom by driving back and forth to The Fork- my poor mother actually did the driving, surprise!-I was late for the pictures and complaining by midnight that I had to be up in 4 hours. I was a charming date I'm sure.



Monty, my homecoming date! ( I was the senior attendant and.....yeah...I have no

other excuses for this picture existing)

---"You do that thing with the hurdles?" I will be so happy the day a random person calls them jumps, but I have, for the most part, given up all hope of that.  So, usually about every month I end up explaining to someone that I do jump those hurdles and the horses do enjoy it (because as much as I like to think I'm big and tough, I am far too small to make a horse do much of anything they don't actually want to do--but I will win any battle- just ask them :) ).



--"Were you in a car wreck?".  No, I got stepped on because I fell off.  A car wreck would have been far less pathetic and more dramatic, instead I apparently just land like a dead body rather than rolling away from the 1200 pound animal throwing feet around like he is doing a line dance.  So, I graduated high school with a cast covering my entire right arm arm and bandages covering my left hand that had been split open due to a nice hoof stepping on it.  My dress was black and white- I like to think the white matched my pale white appearance and black matched the bruises. I coordinate so well.



Clif- 5 Points Int.

--"Here are your special treats." This would be the UPS man every month when he delivers the horse's Smartpaks.  He hands me to huge boxes and says " here are your special treats for those horses- they sure are lucky."  Special treats? Seriously? Do I look like the kind of person who order gourmet treats for my horses? Don't answer that- because you will probably say yes, and let's not add insult to injury.  I laugh and say Thanks, because I am not about to explain that they get electrolytes, some get omega, some get calming aids, some get joint supplements, some get tendon supplements and some get none because they are just not that special at 3 years old to warrant a monthly bill...... yet. 



Clif- 5 Points, XC Int.

 Everything is going well here.  All the babies had their very first outing.  They were all surprisingly well behaved. Africa, Aly, Nic and another horse in training all went- they all came back happy and with a good experience.  Poor Nic could not figure out why there were so many horses and no race track--he's so sweet.  He wanted to absolutely explode so badly, but he held it together- it's so nice when they trust you completely and you've only been riding them for 2 months...
Ramble and Tess went as well to get off the farm and do some flat work. (Tess also got her first set of back shoes in a year and a half, so she was pretty excited about her new Steven Maddens). They were very good as well.  Most all my horses are now going the Micklem Bridle- I think it's about as great as nerds (which I eat religiously).  Everyone who goes in it LOVES it. So for now we are the freaks in the strange looking bridle, but we are happy about it!
On the exciting news front Clif is all healed.  He is starting to go out with his friends next week, he is just so excited he is actually being nice on occasion!
I hope everyone is keeping warm and getting that Holiday shopping done!
Hillary



And So It Begins...

And so it begins... that long winter- where all you do is try to fix things that are just slightly off....it is that process that makes us lose our hair, get premature wrinkles, and does not let our competition season ulcers heal.  It is that little bit more of a tilt in your pelvis, bringing your left shoulder back half an inch, putting your right hand down a inch, keeping your outside rein in your lateral work, or keeping your outside leg just slightly behind your inside-- instead of looking like a human gumby. It is putting a bit more step in your horse's stride, pushing their inside legs further underneath them, asking for more use in their backs, making their hocks bend, jumping a bit straighter, keeping a better rhythm, or keeping them a bit steadier in your hand. It is figuring out who might like a different bit, a different noseband, a different back pad...or, to my horror, no back pad, who needs a bit more attention, who really wants me to go take a hike, and who might like a different schedule than the rest of the horses...most likely Tess. Or in my case, you do all of these things with all seven of your horses on a daily basis. 



Baby Irish at her first Training- she's my little pogo stick!



Despite all my complaining, I am quite excited about this winter.  It will be the first winter I can take the time to really focus on what my horses need and want; I can process and apply all my knowledge from working with Jimmy, Linda and Sharon.  I will also be able to take some trips to Sharon's for some valuable, much needed advice.  Also, I am lucky enough to have been riding with Bonnie Mosser the past few months and this winter will surely bring out more of her helpful comments that the horses seem to love.  Bonnie has been such an asset to have since moving back home- it is a bit of a no man's event land around here, so having her so close has been wonderful.  We had a clinic with Bonnie at my farm last week, it was a great opportunity to ride a bunch with her and watch her teach as well.  All my horses were great. 



Ramble at VA H.T.



Poor little Ramble had an 8am flat lesson and 2pm Jump lesson so he was exhausted at the end of the day, but as they say "no pain, no gain" (and let me tell you, the next day I was having some pain!)- he had a great flat lesson and a very helpful jump lesson.  It helps me to see what I am doing wrong or need to change, so Bonnie got on him and popped him around, after that we seemed to click a bit better- he is very different ride than all my other horses, so we are both still learning!  Tess had a mini flat lesson then a mini jump-it was her first proper jump back.  There is a video up on the youtube channel!  She was a bit opinionated on the flat, as any successful women should be (she has read far too many quotes), but it carried over to her jumping as happy and forward.  She had a good time jumping for real, she seemed a bit appreciative after the lesson- and that happens rarely unless treats are involved!!!!  Little Aly had his first lesson, and Hillary had her first 3 year old stallion rodeo.  It was a great experience for him to have new horses on the farm and lots of commotion, he settled in after a bit and had a very productive lesson- he did 3 bounces in a row to a one stride! Big kid stuff.  Wits End has a video up of his lesson on their youtube channel, check it out if you want to see a very fun, natural jumper- that horse is going places.   Baby Nic also had his first lesson- it was good experience for him as well- he is so territorial it good for him to have to share- as my friend Tim says, carings sharing....and I don't care!  That is Nic to a T.  He was actually very well behaved for a baby race horse- he even jumped and landed on both leads, what a champ!



Ramble the XC Machine!

Irish is just coming back from her little vaca so she escaped the lessons, but she is happy to be back, she was getting a bit grumpy!  Doby is having fun and getting quite the little red head attitude!  Everyone else is doing well and starting to get busy and down to the winter work- time to share my premature wrinkles and hair loss!

Almost everyone is off to TTC for a dressage show/hunter show/xc schooling next weekend- the babies will be attending to see how fast they can make me a lawn dart.  It will be good for everyone to get out and see what they are in for as big kids!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and was able to get some rest!

 Hillary

Here are the links!

Ramble Jumping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iaii4s5bv3g&feature=related

Tess Jumping: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f0nRo0LyKQ

Aly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3eM1w7GsmQ

Going Crazy? Can't go where you already are!

I probably have completely lost it; but my barn is full, my horses are happy and I am in need of sleep so all is well in the universe. 

In the barn there are now 4 geldings, 4 mares and 2 stallions- yes 2 you read it correctly the first time. And that is ten horses! (I find if I type ten is looks like far less a number than 10!)  There are 3 off the track TB's (One Irish, one Kentucky, one Florida), 1 unraced TB (also FL bred), 1 New Zealand Sport Horse, 1 German warmblood, 3 Irish Sport horses, and 1 Oldenburg. It's like the United Nations in my barn! I'm glad they can't talk- there would be a serious amount of accents and foul language going on with those nationalities- probably the most coming from the Kentucky boy...who am I kidding, it would totally be the Irish.



Schooling at home!



Everyone here is doing pretty well.

Clif is healing very, very well. He has a little routine of going outside and when he's ready to come in he starts screaming, and by god you had better get there within the time he has allotted or he is going to make you regret it!  He is still enjoying all the hay, being inside and getting some extra treats (especially peppermints, I have turned the horse into a monster- the damage appears to irreversible). 



Clif after his 5 Points run- looking for cookies already!

Doby is going back to work as of this week; news I am sure he was thrilled to hear!

Nic is becoming a big kid- he did his first little jump and he loves it!  He's thinks he is a pretty cool kid- unfortunately, he seems to be right so I have done nothing to decrease his ever expanding ego.  He is a bit possessive- I find him staring at me while I'm riding other horses.  It has gotten to the point that if he were human I would have gotten a restraining order- he's like an over enthusiastic boyfriend that beats up any potential competition. 

The horses in training are all well and they are all three!  Everyone is getting big kid manners, some big kid dressage moves and some big kid jumping boots- they are all just so excited. It's like they are having their first day of high school- the attitude and egos are out of control, they almost don't fit through the barn door!  In all serious- they are all quite good looking horses and look like they will all have a very big future in front of them.

Ramble is my new little dirt bike!  He is a little XC machine, he has been quite fun at the two shows he went to.  He goes, he jumps, he passes flat out in his stall.  That's his motto and he is most definitely sticking to it! He had a good final go at River Glenn- he won the flat by almost 5 points on a 29, so that was exciting, know there is much more there for the taking!  His SJ was lacking a little, no thanks to his rider!  We will spend the Winter fine tuning our communication and muscles!  XC, as usual, was a great time- he really is like a little dirt bike- just pick a gear, point, and go.  He loves it, it's nice to know your horse is having just as much fun as you out there!

Baby Tess gets some sleep!



Tess is loving life, she is jumping now so don't be too shocked by that loving life statement.  She is going quite well on the flat, I finally feel like she can go hold her own in the dressage- key word there being can!  Hopefully, she will WANT to show off; because, we all know if Tess doesn't want it, it ain't gonna happen!
She has been so, so much fun to jump!  I am so glad she seems like the same horse-actually a bit more of a horse- I'm getting a little pull at the end of those reins towards the jumps, which did not used to be her style, so that is fun.  She will keep on keepin' on and hopefully all is well and she will be competing again this Spring to the best of her ability!


Irish is the little star of farm. I'm sure no one saw that sentence coming =).  She was a machine at Virginia HT- she was great in the dressage-the judge and I will agree to disagree (at some point this sport went from obedience to fancy as the key point of dressage).  In both XC and SJ she completely took over and jumped two wonderful clean rounds- I did get drug around the XC, she is on a mission out there, it's a bit intimidating!  The following weekend she went to River Glenn to do her first training (EK!).  She had a very good and educational weekend. She was quite good in the dressage- she got several 8's, mostly in the canter work- which put her in 3rd out of about 11- so exciting for her first one!  Her SJ and XC rounds were very good- she jumped like a freak all weekend, I was grabbing some serious mane!  She ended both rounds as a better horse and really, that is all that we can ever ask of ourselves and our horses.  My goal was to ride her to the best of ability- I am not sure I totally lived up to that, but I did bring back a better horse than I left the box with; so that, to me, is a success.  She seemed to love it- she was a bit backed off at the first few XC fences (the hardest fences were in the first 6 fences, which were all quite large!), but seemed to settled into a great and confident rhythm by mid course and maintained that the rest of the way.  So she ended up 7th at her first training, she a huge purple ribbon!, and I couldn't be more proud of her!



Irish the Tangerine Machine! No I didn't change my colors, I was just
a Tangerine!)

Now it's time to spend the Holiday's with the family, work on the dressage movements, set up some gymnastics and come out better horses in the Spring than I ended with in the Fall!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Hillary

Smile Like You Mean It!

I think I have finally realized that I must be terribly obnoxious to listen to in the warm up of show.  The only thing I say is good girl, good girl, good girl-----I think you get the idea!  Irish is so great, she does everything you ask- a bit more leg a bit rounder, a bit more inside rein a bit lower in her frame, she's too funny.  She had a great time at the Carolina Horse Park the other weekend. She had a super dressage test, the judge didn't seem to like her too much-we'll agree to disagree!  She was also very good in the show jump, she loves to go show off.  Most fun is that she is a little cross country machine!  I was just kind of along for the ride, which is so fun because how often do you get that on a 4 year old novice horse that is doing their first event in 6 months? Oh right, almost never!

Africa, my little 3 year old in training (notice the my...hehe) is coming into her own.  She won her first big blue at Morven Park!  She won the best 3 year old filly, go Africa- she shakes what her daddy gave her (because she's bigger than her mama!).  She also has found her groove jumping- she loves it, she jumped her first oxer, vertical and cross rail all at both the trot and canter- so fun!  There are great expectations for this little mare!

Now for the little children...Doby is doing ok- he seems to have activated his self destruct button.  He ripped out a tooth the other day, got kicked by a horse the day before in the shoulder, and just keeps trying to find ways for more attention. He hasn't figured out that if he stops hurting himself he will get ridden, which provides much more attention!  Nic is awesome- he got ridden for the first time a few days ago- wow.  He is so fun- he walks, trots and canters (on both leads, mind you!) on a loose rein, I think he just loves to do anything but race!!!=)

I just arrived home from a few days of S. White training sessions!  I am so lucky to be able to go up there.  Sharon has this great way of giving you insight into your horse- and insight into you!  I love my lessons so much because I always get at least 2 or 3 things that change the way I am training my horse- poor Irish is now a counter cantering machine!  While, I was there I tried a horse for lease, and wouldn't you know it, it is now in my barn next to Clif.  Clif is loving life next to him, he is a stallion and as we know, Clif would loveeeeee to be a stallion- there is a serious idol situation going on.  Ramble, the stallion, is adorableeeeeeeeeeeeeee, he is like teddy bear- Completely  adorable when your riding him or just on the ground.  I really enjoy riding him and think we both have a lot to offer the other- he is so small that he will teach me to stay still or else I will probably tip him over!

So I now have two 3 year olds, two 4 year olds, an 8 year old and a 9 year old in work--but I few weeks it look as though I will have 2 more 3 year olds! Starting to get busy! 
I hope everyone has been able to ride in the great weather!

Hillary