It will grow hair on your chest
Did your mother ever tell you you should do something because it would "grow hair on your chest?" Mine did, and my reply was always...."Mom, I don't want hair on my chest!". Apparently Judi's Uncle Harry (haha) used to tell her the same thing! Now that I am older, I finally understand what that means. It means working hard, doing things that aren't always easy and toughening up. Anyone in the horse business understands this, and we all have 'hairy chests'. But there are some days when you are just sick of growing hair on your chest....
There was one particular day Judi and I were both thinking of this phrase.....and we subsequently had to remind ourselves how much hair we were growing! On my day, I was unloading at the Global CDI show. Judi was rushing to try and get there to help me, but she was finishing up bringing in the horses back at the barn and had to stop and walk her dog Tascha. So I was in this long line of trailers waiting to unload (very similar to Devon), and when it was my turn, I pulled up and started lugging everything to the opposite end of the barn. You cannot pull up next to the barns at this show ground. I was running as fast as I could, and the guys helping everyone kept telling me I only had 10 minutes. At one point I had to move the trailer up to allow more trailers in, and I was even further away from the barn! I reminded the guy (several times) that I was all by myself. He did take one armload off my hands. But he was also busy. He reminded my a couple of times that I had ten minutes, and finally made me move the trailer without cleaning it out. Yes, I was feeling sorry for myself this day!
On to the show ring
Our first CDI was a success! While there is always room for improvement, I was happy with our Grand Prix the first day. Amicelli and I are getting to know each other in the ring, especially at the bigger venues. We got a 60%. We got very good marks on what we did well, and where we had a mistake, we got very low marks. So it is very clear what we need to improve and the important thing is that these things are definitely achievable.
Our next CDI is this coming weekend, at the Palm Beach Dressage Derby. I am looking forward to getting back in the ring!
Lessons
George Williams and Jaimey Irwin have been helping me down here. Jaimey used to coach his wife Tina, who formerly trained and competed Amicelli. Both George's and Jaimey's input have been invaluable. George has continued to help us with exercises to improve the cadence in the trot, the engagement in the canter and improve the quality of the movements we need to do in the test. George is a very steady influence for horse and rider and after each lesson I feel how each exercise has improved our partnership and I feel energized.
Jaimey, having known Amicelli for so many years has been able to help us in many aspects of our ride. He knows all the key aids for keeping Amicelli's attention and confidence when he gets hot. Jaimey is also very thorough with the basics, from warm up all the way through the training portion of the ride and in riding the movements. He has also offered many exercise to improve the overall quality.
I feel so lucky to get help from such great trainers during my time here. I have felt so much improvement and look forward to the next month!
Trip home
Last week I was able to go home for a couple of days to teach everyone in Maryland, to visit my husband and to see the beginnings of construction for our indoor ring. It was a great visit and I will look forward to getting back in the end of March. Until then, we have a lot in Florida to accomplish.
We are adjusted
It has taken longer to get adjusted to our new schedule than we thought. However, when we thought about it, we realized that we shouldn't have been surprised. This was a real move! New apartment, new barn, new surroundings etc.... All while getting ready to compete. Only the second move of house and barn that we have done in 4 months!!! A little crazy if you think about it.
When I returned to Florida from Maryland (Judi, by the way, held down the fort in FL while I was gone. Thank you Judi!!!!), I said to Judi... "We are now adjusted"... and you know, somehow this has helped us to focus on what we came here for, instead of just getting everything organized and on a schedule.
Zivona and Draco
Zivona and Draco are also working hard. They both get turned out next to each other and they are getting along great. We will be thinking about some shows for them soon too. Zivona will also be going with us to George for a lesson. Zivona has added a little spice to our lives. She seems to be waking up these days. From the time we got there she has been very forward (most days). She has been offering some playful bucks and one day with me and one day with Judi, she offered way more than just playful bucks. We definitely had to have our seat belts on. These were followed by some fabulous work. It is good Judi had some rodeo practice at the BLMs!!