Reliving the greatest moment in my career

Soon and I with George H. Morris

 One year ago today was the day George Morris asked to buy my horse.  

Soon and I were participating in the 2017 George H. Morris clinic at Beverly Equestrian (The Plains, VA).  On the second day of the clinic, George hopped on Soonie to demo the grid jumping, and Bubba was an absolute star.  GHM is known for his love of a good Thoroughbred, and he loved Soon so much he kept jumping back and forth through the grid, again and again, and when he eventually pulled up, he kept asking me what his price was.  I am sure it was completely in jest, a charming way for George to express that he liked the horse.  Even if that's true, just the fact that he had enjoyed his ride on Soon was enough for me to remember that moment for a lifetime.

I had spent 27 years as a horseman and rider, starting as a little kid.  Growing up I idolized George Morris, Joe Fargis, Michael Matz, Leslie Burr Howard, so many other great American jumper riders.  This clinic and that incredible horse inspired me to ride with Joe Fargis, Linda Zang, Stephen Bradley.  All world class horsemen ...legends, even ... in their own right and training regularly with any one of them I would have thought an impossible accomplishment before last year.  But we did it.  And there I was on 13 September 2017, on my little Thoroughbred who I had retrained off the track myself, and he had impressed the most famous horseman in the world.

I was so incredibly proud of Soon, and still am.  I knew well before then that he was special, and I didn't need anyone else to think that.  But now not only did someone validate it for me, but it was George Morris.  Talk about an actual dream come true. 

I miss Soon.  It will not get easier the next couple of months.  But looking back, I still feel the overwhelming pride and sheer joy I felt in that moment, watching George ride around on Soon, praising him the whole way.  I can still feel the sting of the long-held smile on my face from George's compliments of Soonie, from his comments later about stealing him away.  I can still feel what it was like to give Soon the biggest hug after the session was over, so full of joy and pride that I cried into his neck.

Yeah...that had to be one of the greatest memories I will ever have with a horse.  The cool thing though?  I look back on every quiet hack, every sunset we watched out over the farm, and think of them just as fondly.  

With all the memories of the work that into that GHM clinic, and all the videos of old indoors/Olympics/etc horse shows I can find, I feel compelled to celebrate with some of our favorite action shots from last year:

Upperville Colt & Horse Show, 2017

Piedmont Jumper Classic, 2017

 Brother...you were the absolute coolest.  I miss you.  

But to end this blog on a very happy note, check out Boy Wonder back in Kentucky:

I just received that yesterday.  I have no desire whatsoever to get back in the hunter ring full time, but I think it's becoming pretty clear Siggy needs to do some hunter derbies.  His hunter potential is just disgusting in like the best way.  A good reason to dust off my tails!

...and then afterward we can go back to being the most well dressed/color coordinated, metronome/huntery 1.0m jumpers ever.

I like this plan.

New Show Name for Sig!

It only took me the better part of 10 months, but I think I've finally decided on a show name for Sig:

SIBELIUS MB

"Say whaaaaat?"

Jean Sibelius is a romantic/early modern-era classical composer.  MB stands for Mt Brilliant, the historic farm in Lexington, Kentucky that bred and raised Sig.

I had been going back/forth on keeping his current name Lucky Strike, given to him by his breeder, but not backed up with any kind of paperwork.  He has no papers at all.  Lucky Strike, being a little too commonly used for my taste, and me not being in anyway interested in cigarettes, was never super appealing to me.  I did register him with USEF under "MB Lucky Strike," but never really felt satisfied with it.  So I tossed around some ideas, mainly nautical/maritime themed.  Seemed like I could find something that would be good, possibly even tying to his sire's name, Northern Afleet.

And I found tons of options.  Damn good, classy, clever ones....a couple that absolutely related to his sire's name.  And none of them really "fit" Siggers.

Since I picked up the violin last spring, and have immersed myself in classical music, rediscovering old favorites and discovering works I had never had the pleasure of experiencing before (or was too immature to appreciate before), I toyed with using that as inspiration for Sig's new name.  And the idea felt right to me.

So I wrote down every violin-related or music-related term that I thought might be a great nod to my rediscovered passion.  Finally I landed on Sibelius.  I think it just looks and sounds right for Sig.

I think he looks like a Sibelius

Here is one of my favorite violinists, James Ehnes, performing Sibelius' Violin Concerto in D Minor with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony:

Thoughts on SafeSport

The complaining I have seen online about the SafeSport requirement is pathetic.

Excuses about spending an hour on an online training course, or not having kids or not being at a barn with kids, or not competing that much, or pushing back because Big Brother government is telling us what to do, or this training being useless and not helping anyone...they are all lame ass, lazy excuses that all total up to "It's not my problem." 

It is your problem. It's my problem too.

Look any victim in the eye and tell them it's not your problem. Perhaps if more people knew what to look for, or knew how to voice a concern, or if society was more open about talking and supportive of reporting abuses, that victim wouldn't be a victim. If this training helps just one person, it's worth it.

All sports with a national governing body in the US are required to implement this program.  So USEF isn't just making this up to further burden us poor, overworked, amateurs.  Personally, I'm still trying to figure out why members are always complaining about the burdens and regulations and blah blah blah...I don't think it's that complicated to pay a fee, abide by the rules, and take one stinking training course.  But maybe I just didn't sign up for the complicated version of USEF, who knows.

There is a very real meaning behind this requirement, and it wouldn't exist if some Very Bad People hadn't taken advantage of children while third party witnesses looked the other way.

No, the training isn't perfect and is a bit of a CYA move, but it's a start in the right direction, and is the easiest way to make an immediate, measurable impact across a large spectrum. I can make a joke about the amount of useless computer based training I have to take in the military, but the reality is that this training isn't useless or pointless.  It is just one training course and then you can go on your way.  Gasp...the annual refresher course is only 30 minutes.  I think you can scrounge up 30 minutes once a year to complete the refresher too. 

They're not asking you to invade Columbia, folks.

If you can bitch about it on Facebook or the COTH forums, you clearly have the time to knock it out. No internet at home? Visit your local library or Starbucks and do it on your phone.

Oh, you're offended at having to take the training because you feel it doesn't apply to you? That's fine....then don't compete. You have a choice. No one is forcing us to spend $2K at a USEF competition with our luxury show pets.

I just don't have the patience for people who want to yell and scream about how unfair this is.  Some are acting absolutely absurd. 

I think in the long line of accomplishments in the sport, speaking out and offering a voice in this discussion might be one of Anne's more important achievements.

On Stranger Tides

Seems like every time I go to sit down and write, that's when I lose the inspiration.

No surprise then I've started and dropped this update a couple times now.

Also no surprise that, to be quite frank, there has hardly been reason for me to write.  A year ago I was flying high, enjoying the journey of a lifetime, and as I come up on some major milestones in that journey in the coming months, it just makes me sad.

But to cut to the chase, so much has changed in the last year, even in the last few months since my last blog entry.  Sig and I enjoyed a quiet spring, did a lot of hacking, very little ring work, and mostly he chilled and got to grow up a little.  I didn't spend a lot of time riding due to work being crazy, and getting ready for my pending military move.  Where did I end up going?

Japan.

 

...Okinawa, to be specific.  I arrived in the middle of June.  It was a whirlwind spring, I had a lot of life-sorting and packing to do, hence Sig's light work schedule.  I dropped Siggers off with my trainer friend, Ashley, at her farm in Kentucky (just down the road from Mt. Brilliant where he grew up!) back in May.  Because the relationship is so new I wondered whether it would be easy to drive away...I finally stopped crying uncontrollably somewhere after I cleared the Lexington city limits.

Just before I started the long drive home without him...

He's doing great out there.  He's getting ridden now four days a week, getting a real foundation in flatwork and gridwork to start his career off right.  Ashley does a lot of hacking with him as well since he loves that and it's great for his brain.  She is a wonderful, soft rider who has a very similar approach to training as I do, so I could not think of a better person for him to go to.  He's currently doing night turnout, but he has the option of living out 24/7, so it's a great situation for him.  Here are some progress videos:






He will spend the year with Ashley, and I will spend the year here on Okinawa.  All in all, not a bad place to spend the year (yes...these are all my own photos of the neighborhood where I live!):

My work is my primary focus while I'm here, but I also have a couple of hobbies and areas of self-improvement I want to focus on.  I want to spend more time reading books, preferably on my quiet beach and away from technology and distractions.  I want to get fit again; I lost all my fitness and gained nearly 20 lbs since Soon's illness, subsequent death, and some unfortunate family issues that followed shortly thereafter.  I want to lose that weight and get fit so I can get back in the saddle and not miss a beat.

I also decided to start learning the violin.  This was a lifelong "dream" of mine, something I always wanted to do, but I guess until recently never allowed it to be more than just a thought.  I bought a violin two years ago at the encouragement of a colleague, but the poor thing sat in a corner, neglected, until I got my orders to Okinawa.  I started weekly lessons with a local professional in a last-ditch attempt to learn whatever I could in those two months before I left.

Bae and I in the airport waiting on our flight overseas

I found an incredible teacher here on Okinawa, and I lesson with her weekly.  It is my hope to learn as much as possible in this year, where I do not have any other major hobbies or distractions.  This is a great opportunity for me to dedicate myself to this instrument, so that I can have a solid foundation for the future.  I hope to continue regular lessons when I get back to the States, hopefully play in a local (community) orchestra, perhaps even some chamber music someday when I'm good enough.

I used to be a musician; I studied classical piano for 10 years.  I played both the piano and clarinet (concert bands and wind ensembles) from my seventh birthday through my senior year in college.  Studying music is a lot like serious training in the horse world.  It takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication, and incredible amount of humility, and passion.  It's been nice to revisit my musical training and get back in touch with a part of myself I had long ignored.

And it's keeping me happy (or, as happy as it can).  It's almost as important as riding is, but of course it cannot quite fill that void.  I had major withdrawals this past week.  Was super sad about not being around horses, was missing Sig, was mourning Soon, was completely unsure how to get through the next 10 months without horses.

Sig also needs a new saddle by the sounds of it, so that is a large expense I had not budgeted for yet.  It will likely cost me my planned adventure to New Zealand this winter.   I had really wanted to go and spend a week or two in NZ.  It was the lifetime adventure, complete with horseback treks.  Now I seriously doubt I can afford any of that.

There are some (limited) riding options on Okinawa.  I do not know if I will end up riding here or not, but one of the barns is open to having me come out and hop on horses if we can make the timing work, so just knowing it's an option makes me feel more at ease.  Also, getting outside, away from the computer, getting moving, and getting some work done with the violin have helped put me in a better mood.

This is a year of finding myself, hitting the reboot button and finding out who I am now without my great partner, without some of the support systems I had in place before.  Hopefully this makes me a stronger person.  A better person.  A better partner for Sig.

We'll see.