So where to start? I obviously won't do a day by day account - I'd be here forever! So I'll stick to the big events!
March was an incredible month for me!
I had my birthday and turned the grand old age of 26. My 25th year was so amazing I was a little sad to see it end but my 26th year certainly looks to be keeping the momentum! The girls got together and bought me a Furminator - an incredible grazing tool which I have had great satisfaction in using on all of my horses as their coats have been changing. Marie-Claire treated us all to a meal at our favourite restaurant and we had a great night, which inevitably lead to me wearing a bread basket as a hat - and I don't even drink!!!
On the 18th we opened the doors of the Plessis for the 2012 Haras Natural du Plessis Open Day. You can watch the highlight on this link! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIOZc_FEIiQ
We had over 200 spectators come and fill up the auditorium. We even had seating in the corner of the arena and people standing on Piet's machines around the back of the arena trying to get a view! It was my first demo and Paris' too. We worked like crazy in the morning to have as much time as possible to prepare the horses for the show. I took Paris in and warmed him up online as the audience was finding their seats and Marie-Claire welcomed every one to the Plessis and introduced them to what we do everyday. Paris was a little tense but very responsive and made a massive effort to listen to me. He gave me some beautiful connection and was soon ready for mounting - which was fortunate because we were scheduled to perform in the carousel. I was over the moon with how Paris managed to keep his emotions in control and act like a partner and I could be the cool calm and collected leader he needed me to be even with the pressure of 200 predators watching us as I tried to remember our complicated choreography routine. Of course it did not go without a hitch but it was a big success and certainly showed our level of imagination! We used our carrot sticks with savvy strings tied together as banners and rode under each other, even over jumps. It was a good test of Paris' friendly game and really put purpose to our principles. Next Gabi came in to do an online and liberty jumping display. I took Paris to the stable to unsaddle him and prepare him for our liberty and freestyle demo. The stables were completely full of people, I've never seen a crowd like it in a place were horses go! Children came and petted Paris and gave him carrots and he stayed left brained. During the interval I took Paris back into the arena to get the connection back before out demo started. This time the atmosphere was getting to him more. Perhaps because of all the umberellas as it had started to rain hard, or because it was getting too difficult for him to leep his emotions under control. He kept looking around but responding perfectly to everything I asked - I felt like he was with me for safety but he was really on the edge of disconnecting. The music changed and MArie-Claire came in with Origan to introduce Elvira and my demonstration. Elvira had Indy at Liberty and was beginning her extreme friendly game as planned. I slid Paris' halter off and felt him get tense, lose connection and I knew if I did extreme friendly right now I would completely lose him! He had been taking security from the holding hands effect of the halter and rope and now he was alone. I quickly adjusted my plan and went straight to our backward circle. It is a very well established pattern of ours, he knows it so well and would need to think about his feet which I hoped would give him some security and cause the left side of his brain to kick in... it worked! He did a beautiful job of sticking to me. I kept it at trot back up transitions at first until he relaxed a little more. He crossed the seesaw a little tentatively and I didn't put the tarp on him as I had planned but did a friendly touch it game with it instead to build his confidence. By the time I asked for canter stick to me he was really much more connected and even stayed with me as we jumped the barrels. He loaded into the trailer and did a lovely sideways at liberty and I used the pedestal to jump onto him bareback and bridleless. He responded beautifully to my energy and I only used my legs and neckstring a little to reassure him and help him find the correct response. He really tried his heart out! He stood on the pedestal with me on him, and we trotted a figure eight pattern and did some yoyos before I asked him to canter large circles around our end of the arena. Elvira and Indy did absolutely fantastic. I guess Paris was a showing his tension because his canter was a little bucky and I really had to push on his whithers and smile. I think the thing I was most proud of was that my RBE could stop from canter when I asked and I then backed him up to where Elvira was standing on Indy's back and I slid off of his butt. Just over two years ago Paris still spooked if the rug was pulled off of him over his butt like that. Now I could slide myself off of him in these extreme circumstances! I took Paris to the stable and was settling him down when I got summoned back to the arena as I was meant to be in the Youngster online demonstration with Touria. Rianne was in the arena with Salvia and Touria. I took Touria from her and discovered she was a little emotional about the situation. I gave her the freedom to move her feet and look around and soon she calmed down and her inately left brain introvert nature kicked in and she dropped to the ground to roll in the sand. I played with the pedestal and trailer and had her straddle a pole. She did very well for her first ever demonstration. I was so pleased with my horses and how the day went - I could not really have asked for a better outcome.
The next week was a course with 5* Parelli Professional Berni Zambail. Marie-Claire had arranged that Elvira and I could join the course - such an amazing gift I can't thank her enough! I learned absolutely buckets. Beni had me work on my energy, particularly my distinction between neutral even when I'm moving and having intention even when I'm still. The things he helped me with are really making a difference to everything I'm doing with all my horses. I got some more precision, strategies and confidence too. Berni had me use a clever pattern of slow trot fast trot slow trot to get Touria to offer the canter without bucking. It was the fist time I'd asked for her to canter with me on her since her massive bronc-fest! She did amazing and with Berni's help she was really motivated to move her feet forwards! Of course she is so smart that when I tried to repeat the pattern without Berni, each time she got a bit more sour and started to come up with new tricks to outsmart me. I can now do buck free canter transitions and am riding her in the halter again. She is also offering me so much online, she can do flying changed at the end of the 45 ft line and learned lead by the tail in one minute! She is an absolute genius!
Riva had 6 weeks off because she had an unlevness in her pastern joints which Isabelle, the vet, injected and we gave her plenty of rest. I played with her at liberty when she came back into "work" and she was leaping around a really showing off. I was able to play all of the seven games with her and actually got a better circle game than we've ever had online! she even gave me a change of direction with flying change! I've ridden her a little and we have built up our maintain canter to two laps of the arena in both directions! I'm very happy that we're back to making progress. Unfortunately I can't play with her at the moment as we have a Boot Camp and she is being partnered with one of the bootcampers. She managed to cut her lip open yesterday. It looks really ugly but I think it will heal quickly enough. I'm keeping it clean and checking it twice daily.
Gabi and I started to work together to play with Seth again. I was taking him to the playground and having him jump the big obstacles with the saddle on. He s so much better with the saddle you would not imagine! A couple of times he would start bucking when he went into canter. I could see that when he took the canter he would panick and say "I can't breathe" and then hold his breath and freak out. I kept asking him forward until he took a deep breath and cantered forward freely. Within two sessions he realised that if he did not hold his breath he could actually breathe just fine! and we had no more right brained bucking. In fact he got so confident that he did a few left brained bucks more like the ones Touria does. Gabi would play with Seth online whilst I rode him and we were pleased to discover he had not forgotten anything. He is a beautifully responsive and comfortable horse to ride, but he is very quick to move between left brain extrovert and right brain introvert and needs to be read constantly. On the second ride of our series I realised the theraflex valves were open and my mind wandered to trying to close them. Maybe my weight moved forward or he just felt my energy go out of harmony with him but he immediately resonded with a buck. it was actually pretty small but somehow i found myself going the worng way over his shoulder. As I fell I remember thinking "why on earth am i falling" I was rather annoyed with myself. I should have been able to sit that buck! I wasn't hurt and the next day we had an amazing session where Seth got so left brained and playful he started trying to bite Gabi's horse, Quimrahil. So we had him doing figure eights at the trot introducing more stearing and leadership from his back.
Unfortunately my progress with Seth was brought to a halt....
I was driving home from Church and 10 minutes from the Plessis I was hit by a strong cross wind that took my car out of my control. It span and came off the road onto a slope where it rolled over completely. It landed on the passenger side and I was trapped inside hanging from my seat belt. As the car had been rolling I rememeber thinking "I'm going to die" but it was more of a fact. I was very calm about it. When the car stopped I was still conscious and I said to myself "I'm not broken". I managed to twist myself so my feet would land on the grass (where my passenger window was smashed to smithereens) as I unclipped my seat belt. The windscreen had a large cracked up patch but was still whole. I tried to open the driver's door above my head but the frames were bent up and I could not do it. I didn't try for long because I decided to look through the mess that was everything that had been in my car to try to find my mobile phone and call for help. Just then some people descended upon my car talking french. One man began smashing my windscreen as another pulled my drivers door from the outside. I pushed from inside and we managed to pop it open but then they decide it was too dangerous for me to climb up out of the car that way and they continued to rip the windscreen open so I could step out into safety. I picked up a few bits, including my paperwork and a kind, english speaking, french couple gave me a lift back to the Plessis where I told everyone what happened. No one could belive how bad my car was when I had been able to walk away relatively unscathed. They took me to hospital - an interesting experience - and I was x-rayed and diagnosed with low grade whiplash and told to wear a neckbrace for a week. Every body was incredibly kind and would not let me work for a whole week. When I did start work we were all careful to makesure I built it up slowly for my back and neck muscles to be able to strengthen appropriately. I was so so unbelievably happy when I could ride and play again. Seth, however, has decided that he still needs more time off and has yet another abcess. I'm looking forward to progressing him undersaddle again as soon as his abcess is better.
I have returned to my program of zone 5 driving with Paris and it is going so well that the otherday we could do the figure 8 pattern from zone 5 at liberty! He has made such an incredible step forward with the bidle - he actually takes the bit willingly now. We just need to build to where he can lower his head because he is resistent to the porcupine game at the moment! And we have begun doing fluid rein which I have found out is actually an incredible link between freestyle riding and finesse. He is discovering a better way to use himself and I am excited that we may finally, for the first time in years, be able to build some real topline!
I'm having a holiday soon - I'll be going home to the UK on 23rd May so that I can see my family and go to my sister's wedding in Italy. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone. It's certainly going to be an eventful adventure!
oh and ofcourse I need to mention my devastating loss! Elvira left here at the end of March, and so did Rianne. The team was suddenly a lot smaller and the house a lot quieter. I have adjusted but not slept so well and I do really miss my buddy! I was looking forward to seeing Elvira when I went home because the plan was that she would come to my sister's wedding but with the car crash and a series of unfortunate circumstances that can't happen now. Hopefully I will see her in the summer!
It will certainly be interesting to see how things progress with my horses and how Plessis life will change with the conclusion of the Bootcamp! Watch this space!
