I didn't actually write this entry on my fourtieth birthday.  I just learned that I can back-date my blog entries, and I missed the month of June entirely.  These days I go to the barn strictly for my own peace of mind, and I get to ride on the weekends if I'm lucky.  The horses don't seem to mind.  They are all bright and healthy and do exactly what I want when I do manage to climb aboard.  

On June 2 my husband took me to the local Swedish bakery for Eggs Benedict, then we took a nice long drive to a plant nursery I haven't visited before, and to the local tack shop, which is now also serving ice cream.  

​It was a good day to turn 40.

The horses are finally grazing.  

I can finally give them all a good bath, and I love to splash rain water with a shot of baby oil over their coats at the end.  My dear husband rigged me a nice setup to catch all the water I want.

Ludwig approves.

A lovely walk in 'the back 40'.....

To see the apple trees in bloom.

This year is going to be a bit of a flyer.  Friends ask if I will be competing with the horses, and what our travel plans might be, and I am simply at a loss to answer them.  

My routine was already thrown with the new job, and then my Dad fell so sick and died 90 days ago.  I am coming to terms with it all, and I try to answer these questions:

• How am I doing?
• What am I going to carry with me from this experience?
• What am I going to leave behind from this experience?

I love how the animals and gardens draw me outside to do something in nature as springtime takes hold.  I go through the motions and let them bring me a little joy again.  Ehren takes me for a lovely walk around the property, Ludi nuzzles my hair and wraps his neck around me in a big horse hug, Andy twinkles and asks for sugar, and beautiful old Belle casts her calming spell on me.  

It's about all I could ask for right now.

Sometime soon all the snow will be gone, the horses will have finished shedding, and it will be time to get out and do stuff.  

Here's a link to Ontario Equestrian, where membership gives you important liability coverage, and access to shows and training:

ontarioequestrian.ca

And Equestrian Canada, for provincial and national shows, training and digital horse passports:

equestrian.ca

Now, what's the calendar looking like?  Here are some options:

Ottawa area dressage shows: www.ottawadressage.ca

On my personal bucket list: The Hunt Club  www.ottawavalleyhunt.com 

Hope to see you!

Some time last summer I read an article about career planning that suggested reading some books outside of your normal go-to genre, and that once you'd read 3 books on a subject, you could consider yourself somewhat of an expert.  I wandered around the local library soon after, and noticed that the librarian had put out a selection of 'self-help' books, including 'How to Make Friends and Influence People', 'Getting to Yes', and 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'.  

The Seven Habits really changed my life in terms of helping me to understand my new job and the people that came with it, and in articulating what I was struggling to achieve.  Of course, the book is meant to help the reader navigate their lives among other people in a better way.  But, seeing through this new lens as I get back into spending time with my horses, it's not surprising to me that concepts from the book can apply to good horsemanship:

Be Proactive: A clean and tidy place prevents injuries and accidents.

Put First Things First: If you're not primarily concerned with the physical and mental well-being of your horse, you're not going to enjoy any success for very long.

Begin With the End in Mind:  A common saying is 'Every moment you're with your horse, you are either training or un-training him.'  

The above 3 habits are called 'Private Victories'.  The quality of your schooling at home will determine the quality of your performance when you're competing.  Also, your own self-awareness and self-discipline will determine your ability.  'Inside out', not 'outside in'.  You're in charge of your own journey.

Think Win/Win:  Your horse has a limited ability to think, but he sure knows the difference between being treated well and being treated badly.  A good trainer will ensure the horse is enjoying himself, which is fun to ride!

Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: If you're not open to learning all you can about your horse's physiology, care, and good training practices, what qualifications do you have to train him?  Try reading 3 books on each subject!

Synergize: A horse and rider sharing joy in the same activity is the epitome of good sport.  Bring together lots of horses and people sharing joy, and I want to be there!  

The above 3 habits are called 'Public Victories'.  I can train at home on my own, but real success comes from sharing knowledge and celebrating with others, and that builds even more success.  The horse industry could use a lot more of that.

Habit 7 is Sharpen the Saw: Rest and return to nature to recharge your batteries.  Have a little fun.  Do something without the competition in mind.  Enjoy the horse as he is naturally.  Keep things balanced.

My Dad died.  A sudden, rare and devastating illness struck him down and I spent 2 weeks in hospital hell by his side.  I know so many of us have gone through this kind of loss, and I try to remind myself often of all the good support around me as I move from one awful phase to the next awful one.  I met a lot of caring professionals who were working at the edge of their capabilities, and I saw many parallels to my own job. I now know about powerful medicines that are only available for one person when thousands and thousands of people donate blood.  I educated myself quickly to the complexities of our Local Health Integration Networks when it comes your choice of location for care, and about the limited palliative care options for people who live in rural areas.  I have lived first-hand how important it is to get your affairs in order, to get them in writing, and to choose people who are capable of making decisions according to your wishes.  Take every opportunity you have to tell someone you love them, and the memories will comfort you when they are gone.

Prior to the announcement of my new day job, I put myself through a couple of interviews.  I knew that my coaching experience would be an asset if I positioned it correctly.  I'd now be responsible for a team of different personalities, and my employer was emphasizing the coaching role more and more.  Having a conversation around 'How do you think that went? What went well? What would you do differently next time?  Let's try it again.' is nothing new to me.

In my first interview, I didn't feel that I'd positioned my experience well enough.  I was simply up against more qualified candidates, so I thought hard about what I'd do differently in the next interview.  When that time came, I talked about all the lessons & clinics I'd given, and the Olympic athletes and team coaches I'd worked with, and the structured system of our national federation.  I mentioned being an official who could 'call the shot' and make tough decisions.  That paid off, I got the good news, and for once i could say that horses had actually improved my financial position!

Now that I'm in the new chair, I must say that I'm surprised at how reluctant most people are to receive some coaching.  To be sure, hardly anyone lines up to be critiqued, and we're still getting to know eachother, but I've always had the perspective that in order to get any better at something, we could all use a little help.  Coaching doesn't necessarily have to come from someone who was a top performer in your field, it could be from some other mentor.  Feedback doesn't just come from your supervisor if you're really listening; it could be from a customer, a health professional, a good friend.  

As we all indulge and celebrate the holidays, I hope you take some time to reflect and look forward to the New Year, and if there's something you'd like to change or improve, give yourself the gift of a little help, and find a good coach.  That person will sincerely want to see you succeed, and it's always more fun to celebrate together!

Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth!

  

When people ask me 'How's the new job going?' I say to them 'Have you ever seen the show American Ninja Warrior?'.

Here's a taste of it:

That gal earned her chance to take a crack at that course, and she does it all with a smile on her face!  I compare my new job to the show because right now every task is a big challenge that I'm not always sure how to execute, and the last thing I want to do is fail in front of a crowd.  Nevertheless, I haven't fallen yet and have been getting lots of positive feedback along the way.

I'm putting in long hours to learn and to show that I'm ready to roll up my sleeves.  The sacrifice is that I have hardly ridden my beloved horses, and so this month's instalment is to share some of my favourite videos to inspire you and myself:

First one is German Olympian Hubertus Schmidt riding at a clinic in Massachusetts in 2009.  Every time I watch this video I see something new.  What I love about it is that Hubertus does not know this horse and yet they communicate to eachother and improve:

Next up is another one of my favourite riders Catherine Haddad-Staller not only riding, but talking the whole time she demonstrates!

You simply cannot go wrong with anything from Dressage & Eventing Champion Ingrid Klimke.  Her philosophies stand true:

Last one for today is Jeremy Steinberg riding his young mare Augie.  This is a relatively long video at 21 minutes.  That's a long time to ask you to pay attention, but otherwise you might not appreciate what a good training session really looks like.  This quiet, fair, consistent way is what I strive for.

Each of these riders has plenty more to offer you online if you just look.  

Until next time, I'll keep sweating (been taking some Hot Power Yoga classes), smiling and trying not to fall on my face!

We took a trip to the Rockies earlier this month, and what a trip!  

We chose an outfitter who provided horses to access the terrain.  My mount for the week was another clever bay named Tornado, and John was on steadfast Copper.  

The riding was more difficult than I'd ever asked my horses to deal with, and the climbing was more difficult than I'd ever asked of myself!  With my ambitious husband by my side and our intrepid guide out front, we topped 7500 feet one afternoon.  My ankles complained about the angles, my lungs bellowed against my ribs for more space, and my heart fluttered.  "Where else are we going to do this?  You can't do this at home!" John exclaimed.  A few minutes rest to re-oxygenate, and up we went further.  After a few days, I had Mountain Legs and craved more.  

A day of rest at home, then I went off again to the Adirondacks with some old and new friends to trail-ride for the weekend, and I tried my new Mountain Riding skills with Ehren.  He was perfect: game and happy to go for an International Horse Party.

There's no routine to come back to!  I'm climbing upwards in my day job, which involved a couple of interviews recently, and some serious questions:  "What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?  Why do you want this?  What have you done to prepare?"  I lost my breath a couple of times, but came out on top, and start my new gig on Monday.  I'll be coaching an office team now, hoping my experience will carry over, and I try not to worry about how it will work out.  I'm capable of more than I think. 

So are you.

On August 27 I took Ludi for my first lesson with Susan Ziereisen, hosted by the beautiful White Forest Equestrian Centre near Forester's Falls.  Sue is a High Performance Dressage Coach with lots of horses and riders in her roster, and she runs Huntleigh Equestrian Centre.  I'd heard good things about her and didn't hesitate to sign up.

We started with a quick intro.  I want Sue to know a bit of my background: r judge, Level 1 Coach, my own farm.  Competed at Fourth Level on a Schoolmaster in 2012, made my own Third Level horse before that.  Started dressage with Gerry back in the day, worked for Simone, lessons with Gina, Cindy and Joanne.  It's a bit of name dropping, like it or not, but I do it to say 'I can work, so let's work.'

There's a common theme to good training, and it's always a calm focus on correct basics.  Sue immediately addressed Ludi's straightness and our one-sidedness.  Spectators would have only seen us do big circles and straight lines, but if they'd been watching closely, they would have seen my horse going better and better, getting more balanced and improving transitions.  In all the dressage lessons I've taken from these good trainers, I've never been told to get angry, to pull or kick, or make any big move.  Afterwards, it's up to me to self-coach; to do it myself if I expect any results.  

I read a comment online from Denny Emerson, poking at 'trainer-hoppers' who move from one coach to another frequently, often complaining that they're getting too much repetition and nothing new.  Denny suggests these folks would be better served if they considered that maybe they're not listening to the good advice they're being given!

Living remotely, I've never been in a position to train regularly with one person, and maybe that's impeded my riding progress, but I've had other goals to meet along the way.  It doesn't occur to me to be frustrated if I hear the same thing from someone new; that just means it's important, and probably correct!  Being teachable keeps me learning, and I use the info to be a better coach.

Dressage is centuries-old, and while the times change, there's nothing new in the concepts.  Training an animal to be an athlete takes a long time and requires regular assessment by someone more experienced.  Whether that's a judge or trainer, there are no shortcuts, quick fixes or gimmicks to be handed out.

I'm sure we'll connect with Sue again!