Summa

If I said that June went by fast, July has been an outright blur.  The hay is in the barn for the winter.  My student's horses are improving in just the right way: as fast as the summer grass grows, and their smiles as they report on their successful rides between lessons make my heart  bigger. A couple of new students have found me and are already impressing me with their work ethic. 

Steffen Peters riding Legolas to gold

I made a quick trip to the Pan Am games to watch the Dressage Finals with a good friend, and shopped the hell out of the GTA equestrian scene.  We also had a sunny lunch with my dear coach Joanne Bouwhuis at her farm.

I found another hidden treasure near us at White Forest Farm, who hosted an in-house dressage show last Saturday and had me in to judge it.  From the beautiful ring setup to the spotless, safe lesson horses to the hardworking kids showing off their creative freestyle performances, I was charmed.

Ottawa Valley Hunt Club Summer Pace

Ehren gave me another super ride at the Ottawa Valley Summer Hunt Pace last Sunday.  He was perky and game for the entire 3 hours even while I was starting to wilt in the heat.  I let him out a little during a canter in a gorgeous wildflower field and felt just a glimpse of his huge, easy stride.  There's lots of power under his hood!

Ludi after our ride, being more Baby than Dragon

Ludi is working hard on his dressage.  It's not always easy for me to articulate this unspoken language, but there are moments with him where I sit deeply in the saddle, feel him answer and curve his body, and he's The Genius Prodigy.  Sometimes he's The Unruly Baby Dragon, but I am definitely still in love.  Last night, in an unscripted, impulsive moment, I cantered him across the ring and switched my legs to see what would happen, and he gave me lead changes in both direction.  They were messy and late, but they happened.  These are moments that make dressage queens daydream.

Darling DiMaggio

But after all that excitement, the highlight of this month has to be The Professor, DiMaggio.  Spring was hard on him, and that was hard on me.  The stall rest took away a lot of his fitness and caused several painful abcesses in his hooves; but they are healed and he's now on full turnout with the herd. Last week I tentatively watched him baby-trot in the ring and his step looked pretty even.  We're just about on track with the vet's predicted rehabilitation schedule, so with some encouragement from my husband, I tacked him up and hit the easy trails.  These rides will help rebuild some muscle, but I also simply enjoy his company. There's something about riding DiMaggio that makes me feel like a queen on her war horse.