Just when you think you're good to go...

Happy Tuesday to you all!

Well... where to start.  First I should probably explain to those of you who were keeping an eye on scores over the weekend why nothing was showing up for Rif.  Wednesday we had bit of a hurdle thrown at us.  I've been fighting against scratches (mild infection) on Rif's leg the past while and last week I had the vet out to look and she put her on some mild antibiotics to hopefully kick it.  Well wednesday we found out that was not enough.  Her scratches blew up and so I knew we needed to put a stop on things and get it under control.  Nobody thought it was that bad at all but it's amazing how quickly things can flare up.  We had to leave wednesday to the show so we took her with us because at that point we weren't sure what was best and still had some phone calls to the vet to make to find out what to do.
Because of the level of show I was showing in international drug testing can randomly occur and I knew we needed to get Rif on some meds.  I felt it was best to have the vet treat her and deal with the situation instead of showing her on a swollen leg and risk stressing it unnecessarily.  It was hard because she has been feeling amazing and I knew this was going to be our show but this was one of those weekends where the welfare of your horse becomes way more important than test scores.  So the story continues and we had a vet come out wednesday night and he gave her some heavy antibiotics and other meds to bring the swelling down that she remained on throughout the weekend and now she is in great shape.  I was able to ride her lightly over the weekend to keep her moving and boy did she feel amazing still!  It was so hard, I had to keep telling myself to keep it easy because she just felt and apparently looked stunning.  Since working with Debbie and having Sabine there watching we have really turned a corner and started clicking!  I know this weekend was bit of a curveball for us but I'm not going to let that discourage me.  I'm looking at it as another way of getting to know her and finding out how to prevent this from happening in the future.   One step at a time :)
So now about the cute chestnut.. water trucks and tractors are not his friends.. at all.  That was reconfirmed on Friday when I had to warm up with rings being harrowed and watered all around us.  We did not fare so well.. squealing and jumping around began in the warm-up and you can just imagine how that turned out in the ring.  We were rather tense and got stuck in that 60% again.  Saturday we had a bit of tension left over but he was so much more rideable and we almost had both our lines of changes =)  Sunday was the freestyle and I was so happy with him!  We scored 65.8% and he definitely gave me hope that he can maybe do it ;)
So I have to say going through this experience this past weekend truly reminded me of why I am doing this.  Because I just love being with the horses and joy I get from riding them even though it doesn't always go as planned.  Showing is more than ribbons and medals.  It's about what you get from it and no matter what, you have to always put your horse first.  There will always be people better than you and you have to keep your head out of the crap that goes on and stay true to the person you know who you are.  Everything happens for a reason and it's trusting that all works out in God's plan and timing. 
So that's my little pow wow from the weekend.. sorry to ramble on ;)  I will try to get some pictures up in the next few days!
Hope all is well!
Moni

It's time to show her off!

Hello to you all!   I thought I'd drop a few lines to you all before I head off to the show with mom tomorrow!

First off, I hope you all had a lovely weekend!!

Mom flies in tonight with dad and then tomorrow we will be off to Flintridge.  This show is a CDI* which means it is both a qualifier for North Americans and then the freestyle score can also be used towards our World Cup average so I am really looking forward to getting out in the ring again.  Sabine will be there giving me help throughout the weekend which I am so grateful for. 

Since having help from Debbie and realizing what I am really capable of getting out of Rif, Sabine and I have decided it is time I really go out there and push for what we know is in there.  The past shows have really been me just trying to figure out how to ride Rif in the test and almost playing it a little too safe.  We will see what happens this time around but I feel I am at the point now where Rif and I can trust each other a whole lot more and know we can make it through a clean test so it's time to really see what we can bring out and show her off.

As for Stentano, well who knows what he will bring.   Sabine has had a bit more time so she has been helping me with Stentano quite a bit since the last show.  We have been working on getting him a lot more through and supple by doing a lot of work in the canter and spending time in the pirouettes to really get them correct and in control.  And as for the changes, well that is still a hit and miss type situation.  I really want to give him this year to see if we can work through some of these issues so by no means am I giving up yet!

I have never been to these show grounds before so it will be an adventure!

Let's bring on the fun!

Monica :)

Onwards and Upwards

Happy Belated Mother's day to all the mom's out there!

I was MIA for the weekend and decided to jump aboard a 737 and surprise my mom, so yes I was able to enjoy sunny (yes, sunny!) vancity for the weekend with her!  It was a lovely weekend and just all around so nice to catch up with friends and family!  The support and endless love I get from you all touches me so deeply - so thank you all so much for the excitement!

Last week I had another 2 lessons with Debbie on Rif and 2 lessons with Sabine on Stentano.  It was one of those weeks that builds you up and makes you believe anything can happen - it's all about the hard work, persistence, and dedication and to see it all start taking off even more than before inspires you to do nothing less than to keep making your dreams come true.

I was thinking the other day about everything that's all happened since January.. and I kind of had one of those moments that makes you go holy crap and I'm only 19!!  I feel like my true life journey has just begun and it's time to step out into the real world and really go for it!  The opportunity is there so heck YR World Cup.. I think it's time to seriously consider making a run at that!  Only 1 Canadian young rider is selected to go to Germany in December based on the highest averaging freestyle scores.. it's a huge goal but why not keep reaching for the stars!  Anything can happen and I'm loving this road I'm on so nothing's stopping me!

I've got 2 weeks until my next show and then possibly one more show before North Americans and then we'll be amping up for the humid Kentucky heat mid-July assuming all goes well with team selection and most importantly Rif's well being :) So off to another great week we go!

Wishing my best to you all!!

Moni

YR Freestyle 70.5%

Alright here it is!  Sorry mom was rather nervous so it's a little bouncy ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvWZRNE2pbM&feature=youtube_gdata

An update on the week!

This week was absolutely fantastic with the horses!  I was able to have 2 lessons with Debbie and she really helped me figure some more things out with Rif!  Now that I have gotten to know Rif a lot more I feel like the timing is just right to have help from Debbie because we are at the point where it is time to start pushing for the best and really going for it - which is super exciting!! We are going to try to keep these lessons up on a weekly basis until Debbie goes back to Idaho :)  I still cannot quite believe it! 
Sabine was also able to help me with Stentano this week which was awesome.  She is so calm and methodical and really understands how Stentano needs to be approached.  We worked on throughness throughness and more throughness by using the pirouettes to really put him in the right place.  Boy I tell you when he cooperates and gets into that right place he can sure feel super.. I've got hope for him!  We just need time :) 

Today was such a lovely day out at the barn with them.  The sun was shining so bright so I decided to take them out and ride them on the grand prix field.  They were both so happy out there and we just had lots of fun together - it's times like today that are so special, where it feels like it's just me and the horses and that nothing else matters.  It's such a blessing to have moments like that with them.  They are just such amazing animals and every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have 2 beautiful animals like them in my life.

This weekend the weather has been so lovely.  Tomorrow the horses get their well earned day off and so I'm going to meet up with some friends from back home that are out at Disneyland!!  I guess I can go have a little fun too ;)  I hope you are all doing well! 

I am uploading my freestyle from the show last weekend to YouTube (it is just taking awhile) so once I get it up I'll post the link here!

All my best,
Monica

A learning curve each step of the way!

Hi Everyone!

I am so sorry for taking so long to get another post up.  I have been so busy lately I just haven’t found the time to sit down with my computer but finally here we go =)  So much has happened since the last time I wrote so I’m sorry if this post goes a little long ;)

The first thing I must talk about and give a huge thank you to is Arista Equestrian!  I am proud and so honored to say that I am now sponsored by Arista.  They are a fabulous equestrian clothing company and so I got my very first pair of white breeches from them to show in at the CDI this past weekend!   Thank you Arista!!   http://www.aristaequestrian.com/

And I must thank our company Houweling’s for all being so supportive and encouraging.  I will be riding soon with our logo’s on my saddle pads and if all goes well on the horse trailer too!  Got to keep daddy happy by repping the company name ;) http://www.houwelings.com/

This past weekend was the Del Mar National CDI.  It’s held at the racetrack/fair grounds in Del Mar which are super grounds!  The footing was awesome and the atmosphere was electric!  The CDI was held in a big dome type indoor but with open ends on both sides where you could see the fair and circus tents out back and so it was definitely quite a hyped up environment to ride in but so much fun!  Rif had a really hard time but by Sunday I figured out how to ride her through it a lot better and came out with a fantastic freestyle score of 70.5%!  Stentano coped really well with the atmosphere and we were starting to get closer and closer to getting better lines of changes.  We scored 62% both days which I was happy with because our tests are still far from perfect and we still have obvious thoroughness issues in the show ring itself.

Even though the show itself may not have been as successful placing wise compared to previous shows, I feel what I learnt and the opportunities that opened from this show brought about just as much or even more success.  To be honest it was a really challenging show trying to figure out how to deal with her tension and I was trying my best and it just didn’t seem to be working.  I was determined to get to the other end of it and I have to thank Sabine Schut-Kery a tremendous amount for her help throughout the whole weekend.  She was so encouraging and just kept reminding me to ride each movement and focus on accuracy and to keep on believing.  I really feel Rif and I have taken a huge step forward together from this weekend and that we are starting to really understand each other better!

A huge door was also opened at the show for me.  Debbie McDonald (for the non-horsey people out there is a very successful US Olympian) was there with Adrienne Lyle (her student trying for the Olympics this year) now that they are back from Florida and she was so encouraging and excited to see how well things have been going for Rif and I.  Debbie has been a big part of Rif’s training since the Leatherdale’s imported her 5 years ago so she knows her really well and really wants to see the best come out of it all for Rif and I.  She offered to come over to El Campeon to give me some help with Rif so this week I have 2 lessons which I am so excited about!

 As well, another really exciting thing for me was that on Wednesday at the show I was able to get a lesson with Steffen Peters who is very interested in working with Rif and I as well.  It went so well and so I am excited to see what unfolds in the future with that now too!

It was so lovely to spend the weekend with mom and to have all her help!  I would never be able to do what I am doing if it wasn’t for her so thank you mom!!

Before I end up writing a novel, I think I better call it a night and I will do my best to get back into the routine of updating more regularly!  I wish everyone the best who will be competing this weekend at Southlands!  I wish I could be there supporting you all but know I will be there in spirit :) 

Thank you again so much for all of your support!  I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart and I feel so blessed.

All my best,

Monica