This has been a post

Time has flown. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I had walked off the plane and arrived at the Schleypen’s to begin my journey. And somehow it’s almost a month until it’s time for me to go back home. The irony of it all is that I am not so homesick anymore. Of course I miss home but I am content where I am. I’ve discovered that home isn’t just a place but a sense of belonging.

If anyone were to ask if it was all worth it, I would say without hesitation YES! I have learned and gained so much from this experience. One, my riding has improved. I feel more secure in the saddle and have a better understanding of dressage theory. I also have grown as a person living in another country by myself and seeing how other people live. I have a better understanding of how a different corner of the world works. I encourage anyone and everyone to live overseas at least once, no excuses. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how little time there is or how much money you have or how scary it is. Find a way. Get out there and live. Don’t stay too comfortable.

I have, for the most part, been doing the same old things. I ride some pretty awesome horses and as the weather warms I feel myself become lighter in my boots (figuratively and literally--less clothing to wear) and people and horses alike are smiling more. I love that feeling of spring fever. Its as if the world shakes the dust.

Weekend before last I got to participate in something called Carnival. In Germany, especially Düsseldorf and Köln, Carnival is a time where people dress up in weird costumes and go out to party. For the kids, there is a parade.

I went with my friend, Claudia, from the stable and some other people who ride from around the area. Some of the people I met told me they read my blog (Hi!), which was surprising! I saw in my stats that over 70 people read my last post! This blog was intended to keep a public journal of my life in Germany and it’s been great to see how many people read what I write. Anyway...

Of course, I had no costume. I could have gone out in regular clothing but in the spirit of Carnival, I was dressed in a short-skirted sailor dress. I probably looked hilarious, with my white as snow legs, scratches and bruises from getting beaten on by horses, and the front of the dress sagging where big boobs are supposed to be, but I didn’t care.

We set out into the night, off to a barn that was holding a Carnival party. It was somewhat big, and I was glad I was in costume because I would have looked weird if I wasn’t. Everyone was dressed up with a drink or two in hand. There were bees, pirates, hippies, whatever. You name it, it was there. Carnival has a special type of music that they were playing. Its in German very upbeat, and the lyrics are pointless. The music is purely for noise to dance to.

We got some drinks and danced a little bit but some people from our group soon got bored and so we moved to the skiihalle, where the party was packed full of sweaty, stinky, half-drunk bodies. We danced some but soon got tired and went home.

I slept at Claudia’s house and the next day I spent with them at the zoo. I hadn’t been a zoo in awhile, so it was a lot of fun. I felt like a kid all over again, seeing all of the different animals. We even stayed to see the dolphin show. :)

Last weekend was Winterfest, a party for the horseback riders around the area. I got to dress up and dance with friends, as well as meet people from the area. It was a lot of fun!

It’s been a good time here in Germany and I can’t wait until Jill comes (4 weeks)!

Ponies and Adventures

Monday the 6th marks one month I have been working at the new stable. It has been a nice improvement as far as work goes. I have been given a steady flow of 4 or 5 horses a day and Martin gives me a tip or two everyday.

One of Martin’s assistants had a broken foot but it is all healed up now, so last week she returned back to work and it has been easier getting all of the horses done.

The horses I usually ride are named Liechian, Laura, Devine, Emilio, and Sue.

Leichan is a 7 year old bay mare. She knows up to 3rd level and is a nice ride. She has taught me a lot about straightness because she likes to lean on her outside shoulder. Blackshire people--she looks a lot like Luccia. She left on Friday to her new home, however, so I won’t be riding her anymore.

Laura is a pretty 8 year old bay mare that is schooling 4th level movements. She is a jackhammer to sit because of her big gaits and long legs. I get a big abdominal workout whenever I ride her. She also left to her new owner’s so I won’t be riding her anymore, either.

Devine is a 5 year old chestnut mare that only knows 1st level. Her breeder told Martin that she thought Devine was only 3 so we were taking it easy on her by riding her lightly and lounging lots. But we get her papers and it turns out she is 5 years old. This explains why she is far behind in her training. She can be difficult to ride some days because she is heavy in the bridle and likes to go fast; my least favorite combination. She also sometimes decides that she would rather kick at my leg than yield to it. But I feel that she is getting better as I ride her more often and don’t take it so easy on her.

Emilio is a 10 year old bay gelding who knows 4th level. He has problems with his legs so I can’t ride him very hard. The girl who came back to work usually rides him now since he is an easy ride.

My favorite horse to ride is named Sue. She is a 7 year old mare whose sire is Sir Donnerhall. She’s kind of small for a warmblood but beautiful and black with no chrome.  She moves beautifully. Of course, every favorite horse of mine always has a weird thing about them. Her quirk is that she likes to passage. Every time I ask her to do something in the trot, she tries to do it in passage. She’s a blast to ride, though a bit on the crazy side.

Since a lot of the horses I have been regularly riding this past month are going, I will be curious to see what horses I will be able to ride next. I like the new place and I am happy that I changed. It’s been nice to have company, too, at home. The family I live with has been great. They are all such nice people and I can’t thank them enough for their kindness and hospitality.

I have recently gone on many different adventures. I have gone to two stallion shows and they’re interesting to watch. I have learned a lot about bloodlines and what to look for in a stallion. I think about what Dr. Deb Bennett looks for in a horse confirmation-wise and decide what I like and don’t like in a stallion. I find that I am very picky. I know no horse is perfect, but when it comes to breeding, horses need to be as close to perfect as possible.

I was going to help out at a show last weekend but unfortunately it was cancelled because the footing was as hard as concrete it was so cold. It has been colder here than in MN! In the mornings it is usually -8° C, which is about 17° F for you folks back home. It’s cold for this part of Germany. And I dislike it very much.

A shout out to a friend at home who broke her arm sliding off a horse because the girth was loose. Matana, I wish you a speedy recovery and am thinking of you every day.

I want to know who is reading my blog. So if you’d like, comment below with your name and maybe even tell me what I should do to improve my blog or ask me a question. Whatever you want. Even if I don’t know you, introduce yourself!

Well, that’s all I can think of for now. I know I have only been posting about once a month but it’s better than nothing. To tell the truth, I’m not much of a blog writer. I enjoy poetry, which I haven’t been able to do much of lately, either. Horses eat up my whole life.

Anyhow, ciao for now!

On the move again...

Hey there, stranger. Hope you had a great xmas and new year. I certainly did! :) My mom and Noelle came on xmas eve and we hung out and cooked. Then the rest of the week we traveled to nearby cities--Neuss, Dusseldorf, and Köln. All three were a blast to see with them. Dusseldorf was our favorite, though. It has an amazing old town. There were little shops in old buildings. We even went up in one of those sky tower things to see the city from the birds point of view. Köln is bigger, but we didn't like it as much for some reason. Except the cathedral there is amazing. Anyone who likes exploring old churches ought to see that one.

Later that week, it was time to fly out to Madrid for new years. We packed our bags and went onto our journey.

When we arrived to Madrid, my first impression was that it was not a whole lot different than Germany. The buildings and streets looked similar but as we kept walking, differences became stronger. Spain had a different atmosphere. It craved pieces of battiness. For example, you rarely see a German jaywalk whereas in Spain, that’s just what people do. Spanish people are more open and don’t give a rats ass about what others think of them for the most part. In Germany, people are so reserved. I had never seen a place like Spain.

After settling into our hotel, we went for dinner to my mom’s friends house. We ate a large, delicious dinner with all sorts of Spanish food. There were Tapas, Tortilla Española, Manchego cheese, insalada, piscado, etc.. It was a great home cooked meal.

We then set out to get ourselves situated at the Puerto del Sol to celebrate our new year. It was insanely crowded and people were shouting and laughing and spraying everyone with champagne. When the clock struck midnight, we ate 12 grapes and drank champagne straight from the bottle. The crowed whooped and hollered and did the same. Then everyone dispersed to either go home or start partying.

Madrid is also the only place I have been to where is is absolutely okay to drink in public. As in, out on the downtown streets. When we got home at 3:00am the party was far from done. There was still racket outside and people were making their way to their favorite discoteca.

The next couple of days, we explored Madrid’s streets and saw some amazing sights. We went to an outdoor market that happens every Sunday where they sell anything and everything. We got a lot of late xmas gifts there. We also saw the king and queen of Spain’s castle. As you can imagine, that was amazing. Then we saw a great view from in a lift that stretched across the Casa del Campo area of Madrid. It seemed no matter what view you looked at Madrid, it was always beautiful.

And just as we were starting to think about moving to Madrid, it was time to go back to quaint Germany. No parties there. Noelle had to leave the next day so she could get ready for her next trip to Florida. But my mom stayed until the 6th.

In other news, I am no longer at the Schleypen’s. Long story short, I decided to move to a different barn because Reinhard said he didn’t have any horses for me to ride, which is a bummer. I will miss that place but I hope to visit before I go back to the states. So as of Sunday, I have moved into a house of another working student (or Bereiter) of Martin Sander. His stable is just 15 minutes from the Schleypen’s. My first day of work was on Monday and I ended up riding 5 beautiful and talented horses! Martin gave me lots of advice whenever he was nearby. I feel like I can learn a lot at this new barn. The people and atmosphere is very positive, which I like a lot. It’s a bit like Blackshire (but not the same, of course! Nothing could ever replace Blackshire). I like this new place a lot, but I am still very homesick. There is no wireless connection at the house I am living in, which means I have to use their computer. I can’t talk to people as much as I used to and it also means  even less blogging. Sorry! I sure wish I could have more computer time. At least there is only 3 months left.

I haven’t heard much from people back home besides what’s on Facebook. I’ll assume no news is good news. :)

Hasta Mañana!

Late but interesting post

So. Sorry about the big delays between posts. I’m sorta lazy. I’ll make it up to you by making this one longish.

Anyway, Sunday the 4th. I’ll start there. It was quite the sight-seeing adventure. Mr. Held took me to some really cool places. We first went to Königswinter, where there are shallow mountains surrounding the city. On top of one of them is an old castle and Mr. Held and I climbed to it. The original plan was to take the train up there but it was closed and Mr. Held was determined to get up there. So we drove halfway and then hiked up the rest. It wasn’t so bad for me, but Mr. Held is an office man. But he wasn’t going to give up. We reached the top and the castle itself wasn’t impressive, but the view was fantastic. The old European houses nestled comfortably in the land that lay across the Rhein River. It was beautiful.

We then started to climb down the mountain. There was a little restaurant that we decided to get lunch at. Mr. Held ordered me potato pancakes (which is served with applesauce to put on top. sounds weird, but it’s really good!) and French onion soup along with an espresso. It was a great German lunch with a very kind guy. :)

We made our way to our next stop--the Bridge of Remagen. On the way there, we went across the Rhein river via toll boat which is something I had never done before.

We made it to the bridge. It is a beautiful landmark. This is where the Germans and Americans fought during WWII.

Then Mr. Held drove me through gorgeous valleys with grape vines surrounding us. The grapes were being grown for wine. It was an amazing sight. We drove until we found a small Christmas market where all sorts of trinkets and Christmas treats are sold. We walked around but didn’t buy anything. Then we went home.

It was so nice of Mr. Held to take me to see those things. I know I’m in a really special place with very kind people. I will be forever grateful for their generosity.

That week, Wilander went away. He was sold. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. :)

Last weekend I went on a road trip on my own to Frankfurt to see the international horse show. I took the hour and a half train ride and (eventually) found my hotel, which was just across the highway from where the show was being held. I got up the next morning and hurried inside the hall. It was a big indoor arena and decorated in an xmas fashion. I found my seat up in the balcony and watched the first of the Grand Prix tests. I took pictures and video and observed. It was great to see so many amazing horses and riders and muse with the possibility of me being in a ring like that someday...

After the morning session was done, I went and walked around Frankfurt for awhile. I walked for three hours window shopping and being a tourist and eventually settled down at a coffee shop where they had internet to let everyone back at home know that I was still alive. Then I walked back through the big city full of great people watching and shops to the evening portion of the show. I watched some jumping and it made me miss it. That thrill of flying over a jump on a 1000+ pound horse is not something you get in dressage. When I have my own operation going, a big part of my program will be cross training. In dressage, we ask for collection. When a horse launches over a jump, that is one of the most intense ways for a horse to achieve collection.

I also got to watch the young riders. Most every one of them made a mistake, but it was cool to see young people excel at their sport. I was impressed. There was one girl from the US who got 2nd place with a 69%!

The next morning I got to watch the Grand Prix freestyles with a front row seat. They were so amazing to watch and looked like a blast to ride! The music for each horse matched perfectly and the patterns were creative. I want to ride a freestyle so bad, it looks like a lot of fun.

The last rider I got to see was Isabel Werth. Her horse didn’t do great. He spooked and even kicked up his heels during the extended canter. But nonetheless, she got a 75%. The winning horse from Italy, which was also my favorite freestyle, got a 79%.

After that was all done, it was time to go home. The last few days of work I have been exhausted. It snowed for the first time today but only a couple inches.

Noelle and my mom come in 4 DAYS. YAY!

Wilander = :)

The days are so repetitive here. I muck stalls, lounge horses, turn horses in and out, have my lunch break, clean, etc., etc.. But every day I get handed little bits and pieces of trust. After being here for a month and a half, they have let me ride numerous ponies. But all of a sudden, I was climbing onto a horse. Not just any horse, though.
His name is Wilander. I immediately became fond of him a couple weeks ago when I walked into his stall and he greeted me with a smile and a lick. He likes to lick people. He's the color of smoke. He isn't what people would think of what a warmblood looks like; he doesn't have much of a tail and he's not what you'd call elegant because he is very round-looking (kind of like Hollywood) instead of lanky like a warmblood. But when he moves, he floats.
As I climbed on board this amazing horse, I thought maybe they were making a mistake. Maybe in a few minutes, Marion would come in and shout at me to get off her horse. But no. She came in and watched me ride him with a genuine smile. Every once in a while she would give me some advice. But holy crap. I was having the time of my life on that horse.
Unfortunately, Marion got a call in the middle of my ride about someone who wanted to come see him the next day as he is for sale. So Marion rode him for the rest of the time. But it didn't matter. I am so happy that they let me ride such an amazing horse. My thighs still burn from sitting his big trot. Hopefully I'll get to ride him again.
On Sunday, Mr. Held is going to take me sight-seeing along the Rhein river. I'm super excited. I'll make sure to blog about it. :)
16 days until Frankfurt and 23 days until Noelle and my mom come visit me! :D

11/21/2011

I’ve been meaning to blog in the past two weeks but haven’t gotten much of a chance. They are keeping me busy here. The week before last, Katrin was gone, so Peggy and I had to do everything on our own. I worked five horses a day in between turning horses in and out, feeding, sweeping, and getting horses ready for Marion. Last week was almost as busy since then Peggy was gone. Some days I even skipped my lunch break so we could be finished on time.

I have been lounging horses a lot, which I like. And I got to ride two new ponies. They are a blast to ride. Especially compared to naughty pony, who kept switching back and fourth between getting better and getting worse, so Reinhart had her sent home and we admitted defeat. I tried the best I could, but in my opinion, that pony isn’t meant for dressage. She just mentally couldn’t do it. If a horse isn’t willing to do their job but you make them, they will never be happy and able to perform up to your expectations. So I was glad to see her go and I hope she goes somewhere where they understand that.

On Friday evening, a woman who has two horses here asked me if I would like to come with her to another stable where they do vaulting. It sounded interesting, so I said yes. We went and I saw some amazing things. This wasn’t Washington County Festival Under the Stars vaulting. This was the real deal. They once had four people on a horse, stacked up high. The girls were very athletic. The barn was half gym, half horse barn. I guess they are international competitors, which was apparent because they were really impressive. I’m allowed to go anytime, so I will be sure to take pictures next time.

Yesterday was my day off. I decided to bike to the nearest tack store because my gloves are what Mindy would call “ratty”. I got there at 2:15 but it closed at 2:00. So I biked around for awhile trying to figure out if there could be another nearby since I was one on a map but soon gave up and biked to the Rheinpark shopping mall. It was enormous. It had four floors full of shops and the fifth floor was a theater, I think. I didn’t get anything, just people watched, rested, and wandered around. At around 4:30 I got back on my bike and started to make my way home. I passed by some things I remembered passing by on the way there and started to look for signs that pointed to the Skiihalle since the horse farm is right next to it. It’s the easiest way to find my way back home. I looked and looked but I didn’t find one. I biked into deadends, wrong ways, loops, and soon minutes turned into hours and it got dark. I realized I was lost and wasn’t going to be able to get back on my own. I found myself at a truck stop of sorts where there was a McDonalds. I went in and asked the workers if any of them spoke English. They all did, fortunately. They gave me a free coffee and a warm place to sit while they called a taxi. The taxi was barely big enough to fit into the car, but the driver was very nice and the bike and I made it safely back to the farm at 6:30. I looked on Google maps to find out that I had biked 10 miles. Hopefully that won’t happen again...

The weather here is really nice. When I wake up it’s somewhere around the upper 30’s and gets to the 50’s in the afternoon. I’ve been wondering when it’s going to snow. I guess the norm is around Christmas. So not used to this!

This morning was the first time I overslept. I woke up to Katrin calling my name at my apartment door at 7:15. oops. I am so not a morning person. But I made it out in five minutes and everything was fine.

This week, Josef, the stall mucker, is gone. He got a replacement, but he is very lazy. The stalls are still partially dirty and underbedded and he left a whole barn unmucked and the three of us had to stop what we were doing and quickly muck it out.

I recieved my Frankfurt International horse show tickets in the mail. I get to see Totilas! nah nah nah boo boo! ;)

In two days it will be exactly ONE MONTH until Noelle and my mom come to visit me!!! Soooooo beyond excited. :)

11/5/2011

The past few days have been a lot of fun.

On Wednesday, Mr. Schleypen decided to have me ride a new pony who had just come the day before. She is older, around 15, so we all thought she’d be an easy ride. We were so wrong.

I got on her and she immediately took off into a crazy fast walk and I struggled to hold her back. When I picked up the trot she was better but very resistant in her poll. I flexed her and bent her but she wasn’t giving to me at all. Reinhart had Katrin come in and help me. Katrin had me let her go more forward (I was holding her back) and she became a bit softer in the mouth but she was still very stiff I didn’t feel comfortable on her, so my equitation was all over the place. It was a mess. But I felt we had made some progress. The pony was surely one of the hardest horses I had ever ridden. She wasn’t dangerous, just terribly resistant in every way.

The next day Katrin helped me again. Now that I knew what I was up against, I felt more confident but we still didn’t make as much progress as I would have liked. The pony still threw her head in the air and ran away any chance I gave her.

Then yesterday I tried riding outside because it was a nice day but the pony wouldn’t have any of it. So I headed inside where Reinhart was riding. He watched me and I could tell he wanted to help me. There were some other people in the arena who spoke English and he had them translate some but I was still not clear on what he wanted me to do. So finally he showed me. Turns out he speaks English just fine. We were able to work things out with a mixture of English and German and he told me that instead of letting her go forward like Katrin wanted, he wanted me go nice and slow with her. He then had me walk on a circle and leg yield in and out of the circle with lots of flexion until she softened. This seemed like a better solution for the pony.

I’m glad Reinhart is still letting me ride her. Although she is a challenge, I feel like I can fix her with time.

Today was my day off. I slept in and then set out to explore Neuss some more. I biked for 40 minutes until I ran into a big shopping center. It was like an outdoor mall with tons of shops and stands. There was a guy playing an accordion for tips. It was busy and people watching was prime. There were countless clothing shops, cafés, fresh fruit stands, bakeries, and other assorted stores. It was a really neat place.

After wandering around for awhile I noticed it was starting to get dark so I biked home and hung out in my apartment for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, it will be a nice easy Sunday. :)