The Gifted Fund

Elizabeth Glass

USDF Region 5

Boot Camp in Germany - 40 miles SE of Tucson

I will be the first to admit that I am a princess. I like having someone taking care of my horse; sticking their hands into the buckets in the winter to get the hay out, cleaning out manure. That said, I am also a person that will do almost anything to obtain my goals. As I stated in my application to the Dressage Foundation, my primary, long-term goal is to ride Prix St. George competitively before I reach 60, which is now just 9 years away. Short term, I want to get to understand my new horse better, and improve my seat so that my journey to PSG won't have too many pitfalls in it.

I am lucky enough to have a riding coach, Scarlet Fahrenson, who is certified in Germany (FN) as a trainer and instructor. She also has a working student program that would accommodate me for a week in February. Now most of you will think, Tucson, February, no problem, right? There will be weather and sunny skies. But this is not Tucson, it is Sonoita, which sits 4,000 feet higher and definitely has winter.

Here is my journal that I kept during this period. I would like to thank the Dressage Foundation for the funds to undertake this week away from home, job and most of my obligations, Scarlett and her husband Guy for putting up with me for a week, and giving me much more education and encouragement than I expected, Katharine, Scarlett's German working Student, for helping me learn more about barn work and being sweet enough to sometimes making my job easier and who thought I didn't notice and to my husband and boss, who both gave me leave to disappear for a week.

THE NIGHT BEFORE -- 6 February Funny thing about this trip. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I have had difficulty choosing what clothes to wear. Evening and morning temperatures will be in the 20's and 30's and the afternoons will be more in the 40's to 60's. I have traveled a lot, but "just" going across the mountain to work and ride is a harder packing job for me. It was easier when I went to Germany to ride! I will also be taking my laptop computer and school stuff since that can't be put on hold for the week I am gone. I will leave for Sonoita at 7:45 tomorrow morning. Last night at home for a while!

MOVING IN -- 7 February I loaded the truck this morning, headed out for adventure. After a longer than usual drive because of tourists on the mountain road, I arrived in time to settle in my new home and help with the last of the morning stables. I don't now how many times I walked the hills; to the front pasture and back, he lower pasture and back, the arena and back. The hardest thing for me will be finding time for lunch. No one stops for it here! My lesson today was a poor start, but it finished well. I am into my hands too much and I am having trouble keeping my balance. Once I got my legs longer and my heels down and my head up, things went much better. By the end we were more where we needed to be for training level, but not first level. I know what to do; I just have a challenge in making my body do it. After evening stables we had a light dinner, and I'm going to bed early, I'm tired. Today went so fast!

COLD WATER AND A BETTER LESSON - 8 February Today started bright and early. After a quick snack we went out to do morning stables. It is 25 degrees! We hayed the horses, turned out the first pair and did the stables. Today this included cleaning the paddock for the outside horses. By this time it is time to switch the horses in the front pasture, and put Gustl (my horse) and Johnny in the round pen, and to take hay out to these pastures. I had breakfast, changed horses in pastures again. I rested by watching Scarlett ride Johnny, a big Friesian. He looks nice to ride at walk and trot, but the canter is way too big and unbalanced! Then it was a quick run to my room to change into my riding clothes for my turn in the saddle. I am bound and determined to have a better lesson than yesterday. Today we were rounder from the start. We started slow, at walk, and I was able to get him round from the beginning. Trot was just as easy. We are much more together today. We worked on transitions and lateral work. I must remember to keep my heels down and my head up. At the end, we actually worked on pushing at the sitting trot. It was great! By the end, I could actually hold the push for a full circle! Tonight I am thrilled, but even more tired.

BREAKTHROUGH!- 9 February We had a breakthrough today! The started as usual with stable duties. After our breakfast, we took Gustl, Petey and one of Scarlett's new students, Jan, out for a hack in the hills. I got a picture of the farm from a hilltop and we had a lot of fun. We talked to Jan a lot to keep her from getting nervous. She did very well. My lesson this afternoon started exactly where we left off yesterday. We worked on geometry and roundness. We then worked on getting a lengthening (which Gustl does very well when I am right) and still keeping him round. The key is for me to keep my legs long, heels out and down, my eyes up (Think Charles DeKunffy) and my hand lower and quiet. We got a couple of very good lengthenings both ways, stretched Gustl and started working on walk/halts. After about 5 minutes, and a perfect halt, Scarlett told me to walk on. I told her "I can't, I have no legs left." She just smiled at me and winked. She said "I got 45 minutes from you!" She had told me that today's lesson was to be no more than 30 minutes. Katherine and I than did the evening barn work, blanketed and settled the horses for the night and changed clothes. We have a meeting in Tucson to attend. We got back to Sonoita and into bed late, about 10:00, then another 45 minutes for my mind to get quiet enough to sleep.

A GORGEOUS ARIZONA DAY - 10 February Gustl and I are getting a bit tired, but we continue to make progress. Stable duties were hard today, especially putting the manure (mist, in German) in the cart. My shoulders and abdominal muscles are getting sore. The lesson was good, although it felt sluggish to me. Scarlett praised our walk. I am learning how to keep him consistently on the bit, no matter what we do. We tried leg yields again. They were much better. I managed to get my whole leg back, not just from the knee down, and still keep my heel down. I finally ad to tell Scarlett that my legs were gone again, and she informed me that we had still done 45 minutes plus warm up. I am so comfortable in my new position. It is still a challenge to keep my head up, but that, too, is better. After riding and feeding lunch to the horses, Katherine and I went to Sierra Vista for grocery shopping and lunch. This gave us a bit of a break. The weather is so beautiful today! It's in the 60's and sunny. The sky is so incredibly blue with just a few clouds. Really cool! Katherine and I have a lot of fun together now, and we are comfortable enough together to tease each other a bit. I am really enjoying my week. I can't believe it's already half over. Time is going way too fast.

FIRST LEVEL- 11 February Everything fell into place today! The barn work went fast and we had time for a leisurely breakfast. We took Jan out again and were forced to take a new route. The owner of the land is stringing a new barbed wire fence over about a third of our favorite trails. Gustl was nervous because of the noises they were making with the fence, but I handled it better than I ever have before. When we got back to the barn, something spooked him and he bolted. I managed to quiet him and got a good halt after just 3 strides! Before, I would have shrieked, raised my hands, and had a panic attack. This is much better! My lesson today was a continuation of the previous ones. We worked on transitions, concentrating on stepping into my left stirrup. It worked better, and we got some really nice, round work. My hands were 95% quieter, and we even had a lengthening each way that was rounder. We rode canter and it is coming along. I have to think about stepping into my left stirrup, and keeping my outside foot as part of the whole leg going back and resting on the horse. I think of it as keeping my leg flat. We rode through First Level, test 1. The ride was much more forward and round. I lost my geometry, though, and will have to work on getting round and forward WITH geometry! I really feel great after my ride. I can't wait until Sonja Vracko comes so that I can show her all that we've learned! She is due in March.

SOME DAYS YOU JUST LIVE RIGHT - 12 February We got up and the barn work seemed to go very quickly. For the first time I am able to slip between the rails on the paddocks. We had time for a good breakfast and then I changed into my riding clothes so that I could have my lesson early. It was awesome! Gustl was so easy to ride today. He was round and forward and willing. After 5 straight days of work plus 2 trail tides, I expected him to be tired, but he seems to really like his work and keeps trying. For the first time, we accomplished roundness on a diagonal (my eyes up, hands down, balance steady) AND cantered round on both reins!!!!! It was a wonderful ride that felt like it ended too soon. I could have ridden quite a while longer. I got to have a short nap. Happily, Scarlett decided that I have been doing enough exercise during the day, and we didn't need to go to the exercise class she had planned. I know I'll have to join one to maintain the fitness I am gaining here, but not until next week. I treated Scarlett, Guy, and Katherine to a dinner that I cooked, and they liked it. I can't believe there are only 2 more days. The weather tomorrow will not be as nice as it has been. It is already cool with a wind straight out of the north. The high tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40's. Tomorrow I will also have to pack and get part of it ready to load into the truck after stables on Saturday. In some ways, I am looking forward to the end. I will not miss the early mornings, and the cold water and cleaning stalls. But I have made some wonderful progress this week. I feel I have a good friend in Katherine, and I feel that I know Scarlett and Guy better now. I will miss the constant contact with the horses, and getting to watch all the rides. I am going to make arrangements with Scarlett to have more lessons a week after this to keep up the progress. Tomorrow I will have a lesson with Katharine in the afternoon, weather permitting.

COLDEST MORNING YET, BUT STILL RIDING - 13 February Katherine and I woke up to a cold, cold morning. There was ice in all the buckets in the stalls, and it was ½" thick in the water tanks in the pasture. At least there is no wind. When Jan came this morning at 11:00, she said it was 25 degrees at her house. We were glad that it was warmer in the bunkhouse for breakfast. We talked Jan out of a trail ride today. Actually it wasn't hard since it was so cold, and the wind has started up. Jan and I rode in the arena while Katherine helped us. Gustl was a little resistant at first, but only questioned me once about a right turn off the rail. He really is a lot more fun now that I am quieter. I still need to watch that I keep my outside rein steadier for a consistent connection and roundness. All our diagonals and trot work were round. Since I had to look for Jan, I did a better job of keeping my head up. We started canter on a right circle. At first, I fell into old habits, but fixed it and got some pretty good departs. We did one long side and one 20-meter circle round!! I have started carrying peppermints in my pockets, so I gave Gustl one when we were finished with that work. The left canter circle was even better and now I understand better what my position for canter is. I have also found that I like his forward canter and I feel secure enough now to let him do it. This is so much fun! I love it when we have victories, even small ones. I can't believe tomorrow is my last day. I have enjoyed most of the work, and I don't even mind the stalls as much as I used to. I have one big advantage over the German girls that come over here. I get to come back without spending a fortune on airfare!

LAST DAY - 14 February Boot camp is almost over. I took Gustl out for a trail ride with Katherine and we were gone about an hour. Gustl is tired. Usually he walked on faster when he finds we are going out on trial, but not this time. We cancelled the lesson we had scheduled for this afternoon. When we returned to the barn, Gustl went to his paddock, ate his lunch and laid down. He doesn't usually lie down much, so I know he is really tired. He will have tomorrow off to recover. He did very well for a horse that did 7 lessons in a row and 3 trail rides! What a wonder Gustl is. He never said no and always tried his best. We will have a lesson on Monday. I have learned so much this week. In my riding I learned that my position needs to be erect but relaxed with my head up, my hands must be low and closed on a shorter rein, but very elastic. My legs MUST be long and on the horse with toes parallel to the horse's side. I learned how important a steady contact on the outside rein is, and how to do a proper half halt. I learned to use my seat for regulation of the gaits, not my hands. Outside riding, I learned to read a horse's mood and work with them. I learned that I have more endurance and inner strength that I thought. I have also made a close friend with Katherine. Tonight I will do the last of the stable duties and change clothes. It is Valentine 's Day and Robert is coming to Sonoita for dinner. I look forward to seeing him. I have talked with him almost every day, but I miss him a lot. Tomorrow will be a quiet day together with Robert.