February
28:
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The Schedule is updated, again.
Please let me know if you are interested in grooming, or if you will be riding at a show
and expecting me to coach you or help with your warm-up! Inquiring minds, you know! |
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Had a great, busy
weekend enjoying the very mild spring-like temperatures. There is
almost no snow left, but there remains a bit of mud :-). |
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Really enjoyed
seeing Carmen and Renee on Sunday with
their horses Snipper and Mayfair for
lessons. Both did extremely well and, I hope, had a great time. Mayfair is, of
course, "our" Mayfair, who is thriving under Renee's loving touch. It is
wonderful to see one of my horses getting such excellent care and being ridden well and
both partners enjoying the process! |
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maybe some
exciting news for the weekend of March 26 ... keep checking here, I'll post as soon as I
have confirmed information <big tease, eh?> |
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Have a
great week! |
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February
24:
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OK, we had the
snow, now I guess it's time for the mud, water and rain!
But thankfully, the temperatures are much more moderate, and everyone is enjoying the
milder weather. |
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I heard the most
wonderful song last week, which leads us to the CD of the Week,
which is the soundtrack for the movie "The Man on the Moon".
The "most wonderful song" is one from that soundtrack by R.E.M. called
"The Great Beyond". I didn't know that anyone in that musical group was a
dressage rider, but at least one of them MUST be, who else could come up with the phrases
"I'm pushing an elephant up the stairs" and "I'm looking for answers/From
the great beyond". Anyone who participated in the CBF discussion re: classical
dressage and ODGs will understand the reference to to "answers from the great
beyond". Maybe you had to be there, but I found it amusing. |
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Well, the young
lad's days of babyhood have come to an end. The disgustingly incestuous little
darling was threatening to become a little too enamoured of his sister Kayleigh, so the
"children" have been separated. Carlisle seemed
to accept this with a surprising degree of equanimity, which bodes well for future
training. Kayleigh is working on the lunge pretty well
these days and we are planning to gently back her in the next few weeks, so she'll have
lots to keep her busy. |
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Kate's
horse, whose name remains a quandry, is doing extremely well lately.
Last night, Kate just led him out to the arena, got on and rode around at walk, trot and
canter, without difficulty (so long as you don't consider the odd buck a
"difficulty"). But we still have this problem about his name. He
came with the name "Santana", but really should have a
name beginning with an "L", in deference to Hannoverian naming convention.
Kate likes "Lexington". I, however, am a superstitious critter, and
am a) reluctant to change his name, and b) take the recent successes of Carlos (the
"original" Santana) as an omen for the future successes of this horse! I
mean, HEY!, one of the greatest living musicians of the 20th century had never been
properly honoured by the music industry UNTIL my friend Kate went out and bought a horse
named "Santana". Co-incidence? Maybe. Maybe not. What's your vote? |
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If anyone knows
where I can get a pygmy angora goat, please let me know. Don't tell Kate. |
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I have posted a Schedule for the upcoming season. |
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Have a great week,
everyone! |
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February
16:
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So, have a little SNOW!
Last evening I watched an avalanche coming off the roof of the arena - the snow is
now piled up in front of the big door to the arena ... we may never dig it out! But
at least the temperatures are a little nicer. |
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CD of the Week is
Supertramp's Crime of the Century. I am thinking seriously
about a new freestyle to a medly of Supertramp tunes ... that ought to offend just about
everyone :-). |
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Today is my son Aaron's
19th birthday. Can you imagine? He was such a cute little kid.
Now he's this tall young man, who is getting ready to head off to university -
where does the time go? |
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We may have made a
breakthrough with Bear last weekend, when he might have learned
where to put his feet in the canter pirouette! I was pretty excited, as we have been
struggling with these for a while now. |
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Book of the week
is How The Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill, a rare
depature into non-fiction (well, it's purported to be non-fiction anyways, I guess it
depends on whether or not you are Irish!). I got interested in this book as a result
of reading Peter Tremayne's historical mysteries, which are set in 6th century Ireland and
revolve around a character named Sister Fidelma, a "religieuse" and
lawyer. Anyways, it was an interesting time, when the Irish religious community
carried the remaining learning of the ages to a Europe still mired in the Dark Ages after
the fall of the Roman Empire. |
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Perhaps I should point
out ('cause someone asked) that I do actually read the "book of the
week" BEFORE I mention it here :-), so if it got a mention, it was because I enjoyed
it and thought some of you might also. I am not just a marketing ploy by publishers
*grin* (although if one wanted to sponsor me, I would hapily read all the books they could
supply!, and review them, as well as ride my horses - I kind of like the sound of
"Doubleday Maxwell", or "Tor Daneel"). The origin of the
"CD of the week" selection, on the other hand, can come from a variety of
sources - whatever we are playing in the barn, whatever is playing on my truck stereo, or
something I just happened to hear. I love to be reminded of old favorites -
sometimes I'll hear a song on the radio and then have to rummage about to find the CD -
but I am almost always glad I did. I know Supertramp is "old" music, but
it sure is good stuff! and worth the latest binge of listening! |
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February
3:
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So, not too much
going on at "the Hill" these days, except routine schooling and training.
All the ponies are doing well, and so far the winter hasn't been too hard on us. We
are hopng that Larry will get a start on the bathroom floor soon. Christel has gone
to Arizona for a week, and then will go to Germany for two weeks, so Sally is riding Plato
for Christel, which has it's amusing moments. In all seriousness, though, Sally is
doing a great job with the big lad, and is staying after work to have some lessons -
that's great dedication! |
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I will be back at
Phantom Farms on February 19th for my regular day of training. I know that the
clinic is filled (I heard that it was filled in about 20 minutes! *grin*), but you could
ask David or Carolyn if spectators are encouraged: phanfarm@aol.com
. We have a lot of fun in these clinics. |
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Book of the Week
is Northern Suns, an anthology of Canadian Science
Fiction shortstories. |
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CD of the Week is
Dire Straits, On Every Street - classic Knoffler guitar
work, and evocative lyrics. |
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Have a great week,
everyone! |
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February
2:
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Been busy lately,
working on some stuff for Dressage Canada, CIDRA and taking part in some very interesting
discussions on the Cadora Bulletin Board. You can check out some of my ideas for a
"new" sport system at this link. Please
send me your comments! |
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January
24:
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I hope you were
able to stay warm over the last few days (it has been very cold
here in Eastern Ontario). We managed OK, with only the most remote water taps
freezing, and the horses have all been fine. Sunday was even relatively pleasant for
riding, and all the horses got worked. |
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I haven't talked
about Carlisle, aka "The Supreme Being" lately ...
he's been busy growing, and turning into a baby stallion. But he remains a lovely,
leggy, intelligent boy, who has recently become accustomed to standing on cross-ties to be
groomed. He's still too young to domuch with, but he is learning some manners and
becoming more civilized. He really hates to have his mane pulled (and he's got LOTS
of mane!), but otherrwise quite enjoys his grooming, even picking up his feet calmly.
He's officially a yearling now, but won't actually reach his first birthday until
late April. So far he is black ... keep your fingers crossed for a black shed-out! |
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Kayleigh,
our other youngster, is also coming along nicely. She'll be three in July, and is
now working a few days a week on the lunge-line, wearing her bridle and surcingle.
She's a lovely mover, with a nice temperment, and I hope she's going to make someone a
really nice prospect. I now have a video clip of her, which I may try to put on the Sales Page in the next few days :-). |
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Book of the Week
is The Overseer, by Jonathon Rabb. A first novel,
this is a facinating story of political theory and a terrifying plot for world domination
through chaos. An excellent read. |
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January
17:
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It is a very small
world, as my friend Rick Lyles from Michigan
pointed out to me last evening. It seems that Leslie Charles, the author of Why is Everyone So Cranky? ,which was
the inspiration for last week's "Cranky List" is a
dressage rider!!!! Rick and his daughter Elizabeth actually know Leslie, as she used
to keep her horse at the same stable as Rick and "E". Now go figure the odds of
that one. |
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Congratulations to
Renee Young, of Ottawa, Ontario, on her purchase of the
Trakehner mare "Mayfair". I delivered Mayfair to
Phantom Farms on Saturday, and I think Renee is pretty pleased with her new partner!
I look forward to working with Renee and Mayfair when I am at Phantom for clinics. |
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And speaking of
clinics at Phantom, I was back for another one day clinic on
Saturday - it was COLD!, but David once again demonstrated why Phantom is such a great
place - he got some huge heaters to warm up the arena, and it wasn't bad at all, even
though it was mighty chilly outside. Thanks David, I know you did it for the riders,
but I was grateful also! The riders all did extremely well - it's very rewarding to
see such progress from month to month. |
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We got the new
mirrors up in the arena on the weekend, and BOY, are they great!
Except that now there is NO EXCUSE to do a sloppy shoulder-in, or allow your horse to
canter down the long wall with his quarters to the inside. |
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We also welcome
our newest boarder, Linda Southam and Gulliver. |
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Book of the week
is a slide into pulp fiction, The Testament by John
Grisham. His usual good story, with a twist. |
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CD of the week is Psychoderilict,
by Pete Townsend. Only for fans. |
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NEW! Video
of the month is The Matrix - wowsa, what a great movie!
Other video of the month is the NDC's release of the Conrad Schumacher Clinic
video from the two Canadian clinics. Quite aside from the phenomenal footage of moi
and Max <grin>, it's an excellent resource for Schumacher's "system",
with great camera work, good sound quality and some superb demonstration. A
worthwhile investment. |
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It was -27°C this
morning "on the Hill" - that's COLD! If it's so cold where you are, PLEASE
take precautions to stay warm and healthy - wear a hat and mittens (I know, I sound like
your mother, right?). And please don't work your horse too hard when it's so cold
:-). |
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Have a great week! |
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January
10:
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Book of the Week
is All Tomorrow's Parties by William Gibson.
Another stunning example of Gibson's unusual genre. I'd like to go to a dinner party
with William Gibson, Spider Robinson and Margaret Atwood ... can you even begin to imagine
the conversational possiblities? |
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CD of the Week is Celtic
Spirit, a collection of haunting Celtic compositions by various artists, on
the Narada label. |
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Are you cranky?
I found a list of ways to avoid being cranky, and have included it here, with my interpretation of how to apply it. It's
working :-). |
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A poetry page, for anyone who cares. Sorry, sometimes I just
have to exercise my creative energy, for better or for worse. |
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Have a great week!
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January 5:
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Hope you and yours
had a great holday! We sure did - it was wonderful to see
friends and family over the Christmas season, and to enjoy the festivities at New Years. |
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We didn't make any
resolutions, really, but we are hoping, planning and working
towards a good new year. The horses are all in training, and coming ahead well.
Catherine has actually sat on her new horse twice now,
and he was as good as gold, so we are progressing there. Amanda
did single flying changes with Sam last weekend, and was pretty pleased with that!
Now back to that counter-canter! |
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The new
floor in the tack room looks terrific, except we found out that you must NOT
drop your beer, as interlocking paving stone is somewhat unforgiving. |
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I'll be starting
to work shortly with the other new Board members of the Dressage Canada
Interim Board, which will be putting in place the structure and mechanisms
that will hopefully revitalize dressage in the coming years. It's a great
responsibilitiy to work on this Board (I am CIDRA's nominee to the Board, as the Athlete
Representative), and I will do my best to do a thoughtful job. If you have any
concerns or would like to bring anything to the Board's attention, please email me. |
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Book of the week
is "This Other Eden" by Ben Elton. It's a
bit wacky, but an interesting read. Elton's credits include Black Adder, so there's
lots of clever, amusing writing to be found here. |
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CD of the week is
an old favorite: "Clutching at Straws" by Marillion.
It's the best sort of British rock, with a rich sound and evocative lyrics. |
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I heard that my
good friend Richard Collins is getting married - gee, Barney, I
guess even die hard batchelors can succumb to the charms of a sweet young thing, eh?
Send Richard a note of
congratulations! (No, it won't matter if you don't know him, he's used to getting abusive
email from total strangers - he works for Hummingbird!) |
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I'll be back at Phantom Farms on January 15, for another one day
clinic.
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