new beginnings everywhere

It's finally happened - I'm working for my horse trainers!

Of course I'm going to be doing morning chores five days a week, but you've gotta start somewhere and in the horse industry you always have to start at the very bottom. But twenty hours a week of hard work doing what I love will be extremely good for me. I start Monday and am pretty excited to cut down my hours at Office Max (a.k.a Hell) and start driving that manure spreader. : )

Lola is coming along pretty nice but there is still room for improvement. I have to ride her huntseat this week too just for the practice since I have to show her All-Around this summer. I haven't been in an english saddle in almost a year so it should prove to be entertaining. I'm hoping to ride her in training level dressage as well in GLASS-ED where she should do very well once her transitions tighten up. And I've remembered why I hate training horses to do showmanship too...it's so repetitive and complicated. *sigh* ....we'll make it somehow.

I have finished "New Moon" and am officially hooked on the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. Amazon must love bookworms like me.

Lately I've toyed with the idea of opening an Etsy store (www.etsy.com) which would sell accessories for the modern horsewoman regardless of their chosen discipline. Every e-boutique I've come across is strictly english or very *very* cowgirl. What about the folks like myself who ride and appreciate both seats? Where do we belong? Well, my answer is my hypothesized store which I plan to call Modern Mare. I'm beginning to construct Saddle Strands to dazzle up our saddles and make for easy identification in busy tack rooms as well as logo t-shirts and saddle pads. The modern horsewoman is constantly busy and requires gadgets to maintain her identity and aid her life around the farm and in the city.

We'll see how it all develops, but it's in the works. As of now I'm going to begin selling Saddle Strands, blank card and postcard sets, and if all goes well saddle pads, polo wraps and logo apparel. : )

Riding with Jim and Donna has never been better. I'm currently riding Lola as a 'spring project' in order to get her in shape for showing this summer, as suggested by Jim. We're four rides in and already we've made progress. She's a real nice little mare and I hope to work with her a lot this year. Currently we're working on manners (i.e. to stop screaming when we're away from her pasture-mate Rose) and our basic body control. She's pretty sensitive and needs to learn only to do things when asked, rather than assuming what I want. The best example I have is when we're trotting and I prepare to lope off, she anticipates and as soon as I push my outside leg into her she speeds up - welllll that's not *always* what I want, usually I'm just asking her to move her hip over and 'shoulder out' a little (because I'm evil, yes, but it's good for her).

I have a new project in the works now as well in the form of a Western Horsemanship Clinic at my old farm back home. This will be planned for a weekend in June and I plan to advertise it to the local community and 4H clubs as well as their current students. I'm not expecting a super large turn-out, but it's a possibility I suppose.

I've finally found a charity to donate to and volunteer with, one that combines my personal life and my horse life called Camp Casey. The founder, Molly Melamed, use to work at Black River with me what feels like forever ago and founded this traveling day camp for children with different types of cancer and their families. It's a great way for them to break their daily routines, have some fun and learn something about horses and riding! My cousin Brittany passed away a few years ago from Leukemia and I know she would've loved something like this, even at the age of 16. It's a great cause and a way to support children who are coping with much more than they should have to. For more info please visit: www.camp-casey.org

I am beginning lessons again with Donna and Jim this Monday morning and am pretty geeked. Donna suggested that I ride and half-lease her QH mare Lola and show her this summer because Donna doesn't have the time to do everything (which is obvious in the life of a real trainer). So hopefully that works out. I really like them; there's something about them that seperates them from other trainers and I'm not quite sure what it is.

Here's to a new season, one filled with experiences, shows, wins and losses.

I started the next "Twilight" book, "New Moon" and even 150 pages in it is proving better than the first book. Yay. I know, it's written for YA's, but still - I'd appreciate less telling and more showing (she talks an awful lot about things I believe readers can figure out for themselves, if not spoon fed).

Have a meeting tonight at 5 to help establish a WMU chapter of the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English). Should be fun. I'm excited to become involved in something again; it makes me miss my sorority days in a way.

: to do :

x. register for MTTC test
x. laundry
x. email 4H leader about mtng
x. grammar sentences
x. take old clothes to consignment store
x. empty recycle bin
x. hope for snow so we can continue skiing