Fairmont has now been at the stable in Holland for two weeks and is settling in very well.  The first couple of days were predictably a little difficult.  Fairmont was excited but also afraid when I would take him him out of the stall and into the main barn.  It was a two person job to tack him up in the lunging circle.  He was moving and calling constantly!  I had to keep reminding myself that this is totally normal for a horse this age.  His third birthday isn't until May! 

 Despite his nervousness, I rode him the second day and he was lovely.  When a horse has been started well, even when they are worried, they get comfort from a confident rider in the saddle.  For me, the most important thing was to earn Fairmont's trust.  He  is learning very quickly that there is nothing to be worried about when I am riding him.  He gets lunged for 10 minutes  and then I keep his rides short, about 15 minutes and make everything a positive experience for him.  Of course I'd like to ride him longer, he's so much fun, but a 25 minute training session is quite enough for a horse so young.  

Developing a routine with a young horse and being consistent is so important for their confidence.  Fairmont is now quietly standing in the crossties for grooming and tacking up, and after the ride he enjoys a warm bath while he watches the horses being ridden in the indoor arena.  

I am often asked if  I get nervous about riding young horses.  Well, sometimes I do, but the moment  I step into the saddle and it's just me and the horse, I am so focused on riding well and listening to the horse that any worrisome thoughts melt away.  I am however, quite nervous the first time I put a horse at liberty in a paddock, or in the walker!  Fairmont has been going in the walker all week, and he has been very sensible.   He went in the paddock for the first time yesterday after riding and he was well behaved.  No frantic running thank goodness!  I want my horses to have a life and have freedom.  Of course it is scary for me because I don't want them to get hurt, but their mental health is as important the their physical soundness.  Not every horse can be turned out, but the ones who can, should be.  

I am excited to announce the arrival of my new horse Fairmont to Dressurstal Werner/Gal.  Fairmont is a 3 year old licensed Westfalian stallion by Furst Piccolo-Fidermark-Ehrentusch.  I was not looking for a three year old, but this one was too special to pass up!  Thanks once again to Dana Hazeleger Hewett who found this horse for me and for insisting that I come and see him!  Dana has an eye for spotting talent!  I am going to enjoy riding  Fairmont for the next three weeks, but he will not be traveling home with me and Nemo in April. He will instead be spending the remainder of the year in training with Edward and during the summer will go to the Westfalian 70 day test for final approval.  The video shows my first ride on Fairmont, he is only just broke,  ridden 15 times.

Since March 1st, Dana's stallion has been boarded at Edwards stable for me to ride.  It has been wonderful to have him there and benefit from Nicole and Edward's tips for riding him.  This young horse is a joy to ride!  He is talented, enthusiastic for his work, and amazingly concentrated, especially for a 5 year old stallion.  I mentioned last post that even the most talented horses must learn how to carry themselves in the walk trot and canter.  That process is already starting in the horse's 5 year old year.  Assuming that the basic training of the horse is correct -- that is, he can easily do a good walk/trot/canter on the bit, with a clear rhythm and relaxation as a 5 year old -- he should be introduced to the idea of collection.  I say 'idea' because it will not truly be collection at first.  This is a process that takes time and patience. 

Before collection starts, the horse must first be comfortable making smaller steps in the trot and canter.  This may be a challenge, especially for a big moving horse.  It is not collection yet, only short steps.  At first in the trot I simply want my horse to respond the moment I close my hand to bring him back. He may wobble a little, or even walk.  That's OK.  If he walks, I touch him softly with my leg to let him know that there is something inbetween  his working trot and walk.  I will stay in this 'little' trot until he starts to find his balance and then we go out again to working trot.  I repeat these transitions many times. 

In the begining I do this work on the rail so my horse can benefit from the support of the wall or fence.  When the transitions become easier for him, I take the lines away from the rail.  As the transitions develop, I might take a whip and touch my horse softly on the haunches  so he understand he needs to stay active with his hinds legs.  I want to have a slight pull in my hands also.  My horse should have the desire to go, but wait until my leg and seat tell him to do so.  This is now the start of collection.  On a 5 year old, I would only do a little of this every day, and build on it over weeks and months.  Always listen to your horse!

During our first month in Holland Nemo and I worked on making him looser through his body with lots of suppling work.  Bending, circles, soft tempo changes.  In the last few weeks I am riding him in a higher frame, and now we are working on really developing his collected trot.  Nemo finds it easy to go to passage, so I ride him in a slightly higher tempo than passage.  He can only go to passage if I ask, and then we only do a few steps and then out again to his big collected trot.

It's important that he keeps an even contact through these transitions, which is sometimes a challenge. 
Edward also helps us on the ground with Piaffe.  Nemo is very smart!  We are teaching him that he must go on in the piaffe until I ask him for something else.  He also needs to go on when we say 'good boy'. Praise does not mean 'stop'!   The first time Nemo got this, he was so proud of himself.  "OK I did it.  Sugar please!"  It's really exciting to see everything coming together with him.
 
This weekend the Dutch Indoor Championships for ZZGP (Fourth level-Grand Prix) are taking place at the federation head quarters in Ermelo.  I went Saturday afternoon to watch the ZZ Zwaar and the Intermediare1.  ZZ Zwaar  has the same requirements as Fourth level test three.  It is almost a Prix St Georges. Comparing the horses in the two tests, one thing that stood out so clearly was the difference in engagement, lightness of the forehand, self carriage and balance in the I1 horses compared  to the ZZ horses.  This is what the judges want to see. 

The trot work at ZZ is the same as the I1 (different pattern but the same movements) but the horse should not be trotting the same.  There should be a clear improvement in the development of the trot when the horse moves up to the small tour. After all, a smart rider is already well into teaching his horse passage and piaffe when the horse is showing in the small tour.  This concept is something that I think  many North American riders miss  simply because they don't know.  The focus in training becomes training the movements, not developing the gaits.  Even  super talented horses must be taught how to trot.  None of them do it on their own, just like they don't half pass out in the pasture with their friends!  Development of the gaits takes time and patience, so start early!

Everyday in addition to riding Nemo I also ride two horses that belong to my friend Dana Hewett Hazeleger.  Dana and I met  more than ten years ago when I was searching for a trainer in Europe.  She is an accomplished Grand Prix rider who represented Canada in the 1999 World Cup Final, and she was my accomplice in checking out the relatively unknown Edward Gal in 2001.  Dana and her husband own a small farm a few miles away from Edward's stable, but in the winter she boards her riding horses at a nearby boarding facility with an indoor arena.  In my last post I described some of the wonderful things about Edward's stable.  The stable where Dana has her horses is much more 'basic'.  I thought I would share some of my experiences there to shed light on what an ordinary boarding stable is like in Holland.   The footing is great.  Better than any arena I have ridden on in California.  The horses are well fed.  The stable is certainly not heated, there is no warm water, and it is as cold as a cave inside since the whole thing is made of brick.   
 
What is most interesting though, is all that goes on in the indoor arena.  The first day I came to ride, two men were doing work on ladders in the indoor.  Two very tall ladders were propped against the wall and the men were stringing up some sort of piping  -- 20ft sections of it.   Then, when they got that up, they started bringing up sections of what looked like hose. Meanwhile, everyone was riding like nothing was going on!  First I rode Dana's 5 yr stallion who hadn't been ridden in weeks.   No lunging, I just got on and went to work.  I am the first to say this boy has an exceptional character!  He was pumped, and at times a little worried, but didn't do a thing wrong.  The ladders and bouncing hose sections were much more shocking to Dana's 5 yr old mare, but she also got over her fright when given no other options.
 
This facility doesn't have a lunging circle and most of the horses are very young and/or difficult.  It's safe to assume everyday there will be a bit of a rodeo  at one end of the arena, or maybe both, as the lunging gets done in the indoor.   The trainer at this stable specializes in backing horses, so it's also normal that in the middle of my ride, and with several other riders in the arena, he will climb on something that has never been under saddle and start trotting and cantering around with no steering!  It can become a little distracting for me as I teach my horse in sit more in the collected canter or learn to half pass. 

What I love about the people at this stable, is that they all love and respect horses and they are careful but not fearful.  A happy horse may very well want to run, buck, spook or rear.  A good rider solves these issues under saddle and doesn't resort to lunging the horse for 25 minutes before they get on.  There is a different attitude in Holland, and one I think riders in North America could learn from.  In Holland if your horse is spooking at the man on the ladder, you don't tell the man to get down and stop working.  He has a job to do too.  This understanding is the same everywhere in Holland.  Horses are farm animals, and they need to concentrate on their rider even if there are 20 sheep being herded down the driveway or, a fork lift sliding a 500lb bale of straw down the isle. In America there is too much "oh watch out!".  In Holland you hear "Ride!" 

For the last week it has been really cold, in the high 20's all the time, but fortunately no snow!  I have this supersition that if I complain about the weather there will probably be a blizzard this week! So no complaints from me...but I am dreaming of summer time temps! 

Edward's stable is beautifully set up for the cold.  Firstly, it's heated.  Everything from the bathroom and tackroom to the indoor arena and stalls are all climate controlled.  There are two warm water wash racks, and then two solariums for the horses to relax under as they dry after their baths.  I've been known to stand under the heat lamps with Nemo sometimes!  It feels so wonderful!  Even on a gray day, the skylights let in ample light, so it is bright and beautiful in the grooming area.  There are windows everywhere.

In the kitchen, aside from the usual amenities, there is an amazing coffee machine. Now, I have to mention this since I am from the nation of Starbucks.  At the press of a button this machine produces the most divine cappuccino, espresso, hot chocolate or anything else one might like.  Who cares that it's 27 degrees outside if I can drink cappuccino and watch Edward and HansPeter ride all morning!  

Nemo and I have now been in Holland for two weeks and are both well settled in.  Nemo is bedded on straw, which he thinks is fantastic because he can eat it, and he has an end stall where he can hang his head out the window and watch the sheep in the field.  Every morning he gets a good walk in the molen (dutch for 'mill',  also known as a walker in America), and in the afternoon I ride him.  Fitness is so important for sport horses.  

Depending on the day, Edward or Nicole will give me a lesson.  For those who don't know her, Nicole Werner is Edward's business partner and trainer.  Nicole has a sharp eye, and is an excellent instructor.  Nothing gets past her watchful eye.  She sugar coats nothing, which is why lessons with her are so valuable.  Without a doubt Edward and Nicole are a team.  They are both brilliant, and each bring their own insight to training a horse and rider.  They don't always agree with each other, but somehow everything always works. 
 
In my lessons we have gone back to basics of tempo control, riding all gaits at a slower tempo,  and working on being able to make the smallest change in tempo easily and with relaxation.  "You need to have 45 canters, not 2.  Take time to feel all the different tempo's you have".  As always, the basic work is the hardest.  It's much more fun to make the gaits big, and of course Nemo needs to be able to do that too, but it must always be my choice.  Right now we are working on small.  Balance, relaxation, straightness, and patience!

 After a nearly 30 hour journey, Nemo and I have made it safely to Dressurstal Werner/Gal, Harskamp, the Netherlands.  We started out at 11PM Thursday night with an all night drive from Walnut Creek,CA to the Los Angeles International Airport.   With my wonderful boyfriend Jason at the wheel, I fell asleep for 3 hours as he trudged through dense fog on the I-5.  We made it to LAX  with plenty of time to spare at 7AM and Nemo started his mandatory five hour quarantine at Jetpets.  This really just means he got to rest in a stall and eat and drink.  
 
Jason had a quick nap, we went out for breakfast and then had to say 'Good Bye' for the next three months.  Did I mention it was his Birthday, and this is the second time I have left him at the airport to fly back to Europe on his birthday!  How does that happen twice!
 
 Nemo and the other four horses on the flight were loaded onto the palates at around 2, Friday afternoon, and the flight left at 4:15.  I was able to be with the horses during the entire trip which is something I always enjoy.  Nemo was far more nervous this time on the plane.  The take off was stressful for him and we had a lot of turbulence in the first few hours of the flight. He didn't drink for 8 hours and then only a few sips, which was stressful for me!