Happy Holidays from Skeldale Farms and a Fun "Wintery" Horse Tip!

As we all sit back and survey the Christmas "damages", I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful and joyous Christmas celebration. When it comes to Christmas damages, our farm is no exception....24 hours later, there are still boxes haphazardly flopped about in the living room and the occasional bit of wrapping paper turns up on your sock. The voice of the cookies, cakes and German stollen calling me from the kitchen is deliciously tormenting and the constant hum of football commentary can be heard from the TV. All in all it was a WONDERFUL Christmas.  Family, relaxation, good food, yummy treats and warm noses....and even some fancy white snow to boot!

I am very very very excited to report the arrival of a fancy new camera! NOW, I will be able to capture each an every moment of our lives and travels here at the farm. Rolex pics here I come - at 11 frames per second, Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin are going to spring to life from my camera lens! We have tested it out here and there, but I can't wait for the hubbs to take action shots of the horses jumping!! It will be like a mini lesson - ha ha, maybe I won't want to see. :)

*****Christmas Horse Tip******

Surprise your ponies with Christmas Mash!! Nahhhh, this isn't one of those 'go to the grocery and buy a bunch of crap' mash. It is just a fun way to give the steeds some extra lovin' for the holidays.

Ingredients:
-Usual amount of feed
-1 packet apple/cinnamon oatmeal
-1 carrot chopped up
-Small handful of peppermints
-Enough hot water to cover the lot

Combine all the ingredients into a small bucket. Give it a minutes to fully soak up the water. Serve to your deserving ponies with pride!! Not only will they love the special treatment, the warm mash will encourage drinking and give them great peppermint-y breath!!

Everyone here at Skeldale Farms send you happy wishes for the holiday season. May the promise of the New Year bring you excitement and hope!

it's about time, right??

HA! I finally got the WEG eventing cross-country pics.....yes, it has taken me eons to post them, but better late than never right??
I knew that I had gotten some "thrills and spills" type shots, but when I looked at them I couldn't have been more dead on. There are some classic 'bad pony' pics. Luckily, everyone made it through the course safe and sound (in the end) so it is kosher to giggle at the moments caught on camera....

  This was "my" jump. Fences 23 and 24, the ones I was responsible for collecting scores from. At first I thought this jump was going to be less than ideal, but boy was I wrong. I could not only see a wide array of other jumps from the field where I was stationed....I witnessed a number of thilling moments that involved my personal jump.

 Here comes Boyd and Neville Bardos, of course they cleared the fences with ease...but the look on his face cracks me up!! Love this team....they are really going places. I beleive Boyd to be the 'next Phillip Dutton'. Can't wait to see them at Rolex next year and the 2012 olympics!

Next up is Henny and Peter Atkinson! They are the ones that wear the Helmet Cam and document each XC run....check them out at http://www.runhennyrun.com/! It's a trip :)
I only needed to look at this riders profile to know it was Buck Davidson! Always a pleasure to watch this pair....

Next up is a pic with a story....The rider for the NED, Tim Lipps competed at Rolex a few years ago. Of course Susan and I thought that was a funny name so we instantly liked Tim Lipps. When we saw he was riding at the WEG, we giggled about the whole thing. As he came by and jumped my fence, I snapped a pic (of course) - But his little horse had trouble and found the ground upon landing, so did Tim for that matter. Well, we all rushed out on course to help contain the horse and make sure they were both alright. It was me, the vet and the jump judges. Tim and his grooms needed someone to lead them back to the start box and since no one else could leave thier post - I got to do the honors. It was rather cool. Both horse and rider were really just fine and too see the attention given to the team and how they deal with that type of problem. plus, I got to help with Tim Lipps!! ooooh oooh. LOL!!!

Bad Swedish pony running out at the corner brush! he came back to jump it clear at the next attempt.

Another naughty pony...not sure what country he is from...one that doesn't like to jump rails down into a ditch question huh?? Lol

And next is Mr. Phillip Dutton (Yep, I SAT in his old saddle)....he just sauters along and makes it all look so easy. Too freakin' cool huh??

Once again I must say...the WEG cross country course was breathtaking! So So cool, technical yet forward....it really was a treat to watch the riders guide thier horses through the questions.  And the icing on the cake was the chance to volunteer and be 'behind the scenes' of it all.

Even though WEG has only be over 1 months now...I am already excited for Rolex 2011!! I will be there, with bells on ready to live it up again.

I have vowed to make this my last WEG entry, so I must make a brief comment about the combined driving competition. Talk about AMAZING!!! Combined driving is modled after three day eventing - only you have four horses and a cart to deal with.  There are three phases; dressage, marathon and cones. They are all compareable to each eventing phase.  I would like to see this sport's popularity increase...it for sure packed the excitment and drama! It isn't something I would like to DO, but something I would WATCH in a heartbeat. I am really glad I was able to experience this realm of competition - again, once in a lifetime people!!

On the left is the dressage phase, below is the marathon phase and below that is the cones! if you EVER get a chance to go and watch this sport...do it! You will be glad that you did!!

   OK....FINALLY, that concludes my WEG coverage and thoughts. Honestly, it isn't a exciting as I was hoping to make it - but I assure you I had an amazing time and the sheer exhaustion made it hard for me to keep y'all up to date. I thought the experience itself was incredible and didn't really care much about the pricey food and crappy parking. There are ways around everything!! The secret pocket in my backpack made for a great lunch hiding spot - he he, they never knew.

I am glad I went, I would go again and wouldn't change a thing! Well, except for the amount of gold medals the US won. Ha Ha.

Thanks for reading along with my WEG info...Next up? who knows...But The Direct Rein promises fun reading for all horse people all the time.
Please post comments and thoughts!
Thanks for reading.....see you soon!!

WEG Coverage: Show Jumping at it's best!!

Ok, so I must admit....after being home from WEG for a week and having a chance to really reflect on the amazing experiences I had – I am glad that I wasn't the Purina Blog-o-Spondent. Because I had WAY more fun that those two silly girls...LOL!!

The facility was incredible, the Competition was amazing, the People were truly entertaining and the American Blunders were few and far between.

Yes. It is true...the food was WAY too freakin' expensive and the vendor area was far too hoity toity for 90% of people that came through the gate. At one point I was interested in trying on a few different riding helmets, to ensure I ordered the one that fit me the best. I had no trouble finding Charles Owen, Tipperary and GPA...But when I asked for and IRH helmet, the sales woman said they didn't bring any of those. I joking said “y'all only brought the expensive stuff huh?” She replied, with a very serious expression “yeah, how else can we pay for the booth fee?”. Hmmmmmmm. Needless to say, I visited a few local Lexington tack stores to make my major purchases (and found a heck of a deal on helmets too!)

So anyway, back to the wonderful side of WEG....

I can honestly say it was THE most incredible competition that I have ever seen in my life.



A bit of the course



The show jumping provided a thrilling experience! While I didn't follow the team competition much, which proved to be a good thing since the US came in tenth, the individual competition was amazing. Susan and I had tickets for the final individual round. This is where to top 30 riders came back to compete for the top 4 slots. Only one American rider made it this far...but I was very very glad to see it was my fav. Show jumper, McLain Ward. Way way back in the day, when I was a junior rider, I was usually lucky enough to show and one or two A-Circuit shows a year. When I would compete in the medal classes, McLain was usually part of my competition. He, of course, would place much higher than me and I was in awe of his equitation and ability (I was a high school girl, what can I say??) As McLain moved up in the work of show jumping, it was fun to follow his success. “I knew McLain Ward way back in the day...” Not that I have ever actually spoken to him or anything......



McLain Ward and Sapphire



So anyway, Show Jumping.....gasps and cheers filled the main stadium as riders came in for tone of he most important rides of their lives. Some pulled through to move up through the ranks, while others had to endure to groans from crowd as rails feel. McLain did well – He put in clean rounds! Moving him up from 21^st to 9^th place – In the WORLD! Not bad huh?? But the top four riders had done well all week and truly deserved to have earned a place in the final four. A rider from UAE, Brazil, Canada and Belgium would be making their final WEG performance the following evening by, get this, switching horses!!!! What?? for real? I knew that was something I didn't want to miss.

 

The scoreboad - Le Jenune, Lamaze, Pessoa and Al Sharbatly were the lucky and talented riders that made it to the final four!! Poor Rolf dropped a rail...



So, the following evening – although our sore and tired feet were screaming at us to stop – Susan and I trekked back down to the KHP to be a part of this insane competition! In all my years on the equitation circuit, I have only been asked to switch horses once. I remember how worried I was, how I had hoped this horse would trust me...Imagine how Rodrigo felt has he climbed aboard each strange mount. I mean sure, he rides bunches of horses everyday – but not for the opportunity to take home the WEG gold medal.



The final four course

Each rider rode the course on his own horse first and then had a few moments to school each of his new mounts (remember, they all had to rides everyone's horse). A schooling area was set up inside of the stadium to allow every moment to be caught on camera. Each competitor rode very well and no, there were no thrills and spills. Lots and lots of cheering and excitement tho. I am gonna make you work this one....

Check out the WEG website for the final standings and further information.

                             http://www.alltechfeigames.com/competition/discipline.aspx?id=234

Updates, Updates, Updates!!



The AQHA demo arena at the WEG

 Ok, Now that I have spent  5 days at the WEG, driven all over the state of Kentucky and worked two FULL days...I finally have a minute to sit down and catch up with y'all. This evening I am headed back to Lexington to experience another phase of the WEG! Show jumping and driving are next on the schedule and I am SUPER excited. 


The view as you enter the vendor area and the Kentucky Experience from the main stadium



Rodrigo Pessoa!



On Monday we caught the 'speed competition, part 1'...it was way exciting! Basically, you go out there and jump the course, a damn difficult one too, as fast as possible.  Should you be cursed with any rails down, they are then converted to time faults.  Therefore, speed is the name of the game in the class....no regular faults, just time faults.  Kinda cool huh?? The course was crazy difficult....triple bar in, one stride to a vertical out - open water to a severely upright vertical - a super scary 'kentucky fence' combo - and a funky shaped skinny vertical...all of that craziness made for some really excitement.  I was reminded how much I enjoy show jumping and just how safe it really is.  Horses would chest through a jump and gallop happily down the line - um yeah, in eventing that would have been a !!Gasp #@*!! (i.e. possible disaster). I got the pleasure of watching Rodrigo Pessoa ride!! so cool...I have never seen him ride. The man can actually equitate over the mountian-ous fences....beautifully too. After the morning session an American, Mario Deslauries was in the lead. He flew around the course and put in a thrilling ride.....From what I understand he remained in the lead and won the class!!



To wrap up the eventing....I am forced to bring you bad news.  The Americans didn't have a very good show jumping day and bumped down to freakin' fourth place! really?? Buck went in first for the team, thanks to his refusal at the sunken road (wasn't that the same fence that gave you issues in 2009 Buck?? was it really the dog's fault? LOL). Unfortunately, he dropped a rail with Ballynoe - a total freak thing. bummer. But we can drop the lowest score...so that is cool, it is up to Boyd, Phillip and Karen now....

Boyd came in and gave us all hope with a flawless ride! Clean! Phillip followed with Woodburn and rode like the god that he is until....the wind blew just the wrong way and caused the Rolex combo to come down.  I swear he didn't even touch it and it crashed to the ground.

      ** A very large handful of the other riders racked that very same jump and the freakin' pole sat happily in the cups. Why? why were we the unlucky ones??**

But still....one rail....that was ok - we were still in medal position. Then Mandiba came into the ring. The wonderful Karen O'Connor rode that snot of a horse over each and every jump. He never really looks like the horse that 'takes' her to the jump....he seems to be the kind of horse that needs Karen to take him there every time. Well, he pulled a "bad pony" at the Kentucky gate and refused it!! what?? a refusal?? it looked like a sure thing, but Mandiba had other ideas and pulled out a dirty stop. Poor Karen took him back around and still flopped over it, pulling the rail. talk about a bummer ride. No more medal for the US. We ended up in fourth place. Still a very reputable placing when you think about it...the US eventing team is the fourth best in the WORLD! Great Britain took the gold (very deserving) - Mike's new fav. is William Fox-Pitt :) Canada came in silver and New Zealand stole the bronze. 
Overall, the competition was thrilling, breathtaking and very very SAFE!!

Out of the 79 riders that rode the XC course...only 19 had ever ridden at the 4 star level. Only one horse has to be taken away in the horse ambulance and has been given a 'favorable' prognosis.  The other horses than went down, all got right up and are doing well. Every rider made it though just fine and only 19 horse and rider teams didn't complete the course. Incredibly awesome!!

So, I'll bet you are thinking that is because the course was toned down a bit....Heck no!! it was THE most impressive course I have seen! Very technical and demanding.  It's saving grace was the amount of options given to the riders to ensure safety! Go Eventing!!

**Note: the xc pics are still a bit of a Conundrum....I'll get them up....soon!**



The whiskey barrel jump...my fav :)





Lauren Hough for show jumping team USA

Can you say exhausted??

Holy Moly!

Talk about exhausted....wow. This whole WEG expereince, while amazing, is makin' me tired. LOL. Don't complain now Andi, you are here in Lexington at the WEG...
And really, I am not complaining...I am just trying to justify to you all why I have posted a recent blog entry.
On Friday, after dressage freestyle, we didn't get back to the house until after midnight. And Saturday, XC day, we started our day at 5:30am and didn't get back to the house till midnight again.....So, I admit, my bed was much more applealing than the computer screen. 
So...I plan to sit down this evening and catch up with everything that has been going on - and I promise you, it has been a lot!! The competition is amazing, the horse are incredible and the crowds a plenty.  Freestyle produced some of the most jaw droppingly amazing dressage I have ever seen IN MY LIFE. I knew it was going to be good but....wow!
However, XC day exceeded any expectation anyone could have had. The course was technical and demanding, but turned out to be safe and wildly entertaining! The standing shifted all around and GB is currently in first, US is second and CAN in third. AWWWWW, yeah...take that fancy German eventing dressage riders - ha ha.  Even tho the german had some issues on XC they are ALL ok and thier horses are just fine - I am not that mean. Becky Holder is kickin' some tail in the individual competition and is currently in third...take that for not putting her on the team.  Karen did get shifted up and rode for the team - and she took it very seriously.  She put in a no-nonsense ride and busted her way around the course. yesssssss.

** Kim Severson's horse was pulled from the competition due to a lameness,

therefore Mandiba was moved up and put in the last slot  **

The first water complex...cool jumps huh??

Now it is time for Stadium....and the excitment continues. Hold you breath people...There is only one rail between GB and the US and mere seconds between US and CAN. for the individual competiton is even closer.....the first place German rider (Jung) has 11 points between him and the second place rider (Fox-Pitt) BUT from that placing on to 7th place there is less than a rail in hand (4 points).....no doubt the stadium will be edge of your seat competition.  

***RECENT UPDATE**** 

One of the other amazing XC jumps.

   I am totally bummed out to report that Becky Holder and Courageous Comet have withdrawn from the competition. OH NO. Everything is fine with the two of them...Comet did loose a shoe at fence 7 (pretty early in the course) and is sore from the whole experience.  I mean, honestly...good for her for doing the right thing and making a safe decision - but toal bummer that she is out of it. She was in Third!!

More pics will follow along soon....The camera that I took the majority of my action shots on has a crazy card that won't fit in my computer. hummmm. I will find a way dear readers, don't worry :)

OK....we I must bid you farewell for now...the WEG is calling. I am off to the stadium competiton and more sightseeing - hopefully my feet won't fall off totally. LOL.

 

Day 1...full of FUN!!

What? You mean I have only been here ONE day?? I seems like I have already been here for a week....LOL.
So this morning the three of us headed over the uniform center to pick up our volunteer goodies and get our badges. I am really glad that I sent in a good pic of myself, because that thing is slapped right there on the front of the badge that you are meant to wear ALL the time. No driver's license picture this time...ha ha.
Ariat is one of the major sponsors for the games and provided the volunteers with all of our gear. We got two nice, light athletic polo shirts, a windbreaker jacket, a baseball hat and a little backpack thing....not bad! They are all a nice Wedgwood blue color and I am very excited about them...so official :) The check in process was very easy and the uniform volunteers were very friendly. Yay, that can be ticked off the list.

On the bus ride home

Next up...we HAD to head over to the park to check everything out. We decided to take the bus over from the downtown station...talk about a GREAT idea...really, I'm serious on this one. We walked down to the station, got directly on the bus and headed over to the park. The drop off spot is feet from the entry gate and it all only costs $2 roundtrip! Transportation is one thing they have figured out for sure. Way to go Lextran!  Even the trip home was quick and pleasant.

Phillip Dutton won Rolex in this saddle!

When we arrived at the horsepark I hardly recognized it....and, as most of you will recall, I was JUST there in April for Rolex. There are tents EVERYWHERE!! The vendor area is in the front half of the parking lot and there are vendors galore! Alas, the rumors are true and there really aren't very many killer deals, but still....so much stuff to look at, so many cool things to learn about and I did get the occasional sweet free goodie!! Since I am 'in the market' for a jumping saddle, I am taking the opportunity to sit in a bunch of different saddles and talk to as many people as possible about them.  At the Devacoux tent we made some friends with the salesmen......I guess they are auctioning off Phillip Dutton's blue Devacoux saddle!! That is fun. They had it sitting out on display :) Well, you know us....in a matter of moments we had talked the salesmen into letting us sit in it!!! Ha Ha...awesome! Our butts sat where Mr. Duttons butt was...and there are pictures to prove it!! LOL
We spent the majority of the day walking around the trade fair, visiting the WEG 2014 Normandy tent and watching the Eventing Dressage on the plasma screens.  Boyd rode well with Neville as did Buck and Ballynoe Castle...I almost didn't recognize Buck, his legs looked too long - and no read socks! LOL
They both earned scores in the upper 40s, but it isn't enough to put them to put them in the lead. The Germans are doing well at the moment...in first and second. I got to watch Ingird Klimke ride, which was a total treat The rest of the competitors will ride !! I really enjoy her training books :) The rest of the team riders and indiv. competitors ride tomm. afternoon --- so, once again, anything can happen. 

Downtown Lexington

After the sun had beat down on us for the majority of the day, we decided to check out the international equestrian festival!! super awesome!!! If any of you are headed up here, make SURE to check it out. It is at the convention center in downtown Lexington. TONS of vendors and some great demos and seminars.  We attended a sports psychology seminar with Daniel Stewart! He was wonderful...funny, entertaining and totally thought provoking....I gotta start getting my list of C words put together and figure out my song. Check him out at  www.riderightnow.com

After a nice light dinner and a refreshing glass of Bourbon Barrel Beer....I am off to bed. We MUST get up early tomm and hit up the Smartpak tent for our backpak - this is VERY serious business you know.

Tomm. evening the the dressage freestyle!!! I can't wait...the best of the best and going to be laid out before me and I am ready to eat it right up! More vendors, the Alltech experience and who knows what else is also in store....so much to see and do - my head is spinning! I am off to bed......



The Main Stadium





I'm here...I'm here...I'm here

Greetings from LEXINGTON!! I swear the instant I pulled off the exit onto georgetown rd. I could actually "feel" the city buzzing!! Or was that just Susan and I?? LOL
We arrived in town just after dinner time and headed right to our friend's place downtown...as we wove in and out of traffic we could see the painted poinies that adorned the streets and the tents, banners and people wandering about here and there. The international equestrian festival is right down the street from where we are staying. There is a concert in the park series going on this week and a number of other events that have piggy-backed off the WEG. Unforunately it was too late to get in and see anything, but still....buzzing, I tell you buzzing!
The drive came and went with no real excitment, thank goodness. Susan and I got a chance to catch up on our horsey girl talk :) yay! Although, the poor escape was probably unhappy with the heaps and heaps of clothing, rain gear, shoes, drinks, snacks and leather (in need of repair) it had to haul in from Bowling Green. We met up with some wonderful friends upon our arrival and spent the evening chatting about the games. One of our friends has already spent some time at the KHP and has some wonderful stories to tell - She gets to venture further behind the scenes than even we do...so, as you can imagine her stories are exciting! The security seems to be very very...precise as well as the veterinary observation.  With so many horses coming in from all over the world we have to be concerned with contagious issues.  Special barn locations, ID tags and paperwork are all weapons the FEI team is using to make sure this meeting of athletes is a successfull one.
After a day of frantic packing and travel, I am off to bed....but tomm. is sure to bring a very exciting post (and hopefully some good pictures too). I am headed to pick up my uniform first thing in the morning. Then...Off to the horsepark to FINALLY check this all out. We do not have any event tickets tomm, but I can't wait to see the tents, vendors and stuff....bring on WEG! I am here and ready to take you on.

WEG Coverage: I may not be there yet, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it...

OK. So I may not be at the WEG just yet....but lots is going on

and so I feel it only right to at least give y'all a media inspired update :)

Endurance, Dressage and Reining have all produced thrills and excitment. 

The Endurance competition consisted of a 100 mile race that took place across the hills of many famous Lexington farms.  WHAT?? 100 miles in ONE day?? wow!  Now I understand why endurance/competative trail riders wear padded underwear....um, totally! From what I understand there are a number of mandatory vet checks and even a 'best conditioned' award presented to the most fit horse who recovered the best from the race. It comes as no surprise that a rider from the United Arab Emerates won the indiviudal gold - ever see "Hidalgo"?? LOL  The UAE took the team gold, France came in with silver and Germany secured the bronze.

Dressage is about halfway done with the Netherlands in the lead! This is the first time that Germany has NOT been in the lead in the history of the WEG - holy moly! LOL There are still 2 riders from each competing team left to comepete....so really, anything can happen.  Great Britian is in third, the US in fourth and Canada follows the US. So, nothing is really 'set in stone'.  I honestly expect NED or GER to win, I mean come on...who doesn't.  They always win, they are the dressage nations...the experts...the ones we ALL look to for inspiration.  As long as the top riders make it to the dressage freestyle I'll be happy...LOL! I am especially looking forwar to Stephan Peters and Edward Gal!

Reining is another sport that brought in the crowds today.  I am sure the home team brought down the house when the US won team gold...no big surprise there huh? The nation of cowboys is bound to win the western reining competition. I was interested to see who came in second and third....Belgium and Italy. Cool - who knew?? I played the stereotype and figured Canada and Mexico would be in the medals. Naughty, I know.

             

******************************************************************

I guess the eventing teams from the US and GB had some fun today....they participated in a fun competition on the "off road" Land Rover course. ha ha ha ha ha I can see it now...Phillip Dutton racing around in a Land Rover with Boyd, Kim and Buck cheering him on. LMAO - hilarious!

Check it out....http://www.alltechfeigames.com/news/detail.aspx?id=5474

WEG Coverage: Let the packing begin...

OK, So I have decided to opt for a blog upgrade :) I have enjoyed my Skeldale Farms blog so much that I am leaping into the official blog world with my new and improved blog "The Direct Rein".  Not only will this new include updates for Skeldale Farms, it will also host a variety of blog topics....medical issues, training, horse tips, farm management, competition reviews just to name a few.

The first, and probably most exciting, topic The Direct Rein will cover is the World Equestrian Games in Lexington Kentucky! Yes, the games have begun and I plan to take you all along with me as I head that way and experience as much of the wonder as I can. Since I don't have a fancy sponsor, I won't be able to attend all 16 days of competition...but I think I am still pretty lucky and will be able to report on 8-9 days of the my WEG adventure! I hope you're packing...cause it's almost time to go!!

 Having been lucky enough to watch the opening ceremonies on NBC,

I am now more excited than ever to be part of this incredible adventure!

But what will this adventure bring...or rather, what should I bring to be prepared for this adventure?? With the whirr of the washing machine in the background, I sit and ponder all of the things I will need to bring along. Of course, "good walking shoes" makes the top of the list...but really? how many pairs? What if my feet get sore in my river boots? Will my tennies get all wet? All very important things to consider.  Then comes the matter of a camera! Should I risk the extra 'bulkiness' and bring the Handi-cam along? How many sets of batteries? So you can see...packing, as not only a girl, but a horse girl, can be rather complicated. LOL. feel free to laugh and point, I know I'm pathetic! :)
The weather report is just one of the things that I am really looking forward too....it is supposed to be just amazing weather!! NOTHING like what we have been cursed with here lately.  I mean...sunny, 70s and a nice breeze...does it really get any better than that??
We are set to head to Lexington here shortly...First on the agenda is our volunteer check-in and uniform pick up - followed by our XC "dress rehearsal". I am really looking forward to seeing what kinds of crazy fences the course gods have come up with for this one!! Will the Teddy (Theodore O'Conner) jump finally be revealed?

As I gather all my spectator supplies,

 highlight the "must see" activities

and constantly check the weather...

I wish you all a wonderful day!