Week 2

So it is 12:30 my time and I have already ridden 4 horses including another great lesson on Bentley.

I started my day riding a 5 yr old. He was very tricky this morning everything I tried he dismissed, I was in a losing battle with him. I finally went back to the walk let him have the reins for a bit and then picked him up and stayed at the walk to try and make him "soft sideways" as Herr Schmidt would say. It felt like 10 minutes but was really 2 and he gave in the jaw, after he gave it was like someone flipped the switch and we were back to where we have been progressing to this past 4 days of riding.


Then was a 6 yr old that I believe Herr Schmidt bred himself. While Elsa and I are walking around I notice that all 4 horses in the ring are mares, that never happens at Lendon's barn. There are more mares here then I have ever seen. Herr Schmidt rides at least 4 a day. Back to Elsa, she is a nice mover but a little stiff on her right side. She has a harder time developing the bend on the right and when the right is the outside rein she likes to hang on it. I will say that riding her is helping me to develop a deeper seat which Herr Schmidt is always after me for!! I have gotten much better but not without the price of being very sore.


Next was a 15 yr old mare that is here for some training and then to be sold. She has a super comfy canter and I really try to think about my seat when I ride her. She is very stiff and a little pushy but today was my 2nd ride on her and it was much improved.


Now for the fun part, my lesson on Bentley. The warm up is always the same posting trot making him soft in the jaw sideways, then short walk break before the canter making him soft sideways again. The right side has been amazing but the left he starts out a little tighter in the jaw. Once I can trot and canter him with both sides of his jaw soft we do a short walk break then back to the canter. We develop good half halts which used to be a pain but now I just sit and Ok mom I can collect says Bentley! Then we go on to do our half passes across the whole ring, which I was not easy when we first came but is getting better and better. I am able to half halt him on the outside rein without losing the sideways motion or the bend! After the half passes we go on to our schooling canter pirouettes. The left is always good now, its so easy for him. The right is a bit harder and I have to work more on keeping his hind legs jumping and swinging in. Easier said than done, it is much improved but still not as good as the left. Today for the first time I did 2 tempis with Bentley and they were perfect and easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After the 2's Hubertus had me go on the diagonal and ask for two 1 tempis, now I have never done 1 tempis on Bentley so I had no idea what to expect. So here I go on the diagonal making sure he is waiting and collected and not rushing, then I swing my left leg back and quickly swing my right leg back while I am putting my left forward, and wam bam we did two 1 tempis!!!!!!! Very exciting moment for Bentley and I. Then he had us do another 2 and Bentley did then effortlessly! Tomorrow if Bentley is as good about the two 1 tempis as he was today Hubertus said we can try for 3! We then went on to our trot work and the trot is slowly getting more swing it is harder than the canter for him so the trot progress isn't as big as the canter.


After lunch today I was able to ride a 2002 Trakehner stallion who has shown and won at Prix St George. Yesterday I had the honor of lunging him and he was crazy and today when Marcus asked if I could ride him I was a little nervous to say the least. Turns out though that he is super to ride. He has really nice gaits and I was able to concentrate on creating a good connection and my seat. Herr Schmidt also had me work on creating more swing in the trot so I can hopefully take that feeling and put it to use on Bentley!

My parents and brother are flying home today which leaves me all alone here in Germany. My roommate Endel doesn't come back from holiday at home until Jan 3rd so I am alone at the apartment but I must say I am doing quite well. I went grocery shopping and have a well stocked fridge and I can sometimes understand the Germany TV shows. Hope all is well back home.

Meg

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays to everyone! Today the horses have off and my parents, brother, and I are spending Christmas in Paderborn, Germany. Wishing everyone the best!
Meg

Hubertus Schmidt's

Bentley and I arrived to Mr. Schmidt's on Sunday in the evening. What was supposed to take us 2 and a half hours turned into 4 and a half hours. Bentley was good on the truck so it wasn't a big deal, the weather is terrible here so I would rather be safe than sorry. On Monday Bentley had a light day of stretching and I watched everything! I mean everything all of the horses being ridden, how they are tacked up, and how they take care of their tack.

Tuesday I had what we will call an evaluation ride, Mr. Schmidt asked me to warm-up like I normally would and then he had me go through the movements in the Young Rider tests. He said there were some nice things and things we need to work on like the bend in the half passes and the pirouettes. All I could think in my head was YES, maybe Bentley can get those amazing half passes I was the top 2 Young Riders do in their freestyles, it's good to have a goal. After I was done Mr. Schmidt asked me if I would like to ride some other horses, YES!!!!!!!! The first horse he put me on was a 6 yr old stallion that I think I maybe falling in love with. He is the most supple and soft horse I have ever ridden. I am addicted to this feeling now. It was love at first flexion. I was also able to ride a 4 yr old that is learning Mr. Schmidt system and the horse sometimes has the feeling and sometimes he is like a rock, but he is learning.


Today, Wednesday. I have already ridden 2 horses plus Bentley. Bentley and I had a lesson with Hubertus who said we were much improved from yesterday. He wanted more swing from Bentley, although not perfect we were able to develop it, he wanted easier bend, check, and he wanted more activity without getting stronger, we didn't always have it but it's in there! We were then able to put all of this into the movements and let me tell you it was awesome. I had some of the best work on the canter pirouettes to date. I can't even imagine what a month will do. Well I have to go ride more horses since 2 of the trainers aren't here today there is more for me to ride!! Which I love!
Meg

Day 4

     Well today started off a bit rocky because I forgot to leave Bentley's morning grain out so I had to rush over to the Shahof very early to make sure he had his breakfast. Then I went back to the hotel to sleep for a bit more and eat breakfast. Afterwards my "team" and I headed to the barn where I took Bentley for a nice hand walk around the indoor while the young horses were being ridden. After having the weekend off they were quite excited and were jumping around. It was nice to see that their young horses aren't always perfectly behaved.
     
     Then after most of the dust had settled from the young horses, Bentley and I went out for a stretchy ride. He was a little tight to the left but at the end he was loose and supple. Lendon and I decided today would be a good easy day for him, since he has been feeling super and we don't want to peak before the competition. I can't believe we leave for the show tomorrow!!!!! Totally crazy.

    In the evening my parents and I headed back to the barn to hand walk Bentley again. I was able to watch Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff ride, OMG it was awesome! She was having a lesson with her husband Martin Rath. They worked on some amazing piaffe, what power this mare had, I couldn't believe it. While Ann Kathrin was riding her daughter was having a lesson on a pony at the other end of the ring and her step son Matthias Rath, the new rider of world record setting Totilas was riding as well. It was quite the evening of riding. I can't wait to watch the show this weekend and see some of the best riders in the world compete.

Meg

Day 3

      The morning started off with going to the barn and doing our stretchy ride. Bentley felt much more supple than he did yesterday and the half halts were easier as well! After our ride Bentley went to the heater stall to relax and be groomed without being cold. The heater is quite large and very warm, he loved it! My dad gave him a nice grooming session while I cleaned and put everything away.

     After finishing at the barn we dropped Lendon off at the hotel so she could work on her computer and my parents and I walked around the Christmas fair. Besides the fair all of the stores are closed on Sunday. It was 12 O'clock and the place was packed barely enough room to walk through to find food and drinks. I knew right where I wanted to go but of course my parents wanted to take their time and walk slowly through the fair, then we finally made it the Spatzele booth. Oh my goodness it was good! Then we met up with the Canadian rider Jaimie Holland, her parents, and her trainer for these delicious Butter Waffles. They were very good, after eating our waffles we head up to the Castle in town, which actually is more like the town fort. It was very beautiful. From one of the upper sections we could see the Schahof and the horse van that brought the horses from the airport to the Schahof.

    We then went and picked up Lendon from the hotel and went back to the barn for our second ride. He came right out and felt super right from the beginning, I couldn't have been happier. We had a super ride, everything was just spot on. We did some of our freestyle movements and he was super. We haven't schooled any canter pirouettes since we left NY, and the first ones we did were SUPER!!!! And his extended canter HOLY **** it was big, I really had to think about letting him come back to a collected canter by himself and me not pulling. Easier said than done lol.

   After finishing at the barn we went and cleaned up for dinner at a nice German restaurant. Chestnuts are very popular in this region and they make a wonderful soup, I've had it at 2 different restaurants and both times it was great. Tomorrow the barn is back to its normal busyness and I can't wait to watch everyone ride again!

Meg

Day 2

Lendon and my mom arrived today. My dad and I drove to the airport without a GPS only map quest which is only so good because the signs are in german. lol After picking up Lendon and my mom we went to the Schahof to see Bentley and start on the ever popular two-a-days. Two-a-days is when Bentley and I do a stretchy ride in the morning concentrating on his suppleness and the half halts. After our morning ride we went back to the hotel for a nice nap. I slept over 2 hours, I couldn't believe it I was so tired. After feeling nice and refreshed we went back to the barn to do my schooling ride with bentley. It was the normal first schooling ride where he doesn't want to half halt right away. After working through his stubbornness and not giving up my back I finally felt that we had finally worked through it. Before almost every show this year I had one very tuff ride then the rest were AMAZING, so hopefully the pattern continues.

    On the weekends most of the horses are just hand walked or some are allowed in the round pens that they use as paddocks for a bit. A couple of the more experienced horses were schooled but for the most part the indoor was empty. The town of Kronberg is having their annual Christmas Fair on the main street. It was very pretty and busy. They had all sorts of food, beer, wine, and crafts. We did not stay long because my mom and Lendon were tired as was I but I did get a very tasty waffle as dessert. Hopefully we will be able to visit it tomorrow. Well I am off to bed for the night. I am feeling a bit under the weather and the best thing for that is sleep.

I will have my mom take photos of Bentley and I tomorrow.

Meg

Germany

So today was finally my first real day in Germany. I say real day because it is the first whole I was with Bentley and not having to worry about him, really takes a load off your shoulders knowing that your baby is safe and sound. I had an easy morning because at the Schahof, they feed him and take care of his stall. So I got to the barn around 8:45 my time and 2:45 am your time. I gave Bentley the whistle and he was right by his stall door. He was happy and very relaxed, YEA! I took him out for a nice long hand walk, which he loved and while we were hand walking the working students started to ride. A group of 3 riders came out on 3 year olds and they rode around 1 right after another on the bit and moving forward. Zorba (my 6 yr old) is going to be crying when I get home. Haha. They were mostly behaved until the canter when they got excited but all fell right in line one behind another. While I was walking Bentley around I noticed a guy a bit older than I and realized that it was Matthias Rath the new rider of Totilas. As I come walking by the ring door with Bentley he looks at me and says "Hey, I saw you the other night at the Italian place", I of course now sounding like a 12 year old girl say "oh really?" while batting my eyes. I mean come on now people HE HAS RIDDEN TOTILAS, it's allowed for me to be a dork. LOL. I was then able to watch him ride 2 horses, 1 Grand Prix and 1 small tour with his father Martin Rath. The Grand Prix horse had so much power I could barely believe it, and at the same time very light in the bridle. Hey Bentley did you see that? No, he was in his mansion of a stall sleeping of course.

       After going to the local bakery which there are like 7 in the small town of Kronberg, I finally got on Benny. At first I was only going to walk because of his trip and the stress of it all but as soon as I got out there he was like a machine. I couldn't believe it, he felt so good, supple, loose, and energetic. Is there some in the water over here? So after 15 to 20 mins of walking doing leg yields, shoulder ins, haunches ins, anything to keep his mind thinking I finally let him trot. He felt super forward, stretching and HAPPY! I did 5 mins of trot and let him quit with that. I didn't want him to over work himself and then crash. Bentley then got to eat lunch and relax again. On our way out to the cars I had the pleasure of meeting Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff, she was very nice and even asked how Bentley was after his long trip.

My dad and I went back to the barn once more before feeding to put on the morning feed and to walk Bentley again. He is used to at least an hour of turnout so it's important he gets out and walks. He was even energetic in his evening walk! I then spoke to one of the working students for a bit, Daniel, who is 17 and rides very well. He said that there are 50 horses on the property and they all belong to Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff. They do not board or take horses on for training at her barn.

Now for the Schahof. The barn we are in is about 22 stalls with yellow tiles on the walls, green bars on the stalls, and 2 giant heaters for the horses to stand under after working. The history in the barn is just amazing. Ribbons, silver bowls and plates and platters, posters, pictures, banners, everything. There is not enough time to look at everything, you can only pick a couple of things to really take in a day.

Tomorrow we pick up my mom and Lendon at the airport. Hopefully Bentley looks as good to Lendon as felt yesterday!!!

Meg