Last week was a quiet one for Bentley and I but now we are back into full swing. Hubertus is back from FL and I had my first lesson on Monday. It was awesome, even though I did not school any movements while Herr Schmidt was away I had the best canter pirouettes to date! At least that's what Herr Schmidt said!!! It was super cool to know that I am developing the feel for what Herr Schmidt wants and I can work on it without any help too.

Today, Wednesday, my dad flies in to visit Bentley and I. I am very excited to show him our progress and mine as well. I just got done with another great lesson on Bentley, he was a little sticky today but I worked through it and Hubertus was very happy with the decisions I made. I have to say after riding 5 horses today my butt is sore. The more I work on my seat the more sore I am, at least I know I'm using new muscles!!

I can hardly believe that I have been training at Hubertus Schmidt's farm for about a month now, it seems so crazy to me. One goal I have always had is to train in Europe, although I would not say that this goal is completed because I still have so much more to learn. But my time here is almost up and I will remember this trip forever! There is no way I could have been able to train and stay in Germany without the help of my friends and family back home, Dressage4kids, and The Dressage Foundation. I can not wait to share my experiences with everyone at home.

Meagan

Week 3

The past week has been a very busy one for not just myself but everyone here at the farm. Hubertus' groom Martina has been very sick since Tuesday and I have taken over her job of getting all of Herr Schmidt's horses ready and taking care of them when he done. Sabrina and Emma both trainers here left for the show in Munster on Thursday, and since they can't come back to ride their horses they were split between Klaus, Emily, Endel, and myself on Friday and Saturday. So along with getting horses ready for Herr Schmidt I also had my lessons on Bentley and let me tell you I was tired after all of this. Each day Bentley and I make progress which is very exciting for me. We do work on the same things but they are getting more and more detailed as we go. Now instead of just worrying about the bend in the canter pirouettes, Hubertus has me thinking about more activity from the hind legs, and I still have to make sure that Bentley doesn't take over and turn by himself. Things from the first lesson still help me with the lessons today. My seat has improved greatly although I keep thinking I can do better and I keep aiming for that deep seat. Every horse I ride I think about my seat and make sure that I am using it properly.

On Friday I got to ride 4 horses besides Bentley. The one is a very talented 8 yr old that has a super swingy trot that I am trying to recreate on Bentley. Bentley's trot is much better but by no means is it a swingy trot. I also got to ride this horse on Saturday as well and I had a hard time keeping a goofy smile off of my face because he has such a cool trot and canter. My favorite horse in the barn is a 6 yr old Hengst (german for stallion) Hubertus has been training this past week and I have really enjoyed watching him ride this horse. The horse is about 4th level and Hubertus has been teaching him the canter pirouettes, he remains very calm when he makes a mistake and gives confidence to the young horse. Today I was able to ride the Hengst since Hubertus is at the show this weekend, although I didn't do any movements, I enjoyed the feeling I got while riding this horse. He is very soft in the jaw and is very easy to make round and he has AMAZING gaits, I just want to sit on him all day. I gave Bentley a light day of only stretching today because he has been working very hard.

It is super warm here today and all of the windows in the stalls are open for the horses to sick their heads out. Bentley loves it. He just stares out his window taking in all of the sights and sounds. Most of the snow is melted and you can see green grass everywhere which makes me very happy.
Hopefully it stays this way!

Meg