Jumping into 2012 with both feet!

I must say, 2012 has kicked off to a colourful beginning! 

January was pretty tame as I was focusing on getting my horses and myself prepared for the coming up show season. But then in February we had this cold snap of weather. Here is a picture of me out on a trail ride with Orion, all bundled up :-)

For about two weeks it was ridiculously cold and all the horses were extremely frisky, and as luck would have it I was working a young horse and as it is with the youngsters- the horse spooked and he exploded in a flurry of balled up tension. Although I did make it past 8 seconds (for all you rodeo fans out there) the horse did end up launching and I sailed smack down into the frozen ground.  The landing most certainly did not go as gracefully as I would have liked and the crash left me with two beautiful black eyes and I ended up breaking my radius bone in my wrist. As a result I currently have this nuisance of a cast on my left arm which I must keep on for at least six weeks! So my only option was to somehow make the best of it, especially because I had the Bremen CDI coming up in just three weeks time. So I promised the doctor that I would keep my arm quiet for at least two weeks, and for all of you that know me- know exactly how good I am at following doctors orders ... ;-) 

During this time I rode in lunge lessons to keep my balance and seat in top form. And the horse who was my true hero during this time was Heike's Bonaparte. For two weeks I rode with one hand and side reins. Everyone had a good laugh because good ol' "Bonaparte" who has won three Olympic medals, probably never in his life expected to be going in side reins again. But Bonaparte is a trooper and during these two weeks I learned so much. Although I must admit that riding with one hand was extremely frustrating at the beginning, but it truly reconnected me with my core balance and seat. And also very important was that during the two weeks where I couldn't use my left hand Heike kept Orion in top shape for me. Thank you Heike!! Then after these two weeks I began riding with both hands again. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have to clench my teeth through a bit of pain.. But as that saying goes... No pain no gain right!! And with a little extra determination in my back pocket I headed off to the Bremen CDI...

 Here are some snap shots of the Bremen CDI

If you look closely at the picture below you can see my cast on my left arm...

The craziest thing about me breaking my arm, is that rather than it being a set back, it challenged me to face my show nerves head on! And instead of riding down the centreline simply hoping that it would work out, I rode with the mind set- "Alright, if I am taking the risk of riding with broken bones, then I better make it count!!" And this is exactly the determination which one needs at this level, and who would of thought that all it took was a couple bumps and bruises for me to learn such an important lesson!

The summary of the show is as follows : Orion was a Star :-) On the saturday we scored a 65.66% in the Grand Prix which qualified us on to the Special on Sunday. In the Special Orion and I performed our best test yet and scored a 67.24%, placing us 11th in a field of tough competitors and giving us another qualifying score for London 2012!

So basically the moral of the story is: If life gives you lemons... make lemonade out of it!

In other exciting news there is a new addition to the team, Santa Maria is her name, she is a beautiful 5 year old mare, but Sir Donnerhall x Weltmeyer x Bolero. 

Some  snap shots of "Santa Maria" 

She's something special! 

The rest of the team is also doing great. Blitz, is now confirmed in all of the Grand Prix movements and I am so proud of the progress he has been making. Anited, is officially all grown up and is taking on the challenge of the higher degree of collection with great success. 

Thank you for tuning in and I once again apologize that so much time has passed again between new posts- but now that the show season has kicked off I promise to diligently keep ya'll posted on how the team is doing :-)

 I hope everyone's 2012 is off to a great start!