Ocala visit, Part 2 -- The kid is pretty special (and a massive photo dump)

The second day I was in Florida (I arrived Monday morning and left Wednesday evening) turned out to be a bit of washout. We had planned to take Scout over to Justin Dutton's farm for one of her schooling jumper shows where you pay for one round and then get to go back in to fix anything that didn't go well, alas the weather had other ideas. The show was canceled due to a whole afternoon of downpouring -- booooo. I did spend the morning over at the Davidson's Florida compound and to hang out with my favorite little person, her pony and I got invited to go on conditioning rides with Andrea. Yes, PLEASE! The funny thing is that I've never ridden with or around her at all, so it was such a special treat to get to ride their upper-level horses without any kind of knowledge of my ability. Their Florida farm is on 600 acres, has a full track for gallops and a conditioning path that goes around massive fields with undulating terrain. After not riding for almost two months I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, but it turns out all that gym time has been paying off!

The cutest

It's not pony playtime without Twinkle Toes!

Sadly, will not fit in carry-on bag

We ALL finally got to ride together! Aubrey was SO excited!

Part of the trot paths

We did a series of trot sets and even galloped a bit which was super fun on something that is decidedly NOT a thoroughbred. The horses were all a bit wild that morning with the incoming weather a drop in temps but I had an absolute BLAST.

Scout got a bit of a spa day en lieu of the schooling show, and was not super psyched about Mom rolling in to pull his mane and make a fuss over him. I stuffed him full of treats which may have softened the blow a little:)

Wednesday, we planned to take him over to the venue of his debut event to xc school. Nora had only taken him xc once before and she was super excited to get him out again. I was so pleased to tag along and play groom while she schooled Scout and another client horse. What's even better, is that I got to see just how much he's matured in every way. He hopped onto her big rig without an issue, tied at the trailer and stood quietly for tacking and walked flat-footed across the property with an inquisitive look in his eye.

Growing up!

Starting their warm-up

It was super nice to see how she warms him up for XC. She walked him for 10-15 minutes before picking up a big, forward trot in a giant figure eight around a bunch of jumps. She walked and trotted through the water complex while doing this and picked up a canter and continued on a figure eight, adding in lead changes (!) and going up and down hills to help set his canter in balance before sending him toward any fences.

But, on to the good stuff... She's got him solidly in front of the leg and thinking forward but with a very reliable half-halt to utilize to help him sit and wait when she needs him to.

That trot THO

Weeeeee!

He was really giving everything a ton of respect but still landing in the same balance as he jumped it

This photo makes me SO happy -- she just has the biggest smile when she's jumping him

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First trakehners!

I was super pleased with his attitude about everything -- he's become such a professional about his job and he's proving to really have the right elements to make a great event horse. He still gets it wrong, maybe 20% of the time, but he has VERY good instincts to get his giant legs out of the way and carry a rider successfully to the other side -- better yet, he doesn't get upset or hold a grudge, which is perfect for an adult ammy!

I'm SO excited about our future together and I'm so unbelievably happy that he and I have met a trainer who gets us both. She has developed a really special relationship with him and he is giving 110% back to her in response. And even though I have to wait a few more weeks to hop in the irons myself, I'm even MORE excited now. He makes his eventing debut tomorrow -- so please send good vibes our way, hopefully, I'll have good things to report in a few days!

Ocala visit, Part 1 -- Setting My Ego Aside

I saved this quote a few months ago after doing some hard thinking about the way we support one another both publicly and privately. There's been some conversation going on around the blogosphere about this very topic but I think it's important to highlight. I think we're all guilty of passing judgment behind the scenes, and the risk of putting ourselves out there on a blog is that our readers are going to have opinions (both good and bad) -- so we prepare for them every time we hit "Publish". Mostly though, I hope that the people who read my blog try to understand me and my journey and respect and support that even if it doesn't align with their goals.

So when I came back from Florida, I found myself a little tentative about sharing the details of my trip in fear of being scrutinized. Mainly because... Did I ride: YES -- Did I ride my horse: NO.

We came up with a plan before I flew down: to flat Monday, take him to a jumper show Tuesday and XC school Wednesday before I flew back. I drove straight from the airport Monday morning (4am wake up!) to go see Scout who did a bit of a double take when he saw me.

O HAI MOM!!!!

I had planned to flat him also Monday but after watching him go around with Nora, I decided that I'd perhaps hack him later on Monday or have a lesson Tuesday. She's JUST started to really unlock him on the flat and to be 100% truthful, I didn't want to hamper the progress they were making... she never pressured me in either direction, but it was clear that she was at a very crucial part of his training -- additionally, I think she wanted to show off what they've been working on:) And given the amount of time and money I am investing, I need things to go very, very well. She's finally got him really soft off the leg and allowing more pressure laterally. He's really working nicely over his back and coming through.

This step, this softness, this frame -- all of it. <3

His transitions are sharp and focused, his leads are confirmed and balanced and his frame is much different. He's really lifting at his wither and as a result, his neck looks amazing! I was most impressed by the difference in his walk which has this intense freedom in his shoulder and push from behind. She's getting control of those long legs and he's getting a little better at listening and waiting for instruction vs. I GOT DIS.


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The thing he's struggling most with right now is learning to use his hind end properly. He's finally got a good half halt installed but he still blows past it at times thinking he knows best, which usually ends in poles flying everywhere. Increasing his education on the flat and learning how to utilize his hind end is completely changing his jump style too. When he decides to wait and sit, he jumps like a freak. He's always been a good jumper but holy cow...


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When he gets it wrong, he just jumps bigger. To be fair, this exercise was REALLY hard for him -- but he never stopped trying. She's adding lots of tricky exercises like this to really get him to learn to wait and sit. There were lots of poles before and after single fences to get his brain and feet thinking too.

Finding that 5th leg:)

I was really pleased to see him locking on to fences and being so keen. He's really loving jumping right now, maybe even TOO much as he gets pretty bold and wants to do it his way.

But he's learning to halfhalt and rebalance and when he does, his jump is really spectacular! She does an incredible job of supporting him and also staying out of his way without letting him feel abandoned. It's that kind of fine tuning that makes me feel so good about having him under the tuteladge of someone so experienced and intuitive. She's been schooling him at 3'-3'6" to get him going confidently higher than what he'll compete at (for awhile).

He was completely hilarious after she finished up while we stood there chatting he kept inching closer and closer to me so he could be touching me at all times. He definitely knows his mama! I got to spend some time with him cleaning him up after his ride and stuffing him full of treats.

The kid is maturing = stands on crossties perfectly now

And while I felt a little conflicted about not being in the irons myself, it was fabulous to see what he's learned so far and where he still needs work. She admitted that it took 4-6 weeks just to unlock him on the flat, and I believe it! It's clear that she's taken a methodical approach to figuring him out while always providing a way for him to find the answer. He's extremely happy with her program and it shows.

Stay tuned for the next part of our Ocala trip where the weather does not cooperate with us, I go on conditioning rides at the Davidson's and Scout goes XC schooling and blows me away! Thanks for riding along with us:)

Job perks

Those of you that know me in real life know that I spent half of last year nannying for the Davidsons -- the job was exactly what I was looking for after finishing up my stint as the world's oldest working student. I wanted a job that would keep me around horses, working with kids and being creative. A mutual friend of the Davidsons (and someone we sold a horse to) put us in touch and the rest is history! I got to spend an amazing 5-6 months nannying the coolest kid and being around incredible event horses everyday (and I'll be starting back up with them after they return from Ocala this year). I wasn't really sure what to expect in the early days but I thought I'd highlight some of the amazing job perks I was lucky enough to encounter along the way.

Oh ya know... just keeping it real casual watching Andrea jump a young one (that's Bruce Sr. on the right)

I'll never forget the first day I met Bruce Sr. I was playing with Aubrey at the barn and he pulled up in his car and rolled down the window and with a big smile said, "Hi, you must be Niamh, I'm POP POP". I was internally (*i know who you are*) and attempted to tell him who I was and that I had a horse (*but also forget I just said that*). I had no experience with anyone in the family until I started watching their daughter which I think helped the process of getting to know everyone as a family vs. equestrians. But that didn't leave me a bit star-struck at times. I was surrounded by greatness, and it was hard not to be inspired constantly. 

The whole thing felt very surreal. 

Like the morning that I was told I should come to the barn that day because Erik Duvander was in town teaching and if I wanted to, I could come watch. Um, yes please...

Erik getting his exercises ready for the morning rides (*that little baby on the left became my obsession last summer)

Or getting to spend hours upon hours with the man, the myth, the legend...

Returns from conditioning gallop to cool out with his grand daughter -- talk about adorable

He's everything I imagined... intimidating, articulate, funny, kind, a consummate equestrian (through and through), gracious and generous with his time and knowledge. And even though I felt like such a peon around him, we had many fantastic conversations ranging from breeding lines and training young horses, to funny client stories and quirky horse characteristics and all the while he never made me feel like anything less than another person who loved horses. 

As part of my job working for them I also took lots of pictures and video for social media purposes, which started small and wound up leading to some pretty cool shoots. This year I'm hoping we'll get to do more of this and I've been stock piling ideas:)

For Charles Owen, Heritage, and I LOVE MY HORSE.BIZ

Perri's Leather reached out to me to a lifestyle shoot with both Buck and Andrea and wanted to include Aubrey too. This also happened to coincide with the busiest part of eventing season so nailing a time down with the three of them and a vendor was quite a challenge! The people from Perri's couldn't have been easier to work with and were extremely patient with a hyper 2.5 year old running amok the whole time. 

The one and only Erroll Gobey

Aubrey got to pick out her own halter for Prize (it has owls on it!!!)

<3<3<3

He was such a ham the whole time -- Andrea is undeniably photogenic

Walking up the picturesque driveway at Chesterland

I was dying to have a chance to photograph some of their big time horses, so when they asked if I would be interested in making portraits of all their client owned horses I jumped at the opportunity. Emily was kind enough to come assist me for the day, as it was going to be extremely tough to snag a working student away for the afternoon. I have to laugh about that day though because the working students saw the two of us (both in summer street clothes) and said something along the lines of, "You know these are fit, advanced horses... right?"  To be sure, most of them were getting ready for Plantation *** -- but I knew I had the right person helping me out:)

I couldn't post any of these until after Christmas, but I LOVE how they turned out!

Prim (Escariz Du Rona), Bobby, Sam (Mr. Poppers), Archie Rocks, Carlevo, Sean (Copper Beach), Erroll Gobey, & Archie

Each and everyone of them were so fun to work with. I've spent quite a bit of time with Andrea's competition horses (Prim and Sam) and I'm obsessed with both of them. Sam (Mr. Popper's) has this larger than life personality and he looks like a stuffed pony. All of Buck's horses are just professional athletes... it was like they knew what to do as soon as they were in position, rocking poses and pouring on the charm. Sean (Copper Beach) was coming back from a vacation, so he was a little fuzzy and feral, but he really started to pose when he heard the shutter. I can't to see some of the owners this summer and see how they liked their portraits!

As our time together was coming to a close and they were getting ready to head south we toyed with the idea of doing a little family photo shoot before they left. The timing proved extremely tricky as Buck was running at Fair Hill with multiple horses (and coaching) and they were leaving directly from the event! So I made myself available by attending the event everyday with camera in tow in case we found a hour of time to grab everyone and take some pics. So after show jumping wrapped up, we asked Buck (as he was heading to his press conference) if he wanted to do pics and we were delighted when he enthusiastically said YES! So while they were literally packing up the last of their stuff to head south I whisked them away to a very glamorous spot behind the temporary stabling tents (!!!) -- where we were gifted with the most stunning fall light.

<3

Could they be more perfect?

Sweetest family ever!

A perfect way to bookend our summer together!

I never thought in a million years that I'd have this kind of opportunity -- and it feels like a dream come true to be able to combine all of the things I love so much. A horse adjacent job with the ability to be creative and have enough flexibility in my schedule to give my horse the time and dedication he deserves -- it's a win-win for sure. I'm looking forward to their return this spring and resuming my role with their daughter and I hope to have Scout making regular appearances over at Chesterland too!