Last night was the Nations Cup at 7 pm. As if we don't work enough with horses from 6 am until 6 pm....we also go to watch night classes after work hahaha. We bought tickets for the Canadian section and of course we were the rowdiest lol. There were 4 riders per nation team and two rounds to be ridden. The canadian team consisted of Eric Lamaze, Keean White (sp), Yann Candel last?) and of course Ian Millar.....I can't believe I don't know how to spell all these names haha. Ian went clear in the first round but halfway through couse In Style through a shoe....but the good boy still gave it all he's got and went clear. Ian was the second of last in the order of go and Canada was sitting with 15 faults after dropping the low score. I think it was Ireland who was the last rider to go and if he had a clear round they'd win. He knocked a rail and Canada cheered....that meant we won the $ 75,000 Nations Cup!!! It was so great to be apart of it all. As tired as we all get it makes it all worth while to be apart of those moments. The barn was a happy place to be today :)
As of today I've been working in Florida for a week and I'm starting to feel more settled. I know the horses, I know the people and even better....they know me too.
And the best part.....they told me yesterday they are giving me a raise :) !!! YAY. Lori said she talked it over with Amy and felt I'm doing such a fantastic job and I deserve a pay raise. It was sure nice to hear that feedback as you all know I was having a few issues this past week. Being away, meeting new people really makes me realize how sensitive of a person I am. It has always been my lesson in life to stand up for myself and go after the things I want. To know that I am good enough and I need to speak up when I feel the need to do so. I'm so excited for this adventure I'm on and besides the amazing skills I'm learning I'm also thankful for the contacts, the references and all the people I am meeting along the way. I am going to walk away from this a million times richer in experience and what more can you ask for.
I have my groceries in order and I am sleeping better. Still not quite climatized yet but I've always been too hot anywhere I go haha. I get Monday off.....yay another day off.....it's been awhile since that last day off at the farm haha. Technically I wasn't working when Mom and I were in Florida but we were up early every morning and doing horsey things all day so it didn't feel like time off.
And this time I have roomates/coworkers who will be off to so we can actually go play in Wellington :) Fun fun!
Anyway...off to bed. Sunday means Grand Prix day which means hectic in the barn all day.....Goodnite
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Finally writing...
Sorry I have been MIA the past few days. I have been soooo tired. Trying to catch up on sleep and getting used to a new place with very long days. I think my body has finally adjusted and the days aren't so hard. I have a routine. I know my horses.....things are good.
One frusration that sticks out from today is I cannot believe how much these people dwell on the bad things. I mean when we teach people we point out the posotive right? And with training horses....same thing. We praise the good things. Here it seems no matter how hard you work the people who matter only see or comment on the bad things. Today I didn't pick a horses feet out before I took her out of the stall. She was on the walker already so her feet had already been done and I did check them first. Anyway she pulled a bunch of sawdust out and they were like " awwww you didn't pick her feet!" I went back and swept it up....no big deal but still....seemed to be to them.
The other thing was, I was in a hurry getting a horse ready to go be lunged. Ian and a bunch of people were in the barn.....it was a zoo this morning. Anyway my rider started to lead the horse out and I had one more clip to do up on his surcingle...he kind of shy'd away from me as I was moving fast and there was lots of people around and Ian went on about how I shouldn't do that and it's a good way to be kicked. I was thinking to myself....YES I KNOW....but you want things perfect and that puts pressure on. Pressure to be fast and move fast and thats what I was doing. I wasn't being danergous in anyway and I came from the front of the horse, not behind like he thought. Anyway this stuck in my mind all day. I'm a sensitive person like that and I put alot of pressure on myself to be perfect. I just have a hard time with things like that.
Today was crazy busy but I enjoy it when it's like that. Makes the many hours in the day go by fast. Waking up at 5ish isn't such a shock now which is nice.
We all have tickets to watch the $75,000 Nations Cup at 7 pm tomorrow night. Ian is riding In Style in it so Nicki will be working late....long day for her. We get to sit somewhere special apparently. YAY.
The weather has been a little cooler which is nice for me because I get so over heated.
Ok I have no idea how this paragraph sounds as I'm watching TV as I type haha. I'm watching NCIS...it's a good show. I have to go back for night check tonight so I only really have two fulls hours of ME time before I go to bed so I'm trying to multi task lol
TTFN
One frusration that sticks out from today is I cannot believe how much these people dwell on the bad things. I mean when we teach people we point out the posotive right? And with training horses....same thing. We praise the good things. Here it seems no matter how hard you work the people who matter only see or comment on the bad things. Today I didn't pick a horses feet out before I took her out of the stall. She was on the walker already so her feet had already been done and I did check them first. Anyway she pulled a bunch of sawdust out and they were like " awwww you didn't pick her feet!" I went back and swept it up....no big deal but still....seemed to be to them.
The other thing was, I was in a hurry getting a horse ready to go be lunged. Ian and a bunch of people were in the barn.....it was a zoo this morning. Anyway my rider started to lead the horse out and I had one more clip to do up on his surcingle...he kind of shy'd away from me as I was moving fast and there was lots of people around and Ian went on about how I shouldn't do that and it's a good way to be kicked. I was thinking to myself....YES I KNOW....but you want things perfect and that puts pressure on. Pressure to be fast and move fast and thats what I was doing. I wasn't being danergous in anyway and I came from the front of the horse, not behind like he thought. Anyway this stuck in my mind all day. I'm a sensitive person like that and I put alot of pressure on myself to be perfect. I just have a hard time with things like that.
Today was crazy busy but I enjoy it when it's like that. Makes the many hours in the day go by fast. Waking up at 5ish isn't such a shock now which is nice.
We all have tickets to watch the $75,000 Nations Cup at 7 pm tomorrow night. Ian is riding In Style in it so Nicki will be working late....long day for her. We get to sit somewhere special apparently. YAY.
The weather has been a little cooler which is nice for me because I get so over heated.
Ok I have no idea how this paragraph sounds as I'm watching TV as I type haha. I'm watching NCIS...it's a good show. I have to go back for night check tonight so I only really have two fulls hours of ME time before I go to bed so I'm trying to multi task lol
TTFN
Monday, February 23, 2009
A day in the life....
Well I know you all are wondering what I do all day and what the horses are like so since I have a little more engery today to sit and type I will haha.
Mondays are a sort of day off.....ISH for the horses. We got up at 6 and headed to work for 7, there was only 3 of us today as the other 3 got the day off. Fed hay and grain, cleaned stalls, put 3 horses on the hot walker. Every horse gets their temperature taken in the AM and PM.
It's a 6 horse walker but they only ever put 3 on it because awhile ago they had a mishap where one went underneath the divider and in with another horse so now they leave a space in between them all. Everytime a horse leaves the stables it gets front boots, bell boots and back boots, feet picked and tails brushed to get the sawdust out. They get picked before them come off the walker as well. On their day off they don't get brushed other then that, every other day they get groomed excessivly and they are clipped all over very regularly....and we are in florida it's hot and they dont have much hair to start with. We put 8 rotations I think it was of 3 horses on the walker by lunch time. Each horse gets put on the walker and turned out on grass. There's a few that only get hand walked and led out to have grass.
We took every feed and water bucket out and scrubbed them with listerine and rinsed well and then put them back in their stalls. I thought my back was going to break by this point. My bed is terrible and I'm not sleeping well and the work is definatly not easy. I thought I used to work hard....I was mistaken. These guys don't stop....at all....from 6 am until 6 pm...and then we always have house stuff to do. Eat, laundry, get groceries ect. My feet are killing me. I cant wait until my body is used to working like this in this heat. I really need to buy a water bottle so I can keep hydrated as that's half my problem. I couldn't find one at the store yesterday.
Back to barn stuff.....ummm what else did we do today. It doesn't sound like much but once you do this routine with as many horses are there are there it takes the whole day.
I will write again tomorrow with a "usual" day when the riders are back.
Other little details....two horses get apple juice in their water cause they are finicky drinkers. They get a million different suppliments and vitamins in their feed twice a day, bran mash on Sunday nights. Some horses get the electro blanket put on once or twice a day with the magnets in different areas. There is also another machine that is like an ice boot. They stand cross tied with this thing on their legs and it circulates ice water. There's a horse massage thingy. Every state of the art machine for horses......it's here. A few horses go on the horsey treadmill. They get ridden 5 or 6 days a week. Lots get wrapped....different legs different days. There is no detail too small here. It's neat to see really but it's down right exhausting with no food and no sleep. I feel the people should be treated as good if the horses are haha. The riders work down right hard as well too don't get me wrong. Ian, Amy and Jonathan are out there all day riding and teaching in this heat. I immagine it takes their toll on them too just in a different way. As my mom always says.....If it was easy, everyone would do it....right?
Thats all for now....talk soon. Sleepy time for me. YAWN.
Mondays are a sort of day off.....ISH for the horses. We got up at 6 and headed to work for 7, there was only 3 of us today as the other 3 got the day off. Fed hay and grain, cleaned stalls, put 3 horses on the hot walker. Every horse gets their temperature taken in the AM and PM.
It's a 6 horse walker but they only ever put 3 on it because awhile ago they had a mishap where one went underneath the divider and in with another horse so now they leave a space in between them all. Everytime a horse leaves the stables it gets front boots, bell boots and back boots, feet picked and tails brushed to get the sawdust out. They get picked before them come off the walker as well. On their day off they don't get brushed other then that, every other day they get groomed excessivly and they are clipped all over very regularly....and we are in florida it's hot and they dont have much hair to start with. We put 8 rotations I think it was of 3 horses on the walker by lunch time. Each horse gets put on the walker and turned out on grass. There's a few that only get hand walked and led out to have grass.
We took every feed and water bucket out and scrubbed them with listerine and rinsed well and then put them back in their stalls. I thought my back was going to break by this point. My bed is terrible and I'm not sleeping well and the work is definatly not easy. I thought I used to work hard....I was mistaken. These guys don't stop....at all....from 6 am until 6 pm...and then we always have house stuff to do. Eat, laundry, get groceries ect. My feet are killing me. I cant wait until my body is used to working like this in this heat. I really need to buy a water bottle so I can keep hydrated as that's half my problem. I couldn't find one at the store yesterday.
Back to barn stuff.....ummm what else did we do today. It doesn't sound like much but once you do this routine with as many horses are there are there it takes the whole day.
I will write again tomorrow with a "usual" day when the riders are back.
Other little details....two horses get apple juice in their water cause they are finicky drinkers. They get a million different suppliments and vitamins in their feed twice a day, bran mash on Sunday nights. Some horses get the electro blanket put on once or twice a day with the magnets in different areas. There is also another machine that is like an ice boot. They stand cross tied with this thing on their legs and it circulates ice water. There's a horse massage thingy. Every state of the art machine for horses......it's here. A few horses go on the horsey treadmill. They get ridden 5 or 6 days a week. Lots get wrapped....different legs different days. There is no detail too small here. It's neat to see really but it's down right exhausting with no food and no sleep. I feel the people should be treated as good if the horses are haha. The riders work down right hard as well too don't get me wrong. Ian, Amy and Jonathan are out there all day riding and teaching in this heat. I immagine it takes their toll on them too just in a different way. As my mom always says.....If it was easy, everyone would do it....right?
Thats all for now....talk soon. Sleepy time for me. YAWN.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
I survived
Well I survived my first day. There was a $75 000 Grand Prix last night so when I arrived from the airport I went right to the show grounds. It was an amazing class with riders from all around the world. There were a few crashes where both horse and rider went down and there was only 2 clears....the course was greuling. So of course it was a long night for the other girls and we didn`t get home until 10:30 pm. I was in bed by 11:30....had no time to unpack, get food or anything. The alarm went off at 5:30 am....get ready, eat something head to the barn. It was a very fast paced day trying to remember names of people and horses. I feel like it went really well and a few of the riders said I came highly reccomended from Mandy and Christian so at least they had "heard" of me before. I met with Amy, then Jonathan and then Ian today. I am grooming for a client and have 3 wonderful horses to work with.
First thing this morning I had to get my horse ready, on the walker, then Amy flatted him, came in and changed tack then headed to the show ring. It's going to take awhile to learn my way around this place. There's so many back trails that are filled with horses, grooms, scooters, golfcarts, dogs ect.
All the horses get ridden, turned out and put on the walker. Everything is immaculate.
I know now why all the girls (and one guy who works here and lives with us as well) are skinny miny....they don't stop to eat....ever. Maybe it'll be good and I'll lose a few pounds however in order to run around all day long like this I NEED food. I do not operate well when I'm hungry haha. Not to mention getting used to the heat...my body is like what the heck is going on...cold weather, hot, then cold again back to hot. I was a sweaty mess.
Ummm I am not having much luck typing tonight....I'm hungry and tried lol. We got home from the barn at 5:30 pm (and didn't stop once today for anything) and me and one other girl have to go back at 8:30 pm for night check. Our house is about 10 minutes from the show grounds.
I will try to write more tomorrow however spare time is a rarity around here so we'll see.
TTFN
First thing this morning I had to get my horse ready, on the walker, then Amy flatted him, came in and changed tack then headed to the show ring. It's going to take awhile to learn my way around this place. There's so many back trails that are filled with horses, grooms, scooters, golfcarts, dogs ect.
All the horses get ridden, turned out and put on the walker. Everything is immaculate.
I know now why all the girls (and one guy who works here and lives with us as well) are skinny miny....they don't stop to eat....ever. Maybe it'll be good and I'll lose a few pounds however in order to run around all day long like this I NEED food. I do not operate well when I'm hungry haha. Not to mention getting used to the heat...my body is like what the heck is going on...cold weather, hot, then cold again back to hot. I was a sweaty mess.
Ummm I am not having much luck typing tonight....I'm hungry and tried lol. We got home from the barn at 5:30 pm (and didn't stop once today for anything) and me and one other girl have to go back at 8:30 pm for night check. Our house is about 10 minutes from the show grounds.
I will try to write more tomorrow however spare time is a rarity around here so we'll see.
TTFN
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Might as well write
I'm currently sitting in the Philidelphia airport. I've seen alot of different airports in the last while. This one is far bigger then the one in Chicago..which by the way I thought that one was huge. I landed in terminal F, had to find a shuttle over to teminal C 22 which is where I am now.
With nothing else to do I thought I'd write in my blog since last nights entry was kind of skimpy. I managed to get all packed, get my travel insureance all lined up and and almost in Florida. Just talked to Lori who is hte barn manager in Florida and she told me who will be picking me up ect. Also that I will be coming directly to the show grounds as there is a Grand Prix tonight....talk about being thrown right in haha. Trying not to forget to breathe today....feels like I just blinked and its gone by.
I can do this....I know I can.
While I was on my last flight I was thinking about big this world is. I mean even those who have travelled extensivly still have not seen the WHOLE world. There are so many people in so many places. Makes you wonder who you meet along your path and why you are meant to meet them. I like looking around this room and wondering where everyone is off to. Everyone has a destination and a story to follow I'm sure....look at mine haha.
I can't help but wonder how many doors this opens up everytime I set foot on a plane. I'm a single person and I always think it's neat to see who gets seated beside you. So far they have all been very nice and fun to talk to....except the french guy who didn't speak english and the only thing we thought was funny was how huge my laptop was compared to his teeny one. But he shared some cookies with me....food always beings people together lol.
I'm excited to get to Florida and see the farm again. It's insanely beautiful....here is a link to it http://www.westerncommunities.us/idx/residential/R2918514/details.html
I'll be living in a house with 5 other girls....that should be interesting but I'm happy to not be alone anymore. Don't think I'll have time to even consider being homesick from here on out. I was warned about how hard they party in Florida. Good thing I'm not big into that. I mean don't get me wrong I do love to act 23 on occasion and go out and get my dance on however....anyone who knows me knows that I get very sick the whole next day if I drink so that would NOT go over well. Thats one of the number 1 reasons girls get fired. They party too hard and can't work. What a stupid way to ruin an amazing opportunity is the way I look at it. I think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders and I know I won't be one of those! I can picture my parents reading this and going "good girl" haha. Yes I am :)
My finger is almost back to normal....that Tremueel cream or whatever its called works wonders. Amazing stuff. Anyway this is getting long and then becomes hard to read since I have the font so small so I'll leave you with that. TTFN....
With nothing else to do I thought I'd write in my blog since last nights entry was kind of skimpy. I managed to get all packed, get my travel insureance all lined up and and almost in Florida. Just talked to Lori who is hte barn manager in Florida and she told me who will be picking me up ect. Also that I will be coming directly to the show grounds as there is a Grand Prix tonight....talk about being thrown right in haha. Trying not to forget to breathe today....feels like I just blinked and its gone by.
I can do this....I know I can.
While I was on my last flight I was thinking about big this world is. I mean even those who have travelled extensivly still have not seen the WHOLE world. There are so many people in so many places. Makes you wonder who you meet along your path and why you are meant to meet them. I like looking around this room and wondering where everyone is off to. Everyone has a destination and a story to follow I'm sure....look at mine haha.
I can't help but wonder how many doors this opens up everytime I set foot on a plane. I'm a single person and I always think it's neat to see who gets seated beside you. So far they have all been very nice and fun to talk to....except the french guy who didn't speak english and the only thing we thought was funny was how huge my laptop was compared to his teeny one. But he shared some cookies with me....food always beings people together lol.
I'm excited to get to Florida and see the farm again. It's insanely beautiful....here is a link to it http://www.westerncommunities.us/idx/residential/R2918514/details.html
I'll be living in a house with 5 other girls....that should be interesting but I'm happy to not be alone anymore. Don't think I'll have time to even consider being homesick from here on out. I was warned about how hard they party in Florida. Good thing I'm not big into that. I mean don't get me wrong I do love to act 23 on occasion and go out and get my dance on however....anyone who knows me knows that I get very sick the whole next day if I drink so that would NOT go over well. Thats one of the number 1 reasons girls get fired. They party too hard and can't work. What a stupid way to ruin an amazing opportunity is the way I look at it. I think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders and I know I won't be one of those! I can picture my parents reading this and going "good girl" haha. Yes I am :)
My finger is almost back to normal....that Tremueel cream or whatever its called works wonders. Amazing stuff. Anyway this is getting long and then becomes hard to read since I have the font so small so I'll leave you with that. TTFN....
Friday, February 20, 2009
Things don't take long to change
Well things certainly don't take long to change around here....when I got to work this morning we got a phone call from Florida saying they need me now. The other girl who hurt herself is being ordered to come back to Canada for more tests so because of that her and I are trading places.
So back on a plane I go after being here for 3 days LOL. I fly out at 11:30 am, have a layover in Philidelphia and end up in Florida at 6:30 pm tomorrow night.
I hope I get settled in over there quickly and figure out their routine. Going to be a whole different ball game being on the horse show. Not sure who I'm grooming for yet...everything has happened so fast I haven't bothered to stop and ask.
Here's the next part of my adventure :)
So back on a plane I go after being here for 3 days LOL. I fly out at 11:30 am, have a layover in Philidelphia and end up in Florida at 6:30 pm tomorrow night.
I hope I get settled in over there quickly and figure out their routine. Going to be a whole different ball game being on the horse show. Not sure who I'm grooming for yet...everything has happened so fast I haven't bothered to stop and ask.
Here's the next part of my adventure :)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Long Day
Today felt really long as I was tired and sore. Didn't sleep well last night as I kept trying to put my hand under my pillow and would wake up in alot of pain. This morning my whole hand was swollen and I could barely bend my finger. It was quite the process to get dressed and put my hair in a pony tail. I was determined to go to work and try my best not to complain. It was just Christian and I cleaning the barn this morning and of course he does thinkgs alot faster then Mandy and I do. I was trying to keep up the pace but my hand was not working the way I wanted it to. I made it through cleaning and turning horses out. At coffee break Mandy brought me some cream to put on it and Christian gave me a hard time about resting it throught the night. Said if I would have kept working then it wouldnt have swelled up haha. Then went on about telling me I should have stayed on and the things I did wrong. I try to take his critisim as his way of teaching. I just agree for the most part and listen well to everything he says. When I have a chance to go and watch them work with the horses i do and take it all in. It's just a very different way of riding the young ones I'm not used to. I will do my best to learn it their way and I won't give up.
He said today how I shouldn't be on the young ones and he'd be the one to get in trouble if I get hurt and can't do my job. I told him I'm thankful for every opportunity he gives me and I know it's all part of it. I won't say anything to the Millars and I'm more then happy to climb back on next time he asks me to....well except today because he wanted me to get on lightening who isn't broke, he's the biggest one here and he's spooky. I just said I can't use my left hand so today really isn't a good day. He always looks at me like he's so disapointed but I like to think he at least understands.....maybe?
I will learn alot from Christian and Mandy...they are wonderful people. We all have days where we feel low and that it's hard to keep going but if you just keep your chin up and get through another day, it always gets better.
I have alot going on both here and at home and this week has been a bit of a struggle for me. I'm homesick, I miss the farm and the people I love and I'm lonely but it's nice to know I have people out there rooting for me and I'm enjoying this so much. My mom always says " This too shall pass..." and I can't wait until it does. I think I'm going to go have a shower, ice my hand and try to unwind. I wish I had tv....Grey's Anatomy is on tonight. I'm sad I'll be missing it haha. Goodnight everyone. Big hugs!
He said today how I shouldn't be on the young ones and he'd be the one to get in trouble if I get hurt and can't do my job. I told him I'm thankful for every opportunity he gives me and I know it's all part of it. I won't say anything to the Millars and I'm more then happy to climb back on next time he asks me to....well except today because he wanted me to get on lightening who isn't broke, he's the biggest one here and he's spooky. I just said I can't use my left hand so today really isn't a good day. He always looks at me like he's so disapointed but I like to think he at least understands.....maybe?
I will learn alot from Christian and Mandy...they are wonderful people. We all have days where we feel low and that it's hard to keep going but if you just keep your chin up and get through another day, it always gets better.
I have alot going on both here and at home and this week has been a bit of a struggle for me. I'm homesick, I miss the farm and the people I love and I'm lonely but it's nice to know I have people out there rooting for me and I'm enjoying this so much. My mom always says " This too shall pass..." and I can't wait until it does. I think I'm going to go have a shower, ice my hand and try to unwind. I wish I had tv....Grey's Anatomy is on tonight. I'm sad I'll be missing it haha. Goodnight everyone. Big hugs!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Last night in Paradise
Today was such a nice hot day in Orlando Florida. Mom got up and left for her flight at 4:30 am this morning. It was hard to say goodbye as this time I don't know when I'll get to see her again. She left me a really nice Valentines Day card with beautiful words in it....some of those things only mom's can say and make you feel wonderful :) I love my mom! She also brought me a chocolate horse head all the way from back home so she would have it for V Day....so cute and yummy!
I have never stayed in a hotel all alone before. So now I had this HUGE room with two bigs beds and just me haha. I slept in until 9:30, put on my bathing suit and hit the pool. I was so excited to see the sun today after all the clouds from yesterday. I only have a very small tube of sunscreen so I put on all I could....but apparently that wasn't good enough. Everywhere I didn't put enough on, or couldn't reach by myself, I got burnt. I slightly resemble a very red zebra with all kinds of stripes haha...ouch! Oh man....but at least I got a great tan everywhere I didn't burn....I'm trying to see the bright side of this. Note to self....buy bigger tube of sunscreen next time!
Around lunch time I headed over to the Waffle House for some food. I am really going to miss the waffle house. Some famous kid or something came in today too. First this big black SUV pulls up and out gets a man in a black suit with one of those white wires up behind his ear. He looks high and low around the restaurant and then asks for the manager. He goes back out to the car and walks back in with a lady, a small child and the other man in black who was driving. The 4 of them sat right behind me and I just went on eating breakfast...everyone kept looking over in our direction...I wish I knew who they were haha.
I'm excited to be getting back home and get back to eating better. This past week has been full of goodies and everything I love but my belly is wishing I'd quit filling my face. Again...I never seem to learn this lesson....
I printed off my electronic flight ticket and booked my shuttle to the airport for tomorrow. I`m sad to leave the beautiful sunshine and palm trees that are Florida.....mmmmm......I will be back here sometime soon (maybe very soon if I get sent back to groom at the horse show which could happen at anytime)
I fly out at 12:45 tomorrow, have a layover in Montreal again and arrive back in Ottawa Ontario at 7:15 pm
Back to work on Wednesday :) !!
I have never stayed in a hotel all alone before. So now I had this HUGE room with two bigs beds and just me haha. I slept in until 9:30, put on my bathing suit and hit the pool. I was so excited to see the sun today after all the clouds from yesterday. I only have a very small tube of sunscreen so I put on all I could....but apparently that wasn't good enough. Everywhere I didn't put enough on, or couldn't reach by myself, I got burnt. I slightly resemble a very red zebra with all kinds of stripes haha...ouch! Oh man....but at least I got a great tan everywhere I didn't burn....I'm trying to see the bright side of this. Note to self....buy bigger tube of sunscreen next time!
Around lunch time I headed over to the Waffle House for some food. I am really going to miss the waffle house. Some famous kid or something came in today too. First this big black SUV pulls up and out gets a man in a black suit with one of those white wires up behind his ear. He looks high and low around the restaurant and then asks for the manager. He goes back out to the car and walks back in with a lady, a small child and the other man in black who was driving. The 4 of them sat right behind me and I just went on eating breakfast...everyone kept looking over in our direction...I wish I knew who they were haha.
I'm excited to be getting back home and get back to eating better. This past week has been full of goodies and everything I love but my belly is wishing I'd quit filling my face. Again...I never seem to learn this lesson....
I printed off my electronic flight ticket and booked my shuttle to the airport for tomorrow. I`m sad to leave the beautiful sunshine and palm trees that are Florida.....mmmmm......I will be back here sometime soon (maybe very soon if I get sent back to groom at the horse show which could happen at anytime)
I fly out at 12:45 tomorrow, have a layover in Montreal again and arrive back in Ottawa Ontario at 7:15 pm
Back to work on Wednesday :) !!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
I'm going to stop counting days...
Well I figure since I've made the decision to move I'm going to stop counting my days. I didn't write last night as mom and I spent over 7 hours in the car getting majorly lost coming from West Palm Beach to Orlando and then trying to find a hotel. We were within seconds of where we needed to be but made one wrong turn ended up god only knows where! We kept going thru toll booth after toll booth so every wrong turn we kept making cost us more money lol it's gets expensive for wrong turns around here hahahaha. Finally by 12:30 am last night we found a hotel to check into and got to sleep.
This morning we checked out of that hotel and drove 45 minutes to where we were supposed to be. We took the car back, checked into our hotel which we are in now and had a rest. At 5:30 we decided to go to DisneyWorld for the evening as it was open late tonight. We just got home again.....spent 6 wonderful hours going on tons of rides, splurging on goodies from around the park and just had fun for the last night of our little Holiday together. Mom leaves at 5 am for her flight.....I have one more full day then I fly back to Ontario on Tuesday. It was cloudy today so I'm hoping for sunshine tomorrow so I can hopefully squeeze in one last day to enjoy the pool and my day off before starting back to work at Millar Brooke in snowy cold Perth Ontario. I'm going to miss Florida but there is still a chance I could be sent to work back here at anytime.....here's to hoping....although I really do enjoy working back at the farm.
I should let mom get to sleep.....I think my typing is driving her crazy. Will write again tomorrow :) Goodnight.
This morning we checked out of that hotel and drove 45 minutes to where we were supposed to be. We took the car back, checked into our hotel which we are in now and had a rest. At 5:30 we decided to go to DisneyWorld for the evening as it was open late tonight. We just got home again.....spent 6 wonderful hours going on tons of rides, splurging on goodies from around the park and just had fun for the last night of our little Holiday together. Mom leaves at 5 am for her flight.....I have one more full day then I fly back to Ontario on Tuesday. It was cloudy today so I'm hoping for sunshine tomorrow so I can hopefully squeeze in one last day to enjoy the pool and my day off before starting back to work at Millar Brooke in snowy cold Perth Ontario. I'm going to miss Florida but there is still a chance I could be sent to work back here at anytime.....here's to hoping....although I really do enjoy working back at the farm.
I should let mom get to sleep.....I think my typing is driving her crazy. Will write again tomorrow :) Goodnight.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Day 17
Day 17...today was a very round about interesting day. Talk about everything happening for a reason!
First thing this morning I recieved an email from Beth stating they really enjoyed meeting with me and would like to discuss possibilties of working for them when the winter circut winds down in March. For the time being they have enough staff and prefer to start people at home and not in the middle of a huge horse show....completly understandable. So I look forward to speaking with her again in March.
On that note Mom and I went out for breakfast and then headed to the show grounds to see what we could find. The grounds are HUGE and surrounded by beautiful gated equine communties. We drove past two fields where people were playing polo before we found the actual entrance into the show. Tons of little shops, perfectly turned out hunter horses and people galore, the place was buzzing. We couldn't find where all the jumpers were but we sat in huge comfy lounge chairs on a patio by the ring and enjoyed the sunshine and sights. Not too bad I must say....felt kind of like royalty. Apparently Madonna is even showing here in West Palm and so is Bruce Springsteens daughter amoung many other big names. Pretty neat!
After watching the shows that were going on we decided to take a drive around the rest of the facility and found ourselves inside Grand Prix Village which is where The Millars are renting a farm. All of these farms in the village are like properties you have only dreamed about. Huge towering houses and barns, perfectly manacured lawns and riding rings.....just incredible! We started to get hungry and decided to head back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner I thought I better get back to planning my decision as to where I'm going to be working.
So I call Millar Brooke to set up a time to meet with them in West Palm Beach tomorrow. I am still going to visit with them however, I found out they have been despretly trying to get in touch with me for the past 2 days as one of their grooms had to rush home and needed me to start right away. They had the wrong phone number though and when they couldn't reach me they were forced to hire someone else, she flys in tomorrow :( So I called Christian back at Millar Brooke Farm in Perth and the position there is still waiting for me YAY :)
So even though I am saying goodbye to Florida on Sunday or Monday I will still be working for the Millars and there is still a chance I could be sent back to Florida if something else comes up with the current grooms.
I let them know of my intentions about wanting to talk to Beth again in March and they said that is not a problem.
So starting next week I will be back in cold snowy Perth Ontario working for the Millars and still might end up working for Beth after the winter circut closes in March haha.
Talk about roller coaster ride. I'm going to miss the sunshine! Oh well onto the next series of my adventure. I learned alot in this crazy week and had alot of fun while doing it so there's no regrets what so ever!
First thing this morning I recieved an email from Beth stating they really enjoyed meeting with me and would like to discuss possibilties of working for them when the winter circut winds down in March. For the time being they have enough staff and prefer to start people at home and not in the middle of a huge horse show....completly understandable. So I look forward to speaking with her again in March.
On that note Mom and I went out for breakfast and then headed to the show grounds to see what we could find. The grounds are HUGE and surrounded by beautiful gated equine communties. We drove past two fields where people were playing polo before we found the actual entrance into the show. Tons of little shops, perfectly turned out hunter horses and people galore, the place was buzzing. We couldn't find where all the jumpers were but we sat in huge comfy lounge chairs on a patio by the ring and enjoyed the sunshine and sights. Not too bad I must say....felt kind of like royalty. Apparently Madonna is even showing here in West Palm and so is Bruce Springsteens daughter amoung many other big names. Pretty neat!
After watching the shows that were going on we decided to take a drive around the rest of the facility and found ourselves inside Grand Prix Village which is where The Millars are renting a farm. All of these farms in the village are like properties you have only dreamed about. Huge towering houses and barns, perfectly manacured lawns and riding rings.....just incredible! We started to get hungry and decided to head back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner I thought I better get back to planning my decision as to where I'm going to be working.
So I call Millar Brooke to set up a time to meet with them in West Palm Beach tomorrow. I am still going to visit with them however, I found out they have been despretly trying to get in touch with me for the past 2 days as one of their grooms had to rush home and needed me to start right away. They had the wrong phone number though and when they couldn't reach me they were forced to hire someone else, she flys in tomorrow :( So I called Christian back at Millar Brooke Farm in Perth and the position there is still waiting for me YAY :)
So even though I am saying goodbye to Florida on Sunday or Monday I will still be working for the Millars and there is still a chance I could be sent back to Florida if something else comes up with the current grooms.
I let them know of my intentions about wanting to talk to Beth again in March and they said that is not a problem.
So starting next week I will be back in cold snowy Perth Ontario working for the Millars and still might end up working for Beth after the winter circut closes in March haha.
Talk about roller coaster ride. I'm going to miss the sunshine! Oh well onto the next series of my adventure. I learned alot in this crazy week and had alot of fun while doing it so there's no regrets what so ever!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Day 16
Day 16....Today was a very surreal day. Got ready and headed to the showgrounds for 8:30 am. I helped with stalls and cleaned some tack. I waited while Beth finished flatting another one of her horses to get Whitney, the horse I was riding ready.
All tacked up we walked over to the ring and I climbed on the 18 hh mare and warmed her up. I was already extremly warm from the sunburn on my face the humidity in the air I'm so not used to.
Beth was in the ring and just left me to do my own thing while keeping a watchful eye. So I put Whitney through her paces and tried to blend in with some of these top riders in the ring. Before getting on I was so nervous I thought I was going to puke. Not nervous to ride the horse, but nervous to ride in front of Beth and so many important people. As soon as I was on her though my worries went away and I just rode. I felt incredible on the back of her, she was so smooth and graceful yet with so much impulsion and energy to her gaits. I had a wonderful ride.
After I was done cooling her out I rode her back to the barn where Carlos showed me their way of untaking, bathing and putting horses away. I hung around until 1 o clock or so then Mom and I decided we better hit the road and head to West Palm Beach. It's 4 hour drive although we stopped a few times for a drink and snacks. We got to West Palm and headed the show grounds. It was pretty quiet there so were decided to just go have dinner, find a hotel and go to the show tomorrow.
I had a great day!
I resized and posted a bunch of pictures on Island Horses so instead of posting them again here's the link http://www.islandhorsesforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=32706
All tacked up we walked over to the ring and I climbed on the 18 hh mare and warmed her up. I was already extremly warm from the sunburn on my face the humidity in the air I'm so not used to.
Beth was in the ring and just left me to do my own thing while keeping a watchful eye. So I put Whitney through her paces and tried to blend in with some of these top riders in the ring. Before getting on I was so nervous I thought I was going to puke. Not nervous to ride the horse, but nervous to ride in front of Beth and so many important people. As soon as I was on her though my worries went away and I just rode. I felt incredible on the back of her, she was so smooth and graceful yet with so much impulsion and energy to her gaits. I had a wonderful ride.
After I was done cooling her out I rode her back to the barn where Carlos showed me their way of untaking, bathing and putting horses away. I hung around until 1 o clock or so then Mom and I decided we better hit the road and head to West Palm Beach. It's 4 hour drive although we stopped a few times for a drink and snacks. We got to West Palm and headed the show grounds. It was pretty quiet there so were decided to just go have dinner, find a hotel and go to the show tomorrow.
I had a great day!
I resized and posted a bunch of pictures on Island Horses so instead of posting them again here's the link http://www.islandhorsesforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=32706
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Pictures....
Beth and.....can't remember this ones name
Brianne and Harris waiting to go in the ring
Tons of land out here
On our way to Ocala....mmm sunshine.
Mom and I in the convertible :)Day 16
Day 16....Started our day early, had continential breakfast and headed for the show grounds. We drove around and found where we needed to go. We walked a ways around....the grounds are huge and it's easy to get lost haha. I found permanent barn 20 and introduced myself to Pippa. She introduced me to the other grooms and horses. I just followed Brianne around and saw what is was like to work there and asked her a bunch of questions. It was nice to hear the answers from someone currently in the work environment and she had nothing but good things to say. I was pleased right off the bat with how I got along with them. We got a horse ready for the Grand Prix ring so I walked up with Brianne to go meet Beth. We had a brief introduction and she asked me a few questions before she had to go walk the course. She rode the class and then came back to chat some more. The day went very much like that. We'd talk, then she'd go ride.....we'd walk to another ring, chat, she'd ride. It was great to see it all. She just keeps going non stop all day from ring to ring to ring riding both her and clients horses.
Because I was adament about wanting to ride and not just be the typical groom she's putting me on a horse tomorrow to see what I can do. Brianne said she would be mad at me if I get to ride more then she does and we were both curious to see which horse she's going to put me on tomorrow. It pays to go after what you want!
After mom and I had more then enough sun (we both got burnt) we spent the late afternoon and evening shopping :) I bought all kinds of cute polo shirts and more professional type clothing thats meant for hot weather. Most of my suitcase was packed for cold snowy -27 Ontario so I'm happy with everything I bought. Now I feel like I'll be decked out like the rest of the riders in the ring tomorrow. Im so excited!!!
After shopping we were told we HAD to go to this cute little iceceam parlour called Coldstones. OH MY GOODNESS someone needs to open one of these franchises in Canada! They have all kinds of really rich icecream and then you get to choose from tons of topping to mix in and they do it right there in front of your eyes. So I had a cake batter iceceam and then added in choclate fudge sauce and yellow cake pieces.....MMMMMM it was so decadent!! Good thing we did tons of walking today to make up for it.
From there we found a shoe store and bought a new pair of work shoes for me and some sandals for mom. After that we were ready for dinner (yes we had dessert first lol) so we went to the Olive Garden and it was wonderful. Now back at home and I did a fasion show of all my new clothes and decided what I am going to wear tomorrow.
I got an email from Millar Brooke today and they need me down in West Palm as one of the girls had to rush home so I'm sure I'll hear from them tomorrow. Not sure if I can go work down there or not, or what Beth has planned for me or what, so I feel like a bit of a pinball at the moment waiting for the next hit. We are heading down to West Palm tomorrow after I'm done riding and meeting with Beth. It all depends in what happens in the next day or two if Beth offeres me the job or what.....because I was thinking I could go down to west Palm and help there for a few weeks until Beth's barn is heading there to show and then meet back up with them. That way i can help out both farms? Not sure if that will fly or not.....so we'll see. Very cool opportunity either way I see it.
Because I was adament about wanting to ride and not just be the typical groom she's putting me on a horse tomorrow to see what I can do. Brianne said she would be mad at me if I get to ride more then she does and we were both curious to see which horse she's going to put me on tomorrow. It pays to go after what you want!
After mom and I had more then enough sun (we both got burnt) we spent the late afternoon and evening shopping :) I bought all kinds of cute polo shirts and more professional type clothing thats meant for hot weather. Most of my suitcase was packed for cold snowy -27 Ontario so I'm happy with everything I bought. Now I feel like I'll be decked out like the rest of the riders in the ring tomorrow. Im so excited!!!
After shopping we were told we HAD to go to this cute little iceceam parlour called Coldstones. OH MY GOODNESS someone needs to open one of these franchises in Canada! They have all kinds of really rich icecream and then you get to choose from tons of topping to mix in and they do it right there in front of your eyes. So I had a cake batter iceceam and then added in choclate fudge sauce and yellow cake pieces.....MMMMMM it was so decadent!! Good thing we did tons of walking today to make up for it.
From there we found a shoe store and bought a new pair of work shoes for me and some sandals for mom. After that we were ready for dinner (yes we had dessert first lol) so we went to the Olive Garden and it was wonderful. Now back at home and I did a fasion show of all my new clothes and decided what I am going to wear tomorrow.
I got an email from Millar Brooke today and they need me down in West Palm as one of the girls had to rush home so I'm sure I'll hear from them tomorrow. Not sure if I can go work down there or not, or what Beth has planned for me or what, so I feel like a bit of a pinball at the moment waiting for the next hit. We are heading down to West Palm tomorrow after I'm done riding and meeting with Beth. It all depends in what happens in the next day or two if Beth offeres me the job or what.....because I was thinking I could go down to west Palm and help there for a few weeks until Beth's barn is heading there to show and then meet back up with them. That way i can help out both farms? Not sure if that will fly or not.....so we'll see. Very cool opportunity either way I see it.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Day 15 Cont'd.....
Today was a fun adventurous day. We slept in late since we stayed up too late...time changes were affecting us. Got up and got ready, checked out of the hotel in Orlando. We called the rent a car people and picked up our super cute silver PT Crusier convertible. Mom squished her driving glasses so now has them held together with scotch tape....yes it's quite the sight...I took pictures haha. So we went to Walmart to try to get another perscription but it was going to take too long and we were anxious to get to ocala. We found our way back to the highway, top down and music cranked. We sang at the top of our lungs with hair blowing in the wind. For anyone who knows how long and curly my hair is, yes it does get as messy and knoty as you think it would!
I was loving the sunshine on my face and the scenery around me. I had no idea how much farm land there is in Florida and TONS of horses, not at all green like the Island though. On the way I got honked at by a trucker in a huge big rig....mom and I thought that was pretty funny too :P
We finally reached Ocala around 3 pm....stopped a few times to ask directions to the show grounds as mom forgot to print off the ones I sent her as I dont have a printer with my laptop. We got sent in many circles so after a good hour or so we decided to find the hotel and look it up ourselves. By the time we got checked in and settled the show grounds were closed so I decided we'll meet up with Beth tomorrow. I got an email from Pippa who is Beth's barn manager and she said to give her a call. I talked with her and we formed a plan to meet up tomorrow. So thats where I'm at. Going to bed early tonight so I can get an early start tomorrow and make a good impression. YAY fun stuff.
I was loving the sunshine on my face and the scenery around me. I had no idea how much farm land there is in Florida and TONS of horses, not at all green like the Island though. On the way I got honked at by a trucker in a huge big rig....mom and I thought that was pretty funny too :P
We finally reached Ocala around 3 pm....stopped a few times to ask directions to the show grounds as mom forgot to print off the ones I sent her as I dont have a printer with my laptop. We got sent in many circles so after a good hour or so we decided to find the hotel and look it up ourselves. By the time we got checked in and settled the show grounds were closed so I decided we'll meet up with Beth tomorrow. I got an email from Pippa who is Beth's barn manager and she said to give her a call. I talked with her and we formed a plan to meet up tomorrow. So thats where I'm at. Going to bed early tonight so I can get an early start tomorrow and make a good impression. YAY fun stuff.
Day 15
Day 15.....I have arrived in Orlando Florida! Mmmm the fact I can walk around outside without wearing a parka is wonderful. I'm currently sitting by the window enjoying the feeling of sunshine on my face.
We have rented a convertible PT crusier that mom and I are going to pick up today. We are quite excited for our little Mother Daughter adventure. I'm so thankful to have the people in my life that have made this opportunity possible for me. I am very grateful. I also love the support I have from back home.
I believe the plan is to drive up to Ocala today and meet with Beth. We were originally going to spend most of our time around Ocala but after looking at the maps and realizing that when we go to West Palm Beach all the fun stuff is really close.....like Seaworld, Disneyworld, water slides....all kinds of things. So we are thinking after I have met with Beth and feel good about it we'll head that way and spend more time down there. We are going to take one day to enjoy the beach!
Well I should go and get ready to head out into the world of palm trees and warm breezes.....mmm that puts me in the mood for a Pina Colada. Makes me think of Mexico haha. Have a good day everyone and I'll write to you tonight to let you how it unfolds....TTFN
We have rented a convertible PT crusier that mom and I are going to pick up today. We are quite excited for our little Mother Daughter adventure. I'm so thankful to have the people in my life that have made this opportunity possible for me. I am very grateful. I also love the support I have from back home.
I believe the plan is to drive up to Ocala today and meet with Beth. We were originally going to spend most of our time around Ocala but after looking at the maps and realizing that when we go to West Palm Beach all the fun stuff is really close.....like Seaworld, Disneyworld, water slides....all kinds of things. So we are thinking after I have met with Beth and feel good about it we'll head that way and spend more time down there. We are going to take one day to enjoy the beach!
Well I should go and get ready to head out into the world of palm trees and warm breezes.....mmm that puts me in the mood for a Pina Colada. Makes me think of Mexico haha. Have a good day everyone and I'll write to you tonight to let you how it unfolds....TTFN
Monday, February 9, 2009
Day 14
Day 14...I'm en route to Florida. Got to the Ottawa airport at 9ish this morning. Boarded my plane and landed in Chicago. This airport is bloody MASSIVE....like I mean it looks like a city in here. I'm loving this computer on the go thing though I wish I didn't have to keep paying for it lol....
I'm waiting for a phone call from my mom. I have no idea what time she's supposed to arrive here as I keep going through different times zones. My computer says 3:00 and my cell phone says it's almost 2:00....our plane boards at 4:00.....I'm so confused haha. So in the meantime I will just sit here and hope that my cell phone being on isn't costing me a fortune waiting for my mother to call. The little roaming signal is on so it makes me worry.
I'm a little stressed today...not just for the fact of travelling (which I am actually really enjoying doing on my own) but because I'm learning a lesson in people. This horse business is a special place to be and at times can be so rewarding and other times makes you stop and wonder why the heck we put ourselves through this day after day. (I'll let myself wallow in this thought for 5 minutes then move on to happy again haha)
I'm really hungry and I'm surrounded by food but I can't find a bank machine to take money out of and I always have to stop and think which currcency do I need now :P Besides I was hoping to have lunch with Mom....if I ever find her.
I'm wondering if my luggage carried on through this layover....I think it does but I can't find anyone to ask....I would just go to the baggage claim and check except that its probablly like 18 blocks (if we were on a street) away....huge place remember! i might not find my way back again.
Well I'll be online again tonight once I get to the hotel in Orlando Florida. I'm sure passing through alot of different cities and towns....wish I had more time to actually see what was here. TTFN
I'm waiting for a phone call from my mom. I have no idea what time she's supposed to arrive here as I keep going through different times zones. My computer says 3:00 and my cell phone says it's almost 2:00....our plane boards at 4:00.....I'm so confused haha. So in the meantime I will just sit here and hope that my cell phone being on isn't costing me a fortune waiting for my mother to call. The little roaming signal is on so it makes me worry.
I'm a little stressed today...not just for the fact of travelling (which I am actually really enjoying doing on my own) but because I'm learning a lesson in people. This horse business is a special place to be and at times can be so rewarding and other times makes you stop and wonder why the heck we put ourselves through this day after day. (I'll let myself wallow in this thought for 5 minutes then move on to happy again haha)
I'm really hungry and I'm surrounded by food but I can't find a bank machine to take money out of and I always have to stop and think which currcency do I need now :P Besides I was hoping to have lunch with Mom....if I ever find her.
I'm wondering if my luggage carried on through this layover....I think it does but I can't find anyone to ask....I would just go to the baggage claim and check except that its probablly like 18 blocks (if we were on a street) away....huge place remember! i might not find my way back again.
Well I'll be online again tonight once I get to the hotel in Orlando Florida. I'm sure passing through alot of different cities and towns....wish I had more time to actually see what was here. TTFN
Sunday, February 8, 2009
For anyone who is curious where I'm going and what the facilities are like in Florida....
Here is the link to the horse show in West Palm Beach which is where I'm going to meet with the Millars in West Palm Beach http://www.equestriansport.com/index.html
And here is the link to the show in Ocala where I'll be meeting with Beth Underhill and Jay Hayes ect
Ocala http://www.hitsshows.com/ocala/index.html
Here is the link to the horse show in West Palm Beach which is where I'm going to meet with the Millars in West Palm Beach http://www.equestriansport.com/index.html
And here is the link to the show in Ocala where I'll be meeting with Beth Underhill and Jay Hayes ect
Ocala http://www.hitsshows.com/ocala/index.html
Day 13
Day 13....my last trial work day at Millar Brooke Farm. It was a really fast paced phsically hard work day today. One of the other managers is flying in from Florida this week so we wanted to make sure everything was spic and span. We scrubbed every feed, water, grain bucket in this place, cleaned and re bedded every stall (4 bags of sawdust each) We cleaned paddocks outside, went to get 2 truck loads of shavings from the other barn. Whew thats alot of work but you use this fun spinny trolley thingy and send them flying down the barn lol. Threw more hay down from the loft, groomed all the horses, dismantled and put away the roundpen, cleaned tack and tidied everything in sight. Mark came to ride Sunday and Angie today....said they were good.
I cleaned my apartment since I'll be leaving first thing in the am. I put a load of laundry on before I pack my suitcase. Now I'm online tieing up all the loose ends of my farm back at home and talking to the people I need to talk to incase I'm not able to get online in the next day or two during my travells to Florida.
I said my goodbyes to Christian and Mandy....Mandy who keeps saying she'll see me next Monday when I get back and theyll even take me out for a nice dinner since it'll be my Birthday hahahaha. She really hopes I'll be back but Christian said I'm stupid if I don't take the job for Beth. However until I get there I dont when when the job for her starts because she said I might be hired right away and expected to stay in Florida or they might not need me until March when they come home again. So if thats the case I'll come work at Millar Brooke until March and then go back and work for Beth haha. Mandy liked that plan too.
So this next week is going to be a rollercoaster of decisions thats for sure.....at least I'll be in the sunshine, enjoying the company of my mom and road tripping around Florida looking at mostly horses and horse shows :) Sounds fun to me!
I cleaned my apartment since I'll be leaving first thing in the am. I put a load of laundry on before I pack my suitcase. Now I'm online tieing up all the loose ends of my farm back at home and talking to the people I need to talk to incase I'm not able to get online in the next day or two during my travells to Florida.
I said my goodbyes to Christian and Mandy....Mandy who keeps saying she'll see me next Monday when I get back and theyll even take me out for a nice dinner since it'll be my Birthday hahahaha. She really hopes I'll be back but Christian said I'm stupid if I don't take the job for Beth. However until I get there I dont when when the job for her starts because she said I might be hired right away and expected to stay in Florida or they might not need me until March when they come home again. So if thats the case I'll come work at Millar Brooke until March and then go back and work for Beth haha. Mandy liked that plan too.
So this next week is going to be a rollercoaster of decisions thats for sure.....at least I'll be in the sunshine, enjoying the company of my mom and road tripping around Florida looking at mostly horses and horse shows :) Sounds fun to me!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Day 12
Day 12...Today was Mandy's day off so it was just Chrisitian and I in the barn as well as Diana who works here on weekends. We had everything cleaned and horses turned out really early since there was 3 of us.
After coffee break I got Boots ready and Chrisitian lunged her. When he brought her back into her stall her called for me and told me to climb on. Now I don't think Boots had ever had a rider on her before and these stalls have LOW ceilings, and I was in huge muck boots for cleaning the barn. He told me to quietly climb up on her, grab some mane and lean down so if she were to rear I wouldn't hit my head. Putting my trust in Christian I wasn't about to say no as thats not the way you get given opportunities....so even though I was out of my comfort zone everything was fine and she stood well and didn't mind. After her I got Annie ready and Christian told me to put on my boots and grab my helmet. Not sure what he was up to I grabbed my things and met him in the arena. He again told me to get on. I took a deep breath as I knew for sure this was only the second time someone had ridden her. I watched Mandy ride her in the roundpen (which is huge and oval in the middle of the arena) a few days before. They tie a neat strap around the horses neck so you always hold onto that on young horses to be sure you don't catch them in the mouth if they buck or jump. He lunged me around on her a few times and told me to stay light on her back. Pushed me into the walk, trot and canter. She felt incredible to ride. She is the best one here of the young ones and has a bright future ahead of her! Kind of cool to think I was training one who might be in the grand prix ring in the next few years. Then after maybe 5 minutes he came up to me, unclipped the line and said off you go. I was like good god European people sure are just fly at er kind of people but again off I went. He told me to start riding her more, use my legs, feel my hands but don't pull everything is about forward. As she started to get a little tired her pace got slower and Christian gave me a whip. Told me you should never get on a horse without a whip because the one day you need it it wont be there. He told me to ask her to go forward, use my legs and then WHIP a good one if she doesn't listen. And they mean GO. When you apply any kind of leg pressure they want them shooting out from underneath you. I wasn't being assertive enough (some of these horses are worth $500 000 and more its a little nerve wracking whipping on them) So Christian got on and showed me what I need to do. It's all about timing and he wasn't hurting them by any means. Yes it's a little more abrupt than I usually am but I see where he's coming from. From day one these horses are athletes and they need to be obediant to forward...nothing else matters until later. So he put me through my paces...walk, trot, canter and sent me all the way around the arena. Keeping in mind this is the horses second ride it felt like I was riding a horse with such power and grace under me that was so steady she lead changes if she started on the wrong one. I'm just in awe of that horse. I cooled her out and put her away and he told me to grab Mister (who is the cute chesnut one in the pics and he's one of my favs) This time he told me to get him ready and see him in the ring. I went out there with Mister in hand so Christian goes....ok lunge....so I lunged him. Again not knowing what was next I was told to get on again. I wasn't allowed to use a mounting block (which I have been doing for as long as I can remember except when I'm training or when I have to) but these horses are over 17 hands most of them. Then he gave me a hard time for not being graceful about it LOL Oh Whatever! He lunged me around on him the same as Annie. Mister had even more forward and alot more zoom to him. He was steady but when you used leg he was GONE. Very briefly he sent me into my walk, trot, canter. Came and un clipped me and told me to ride my horse. The look on my face said it all and Christian just said GO.....so I went! Started in a circle, up to the walk, then the trot. All of these horses are so muscled up and bridle from the slighest contact as they've been on the lunge now for 2 weeks. This was Misters second ride as well....I saw Christian ride him a few days ago and he was good but he had a stop in him when he was afraid of something. His canter is FAST....like eyes watering fast. Keep in mind I'm sick as a dog so I'm panting away up there and I can feel my face burning lol....but i wasn't about to complain I was so enjyoing the ability to ride these horses. (There's even a chance I could buy Mister...how cool would that be, I own one of Ian Millars horses) He opened up the roundpen gates so I could ride the whole length of the ring. He covered so much ground and moved with such intensity it was crazy. He has alot more suspension then Annie and wasn't nearly as balanced. I felt like we were flat out galloping...which some of the long sides we were lol but it was fun. Did a bunch of tansitions, got him past one spot he kept stopping ( again Christian gave me the lesson of the whip....yes I know how to use it I'm just getting the hang of the fact I'm allowed to use it! Make Sence? We had another awesome ride so I cooled him out and put him away. LUNCH.....yay lunch because I could barely breathe by this point I was coughing so bad....stupid cold I dont have time to be sick! After lunch I got May ready and Christian lunged her....brought her into the stall and told me to climb on....oh man I knew no one had ever been on her back and she's a nervous horse but he said she felt good while lunging and its time to get on. With a lesson in gracefullness again up I went. Layed across her back, patted her, good girl and jumped down....whew I survived and didn't eat ceiling thank god! Up again he says....so I climb on and lay across her, I get told to hang on (oh man) and he leads her in circles around her stall. Does anyone realize how uncomfortable it is to lay on your stomach across and english saddle inside a stall where the roof is maybe 2-3 feet above you.....ouch. But again she realaxed and took it all in stride. Today was fun....I didn't have time to think about nerves and I wasnt about to say no to anything I'm asked to do....thats not me as long as I feel comfortable I'll try anything and I trust Christian. Got a few more horses ready to be lunged and put others away. Picked out stalls and finished the last daily duties that needed to be done. Whew I'm tired now and I was so excited to hit the buckleys bottle....tastes awful but it works! Mandy has invited me for dinner so I better go get ready. They are coming back for me in an hour. One work day left tomorrow :( I'm sad to go. Christian talked to Yohan who is a friend of his today who is over showing in the same barn as Beth in Florida. Yohan told him more about the duties about the job I'm going over to apply for and Christian told him about me. Yesterday he told me if I take the job he's going to tell everyone I'm a terrible worker cause they want me back haha but today he tells me he's going to kick my ass if I dont take it LOL. Said its one of the best opportunities with great pay and Id learn loads more and be given more chances to move up then I ever will here. So talk about being confused about my decision now.....Florida is going to be VERY interesting....TTFN!
After coffee break I got Boots ready and Chrisitian lunged her. When he brought her back into her stall her called for me and told me to climb on. Now I don't think Boots had ever had a rider on her before and these stalls have LOW ceilings, and I was in huge muck boots for cleaning the barn. He told me to quietly climb up on her, grab some mane and lean down so if she were to rear I wouldn't hit my head. Putting my trust in Christian I wasn't about to say no as thats not the way you get given opportunities....so even though I was out of my comfort zone everything was fine and she stood well and didn't mind. After her I got Annie ready and Christian told me to put on my boots and grab my helmet. Not sure what he was up to I grabbed my things and met him in the arena. He again told me to get on. I took a deep breath as I knew for sure this was only the second time someone had ridden her. I watched Mandy ride her in the roundpen (which is huge and oval in the middle of the arena) a few days before. They tie a neat strap around the horses neck so you always hold onto that on young horses to be sure you don't catch them in the mouth if they buck or jump. He lunged me around on her a few times and told me to stay light on her back. Pushed me into the walk, trot and canter. She felt incredible to ride. She is the best one here of the young ones and has a bright future ahead of her! Kind of cool to think I was training one who might be in the grand prix ring in the next few years. Then after maybe 5 minutes he came up to me, unclipped the line and said off you go. I was like good god European people sure are just fly at er kind of people but again off I went. He told me to start riding her more, use my legs, feel my hands but don't pull everything is about forward. As she started to get a little tired her pace got slower and Christian gave me a whip. Told me you should never get on a horse without a whip because the one day you need it it wont be there. He told me to ask her to go forward, use my legs and then WHIP a good one if she doesn't listen. And they mean GO. When you apply any kind of leg pressure they want them shooting out from underneath you. I wasn't being assertive enough (some of these horses are worth $500 000 and more its a little nerve wracking whipping on them) So Christian got on and showed me what I need to do. It's all about timing and he wasn't hurting them by any means. Yes it's a little more abrupt than I usually am but I see where he's coming from. From day one these horses are athletes and they need to be obediant to forward...nothing else matters until later. So he put me through my paces...walk, trot, canter and sent me all the way around the arena. Keeping in mind this is the horses second ride it felt like I was riding a horse with such power and grace under me that was so steady she lead changes if she started on the wrong one. I'm just in awe of that horse. I cooled her out and put her away and he told me to grab Mister (who is the cute chesnut one in the pics and he's one of my favs) This time he told me to get him ready and see him in the ring. I went out there with Mister in hand so Christian goes....ok lunge....so I lunged him. Again not knowing what was next I was told to get on again. I wasn't allowed to use a mounting block (which I have been doing for as long as I can remember except when I'm training or when I have to) but these horses are over 17 hands most of them. Then he gave me a hard time for not being graceful about it LOL Oh Whatever! He lunged me around on him the same as Annie. Mister had even more forward and alot more zoom to him. He was steady but when you used leg he was GONE. Very briefly he sent me into my walk, trot, canter. Came and un clipped me and told me to ride my horse. The look on my face said it all and Christian just said GO.....so I went! Started in a circle, up to the walk, then the trot. All of these horses are so muscled up and bridle from the slighest contact as they've been on the lunge now for 2 weeks. This was Misters second ride as well....I saw Christian ride him a few days ago and he was good but he had a stop in him when he was afraid of something. His canter is FAST....like eyes watering fast. Keep in mind I'm sick as a dog so I'm panting away up there and I can feel my face burning lol....but i wasn't about to complain I was so enjyoing the ability to ride these horses. (There's even a chance I could buy Mister...how cool would that be, I own one of Ian Millars horses) He opened up the roundpen gates so I could ride the whole length of the ring. He covered so much ground and moved with such intensity it was crazy. He has alot more suspension then Annie and wasn't nearly as balanced. I felt like we were flat out galloping...which some of the long sides we were lol but it was fun. Did a bunch of tansitions, got him past one spot he kept stopping ( again Christian gave me the lesson of the whip....yes I know how to use it I'm just getting the hang of the fact I'm allowed to use it! Make Sence? We had another awesome ride so I cooled him out and put him away. LUNCH.....yay lunch because I could barely breathe by this point I was coughing so bad....stupid cold I dont have time to be sick! After lunch I got May ready and Christian lunged her....brought her into the stall and told me to climb on....oh man I knew no one had ever been on her back and she's a nervous horse but he said she felt good while lunging and its time to get on. With a lesson in gracefullness again up I went. Layed across her back, patted her, good girl and jumped down....whew I survived and didn't eat ceiling thank god! Up again he says....so I climb on and lay across her, I get told to hang on (oh man) and he leads her in circles around her stall. Does anyone realize how uncomfortable it is to lay on your stomach across and english saddle inside a stall where the roof is maybe 2-3 feet above you.....ouch. But again she realaxed and took it all in stride. Today was fun....I didn't have time to think about nerves and I wasnt about to say no to anything I'm asked to do....thats not me as long as I feel comfortable I'll try anything and I trust Christian. Got a few more horses ready to be lunged and put others away. Picked out stalls and finished the last daily duties that needed to be done. Whew I'm tired now and I was so excited to hit the buckleys bottle....tastes awful but it works! Mandy has invited me for dinner so I better go get ready. They are coming back for me in an hour. One work day left tomorrow :( I'm sad to go. Christian talked to Yohan who is a friend of his today who is over showing in the same barn as Beth in Florida. Yohan told him more about the duties about the job I'm going over to apply for and Christian told him about me. Yesterday he told me if I take the job he's going to tell everyone I'm a terrible worker cause they want me back haha but today he tells me he's going to kick my ass if I dont take it LOL. Said its one of the best opportunities with great pay and Id learn loads more and be given more chances to move up then I ever will here. So talk about being confused about my decision now.....Florida is going to be VERY interesting....TTFN!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Day 11
Day 11...Oh man....only two more days and my "trial" here is done. Time has gone so fast. I love the sunshine here....It hasn't rained yet...mind you it hasn't been above zero yet either lol. I look at the sunrise and sunset everyday. It's a beautiful place to live.
It was just Mandy and I today as it was Chritisian's day off. It was a very easy relaxing day haha. I got stuck doing most of the stalls this morning though as Mandy had to run to take her son somewhere. But I managed and when she came back she brought goodies for our coffee break :) I love goodies! We sat and talked...probablly for longer then we are supposed to but it was fun. We discussed different training methods and lots about horses as always. She continues to think of ways of bribing me to come back here. Lets see....so far I get to ride all the young ones, I'd get a newly repainted bigger appartment thats above the one I'm in now, she invited me over for dinner tomorrow night....which by the way Mariylyn (crazy cat lady) said I'm the first one that she's knows of that has ever been asked hehe. I said to her today at least it feels good to be wanted and she said yeah it doesn't happen often. Usually Christian is ready to throw the girls out after the first week so she said since I've won him over I'm good lol. I told her how I can't wait to get over to Europe to see things over there and she said the Millars are thinking of doing the Europe show tour again so I should stick around :P One way or another I'll get there. She took me into town for lunch today so that was nice.
Mandy lunged a bunch of the babies....we had to check May over as she jumped out of her paddock yesterday and scraped her legs a bit. Damn jumping horses, you teach them how to free jump and suddenly paddock fences mean toys HAHA...except she learned the hard way that your not supposed to touch them as those kind don't fall down!
Marilyn took me to town again after work to grab a few things I need to last me until Sunday. Only two more work days now until I leave at 8 am Monday morning for Florida. Sunshine here I come!
Af
It was just Mandy and I today as it was Chritisian's day off. It was a very easy relaxing day haha. I got stuck doing most of the stalls this morning though as Mandy had to run to take her son somewhere. But I managed and when she came back she brought goodies for our coffee break :) I love goodies! We sat and talked...probablly for longer then we are supposed to but it was fun. We discussed different training methods and lots about horses as always. She continues to think of ways of bribing me to come back here. Lets see....so far I get to ride all the young ones, I'd get a newly repainted bigger appartment thats above the one I'm in now, she invited me over for dinner tomorrow night....which by the way Mariylyn (crazy cat lady) said I'm the first one that she's knows of that has ever been asked hehe. I said to her today at least it feels good to be wanted and she said yeah it doesn't happen often. Usually Christian is ready to throw the girls out after the first week so she said since I've won him over I'm good lol. I told her how I can't wait to get over to Europe to see things over there and she said the Millars are thinking of doing the Europe show tour again so I should stick around :P One way or another I'll get there. She took me into town for lunch today so that was nice.
Mandy lunged a bunch of the babies....we had to check May over as she jumped out of her paddock yesterday and scraped her legs a bit. Damn jumping horses, you teach them how to free jump and suddenly paddock fences mean toys HAHA...except she learned the hard way that your not supposed to touch them as those kind don't fall down!
Marilyn took me to town again after work to grab a few things I need to last me until Sunday. Only two more work days now until I leave at 8 am Monday morning for Florida. Sunshine here I come!
Af
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Day 10
Day 10...I think...are we at day 10 now already? Jeesh. It's my day off. This feels weird. Even at home I don't get days off. What do you mean I don't have horses to feed this morning....sleep in? Is that allowed? HAHA I'm LOVIN it!! I stayed up til midnight last night just because I could. I tried to sleep in this morning but still woke up at 7, again at 8:30 and again at 9:30 then finally I just said ok enough of this I'll just get my butt out of bed. I had a shower and got myself all cleaned up. It's nice to feel made up and pretty once in awhile just to remember you can. I did my hair and put on some make up. Some semi niceish clean clothes. Then I realized I don't have anywhere to go so off to the barn I went lol. Mandy and Christian looked at me like I was an alien....Yes ladies and gentlemen with a little elbow grease, hairspray and make up I do turn into a different person then who you see in the barn all day everyday haha. They teased me some more about how I'm not allowed to leave and if I don't come back they'll tell everyone I'm a horrible worker and why would they want to hire me. I do love Christians sence of humor :P
I just sat and watched them work the horses for awhile. Mandy said I can ride Hereo today if I like....that even though it's my day off she thought I'd like to.....so I'm going to ride him this afternoon. Darn I'll have helmet head after...not that I have anywhere to go. But I am going to see if someone will take me into town later so I can grab a few more things to last me til Monday.
I leave for Florida in 4 days now...I can't believe it. Time just goes so fast when your busy and having fun. Everyday I struggle with my thoughts of what I'm going to do. Can't I just work at both places for 6 months? Maybe thats a new idea haha. I'm really excited about Europe too. Christian brought a DVD for me today of a bunch of stallions in Holland and some of his stock. Said again that if I want to go he'll put in a good word for me.
Lauren Hays called the barn today. She's looking for more horses and help too so Christian is also sending me to see Jay Haze's farm while I'm in Florida. He's like "not that I wan't to lose you but he'd be a great person to work for as well with lots of other opportunities. He also has one of my horses I want you to see" I love how as soon as you step foot into this world that the options become endless. I want to ride this wave as far as it will take me and soak up all the knowlege I can. I'm a bit blown away by how far this could go but I'm trying to keep my head and just keep on working. It's neat to think about though hey....like where could I go with this?
Well for the first time in a few days I have energy to cook so I think I'm going to make me some bacon and eggs mmmm. I'm still sick and I sound horrible today, like I'm trying to cough up a lung. Advil cold meds are still doing wonders though. It's a beautiful sunny day outside and it's actually not THAT cold....maybe I'll go for a walk in the snow around this 600 acres and see how far I get. TTFN
I just sat and watched them work the horses for awhile. Mandy said I can ride Hereo today if I like....that even though it's my day off she thought I'd like to.....so I'm going to ride him this afternoon. Darn I'll have helmet head after...not that I have anywhere to go. But I am going to see if someone will take me into town later so I can grab a few more things to last me til Monday.
I leave for Florida in 4 days now...I can't believe it. Time just goes so fast when your busy and having fun. Everyday I struggle with my thoughts of what I'm going to do. Can't I just work at both places for 6 months? Maybe thats a new idea haha. I'm really excited about Europe too. Christian brought a DVD for me today of a bunch of stallions in Holland and some of his stock. Said again that if I want to go he'll put in a good word for me.
Lauren Hays called the barn today. She's looking for more horses and help too so Christian is also sending me to see Jay Haze's farm while I'm in Florida. He's like "not that I wan't to lose you but he'd be a great person to work for as well with lots of other opportunities. He also has one of my horses I want you to see" I love how as soon as you step foot into this world that the options become endless. I want to ride this wave as far as it will take me and soak up all the knowlege I can. I'm a bit blown away by how far this could go but I'm trying to keep my head and just keep on working. It's neat to think about though hey....like where could I go with this?
Well for the first time in a few days I have energy to cook so I think I'm going to make me some bacon and eggs mmmm. I'm still sick and I sound horrible today, like I'm trying to cough up a lung. Advil cold meds are still doing wonders though. It's a beautiful sunny day outside and it's actually not THAT cold....maybe I'll go for a walk in the snow around this 600 acres and see how far I get. TTFN
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Day 9
Day 9....Oh man waking up this morning was hard. I'm so sick. Got ready and crawled into work. Christian brought me some cold meds at coffee break and they certainly helped. Advil cold and Sinus anyone...it works wonders! Mandy brings in donuts and muffins almost everyday....so much for my Atkins diet going out the window. I'm trying really hard to eat good but its difficult....especially because my cookware and appliances are something to be desied...However I'm still dropping weight pretty quick as the job is very phsical.
Today was another fairly easy day....well easy in my books because I'm used to working damn hard. Chrisitian put the 3rd ride on Mister. I love that horse. Not much talent for free jumping yet but under saddle he sure is cute. Then Mandy put the second ride on Annie, she has the most talent in the barn as far as the babies go. She's incredibly balanced and Mandy walk, trot, and cantered her and it was effortless. It was neat to see the way they do things. I asked a few questions but made sure they weren't the wrong ones....I got a bit touchy on one of them and I thought he was going to yell at me but he just got a stern voice for his strong opinion....haha.
He was joking with the account today who's super nice telling her that I'm doing good because he hasn't made me cry in the first week I've been here LOL. I just crack jokes right back at him and I think he gets a kick out of my sassiness :P
They keep bribing me with riding all the babies if I come back to work here. There's about 8 three and four year old that were just started or are being started. Mandy says we need you because I can't ride all of them. They really don't want me to choose Beth. They sarcastically make jokes about how horrible she is to work for and why I should work for Ian Millar. I'm really enjoying it here so if I love the opportunity to work for Beth this is going to be SUCH a hard decision.
Christian told me all kinds of stories about working in Holland...he's originally from France and Mandy is Dutch. He told me how to pick up great deals on fancy horses and when I want to go he'll take me. He said otherwise they see Canadians coming from a mile away and take advantage of you. I told him when I'm ready to build my facility we'll go over and buy some young stock and brood mares and start my own. He also said if after working here I want to get a job in Europe he'll know where to send me and I'll have a job right away. I'm feeling pretty gosh darn good about my performance lately. I must be doing something right...hard people to work for...HA! So far so good. Tomorrow is my day off so I'm on the computer late tonight. Not that I have anything to do or anywhere to go so I'll just meander around the farm and watch what I normally do. At least I get to sleep in. This 6:20 stuff still feels like 3:20 am my time and my eyes are showing it! Time changes are goofy to get used to. Anyway I think I'm going to hunker down with a cup of tea andwatch the Notebook. Goodnight.
Today was another fairly easy day....well easy in my books because I'm used to working damn hard. Chrisitian put the 3rd ride on Mister. I love that horse. Not much talent for free jumping yet but under saddle he sure is cute. Then Mandy put the second ride on Annie, she has the most talent in the barn as far as the babies go. She's incredibly balanced and Mandy walk, trot, and cantered her and it was effortless. It was neat to see the way they do things. I asked a few questions but made sure they weren't the wrong ones....I got a bit touchy on one of them and I thought he was going to yell at me but he just got a stern voice for his strong opinion....haha.
He was joking with the account today who's super nice telling her that I'm doing good because he hasn't made me cry in the first week I've been here LOL. I just crack jokes right back at him and I think he gets a kick out of my sassiness :P
They keep bribing me with riding all the babies if I come back to work here. There's about 8 three and four year old that were just started or are being started. Mandy says we need you because I can't ride all of them. They really don't want me to choose Beth. They sarcastically make jokes about how horrible she is to work for and why I should work for Ian Millar. I'm really enjoying it here so if I love the opportunity to work for Beth this is going to be SUCH a hard decision.
Christian told me all kinds of stories about working in Holland...he's originally from France and Mandy is Dutch. He told me how to pick up great deals on fancy horses and when I want to go he'll take me. He said otherwise they see Canadians coming from a mile away and take advantage of you. I told him when I'm ready to build my facility we'll go over and buy some young stock and brood mares and start my own. He also said if after working here I want to get a job in Europe he'll know where to send me and I'll have a job right away. I'm feeling pretty gosh darn good about my performance lately. I must be doing something right...hard people to work for...HA! So far so good. Tomorrow is my day off so I'm on the computer late tonight. Not that I have anything to do or anywhere to go so I'll just meander around the farm and watch what I normally do. At least I get to sleep in. This 6:20 stuff still feels like 3:20 am my time and my eyes are showing it! Time changes are goofy to get used to. Anyway I think I'm going to hunker down with a cup of tea andwatch the Notebook. Goodnight.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Day 8
Day 8...today was a beautiful sunny day but was still about -20 brrrrr thought I was going to lose my ears! It was a fairly slow day as Mandy found out some sad news and I came down with a bad cold. I was cursing everyone on the airplane who was around me hacking up their lungs and I kept saying to myself I will not get sick I will not get sick I will not get sick....however I have next to no immune system it seems as no matter what I do I still catch the colds....But other then that the day carried on as usual. I had a great talk with Mandy and Christian at coffee break. We talked more on what I'd be doing if I worked here and what to expect from the riders. How good you are depends who you work for....they said I'd be with Ian, Amy or Jonathan for sure....they also have grooms for the clients of the Millars who board here.
Mandy called me an angel today :) They really want me to come back here. Even Christian was dropping hints about standing up for yourself and asking for the wage you deserve otherwise why would they pay you anymore then they have to. Christian said he'd much prefer 2 higher paid grooms then 4 useless ones. Apparently alot of grooms come and go through these doors as all too often people present themselves better then they actually are....so they get here and are then useless and believe me, if you came like that you wouldn't last long. It hasn't been a walk in the park exactly but I've been in this world before and seen what is expected. I work my butt off each day and do so with a smile on my face but thats always the way I've been. I can't immagine being any other way but I suppose that is what makes me....me. I do hope my body can withstand all this...there are things here that just baffle me as we are making them harder on ourselves to have them done this way but it's the way Ian wants it.
We talked about horse training methods and how these horses get to the levels they do like Promise Me, Redefin and In Style....it's really neat to see where they started. If I come back here and work at the barn for awhile that excites me too as there about about 8 3 and 4 year olds that are just started or we are starting next week. Even better then grooming for Ian Millar would be training horses for Ian Millar...don't you think? Although travelling and seeing the shows sounds pretty exciting too. Oh decisions decisons.....that is all that has been on my mind is what to do? Where to go? Who to work for?
Well I'm hungry and I do believe it's dinner time......YAY for sunshine in 6 days whooo hooo !
Mandy called me an angel today :) They really want me to come back here. Even Christian was dropping hints about standing up for yourself and asking for the wage you deserve otherwise why would they pay you anymore then they have to. Christian said he'd much prefer 2 higher paid grooms then 4 useless ones. Apparently alot of grooms come and go through these doors as all too often people present themselves better then they actually are....so they get here and are then useless and believe me, if you came like that you wouldn't last long. It hasn't been a walk in the park exactly but I've been in this world before and seen what is expected. I work my butt off each day and do so with a smile on my face but thats always the way I've been. I can't immagine being any other way but I suppose that is what makes me....me. I do hope my body can withstand all this...there are things here that just baffle me as we are making them harder on ourselves to have them done this way but it's the way Ian wants it.
We talked about horse training methods and how these horses get to the levels they do like Promise Me, Redefin and In Style....it's really neat to see where they started. If I come back here and work at the barn for awhile that excites me too as there about about 8 3 and 4 year olds that are just started or we are starting next week. Even better then grooming for Ian Millar would be training horses for Ian Millar...don't you think? Although travelling and seeing the shows sounds pretty exciting too. Oh decisions decisons.....that is all that has been on my mind is what to do? Where to go? Who to work for?
Well I'm hungry and I do believe it's dinner time......YAY for sunshine in 6 days whooo hooo !
Monday, February 2, 2009
Day 7...today started off slow….I didn’t sleep well last night so was very tired this morning. Went through our usual routine. I had to clip Marks two horses today…..Sunday who is white and Angelina who is a bay. The pressure was on to clip nice as these are clients horses who pay big money to be here….but my practice clipping all these other horses has paid off as they both looked really good….my best job yet! Of course it took a little longer as I was trying to be very correct. Christian gave me a hard time for being slow.
Had my daily ride on Hereo….Mandy said I could jump him today but I’m still trying to get used to him so I didn’t bother. I hate the prestige jumping saddle because it was made for Jonathan who has very long legs so the flaps are too long for me and puts me in an odd position. I have to work really hard to keep my leg under me and in his canter its damn near impossible haha. I felt all over the place today….maybe cause I’m so tired…..that’s what I’m going to tell myself anyway. But really he’s coming along well. He’s getting much more connected between my leg and hands now and I’ve been working on clean crisp transitions while staying soft as being out of shape he likes to invert and leap into them….na uh I don’t think so!
I got told today that I get Thursday off…YAY a day off….I didn’t think I’d get one during my trial time here. Not that I have anything to do on a day off haha so I might as well just work.
Christian brought me a TV today that has a dvd player in it. There’s no cable here but at least I have movies to watch…most of them horsey of course lol. I’m excited to just have some background noise in the apartment….its too quiet.
So I was officially offered the job today! Mandy asked me when I’m leaving for Florida and when will I know what my plans are. I told her I’ll decide on the 15th which is my last day in Florida and I’ll give her a call once I’ve met with Beth and Pippa. She said she’d really like it if I came back……good to know I’m appreciated :)
I should go do some laundry….everything I brought is now hairy from all this clipping and I’m itchy as can be. Laundry, dinner and then shower…..sounds like a plan to me! Talk to you later.
Had my daily ride on Hereo….Mandy said I could jump him today but I’m still trying to get used to him so I didn’t bother. I hate the prestige jumping saddle because it was made for Jonathan who has very long legs so the flaps are too long for me and puts me in an odd position. I have to work really hard to keep my leg under me and in his canter its damn near impossible haha. I felt all over the place today….maybe cause I’m so tired…..that’s what I’m going to tell myself anyway. But really he’s coming along well. He’s getting much more connected between my leg and hands now and I’ve been working on clean crisp transitions while staying soft as being out of shape he likes to invert and leap into them….na uh I don’t think so!
I got told today that I get Thursday off…YAY a day off….I didn’t think I’d get one during my trial time here. Not that I have anything to do on a day off haha so I might as well just work.
Christian brought me a TV today that has a dvd player in it. There’s no cable here but at least I have movies to watch…most of them horsey of course lol. I’m excited to just have some background noise in the apartment….its too quiet.
So I was officially offered the job today! Mandy asked me when I’m leaving for Florida and when will I know what my plans are. I told her I’ll decide on the 15th which is my last day in Florida and I’ll give her a call once I’ve met with Beth and Pippa. She said she’d really like it if I came back……good to know I’m appreciated :)
I should go do some laundry….everything I brought is now hairy from all this clipping and I’m itchy as can be. Laundry, dinner and then shower…..sounds like a plan to me! Talk to you later.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Day 6
Day 6.…I am really enjoying this routine I have going…go to work come home, grab something to eat and relax and write my blog before taking my computer back over to the barn to go online. I offered to do night check again tonight at 8:30 since I’m always in the barn anyway so I can be on my computer. There’s no tv or phone or anything in my apartment so its too quiet to just sit over there. I think I’m quickly becoming their favourite as I’m the first one to work in the morning so I feed the horses and I don’t mind doing the night check either, so it works out good all around and that way Mandy and Christian get a break.
Today was a little bit different of a routine. A horse who has been in training for a year left today….he was one of my favourites named Guy (sounds like G-eee) so I had to get him bathed, clipped and presentable. It wasn’t hard to do he’s a stunning horse.
After Guy left we free jumped the young ones. I cant believe the quality in these horses breeding….the athletic ability is just bred right into them….no need for much training. I got to be the camera woman and for the horses that jumped well Christian is going to send the videos down to Florida to advertise them for sale. Most of them jumped around 6 ft…..the poles were at the top of the standards. They jumped them right out of the field last November…..not very high of course. They’ve been working them since then, lounging and starting them under saddle so being more fit they could get a better feel for their ability and by how much they learned since last time. It was so interesting to see how they work them up and the horses were just incredible.
I got to ride Hereo again today. Because he hasn’t been doing much it’s my job to get him back in shape so as long as I have time I get to ride him everyday :) !! Even though he’s the small 16 hh horse in the barn he’s still big to me and I have to work to ride him as he has so much more training and power to his stride then my horses do. Completely different calibre of horse that’s for sure.
The afternoon was easy since the morning was so busy we had a late lunch…..they day flew by. I only have 7 more days left here until I leave for Florida. I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by. I’m really excited about getting to Florida and meeting with Ian, Amy, and Jonathan. Then I get to be nervous all over again to go through my interview with Beth Underhill and her barn manager. How am I going to decide between these two top notch riders? I actually didn’t think I was going to like working at Millar Brooke as much as I do. I thought I would be more in the background and not really appreciated, I was also told they are hard to work for but they have all been fabulous to me. I’m always bubbly and happy though…..kind of hard to get mad at a happy person hahaha that’s the way I see it anyway.
I’m thankful to be able to ride and Mandy said we’ll be starting the other ones under saddle next week and once they are broke I can ride them too. The more I get to talk to her about what I want and what this job could become the more opportunities I get to move up….and I’ve only been here 5 days and already they trust me enough to be in charge of the barn…that makes me feel good. It has certainly helped my work ethic owning my own barn because I know what long days are and I know that with horses time doesn’t always go according to plan. Speaking of which…I don’t know if it’s because I’m only here for 12 days so they are getting me to work straight through or what because there has been no talk of a day off….so I just keep on truckin until they tell me not to.
The sun is still shining…..today is another great day :)
Today was a little bit different of a routine. A horse who has been in training for a year left today….he was one of my favourites named Guy (sounds like G-eee) so I had to get him bathed, clipped and presentable. It wasn’t hard to do he’s a stunning horse.
After Guy left we free jumped the young ones. I cant believe the quality in these horses breeding….the athletic ability is just bred right into them….no need for much training. I got to be the camera woman and for the horses that jumped well Christian is going to send the videos down to Florida to advertise them for sale. Most of them jumped around 6 ft…..the poles were at the top of the standards. They jumped them right out of the field last November…..not very high of course. They’ve been working them since then, lounging and starting them under saddle so being more fit they could get a better feel for their ability and by how much they learned since last time. It was so interesting to see how they work them up and the horses were just incredible.
I got to ride Hereo again today. Because he hasn’t been doing much it’s my job to get him back in shape so as long as I have time I get to ride him everyday :) !! Even though he’s the small 16 hh horse in the barn he’s still big to me and I have to work to ride him as he has so much more training and power to his stride then my horses do. Completely different calibre of horse that’s for sure.
The afternoon was easy since the morning was so busy we had a late lunch…..they day flew by. I only have 7 more days left here until I leave for Florida. I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by. I’m really excited about getting to Florida and meeting with Ian, Amy, and Jonathan. Then I get to be nervous all over again to go through my interview with Beth Underhill and her barn manager. How am I going to decide between these two top notch riders? I actually didn’t think I was going to like working at Millar Brooke as much as I do. I thought I would be more in the background and not really appreciated, I was also told they are hard to work for but they have all been fabulous to me. I’m always bubbly and happy though…..kind of hard to get mad at a happy person hahaha that’s the way I see it anyway.
I’m thankful to be able to ride and Mandy said we’ll be starting the other ones under saddle next week and once they are broke I can ride them too. The more I get to talk to her about what I want and what this job could become the more opportunities I get to move up….and I’ve only been here 5 days and already they trust me enough to be in charge of the barn…that makes me feel good. It has certainly helped my work ethic owning my own barn because I know what long days are and I know that with horses time doesn’t always go according to plan. Speaking of which…I don’t know if it’s because I’m only here for 12 days so they are getting me to work straight through or what because there has been no talk of a day off….so I just keep on truckin until they tell me not to.
The sun is still shining…..today is another great day :)
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