Equestrian

Spectrum

 In less then 3 days since making my move North to my family’s place in Whangerei, I’ve gone from grooming for the rich/elite/ whatever show jumping barn, to roping steers and barrel racing at a local rodeo. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum!

The first few days at my new home were pretty quiet. While everyone else was away at work or studying for exams- I stayed in the house, cleaned (yes mom, I cleaned), and baked. As the weekend came, things got a bit more exciting- roping and barrel time! I went with Alison and Diva, her horse, about an hour and a half to Paparoa where the Northland District Team Roping Club was having a club day.

Saturday consisted of practice time for the 5 or 6 of us there. The group joked that I was their new groom- but soon had me practicing heeling with the steer dummy and put me on a horse. Hutch, who’s horse I was riding, was quite surprised when he found I had tacked up the horse in all it’s western gear and hadn’t asked a single question. Who knew the show jumping groom could double as a cowgirl? Thank you 6 years in 4H and numerous western horses I’ve ridden and worked with over the years. Plus, I am Canadian. The first thing I had trouble with was when Hutch told me to “build a loop” in my rope. The response he got was me looking down at the rope in my hands, and promptly back at him with a “uhhh.. whaa?” expression.  After a good 3/4 hours of Roping 411, I still don’t have a hot clue how to build a loop. That’s the only thing I really had a issue with. Apparently I’m a natural at the actual roping. I mean- I didn’t actually go full speed, chase down a steer, and rope it. BUT- I did catch a steer by the end of the day… from a walk, and with a lot of luck-  I was on a horse, and I threw the rope- so it counts!! It’s definitely not easy. And it’s definitely frustrating. But it’s also addicting! I caught myself quite a few times, and my horse. Who was very patient and knew his job. Thank god.

Sunday was a points competition for Team Roping and Barrels, and more people showed up. I was put on Hutch’s other, younger, less trained horse to run barrels. For a kid who has never run real barrels, only the slow (on a pleasure horse) 4H version, running full speed on a young horse that’s never done barrels before- I (according to Alison and other spectators) did quite well.

It was amazing to see the differences between what I saw this weekend, and what I’ve experienced on the other end of things. I have to say, the people on this end of things are much more relaxed, easy going, and fun to be around. They were very supportive and so willing to teach me all they could and all I was willing to learn. There was never a face without a smile for too long- everybody was having fun.  I was accepted into the “rodeo” family, no questions asked. Before even finding out if I could ride worth anything I was offered a horse to ride for the weekend and went out with the group to bring the steers in from the field. I was lent show clothes so I could compete on Sunday, and trusted enough to be put on a young inexperienced horse. It was said many times over the weekend “everybody here is treated equally”, and that statement was very obvious. Everybody there was at different levels in their riding and skill- but everybody there was equally happy and learning. Nobody was unhappy if they didn’t catch on their runs, because everybody was cheering them on anyway. It was nice to be a part of that sort of community. You don’t often get that in the show jumping world- at least not in such an obvious way. I haven’t seen that many smiling faces at a competition since.. 4H Provincials- the year our team theme was Gangster and the three boys made up that rap for the big supper night.  Uncomplicated would be the best word to describe things “on this side” of the spectrum. Simple. Oh, and another bonus? Things don’t get started until 10 or 11 am. Big change from getting up at 5:30 am on show days to work all day and then repeat (I told the group this was what I’m used to.. almost got laughed out of town). I’m being spoiled here!

While I did have fun and learn lots while working at LC- I’m realizing stuff like what I experienced the past couple days at the rodeo is almost more valuable to me. I made so many local connections that may play a part in finding me a job- or just as friends in the future. I’ve been reminded many times already that I definitely made the right choice in moving up here. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to come home and turn Willard into a barrel racer. Besides- I don’t think he could handle the rodeo scene. Too many cows.

Here are some snapshots from the weekend, click on the picture for a larger view.

Different perspective

Skillsss.

Of rabbits, spiders, and sunsets.

Some stuff I may or may not have known before:
  • When somebody says you’re too “Manitoba lifestyle”. Don’t get insulted. Just go with it.
  • My hair is now blonde. Not much ginger left. My tan is also gone. Except for my face. Thank you working on a horse farm.
  • Relating to the above- sunscreen, sunglasses, hat are good everyday items now that summer is getting started.
  • Beetroot is in everything here. If you don’t like it when you arrive, chances are you will when you leave. Good thing I love it!
  • Bending and lifting with your knees is a very valuable life lesson- especially when you’re spending 8 hours a day de-docking/weeding huge paddocks.
  • Stretching is awesome. Don’t let anybody tell you differently.
  • Working out really does give you more energy.
  • Genetics play a part in whether you’re a morning person or not. Thank you mom, for enabling me to wake up at 5:45 am without an alarm. Not sure if that’s a curse or a blessing yet.
  • Bacon is awesome here too. I know you all were wondering.
  • Graham crackers don’t exist here- they actually have nothing even close. Trust me, I had a good conversation with a store clerk in a super market and she was very confused as to what I was looking for. Weird, right?
  • Baby rabbits are possibly definitely the cutest thing ever.
  • Learn how to drive standard before coming to a country where majority of the vehicles are standard. It might help you out a little bit.
  • There are some huge spiders here, that lurk in thistles and hop onto your arm as you pick up said thistle. Not a fan. I kid you not it was the size of a small child’s fist.
  • It is possible to live on under$250 a week and still save money- sort of.
  • The ocean at sunset is amazing.
  • I’ve learnt that I have a huge obsession with coconut. I looked in the cupboard the other day and realized that all three of my different granola bar boxes contained coconut. Plus I have coconut chocolate ice cream (fantastic). And coconut stir fry sauce. Yikes.

Per usual, the days are flying by and full of work work and more work. I spent two days this week helping Alan de-weed the paddocks. This process involved him weed wacking the large dock plants down, and another groom and I going around and picking up the weeds and piling them in our Mule (golf cart). We spent two days doing this job- it quite reminded me of work at the research farm- also had similar effects for my back. Nonetheless, I survived. Some might argue that this isn’t what we grooms should be doing at work, but I liked the change- even though it was hard on my body. A big topic of conversation right now at work is hay. We’re currently running on a very limited supply- and when you have about 25-30 horses to feed 3-4 times a day, that’s not good. This means that in the morning we feed half a slice of hay mixed with some haylege (god knows what it is- a very very rich type of hay that comes vacuum wrapped and is kinda damp when you open it and smells weird); at lunch we cut grass from different areas around the farm and feed that, and supper is the same as the morning feed. Night check gets only hay. Hopefully we can find some more hay soon- cause running a horse farm without it gets kinda complicated.

I haven’t ridden all week, as I’ve been trying to get my body back on track. I’m scheduled to ride tomorrow while Kyle is away at a show so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve started getting up extra early to add working out back into my schedule. So far it’s been going really good and I hope I can keep up with it. There has been some talk of changing our work schedule (currently the hours are 7am-5pm (never ends up being 5) with a 1.5 hour break for lunch from 12:30 (1pm more like) until 2)- either we would have a half an hour longer lunch and finish later- to allow time for the temp to cool off so the horses don’t get too warm in their rugs. The other option is to start at 6am and work straight until 1pm with no morning break and then break for the afternoon until 4 to feed and put rugs on. Or, keep it the same. No decisions have been made yet, I think we’re going to try out the different options and go from there. Either way, we’re still working long hours 6 days a week and getting paid the same amount ($250 a week (works out to under $5 an hour))- so I don’t really care what the time is.

Today has been full of de-cobwebbing. All the houses, and stables have to be dewebbed as we are having some pest control people come in to spray, which will apparently keep bugs/spiders away. We’ll see how well it works. They only took 6 horses to the Northland show this weekend, so three of us stayed home to manage the farm. Along with our pet rabbit, Mopsy.

Here are some pictures from a recent venture to the ocean side!

MOPSY!!!!

3 stars, 3 days, 2 grooms and 10 horses

We left on Tuesday around 11am for Hawke’s Bay, which is about 7 hours away. We loaded up the horses (6 in one truck, and 4 in the other) and headed off. We got about half an hour from home and we stopped for fuel, and to reorganize the horses on the bigger truck and Lesbos was causing some problems. Lesbos is a horrible traveller and this week definitely was no exception. After we got her relaxed we were on the road again. We travelled 4 hours to Taupo, where we made another pit stop and then finished off the last 3 hours of the trip through two major mountain passes. Definitely did not sleep much through there, for two reasons: the scenery was amazing, and also petrifying all at the same time. There was one bridge that was very VERY high up, with a straight drop onto rocks and a huge river- with little to no guard rails and a decently thin road busy with other trucks and traffic.

 We got to the show grounds around 6, and set up shop. We had 5 horses with indoor stables, and 4 in covered yards. And we were very lucky to have the stables closest to the rings- huge blessing. I set up my bed in the back of the horse truck, after it had been cleaned out from travel. With two sleeping bags, two sweaters, and sweat pants for pjs- I was golden for the night. 5:45 am came quickly (as it usually does) and the first day of showing began! After all the horses were fed, watered, mucked out, and the feed dishes washed I began studding (caulking) some of the first horses to go. Then they were tacked up, brought to the ring, flatted, warmed up over fences, and went into the show ring. All the horses went amazing the first day- 9 out of 10 had double clears! After studding, unstudding, tacking up, untacking, putting blankets on and off, setting jumps, fighting with fidgety horses, and dealing with a rather pushy 5yr old stallion (“rather pushy” is the understatement of the year) both Neve (head groom) and I were done for the day- after feeding, watering, tucking in, and hauling everything back to the trucks of course. Everything ran very smoothly, and there wasn’t really any chaotic moments. It really helped that we were so close to the rings.

The next day started just as early, and we had 12 rounds to prepare for. Same routine as the day before, only this time the rounds were close together and a few of the horses were scheduled to go basically right after one another in their classes. The pushy stallion from the day before got pushier, and caused us to lose about 7 studs- which made our plan for the day get a little bit crazier as we had to take studs out of one horse and put them in another before they went into the ring. Needless to say we were working very fast. Again, all the horses did very well and Neve and I were quite ready for when the day slowed down and we could enjoy the delicious burgers that the food stand sold (best thing I’ve ever tasted. Kiwi burgers rock!!).  I met a few people while standing in the middle of the chaotic warm up ring who noticed Kyle’s accent, and then my accent and again had absolutely no idea where Manitoba was. It’s quite hilarious watching their expressions go from “Oh, Canada! Where abouts?” to “Wow, I have no idea where that place is” to “Oh! Well, I’ve been to Kamloops- is it close to there?” in about 10 seconds. Nonetheless, everybody is very nice and one lady even said she planned on googling MB when she got home.

The final day rolled around, and we rolled out of bed with as much vigor as we could find in those early hours. The weather was fantastic all week too- we drove away from the rain (It poured at home the whole week) and only got a few showers and one thunder storm after the show day was finished. The nights were chilly, and the mornings were freezing- but all in all, great horse show weather. The last day was definitely the nicest. Sunny majority of the day with a nice breeze. More studding, unstudding, ringside watching, jump setting, tacking, untacking, braiding, unbraiding, brushing, walking, etc and then the day was coming to an end. The horses were all exceptional and did very well in all their divisions. LC Rodeo Drive was double clear the entire week! After everybody had been skipped out one final time, wrapped, and booted up- they were loaded back onto the trucks and we set off for the seven hour trip home. Neve was in the big truck to supervise Lesbos, and I was with Kyle again in the smaller truck. Kyle and I got about half an hour out when we got a call saying the Lesbos was causing some problems. So we turned back and found the other truck on the side of the motorway and four of the six horses already unloaded and (surprisingly calmly) eating grass on the side. Apparently Lesbos had managed to fall over and basically lie down in the truck- while Shakira, the next horse over, stood there not even caring about anything other then looking at the pretty views outside her window. Lesbos, for some reason, doesn’t know how to balance herself while travelling in the trucks. Everytime the truck shifts gears, brakes, or goes around a corner/roundabout she lets herself fall into the partitions. She is fine once you get going at a steady pace, but stopping and starting are definitely not her favourite. We ended up taking the horses in Kyle’s truck back to the show grounds, while I held two horses on the side of the road along with a kind passer by who held the other two. Shakira and Lesbos stayed standing in the other truck during this ordeal. Once the stallions and two of the geldings were back at the grounds, Kyle came back and we switched Lesbos and Shakira over to the smaller truck while Jolie and Baboon had been picked up by two other trucks that were passing by and offered to transport them closer to home for us to allow more room and less hassle in our trucks. We went back to the show grounds, Neve and I standing in the back of the truck coaching poor Lesbos through the short drive. She was much more relaxed in this truck- whether it was the difference in driving styles, or the smaller area. We ended up putting the two stallions, two geldings, and two mares onto the big truck, and just taking Lesbos and Shakira on our truck for the ride home. Neve came with us, and stayed in the back keeping a close eye on Lesbos for the first few hours of the journey. She quickly settled down and we got home around 1am.  We had planned on being home around 8pm.. but plans change right? Especially when horses are involved. Always when horses are involved. Lesbos only had a few cuts on her hip, and a slightly swollen knee out of the ordeal- thankfully- and doesn’t seem to be traumatized. She hopped on and off the trucks like a champ during the whole thing.

The next morning began at the regular hour of 6:30, as we had clients coming to see horses at 8am. No rest for the wicked! I washed out the inside of both trucks while the others mucked out the barns and prepared horses for clients and later on Steve and one of the other grooms made the two hour drive to pick up the horses that went with other trucks. To be honest, I’ve lost sense of time. It takes me a while to figure out what day it is most of the time. I realized today that I’ve already been here a month and a half! I’ve received a lot of positive feedback about how I handle the job, which is good. I’m sure thankful for the skills I’ve learned from my own riding and showing- all those years dragging myself to 4H meetings and events are finally paying off. This job is definitely not for the faint of heart, but I’m starting to appreciate what it’s teaching me more. I actually love the fast paced days spent at the horse show, which doesn’t really surprise me. I’ve always been one for thriving on going flat out nonstop. I’ve also noticed a big difference in my riding since being here. It’s definitely improved, and being able to sit on different horses almost every day is definitely a factor. I’m not doing much more then basic flat work, but I’ve learnt how much each horse can differ in style and how to adapt to those styles. Each one learns and functions in a different way, just like people. My back/hip hasn’t really been appreciating all these lessons and although I survived the show fine I can tell I’m starting to push it a little. Because I’ve been going full speed the past few weeks I haven’t been able to stretch as much as needed and that’s starting to bite me in the ass. The amount of riding I’ve been doing probably doesn’t help either.

I just looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:30pm- way past my bed time. So I’ll leave it at that for now and go stretch. Here are some pictures from the show!

Double J Angelic (Jolie)

LC Rodeo Drive (Nippur) warming up!

Got braids?

BERGER FACE!

My favourite, LC Telepathy aka Buck!

 

Prairie = Desert?

It’s been a long few days! We’ve been working non-stop 12 hour days in prep for the arrival of the owner and an away show. The barn is now spotless and 9 horses were sent off to the show yesterday in two of our trucks. I was left at home to help run the farm with two others, and cover Kyle’s riding schedule. I still have a lingering head cold, along with food  poisoning, which appeared yesterday. I rode a 4 year old stud colt here yesterday, Yoyo, who wasn’t the easiest ride as you could imagine- especially since there was a mare being ridden the the other ring right beside us. Also, since I was very sick with whatever I ate at lunch. However, I survived- and the horse eventually started paying attention to me. It was interesting riding a stallion for the first time, especially such a young one. I’m scheduled to ride two studs on Sunday for Kyle, Yoyo again and Buck (LC Telepathy) who is one of my favourites on the farm to work with. But, seeing as I’m currently lying in bed very sick- I’m not sure that’s going to happen. I honestly don’t mind the break, though.

Here are some of the differences I’ve noticed so far between Manitoba and New Zealand:

THE MOON IS UPSIDE DOWN. Freaked me out so bad the first time I noticed.

Nobody has any idea where Manitoba is, or what the prairies are/look like. I tried describing it to one of my coworkers the other day, and she promptly said “oh! So exactly like the desert?!” No.

This one’s obvious, but there is nowhere that is flat. I mean, it’s hard to beat the Canadian Prairies for flat- but even still. And no such thing a straight roads. I don’t know how people pass, but still they do it.

People really do just assume the Canadians live in -40 degree weather 12 months of the year. It’s not just the Americans that think that.

I know I’ve noticed more, but I’m too tired to remember them. Here are some more pictures!

Courtesy of ChaCha the horse.

Daily Routine/ Horse Physio

I’ve had a few people ask me what an average day for me is like (Mom), and request that I write about it on here (Mom). So here it goes, the average day of a groom at LC Horse Farms for your reading pleasure.

6:30 am- wake up and get dressed as quickly as you can to avoid the morning chill. Eat something, and by…

7am- be walking to the barn (a grand total of 25 ft away). Our first tasks in the morning are to feed (but usually this has been done by the head groom earlier); one person goes out to the ‘yards’ where there is another 10 horses to feed them, then we look at the turn out list and begin moving horses into the paddocks. To do this, we grab a halter and a lead rope from the tack room, go to whichever horse we’re turning out at the moment, take off their heavy overnight coat and the fleece underneath that and replace it with a outdoor blanket. Then their feet are picked and the halter is put on. This process is repeated until all the horses (9) are put outside to their allotted paddocks for the day. After doing this task, we move onto putting some of the remaining horses on the walker. 4 horses go on at a time- mares with mares, geldings with geldings, and studs by themselves. There are usually 8-10 horses that go on the walker each day for 20-40 minutes depending on if their being ridden or not. After the majority of the horses in the barn have been moved somewhere, the mucking out begins. There is approximately 20 stalls to be cleaned out. They all get one wheel barrel of fresh shavings put in after being cleaned- at least. Once the stalls are mucked, the barn is blown out with the leaf blower, then swept. The yards surrounding the stables are raked free of any excess hay or shavings and whatnot, and all the horses that are inside get a slice of hay. While all this is going on, Kyle and Megan are tacking up and grooming their own horses to ride. This brings us to..

9:30am (approximately)- The grooms take a coffee break. Yay more food!

9:50am (approx.)- Back to work. Usually by now the head groom has written up what she would like each of us to accomplish in the day. All the waterers in the barn need to be cleaned out, horses hand walked, horses tacked up for Kyle/Megan, different rooms cleaned, various horses bathed/brushed/brought in/etc. Each of us is assigned different things to get done before or after lunch. After each horse is ridden, they need to be hand sponged to remove any sweat marks and then left to dry before you can groom them and put them back into their stall. Their feet are picked when they leave the stall, when they come back from a ride, and when they come in from the paddock. There are to be no sweat marks from the bridle left over on their head, or girth area. If the horse is sweaty after being ridden, it’s bathed. Each groom usually gets assigned 1-2 horses per day to ride or lunge or both. This fits into our assigned tasks.

By 12:30 (usually ends up being at least 1pm)- all horses (including the outdoor ones) should have been fed their lunch (once slice of hay and grain), the feedroom and tack room swept along with the cross ties and wash stalls. Once the barn is organized and clean, we go for lunch (sometimes to the beach) until..

2pm- This is a continuation of the morning tasks. Riding, grooming, cleaning, organizing, grooming, bringing in horses, cleaning horses, taking off blankets, putting on different blankets, etc etc. Myself and another groom have recently been given the job of horse  ‘physios’. Between the hours of 2pm and 4pm we each have 7-10 horses to massage and stretch (about 15-20 minutes is spent on each horse). These are the things we focus on in that time:

  1. Mouth exercise- Use on of three points- top gums, tongue or lower gums. They should be fighting and moving their mouths in a variety of directions, follow the movement with your body, do not block if they want to turn one way or another. Alternate the side of the horse you stand on every other day. Grinding teeth is very good! 45 seconds. This helps the horse to stretch out the muscles at the top of their head, neck and in their jaw.
  2. Massage TMJ joint (along the jaw bone and down the cheek starting under ears) 30 secs each side.
  3. Head on shoulder- Place lower jaw of horse on your shoulder and let them drop their weight on to you. Do not pull their head down. Alternate sides every other day. 30 seconds. This stretches out the muscles up their jaw and down their neck.
  4. Cat Claw down neck muscles (1 min each side), and down shoulder muscles (1 min each side). The horse usually tells you how hard to press based on their reaction. Grinding teeth and moving head lower to the ground in a relaxed manner= good. Pinning ears, tensing, and eyeing you up = bad. Each horse has a different preference. This brings circulation to the muscles and removes any toxin build up.
  5. Fetlock stretch- hold foot up like picking out hoof, holding just the toe. Fell where the horse wants to put this and t hen hold 45sec each side allowing gravity to stretch the muscles gently down. Will work first in lower leg, then upper leg, then shoulder, wither, and into back.
  6. Shoulder stretch- gently pull horses leg forward until extended straight, hold the toe of the hoof just off the ground (5-10cm) and let gravity pull the weight down and stretch itself (45sec each side).
  7. Upper Shoulder/Neck Stretch- Gently pull leg back until hoof vertical, then keep hoof 5cm off ground and let gravity stretch travel through the forearm into lower neck.
  8. Wither Stretch- Gently put finger nail into girth area under stomach pushing up until horse raises it’s back through it’s withers, hold 2sec then release. Then go to wither and run fingernails down spine to push muscles back down. Repeat 5x. With this and the next stretch, be aware the horse will think your finger nail on it’s underbelly is a large bug and will try and kick you off. If possible, keep the pressure on until they put all 4 feet on the ground and then release so they learn that kicking doesn’t equal you buggering off.
  9. Back Stretch- Gently push fingernails into middle of bottom of stomach until back noticeably raises. Then move to top of back and run fingernails alongside the spine to push back down gently again. Repeat 5x.
  10. Croup Massage- Cat claw through croup muscles (top of butt). This is a very sensitive muscle on a lot of horses, so adjust pressure accordingly. 1 min each side.
  11. Croup Stretch- Run fingernail down side of croup gently (you’ll know the trigger point when you find it) getting horse to raise it’s pelvis. 5x each side.
  12. Hip Massage- Toughly run fingers in 30cm circle around hip joint. Direction very important, the top of circle should always go towards the tail (with the hair). At the top of the circle, the horse should drop down through hip, at bottom should be lifting hip. Repeat 5x each side.
  13. Hind leg forward stretch- same as front shoulder stretch except using back leg.
  14. Hind leg reverse stretch- Same as upper shoulder/neck stretch for front legs.
  15. Tail Stretch- Pull tail gently straight back from horse for 5 sec, then release quickly and watch ‘shockwave’ travel up horse’s body- note where it stops as that is where there is still a muscle block. Repeat 3x. This is a big evaluation for where problems lie for future sessions.
  16. *For mares only* Ovary Pain Release- ‘punch’ horse from shoulder to hind quarters everywhere to reduce sensitivity, then pat (watch for grinding teeth or a deep breath to show release of tension (actually works- who knew)). Repeat 3x each side. Find the last rib, massage with gentle cat claws down the rib to stifle area. 20sec or until no discomfort. The connection between the last rib and the hip is what causes pain and inflammation. Notice the inflamed band across the upper stifle in horses that are very sensitive- this is often mistaken for a muscle. Often one side will be bigger then the other.
Some horses really love these sessions. Other, more sensitive ones, you have to make sure to adjust for. This is how I got double barrelled in the side the other day. Mares don’t always appreciate that you’re trying to help them. Luckily she only got my leg and hip, and not my head or ribs.
This process takes us till 4pm, when we begin the supper routine. The horses in the yards must be fed, all the horse inside given hay first and then their grain (third serving of grain for the day), their blankets for the night put on, and the windows in their stalls closed. Then the barn is blown out and swept again, the feed room swept after all the feeds are made for the next morning, tack cleaned, tack room swept, cross ties swept again along with wash racks. We’re supposed to be done all this by 4:30. That never happens. Hopefully we’re done by 5, but more often then not it’s 5:30. Especially now since the owners son comes out to ride his two horses under the supervision of Kyle only at 4:30. And God forbid he have to tack up or untack his own horse. So after everybody is in their stall, with their food, tucked in for the night. We head out too. And then come back for night check between 8:30 and 10pm. Then we’re done until the next morning. Finally.
This whole schedule gets upset on weekends during shows of course. I won’t go into detail because I’m much too exhausted to type it all out. Usually two people are left home to do all of the above (there are usually 4-5 of us working), while the other two are at the show. For shows close to home where we switch horses during the day, one person rides in the second truck to switch. This is supposed to run smoothly, go to the show grounds, unload, reload, come home. But the show is always delayed, or the wrong time always given, so usually it ends up being, drive 1-2 hours to show grounds, sit in the horse van waiting for 1-3 hours, unload, reload, drive another 1-2 hours back. That was my day today. Thankfully tomorrow only one load of horses is going, so we avoid that gong show.

Taupo

We left the farm on Friday around lunch time and drove about 4 hours to the National Equestrian Center, just outside of Taupo, with six horses in the back of the truck.

 This picture doesn’t do this horse van justice. It’s gigantic. As I said, six horses in the back. Plus 4 separate bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and a flat screen tv. I slept where the horses travel. It was a bit chilly, but nothing anybody from Canada can’t handle. This horse show had about 300-400 horses at it, which is pretty standard. There is also no hunters, only jumpers. There are usually about 4 rings going at once so things tend to move along quite nicely. We started at 6am, mucked out, took off blankets (the horses wear 3 at night, 2 during the day, get a fleece on after working which is then switched after they dry back to their usual 2, and when they’re at the ring they have a different blanket on- plus a heavier one if it’s raining or cold), caulked, brought one horse to the ring, video taped the round, brought it back, untacked, sponged, uncaulked, and repeat for all 6 horses. Each day consisted of lots of running back and forth from the rings to the barn to the truck to the stud barn (we had one stallion with us) and back. The barns were nothing like what you see in Canada at shows. With the exception of the stallion block, they were outdoor stables, half covered and the other half outdoor boxes, with wooden perimeters. Both the head groom (who’s last job was in the US) and I were pretty shocked. All that separated the horses was thin wooden rails that were only about waist height. Easy to jump out of and easy to break. However, there were no wrecks, and according to others who have been to this show before, there hardly ever is any trouble. The horses sometimes break a rail, and you’ll find two horses in one pen, but other then that they’re fine. And after the weekend both of us had gotten over the shock and realized that it is quite practical and a lot cheaper.

After the first day was over, we had a quick supper and then went into Taupo to watch the All Blacks vs France. I have to say, the All Blacks are fantastic to watch. And the atmosphere in the pub we were at was so cool! I have to say the biggest disappointment of the weekend was ordering the pub’s chocolate cake (which cost $12), and then waiting a good 40 minutes for it to come, getting all excited cause it looked soooo goood, and then having the waiter come out with your money and saying they ran out. Awful. I really wanted to know if that piece of cake was worth what we paid. I guess I’ll never know.

The second day was much slower, I waited at the ring with Mr. Berg (one of my favourites), who was in the 1.25 championship class. The class started late, and we were ready early so we waitied, warmed up, and then waited some more, had a clear round, waited and waited and waited for the jump off, and then went into the jump off. For some reason he refused out of the combination this time around the course, Kyle was very unhappy. After Berg’s class we were done and the rush to get home started. We got home around 6 and were done in the barn by a little after 8. I had a brilliant nap all the way home, so I wasn’t even too exhausted. I still went to bed early (I’ve been going to bed around 8:30 or 9 most nights) as I knew Monday was going to come up fast.

Speaking of which, it’s getting close to bed time here now. Below are some pictures I took driving up to Taupo, and on my walk last week. Enjoy!

Pit stop/tourist station in a town on the way to Taupo

This one's for you Leah

Love Hate

My first official day of work started at 7am Saturday, where I worked the morning with Hannah. Then at 11, she went with the horse van to switch horses at the show the rest of the crew was at. I found myself left alone to run the farm by myself… on my first day. I didn’t burn it down, or lose any horses. After work (which lasted forever) all of us went to the local pub to watch the Ireland vs. Australia match. Since we  have two Irish girls, watching Ireland kick ass was pretty entertaining. Sunday I worked the morning with Flo, and the others went to the show again. This time, I got to go in the horse van to make the switch. It’s about an hour and a half drive to Woodhill Sands, where the show was. The plan was for us (me and Allan the driver) to get there, unload the 4 horses we brought, then load the 4 horses coming from the show. But, when we got there the show was running behind. So I went up to the ring and ended up helping Kyle warm up- not something I expected to do on my second day. I have quickly learned to have to expectations. I spent about 2 hours there, and then finally we had a load of horses to take home. I got back to the farm around 3, and started working there again. I think we ended up finishing at about 7 that night. I was assured many times that things are not usually this crazy, and the job gets a lot easier once things are more organized. I just smiled and nodded- much too tired to process any extra information.

Yesterday we had somewhat full staff again. Kyle, Flo and Hannah were off.. so it was just me, the  new girl from France, and the head groom. It was a slow day- as the new girl speaks hardly any english, and the head groom speaks very fast accented english. I’ve found that the horses here are very spoiled and pushy. They have no problem throwing their weight around. Which is very annoying, and my elbows are getting put to good use. They are also very mouthy, they will put anything and everything (including humans if in reach) in there mouth. It’s made me scream in frustration many times in the past 4 days. To be honest, the past 3 days I’ve wondered if I actually want to continue at this job. I debated quitting many times, but thanks to the logic drilled into my head by my mother, I didn’t.. and hopefully I start to like it better. Which after today, I am.

Today I got to ride!! I rode Baboon (LC Tango), who is a 5 year old French gelding.

 I worked the morning (7-9:30) then rode after morning coffee for about half an hour. Kyle was working another horse at the same time, and he gave me lots of pointers on what he wanted to see when I’m riding horses for him. He was very impressed with my hand position, and happy with my riding in general. I must say that riding this horse, and I’m guessing warmbloods in general is a completely ride from Will or any other horse I’ve ridden at home. It was so nice to be on a horse again, which made me like my job a little more. Today was also easier because everybody was back working and things ran much more smoothly. I’ve found that the work is hard and exhausting, but nothing is challenging me, yet. Everything that’s been thrown at me I’ve been able to handle easily- so thank you to everyone who has prepared me for this type of work. I was told today that I’m going with Kyle and the head groom to the show this weekend in Taupo. It’s about 4 hours away so we’ll be staying there. I’m sure that’ll be a new experience, and hopefully I can keep up! I don’t really have a choice. Another thing I’ve learned: even if you’re told you’ll be taught certain skills for the job- that is similar to Uncle Bob saying he’ll teach you to swim and then pushing you in the lake. So just be prepared for that.

It’s rather chilly here right now. There’s been a bit of rain the past few days, today it was sunny- but windy and this evening was quite cold. I’m sitting in my room right now covered in two large blankets and I can still almost see my breath. It doesn’t help that this house has no heating system to speak of. There is a fire place, but we haven’t managed to keep a fire going for more then an hour so far. I’m very ready for it to warm up a little bit. It wouldn’t be so bad if our house was warm and we could escape the chill on our breaks, but I’m pretty sure the temperature in our house is cooler then outside during the day for sure.

On a good note, my back and hip have been amazing! Nothing has bothered them in almost a month. So progress!!! I also haven’t ridden (excluding today) since Fall Harvest, which is almost a month ago. That may have something to do with it. As I mentioned earlier, I have tomorrow off. I plan on definitely sleeping past 6 am and then doing laundry. I may also go for a walk- get out of the farm gates (assuming I can figure out how to open them) and explore what’s down the road. If it’s not raining, or freezing that is.

More later!!

Kia Ora

“I honestly didn’t realize how big a deal this trip was until a few hours ago. And after reading the kind words written in my ‘wisdom’ book- it all became much more real. I’m actually living out a dream of mine. This summer leading up to take off taught me so much about determination, and how far it can really get you- especially when you have the right people in your corner. The right people will show themselves when you invest completely in your own life. Your “team” is going to vary, depending on what kind of support you need. Also, there’s always going to be people who are behind you, no matter what, and people who sometimes are and sometimes aren’t. Embrace both. This summer I’ve made new friends, been reintroduced to people who I wasn’t close with before- but now have everything in common with, and I met myself. I look forward to building new connections and learning from new experiences. It’s a big learning experience just stepping away (literally, thousands of miles away) from all my supporters and all the familiarties of home. But at the same time- home is where the heart is, and my heart is in this journey.”

The above is something is an excerpt from something I wrote on the plane.

I MADE IT!!! I’m in no hurry to do that 14 hour flight again any time soon. Although, the flight attendants were awesome. And I was lucky that there was nobody directly beside me (plus I had a window seat) so I could sort of spread out while attempting sleep. Another thing I’m not wanting to do again anytime soon is spending 8 hours in Vancouver Airport. There is a limited amount of things to do.. especially when lugging around three heavy bags. They also do not make washrooms very accessible for people with luggage carts. That was a gong show. I spent a lot of time skyping Leah, taking pictures (of myself-see below)and staring at the ceiling in boredom.

But, finally, my check in gate opened, I got my boarding pass, and went through security. Then, I waited some more. Annnd more. Then it was time to go, I found my seat on the gigantic plane and settled in for take off. I spent a lot of time being amused and in love with the accents. I’m also pretty sure I’m the only one that was on that plane that wasn’t going to the Rugby match tonight. Though, as I hear from my new coworkers, we’re going to be watching said match at the pub tonight. I slept on and off throughout the flight. I also lived up to my expectation of being the crazy person crying while reading letters. Thankfully, I’m pretty sure the lady in my row didn’t notice. I looked out the window at around 4am and could see the moon reflecting on the ocean. That was cool.

We landed in Auckland just before 5am, and I got through security, customs, and everything no problem. The customs officer was very nice and only giggled a few times when I couldn’t pronounce certain names of towns. Kyle (my boss and rider for LC) picked me up, and after loading all my bags up I went to get in the car.. on the drivers side.. FAIL. That’s going to take some getting used to. It took about 20 minutes to get to Clevedon (not ClevUHdon like I was saying previously-thank you customs officer) where LC Horse Farms is located. I met the girls I’ll be working/living with- the headgroom (who worked for McLain Ward before this job) from Ireland, another girl from Ireland and another from France. I think I heard them say another girl is starting on Monday, and she’s also French. They are all super nice, and fun. I already feel pretty comfortable around them, which is good, cause we’re living together. We got to the farm just before 7, and even though they gave me the day off to settle, I worked the morning. Mostly cause I was wide awake and I felt awkward sitting in the house alone. After feeding, mucking, raking, and moving some horses out.. the lack of sleep had caught up to me. So, I ate some toast and started unpacking- which soon led to napping. The farm is gorgeous, btw. I won’t do it justice by trying to describe it cause I’m half asleep right now. So I’ll leave you with the promise of taking pictures asap!

Quote

Somewhere

“Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become.
The coaches who pushed you.
The people who believed in you.
The long hours of schooling.
The dirt beneath your nails.
The falls you’ve taken.
The ribbons you didn’t win.
The tears you’ve cried.
The horses you’ve given your heart to,
Is a little girl who fell in love with a horse
And never looked back.”

Don’t know who wrote this, but it describes the sport very well!