First of all, a big thanks to Annie for holding down the fort here at EN today while I was on the road. Having listened to the radio for about 8 hours today, all I can say is congratulations to Akon for getting back on the radio. Unfortunately, as a result, the radio will be terrible for the next 5 months. We have a busy and exciting day planned for Friday with hopefully a new contest and the unveiling of Samantha Clark’s new blog. I’ll let Annie tell you more about that later, but for now here is our next article from our working student guest blogger Jenny.
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From Jenny:
Hello Eventing Nation!
I am now back in Kentucky from my wonderful vacation back home in Boston. It was great to see all of my family and friends at home, catch up with the non-equestrian world, and spend some quality time doing absolutely nothing. Of course I was eager to get back to Team CEO, so the second I landed at LEX, my fast-paced life picked back up–I drove straight from the airport to Masterson and hopped on Pesto for a x-country school. Never a dull moment as a working student, this was by far the best welcome home I have ever had! I also came home to my Christmas present in the mail from my family, a new (PINK!!) Point Two air vest! I was able to test it out the next day on another x-country trip while riding one of my project horses, and to my surprise I was actually terrified of the vest! I never thought a safety device would scare me, but for some reason galloping while being attached to your saddle, knowing that if you fall off you are going to go ‘POP’ freaked me out. (Funny side note: when I *remembered* to unhook before dismounting so I didn’t ‘pop,’ I realized I had failed to put a CO2 cartridge in it… oops!) Anyways, Megan decided I needed to be blown up once so I could see what it feels like, and be more comfortable wearing it out on the course. Andrea was delegated to pull the cord while Megan filmed, and this was the result: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Now for the big (and best!) news– Molson is SOUND!!! The best day of my life was last Wednesday when Dr. Newton confirmed his 100% recovery. I am now allowed to walk him for 20-30 minutes a day under saddle (if I am feeling brave). This past week I have just been hand walking him in the ring, as he is still feeling his oats and likes to try and practice his Lipizzaner moves every once in a while, which is funny because he is normally a perfect gentleman, but who can blame him after being on stall rest for 12 weeks?? I got on him on Thursday for a short walk for nostalgic purposes while Andrea played damage control (leading me) on the ground, and I have never been happier! The plan now is to walk for a couple of weeks, then remove the medical plate and slowly start on some flatwork, and maybe even some monitored turnout.
Now that Molson is on the mend, I am hopeful that I may be able to bring him to Aiken with us in March. We have 8 weeks until then, and I do not, under any circumstance, want to push him, so we will see! It would be a week of having fun in the sun, no shows or pressure, just a good time with some of our clients! If it is not in the cards, then I might be able to convince Megan to let me bring Pesto… who, in other news, was a superstar this past weekend again at one of the local jumper shows. She was a crowd pleaser, especially as we soared over the joker jump in the gambler’s choice class! For a little paint pony, she certainly has a lot of heart, and double the scope. The next jumper show we are bringing a bunch of the babies for exposure, so we have been doing lots of riding (6+ sets a day each) to make sure everyone is in top shape for the start of the season.
This week we have a full schedule not only riding our project horses, but also attending various seminars by Southern States, Alltech, and the University of Kentucky. One of the greatest things about being a working student is the amount of priceless information and experience you gain that you can’t get anywhere else. Every day I still wonder why anyone would ever want to do anything else!?
Until next time,
xo, Jenny
