The little things....

Been a busy week getting back into the groove here. Lauren and Hannah ended up riding the horses last weekend at Loudon and did very well - Karen and David had fun playing coach / owner, but I can tell you Karen is ready to get going again. The girls have done an amazing job competing the horses while we have been gone - and lucky them, they are both low on horses, so it gave them something to compete too - win, win situation.

Danny (Walk on the Moon) is at the Paralympics - he does his test tomorrow morning. Danny is the best... he has done everything from the 1.45 jumpers with David, to the training three day with me, to Practical Horseman photo shoots with Amy Tryon to being the AEC preliminary champion with Lauren Kieffer last year. He makes everyone smile....

We hear that Philip has had to withdraw Woodburn from Burghley after sitting in second.... sigh - hope it is nothing too serious. Hang in there Emma!

I have been doing a ton of unpacking, repacking, inventory, ordering, throwing out - on and on and on... and it is amazing the little things that you come upon that mean so much -
Karen and David host a camp a few times a year - people come with their horses for a week and learn everything from natural horsemanship to how to bandage a leg to cross country positions to how to walk a show jumping course and everything else in between. We all spend a ton or time together and get to know the campers quite well - While I was in England, a package arrived for me at the barn - it was a pair of hand knit socks from camper Kim Bradley... hand knit, in gold yarn and shipped to the UK. I wore them in England but repacked them into a bag to go home when we were put on the team. I just found them and they made me smile....
At this same camp in Lexington, VA, Brian and Penny Ross are our hosts. They get everything organized for us at the Virginia Horse Center and make sure we are well looked after. They always have us for dinner at their fabulous farm house that over looks the mountains. As we sat down - there was lavender and rosemary sprigs wrapped together with ribbon. As dinner started, Penny got up and said that it was for "energy and healing for the loss of Tigger, Busted and Teddy" . I kept mine and it traveled everywhere with me - Barbury Horse Trials, Aston Farm, quarantine, Hong Kong, Beas River, and back again.... it still smells amazing.
Not to mention all the Ted sized equipment that was put away after his accident - it's all in a trunk, and we are trying to get it back into use. All of it makes me sigh... we do need to move on.
Steve Teachman is the US Team farrier. I finally got to meet his wife on this past trip - she is great, she knows all the stories and now gets to put faces to names. Steve always has his camera handy and takes some of the best candid photos - he can really capture the feelings and surroundings... A week after we got home, a BIG box arrived for Karen and me - a note was in the box explaining how Steve's sister is an artist and he called in a favor. In the box was a painting from a photo Steve had taken in Rio. It was a painting of Ted and me before the first jog. It is amazing.... I was speechless and still am. No amount of words will come to me to be able to explain the emotions. I am very lucky to have it.

SO - Off to Southern Pines this week. Karen has Allstar (Ivan) in the Intermediate, St. Barths (Nike) in the Preliminary and Agent 99 (Nina) in the Training. I love Southern Pines - I lived there for a few winters when I worked for Mike Plumb and Marc Donovan. I also get to catch up with my old housemate, Nat, who has been helping Heidi White for the summer – her HUGE dog Millie was best pals with Busted, and now she'll get to meet his daughter Boston… very fun.
More after the weekend!