"I was fortunate enough to have my best friend, the international judge, Birgitta Bergsten to help me with my horses and prepare me for the show season. She came in January and unfortunatelythe weather was awful, so I had to move six horses to a barn with an indoor ring. I was lucky to find a place to stable six horses where I could also practice. I had a great time and learned a lot again. To me it’s extremely important to have the judge’s point of view, it’s not only that you train and practice, because the judges are the ones who will tell you how you are doing—at least their opinion-- and in the end they will dictate the results of the show. I had my four horses, Donatello, Basquewille, Taison and Rockefeller and Emma Maclaren’s Royal Luck and Cory Walkey’s Coby 727. Basquewille is still trying to recuperate from his abscess and he is coming along very well and I hope that I will be able to bring him out to the CDI shows and hopefully make it to the finals in June. I’m not sure if I will compete Donatello in the six year old competition, but that is what we worked on with the flying changes and half pass. He will be ready to go, but I’m not sure if I will do it. Taison is going out on Prix St. Georges and the developing horses test. Rockefeller sits around a 3rd level workout. With Coby and Royal Luck I’m trying out for the high performance national championships and I hope I will make it with them as well. We worked all day long each day that Birgitta was here. Birgitta put in a lot very good work and I enjoyed working with her. I think she has a phenomenal eye and is very patient and correct: straight is straight and through is through and pirouettes are pirouettes and there is nothing in between. She does it in a very nice and humble way. I wish more judges had her point of view of what is correct and what is incorrect.
Debbie McDonald is back in town and she’s coming to Mill Creek to help me with my horses. I enjoy very much working with Debbie. She has a wonderful eye and is a very good teacher. I used to say that we speak the same language, not that we are speaking Swedish, but we have the same point of view of training and how things should be done. Without good help from the ground, you are sunk. I wish I could work with her more often and keep her here to myself. But that is not how it works, so I’m thankful for every time she can be here."
