Great Last Show of the Year!

I competed with Finally and Taison at the Regional Finals at Los Angeles Equestrian Center the weekend of October 7th-10th. The days before the show were, as it has been lately, very shaky. Rain again.... in October! It never rains in October in Los Angeles, but it sure will when there is a show at LAEC! So I felt that I didn't do the work I normally would have done before a show and left a day later than I had planned, since I had good footing at home, so stayed there as long as I could. I went to the show the same day I was going to compete and just hoped it would work.

My classes were huge and a lot of good horses and riders had qualified for the finals. Both Taison and Finally had not been to a show since the National Finals in Gladstone in August, so I wasn't sure how they would be in the ring. Both of them were so good! They stepped up to the plate and just did a great job. Finally was Champion in Intermediare Freestyle with a score of almost 74%. Taison was Reserve Champion with a score of 73.500%. In another huge class, Finally was in a lead for about 5 hours and the last rider of the class beat us, so he was Reserve Champion with a score of 70%. Both Taison and Finally were placed in each class they entered. Great scores, good rides and lovely horses! (Complete results are available on Mette's website.)

So now the plan is just to work harder, so that I can move them up to Grand Prix. I hope to be able to bring them out in Intermediare II and later on to Grand Prix. It's easier said than done, but I'm looking forward to the journey.

This coming weekend, I'm off to give a clinic on the east coast and a couple of weeks later I'm on my way to China to coach my student Diani who will ride in The Asian Games.

I will tell you more about that later on.

So...enjoy.

~Mette

Clinic at Ten Broeck Farm

Mette will be giving a clinic at Ten Broeck Farm in Pepperell, Massachussetts on October 16 & 17.

An Auditor's Report of Mette's Equistride International Clinic

This report of the Mette's August 27-29 Clinic in Fenton, Michigan was written by Marci Brown.

What a fantastic weekend it was for dressage enthusiasts at Equistride International. Their second annual weekend symposium is the start of something fantastic. So much expertise, in so many areas, it was a smorgasbord of knowledge, from in-hand work, to a balanced seat, you could even find time for a massage for yourself or your horse! Now that is the royal treatment!

I was fortunate enough to follow most of the riders as they worked with Mette Rosencrantz, from their first ride to their third day. It was so wonderful to watch each and every rider step up and feast on the information presented to them. I truly was a transformation, in three days, in each horse and rider. Day one started with Mette watching the riders for a few minutes. Then, it was right to work. Problems were identified, but as the hours progressed we learned that what we often think of as problems, are merely facts, and each one has a solution! You just have to be willing to tackle the cause, not the symptom. Exercises were given, horses had opinions, what was started was always finished and most definitely, learning was happening, both in horses and humans! On day two, you could see that each rider had taken the first day to heart. They each came out ready to turn the page and get on with the tasks. Great teaching produces such an excitement to learn! As auditors, we learned too. We quickly became cheerleaders, riding every stride and cheering with each success. It was so much fun. Then, on the third day, Mette really emphasized to each rider what they had to continue with at home. Our horses don't know what to do if we don't show them the way. This kind of teaching made us all want to go straight home to the barn, and get to work. So inspiring!

To top off Mette’s great daily teaching, she gave a lecture Saturday evening. She shared with us her philosophy, her history and her training ideals. Her speaking was every bit as entertaining and educational as her teaching. It was a lot of fun.

I think we are very fortunate to have Mette come and work with us. I hope Equistride International keeps this annual event, and I hope Mette will be on the roster of clinicians again soon!

Clinic with Mette in the Detroit Area this weekend

Mette will be giving a clinic in Fenton, Michigan, August 27 - 29 at Equistride International. Visit the website for complete details.

Return from Gladstone

(View the photo gallery of Mette's return flight home from Gladstone on her Facebook page)

I think you all know by now that I got home safely with my horses Taison and Finally. I rode with them in the trailer from Gladstone to the airport. They make a ramp from the trailer to the crate so the horses just went from one stall in the trailer to a nother stall in the shipping crate. Our tack was in a different container and each crate or container has to be weighed.

Only my horses were in "my" crate, so with two horses in a crate for three, they got 1.5 spaces each. It is way too small for big horses like mine to go in a crate with 3 horses!

The crate is lifted up to the body of the airplane, and this time it was a cargo plane, so there were a lot of containers in the plane. There are no stewards, or any service, so there are just a couple of seats for those of us who flew the horses.

Back in L.A., Heather came to pick my horses up for the last leg back home to Mill Creek--and I tell you, we were all happy to be home!

So the Gladstone story is now over for this time and I'm glad that I was part of it! Finally has now shown that he can travel and still eat and drink and that he can take the stress of a big competition, so from now on I'm really looking forward to future shows!

Taison normally just does a great job, but the heat and humidity were hard on a big black horse--he just needed some extra spark from him for a higher placing. But what can you do???

Thanks for all your support!

Keep in touch,

~Mette

Virus on Computer!

If you all wonder where I went, I just have to let you know that I got a virus on Friday evening and my computer was shut down! Bad timing!!

I was pleased with my horses on Friday, but they were better on Saturday in the Intermediare I. In that test, I had a mistake that took the scores down on both horses, so it was hard to climb up after that. I had no mistakes on Friday, on Saturday, I had a better go, but with mistakes. When Sunday, came I rode the best. Both horses climbed up the list, but for the overall, the freestyle didn't count as much as the first day.

For the freestyle, I had two fun rides to music I like and fits the horses. I know that some of you did see it on the computer.  That is so cool!

Thanks for all the nice comments and all your lovely notes, calls and emails. I'm so fortunate to have you all out there to support me. I'm so grateful your are cheering me on. I tell you...it's a tough group!! So you better ride and give all you have!!

Taison is such a hard worker. The heat was hard on this lovely big black horse. By the time he was in the ring ready to show, he had to go on willpower. He is the best when the weather is cool, so Gladstone is not the place to be!! It  was so hot and humid that we had to cool the horses down every ten minutes with water and ice. He just does his job and is always trying to do it without complaint!

Finally was such a good boy all three days. Friday I rode safe, no mistakes, but that was not enough. I had great rideability and felt very good about my ride. Sad that the judges didn't feel the same!!!!

Saturday, I rode stronger, but my two mistakes took me down in scores. For me that didn't matter, because he was so relaxed and had no problem with anything that could have distracted him. Three months ago he would have thought the ring was very scary, so that is a great move forward. Sunday in my freestyle, he got a good score, worked beautifully and I was very pleased with my placing.

So over all the trip was fun and it was nice to compete in the group of the top riders in the U.S. There are a lot of nice horses and good riders and I'm glad that I am one of them.

Monday, 8/9:

The trailer picked us up in the morning and it actually felt good to be on the way home. I rode with my horses and traveled with them all the way. Taison and Finally were in one crate and they traveled very well. It's a long day and I am always concerned that the flight and all the commotion at the airport will stress the horses. But all went well and I was happy to be back at the barn, and so wer the horses.

For now my horses will have a break from traveling and training and I'm sure they will love to just be home.

I will keep you all posted what's next on my list, but for now I'm thankful to just be home and back to work.

All the best,

 

Mette

Show photos from Gladstone