September 5th - 9:08pm

Early morning today with the schooling horse show at the Aleman. Took the series one and two horses plus Skyline and Cor Lit. The first trailer load of horses were all good. Vitroso jumped brilliantly and Mauro showed that everything we've been working on is paying off. Once the second trailer load of horses got to the show we loaded up the first six to bring them back home. Rodrigo, Walter and I also came home since there were only three horses left to show. Rodrigo had his young horses to longe and I had some to ride. Plus Megg had arrived! Gave her a brief run down of the farm and then she shot into full Rancho Pampa working student mode. We ended up hacking five horses each that weren't showing. I rode Jour, Pierrette, Holendesa, Puccini and Benito. All were quite good. Especially Benito. It has probably been close to two months since Id ridden Benito and it was like I was on a totally different horse. Ive always loved watching him jump and with his flatwork so much easier now he's really fun to ride too. Again reminded how much I enjoy working with the young horses that come along so very fast.
Tomorrow Alice, Martin and Rodrigo are headed back for the series show. Megg and I are staying home for the morning to get all the riding done here. After were finished we may be able to catch a ride into town to watch the later classes/series two at the show. Going to be fun!

September 4th - 9:30pm

Going to regret staying up tomorrow morning but Criminal Minds is on and I want to watch. Horse show at the Aleman in the morning. Taking eleven horses. Going to be an early morning and a long day! It is also the day Megg arrives! Its going to take some getting use to having someone else around but it will be fun.
Anyway, today was another good day. Rode Cylene, Vitroso, Luli, Holendesa and Pierrette. Had a short jumping lesson through the grid on Pierrette. After, I showed Holendesa to a client. First time jumping that mare around a course and its for a client. By the end of this year in Argentina I have a feeling nothing about showing horses to clients will phase me. Getting better at keeping my nerves under control and at riding in general. As a result, she was quite good though and I think the client liked her. Alice and I were suppose to ride three more horses in the afternoon but a bit of rain and some confusion meant they didnt get ridden. But despite not riding it was a very productive afternoon. Got all the horses trimmed and clipped up for the show as well as all the tack cleaned and packed. All in all a pretty decent day. Fingers crossed for good rides and rounds at the show tomorrow!

September 3rd - 7:55pm

About three things I am absolutely positive: First, the rain is back. Second, Alice is one of the strangest people Ive ever met. And third, the cat may or may not bite. Maybe. So guess that means Im actually only absolutely positive about two things. But Im pretty freakin certain about those two things. Especially the second point. (love you Alice!).
But despite all that, its been a good day. Actually a great day. I might not be able to walk tomorrow but it was worth it. Did five jumping lessons today on Cor Lit, Holendesa, Mauro, Uxmal and Jour. Hacked Lion, Pierrette and Navratilova. Warmed up Nixon and Cylene for Martin. So much riding on so many different horses. The jump lessons were very helpful though. Frustrating at times but necessary. Critique and time is the only way to improve. By the third horse, thought, Id been corrected on just about everything at least once. Which meant getting perfect quick or start accidentially making the same mistakes. And I absolutely hate having to be told Im doing things wrong twice. Makes me crazy. All things considering though all of the lessons went pretty well. Was on everything from the youngyoung horses at 2'6" or so to the older, more experienced ones at 3'6" and was decently successful on all of them. Some we just did through the grid. Others did the grid and some course work. We didnt work on anything in particular, just whatever Martin saw that you were doing poorly. Tipping your body, hands too low, legs not supporting and everything inbetween. The hardest thing for me is not getting ahead of them over the fences. Particually the small ones. And once I start actively trying to wait myself, I tend to get a hair behind them. As always, had a tough time finding the ever elusive middle of the horse! Like yesterday, however, I am happy with myself. Im not perfect but Im learning. And every jump school is better than the last. Today in particular I noticed how much easier finding my distances has become. I can feel when I have the correct canter and when I get around the corner the distance is usually just there. Every so often it takes a slight woah or move up but lately its just been right there almost every time. And with the good canter even the not perfect distances feel/look pretty decent. So excited to be improving! But after a day that was long both mentally and physically, Im exhausted and headed to bed early. Fingers crossed it wont rain too much. The ring just got dry!

September 2nd - 9:43pm

Crazy, crazy day. Alice and I rode Twilight and Cor Lit bright and early before bolting back into the barn to get Pierrette, Herodes and Lion bathed and ready for their debute. Clients were due in at 11:00 and I was the first one up showing Herodes. Have absolutely no idea how I manged to get that horse ready and in the ring without hyperventilating or otherwise freaking out. Showing horses to clients or at shows are two of the most stressful things in the world to me. I am a total perfectionist and the second I mess up or doubt myself, everything starts spiraling downward at a frighteningly rapid pace. And after my last attempt at showing Herodes I was pretty much besides myself with nerves. Managed to warm him up nice and round (the clients were looking for a safe, quiet, easy jumper to cross over to dressage with). Showed off his good brakes and easy flying changes without trouble. The good start put us on the right track and I was able to show him over his height (one meter or so) with only one icky distance and without any of the antics of last time. He truely is a good horse whod like to do his job. Me having a spaz attack on top, however, does not inspire confidence of any kind. But got through the jumping well and the client got on. From the sound of it, they loved him.
Right after Alice and I got Lion and Pierrette warmed up and ready. Id never jumped Pierrette before so I was beyond nervous. Plus while I was warming up the client asked me to come over closer so he could film the mare. All of his directions, however, were in Spanish. Nothing like trying to ride a horse you barely know infront of a client while trying to follow directions you only somewhat understand. Somehow (through equal bits knowledge and luck I think) I managed to accomplish everything he wanted and how he wanted. Once warmed up we opted to jump Lion and Pierrette together since they basically go at the same height. Lion sticks to about 1.10 while Pierrette stretches up to 1.20. After being out of work for a month though we didnt push her past 1.10. The jumping portion went well without a single bad distance or jump. All poles stayed up and most of my internal freaking out was limited to the time I was watching Alice. Thankfully once I was actually moving toward the fences all the training Ive been doing took over and got the job done. By the end when Martin said ti drop the reins and walk them out I was ridiculously proud of myself. Had just showed a horse I didnt know to clients over 1.10m fences and had done it pretty succesfully! And by the last bit I wasnt even that nervous! Two thumbs up from the client at least who I think really liked Pierrette.
After I took Puccini out for a bit to work and could not stop yawning. So tired after the huge adrenaline rush that was this morning! 
Lunch was an asado with the clients which was amazingly yummy as always. It was also fun to just sit and listen to everyone talk since Im understanding more and more. Cant wait till I can speak fluently. Plus I got to sit next to Martins dad who is absolutelt hilarious. We may not speak the same langage but hes still so, so funny.
After lunch I rode Luli, Mauro and Vitroso for a bit to let them stretch their legs. Weve got lessons with Mono tomorrow and another series show coming up later this week. And Meg arriving! Going to be crazy!

September 1st - 7:00pm

Today was probably one of my most productive days off ever. Last night Martin offered that if Alice and I wanted to go into town, he would be at the Aleman later in the afternoon to give us a ride back. Thus far what has been keeping me from adventuring into capital is having to ride the bus to and from where we live in Moreno. A bit of a daunting task since Ive never used public transportation (basically non exhistent where I live) and have a giant language barrier to face. There there is the whole being alone in a strange, very large city where your language is not the primary one. A tiny bit intimidating. But since my spanish is better and Alice agreed to come we decided to go.
Got up early this morning super excited for the day. Rachel ended up having to go into town anyway so we skipped taking the bus into town but after that we were on our own. We found the subway on Santa Fe and took it to Plaza Italia where the zoo is. It was my first time on a subway so that was already an experience. The zoo was fun. Smaller and older than the ones I have gone to in the US. They had the usual lions, tigers, bears and whatnot which was very fun. My favorite part, however, was the muskrats and capibaras (definitely spelled wrong) that just run free on the property. The capibaras were friendly enough to feed out of your hand but werent particually pet-able. The muskrats, however, were quite friendly and very game for head scritches.
After we got back on the subway and headed for the mall to look around and grab lunch. Then started the journey to the Aleman. We new it was on Durago so took to subway to Durago and were planning to walk the short distance to the Aleman. The subway stop ended up being on a part of the street I didnt know so we ended up asking a guy at the gas station where Libratador was. Libratador is a large avenue that runs right by the Aleman and presumably should have gotten us going in the right direction. But despite the directions and our bests attempts, we ended up turned around and headed totally the wrong direction. Which we finally figured out when we managed to find a WiFi connection and check a GPS application. We'd only gotten about 12 block the wrong direction. So turned around and eventually found our way to the Aleman (only a few blocks from where we'd gotten turned around - go figure). Watched a few rounds of the show (over 600 rounds today!) then found Martin and headed home!
Some definite highlights/funny moments of the day. On the subway people walk around putting booklets or pens in peoples laps. If you want to buy them you hand them money. If not you just ignore whatever it is and theyll pick it back up. I totally missed this and picked up one of the booklets, started flipping through it then stuck it with my stuff to look at later. It didnt look like much but thought it might be interesting to try to read. Guy comes back around and starts freaking out in spanish. I just stared at him and was like "I have absolutely no idea what youre saying". Thankfully the guy sitting nect to me spoke english and while laughing at me was able to help get it sorted out. On a seperate subway ride a young guy leans over and asks, in perfect English, where Alice and I were from. Turns out he was from Texas and working down here. Still have no idea how he picked up we were from the US so quickly. Ended up speaking to a decent amount if people both in spanish and english in our tour around the city.  Every time we went to buy something, however, no one spoke english. Attempting to order things when I dont know the words for what Im asking (ice cream cone?) was quite an experience. This whole year is about different experiences though. Over all a very successfull, very fun day in Argentina. Another full week ahead with horse shows, Megs arrival and who knows what else!

Photos of all sorts of stuff. The city, the subway, the zoo, Alices earrings that she bought today, grafitti, ect...

August 31st - 11:54pm

Good day at Rancho Pampa. Rode Navratilova, Olendesa, Uxmal, Pierrette, Jour and Pastrocito. Not a huge group but since I had to tack and untack them all it took all morning. Plus the weather is heating up which always makes riding that much more challenging physically. The first four horses are all new rides for me which is very fun. Im loving riding all of the different horses. Especially the younger horses. Theyre so new to their work and so much fun to get on. Every day you can feel improvement from the day before. And easier transition or a more balanced trot. So rewarding.
After work Martin, Rachel, Alice and I went into town for Gallery Nights. Gallery Nights is when a whole bunch of art galleries in capital stay open till ten at night for a weekend. Artists and featured, there are tours and all sorts of things. We went to support Martins moms but after stopping in for a bit Alice and I took off to look at some of the other open galleries. Some had abstract art, others with paintings almost photo like and some with statues. All very cool. We saw seven or so before heading back to meet Martin and Rachel for dinner. Went to an awesome mexican place. So yummy to get spicy food! A little bit of a late night but thankfully weve got tomorrow off!

August 30th - 9:32pm

<p>&lt;p&gt;Busy, busy day. Alice, Martin and Rodrigo went into town early for the series show at the Aleman. That left me home doing what I love best: riding. The ones from the show yesterday had the day off so that left me with a lot of young/green ones which is rapidly becoming my favorite group. Rode Geologo first and its almost embarrassing that I use to find him difficult to work. Today was my first time on him in almost two months so Ive had a lot of time to improve. Getting on him was both enjoyable and eye opening. He is such a nice horse and being able to actually work him a bit was fun. After I rode Nacar and Uxmal. Both are still quite green but have a ton of potential. Ive ridden Nacar a decent amount before and hes still the same easy going baby. Uxmal was a little fresh after having yesterday off but youd have to know how quite he normally is to realize he was up. Another sweet, easy going baby. Besides that, though, they are polar opposites. Nacar being slimly built, about 15hh and grey while Uxmal is great big bay tank of a horse at close to 17hh. <br>
After the babies I had my two of my favorite mares; Olendesa and Pierrette. Both were quite good and are settling back into the swing of work. Quiet, soft and relaxed today. Those two are my favorite type of horse. Forward and sensitive without being over the top. I still have a lot to learn about riding horses like that but they are without a doubt my favorites to sit on.
Jour and Lion were next on the list. Both are coming back to work nicely. They both worked up nicely into the bridle during the ride. Jour's canter especially has improved so much in the last two months. He still doesnt have the stride Lion does but I no longer feel like Im cantering a medium pony. As my riding is improving he is becoming more and more fun as well. I can ask him correctly for difficult things and actually get them! Both those horses are so nice Im amazed they are still here. Especially Lion since he could qualify as ammy horse of the year. Not sure there is anything he wouldnt tolerate. And nothing phases him.
The afternoon was spent on the two greys Herodes and Pastrocito. They were there usual selves. Nothing too terribly special there. By the time I got the them (horses 9 and 10) I was pretty close to being finished riding for the day. Adore riding but by the time you get to double digets in hotter temps, its not quite as exciting as it was at 8:00am.
Martin and Alice got back around 3:00 so once I was finished it was right in to help unpack and get the horses back settled in. All the horses at the show was good and made it home in one piece! Tomorrow will be a less busy day with many of the horses still having time off after the shows the last couple days. Ive just got some of my favorites, Uxmal, Pierrette, Olendesa, Navratilova and probably either Jour or Nacar. Super tired at the moment but still cant wait for tomorrow!