September 13th - 8:40pm

Its barely even spring (not sure if it is actually spring though) and it is getting hot. After the last two days I have an awesome polo sunburn/tan. Ive been putting sunscreen on and Im still turning colors. Praying I dont burn bad at any point here cause thats just a terrible feeling. Apparently the sun in Argentina is intense due to where it sits on the globe and the hole in the ozone layer right above it. I come from a pretty hot area so guess we'll see how the two places stack up against each other!
But despite the heat the day was good. Lessons on Justinian, Cor Lit, Olendesa, Uxmal and just a nice ride on Navratilova. Its been crazy having all these lessons lately. I absolutely adore it. The only way to get better at riding and jumping is to do it but its so hard to put in hours and hours of practice normally. Even if youre willing to go and go there is the horse to think about. Being on this many horses, however, means we as riders can go and keep going. And like usual it isnt just Martin doing the teaching. The horses are doing just as much correction. Such a great experience. No idea what we're up to tomorrow but after a long, hot day, In headed to bed early!

September 12th - 11:27pm

Its Megs birthday!! We were all out a bit late to dinner celebrating Megs 23rd birthday. It was fantastic and a ton of fun as always.
Spent another day lessoning with Martin. Today was short/small courses. I did Uxmal, Holendesa, Cor Lit, Justinian and Navratilova. Maybe one more. Honestly I cant remember. Got a lot less critique than usual about staying in the middle. Hoping that means Im improving! And got a decent number of complements on my rides aboard the more seasoned Cor Lit and Justinian. The really green ones like Uxmal and Navratilova still take some settling into to get them right. Their greenness throws me and we kind if have to settle into each other. Taking total control and bossing them around every step doesnt work but letting them go free range is just stupid. The fine line of interfering when necessary and staying out of the way all other times is so much harder to find on them. Theyre both so different but so similar. If you hang on their faces to try to stop, they go faster. If you lift your hands a bit, relax and breath then youll hsve to actually put leg on to keep cantering. So tough but at least Im getting better. I know when I got here I never would have been able to jump Uxmal or even ride Navratilova. And today I did courses with one and pole work with the other. Just got rhe keep pushing myself to meet and pass Martins expectations. I know I can. Just need to do it. One of these days Im going to be able to just get on, work a horse and make Martin smile. Hopefully at least. He says its possible but I think itd almost be easier to make George Morris happy. In the meantime though just have to keep plugging along. Baby steps.

September 11th - 9:00pm

Good morning at Rancho Pampa. Lots of lessons, good horses and good rides. Was on Cor Lit, Holendesa, Pierrette, Uxmal and Justinian. Some rides went better than others but I can slowly getting better in the saddle. Martin said today that Ive gotten pretty decent with my full seat riding and can find the middle of the horse. Now its time to really start working in using what I know and can do effectively. Knowing when they are at their correct balance to just let them roll and when to sit up and get them working. Takes a lot of thinking, feeling and evaluating. Something Ive been doing a lot of here but now need to be doing even more. Pushing myself to improve. So much to learn.
It was also a pretty exciting day for all of the fillies (plus Invasor) at Rancho Pampa. They all had their first rides undersaddle! All were quite well behaved. No theatrics or misbehavior. Just some confusion as to why Rodrigo was so high up I think. Such a good group though. Somewhat dissapointed I wont be around when this group starts really working/jumping. Something about one of the mares, Ghandi, just stands out to me. Right now shes tall, lanky, skinny and a little fugy in the 2.5 yr old way but I like her. Cant wait to see her progress.
The clients came out again in the afternoon to ride the horses again. The opted not to ride Lion so we only brought out Herodes and Pierrette. I barely got Pierrette in the ring before the client popped off Herodes. Not really sure what happened there since Herodes is about as unflappable as they come but thankfully no one was seriously hurt. Martin ended up jumping Herodes for them and I flatted Pierrette for a bit before the trainer got on. After that it was the usual afternoon. Helping the guys, finishing up, dinner and early bed!

September 10th - 8:57pm

Totally forgot to write a blog post yesterday. Not that it truely matters. Yesterday was a day of big plans and very little actual doing. We all got up early and caught a ride with Martin to the bus stop. But in order to get om the bus you need to buy a special card (a Sube? card). We tried to buy one at the Kiosk with no luck. Same result at tge gas station. So we bought some stuff at the gas station, walked to the store to get some other stuff and then headed home. Day ended up being lots of hanging out, napping and just being quite. Definitely a good thing for me at least.
Today was back to work with plenty to ride. Martin headed into town around 10 or so and left us to finish working the horses with clients coming at 2:00. Most of the horses just got a light trot after a hard showing week last week. A few of the non series horses did a bit more but not much. I was on Luli, Nixon, Uxmal, Jour, Holendesa and then flatted Pierrette and Herodes for the clients. Everyone was quite well behaved with nothing terribly exciting during the morning. The afternoon was the same as usual. Clean bridles, help the guys finish up and do whatever else is needed. Good start to what should be an excellent week!

September 8th - 8:30pm

Still unable to ride here at Rancho Pampa due to the rain. Looking like we might be able to get on Monday if the clear skies and sunny weather persists. So we packed up Puccini and Benito to take to the Aleman to show. They both were scheduled to do the 1.20 class. Also loaded Pierrette, Herodes and Lion up to take to the Hipico to show to clients.
First stop of the day was the Hipico. Martin hacked all three lightly to just get them back undersaddle after yesterday off. They were all a bit up with the new place, time off and packed covered but nothing major. Once they were finished Puccini and Benito went back on the trailer to head over to the Aleman. Martin, Alice and Meg went over with them while I stayed behind to horse sit. Nothing terribly exciting happened on my end but I did end up having lunch in the grooms/CHA worker's eating area. Definitely was a test of my spanish/communication skills but happy to say I figured it out, got what I needed and no one was too frustrated with my lack of spanish skills. For the most part I have found people in this country are extremely helpful when you have questions and are very understanding once they realize you dont speak the language. It makes trying to get around and use what little I know so much less intimidating. Cannot thank the people here enough for that.
After a few hours the trailer returned with everyone and the horses. Benito apparently went double clear and finished in the ribbons. Puccini had a rail but otherwise good round. But the second the horses were off the trailer it was time to rock and roll with the client horses. First horse up was Herodes who I was allowed to show to the client. He was quite nice on the flat and the client got on. She really seemed to enjoy him. I brought Pierrette out next and despite the fact she was a little sensitive/looky with the new area, the client liked her looks and got on. Didn't catch what the client had to say about her but Pierrette was very well behaved. Last, but not least, was Lion. Alice showed him. I didn't get to see the client on him since I went back to help undo Pierrette but apparently the client loved him. Fingers crossed she decides to purchase one of them! Tomorrows our day off and we are all heading into town bright and early. Cant wait!

September 7th - 8:49pm

Rained pretty solid last night and this morning. As a result, no riding. Which meant I spent almost the entire day painting jumps. As of this afternoon all the poles and planks are finished! No onto the various gates and fill. Everything is taking at least two coats of white. Colors will likely be added later. With Meg helping in the afternoon a decent amount of headway was made. Pretty exciting stuff.
One thing I have noticed and noted before is now calm/laid back the young horses tend to me. For the most part, they are pretty unflappable. For example, today we had a band saw going in one of the grooming bays. Two, three and four year old horses were all quite calmly going down the aisle past it or standing right beside it being groomed. Just unphased. My older horse in the US would have lost his cookies if I asked him to go anywhere near a working band saw. Yet, these guys hardly blink. Its the exact same at the Aleman. The club is right off a highway and on the other side of the highway is an airport. Planes are constantly landing, taking off, moving around and generally making a racket. None of the horses care though. Im a heck of a lot more likely to jump then they are. Its so interesting. The expectations for horse behavior are so different and the horses conform. I guess for them getting use to loud noises is no less strange than living under a roof, in a box or carrying a person around. It is trained and therefor they comply. It constantly amazes me with what they can be taught to tolerate. Truely amazing animals.

September 6th - 8:37pm

Another 4:00am morning with the series show today. Got the first trailer load ready and sent Martin, Alice and Rodrigo on their way. Meg and I stayed at the barn to ride the remaining horses. I rode Pierrette, Holendesa, Picaro, Nacar and Uxmal this morning. Just short, easy fitness rides.  Transitions, turning and trotting. Holendesa was a rockstar. She is already so different to ride than the first time I sat on her. Today she was quite, relaxed and happy. Such a sweet horse. At 10:30 when all the horses were ridden we packed the remaining series 2 horses up and headed into town to see the show.
Due to getting stopped by the police at one of the tolls (don't know if Ive mentioned them before but they are everywhere) we were late arriving at the show grounds. There was a bit of a hurry scurry get ready with Nixon because the class before was on the final riders and he was number 6 in. I dont think Ive ever gotten a horse off the trailer and to the ring ready to show that fast. But we were there and ready with time to spare. Everything was a bit rapid fire with getting horses ready in the ring with not much time inbetween them. Meg got quite a plunge into Argentine horse showing but handled it pretty well. And despite the craziness everyone did quite well. The course was quite large and challenging for the series 2 but Puccini went around clear, Benito did quite well and Nixon stepped up to the plate. After the show it was a quick pack up and drag everything home. Poultice, wraps, brushing and tail braiding for the horses. Cleaning and reorganizing for the tack. A very full day with a lot accomplished. Of course the rain is back so Im keeping my fingers crossed that the ring is rideable tomorrow. Hopefully!