Thank you EVERYONE!! What an adventure. Now, onto the future!

Hello everyone!

Sorry it took me so long to post! Like everyone else, the holidays have been a busy time.

I picked up Jive from New York and brought him home without any troubles. He was very happy to be home. He is now taking a much deserved break. :)

In closing my blog, I must say again how A M A Z I N G this experience has been. I am so thankful to have been able to do it. I have learned so much. So much about organizing such a trip, so much about actually completing the trip, so much about competing internationally, and so much about my relationship between my horse, friends, family and supporters.

Now the THANK YOU's

Thank you to my family who has supported me the entire way through my dream of competing at the YR world cup. They share my success as much as I do. Without them, I would not be where I am today. THANK YOU!!!

A HUGE thank you to my sponsors for this trip.
Ecogold, your saddle pads continue to impress me. They are wonderful.
Tack in a box. Thank you for your support.
Dressage Canada. Thank you for all of your help along the way.

Thank you to my friends. You guys are amazing. The whole way along, giving me so many words of encouragement and wonderful support.

And last but not least, my supporters! The letters and small notes of encouragement and good lucks were so touching. Just a small little good luck really made a huge difference, and I thank you for them.

Now, onto the future! I wish everyone happy holidays and a happy new year! I am off to my next adventure with my horse Key West. We'll see what the future has in store for us. But for everyone, I wish you...

BEST OF LUCK IN THE 2010 SEASON.

Go have fun!!!



A few more pics. Enjoy!



All smiles.


My competitor...just kidding! That's Imke Schellekens-Bartels.


The award ceremony for the Grand prix and Young Rider classes.




Lotje schoots, the Young Rider Champion riding alongside Grand Prix champion Imke Schellekens-Bartels in the awards ceremony.


The young riders. We had a wonderful dinner party where we were able to meet and socialize. It was a lot of fun.


The outdoor arena at Ann Kathrin's Estate. So beautiful :)


Job well done Jive. :D You taught me so much.


Now full speed ahead with my horse Key West. Can't wait.

Half of the team is home :)

I arrived home from Frankfurt safe and sound yesterday evening. I was really lucky to only be slightly delayed in Frankfurt. The day before I left, there was a snow storm that stranded a lot of planes in Frankfurt and around europe. Luckily things were back up and running for my departure.

Jive has arrived in New York safe and sound also. He is now in quarantine for a few days. I'm going to go pick him up and bring him home for Christmas. :)

Here are some more pics from the competition :)












What an amazing journey... :D

Freestyle

Well, that did not go as planned. It's unfortunate because I was really looking forward to riding my Kur (freestyle, it's my dressage test to music). I cannot change how I did, but I know that I tried my best and it just didn't work out. Jive was just not himself tonight, and it's so unfortunate that he had to choose tonight to not be in the best of moods. But, it happens. They are individuals, and tonight was just not a good night.

However, I am SO HAPPY to have come to all the way to Germany, and to have represented Canada at the YR world cup!!!! It's unreal! It's been the most AMAZING experience of my life. The support of my family and trainer, who traveled around the world with me, is something that I cannot express how thankful I am for. They are amazing. And also everyone back home who has given me so much encouragement and support! Amazing, amazing, amazing. Thank you so much.

Shout out to my best girl from the United States, Kassandra Barteau, who claimed second place tonight with a 68.65! Great job girl. I knew you could do it! :D

The amazing arena!!!! Isn't it fantastic?

Matthias Rath's brand new tranport! He was SOOO amazing and drove us from his place to the horse show!

I had to add this picture! A competition that was going on when we arrived. Aren't they adorable!?

Jive, David and I at the jog.


Jive and I on the jumbo-tron! Unreal!

The view from city hall overlooking the Christmas market. We were invited to a sort of opening ceremonies, where we got to meet the mayor and other Frankfurt reps. We also had the opportunity to meet our show sponsor, Schenker Deutschland AG.

The overseas crew! Kassie, Hannah and I. USA, New Zealand and Canada.

Young Rider Anouck Hoet from Belgium also joined our picture.

Pictures!

Jive giving me a kiss!

Took some time to go site seeing!





At the Christmas market in Frankfurt! :D


Kassie and I on the train to Frankfurt.

A few more pics of Ann Kathrin's place :)

First test!

Well, today didn't go as planned... :P But wow, what an experience. It really, really, really surprised me how different it was competing in the indoor arena like I did today... It was actually pretty scary. Almost like when I got into the ring, it sort of closed in on me a bit. Definitely like nothing I have ever experienced. With the bright lights and crowd and just everything. I rode in there before, but this was so different. The ring was alive, it had so much more energy. I think Jive and I both got pretty nervous in there. It was so great to get that over with. :P Hopefully the arena will feel more "homie" to me tomorrow. Got to get our butts in gear and go have fun. Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes and support! Especially Ecogold who got this blog on it's feet. My saddle pad looked great today, thank you!

Festhalle Frankfurt- My FIRST test!

We've made it to the show grounds safe and sound. The ring is amazing!! :D Also, the jog went great today, so that is awesome! :)

It's been a crazy last few days, but tomorrow is the day!!! I can't believe it. My first test. I drew to be the first rider of the competition, so I've got to go into the ring and make my competitors chase me (score wise that is)! That is coming from the competitive side of me. But my other side is just reminding me of how much of an honor it is just to MAKE it this far. So I've also just got to go into the ring and enjoy it. :) Hopefully doing both (doing well and having fun) is in the cards, but at the end of the day, I ride because I love it. And I have to remember anything can happen in the ring... Although, really, I plan on kicking some butt tomorrow! :D

I've found a site you can watch for free! :) http://www.clipmyhorse.de/live-en/ and then click on the festhalle Frankfurt (that is where the show is being held). I ride tomorrow at 4:45 pm/5:00 pm (I don't have the daysheet yet) and so back home that would be around 10:45 am.

Pictures of Ann Kathrin's Linsenhoff's estate :)

The arena. :) SO BEAUTIFUL! And very large. This picture can hopefully give you some perspective.


The middle area between our barn and the other barn with the arena.


The barn.


Kassie and I in the arena :) Cool wreath in the middle eh? Very beautiful.


Jive and I on our way to the arena.


Jive checking out the area from his private window.


Just standing outside our barn's entrance.


Our first few steps off of the trailer. Finally there! You can tell how happy I am to be there.


The horse's box getting off the plane. Yep, they're in there!


There they are! This is what the airplane box looks like inside. We were lucky because it was just our two horses, but the boxes are made to fit three.

Slow Internet!

I'm having some trouble loading pics... The internet keeps quitting and is also very slow. :( But I'll be in Frankfurt in a few days, so hopefully the internet will be more reliable, as well as speeder there. Stay tuned! I've got some great pics to post!

Our travels thus far

Kassie and I about the board the plane! :) Very cool.

Jive and I getting ready to leave for Germany!

Kassie and Ray at the quarantine barn the morning of our flight :)

Jive and I at a stop on the way to New York

Jive looking out at a stop on the way to New York.


We set out on our adventure on Monday December 7th early in the morning. My brother came along with me as I drove Jive and I to the New York Airport. This is where Jive and I met up with our traveling partners, Kassandra Barteau and her stallion Ray. I had met Kassie briefly before at NAJYRC, but not formally. Her stallion was such a gentleman. Jive and him were friends right off the bat. It was about midnight when all the paper work was finally in order after arriving at JFK. I was then driven to my hotel for a few hours of sleep before our 8 am flight to Germany.

Kassie and I were picked up bright and early the next morning. Luckily, the breakfast was out super early at our hotel. We snatched some breakfast, and then were off to the airport to get our horses loaded up. We also packed some extra breakfast food because we had no idea how much food there would be on the flight. We later learned this would be unnecessary, there was so much food on the plane, it was amazing!

We got to the airport barn around 6 am, checked on our boys, got them ready to go and then waited for a truck to come pick them up. After they were loaded on the trailer, Kassie and I were off to go through customs and get ourselves loaded on the plane.

We traveled via cargo plane, which was very cool! It was a bit different then usual, but it was awesome. We had an amazing flight. We got some great winds and ended up arriving 45 min earlier then scheduled, even with a late departure. It was amazing! Our pilots were very nice.

When we arrived in Frankfurt, we were taken to the quarantine barn (also known as the "animal lounge"), where our boys stayed the night. Kassie and I were taken to a hotel close to the airport. In the morning, we were planning on shipping out at around 10am, so we got to the animal lounge at around 9 am. We ended up waiting a very long time to get all the paperwork done, as well as granted clearance to leave. Luckily, there was a food place nearby that we grabbed lupper (lunch/supper). When we finally got out of the airport, we were transported right to Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff’s place. It is the most beautiful horse estate I have ever been to. We were blown away by the place (and everyday I am still blown away by the beauty of the place). We are so thankful for their generosity!!!! Incredible people.

Kassie and I were the last young riders to arrive. Hannah Appleton, the New Zealand rep had already been there for 2 weeks! And then Mafalda from Portugal arrived shortly before Jive and Ray.

So we’re all settled in now. Got on Jive again this morning. Wow, was he ever raring to go! After a nice long warm up of walking for about a half of an hour, we did a light workout. My biggest goal for this competition is to do well by having Jive and I be the best pair we can be, and him listening to me fully can only achieve that. Today we just did transition after transition after transition. He was brilliant today. It was such a great feeling! He was really listening. Let’s hope we’ll keep that feeling the entire trip! ☺