10 Questions for September

1. Favorite quirk your horse (or a horse you’ve spent time with) has?
My favorite was when I taught Runkle to smile and he started doing it all the time. It never failed to make me laugh. He did it a little bit to beg for cookies, but mostly he smiled when he was getting a lot of attention or was hamming it up.

I never taught Indy to smile but guess who's been learning recently....

2. Three adjectives that perfectly describe your horse?
Neurotic, Intelligent, Empathetic

Me, neurotic? no way.

3. Plan your next ride. What will you do/work on?
I usually don't plan rides, because as soon as I make plans Spicy takes a big steamy dump on them. Likely my next 'work' will be a pure groundwork session including cantering on the side of a hill, which he hates. The next ride will be continuing to ask for stretch over his topline.

Or maybe we'll go on a trail ride. I dunno.

4. Have you ever trained an OTTB? If yes, what was the biggest challenge?
Nope, never. I'm scared of going fast.

5. Have you ever groomed or worked for a professional rider?
As my sole source of income, no. But I have definitely moonlit as a groom/rider/slavey girl. I've helped my trainer transport horses to Aiken, groomed for a polo player, schooled fancy ponies for kids, taught lessons... I'm a crazy horse girl, which of us hasn't done something??

6. Favorite horse and rider combination?
Will Coleman and Tight Lines. I dunno what it is, but I really adore Tight Lines and I think Will has done a fantastic job with him. I've been watching him compete since he was running around local area events at the lower levels so I've been following him for a long time. He feels like watching a neighbor go compete on the international stage!

7. Have you ever ridden a horse at the beach?
Yes! And for my next trick, I want to take Spicy, he he he.

8. If you could experience the equestrian community (i.e. ride and compete) in another country, what country would you choose and why?
I'm kind of torn - on the one hand I'd love to move to Ireland. It's horse country to the max out there, it's beautiful and I'd love to get into Irish steeplechase training and hunting.

But in reality I'd fulfill my destiny to go train with Ingrid Klimke. Gehen wir!

9. In your opinion, what is an item of tack that is given unnecessary hype?
This might be an unpopular opinion, but Neue Schule bits. It rubs me the wrong way how expensive they are. I just think $250 is a really outrageous price for a bit.

10. What was the first horse you rode called? Are they still alive?
The very first horse I rode was a little black pony at a non-horsey day camp named Ebony. I loved him. He's definitely dead though; if he was alive he'd likely be almost fifty years old.

Or maybe this was the first horse.
Also most likely dead.