A Promise...

...I WILL blog more often, I swear. All I can say is that life is freaking INSANE right now. Between traveling, teaching, assisting, playing with my horse, spotlighting, celebrating, and going crazy, I have found myself with practically zero time to do anything on the computer. As I write this it's currently 1:39 am, and I'm still up, babysitting a large load of laundry that needs to dry faster than it is. That gives you an idea of the time crunch I'm in.

For those of you dying to know, my spotlight went fantastically in Madison. I've heard a lot of really wonderful feedback, some rude feedback (okay, seriously guys, I'm sorry if my cantering around bridless bores you), and some downright strange things. But overall, I don't care, my horse and I had fun, and that's what matters, honestly. We scored exactly what I felt we deserved, and I'm happy with it. I'm not satisfied, because I know there's ALWAYS room for improvement, but I'm pleased, have lots of things to play with and I cherish my fat ol' green ribbon that we got, along with the compliments from Pat, Linda, and everyone else who I spoke to. Thanks for your wonderful support! Pics and hopefully a video to come soon (working out copyright stuff with Parelli)

As i said earlier, I'm currently in the laundry biz. I'm home for a night from Rochester MN. I'll be switching horses out tomorrow, and taking Crest with me for the remainder of my 10 days with Farrah. This will be a huge opportunity to really give my up-and-coming boy a lot of attention, and hopefully develop some new ideas and fast-track our progress :) I'll try to keep you all updated. It'll also be a nice opportunity for my girl to rest up and have some time off, so that when I get home we can start to play with our L4 more seriously.

Other than that, I just keep dreaming and playing and enjoying life. I'll do my best to keep you all updated. I've learned a ton, and now need to go to bed so that I have a hope at retaining it. Thanks all for being patient with me, and I'll be back in touch soon.


For now:


WE LOVE YOU ALL!

Savvy on, Fran and Prin

Trusting the Process...

One of those things we're taught in PNH is to trust the process, and it's something I've struggled with in waves since developing myself as a horsewoman. While I was in FL, I was totally receptive to whatever was said to me, and I totally trusted everyone I was with. Since, it's been in waves, as usual.

Today, I had a reminder about trusting the process that I wanted to share. I just found out last weekend that I was selected for a savvy spotlight, as I had blogged earlier. I hadn't choreographed much of anything other than my savvy, what I wanted in the arena, and my music, since I wanted to consult with Farrah about it. Today, we finally got a chance to play with it for the first time.

Well...long story short, it didn't go very well. Prin was wild and a bit distracted (first time in this particular arena, brand spanking new, with rubber shaved footing, to add weirdness to the whole situation.), and honestly, I couldn't get a whole lot accomplished. I came out feeling like I had a knot of tension in my stomach, and though I wasn't upset, angry, or frustrated, I didn't feel...good. I felt like I wasn't going to do very well if sessions kept up like that.

Then, as I was walking out, Farrah said something in response to my declaration of the above feelings. She said "Fran...I don't care what she does right now, this is about YOU. YOU need to understand, and YOU need to go through and get a feel for it. Don't stress, today is a terrible day to play with this anyway." (They're prepping for grand opening here tomorrow).

Wait. Stop. I need to learn this. Right. Duh. Process. Memorization doesn't happen all at once. Of course. So. With that in mind, take two on Sunday. Woohoo!

Also, my friend Olivia wrote something to me a couple days ago that really hit home with me that I'd like to share, too. I have a tendency to be in director mode when I ride, which is great as long as I can keep my head on straight, and not turn into a dictator. What Olivia said made me realize just how much I need to support Prin, but not push, now more than ever.


"Remember, you're never alone in front of thousands of people...you've got Prin."

~Olivia Mayer

I cried. I will not lie.

So, anyway, we'll keep going and see what happens. It WILL be a good experience.

Savvy on, off to go feed, shower, wipe tables, and get ready for dinner--sushi :D

Spotlight Acceptance

Hey all,

Quick post, wanting to let you all know that I have been accepted to perform in the Savvy Spotlight at the Madison, WI, Celebration coming up here in a couple weeks. Prin and I will be performing a spotlight in Level 3/4 Freestyle, which is our best savvy, by far.

It's funny because I've run the gamut of emotions already. I was totally excited (very much like I was when I found out about the savvy team two years ago), and then of course I went through the "Oh shit...I'm not comfortable doing this in front of 1000 people...alone!", and now I've settled into the "It's okay, you'll have 2 weeks with Farrah before the event, she'll be able to cure you of any pre-show jitters!" Not to mention, think of how much fun this is going to be, spending 4 days in the equivalent of a Savvy Conference...WITH MY HORSE!

So yay! Just had to share my exciting news! There will be pix and video, of COURSE!



Flashback to the last time Prin and I were presented in Madison :)