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Elizabeth & Artisan lesson with Deb – 2/10 New!
Elizabeth Johnson / Urbana
Woodside Dressage 2009 YR PSG
Katie Johnson and Millenium owned by Pam Schachter
update 1-29-10
Its a new era for us. Katie is settled in in Germany, the barn at home is busy and we are looking forward to the upcoming season. We survived the tornado warnings (of all things) here in El Cajon. Only lost a tack shed but all of its contents were dry!!! I felt so sorry for the horses. The wind really scared them. The amount of rain was amazing but we are back at work which makes a lotof happy horses. The last 2 clinincs were cancelled due to weather and related damage. I hope we can get back to them next month. I am not sure how to handle the lack of travel after the hustle of the holidays and Katie being gone, but am enjoying the daily rhythem of the barn. I welcome a new working student, Raquel. She is replacing Jenna who needed to persue her education and work. Heather also joined us a couple months ago cleaning a couple days a week. Without the help of these two and Ellie I am not sure how I would do it all! I enjoyed sharing the training video of Pam’s mare Urbana who is learning her changes. Its so hard to coordinate the man power to get these videos done! We plan on showing her at the Dressage Affaire in March.
Hallo World!!
Hallo Everyone!!
As my Mom has informed you I have not fallen off the face of the earth never to be seen again….we had some trouble at the barn getting the internet working and then after 2 and 1/2 or 3 weeks it did work but I have been so busy!!
My life in Germany is better then I ever could have hoped for!! The horses are wonderful and I have found that German horses noses are just as soft as American ones and give great kisses as well! All of them seem to be super talented and are very fun to ride. I ride about 3 to 6 horses a day with a few that I ride everyday and the others switch between riders. The horses I ride age from Greenbroke to schooling PSG/I1 and sometimes I am able to get on Johanna’s GP mare which is a really fun treat!
Johanna herself is very talented, such an amazing person and a really great rider! She couldn’t be more fun to be around or more welcoming. She has taken me to my first German movie (Twilight New Moon!) and my first Christmas Market. As well, her family is amazing and so welcoming. They invited me to come to their home near Munich and it has been really wonderful. It is so neat to be able to see another country’s traditions for holidays and what not. A little different but when it comes down to it a family is a family and they all love each-other no matter what country they are in.
I have gotten the amazing opportunity to attend both a Vechta Oldenburg auction as well as the 2009 PSI Auction and Gala. The Vechta auction was very fun and enjoyable to watch but the PSI Gala and Auction was truly unbelievable!! It was so much fun and such a treat to see all of the beautiful horses as well as the whose-who of the horse world over here!
When I came to Christmas in Munich Johanna, Gerd (the other rider) and I drove down very early Monday morning and then Johanna dropped me off with Gerhard :), Gerd continued to Austria and Johanna went to her mother’s. Gerhard and I spent the whole day in Munich just sight seeing and the city is truly breath-taking! Then we went to Bad Toelz for the night (a small town about 30 minutes from Herr Von Frick’s house). The Christmas Markets in Bad Toelz as well as Munich are so much fun and totally German!! Gerhard tried to find me a Crepe with Sauerkraut but he was informed that that is only something you can find in Austria (that fact did not sadden me at all, the thought of crepes and Sauerkraut did not sound appealing no matter how much he told me it was!). The next morning he dropped me off at the Von Frick’s house, which is located literally on a lake that is so stunning with the mountains in the background (they are the highest mountain range in Germany).
In short, I am having the time of my life and have too many stories to even write down in one post!! The family is so great, the people I work with at the barn make my day so fun and I learn a lot, it was so wonderful to see Gerhard (I will be going to Austria for 4 days in January to visit him and his family), and the horses couldn’t be more of a pleasure to work with. Oh and I love my apartment where I live!!!
I will post again soon….I Promise!! Miss everyone at home and all of the ponies!! Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season!! Happy New Year!! Schoenes Neues Jahr!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Merry Christmas to everyone. Cozy by the fire, wrapping presents leisurely, sipping cider………….Yeah right…..Every horse owner’s dream if they have them at home! More like, out in the rain, slogging through mud, making miniature nile rivers, checking blankets for dryness and waiting for the footing to dry! All for the love of our big friends that work so hard. So bring on the coffee to have the energy to do it all!!
New Clinic Dates 2010
Clinic dates:
Ramona, Ca. — January 23rd and February 13, 2010
Palos Verdes, Ca. — January 10 and 31, 2010
Finally the internet!
Well, Katie is finally connected to the English speaking world through the wonders of the internet, she hasn’t quite gotten her posts ready to put up here yet. She is working on pictures etc. She is off to Munich for Christmas! We really miss her here with Christmas coming up. So soon you shall hear from her directly and see what is up in Germany!
Katie in Germany 12-12-09
Well…Katie still has no internet! But the rest of her life has panned out to be quite a wonderful experience! She is settling into the ‘regular’ horses she is riding with the anticipation that she will start showing in Feb. I just sent off her show clothes…I have to admit that it was hard to think I can’t go.
Last night she was invited to a real treat. The PSI Gala Ball and Auction. I have yet to get the news but I am sure she is having fun.
For Christmas she has been invited to Munich to the home of the family that owns the farm. It was a very gracious invitation and I know Katie is happy to spend the holiday with a family.
So in a a nutshell that is the news. It seems the experience is turning out to be more than she could hope for. Hopefully you will soon get her first hand report and pictures.
Katie is still alive!
Hi to all who are wondering what happened to Katie and why you haven’t heard about her travels yet! Well as luck would have it the internet has been down in her apartment so not only can’t she make posts here but she is virtually cut off from the outside English speaking world! She is even out of books to read and has finished her last movie! So she will be very ready to share when it gets fixed!
She is riding there now as well as helping with all the barn chores and is very impressed with the quality of the horses. The people at the barn have made her feel very welcome. And yes….it is cold! Hopefully she will have more to add very soon. I talk to her daily and will update if there is any thing new. You can link to the farm where she is in our “Friend’s” links for Gestut Nymphenburg on the left of this page.
Elizabeth
Katie is in Germany!!
She arrived on Thanksgiving day after 27 +/- hours of travel! We are planning to set up a blog page on this site so check back soon. Her internet is down but as asoon as it is working she will be corresponding with you!
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Trails to Katie!!
As we prepare for our early thanksgiving feast the reality is becoming clear that not only is my daughter leaving for an undetermined amount of time up to a year, but my friend, riding partner and wonderful daily eyes on the ground are too! She will be arriving in Germany on Thanksgiving day, and travelling by train to Northern Germany and being picked up in Oldenburg. The farm’s name is Gestut Nymphenburg. Here is the site address for those wanting to see her destination. They have quite a few lovely sale horses! http://www.gestuet-nymphenburg.de/index.php?id=10&L=1
Other news!!
Check out the article in Dressage Daily December issue, about 3 Top Young Riders! Katie and Milo are featured in it and it tells about her journey to Prix St Georges! She said good by to Milo a couple days ago. At this point Pam still owns him and is having a blast with him!
Clinics: I will now be going to Palos Verdes and taking over Katie’s lessons up there. I had a chance to meet most of her students a few weeks ago and am looking forward to teaching them! I still go to Ramona once a month as well.
My horses: It seems Meeko is determined to make a come back! My word of wisdon: Take white line disease seriously and really think outside the box when determining what is making your horse sore! I have a new white line treatment I hope will keep his feet healthy. Artisan is doing well, just daily training to keep the sites on 4th level. Some injury setbacks have gotten in the way but he is back on it! Santayo, the 2 year old colt is looking and moving gorgeous. Off to be broke soon. He is a doll to deal with. Our older gentleman Burrito is still around doing a couple lessons a week. At almost 26 he is amazing! He could go do Junior Championships if I had the right kid!!! He is available for 1/2 lease if you know of anyone. And Oreo, Katie’s pony, is STILL here. We got Oreo when Katie was 4 and she is now about 33 and looks like a healty 18!
Our Boarders: I have 4 great boarders who make up the barn family. Ellie has a relatively new horse, Garrett, an Oldenburg gelding. He is doing well, working training-first level work. Tiffany still has Fiesta and is looking forward to starting a new job and will have more time to ride! She has been doing lessons with Katie and working hard. Carol has Lance, a running quarter gelding. I have had Lance in full training for a few months. She had an accident and shattered her wrist a few months ago but has started to ride again and he is happy to have his mom back. He has excelled in his work amazingly and is getting his changes! Our new additions are Samantha and Lucjan. They moved in a month or so ago and are working hard. Lucjan is looking so fit and is healthy and his work is super. Bana is at Hazy Meadow but I am very tied to her and her owner Pam. I have had her in full training for about 3 months and have made fantastic progress. She is an extremely talented dutch mare with a big heart. Pam has started to ride her again as well but wants to continue Bana’s work with me too.
Congratualtions to Jenna and M’liss! Jenna has been my working student for a year and just sold her adorable quarter mare to and old friend and student M’liss. A perfect match! As Jenna focuses on school more I will miss her daily help.
Working student: If you know of someone interested I might be needing help soon.
I hope everyone has a family filled Happy Thanksgiving. Elizabeth
Boo! Happy Fall!!!!
Things are moving along here at a quiet but busy productive pace. Katie is enjoying Artisan even though he does test her periodically! Meeko is hoping to go back to work lightly tomorrow! I am not sure which one of us (Me or Meeko) is happiest, He is SO bored. I have had Pam Tarrel’s Urbana and Carol Surprenant’s Lance in full training for a couple months and they are excelling fabulously! They are a couple of gems. Both learning their changes and super collection. Yeah!! Carol’s shattered wrist is healed and getting stronger, almost time for her to try out her new horse in Lance. Samantha Hoffman moved her boy Lucjan to our barn a couple weeks ago and they have settled in and fit in well.
Katie is fininshing her college classes this week and then will start to prepare for real for her journey to Germany. She leaves the day before Thanksgiving. Still not sure just how I feel about the move. The barn where she will be working is called Gestut Nymphenburg http://www.gestuet-nymphenburg.de/ Her clinincs in Palos Verdes are full and I will be taking over when she leaves. I look forward to meeting them all. Meanwhile I continue to go to Ramona each month for a nice group of riders as well as teaching in the local area.
The latest..
So Katie and Milo had to forgo the State YR Championships. Unfortunately Milo had an ‘iffy’ spot on his leg and we decided that it was best to rest him than push him. So he is still here for a short while more. His big whinney and playful face will be missed in the barn.
Artisan and Meeko….(yes Meeko) are getting to take center stage in the barn. Meeko seems to have made a remarkable recovery from his foot resection that caused bad imbalance in his foot and shoulders. We thought his days were over but with creative thinking and actions and he is back. Thank you Chad, our shoer. What a happy worker he is!!!!! I think Artisan will primarily be Katie’s mount until she leaves so she can work with her skills on a less trained horse. How many people would like to have to go back in training to perfect their skills!
I am taking a deep breath after 3 years of intensive work with horses and kids travelling. Lets all pray for our economy to stabilize so showing and clinicing can be part of life!!!
Whats new in August!
Well we seem to have hit a status quo on our horse life for at least a short time. Katie is home and is working with many horses and busy with lessons. I personally am loving having her here and she has been such a help with my horses. Her eye and timing have developed to be so refined. In finding herself without a job (outside of teaching and training locally) and not having a horse to compete on at the next level she applied for a job in Germany…. and got it!!! So it looks like in November she is off to Europe for a year to ride and work in a private barn in Germany. This fulfills yet another of her dreams for riding. She and Milo will split up next weekend after they compete for three days at the Southern Calif. Jr / Yr Championships in Los Angeles. This will be hard for both of us as he has really stolen a huge piece of our hearts. What he and his owner Pam have done for Katie is amazing and he will never be forgotten. We pray the right person finds him and enjoys his big heart as much as we have. I will be posting the times for the show next wknd as soon as they are available just incase anyone can come up for the “farewell tour”.
Elizabeth
Elizabeth is now offering lessons in Palos Verdes area.
Katie has been teaching in the Palos Verdes area this last year and has a happy clientele. They were sad to see her move. I hope to be up there in March to teach her students! We have had trouble coordinating this withthe rain! If you are interested in riding in these clinics please contact me through the web site or call me at 619-561-7366
Dates: March 7th or 21st, 2010
Milo Is For Sale
This is a link to the ad for Millenium, aka “Milo”: http://dressagedaily.com/index.php?option=com_mtree&task=viewlink&link_id=1258&Itemid=363
We made it home!!
Milo, my mom and I pulled into our house today at 3pm after leaving NJ on Tuesday morning!! It is very nice to be home and I think Milo was starting to wonder if he would ever get back. He traveled super and looks wonderful. We stayed at various horse hotels along the way; Plainfeild Farm in Lexington, Ky., Big Cabin Horse Motel in Big Cabin, OK., Broken M Ranch in Albuquerque, NM. and MCS Stables in Flagstaff, Az. All of the places were wonderful with nice clean, safe stalls and the two sites in NM and OK had really nice people accommodations on site. I would stay at all of the places again and would recommend them to anyone that asked. I would like to thank everyone who believed in Milo and I and sent us good thoughts. I know the turn out of the championships wasn’t really what we had hoped for but I was very proud of him considering the circumstances. Milo is for sale but I do think that he and I will compete for the last time together at the CDS Southern Ca. Jr/Yr championships. I am very sad to say the least that we have to part was but I understand Pam’s choice. We had an amazing year together and he has given me more than I could have ever hoped for. I want to make sure he finds the best home ever because he deserves the best. I am looking for a new horse to lease next year so pass the word around!!
The show is over…….
The Festival of Champions has come to a very shaky WET close. Katie rode her second ride today after a full night and morning of pouring rain. We worked MIlo in the standing water yesterday in preparation and with some convincing he worked through lakes and slop very well in the warm up ring. After a great warmup today in the lower ring, which had ample rubber into provide some bounce, he entered the show ring and realized the footing was very puddly and unforgiving. Once again he found himself uncertain as to how to deal with it and in the name of trying to stay forward through it he put in an adequate test, no where to his ability. This was a fine time to realize that she has never really schooled him in mud! His final overall score was a 64.4, placing them in 7th overall. Disappointing but we must realize it is an honor to be here. Definatly the horses from wet areas prevailed! Just after her class finished, the rest of the Championships were called off!!! The Grand Prix Special and I-1 riders never got to finish and were placed with the scores they had achieved. The rain was unbelievable and everyone came away with the sad realization that infamous Gladstone is so outdated. State of the art footing or a move of the operation to Kentucky are imperative. Despite the frustration and mess it was great to see old friends and meet new ones. Katie is especially sad as this marks one of her final times with Milo as Pam has decided to sell him. She did not qualify to go to The NAJYRC next month in Kentucky. We start our journey home early Tuesday morning and hope to take about 4 1/2 days. It will be good to see you all and our critters. Thanks again to all of you for your support. May the next show be DRY!!!! Elizabeth
Update: Festival of Champions
The Brentina Cup riders rode in the pouring rain and standing water on Thursday morning and ALL classes after that were postponed and the entire show’s schedule was pushed around. The amount of rain was incredible. Katie’s class Friday morning was the first to go and the ring was sloppy. Her ride was honest but Milo was very careful and conservative. His warm up was brilliant but it was obvious once he entered the show arena that he was concerned. He slipped a few times and had a mistake in the 3 tempis. They achieved a 65.4 which puts them in 5th place. She rides again on Sunday and unfortunately there is a lot of rain in the forecast for today. All in all though we are having a great time. His owner, Pam flew in Thursday night and we are having fun with her. Thank you all for your support and thoughts. Elizabeth
The Jog is over!
The FEI Jog took place today and Milo was a star as always! He passed with flying colors and was an angel! He had a walk day today to rest and recharge for the weekend. Tomorrow I will post some pictures of Milo at the jog and where the event is being held. Thanks for all your good thoughts!
Its great to be all together!
Today was a good day. Milo worked very well and seemed happy to get the show on the road. Many more competitors have shown up and the beautiful grounds are taking on the feel that a show will be starting soon!! We have a small group of California riders and horses in our barn and are realizing that we are very spoiled with the quality of hay we get back home. Unfortunately we packed one bale of our ‘baled gold’ timothy hay. The small bales here are musty and virtually unrecognizable as timothy. We are feverishly working on a healthy alternative.
It is so incredibly green here and the main historic building is amazing. The Grand Prix and I-1 horses get to stable in the main barn. The others are in a large tent barn. The weather has fortunately been mild although pretty rainy. Almost got my trailer stuck! Jessica and I had a fun journey driving across the country after dropping Katie and Milo off with Debbie in LA in Tuesday. We arrived here on Friday evening. Jessica learned how to drive a truck and trailer on the fly at 70!! She showed up the truckers.
Tomorrow is the last day before the show officially gets going. We’ll try to get more pictures up tomorrow!!
Elizabeth