Tomorrow We Leave for the World Cup at the Festhalle in Frankfurt!!!

Nina was amazing today!!! I had a super super ride on Nina this afternoon. She is all happy now that she has her minions on her feeding program issue. Today, the flow for the work was really good. We only had to do one or two of everything and then we were done with the movement, because Nina and I executed so well. At the end we worked on cantering down the centerline. She likes to be smart and let me know when she thinks we should halt. As a result, when I half halt to prepare her for the halt, she sticks her butt up and tries to quit on me. We tricked her today and did some half pirouettes and transitions within the canter on the centerline so she didn't think the centerline was strictly for going down to halt. In the end, she decided I was right and she should probably listen to the boss-lady. It was great because Nina is on board now and is there for me again. I have my partner back and it feels great! We were able to play around a bit and I made some adjustments here and there within movements, but she was really solid and I could, for the most part, just leave her alone and let her do her thing. I can't wait to go to the show now that I have her!! Bring it on!

Later tonight I got to watch Klaus Rath ride. WHAT AN AMAZING RIDER. He reminds me of my coach, Tom Dvorak, and Norbert Van Laak (I ride in clinics with Norbert when he comes to Tom's barn throughout the year) in how he sits and rides and the way he rides "leg to hand" in a quietly intense, methodical way. His philosophy is similar to Tom and Norbert's and it was a privilege to watch him ride. Everything is forward thinking and even when the horse is cantering on the spot, it is forward, up and out looking with such expression. I am a very visual learner so I was watching his seat and hand positioning closely. If I see something, I am very good at imagining the feeling in that moment. I am then able to carry that image and "feeling" over to my next ride easily. For this reason, I love it when Tom gets on Nina back home and shows me what I am doing versus what he would do in regards to half halt technique and leg aid timing etc. Even when I am schooling, I ask Tom to do "the seat thing" where he will show me from the ground how he tucks his butt under and sits for the half halt and hand positioning, just because I am a very visual learner.

I was also able to watch Ann Kathrin ride. She is a really really nice rider as well. Very quiet yet gets right to the point as well. One minute she would be walking and then next she would have this amazing piaffe from her horse. It was interesting because the horse she was riding when I was watching is really hot like Nina. She was saying in the beginning that the horse was a little all over the place hot, but I can see how her quietly intense approach to things eventually led to this horse being perfectly relaxed and confident. It was easy to tell she instilled confidence in this horse over time without getting fussed by any antics - she just quietly, calmly worked through it.

I wish I was in Europe longer! I am enjoying this trip too much and can't believe I only have a week left. I met Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff and Klaus Rath on Friday for a short period of time, however they went away for the weekend. Today was the first real chance I got to talk to Ann Kathrin for a bit. I have to say that she is a very eloquent, gracious woman with a great sense of humor. I really like her and am so thankful for her generosity in hosting the Meagan, the girl from New Zealand, and me for the World Cup. Her place is stunning and we have felt nothing but welcome. Our time at her estate has been amazing.

Tomorrow I am schooling Nina in the morning at the Schafhof. We ship to the Festhalle in the afternoon. I will get on Nina to show her the main competition ring, and stretch her out a little around 8pm Frankfurt time. That is all for now! I will take lots of pictures tomorrow to post on here tomorrow hopefully!!! SO here is to a great show, great competition, and having fun doing what Nina and I love.