Meaghan's Days in Germany

Pictures!!

2010-09-24T12:04:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!! Hope you are enjoying some beautiful Fall weather! We have had excellent weather this week!! I put some pictures up of me and Royal Rubin. "Rudi" is one of Heike's Grand Prix mounts. He is a 12 year old stallion by Rubinstien. I am lucky enough to ride him quite often! There are a few pictures of us having some fun after a good ride!! Here are the links. Enjoy!!

Royal Rubin:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MTB-Dressage/129309447103592?ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=30115&id=129309447103592&ref=mf

Rudi and I having some fun!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MTB-Dressage/129309447103592?ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=30123&id=129309447103592

Check out MTBDressage on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MTB-Dressage/129309447103592?ref=ts#!/pages/MTB-Dressage/129309447103592
MTBDressage.com is coming soon!!!

Please let me know if the links don't work for some reason!!

Thanks for reading!

-Meaghan

A New Tool for the Toolbox

2010-09-13T08:53:00.001-07:00

The Bridge!

I was riding one of the young horses and Heike made a comment that I should really try to keep my hands closer together; create a little imaginary box right in front on the withers and keep my hands INSIDE. Normally when I ride young horses I end up having my hands a little lower and wider, which is fine sometimes, but eventually they have to accept the contact from a slightly closer and elevated hand. Sometimes I try to micro-manage every little moment and correct it before it happens. Sometimes this works out great but other times I get in the horses way and become a bit too busy. Not busy as in moving my hands around in gigantic movements as if I were painting an elaborate piece of art but simply just giving to many little aids in to short of time. Remember: give an aid, give the horse a chance to react, and then repeat if necessary.

The bridge is a great way to feel how slight your rein aids can really be as well as how much more support you can give with your leg and weight aids. It allows you to feel if there are any crooked points in your position and/or your horse’s body. Maybe you have been compensating with your right rein for what your right leg should have been doing?

To make the Bridge take the left rein in the left hand and lay the rest of the rein flat across the withers, then take the right rein in the right hand and lay the rest flat across the withers. Now take the extra part of the rein in each hand. You should have two layers of reins in each hand. This creates small “bridge” on top of the horse’s withers. The forces, in a way that doesn’t negatively affect your horse, to keep your hands steady and only using a slight motion of the wrist for your rein aid. I know it sounds confusing and it will probably feel impossible for the first few rounds but stick with it and really try to feel how your leg and seat aid should precede your rein aids!

After we have mastered the bridge we can move onto riding with only one hand!!

Thanks for reading!

-Meaghan

August!

2010-09-07T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well....other than being a complete blogging slacker, there has been a lot going on this past month! August flew by!!

My friend Eliza, of www.elizasydnordressage.com came to visit in the beginning of August! We met up with another good friend of ours and went to Verden for the World Young Horse Championships! There were some incredible horses. I was completely blown away by the 5 and 6 year old classes! The breeding of some of the horses combined with world class training made it a complete pleasure to be an auditor! We also watched the Grand Prix, and the Special. For the first time I was able to Sune Hansen, the rider from Blue Hors ride. He was an absolute delight. He is a tall slender (not to mention gorgeous looking) man with a flawless position. He and his horses moved with such grace. His aids were nearly invisible. Although he has a few mistakes in each test, costing him the win, his rides were breathtaking. He is now the new picture in my head of what I want to look like on a horse and how I gracefully I want to ride. I am really excited to see how well he does at the WEG in Kentucky!

The weekend after Verden, my friend Pia and I drove to Munster to see the final class of the German Championships which served as the final selection trail for the WEG team. Isabell Werth was the clear winner, but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, spots were really close. I was most impressed by Matthias Rath's freestyle. His horse is known for having serious issues in the final piaffe, but he made a point to do 2 sets of piaffe in the final moments of the freestyle to show the judges that he has what it takes to make the team. He proceed to do almost 18 perfect steps of piaffe right in front of the judge at B while petting his horse. It was awesome!!! The competition arena is set right in the middle of the city with a beautiful historic castle as the backdrop. Wish I could figure out the picture situation!!!!!

After watching the Germans fight it out for their WEG team we raced home and quickly tuned into useflive.com (which had incredible live coverage of the US National Championships) and watched the Americans fight it out for our WEG team! It was an awesome weekend filled with some exceptional Dressage!! Not to mention got me super excited for the WEG.

Always more to come….

Meaghan

Time Off Has Its Benefits!

2010-07-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that taking an actual vacation can be a good thing for one's riding! While you are away somethings get better, somethings stay the same and some maybe lose a little ground! Sure, if you take a day or two off things don't really change, but three weeks, well that gives you a chance! I can't lie when I got back the first two days of riding were tough, I was out of shape, (maybe had eaten too much while at home:) and I was pretty muscle sore! It didn't help the Mr. Meyners (seat coach) came my FIRST day back! But, overall since back I have been able to keep my hands down without too much of a problem. I know this sounds small but really its huge! I was constantly getting yelled at to keep my hands down! They weren't up around my ears or anything but they were just a little too high and as they crept up my seat would creep upwards too! So my hands: Better! My seat stayed mostly the same! My legs maybe lost a little ground. I have been working really hard to make my aids, in some ways quicker, but in other ways softer. YES its confusing! When I need a quick leg aid sometimes I am too slow. And at other times when maybe I could get away with a squeeze of the calf I go for a big kick which ALWAYS ruins everything! So quicker and smaller!

I am still trying to solve the picture mystery!! Everytime I upload a picture not only does it take forever but it loads as 5000 words of ADS&^%&_^FKMA R)(IQ $TUQ !!!! See my problem!! Help!

-Meaghan

PS. I am tryin to do a video tour of the stable to post on here!

Had a Blast at Home

2010-07-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I know its been a while, but I am back from an awesome three weeks at home and ready to get back to riding! I will be better about blogging I promise! Home was great, I got to see lots of friends and family, eat way to much delicious food, and enjoy Boston and the beach!

My flight back was terrible. I couldn't sleep on the first 6 hour flight to Amsterdam, then I had to hang around Amsterdam Airport for 5 hours waiting for my connection flight to Hannover. I almost missed my connection because I was sleeping!! The nice steward lady woke me up! Thank goodness! Then the turbulance on the flight was so bad that people were screaming, breathing out of paper bags and stuff fell from the overhead bins! I am glad I don't have to fly for a while!!

Exciting news! Before the end of the month I should have my website www.MTBdressage.com up and running! While I was home both my parents and several friends put in an enormous effort to get it started! Thank you all so much! Can't wait to see what you think!

More exciting news! Eliza Sydnor is coming to visit me and other good friend Eiren and we are going to watch the World Young Horse Championships in Verden!!

I am working on putting some pictures up like I used too, but for some reason all the pictures that I upload come up as a large red X! So I am investigating that issue!!

-Meaghan

Struggling and Balance

2010-05-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

So the last few weeks I have been struggling! I have been trying to sit so straight and so still that almost every muscle in my body aches. Ms. Kemmer has been on me about really turning the horses outside shoulder. Sounds easy, but as I am turning the outside shoulder my horse inevitably falls the inside front leg. I know that I need to make my horse use their inside hind leg to carry and push more of their weight, but its HARD! I always end up using way to much inside rein to make the turn and end up falling a little bit to the outside with my seat, but when I try to make corrections to my position and seat I make too large of an adjustment and then I throw my horse way off balance! Ahhh it’s a vicious circle. So every day I concentrate on staying straight, in the center on my horse, and using small invisible aids to guide my horses! Easier said than done and the real kicker is that I know all this! I completely understand the theory and basic principals but making my body comply is so much harder. I also struggle a lot with what is enough and what is too little. Sometimes I feel like I am way to easy on my horses and I should demand a little more from them because really that’s the only way we are going to move forward, but then some days I feel like I am pushing them over the edge and its information overload and too much for them to handle! What it really boils down to is that everything is about balance. Balance, balance, balance!! So my plan is to keep on trying to make my body do what my mind tells it to do while I am in the saddle and then I think I need to start taking a YOGA class. That’s all about balance and centering yourself, right! New plan: Yoga!! I will keep you updated!

Thanks for Reading:

Meaghan

Major Break Through!

2010-04-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

Over the past two weeks I have discovered the key to riding! Ok well, not the absolute key but let's just say a key part to developing my seat further. I have always had a problem with hunching my shoulders. When everything is good nice and easy (aka I'm not really riding) then I can sit on the horse with my shoulders back and in great posture, but in the moment when I actually need to stay straight and strong in my upper body, I hunch my shoulders, fall a little bit forward and probably pull on the right rein! But now I have discovered the little area in the upper body known as the sternum. Yes, I know it has always been there but FINALLY I have started to use it! Keeping good posture and sitting straight really has nothing to do with my shoulders, I just have to remember to keep my sternum up and open. Each rib has to be separated! Seriously, it sounds crazy but really this has helped my seat tremendously. The action, motion, swinging movements (whatever you what to call it) of the horse's body has to flow through your seat and be absorbed without collapsing like a ragdoll. I use to try to keep my hips, legs, and seat so steady that I was absorbing all the movement in the upper part of my rib cage, making my sitting trot look like a slow moving wave, peaking right under my shoulder blades. But now that I have started to constantly remind myself of my sternum I have been able to absorb the movements throughout my entire body with the majority of it in the hips. This has made sitting the trot SOOO much easier. When I look in the mirror I really look as it I am finally moving with the horse as opposed to the flapping passenger. Now if I could only figure out how to give an aid at the same moment! Guess I need to save something for next week! Hahaha.

Hope everyone is enjoying some Spring weather!!!

-Meaghan

More Meyners Exercises

2010-04-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the exercises that I worked on this week with Mr.Meyners.

1: 6-12 (Like the numbers on clock)
Lay on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and rotate your pelvis forward (6) and back (12). Try to alternate the speed and the height or intensity of each movement, but try to keep the exercise in motion.

2. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Stretch your arms out to either side, shoulder length. Place one ankle on the other knee and let your knees fall from one side to the other while turning the head from one direction to the other.

3. Lay on your right/left side with your arm stretched out above your head, your head lying on your arm, legs long, and your pelvis at a 90 degree angle to the ground (this is the most important part). Lift both your upper body and lower body off the ground just for a few seconds, then rest and repeat. It is most important to keep your pelvis at a 90 degree angle to the ground, do not fall forward or backwards. It is better to repeat this exercise only a few times then switch sides. It more important to do it 5 times correctly than 10 times poorly.
To increase this exercise try to lift lower and upper body off the ground and then raise one leg higher up (separate your leg). If you are on the right side it is your left leg that you raise. Then lower your left leg back to the right one then back to the ground, don’t collapse on a heap in the floor. Make slow controlled movements.

4. Lay on your back with your arms stretched over your head and your legs long. Try to rise your upper body and lower body slowly and of equal height. If you are stronger with your lower abs don’t raise your legs rather than your upper can go, and vice versa. Repeat this same exercise while lying on your back.

5. Sit upright with your legs out in front of you in a triangle, with your pelvis as the tip of the triangle. Keep your legs long. Roll backwards onto your back and bring your legs over your head to touch the ground behind your head, then roll forward, legs back on the ground in front of your like a triangle and reach forward with upper body and arms. Don’t raise your shoulders to stretch further, just go as far as possible with your arms and upper body. Keep breathing and try to keep this a fluid motion, trying to heave your legs over your head and letting then mash down on the ground. (This is what happened on my first)

Each of these exercises should aid in suppleness and bringing together the right and left side of the body. Also the rotation of the head in the opposite direction as the legs aids in better coordination of the diagonal aids

6. To deepen your seat, sit either in the saddle or on a hard stool and have someone stand in front of you and make all different size circles (in all directions) with their finger. Try to follow their finger with only your eyes. Don’t move your head. It sounds crazy but it really works!

Have fun trying to make sense of these exercises. If anyone has any questions feel free to email me. They can be confusing!!

Good Luck and Viel Spass!!! (Have Fun)

-Meaghan

Melting Marshmellow vs. Magic Meaghan

2010-03-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

There is actually a good excuse for the serious lack of blogging over the past 5 months (I can't believe it has been that long). I have had NO internet. Can you imagine!! I live in a tiny, yet extremely cute little village! The cable company pretty much had to wire the whole village for DSL, but I now have internet!! WhooHoo! Ok, now that I am over having the internet, I can get back to writing my blog.

Reader's Digest version of the past 5 months: Riding is going great. Getting my butt kicked most days, but on a few, very rare occasions Heike has used the nickname "Magic Meaghan" and "Dressage Rider" to describe a few fleeting moments in over a 1000 rides over the past few months. ALL of the other moments are reserved for the "melting marshmallow" comment! Haha. Heike describes my sitting trot as melting marshmallow! Not good! So I am working extremely hard to have some positive tension in my upper body, which is only possible now that I have my lower leg on the horse (Instead of the beautiful, yet ineffective "dressage" leg that I once had)

I have ridden anywhere from 4 to 10 horses per day, ranging from out of control 3 year olds to seasoned Grand Prix horses. I have been able to work continually with Mr., Myners throughout the winter, and have made some big improvement in my seat and have been able to file away some excellent feelings of a deeper seat and seriously collected canter with a light rein contact. I will describe some of the exercises in the next few blogs. Some are crazy but they work.

Spring has finally come. The winter was so terrible. Everyone has said that it was the worst Winter Germany has seen in 20 years. So I am thinking of Wintering in New England next year, it has to be better that this insane German weather! Haha! At the stable there is a beautifully groomed galloping track, so I have spent alot of time outside in the past few weeks with my youngsters just going forward and straight without running away!! So much fun!

So I promise there will be more consistent updates from now on! Thank you to everyone for reading and your continued support! I hope everyone is enjoying springtime!

-Meaghan

A Taste of Riding in Germany

2009-11-06T11:42:00.001-08:00

Oh the challenges it presents. In the past week I have been put in the craziest situations. I rode one horse that is a big sweetheart but deathly afraid of other horses. First of all it was raining, no big surprise there since it rains at least once every day here in Germany, but that means that everyone rides inside the indoor. The indoor is beautiful with big windows, but it is exactly regulation size, there is no inch to spare! So, I had to ride my horse inside with two other horses longing, another horse hand walking, another horse schooling piaffe and passage with a ground person, AND another horse who just came in on the longe line that was rolling and enjoying himself! Ok, so trying to stay a safe distance away from each of the other horses was nearly impossible. I felt like a ping pong ball being bounced around the entire arena as my horse dodged each on coming horse. Of course, I wasn’t wearing a helmet and tried to keep a serious face so that everyone, especially Heike wouldn’t see how insane I thought the whole situation was. Thank goodness I lived till the next because the next day was even crazier.
As anyone who owns or manages a stable knows, it is a full time in and of itself to keep the grounds clean and presentable at all time. So this past week there was a bit of Spring cleaning going on. I know, it’s almost Winter, but you know the Germans clean clean, clean. They were cutting down 15 trees that surrounded the paddock, which is conveniently situated along the backside of the indoor riding arena. There were chainsaws, axes, and tractors going all day. Each horse was a little tense along that specific longside but eventually got over it and worked well. However, it wasn’t until I was attempting to mount a gorgeous 3yr. gelding from the ground, in my brand new Konigs (that I of course ordered was to tall, again) just how crazy this was! Again no helmet, and I was trying to keep him completely still while mounting, and had to keep the”oh this isn’t insane at all” look on my face!
Least to say it has been a challenging week, but I have survived and realized that if I don’t notice the million distractions during each of my rides then my horses will be less likely to react to them. Of course I have heard this several times and have even said this same exact thing to students but it’s always more difficult to put into practice!

Great Week

2009-10-25T12:56:00.001-07:00

It has been a great week here in Winsen. Heike was here in the beginning of the week and I got some good help with my horses. I am still working on being able to bend each horse around my inside leg, rather than using my inside rein. Correct bending throughout the entire body really helps to engage each horse through transisitons between the gaits and within the gait. I also worked on some small half steps with one of the 6 years olds. He was super and responsed really well. The timing of my half-halts and the small, tiny taps with the whip was so important. Talk about being in tune with the hind legs.

This weekend, one of the guys from the barn Jens, and I went to Hannover to the German Classics Competition. Heike was riding Royal Rubin 5, or Rudi. It was such a big National Show. She placed 8th in the Grand Prix on Saturday night. We were also able to watch the jumping which was huge, there were over 50 riders. The jump off was insane. They were so fast. I also got to watch a FEI World Cup Qualifier for 4 in hand carriage driving. So cool!! There were hazards, cones, and a make shift bridge all inside an indoor arena (with stadium seating of course). The driving event didn't start until 11pm. Germans are so crazy, they love there late parties. We did some shopping and ate looks of great food too. After the events were over we attended the after party! It was quite the event, the entrance hall of the stadium is cleared out and filled with cocktail bars, a massive dance floor, and a Dj. Party time!

Lesson with Mr.Myners this week! Can't wait to see what exercises he comes up with!

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan

First Lesson with Mr.Myners

2009-10-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a lesson with Mr. Myners. He has been coming to Heike’s and working with her for over 4 years. He is better known as the Balimo Chair Guy, he told me this. Haha. Anyhow, it was incredible. He watched me ride, walk, trot, and canter for 10-15 minutes then I got off my horse and did some exercises. First I had to lie on my back with my knees bent, hip distance apart and try to move my hips from 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock. You have to think of the motion of your seat in terms of clock. Then I had to move from 6 to 9 for the left lead canter and 6 to 3 for the right lead canter. 6 to 12 was a piece of cake, right lead wasn’t too bad, but I could barely move from 6 to 9 or left lead canter. Maybe this explains why I always feel crooked to the left! Hmm! Then I got back on my horse and did sitting trot for a few circles to feel a little bit of a difference, trying to move with the motion of the horse and have it continue through my body and be absorbed. I returned to the mat and lay on my back with my knees in the same position but I moved them side to side. Letting my knees fall from right to left and back to right all in one fluid motion. I kept my knees apart a little bit so that I could try to make the switching without tension in my thighs. I then had to move my head to the opposite direction that I was moving my legs. So knees to the right, head to the left. Not so easy. Again I got back on my horse, did a few circles sitting trot, and felt a huge difference. I was actually moving with the horse and didn’t have to use my muscles to stay on. But I still wasn’t deep enough in the saddle to really influence the horse, I was just moving with the horse a bit better. So I did a few more exercises. I laid stomach down on the mat and bend my knees. I moved one knee out to the side, almost level with my hip and had to raise my opposite leg. Sounds confusing, it was. Then Mr. Myners pressed down on the leg that I was to rise and I had to push as hard as I could against it. When he released the pressure it was much easier to raise my leg higher with my other knee extended to the side. I got back on my horse and did a few more circles of sitting trot, still I felt an improvement but still I wasn’t deep enough into the saddle. So here comes the tricky part! This blew my mind. While on the horse, Mr. Myners asked me to do eye circles. Just make a big circle with my eyes, to the left then to the right! I seriously could not do this. I was making a square. I looked posed, Heike said. So I got off my horse and sat down on the stool and Mr., Myners had me follow his finger with my eyes. He made big, slow circles, and then changed it up with some figures of 8, then random lines. It was really difficult for me to follow with just my eyes. But I got back in the saddle and sat the trot and I was able to sit much deeper. My whole sessions lasted about an hour. It was tough work, but truly I felt several differences in my seat. Of course the next day I couldn’t get the feeling back to save my life but he said that would happen. So we will work together again this week and find more exercises to strengthen my seat.

Hope this made a bit of sense....

Meaghan

Meet the Horses

2009-10-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have 5 horses that I ride everyday and there are a few others that I warm-up or cool-down for Heike.
Charlie II : 3 yr old gelding. Han. Bay. He is schooling most everything from First Level. We mainly work on transitions and little bits of sitting trot. He is super comfortable and has a great mind, not to mention adorable.
Harry Potter: 6 yr old gelding. Han. Big Blood Bay. He is the sweetest horse but a little nervous of other horses. He is schooling 3rd level. But I really work on the basics with him, transitions, straightness, and maintaining a constant connection from inside leg to outside rein. I really have to think about bending throughout the entire body rather than flexion of the pole. It sounds easy but not so much in practice. He is so comfortable to ride, which is great because I can concentrate on my position and am able to make adjustments.
Fien Cera: 6 yr old mare. Han. Dark Bay. She is schooling 2nd/3rd level. I mainly work on getting her to take quicker, more active steps from behind. She has a wonderful trot. I work on maintaining the rhythm of her canter and do some transitions within the gait in canter that are from my seat rather than my reins. This is not so easy for me sometimes.
Coriano: 8 yr old gelding. Han. Beautiful Gray. He has a big swinging trot and an uphill canter. He is awesome to ride. He is teaching me way more than I am teaching him right now. His trot is sometimes difficult for me to sit so I really work on keeping my seat independent from my hands and using my seat to make transitions. In the canter we work on transitions within the gait and walk-canter-walk transitions. He can almost canter on the spot. He is super easy to collect but I always have to think of making his neck longer and little bit deeper to ensure he is working through his back.
Actuado a.k.a Shatze: 10 yr old gelding. Han. Chestnut. Shatze is German for “darling.” The nickname fits him perfectly. He is a sweetheart of a horse and he can give you such a sweet look that you can’t possibly be mad at him. Heike competed him through the Grand Prix. So, naturally I thought “YES” finally a GP horse to ride and practice all the movements!! HAHA!! Not the case. I have barely graduated from the walk yet! Making him work through his back into a longer deeper frame is almost impossible for me, but we are working on it and it’s getting much better! He is so laterally supple that keeping him straight also poses a great challenge. Working from behind up, through both seat bones, to both reins equally is usually my train of thought. He walks for a 10 so containing his movement at the walk is hard enough for right now! I’ll keep you posted…

These are horses are all of incredible quality and are teaching me so much! I have really had to change my leg position quite a bit. I need to keep my lower leg closer to the girth. My leg is certainly more effective there, but has made me feel a little unbalanced especially in the posting trot.

The first two weeks were awesome having Heike and Mayke helping me with each horse, but the last week has been nice with both of them out of town. I really needed the last few days to play with the changes to my position, and get to know the horses a bit better. Having such great training on a daily basis is invaluable but it is always nice to have time alone to figure things out!

More to come on my lesson with Mr. Myners! Thanks for reading…

If I had a dollar...

2009-10-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

For every time I have heard sit back, sit up, or back with the upper body in the last week I would be a solid millionaire! I’m clearly learning a lot about using my back and seat to really influence the horses. It’s not easy! First you have to ride forward, oh but not to forward then they are on the forehand, then you must ride more uphill but not slower, just more collected, but with a longer deeper neck, but not with their nose on their chest. Oh yes and you must do all this from you leg and seat, and when you get really good at it then you can use a hint of rein. But until you really understand the correct use of your leg and seat every time you use your rein it is considered to be pulling! Craziness but its all true, so I struggle and I try to have one good moment (be it brief) during every ride where I think, oh this must be it!
I’m finally getting to ride a lot which is great. I am able to sit on so many different horses ranging from gigantic movers to daintier movers and everything in between. I have a few horses that I work on my own, under the watchful eye of Heike and Mayke (the assistant trainer) of course. But I also warm several horses up for Heike and Mayke. So being employed as a rider is pretty much amazing, so far!!
We start promptly at 7am and everyone (grooms, riders, trainers, and working students) feed and clean the stable. There are just over 20 boxes in the riding stable (there are many more in the different breeding stables on the farm), but we just care for the riding horses. After the stable is cleaned we sit down to a lovely breakfast with the “team.” It’s complete with fresh bread, coffee, tea, and everything imaginable to top your bread. After breakfast we start riding. We ride till about 1pm, take a short lunch break and ride again till 5pm.
Of course the weather here in ole Deutschland is somewhat less than desirable. It has rained pretty much every day since I’ve been back and it’s probably not going to stop until summer of next year. Oh well!
Riley continues to impress me! He has had to learn to ride along side my bicycle to and from work. Someone will have to get a picture of this, it’s just adorable! At first I thought I would be writing a terrible story of how I broke my leg on the way to the stable on my first day of work. But Riley has been great, he still likes to swerve into the front tire sometimes, in which he scares himself and pulls us both way off to one side. But luckily those incidents are becoming less and less!
Since I am living by myself I am going to be reading a lot more! So if anyone has read any good books lately, email me!! bmeaghan@gmail.com

Thanks for reading, always more to come!

Meaghan :)

Least to Say its Been a While...

2009-10-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

Im back to Germany and back to updating the blog! The backpacking/camping trip around Europe was incredible! Switzerland was by far my favorite! Hiking and taking the cog railway up Mt. Jungfrau (the highest elevation is Europe) was just amazing. The views at the top were breathtaking. Cant beat a 100 foot waterfall as the backdrop of the campground, and being surrounded by the Swiss Alps.

During September I took a much needed break (I know what you are thinking "A much needed break" the darn girl was just backpacking across Europe, but hey the backpack and tent were heavy. :) ) and spent some time with close friends and family. It was the perfect time of year to be home!!

But now I am finally riding in Germany. Who would have ever thought?! Riley (my gorgeous golden retriever) and I survived the close to 10 hours plane ride, plus 6 hour drive from Amsterdam to the stable in Winsen, Germany. Did I mention that I hauled 3 suitcases, a XL dog crate, and Riley around the Amsterdam airport trying to find a silly internet stick and rent a car!! Insanity. But it was all worth it. I have an adorable apartment to myself. Its only about a 1km from the stable, which makes for a nice bike ride to and from work. Living on my own is certainly going to take so getting use to. Its so quiet (except for the German TV shows). I guess I will have to take up needlepiont! Haha.

Yesterday was the my first day at the stable and I sat on 8 different horses. Most of them I warmed up and cooled down for Heike and Mayke (the assitant trainer). Seems I still have alot to learn about the basics. Basic driving aids and moving the horse away from my inside leg seemed to be on top of the list. Then I rode two horse on my own and had some help from Heike. The quality of horses is just insane. When I wrap my head around just how lofty all of their trots are and how much jump the canter has, I will let you know.

Today was much like yesterday but I am so sore tonight! My legs feel like jello!! Time to get back into shape.

Glad to be back, much more to come.

Meaghan :)

Taking Off

2009-07-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the night! I leave for London at 10:30pm, and after taking a train to Liverpool and a cab to the hostel I will meet up with my group tomorrow morning at 6am! What kind of vacation starts at 6am? Haha! Then we spent the day touring London and then its off to Paris!

This afternoon I am having traditional German cake and coffee with Catherine, Casey, Christoffer, Natallie, Cesar, and a new girl from France. Im sure it will be a nice way to say bye and thank you!

I will keep updating as much as I can but the internet might be limited once we are on the road!

-Meaghan

Big News!

2009-07-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

I am going to be a rider at Heike Kemmer's stable! Woo Hoo! The interview went great and i sat on two very nice horses. One 6 year old and a 4 year old. Both super quality! Heike and I chatted afterwards and she offered me the job! But I still had one more interview with Johann Zaggers, who is the Team Coach for the Brazilians. I spent the weekend at his farm, and rode some really excellent horses. But unfortunately they were looking for more of a student/worker than an actually rider. The facility was huge and brand new, they have over 50 horses! So I just talked with Heike this evening and its final, I start October 1st! And the greatest news is that I can have my beautiful dog Riley!!! Lets hope he loves Germany and stable life! We will see.

You might ask what I am doing between now and then! Well I am going to be backpacking around Europe for three weeks with a student tour group. We start in London and make our way all over. Here is a little bit about what places we will be going to! I forgot, we are camping out!! It should be quite the adventure!
Paris
Evening Tour of Illuminations
See the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Champs Élysées, and Notre Dame Cathedral

Swiss Alps
Scenic drive through the Alps

French Riviera
Visit a French Perfumery
Scenic drive along the Cote d'Azur
Visit Monaco & see the Royal Palace
Visit a Monte Carlo casino

Pisa
See the Leaning Tower

Florence
Walking tour with a local guide
See the Duomo, Basilica Santa Croce, Giotto's Bell Tower, the Baptistry & Piazza della Signoria
Florentine leather craft demonstration

Rome
See Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Colosseum & Roman Forum

Vatican City
See St. Peter's Basilica

Bologna
See the famous porticos & two towers.

Venice
Murano glass-blowing & Burano lace-making demonstrations
Private motorboat to the historic islands
See Piazza San Marco, Bridge of Sighs and the Doges' Palace

Vienna
See Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen's Cathedral & the State Opera House
Scenic drive along the historic Ring Road

Cesky Krumlov
See the medieval town

Prague
See Hradcany Castle, the Cathedral of St. Vitus, Charles Bridge and Wenceslas Square

Munich
See the Glockenspiel & Marienplatz

Heidelberg
See the medieval castle

Rhine Valley
Scenic drive along the Rhine River
Visit the riverside town St. Goar

Amsterdam
See the canals, gable houses and city by night
Visit a cheese farm & clog maker's house
Visit a fishing and cheese village

I am so lucky!! I'm not sure if I will have access to the internet but I will do my best to keep everyone updated! Thank you for your support!!

-Meaghan

Change is Good

2009-07-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

Before I get to my "Change is good" explanation I have to write about Aachen. I realize it have been forever and a day since I have written, but I have been so insanely busy!! Aachen was one of the best experiences in my life! Yes, Stephan Peters and Ravel won all three classes!! An American won!! Too cool! Catherine and I were stable with Stephan because we were "Team USA" even though we didn't technically have a team there this year. We had stall curtains, flags, and blankets the just screamed USA. It was awesome! It was so nice to be around a group of Americans, especially around the 4th. When Stephan and Ravel won the GP Special on the 4th of July and the American flag was raised while the National Anthem played in front of 60,000 people, I was in tears! It was just an incredible moment.
There was a groom's party on Wednesday night which was a blast. It is so much fun talking with all the grooms and hearing about where they have been and how long they have been grooming for. Not to mention a long night of drinking and dancing!
The trade fair at Aachen is like a medium size shopping mall. You can buy everything there and I mean everything! There were so many people on Fri, Sat and Sun that I barely went over there it was just to crowded. The stable arena was much cooler and much quieter!
For me Aachen was kind of like summer camp! You have the time of your life and never want to leave and you are sad for a week afterwards.
Ok, then the day I got back from Aachen I moved into my new apartment. Really it is a WG, pronounced "vgee." There are four rooms, two bathrooms, and a kitchen. My three roommates are German, so they are helping with my German! My room is quite large and I have a huge blue accent wall, kind of strange but it works. I also also have a balcony which over looks a potato vending machine. You didn't read incorrectly, a potato vending machine. Cars driving up all day long and insert 2 or 5 euro into the machine and out pops a sack of potatoes. So German, I guess. I will be learning to cook alot with potatoes!
The next day we have the Reese from Dressage Training Online come to the stable to take several training videos for the website. A very educational day. We also have a new working student come to the stable from France, his name is Cesar and he can cook!! So throughout the week we have have several dinner gatherings! It has been a hectic but fun week.
Earlier this week Catherine told me to bringing my riding boots to the barn so that I could start riding. YAY!!! I couldn't wait to get back in the saddle! So after I rode Catherine and I had a long chat about what I wanted to do. Of course I couldn't get out fast enough that I wanted to ride, 20 horses a day if possible! Grooming has been a blast and I have learned so much but really I want to be back in the saddle. But there isn't a riding position for me at Catherine's. There are already 3 riders plus Catherine and at the moment 16 horses. So Catherine has been a HUGE help in finding me another stable to ride at. This coming Thursday I have an interview at Heike Kemmer's stable. She was the Bronze Medalist in Hong Kong Olympics! So as you see alot has changed since the last time I wrote but really everything is for the best!!! Ok so I promise to keep you updated more! Wish me luck on the interview!

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan

Oops

2009-06-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

Can anyone tell I am a little tired!! I forgot to write that Catherine won the Grand Prix Special in Viduban! It was the last class of the two week tour and Cadillac was on fire! They had a stellar ride, ridden to music from Celine Dion, and scored over 70%. We had quite the celebration. Perfect ending to a great trip!

Down-Time

2009-06-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

So I am still high off my trip to France. I can't believe I was actually there. It was such a fabulous experience. I got to sight see in Cannes, took a day trip to St.Tropez, and spend a week on a vineyard with incredible rosee wine. The name of the vineyard is Chateau des Launes. They have a great website, check it out. www.chateaudeslaunes.com.

The drive back from France was somewhat aweful!! I drove 5 hours to Lyon on Saturday through the strongest wind gusts I have ever felt! Then I drove 15 hours from Lyon to Vechta. The first 11 hours couldn't have been smoother then 100 kilometers to the stable took forever since the main autobahn was closed for repairs and there was a 17 kilometer stau, or traffic jam! It took me forever to get off the autobahn and weave my way through every small town and village to get back to the barn! But we made it thats all that matters!

We are having an intense week getting ready for Aachen! I cannot wait to see Aachen and be behind the scenes with the horses and riders. Hopefully I will be keeping a daily journal, posted each night, for DressageDaily about my experience. We leave on Monday!

Be in touch soon...

Meaghan

France

2009-06-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

So I have been in France for the past 9 days! It has been incredible. The first day I spent driving over 1000km to Lyon and spent the night at the cutest little French Stable. Everything was so old, but so well kept and really interesting to explore. Then the next day I drove the rest of the way to Cannes. Cannes might just be the most beautiful place I have ever been. They show grounds were right on the beach. Literally I have an ocean view from the lorry. I went to the beach everyday! Such a tough job. The stabling was in the middle of a bunch of palm trees. We stayed in Cannes for 5 days and Catherine competed in the CDI*****. The atmosphere was pretty electric, she didn't ride til 11:30pm each night! It was wild, the crowd was huge. The warm-up arena had three huge palm trees inside it!

After Cannes I drove a little but north to Vidubon, where we are staying on a vineyard for the week until the competition this weekend. The vineyard is beautiful and extremely well kept. They have the best rose wine I have ever had! Too bad we drink it breakfast, lunch, and dinner! There is an adorable 8 stall stable on the property with a gorgeous outdoor arena! The mountains surround the property on three sides making the view from the arena just breath-taking. Did I mention that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are out neighbors!

We also took a day trip to St.Tropez. We walked around for a while and ate some delicious seafood! We then took a boat tour around the harbor! I don't know what to say it was just so cool. I grew up on the ocean, but it was nothing like this. There are ancient buildings and churches just inches from the water. There were countless yachts and the water was so clear and blue!!

I put over 100 pictures up on facebook, so I am putting the link to the album on here. Let me know if it doesn't work and I will put another album up somewhere.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2008838&id=135600354&ref=nf

We are getting ready for a big bbq tonight...more coming later!

-Meaghan

Update...

2009-06-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

So we didn't make it to Wiesbaden, which was a bummer. Catherine's back isn't feeling all that great so she is resting up for our tour in France and Aachen. This weekend we have a National show where Catherine, Casey and Natallie are showing. Then Morthen will be coming on Sunday and Monday for a clinic and Tuesday I am off to France. Tuesday morning, bright and early, Maximus, Cadillac and I will be on the road to Lyon. That will be the first leg of our long trip to Cannes. Lyon is about 1000 kilometers from Vechta about a 12 hour drive. In Lyon I will stay overnight and the next day continue to Cannes, which is another 400 kilometers. It will be a long trip but I'm sure well worth it. Cannes is right on the coast and about 40 kilometers from Nice. We have two shows to do in France, right on the coast! How cool is that! A Dressage Arena a few yards from the beach! So we will be there for about two weeks. Can't wait to share those pictures and adventures with everyone! After France, we will be home for a few days and then its off to Aachen!! I cannot wait for Aachen!!

Last week we all took a trip up to the Northern Sea. It was about an hour from our apartment. The town was called Nordeny! It was an adorable little beach town with souvenir shops and Ice Cream Cafes. We packed a picnic and had a nice day at the beach. The beach wasn't exactly like our beaches at home on the East Coast. The water was alot darker, pretty but more green than bright blue. There were some areas that had sand but then there were alot of areas that had concrete. I know it sounds weird, but there were beach chairs (which are more like beach huts) all over the place. During the summer months families rent them out.

Pictures:

The Beach Huts!

The Beach!

The Boats!

I fell in some quick sand! Oops!

CDI**** Munich

2009-05-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

A Groom’s Experience at the CDI***** Munich
By: Meaghan Byrne

As the groom my preparation for Munich started several days before the actual competition. Starting on Sunday I packed everything we could possibly need while on the road. There was tack to be cleaned, saddle pads and bandages to be laundered, and grain to be measured. I could not forget Catherine’s shadbelly, boots, top hat, and microphone equipment. I also brought a bike with us. This proved to be the most important item because although Munich is a gorgeous show facility, all the arenas and show offices are at least a 20 minute walk from the stabling…uphill! There was so much to pack that once I was ready to pull out of the driveway I thought I had packed everything but the kitchen sink.

On Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:15am and fed Maximus and Cadillac and prepared them for the long lorry drive. With fresh bandages, shipping boots and braided tails we were on the road at 5:15am. There was a quick stop at Catherine’s to pick up Gizmo. Gizmo is a 10 year old tri-colored corgi who was to serve as my trusty co-pilot. Catherine told me, “If your tom-tom-fails, ask the dog.” Our stable is located in northern Germany and Munich is in southern Germany. So I drove across the whole country--720 kilometers (450 miles) one way. It took me about 9 hours with two stops to offer the horses water, replenish their hay, and give them electrolytes.

After finding the stabling which would have been a serious challenge had Catherine (who had flown to Munich) not met me out on the street and directed me to the right place; I settled the horses in, unpacked and made both horses ready for Catherine to ride. It was good for the horses to do some light trotting after the long trip and have a chance to see the competition arena before the show began.

The vendors and food stands were not open yet so Catherine and I ate at the Jockey Club restaurant. There is a huge race track that borders the show facility. It was a real ‘dive’ but they made great bratwurst and served cold beer so I couldn’t complain.

All of the grooms usually stay in their trucks with living quarters or in the stables with the horses. The small blue truck that I took has an electricity hook-up and sleeping quarters. There were bathrooms and showers available throughout the show grounds. It was very convenient in Munchen because the trucks were parked right next to the stables making night check and early mornings much easier.

Wednesday was a schooling day for the horses and it gave them another chance to see the show grounds before the masses of people arrived. In the morning I fed the horses and cleaned their boxes. I polished Catherine’s boots and spurs, made sure the numbers were sewn onto the saddle pads, and that the tack was clean. I spent some time exploring the show grounds and locating the show office. In the afternoon I hand walked the horses and grazed them. They both got an extra good grooming and their legs wrapped for the evenings.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday were competition days. It started with the CDI*** tour in which Catherine rode Maximus followed by the CDI***** World Dressage Masters tour in which she rode Cadillac. Competition days are always the most exciting but the most hectic for me as a groom. The few minutes’ right before she goes into the arena is like a raceway pit stop. Bandages need to come off, the horses need to be sweat scrapped and toweled, microphone equipment needs to be put away, and top hat and shadbelly need to be put on! After all the hard work, it is a great feeling to watch as horse and rider enter the ring and perform at their best.

After a great weekend of competition, which Maximus finishing 4th in the CDI*** and Cadillac finishing 2nd in the CDI*****, the horses had Saturday afternoon to rest. Then it was back on the road early Sunday morning. Gizmo was a bit impatient with the trip home, but both Cadillac and Maximus are extremely well travelled so they were rock stars on the truck. The just nibbled on their hay and enjoyed the ride. I got home early afternoon on Sunday and unpacked. But I couldn’t unpack too much because this coming Thursday we are off to the CDI**** in Wiesbaden, Germany!

As a groom I get to experience all the behind the scenes action. I get to travel all around Europe and surround myself with the best riders in the world. It is an experience of a lifetime!

Pictures:

Make-shift paddocks for the ponies!

Really neat premium seating for the Dressage Arena

Coffee Shop next to the Dressage Arena

Children playing by the warm-up

Our private stables

Judges booth for jumping

Building where grooms and riders ate

Indoor riding hall and where the show office was

I thought this was a statement!

Map of the show facility, which was also home of the 1972 Olympic Games

Other large stadium on the property

Pony Rides!

Kid's Land!! This looked like so much fun!!

This was the view from my trailer! You really can't beat it! There were race horses being breezed at 5:30am. It was so cool!

Thanks for reading...

-Meaghan

Pictures I Promised...

2009-05-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from the National Show in Haftenkamp. It was pooring remember...

Dressage Arena

Dressage Arena complete with flood lights and spectators tent at "A"

This little truck is the best! It is really easy to work out of especially for a day show.

This was the huge crane type thing that provided lights for the warm-up arena.

Where Did I leave you..

2009-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

I was about to leave for Meppen (spelling correction from the last post). It was a great weekend. Not only did I make it there with the big lkw, but Catherine won both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special breaking 70%. Cadillac was super! The weather was excellent, and the show facility was beautiful. Of course we have a celebration upon return on Sunday night!!

Making it to the show facility with the big lkw was not as easy as it sounded. First the navigation system took me into every small village, complete with cobblestone streets, between Vechta and Meppen. I never got out of 2nd gear. Then I almost turned down a TINY street that had a bridge that was both under construction and had a weight limit of 3.5 tons. Mind you the big lkw, complete with 3 horses and equipment, is over 7 tons! So, I had to turn around, without falling into the major ditch on this tiny street and find my way to the autobahn with Catherine's help of course. Thank goodness she is patient.

When we finally got to the show grounds we were on the main road coming into the facility and it was lined with trailers. People were tacking up in the middle of the road!!! Insanity. Luckily were had a big enough truck that we got to park in the big grassy field!

The warm-up was in the indoor riding hall, which was beautiful! There were so many windows and it had a cathedral ceiling. You couldn't find a cobweb in the place. The competition arena was just outside the indoor bordered with a white picket fence. At the "A" end of the arena there was a big tent with food and drinks available. Germans do not mess around with food! There is always food everywhere and everyone enjoys cake and coffee between 3pm and 4pm.

I almost forgot the best part! The bathrooms!! The Germans do not use porta johns (we could learn from this). There were beautifully decorated and super clean! The picture really explains it all. Yes, I did take a picture of the bathrooms. I often look like a ridiculous tourist at this competitions but it hard not to take pictures!

Here are some pictures:

Indoor Riding Hall

Spectator Tent

Coffee Bar and Vendors

The immaculate bathroom!

Catherine and Cadillac in the Victory Circle

The View from "C"

"Meldestelle" or Show Office (Its adorable)

Casey and I Celebrating Sunday Night

Then came Monday....

Monday was the most honest day's work I think I have ever put in!! After a late night celebrating on Sunday, we all cleaned the barn from top to bottom. We did ausmist, which is where we take a month's worth of straw and manure out of 20 stalls, and we power washed every inch of the barn. At first we started with one power washer and realized we would all still be there if we didn't get another one. So we rented another one and pressed on!! There was water everywhere! All the horses were either in the trailers or in another barn for the entire day. We were exhausted come 8pm when we left the stable, but it was well worth it. The barn looks close to brand new and there are ZERO cobwebs!!

The rest of the week was quite busy. Morthen came for a 2 day clinic and the farrier came. Thursday is was off to another show for Casey and Christoffer. Then Friday night Catherine and I went to another day show in Haftenkamp, Germany. She showed the short Grand Prix with Winymaro. It was a really nice facility with top quality horses. The short Grand Prix was held as a night class and was held under flood lights, it was pretty cool. They also had this huge crane that hung lights over the warm-up. Creative I thought. However, I got my first taste of typical German weather. It poured like no tomorrow! Everything was drenched!! It was strange no one, not even the riders and horses seemed to know it was raining. They carried on like nothing was different. The showed up with proper show attire and their horses turned out to a tee! There was never a mention of a rain delay or anything! It was an experience and a soggy ride home!!

Pictures from Haftenkamp:

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES....MORE PICTURES TO COME SOON

It was really neat to go to some National shows the past few weekends. The quality of horses and riders is out of this world. I saw so many adult amateurs and 12 year old kids that could kick my butt! Talk about starting them young over here! Everyone has a super position, for the most part, and there horses are forward and eager!!

Thanks for reading...

-Meaghan

Busy, Busy, Busy....

2009-05-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

It has been a while! Things are still going great on this side of the pond. This past weekend we were meant to go to Mannhiem, a National Show in Germany, but Catherine decided we should stay home and prepare for the upcoming shows. So we had a relaxing weekend. The weather has been beautiful. Lots of sunshine and the gardens are in full bloom. The Germans are very serious gardeners. I see several people out in their gardens everyday weeding and planting new seeds.

Catherine took Natalie, the Australian rider, and I to the Sage Cemetery on Friday afternoon. I know it sounds grim, but it was actually really neat and quite moving. Sage is a nearby village. It is very small and pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The cemetery is dedicated to the soldiers that lost there lives fighting in World War II. The soldiers died specifically in Sage fighting for Germany's freedom from Hitler's reign. Most of them were pilots that were shot down. It was small cemetery with a little over 900 graves. It was a more intimate setting because it was smaller. We spent some time reading the names and epitaphs. The most terrifying thing for me was reading the ages of the men and women that died. It was so sad, most of them were 19, 20, 21 years old. Thats younger than me!! There were soldiers that came from all over including Australia, New Zealand, Poland, and England.

On a more positive note, there was another German holiday this past Friday. Guess what the Germans do?? Drink, Drink, and Drink. It was a holiday to celebrate the new crops of "spargel" or asparagus. There is both white and green asparagus over here. The white asparagus is usually prepared by boiling it in milk, butter, and sugar. As you can imagine it is very sweet and creamy!! Not to mention delicious!! To celebrate, Germans have Friday off from work and take little red wagons filled with beer and snacks and walk around town and eventually make it to the forest where the spend the night drinking. It was quite the sight to see people of all ages walking around with little red wagons and drinking out in the streets!!

German Television is quite comedic. I have to admit when I first got here it was hard to watch an entire show. Of course, I couldn't understand everything that they were saying but it was more frustrating because everything is dubbed. There are several American TV shows that are dubbed in German and it is horrible to watch. But, I have found one show that I am addicted to, its called "DSDS" or German Idol. Everyone from the stable is addicted to it. It is hilarious, there are several German singers that sing all American songs, except for one girl who sang only German shlogger (its a very scary type of folk music). Thank goodness she was voted off early. It is on ever Saturday night. This past Saturday we all went over to Catherine's and grilled out. Catherine is a super cook!

Other exciting happenings this week... I have been learning to drive the big lkw (pronounced "lkv") It has been an adventure. It is over 20 years old and the steering wheel is twice the size of a tire. Its a standard and you have to jump on the clutch to shift gears. It has a fog horn, which is lots of fun to use, but is illegal! This coming weekend we are going to Mebbane to a National Show. It is only a 2 hours away so we are going to be driving back and forth each day. It will be my first big outing with the big truck. Wish me luck...

Thanks for reading....

Meaghan

Hagen Show

2009-04-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Here is another article I wrote for DressageDaily about the show in Hagen, Germany this past weekend. What a show. It was wild! There were so many people!

Hagen, Germany
By: Meaghan Byrne

The only way to describe the show this past weekend in Hagen, Germany is ‘standing room only.’ With over 2000 thousand horses and 50,000 spectators there was barely room to browse the enormous trade fair. This was an international event for both Dressage riders and Show Jumpers. The show was held at the Kasselman’s property. The Kasselmans are the owners of Professional Sales International (PSI).

Their property spans over several 100 acres in the rolling hills of Northern Germany. The grounds were immaculate, complete with two Dressage arenas and two showing jumping arenas. Every inch of the property was decorated with beautiful flowers and surrounded by stadium seating. The path to the Dressage arenas weaved its way through the private stables of the Kasselmans. There were several stables and various indoor riding halls that mimicked old European style cottages with white siding lined with natural wood trim.

Every year there is a different nationality that is deemed the theme for the show. Last year it was an American theme where the Beach Boys were the main entertainment, and this year it was an Italian theme. There was a huge tent set atop one of the hills that provided the space for this year’s entertainment. Each night, starting Wednesday and spanning through to Saturday there was a different Italian inspired event. There were opera singers, pianists, an Italian pop trio, and a DJ that provided all types of music for an enormous dance party. Riders, grooms, and spectators danced the night away.

As usual, I found myself draw to the warm-up arena rather than the competition arena. After the initial shock of seeing several top riders all in one place, I started to watch several riders over the 5 day period as the schooled and prepared their horses for the competition arena. As I saw in Den Bosch every rider has their own style of riding and in one way or another it is working, as they are competing at the top level. However, in Hagen I realized how concentrated some of riders were. Some riders came into the arena and put their game face on. They have such a look of concentration so as to feel every movement their horses make. Some riders rode around the arena as if no one else was there. Such concentration was both intimidating and magnificent. Other riders were not so concentrated, some were preoccupied with their surroundings such as other riders, spectators, photographers, dogs, and anything else you could possibly imagine. The level of concentration really set the competitors apart from the riders.

As the weekend came to a close with the Grand Prix Kur and the Show Jumping Finals several thousand people packed the stands for the final competition. Trying to maneuver through the crowds of people with a horse in hand was quite the adventure. As I continue my European experience, I am continually reminded how popular equestrian sports are here in Europe. A family outing on a Sunday afternoon would entail a trip the horse show to enjoy the competition along with great food and shopping. Families in Europe enjoy the weekend horse shows as American families enjoy basketball or baseball games. Hopefully, one day equestrian sports will be as widespread in America as they are here in Europe.

Trade Fair complete with Hot Tubs!!

Entertainment Tent

From the Warm Up looking out to the entrance of the trade fair

Warm-Up

Competition Arena

A pond in the middle of the trade fair

Italian Pop Trio

Mountains

Show Jumping warm-up and show office

Me and the horse statue made completely of horseshoes!

Shiny New Bike...

2009-04-19T03:39:00.000-07:00

I am the proud owner of a new red Speedbike. I know by the name you think that my bike has several gears and goes extremely fast, but no! It is a city bike with one gear, a cute little bell, and a basket. Least to say I feel like a grandma riding around on my fancy new bike. Everyone here uses their bikes to go everyone, work, dinner, shopping, over a friend's house. Nearly everyplace we go we ride our bikes instead of driving. Europeans are very environmentally conscious and also strive to save a Euro or two. Gas prices are through the roof over here. It is 1.40 Euro a liter!

Needless to say, I felt like such a little kid going to the bike shop and trying out several bikes! It was fun though and now I have taken another step towards European living.

My New Bike:

Along with getting my new bike, this week has been filled with mixed emotions. First thing Tuesday morning the farm lost a dear friend. Kodie, a 12 year old chocolate lab owned by Casey (my roommate). It was a complete accident but the owner of the hof (stable) hit him with the tractor. He died instantly. So that put quite the damper on the rest of the week. Kodie had been with Casey here in Germany since he was 2 and gone everywhere with her. For Casey it was like losing a child. Here are a few pictures to remember our dear friend:

Kodie swimming with Mia, his younger sister (She misses him terribly)

Kodie was a great swimmer!

To cute for words!

The other crazy happening this week, the World Cup in Las Vegas! As I'm sure most of you know, everyone here at the hof was hoping Catherine would be granted a wildcard from the United States. Clearly that didn't happen for whatever reason, things happen. The US chose Jan Eibling and Leslie Morse as the wildcards. Of course we all watched the livestream of the Grand Prix on Thursday night and woke up at 4am this morning to watch the Kur. It was awful to see the Americans' performance. Of course, no one can dispute that Stephan and Ravel stole the show and were incredible! But Leslie brought a horse that had had several lameness issues leading up to Vegas and then was rung out within the first minute of her test. So awful!! Then Jan! Everyone has a bad day and I felt terrible for him, but at the World Cup Final you would think the horse and rider would be prepared for the electric atmosphere. It was hard to watch everything unfold knowing that a seasoned US competitor (Catherine) that has proven herself with a sound horse and was dying to compete was sitting at home.

Then again what do I know and who am I to judge others but it was just frustrating to watch. Of course I'm partial to Catherine! I work for her and I really wanted to do to Vegas myself.

But more exciting things are on the horizon for "Stall Haddad." Next weekend Catherine and I will be travelling to Haagen, Germany with three Grand Prix horses, two to compete and one to school. After Haagen there are 8 more weeks of intense shows. I will be on the road to everyone of them, Rotterdam and Aachen included where Catherine will represent the US as a team competitor and probably ride along side Stephan and Ravel. Most of the shows are in Germany, but there is also one in France and Hungry. It should be quite the adventure!

Thanks for reading!!

-Meaghan

Trip to Bremen

2009-04-12T11:35:00.000-07:00

Bremen is a beautiful city just north of Vechta. I flew into Bremen when I first arrived here. Casey, Christoffer, and I took a day trip! The weather was perfect, and the city was incredible. It was just like all the pictures I had seen of the old European city with ancient churches, buildings, and streets. We went into St. Peitri's Church. It was huge! There were little rooms off of little rooms, the woodworking on the ceiling, walls and staircases was so intricate. There was grave stones inside the church. There were also several organs. Some where high on the walls behind the different alters and some where free standings. Everything was so old but beautifully preserved!

We also saw the Statue of Rolland. He is a the protector of the people of Bremen. If ever there is war again he will come to their rescue. We also saw the famous statue of the four animals from the fairtale, "The Musicians of Bremen." These four animals were a donkey, a cat, a dog and a rooster. They sought a better life for themselves and ended up singing their way through on into Bremen. It is said that it is lucky to rub the feet of the donkey on the statue. There have been so many people that have rubbed the statue that the dark coating of the metal has been rubbed off over the years and has left the donkey's feet gold!!

We walked around for a while and did some shopping. Of course there were some chain stores, but there were many more independently owned shops and boutiques. We had a lovely afternoon lunch on an old pirate ship that was transformed into a pancake house. There is a river that runs through the middle of Bremen. The restaurant floated in the river and several of the shops were right along side the river. It was just a beautiful day filled with lots of interesting culture. I think the pictures do it more justice than my writing!

Vechta Elite Auction

2009-04-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Vechta Elite Auction. It was incredible, I have never seen anything so well run as this auction. There is nothing like this in the United States! It is such a great idea if run properly. Here in Germany, and Europe as a whole, horse auctions are thought of as prestigious and respectable, a stark contrast from the "one step from the slaughter house" type auctions held in the States.

The horses that are to be sold in the auction come to the auction hall three weeks prior to the main event. There are several riders employed by the auction hall that school the horses and prepare them for showing. I believe it is either a week or ten days prior to the auction that potential buyers are allowed to come and try the horses. There can be anywhere from 50 to 150 horses. In this specific auction there were 72 horses. Most of them are young horses ranging from 3 to 6 years old. There are several auctions that have foals, but this year's Vechta auction did not.

So the weekend of events started on Friday evening with the Gala Abend. This was a presentation of some of the best horses in the auction as well as some of the featured bloodlines. For this particular auction several Sandro Hit and Sir Donnerhall offspring were featured. So I got to see Sandro Hit and Sir Donnerhall in person, live! They were ridden by Eva Moller and Ulf Moller. They were beautiful! They came out together and did a Pax de Deux. Both stallions stand at stud here in the Vechta area! It was wild to see both of these well known stallions in person.

There were all sorts of interesting entertainment throughout the night. There were dancing lamas, 20+ racing ponies with dolls strapped on their backs that they let loose to race around the arena, and at the end of the evening the entire audience lite sparklers as Sandro Hit and Sir Donnerhall made their final laps of the arena. It was crazy!

Everything was decorated perfectly. There were flags flying from every country. A live orchestra sang the national anthem and provided music before and after the auction. There were dinner tables set up around the arena and a white picket fence that separated the arena from the tables. The auctioneer was at one end of the arena in a decorated podium. There were several men dressed in designer suits standing in the arena throughout the auction looking into the crowd for different bidders. It was live bidding so everything moved very quickly. The riders would come out and do a little walk, trot, canter and then some of the riders if they knew there was a bidding war or a silence of bidding they would ride over to a specific bidder and let the horse nuzzle them a bit. It really was a great show!

The second horse to be auctioned off was by Stedinger, a prestigious young stallion owned by Ann Kitchel of the United States, was sold for 160,000 Euro, which is just under $250,000. It was so intense to see the price board jump with each new bid. Everything went so fast! It was really an exciting event.

Of course all Germans love to drink, so as the auctioned wrapped up around 7pm and the real festivities began. There was a large party for all tickets holders complete with dance floor and DJ, and several different drink options. Lets just say that some people in Vechta can really throw a party because when my roommates and I left at 2am things were really just getting started!

Here are some pictures of the Gala Abend, and the Auction Hall. Enjoy!

Me at the Auction Hall on the day of the Auction

An auction rider smoozing a buyer (It worked!!!)

Orchestra playing before the auction began.

Stall Haddad having a drink after the auction.

Dancing lamas!

Racing Ponies- Video

Sir Donnerhall and Sandro Hit- Video

Den Bosch and The Saunas

2009-04-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone, as some of my readers have told me I have been a bit of a "blogging slacker" the past two weeks. So much has happened so this will be quite the post with a conglomeration of topics.

So remember the show I went to about 3 weekends ago now, in Den Bosch, The Netherlands? Well that was ridiculously amazing. I was stabled right next to Isabell Werth, I am supposed to be professional and all that but it was so cool! I felt like a little kid seeing s superstar. Anky van Grunsven and Kyra Kirkland were stabled just behind me. Isabell was really nice, I gave Satchmo a few carrots and even held her young horse for her to fix a wrap. Silly I know but still really neat.

Watching the warm-up was intense. Everyone was really nice to each other but there was this underlying sense of cut throat competition. I did not recognize Anky and Salinero when they came into the warm-up. The horse looked so different in person than in every photo I have ever seen. She definitely warms him up in Roll-Kur fashion but he is extremely slow and not at all expressive. The transformation that horse goes through from early morning warm up to show arena is incredible. He comes home fired up, electric, and forward as can be. I'm not sure how she does it, but I really saw two totally different horses.

The trade fair was amazing. You could buy anything there, and I mean anything! A new hoof pick, a new horse trailer, an entire new kitchen, or designer wardrobe. The path leading back from the main arena (there was only one arena, which was used for both show jumping and Dressage) weaved its way though the trade fair. I don't know one horse that I have ridden that would have made it safely through there. It was insane, but really neat. The whole show was a family affair, people came to this show just as Americans take their families to a baseball or football game. The arena was sold out both Friday and Saturday night.

Ok next wild adventure....

The Scandinavian Saunas

Catherine (my boss), Casey (barn manager and rider) and I went to the sauna a few days after coming back from the show. It was a spa type place with several different saunas. There was a steam sauna, an aromatic sauna, a extra hot sauna, and another outside sauna with a fireplace. We started in the steam sauna, then took a freezing cold shower then moved onto each different sauna, only staying in for 15 minutes each. Everyone had to be naked! It was a little strange at first but Europeans are much more comfortable with nudity then most Americans. So I have been in a few saunas before and these were so much hotter, it felt great. The freezing cold shower was a large wooden cast like bucket that filled with water and you stood underneath it and pulled a rope. Talk about shock!! In the extra hot sauna someone came in and heated the stones and used a towel to blow extra hot air toward each individual in the sauna, and you were meant to breath in. I'm pretty sure I singed everything in my nose. They also had a heated pool that was nice to swim a few laps in but it was pretty short. We were there for several hours. It was such a relaxing experience and my skin still feels amazing!

Western European League Finals, Dem Bosch, The Netherlands

2009-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, I wanted to share with you the article that I wrote for Dressage Daily, and some pictures that I took at the competition this past weekend.

A European Experience
Written by Meaghan Byrne

The atmosphere was concentrated yet electric as each rider and horse combination prepared for the Western European League Finals held in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. This was the last of the Indoor Winter Show Series and served as the final qualifying competition for the World Cup that is to be held in Las Vegas on April 15-19, 2009.

This was a spectators’ event like no other. There was an enormous trade fair that weaved through the warm up and competition areas. A fenced in path lead the horses and riders throughout the entire trade fair as they made their way to and from the competition area. Large flat screen TV’s were stationed throughout the trade fair to ensure everyone knew the latest details.

The trade fair offered the widest variety of high end items. Shops ranged from classy tack shops to hand crafted wood furniture and everything in between. Some of the other items you could browse through included: designer hand bags, Swarovski glass nail filers, top of the line horse trailers, full kitchens, exquisite paintings, handmade top hats and Rolex Watches. Scattered throughout the trade fair were several restaurants including a Sushi Bar, fresh fruit market, and two black-tie only restaurants.

I accompanied international rider and competitor Catherine Haddad as her groom to this prestigious competition. We arrived mid-day Wednesday to find several of the world’s top riders settling their horses in and preparing for the afternoon schooling sessions. There was an overwhelming sense of concentration and competitiveness as the weekend progressed. However high the stakes, all the riders and grooms were friendly and extremely helpful to me and to each other. There were smiles all around with an unspoken respect for all.

As a groom I was able to go everywhere on the show grounds. Throughout the weekend I watched the warm-up area as several of the sport’s top riders schooled their horses and prepared for the competition arena. I was amazed to see the variety in training methods and transformation the horses went through from warm-up to show arena.
The competition arena was perfectly manicured with elaborate flower boxes and sponsorship signs. It was a stadium seating styled arena. Saturday night’s freestyle was sold out. The crowd hung onto every music note as the riders entered the arena.

Standing ringside to this incredible field of competitors left with me with goose bumps. This was the best our sport has to offer and it far surpassed all expectations I had. Being able to experience this kind of intense competition from behind the scenes was the most amazing feeling. It was a feeling of both intensity and inspiration. I look forward to the day I will be in the saddle and on the other side of the Dressage arena for such a prestigious event.

There is more to come on this amazing weekend. It was unbelievable experience. It has just been a crazy week at the barn. Casey and Christoffer are getting married! So it is just me and Natillie, the rider from Australia, at the barn this week. So I will be sure to right more this weekend.

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

Cultural Difference

2009-03-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the team's day off from the stable. We all enjoyed a nice sleep in. We usually meet for brunch at an adorable cafe, but instead we met this afternoon for ice cream in celebration of a friend's birthday. The ice cream cafe was call "Gino's Cafe" it was run by an Italian family. They served the most exquisite ice cream sundaes. Each were huge and decorated beautifully. They almost looked too good to eat, but of course we did! Anyhow, at the end of our little celebration the birthday girl was made to pay for everyone. There were also some people that left during the outing and didn't leave anything to cover their bill. I was mortified! However once again, I was reminded of my American ways. Here in Germany the person whose birthday it is, is meant to take all of their friends out for a celebration. It is tradition that they bake their own cake and provide a meal for friends and family. They are also meant to organize and pay for their own party. Such a cultural difference!

Learn something new everyday...

Meaghan :-)

McCafe

2009-03-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. Sorry it has been a while since my last post, we have had a very busy week!

Today was a light day at the stable and we finished fairly early. So we all decided to go out for lunch. Much to my surprise everyone wanted to go to McDonald's for lunch. I thought this so strange because ever since I got here we have eaten nothing but healthy delicious fresh foods. So McDonald's was a change, but of course I didn't complain. So we drove to the McDonald's and I was informed that it was called "McCafe." I just thought it was another name, but oh no was I wrong. It is call McCafe because it is pretty much an alternate universe compared to a typical American McDonald's. It was extremely clean inside and decorated to the hills. It was a chic, modern theme with carpet and funky lights. There were cozy little booths with beautiful wooden tables. There were also large windows for people watching with stools and taller tables for two. Inside the McCafe was a coffee cafe. They served all sorts of different coffees, teas, lattes, and what not. Apparently several people take "coffee and cake" in the afternoon and McCafe is a popular choice. Of course the food tastes exactly the same, a complete heart attack all in one meal!!

Other happenings this week...

Earlier in the week Catherine informed the team that we were meant to go to dinner with a client on Wednesday night. We were to look nice as it was a fancy smancy restaurant. As we arrived at the restaurant we were shocked as she had planned a surprise bachelorette party for my roommate Casey. She is getting married in a few weeks. Her finance was informed it was a girls night from this point forward and sent home with a steak dinner. Ill leave it to your imagination what the rest of the night entailed. It was a blast and I met several people from local stables, breeding farms, and tack shops. The next day was a little rough...

Earlier this week the first of four foals was born at the breeding farm. She is a beautiful filly by Florenzio. We all went over to the breeding farm Friday afternoon to celebrate a successful birth with cake and champagne. It was quite the celebration complete with delicate china and freshly baked cheesecake. It was really nice to take a little time out of the day to celebrate and enjoy this new baby!

Next Wednesday I will be going to a competition in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. The competition is referred to as Den Bosch by the Dutch. I will be grooming for Catherine as she is riding Cadillac in the CDI-W. This competition serves as the Western European Finals. That means that there will be two Grand Prix Tours. The Small tour, or the CDI 4*, and then there will be the World Tour, or the CDI-W. This is also the last competition before the World Cup in Las Vegas in April. The majority of Europeans that rode at the Olympics in Hong Kong will be riding at this show. I'm sure it will be incredible to watch and experience this kind of intense atmosphere. I know there will be a great story come Monday.

A random assortment of topics, I know. Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

The Auto Bahn

2009-03-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Today was my first driving experience on the auto bahn. I have never been known as a slow driver, but today I was the slowest person on the road!! I drove the lorry (the trailer) for the first time yesterday without any horses and today I drove to a horse show a few hours away! No time like the present to learn to drive in Germany. Drivers in general are insane here. When driving on the auto bahn there are some areas that are posted with speed limits, say 120km/hr, but then the majority of the road has these little while signs with a black line through them which designates a no speed limit area. Go as fast as you possibly can and try not to die! What were these people thinking? Then the whole road is plastered with white billboards that have sad stories of people that have died in terrible multi car accidents on the auto bahn. Completely insane if you ask me. Then to top it all off the country roads are really narrow and you just have to hope that there is enough room between you, the car next to you, and the large ditch on the edge of the road. Oh did I mention that all the stop signs in Germany are identically to the yield signs in America, talk about confusion. But least to say I didn't hit anyone and I stayed on the road and everyone made it safely to and from the horse show.

The lorry that I drove is like nothing I have see before, its awesome. It is very similar to a truck with a camper on the back but completely one unit, if that makes any sense. The horses ride backwards and have a shelf to eat hay from as well as a deep space for water. There is a ton of storage around the rest of the truck. There is a bed above the driver and passenger seat, as well as a large area behind the seats for either extra storage or more passenger seats. The box area where the horses are is great, there is plenty of room to groom and tack up the horse inside. It was also much easier to drive than any truck and trailer combination that I have driven. I don't know why we don't see these more in the states. This specific one was made by "BOJ" a Swedish company. I included a picture of it.

The show that we went to was part of an indoor winter series of shows at this farm. There were two indoor halls, one for warm-up and one for showing. We had a horse go in the FEI 6 Year Old Test, or "M" Level. There were several talented young horses at the show. The riders really seemed to ride much more forward and in a much bigger trot and canter throughout the test than I have usually seen in the states. After the young horse classes the Prix St. George started and I got to see a minute of Heike Kemmer's warm up. It was pretty neat seeing a well known German rider at a much smaller show with some of her young prospects.

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

Rough Day...

2009-03-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

So today was a rough day! A blanket rack attacked me and I had to meet Kyra Kirkland's husband and trainer Richard, with a fat lip. We started really early this morning because Richard was coming for a clinic. He had flown in from England. But before he arrived I had groomed some of the horses and was gathering clean coolers for them. We have a large blanket rack that hangs blankets vertically. I grabbed the buckle of one of the coolers and the top of the rack flew out and hit me in the lip! Naturally it swelled. So I have a large fat lip, looking like I had just got in some kind of bar fight! Talk about first impressions! Other than that minor incident at 7am this morning, the day went very well. I groom and tack up both Maximus and Cadillac everyday along with a few of Catherine's other horses. They are both incredible horses.

I am starting to realize just how busy the stable really is. Since I have been here, there has been a mixture of clients, clinicians, and visitors from all over the world. Its fast paced but really fun and interesting.

Last night my roommates and I went to a nearby town called Lohne. It was a beautiful drive from our apartment. There were huge fields, not sure what they were farming, but they were perfectly manicured farmlands. The land here is really, really flat. All the houses look like cute little cottages, mostly made of brick. We walked around some of the designer shops, and window shopped. The outdoor shopping plaza was very clean and had little water fountains everywhere. There were no cars allowed on some of the smaller streets, so it made for a nice walk.

This coming weekend I am going to have my first trailering experience here in Germany. Cassie, one of the riders, is taking one of her horses in training to a show on Saturday. I will be grooming for her and learning how everything works at the shows. I will be driving the smaller lorry, which is one large van that can hold two horses. Everyone here swears it is super easy to drive, but we will see. I think I have to drive on the autobond! I'm sure that will make for a great story this weekend!

Thanks for reading...

Meaghan :-)

First Few Days...

2009-03-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

Guten tag Everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to write this first post. I have been non stop busy since I got off the plane. I arrived in Bremen, Germany after a flight from Boston to JFK, then JFK to Frankfurt, and finally Frankfurt to Bremen. Naturally the airline lost my luggage so I technically moved to Germany with a backpack that contained my laptop and a blanket. Oh well! They did bring my luggage a few days later. Cassie, the barn manager picked me up at the airport. I am living in the cutest cottage like apartment building with Cassie and her boyfriend Christoffer, who is also a rider at the stable. Oh yes, here it is the stable, not a barn, and it has 20 boxes, not stalls. :-) So much to learn! The first night I arrived we had a party to attend. It was called "grunkohl" which literally translated means "green cabbage." It was a dinner party put on by the owners of the stable. We at cabbage with garlic, boiled potatoes, and every kind of sausage and ham you could imagine. I wasted no time jumping into the German culinary culture. The food was DELICIOUS! The other thing I realized at this dinner party was how little German I actually knew! I thought I was going to be amazing after having studied all my Rosetta Stone CDs, well that was an hallucination. I have so much to learn and need some serious practice!

So for those who don't know what I have been talking about this whole time, I am working as a show groom in Catherine Haddad's stable, also known as "Turnierstall Haddad" or show stable. The stable is located in Vechta, Germany, pronounced "Fecta." This took me several tries to figure out the pronunciation. I will be travelling to shows with her in the coming months. Other than grooming at shows I will doing normal stable chores and such. So far I have been put in charge of the shavings boxes because Cassie assumed me being from America that I would be able to handle a shavings box. There are only four of them, and the rest are deep bedded with straw. The deep bedding is completely new to me. The stalls, excuse me boxes, are picked out everyday and a large amount of new straw is added. Then once a month we do "ausmist." Which means we clean out the entire box and fill it with new straw. This past Monday was "ausmist" for February. This was the craziest, most efficient thing I have ever seen. The horses stand in the isle and each box partition slides out into the isle, creating make shift boxes in the isle for a short time. Then the boxes become one long isle and a tractor comes in and removes all the straw. Its an enormous amount of straw. Very efficient!

We start each morning at 7am and all the riders, and the groom (that's me) feed the stable and then we all sit down to breakfast as a team. Every morning Cassie goes to the bakery and buys fresh "brotchen"which is the softest, freshest bread I have ever heard. (OK so the food has been amazing so far!). After that the riders ride until around 2pm and then we break for lunch and come back to do afternoon chores and feed the stable.

All the horses are incredible! Even the 3 years blow me away! Ok well I should get some sleep I'm sure it will be a busy day tomorrow! We have a show this weekend! Will write more later.

Thank you for reading....

Meaghan :-)