Blog | Kate Samuels Equestrian

Unfair Hill & A Disappointing Jersey Shore

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:36:40 -0400

Well, my friends, the time has come for Nyls and I to have our own bout of bad luck, and here it is. Let me update you on the preceding weeks and the silly mishaps that have become an overall pain in the butt for both of us.

Fair Hill, although it was weeks ago, was a bit of a disaster. The dressage was very tight and I felt as though he really didn't have the focus that he displayed at The Fork or even Southern Pines. Something about the atmosphere made him almost unrideable, and I felt like I was riding for survival out there in that little rectangle. Not something you want to experience in a dressage test! He scored a reasonable 38, which put him in good placing for XC the next day, but I was still disappointed.

At The Fork, I rode XC in the rubber gag bit that I always use, and several times he simply grabbed the bit and ran. I had some trouble steering for a few fences, and I was pretty dissatisfied with the efficacy of the bit, so I made the choice to change it for Fair Hill. In 2010, he ran in a Waterford 3-ring bit for almost the whole year and it was absolutely perfect. The design of the bit is such that it is impossible for the horse to grab or hold onto it, so I thought it would be suitable again. How wrong I was! Nyls was especially wild in the warm-up this time, and he was fighting against me quite a bit. However, he is notoriously naughty in warm-up, and has gotten increasingly pumped for every one of our XC rounds this spring, so it didn't really occur to me that the bit was a large part of the problem.

The Fork & Hunter Trials

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:44:31 -0400

Photo courtesy of The Chronicle of The Horse

Well, this blog is a bit tardy! I have to say, the whirlwind of activity including packing all of my belongings up to go to The Fork with my two horses, and then moving back to Virginia has served as a reasonable excuse for lack of writing, right?

As for The Fork, it is always regarded as one of the most difficult events of the season. The entire event has so much atmosphere, it gets spooky horses like Nyls a bit jazzed up sometimes, which can make things interesting! The cross country is notorious for being quite difficult, and Mark Phillips never disappoints with something new and challenging at each level. One of the most trying things for the horses and riders is the GIANT hill at the end of the course, which you have to gallop all the way up, and all the way down. Most of the horses have been doing fitness work in South Carolina or Florida at this point, which means they haven't seen many hills. Luckily, I tagged along with Jess Hampf and Doug Payne a few times to a hill in Aiken where Nyls and I did the same workout as the horses headed to Rolex!

First Advanced Back -- Southern Pines

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:53:46 -0400

Photo Courtesy of Mikaela Kantorowski

Well, dear friends, I am overjoyed to announce that Nyls and I have finally made our comeback to Advanced level for the first time since the "Incident of the Knee" in October of 2010. We just returned from Southern Pines, where we posted a decent dressage score, a slow but clean cross country, and a slightly rusty show jumping. However, for our first attempt back, it was excellent, and I feel that Nyls is really ready to take on the world again. I have lots of homework to do, and I know where I can improve, and how to get there. I will be more brave in pushing the limits of his dressage at our next few events, and hopefully I will learn to ride better in the show jumping. Cross country, as always, was easy for him, and I chose to go slow, so next time, a bit quicker!

I travelled up to Raeford with Jessica Hampf and Doug Payne, and our journey was only marred by what shall be known as the "Best Flat Tire Ever" henceforth. Jess was driving my truck with a four horse trailer behind, and we pulled off the highway to grab some gas and food and meet up with Doug, and literally as we turned into the gas station, a front tire blew, and by the time we got in the parking lot, it was completely flat! SO lucky this didn't happen when we were going 70mph on the highway, and even luckier we had Doug there to change the tire. Being completely useless girls, we left Doug and a good samaritan to fix the tire, and we went to get food. When we got back, magically, it was changed!

The Long Awaited Aiken Update!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:02:52 -0500

When I was little, I used to try to keep a diary. About every six months, I would be able to write consistently for a week, maybe two, and then I would give up. Then, in six months, I would be renewed in my interest in chronically my own life, and start again for a week. Needless to say, I am not the best person alive at consistently blogging. Bear with me, as I know you have all been positively on the edges of your seats wondering what in the world I've been getting up to down here in Aiken!

Barn Aisle

I'll start from the beginning. This year, I am spoiled enough to be living in the above barn, due to the kind generosity and hospitality of Jess Hampf and her mother, Joan Hampf. I cannot begin to explain how amazing it is to be stationed here for the winter! I live in a luxurious apartment above the barn, and my horses live in a palace. They have certainly settled right in and accepted the digs as their righteous due, but I am still in awe every single day.

Huge Turnout!

I spent my first ten days here putting the finishing touches on Nyls for his first event of 2012. Since his knee injury in the fall of 2010, Nyls only ran the Intermediate last year at Pine Top, and the Intermediate at Morven last fall. He has basically been on a little hiatus. He came out this year feeling better than ever, but a touch spooky, pretending that he has never seen liverpools and such. Pretty standard for Nyls.

Horse Collaborative

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:41:33 -0500

About this time last year, I received a call about a possible blogging opportunity at a new and exciting website that was coming down the pipes. Of course, they heard that I'm the irrefutable queen of wordsmithery (yes, that word counts), and called me up to help with the site! It all sounded quite intriguing to me, and I agreed. Good thing too, because that small phone call in my backyard in Aiken last January has finally come to fruition in the form of Horse Collaborative. Let me take a moment, and share with you what I think is going to be the next Eventing Nation.

So, you get to the website, what's it all about? Horse Collaborative is this amazing combination of everything that you need within the internet (for your horses). It is based around a community idea, how to connect with people that surround you who are interested in the same things. You can create your own "page" which allows you to have a beautiful mini-website in just minutes. There, you can blog, advertise horses or tack for sale, promote your business, and connect with other individuals or clubs in your area. You can read articles written by a variety of interesting people, ranging from a blog about trekking across the mountains on a quarter horse, or Denny Emerson's fascinating chronicles of breeds and bloodlines. There are professionals and amateurs alike found on this website, all of us trying to share knowledge, and get more connected.

Planning for the 2012 Takeover

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:48:11 -0500

Wishing my gallop field still looked this green!

A little later than most, I have finalized my plans for the first half of 2012. I am super excited to be attacking the game once again, and I plan to come out better than ever, with my main man at my side. Unfortunately, we have to run one more CCI**, because our qualifications for a CCI*** run out at the end of 2011, so I will be re-visiting Jersey Fresh this year, which is a little daunting to try and best my previous 2nd place finish!

I will be traveling down to Aiken, SC in the second week of February, a little later than others. I am fortunate enough to live on a dirt road, and I can do a reasonable amount of fitness on that even through the winter months. I will be returning to VA after The Fork.

FEBRUARY 24-26: Pine Top (Intermediate)

MARCH 23-25: Southern Pines (Advanced)

APRIL 5-8: The Fork (Advanced)

APRIL 20-22: Fair Hill CIC***

MAY 9-13: Jersey Fresh CCI**

As always, my calendar is conservative, yet competitive. I like to keep my competitions to a small number, and do lots of work at home in between. The goal at the end of the season is to be able to give Nyls some time off, and then gear back up for some more Advanced horse trials, and then a CCI*** in the fall.

VAHT - End of 2011

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:03:07 -0400

Best View of Fall Fields

Unfortunately, this fall "season" (both Morven and VAHT) have been plagued with unusually terrible weather this year. At Morven, we toughed it out and ran through the freezing rain, and came out feeling great about ourselves. This weekend at VAHT was predicted to get colder than tank-top weather, but until today, we didn't really know how bad.

At 9:45 this morning, Intermediate and Preliminary riders were called to a meeting to tell us that our Cross Country would run after dressage in the afternoon instead of tomorrow morning...because the forecast called for SNOW???? I think I need to move further south! With only a few hours notice, we were allowed to motorbike around the course for speed, but cross country was running at 3 no matter what. There was a lot of exclaiming, and some grousing, but everybody left the building at the speed of light towards the course.

I returned the the barns and got ready for my dressage test. Nyls warmed up brilliantly, even though it was pretty chilly, and I went in the ring confident. He proceeded to have the most rythmical, consistent, correct test that he has ever performed. I was THRILLED. The only fly in the ointment was that a piece of my hair flew out of my hairnet halfway through and it was driving me CRAZY. I kept looking at the photographer hoping he was shooting my good side without the flopping hair. However, Nyls had brilliant extensions, which are very hard for him, and lovely canter work, even in the counter canter. Sometimes, since he learned his changes, he gets a little tense in the counter canter in anticipation. However, this time he was brilliant and I left the ring grinning from ear to ear.

Do I Live in Seattle Now???

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:42:48 -0400

After about two straight weeks of rain, I have to say, my weather sensitive and naturally complaining tendencies really came to a tipping point. Living in Virginia makes one particularly prone to feeling personally affronted when the weather isn't beautiful, and I'm not sure why. I mean, am I expected to actually function in this kind of perpetually damp existence? Seriously? Obviously, being made of primarily sugar, I fear the worst in terms of melting and dissolving. Nyls agrees.

However, I bravely soldiered on both at home and at the track. I have confiscated any photos of myself wearing goggles and galloping in the rain, because I look more than a little special needs in that outfit. Nyls and I got ready for Morven to run Intermediate after a 6 month break from competing, and left on Friday in lovely weather.

Yes, they have strange "ginger people" on the package.

I was very nervous, anticipating both the best and the worst. For me, a lot of competing is a head game. Nyls has proven again and again that he can easily handle whatever I throw his way, even if I am operating at the level of a mentally damaged monkey on his back. However, this does not tend to soothe my nerves, and I have to pump myself full of these little ginger candies, which prevent nausea. Make fun of my Gin-Gin's all you want, but those puppies work miracles.

Photographic Knee Timeline

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 21:56:47 -0400

Everybody loves gore...right? Well, maybe not, but everybody loves Nyls, so here we have the amazingly fast healing proof of Nyls' right knee, which he tore off in a completely random and really horrible accident with me last October. He was very intent on licking his knee while it was healing, and looking at these pictures and the timeline, I'm thinking of bottling his spit and selling it as a combination antiseptic and miracle healing solution. Enjoy!

September 16th, 2011

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 21:28:49 -0400

Horse sense is what horses have that prevents them from betting on people.

FINALLY!!! MY NEW WEBSITE!!! I don't know how excited you guys are, but let me tell you, I'm about to bake myself a cake, light the candles and blow it out while singing myself a song. While this may say something less than stellar about my social life, it pretty accurately describes my feelings about finally seeing the results of my long hours of toil on this new website.

As for updates, I'm sure most of you are simply wondering, "Where in the world is Carmen SanDiego?? And where is Kate, too??" . Don't you worry your little noggins, I'm still here. No, I have not been a presence in the Eventing community much this year after coming back from Aiken, but I am in the process of returning. I scrapped my plans of doing a spring CCI*** with Nyls after feeling some discomfort on his part earlier in the spring, and deciding to take the safe path and give him some extra time to heal from his accident last fall. I figure, if MY leg was torn open like that, I would want him to do the same for me...er....if he could, you know.

Blog | Kate Samuels Equestrian

Unfair Hill & A Disappointing Jersey Shore

The Fork & Hunter Trials

First Advanced Back -- Southern Pines

The Long Awaited Aiken Update!

Horse Collaborative

Planning for the 2012 Takeover

VAHT - End of 2011

Do I Live in Seattle Now???

Photographic Knee Timeline

October 23, 2010

October 25th, 2010

November 2, 2010

November 7th, 2010

November 17th, 2010

December 22, 2010

December 22, 2010

January 7, 2011

February 3, 2011

August 2011

September 16th, 2011