Kate Chadderton wins the first ever "Scooby Who And Cassidy Blue Remembrance Award"

For those of you who do not follow the Facebook Recover Page ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-Greene-Eventing-Recovery-Fund/212695958819924 ), this past weekend Chris and I presented the first ever "Scooby Who And Cassidy Blue Remembrance Award" at The Maryland Horse Trials.  This award is something that I thought up the week following the fire.  I wanted to find a way to keep Scooby and Kaz's name alive while honoring what I love so dearly, Off The Track Thoroughbreds.  The award was given to the highest placed/lowest scoring Off The Track Thoroughbred at the Preliminary Level.  I chose Preliminary for the first year because this is where Scooby and I left off in our partnership together.  In years to come, we will switch up the level to give all horses an opportunity to win! 

Sadly, in the months leading up to the award, I had a lot of dread about it...To the point where I never even talked about it to anyone.  Things got so difficult that I emailed Carolyn at The Maryland Horse Trials and told her I just could not get it together to do this award.  The thought of having to write or talk about the horses at all, just hurt so much.  I am so thankful though for her pushing me to do it and letting me know that so many people were excited about it.  With the help of family, great friends (new and old), and a lot of tears, we got it done and to my huge suprise, Saturday was such a wonderful day!  We drove down to Baltimore Friday night and had a great evening with Shane and Mike.  Saturday morning we headed over to Loch Moy to watch the Preliminary cross country and show jumping before presenting the award.  Being there ignited something in me that I have not felt in so long...PASSION!!  Passion for the sport and my future..and passion to go Prelim, Intermediate and Advanced on Phoenix!  I truly felt excited for what I have, not the heavy sadness and dread for what I lost.  We walked almost all of the Prelim course and everything looked totally doable and nice.  It made me want it so badly again!  The anger and sadness still weigh heavy on my life, but to have a moment in a day to feel complete excitement and eagerness was just an amazing feeling.

After the completion of Preliminary, we were informed that Kate Chadderton and her horse VS McCuan Civil Liberty were the winners of the award!  We got to meet with Kate and Liberty, and Kate even went on to tell me that after watching Scooby compete last year, she went to my website to see if he was for sale!  How exciting is that?!?!  A top rider wanting one of my horses?!?! That definitely made me feel good... both as a trainer and the proudness of my wonderful Scooby Who.  It ignited the drive again to keep producing ottbs.  Thank you so much for that Kate!  You will never know how much that is going to do for me!  Kate also blogged about the award ( victorysporthorses.blogspot.com ).  Liberty sounds exactly like the type of horse I love...quirky and unique!!  I do not think the award could have went to a better thoroughbred for the first year! 

I want to give a very special thanks to all of the 2012 Sponsors:

- Caitlin Taylor from OTTB Designs ( http://ottbdesigns.com/ )

- Maryjo Smith from Mane and Tail ( manentailequine.com )

- Jen Roytz from Three Chimney's Farm (Jen will be publishing an article about Liberty in the Paulick Report).
( www.paulickreport.com )  

 Here is the link to the article Jen did on Scooby following the fire.  All agree that this is the best segment done on him!

( http://www.paulickreport.com/features/ottb-showcase/ottb-showcase-scooby-who-a-k-a-scooby/

I also want to thank Carolyn Macintosh and Mary Beth from The Maryland Horse Trials.  Such a great group of kind, supportive people!

A very big congratulations to Kate and Liberty!  You will always be dear to my heart =)

An Exciting June

It has been a busy three weeks since I have posted last.  To start, Briana and I took our boys to Bucks for Kirin's (Martini Please) first outing off of the farm.  They were wonderfully behaved together and Kirin acted like a true professional!  I think he was more mature on his first outing than Phoenix was on his 5th!  Haha.  Phoenix still felt the need to throw a buck or two in!  They both jumped well also!  Phoenix wanted to attack everything (I was super pleased) and Kirin was absolutely perfect for never seeing anything other than the logs at our farm.  Bri and Kirin are making their eventing debut at High Point this weekend and we are all super excited!  They are more than ready and it will be an excellent learning experience for Bri.  She will have to learn to really ride and push over fences at these initial shows to be successful with such a green horse.  Her first event horse "Spooky" was a mini Scooby and I absolutely adored him and his zest for jumping.  We both miss him so much. They were going to do great things together and never got to showcase what we had brewing behind the scenes.  He was Scooby in a 15.1 hand, paint body.  Although we put him over his first fences, he was an aggressive boy and we spent much of our time working on "quiet in, quiet out".  Kirin is going to be a different ride for Bri initially, but she is more than qualified for the challenge and it is so awesome to see her excited again about the thought of competing!

Secondly, Caitlyn got a horse!!  We picked him up last weekend!  His name is Junior and he basically fell into our lap when a client/friend mentioned him to me.  Her aunt breeds Thoroughbreds for sport and he was her breeding stallion for many years.  He was a true Hunter/Jumper, not the ploddy type you tend to see a lot of now.  He is sporty and big moving, and just gorgeous! He is now 13, gelded and bored!  He still wanted to work and they offered Caitlyn this wonderful opportunity to free lease him!  He has been a godsend!  Caitlyn needed this!  A lot of people think about Bri and I, but Caitlyn lost so much as well.  Scooby and Kaz were her boys.  Kazzy was her main man and she adored him.  I think one of the most difficult things about the fire was the realization that I would have to tell her that this had happened.  Despite the termendous heartache, she has been so wonderful since the fire and has been our true behind the scene girl!  She opened her heart to Phoenix and Kirin when Bri and I could barely look at them and were questioning ourselves as to why we even bought horses.  She has been there every step of the way with both horses.  She usually comes with me when Phoenix goes off the farm, she spends many hours watching Bri's lessons, she is my jump crew helper at times and always Phoenix's cool off girl =)  She is just amazing and there is never a person more deserving of this super nice horse than her! 

Lastly, the NJ Horse Trials were this past Sunday....Ohhhh what a day...poor Chris is still sick from being in the heat all day.  Hot was not even the word.  Phoenix handled the heat pretty well though...thanks to that split S2 heart!  HA!  It was defninitely a day of mixed results.  Dressage was pretty bad...probably my worst test in years, but this is where I am reminded by Chris that this is what is going to happen for awhile if I want to compete right now.  Phoenix has only been off the track for 5 months, so I can not expect him to be this experienced, professional boy all of the time.  This takes time and I am ok with that.  I can not say I am thrilled by being at the bottom of the pack after Dressage, but even my rock solid Scooby had his bad tests!  Also, Scooby did not start solid!  FAR from it.  He was crazy at his first shows and to this day, still my toughest horse to initially compete...and look how he turned out!  A Superstar!  Phoenix is a close second with toughness though!!  Haha.  I wish I could say Show Jumping was any better than Dressage, but it was not!  That turned out to be prob my worst SJ round EVER...He warmed up great, but was very looky in the arena.  I was able to get him over everything, but it was tough for the first 3/4 of the ride and we brought down four rails.  He is not a spooky horse, but I was prepared for some sort of reaction because I watched a lot of Prelim and Novice horses having stops at seemingly straightforward fences.  Surprisingly, I was not too phased by the ride (although my ego was a little bruised) and we headed down to Cross Country.  I was about to get my two minute countdown when I realized that I did not have my stop watch....Ughhh....after a detour back to the trailer, I returned and was given my countdown.  Off we went, and oh my god, P felt and rode like a champ!  He just cruised around with ease.  Unfortunately though, he had a VERY slight hesitation at the second water, nothing that I thought would have been penalized though.  He did not step back at all and it probably took me about 3 seconds to get him moving down into the water.  It really was quite uneventful and he finished the rest of the course with ease.  I did not even have a second thought about the water, so when I saw that they gave him 20, I was soooo bummed.  In the scheme of things, I know that it really does not matter.  It's not like he was going to finish high up or anything, but he earned that round and it will probably erk me for awhile to see that 20 on his record.  I did inquire about it with the TD, but I realize that water especially is difficult to judge.  It is very opinion based,  so all in all it was a day of mixed results.  We have a lot of loose ends to tie up with him, but wow is the potential there!  He will be going to a straight jumper show next week.  I plan to do several rounds so I can really work on teaching him how to get into a rythm throughout the course.  From there we will be competing again at the NJ Horse Park.  My hopeful goal is that he will greatly improve on the Show Jumping next time around and then I'll plan to move him to Novice at Fair Hill....Fair Hill....What a big deal last year was for me there....Scooby and my first Prelim!  That was my most proud moment to date.  I am sure everyone on the show grounds heard me screaming as I crossed through the finish flags!!  I say this all of the time, but it is scary how much can change in the blink of an eye.  I was planning this year's August Fair Hill to hopefully be our Intermediate move up...Now I am just hoping to make it to Novice by then...Chris has mentioned that I should possibly take a break from competing and just take some time to absorb everything and move forward.  I am not sure if that is the answer.  I can defninitely gripe and complain, but the truth is, I love eventing and I love my new horse.  I often have moments of envy when I watch others ride and compete their experienced horses, but at the same time, I am very thankful that I have the ability to bring along another horse and you know what...we are doing it!  Things are not smooth and pretty right now (well cross country they are!), but this horse is giving me his all and I can not ask for anything more.  Time and patience is what he deserves.  Not to mention, Phoenix truly loves me.  He whinnies to me almost every time he sees me.  What more can I ask for?   

Up's And Down's

From about the end of April until the end of May, I hit my absolute lowest point to date.  Depression, anger and frustration took over me.  What has been making it harder is that it has been five months since the fire.  Where has the time gone?  It scares me to feel that I am in the same place as I was in January.  Nothing really sparked a downward spiral...business is doing well, Phoenix is doing well, and despite my emotional heartache, things have been moving forward.  This emotional roller coaster has been so difficult though.  I will have weeks where I truly feel that things are moving in the right direction and then out of nowhere, something will spark the anger and sadness again.  I have been reading a lot about the grieving process, so I know that this is all normal.  It is just difficult getting through the bad times.  Today actually, I came across my training log from last year.  I look at my writing and notes from Scooby and think "Oh my god, if I only knew then that this would become a detailed memory of our journey together and something that I will cherish forever"...I hate to act like "why me?", but I would be lying if I said that I do not ask this... I miss Scooby so much and it is incredibly tormenting to know that, although I think about his loss every day, there is still nothing any of us can do to bring him back or change the situation...Moving forward is the only option, however, it is just not that easy....I am so fortunate though to have so many people who truly care...and I have Phoenix =)  He is my life saver.  Since I have not posted in so long, here is the quick update on him...He is now eventing at the Beginner Novice Level =)  I did not move him up at Plantation like I originally planned, but waited until Flora Lea.  Despite one stop at the water (Hey, it was a very spooky water =)), he cruised around Cross Country like a champ!  The video is below!  He definitely looked like an experienced boy, however I am sure he was the most inexperienced horse at the entire competition!  It was a very proud day for Chris and I, and it made me remember how much I love the sport of eventing.  If losing one of the most important things in my life has not made me quit, I know that I never will.

This past weekend was a tough one for me though.  We brought Phoenix to Plantation Field on Saturday and I had no idea that competing there would bring so much emotion.  I had competed Scooby there a lot in the last couple of years and it definitely affected me a little.  Dressage went ok.  We didn't have a lot of warm up time, but Phoenix did about as well as he has been schooling at home and scored a 36.  Definitely higher than where we ultimately want him, however, he gave me 100% for where he is at in his training.  He was very focused and performed exactly the way he does at home.  That makes me excited because in a few more months when he is further along, he will be scoring like Scoobs =) Warm up for Show Jumping went very well.  He was a jumping machine.  Even with his studs. the footing felt a bit greasy, so I made my plan for Cross Country to go slow and take wide turns.  When I went into Show Jumping, he was a bit distracted, but not bad...He just turned 5 and has only been off the track for 4 months.  I am realistic.  He jumped the first three fences fairly well, but when he made the bending line to 4 a/b, he slowed a tad at A and got into it deep and with a slight loss of momentum, which despite my efforts to re-establish power, he got into B very much the same and practically threw himself over it.  Not a huge deal for a green horse, but unfortunately, he clipped the top rail of the oxer with his hind legs and brought it down . Again, typically not a big deal for a green horse, but he must clipped himself pretty good because he cantered away from it hitchy in the hind end.  I circled him around twice trying to feel what was going on, if it was my imagination or not.  I decided to pull him up to be safe.  He walked out of the arena fine, but it was the right decision.  Bummer though!!  The bad days are always part of the sport, but still, they sting!  I am glad that P is ok, but it left me with a LONG 3 hour car ride home, consumed with the "ohhh....how long until I compete again?!?!"  I always remember Karen O'Connor saying "You are only as good as your last show".  Let me tell you, it is true!!!!!  I have always felt this way.  You can be flying high one week, then brought down and humbled the next.  I have a huge respect for every rider who puts themselves out there in the competition world.  It is not easy... That being said, I am super excited for the New Jersey Horse Trials the last week of June..

I just want to thank everyone again for their continued love and support through this still very difficult time...

We Are Entered!!!!

Surprise!!  Yes, we are going to Plantation Field in May!!!  As you know, Chris and I have been loosely throwing the idea around of starting Phoenix in recognized competition in May, but the last I left it was that I was going to hold off until June because I am not sure how competitive he will be initially.  Well.....we took Phoenix on his first outing off the farm last Saturday and he was awesomeeeeeeeee!!!!  Of course he had lots of energy initially, so we spent a lot of time trotting a 20 meter circle, but once he settled, he was amazing!!  He met and exceeded all of my very high expectations jumping also!!  He did several BN questions and even a few Novice fences!  He also did two small drops into the water!   He was such a bold pony!  Here are a few pics from the day!!

                                          Phoenix over the Beginner Novice ditch!

Phoenix with Max and Helen (Helen is one of my clients who happened to be at Bucks the same day!)

                                        Who is that handsome guy?!

                           Cait, Phoenix and I sporting the blue and pink!!!


Here are the SEVEN short video clips!  

So from here....we get ready for Plantation!!!  This is what we did in 6 weeks of training, lets see what we can do in the next 4 1/2 weeks!  The exciting part is that he his ready for Beginner Novice now, so I am just going to continue training and enjoying him!  I am planning to take him to another cross country schooling next weekend and will be entering a schooling Horse Trial on May 5th!!  Stay tuned for updates as Plantation nears!! 

Btw, Check out this one last video!  Caitlyn made this for Phoenix =))  I do believe this horse was sent here to take care of me.  He has brought back so much happiness in my life...

The Silver Lining

~ Grief steals all the beauty in the world , then gives it back one piece at a time until the house you call your home is built on more hope than sorrow ~

Lately I have been reading a lot of self healing novels and this quote really struck me because it is very true.  Up until January, I had never experienced a true personal tragedy.  I thought I did when my very dear friend lost her husband in a sudden accident (Tom is actually the reason I sport the pink with blue!).  I thought that after living it with her, I could truly feel her pain..I could not though.  I still can not..I have a definite understanding of loss, but on a different level.  After the fire and experiencing the loss of Scooby and Kaz, I am on a different mental level than I ever was before.  I am realizing that the things that I worried so much about, really do not matter...I am also realizing that I need to enjoy this life and the time that I have here, because in a blink of an eye, it can all be gone.  This is something that I always thought I knew, but I had no clue...It is impossible to have this understanding unless you have experienced it.  It is true..This is something positive that I am taking out of the fire.  In between the bad days,  I have these amazing days where I feel empowered and excited to tackle my new future.  I do not have the fears of failure anymore.  When you hear the statement "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger", believe me, it is very factual.  This broke me down to the lowest point of my life, but I am gradually emerging stronger than ever possible.  Having this new outlook is going to be with me forever and that is something to be thankful for...

Now about Phoenix!

                               Can you tell that he is doing awesomeeeeeee!



 I am sorry that I have not posted about him for several weeks.  You all deserve to hear frequent updates on him and I promise to be better about it.  Let me quickly fill everyone in on his training...This is his fifth full week of hard work and he has been nothing short of amazing!  I always forget that he has only been off of the track for less than two months!  His flatwork is doing amazing and his movement is really beginning to open and swing!  He is looking more and more like Scooby every day!  When he is totally relaxed, he feels like Scooby!  He is pretty exceptional...Scooby was definitely looking down on me with this horse...His jumping is coming along very nicely as well!!!  He is showing fantastic natural ability and scope!  He even did his first cross country type fences last Sunday.  Bri's boyfriend, Scott, made us some small log jumps out in our one field, so naturally, I was out there the next day!!!  Phoenix was not phased by anything, but was insistent on giving me some happy hops departing from the first two of fences!  He is definitely Scooby in a coming 5 year old body!  Chris and I are taking him to his first real cross country schooling next weekend, and I am ohhh so excited!!!  From there, we will be planning a second schooling in April and then his first Horse Trial in May.  He is scheduled to do two or three schooling hts in May and depending on how he does, the tentative plan is to make our USEA debut together at Plantation Field in June....Can you believe it?  The strong possibility of returning to recognized competition by the beginning of June?!?!  He is doing so well that Chris and I have even joked that I could have him ready for Difficult Run in May!  That is my favorite place to compete at and if I thought he could actually be competitive, I would prob do it!  Realistically, I am preparing for a fire breathing dragon who will want to zoom around the dressage arena for the first show or two.  I would like to get all of that out of his system before paying the entry fees for USEA comps, so several schooling shows it is!  Did I ever mention that Scooby's first show was quite scary?!  Hahaha...Yes,  I couldn't even get on him in the Dressage warm up!  I had to warm him up in a quiet field and even after trotting for a straight hour, his dressage test was a complete jig!!  I always love speaking to the Dressage judges after those initial schooling shows with green ottbs...HA!  Scooby did go on to become my strongest, most solid and consistent dressage horse ever.  Phoenix has that ability as well..It will just take some exposure to get to that point.

 Enjoy all of our videos =))  I am sorry again that I was not more prompt with these....Btw, the pink helmet cover is going very soon!!!!

This video is from about three weeks ago (3-11-12).  It was his third jumping session.  After the grid, I was working to teach him a correct, slow hand gallop (pushing from the butt and working to stay light up front).  He has come a long way between then and now =)

This video is also from 3-11-12.  I was again working on a correct hand gallop.  He was much better to the left and some of his movement was pretty impressive for a future upper level eventer =)  He is going to cover ground!!!  Phoenix was actually bred for long distances and most of his races were between a mile to a mile and a half!  Perfect for an eventer!!

These next two videos are from last weekend (3-25-12).  It was his  first time jumping cross country type fences =))

Today I should be competing Scooby and Kaz at Morven Park...I had worked very hard up until the fire for this weekend.  It was in my thoughts every day and I was so excited to debut Kazzy to the eventing world.  Although I have not even checked the scores because I feel it will be too hard for me, I am doing surprisingly well... I spent the rainy morning with Phoenix and had another great jumping session!  I will never get over the loss of my boys, but by having Phoenix and developing a very different outlook on life,  I am beginning to see the Silver Lining of this tragic experience...

A Wonderful Tribute To My Scooby Who

I came home on Saturday to find a package from GRC in the mail.  Those of you who are not overly familiar with  Area 2 eventing, GRC is the top photographer for us.  They take tons of photos at each event and always do a fantastic job.  There is always a lot of excitement the week after a horse trial just waiting for them to post the photos!  Enclosed in the package from them was a USB Drive labeled "Rebecca Greene and Scooby Who".  Chris told me he was not going to give it to me right away, but since I already saw the package, I may as well look at it.  I have been having a pretty rough, emotional week, so I totally get why he was not going to show me it.  I opened it up and enclosed in the USB Drive is what I feel to be the most beautiful tribute to Scooby and I.  It has competitions from every year that we have competed together..from Novice-Prelim.  The first few photos are from the first Horse Trial that he won.  It was at the Novice Level.....As the video nears the end, several of the photos are from our last Horse Trial together.  If only I knew that would be our last ride together....it is a very touching tribute.  Definitely difficult to watch, but so dear to my heart.  Chris and Shane put the entire thing together.  Shane picked out all of the photos....How did I get so lucky to have people like them in my life?  Shane and I met four years ago when she purchased one of my horses.  We became quick friends with a strong bond...She has been there since the beginning with Scooby.  I had only owned him for a couple of months when she bought Caesar.  She has watched us compete several times in the Maryland/Virginia area and has always a strong support system for me...I am so thankful for her and the huge support she has shown me through this horrible time...

In the four and a half years we were together, Scooby and I completed almost 50 Horse Trials.  We had a wonderful journey and although it is now over, I am so thankful to be able to share it with all of you...Please enjoy =)

Ohh Scooby....How lost I feel without you.  You were my world and I miss you more and more as time goes on.  What I would do to have just one more day with you...

Finding Love Again

Today is the first day since the fire that I have found some true happiness and excitement for the future.  I am starting to fall in love with Phoenix and had the best day ever with him!  That is a big step in the right direction, considering I had to force myself to go see him the first week he was home.  He has not let me down in one way.  He is a gentleman to groom and tack up, he is sweet and kind, and he is oh so talented and smart.  He even ground tied yesterday for me since I was alone.  Do not forget that grooming and tacking up is like being at a horse show everyday.  All that is left from the fire is the indoor and my trailer.  I am so thankful for both.  If the indoor would have been lost, my trailer would have been also.  It was parked right next to the back wall.  Thank you so much to all of the firefighters who worked so hard to save that structure.   The trailer is our tack up spot, and Bri and I have the tack room filled to the brim with donated supplies =)  Thank you so much again to everybody who has thought about us...We will never forget your kindness.

Back to Phoenix! I just can not believe that I found this horse.  He had his third real ride today and is just doing amazing...I can not believe how fast he is learning.  He is already beginning to supple and loosen his back, and he even cantered and did some ground poles!  Big steps for a third ride!  I am so excited for what his movement is going to be like under saddle once he loosens more.  I've seen his pasture trot!  Wowww!!  He is just so smart though.  Every ride he is improving a lot!  As horrible of a card that we were recently dealt, I am blessed to have this horse right now.  He is everything that I look for in an upper level horse, and with the kindness of Scooby.  I truly believe that Scooby is with him..How else can he be learning so quickly?  Scooby knows that we have Horse Trials to get ready for =)  Which by the way, make sure to check out the video clip of me leading him over logs out in the yard.  I know, not the safest thing, but I could not resist!

Phoenix's First Time Over Ground Poles/ Third Ride

(Count how many times I say Good Boy! Ha!)

 Phoenix's First Cross Country Fences!  LOL!

Even though we are just going on two weeks together, I have some big summer plans for us.  This is the VERY best that I have felt since the fire and I am sooooooooo excited to start this new journey with Phoenix...He is the horse for me!

Trying To Find Peace...

~ Phoenix: A mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope ~

Meet Phoenix ....

 
How do you find peace after experiencing such a tragedy? I still do not know. I am tormented day and night by what has happened. It is still so hard to comprehend. It does not seem real. There is no way that this could not have happened to my horses...but it did...That is the sad reality.  My old life ended on January 15th and my new life had no choice but to begin.  I am still so far from feeling good, but the healing process has begun.  I have no choice, but to move forward and try to make the most of this new life.  I have this beautiful bay horse waiting for me to love on him and show him his new life.  He is kind and sweet, he is very talented...he is what I need right now to put the pieces of my life back together again.  I'm a little reserved towards him, but I love him already and I know that it is just going to take time to let him in..as it is going to take time for him to let me in.  I am thankful for him though.  I am thankful for all of you who helped buy him...He is as much all of yours, as he is mine.  I am looking forward to showing everyone that their money was put to very good use.  He is similar to Scooby, so I am hopeful that he is going to have a bright eventing future.  Although I have not even sat on him yet, I have big plans for this summer.  It is very typical of me to put together a competition schedule for a new horse before they even have my saddle on their backs, so by making future plans for him, I have some comfort that I am still holding onto a piece of my old self.  I did not lose everything per say..I just need to continue to searching for the me that I was just three and a half short weeks ago.  I am hoping that as time moves forward, I find the happiness that I so desperately want and need.  There will not be a day that goes by that I do not think about Scooby and Kaz, hurt for the suffering that they experienced, have anger that none of us could help them, or have self pity for what was taken from me way too early, but I do know that I am strong willed and very stubborn...I know that I can overcome this and find happiness again...I have a wonderful husband, a very strong support system in all of you and a beautiful future eventer in Phoenix....It will be a long, emotional journey, but I am up for it...I love all of you for the support that you have shown us and hope that you will all still be there as we rebuild...


                 I love you Scooby Who and Cassidy Blue.....

Thank You Everyone

Where to even begin....With the largest thank you to everyone is the best place to start....My life has been turned upside down and the shock is still strongly there.  Posting anything is incredibly difficult right now, so please bare with me.  I am in tears sitting here, so as I am able to cope better, I will post more...I need everyone to know though how thankful and grateful Chris and I are...We are going through the most difficult thing we have been faced with and the support from all of you is what is keeping us going...I feel like I have lost my life, my identity, and to even begin to pick up the pieces seems nearly impossible...My life was truly in that barn...Scooby...Kaz....they were everything to me..everything.  I loved Scooby more than any horse I have ever met.  The only horse to ever even come close to my love of Scooby, was Kazzy....and to lose them both, in this manner...is just unimaginable.  My heart has been torn out and stomped all over...They deserved so much better...all of the horses in the barn did.  They were all wonderful and we all took such good care of them.  As I am able to cope a little better, I will be posting pictures and info on all of them...they all had a special place in our hearts...

Chris and I will be forever and ever grateful for everyone's support.  You are what is keeping us going.  I don't want my cherished horses forgotten...I need to keep them alive and loved in spirit...We spend a lot of time checking out the facebook page that our dear friend Shane has put together...I can never thank Shane enough for getting the word out and bringing in all of this support for us....All of the kind words people have to say have been lifting our spirits like none other.  And the donations....I can not express my gratitude enough for them.  I feel so guilty even taking them, but we lost everything....Horribly, I let Scooby's insurance lapse because of the cost of the new policy for this year.  I was planning to pick it back up in March when competitions began....he has always been insured..from the moment I purchased him off of the track, and to let it lapse for even a couple months, was incredibly stupid...please learn from my mistake...it's a sad situation to even have to think about finances in a time of tragedy...

I will be posting again in the next week...We will be burying our beloved ponies tomorrow or Saturday.  It is so heartbreaking to know that I will never see Scooby again....I go to see their remains everyday...it is the only thing that has given me any closure...Everyone handles grief differently, but I needed to know what they went through and I want them to know that I am still here for them...all of them...I will never be the same after experiencing this tragedy.  To have to stand by and watch a fire tear through our barn, knowing my babies were in there...it will forever haunt me...At the moment Chris woke me up Sunday, January 15 at 1:45 am.....my life was changed.  I promise though, I will put all of the donations and love into a new horse/horses and rebuilding what we lost.  With everyone's support, I will be out there again in our signature blue and pink.  I know Scooby wants me to move forward and accomplish my dreams...please, if you ever recognize Chris or I at a show, please, please approach us...We want to thank and hug every person out there who is rooting for us....We love all of you.....more than you will ever know...
 
Becky

January 15, 2012

As most of you know, this past weekend there was a catastrophic barn fire at the barn where Becky boards her horses. Nine horses including her two, Scooby and Kaz never made it out. It’s been a tragic loss for all involved. Becky’s horses were her world, her friends, her loves, her life. Not only did she lose her horses in the fire, she lost a large part of herself. She still does not have the strength to come on here and post.  However, she wants everyone to know that she will forever be grateful for all the support she has received.  She cannot thank everyone enough and I know she finds comfort in knowing so many people care. I also personally want to thank everyone. It’s going to be a long hard road, but with everyone’s support we will come back from this. Becky will post as soon as she can.  Thank you again.

Her Husband Chris

Reflections Of A Wonderful Year!

Now that the competition season has wound down, it has been awhile since I have posted any updates! I am vowing to be more dilligent with it!  I have been taking the last couple of months to reflect on the past year.  So much has happened and changed, and I am so thankful for all of it.  It has definitely been a year that has made all of the blood, sweat and tears over the last 6 or so years, completely worth it!  I got married, made a good sale, bought Kaz, I am training and teaching full time to a group of amazing people, and I had an awesome eventing season with Scooby!  He even qualified for the American Eventing Championships in only his first two outings at Prelim!  What an amazing guy!  Prelim always seemed like a dream and to be able to accomplish that on my own, with a horse that I started from scratch, feels amazing!  We have lots to work on, but I am embracing it all!  I just want to get better and better!

Below is an update on the ponies that I actually started writing weeks ago!

  I have been enjoying the break, but the horses are still in consistent training.  Typically, Scooby takes about a two month break in the winter, without any work at all.  This year is quite different!  While I have cut out all conditioning and a 6 day training schedule, I am maintaining four days (3 days of flat and one jumping).  I feel like we have so much to work on that taking a long break just is not realistic.  I think Scooby is happier this way also.  He is a worker and gets incredibly jealous when I work other horses and not him!  Hopefully, by keeping him in training and jumping, he will go to his first horse trials in the spring a little less of a fireball than normal!  He was a BEAST at Fair Hill last April.  Dressage went just fine, but as soon as he was geared up to Show Jump, he was tough to say the least!  He then came out Sunday for Cross Country just as beastly as he was for Saturday's Show Jumping.  He was an eager, tough ride ALL weekend.  I can do without that!  Hopefully this way, we come out competitive right from the start!!  That would be awesome!

I decided in October that I will be keeping Kaz until the Spring/Summer before I put him up for sale!  I am sooo excited to compete him alongside of Scooby!  He has been doing amazingly well and I have always said that when I find something that I truly enjoy and feel has the talent to do very well in the sport, along with exceptionally desirable attributes when it does come time to sell, I will hang on to them and put the extra time and money in.  I am more excited about Kaz than any other resale horse that I have had since Scooby (and you can see what happened with Scooby...he was never put up for sale!!!).  He has the goods and I can't wait to show them off!!  His flatwork is going quite well.  All of the fundamentals are rock solid.  I am just ironing out the fine details right now.  I am still working to fine tune the trot to canter transititons.  They are pretty good, but attention to detail is so crucial for the Dressage test.  I am also working on his free walk-medium walk, without getting any stiffening through the change.  He tends to still get the tiniest bit heavy and inconsistent with it, but definitely not bad.  I just want it smoother.  I am very picky, but in a good way =)

His jumping has been incredibly impressive!  He is probably my best natural jumper since Caesar.  He is very careful and I really LOVE that!  After doing a Hunter Pace in November, where he jumped several Beginner Novice fences, a Novice drop, and a small drop into water, I can't wait to get his Beginner Novice entry ready for Morven!!!  It is very exciting to think about having two of my own horses competing competitively in recognized competitions in 2012!  April can not come fast enough!  My full tentative competition schedule will be posted to my website very soon!

                                      Ohh the things we do to Scooby!

I was totally drained in November, but I am now super energized and ready for 2012!!!