saddlebroke's Page

Tonight's episode is brought to you by the letter "D".

Dramatic.

Disrespectful.

Defiant.

Seems I'm not the only fan of Sesame Street. Monday night, Sammie conjured up the above adjectives in our workout, reminding me of what used to be one of my favorite childhood TV shows. I should have predicted the outcome. It was so predictable that it was practically scripted. But what seems patently obvious in hindsight is somehow not evident… Continue

With apologies to Aretha, I've discovered a new spelling for Respect:

S-P-U-R-S.

Of late, it has become crystal clear that Sammie simply does not respect my leg. Upward transitions and forward energy were easy things for our trainer Meg to get from Samba, but whenever I hopped on, fuggedaboudit. Here I was, committed to showing at Intro level in March, and I had to enter into negotiations with Sammie any time I wanted her to pick up a trot. Intro A test has you pickin… Continue

OK, I hear you. Color me persuaded, if not convinced. The chance at riding in a Debbie McDonald clinic is one that should not be passed up. So I just went to the California Dressage Society website and handed over $65 for my 2010 membership dues.

The CDS regional amateur clinics are an interesting phenomenon. I don't know if other dressage associations around the USA offer something similar. In California, every year,… Continue

Manna is defined as (among other things) any sudden or unexpected help, advantage, or aid to success, because as biblical scholars will attest, manna was the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness during their flight from Egypt.

It wasn't long after Sammie and I fled Clancy's backyard to the upscale boarding facility that I was blessed with my own manna from Heaven. Just two weeks after we moved in, our trainer Meg asked me to reschedule our usual Saturday morning lesson… Continue