Horses arrive safely

I heard from Meg Adams and Michele Vaughn this afternoon. The horse's all arrived safely at Lexington Horse Park and are settled into their stalls. Meg gave Nash a bath and took him for a walk and some grazing.

My good friend, Marly Brendemuehl drove down from Illinois and is Nash's groom for the week. Marly is a very experienced horseperson and was one of my most successful students before she and her husband moved East. Her husband, Jim, was my vet while they lived in Clements and I have missed them both a lot. It will be great to have Marly as part of the "Team Nash".

I am posting photos of the container at the Oakland Depot of Fed Ex and Genay Vaughn's horse, Waranja, and Jamie Pestana's horse Winzalot, arriving safely in Indianapolis. It gives you some idea of what the containers look like. They are forklifted onto the planes. Very interesting.

Nash makes his flight

Meg and Mike Adams arrived in Lexington yesterday afternoon. John picked up Nash from Top Hat Farm and brought him to Biglow Farms which is close to our house. Nash had a massage and accupuncture yesterday before leaving, so he was ready for his journey. Sue Adams and Sandi Neal showed John how to do "cookie stretches" when Nash got out of the trailer. John also turned him out for a good roll in the arena.

We woke up at 2AM this morning and started the journey to the Fed Ex Depot in Oakland. Nash loaded up and off we went with our coffee and sleep in our eyes. We arrived at Fed Ex about 4:20 and were quite surprised at the very tight security. We both had to check in, show picture I'd, receive a guest pass sticker and an arm band. We had a full time escort. The place is HUGE and we followed our escort around to the equine containers sitting out on the blacktop. We were the first of the horses to arrive. Our handler (the person who flies with the horses), is an ex-jockey from Bay Meadows. After preparing the container for two horses, we unloaded Nash from our trailer and handed him to his handler. Nash was unsure about loading in that funny-looking box with the steep ramp. I offered to load Nash and was allowed to do so. Nash had a few hesitations, partly because I tripped over bars in the ramp! Finally, both of us went in the container. John told the guys to leave me in there and save the Adams some money on airfare - that guy is always joking, (I think)!!! I stayed at Nash's head until his travelling buddy was loaded and everything was secured. Nash didn't have his name on his halter for ID, so I used duct tape and a marker to label his halter. Good old duct tape-don't leave home without it. John and I were asked to leave and escorted off of Fed Ex property. We were heading back to the valley as the sun was rising. Its very exciting and a little nerve-wracking, but so far, so good. Now to breakfast...more tomorrow.

Meg Adams and I set up our blogs on the same day! I have decided to keep mine and along with hers, we should be able to give you a very comprehensive picture of what it is like to compete at the North American Junior/Young Rider Championships in Lexington, KY.

I think I should tell the story of how this all began: It was a VERY HOT day in late September almost 3 short years ago and Meg was due to have a lesson on her Quarter Horse mare, Hanna. Instead of a lesson, we decided to sit under a tree with Meg's mother, Sue, and discuss the future. I mentioned that I thought Meg had tremendous ability and was the type of rider that could go on and represent our country in international competition. Mike and Sue Adams heard what I said and asked me to go on the search for a horse for Meg. I was able to borrow Seth, (a lovely Friesian gelding owned by Debbie Landgrebe at the time, now owned by Jan Oakes), for Meg to ride in lessons. Seth was trained through 2nd level and very kind. He gave Meg a taste of dressage. He was not an "easy" ride, even though he has a wonderful temperament. His trot used to feel like "2 bull-dogs fighting" under the saddle! My husband, John Moe, has a hobby of finding horses on the internet - it doesn't matter what kind of horse you want, just call John, he knows everything that is out there in cyberspace for sale! I asked John to find us a FEI Dressage horse, 12 years or younger, with a solid competition record. He found severeal by Nash really caught my eye. He had the "look of eagles" in his eye and was built to hold up to the rigors of the sport. He was owned and trained by Alyssa Pitts at the time. He was very well trained, but not that easy to ride. Meg and I both had a good feeling about him and we had to make a quick decision as there was another buyer right behind us. Long story short, Nash came to Winters and Meg's hard work began. It was a little shaky in the beginning as Nash wasn't too impressed with dropping down to training and first level, but Meg is a quick study and they moved up quickly. Nash and Meg really became a "team" this year. They have developed an amazing bond and it shows in their performances. It has been a lot of fun for me to help them realize their potential and their dreams. I believe in them - they are awesome!

We have many people to thank, and I want to try and list them:
Dr. Kim Gill-Favier, our vet who always answers her phone and my questions
Steve Stobaugh, Farrier - making sure Nash has the best possilbe "P.F. Flyers"
Dr. Sarah LeJeune - Accupuncturist
Sandi Neal - Equine Body Worker - willing to show up at the shows and help us
Mike, Sue, Bill (Papa), Jan (Nana), David, Janice, Wayne, Teresa (also a top notch rider), and Mary Ann Adams
John Moe - saddle fitter,chef, moral support, horse handler, rider handler and always good for a laugh
All the ladies at Top Hat Farm - for their relentless help with the horses

Without these special people and many others, none of this would be possible. It isn't about just one horse and one rider, it is a team and a family. We are all riding the test with Meg and Nash!