These beautiful photos were just sent to me by Samantha Clark. Also…. thanks, Samantha, for the extra hand at the jog!!

Yes, the car is great! I’m really excited about that, but what I’m most excited about is how I felt throughout the competition. It was very interesting to read through the USOC sports psychologist’s article on Achieving Execution Mode (which I read after Red Hills) and know that what he describes was exactly how I felt throughout the competition. It is so wonderful to have the partnership that I have with Arthur, to know our strengths and weaknesses, to truly know what I need to do to prepare for our best performance and then go out and do it. I think where I fell short and continually seem to fall short in my performance, I think this might be surprising to most people, is in the dressage. I have the ability with Arthur to blow everyone out of the water in the dressage phase and this is something that I have not done yet. Yes, I do very well in Dressage on this horse, but I haven’t been entering the ring with the same confidence and clarity of thought that I have been in the show jumping on him. He is still probably not as good a show jumper as he is a dressage horse, but I have complete confidence in my system and preparation with him to achieve my best performance in the show jump ring. This is something Katie Prudent has helped me to achieve and I cannot thank her enough for that. I do remember a time when I felt totally lost in the show jump warm up and relied on someone else to guide me through this important stage, I also remember praying on hopefully getting lucky in the ring. Now I know what I need to to to get my best possible performance, and that is all I need to do. I felt no pressure when Boyd jumped clean ahead of me, not because I was certain I was going to jump clean but I was certain that I knew what I needed to do to achieve my best performance. I have only achieved this same feeling in dressage a few times…. these times were EVERYTIME that I have worked with Bettina Hoy at a competition. She is amazing at competitions in recognizing what you have and then getting you to Execution Mode. What I haven’t found with Capt. Mark and I definitely need to work on is that key stage of recognizing “the point where an athlete may have to admit their limits,… but still find a way to get the best possible result.” I have a nervous horse, yes I must continue to make him listen to my half halt better and use my half halt more often, but I need to feel totally ready to nail the test and look my very best when I enter the ring. I feel very confident about what I need to do with Arthur in the jumping phases and now have to accomplish this in the dressage phase as well. I also have to get there in all the phases on Burger and the rest of my horses; it sort of happened through my years of hard work with Arthur, I now need to put more effort into thinking about the system I need for my other horses and getting to that execution mode every time.

2011 will be a very important year for Arthur. And the best part is that this amazingly talented horse is just coming into his own. We have been named to the 2011 USEF High Performance list and are here in Florida preparing for this incredibly important pre-Olympic year. I own Arthur and pay for his expenses with the money I earn training and selling horses, teaching lessons and clinics, and with the fundraisers my friends and family hold for me. The USEF foreign travel grants have been very helpful also. I am so thankful for all of this help. But the expense is simply too great at this level of competition as I learned the hard way during the run up to WEG. Therefore I must syndicate the ownership of Arthur. The syndicate will be divided into 8 shares representing 40% ownership of Arthur. There is no “buy-in” price as my concern is to ensure his costs going forward are covered. His expenses will be shared by the syndicate shareholders and can also be made as a tax-deductible donation. It could also be possible for someone to form a group that would purchase a share together.

If you are interested in becoming a part of Arthur’s team, please reply to this by emailing me at info@as.mythiclanding.com and I will get back to you with the details of syndication! It would be great to have you as part of this special horse’s future.

http://www.threedaysthreewaysblog.com/2011/01/13/the-best-of-fashion-from-2010/

Hello from sunny Florida! I cannot tell you how good it is to be down here…. well, I guess I can… it’s AMAZING!! All the horses traveled well, have all been body clipped and are now into their training routine. I am at a new barn this winter in Deer Run Equestrian Community. We are very close to Lion Country Safari which is a trip because we can hear the lions roaring at feeding time. This definitely raised a few eyebrows amongst my horses. We also hear what I think might be monkeys and a goat which sounds like a drunk man saying “Lorn.” Between all that, the gators sunbathing on the canal banks, and the Florida foliage and birds we feel like we are in a different world. That being said my horses are all happy to be here in the warm weather and are behaving remarkably well. The barn that I am at is wonderful –  huge ring with good footing, big open barn with all the necessary amenities, plenty of hacking and the landlords are a really cute family. I had my first lessons yesterday with Katie Prudent on Gus, Jack and Burger. It was good fun having fellow eventers Jennie Brannigan and Marcia Kulak in my lessons. My horses were all great, Burger was especially wonderful. He is so happy to be back in action. If a horse could have a cheshire cat grin on it’s face, Burger would have had one on yesterday. My working student, Galina, pointed out yesterday that Burger always looks ridiculously happy… he never pins his ears or makes an ugly face. Arthur always looks very happy too, but he is no fan of my dog going into his stall — I taught Bodie how to kiss the horses and Arthur never minded Bodie up until his first dog kiss, I think he found the whole idea foul and disgusting… Burger seems to like it… go figure. This afternoon I have a couple of dressage lessons with JJ Tate. She is such a wonderful teacher, I am really looking forward to reconnecting with her!

I am listening to the cold wind outside and cannot wait to get to Florida!!! We head out tomorrow. Please send us good thoughts for safe travels!

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! We all have so much to be thankful for especially those of us that are blessed with horses in our lives. I am so grateful for my wonderful family, friends and animals. They remind me everyday how much we all owe to the many men and women that have fought hard (and continue to) for our freedom so that we can all live the happy lives that we do. Thank you!

Jennie won! I am so happy for her. I really wanted the win this weekend but she and her lovely horse were super from start to finish.
Arthur was a class act today and show jumped better than ever. His technique has improved so much this year and despite not coming away with the placing I had hoped for I am absolutely thrilled by what he has become. I am so excited for next year.
I also want to make sure that everyone understands that I completely respect and think very highly of the officials at Galway this week (even more so after seeing them in the PRO golf cart races — which was complete mayhem!) I felt very strongly about my point of view and I know they contemplated a long time on it. It was a tough call to make and is a part of every sport. I do not want my disappointment to come across as unsportsmanlike in any way.
A huge thank you to Robert Kellerhouse and his staff for putting on a great event!!