oh, birthday month!

September, being my birthday month, was not exactly how I would have wanted it to be. I pictured fun activities with people to celebrate my birthday with.
However, I wasn’t in tip top condition. Both Matt and I were sick with the flu and I was bedridden for a good 4 days and went back to work on the 5th day with a slight fever. I hate not being able to function normally. Matt got well within 3 days but his fever came back after a week. No, it’s not dengue. It’s viral, the doctor said.
I didn’t get to ride for two weeks. I even drove to the stables despite being sick, just to be around horses. And look where it got me? A truck scratched the right side of my car. I didn’t do anything about it since it was my fault. I avoided a stupid tricycle and didn’t look or my reflexes were too slow.

What I had in mind for my birthday? I just planned on having a small group of people over…cook, drink and talk/sing the night away. The kitchen needed repairs so cooking would have been tough. No drinking because of the antibiotics. Plus my cat, Vodka, is acting up and peeing on the sofa. He has his litter box but after two years, he starts this annoying habit. And the thing is, he’d only do it when I can see him. Don’t I give him enough attention? Grrr!

To compensate for my not-so-good September, I bought a saddle (nice of Violet to sell me her Pessoa). I also ordered stuff from Dover for the saddle. Overall cost wasn’t so bad but the shipping cost was ridiculous! Almost the same amount as my shopping! The package was light, in terms of weight but since Dover packed it in a huge box, I was paying for the dimensions of the box. If I knew, I would have asked them to just bubble wrap my orders. Done deal.

So, happy birthday to me :o)

i love estrel's!

so here's the big box

imagine, the huge box with only these - and two other items not for me

again, one of my first...a saddle

TADAH! trojan looking absolutely girlie in all that pink!

SEA Games 2011 Qualifier

no, this isn't me. i was watching two riders qualify for the SEA games - joker arroyo and michelle barrera. sorry but can't recall who this rider was.

jump club 2011

so when my instructor, violet de leon, called me up and asked if i wanted to join the jump club scheduled on the same day as the seminar, i'm like "sure!" but at the back of my mind i was wondering if she was sure if it's something i could already do. i mean, my jumping still needs a ton of work - challenged with keeping my balance, recovering from a jump, landing on the correct lead, changing leads, not losing my right foot from the stirrups, i bounce too much, i throw myself too forward when i should just pivot...and the list goes on. well, if she feels i can do it, then i guess i can? hahaha! doubtful :o)

it was my first time to see an indoor arena or bullring. i've been used to the open ring at pook and also in showgrounds in lusaka. from an empty ground with just poles and wings to putting up 9 jumps. in my eyes, it was impressive. admittedly when mikee came, both dennis and i were starstruck. can you blame us? afterall, when people think of equestrianism, by default people know mikee.

trojan, the horse i was riding, just had this adrenaline rush! she cantered faster than normal (reminded me of neo) and was more powerful than her usual self. she definitely loves competition or show jumping. i had to hang on to dear life when i lost my right leg from the stirrup and also lost my right reins. what a mess :o(  nevertheless, i survived and had a wonderful time. indeed an experience. so here are the pictures...

the schedule and supposed jump course

setting it up

mikee very hands on

going over the sequence with v

hmmm...almost but not yet done

cross-barr category. dennis wasn't able to take pics of the next category since he was capturing it on video

re-cap of how i did

my instructor in action. amazing!

done for the day :o)

Riding School Seminar @ MPC

this month's entry will all be about the progress in my riding. it's going to be a busy month :o)

on saturday, we spent the entire day at the makati polo club from 9am to 5pm. remember the syllabus i have to study? well, we had the lecture to go over what we needed to know about the fundamentals of horsmanship and equestrianism. i was really expecting to be the oldest person there...and yes, i was. no surprise there. i think we were a total of 8 but only 3 of us were above 12 years. the other girl in the above 12 years old was 30 so at least i didn't feel THAT old amongst the other participants. i always feel happy when there's someone just like me...pursuing an interest or dream despite the age.

i'm not sure where the others rode but me, and the kids from pook ligaya had this sense of pride representing our stable. plus, we all came in our beige/tan breeches and white shirt with collar attire as the others came in jeans, black breeches and a t-shirt. i think someone even forgot to bring their syllabus. good on you, v, for ensuring we were prepared :o)

so, first part was the lecture. oh my! the others really studied for it, especially identifying the parts of the bridle and the different colors of the horse. couldn't they just stick to black, white, brown and black? the different types of white or "grey" was tricky! we had to take out the bridle apart and assemble it again. during the actual exam, please remind me to cut my nails. those leather straps were thick and hard! when i saw the syllabus of the 30 year old girl, man, she had notes and even highlighted lines in her syllabus. she's really been studying. i pray i make up for my scores in brushing the horse instead and putting up poles instead...hehehe!

teaching us how to saddle a horse

the under 12 years old learning the same thing

putting on a bridle

getting on "woody" to learn the proper way of adjusting the stirrups and girth on a horse

studying to giddy up

studying was something i've never enjoyed. so when i graduated from college...good bye school! well, not exactly. i did take up my mba but couldn't get myself to complete my thesis.

what a shock to find out that i need to study and take an exam to be certified, if i wanted to compete in horse riding. PANIC, i tell ya!

with csat & quality awareness week, re-certification, financials and budget season....oh, and obr...how will i do this? where do i find the time? i am a super mommy, right?

good thing, everything in the syllabus was something i enjoyed reading. i was very interested so it made the "studying" much easier. numerous "A HA" moments for me. super informative and i learned a lot of important stuff. however, i am really bad with memorization. oh lord! how will i ever remember all the different parts of a horse? so, this is what i did...



here's my elevated work area with my name plate photo edited so yo don't get to see my full name ;o)

behind my name plate, i've posted pictures from the syllabus



TADAH! here's a closer look (the family picture is old, i know)


so every time i'm free or i can't seem to understand what i'm doing anymore, i can always change focus and look at the pictures. i'm sure i'll be able to remember something :o)

Cheval et Mode

Horse & Fashion...love it!

* Courtesy of Charles & Keith