Chloe

I have to be honest, I spend more time thinking about what to title my blog posts then I do on actually writing the post. "Chloe" seemed fitting.
As I mentioned in my last post I had a jump school with Bonnie Mosser on Monday. I expressed how I was worried Chloe would be a bit enthusiastic and well once again I find myself searching for a word to express just how enthusiastic she was. Poor Bonnie. I think some words I heard her say were "Hang on!" "Oh shit" and "Thanks god I dont have to get on that horse." Okay maybe I am exaggerating a bit. Lets just say after that lesson it was clear to me Chloe was feeling good and fit. Bonnie taught a great lesson and said things in a way that made complete sense to me. I told her about how I am already having dreams about my training sessions and she responded by telling me how in her dreams she would show up to her training sessions about to get on her horse but she was wearing flip flops. I was so relived to know that even some of the best riders out there share the same nerves as I do. (I hope she doesn't get mad at me for sharing that!!) We both agreed that the jumps were not Chloes problem it was her rideability in between the jumps. She set up a lot of exercises to help Chloe be more supple inbetween. My favoroite exercise was when I would jump an oxer then canter through a row of canter poles. It kept Chloe thinking and working in between the jumps. It did seem to help because she did get a lot better and by that I mean bucking a lot less! I call that a success!!
I also mentioned that I had the opportunity to chat with Denny Emerson for a bit. If you are not friends with his barn on facebook....YOU SHOULD BE! No seriously he has some of the most amazing posts and I follow it just about as religiously as I follow eventing nation and that says something. Tamarack Hill Farm is the name. Anyways, We chated for quite sometime and I found him so easy to talk to. Someone who I have admired for my whole riding career, someone who has accomplished things that I dream about accomplishing and here I was sitting on his couch petting his dog listening to him talk. It was fantastic. One of the things that stuck with me the most was when he talked to me about the importance of owners. He explained to me that eventing was this magic carpet ride. I needed to find someone to go on this magic carpet ride with me. Someone who loved the sport so much and someone who believed in my riding so much that they were willing to live it through me. He said I was in a point in my career where an owner would be ideal. Apparently my parents cant keep this up for my whole life! Denny was so easy to talk to and not to mention funny. He also took the time to talk to me about all the pictures on the wall of his tack room. Who they were, what horse it was and what they went on to do. He showed me around the farm and pointed out different horses to me telling me about there breeding and what not. When I was having difficulties deciding about my future I called him for advice and he gladly helped me. Its really cool to have his name in my contact list on my phone!! Denny runs a very successful training facility in Southern Pines, NC. If you are ever in the area you should definitely check it out.
Also, a little interesting fact about The Fork. Way way way back in the day it used to be a trading post. I'm talking like revolutionary war days. When I was on a trail ride with my roommate she took the time to show me the "Human Cemetery." It sounds kind of creepy, which at first I thought it was, but after seeing it I thought it was pretty fascinating! Here is a picture of Chloe on the trail and the cemetery.









I go to Pine Top in a few short days and somewhere between now and then I will meet up with Allison. I am so excited! Eventing Nation recently did a post saying Aiken was the capital of eventing. I cant wait to be there! Chloe has been doing flat work for the last couple days and has been fantastic. Lets hope that stays the same! Tomorrow most of the east coast will be greeted with below freezing temps and rain. (It is actually pouring out while I write this) So that means ice. Have I mentioned how much I miss California weather??? My logic is with all this cold I should eat more to stay warmer...makes sense to me!
All of you competing at Galway this weekend good luck and have fun at the annual meeting!!
I will keep you all posted on the move to Allison's, the training sessions, Pine Top, and Chloe of course!!














After Our lesson with Bonnie. Chloes ears refused to go forward and I look like I am ten
years old.






Chloe meeting Biscuit the barn cat...They are friends!!















Xoxo
Kelly and Chloe

Change

Winston Churchill once said "There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction." I decided to make a change by moving with Chloe to the east coast. It was a big change but I do feel I am headed in the right direction. When I came out here I had intentions on focusing on Chloe and only Chloe. She is my priority and I don't intend on that changing. The Fork has been amazing. It is a beautiful barn and Rebecca is a fantastic teacher. I also have formed relationships that I know will endure the changes that are about to happen. Now what all this is leading up too...I have been offered to go ride with Allison Springer. My main priority there will be Chloe and on top of that I get to ride horses all day. We will be traveling to all the same training sessions and events and I trust her superb dressage skills will help Chloe and I a lot. I will be right in the middle of the "eventing scene" which is exciting as well. For the next two months we will be located in Aiken, North Carolina. This is where all the training sessions will be held and my next two competitions. At the end of the second month we will be located in Middleburg, Virginia. This is prime horse country folks!!
I really want to make it clear that The Fork is an amazing facility and offers so much! It was not an easy decision to leave and I put a lot of thought into it. I just feel I cannot pass up an opportunity to ride ALL day long. I mean my main goal in coming out here is to better myself and my horse and what better way to do that then to keep practicing? I am really excited for this change and look forward to the doors this may open for Chloe and I! Now onto the packing...again.
On a side note...a very important side note...Chloe is doing well. She looks good and feels great! We have jumped twice since being here and by jump I mean I needed glue and a neck strap. To say she was excited about it is an understatement. Tomorrow, I have a jump lesson with Bonnie Mosser and I am so excited!! I have heard nothing but good things and any opportunity to branch out and get more critique is awesome! Hopefully Chloe will be a little less enthusiastic. As in I wont have to hang on for dear life...
Currently I am getting ready for my first event at Pine Top in two weeks. I am really looking forward to competing and being back in that environment. It will be strange not being with Flying Tail Farms and having my parents there...but I will save all those emotions for another post. Right now I am just going to focus on the immediate future...and that's making sure Chloe is clean for my lesson tomorrow! I will be sure to write tomorrow night, let you know how the lesson went and share a little with you about my insightful talk with Denny Emerson. Until then its bed time.
Xoxo
Kelly and Chloe

North Carolina

In the future I will try not to go more then a few days with out posting. I guess people have contacted my mom wondering if my dad ever made it back to California. After begging him to consider moving here he left...mumbling something about warmer weather and flip flops. I suppose I don't blame him...I mean it is currently below freezing.

To follow up on my last post my dad had left Tuesday to go and get Chloe in not so good weather. He luckily made it there safely and got to see Chloe first thing Wednesday morning. FINALLY! He made the drive back to The Fork and luckily Wednesday brought sunny skies. He had an uneventful trip and that night Chloe was happily resting in her stall. I nearly cried when I saw her..no wait I definately did. Have you all picked up on the fact that I'm a crier?? She came off the trailer bright and alert and immediately drank and ate. I liked this. At this point is was close to ten and more poor dad had been driving for what seemed like weeks. He was ready for bed. After taking her temp and seeing a normal number I was content in going home to finally sleep soundly. The next morning my dad flew home and that was no easy task saying goodbye. I hate goodbyes :(

I would go into all the details of my day but that would bore you all to pieces. Lets just say it is hard work that usually leads to a long day. It involves good people and horses and mine in particular seems very happy. Any change takes an adjustment period and I think that is what I am going through right now. Evaluating the pros and cons of this new life and ultimately deciding what is best for my horse and I. Its all new and scary and it is definitely forcing me to grow up. Although having all of you a phone call away definitely helps.

I have really become fond of the food here. Cracker Barrel offers mac and cheese as a vegetable on their menu. A common breakfast food is biscuits covered in caramel and cinnamon and right next to my house is a delicious Italian restaurant. Not complaining about any of that!

In a few weeks Chloe and I will run our first event at Pine Top and the week before that we have our first training session with Captain Mark Phillips in Aiken. I will keep you all posted on that and of coarse this adjustment period I am going through. In the mean time any of you running around Galway in a couple weeks good luck!!

Xoxo
Kelly and Chloe

Chloes and My Journey to our new home

Let me first start off by saying how im sorry it took me so long to write! I know I told some of you this post would be up days ago but as it turns out moving to the east coast is a little more then a hop and a skip. At least this trip was. My Father, Chloe, Pickles and I headed for the east coast early Tuesday morning. I had spent the previous week packing my life into boxes and that was no easy task. Who knew I had so many shoes or saddle pads??? The Sunday before I left my parents threw me a nice going away party where all the barn people stopped by and had some mexican food and margaritas, my favorite!! It was great to see everyone before I left seeing how most of them I have grown up with. The day before I left our young rider vet Dr. Laura Werner dropped her horses off at my home. She is moving to the east coast as well, yay for me!! We offered to take her horses to Lexington for her on our way to North Carolina. Back to what I was saying, we left early Tuesday morning and of coarse Chloe would not load. She wanted nothing to do with it. I tried to bribe her with every treat possible...she almost seemed offended by that. Eventually we got her in and after saying by to my mom which was incredibly hard we were off. Another adventure across the country eating junk food and listening to lousy books on tape. I guess its called books on cd now. I think tape rolls off the tongue a bit better. Okay sorry back on track. The drive was long my dad and I took turns sleeping and driving. Pickles slept about 23 hours out of the day. He almost became relish when my dad accidently let go of his leash and he went running through the Flying J truck stop, in between all the trucks to try and find me...whoops! Now onto what I am avoiding. We arrived at Kentucky late Thursday night. We dropped Laura's horses off for her and headed to where Chloe was going to stay over night. As soon as I put her in her stall she started shaking. I had never seen anything like it. At first I assumed she was cold. I mean it was snowing and 11 degrees out and we are California girls. So I layered blankets on her and after letting her drink some I had my dad walk her around the barn (indoor) to try and get her warm. I searched for a thermometer and when I took it it came up 105.3. Well thats not good. I decided the thermometer must not be right. So I grabbed another one and her temp came up 106.4. I decided I like the first one better. I was so scared I could have cried. Wait, no I definately did cry. I was scared. The only good part out of this whole situation was that we were located right around the corner from Hagyards Horse Clinic. One of the worlds best clinics. A vet arrived within minutes and determined it was shipping fever. At that point we had already guessed that was what it was. I had talked to my mom prior the vet getting there and she had guessed thats what it was. Why does this have to happen on my first journey away from her and my regular vet. Don't you worry I was deifnately calling him too. Poor Bart. I'm all the way across the country and he cant get rid of Chloe and I. Anyways, we caught the fever soon enough that she responded well to all the meds and antibiotics. We pulled blood and ultrasounded the lungs and all of that was normal. That night I checked on her thoughout the night about every three hours. In the mean time I lay awake and googled shipping fever. 50% of the web pages informed me you must keep windows up to keep the air flow. the other 50% informed me you must keep windows closed to reduce the air flow. Helpful. Chloe was up to date on all her shots and was not tied so she was able to put her head down. Two of the most important things. Im not sure what else I could have done to avoid it. Throughout the night her temp dropped and by morning she was at 101.9 which is amazing considering she was at 106.4 earlier. Slowly she got back to her normal self. Eating, drinking and headbutting anyone who got near her. I liked that. We stayed the next day to let her rest and my dad and I went shopping for snow clothes since I was silly enough to think my jeans would hold up just fine. Thank goodness for tractor supply!! Later that night the vet had suggested that Chloe needed to stay in Lexington for at least three days to rest before she got back on the trailer to go to her new home. Well this seemed like a long time to me, but I also have never dealt with shipping fever before. So I called Laura who had said at least three days...at least. So I called Bart who said five days of rest minimum. Well this posed a problem because obviously Chloes health comes first but I had a job to start and my dad had a plain to catch. So we decided to leave Chloe there in the hands of the vet and Wendy who ran the barn. Both very trustworthy horse people. Not that it makes it any easier to leave your horse behind. We drove on to North Carolina. I started my job, we moved my dads flight back and the plan was for him to go back Sunday and get her. Well Sunday North Carolina was hit by a huge storm. Snow everywhere! So we decided Monday then, he would go get her Monday. Well, Monday still snow everywhere. Tuesday morning rolls around and he decided he was going to go. The conditions were getting better but still not the best driving conditions. Have I mentioned I have a great dad? So Tuesday, which is today, he left. Just called him and he is about two hours away from Chloe. Chloe has been off of banamine for over three days now and her temp has stayed normal and she is still pushing people around. I like it. It has been so hard for me to be here and not there with her. Putting that kind of trust into people to watch your horse, your horse who is the main reason I moved out here, the horse who has changed my life. Yes, that is some serious trust. They have been very good about answering my phone calls every hour though. So fingers crossed the weather stays good and Chloe will be here tomorrow!! I think she is excited too. Where she is located in Lexington is an in door barn and apparently when they walk her around inside she will stop in front of the door to go out and paw obnoxiously and then will refuse to go back in her stall. She is feeling good I think. I have a stall all set up for her and bags and bags of carrots here waiting. Also, If you are ever stranded in Kentucky go to Shylah Farms, they are truly a life savor.

I started my job on Sunday and besides all the snow I have really been enjoying it! I mean it is a lot of work but the girls are great, the house where I am living is fantastic and I am around horses all day. I cant complain!....yet. We definitely took trash can lids and went sledding on the cross country gallop track here. Or should I say we attempted too? Now the count down to Chloes arrival begins!! FINALLY! Thank you everyone who has been texting nice messages :) It does help! I know its hard for me being a days drive away from her but I cant imagine how my mom feels being a three days drive away. Chloe loves to keep us all on our toes and really seems to enjoy having us lose sleep over her. Please everyone keep your fingers crossed that her trailer ride here tomorrow goes smoothly. I will definitely keep you all updated on her and the new job!


The Fork on a nice sunny day!

Close up

Picture I took yesterday with all the snow!


Xoxo Kelly and Chloe

Last night in Kentucky

A week before NAJYRC I was told that my horse did not have what it takes to be an upper level horse and I should consider getting a new one. After hearing this it was hard not to cry and then of course doubt her. After this weekend She did more then prove herself she established a name for herself. My mother told me that no one makes it to the top without being told "they can't do it" I think when I was told that, it gave me that much more motivation to come back here and let everyone know what my horse is made of and let everyone know we are in this for the long haul. Today it finally started to sink in. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much!! Chloe must know she is a champ because every time anyone goes near her stall she gets a carrot. She is becoming a bit demanding :) All the text messages, emails and phone calls I have been getting are amazing! I cant tell you all how much I appreciate it! I also was not aware how many people started to follow this blog. I am so glad I got to share this journey with everyone and I am not ready for it to end! Tomorrow we head out first thing in the morning to start our long drive home to California. We are planning on doing it in four days stopping every night to let Chloe and the other two horses get some rest. I have some good reading material and plenty of e mails to answer! When we get home Chloe will get turned out in my backyard for a month or so to eat all the grass she wants and get as dirty as she wants! I will have that time to pay more attention to my other mare Annie Oakley. Hopefully now it is her time to shine!! My sister Ashley is getting married soon and I will have more time to help with the preparation for that too!
I am leaving here tomorrow feeling so high on life! I can of course credit part of it to winning the gold, another part to my amazing horse and the rest to all the fantastic people I got to meet and share this experience with. My teammate Natalia Gurmankin is one of the best team mates I could have asked for. Her horsemanship skills are unbelievable and her support was never ending. Madison Reeb, although it didn't go as she planned this weekend she kept a great attitude and was an example for all of us. Kelly Loria was a superstar this weekend and I can't tell you how happy I was to have her there, she was always offering a helping hand. Amanda Sanchez worked her butt off coming out early hours to get things done and staying late until they were done. You rock! Scott Kuhlman never waited for anyone to ask for help he just jumped in and did it. You cant ask for better help than that. Shannon Lilley, holy cow there is too much to thank you for. I think you deserve a whole blog dedicated to you! Your help was never ending but most of all I am so glad you were there for me to share this experience with. I wouldn't want it any other way. To the parents not only was your cooking great, you were our support system. You cheered us all on and that is so appreciated! Laura Werner you are awesome! Even though you dont like my messy hair, bad sense of direction and spelling errors...I still love you! To Dayna I cant say anything without it being completely biased but im pretty sure everyone agrees you were a fantastic coach. You kept everything fun while getting things done and that's what Young Riders is about. To my dad Steve, not only are you one of my biggest fans you are probably one of the only people who will put up with me on cross country morning :) Besides our area VI group I met some other fantastic people. Thank you for making it so memorable! Thank you to our sponsors who donated to our team and my personal sponsor APF!! And I know I have said it a million times but everyone who has reached out to congratulate Chloe and I...It is amazing. When I turned my phone on sunday night after show jumping it was hard not to cry. Your support reminds me of why this sport is so special. We all root for each other and we all want the best for each other. I cant thank you all enough. Again I am so glad to share this journey with all of you and although I am sad it is coming to an end I know this wont be the last one!!
Xoxo Kelly and Chloe

Three Golds and a silver...not to shabby!!

I will be quick in telling you all that the area VI horses all looked great in the trot up this morning! Now on to the fun stuff!! Kelly Loria for the area VI team went into the show jumping ring standing in first place and did an amazing job under pressure to put in a beautiful, clean go! She won the gold and on top of it the team won the gold as well! By that point I was out and ready to walk my course and was intent on making sure I knew exactly where I was going. It was a huge ring (the same grand stands they use for Rolex and the WEGS) and there were a lot of jumps in there. I walked it twice and was feeling pretty confident. Its times like these that I am so thankful to be sitting on a clean jumper! Warm up went well, she was over jumping everything! I went in and knew I did not have a rail in hand. If I wanted to win I had to go clean. I gave her the best ride I could and in return she jumped like a superstar!! We were one of only two clean goes in the two star. After I left the ring I did not get a chance to watch the girl in first place but someone near me congratulated me on winning the gold and I couldn't help but start hugging everyone around me!! The feeling is still so unreal!! Our team got the silver and I could not be more stoked for that. It is even better when sharing it with amazing people. My teammate Natalia had the greatest attitude and her horse management skills were unreal. Her horse was always her top priority and for that she earns all my respect. Not to mention she is rather funny too! After that I went to the press conference and it was all a blur really, they asked about my horse, the competition and this and that. Cameras were everywhere and the majority of my answers to the questions was "my horse is really cool!!" I need some practice maybe....
After that we had the closing ceremonies and that is where the individual medals were handed out. We got to go on the podium, more pictures were taken, and they played our anthem for us. I think it really hit me when I was up there and I looked over during the anthem and saw my dad wiping away some tears. I did this! I really did this!! I have had many ups and downs with this horse but some things you just have to be patient with, even when you are down. She was worth being patient with. I came here and I was hoping to be competitive but shooting for the top five. Chloe had different plans. She exceeded me expectations in every way possible and for the first time all three phases came together wonderfully. I was nervous after I realized how many people started reading my blog, what if things went bad...would I just stop writing??? I am so happy it went well and I got to share it with all of you!
As I mentioned in my last post none of this would have been possible with out the amazing team. That team includes our grooms Amanda who will take credit for finding my four leaf clover that I wore in my arm band. Scott who jumped in always with out being asked, he was a great help to everyone. My dad who literally never left my side, just in case I needed anything :) Our Chef Shannon who made this whole thing run so smoothly and did an outstanding job. Our Vet Laura Werner who donated her time to be here for us and put up with me getting lost...a lot. All the parents who cooked all those great meals, offered hugs when needed, and was sure to give out encouraging words. All of the riders...we got along so well! To Dayna who is not only an amazing mother but one awesome coach!! Congrats on bringing home three medals!!! And again to all of you who have texted, emailed, called, facebooked etc. Your words go a very long long way!! Lastly to my horse...I would be sleeping in her stall right now if they would let me!!
Congrats to all the other riders as well! I got to meet some of the girls form area III and they were all so nice! It just made this experience that much better.
Chloe will have the day off tomorrow grazing and resting before we head home on Tuesday. Shannon promised her today after show jumping that for the next few months she can have unlimited carrots and limited baths. I think that seems fair. When she came to me as a green six year old I wondered if I would ever be able to ride her, and now I cant think of a better horse to sit on. Sorry, I could go on for days talking about her...I will spare you all for now and get to posting some pictures!!!
p.s www.eventingnation.com has her show jumping round on there!
Xoxo Kelly and Chloe


Chloe is a bit annoyed...
The Silver medal team!!
After my round! So happy with her!!!
My dad :)
The jog
Victory Gallop!
sgoing through the finish!!
Chloe during show jumping
Silver team medals!



The "kellys"
The whole team!!
uMy amazing parents!
Individual medals!

Cross Country Day! (Pictures in no particular order....)

yI also made shannon feed her carrots every time she went to that side of the barn. haha
Kelly Loria in Warm up
The out of the coffin
Maybe this is what cost us four seconds...
jumping into the coffin
I do plan on buying all these photos!

I made me dad post up there with carrots for a very long time... :)
Bounce into water
Chloe at the last jump, still going like a champ
after I finished, so stoked!
Me and my mom in warm up
Natalia and Hawley in the box


Natalia was the first Area VI rider out this morning for the two star team, she is not called the trail blazer for no reason! She rocked that coarse. I was able to see some of her while I was in warm up and she looked great! I was next out for area VI and Chloe was awesome in warm up. I did not do too much because I knew we had a long coarse ahead of us. I went out of the box and I just had a good feeling. She was taking me to everything and I knew what I had to do to give her the best ride possible. Only one person made time and I was on every minute marker until I had a funny jump off a bank and decided to take the option. Unfortunately that added four time penalties to my score, but that is better then 20! I came through the finish with a fit horse who was still pulling me to the last fence and on top of that I came through the finish knowing that I had one special horse. I feel every show I am learning more about her, this show I learned that I am a pretty lucky girl. She cooled out great and I left her tonight with every food option possible including carrots! She deserves it all :)
The one star went after and Kelly Loria was the first out for Area VI. She was standing in first place going out and after a double clear remained in that spot! Madison Reeb went next and had the best ride of her life until an unfortunate fall. She deserves to be winning, but the best riders did not get to the top with out falling off. She will bounce back and everyone better be prepared for it!
Today was one of the most fun courses I have ever ridden. David O' Conner designed and amazing two star course and the footing was unbelievable. My horse was so game and jumping her heart out and that's all I can really ask of her. I cant tell you how lucky I feel to be sitting on her.
Lastly today would not have run so smoothly with out all the amazing help we received! For starters our coach Dayna Lynd Pugh did an amazing job preparing us. Im not just saying that because she is my mom, but because it is true. Every horse and rider that went out there was completely prepared for what was coming. Our Chef Shannon Lilley did an outstanding job in the vet box and making sure that each rider was taken care of. Without her I have a feeling things would have been a bit unorganized. Steve Pugh was amazing with the horses in the vet box and made sure each one got taken care of in record time, he was taught well :) Amanda Sanchez was awesome helping Natalia get on and then helping out more in the vet box. Hawley Bennett was also a huge help in the box and it was great having her there! Scott Kuhlman, although is here for a mentorship program makes sure on his free time he helps us out as much as possible. And all the other parents who are there with moral support, you have know idea how much that means to all of us! Everyone who has emailed and texted me, your all awesome! That extra support goes a long way! Also, we have a phenomenal team and the help and support we receive from each other is amazing.
Tomorrow we have the jog in the morning and then show jumping in the afternoon! I Cant believe tomorrow will conclude this whole experience. For now though I hope you enjoy the pictures form today and hopefully I have good news to report to everyone tomorrow!!
Xoxo Kelly and Chloe