Well, Tiffany and Andrew are officially gone =( I miss them already. They are supposedly coming back this weekend. Tiffany and I are going to really try to keep in touch, and I do plan on visiting since they are only 3 hours away.

Erin and I went to a show last weekend. It was really the first horse show I have gone to. We took Immy and Luc. Immy showed training level and got a 74%, and first level and got a 72%. Luc was there to keep Immy company and also to school him. He was a real stinker the first day, acting spooky and rearing while I was leading him in the indoor, but we worked through it and he was really good the second day. I really think that horse is going to be a good horse some day.

The night I got back from the show we all went to Gainesville to go dancing again for Tiffany's last day. We ended up going to one of the clubs we went to before, but it was a really good time.

Erin and I got a groom. Her name is Katie. She is from Bellevue, Washington and lives with me and John. She is taking a year off after high school before going to college. She is a super good kid and I already feel like a big sister to her. She has helped me out by grooming for Erin and helping me get my horses ready, and I have been giving her lessons. I sat in on a lesson Erin was giving her, and it was a relief to me that I had been telling her the same thing!

I have also had a few really good lessons lately. Erin is having more and more faith in my abilities and lets me work on my own, which means I get to ride more. In lessons, she pushes me hard - to the point where witnesses would say that she is mean - but I really feel that my riding is improving, and she tells me so as well. I am also starting to ride some of the upper level movements, like half pass, canter pirouettes, piaffe, and passage, which is really cool!

I am not only learning to ride, I am learning to train, and I am learning the difference between the two. I am at the point now where riding feels easy, it's the training part that is difficult. Learning the timing of corrections, the intensity, and when to back off is really what's going to make me as a trainer. I also just need a little bit more confidence. I am finding that I tend to wait and see what is going to happen rather than get in there and make something happen. Hmm, it's funny that I was just reminded of a quote today - "how you do anything is how you do everything." At least I realize it now and can change it.

I even got on a baby horse for the first time today! Hertzenfurst - which literally means "Heart Prince." He is such a doll. I have been working with him on the ground since I got here, and liked him so much that I told Erin I wanted to be the first one to get on him, and today I got my wish! He was perfect! Erin walked me through the whole process. It was neat to see how every little step was broken down, and that I could clearly see well before I even got on that it wasn't going to be a problem. Starting young horses used to be such a magical mystery to me, but now I am confident that with a little more experience I will be able to do it myself some day.

I also found out today that some clients (with $30,000 to spend) are coming this weekend to look at 3 of the horses I have been working with - Arella, Adeline, and Mocha II. I overheard Erin talking about it today, and she is confident that I will be able to show them for the clients. That is a real compliment! It's also a little pressure, but I know I will be able to handle it.