Last night Daniel decided it was party time and didn't truly fall asleep until 2am... So I dragged myself out of bed this morning (while J & D slept so peacefully) and got to the barn a few minutes before 8, like I have been. No sign of Olli and not the normal hustle bustle, so I rolled some polos and waited. Cleaned a saddle and waited. I finally asked one of the grooms if she knew what the schedule was and if Olli was here. "I think he comes around 11," was all she told me. So... Shall I go back to the hotel and try to sleep?? Shall I go into town and steal wireless internet from the cafe I have been using? Or should I wait around and see if they want me to ride anyone? Of course, the latter!
And they did! All of a sudden they tell me, "You will ride Dellenger." As my good USDF certification has taught me, I want to know all about Dellenger before I hop on - breeding, age, level of training, difficulties, favorite itchy spots, does he try to kill people who ride him, etc. But when I asked his age, she said, "I don't know. Somewhere around 10?" So I did not follow up with all my other questions. The Germans are not a chatty people.
I asked if I could ride him in the outdoor arena, and they said sure, which I now take with a grain of salt. But he was a good boy. He is a lovely type - very elegant, super uphill with a very long, high set neck. He is very sensitive and was very nervous in the beginning but relaxed with some stretchy trot and serpentine lines. His canter is a bit disappointing because it's very big and open and hard to quicken the hind leg. I rode some trot canter transitions to make him jump more and loosen his back. Then we tried some collection in canter and finally some lateral work in trot. He gets very strong in the contact, especially on the R rein.
When I came back in, more than one person asked me how he was and how I liked him. This seems like a very normal question, but NO ONE asks how the horses are and says anything about my rides. I am used to this from having been in Germany before, but it still always surprises me, since it's the first thing we do back home with EVERYONE. But I quickly realized that they were asking me how I liked him, because no one likes him. The young girl in the barn told me no one wants to ride him. Poor Dellenger. They were all so shocked (or maybe just thought I was stupid) when I said I liked him. He's still an incredibly nice horse!!?? Maybe not vying for any Olympic team any time soon, but a lot nicer than most of the horses in the US, and his problems are training problems, so you can't really blame him for that. So now watch me get to ride Dellenger every day, since I'm the stupid American who likes him...
Speaking of horses vying for the Olympic team (if he could keep his tongue in his mouth,) I then rode Four Seasons with Olli when he returned from teaching all morning. He was fantastic! I've got a much better feel for him now. And after Olli's lesson with Herr Meyer zu Strohen yesterday, he seemed to want me to ride him much more up and open in the neck, which feels so much better to me than having him so deep. We did a nice warm up and then started with trot work. This horse's trot is truly out of this world. And occasionally my butt was also out of the God awful Passier saddle, because, WoW that's a lot to sit. It was such a relief when he said, "Let's do some canter work."
We started with some pirouettes and then he wanted me to ride some changes. My single changes had been good in the warm up, so I think Olli was not afraid I would screw up as badly as I did yesterday on Salcido, since Four Seasons is much hotter. But, luckily, I didn't. At least not too many times. We did good fours and then some good threes and then Olli had to head into Münster for a show that is going on this weekend.
Daniel and I explored a nearby town all afternoon. And hopefully tomorrow Jonathan can take some time away from work in the afternoon, and we can go for a hike in the beautiful Teutonberg Forest right nearby.
And they did! All of a sudden they tell me, "You will ride Dellenger." As my good USDF certification has taught me, I want to know all about Dellenger before I hop on - breeding, age, level of training, difficulties, favorite itchy spots, does he try to kill people who ride him, etc. But when I asked his age, she said, "I don't know. Somewhere around 10?" So I did not follow up with all my other questions. The Germans are not a chatty people.
I asked if I could ride him in the outdoor arena, and they said sure, which I now take with a grain of salt. But he was a good boy. He is a lovely type - very elegant, super uphill with a very long, high set neck. He is very sensitive and was very nervous in the beginning but relaxed with some stretchy trot and serpentine lines. His canter is a bit disappointing because it's very big and open and hard to quicken the hind leg. I rode some trot canter transitions to make him jump more and loosen his back. Then we tried some collection in canter and finally some lateral work in trot. He gets very strong in the contact, especially on the R rein.
When I came back in, more than one person asked me how he was and how I liked him. This seems like a very normal question, but NO ONE asks how the horses are and says anything about my rides. I am used to this from having been in Germany before, but it still always surprises me, since it's the first thing we do back home with EVERYONE. But I quickly realized that they were asking me how I liked him, because no one likes him. The young girl in the barn told me no one wants to ride him. Poor Dellenger. They were all so shocked (or maybe just thought I was stupid) when I said I liked him. He's still an incredibly nice horse!!?? Maybe not vying for any Olympic team any time soon, but a lot nicer than most of the horses in the US, and his problems are training problems, so you can't really blame him for that. So now watch me get to ride Dellenger every day, since I'm the stupid American who likes him...
Speaking of horses vying for the Olympic team (if he could keep his tongue in his mouth,) I then rode Four Seasons with Olli when he returned from teaching all morning. He was fantastic! I've got a much better feel for him now. And after Olli's lesson with Herr Meyer zu Strohen yesterday, he seemed to want me to ride him much more up and open in the neck, which feels so much better to me than having him so deep. We did a nice warm up and then started with trot work. This horse's trot is truly out of this world. And occasionally my butt was also out of the God awful Passier saddle, because, WoW that's a lot to sit. It was such a relief when he said, "Let's do some canter work."
We started with some pirouettes and then he wanted me to ride some changes. My single changes had been good in the warm up, so I think Olli was not afraid I would screw up as badly as I did yesterday on Salcido, since Four Seasons is much hotter. But, luckily, I didn't. At least not too many times. We did good fours and then some good threes and then Olli had to head into Münster for a show that is going on this weekend.
Daniel and I explored a nearby town all afternoon. And hopefully tomorrow Jonathan can take some time away from work in the afternoon, and we can go for a hike in the beautiful Teutonberg Forest right nearby.
 Daniel LOVED this fountain in the center of Greven. |  Church in Greven with some ominous looking clouds... |
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