Author Archives: Elizabeth

Rapid Refresh!

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Elizabeth

Hello everyone! Wow, I just looked back on the blog, and realized that it has literally been months since I last updated this thing, and while my life has been all sorts of crazy and busy, I still feel bad for neglecting it for so long… Anyways! I’m back now, and eager to catch you all up on the things that have been going on. You’ll have to excuse some of these next few posts, because I’m going to try to catch up on some of the events from the past few months before I delve into the new things. And then when I’m all done playing catch up, we can get into the good stuff of what I’m actually up to now!

Ok, so everyone take a jump to the left, and then a step to the right… and we’ll time warp right back to where we left off! We’ve got Sherwood to wrap up, a mini vacation in Minnesota to cover, and shows in Oklahoma, Nebraska and South Dakota. Here we go!

Abe really wanted to eat Pixie the Owl!

Abe really wanted to eat Pixie the Owl!

Sherwood! Most of you know this fair is special to me and I always enjoy my time here. While I was not jousting at all, I did get to start getting back into the swing of things here, and really got to work on my riding and technique. Doing the gaming shows was always fun, and I really enjoyed getting to work with Abe, Marcus, Indy, and Daisy. Each horse gave me a completely different ride and all of them helped me to grow as a rider, of which I am very thankful. I got to practice my squiring techniques too, and soon was able to help get the guys armed up and ready to go in record time. All of the guys did spectacular, and I’m very proud to see all of them coming along so well. Dave eve won the Sherwood Forest Faire Mid-Season Tournament (which I know is old news by now, but still an accomplishment, so yey Dave!) Anyways, after Sherwood we were off to our next little weekend event!

Abraham and I riding in the Games together

Abraham and I riding in the Games together

My sister in the Lyst, Dame Eden!

My sister in the Lyst, Dame Eden!

Onto Norman, Oklahoma for the Norman Renaissance Fair! Whew, thankfully this was only a quick drive up from Texas, and we were only there for a 3-day weekend, but what a busy weekend it was. Colin and Mark put on some killer shows, and I had fun riding in the gaming shows with my favorite senior, Marcus. We did so well one day, we had an absolute perfect ride; managing to win the cabbage slice, spear all the apples, and then get all 3 rings! So proud of how well he did! As an added bonus, my good friend Amy and her family were able to make it out to see me perform, and it was great to have her cheering me on.

The team at practice Friday before the show

The team at practice Friday before the show

Time to zip on up to Bellevue, Nebraska for the Renaissance Festival of Nebraska! Once again, we were only up in this neck of the woods for a weekend, but what a fun weekend it was! We’d never performed at this fair before, so it was a completely new experience for everyone. Although the fair was on a very small location, and it rained one of the days, we still had a great time and met some great people. One of the best things about this show, was that I got to preside as Knight Marshall over the field! It was a super great experience, and although I thought I would totally flub up and forget my lines or make a fool out of myself, I actually did a great job! I think I was born to be in front of a crowd. The only down side was that there was no sound system, so I had to learn how to project without killing my vocal cords, something which is not easy to do! Tara did an excellent job for me too, and she only had one “OH SHIT” moment. It was a great compliment afterwards when the Queen came up after the show and told me what a good job I had done. 🙂

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Myself and the terrific Tara serving as Marshall

Sir Mathew Colinsworth and the Lady Riders

Sir Mathew Colinsworth and the Lady Riders

After Nebraska, we stopped in Duluth, MN for a mini vacation, (that which I shall cover in the next post otherwise this will end up being 16 pages long…) we hit the road and found ourselves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota the first weekend of June for the Siouxland Renaissance Festival. Again, this was only a weekend show, but filled with wonderful memories and people. Plus as an added bonus, there was an indoor arena with a wonderful speaker system that was at our disposal! Anybody who is a horse person will understand how wonderful indoor arenas are, especially when it’s raining outside. I’d been working a lot with Tara, and was really proud of how well we were coming along. This was especially important to me because Tara was the one that I had my accident with, so me getting back on her and working with her was a huge milestone for me. I ended up getting to Marshall the shows here as well, which once again turned out to be a wonderful experience. The crowd was wonderful, and even when I made a mistake, they would laugh it off with me. Of course, I got a bit more ribbing from the team after the shows, but at least we were all able to laugh about it together! After the show, I actually had the Entertainment Director come up and tell me what a wonderful job I had done, which really was the icing on the cake. A great way to to wrap up my time in Sioux Falls!

Sir Mathew on Daisy, Sir Marcus on Penelope, Sir Jacob on Marcus, and the Lovely Dame Elizabeth on Tara

Sir Mathew on Daisy, Sir Marcus on Penelope, Sir Jacob on Marcus, and the Lovely Dame Elizabeth on Tara

Well, aside from the month long vacation we took in May, I think I’ve pretty much caught you up with the past few months! And as a bonus, look at all the pictures you got to see! Anyways, I’ll try to get my last catch up post done this week, so we can move onto the new stuff!

Thanks everyone! Much love!

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The Squire Life

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Elizabeth

At the bequest of the lovely Ally King, I have decided to dedicate this blog post into an account of the day to day activities of in the life of a squire. As I have been recovering, I have been spending a lot of time working on the ground and helping with the shows, and let me tell you what, it is not as easy as a job as one would think! So, let me enlighten you on the tales of my time squiring, and give each and every one of you insight to what it’s like to run things from the ground.

First, you have to prep the field. You take everything from the back (lances, helmets, guards, swords and shields), and you bring it to the field. Good!

Next, you stand around in case anyone needs help with their armor. Usually they don’t. Ok, doing well!

Then, it’s time to head out to the field. You wait for the knights to get called out, then you put their helmets and guards on; alright, not so difficult.

Now, here’s where things start getting fast paced. You give a knight a lance, he charges forth, smacks his opponent, and then resets back to his end. “But what should I be doing then?” you wonder. Well, it’s all about running, picking up broken lances, running back, squatting down, waiting, then doing it again and again! Wow! This is fun! I know, I know…

Sometimes you ever get to help fallen knights up, move horses, coil and unwind ropes, and even take off helmets and guards.

This position is known as the "Squire Squat". As Ally is demonstrating, she is ready to spring into action when needed!

This position is known as the “Squire Squat”. As Ally is demonstrating, she is ready to spring into action when needed!

Truly, the life of the squire is one of dedication and devotion, and requires tireless hours of practice and endless skill.

But let’s get serious for a minute; the ground crew is one of the most important aspects of having a show go smoothly. They really are there to make things go as planned, and make sure the things that need to happen, happen. Last week, I saw some of our dedicated squire’s sprint off the field, grab duct tape, and tape Sir Marcus’ helmet to his head as the pin had broken. We’ve had to jump in the lyst to help with unruly horses, quickly make repairs and adjustments, and try our hardest to make sure it all goes smoothly.

I am so grateful that there are always such great ground crew at all the places we visit; they always will do anything to try and help out. And it is amazing and wonderful and having been on both the horse and the ground, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the squires and ground crew for all their hard work! THANK YOU! Keep it up, you all are awesome!SFF3151523

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Reining in the Rain

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Elizabeth

Ahhhh! With another weekend here at Sherwood Forest Faire under my belt, I’ve finally gotten a chance to sit down on this rainy Monday and write out another post for all you avid readers. As promised, I really want to focus on my riding and the specific ideas I’ve been trying to work on. So while the rain pitter patters outside, I’m going to take this opportunity to try and go more in depth about some of the things I’m working on.

In some of my previous posts, I know I’ve gone over some of the ideas Dave and Kelly advocate; more specifically the idea to ride a horse more with your seat and body than with your hands. This pretty much boils down to the main goal of working towards having a horse that is relaxed and responsive to minimal aids. As I’ve also stated previously, all our horses are trained in Western Reining, an equine sport that focuses on these ideas. The National Reining Horse Association handbook defines the reining horse as such, “To rein a horse is not only to guide him, but also to control his every movement. The best reined horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. Any movement on his own must be considered a lack of control…”

Now, growing up, I was aware of reining, and loved watching the shows I was able to get to, but never had actually ridden a reining horse nor had any inking of the way one was trained or properly ridden. Having just come from a strong jumper background, reining was completely different than what I had been used to. The notion of spending so much time on technique and fine details was foreign, as most of the equestrian sports I’d competed in had been about speed and time. Now I’ve gotten to a point where I’m becoming more aware of the finer details in riding a horse, and can take the time to focus on and refine those techniques.

There’s just so much I could go into and talk about, and so much that I’ve learned so far, but the one important idea that I feel I’m really starting to unearth and discover is how to use my legs and seat in an effective manner. Specifically speaking, learning to use my leg and spurs to get a horse to frame up and also stop and back up. This has been, by far, the most difficult idea for me to grasp. I’ve been riding for 15 years, and learning to use my leg to stop is the exact opposite of what I’ve been taught. For me, I learned leg = go and reins = stop, so the idea of using my legs/seat to stop has been quite different for me.

This last weekend though, I felt like some things are starting to finally become clearer to me on the topic. Abraham wanted to rush off at the end and would want to pop up his head and just run off, but as soon as I felt him wanting to surge forward, I squeezed him with my spurs and pushed him backwards. And it worked! It was my “Aha!” moment of the day, I could get this horse to back up and go forward quietly without having to hold onto his face and then expect a big surge. Every time he felt like rushing off, I squeezed him with my spurs and told him to back it up and hold on. Then, when he’d settled back down, I’d quietly ask him to walk forward, and then nicely pick up the canter.

I know that I’m just touching the tip of the iceberg at this point, but the fact that I’m finally actually starting to understand these ideas is wonderful. It’s amazing too how little you have to use to ask these horses to do something. Another thing Dave preaches is the use of the outside rein to help balance a horse, and again I had another “Aha!” moment with Abe. While asking him to side pass, I always found him over-bent to the inside and trying to move too fast. After stopping and assessing what I might be doing wrong, I remembered Dave preaching about being aware of how you’re asking a horse to do something. So I let out my reins a bit, used my seat to ask him forward, and then very quietly lifted my outside rein just as a support while gently asking him over with my leg. By simply using less spur and not trying to force him over by pulling his head over, I was able to get a wonderful side pass!

It’s always so hard to remember to nicely ask a horse to do something rather than thinking that you have to muscle them into something. For me, when I get panicked, I find myself wanting to snatch at the reins to find control in the situation again, something I’m sure many of us equestrians are guilty of. But I’m finding more and more just how much you can accomplish without grabbing on a horse’s face. Riding horses is a sport which constantly pushes you to constantly keep learning and adjusting, and although this can lead to much frustration, also leads to wonderful success when you are able to finally grasp something.

I’ll wrap this up with a well written quote by author Jane Smiley, “All equestrians, if they last long enough, learn that riding in whatever form is a lifelong sport and art, an endeavor that is both familiar and new every time you take a horse out of his stall or pasture”.

So I will keep learning, and keep growing, constantly chipping away at these ideas, and constantly working on becoming a better rider.

Stay dry this Monday my friends, and remember to keep pushing forward and working towards your goal. Much love.

Abraham and I after a wonderful weekend.

Abraham and I after a wonderful weekend.

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Return to Sherwood Forest

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Elizabeth

As most of you know, I had my first jousting experience at Sherwood Forest Faire 2 years ago, and then last year I spent a month there training with the New Riders before joining their team. Needless to say, this faire is important to me, and hands down one of my absolute favorites. Not only in terms of the performance we get to put out, but the people there are all wonderful, and the fans are also great. We’ve been here since the beginning of February (yes, I know, shame on me for not updating this sooner….) and I have nothing but good things to report!

First and foremost, this year the whole team got to come down to Texas and instead of the usual 4 horses, we were able to bring 8. Indigo got to come along too, and me and that big dumpling have been having a great time together. I really enjoyed riding him in Minnesota, but then he had a ton of foot problems and I then I had my problems, so it’s been nice to get back in sync with him. I definitely forot how huge he is! At 18.2 hands, it completely reinforces his nickname of “Horsezilla”. I’ve only been riding in the gaming show thus far as I work on getting back into the swing of things, and Indy and I seem to be doing well together.

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We’ve put the gaming show together in such a way that it pits the guys vs the girls. Shelby and I represent the women and Mark and Harry are the men’s team. We then all take turns at slicing the cabbage, spearing the apples, and running the rings on the quintain. So far, I believe the women have won 3 of the 4 shows, so I feel safe in saying that we make a pretty fantastic team. I always like the gaming show, because not only can we make it fun, but it’s also a good time to check in with your horse in front of a crowd. Indy’s gotten into a bad habit of wanting to rush of the line coming from the audience side, so it’s been good to reinforce quietly standing and having a relaxed and easy departure.

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In between shows Shelby and I have been doing horse rides (yey…) and then have been helping to squire for the guys during the joust. As of now, our shows consist of all 3 guys doing round robin matches and then a ground fight at the end. Dave, Mark, and Harry have all been killing it on the field though, and so far, we’ve had some amazing shows with lots of hard hits and unhorsings. I’m actually really enjoying squiring, although it always makes me increasingly eager to get back into my armor and start hitting guys with sticks again!

Speaking of armor, last week I suited up and we had a look at how things could of possibly happened to of caused my break to happen. And oddly enough, there’s nothing blaringly obvious that would give reason or rhyme as to why the leg broke. However, it was nice to put some of my gear on and work with Indy. I plan to keep wearing it as much as I can and get back in the lyst as soon as I get the go ahead to. Shelby and I even plan to ride in our armor like we did in Minnesota for the gaming show to get even more practice that way.

I’m really enjoying the time we have here in Texas, and really hope that things continue to move in a positive direction. Having the whole team here is just wonderful, and I’m quite glad we didn’t have to split up. Like I said earlier, there’s some really great people here in Texas, and I’ve been given a great opportunity to do some work with a great organization out here. The foundation is called Horse Boy and they work with autistic kids through horses and different learning methods. I’ll be sure to update you all on how that goes with them, because it really is a fantastic organization!

Sorry this post isn’t the most riveting or exciting, but things have been pretty vanilla with me coming back from my injury. I’m just taking things slow and easing myself back into my routine. I think I’ll focus my next post on more horse oriented stuff, and try to get some pictures from practice.

If you’re in the Texas area, do try and stop by the Sherwood Forest Faire. It truly is a fun experience, and you’ll get to see an amazing joust!

Much love to you all!

Love from Indy and I

Love from Indy and I

Categories: Adventure Time!, Horses | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

True Grit

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Elizabeth

Well folks, it was almost exactly 2 months ago that I flew out of New Orleans with a newly repaired femur fracture; and I’m happy to report that today I will be headed back out on the road to meet up with my team! It’s been a long two month recovery, and it has not been easy, but I’m pleased that all my hard work has paid off and I’m feeling optimistic for the future!

A quick rundown as to where I stand (pun intended); at my last follow up visit, the radiographs showed my leg is healing extremely well, and there’s lots of callus forming around the break. The doctor gave me permission to return to light work and gave me to ok to ride again, although he did restrict me to a nice easy horse for a while, and nothing too vigorous for the time being. Which unfortunately means no jousting for a bit. Everyone seems to be very impressed with how quickly I’ve gotten back on the horse (more puns… sorry), and my therapist is especially surprised that only 8 weeks post op I was doing well enough to actually get on the horse. However, she told me I’m one of the few people who actually comes in 3 times a week throughout recovery, in addition to doing all the exercises they give and all the reps. See kids, hard work does pay off!

Just last week I was able to get on a horse again, and we had a smashing good ride. I’ll listen to the doctor to a point, but when you set me and my horse loose in thousands of acres of foothills, I will most definitely do more than just a “nice easy walk”. I’ve been riding every day I can get out, and have cantered through fields and up hills, jumped ditches, and spent hours in the saddle already. However, I will lament the fact that my riding muscles had all but disappeared and after my first ride back, I was left walking pretty bowlegged! I’m more than ready to get back on and continue training, but for all you mom’s out there, I will try to take it slow and listen to my body.

Being laid up for a while has given me plenty of time to think about everything, and up to this moment, I am happy to proclaim that I have absolutely no regrets. This surprises some people, because after sustaining an injury like mine, a lot of folks wouldn’t be inclined to head back out on the road and continue doing what I do. Something I’ve realized though is that horse people have a lot of pride, and can be very stubborn, and I fully attest to living up to those characteristics. I will never again get the chance to travel the country with an amazing team of horses and people, and it’s definitely worth sacrificing for. As a matter of fact, it’s a surprise it took me this long to actually get a bad injury from riding horses! I’d say that after 16 years, it was about time! Life is fleeting, and full of unexpected perils, and while I understand this, I refuse to sit idle out of fear of injury. Horses will always be a part of my life, and every time I get in the saddle, I accept this risk. Because gosh darn it, it’s just too much fun!

I look back on 2014 in review, and am more than pleased with how it turned out. With this being the beginning of a new year, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me. Last year, I was able to travel to Texas, Idaho, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, and Louisiana; and since most of my travel was driving, got to see so much more of the country. I’m also awed by the amount of new people I’ve met, and how great they’ve all been. I consider myself very blessed to be working with such an amazing team, and couldn’t be where I am without their support.

It’s hard to express the point of my life that I’m in right now, but it mostly flip flops between extreme comfort and happiness with my vagabond, gypsy lifestyle, and complete terror that I’m doing something wrong. Shouldn’t I have a full time, well paying job using my college education? Shouldn’t I be concerned with words like 401K and retirement? There’s a lot of fear sometimes that I’m doing something wrong, but then I just take a moment to stop and look at my life. I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’m learning so much about horses and improving my riding. I’m getting lots of “real life experience” (I really hate that term, isn’t all of life a real life experience?) and learning lots of practical skills, like how to live off an extremely tight budget and still have a good time. I have very few really big obligations or responsibilities at this time in my life, and have no need to rush and “settle down”. Thankfully, I am able to talk myself down when I have these little moments, and it makes me realize just how lucky I am to be experiencing all this.

I ran across a quote the other day that is going to be my life motto for the next year, “Not all who wander are lost”. Really, it doesn’t get much truer than that! So this year I’m going to take my time wandering, and not worry about being lost or being off the beaten path of society. I am ready to embrace what life may throw at me, and put my all into whatever that may be. I am also grateful that I have so many people to support me as I wander through life, especially my parents and close friends, because while they may offer advice (and sometimes it’s rather strong advice) at the end of the day, they always have my back.

So here’s to a 2015 full of adventure and wanderlust, for as we all know, it is better to take the road less traveled.

***UPDATE*** I wrote this on my flight to Florida on Monday, however am just now getting a chance to post in. I  have successfully made it to Florida, and been reunited with my team. I’ve gotten to ride my big man Indy, and had tons of fun with my team. We are currently in Gainesville, FL performing this weekend, but will be on the road again come Monday. Now that I’m back, expect lots more posts! Much Love!

Reunited and it feels so good!

Reunited and it feels so good!

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Elizabeth and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Fracture

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Elizabeth

As you are all aware, about a month ago, I took a obnoxious fall off my horse during a show in Louisiana that resulted in a unfortunate broken leg. Boo! Hiss! Yes, yes, I know, it’s been very inopportune and dealing with the whole recovery process has been a headache. But I’m so very determined to get whole again, I’ve been working extra hard to try and heal faster (and yes, I do believe yelling at my leg to heal faster will make it heal faster). Anywho, I decided it had been a while since I had written a blog post, and although my life so far has been little more than rest, rest, and more rest, I figured that I could still scrape together enough to put together a post.
A few days after the surgery, I was moved to a rehab hospital to continue my therapy. I was there for a little over a week, where I had therapists who were able to help my with my rehab and nurses to look after my medical needs. The first week was terrible. I was weak all the time, had no appetite, the pain was terrible, and I had such limited mobility that it took me a painful eternity to do anything. Finally, the doctors took a closer look at my blood work and figured out I was very anemic, turns out my red cell count was about half of what it should be. Yikes… So a blood transfusion was recommended, and even though I was nervous, we decided to go ahead with it. I had to have a PICC line inserted into my arm (a terrifying procedure where they float an IV line through your vein so it rests right above your heart – ok, it really wasn’t terrifying, but I thought it would be!) and spent half the night awake as my nurse monitored the 2 units of blood that was slowly pumping into my heart. Holy Wow! That transfusion helped me so much! Afterwards, I had more energy, my appetite came back, and was ready to get to work!
My absolutely wonderful mother flew down to see me and take me home when I was ready, and thankfully I was discharged the day before Thanksgiving. We decided to spend our last night in Louisiana exploring New Orleans with Dave, KD, and Jesse. Dave and KD were able to procure a wheelchair for me, and graciously pushed me around as we ventured through the city. I’d have to say the highlight of the day was stopping at Café Du Monde, a glorious little café in the French Quarter that serves wonderful beignets and coffee. It was a fantastic way to end my stay, and I couldn’t have asked for better company.

 

Cafe du Monde!

Cafe du Monde!

I flew back to Colorado the next day with a long list of instructions, a bag of meds, and my very own walker. Since then, it’s been nothing but lounging on the couch and physical therapy. I’ve started some fun knitting projects and helped my momma with some schoolwork and computer things, but for the most part have been pretty bored out of my mind. I’ve watched countless movies and entire seasons of TV shows and am starting to go stir crazy. I’ve devised my own workout for home, and have been working on that to help get me back into shape. My therapists say that I’m the only one who does all my reps, and I’m constantly pushing myself to spend more time on the bike or to increase my weights more. My hard work seems to of paid off though, just this week I was given the okay to transition off my walker and onto a single crutch. I’ve been cruising around fantastically with that, and although my leg is more fatigued at the end of the day, I’m feeling better and better. I’m even getting to the point where I’ll leave my crutch behind and limp around the house for little excursions to the kitchen or bathroom. I’m completely off all my medications as well, and just have to deal with muscle aches at this point. I’m going to the orthopedic doctor on Tuesday and am hoping I’ll get the okay to drive, and maybe even ride soon!

 

Transition to the crutch!

Transition to the crutch!

It’s been a long journey so far, and I am hoping that soon it will be over, but it has definitely been quite the experience. I’m so very thankful for all of my friends and family who have stepped up to offer support and encouragement, and for my glorious family who have all been such a huge part in my recovery. Thank you Christine, for keeping me constant company, and being there to hold my hand through the pain while I was in the hospital. Thank you Dave and KD for your visits, the never ending pep talks and encouragement, and of course the My Little Pony coloring book. Thank you Jesse for being the only one who could relate to what I was going through, and for the countless hours you spent watching cartoons and movies with me. Thank you Barb and Kelly for the stuffed horse, who has provided so much comfort during this time. Thank you to my Mother, Father, and Grandma for all the countless things you’ve done for me, there’s just too many to list, but they all mean so much.

 

 

Even though this has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad fracture, I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I’m sure that I’ve grown from this misfortune. I’m even more determined than I was before to get back up on a horse and get back in the lyst. I don’t know what struggles I will have to fight, be they physical or mental, but I’ve proven I’m determined, and I don’t plan to change anytime soon. Plus, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I will always have support to give me that extra push to chase my dreams.

 

DISCHARGED! Thank you Collin, Dave, KD, Chris, and Jesse!

DISCHARGED! Thank you Collin, Dave, KD, Chris, and Jesse!

Much love to you all, and thank you to everyone for everything.

Categories: Adventure Time! | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Accidents Happen…

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Elizabeth

Hello all! I want to first and foremost apologize for my absence, as I know I last left you with exciting tales of my progress with Tara and my preparation for our shows. I only ended up doing a show and a half with Tara, but feel that they went very well! I’ll get back to the shows in a minutes, but your probably scratching your head as to why I only completed a show and half with Tara. Well my friends, accidents happen and unfortunately I am not excluded from them. During the second show, I fell of and by some strange cause of nature, I manged to completely break my femur in 2. They say breaking the femur is the most painful bone in the body you can break, and I can attest to this with certainty. So I’ve been laid up in the hospital recovering from this and relearning how to use my leg now that there’s a titanium rod in it…

Let’s start at the beginning. Tara and I did the first kids day show with Dave last Tuesday and considering it was the first time I had to really carry a show and do a Baston Course, lance passes, and a ground fight, I’m pretty happy with how it went. There’s so much going on and it just zips by so fast! But Tara and I got though the show, and even though we had some issues to address with her trying to rush our departures, I am so proud of our success together! I definitely forgot the ground fight and Dave ended up smashing me into the ground multiple times because I didn’t hear him yelling “stay down!” at me… Oops! But Wednesday was going so much better, Tara and I worked better through the Baston course and I was actually able to make some hits on Dave rather then freezing up and getting pummeled. The trouble came when we were setting up for lance passes, we definitely didn’t have the ground help we really needed, and I could tell Tara already had ants in her pants. She does her job so well, she runs strait and always stops perfect at the end. However her only fault is she gets excited and wants to rush her departures. She started getting antsy and I tried to talk to her with my legs and it worked for about half a second. Then Tara decided we were off and away we went. I dropped my lance and tried to get my balance, but had already been rocked back and found myself trying to pull myself up by the reins. I know how important it is not to ruin a horses mouth by mercilessly pulling on the reins, so I made the decision to let go and try to stick the landing. I tumbled off the back, landed on my head and shoulders just fine, then felt my left leg land and was suddenly in the most excruciating pain of my life. As you can imagine, all sorts of people rushed to me and I had to fight through my tears and pain to describe how to take off my armor so they wouldn’t cut the leather straps. Apparently my femur was angulated, and my left foot was touching my right although my knee was strait… Ich! They had to pull the bone strait before they could move me and I felt the two ends scrape each other as they pulled my leg straight. I almost blacked out because the pain was so bad. I was transported to the ER where I was pumped full of drugs while they took radiographs and tried to get all my info. Surgery was scheduled the next day and I was transported to a room to spend the next 21 hours trying to manage through terrible pain.

In a nutshell, surgery went well and I now have a titanium rod and pins from my hip to my knee. Surgery was a week ago and I’m still dealing with pain, as well as going through physical therapy to help strengthen my leg. I can’t lift it by my own and have to use a walker to shuffle around. I just was transferred to a rehab clinic to start a more intense therapy so I can get better sooner. I’m learning the strength of my own body and pushing myself everyday so I can be back on a horse soon. I was originally told 6 months, but the doctor believes I’ll heal quickly and it won’t be that long. I’m so eager to get things functioning normally again, I’m really trying to push myself. But let me tell you, it’s a huge eye opener when it takes you 30 excruciating minutes just to go to the bathroom. And when  you have to grit your teeth and fight back tears to bend your knee, or have someone help you put your clothes on or get into bed. Basically, this is probably the hardest thing, both physically and mentally, that I’ve had to work through. It doesn’t help that my pain meds give me weird mood swings and make me nauseous and tired all the time. But this isn’t a pity party for Liz, no, this is a motivational “screw you leg, I’m going to get better and get right back to jousting” party. Because I’ve worked so hard to get where I’m at, and I’m not letting a broken leg get in my way when I have so much more to accomplish.

I felt me and Tara were really starting to work well together, and I want to make clear that she, in no way, shape, or form, caused this or was even a part of it. Tara is an amazing little horse and in no way was malicious or “out of control” when I fell off. I’m really getting tired of people going, “oh you got bucked off a horse?” or “that horse isn’t safe, you shouldn’t ride her again”. Excuse me? You weren’t there, you have no idea what happened, so please educate yourself first before making assumptions. Sorry if that sounds very accusatory, but I’m just fed up with people at this time. I’m very excited to continue working with her when I get better, and and eager to see what our future holds together.

Anyways, that’s what’s going on with me right now, and although it’s a setback, I’m more than confident I’ll get through it. I want to send a heartfelt thank you to all of my amazing joust family for being here for me. They’re there to hold my hand, give me someone to talk to, and keep me hopefully for the future. I’ve had someone visit me everyday since I’ve been here and it really means a lot that they care so much. So thank you to Chris and Collin, Jesse, and Dave and KD. Your companionship means more than you know!

I hope to heal up and be well enough to travel soon, at which point I’ll go back to Colorado to heal up before jumping back into things. Thanks everyone for your well wishes!

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The break

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Yey titanium!

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My Horsie pal from Kelly, Barb, and Fin 🙂

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The Adventures of Mighty Mouse and the Dame Elizabeth!

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Elizabeth

Whew! It’s been awhile since I sat down and put my adventures to paper (…erm… keyboard?), and it isn’t because it’s been uneventful around here, it’s simply because I’ve been lazy. “Boo laziness!” you may shout, but nay, you are right to scold. I really have been learning a ton about the riding technique and should be writing it all down to better retain it. However, I am now, so shush up and listen to the tales I shall tell ye.

The last few weeks have really been spent increasing my knowledge and skill in the saddle. I’ve always considered myself a good rider and horsewoman, but it has been very humbling to realize how much more there is to learn and how much room there is to grow. Focusing on the reining techniques and style is really making me take the time to slow down and get things right, rather than working on speed or completing a task. Riding Drill Team and Hunter/Jumpers taught me to ride for speed and to complete a course, whereas here I’m really getting to focus on collection, cadence, and consistency. It’s amazing how you can spend an entire ride just working on getting your horse to round up, bend at the poll, and change gait without changing speed too much. The “little” things people don’t really think about are actually huge things, and I’m finally getting to a point where I’m seeing how these “little” things transfer to how our horses ride and perform in a show and in the joust.

For instance, Kelly and Dave worked with me at length to get Abraham to ride together into the bridle, frame up and then transition gaits. We spent a lot of time working on the walk to trot transition, and I really had to focus on riding him up into the bridle with my seat and leg while not grabbing or pulling on his face. Fast forward to the other day; I’m riding Abe in armor in the lyst practicing passes, and am really working on that upward transition where Abe rides together into the canter. There was one or two passes where we got it, and the power that I felt coming from him was tremendous! He wasn’t just dragging himself through and hanging on the bridle, he had rounded up and driving himself through his hindquarters, and it was a wonderful feeling. The difference from Abe with his head up and back hollowed out running though a pass and Abe with himself rounded up and collected was like riding two different horses, and I bet you can guess which one I preferred!

I worked quite a bit with Marcus as well, and seeing as he is one of the “Old Guard” horses and knows his job extremely well, I felt like I could trust him a little more. I don’t know exactly what it was, but he really helped me realize it’s not just him I can trust, but I need to trust all of the horses more too. I know I’ve touched on this before, about needing to trust the horses more, and it’s really something difficult to do! However, I really think I have made strides in this over the last month, and am so grateful for Marcus, Abe, and Tara. After working with Marcus, I found it easier to trust Abe, and am finally getting to a point where I don’t need to latch on to his face to try and get my point across. There was on day where I spent a lot of my time working with no reins to focus on using my seat and legs, and he took perfect care of me. Once I’d started trusting Abe more, I was able to transition that to Tara. Tara’s only been jousting since February at the Sherwood faire, but just like Abe, Dave has really done a fine job with her. She really wants to try hard, and I’ve only ever once seen her get belligerent and say no to something. Riding Tara has really made me take everything I’ve learned from Marcus and Abe, and apply it to a completely different horse.

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Me and Tara “Mighty Mouse” after our ride.

The last week I’ve been riding Tara every day, and every day I grow to like her more and more. She picks things up quick, and although I was a bit worried about her the first few days, she’s really showing me that I can trust her too. We’re still trying to perfect our transitions into the canter, and to ride more collected in the canter, but she tries whenever I ask and I can see a definitive improvement from the first time I asked her to today. The first day I got in armor to ride, she acted like she had completely forgotten what armor was and though it was going to eat her. Thankfully, today she hadn’t a care in a world about it, and I’m very proud of her for that. We practiced our transitions, lance passes, and the baston course, and while she still gets a little sticky while circling the other horse during our baston course, today was the first day I was able to ride her with only one hand and really ask her around with my leg. Oh, and let’s not forget about the best part of Tara; her stops! She gets to the end of that lyst and you can have the biggest drape in your reins, and as soon as you even think about stopping, she’s on it. For being a silly looking, disproportionate horse, she really is great.

The amount of time we have till the shows start is coming to end, and I know it’s going to be here sooner than I would like. I’ve really enjoyed this time just focusing on the horses and working on our technique, but now is the time to go out there and put it into action. I’m excited for the possibilities Tara and I have before us, and even though we’ve already had our rough times doing shows together as Lady Riders in Minnesota, I have high hopes for us here. I know it probably won’t be perfect, and that’s ok, because then we’ll have something to work on, but I fully intend to go out there and give it my all. Like they say, nothing worth having comes easy!

Much love to you all, and wish me and Mighty Mouse luck in the lyst!

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Louisiana heat….it ain’t no treat!

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Elizabeth

It’s almost been a full week since we arrived in Hammond, and I have some very choice words for this state, but since this is a family friendly blog, I will refrain from telling you my true feeling about our current location. Friday was full of Louisiana adventures, as we rolled into site and had to clear 6 months of brush from the horse’s pens, as well as get water set up and start making camp. I was besieged by fire ants twice, swarmed by hornets, came face to face with a few giant banana and orb weaver spiders, and almost grabbed a water moccasin. The local wildlife has not improved at all, and the cherry on top is the lovely temperatures in the high 80’s with 90% humidity. Someone save me please…

Right off the trailer with my gals Christine and Daisy. Notice the cheery excitement... this was before I met the terrors of Louisiana!

Right off the trailer with my gals Christine and Daisy. Notice the cheery excitement… this was before I met the terrors of Louisiana!

We basically spent the first few days just getting some much needed R&R for us and horses, after 13 straight weekends of shows and 3 days on the road, we all needed it. Saturday was the first weekend we’d had off in months, and we spent it sleeping in, then enjoying a 3 hour breakfast with each other, and spending the rest of the day watching the spiders catch prey and playing cards. It was so nice, so so so very nice! As of Sunday, the whole team was officially present and settled in, and I must admit, I do like the setup of joust camp here and the fact that everyone and the horses are so close to each other.

Tuesday was the first day we got back to riding, and I am eager to spend the next month working on my technique and really honing my skills in the saddle. I know what my flaws are, and I’m in a sticky transition period of ditching my old ways of riding and learning the methods Kelly and Dave teach. Yesterday I rode Christine, and actually had a decent ride on her. Christine is one of the “old guard” horses, one of the few that have been doing this for so long, they know their job better than you do. But just because they know their job, doesn’t mean they’re going to do it the way you need them to. Christine’s biggest problem is she is very forward and pushy, and can be extremely stubborn and frustrating to ride.

Working with Christine, I really have to focus on keeping my hands from just hanging on her face, and instead, give my contact meaning. I’m also working on riding more with my seat and legs, and trusting the horse without always resorting to grabbing at their face. This is my biggest barrier, because when I panic, I want to snatch up the reins and pull them to a stop. So when Dave just tells me to sit into a stop, there’s always this instant panic of, “OH MY GOD! THIS ISN’T GOING TO WORK! MY HORSE WON’T STOP!” I have to push that away and just trust Dave and Christine, and lo and behold, when I sit deep, she stops.

Today I got to work with Marcus and Christine, and I do enjoy riding Marcus; he’s such a sweet old man! But just like Christine, he’s one of the “old guard” horses, and his biggest issues are keeping him in frame and having him nicely come off the line and not surging forward. I was very happy with how my rides went today, and even though they weren’t perfect, I’m starting to better understand how I need to work with theses horses and what I need to do to accomplish that. The exercises Dave’s had me incorporating into my rides help me to trust my horse more, work off a lighter hand, and ride more with my hips and seat. One of the exercises I’ve had success with is working in a circle and slowing brining your horse down into a pivot; all while trying to use minimal rein aids and working off your seat and legs. Dave also spent some time with me and Christine teaching me to frame her up and slow her down into a collected trot by simply firming my hands, rounding her with my legs, and relaxing my seat. One of the things Dave told me today that really stuck was to ride Christine with my fingertips. It really made me conscientious of my hands and how I was having contact with her.

Love the setup here. Marcus is right by my tent, so I get to hear his farts all the time!

Love the setup here. Marcus is right by my tent, so I get to hear his farts all the time!

It’s a different change of pace to go out to ride and spend most of my time just working on technique at a walk or a trot. Coming from a hunter jumper background where there was a lot of speed and jumps, it’s definitely different to spend so much time on the little things. I love it though, and I’m slowly starting to appreciate more and more the amazing training behind these horses. They are so finely tuned and so precise, and to watch Dave or Kelly ride them to their full potential, it really is a thing of beauty. Even though it may be extremely frustrating at times to spend so much effort and time on such little things, I can’t wait till it all clicks for me. All I can do is chip away a little bit every day, because as anyone who rides horses knows, there’s always something new to learn and strive towards.

Seeing as the Louisiana Renaissance Festival doesn’t start until the first weekend of November, I will mostly be focusing my posts on the riding technique and my time here in Hammond. If there’s anything specific you all would like a post about, please don’t hesitate to request it! I would love to do something that you, my readers, would like to know more about.

Anyways, it’s stupidly hot here today, and I unfortunately must venture out of the nicely air conditioned coffee house to head back to site to take care of the horses. Alas! Stay cool my friends, as I will not be. Much Love!

Categories: Horses | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

Another Goodbye, Another Good Time

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Elizabeth

Once again I find myself forlorn with the fact that yet another faire has come to a close. Minnesota was more fun than I could of ever imagined, and I am so thankful for the opportunities that were presented to me here, as well as the memories that I made and the friends that I met. It has been quite the memorable experience here, but as sad as I may be to leave, I am also excited for the adventures that Louisiana holds in wait for me.

Our last weekend here ended up being a three day weekend, as the festival was open on Friday as well as the usual Saturday and Sunday. Two day weekends typically tire us out pretty effectively, so having to make it through a three day weekend was something none of us were really looking forward to. Thankfully, Friday ended up being a slower day, so Shelby and I actually got a chance to walk around the faire a bit and get some shopping done. Minnesota’s fair is a lot larger than Sterling, so there was quite a bit to see, and the shops are quite more numerous and varied. After working there 7 weeks, it was nice to be able to peruse the grounds and enjoy a nice break.

Daisy and I

Daisy and I

However, the best part about the weekend was the fact that I got to ride Daisy the Destroyer for my passes! Daisy is pretty much once of the best jousting horses the company owns, she knows her job and will take care of you in the lyst. Plus she’s an adorable teddy bear, as well as the fiercest war horse who will paw the ground in anticipation of the run. Everyone loves Daisy, and I was absolutely thrilled that I got the privilege to ride her. After my tough last weekend with Abe, it was decided that I should ride Daisy to boost back my confidence, as she would give me nice clean runs so I could focus on my lance control and seat.

Sir William and I preparing to enter the field

Sir William and I preparing to enter the field

Daisy did not disappoint! She ran like a champ, and gave me some wonderful runs. Friday Dave took me out the last pass when we both collided, Saturday I made it through all the passes without meeting the dirt, and Sunday I was once again blasted into the ground. Even though I was unhorsed a few times, I still had an amazing weekend, and felt like I was in such better control of my universe during passes. Having a reliable horse under you makes it so much easier to get the job done, and I am so thankful for Daisy. I felt like my aim was better, and I was able to deliver some solid blows and even break a few lances! I know the things I need to improve on, mostly riding through the hit and driving me and my horse forward, but I feel like I’m making strides in the right direction.

As we head into the next faire, I am excited for what the future hold for me. I will be more integrated into the show in Louisiana, participating in both the Baston Course as well as the ground fight. I’m very excited, but know that it will be a lot of work and leave me aching and sore. But the best part is that I love what I do, so the aches aren’t too bad and the pain ebbs away. After Saturday’s show, I dismounted Daisy and skipped to the center to meet Dave, a grin from ear to ear. And even after Friday and Sunday’s falls, I was back on my feet talking with my audience with a smile on my face telling them I was okay and that I loved it.

 

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Having a supportive crowd makes what I do so much more amazing as well. I love talking with my audience afterwards, and getting to meet the people who were cheering me on during my passes. Some of my favorite interactions this faire were a grandma who wanted to take a picture with me and a family with 3 boys. The grandma took a picture and told me she was going to send it to her granddaughter and tell her she could be anything she wanted to, and told me she was proud of my accomplishments. The family was adorable when the mom told me all the boys were so worried when I came off and wanted to make sure I was ok. I had to reassure them that I was alright, and they were all amazed and in awe of my armor and my riding. There were so many people who came up and told me how awesome it was to see a woman on the field, and I love that I am able to inspire others and leave people pleased with the performance they saw.

No caption needed. Thank you Daisy!

No caption needed. Thank you Daisy!

This job is not easy. There is little financial gain in it, and I find myself in a constant state of discomfort in one small way or another. We work hard. We play hard. There’s constant struggles to overcome, and I will always have to be striving to do better than my best. But it’s worth it. It’s worth living in a tent and making very little. To wake up every day and get to work with amazing people and amazing horses, it’s worth it. To go to bed every night with a smile on my face and laughter in my heart, it’s worth it. A lot of people questioned my decision to do this, and to this day I still face criticism for my decision, but I am so very glad that I did. The memories I’m making and the experiences that I’m gaining are worth all the heartache and pain I have to overcome for this job.

Tomorrow the wheels hit the road and I will be headed down south for more adventures, and I am more than ready to face what’s in store for me.  Since the faire doesn’t actually start until November, I will be sure to take some time to introduce more of the crew and horses here and spend time talking about our technique rides with the horses. Stay tuned my faithful followers, and wish me luck on my travels!

Much love to you all!

 

XoXo

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

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