Dustin’ Off Your Britches and Gettin’ Back On

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Elizabeth

Happy Monday my eager readers! After a long and harrowing weekend, I am happy to announce that I survived another weekend here in Minnesota, although it was a struggle. I definitely have had better weekend in the past, but still was able to walk away from my shows with improvements for the future and new lessons learned from my mistakes.

Saturday was by far one of the hardest days I’ve had to get through working here at the company. I was set to joust Harry in the gaming show, and we were both eager to finally meet on the track. I was trying hard to focus myself and not get stressed or anxious, as I knew Abe would immediately pick up on my emotions if I let them get the better of me. I felt like I was doing alright, but started to lose my composure after the first pass. Slowly, everything started slipping downhill, and instead of being able to stay in control of my world, I let myself slip too. It’s my biggest downfall at this point; that instance where one thing goes amiss and I am unable to refocus myself. Long story short, I was only able to get two rushed and sloppy passes in before I somehow lost my balance for no real reason and simply fell off Abe at the end of lyst.

Embarrassed and frustrated does not even begin to describe how I felt lying in the dirt after my mess of a joust. I was so upset that I couldn’t tune in with my horse and frustrated at the fact that even though I realized I was panicking and could feel myself doing completely the wrong things, I was unable to correct them. I had to quickly head back to the tent to get out of my gear and take a couple minutes to myself before I was ready to see anyone, let alone go over how the show had gone. I was able to get my composure back and tell myself that things would be better. Dave talked with me for a bit afterwards and I tried to just move on and focus on the rest of the shows for the day. Tara and I would be working together as Lady Riders and I had high hopes that she would help turn around my misfortune.

I was wrong. Right out of the gate I had my day turn from bad to worse within minutes of the show starting. We set up for the Baston course and prepare to make our salute passes, where we all charge and pass each other in the center. Tara gets a bee in her bonnet, sees Christine crowding towards us, panics, slams on the breaks and spins in front of Christine and Mark, throwing me into the dirt as Christine’s feet thud right next to my head. I was so upset that I’d come off two shows in a row, I jump up, avoid the horses running towards me for the second pass and march right back to Tara. Brushing off concerned squires, I mount up and quickly try to resettle her and bring her attention back before we run in to hit Harry with our beating stick. We made it through the rest of the show ok, but boy oh boy was I even more frustrated by the end of that show.

I was trying so hard just to move on and let my mistakes be in the past, but at the same time, it’s very hard to get back up and dust yourself off when you come off twice during two shows on two different horses. I was questioning my riding ability and beating myself up over the mistakes I’d made. Riding horses can be a cruel and unforgiving passion, but can also offer the greatest rewards and accomplishments as well, you just have to stick with it through the hard times. Our last show came around and I was ready to grit my teeth and have a kick ass show. Of course, as we’re setting up, Dave has to get a few quick jabs in, asking if I want a seatbelt or maybe some super glue for my saddle. I’m able to joke back, telling him some Velcro would be nice!

I’m so glad I was able to refocus myself for the last show, because Tara and I did fantastic together, and I think it was the most successful ride I’ve ever had on that little mare. I just worked on the things I knew I had messed up on with Abe during the first show; getting her to respond to my leg and seat while giving her a loose and relaxed rein. We really connected, and I felt like I chipped away a little more at the ideas that Dave is trying to teach me. I know I won’t be able to perfect my riding overnight, but the fact that I had a mini break through with Tara made my day immensely better. Plus I stayed on the entire show, Tara and I effectively hit Harry with our beating stick, and I knocked him out with a good stunt shield hit at the end. As always, my mom was a great support too, asking me at the end of the day what I had taken away from this all. I replied I needed to trust my horse more, because Abe and Tara will take care of me if I let them, and I need to ride with my leg and body, not by panicking and pulling on their face. Overall, it was shitty, I was upset, but it happens to all of us, and we all make idiots of ourselves. Tomorrow would just be another opportunity to prove I can do better.

Yey! We knocked off Sir Henry!

Yey! We knocked off Sir Henry!

Lo and behold, the next day was better! I decided just to take the gaming show as an opportunity to school with Abe, and tune back in with him without having to worry about making passes with anyone. I really focused on working him with my leg, using my seat to stop him, and not letting him get worked up and rushed. At the end of the show, Shelby and I did dry passes in the lyst with Dave coaching me, and it was exactly what I needed. By our final pass, I had Abe running nicely off the “scary” end without getting upset with Penny running by us, and stopping nicely at the end. Abe and I worked together for the rest of the day, and both our shows as Lady Riders went beautifully. Now all that’s left is to figure out how to transfer all that into my jousting, and not let my helmet and guard hinder me when I’m in the lyst. It’s definitely going to be something I’m going to have to put a lot of work into, but I know that it will pay off immensely in the end!

I’m so happy that the weekend turned out for the better, and I was able to turn around my terrible Saturday. Next weekend is our last weekend here in Minnesota, so I’m hoping to be able to end the faire on a good note. I’ll be diligently practicing with Abe all this week!

And as a bonus for you all, here’s some awesome pictures from the lovely Amanda Rolls, one of our most senior squires here and a wonderful help!

 

Preparing to vanquish my foes ;)

Preparing to enter the Lyst

Abe and I on our ride in. Ignore my constipated face, at least Abe looks bad ass here...

Abe and I on our ride in

Much love to you all!

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Jousting, jousting, and MORE jousting!!

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Elizabeth

Once again, I find myself terribly behind in my blog entries. Therefore I will begin with an apology. However the last week was incredibly difficult, as I unfortunately I started the week with a visit to the emergency room and ended it with a crippling loss. It was a tough week to get through, and I was very distracted physically and mentally to put much effort into the blog, but thankfully things are starting to settle down and I have some spare time to sit down and write some things down. I know I have 2 weekends to catch you up on, so this post might be lengthy, or it might be broken into two separate posts. I haven’t quite decided yet, but I will promise you that I will get you caught up!

I believe that I last left off with my entry about my first official passes with the company, so I will try and pick up starting the week after that. Nothing much else to say there, except Indigo has been working through some foot issues, so I’ve been playing musical horses with Abe and Tara. Had some good rides with Tara, but boy oh boy does that little engine have some go in her! I wasn’t planning to joust the next weekend, because Indy was out, but last minute decided to do the gaming show with Abraham. It was a quick decision we made the morning of, but we managed to get everything together and have a nice show. Dave’s moved up from the nice passes, and has been delivering spot on, crushing blows that have kept me on my toes. Abe and I were riding together smoothly and managing to keep steady until out last pass when my saddle rigging on the left side completely busted apart and sent me crashing to the ground. Upon falling, both straps on the left side of my breastplate completely busted as well, leaving me and Abe a tattered, falling apart mess. Overall, it was a good show and I was just happy to be in the lyst again!

Since I have been working with getting into the lyst and jousting, Maggie has been spending most of the weekends up top since there isn’t a need for her on the field at this time. However, last weekend we decided to bring her down and have her start getting used to the atmosphere, including the elephants and camels and bouncy trampoline. Shelby and I were working Millie and her and she was doing pretty alright for me considering all the new things she was encountering. However, something set her off and she decided it was imperative to run home as fast as she could. My luck with saddles had apparently run out for the day, because my left stirrup completely broke mid run, and I was sent rolling though the ground, eventually being stopped by a solid concrete wall. After laying there for a while, I was able to get up, where I was then checked up and made sure nothing was terribly broken. I had a rather large knot on my head, a tremendous scrape on my arm, some nice road rash and bruising on my hip, a painful big toe, and I managed to re-injure my bad knee. My whole left side hurt, and it was painful to breath in deep breaths, but nothing was seriously hurt, and I hadn’t lost conscious. Mostly I was upset that I came off and had hurt myself in a non-jousting related incident, and irritated that this might sideline my jousting.

I refused a trip to the urgent care that night, opting instead to cover myself in ice-packs and rest up for the night. However, the next morning, I was incredibly dizzy and unfocused, so one of the first aid people who had seen me the day before strongly suggested that I take a visit to the urgent care to make sure there wasn’t anything seriously wrong with my head. Thankfully Christine was free to take me in, so I got to spend the day in the emergency room making sure nothing was seriously wrong. After some poking and prodding, along with a CT scan, it was diagnosed that I had nothing more than a concussion and come minor chest contusions. Thankfully, I just had to deal with some lingering headaches and a abundance of bruising the following week; nothing that was going to keep me out too long!

Tuesday I was back up on Abe training, and although we took it nice and easy, it was still great to be out on Abe again. He is such a gifted horse, and I really enjoy working with him. Dave has done an incredible job training him to this point, and I always walk away from our rides impressed with his abilities. Riding Abe also helps me to really quiet down my hands and my body; Abraham is so fine tuned, I get to work with how little it takes to get him to do something. Most of the time it’s just the barest touch or encouragement and he is right there ad responsive. It makes me work on putting more trust into him, as I have to relax and work off much lighter commands. Dave was telling me how I want everything I do to have meaning, and not just to hang on him or give him mixed signals. I want to ask for something, and then let him go. It can be frustrating at first, because most people’s reaction is to tense up and grab at the reins when you don’t get what you want right away, but once you find each other, it’s quite rewarding.

Charge on!!!

Charge on!!!

The next weekend saw Abe and I armoring up in the lyst together again, once again taking passes with Dave and Tara. I was having a stressful morning already, having to completely fix my broken saddle and was in a panic trying to find stirrups that were long enough for me to use. It was just one of those off mornings, and I couldn’t shake my jitters and anxiety. Abe obviously picked up on it, and was an energized rocket on the field. My lance control was terrible, I couldn’t make any hits, and was fighting hard to keep my horse under control. However, I did manage to stay on through all of Dave’s hits, but definitely walked away with a long lists of improvements I wanted to work on for the next day.

A series of surprise events led us into having to do some last minute show rearranging Sunday morning, and after brainstorming how to fix our problem, it was decided that Dave would sit out the joust in the morning in order to marshal and I would get to meet Mark in the lyst for passes. I was ecstatic, as I had been nagging on the other guys to joust with me for the last week or so. We hustled to get ourselves and the horses ready, and I was thankful Mark was able to make jokes and help lighten the mood, as I was worried I’d panic again like I had the day before. Abe and I entered the lyst and I could already feel that his demeanor was calmer and more in tune with me. We come forward, and I was able to completely brake my lance the first pass out. I was thrilled, shouting and whooping at the end of the lyst. Second pass saw us both deliver good hits, and at this point I was ahead in points. We came about for our last pass and we met with a tremendous impact. I felt myself being rocked backwards, and tried to bring myself forwards… accidentally over compensating and taking myself right off the side of Abe. Drat! I quickly bounced to my feet and walked to the middle to meet Mark, where we embraced and laughed and high fived each other. It was heartening to know that I rocked him back pretty good with that last hit, and I probably would have had the lead had I not come tumbling off. Oh well. It was still a great show and I was very happy with my passes and Abraham.

This week I plan to work incredibly hard to start building up my stamina and getting used to the rigors of doing a full show, which includes not only lance passes, but the baston course and a ground fight as well. I also get to learn how to stunt fall in armor, which is something I’m less than thrilled about, but it’ll give me a good reason to practice getting up in my armor too, because right now I look like a floundering turtle trying to stand up. Lots of work ahead of me, but I’m ready to buckle down and get it done!!

Oh, and here’s an amazing shot of me spearing an apple right in half! The part I like best about this picture is that you can see the reflection of everything in front of me in my breatplate! Pretty nice to have stainless steel armor with a mirror finish!

Precision!

Death to the apple!!

Much love to you all! Wish me luck as my training continues!

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lady of the Lyst

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Elizabeth

Well well well my lovely readers, I have the most exciting news for you ever. I have officially become the first woman to joust as a part of the New Riders of the Golden Age! This Labor Day, I entered the lyst against Dave and took my first passes as an official part of the team. And it was awesome. I am so incredibly proud of where my journey has brought me and how all my training and hard work are starting to paying off; Indigo and I were a perfect team and I couldn’t be happier with how the weekend went.

As you know, I spent all last week training in armor with Indy every day, getting used to riding in my helm and gauntlets. I worked on my lance control, worked on the baston course and sword work with Indy, and focused on running against another horse without a counter tilt in the middle. We train our horses to run without a center tilt in the middle, just two end ropes on the side of the lanes, so it’s important to be able to ride against another rider without your horse drifting into the center. The more I work in my armor, the more comfortable I become in it, and as Dave always preaches, I want it to feel like a second skin. It’s definitely a different experience to ride in armor, your vision is very limited, your range of motion is decreased, and you have to feel your horse more than see what you’re doing.

Saturday and Sunday, Shelby and I participated in the games while wearing our armor. I figured it would be a good way to get a feel for Indigo and see how he would act during an actual show, since he can be a lazy heifer during practice. I didn’t have to worry about riding in my helm or guard, and could practice the rings and my targeting during the gaming shows. Indy did great, and even when he did start getting hot, I was able to settle him down and work through his fire instead of getting frustrated. I really enjoyed being on the field in armor, and me and Shelby being out there in our full gear got a great reception from the crowd. Per usual, Shelby managed to show us all up in most of the events, but Indy and I definitely improved from Saturday into Sunday!

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Sunday afternoon I decided it was time to approach Kelly and ask his permission to joust in Monday’s gaming show. Dave had offered to suite up and ride against me, but ultimately it would be Kelly’s decision. When I talked to Kelly, he completely made my day by saying yes to Dave and I jousting, and I immediately was filled with equal parts of excitement and nervousness. A million “what if’s” filled my head, and I tried to just be excited for my big debut, but still had butterflies. I knew I shouldn’t be worried, as I had jousted before, but this was a new group and I really wanted to prove myself to Kelly and show him that he hadn’t made a mistake brining me on to the team and that I would be able to perform to his standard.

The big day finally arrived, and I was up early to make sure my armor was all good to go, my lances were made up, and everything was in order for me to have a successful day. Word quickly spread that I would be jousting, and I had numerous people come up and wish me luck before the show. Dave told me the first two passes he would sweep his lance so I could get set up and get control of my universe, but on the third pass, he was hitting me. As the hour approached, we started getting ready, and to my surprise, I was able to stay calm and focused, and not let myself get worked up. We walked to the field, mounted up and patiently waited for the games to finish so we could enter the lyst.

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Harry was marshalling the show, and we had discussed how he would introduce the joust in a way that the audience would support me entering the lyst for the first time against a seasoned rider to test my skills. As he called me in, I rode out on Indy, decked out in our green and black, and rode a lap around the field, and I couldn’t help but smile and laugh with the excitement. We got to the end and I put on my helm and had my guard attached. Previously, I would start getting anxious and worked up as soon as my guard and helm were put on, but this day I was focused. I knew I had a job to do, and I knew that I was going to go out there and do my best. Indy and I quietly stepped into the lyst and I faced Dave and Abe at the other end.

At the call, “Knights at the ready… Charge on!” I raised my lance to Dave and encouraged Indy forward. He smoothly slipped into a canter and I somehow got my lance into place for a break. I felt the impact and when I got to the end, I kept wondering why my lance was so light. Then I saw it was completely broken and immediately got giddy with the feeling of a break on my first pass. Dave and I trotted back to our ends, saluting each other as we rode past. Second lance in hand, we charged forth again, Dave once again sweeping, and me missing. We once again made our way back to our ends and received our third and final lances.

I raised my lance to Dave and once again Indy and I rode forth. I remember trying to focus on putting my weight forward and ridding through the hit, because this time Dave was aiming to hit. And hit he did. Before I could even get my lance aimed, Dave slammed into me, connecting right in the middle of my guard. I was twisted backwards and remember thinking for a mere moment, “I can save this…”, and then I slid off Indy and thudded into the dirt. Oops. I tasted blood and knew I had bitten my tongue, but nothing else was hurting. I turtled around on the ground for a bit before getting up, and then I see Dave walking down the lyst towards me with a big smile on his face. After making sure I was ok, I  gave him a big hug and he told me, “you did good”.

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We headed out into the audience to talk with the crowd, and I received many many compliments on both my riding and my jousting. To me, I almost appreciate the compliments that focus on my riding skills rather than my jousting skills, because anyone can sit on a horse in armor, but it takes skill and practice to be able to successfully ride a horse in armor. Back in the tent, all the gang was supportive of my first official passes and my blowout, and I was just aglow with the adrenaline and happiness of officially entering the ranks with the company. Dave gave me the best compliment of all, stating that I was the most poised and in control he’s ever seen me, and that I’d “grown-up” from the last time he’d jousted with me. I was so proud of Indy and I, it was such a great feeling to get back in the lyst and have such a good show.

I can’t wait to see how the rest of Minnesota goes, and am eager to see where my jousting career takes me. There’s definitely no way that I could be doing this without the support and encouragement of all my friends and family, as it has been a huge change and commitment for me. I’d like to send an especially huge shout out to my amazing team; Mark, Harry, Jesse, and Shelby, for always reminding me that it’s about having fun, and they’ll always be there to support me. But most of all, I want to say thank you to Dave, because he is the one that saw my potential a year and a half ago at Sherwood, and he’s the one that brought me back to Sherwood, and pushed the company to bring on a female jouster in New York. He’s responsible for pushing me as well, and giving me all the tools I need to be successful in my endeavors; always being there with advice and coaching, always pushing me to get in my armor, and always motivating me to get better. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him, and will be forever grateful for the opportunities and support he’s given me.

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So thank you to everyone, and here’s to more adventure and more broken lances!

Categories: Jousting | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

Welcome to Minnesota!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Elizabeth

After a long and harrowing trip from Sterling, NY, I now find myself in Chaska, MN for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival! Huzzah! The road was long, and peppered with numerous ridiculous toll roads, but myself and the horses finally made it, and now the whole team is once again reunited together! It’s so nice to be able to see everyone again, and I am so thankful we have such a wonderful group of people that I get to call my dysfunctional joust family! We put the “fun” in “dysfunctional”! 😉

 

Leaving Sterling bright and early!

Leaving Sterling bright and early!

An ironic coincidence!

An ironic coincidence!

Anyways! We made it, and I’m once again set up in my tent, right next door to everyone else… there’s really no privacy here. Since the fair itself is situated on a rock quarry that is constantly expanding and eating up the land, we have to live about a mile away from the actual site in a weird little shanty town we’ve established. The worst part about our living situation is the fact that in order to get the horses to the site, we have to load everyone up and haul them back and forth, which is the biggest pain imaginable!

 

My first weekend is under my belt, and it was sure an exhausting one! We arrived on site Thursday evening, had a short practice Friday, and then jumped right into the show Saturday. Maggie is currently out with some sort of minor eye problem (the vet is coming out today) so Friday evening it was decided that I would ride Indigo. I’ve ridden him a few times in armor for practice, but haven’t been on him in over a month and have never done a show with him. I do enjoy riding him though, he’s a gorgeous 18.2 hand black Percheron with a wonderful disposition, all though he can be a bit of a idiot on occasion. There are 3 shows per day at this fair; a gaming show at 11am, then two jousts at 1pm and 4pm. Indy was a fired up dragon for the gaming show, pawing the ground and eager to go with gusto!

 

Ready to go! Love this big guy!

Ready to go! Love this big guy!

The gaming show consists of riding past a cabbage and slicing the thinnest bit off with a sword, then trying to spear 3 apples placed atop the stanchions, and finally running the rings, starting with a 6″ ring, then a 4″ ring, and ending with a 2″ ring. Since I haven’t gamed since March, we did pretty terrible, missing the cabbage, only hitting one of the apples, and only getting the 6″ ring. But the next day we did much better, hitting all 3 apples and getting both the 6″ and 2″ rings. Indy was a lot better the second day as well, and we had figured each other out by then. I also had fans who found me after the show and cheered me on some more, it was great.

 

For the joust show, we are sticking to the same script we used in Sterling, which means we do the bit where we get to ride up next to the knights and beat them with stick until they fall off their horses. Since Indy doesn’t care about armor or hitting, we can ride right up and thoroughly smash Harry before he tumbles off and we ride away victorious. Then for the rest of the show we pretty much ride around looking pretty, which we both do quite well, and everyone complements Indy on what a great horse he is. He is very regal and majestic looking with his hair all braided and decked in his shiny armor! I’ve had a lot of fun interacting with the audience at this fair as well, and am enjoying adding commentary to our bits.

Look at that concentration! We make such a good pair!

Look at that concentration! We make such a good pair!

 

At the end of the joust, after Harry is declared the winner of the ground fight, us lady riders are supposed to come out with the children of the crowd and enforce the kings justice, which basically means we hit him with the stunt shield and then we are declared the overall winners of the field. And for the last show yesterday, I completely threw the stunt shield right over Harry’s head. And then I did the completely wrong thing and went “OH NO!” and covered my face with my hands… it was terrible… Thank goodness Harry is good at thinking on his feet and without missing beat goes, “What was that?! Come here and give me a kiss baby!”, at which point I shriek and try to run away from him while Shelby quickly grabs the shield and then hits him good. Still, it was so unbelievably embarrassing to miss like that, and I had to go hid in Indy’s stall to escape everyone’s ridicule.

 

Week two will soon be upon us, and I plan to be up in armor competing against the boys in the joust. I can’t believe how quickly this has crept up on me, and although I’m eager and excited, I’m also extremely anxious as well. This whole week I will be practicing in the counter tilt in full armor, with my horse in full armor as well. We do not use a center tilt rope for our joust, so I have to get used to riding against someone with no middle barrier, which is a bit daunting. I also have to figure out if I will be riding Indigo or Tara for the joust, both are great jousting horses, I just need to figure out which one I will sync better with. However, since Tara is almost a full foot shorter than Indy, it would be less of a distance to fall from her! I will be sure to keep everyone updated with how this week goes, wish me luck!

 

Much love to you all!

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

A Final Farewell to a Fantastic Faire

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Elizabeth

Good day! This shall be the last blog post of the season that I write here in Sterling, New York, as bright and early tomorrow morning we will be on our way to Minnesota to perform there through September. The trailer is all packed up, goodbyes are looming closer, and Sterling will soon be another page in my book of adventure. But what an adventure I have had here! Sterling has given me an abundance of memories and experiences that I can carry with me forever.

But before I leave, let me regale you with the tales of this past weekend! As you know, our crew consisted of Dave, Jesse, and Ryan plus all the fantastic squires and ground crew. Since Maggie is in Minnesota, I was part of the ground crew, and I forgot just how much work it is! It was a nice reminder to be running back and forth across the field, heading horses, and bolting on grandguards, makes one appreciate squires that much more! However, I did enjoy it, and it was nice to be able to focus on the show instead of working with a horse.

And boy oh boy what a show it was! Silas was our Marshal, and he is absolutely hilarious with the perfect sense of humor and knack for entertaining the audience. He was riding Millie, who got a bit excited during the shows and he just ran with it, making the knights apologize when they scared her, joking about her twirling through the puddles, and jesting about horses jumping the fence to trample audience members. There’s really no good way to explain Silas to someone who’s never met him, but just believe me when I say he is easily one of my favorite people and is always entertaining. He is a wonderful performer, and was an integral part of making the last weekend so amazing.

The Gang

The Gang

Silas preparing to marshal with the Court and the squires looking on

Silas preparing to marshal with the Court and the squires looking on

 

 

Sir Orin Dane and Marcus

Sir Orin Dane and Marcus

Ryan was right on his game as well, and it was so easy to see how much he loved being back up in the armor. It brought a smile to my face when he’d shatter a lance and get to the end and just go crazy, yelling and screaming and pounding his chest. You know someone loves their job when they get that excited about it! Him and Marcus clicked right back together, and it was so nice to see them working together again. Ryan is a brilliant performer as well, and did a great job of riling up his audience and gaining their support; between the four of them on the field, the audience was probably the loudest I’ve ever heard them.

Sunday night the fair hosts Funky Formal, which is pretty much a big end of the season party where everyone dresses up, drinks, and dances the night away. There were some pretty amazing costumes too, like Mario and Bowser and Team Rocket and Meowth. I just dressed funky with a formal flair, pigtails mixed with glitter went just fine with a leather jacket and pencil skirt. I absolutely love to dance, and had an absolute ball rocking out on the dance floor like a total idiot until 1am. The best part was everyone else was out there dancing like a total idiot too, so we just had the time of our lives drinking and dancing together as one big Sterling Family.

The next day, tradition also dictated that everyone convene at the Bluffs to watch the sun sink down over Lake Ontario one final time. We got there and shared drinks and blankets and all recounted how much fun we’d had over the last few months. One of the crew climbed this treacherous path to this solitary island where he played his bagpipes silhouetted against the setting sun. It was beautiful! Becky braided my hair into this elaborate design for old time’s sake (she used to do my hair everyday in Sherwood), and I made friends with a katydid who landed on my shoulder. The sunset was one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen on the lake and it was such a monumental way to end my time here. After it had gotten dark, we all drove into town to get some grub and ice cream together, the perfect way to end the evening.

I will be most forlorn to leave this wonderful place that I have been able to call home for the past two months, but am ever so excited for what Minnesota holds. Dave has promised me fun times at the Mall of America, delicious buffets, good shopping, swing dancing, and a plethora of other wonders. My farewell to Sterling is bittersweet, but I am eager to get on the road and see what other adventures lay in wait for me!

Much love to all, and I will talk to you again once I make base in Minnesota!

Categories: Adventure Time!, Jousting | 3 Comments

Saturday and Sunday’s Spectacular Synopsis

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Elizabeth

Well, it would seem another weekend has come and gone, and I must say, I feel like my time here in Sterling is quickly slipping away from me. This upcoming weekend will be the final weekend here and then I will be headed to Minnesota with the team to spend some time there. Due to an overlap in the schedules, we had to send most of the team up to Minneapolis already so they could get set up and be there for opening weekend while a few of us stay here and finish out Sterling. Dave and Jesse are staying to joust, Ryan will be coming in for the weekend to joust, and Silas will be marshalling. It will be reminiscent of Texas, and I am very eager to have the guys back together for a weekend!

The weekend went very well with Maggie, although I was a bit nervous to ride. Not due to anything horse related, however I stupidly was running on uneven ground and tripped and sprained my ankle quite badly on Friday. I still got up and rode that day, although it required me to mount on the right side and ride without the use of my stirrups (which actually ended up being a good exercise!). Maggie took good care of me and we ended up having a short, but successful ride. Thankfully my ankle didn’t bother me too much over the weekend, I just made sure to keep it wrapped, ice it on my breaks, and made sure to take lots of ibuprofen.

As far as Miss Maggie is concerned, I am more and more impressed with her talent as I get to spend time working with her. We’ve been working on her cadence and getting her to slow down and realize that she doesn’t need to speed thorough everything and that it’s actually easier to take things slowly and in a calm manner. Kelly put it in the simplest terms for us, “Try and do things in slow motion. Get her to go as slow and unrushed as she can”, which really made me pay more attention to the speed and rhythm at which we do things. By the end of the week, we were able to do passes in the lyst with her head dropped down and relaxed at a nice, slow trot. Her departures are getting better too, and instead of wanting to rush into things, she’s starting to slow down some.

She did well during the show as well, and except for a few moments of panic, she is starting to get more and more comfortable in a show setting. They had put up a center lyst rope for the weekend to keep Marcus running strait, and oh my goodness, you would have thought there was a horse eating snake in the middle of the lyst. Let’s just say Maggie had a couple special moments realizing that the rope in the middle wasn’t going to hurt her or jump out and scare her. She once again was able to make her passes without too much fuss, and I can notice improvement every show. She’s definitely still a work in progress, but I see how far she’s come in the last 2 months and it makes me very happy!

Standing so quietly! And I'm so excited! Over what, I don't exactly know...

Standing so quietly! And I’m so excited! Over what, I don’t exactly know…

 

We’ve been preparing for the final weekend here, and since Ryan hasn’t arrived yet, I’ve been filling in for him during practices. Since the rest of the team is in Minnesota, we’ve only got Abe, Tara, and Marcus here for jousting horses, and Millie stayed to be our marshal horse. I got up on Marcus today in half my armor and all of his armor, as did Jesse and Dave, so we could run through the show. I do enjoy riding Marcus, and even though he’s a well trained jousting horse, he still has his issues that need to be worked though. I was able to apply a lot of what I’ve been working on with Maggie to Marcus, and we ended up having a good ride together. Tomorrow I’m riding with my helm, and I’m ever so excited to lose most of my vision and ability to breathe… All part of the jousting process unfortunately!

 

Preparing for the final weekend at Sterling Renaissance Festival! Yey Marcus, such a good old man!

Preparing for the final weekend at Sterling Renaissance Festival! Yey Marcus, such a good old man!

Time for a fun story! Monday was spent packing the two trailers that were headed to MN, and as part of the packing process, we had to pack up feed. As we are moving hay, we discover that a giant colony of big, fluffy bumblebees had made their nest in one of the pallets that the hay was on. So as we’re moving this hay, all these angry bees start coming up and swarming us. People were either panicking and running away from the bees, or trying to remain calm and unnoticed. I was calm… until one flew in my hair and stung my hand. Then I panicked and started running and doing the “flee the bee” dance. It was quite comical to see everyone running around flailing at little fluffy bees, even if they did sting us!

We leave in a week to head to Minneapolis, and even though I am very excited to get somewhere new, I will also miss Sterling a lot. However, once we get to Minnesota, I should hopefully be able to joust there, and that makes me very excited! I will make sure to keep everyone updated on my travels, and will most definitely post at least once more before the wheels hit the road!

Much love to you all!

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

In Difficultly, There is Opportunity

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Elizabeth

Let me start off with an apology, it has been entirely too long since I last updated everyone, but oh my do I have some stories for you all! There’s two weekends of shows to catch up on and lots of training and practice to go over. And the best part about this post… Lots of pictures!

 

Let’s start with Maggie and her progress. At this point right now, I’m really feeling on the same page with her and feel that we’re really starting to build a connection together. A lot of it is me being able to relax and trust her, and her settling down and trusting me as well. Two weekends ago she was a fiery ball of belligerent sass and attitude and I was getting worked up to the point that I was fighting tears the entire time. After the first show I completely lost it and Kelly and Dave had to “talk me off the cliff” I was so distraught.

 

I ended up giving Maggie the rest of the weekend off so we could both have a mental break from each other and ended up riding Penny instead. Penny is wonderful and even though she had her sticky spots, the rest of the shows went great. Since Penny is comfortable with shows, I was able to trust her, relax, and not worry, and feel that Penny gave me a wonderful lesson in how great these horses can be when you relax and trust them. I was able to walk away from the weekend feeling extremely refreshed and successful, despite my initial frustration.

 

The past two weeks I really focused on giving Maggie that release and instead of always chocking up on my reins in anticipation of a mistake, giving her the opportunity to make that mistake and then offering a correction. Dave’s mantra has been “Ride the body, not the face” and it really does make a difference. I’m working on slowing down her cadence and showing her that she doesn’t want to put in a lot of work to go fast and get excited, but instead it’s better to go slow and collected. This week I was able to ride at the quintain both directions and get the rings while keeping Maggie calm and relaxed, which is a huge success for her. Today I was able to work on slowing her down and riding her with my seat and not my hands.

 

And practice has really been paying off! By the end of the weekend, Maggie performed the best she has yet. I was able to canter her both directions during the passes, she ran wonderfully for the dry lance passes and for the quintain, and only has one or two panic moments. I felt so relaxed during the shows, and really felt that reflected into Maggie. Her progress over the last 2 weeks has really astonished me, and once again, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with her. Considering how a few weeks ago, I had to constantly back her and do circles to try and settle her because she wouldn’t stand still; to this weekend, where she was standing quietly and very willing to do what I asked. It’s very encouraging to have good days like that and see that much progress.

 


Maggie and I after our show. Extremely happy with her!

Maggie and I after our show. Extremely happy with her!

 

Tara and I figuring each other out. They just love to put the tallest girl on the smallest horses....

Tara and I figuring each other out. They just love to put the tallest girl on the smallest horses….

In other new, I’ve been working with Tara quite a bit in armor and Dave has really been pushing us together in preparation for Minnesota. I really enjoy Tara, and Dave has done an excellent job training her. She’s so very willing and ready to work, it’s been really good for my confidence as well. I have high hopes for us together, and really hope we can connect and have a great future together. I’m working on riding one handed in my armor with my gauntlets and it’s such a challenge! Today I felt we did really well and had some good passes. Wish me and Tara Bear luck with our training!

 

would have to say that the best part about the weekend was my momma being here to visit and getting to see me and Maggie work together. I’m really glad that Maggie and I had such a smashing weekend and now that my mom has seen exactly what I’m doing, my parents will be a little more at ease. I’m still very thankful for their support in my endeavors and am so grateful to them.

 

Unfortunately, my laundry is almost done, so it’s time for me to finish up this post, but enjoy the pictures and I promise I’ll post twice next week! This will be the last weekend with the whole team here, as we have to split to finish up Sterling and start Minnesota. Love this group of people though! Look how good we all look!

 

SterlingTeam

 

Alright, enjoy your evening everyone! Much love!

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

How to Train Your Warhorse

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Elizabeth

Happy Friday to you all! I hope the week has found you well and you are all prepared for a nice relaxing weekend. As for me, I will be headed into the arena aboard Miss Maggie, hoping all goes well and excited to put into action the principles Art taught me. Unfortunately, today we took Art to the airport to send him back to California, however, I am so grateful for the time he spent working with us out here!

The past few days have gone very well, and I feel like I have so much more in my toolbox of horses thanks to Art. I’m starting to get to that point where I can take something I learned from one horse, and apply it to another horse to help fine tune them. It’s truly a great feeling when you can take something you learned to fix one problem and use it to help another problem. I’ve really started to scratch the surface of how much my seat and hands affect my horse, and I know there’s so much further to develop in my riding. When you are able to simply tilt up your wrists and sit with you core to make your horse sit down and stop under you, it’s just an amazing feeling.

The first day Art worked with me, he told me that I need to ride more with my body and less with my hands. Which made me laugh, because it is the exact same thing Dave has been telling me for the past few weeks… I guess sometimes you just need to hear something 21 times before it finally starts to stick! But it’s definitely a concept that I’m working to refine more. The whole notion of pulling back to stop and kick to go forward is thrown out the window here and I’m really working to redefine my riding style. Sometimes when I’m really struggling with something, it takes a hit to my confidence, and I imagine that I can’t be very good at riding horses at all. And then I look at the big picture and see that Kelly is putting Maggie in my hands and Dave is confident that my horse skills will allow me an advantage in learning to be a jouster, and I have to stop beating myself up and realize I must not be as bad as I think I am. But having to essentially re-learn how to ride in the style that Dave and Kelly train their horses in has definitely been a process for me. Ah horse training, such a physically and emotionally trying job…

Speaking of Maggie, she has been progressing well, and I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but at the same time it’s so draining to have to work with a slew of different difficulties every day. But I understand that is what horse training is, and every horse is going to have something that needs to be fine tuned. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the difficulty I have with her, but on the other hand, I know that if I was riding a push button horse I would go crazy with boredom. I have to constantly remind myself that Maggie is still learning, and I need to be a positive reassurance for her and not a controlling discipline Nazi. Today Art told me that his goal when working a horse is to make them happy without having them develop any bad habits. I’ve been sitting on that a lot, and really like it, because that’s what riding is about, a happy partnership. It’s also a struggle when I know my anxiety and frustrations are being relayed to Maggie, so in order for her to be happy and confident in her job, I do to. I’ve really learned a lot through working with her, and not just about horses, but about myself as well. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I have with her, and am excited to see what the future holds for us.

There’s really not much to report in jousting news at this time. I know that I probably should of gotten up in armor at least once more this week, but I really wanted to spend as much time focusing on refining my riding with Art that it sort of got pushed to the side. I did practice with a lance the other day, and just doing passes with that left me realizing I need to step up my game. We’ve also had a shortage of horses, due to numerous injuries, so there has been limited mounts for me to get on and practice after I finish my time with Maggie. Next week I’m going to hit the ground running and I promise I’ll bribe Shelby into taking some pictures of me working in armor. I also promise that next week I will spend some time going over the rest of the group here so you all know who is who and can meet my joust family. They really are a fantastic group of people.

With that promise, I bid you all goodnight! Tonight is a school night, and I see a busy weekend ahead of me! Please all do an anti-rain dance so it stays dry this weekend and we don’t have to perform in puddles, and wish us all luck! Oh, and here’s picture of Art with Maggie and I after our ride, he’s actually taller than me! Huge thank you to Art and all that he taught me, I can’t wait to spend more time with him in the future!

 

Maggie and I with the horse-wizard, Art!

Maggie and I with the horse-wizard, Art!

 

Much love to you all!

Categories: Horses | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Learning Process Continues

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Elizabeth

Heads up. There’s a lot to be said this post, and while I plan to do my best to condense, it may end up taking a lot of space to get what I want to say out. There’s been lots of exciting things happening with the horses though, and I’m realizing more and more how frustrating, yet how rewarding, horse training can be!

Let’s begin with the weekend. Things went pretty horrendously the first show, because unfortunately Maggie has become an anxiously wound spring during shows and become belligerent and extremely tense. She took off on me a few times and was flat out ignoring and sassing me, which is not ok. We completely went to war over a few things and I walked away from the first show the most frustrated I’ve been while working with her. After a talk, Kelly and I decided we just needed to drop the choreography of the show and focus only on making Maggie relax and realize there is nothing to be worried about.

Needless to say, the next 3 shows over the weekend went much better. She did quite well at the quintian and our dry passes in the lyst, and I simply spent the remainder of the show getting her to relax and settle down. We practiced lots of backing up, rollbacks, flexing her neck, circles; anything to keep her feet moving and her mind distracted. By the final show on Sunday, I was able to calmly trot her back and forth while the men made their lance passes, and she didn’t panic so badly when they started the ground fight.

During the weekend, I had a few people come up to me after the show and comment on what a good job I was doing with her. They realized the struggles I was having with her, but one man came up and said, “You’re a really good rider and work well with that horse. I can tell you’re having problems, but you’re handling them extremely well”. It really makes my day when I’m able to have people come up and recognize that I have a new horse and appreciate the work I’m doing to get her settled in.

I know we still have quite a ways to go, now that we’ve had to step back to square one and go back to making shows less scary, but that’s the process of training a new horse. I feel like there’s so much fine tuning with Maggie, she’s going to keep me busy for a while! However, I can see our progress, and while I am completely infuriated with her at times, I still love her and appreciate all she’s doing. I know that she isn’t doing anything to purposely make me upset, so I have to step back and reanalyze the situation some times.

Speaking of reanalyzing things… Kelly’s trainer, Art, arrived from California. Art is a wonderful trainer who works reining and cutting horses in California, and has know Barb and Kelly for years. He’s a fantastic teacher, and really does a good job at helping things make sense. I worked with him today, and he really helped me and Maggie find more collection and balance today. One of the terms he used which really stuck was, “You want to fluff her up”, in the sense that I wanted her to lift herself up and ride more framed and more collected. I worked on teaching Maggie not to hang on me for support, but to pick herself up and carry herself. We had a very productive first day, and since Art is here till Friday, I still have lots of time to have him refine Miss Maggie and I.

Despite it being over 80 and humid today, after riding Maggie, Dave pushed me to pull out a second horse and ride with my armor on. I knew that I had to do it, and really do need to be wearing it every day, but it really takes a lot of motivation to get on another horse while wearing over 100lbs of steel and ride around some more… But I did it. I rode Christine, who is an amazing Clydesdale. She’s Dave’s go-to powerhouse and is really quite a beast in the lyst. However, she is also sassy as hell and pushy beyond belief. I’ll be honest here, I saw other people struggle with her and I thought I would be able to handle her. I was wrong.

Christine has figured out how to set people up to get her way, and will push and pull you around to get it. She can be extremely belligerent and bossy, and it can be very hard to get her to cooperate. She practically dragged me around the field while Kelly shouted instruction to us until we started figuring each other out. I almost lost my composure and had to work very hard to leave my emotions behind and continue moving on. It was hot, I was sweating, my horse wouldn’t listen, my knee hurt; it was quite the lot to deal with. However, Kelly patiently worked with us, and by the end of my time with Christine, I was able to ride her together, have her stop, back, pivot, and continue forward while collected.

I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but you would not believe the work it took me to get to that point. I really had to focus on what all parts of my body were telling her, and I also had to throw away the old habits I’m still hanging onto. A lot of the things Christine does are things that Maggie does, but Maggie does them on a much smaller scale. So now I really know that I have to fix those before they get as bad as Christine’s problems. But let me tell you, getting her to finally listen to me and relax was pure joy, and it was the most satisfied I’ve been after a ride in a while.

What topped off the day was the overwhelming amount of support I got from my team. They helped me untack and put up Christine, and showed support of me getting up in armor after I’d already ridden Maggie. It really meant a lot, and I’m so thankful I have such a wonderful crew that wants to see me grow and succeed. Dave especially has been a huge support, and without him, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today. I know I can get tired of his constant coaching and advice, and him always pushing me to put my armor on and go ride another horse, but I am very grateful for it. I’m just excited for what the future holds!

And at that I sign off for the night, tomorrow is another busy day with horses to ride and armor to wear, so I bid you adieu and good night. Much love to you all!

 

P.S. I am so sorry for the lack of pictures, I promise tomorrow I will  bribe someone to takes pictures of us riding, but it’s been near impossible to find pictures from the weekend! I’m still trying though!

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Breakthroughs and Beatings

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Elizabeth

After being here for just over 3 weeks, I finally feel like things are starting to get underway and I’m so excited for what the future holds. Maggie and I are finally starting to click and I’m getting to spend more and more time training in my armor. Plus the time I’m getting to spend with my new friends and jousting family is really making my experience here memorable. Life is so good right now, and I am so happy with my decisions leading up to this point.

Let’s start with Miss Maggie! Yesterday during our ride, I finally had a light bulb moment and felt like we’d made a serious breakthrough. I’ve been having a really hard time trusting her and allowing myself to add slack to my reins and ride one handed. I finally just told myself that I needed to trust her and let it happen, and like Dave told me, she’s still learning, so if she makes a mistake I can always reach back in with two hands to fix it. Plus we’re practicing on a huge open field, so there’s really nothing terrible that would happen if she took off.

We were working with some exercises to move her shoulders and move more freely when Kelly came over and started working with us on a circle. I had her in one hand and was trying to get her to frame up and round herself out while slowing down. Kelly made the comment to slow her down with my seat, and to slow my rhythm to slow her down. Something clicked and I was able to relax my seat and instantly felt her slow down without my hands having to even move at all. He then said to take a huge exhale out and relax and when I did, she came to a lovely stop. All with my hands staying in one place and a nice drape in her reins!

It really left me excited to have that breakthrough with her and be able to trust her more. We were able to run the quintain both directions one handed with a lance and she ran strait and smooth for me. Today we spent more time getting her used to yelling and the sound of armor rattling, and we were able to work her through it. I’m really hoping to have a good show weekend coming up and have very high expectations for her. Wish us luck!

In other news, I rode Indigo in armor on Wednesday and we did very well! He rides completely different then Maggie, and having to work on lifting him up and really using my leg to motivate him was quite the workout for the day. We’ve had to make some adjustments to my armor to get it where it needs to be, but everything has been a pretty easy fix and it’s all been working great so far. Plus I’m the only one with stainless armor and it has a mirror finish on it so my goal is going to be to blind all who oppose me!

Today I also learned the company’s ground fight, and had it been for real, I would have been beat terribly. I know that I need to get more comfortable in my armor and have it feel like a second skin, so I plan to spend all next week with it on. It’s very hard to act animated and sell a fight when you feel so restricted in your armor. Thankfully strength and cardio are two things that are obtainable with hard work. I plan to push myself to the point where I am able to do the fight without feeling winded and having to struggle to lift up my shield. I was having a bad day today and it was very therapeutic to beat each other with swords though!

Learning the ground fight, I'm the shiny one!

Learning the ground fight, I’m the shiny one!

My big goal is to be ready to joust in the show by Minnesota, which begins mid August, so I have about a month to be prepared. I’m really excited, and am prepared to work my hardest to make it happen. The group here is extremely supportive and really willing to help get me there, and I am ever so thankful for them. Shout out to my joust family, you all mean more to me than you know!

In other news, Harry and I helped work with the camels next door and I ended up riding out a buck on a camel, which is no small feat. I’m slowly getting better at Super Smash Bro’s and am so thankful we made the decision to get a Nintendo 64 for the team, it’s a nice time killer for our down time.

I don’t think there’s much else to say, I’m living life to the fullest and am really enjoying myself. Thank you to everyone who has believed in me and pushed me to pursue this path of mine. Your support is invaluable. Much love!

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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