Dressage it up!

So, this week has been a lot easier at the farm. I'm getting used to how things are done so I'm not feeling so useless now. :) Lessons have been going well and I'm learning a LOT here so I'm really enjoying it. I'm hoping that my lessons here will help nix some of the bad habits I've acquired while riding so that I'm better equipped to work with Miss Maddy when I get home and give her a proper start (of course along with E's help).  This time I've been away and working with other people's horses and on other people's farms, just really makes me excited to get back to our farm and our horses and try some new things out and really get things going (on the horse front anyways).  I'd lost interest in competitive riding and seriously training dressage over the past year and I think this has rekindled my motivation to actually DO something with Maddy, rather than just putz around (which is fine and all, but I've been needing something more to aim for). I'm still wanting to do all the fun stuff as well but I'm going to put some goals down for me and Maddy this year and with the help of my coach, E, put together an obtainable game plan for this year.

Farm news:
 Ellie and Onnagh have left so we're down to 4 girls on most days, 5 girls when no one has the day off so the days are actually going a bit faster-although they aren't as much fun :(. Ellie put on the Rocky Horror Picture Show one evening and there was a lot of singing and dancing that followed the next day at work haha.
 We had two horses leave that were here for just a week (and needed a lot of attention like legs wrapped and medication etc) so that helps with the workload, and Dancer, one of the horses that was bred here at the farm has been sold to a show home! Yay Dancer! It's kind of sad for us because Dancer was one of the super sweet horses on the farm, but her new owners plan on keeping her very long term and showing her and eventually breeding her as well so it seems like a really good life for her.
We have a new horse here though, well he's here for a week to learn Piaffe.  Yah.. I know.. a week to learn Piaffe seems kind of short, but we'll see how it goes! This horse is MASSIVE! And when he gets excited when you're leading him he gets even bigger! I need to stand on a half barrel to put his bridle on haha I honestly think this horse is close to 18hh!

So, super fantastic news yet again... MOM'S COMING TO LONDON!!!!!!!! I'm VERY excited to see my mom! She's going to arrive in London on April 22nd in the morning and I'll be meeting her at the hotel a bit later in the day on the 22nd. :) We're going to take a day or two in London and check it out, then she's booked us on a bus tour through Scotland and Wales! Yay! So we're going to check out some neat landmarks and places over 9 days or so and then end up back in London after the royal wedding is done with.  So the way I see it... is just 3 more days off (3 more weeks) until I get to see my mom! And then 2 weeks after that, Brad will get here (the day after mom leaves) and then we're going to check out London together, then Rome, then Dublin :) And rent a car and kidnap Katie (among other thing lol).

I wish I had some exciting photos for you to post this week, but I don't really have much to show! The farm looks the same as it did before ;) and I can't really get a pic of me riding... cause unless you want a self portrait of me concentrating while trying to do a sitting trot on an uncomfortable horse.. lol you guys won't be interested! haha I'll try to take some pics this week and get them up on here.