MI to NY

MEGAN: Well, after a long night of cleaning and packing, Simba set out for New York this afternoon. After a bit of confusion over transportation for me, I was picked up from my house in a 15-horse commercial shipping truck and taken to the barn to frantically pack a trunk with things from home and get Simba all ready for his adventure on the "big truck". After he was loaded I cleaned his stall, rode GT (a school horse at Horsescape) and clipped Sonny. I also enjoyed using up a complete package of index cards for the first half of the terms I have to memorize for AP Bio... Sounds like fun, I know! Then friends came out to the barn to ride Sonny, which he thoroughly enjoyed, and I came home and created this blog. Since this is my first entry, I would like to discuss the title. Uphill movement is not only desired in dressage, but also in cross-country races and life. In addition to my passion for dressage, I also love to run. Hills are one of my favorite parts of training and races because on the way up, it is so hard. Sometimes, if the hill is really big, you wonder if you will even make it to the top. But, when you do, not only do you get to go downhill, but your body screams for air and you feel a sense of accomplishment, knowing that it will be easier next time. Life is the same way- becoming a better person is hard, something many people shy away from (like hills), but in the end, it is all worth it. So, at the end of my two months in New York, I hope to look back at this entry and not only have advanced in my knowledge of dressage and competence as a rider both in training and showing, but to have grown or moved uphill in my development as a person. Oh, and by the way, Happy Birthday, Simba!

SIMBA: After being brought in from the lovely sunshine in my paddock and quickly groomed, I am now resting in Lexington, KY.Tomorrow morning,I will proceed to Bedford, NY,home of Gleneden Dressage. My mom received an amazingly generous scholarship from Dressage 4 Kids, an organization dedicated to advancing the knowledge and skill of young riders in dressage and by which I am also owned. This scholarship is allowing us to travel from East Lansing, MI to New York to train with Lendon Gray and travel to a few shows in the area, returning to MI before Mom's school begins. Ah, school. Seems as though I should have some sort of a degree for all of the knowledge I have passed on to young riders, with my mother not being an exception. By the time these two months come to a close, she will have learned so much- and I am not letting anyone else take credit for my hard work in teaching her much of what she will have learned! Well, I am dozing off here in my stall, so I must go. I am 12 today, and an horse needs his beauty rest, especially as he gets older. So goodnight, and I will write again from the Big Apple- if I don't eat it first!