Returning to the Netherlands felt different this time. I am familiar with the process now. I know my way around every corner of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and am starting to feel very comfortable driving around this beautiful country. This was the first time that my landed in the afternoon though. I have arrived at 5AM and I have pulled into the barn around midnight in the past, but this time, I was on the A1 leaving Amsterdam around 2 o’clock. This was also the first time I have come during the summertime. Each other trip was done during the winter and as I sat bundled deep inside of my many warming layers, the barn girls would say, “You should come in the summer next time!”…. so, I did and it is a completely different place during this time of year! During the winter, there was some sort of precipitation every day. Rain, snow, freezing rain, a wet snow/ freezing rain combo… most days were perfect for kicking off a nice chest cold, but not this time. This time every field was full of bright white sheep and flowers. Flowers everywhere!! Wild flowers along the highways, window boxes full of flowers on the homes and the beautiful flowers continued all over the grounds of the Academy Bartels… I wanted to grab some groceries for the week before I settled in for an early night and when I searched for local supermarkets on my GPS, up popped an Aldi!! I had no idea they had Aldi’s in the Netherlands, but have since been educated that Aldi actually started in Germany. It felt just like the one we shop at in Chesapeake, Virginia. The carts are coin released, but unlike in the US, these carts will accept a .50 cent piece or 1 Euro and 2 Euro coins. Its nice, because sometimes you don’t have a quarter laying around at the bottom of your purse! I popped my coin in and grabbed some essentials and by “essentials”, I mean bread. The bread here is incredible and it is everywhere. I made peace with the two or three extra pounds I would be returning to the US with ahead of time, so the bread decision was an easy one. It felt wonderful returning to this incredible place. I know so many people here now, so it was a warm, cozy feeling entering the barn. I caught up with Imke for a while and then we went to meet my training partner. We entered the stallion barn and there he was, looking like he was ready for a photo shoot… or a sugar cube. When I heard the name Floratio, it sounded quite familiar. I couldn’t recall where I knew this horse from, but I knew of him in some way. I also knew that I had been awake for longer than my brain preferred, so I headed towards my apartment and put a full effort in towards reseting my internal time zone. I woke up early the next morning and headed straight for the main barn. You never know what you are going to see, learn or witness when walking in to this barn. The majority of what I soak up is training. From young horses to international grand prix horses preparing for competition just days away, it happens in this arena. I have watched so many valuable lessons and have learned priceless tips on everything from riding great corners to the best way to present your passage to extended walk transition at P in the grand prix. I have been there as skilled riders work through unique training issues and have watched specialists work at developing the perfect bit for a sensitive horse. I have been there as some exciting “firsts” are executed and as very established international horses worked towards that next step of execution. It is pretty clear why I head straight to the barn every morning, right? Imke is coming back from a back injury, so she is not riding all of her horses yet. Luckily, she was riding one of my favorites this morning. Hey You is a very special 7 year old KWPN gelding that is a true pleasure to watch Imke school. She is in the process of starting his piaffe and there are glimpses of something very cool to come. This particular morning was quite busy. Tineke was sitting ringside coaching a few students, one of which was one of the Japanese riders on a promising new partner. I always love when the Japanese riders are being coached, because the lessons are in english. They are also very good riders with goals beyond simply qualifying for the Olympic games. They are all very serious about succeeding and it shows. They ride with purpose and goals and I think this is why they have chosen to train with the Bartels. As the day progressed, I grew more and more excited for my first ride on Floratio. I brought my personal saddle with me this time and was really hoping that it was going to fit the horse that I would be riding. As I looked at Floratio’s big broad back, I started to think that hand carrying and guarding this beautiful new saddle with my very life may have been a big waste of time, but thankfully… and not too surprisingly, my Custom saddle slid right into place on him and all of a sudden, it was time.
Our first ride went well. I remember walking around the arena thinking in the back of my mind, “Who are you?” I knew that I heard the name Floratio before, but the barn was really bustling today and there were too many others things to do besides strike up a conversation on his back story, so I got to know him in the arena. If you read my blogs about previous trips, you probably remember the paragraphs about “meeting” a mare. Starting with low expectations and demands, moving in cautiously, taking the time to slowly develop a partnership… stallions and geldings are much different though. If I had to put it into words, it would go something like this… “Hello. My name is Fallon and I will be riding you for a while. This is my leg. This is my hand. Are we good?” “We are good.” And away we went…
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