Body Worlds exhibition.

I also went Body Worlds exhibition, which I have been wanting to catch for years. I always missed it when it was in Vancouver and now I have finally managed to go. It was really interesting. I learned a lot about how muscles, tendons etc. work. I was fascinated how everything is connected and how it all works together. I know some people complain about it being real people, but to be honest you don’t even really think about it, you are so interested and fascinated by it all and it is all so professional. I was really, really impressed.

One more adventure I have been on was this past weekend in Belgium DayDream music festival. It was the kick-off music festival of the summer, but it wasn’t exactly summer weather. The afternoon was nice, but when the sun went down…BRRRR it was chilly. Nevertheless, I still had a fun time. There was a main stage and various other tents, with each tent offering different types of music. I was really surprised, but happy to see how strict festivals are getting now with security, with full putdowns, bag searches, and this time they had dogs and people lining up to be checked for drugs. It’s about time they made sure it was a fun and safe environment.

Both my boys are going well. It’s cute – normally Barthel is scared of horses, but he has really taken a liking to Edward. Maybe it’s because he is a bit smaller than Vitall, but he likes walking him around (see picture). Barthel and I have been working on getting Edward used to all sorts of different sounds. I have had Barthel slamming doors running up and down the stairs by the indoor arena clapping, you name it we have done it. I want to make sure my little guy is used to everything!

Barthel and Edward

I have also been riding a Grand Prix schoolmaster over the last little bit. WalkingStar is a black gelding and I am having a blast learning on him. I have entered him for a few national shows. Starting with a practice show on the 27th and a national show on the 29th.

Meet Edward!

A lot has happened over the last month…

The biggest news is the new team member for team Duncan. His name is Edward – a three-year-old stallion by United/Damiro. I am totally in love with him. He is so easy to handle and it is a pleasure to ride him. I am really excited to see what the future brings with him. I am keeping him at a stable close to where I live, about five minutes. This past weekend was Edward’s first outing to the AES Stallion Keuring, where he was licensed. He behaved like he was an old pro he went into the ring “strutted” his stuff. I was a very proud mommy at the end of the day ! Here’s a link about AES from
http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2012/03/29/seven-dressage-stallions-approved-2012-aes-spring-stallion-licensing

My dad was just here for a little visit, which coincided with my birthday. So, I ended up having a great birthday weekend with my dad and Edward. I really enjoyed my time with my dad. It had been awhile since we had some father/daughter time. But, of course, our time was all spent with the horses and some great dinners out. For my birthday we went to this place called Marks BBQ. It’s a really great little restaurant in Uden, the village where I live. It’s simple food and is exactly what the name stands for. BBQ food feels like you are eating in your own backyard. We have been having fantastic weather over the last two weeks. So it’s really starting to feel like summer and BBQ was very fitting.

This weekend is also full of adventures. I am going to Cirque De Soleil. I have been wanting to catch the show forever! I am going with Joanne and her daughter. I will make sure I give a full of update of the show.

Other than the lockdown things have been going really well. It is still and fresh and springy here. I even saw some flowers blooming and that always makes me smile.

My new outlet for fun is riding a friend’s horse in Badaf, this area close to where I live that is all sand dunes and great hills to gallop up and down on. I have also been lucky enough to have the privilege to ride a grand prix schoolmaster of a friend of mine and also a student of Sjef’s. She owns an older grand prix horse and he has been so great to practice everything on. I have been working on the zigzag and piaffe, passage transitions and riding all the lines that it just becomes second nature. It is easier to learn on a horse that knows it all instead of Vitall, as it’s a bit like the blind leading the blind. We have an idea, but it’s not solid. So, now I am getting it 100% in my system and transferring my new knowledge to him and it is working out really well. I feel like I am progressing 100 times faster! With the extra help of the GP horse, Vitall and I are really in the flow of the GP now and I can’t wait to get him in the ring soon and compete!

I have also reached a new level at the gym with my trainer, which feels really motivating. I have been working a bit out of my comfort zone and pushing myself that extra little bit and in doing that I feel fantastic. I have much more energy, I’m sleeping better, and eating better foods. I don’t even reach for the ice cream or chips. My body doesn’t crave any of it, which is always nice!

It’s exciting that London is creeping up around the corner! In our barn now you can really feel the excitement since some riders have already secured their spots for London. For the rest of us, we have to wait a bit longer, but it certainly gives everyone that extra little bit of bounce and drive to work harder.

Highland cattle roam free in the sanctuary areas.

Thankfully we seem to be finding our way out of the cold snap because even though I am from Canada, I was not use to those temps being from Vancouver. Nevertheless, I had some fun the last weekends in the cold. I was out on an ATV in the woods near my house, which are also really great for trail riding. The best thing about the woods is they have these sanctuary areas for horses and Highland cattle the highland cattle are so cute!

Other than exploring in the woods, I was just home for a quick visit – only for five days – but it was nice to catch up with my family. I had many appointments – dentist, doctors – not exactly the things you like doing, but it had to be done. I had a filling pop out, that took some time in the dentist chair and my mouth remained frozen for hours after. Thankfully it was gone by the time dinner time rolled around because I was starving and going out for dinner with my best friends at my favourite Italian restaurant. All I did while I was home was eat and catch up on errands. I also had to renew my driver’s licence. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to go to the gym and I just ate a lot, so now I have to do double time in the gym to work off all that yummy food, but I can say it was worth every bite!

A friend of mine emailed me this picture of “Dressage” and I thought I would share it with everyone because it really made me laugh, and it is very true. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

A shot from the fashion show.

It is freezing here… I have never experienced such cold weather. For the last five days it’s been between -5 and – 18 and with snow. But thankfully the sun is shining the last few days – that makes you feel a little bit better. I have now learned something about myself: I am not a cold weather person and everyone gets a kick out of it here because they say “But you’re from Canada” and I just laugh and say, “I’m from Vancouver. It doesn’t get this cold!” Nevertheless, I am surviving it.

This past weekend I went to a fashion show in Eindhoven, it was a really interesting show. Some clothes were really nice others kinda made you think would that work in real life… probably not but it was really cool to see. A friend of mine was walking in the show, so it made it more special.

I have been working my butt off in the gym lately, making really good progress with my trainer. I love the adrenalin rush I get from training. It’s really satisfying. I am able to challenge myself more and more every week .

Vitall’s nose is almost healed up. It’s taking a little bit longer, as he tore the skin off again…. silly thing!! I’ve been putting cream on it every day, so it is healing swiftly.

The opera house, lit up at night.

This past weekend, I took an adventure to go watch Jumping Amsterdam at the Rai Arena in the centre of Amsterdam. I have to say it is one of the nicest indoor venues, with a good sized warm-up arena, which we all know is usually one of the difficulties at indoor shows. It had great vendors, and I really enjoyed watching the Grand Prix. The best part was that at the end they had a mini sushi restaurant set up. You could sit at the bar and have this little conveyer belt come around with everything imaginable. I was in heaven.

I was staying with Joanne, another Grand Prix rider who rides for Georgia and is currently training with Sjef. Later in the evening, Joanne and I went to the opera. I had only been to one opera with my dad a few years ago, to Madam Butterfly, which is a classic. This time we went and saw something a bit more modern. It was called the Knighting Gale and the Three Fables. The first part was in Russian and the second in Chinese. The singing was fantastic and the scenes were very well-played. They had acrobat demonstrations and in the last half they had scenes with water. They had designed the stage so that half was “normal” and the other half was water – really incredible how they managed to combine it. They did some scenes with people swimming. I really enjoyed the show.

After the opera, we went out for dinner to an Argentinean restaurant. I don’t go to Amsterdam very often, which is silly because I had forgotten how much fun the city is and it’s only an hour away so I must make for of an effort to go and explore there. I want to check out more tourist things. The ballet opens in February, and I’ve never been. Joanne also likes ballet, so hopefully we can still reserve tickets and check it out!

In the morning, I went for a swim with Joanne’s eight-year-old daughter and then headed back home for my kids.

Vitall is off right now. He got bitten on his nose by his neighbour across the way. I guess they had been playing, but the bite is right by where the nose band goes. I got some special cream from the vet, so hopefully it clears up quickly so we can get back to work.

A funny little cartoon I came across.

This past weekend was beautiful here. I woke up Saturday morning and opened my curtains to the sun shining and it stayed all weekend. Somehow whenever you wake up and you see the sun, it always gives you that extra bounce in your step and a smile across your face.

I went riding out in the woods for some relaxed riding time, not on Vitall, but on another horse. We did some galloping. I was with a friend and we were laughing like school girls on our ponies as we were breezing through the trees. I also rode Vitall. I took him out for a walk and light stretching. And, of course, he had his Sunday off. He always enjoys his Sunday off – his “me” time. Just like us, they need their “me” time.

I also did some spring cleaning. I organized my house so now it is clean, clean, clean I keep it really tidy, but I took the time to get into all the little nooks and crannies that we all skim over when we do our clean up days. I did the same at the stables, washing winter blankets and cleaning old tack that I have in storage, and all those little chores. After I was done with my “spring cleaning” it also gave me an extra bounce in my step because it had been on my mind for a while to get done, and I had finally accomplished it.

Personal training at the gym this week was challenging after taking some time off during the holidays. I noticed my body was not as quick to react or support me like it normally does. It was saying to me, “You want me to do what? And lift that?” But I managed through it and felt great. After I felt much more energized. Now my trainer is gone for 10 days, so I have to keep up the hard work myself and push myself that extra little bit, but I think I can do it. 

My little Charlie Brown x-mas tree in Poland, where it was planted over New Years. It is now enjoying its new life.

For Christmas, my mom (aka Santa) got me a neat new gadget called a Bloggie by Sony. It is a small video camera that I can tuck it into my pocket and capture those moments when you say darn I wish I had my camera or video camera. So now I have it with me wherever I go so hopefully soon I can capture something interesting/ funny to share with you all. So stay tuned!!

The castle, where we spent New Year's Eve.

It’s the start of the New Year and I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come this year. I am currently working on my competition plan to debut in grand prix and hopefully qualify for London.

The girls and I.

I had a great time in Poland for New Years. It was certainly different from what I have seen of the rest of Europe. I found it very interesting to see how a country has not really recovered from communism and the wars. It felt like you stepped back 10-15 years.  The countryside is out of this world, with rolling hills and deep forests. It felt a bit like home. Oslo also accompanied me on the trip. Oslo was in Poland before me, so he knew the lay of the land of the castle area. I couldn’t help but laugh at my little guy. He thought he was the king, running around the place, and he knew exactly what room the fire was in so he could go warm up.

Our New Year's Eve group.

On New Year’s Eve, we had a catered dinner inside the castle with a group – there were about 12 of us. Everyone got a long really well over the four days. Some days it was a bit of struggle trying to schedule showers, as there was only one bathroom, but for the most part we managed well. The drive back took us about 11 hours because of traffic. There are always traffic jams in Germany, but we made our own entertainment and had many naps.

I wish everyone all the best for 2012.

New Year's Eve in Times Square

Just a note to say I’m sorry for such a delay between my blogs! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

I was just home in Vancouver for the last six days for the holidays. I had a great time. It was really nice to see my family and, of course, little Liam. I can’t believe how quickly he is growing up. But I have to say he is getting very independent and much more creative. My mom and I were out doing last minute shopping, and at this one store, they had a fake snow display in the front window. Well, Liam decided he wanted to play with the snow and have his “own” white Christmas… I nearly died of embarrassment, but still found it hard not to laugh at the same time because it was pretty darn cute, him sitting there with all this white powder looking up at me.

Little Oliver, my mom’s new Frenchie, is the cutest thing in the world. He is nine months old now and I wanted to pack him in my suit case and bring him back to Holland with me. He was just like an overgrown teddy bear with this little dorky personality. He just comes and flops in your arms on his back to have his tummy rubbed and if you stop he jumps up and bites your ears.

I really lucked out with the weather while I was home. It was beautiful and sunny for the first three days. I did way too much eating, but hey that’s what the holidays and New Year resolutions are for!! GYM TIME ASAP!! But I didn’t mind stuffing my face with all my favourite sushi, cactus club and Amici, which is an Italian restaurant close to my house.

I have to say after my flight back to Holland travelling is not my favourite thing. I am completely wiped out!! We got stuck on the tarmac in Vancouver for two hours, then I missed my connection and had to sit in London for an extra three hours, then finally made it to Amsterdam by 11:00, then proceeded to take a train so I was completely tuckered by the time I made it home.

Vitall is on a little holiday now until the New Year, as I am only in Holland for the next two days, then I jump back onto a plane to Poland for NYE I have never been to Poland so I am looking forward to checking it out. Oslo is already there waiting for me. I can’t wait to see my little guy in a couple days.

Hope everyone has a fantastic NYE!!! and that all wishes come true. I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a good year.

Ice skating adventure

Ten days until I go home for a visit! Time is flying, I can’t believe we are almost starting a New Year!

Lately, I have been getting into the holiday spirit. I went ice skating this past weekend was a lot of fun, but for the first time in my life I had to wear hockey skates and felt like I had no clue how to skate anymore. I used to figure skate when I was a kid, so I’ve only used figure skates, but there is a first time for everything. The skating rink in Eindhoven also has an indoor speed skating track and its open to the public so it was really neat to skate on it 400m loop its tiring after a few rounds!

Also Kendal and I went and picked a tiny little x-mas tree for my house. We call it the “Charlie Brown” tree because it is a bit sad looking, but we thought it was cute so we had to buy it.

The Charlie Brown tree

Vitall has been good. Anky has been away, so just been taking it a bit easy and since the weather is still nice going out for hacks. I went into the woods with a friend near her house about 20 minutes away from Anky’s stables and I rode her mother’s horse. We went for a 2.5hr trail ride the other day. I hadn’t had so much fun in ages just going out and being silly again on a horse. We were galloping up and down hills, jumping over logs you name it we did it. But the only thing was that the mom’s horse didn’t really know what a “half halt” was, so stopping sometimes was a bit of a challenge. I don’t think I used the word WHOA so many times. But we were like little girls laughing the entire time, until our feet hit the ground. As the Dutch would say it was LEUK!

Lately, it has been everyone’s mission for me to speak Dutch seeing as I have now been here for two years in January…again where has the time gone? So, now I have to say one Dutch word a day and slowly build it up. We will see how far I get. I can understand a lot, but some words I just can’t spit out, but at least I am trying . But I notice it gets harder and harder to speak “normal” English. I have started to speak “Dutch English.” I catch myself sometimes going “Alex did you really just say that?” and I have to chuckle.

This weekend, Cat, who used to work for Leslie, has moved to London and is coming for a visit. Really looking forward to it, as it’s been about three years since we have seen each other, so I will report next week on how our visit went.