Last I left off was so long ago I might have to post twice before I’m actually all caught up! I’m still in a very happy place in life and am absolutely satisfied with the way things are moving along…
Since we returned from Saugerties we have been at home, focusing on breaking the babies and getting the younger horses to some schooling shows. Lots of riding going on. I have also been working 3 jobs, which I love. I get up early, 5:15am to be exact, to leave for Stacy Casio’s farm, hardly 10 minutes from Chado. Stacy has been riding and showing with the Chapot’s for years and trailers over for a lesson here and there. It’s an easy job, Stacy is wicked nice, and it’s extra cash in my pocket! I was caring for his 3 horses, now down to 2 with the pony getting a new home recently. The boys are super sweet.. Welllll… The older gelding, Spencer, is super duper sweet, the younger gelding, Jackson, he’s a bit of a naughty boy. He actually bit my butt the other day when I was unhooking his water bucket to dump…jerk! He likes to mess with you for entertainment but he is pretty darn cute and picked up fairly quickly that I wasn’t going to allow him to walk all over me. We have an understanding, you stay out of my space and I won’t scare the crap out of you to make you STAY out of my space:) Lovely. I do all the normal chores; feed, water, hay, sweep, de-cobweb, and feed his super cool cat, Bob. Takes a little less than an hour so I get back to Chado in time for a quick breakfast then off to the barn by 7am. I work at Chado from 7-12 then 3 or 4 afternoons a week, I work for Liz Perry over at High Brass Farm in Pittstown, NJ.
It’s about a 30-40 minute drive to HBF but totally worth it. George gets come with and play, which is awesome since he’s not allowed down to the barn at home. Of course everyone loves him. I swear he gets the better greetings wherever we go…”Gggeeeooorrrggee! Yay! We love you!!! Oh, hey Codi:)” hahaha He brightens everyones day. Another AMAZING part of HBF is that one of my very best friends, Kyley Dufek, is the barn manager! I have mentioned Kyley in the past but I met her when I was working at Market Street where she would fill in here and there. We really hit it off and have stayed very close since then. I typically am there from 1-5 and ride the entire time, although on occasion I’ll help with other chores, whatever needs to be done, I’ll do it. Liz has a rehab program as well as show hunters and jumpers. Many of her rehab horses are horses right off the circuit, which is super cool. I’ve helped rehab one of Schuyler Riley’s horses and we just got in a Scott Stewart horse. They have one of the only underwater treadmills on the East Coast, the Aqua Pacer, and have had great success with it. I do everything from walk rides to full on training rides for some of Liz’s show horses or client horses when Liz is unavailable. Kyley loves when I’m there because it gives her a chance to be in the barn instead of riding. She is an obsessively organized person, which I absolutely love about her, so she often gives me her extra rides so she can clean or organize around the barn. I heart Kyley:)
Liz rode for Nona Garson for about 7 years before starting her own business so she has plenty of connections in the area. She’s been super nice and has already introduced me to some people I may have otherwise never have met.
One exciting connection Liz introduced me to Scott Stewart and Ken Berkley. I got to visit their BEAUTIFUL farm, only 20 minutes from Chado. They were about to pack up and head to Palm Beach after Washington wrapped up (about a week from the time we met). I’ll likely be tracking them down again once I get to FL.
FL is bittersweet for me. Although I’m DYING to be at WEF amongst all those fantastic horses and riders and some of my best friends, I will not be doing nearly the same amount of riding and certainly not jumping many jumps. At least I know there will be plenty of rides waiting for me when we return in the spring:)
Next post; breaking the yearlings, getting to horse show, and a very special horse returns to the farm:)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
