Conrad HDS FEI Series Part 2

The day to ride with Conrad was quickly upon me and we set out (not as early) as we'd planned on our assigned riding day (Monday).  We had lots of dog training over the weekend and there was some nasty weather as well so we stayed home and made money in order to pay for things like this clinic :P

I really enjoyed my last ride with Conrad and looked forward to seeing him again.  I also invited my mom to come watch because that's what anyone closing in on their 40th birthday does, right?

Driving through the National Forest on my way. Pretty drive but painful pulling a trailer. Boo GPS.

I hadn't been to Tex-Over farms since I was like 15 years old and the area had grown up SO much so I focused on where my GPS said to go (won't do that again oiy) and was soon at the farm.  Once I got the trailer and pony situated, I went to watch a few lessons before mine and eventually meet up with my mom.  When she arrived it was lunch break and she had a nice chat with Conrad in German when they met.  It was amazing how much I understood from listening to it during my childhood even though the topics were completely different than I'd been exposed to (Conrad has a golf course, restaurant, etc on his "farm" so it was fascinating to hear about his "real" life outside Frankfurt).  He broke for lunch and we went to wander around some before getting ready for my ride.

Tex-Over Farm's covered arena where the action happened.

Conrad remembered us from our last clinic (I always expect people to forget who is in front of them) and asked what I wanted to work on.  Normally I like to tell him to do his worst but I also added in that I'd like to keep working on improving Vana's trot.  Probably not the best idea for my body but it was a fun lesson that left me thrilled and exhausted.  We even got to work on poles and when we had to canter a pole, I found my distances like a boss and it was so fun.

We did lots and lots and lots of tricky work that made Vana and I work hard but it was all fair and I got some good lessons out of it all.  In the end, Conrad praised Vana's condition and chatted about that with the group.  I'm so proud of my dragon!pony and our journey.

I asked my mom what she thought and she said it looked like a lot of work but that we looked really good out there.  She seemed really impressed with what we're able to accomplish and it was nice to share this with her.  Also, she said it was like listening to Opa (my grandfather/her father that passed a while back) give a riding lesson and that that was really funny.

Conrad doesn't seem to think we're weirdos anymore :)