Friday night, I had an awesome jumping lesson with Dutch, a very forward horse. We rocked around a course of gates and cross rails at the canter which is a huge step up for me. It was so fun. I still have a lot to work on though, more bend at the hip over the jump, better release of the reins on the horse’s mouth, and we have to get better at picking up the right lead to the next jump.
Saturday morning I went back to Stage Hill Polo for another lesson. We played a little 2 on 2 scrimmage, and it was so fun. My teammate Lydia got a goal, and I got a goal…..and then I sadly got a goal for the other team. I was trying to hit it back away from the goal, but my own backswing hit it in the goal. Steve told me this happens all the time hahaha. This is it for me though, I will maybe go back in the spring/summer to play some more polo. Stage Hill Polo does take part in a winter arena league that I was invited to play in but I have three afternoons of class this spring so its just not going to work out right now. I am going to be lucky to get a practice ride in on a day that I don’t have class at my own barn. This is Salsa even though I actually got to ride Jet, one of Steve Rudolph’s horses. Most of these horses are heading down to Palm Beach for the winter this week- lucky huh?
Saturday afternoon I took the pup for a trail run, a nice 4 miler, and it was just beautiful out. Then Saturday evening, the fiancé and I headed out with a couple friends for all you can eat sushi up in Nashua NH. It…was…amazing. I love good sushi and we definitely got our money’s worth. My favorites are the spicy tuna roll, spider maki with the fried soft-shell crab, and any of those specialty rolls with the crab meat on top. I had a nice light Sapporo with my delicious sushi while a couple others shared a scorpion bowl- doesn’t taste like alcohol at all, super dangerous 🙂
Mizpah out on the trailDon’t shoot the dalmatian! #notadeerSo much sushi….arm party from KJP and Charming Charlie’s 🙂
Sunday was a rainy & cold day here in Massachusetts. We made bacon and eggs for breakfast and then later on made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, so good!!!
I have a very short work week this week- just Monday & Tuesday. I am so looking forward to seeing friends & family for Thanksgiving. What kind of trouble did you all get up to this past weekend? Anyone have any good black Friday sales they are planning to hit up? I will be opting outside Friday with REI hiking with family and the pup, but I might have to take a peak at some online sales 😉
As I sit here watching Love at the Christmas Table on Lifetime snuggled up with my pup and some hot chocolate, its tough to remember just how cold I was Saturday morning up at Stage Hill Polo! Mizpah (the pup) is actually a bit damp right now because I had to bathe girlfriend after she got into something on the trails today…traildogprobs.
Anyway, I might be in love with polo. I don’t think I have aspirations of playing the crazy upper level polo, but I had so much fun Saturday! We just worked on hitting an arena polo ball at nothing more than a walk. Next time I am hoping for a trot. We’ll see. The groupon deal for these lessons was crazy affordable so I can actually afford to keep riding at my barn too while I take a few more polo lessons.
Not having a horse, finding opportunities like this to spend time with horses is amazing. Stage Hill Polo is run by Peter Poor and they compete at Myopia Polo’s tournaments. His father Joseph Poor and him are both polo legends. I mean, the arena at Myopia is named after Joseph Poor. Peter’s two daughters Amanda & Alyson are also amazing polo players. I watched Stage Hill Polo play at Myopia recently actually (see the post here!). Dan Keating of Newport Polo learned how to play polo with Stage Hill. Here are some pics from the morning thanks to my amazing fiancé. I rode a horse named Salsa, owned by the Poor family, and her photo hangs at the Polo Museum Hall of Fame. The horses were all in awesome condition, you can tell they are truly loved and taken care of at Stage Hill.
I think that there is a movement right now to make polo more accessible to the masses….instead of 3 amazing polo players and one rich guy which is what we often see in the higher level polo world, Stage Hill Polo is trying to create a polo community….where many moderately committed horse people pay bits of money to participate in the great sport of polo. Making polo less exclusive is profitable. Maybe one person for ever five that shows up for a lesson actually sticks with it, but the more people into the sport, bringing money into these barns, the better for everyone. More teams, more tournaments, more players….sounds good for Myopia. Now I am not saying that there isn’t some serious high quality polo going on at Myopia, because there is, but developing this community will create a feeder system, of younger athletes. We might not be socialites or royalty, BUT we just want to pay a fee to learn and use your horses. We aren’t at a place in our lives where we want our own barn of polo ponies to take care of, but we will contribute to yours in exchange. Stage Hill Polo doesn’t want to hide polo, or hold it up above our heads. Peter Poor wants to bring people in to the world of polo, not keep people out. Do as much as you can do or want to do.
Steve Rudolph was our instructor for this lovely lesson, and he was great. Everyone at Stage Hill was great, it was an awesome experience. The price thanks to Groupon was just right too 😉
This past weekend I played some beginner polo at Stage Hill Polo in Newbury, MA and afterwards did a bit of driving around/wandering admiring all the beautiful historic homes. There are so many gorgeous federal style homes in the area.
One really amazing home that was on my list of places to see was the Spencer-Pierce-Little farm in Newbury. It was built in 1690 which makes it 325 years old. If walls could talk huh? The building is actually a seventeenth century manor house with a farmhouse attached. A family actually lived in the farmhouse through the 20th century. The manor house is really a remnant of a time when Newburyport was home to very wealthy merchants that profited from the trade coming in and out of the area. Now, it is a national landmark that does tours and educational outreach. They also have goats, donkeys, pigs, and I think I saw some sheep and a horse too. The animals are all from the MSPCA at Nevins Farm which is awesome. You don’t really get to see this style of home very often in Massachusetts, it struck me as something out of the English countryside, something out of one of my favorite Jane Austen novels.
Spencer-Pierce-Little FarmThe 17th century manor portionFarmhouse attachedFront door of the manor portion of the building
The other home that I stopped at was the Caleb Cushing house in Newburyport built in 1808. It’s a gorgeous 4 story brick federal style mansion. So pretty, it has 4 chimneys for the multiple hearths/fireplaces we see in federal style homes. The windows are arranged symmetrically and there is a very nice little fanlight above the main entrance. The home once belonged to Caleb Cushing, a US Congressman from MA and the Attorney General under Franklin Pierce. Now the Historical Society of Old Newbury is housed in the beautiful mansion. Sadly, there’s power or phone lines right on the corner of the street that the house is on…..couldn’t they have considered the aesthetic of the future views of the home when they wired the area? 🙂 Anyway, this checks off a couple places on my list. I probably could have spent a couple days wandering around these two towns admiring all the homes.
From there, my fiance, Jon, and I headed over to Nashua/Amherst NH area to shop for wedding bands and grab some food & drinks at Martha’s Exchange (careful hashtagging this one as it can look like Martha Sex Change). We tried all 8 of the beers that they offer, and they were all really good. My favorite was the Volstead. We swung up to Able Ebenezer’s ale room (no food) after and tried their beers…..I’ll be honest, Martha’s had better beers in my opinion. Martha’s also had awesome food and a candy/sweets counter to visit on your way out, delicious truffles.
Sampler at Martha’s ExchangeSampler at Able Ebenezer’s, my favorite was the Auburn, all the way to the left
My fiance and I are getting married this spring and then we will be house hunting. Part of me wants the old historic home because I admire them so much, but I also know they are a ton of work! More posts to come on Stage Hill Polo & my lovely Sunday at Equine Affaire out in Springfield! Hope you all had a lovely weekend!
This week I finished reading Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. My feeling about the book now that I am done is positive, but it was a rough start. In the beginning, our main character, TifAni, is downright caustic…even a little vulgar. I found myself wondering if I was reading about a sociopath hiding in society behind a nice job, nice clothes, and a nice fiance. I forced myself to push on.
Yep, another library book from a library in my area, free books. Love it.
As the book continues and you begin to learn about the secrets in her past that are alluded to throughout the beginning of the book, you start to learn why she is like that. Her personality starts to soften as you learn about the things that Ani went through at her private preppy high school, The Bradley School. By the end of the book, I was totally on Ani’s side and I started rooting for her to make the right decisions as the book comes to a close.
The writing itself was tough in some spots. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present, and sometimes, I had to use context to figure out where we were. The way that the author described sequential events was tough for me too…I guess I like more detail than she provided sort of taking you through an event from beginning to end and her writing was a little more choppy. Her description of an event was almost like snap shots as opposed a movie, not as continuous as I like.
Being a high school teacher & spending my days with adolescents, a lot of this book was familiar to me. The struggle for acceptance that doesn’t actually end after high school (we just don’t care as much) is very visible in my students. Even the way some of my students act like they don’t care about being accepted….they are actually gaining acceptance by others like them. Clothes, sneakers, backpacks, phones, earbuds, jewelry, lunch bags, hair style/color…..these are all badges they wear to present to their peers. They search for others that have the same badges. Sometimes they search for peers that have better badges, badges that they envy and want. High school is tough for many teens, thankfully it only lasts 4 years. From this book though, even though she was an extreme case that went through some traumatic things, our main character was still being plagued by things that happened in high school even in her late twenties.
Now, this is probably the 3rd book that I have read since the summer where the main female character had a dysfunctional relationship with an overbearing status-obsessed mother.
What’s up with that?
Can’t we write a fun, interesting, book with a female character that has a strong bond with her mother? Is that just not interesting? Is that not typical in the “preppy” world where many of the books I like are based? The Nanny Diaries that I read this past summer showed a nice relationship with parents with Nanny….but obviously Mr. & Mrs. X were not model parents. The Secret Life of Violet Grant, Everybody Rise, and now Luckiest Girl Alive all had weird family dynamics with the main characters. Elin Hildebrand’s books which I love in the summer usually have some good mother daughter relationships. I usually read one of her lovely Nantucket based books each summer, so perfect for the beach!
I hope that you all have great weekends ahead. After an awesome riding lesson last night, I am setting off into a horse filled weekend. I am working on my jumping skills and last night took a very forward, borderline impossible to stop, horse over cross rails. So fun. Happy Friday! TGIF!
Today, I have the day off for Veteran’s Day. My father is a veteran of the Vietnam War, both of my grandfather’s were in WWII…and on my father’s side, we have fought in every conflict on American soil and overseas for America. My father’s family has been here since 1635 though, so thats pretty common in families that have been kicking around America that long. My dad is now the treasurer for his 82nd Airborne Association club down in FL, and my mom is pretty active in the Daughters of the American Revolution too, so they were both busy today. My dad has been in a golf tournament this week that ended today, and my mom served lunch at a Veteran’s Day assembly. I’m sure wherever I end up settling down with a family will be where I join the DAR. I feel very proud of my family’s military heritage.
It’s been raining here in Massachusetts today, so I have been catching up on laundry, reading (working on Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll), food shopping….I know, so glamorous. The peace and quiet of today has given me a chance to look over my fiancé, Jon, and I’s photos from this past weekend. Our photographer for our wedding offers a complementary photo shoot beforehand. I don’t really think of it as an engagement shoot so much because we have been engaged since August, but I guess thats the best thing to call it!
I was thinking about wearing this adorable gray J. Crew factory fair isle sweater, but when I put it on over my white button down, it just looked boxy!! I made a game time decision to wear my navy Woolover cashmere/cotton blend sweater instead. I wore a very simple outfit, but it was very “me” I think. Jon wore one of his many plaid flannel shirts; pretty much his uniform in the colder months, he’s too cute. The location was dog friendly, which was awesome because it meant Mizpah, our dalmatian, got to be a part of the photos. It was a cold and windy day, but I think our photographer did a great job getting some nice shots!
These photos brightened my day. I love the one of us in our crew jackets from behind. Jon and I began as friends & teammates at WPI so many years ago. I could have never predicted that we would be here, so happy and getting married in the spring. Life is funny.
Hope you all had a peaceful Veteran’s Day and had a moment to just appreciate the sacrifices service men, women, animals, and their families have made to keep Americans safe.
As readers of my blog know, I love LLBean. I love their products, prices, quality, customer service, and I love Freeport ME. That being said, I will be watching closely to see what kind of changes will occur. The current CEO, Chris McCormick, took over in 2001, and has worked for LLBean since 1983. Mr. McCormick was the first leader of LLBean that wasn’t a member of the family, but he has a long history at the company, including serving the role of chief operating officer before he became CEO.
The man that has been chosen to replace McCormick is Stephen Smith, currently Walmart’s chief marketing and merchandising officer in China. Smith will start in January and McCormick will step down in February, so they will have a one month overlap. Smith did live in Portland ME with his family for 6 years, so its not like he is a total alien to the area. He is also involved in hiking in the White Mountains, cycling, kayaking, swimming, skiing/snowboarding at Sunday River & Sugarloaf, and says he wants to hike Katahdin. Despite all of that, he is the first CEO that is not a member of the family and didn’t come from working at LLBean.
I know that Smith has fantastic experience from working for Hannaford’s and Walmart, but when I heard that part of the reason why they hired him was to deal with the boot backlog AND that he has ties to retail in China, I couldn’t help but to have the worry that manufacturing Bean boots will end up being outsourced to China. I know, that is crazy talk. It won’t happen. He isn’t even involved in manufacturing, he’s a marketing guy. LLBean employs so many people in Maine, and Bean boots have always been handcrafted in Maine, and that’s the way it will always be, right? Right!? Look at these boots, made by human hands right in Maine. Love them.
Photo by Whitney Hayward/Staff Photographer of Portland Press Herald
Leon Gorman, before he recently passed away, gave his stamp of approval to Smith, saying that Smith was the real deal. I am all about LLBean becoming more and more successful, as long as quality stays the same or increases, prices stay lower than competitors, and customer service stays the same. Here’s the story from the Portland Press Herald.
I love this company & honestly see working at LLBean as a total retirement for fun job. I just sent off my LLBean wish list to family members that asked for Christmas gift ideas, can’t help but wonder how this changing of the guard will affect my beloved brand….I am going to choose to hope for the best though. Stephen Smith, I’m here if you ever need advice!
Last night I finished Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford. It was really good, a total page turner especially towards the end. This tale is based on a twenty something living in NYC. She went to the right schools and her mom pushed her to be a connected socialite, but it doesn’t really take until she starts working for a social networking site meant for the young socialites i.e. the prep school kids, the trust fund tennis playing gin and tonic drinkin rowin investment bankin twenty somethings. Our heroine starts to fall down the rabbit hole, trying to “make it” in this group. The luxurious life is fun to read about for sure, but inevitably, the train crashes, and my, it is an interesting train wreck.
I loved it….because on some level, I get it. Growing up in youth orchestras in Cambridge/Boston, and now in the horse world, I know what its like to be just slightly on the outside. You really have to be comfortable in your skin and strong in what your priorities and values are. Money is a tough thing, people that have a lot of it can spend how they please. They buy a dress for $300, and its nothing to them. You buy a dress for $300 and you can afford it, you have the money in your account, but that price tag impacts you SO much more. Its relative. Honestly, we all struggle with money, when you have more, you just tend to spend more.
There’s always someone that has more than you. Take care of your own grass. Water it, sing to it, love it. When other people’s grass looks greener or sounds more fun, let that push you to focus on your own life. Let jealousy, the sideways glance at someone who seems to have what you want, help you to refocus on your goals, and the REALISTIC steps you are taking to reach them.
This book brings the reader on a journey of a young woman looking for acceptance. I think we can all sympathize with that longing. It was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone. The next two books I am getting at How to Start a Fire and Luckiest Girl Alive. Annnnnd yes, that’s a library book. I love libraries. Free books. I love my librarians too, they are fabulous.
Read free books friends, its good for your wallet, brain, and soul.
Yesterday, American Pharoah arrived at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud near Versaille KY. I think it was like, 8 miles down the road from Keeneland in Lexington KY. American Pharoah raced his last race, the Breeder’s Cup, in Keeneland on Saturday. He won decisively. Since he won the Belmont Stakes making him the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, American Pharoah has actually raced three times. Many may have retired him right after that Belmont win, but American Pharoah went on to win the Haskell Invitational, then came in second at the Travers, and then finally won the Breeders. In his short three years of life, he has raced 10 times, winning 8 of those races. American Pharoah, Victor Espinoza, Bob Baffert, and Ahmed Zayat will be a team that my generation won’t forget. This is the first Triple Crown winner in my lifetime. I watched Secretariat the movie on Sunday, a Triple Crown winner from 1973, and got a little misty eyed thinking about all the work that goes into these horses and how amazing it must feel to see that horse race and win.
American Pharoah’s story has brought great press and lots of warm and fuzzies to the horse racing world. A quick google search will tell you that the horse racing world has had it fair share of scandal over the years, so its nice when there can be some positive press there. Unfortunately, because of the amount of money to made or lost in horse racing, there will always be scandal.
American Pharoah was born to do this. His father was Pioneer of the Nile, who came in 2nd in the Kentucky Derby back in 2009. He also has Unbridled as a great grand sire, and Northern Dancer blood on his father’s side. His mother’s side has Native Dancer blood, an almost Triple Crown winner. He settled into his stall at his new home yesterday where he will now be the sire, grandsire, and so on to many babies. Stud fees will likely by in the six figures, but many will pay that hoping that they are creating the next Triple Crown winner. So much careful planning goes into breeding these racehorses. There are people out there that think horse racing is cruel….well I don’t agree but sadly there are cruel people out there. Seeing horses run and play in their paddocks when their young, you just have to know that they love running. Some are just better at it than others.
American Pharoah surrounded by his team arriving to Ashford Stud to his stall which was last used by a horse named Grand Slam, haA tender moment between Bob Baffert and American Pharoah
There are so many pictures of American Pharoah’s last race. His jockey, Victor Espinoza is the first jockey of Latin descnet to win the Triple Crown, and his trainer Bob Baffert is the oldest trainer at 62 to win the Triple Crown. Remember him racing, the excitement of watching him win. Thank god he is still healthy through these post- Triple Crown races. Also, remember now that its about his legacy. He raced only a couple years, and made history, I can’t wait to see what the first generation of American Pharoah babies will do!
Heres the article from Bloodhorse about American Pharoah’s arrival at Ashford Stud, there are some very nice pictures.
This past weekend we headed up to NH for a hike and an Oktoberfest/Halloween get together. Its true we are past peak with foliage in NH but its still gorgeous out there. Past peak still means a lot of yellows and rusts and browns. Its still so colorful out there. Mt. Major is a little guy, and there are a couple ways up. There is a steeper & quicker route and then a more windy & gradual route. We had my future inlaws with us so we decided to take the more gradual route. Our pup was staying with them while we headed to the party, so we had to make sure Mizpah was tired and not crazy for her babysitters.
Nice wide trails hereGolden morningLake Winnipesaukee, amazing colorsWe forgot my LLBean backpack but thankfully Jon had his from elementary school haGirls on the summit, wearing my LLBean Sweater Fleece pullover, so comfortable and a great top layer for this hike!
I don’t know, I feel like the leaf peepers miss one of the best phases of foliage after Columbus Day weekend. It was so gorgeous Saturday. After the hike my amazing fiancé made homemade soft pretzels for the Oktoberfest/Halloween party. I bought pumpkin bread from my favorite country store and he made homemade perfect pretzels, he’s definitely a better cook haha.
Homemade Oktoberfest Pretzels
For the party I wore an old Oktoberfest beer girl costume that I got years ago, and my fiancé Jon wore his waders as waderhosen with a fishing buddy and they both had the German hats with the feathers. It was fabulous.
It was a great weekend. The hike cost us nothing but gas, we didn’t have to buy anything for our costumes, we just bought stuff for the pretzels, the pumpkin bread, and some German beer which was delicious.
I hope you all had a lovely Halloween weekend! The last horse I wrote about was a tragedy. Tomorrow I will write about a horse that is an inspiration, and a triumph, and thankfully has a very happy ending coming to him 🙂
I hate the negative, I want my blog to be positive and happy, puppies & candy canes, but this story sort of rocked my little world today. I am not even going to link a news story, there are so many now. Just google and pick one, I wouldn’t even know which one to pick for you.
I started riding back in 2007, right around the time that we were fighting in the US to close the last horse slaughter house in Illinois. Well once we shut down the last US slaughterhouse, the auctions didn’t stop, the killbuyers didn’t stop, now our horses just get transported to Canada & Mexico. At least when the slaughterhouses were here in the US, we could go in and regulate them, we could go in and make our PETA propaganda videos! Now why are we slaughtering horses at all you ask? Countries in Europe, Japan, and South America eat horse meat. Its a delicacy in some places, sweeter and leaner than beef. In Cuba especially horse meat is thought to have mystical powers, like sexual potency. Every year we breed thousands of unwanted horses, thoroughbreds that don’t earn their keep at the track, foals from the PMU industry (thats a whole other topic), and just family horses that people can’t afford to keep that are sold to kill buyers unknowingly. Its very sad for horse lovers to think about…..someone selling their horse to someone who they think is giving their horse a new home when they are really just taking that horse to auction for slaughter….sold by the pound.
Many surprising horses have ended up at slaughter houses. One that sticks out in my memory is Ferdinand, a grandson of Northern Dancer, winner of the Kentucky Derby & Preakness back in 1964. Quite a few have been saved once someone realized who they were, like Secretariat’s brother, Straight Flush.
Ok, so thats the history..what happened this past weekend is the horse meat black market in Florida really stepping into the spotlight. Horse meat on the black market is going for up to $40/lb. Thats crazy when you think about a horse being about 1,300 pounds. This past weekend Phedras de Blondel, a beautiful Grand Prix show jumper that I believe had just arrived to Steve & Debbie Stephens’s farm in Palmetto FL was led from its stall, killed, and then butchered for meat.
The person(s) who killed him was experienced, a professional, very precise cuts. I won’t go into too much detail, but I imagine the people who actually saw what was left of him will have trouble forgetting it. I think I read that just this year there has been 17 slaughterings like this in Florida. Florida is home to many horses, and the population of Florida is very diverse. Some have hypothesized that this might be happening in Florida because of the Cuban population in the area.
I just don’t know. Horse barns are usually sort of open. Tack rooms might be locked, but we really rely on people self policing at the barn, asking strangers what they are up to. People live there full time, which is helpful because a person or a dog might hear thieves…motion lights help. Now in Florida people are having surveillance systems set up and hiring security guards.
I feel for the Stephens family….Debbie is an amazingly accomplished rider and her husband Steve is an awesome course designer, and they had big plans for Phedras de Blondel. I can’t even imagine how much money the horse was worth, but I know they have a reward out for any information about the incident.
The attention this is getting will hopefully curb the issue…but part of me can’t help but wonder if this is our fault. Did we do away with horse slaughter that could be monitored and provided lots of jobs just to have the black market make it even more violent and sinister now? Thinking about someone unlatching a stall door, sweetly whispering to a horse, slipping a halter over his perfect velvet ears, and then calmly walking a hundred yards away to do what these people did (because I doubt he/she could have done this alone) is just disturbing.
Anyway, this is certainly not pleasant. I hope that the reward money is enticing enough to catch these people. One of the hallmarks of prep/preppy/trad culture is the sport. Crew, tennis, polo, golf, fox hunting, lacrosse, whatever…..most of us enjoy at least one….and what happened in Florida….I don’t know, it would be like somebody burning down Wimbledon and watching the grass scorch….or taking every 8 in the Harvard boathouse and sinking them in Boston Harbor….
Here he is, in all his glory, just 12 years old.
Photographie Eric KNOLL. Palaiseau 2014. CSI 2*. Jumping. Equestrian Event. Christian HERMON (FRA). PHEDRAS DE BLONDEL
Ears forward, gentle but focused eye, perfectly tucked front legs, and muscles rippling. This horse was meant for great things with some amazing athletes.
Alright, this was a rough post to write. Horses have given me more than I could ever give back to them, but paying tribute where tribute is due, and not forgetting this crime is a little thing I can do. Hug your ponies and appreciate them everyday!
End rant, on to the weekend! Love to you all! Here is the latest Matt Bellassai video to lighten the mood here! It’s perfect, the worse things about Halloween….
New England Classic Beauty 