Practice Makes Perfect

What a great weekend we had here at Flatlands - despite that nasty cold weather that just wont go away! 22 riders had the opportunity to receive feedback on their dressage tests from judge Fran Cross. We run our Ride-Review-Rides slightly different than most. Each person rides a test of their choice then has a mini-lesson w Fran who shows them ways to improve their score. After all the participants have ridden one test and had their lesson, everyone rides the same test a second time looking to make those improvements practiced in their mini-lesson. Awards were given both days to the riders showing the greatest improvement in their tests. Michelle Levanitis and Justin - shown in the photo - improved their test by a whopping 24 points and were the winners on Saturday. What a great way to start the season - and prepare for that first trip down the center line. Can you believe entries opened for King Oak yesterday?

Signs of Spring

There were definite signs of spring here today. I had my camera's sensor cleaned to remove the New Mexico dust and the barn aisle was filled with horse hair as manes and tails were pulled and whiskers were clipped in preparation for tomorrow's Ride-Review-Ride here with Fran Cross of http://www.kingoakfarm.com/ (feel free to come audit if you are in the area). I chose this image of Mac's pile of mane to post on the EPNet board gallery for the spring Equinox. If I were to have a "do-over" I would tweak the DoF and focus point to give the hair on the ground a but more focus. Be sure to get out and enjoy the great weather this weekend!

New images posted from the New Mexico Collection on my website at Flatlandsfoto.com. Most of these are shots of birds and scenic areas. To see them all, go to the gallery at http://www.flatlandsfoto.com/assortedimages/proofs/proof.htm Next up will be some more shots of the wild horses. I have literally 8,000 from the week and it is taking forever to sort thru them all. I will say it certainly is work that I enjoy!

Pam made me do it!

Pam from HoofPix has such an great blog chronicling her amazing adventures that I thought I would give it a try ... again ... About two years ago, I tried to write a blog for our eventing barn, Flatlands Equestrian Center. I think I managed to write about 3 posts, finishing with King Oak in the spring before the season's work overwhelmed me. Lets see if I can keep posting through at least Groton House! Be sure to check out Pam's blog at http://hoofpix.blogspot.com/2009/03/where-did-heat-go.html!