Blog Hop: 10 questions for August

Thanks, L from Viva Carlos, for another great Blog Hop :)

1. What is your biggest source of caffeine that gets you through the day? (drink, not just brand)

Coffee! Made on the stovetop percolator with the milk whips to within an inch of it's life and a smidgen of sugar. I'll also go for tea (Good Earth Original) which is nice and cinnamon-y and makes a room smell delicious.

2. Do you honestly think your trainer is the best trainer for you?

I've cliniced (is that a word? I think it is a word....) with an instructor from Germany - and she was the best by far! If I could magically fly her in to be my personal trainer I would :)

3. One token of advice a fellow rider/trainer/horse person told you that you still remember to this day.

"Is that your trot?!" (from above mentioned beloved trainer :)

4. If riding meant costing your family so much money that they’d be basically on poverty line, or making your family terribly unhappy (if they were not supportive or understanding, etc.) would you still do it?

I have always found creative ways to ride as inexpensively as possible (working student, polo team, you name it ;)

5. (Girls) would you ride while pregnant?

Not crossing that bridge until I get there :)

6. How do you tell when a horse likes someone/has bonded with you or someone else?

So timely! How about if said horse drops 100lbs when you don't come out and see her for a week? Or you always find yourself saying, "Huh, she never does that with me...."

7. Are horses capable of loving, in your opinion?

Absolutely.

8. If you could have one horse from your past come back for 5 minutes, who would it be, why, and what would you do with them in those 5 minutes?

Goldie - she would be 36 now if she was still around, her favourite thing was when we would come around a bend in the orchard where there was a clear road path, and we always blasted it there full speed (bareback and in a hackamore).

9. Should a trainer also be a friend, or should it be a student/teacher relationship?

I like to keep things professional.

10. One piece of advice/training you were given by a trainer or mentor that you look back on now and view it as incorrect?

Yanking on the inside rein (so sorry Porsche!)