At the Fair

Here are some pictures of Traveling Shoes, the clogging team I dance with, at the Nevada County Fair when we performed there on Saturday, August 13. 

What a spectacular venue for dancing. The fairgrounds are beautiful. The fair activities were abundant. My friend, Mary, was the perfect "Clogging Mom" - she carried the easel/poster and even put rhinestones on our skirts, at the last minute. 

Our performance was great fun and I enjoyed being there with the 

other team members. The audience enjoyed our dancing, which is what it's really all about. 

Even my college roommate who lives in Nevada City watched us. She and a friend were at the Homeward Bound Golden Retriever booth, as they are actively involved in that organization. It was great to see her at the event. 

After our performance, Mary and I spent the remainder of the day at the fair. We watched a fabulous exhibition (including some jumping) by the Gold Mines Pony Club, a program with dogs herding sheep (being a human Mom to a Collie, this was very interesting; this is what our DeeDee was born to do; too bad we can't keep sheep at home!), ate a huge frosty ice cream cone, went for a ferris wheel ride and listened to blues music. It was a really enjoyable day. 

Here is a short video of me as the announcer for Traveling Shoes. Note to self: need a voice coach to get rid of that Minnie Mouse voice. 

Back to clogging class the first week in September. I'm looking forward to learning some new steps and dances.


Clogging onward! 

Magical Mornings

There is something very special about early mornings at the rink that reminds me just how much I enjoy skating. Yesterday was just such an experience. I'd like to write that I had some extraordinary skating break-through. Not so. In fact, it was the ordinary nature of the day that was special. 


I'm a 'ritual' person and they don't get much better than waking up when it's still dark, grabbing a cup of coffee, getting ready, pouring another 'cuppa' for the drive to the rink and arriving well before the madness, chaos and commercialism of the place truly begins.


I am working on Silver Moves in the Field, which means nothing to non-skaters, I know. Forgive me. Now I've been working on these for two years, but really not in earnest. I decided that I really need to improve my edges so my free dancing is better. After all, in skating, everything begins - and ends - with moves. Yesterday it was primarily the first set of required three turns. OMG, these are hard, but Coach J was pleased that I could do them in both directions with what she referred as to "comfort." She clearly didn't hear my heart nearly leaping out of my chest. But, Coach was holding my hand, too. No way am I able to do these on my own yet. I have strict orders from her that I am not allowed to practice these alone, but I did sneak in a couple of turns when she wasn't looking. 


Moves, as an activity, is about the precision of this sport. There is no fudging them, like in free skating. You either do them correctly or you are likely "arse" down on the ice. That's why I enjoy them so much; the structure, the intellectual challenge, the need for exactness, the sound of the blade cutting into the ice all appeal to me. There isn't the need for speed (at least for the three turns) so it's a great activity for us "adult onset skaters"(as my best skating buddy Janet refers to those of us who took up this sport later in life). Speaking of Ms. J, every time I work on Silver Moves I think of her testing these so perfectly and Coach J being so proud of her, as was I. Her test inspires me to continue working on these.


Then it was on to Free Dance 6. This tango program is so cool! Coach Chris is doing a fantastic job of putting the program together. He keeps assuring me I will be able to test it before year end. Given that only about 30 seconds of the required 2 minutes 30 seconds is done at this point, that seems a stretch, but I trust him. The opening elements are just fantastic; very sexy and fun for a "mature" lady to do. I have that inner self screaming to release another side of me. When I work on this program I am completely absorbed in the elements. There isn't time to think, "What would happen if . . ." - there is only trying to be that tango dancer that Coach C claims I'm supposed to emulate. 


Finally, the dreaded Ten Fox. Two pretty good patterns in "attack" mode. Then the wheels came off when I balked at the outside Mohawk. "Oh darn!" as Coach J says when I botch something in a lesson. I have got to get out of my head when I do this dance!


Had some quality time to chat with J about various topics. Another treat of being at the rink early! 


All-in-all, a good day at the rink. 


Skating onward. 

Back in the Saddle - English that is - again.

I hadn't been in an English saddle since I was 9. That's a very long time, in case you are wondering. A very, very, very long time. 


As my goal is to ultimately do dressage, I made the decision on my way to the stable Monday that I would try riding English. Kelly, my riding instructor, was very supportive of my idea.


Forgetting just how many parts there are to an English saddle, I was a little intimidated when I was tacking up Jessie. Once in the arena, I recalled how comfortable riding English is and decided that I will ride this way from now on. We didn't do much on Monday, which was good because this hip injury I sustained was still problematic. We mostly walked, with me just getting the feel of the saddle again.


Kelly gave me many tips and some of them came back just like I had never been away from English riding. Had a great time and was pleased that I had no pain on Tuesday morning. Was wondering if this could be due to the shift from Western to English. That quickly changed after clogging practice on Tuesday. The repetitive movement of clogging is not good for this hip. 


One of the horses at the stable, GQ, has a terrible allergy to flies. He had fly larvae in his eyes and on his nose. This condition was giving him tremendous problems. I watched Kelly, who is the stable's resident "para-vet," remove them, flush the wounds with wormer and apply other medicines. She was amazing. GQ was such a brave boy when Kelly was doing all of this. Most horses would have flipped themselves over, but GQ stood there, pulling his head away occasionally, but for the most part, letting her take care of him. 


I love GQ. He was abused by not only his first owner, but also by a second. He is a lesson horse. I am going to ask Kelly if I can start riding GQ. He is a very sweet horse. I feel so sorry for him, but he has a very good home at the Knicker Knob Stable.


Onward, back in the English saddle again!