It was 2011. I was on the faculty of a small design school outside of Boston commuting back and forth from Southern RI where my practice was based and my children and I lived. I had taken a condo in Providence where my children went to school to shorten the commute for everyone. My horses were still further south so riding and training happened after work and on weekends – between the busyness of being a single parent of teenagers, and a college professor and private practitioner.
You may know the drill…. And you’re probably getting the picture.
Life was CRAZY stressful, with too much time in the car!

I was riding a beautiful Holsteiner mare named Lupita. She was my jumper, and she had shown a real interest in the dressage work we started a few years before to help us with our jumping.
Lupi and I looked forward to our lessons!
She was smart and hard working. She was a beautiful mover and a quick study. We worked with a dressage trainer whose client base was on 3 continents. He too was spending tons of money and time traveling for work.

My directions were much clearer and my confidence was greater when I was with our trainer. Every time he came, our work improved.
We would video tape sessions and I would watch the video between sessions, but I didn’t like what I saw.