Happy New Year

Hello All

Whew, this year flew by.  It was a busy one. 

 In Spring of 2010, I was busy getting my first book, “Sunny and her Cochlear Implants”  ready for print.  Finally, after much back and forth between the publisher, illustrator and I, the book finally went to print and was released in June 2010. 

Meanwhile, I was busy showing and riding Chance throughout the spring.   We finished the show year at Region 9 in Forth Worth.  Chance and I had our ups and downs.  The winning moments were especially priceless and emotional because it goes to show that hard work, perserverance, with persistence doe pay off!!!!!! 

As we moved in to fall 2010, I was very busy with Toastmasters.   Even competed in the Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest.  The highlight was winning in both.  

In addition, I took the next step in advancing  my professional speaking career by speaking outside of Toastmasters and Hearing loss Association meetings.  I spoke for a quite a few organizations and I had a blast doing it.  I love speaking as much as I love showing horses.  I became a member of the National Speakers Association Pro Track program.

Finally, ended the year by taking Chance to the xmas show in Katy 2010.  We had a great show!  Even received a first place in a large class with a flawless ride.  My trainer Jennifer Goslin told me that was probably the best ride of my life with Chance.  To receive that first place ribbon was the “icing on the cake.

I know 2011 will be an even better year!!!

I wish everyone a sunny new year don’t forget to book Susanna for your next event at www.susannamdussling.com or buy “Sunny and her cochlear implants” at www.sunnyandhercochlearimplants.com

As always,

Susanna

An Update: Long time, no write

Hello Everyone!!

I know it has been way too long since I’ve blogged.  6 months has gone by.  I have been as busy as ever.

Still working at Academy, I am thankful to be employed during these trying times.

On the other hand, I have been as busy as ever, when I am not at work.  I am still involved with the horses.  Megiddo is happy and well with LRPH in Buda, Texas.  I still visit him often.  He is paired up with a young lady and they have been doing great.  He is still winning at the young age of 23.  Jackie, is his youthful partner.  She is learning and they go to schooling shows together and win. 

Chance and I are still at Goslin-Nix’s.  It has been just a little over a year since I have moved Chance here.  We are learning so much together with Jennifer patiently teaching me  how to improve my riding.    We have been very successful in the ring already this past Xmas.  Chance and I were the Champions in the AOTR Half Hunter Division.  We went on to the HAAS Show, where we competed only in the Open division, competing against several heavy hitters, i.e Wendy Potts, we placed right behind the trainers in all the classes.  It was fun.  Thanks Jen!  All your hard work with us is paying off!!!!!!!

Now, we are prepping for the San Antonio Fiesta Show in May.  We are ready to claim our Championship in Half Arabian Hunters AOTR.  Then on to Region  9 Regionals!  Once again, ready to win!  I can’t wait.  I am looking forward to it.

I am still very involved in Toastmasters, now I am involved in 2 clubs instead of 1.  CyFair Super Speakers and Laffmasters.  I have been having fun honing my speaking skills, participating in contests and attending conferences.

In addition, I have a big suprise coming out this summer!  It is another project I have been working on.  You’re just gonna have to wait.  I will give you a hint:  It is related to cochlear implants.  Stay tuned!

As always, have a sunny day!

Susanna

Spindletop Show Results

Hello Everyone!

The weather sure was nice for the Spindletop Show this past weekend in Katy at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center.  Sure, we had an occasional shower, and it was hot, but not too miserably hot.

As for the show itself, there was a good turnout from the farms and the classes were great.  The judging was excellent.

As for Chance and I, it was a mixed show.   I was only able to show Chance in two classes, I originally had more classes planned.  However, Chance was not feeling well.  Chance was having some “lameness issues.”  I will tell you that he had stifle problems in the past and it has been corrected with medication.  Occasionally, it will flare up, well it decided to flare up at this show.  As we all know, horses can have lameness problems and it does not mean the end of their career as long as you treat it and manage it properly. 

Therefore, I only rode Chance in two classes because we did not want to make the problem worse.  I still managed to have two great classes, in spite of him being a little “off.”  Chance showed alot of heart and he performed well. I was happy with my rides, because people noticed that I was riding much better and keeping him in “frame.”   I felt like the hard work in all the lessons were paying off.  I also managed to slow him down at the canter which was something I was working hard on.  In addition, I was feeling much more confident in my riding and it makes a huge difference in the outcome of the ride.

I am excited about the future with Chance, because he will be treated this week by the vet and I know he will return to top form.  I know we can only go “up” from here.

Next, we plan to show at the Region 9 show in Fort Worth.  So, the two of will be real busy in preparation for the show.  Chance will get rested, treated, and schooled.  In addition, I will continue to polish my riding, by taking some lessons next week. 

I had never shown Chance at Region 9, thus I am excited.  It has been 6 years since I had shown at Region 9.  Chance has shown at Region 9, one time in the past with another rider and he was a Top 5 Winner in the Select Rider Class.  I hope to repeat this feat!  I will only try!  In addition, we will also compete in the 40 and over class. 

Stay posted and I will tell you how we do. 

As always, Have a sunny day.  Susanna

Spindletop Arabian Horse Show

Hello Everyone!

This weekend I will be showing at the Spindletop Arabian Horse Show held in Katy, Texas at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center.

This will be my second show with Goslin-Nix Training Center with Jennifer as my trainer and coach.   I am excited to be here!   Jennifer has been working steadily with Chance to teach him to be a little “softer” in the bridle and to really use his whole body to be more collected and rounded.  Chance has really risen to the challenge and he is coming along beautifully.  Yes, there is still work that needs to be done before we participate in the Region 9 Horse Show in Fort Worth, Texas.

On the other hand, Jennifer certainly has alot of patience, she has been working with me on improving my riding.  Some of the many things I have been learning is to really utilize my fingers and hands.  In addition, to using my hands and legs together to achieve the ride we need to have. Furthermore, I am learning to slow down at the canter, it is not easy, because he likes to fall out of it…I do realize it is not his fault! I need to use leg contact!!!!!!!.thus, this is were the leg and hand training comes in.  The first few weeks my legs were sore.  No, they are not sore anymore, as I am starting to use my aids better.

 I have been taken as many as  3 lessons a week.  I have never had this many lessons at one time in my life, and I am having a blast.  I have to admit it is alot of hard work in putting a horse together.  At least I am trying very hard and I want to do well.  By like, I have been saying, you have to make sacrifices and work hard to achieve success at anything that you do in life.  It is a process, if it were easy, we would all be National Champion Riders!  I am persistent and I am always willing to try again, after a not so good ride.  Thus, when I have an awesome ride, it truly is an awesome feeling. 

I am looking forward to having fun showing Chance this weekend, and to test many of the new skills I have learned. 

So, if you have nothing to do this weekend, come to the equestrian center and watch some gorgeous arabian and half arabians show.

As always, have a sunny day ! Susanna

www.condron.us.com

Mayfest 2009 Horse Show Results

Mayfest was a blast.  As I mentioned in my earlier blog, it has been 6 years since I had shown at this particular show.  I had forgotten how fierce the competition can be.  However, that’s a good thing, it challenged Chance and I to push ourselves to the next level. 

Afer all, Chance and I had done well at previous horseshows including another really competitive one which is the Cowtown Show in Fort Worth. 

We did well, all things considering, it was our first show with our new trainer, Jennifer of Goslin-Nix.  It was her first time to work with Chance at a horseshow, and she was satisfied with what she saw with Chance and I.  Yes, we have several areas of improvement, most noticeable to slow down in the reverse direction and to have a really consistent “hunter” head set.

Yes, I made some mistakes; however, I had one just about perfect ride, in the Championship class on Sunday morning.  I will be honest, I was disappointed I did not receive a ribbon.  However, as it’s been known in the horseshow circle, sometimes, you win a ribbon in a class that you personally did not think was up to your expectations, and other times you can have a perfect class and not get a ribbon.  It all evens out in the big picture of things.  Most of the times, the placings fall where they are supposed to.

On the other hand, it is not always about the placings, it is your personal goals for the horse show and the class that is taking place that matters the most.

Therefore, I was very happy with my class that Sunday morning during the championship, because I proved to myself and Chance that we can overcome our past errors in earlier classes at the show.

As for the show itself, it is really competitive, all the big boys and girls come out to play, because this show is shown in the same facility where we have our Region 9 show a few short weeks later.

Also, it is pretty much the last show of the season for us Texans, with the exception of  Spindletop, San Antonio Fiesta and Regionals.  We, Texans do not show in the summer, it is way too hot.  Our show season begans in the fall, with it peaking during the spring months.

Yes, some people show in the summer, but they go way, way, out of state like Missouri, for instance.

Thus, this also is a great show for trainers and riders to fine tune their horses for US Nationals which happen in Tulsa in October.  It gives the trainers and riders a chance to see “how they stack up against the competition.”  Therefore, enabling them to have all summer to finesse the horse and rider teams.

Finally, the classes were quite large which is awesome, lots of competion with  tremendous “quality” in the hunter classes.

I am glad I went, I had a blast and I am ready to rise to the challenge with Chance, Jennifer, and Mrs. Nix.

We are looking forward to our next show at the Spindletop Show in Houston in Late May and finally, the Region 9 show in June.  I have never shown Chance at Region 9, so that will be a goal accomplished.  Whoo hoo!

I will write more about the upcoming shows, later.  Until next time, Happy Riding, see ya at the shows, and as always, have a sunny day.

Susanna and Chance

Mayfest Horse Show 2009

 

Well, it’s been just a little over a month, since I have moved Chance to Goslin-Nix Training Center.  So far, I am having a blast learning from my new trainer,  Jennifer.  Chance is also happy in his new home. 

As for Chance’s training, the first couple of rides were interesting, after all he had to get used to a new trainer and his new home.  However, he settled in pretty quickly.  Jennifer and Chance settled into a nice work routine.  He is responding well and is game to learn new techniques from Jennifer. 

As for me, I am having a blast, I take riding lessons several times a week, it is a wonderful experience, as I never really had regular riding lessons.  So, I am constantly learning how to improve my riding.  All trainers bring their own unique spin to training and showing horses.  I love to be challenged and stimulated, thus this works extremely well for me.

Tomorrow, I leave for the Mayfest Horse show in Fort Worth.  I can’t wait, it will be my first show with my new barn.  I also haven’t shown at Mayfest since May 2003 when Megiddo was showing in Park.  Thus, I am eager to show here again.  It has been a long time coming.  The show is held at the John Justin Arena at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth.

I know I will have a great time! I am ready to show! and it’s late, so off to bed I go, so I can be rested….

Stay tuned I will tell you how it goes.

As always, Have a Sunny Day!

Susanna

Chance is coming home to Houston!

Chance is coming home to Magnolia, Texas.  I am so excited.  I wish I could be there to greet him!  However, I will be at work getting ready to Grand Open a new Academy store on Bunker Hill and Interstate 10.  It is a beauty of a store.  As most of y’all know, I am an Assistant Store Manager of Academy and the Apparel Manager.  Academy is an awesome company.  I am fortunate to work for them as they are a stable and sound company.  I have been working every day since last Tuesday helping to get this store open.  I will not be off till Sunday.  Whew, that will be 11 straight days of work-something I haven’t done in a while.  Yes, Academy gives us work -life balance;  however, it is not every day you grand open a new store –85000 square feet—it will be big! and we have an awesome staff! so come out and visit us this Friday when we open or come to our Grand Opening Celebration on March 13.  We have lots of great events planned so come visit us.

I am looking forward to Sunday when I am finally off and I can visit Chance at his new home at Goslin-Nix Training Center in Magnolia.  

I discovered I can not live without horses in my life on a very frequent basic!!!  They need to be near me.  I just moved back to Houston from College Station.  I was in CS for just a little more than a year and I was driving 2 hours once every two weeks to visit my horses.  I was okay with the commute for a while.  After a while, I was going stir crazy in my apt. because I didn’t have the horses nearby.  The horses are my stress buster! They are my therapy! They probably cost just as much as therapy!  Ha!  However, I prefer horse therapy over people therapy.  I love to be outside! I enjoy the physical exercise which we all know is good for the mind and soul!  I miss riding, period!!!!!  No ifs and or buts!!!  I guess you can say I am addicted!!!!!!   Riding is very challenging and I am constantly working to improve my riding……riding is continuous education, there is no such thing as a perfect rider, we are all constantly striving to improve our “art form” and build that harmonious relationship with our horses.  I always love a big challenge and I get bored real easy.  I guess that’s why I always like riding challenging horses and different horses.  I also used to love to start young horses.  Now, that’s a challenge!!!

Chance is being moved from Optimum Training center in Buda, Texas where he has been for the last two years.  Tanya, his trainer had done a beautiful job in “finishing him.”  Believe me, she had her work cut our for her and I thank her for rising to the challenge because Chance is now a very successful winning  Half Arabian Hunter horse.

I just couldn’t take riding twice a month anymore, thus Chance will be nearby.  Now, I will be able to ride  2 or 3 times a week!!!! Whoo! Hoo!

I always learned alot from all the trainers I have been with over the last 15 years.  They are all unique and they all have their own personal way of training horses.  It really amazes me, the special gift they have with the horses.  It take a special person to train horse.  The trainers have lots of patience, and determination.  It is alot of hard work.  So, Thank your trainer today!  Thus, I am looking forward to working with Jennifer and her “methods of training horses and instructing riders.”

Chance , I can’t wait to see you on Sunday, when you nicker when you hear me call your name.  Jennifer, I am looking forward to the instructions and being a part of Goslin-Nix. Tanya and Matt, Thanks for past two years, it was a wonderful trip,  I received lots of compliments on Chance over the past two years and it is thanks to your hard work and care!!

As always, Have a sunny day! Susanna