Thank You!

I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your tremendous love and support. I am truly humbled by the overwhelming response I received for my sponsorship request. It means the world to me to have such wonderfully supportive people in my life, I am forever grateful.

Germany was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The level of talent, both in riders and horses, was truly inspiring. I got the chance to visit some of the most famous stables in the world and see stallions that have bred the most talented horses in equestrian sport.

Thank you all once again for paving my "Road to Verden."

Sincerely,
David Blake


Platinum Level Sponsors - $5000+
Nancy Blake
Tom Murray
Zada Steidl

Gold Level Sponsors - Up to $5000
Tommy Blakiston
Elizabeth & Jerome Cain
Teresa Elsesser
Illan Ferder
Angie & Larry Garfinkel
Sharon Garner
Steffen & Shannon Peters
Ashley Richardson
Thomas Walker
Hank Walker
Joyce & Jack Cleveland
John F. Boomer & Alice Martin w/ Centerline Dressage

Silver Level Sponsors - Up to $500
Triple Crown & United Pacific Pet LLC
Susan Allen
Fran Brown
Kelly Casey
Melissa Comerford
Joan Darnell
Allison & Tyler Evans
Belinda Head
Skip & Carol Hunt
Janice Dulak
Hyun Kim
Jeff Leverenz
Martin Lieurance
Kris Mackey
Regan & John Philips
Suze Randall
Cristina Romeo
Dr. Kent Sullivan & Dr. Deborah Kempner
Cathleen Vanzwol
Leslie Hammersmith
Kelly Griffith
Judy McKenzie

Bronze Level Sponsors - Up to $100
Abbey and Craig
Margo Balinski
Dale Brashers
Savannah Brentnall
Carlton Carter
Tracy Caruana
Georgia Drews
Seth Fine
Barbara Geissler
Cathy Giacomini Photography
Kelly Griffith
Lorie Hetrick
Janlea @ Chuck Dalton
Ann King
Meri Loveless
Karina Lyons
Dr. Larry Martin/Midtown Vet
Jamie Mayer
Renee L. McElwain
William Moran
Carrie Oury
Deborah Rosen
Jane Russel
Elizabeth Scahill
Theresa Stanton & Joseph Butta Jr.
Marjorie Steffes
Peggy Steffes
Taos Equestrian Center
Janet & John Trustee
Cathleen Vanzwol
Karen Wayda
Christian Wilson
John Dobbs
Jane Russell
Ken & Randa Davis

From Angie: Onwards to Verden!

Tomorrow we leave Munster and head for Verden and the first day of the show. We head out at 7am and will arrive in Verden about 3 hours later. We leave a beautiful city with awesome food. Albert is more than ready. He was wild this morning when David rode him and he worked with Scott Hassler. They had moments of complete harmony, brilliant movements, then suddenly the arena would be filled with exuberant leaps and bucks and the sound of David grunting to stay with his happy dance partner. Needless to say, Albert and David went out on a wonderful trail ride this afternoon with Jessica Tate and her horse Donnermuth, competing in the 6-year old division.

Michael Klimke was a wonderful host. He opened his beautiful facility up to us with open arms, giving the Americans a welcome BBQ upon our arrival. After just a few beers, the stories started to spill out. It was great hearing Scott and Michael share so many funny horse stories. Mr. Klimke's farm is surrounded by lush green, and huge trees. He has 2 indoor and 2 outdoor dressage arenas along with a jumping ring. The oldest building was built in 1545, it is so cool.

I believe our team is ready to compete. Everyone looks great and their horses came through super and are revived. It's been great have a few days of relaxed fun, after a hectic departure from home. Tomorrow I'm sure the tension will begin to grow as we near the show grounds.

From Angie on Sunday: Hello from Munster

David and Albert arrived yesterday around 6:30pm. They both looked happy to be here. The truck that brought them in from Amsterdam was outrageous. It looked like a deluxe fire truck just shy of having a full-size pool and spa in the back. Albert looked like he belonged on the rig and looked stunning as he came off the ramp. We put him in his straw-filled stall, where he immediately had a big 'ole pee, a huge drink of water then he began to fill his belly with grass hay and the straw he was bedded in.

Klimke's barn if wonderful. The oldest buildings date back to 1545, so cool. There are three large brick barns were the horses can stick their heads out the back of their stalls. This morning when Sam and I arrived to feed Albert at 7:30, a bunch of the horses had their heads sticking out of their stalls letting the raindrops stream down their faces. This morning was definitely jacket weather. There are two indoor arenas and two outdoor arenas. His barn is surrounded by lush trails for riding. So beautiful! Leaving Sam to tend to Albert's needs I went back to the hotel (only about a 5 minute drive) to get David so he could work with Scott.

WOW what a horse, everyone loved him! Susanne, Scott's wife has never seen Albert and had one compliment after another. She and Scott were well aware of Albert's story and were very impressed by the way David has trained him. It was wonderful to watch. Lars and his 6-year old stallion, Mixmax, were also wonderful to watch. Scott was extremely encouraging about our team's chances this year. The show, they say, is like nothing we've ever been to before. We can hardly wait to get there.

Here's how they place the horses. On the first day of competition (08-02-07), all the 5-year olds will compete, between 40 and 50 horses. They break them down into groups of 5, and the winner of each group goes to the finals on Sat. After the winner of each group is determined, the remaining horses compete the following day, Fri., in a consolation class and the top 3 from the consolation class are also moved into the finals on Sat. So if you don't do well on the first day, you still have a shot at the final. Cool!

We watched Buggati, Bimmer's daddy, go this morning. He is so stunning. Scott worked with Michael Klimke and Buggati on passage, so great to watch. They have so many beauties here. They also have a full riding school with school horses. And amongst the school horses are several Fjord. Sam and I fell in love with Garfield, a 3-year old Fjord and such a lover. I'll attempt to forward a picture of him.

Tonight will be an early night as last night was not. Then it's back to the barn. I only wish I could ride--I'm dying to get in the saddle!

Love to all,
Angie & Sam

From Angie: We're here!

We're here safe and sound. We arrived right at 9:05am on Friday morning. The airport was amazing: so beautiful, with a full shopping mall in it. We rented a small run-around car and got a GPS system to go with it. I'm so glad we got the GPS--it told us exactly how to get here with no problems whatsoever. Sam was delighted when I handed her the keys. I fulfilled her dream to drive the autobahn. The drive was awesome! Nederland is so green and beautiful with the prettiest COWS (yes, I said pretty) you've ever seen. Maybe it's because it's so green and the cows are so clean and FAT that makes them so beautiful. The drive from Amsterdam to Deutschland was nothing but farmland, but the second we crossed the border the landscape changed from flat, open, green farmland to rolling hills and trees, trees, trees. Nestled amongst the trees were horse facilities, all with indoor arenas. Again, it's so green and beautiful.

After checking into the hotel, Sam and I headed off to Munster, a small college town. It's a beautiful town with a ton of great shopping. We stopped for dinner (which Sam slept through). The pasta was all handmade with this terrific light sauce and the best mushrooms I've ever had. It was topped with turkey so moist it melted in your mouth. We shared that along with a salad of greens, pears and strawberries and a dressing that made every bite fantastic. Sadly, on our way back to the car I was hit with the worst stomach cramps and by time we got back to the room, it was all over. There goes my pasta, I cried and my wonderful salad, booo hoooo!

After a not-so-great night, I woke up refreshed and ready to go. Sam and I went downstairs for breakfast here at the hotel. The breakfast comes with our room and I'm telling you, it's quite a meal. A full buffet of anything you want from lox, raw hamburger, fresh-baked breads, fruit, omelettes, bacon, sausage, and on and on. I was empty and ready to eat! From there we headed out to the barn where Albert will be staying until Wednesday. So old and so cool! We met Scott Hassler there and they're bringing in horses on Tuesday for me to try! I can hardly wait to ride. I'm going to post some photos for everyone to see.

Now we are waiting for David: he has landed and they are on their way. Sam and I will meet them at barn, help him unload and then we'll all go out to eat.

Love to all, we'll be in touch.

Love, Angie & Sam

Baby Stallions

We are having a great time with the Stallions at the ranch. We are incredibly lucky to have three very talented stallions in the barn. We, however, have our work cut out for us as all of them have been commissioned to get approved.

Bimmer finishing his free jumping training was our focus yesterday. We have the privilege of being next door to Sandstone Farms, a wonderful jumping facility. "B" (Bimmer) needed to run a mock trial. We also needed to practice trailering him, so we hauled 1 short mile to Sandstone. He jumped very nicely, we are thrilled with his progress.

Bimmer has matured into a very impressive Stallion. He shows extreme ride ability coupled with a very athletic conformation. This will be a wonderful horse in the near future, both as a sport horse and a breeding Stallion.

15 Days

Well, we're 15 days out and the nerves are really starting to set in. I'm glad I made a game plan before everything became too intense.

The greatest part of all of this and what keeps my nerves grounded at times, is that this level of success with Albert was never really expected. At least not this quickly.

I was simply happy to be competing at Flintridge, I wanted to continue to get Albert acclimated with showing. We would have been thrilled with 3rd place, and now here we are. Some serious nervous tension has started to weigh me down. Over dinner tonight Andrea reminded me though of what I said when we first started this journey. That it's an honor and a privilege just to have been invited and that no one expects me to win the worlds. We're going to there to get our feet wet and see what we can do.
She's exactly right and always knows how to calm my nerves.

Thank you all once again for your support and encouragement.

Good night.

Hey everyone:
It's been too long since I have written, but for everyone who knows me, my literary sense by no means equals my mothers.

I am so amazed with amount of donations we have received. I am so thankful to have all of you in my life. A dear client of ours, Zada, was incredibly generous to Albert and I this week. So generous, in fact, that Angie breaks down a little every time we talk about it. This is all so thrilling, I can not begin to describe how wonderfully things are going for me these days. I could never have accomplished what we have so far, if not for the amazing people in my life. I thank you all so much, you mean the world to me.

Sorry to change the subject so dramatically, but I can't stop thinking about my weekend at Steffen's. The thing that keeps going through my head is that; yes, I may have a small percentage of his physical ability, however my brain does not work as well as his. In short, the man is a genius when it comes to our sport and he has the most amazing ability to stay with the incredible movement he creates from his horses.

Steffen seemed to enjoy Albert and he was, of course, very helpful. Now, if I can pull off what he wants, we're in business. Albert is doing great, he still amazes me everyday. The privilege of riding him is all mine and he reminds me of that continuously. What a cool horse .

Speaking of cool horses Catapult is really filling in the gaps in his FEI work. He is becoming the horse I dreamed of when I first saw him.

Again, I can't thank everyone enough for your generosity and support. I hope you enjoyed another blog entry as much as I did good night.

To Be - By Andrea

To be proud isn't enough,
to simply be honored would be unjust.
To be grateful is closer, but still falls short.

To be moved, to be encouraged. To be breathless and humbled.
To be inspired, to be in awe, to be privileged and to be motivated would better begin to describe what I feel when watching David.

To be in the presence of a dreamer, whose drive could move mountains has taught me something about life. His passion is addictive and should be captured in a bottle to share with the world. If we all had an ounce of this mans humility and a touch of his talent. If we just had a pinch of his strength and a handful of his heart; we'd all be in a better place.

To believe again is to be with David Blake.

THANK YOU STEFFEN & SHANNON PETERS... in more ways than one! First and foremost THANK YOU, for thinking of me when it was decided to sell Lord Albert. It was because of your influence that my mother, Nancy and I were afforded the opportunity to purchase him. THANK YOU for standing ring side to watch my final ride at the Regional Championships at Flintridge. Your support and encouragement meant more to me than you know. I have to admit I wanted to perform even better, partly because the two of you were standing ringside to watch (no pressure). THANK YOU, for opening your facility to me and my two boys, Catapult and Albert. THANK YOU STEFFEN for managing to squeeze me into your busy schedule and share your knowledge with me. Your instruction is truly invaluable to me. To my surprise my last four lessons, 2 on Catapult and 2 on Albert you donated to me. You effectively gave me $1,000.00 towards my “Road to Verden”. I hope I make you proud, know I will do my very best. My fortune continues as I’ll have another expert eye watching me in Germany, Scott Hassler. To:

STEFFEN AND SHANNON PETERS, THANK YOU!

Ah Julie... By Angie

We'd love for you to meet Julie, David's new assistant and awesome horse woman. Julie hails from Portland, Oregon and went to college of all places in, Montana. With a degree in anthropology she wants to become a horse trainer- go figure that one. David met Julie in Montana when he would travel there to do clinics for his long time friend and colleague Melissa Comerford.

Julie had spent years eventing horses and decided it was time to continue her horse training education and picked dressage. When the opportunity to come to work for David was available she jumped on it. I'm sure a chance to move to California from Montana had nothing to do with her decision. The thought of laying on the beach in the warm sun watching the luscious tan bodies of young men surfing, never crossed her mind....

After Albert has his feast provided by the loving hands of Israel, Julie gathers him up to get him ready to go to the gym with his personal trainer, David. I love the way Julie describes Albert in the morning; sliding open his stall door she says he looks at her with half masked eyes. There are always large green stains ground into both sides of his face. You have to wonder why anyone would mush their face in horse manure, but Albert seems to delight in it. Maybe it's just the thought of getting his face rubbed that inspires him each night. We'll say that's why he does it, not because he likes the way it smells. It's a wonder that there are any shaving left in his stall after a night of rolling around. Along with the green face comes an entire bail of shavings streaming through his thick, breathtaking tail. No doubt in our minds that Albert would be a bed hog. Ok, you have the picture in your mind. Let's just say it takes some extra time to make Albert presentable each morning.

My favorite of Julie's description of Albert early in the morning is "Grandpa". Back track to the sleepy face and don't forget it's decorated with green highlights, now add two dramatic stretches, first with the right hind leg completely extended out then the left. Followed by a large yawn fanny all his teeth and his eyes rolled somewhat back. Here comes the Grandpa part, she says he walks so slow, out his door, through the barn and over to the cross ties. You would never think he could be described as the Energizer Bunny. Then like magic, the energy is transmitted into very fiber of Albert's soul: David arrives.

The haze that just moments ago filmed Albert's eyes melts away and is replaced with a crystal clear reflection of his trainer. He ears that were relaxed and hanging somewhat back have now shot forward in the direction he's looking. They remind me of two ten year boy heading off for the day, because they both have the same expression on their faces; let's go play!

Blog news by Angie, David’s Barn/Business Manager

6:00 am. The dust settled on the earth after the nighttime’s moisture has laid down yesterday’s dust from activity. You hear muffled grunts and groans from an early morning roll or rest in shavings as they raise their large bodies to the attention of the sun. It’s breakfast time and the clanging and banging begins. The "feed me first" calling alerted by one is followed by everyone in the barn; the arrival of people means the arrival of their favorite time of the day: food time. Albert with his keen sense of his stomach, is right up there with the best of them, displaying his grandest effort to get feed first. Although his manners are excellent as his door slides open with the arrival of Israel and a bag of Triple Crown Compete, with 2 scoops Platinum Performance, a scoop of flax seed and his daily Strongid, Albert dives in like it’s the last meal he’ll ever receive. The flake of alfalfa and the flake of oat hay are ignored until every last piece of grain is consumed, then his feeder is licked clean of all remaining supplements. Some might call him an easy keeper.

Albert is the first horse of the day to get ridden. One might ask "Why is he always the first?" The answer is plain and simple. If you knew Albert, you’d see he has more energy then the Energizer Bunny: he could work all day and then some. His strength and endurance are inexhaustible, therefore the answer is clear: David has to have the energy to ride him. There you go, Albert gets ridden first for David’s sake. David says his own reflexes have to be lightening fast to stay up and contain Albert’s zest for life. He says that if he is in the least bit tired and has to remind any part of his body when to “HALF HALT” it will be too late. I suppose most truly talented horses are generally more difficult to ride as their athletic abilities allow them to do things others just wouldn’t. This is why it takes a truly talented rider to allow the horse to express his talents and not fall off. Such is the team of David and Lord Albert.

It seems like just yesterday (October 6, 2006) that Albert arrived at the barn. Having only been gelded for about 3 weeks, his coat still had the mirror-like luster of a stallion. David had gone down to Steffen & Shannon Peter’s to pick up his new pride and joy. As Albert stepped of the rig he was a display of beauty and confidence. You know the type: they look around as if to say “I’m here now so you can start the cameras rolling.” In the beginning when walking him in hand, he was so sure of himself he thought it was best to pull away from his handler and take tours around the barn. One morning after expertly getting away from Dave, he jumped the fence to join the horses out in a 10-acre pasture. Thank goodness he’s through this part of his training and has not even attempted to get away in months.

First day of lunging. As I said, the strength of Albert is amazing. Before David got on Albert the first time at the barn, he thought he should lunge him first. With saddle and side reins on, he lead Albert, aka Rocket (David’s nickname for him), to the arena. Dave snaps on the side reins and sent Albert out on the lunge. On about the 3rd loop around, Albert simply stopped, flexed his lower neck muscles and both the snaps on the side reins broke. Dave, Samantha (his assistant at the time) and I all just looked at each other in disbelief. I asked him what he was going to do, he shrugged and said, “I guess I'll get on.” And so he did. Sam and I held our breath waiting for Albert to buck Dave off. Ok, I’m going to share a little secret with you, I’ve been working with David for over 4 years and I’ve seem him ride the wildest of horses and I’ve never seen him come off. I have to admit there might have been a tiny, tiny part of me that wanted to be there to witness a fall. But, true to his abilities, Dave stayed on and today Albert has (for the most part) quit trying to buck David off.

- Angie

Tuesday June 19th - ANGIE'S BACK

Sorry it's been a long weekend away from writing my blog - it's been a busy one.

Had a tough day with Albert today, started out as wild as usual and never settled down. He still is a lot of fun, even when he's so high. The things that happen in between his "exuberance" are spectacular!

I had great rides with the rest of the horses, although it was kind of tough to manage without Julie, my assistant. Israel and I managed to get everybody done. It's really great to have someone like Israel who takes such pride in his work, my horses have never looked so good.

I spent sometime organizing the carnet for our trip to Germany, everything seems to be going along well at the moment. There is still the fear in my mind that I won't be able to raise enough money. Angie's back, thank God - it's hard working with out your right hand! It was great to sit and catch up with her for a while today. Sounds like she had the vacation of a life time. She and Larry are coming over for dinner tomorrow night to nail down fundraising plans for Verden with Andrea and I. We've got some great ideas, I just hope it's enough.

Signing off for tonight - Dave

Good day

Today was a good day, definitely an honest days work. I guess I should write in more detail about what a normal day at the Ranch consists of... If you have been reading some of the earlier posts you already know I usually start with Albert at 6:30 am. Julie my assistant gets him ready and we start the day on a wild note. I truly am privileged to ride such an amazing animal. This morning started out as usual for Albert, however, he ended up giving more than I could ever hope for. He really is so much fun.

At 7:30 Tom came in the ring on Pepper to take a lesson. Tom and Pepper are always a good time, they are really doing great things together.

Next came Thomas, our new young rider aboard Robin, the tallest horse I've ever had in training. Thomas is not exactly short either, in fact I have to put the stirrups up four holes to ride in his saddle and I'm 6 feet tall, I think you can do the math.

Then came the best part of the day, Catapult. He was unbelievable, I asked Julie to video him and was able to enjoy him twice today. Next I rode a few training horses and had good success with all of them (anyone who knows equine training realizes this promotes a very good day).

Late morning / early afternoon the cutest little Trakehner mare walks into my ring (with her owner Tracy), the mares name is Dancer but I call her Teacup. This is the most balanced and willing little horse that I have had the pleasure to ride. Tracy is learning how to ride a young horse with more and more success. The two give me a great sense of accomplishment every time I work with them.

After Teacup Kaitlyn came in with Smiley, our token thoroughbred.
Now, Smiley may not be the fanciest thing in the barn but he tries so hard for Kaitlyn. They are wildly impressive everyday, they are really a fun lesson.

Lets see what's next... oh yes, the stallions. First the Andalusian, yes I have an Andy in training and he is great. Three years old and trainable like nobodies business. I then spent some time with the Hanoverian stallion and the Dutch; they are both completely different to work with but progressing very well.

It's been a long day, so I will end it here. The rest of the day continues on the same way, it's really is not a bad way to make a living . It just requires a lot of work and long hours - we finished at 6:30 and then had a meeting with Tom Blakiston about ideas for fundraising.

Good Night -

Weekend of June 9-10

This weekend it was much more quiet than it usually is at Blakiston Ranch. Saturday was fairly typical, with lessons throughout the day.

Catapult is doing better and better, he never ceases to amaze me. The problem with Catapult is that he excels so quickly that I keep having to slow him down. If he wasn't so young I could continue with the Grand Prix work, but he doesn't have the fitness or the maturity. His talent for the Grand Prix work gets me very excited for the future!

I rode Albert first thing Saturday morning before everything got started, as usual he was high in the beginning of the workout and then genius in the end. He reminds me of Catapult at that age, even though they're so different in ability and confirmation. My challenge right now is to keep Albert consistent with what we had at Flintridge and not over-do it because we're going to Germany. I feel like we're on the right track though, Albert is still enjoying the work and plays around like the kid that he is.

Sunday I gave my boys a day off, they spent most of the day in the turnout. Most of the others kids had to work and I had a great time on our new 6 year old Dutch, Uniek, we have in training. I also played with the stallions, it was nice to groom them myself and enjoy them.

Fundraising seems to be the hard part, I wish I only had to ride and teach but now it seems to be the only thing on everyone's mind. Plans are under way and everything seems to be going well. I'm very thankful to have so many supportive people helping with the process. Together we've come up with some pretty great ideas to raise the money. One of which will be a big BBQ Dinner at the Ranch - all are welcome and encouraged to come, we'd love to have you. Email me your address and we'll send out invitations.

Sorry for the blog delay - This is all new to me, I'll try to write more often!

Today was a shorter day than usual. Sometimes, for whatever reason, it seems we have a few horses needing shoes, or not being worked, so that means I get to go home earlier. I'll be working through the weekend (Sunday/Monday) because I am leaving on Thursday to clinic in Illinois, so a tiny break was appreciated.

Today, I rode Albert in the early morning. We went through the 5-yo test, and even though he was really high at the beginning, he settled into the work nicely. I just worked on the basics with Cat today, I find that working on the basics and having these days to just ride them through only makes them better when you go back to the more challenging aspects of the training. Albert was out in the turnout until about 11 am when Israel (my right-hand man) brought him in for grooming and lunch.

Tom, a student of mine, rode his horse Pepper today in the early afternoon versus first thing (normally he rides quite early) and got both his twos and his ones. We have Tom, Thomas (another student), and Tom (the owner of the farm), so things can get a little confusing around here!

I had a good and productive ride on the four-year old Dutch stallion we have here.

Kind of a quiet day; very different from yesterday. Yesterday was crazy: it seemed like we never ran out of horses to ride or things to do, but we got it all done anyway. I just did not have it in me to check the blog last night- :)

Signing off until tomorrow.

My first blog post. One of my students told me “all first blog posts suck.” I hope that isn’t the case here.

Albert was… Albert today. Worked on the same, getting him over his back and on the aids. The basics are so important, he can become so much better just by working simple exercises, freeing him up through the back and becoming more active.

Cat (Catapult), my seven year old, was expressive today. We worked on the changes, first the fours, then the threes, and finally the twos. The twos are so much quicker, but by the end of the ride, he seemed to relax into them. Finally, we did a little piaffe/passage work; the passage is really coming. Kaitlyn, my student, remarked that it isn’t just expressive, but very active. The piaffe is coming, becoming better and better. I think that Cat is a reflection of how beneficial the entire young horse program has been to someone like me- in developing their horse.

Verden is only two months away- actually, less. Savannah, another student of mine, and Kaitlyn, met with me today to discuss fundraising efforts. They have some really dynamic ideas, and I’m really excited that they are helping me out with this. I always knew Albert was of a high enough quality to go, but he has not been easy. His first show was Del Mar (end of April) where he won the 5 yo class. We took him to DG Bar, and then Flintridge. I was not preparing for the fact that we might go to Verden, although it has always been an aspiration of mine. A few of my students, including my barn manager Angie and her daughter Sam (who used to be my assistant) and my mom will be going for support.

I taught a few students first thing, rode most of my horses; including Albert (I have 23 or so in training), had the meeting, taught through the early afternoon, rode the three stallions, and taught until about 5:30. Albert, on the other hand, worked this morning, was turned out, and then got some shots from Dr. Sullivan around 3pm. He (Dr. Sullivan) is also working on the passport; all of these paperwork items have to be worked out long before the actual show.

I’ll be writing most days; when I am away at clinics it may be too difficult and Albert will not be worked during that time. Everyone has been asking about my Verden schedule, but I’m not sure yet. I got the official invitation, but Scott (Hassler) still has to call with the details.