Another week, another experience :)

    Hello Viewers! It's that day of the week where I sit down with my coffee and write my blog. Last week wasn't quite as packed or exciting as the week before, but it definitely did have some awesome highlights :).

    To kick this week's blog off I'd like to announce that I made it to the open field. I'm finally out of the fenced-in area and allowed to ride in the public field. It is a whole new experience going from a big fenced-in field to a large open field. The horses feel the difference of being in an open space and being allowed the room to run, run, run. All the horses feel more excited and anxious to go. Although they are sometimes tougher to handle, it is an immense amount of fun letting them gallop out in a wide open space. I can't wait till January when we get out on the track.  If I could compare it to anything it would be letting a bird fly loose after it was in a large caged in area. Yes, it has room to fly in the cage, but in the open it has all the room it wants. The horses feel the same way; they are excited to no longer be in an enclosed area and to see that they can just run to their hearts' content. I've greatly appreciated riding in the public field :).

    Although my form has greatly improved and I'm looking better each day, I do have some things I need to work on. One of the biggest things is being able to develop softer hands. By this I mean being able to feel the bit in their mouths and being able to control them, slow them down, or get them to relax by barely moving my hands on the reins. The best thing I could compare this to would be an egg toss. You want to catch the egg as carefully as possible. Clenching the egg as it enters your hands will break it, but having too soft of hands and letting the egg fall through your fingers and drop to the ground will also break it. With a horse, if you pull back too hard too fast on the reins, it will irritate the horse and it will get more out of control. But if you do it too gently the horse will grab the bit and run away without you being in control at all. There is a fine line in becoming soft but firm and this is what I need to work on; to be able to feel when the horse relaxes so I can slowly give back some tension or feel the horse pick up speed so I can gradually get him/her back into control.

    I'm almost halfway done with my vegan diet. I've been going strong and even turning down ice cream and cookies for dessert; before I never would have dreamed of doing that. Last week I decided to try a new dish that I made up on my own and it was delicious :). I started off with making home- made bread dough with flour and yeast. I then rolled the dough out into very thin sheets and cut the sheet into squares. I then placed broccoli or squash on them with a slice of vegan cheese, and folded the dough over to make a pocket. They turned out phenomenal :). After tasting my first one I thought that it would be even better if I had a sauce to go with the pocket. So I took vegetable broth, worcestershire sauce, garlic salt and a pinch of sugar and added a little bit of flour to thicken the sauce up. This formed an excellent dipping sauce. What made it even better was after I was finished with the pocket, there was some of the bread left in the sauce which made it a little thicker; it turned into an excellent soup in the end. Two great dishes in one. I believe it was a great find on my part. :)

    I think it would be really neat to get all my viewers involved. So to do this, if you have any questions about my journey, the school, or anything else, please leave a comment and I'll do a Q&A in my next blog :)



                                                Have an excellent week! 

The Incredible Week

     The cold has begain to set in and although thanks giving has yet to come you know winter and the christmas shoping is apon us when Starbucks starts advertising their winter coffees (egg nogg, gingerbread, peppermint latte, etc.) during the Christmas season.  Although you can ask for these specialty drinks out of season, it's just not the same sitting down during the summer with a gingerbread latte.. I usually save those special occasions for the winter or on a cold night like tonight which is my BLOG night!! I love Monday blog night!  Maybe i should be paid by Starbucks since I'm advertising them so much ;).

Now on to the the news and updates.

We started last week off with a field trip to Churchhill Downs.  We went on the back side and had the privilege to meet and take pictures with some of the top well-known trainers: D. Wayne Lukas, Larry Jones, Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen, and William "Jinx" Finch. It was great getting to talk with these incredible trainers who have accomplished all sorts of records in the racing industry. As an upcoming jockey, I was star struck just being able to talk to them and would be honored to be able to race for some of them in the future.

    Today was my first week benchmark on a vegan diet. Surprisingly, I'm not struggling too hard, but I miss my meat and dairy.  I do feel better and healthier.  So by the end of my trial period, i may not become 100% vegan or vegetarian, but will more than likely eat less red meat and possibly switch out dairy milk for soy or cocunut. Soy vanilla flavored milk is surprisingly quite tasty, especially on Kashi cereal with some fresh cut up strawberries. For lunch, i eat either a salad, PBJ with organic peanut butter, or a BLT made with veggie bacon and whole grain bread.  My favorite sandwich so far is a veggie/soy bacon and turkey with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and mustard.  Yummy!  I sometimes throw in humus as well. Dinner is usually a stir fry of veggies and soy chicken, veggie chili, or a sandwich. For snacks and desserts I have pudding or ice cream  made with cocunut milk and  of course my weekly Starbucks coffee which I now get with soy milk:).  As a vegan, I stll have to watch what I eat, because there is still plenty of junk food that is considered acceptable on the diet . This week, I'm going to try to cook more of a variety, so my lunch and dinners aren't so much alike.  I also want to eliminate as much high fructose corn syrup as possible . If anyone has any great Vegan recipes, feel free to leave a comment.

   Like I mentioned in my previous blog, I was fortunate enough to obtain free Breeders Cup tickets :). Let me tell you, it was spectacular!  Churchill Downs was filled with an immense amount of energy.  Watching the high caliber fillies race was thoroughly enjoyable. I can't find any words to describe my emotions as I watched the lucky jockeys racing in the Breeders Cup and hoping that one day I would be able to participate in it. Few things are more exciting than racing for a 2 million dollar purse. It was a great day of hanging with friends and watching the races.

  My riding keeps improving every day. We are still galloping in the big pasture and I'm eagerly awaiting the day I get to ride in the public field:).  After Christmas break, we'll start taking the horses on the training track which will move me even closer in my journey to not only becoming a jockey but to racing in the Kentucky derby.

   This past week was pure excitement. Have a great week.  If you get the chance to make your way to Starbucks, pick up a holiday coffee and think of me and my blog and how you (my family, friends and followers) are all playing a huge role in getting me to the derby.
 
   would also like to thank my dad for proof reading and editing my blog. He is a big part in this blogging journey. Major props go to him.

Till next week! 

Jesse Sauder 

A Big Thanks

I want to start this blog off by personally thanking the people who have donated to my blogging endeavor. It not only means a lot that you take the time to read my weekly updates but that you generously donated to my once a week coffee outing. It is greatly appreciated. 

 

  I've got some great exciting news to share with you about my progress in the jockey school. I have graduated from small arena to the big pasture. Actually I did not graduate. As my previous English instructor and my high school friend "Valedictorian" said: "We use the term graduate in the wrong tense. We do not graduate, but it is the institution that graduates us."  So, I did not graduate from the arena but NARA /Chris McCarron graduated me from from the arena. I thoroughly enjoy being in a bigger space where I can let the horses gallop out and have the ride of my life. There is nothing that can describe the feeling of being one with the horse and flying across the open field on a crisp calm morning.        On to other news.  A fellow jockey classmate and I have decided to embark on a 30 day vegan diet. After reading a book by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, I was utterly grossed out by their disgusting description of eggs and their research about steroids that are in meat as well as all the awful things that happen to meat after it is butchered. I'm not choosing to become a vegan because of the cruelty done to the animals, but more because of health.  I want to see if I feel healthier and If I would lose a few more pounds so I can attain the apprentice jockey weight requirement.  I'm not planning to stay a vegan.  But, who knows, I may turn into a vegan, perhaps a vegetarian, or even a pescaterian.  But then again, I might just go back to my carnivorous eating habits. In my next blog, I'll talk more about what I've been eating on my diet. I should mention that we have decided to take a one day break from our vegan diet during November.  With Thanksgiving coming up, I couldn't possibly give up the turkey, pie, mashed potatoes etc.  I've been waiting all year for that:)

Till next time, have a great week,

Jesse