The Tragic week!

Last week was absolutely awful.  Everything went down hill and continued to steam roll downwards. The only thing that truly thrilled me was my raspberry cheesecake Starbucks drink :). Although it is not on the menu, you can still order fun tasting drinks that aren't featured. The only people that know these drinks are the Starbucks aficionados :).  The raspberry cheesecake is a white chocolate mocha with a few pumps of raspberry syrup. If you enjoy a sweet savory drink, this is a great choice. I think I'm going to start ordering a new secret drink each week and tell you a little about it.  Well, the time of truth has come and I must tell you of my horrible week.

Tuesday, Jan. 17th wasn't too bad except for the cold weather. It was our first time back on the track since Christmas break and I was extremely out of shape. Trying to hold Lady, the filly I was riding, to a trot was somewhat difficult because all she wanted to do was go. However, I was able to carry out the instructions quite nicely.

Wednesday started the snowball effect of a series of tragedies. At11:30 AM, I departed the barn to head to the track. I was getting super excited since we were going to gallop the horses for the first time since break. As we entered the track, everything was going well.  Lady wasn't pulling against me like she had on Tuesday. But when we started our gallop, everything changed. It was like somewhat lit a a match underneath her and it quickly grew to an out of control fire. She took off down the track. I knew she was going faster then Chris wanted her to go, so I started pulling back. But, she wouldn't stop!  The harder I pulled, the tougher she became. We went around the track once and I still couldn't stop her. On the second lap, she was going just as strong and I had no strength left. As we came down the stretch, the outrider came to my rescue. She began galloping ahead of me getting ready for a runaway pick up. The object was for me to guide my horse to her and hand her one of my reins so she could slow down my horse. As I approached the outrider, I leaned and got my weight back on the horse and slowly handed her my left reign.  Then she slowed down my horse and brought her to a walk. I was the first student that had to have the outriders help. This really put a damper on my mood.  But, it wasn't even close to what happened on Thursday.

Thursday was like any other day, except this time I was riding Yankee, a very young green filly that jumps and spooks at virtually anything. Thankfully, she is much easier to hold back so a knew I wouldn't have the same problem I had yesterday. Once again we went to the track and started our gallop; however, I wasn't prepared for what happened next.  As we entered the turn, something spooked Yankee and she jumped in towards the rail then back out. I maintained my balance and we continued along.  A few seconds later she did it again and this time I fell off. But that wasn't the end of it. (Before heading down I had purchased some nice winter riding boots.  However, the extra padding to make them warm increased the bulk of the boot.)  When I fell off,  my left foot got caught in the stirrup due to the bulk of my boot. My body was on the ground, but my left leg was still attached to the saddle! Thoughts of getting trampled and drug for eternity went through my mind. I new better then to yell for my life because that might spook the horse and make matters even worse.  Thankfully, I remained calm and Yankee only went three strides before I was able to shake my foot loose. After I got loose I immediately stood up and kicked the ground out of frustration. Nor only was I the first student of our class to be picked up by the outrider, but now I was the first one to fall on the track. It took us  3 minutes to catch my loose horse and once we did I hoped back on and continued on with my gallop. I wasn't going to let a fall drain my confidence. Needless to say, I will never be riding in those boots again. My expensive new pair of boots were worthless.

Thursday night, I was thinking if things got any worse, I might end up seriously hurt. I was bound to make Friday a better day. To help ensure this, I put on my lucky four leaf clover boxers. I mean they had four leaf clovers on them that had to give me some luck, right :). On Friday, I was riding Lady again.   Things were going smoothly, so I began to think maybe this would be a good day. Nope! I was wrong!  When we began our gallop, she started off beautifully.  However, about halfway around the track she took off and began to run away with me. This time I was determined to do everything in my power to not let that happen again.  She went faster and faster, but I dug in deep and tried to slow her down. As we where flying around the track, I kept repeating in my mind:  "I do not need the outriders help.  I can get her relaxed and slow her down."  Then, suddenly I remembered that if the  horse guided toward the outside rail they will slow down because that is a cue the training is over. As I began to do this, she started to relax and with the last ounce of energy I pulled her toward the rail.  I did it!  I stopped here without having the outrider's help.  Although this was better then the past few days. I was still upset with myself for letting a horse run away with me .I hope and pray this new week will be better.

Like I said before in this blog, I'm going to tell you of the great, the bad and the awful.  I will not sugar coat everything to sound like there are never any problems and I'm perfect lol.

I hope your week was better then mine
Jesse

The beginning of a new semester :)

  January 9th was the beginning of the new semester. Since the break I gained almost 20lbs :0. It was not a very good break weight wise, but my stomach was sure happy all the time :). So to get my body back into losing weight, the first week back my diet consisted of only fruit and V-8 juice, totaling about 300-450 calories a day. Not the healthiest thing to do but I decided that my body needed a period of time to clean out and reboot itself. Since then I went back on my 1300 calorie a day diet; during break it was probably 1300 calories a meal. The night before school started I couldn't sleep. I was too excited about getting back. Yes, it is a little strange not being able to sleep because of school. But jockey school is different. It's hard to explain, but I just thoroughly enjoy it. Don't get me wrong! I'd rather be able to sleep in and not have to muck out any stalls, but to me getting up early and doing all the barn work is worth it just for the little amount of riding time we have.

  The barn has dramatically changed. I am sadly no longer taking care of Gus but instead I'm taking care of a beautiful black gelding, Marble, and a bay mare, JC. The horses are not the only things that have changed; the class size took a dive. It started at 20, but by the time I came back, it was down to only 9. The class had been cut in half! Even though there is more work to get done since there are less people, for some reason we get it all done faster then we used to. I believe it's because the ones that are left aren't afraid of working hard and fast. They actually want to be there because this is there passion and dream, just like me. Since the only ones left have a great passion to be a jockey, everyone has a great mood at the barn. The people that used to mope about and bring about the infectious bad, gloomy attitude and bad work ethic have left. I'm definitely liking the new changes so far.

  All week we have been riding in the field, getting not only the horses but also our bodies back in shape before we venture back out on the track. I didn't realize how much a month off would affect me. I am no longer near as fit as I was when I left, but more riding and hard work should put me back in shape very quickly. Even though you can stay fit by working out and running, riding horses uses totally different muscles. While there are some exercises that can be done to increase the stamina in those muscles, it's not the same as riding a horse.

  I'm looking forward to the weeks and months to follow and can't wait to get back on the track. And if you haven't been to Starbucks lately to try their new blonde coffee, it is definitely worth the money :). It is a mild, smooth and sweet coffee. But if you're the type of person that likes your coffee dark and bold, it is definitely not for you. And to answer some of you Starbucks fanatics' question, yes, I was at Starbucks a little after 5:00 am for the debut of the new coffee. However the main reason why I was there that early was because I was on my way to the barn to go to school ;)  

Q&A and New Year Surprises

The new year is upon us and looking back, I had quite the adventures getting to where I am today. I hope you enjoyed following me through life's twists and turns and will continue to do so next

I said before that I was going to answer all of the questions you had, so here goes.

Q:  Is Worcestershire sauce really vegan? I think there is something really weird like anchovies somewhere down the line in the ingredients. 

A: Well, it looks like I made a Freudian slip while I was on my diet because it does actually have anchovies in it. OOOPS!

Q: What's the most popular meal at Steak-n-Shake?  What meal do you recommend? 

A: The most popular would be the original double cheese.  I would recommend either the Frito chilli cheese burger or the western BBQ.  Both are excellent choices. 

Q: What's one thing you know now that you couldn't have known when you first began your program? What has most taken you by surprise? 

A: How much time and effort goes into preparation for a horse to race just two minutes. The thing that has most taken me by surprise is how hard a thoroughbred can pull.


Here are the exciting surprises! ENJOY!

Surprise 1: 

Surprise 2: 

I was recently featured in a racing enthusiast's blog.  Here is the excerpt:

"Nineteen year old Jesse Sauder, a first semester N.A.R.A. student is a prime example of dedication you will find at the school.  He was not able to ride that morning due to a car accident earlier this year.  In the accident, he suffered life threatening injuries in which he fractured his C1, C2 vertebrae,
which typically results in being paralyzed.  His surgery on June 14^th   left him in a halo brace for three months.  The determined Sauder refused to miss his scheduled admissions interview with McCarron only one short week following his surgery." 

To view more of her blogs go to bits n bunny

I hope you all have a fantastic new year and I will be looking forward to sharing my experiences in 2012.