Both horses are having down time now while I wrap up my record.  That's been a bigger project than I thought but will be fabulous. Thanks again to my backers!  I couldn't have done it without you.
Banner had an thorough MRI at WSU and he may make a come back!  He is resting until Feb/ March. Fox is on semi lay off as well.  Last year at this time Banner and I won at Intermediate...things change so fast.
I have taken an assistant trainer position at Goose Downs Farm in Galisteo, NM for winter.  They provide a house so Steve can come too. He plans on biking. We are planning a trip back east to see my lovely Mom late Oct. and visit Fair Hill Event.  Early Nov, I will load up dog, Banner and Fox and head down there.  Should be fun , hard work and I always learn alot. Being back into total horse immersion will feel good after a vacant season of lameness and mucking about.

Steve took Banner up to WSU for an MRI.  Results indicate that Banner is gently retired for now.  I still have hope that he will be my dressage horse by spring. He will go with me to Goose Downs this winter and enjoy their retirement program. 
Fox  is on trial at a nearby place with a student of mine. So far so good.  I'm shopping for another horse.

Fox completed the Novice 3 Day at Rebecca Farm Event in late July.  He bucked me off the previous week and I was pretty sore so I sensibly hired JM Durr to ride him. A N3D is alot to ask of a greenie like Fox but he rose to the occasion and finished on a numerical score with a few stops and spooks. We are proud of him. He is a very powerful ride.  I attempted to sell him at Rebecca. He is an upper level prospect.   He is probably more horse than I should have at my age.  I like his power, I would be bored on anything less.  I like a horse that can really jump. Those kind buck and carry on because they are athletes. So now that I am healed, I forgive him his buck transgression. He has been going like a dream since then. Banner is lame again so am giving him til next spring. More later ...:)
Here are some vids of Fox and JM from world famous Rebecca Farm. 

About my OTTB (Off the track Thoroughbred). His name is Go Fox Go. He was foaled in 2007. I bought him April 2013. His last race was Jan 2103. He had 29 life time starts.
With Banner on layoff, Fox has been #1.  He has been in one event and some derbies and dressage shows . He is entered in the Novice 3 Day at Rebecca Farm 2014.
I plan on going as slow as needed to jump clean.  A tour through water may be indicated also. He doesn't like umbrellas so we are working on that.

Big Red Horse       Mia Edsall    
              
Before the man says go
I hit my watch
You are off
like your never gonna stop
feel’s like your runnin,
from the gates of hell
adrenalin
our fans cheer and yell
Chorus...
I never dreamed,   
We’d  get this far     
Big red horse thank you    
What joy, what a  ride, what a  heart  

 
When you were younger
you couldn’t canter straight
we shied, we piled, we clashed
I couldn’t dominate
Now you’re confined
On lay off holiday
Maybe just one more month
of NSAIDS grass and hay

ch

That carney road life
in 10 x 10 puck stalls
miles, money or nothing
and that ain’t all
now your voice in the morning
jump starts my day
you count on me for food
and that’s ok
Ch


I’m sitting on a rocket
Right between my knees
Since the day I threw the money down
And brought you home with me
I show you the flags
At a high rate of speed
You gather up and jump
That’s the only fix I need

 

All rights reserved Mia Edsall 6/2014

Banner is my horse.
He is a 16.2 hand high, chestnut warm blood gelding. He was born in Idaho in 1999 out of a TB/ Hanoverian mare by a Dutch stallion.

I first met Banner in late summer 2005 in Kuna Idaho.  The round pen he was in at the time looked like it may not hold him. He was spooking and cavorting 
around because some kids were playing up above him.  I studied him as he tore around the pen. He had power.   He had short canon bones, a lovely kind eye, solid healthy feet, low hocks and balance.  I could draw a square around him and he stood over the earth comfortably. Best of all, he had presence. 
I was told  that he was a sale prospect but that he needed more training before they would let him go.

  Banner's trainer, Gary was an advocate for us both.  I sealed the deal and brought him home in Sept of 2005.
Following the advice of a knowledgeable friend, we spent that fall on the trails. The Aspen tres were turning gold and the footing was good. Banner was willing to go out alone as a green 6 year old.  He was always watchful and very aware of where his feet were.
That winter I boarded him at an indoor and we worked on mostly dressage.   I rode him too low but we muddled though.  He is an extra ordinary mover. I was told by one clinician that his dressage scores could be in the 80%.  The next spring, he went lame. It was in his foot so we couldn't get a very accurate diagnosis without an MRI.  I laid him off for about 3 months. We suspect a ligament inside his hoof was strained.  I bought sand for his pen so he would have a soft home. 
He came sound and we went eventing. We entered camp in Chase BC and  various low level events. He had scope, power and jump. I moved up to Training level skipping Novice level.  I wasn't helping Banner much then. My hands were too high and busy. I 'rode the spot' and we left the ground too long too many times.  
In the next few years we kept eventing at Training. We had stops.  Our record shows win or stop.
One winter in January, he ran away with me for  a mile on an icy patched road. His head flew up, and he started running for home with more power than I have ever felt. I pulled, he wasn't home. It was like pulling on a stone wall.  I got up in galloping position and set my hands down to ride it out. Falling off on to the frozen road at that speed was not an option. We made it around 2 turns and I feared the next one was too icy. He had borium on his shoes but could still slip easily.  Then three broad women appeared in the road. They were out for a winter stroll. Banner viewed their broad image  and re balanced the same way he does at a big jump today. Then I was able to stop him. Whew, my knees were shaking when I got off!
Those woman were angels. I have never seen them in our neighborhood since that winter day.
I called Gary.  I said, "Gary do I cull a runaway?"  he said "No!"
So with great fear and trepidation I kept on with the big, red Banner.   I added the martingale as necessary equipment.
There were clinics and more Training level experience. I earned my Level 2 ICP Certification and became more educated and disciplined.
Through my connection with ICP I learned that Boyd Martin was coming to the July Rebecca Farm Event looking for catch rides.  I had seen him ride cross country on Neville Bardos, in the mud at Fair Hill and win handily. His position and hands and the way his body stayed still before and over the jump made a huge impression on me. He rode Banner in his 1st Prelim at Rebecca and as he says "destroyed the field" and won.  It is really fun watching a great rider on your horse.
I left Idaho that winter with Banner and was lucky enough to get a paying job at Lone Tree Farm near Modesto, California in 2010.

To be continued.....