Damon has been a busy boy in the last week.  When you are four years old, everything is new and exciting and there are so many "first times" to be negotiated.  We had our first ride outside in the outdoor arena which as you can imagine was rather energetic.  But the good news is, we finished on a great note and as four year olds go, he was a team player and tried to do the right thing.
I was in Denver over the weekend teaching a clinic so Damon's "Bonus Mom", Mary Anne was in charge.  She spent a lot of quality time with him, lunging him indoors and outdoors.  But the most exciting thing they did was to take a field trip to the race track at the back of Legacy Farm.  Damon has a personality that is as bright as the moon and he is curious about everything.  Even if he is initially afraid of something, he can't rest until he has put his nose on it. Once that happens, everything is AOK.
I can't believe how much he has improved under saddle in such a short time.  His balance is improving daily and his bearing on the rein is becoming so light and responsive.  He can already half halt off of my seat at the trot and will make transitions off of the seat. The canter is still a little more green than the trot, but it is so big, you feel like you are riding on a giant Ferris Wheel it is so round and lofty.Today after riding him indoors, Bonus Mom Mary Anne walked with us down the lane toward the racetrack with me in the irons for his first mounted mini trail ride. He was cautious on the way out but very well behaved, his confidence improved on the walk back home.  He really enjoys the stimulation of doing new things and can't wait to see what is on the agenda for tomorrow!

If there ever was a horse that was born to be a celebrity, Damon would be the one.  He has taken to having a constant stream of people outside of his stall looking at him like he has done it all of his life.  I had my best ride yet on him today, we rode through some of the movements from the FEI Test for 4 year olds. He is such a natural, everything is so round, you feel like you are riding a huge perpetual circle.  His canter to trot transitions far exceed the norm for a horse his age, they are effortless for him.  The only way to describe his canter, especially the right lead, is delicious.  In spite of being such a big mover, he is so light on his feet and can ride a serpentine that would make a First Level horse cry.
He always draws a crowd when I school him, someone suggested we sell tickets to fund our future trips to Europe to train and show. The best part of having people watch him is the look on their face, something between being stunned and disbelief.
Life in America is good.  Damon got introduced to peppermints today and got to play with a Jolly Ball in his stall for the first time.  He likes to throw it out in the aisle and have someone hand it back to him like a large pacifier.  What a clown!

Damon continues to impress me.  Rode him today after his day off and during the middle of a terrible thunderstorm (thank goodness for indoor arenas) and he went around like the champion that he is.  Bev and Lisa Van Nieuwal came out to watch him go and he didn't disappoint.  I am amazed at how mature he is for just turning 4 years old last month. This horse is the real deal and he is destined to do great things!

FIRST RIDE!!!!!!! Rode Damon for the first time yesterday and he was really great.  The only problem that we have had so far is keeping his shoes on.  That seems to be hard to do when your legs are up around your ears.  Mary Anne and I flipped a coin to see who would have to call Jason the SECOND time in 2 days to come and put our right front shoe back on.  He is such a prince, he never said a word as he put the shoe on for the second time.  Damon has settled into his turn out really well, he has a nice quiet PRE Spanish horse, Val, as his companion in the next paddock over.
SECOND RIDE today, amazing how sensible and brave he is in the indoor arena, being 4 years old and his first time away from home.  Germany to OH is a pretty big first trip.  Being at Legacy Farm is going to help prepare him for a horse show atmosphere because we have about 60 horses on the place and lots and lots of activity.  We are aiming for the first weekend in June to take him to the WPDA show in Jefferson, OH, probably as a non-compete horse to let him see what it is all about.  If he settles in well, we may do one class on the second day.

Damon arrived in fine style last night at about 7:30.  Marvin called when he was about one hour away to let us know his arrival time and it was all we could do to not meet him half way.  When he finally pulled in, we were all in the driveway with cameras for pictures and videos of this special occasion.  To say that we were excited would be an understatement, and even though I had seen him in Germany about 10 days earlier, I was still taken aback when he got off of the truck.  He traveled really well and stepped off of the truck looking fresh as a daisy.  He walked into the barn and made himself at home and probably wondered why all these people were staring at him. Regina took endless photos to put on facebook and text to all or our friends and family.  We stayed with him for a couple of hours to make sure he was settled,then drove home in almost complete silence.  I think Mary Anne and I were just numb with disbelief that he was finally here.  Then we looked at each other and said "now what?".
We finally fell asleep after texting pictures to everyone and after a good night's sleep, went out to the barn this morning to lunge him and turn him out.  Tacking him up was described by Mary Anne as like trying to wrestle an alligator on steroids. It took both of us to do it; he was a little fresh after traveling for 5 days. Let's just say thank goodness for a good round pen to contain him on the lunge line.  His feet didn't touch the ground very much but they did at least once because he pulled a shoe off.  Thank you Jason for coming out within the hour to replace it! Later in the day we turned him out thinking that he would have the edge off, but his feet didn't touch the ground much then either. He is really out of this world. Even people that are not knowledgeable about horses can tell that this horse is something special.  He has so much charisma, you can just tell that he is destined for great things.

He made it to New York! There were 13 other horses on the same flight and he ended up riding in the container with Shawn Harding's new young horse, Regent.  Shawna made the flight with the horses so Damon had someone to feed him carrots from Amsterdam all the way to New York.  The world is his oyster!  He is supposed to get out of quarantine tomorrow morning at 9:30 and then he will have an 8 or 9 hour trailer ride to our farm in OH.
Needless to say, we will be watching the driveway from about 5:00 tomorrow on.  I only wish we had a red carpet to roll out for him, he is probably expecting it by now.  I am sure he will be happy to get finished with this trip, he has been travelling since last Monday.  Pretty big first trip off the farm!!!!!!

This is the beginning of an incredible journey. I love this moment because all things are possible. As I write this, Damon's Design HW is on the plane flying from Amsterdam to New York, due to arrive at 9P.M. tonight.  He will be in quarantine until Friday morning, when Marvin will pick him up and bring him to our new summer home at Legacy Equestrian Center in Chesterland, OH.
We are all breathless waiting for the call to say that he has arrived safely. Sarah Bushong-Weeks(Damon's new owner), Mary Anne and I have all been breathing into a paper bag since this all started back in April.  Let me back up a bit to fill you in.  One night at home, Mary Anne pulled a video up on the computer and said, "I found your next horse".  I took a look and of course he was amazing but I wasn't in the market for an international caliber horse right then. Several days later, we were at the barn talking with Sarah and Regina about horses for sale when we pulled up the video of Damon to show the girls.  The next thing I knew, Sarah and I were talking about what a great journey it would be to campaign a horse like Damon and before you could blink your eye, I was on a plane to Germany for a test drive.  And yes, even at 4 years old, he rides as good as he looks!!!
The following week was a blurr with pre-purchase exams, second opinions from Dr. Genovese(who else?), travel arrangements and oh yeah, did I mention there was a trip to OH with 8 horses in there also? The rest of the summer will also be moving really fast since we are going to try to get Damon qualified for the FEI 4 Year Old Championships this summer in Chicago in August.