In & Around CHA-Region 6

Meet CHA Certified Instructor Katherine Wagenbach of Putney VT…

by Kristine Mika

Like many of us after our first ride, CHA Certified Instructor, Katherine Wagenbach knew that horses would be in her life forever. She was certain of this at six years old. After a couple of lessons she wanted more, taking lessons as frequently as possible. She also knew that she wanted to compete. When she made enough progress, she entered local shows and joined the pony club in Connecticut where she grew up. As she grew more experienced, Katherine moved on to equitation competitions and eventing. In her teens, she became an excellent equestrian and a fierce competitor.

Katherine  Wagenbach rides Maggie through a water obstacle.

When Katherine entered college, she learned there was no equestrian team. Not a problem. Instead of putting her riding on hold for four years, she established an intercollegiate riding team with another like-minded equestrian friend. Often they were the smallest team to compete, but her need to compete was never downsized. To this day, the Equestrian Team that Katherine founded still exists at Landmark College.

Katherine does arena exercises with Maggie

Upon graduation with a degree in psychology and at the encouragement of the barn owner where she rode, Katherine began her career as a riding instructor. That was over 20 years. About 10 years ago, she established her own equestrian center, Wagenbach Farm, in Putney, Vermont, providing lessons to riders of all ages and skills.

Katherine’s riding instruction follows a structured, but flexible, format that includes: choosing the horse that best fits the rider’s skills; working in the ring practicing walk/trot/canter; and then taking it out on the roads and trails to practice in new settings. Katherine has 25 students that range in age from 6 – 71 years. All have different riding goals, but the same passion to be with horses.

Trail-riding during a lesson on Doc

Katherine uses her degree in psychology regularly as she works with students. She continuously assesses their needs, provides opportunities to compete and helps them ride with confidence. Her favorite part of teaching is to watch the growth of her students as they learn to communicate and develop a relationship with the horse. This is the foundation of all her lessons regardless of riding goals. Her riding program is known for creating a fun and safe atmosphere. During lesson months, students participate in local competitions and events. Katherine can be found at Green Mountain Horse Association in Woodstock, VT with her students or competing herself. The town’s Christmas parade is the culmination of hard work and a fun year. The program closes during the winter months giving the horses a much needed rest until April 1st when lessons begin again.

 

There are 3 lesson horses, Doc, Blaze* and Maggie in the program. All three have specialized skills to serve beginning, intermediate and advanced riders. Maggie, a grulla draft cross, is a favorite among her students. Her students know, if they ride Maggie, they are making great progress in their riding skills. And Maggie is so popular, she has a following. Check out Katherine’s blog: Adventures with Maggie at http://www.maggiewagskat.com .

About six years ago, Katherine found CHA online as she was looking for instructor certification. She realized that being a certified instructor would be helpful in promoting her business and in obtaining lower rates in insurance. She attended a CHA certification clinic at SJ Ranch in Ellington, CT.

Katherine lives in Putney, VT with her husband and two sons. She and her youngest son often ride together on the many trails that surround her farm.

*Sad to say, that Blaze passed away shortly before this writing.

 

“Finding the Right Partner”

How do you get that “magical moment” when you feel like you’re floating?  You find that partner (an equine in this case) who understands you.  Mutual understanding is the ultimate goal.  Not an easy task to achieve, but when it happens – boy is it great!

Whether your goals are to try riding a horse for the first time or to strengthen a relationship with your current horse, the journey and partnership the two of you share is like nothing else.

Well, here is mine.

“She,” Maggie, is pictured above.  Her previous owner and dear friend of mine called her “Chunky Monkey.” I am forever thankful that we were brought together.

Maggie defines partnership to me. We know each other well, actually very well.  I know her “quirks” and she knows mine.  I know how far to push her and she tells me when I need to take a deep breath.  I’ve had many horses in my lifetime and she embodies that definition of “amazing” that I was searching for.  She is not “fancy, expensive, or extremely talented” she is just Maggie and willing to trust and live out this journey with me.

She came to me at a very hectic time in my life. I thought I was crazy for taking on a young, mostly inexperienced, project.  I recently had my first child.  Also, my beloved older horse, Monty, was experiencing breathing issues that limited his physical capabilities.  So, with some convincing (prodding, really), I took Maggie on and the rest is history; 11 years worth.

Temperament is key to the right partnership.  If you don’t understand one another – the relationship will struggle.  I remember when Maggie was very young, at the age of 4, she would tell me “I don’t get this.”  My response would be, “I will show you.” I made sure to be reasonable, fair, and encouraging.

Patience is also key.  Learning to teach and trust one another makes the learning process grow exponentially.  I remember teaching Maggie all the basics; to stand while being mounted, to steer, and to ride confidently on the trails.  Then we progressed to working on the basics of dressage and jumping – all the while I was “listening to her.”

Suitability is also essential in reaching your goals.  If you don’t have compatible qualities you can not ride safely, let alone ride a cross country course without endangering yourselves.  You and the horse need to be in sync, have the mental and physical tools to be a “team,” and then give it a try; go for it.

I guess this brings me to a place where I would say many people struggle with this in their search for the “perfect” horse.  You see it all the time in ads, horses for sale that were mismatched partnerships.  It’s evident when watching riding clinics and stabling at boarding facilities.  And knowing those who have backyard barns that struggle with the basics of just safe handling and basic riding with their horse.  The expectations we put on our equine partner needs to be reasonable and fun. If it’s not fun, then why bother?

Being Brave!

After over 2 years of feeling the effects of the pandemic and shutting down my business at one point, I was eager to get back to a feeling of normalcy. So, I signed up for what I love to do; eventing with Maggie. Four days of hard work mixed with an incredibly fun group of other like-minded adults eager to learn the sport.

This year Maggie turned 20, which in horse years can be asking a lot of a horse. Maggie needed to have a basic level of fitness for the tasks that would be asked of her such as dressage, stadium jumping and the galloping of XC fences. Was she ready? That was the big question. Her winters are spent relaxing and eating. It was April and I was opening up my lesson program. As I slowly got her back to a basic level of fitness as a lesson horse, I also had to ask myself was it fair to ask her to step it up and be ready and willing to be competitive again? Was I ready? I definitely felt apprehension that stemmed from 2 plus years of COVID. I was rusty and had not done much jumping or dressage. We began by getting back out on the trails. Her confidence and relaxed manner was what gave me the focus to get back into it.

As she is a favorite of many of my students, they also helped give her the fitness she needed. I taught the lessons and watched her expressions. Was she still okay with all of this? It seemed like the answer was, “yes.” So, I made it my goal to show up at our old stomping ground, Hitching Post Farm, at the end of June to train and compete.

It took about two days of intense training before I felt I could take her to the next level. We began with dressage work that felt rusty and disorganized. My brain had not been focused on the specifics of dressage work or tests and she was feeling the effects of not being asked to do the movements. But on day two things started to change. I started to feel her say “I think I got this.” We also added stadium jumping and jumps in the XC field.

The water element

One of the hardest elements for Maggie is water. She hates it. She dislikes all aspects of water. Baths, hoses, and galloping through water elements. So I knew I needed to work on this. I talked this through with my instructor and we agreed it needed work. Time and patience is what it took and by the end of the day Maggie was taking ME through the water element, with determination, not the other way around. I felt boldness and joy from her. I remember telling my instructor, “I feel like I have my old horse back.”

Getting the feel of my distances

Next, was to pull all of this together for one day of 3 elements; eventing. Memorize my dressage test, dust off my show clothes, gather and organize galloping boots and safety vest, remember the boldness of tackling the big and often scary elements of XC jumps and finding finesse and agility of stadium jumping. This used to be my only means of jumping, back in my equitation days. All pulled together in one day.

To add to that – nerves! One of the hardest and I think most challenging aspects of competing. We all have them, its how they are handled that I feel make the difference. You can spend way too much energy worrying and feeling anxious or you can use that time to breath and stay calm. With horses, who are extremely intuitive beings, the later is especially important. With that, a small part of me also wanted Maggie to understand that on this particular morning I really wanted her to be “ready” for the competition. So it was an exercise in balance. Staying calm, but being bold and ready for a challenge.

Ready to show

The day was windy and actually cold. The days prior were hot and sunny, but that’s Vermont weather. I actually warmed Maggie up in my winter gloves because I am chilled easily. Some horses need excessive warm up periods, but Maggie is not that type. As long as she feels responsive and relaxed, I feel like we are ready.

We did our dressage test and it felt good. I felt focused and she did as well. I could tell she knew it was game day. As we halted at X, I had a good feeling, and of course felt relief it was over. The judge agreed it was a solid test and I was rewarded with complimentary remarks and scores.

Maggie resting in between her tests

We had about a two hour break before the XC course and then stadium. I took Maggie back to her stall and untacked her to rest and eat some hay. I remember telling her “we aren’t done yet.” I gave myself about an hour to rest and then it was time to get my jumping gear out. Again, I knew that Maggie didn’t need a ton of warm up time but I also felt like she also needed to know what was expected of her. I remember being in the warm up ring for XC and watching others jump and jump more jumps and thinking, I am not doing that to my horse. We jumped once. Then we were on deck. I did my best to keep my nerves in check. It had been over 3 years since we competed. The start of the XC was a challenge but one I was wanting to tackle. As I was approaching the second XC jump, I remember looking up at the crowds of people out in the field watching us and thinking to myself, “boy, there are a lot of people here today.” And just as I was thinking that, I realized that is NOT what I should be doing. Maggie did the same thing and was not focused to the jump and we had to circle around and start our approach again (causing us a penalty). But after getting over the jump I remember telling myself to pull it together and stay focused. And boy did I feel that from her! The third jump was actually where the professional photographer was, which I would later hear from a friend. The rest of the course through the water element she felt strong and powerful; an incredible feeling.

Then came a hard left turn down a steep hill and as I looked left I saw about 7 or 8 strides away, a woman standing directly in front of the jump that was my next required element on the course! In that moment, I also herd a voice yell to this woman to “get out of the way!” I put that aside and galloped to the fence anyway. Upon landing at the other side of the fence I remember saying out loud, “oh my God that was insane!”

This was the actual jump that the woman was standing in front of-moments before we jumped it!

As we galloped up to the last XC fence, I felt relived as well as disappointed that I had not stayed focused enough for Maggie early in the course. But instead of dwelling on it, I knew we still had our stadium course to jump. This course was also from memorization and I remember being told, as long as I kept a solid rhythm, I would be fine. And that’s just what we did. With only one rail down, we completed the course as a thrilled and exhausted pair.

I drove home happier than I’ve been in a long time. I felt exhilarated by our accomplishments; especially with Maggie’s age and my hiatus from competitions. I am very well aware I need to cherish my time with her. If you didn’t know already, she is my dream horse and I never want this dream to end:-)

Galloping to our XC fence at Hitching Post Farm

Maggie Has Become the “Teacher”

Less than a week ago one of my students and I were preparing for her next horse show.  I was getting her usual horse out on the cross ties before her lesson and I noticed her buddy “Blaze” had a slightly swollen front leg.  I showed her how to take care of his leg and explained we would most likely have to go to plan “B” for the horse show.  I couldn’t guarantee he would be sound for the show in 3 days.  So, in steps Maggie.

I have to be honest…I was nervous.  Yet, in the back of my mind I was also really excited to think that some day Maggie would be my “go to” horse when the right kid came along. Was this it?  Would she be that “steady eddy” with this 11 year old girl?  She had ridden Maggie a few times lightly the year before, but definitely not for what riding at a horse show entails.  So, 3 days before the show, she climbed on Maggie at her 15 hand – 1100 lbs frame and gave it a go.  We took it slow and built up her confidence.  And well, Maggie did all that was asked of her.

I explained to my young student that unlike the other horses she had ridden, Maggie was of course different and a little bit like driving a sports car vs. a station wagon.  While the analogy wasn’t ideal for a young girl, it helped her mother realize that this horse could take her daughter places, as she learned to use or not use all of her “gears or buttons.”

Show day came and at 5:30am that morning we braided Maggie’s mane, groomed her, and got ready to load up and drive the hours distance to the show.  We chatted along the drive to the show, but each of us was also lost in our own thoughts for the day…what would it be like, would it be fun, would Maggie give confidence or would something happen that would deter that?

Much of my training with Maggie over the last 13 years has been to expose her to as many different scenarios as possible.  It gave my 11 year old student confidence that Maggie had been to this particular show grounds many times before, that she had been in the same arena, was used to trailering on her own, and that she generally enjoyed “going places.”  As equestrians, it’s one thing to ride in your usual space that is predictable and familiar, but it’s a completely different situation to try to ride a new horse in a totally unknown environment.  But this young girl was up for the challenge.

As Maggie and my student entered the show ring, I gave this young girl my last bit of calming advice and said, “just go in there and have fun, Maggie will take care of you!”  As I said this, I felt a sense of pride and nervousness all at the same time.  Pictures were taken as I stood along ringside with her mother and as the judge asked all the riders the usual requests, she then asked them to line up in the center of the arena. I heard the judge ask who in the class knew the difference between what a “pleasure class was and an equitation class?”  My student was the only one to raise her hand.  Another sense of pride came over me.  I could tell the judge was impressed that the rider she had most likely already picked as her top choice, was now showing that she knew something very important about the class she was riding in!

Placings were called out and #53 was given 1st place…Maggie and this young girl walked out of the arena with their blue ribbon.  At that moment I knew Maggie had done her job. She had instilled confidence, listened to this young girls requests, stayed steady and calm and made us all smile with joy.  She and this young girl would go on to get one more 1st place and 2 more 3rd place ribbons.  A job well done by all and boy was I proud!

My New Adventure (without) Maggie

So, I had my first real adventure without my four-legged sidekick; my equine BFF. I participated in my first triathlon, a sprint distance triathlon.  I was in uncharted territory without her there…it was strange, even unnerving. It was all on me. All on my own I had to swim .3 miles, bike 15 miles and run a 5k. Before the start of the race a good friend asked, “Are you nervous?” I replied, “Yes.”  He laughed and then said, “Good! That means means you’re ready.”

I signed up for the race one week earlier, and only made the decision to do the race about four days before that; total, a week and a half of lead time!  Why, you ask?  Well, simply put, I was INSPIRED! Over the course of the month leading up to the triathlon, I had the good fortune to spend time with three friends; all of them being women. One is a champion professional triathlete and an accomplished ultra-distance runner, another is five time Ironman finisher (including the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii), and has also qualified for and completed the Boston Marathon several times, and the other is veteran triathlete who is gearing up for her first Ironman 70.3 in a few months.

I was surrounded by these three strong, and equally motivated women, and their energy- their light, gave me the confidence to take on a triathlon.  I said to myself, “Why can’t I set a goal like them?”  This was enough to give me the “nudge” I needed. So, that was it.

I only told a few people. I “trained” for the week plus leading up to the race.  It’s wasn’t the most ideal training plan but that’s the way I decided to do it…

I am not a swimmer…my mother is.  I am not a cyclist but my husband and son are. However, I have run marathons so I do understand what it takes to push yourself; I know physical, and mental, preparation is paramount.  I have also watched many triathlons, albeit as the “Mud DUX!!!” team cheerleader. My husband and two of his good friends have formed their own triathlon team and call themselves the “Mud DUX!!! They are a “special” bunch.  So I had seen triathlons as a spectator… but doing one myself – not so much.

Most of my feelings leading up to the race were of pure excitement and joy.  The morning of the race I felt the nerves kick in…I knew enough to stay calm, stay cool and not waste precious energy on “nerves”. It was challenging, but I knew I needed to be mindful about being settled and at ease, or I could easily blow it and have nothing to work with.  Deep breathing, thinking positive thoughts, staying focused, all helped as I watched the other swimmers get into the river. Everyone was wearing their preassigned swim cap colors, which identified your age group category. I was with the red caps.

I knew letting myself get overly nervous did not serve me well at all…it was actually dangerous.  That said, as I got into the cold Greenfield Massachusetts river (with no wet suit, because I don’t own one!) the woman behind me said to herself, “OMG, I don’t know if I am ready for this!”  I could feel panic start to creep in, and I immediately told myself I didn’t need “that” feeling, so I intentionally moved away from that athlete. I knew I had options, a plan or a strategy. I would swim in the back of the pack and not let others negative thoughts or anxiety sabotage my race. I was going to swim MY swim.

The water was cold…really cold! I was shivering, but I was okay.  I stayed in a calm place, in “quiet water.” Having watched many other races, I knew that the swim can get chaotic very quickly. The first half of the swim was down stream and went well.  The second half of the swim was upstream and was significantly harder. Rounding the turn buoy and feeling the force of the current was slightly un-nerving. Again, I reached for those positive thoughts I had tucked away and pushed to finish the swim.  I saw, and heard, my family cheering me on from the beach; that helped immensely!

I was out of the water and taking off my swim cap and goggles.  This is something I have always thought was just amazing, completing one sport and then moving onto the next sport within minutes! And, here I was doing exactly that! I was also looking for my bike. Actually, I should clarify; I was looking for my 13 year old son’s road bike!  Yep, it was the one that fit the best…my husband’s bike was too big and I was too scared to even get on it!  So, there I was putting on my helmet, sun glasses and shoes…and then I made my first rookie mistake!  I hopped on the bike inside the transition area! A BIG “no-no” in triathlon! About three seconds later I realized my mistake and quickly got off my bike before any of the race officials saw me! I then walked to the bike mounting area and off I went.

Into the bike portion of the race I was hoping I could remember how the gears worked!! All those gears!!  My son and husband tried their best to explain them to me, but it just felt foreign and not logical. There are no “gears” on a horse!!!

I was still shivering from the swim and I remembered a conversation I had with another athlete shortly before the start of the race. We were standing in line for the port-o-potty making idle chitchat and she said, “Yeah, I used to do 1/2 marathons and then I thought I would give triathlons a try.”  To paraphrase, she continued by saying it’s great because once you’ve finished one sport you get to go on and try something else.  I remembered this as I was peddling, delighted to do something that enabled me to warm up from the cold swim.

It was a two loop course of 7.5 miles.  One initial hill, some flat and scenic country, and then a covered bridge followed by a steep switchback hill climb.  The first loop I felt strong and I passed people while climbing the hills, of all places!  One woman even said to me, as we found ourselves jockeying back in forth trying not to draft off one another (another big no-no in triathlons…with penalties) “You will always pass me on the hills.” As she said that, I giggled to myself thinking, okay, well, thanks for the confidence because this is my first time doing this!!

I made it around the first loop and began the second.  At that point I had a slight panic…I was getting thirsty and I realized I never practiced getting the bottle out of the bottle cage while riding! Yikes!  Another rookie mistake!  So, I very carefully pulled and then yanked it out of it’s very tight fit.  I got my sips of watered-down-gatorade and plugged away at the last hill, and finally into the run transition area.

This was also another moment I had always thought was incredibly cool!  Another transition!!  How did people do this?  Well, I was doing it!  I “racked” my bike, as they call it, and found my running gear, grabbed my water bottle and off I went.  At first, my legs felt eerily heavy, but okay.  It was all these new senses and feelings… both emotional and physical, which I realized I really enjoyed.  I had 3.1 miles of running ahead of me and this was where I felt like it all came together.  I watched many people struggle on the run and I knew this was it.  I remembered my husbands words, “The run either makes you or brakes you.”  So, I set out to get a solid and comfortable pace.  I was in my element, or at least the one I was most familiar with (of the three).  I encouraged people as I passed them saying, “great job” and “looking good,” all from my marathon days where encouraging others is just what you did.

And then it hit me!  I am actually doing this and I might even finish.  The motto of the race is “TO FINISH IS TO WIN.” As I rounded the last turn of the run a guy standing along the finish area said to me as I passed him, “You aren’t going to let those two guys behind you beat you to the finish are you?” So, I opened up my stride and kicked it to the finish line!!!

I met my family at the finishers shoot and loved every minute of it.  The hugs, the smiles and the photos.  It was a day to remember and none of it had to do with horses! Although, Maggie was on my mind…as always!

In the Company of Strangers: part 3

It’s not everyday that your Equine Partner goes missing!

Well, it happened to me two years ago when the snow was very deep and my electric fencing was inadequate; a recipe for disaster with two curious horses. My family and I decided to take the day to ski.  My husband received a call asking if he knew anyone who had missing horses in Putney…someone had reported that two horses were walking down Main street Putney.  Initially, the description didn’t match our horses color or size but the more information we learned the more it became clear that they were indeed ours!

Somehow, while we were gone, our two horses stepped over the electric fencing and made their way down into town.  It was snowing heavily.  At some point in their travels, in almost hip deep snow, they found their way onto Main street, walking past the Library and Bank.  At this point, two complete strangers took it upon themselves to find something quickly, to stop my escapees from meandering any further.  A man and woman (complete strangers to one another) pulled over in their cars and one of them found a belt to wrap around Maggie’s neck; the mastermind in the adventure.  Luckily, since my horses had no “identification” on them, nor halter or lead rope, they willingly let these two individuals lead them back to where they lived…again, thankfully it was snowing so they could follow the fresh “horse tracks,” otherwise they would have no way of knowing where the horses belonged or what to do with them.  These two strangers trekked back down the busy road and up into very deep snow with two 1200 pound animals they didn’t know anything about, nor how far they would have to take them. When they finally reached what they assumed was the barn, they got the horses safely into their stalls and found my mother in law who then drove them back to their idling cars and personal belongings. I learned later that not only did they leave their cars running with the keys in the ignition but they left their wallets too.

I write this for many reasons, but mostly to highlight the gratitude I have and had, back then, that two complete strangers took it upon themselves to bring back my “Equine Partner” and her side kick.

It should not go un-noticed that we live in a world where people still care and go out of their way to do what’s right and kind.  I was able to call and thank the gentleman who led Maggie home with his belt around her neck but not the woman who assisted him. She told my mother in law she didn’t need to be thanked and knew how grateful we would be.

My point: the world is still just and good and I have my partner back – so we can continue on our path of adventures together!

The Versatile Horse (part 2) – Finding the Right Partner

As a rider and instructor I am always looking for “that amazing horse,” …willing, able, easy-going, kind and talented.  And in that particular order, ideally.  By willing I mean…the horse says “sure I’ll give that a try, I trust you.”  Able, meaning does the horse have the physical capability and wherewithal to get over that log in the woods or carry a rider safely through a field at a trot.  Easy-going, meaning can the horse accept a change in its routine or a mistake made by a novice rider.  Talented is pretty self-explanatory – but basically does the horse have the physical prowess to perform within reason.

Well, my hope was that Maggie, pictured above, would have most, if not all of those qualities.  However, in the beginning of our journey I wasn’t so sure.  She was a handful (for a very short period of time) and I was encouraged by my good friend and her former owner that she was all of these and more.

Fast forward to today and the answer to that question is a for sure, yes!  But I didn’t really see it until about three years ago.  At that time, I decided to take up eventing.  Why?  Well, because I started to see that my horse was most-likely going to be an amazing teacher (even though she had never been anywhere near the eventing world).  It was also something that really scared me. But, with the “right partner” I knew we could figure it out and oh boy has it been fun!!

So here is where the Versatile horse (and rider) comes into play…3 phases, 3 tests and 3 ways to prove that yes you can do what you set your mind to!  Learning the art of dressage takes patience, fineness, and the finer details of flat work.  The stadium course takes fine tuning, balance and determination.  And lastly, the XC course takes bravery and guts!  And of all three, guess which one I enjoy the most?  Yep, the hardest and gutsiest – the galloping in a big open field with those ever-so intimidating fences – that I swore I would never do!!

So, as Maggie and I plug away at our new-found sport – my hope is that she can continue her versatile nature of trying all that is put in front of her and saying “yes, sure let’s do this!”