🦋🤍 Sibelius S 🤍🦋

Bred by @katrinbergling ❤️ Thank you for trusting me the reins for this handsome boy ✨🤍

🌸🤍 Magnolia's Valerie 🤍🌸

Back in December 2023 Mia went to Oliva, Spain, to participate in the last show of the year. Mia and Ballerine had qualified for the 1.25m finals, and ended up 1st in their class! ✨ Mia had her team with her; Olive to help taking care of Ballerine, Mia's mom and Ellie, and her trainer, Ryan O'Neil. They had some great days in Spain, and Ellie enjoyed watching the other classes with Mia and her nana. ❤️

@itssimplythesims

Happy (late) Valentine's 💗❤️✨

It's a blue kinda Sunday 💙✨

A new year, but first ...

Time moves fast, and right now I feel like it was only yesterday that we jumped into 2024, but.. January is already gone, and before we get too far into the new year, I want to do a quick recap on how 2023 went for our little team!

2023 has been a busy year for Mia. Luckily, Olive decided to join in with a helping hand, not only with the horses, but also with Ellie, which has been giving Mia a bit more time to focus on the training and the shows. A new Show Jumping Circuit showed its ‘face’ this year, which gave Mia a few more opportunities to travel with the horses. Candlelight is still a young horse, he’s only turning 7 this year, and with all the power he has inside his body (and mind), he still has a lot to learn. Mia has taken it slow with him this year and tried not to press him too much in the show arenas. He has lots of potential, but he needs some more routine before we want to move him up in the classes. During the spring-months Mia took both Ballerine and Candlelight to California and then next to Stockholm for the CWT Shows. Candlelight did some very good rounds, finishing 1st in his class in California and 3rd in Stockholm. Sadly, after returning home after both shows, we saw a bit of stress with Candlelight, and decided that he wouldn’t be joining us for the CTJL Monaco show at the end of summer. We want to take good care of our horses, and if that means that we are only bringing them for smaller, local shows, well, that’s what we will do. With Mia away for some of the bigger shows, Olive took over the daily training of Candlelight, which showed a big change in Candlelight’s behavior; Olive is a really talented rider, but she doesn’t have the biggest experiences as a show-rider, but seeing Candlelight changing from one big firecracker to a gentle giant with Olive, led to Mia making a decision to let Olive take over the reins full-time. Olive and Candlelight participated in a few local shows at the end of the year, and they actually finished 3rd in the local championship! We are so very proud of both of them, and Olive has already agreed on trying out for a few bigger shows this year, as long as they still stay in the lower levels.

Mia and Ballerine had a fantastic year! We started the year off with the CWT shows, where Ballerine finished 2nd in her classes in both California and Stockholm. At the end of the summer, Mia went to probably the biggest show of the year, the CTJL show in Monaco. Mia was filled up with nerves and almost started to reconsider why the heck she decided to be a show jumping rider, but during their final round, Ballerine showed her why by being the very best friend Mia could ever have wanted in her life. Ballerine was such a pro as always, keeping Mia safe, and did a flawless round, which brought them to the top of the podium in the 1.30m. class! 

With the new circuit this year, the Kuse Jumping Tour, running with qualifications during the whole year, Mia and Ballerine gathered enough points to qualify for the finals in December! This time Mia had backup from the whole team consisting of her mom and Ellie, Olive and her trainer, Ryan O’Neil. The team went to Oliva, Spain, for the finals - and what a wait to end the year; coming in 1st in their class, and ending in 2nd place on the class-leaderboard, and 7th place on the overall leaderboard for the KJT! We are so very proud, and we hope to see the KJT on the calendar again soon!

2023 also brought an extension to the team: Magnolia’s Valerie - our sweet young Hanoverian dressage-mare, bred by Mia’s aunt. Valerie joined our team back in the summer. In September, The Hanoverian Association hosted a wonderful Grading-show in Georgia, and since Georgia is also our home-base, Mia decided to take Valerie to the show. This was a huge success with Valerie being placed 1st in her division and awarded with the highest title possible - the Premium title! 

Since Mia is a former dressage rider, and was given the opportunity to get back in the dressage arenas with Valerie, Mia took a big chance at the end of the year. Valerie had only been in the stable for 4 months, but with the talent and huge improvements she showed every single day in their daily training, Mia decided to ‘go all or nothing’. Just before going to Oliva, Spain, for the KJT Finals with Ballerine, Mia entered the DWBCYH - Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses! The competition was held over a few days with a qualification round, and the Final where the new World Champion for 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old horses would be found. And what a show it turned out to be! Placing 1st in their qualification round with a score of 89.024% gave them a ticket straight into the Final round. Somehow Mia felt at peace before their round, and when their score was announced, the tears started to roll down her face: 93.902% - and winner of the title as World Champion for the 4 years old dressage horses! This score also turned out to be the only score during the whole show to be over 90%!

We are so pleased with how 2023 went - and with some small changes to the team-structure, and a new face, who will be introduced soon, we are more than ready to bring our A-game into 2024!

A big thank you to all the show hosts of the shows in 2023 - we have enjoyed participating in the shows, and we are hoping to see your shows again this year! Also a big thank you to the breeders of our horses - without your trust in us to take care of these amazing animals, we wouldn’t be where we are today! ❤️✨

@katrinbergling @calveroterranorasj @madiwx @plotsandplumbobs @itssimplythesims @equialitysims

✨❄️

Snowy days in Twinbrook ❄️☃️

Here: O'Neil Equestrian @itssimplythesims

*Thank you so much to @simmireen for letting me convert the snowman poses - they fit so perfect for Ellie and her best friends! ���

CTJL Monaco 2023 - Part 2

Monte Carlo, Monaco, The French Riviera, Europe - September 2023

The first few days in Monaco had been very chill and easy for Mia and Ballerine. Mia had given Ballerine lots of time to settle in at the showground, had been out for lots of hand-walks and just done some light jogging-sessions. The show was set to start in only a few days and you could really tell how big it was by the number of horses and people running around now. Everywhere you looked there were at least ten horses being groomed, taken in or out for the stables, hand-walked or on their way to the warm up- and training arenas. Anne and Ellie had joined Mia and Ballerine for almost everything they had been doing, but a few times Anne had gone back to the hotel so Ellie could get a nap.

The areas around the showground was slowly starting to take shape; food areas and shopping areas were popping up all over the place and a lot of different equestrian companies were attending with small shops - and of course, it was Monaco, so also a few more exclusive brands such as Gucci and Hermés had brought their equestrian collection to the show. Mia and Anne had spent an afternoon walking around and looked at the first few shops that had opened up already, but Mia knew they would be spending a lot more time during the next few days.

The show schedule was packed with lots of different events; Polo matches, Opening and Closing ceremonies, a Charity Auction and a Mare & Foal Inspection with also an auction. Mia and Anne had agreed on going to the Polo matches with Ellie, and Mia was also going to attend the Opening Ceremony which also included a Luncheon. 

The weekend before the show week was a few smaller classes, and Mia had signed up for a 1.20m. class as a warm-up round and to also let Ballerine familiarize with the big arena. She would be entering in the 1.30m. class with a qualification round Tuesday morning and the finals on Wednesday afternoon. 

Ballerine had been a tense ticking bomb just waiting to explode in the 1.20m. warm up class. She’d had a hard time finding her focus in the big arena. They had been in some big arenas before, but something about this one was just different and Mia couldn’t really tell what it had been about it. Mia had done a light jog with Ballerine the following day to make sure the mare wasn’t stressing too much. 

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Mia had been up early on Tuesday morning to get over to the stable tents and feed Ballerine before taking her out for a short walk. Their starting time in the qualification round was at 10:35 am, and Mia had taken her time to let Ballerine have an easy morning. Anne and Ellie had joined Mia at the stable around 8:30 when Mia had just finished braiding Ballerine. Ellie had - as always - been very excited to help out grooming Ballerine even though she could only reach up to Ballerine’s belly. Ballerine had enjoyed the attention from both Mia, Ellie and Anne and felt a lot calmer when Mia took her to the warm up arena. “Just take your time and don’t put too much pressure on yourself in the warm up,” Anne had said when Mia had started. Anne had always been with Mia when she was out competing and had been standing 100s of times on the sideline during the warm up. Mia nodded and decided to just follow Ballerine’s mood and only take a few jumps. There had been a lot of horses and riders in the arena, and Mia had started to feel the tension in Ballerine again just as they were called for from the main arena. “Breath, focus, and let her do her job.” Anne had picked up Ellie and walked beside Mia and Ballerine on their way to the arena. “I know, I know,” Mia had answered, a bit more tense than what she meant to be. Anne smiled up at her, and just as Mia and Ballerine were about to enter the arena for their qualification, Ellie had started to giggle. Mia couldn’t help but let out a sigh and a laugh and let Ballerine enter the arena.

Their round was great! Mia had let Ballerine take control of the distances and had kept her in a relaxed form. They could have been faster during the round, but the most important thing had been to let Ballerine have a good round. Ballerine had felt way less tense and felt like she had been enjoying it a bit more than last time. Mia smiled and gave the mare a pet on the neck on their way out of the arena where they were greeted by a clapping Ellie. “Good job! She looked much more comfortable today” Anne smiled and gave Ballerine a treat. “She was! I just hope we weren't too slow” Mia laughed and reached down to hug Ballerine before entering the warm up arena again. Mia let Ballerine canter around the fence of the arena and then took her back to walk and rode out of the arena to take Ballerine for a hack around the showground for their cooldown. 

Mia, Anne and Ellie had spent the rest of the day exploring Monte Carlo and the streets of Monaco. It was such a nice place and even though it was already Mid-September, you could still feel the summer heat.

Wednesday was the big day; The final of the 1.30m. class. Mia and Ballerine had placed as number 18 out of 65 riders in the qualification - only a single penalty due to the time, but other than that a clear round. Mia, Anne and Ellie had spent the morning watching the Six-Bar Challenge, but after a while, Ellie’s patience had run out. They had then gone over to the stables to get Ballerine ready for the class later in the afternoon. Just before lunch they had gone back to the hotel for a few hours rest.

“Do you want anything else?” Anne smiled at Mia as they walked towards the stable tents. Anne had just offered to run over to get them something to drink. The weather was so hot today.  “Just water, I think” Mia replied, “oh! and maybe a crêpe if the line isn’t too long, please”. “Why did I even ask?” Anne let out a laugh and changed her direction towards the ‘food-court’ area near the main arena. Mia and Ellie had continued towards the stable tents when a woman had stopped Mia to smalltalk about Ellie, which had resulted in Ellie running off into one of the stabletents. Mia had started to run after her, but there had been so much activity inside the stable tent that she couldn’t find Ellie right away.

“Alex, who’s child is that?!”“I don’t know”“What do you mean you don’t know?”

Mia had followed the voices of a woman and a man, and when she looked around a corner she had seen Ellie sitting on the floor in front of a stall, playing with some brushes that definitely did not belong to her. Mia had gone over and apologized for Ellie’s mess, but the man had just smiled and told her not to worry about it. 

“You can’t do that. You can’t just run away and go through other people’s stuff. That is not ours. We need to clean this up, ok?” Mia squatted down in front of Ellie and pointed at the brushes laying all over the ground. “I’ll clean it up, it’s fine. Don’t worry, nothing happened.” The man kindly smiled at Mia and Ellie. “I'm so sorry about this. Thank you.” Mia smiled at the man and reached out her hand to take Ellie’s, “Come on, we have to get Ballerine ready”. Ellie’s face lit up in a big smile as she carefully stepped over one of the brushes on the ground and followed her mom, but before they got too far away, Ellie stopped and turned towards the man and waved with her little hand: “Bye!”. Mia couldn’t help but smile and picked up Ellie to bring her outside and over to Ballerine’s stable, “Come on you”.

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The warm up went really well. There had been two arenas in use for the warm up before the finale which had increased the number of horses in each arena. It had been easier to take it slow and easy without being in the way of others, and Ballerine had been much more relaxed without all the horses around her. The sun was high in the sky and due to the warm weather Mia had decided to do her round without her jacket on to not get a heatstroke. Mia and Ballerine were one of the last ones in their class, and as they entered the arena there were only a few riders who had been doing a clear round. She had heard multiple of those who had already been riding in the class talking about how difficult the course was. Mia had walked through the course just before the start and the class and had been taking her time to look at where they might get into trouble. 

With two riders left before her turn, Mia left the warm up arena and went to wait outside the main arena. Ballerine was standing completely still and just looked around with her ears pinned forward while Mia went through the course in her head again. The rider before them finished his round and gave Mia a nod on his way out of the arena, “Good luck!”. Mia smiled slightly and gave Ballerine the signal to start cantering and entered the arena. Mia gave the mare a light pet on the neck and went around the arena before the bell rang. “Let’s do this, B,” Mia whispered and rode Ballerine towards the first obstacle. 

Mia looked over her shoulder at the last fence. She had heard Ballerine scratch the top pole, but it stayed in place. She then heard the crowd cheering and clapping and before she could think she reached down to give Ballerine a big hug. Ballerine had just given her their best round ever. The mare had felt confident, calm and balanced, and had performed so well. They had had only one turn where they had been a bit too close to the fence, but Ballerine had somehow managed to save it round by stretching out over the fence. Mia went for the exit of the arena and was greeted by Anne and Ellie, both full of joy, cheering and excitement.

Mia had been trotting around in the warm up arena when the last rider went into the main arena. A few moments later she heard the crowd cheering again and looked over at Anne sitting with Ellie on her lap and her phone in her hand. Anne had been following the last riders on the livestream to see how they were doing and where Mia and Ballerine would end up. She then stood up with a big smile and started to jump with Ellie in her arms. Mia had been riding a clear round in a great time, but this could only mean one thing; She had also had the best time of all the finalists! The speaker confirmed it shortly after by calling out the names of the placed riders of the class - with Mia and Ballerine placing first.

Later that night, after the prize giving ceremony and after Ballerine was all set and back in her stall with lots of hay, carrots and other treats, Mia, Anne and Ellie went out for dinner. Mia had been calling home to tell both her dad, Olive and Ryan about their round. And now - now she was tired and ready to go home in a few days..

Yoga time 🧘🏻‍♀️🤸🏻‍♀️

Mia & Ellie - always starting the day out doing a few stretches 😊✨

@itssimplythesims 🤭

CTJL Monaco 2023 - Part I

Twinbrook, Georgia, USA & Monte Carlo, Monaco, Europe - beginning of September 2023.

Mia looked around at the bags and suitcases. She had checked everything at least four or five times now, but somehow something still felt like it was missing. “Everything all right?” Her dad looked at her from the door into her office where everything was placed until the departure. “I think so," Mia answered. “You look worried.” “No, I’m fine. I just… I feel like I’m missing something.” Mia looked at him with a frustrated smile. Peter let out a little laugh and planted a hand on her shoulder. “Have you made a list? And checked everything off - twice?” Mia couldn’t help but smile. Her dad did in fact know her too well sometimes. “I did. But..” “Let me see it,” Peter smiled and held out a hand to take the list from Mia. She gave it to him and sat down on the couch standing against the window-wall. Peter looked at the list, “ah, yeah, I see what you are missing”. Mia looked up, “what?”. “Ballerine”. Peter laughed. Mia couldn’t help but start to laugh as well, “Ha ha, funny dad”. Peter smiled at his daughter and took place in the office chair behind Mia’s desk. “Everything is going to be alright, just remember to breathe and have fun. You got this, and Ballerine got this. That horse will always have your back, don’t forget that.” Mia smiled, slightly. Her dad was right. She worried about something that wasn’t even a thing to worry about - at least not right now.

The last few weeks had been a bit crazy for Mia. Everything that had happened with the new house, the renovation, the horses… right now it was just one big blur inside Mia’s head, and every time she tried to focus, the anxiety kicked in. Mia had looked forward to this for the last six months. Everything was planned to perfection, and she was more than ready to just go. At least if you asked everyone else than her. Mia had started on an intensive training-schedule with the help of Ryan, and so far Ballerine had been the best Mia had ever felt during training. Yesterday they had their last training with Ryan before the departure for Europe tomorrow. But something still felt wrong. She wasn’t ready. Not at all. It felt like everything had changed within only a few weeks. Ali had been gone all summer for a modeling job in New York and London, and a few years ago Ali had said that she would most likely stay in Europe for a few more months. Mia had been thrilled on Ali’s behalf, but since Ali often helped out with both Ellie and the horses, Mia suddenly had way too many things to do at once. But as if someone was watching over her, a familiar face had reached out to Mia to ask for her help - and to also help Mia out; Olive Taylor.

Mia had known Olive for almost 10 years, maybe even more. Olive had been best friends with Logan’s sister, and had always had a big interest in Mia’s riding career when Mia and Logan had been dating. Olive had the biggest love for horses that Mia had ever seen. It had always felt bigger than her own love for horses. At the same time, Olive had always looked up to Mia, seen her as her icon, and even though it had felt a bit weird and annoying to have a thirteen year old trying to be you, Mia had always cared for Olive and their common interest for horses. Olive had reached out after returning to the States a few months ago. She had been working and living in Europe the last few years as a mix of an au pair and a groom with an european dressage rider. Now she was back in the States, in need of a job and a hope to get into riding again - how perfect could it be? 

Mia had invited Olive to Twinbrook a few weeks ago to catch up and have a talk about how Olive looked at her future. Olive had taken the first flight out of New York and arrived the next day. The two girls had a good time catching up, and after a few days - and a talk and some advice from her parents - Mia had offered Olive to be her ‘assistant’, which meant helping out with the horses and with Ellie. Olive had returned to New York to pack up her stuff and had started working for Mia the next week. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

“Dinner is almost ready.” Mia looked up from the couch. She had been sitting in the office for the last couple of hours, first talking to her dad, and then going through every single thing once again. It had ended up with her falling asleep on the couch. Her mom smiled from the door and right behind her was the sound of a happy, light giggle. “Mommy, Uni!” Ellie came running in with her favorite teddy in her hands. Of course! Uni is the missing piece! Mia thought right away when looking at the Unicorn-teddy. Mia smiled at Ellie. “Come on you, let’s go.” Ellie giggled and ran out of the office again with Mia and Anne following along. Peter was about to get the last few things done before they could all sit down and eat together, just as planned, and just as they all loved to do.

The next morning Mia and Anne arrived at the stable early - and for one of the first times also before Ryan who normally always arrived first. Mia went in and started to get everything out into the horse truck. Some of the horses started to make a fuzz but quickly realized that Mia wasn’t going to bring them their breakfast. Soon after both Ryan and the stablehand arrived. “Are you ready to go?” Ryan quickly asked before starting to get the first horse of the day ready. “Yep, all set. I just need to get Ballerine ready and then we are off.” “Text me when you get there, so I know the flight went well for her”. Mia smiled and rolled her eyes at him when he turned around and went into the tack room, “I saw that”. Mia let out a laugh and grabbed the shipping boots and the halter outside Ballerine’s stall. “Hey you, are you ready to go?” She reached into her pocket and gave Ballerine one of the snacks she had put in there. Ballerine turned around towards her with her ears pointed forward and slowly took the treat from Mia’s reach-out-palm. “Good girl.” Mia placed the halter on Ballerine and started to place the shipping boots on the mare’s legs. She gave Ballerine a pet on the neck and a kiss on her pink nose. “You are the best girl, you know that right?” She hugged the mare and went out the stall to do the last check before it was time to load Ballerine into the truck with the help from her mom.

At exactly 7:30 am Mia and Anne left O’Neil Equestrian with Ballerine loaded in the truck. A  seven hour trip to Miami has started. The plan was all set for the next few days; Today Mia and Olive would drive Ballerine to Miami International Airport, which was one of four places in the US that was specialized in transporting horses by flight. After dropping off Ballerine, the girls would go back to Twinbrook, and tomorrow Peter would take Anne, Mia and Ellie to the Bridgeport International Airport where the three girls would be flying to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and from there to Nice, France, where a car from the hotel they were staying at would be waiting for them to go to Monaco. The trip for Ballerine was a bit longer, since she would be flying from Miami to Frankfurt, Germany, and from there be loaded on a truck with other horses from the US which were going to compete at the same event as Mia and Ballerine. The flight from Bridgeport to Nice would take approximately 11 hours. Mia and Anne had planned to fly at night, mostly to make it easier for Ellie. Peter would go back to New York during the two weeks the girls would be away, and Olive would take care of everything back home in Twinbrook.

Olive had offered to join Mia on the trip to Miami, which also meant that the other horses were given a day off. Olive had been helping Mia with some light work with the horses, mostly groundwork and some light training or hacking out. Mia had been a bit nervous in the beginning, but it was very clear that Olive enjoyed the grooming and getting the horses ready for Mia to train. Olive was a big help, and she was such a sweet girl. Mia could see a lot of herself in Olive, which was a little scary, but also very nice to have an unspoken connection to someone who somehow always understood what you meant or wanted to do. The two girls had a lot of fun on the drive down to Miami. They only had one stop to check up on Ballerine. Arriving at the airport, they were met by a member of the company who was responsible for the care-taking of Ballerine during the flight and transportation to Monaco. Mia had been using the same company for the last 14 years - and somehow she always was able to get the same ‘groom’ to take care of her horse. “Hey Ben! Thank you so much for this again!” Mia had a big smile on her face when getting out of the truck. “No worries!" The man in front of her gave her a big hug and went on to help unboarding Ballerine from the truck. Mia had known Ben since the first time she had gone to Europe with a horse - at that time it was O’Malley. O’Malley had never really been a huge fan of the Europe-trips, but Ben had always had a calm and positive influence on the big horse, and Mia felt more than comfortable to leave Ballerine in Ben’s care. “Hello beautiful,” Ben went into Ballerine and took charge of everything from there. “I will keep in touch with you for every step. Right now it looks like we will arrive in Monaco on Sunday morning and have her installed at the show ground for you” Ben told while leading Ballerine into the departure stables. The flight was scheduled for tomorrow noon, Friday the 1st of September. The show in Monaco wasn’t going to start before Sunday the 10th of September. That gave Mia and Ballerine a week to settle in and hopefully get over the worst part of the jetlag. “Great! I’m arriving in Monaco Saturday evening with my mom, so I think we will be there when you arrive,” Mia smiled..

After unpacking the truck and closing up, Mia and Olive made a last check on Ballerine, and then headed back for the seven hour drive back to Twinbrook.

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The flight from Bridgeport to Nice felt faster than it really was. Ellie had been such a star on the flight and had just fallen asleep shortly after take-off. Mia had always loved flying, some of the joy about it may come from flying First Class. After having Ellie she had started to feel the looks from the other passengers at the gate and when boarding - those looks that said ‘great, a crying kid for the next 10 hours’ - Sure she had given them herself before she got Ellie - but Ellie had somehow got the same joy of flying as Mia had. Ellie loved it when she was awake and was just a big bundle of joy and giggles for the other passengers. And most of the time she was actually just sleeping. Arriving at Nice, Anne took care of their hand luggage and Ellie and Mia grabbed the suitcases from the baggage belt before heading out to the arrival hall. They were quickly met by a chauffeur that led them to their car and took care of the luggage. The Nice weather was lovely with a sunny sky and the Mediterranean late-summer feeling. The trip from the airport in Nice to the beautiful hotel in Monte Carlo took half an hour. The chauffeur was polite, asking what their business for their visit was. He seemed genuinely interested and excited in the show. It was a big event for the population of Monaco. Mia felt the nerves getting back, but after getting into their hotel room and starting to unpack, everything felt more comfortable again. 

Mia, Anne and Ellie spent most of the afternoon at the hotel pool before having dinner at the hotel. Ben had texted Mia earlier in the day that the flight had went very well, and that they would start on the drive to Monaco later in the evening. Mia, Anne and Ellie went to bed early so Mia could get to the showground before Ballerine arrived. The next morning Mia went over to the stable area - a short drive for only 10 minutes By foot it would take them approximately half an hour, since they could walk through some of the pedestrian areas of the town. Mia just arrived at the same time as the trucks started to roll into the area. Mia had been down here yesterday for a quick look and to collect their access passes, while Anne had taken care of Ellie. She had arranged that Anne and Ellie would come over later in the day, but for now she would have to take care of Ballerine.

The horses were quickly unboarded by the crew members and installed into their designated stalls in the many stable tents. A lot of the stalls were still empty but Mia was sure it was only a matter of time before they would all be filled within the next two or three days. Ballerine looked a bit tired of the long trip, but as always she had her ears pinned forward when Mia was near her. Mia quickly got everything set up - the stall curtain was hung on the front of the stall to give Ballerine some privacy. Mia changed Ballerine’s transportation-halter to one of her own, placed the show number on it, and led Ballerine outside for a walk. She had been standing still for lots of hours, so Mia had to make sure to have her out. The show ground was huge - multiple smaller arenas for warm up and training during the days, the big Main Arena with a fantastic view to Port Hercule right next to it, and lots of things to look at for the audience and VIPs. Ballerine was a bit tense but followed Mia as they walked around. It was a good decision to arrive a week before so Ballerine could get lots of time to settle into the surroundings and energy of the competition grounds. 

After having Ballerine out for an hour of hand-walk and grazing, Mia let Ballerine rest in her stall and met up with Anne and Ellie to take a better look at the showgrounds. This was most likely the biggest event Mia had been to during her short show jumping career. She had been to a lot of different competitions around Europe and the US with O’Malley, but something felt so different with this event. And the nerves? They had quickly changed to excitement. 

The Summer of ‘23

A recap from May to August 2023

The summer months had gone quicker than expected, and then again - every year it felt the same when fall started knocking on the door. A lot of things have happened in the last six months. It still felt like yesterday that Mia celebrated her 30th birthday, having Logan showing up unexpectedly, and sent him back to LA a few days later. Ellie had enjoyed the visit from her father, even though it had been short and awkward. Luckily, she didn’t know.

Mia had been planning the summer months since last fall, planning for the competitions to come, and for the training of the horses. Shortly after Logan had left, Mia had entered a show in California at the end of April with Ballerine and Candlelight. Mia had debuted Candlelight in their first 1.25m. class. She hadn’t really been sure if they were ready for the class yet, even though they trained at this level at home, but they ended up placing 1st in a strong group. For Ballerine, Mia had entered the 1.35m. class, placing 2nd.

Everything had been going after the plans until mid-May when her landlord had shown up by her door and told her the house would be put up for sale and that she had until the end of July to move out. She had found herself on her way to Stockholm, Sweden, with Ballerine and Candlelight, with the possibility of actually coming home to.. no home? 

Her parents, Anne and Peter, as the wonderful and supporting parents they always had been, had offered her to help out while being away. Anne had joined Mia for the Scandinavia-trip - to help out with the horses and Ellie during Mia’s classes - and Peter had stayed back to look into the real estate market in and around Twinbrook to look at the few options Mia might have. Before leaving for Stockholm, Mia had spent a few days in New York with her parents, talking about the options of staying in Twinbrook, or moving back to New York to be closer to Anne and Peter. For now, New York wasn’t an option; they had all been agreeing to that. And then the next question popped up; should she rent another house with the possibility of standing without a roof over her head again within the next few years, or, should she spent the money she didn’t have to buy a house in a town that was known for its old money and houses costing more than she could afford on her own?

The trip to Stockholm was a great learning success for both Mia and the two horses; Mia had entered Candlelight in his second 1.25m. class, ending 3rd. Candlelight had been a good boy and seemed like he enjoyed being away for a bigger show, than the more local ones they had entered until now. For Ballerine, Mia had entered the 1.35m. class again, ending in second place, and Ballerine had behaved like a Pro - as always. She was such a great learning partner for Mia, always easy to navigate around the course and always so easy to bring along to shows. Mia had been having a good few days with her mom, Ellie and the horses, and when going home, her mom had sent them off home before she went to Copenhagen, Denmark, to visit her aunt.

Back in Twinbrook, Mia had the horses settled into their home again. She had decided to give both horses a break over the summer after attending two bigger shows during the last months. While being away, Peter had found a few options for Mia to look into. He had joined her when she went to look at a few houses for rent - one outside of Twinbrook, and one very close to the Town Square. Both houses had potential in their own ways, but none of them had been giving Mia that ‘homey’-feeling she wanted. One day, on her way home from O’Neil’s, Mia had suddenly stopped outside of a house. She had been driving this way many times before, but she had never really seen this house before. It was almost surrounded with a taller hedge to keep nosey looks out from the backyard, and at the front of the house was a small porch with beautiful flowers in front. After sitting in her car for a few minutes looking at the house, an older woman approached Mia, asking if she could help with something. Mia had quickly apologized and left, embarrassing for just sitting there looking at the house. Mia had tried to get rid of the feeling that she couldn’t explain about seeing the house, but something about it kept crawling back into her mind. A few days later, Mia had driven by again - and this time stopped to look at the ‘For Sale’-sign standing in front of the house. Had it been a sign? Was someone trying to tell her something the other day?

Mia had called her dad the same evening and told him about the house. Peter had reached out to the realtor the next day, but the realtor had quickly rejected him. There had already been over 20 people interested in seeing the house since it had been put up for sale the day before, and even if they had been able to look at the house, it had been way over the budget Mia had in mind. Mia felt lost. Something about the house had made her feel like this was the house that was meant for her and Ellie to stay in Twinbrook. A few days went by, and each day Mia drove by the house on her way home from the stable - mostly to let her little dream and that little hope stay alive… until it wasn’t. The ‘For Sale’ sign had changed just after a week. The house was sold. And the realtor hadn’t returned to her dad. It was over. The house was sold, gone, and now she had to get back into looking for a new home.

Mia had spent almost a week being moody and trying to get the idea out of her mind when her parents had come by for a visit. It wasn’t unusual for them to come by in the middle of a week - her mom did it all the time to help with Ellie - but it wasn’t as often that her dad joined. He had business to attend back in New York, so the visit had been a bit of a surprise for Mia. But hey? Ellie got to spend time with one of her favorite persons in her little world; her granddad. 

One evening, Anne and Peter had invited Mia out for an early dinner in downtown Twinbrook. They had brought Ellie along - hence the early dinner - and they had all had a good time. On the way home, Peter made a wrong turn, making Mia a bit annoyed, since they had to get home and get Ellie to bed. Her irritation had stopped in the same second they pulled up and parked in front of… the house. “What are we doing here?” Mia had looked at her dad, “Well, we talked.. And.. You need to do a lot before you can move in, but - it’s yours if you still want it”. “What are you talking about?!” Mia had almost jumped up into the ceiling of her dad’s car. Both of her parents had just smiled at each other, and it wasn’t until Peter had physically put the keys into Mia’s hands that she believed what they were telling her. Mia went inside to see the house - it was very clear that it was an elderly couple who had lived here. Everything was pretty outdated, and her dad had not been wrong about how much that needed to be done on the house to fit into what Mia wanted, but.. the house was hers!

The next few weeks went by pretty fast. Mia spent most of her time talking to an interior designer to get the work started. Luckily, the interior designer was the daughter of one of Anne and Peter’s good friends, and she quickly catched on to what Mia wanted to do with the house. And then the renovation started.

At the mid to end of June, Mia got a call from her aunt Lena. Like Logan, Lena lived in California, just outside of Logan, at a beautiful farm where she bred some amazing dressage horses with some of the best bloodlines from around Europe. Some would say that Lena might have been the reason for Mia to get into the more professional part of the equestrian world, even though Anne would say that it was because of both of the sisters' love for horses. Lena had invited Mia and Ellie to her home for a few weeks during the summer. Mia had always loved visiting her aunt and the beautiful farm, and when Lena had told about a project she had in mind, Mia had bought the tickets for a few days later.

Lena had picked up Mia and Ellie from the airport. It was the first time for Lena to spend a longer period of time with Ellie. Lena had never been able to have kids herself, so the horses had been her kids instead, which had also given Lena and her husband, James, a great opportunity to follow Lena’s dream of being one of the best breeders in the world. Lena had been able to breed some top performance horses over the years and she had had more than a dozen young horses qualified for the Young Dressage Horses World Championship in Europe during the years, and even a couple of horses competing in both the World Cups and the Olympics. It was also Lena who had bred Mia’s former Grand Prix-dressage horse, O’Malley, that had made Mia able to compete at some of the biggest Junior and Young Rider competitions. After losing O’Malley, Mia had bought Ballerine and changed her focus to Show Jumping, but she missed having a dressage horse. A few years ago, just before Mia got pregnant with Ellie, Lena had offered Mia one of her fillies to fill in for O’Malley. But sadly, the filly, Catwalk, had had an injury as a youngster, and since the injury had been to the mare's neck, Mia and Lena had been agreeing on not to put Catwalk into work and instead letting her be a broodmare for Lena. But now, Lena had a new plan, and for that she had to get Mia to California.

Mia and Ellie had been enjoying their stay with Lena and James. And Lena’s plan had worked just as she had wished for. Back when Lena had called Mia, she had told her about her main rider, Denise, quitting due to her moving to Europe with her fiancé. Lena had been feeling a bit frustrated since she then needed to find a new rider for the active competition horses and the younger ones at the farm. But since that wasn’t just something you would do from one day to another, Lena needed someone to take over the reins of a very special horse that stood her heart very near. And for that Lena had immediately thought of Mia.

The horse was a 4 years old Hanoverian mare, bred by Lena and James, and out of the most successful of Lena’s mares; the same dam as Catwalk. The mare, Magnolia’s Valerie, or as they just called her in the barn, Valerie, had already shown her huge talent under Denise. There was only just one problem; Lena wouldn’t let just anybody into the saddle of the mare. Mia had been a bit anxious about Lena’s plan. Knowing her aunt and how she was with the horses that meant just that extra to her, and the fact that Mia had chosen to focus on show jumping over dressage for the last couple of years, it was not without nerves Mia got ready to take the reins after seeing Denise riding the young mare. Valerie had shown off her great temper and gaits - oh lord, that horse could move! - already during the warm up. And it was easy to forget that she was only still 4 years old when watching her dancing around the sunny arena. Denise let Mia take the reins and stood on the ground while Mia mounted the mare. It didn’t take more than a few minutes in the saddle for Mia to fall in love with Valerie. It was like getting a deja vú to why Mia had been falling in love with dressage all those years ago. Mia had a few rides on Valerie in the following days, and soon the agreement was made between Lena and Mia; Mia was the new rider of Valerie, and in just a few weeks Valerie would arrive in Twinbrook.

Mia and Ellie went back to Twinbrook after a week with Lena and James, and a one-day visit with Logan in Los Angeles. It wasn’t with great pleasure that Mia went to visit Logan and his wife, Catharina. But she did it for Ellie. And that was the most important thing. Back home a lot was happening. The new house was changing each day, and Mia soon started to pack up everything from the old house. And soon the big days came; Mia and Ellie moved into the house - which looked like a completely different house except for the outside walls - at the end of July. The working-crew had done an amazing job with the house! The backyard had actually been in really good shape, but the patio and the pool had needed an update; the pool had gotten all new tiles - dark gray and black tones to get some kind of exclusive feeling instead of some old sun-bleached turquoise tiles - and the patio had gotten a whole new wood-deck. The biggest updates was done to the inside of the house; downstairs was a totally new open-kitchen with a big kitchen island in the middle and a small cozy dining spot, a combined living/dining room in the middle of the house with the most beautiful fireplace Mia had seen in a long time, a smaller living room next to the kitchen ready to invite you in for the cozy fall and winter evenings, all snuggled up on the big couch in front of the TV. And then also Mia’s new office with big windows between the office and the combined living/dining room. On the first floor, the workers had demolished all the walls and made 3 rooms; the master bedroom with direct access to a big walk-in-closet. Just as Mia had wanted. Then Ellie’s new bedroom and a guest room - which of course would be “Ali’s room”, as it also had been in the old house. 

Mia spent as much time as possible to get everything in order in the new house, but a new, major event came closer for each day: the biggest event of the year - the CTJL show in Monaco. The event would run in September, and since it would be a very big event, Mia had decided to only enter Ballerine. That meant a longer summer-break for Candlelight, lots of time for Valerie to settle in and have a break from the training, and that Ballerine and Mia had lots of training to do before their departure to a once in a lifetime-adventure… ✨

ℌ𝔞𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔢𝔫 𝔞𝔱 𝔒'𝔑𝔢𝔦𝔩 𝔈𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔞𝔫

ft. Magnolia's Valerie 🧡

Magnolia's Valerie posing for the Halloween Decoration Contest at O'Neil Equestrian. 🎃👻🤭 Mia had lots of fun decorating - not all horses were as excited (not mentioning any names, *cough Ballerine*), but Valerie was very curious about what the heck all the fuzz was about. I bet you could throw a blanket over her head and dress her up as a Ghost and she would just follow you blindly around🤭🧡

First 'Holiday' in the new house! 🎃👻🍂

Since moving into their new house a couple of months ago, Mia have been very excited about the coming of fall and with that also Halloween! Fall is almost a mood for Mia with all the beautiful red and orange colors, and so is Halloween with all the decor - both scary and cute-scary. This year is more of a 'Cute-Scary Halloween', and the girls have had so much fun setting up the front porch of the new house.

Now it's time to find all the blankets and big sweaters and to get ready for snuggle-time at the couch with lots of movies! 🍂🧡

Happy Spooky Season to all! 🎃👻

Spooky Day is coming sooner than you think 🎃🖤🐈‍⬛🍂

ft. Mia Falkner as Wednesday Addams

October is here! 🍁🍂🎃🧡

A little 🤠-shoot with Mia today! Had so much fun with this theme! Also - I'm completely in love with @rollo-rolls newly converted Ariel hairstyle! Thank you so much for this! It's totally gonna be my new favorite for Mia!