Neglect. Apologies

So my friends, it has been awhile(yet again) since I have updated my blog. I apologize.
BUT, there has been A LOT going on since I last filled yall in, so lets get down to it.

MY PARENTS CAME TO VISIT!(rand too, but.....just kidding, That was fun too!)
My mom and dad came to visit at the end of February and stayed for 8 days! My brother flew in from Minsk for 3 days. It was so amazing to have the family together again! It has been a while since we were all in one place at one time.
We did some traveling and a lot of eating, you know us! They got to meet all my friends and co-workers, the horses, and see what my life is like over here. I took them to my favorite places(mostly restaurants) and showed them around Dusseldorf and Köln, my stomping ground! They got to see me ride some horses and filmed some too, sooooo videos coming soon, I promise.
It was a very exhausting week, I think I slept for 3 or 4 hours the whole time they were here.
It was hard to say goodbye but was happy they got to come and see how everything is and that everything is going well.
Can NOT wait for them to come back!

RAND IS GETTING MARRIED. wait, stop the bus.... WHAT!!!!!! (i know, cra-crazy!!!)
I am so unbelievably happy and proud of my brother for making this commitment to this beautiful wonderful girl, Alla.
I LOVE HER! She is so cool and perfect for him. She is the only person I have ever met that can keep Rand Mason on a leash. And trust me, that is one heck of a feat. The wedding is planned for this summer, so I will definitely be coming stateside for a least a few weeks then! I am so excited about everything I can't sit still!

On a more low-key note, work is going great. Riding some fabulous horses and of course still learning a ton everyday. I started to ride a new horse a few weeks ago and have totally fallen in love with her! She is a HUGE Oldenburg mare, dark livery chestnut(thats a color, not a disgusting food item, for you non-horse people) with huge beautiful movement. She is 5 years old and just wonderful. Liking all the adjectives?!? She is a true pleasure to work with.
My trainer/boss, Johan, has been doing a lot of showing on his International Grand Prix horse, Question de Liberté. The show season is really starting to begin and I can already tell things are going to get crazy around here! wish me luck.
I wont be doing any showing in the near future but there is promise for this summer or a little later!



Move over Apollo Anton Ohno, Brazil is in the house! Brazilian Olympic team rider, and long time student of Mr. Zagers, Luisa Almeida moved into the stable for a week to prepare for the FEI World Cup in 's Hertogenbosch last week. She and her Lusitano stallion Samba are awesome! So friendly and humble. It was great to talk to someone that has already started to live my dreams! I learned a lot about that level of competition.

So life has been crazy as you can see. We lost a rider here at the stable, so the work has been extra hard and even more tiring. But we are sticking in there! Tonight we are going in to downtown Dusseldorf to go party a little! Dancing it up german style!
It is refreshing to go out and be normal young people sometimes. We are always working so the break is much enjoyed!

I can't tell if I'm forgetting something....... If I am, it must not be that important.
I'll try not to not update my blog for another 3 months again.... I promise!

Thats all for now folks!
-John

The future is always beginning now. ~Mark Strand, Reasons for Moving