RooReport – The Final Countdown

That title gives me a little smirk.

At Skydive Danielson, it’s tradition to play “The Final Countdown” when the last “work” load of the day gets scheduled. It means the finish line is in sight.

Sometimes the song signals relief from weird weather, cranky customers, and chaos. Other days, when everything is clicking, it feels like a victory lap. Either way, it means we’re in the final push to get the job done.

Right now, the Go Retta Roo team is in the final countdown for heading across the ocean.

47 Things In Exactly the Right Order

After the staycation, things got busy. Then busier. Then whatever comes after busier.

Shipping a horse internationally isn’t exactly like tossing a tent in the truck and heading off for a long weekend. There are health papers, freight schedules, customs forms, packing lists, gear decisions, backup plans, backup plans for the backup plans, and roughly 47 things that all have to happen in exactly the right order.

In between all of that, I’ve had this little “oh, by the way” side project: getting a new prosthetic leg built. That’s normally something that takes days and hours of undivided focus squeezed into the margins. But I’d rather not hobble around Europe on a prosthesis that makes my residual limb look like an apple that rolled down 3 flights of stairs.

We’ll put the final tweaks in on Monday. Tuesday, I’ll be in the truck driving Loretta and all of her accessories to JFK in New York. I guess the new leg gets a proper trial by fire.

Rebuilding the Engine

Way more important—and a whole lot more fun—has been getting Loretta ready to compete at the highest level of our sport.

Dressage has been the big focus.

Somewhere in the noise of this past season, I think we drifted away from some of the fundamentals that got us here in the first place. So instead of chasing the next shiny thing, we went back to the beginning.

Rhythm.
Relaxation.
Connection.
Impulsion.
Straightness.
Collection.

Then back around the circle again. The classics from the dressage pyramid, or as like to envision it, the Training Prism.

It has been less “add more fancy” and more “rebuild the engine.”

The funny thing is, when you rebuild the foundation, all the little pieces start falling back into place. It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch.

At home, Loretta and I are lucky enough to work in a nearly pristine environment. She lives with Tara, Kathy, and Joe Devine in East Bridgewater, where we have acres of quiet fields and trails ideal for carriage driving. Most days it’s just Loretta and me, working through an exercise, taking a breath, talking it over, and trying again.

There’s something to be said for having the space to think.

Not Doing This Alone

Of course, I’m not doing this alone.

While I’m out there obsessing over whether my hands moved three millimeters too much, Tara is somehow running two successful pet stores while helping orchestrate the logistics of moving a horse, carriage, and at least half a tack room across the Atlantic.

Then, either before or after work, I drag her out to the barn.

She’s on the backstep building her mechanics and coordination while Loretta and I are training turn geometry in marathon obstacles. She’s on the groom’s seat during cones practice, reminding me to preserve the impulsion and throughness that keep the carriage flowing instead of fighting through the turns.

She’s the quiet voice from the sidelines of the dressage arena calling me out to give with my hands…

Three millimeters.

Those little observations are worth their weight in gold.

We’ve also been putting in the fitness work. Retta Roo is starting to look like an athlete again after her little May vacation, and she’s feeling pretty pleased with herself.

The Final Push

Over the weekend we all took a little pause. Now we’re in the final push.

If everything goes according to spec, Loretta and I will be flying across the Atlantic. We’ll land in Belgium then head north to our summer training base in the Netherlands.

It’s exciting, it’s humbling, and it’s getting very, very real.

If you’ve been enjoying these Roo Reports and would like to help keep this adventure moving, we’d be grateful for your support.

Next stop…

Europe.

— Andy & Retta Roo 🐴🇺🇸