Janey Painey- our new working student!

[Heather]

As long as I can find suitable accommodation locally, Janey, who has been down the last 24 hours for a visit/interview, is set to be one of our new working students!

She is already a nice natural little rider, and will I am sure be a pleasure to teach.

Keen as mustard, she has persisted until I asked her down for an interview! Perhaps Jane will keep a 'Jane's Diary' a bit like Pedro's Chronicles, and Caron's Dougal's Diary!


Heather

[ros]

Hey Janey, brilliant, well done you lucky -----!!!---!!----!!!!!!!!

Maybe we'll see you at Heather's soon. Look forward to it!

[CT]

Hi Heather

Great news and congratulations Jane you'll have the most wonderful time and I'm really envious.

It'd be wonderful if Jane could put a diary on here of her working pupil experiences. Your WPs always up riding so beautifully(Della being the last example that I saw)and it'd be nice to know how that transformation happens.

The only problem will be that with so many wonderful horses to ride/look after Jane might not find the time. And then there's Shifty's every need.....

Bye

Caron

[Miriam]

Congradulations Jainey

[Janey Painy]

Hello!

Wow wow wow wow!!! :) :D :) :D

Thanx everyone for your encouragement. I just can't wait to start. There are a few things I need to sort out first. But I'm so excited!

I'd love to do a diary thing if I'm allowed! That'd be great. I know I'll be busy, but there's nothing I love more than talking about horses (except riding them!), so finding time to type won't be a strain.

Just incase anyone wants to see, I thought I'd show you who Esther is. I'm planning to take her down with me and train her to do Classical Dressage. She's gorgeous!

Bye then! I'll be back!
God bless,
Janey

[ros]

Oh dear, just wait till Heather's Lipi sees THAT tasty bit of crumpet!

[Janey Painy]

Thanx Ros! I had the honour of riding Lipi, but he was in a rather bad mood.... still lovely though!

Debbie says he doesn't like ladies too much and beats them up....youch! But who could resist a cutey like her?!?!?

[CT]

Hi Janey

Wow what a lovely girl. I think even Lippi will be knocked out by her; although given her similarity to him he'll have to get over the shock first of all!

RU techi enough to put some video of her on this site when you do your diaries? It'd be great to see the development of her classical training at Heathers.

Have fun you lucky thing. Hopefully myself and Dougal will get to meet up with you and yours when we come back to Heather's next year for some training/hugging from his Auntie Deb.

Bye

Caron

[Heather]

HI Janey and all-


Look forward to working with Esther- her and Lipi should make a good demo pair, although even at 13, I am not sure I coud rely on Lipi not to let the side down!




Heather

[Janey Painy]

Hello!
Sorry, I messed up and deleted two of the attachments when I tried to put the photos in the text. :o :D Very sorry everyone - that there actually isn't anything new to report, but I just tried to fix something that wasn't even broken!..... oops.

Anyway, bye! :rolleyes: :)

http://www.newrider.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=50558

[Heather]

HI Janey,

Just to reassure you that you ae also likely to get along famously with Nicola (Nic) our other new working pupil who has now been with us two weeks. She is a truly super girl, great fun but sensible and level headed. You will find her very easy to work with, as we are already!


Heather

[Janey Painy]

Thanx Heather. Oooh.... I'm just sooooo excited that I feel sick!
:( But, not long now! Is it 12 days to go? I'm loosing count as all the days a merging into one big excited blur! :D

Say "hi" to Nic from me please then! :) How are her horses?

[Heather]

They haven't arrived yet, Janey- weather has been too rough on Nicola's days off! You might be interested to know that she is not bringing the mare and foal now, just her TB showjumper and wait for it- a Lipizzaner x Anglo-Arab mare aged 6- can't get away from Lipis at the moment with you lot it seems!


Heather

[Janey Painy]

:D Hehehee! Thats brilliant! Lipi power!!! ;) Esther is mourning at the moment.... :( Polly (my other horse) has just gone to her new home.

Does it look like the demo pair of Esther & Lipi will now be a trio? That would be sooooo cool! :)

[Sarah]

Jane,

Just a quick note to wish you all the best at Heather's, I am sure you will have a brilliant time.

If you could carry on doing some posts while you are there, it would be really interesting for us to hear what you are doing and how you and Esther are getting on.

bye!

[Janey Painy]

Thanx Sarah. :)
I don't know if I'll have internet access where I'll be living (about a mile from Heathers). But I will be able to write to you lot at NR by snail mail. Maybe if I wrote to Mike once a month he'd include it in the NR Newsletter? Just an idea :D

If you don't manage to get Tango's canter transitions sorted maybe I'll see you at Heathers soon anyway! ;)

[Heather]

HI All,

I regret to say that I have had to send Janey and Esther home. Lipi was the main horses that i would have used to teach her on and to replace him, not that I could as a much loved personality, would cost me at least £10,000. to get another horse working at his level. I had spent seven years training him, got him through behavioural problems and all sorts of hang ups, to be one of the best schoolmasters you could wish for. At only 13, he should have gone on for years, Lipizzaners being exceptionally long lived.

To be honest, Lipi's death was the last straw for me- I have been keeping horses, to take courses, to keep horses, for too long now. My vets fees for August alone were £1266 and the overheads are just crippling. I have therefore decided to cut down to only six horses, my two best schoolmasters that are left, and my own two Iberians, plus my old retired horses and Spanish my Arab who is unsound at the moment. I will therefore not have sufficient horses to take more than one working pupil and Nicola, my other one, had been booked to come for over a year, so she gets priority.

Janey is a very nice little rider and a very sweet girl and I wish her well in whatever she chooses to do, but if she takes my advice, she will stick to egg farming and keep hroses as a hobby. Much more lucrative and a lot less heartbreak.


Heather

[Maria]

Hi Janey

Sorry that the working pupil stint at East Leigh hasn't worked out for you. I send you and Esther my very best wishes for the future.

Hi Heather

I'm sure I'm not the only one that is sorry to hear - from a very selfish perspective - that you have decided not to keep so many schoolmasters. I'm really sorry that the final prompt for this decision was Lipi's tragically early death. But given that you've been running yourself into the ground to keep the show on the road for so long, I do think that you've come to the only sensible decision.

Thank you for running such a fantastic riding facility for so long - I've enjoyed my regular visits over the last 8 or 9 years. Thank you to you, Debbie and all the various schoolmasters for all that I've learnt.

I send you and all at East Leigh (human and equine) my very best wishes for a happy and successful future running East Leigh in a different way.

Maria

[larri]

That is such sad news, for both you Heather and Janey, I know from chatting to Janey how much she was looking forward to being at East leigh and she must be really mortified at the loss of Lipi.

Janey if you read this please, please pm or mail me.

Larri

[Jobi-Wan Kenobi]

I am soooo sorry. :( I know how excited you were about going down there.

There is one small consolation though :)

Polly is having an absolutely wonderful time. She has settled better than I could have ever thought and has placed herself about third in the herd behind Beau (an ancient sway backed gelding), and another mare.

I have lunged her a couple of times but with the dark nights and her being out at grass I haven't had too much time to do much else. I have now got an old second hand saddle and an English hackamore bridle for her and have gotten back in touch with both of the previous owners whose details I have. Apparently out there is also a book with all her dam's lineage in it too! Also so I'm told is that Polly once came 6th in Working hunter at the East of England show!!! :D

Now that you'll not be too far away again perhaps you'd like to come and visit her sometime. The door is always open! ;)

Take care, I've got to go I'm about to be kicked out of the office!

Jo ;)

PS My thoughts are with you for Lipi too Heather.

[Yann]

Poor Janey, she must be absolutely devastated, it was obvious from all her posts how excited she was about becoming a working student. She sold her horse and uprooted herself to the other side of the country in the expectation of fullfilling her dream and all of a sudden it's gone. She must be shattered. At least she has her faith to help her through. I'm sure the last thing in the world she wants to do is farm chickens:(

[KarlR]

I agree Yann. I missed the recent posts in this thread and assumed that she would be happily settled in by now.

I know how much it costs to try and keep a business running and that sometimes hard decisions like this one have to be made particularly when things go wrong.

Sadly disasters tend to fall at the worst possible time and for Janey this clearly is. I notice that she has not been online since this happened - perhaps still trying to get her life reorganised - but I do hope that she will return. It would be a great shame otherwise.

[Paul C]

Karl,

Janey is still posting - she praised Larri's artwork a few days ago, but she's not posting much. It must be a very difficult time for her (and Heather too) but I hope she gets something else she can put her talents to.

Paul

[larri]

I've been in touch with Janey via email, but she's not saying an awful lot...Keep in touch Janey - we're worried!!!

Larri

[Janey Painy]

Hello,
Firstly I want to say a really big thank you to all of you who e-mailed/PM'ed/posted with your concerns. It really means a lot to me.
I have been around the NR site a little since coming back. I have attempted to post this message a few times... but I could never work out what to say. But I think I've got my head round it now, so here goes...

Well... I don't think it was made clear about the real reason I had to leave. When Heather told me on Wednesday 31st October that I had to go, she also mentioned that she'd explain things very carefully on New Rider. At the time I thought that was nice, but I don't want my situation dressed up in politeness. I don't believe the only reason I had to go was down to money. You know, I would have worked my guts out for no pay (I didn't even know we were supposed to get £40 pw - all my finances were set up as if I got nothing!) and even no riding just to be able to watch a few lessons and gain knowledge and understanding. But my position as a WP kinda fell apart when Lipi died. Esther was blamed for kicking him - which although is the most obvious guess, it's still un proven and we all know horses kick each other even when they have been together for years. Anyway, I was soon told to move Esther, and arrangements were being made to bring her back to my farm where my Dad was willing to take care of her.

Heather wrote a letter to my Dad explaining a few things. My particular favourite part of the letter goes like this:
"Jane is a very sweet girl, but is rather immature for her age. I therefore also do not feel that she is suited to this type of specialised commercial yard here at this point in time - she unfortunately does not have the level of competence around horses that is needed here, and I just haven't the time to teach stable management, my previous eighteen year old working students already had this experience, so this wasn't a problem. Jane is rather romanticising the view of working with horses, and this is not a romantic but an extremely hard and these days very competitive business, even you are at the top of the tree... "

Hmm. About that... well no one has ever called me immature before! But I do wonder how Heather was able to label me immature... I hardly saw/spoke to her at all!?!? And saying I'm incompetent just seems unfair. I think, considering the circumstances, I did really well! It isn't easy to be chucked in at the deep end in a new job. So, yes I asked a lot of questions, but isn't it safer to make sure, rather than do something wrong? How about Saturday... my second day. I arrived and went straight to Lipi's box, but he wasn't there and since no one was around I went to the house where Debbie told me he had been shot. Debbie then had to go and help Nic who was taking her horses back to her home in Weston Super Mare, so I was left to get started. It wasn't easy you know, to fold up Lipi's rug (still wet with his sweat) and muck out his stable, and take the muck to the muckheap and see his body laying there! Fortunately he was mostly covered by rugs. But believe me, I was in shock already, then to get faced with that... So under the stress I think I coped well. Was I supposed to waltz in and pretend I knew everything? I thought I'd get at least a week before I was expected to act independently.

But about my romantic view of working with horses. Yes. Guilty. I was living my dream come true! If I wanted a job that would make money, I wouldn't have chosen horses - that's just plain obvious. But I was in it for the love of horses!!!

Anyway, a special thanks to Yann who recognised the fact that I too lost a horse through going to Heather's. But I also had to give up my very special dog Ambar, my cheeky chinchilla Mr HoocH, my gerbil Miss Guinness, my shetland-pony Beauty and well, an awful lot of money too! But who cares about money?! I miss my pets.

As for my future. Well, this is my goodbye post to New Rider and the rest of the horse world. No one will ever be as willing to give their all to Enlightened Equitation as I was, but all my passion has gone. This isn't a heat of the moment decision; I'm settled on it and have been for a while now. I'll miss riding, but I can't even look at a horse without crying. When Heather told me to go, she said I took it "like a brick". It was just shock... took me over two days to stop crying! But I'm not farming chickens! I'm going into full time service for God. What else could I do? Everything that made me me, has gone... except my love for Jesus.

Bye everyone. Take care and God bless,
Janey.

PS. Yes this does mean I'm selling Esther asap. :(

[LouiseS]

Janey

I hope you wont stop looking at the board all together because I just want to say that things similar to this - awful inexplicable disasters - do happen to most of us at some times in our lives and it is probably best not to abandon the things that mean a lot to you because of one miserable situation. As you say it was your love of horses and the wish to work with them that made you what you were. Ditto I wouldn't rush into selling Esther too quickly as you may regret it afterwards.

Take some time to think things over, there will be other opportunities to do the things that you want to (as well as your work in your faith) but I expect you will find yourself drawn back to animals and especially horses in the end.

I have read the posts surrounding this event including the ones from Heather (plus also the thread from her about other sad events she has had to deal with lately) and it may be that emotions have been running particularly high - making what happened with Lippi even more difficult to cope with. When disaster strikes often we want to lash out or find someone or thing we can blame - I think it is sadly a natural reaction although it is often different when we have time to reflect when the immediate grief has passed.

Don't give up on your horse dreams or any others that you have just yet - and to be honest there is no shame in being a bit romantic - you just have to make it work for you in real life as well - and often that romanticism and or perhaps romantic vision is a better description is what will carry you through when things get difficult.

Very best wishes

Louise

[Yvonne M]

well, I have just read your post janey & I can understand why you want to chuck it all in. I was so sorry to read of your distress & all that has happened to you. You must wonder why it all hs turned out this way.

I once gave up horses for a few years, wouldn't watch them on telly, read about them or talk about them. My way was to totally blank them out of my life as I couldn't bear to think about them, until one day I turned on the TV & there was National Velvet. Usually I would quickly switch the TV off but that day & did not & watched it with tears rolling down my face. I decided then that something was missing & that my life was not quite complete. So decided to go the whole hog, take a risk & get back in the saddle. The best thing I ever did. One day Janey when the hurt has dimmed you may decide to get back in the saddle.

Bless you & keep you safe with whatever you decide to do.

Yvonne

[Yann]

What a shocking post by Janey. For what it's worth I've emailed her and expressed similar sentiments. Whatever the precise circumstances of what happened, you don't decide someone isn't suitable or experienced enough for a position after you've given it to them and they've turned their life upside down to take it. That's just not fair.

If the poor lass was prepared to skivvy for nothing just to be around the place, I don't see why she had to be sent home.

[Sue Carnell]

Hi Janey,

I hope you're still here and don't give up on Esther. I know you must be devasted, but please don't take it personally. You have the support of your family, financial security, a beautiful horse, your youth and health and your faith. I hope you can pick yourself up and appreciate them all.

Heather called me when Lipi died. I've worked for her for over 5 years and she told me that she wasn't going to even attempt to replace him, (which would, I agree, be impossible) we'd do the courses she already had booked, as she didn't want to let anyone down, but then, without him, carrying on as we were really wasn't possible. She'd have to change what she did, which would probably leave me jobless too. I still don't know what's going to happen and my job keeps my horses and pays the rent. Spanish is now sick too, Heather was serious when she told you that horses bring heartache. I think they're worth it now, but it must be very, very hard and even I have given up for a time, when I thought I would never look at another horse again. I can really understand Heather's thoughts at the moment, though I understand yours too, I think. I've finished the work that was booked and have nothing else at the moment too, but that's something Heather should not be worrying herself about, given the circumstances.

I hope this message helps you realise that it's not your fault, Heather really couldn't keep you on. That you are inexperienced in the care of horses didn't mean for you to give up, but that Heather's yard was not the place to learn how to care for them and that it was impossible for her to train you in riding either now, given that Lipi was to be your main teacher. It wouldn't matter whether it were you, or another working student. Heather would not take advantage of an enthusiastic young person, which she would be, if she allowed you to work for nothing, despite your being prepared to do so.

I am so, so, sorry, but I hope you can find strength and carry on with what you choose and realise that you weren't blamed, the reasons were genuine and that you are not entirely alone. At least you can rely on family support to help you through this, until you decide what to do and I can type.

PS: Heather, please take care of yourself, I do know how terribly upset you are.

Sue Carnell
sue@eclipse.co.uk

[FRED]

Hello dear Janey, many of us had read and hoped dearly to read about your progress at Heathers.
While out last week with NR members Yann ,Jof and dear Amelia
we were talking about how sad this all was for you and Heather.
WE all know that horses are horses and the most unexpected can happen...at anytime, this is horses and I do feel genuinely so sorry for both of you, and hope that you are not blamed.
My favourite horse can be a madom at times,she once kicked her owner, very hard and ended up as the lead horse for a trekk to work out her frustrations that we humans can never really understand, because we are not horses!
She responded in a positive maner, and next time boss went to the paddock,she was more than happy to be led rather than kick.
Many owners would have sold her on all to quickly.
You would be more than welcome on a 2 hour trekk with us on Cannock Chase on December 9th, you can be our special guest,a treat from NR members.
Yann,Jof and Karl R and his wife will be with us,also Elle, and dear Amelia and I.
You have choice in your chosen destiny, please let horses be part of your destiny too, they are great healers and not all bad,
Like us humans, Horses can have faults and we should forgive and never hate.
We all hope in time you continue a career with horses.

Very best wishes from Fred.

[Dizzy]

Janey, absolutely none of this is your fault, horses are horses, when I first turned Breeze out with the company she now keeps, she took a nasty kick in the muscle above her front leg, when I found her she was just stood miles away from the others and it took me 10 minutes to move her 50 yards. I was so lucky the horse that kicked her, didn't victimise her, but was happy that she wouldn't intrude into her space.

I can understand Heather being devastated, and my heart goes out to her, if it was Breeze I'd be inconsolable.

But don't let these sad circumstances make you give up on what you originally wanted to achieve, you still have your lovely horse, and your desire to learn. Horses are horses, we only have a say in thier behaviour when we have hold of them, thier behaviour after that is beyond our control.

Over the past few months Heather has endured such a lot of heartbreak, and coping with it mixed with a busy life style, will be so, so hard.

We all take some serious knocks now and again, but taking the blame for something way beyond your control and making life changing descisions built on high emotion isn't the right thing to do.

What happened wasn't your fault, nor your horses. It was just one of those ****ty things that happen.

God Bless

Lesley

[KarlR]

Once again, I can only agree. This is extremely unfair on Janey assuming (as I must) that what has been said is true.

I appreciate that Heather has her reasons which, in her own mind at least, make sense. As a company director myself, I know how difficult managing and financing a business is. However, I don't believe that this is primarily a commercial decision. Rather, it seems to be an emotional (if understandable) one.

Whatever happened when the horses were turned out together the important point is this - that turning horses out together is a risk that as an experienced horsewoman Heather would have known about. To allow Janey to believe that it was her fault or the fault of her horse is insensitive and unfair.

Aslo, by writing to Janeys parents and stating that the reasons for her dismissal were due to immaturity and incompetence is also unfair when she had so little time to give Janey a chance. Most companies would give a new employee at least a month before reaching any conclusions on that level.

I fully understand how devastated Heather must be at this time - she was clearly very fond of Lippi when I met her - but Janey has lost much more having uprooted herself and lost her pets just for a chance to follow her idol.

Janey has my utmost sympathy and my hope that she does once again find a future involving horses.

[Maci]

:( Your post was "shocking", like Yann mentioned! I'm so sorry that an experience like this ruined "everything", for you! Your post made me sad! It made me realize how hurt you must be, and I can't find any words to say anything that will help you, but just know that I care and I'm concerned for you!

Like said, horses are horses, they kick, bite, and rear about each other, like they would do if they were wild! This wasn't Esther's fault- if she did kick him, it's because she's a horse, and horses aren't capable to "think" outside what their instinct says. No horses plan pure evil, among other horses fate! I'm sure Heather's also hurt by Lipi's sudden death, which is why she seemed so "cold" to you. It all happened so quick, but the past is the past, and can not be changed, so look onward towards the future, and cross down a new path with new adventures!

Make sure Esther goes to a good home! Good luck in your future fortunes!

Always,
Stephanie (aka Maci)

[Heather]

Dear All,

I am sorry that Janey has felt it necessary to write publicly to New Rider to express her feelings rather than say it to my face. I am very sorry that things worked out the way they did, but Debbie, my yard manager, who has been with me for nine years and is an old and trusted friend, and I both felt, notwithstanding Lipi's death, that due to certain factors which I would rather not disclose, Jane was going to need too much chaperoning around the yard. I hardly feel that Jane was 'thrown in at the deep end' as the horses were all living out still, bar Spanish and Fanta.

I had found Jane a room in a friend's beautiful manor house at very reasonable cost, but told her that she would need transport, a moped or similar at least, in order to get to work and back, and also go into Totnes for provisions. She was warned of this well in advance and arrived without even as much as a push bike. Jane announced that she liked walking, but finishing work at five pm in the pitch black, often, most likely in winter, in pouring rain, walking home round these lonely lanes, I was not prepared to risk the possible consequences. I would have felt responsible for her if anything had happened. The friend who owned the house after a few days did ring me and ask how much he was supposed to 'babysit her', as he felt duty bound to give her a lift into town, to church, or wherever she needed to go.

Jane is a very nice, quiet little rider and undoubtedly has a lot of talent, which it would be a shame for her to abandon. I know that she is very upset at the moment, but I do not blame her for Esther- of course horses kick out at each other. However, I was concerned though that she was seen by myself, Debbie and my stepmother, to kick two of my other best school horses very aggressively, cornering one of them and really laying into her, luckily very well padded rear end, and could not possibly risk a further injury, even if she hadn't been the cause of Lipi's.

I have had three other working students over the last four years, all of whom have felt that I was a very fair and just employer. There is never a week when Mike Aylmore, now based in Berkshire, is not on the phone to me, and I have done my best to help him in every way I can to get work and become established up there. Likewise, Sarah Rice, who went off to do a year in Germany after being here, and emailed me weekly to let me know how she was getting on. Now home here in Devon, I am passing her on work to help her re establish.

Della Orchard, last years' working student, is still coming in two or three times a week to ride and now to use the simualtors to help her teach, and Nicola says that she has learnt more in the last six weeks than in the previous ten years, so I don't think anyone could accuse me of exploitation or dissatisfied former students.

I wrote to Jane's Father to discourage her from going into the horse industry. If I had my life over again, I most definitely would not do it again. Trying to rise above overheads- my vets bills here alone for just one month were £1266 in August- and keep on year after year- not to mention losing £15,000 over FMD this year
to be honest, I have had enough of keeping horses, to take courses, to keep horses. I am well known, but still find it hard to make a decent living in this business, and if I had children, I would advise them against going into horses if they want to be able to put money by for their old age.

Losing Lipi was the last straw in a long line of bereavements over several years. It has forced me to come to a lot of decisions, which would mean that I would not have had enough horses to keep on two working students and run the courses, which without the latter, there would be no income coming in to pay for the overheads- a vicious circle.

I am giving up running the yard as it is at the moment, here from April next year, when Nicola's working student course is finished ( Nic had been booked and waiting to come for over a year) except to keep my own four horses. I will still be doing stuff with the simulators, and lectures/seminars here, but not the courses.



Heather

[KarlR]

Oh dear. What a very sad affair all round.

In light of this posting from Heather and a more detailed private message I can only agree that the situation was probably untenable.

I do feel that Jane had a very hard time over this and was perhaps less ready for an independant life than she thought. However, I know now that Heather is as upset about how things worked out as anyone. At least if Jane reads the board she will see clearly that the reason was not because of Esther kicking Lippi, which must be reassuring.

For whatever reason, I do still think that it was wrong for Heather to try and dissuade Jane from working with horses in the future by contacting her parents, but I believe that her underlying motives were sound and her intentions good.

It's also very sad to see that Heather is closing down the yard as far as courses are concerned. When I visited a couple of years ago, Heather was looking forward to bringing in more horses to cope with visitors and it is a shame that this has turned full circle.

A very sad time, but I hope that both Jane and Heather find that things pick up for them.

[Miriam]

To both Jainey and Heather. I am very sorry to read about your situation and hope that in the future you can both pick up once again and carry on with your love of horses.

[Mike]

It's been a very upsetting time for all involved in this and I think it's best to close this thread now and give everyone a chance to move on.

Mike