Unbridled Joy

Serenditpty

2012-01-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

For some reason this cartoon spoke to me when I first saw it. I absolutely love it and what it represents. Do you like it too?

Iowa Gold Star, Labor Day 2011

2011-09-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

Iowa Gold Star Championship ride.

Peep and Dixie Chick

He did it - really, he did.

2011-09-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend we meandered down to Winona, MN for a horse show. It was the fall show, and we brought three horses to the event. You may be thinking, "Wait, don't you only have two horses?!" You're right. We DO only own two horses; however, thanks to the generosity of a lovely lady, we borrowed a third horse so my husband could try his hand at showing a reining horse.

I have to give everyone credit. They were very supportive. From the trainer who loaned him her extra set of chaps, to the barn owner who loaned him a horse, to our trainer who told him the night before his first class, "I don't know what to tell you. You're screwed." Everyone was super supportive.

In any case, he went in and rode a complex pattern. He mostly stayed on pattern, even if he did a few parts an extra time or two. His pony was gritty and took good care of him. He looked the part.

Not too bad, for a boy.

Another Show!

2011-07-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Peep's first show:

Dixie Chick and Jen:

It's show time!

2011-05-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Schooling.

Showing.

Rod showing.

Peep colicked.

2011-04-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

I was on the way to a work function, when I got the call. Peep colicked, and she was being rushed to the clinic for possible colic surgery. According to everything I heard, it was pretty dire. She got out of the clinic one day later. It was an impaction colic, and with bran mashes and green grass all should clear up.

Still, it was interesting. It's hard being hit with the reality of the fact that your horse could die at any moment. Sure, she was insured. If she did pass, I would be covered. That doesn't exactly help.

Then you start thinking about how to explain it to your child. "Honey, your horse died." No good.

Thankfully, she's fine now.

Peep's Got a Sister!

2011-02-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

I'd just like to welcome Peep's little sister into the world. She was born this past Thursday, right after lessons were finished. She's a leggy baby, strong, and so far she's doing well.

Today Dixie Chick and I worked on things in draw reins. She was pretty decent on most of the things we tried. We did a couple of lead changes, and those went well. On our first right to left lead change she tripped and I lost my stirrup, so we had to try it again. The next time it was fine. She didn't stop, and we got both lead changes. We're on the slow and steady plan. One change each direction each ride, until we're at the show.

Dolph is doing well. He's been riding a little five year old chestnut filly we got back from another trainer. She's a bit behind, but she's such a cream puff that it's all good. They've been together a while now, and she's starting to get muscled up and get things figured out. It's fun watching him ride a horse that wants to be good, but doesn't know what to do. They're a great team. Hopefully we can figure something out so they can stay together for a long time.

Flying Lead Changes? Oh my!

2011-02-20T11:16:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went to the farm for lessons. It was super nice. Not too many people were riding in the arena, so we had room to play. I was doing nice circles on Chicky to the right, playing with pushing her faster, then slowing her down. I even thought about trying a lead change because everything felt so good. I didn't.

Two seconds after the lead change thought crossed my mind, my trainer told me to do a lead change. Shoot!

I circled, then counter cantered around the end of the arena, then asked for the change on the long side of the arena. Our first left right change she changed behind, but stopped before changing in the front. We got our right to left lead change on the first try. Then we rolled back and tried the left right again. With a lot of kicking and impulsion, we got it.

Whew.

We also did some fencing and worked on "Thou shalt not speed up unless asked for." She wasn't thrilled, but she did everything I asked.

When we got to the cross ties, Chicky looked a little sour faced. Sour faced, that is, until she got to try a cupcake with strawberry frosting. She REALLY likes strawberry frosting. ; )

Almost got to taste a pipe gate...

2011-02-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Went to the farm on Thursday to ride. It was a normal ride, until we got to fencing. We've been working with Chicky's tendency to run off while fencing (with me, not so much with her trainer) and making some progress. Our first few passes were stellar. Then things went to hell.

We had a nice, controlled run down and were doing quite good. When we got to the end, Chicky just lost her footing and her front legs sort of buckled under us. Her neck and shoulders went to the right and down, and suddenly I was looking the top bar of the pipe fence right in the eye, so to speak. Instinctively, I reached out with both arms to grab the top rail, hoping to hold myself off of the gate as we went down or at the least, shove myself in a better position to I wouldn't get clothes lined. Things went into slow motion as both hands grabbed the gate, and I moved my head to see what the odds were of Chicky getting hung up on the fence. Thankfully for both of us, Chicky sorted things out on her own, and stood back up in place. I let go of the gate, and grabbed the reins in case she ran off or shied. We took a quick moment, turned around, and did a nice stop on the other end - all the while my hands were shaking.

After that, the next time we ran down, she took off at a dead run. We worked through it a bit until I found a nice stopping spot. As soon as she stopped nicely and let me rate her run down, I got off.

I think both of us had enough for the night.

Getting there...

2011-01-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we had another lesson today. We're getting there.

Chicky and I got off to a rough start when we started back from the break for our trainer's knee surgery. I'm not sure why, but things went to hell. She was running off on run-downs and generally feeling her oats. I wasn't so appreciative of her oats.

We switched up what we've been doing, and it's going much better. Today was no exception. We got some nice work done and we had the arena all to ourselves. Heaven!

A good lesson today.

2011-01-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

Rode the blonde again today. In the last few rides we've been working through some things. Today we put on a poll piece instead of side rings and things got much better. Yes, It's nice when they decide to run through it on run-downs when you can actually pull enough to take the front leg away from them and get it stopped. Boy was she surprised when I did.

Yay me!

But there is more!

2010-09-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

So I am about a 1/4 of the way through bottle of Jim Beam so Yes lets blog :)

I know its been a long time since the last post on here but hey who's counting?? not me.

Anyway Jen and the "dumb blonde" made it through 2 shows this year and they got a score both times.

Yes that is no 0's.

I have been riding a mare by the name of Ms. Alley Kat who has shown me a little bit about what I can and can't ask from in a Arab.

I am making the move to become competitive in the field and have been told that Ms Alley Kat won't be in the mix come show time.

My personal riding ability has grown a lot (I think) from the last post. I have learned to do slide stops, spins, and roll backs. I really like working the speed work from large fast to small slow and back.

I do still miss Howie every trip to the barn and wish I would have him to learn these things on. I think he would have been a better teacher than what I have now.

That leaves the door open for me and what I need to do next. I cant help but worry about this next season... There is so much in the mix.
My ability.
Who I will ride.
The first show EVER.

But I am confident. I listen to my trainer and I work hard and I try. So that is what I will do. I will try and maybe if I 0 I will learn something and that would be fine by me cus that what I want to learn and to ride!

The Parting Stop

2010-04-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

I logged in today to make an addition to the blog that weighs very heavy on my heart and mind, Less than 2 hours ago we received a call from a friend that CG Colonel Jac (Howie) had passed away last night from a brain aneurysm. I can't even describe the feeling of grief that I have for the loss. If you recall I had made a post about him almost a year ago to this day. Howie was a bigger part of who I am than most people know.

He taught me most everything I know about riding. I learned all the basics while on the back of the "Big Yellow Bus" walk, trot, canter, stops, turns, and spins. He taught me about balance and posture and how not to hold the reins. While I can tell you I don't think he was ever real happy to be a part of my learning experiences. I can also say he never grumbled, buck, snorted, or caused a fuss. Howard just went through the motions telling you when you did something wrong and never getting out of hand. He was one of the favorites in the barn and everyone knew him as a gentle giant with a somewhat sour attitude. He always had a half cocked head due to an injury and he would greet anyone at his stall door with his head tilted and his ears laid back. Sort of the look a grumpy old granfather gives his grandkids before he picks them up and throws them in the air to catch them in gleeful play.

For as much as I learned while riding Howie, he taught me one lesson in my life that is more important than anything I ever have or ever will learn.

He taught me that if you find something that you want out of your life then you should go for it balls out and don't hold back.

It may be a struggle to get what you want, it may not be easy, and there will be days that you don't want to do it. But you don't have to like it you just have to do it.

Howie also helped pave the way for a wonderful future that I will have with my bride to be Jennifer. Howie provided a common ground that we both enjoy and that has helped bring Jen and I together, helping mend us together as a family. He gave us a place to stop and step back from the everyday chaos, a place to enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend on a Saturday morning. For that alone I will be in debt to him for all of my life.

Wherever you are Howie

I will miss you!

Come a long ways

2010-04-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since anyone posted here so I will give a quick update. We have been getting out lately a few times a week. Its still hard to get through work, class and the kids, and what not and still get out every day we want. Our trainer has been very accomidating to our schedules so that helps. Howard had a surgery a few months back that put him out of the training lineup. Apparently he had some bone that broke around his ear and when they removed it it caused some nerve damage. He couldnt swallow and was put on a special diet. That was probably 5 or 6 months ago. Well the breeding manager, we will call "Spanky" didn't like his demeanor 2 weeks ago, Apparently Howard was a little tired of the special diet and he tried to take a bite of Spanky, I can't really blame Howard one bit on this ;). So it was decided that he goes back to work. We had some good rides the last 2 weeks. Chicklet and Sunshine are getting along very well lately too. Fencing is going nice and she is working on lead changes. I am doing turn arounds and started lead change work with the tank which was interesting to say the least. People are starting to get excited for show season and its awesome after a long winter to see the smiles on all the people. Lets see what the next month or 2 brings :)

Peep Peep!

2009-11-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

The little baby is now a rootin tootin two year old and is currently getting started. She's been tied to the wall and has been roped for a month or so. She's also getting saddle pads thrown at her to sack her out. (It's not nearly as bad as it sounds, actually.)

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing - but I've been told that she's prone to kicking when she's tied to the wall. It's not so much that she won't stand, or tolerate people, it's that she HATES having the other horses being schooled come around behind her. She'll even wheel herself around so she can fire at will. Hopefully it'll be something she grows out of. Kicking isn't something I'm very tolerant of. Luckily for me, neither is my trainer. :)

The other one, Chickaletta Pachetta, is maturing quite nicely. She's only one year away from officially getting her brain. Last year was her first year in the bridle (meaning, carrying a curb bit) and she did really well. She's also calmed down a bunch, and is starting to act like a "been there, done that" type of horse. It seems to me this is the perfect time to crawl on and start showing her myself.

And away we'll go!

And Hell Hath Frozen Over!

2009-10-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been on my pony since oh, say, MARCH!

I've been way too busy with school, and work, and kids, and my boyfriend to even think about getting to the farm. Yes, for the first time since I started riding, I haven't even been out to the barn for a matter of months. Sad, huh?

The last time I was out of the saddle this long I had good reason - my son. I was pregnant, and I couldn't ride because I was on blood thinners. It wasn't the riding that was the problem. It was the possibility of bleeding to death if I fell that sealed that deal. My friend stepped in to ride for me, and it was an amazing summer.

This time I let the blonde go out and show with my trainer. They did Regionals. They did Canadian Nationals. They did very well. I watched from the sidelines.

I rode again today. Even months later, the barn is exactly as I left it. There's something comforting in that thought.

And a Top Five it is!

2009-06-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to say that Chicky brought home a Top Five at regionals. It's her first Top Five. She only has a Regional Championship to her credit as a four year old, in Region 6. Miss Hesa Bar, Hidden Agenda, and Dixie Chick all got Top Five awards. They're all full sisters. Appropriately, the twins, Agenda and Chicky ended up tied. LOL.

It's Regionals Time!

2009-06-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

On my way home from work today I passed by the fairgrounds where Regionals will be held this weekend. I saw the posting on the billboard for the show, and it dawned on me. I haven't talked to my poor horse trainer since the show over Memorial Day weekend! Oops! I called up the farm, talked to my friend who works there, and found out that the horses and my trainer had already moved in to the fairgrounds this afternoon! A slight u-turn later and I was on my way to check in with my horse trainer and a few friends to see how things were going.

Not too long after I arrived, I got to talk to my wonderful boyfriend who was supposed to be attending class tonight. He found out that unexpectedly he didn't have to attend his first class. Now, this is the same guy who wrote the post a couple of posts ago about rediscovering riding. I'm sure you can figure out his next move.

Yup! My sweet, amazing, incredible boyfriend made a bee-line for the horse show to come watch a little bit of schooling with me! Granted, he couldn't stay for very long due to his second class of the night. However, he got to sit and people watch with me, and then we got a chance to run to get some fast food dinner together.

What a treat!!!

Not only did I get to go watch some schooling today unexpectedly, but I also got to share the occasion with my wonderful, amazing, sweet boyfriend who is really eager to be able to begin showing horses too!!!

What more could a girl ask for?!

Okay... maybe a regional championship... but I'm not gonna push my luck! LOL!

Show season is upon us...

2009-05-26T17:08:00.000-07:00

A decision has been made. Chicky is going to go to Canadian Nationals to be shown by her trainer. She's been going good, and I don't have time to show her at the show I was aiming for as my amateur reining debut. It turns out her trainer and I were both on the same wavelength about it. She's going great, so why wreck it?

This way he gets an open horse at Nationals, and I have until April to get ready to go in the ring. Everyone wins. She's been schooling like a fiend, and showing like a rock star, so hopefully she'll keep it up between now and August.

Now... to figure out how my boyfriend and I can get up to Canada to watch her with our busy work and school schedules...

Hey baby wanna go for a ride?

2009-04-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

Almost 2 years ago I had spent some time on the back of a wonderful paint pleasure horse by the name of Trudy, which was owned by a friend of mine I worked with. I had a blast the few times I saw and rode her and just being around the big ole critters made me happy. Since that moment forward I knew that horses would be in my life to some degree regardless of the cost. Confronting the wife about starting a new hobby went over about like the rest of my life desires with her and to say that it was the last straw would be a pretty close assessment. So after hearing her convulse over the very idea of starting into a hobby that I didn't know anything about and that she didn't want to pay for, a very hard yet rewarding decision was made....

Meet Howie everyone!

You will notice that he does have some of the same traits as the ex including that big block head and the wide ass. The best part about this one is (and I know people who know Howie's personality will be amazed at this) he doesn't bitch and moan nearly as much as old Precious did. Seriously though hes not mine. I just get to learn how to not die on him which seems sort of odd since he is the biggest bastard in the barn. Hes HUGE yet gentle and ornery at the same time. Hes not graceful and his canter to the right is about as smooth as a freight train with square wheels.

In all honesty and the joking aside I am so grateful to have been introduced to him through the most wonderful woman in the world and I love the way she has opened up a part of me that was always there but never allowed to escape.

Hey baby lets ride!!

And then there's the wall - literally.

2009-02-23T12:34:00.001-08:00

So I went to ride the horse this weekend. That was fun. Not.

We've been having some problems loping to the right. She's falling out of it, stringing out, and getting choppy. That leads to a break of gait, which is frustrating for both of us. Well, that would be fine, but I know a few ways to stop what's happening, and I can't get her pushed up to her face to keep her round, and I can't keep her behind the bridle to get her to move her hip over to power up and keep round yet, and whacking her in the ass with a rein tail is only going to get her scared. Add to it that it's mostly on the end of the arena where she gets to stop to fence and get mounted and dismounted, so I feel like she's being a fucktard about that end just to be a pain in the ass - and I'm frustrated.

My trainer finally started helping me on Saturday, but not until AFTER I got the "What's up with this attitude?!" speech from him, and the "You're taking this too personally." speech too.

UGH!!!!!

It's coming along...

2009-02-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

I went out to the farm today and loped some circles on the yellow horse. (That's what her trainer calls Chicky, the yellow horse.) We're starting to get some stuff figured out. I'm figuring out not to have such a hold on her. She's figuring out how to mostly do what I'm asking of her. It's kind of fun.

When I got off I got word that we need to start fencing. I knew this - but it's still sort of exciting. I actually have a reining horse. Fun times!!! :)

Yep, Randy Likes It!

2009-02-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

It's making me giggle. I've got a wonderful boyfriend who claimed he was interested in learning how to ride when we first got together. Well, he's been on about four horses now, and every time he rides he gets more and more into it. I guess he really IS interested in riding, and not just to get into my pants. LOL.

It's pretty cool watching someone discover a passion that you already have. It's a challenge at times though. I want to help him. I want to teach him. Instead I'm letting someone I trust as a professional take charge and help him along. It's probably a good option for now. That way the riding stuff stays a positive in our relationship. We can enjoy going out to the farm and I don't have to worry about nagging him or keeping him safe. That's someone else's responsibility.

This could be a wonderful adventure. :)

Reining... Reining... Fun fun fun!

2009-02-04T17:05:00.001-08:00

Today I ran up to the horse farm and got a chance to ride my little Chicky. It was about the fourth time I rode her. She's super spiffy! The theory is that the two of us will get to go to the shows together this summer, and I'll have a blast riding her. Right now it all seems like riding on another planet. (Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!) I'm sure it will become second nature sometime. Just not for a while, probably.

Randy came with me and rode Aegus, another client's horse. He got to bop around and have fun.

Hey, I am alive!!!!

2009-01-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

This morning I got to choose to ride little Strawbery, the horse I've been schooling and showing as a hunter for the past two years, or to finally start schooling Chicklet, my little palomino Half-Arab reining horse. This morning I chose to ride Chiclet. What fun!

I've owned Chicklet since she was a gawky and gangly yearling. I bought her because I'd watched every single sibling of hers rise to National caliber as a reining horse. I paid on her in itty bitty installments for a couple of years. Then I watched Rod break her, take her to her first shows, and put her first Regional championship on her. I was waiting, hoping, and planning for the day when she would be MY little palomino reining horse. I had a plan for turning her into a horse that would be perfect for me, and I stuck to it.

Today that plan started to come to fruition. I got to ride Chicklet while Randy rode herd on the kids. I did my walking exercises, did some turn arounds, did some stopping stuff, then did some seven circle exercises at both a trot and canter. Then we did some circle work to the left and practiced stopping and lope departs. It was sweet! Our ride got cut a little short because the natives were restless, but I felt totally comfortable on her, and all that we had to do was figure out the language each of us were speaking.

Yup, things are coming together.

Chicky

2008-08-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

My little baby is all grown up. Can you believe it?? Me neither. She's off to Des Moines at the end of the month. Then she's off to US Nationals moet likely to compete in the Reining Maturity. Go chicky!

Strawbery is growing up!

2008-07-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

So I took my little grey hunter that could up to a show this weekend. I got up there Thursday evening thinking I was showing in the Open on Friday morning. Wrong. I did have a good practice ride in the 6" deep slop that was the outdoor arena after the huge rains. Oh, and I found out that Ms. Strawbery is a delicate little flower who doesn't like getting her little white tootsies dirty. Found that out as she stopped at the mud when I tried walking her into the arena. Thank goodness I wasn't at full out trot in a hunt saddle. I'd have been launched. :)

Friday I let my trainer school her up, but I did watch. She looked really cute, good, and mostly content in her job. (The arena was still a mucky mess, so she wasn't totally thrilled.) When he asked me what she needed to work on, about the only thing I could counter with was whether he'd walked her a bunch. Walk was her weak spot at the last show.

Saturday we were slated to show in two classes. The first was an Adult Amateur to Ride class. They ended up splitting our class, so we only had 10 in it instead of 20. (Aww, I like traffic!) Because of the limited size of the warm up, my warm up consisted of merely walking flat footed around the edge of the warm up area. Bery hates traffic and the wind was whipping the long tails at us, and rather than make her upset I chose to avoid everyone. The strategy paid off. We went into the arena and had probably our best ride to date. She was quiet, responsive, and just FUN to ride. It was awesome! Our trainer even said that was our best ride ever. We placed 5th of the 10, but it was just cool.

Our next class Saturday was only about 8 classes later. It was the Novice Horse class. I chose to bring Bery back to the stalls rather than wait by the arena. I wanted her to think she did good, and give her a chance to let down between classes. We tied her in her stall. When we got to the warm up I again did my "super stressful go like a bat out of heck" (LOL) flat footed walk. I kept bumping her to the bridle with my legs, and get her to stretch over her face. It was really cute how round she was. We stood, and then trotted in to the class. Again she was really good! We avoided traffic, we moved the trot on a bit, and we ended up third out of maybe 8? Again our trainer complimented us on our go.

Sunday we had the Championship class, Adult Amateur to Ride. I believe there were seven in the class, and we ended up sixth. I'm totally okay with that, as the other horses were more "stylish" and more what they're picking in the ring right now. (Think tall leggy almost saddleseat type, versus little round reining horse.) Anyway, we again did our walking warm up (seriously? who knew that would work!!!) and had a super ride. She listened, let me rate her speed, let me guide her, and was just generally pretty decent about it. She was more tired, so when we cantered her little ears were back just like her sire used to do, but it was fine. It's a quirky part of her personality, and I find it adorable.

Anyway, on the weekend we had *three* *nice* (for her) classes. We were consistent in the areas we need to improve. We greatly improved our weakness from the last show. (Her walk went from non-existent to really CUTE!) Our trainer was thrilled with the fact that we did so well, and said those were probably our three best trips ever. I have to agree! Little Strawbery is growing up - and becoming LOTS of FUN!!!! (OMG, who would have ever thought I'd say that?!)

Regionals

2008-06-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd throw up some photos of Chicklet at the show this weekend. She had a solid class, earning 68.5 out of 70 points. She ran second in her class and we thought she might have a shot of getting in, but ended up placing sixth, one spot out of the ribbons. Still, she had a great class so I was proud of her and her trainer.

I loff her.

2008-06-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

So I wasn't in a mood to study professional responsibility this morning and decided to take a jaunt out the the farm instead. I was hoping some physical exercise would clear my head. :)

I got to the farm and my trainer was riding across the road in our 500 x 200 arena that hasn't been tilled yet this year, and consequently is full of weeds. I ventured over and asked if he thought I'd get killed if I brought Bery out, and he said nope, come on out. So I did.

I have to say, last year I definitely wouldn't have climbed on Strawbery outside in that arena (non-fenced) without him having taken her across the road yet, since they always get a little fresh their first few times in that large of an outdoor setting. This year, it sounded like a fun time!

I climbed on her while she stared in awe at the llamas pastured nearby, and off we went at a brisk trot. No way was she going to hang out at a walk long enough to do our warm ups, so I figured I'd just go with her on it and see what happened. She was such a dork!! It was adorable!

For about ten minutes she was all go-go-go! Nothing was bad. Nothing was really wrong. She was just fast, and shaking her head at me to show me she was feeling sassy!! In her "spooky" end of the outdoor where tall grass hides the cars coming up the hill she raised her head a couple of times and tried to spook forward, but even those weren't really all that serious. I think it was more in play, since a few minutes later she let me hand gallop her to that spot, then collect her back and slow to nearly a lope in her "spooky" spot, then hand gallop toward it again.

After about ten minutes she just fell right into frame and really let me let go of her and let her stretch into the cutest little hunter frame, just forward with her stride, round in her back, and reaching forward to the bridle. It was so cute!!! Her transitions were adorable, her forward was very controllable even on a loose rein, and she just worked with her little ears flicked back, listening. It was just FUN.

My trainer was riding Chiclet at there at the same time, so I got to see her go too. That was pretty nifty. Still, I thought it was even better when I was telling him what a dork little Bery was and how much fun I was having and he told me, "You've got her pretty broke, Jenny." Coming from a horseman like him, it was a pretty nice compliment.

Yup - I could seriously fall in love with my little dorky Bery. She's turned into such a FUN little girl to play with, and her personality has just blossomed in the past year. She's been totally worth my time. : )

Owie!

2008-05-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

I have been busy with school and finals lately, and haven't had time to get out and see the lil grey hunter who could. I finally got out to the farm on Thursday, and despite not having her out of a stall in well, longer than I care to admit, the lil pony that could was nauseatingly good! She didn't even shake her little grey head at me!!! I could have died.

I rode her today in her hunt saddle for the first time since Fall Festival - and she was pretty good about everything too. I had some issues with finding my hunt saddle legs. I get spoiled figuring out how to ride her in a western saddle all the time. Still, it wasn't a bad ride given it was only our second since oh, sometime in March.

Yeah, I'd say she's broke!

Our first show is a week from today. Hehe! Nothing like having lots of time to practice to keep you sharp!

By the way, since I owe you a show report on the other one - Chilclet was a super star at her first show of the season. The first class she was awesome, and quite amazed her trainer. The second class, which was the one I got to see of course, was a little less stellar, but it ended up being fine anyway. She got spooked by some kids running, and though she was scared, she let her trainer control her and still get her through the class. Whew! I think she scored two firsts out of the show, which was pretty cool for her.

It's go time!

2008-04-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's that time - yes - horse shows are upon us!!! Yippee!!!!!!!

My trainer is taking little Chicklet to her first show of the season this week. They will depart from the farm for the show on Monday. She shows for the first time on Thursday, and then again on Saturday. I know my little girl will be in capable hands until I arrive on Friday.

I trust my trainer implicitly, and from what he's said, she's more than ready to get going again. Her lead changes are good. Her stops and turn arounds are great, fro what he's said. He said he just has to be careful about how he sets her up for the changes, but she gets them 99% of the time now. For a five year old, that's pretty spiffy, I'd say.

I will be excited to get to the show and see old friends again. It's so fun spending time with this crew. They've all been around in one form or another for over half of my life now. They've seen me through some great times and some not so great ones too. I'm sure everyone will be somewhat surprised at the turn my personal life has taken, but I'm not too worried. I've gone through much worse.

I can't wait to see my pony do her thing. It'll be pretty awesome! I haven't seen her in months - maybe even since her last show! How crazy is that?! Oh, and you should see her color now. Silver dapple anyone? She's the darkest palomino out there. It's quite beautiful!!

The Fur is Flying!

2008-03-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, spring at the barn. The fur is flying, the mares are coming into season, and show season is creeping up on us as witnessed by the showbills starting to arrive. The last few times I've been to the farm I've emerged covered in white fur from Strawbery. Why is it that the grey horses seem to shed a million times more than the bays or chestnuts? What is their deal?

As for the rest of everything, you haven't missed out on too much. I've been getting out to ride more and more lately now that my big project is done at school. Boy have I missed my pony. She doesn't seem too much worse for wear for our time off. We're right where we need to be for our show season debut, which won't be happening until probably the middle of May. We have two months to tune everything up. I'm pretty sure we'll be fine. Hopefully I can get her toned up a little too. She's a little like the stay-puft marshmallow man right now. ; )

Now that I'm out to the farm more often, I swear I'll get hopping on the blog. Hopefully everyone who read will find their way back.

Oh, and as far as I know everything is progressing with Super Chick. She's still on the docket to be my hunter later. I saw her worked though, and yeah, it won't be like starting with a basically broke Bery. It's going to be a whole different type of project. It's exciting though.

Chiclet is also doing great. She's slated to go to Sioux Falls at the end of April. She'll be shown by Rod, and hopefully have a good run of things. This will be his last whole year on her possibly. I'm thinking 2009 will be my first year on her, when she's in a curb. We'll see what happens. A lot can change.

Some trainers say it, some show you!

2008-02-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

There's been a common theme at our barn. It's that riders need to be pilots, and not passengers. Part of being a pilot is being responsible for the course your horse takes when you're on it. A horse isn't supposed to be aware of what's happening around you and get you through it, that's a rider's job. The horse should listen and do what it's told. As part of that, if you're to be a really good, able pilot, you've got to be aware, looking around, and watching for things that are coming up. Whether it's a rail class or a reining rundown, you should have your eyes up and be planful about where you're going.

Now, we're primarily a reining barn. As such, there are a lot of people practicing run-downs. If you're not familiar, a run down is a controlled push for speed down the middle of the arena which ends in a very controlled, precise sliding stop when you tell the horse "whoa" and set your body. One of the sins of run-downs is looking down at the horse. Not only does it make it hard to steer, but it can make you shift your weight and maybe even lean forward. Having your weight forward on a sliding stop isn't good. It could easily result in you flying off while your horse stops, or just a sloppy stop.

Anyway, I guess my trainer must have gotten sick of reminding people to look up on their run downs. I went out to ride my little hunt pony and found this at the end of the arena where people stop for run-downs. He's got a sense of humor, huh? LOL

OMG!!!!

2008-02-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

I haven't been out to the farm in about three weeks, so my little project horse Bery has been sitting in her stall waiting for me. I just got off the phone with my trainer. We were talking, and he said,

"So on a positive note... I got out that little white horse the other day to ground work her. She's been sitting in her stall, and I figured I needed to do something with her to get her out. I have to say, you've done a nice job with her!! I hooked her up, and when I asked her to go, she just marched right off like she'd been doing it all her life. Both directions, the lateral stuff was just right there, and she was right on the nuts. And I know if I've ever done this with her, it's been at least two years - but the work you've done - everything was just right there on her. She did everything I asked for, and I only maybe had to work her for 20 minutes."

Ack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not sure you guys know how he is - but that, coming from my trainer - OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!! HUGE!!!!

This is a horse that had been scrapped out as a reiner because she was too reactive, and frankly she was too snarly. We had so many problems and learning opportunities last summer, it wasn't even funny. Right before our last show I even admitted I didn't know if we would *ever* get through to her and make her a solid citizen.

And then for him to say that?! After she's even been sitting for a month? And he says it's all due to my hard work? (Which really, I was the only one riding her for the majority of the year, especially toward the end... but still!!!!)

He doesn't hand out compliments very easily - and certainly if they're not deserved - but - this one just made my LIFE as a horse rider. I think it's WAY better than a Top Ten at Nationals.

I could die tomorrow now, and I'd be happy.

And yes, I really, really, really needed something positive - and this just made my month!!!

I am not a slacker...

2008-02-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Recently one of my best horsey friends returned to the States. (Hi honey!!!) She showed horses with me a few years ago, and when I was pregnant with my child, she showed my mare for me while I couldn't ride her. We were a regular Thelma and Louise that summer - and though our show record with the mare was stellar - the friendship and good times were even better!!! It's been wonderful having her back, and getting to screw around out at the farm with her. I can't wait to go riding with her again.

It's funny when you're a horse person how fast and deep your friendships can form.

Love you hon, and I'm glad you're back home!!!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2008-01-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

Bet you can't guess who this is, can you? In a fit of cleaning, I unearthed photos from the spring of 1992. This is me, and my first horse, Bravo. The photo was taken at our farm on what was supposed to be photo day with a big name photographer. Except, the photographer didn't bother to show. The photo was taken by my mom, since we had Bravo all clipped up anyway. I got the cool shirt at a western store. The vest was borrowed from my best friend, Carrie. And my hair. Oy. I had really long hair back then. I haven't had it that long in ages. Eons, even. I loved that horse. He was my best friend. My confident. He taught me to soar, and even now that he's gone he continues to watch over me.

I love you old friend.

She cantered!

2007-12-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

Talked to my trainer last night when I went out to ride Strawbery. (She was really good, by the way.) He finally got Super Chick to canter on a ride. He hadn't done that before, and this was his first time doing it on her. He said everything seemed fine. She's green, but fine. He gave an estimate that she should be ready for me to take over riding around the end of January. FUN!!! I can't wait.

2007-12-26T17:35:00.000-08:00

This is Super Chick, a new horse at the barn that might be turned into my new half-Arabian project hunter pleasure horse. She's three turning four, and green broke. She's never been off the farm, so it should be really fun getting her going. She's built to be a hunter, and hopefully her mind will work for it too. I can't imagine it won't. Practically everything on the farm is bred for brains, which makes riding them really fun. Sooo... you can look forward to hearing more about Super Chick in the near future.

Just in case you're wondering, things with Strawbery Wine are still progressing. She's adorably broke now, and really fun to ride. It's so much better than a year ago when I started riding her. She's really caught on. Even better, it's really cool knowing you're the reason that she's progressed as far as she has. My trainer hasn't bee on her since the last show - so the stuff since then has been all me (with his help, of course).

Oh, and I got a pretty cool compliment the other day from my trainer. He said I was finally reaching the level of riding of two other people in the barn who have been riding with far better instructors and a wider range of horses since they were little kids. They're both my friends, and I admire their horsemanship skills, so to be put into their class, well, that was pretty cool. My trainer also said I'm asking questions that are beyond the comprehension level of most amateurs, which was pretty cool to hear. I might finally be getting it. Maybe. Wahoo!!!!

21 REASONS TO DATE A HORSE BACK RIDER...

2007-12-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

21 REASONS TO DATE A HORSE BACK RIDER...

1) We have 4 speeds and many positions
2) We wear tight pants and tall boots
3) We love getting dirty
4) We know how to ride our mounts
5)We perform well with animals
6) We like to be in control
7) We’ll ride it for hours
8) We know how to handle a big girth
9) We get off easy
10) We're always on top
11) We like it rough
12) We have our legs spread all day long
13) We love using whips
14) Straddling is our natural position
15) We don't mind being bucked around
16) Event riders do it for three days
17) We can ride standing or sitting
18) We wear leather chaps everyday
19) We think the fast ones are the most fun
20) We're used to having hands between our legs
21) If we fall off we get back on and ride harder
P.S. Have you seen the posting trot???!!!

Excitement!

2007-12-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Made it to the barn today for the first time in a while. A friend from school wanted to meet me there to loan me her Torts case summaries book. I sure am glad I went!

I got out little Bery expecting the worst. I made an off hand joke to my friend about how funny it would be if, while playing hooky, I somehow got bucked off and broke a wrist or finger and was ten unable to complete my finals. Then I thought to myself how truly unfunny that would be. In any case it wasn't even an issue. Bery was really, really good.

The excitement for the day though was finding out that my horse trainer might have another hunter pleasure horse for me to ride. They've got a three coming four year old Half-Arabian mare that's really tall, kind of pretty, and probably not going to cut it as a reining horse. My trainer already has her eyed up as my next project. I'm really excited!! He said he'll put a month or two on her, then she'll probably be all mine to tinker with and make into a hunter. I'm so excited!!!!!! Her name is Super Chick, by the way.

Sorry folks!

2007-12-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

I'm on a bit of a temporary hiatus from riding while finals at law school are happening. I might try to get out to the barn on Wednesday after my Criminal Law final - but it's not a for-sure thing yet at this point. Sometimes it stinks when rea life keeps you out of the barn, huh?

Ahhh, smell the barn...

2007-11-29T22:34:00.000-08:00

Went to the farm tonight to throw a leg over little Bery. The awesome farrier was there, and my lil girl had new shoes when I pulled her out. Maybe I'm a dork, but I always love seeing freshly shod feet. Well, and I love seeing my farrier. He's such a nice guy - and so skilled! We've gone through a lot together in the years I've known him. (I can hardly believe his oldest is 18 now! Holy moley)

Anyway, I put Bery to a little test again. Her bad lead is to the right, so I intentionally had her on a left lead around the end of the arena, then cut across the diagonal of the arena, breaking to a trot on the diagonal, and asking her to move her hind end into the new direction of travel twice, then asking her to pick up the new, right lead canter as we came around the other end of the arena and onto the straightaway. I figured that was a really good test of whether or not she could reorganize her body the way I needed her to in order to get the correct (right) lead. I'm proud to report, that my little girl passed my "test" with flying colors! She let me reorganize her body, and she got the correct lead because of it. I was such a proud mama!!

I rode her again in a short shank curb (mullen mouth, if you're keeping track) and low draws. Today I figured out some of the limitations of them which I had known, but sort of forgot. She has figured out how to bring her head low and in, thus meaning I run out of rein and ability to control where she puts her front legs (aka, her speed). Also, I was having a tough time getting her to bring herself around the bridle to the left, to make her break her spine in the right spot. I ran out of rein on that too. I mentioned this to my trainer, and he made the point that yup, those are some of the limitations, but look on the bright side, her wanting to go low and over it (as opposed to inverting like had been her tendency prior to my schooling her) meant she was spending more time on the backstroke of her leg, and that was a Good Thing. We can easily fix the limitations by going to a side draw, or a Stanley White configuration when I decide I'd like to work on that.

One of the other things I worked on today was trying to do turn-arounds one handed, instead of two. To do that I put my reins in my right hand and shortened my inside rein, so when I pulled toward my hip I restricted her inside shoulder, then once she had committed to the turn, I used outside leg to give her impulsion. It was tricky, as I had to get her to commit to the turn before adding leg or she'd just meander through the bridle. (I didn't have enough to really make her want to stay back as uch as I could have with different head gear.) I was proud though, my trainer said we might not get them done, but we did get three or four of them - despite not enough bridle on her. I thought that was pretty good.

I think I got a compliment - my trainer said I'm getting her pretty good and broke. Now I get to start going back and forth between training her for her job as a hunter and working on keeping her more broke and responsive in the four corners of her body. Fun stuff!!!

Sorry, don't get bored on me now!

2007-11-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

I went to the farm last night and put a ride on Bery. She was pretty good for the most part, though it's painfully obvious that I'm only riding her once a week. From the dust on her halter to the little something, something that was lacking from our work - it's showing. There was one point where I think if she had more ambition she's have kicked up her heels. As it was she rooted down like a little piggy and sped off through the bridle. That was pretty fun. I don't think she expected me to say, "Okay, have it your way then - and let's *really* work on our hand gallop until *I* say we can stop!" After a couple of laps with me pushing her for MORE SPEED she tried to fudge out and trot, which I didn't let her do for at least another couple of laps, and I threw in some tight radius turns on her. I'm pretty sure she wasn't a fan... *giggle* Let's just say that when I asked her to canter the next time, she was more than content to go the speed I asked her to. : )

Silly girl!

Putter putter...

2007-11-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

I went to the farm last night and despite not being out of her stall since last Tuesday, Bery was very good. She did a lot of head shaking to let me know that she was feeling sassy. She didn't, however, buck. I really thought she might. Good pony! She's definitely figuring out her job.

She was definitely feeling a little rusty after her time off. It's been a bigger challenge finding time to ride lately because I've been swamped at school. Ugh. It's hard balancing the fact that she's not realy my horse, and thus I don't have the pressure of trying to get her ready for Nationals, with the fact that I need the release from riding, with the fact that I'm in law school and my time is at a huge premium. I know to some extent everyone who rides goes through this - but it doesn't make it any easier.

Anyone care to share any riding stories?

2007-11-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

I didn't get to the farm last night. I had too much going with school and family obligations. So... what kind of riding have you been doing lately?

Kill the possum, kill the possum...

2007-11-07T05:41:00.000-08:00

Went to the farm last night and had an interesting night. Riding was uneventful as such. Bery wasn't horrible, but she wasn't great either. She was about what you would expect from a horse being ridden on a Tuesday that hasn't been out of her stall since last Thursday. Well - okay - in fairness to her she was probably way better than you'd expect a horse to be in those circumstances. She was actually in a really good mood.

The exciting moment of the evening was the possum hunt. A small possum wandered in to the arena, and the possum hunt was on. (Mama possum has been coming around for a while.) It was pretty exciting watching them chase it to where they could kill it with the axe handle that's always kept around for just such odd incidents. I didn't hear the actual killing blow - apparently that was delivered by one of the children of someone riding. He'd missed his deer hunting this weekend, so he thought he should kill a possum instead. Funnily enough, he had on his plaid flannel pants and his blaze orange cap.

Ahhhh... good times.

More of the same...

2007-11-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the farm and spent some quality time with Bery. We worked on keeping everything we've been doing going, ut also added being able to move in and out on the circle by lessening outside rein and leg, then lifting up on inside rein and using inside leg to move her out on the large circle we're traveling on. It was neat to actually be able to move her out with inside aids while not having her change frames. We wouldn't have done that a few weeks ago. No sirree! After we did that for a while I'd apply outside leg, and inside rein, and keep her straight down the rail. We also worked on *really* extending our trot - and she really moved it out! Lest you think all we do is move, I also spent a bunch of time working on her walk too. Dropping her face, and picking up a fresh one. Making her stretch over the barrier and really lengthen her stride...

It was a really good lesson.

I guess no news is good news, right?

2007-10-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

No one from the farm went to the U.S. Nationals, so I don't really have any news from there. Suffice to say I heard that reining horse entries were way up, which is awesome! I think I also heard western pleasure entries were up too. Good for them. Enough about Nationals.

I went to the farm tonight and did more of the same with Bery. While she seemed really cranky and hesitant to go forward at the beginning of my ride, she warmed out of it. The rest of our ride was rather uneventful, I'm sorry to say. (Not that that's a bad thing - it only means less blog fodder.)

I think we're hitting our happy lick lately. That's a good thing.

One of the guys who works at the farm gave me crap about Bery. He pointed to her in her stall and said, "No good?" I defended her. "Yes, good!" Then I corrected myself - "A month ago - no good. Now, very good!" (If you can tell English wasn't a strong point of the conversation.) He just laughed at me. But hey, we are making progress. She is learning her job and doing a credible job of becoming the hunter she never knew she wanted to be.

C'mon show season!

Saturday was fun, and short!

2007-10-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a lot more of the same.

I'm riding Bery in a Stanley White in a short shank, mullen mouth curb bit. We're working on really getting her to give her shoulder back when I ask for it. Warm ups are consisting of lots of two tracking, both directions. The goal is to get her bending her spine in the right spot and moving her hip wen I ask her to while keeping her shoulders on track. We also do turn arounds, with me taking a really short hold on the inside rein, concentrating on getting her to step backward into the turn with her leg as I take a hold of things. She should actually take a step backwards when I ask, then start turning around. In the past week we've gone from her wondering just what the heck I'm asking to her actualy giving a voluntary step backward and starting to understand that's what I want. When she does it right and cooperates, I reward her by keeping it to maybe one turn around. Because of her tendency to tip right, when we're going left I've got to use my right rein to keep her from tippng out while turning left. Once I figured that out, things cleaned up a bunch! We also warm up with stop work again focusing on getting the shoulder I ask for when I ask for it. She's getting really good about moving the shouder I restrict back when I ask her to - no matter which one it is. She's really different from Maddie that way, as Maddie would move the same leg back every time no matter which one you asked for.

Walk, trot, and canter work seems to be going okay. She's moving her hips in when I ask her to. She's really starting to understand the lateral stuff. As much as I hate to say - it's really helping us and I think it's going to make a huge difference in the long term. (Yeah, so maybe my trainer really was right.)

That's everything I know. We've got three grey kittens in the barn again right now. Light, medium, and dark. One loks like mama, the other two look nothing like her. It'll be interesting seeing them grow up.

Lateral moves...

2007-10-26T06:18:00.001-07:00

I went to the farm again last night to sneak a ride in before going to watch my favorite hockey team. It was pretty fun. I got there, got Bery ready, and hopped on. My trainer sat in a chair talking to a friend and occasionally chimed in that I was doing something right, or "just like that." He also said to try this or that and in general it was really helpful. I know I'm being vague, but it was just a really good ride. At the end my trainer even said, "That was looking pretty good!" which from him is a super compliment.

I just thought it was really nice, because for the most part I was remembering the things we'd been working on in the past couple of rides, I was trying to incorporate them into what I was doing, and I was getting really nice results without my trainer having to tell me what to so or babysit (which he doesn't really do much anyway). It just was nice knowing that at least for now, I feel like I'm getting it.

Yay for us!

Going to the farm tonight...

2007-10-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight is riding night. Today I'l spend the whole day anticipating going riding. How bad is that? From waking up and thinking of which clothes to wear that would work for both school and riding, to making sure both my riding boots and my spare set of riding boots are in the car when I leave the house in the morning, to trying to figure out exactly when I can leave school and not miss anything important to sit at the barn studying before riding. (No really, I actually can study at the barn! I'm serious!) The whole day will be spent gloriously revelling in the fact that I'll get a little time with Strawbery Wine tonight.

I love riding.

I hate that...

2007-10-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

I hate it when he's right. (And he's often right.)

Last night I spent the night working with Berry's lead departures. I ended up putting my left leg on her asking her to two track over to the right, using inside rein (a LOT of inside rein) and then pecking away with the right leg until she picked up the canter. The point being to get her to break in her body right in the middle, so she would be in a more correct frame to pick up the canter, and once she got into the canter, so she would continue her stride on the right front leg til she'd gone over it. When she screwed up, I was supposed to keep her going but pull her down from the canter with the inside rein while pecking with the inside leg. In any case, we started getting more correct leads than not.

At the end of the ride I walked up to my trainer and I asked, "That's what you were trying to get me to do before the horse show, isn't it?" "Yup."

I hate it when he's right.

Movin on over... movin on over...

2007-10-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the day of the two track in little Berry's world. Silly girl. I don't think that she appreciated it very much, but she came around. That's for sure.

I started our ride doing warm ups, which were fine. She hadn't been out since I rode her on Thursday, but it wasn't really an issue for her. Then I asked her to canter. Oh Berry... you silly girl! She kicked out once - followed by a second time! Can you say feeling a little fresh?! I just laughed and put her to work even more than I had been. Don't like being touched by a leg? How about I ask you to two track over and over and over again at a walk, trot and canter? See if you like that any less! That's what I was planning to do anyway, but it worked out to be a good counter to her sensitivity to make her continue to do it - so it worked out.

In any case, she was really good after the kicking out stuff. Still a little sassy, but nothing too bad.

I knew that...

2007-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Went to ride the pony yesterday, and she was pretty good for the most part. I had lead issues (no, really?) going right and got a tip or two from my trainer. He says that I've got her bent left going right, but that it's mostly her neck that's bending. When I pull on her left side, she needs to bring that whole side and shove it to the right - on lead. So, our homework is a whole lot of moving her haunches in at all three gaits. Fun. Ironically it's something I was already thinking we needed to work on.

Gosh, I hate homework!

Love her, ride her, but don't love her too much...

2007-10-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reminded in a not so subtle way that Strawbery isn't really my horse. It seems like an obvious statement, right? She's not mine. I've only been riding her and re-training her into a show hunter as a "project" for her owner. Heck, I've even known all along that part of *my* goals with her (despite her owner never saying it was part of *her* goals) was to find Bery a really good home where she would be used and loved in her new hunt capacity.

Still, even knowing what I've always known - that she isn't my horse - it's a wholly different thing to know that in the abstract than it is to hear from someone, "Oh, so and so came out to the farm on Saturday to look at horses to buy and looked at Strawbery and a couple of others." That kind of really made things hit home.

Now, I'm not naive enough to think Bery won't have a great home with someone else. I'm also not naive enough to think that someone else won't be able to give her exactly what she needs to keep up with what I've been doing. Simply put, I know I'm totally replaceable in her life. I also know that I never intended to have any inkling whatsoever to buy her or purchase her or do anything other than see if I could help her achieve her potential for her owner and whoever was lucky enough to get her.

Yet at some small level - when she was a little more of a rogue and we had our bad days - our relationship was much more safe and secure. After all, when she's a bunny hopping, ear pinning, silly little *mare* it isn't likely she's going to go down the road any time soon.

Still, as she's progressed it's been hard not to think of the what-ifs about keeping her around for a while longer. She's fundamentally got much less motor that Maddie used to - so eventually she would be much more suitable for a small child like the Bean than Maddie would. She's also started to change shape and build the right muscles - and she looks more and acts more the part of a show hunter - which makes her much more fun to be around and play with. We've also started to build a relationship together. I try not to piss her off too much and stay fair in my expectations, and in return she mostly listens to and trusts me. (Sometimes, anyway. LOL) Maybe even most important, after the last show, I can finally see some potential in her to actually start to go beyond the basics of walk, trot, canter through our class - and instead work on the look we've got while we're doing it. I've got a plan (and my trainer is mostly on board) to solidify how she's moving, and then come spring start to actually work on how she's bridling to help finish our overall picture. I think I can get her competitive if we do that - or at least mostly competitive.

And then reality hits.

She's not mine. She never was intended to be mine. She's generously on loan to me to work with and to try to turn into a show ring hunter. By the very definition of what I'm doing, if I'm successful she should be able to market herself as a child's horse.

In the meantime I'll continue to love her, and laugh at her quirks, and ride her too - but I'll have to try not to love her too much...

Saturday she was Bery fresh!

2007-10-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

The win photo from our show last weekend. Isn't she absolutely adorable and cute beyond words?! Don't you want to kiss her cute little nose? I do!

I went and rode Bery on Saturday. She had been worked on Friday, but hadn't been worked prior to that since our victory lap at the show last Sunday. In any case, as you might imagine she was Bery fresh!!

It was cute. I tacked her up and he was just a doll. I got on and she was still Ms. Bery Perfect. I did some stop work, and then I went to trotting. It was during the trotting that I got my first inkling that she was a little fresh. She started doing the head shaking thing that she does when she's fresh, which made me giggle. Our first canter depart was really good, but we came around a corner and after that she got a bit fresh too. I'm pretty sure she kicked out at the wall while pinning her little ears at me. Oy! There were a couple of other incidents too, which my trainer didn't see.

Now, I know that I should probably discipline her for being sassy, and especially for kicking, but I have such a hard time doing it. Well, okay maybe that's inaccurate. I choose to ignore the head shaking sassy thing usually, because for the most part that's harmless. (Maddie used to do that when I asked her to canter the first time of a ride, and I thought it kind of cute. She never grew out of it, either.) The kicking, however, I know I need to get her for - it's just that usually I'm laughing too hard at her to actually coordinate myself to get it done. Bad rider, I know! But really... when it's once in a while, and relatively harmless, and she's working well otherwise - gah - I just need to become more of a meanie and stop giggling at her, don't I?

This never happens!!

2007-10-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ahh, the books at law school demand no riding today. Since I won't get my horsey fix, I'll give you a chuckle insted. Thanks to an internet list where I found it, check out the name of this Equine Products store: http://www.hoofheartedequestrian.co.uk/ If you don't catch it, it's Hoof Hearted. Say it fast, then try not to laugh. (Click the title of this post to go straight to their web site.)

Sneaking in ride time...

2007-10-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to the barn on Tuesday night. Lessons were cancelled for my trainer's grandchild's birthday party. She's a cutie who comes to lessons and careens around on Princess like a bumper car. She's gotten so brave!!

I'm trying to figure out whether or not I can sneak riding into my day on Thursday. I've got training in a database at school, and training in online exam software. Then I've got a networking event at school that evening, and on top of that it's my law school fraternity initiation. Crazy, huh? I think I can get it in if I go right after class... but should I?

Not as good as the first... but good enough!!

2007-09-30T14:20:00.001-07:00

This morning I got out to the show about an hour before classes were supposed to start. Our farm was helping with some seminar on measuring horses, so I got to watch people learn how to measure and how to fill out the forms that go along with that. They measured Lil Kat and Hesa, the stud at the farm. It was quite a production!

While they were working, I decided to get Bery out and get her braided up. It's a good thing I did, too. Classes took a lot less time than I anticipated. I kind of had to rush to get myself ready after finishing up with Bery. It was comical too. My trainer had decided we could just get ready in the bathrooms - but I got ready for my first class in the stall anyway. I just shut the stall door and hoped no one wandered past. Well today when it was time for me to dress, I had this whole gaggle of steward wannabe's right outside my non-covered stall door. I ended up walking to our tack stall and getting dressed in there. Thank goodness I'm neither shy nor picky.

We went up to warm up with one class prior to ours. It happened to be an English class. Note to self: Bery isn't a fan of English horses careening around a warm up with her. In fact, they kind of pissed her right off. Fun times! We ended up pulling into the middle and standing while the English horses careened around us. It was a much safer alternative to getting schmucked. On the good side, her walk was much better today. Also on the interesting side, we never lunged her today either!!

It started pouring rain while we were in the warm up tent. Bery and I picked our way through the puddles to the covered area right outside of the show arena. She was really good. Under there all we coud do is walk circles and bend, but that's okay. It worked out for us. As we went up the ramp into the arena, she did exactly what I hoped for - she started relaxing down and really motoring - well, that is she relaxed until either something scared her or the drip from the ceiling hit her in the butt. She bolted forward a bit, head up, everything tense. I had to chuckle. She went right back down to work.

The first direction of the class I spent mostly trying to figure out how to get out of a bad spot on the rail. There was one person in the class that I knew I needed to be away from. (Her horse wasn't steerable in the warm up.) Who ended up right next to me? You guessed it! I feel bad, as she was fairly young and didn't have a trainer helping her. Still, try to make sure you can steer before getting to a show, could you?

Second half of the class I finally got some good rail position. That's when I got to do a pretty decent canter (somewhat fast) and a blindingly fast hand gallop. I was probably pretty close to tears from the wind whipping my eyes. Still, you've got to love those ex-reiners. They know how to go!!! We even did a credible job slowing back down to the canter after, which was fun. All in all, it was a pretty decent class. Probably not as nice as Thursday's, but decent nonetheless. I think we had 15 or so in there, and we did end up getting a Top Five award. That was pretty fun. It sort of cracks me up hearing them announce ridden by me, and owned by her owner. I've never really ridden someone else's horse - so it's definitely new. I was pretty sure we couldn't get a champion or reserve (we're definitely not the body type that they're rewarding) but I was hoping for the Top Five. Now I can die happy. : ) We got one.

The photo to the left is my trainer playing with his yoyo. Looks like he's enjoying it, huh? We yoyo'd our butts off this weekend. It's amazing how good you can get in such a short span of time. He could mostly do the crade one, around the word and walk the dog. Me? Not so much.

That's all I know. I'll post photos if I can later. Otherwise I'll let you know links asap.

Nothing going on today...

2007-09-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

I spent a bunch of the day at the show yesterday and found a really cute show shirt to wear when I finally get to ride Chiclet. It's got lots of sparkles on it, and it really fit well. I didn't end up riding Bery. The way classes worked out, we'd have had to wait til midnight to do it, and for one horse it just didn't make sense. I went home to try to work on my paper instead.

Regrettably, I didn't get to spend more than maybe 15 minutes at the show today. (Another reason I hate shows that are in town...) I instead spent my morning working on paper again. Mid-day I stopped to check in with my trainer at the show. (It's on my way home from school.) He said Bery was really good this morning when he schooled her. (*And he noted that she still hasn't been longed once this entire show, which is really strange for an Arab.)

I had a family function to go to at 5:00 p.m., and the plan was that I'd school her after that. As often happens, plans went awry. I didn't even leave the family thing til nearly 8:00, which is when I thought I'd be at the fairgrounds to ride. Ugh. I called up my trainer and asked him if he would rather wait for me til about 9:00 p.m. when I could finally get there or if he would rather call it a night and go home to bed. I think he was worried I didn't mean my offer, but once I persuaded him I would really be fine with it, he took me up. Hopefully he'll feel rested tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll get done with this damn paper.

We show tomorrow morning, and as always, I'll let you know how it goes!

Now that's the way it should be!!!

2007-09-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

So I went to the farm on Tuesday to have my last ride on Bery before the show. My trainer worked her in the morning, and when I rode her, she was really good. I was pretty happy with her. I got to ride her again for the first time at the show on Wednesday evening. My trainer started the ride, and then I finished her off. She was really quiet and really good. I was pretty darn happy with her, and so was my trainer!

Today was our first class of the show. It was the Amateur to Ride 18-39 Hunter Pleasure class. When I got to the fairgrounds, my trainer had worked Bery for me. (I was at school.) I was given the option of whether or not I wanted to school her during the break. They hadn't lunged her, but my trainer said that she was being really quiet when he rode her. I opted not to ride her. I figured if I didn't know what she was going to do by now, then there was no point. I also figured maybe I'd get some residual from his ride if I stayed off of her. I also got asked if I thought I wanted her longed before her class tonight. I said if he thought she was really quiet, then I'd rather have some pep left so she'd want to move on at the trot, etc.

I got her ready for her class and braided her up. There's a thing people do sometimes with braids where you put little white ribbons in the forelock, mane and tail, and I decided to do that. I wanted to make her cute! I wore my dark grey striped jacket, with my new blue plaid shirt. The jacket is the color of her dapples, and I figured it would look sharp. We warmed up in the tent, and Bery was pretty good. I had her in the kimberwick bit, with a training fork. I was pretty happy, though I had a challenge keeping my leg on her round little barrel to keep her pushed up to the bridle.

I cracked up when we went into the ring. She's going into heat and she's a little vocal right now. She whinnied - loud! I found us good rail position, and away we went in our class of 16. The class is sort of a blur. Knowing it was large, I tried to make sure to watch traffic around me and be planful of my rail position. I saw several naughty horses ahead of me and beside me that I avoided. We had a little trouble at the walk, which I knew we might given what's been happening at home lately. She wanted to jog, but then kept bunching up and not wanting to go anywhere. Ugh! They called for a walk-canter transition both directions, which is unusual. I'm proud to say we got them - both ways!!! I ended up pinning up to the rail second direction a bit, and using the rail to let me use inside aids to get her over her face. Inside leg and inside hand - just like what I hated doing at home. They had us canter, then hand gallop, then back to the canter second direction. I felt little Bery want to bunch up, so I just pushed her forward and made her GO. I especially used the hand gallop to flatten her out and boogie on. My strategy worked pretty well, I think. It was cute though. They called for a halt from the canter that direction. Yeah. On a former reining horse that was pretty easy!!! LOL!! She planted - then she called out again. When they called for the line up, I tried to show her off a bit so I went another round of the arena. She was being that good! It cracked me up when we got into line, she whinnied again. I saw someone in the crowd laugh at her. I couldn't stop patting her. I was so proud!!!

We didn't place in the class. (I haven't seen cards, so I don't know if/where we were on the judge's cards. I'm sure we made at least one. Maybe two.)

Still... tonight's ride made all year worthwhile. All the crappy classes. All the bunny hopping. All the bucking and shaking her head at me. All the kicking at my leg. All the everything... she was so GOOD!!! I was really, really happy!!! It was actually really fun!!! I felt like we had done everything we could have to have made it on the cards - and that was a really good feeling.

We go again on Sunday morning in the Maiden class. I'm excited to see what will happen - but the class tonight was enough of a payoff for the year. I had a plan, I worked the plan, I worked with my wonderful trainer - and when it wasn't working we were both flexible enough to consider changing things up - and the progress was palpable tonight. It was just - COOL!

I'll be doing our last ride at home before the show...

2007-09-24T22:48:00.000-07:00

Today is the day. Bery gets her last ride by me this afternoon before leaving tomorrow to go to her last show of the year. Hopefully everything will go as smoothly as it did on Saturday, but if it doesn't that's fine too. It never hurts to get the kinks out at home, so by the time you get there everything is in working order.

Do you find it at all funny that we haven't used my hunt tack on her since the show at the beginning of August? Do you find it at all funny that I'm not the least bit concerned about that? It makes me giggle when I think about it. Well, except the part where I have to get into breeches and tall boots again, and fasten my darn choker. I am excited to see the photo proofs though. We should have some online. If they look good, maybe I'll even share them with you. Maybe!

This is my first show since starting school, and let me say, showing while in school already sucks. I abandoned my friends at school today and hid in the library where it's quiet. I was trying to get my reading done for my classes during the week, because on Monday of next week I've got a huge paper due. So far in school I can get my reading done for each day, but I haven't had a lot of extra time to do other things like work on the paper because I've got a two year old who needs my attention and I will not give up my barn time. So far I've got all of my criminal law done for the week - and I handed in my writing quizzes. I'm also done with one of my classes for Wednesday. That's a start, eh? I only have that darn paper, torts, contracts, and civil procedure to worry about now... I can maybe knock off torts or contracts for the week tomorrow...

By the way, one of our contracts problems today involved... wait for it... an option contract to buy a race horse. We had to figure out how we'd advise our client after someone decided not to sell a half-million dollar race horse to them. I'm pretty sure the contracts teacher isn't looking for me to say, "Hey, there was no stipulation on a pre-purchase and a half-million dollar horse would have to have one at least for insurance purposes, so since that was omitted it doesn't seem like the contract was intended to be valid to me..."

Yup, the about face is working!

2007-09-22T11:15:00.001-07:00

I went to the farm today to ride Bery again. When I got there, my trainer and the farm owner were in the office with a couple of people that I didn't recognize. I tacked Bery up and got started on my own, figuring my trainer would join us when he could. I wasn't too worried even if he couldn't have joined us, actually.

I again skipped most of our normal warm ups, instead only walking around a little bit and asking her to stop and back a few times. She was really good. Then we went to work trotting around and doing direction changes, serpentines, etc. She was really good! I did a few canter departs her good way (going left) and that went really well. He canter-trot transitions are really pretty, and I was really happy. I was even doing one of my fun figures where I canter around the end of the arena and head across the diagonal on what would be the "wrong" lead once I get to the wall but instead of going to counter canter (or ask for a change) I break her to the trot while I'm still on the diagonal back to the wall that I came from. She was really cute about that today cantering left.

When I turned around going right, I asked her for a canter by offsetting her little head a bit left, and voila! We had the right lead without too much muss or fuss. I let her move on for a while, then tried it again and I still have good luck with it. A few more departs yielded one wrong lead, but for the most part everything was really good going right. It was way better than it's been. I was really happy!

I finished out the ride just walking for a while to get our walk back. Bery still gets a bit upset about walking. She chomps the bit and is likely to break into a lil pleasure jog. I'm sure it's nice, but it sure isn't what I'm asking for. Eventually she did mellow out, and that's when we ended the ride.

My trainer has got express orders to do again on Monday and Tuesday exactly what he did yesterday. It definitely worked for us way better than what he had been doing. As I rode past him today I told him she was being *really* good and he replied, "But of course!" I love that he's got a sense of humor, and that he's willing to listen to my input and let us try new things. Right now we're looking really smart for changing things up from Tuesday. I know it could change tomorrow, but for today I'll take it.

Yay for having plans!!

2007-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

As you might have been able to tell, Tuesday's ride on little Bery was less than satisfying. I was getting frustrated with both her and my trainer, and I think they were getting equally frustrated with me. That's why we had our little post-ride trainer student conference to check in and set a new course. (Something had to give, so a new course it had to be!) In any case, tonight's ride was *much* better.

I got to the farm early sat in the office reading and briefing my cases for law school. Would you believe that honestly didn't even watch my trainer ride Chiclet and instead chose to work on school stuff? Crazy, huh? I'm not sure if my trainer thought I was nuts or what, but after riding her he popped his head in the window and asked about it. He seemed satisfied with my honest admission that I had too much to do, and so I only sneaked a peek now and then. He also added that she was doing better with her lead changes - but that she was one hell of a stopper. He thinks she'll go to the ground like her big brother, Lordy. Lordy didn't care what the soil conditions were, he just wanted to slide!! I've heard that before from my trainer, but it's always nice to hear it again. I can't wait til I'm the one riding her... In any case, he also added that I probably won't have any problems selling her if I choose since people really look for good stoppers. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. He's got at least one more year on her before I start riding her. I'd really like to take her to Nationals, and that's at least a couple of years off due to school - so unless he gets an offer we can't refuse, she'll likely be around a while.

Back to Bery.

We put her little mullen bit back on, with the low draw reins. I skipped warm ups. In theory they're great, but warm ups seem to get Bery in a snit. I walked her, then worked a little bit on her stop and back. I didn't let her to turn arounds and I didn't ask her for lateral work. I just wanted forward!

I was happy with Bery. Our trot (both directions) and canter (to the left) were really cute, and Bery was being cooperative. I also worked on serpentines and figure eights to get her more mobile in the arena. When I turned to work on cantering her "bad" way, she missed the lead, but she popped right back into the correct one. No permanently pinned ears, swishing tail, and stilted jack-rabbit jumping. It was refreshing, to say the least. I started having problems with the lead, so my trainer chimed in. She's been pushing her whole body to the left, while going right. He had me walk her, then apply left leg to ask her to move her hip to the right. If she didn't move, then I was to pop her HARD with the spur one time to make her want to move everything right. After a couple of times I was to quietly lay my left leg on her and ask her to canter. It was working (she was getting the correct lead) but made Bery *really* nervous that I was disciplining her like that. She got her undies in a twist big time!! I ended up doing trot work to get us back to our "happy place."

After a while my trainer made another suggestion. Instead of the spur, I was to release the right rein, then PULL the left while using my left leg to try to get her to move her hip around her front end. That didn't go so well at first, but we eventualy got it. Then I had to PULL her left rein (literally bending her head around by my left boot) while asking her to canter off on the right lead. It would unbalance her for what she was trying to do (left lead going right) and make her use her correct lead side. That was interesting. Portable fencing panels and arena walls are formidable when you're on a horse selectively ignoring you! She was consistently picking up the correct (right) lead most of the time, and if she didn't, I pulled to unbalance her. Eventually I could even straighten her head out a bit and let her roll on. It was really nice in a scary roller coaster way.

After our ride I talked to my trainer. What we were doing tonight felt better. He's going to do the same things tomorrow. That's how we'll proceed into the show. I think we made progress tonight. Talking things through with my trainer was definitely the right thing.

Whassup?

2007-09-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the recent lack of anything new and exciting. It's been a challenge balancing the beginning of law school, family, riding and time to post on my blog. The blog has to take last place, but I'll try to get better about it. I promise.

Bery got shoes with toe weights and light pads a few weeks ago in an effort to clean up her movement a little and get her ready for the next horse show, the last of the season. While the shoes did seem to clean up her canter a bit originally, her sparlking personality has been coming through lately. Frankly, when she gets into a mare snit, I'm not sure even Air Blair's will help us. (Air Blair = expensive custom shoeing job on a former pony of mine constructed by a farrier named... wait for it... Blair.)

Last night my trainer and I had a little conference. With the next horse show a week or so away, I declared that we're not going to fix Bery's quirks, and I'm not going to try anymore. For right now, I think the best use of my time is trying to figure out how to just get us through a class. Our walk and trot will be fine. Our hand gallop may be too. Our canter transition to the right might just kill us. I'm intending to hide, hide, hide when the canter is called for.

In the meantime, I've got to undo the mental job that seems to have happened with Bery by our efforts to actually try to *fix* the underlying frame problems to clean up the canter. Ugh. It's time to go back to doing what's comfortable for me, and as my trainer says, babysitting her a little too much. What can I say? She's a mare, and I think you've got to take that into account sometimes and work with it instead of fighting it. Sometimes you've got to ask, not tell.

We'll see how that goes on Thursday. I hope it goes better.

And in another horsey vein...

2007-09-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

This was sort of cute. And since I don't have a lot to say right now about my marathon ride tonight I'll post this instead. Oh, and my friend's horse has some fibrous tissue on his suspensory, but it isn't torn, so he's on rest but should be okay. Yay!

Nothing much doing...

2007-09-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

Not too much is happening out at the farm lately. I've been riding Bery with either a low port short shanked curb or the lowport kimberwick that we slightly modified, and it's been going okay. The big challenge lately has been trying to figure out how to slow her canter down without having her just flatten and break down to a trot. I'm pretty sure she doesn't much appreciate it when I tell her dropping to a trot isn't an option. As I told the barn owner the other day, I'm also pretty sure I don't much care if she likes it. Girlfriend needs to learn to slow down and collect up and frame properly while doing it. I never said it would be easy!!

Saturday afternoon one of my friends had a lameness exam on her pony. He's gimpy on his left front leg - doesn't want to extend it forward at the trot - so we spent a bunch of time doing blocks and trying to find the placement of the lameness with our vet. I felt so bad for my friend. She's got a great horse, and she's a great rider, and let's face it -lameness sucks! The conclusion is it might be a high suspensory pull, and he goes in for an ultrasound on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it's nothing serious and with some time and rehab he'll be okay. I'm sure he will, but it never hurts to have extra vibes.

That's all I know til Tuesday. Hopefully I'll have something more exciting by then!

Rest in Peace, Little Guy.

2007-08-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

Rest in peace little guy. I hope you had a good time while you were with us.

Oh Canada... My home and native land...

2007-08-25T14:42:00.001-07:00

As I'm writing this my trainer should be home from Canada and sleeping... or making his way home to sleep for a while. From the sound of things, he had a good show. While he didn't make a top ten on either of his two horses, he did say that he had *really* nice rides on both of them. He was happy with that. Our barn owner, however, did manage to snag a Top Ten award on her mare. Yay for both of them!!

I've been playing with Bery at home while they've been gone. She's been good, but a bit sassy with the lack of exercise. Silly girl. She's also been a little hesitant to go forward, but I think it's because the guys accidentally left the sprinkler going for too long and the arena was flooded. Let's just say it was soggy. Very soggy. Fun stuff! You know, it's kind of nice having the whole arena with just one other person in it and no one watching the lessons. It's peaceful!!

Hopefully we'll get back in the swing of things on Tuesday with a lesson with my trainer. I've kind of missed him.

Off to Canada... Well, not me.

2007-08-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

My lovely trainer and his three trusty steeds are off to Canadian Nationals. I guess between their three horses and the horses of two other farms from the area that they are stabled with, every horse except one shows today. Hopefully I should get some exciting news of the show tonight when I call my trainer to find out how things went. I'm sure he'll also be able to tell me how wonderful authentic Canadian "Boston Pizza" is. (That's my favorite place to eat when in Canada.)

Until then, we'll just say that I rode Bery again on Saturday. It was the first day she'd been out of the stall since Tuesday, and she was a little um, reactive. Still, despite her attempts to canter a lot, we had a productive ride. We also had an audience. The Bean, Grammy, my uncle ex-Postino, and a cousin Ellie were in attendance along with one of the clients from the farm. If there was ever a day to be launched into space, that was it. Thankfully Bery behaved.

I hope to have updates for you tomorrow...

Cookies! Cookies I tell ya!

2007-08-16T21:07:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of orientation for law school. what does that have to do with riding, you may ask? Everything.

Those who show horses, or even who just have horses in their lives know without a doubt that they're expensive creatures. Many of us make huge sacrifices in other areas of our lives so that we can afford to ride, show, and share ourself with our furry friends. I think it was before I even got my first horse that I realized how expensive they were. I had compiled a list of tack and supplies I would want if I were lucky enough to actually get a horse. The total dollar amount was in the thousands - and that was just tack and stuff! To a child, that was an amazing amount of money. As an adult, I now know the value of an hour of work - and I've come to realize that showing on a Class A level including Regionals and Nationals just isn't possible on the salary of an administrative assistant in a non-profit. That's why I'm going to law school - though admittedly there are other reasons too.

Today was also the day I went and dropped off freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and good luck cards for my trainer and farm owner, both of who will be leaving for Canadian Nationals tomorrow. It was bittersweet for me on many levels. Of course I wish both of them the best at the show. I know they'll be awesome. Still, it's sad for me too. I've brought at least one horse and competed at Canadian Nationals in each of the last nine years. Canada has always been the focal point of my show season. It's also been a wonderful vacation for me - horses, friends, and good food have been abundant in the land of Robin's Donuts and Boston Pizza. This year I'm staying home. Nationals falls during the first week of classes at law school - and I can hardly afford to miss the first week. I doubt I'll be able to go to Canada (or US Nationals, for that matter) for the next three years. It's possible I won't be able to go right away even after I'm out of school. After all, we all know how busy a new lawyer is.

Like I said, it's bittersweet.

I'm hoping that by giving up Nationals for the next few years I guarantee that I'll be able to compete at them for years to come. Sometimes though, life doesn't work that way. I hope in this case that it does. I really, really do.

Like bumper cars I tell you!

2007-08-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had lesson night in the indoor arena. Granted the indoor isn't small, but after riding outdoors in the 500 x 200 it seems tiny. It felt like we were playing bumper cars except on horseback. Tonight I was on Bery, the brother and sister who ride were on their horse and one of our reining horses, my trainer's daughter was on her reiner, and we had one other girl riding one of the other reiners. If you can imagine what it was like, that puts us at two fairly experienced riders who are used to looking up and steering, one rider who is under 13 years old, and two teenagers who are novices. Fun times!!

At one point I had to chuckle. In an effort to avoid the novices and kid, my trainer's daughter and I ended up doing two circles on the same end of the arena at the same time while going in opposite directions. That was pretty cute!! It was nice to know that she could steer around me and vice versa and we didn't have to second guess or slam on the brakes. There were a few other times when the best course of action was to slam on the brakes, and I have to say it comes in handy riding a scrapped out reining horse when you need to stop suddenly. Let's just say Bery has definitely still got her stop.

I was really proud of Bery. Riding inside with all the traffic showed me how far she's come in the past few months. She was a little cranky at the other horses, but I intentionally put her in some really tight spots just to see what she'd do with it, and she listened and went through. At one point we cantered between someone spinning near the wall and cut to go right next to our trainer who cringed and said, "I was hoping you weren't going to do that!" Hey, I cleared him by at least four inches!! I don't know what he was talking about. Actually, I sort of think he should be proud. There was a day a long time ago he would have had to tell me "Aww, come on, you need to go through there!" Not anymore!! Hee!!!

Our trainer leaves on Friday for Canadian Nationals. He's bringing three horses, all of which go on Monday. I'm trying to decide right now whether or not to bring some cookies up to him and whether or not it would be best to do it tomorrow or Thursday. I'm thinking Thursday, but hoping I'll have time after law school orientation. I'm not sure if I will. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

Oh, and good news. The little Palomino colt is up and walking still. There's still hope for him.

Send some vibes and jingles if you can...

2007-08-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

The farm hit a big run of bad luck this weekend, which pretty much meant I've got no riding report for you. We had a big storm hit the area on Friday night. It dropped some much-needed rain, but it also knocked power out to a gazillion people in the area including the farm. That meant they had to drive the water truck to a nearby vet clinic on Saturday to get water for the horses. Fun times. The storm also meant the fabulous outdoor arena got wet - which means it won't be rideable for a while. Probably at least until Tuesday. Maybe later. With the outdoor wet and the power knocked out, we had nowhere to ride on Saturday. What a bummer, eh?

The final thing that was a HUGE bummer on Saturday was what happened to Peep's weaning partner, a fancy little palomino colt. (I really, really like him and would buy him in a heartbeat if I could have two babies!) I guess some time in the night the little guy got a front leg through the bars on the stall, and he got stuck hung upside down by his leg. They had to take him to the vet clinic, as he couldn't rise on that leg and his neck was sore and possibly damaged. Preliminary reports are that he didn't break any bones, but he did puncture a joint for sure. So if you've got vibes to spare, send them his way. He's really a neat, neat horse as you can see.

It's a wonderful thing to be "at home" in a barn.

2007-08-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

It seems like such a trivial thing, but it's so wonderful to feel at home in the barn where you ride. It's such an amazing thing to genuinly like just about everyone who is a client or worker. It's so nice not to second guess training or horsemanship decisions. It just makes everything so much easier and more satisfying than it could be.

While I could easily write an ode to my barn, I think in this matter brevity is okay. Suffice to say in my 15+ years of showing and riding Arabian horses I've been in and out of a lot of barns. Some have been better than others. Some trainers have been better than others too. However, my current situation is probably the best one right now. We've got the right mix of clients, the right mix of horses, and the right mix of everything else that makes it so fun and such a neat place to be a part of. It's truely wonderful, and I'm blessed to be a part of it. Who would have ever thought that ten years later I'd love the place more than ever? Certainly not me!!!

Strawbery, Chicky and Peep - oh my!

2007-08-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

I had a rather unremarkable lesson on Bery on Tuesday this week, and was lucky enough to be able to ride her again both yesterday and today during the day while her trainer worked with his horse in the big outdoor arena too. (When you've been a client long enough and you're at a point where you're low maintenance during your lessons - or no maintenance actually - you get to have perks like riding during the trainer's work day because he knows you won't disrupt his work. It's a pretty sweet deal, actually! I just try not to abuse the priviledge.)

In any case, yesterday was sort of a fun ride. I tacked Bery up and got started, and it was obvious that she had some pep in her step. The situation probably wasn't helped by the guys on the farm doing maintenance on the broodie paddock across the road. You see, even through the high wind Bery could hear them working on redoing fencing. That meant that we'd have drills going, and the scree of old board fence being taken off of the posts, and the occaisional other noises attendant in construction projects. The great part about it is that rides like yesterday really help me see how far we've come together. Previously Bery would have left dodge and been a mental case about the strange sounds and sights coming from acros the road. I quite likely would have had a patch of sky betwene me and the saddle at least once earlier in our relationship. As it was, yesterday Bery gave a little start once or twice, but then heeded my "Easy girl, I won't let them eat you" advice and carried on like it was no big deal. Let's just say I was really proud of her! (The whole thing reminded me of Maddie, to the Nth degree!!! She was always one to look to her rider for safety and reassurance.)

Today's ride was much less eventful in the "scary things coming at you" way, but much more eventful in the "hey let's get some actual good work that will be beneficial done" sort of way. As I was working, my trainer offered me some advice. He said I really needed to bend Bery to the right more through her body when I was going right. I started asking for more bend (left leg, right rein - but hold your left rein too so she doesn't just bend her neck), and then proceeded ask for clarification on my angle of attack for my right rein. I wasn't quite sure what he had in mind and I wasn't sure what I was doing was working enough. I found out that what I was doing was right, but I needed to do more of it. The difference in Bery's canter departs from when I started today to when I finished was wonderful!! I could get her right lead, kept her from wanting to launch into the canter, and I could also keep her on a straight track instead of letting her fade right as she often wants to do. (That's a throwback to the person who used to work her, and who let her drift on and out. Or at least that's my story - and I'm sticking to it!) In any case, I think we made some good progress, and now I know what to work on. The things I learned going right today will certainly help us going left too. All in all, I thought it was a pretty darn good lesson, even if we were well on our way to hitting 94 degrees today.

Because I haven't mentioned the other ponies lately, I should also say I found out today that Chiclet is a whore for getting curried. She sure must have been itchy! She makes the cutest faces when you hit the right spots too. It cracked me up. Also, little Peep probably got weaned today. She's four months old, and the farm manager decided it's time. I'll have to try to get some new photos of her. She's growing so much!!

Back from the show...

2007-08-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at the show dawned grey and cloudy. It wasn't too horribly cold, but it wasn't nearly 90 either. Oh well... After feeding the horses and watering too, I brought little Bery out to longe. Given her sudden energy on Saturday when she decided bucking was a fun activity, I thought I'd make her move out on the longe line. I made her move.

Our first class was okay. Not great, but okay. We had some problems in the warm up. I tried riding her like I had the day before, and I quickly realized that I didn't have the horse to go short with the reins and just push her over her face. She was getting upset at me when I took contact with her, and it really seemed counter-productive to keep trying. That's when I asked her to walk for a while, so we could both go back to our happy place. Just before I went in, I decided to give her a bunch of rein and just see if I could get her to go long and low, more like what we had been doing at home. That seemed like it was much appreciated by Bery. She quieted down a bunch, and I thought that might be a way go get her shown. We ended up fourth, which wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but it wasn't bad either.

After our first class of the day, I decided to try a bit change. I went to my bridle bag and took out my other bridle, then grabbed my kimberwick. I figured that since she was a little too willing to lean on a snaffle but also seemed to resent being bumped back off of one, maybe if I put a kimberwick in her mouth with a curb chain it would give me the leverage to get her to put her chin in and break over the bridle better without having to be so strong with my hands. As I was putting together the bridle, my trainer commented about my bit change. It was awesome - even he admitted it might be a pretty good idea to try a kimberwick. (Yay!!)

When I bridled for the second class of the day, I knew I made the right decision with the kimberwick. I grabbed the side and gave a little tug, and Bery just put her head right down. Wahoo!! During the warm up it was obvious that it was going to help. I didn't even use a training fork at all and we did fine. Our class was better than the previous ones, but still not great. We placed fifth. Still, to me the excitement of the day is that my instincts were spot on as far as the bridle change. In fact, they were so spot on that I'll be going to buy another kimberwick for us to rip apart and use for schooling. Wahooooo!!!!

The other part that was sort of fun on the day was Bery's owner giving us a compliment while talking to one of the other show people. She was telling him how I was retraining Bery, and she made a point to say that I'd definitely made progress and that I was doing it all myself. Now, I always feel like it's been a team project with my trainer giving advice and such, but it was pretty cool having her give me credit like that. Definitely a compliment if you ask me, especially given that the other person had just commented that she was starting to look "very hunter-y."

Show Report: Day Two

2007-08-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

I met my trainer at the farm and followed him to the show on Friday. We set up and worked horses, and I got to ride Bery to see where we were at. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Bery was a star!!!! She was round, cadenced, and went at a really great speed without much effort from me. It was pretty sweet! I made a conscious choice to get the heck OFF of her pretty quick. I figured I should reward good behavior when I get it - especially since it was at a show.

This morning I took her to lunge, and Ms. Bery was pretty sluggish. I almost felt bad for her. She was really quiet when I was getting her ready too. I got on and she was nice and round, and that was nice. Unfortunately, I lost some of that in the warm up, and she started poking her nose out and lengthening everything as we went a bit. I also don't exactly think it helped that she felt so good with the change in weather (from 80 to 60) that when I asked her for the first canter depart she stuck her head straight down and started bucking! BUCKING! Can you believe it?! I firmly told her that wasn't acceptable - and I'm not so sure she appreciated my input any more than I appreciated her bucking! She got a little wound up. :) I decided to try taking a much greater hold of her and use way more leg to push her up to the bridle, similar to how I used to ride Maddie. I was feeling like she might be able to round over the bridle better with more contact now. I started doing that right before we went in - and it worked really slick for the first direction. ;) Second direction when they asked for the reverse at a walk she got a little high in the bridle and a little spunky. Silly girl. I wasn't impressed with our second direction - but we did get our lead. We ended up fourth of seven, which was fine. Some people told me we should have placed higher. Eh. I'm okay with where we were for what we did. I also feel like I know how I'm going to try riding her tomorrow. As I like to say, I've got a plan!!

Tomorrow we've got two classes. We've got the championship and an AATR (adult amateur to ride) class. Hopefully we can make a little progress. This is our last show until the big one in September. I'd love to get some of this figured out.

Hello... is anyone out there?

2007-08-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

Though I originally started this as a sort of training diary/commentary so I remember those itty bitty details that escape as memories dim - I hope people are reading this and find my adventures interesting.

I sometimes feel like I'm posting to a void though. Today I want to try something new. If you read this, could you please leave a comment and say "Hi!" If you've got a horsey blog of your own, I'd love to hear about it and if you want to share leave the URL so I can take a peek.

If you don't feel like speaking up, that's fine too. You're more than welcome to keep reading and hanging out in silence. That's what makes this fun - you don't have to come out unless you want to.

And to keep this horsey... Tomorrow morning we leave for another show. This one is an all amateur show. Bery is going, but Chiclet is staying home. So stay tuned. As you well know just about anything can happen at a show! I'll post an update tomorrow evening.

Having Horses and Raising Children

2007-08-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

Bits of wisdom from my horse trainer that I apply to my 20 month old every day:

Start them the way you want them to finish out.

Be consistent in your expectations and don't send mixed messages. When you make a decision, stick with it. The cruelest thing you can do is say something is okay one day, and then tell them it isn't the next.

Horses want to know where they stand and have consistent, firm boundaries. Those will help them feel secure and come to know their "jobs" and help them enjoy doing them.

When you've reached a training impasse, try to find other ways to ask for what you want. Restate the request, and if necessary go back to the basics to make sure your foundation is secure.

Don't be afraid to brush up on basics often. They will be your foundation as you delve into new realms of performance, and they are the basis for the more advanced maneuvers you'll need as you progress.

Make sure you don't take too much personally, especially during the times you want to pull your hair out. Keep focused on the goal, and know that this too shall pass.

Riding a horse is like steering a bobcat. When you've got everything mucked up and going different directions, sometimes you just need to let go of the controls and let everything center itself back up. Then you can resume what you were doing and be on your way.

Don't forget to take breaks and just stop and stand - it teaches them patience.

---
Can I just say, without my horse trainer (who was father to 3 girls) my kid would be running amok!

Bery Quickly...

2007-07-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

I went to the farm on Saturday and had another *great* ride on little Bery. She was very forward and very workmanlike. She seems to have gotten over the sillies and goofiness that she was doing earlier, and she's actually working now. It's really fun!

I'll be out on Tuesday and Thursday to ride her again, and we leave for the next show on Friday morning.

And since i know you're dying to know, it looks like so far Maddie and her new owner have made the cut at Youth Nationals in Arabian hunter Pleasure AOTR 13 & Under. Yay for them!!! (Oddly enough, two other horses in the same class who also made the cut were owned by my friends. They showed against me and Maddie, and they got sold too to little kids! How funny is it that all our 18 - 39 horses are now duking it out in 13 & under!?!)

Zoom, zoom zoom! & Gelding my spurs!

2007-07-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

I rode Bery last night and had quite a little sportster on my hands!! She hadn't been out with my trainer since Tuesday when he declared her awesome - and she was a little fresh. Not to mention she was also in raging, bump your hip against the wall and raise your tail and wink, heat. Fun stuff.

In any case, it was really fun riding Bery last night. She zoomed around the arena with extra verve and zip - but she never once offered to do anything stupid, mean, or uncouth! She mostly kept frame, and definitely had pep, and it was really fun! Because she was so forward and speedster like I got to send her through some itty bitty holes between other riders and walls, etc. and she just put her little ears back and went! FUN!

Our canter was probably more of a hand-gallop (or at least it felt like it - though maybe some of it is because we were inside in a much smaller arena) and our trot was super speed! It was really fun getting the canter (hand gallop) to trot transition. She just dropped down and never missed a beat!! FUN!!!

I was a little bummed. My trainer was too busy instructing other riders to even notice us boogying around the arena. So when I asked if he'd seen how sporty Bery was being, he said he missed it. So sad!

In any case - how fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In related news - one of the dads of the lesson kids was using the grinder at the farm to work on his daughter's spurs. I made a flip comment asking if he'd grind my spurs down a bit, and he said he would. I've got ball spurs like the ones pictured (with maybe a slightly longer shank) and I really love riding in spurs that were ball spurs, but have been ground down so the ball is gone. It's mild, but more effective and obvious cueing. So the guy asked me to explain what I wanted my spurs to be like, and I told him and showed him the pair I like riding in. He said, "Oh, so you want me to geld your spurs for you?" "Uh, yeah... something like that. They'd be perfect if the balls were gone." Bwahaha!

Bery Good, Bery Good

2007-07-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's been wonderful this week when I go to the farm. My trainer has been telling me that Bery has been "really good" during his rides - one day he even called her a "star!" Last night someone even told me that our trainer said to him that for as much as he knows about hunters, he really feels like she's starting to make a pretty cute one. It's so gratifying to know that our little Bery is really learning her job and starting to be comfortable with it. It's so cool to know that I might have something to do with her turning out to be useful and fun in her new job.

Last night Bery was really good for me. I've been riding her in the short shanked curb and draw reins still - and it's been really good for us. I'm still having some left lead problems but last night when I hupped her back down after missing it, she would pick it up correctly the next time without getting her panties in a twist. That's progress. She also didn't really seem bothered by the traffic zooming by like she is sometimes. She had one moment that had me scratching my head. It was cute. I was cantering her to the left and she sped up a bit, so I wanted to slow her down. I lifted on the outside rein, then pulled her shoulder back on the inside to slow it down, then I released back to her. Bery responded by slowing way down and just locking into a frame and speed that were wonderful for probably 3/4 of the 200x500 arena. By gosh, she got it!! Of course we had to do some work at getting it after she lost it, but still. She's definitely showing signs of understanding and trying to hold her frame and speed where I want it now even when I totally release back to her. It's pretty cool!

In other news, I sought out Peep last night in her stall. She was eating, so I didn't bug her, I just watched. She's definitely got a big old QH butt on her. She looks like a mini version of her sire, Howie. It ought to be interesting to see just how huge she gets and what of her Arab dam shows through as she matures.

Maddie is off to Youth Nationals

2007-07-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

I got an email from Maddie's new "mom." She and the children just returned home from Region 16 with two Reserves and four Top Five awards. Poor Maddie must have been exhausted! Still, it's wonderful to know they're doing so well together. They leave Thursday for Youth Nationals. I wish them nothing but the best!!!!

Still Bery good!

2007-07-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight's ride on little bery was pretty uneventful. Being in our 200 x 500 outdoor arena is a huge help - we can get going and work on steering and forward without having to avoid walls all the time. Not to mention cars whizzing by and joggers and the chickens and llamas which all contribute to the effective schooling of an easily distracted horse. :) I have to say, little Bery is hitting quite a lick lately - she's really *getting* things. That isn't to say she's perfect. She's far from it. (We still have to work on our right lead - her previous rider really has her overbent and leaning left, so left is her default and comfort zone.) It's just that she's so much happier and relaxed and willing to work with me. She's really becoming a fun horse to ride. It's kind of neat! Let's just say that it's a pretty high compliment when our trainer even says, "She was pretty good in that bridle today when I rode her." In trainer-speak that's equivalent to "Wahoo!!!!"

Because Bery was being so good, tonight I got a chance to help out one of our 13 & under riders who shows western pleasure. Our trainer had uttered a "Rachel, what are you doing?!" but never explained to her why he was wailing. As we got further down the long side I translated for her, "Hey Rachel, he wants you to ride off the rail." She said she got it, but the next time I rode by she was back 5 feet off the edge of our arena. (Which, like I said is 200 feet wide, so you've got room!) That's when I explained "random acts of steering" to her and suggested she pick out random rocks or dirt clods or posts and make an effort to ride to them instead of following the outside of the arena. I said to try serpentines and circles and straight lines and triangles and such, and really try to mix it up. Heck, I even suggested writing her name in cursive. I said random acts of steering are what really get your horse to tune in and listen and they help you with things like speed and rate, because your horse has to pay attention to you instead of schlepping along on their own. I also suggested that you could even do them in the show ring, and they'd help there because you could slightly change your line to ride deeper around the end or pass someone, and you'd know you could do it and not lose form. I think that's when the lightbulb went off. She spent the rest of the lesson trying new shapes and directions and really putting her old guy to work. I think it's fun to pass along tips to the kids who listen. It's always better hearing it from someone else too. Somehow it always seems more credible.

I ride Bery again Saturday. Hopefully she'll be as good as she was tonight again!

Bery bery good!

2007-07-17T20:20:00.001-07:00

I had a lesson on little Bery today. My trainer rode her in a short shank mullen mouth curb with draw reins run through the center of her legs this afternoon. He thought it would give him the ability to stand her up off the outside rein like he thinks we need to. He liked it, and he said that's how he wanted me to school Bery tonight. That's what I did.

I have to say, the last time we tried schooling in draws and a curb, I really didn't like it at all. I had a hard time because the more I pulled up, the more Bery acted like a llama and brought her whole head and neck up instead of actually releasing down. This time, however, she was with the program. If I took a hold and lifted, she might fight for a bit but she quickly gave it up and dropped down into the bridle. It really worked slick! I could take a hold of her and lift, and she really responded well. Not only did I get her head and neck down, but I could also rate her footfall and work on slowing things down. It was pretty fun!

One of the other girls at lessons tonight made a comment about Bery asking if she's finally starting to relax, or if I'd already been schooling her for three hours. I take that as a compliment. The gal who said that is actually the one who showed her a bit last fall, so she more than anyone knows how tense and unhappy Bery could be. It was great that she could see such a difference.

Yup, little Bery is doing great lately!!

Wahoo for Bery!

2007-07-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

Bery's last class today was fairly early this morning. We had a couple of other horses getting ready, and as they got pulled out and sent up to the ring, Bery started getting very antsy. I think she really didn't want to be alone. My friend thinks she is just a diva. As soon as we pulled her out of her stall and put her in crossties to start saddling she calmed right down. As my friend said, as soon as we were all about her, she was all about that.

In any case, we had about 10 classes between when our trainer went with Xena (the warrior princess) and when I was supposed to show. That meant a lot of time. However, given how Bery was acting and given the lack of calls in the barn yesterday we decided to head her up to the arena when they went up. Bery and I got a bird's eye view of lots of the championship classes as we hung out on the rail for a while. I think it was really good for her to just stand and hang out for a while. In the beginning she was chomping her bit, but by the end she was standing and practically dozing. Well, mostly dozing after chewing on my rein and the board rail once or twice.

When I mounted and went to work I wondered where my little relaxed Bery went. I had a little llama to get through. I just kept working my plan (hold outside rein, bump her off the inside - sometimes hold inside, then bump off the outside - try to let her relax down if at all possible) and stuck to it. We did a lot of cantering to try to keep forward and get her to relax down a bit, but I broke it up with trot work - since that's what she seems most "at home" at when we school. I started the ride with fairly hard corrections, as she was blowing me off a bit. As we warmed up I started to smooth things out and steady up and get a bit more subtle so she could round into contact and find a comfortable spot to frame to. It seemed to work. In the beginning she definitely needed help focusing, but after a while I think she appreciated the change, and she really started to respond and settle in.

My goal for the class was pretty simple. I felt like a doof for missing a lead in each of my other classes, so I *really* just wanted to prove that the two of us were capable of getting our leads. I also wanted to be able to show the horse I had today (and not get caught up searching for perfection), and keep her from getting distracted by things outside the ring. Simple, right?

We went in and she wasn't nearly as nice and round as in our first class, but I think I did a pretty good job of showing what I had. I kept her on the track I picked, and we managed to avoid a few people who were having blow-ups in the ring. One was at a walk, the horse in front of me started going backwards right at us. I told her "behind you" and ended up narrowly missing getting hit. Oy! The other was someone who stopped right on our scary rail at the canter, leaving a little itty bitty spot between her and the worst part of the rail. (The spot has a stereo speaker, and the announcer booth right there.) I took a hold, tightened my leg for any upcoming spook, and I drove little Bery right between that girl and the rail. The next time we hit that spot we got wedged between two other horses, one on each side, and we ended up cantering down the rail with Bery's little ears pinned - but we did it. (Have I mentioned her penchant for hating other horses?) Granted I had a LOT of leg to get us through, but still - we did it!! For both of our canter departs I took my time setting up, and we also got both of our leads. :) We ended up fourth of about eight or nine.

I asked what to do to improve, and my trainer said I need to take more a hold of her. I'm sure he's probably right over the long term, but right now I'm afraid if I do I'll be making her invert instead of going over the bridle. I'm not sure we've got enough forward and that I've got enough leg to make that work. We'll have to play with that in the next few weeks and reconvene the jury. In any case, our next show is August 3rd or so - so we've got some time.

If you're still with me, thanks for reading. I think Bery and I have definitely been on the right track. I've got some controls in her so when she goes llama I can get through some of it. I've also gotten some experience riding through it at home, so I know we can come out okay on the other end. I also think she's starting to trust that she isn't going to get in trouble for being scared or being wrong - and she's starting to relax a bit with me. We got into some very tight situations in the class today that before would have freaked both of us out. Today they were tight situations, but we trusted each other and we got through them together. Sure, it might not have been as pretty a class as some out there, but for us it was pretty darn cool.

Wahoo for little Bery!

Day Three: Wahoo!

2007-07-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

First off, rest in peace little Lucky the llama. It was a short life, but you touched the lives of those who met you. I'm sorry you couldn't have stayed with us longer.

Bery showed in two classes today. We were a little rushed for the first one. They cancelled classes and didn't tell us. I never did get to braid her tail - which I didn't mind. Bing in heat and seeing as how the flies were bothering her, standing behind her to get her braided wasn't high on my priority list. That said, warm up for our first class was great! She was in a pretty decent mood, and I think we've been putting enough controls on her that when she tried to come up, I was able to get her bridled back up again without too much of a problem. Score one for consistent riding! I actually could let her hang out low without much contact, which is what I've been trying to get her to do at home. Taking off the training fork didn't even seem to matter much. She still stayed round and pretty relaxed.

When we went in the ring, little Bery gave a look at the line of cars around the end of the ring, but she didn't do much more than that. I think our walking yesterday may have paid off. Well, and my bet with Rod that she'd spook herself into center ring. She made a loser out of me on that bet. We had a couple of moments that pretty much weren't steller (including a wrong lead second direction when I couldn't figure out how to frame her going into the horrible scary corner of the arena). I really should have just been confident and ridden it strongly, but I think I might have over-thought it and left the door open for the lead problem. My bad. In any case, Ms. Bery was very good, and I was very happy. We got sixth I think, but we still ended up placing higher than three or four horses. I also heard the judge was watching us a lot :) - and she saw the missed lead. :/

Between classes we didn't have bery much time. (Hee!) I took her back to the stalls and tied her up, still saddled. That didn't go so well. She was pawing and cranky and really wanted to be done. I ended up feeding her hay to keep her happy. :) I heard a class call that class 100 was in the ring - then nothing. Suddenly, they announced that class 106 was in the arena - and my class was 107. Oops!!!! The speakers were out in our barn again. Our trainer showed back up as I scrambled to bridle. I wanted him to run up with us, but he was in the class after me. He threw me on Bery, and another client led me up like a pony ride (past a flappy tent and over the wet concrete and by the white styrofoam cooler lid blowing in the wind) and left me with the gate open for my class. So much for warm up!!! In we went!!! Bery was obviously not nearly as settled or happy the second class. She had crap for warm up - but we tried. She was a little more looky at the cars. She wasn't too bad overall, but I did manage to blow the first lead. (Seriously, I *am* capable of going through a class without screwing leads up...) Still, for what it was - hot on the heels of the first class, no warm up, scrambling to get to the arena, I was flustered to say the least, I was happy with what we did. We placed sixt of seven, which was a bummer, but hey, it happens.

Tomorrow (which is now today) Bery and I are going in the AATR hunt championship. I have pretty decent hopes for us assuming we get some decent warm up. In any case, no matter what happens I was really happy with this whole show. It's obvious we're getting there. It's also obvious that what we're doing at home is working, even if it doesn't feel like it all the time. I also feel like I'm getting a better understanding of what Ms. Bery needs from her rider to feel secure and do her job (not a lot of pressure, some quiet time to decompress in the show ring, let her carry herself when she'll let you, stay quiet and don't use a lot of spur) and that's something too, I think.

Oh! And Chicky!! Ms. Chiclet was a STAR for her reining class. She ended up scoring 66.5 (start with a score of 70) but even her trainer couldn't figure out where she got hit for points. She was pretty cool!!! She won her Open Half Arab reining class of four horses, bringing home a glass plate and a first place ribbon. She'd definitely starting to look a lot more finished and adult like. It's pretty nifty!!

Horse Show Report: Day Two

2007-07-13T20:48:00.001-07:00

First, the llama baby is still doing okay. She hasn't tried to stand, but she can lift her head. She's also eating okay.

I rode Berry again today and she was okay. Not great but not horrible. Well, actually she did start out horrible, but we got through that after a while of playing llama and having our head in the air and not wanting to go forward.

Bery just really seems interested in everything going on around her. She looks at the cars parked by the ring. She looks at the announcer's stand. She just looks. She also chooses to spook at the stpuidest things. A little girl walked around the end of the arena and you would have thought it was going to eat her. Silly Bery. She did finally get over the girl. At the end of the ride I took a while and just let her walk around the arena. I made her walk until she relaxed and I could rest my hand with the reins on the saddle horn and she could walk quietly. When she would, then I asked her to trot, which she did quietly. Then I bumped her into a canter, which she again did quietly. Then we reversed and repeated the whole thing. I felt like it was important for her to have a chance to actually relax in the show ring and learn that things were okay and she needn't be stressed. Granted, I don't know if it will work, but hey, it was a shot.

We've got two classes tomorrow with little chance to school between them. It should be interesting. She's either going to be a star, or get me quite motivated for a schooling session tomorrow night. We'll see which it is.

Horses and llamas at the horse show, oh my!

2007-07-12T22:14:00.001-07:00

I can't make this stuff up. You'll never guess what showed up at our horse show this afternoon. Guess... Try... I dare you.

Wrong.

It's a two hour old premature orphaned baby llama!!

Is it not totally cute and doesn't it make you just want to pet it and feed it colustrum replacer in a syringe? I know that's how I felt!! One of the trainers at the show was loading horses onto his trailer when one of his rescued llamas decided to give birth to her baby early. She was a maiden llama mama - and she didn't produce any milk, so the trainer and his wife decided to bring the orphan to the show and see if they couldn't bottle feed it. Luckily there was a vet supply place on the way to the show - and they were able to get colostrum replacer for their premature llama. What are those odds?! You can't make this stuff up. You just can't.

In horsey news Bery was quite tolerable when I got around to riding her. I longed her first and got her piss and vinegar out though. I'm not crazy you know. I rode her in draws and started low, then got them raised for a more true picture of what I had. It wasn't horrible, but it definitely had room for improvement. Luckily she doesn't show til Saturday.

Chiclet also got ridden. She was pretty darn sociable too. Her lead changes weren't stellar (they never are) but she was cute circling and stopping too. She's definitely going to be a great stopper.

I could also talk about the stud that got ridden that was such a highly anticipated event that I actually brought along my video camera from home - but I won't go into tooo much detail. Suffice to say the ride wasn't nearly as interesting to watch as I might have suspected after seeing him in his stall, getting saddled, and letting my trainer hop on. Still, we did close the arena gate and warn small children to stay clear. He shows on Saturday too. I can't wait.

Tomorrow we have one horse in the barn showing - and likely lots of schooling. I'll try to update on the llama too. You'll be happy to know I was able and willing to donate a polar fleece blanket to the llama cause. He only had towels and he looked so cold! When he got the polar fleece he snuggled right down. Hopefully he'll pull through.

Ah mares, you have to love em.

2007-07-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Lately Strawbery and I seem to have hit some sort of groove in our rides. Sure, she's got her moments when she gets in a snit about things, but they've been far fewer and far less significant than previously. Not to mention I'm starting to feel like I've got a handle on how to get her out of those moods when they strike. We even got complimented on Saturday. Someone thought it didn't even look like the same horse. Her owner said she's starting to look really pretty. My trainer said that she's finally doing what she needs to with her legs. Needless to say I was starting to feel pretty good about her and our chances for the upcoming show this weekend.

Now not so much.

I went out to the farm tonight and it was obvious from the time I put a saddle on her that Bery was in a strange mood. After I girthed her I went to grab her bridle and Bery shot backwards in the crossties. As I was beginning to girth her up in the arena Bery again shot backwards. (My trainer sometimes schools this, so I thought that might be why.) I got her girthed, but she framed up and stood just chomping at her bit - which she sometimes does when she's stressed or confused. I figured I'd see what I had, so I climbed up and started off at a walk to do our warm ups.

Warm ups actually went better than I thought they might. She was sensitive but behaving really well. I went into our work session and was happy to find her working well, even with our martingale lengthened out longer than we'd normally have it. She was framed and moving nicely. Then I asked for the canter. That's when little Bery gave a mighty shake of her head, pinned her ears back and cantered off - ears still plastered to her neck. We did some walk, trot and canter work the other direction too, and it was definite. She was not thrilled with me at the canter, and she let me know it with her ears even though she was actually doing exactly what I was asking her to. (Though her ears were pinned, she kept a nice pace, stayed round, and was cantering on a loose rein! It was pretty nice!)

Knowing that we leave for a show on Thursday, I intentionally kept the ride super short. She did everything I asked in nice form, it was just obvious that she wasn't thrilled to be doing it. Given what I know about her temperament and her sister's, I figured that was all I could ask for tonight. Pick your battles, right?

When I put her away I think I figured it out. Little Miss Bery is coming into heat just in time for the horse show. Obviously she's also a little um, mare-ish when she's in heat. This could mean we'll have some interesting show reports coming this week!! ;^)

Ah mares - you gotta love em.

Things seem to be continuing to progress with Bery.

2007-07-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Things seem to be progressing with my little Bery. With lots of hard work on the part of our trainer and lots of hard work on my part and Bery's, people are starting to really see a difference in her. Saturday when I rode her I was complimented by someone who said, "I almost didn't think it was the same horse. She looked really good!" I've also been told that she's "starting to look really pretty now." She's starting to use her legs the way she needs to, and she's getting really sporty about steering and letting me do my thing with her. She's also losing some of her defensiveness, and I think we're starting to find a groove with one another.

It's getting really fun.

Now, that said, we leave Thursday for a horse show.

I'm pretty certain that Bery and fate have some hard riding in store for me at the show, but I think I'll be ready. Even if we take half of the progress we've made and transfer it into the show arena, I'll be happy. If we don't, I'll know where our weaknesses are, and we'll have more to work on in the coming weeks. That's what I love about showing. It really gives you a benchmark from which to strive and reach for "perfection."

Would it be too much to ask that she not go into llama mode as soon as we take off the martingale? Just once? Keep your fingers crossed.

Well, she'll never have a palomino baby, that's for sure...

2007-07-06T05:33:00.000-07:00

I've been having some really great rides on little Bery lately. She and I seem to have hit a lick or reached some sort of understanding when it comes to work. She isn't nearly as bitchy, and I'm not nearly as stringent. It seems to be working for us.

Last night though, my little Bery Weiss reminded me of one of her little quirks that I find really charming. She hates palominos. No really. We were riding around the arena and every time we got close to Nico, a nice palomino 1/2 Arab reining horse, little Bery would pin her ears back and snarl to beat the band. Yet when we passed the bay western mare giving a little child a lesson there was no reaction. Nor did it bother her when the chestnut reining horse went zooming past us. It was only the blonde that bothered her, and how! Another time when the big dunalino QH stud we have in the barn was out in the arena for lessons with us I literally cut my ride short because she was being good except wanting to kill him if he got within 10 feet of us. Silly girl. She obviously hates blondes!!

Playing Hooky

2007-06-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

What could be better than riding your horse at 1:00 on a Friday afternoon in 75 degree sunny weather with a belly full of Boston Pizza and your trainer and two other friends also riding? Nothing my friends. Nothing!

Okay, so the semis that were flying down the road by the barn could have not come by, but since that wasn't an option, we'll just pretend that they didn't send Strawbery into a dither every time they came by. I'll just block out the fact that one happened to come right after I finally got her to pick up the correct lead and go into the canter, so she was a little wound up anyway. Well, I'll forget that she sort of went airborne at least. It wasn't her fault exactly. (Well, it was... but...)

Strawbery seems to be a tightly wound little girl, and it's somewhat puzzling. I worked her last night, so I know she'd been out. Yet as soon as I got on her today she was wound tighter than a drum. She hollowed and didn't want to go forward, and she just seemed upset. Forget the usual warm ups of haunches in and turn arounds, forget sidepassing both directions, forget anything to see what you've got when you get on and she's like that. I'm finding the best thing I can do for her is to ask her to go forward at a trot (it's almost scary asking her to move out, it feels like she's going to explode but not in any direction you could pick). In any case, that's what it seems to take. After a bit of trotting she's absolutely fine. She settles in and seems to mentally relax and get with the program. Today was more of the same with the only exception being when traffic came near us. She's definitely got an aversion to traffic.

It's also interesting. She'll relax and be fine, but as soon as you ask her for something and she gets confused or makes a simple mistake it's like it blows her mind. She gets almost panicky and upset and just feels like she's waiting to get in trouble. Today's two examples were the wrong leads into the canter and once when she wouldn't turn to the right. I think turning to the right was first. We were just going around a corner, and she wouldn't turn right. She got more and more confused, and I popped her in the shoulder to help her think "turn around" but it didn't work. Finally I left the spot we were in by turning left, hit a trot to get some momentum, then worked a bit on "hey honey, let's turn right okay?" She absolutely turned for me, but it took her a while to settle back in after that. She was really nervous. The leads were asking for the right lead, and she picked up the left one two times in a row. Each time I simply "hupped" her down, set her back up, and asked her to canter off again. No discipline. No making a big deal of it. Boy did she start getting upset though. When we finally got it and were cantering down the long side of the outdoor a huge semi truck came along up over the hill from behind us, and poor Bery came a little unglued. I just kept my cool and got her through it, but I felt a bit bad that it got her so upset.

As I told my trainer, she just tends to get so upset when things don't go her way. I think she's trying now, but when she doesn't know what she's supposed to do it really stresses her out. I kind of feel like my job is to just keep asking for the same stuff in the same way and let her figure out that she isn't going to get crunched for making a mistake. I'm hoping if I keep it up we can get past some of her early training where she was asked to be trained before she was broke. We'll see... In any case I'm sure riding her is probably really good for me - and hopefully her. If it wasn't me on her, she'd likely be sitting. Hopefully with some of my work she'll get beyond that stuff and come around. I've got time if she does.

A Little Uppity!

2007-06-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

I rode Bery again last night, and Ms. Bery was a little uppity! After I got one I asked her to walk, and instead I got an inverted llama that was a bundle of nerves and energy. I wasn't sure which way she was planning to explode, but I felt like I was sitting on an uptight powder keg! That's when I simply asked her to start moving forward at a trot and as I was able, added in some serpentines and such to re-establish steering and a semblance of control (on my part). Rod also shortened our training fork a bit, so she couldn't totally llama out.

All in all I have to say, once she moved through the silly stupids we had quite a nice ride. She stayed in the bridle really well, and she stayed pretty mentally quiet. I'm finding that a new angle of attack with my hands (pull toward your shoulders) and keeping my two hands together instead of using them more singly seems to help her. Want to turn? Don't just pull one shoulder back, move both of them. It seems like Bery gets less confused that way and understands more what I'm asking - hence she's a lot less defensive. In any case, it seems to be working.

It was a really nice ride, and I had a bunch of fun (once she settled in!).

Ode to a Special Mentor

2007-06-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

I sometimes post at Chronicle of the Horse, and today I was inspired by a post asking people to talk about their riding mentors. This is what I wrote about the person I consider to be my riding mentor and a wonderful friend.

I first saw a photo of him doing a bridleless stop on a reining horse and thought he was pretty neat. I was 16 and new to riding. I then saw him come to the barn where I worked to help my (then) trainer school some of his horses for the Futurity/Maturity. My job was to saddle and sit in the wings and watch while he schooled our horses and talked to my (then) trainer. Watching the transformation in those horses when he rode them was magical. They looked AMAZING. I was floored. I knew I *had* to ride with him.

Fast forward.

I finally started riding in his barn in 1997 on a new-to-me horse who I had bought after the passing of my own gelding. The new to me horse was a litte counterfeit, and he quickly figured it out. We got rid of that horse and he helped find my Deztany for me. It was a perfect fit. In my first months of lessons I never left his barn without a migraine from having my beliefs and assumptions challenged on everything I thought I knew about riding. He wasn't always kind. He wasn't always tactful. I knew though, that if I stuck it out I would learn a lot from him. At the end of my second year I will never forget his lecture after letting me fail miserably in the schooling ring at Nationals the night before my final. Asked why he hadn't even tried to help me, I was told that right then I was beyond his help, and I had some hard decisions to make on what I really wanted to do with my riding. Harsh? Yes. Honest? To a fault. On target? Definitely.

It wasn't until the third year that I started to understand. His system started making sense. His reasons became clear. His intentions emerged. I started to realize how often he had set himself up as the fall guy to spare me from realizing how many of my problems were of my own making and to avoid me falsely blaming my horse. That's when I found a whole new level of respect for him. A trainer who is willing to sit silently and take the blame while his students aren't yet ready to learn the tough lessons - amazing.

This year it's been ten years with him. I totally trust his judgement. I am indebted to him for his hard work and his honesty. I marvel at the fact that I'm finally realizing my dream and learning from someone I totally trust, respect, and admire. I am blessed that we have reached a place where training is a dialogue and exchange of ideas and techniques - and that he is more than willing to give me enough freedom to learn, try new things and make discoveries for myself. He has taught me to be more than a passenger. He has taught me to think critically and constantly strive to do better. He has taught me to be a problem solver. He constantly challenges me, and though I have already learned more than I could have hoped, he's helped me see that there is always something I could do to improve. He has also become a trusted friend.

I think every day how lucky I am to have found a mentor, friend, and teacher like him. I am truly blessed. I hope that I will continue to have him in my life for a very long time to come.

Back in the Saddle Again...

2007-06-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I actually got to ride a horse. Last week we were at a Regional show. The week prior my trainer was at another Regional. While I was at both shows, I never actually got to ride a horse at either of them. Last night Bery and I got to get reacquainted again at lessons.

We rode across the road, and I have to say that Ms. Bery was actually a very good girl! She walk, trotted, and cantered pretty cute. She didn't get snarly. She tried to go to the canter when I pulled on her occaisionally, but she got over that pretty quickly. In other words, I feel more hopeful about her right now that I have for a while. Because Ms. Bery was being good I consciously decided to make sure the ride stayed short. I also knew that she'd been ridden by my trainer earlier in the day, which had to help.

Still, there's a mixed lining to the cloud of her good behavior. Without having ridden her very often lately, and her taking this opportunity to behave so well it makes me wonder. Do we sometimes push each other's buttons? Are some of her problems things that I am contributing to? Is she really better off without me?

Oh, to be sure I know that those thoughts are silly and that for the most part I'm helping her, not hurting her. Still, those thoughts did creep in a little last night as I marveled at her behavior. I don't know. We'll have to see how she's doing when i ride her again tomorrow.

Video Shorts

2007-06-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

These are some video shorts of Chicky working in the arena. They're short, but you'll get an idea of what she looks like. She's only four, and this is only her third show, so be kind.

Stopping

Fencing

Center Stop

Circle and roll back.

Show Photos

2007-06-25T07:09:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos of Chicky at the show. As you can maybe tell, I got a bit bored lunging her. That's when I started playing with my camera phone. I love having a camera and video phone. Love it. The first one I think is cute with the flowing blonde mane. She's pretty cute.

The second one isn't my favorite, but it's one of the mostly decent ones I got of her cantering. It's tough getting good action shots. This one is okay.

The third photo is a picture of the trophy Chiclet won. It's about six or seven inches tall, and I think it's really pretty! I was really glad she won it. It's her first trophy!

Wrap Up: We're Home!

2007-06-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Friday we had both of our amateur horses showing. Our barn owner showed her purebred Arabian reining horse first. The horse was pretty good, but we suffered from rider error. She added in an extra set of circles on the reining pattern, so she went off course and scored a zero. Even if she wouldn't have scored a zero for that, she also backed more than the allowable number of steps on a rollback so she would have zeroed on that too. It was a bummer!! Everything else looked good though. Our Half-Arab amateur horse went in his class. He was the only one, but he and his owner had a really cute, clean pattern. He's such a good boy, and she's doing a good job staying on task with him. It's fun to see. She obviously won her class, so that was cool.

It was cute when I was getting both of them ready. My trainer walked in to the dressing room just as I was putting clear hilighter on little Kat's face. Normally they don't do makeup, but I thought since this was a regional and since they were amateurs with pretty outfits, the horses should look good too! I kind of gave a bashful smirk when I got caught making the ponies pretty, and he just laughed at me. I'm pretty sure our reining horses have never had as much shiny goop on them and body spray as they did for that class. I can't help it if I come from a pleasure background and like my horses pretty! Hey, at least they'll be pretty for the photos!

Saturday both of our junior horses went. Prince went in his class of three purebred Arabian junior reining horses, and Chiclet was the only entry in the Half Arabian junior horse class following him. We got a five minute warm up in the main arena before the reining horse classes, which meant I got to hold one horse in the arena while my trainer warmed the other one up for a few minutes, then we switched out. It was cute - the announcer sent us from the arena by saying "Thank you gentlemen" and as I looked up at him he caught himself, "and lady."

I didn't get to watch Prince's run in person as I was out trotting Chiclet, but I did see the video last night. He had a really cute, really clean run. As my trainer said, you can run his wheels off on the center work - but his stops could be a bit better. Still, when I came into the arena with Chiclet to help with the horse change and bridle check I got to hear him announced as champion. That was pretty cool.

Chiclet's run was pretty funny. She looked great on her left circles and spins. On her right ones she got a spooked by the Patron's Lounge above her head. She heard a noise and couldn't see where it came from, so she dropped her hind lead for some penalty points. She never quite recovered fully - so she also did a kick out on her first lead change (5 point penalty) which led to a wrong hind lead for some of her circle. (*sigh*) My trainer said he was just trying to get through the rest and stay on pattern. Still, he thought it was pretty neat. No matter what happened on the rest of her pattern, when he lined her out for her stops Chicky just went and really hit the dirt. I never did hear her actual score - I think it was in the 50's - but she still was named Regional Champion and I still got the tri-color neck ribbon and the neat trophy. Even though it was less than stellar, it turned out okay. For her third time to the ring, she's doing just fine. It isn't her fault she still lacks the experience to deal with strange situations as they come up. That will come in time.

Saturday night I finally got a chance to unwind a bit. The horses were done schooling, we had some beer in the fridge, and it was the exhibitors pizza party. Yum! I think I was on my second adult beverage when I inquired about what someone was making with a bottle of blue Vodka. She offered me some, and that's when I found my new favorite drink. If you like Raspberry Sno-Cones you'll love what we came to call "Smurf Piss." She filled a blue cup with ice, then poured in equal parts UV Blue Raspberry Vodka and Country Time lemonade. It was absolutely yummy and sweet and perfect for the hot night after working hard all week. I definitely plan on making Smurf Piss a regular part of my diet! My trainer and i brought a pizza back to the stalls, and we foundered ourselves on triple meat pizza. Seriously, we only had one piece left of a large pizza - and I could have eaten it, but wanted to leave room for my drink. Sooooo good!

Sunday we packed up and headed for home. I think everyone was happy to get back to the farm. Our next show is mid-July, and I'm thinking that might be Chicky's last for the summer. I'm also thinking I might have one of my project hunters there - but nothing is set for sure yet. I hope to know more later this week.

Day Four

2007-06-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday was filled with lots of longe line time and the two Half-Arabs showing. That made for a busy day. I also stripped the stalls and rebedded everyone, as the stalling is in a hockey arena with NO drainage. The stalls were nasty, and the bedding needed to go! ASAP! Now everyone has fluffy new bedding and it looks and smells so much better...

The two Half-Arabs did really good. Buster, the one that isn't owned by the farm was first on his pattern. It was a run in - with a center marker stop then a back up at least ten feet or to the center marker. They had a problem. Buster (who never backs crooked so my trainer always runs way past the center marker to show off his back) ended up backing crooked causing a deduction for the back. Silly boy! Big Cat, the other horse he showed had a really nice ride. She seemed pretty quiet, and except the second stop which was less than stellar, she was a star. She ended up Champion of the class, with Buster getting Top Five. All in all it was pretty nifty - and of course I take full credit since we all know it's the grooms responsible when horses do great and the trainers who are responsible when they screw up. *evil grin*

Chiclet also got longed and schooled today. It dawned on me, this week is probably the most time I've spent with her since I bought her - and it's definitely the most time I've watched her under saddle. You know, it may sound stupid, but even this week I can see where she's coming around and is going to be a *really* nice horse when she's finished out. She's made so much progress in even one week's time! It's pretty fun to see.

It's time for bed. 6:00 a.m. wakeup call is coming fast!