National Standardbred Show 2012

This past Sunday was my favorite show of the year, the National Standardbred Show! You may find it odd that a Standardbred show would be my favorite show since I own a Quarter Horse. If you are a follower of this blog, you know that while Quarter Horses are my all time favorite, I am a HUGE fan and supporter of the Standardbred. They are an extremely talented, versatile, and underestimated breed. Anyone who attended Sunday's show saw just that. The show is a lot of fun, has something for everyone, and the SPHO-NJ does a phenomenal job planning and running it. The other thing I love about this show is the people. Everyone there is very nice and friendly and extremely supportive. There is none of the catty attitude typical at most horse shows. Everyone cheers each other and on and congratulates and compliments each other regardless of the outcome. Every one who attends the show is there to support and further the success, versatility, and progress of the breed as a show horse. As you all know, I have been working with my friend Helene's Standardbred JB (aka MR. Versatility) on western pleasure for the past year and half. Last year we were unable to show in the western division at the National show because it conflicted with Helene's driving division. This year, however, the schedule changed and we were able to compete. Unfortunately, the Western division was immediately following the Model division (in which we took 5th in Showmanship and 5th in Model Geldings) so we only had a few minutes to warm up before entering the show ring. Our first class was Western Pleasure (walk/jog). JB had a nice jog, but he did not have his usual low head set. This was a combination of distraction from riders coming into the park from a judged trail ride, lack of warm up, and a bit of rider error (which is usually always the case when we can't get our horse to do what we want at least in part). We received 2nd in the class and the judge commented that we had a nice jog, but inconsistent head set, which I knew right away. Our second class was a walk/jog Horsemanship class with a pattern. We executed what I thought was a nice pattern followed by some good rail work. The head was still an issue in this class, but horsemanship is judged on the rider so it did not matter. We won this class! Our third class was a walk/jog/lope class and this was our first time attempting the lope. We had only practiced the lope riding one handed twice at home in the week before the show, since we decided last minute to enter these classes. He was awesome! He picked up the lope right away (it was more of a collected canter, but very good with our limited practice). His head set was a bit higher than I would like, but it had been at the lope at home too, so I just gave him his head and let him go along. We won this class too and judge commented that we had the a nice and very consistent lope. Our final class was a walk/jog/lope Horsemanship class. We won this class too executing a pattern that tested your transitions and included some tight circles for loping, quite nicely. We ended up being champion for the division! Helene and JB also picked up many blue and red ribbons and championships of their own in Equitation, Jumping, and Driving classes. As always, a big thank you to Helene for lending me her rockstar horse and supporting and helping us every step of the way.

JB and I with our ribbons from the western division! (We later received a champion sash that unfortunately we did not have in time for this photo)

Awards Banquet

Last Friday, was the annual awards banquet for the local schooling show series I participate in. It is always a fun night to spend with your horse show buddies celebrating the end of a successful show season.

This year I won quite a few awards. Satin was Grand Champion in the Western Speed Division. Let me remind you that she is 22 years old, making her the oldest horse in the division. Needless to say, I was quite proud of this accomplishment and my supposedly "senior" horse, who is constantly showing everyone that age is just a number!

Me and Satin's trophies = She received the perpetual for being grand champion, as well as, a first place trophy.

My other awards were earned by the ever handsome JB. He was third for the year in Open Model, which was a huge accomplishment as he competes against mostly QHs and Paints. He also received third in Beginner Western. He was the only Standardbred in this division and only started western training about two months before the show season began. Due to his achievements in these two divisions, he also won the trophy for High Point Standardbred in Open Classes. There are two Standardbred divisions at this local show series (both of which JB was champion in with his owner Helene), so this award goes to the Standardbred that acquires the most point in the non-Standardbred, or Open, divisions.

Helene and I with all of JB's awards

I was quite proud of both of my wonderful show ponies this season. They both gave me what has probably been my best show season so far. I am so grateful to everyone who helped make this possible. First and foremost, my fabulous trainer Renee, whose patience, knowledge, and dedication are what gave me the skill and ability to bring home these trophies. Also, a big thank you to Helene for lending me the ever wonderful JB and Jill, for giving me Satin, the best thing that's ever been mine and my partner through it all. I also can not go without thanking my family and friends who always support me, Daryl who ships us to every show, and my barn crew for being there for every early morning class, late night prep, and everything in between. It's been a great year and I can't wait to see what next year brings for us.

Me and all 5 of my trophies

Me and my show team with all of our trophies. Love these girls

Firecracker Fun Show = Huge Success!!!

I could not be happier to announce that the Firecracker Fun Show, which I have been writing about (and of course planning) for the past month, was a HUGE success!!!! We raised over $3,000!!!

It was an absolutely amazing day! I could not have asked for better weather or turnout. We had a good amount of riders, horses, and attendees. All of our classes were very full and everyone had fun whether they rode or not. People have been writing and commenting to me over the past couple days saying how much they enjoyed it and what a great time they had.

The family was especially grateful, which made all of the hard work and planning completely worth it. I was so touched by their words of gratitude. Both of Caitlyn's parents expressed their thanks over Facebook and her family members that attended all hugged and thanked me personally over and over. It was especially emotional and heart warming between Renee and I. The whole experience was just so rewarding for me in more ways than one. I can't even fully express it. I was not the only one overwhelmed by the generosity and support shown by all of the attendees. As someone said to me the entire day had such a good vibe. I was so happy to be able to help this wonderful family. Renee has always been so good to me and has gone above and beyond to help me, so I was more than happy to be able to help her. Plus, I am fully aware of what it is like to have a family member with cancer. My uncle lived with us when he battled lung cancer and I'm sure Caitlyn's young age makes it that much more difficult.

I also have to once again express my thanks to all of those who helped me make this possible: Kayla and Daryl who worked side by side with me through out, Lauren for letting us host it as the farm, Katie for running the ring, Amy for judging, Sue, Mary, Shannon, my parents, Kelli and everyone who volunteered their time during preparation and the day of. I also have to thank all of our generous sponsors who donated money, goods, or services. This includes Central Jersey Horseman's Association who sponsored our ribbons, C&C Embroidery who donated and made our Cure for Caitlyn shirts, Terrace Bagels who donated 4 dozen bagels, Dr. Klayman of Colts Head Veterinary Service, Mike Mullin, my family, the Hoffmans, the Harvey's, Beauty Store and Salon, the Nieto's, Quail Creek Pharmacy, the Ebners, Sarah Wayda, Gina Giovenco, Casey Koehler, Lazy M Feed, AB Tack, and so many more.

The Howell Patch wrote a great article about the event, which can be seen here.

We started the day a bit later than planned, but that is a horse show for you. When it comes to horses you can never stick to a schedule. The entire day ran very smoothly though. We started off with our pairs obstacle course, which I won along with my partner, Kayla (yes I have decided its time to use full first names). We followed that up with a switch class, in which riders switched horse and were judged on how well they rode and presented a horse they were not used to at the walk, trot, canter. I was extremely lucky to switch onto my trainer Renee's horse Portas. Portas, or the Big Man, as we fondly call him, is a beautiful warmblood gelding with a puppy dog personality. He is also a gorgeous mover and extremely talented jumper. I was lucky enough to ride him once before at R's farm and even jump him a little. Renee's brother rode Satin in this class and Renee rode Taz.

Portas had been a little spunky for Renee in the first class so I rode him a bit conservatively and just let him go around as he pleased. Unfortunately, we had a break at the left lead canter. I circled to get him out of the pack and unfortunately half of the pack circled with us leaving us no where to go. We recovered the canter quickly though and took a 5th in that class. My friend Ember actually won the class on Lexie, my lesson partner Lisa's horse.

Another highlight of my day was in the next class which was the jump off, which we split into ponies and horses. At the last minute mt friend Ember asked if she could take Satin in the class and give her a try. I said sure go ahead and she ended up taking 5th and going over her first 3 foot oxer! I was a very proud Mom!

I let Destiny, one of the girls from my old farm run Satin in the barrels. I did not expect her to run as she usually doesn't at home. But, apparently she knew it was a show and was ready to go, though luckily did not display the enthusiastic hopping and rearing she does at other horse shows. Destiny had never run barrels before and did great! They had fabulous turns and got 3rd to two very fast horses (one being Kayla's horse Smokey). Her sister Shyanne did a dash on her as did I and we got 4th. The Big Man aka Portas had some pretty nice barrel turns too!

Next was the relay race. My team, which consisted of myself, Kayla, Ember, Shannon, Renee, and Doug, won. This was followed by a pairs command class, where Kayla was again my partner and we took third. After that we had ride-and-tie, in which it was a team of 2 riders and 1 horse. The first rider runs the horse fully tacked to the opposite end of the arena where the 2nd rider is waiting. They hop off and tag in the second rider who untacks the horse and runs it bareback home. Kayla and I used Smokey so we were once again the winners. The final competitive event for the day was ride-a-buck, a bareback class in which a dollar is placed under your knee and you are given commands to follow. You keep riding until you lose your dollar. It came down to Renee and I as the final two and I knew I was done for. As you all know I speak very highly of Renee as a rider and trainer and there was no way I would out ride her, plus my mare is quite bouncy while Portas is smooth as silk. The normally docile Portas, however, forfeited the class for them. While backing up Portas decided to stand up. A 17 hand horse in full rear right in front of you is quite a site to see and add a leap to that rear and you are really into something. Needless to say this was a bit much even for Renee and she slipped off, putting an end to our bareback dual, which otherwise might have gone on quite a while. We ended the class winners once again though I am curious to see how it would have gone if Portas had not ended it for us. Though, I am pretty sure I know the answer to that!

Renee, Portas, and I at the end of the day.

Last Show of the Season

Last Sunday we had the last show of the season for the local schooling show series I compete in with both Satin and JB. Satin was in the lead for Grand in Speed for year end by 6 points, so she had a title to defend. JB was just a few points off getting reserve behind tough competition in both Model and Beginner Western, so the pressure was on.

Satin was up first in the speed division. We went in for the barrels and she was totally asleep, basically cantering the pattern. Luckily her good turns made up for lack of speed and she managed a 2nd. I borrowed a western version of a crop for the next class which was poles. I never actually need to use a crop on Satin, just flashing it past her eye a few times is usually enough. This is what I did as I ran up the poles and she kicked in to gear. She cut the turn around the first pole too tight and the footing was a bit soft from the rain earlier in the week, causing her to almost fall. I thought her front end lost traction, but I saw from the video her back end actually sunk under her and what I felt in the front was her scrambling to catch herself. The one thing I love about my mare though is she will do anything to save us both. One time during a lesson she tripped doing a lead change and went down on both front legs and her shoulder and managed to get herself back up and keep me aboard then keep going.

Anyway, when she recovered we just stood there for a few seconds. I wasn't sure what to do and whether or not I should keep going. That is when Satin said, "Mom I'm ready to keep going". So I trusted my mare and completed my pattern, though conservatively. The other great thing about my mare is she is very smart and careful. She is not the kind of crazy horse that will keep running hurt. If something was wrong she would let me know, so when she said let's finish, I said okay. She managed a fourth in that class.

My father was ringside that day, as both my parents always are. He has not seen me fall or almost fall since I was 5 so he freaked out about. As I exited the ring he was frenzied, insisting I get off the horse right away and that she was dragging her back foot. Now my mare is 22 and has some arthritis and those of you with senior horses with arthritis now, they often will drag their back toes a bit while walking and some even while trotting. So this slight toe drag is completely normal for my mare, which my father did not understand. I let him cause me to second guess myself, but I know my horse and I will never let that happen again. I got off felt her legs and flexed them, all normal. A friend of mine walked up the ring just then and I had her get on and trot her around for me to see and she trotted nice and forward. She was quite eager, even breaking into the canter. Then I got on and felt her trot, still 100% sound and normal.

My next and final class was keyhole so I practiced a rollback and both her turn and canter felt perfect, so I decided to trust my own judgement and knowledge of my horse and continue on. I ran her slightly conservatively, in fear too quick a turn may slip her up again. Her turn was beautiful and she earned a 3rd. These placings were just enough to keep her in Grand for year end awards by 2 points. Not too bad for a supposedly "senior" mare.

Next up, I had JB in Model. He placed exceptionally well against some stiff competition. A new gelding came who I happened to know from my old farm. This gelding and his sire are champion halter horses in Palomino and QH. JB placed 3rd in that class to that gelding and another that has been champion at CJHA the past few years. In the Open class he placed 6th out of about 12, which was excellent. He held on to his 3rd for the year end awards.

After that, we tacked up for our western division. Usually JB's owner H rides her classes before mine so the edge is off by the time we get to warm up. They had changed classes around to fit everything in so now she was riding after me. JB was pretty quiet though, but required a little more warm up then usual. Unfortunately, I did not get to give him as good of a warm up as I would have liked as I had to communicate back and forth with the ring steward to see where they were in the ring H shows in and if classes could be held as promised due to the switch.

Anyway, I had him going pretty nicely by the time they were ready to start with Horsemanship. It was a pretty simple pattern, so I was quite confident. The entire pattern rode beautifully until the very end. The last part of the pattern was to jog to the last cone, stop, and back 4 steps. Unfortunately for us, it just so happened that the last cone was placed right next to the board for the trail class, which JB is deathly afraid of. He refused to trot all the way to the cone and stopped about 4 or 5 strides before it and backed himself the 4 steps. This cost us a few points, but we still managed a 2nd. In pleasure he rode pretty well, but did speed up at times, and placed 4th. We earned back our title of Command champion (a class we have won almost every show this year). It was down to 3 of us, one of which being my friend K, who I battle for first with every show. The judge has us backing up and asked for a reverse. I was the only one to reverse and keep backing as is proper procedure. The trail class was a failure as JB was once again afraid of half the obstacles, so he was 6th. He again held his place in 3rd for the year end.

It was not the best show of the season for me or either of my mounts, but it was still a good end to the season as they held their positions for year ends. I am quite proud of both Satin and JB and could not have asked for two better show horses. They both gave me a great season filled with many wins and championships. Satin proved once again she has still has plenty of years left in her and "senior horse" has a very loose definition. JB was excellent for his first ever western show season with this past winter being the first time he was ever ridden western. Looking forward to a little break for all of us and exciting season in 2012.

Weekend of Horse Showing

This weekend was filled with back to back horse shows. On Saturday I had the Jersey Bred Show with JB and H, of course. There used to be a multitude of breeds showing off their Jersey Bred horses in breed classes at this show. This year the Standardbreds were the only ones left and it was the last year of the show. Since we were the only breed participating the SPHO-NJ decided to open the show up to all Standardbreds with only the Jersey Bred's taking home the money.

Between myself and H, JB was entered in 11 classes and took home 9 blue ribbons, 1 red, and a green. JB and I were 2nd in Model to my friend R's stallion. We took first of eight in a cross country pleasure class of both English and Western riders. We also won both of our western pleasure classes. He was very much in the western zone. He was also a bit itchy and fidgety earning us a 6th in the command from not being able to stand still. He and H were first in all of their classes which included English Pleasure, Jumping, and Driving.

On Sunday I had my normal local schooling show with both Satin and JB. Satin was very good and ended up Grand Champion in the Speed division. Her barrel pattern was just about perfect and keyhole was absolutely perfect. Poles, which is usually her best event, was not so great. She ran up then sucked back as we turned to weave down the poles, then tried to dive right at the pole. I managed to pull her out and get down the poles, but she sucked back as usual when we hit the last 2 poles going up and she basically walked around the end turn before taking off for home. I don't know what was up with that, but we still managed to take 2nd so it ended up alright.

We had some issues with a last minute judge change. We found out after the judge never showed for speed that he was in the hospital. We were lucky to get 2 last minute replacements. There is a father - daughter team that sells tack at all the shows. Luckily, the daughter happens to be a judge and agreed to judge the model and showmanship to keep the ring going until our other judge arrived an hour later to judge the riding. We were 2nd in the Geldings class and 4th in the open class out of 14 horses. I was quite pleased.

JB was very good in the riding. We were 4th in horsemanship, with what I thought was a decent pattern on our part, but not our best. He earned 3rd in pleasure and 2nd in command, with the class coming down to my friend K and I get again. Both of us looked at each other like "Oh God, not this again" after last shows back up contest. JB was quite itchy and fidgety yet again though so it didn't take long for us to get out for him moving in an attempt to itch at the halt. He was 5th in trail as expected, since he is afraid of half the obstacles.

Right now JB is holding 3rd for the year in both of our divisions, only a few points away from being reserve and Satin is holding Grand in the speed. Here's hoping for equally good performances at the last show of the season in October!

Taz Update

Taz has been great (as usual) in our last few rides. Last week we put the grid to use (no we didn't jump it). We did small, canter serpentines through the grid with simple changes through the halt. His simple changes through the halt are fabulous, as is his collected canter, so he did them beautifully. We also did some work on figure eights at the jog and lope with simple changes through the halt.

After seeing us do this R suggested doing a small, collected canter circle around one of the jumps, then doing a larger, extended canter circle, then going back to the collected circle. She wanted me to use my seat, especially my hips, to get the transitions from collected to extended canter. We did this exercise in both directions. In the beginning we had some problems with breaking to the walk in the collected circles and not having enough speed to show a true difference in the extended circles. With some pointers from R on seat and hand position though we ended up with nice patterns. I repeated this exercise today and it went very well.

I have also been doing more one handed riding with him. Today I got some very nice lope from him both two handed and one handed. His jog with the one hand was perfect. I was able to get him super slow with a nice low head set.

Try's Fun New Habit

Try has come up with a fun new game for me. One thing about Try is he is very smart, too smart for his own good sometimes. He likes to spice things up a bit and develop new, not so fun habits to keep me on my toes. About a month ago his new fun habit was swinging himself towards the wall not leaving me much space on the left side (coincidentally the tacking side) and refusing to move over when instructed. I sought council from the all knowing R who suggested just poking him in the sensitive belly area with one finger, rather then trying to push him over, which only caused him to push back. After a day or two this was successful and he never tried it again.

We have been new habit free since then until last week. His latest fun new habit is trying to attack me when walking to / standing at the mounting block. He has always been an occasional nipper, but this was much more then that. When I walk him into the ring, we walk a small circle to un-bloat him and stop a few feet from the mounting block to tighten the girth. Then I walk him to the block, line him up, put the reins over his head, and mount. His new thing was he would try a nip or two in the beginning then from the time I tightened the girth to the time I mounted he would continuously try to come at me with his teeth, in much harsher manner than the occasional nip he has done in the past. His owner and I discussed the fact that we must put an end to this immediately so of course I went to R.

R's suggestion was to treat it like an in hand class and be very consistent. She said that every time he tried to bite me I should immediately back him up 3 or 4 steps. This was an option his owner and I had discussed, but he used to be bad about standing at the mounting block and if he scooted around too much at the block we would go and back him up, try again, etc. This was why I was not sure if I should do this for the biting at the block because I did not want to cause him any confusion. Once R confirmed this was a good plan I put it to work.

The first time I did it, I started immediately from the first little nip, so by the time we got to the block he got the picture and I would say showed definite progress. I did it again on my last ride yesterday and he did not try to go after me at the block at all, so hopefully we have put this new game to rest.

As far as riding, he has been a dream. No matter what stupid stunts he pulls on the ground, he has been consistently great under saddle. We have been doing a lot of work on his collected canter, with his head down and on the bit and he has been doing it beautifully! We have also been practicing his slow jog with his head nice and low, which is also one of his best things. I have also been doing a lot of circle work at the jog and lope, as well as, a lot of pattern work. Since he is so smart, I have to change it up and do different and challenging things to keep him entertained, so pattern work is great for him. We have also been doing some work on his turns on the haunches and to the right he is perfect, but to the left needs a little work.

Updates: Taz

Last, but certainly not least, we have Taz. As mentioned in my previous post, Taz is a Quarter Horse that belongs to my trainer's husband. When I first met R about 3 years ago, one of the first things she said about Satin was that she reminded her of her husband's horse if his blaze was flipped upside down. This is true if you look at their faces but Taz is built like a bull, very wide, unlike my petite mare. They have some similarities riding, as well. They both have bouncy trots, but great jogs. They both have comfortable, rocking horse canters and are both former reiners, with great transitions, and love to GO. Taz can get a pretty good spin going still. R let me try one time when we were riding together with him and Try. I hope to try again soon.

Anyway, when it came time for Try to be going home I was sad because it meant not going to Muddy Creek twice a week anymore. I loved all the extra time there. I learned so much from R during that time and it was just nice and peaceful. During my last ride on Try at R's place I mentioned how I was going to miss coming to ride there all the time. She said she had been thinking the same thing and then later while we were riding told me I was welcome to continue coming and ride Taz instead. Of course, I jumped on this opportunity.

I really like riding Taz. As I mentioned he is quite similar to Satin in a lot of ways, such as his way of going; smart, willing attitude, and like Satin when doing pattern work he always tries to be a step ahead. Unlike Satin though, he is quite sensitive. He was given to R's husband by one of his clients (he is a farrier) because they couldn't deal with him. The sensitivity R believes is from bad training. As I mentioned, he is quite wide so requires a special saddle. He was probably not being ridden in a properly fitted saddle so he used to buck a lot, both under saddle and in the aisle after being tacked. When he has the tack on he is afraid of everything. The slightest little thing makes him flinch, especially when first tacked. R broke him of a lot of this from what I heard, but he is still sensitive.

R says he is best when in a program so me riding him helps keep him going. He and I have gotten along just fine though. I figured out how to ride him quite quickly with R's help and have not had any problems with him. I have only seen him buck once with R, but when he bucks, he sure does buck! I am having a lot of fun with him though and look forward to learning more on him.

Updates: Try

We can't forget about Try. As I've mentioned in previous posts Try belongs to a friend of mine and was living at my trainer's farm, in full training with her. My friend approached me over the winter about riding him when he returned home, as she has a back problem that keeps her from doing much riding. I, of course, agreed and began riding him weekly at R's farm to prepare for the time when I would ride him on my own.

Well that time came in the beginning of July when he returned home. The last few weeks he was at R's I went from a weekly lesson to twice weekly supervised rides. Supervised meaning R and I rode together, her on her husband's QH, Taz and me on Try. We would both do our own thing in the beginning to warm up then we would work on something together like pattern work or pairs exercises. This made me feel fully confident in my ability when he returned home. It was weird and a bit lonely riding on my own, but Try and I have settled in to our new routine quite nicely.

We have hit a few bumps in the road, such as some extra nippyness and not being totally cooperative on cross ties in the wash stall at first and later during tack up, which is not his favorite thing to begin with. But, with R's advice we nipped those problems in the bud rather quickly and luckily he has been consistently great while riding.

R came out one day last week to watch our session and give us some guidance. She had one or two tips, but was very happy with my work with him. She got on and rode him a little too, so it was nice.

This photo was taken by Try's owner C during one of our sessions at R's farm.

Updates: JB

Next we have JB, aka boyfriend. As you all may remember, JB is my friend H's Standardbred who is quite the jack of all trades, basically the most versatile horse ever. This year we expanded his repertoire to include western pleasure, which he is a total rockstar at.

Unfortunately he is the horse I ride least as he is the furthest away, but we are still actively showing in model and western and he is kicking butt, if I may say so myself. He is better and better every time I ride him.

Two horse shows ago we were champion in open model against 12 other horses, most of which being Quarter Horses and Paints. He won both the gelding and open class. He has been consistently pinning well in open halter competitions all summer.

H, JB, and I after his Grand Champion win in Open Model.

He has been doing very well in his western classes too. As I mentioned he is better and better with every ride. He goes slower and puts his head lower every time. In our last horse show we were grand Champion against Appaloosas and Quarter Horses. He was 1st in pleasure horsemanship, and a very tough command class in which we backed basically a full lap around the arena. He received 2nd in trail which is his worst class since he is scared of everything LOL.

Some pictures from this summer:

Last Weeks Lessons

Last Tuesday I had another lesson on Try outside. It went well for the most part. We did more work on getting him to put his down and round up his back which he did nicely. We also did more work on transitions which are coming along nicely as well.

It was pretty hot out that day, probably around 80 degrees. Well Try decided he was hot and tired near the end of our lesson and ended it early by laying down (yes, I did say laying down). We were jogging along the rail working on our slow jog with a low head set and he broke to the walk but kept his head head very low. I tried to bump him back up into the jog, but next thing I knew were on the ground. He did not give any of the typical signs of laying down, like pawing, etc. We were jogging then we were walking and then we were on the ground. Luckily he did so slowly and easily not just plopping and even more luckily he did not roll. I jumped off of him as soon as he did it and got him up. R thinks part of the reason he didn't roll right off was because it was a bit up hill on one side where he laid down. She thinks he just got tired and overheated. His owner was there and she said he had done that before as a baby. We untacked him and hosed him off and he was fine.

Satin was wonderful in her lesson and kept all 4 feet on the ground. We were in the indoor unfortunately because it rained all day. We did some intense pattern work. She set up 3 poles in one corner of the arena and we trotted and cantered them, which was fine. She set up 3 more poles opposite them in almost a circle, so going through them in a circle was a bit of a challenge. For my pattern I started in the middle cantering to the left went on the rail over the poles doing the full circle which would switch me to right lead. I went half way around on the right lead then had to turn and do a flying lead change over a pole set up on one end. So, this put me on left lead and I had to go over the circle of poles the opposite way, which was a bit awkward because you had to switch leads as you got over the first set so you would be on right lead for the following set. Then I cantered out of that to the middle, halted and backed up. The pattern was a bit tricky in spots, but she did it very well and all in the hackamore.

May Show

I have been swamped with the end of the semester aka end of college so am a little behind on my updates. Last time we left off it was shortly before the May horse show, so that is where I will pick up.

This was the first time Satin was showing in the hackamore and she LOVES it. She was awesome. We had a fabulous barrel run, all her turns were perfect. They made the pattern much smaller by having a much shorter run home so we got a 17! We had a great poles run except she cut the last turn a little tight as she tends to do and we took out the last pole, so we got a 26 plus 5. Keyhole was interesting. I took her into the warm up ring to practice roll backs and wanted to start with the staircase excercise Renee taught us as usual, but she was so hyped up she started hopping and doing intense roll backs instantly. We got in the ring and she was good to go, took off like a nut. She was so excited that when she got through the keyhole she got a little lost and didnt know where she wanted to go. I planned to roll back left, but instead she dove left then right so I had to pull her around right to get her back in action which cost us a little time. It happens though so what can you do. I was still very happy with her overall performance and like her in the hackamore.

My handsome JB aka BF was a rockstar! He was 2nd on model geldings again and 4th in open model again too. More importantly, we were grand champion in beginner western!!!! The division was much smaller this time, but JB was also much better since the lesson, though he did not got as slow at the show as he did in the lesson, but we are getting there. We won the horsemanship class and command and were 2nd in horsemanship and trail, though trail still needs a lot of work. I was quite proud of him. We are going to another western show this weekend where he will be doing halter, showmanship for the first time and pleasure. His owner H will even be making her western debut on him so it should be fun.

Two More Great Lessons!

I had two more great back to back lessons this week. First on Tuesday I had my weekly lesson on Try. We rode outside for the first time since I started riding him, as when I first started it was still cold and then it happened to be bad weather lesson days once spring hit. He was very excited at this prospect, as well as, the fact we were sharing our lesson with R's boarder M and her horse Lance. We did more transition work and he is getting much better especially on his upward transitions to the canter. He is also able to hold his canter much longer. We did some more work on getting him round and on the bit.

We finished with pattern work. We did two figure eights, the first at the jog, the second at the lope with simple changes and finishing with a halt and back. His jog figure eights were perfect. He was a little slow on his transitions into the canter for the second figure eight, but once he picked it up did it well. The last few attempts were a little harder as he started getting lazy, plus I think had to poop but just wouldnt of course. It was hot and he hadn't been out in the sand for a while so I can't blame him for tiring out. So it was a bit of struggle getting the canter transitions at that point, but we finished up with a decent one.

His owner plans for him to go home in the end of May, so our lesson time is almost up. While I am feeling much more confident about riding him after much guidance from R, it will be strange doing it on my own. His owner said if I felt I needed more time that was fine by her. I told her we can discuss it with R as she would know best if we were good to go or not.

The second lesson was not my usual Wednesday lesson on my lovely mare, but a first ever western lesson for my handsome BF, aka JB. After the last horseshow H suggested bringing him down to R so she could give me some help. As usual R worked her magic and he was awesome, a total rockstar! She had me do transition work going into 3 steps jog then walk then 2 steps jog again to help slow him down. We started in a small circle then serpentined across the ring, then did a small square, before worked the entire ring trying to keep the jog. She showed me the best place to put my hands and way to ask him to drop his head and slow. Of course it worked fabulously. By the end he was jogging slower then even I thought he could and with his head nice and low! I was so proud! We did a little work on backing up which helped and turns on the haunches. We also practiced the horsemanship pattern from the last show, since the judge this Sunday is a freak about perfect patterns.

After the lesson I am feeling much more confident for the upcoming show this Sunday. I am going to ride him again later today to remind him. Hopefully over the summer we can get in another lesson or two with R to help move him along even more. She liked him and thought he definitely had the ability for it.

I will of course also be showing the princess pony, aka Satin, in speed on Sunday. She has been loving th hackamore and I think it will be just what we need to step up our game for Sunday. I will let you guys know how it goes!

2 Great Lessons!

I had two back to back and very good lessons this week. As you all know by now I absolutely love my trainer, the fabulous R. She has taught me so much and every time I am at her farm I learn so much. She knows about basically everything horse related, its amazing.

Anyway, so on Tuesday I had a lesson on Try. We are pretty used to each other now, so each lesson we get better and better. On Tuesday we did a lot of work with transitions going from trot to canter, canter to trot, trot to jog, jog to trot, to walk, etc. We also worked on trot / canter with his head down, framed up, using his back. He did very well. Then at the end we did some work on roll backs. It went along with our transition work: cantering down stopping, turning on the haunches, canter again, repeat. It was basically a slow version of a rollback as he is still green and working up to it. At the end we did some faster ones with him hand galloping, doing an almost sliding stop, and roll back. He was awesome! I told R I want him to be a reining horse. LOL

Yesterday, I had my bi-weekly lesson on Satin, along with our friend L and her mare Lexie, our lesson partners. Now I have to give the back story to what we worked on in this particular lesson. When running in speed events I have been using the regular tom thumb I use for everything else. I have noticed when looking at show pictures whenever I ask her to turn or slow down she open her mouth in a way that looks like I am really pulling on her which I am definitely not. R figured it had to do with the way the bit breaks, and that it might be pushing into the top of her mouth. This made sense to me, so I did a little further investigation. I talked to some barrel people I know and found none of them use this bit for speed. One of them even told me its one of the worst bit options for a speed horse. I asked around and got several suggestions then went back to R. She dug through her supplies and found two western bits she thought were worth trying. One had a similar mouth piece to the tom thumb but a different shank and the other was not a broken bit it was one piece, but jointed with a roller. Then I mentioned that my friend J who gave me the wonderful Satin used to ride her in a hackamore, which is what I used when I first got her. R's response was "Well then let's try that too". A little more digging produced a hackamore, the perfect size for my little mare. R instructed me to go home and do a little speed work with these at home and let her know what I thought worked best.

Well that was late Saturday and Sunday I went on a beach ride (which I will write about later) so Monday Satin got off, which left me Tuesday for bit trial. So I had R's 2 bits, plus my friend K's barrel bit, and the hackamore to try. I warmed up and did a barrel dash and keyhole run in the hackamore with my friend K observing. Then I went through each of the other three bits doing the same. Keyhole, on the rollback, is where she does it the mouth opening the most, so it was my best tell. Out of all the options the hackamore was the best. No mouth opening at all.

So yesterday I went to the lesson with the hackamore to learn the best way to use it. Satin loves it! She was awesome! She was nice and forward and raring to go. We did a lot of transition work especially canter to halt to canter and jog to halt to jog. R was trying to help us get used to the hackamore and figure out the best way to use it. Afterwards we did some pattern work involving serpentines, a roll back, and backing up. She was so hyper so the beginning was a bit sloppy. BUT, I intended to just to simple changes through the halt and after we did the pattern once she was do flying changes at each spot where I planned to simple and doing them perfectly. She was even doing them on a straight line without being asked just cnatering down the ring to do a rollback. We both have to get a little more used to the hackamore, but it is definitely our new favorite toy. R thinks she will be quite speedy wearing that at the next show. I am looking forward to it!

1st Show Results!

Sunday as I said in earlier posts was our first show of the season and it was fabulous!

Of course, I must start with my wonderful little mare, Satin. We did the speed and she was AMAZING. She was so on! We went into the ring and she was hopping up and down like 3-year-old, raring to go. I love seeing my "senior" mare excited and wanting to run. She ran all of her patterns perfectly and got great times, plus I was even holding her a bit because it was muddy in the arena. I couldn't have been any happier with her. We were reserve champions, 2nd in all of our classes. K and Satin's paddock mate, Jewel were grand. Jewel is faster than Satin, so a loss to them is basically a win to me.

Now onto the handsome JB, aka boyfriend. JB, who as you all know is a Standardbred, took 2nd in a class of 5 in model geldings and 4th in a class of 8 in open model. His stunning good looks paying off as usual. In his first ever western pleasure show, with only 5 western rides under his belt, we took 5th in the beginner horsemanship our of 11 and 2nd in the command class out of 10! We did not pin in pleasure as he was a bit fast or trail since he decided the board was still a little too scary. He was very hyper that day. His owner had ridden a few classes on him and he gave him quite a warm up and he was still raring to go. I was still very happy with him and quite proud, especially for his western show. We are going to keep working at it and I have no doubts he will be racking up even more ribbons as the show season continues. My friend H, who owns him, as offered to bring him down to R so I can take a lesson with her and get her help. We are also looking into more show options for him. :)

Here are some pictures from the show:

Show Season 2011 = T - 2 days

Show season is just two days away! As you can all probably tell by the fact that I went from hardly posting to posting twice in the same week LOL I am excited but also have time to write because I am sitting in my internship with nothing to do right now.

Anyway, so Satin and I had a lesson on Wednesday. We tested out out new western spurs which went well and did help. It started a little rough and we had some rough spots on our lead changes, but had some beautiful ones as well. We went inside at the end to try and fix the problem with the one change and I asked if I could some practice pole bending first. My trainer had 4 standards set up like poles from my last lesson on Try. We did and she was perfect, especially for not having done them in months and for them not really set up for real pole bending. My trainer was equally impressed asking How I could get every change flawlessly and do what she was trying to explain to me to do in the poles and not in the figure eight. My reply was because when I am doing poles I am not thinking about getting lead changes. The crazy mare seems raring to go for Sunday!

I also rode JB yesterday and we practiced some trail obstacles. We did the shoot which he did perfectly and knocked down the pole. Then we went for the bridge which he did not like last time he encountered it. It took a team of people and carrots but we convinced him and by the end had him doing it on his own with just be aboard. He looks like a million bucks so I have no worries for in hand. I am looking forward to the beginner western too. It will be fun.

I had a great lesson on Try last week too. We did more work on transitions and simple lead changes and did some pole work. R is basically teaching me how to train as she said, since he is a young, green horse and basically everything you do is a training opportunity, as well as, excercise. This is awesome because who better to get training tips and methods from then the best trainer I know.

Show Season Has Arrived!

Show Season is officially here! We are exactly 6 days from the first show of the season! This season Satin and I will once again be showing in the speed division. She has been geared up and ready to go all week. She has been very hyper, which is a good thing for speed. Also, our flawless lead changes are back! It seems our chiropractic worked because our last lesson went great! Satin was a rockstar! We have another lesson this week so looking forward to that and some show prep. We need to work on our rollbacks again. We practiced the other day, and she did well. We just hadn't done them all winter before that.

So back to show season. Anyway, I am also showing my friend's horse I refer to as boyfriend in model (which he is already a rockstar in) and beginner western. It will be his western debut and I am pretty excited about it.

My last two lessons on Try went good as well, especially the last one. We did some work on patterns (figure eights, pole bending, etc) and simple lead changes. We are both getting better and better each time. His owner got him a new saddle so I am trying to get the hang of that. All horse people know breaking in new leather, especially tack, stinks. We have our next lesson tomorrow so looking forward to that.

Here is hoping to good weather on show day!