Pics from the National

Here are a few pics of me with Larry and Jb from the National

National Standardbred Show and latest lesson

So last weekend was the National Standardbred Show at the Horsepark which is one of my favorite shows to attend each year even though I own a Quarter Horse! LOL I am friends with many of the organizers and competitors so I help with the setup, the show itself, and the clean up and usually end up showing something in between.

I showed my friend H's horse Jb (who I often refer to as boyfriend and have mentioned here before) in the halter classes. He looked absolutely stunning in my western show halter. He could have passed for a QH. We won the geldings in hand class! They then take the top two of each in hand class and they go on to the championship class where they choose a grand and reserve champion. We ended up reserve! H and I were super excited! The horse that got grand was a very nice looking stallion so there was no shame coming reserve to him.

I rode my friend R's horse Larry in the western walk jog and western walk jog pattern classes. He was much better then last time we competed at this show but we did not pin in our first class as something outside the ring caught his eye and caused him to go along sideways half the class. He truly surprised me in the pattern class though. We had a pattern that was more difficult in previous years at this show but something that would be typical at the schooling show or breed show. He did it very well and then the judge had us go on the rail and do rail work which again is typical for a horsemanship class but no judge had ever asked that of us at that show. The kicker was she had us do it with no stirrups! Larry was really good though and actually stayed in his jog the entire time and was very cooperative. We ended up pinning 4th out of about 11.

The rest of my friends all did well and the show ran very smoothly. There was a great turn out and it really showed the versatility of the breed.

Last week I had a fabulous lesson as always. R really made both L and I and our horses work. We did work on very collected jog and extended trot. Sat was great she had the slowest roundest jog she has ever done. We did the same at the canter. We worked on extending the canter strictly using our seat and collecting the canter through the seat and legs and holding her there with that rather than my hands. She was absolutely AWESOME. Her collected canter was so so collected she was basically cantering in place and when I sat back she came up and really worked off her butt, she was a small step away from piaffe. Dressage may be her next calling! R was very happy with us both as well. We then did work on flying changes which after a little warm up finished off flawlessly. We also did some sidepass work which she did nicely.

Tonight we are going barrel racing for my last night of summer

I'm Alive I Swear!

Okay, so I have been slacking worse then ever, but I swear it's with good reason. I have just been so incredibly busy this summer it's ridiculous! I am hardly ever home and when I am home it's basically just to sleep.

I will catch you up with the condensed version. My pony has been great for the most part. We had a little issue around the middle of July where her back left leg swelled up like a balloon to about twice normal size. I cold hosed and walked her for a two days basically and the swelling went down. We also did sweat wraps and poultice. She was never lame on it which was good, but still had me worried. We have had some awesome lessons and are having another one this week. Our last show wasn't great though. We both had an off day. She wasn't running the way she usually runs speed wise or otherwise. Our barrel run was not good. Her turns were sloppy and we touched every barrel though luckily we didn't knock any over. Our poles run was actually pretty good but we knocked the last pole. Our keyhole turn was good but she didnt run her fastest.

As far as interning it went really well. My editor let me do a little bit of everything, writing, pics, layout, editing, etc. I realy liked it and now its over but she is keeping me on as a free lancer. Yay! My Paint Journal and Hoofbeats articles came out and I got paid for the Hoofbeats one! My photo business is also doing pretty well. I did the dressage show shoot which lead to one of the riders or really two hiring me privately. I have also gotten print orders from CJHA and Curry.

That's basically been my life lately other than spending a week in Vegas with my family out there which was a lot of fun. I promise to try and be better about my posting from now on.

Okay So I have been a slacker

I'm sorry guys. I have been a bit of a slacker these days. I have just been incredibly busy!

Okay so last show Satin and I were reserve champions. Kayla brought Smokey back so they were grand. We were a full second faster in each of our events. Our barrel run wasn't our best turn wise. It was a little rough, but we got a 19 where last time we got a 20. Our pole run was good and a full second faster. Last time we got a 27, this time a 26. Our keyhole was good, probably our best this season. We went from a ten to a 9 and ended up third. We were second in the first two events and reserve overall.

It's been very hot lately so I have mostly been riding bareback in the shade. On Sunday we rode bareback in our bathing suits through the sprinkler. It was a lot of fun.

Internship is going well. I had pictures and articles in the last issue and my article in Paint Horse Journal came out. My photography business is also doing well. I have gotten some print orders and a few more jobs.

Well that's the short version for now but I will write more soon!

I'm Here I Promise!

Don't worry guys I am still here! I have just been super, super busy between interning, riding, showing, etc, etc. But, today I had an absolutely fantastic lesson so I had to come on and write about it.

We went over to our fabulous trainer R's farm as usual and once again had our lesson partners back. We did a lot of figure eight work to warm up at the jog, trot, collected and extended canter and combination of them all with halt, walk, and trot transitions in between. Then I decided to through the flying changes into the mix after a few simple ones for warm up and she was PERFECT. She got her changes in both directions first shot, perfectly. No rushing, no cutting sideways across the ring, no forgetting to swap the back. They were textbook perfect changes which usually on the first try she forgets the back or what not, but we were both perfectly in sync and they were flawless. I was very happy especially because we haven't practiced our changes in a while.

The rest of the lesson went along just as great as it started. We had done our warm up in the indoor where it was a bit cooler and moved outside so L could do a course and we had more room for pattern work or whatever R had in store for us. She decided to have us run the barrel pattern around invisible barrels LOL. She didn't have any barrels over there so we just had to pretend. It was a little hard at first especially with crossrails kind of in our way, but then we figured out the right approach. The practice runs of the pattern went great. Her turns were AWESOME. They were all tight and smooth, no getting stuck or having to dig herself out as R says. Both R and I were very happy with the way she ran the pattern by the last couple of tries. We ran both her good and bad way to strengthen both. R said my focus was much better as was my position. So I ready to go and looking forward to the show Sunday!

In other news, the internship is going well. I really like it. I get to do a little of everything, photos, writing, editing, research,etc. I have 3 article ideas she sent me to work on right now. My photo website is up and I am shooting a dressage show on Saturday. So I have a very busy weekend ahead. I promise to fill you guys in on it asap.

Some Show Pics

Grand Champions!

So if you could not tell from the title of this post the horse show went great. Satin and I were grand champions in speed!!!! We didn't show pleasure this time as I mentioned before because when its hot like that it is too long a day to keep the poor mare there waiting between divisions. We had a good show in the morning, she got to go home, and I returned to the show to help out and take pictures. So we both were much happier and had a great day. I watched the tape the next day and her barrel run was just perfect, her turns were absolutley awesome! So proud of my girl!

Our great lesson on Wednesday helped with our success. Our wonderful trainer R gave us some barrel excercises that really helped make our turns perfect. She had me count my strides out loud all the way to the barrel which was placed a few feet off the wall, then I had to circle around it canter to the next wall stop, rollback, and do the same thing in the opposite direction. We worked on sitting back and dricing with my seat, and getting tight turns without getting "stuck". We did some rollback practice without the barrel in between and got her listening and going in the direction I wanted so at the show we both went the same way this time LOL.

Busy, busy, busy

Last week I started my internship with Horse News and it is going really well. I am getting to do and experience a lot. I got to read through and edit the newest edition before it went to print, write a few articles, edit press releases, and take photos of a show. Also my photography website is up and running! Hoping to get some photo shoots soon. I am scheduled to shoot a dressage show at the end of the month already.

Last week was very hot so I rode bareback under the trees most of the week. We had some fun rides despite the intense heat. This week we are in show prep mode for our next show Sunday. I think we will just be doing games instead of games and pleasure as it is supposed to be very hot and last time we stood there in the heat all day between divisions we were both very cranky LOL. Today the princess is getting her feet done and tomorrow we have a lesson so we will be ready to go for sunday.

There is a short update for now. Will post more later this week.

I'm Back!

Hey everyone, I'm back! So as I mentioned I was away on vacation and returned earlier this week, but have been super busy since I got back catching up on things. I was very happy to see my wonderful pony who I missed oh so much. While I was gone she shedded out the resrt of her winter coat and her head healed up, now just have to wait for the hair to grow back.

So my first day back after a week of no riding was a lesson with my wonderful trainer R. Luckily L had written Satin a couple of times during the week for me so she was feeling good for our lesson. She got her teeth done while I was away so she was feeling much better in that department as well. She jogged and loped nicely right from the start then we did some work on horsemanship patterns using my one from the last show for practice. R had me do it one handed as I would in the show and we got some really nice ones. We had a few problems here and there with sloppy transitions or halts or Satin getting too rushy, but in the end we had some nice smooth ones that R and I were very happy with. The pattern included a 180 to the right which is Satin's weaked spinning direction and she did some really great ones, so I was very happy about that as was R.

Thursday I hacked Satin around the farm and we did the barrel once or twice as the mare was dying to stretch her legs. Then Friday when I got her out and started riding she felt funny at the trot. She was taking a weird step in the back so I brought over my barn manager D to take a look and she said she was dragging the back right toe. She said it was probably her arthritis acting up as that is the hock she has it in. Plus she is used to getting worked 5-6 times a week which helps her from getting stiff and while i was away she got about half that. So I walked her for about 20 minutes, cold hosed her leg for about 20 minutes, and then put linament on both hind legs. The next day she was feeling good and back to normal. We hacked around the farm starting with 15 minutes of walking to stretch her out then another 15 minutes of trotting and light canter as next day I planned to take her on a hunter pace.

So the following day which was Sunday we went on the SPHO pleasure pace. K and Smokey were our partners. L and Lexie were supposed to be but Lexie's hock issues was flaring up and she had to have injections during the week so she couldnt attend the pace. We always have fun with K and Smokey on the trails though so it worked out. We had wanted to do the ten mile course but since Satin had been bit off only a couple of days before I decided not to push my luck and we did the shorter 6 mile course. Our friend S did not have a partner and just rode along with K and I. It was hot day but we got to the pace early and had a lot of fun. We had one little problem getting lost where some of the markers had been taken down. The organizers had had to remark several times because of that. They had said the footing was a bit muddy, but that wa sonly true in a few places and we were able to walk, trot, canter, and even get in a short gallop or two. Satin was feeling good to say the least. She was her usual self prancing and dancing and chomping at the bit the whole way. We ended up first in our division and 4 minutes off the optimal time which was pretty good.

After the pace E, L's mom M, and I went to the track where our friend B's race filly was running in her second race. It was a very exciting with B's mare leading to the wire. From our angle we thought she had it, but it ended in a photofinish and she got 2nd by a nose. It ended up being better though so now she can stay at these conditions, but boy did she run great! I also got some great pics.

I know, I know ...slacking

I know I have been slacking again, just been busy busy. I will give you the short catch up instead of the play by play.

So last I left off I was going team penning. It was fun, I missed it. The cows were fresh and tough, really made us work. My usual partner (my barn manager D) and I had one good 40 second run and another with a tough cow we didnt get. Then I did a few with my friend E and we got one in 40 something and another in a minute. As the season goes on the cows will get into the swing of things. That weekend I went to the Jersey Fresh CCI event at the horse park. It was fun as always and extra fun that I had my good camera this year and got some great shots! Saturday was cross country and Sunday was show jumping. They had dressage Friday but I didn't get to go to that.

Last Wednesday we had a lesson...finally! It was a tough one. R gave both Satin and I a workout, but it ended well. We hadn't had any real working rides since the show just out of laziness really, so Satin was a bit rambly and her transitions were lacking. She was also a bit quicker than she had been, of course. We mostly focused on her headset for pleasure classes. She was sticking her head and neck up even more than usual. Both R and I think she needs her teeth done as she also resisted bit contact more than usual. She never likes a lot of contact due to her western training, but that day she was more unhappy about it than usual. We did some work on rollbacks which went pretty well. Then R got on to work on the head set issue and figure out the right fix as she is so good at. After about 10 or 15 minutes she found what worked and we got Satin stretching her neck out and down at the jog and then a bit at the lope. She instucted me to do half halts left, right, left, right in time with the stride as well as adding inside leg pressure every other stride. It's a lot of work and focus, but it gets results. She had me bring her head down lower than I actually need it so that when I do that in my show warm up she will keep her head in the exact spot I need it during the classes. So my homework was to work on that everyday.

Thursday I did my R homework then went on a nice trail ride with L and S. Satin and I had not been out in a while so it was a welcome break for both of us. We wanted to go team penning again Friday but we were unfortunately rained out :( Saturday we did our homework again, but Satin was a bit resistive again. Afterwards we did some bridleless work and she was great! (especially since we had not practiced in a while)

Saturday afternoon I went upstate to Jill's as we were supposed to go on a hunter pace Sunday but Jill ended up being sick and we didn't go. I rode at her place though first on her friend's draft then on the filly Flo and had a nice relaxing time. Flo is doing really well. She jogged off perfectly, head nice and low. Her canter was a bit quick but I got her to collect, lower her head, and slow down. I even cantered her through the poles that were set up and she flipped her front lead every time not always the back though. Then we did some flying lead changes and she did them perfectly. She reminds me of Satin as every time you take her down the middle to circle she thinks you are going to ask for a change and anticipates it LOL!

Tomorrow I leave for vaca so I will be slacking on posting for a little bit. Oh forgot to mention that on the way to team penning the princess cut her head in the trailer. We later found a bees nest in the light above her head and figured that was the cause since she always trailers perfectly. My ride upon my return will be a lesson with R so that will be interesting. K and L will be riding Sat in my absence, but I won't be riding at all unfortunately