Okay so yesterday we went on a hunter pace even though it wasn't the greatest weather. It was pouring when we left, but when we got there it was just a light mist so it wasn't that bad. I rode with my friend K and this woman KB from our barn. D rode with one of the girls E. There were only 3 or 4 teams because of the weather, but we still had fun. It was dry most of the time except for a light shower, but we were in the woods for most of that. The Assunpink was very muddy and gross. We had to stick to walking and trotting most of it because of the slop. We did get some canters in and one hand gallop though. Anyway we were first in our division though there wasn't really any competition Lol. We enjoyed it which is the important part!
On the other hand we also went team penning on Friday. D and I got another 15 second time though this time she rode her daughter K's horse Smokey. Of course once again the day we get one in 15 some one gets it in 13 so we were second. Our second run we did not get our cow and our third run we got it in 40 seconds. I also did a run with DN and we got our cow in 30 seconds. Satin made quite an impressive move running to "get there" as we call it from across the ring after we clean up the "trash" as they call it. My friend C who hasn't penned in 2 years and was very nervous partnered with E and they got their cow in 18 seconds their first round and did well in their other rounds too! So it was a successful night for all.
Also last week I had a lesson with my fabulous trainer R. I can't say enough how great she is and how much I love my lessons with her! Anyway we had a great lesson of course. I usually take my lesson with L, but her mare was off so it was just me. We worked on the weaknesses and mistakes from the last show since I have another western pleasure show this weekend. We worked on canter transitions and other transitions as well since they were very slow at the show and they got much better. We also worked on my focus which is my biggest flaw, but is improving. Her lope and jog were gorgeous even one handed and we worked on slowing and correcting her with the one hand, as well as, ensuring she picks up the correct lead one handed. We went through the horsemanship pattern from the last show which was great at home as I know it could have been at the show. We also worked on sidepassing and spins and Satin did both beautifully. R gave me a little pre-show pep talk so to speak. Sunday is our last WP show this season so we are going to go in there with confidence and show them what we can do. I am determined to make this last show our best one of the season and ride it as well as we do at home. I will let you know how it goes!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Team Penning
On Friday we went team penning, which Satin and I are becoming pretty good at and both enjoy. We did quite a few runs and had a late night, but had a lot of fun. Our first run was with D and her horse Jewel our partners from last time who we kicked butt with. We didn't get our cow unfortunately, but put in a good effort. Our second run we did with our jockey friend DN and this lady's TB who she saved from the killer pen and is trying to sell. The TB had never team penned before, but did pretty well. I got to cut which was fun since I usually play back up and let D do the cutting for the most part. We got our cow this time in a minute and change.
Then we did another run with D this time on her daughter K's horse Smokey, another great cow horse. We got our cow in under a minute. I forget the exact time. Then I did a run on my friend E's horse, Tie who had never team penned before, but behaved well for DN in his run on him so I decided to give him a shot. We went in with K on Patty one of the barn favorites. We got our cow just in the nick of time right at the 2 minute mark. We were keeping it slow and taking it easy since it was Tie's first time and he is a baby. He was very good though and liked the cows. He wanted to play with them while Satin wants to eat them haha.
After that I did another run on Sat with DN and the TB. This time I let him cut and we did pretty good. We got our cow in like a minute and half. We could have gotten him in in about 45 seconds or so, but we lost him at the last minute right when we had him down at the pen (thanks to DN lol). We also almost collided at one point when DN lost his horse as he says meaning he lost his steering and when he turned around the horse kept going sidewise. He pretty much lost his back end and luckily I was able to get out of the way quick enough.
K and I were going to do the jackpot round on Satin and Smokey, but unfortunately they did not run it because not enough people signed up, so we just did a regular run instead and got our cow in 45 seconds. Maybe next time we go we will have a chance to go for the money round. All in all we had another fun night at team penning. Recently I was looking into Satin's pedigree and found that not only are many of her ancestor's big time reiners, but many of them are also champion cutting horses, which explains why she is so good with the cows :) .
In other news, school is going well. The usual thing with classes and what not. I also have some exciting news. I got my first freelance job! I am going to be doing an article for the Paint Horse Journals "Great Rides" section. Also, I am going to be submitting an article to Hoofbeats for consideration, so fingers crossed!
Also, today Kayla and I went on another almost 2 hour trail ride adventure. It was a lot of fun as usual. We went into the development again and rode into it a little more. Some little kids came up and fed the horses apples and carrots. It was very cute. Then we explored some new trails and had our usual fun on the old ones.
Then we did another run with D this time on her daughter K's horse Smokey, another great cow horse. We got our cow in under a minute. I forget the exact time. Then I did a run on my friend E's horse, Tie who had never team penned before, but behaved well for DN in his run on him so I decided to give him a shot. We went in with K on Patty one of the barn favorites. We got our cow just in the nick of time right at the 2 minute mark. We were keeping it slow and taking it easy since it was Tie's first time and he is a baby. He was very good though and liked the cows. He wanted to play with them while Satin wants to eat them haha.
After that I did another run on Sat with DN and the TB. This time I let him cut and we did pretty good. We got our cow in like a minute and half. We could have gotten him in in about 45 seconds or so, but we lost him at the last minute right when we had him down at the pen (thanks to DN lol). We also almost collided at one point when DN lost his horse as he says meaning he lost his steering and when he turned around the horse kept going sidewise. He pretty much lost his back end and luckily I was able to get out of the way quick enough.
K and I were going to do the jackpot round on Satin and Smokey, but unfortunately they did not run it because not enough people signed up, so we just did a regular run instead and got our cow in 45 seconds. Maybe next time we go we will have a chance to go for the money round. All in all we had another fun night at team penning. Recently I was looking into Satin's pedigree and found that not only are many of her ancestor's big time reiners, but many of them are also champion cutting horses, which explains why she is so good with the cows :) .
In other news, school is going well. The usual thing with classes and what not. I also have some exciting news. I got my first freelance job! I am going to be doing an article for the Paint Horse Journals "Great Rides" section. Also, I am going to be submitting an article to Hoofbeats for consideration, so fingers crossed!
Also, today Kayla and I went on another almost 2 hour trail ride adventure. It was a lot of fun as usual. We went into the development again and rode into it a little more. Some little kids came up and fed the horses apples and carrots. It was very cute. Then we explored some new trails and had our usual fun on the old ones.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Pony is on Fire!
So last night we went barrel racing at our usual place and Satin was awesome! We did the barrels in 19.7 seconds which is our best time so far. When we started doing barrels we were getting 22s so this is a big improvement. We could have gotten it even a bit quicker if we had not gotten a little hung up at the third barrel.
Then we had dash which is our favorite event. We did our fastest dash ever at 8.7 seconds!!! I was so thrilled since some of the horses that usual beat us did it in an 8.9 and our fastest dash at this farm so far had been 9 seconds.
Our last event was poles which we usually do in a 30 but our fastest time there was a 29 and this week we got a 27.8 seconds! Again I was super excited at this great improvement! My friend whose horse is a fantastic poles horse and usually does a 1D or 2D poles time did it in 27.2 so I was very happy.
We were 1st in 2D dash and 2nd in 3D poles. There were some pretty fast horses there last night so I was very happy to place that well and most of all extremely happy with our very improved times.
I think the difference is I stayed out of her way more and let just do her job. I am usually very worried about her overshooting the barrel so I slow her down way too soon before the barrel. This time I tried not to touch her much at all and did not slow her if I could help it. I just turned her right when we were over at the barrel. In the poles I usually end up pulling a bit back as well as side to side because in the direction towards home she tends to blow through. This time I made sure I just went side to side as not to interfere with her speed and she practically stopped around the last pole so if she had not done that our pole run might have even been a bit faster. But again I was beyond thrilled with our performance!
Then we had dash which is our favorite event. We did our fastest dash ever at 8.7 seconds!!! I was so thrilled since some of the horses that usual beat us did it in an 8.9 and our fastest dash at this farm so far had been 9 seconds.
Our last event was poles which we usually do in a 30 but our fastest time there was a 29 and this week we got a 27.8 seconds! Again I was super excited at this great improvement! My friend whose horse is a fantastic poles horse and usually does a 1D or 2D poles time did it in 27.2 so I was very happy.
We were 1st in 2D dash and 2nd in 3D poles. There were some pretty fast horses there last night so I was very happy to place that well and most of all extremely happy with our very improved times.
I think the difference is I stayed out of her way more and let just do her job. I am usually very worried about her overshooting the barrel so I slow her down way too soon before the barrel. This time I tried not to touch her much at all and did not slow her if I could help it. I just turned her right when we were over at the barrel. In the poles I usually end up pulling a bit back as well as side to side because in the direction towards home she tends to blow through. This time I made sure I just went side to side as not to interfere with her speed and she practically stopped around the last pole so if she had not done that our pole run might have even been a bit faster. But again I was beyond thrilled with our performance!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Horse Show Recap
Yesterday I had my western pleasure show I had mentioned in my last post. So I spent most of my week preparing. Wednesday I went on a 2 hour trail ride with my friend K for her birthday and we had so much fun. We up on this grassy circle that goes behind this development. We like to go there and canter around and always wanted to go through into the development just for fun. Well this time we finally did it! We saw people watching us ride through their back door and asked if they would mind us walking through. We walked up and down the sidewalks and along the streets. It was a lot of fun and people were running to the doors to see us. It's not everyday horses walk through their development Haha.
Anyway back to the show. Turns out crazy 2 hour trail rides work wonders for our western pleasure. She was slow and perfect in our lesson the next day. At the show she schooled like a dream. Great jog. Beautiful lope. The only thing was she was a bit slow on picking up her canter. I worked her through our horsemanship pattern and worked on the transitions and she did well.
Then I went into my first class which was horsemanship pattern and rail work. She is always a bit of a doofus in this class. She gets very antsy and rushes the pattern, but I thought she would be better since she has schooled so nicely. Unfortunately I was wrong. We started our jog and she was prancing all over. She was slow in picking up the lope so by the time she did we were at the cone where we had to circle. Our circle was to small and uneven and she was quick. Our rail work was so, so. We had only 3 people when we usually have 6-8 in the class and it was extremely muddy. I ended up pinning 2nd in that class. We had a great judge "Buttons" Fairfax. I really liked him and he gave helpful comments. The horsemanship class wasn't entirely her fault. I didnt really hold up my end all that well either. My eq was sloppy in trying to fix her and my usual show nerves. I get in the class and stop being able to think about everything I am supposed to be doing. Anyway the judge said I needed to sit up straighter and look up (which my trainer R says all the time and I had been getting much better about in lessons).
Then we had the pleasure class which started well. She was jogging nicely and her lope started our well but got strung out and quick in parts. Her upward transitions were also slow. We ended up third due to our inconsistent lope. The judge said she had parts where she was collected and using her butt and she looked gorgeous, but then I would let her get strung out. I was so used to my old trainer saying to check or correct when the judge wasn't looking and he was always looking so I didn't correct as often. Like my friend said though it is better to let the judge see you correct then to let her keep going around looking sloppy. He also said when I do check her to lift up not back or down which is just what my trainer said as well.
The command class which is my favorite was very quick. His second command was lope and me and another girl both picked up the wrong lead so the 3rd girl won. I took second. Usually that is our best class. I can't believe we go the wrong lead. She never gets the wrong lead. Ugh so frustrating.
Our last class was the trail class which is also one of our strong points. Our pattern was alright. We had to back through cones which went well, but had some close calls. Our transition to the jog was slow and we only had a few strides to do it to begin with. We had to pick up a jacket and put it on another pole she was shifting around when I went to place it down which I am sure made it look to the judge like she was afraid of it, which she wasn't. She was just being antsy as usual. Her transition to the lope was very slow again. She only got 2 strides then broke 2 strides before she was supposed to. Her 360 was a bit sloppier than it could have been. We had to jog over a fan of poles and she hit some which is points off. She sidepassed nicely once she started doing it. When I halted her at first she was antsy and swinging around. She walked fine over the bridge and got her right lead canter at the end which I was very happy about. She counter canters beautifully at home, but I always have trouble getting it in trail classes which drives me nuts. We took 2nd in that class and were reserve champion.
All in all we did okay, but could have done better. It just makes me nuts that she schooled so beautifully and did so well in our lesson and then doesn't go half as nicely in the class. Though that is not entirely her fault so I should not make it seem that way. I let my nerves get the best of me and don't even realize it. I get into the class and just forget everything I should be doing to fix or help her and get mad instead, which is no good for either of us. I think she has a bit of show nerves of her own, but mine don't help much. We have our last of this show series on October 4th so we are going to work hard towards redeeming ourselves in that one. Ribbons are not important to me I just want to go out there and do the best we can do.
Anyway back to the show. Turns out crazy 2 hour trail rides work wonders for our western pleasure. She was slow and perfect in our lesson the next day. At the show she schooled like a dream. Great jog. Beautiful lope. The only thing was she was a bit slow on picking up her canter. I worked her through our horsemanship pattern and worked on the transitions and she did well.
Then I went into my first class which was horsemanship pattern and rail work. She is always a bit of a doofus in this class. She gets very antsy and rushes the pattern, but I thought she would be better since she has schooled so nicely. Unfortunately I was wrong. We started our jog and she was prancing all over. She was slow in picking up the lope so by the time she did we were at the cone where we had to circle. Our circle was to small and uneven and she was quick. Our rail work was so, so. We had only 3 people when we usually have 6-8 in the class and it was extremely muddy. I ended up pinning 2nd in that class. We had a great judge "Buttons" Fairfax. I really liked him and he gave helpful comments. The horsemanship class wasn't entirely her fault. I didnt really hold up my end all that well either. My eq was sloppy in trying to fix her and my usual show nerves. I get in the class and stop being able to think about everything I am supposed to be doing. Anyway the judge said I needed to sit up straighter and look up (which my trainer R says all the time and I had been getting much better about in lessons).
Then we had the pleasure class which started well. She was jogging nicely and her lope started our well but got strung out and quick in parts. Her upward transitions were also slow. We ended up third due to our inconsistent lope. The judge said she had parts where she was collected and using her butt and she looked gorgeous, but then I would let her get strung out. I was so used to my old trainer saying to check or correct when the judge wasn't looking and he was always looking so I didn't correct as often. Like my friend said though it is better to let the judge see you correct then to let her keep going around looking sloppy. He also said when I do check her to lift up not back or down which is just what my trainer said as well.
The command class which is my favorite was very quick. His second command was lope and me and another girl both picked up the wrong lead so the 3rd girl won. I took second. Usually that is our best class. I can't believe we go the wrong lead. She never gets the wrong lead. Ugh so frustrating.
Our last class was the trail class which is also one of our strong points. Our pattern was alright. We had to back through cones which went well, but had some close calls. Our transition to the jog was slow and we only had a few strides to do it to begin with. We had to pick up a jacket and put it on another pole she was shifting around when I went to place it down which I am sure made it look to the judge like she was afraid of it, which she wasn't. She was just being antsy as usual. Her transition to the lope was very slow again. She only got 2 strides then broke 2 strides before she was supposed to. Her 360 was a bit sloppier than it could have been. We had to jog over a fan of poles and she hit some which is points off. She sidepassed nicely once she started doing it. When I halted her at first she was antsy and swinging around. She walked fine over the bridge and got her right lead canter at the end which I was very happy about. She counter canters beautifully at home, but I always have trouble getting it in trail classes which drives me nuts. We took 2nd in that class and were reserve champion.
All in all we did okay, but could have done better. It just makes me nuts that she schooled so beautifully and did so well in our lesson and then doesn't go half as nicely in the class. Though that is not entirely her fault so I should not make it seem that way. I let my nerves get the best of me and don't even realize it. I get into the class and just forget everything I should be doing to fix or help her and get mad instead, which is no good for either of us. I think she has a bit of show nerves of her own, but mine don't help much. We have our last of this show series on October 4th so we are going to work hard towards redeeming ourselves in that one. Ribbons are not important to me I just want to go out there and do the best we can do.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Team Penning!
Okay so the local farm where we go barrel racing on Tuesdays holds team penning on Fridays. So this past Friday my barn owner D and I went. We had all gone earlier in the summer, but had not been back since. Due to a long story worth of circumstances the other girls didn't go so it was just me and D. It was actually a nice peaceful outing since we only brought the 2 horses, Satin and D's mare Jewel who is Satin's paddock mate and best friend. They are both laid back, very quiet, easy loaders, etc. So it was 2 riders and 2 horses who know what they are doing so nobody to worry about.
As I said I had only gone team penning once before. Luckily my mare is a natural. For those readers out there who don't know team penning is when you are given a number cow between 0 and 9 and you and a partner have to get that cow away from the others and heard down into a small pen at the opposite side of the arena as quickly as you can. We went for our first run and got our cow in 20 seconds which is a great time. Then we go back in for our second round and end up getting our cow in 15.7 seconds which is an awesome time! We were of course very excited and proud of ourselves since sometimes people win it with a 20 and there we were with a 15. Unfortunately a few runs later someone came out of nowhere with a 13! We did one more run, but our last cow was a trickster and we were not able to get him in under 2 minutes. But, that's okay we still had a great time. My trainer R and her husband D who is the barn farrier came to watch us and some other friends that were competing.
Other than team penning we have mostly been schooling for the show coming next weekend. And I have been trying to get myself back into school mode which is feeling almost impossible lol but I will get there. Okay well I am off to visit some friends at their college for the night so more show updates this week!
As I said I had only gone team penning once before. Luckily my mare is a natural. For those readers out there who don't know team penning is when you are given a number cow between 0 and 9 and you and a partner have to get that cow away from the others and heard down into a small pen at the opposite side of the arena as quickly as you can. We went for our first run and got our cow in 20 seconds which is a great time. Then we go back in for our second round and end up getting our cow in 15.7 seconds which is an awesome time! We were of course very excited and proud of ourselves since sometimes people win it with a 20 and there we were with a 15. Unfortunately a few runs later someone came out of nowhere with a 13! We did one more run, but our last cow was a trickster and we were not able to get him in under 2 minutes. But, that's okay we still had a great time. My trainer R and her husband D who is the barn farrier came to watch us and some other friends that were competing.
Other than team penning we have mostly been schooling for the show coming next weekend. And I have been trying to get myself back into school mode which is feeling almost impossible lol but I will get there. Okay well I am off to visit some friends at their college for the night so more show updates this week!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
My Helmet Saves My Life Again
So now this is the second time this year I have been extremely thankful that I always wear my helmet. On Monday I decided it would be a brilliant idea to ride my mare who had not been ridden all weekend in a bitless and bareback saddle in the back path behind the paddocks. She was hyper from having days off and wanted to go every time I asked her to canter so I let her go a little and she was fine. Then when I was cantering her again later she started pulling and wanting to go again so I decided to let her get it out of her system. I let her run down the path and through the grass field. She was really booking it and she went to take a sharp turn between paddocks. I tried to slow her down and widen out her turn by pulling her right. Unfortunately it did not work and the bareback saddle is not the most stable thing so me and the saddle went right and she kept going left.
I landed about an inch from the paddock fence and saw her hooves gallop past me. Apparently from the eye witness accounts I got some pretty good air and really flew off. I hit my leg on either the fence of just hard on the ground not sure, but it swelled up and turned pretty colors. The swelling has gone down but it is still colorful. The next day my neck and back were a total mess as was most of the rest of my body parts. I was very sore and definitely got some good whiplash. My helmet definitely prevented me from breaking my neck or cracking my head open with that fall. My mare just ran right into the barn to wait for me and when my friend reached her (since she was moving a little quicker than I was) she trotted herself right out to her field and waited for us there with the bareback saddle on sideways and reins hanging around her neck. I put a real saddle and bridle on her and got on and rode her another ten minutes taking that turn at a hand gallop to make her do it wider and stopping her before turn to prevent that happening in the future.
Afterward I cowgirled up and rode three more horses, which may not have been the best thing for my leg, but I survived. We were on an unlucky streak at the farm with L falling off at the show Sunday, me falling off Monday, then my friend E fell off at barrel racing on Tuesday and my barn owner had a horse rear up and land on her when trying to back him off the trailer.
So that takes me to Tuesday. I finally got to go barrel racing. We did well. We got our usual barrel time of 20 seconds, our dash time was a little slower than normal at a 9.2, but still good and we won some money in 3D. We had one of our fastest poles times at a 29 when we usually do a 30. My trainer R came and rode my barn owner D's horse Jewel. She did great and it was funny to give her riding advice instead of the other way around, but as with all things involving horses she was a natural.
The past 2 days we just schooled in the ring since we have a western pleasure show next weekend. I started school on Tuesday, which is depressing thinking of homework and reading coming and the absence of freedom. I am also trying to rearrange my schedule which is extremely annoying, but hopefully it will work out.
I landed about an inch from the paddock fence and saw her hooves gallop past me. Apparently from the eye witness accounts I got some pretty good air and really flew off. I hit my leg on either the fence of just hard on the ground not sure, but it swelled up and turned pretty colors. The swelling has gone down but it is still colorful. The next day my neck and back were a total mess as was most of the rest of my body parts. I was very sore and definitely got some good whiplash. My helmet definitely prevented me from breaking my neck or cracking my head open with that fall. My mare just ran right into the barn to wait for me and when my friend reached her (since she was moving a little quicker than I was) she trotted herself right out to her field and waited for us there with the bareback saddle on sideways and reins hanging around her neck. I put a real saddle and bridle on her and got on and rode her another ten minutes taking that turn at a hand gallop to make her do it wider and stopping her before turn to prevent that happening in the future.
Afterward I cowgirled up and rode three more horses, which may not have been the best thing for my leg, but I survived. We were on an unlucky streak at the farm with L falling off at the show Sunday, me falling off Monday, then my friend E fell off at barrel racing on Tuesday and my barn owner had a horse rear up and land on her when trying to back him off the trailer.
So that takes me to Tuesday. I finally got to go barrel racing. We did well. We got our usual barrel time of 20 seconds, our dash time was a little slower than normal at a 9.2, but still good and we won some money in 3D. We had one of our fastest poles times at a 29 when we usually do a 30. My trainer R came and rode my barn owner D's horse Jewel. She did great and it was funny to give her riding advice instead of the other way around, but as with all things involving horses she was a natural.
The past 2 days we just schooled in the ring since we have a western pleasure show next weekend. I started school on Tuesday, which is depressing thinking of homework and reading coming and the absence of freedom. I am also trying to rearrange my schedule which is extremely annoying, but hopefully it will work out.
National Standardbred Show
L and Lexie in jumpers
My beautiful boyfriend lol and H
winner of Battle of the Breeds in hand
R with Larry (isnt he gorgeous)I apologize for being such a slacker, but I have been super busy with going back to school and what not.
Anyway so I spent my weekend at the Horsepark for RACE N.J. weekend. This entails the Re-Run show Saturday, the first ever Battle of the Breeds (Thoroughbreds vs. Standardbreds) Saturday night, and the National Standardbred Show on Sunday.
Last year I showed my friend R's stbd Larry in the western division at the Stbd show. This year due to a very long story that you would have to know R to understand I did not ride Larry so I played the role of horse show assistant, photographer, and show mommy to my many friends who competed their stbds. It was fun and I actually didn't mind not showing because I got to help all of my friends and enjoy the show and I got lots of great pictures some examples seen above. My friend L and her mare Lexie did great in all of their divisions against some tough competition. L took a fall in her jumper class, but she was okay and got right back on for the next one. My friend H and her stbd gelding J.B. who I refer to as boyfriend because I love him lol did awesome. They were grand in driving and equitation, reserve in senior horse and got tons of other ribbons as well in various disciplines.
The SPHO who puts on this show is such a great club full of dedicated members. A friend of ours came with her standardbred all the way from Maine and they did great as usual. Another girl brought her stbd all the way from Kentucky. I had heard about this mare before, but this was my first time seeing her in person and she was awesome. She has the most adorable canter ever you would never know she was an stbd. She beat the thoroughbreds in the battle of the breeds canter classes. She also has an awesome jump and competes western.
Anyway so back up to the Battle of the Breeds, which was won by the thoroughbreds, but was fun to watch and came right down to the wire. The first class was in hand which was won by a gorgeous TB mare. She was chestnut with white blaze and for big white socks, so flashy, I loved her. My friend R came 2nd with Larry, my friend S came 3rd with her stbd, and my friend H came 4th. The next class was walk trot pleasure which an stb won but H came 2nd. Then came walk trot canter won by the stbd from KY. Then it was hunter hack won by the same stbd. So it was 2 to 2. Then came the command class again won by the stbd mare from KY. The 6th class was barrel dash won by a TB so now it was 3 for 3. The final class was ride-a-buck. The crowd was on their feet cheering on their favorite breeds and in the end it was won by a thoroughbred. I hope they will continue this event next year and maybe even invite the QHs. I would love to bring my mare!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
As the saying goes "No hoof, No horse"
Or in my case no shoe, no barrel racing. :( So yesterday I took Satin to go barrel racing at the local farm I wrote about in my last post and I unloaded her off the trailer to find she had thrown a shoe. I was disappointed to say the least especially because she is the kind of horse that never loses a shoe! She is due to be shod in 4 days though and the mud doesn't help. Luckily my farrier was able to run out this afternoon and get her shoe on so I can take my lesson tomorrow because we have not had a lesson in quite a while between my schedule and my trainer's. Anyway I was lucky enough to catch a ride last night on my barn owner's mare doing the poles. The mare shoots off like a rocket as soon as she get anywhere near the vicinity of the ring at barrel shows and poles is her best event I think. It was my first time gaming on her and we did well got it in 28 seconds.
Anyway now I will back up to where I left off last Tuesday when I was taking Satin barrel racing. As I predicated she was ready and raring to go! She was really on top of her game. Our barrels were awesome! It was the best she has ever run the barrel pattern. She did it in 19 seconds, not to shabby for what many would call an old lady, if I do say so myself :) Not only did she have a great time, but her turns were also great! Then we had barrel dash which is Satin and I's best and favorite event. We did it in 9 seconds and ended up winning money in it! We were first place in 2D! It may have only been $12, but I couldn't have been happier or prouder of my little mare. Then we finished up with the poles. Satin has awesome changes which is great for poles, but she doesn't go as quickly through them as others. We did it in 30 seconds which is pretty much our usual time. The poles at this farm are pretty tight and running them in the direction of home Satin just wanted to rocket through the line instead of weave through LOL! But we made it work and I was happy with her performance. So all in all I had a great night and was really happy and proud of our runs. Now we are looking forward to going next week (with both shoes on!).
So in between last Tuesday and this Tuesday there isn't too much too tell. We have mostly been riding in the back of the farm where there is a path that is like a small loop through the trees behind the paddocks. It is nice in this heat because our ring is like the Sahara desert so it is about ten degrees cooler under the trees. I have mostly been riding her bareback or in the bareback saddle so tomorrow in our lesson will be her first time doing real work and being in the ring in 2 or 3 weeks so that should be interesting, but is definitely needed. I wanted to work her in the ring today, but I couldn't ride her because she did not get her shoe back on til sometime this afternoon and my only time to ride was in the morning. So I rode one of my barn owner's horses instead bareback on that path. The mare is blind in one eye, but very calm and well behaved and not the least bit spooky. She has the MOST comfortable trot ever! She can be in a super extended, fast trot and you can still sit it with no problem whatsoever, its nuts! She is even more comfortable at the trot than our friend Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse, who is a gaited horse made for being able to sit to a comfy trot, and this horse I rode is a QH! My friend was riding one of our barn owner's other horses, a chestnut appendix gelding who I love. He is my buddy, but I had never really ridden him before except once for like 2 minutes. So in the end we switched for a few minutes. He has lactic acid build up which causes him to suck back and be very lazy, so he can be a pain in the butt about moving forward and what not, but he is generally a good boy.
On the non-horsey front, this past weekend I had to go up to New Hampshire for my cousin's 2nd bridal shower since I am a bridesmaid. The shower went well and NH was very nice though it was a very long drive. The wedding is right around the corner now, only about 6 weeks away. I am excited, it should be lots of fun. Unfortunately school is right around the corner as well. Classes start September 1st and my question is where did the summer go? I feel like it went by so quickly. Ughh :( I am sad that my friends are all leaving to go back up to school, but we are already planning lots of visits.
Tomorrow I am looking forward to my lesson and this weekend we have the big National Standardbred show and the Horsepark. Last year I rode my friend R's stb Larry in the western, but because of a few different reasons we were unable to get the riding practice in he needs so I won't be riding him this year. I am just going to relax and enjoy the show this year. Though I doubt I will do much relaxing. I already promised to play show mommy to 2 of my friends that will be showing in quite a few classes that day, plus playing photographer to them as well and I am sure I will be helping in the set up and running of the show since I am friends with everyone in charge and an extra hand is always needed. That show is Sunday and the night before they are holding a Battle of the Breeds, the Standardbreds vs. the Thoroughbreds with a bbq to follow. So it should be a fun weekend and I am looking forward to it.
Anyway now I will back up to where I left off last Tuesday when I was taking Satin barrel racing. As I predicated she was ready and raring to go! She was really on top of her game. Our barrels were awesome! It was the best she has ever run the barrel pattern. She did it in 19 seconds, not to shabby for what many would call an old lady, if I do say so myself :) Not only did she have a great time, but her turns were also great! Then we had barrel dash which is Satin and I's best and favorite event. We did it in 9 seconds and ended up winning money in it! We were first place in 2D! It may have only been $12, but I couldn't have been happier or prouder of my little mare. Then we finished up with the poles. Satin has awesome changes which is great for poles, but she doesn't go as quickly through them as others. We did it in 30 seconds which is pretty much our usual time. The poles at this farm are pretty tight and running them in the direction of home Satin just wanted to rocket through the line instead of weave through LOL! But we made it work and I was happy with her performance. So all in all I had a great night and was really happy and proud of our runs. Now we are looking forward to going next week (with both shoes on!).
So in between last Tuesday and this Tuesday there isn't too much too tell. We have mostly been riding in the back of the farm where there is a path that is like a small loop through the trees behind the paddocks. It is nice in this heat because our ring is like the Sahara desert so it is about ten degrees cooler under the trees. I have mostly been riding her bareback or in the bareback saddle so tomorrow in our lesson will be her first time doing real work and being in the ring in 2 or 3 weeks so that should be interesting, but is definitely needed. I wanted to work her in the ring today, but I couldn't ride her because she did not get her shoe back on til sometime this afternoon and my only time to ride was in the morning. So I rode one of my barn owner's horses instead bareback on that path. The mare is blind in one eye, but very calm and well behaved and not the least bit spooky. She has the MOST comfortable trot ever! She can be in a super extended, fast trot and you can still sit it with no problem whatsoever, its nuts! She is even more comfortable at the trot than our friend Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse, who is a gaited horse made for being able to sit to a comfy trot, and this horse I rode is a QH! My friend was riding one of our barn owner's other horses, a chestnut appendix gelding who I love. He is my buddy, but I had never really ridden him before except once for like 2 minutes. So in the end we switched for a few minutes. He has lactic acid build up which causes him to suck back and be very lazy, so he can be a pain in the butt about moving forward and what not, but he is generally a good boy.
On the non-horsey front, this past weekend I had to go up to New Hampshire for my cousin's 2nd bridal shower since I am a bridesmaid. The shower went well and NH was very nice though it was a very long drive. The wedding is right around the corner now, only about 6 weeks away. I am excited, it should be lots of fun. Unfortunately school is right around the corner as well. Classes start September 1st and my question is where did the summer go? I feel like it went by so quickly. Ughh :( I am sad that my friends are all leaving to go back up to school, but we are already planning lots of visits.
Tomorrow I am looking forward to my lesson and this weekend we have the big National Standardbred show and the Horsepark. Last year I rode my friend R's stb Larry in the western, but because of a few different reasons we were unable to get the riding practice in he needs so I won't be riding him this year. I am just going to relax and enjoy the show this year. Though I doubt I will do much relaxing. I already promised to play show mommy to 2 of my friends that will be showing in quite a few classes that day, plus playing photographer to them as well and I am sure I will be helping in the set up and running of the show since I am friends with everyone in charge and an extra hand is always needed. That show is Sunday and the night before they are holding a Battle of the Breeds, the Standardbreds vs. the Thoroughbreds with a bbq to follow. So it should be a fun weekend and I am looking forward to it.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy
Max
Flo
So I have been such a busy bee lately it has caused me to become a slacker on here and for that I apologize, but I am going to attempt to do some catching up now. Anyway so last time I wrote I was filling you guys in on my upcoming western pleasure, horsemanship, trail show. Unfortunately the show ended up being rained out. I was there all morning and around noon they closed the park down because extreme lightning storms were heading our way. They hit just as we began unloading the horses back at home so lucky we left when we did!
Anyway, in other news I spent all of last week upstate at my friend J's house. J is the one who gave me my horse and she has a beautiful farm in upstate N.Y. My family was up with me for most of the week and we spent most of our days at the dude ranch we have been vacationing at for years that is coincidentally right around the corner from J's house. So I spent my days going on the trail rides at the ranch all day as much as possible, which I do enjoy. I am friends with most of the people working the rides there so we goof around and have a good time. A lot of the people there ask me if I really enjoy it since I ride all the time, but I said yes it is still a vacation for me. At home if I want to ride I have to groom and tack up the horse myself, plus un-tack, hose, spray, etc. when I am done. Plus I don't trail ride everyday we have to work some days and when I do trail ride if she acts up or whatever I have to correct her. At the ranch I just get on and ride no grooming and tacking and go and do whatever.
While I was up there I also spent time riding J's horses. J has a 3 year old palomino, paint, QH filly. She picked her out based on her ad site unseen and she was to be our little project. J just wanted a nice horse to mostly trail ride, but this filly is just way to fancy to not show so she said I would show her since she is not interested in showing. She is a born and bred western pleasure and english pleasure filly (obviously the western pleasure aspect being my focus). She will also do well in halter, showmanship, trail, and horsemanship. Anyway now she is 3 and has had some training in her knows her leads, working on changes, etc. She is in that growing stage so since I only see her every few months she grows so much in between. She has really filled out and looks like a horse now compared to the way she looked when she first came as a just barely 2 year old. J has a trainer working with her and a girl riding her to keep her in shape since J is always super busy with one project or another like building her new barn so she doesn't have enough time to give her the riding she needs right now. The girl rides her English and took her to a show and she looks cute, but I can't wait to get her really working on western pleasure. The trainer has been riding her both. I rode her in the ring a little while I was up there and she seems to be coming along nicely. She is very, very good for a 3 year old. J and I took her and our friend's gelding Max out on some trail rides on roads and what not and she was very good about it. She is a sweet and quiet baby.
Anyway, in other news I spent all of last week upstate at my friend J's house. J is the one who gave me my horse and she has a beautiful farm in upstate N.Y. My family was up with me for most of the week and we spent most of our days at the dude ranch we have been vacationing at for years that is coincidentally right around the corner from J's house. So I spent my days going on the trail rides at the ranch all day as much as possible, which I do enjoy. I am friends with most of the people working the rides there so we goof around and have a good time. A lot of the people there ask me if I really enjoy it since I ride all the time, but I said yes it is still a vacation for me. At home if I want to ride I have to groom and tack up the horse myself, plus un-tack, hose, spray, etc. when I am done. Plus I don't trail ride everyday we have to work some days and when I do trail ride if she acts up or whatever I have to correct her. At the ranch I just get on and ride no grooming and tacking and go and do whatever.
While I was up there I also spent time riding J's horses. J has a 3 year old palomino, paint, QH filly. She picked her out based on her ad site unseen and she was to be our little project. J just wanted a nice horse to mostly trail ride, but this filly is just way to fancy to not show so she said I would show her since she is not interested in showing. She is a born and bred western pleasure and english pleasure filly (obviously the western pleasure aspect being my focus). She will also do well in halter, showmanship, trail, and horsemanship. Anyway now she is 3 and has had some training in her knows her leads, working on changes, etc. She is in that growing stage so since I only see her every few months she grows so much in between. She has really filled out and looks like a horse now compared to the way she looked when she first came as a just barely 2 year old. J has a trainer working with her and a girl riding her to keep her in shape since J is always super busy with one project or another like building her new barn so she doesn't have enough time to give her the riding she needs right now. The girl rides her English and took her to a show and she looks cute, but I can't wait to get her really working on western pleasure. The trainer has been riding her both. I rode her in the ring a little while I was up there and she seems to be coming along nicely. She is very, very good for a 3 year old. J and I took her and our friend's gelding Max out on some trail rides on roads and what not and she was very good about it. She is a sweet and quiet baby.
While at J's I also rode our friend's horse Max. He is a 9 year old grey gelding. He is a little green, but our friend who owned before began training him for reining and he knows a lot. His sidepass is awesome! He moved right off stayed perfectly straight and even all the way across and moving with nice momentum, none of that start-stop stuff. While The filly will be my next pleasure horse this horse is going to be my next reining/barrel horse. I did the barrel pattern with him and his turns were awesome. You don't really even need to use your hands, if you just use your leg in the right spot he moved around it perfectly. I only did it at a trot since he is pretty out of shape, but still. I also did the poles which he did nicely as well. I wish his owner C would send him down here or I had more time to go up there and work with him and the filly too of course. They are both going to be really awesome horses in their respective disciplines with some more riding.
Anyway though I enjoyed my time upstate I did miss my girl so it was nice to get home to her. Tomorrow we are going to a local farm that does jackpot barrels, poles, and dash every Tuesday, so I am excited about that. Satin has been very hyperactive since having a few days off so she should be ready to go Lol! I will let you know how it goes ... stay tuned :)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Show Prep
So this week I said I was going to be all about show prep and getting Satin (and myself) back in slow mode for our western pleasure, horsemanship, trail show this Sunday. Well that went out the window pretty quickly.
On Monday Satin got the day off after the gymkhana. This week in summer camp we (meaning the more advanced students and girls who board at the farm) are allowed to do camp because my barn owner D runs a games camp for more advanced riders. So I decided to do the camp on my friend L's stbd mare Lexie so I was riding english which is a rare occurrence for me. Anyway it was fun and she was good for me. We did relay races and things like that. Then on Tuesday night I gave Satin a very short schooling session to tune her up for the show and our lesson the next day. She was very good.
Then on Wednesday night we had our lesson with our fabulous trainer R. As always our lesson was great. We worked on a lot of flexion in both directions which Satin responded well to and we also worked on getting an "animated" trot and canter. That pretty much entailed me curling her up into a little ball so to speak and making her gait more up and down then forward. I also had to work with slightly bending her each direction with each stride and doing it in an invisible manner. This is a pretty difficult exercises, but Satin was awesome and R said it looked great. Then R had us do some exercises turning around the barrels at a trot and canter in order to help us improve our barrel turns. It involved things like doing a figure eight almost between two barrels. We also jumped a small vertical then circled 3 barrels one at a time. Then I did a barrel dash for her and there was just something she was trying to figure out about why Satin paused on her third step around the barrel. So I invited her to get on and feel for herself. That is one thing I love about R she asks if she can get on your horse and if she can do certain things while on. my old trainer would just be like hop off which I was fine with, but its just funny because R is such a change and a good one. Anyway so she did a dash each direction and got some good turns too. Then she was having fun and wanted to do another which I of course said. She told me to make sure I really sit my entire barrel turn and not to get off Satin's back until she is straight again, where before she got on she was saying for me to get up off her back before she was back completely on the straight away. So getting on the horse really changes things and makes it easier for the trainer to fix the problem. Then R started doing some spins and such with her which I was glad about because we will need them Sunday. Her spins have gotten so much better and looked really good.
So today I decided to ride Satin in camp. We did some more baton relay races which we did okay at. She was good but I am not so coordinated and didn't get the baton in the bucket once or twice. We did this in pairs and individually. Then we did musical horses, which is when one person rides and the other walks and when the music stops you switch and the last person to mount loses. My partner and I won the first round and came second in the next two. Then we did a few pole runs, which Satin did nicely and we did one dash., which we won :). So there went my week of keeping it slow haha.
Tomorrow I think we are going to sit out on camp. One reason being we need to work on things for the show and two being that I want Satin to take things easy a little and have a little break because she has been doing a lot of speed lately, plus its been so hot. Though D and I both thought doing a lot of speed would ruin the pleasure aspect, but surprisingly it has made it better. She actually goes nice and slow at the jog and lope. I think because she now gets to gallop and play more often she is fine with going nice and slow and sometimes. So I think things may be looking up for Sunday. Anyway I probably won't be able to write until after the show because it will be a busy few days until then.
On Monday Satin got the day off after the gymkhana. This week in summer camp we (meaning the more advanced students and girls who board at the farm) are allowed to do camp because my barn owner D runs a games camp for more advanced riders. So I decided to do the camp on my friend L's stbd mare Lexie so I was riding english which is a rare occurrence for me. Anyway it was fun and she was good for me. We did relay races and things like that. Then on Tuesday night I gave Satin a very short schooling session to tune her up for the show and our lesson the next day. She was very good.
Then on Wednesday night we had our lesson with our fabulous trainer R. As always our lesson was great. We worked on a lot of flexion in both directions which Satin responded well to and we also worked on getting an "animated" trot and canter. That pretty much entailed me curling her up into a little ball so to speak and making her gait more up and down then forward. I also had to work with slightly bending her each direction with each stride and doing it in an invisible manner. This is a pretty difficult exercises, but Satin was awesome and R said it looked great. Then R had us do some exercises turning around the barrels at a trot and canter in order to help us improve our barrel turns. It involved things like doing a figure eight almost between two barrels. We also jumped a small vertical then circled 3 barrels one at a time. Then I did a barrel dash for her and there was just something she was trying to figure out about why Satin paused on her third step around the barrel. So I invited her to get on and feel for herself. That is one thing I love about R she asks if she can get on your horse and if she can do certain things while on. my old trainer would just be like hop off which I was fine with, but its just funny because R is such a change and a good one. Anyway so she did a dash each direction and got some good turns too. Then she was having fun and wanted to do another which I of course said. She told me to make sure I really sit my entire barrel turn and not to get off Satin's back until she is straight again, where before she got on she was saying for me to get up off her back before she was back completely on the straight away. So getting on the horse really changes things and makes it easier for the trainer to fix the problem. Then R started doing some spins and such with her which I was glad about because we will need them Sunday. Her spins have gotten so much better and looked really good.
So today I decided to ride Satin in camp. We did some more baton relay races which we did okay at. She was good but I am not so coordinated and didn't get the baton in the bucket once or twice. We did this in pairs and individually. Then we did musical horses, which is when one person rides and the other walks and when the music stops you switch and the last person to mount loses. My partner and I won the first round and came second in the next two. Then we did a few pole runs, which Satin did nicely and we did one dash., which we won :). So there went my week of keeping it slow haha.
Tomorrow I think we are going to sit out on camp. One reason being we need to work on things for the show and two being that I want Satin to take things easy a little and have a little break because she has been doing a lot of speed lately, plus its been so hot. Though D and I both thought doing a lot of speed would ruin the pleasure aspect, but surprisingly it has made it better. She actually goes nice and slow at the jog and lope. I think because she now gets to gallop and play more often she is fine with going nice and slow and sometimes. So I think things may be looking up for Sunday. Anyway I probably won't be able to write until after the show because it will be a busy few days until then.
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