Dressage Debut!!!

 

Dannaroo!!! Such a good kid. :) 

We had our dressage debut. His first under saddle show! And he was actually better than I expected. :) Don't get me wrong... we had issues, but it was better than I expected. :) I bathed him on Wednesday and despite coming home and while still damp, rolling in the mud.... he stayed clean enough. He loaded and hauled fine and was alert but not stupid once we got to Barlyn. I tacked him up and as I went to put his bridle on an aged mare came galloping up in the pasture. So Dan grew an inch and was dancing but I managed to get him settled and get his bridle on. I did a teeny bit of in hand work and hopped up. I decided to ride him up by the ring rather than warming him up down by the trailers and then having to get him resettled up by the rings again. So we headed up. 

 

Hee hee. He was really UP! He was a bit overwhelmed with the sights but managed to keep it together. Mostly. ;) The first 10 minutes made me wish I had my safety vest on and I was a little worried we were going to be kicked out for safety reasons. But, he settled down once I could get his feet moving and he wasn't too bad after that. Phew!

We worked on transitions and just staying together and not running people over. ;) Then it was our turn. I took him in the ring and he was looky but not too bad. When they rang the bell I was awfully far away so I got a little rushed. Then some kids were running in the woods and Dan spooked. I think technically we should have been eliminated for not getting into the arena in time, but it was okay since it was a schooling show. I managed to get him in and start down center line. We halted.. and then tracked the wrong way. Doh!! Geometry isn't as important as staying on him. ;) Ha! And then, as I turned the wrong way, he stepped on the chain and pulled it off the post. So he bolted a few steps. I eventually got him back to the rail and the judge blew the whistle. Barb reset the chain and gave us both a few minutes to breath. So we started up again and he and I were both a little more relaxed. It wasn't pretty and he certainly wasn't soft or showing off his beautiful gaits. I realized that I had way too tight of reins and was trying to soften. But, he did everything he was supposed to and he even went back in the corner where the chain "ate" him without spooking. We finished... and everyone clapped. Hee hee. We survived!! We accomplished our goals... finished a whole test and stayed in the ring and I didn't come off. Success!! We scored a 54 and change. Doh! But that put us in 5th place out of 6. :) Yay!!! Not last!!

Intro Test B

 

Our next test was pretty quickly after so I went back to the warm up area. I was thinking that cantering was highly optimistic, but.... there was no one else there, so... we cantered! And that really helped. He settled down a good bit and I got some nice work. 

 
 So back in the ring we went. I was a little more relaxed and so way he. I managed to pilot him more correctly and I thought we had a fairly decent test. He got both his leads on the first try. :) Yay! Good baby horse. Although I started my trots too early and halted at X instead of G. Doh. But that's okay. He did good. And we finished in 6th out of 7, so again, not last!!! :) I think we scored a 55 and change this time. Definitely didn't score well on submission. ;)

                                                                    Intro Test C

Then to make the poor kid deal with even more.... I made him stand around for a few tests so I could cheer on some friends. He was great though!!! He just hung out and made friends. Then he stood tied at the trailer while I got our tests and ribbons. Such a good calm baby!!! I'm so proud of him.

 

I swear he doesn't feel that big!! But I don't think I'm that much of a midget. ;) Anyways, we might do the Full Gallop Schooling Show in December. After that, he gets off til the Spring. Other than an occasional trail ride probably. He gets so bored! ;)

Trails for a break

So since Daniel has been a good boy and done dressage for three rides in a row, I figured we'd go for a little trail ride. Even though those three rides were spaced out and I wouldn't get another chance to ride him again before his dressage debut...I figured it was worth it. 

Well... Notice I called him Daniel?! He was a wild man! I rode Fleck first and then got on him and we headed out alone. He's normally pretty good alone but he was a bit hyper today! We did come up on two of those fox squirrels and one brave little bugger didn't move until we were literally on top of him. Danny could have kissed him. But Dan was brave too and the squirrel finally moved off. But then Danny wanted to go!! So we did a little trotting and cantering. Apparently his top speed at the canter was 18.5 mph! He was having fun. And I will admit that I was too!

 But then we came upon another horse and he got all excited. She was not friendly so they behaved well enough for a little bit and then Dan started to get antsy. So we headed on our way and then he was all mad and dancy! We were prancing and dancing and cantering in place. He was good though. He got up and down and bouncy but didn't take off with me. Though when I let him trot, he decided to canter, and then his canter got big. But he did come back pretty quickly.

We managed to settle down enough to get back to the trailers at the walk and together but he was a handful and still wanting to go. I ended up riding him for 3.5 miles and almost an hour. Egads little boy... We're supposed to still be taking it easy!!

I'm really thinking this show may not be so fun for me. ;) 

More dressage practice

So... first though.. I have a naughty baby story! On Friday it got super cold so I bundled up the ponies. Even though Dan and Roany have hair, because it was getting down to the 30's. So Danny got to wear his new county blanket. It's nice!! And so pretty. But it didn't have leg straps, so I was worried he'd shimmy out of it overnight. But I figured he had hair, so it wouldn't be the end of the world. Well... I woke up Saturday morning to freezing cold weather and Danny still snuggled in his fancy clothes. But then... I see Fleck! Poor freshly clipped Fleck..completely Naked!!!! Danny had pulled his clothes right off him!!! Flecky was PISSED!!! And cold! Poor guy.... Naughty Dan. So that night, they all got leg straps!

So yeah.. anyways, I took him and Fleck both to ride tonight. I was only on Dan for 30 minutes but he was super good. We practiced our test again and worked on the canter departs some. He was good but fussy with his face. He was bouncy too! Not bad or bucking or anything, but he kept bouncing up and almost felt lame her and there. But once he moved forward, instead of up!, he felt perfectly sound. Goofy boy. But he's making progress. :) :)

Dressage tests on a drunken baby octupus!

So... turns out baby horse CAN stay in the arena. :) Hee hee. We had a good lesson with Beth. We worked on a few things....  I need to remember to practice the stretchy walk. He did get it by the end. But it took a few tries. Of course that's my fault for not making the effort. Then Beth told me that I needed to keep the connection from now on. It's time to start making him aware of the connection - he doesn't have to be on the bit or even connected yet, but he needs to start to feel me at the end of the reins. And when he does, he fusses. So I need to remember to keep the connection even when he's fussing. When he settles, then I can soften but if I relax when he's flinging his head around, he'll learn that flinging gives him a reward. By the end, he was really doing pretty well with his head and I was doing a good job of keeping the connection and softening when he softened. So then we did a canter both directions and he picked up the lead both ways. Yay! But again, I need to remember to hold the connection a little bit in the transitions, even coming down. 

Then we ran through Intro Test B and C. We stayed in the ring and we did all the movements. We were awfully drunk coming down centerline. We drifted off the rail in the corners. We ran into the canters a bit. But we did it. :) So maybe we can survive Barlyn. Although I realize that riding through the test at Ashland is a whole different ball game than a test at a new place with wild animals next door in a show atmosphere!!! Eeeks.. maybe we won't be able to stay in the ring. :) 
 
I'm excited though. We'll see how it goes! I have a feeling Fleck might behave worse than Dan. ;) 

Huh! Danny was the "good" one today. ;)

He really is a good kid! I rode both boys today and almost fell off Fleck. Because of squirrels. Meanwhile... I got on Dan and didn't have any issues with him. ;) Go figure. 

I worked on my straightness and thus hopefully Dan's straightness. And it seemed to work. He was really good. And he got both leads on the first try again. :) We mostly worked at the walk and trot but then finished with a canter both way. He is also not as fussy in the bridle now either. Yay!

Maybe we can do Barlyn next weekend. :) 

Windy day = not that bad of a baby

So... Dan has had quite a few days off. We've been taking it easy this summer with him, while focusing on Fleck.  Besides, he's 3. No rush! So he's just been chilling. However, that's boring for him!! He wants to play! So I've been trying to get him out and about, but it's been hard with work and such.
I finally had some time to take both boys out and lo and behold, it's a cold windy day. Well, cold and windy compared to what it has been! But still fairly brisk out. Poor Peri agreed to meet me and since Fleck and I needed to do some ring work and she wanted to trail ride, and I wanted to do some trails with company with Dan, I decided to take him out. Poor Peri. :) Luckily, her truck wouldn't start so I was able to get Dan tacked up and give him a quick little ride in the ring before she got there. Danny was actually pretty darn good!! For as icky as it was and as much time off as he'd had, he was good. Sure, he was forward and he put in a few little bucks and spins. But he really wasn't bad at all. And after a 15 minute walk and trot in the ring, I felt confident enough to let him have a little canter both ways. He picked up both leads on the first try!!! So after that, he was settled and we were ready to go grab Peri.

Lately we've been riding by ourselves because... that's just how it's worked out. He's gotten really good by himself. However, it seems like he's naughtier when we go with other people because he wants to play with them. So I was glad for the chance to ride with Peri. I didn't need to worry though as he was great! He didn't get mad being in the back and he was still good in the front. In fact, at one point, something spooked them and they both simultaneously dropped a shoulder and ducked. But then they both stood still and then walked off like nothing happened. It was great. He's such a cool cucumber. :) We had a lovely ride and he was great!

Such a smart cookie! And of course, he stood on the trailer like a champ while I rode Fleck. He's like "trailer?! I thought this was my home... it has hay. I'm happy!". :)

Taking a breather

Danny has been a bit on the back burner lately. Partly on purpose (he's only 3!) and partly because of the rest of life. So we've done some ring work but mostly nice long trail rides. And I'm trying hard to not do too much on them. We try to stick to mostly walking. But I will admit that both of us really like to trot and canter. So we do some of that too! Man... his canter is so lovely! It's so hard to reel him in when it's so comfortable and pleasant. :)