Bringing Up Baby!
put saddle on to measure bc and wither strap. then such a beautiful day deciided to hack around neighborhood. put on western biit to see if more supple. hard to tell. maybe ... maybe not. had to have pretty heavy contact, so... maybe back to snaffle??
but forward and energetc. big powerful trot, but maybe nverted. but bold and happy
gorgeous day. ahhhhhhhh
photos; 5-26 neighborhood hack
It's official! Dan and I are a Working Equitation team! He is entered with the national registry as am I. Yay! And we've done our first licensed show. At the intro level, but still. And man... intro level is hard! There are a lot of rules but also it's not easy on them necessarily. There are more 10 meter circles and backing than I expected. But we did it! And most importantly, we had a great time!
The show was held at Jumping Branch, which made me happy. That was Dan's first event (I think) and Fleck's first prelim. And I do like the farm, even if it's not Julie's anymore. Judy and Teller signed up to go as non-compete's since he was so squirrely at the clinic and faux show. Sometime early this week they mentioned that they were offering open schooling over the obstacles on Friday, but it would only be 50% of the obstacles and before the course was set. But by the time I had thought through it... they had already filled the spot and I had a doctors appointment I had to do that I couldn't move and would have made us not get there on time. So, we decided to just go Saturday morning. Which was better anyways, because I desperately needed to sleep in a little bit on Friday and I didn't show til 11:30 on Saturday anyways. So yay, not an insanely early morning Saturday even with the 2 hour haul.
So Judy hauled over to me and then we took my rig to Aiken. Teller and Dan get along great together. So off we went. Of course it was raining as we left and then rained most of the way there, but at least it was a light rain. We got about 1.5 hrs into the drive and Linda called and told us that they had postponed the start of the show because of the rain. They were going to reassess at noon and go from there. Okayyyyyy... why?? It wasn't thundering... no lightning.... not even raining that hard. And it's Aiken. It's all sand! Even with the dressage being in the gass arena... it's... sand! So we were confused but okay. Glad we didn't wake up even earlier.
We got to Aiken and put the ponies in their paddocks and I parked my rig. Unfortunately I had forgotten that the RV hook ups sucked and didn't keep power overnight, but at the time I plugged in... it was working. It was raining and they weren't going to make any decisions until noon, so... we just hung out in the car and chatted. And had some lunch. It wasn't raining hard and then even slacked off a good bit. Finally at noon they decided that they would start the show at 1 pm (they had to give people time to get ready) and they posted new ride times. Cool... except the radar was showing more rain later. Oh well.
Dan had rolled when we got there and even though he had his sheet on, his rump got dirty. So we took them for a little graze but... it had stopped raining and was a bit muggy so we pulled their sheets off. Then while we were grazing (and watching some of the beginning rides), it started raining again. Not terrible, but... still raining. So then Dan's sheet got soaked and was so nasty. Ugh. Oh well. It stopped raining again so I hosed off his rump and he was presentable. It was finally time to think about getting ready, so I brushed and had Judy help me figure out what outfit to wear. :) Then I tacked up and right as we were about to get on, it started raining again. Ugh... My new saddle!! It was pretty wet. I tried wiping it off but... oh well. I just got on. We walked around a good bit because we were early. And they had a 10 minute delay because the judges tent had blown over. Egads! So we walked and walked and walked. And then I warmed up and he was good. We didn't bother cantering because I didn't want to stress his stifles and we didn't need to. And then we walked again. And then it was raining more... and then the wind picked up. And then it was downright chilly! Like, my fingers were chilled and I was almost shivering because I was wet. So we did some more trotting to warm up. I practiced our circles, our halts, our reinback, etc. Then finally it was our turn! By then I was warmed up enough - temperature wise and riding wise.
We went in and did our test. I was giggling because I thought I heard the whistle but was like "My saddle is too squeaky... I can't hear!". ha ha. But then I heard it for real, so in we went. He was a good boy and we had a decent test. He wasn't super supple, but... it's an intro test. I tried but.. he was still fairly straight and not that bent. But he was soft and floaty and did all the things. When we went across the diagonal he did try to lengthen a teeny bit. Goof! Although he ended up scoring better on that movement than anything else. Hmmmm. We got dinged for him not being supple. He was too stiff/straight. But he had a nice tempo and was obedient. So we scored a 62.5. I mean... not great, for an intro walk trot test, but... not a bad score in general. That put us in first by 0.5 pts. Although apparently the girl just behind me forgot to reinback, so.. she probably would have beat us.
We hacked back and I untacked and turned Dan loose. Knowing full well that he would likely roll, but... I couldn't put his sheet back on as it was soaked and nasty and dirty. Ugh. Oh well. At least I didn't ride til 12:30 the next day and had time. We went and did our EOF course walk afterwards. It looked like a blast! It was on the cross country field, so they incorporated the water. Fun! And twice. Sweet!! That should be an easy 20 points for us! I made sure I knew where start and finish was. The first obstacle was the double slalom poles. Oof. Those are hard! Then a nice easy turn to the pitcher. Then you either cut in front or behind the bell corridor to go to the bridge. I was thinking in front of the bell corridor was going to a better choice so I could leg yield him out into the entry vs a weird s turn thing. Then from there we went to the bull line. And the bull was a printed out life size cow on thick poster board. It was rather intimidating. Dang! Then we went around behind the water and through. But apparently you HAVE to walk it... unless it's the speed round. Oh man. So then you did the drums (the cloverleaf pattern) and then from there to the bell corridor. And then to the livestock pen, then the gate (which was a wooden gate, not a rope gate) and then back through the water. And then, don't forget the finish flags!
After that we fed the ponies and then, because it was so much later in the day due to the rain delay... I begged out of going to Katherine's for dinner and just ate my salad and snacks at the trailer. I was extroverted out and tired. Most everyone else had cleared out, so I sat in the sun and ate and then I chatted briefly with another girl. Turns out she boards her horse at the Dabneys. Fun. So then I took the boys for a little graze. They were good together. Teller is good on the lead so Dan just kind of drug us both around. ;) Then I decided it was time to settle in for the night. And realized that my rv hookup had lost power. Well that sucks! Judy had my truck.... and my cord wouldn't reach any farther. Okay, well... it's fine. Maybe it won[t be that cold... only 44 degrees. Ugh. Well, I can snuggle under the covers and sit on my phone. Except it was down to 20% battery life. Ugh... well, I can charge it at the barn for a bit... except when I went to plug it in... because it had been raining all day it sent alarms for "Moisture in the charge port"! Good gravy. I guess I'll just go to bed then. At 9:30. ;) But... honestly, I was tired. So.. it was fine. I did read over my EOH notes to make sure I had it and then went to bed. It wasn't that cold... under the covers. Just cold when I got out of bed to pee and then to wake up in the am.
Dan was pretty dirty in the morning. He had obviously laid down in the dark sand and was covered. Luckily there wasn't supposed to be any rain and it was supposed to warm up. We fed the boys breakfast and then went and watched the first few riders, including the master guy. It was pretty impressive! Then we took the boys for a graze. And then I gave Dan a bath. Then we had to graze some more so he didn't roll and it helped him dry. And then... we just tacked up and got on. I figured we could walk around a good bit and just chill. Even though we still got on too early. But we hacked around... then did some trotting in the hay field area. Then I decided it was probably best to head over to the warm up area so he could look around and see all the things. So we did. We watched a few and then we did some more warming up. They had a bell corridor set up and two barrels so we practiced a little bit. And then they still had the XC jumps set up so I was practicing my halts at the end of the jumps. He spooked at the ditch in the trakehner jump. Ha ha. Fool!
Finally it was our turn! So we headed in and asked the judge if we could adjust our garrocha pole. She said yes, so we went and checked it. But ultimately the reason I wanted to check it was to show him the bull. It was kind of scary. But he didn't seem to care. She blew the whistle, so we turned to her, halted and saluted and then headed over to the start and started! He felt pretty good through the double slalom poles, even though I knew we would get dinged for being stiff. But I thought our square turns were fairly symmetrical. ;) Then we did the pitcher and I trotted in and out. I thought he did great on that one, although he did add one step to our halt. Then I cut inside the bell corridor to get to the bridge and he almost trotted past it! I halted him just in time but we had to side step to make it inside the markers. Doh! Why??? Why do you always want to charge the bridge sir?? (Note to self, get the walk farther back, Also note to self.. he'll probably canter the bridge in the speed round if I let him). Anyways, then we headed to the bull line and he was super and we speared the ring even! Yay! Then we went around to the back side of the water and got our walk. And he started to walk right in and then started snorkeling! The whole way.... Poor guy was thirsty and hadn't drank anything yet, despite two clean buckets of water! And he had lots of wet grass yesterday, but dude! Come on... walk! I was pony club kicking and trying my best to get his head out of the water. Doh! We got through and then did our drums. I thought they went pretty well, but figured we wouldn't be "supple". Then we headed to the bell corridor and he did that well but he didn't back straight and was kind of slow and erratic. Then we did the livestock pen and that went well. Then we headed to the gate. Ugh... I cannot figure out how to do the gate with him. The rope, yes.. but the wooden one... I can't figure out how to not let go and slide it or whatnot. And so I lost it and then he slung it with his nose. Doh! Then it was so far away from us and as I was debating what to do, the wind flung it back at him. It hit him in the chest and then he grabbed it and slung it past him the other way. Daniel!! Doh. So finally I was able to get it and shut it, and pull him off the fake ivy he was trying to chew on. So then we trotted to the water for the last obstacle and walked. And then he snorkeled again! And finally, I was like... fine, just take a drink then... but then he turned sideways and started pawing. No!!! Ha ha... Oh my gosh... I couldn't really be mortified.. I mean.. it's Dan. He was just having a blast! I did finally manage to get him out and we trotted around the water and the turd stuck his nose down and let our a little buck. Then he trotted nicely back through the finish flags and we turned and halted and saluted.
So...yeah. Ha! I can't really be mad at him though. He was just "helping" me like I taught him. And also, I've been rewarding him for pawing in the lake too for rehab purposes and... he gets to play and splash and paw at home, so... I can't even be mad at him. He did all the things I asked. We ended up not scoring great though. Although to be honest, he didn't score that much worse in the water and the gate than he did in any of the other obstacles, so... guess I really can't be mad at him. She did make the comment on the end that we had great potential but I allowed him too much freedom and he takes advantage. Ha ha. Noted.
We stayed and watched the last few rounds and then I popped him over the cross rail for funsies too. He had a good time and even chose to canter it. I was so tempted to pop him over the starter cross country bench, but... figured I should probably behave. Judy had been riding Teller whenever I was tacked up so she had been riding around too. We untacked them and turned them back out. And then we ate lunch and then I hooked up while Judy volunteered as timer for the speed rounds. Once I finished and we were all ready to go, I went to watch the last of the rounds. It was really cool to see all the different styles. And I'm so glad we waited til the end because the "master" did his speed round and it was glorious! Halt to canter, canter pirourettes with a lead change out of it, and just.... lovely! And all one handed! And not chaotic or rushed or spazzy. Controlled and calm. It was lovely! They tallied up the scores and told us to stick around for the "award ceremony". We hung out and then they did the awards. Dan and I were first in dressage and we tied for 3rd in EOH, but our collectives were 0.5 pts higher than the other guy, so we beat him to get 3rd for points. We ended up getting reserve champion in our intro division. Whooo hooo!! So we came home with a blue ribbon, a yellow ribbon, and a Reserve champion ribbon. AND we even won a hay net. :) Cool!
Two of the girls stopped me and shared photos they had taken of Dan laying down after. Ha ha... Guess he worked really hard opening and closing gates and pawing in the water. Hee hee. I got worried for a minute that he was colicky from not drinking but he was fine. The boys loaded up great and we headed home.
It was a fun weekend and very educational. We learned a lot and have some things to focus on for the next one in June.
practiice ridie at home.
good boy. diidn't drill, just played a bit. ran through test. good pony
shockwaved puffy stifle and tendon sheath and got a bath. we'll see if it holds ;) Did put a sheet on because ti's gonna raini and to try to keep him clean.
photos; 5-26 practice
finiished "early" so snuck ni a ride. set up blocks as obstacles and practiced clover leaf and gate. coudn't remember how to gate properly. duh.. back up first. did both hands. cantered a tny bit. leg yields. halts. good boy. but leanng hard onto my right leg.
stifle is defintely swollen and sore. bemered and happier. butacort.
photos: 4-26 work day ride
another lesson with linda.
good pony but so naughty in the beginning. Walked our course and he was just bored and chewng on the rope and me and my hat. had to get onto him a biit. then got on and got very little time to "warm up" before Linda started callinig the pattern. ha ha.. okay then! So my first round sucked. did a course, whcih was good practice. Learned some thngs...
have to salute the judge before the start flags and waiit til she nods back/aknowledges.
go through the start flags (ii would have eliminated myself!)
keep him slow. he wants to run the bull line (jousting iis more fun!). go back to the slow walk and thnk slow trot. use my core and seat.
plan better lines.. and then ride those lines. it's harder when thngs come up quicker (just like dressage tests).
gate: can be made to do it left handed. felt sneaky and mean, but was very helpful. took about 7 tries but got it nicely! have to ask for reinback with one leg (which seems counterintuitive) like i do alternating sdies ini dressage arena. but usually he swngs his butt right, so mostly just use my right leg. slow ti down. that makes t easier.
don't be fancy and do a turn on the forehand/haunches in livestock pen. just do a nice ciircle.
use my eyes and look where i'm gonig "don't be a hunter rider!" ha. liz would be proud.
ride to the finiish of the obstacle, don't cut corners gettng out of it. (drums especially)
we also made dan go stand at the trailer while teller ran through hs course to see f teller would panic. he diidn't. and dan was mostly good tied up. he did walk up the trailer ramp, poop, and then walk back down. and biti my trailer and pawed iit once but then settled.
fnished qute ncely and stood quietly while we waited with teller. kept shiftng hs hnds but at least he's shftng and carryiing some weight on the right hnd now. maybe, hopefully that's a good sign??
photos: 4-26 improvement and then add vdeos
ahhhh... so stressed... panic attack... no breaks on the horse trailer dreams... overwhelmed. burnt out to a crispy fried crisp.. too much to do.. but mike went to the mountains and told me to go riide, so.. that's what i did. ahhhhhh
took dan to ashland (and funny later too).
lovely hack... almost got dumped by flat bad rattling down the way... nice and forward. but now worreid about him tripping ini my get down rope so need a new plan. settled and had a lovely hack after.
then went to arena and played with WE test and then played with some other fun thiings. cantering too. but really struggle with the stirrups ni the canter WHEN and only when i really have to squeeze to keep him canterng. USE MY SEAT! but i was squeeznig so hard my foot almost came out of my boot! twice! hmm... gonna have to figure this out. but good pony!
then walked back and got pats from callan. not too snarly.
need to do some bodywork... snarly for grooming but did some mfr. then tonight did tuning forks, whcih he liked. :)
photos: 4-26 unwind
videos:
Lesson with Liz: no stirrups to get the balance and hang of it. hard but not as hard as I thought. then picked up my stirrups, then dropped half hole. then played with it. getting the hang of it.
best canter ever! So uphill feeling! but I have to help support hiim witih my core. Don't just let him flop around. ;) That's when he falls on his forehand and trips. Literally. Support him. And when I make him be straight and more correct in the canter, it's harder so i have to have a little more leg and support. but he lopes off a smooch now ;)
trottinig was nice too. Don't post so big... think almost siit the the trot. small post. and sit. but still use my core and lift my core. but much easier to find my balance in it today. and it helped his trot be more of a lope and smoother but still quite powerful and engaged. quite nice.
don't do too much with my aids... shorter, softer, quieter and longer aids... ask... give him time to answer. I'm piing ponginig him with my aids, all of them. and while ii have to sit to the outside/sink into outside stirrup, I sitll have to ask for bend around my insidie leg. but allow the stretch to the outside.
oh, and maybe this saddle makes himi so happy because it puts me farther back inii the tack. on his back. in other words... I'm siittiing slightly farther back for hsi caenter of balance and maybe that's allownig him to be so uphill.
very good boy. didn't do a ton because... double header.
loaded up and hauled to linda's that evening for a EOH lesson with Judy and Teller. He did pretty good though he did eat the gate once and tried to knock over a barrel. And messed with Teller some. And then at the bridge, he got bored and tried to take charge and "lengthen down centerline" to it! Nope! Liked linda a lot! very very helpful and lots of great advice. I defniitely need to read the rules. apparently when you walk the course you have to do it "dressed". no ballcaps. And... "they don't care"... ie... I still have to approach the gate at the center. Just because he's long backed and has a big stride.. they don't care. the rules are rules. beginninig of lesson we did tiny walk... make it smaller... make it smaller...even smaller, but keep walking. that's a half halt. cool! helpful for all the ponies. she made a metronome to play with and got the gaits very pure. also helps keep their attention.
no whips in EOH. keep him small. He gets big and I lose him (like inii the shallow serpentine). it's hard!! Harder than it looks. it's simple, but not that easy. But lots of fun!
photos: 4-26 new saddle lesson, 4-26 linda lesson and then lzi and linda videos
