More Pictures... Second, Delight

Beauty treatment by Beth

Fashion design by Katrina

Delight, meet your jockey for this evening....

"Ready??"

"Here.... Weeeee...."

 "GOOOOOO!"

Sugar: " NOOOOOO!"

 Sugar: "I didn't think that was funny at at all."

Pictures

I have been neglecting my blog. I post to Facebook, where everything goes down the page into Here everything is saved and accessible. I am hoping to at least begin sharing pictures again.

Here are a few that were taken a week or so ago By Mylinda Miller. She spent most of an afternoon photographing Katrina with Delight, Star and Chardoney. We had a great time playing in the Payette River. Delight and Chardoney really seemed to enjoy it. By the time we were finished they had gorged themselves on the lush grass by the side of the river and were nearly falling asleep.
 

Mylinda and Beth are both friends of Katrina. They were here for a long weekend. They had a lot of fun with the horses, and there are more pictures to come!

My Two Best Girls

Delight and Chardoney. Oh how I love these two!

Riding Delight

Tough Sucker II

Last weekend a bunch of my friends, Tom and Chase and I  traveled to Oreana for our first official Endurance ride. I rode Delight. Tom and Star went out on their first ride ever for both of them. The distance was 25 miles. It was a beautiful day.

Unfortunately Star thought she was full of rocket fuel. She jigged the whole first loop - which was 16 miles long!  So she was pulled at the vet check for being too tired. Tom was very disappointed and I don't blame him, it was a letdown after all of the training he has done with Star. They will be heading back out on training rides and getting ready to try again next time.


Delight was her wonderful experienced self. We finished a comfortable 18th place with 30 min left on the time clock, exactly where I wanted to finish. I was hoping for a nice slow ride to start the season out.

Chase brought along his friend Autumn and together they did an awesome job of helping out with all of the chores and horses. They also gave each of  them their traditional unicorn horns for good luck.

Countdown to Busy Season

This weekend will be the first of six weekends in a row of horse related shows and events.

I am so excited to take Delight and Chardoney out as well as being involved with helping folks from Blue Note Arabians and JP Arabians with their horses. Then, there are my  comrades with Endurance Team Buttercup to help and to cheer on.

I gave Chardoney my first ever full body clip. I think it looks nice. It took me 3 days and two doses of sleepy stuff to get it accomplished due to a clipper snafu. I still have some detail work to do on her hocks. She isn't having much to do with it, so maybe one more time of clipping to get those tiny crevices finished will do the trick. I sure wish I would have done them while she was doped up. I thought they would be no problem. Silly me!

This weekend she is going to be "on display" at the Horse Expo. I hope she will be a good example of the Arabian/Half Arabian breed and stay inside the show stall! I can't wait to show her off.

Today Chardoney will get her first ride with Christy who will be riding her in the TVC and at Sport Horse Nationals. I won't be able to be there to watch. I am crossing my fingers that it will be a good match!

Old Age

I was just thinking today about how our horses all have their "birthdays" on Jan 1. This will make Delight 20 years old! Tawshi will be 11, and Star will be 6 - is she really that old? She was just born! My new girl Char will be 6 as well.

I have been thinking about the age "20". It sounds so old. I read all the time about people retiring horses in their mid teens! Heck, that's when I *first* started Delight in Endurance! Delight is getting grey on her face and she is loosing some topline but other than that she is a maniac. No signs of slowing down at all. In fact, I really feel like her attitude and her "go" are a lot younger than her body. I went for a 2 hour ride the other day and had to work hard to keep her at a walk, she was sweaty and ready to fly. We both love zooming down the trail!

Last year I skipped taking her to the last endurance ride because I felt like it took her so long to come back from the one before. It wasn't that her "go" was any less or her attitude was lagging. It was just a gut feeling based on the look on her face from her pictures out on the race trail. It seemed more work for her than other rides.

Maybe I pushed her too hard - we did have a fast time - or maybe it was a failure in getting her really fit - or maybe it was an age related thing. I dunno. I will make sure she is very, very fit for next year. (This is done with long slow miles not speed work).

I don't think she is ready to retire yet but it is kinda scary to ride a horse who is "20".

Fuzzy Ponies

Delight and  her good friend Mo

It has been a dry winter so far. I have been glad to not have to deal with mud yet. The air is clear and cold. The horses love this kind of weather. They are pretty frisky and often take off in the pasture tails flying high. As long as the wind isn't blowing it is quite pleasant to work in this weather. 

Delight

Cozy, Warm and Toasty

Star is COZY:

 Delight is WARM:

And Chardoney is TOASTY:

Don't Bother Me, I'm Eating!

I enjoy the simple things with the horses so much.

Nearly every day when I feed I always take a minute to stop, give each one a pat and tell them how much I love them.

They may not understand my words, but I have no doubt that they understand my heart.

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My Two Best Girls

My two best girls in the whole world. I am blessed beyond belief.

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Delight and Star 9.1.11

After all this hubbub about Chardoney I thought I would share a picture of my other lovely girls Delight and Star. I am the luckiest girl in the world!

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Lovin's

I caught Delight and Star grooming each other this afternoon. I enjoy watching my girls so much!

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Catching Up - Part Two

Not of me, but of how I feel!

I went to the second jumping show yesterday. I was worried again, but this time for different reasons; "What if my wins last month were a fluke? What if I fall off? My goodness, I haven't ridden Delight in the English saddle in a month!" Worrying is my specialty it seems.

In the weeks before the show I had been teasing Sandra, who planned to ride Sam, about riding against "The Champion of the World," and that she needed to "Be Very Afraid." I didn't really expect to duplicate my wins of last month so I talked a lot of friendly "smack" with her. Sandra is my endurance riding buddy. In the summer we spend a lot of saddle time together and I enjoy riding with her very much. This winter we haven't been able to ride together much and so I was looking forward to spending the day with her almost as much as I was the show itself.

My husband Tom came along with us, so I had several of my best friends there: Lyn, Nancy, Pat and Sandra. I am so grateful and blessed with my circle of friends.

This time the jumps had numbers on them so learning the course was much easier! I didn't need the help of my little bitty pony girl to figure it out. I saw her pony there but he had a different rider on his back. Maybe she was her big sister.

I was a little later getting into the arena this time for warm ups. There were also nearly twice as many entries into this show so warm ups were quite chaotic. It was hard to get Tacki to settle in and drop her head. One of the areas Tacki is the greenest is in playing off of the emotions of the other horses. It's one of the biggest reasons I wanted to take her to these shows. She is a forward little horse and if another horse is cantering she thinks that the race is on! I am sure my hands were too high and my seat too forward, but I tried to work on them.

I worked Tacki for 1/2 hour and then I rode Delight into the arena. She was buddy sour, screaming and nearly bucking. Between hoping I could sit the English saddle that I was riding in and trying to keep her from darting out the gate every time we passed it, I was smiling at my little red dragon. Delight also picks up on the energy of the horses around and she thought she should gallop around like they were. I know my hands were high and I was quick to grab her, but again I concentrated hard to get us both settled.

Delight and I were first up. I could never get her into a nice even working trot in my training round nor my actual round. I knew we were too fast so I actually brought her down to a walk over the last "fence" both times. The first round we were 6 seconds off the pace and the second time we were only 3 seconds off.

Tacki had settled down quite a bit before my rounds on her. She always does better out there alone. There is something about this little mare that I love - actually there are many things I love about her- she really tunes in to her rider and tries very hard to trust when she is afraid. When we are both focused it is a wonderful feeling. On our training round she nearly refused one "jump" but I think it was my fault. We were coming around a tight circle and I didn't get her straight and focused on time. We were 4 seconds off the pace. The second time was very nice and we were only ONE second off of the pace!

Then Sandra rode Sam for his two rounds. During the warm up time Sam had been a little bit of a handful. Sandra is a great rider and she handled him beautifully. Sam's tail was flying. He was so lovely! Their training round was only off by 6 seconds. Their second round was better and only off of the optimum time by ONE second!

So, once again I took first AND second place! And, Sandra shared first place with me! I could not have dreamed up a better outcome! Congratulations Sandra, "Wee Ha!"

There were 16 rounds, twice as many as the last show.

Maybe I am learning to ride these horses after all? What a nice boost to my confidence. This is the second time in my adult life that I have won a ribbon riding horses. It has been beyond my biggest hopes and dreams.

The best part?

AOF - Zip. Me - Two Million!

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Some Catching Up to Do - Part One

No, it's not me. Just a lovely picture. In fact, I don't jump. My classes at the jumping show are over ground poles in between the standards.

I have a few things that I want to share, things I should have blogged here about as they were happening, but life got in the way.

I went to the Jumping show on the 18th, and won first AND second place! I took First on Tacki and Second on Delight.

I have never tried anything like this. I went because the series is a fundraiser for Nancy Roche and her horse Breezer so that they can go to some big horse shows this year. I took Tacki* because she is my green endurance prospect and I wanted to expose her to other horses, scary jumps etc. I took Delight because she is mine and I love her. ♥

My goals were to remember the course, and to not have any refusals. Oh, and staying on the horse was a goal too! The first time they blew the start whistle it spooked Tacki and she almost fell down right underneath me. Everyone laughed, including me.

One thing I loved was that while I was having to remember all that stuff the Fear Monster was pushed right out of my brain. In fact, trying to remember everything turned out to be an unexpected bonus. "Which is the next jump? Stay straight, keep the horse soft, keep the working trot pace, and oh yeah, 'Which one is the next jump?' " I was focusing so hard there was no room left over for fear in my brain. I felt like I was riding like I did as a kid. It was a wonderful, powerful feeling.

There was a little bitty girl on a little bitty grey pony who helped me learn the course. She was the cutest thing. Her mom was trying to explain to me the mysterious symbols on the jump map and she suggested that her daughter lead me through the course. She was so proud to be helping a grownup! I gave her my second place prize, which was a bag of yummy candy! She was in another class, so I didn't see how she did.

So, I was not expecting to place, let alone win! I was one second off of the optimal time with Tacki and 4 second off with Delight. There were eight rides in the competition.

AOF - Zero, Me - One Million!


*Tacki (and Sam) belong to Lyn Kinney of Blue Note Arabians. Sandra and I are conditioning them for Endurance this summer.

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Ready For The Jumping Show and a Saddle

So no cantering on Tacki today although mentally I absolutely could have. We set up some jump standards and ground poles and I worked on getting Tacki and Delight used to them for the show tomorrow. Delight will be a piece of cake as long as I ride her "Western" on a loose rein. Tacki was really concerned, but she never refused and did her best to trust me. I love riding that mare, she is such a pleasure to ride even in her greenness.

I tried out a Wintec AP saddle today. It fit Delight and Tacki well. It is not my dream saddle but I think it might be a good transition-to-English-Endurance-type-saddle. When I am riding in it I feel like I am driving a Chevette with vinyl seats. My dream saddle will fit me more like a Jaguar. Unfortunately it will cost like one too. So, all that to say it's not real comfortable but I think it will do. It is 175oo. Of course I don't have the money right now. I am thinking about asking the tack shop where I have my western saddle on consignment if they want to buy it outright.

So tomorrow I will be going second up in the whole show. I am right behind Mr Mitleider. I was sure to thank Nancy for that honor. >.<

I haven't ever memorized anything but a trail course since I was 16. I figure if I can get the horses to actually trot the course in the right order I will be happy. I am thinking of using the English Wintec on Delight... we'll see how brave I am.

Pushing Forward

I finally cantered on Sam yesterday! Yeah it was on the longe and it was awkward unbalanced, clutching, tense, insert all the appropriate adjectives here... but I did it!

I have a hella time staying over my inside leg at the canter and Sam is one of those horses you have to direct every body part or he will trip over himself and fall over. (Well, not really, but he is still very unbalanced.) He also is very lazy and has to be kicked up to stay round and engaged even at the slower gaits. Nancy said I looked great so I must have done something right in there somewhere. Next step is to do this off the longe. It won't be long! Stay tuned for updates next week!

Here is a nice picture of Me riding Tacki and Sandra riding Sam.
We were doing some desensitizing work on this day...

I have decided to take Tacki and Delight to a Jumping Show on Sat. It is a winter series put on by my trainer Nancy. NO I WON'T BE JUMPING! In fact will be riding in my tacky cordura western saddle. My Sexy Breeches should make things all better right?? Ha ha.

At the show the rounds are all timed and there is a certain target time put on each level. The goal is to finish in that amount of time with no faults. I will be in the class where you ride your horse through the course with all the rails down. There will be ground poles to ride over in each jump. I am taking Tacki for experience and Delight so that I will have one horse that I won't fall off of in front of everybody. Neither of them has even ever SEEN a jump course.

I know I am probably asking for trouble, but it should be fun and maybe another blow to my AOF. Sara Mittleider's parents will be there with some horses (Google her!) No I will not be intimidated at all... I will just enjoy being in their presence... I will enjoy... I will enjoy... and be in awe :)

Blogging again...

I have realized that I have spent too much time and energy sharing things on Facebook and not enough time here. On Facebook my photos and experiences go into dusty photo folders. Here I have this beautiful uncluttered palette. What have I been thinking?

 My Delight

I have so much to share. My horse life is very busy right now. I am riding 4 horses (well 3 and 1/2 but that is another story) for Blue Note Arabians, as well as our three. My goal is to get at least one ride on each one every week. A huge undertaking to say the least. We are riding in a new spooky arena, and I am getting lots of chances to work on my AOF. I am grateful for this time of riding lots of horses. I am growing so fast!

I am branching out into a little dressage training, hoping to ride in a few 'Test of Choice" shows next Spring. On which horse, I don't know. I have lots of choices and lots of time!

This summer I rode Delight in a 2 day endurance ride called the Pink Flamingo.  The first day was 30 miles and the second was 25. Then I rode one of Lyn's horses, Tacki in a 25 miler this fall. I have really been bitten by the endurance bug... so much to share here about that!

Delight at the Pink Flamingo Ride 8/10

I am more inspired than ever before on this journey with horses. With the support of my friends and family I have been blossoming as a rider and horsewoman. I have even lost a little weight along the way.

Yeah. Life's good with horses in it.

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Junior Apprentice Trimmer

Today Julie came out to trim Star and Delight's feet. Star was her usual wiggly self. She doesn't believe in just standing about and relaxing in one place.

The whole time I was holding her she was moving her head around getting into everything within reach. She thought she needed to make a call on Julie's cell phone and spent a lot of time trying to pick it out of her pocket. Then she tried to get eye level with the work Julie was doing on her front foot. I swear it looked like she was trying to learn what Julie was doing. Then she grabbed the hood on Julie's jacket and then the strap on the back of her chaps. Then she did it all over again. Can horses have ADD?


Then it was Delight's turn for a trim. Star was like a 3 year old child rather than a horse. She was there the whole time, getting into everything, busy busy busy. Delight just sighed. Being the mother of a few busy kids myself, I can relate.

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The "Off" Season

This morning I spent some time out in the pasture with Delight and Star. I haven't done that in a long while. It was a bit foggy and a lot cold. I expected to be breaking ice and filling water tanks. Some sort of December miracle happened however, and my kids had already completed that chore. I found myself with the valuable gift of free time.

I used a curry and went straight to their itchy spots, leaving the "start at the head and work your way back" grooming rule completely behind. If I spend too much time on one, the other gives me a gentle reminder by bumping me gently with her head.

My horses have a way of drawing me into their herd, grooming my hair with their noses and breathing into my face. They come close and press their heads and necks in for a hug. Their love and acceptance fills up the deepest reservoirs of my spirit.

I am thankful.

Sometimes when I am grooming one, she grooms the second, wiggling her nose all over her wither. Today the second turned around and groomed my back, so we three were a complete circle of happy groomers.

This is the "off" season for riding. The days are short and cold and the weather seldom cooperates even for a trail ride. But, it's the time to reconnect really. No training schedules, no time lines.... just time to be with my pony girls.

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