2.21.11

Star and Tacki waiting to be saddled up

I am going to training today. This month Nancy has been riding Lyn's horses so I have just been grooming and warming up. That has given me a nice chunk of time to work on my own horse. So I have been trying to get Star legged up.

Nancy climbed on Star for me that day and has coached me a couple of times since and things are going much better. I don't know what I would do without her help.
It really helps having Lyn ringside encouraging me on. My friend Courtney also gave me some great ideas to work on, and a lot of encouragement too. I guess it takes a village to raise a rider!

I know this arena work is sooo important. It is also very hard! I can't wait till the weather turns and I get to hit the trails.

12.8.10 continued...

Well, I didn't ride either of my training horses! My endurance partner Sandra came to ride Sam. I ride Sam most often because she can't. But, she is the one who rides him in the Endurance rides. I can only ride one out on the trail at a time! Darn! We had an issue with not having enough tack. When she was done riding  Sam we tacked up Tacki and I encouraged her to ride her too. Sandra has only had the opportunity to ride "my" Tacki a couple of times. It was really fun watching them. Seeing someone else ride her really helped me see some of the progress that I am making with her!

I came across a lovely quote yesterday: "The horse you get off of is not the same horse you got on. It is your job as a rider to ensure that as often as possible, the change is for the better" - unknown author

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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Quote of the Day

This quote expresses what I am trying to learn right now.

"Something I often tell my students is: Before the horse can make a change, you have to make a change. This doesn't necessarily mean a physical change either. It can be a mental change - changing the way you view your riding. If you've ridden in a particular way for ten, or even five years, and achieved show ring success with this style, it becomes almost a leap of faith to accept that there can be more beyond this. It is a huge act of humility to admit that you may not be *correct* in your riding, after several years, and put yourself back into the mind of a beginner and have to learn to learn again. "

This is taken from the webpage: Why Ride Classically

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Happy Cody

We brought Speedy home from the trainer's tonite. It was a three and one-half hour drive one way, and also several thousand feet higher in elevation. So the weather there was quite different than ours here!

The wind was blowing so hard and it was very cold! Thankfully it didn't rain or snow. But, it was miserable nonetheless.

I only got a few pics and a couple of videos.

Here is the boy himself.... Cody ! He was so happy!

Corrine rode Speedy first and I could tell that she really did a lot of work for the short amount of time she had him.

She had him turning on his hindquarters, turning on the forequarters, side passing... lope departures, stopping...

He didn't always look real graceful, but I loved how he was trying so hard for Corrine. I was really impressed with how often Corrine stopped to praise him too.

Meanwhile, the wind is blowing SO hard! I couldn't believe all that she was getting him to do in that weather.

Here is a vid of her asking him to side pass. You can see him get confused, she looks for the smallest try, rewards it and soon he is doing what she asked:



And one more video. When you watch it remember that Cody hasn't really ever loped much on Speedy except down the length of an arena. Also take note of the wind whipping through the gate. On the far side Cody couldn't even see. He had to close his eyes to keep the blowing sand from stinging them!

I am so pleased with how well they both did in spite of the horrid weather conditions.



Stay tuned to this channel because very soon I will be posting much better video of a softer Speedy and a more relaxed Cody. I think it is going to be hard to keep Cody off of his horse from now on.

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Tom Rides Star for the First Time

Well, my little filly is growing up! Star has been sat upon before, but today was her very first time to carry around a full sized rider. I am so proud of both of them! Tom rode her sever times around the RP in both directions.

Tom did all of the work himself. I just sat on my wooden bench in the sunshine and watched him work. he RP'ed her, sacked her with the rope, sacked her with the pad and with the saddle. He also bridled her today but didn't really focus on rein cues.

It is so fun for me to watch him work with the horses. He is a natural.

Here they are!





And one more of my proud cowboy with his trusty steed.

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Horse Affairs part 2: Dan Mink

One of the headliners for this years Horse Affairs was a real live rootin' tootin cowboy named Dan Minck. I took a few vids with my cell phone. I really wished I had my real camera with me.

Here he is singing and twirling his lasso. He really is singing too - it's not a lip sync.



Here he spins it around his horse;




And, my favorite his horse lays down while he is riding bareback;



He also threw knives at his girlfriend, twirled his six shooters and his shotgun. It was quite a show!

I have several other vids... here is one more where he is snapping a target out of a little girls mouth with a bull whip while he is blindfolded!

Speedy's Going to Boot Camp!

So I sold enough tack to send Speedy to a real trainer for two whole weeks! he is going to work on his upward and downward transitions to the lope. I also asked her to work on his vertical flexion. She rides every day, so he will get a full 14 rides.



These pictures were taken of him this last week. I think that Speedy would make an amazing English pony!

Cody is a great little horseman who has a lot of natural "feel" for horse training.



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Selling some Tack and Crossing my Fingers

I have the opportunity to send Speedy to a trainer next week. Her name is Corrina. She does a lot of work with Blazers and understands their temperaments. I have seen her ride and I have seen horses that she has trained. I am pretty excited about sending him to her.

I talked to her a few weeks ago bout putting some time on Speedy, working on his loping and on some finish work. Corrina said she didn't have any time until April... Well last week she said she had a cancellation and could I bring Speedy next week! Sure... except I don't have the money together yet! I have told my husband that I was going to earn my own horsey money this year. Now I am having to put my money where my mouth is! (Pun intended.)

So, I am selling some tack on Craigslist and crossing my fingers that at least the saddle sells so that I will have some "horsey" money to spend! I have gotten several calls already this morning about the small stuff I have for sale so I am pretty sure it's going to happen!

If this works out we may use Corrina to help with Star's training too.

Here's another pic of my great-niece brushing Speedy.