Gizmo and Sarah

I survived OKC, but I didn’t survive being back in Michigan!  I have been sick since we returned, and I finally went to the doctor because I was so tired of feeling like crap.  Had a respiratory infection, and after a week of antibiotics, I am actually starting to feel better.

OKC was an interesting learning experience, and hopefully the next time I go, I can be a little more competitive.  Right now I am considering a couple of options with Nyk, and if at all possible, I want to leave him in the barn.  I am considering trading him for a yearling that is a park prospect, and Ill blog more about that if it seems like a good fit.  She is a Futurity filly, and if all goes well, she is expected to show in the middle of next summer.  That is going to leave me without a horse show, but I have a couple of options in that department as well.

Today was the first time that I’ve been to the barn in a week.  I rode Nyk and Blondie, and then got a surprise; D asked if I wanted to ride Kongo and Elmer, too.  Kongo was a challenge because he is only two and he doesn’t trot square yet.  I think I did a pretty good job with him, but we both need work. 

Elmer decided to be a butthead, so that didn’t pan out, but Tina said I could give Gizmo a spin around the ring.  He is one heck of a horse, and I was so tired when I got off.  The ride wasn’t pretty, but I believe that it was good first ride.  He trots big, he gets scrambly, and he doesn’t like leg pressure.  He is so different from any other horse I have ridden. 

I feel excited and energized again by the progress I have made in the last year.  There is still much to improve on, but I can see how far I have come.  My goals are finally within reach, and I am looking forward to another winter of learning new things and becoming the best rider I can be.

Sunday was bitterly cold.  I bundled up, and headed off to the barn.  It turns out that I shouldn't have worried about being cold because Blondie was being an utter turd and it seemed that I had to fight with her most of time I near her.  I should have known that something was up because she was being just horrible in  her stall.  She would not stand still, and D even came in to help get her bridled. 

It turns out that he was also going to be in charge of us in the arena.  This was a little odd, as he hasn't been involved very much with lessons the last six months or so.  I knew that I was going to at least need help getting on the crazed mare, so I was glad that I would have some help with that.  After getting on, we started down the rail, the second way of the ring. 

Almost at the end, Blondie decided that she wasn't going to go forward, and she started spinning around and getting a little light on her feet.  I kept kicking her forward; I just wanted her to move ahead instead of backwards, like she was starting to do.  We got turned around, I gave her every opportunity to go forward, and then I grabbed the whip in one hand and just whaled on her all the way down the rail.  She broke into a canter but didn't give me any more problems.  In fact, she was more than happy to oblige any cue I gave her.  Wish I had a secure enough seat to have done that the other 200 times she's tried to pull that on me.  I’m not sure why she always has to push the envelope and make things hard for herself.

After that, she actually acted like a show horse.  It's the most animated she's been in probably over a year.  Hmmm.  Then we cantered some figure 8s and serpentines, which are hard for both of us.  She was steaming pretty good by then, so we called it done.

While she was cooling off, I got Nyk ready, and I decided to use Blondie's bit because Peanut had the driving bit that Nyk likes and usually wears.  Blondie's is a little less severe, so M thought the he might try to bury his head, but he didn't.  He stepped off with his head up and he carried himself like that.  I didn't have to do much, except at the canter, when he does dive his head and try to take off.  Because he worked so well, I didn't want to keep him out for long, so we just w/t/c and then cantered some figure 8s.  I was really happy with how he worked.  I just need to keep working at the canter, because it is a little four-beaty. 

Summer is back at the barn, so I waited around and watched her work.  She was very good for not being ridden much the past six months.  She's also really out of shape and didn't have to keep at it for very long.  Her mane is about 3 inches long and she looks like the Trojan Horse.  Or a zebra, depending on your preference. 

Geo          From Horses

Sunday, I trudged through the snow and headed off to the barn.  The roads still weren't very clear from the snow storm the day before, and there was a coating of ice on all of the car windows.  I once again wondered where spring was. Sigh

I got Blondie ready first, and she was just a terror in her stall.  She can be so evil when she's supposed to just be standing there.  She paws, has to mouth my sleeve, and shimmies from one side of the stall to the other.  It's a pain in the rear.

Once we were out in the arena, she settled down, until I asked for a reverse by the back gate.  Then she started crow hopping and generally being a royal brat.  M talked me through it, I got her turned around in the direction I wanted to go, and she behaved herself the rest of the time. 

Kongo, on the other hand, was just naughty, naughty, naughty.  D was jogging the 2 year old stallion, and it's the first time he's been in the buggy with another horse in the arena.  Blondie had him a little distracted, and all he wanted to do was canter.  We just tried to stay out of his way because I didn't feel like having the jog cart run us over.   One time, D yelled "Whoa," and Blondie stopped.  It was pretty funny.  I had to explain to her that she was supposed to be listening to me, and off we went again.

Next up, I got Nyk ready.  He is much more pleasant in his stall.  He just stands there.  Occasionally he turns his head in my direction, but he usually conserves his energy and doesn't move around.  Such a nice change from the mare.

I rode with Laurie on Ritz and Audie on Peanut.  D was conducting Audie's lesson, and Laurie and I just did whatever he said.  We reversed a lot, and then we cantered a lot on the right lead.  We cantered so much that I just wanted to stop and walk again.  I was getting a little tired of going around in all of those circles.  When we were all finished, D said that Nyk looked pretty good.  Towards the end I thought he was getting a little fast in his walk and he kept trying to dive his head. 

M tried to take videos of us with her camera, but they didn't turn out very well.  I told her I would bring my Flip camera and we could play with that.  Now I have to remember to bring it to the barn.

Sunday, the temperatures were actually pleasant.  I headed off to the barn, thinking I would ride both horses.  When I saw Blondie in the pasture with her buddies, though, I decided to just let her play - it was pretty slippery on the parking lot, and I didn't want to try to bring her in.  I got Nyk ready, and it turned out that I was the only one, besides D, at the barn because of the tack sale.  I am trying not to spend any money, so I avoided the 45 minute drive out there.

Nyk was perfect, and I didn't work him very long.  He kept his head up, didn't pull on the bit, and picked up every gait requested of him.  He felt like a million bucks, so he got to go back to his stall to relax.

I was going to head home, but D asked if I wanted to help work the other horses.  He suggested that I ride Ritz, but because I lose every bit of confidence that I've built up after riding her, I declined.  He suggested that I ride Peanut instead.  Since he is a walk/trot horse, I thought that might be fun.  The only problem is that he is still recovering from being gelded last week, he's still bleeding, and he's still swollen.  I felt guilty at the thought of making him work.  D said he had to get out of his stall and exercise, so I got him ready.

Because he is stiff, he felt a little funny at first.  We walked a lot, and then moved to a trot.  He started to loosen up, and I started to feel more comfortable riding him.  He's a very sweet horse, and I hope he starts feeling better soon.  I would like to ride him after he's all healed up and I don't have to feel guilty asking him to work.

Man, the weather has been weird the last few weeks.  First, it was snow, snow, snow almost every other day.  Then it was freezing rain and slick roads.  Saturday was a record setting day, with temps up to 60 degrees!  That meant lots of flooding and heavy fog.  Then today, the wind has been unbearable, as the temperatures dropped back into the winter zone.

I rode Nyk Friday and today, and attended a riding camp on Saturday.  The riding camp was fun – I was able to meet other adult riders, and a few of them didn’t start riding until later in life like I did.  I had to leave early because we had tickets for dinner at Greenfield Village, so I wasn’t able to participate in the rotten banana race.  I have always wanted to do that, too – maybe next time.

I did get to play Ride a Buck, on legendary Big Bob, no less.  What a great horse!  I surprised myself by riding him pretty well, and by keeping the bucks under my knees for a lot longer than I ever have.  I hope I am able to ride Bob again because he was pretty darn cool.  Easy trot, nice canter, just a sweetie.

With all of the melting snow and higher temps, driving out to the camp was nerve-wracking.  It was so foggy there were places where I couldn’t see ten feet in front of my car.  I couldn’t see the signs on the freeway, and by the time I arrived at the barn, I needed to take a breather and relax.  I’m glad that traffic wasn’t bad, and that most sane people just stayed home.

Weirdest thing happened at the barn.  We were sitting in the observation room introducing ourselves, when suddenly, the only sound that could be heard was the roll of water.  It sounded like a huge washing machine.  Evidently, water from all of the melting snow (over a foot of it), got into the heating ducts.  What a mess!  I hope they get it all cleaned up before the temperatures drop below freezing again.

On Friday, we did some pattern work with Nyk, and then the usual rail work.  Today, Laurie and Audie rode with me, and D was also out with Cookie.  M had us chase him around and try to knock him off the horse.  Nobody got close, but we had fun dodging each other during the free for all.  I stayed long enough to watch Audie ride Chester, while D ran next to them with the longe line.  He’s a cute horse, even if he looks like a giraffe right now.   That awkward stage for him is really awkward. 

Nyk!

Here is my new pony, Nyk.  He is a Morgan.  I prefer taller horses, but he's got the dark and handsome down pat.  Just look at those perk ears and sparkly eyes!  So cute!

Hi!  I'm Nyk!  Where do you keep the hay around here??

Who are all of these strange people??  Where are my old friends?

That big horse behind me makes me a little nervous

Yeah, baby, I'm a cutie.  What's your sign?

I took him for a short spin, not wanting to stress him out anymore.  He was stuck on a trailer for 20 hours, and he's in a new environment, after all.  I was a little worried that he would be too short, but I guess that I am shorter than I think, because my legs do not reach the bottom of his belly.  He was a little tense at first, but so was I, but everything was ok in the end.  He's so cute!

I stopped by the barn after work - the weather was absolutely lovely!  I was a little dismayed to see that the arena was drenched, and that it hadn't been groomed.  I didn't want to ride Blondie outside by myself, because she can be such an idiot, so I decided to just work at the sitting trot and hope that a shoe didn't get sucked into the mud.

We started at a sitting trot, then picked up the pace just a bit.  I'm sure we looked ridiculous with the western saddle and the english bridle and reins.  Not there was anyone there to see us.  I spent time doing standing changes, first every 3 steps, then every two.  We also trotted figure eights, and halted a few times to see if she would stand still.  She didn't move her feet, but she kept moving her head in all directions.  Overall, though, Blondie was a very good girl.  No spookies, and she trotted obediently, keeping up a consistent pace.  It's the best ride I've had on her in the past two weeks. 

Wow, there was a photo shoot at the barn today, and I wasn't the one with the camera for a change.  The photographer who I met at Woodward Camera came out again to practice shooting horses.  I got Blondie ready and then took her down the drive where he was experimenting with shadows and light.  Then we headed back into the arena so he could test out his new spiffy flash.

I trotted Blondie around for him and his friend, while they fired off pictures.  Blondie was getting warm, so I walked her around to cool her off.  She was very well behaved until one of the horse trailers was pulled around to the front of the barn.  Instead of fighting with her, I decided to call it quits.

This is probably the last time that I'll be riding on a Sunday morning for a while.  The trainers are leaving for Oklahoma on Tuesday, and they will be gone for two weeks.  Sunday is show rider day, and since Blondie isn't in training again until next year, I'm technically not a show rider anymore.  It will also allow me some time to step back and put things into perspective.

Blondie is on turnout now, and I will be stopping by after work to just goof around with her.  I would like to work on patterns with her - there's no reason why she can't trot a circle, figure 8, or serpentine.  I will dust off the western saddle and start working on that over the next two weeks, taking things rather leisurely since she is on vacation for the next few months.

This morning I woke up to nasty, vile, tiny flakes of snow.  WTF?!  It's supposed to be spring!  What a terrible disappointment, as the ground slowly turned white.  Terrible! Horrible!  I'm sick of winter!  Die already!

Wednesday, I rode Jimmy. M had me slated for Harley, but I asked if I couldn't ride someone a little, er, faster.  Harley is the easiest horse in the barn to ride, and I really need to start riding some of the tougher ones.  The lesson went well, except that I couldn't get Jimmy to walk.  He also started to get really hot, so she had me canter alone the first way.  I kept him on a circle, and really worked at lifting his shoulder and not letting him bury his head and take off.  He's actually a lot like Blondie - she doesn't like to walk, and she constantly pulls at the bit, too.

Friday, it was 70 degrees, and we were under a tornado watch.  Last year, two Fridays in a row, we had to stop my lesson because of storms and tornado warnings.  The promised storm never materialized, but there was a very pretty rainbow when I was leaving.

Tank, the poor kitty, was throwing up in an empty stall, and after I realized what he was doing, I went in to pet his head and talk to him comfortingly until he hacked up a wad of grass.  Everyone at the barn now thinks I'm nuts.  Don't you want to help make your pet feel better when it doesn't feel well?  Tank appreciated it, and he came over the lie down by my tack box.  He didn't even hiss at me when I scratched his head later. 

We used the draw rein again for Blondie's lesson, but I don't think she held her head as nicely as the week before.  I did have an epiphany at the canter, as M told me to use my whole body to bring her back and keep her slow.  I leaned back and really sat deep in the saddle and I didn't bounce around!  Finally!  Of course I couldn't repeat the same thing on the other side, but now I kind of know what I haven't been doing.

Today, there was a jr judging clinic at the barn.  I forgot that it was today.  It was for the saddlebreds, and there were two "classes," an in-hand and show pleasure riding.  D showed Blondie for the in-hand class, and she beat the other horses, but I don't think she should have won.  Sammy had better motion, and Summer stood in the line up better, so her conformation looked prettier.  I missed the reasoning for why Blondie was first.  She is pretty, but her conformation wasn't the best out there.

For the riding class, they had me ride her in a show bridle. I haven't done that in almost a year.  At first I was pulling on it too hard, which was making her so mad.  I got better with the pressure on the reins, but I was using too much curb and not enough snaffle.  The class went pretty well, mainly because Sammy, ridden by D, was being an utter tard, and Summer wouldn't walk. Harley kept breaking at the canter.  Blondie did break from a trot to a canter for a few strides, but I quickly corrected her.  We won the class.  She was best behaved, which is a total shocker, and she looked the easiest to ride. 

As I was putting Blondie away, A's stepfather arrived with Classi, the NSH that I am half-leasing for the show season.  She is really pretty!  She's a bright chestnut, with a razor thin stripe on her muzzle.  We brushed her up, and then after A warmed her up, I got on for a trial spin. 

Classi has a few quirks, one being that you can't kick her. This is the very opposite of Blondie, who you have to kick every few strides or she quits on you.  With Classi, you have to squeeze instead.  It's going to take me a bit to get used to that, but she steps right into a canter.  You just squeeze and kiss.  No tipping, kicking, and all of that other stuff.  Just squeeze and go.  That's nice!

The grass is always greener...

Doesn't it figure that I'd wake up this morning feeling like crap? I hope I'm not coming down with a cold. I had a terrible headache, and now I have a lingering and distracting sore throat. I always get sick just in time for the holidays or a horse show, and both are coming up!

Last night I rode Blondie for the first time in a week.  I was a little worried that she'd be a handful, but she behaved herself.  I was happy to see that her nose isn't running as much, and she seemed to be feeling better.  She even tried very hard to trot nice, round circles and perfect serpentines. 

The academy show is Saturday, and I am in the first class.  I ride in one other class sometime in the morning, and I will be riding Harley.  We should do fairly well as long as we nail the canter leads.  Jen is coming to cheer me on, and pig out at the Indian buffet when it's over.  I'm looking forward to it!