It’s been a while since I have updated this blog. I have been busy with work, and I didn’t really have much to say.  It is probably not very interesting to read about how many times I walk, trot, and canter around the arena during lessons.  Show season has kicked off for the summer, so hopefully I will have more entertaining things to post about!

Anyhoo, the holidays were busy and sped right by.  I started reading more, if that’s possible, and am incorporating more fiction reviews on the other blog.  That kept me distracted from the bitter cold of winter, and has me excited about books again.  It’s fun to interview an author after you have just read their book.  It doesn’t work that way with the manga authors.

The ponies are good, and they kept me sane during the winter, too.  I was able to take Blondie to the last two academy shows, and she was so good!  We won the Schooling English Pleasure classes, but bombed on the equitation classes.  That had nothing to do with her, and I have already accepted that it will take many more years of practice before I look as graceful in the saddle as some of these kids who have been riding since they could walk!  We tried the judge’s pattern at the championship show, and though we had a rough spot here and there, Blondie did the pattern correctly.  I was proud of her!  The award banquet was last weekend, and we were the champion schooling English pleasure team (Nyk contributed, too).  Yay us!

Elle is coming along, and I think she is going to be a cool park horse.  She has such a pleasant personality and a big, ground covering trot. She makes her performance debut at Gold Cup, and I am so excited to see how she does.

I am at the River Ridge show this week.  Blondie goes twice today, once with M in the saddle first, and then I show her in the Amateur class this evening.  We rolled in after 7 last night, I helped unload the trailer, and then I headed off to my hotel.  I miss the RV and will be glad when I can just veg in one place again.  If I win the lottery, the first thing I am buying is a motor coach.

I’m back! I was on a horsey hiatus, and it was a rather miserable week with no trips to the barn.  The rest of the gang went off to the Futurity show, but I decided not to take Nyk, because Jubilee is next week.  It is the last show that will be held at the state fairgrounds, so it was a bummer that I didn’t get to ride through the chute one last time.  It is the coolest thing, evar!

Sunday was just a goof around day, and I rode both horses.  Blondie was just a touch better behaved than Nyk.  I laughed when M suggested that I lunge Nyk before I rode him, because he doesn’t usually give me any problems, and he didn’t on Sunday, either, but he was go, go, go.  His first stop – say hello to mister wall, you silly pony, if you can’t stand still long enough for me to get myself organized.  He got to stand with his head facing the wall for a few minutes, and then we walked, and walked, and walked.  He has to flat walk next week, but he has an attention deficit disorder and keeps forgetting how to do it.

Tuesday Blondie and I tried a new pattern.  It was EPIC fail.  Out of the blue, after having no problem what so ever, she suddenly remembered that she is afraid of the back gate!  Argh!  When we were trying to canter a circle at far end of the ring, she also forgot how to canter in a circle!!  It can’t be that hard!  Horses the world over canter in a circle – why can’t my silly horse?!  She could canter a very nice circle at the OTHER end of the ring, but she became geometrically challenged every time we hit the far side of the arena.  Argh!

The group lesson last night was so much fun!  We did a lot of no stirrup work – posting with one dropped, sitting trot with no stirrups, standing changes with no stirrups.  Then we worked on the same pattern that Blondie and I failed the evening before.  And guess what?  She FORGOT how to canter a circle at the end that she isn’t afraid of!  OH. MY. GOD!!

After we worked on transitioning from a canter to a posting trot and getting the correct diagonal, we got to the really fun part of the lesson – the ride a paper contest!!  Since we didn’t have bucks, we used paper strips that I had prepped before the lesson.  Then we stripped saddles off of the horses (even though I wanted to do it with them on!), and climbed back on and had our ride a paper contest.  It got a little crazy out there, too!  I was the last adult standing, but Zoe and Audie were in it for the long haul.  It got nerve-wracking at the canter the second way, because Bobby took off like a shot, but Audie managed to hang on both her horse and her paper, and she emerged victorious!! 

A quick stop at DQ after the lesson netted me a banana pudding blizzard, and then it was time to head home.  I was exhausted, and today my legs are a little sore

There is never enough time to get everything accomplished that I have planned for the day.  Look at this blog.  I haven’t posted in a week, even though it’s been on my to do list for the entire time!  Here’s the quick run down of the horsy events for the past few days -

I rode Blondie in her show bridle a lot last week.  Why?  There was a small academy show on Saturday, and I decided at the last second to take her to it.  I thought it would be good practice to take her some place new.  I was a little nervous about taking her to this particular barn because it can be a little scary, but she was really good!  Maybe she is finally starting to mature?

We had just enough time on Saturday to get around the ring a few times, and then it was show time!  There is a mirror on one wall, and that gave Blondie a little fright, but she was fine after a bit.  She won’t flat walk and we blew all of our canters, but that was ok, because I was able to take her some place new and ride her without her making a big fuss about everything.  Everyone said that her headset was pretty, too. That made me really happy!  And D said that he will try to gait her again this winter since I finally learned how to ride her.  Please, Blondie, be a 5-gaited horse, because then you will be so awesome I will cry.

I decided to hang around this time to play some of the games, instead of rushing home.  The show was small, and I was home by a little after 2 as it was.  I stayed and played Egg & Spoon and Ride A Buck.

Egg & Spoon was embarrassing.  We didn’t even get to walk over to the rail!!  A 5 year old beat us!  Oh, dear me!  That sucked, and we will have to redeem ourselves.  I let the reins get too long and it had a disastrous effect.

Next, Zoe rode Blondie for the bareback equitation class.  They both did great!  Zoe had never ridden her before, and Blondie had never been ridden bareback before.  They were third.  Like the way I had the kid ride her first, to test the waters?  I’m not stupid!  Then Zoe rode her in the first session of Ride a Buck.  They were second. 

Next, it was my turn. I had never ridden bareback before, but seeing how placid Blondie was for Zoe, I wasn’t too worried.  The horse was pretty tired by then.  The class was so much fun, too!  It was weird riding without the saddle, but Blondie has such smooth gaits that it wasn’t scary at all.  The canter threw me a little because I was holding her back, but we ended up being second.  Not bad for never having done it before.  I am going to practice this so I am the Ride a Buck queen!! 

The end of the show was a bit of a bummer, and it stinks that certain people feel the need to ruin things for everyone else.  Sorry for being cryptic, but the people directly effected by this know exactly what I’m referring to.  Hopefully this unpleasantness won’t happen again.  It was mean spirited and uncalled for.  End of story.

Last week I tried to take things a little easier since there isn’t another show for a month and I was still tired from Dayton.  Wednesday was a big group lesson, so we rode outside because the indoor hadn’t been watered and it was so dusty.  I rode Blondie in blinkers, and she was a good girl, but she kept tripping.  Then I thought I should just call it a day and put her to bed, but the kids wanted to play some games.  Well, I should have just listened to my instincts, because playing games was not in the cards for us.  No, sir.  During a rather tame session of Red Light, Green Light, Blondie tripped again and threw her shoe.  And it wouldn’t have been a complete experience unless she also threw off part of her foot.  Darn it!!

Blondie’s feet were reset on Thursday, so it wasn’t really that big a deal, but darn it! She hasn’t thrown a shoe in a long time.  M said that all of the mud from the show probably loosened it up, and her feet were getting long.  Now she has nice shiny hooves after her pedicure.

Friday I rode Harley in a show bridle.  What a difference a few years make!  I haven’t ridden him in a show bridle in ages, and he actually set his head for me!  He was a little rough going the second way, but we cantered with no stirrups and practiced trotting figure 8s and circles, both with and without stirrups.  It was nice to see that I have improved since I showed him last, and I wonder how we’d do if I showed him now.  Hmmmm.

Yesterday was SO HOT and humid.  It was awful. Heat index in the 100s.  Didn’t work the horses very long, mainly because I was getting too overheated!  I rode Blondie and jogged Nyk.  I was too hot to ride him.  Instead, I practiced jogging circles and figure 8s in the buggy.  It was a lot easier before the two horses and one slow person invaded the ring.  And then we jogged one of the tires right off the bike, so our practice time was over.

Nyk, behaving himself

Here’s a quick run down of our trip down to Dayton.  I always mean to write these posts when I’m actually at the show, but I usually don’t have time.  I’m not quite sure why, because it never seems like I do much at the shows other than worry about falling off of my horses. 

Let’s start off with the Great Dodge’em Car classes.  Yes, that would be both of Blondie’s driving classes.  I have never been in a driving class with more than a few other horses – this one had five.  That’s about my limit, especially in a ring with very short corners.  My horse does not turn on a dime, and these classes were painful.  We looked like crap AND we almost had a collision.  Good thing the old ladies know how to maneuver their ponies around road blocks.  The first class took place in the mud.  It was a sloppy mess.  Not to belabor the point, but we didn’t show very well at driving.  I haven’t driven her all year, and this show probably wasn’t the place to practice.  Better luck next year.

Uneventful direction of the ring

Part of the frustration with the first class was that after one of the horses pulled a shoe, Blondie would not walk.  I had to trot her around while the farrier was trying to nail the shoe back on, and by the time the class started again, Blondie didn’t have anything left for the first class.  That just sucked.  This happened every time she was going to show.  Either a shoe came off or a presentation dragged on longer than it was supposed to, and by the time we entered the ring, she was all worked up over nothing.  That was so frustrating.

The Goat Rodeos – These were Blondie’s riding classes.  These, though terrifying, were actually quite a bit of fun.  The first class was a limit class, so there were a bunch of other not so perfect horses to keep us company.  It rained a lot in Dayton, and Blondie is afraid of puddles, so it was fun to show in this class, since the first thing she saw when we entered the ring was a huge puddle.  So many of the other horses were making fools of themselves that we didn’t look so out of place.  We had a little problem going the second way, when we almost took out the judge, and I even had to call a time out when the horse in front of us spun out.  Blondie threw her head up, her bit flipped upside down, and the curb chain came off.  I have only been able to call a time out once before, but this was a nice little break while we waited for M to come in and re-attach the chain.  Caught our breath and even relaxed for a few seconds before heading back into the fray.

Where’s the judge?  Let me at ‘em!

The championship class was much better.  Best ride ever on Blondie, I think.  At first, I hate to admit this, she had me a little intimidated, because she was acting like a huge wench.  I was having a hard time keeping her going forward when we were trying to warm up and she kept crow hopping.  D said she was sitting back on her hocks and that she looked really good.  So I guess me feeling like we are out of control makes her look good.  Great.

On the way into the class, I told D to pick a horse and we would go into the ring behind it.  First horse dumped its rider.  Right in front of us!  Then there was a scared horse running around loose.  Oh my!  Not a good start.  D grabbed Blondie and we stopped to regroup for a second, and then I said to hell with it, just get me in the ring!  As we made our approach, he kept telling me to tighten up on the snaffle, more, more, more.  Then I heard ok and we were in the ring.  I bounced for the first rail to make sure I could keep her moving forward, and then the real fun began.  I had to make sure there was always a horse in front or next to her.  She is what M calls a horse magnet.  She isn’t happy unless there is another horse near her.  I am sure several riders are cursing me because we were either breathing down their necks or covering them on the rail.  But guess what? It worked, and the only trouble I had during that class was at the walk.  We ended up third out of seven, which is the best we have done in an ASB championship class.

Nyk was much more reserved, but I didn’t show him very well.  I need to practice driving a lot more, because I have a very hard time changing directions and making it look graceful.  I over bend their heads and it looks awful.  Especially with Blondie, but it happened with Nyk, too.  I couldn’t get him off the bridle and he kept jigging at the walk. 

Veering over to get a better look at the judge

The first riding class wasn’t bad, and we finished right in the middle.  The championship class was really frustrating, because I dropped the curb rein the second way and almost ran over the judge AGAIN!  The poor guy must have started to have anxiety attacks when he saw me approach the ring.  Dang crazy woman can’t control her wild horses!  Argh!  Up until that, the class was going great, and Nyk looked like a million bucks.  Crap!! I let him down.  How do you practice not dropping the reins??

I have to admit that all of the lessons I have been taking paid off, especially during the Goat Rodeo #1.  I lost my stirrup at the canter, but did I care?  No!  I can ride without them now, and I can get them back without much of a fuss.  So, yay!  I didn’t fall off or panic, and just kept showing my horse.

The show itself was a lot of fun.  The show organizers put on a great show, and they kept us fed.  That was a good thing, because Laurie’s truck dumped all of its transmission fluid the first night, and we didn’t have a way to go grocery shopping.  We needn’t have worried, because there was a hospitality tent set up with bagels, cream cheese, yogurt, fruit, OJ, coffee, etc.  The first night, at 2am, we were forced to eat at Denny’s, which usually turns out to be an awful experience.  I didn’t want to eat there again because it sucked so bad.  With the food tent, we didn’t have to.

Happy and content in a crowd of strangers

There were snacks in the afternoon, and dinner parties at night, so we were well fed.  During the day, we either grabbed burritos at Hot Heads or Chipotle, or one day we ventured forth to Waffle House.  That was a trip, because even with a map, we had a hard time finding it. 

Blondie is finished showing for the year, but Nyk still has two more shows.  Now I have to put some of the things I’ve learned riding her into practice with him.  My biggest problem with Nyk is keeping him slow and light on the bridle.  It is so hard with him.

Next year, I hope we go to bigger shows.  Both of the Ohio shows were fun, and there were more horses.  We all kind of agreed that we would plan on River Ridge for next year.  I want to ride there.  Though maybe it’s silly to start planning for next year, when this year isn’t even finished yet?

Only a few more days until we leave for Dayton!  We made  plans for a schedule change, and I am going to drive Blondie Wednesday evening instead of riding her.  I haven’t driven her all year!  This is the last chance, and I didn’t want it to pass me by.

We have been practicing patterns, and Blondie has continued to try her best to do what I ask.  The patterns aren’t pretty, but we are getting them done.  Friday was the best effort, with her trotting a very nice, round circle, and then stepping off into a canter off the rail.  She weaved a little down the line, but things are slowly coming along.  The class at the show is more for a bench marker for us; I want to see how much we improve over the winter and try riding in another adult eq class next summer.

Wednesday was a fun lesson, and we had a new rider join the group.  All of the kids but Amber ditched us, and since Blondie and Nyk had been visited by the chiropractor earlier in the day, the had the night off.  At first I wasn’t very thrilled to ride Harley again, but then I thought that it would be a good opportunity to see if I have progressed since the last time I rode him. 

It was very uplifting to see how much progress I have made at the end of the lesson.  I was able to keep him bridled without pulling on his mouth, but instead by bumping him up with my legs.  Since he travels in slow motion, it is easier to do with him than with other horses.  I actually have time to react and correct, where Blondie and Nyk don’t give me that opportunity. 

Today we ran through Meijer and I picked up snackage for the trip.  I am almost all packed up, but I am still stressing that I will forget something. Ugh.

So, Monday I got Blondie ready and we started working on patterns.  M told me to break them down into parts, and even if we blow a part, there are several sequences to a pattern and to just work harder on the next one.  We worked on trotting down the rail, halting at the midpoint, cantering a serpentine, stop, reverse, show trot out of the ring.  We did it at a trot, then moved up to a canter.  Then we worked briefly on cantering down the centerline with 2 changes of lead.  That didn't go so well, because Blondie was getting really excited about doing all of this strange stuff, so we stopped and I walked her out. 
 
I will admit this about my horse.  She tried very hard to do everything I asked of her.  I just didn't ask her correctly all of the time.  She paid attention the entire time, too.  No falling asleep during the theory portion, either.  Maybe my girl is finally growing up!

The group lesson was mainly rail work, due in part to the high humidity.  Blondie was sweating before I even got her ready, and after the first canter, she was puffing away like crazy.  M asked if I wanted to try to do a pattern, but I decided to wait until Friday.  She was so hot, and she did so well the day before, I didn't want to keep pushing her.  Besides, I was hot, too! 

I am glad we called it quits when we did, because it took forever to dry her off.  Why don’t they make industrial horse size dryers that we could just pop the ponies in for a few minutes, and out they would come, nice, warm, and smelling like the summer breeze?

DeeDee

Sorry for the lack of updates.  I gathered up my mobile blogging unit and took it to Anime Expo the week before last.  The evening before I left, I rode Blondie, and we worked on canter transitions.  That is something that I still need a lot of help with, and if I am going to try to ride in the adult eq class at Dayton, I need to work in all of the practice that I can.

DeeDee

I rode Blondie again on the Tuesday after my return from LA, this time in a show bridle.  Nothing epic with the lesson, just a solid ride for the first time in a week.  On Thursday I headed to Barn #2, and rode Lucky, again in a show bridle.  This was another great lesson, and again, canter transitions were a highlight, and I got most of the right, so there’s improvement.  My legs were very sore afterward, as I haven’t had a lesson there in almost a month, and S shows no mercy. 

Elvis, keeping the ponies awake

That was it for lessons, because the MAM show was this weekend at the State Fairgrounds.  I discovered, much to my dismay, that I could have taken Nyk, since they changed the schedule around at the last minute.  This kind of upset me, because if I had called them up and asked that they rearrange classes for me, they would have laughed and hung up.  I wonder which trainer they did this for, as I try not to seethe with too much resentment.  I got to see the CP Driving championship, and I think that we could have held our own in it. Huge disappointment for me, but I’ll get over it. Eventually.

I was mesmerized by his suit

I did go to watch the last session, and to pig out at the exhibitor party.  It was a lot of fun!  Elvis was even there!  The food was good, too, even if it was catered chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and green beans. 

Much to my surprise, the trash that had been accumulating for over the past year was even cleaned up.  That makes no sense, since they are going to flatten the site.  Why spend the money to clean it up?  The place is still a total dump, and is an embarrassment compared to other fairgrounds I have be to. 

Well, only I fall down, evidently.  During a display of fireworks today, I fell off of Blondie.  The smoke bombs get her going, and I was doing great, until I tried to make her march through the middle of the yellow smoke.  She zigged and I zagged, right out of the saddle.  I knew I was going over, though, so this time I was able to get my feet out the stirrups and land on my butt.  It figures that I would fall off of the taller horse, though.  I was irritated with myself for getting dumped, and after I got back on, I made sure I didn’t let her get ahead of me again.  She felt like a million bucks, kept her ears up, and worked well for me after that.  Guess you do need a setback every now and again to get back on track.

After the rodeo ride on Blondie, Nyk was a piece of cake.  He felt chargy and heavy in his bridle, but M said that he looked great at the canter.  I am trying to sit back farther in the saddle and use my seat more effectively, and also trying to bump him up with my legs more than my hands.  I just feel that he starts to bear down on the bridle and then I am not riding effectively anymore.

Tuesday I rode Ritz, and while I still dislike her big, bouncy canter, I was able to sit it better by pushing my feet forward and sitting back as far as possible in the saddle.  The left lead is always better than the right lead, but they were both about the same as long as I was doing that.

Wednesday I didn't ride.  The heat index was 97 at 3pm. and the thought of having to cool out one of the horses after working in that hot and humid weather just wasn’t appealing.  Instead, all three of us got a break.

The temps were a little cooler on Friday, and I rode Blondie for the first time in two weeks.  She was very sluggish, and the bugs are eating her alive.  She got a shot of an anti-inflammatory after she worked, because the mosquitoes left her neck a mass of bumpy bites.  During the lesson, we worked on cantering figure 8s again, which I can’t believe that I still can’t do.  I have some kind of mental condition that doesn’t allow me to understand how to do patterns.  Ugh!  And I am thinking about embarrassing myself at Dayton and riding in the adult equitation class.  I must be nuts, and we are going to have to practice patterns all the way until the show.

In other news, the puppy has gotten so big in the past two weeks!  I won’t be able to pick her up for much longer.  She was full of puppy cuddles today, and it is amazing how happy puppies can make you feel.

Bentley

Once again I am neglecting this blog.  Shame on me!  I am trying to do better, but real life keeps interfering, darn it!

Wednesday was a little frustrating because some of the riders didn’t arrive until the lesson was supposed to begin.  I hate when the group lessons run that late, because then I don’t get home until way past my bedtime, and I have to get up at 4:30.  I run strictly on caffeine Thursday and Friday, because Thursday is a very late night for me, too.  What I don’t do to improve at my sport…

I rode Nyk on Wednesday, and excuse my language, but he was a little prick.  He thought we were training for the Belmont, and not for Gold Cup.  He was heavy on the bridle, won’t give on the bit, and raced around and around at the canter.  M made some tack adjustments, and I tried cantering him again.  Then he went a little slower than race car speed, but he was still too fast, especially going the second way.

We tried to work through the equestrian team pattern, and once again, Nyk was behaving like a stubborn little pony.  He would not whoa.  I was getting so frustrated with him.  I don’t like doing patterns in the first place, and he wasn’t making me like them any better.  Whoa means STOP, but I guess when your brain is the size of a walnut, you occasionally forget that.

Thursday I went to Barn #2, and had a very informative lesson with guest instructor.  S was away at a horse show, and she had a trainer who is more involved with Morgans fill in.  We will call her S2.  She started by having me sit on Lucky, and then she went over proper leg position, arm position, and other form vs function points.  Then she had me head out to the rail at a posting trot.

This was a very important lesson because S2 emphasized how to use your legs and seat, and to keep your hands and fingers light on the reins.  I know that is the goal of being an effective rider, but sometimes I just clamp down on the bridle, especially when I am riding Blondie.  She just wants to bury her head, and I think that I have to carry her along.  All I am really doing then is keeping her heavy on the bridle and making her worse.  One of these days I’m actually going to be able to put all of this theory into practice.  When, I don’t know, but one of these days!!

Sunday, both of the ponies were very good.  I rode Blondie first, in blinkers.  I am going to buy a hood, because they are so useful.   I don’t have to worry about her getting a burr up her butt and getting scared at dust specks.  We can actually get a good ride in! 

It was so dusty in the arena that we took Nyk outside to drive him.  He was so good!  He walked when I asked, and he trotted at a nice, pleasure trot speed.  No racing.  So nice.

Saturday I went to Sarah’s graduation, and had the added bonus of seeing Krystal get her diploma.  I did not realize that they went to the same high school!  Too bad I did not get a chance to congratulate her during the festivities.   That will have to wait until her party on Saturday.

Today was not a good day.  First phone call of the day was a co-worker’s mother calling to tell us he passed away over the weekend.  He was 25 years old!  WTF!!  I have DDR’ed with this kid, gone to the Indian buffet and gotten sushi with him.  I can’t believe he’s gone, and I feel so, so bad for his family.  It was so unexpected.  My prayers and thoughts go out to his family.  Things like this really make you think about how fragile and fleeting life can be.  Enjoy it.  Chase your dreams. Don’t give up, because you may never get another chance to make them come true.