Here's Gizmo, strutting his stuff.

I headed out to the barn this morning, and found it eerily quiet.  Nobody but me and Blondie.  Quite a contrast to yesterday's hustle and bustle. 

There was a barn tour today, put on by the local equestrian conservatory.  Our barn took part for the first time.  It was a lovely day for it, too!

I arrived a little too early, but not knowing if they needed help getting set up, I thought I'd head over and offer my assistance.  As is typical of events at the barn, the first half hour was spent standing around, blabbing with whoever happened to be in hearing range.  Tina arrived a little after that, and she handed out a sheet with  assignments on it.  I was supposed to man the info booth from 11 to 12, but ended up helping get horses ready and keeping the aisle swept clean instead.   Tina also gave me a nifty barn tour T-shirt that they had printed for the event.

D started off by working the yearling colts, and I snapped pics of anything that moved.  Then Laurie and Abby rode Ritz, and D asked if I wanted to ride Blondie to show her off.  I asked if there was anyone I could drive, as I haven't done it since Ludington.  He told me to get Blondie ready, and after, I could drive Harley, too.  I didn't even realize that Harley drove!  I was really excited to take him for a spin.

Rachel helped me with Blondie, and I hopped in the buggy. Blondie was walking nicely, but at the far, scary end of the arena, she put on the brakes and went into reverse.  Fast!  I clucked and used the whip to get her going forward, but she was stuck in reverse!  She ended up slipping and sitting in the dirt, which popped me up and out of the seat.  D told me don't get out, stay put, and I sat back on the seat.  My stupid horse then got up and started walking forward.  She had a brain freeze one other time, when I asked her walk.  She started doing the same thing again.  D told me to just let her trot.

We headed out to outdoor ring, and she walked very nicely across the driveway.  Once in the ring, I asked for a trot, and I didn't let her walk again until we were finished.  Later, D said that I did everything correctly when she started backing up, and he said that if that didn't work, I could also try a firm "whoa!", which I never even thought of.  He said it's been a while since she's been hooked to the buggy, and that's probably what the problem was.  I talked to M about it later, and she said that Lily actually reared up at one of the shows and fell onto her side, and about 5 people jumped on top of her to keep her down so they could undo the harness before she hurt herself or broke the buggy. That sounded scary!

After Harley's pedicure was finished, Rachel helped me get him ready to drive.  We hooked him up, and D followed us out to the outdoor ring.  Harley was a perfect boy!  He's so easy to drive!  He seems to really like it, too, because I didn't have to nag him to keep trotting like when I ride him.  He kept a steady pace, and when I asked him to walk, he flat-walked, without his usual jig. Harley is a god amongst horses, and I hope that everyone gets to learn from a horse as wonderful as he.

I left the barn shortly after, and headed back to the reality of my mundane little life.  The grocery store was calling, so off I went to restock the cupboards. 

Stud Train Comin!

Sorry about the crappy picture quality - it's so hard to get a decent pic inside the arena!  This is Timmy, one of the stud colts.  He's headed to Oklahoma on Monday.  He's a cutie, but I think Elmer's got him beat.

Blondie outshines her competitors in one field - she has the prettiest tail!  Additional performance features must cost extra! 

Blondie, the day after she arrived at her new home. Look at how skinny she is!

So, my second solo ride wasn't so solo.  Kim and her mom were at the barn, so I had some company!  Kim wanted to ride in the outdoor, so this would be another first for me and Blondie.  The most she has done outside at the barn is walk around to cool out.

The footing was a little slippery at the far end of the ring.  Blondie was great going the first way.  No hesitations, she trotted or cantered when cued.  When we reversed, all was not so right in her little world.

Trotting around the far corner, she decided it was simply terrifying and would veer into the center.  I was happy to have the western saddle, with the extra deep, secure seat.  I legged her over, laughed at her stupidity, and couldn't figure out what was scaring her.  Kim pointed to the plastic jump stand that was under the fence.  I thought it couldn't possibly be that, because we had walked, trotted, and cantered by it going the other way.  It turned out that it was the scary horse eating monster, and now I know my mare is a freak.  At least be afraid of it with both eyes, not just one!

Trainers don't sweat - they glow!

What could possibly be more fun than spending a weekend with your friends, sweltering with the temps in the nineties?  Dressed in a riding suit with a lined jacket?  And we think the horses are stupid...

Getting ready for our class

With M out of town, I headed to the barn for my first solo ride.  One of the barn hands was there when I first arrived, but by the time I had Blondie ready to go, she had left.  I was the only person there, and it was a dramatic contrast to the usual activity buzzing around the barn.

I received my final piece of equipment from the online tack store to make myself completely independent as far as owning all of my own tack.  Blondie now has her very own bit!  I was eager to try it out and see how she liked it.  She didn't seem to have any problems with it.

I was able to get the western saddle cinched and she even stood still while I bridled her.   She's now a conflicted horse;  her saddle is western, but her bridle and reins are english.  She doesn't seem to mind that, either.

Out in the arena, I walked her, tightened the girth, and stepped aboard.  She stood still while I mounted, which is probably a first for her.  I was even able to clamber up with the whip tucked in the back of my jods. 

I kept this session short.  We walked, trotted, and cantered the first way.  Then I had her halt and stand to work on her patience a bit.  Then we reversed and repeated.  I threw in some figure 8s after than, trotted around a few more times, and then walked her out.  She was a little nervous because the ring had just been groomed, and there were lots of lines.  The tire tracks down the middle of the arena just messed with her mind; she kept hopping over them when we were practicing the figure 8s, which had me cracking up every time.  Silly horsie!

After a very satisfying, though short, ride, I hopped off and took her back to her stall.  She managed to work up a sweat despite hardly working! It was rather humid, and I was a tad warm as well.

Having survived my solo test ride, I'm ready to hit the barn every night after work.  I have worked for two years to get to this point, and now I'm just going to enjoy being able to ride when ever I want.  Just a short time ago, I couldn't even bridle a horse!  Or put splint boots on the correct way!  I still haven't figured out those overly complicated leg wraps...

Blondie in skinnier days

Monday's lesson was the last for about 3 weeks.  M is out of town this week to judge a horse show, and they leave for Oklahoma on Monday.  I decided the ride Blondie in the western saddle to confirm that I could get it on her correctly by myself.  I actually think it's easier to put on then the cut back.  Go figure.

Towards the end of the lesson, M gave me things to work on by myself.  She said that Blondie knows how to travel along the rail, and now it's time to start teaching her new things.  I should work patterns with her, just circles, figure 8s and serpentines.  Nothing complicated, and don't spend a lot of time on them.  Don't overwhelm her.  Don't forget to praise her when she does something right.  I think that was something that I wasn't doing.  She told me that I need to talk more to my horse.  That should be easy enough to work on!

It was very humid, and Blondie was just soaked when we finished.  M commented that she's getting pudgy, too.  Now that she's out of shape and had put on weight from eating all the grass that's available to her, it's a good thing that I plan on stopping by the barn to ride her every night on my way home from work!  We'll both get a little exercise now.

Sammy, suffering from some last minute reservations before entering the show ring.  He realizes, horrified, that somebody forgot to comb his mane!

I love roadster ponies!!  They look so sassy and fun to drive!  When I win the lottery, I'm buying a whole barn of them - lol!