Mini Trial Update

Luke is SUCH a good boy! We went out schooling with Molly on Saturday, and he warmed up perfectly, even with horses coming at him from all directions. He took a few of the first little jumps like they were 5' tall, and didn't understand the lack of enthusiasm displayed by the other horses. Typical Luke. So we walked over a few, and trotted a few, and ended on a good note. I'm very happy with him. Then he stood tied to the trailer for a long time, and didn't do anything bad. He saw his first horse and buggy on Saturday and his eyes were saucer sized. I got a cute picture of the "buggy" face...I'll upload pictures later.

Sunday we headed out and got to South Farm around 11? I didn't ride until 2:30 so it was really nice to have some time to warm up. We got our packets, I found my camera that I left behind on Saturday, and checked out the tack trailer. I didn't even buy anything! So I'm going to put $10 in a Congress fund, along with $40 from my paycheck. I really want to have some money to spend at Congress this year!

I tacked Luke up and headed over to warm up for dressage. I was able to walk him around the farm on a loose rein, but once we got to the warm up area and started trotting, he got a little quick and panicky. A trainer kindly helped us warm up, and that helped. We did lots of transitions and figure 8's, and he got his brain back. I headed into my test feeling nervous, but more prepared than usual. We did our courtesy lap, and he didn't spook at the flowers or the trailer. He came down centerline nice and straight, and stopped completely for the halt. Good boy! We had a few sticky moments in our test - he cantered a few strides of the trot circle, was a little counterbent in a couple spots, and I overshot center line. Bad me! I know better!

I threw him back on the trailer with some hay so I could relax a little bit. I walked around, watched a little stadium, and then tacked him back up for stadium and xc. I was literally three feet away from him, he was tied to the trailer, and he pulled back. Broke the snap on the lead rope in half, and proceeded to run around the farm - he ran a good 1/4 mile down a stretch, and back up, and then made a big circle around me and let me catch him. I was not a happy camper. I threatened to sell him to the Amish to be a buggy horse. Maybe he was just warming himself up for XC. I finished tacking him up quickly, and hopped on to go warm up for the other phases. He got me so flustered I forgot my gloves. Ouch!

He took the first couple warm up fences as flyers, so we walked a few, and then trotted a few. I remembered to go through the start flags this year! He didn't look at anything on course and hopped right over it all. We trotted and cantered the course - he was a little wigglier than I would have liked, but not too badly. And he didn't knock anything down! I decided NOT to get off, so we walked around for a while, and then headed over to XC warm up. I opted not to jump anything except one little vertical. We trotted out of the start box, I asked him to walk the first jump, and then we alternated between walking and trotting the rest of the jumps. Again, he rocked it...he didn't look at ANYTHING out there. I came across the finish line exhausted, but so proud of him!

I cooled him out, untacked him, put my stuff away, and loaded him on the trailer with some nice hay. I went over to check my scores, which still weren't up. We waited around for a while - my division was of course the last one posted. I went up to look at our results and did a double, maybe triple take. I asked them "are you sure?!" Luke and I came in 2nd place! We finished on our dressage score of 34.0, which is our best score by about 10 points. Even with our mistakes, the test must have looked better than it felt. The comments were helpful - the judge really liked him, said he was a nice mover, and said she liked what a patient rider I was for him. He went clean on XC and Stadium, so we finished on our 34! Good boy Luke! We were only out of first place by 2 points, but I couldn't be happier with the pretty red ribbon. It was such a great day - the ribbon was just icing on the cake! We made it back home and unloaded, fed him dinner, and turned him out. And then I went home and crashed.

Other than the broken lead rope and escape, it was a great weekend. That's the next thing I need to tackle - get him to stand tied again. I'm not sure if it's possible. Always something to work on!

Lightbulbs! And mini trials!

First off, I got my ride times for the mini trial this weekend. I have nice late times, which is nice...I'm used to getting up at 5 a.m.! I ride Dressage at 2:36, Stadium at 4:30 and XC at 5:30 - woohoo! :)

On Tuesday, I had the best ride on Luke I've possibly ever had. It was incredible...he was reaching for the bit (his new happy mouth), was transitioning without fussing at all, actually bending around my leg instead of blowing me off...it was so nice! I paid for it yesterday though, my wrist was killing me. So I bought a separate brace to ride in and last night it didn't hurt so bad.

I had an awesome lesson last night! I rode in my dressage bridle and saddle to get myself acclimated to it again. I lengthened my stirrups a hole, which helped, and we got some very nice work. I think if he goes like this at South Farm, we have a pretty good chance of doing well. I've been cautioned to not panic if my warmup doesn't go well at first - just keep riding him through it until I get the bend and stretch I'm looking for. I think we'll be okay - we get to go schooling on Saturday, which I'm really excited about - Luke hasn't jumped any XC stuff except for little logs since last fall...oh dang! But 12" won't be too bad.

I can't believe it's so soon - I haven't started packing ANYTHING yet. Or given him a bath...it's too hard to do one handed... *sigh*... :) Maybe I'll just rub him down with baby wipes...he smells disgusting from his fly spray anyway! Molly is coming over tomorrow night and we're going to pack all of my stuff up into her car, and then off we go on Saturday morning. Wish us luck! I can't wait to see Gwen, Lis, and Jen too...we're having a mini exracers picnic...yay!

You take one step forward and two steps back...

It feels like it anyway!

I had a great lesson on Monday...actually they've all been great lately. Unfortunately, I can't achieve that same greatness when I ride by myself. It sure doesn't feel like it anyway. We just walked and trotted on Monday, but we worked on turns, centerlines, halts...everything I'd need for my test. It went pretty well. Then I took him out in the big pasture and we worked on me keeping his attention and getting actual work in large spaces.

Tuesday, I was all excited to ride, and thought it was going to be the best ride ever. He started out by breaking his halter...which was kind of my fault, I know that I shouldn't cross tie him until we figure this out, but I was in a hurry. I put a rope halter on him and got him to stand semi still while I finished tacking up. The ride went downhill from there. Nothing went right...he wanted to hollow out his back and be an ostrich. The only plus I can think of is that he got his leads. It just spiraled downward though, and I ended the ride in tears. I was freaking out, thinking we were never going to get better, and I was ready to sell him to someone more experienced.

On Wednesday, I woke up feelingi less frustrated. I sent in my mini trial entry and decided to look at it as a learning experience. I went out and played with the boys, but gave Luke a day off from riding. I went to the doctor and discovered I have tendonitis in my wrist, and I have to wear a brace all the time. I'm going to have to buy another one to ride in - I don't want to get this one all dirty.

Last night I went out and got Luke out of the pasture, and tied him with a trailer tie while I tacked him up. He stood relatively still, a little dancing, but no halter breaking. I took him out in the ring, and rode for about 5 minutes before I realized that the bugs were REALLY bothering him. So I took him back inside and used MORE fly spray. I think that did the trick, because he was a little less fussy. I should have put his ear net on though, he was still a little upset. The work we got wasn't nearly as good as my lesson, but it wasn't terrible either. There were a few moments of genuine correct work, and some almost there moments. He was pulling through my halts coming down center line, so we did lots of transitions. I have to go to IN this weekend, so Luke will get three days off...hopefully he won't be a wild man on Monday.

South Farm is in 9 days...yikes!

Woohoo!

It's so exciting to watch Luke improve! (And me!)

I had another lesson on Tuesday. He was actually not herdbound at all, which led me to believe that he was fixed. Yay! But not...yesterday he charged my sister to try to get into his stall, and knocked her over. I wish I would have been there, but maybe it's best I wasn't. He'd have been in BIG trouble. But anyway...back to the lesson!

We walked a little to warm up, then moved into trotting. Luke immediately felt steadier than last month. He was stretching down some even. He's still not collected, but he's more relaxed, and moving like he's going somewhere. Next step is to get him off of my hands...he can carry his own darn self!

My circles still aren't really all that round...I need to seriously work on that. They are improving some though. At least we don't have the giraffe look going anymore! We did some serpentines, which were far better than they used to be! And my canter work...the right lead is falling into place! Yay! He picked it up 5 out of 6 times in a row, and the mess up was my fault. He started to rush the trot, and I got flustered, and off we went on the wrong lead. Towards the end of my lesson when we cantered again, he was tired, and so was I, and we had a little trouble getting it, but nothing like usual...it's all starting to come together!

We did a little jump, just 12" or so. He's unimpressed. He refuses to trot over it...he prefers to trot THROUGH it...so I'm going to have to find some wood poles to mix in too. Cantering it though, he made it over every time...knocked it down a few times though. Oh well...we're learning.

We're going to South Farm next month, I can't wait! I'm just going to do intro I think, but I can't wait to see if my dressage has improved! I'll be bummed if it doesn't, because he FEELS so much better! And as far as jumping...I just wanna make it around the course without knocking anything over! There's always next year to move up a level! Then Grand River's Hunter Pace is the next weekend...yay!

Lesson!

The rain held off, and I got to have my lesson, so I was a very happy girl!

I got a call on Monday from the new barn owner, telling me that my horse was very smart. Never a good thing to hear. He figured out how to escape from the one pasture. There's a 4 foot "gate" that's just one strand of un-electrified tape - the only part of the pasture that's not electric. I was worried about him figuring it out. So until they figure out what to do to make it more secure, he and Jodi moved to another pasture. I actually like this one better. It has a couple of big trees for shade, not that my horses will use them, and it's connected to the paddock where the other horses go at night, so there's 2 run in sheds.

So I went to the barn yesterday around 7, my lesson was at 7:30. It was just about dinner time, so I put Jodi in his stall to eat, and stuck Luke in the cross ties to tack up. He definitely had ants in his pants. He did NOT want to stand still at all. He only let me pick his front two hooves, and then when I went to pick up one back leg, I think he kicked out, or stomped, and his knee caught my thumb. I heard a pop and had to literally go sit down because I almost passed out. I saw stars...that was the worst pain I've had in a long time. It's still really sore today too. So I didn't pick out his back feet. I threw his saddle on, and waited for my new trainer. When she got there, Luke decided he'd never seen a bridle in his life...throwing his head up, backing up, etc. I figured it was gonna be a horrific lesson.

Once we got out to the arena though, Luke was all business. He's such a good horse. He screamed for Jodi a few times while we were warming up, but once he realized that no one was answering him, he was fine.

We did a long walk warm up with lots of serpentines, circles, figure 8's and changes of direction thrown in. I'm really guilty of just walking aimlessly on the rail to warm up, so it was a good change. I'm really going to work on that. Then we moved to the trot, focusing on pushing him from behind instead of letting him flop around on the forehand. When he was working correctly from behind, he found the bit and was reaching for contact. I could definitely feel him improving from the beginning of the lesson to the end. It was really hot, and I hadn't had dinner, and forgot to bring a water bottle, so true to form, I almost passed out two or three times. I'll be better prepared next time. So we just did a little bit of canter so she could see him go. His left lead felt really nice...he was actually slowing down instead of running around with his head in the air. She told me to pretend my left arm was broken so I wasn't hanging on the inside rein, and voila: less tense rider, less tense horse. The right lead took a few tries to get, but she just had me bring him back to a trot quietly. She said there's no point in teaching him bad transitions, which is all jerking him to a trot will do. She said when I ask him to slow down, not to pull on him with both hands, but to just use my outside rein. Lo and behold, he started slowing down enough that I could sit his trot and ask for the correct lead. He gave it to me that time. We did a few circles on each lead, and then called it a day. I'm really proud of Luke.

I feel like we got a ton out of the lesson, and my only regret is that I won't be able to take them more frequently. I'm gonna shoot for every other week, since I probably will have to stop for the winter.

I can't wait to go ride Luke and keep practicing this stuff!! I'm loving the new barn. Kind of lonely sometimes since I'm the only one riding, and the oldest and only one my age, but it's nice at the same time. My barn time is always relaxing, which I need. And the short drive rocks!

This post is already long, but here are my August goals:

1) Have one more lesson this month.
2) Have a consistent right lead at the end of the month.
3) Ride 4 times a week
4) Work on pushing him from behind
5) Be less tense
6) Have FUN with him!

We did it!

We went to our dressage show and had a great time! :)

On Friday night, I got out to the barn and discovered that Luke had scraped himself up on something. I stuck him on the lunge line and he wasn't off, but he kept swapping leads behind going to the left, his good direction. I thought maybe he was just being silly. He didn't seem sore so I decided to go ahead and show. He got a bath on Friday night, and then I braided his mane and stuck him in a hawaiian print sleazy...he looked hilarious.

Saturday I got to the barn bright and early - around 7:30. Threw Luke a flake of hay and his grain and packed up my stuff. Once the boys were done eating, we threw them on the trailer and headed off to the show. It was right down the road, like a 5 minute drive.Luke unloaded like a champ, and calmly surveyed the scenery before dropping his head to graze. I tied him to the trailer while I changed, and then we went for a walk. We walked around a while, and then put his saddle on, and then went back down to the arena to watch Molly ride. After her test, I put my bridle on and hopped on. He was perfectly calm and relaxed. He wasn't really reaching for contact, and he was a little distracted, but he didn't spook at all, or speed up or anything. So I was a proud mom.

We went in and did our test - I've done a lot worse, and possibly done better. I blew a movement by walking a letter too early, and she didn't think I was very accurate. She said I was really tense and I needed to relax...but I'm way more relaxed than I used to be. We ended up with a 56% and 4th place. I was really happy with him. I think next month we'll go xc schooling, and then in August, do the Grand River Hunt mini trial and the Bath Pony Club mini trial. Possibly some more dressage schooling shows too, because that's what really needs work.

Show's around the corner!

Yikes! I need to get with the program!

I've been slacking lately when it comes to riding...between working 40 hours a week and feeding horses 3 days a week, I haven't had much energy to ride alone. Thankfully, Molly finished drivers' ed last week, so I'll hopefully have someone to ride with at night!

On Saturday, Jen came over and we had a tack cleaning party...it was a lot of work, but fun! I cleaned and oiled or conditioned my running martingale, 2 bridles, and my saddle. My bridle looks brand new, and my martingale looks amazing too...I'm so glad I made the effort to clean everything!

I had a lesson Wednesday night, and I still love my new saddle. We shortened my stirrups, which helped my leg sliding around problem. We got some nice flat work in, but I was really looking forward to jumping some stuff. But a tornado watch happened just as she was setting up jumps, so we didn't get to jump OR practice my dressage tests. As soon as I was untacked, the storm let up...of course. I have a lesson one night this week, so hopefully he will be good. Probably won't get any jumping in though because we have to practice for the show.

I'm riding him in Intro test B, and Mandi's gonna ride him in Training 1. Cross your fingers for correct leads! I predict they will have no trouble - I'm the one that has trouble getting leads...but it might be better since he got his feet fixed. I haven't really been motivated to practice too much lately. I'll ride tonight, hopefully tomorrow, and Thursday for sure though, and then Friday I'll ride him a little bit and then he'll get a beauty treatment...bath, clipped, and I'll probably band his mane...I think it would look better than attempting braids. Molly and Atticus are showing too, so it should be a fun time :) Luke and Atticus are totally in love, so hopefully they will keep each other calm.

I'm getting excited and nervous all at the same time!

Goals!

Okay...I need to stop messing around and get serious about my riding. Luke was doing so well for a while, but he needs to be ridden more than twice a week. It's not that I haven't wanted to ride, I've just been unmotivated. Now that Melissa can ride again, and now that I'll have a new saddle next week, it's time to get motivated!

So I figured I'd write out my goals and my summer schedule, and update along the way! :) Good plan?

Goals
- Get out and go places without it being a huge deal.
- Go out of my way to make new places a positive experience for him - don't just throw him on the trailer and go...make sure he gets to run around at home first, and then sit and observe for a half hour or so before I tack him up and ride.
- Break 60% on a dressage test...I shouldn't even be happy with THAT for a score, but it would be progress - we've been getting mid to high 50's.
- Slow down a little on cross country - Luke loves being outside, and will trot or canter happily up to jumps, but loves to take off for a few strides on the backside. The waterford is helping a little.
- Learn to BEND - enough said!
- Accept contact a little more.
- HAVE FUN!

Summer Schedule:

June
June 6th - Dressage Clinic - it was awesome, we learned a ton!
June 27th - Dressage Schooling show - Intro Tests A & B - possibly have someone else ride him in Training 1 or 2.
June 28th - Stone Gate? (Probably not...but I am looking into the possibility)

July
July 11 - XC Schooling at Hackamore Farm - maybe
July 12 - Hackamore Farm - maybe
July 17-18 - South Farm Mini Camp!
July 19 - South Farm Mini Trial (Either Very Green or BBN!)

And hopefully XC schooling a few times

August
August 2 - Grand River Hunt
August 9 - Buckeye Horse Park/WRPC
August 23 - Bath Pony Club
August 30 - Buckeye Horse Park Hunter Pace

September
September 6 - Bath Pony Club Hunter Pace
September 13 - South Farm
September 20 - Grand River Hunter Pace OR
September 20-21 - Stone Gate Farm H.T in the Starter Div. - hey, a girl can hope!
September 27 - Stone Gate Hunter Pace (And my 21st birthday! :) )

October
October 4 - South Farm Hunter Pace
October 11 - Magnolia Waynesburg Hunter Pace
October 18 - Chagrin Valley Hunt Hunter Pace

Whew! That was exhausting to type out, let alone think about competing in all of those! I probably won't make it to all of that because it would be $$$, but those are the ones I'll be choosing from. I really hope I can do all the fall hunter paces, and am looking SO forward to mini camp!

Now...I just have to stay motivated towards these goals. I can do it!

Tomorrow - lunge work, a little flatwork and "XC Schooling" in the back pasture.

Dressage Clinic Update!

We went, we saw, and we conquered! Haha, not really. It was really fun though!

When I got to the farm Saturday morning, Luke was standing in his stall looking all sleepy after breakfast. I pulled him out and stuck him on a lunge line. He was not amused. For the first five minutes, it was like pulling teeth to even get a trot. Then he started cantering and bucking and got most of his excitement out.

We hopped on the trailer (Good boy Luke!), and off we went. When he came off the trailer, he looked around, and promptly started to graze. I stuck him in a stall and went to watch the canter group go. I learned a lot just by watching them.

Then it was our turn. I was nervous because I was afraid Luke was gonna explode, but I shouldn't have been worried. He was a little looky warming up and I thought he was going to explode, but he didn't. After a few minutes of warmup, our group lesson started.

I'm out of shape...or I just don't work hard enough in my riding time at home. I'm used to lots of walk breaks. We trotted for a good ten minutes. Luke wasn't winded, but I sure was. We worked a lot on bending (I did get used as a good example of using my corners though! Even if he was counterbent through them). She said that if I work on lateral flexion first, the rest will come, and he will start to be more supple and through and come into contact better. She said sometimes you have to sacrifice prettyness for accuracy. She said not to worry about him being on the bit, that that will come.

We did some circles, which weren't TOO terrible, but he still wants to speed up to get through them quickly. I should have worn spurs, I could NOT get him off my leg for anything. I wear spurs at home, but I figured I wouldn't need them for the clinic. She said that I just have to convince him that he wants to bend.

We worked on centerlines, and he actually came down centerline pretty straight. I was very proud of him. Then we rode our test. We just did Intro A. It wasn't the best test I've ever done, but it definitely wasn't the worst. It was better than at some shows, and I didn't even practice for Saturday! She said that she would like to see him a little less hollow and tense, and more relaxed, but that it would come with training. She really liked him and said we made a nice pair.

I feel a lot better now that we've gotten out and gone somewhere and it wasn't a disaster! I think the key is just to lunge him before we leave, and make sure he has plenty of time to chill once we get there! Now on to the dressage show at GreyMack on the 27th. I think someone was taking pictures on Saturday, if I get any, I'll post them! :)

New saddle and other fun stuff!

Sometime in the next week or two, my new saddle will be here! I'm super excited :) It's an older Crosby Olympia, but in great condition. I can't wait to try it out. Hopefully it will be a better fit than the wintec was. Luke's not too picky or hard to fit, so it will probably work out as long as it works for me.

We might be going to a dressage clinic on Saturday too :) If Molly's dad doesn't have to work and can take us, we'll be going to a little barn down the road for a ride-a-test clinic. It would be a great experience for Luke, who will hopefully not spaz out at everything. Silly boy.

On the 27th, we're going to a dressage show in North Canton. Hopefully that goes well too. I might make someone else ride him :)

Mini camp at South Farm is next month...crazy that it's coming up so soon. I'm sooo excited for it. That will probably be the first mini trial we show at too. I could possibly get a ride to Stone Gate on the 28th of this month, but I seem to have really bad luck there. I probably need to suck it up and go and have a good experience and get over it, but I'm nervous to now. It's like a mental block or something.

Hmm, I think that's all for updates. Luke had a couple of weeks off because his feet were long, but he just got new shoes yesterday and I was very impressed with the new farrier. Hopefully we have a few good rides soon that I can post about.

Show Anxiety Sucks....

And I just need to be more patient. It's not going to happen overnight. Maybe not even in 3 years. I need to figure out how to get over my anxiety and nerves, and give him a fair ride. I'm not sure which one of us starts the cycle of tenseness, but it doesn't go away. He's the most sensitive horse I've ever ridden, by far. I need to start taking him places, and just letting him chill. It'd be easier if I had a trailer. So I guess my goal for this year is to take him to as many places as I can. If we ride, great, if not, that's okay too. I need to have more patience, and maybe readjust my goals. They were originally baby beginner novice, which wouldn't be a problem for his skill level I don't think. It will just depend on if I can get him to go places without a meltdown.

In fairness to him, I didn't prepare as well as I should have for this last show. Since it was at home, I figured he'd be great. And I had a wonderful ride on him the day before, so I thought - "Yay! We CAN do this!" The big brown horse proved me wrong :) When I saw how hyped up he was, I should have taken him somewhere and just let him canter it out. But I wasn't sure where to do it...the round pen was flooded, horses were in the pastures, and the outdoor looked pretty muddy as well. Indoor was used for the show. But now I know for next time :) Even if there's a show at home, I need to set him up for success by letting him get all his running and bucking out BEFORE I get on and tense up.

Anyway...back to the recap. We got on, we walked, we trotted. Trotting was like riding a giraffe, but he settled a little. Since it was just a schooling show, I should have said heck with it and ridden him in the running martingale, but I was *trying* to practice for real shows. But we went in to our walk/trot Eq. class, and managed a 1st place. Mostly because I was riding against little little kids who didn't know their diagonals. So I felt really bad. But then in the next class we got 4th out of 4 because he was head up, cantering, etc. Completely inconsistent. So I redeemed myself, and didn't have to feel bad anymore :)

I put him back in his stall for a while, and thought maybe he'd chill. When I got back on a couple of hours later, he seemed a bit more relaxed. But wasn't really. When we did Intro A, he tried to trot out of the arena. Came down centerline sideways and wouldn't stop, etc. I'm sure it was entertaining for everyone watching. Intro B wasn't a whole lot better. Both tests were videotaped, I can't wait to watch those...not. But...whatever. I need to just chill with him. I went back out that night and rode him and he was great. Rode both tests and he was 100 times better. Ugh.

I don't know what to do anymore :( I wish I could fix me, because I'm sure that's the problem. We have the hunter pace on the 25th, and I'm nervous already. But I need to go into it with the attitude that he will be okay. We CAN do this. I just wish he had the rider/owner that he deserves...I feel like all his talent is going to waste!