Eric had me warm up slowly, asking for gradually increasing collection and bend. He wanted to see Buddy really stepping up and over underneath himself. Buddy was reasonably amenable, but very fresh. Thankfully over the past few months I've gotten comfortable enough with his level of energy that having a wound-up ball of this particular horse under me didn't completely freak me out.
Good thing, too - the next step was sitting trot. Buddy does NOT glide. He's bouncy. Very bouncy. (C volunteered to tape me, since she was handy and had her video camera, and I'm curious to see how that looked!) There are times being not-so-well endowed is a very good thing. A bra with less compression, and I would have been in pain....
On the plus side, the extra time I've been taking to stretch my calves and hamstrings out ever morning is paying off. Not only was I able to keep my heel well down and my lower leg wrapped solidly around Buddy's barrel, I could actually roll my heels up as needed and still keep the ball of my foot pressing into the stirrup. Hooray!
Moving to working trot, I still had a lot of horse. For the first half of the lesson it was a definite struggle to keep him from hanging on the bit and foraging ahead. The initial few passes of working trot I was posting much too enthusiastically, which didn't help matters any. Guess Buddy wasn't the only bouncy one! But after a reminder to stay low and controlled, he started to settle. Amazing what a difference being deliberate with your seat and weight makes.
Working trot in both direction Eric had me reversing continually across the circle, working on keeping Buddy's rate and frame consistent. I think I maybe managed one (two?) direction changes without a) letting him drop a shoulder, b) having his head pop up, c) looking down, or d) slowing down or speeding up and e) forgetting to switch my diagonals... Oi.
Finally, we moved on. Going right, Buddy is stiffer, particularly cantering. I think additional time walking and stretching would have helped loosen him up, but eventually his gait smoothed out and committed to carrying himself for longer periods rather than hanging on my hands.
Left is his preferred direction, but I have to be careful not to let him over-bend. He tends to want to bulge out with his outside shoulder, so I need more outside leg than going right. While left was better for Buddy collection-wise, it wasn't as good for me position-wise. As usually happens, when I roll my heels up, I didn't keep enough pressure back and down into the balls of my feet, and my stirrups slipped back. Phooey.
On the plus side, I'm getting pretty good at recovering the correct position once we're trotting again, but downward transitions end up being a complete hash of hollow horse and bouncing rider. Not pretty. Still, the first direction was good, so... progress. Back to the stairs and more stretching for me!
We called it quits after a last, semi-decent downward transition series from canter > working trot > collected walk. Buddy was sweaty and blowing. Likewise, me. I walked him for twenty minutes or so and finished up with a nice long rinse with cool water. Buddy' favorite part of the process.
Have to say, I'm not sure how Buddy felt post-ride, but I could definitely tell I'd had a workout. I'd happily have joined him in a soak and a nap!
The day's bonus was getting to watch/tape C's lesson with her lovely bay gelding Trinity. Her style of choice at present is western pleasure. The whole lesson was spent on a very small circle. (In comparison, I was using either half or the whole arena with Sunny, and half with Buddy. Eric had C using one corner, about 1/3 of the half I used.)
Eric had her spend a long time warming up, isolating Trinity's shoulder
and hip and asking him to move each in while staying on the same size
circle. Trinity has a tendency to attempt to spoof collection by
rolling over in front, but taking baby steps with his hind feet rather
than rounding up through his back and really stepping under himself.
Using this process, not only was she getting Trinity to isolate
and free up each body part as she asked, improving her control, but Eric
was also asking C to feel when he was using each properly. When C ultimately asked him to lope off, he was bringing his hip over, lifting his shoulders and back, and using his whole body more correctly.
Honestly? One of the few times I've ever seen a western pleasure lope executed in such a way that the horse is moving oh-so-slowly and actually didn't look crippled in the hind end. Even though Trinity's feet were moving at a snail's pace, the effect was one of lift - suspension - landing. C's lesson wasn't super long, but it was definitely educational.
Showing posts with label Buddy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buddy. Show all posts
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy
Bonus lesson this week. I wanted to see if I could work some more on the progress I made Wednesday, and since it's supposed to be over a 100' here again for the next while, I checked to see if Eric still had an hour free. Lucky me, he did.
Unfortunately, his opening was at 1 PM, so it was already pretty warm. Buddy was calm and almost sleepy in the crossties, and I was sweaty and hot by the time I had him brushed and tacked up. Eric elected to perch on the fence rather than riding, so I had the arena to myself.
With almost no air moving, we took plenty of time for warm-up. In addition to the usual, Eric had me ask for an exaggerated inside bend in both directions, encouraging Buddy to stretch along his back, stepping under and getting his hip underneath him, moving his shoulder in so he was almost turning on the forehand but still moving forward in a circle.
Once he was bending and giving softly, I widened the circle, still keeping him off the rail but asking him to stay collected and really round his back up. The slow, suspended walk they're asked to do for the show ring still seems slow and over-controlled to me. But we're starting to get it.
Moving on to trot, I concentrated on keeping the ball of my foot in the stirrup, really stretching down into my heels and keeping my hips rolled down. Watching the video that my mom took while she was here, I have a tendency to over-post, so I've been trying to just let Buddy's momentum give me a boost, instead of pushing up myself. And then there's keeping my shoulders back and my ribcage and chin up... Hopefully all of this stuff will eventually become automatic!
Cantering left went okay, although Wednesday's ride was better. It's my roughest gait. When I roll my heels up to ask Buddy to lift his barrel, I can't keep the ball of my foot pressed down and my stirrup ends up sliding back too far. Then, when Eric has me hand gallop in two-point, I end up tipped too far forward and balancing on his neck. It's better when I have tall boots or half-chaps on, because I get better grip with my calves.
So... I asked how to fix it. Apparently, the answer is more practice. And more stretching. I'm to spend some time every day on the stairs stretching out my hamstrings.
We didn't spend as long going right - Buddy was getting tired and hot, and the heat was getting to me, too. I walked him for quite a while, and he was still blowing and sweaty - there was just no air moving to help him cool off. Back in the barn, I pulled his tack and wraps, took him back to his stall to pee - which he doesn't like to do in the cross-ties, and who can blame him! - and then rinsed him off in cool, but not cold, water until he was cooled down. His stall has a fan, and he was more interested in cleaning up his hay when I turned him loose than his bucket, but when I checked on him a bit later his bucket was lower and he was dozing peacefully in his own personal breeze.
I hung out for a while, helping C hang some additional fans and chatting, then headed for the farm to get the boys checked on and fly-sprayed. They were dozing in the shade of the grain bin, content to greet me and be petted. I talked to Eric about working Sunny in the arena this week, but if it gets as warm as they're predicting, I'll give it a miss.
Unfortunately, his opening was at 1 PM, so it was already pretty warm. Buddy was calm and almost sleepy in the crossties, and I was sweaty and hot by the time I had him brushed and tacked up. Eric elected to perch on the fence rather than riding, so I had the arena to myself.
With almost no air moving, we took plenty of time for warm-up. In addition to the usual, Eric had me ask for an exaggerated inside bend in both directions, encouraging Buddy to stretch along his back, stepping under and getting his hip underneath him, moving his shoulder in so he was almost turning on the forehand but still moving forward in a circle.
Once he was bending and giving softly, I widened the circle, still keeping him off the rail but asking him to stay collected and really round his back up. The slow, suspended walk they're asked to do for the show ring still seems slow and over-controlled to me. But we're starting to get it.
Moving on to trot, I concentrated on keeping the ball of my foot in the stirrup, really stretching down into my heels and keeping my hips rolled down. Watching the video that my mom took while she was here, I have a tendency to over-post, so I've been trying to just let Buddy's momentum give me a boost, instead of pushing up myself. And then there's keeping my shoulders back and my ribcage and chin up... Hopefully all of this stuff will eventually become automatic!
Cantering left went okay, although Wednesday's ride was better. It's my roughest gait. When I roll my heels up to ask Buddy to lift his barrel, I can't keep the ball of my foot pressed down and my stirrup ends up sliding back too far. Then, when Eric has me hand gallop in two-point, I end up tipped too far forward and balancing on his neck. It's better when I have tall boots or half-chaps on, because I get better grip with my calves.
So... I asked how to fix it. Apparently, the answer is more practice. And more stretching. I'm to spend some time every day on the stairs stretching out my hamstrings.
We didn't spend as long going right - Buddy was getting tired and hot, and the heat was getting to me, too. I walked him for quite a while, and he was still blowing and sweaty - there was just no air moving to help him cool off. Back in the barn, I pulled his tack and wraps, took him back to his stall to pee - which he doesn't like to do in the cross-ties, and who can blame him! - and then rinsed him off in cool, but not cold, water until he was cooled down. His stall has a fan, and he was more interested in cleaning up his hay when I turned him loose than his bucket, but when I checked on him a bit later his bucket was lower and he was dozing peacefully in his own personal breeze.
I hung out for a while, helping C hang some additional fans and chatting, then headed for the farm to get the boys checked on and fly-sprayed. They were dozing in the shade of the grain bin, content to greet me and be petted. I talked to Eric about working Sunny in the arena this week, but if it gets as warm as they're predicting, I'll give it a miss.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and Sunny gets some arena time
I gave Sunny the night off last night, but Thunder and I did the tree weaving thing again. We even ventured out into the road a ways and checked out the mailbox. He would have continued quite happily down the gravel, but I chickened out. I'd started having visions of him suddenly realizing he was all by himself and deciding to head for home. Maybe one day soon I'll catch D going by on the pretty black and white paint he's starting, and fall in with him.
Sunny stood on the hill and watched me hook the trailer up this morning. When I walked out to catch them, he very deliberated turned and walked about twenty steps the other direction, glancing over his shoulder to check if I was really serious about collecting him. Then he heaved a big sigh, turned around and waited for me. Silly.
Getting them fly-sprayed and loaded up was the usual non-event. Every time I watch someone deal with a poor loader I say a little thank you that it's not an exciting part of my riding day!
Arriving at Eric's, I unloaded, made sure they were both securely fastened, and went in to get Buddy ready. There was a big palamino gelding raising a ruckus in the indoor when I cross-tied him. Not a restful horse. He'd back off from the gate twenty feet or so, then run at it sliding to a stop an the last second letting his nose or chin bang against the gate and setting it rattling. Thud-a-da-thud-a-da, thump! clang! bang! SNORT! followed by spin and kick whang!
Buddy was not amused, and wanted to crane around in the direction of all the activity, shaking his head and dancing accompaniment. Thankfully, O swapped out horses before I got to the point of polo wraps, and the next horse wasn't nearly as energetic. Once the palamino was gone, Buddy stopped fidgeting.
Slightly cooler temps and a nice breeze, not to mention an earlier start, made for a more energetic horse, and Buddy was definitely alive underneath me as soon as I settled into the saddle. Eric had me working on channeling all that extra horse into getting Buddy's shoulders lifted and his back up. We had a few moments today that felt close to brilliant. :)
Moving on to sitting trot, I focused hard on keeping my lower leg solid and not bouncing all over the place. Sitting trot is usually not a problem, but Sunny is a lot less bouncy than Buddy! Eventually we made a sufficiently good round of it and Eric asked for working trot. Hooray for posting!
During Saturday's lesson I spent a lot of time working my outside hand, attempting to shake Buddy off of it. He'll hang and get heavy or run through you if you let him. Today, however, the spirit of cooperation appeared to be at work and he was willing to carry his head and balance himself without too many reminders from me. Maybe I'm getting better at catching him before he pops up, too... At any rate, after some working trot/sitting trot transitions, it was up to the canter.
That was far and away better than Saturday. And hand gallop didn't make me feel quite so hung out on the edge of a cliff today, either. I know what the problem is - I lose my lower leg, and then it's 'Hello, cliff!' But I think I'm improving - I wore jeans again, rather than breeches and half-chaps, and my leg stayed pretty much where it was supposed to despite having less grip than the half-chaps provide.
After a breather for Buddy - and me - we switched directions and tackled the same program to the right. Right was better then left. Woo-hoo!
Buddy got a rinse-down in lukewarm water and a cookie - not sure which he enjoyed more, and then I watched the last half of Eric's next lesson while I tacked Sunny up. A rodeo junior queen contestant with a roping horse and a reining pattern to do as part of the queening contest next week... Let's just say "GO!" will not be a problem. Neither will stopping. But finding the lope in the middle? Pony was initially frustrated and confused, and by the time they finished up the little gal was very red in the face, but his ears had started to come forward and he was getting the hang of the program.
Eric had her doing what was basically a half-halt and release as soon as the gelding hesitated and slowed even a smidge. They were both trying really hard, so hopefully they'll get things sorted before their deadline.
A lot of go is definitely not a concern with Sunny - thankfully I remembered my spurs! We warmed up at a walk in both directions with bending, leg yields and some counter-bending, then started walking a big circle to the right; his good direction.
He rolled over at the poll and I could feel his back come up under me. Sweet. We made several circles at a walk then moved on to trot and eventually canter. Transitions to the right were steady and solid. He stayed relatively light and didn't try to poke his nose out too often - but I didn't want to get too excited, because we hadn't gone left yet.
After a pause to air up, I revered him and we started left. Nice round walk, check. Working trot with an inside bend, check. Canter transition... right lead. Darn it!
I dropped him to trot, waited for a corner, made sure my hands were correct and his hip was pushed in, and... right (wrong) again. The third or fourth time he took the left lead and stayed in it until I asked him to trot. A break to air up again, and I asked him for left lead again. No dice.
So.... Either he's sore again, although he seemed perfectly willing to flex his neck in either direction, and his back didn't seem ouchie when I pressed on him post-ride, or I'm doing something wrong (always a possibility), or... who knows. He is taking both leads on the lunge line, and since he's willing to bend for me, I don't think he's as sore as he was before, so that's something at least.
Sunny stood on the hill and watched me hook the trailer up this morning. When I walked out to catch them, he very deliberated turned and walked about twenty steps the other direction, glancing over his shoulder to check if I was really serious about collecting him. Then he heaved a big sigh, turned around and waited for me. Silly.
Getting them fly-sprayed and loaded up was the usual non-event. Every time I watch someone deal with a poor loader I say a little thank you that it's not an exciting part of my riding day!
Arriving at Eric's, I unloaded, made sure they were both securely fastened, and went in to get Buddy ready. There was a big palamino gelding raising a ruckus in the indoor when I cross-tied him. Not a restful horse. He'd back off from the gate twenty feet or so, then run at it sliding to a stop an the last second letting his nose or chin bang against the gate and setting it rattling. Thud-a-da-thud-a-da, thump! clang! bang! SNORT! followed by spin and kick whang!
Buddy was not amused, and wanted to crane around in the direction of all the activity, shaking his head and dancing accompaniment. Thankfully, O swapped out horses before I got to the point of polo wraps, and the next horse wasn't nearly as energetic. Once the palamino was gone, Buddy stopped fidgeting.
Slightly cooler temps and a nice breeze, not to mention an earlier start, made for a more energetic horse, and Buddy was definitely alive underneath me as soon as I settled into the saddle. Eric had me working on channeling all that extra horse into getting Buddy's shoulders lifted and his back up. We had a few moments today that felt close to brilliant. :)
Moving on to sitting trot, I focused hard on keeping my lower leg solid and not bouncing all over the place. Sitting trot is usually not a problem, but Sunny is a lot less bouncy than Buddy! Eventually we made a sufficiently good round of it and Eric asked for working trot. Hooray for posting!
During Saturday's lesson I spent a lot of time working my outside hand, attempting to shake Buddy off of it. He'll hang and get heavy or run through you if you let him. Today, however, the spirit of cooperation appeared to be at work and he was willing to carry his head and balance himself without too many reminders from me. Maybe I'm getting better at catching him before he pops up, too... At any rate, after some working trot/sitting trot transitions, it was up to the canter.
That was far and away better than Saturday. And hand gallop didn't make me feel quite so hung out on the edge of a cliff today, either. I know what the problem is - I lose my lower leg, and then it's 'Hello, cliff!' But I think I'm improving - I wore jeans again, rather than breeches and half-chaps, and my leg stayed pretty much where it was supposed to despite having less grip than the half-chaps provide.
After a breather for Buddy - and me - we switched directions and tackled the same program to the right. Right was better then left. Woo-hoo!
Buddy got a rinse-down in lukewarm water and a cookie - not sure which he enjoyed more, and then I watched the last half of Eric's next lesson while I tacked Sunny up. A rodeo junior queen contestant with a roping horse and a reining pattern to do as part of the queening contest next week... Let's just say "GO!" will not be a problem. Neither will stopping. But finding the lope in the middle? Pony was initially frustrated and confused, and by the time they finished up the little gal was very red in the face, but his ears had started to come forward and he was getting the hang of the program.
Eric had her doing what was basically a half-halt and release as soon as the gelding hesitated and slowed even a smidge. They were both trying really hard, so hopefully they'll get things sorted before their deadline.
A lot of go is definitely not a concern with Sunny - thankfully I remembered my spurs! We warmed up at a walk in both directions with bending, leg yields and some counter-bending, then started walking a big circle to the right; his good direction.
He rolled over at the poll and I could feel his back come up under me. Sweet. We made several circles at a walk then moved on to trot and eventually canter. Transitions to the right were steady and solid. He stayed relatively light and didn't try to poke his nose out too often - but I didn't want to get too excited, because we hadn't gone left yet.
After a pause to air up, I revered him and we started left. Nice round walk, check. Working trot with an inside bend, check. Canter transition... right lead. Darn it!
I dropped him to trot, waited for a corner, made sure my hands were correct and his hip was pushed in, and... right (wrong) again. The third or fourth time he took the left lead and stayed in it until I asked him to trot. A break to air up again, and I asked him for left lead again. No dice.
So.... Either he's sore again, although he seemed perfectly willing to flex his neck in either direction, and his back didn't seem ouchie when I pressed on him post-ride, or I'm doing something wrong (always a possibility), or... who knows. He is taking both leads on the lunge line, and since he's willing to bend for me, I don't think he's as sore as he was before, so that's something at least.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy
It's sort of sad when 80' feels cool...
But it was a lovely day today. The flies thought so too, as they were out in force. I'm trying Pyranha fly spray this year, and it seems to work fairly well... for about 10 minutes. But it's (slightly) less expensive than the Endure I used the last two years, and it works just as well, so... It has citronella oil in it, which smells good, but it surely does attract a lot of dust. I'd definitely recommend against using it on any white bits you want to stay bright and shiny..
At any rate, Eric was running behind when I got to the barn, so I hung out and chatted with C while I waited. Not sure where my head was today, but when Eric sent me to retrieve Buddy I returned with his next door neighbor (who I'd just returned to his stall minutes before after his turnout). Sheesh! My only excuse is the barn lights were out to cut down on heat, and Buddy and Fancy both stick their heads right in their halters.
We'll ignore the fact that Fancy's head is several inches longer than Buddy's. he's a good hand taller, doesn't have high white socks, and he's a gold chestnut, not red. Doh! Eric gave me a funny look and asked me if I was planning to ride Buddy, at which point I actually took a good look at poor Fancy who I'd removed from his dinner. It was dark over there, darn it!
Once I had the right horse in the crossties, grooming, polo wrapping all around and tacking up went smoothly. In the outdoor Buddy stood patiently while I got on... and realized I'd forgotten to refresh his fly spray. Thankfully one of the lookers-on took pity on those of us on horseback - I wasn't the only one whose pony needed a second spritz - and made the trek back to the barn for us.
Eric had two of us riding and C was also working her lovely bay gelding. It's a big arena though. And having a joint lesson actually meant I rode longer and Buddy got several nice breathers. It may have only been low 80's, but that's still warm when you're working. And if sweat means anything, we were working!
Buddy had a week off after Region 6, and with this past week in the 100's, I'm pretty sure all of the horses that aren't gearing up for a show in the near future, and/or being started had a break from riding, as well. We warmed up, then spent quite a while working on achieving a collected walk. Eventually he decided it was easier to cooperate than to continue going hollow with his nose stuck out, and we moved on to trot. Where we had the same discussion. He'd commit for long enough to get a release, hold it for a few strides, then pop back up.
Canter on Buddy's part was probably our best gait. On my part? I kept losing my lower leg - lack of practice showing up. When I had him nice and round and cantering evenly, Eric had me move up to hand gallop. Which was kind of a hot mess. If he'd tripped, I'd have gone right over his head. Half-chaps would have been a huge help. Guess what I wasn't wearing.
All in all, not our best lesson ever, but not a complete disaster. Our last couple of transitions were decent, and Buddy definitely enjoyed his bath. I have another set for Wednesday, and I'm taking Sunny/Thunder along so I can use the arena after my lesson. My poor pudgy pony has no idea what's in store for him. :)
But it was a lovely day today. The flies thought so too, as they were out in force. I'm trying Pyranha fly spray this year, and it seems to work fairly well... for about 10 minutes. But it's (slightly) less expensive than the Endure I used the last two years, and it works just as well, so... It has citronella oil in it, which smells good, but it surely does attract a lot of dust. I'd definitely recommend against using it on any white bits you want to stay bright and shiny..
At any rate, Eric was running behind when I got to the barn, so I hung out and chatted with C while I waited. Not sure where my head was today, but when Eric sent me to retrieve Buddy I returned with his next door neighbor (who I'd just returned to his stall minutes before after his turnout). Sheesh! My only excuse is the barn lights were out to cut down on heat, and Buddy and Fancy both stick their heads right in their halters.
We'll ignore the fact that Fancy's head is several inches longer than Buddy's. he's a good hand taller, doesn't have high white socks, and he's a gold chestnut, not red. Doh! Eric gave me a funny look and asked me if I was planning to ride Buddy, at which point I actually took a good look at poor Fancy who I'd removed from his dinner. It was dark over there, darn it!
Once I had the right horse in the crossties, grooming, polo wrapping all around and tacking up went smoothly. In the outdoor Buddy stood patiently while I got on... and realized I'd forgotten to refresh his fly spray. Thankfully one of the lookers-on took pity on those of us on horseback - I wasn't the only one whose pony needed a second spritz - and made the trek back to the barn for us.
Eric had two of us riding and C was also working her lovely bay gelding. It's a big arena though. And having a joint lesson actually meant I rode longer and Buddy got several nice breathers. It may have only been low 80's, but that's still warm when you're working. And if sweat means anything, we were working!
Buddy had a week off after Region 6, and with this past week in the 100's, I'm pretty sure all of the horses that aren't gearing up for a show in the near future, and/or being started had a break from riding, as well. We warmed up, then spent quite a while working on achieving a collected walk. Eventually he decided it was easier to cooperate than to continue going hollow with his nose stuck out, and we moved on to trot. Where we had the same discussion. He'd commit for long enough to get a release, hold it for a few strides, then pop back up.
Canter on Buddy's part was probably our best gait. On my part? I kept losing my lower leg - lack of practice showing up. When I had him nice and round and cantering evenly, Eric had me move up to hand gallop. Which was kind of a hot mess. If he'd tripped, I'd have gone right over his head. Half-chaps would have been a huge help. Guess what I wasn't wearing.
All in all, not our best lesson ever, but not a complete disaster. Our last couple of transitions were decent, and Buddy definitely enjoyed his bath. I have another set for Wednesday, and I'm taking Sunny/Thunder along so I can use the arena after my lesson. My poor pudgy pony has no idea what's in store for him. :)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Having fallen off the map...
The bathrooms - yes, plural - are 99.9% done. We ended up with extra paint when we finished the first one, so the downstairs got a new coat of paint, new mirror and light fixture, and we re-purposed the vanity, sink and towel bars from upstairs. Two sides of the house have their first coat of new paint... Menards loves me! And we managed to squeeze in a trip to IA to visit relatives.
In horse news, I decided to use expand my horizons and show Buddy at the Region 6 Arabian Championships in Lincoln last week. I did the pre-show, too, as I needed a few more points to qualify so altogether I rode him in 5 classes, and Eric rode him in one.
It was hot, but the facility was gorgeous. If you ever have a chance to show at the Lancaster Event Center, don't hesitate. Big stalls, lots of good ventilation, plenty of warm-up space, and a good PA system.
I got down there on Wednesday afternoon, the day before the pre-show. My "lesson" that evening with Buddy did not go so well. He was very fresh and ended up spending a lot of time on the longe line. By the time I was finally given the okay, we did about 2 rounds of the arena and called it good.
I was thankful I'd had the okay from Eric to go ride him the week before while Eric and co. were at Region 10 in Minnesota. I wasn't too worried about his antics - he did the same thing in Sioux Falls at the Spring Show. And sure enough, when our first class was called the next morning he was in fine form.
We had a nice ride and scored a blue from one judge and a second place red from the other. It was a confidence booster for sure - which I needed, since our second class resulted in 4th and 6th placings.
The ride felt good though, so I was happy. The one thing I would have changed was Buddy's reluctance to stand in the line-up.
Friday's first class was going great - until I bobbled a lead. I'd no sooner fixed that than he spooked at the stands. We top fived, but in a class of three, it was nothing to write home about. And the line-up wasn't any better. Still, I was having fun. And the second class of the day resulted in what felt like the best ride of the week We top-fived again, but again, class of five horses, so our best thus far although plenty good enough to please me, wasn't quite impressive enough for the judges. And he was awful in the line-up again... apparently, neither end was to his liking, so we walked in circles.
I seriously debated calling it a weekend with that class and just having Eric go ahead with him in Hunter Pleasure Open. But... Saturday morning I was the first rider of Eric's crew on deck to go, and with everyone focused on getting the two of us ready, we were both dressed and on our way to the main arena before I had too much time to think about it.
Good thing, too. Our final outing was the Arabian Hunter Pleasure Select Rider class. We made it to the main arena just ahead of a cats & dogs downpour complete with booming and flashing. With minimal warm-up and the heavens streaming down, we nailed every transition. Buddy was light and round and soft, and when we lined up I took C's advice and stuck us smack in the middle of the eight horse row. Honestly, at that point I wasn't too worried about where we'd placed. I just gave him his head and told him he was done. And he was perfectly content to just stand there.
We ended up reserve champions. So altogether we ended up with an armful of ribbons and one nice wooden plaque...
Not too shabby for our first big show - LOL! It was a long, hot, sweaty five days. Eric was incredibly patient and encouraging. C, who grooms for him, is an absolute saint and was kind enough let me help so that I was able to stay too busy to get nervous and sick with it. R and L and their daughters were wonderful, as well, offering assistance and encouragement. Thanks to L and C, I had a proper English "bun of steel" and it was even comfortable.
Still not sure I'm sold on the whole showing thing, but I have to admit it was a lot of fun.
In horse news, I decided to use expand my horizons and show Buddy at the Region 6 Arabian Championships in Lincoln last week. I did the pre-show, too, as I needed a few more points to qualify so altogether I rode him in 5 classes, and Eric rode him in one.
It was hot, but the facility was gorgeous. If you ever have a chance to show at the Lancaster Event Center, don't hesitate. Big stalls, lots of good ventilation, plenty of warm-up space, and a good PA system.
I got down there on Wednesday afternoon, the day before the pre-show. My "lesson" that evening with Buddy did not go so well. He was very fresh and ended up spending a lot of time on the longe line. By the time I was finally given the okay, we did about 2 rounds of the arena and called it good.
I was thankful I'd had the okay from Eric to go ride him the week before while Eric and co. were at Region 10 in Minnesota. I wasn't too worried about his antics - he did the same thing in Sioux Falls at the Spring Show. And sure enough, when our first class was called the next morning he was in fine form.
We had a nice ride and scored a blue from one judge and a second place red from the other. It was a confidence booster for sure - which I needed, since our second class resulted in 4th and 6th placings.
The ride felt good though, so I was happy. The one thing I would have changed was Buddy's reluctance to stand in the line-up.
Friday's first class was going great - until I bobbled a lead. I'd no sooner fixed that than he spooked at the stands. We top fived, but in a class of three, it was nothing to write home about. And the line-up wasn't any better. Still, I was having fun. And the second class of the day resulted in what felt like the best ride of the week We top-fived again, but again, class of five horses, so our best thus far although plenty good enough to please me, wasn't quite impressive enough for the judges. And he was awful in the line-up again... apparently, neither end was to his liking, so we walked in circles.
I seriously debated calling it a weekend with that class and just having Eric go ahead with him in Hunter Pleasure Open. But... Saturday morning I was the first rider of Eric's crew on deck to go, and with everyone focused on getting the two of us ready, we were both dressed and on our way to the main arena before I had too much time to think about it.
Good thing, too. Our final outing was the Arabian Hunter Pleasure Select Rider class. We made it to the main arena just ahead of a cats & dogs downpour complete with booming and flashing. With minimal warm-up and the heavens streaming down, we nailed every transition. Buddy was light and round and soft, and when we lined up I took C's advice and stuck us smack in the middle of the eight horse row. Honestly, at that point I wasn't too worried about where we'd placed. I just gave him his head and told him he was done. And he was perfectly content to just stand there.
We ended up reserve champions. So altogether we ended up with an armful of ribbons and one nice wooden plaque...
Not too shabby for our first big show - LOL! It was a long, hot, sweaty five days. Eric was incredibly patient and encouraging. C, who grooms for him, is an absolute saint and was kind enough let me help so that I was able to stay too busy to get nervous and sick with it. R and L and their daughters were wonderful, as well, offering assistance and encouragement. Thanks to L and C, I had a proper English "bun of steel" and it was even comfortable.
Still not sure I'm sold on the whole showing thing, but I have to admit it was a lot of fun.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy indoors, and Sunny bends
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| Sunny channels his inner camel |
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| And shows off his flexibility |
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| a lot of time... |
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| Standing and sitting in the bathtub. |
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| It's coming together |
On Thursday, lesson day was chilly and damp. We ended up indoors due to almost two inches of rain the day before leaving the outdoor still draining.
Once again Eric had me focusing consistency and rate, but also on bringing Buddy's back and shoulders up. He's still rolling over at the poll and getting behind the bit rather than actually engaging fully and getting soft and round when I ask him for more collection. So... after some working trot and canter while Buddy had a break to walk, air up and stretch, Eric told me to see how far down I could get him to stretch. Walking "on the buckle" with his head lowered would give him a chance to really stretch his back and neck out - a release from the collection I'd been asking for.
To encourage him to stretch, Eric had me ask for an inside bend, and then as soon as Buddy softened and rolled over at the poll, release to him. It took a few repetitions of bend, soften, release, but by the time we'd walked a few laps his nose approaching the ground and he'd really relaxed.
When I gathered him back up and clucked him back into a trot, Eric had me do the same thing trotting - inside bend, wait for him to soften, then release - to see how low I could get him there. Once we went back to a normal working trot, when I asked Buddy to collect and engage, he was much softer. Pretty cool, actually - I'll definitely have to try it with Sunny.
By the time we called it a ride Buddy was sweaty, I was sweaty, and I could definitely feel my legs protesting. But it's a good sore, right? LOL!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and Sunny with a chance of cows
This past week has been bathroom week with a side of electrical issues and freezer meltdown - unfortunately, literally on that last. We're now the proud owners of a new chest freezer, the kitchen fan is no longer an light-up-my-life hazard, and the bathroom has been gutted, the new window is in, and it's well on it's way to new paint and tile.
All of which is lovely, but combined with work has meant I haven't had much pony time. A few bareback pasture-go-rounds when I go out to fly spray and that's about it.
Sunny celebrated his 10th birthday on Thursday with an escape into the cow pasture. Someone didn't rehook the electric wire at the gate, and both boys just walked right across a low spot. Thankfully they were fine out with the cows until we got there to retrieve them.
Yesterday was lesson day. It was in the 60's and just barely rainy - much better than last week's wind and 90's! I had a good ride for the most part, although Buddy needs his shoes reset. Not having had time to ride, I'd reviewed the video my mom shot several times through and tried visualizing myself doing things more correctly than I looked to be doing them. Apparently it worked, at least in part.
I made some progress on rating him at the canter and on keeping my seat deep. Eric says I'm starting to use my weight better - which must be why I'm starting to feel more secure. Unfortunately, I'm still tipping forward too much - anyone know if those core exercise work as far as promoting better posture?
Surprisingly for a Friday, the barn was quiet. Buddy got a nice long warm bath post-ride, and I learned to braid a tail. Not so practical for fly season, but he's inside, and has a fan, so... Actually, I'm not a fan of really long, drag-on-the-ground show tails period. One that's nice and thick at fetlock-length looks better - but that's just my opinion, which obviously isn't shared by the majority of the show world!
Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone's getting lots of quality family time, horse time and riding time!
All of which is lovely, but combined with work has meant I haven't had much pony time. A few bareback pasture-go-rounds when I go out to fly spray and that's about it.
Sunny celebrated his 10th birthday on Thursday with an escape into the cow pasture. Someone didn't rehook the electric wire at the gate, and both boys just walked right across a low spot. Thankfully they were fine out with the cows until we got there to retrieve them.
Yesterday was lesson day. It was in the 60's and just barely rainy - much better than last week's wind and 90's! I had a good ride for the most part, although Buddy needs his shoes reset. Not having had time to ride, I'd reviewed the video my mom shot several times through and tried visualizing myself doing things more correctly than I looked to be doing them. Apparently it worked, at least in part.
I made some progress on rating him at the canter and on keeping my seat deep. Eric says I'm starting to use my weight better - which must be why I'm starting to feel more secure. Unfortunately, I'm still tipping forward too much - anyone know if those core exercise work as far as promoting better posture?
Surprisingly for a Friday, the barn was quiet. Buddy got a nice long warm bath post-ride, and I learned to braid a tail. Not so practical for fly season, but he's inside, and has a fan, so... Actually, I'm not a fan of really long, drag-on-the-ground show tails period. One that's nice and thick at fetlock-length looks better - but that's just my opinion, which obviously isn't shared by the majority of the show world!
Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone's getting lots of quality family time, horse time and riding time!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, and are my legs ever tired!
I had company yesterday for my lesson - my mom came along, and took lots of pictures and some high def video that my laptop doesn't like. We picked up the horse trailer and the boys on the way, all of us already sweaty at 11 AM in 90' heat. The wind, gusting past 30 mph, kept it tolerable but the flies were sticking and biting, and it felt like storm coming in.
We arrived early at Eric's with plenty of time to get the horses out and fly spray reapplied. I left the boys tied in the shade of the trailer, and we wandered over to watch the remainder of the lesson before mine. One of Eric's junior riders... maybe someday I'll grow up to ride as well as she does!
We chatted through tacking up, and then it was my turn with Buddy. I decided to try using the Thinline halfpad on Buddy too, right under the riser pad I usually use - not sure how much good it will do, but it's at least some extra cushion and not enough thickness to make a discernible difference in terms of saddle fit/girth length.
I could really tell I'd had some time off, and not in a good way. And I discovered as I attempted to get my foot level with the stirrup to mount that I'd worn jeans with no stretch. Stretchy is much better, especially when your pants are already sticking to you.
Overall, I'd rate my riding this lesson a C+. It was a good lesson work-wise, but I was struggling to keep Buddy round and consistently rated. On the positive side of the column, my canter transitions were felt good and were apparently some of my best yet, so at least that was something. With the heat, I wasn't sorry to have a slightly shorter lesson than normal. Buddy was sweaty, I was sweaty, and we were both ready for a break when we agreed that I was starting to run out of horse.
The shade and the fans in the barn felt wonderful. Buddy got a lukewarm rinse-down, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I got at least my arms wet, which felt pretty darn good.
Then it was Sunny's turn - Eric had a break between lessons for lunch, so I had the arena to myself. I decided to go ahead and use the all-purpose saddle with the Thinline halfpad. He's too fat to try stuffing any more padding underneath there.
Once more into the saddle muttering at the denim stuck to me. It wasn't until I was on that I realized I'd neglected to add spurs to my outfit, but I wasn't getting off again. Which is why practically every picture my mom took has shows my heels rolling up into Sunny's sides.
He was not overly energetic. But he did find lots of things along the edges of the arena to look at.
We did the usual warm-up stuff - bending and moving hips and shoulders in and out in each direction, small circles, some spirals at walk and trot. Then right lead canter, which he of course nailed. Then we reversed and tried left.
Hooray! I'm still having to be really deliberate about setting him up for the left lead, but he's taking it. I think he may still be anticipating it hurting, so hopefully it will get better.
Both directions a couple of times, and that was that. We packed up, loaded up and headed for home.
I may have some video to post later - I can't seem to get it to load at the moment. Maybe I'll have better luck later.
We arrived early at Eric's with plenty of time to get the horses out and fly spray reapplied. I left the boys tied in the shade of the trailer, and we wandered over to watch the remainder of the lesson before mine. One of Eric's junior riders... maybe someday I'll grow up to ride as well as she does!
We chatted through tacking up, and then it was my turn with Buddy. I decided to try using the Thinline halfpad on Buddy too, right under the riser pad I usually use - not sure how much good it will do, but it's at least some extra cushion and not enough thickness to make a discernible difference in terms of saddle fit/girth length.
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| No spurs required |
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| Yee-haw |
Overall, I'd rate my riding this lesson a C+. It was a good lesson work-wise, but I was struggling to keep Buddy round and consistently rated. On the positive side of the column, my canter transitions were felt good and were apparently some of my best yet, so at least that was something. With the heat, I wasn't sorry to have a slightly shorter lesson than normal. Buddy was sweaty, I was sweaty, and we were both ready for a break when we agreed that I was starting to run out of horse.
The shade and the fans in the barn felt wonderful. Buddy got a lukewarm rinse-down, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I got at least my arms wet, which felt pretty darn good.
Then it was Sunny's turn - Eric had a break between lessons for lunch, so I had the arena to myself. I decided to go ahead and use the all-purpose saddle with the Thinline halfpad. He's too fat to try stuffing any more padding underneath there.
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| Can't you just see the enthusiasm rolling off him? |
Once more into the saddle muttering at the denim stuck to me. It wasn't until I was on that I realized I'd neglected to add spurs to my outfit, but I wasn't getting off again. Which is why practically every picture my mom took has shows my heels rolling up into Sunny's sides.
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| I really want my spurs! |
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| A very scary orange cone |
We did the usual warm-up stuff - bending and moving hips and shoulders in and out in each direction, small circles, some spirals at walk and trot. Then right lead canter, which he of course nailed. Then we reversed and tried left.
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| Success! |
Both directions a couple of times, and that was that. We packed up, loaded up and headed for home.
I may have some video to post later - I can't seem to get it to load at the moment. Maybe I'll have better luck later.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Lesson Day: Sunny, Buddy, and best laid plans...
~Sunny~
Sunny, like most horses, goes more easily in one direction. But he'll usually take the correct lead when queued without too much drama. Not yesterday, at least not going left. I worked and worked and worked, and no matter how well I had him set up, he'd just torque his whole body around until he could get his right shoulder forward. Out of probably 35 attempts, I got him to take the correct lead a grand total of twice.
Once he was finally in it, he held it easily enough with no apparent bobbles, without breaking and without protest.
After the second correct effort, Eric had me switch directions and go right - he took that lead easily enough, but kept craning his head to the outside, and he stumbled a couple of times. Something just didn't feel quite right, although he still didn't seem to be actually favoring anything.
I'd had the same issue with canter left on Tuesday when I rode - I blamed it on rider error then, because canter departures are still something I struggle with, and the ground is pretty uneven. But after having me walk and then trot him again in both directions, Eric had me get off, and he tried canter left to see if he could feel where the problem was any better from on top. No luck, but Sunny did exactly the same thing with him to the left that he did with me, which definitively rules out rider error.
Eric flexed him and then had me trot him off, but Sunny trotted off square after that, too. Whatever we poked, pushed, prodded and manipulated, nothing seemed to bother him, but something is definitely wrong. This just didn't feel like naughty-horse attitude. So... we won't be showing on Saturday.
Eric suggested just doing the schooling walk-trot if I still wanted to take him, but given the footing which I know is really deep, the weather, which is crumby, and the two hour trailer ride... no sense pushing things. There will be other shows.
Sunny has an appointment at the vet on Tuesday to see if they can determine what/where the problem is, and if they don't find anything specific, I may make an appointment with the chiropractor. Since Sunny's happy enough running and playing in the pasture, and nothing's sore, warm, swollen or otherwise visibly wrong, he'll get a couple of (more) days completely off until the vet visit, and we'll see what happens.
~Buddy~
After that debacle, it was Buddy's turn. He nickered at me, flipped his mane and snuffled me with every appearance of being pleased to see me, stuffing his nose readily into his halter. His new front shoes rang on the concrete barn floor like a regular-sized horse's instead of the Clydesdale he sounded like before - much better!
I didn't rush grooming, even though he was pretty much clean barring a few flecks of sawdust. He earned a bit of fussing this past weekend, and he enjoys it so thoroughly, it's hard to resist spending an extra few minutes.
Tacked and on board, Eric had me working on rate since that's were I had the most issues at last weekend's show. The familiarity of home is less distracting, but with Buddy rested and refreshed, there was still no shortage of forward to work with. Slowing him down and then maintaining speed until told to change was just as challenging as usual, but he's holding frame and collection on his own for longer. I love that light, floaty feeling when he's carrying himself.
In the smaller indoor my tendency to let my outside leg drift forward was, as always, more pronounced, but to my great relief canter transitions in both directions were smooth. It was a good lesson, not least because with back to back rides it was easy to tell where I'm inconsistent, and where I need to be quicker to adjust to each horse's particular quirks and personality.
And that was my ride time for this week. I'll still go to the show tomorrow and be moral support and an extra pair of hands. Eric's only taking five horses, so I'm guessing things will be a lot lower key. Definitely less stressful for me, that's for sure!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Spring Show, Day Two
Sunday started early, although not as early as it would have had there been horses in halter. By 7 a.m. all the horses had fresh water, morning hay, and the ones in the early classes were getting longed and/or groomed.
Buddy and I were the first ones on C's slate of classes - she was riding her horse Trinity shortly after, so the two of us headed out to the main arena to longe the two horses. Surprisingly, neither of the two wanted to play. Buddy settled into a workman-like trot, not even bothering to snort at the pinto gelding circling at a brisk lope next to us.
The footing where I ended up was deep, and since he didn't show any signs of wanting to bounce around, I let him stay at a trot. I didn't have a watch on, but we did somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes in both directions - long enough for him to be warm-ish and not quite puffing.
Back in his stall with a cooler on, he sighed, cocked a hip and went to sleep. It was a brief nap, however - very quickly it was time for braiding and for tack for him and another quick change for me.
One of the weirdest things about showing with a group? I didn't get to tack my own horse. I saddled, unsaddled, wrapped legs, brushed, watered, fluffed tails, distributed hay, and tacked Buddy for Eric's rides, but for my classes someone else saddled him - I was supposed to stay clean.
I can count on one hand the number of times I've had someone else saddle my horse for me since I was tall enough and strong enough to tighten a cinch myself, and I can honestly say the novelty won't grow on me. While I appreciated the luxury, it was definitely strange.
There was plenty of time to warm up, and Buddy felt smooth and confident under me. I remember thinking, "I hope he feels this good in the class!" I suspect he heard me, because he was certainly suspiciously cooperative - until our class was called.
Once again, I entered first, but this time I managed to count how many were in with me. It was easy enough, since we'd already made most of one lap by the time the other two entered. Circling, I did my best to keep Buddy rated back, but he wasn't interested in slow. His nap was a lot more effective than my morning caffeine!
I did manage to keep him in better frame than the night before, I think, but Eric kept signalling me to slow him down. The best I could do was steady him and try to make my ride look as effortless as it really wasn't. The first canter transition I didn't get his hip in enough and he caught the wrong lead, but I felt it and was able to bring him back to a trot and ask again with better luck. Either the judge missed our bobble or one of the other riders did something more unforgivable, because when she called for a line-up I left the ring with another red ribbon. Her only comment to me? "Fresh this morning, isn't he?" Yup.
E untacked Buddy and threw a cooler on him while I changed. Then it was all hands on deck to get the western pleasure horses and the reiners wrapped, tacked and over to the warm-up ring. C rode and took a blue, but I missed it holding a horse. Eric was in and out, hopping on to warm up the Country English horses and then changing gears to the more sedate western pleasure. I went where pointed, held what was handed to me, ran for electrical tape to fasten wraps and forgotten numbers, and just generally had a great time.
Sunday's judge was a brisk one, and classes clicked by at a steady rate helped by the fact that the numbers were a bit thinner than on Saturday. For some, I think the regional show for Region 10 in Saint Paul is a much closer drive than the the one in Lincoln, Nebraska for Region 6, so they didn't stay.
Eric's second ride on Buddy resulted in another blue ribbon. He made it look effortless. Back in his stall, I took Buddy's mane down for the second time and turned him loose to eat, drink and nap until it was time to get ready again. In the meantime, the six or seven junior riders scrambled in and out of Country English, costume, show hack and western pleasure garb and back in again, sometimes multiple times. Parents scurried around, E and C ticked off classes, shuttled horses, and made the whole machine run smoothly. I don't think either of them sat down once all day for longer than 30 seconds at a stretch.
Time flew by - helped out by the decision to cut the supper break to 15 minutes - and it was time for Buddy and I to go out again. Eric shooed me off to dress, although at least I managed to fly through my change quickly enough to get back in time to at least help get Buddy tacked up. We didn't do much warm-up, I just walked some easy circles in the hold area outside the ring. Buddy was alert and paying attention, and when the gate opened, in we trotted, me prepared for a repeat of the morning's tug-o-war.
What I wasn't prepared for was how tired he was. Our trot was great. The canter transition was correct, but it felt like the transition to hand gallop wasn't coming and wasn't coming, and he broke to trot in front of the judge before I could catch him. I sent him right back up, but when he did it again going the other way, I was pretty sure we wouldn't place well. In fact, we did better than I'd anticipated, ending up with a third place ribbon.
Eric was disappointed, as he'd wanted me to qualify for another class for regionals - I was more than satisfied. Buddy was tired, I was tired, and he gave it a good effort. I just wasn't prepared for him to run out of steam, and I didn't help him enough. Eric saw it too, and although he'd intended to ride him in open hunter pleasure later in the evening, he scratched. Buddy was done.
Once again, someone else pulled tack. I rehung my soggy shirt and breeches, played a completely different kind of tug-of-war getting my boots off, stepped into my jeans and yanked my much slobbered upon, very dirty sweatshirt back over my head. Buddy was standing patiently in his stall, tied and still braided, but it was the work of only a few moments to fingercomb his braids out and resettle him in his blanket. A clean damp rag to wipe off the shiny eye goop, and I turned him loose so he could relax.
The handful of classes left went by in a more relaxed fashion. C showed me how to braid and sock tails, and I helped with that, then made the rounds with more clean damp rags to make clean faces. Parents started trailing by with garment bags full of show clothes. The girls emerged from the dressing room in jeans and sans glittery hair jewelry. Horses dozed standing, hips cocked or in a couple cases, flat out in their stalls. The show was winding down, and with the last of Eric's horses back, suddenly it was time to start packing up.
I stayed to help with the breakdown, both because I hate being one of those people that lets someone else do all the dirty work and because quite frankly I was having a good time. I wasn't the only one. Many hands made lighter work, and by nine the first load of horses was well on the way home, tack was packed, and all of the curtains were down, rugs folded, and everyone had a chance to finally sit down for a bit. With enough hands left to do the final load out, I headed for home, another hour's drive in front of me before I could call it a night.
All in all? It was an interesting experience. Everyone was more than kind, and made me feel really welcome. I learned. A lot. I'm still pretty sure I'm not cut out for showing on that level, but it was an adrenaline trip I won't forget in a hurry.
I took a Tylenol and fell into bed, waking up this morning to the reality of a ton of dirty laundry, a lawn with knee high dandylions, and two lawn mowers that refuse to start. Gotta love Mondays. And Sunny, Thunder and I are going to do this again next weekend? I must be nuts!
Buddy and I were the first ones on C's slate of classes - she was riding her horse Trinity shortly after, so the two of us headed out to the main arena to longe the two horses. Surprisingly, neither of the two wanted to play. Buddy settled into a workman-like trot, not even bothering to snort at the pinto gelding circling at a brisk lope next to us.
The footing where I ended up was deep, and since he didn't show any signs of wanting to bounce around, I let him stay at a trot. I didn't have a watch on, but we did somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes in both directions - long enough for him to be warm-ish and not quite puffing.
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| Nap-time |
Back in his stall with a cooler on, he sighed, cocked a hip and went to sleep. It was a brief nap, however - very quickly it was time for braiding and for tack for him and another quick change for me.
One of the weirdest things about showing with a group? I didn't get to tack my own horse. I saddled, unsaddled, wrapped legs, brushed, watered, fluffed tails, distributed hay, and tacked Buddy for Eric's rides, but for my classes someone else saddled him - I was supposed to stay clean.
I can count on one hand the number of times I've had someone else saddle my horse for me since I was tall enough and strong enough to tighten a cinch myself, and I can honestly say the novelty won't grow on me. While I appreciated the luxury, it was definitely strange.
There was plenty of time to warm up, and Buddy felt smooth and confident under me. I remember thinking, "I hope he feels this good in the class!" I suspect he heard me, because he was certainly suspiciously cooperative - until our class was called.
Once again, I entered first, but this time I managed to count how many were in with me. It was easy enough, since we'd already made most of one lap by the time the other two entered. Circling, I did my best to keep Buddy rated back, but he wasn't interested in slow. His nap was a lot more effective than my morning caffeine!
I did manage to keep him in better frame than the night before, I think, but Eric kept signalling me to slow him down. The best I could do was steady him and try to make my ride look as effortless as it really wasn't. The first canter transition I didn't get his hip in enough and he caught the wrong lead, but I felt it and was able to bring him back to a trot and ask again with better luck. Either the judge missed our bobble or one of the other riders did something more unforgivable, because when she called for a line-up I left the ring with another red ribbon. Her only comment to me? "Fresh this morning, isn't he?" Yup.
E untacked Buddy and threw a cooler on him while I changed. Then it was all hands on deck to get the western pleasure horses and the reiners wrapped, tacked and over to the warm-up ring. C rode and took a blue, but I missed it holding a horse. Eric was in and out, hopping on to warm up the Country English horses and then changing gears to the more sedate western pleasure. I went where pointed, held what was handed to me, ran for electrical tape to fasten wraps and forgotten numbers, and just generally had a great time.
Sunday's judge was a brisk one, and classes clicked by at a steady rate helped by the fact that the numbers were a bit thinner than on Saturday. For some, I think the regional show for Region 10 in Saint Paul is a much closer drive than the the one in Lincoln, Nebraska for Region 6, so they didn't stay.
Eric's second ride on Buddy resulted in another blue ribbon. He made it look effortless. Back in his stall, I took Buddy's mane down for the second time and turned him loose to eat, drink and nap until it was time to get ready again. In the meantime, the six or seven junior riders scrambled in and out of Country English, costume, show hack and western pleasure garb and back in again, sometimes multiple times. Parents scurried around, E and C ticked off classes, shuttled horses, and made the whole machine run smoothly. I don't think either of them sat down once all day for longer than 30 seconds at a stretch.
Time flew by - helped out by the decision to cut the supper break to 15 minutes - and it was time for Buddy and I to go out again. Eric shooed me off to dress, although at least I managed to fly through my change quickly enough to get back in time to at least help get Buddy tacked up. We didn't do much warm-up, I just walked some easy circles in the hold area outside the ring. Buddy was alert and paying attention, and when the gate opened, in we trotted, me prepared for a repeat of the morning's tug-o-war.
What I wasn't prepared for was how tired he was. Our trot was great. The canter transition was correct, but it felt like the transition to hand gallop wasn't coming and wasn't coming, and he broke to trot in front of the judge before I could catch him. I sent him right back up, but when he did it again going the other way, I was pretty sure we wouldn't place well. In fact, we did better than I'd anticipated, ending up with a third place ribbon.
Eric was disappointed, as he'd wanted me to qualify for another class for regionals - I was more than satisfied. Buddy was tired, I was tired, and he gave it a good effort. I just wasn't prepared for him to run out of steam, and I didn't help him enough. Eric saw it too, and although he'd intended to ride him in open hunter pleasure later in the evening, he scratched. Buddy was done.
Once again, someone else pulled tack. I rehung my soggy shirt and breeches, played a completely different kind of tug-of-war getting my boots off, stepped into my jeans and yanked my much slobbered upon, very dirty sweatshirt back over my head. Buddy was standing patiently in his stall, tied and still braided, but it was the work of only a few moments to fingercomb his braids out and resettle him in his blanket. A clean damp rag to wipe off the shiny eye goop, and I turned him loose so he could relax.
The handful of classes left went by in a more relaxed fashion. C showed me how to braid and sock tails, and I helped with that, then made the rounds with more clean damp rags to make clean faces. Parents started trailing by with garment bags full of show clothes. The girls emerged from the dressing room in jeans and sans glittery hair jewelry. Horses dozed standing, hips cocked or in a couple cases, flat out in their stalls. The show was winding down, and with the last of Eric's horses back, suddenly it was time to start packing up.
I stayed to help with the breakdown, both because I hate being one of those people that lets someone else do all the dirty work and because quite frankly I was having a good time. I wasn't the only one. Many hands made lighter work, and by nine the first load of horses was well on the way home, tack was packed, and all of the curtains were down, rugs folded, and everyone had a chance to finally sit down for a bit. With enough hands left to do the final load out, I headed for home, another hour's drive in front of me before I could call it a night.
All in all? It was an interesting experience. Everyone was more than kind, and made me feel really welcome. I learned. A lot. I'm still pretty sure I'm not cut out for showing on that level, but it was an adrenaline trip I won't forget in a hurry.
I took a Tylenol and fell into bed, waking up this morning to the reality of a ton of dirty laundry, a lawn with knee high dandylions, and two lawn mowers that refuse to start. Gotta love Mondays. And Sunny, Thunder and I are going to do this again next weekend? I must be nuts!
Spring Show Day One - Saturday
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| Buddy (a.k.a Shalisahn) |
Thanks to the supreme efficiency of a mother-daughter team who managed the list of who was in what, wearing what, and when, and juggled tack, riders and horses accordingly, Eric was free to stay near the warm-up area either riding or coaching, dispensing encouragement and displaying an amazing amount of patience, not to mention endurance. The exact horse count eludes me, but there were between 15 and 20, and of the 80 classes, he was either riding or had horses and riders in well over half of them. No halter horses, which at least made the mornings a little less early and much less hectic.
Classes ranged between one and six or so entries, so they weren't huge, which was nice. The judge on Saturday was a bit more leisurely with her pacing than Sunday's. Even so, Eric's class with Buddy snuck up and bit us in the butt. Back-to-back classes right before left him no time for warm-up, and a too-loose braid (my fault) on Buddy saw him doing a quick re-braid as they called his class. Luckily, a gate-hold gave him just enough time to be on and in without too much delay.
Even with a very forward Buddy who was still channeling his inner English Pleasure horse, Eric made earning his blue ribbon look easy. I made mental notes on the judge's timing for gait transitions, not that it did me much good, as the judges both days were fans of changing up the order.
I didn't ride until after the supper break, but I kept busy enough during the wait before my class that I didn't have time to be nervous. Mom and daughter were politely cautious, and properly, cautious of my offer to assist at first, but as I said to both of them, "If there's something you think I can do that needs doing, point me at it. If I'm in your way, tell me to get out of it - I won't take offense." And once they determined that I a) meant it, b) knew which bits of a horse to stay out from under, and c) could take direction, they gradually assigned me more responsible tasks.
It seemed like no time at all before Eric was braiding Buddy again while I was off scrambling into breeches and blouse, stabbing myself with the stockpin, and struggling into tall boots. Why does it seem like if they fit properly, they never want to go on - or come off?! Helmet, gloves, and Oh, CRAP! I need a number! Which was still pinned on Eric's hunt coat and thankfully easy to locate, although getting it pinned on resulted in more pin pricks. What felt like no time at all in the warm-up arena, and they were calling my class.
Buddy and I trotted in first, and with no idea who or how many were following us, (and I'm still not sure if it was 5 or 6!) I simply sent him forward at a working trot, trying to keep my rate even. The judge called almost immediately for a canter followed by hand gallop, walk, reverse 4 steps, canter, hand gallop, trot and then had us line up. Rate was a challenge the entire class, and I couldn't quite keep Buddy low enough. Still, I managed to find all my diagonals correctly, we caught both leads, and hand gallop was definitely a GALLOP. I mostly remembered to look up and around my corners, and did my best to make it all look effortless.
It felt like no time at all start to finish, although from taping a couple of classes for other riders earlier in the day, I'd guess it took somewhere between 6 and 8 minutes. I was soaked, Buddy was not. The announcer called Buddy's number - second! - although I had no idea they meant me until I heard my name, as I'd not even looked at the placard I'd pinned on, and probably wouldn't have retained it if I had.
After a minor altercation in which Buddy wanted to exit the ring slightly more hurriedly than I did, Eric expressed himself mildly surprised at our second - he thought I'd be pinned first, but I was more than satisfied with our first outing. In the brief few moments before he turned his attention to the next rider going in, we agreed that I needed to work on rate and not let Buddy build speed down the long sides. Other than that, I was happy, he was pleased, and that was all there was time for.
I'd forgotten to ask anyone to tape my ride, and the light level combined with the dust hanging in the arena made taking pictures of the actual classes pointless (I'd experimented earlier in the day, and I have numerous blurry shots to prove it). Too bad, too, as it was probably my best ride of the weekend.
Friday Pre-Show Ride
Eric trailered horses over Thursday, and by the time T and I arrived for my pre-show ride on Friday everything was set up and the arena was already bustling. The show site was the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls. Big indoor arena and warm-up ring, stalling for a couple hundred horses, bleachers, concessions, etc. It's a nice space, and I've been there enough for various things that I already knew where everything was, which was helpful.
The standard uniform for horses was blankets and Sleazys. The standard uniform for the two-footed crowd was blue jeans and sweatshirts. I felt more than a little overdressed in my breeches and half-chaps, but I still have enough trouble keeping my lower leg where it belongs that I wanted the extra stick-um. Oh well.
Eric had schooling sessions scheduled straight through the day with all of his riders. Unlike some of the other trainers who had two or three riders out at once, he was taking his students one at a time, with only a slight overlap during cool down. T and I were a bit early, but by the time I had my tack hauled in and Buddy polo-wrapped, bell-booted and saddled, he was ready for me.
Buddy seemed to recall his previous outings as a halter horse and with Eric under saddle, because the bright lights and busy surroundings didn't phase him much. He did, however, have plenty of energy from standing in his stall most of the day. Eric hopped on first and made a couple of laps on an obviously fresh horse before he dismounted and sent me back for a longe line. On the line, Buddy hit the gallop button and Eric let him set his own rate and blow off some steam - the arena footing was pretty deep, and it didn't take long before Buddy was ready to slow down.
With the bouncy edge worn off, Buddy settled in and worked nicely for Eric through all three gaits. Then it was my turn. He was a little looky at the far end where some bright orange signs and a yapping dog, combined with all of the usual moving-in activities of another barn were going on, but following the advice to just keep asking fo an inside bend, we made it successfully past. On down the long side we passed the announcer's table with plenty of additional "interesting" stuff to eyeball without incident.
Buddy felt good - I felt like I'd forgotten everything I'd learned. But with a couple of laps under our belts without any real silliness, the butterflies flew away and I could focus. The hardest part was not so much managing Buddy, but avoiding collisions. While common sense and ring etiquette would suggest that riders stay on the same direction around the circle, not everyone subscribed. And with three horses being longed in the middle, what should have been ample space for avoiding disaster became somewhat less generous.
We didn't school overly long. Just enough to figure out where the potential trouble spots would be. All three gaits both directions, and the sense that Buddy was listening and paying attention. I was happy with it.
Then it was back to his stall to untack and a trip to the wash rack for a rinse. Which was an adventure all in itself. Clear across on the far side of the building, it's a low-ceilinged, concrete-floored room big enough for six (well-mannered) horses to be washed simultaneously. Think high school locker room showers, except with tie-rails and hoses. And water that stayed warm for the duration. It also had foot-wide drain grates running the length and width.
Buddy was not thrilled about the grates. And his front shoes made an impressively loud noise on impact with the floor. But the warm water obviously felt good, and he stood nicely for his rinse. I basically just sluiced him down and then slicked the drips off with my hand having forgotten to grab a scraper.
Back at his stall again, once Buddy was dry and redressed in his Sleazy and blanket, he tucked into water and hay. I finished getting my stuff arranged in the tack stall. My first class wasn't until Saturday after the supper break. I'd have a chance to watch Eric ride Buddy in the PB Hunter Pleasure Limit Horse class earlier in the day, and I was eager to see him go and get a better sense of how he'd be in an actual class.
The standard uniform for horses was blankets and Sleazys. The standard uniform for the two-footed crowd was blue jeans and sweatshirts. I felt more than a little overdressed in my breeches and half-chaps, but I still have enough trouble keeping my lower leg where it belongs that I wanted the extra stick-um. Oh well.
Eric had schooling sessions scheduled straight through the day with all of his riders. Unlike some of the other trainers who had two or three riders out at once, he was taking his students one at a time, with only a slight overlap during cool down. T and I were a bit early, but by the time I had my tack hauled in and Buddy polo-wrapped, bell-booted and saddled, he was ready for me.
Buddy seemed to recall his previous outings as a halter horse and with Eric under saddle, because the bright lights and busy surroundings didn't phase him much. He did, however, have plenty of energy from standing in his stall most of the day. Eric hopped on first and made a couple of laps on an obviously fresh horse before he dismounted and sent me back for a longe line. On the line, Buddy hit the gallop button and Eric let him set his own rate and blow off some steam - the arena footing was pretty deep, and it didn't take long before Buddy was ready to slow down.
With the bouncy edge worn off, Buddy settled in and worked nicely for Eric through all three gaits. Then it was my turn. He was a little looky at the far end where some bright orange signs and a yapping dog, combined with all of the usual moving-in activities of another barn were going on, but following the advice to just keep asking fo an inside bend, we made it successfully past. On down the long side we passed the announcer's table with plenty of additional "interesting" stuff to eyeball without incident.
Buddy felt good - I felt like I'd forgotten everything I'd learned. But with a couple of laps under our belts without any real silliness, the butterflies flew away and I could focus. The hardest part was not so much managing Buddy, but avoiding collisions. While common sense and ring etiquette would suggest that riders stay on the same direction around the circle, not everyone subscribed. And with three horses being longed in the middle, what should have been ample space for avoiding disaster became somewhat less generous.
We didn't school overly long. Just enough to figure out where the potential trouble spots would be. All three gaits both directions, and the sense that Buddy was listening and paying attention. I was happy with it.
Then it was back to his stall to untack and a trip to the wash rack for a rinse. Which was an adventure all in itself. Clear across on the far side of the building, it's a low-ceilinged, concrete-floored room big enough for six (well-mannered) horses to be washed simultaneously. Think high school locker room showers, except with tie-rails and hoses. And water that stayed warm for the duration. It also had foot-wide drain grates running the length and width.
Buddy was not thrilled about the grates. And his front shoes made an impressively loud noise on impact with the floor. But the warm water obviously felt good, and he stood nicely for his rinse. I basically just sluiced him down and then slicked the drips off with my hand having forgotten to grab a scraper.
Back at his stall again, once Buddy was dry and redressed in his Sleazy and blanket, he tucked into water and hay. I finished getting my stuff arranged in the tack stall. My first class wasn't until Saturday after the supper break. I'd have a chance to watch Eric ride Buddy in the PB Hunter Pleasure Limit Horse class earlier in the day, and I was eager to see him go and get a better sense of how he'd be in an actual class.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Beautification Day
Not that the horses haven't been getting prettified right along, but Wednesday at Eric's place was hard-core pony-spa day. I arrived at two o'clock (and left at seven) and Eric and crew had been hard at work for hours when I arrived and showed no signs of slowing down when I left.
Eric and I both rode Buddy (he's showing him, too) but it was only about a half hour total - just long enough to get all three gaits in in both directions for both of us, make sure my show tack was properly adjusted, etc.
Then it was bath time for Buddy. Ham that he is, he strrreeeettchhed and wiggled his nose and just generally enjoyed his scrub. He wasn't nearly so keen on the vet arriving to draw blood for his health papers. The others tolerated being stuck with perfect equanimity. Not Buddy - he had to crane sideways until he almost tipped over.
Meanwhile, the other crossties were occupied by a couple of incredibly patient victims - sorry, horses - getting their final clipping and shaving. Body clips have been done for a few days, but muzzles and eyebrows get shaved, ears clipped, and diamonds clipped into faces to make their dishes more pronounced.
Once Buddy was shampooed, conditioned, de-tangled, and spritzed with ShowSheen, I got to sort through the large bag of Sleezys (lycra/spandex for horses - better them than me!) and find one that fit him before slipping his blanket back on.
The next to go under the hose was a petite bay mare who sighed when the warm water hit her and leaned into the massage as I worked up a good lather. She also got the full spa treatment and a Sleezy to finish.
My last bathe-ie was a huge half-Arab palamino gelding. This will be his first show, too. Eric's comment as I pulled him out was, "Don't get flat - he's only had a couple baths." Hmmm... He does like to joke. Golden boy didn't twitch an ear. He even relaxed and unclenched his tail and made oooh-that-feels-so-good-faces while I worked the shampoo in and made sure that all the dust, tangles and shaving-particles were rinsed out. His bath wasn't completely without incident though.
Unfortunately, the one sideways step he did take resulted in his left front foot catching the edge of his right front shoe... When he picked the right hoof up... the shoe remained pinned under the left hoof and the right foot landed naked on the floor of the wash rack. Eric might have been irked about it, but since he was back and forth past us multiple times he'd seen how quietly the gelding was standing. He just shook his head and said the nails must not have been clinched solidly. No damage to the hoof - the nails all just pulled straight out, so it should nail back on without too much trouble.
I still have tack to wipe down, but my fleece pads are freshly washed and fluffy and the check marks next to all the items on my list of to-be-packed is slowly growing.
Eric and I both rode Buddy (he's showing him, too) but it was only about a half hour total - just long enough to get all three gaits in in both directions for both of us, make sure my show tack was properly adjusted, etc.
Then it was bath time for Buddy. Ham that he is, he strrreeeettchhed and wiggled his nose and just generally enjoyed his scrub. He wasn't nearly so keen on the vet arriving to draw blood for his health papers. The others tolerated being stuck with perfect equanimity. Not Buddy - he had to crane sideways until he almost tipped over.
Meanwhile, the other crossties were occupied by a couple of incredibly patient victims - sorry, horses - getting their final clipping and shaving. Body clips have been done for a few days, but muzzles and eyebrows get shaved, ears clipped, and diamonds clipped into faces to make their dishes more pronounced.
Once Buddy was shampooed, conditioned, de-tangled, and spritzed with ShowSheen, I got to sort through the large bag of Sleezys (lycra/spandex for horses - better them than me!) and find one that fit him before slipping his blanket back on.
The next to go under the hose was a petite bay mare who sighed when the warm water hit her and leaned into the massage as I worked up a good lather. She also got the full spa treatment and a Sleezy to finish.
My last bathe-ie was a huge half-Arab palamino gelding. This will be his first show, too. Eric's comment as I pulled him out was, "Don't get flat - he's only had a couple baths." Hmmm... He does like to joke. Golden boy didn't twitch an ear. He even relaxed and unclenched his tail and made oooh-that-feels-so-good-faces while I worked the shampoo in and made sure that all the dust, tangles and shaving-particles were rinsed out. His bath wasn't completely without incident though.
Unfortunately, the one sideways step he did take resulted in his left front foot catching the edge of his right front shoe... When he picked the right hoof up... the shoe remained pinned under the left hoof and the right foot landed naked on the floor of the wash rack. Eric might have been irked about it, but since he was back and forth past us multiple times he'd seen how quietly the gelding was standing. He just shook his head and said the nails must not have been clinched solidly. No damage to the hoof - the nails all just pulled straight out, so it should nail back on without too much trouble.
I still have tack to wipe down, but my fleece pads are freshly washed and fluffy and the check marks next to all the items on my list of to-be-packed is slowly growing.
Someone else is finding the packing process a lot more relaxing than I am!
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| Mabel, that's really NOT a cat bed |
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy - One Down, Two To Go
Pre-lesson last night Buddy and I had three rides left before Saturday's show. (Today will be Buddy's dress rehearsal.) T came along to video me, so I could really see what I'm doing when I'm doing things right. And wrong.
Buddy was in a much more cooperative frame of mind, and although his walk still had springs, at least he wasn't resentful about it. If I can manage to keep his shoulders up and poll level (he has a tendency to forget he's not an English Pleasure horse any more when he gets distracted) we actually look pretty good. I sing Mary had a little lamb at varying speeds to myself as we circle - to help keep our rhythm steady. Occasionally it even works.
In an effort to break the "reverse and normal trot" spin cycle engrained in Buddy's brain, Eric had me practicing reverse, halt and back two steps. We also did multiple sitting trot/working trot/sitting trot transitions to stop him anticipating a canter sequence every time I stopped posting. Cuing a transition from walk to working trot is a deliberately soft, slow upward drift through sitting trot - with Buddy, it's always easier to gain speed than it is to shed it.
Canter still has room for improvement, but I did manage to downshift from his immediate surge to hand gallop within only three strides or so, and maintain an only slightly too fast rate in both directions. And downward transitions aren't taking four laps any longer.
I'm still having trouble keeping my lower leg steady consistently, which probably also accounts for some of Buddy's raciness, and a sound-track playing "shoulders back, tighten your abs!" wouldn't be unwelcome. But...
When I cued the replay last night I discovered two brief snips of me riding Sunny last fall after my first lesson. At only a couple of seconds apiece, they still showed rounded back and shoulders, Sunny with his nose in the air... Watching back the 20 minutes of last night's ride before the battery died on the camera, I was pleasantly surprised at just how much my seat and posture have improved. I know I feel more secure, and that's huge all by itself.
Buddy was in a much more cooperative frame of mind, and although his walk still had springs, at least he wasn't resentful about it. If I can manage to keep his shoulders up and poll level (he has a tendency to forget he's not an English Pleasure horse any more when he gets distracted) we actually look pretty good. I sing Mary had a little lamb at varying speeds to myself as we circle - to help keep our rhythm steady. Occasionally it even works.
In an effort to break the "reverse and normal trot" spin cycle engrained in Buddy's brain, Eric had me practicing reverse, halt and back two steps. We also did multiple sitting trot/working trot/sitting trot transitions to stop him anticipating a canter sequence every time I stopped posting. Cuing a transition from walk to working trot is a deliberately soft, slow upward drift through sitting trot - with Buddy, it's always easier to gain speed than it is to shed it.
Canter still has room for improvement, but I did manage to downshift from his immediate surge to hand gallop within only three strides or so, and maintain an only slightly too fast rate in both directions. And downward transitions aren't taking four laps any longer.
I'm still having trouble keeping my lower leg steady consistently, which probably also accounts for some of Buddy's raciness, and a sound-track playing "shoulders back, tighten your abs!" wouldn't be unwelcome. But...
When I cued the replay last night I discovered two brief snips of me riding Sunny last fall after my first lesson. At only a couple of seconds apiece, they still showed rounded back and shoulders, Sunny with his nose in the air... Watching back the 20 minutes of last night's ride before the battery died on the camera, I was pleasantly surprised at just how much my seat and posture have improved. I know I feel more secure, and that's huge all by itself.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy
With a newly-chiropractor-adjusted Buddy sporting freshly-shod hooves and a body clip, half of our equation looked show-spiffy. After a week of no riding, I wasn't feeling particularly with-it, unfortunately, and only getting four hours of sleep the night before didn't help.
Buddy had had the previous week off for post-vetting, chiropractor and shoes, and he was feeling good. Since the slow, cadenced walk is a challenge, we worked on that for a while, then moved to trot, which was, as usual, better. Didn't spend too much time there before Eric asked for a trot-canter transition. Correct lead! Hooray! But rate was way too fast. Close legs, shoulders back, seat deep, half-halt... and it worked. We slowed down.
And I could definitely tell that between the adjustment, new shoes, and time off Buddy was moving a lot more freely through his back and having an easier time staying collected. (And since T's brother-in-law adjusted my back while we were in KS over Easter, I can testify to the benefits of getting everything realigned properly!!)
Rather than coach me on everything, Eric spent a lot of the lesson asking for a transition and then pausing before he mentioned anything that should be changed to see if I could correct it myself. I did pretty well, although I still have that collapsing-forward habit, and I need to be quicker to rate Buddy back after his canter transitions. Downward transitions are decent, but again I have a tendency to collapse at the waist - I have to consciously remind myself to breathe and lean back. And I forget. A lot.
We'll practice again on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Friday at the show grounds. Time sure flies!
And in other good news, we finally have RAIN!!! I can't even bring myself to cringe over the fact that they're forecasting a chance of snow for Monday.
Buddy had had the previous week off for post-vetting, chiropractor and shoes, and he was feeling good. Since the slow, cadenced walk is a challenge, we worked on that for a while, then moved to trot, which was, as usual, better. Didn't spend too much time there before Eric asked for a trot-canter transition. Correct lead! Hooray! But rate was way too fast. Close legs, shoulders back, seat deep, half-halt... and it worked. We slowed down.
And I could definitely tell that between the adjustment, new shoes, and time off Buddy was moving a lot more freely through his back and having an easier time staying collected. (And since T's brother-in-law adjusted my back while we were in KS over Easter, I can testify to the benefits of getting everything realigned properly!!)
Rather than coach me on everything, Eric spent a lot of the lesson asking for a transition and then pausing before he mentioned anything that should be changed to see if I could correct it myself. I did pretty well, although I still have that collapsing-forward habit, and I need to be quicker to rate Buddy back after his canter transitions. Downward transitions are decent, but again I have a tendency to collapse at the waist - I have to consciously remind myself to breathe and lean back. And I forget. A lot.
We'll practice again on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Friday at the show grounds. Time sure flies!
And in other good news, we finally have RAIN!!! I can't even bring myself to cringe over the fact that they're forecasting a chance of snow for Monday.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday Ride
80's shouldn't happen in March. Not even on the last day. Not this far north. And tomorrow is supposed to be in the 90's. April 1st - no fooling!
I had a good ride on Buddy today. And I even got pictures :) Two of the moms were nice enough to snap some shots for me. Going through the pictures I wished for video - if the still shots are anything to judge by, we have a lot to work on.
We had a good ride, working on walking without jigging, and trotting without getting hollow. It was hot. The young woman riding with me made me want to want to cry, her seat is so pretty. She rides Pete, the pinto half-Arab, and the two of them look amazing. She has no problems keeping her shoulders back or her legs where they belong. She's also doing reining on a cute little rose grey Arab. I hung out after I got done with Buddy to watch most of her ride.
No cantering today. We stuck to basics and worked on cadence and staying round. Buddy got a bath when we finished up. He has that baby fine mane that turns into tangles in the slightest breeze, and a penchant for shaking his head, so he gets to wear braids to keep the elflocks to a minimum. I am once again thankful that Sunny has low maintenance mane!
I brought home the entry form for our first show. It's the South Dakota Arabian Spring Show on April 21st. The Region 10 qualifier. We'll see how that goes....
I checked in on Amyra before I left. That's (I think) Zeus next to her whose head I cut off. They're buddies. She's looking slick and shiny, and she's apparently forgiven me for the shots and sticking a plastic tube up her nose (strangles vaccine). She even left the bale to come get her belly rubbed. Of course, so did Zeus, a short, but very wide, buckskin, and a little bay mare. I had my hands full doling out scritches there for a minute or two.
I had a good ride on Buddy today. And I even got pictures :) Two of the moms were nice enough to snap some shots for me. Going through the pictures I wished for video - if the still shots are anything to judge by, we have a lot to work on.
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| Dusty trails |
We had a good ride, working on walking without jigging, and trotting without getting hollow. It was hot. The young woman riding with me made me want to want to cry, her seat is so pretty. She rides Pete, the pinto half-Arab, and the two of them look amazing. She has no problems keeping her shoulders back or her legs where they belong. She's also doing reining on a cute little rose grey Arab. I hung out after I got done with Buddy to watch most of her ride.
No cantering today. We stuck to basics and worked on cadence and staying round. Buddy got a bath when we finished up. He has that baby fine mane that turns into tangles in the slightest breeze, and a penchant for shaking his head, so he gets to wear braids to keep the elflocks to a minimum. I am once again thankful that Sunny has low maintenance mane!
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| Shoulders back! |
I brought home the entry form for our first show. It's the South Dakota Arabian Spring Show on April 21st. The Region 10 qualifier. We'll see how that goes....
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| Amyra |
Friday, March 30, 2012
Lesson Day(s): Buddy, & a Canter "Fail"
Last night was SO not pretty. I hadn't had a chance to ride since last week, and I could really tell. Plus I forgot and wore looser jeans than I should have. They kept bunching and creeping up, and I couldn't get a good grip on anything with my calves. Poor Buddy - he was so confused.
Despite my jeans, we were doing fairly well at walk and trot. Eric had me go ahead and ask for a canter transition. I hadn't cantered Buddy yet, and it wasn't a good night to start. Wrong lead. I wasn't getting him set up well - and to be fair, he was anticipating. But eventually we got coordinated enough to get the correct lead.
The actual canter was a lot springier than I was expecting, and again, I couldn't keep my leg steady. I'd get my legs in place, he'd interpret it as a cue to speed up, and I'd automatically release and lose my leg position.... Yeesh! Plus, he likes to GO! Which isn't the most comfortable feeling when your seat doesn't feel as secure as it should.
Of course, eventually we had to come back down. Getting to trot took four laps (we were using just half the arena). Not completely Buddy's fault - he definitely wasn't running away or going faster, he just thought I wanted him to collect. His canter kept getting rounder and slower and rockier... Which would have been fantastic, except that wasn't what I was asking for....
Thankfully, today went much better. In breeches and half-chaps, I had some extra stick-um and I could hold my lower leg where it belonged much better. Walk and trot weren't noticeably better (but they were pretty good yesterday, so that's okay). But with my leg on and staying in place, canter was greatly improved. I need to remember to prepare by sitting deep, leaning back, and being really be firm about moving his hip over. And to close both legs on him when I ask. I was taking my inside calf off completely - which Eric could see, once I didn't have flappy pants legs getting in the way.
Getting back down to trot went better, too. Just like going up, I need to sit deep, stretch up and back with my shoulders, close both legs around him, and say "whup-trot!" while I half-halt. And just like going up, I need to keep my legs closed on him until he trots. When everything's coordinated properly, he really sits down. As in right NOW.
We didn't do a full, formal lesson either day, really. Last night I shared my time slot with one of his junior riders, and tonight he worked a couple of different horses while I rode so he was in and out. Which is fine with me - I get his undivided attention during the stuff I'm having more issues with, like canter and canter transitions, and I can work on the basic, quiet stuff more on my own. When he sees something he wants adjusted he tells me, or if he's handy, I ask. A lot of it is a matter of Buddy and I figuring one another out and getting comfortable with one another.
That being said, I'll ride Buddy tomorrow, as well. Since it's Saturday, a bunch of the kids will be riding, too so chances are I'll get to watch a lesson or two, which is always a plus. And I'm hoping maybe I can convince one of them to take some pictures.
The extra ride this week is because next week all Eric's horses get their spring vetting, which means vaccinations, Coggins, hock injections for those that need them, and I think the show farrier and a chiropractor are coming, too. They get two days off after all that, so since my schedule is bad for the end of the week, I'm going to take Sunny over for a lesson Wednesday. Which works out well, because I think it's time I got more homework for the two of us.
Despite my jeans, we were doing fairly well at walk and trot. Eric had me go ahead and ask for a canter transition. I hadn't cantered Buddy yet, and it wasn't a good night to start. Wrong lead. I wasn't getting him set up well - and to be fair, he was anticipating. But eventually we got coordinated enough to get the correct lead.
The actual canter was a lot springier than I was expecting, and again, I couldn't keep my leg steady. I'd get my legs in place, he'd interpret it as a cue to speed up, and I'd automatically release and lose my leg position.... Yeesh! Plus, he likes to GO! Which isn't the most comfortable feeling when your seat doesn't feel as secure as it should.
Of course, eventually we had to come back down. Getting to trot took four laps (we were using just half the arena). Not completely Buddy's fault - he definitely wasn't running away or going faster, he just thought I wanted him to collect. His canter kept getting rounder and slower and rockier... Which would have been fantastic, except that wasn't what I was asking for....
Thankfully, today went much better. In breeches and half-chaps, I had some extra stick-um and I could hold my lower leg where it belonged much better. Walk and trot weren't noticeably better (but they were pretty good yesterday, so that's okay). But with my leg on and staying in place, canter was greatly improved. I need to remember to prepare by sitting deep, leaning back, and being really be firm about moving his hip over. And to close both legs on him when I ask. I was taking my inside calf off completely - which Eric could see, once I didn't have flappy pants legs getting in the way.
Getting back down to trot went better, too. Just like going up, I need to sit deep, stretch up and back with my shoulders, close both legs around him, and say "whup-trot!" while I half-halt. And just like going up, I need to keep my legs closed on him until he trots. When everything's coordinated properly, he really sits down. As in right NOW.
We didn't do a full, formal lesson either day, really. Last night I shared my time slot with one of his junior riders, and tonight he worked a couple of different horses while I rode so he was in and out. Which is fine with me - I get his undivided attention during the stuff I'm having more issues with, like canter and canter transitions, and I can work on the basic, quiet stuff more on my own. When he sees something he wants adjusted he tells me, or if he's handy, I ask. A lot of it is a matter of Buddy and I figuring one another out and getting comfortable with one another.
That being said, I'll ride Buddy tomorrow, as well. Since it's Saturday, a bunch of the kids will be riding, too so chances are I'll get to watch a lesson or two, which is always a plus. And I'm hoping maybe I can convince one of them to take some pictures.
The extra ride this week is because next week all Eric's horses get their spring vetting, which means vaccinations, Coggins, hock injections for those that need them, and I think the show farrier and a chiropractor are coming, too. They get two days off after all that, so since my schedule is bad for the end of the week, I'm going to take Sunny over for a lesson Wednesday. Which works out well, because I think it's time I got more homework for the two of us.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Lesson Day: Buddy, with a dash of rain and music by forklift
Dreary and grey, with on and off drizzle that I kept hoping would turn into actual rain. It was just wet enough to make the pasture too soft to ride (don't want to dig divots in the new grass), so I didn't ride, just checked on the boys. Their heads popped out of the bale as soon as I turned into the driveway and they headed up to meet me at the gate. I think they were hoping for another grazing session, but unfortunately I was running behind.
At Eric's I pulled in and parked to the sight of a big red dump truck half full of rubble and the beeping, revving sounds of a forklift's back-up warning competing with the crack and crunch of concrete at war with hydraulics. Apparently it was time for the old barn foundation next to the outdoor arena to come out. It wasn't dying easy.
I must have spent half an hour or better just brushing Buddy, who enjoyed a couple of days off and is completely back to sound. He's shedding drifts of ruddy winter coat. He leaned into the rubber curry wriggling his nose and sidling toward me whenever I paused to clean balls of hair out of the brush teeth. Shedding is itchy!
I dug my 48" girth out of storage after last week's lesson, and was pleased to find that it's just the right length. Much better than pulling Sunny's 52" clear up to what feels like his ears. I also set him up with a bridle of his own: an old plain leather headstall with an copper-mouth, eggbutt snaffle bit and split reins - I can always use one of Eric's, but this way I don't have to dig through the tack rack and readjust to fit his tiny little head every time I ride him.
Since it wasn't actually raining and the indoor was pretty muggy, I opted for an outdoor lesson even with the added challenge of heavy equipment in close proximity. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?
I was encouraged by the fact that neither Buddy, nor Jackson - beautiful black stallion with long flowing mane & tail that Eric was riding - seemed particularly put off by the commotion. Nevertheless, Buddy was definitely UP. I don't think he's ever going to do a believably steady-Eddy impression, but I'm taking some comfort in the fact that he doesn't feel nearly as hot on top as he looks from the sidelines. I just need to ride him, not look at him. Initially he was Mr. Antsy-Dance-y complete with head-shaking and flying slobber, but overall he was also much softer and more consistent than he's been.
We did a lot of transition work. English Pleasure horses are encouraged to do every thing BIG, so Buddy's gradually learning not to BURST into a trot. We did lots of collected walk to sitting trot to working trot and then back down through sitting trot to walk. We also practiced stopping softly and then walking off calmly on both a loose rein and a collected walk. And gathering up from a loose-rein walk to a collected walk without charging off into a big trot. (I figure, if Sunny can learn to reach down for the bit and collect as soon as I sit up and squeeze my legs around him, before I even start to gather the reins, Buddy should certainly be able to.)
I rode through three big spooks brought on by the BOOOM! of concrete hitting the dump truck behind us. Assuming Eric's correct that they were typical of Buddy's response when he's badly startled, I shouldn't have any problems staying with him. He doesn't do that nasty drop-a-foot-and-simultaneous-sideways-levitation spook that leaves riders hanging out there in mid air, and he comes back right away, so it was all good. Rufus is MUCH worse. But definitely good to find out in a lower stress and less potentially embarrassing location than the show ring.
We finished on a couple of rounds of working trot that Eric said he couldn't find a fault with. Whee! Next week I start riding Buddy twice a week. Eric's going to keep working him a couple of days to continue getting his canter backed down, and I'm going to concentrate on more of what we've been doing at the walk and trot, building muscle strength and reinforcing consistency.
At Eric's I pulled in and parked to the sight of a big red dump truck half full of rubble and the beeping, revving sounds of a forklift's back-up warning competing with the crack and crunch of concrete at war with hydraulics. Apparently it was time for the old barn foundation next to the outdoor arena to come out. It wasn't dying easy.
I must have spent half an hour or better just brushing Buddy, who enjoyed a couple of days off and is completely back to sound. He's shedding drifts of ruddy winter coat. He leaned into the rubber curry wriggling his nose and sidling toward me whenever I paused to clean balls of hair out of the brush teeth. Shedding is itchy!
I dug my 48" girth out of storage after last week's lesson, and was pleased to find that it's just the right length. Much better than pulling Sunny's 52" clear up to what feels like his ears. I also set him up with a bridle of his own: an old plain leather headstall with an copper-mouth, eggbutt snaffle bit and split reins - I can always use one of Eric's, but this way I don't have to dig through the tack rack and readjust to fit his tiny little head every time I ride him.
Since it wasn't actually raining and the indoor was pretty muggy, I opted for an outdoor lesson even with the added challenge of heavy equipment in close proximity. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?
I was encouraged by the fact that neither Buddy, nor Jackson - beautiful black stallion with long flowing mane & tail that Eric was riding - seemed particularly put off by the commotion. Nevertheless, Buddy was definitely UP. I don't think he's ever going to do a believably steady-Eddy impression, but I'm taking some comfort in the fact that he doesn't feel nearly as hot on top as he looks from the sidelines. I just need to ride him, not look at him. Initially he was Mr. Antsy-Dance-y complete with head-shaking and flying slobber, but overall he was also much softer and more consistent than he's been.
We did a lot of transition work. English Pleasure horses are encouraged to do every thing BIG, so Buddy's gradually learning not to BURST into a trot. We did lots of collected walk to sitting trot to working trot and then back down through sitting trot to walk. We also practiced stopping softly and then walking off calmly on both a loose rein and a collected walk. And gathering up from a loose-rein walk to a collected walk without charging off into a big trot. (I figure, if Sunny can learn to reach down for the bit and collect as soon as I sit up and squeeze my legs around him, before I even start to gather the reins, Buddy should certainly be able to.)
I rode through three big spooks brought on by the BOOOM! of concrete hitting the dump truck behind us. Assuming Eric's correct that they were typical of Buddy's response when he's badly startled, I shouldn't have any problems staying with him. He doesn't do that nasty drop-a-foot-and-simultaneous-sideways-levitation spook that leaves riders hanging out there in mid air, and he comes back right away, so it was all good. Rufus is MUCH worse. But definitely good to find out in a lower stress and less potentially embarrassing location than the show ring.
We finished on a couple of rounds of working trot that Eric said he couldn't find a fault with. Whee! Next week I start riding Buddy twice a week. Eric's going to keep working him a couple of days to continue getting his canter backed down, and I'm going to concentrate on more of what we've been doing at the walk and trot, building muscle strength and reinforcing consistency.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
(Not a) Lesson Day: Three sound, one off
The South Dakota Horse Fair is in Sioux Falls Friday through Sunday this week. Eric's headed over, which meant lessons got juggled. My lesson ended up on Wednesday rather than Thursday.
The weather's holding beautifully, and since I'd have my lesson on Buddy I figured I'd get Sunny in prior to. It's good to have goals.
Horse 1: Sunny was in the mood to be a pill today, but I persevered. It took him half the time I had to ride to finally settle, but once he decided I wasn't going to put up with nonsense he gave up and behaved. Unfortunately, I spent longer on him than I'd planned, which left me with no time to work with Thunder before I had to pack up and head for my lesson, so he ended up a lick and a promise brushing and tomorrow I'll start with him. Sunny can go second. And hopefully he'll have his mind on business.
Horse 2: Eric had the farrier there when I got to his place. Luckily Buddy got shoes two weeks ago, so he was good to go - but there was a steady stream of horses in and out of the cross-ties, and it did make for an interesting time in the aisleway. What with one thing and another, Eric was running behind on his horses, so he was just heading out to the arena with Pride when I arrived. He asked me if I wanted to long-trot Pete for him again after my lesson. So not a problem! I collected Buddy, brushed him off and tacked him up and headed out to meet Eric coming back in to answer a question for the farrier. He wanted to warm Buddy up, so we hung out and enjoyed the spring sun while we waited.
Horse 3: When Eric reappeared from the barn he still had Pride in tow. He's gearing the stallion up for open reining this season. He had me hop on and walk him around while he started Buddy off. It wasn't a long ride, but it was fun to see where I could steer him with just my legs. I did my best to keep Pride's nose pointed in Buddy's direction so that I could watch what Eric was doing. Buddy appeared to have taken the same caffeine pill as Sunny, because he didn't want to settle and behave, either. But after a few high-stepping, snorty rounds, he decided cooperating was less work, and Eric and I traded.
Horse 2: Back on Buddy, we started off at a walk, working on collecting and keeping a cadenced walk without dashing off in all directions. Forward momentum is so NOT going to be a problem. Eric worked Pride and called directions at me - mostly reminders to pulse my inside heel and remember to release as soon as Buddy rounded and stretched into the bit. We were getting along quite nicely when Eric headed in to swap horses. I offered Buddy a break to stretch, then did some more collected walk.
When Eric came back he had me step up into the trot... Buddy rounded up for me, but it felt odd in back. He was off on his left rear. We changed directions and tried circling right, and he was still off.... He hadn't looked sore with Eric on him, and we hadn't done anything but walk.... But his trot was noticeably funky feeling, so, that was it for him for the day. Back in the barn I checked hooves and legs, and didn't find rocks or anything warm or swollen. Eric'll check him and give him a day or so off if he needs it.
Horse 4: Since Pete and I would be long-trotting, Eric said I'd be fine to use my saddle on Pete and I could work on my two-point. Whimper. We warmed up with some bending and spiral in/out, then settled into a nice loose-rein trot on the rail.
Eric headed in to swap horses again. Pete and I chugged along. Although he rolls his eyes so that the white shows and looks sort of big-eyed on the ground, once you're on top Pete feels nice and solid and not spooky at all. Even with the dog charging hither and yon and the wind rattling and flapping things, Pete was unfazed and I was comfortable with my relaxed reins. He did one bounce-and-dive spook at something only he could see midway through our ride, but since he didn't add a bolt to the end of it, I just went with him and sent him back to the rail again.
Pete has a really looooong neck, but very little throatlatch. His head is just sort of stuck there, which gives him a kind of different look, to say the least. My goal was just to keep him moving along evenly in a semi-round frame. I wasn't asking for any kind of collection, but I did want him driving from behind and moving around the corners without dropping his inside shoulder, so I kept just enough contact that I could supplement inside leg with a little "rein"-forcement if I needed it.
While he bobbed along, I alternated two-point and working trot, doing my best to catch my diagonals, interspersing walk-breaks when they felt right. When we'd worked for 40 minutes or so, Eric had me do some collected walk before I let Pete relax and cool out. Pete's a Country English horse, so it was head in my lap time - he may not have a throatlatch, but he certainly does get TALL when he's collected.
So I didn't get a lesson, but I did get to ride four horses - which was fun, but I can definitely feel my legs tonight.
The weather's holding beautifully, and since I'd have my lesson on Buddy I figured I'd get Sunny in prior to. It's good to have goals.
Horse 1: Sunny was in the mood to be a pill today, but I persevered. It took him half the time I had to ride to finally settle, but once he decided I wasn't going to put up with nonsense he gave up and behaved. Unfortunately, I spent longer on him than I'd planned, which left me with no time to work with Thunder before I had to pack up and head for my lesson, so he ended up a lick and a promise brushing and tomorrow I'll start with him. Sunny can go second. And hopefully he'll have his mind on business.
Horse 2: Eric had the farrier there when I got to his place. Luckily Buddy got shoes two weeks ago, so he was good to go - but there was a steady stream of horses in and out of the cross-ties, and it did make for an interesting time in the aisleway. What with one thing and another, Eric was running behind on his horses, so he was just heading out to the arena with Pride when I arrived. He asked me if I wanted to long-trot Pete for him again after my lesson. So not a problem! I collected Buddy, brushed him off and tacked him up and headed out to meet Eric coming back in to answer a question for the farrier. He wanted to warm Buddy up, so we hung out and enjoyed the spring sun while we waited.
Horse 3: When Eric reappeared from the barn he still had Pride in tow. He's gearing the stallion up for open reining this season. He had me hop on and walk him around while he started Buddy off. It wasn't a long ride, but it was fun to see where I could steer him with just my legs. I did my best to keep Pride's nose pointed in Buddy's direction so that I could watch what Eric was doing. Buddy appeared to have taken the same caffeine pill as Sunny, because he didn't want to settle and behave, either. But after a few high-stepping, snorty rounds, he decided cooperating was less work, and Eric and I traded.
Horse 2: Back on Buddy, we started off at a walk, working on collecting and keeping a cadenced walk without dashing off in all directions. Forward momentum is so NOT going to be a problem. Eric worked Pride and called directions at me - mostly reminders to pulse my inside heel and remember to release as soon as Buddy rounded and stretched into the bit. We were getting along quite nicely when Eric headed in to swap horses. I offered Buddy a break to stretch, then did some more collected walk.
When Eric came back he had me step up into the trot... Buddy rounded up for me, but it felt odd in back. He was off on his left rear. We changed directions and tried circling right, and he was still off.... He hadn't looked sore with Eric on him, and we hadn't done anything but walk.... But his trot was noticeably funky feeling, so, that was it for him for the day. Back in the barn I checked hooves and legs, and didn't find rocks or anything warm or swollen. Eric'll check him and give him a day or so off if he needs it.
Horse 4: Since Pete and I would be long-trotting, Eric said I'd be fine to use my saddle on Pete and I could work on my two-point. Whimper. We warmed up with some bending and spiral in/out, then settled into a nice loose-rein trot on the rail.
Eric headed in to swap horses again. Pete and I chugged along. Although he rolls his eyes so that the white shows and looks sort of big-eyed on the ground, once you're on top Pete feels nice and solid and not spooky at all. Even with the dog charging hither and yon and the wind rattling and flapping things, Pete was unfazed and I was comfortable with my relaxed reins. He did one bounce-and-dive spook at something only he could see midway through our ride, but since he didn't add a bolt to the end of it, I just went with him and sent him back to the rail again.
Pete has a really looooong neck, but very little throatlatch. His head is just sort of stuck there, which gives him a kind of different look, to say the least. My goal was just to keep him moving along evenly in a semi-round frame. I wasn't asking for any kind of collection, but I did want him driving from behind and moving around the corners without dropping his inside shoulder, so I kept just enough contact that I could supplement inside leg with a little "rein"-forcement if I needed it.
While he bobbed along, I alternated two-point and working trot, doing my best to catch my diagonals, interspersing walk-breaks when they felt right. When we'd worked for 40 minutes or so, Eric had me do some collected walk before I let Pete relax and cool out. Pete's a Country English horse, so it was head in my lap time - he may not have a throatlatch, but he certainly does get TALL when he's collected.
So I didn't get a lesson, but I did get to ride four horses - which was fun, but I can definitely feel my legs tonight.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Say Hello, Buddy!
Eric had a show-season kick-off pot-luck this afternoon. Lots of yummy food, and a chance for everyone to get to know one another. So far so good - most of the riders are kids, so lots of show parents, but everyone I've met so far is really nice. And I'm not competition for anyone's kids, so hopefully it will stay that way.
 |
| Waiting our turn to ride |
The afternoon also offered another opportunity to bond with Buddy. What I've already learned:
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| He's kind of a clown |
Some of the girls were doing lessons, and Eric had me saddle up as well. It was a good opportunity to work Buddy in traffic - and outside - and practice some of what we'd worked on Thursday.
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| And he loves to be fussed over |
When we were done, he was more than happy to be thoroughly curried, get a full body rinse and have his mane and tail shampooed. He made ooh-itch-me-there faces and then took a nap while I finger-combed his tail to get every last bit of sawdust out.. He's shedding like crazy, as you can tell from the clumps of hair on the floor. I expect the rinse felt pretty good.
Tomorrow it's Sunny's turn - although I don't think his ride will finish with a bath! I haven't quite gotten over the feeling that I'm cheating on him with Buddy, but on the whole I think riding Buddy will help me with Sunny, and the opposite is probably true, as well. At least I hope so.
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