Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
A year and a half later...gonna do a month by month catch up
So last starting with April 2011...
I was working at Karens and learning a lot. Trying to prep for the Inavale HT with Zena.
May 2011- Zena decided that she doesn't want to show and becomes lame, I tried shoes, which made it worse so those got pulled and after a couple weeks, she went home. I began riding a saddlebred/arab cross named slammer, He was a doll and I SOOOO wanted to buy him, but he was WAY out of my potential budget.
June 2011- I took Slammer instead of Zena to Inavale where we got a pretty good dressage score putting us in 6th, a little bit slow on XC but we managed to grab 4th, but got a couple rails in SJ and ended up in 10th. Overall it was fun first event and slammer was a very good boy for me:)
July 2011- I stayed at the farm for the first half of the month while Karen and everyone else went to Rebecca farms. After they got back they decided that they couldn't afford to keep me around so I ended up going home at the end of the month.
August 2011- I moved back on July 31st, and the morning of august 1st I decided I was going to sit on my mom's morgan mare(loose, bareback and no helmet), while I filled the water trough. I ended up in the dirt jarring my back very severely and whip-lashing my neck and head so much that I sustained a major concussion. This basically put me on bed rest for 2-3 weeks, I don't remember much as I was asleep for most of it. by the 4th week I had just enough energy to pick ONE semi involved activity to accomplish each day, and that was usually go ride my horse a little. On the 31st I moved out of my parents house and into GK Coombs house with her family.
September 2011-I spent most of my time asleep but I gradually pushed myself to do a little bit each day. I don't remember much still.
October 2011- I did start up with Refereeing for Evergreen Wrestling Officials Association, it was REALLY hard because my focus lasted maybe a minute at that point, thankfully we start out the season with middle schools so the matches are much shorter, By the time HS started in, I was almost mentally ready for it.
November 2011- I spent the month reffing and had a blast, although I did exhaust myself a bit too much and it took me a couple days to recover from each assignment...
December 2011- Still full fledged wrestling and I was still pushing myself but by that time I was able to ref at tournaments and stay awake and focused enough to manage.
January 2012- I decided I needed to find another job because wrestling only lasts so long:( I ended up working at a gummy vitamin factory doing 12hr NIGHT shifts from 5pm to 5am, and still reffing on the weekends...I was a dead on my feet.
February 2012- I, umm, sort of, accidentally, on purpose, inadvertently, managed to find a horse that fit my parameters, and was in my price range...His name is Doc. I decided that his show name is Mischievious By Design. I was reluctant to go look at him, as the pics were not the greatest and I din't think he would fit the bill for what I needed as a future event mount, but I went to look at him anyway, since he was only a couple miles from my house. Turns out he was a just around the corner. I didn't even have to get out of the car to know that he was the one. He had almost 3yrs of ground driving on mountain trails, but had only had a rider on his back a couple times. He had the FACE!!!! and and the eyes!!! and the obnoxious pesky attitude that SCREAMS event horse:) He is a little long in the loin and a little downhill and a total ham, but I LOVE HIM TO DEATH!!!! All I had to do was figure out how to pay for him, as I had only had a real job for a couple of weeks, and had eat to be paid and I still had to pay off the car I had committed to buying(from my sisters ex bf no less:P) Carmmal was a doll and she knew that doc and I were meant for each other and she really wanted me to have him as much as I wanted him, so (bless her heart) told me that I could make payments on him and pay him off when I can. In the mean time she continued to pay for his board(at the chicken farm:P) and I went out and worked with(we moved to riding after 3 days of reviewing ground work) him, or at least brushed him and developed a relationship with him over the month.
March 2012- I continued to work with Doc and pay off my car and pay off him. I had him all paid for by the third week of march, Wrestling was now over and it was just MY horse(whom I fondly refer to as my boyfriend:P) and the gummy vitamins now.
April 2012- I had not planned on moving Doc to a real boarding facility until May but just to be a pain in my backside he decided to develop an abscess the 2 week of April...so I had to move him early. I moved him to Lucky K stables, and after a week of stall rest in out of the nasty rain( I did manage to get him clean for the first time!!!) he was all better and we started REALLY working on our riding skills:P
May 2012- I think I started jumping Doc a little by the end. He was coming along in his training so nicely!!! I was still working the night shifts so it was hard but I managed it:)By this time Doc was doing well enough that I was trying to squeeze in a lesson with Anne Carr here and there. I also took him to his first Dressage schooling show and LOHC where we got a 58(?) on the Intro B test and placed 3rd or 4th, cant remember.
June 2012- I got a job offer from Lake Oswego Hunt Riding Academy Manager Shannon Vandermolen, to be a the lead camp instructor for the summer. Over all the pay would be the same as the vitamin place, and it was 5 days a week and DURING THE DAY!!! so I said yes. Doc and I went to our second Dressage show and did Intro Test C and received a 67, and a blue ribbon:)
July 2012- I quit my job at the vitamin place a little early and my money was a bit tight so I ended up bringing Doc back to my house for the month, I also started Teaching the 2nd week, and was having a lot of fun:) Doc and I Went to the ShowTime Jumper Schooling Show at Si-Ellen stables. I entered him in the 2' division in 2 classes. The first one he decided that the 3rd to last jump was terrifying enough to unseat me, and land me on the ground...BUT I LANDED ON MY FEET!!!! I immediately remounted and finished the course with no further issues. (apparently I'm scarier on the ground and he would rather me be mounted.) We went into the second class and completed the course with NO problems! He jumped the whole thing like he had been jumping for years...We got second:) Not bad for a our first jumper show:P
August 2012-I moved Doc To Si-Ellen stables so that I could start to have weekly lessons with Anne because hauling there after a long day of wrangling children just didn't work in July...I was also asked to start helping out at the barn, which was convenient because camps were only through the end of the month. We had to put Tausha the old pony down, as she was getting to immobile to allow her to go throug hanother cold winter. RIP The Super Pony:*(
September 17th 2012- Zena ha officially found a forever home with a little girl whom I have known for as long as Zena has been alive. They are going to grow up together and have LOTS of fun adventures, and win lots of blue ribbons:) Up to today Doc and I have jumped up to 3' and his dressage is coming along VERY beautifully:) we are understanding half halts to fullest extent of the use now:D and I have discovered that Doc likes to put his feet on things...He also likes doing Walk pirouettes and has also decided that walk to canter transitions are FUN!!! He is still fairly strong over jumps because he LOVES it SOOOOOOO much, but he is figuring out VERY quickly that running around a jump course and not paying attention isn't as much fun as it seems. We have another Showtime show coming up this saturday(the 22nd), and we now have homecourt advantage:D MWAHAHAHA so if anything goes wrong, I am going to blame him and claim that he planned it just to be a turkey head. We are also going to be doing our first 1 day HT and Lincoln Creek in chehalis the following weekend on the 29th. and from the 30th -3rd I get to be in charge of the barn:D *evil snicker* I love being in charge:P Anne and her husband are going on a much deserved vacation to the San Juan islands*jealous* so I get to hold down the fort while they decompress:)
I Know its been a long time since I have posted but I shall no longer ignore the task:D Many updates about My new BF and I to come! its going to be an exciting few weeks and then it will be time to hunker down for the winter and then start planning for next years show season!!!
I was working at Karens and learning a lot. Trying to prep for the Inavale HT with Zena.
May 2011- Zena decided that she doesn't want to show and becomes lame, I tried shoes, which made it worse so those got pulled and after a couple weeks, she went home. I began riding a saddlebred/arab cross named slammer, He was a doll and I SOOOO wanted to buy him, but he was WAY out of my potential budget.
June 2011- I took Slammer instead of Zena to Inavale where we got a pretty good dressage score putting us in 6th, a little bit slow on XC but we managed to grab 4th, but got a couple rails in SJ and ended up in 10th. Overall it was fun first event and slammer was a very good boy for me:)
July 2011- I stayed at the farm for the first half of the month while Karen and everyone else went to Rebecca farms. After they got back they decided that they couldn't afford to keep me around so I ended up going home at the end of the month.
August 2011- I moved back on July 31st, and the morning of august 1st I decided I was going to sit on my mom's morgan mare(loose, bareback and no helmet), while I filled the water trough. I ended up in the dirt jarring my back very severely and whip-lashing my neck and head so much that I sustained a major concussion. This basically put me on bed rest for 2-3 weeks, I don't remember much as I was asleep for most of it. by the 4th week I had just enough energy to pick ONE semi involved activity to accomplish each day, and that was usually go ride my horse a little. On the 31st I moved out of my parents house and into GK Coombs house with her family.
September 2011-I spent most of my time asleep but I gradually pushed myself to do a little bit each day. I don't remember much still.
October 2011- I did start up with Refereeing for Evergreen Wrestling Officials Association, it was REALLY hard because my focus lasted maybe a minute at that point, thankfully we start out the season with middle schools so the matches are much shorter, By the time HS started in, I was almost mentally ready for it.
November 2011- I spent the month reffing and had a blast, although I did exhaust myself a bit too much and it took me a couple days to recover from each assignment...
December 2011- Still full fledged wrestling and I was still pushing myself but by that time I was able to ref at tournaments and stay awake and focused enough to manage.
January 2012- I decided I needed to find another job because wrestling only lasts so long:( I ended up working at a gummy vitamin factory doing 12hr NIGHT shifts from 5pm to 5am, and still reffing on the weekends...I was a dead on my feet.
February 2012- I, umm, sort of, accidentally, on purpose, inadvertently, managed to find a horse that fit my parameters, and was in my price range...His name is Doc. I decided that his show name is Mischievious By Design. I was reluctant to go look at him, as the pics were not the greatest and I din't think he would fit the bill for what I needed as a future event mount, but I went to look at him anyway, since he was only a couple miles from my house. Turns out he was a just around the corner. I didn't even have to get out of the car to know that he was the one. He had almost 3yrs of ground driving on mountain trails, but had only had a rider on his back a couple times. He had the FACE!!!! and and the eyes!!! and the obnoxious pesky attitude that SCREAMS event horse:) He is a little long in the loin and a little downhill and a total ham, but I LOVE HIM TO DEATH!!!! All I had to do was figure out how to pay for him, as I had only had a real job for a couple of weeks, and had eat to be paid and I still had to pay off the car I had committed to buying(from my sisters ex bf no less:P) Carmmal was a doll and she knew that doc and I were meant for each other and she really wanted me to have him as much as I wanted him, so (bless her heart) told me that I could make payments on him and pay him off when I can. In the mean time she continued to pay for his board(at the chicken farm:P) and I went out and worked with(we moved to riding after 3 days of reviewing ground work) him, or at least brushed him and developed a relationship with him over the month.
March 2012- I continued to work with Doc and pay off my car and pay off him. I had him all paid for by the third week of march, Wrestling was now over and it was just MY horse(whom I fondly refer to as my boyfriend:P) and the gummy vitamins now.
April 2012- I had not planned on moving Doc to a real boarding facility until May but just to be a pain in my backside he decided to develop an abscess the 2 week of April...so I had to move him early. I moved him to Lucky K stables, and after a week of stall rest in out of the nasty rain( I did manage to get him clean for the first time!!!) he was all better and we started REALLY working on our riding skills:P
May 2012- I think I started jumping Doc a little by the end. He was coming along in his training so nicely!!! I was still working the night shifts so it was hard but I managed it:)By this time Doc was doing well enough that I was trying to squeeze in a lesson with Anne Carr here and there. I also took him to his first Dressage schooling show and LOHC where we got a 58(?) on the Intro B test and placed 3rd or 4th, cant remember.
June 2012- I got a job offer from Lake Oswego Hunt Riding Academy Manager Shannon Vandermolen, to be a the lead camp instructor for the summer. Over all the pay would be the same as the vitamin place, and it was 5 days a week and DURING THE DAY!!! so I said yes. Doc and I went to our second Dressage show and did Intro Test C and received a 67, and a blue ribbon:)
July 2012- I quit my job at the vitamin place a little early and my money was a bit tight so I ended up bringing Doc back to my house for the month, I also started Teaching the 2nd week, and was having a lot of fun:) Doc and I Went to the ShowTime Jumper Schooling Show at Si-Ellen stables. I entered him in the 2' division in 2 classes. The first one he decided that the 3rd to last jump was terrifying enough to unseat me, and land me on the ground...BUT I LANDED ON MY FEET!!!! I immediately remounted and finished the course with no further issues. (apparently I'm scarier on the ground and he would rather me be mounted.) We went into the second class and completed the course with NO problems! He jumped the whole thing like he had been jumping for years...We got second:) Not bad for a our first jumper show:P
August 2012-I moved Doc To Si-Ellen stables so that I could start to have weekly lessons with Anne because hauling there after a long day of wrangling children just didn't work in July...I was also asked to start helping out at the barn, which was convenient because camps were only through the end of the month. We had to put Tausha the old pony down, as she was getting to immobile to allow her to go throug hanother cold winter. RIP The Super Pony:*(
September 17th 2012- Zena ha officially found a forever home with a little girl whom I have known for as long as Zena has been alive. They are going to grow up together and have LOTS of fun adventures, and win lots of blue ribbons:) Up to today Doc and I have jumped up to 3' and his dressage is coming along VERY beautifully:) we are understanding half halts to fullest extent of the use now:D and I have discovered that Doc likes to put his feet on things...He also likes doing Walk pirouettes and has also decided that walk to canter transitions are FUN!!! He is still fairly strong over jumps because he LOVES it SOOOOOOO much, but he is figuring out VERY quickly that running around a jump course and not paying attention isn't as much fun as it seems. We have another Showtime show coming up this saturday(the 22nd), and we now have homecourt advantage:D MWAHAHAHA so if anything goes wrong, I am going to blame him and claim that he planned it just to be a turkey head. We are also going to be doing our first 1 day HT and Lincoln Creek in chehalis the following weekend on the 29th. and from the 30th -3rd I get to be in charge of the barn:D *evil snicker* I love being in charge:P Anne and her husband are going on a much deserved vacation to the San Juan islands*jealous* so I get to hold down the fort while they decompress:)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Dead computer
...and classes started on monday. gah. so the posts will few and far between for a bit. sorry guys!!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Bath Time!!!!
heh. heh. heh. This time I won:) All the times that I have given Zena a bath in the past she has not been tied to anything and she dances like no other when the water gets near her back end. Well this time was different:) I had her tied to a corner and she had two walls, one on either side if her, and only 90* of wiggle room so her back end got plenty clean along with the rest of her body:) mwahaha!!!! I would not normally give a horse a both in late march, but it was 60+ outside and it felt like a nice summer day:) and its supposed to stay this way until Saturday:D oh and I discovered that she a bit of rain rot on her back that really needed to be scrubbed and washed. after having her bath (that she wanted to kill me for, the look she gave was the same look you get when you tell a little kid that they need to take a bath and they don't want to), I tied her in her paddock next to some food that she could eat while she sun dried...but that just wasn't good enough for her because she REALLY wanted to roll...thank goodness she is smart enough to know that its not wise to roll while tied although she tried rolling before I had her tied, I told her no on that idea and the glare she had been giving me throughout the entire bath became much more intense:P lol Is it horrible that I get some satisfaction and entertainment out of torturing my pony? LOL
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
There are so many mini titles for this, it's sad
Lets see here....I think I am going to go with "Top Ten Things That Happened This Week"
1. My mommy bought me boots:D not just any boots, beval Jumping boots made of Italian leather:) They are BEAUTIFUL and have never seen the likes of a thing called horse dirt and goo:P AND they match the riding gloves that my mommy also picked up for me:) along with a set of cotton lunge lines that are awesome and dont rip my hands up:D and now I have a pair of schooling jump boots also:P
2. Jumped Zena, I have a one stride to a bounce to a one stride set up, and she doesn't like having to use her brain;P lol
3. Santiago is trusting me a lot more now:) the spooking has been minimized to a mere occasional snortiness:)
4. Had another mental breakdown...I don't remember if I even mentioned the first one, but that was a totally different story. This one was due to exhaustion, and Tim telling me that I can't push myself like that, among mentioning a few other things...simply put, I'm not invincible and need to communicate when I need help around the place to get everything done.
5. I have a phone coming!!! woot! and I bought the charger for it:P
6. Took Zena swimming (well more of wading) she has very much gotten used to the idea of going in and out of water without thinking about it.
7. Oh Karen left for galway on saturday, I have pretty much had the barn all to myself for that time, with the occasional owner stopping in to ride their horse. but for the most part I am a loner.
8. The power went out last night about half way through an episode of heros that we were all watching, so instead we played a game called liars dice by candlelight:P apparently canyon does not liek the dark very much...in fact he kinda wigged out until we got the room lit enough that you could make out who was who. lol
9. Two new horses cam in today, no one told me they were coming until yesterday when they showed up to make sure their tack locker was clean and to be able to put their stuff in it. Along with ready their stall for their horses. fun. lol one of them is on stall rest still, have not found out why yet but I am sure I will.
10. I have been working really hard to strengthen my core and seat to be able to sit beaus trot, and as of today I was able to keep everything coordinated and together for approx. 5 strides, give or take. I wasn't really counting, I was concentrating on keeping me from falling apart:)
Ok, Off to bed now, this is the earliest that I have gone to bed the whole time I have been here...that's sad. I really need to be asleep by 9 from now on. if there are any editing errors in this one, don't blame me, my contacts are bugging out, so I cant really see anything.
1. My mommy bought me boots:D not just any boots, beval Jumping boots made of Italian leather:) They are BEAUTIFUL and have never seen the likes of a thing called horse dirt and goo:P AND they match the riding gloves that my mommy also picked up for me:) along with a set of cotton lunge lines that are awesome and dont rip my hands up:D and now I have a pair of schooling jump boots also:P
2. Jumped Zena, I have a one stride to a bounce to a one stride set up, and she doesn't like having to use her brain;P lol
3. Santiago is trusting me a lot more now:) the spooking has been minimized to a mere occasional snortiness:)
4. Had another mental breakdown...I don't remember if I even mentioned the first one, but that was a totally different story. This one was due to exhaustion, and Tim telling me that I can't push myself like that, among mentioning a few other things...simply put, I'm not invincible and need to communicate when I need help around the place to get everything done.
5. I have a phone coming!!! woot! and I bought the charger for it:P
6. Took Zena swimming (well more of wading) she has very much gotten used to the idea of going in and out of water without thinking about it.
7. Oh Karen left for galway on saturday, I have pretty much had the barn all to myself for that time, with the occasional owner stopping in to ride their horse. but for the most part I am a loner.
8. The power went out last night about half way through an episode of heros that we were all watching, so instead we played a game called liars dice by candlelight:P apparently canyon does not liek the dark very much...in fact he kinda wigged out until we got the room lit enough that you could make out who was who. lol
9. Two new horses cam in today, no one told me they were coming until yesterday when they showed up to make sure their tack locker was clean and to be able to put their stuff in it. Along with ready their stall for their horses. fun. lol one of them is on stall rest still, have not found out why yet but I am sure I will.
10. I have been working really hard to strengthen my core and seat to be able to sit beaus trot, and as of today I was able to keep everything coordinated and together for approx. 5 strides, give or take. I wasn't really counting, I was concentrating on keeping me from falling apart:)
Ok, Off to bed now, this is the earliest that I have gone to bed the whole time I have been here...that's sad. I really need to be asleep by 9 from now on. if there are any editing errors in this one, don't blame me, my contacts are bugging out, so I cant really see anything.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Water Horse
Shes back!!! Zena is officially a water horse once again:) and she influenced another horse to decide that it was fun:P I jumped her and she is getting much more confident. her flat work is coming along well also. she is starting to manage to slow down her canter, still working on the leaning in part. but I it will come in its own time. I had the house to myself for the last few days, that was really nice being able to unwind and know that no one is watching me. lol Karen leaves again on Saturday to go to Galway, so I will be on my own in the barn once again for about 2 weeks? and I will be down 7 horses too:) yay for less work!!! lol I have 2 little girls that have been coming out to help out and clean stalls and feed in exchange for getting to ride the horses, they are 8 and 10? the older one is autistic so she has good days and bad ones but her mom was pretty impressed at how well I worked with her. I let the younger one cool Zena out after I rode her yesterday, and Zena was totally perfect and VERY tolerant of all the little things that the girl did with her. Her mom was just about in tears to watch her little girl tooling around on such a green horse and yet having her take complete care of her. oh and Ki ki (abbreviated from kiley, the younger girl) talked to Zena and narrated EVERYTHING that she was doing with her. It was comical. I think that if I don't get another WS position when I go to OSU that I might see if they want to lease her, I think Zena would love it and so would their little girls:) I was very proud to see that Zena does have a brain and does know how to use it:P lol ok I am really tired, going to sleep now, I will post a more detailed listing of all I have been up to when I am not dosing just sitting here:) goodnight:P
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Closing That Learning Gap:)
Hard work, strict discipline, long hours and really sore legs are what its taking to achieve the riding improvements that I am getting:) What does this all consist of? well...today I got to ride Lucas in 2 point, THE WHOLE TIME. The only time my bottom was allowed to touch the saddle was when I was walking. I say, that was one of the hardest and best workouts I have ever had. The pain from one half hour ride was as bad as a 2 hour work out for wrestling...my legs will definitely be very strong.
Rode Zena yesterday and today, yesterday we did some baby gymnastics. Today was flat work. Yesterday was the first time she had ever seen a bounce in her life and she was NOT going through it...needless to say she went through it, after about 4 tries of slamming on the brakes and a 5th try of her clumsily going through it pulling the whole thing down. Talk about embarrassing. The singles we did at the beginning were really good for the most part though. We worked on our forwardness to the jump and leaving the jump at more than a lazy trot...and to think I was worried last summer about her rushing jumps. sigh. Her flat work is improving as I improve. She is smart and I am glad for that because I don't think any other horse could re-figure me out as fast as she does, both good and bad. It is a constant discussion between us about which doors are open for her to pop who knows what out, at every chance she gets, its good thing though. she keeps me on my toes:P
I also rode Santiago (The Arab) yesterday and today. We had two TOTALLY different rides. Yesterday he was really good, and allowed me to work on me. I think I rode at least 1/2 that ride without stirrups. But it was good for me because my seat improved greatly. along with the steadiness of my lower leg, which I did not realize, but I have been riding with it pulled out away from the horses barrel trying to touch the horse as little as possible...I think it came from riding Amy enough. She practically launches out of her own skin if you do anything more than lightly brush her sides.
Anyways, today's ride was a completely different story...all the jumps from the day before had been torn down for a few days of flat work, and the jumps are, of course, more scary when they are off to the side minding their own business. so we started out by lunging for at least 5-10min. I then got on him and he was a little better, we started out with easy stuff that he knows, then we added in some serpentines and some leg yielding and some extended trot (posting), and just about the time I was going to let him be done he decided he too tired to go a few more steps before doing a nice quality down transition, and he decided to slam on the brakes and spook at all the jumps along the wall...so he got to canter around the ring until he stopped spooking at the walls. by the time he stopped he was looking straight ahead and not even flicking an ear at the "scary jump stuff." I felt bad about working him that long but the point had to be made that he is not aloud to start spooking at things when he gets tired and wants to stop.
One other thing that I should tell about before I go to bed and nuggle with my pillow for some much needed sleep.I rode Lucas yesterday also, for a short bit, and had a very condensed version of a jumping lesson on him:) Karen's comment was that I had a lot of natural talent and all we needed to do was some concentrated refinement:) Woot! Lucas took the whole gymnastic line like a pro:P well I guess he does pretty much know what he was doing;) here's what the line consisted of (Zena only did the in'n'out bounce in the middle): X to one stride to a triple X bounce to a one stride straight bar:) so it was in, one, bounce, bounce, bounce, one, out. not that complicated and pretty easy to ride...the jumps were small though. I want to jump BIGGER!!! GAH!!! my day will come. I just want it to get her faster dang it!!! lol ok my little "I want, I want" rant is over. I am going to bed now, good night everyone!!!
Rode Zena yesterday and today, yesterday we did some baby gymnastics. Today was flat work. Yesterday was the first time she had ever seen a bounce in her life and she was NOT going through it...needless to say she went through it, after about 4 tries of slamming on the brakes and a 5th try of her clumsily going through it pulling the whole thing down. Talk about embarrassing. The singles we did at the beginning were really good for the most part though. We worked on our forwardness to the jump and leaving the jump at more than a lazy trot...and to think I was worried last summer about her rushing jumps. sigh. Her flat work is improving as I improve. She is smart and I am glad for that because I don't think any other horse could re-figure me out as fast as she does, both good and bad. It is a constant discussion between us about which doors are open for her to pop who knows what out, at every chance she gets, its good thing though. she keeps me on my toes:P
I also rode Santiago (The Arab) yesterday and today. We had two TOTALLY different rides. Yesterday he was really good, and allowed me to work on me. I think I rode at least 1/2 that ride without stirrups. But it was good for me because my seat improved greatly. along with the steadiness of my lower leg, which I did not realize, but I have been riding with it pulled out away from the horses barrel trying to touch the horse as little as possible...I think it came from riding Amy enough. She practically launches out of her own skin if you do anything more than lightly brush her sides.
Anyways, today's ride was a completely different story...all the jumps from the day before had been torn down for a few days of flat work, and the jumps are, of course, more scary when they are off to the side minding their own business. so we started out by lunging for at least 5-10min. I then got on him and he was a little better, we started out with easy stuff that he knows, then we added in some serpentines and some leg yielding and some extended trot (posting), and just about the time I was going to let him be done he decided he too tired to go a few more steps before doing a nice quality down transition, and he decided to slam on the brakes and spook at all the jumps along the wall...so he got to canter around the ring until he stopped spooking at the walls. by the time he stopped he was looking straight ahead and not even flicking an ear at the "scary jump stuff." I felt bad about working him that long but the point had to be made that he is not aloud to start spooking at things when he gets tired and wants to stop.
One other thing that I should tell about before I go to bed and nuggle with my pillow for some much needed sleep.I rode Lucas yesterday also, for a short bit, and had a very condensed version of a jumping lesson on him:) Karen's comment was that I had a lot of natural talent and all we needed to do was some concentrated refinement:) Woot! Lucas took the whole gymnastic line like a pro:P well I guess he does pretty much know what he was doing;) here's what the line consisted of (Zena only did the in'n'out bounce in the middle): X to one stride to a triple X bounce to a one stride straight bar:) so it was in, one, bounce, bounce, bounce, one, out. not that complicated and pretty easy to ride...the jumps were small though. I want to jump BIGGER!!! GAH!!! my day will come. I just want it to get her faster dang it!!! lol ok my little "I want, I want" rant is over. I am going to bed now, good night everyone!!!
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