The Month of July So Far

So many things to post about. 

I was riding Ladd regularly at Jean's for about a week.

My mom was kind enough to take photos of us, as she did last year.

Every morning I went and rode him, first warming up in the arena, then heading out on the trails. This is Ladd's tattoo ;)

Last week I rode him a couple days in a row and had good rides, but then Thursday he completely changed. We headed out on the trails, cantering along as usual, but he was stronger than the other days. I had trouble slowing him down to make a turn so we were trotting quickly as we turned, right into a field of freshly cut hay. He sidepassed madly into the field, his legs getting tangled up with hay, and he hopped on his hinds and spun and turned. He was flipping out, for no reason. I mean, yes, there was hay on his legs, but I could feel it happening before we even hit the hay field. I turned him around, to head home back the way we came. He wouldn't have it; he didn't want to go forward, nor backward. He sidepassed the length of the field we had just cantered up, and I decided to just give up and let him cross the field and head straight home; I was trying hard to balance and not come off, and I just wanted him to stop. We weaved in and out of big round bales, and I tried to get him a job to do in the middle of the field, to teach him that his behavior wasn't acceptable.

I tried big and small trot circles, canter circles, etc, but nothing worked. He planted his feet, and spun, and backed up, and rocketed forward, completely ignoring all my requests. It was all I could do to stay on him pretty much. I finally gave in completely and headed back to the indoor, intending to work him there.

He refused flat out to give me any sort of calm walk circle worth mentioning. I finally got off and found him dripping sweat. It was crazy.


Then he was moved to my friend Katie's barn, where we have been riding together almost every day.

This month of July I've ridden him 16 times so far. I had a riding lesson on him yesterday with Karin, an instructor I've lessoned with a handful of times. I left yesterday's lesson feeling bummed about my ability to ride Ladd. I do feel I learned more about how to correctly ride and jump him, but I realize now that I'm more in over my head than I thought. He's not a horse that jumps just because you point him at something; his striding, lead, take off, landing, etc, must be perfect, or else he throws a fit of sorts. He's very in-tune to the rider's body position, and I'm not very good at controlling every small motion that I make. He's a difficult horse, and though it's been a pleasure to ride him this month, I'm not cut out for him in the long term.


I posted two videos to youtube, one of Katie and I doing flatwork at her farm, and one of us jumping. 
Flatwork:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t40JApHryL4

and jumping:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUPI0EHjWvc

I went to my first pony club dressage rally at the beginning of July. I went as stable manager, meaning I didn't ride, only helped the other riders with whatever they needed. It was a lot of fun! On August 13th there will be a show jumping rally 3 1/2 hours away that I had planned on taking Ladd to, but I've decided to take Daisy instead. I'm excited for it! We will be trailering over the day before and leaving the horses in a stable overnight. The jumps aren't going to be higher than 2' for my division, so Daisy can definitely handle it.

This was our club at Dressage Rally: 

I've taken two lessons through pony club with an instructor named Abby who actually instructs hunter-jumper riders. I love her! I'm excited to take a few more lessons with her before show jumping rally; she's very positive and a great teacher. 

Today I rode Daisy with western spurs because she was being incredibly bull-headed. Once I got her through that, she was excellent! I have been struggling to train Daisy to give me specific leads on a straight away, and it's been very frustrating. I was getting the impression that she either didn't understand what I was asking, or knew very well but was just being her stubborn self and refusing to do it.

It was the latter. Today with the western spurs; voila! We have our leads! I'm so excited to say that she totally knows what lead I'm asking for when I press her with certain legs with the spurs on. I don't even need to touch her with the spurs, just their presence makes a huge difference! Success at last. I have a feeling the flying lead change is in the future :)

County fair is this coming week! I will be showing Ladd on English day, Tuesday, and Daisy Wednesday through Saturday in mounted games, western, and barrel racing. 

A fellow 4Her has also offered one of her draft horses for me to show in a draft horse show Wednesday night. I'm going over to ride him today to get to know him a little; the classes are very laid-back.
I probably won't post for a bit; busy week ahead! 

Dressage, Conditioning, Summer, Homeschooling, Thoroughbreds. . .

Much good has been going on on my life of late. . .
Tuesday was my last day of school; now I only have state exams the next two weeks (Only two left now). I've decided to home school next year, so the last day was bittersweet. This was Daisy and I when I got home.

My cats are basically the most adorable things you will ever see. This his Gronemeyer:

With his sister Genevieve, lounging together on our patio table this morning.

And then there's Miss Daisy, chest-deep in grass for an hour or two a day, depending on how bad the deer flies are. Nom, nom. . .

We've been riding over to Pony Club mounted meetings every week, which have been fun. We've worked on flat work and jumping. The last two weeks we practiced in a dressage ring. This past Wednesday was amazing! I remember to wear spurs and Daisy's dressage felt absolutely wonderful. It probably didn't look that great from the outside, but as I rode I could feel how awesome it was. Our instructor had me focus on sitting up straighter at the trot and canter, and boy. . . as soon as I fixed myself, Daisy's canter was much lighter and less forehandy. Funny how that works ;)


Tomorrow we're riding in our first off farm event of the year! I wasn't sure if we'd be doing anything until county fair, but our PC group is hosting a hunterpace as a fundraiser, and Jenny agreed to take me along and ride in it with me! We trail cleared last week and it looks like it's going to be a great time. I'm so excited! I rode 5.2 miles with Daisy yesterday to prep and she was marvelous. It was the first time doing the 'long' block this year, but she was full of energy, so we did lots of trotting and cantering (in her easy boots) and it was just grand :) 


I'm going to be showing Ladd at fair next year! I'm going to try to get out and ride him more often from now on. He's a 17hh TB that I was riding last summer already; he's a riot :) 


Until later,

April Showers Bring. . . Wait a Minute!

We've been getting a lot of this lately:

Which means riding has been a bit halted. I ride whenever I can, whenever the weather is decent enough. I'm not a big fan of riding in rain. . . not because I dislike being soaked (Well, I do, but. . . ) but because Daisy has always been funky about cars driving past on wet roads. Plus it decreases my visability as I ride, makes the road slippery, affects my ability to hear cars coming up behind us. . . etc. So I generally don't ride if it's raining at a good clip.

Today Daisy went out on the lawn for a half hour, for the first time this year. She enjoyed it.

I was taking photos, until I was ambushed. Miss Genevieve:

Besides some cropping on the one below, these are SOTC. :) I love my new camera!

These last two required a bit of zoom, and so I edited them on picnik.com. Not the greatest colors. I was headed into the house when I realized the other barn cat was visiting with Daisy as she grazed as well, albeit much closer. Daisy and Gronemeyer:

Gronemeyer has been known to plop down in the midst of herds of deer (. . . are groups of deer herds?), only to stand up after awhile and surprise them, making them scatter.

I went riding on Wednesday and has a great time. You know those moments where, despite the fact that you've heard it a million and one times, something suddenly "clicks" and you GET it? I was riding and thinking about this photo I saw that Smartpak posted of a Rolex dressage rider. Someone commented on how very closely the rider's legs were literally wrapped around the horse. Having seen the photo, it was all of a sudden much easier to understand and do, and voila, Daisy framed up really quick! :) I love it. 

My silly horse. So many times I ride and feel bad and think she's tired. . . but the last week she's been so FULL of it coming home. We always gallop the same straight stretch on the road, about a quarter mile, and she was hauling this week. And proceeded to gallop her way up hills following as well. And I thought she didn't have the energy. . . 

I'm so gullible.

Cross Country Schooling Video

 

My Schooling Video! Details soon...hopefully...all you really need to know is that a) It was awesome and b) the bank jump was 2.5 feet and AWESOME. :D

Didn't Notice My 300th post...and thus, 301.

 So I can't figure out how to write above the top picture... :-/ 

(THIS POST IS SORT OF LONG. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT ALL...FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THE LAST THREE PARAGRAPHS. THAT'S THE PART I REALLY WANT FEEDBACK ON. :P THANKS)

Anyway...this was quite the eventful show. The picture above and below are from the show on September 12th with Laddie :) Love that boy.

I look so silly in the above picture...but it's such a cute, typical Ladd-face, I had to share. :P

 And the next two pictures are from today's show. Daisy was excellent. Truly. Now on to sharing my exciting stories. :)

A short time into the show, we had an accident. The father of one of the 4H kids from our county went out to do a run on his Percheron. He'd barely crossed the timer before the Percheron swerved and started bucking...after 2 or 3 bucks, he fell. It was scary to watch (after all, Percherons aren't small; it's a long way down). once he landed, he was on his stomach, face in the dirt. There was this big climactic second where I was just thinking "Come on...he's going to sit up...he's going to be fine"...but then it passed and he was still completely still, lying there. Everyone started running into the ring, and he was still still, and Jean ran in, with the shout that she was a nurse (which she is). It was so scary to watch. I felt sick to my stomach watching. His daughter went screaming to the ring. I didn't notice, but Jean got over and she says he was seizing; moaning and mumbling. He had dirt in his nose and mouth, and she insisted they flip him over so he could breathe.

They did, and he came to. Once he did, he wanted to get up, but they wouldn't let him. They had called an ambulance, and it seemed to take forever to come. It finally did and drove right in the arena, and picked him up. His vitals were off though and the emergency technicians thought they felt something wrong in his spine though, so they called Mercy Flight, which is the helicopter ambulance. It landed just 2 minutes later in the field next to the grounds. (That is how I got the second picture of Daisy...new joke: it's so hard to get her ears forward for a picture, you have to land a helicopter in front of her).

 

He's still in the hospital now, getting CT scans done. He had a helmet on. This is yet another reason we wear helmets.

Daisy was great at the show. I borrowed western spurs from Oliver and used them...something I have never done. I chose to do it though because at the mounted meeting Friday, she was completely ignoring my leg and rammed me into a barrel with my leg twice. And that hurts.
The spurs made a big difference. She turned barrels much tighter because of them, and had a tiny bit more speed coming home. Our times were closer to the winning ones...Despite the fact that we still only got two fourths and two fifths (but hey--we placed in all the classes! and never last!)

I was thrilled with how she did. I really really was. Twice we were just milliseconds away from a third instead of a fourth or a fourth instead of a fifth.

 On Friday after the mounted meeting I had a 4Her ride Daisy (If you wanna know who, you can spot her in the above picture, in the bottom corner :) This is because...I'm planning ahead. Inevitably, I will be out of high school in 3 years, so God will. At that point, I may go to college and not be able to take Daisy with me. Or I may want to take a different horse. Or choose to ride a college horse, for whatever reason. Or I won't go to college and I'll go somewhere where Daisy can't come along. I love Daisy...with all my heart. I cannot describe the bond between us, she is simply the greatest thing that has ever happened to me (Besides my relationship with God...and being born into my family..blah blah blah ;) :P). I'm so proud of her, and so want to see her go to a good home. I don't think I could ever sell her, partly because I don't think there's anyone who would be willing to pay for a horse that's so angry all the time. But I would be interested in full-leasing her. And so I'm putting my feelers out. This winter, I plan on having some of the other kids ride her and see if any of them like her. So Friday was my first attempt. It went well.  Whether Daisy was tired, or she was testing her rider, or she wasn't sure her rider could handle speed, I don't know, but she was on the lazy side. But said rider did get her to canter in the end for a few laps around the ring, and said she liked her. Good start :)

Onto my last topic. I witnessed someone at the show today using spurs in a way that I've never seen them used. Have any of you ever used spurs so hard that you knowingly made your horse bleed? This said horse went into the ring and, just after crossing the start line, refused to move a single inch. What would you do? Spur your horse so hard it bled(I only saw the aftermath. but apparently it was dripping blood....)? Maybe I'm just naive and I don't have enough experience to know that when a horse is stupid like that, you have to "beat them" like that. But somehow I feel like that's wrong. I was later chastened for taking it too hard and being angry about it. Am I wrong? What are your takes? I've been riding for 11 years now. And I can think of better ways to make the horse go. Yes, the horse did do the next pattern without hesitation, but...did it really need to happen like that? Also...hate to be a know-it-all, or point it out, but said rider hadn't ridden this horse very much coming up to the show. 

The way I see it...why should a horse work for you, or how can you expect so much from a horse, when you have barely ridden it coming up to the show? Shouldn't they have done something different to work the horse through the pattern? 

What would YOU DO? I'd really like to know. This has thrown me off a bit...I'm not sure what to think, but I'm willing to accept that maybe I'm wrong. I know we all have different training techniques, but...that would not be one I'd choose.

P.S. thank you all SO. MUCH for your comments! 5 comments?! That's so cool. Thanks. :) Glad to know people read... :))

Trail Trial tomorrow! :)

County Fair Week Daily Overview

Fair week is over...it was jam-packed. I'm going to attempt to summarize the main points of each day.

Tuesday: English Day (on Bubba)
I was in the senior division for the first time this year. In past years, there was always this one girl who won every single class, it seemed, with ease, and I was sort of jealous of her...or impressed...or felt she was arrogant...etc. She "graduated". This year, I was her. Bubba and I took blue in all the flat classes...no kidding. Class after class after class Bubba and I got the blues....I was tempted to go into a class and do everything wrong (wrong diagonals and ask for counter-canter ;)) so someone else could win for once. I felt bad! Bubba was amazing as he generally is. I rode him in a Kimberwick...and my arms were saved. Thank God.
We moved on to jump classes. Turned out max height for seniors is 3 feet. I've barely jumped 2. Jean coached me over the jumps in the schooling before the classes, and he jumped everything, including the "scary, big oxer"... (we all got cheers after getting over the oxer :P). I was pretty nervous...just ask Bethany, my friend who came to visit ;) I did the two jump classes, hunter over fences and hunt seat equitation, and got 2nd out of 3 in both classes. The other two riders were very good, too...competition was close. Looking back, I guess it's pretty cool that I got 2nd because I always thought my jump equitation was really bad. :P I was invited back for the judge's invitational jump class. Bubba was tired by then (an ex-event horse in semi-retirement; he's not used to jumping so much) and he knocked two jumps I think...so we got last place, but that was ok. I was still immensely proud of him; and proud that I actually got over those jumps---3 feet! It was incredible to jump them. Bubba was sooooo good. We received Senior Divison English Day High Point. :) We qualified for state in quite a few events....we are considering going.

Wednesday: Mounted Games Day (teams) on Daisy
Not much to say...our team wasn't that fast but Daisy made up for the other member's and we placed in 1st and 2nd a few times. She was funny; we always ran last in the relay races, and as soon as the first horse left, Daisy couldn't stand still, moving all over the place. I had to turn and face the fence to keep her from taking off.

The loudspeaker had problems all week...making crackling noises for no reason. It didn't bother Bubba, so it didn't occur to me that it would bother Daisy. Learned the hard way that it did :P I lead her through the barn aisle one of the first times that I went out to the practice arena, and it crackled behind me, and another club member was swinging a rope behind Daisy...this all unbeknownst to me. All I know is, Daisy shot forward behind me, and ran me over. I fell, and Daisy stepped on my ankle, stopped, with me pulling my boot out from under her. My ankle swelled up and hurt. It's still swollen today, but at least it's not painful. Later that day, Daisy walked through the same aisle, and put her head up just as we passed under our club banner hanging from the ceiling...I looked back, saw her ear touch it, and instantly she tensed up...and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before she exploded. Explode she did, forward, luckily not on top of me that time. She was alright, too.

Thursday: Western Day on Daisy
Western day started out with Daisy in a pretty frustrating frame of mind. First class, after showmanship, equitation, got us a 2nd but I didn't feel we deserved it. I guess I deserved it as a rider, but Daisy was being dumb. She was spooky for no reason, her trot was too quick, she was ignoring me...it was the worst she ever was in the show ring. Needless to say, I was annoyed. I took her to the warm up ring after that class and worked her. 8 steps forward, 5 steps back, literally, to get her mind on me. Then the same at the trot and canter. I did that in both directions...and after all that good mind work, she was focused back on me and she shined the rest of the day. :) Each year there's a reining pattern, but I've never done it because I didn't want to memorize it, and I thought I couldn't do it. I wasn't going to do it this year, but...I sort of accidentally memorized it by watching all the other seniors go. By the time they were at the second to last, I changed my mind, bridled, and went out. I had the whole pattern right...except part of it. You had to do circles, and after two circles in each direction you would do 4 small, tiny ones (like pivots) in a row. I accidentally did 5 once :-/ and so we were DQed for being off pattern :( She was so good otherwise! I was actually surprised how good her roll-backs were. I'm definitely doing it next year :).
Daisy and I always shine in trail classes. I worked hard one winter teaching her to sidepass over a groundpole, something that all the horses seem to balk at, and since she knows that, we generally have trail in the bag. We went out as the first seniors to do the trail, and we seriously breezed through...walk over bridge, trot poles, sidepass over a pole to a mailbox, get mail, put back, sidepass back over, pick up a slicker from a pole and move to another pole, go through a "bent" back up station, canter a crossrail...it just went perfectly. We got first :)
There's also a class called versatility. You go out, starting in English tack and clothes, do an English flat class, and then you have 2 minutes to switch clothes and tack. "Pit crews", including 2 people, are at the edge of the ring to help, one to tack and re-tack the horse, the other to help the rider change. Once they change to western, you ride a western flat class and run a cloverleaf pattern. There were 10 people in our class this year. Last year Daisy and I had 2nd. This year, we got 1st :), and a nice plaque. And we got Senior Division High Point for the day again :)

Friday: Gymkhana Day on Daisy
The day started off with Daisy stepping off the trailer with an injury. It seems Laredo the Evil (who kicks and bites other horses a lot) snapped at Daisy on the trailer...

It was a surface wound. I washed it out (to Daisy's dismay) and tried to put ointment on it, but it was too wet to stay on...so I let it just stay. It dried into a scab now, with hay unfortunately stuck in it because Daisy was eating :P. I'm curious...will it scar? Horses grow white fur in when their hair gets rubbed out...with this get white skin? ;) haha.

Gymkhana day wasn't as good as past years. We did get some great advice though from one of the people timing. This guy watched a few runs, and then as I came in for one he stopped me. He said that he was watching and that Daisy is really responsive to me, but that I move my hands around to much and so make her worked up. He said if I hold them completely still and give short, small tugs just as we get in the pocket of a barrel, our runs would be smoother...I put that to the test Friday and Saturday. It definitely helped a lot! Daisy's turns around barrels were much tighter and smoother. Daisy gave me trouble the whole day with taking the bridle on and off because it touched her fat swollen lip.
We had done costume on Thursday as biker chicks. I joked that Daisy took her Harley out to a bar that night and got in a bar fight, hence swollen lip. ;)

Friday ended with me getting the Overall Senior Division High Point trophy. I got it for junior last year. It means we accumulated the most points for the week (points are accumulated based on placings in class...the better placing, the more points). I'm so proud of Daisy-Mae! :) We were also published in the paper again on Friday, with the same article. :)

I also got to ride a draft on Friday...eek! It was comparable to the lake swim-SO. FUN. It was "bareback", but with harness everywhere...I got her to canter a few times, but I was swinging my legs out and hitting her in the side just like a little kid trying to get the lazy lesson pony to trot. So funny! They are SO SMOOTH and very light in the hands-I was surprised!

Saturday: Open Game Show on Daisy
This game show was fun, as it is each year. They do some really unique patterns, which is nice, and sit-a-buck (we got 3rd this year). Daisy actually got 1st once, in Quadrangle barrels! I was SO proud! ;) Her turns remained tight and quick. The rider teacher that I had from the time that I was 4 'till I was 12 was there, her daughter showing the pony I started out on way back then. It was pretty cool to see the little pony going. :) I did pick-up race on Daisy with Sara, from our club. I also did pick-up, as the pick-up person, with a friend of mine and her draft mare(that I rode Friday). Pick up requires one person to ride down to the end of the ring and let another person waiting at the end swing up behind them in the saddle, and then race back riding double. It was a riot doing it with the draft! We actually placed 5th out of 9, too :) Daisy was a really good girl as the pick-up pony, too.
I did ribbon race, too, with three different partners (racing around the ring to the timer holding a ribbon between two horses; not letting it break or fall). I did it paired with Lydia (on Stewy), and my friend and her draft, and Jean on Bubba. Going with the draft was funny; I put Daisy next to it, and Daisy sort of turned her head away standing there like "Oh man...I'm not even gonna look." :P Daisy ran the fastest I think she's ever ran with me on her when we did ribbon with Bubba and Jean...she was HAUL.ING. Crazy!
It was a really fun open show...definitely the best of the year. :)

Daisy got today off. She's exhausted.
I'm going to put together a video of Bubba and I jumping...and maybe post some pics from the other days. There are so many!

First Swim in the Lake!

Yesterday was absolutely a blast...Jean and I took Bubba and Daisy to the lake and went swimming! It was SO FUN!
They were both a little unsure about it to start off...but once Bubba took the brave plunge, Daisy followed suit. The place where we went in got deeper very gradually, so to be able to truly swim we would have had to go pretty far out...so we only "waded". That was fine with me! I got pretty wet :) Once we were in, I think the horses liked it a lot. Daisy was so good! It was truly really really fun. :D
There are a lot of pictures...soooo....I don't expect you to see them all :P but they are pretty cool. We drew a crowd down there; from the start people were stopping and pulling out their camera phones. So funny! Pictures taken by my mom and Jean's mom. (the majority are my mom's)

It's Our 3rd Anniversary...

I boosted the ground and sky behind us...and only kept us "natural"...just so you don't think it's really really green at our place :)

...and I rode my pony for the fist time since last Sunday today! She's 99% better...yey! The ride was wonderful; it felt so good to be on her again and I know she enjoyed it, too. Here's last year's post, I can say the same this year:
http://ridingdaisy.blogspot.com/2009/04/two-years-of-joy-and-learning.html

The Best Word to Use is "Frisky"

And by frisky I mean Daisy's behavior.
I'm sorry I haven't posted...Daisy came home Tuesday a week ago...I was hoping I could ride a lot everyday when she came home...but that hasn't been the case. I've still ridden at least every other day, but...each day I don't get to ride (because of sickness...horsebowl competition...rain...birthday...) she's really really...somethin'...the next day. I rode her down to visit the minis at the end of the street on Wednesday, and she could hardly contain herself...she refused to walk (she did that annoying horse thing "Mom, LOOK, I'm WALKING! Feel it?! I'm going slow!" when in reality she's TROTTING so slow it's almost like walking! Of course.
The trimmer came on Monday.
No thrush. (YEY!)
No laminitis (YEY!)
.... But she has bruising. Her heels in the back were bruised red. It looked painful. The trimmer trimmed 'em up so that the area the bruised area was supporting is now spread out over a larger area...he said it's probably because Daisy's hooves are soft (we've been getting a ton of rain) (oh, excuse me...a ton for US. Don't worry, Mrs. Mom, I know it could be worse ;)) and they bruised out on the road. He is going to start selling easyboots (he'll be an...idk...registered easycare provider or something) and recommended I get some when he does for times like this...and I think I will. In the meantime, I'm riding her on the actual flat pavement (as she prefers.. :P) to keep her out of pain until the mud goes away and her hooves harden. I will be adding pea stone gravel to her pasture for her hooves! I'm pretty excited...I learned that because of taxes, the town provides it for free... ;) YEY! That's good news...so as soon as the mud clears up and we can level the ground a bit, we'll put some down in Daisy's high-traffic areas.

The weather, besides rain, has been (had been..until today) soooo nice. We had about a week of weather in the 50's and 60's...just beautiful. Today it was about 26...and only in the teens tonight. Daisy started shedding, so she's got her blanket on tonight... and her heated bucket plugged in again...

Yesterday was my birthday...and I got two more western show shirts, and the belt and buckle above...I've always wanted a nice buckle! I love it :) Lydia also got me some blue riding gloves for cross country (and barrel racing) :)

I rode Daisy today...it was FREEZING! Of course, normally I wouldn't find 25 cold, but after a week of 60's...it sure was a pain. She needed to be ridden SO bad, though. When she's not ridden, she's sorta reckless, dangerous, and stupid on the ground. She's more aggressive and more of a jerk than usual...I can handle the usual. But when it gets the way she was today, I know I've gotta crack down on her.
We went English... (The first picture is taken of our shadow goin' western on Tuesday :)). I rode pretty far with her. She was soooo silly. We trotted and cantered basically the entire ride...I have no idea how long we went... She had the energy. We had some pretty scary stuff pass us...at one point we were cantering along a rode we go on a lot, and out of no where a border collie comes at us from a house; I had no idea they had a dog. Border collies are into herding, right?...anyway, that's what i thought, so I got Daisy to a walk and stood as a car passed us. The dog seemed to have electric fence, so it didn't come after us. Daisy was so good! Another time, a car with trailer like this came by...There are two things that actually worry Daisy on the road. Motorcycles going fast, or revving their engines, and cars with those trailers. It came up fast behind us (not speeding, just coming around a turn without much warning) and I turned, saw it, and got her over to the far side and kept a strong leg on her...she tensed up as it went by and her head shot up but she didn't move! I love my pony... she's such a good girl...when I'm on her back, anyway ;), on the ground is another story. At one road that we always canter/gallop (about a 1/4 mile, slight uphill) Daisy cantered and ended up galloping...I very rarely feel her truly gallop. Generally it's just a really fast, powerful canter. But she got so into it today, she went faster and faster and then was galloping...she stopped pretty well, though.

The last picture is of her today...taken with my phone. That was after our ride, I shut her in her stall with the cooler on. :)

Tomorrow I ride Daisy and I go to Jean's to ride Bubba...I'm trying to get one ride on him a week while I'm not at the barn, so that I'm ready for county fair with him this week...the Bubba Chubbs... :)

OH! Need to add for memory sake, I rode Jean's new event horse, a big 17hh thoroughbred named Ladd, a couple weeks ago...he was INCREDIBLE. I mean, amazing! He was pretty jumpy at first, but once I got him on the bit, he automatically engaged and his back lifted and he felt amazing. I LOVED him! I'm SO excited for Jean's show season; I can't wait to follow them along. Ladd is awesome already! :D

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!
I'm sorry I haven't posted...I have a lot to say, so I almost don't want to start! SOO much to talk about!
I will *hopefully* get around to it during these next ten days off of school.
Until then, enjoy my card. All pictures taken today by my mom!

Love,

First Ever Cross Country Schooling!

Guess what I did today! OH YEAH!

I went to my first schooling (hence title)!!! It was SUPER SUPER fun! The best way to spend Columbus Day off of school EVER! Daisy was incredible....really, really great. We went in a group of 3 riders, Oliver (Jean's son) on Phoenix, another girl named Katie on her quarter horse, and I led by Karin (from 3 posts ago). Daisy refused 3 times total, in 1 1/2 hours...once, at the second jump, a stone jump with a piece of wood over the stones...it was big, and funky looking, so she tried to refuse, than at the last minute popped over it, anyway...she got a small cut on her hind left leg, but was otherwise unharmed...after that, she did actually jump the jump :P :). I learned that Daisy tries to shoot off to the left of jumps...so I had to use a lot of left leg and right rein... The other time she refused, it was pretty much my fault because I wasn't focused enough and I didn't set her up well, so I made it too easy for her to refuse, and she did...we tried it again and she was fine. The course had a series o f small jumps with a bigger jump next to it...we ended up doing the bigger jump almost each time because Karin thinks Daisy jumps better if the jump is bigger, otherwise she doesn't try as hard to get over and jumps flat...as promised, I got a TON of footage of the course! I think I have every jump on tape, and every refusal, and each time I re-did it...at the end of the course the schooling, we each jumped the course individually...it was CRAZY! Daisy was SO strong; I've watched Jean jump courses for a few years now; this time I was the one out there! :P Funny feeling...but SO FUN! Your adrenaline starts flowing and it's incredible to be out there following the course...I think it was 14 or 15 jumps. The video above is of the (I THINK) biggest jump...it was just over the top of a hill. When I did the course, Daisy got a ton of energy going up the hill because over it you were heading back toward the trailers, and she jumped fast, than took off, as she does frequently these days.
Karin tried to tell me later on that she took off because her hooves were sore and horses ran thinking it would help their hooves...whatever. Anywhooo...
I turned the corner after that jump at a gallop, tried turning, didn't really get anywhere, tried pulling back to stop, didn't help, and than Karin was calling out that I should raise my hands...I was like, "WHAT?!". I'm always told to keep my hands down; put them UP?! I did it, though, and Daisy slowed right down... :P
I turned back around to the jump I passed, and finished the course...it was incredible. I had no idea it was so stinkin' fun! AND Daisy was GOOD at it! You should see her; she tucks her legs right up and launches over...and those jumps were BIG for our standards!

I do have a lot more footage and Jean is going to send me pictures...sooo, hopefully (next weekend, maybe?) I can put together a video with pics and filming and music...
For now, you'll have to be happy with this... :)
First rider is Oliver, second is another girl we went with, third is me...and I have a video of the second time I jumped this jump, and Daisy didn't spook at all, so it was even better... :)

County Fair: Tuesday; English Day

Sorry it's taken so long to post! I have SO many pictures, and I only just got to this...I'll break Fair week into day-by-day posts. Today I cover the first day, English day...

We actually did an open Games show the Sunday before...it was fun, as game shows always are, but nothing really notable...Daisy was a speed demon, no surprise. :)

English day started out with Showmanship, which 4H requires. I dislike showmanship, let me just put that out there. Last year, I didn't even place, I literally went out and just got it done. This year, I wasn't really meaning to care so much...but I did. I looked over the patterned and helped the walk/trotters (first picture) and then cleaned Daisy up, spent FOREVER braiding her mane, got cleaned up myself and went out. We were awesome. Our "walk from first cone to second" was fine, we got our trot from second cone to judge in the end...not right away, but she started trotting next to me, and we stood for "inspection". When judged in showmanship, you have to pretend the horse is split in quadrants, and when the judge circles the horse you have to make sure you are never in the same "quadrant" as the judge, but are always looking at them...so that means switching from one side of the horse to the other. We got that down pat. :)
The pattern ended with a 270 degree turn to the end of the ring and walk away. Daisy actually PIVOTED the turn; I wasn't really sure she would, but she did! :)

We ended up getting first place showmanship, and a trophy...I'll make a post later with trophy pictures.

The second picture is of the Showmanship line-up(Can you spot us? Second from the left), and the third is Lydia and Stewy! She hasn't even posted about fair yet, but I figured I would! :D

Then we did English classes...the first class out, I thought Daisy felt great. She didn't pick up her right-lead right away, but she did after the 2nd or 3rd try, and I still thought she looked good and she DID do it in the end...so I was super surprised when we got last place (6th). The judge came over and informed me that Daisy's left hind was swollen. I knew that already; she stocks up (swells) sometimes when she's at Jean's house because the stall is smaller there so she doesn't pace as much at night...he said that that may be why she was hesitant to pick up her right-lead. I told him that she's always had trouble with it. He said she looked "off" in her hind end and that I should really think about what classes to enter with her. I couldn't believe it! I went out and, as someone said I should,I iced her leg for awhile...it didn't help. I really didn't want to scratch because she felt so awesome; I hadn't thought anything was wrong. Other people also said she seemed fine. Then finally Jean pointed out that maybe the judge THOUGHT she was in pain because her ears were back all the time. *Light bulb goes off in my mind*. DUH! Daisy always has her ears back; he probably confused that. I went back out, Daisy got her leads right away, and we got 2nd place. I will say, though, it was awkward going back in the ring, because the judge was totally eye-balling me, like "So you decided to join us despite the fact that your horse's leg is swollen?". But we got through, and he didn't hold it against us...

We did decently in English; I had a lot of fun, even though we aren't the greatest at it. At the end, I entered a Hunter Hack class, and Lydia and I had to fight over who would get last place; her because Stewy wouldn't canter (OR SO SHE THOUGHT) and me because Daisy is flat over jumps...Daisy felt pretty good, I collected her, but Lydia DID canter, so she got 2nd and I got 3rd (last place)...it was one of those classes where I didn't expect to win, so I entered for fun...and it WAS fun! :D Loved it!

By the way, I almost cropped out the golden edge on the last picture, but then decided I was too lazy.
Did you recognize it yet, Lydia? It's Stewy's hind end :-P lol.
I wonder what I'm looking at? I look silly in English clothes; my hair is layered so under a helmet it looks funny...oh well. :)

Just want to point out, do you see the second-to-last picture? I LOVE it; too bad I'm looking down (at my diagonal??? :P) or else it'd be perfect...but anyway, Daisy's actually stepping under herself in it! She seemed to be a lot better this year; she leaned more on her hind end like she should; she wasn't as "fore-handy". I think she and I really (in Emeril's words) "kicked it up a notch" since last year. Wait until you hear about the rest of the week! :D

Two Years of Joy and Learning

(Blue sky pics by me, middle pic by my Mom)

Two years ago today, I purchased my first horse, and you readers have followed me along almost as long, reading along as I experience the joy of owning her.

Daisy was not the perfect horse, to say the least. She still isn't. But I've learned so much. She's made me laugh so many times, been a comfort even more often, and is just always there to hang around with. I've decided that she's really just shy outwardly; she does love to be loved on. Her pinned ears show a nasty personality, but once you get past her head and scratch a little behind her ears, she's perfect.

As mentioned above, I've learned a ton. When I bought Daisy, I don't know how I did it. I knew nothing, zip, zero, zilch, about buying a horse. I went and "looked" at her without knowing what I was looking for. I wanted a horse I could ride. I still wonder what I was thinking...the first time I tried her out, she reared. And she wouldn't trot without crow-hopping. But I tried her out again. And bought her. Why? As I said in a post before, I had grown use to riding a horse (see here) that was challenging, and Daisy seemed to fit the part (*Understatement*). I fell in love with her personality pretty quickly; the way she pinned her ears like a monster, but how well-behaved she became after just a week of steady riding and reprimand. I've learned so much about the daily care of a horse that even riding lessons for 8 years can't teach you. How to deworm a horse, schedule farrier and vet appointments, deal with the drama of both, feeding schedules, providing hay, soaking a hoof in salt, etc (I have memories of all of these, some of which would have made me cry at the time, but at this point, I can only laugh at them, as it should be :)). There is a never-ending list of things to be done when you have a horse. I'm striving to make Daisy's life the best that I can, the best that I know how. I've learned that you can't set a person's opinion too highly, that you need to question it and find out things for yourself sometimes. That even though someone may tell you how to do something, and they always seem to know best, that there come times when you need to take matters in your own hands.

I've had a blast riding Daisy. She has those quirky days where I wonder again why I bought her in the first place, what I saw in her, when she is being so bad that certain day. But other days she impresses me and surprises me so much with her talent, that I wonder how anyone could have wanted to give her up. Sometimes I feel both in the same day.

She's also an awesome form of therapy. Bad day? Ride. Angry? Clean the stall like and lug hay bales to get that extra energy out (I must say that after owning her, I've gotten pretty strong). Sad? Give her a big huge hug :-P(for a horse that acts like she's mad all the time, she's a big sucker for hugs). Riding her is an endless learning process for both of us...from galloping her bareback for the first time and learning to balance while getting her to stop (haha, she loves to gallop), to teaching her to side pass, to, just today, getting her to finally do a right-lead canter. It's taught me to not always look to the biggest goal, but set little goals, and in that way, feel a big reward whenever that small goal is reached.

I've seen a glimpse of the show world, as well. When I bought Daisy, I didn't plan on showing, and didn't really want to. Then I did the county fair. She was amazing, and I had a ton of fun. After going to some local shows last fall, I had a reality check. I learned that Daisy did amazing at the county fair because the competition wasn't tough...so that was little let down. I've seen that Daisy isn't one of those slow stepping western pleasure horses, but she's also not a quick-like-a-bullet barrel racing horse, either. And I'm glad. Western pleasure horses? Pretty, but slow. oh so slow. I'm not sure I'd like that. Barrel racing horses? Fast. Very fast. but also hard to handle and pretty dangerous at times. Trail class stars like Daisy? Great. Because even though she's not top of the class in barrel racing or Western pleasure, she's great where, for me, it counts. I know I can ride her down a trail and not have to fear her spooking at something, and if she does, I know she's a sensible horse, and gets over it fast. We can ride on the road with cars and trucks speeding by, and she won't bat an eyelash.

For me, she's perfect. For others she may be too hard to handle, or not showy enough, or she may not have the greatest conformation, but for me, she's amazing. She's my dream come true. She's wonderful. I can't stress that enough. So maybe she's got her problems, but don't we all?

So in all, if I could redo the last two years, and buy her all over again, I'd do it again. It was so worth it. It's all a learning experience, with ups and downs, but so worth it.

Thank you, God, for blessing me with my Daisy-Mae. It was all in His plan.

Happy Anniversary, Daisy-Mae. To us. * insert sound of glasses containing apple juice clinking* (because Daisy likes apples and it looks likes champagne.)

Have a great Friday, everyone!