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,

Another Year Gone By

2011 is just around the corner... just over 8 hours away now.

So. I picked out some photos that showcase my accomplishments through this year. These are in absolutely no special order. :)

Bubba and I at fair. I had never jumped 3 feet before, but we ended up doing three classes, all including this rather large 3 foot oxer. Was I nervous out of my mind? Absolutely (just ask Bethany, who took this photo). Did I have a blast? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. I'm always going to look back and think the first sizable jump I did was on Bubba. That said, I think that was (and will be) the last time Bubba jumped so high... I'm so honored that I had the opportunity to enjoy  him.

Ladd and I!!! Our first show. What a blast! He really blew me out of the water. We didn't place in our first class out of four, but the next three were all blues. He's really that awesome :D.

I'm looking forward to showing the big guy at fair this coming year!!

I did two schoolings with Daisy this year, plus a cross country lesson at camp in August. This photo is from the October schooling. I LOVE. SCHOOLINGS. My goal for the year was to do an event. We didn't accomplish that, but I honestly don't really care. I will keep doing schoolings, and that's good enough for me, whether we ever really event or not.

County fair western day (and Gymkhana and Mounted Games) with Daisy! We recieved western high point for the day for the senior division (and High Point award on Bubba for English day...and overall senior high point division trophy!). Looking back, I remember our first class that day was horrible. We won 2nd, but I totally felt like as an individual pair, we didn't deserve it. She did everything she had to do, but we weren't clicking. We ended up spending a good amount of time in the warm up ring afterward getting the focus back on me. The rest of the day we shined for real :) 

We did our first western reining pattern, very impromptu. We were disqualified for a minor error in the pattern that I didn't even notice, but I was glad I did it, and I definitely want to do it again this coming year.

More jumping Bubba pics! This one was from the schooling period. Notice I jump everything off center? Yup. I treated it all like an eventer would have...little did I realize it was judged like the hunters. I'm not complaining, we still got two seconds :)

I hadn't really noticed this picture until picking through the CD today. By the end of western day, I was just plain happy, and smiling like a dope :P. We did the versatility class, and Daisy was found the most versatile out of 20 horses. That's m'girl.

I don't judge everything in awards...I'm obviously thrilled with individual accomplishments as well, it's just easier to explain in saying what we won, because...well, they reflect what we can do.

Anyway, I swam with Daisy this year! Three times to be exact. The first time (picture below) landed us with a large article on the front page of two different papers. That was pretty awesome for me because since I'm not on any sports teams, I would normally not be in the paper... but we're covered for life with that article, I think.

And the second time we swam in the lake... we really truly swam. She's the lock-ness. :)

I had some goals for this year. I didn't accomplish them all...but lets just take a look.

This is what my goals were for this year, per my last year's New Year's post:

1. Skills: Turn on the hindquarter and forehand, hopefully flying lead changes.(<--We can do turns on the forehands just fine now. hindquarters still confuse her; she won't plant her one hand for the complete circle. Any tips on that? We worked a lot on flying lead changes, and she still won't get them on a straight away, but she'll do them on a figure eight)

2. Events: Eventing. More schoolings, lessons, boarding, jumping, 3 phase eventing...that will be *quite* an experience. But I'm up for it, and I'm pretty sure Daisy is, too.(<-- a) I sound incredibly stupid the way I wrote this and b) we didn't accomplish it. We had the schoolings, lessons, boarding, jumping down, but no eventing. But as I said above...I've come to a point where I know whether or not I event does not determine if we're successful or not).

3. Personally improve in the english riding department :P and work with Daisy to improve dressage. (<--Yes! And still in progress. We got somewhere at camp with our lessons and dressage, and I truly realized at camp that lessons can be fun. So we called a different instructor, and are waiting on a phone call back. So...hopefully we'll have some regular lessons soon)

4. Do incredibly at county fair, SENIOR level this year...but we'll see. :P (<-- Bingo, bingo, BINGO. First year in senior and Bubba, Daisy, and I made it to overall senior high point. A little bird told me that certain people resent me because I came in with Bubba the ex Prelim horse, but you know what...I was on my own pony the rest of the week, and we still got western day high point. So no excuses )

5. Excel at everything *despite* (because certain people think it's a bad thing) being barefoot. Advance my barefoot knowledge and be able to show others the benefits. (<--Just today Daisy and I were out on the road and we were flying across gravel. She doesn't even attempt to avoid it. There's the proof. Daisy is completely happy barefoot. Whats more, I did a presentation for 4H on natural trimming in February,  and have another one coming this February. )

So I didn't accomplish all my goals. Not for lack of effort though.

Goals for Two Thousand Eleven..oh goodness. Looking back, I'm not really sure what to say. I accomplished so much more than I thought I would this year already, that I could say anything really...  But here are some general goals. 

1. Teach Daisy to truly drive...a cart. Obtain this goal by doing a lot of bomb-proof training style stuff.
2. Take regular lessons! For dressage. 
3. More trail trials...GET TO A HUNTERPACE AGAIN THIS YEAR!
4. Saying this is sort of far fetched, but seeing as how anything is possible considering I'm actually teaching my horse to drive now....try team penning! 
5. Swim with Daisy some more. 
6. Haha...do what I can to keep Daisy from colicing! Which, I've never mentioned it, but....this fall was Daisy didn't colic AT ALL! I didn't want to jinx it, so I didn't say anything all fall, but it got later and later and...no colic! I'm not sure what did it, but I changed a few things this year. She had a selenium block that she's never had before because I read that selenium deficiency can cause colic, she was on ACV every morning and evening instead of probios, I cut her off grazing earlier this year than last year. 
7. Celebrate our 4th year together (wow...time flies!) and have a blast next show season. :)

Pretty humble goals this year...haha. I've done so much with her now, my goals are dwindling! 

In any case, the New Year is 62 minutes away...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

September 12th Daytime Game Show

Hello!

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the game show today yet...I should have some next week.
I got to the barn just after 7:30 this morning, groomed Daisy so she was nice and clean, put on her SMB3 boots. I loaded her in the trailer, in the middle stall of the part that requires backing in the trailer...she was great! We recently took out a wall in the trailer, so it was sooo much easier to back her in. I didn't have my camera with me (I also forgot money and food this morning...yeah, school is making me lose it :P) , otherwise I would have shown you how adorable Daisy was with two "boyfriends", Scout and Phoenix, next to her :P. The got along great; when we were at the show grounds and about to unload, Daisy started eating dangling pieces of hay out of the boy's mouths! LOL so cute! She seemed to think they were hay nets :).

I tacked up, warmed up, and started out...for the first time this season, we got through a flour-pattern keyhole without being disqualified! YEY! And our time was decent!

Daisy was pretty great in all the classes...we weren't really more then about 3 or 4 seconds off at the most from the person who got the majority of the winning times...we got 4th out of 5 most of the time, although once we got 1st in Straight Line because people knocked barrels (Daisy nicked practically EVERY barrel, it was pure chance that they didn't fall over)...The best part of the time was the Mystery Event, which turned out to be ribbon race...Last year, I did ribbon race around this time with a girl named Jamie, who borrowed a friend's horse for the event as her's was out of commission...Coincidentally, the girl who actually owns the horse from last year, asked me to go with her today because she didn't have a partner...so for her turn, I was her partner, and we did well, it was fun. Then for my turn, Jean was my partner, and for her's, I was her partner. I wish I could have taped us. We had a BLAST.

Whoops, gotta back up a little...Jean decided to retire Bubba from eventing this year after his jumping became considerably worse then usual, and she's realized he's outgrown eventing. He's now a pleasure horse that she's going to use for advanced lessons, and for open shows. Jean decided to take back what she always said about never riding Bubba western, and is now riding him western sometimes, neck reining. He's picking up on it fast, through a lot of leg yielding, and Jean decided yesterday to bring him to the game show today, riding English.

Now back to ribbon race. Jean and I got in the ring, me on the outside, and we were off; holy cow. We were insane. Bubba and Daisy were galloping full speed, no stopping them, it was INCREDIBLE! SOOO fun! First time, we got around in 12 seconds something....second time, Bubba was so "jacked up" that he was hard to steer, so he started to run from Daisy, and before I could catch up, the ribbon broke...but it was still fun. Daisy really liked it; I could tell. :)

So the show was worth it...next up, Hunterpace and pleasure show on Jan. :)

Macro Monday: Pansy

In the midst of posting Sunday Stills each week, I completely forget about Macro Monday! I took a few macro pics this weekend, so here are a couple...simple...but I like them. :)

Check out more Macros at Sunday Stills!

Horsefly Season

Bonjour, my blogger friends!
No, I'm not in France. I'm still in NY, in the height of the horsefly season. AKA, the WORST time of year ever. Even worse then winter.

Horseflies are JERKS. I was wondering already where they were this year, but now I realize they must just not come out until just before fall. These buggers are HUGE. And disgusting, and PAINFUL. I read up about them a bit; these flies have "scissor-like" teeth that slash open the skin of a horse/cow/person, so that the blood comes out and they can lick it off. It's very painful. Luckily, due to them being so huge, they're very easy to smack and kill. However, I must have killed at least 30 or 40 this season already, and they're still there. Of course.

Riding is kinda a pain right now; literally. I haven't been bit, but I DO NOT want to be. They fly all over and threaten biting you. Yesterday Daisy got bit by one while out grazing, and she was bleeding, so I felt SO bad. Today, I had her out to free-graze, and I listened to her outside the window running back and forth to avoid them. She went in her stall, the only place to avoid them, but came back out; poor girl just wanted grass! I had sprayed her with fly spray already, so I was trying not to watch; I knew she wanted to graze, but I hated the flies.
Then I looked out and saw this:


Daisy doesn't normally go in the garage, but apparently she was about to go in, hoping for some relief. And I found these munching happily on her:

OUCH(just so you all know, I killed all three just after the pic was taken).
SO. I stood there wishing I had a flysheet. I've never bought one, used one, never considered one...but then, like *magic*, I thought of my show sheet! And, voila:

I got it on my birthday a year ago from my cousin, Anika, and planned on using it for showing, to keep Daisy clean...I never ended up using it, though, because Daisy never rolls anyway (yey for me!).
Daisy kinda spook at it, though, as she always does when wearing a blanket for the first time in a little while. Notice how her butt is pulled in; yeah, she spooked BAD, trying to run away from herself :-P lol.

Then she was fine. Fly-free and happy, she got to keep grazing. :) yey!

I must say, I think she looks like she's grazing in a pair of pajamas :-P lol

Soo...I imagine I'm not the only one who struggles with the horseflies....what do you do to keep them away??

Until next time,

Sunday Stills Challenge: The Open Road

I realize these aren't the most impressive pictures, however, I went far to get them ;-).

We have a fair going on in our town right now, and I took these on Friday evening at two different times while at the top of a Ferris-wheel type ride...I think I took the evening picture while the wheel was in motion, hence the blurriness... :)

That's one of the main intersections in our town...

I have more photos up of the "Umbrella Ride" at my other blog, http://lifeoutsidethebarn.blogspot.com

To see more roads all over the world, check out Sunday Stills.

P.S. I've posted my Sunday Stills on Saturday because I have a busy Sunday ahead of me, so I thought I'd put them up early. :)

Stewy and Lydia

So, I finally have someone to ride with! This year I met Lydia at a Country Max store after seeing her at a 4H meeting thing, and we found out we live just streets away! We have been riding with each other every Saturday now. Unfortunately, we can only do Saturdays because she takes tennis on the other days after school and I can only ride between 2:30 or whenever I get home and just after 4 when my mom leaves for the restaurant. Anyway, Lydia has a cute, 6 year old Quarter Horse gelding named Stewy! Isn't he a cutie?! I think so! Last week we couldn't ride on Saturday because it was foggy all day, but this past Saturday we rode together! I met her on a shortcut that goes from the farm she boards at to the road that connects to my road, and we rode to my house. Then we went on our trail, got in some pictures, offered Stewy water (of course, he didn't want it, lol) and then I went and "dropped" Lydia off at the shortcut again (Stewy isn't familiar with the road enough for Lydia to ride him home alone) and I rode home. For me it was a LONG ride! Back and forth and back and forth! Altogether it was a 2 hour ride. It was good for Daisy though, who was having a problem at the beginning of the week with not listening because she had way too much energy. She was better after that long ride! :)

Probably this Sunday we will be going to an open show to do western classes (western pleasure/equitation/horsemanship/trail classes) and definitely the Saturday after we are showing in a gaming show (barrels and poles)...I'm really excited! I ordered a new saddle pad for my western saddle and a new helmet (I saved money) and I'm really hoping I'll get them in time for the show! :)

Don't expect a post for a few days... :-/
I only just got to posting--I spent the last hour or more on an essay for Social Studies...look for it on my writing blog here if you want.

9:22 PM

Catch Up

Sorry it took so long to post! I can't believe how busy I am already with school! (And Daisy, and Bible study, and the restaurant, etc)...this is just a cute pic of Abby and Genevieve...they lay on the porch together. :)

Daisy scared me by getting bot eggs on her. A bot fly lays the eggs, and they itch the horse so they bite them off, and then the eggs get inside the horse and hatch, and the larva (I think) eats at the inside of the horse, eventually dies, and then is discarded through the horse...lol...anyway, very bad.

See? All over her leg! I picked them off, though, but it was hard!

Dead bird the cats killed :-(...it's so pretty, even if it's dead...I hope you don't think I'm disgusting...it looks like it's stuffed...

My baby-Genny!! She's the most loyal cat I've ever known...she's m'girl.

Slightly blurry, funny picture.

Obviously I hadn't groomed her yet...haha.

A lot of fog last Saturday morning (Not the Saturday yesterday, but last week)...kept me from going riding with my friend Lydia :-(...I'll tell you all about that tomorrow!!!

This was taken from the house...you could barely see the coop.

SHE LOOKED UP FOR THE CAMERA!!!! A MIRACLE!!!

Grazing by the coop.

The barn at night.

My silly boy climbed a tree one afternoon...

^I LOVE this picture, it's so funny! ^ He's so cute, too.

Genny on the canvas covering our woodpile...she sleeps there a lot.

In the garage...cool pic, huh? That's a sled behind her :-P.

What's so interesting about this picture?! Daisy is eating grass in the laneway along the driveway. Normally she won't eat there--clover isn't good enough for her. She normally waits at the gate. I spent a sweaty afternoon this summer mowing that stretch by hand--ow...back and forth and back and forth...I'm glad she ate there now. Picture taken from above--on my parent's patio.

And, last but not least, our fat indoor cat, Freckles. She decided to cuddle up with the paper clips. Silly girl!

Isn't she funny looking? She's very sweet and loving though. She's fun.

Today was in the 90's, and now it's raining and windy...I took this photo this evening in black and white mode...I love taking pictures of trees against the sky. I don't know why, but I do.

I'll try to post pictures of Lydia and her QH, Stewy, tomorrow!!! :)

I won't be able to post as often now that I have school, sorry! :-(

10:00 PM