Hmmmm...Just Some Stuff

Hello!

I've officially started school again, so I probably won't be posting as often, as I'll be busy with school work :-/

Daisy was trailered to Jean's house yesterday because of a pretty busy two weeks that I have ahead of me. Today, the Yautzy Road Yahoos had a pre-game show mounted meeting (yey!). We worked on pattern's in Jean's arena; lots of fun. Saturday (tomorrow), we have an all-day game show. It's one of the best of the year; unlike the evening game show from a few weeks ago, this one is the best. It has a TON of events; keyhole, cloverleaf, pole bending, straight line, Texas T, ribbon race, can race, etc, etc, etc...very fun. :)

Saturday in a week (the 19th) is a special day; Jean and I are going to our *first* hunter pace! Neither of us have ever gone, so for the first time, she's taking just me :)...though we did invite our vet, who also events...we'll see. Next year we'll add a few club members. It's a 6 mile ride with optional jumps up to 2'6". I'm so excited! We're going to use red saddle pads, shirts, etc, and head out...yey! Daisy isn't the greatest at jumping (understatement), but it will still be fun.

I rode Daisy bareback alone through the woods yesterday at Jean's house...we jumped a log jump a few times; it's not super big, but it is a jump. She felt AWESOME! She has a tendency to either run-out on a jump at the last minute, or jump very flat. She did neither! She went over the jump really well; it really feels like you're soaring, especially bareback. :P

For your enjoyment, I've attached two pictures of us jumping in a trail class...last fall, then this spring :P

*Snort* in the second one, I'm just sitting there, doing nothing....looks quite funny.

The mounted meeting today was a BLAST!
I got on Daisy, western, and found right away that she was SUPER hyper...I wasn't sure why; I had ridden her the day before, so it was kinda weird...I jumped her out back on the trail a little again, galloped a stretch...and she was still "bouncing off the walls" when we got in the arena. The meeting was fun; just 7 of us on horseback, not too crowded, and we did some pleasure-stuff, then mounted games. Daisy was a ROCKET. SUPER DUPER fast. She was a crazy cantering, flying lead changing, hot barrel racer....crazy. While we'd wait to go again, I started sitting Indian-style on the saddle...something we've all taken to doing when we're riding, especially waiting for classes at shows...at some point, I ended up standing up straight on Daisy's rump! I should get a picture...it's SO funny. I drop the reins, and she stands fine as always, and I stand up slow on her back. Then I sat on her rump and slid back and forth; she just turned her head with a look on her face that clearly said "You're insane, I knew it" but she didn't move.

Later on, everyone was practicing for pick-up race, where one rider stands at the end of the arena, and a mounted rider rides up to the other one, swings them on the horse's back, and they race double back to the finish...the kids in our club only trot home, but it's still fun...I'd never done it with Daisy because I didn't think she'd stand it. I decided to try. I sat back behind the saddle, on the rump, and leaning forward, walked around, then trotted, then cantered around; she didn't bat an eye. Her ears were pinned, but they are 90% of the time, so that doesn't mean anything...she couldn't care less. I had Oliver go to the end of the ring, and I rode over, picked him up, and we walked and trotted double; Daisy didn't care.
Looks like I can enter a pick-up race with her, after all!

I went to feed Daisy after the meeting and was surprised to find Daisy's breakfast grain still in the scoop...uh oh. :P Jean mixed up one container with another and Daisy got I think 1 1/2-2 quarts of sweet feed! AHH! She's on almost no sweet feed right now; mainly crimped oats and sunflower seeds...so no wonder she was so hyper! :P Evidentally, she was fine, though, because she still handled riding double and me standing on her!

I'm so proud of my pony...she may not be purebred, or super impressive at shows, but she's so agreeable...she has the perfect balance of patience, spunk, and brains :P. I couldn't ask for a better horse. :)

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!

Sunday Stills Challenge: Rule of Thirds

This week challenge, "rule of thirds", meant that you take a picture with the subject anywhere bu the center...at first, I thought that was kinda weird, but I think I like rule; it's kinda neat...did I do it right?

This is my brother's dog, Sasha, a rottweiler/German Shepherd mix. She's been staying with us for a few weeks while my brother visited Germany. :)

Before Daisy's Time: My First Show

Back in the day when caveman roamed the Earth, and dinosaurs weren't extinct yet, I had my first horse show.

Well, at least I made the first sentence interesting, right? Right.

A year and a half before I found Daisy, I made friends with the owners of three miniature ponies down the street from our house. I used to go to their house a few times a week and take care of the ponies. It was pretty cool, because I went over there whenever I wanted, and played with the minis. It was like having my own horses. That next spring, one of the girl's on my brother's swim team invited me to show one of her miniature horses (not the ones on my street). It was a blast. The night before I had a crash course on showmanship, halter classes, and obstacle, and early the next morning we were off. I think I borrowed all the clothes I wore, haha, and the horse, but I had a ball!

One class was obstacle. You had to lead your horse over poles, have him turn on the forehand in a hula-hoop, walk over a tarp, etc. We got fourth place.

I remember being SO nervous for showmanship. I went in as the first person, which meant in the line-up I was last to see the judge. We had to walk forward, stand for inspection with the judge, do a 180 degree turn, and trot back. I don't remember the fine details, but I know I had a hard time when standing for inspection because Doc, the pony I showed, didn't want to stand still. I felt like a failure because he kept prancing around, and not squaring up...but we ended up with 2nd place out of 10 people. I was SO proud. I've been told that the judge admired that I kept trying even when he was a jerk...I don't know if that's true, but it made me happy!

The last pictures are of Doc showing with his owner. :)

A year later, I bought Daisy.

I value all the experiences I've had before I had Daisy; everything I did with horses, big and small, taught me something. I give credit to the minis this year when I had 1st place showmanship at the county fair; it's nice that I had already had that experience. :)