Quiet Time :)

Oh, I do love my pony :D I can't say that about our last ride, last week but we all have our good days and our bad days I suppose. I was so excited about last Wednesdays ride too. I FINALLY got my little boom box OUT of its box (its only been sitting around since Christmas) and took it too the barn. Nifty little thing too. You just sit the iPod in the dock and voila, music. Only downside is that the little remote that comes with it only works for the volume and the radio. Luckily I did set up a play list to start going through songs. I do one day want to do a musical freestyle with him. One of these days! That and I had to try some music I've been listening too since i graduated but didn't have a team to ride with and try them out anymore. So I put it on shuffle and went through a couple pop songs and quite a few Celtic songs. Albannach, Gaelic Storm, some from the Robin Hood soundtrack :D Man, i miss riding to music. I need to get Bubby a bit more acquainted with it though. That and I need to pick a day where he isn't being an ass with me. Ha!
For whatever reason, he was not too pleased with me. This does happen from time to time and usually i can figure out the cause of the pissiness. I have yet to determine what it was last Wednesday. I would say the music except he became a piss ant AFTER we had been riding for a while. the sand pile, which has been there for over a year, all of a sudden became a monster. Like its moved or something. Ugh. THIS is why people call them jugheads, haha. And, bend? What freakin' bend?! i think he knows I absolutely despise it when he does that crap too. So, we worked on sit trot for the longest time ever for the two of us until he behaved himself. I was sweating, he was sweating and it was a warmish kind of day. I mean, what other day would you pick to pick a fight but a warm day when you still have your woolly mammoth winter coat???
So, he sat in a stall with a cooler on while I rode Scoop :) Scoop is a cool little horse. Well, ok, he's bigger than Bubby but still ;) He can be the most gorgeous horse or he can be a llama.....whichever suits him that day, haha. Last time I rode him I could not for the life of me get him on the bit. This time, I had a few more tricks to try out. Turns out Scoopy is a legs man, hehe. He prefers a very light contact but WILL take advantage of it if you let him. Legs it is! i don't think I have ever sat on a horse that gives and drops his head so quickly with just leg. Of course, we wasn't too happy with me..... Someone is not really a fan of being told what to do especially from someone that is not Mom.... But, we worked it all out in the end. And I won :D And he enjoys Scottish tribal music. I may have to ride Scoop more often.... ;)

No music today for Bubby. After breakfast with the fam at IHOP that included parents that should never have had children sitting at the table next to us, I needed quiet barn time. He was fantastic today. His haults were very sloppy last week. Today he all but fell on his face when I asked for the hault through my seat. His leg yields still need work. May need to start introducing the dressage whip for the lagging hind end. Circles were good, shoulder-in was good and started work on somewhat of a lengthening, haha. The boy has a lot of power though. Can't wait for our first show of the season!!!

Til next time!

What Was Capone's Take On This Holiday??

Yeah. Silly holiday :P I think I celebrated it....once...ever, haha. And in truth, I....may have forgotten.....Have I mentioned I have a tendency to think/act like a guy??? Sad but, true. Please don't come crying to me....I don't handle crying well, as I discovered about a year ago. What is thing EMOTIONS??? ;)
Don't get me wrong, I don't despise the holiday. Unlike most of the other singles out there. Ah well, it is what it is. Wasn't meant to be this year....of last uuhhhhh.....oh who cares! >P
So, I went to the barn :D I mean, we don't have any appointments until Wednesday, it was WARM today and we may potentially have a dressage show this weekend (yay!). Bubby was fantastic, as he has been the last few months. I'm getting better with his sitting trot too, woohoo! I rode in the close contact. I really need to ride in it more as is, if we are ever going to start jumping. Surprised myself, my two-point was solid. I'm out of shape of course, haha but, not wobbly in the least. Our halts need some work before Saturday. We've started doing our giraffe impersonation in the halt. Oy. Luckily, it seems we just need a bit of a tune up. It took quite a few trot-halts to get the idea across but it got across. The sitting trot helped with that though. And the saddle helped with the sitting trot :)
After the ride, the Old One NEEDED a clean up. With all the snow, everyone has been camping out in the run in shed. Lots of poop to be lying about in. And he does love his naps. I initially was going to just groom him up really well and hose his legs off. Well, that was useless. It was near 60 and he is known for scratches and rain rot. So, the legs got a good scrubbing :) I didn't have time to pull his mane but that needs done too. I trimmed it up a month or so ago but his is way thicker than Bubby's. Not to mention he had mud EVERYWHERE. Literally, up his nose (along with part of his dinner), IN his eyes AND ears, and ground into his poll. Really, he is quite talented, lol. Pain in the ass to get him clean and KEEP him clean. He simply doesn't like it :P
We'll not discuss his lack of patience. Note to self: tell Christina she has permission to "beat" him, hahaha. One of these days I'm going to set him in cross ties and leave his oldman butt there until he RElearns to STAND quietly. I may have a revolt on my hands. At the very least a temper tantrum I'm sure ;)
May ride my friends horse tomorrow depending on the wind. I was going to ride him today but I don't believe he's a fan of the indoor + wind. I'll just wait....lol. Terry is gone all week so I have some time. Scoop is a fun, really good looking QH-looking TB. Judges favorite, ALWAYS :D And she did give me permission to kick his butt a little bit ;D I'm overdue for a challenge, haha, since we do have a bit of a (humorous) history.
Here's hoping I get off my lazy, bored butt tomorrow and go mess with him!

Til next time!

So Much Excitement!

Hallelujah, Olivia has finally made her debut!!! :D I don't remember how much I've actually mentioned about this but, my boss/partner/trainer/barn manager/friend finally had her baby today. We have all been waiting soooo long to see her! I can only IMAGINE how Amanda has felt but I was starting to think she was never leaving the womb, hahaha. There's been so much anticipation with it being her first and a first for the barn as well. I got the stunning text at 4pm or so saying "Amanda is in labor. can you check the horses. Will let you know when Olivia arrives". So that was exciting in itself. I figured we had a pretty good wait ahead of us (I have no idea when she actually WENT into labor). Wrongo. 5:26pm ~ picture of brand new baby Olivia! And, she is of course, ADORABLE and looks just like her mom :) I can not wait to see her in person!

On to more somewhat exciting news (I mean, how can you top newborn baby, right?), I worked with Bubby Monday evening over some small cross rails. With the help of my friend Ali of course, haha. Who knew the Bubbers would actually take a liking to it??? Well, the little stuff had him really excited. When she set actual little X's up....let's just say neither of us were terribly thrilled. One, I reiterate, I have a terrible fear/anxiety associated with jumping. Thank you lousy, waste-of-a-whole-year-and-money "instructor" at Wilson >P BUT, on an upside, I have worked with Bubby enough and know his personality well enough that I do trust him to get me over it. As much as I appreciate what the Ol' One has taught me, I know he's going over the jump with or withOUT me....not always a totally comforting thought, haha. Besides, he and Christina are great jumping buddies. Who am I to ruin it?
Here is also where my good friend and I start to gently clash in training theories. One, we are schooling two very different green horses. One day I will devote part of a post to the differences in training OTTBs and OTSTBs. Two, I'm working with a fear I truly don't think she can understand. It's even rather hard to explain without me sounding uncharacteristically whiny. But it is what it is. I've battled it before and had minor victories. I know how to handle it, I just need TO handle it. Three, I know my horse inside and out, just as she knows hers. You don't own one for 10+ yrs and not. Down to the tiniest detail, I know his mood. Whether the tenseness is frustration or or pissiness. If the big trot is excitement or fear. You just know after a while. And I could feel him into some of the "bigger" (haha) cross rails he was not comfortable, it was too much, too soon. Some horses can handle that. Trust me, he doesn't do well with sudden change (sometimes, we are too alike in personalities, lol). I outright refused some of the true cross rails. I wasn't feelin' it. Did I mention he can read ME like a book??? Yeah, not a good combo.
So, we're going to take it slow. He prefers it, I prefer it. There. Settled. He's starting to try really jumping the teeny stuff. He needs to figure his legs out anyway, haha. the front end jumps, the back end trots. He likes it though :)

Oh, and we got our picture in the local paper today :) They were covering the MD Horse Census for 2010 and interviewed Amanda. They needed pictures so I ran out to the barn. I thought Bubby would be wore out but he was quite spunky. Could have been all that dang wind though! I've never had my picture in the paper before, lol. Whereas most of the rest of the fam has (normal sports stuff of course ;). Kinda cool....even if the paper chose the one where he was spooking away from the camera...think I can feel my ears burnin now, lol.

Til next time :D

I WIsh Mommy and Daddy Would Buy Me A Push Button Pony Too...

NOT! Don't you just love seeing some of the young "talent" coming up through the ranks. HA! Yeah, if my dad was a rock star, I guess I would have access to the really expensive, thoroughly broke HUNTER/"Jumper" horse too. What a laugh. Any discipline really. I have learned so much from the green and unbroke horses in my life, I can't imagine where my riding would be without them. It's hard to learn the concept of "seat" when yours is never tested. The theory's in riding are truly learned via green horse and good trainer. Combined. Well, my belief anyway, haha. But, how do you learn how to get THERE, if you never take a young horse through the motions??? Yeah, pet peeve much, lol?
All I know is that I bought my first horse for $600. I had the crappy tack for years because I couldn't afford anything else. I didn't have a trainer to work with the both of us because I didn't have a trailer. But I kept riding so one day hopefully I would get a chance to ride with someone and MAYBE one day we would compete. That was 10 years ago. And I get no bigger thrill than when we have a break through in our training or when we move up in our training.
Where's the thrill when it's just handed to you? Where's the feeling of accomplishment? Hey, maybe its just me. Really. But I don't get it. It's like having a blue ribbon just handed to you. I have 3 hanging in my room. And I don't count any of them. Why? Because there was no one in my class. AND my scores were less than desirable.
I don't want it handed to me. I want to earn it. Plain and simple.
And on that note, we had a very good ride yesterday. Almost slipping on ice and all, haha. Very forward, and TONS of impulsion. Love love love :D Not to mention, a DREAM over trot poles. He didn't raise his head over any of them. Tempo and rhythm did. not. change. Love love love love love!!! I can not wait for show season to start! He has come so far in his training the last few months it's unreal. The light bulb went off this winter, hahaha. Could you ask for a better partner? I think not ;D

Happy Happy Happy!!!

Today was the day a lot of hard work and patience paid off :D And a day I proved the naysayers wrong....if only for my benefit :) A friend came over to the barn today and asked if I wanted her to hop on Bubby. She's ridden him before and has been riding greenies and, in general, a lot longer than me. It's always nice to see your horse go with someone else, good or bad, to just SEE it AND keep them from being a one-rider horse. Oh, and she loves my jumping saddle, lol. I haven't had a ton of time lately (update on that in a sec) so it worked out for all :)
It started kind of rocky. He was back to dragging his hind feet and locking his neck. We were in the indoor and I seriously think that the felt footing actually encourages him to do so. Oy. He was strung out and bending a LITTLE. I figured it would be a bust but wanted him to go over some trot poles so we at least ended on a good note. And my friend is game for anything and understands dealing with greenies, so outside we went. Hello different horse! He was right where we left off last week :D (hence the felt theory, haha). He was round and flexing and holding himself UP! Oh, and tracking up too :) THAT is my horse.
Last time she had ridden him, a couple months ago, she had tried him over some cross rails which he went over but, eh not really. This first one was too small. Yes, he's going to be one of those. Too small, I crash it or trot ridiculously high over it. Up two more holes it went. And then I became absolutely elated. See, I never intended him to really jump. He's never really really liked the idea and recently he's been developing some bad habits (ie rushing) with the cavalettis and trot poles. Today. Today he looked like he had been jumping all his life :D :D He stretched over the jump with a great take off, little bascule and landing. I am such a proud mama! Then, he started like he was going to canter (we do get a tad excited when we get things right, haha). So the next time around, she encouraged him and my boy CANTERED!!!! It was a little short but he stayed collected and again like he'd been doing it forever. And then he got confused transitioning down and paced, lol. He'll get it, I'm sure.
SEE, classical training works! And Standardbreds CAN jump AND canter AND do them WELL with training. Just like any other horse. I was telling my boss the other day on the way to a dental appointment that I want another STB. I really do. Obviously when I have the means and the time, lol. But it has been such a rewarding experience and I fully believe that if I had had an instructor like I have now, I would have a fantastically trained 16yo horse now. I'll always have Bubby (well, until...) but when he's done being a late blooming show horse my next will be another off the track STB, for sure.
More good news *fingers crossed* There is someone starting the barn tomorrow. He'll be doing M-F, IF it all works out. I'm hoping! Now, to get ready for CAMP, dun dun dun. Hahaha. And then bring on the weddings and bridal showers :D
Til next time!

Not Sure I Have An Excuse This Time....

Well, I didn't promise to get this thing written regularly.....right??? This time, I blame the heat ;) Which, in all fairness, was horrible last week. I did ride last week, barely. Ugh, the heat and humidity was >P Summer can suck it. I had an overheated horse both days I rode. And for only 15, MAYBE 20 minutes. The only good thing about my last few rides is my horse is FINALLY picking up his feet! And by that I mean he is now flying through the cavalettis *headdesk*. Be careful what you wish for. But, as the saying goes, in some aspect, better to have too much horse than not enough. I have to say, it IS easier to bring them back from too much suspension, more forward, etc...then to kick and scream at them for more forward, more suspension, etc...
The Ol' Man got a bath yesterday when I was done cooling out Bubby. Bubby hadn't had breakfast yet and Darry was DONE, thank you. They get so cantankerous in old age, haha. He enjoyed the attention. I feel bad I don't do more with him but keeping one show fit is enough for me right now. And it's really hot. I know, broken record BUT he is 30 and out of shape because of the weight gain he needed last year. I don't want to puch my luck. He's happy being retired and groomed a couple times a week :) I figured a bath was in order yesterday. He is awesome to bathe. Anyone who has ever bathed a young and/or impatient horse, appreciates an old pro. He got his puff mints too, much to his enjoyment :D I discovered them a couple years ago when his teeth started going (at 28!) and he was ever determined but having a hell of a time eating star mints. He LOVES mints. Probably ranks up there with jumping and foxhunting on Darryl's favorite things in the whole wide world :D Next on the Darryl-to-do list - mane pulling! lol

Alrighty, in the middle of watching the Deadliest Catch finale :-) Did I mention I have tickets to see Captain Andy, Captain John and Captain Sig in September??? Dork I know, but soooo excited :-D
Til next time!