Moving · Forward

Isaac and Chris came out a few days ago to take pictures of me riding Brite. Unfortunately, Nick [the husband] accidentally deleted the photos that Chris took, but I still have the ones from Isaac.

I'm glad these pictures were taken, besides that it's nice to have pictures of me riding, because I can see my equitation flaws and aide problems more clearly. However, things I already know [meaning, let's not go on and on about them, brief comments are okay] are:

+I need to put my stupid shoulders back! Argh.
+I'm not asking Brite to use his hindquarters as much as he can/should [per my trainer]. I think I got distracted with two guys running around in the arena taking pictures.
+I need to stop opening my fingers so much. Who knows why I do that. Unconcious habit.
+I look down a lot. I honestly attribute that to being a little camera shy - as they were everywhere I looked.

Enough excuses!

Also, disregard the arena. The footing is poor at the moment, it's getting fixed, but we need it to pour first. The entire barn is in the process of getting a face lift. [Yay!]
So, without further ado, here they are: ( Briteness )

Why is it that I wake up before 8am on the days I have off? Oh well, I feel refreshed.

This weekend [Friday, Saturday and yesterday] I was at the Summertime Blues Dressage show in Williamston, NC. Mckenzie and I showed Brite, Cira took Beamer - a client's Morgan - and Leigh, one of Cira's students, took her Arab X pony, Fatima. We all had an absolute blast.

The first day Mckenzie was excused. Brite was such a brat in her test [Intro B]; he bucked. He was better in my test [Training 1], still bucked and was refusing contact for the most part. I got a 58%, which I thought a little generous. The judge really liked my position and Brite's gaits. We did very well on our halts and circles, but he was stiff through our down transitions, bent to the outside coming down the left side of the ring and missed a lead [because he was bent to the outside... sigh]. We discovered that his back and hind legs were super sore that night. So, lots of cold hosing, vetrolin and joint medicine and....

Yesterday Brite was sooo much better for Mckenzie. She got a 4th! She didn't ask him to come through at all because she wanted him to just be quiet and he definitely was. I got a 6th [56%], which was more accurate. His transitions were still stiff and he was still looking to the outside down the one side and thusly got the wrong lead, again.

Cira got a 3rd with Beamer [who was at his first show] in Intro B. He spooked pretty badly at some kids running down the bleachers, but she redid the movement as it wasn't really either of their faults. The kids practically jumped off the top of the stairs and came screaming down. Yesterday he wasn't as spooky, but MUCH more tense. She got a 6th [56%].

Leigh showed Intro B and Training 1 and got 4th and 5th respectively. Her pony is good and schooled up to 2nd Level, but her halts aren't that great. She's really tense and dances around and then comes off centerline super crooked. And then yesterday she got another 5th in Training 1 [she didn't show Intro B again].

Of course, I took a ton of pictures, but I have to get them developed first. I think I'll send them away now and do the regular processing, instead of one hour, so it will be cheaper. Then I will have gotten paid by the time they're done and can pick them up.

We're going back next month. I'm so excited. I had such a blast down there!

I heart my horsie.

I need to write in here more!

Brite and I have been in lessons for about three months with Cira. The improvement we have made is incredible!

I've strengthened my position and feel much better overall with my equitation. In fact, in my last lesson I asked Cira to nail me on my equitation; halfway through our lesson she said, "You asked me to nail you on your equitation and there hasn't been anything to correct!" Insert huge smile here.

Brite is a completely different horse. He's in lessons three times a week with Cira, once with me and twice with Mckenzie. He's worked between 4-6 times a week, sometimes only for 20 minutes on the lounge line or a trail ride at the walk, but that's okay as it gives him a bit of a break from serious work and is a change from the arena.

He seems very happy and has begun to really try and give it his all. He has some wonderful muscling now and, from being inside during the day, he's nice and black. When we're in the showring - man are we flashy looking!

I wish I would win the lottery or something involving me getting a large sum of money, because I would give him to Mckenzie. She absolutely loves him and he loves her. They compliment each other so well, each having their quirky, but awesome, personality. Cira told me recently that she is really going to push them into buying Brite in the fall. It's always been the plan, but Cira is even more confident that Brite is the horse for Mckenzie. I told Cira that I'd be more than willing to work out a payment plan with them, because I would love to know he's with Mckenzie because she will take excellent care of him.

We, Mckenzie and I along with half of our barn, are going to a show on Saturday. I'm excited to go and show, but also to hang out with all of my barn buddies for the day.

Oh, life is good.

I spent the majority of the day with Cira and Rich. I went with them to watch Cira's lesson on Celestyn and see her other horses. Cele is amazing. He's a Czech warmblood they imported last year. The rest of her horses are amazing, as well. She's got a really nice show string.

I was going to ride, but the weather looked a little threatening so I decided not to get on and then it turned super nice. However, by that point I was tired and didn't have the energy to really give Brite a good workout. Though, seeing Cira ride and thinking about my own plans for my horse future, I kind of have a good drive to really work harder toward my goals.

Rich and I were talking about my idea to incoporate dressage techniques into reining and he really liked them. The Giunti's are awesome and are becoming like a second family. I need to start making more money so I can take two lessons a week and Cira can kick my butt.

Yesterday, like every other day in the past two weeks, I woke up at 5am. I collected my dog, drove to my dad's to drop him off, grabbed all of my show stuff out of my dad's garage and drove to the barn.

( Mckenzie and I's first show of the year )

So, overall:

Mckenzie [out of 15 riders]
3rd - English pleasure
4th - 17 + under Junior pleasure
5th - Hunter pleasure

Me [out of 16/17 riders]
2nd - Adult hunter pleasure
3rd - Adult hunter equitation
4th - Adult hunter equitation [he missed both of his leads and my hands looked like crap]

Reserve Champion for Adult Hunter!

I love my boy.

I've had two lessons on Brite since I've last wrote, so I'll discuss both of them at once.

During our second to last lesson Brite was really forward and rounded in our trot. He started carrying himself around the entire ring, instead of just a few strides or half way around. He's beginning to over-reach in his trot and really use his hindquarters.

When I asked for the canter it was very rushed and he was dragging himself with his front end. Cira told me to bring him to a halt each time he started leaning and stopped carrying himself. It took me almost half of the arena to get him to stop! She told me to switch to my Tom Thumb and work him the same way, asking for the halt each time he stopped carrying himself.

In our next lesson we worked on transitions on a circle. Our upwards transitions are becoming fantastic! He's becoming very, very responsive with them. We worked on our halts and were doing them in about three to five strides, a HUGE improvement from the previous lesson.

Then we started working on the canter, which was much more controlled and collected. Our canter/halt and canter/walk transitions were SO MUCH BETTER! He was getting them in about two to three strides, which use to be canter, ask for downward transition, trot really fast for five/six strides, walk a few strides, then stop. I'm so proud of my boy!!

Once he started nailing the canter/halts and canter/walks we called it a day. He was over-reaching in the walk and trot with a very nice frame. Cira said it was the best he's looked since we've started riding with her. Even though, for some odd reason, the transition work made him a bit more excited and forward, he was a really good boy and really responsive. He's such a different horse now and I'm so pleased with our work thus far. It's really renewed a joy in riding because I no longer have to fight with him over everything.

Our next lesson is on Saturday, after the vet comes out to give the barn spring shots. I'm not sure if I'm going to ride Brite or use Peppy, because I think Mckenzie has a lesson, also. Either way, I don't care, I love my lessons!

I've worked with Peppy on the lounge line roughly 10 times. I'm mostly trying to improve muscle tone and his overall fitness, while also working on voice commands and consistancy.

While working in the round pen he is very attentive and responsive. However, when we work in the arena, near the pastures, he is much less attentive and responsive and also pulls. Part of the pulling problem stems from previous [I should specify, previous owners] round pen work - I think that he recieved the majority of his training here - and him seeking a wall for comfort. It has improved after making him work in the middle of the arena a few times.

Peppy was very leary of being sprayed or having things near his face. In the duration of 26 days I've been working with him these problems are slowly fading. He's almost 100% relaxed about face touching. When you first start to spray him he'll move around a bit, but settle down almost immediately. He was also impossible to catch in the pasture, but as he learned the routine and who I was, he immediately became a dream to catch.

I've been on Peppy a handful of times, the first time in the round pen just to see what he knew. He is green broke, with an uncollected walk, trot and canter. I've ridden in the main arena quite a few times and also did a bit of "trail riding" around the farm property. In the arena we work on a circle in the corner. I'm focusing on his trot, which is slowly but surely turning into a nice jog. He's learning to carry himself at a slower, more consistant pace.

I've also been incorporating using my leg with my rein aids to teach him to move off of leg pressure. He is coming along fairly quickly with this and I have added neck reining with my aids.

His halt is very good for a green broke horse. I have started using my seat and legs [lower leg and feet forward] to get him to stop along with rein aids in preparation for sliding stops. I haven't noticed a response yet, but I've just started this and am not expecting him to catch on immediately.

On the "trail" he's pretty quiet, but is a bit spooky with sudden movements. I haven't felt comfortable to go off the property by ourselves yet, and am needing someone to come with me with a dependable trail horse first.

I'm going to continue focusing on slowing the trot to a nice, consistant, comfortable jog. I haven't done any work on the canter/lope yet. From my first experience with him cantering it is a little off balanced, which is expected, but very comfortable and easy to control. It isn't too fast or too slow. I will have to work on a slower and faster lope for reining patterns, but I'm not worried about that right now. I'd like to have a balanced walk and jog first [even though reiners do absolutely no trot work in their patterns].

Peppy is leaving around the middle of May to go work with Clinton Anderson in Ohio. There is a possibility that he will be traded for a finished reining gelding. If this is done I will be showing the new gelding in reining classes for the region AQHA and NRHA circuits.

Mima told me she had more confidence and rode since our last lesson. She even let her boys ride Xochitl around for a while.

We continued to work on slowing the jog and were doing very well, until a pitchfork fell off it's hanger and spooked Xochitl a little. She didn't do anything more than take a few quick steps sideways, but it was enough to unbalance Mima, and she took a spill. But, like a trooper, she hopped back on and continued the lesson.

I hope it hasn't sent her backwards in her confidence. I stressed that it was just an accident and neither parties fault. I did my best to encourage her and hopefully she's continued riding while I'm not there.

Mima is getting very comfortable with using her reins to slow Xochitl's jog, which can get very bouncy and jarring at times. She's learning when she needs to ask the mare to slow down and when to release and also how she feels when she's about to break into a walk.

I'm very proud of how Mima is coming along. She has a wonderful mare and I'd like to see them bond and trust one another completely.

Yesterday I started giving lessons to Mima. She has a gorgeous QH/Morgan cross who is very responsive and sweet. But, because of a few spooking issues Mima is a little leary of her. She said Xochitl [Sochi] has some dominance issues with her, so I showed her how to free longe her and keep her moving until she starts to chew and lick, wanting to come in to us. I told her I would have her do the longeing next week, so she could fully understand.

Then I hopped on Xochitl for about thirty minutes, basically to see what she can and cannot do. Like I said, she's very responsive and just an all around good mare. I worked with her a little to slow down her trot [Mima rides western].

I asked Mima if she would like to get on and surprisingly she said yes. They walked around mostly, we worked on using the seat to stop in conjuction with "whoa" and then asking with the hands. Xochitl has a soft, responsive mouth and I'd like it to stay that way. We did a bit of trot work and I had to remind Mima to relax and not stiffen her ankles and hips so she could go with Xochitl's movement and stop bouncing so much.

Overall, I think they make a great pair. Hopefully, I can help her conquer her fear issues. She doesn't want to ride without anyone there [read: me], so we'll probably end up having two lessons a week. Mima also has two boys that she'd like to start getting lessons. Plus, she wants me to work with Xochitl a little to slow her jog and lope. The lope isn't really bad, just a bit of collection work. Her jog, however, is a bit fast and choppy. You can sit it... uncomfortably.

I'm really looking forward to working with them. Mima is a sweetheart. She's also a doctor and her husband is a pilot -this is going to sound bad- so I know they can afford lessons and training. Hah, how awful of me!