JUMPER NITE Wild Run Farm

I have been trying to go for weeks now but its either the weather or the nite or whatever... FINALLY I was able to go this afternoon and was happy to be taking Angel as he has been all but ignored since his back soreness came to a head. WELL... went and Haley wanted to come so I put her to work for me with my Canon 50D! Ya baby... see this big lens her darlin? Ya ... make it work for you... and she did! She got some cool shots... but not the best jumping ones... OH WELL! C'mon first time running a SLR camera what can you say right?

So her are Angel and I debuting again... he has finised 2 out of 3 sessions of acupucture ... and tonight wasnt really a good night and he was ansy and full of it... grinding the teeth and all. I didnt want to leave until he quieted down which only came to pass after I worked him some more in the indoor after 3 rounds of jumping :(.... oh well not our night.... but we got out there at least! He rides so gangly in comparison to Baby and Charlie. I wish I only had ONE horse... no really! ... then I would be back to my greatness in riding like the days of ol' TESS ... she was my one and only an I hers. Riding these green horses, and 3 different types and minds and all this doesnt make me much confident in my approach to training. Honestly some can argue it makes you a better rider... agreed. BUT ... I cannot get the job done at hand or realize my dreams with 3 avenues! So must simplify ... SOON!

Yet another busy day!

Starting with lessons at 8 a.m. One cancelled, and a new one showed up. He has a lot of catching up to do but I think he can do it in short order if he applies himself. Haley did her usual cantering around and posting is looking better too.

Then at 9 Haden showed up for her lesson on Baby. She was already tacked up and ready to go as soon as Ronnies lesson was over. She is going well for only her second lesson and is adorable and smiling all the time talking to Baby thru the lesson saying how much she loves her! OMG!

She trotted a little bit and then we had to show the parents how hard it really is to ride and they both got on and tried to do what I had instructed Hayden to do. Funny they had a new found appreciation for the whole "riding" thing :) I LUV THAT!

Then after all quieted down I rode Charlie at 10 and he was a Dink. Rearing bucking bronco AFTER I longed him ~ and got on and tried to canter around a few times.... JERK. You had to see it... sorry nobody had their cameras ready for that show!

I decided to work him more by asking the girls to head out on a trail ride for an hour or so. It was nice and the bugs werent bad. Made a big loop and accomplished PUDDLES... as it has been raining for 3 days! They all did well.... PROUD of Charlie as he walked a 40' trail of water and came thru a second one right after... up over his knees... he didnt know what to think but he did it. Again NO PICS ~ as my husband took it fishing with him for the weekend. :(

There is a fun show locally tomorrow that I hope they decide to wander over to. Should be fun to check out the grounds for the following weekends fun show to benefit the HEP.

Posting pictures of Babys first Schooling Clinic

UNH ~ photos by Flatlands Photography
Unfortunately I cannot afford her pictures at this time.
Maybe next time ~ sorry about the copyright logo.

Angels Second Session

Was able to save some money by sharing a farm call

with Joyce as King Elk needs chiro and acupuncture too.

After Elk was set to cook he scanned Angel. WOW! Stood tall and square with pressure on his back! AWESOME progress with first session! Thankful that the chi is flowing! Judith said she felt he was more grounded and balanced. I will take whatever I can get to get back on and move forward with his training. Too awesome an athlete to be stuck in neutral all summer.

WE have got to get out there! Only so many weekends in a season and we MUST get him onto a schedule. ME a plan. MUST do~go~see... jumper nite tomorrow with Candace at Wild Run Farm at 4pm. Lessons at 8 with Kaitlyn, Haley and Ronnie and Hayden starts hers at 9 a.m. What a good summer to be sharing knowledge with the youngsters and making them into future equestrians with good bases! :)

Hopefully post more pictures after tomorrow. Hoping to acquire some of me riding Angel and training Charlie too! That lug head! SEE BELOW!

Alot has happened since last we read....

Angel's session determined I would be taking Baby to the schooling clinics. Sunday was her first clinc at Rest And Be Thankful Farm in Lyman Maine. What a gem of a spot... I mean a real find! I happened across the website while scrolling through the MeCTA omnibus and happened upon Babette and the clinic that she was giving there. Perfect segway was my thought, into the following day at UNH with Babette and Tom Davis clinic.

Hmmmmmm well not so much. Although I have been making great strides maintaining rythm in my arena and at HEP ~ it was hard to do that while being coached to do several new techniques and then jump. It just was. It was informative for sure and will certainly give us a new direction of training to work on. I look forward to the next clinic with Babette at RABT July 18th & 19th.

At UNH on Memorial Day I was less than impressed. Babe wasnt in a positive mind set either, as many things werent in black & white and organizers ASSume that partakers know the ropes and/or have been to UNH before. Of course they all had, or most of them, because they are followers of Tom Davis' clinics or students of his. Some were new or had new mounts. I didnt bring my own water, so borrowed some from a fellow rider. I believe I was the only one that didnt have a stall for the day at $25 and BYOBedding and strip before leaving. I am lucky to be able to go to a clinic let alone spend additional fees to have a stall let alone a $13 lunch. It wasnt as organized as I would have liked to see. Then again I am the one that goes above and beyond to make sure everyone is at home, comfortable, part of any conversation, or goings on. That is just me. Thinking about things before they happen and trying to sort out all the what ifs. But anyhooo, it could have been better worth my while had I requested for "FIRST RIDE GROUP" instead of the getting what I got which was second ride group after lunch. So check in at 8:30 and ride at 2pm. OMG! Sun was hot. We were lucky to have the HUGE breeze that allowed everyone to be comfortable in the blazing sun. I tied her to the trailer on the shady side until noon and then opened up the 3 slants inside and gave her the whole trailer with bucket and dropped all three windows. She wasnt happy even though Chloe and I sat outside the her window and gave her an occassional treat and even grass clippings! Spoiled finally settled down with her pawing and tried to nap just before the riders reappeared for lunch.

The noon speaker stood us up, and therefore the second group would be ready to ride sooner than later. I tacked up while talking to a new found friend about our horses, only to find I had no helmet just moments before mounting up. Walking around frantically to anyone at a trailer asking, "have an extra helmet I can borrow?" with the most pitiful look I can imagine. One similar comes to mind when you throw up in front of people you dont know very well... you know that feeling and that look of pitiful. FUN!

All went well until Baby wouldnt take the LOG jump. 5 times they instructed me to try, NOPE NOPE NOPE>.... finally the 5th time I said in my most stern aids... YES YOU ARE! .... low and behold I found myself dangling between her ears.... and she lowered her head to eat grass in front of the log jump ... but also in front of two instructors, 6 other students on horses and endless autitors looking on to learn "what not to do" :) again FUN!

I was stuck in my stirrups because my leg aids were so firm and my legs were so tight on her but most of my weight was up over her shoulder and it was hard for me to get back into the saddle in that most awkward position. SOOOOOOOOO I had to do the most ungraceful dismount and walk her away from the jump and my heart was pounding, my face was red and my throat was aching so hard I almost started to cry ... but I swallowed them back and laughed it off as they tried to tell me all that I had done to make it work that time. WELL! If I could have just cantered to the jump and flew over it in my BRENDA fashion NONE of that would have happened. Then they could have said "well not the most pretty way to do it but it got the job done"... that was of course the vision I had over and over after the fact. SAD but TRUE. Next time ... another day... another way... a different log!

DONT think I wont be going over to school every single freeking day at HEP cross country... OH YEAH... and it will be over the table top, the coupe and rock walls Baby!.... well after my shins heal from the beating they took... and then the rain that we will have through the week..... BUT then we will master that course and will be able to jump ANYTHING!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! HAG!