Back from Congress - Part 1 - the horses

I've had quite the break from this blog! I've just been super lazy these past few days. I spend so much time on the computer at work all day that I don't always feel like doing much stuff online when I get home.  I've been anxious to get back to posting though, so here is part 1 of my  trip to Congress.

The short version of the story: It was awesome and hope I can go back next year!

Pretty medals!

For the long version: read on!

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I made it back from my big trip to the AQHA Congress a few days ago.  I had a great time and was really amazed/impressed by the scale of the whole event.  There were trucks, trailers and RVs for miles, parked all over the fairgrounds.  There were horses and people and hundreds of golf carts all over the place.  The shopping was awesome and the horses were amazing, for the most part.

A jacket from Connie's Customs

We watched several classes, including youth showmanship, hunter under saddle, futurities, novice amateur western classes and many others.  I had fun watching the horses and checking out the blinged out outfits the women wear in the western pleasure classes. They are like evening gowns with chaps!  The prices on the really fancy show jackets are outrageous – you would have to spend a minimum of $1000.00 to get started and we saw ones for sale that were over $4000.00!!!!  Luckily I will never need one of those outfits, since I find them a bit too much for my taste!

I have to admit that I’m still not a huge fan of western pleasure. The lope is still kind of nasty on a lot of horses. I think it has improved a lot over the past few years, but still not my favourite. I enjoyed the HUS classes – the horses move out much better - and I was even getting ok at picking the top 3-5 horses in each split and even in the finals. 

Proof that I actually watched some classes!  ;-)

The auction was the big event on the Sunday - which was ok, since we needed a  bit of a break from shopping!  We had all reviewed the sales catalogue ahead of time and maybe a few fantasy picks.

We toured the sales barn ahead of time to see our picks in person.  I had my eye on a nice yearling gelding out of Lazy Loper, a super popular stud (here is a link to a youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DndgYsEh7KE) and he went for $5500, which isn’t unreasonable.  Maybe someday I’ll buy my next horse down there!  

Lazy Loper - stud muffin extraordinaire!

 It was fun listening to the auctioneers and it took me a while to understand what they were saying!  They also had people at the front of the seating areas watching for bids and communicating with the auctioneer using all kinds of hand signals – which I couldn’t really figure out - but it was fun to watch.

The people I was with seemed to know half the people and horses on the grounds – we talked to people in the barns, people showing, people there shopping, people there with their trainers, etc. etc. etc.  It was a big learning experience - I met lots of new people and learned a ton about bloodlines and what judges are looking for in the big classes.   

Coming up next – shopping at Congress!

Updates are hard when you aren't riding much!

So, I've been a total slacker with both riding and this blog!  I'm not sure what happened in the riding department - my motivation went out the window as soon as September hit.  Oh well...I'm not on any particular schedule here, so it doesn't really matter in the end.

I found out recently that Spencer and I are reserve high-point in halter AND western horsemanship at the little series of club shows we did this summer!  Very cool for me, considering I had no idea if I could even win a ribbon, let alone a reserve high-point award. The only slight bummer in this situation is that I'm going to miss the banquet because I'm going to Congress that weekend.  I guess I'll to have a friend pick up any loot I might win!  :-)

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I spend a lot more time on my computer when the seasons change and my riding slows down.  I've started riding English a bit with Spencer, so of course I have been searching for matching tack and all kinds of extra stuff I don't really need...!

I was teased a bit this summer for Spencer's training tack. I have a safety orange saddle pad and fly veil for him that I quite like. I also have an orange helmet cover that I'll have to get out now that it is cooler.

I noticed that emerald green is very popular in a lot of stores this year. Green is my favourite colour and it isn't often a colour that you find in clothes in retail stores.  I was browsing the internet to see if I could come up with a couple of super-matchy " tack items for Spencer just to bug my coach a bit.  ;-)

It turns out that there is a ton of bright green stuff for the English side! I attempted to make one of those clothing mash-up images that you see all over Pinterest.  You know what I mean, images like this:

I actually like this outfit, even if there is no green anywhere!  ;-)

Here is my bright green version.  I even included a Ralph Lauren model with a green polo shirt, 'cause I totally look like that when I ride! LOL  I really love the white saddle pad with the monogram and the beer and clover pad.  I'm part Irish (somewhere in my heritage) so that would be great to have, right?  The saddle pads and the polos are all from Ebay.  I actually can't remember where I found the black/green stirrups.  I'm trying to resist ordering some of that stuff this fall since it is my favourite colour and all!

Love all that green! 

I then decided to try and find some western tack with the same emerald colour. It doesn't really exist on the western side yet. Lots of lime and hunter green, but not emerald.  Here is my initial lime green western inspiration:

 And then I found a bunch of sites that make custom bling tack and you can choose your colours:

Emerald green - this could work!

 Or, I could get a whole set of matching tack in whatever colour I wanted!!!

This would look great with green crystals!

Luckily I'm able to resist buying anything right now! I'm sure I'll find all kinds of neat stuff to buy at Congress. I've heard the shopping there is pretty amazing!

An update, to move the grouchy post down!

Just a warning – this post is probably going to be all over the place…as I don’t have much to say on any one topic! ;-)  I also wanted to push down the grumpy whiny post!

I think my show season is done for this year. There are some fairs I could go to, but I think I just want to work on my riding at home and save up a bit of money. I have three things I want to save a bit of money for in the short term:

1. A mini shopping trip to PA with my family (DONE! Had fun, found some nice new clothes for the fall!)
2. Building some trail obstacles (more on that later);
3. And more importantly, I’m going to Congress in October!!! Woo-hoo! (That’s a big AQHA show in Columbus, OH, for those of you not into the QH scene… )

I was invited to go with my coach and two other ladies that I got to know this summer. I am pretty excited to go – mostly for the shopping – I can admit it! It will neat to be at such a big horse event and the gals I’m going with are pretty fun. I may have already started a shopping list! It will be fun to get some stuff that isn’t available here, or would cost me a fortune in shipping.

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A couple of weeks ago, I rigged up a little display in the barn for my ribbons. I still had two of Rusty’s old shoes, so I pounded the clips down a bit and spray-painted them John Deere green. I like green and that paint was sitting around, so why not? ;-) I bought a 6ft piece of fine chain from the hardware store and voilà! A ribbon display!

 

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What? I have to work?

My coach’s hubby came over today with his tractor to pull some sand off my ring - it was just too deep!  He didn't charge me anything either, which almost made me cry. They are such nice people and they know how much I appreciate the help.

In the end, we almost doubled the width of the ring. It is about 120' x 120'  now! I need some barrels or jumps or something, lol.  Or, I could almost set up a trail course on the one side and leave it there.

It is really hard to deal with workers and explain the type of sand you need for horseback riding. Not too deep, but not too shallow. Sand that won’t pack too much but isn’t too loose or too coarse or too fine. What??? Umm, right, ok. My sand is almost like beach sand and in hindsight I should have had the guys bring me a sample before dumping it all in the ring. I can work with it though, so that is the good news. I may have to have a load of a different type of sand brought in next year to mix with the stuff I have. I guess it is still a work in progress at this point!

A pretty nice panorama!  It was a beautiful day today...even if it was cool.

I also finally hauled all of my poles and jumps standards to the ring. We even Macgyver’d two harrows for the ring – one is an old piece of chain link fence and the other is made of pallets! I set up a small section of temporary fence to keep the horses away from it, since the ring is inside my larger pasture. I will fence of the riding ring eventually, but for now it is all open.

I have some plans this fall to build some trail obstacles, but I’ll save that for another post when I can get some pictures of my handy-work!

A very crappy lesson

I was away for five days last week and then my Mom came back to stay with me for a week. I didn’t really have a lot of time to ride, with work and entertaining my Mom. Unfortunately my Mom isn’t the slightest bit interested in horses or my riding, so it was hard to sneak away and have some time with my boy.


As a result of the above, Spencer had a nice little two week holiday. I rode for about 30 mins on Saturday and then had a lesson last night. The weather was dicey, but the rain held off, which was good. I had to laugh at Spencer when I first went out to the barn to get tacked up. He was trotting around and whinnied to me when he saw me. I wasn’t sure why he was so wound up when I got out there, but just attributed it to the cooler weather we are having.

We went out to the ring to lunge a bit before my coach arrived. Spencer was on high alert and was a bit snorty. I brushed it off and just kept working. A few minutes later, I found out why he was so jumpy. A neighbour (that we couldn’t see) was outside doing some target practice or something and gunshots were ringing out. This happened last fall too, so I’m sure the horses will get used to the sound. The first few times they hear gunshots, they get a little nervous, as do I, since it isn’t something we hear all the time.

When my coach arrived, she was surprised to see me lunging. Spencer hasn’t needed any lunging all summer and has been super calm. She asked why Spencer was all wound up and I smiled and told her she would soon find out why. I got on and started warming up at the trot. After a few minutes, another two gunshots rang out – Spencer did a little scoot, but didn’t spook. Coach exclaimed “oh my gosh! No wonder he is nervous!” We just laughed about it and carried on. Luckily the marksman next door gave up soon after that and went in for dinner or something!

The lesson never really got much better though. The sand in my ring is still a bit too deep, so Spencer had to work hard at the trot and canter to keep going. ( Coach’s hubby is going to come with the tractor this week and pull more sand off, which will help.) Spencer kept breaking at the lope and I was getting very frustrated. Frustrated with him, the sand and how weak my muscles became after a measly two weeks off… And we all know we don’t ride well when frustrated. I had to take a couple of walk breaks to calm myself down and start over.

Spencer was ignoring my leg, looking off in the distance and was just being difficult. It was one of the worst lessons we’ve had since our early lessons this spring! I’m sure it’s because we were both distracted by the weather and gunshots, as well as being a bit out of shape. I have been a bit spoiled this summer, as almost every ride and lesson I've had has been excellent - we were making so much progress, that I assumed every ride would be good!  I'm going to ride as much as I can this fall to keep him going, but the darkness and winter will catch up to us eventually. 

Shows 3 & 4 – checking off goals faster than I can set them!



Halter class

So, I now have four club shows under my belt. I really felt by the end of the last show on Sunday that I was getting the hang of the whole show thing.

My only goal for last year was to buy a horse that had the potential to show…CHECK!

My initial goal for this year was to make it out to some schooling shows…CHECK!

So, I have clearly met my basic goals – which is a first for me! After the first show, I refined my goals a bit to include the following:

Goal 1 – remember all my patterns (3 each show)…CHECK!

Goal 2 – win a shiny ribbon … CHECK!

Goal 3 – learn proper western show turnout and pack my tack ahead of time…CHECK! (with one exception – I still don’t know how to band a mane. That is a goal for the fall/winter)

Goal 4 – have fun… CHECK!

Goal 5 – improve my riding…CHECK! (still a lot to work on here, but my progress since mid-March is pretty drastic!)

I don’t think I have ever met so many horse related goals in one season. Ever. With any horse. I’m actually finding it kind of weird…in a good way! So, for this last show, I added a couple of extra goals:

Goal 6 – Don’t break at the lope in the rail classes

Goal 7 – Don’t freak out riding in a group in rail classes

I was able to meet both of these goals at the most recent show! I got through a western pleasure class without Spencer breaking at the lope. That was a huge victory for me. I’m sure I’ll still have to work on that in the future, but I was actually able to do it at the show!

My haul from Sunday

I don’t have a lot of experience riding in a large group (which I consider to be 8+ riders or so) in a fairly large ring. I was worried Spencer would spook or take off or something, but he hasn’t put a foot wrong. He just trucks along and ignores the other horses. He does look around a fair bit, but working on getting his headset really consistent is a goal for another day.

Spencer and I have really started to click. We were fine before, but we are now really sailing along. We placed in every class at this show, which was a first. I also got my very first 1st place ribbon! (did you know that firsts are red in Canada??)

I actually got this in the command class, which was a bit of a surprise. The command class is basically “Simon Says” on horseback, which is meant to be a fun class at the end of the day. The announcer calls out changes of gait and other tasks (sidepass, backing, halt, stand on a loose rein, etc.) and if the rider doesn’t do the task properly and quickly, you are eliminated and go to the center of the ring.

It can get a bit competitive though, with spectators and eliminated riders cheering on the last two participants. I usually get eliminated early on, with something like a counter-canter, but for whatever reason, Spencer and I were getting the commands like clock-work. He got all of his leads for all of the canter and counter-canter, we sidepassed, backed a circle, did turn on the haunches and turn on the forehand, hand galloped, etc. etc. It was a blast and I still can’t believe we did so well. I think I even won $10 or $15 on that class as well! My first earnings! Lol

There weren’t really any negatives for this most recent show. I did come out of there with a list of things to work on, which will become my new set of goals! So, in no particular order, my things to work on are:

1. Trying to calm my nerves more – I’m getting there, but still need to focus on breathing
2. Being more patient in the trail/horsemanship classes – I tend to rush the patterns when I get nervous
3. Working on my seat – I’m still a bit bouncy at the canter, which is partly due to Spencer popping his head up on me
4. Start working on cleaning up simple lead changes – get down to one or two steps of jog and make sure my position stays solid
5. Start schooling flying lead changes – not sure if Spencer was trained to do this or not, but it is something to work on
6. Ride English more often and work on position at trot
7. Work on Spencer’s head set – this will come as I get stronger and am better balanced
8. Build/set-up some sort of display for my ribbons!!!  :-D  I have become a total ribbon ho!
9. Work on downward transitions - namely lope/jog and lope/halt
10. Build some trail obstacles to use at home to keep things fun
11. Start planning the 2014 show season - it will likely be bigger! And start a budget/savings spreadsheet as well, since showing ain't cheap!

Wow - 11 things sounds like a lot to work on, but I find all of those things fun and challenging at the same time.  Yes, I'm a bit of a geek. I can admit it freely.  :-)

Saddles come and go…

I am working on a post about my last two shows (which went well!) but I’m waiting for a friend to send me a couple of pictures before I post it.

In the meantime, I wanted to talk saddles. I love saddles, both English and Western – I read about different brands and daydream about all of the saddles I would like to own if budget was no issue.

I have purchased two saddles in recent years, one western and one endurance. I got a lot of use out of my western saddle – it fit Dolly and Rusty really well. It was extremely comfortable and everyone that rode in it loved it. The not-so-great news was that it didn’t really fit Spencer all that well. I had to pad it up and just hope for the best. Once I started riding him in my new-to-me Circle Y show saddle, it highlighted how poorly the other saddle fit.


I only used my endurance saddle about 10 times – I just never really felt all that comfortable in it. I have lots of room to store saddles, since I have my own tack room, but I always feel guilty looking at nice saddles that can’t be used due to fit or a drastic change in discipline. The market around here for western and endurance stuff hasn’t been that great, but I decided last week to try and sell both saddles. That would free up space in my tack room, as well as put a bit of money back in my pocket after building my sand ring!

I listed the western saddle to sell locally and within 2 days, it was sold to my old coach! The endurance saddle went on Ebay to hit a wider audience and it sold by the end of the auction! So, in 7 days, I went from 3 saddles to 1. My time with only one saddle was short-lived, as another saddle has found its way into my tack room...

My coach has also been bugging me to start riding Spencer English. He will be a good little HUS horse for me next year, so that was part of my plan from the beginning. I was dreading searching for an English saddle though – I find them pretty to look at, but hard to fit! I also didn’t want to spend much until I decided if I liked riding English again. My coach knows tonnes of people that are always selling tack and within a few days, she found me a saddle to try. It fits Spencer ok and seems to fit me as well. I’m getting it – with stirrups, leathers and 3 saddle pads for a steal. The lady just wanted to get rid of it!

I’ve ridden in the English saddle a couple of times so far and it is going better than I had expected. My core isn’t super strong, so I’m a bit wobbly when posting, but that will come with more miles trotting. I’ve been spoiled by my western saddle that holds me nice and secure!

Hopefully my saddle number stays at 2 for awhile, but you never know. I'm itching to get a nice training saddle, so I don't have to school in my show saddle. My show saddle is older to begin with, so I don't want to scratch it or wreck it somehow.  I would love to get another Rocking R saddle, since my old one was so comfortable, so we'll have to see how the budget goes over the coming months!

Finally getting some things done

Me - still happy before finding
out that another 150 bales were
on their way over!

In between riding and panicking about shows, I’ve been able to get some farm work done.

Last week I was able to get all of my hay for the year! I was having a bit of a hard time pinning anyone down to get hay, since we haven’t had the best year. It has been very wet, so most farmers just did their first cuts last week. In fact, my neighbours on both sides just started cutting yesterday!

My boarder and I got two loads of hay from one supplier and then I had another 150 bales delivered. It all arrived at the same time so I got that all taken care of in one day! My little barn is bursting to the seams with hay – but I’m resting easy now that I have enough for a year. The only downside is that there is now hay in my 3rd stall, so no other pony for me just yet! ;-)

And, after much waiting and calling and texting, my sand ring is finally done! I have had to harass my farmer/construction guy a bit to get it done (amazing how 234232 other jobs came up while working on mine!) but that seems to be the norm for this type of work. It is about 80’x 120’ and should give me lots of room to ride!

It is also now away from the road, so I won’t have that to worry about. I don’t have a fence around the ring for now, but I think at some point I’m going to move part of my white fence from the front and use it at the back. It will be nice to have my front lawn back and removing part of the fence will open it up nicely.

My boarder and I also reorganized the tack room – well, she did most of it – she is a very busy girl! I don’t mind that sort of work, since it helps keep things organized in the end. It also highlighted the fact that I have a bunch of tack I’m not using and probably won’t use again. I have two saddles I want to sell – 1 endurance and 1 western. I hate to part with this particular western saddle, but it just doesn’t fit Spencer that well. The Circle Y I have been riding in fits him much better.

Tomorrow I'm starting a few days of vacation, so I have even more work planned! I have to try and tame my gardens and fix my electric fence. It is shorting out in a few spots, so I need to get that sorted out.  I also need to go and buy some temporary electric fencing to divide off the new ring!  Not to mention packing and prepping for another show on Sunday!!  I might need a vacation from my vacation!  :-)

Show 2 down!

While this was technically my second show, it was my first show where I actually got to ride!

I haven’t ridden at a show since I was 14, so I was a bit nervous! My goals were to stay on Spencer, remember my patterns, get him ready on my own and have fun. I accomplished all of those goals, for the most part.

I did have helpers show up when I needed them most, which was kinda cool. One girl held Spencer while I finished his hoof black, another lady showed up just as I was trying to fix my hair/hat and another friend wandered by as I was tacking up, so he held Spencer for me. (Also need to work on tying Spencer in weird situations)

The weather was super hot and sunny, which was a huge change from the torrential downpour last month! I had planned ahead for the heat, or so I thought... I’m really susceptible to heat stroke/heat exhaustion, so I have to make sure to eat a bit and drink a ton of fluids. This show series also has stalls available in a big barn, so I booked a stall to keep both Spencer and I inside in the shade when we weren’t showing.

In hindsight, I need a couple more bottles of water, but I managed ok. I didn’t get a headache from the heat/sun, so that is good! Spencer was pretty beat by 3pm, but luckily we were done by then. I need to do a bit more research on electrolytes and see if that is something that might help him. He didn’t eat or drink as much in the afternoon as I would have liked. I also haven’t been riding that much over the past month due to a variety of factors. I do need to work on Spencer’s endurance, as well as my own fitness.

Nice ears, Spencer... 

We started out the day with halter and showmanship. The good news is that he stood still for both classes! We somehow got 2nd in halter again and a 3rd (out of 7) in showmanship, so I was off to a good start. We did blow our pivots – so not sure if it was just me being nervous or what - because we can do our pivots at home without much problem. That will definitely be something to work on in the two weeks before the next show!

I’m quite pleased with my tack and prep work. Aside from my coach banding Spencer’s mane, I did all of the clipping, bathing and polishing myself. I also packed the car the night before and I didn’t forget anything. I still do seem to have way too many bags of stuff, but I can’t see any way to reduce that.

The afternoon classes were double judged due to being rained out last time. We started the afternoon with trail and that was our best class! We got 5/10 under both judges and apparently the points in the top 6 were really close. I had walked through the trail class when I first got on and he ticked every pole possible. I was laughing that you should get bonus points for that! When it came time to actually ride the pattern, Spencer put on his performance hat and didn’t touch one pole! I was pretty pleased with that. I think he could do some of the obstacles in his sleep though – the bridge and the gate were a piece of cake for us - which was nice!



Crappy shot of borrowed show bridle while in the barn...



We then did a western pleasure class. It didn’t go as well – I was really nervous – I haven’t ridden in a large group like that in a long, long time. I had been told that Spencer was fine in a group, but sometimes with horses you need to experience something to start to believe it… at least I do!!! Spencer broke to the trot a few times (a problem we have at home too) and his head was up pretty high – mostly due to me, I’m sure. I placed 6/10 under one judge and not at all with the other judge.

Horsemanship was next – this is another pattern class. I am really happy with my pattern. I remembered everything and rode it fairly well. I placed second under one judge and not at all with the other! Funny how that works! I do need to work on my seat (which is also something we are working on at home) and I need to be a bit more precise with my pattern, but overall, it went well.



All in all, it was a successful day. I’m not at the point yet where I am super competitive, but that will come with time. Right now, I’m just trying to learn the ropes and work with Spencer to get through the day without any mishaps. I have a few more shiny ribbons for the fridge (they will need more space eventually!) and lots of things to keep working on in my riding.



The collection (and a random take-out menu!)  is growing...might need to find another way to display them!





Early morning workouts

Show update: The show went well - I'll write a full post this week...  I didn't fall, Spencer was well behaved and we even won a couple of ribbons!

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I am a morning person – always have been. It amazes my husband that I get up at 5:15 every morning just to go do stuff in the barn and to leave for work early. I’ve just found over the years that this schedule works better for me. I have always had a bit of a commute to work, so leaving early allows me to beat the worst of the morning traffic and leave at a decent time in the afternoon.

Getting up early in the summer is the best – the sun is up early around here this time of year (full light at 5:15 right now!) and everything is quiet. There is often wispy fog floating around and dew on the grass. For the past 6 weeks or so, I have been working Spencer for 15-20 minutes every morning and then I try and ride in the evenings. I usually work on showmanship or do a few minutes of longing/groundwork on the stonedust laneway at the barn. My ring isn’t really safe in the mornings, since the grass is wet with dew (come on sand ring!!!). A few mornings we have even gone for a walk around the neighbourhood.

This schedule worked really well up until recently, since Spencer was in his stall all night and was all rested and ready to go.

I’ve noticed a bit of a change this week, since the boys are out almost all day and all night now. I bring them in around 5:20 for their few bites of grain. I putter around in the barn while they eat and every morning this week, just as I grab Spencer’s halter to take him out, I have found both of them lying down in their stalls having a big nap.

It makes me chuckle a bit that a nice nap is what they are both doing right after they eat. I’ve actually gone into Spencer’s stall with him for the past three mornings. He lets me pet him and sit there with him, which is just as fun as doing some lead line work. I like listening to him breathe and snuffle and sigh as he tries to get some sleep. I feel very fortunate that I have him at home to share these moments. For me, these moments are just as good as having a great ride!

Ramping up the lessons

Since Spencer has been home (about 8 weeks now) I have been continuing my weekly lessons. I have been riding in the grass ring at my house, but it just isn’t the same as having a sand ring. We are able to get some work done, but I haven’t been able to do the amount of cantering/loping that I really need to be doing to progress.

We have had a lot of rain this spring/summer, so the ground has been soft and slippery which isn’t the easiest to ride in – especially at the canter. Since I’m riding western pleasure type classes at the show, I wanted to school Spencer a lot and slow things down. There are a lot of divots in the ground now and the uneven footing makes it a bit harder to do that. The slow Western gaits require a flatter knee movement and the hooves just don’t get picked up as much as a regular trot/canter. Spencer has been tripping a bit and slipping here and there, so that has made me a bit nervous and frustrated.

I have my 2nd show coming up this Sunday (I’M NOT PANICKING AT ALL!!!!!!!???!!! LOL) and have resigned myself to knowing that my lope wouldn’t be as nice as it should be by this point. I think we’ll do ok in the horsemanship (pattern) and trail classes, since headset and speed aren’t as important as completing the pattern/obstacles in the proper way. (Disclaimer: Spencer isn’t built to be a super slow western pleasure horse and I don’t aim to have those crazy, slow, gimpy gaits that a lot of western horses do, but I do want to achieve a decent headset and nice consistency in the gaits…)

This week, my boarder – let’s call her W - made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. She has a truck and trailer and offered to trailer Spencer over to my coach’s place which is only 10kms away. Coach has a sand ring, so it seemed like a win-win situation! We did one lesson on Tuesday night and after about 30 minutes; Spencer and I really started working well together again. We got all of our lope leads in the practice patterns and while his headset wasn’t perfect, it was becoming more consistent. We were even getting the lope up to a cone and halt much better (have to do that in a pattern on Sunday) and he was really tuned in and listening.

Bush hogged and tilled...just need some sand and levelling!

We are going back tonight and I can’t wait!

W and I were laughing that we hadn’t thought of this before, but since I’m just showing at the club level, it isn’t such a big deal. My sand ring should be finished next week (if I can pin down the farmer/contractor guy doing the work!!) so it shouldn’t be as much of an issue for the next shows.

Spencer loads and trailers really well so far, so that makes these little jaunts fun and not stressful. It is also on the second time I have taken him off the property and the first time I’ve trailered him somewhere and just got on and rode. He handled it all really well, so these 2 lessons have really been little confidence boosters in disguise! I’m hoping that confidence carries over to the show grounds on Sunday!

PS - sorry there aren't any good pictures - I'm finding it hard to get pics as I'm doing all this stuff - I almost forgot my cell phone on the trailer bumper on Tuesday

Farewell to an old friend

I received a sad email last night from Rusty's (they called him Jesse) current owner. Her words sum things up:

Hi Laura,

I am emailing you with a heavy heart!

We had to put Jesse down today. Jesse sustained an injury this afternoon, he was in his paddock with our five ponies and he broke his leg. It looked to be a spiral break and it was severe. I am not sure how it happened but I feel his age was catching up to him.

My family and I are so terribly saddened as I expect you are as well. He was an awesome horse and was loved by so many here.

My condolences and thank you for sharing this great horse with us.

Yours truly,
J.

I was sad to hear that that he is gone. By my calculations, he was about 21 or 22, but he could have been a bit older. I am so glad I stayed in contact with the new owners, as I would have always worried about him. Old horses don't always fare that well - they can get dumped at auctions and end up in bad places.

In hindsight, he is the one horse I regret selling. Dolly wasn't a good fit for me which I had a hunch about, but ignored. Too bad I hadn't held on another year or two and I could have brought him to my new farm. However, he ended up in a good home and they took good care of him.

I was looking through my blog archives - I bought him in June 2008 and sold him in July 2011. Here is a post from when I went to visit him in the fall of 2011.

I was actually out near the farm where he lived a couple of months ago and thought about stopping in, but didn't take the time. I was trying to distance myself from him a bit and was trying not to worry anymore after hearing an update last year that they were happy with him...

Give your horses, pets and family a hug - we never know what life will bring...

A friend for Spencer...what?

So, I've been keeping a bit of a secret... No, I haven't found a pony or a mini for Spencer and no, I didn't buy another horse (at least not yet!...  ;-)

A couple of months ago, an acquaintance from the boarding barn down the road asked me if I would consider boarding her horse at my place.  I wasn't sure - I was told that Spencer was a bully and difficult with other horses, etc.  I thought about it for a couple of weeks and asked around if this girl was ok and in the end we decided to go ahead and try it for a few months.

Bailey arrived yesterday (we hand-walked him down the road) and things are going well so far. He and Spencer are almost  twins - similar size, colour, etc.  They were both a bit excited at first (in stalls across the aisle) but after that, they both settled down. We decided to try turning them out together right away.  There was some squealing and kicking, but within 2 minutes, they were side by side grazing in the paddock!

I'll let the pics do the talking.

The initial meeting....

There were some pinned ears and funny looks from Spencer. (on the left) Bailey justs wants to eat grass.

Friends?  They grazed together for a good hour without any fuss, so I left them alone...

I came back out to the barn a bit later and found them grooming each other.  It was quite the session. I don't think Spencer has been turned out with another horse in years...

Spencer enjoying the grooming

Day 2 is going well so far as well.  I expect there might be some excitement once the honeymoon wears off...  LOL So far it is much better than I had hoped.  I also took Spencer out front this morning to work on some showmanship.  I am slightly concerned about them getting too attached as well, but Spencer was happy to work and didn't call out once.  Bailey called a few times, but he is in a new place, so it is normal for him to be a bit unsettled at first.

Here's hoping it all works out well!

Liebster award!

I have to admit I was a bit surprised to be nominated for an award – my readers have dwindled over the years, since my blog is more journal-like these days. So, I would like to thank the lovely STB Excellence for nominating me!


The Liebster blog award is to recognize blogs that have less than 200 followers. The word Liebster is German for beloved and valued. There are rules to this award...

• Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
• List 11 random facts about yourself.
• Answer the 11 questions given to you.
• Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
• Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.
• Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them!

Wow – this is going to be a looonnngggg post – just warning y’all now! Anyone that reads all the way to the end can consider themselves recipients of the Liebster award!! ;-)

11 Random facts

1. I was a super picky eater as a child. I’ve mostly grown out of it, but still don’t like tomatoes, eggs, mushrooms, fish and seafood!
2. I love foreign languages – My French is pretty good, as I use it a lot at work, but in high school/university, I also studied Spanish, Italian, Russian and Polish. All I can remember now in those languages are mostly swear words and the basic “How are you, my name is...” stuff.
3.  I’m left handed – which amuses me to no end. It cracks me up when people say “I don’t know how you can do that (eat/write, throw a ball, etc.) with your left hand!!!
4. I love cats. I like dogs and all other animals, but love my cats. There are many pictures of me as a kid mauling one of our cats. ;-)
5. I love zombies – tv shows, movies, books, etc. I really liked the Walking Dead graphic novels and the tv show.
6. I am a master procrastinator.
7. I’m a tomboy – haven’t worn a dress in years and don’t even own a dress/skirt anymore.
8. I’m obsessed with tall English riding boots. I have many pairs posted on Pinterest and daydream of ordering many, many pairs.
9. I spend a lot of time on Pinterest
10. I’ve only ever spent one night in a hospital so far (touch wood!). I was 15 and had a concussion from a riding fall. I even had my Mommy there, since she was a nurse at our local hospital. 
11. I like machinery more than my hubby. I daydream of buying snowmobiles, atvs, snowblowers, tractors, bush hogs and all kinds of things!

Questions from STB Excellence:

1. Describe your perfect house/farm.

I’m pretty happy with my little house and farm right now. I feel pretty lucky to have my horse at home, but that being said, there are a few things that would be nice to have.

In the house – a large mud room with room for a dog shower and lots of room for muddy coats and boots. And a nice laundry room and a library! Ok, while I’m daydreaming, a big country kitchen would be awesome too! My current house has enough room overall, but it is a bit lacking in the mud room department!

As for the perfect farm, I would love hundreds of acres to hack on, but that just isn’t realistic. I would like a large sand ring (which is coming next week!! woo-hoo!) and an indoor would be a dream.

2. Explain the significance of your blog name.

Oh, my blog name. It was based on a nickname from university. I’m really short, and was wearing someone’s hoodie. A friend flipped up the hood and because the sweater was way too big for me, they thought I looked like a keebler elf. The name stuck for years. I used it for the blog because I started it with the intent of using it as a private journal. I keep meaning to change the name to be more reflective of horses, but never get around to it.

3. Is the glass half empty or half full?

I tend to be a pessimist, so in the past, the glass was often half empty. My hubby is a positive guy, so I’ve been retraining myself to the half full camp and it is going well so far.

4. If you were given $1000 to spend in ONE store, which store would you choose?

Only ONE store? Gulp. I have enough tack right now and $1000 wouldn’t buy me the English saddle I want... Sooo, I might pick a department store, so I could get a variety of stuff. I would probably drive to the US and go to Macy’s, given the choice!

5. Who is your equine mentor? Past or current. Describe.

I didn’t really have an equine mentor until quite recently. My current coach is just totally awesome. She has helped us progress so much and just has boatloads of experience to draw from. I hope she never retires from coaching!

6. Do you check caller ID before you answer the phone? Do you sometimes let it go to voicemail because you just don't want to talk to someone?

I don’t have caller ID, but I almost always let calls go to voicemail! Bad, I know, but I hate talking on the phone!

7. What's under your bed?

Probably a lot of cat hair and dust bunnies... :-S

8. What are your best characteristics? (And I don't necessarily mean physical!)

Hmm – another tough question! I guess my honesty and my loyalty are my best qualities. I tend to be a bit blunt sometimes, but I prefer honesty and straightforwardness (is that a word?) over deceit and half-truths and drama. I’m a very loyal friend as well, until people start taking advantage of that.

9. Where did you grow up? How far away are you from your hometown? (You don't have to give your personal address here, a region is fine!! Stay safe online!!!)

I grew up on a 50 acre farm near a very small town about a 7-8 hour drive SW of where I currently live. I’m in the same province, but pretty far from home. I do miss home, but came to my current location for university and a cushy govt. job.

10. What are your nicknames and how did you get them/who gave them to you?

See question #2 for the first nickname... Currently, I get LC a lot from friends and co-workers (my initials) and my nephews often call me “Lo” or “Lo-Lo” because one of them couldn’t pronounce my name when they were young. Typically though, my name doesn’t lend itself to nicknames or shorter versions.

11. What is your favorite book? Why?

I honestly don’t know if I can answer this – I have a lot of favourite books! As a kid, the Black Stallion series was my all time favourite. I read and re-read those books many times. (Close second and third go to the James Herriot books and the Chronicles of Narnia). As an adult – maybe Water for Elephants? Should I have picked a classic here? I also liked Wuthering Heights and read lots of Shakespeare! I also hate to admit it, but the Walking Dead graphic novels are the most enjoyable thing I’ve read recently. Not sure what that says about me! lol

Questions from Funder:

1. Where are you from?

See #9 above

2. Where have you been?

Here and there – a couple of short trips to Europe, the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. Still lots of places to discover…

3. What scares you the most (and I don't mean "spiders")?

Oh, spiders are at the top of the list! But aside from that, getting injured while riding, losing my job and having to sell my house, something happening to my hubby…

4. What's your favorite food?

Do I have to pick just one? Steak, followed closely by thai food.

5. What's your biggest regret, or do you not believe in regrets?

Ack. Funder – these questions are hard! I think regrets and looking back can be a bit draining on the spirit. I regret not studying more in university and maybe letting other people’s problems control my life a bit.
6. Favorite band (with links!)

Ok – I’m not a cool music person. I like pop, rock and country, with a dash of alternative. I love Maroon 5, Blake Shelton, Bon Jovi (I know, I know…) 80s hairbands.  Mumford and Sons, Fun! and Of Monsters and Men.
7. What's the first name you ever gave? (I named my first cat Butterfly. I was three. I have no explanation.)

I named a big white cat Fluffy when I was 3. That cat wasn’t around long and I was sad, so I also named the next 2 cats we had Fluffy - even though they weren’t fluffy.

8. Is there a name you're saving? For a girl child, or a homebred horse, or a funny cat name?

No, not any more. I did have a few names when I was younger.
9. Biggest personal accomplishment, present or future?

Hmmm – is graduating university and holding down a job an accomplishment?

10. What's your favorite book? (reusing this, but I always love to hear the answers.)

See #11 above
11. What do you want for your epitaph?

No idea – can’t say I’ve ever thought of this!

First show down – well, sort of!

So we went to our first show on Sunday. Unfortunately the western riding section in the afternoon was rained out!

I was able to get halter and showmanship done in the light rain. I sadly didn’t get any pictures of Spencer in his nice show halter and all groomed up. He looked pretty darn good. A friend came over on Saturday night and helped me bath him and band his mane. He stood really, really well for the banding and all of the clipping and preening. It took us about 3 hours on Saturday evening to do all of that and he stood like a rock for most of it!

Spencer in his PJs

It took me until about 10:30pm to pack everything and load the car. I had a 6am pickup time, so I didn’t want to be running around looking for gear. I had my little SUV packed to the brim! One thing to work on for the next show is re-organizing my gear a bit and minimizing the number of bags of stuff!

Spencer jumped on the trailer no problem and I picked up the same friend that helped the night before. She volunteered to help me through the day and I was extremely grateful to have help! I’m sure after I have a few shows under my belt I’ll be ok to do more on my own, but I sure appreciated the help on this one!

Spencer was quite calm at the fairgrounds and wasn’t concerned about the speakers or the other horses. The rain was a bit of a problem though. That horse hates water touching him and running down his side, I’ve learned!

We went in to the halter class and I was using it to get the first class out of the way. Spencer wouldn’t stand still in the line up – every time I would set him up, he would turn his butt so he could have his butt to the rain. After a few circles, I let him stand at an angle and set him up that way. Luckily halter class isn’t as picky as others – you can touch your horse and move around. We ended up getting 2nd out of 6, so I was surprised. We then stayed in the ring for grand and reserve – well, we stood sideways compared to everyone else - we didn’t win anything there, which I was expecting, since there were some real halter horses there.


One of these things is not like the others...!

Getting that first class over with helped a lot. I wasn’t as nervous as I was expecting, even with Spencer’s antics. I was concerned that showmanship would be a problem, but decided not to think about it. I did a few practice patterns outside the ring while waiting and he was ok.

The first 2 ribbons - I think I'm hooked!

When it was our turn to go in, I just did the best I could. He started out great and we got through the pattern to the point where we were to set up for the judge. Since the judge was my coach, I felt 100% comfortable and not nervous. As we approached the judge and halted, Spencer swung his butt around in her direction. I just shook my head and apologized.

I then just set him up on an angle and we recovered the best we could. I knew that would blow our class, but at least I remembered the pattern and did all of the steps correctly. I ended up 6/6 or maybe 6/7 in that class, which was 100% to be expected. I was a bit disappointed, but it was sort of out of my control. Spencer was being a goof - maybe due to the rain or him just trying to get the best of me...who knows?

After that, we went back into the barn (we had a stall for the day – which turned out to be very smart!) Spencer got some hay and I was able to relax. The rest of the show was cancelled around 12 and we started packing up to go home. I was disappointed I didn’t get to ride, but it also gives me another month to practice before the next show.

All in all, I had fun and got that first show under my belt, even if it was really short. And I got two ribbons. I always thought I wanted to show as a way to challenge myself, but man is it nice to have a couple of ribbons! Who knew that I would be a ribbon ho??? lol

There are some things I had to borrow that I need to buy and I definitely need a bit better system for organizing all of the little bits and pieces of weird stuff you seem to need to show. I’ll write more about my ideas on that later, but for now, I’m happy to have it all done!

3 days and counting... :-S

I’m getting down to the wire for this first show. I’m feeling quite nervous and there are 3 reasons why:

1. It my first show in many, many years
2. It is my first time taking Spencer off the property for an event
3.  It has been harder to ride at home than I expected. More on that below…
   

I haven’t been riding as much as I should be, due to the conditions at my place. I just have a grass ring and it has been raining like crazy for the past month. I ride on dry days, but the soil is clay under the grass and stays wet for a couple of days after the rain. Spencer is also a bit spooky in the ring since it is close to the road. I think it is me that is spooky and he just reacts to me. It is a bit funny that I can hack him on the road without much problem, but in the ring where it is safer, I’m nervous. Strange!

To try and come up with some strategies to help my nerves, I’ve been reading “Inside your Ride: Mental Skills For Being Happy and Successful with Your Horse” by Tonya Johnston and it has a lot of great ideas and strategies. One big thing is preparation – not just of your equipment – but your riding and training as well.

I’ve got the tack preparation pretty well sorted out, but the riding part has been lacking. I’m a bit disappointed in myself, but I didn’t really have a clear idea of how my ring/nerves would hold up now that I have him back at home. It would have been ideal to keep him at the boarding stable until the first show, but that wasn’t really financially feasible at the time.

I’ve been thinking over my goals for the show and I’m feeling ok about things. The riding won’t be stellar, but I have lots more shows to improve on that. For now, my goals/focus are going to be on the following:

• preparing my tack, clothing and horse (banding, bathing, etc.) to the best of my ability – there is a learning curve here, but I feel fairly comfortable with 99% of it. A friend is coming over Sat. evening to help get Spencer ready
• focus on the in hand classes and use those to calm my nerves and get used to the environment
• create a good off-property experience for both of us as a team
• use the riding classes to get used to riding in a show environment with other people and distractions. Spencer has been shown for years, so he knows what to do. I need to work on trusting him and focusing on my riding.

And – as a result of all of this – Richard has agreed that I need a sand riding ring to progress with my riding goals!!! I have a couple of people coming out this week to give me quotes. I’m going to move the ring to the back pasture as it is away from the road and there is more room to make the ring bigger if needed. I’m working on another post on the fun stuff I hope to work on around my little farm!

Show Prep – I’m a mess!

This year I plan to do a series of 4 club shows. If those shows go well, then I’m going to try the rookie day at the bigger AQHA show in late July. Club shows don’t really require the same level of fancy show tack/clothing as the breed shows, but I still needed to get my tack sorted out. I'm a total gear junky, so this was a great opportunity excuse for me to acquire more stuff!

I had been planning on searching for a used show saddle and was able to find one that worked from another boarder at the barn down the road. The fenders were too long for me, so the saddle was sent off to our somewhat local western saddle guy to be modified. I think I’ll be able to borrow a show bridle from the same girl, so that is a bit of an expense saved.

I also wanted to have a separate set of brushes and grooming supplies to take to shows. It just seemed easier to have separate sets of stuff (and another excuse to buy more!).

I know a lot of people that show keep a set of tack/grooming supplies in their trailers, so you don’t have to worry as much about forgetting things. My short term plan is to buy a big tool box on wheels and use that as my show kit, but for now I'm just using a big tupperware bin. It should be fairly easy to put in my car/SUV along with the rest of my tack.

I also bought a snazzy saddle protector, hanging bridle/halter bag and a western hat protector. And they all match! I clearly have a problem – but I’m ok with that.

I spent a large amount of time googling horse show packing checklists and found lots of great examples. I took inspiration from those lists and created a list that I can print out before each show and check off as things are organized.

Here are a few samples:

• Checklist 1
• Checklist 2 (best for an eventer)
• Checklist 3

I am expecting to be a mess of nerves for the first couple of shows since I haven’t done this in a lonnnnng time and I haven’t taken Spencer off the property to a busy venue yet. I’m hoping that by having all of my gear organized as best I can it will take away one worry of not having something I need. I’m sure there will be a few things that I won’t think of to bring, but that is part of the learning experience, I guess!

I started writing this post a few weeks ago and in re-reading it today, I had to laugh that I wrote: “I am expecting to be a mess of nerves for the first couple of shows…”. I should have written that I will be (and currently am!) a mess of nerves for three weeks leading up to the shows as well as at the show itself!! lol


Now that I’m coming down the wire, I realized last night that I have to firm up trailering arrangements (done!), send in my show entry (done!), and finish sorting out my tack. I still need a couple of things, including chaps. I’ve ordered a couple of pairs, so hopefully I can squeeze into one pair!

We are going to band Spencer’s mane the night before the show and I will have to practice doing it myself over the coming weeks. My coach is judging the first show (in in 11 days!!!!), so I will be on my own! Hopefully some of the other people I know will be around if I have a meltdown and need some help. :-)

OK – I’m off to go check my stuff for the 100th time and get some things done so I can try (ha!) to relax.

An unexpected friend and a heartwarming story

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very sappy or emotional. So, when something touching happens, it really surprises me.

Spencer’s previous owner trailered him to my place last fall. She told me after doing all the paperwork that she was prepared to leave him on the trailer and take him back home if my place wasn’t to her standards – she was pretty attached to him and only wanted him to go to a good home. As she prepared to leave, she was visibly upset – she had a new horse to ride - but was going to miss Spencer. Usually I say the wrong thing to people or make a joke to lighten the tension, but this time I knew what to ask. I asked her if she wanted to stay in touch and receive updates on Spencer. She smiled at me with watery eyes and said “yes, please…”. She then hopped in her truck and drove away.

I sent her a couple of short emails with pictures over the next couple of months. She responded politely and sent me pictures of her new horse. I figured that would be the end of the exchange. When I started having trouble with Spencer in the late fall, I sent her another email, begging for advice/help. She told me to call her and we would talk. I think I spent a couple of hours over the next few days on the phone with her and her husband. They were so supportive and encouraging and that gave me the motivation to keep working with him. They even offered to buy him back if I got really stuck…

Fast forward to this winter – I hadn’t heard from her in a few weeks. I got an email to let me know that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was having surgery soon. She then sent me updates on her progress and treatment. The treatments were going well, but it would affect her show season. She was able to make it to a AQHA show very close to my house this past weekend. A week before the show, she told me more details about how she was diagnosed.

It turns out that last summer she was on a trail ride with friends and the horses stepped on some ground wasps. Spencer was stung multiple times in the face, neck and legs. He didn’t freak out, but was dancing around. She had to do an emergency dismount, but hit her chest/stomach on the saddle on the way down. She had a massive bruise for a few weeks and when the bruise finally went away, she was left with a lump. She is a nurse, so at first she thought the lump was just damaged tissue, but by January realized it was something much worse.

She had some tests and was quickly scheduled for surgery. She feels that Spencer saved her life, because in Canada, most women don’t start going for mammograms until they are 50. In her case, (she’s 47) if she had waited that long, it would have been too late. Due to her injury that day, it brought the issue to her attention.

It is a nice story, but it isn’t really the horse that did anything, it was the situation…but that is just me being a bit of a cynic. She asked in her email if she could come over and give Spencer a hug. I agreed of course, and we decided to work out a time during the show to pop over to my place. I’m only 10 minutes away from the fairgrounds, so it was easy to work out the details.

I spent the day with her and her husband at the show. She introduced me to a bunch of people from her barn who all knew Spencer. They were really friendly and were happy to hear that he was doing well.

During the lunch break at the show, I took her and her husband over to my place. I sent her into the barn alone first, to give her a few minutes. She then called me in – I found her in Spencer’s stall, crying and hugging him. It was so sweet, that it cracked my cold heart a bit… ;-) She and her husband were so happy to see him and we spent about an hour in the barn talking and laughing. I took a few pictures of the two of them and it was such a nice moment. She told my husband and I her story in great detail and it was really touching and special.

Who knew when I bought this horse that I would make a new friend and have such an experience with him and his previous owners?

Her prognosis is good, since the cancer was caught so early, so she and her husband are very optimistic. She is so positive and encouraging to me in my riding and it is so nice to have made another real connection in the horse world, when so many horse people seem to be dishonest, critical and clique-y...