Equestrian Challenge: Day 4

Day 04- A ride that impacted your life

This one really made me think....

I have two that I'll talk about, although i'm sure i'm ignoring a couple really good rides in the process. I have been blessed with some spectacular rides, but these two particular rides are two that have a pretty long-lasting impact.
The first is the first time I rode my horse. :)

It was a bit of a gross rainy day in 2010, Jingle would have been 6, I was 18, and I got to the barn and was told I would be riding a horse named "Jingo". Everyone seemed a bit worried about the whole situation, I remember thinking he had a really pretty forelock. :) I rode with a "beginner" group, and the only hiccup of the entire ride was that he didn't want to go up a very large, steep hill. I got someone to come right infront of me, parked his nose in that horses bum, and away we went. He did awesome. Later that night, I broke my wrist, and it wouldn't be until almost a year later that I saw ponyboy again. For some unknown reason, he settled into my brain as my "favourite", and now, he's mine. *Cue sappy music*

The second was the 2012 "Counsellor Ride" this summer.

The "Counsellor Ride" was something I had organized as a thank-you for the counsellors that worked at the ranch this year. Very rarely were counsellors allowed to do this, and I begged, pleaded and reminded the owners daily until I got the go-ahead to do it. Generally speaking, we pull our horses shoes and kick them out onto lease land until mid-September when they are brought back in, and sent to winter pasture. However, since this was the last year, and the sale of the horses was in mid-September, the horses were to stay closer to home. It was towards the end of august and it was disgustingly hot. I had tried to pair up everyone with their 'favourite' horse, or a horse that I knew they would have a good ride on. It was stressful, and it literally made me stomach ache thinking about dissapointing someone, as this was to be the last ride many of us would ever have at the ranch. 

Getting ready to head out

Me & King Ponyboy

I obviously rode King Ponyboy (Jingle), and he was AWESOME. I hadn't ridden him much this summer, but I knew he'd be fine and sure enough he was wicked. I weaved around the massive group (I think over 20 of us were on the ride? I can't remember) the entire time. A couple times I took off on my own little path, away from the masses, and he was fine to just follow my lead. It was honestly the perfect ride with my horse.

Best boy.

Doing our own thing...

We headed to the "Far Lookout", and hung out there for awhile, and then took a different way back. We stopped at a spring, and then meandered home through the river for quite awhile. Towards the end, I fell to the back, and walked through the last gate with two of my bestfriends. It was a pretty bitter-sweet moment. A part of me was so amazed and happy to see so many lovely, wonderful friends, on such beautiful, strong horses ahead of me. Another part of me realized that we were coming "home" to the shed for the last time.

Heading Home

So, how did this ride "Impact" me? Well, it was totally symbolic of my experience at the ranch, and it signified the end. Thankfully, it was able to symbolize the "end" in a really beautiful, pure way. What amazed me the most was how happy all the horses seemed. We had horses ranging from "counsellor" horses, all the way to our intermediate - juniour horses, and each one seemed happy to comply and come on this last ride with us. It almost felt, as corny as it sounds, that they knew this was their last ride too.

There was another side too, a negative and dark side, that for me made it slightly easier to walk away from the ranch. I walked those last couple minutes knowing that I was coming home with my heart-horse, and quite a few heart/forever friends, and that is really what was so important, and significant about that particular ride.

Saying goodbye in the shed....

Riding Diary: 34

Time: 1 hr

... I didn't have any cookies left after I put Jingle away, and he proceeded to stick his mouth against the bars and do this every time I touched his lips. It made me die laughing, he looks absolutely insane.

Ride: Perhaps I'm posting so much lately because I don't have the time to actually go out and see my horse? Sigh... just keep swimming, just keep swimming.... This meant that I hadn't seen my boy since my last lesson a week earlier. He seemed quite content with that fact. Got to the barn and discovered he had broken one of the snaps on the front of his blanket clear off... sigh.... must.remember.to.buy.new.snap. Other than that he seemed happy, healthy and alive, so that is all that matters isn't it! haha

I was a little nervous that he would be a big flingy ball of energy since he'd had a whole week off. Our warm up was a little "flingy", he was feeling good, and wanted to show me how fast he could trot. "Mahm, stop slowing down your posting - we got places to beeeeeeee, keep up would ya!" I just kept in mind my golden word for the month "RELEASE", and kept firmly reminding him "Hey Mr.FastPants, it's time for some refinement", and it seemed to work. It's funny to look back on my riding (as i've been doing with the equestrian challenge i'm doing on this blog), I've always had an issue with "babying" horses when I should be firmer with them. With Jingle, I think a lot of the time, my babying became me holding pressure, but not enough pressure to do something, but still nagging him, and then never truly giving him any release. Now, I'm really focusing on direct and clear cues; "lope this circle", in the past when he would speed up and I could feel him about to run amuck I would just grab my reins really tight, and just continue to hold, and of course... nothing would happen, we both would just turn to mush. Me = sad, why doesn't my horse love me and why doesn't he listen to me?.... Jingle = Why doesn't my owner love me, and why is she not communicating with me?... nobody wins. Now, if he starts to think about running off I firmly grab my rein, tip his nose back in and remind him that we're going this way, if he doesn't listen, it happens again, quickly, and then a release, and he's started to really figure it out. Yay for clearer communication between the two of us.

We worked on our loping, he managed to lope his right lead a couple times, so there's some progress, and then we worked on loping his left lead over some ground poles. They were set up so that I loped a semi circle and then would come off the rail, lope over two poles, and then back onto the rail. At first Jingle was cutting off the rail too soon, and I was having a hard time trying to move him back over, before then allowing him to move back off. A couple times we missed the poles all-together! haha, however, we got it together and had some really nice circles, with him straightening out nicely over the poles, and moving on and off the rail nicely. I just had to really utilize my left rein and really get him to move over, and then give him a bit of a release before asking him to move off again.
My trainer got me to also work on my body language, he was really rushing around a couple times at the lope, and she asked me just to sit deep, and try to focus on getting him to slown down. Apparently it worked pretty well because she exclaimed, "If only I had a video of you riding when you first came [in February] to compare to now!", I'm going to take that one as a compliment! :)

For Next Time: Clear Communication & starting to refine that wonderful left lead

Equestrian Challenge: Day 3

Day 03 - Your Best Riding


Well... this is a loaded question, isn't it? Haha. When I was younger I thought I was a pretty decent rider, and then I started taking lessons, and just sort of melted in a puddle atop of my horse. However, last night, my trainer commented, as I was loping Jingle over poles, "I should have taken a video of the first ride you had here, and compare it to now! It's crazy!"... so, that's a compliment right? ;)

So, I suppose my best riding has been lately, really learning how to communicate better with Jingle to achieve a calmer, peaceful, more willing state between the two of us. Sometimes though, I really don't think it is my best riding haha... horses have a way of humbling you, don't they?

Honestly, all technicalities and refined qualities aside, I would have to say some of my best riding was finding and chasing horses home from the hills. I do think I have a knack for direction, and i'm pretty good at reading where a herd will go, and how they will move. Plus, there's something about chasing horses that makes me fearless - galloping down a cliff, in a hail storm, while jumping logs, and chasing a stud and his band of mares - yeah, i've done that. (Absolutely no word of a lie)

So, I guess that begs the question - what does the statement your "best riding" really mean? For me, it can mean either that learning, meeting, and melding of technical skills in the arena, or the fearlessness I had while chasing horses in the boondocks.

Helmet-Cam Videos: Reining & Trail.

I'm posting like a mad man lately!

(mostly because I'm procrastinating my life away during finals)

but when I saw this I had to post it...

It's Shawn Flarida, who is a $4 million dollar reiner, on the horse "Yankee Gun" at this year's NHRA Futurity that just ended two days ago. They gave him a go-pro camera, so you get to watch his run from his point of view....

Unreal how you can hear the air wizzing past him, and the spins?! Crazy! So cool.

& then, coincidentally, this video popped up on my Facebook newsfeed, of the champion run in the National Trail Challenge with rider Ali McLeod and her horse, Sweets...

HOW do you remember a course like that? Absolutely INSANE. Backing up into the water, all the dips and dives? I think Jingle and I need to try something like this!

I really like these go-pro camera horse/rider videos, it gives you such a different perspective on the ride itself.

Equestrian Challenge: Day 2.

Day 02- Your current riding goals

This... by, next week....

Robert Whitaker at the Stockholm International Horse Show

Jumping a 2.12 m wall on Waterstone 2, bareback.

Just Kidddddddddddding.

I have so many goals, maybe that's my problem?

I think I'll have to narrow it down, and break it into categories...

Short Term: Working on becoming a better rider, while training a "green" horse the basics.

- sometimes, this is easier said than done. What is that old saying... green + green = black & blue. With well-trained horses, you can fall into bad habits, and they catch you. With not-so well-trained horses, those habits will bite you in the ass... sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively! 

I have some goals in mind come summer... be able to take Jingle to a gymkhana, and calmly and successfully complete a barrel pattern & pole bending pattern (speed is not important). I would also like to find my horses right lead, and his stop, somewhere in his brain. :)

Long Term: 

For Myself: Show

(and show, successfully)

- it's no secret I want to try cutting, so, when I envision my long term goals I see myself at Fort Worth. However, ultimately, even if cutting isn't the avenue I find myself wandering down, I want to be able to show at a decently competitive level in some horse-sport. Why? Why isn't trail riding with my family enough? Curry combing the kids Shetlands while my hubby bbq's? Maybe that is in my future, BUT... I'm a highly competitive person, and I want to make horses my life, and my career, thus, showing competitively, and successfully, means that you have reached high levels of success, and skill. Both of those "S" words, are big words, and they mean a lot to me.

For Jingle: Kid's Horse.

- I mock shetlands, and now look what I want for my horse! Realistically, one of my happiest moments is when I envision a day that Jingle is semi-retired, giving young kids their first lessons, and being that dependable well-trained horse, that will catch them when they stumble.

Equestrian Challenge: Day 1.

Day 01- When and why you started riding

I was a horse-crazy kid, stuck in the city, with two parents who weren't horse people, at all. I guess, like most little girls, I liked the idea of riding. I read lots of riding books where the main characters were smart and sassy, and wore breeches, and rode beautiful horses over "fences". Little did I know I would end up riding western, and have yet to wear breeches. One of these days I'm going to achieve the fences + breeches combo!

My first riding experience was a kid's camp in a large park called Fish Creek Park inside of Calgary. My second cousin and I went together, we were both 6. We got to share a pony named Peaches for a week. All I can remember is one of us would lead Peaches on the ground, whilst the other would ride. There was probably 5-6 other pairs of kids, and we would walk around in a round-pen, with a camp counsellor in the middle.

When I was 8 I started going to Bates Bar J, another horse camp, but this one was full-day AND sleepover. Growing up! My life pretty much changed from there-on in. I was a horse-crazy 8 year old, who never looked back, and now I'm just as horse-crazy (possibly crazier, which is hard to believe), and even more determined.

8 year old Louisa, ft. a mushroom cut, riding a horse named Minnie who had to wear a metal muzzle, because of her horrible biting habits. Beautiful combo, clearly.

30 Day Equestrian Challenge for the Month of December

So for the month of December, along with my routinely scheduled posts (haha), I've decided to do this equestrian challenge - let's see if I can manage to blog daily. (I highly doubt that'll come true). I have a busy day of work, stall cleaning & another work christmas party (I have multiple jobs - I am insane), so I might just count this as day one, and do the first one tomorrow. I know, I'm already procrastinating this challenge BUT, in my defense, there are 31 days in December. ;)

Happy December to you all! Hope you aren't too stressed out about Christmas just yet!

Day 01- When and why you started riding
Day 02- Your current riding goals
Day 03- Your Best Riding
Day 04- A ride that impacted your life
Day 05- Your first fall
Day 06- All the tack and riding clothes you have (brand/color/other details)
Day 07- Your favorite ribbon won at a show and why
Day 08- A little about the barn/stable you ride at
Day 09- Any injuries that occurred from riding
Day 10- How your family/friends feel about your riding
Day 11- Find a horse for sale online that you would want to buy
Day 12- Favorite horse color
Day 13- Most Embarrassing moment
Day 14- Your dream barn/farm
Day 15- If you could speak to any horse, dead or alive, what would you say?
Day 16- Your most recent fall
Day 17- Your equestrian idol
Day 18- Your grooming routine
Day 19- A discipline you would like to do that you’ve never done before
Day 20- Your favorite horse show
Day 21- Your perfect schooling outfit
Day 22- The importance of riding in your life
Day 23- Picture of your favorite jump/combo
Day 24- Your best riding friend
Day 25- Your dream trailer
Day 26- Biggest riding pet peeve
Day 27- You know your an equestrian when….. (Give 5 original ones)
Day 28- Helmet or no helmet?
Day 29- A style/trend in tack/riding apparel that you don’t like
Day 30- Your Future With Horses