Photo Challenge - Day Two

Yeah, so I forgot about this Photo Challenge thing yesterday. Whoops. :P So here is "Day Two", Saturday!

Here is the cutest kid in the world eating his Saturday morning breakfast, just as a five year old should: in front of the TV! LOL! Yes, this child devours toast. I am frightened to think of how much he will eat as a teenager. :) Now that I look, he is even wearing his 2007 Maine Sire Stakes t-shirt! ha ha ha



Ah, the joys of Saturday morning household chores! :P


It was such a gorgeous November morning, with the temps well into the 60s! Amazing! I am still able to soak hay for Dreamy. Here is her hay soaking for tonight...

Clarence thought it was mighty funny that one of our barn cats, Mac, wanted to give me kisses while I was filling stall water buckets. He kept trying to rub his dirty kitty face all over me.

Yeah, I'm not liking it that much....LOL!


At one point while I was cleaning the barn, I looked over to find my son doing this.....LOL! I was laughing so hard I had a hard time taking the photo. I asked him what he was doing, to which he replied, "I'm taking it's tee-pee, Mama!" ROFL! He got the T.P. part of taking a T.P.R. Wow, I really have raised my child in the barn. :) And come to find out, there is something odd going on with the gray "revving" sound mechanism that he is so astutely taking note of its heartbeat.

While filling the outside water tubs, Clarence wanted to come with me to visit Reva. She was being her usual sweetheart self, and we both were giving her love. Clarence surprised me by giving her kisses. It was pretty darn cute!



Aw!!!!!! So cute! Can you see the MUD in that corner of her paddock? UGGGGG! The rain has been crazy!!!!!!! All three mares need a spa day.

Tonight is the banquet for the Maine Horse Association. I am going with my friend Shelly and we are super exicted! I will post pics tomorrow. :)

Photo Challenge - Day One

I have been having a great week! :) Life is super good. I was tagged by On The Bit to do a photo challenge. The challenge is to take 9 pictures a day for 7 days. OTB wrote: I love that she is blogging again! She went though a no post phase and it drove me NUTS! She and her mare Dreamy were recently in USDF Connections and she didn’t even have time to blog about that. I miss reading all about their adventures and I hope that this is a nudge in the right direction. She has gotten back into blogging and I hope she keeps it up!

So, thanks OTB! I am honored not only to have been tagged, but also because you enjoy my blog enough to miss me when I do not post! LOL! ;D

So here goes! Today was an abnormal day because I took a personal day from work. The vet came for fall teeth floating for the mares, therefore I had to stay home to accommodate the appointment. Not a bad reason for a personal day, huh?


It was a VERY cold morning here in Maine! Thankfully we have a super warm outdoor wood furnace that heats our old farmhouse. I took this around 7:45 AM after I had dropped my son off at school and returned home.


The BEST DOG EVER aka Lucy. It was a chilly start to the day, but at least the sun was shining! She is not allowed to run around while I do chores (read: when I am not paying attention) because she indulges in the cat food and her favorite delicacy, horse poop!


Good morning Ms. Dream Girl! Are you awake???


Reva the Super Filly polishing off her hay pile. She makes the biggest mess with her flakes, but does eat every stem!


Sparky Mare eating her hay. The idea behind the blue thing is that she would not ingest sand when eating her hay. Yep, that works. :P She just pulls the flakes out and eats them on the ground.


So I took pics on my way out to do stalls. And, here is what was waiting for me in Reva's stall. LOL! She had pulled the crosstie into her stall, chewed the heck out of it (hard to tell, but it is covered in green slimy chew marks!) and then deposited the end in her water bucket. Nice! :P She is certainly a super filly, but man, does she have her baby horse moments! LOL!!!!


I finished my stalls fairly quickly, checked email and FB, and debated taking a nap or Getting Things Done. Of course, Getting Things Done (caps on purpose, of course) won out. So while waiting for my vet to arrive, I took a quick trip to town to get the mail and buy shavings!



I have to copy OTB and admit I am a ribbon ho (LOL!), so here are just some of the ribbons hanging in my tack room. Of course, I had to show the blues! On the right are all the seconds, in the middle are the thirds, and on the left are the fourth, fifth, and sixths. I have all my year end awards and all trophies in the house.


All three mares did well for the vet and their teeth had no major issues. Reva had a cap that was hanging on by a thread so my vet extracted it. Here is her baby tooth! :) Kind of exciting to have one of her baby teeth! LOL! It was completely packed with grain and hay, indications that it was starting to impact and cause discomfort. It smelled kind of icky too. I cleaned it up but it still has some tissue stuck on the underside. Kind of gross, but also very cool!


The underside of the cap.

Whoops, I think that was 10 photos. Oh well! See you all tomorrow! :)

Reva Becomes a Riding Horse

Here are some pics from September. This was the last time I rode in her tiny paddock. Since then, I have ridden her in the large field where I ride Dreamy. Of course, I have no pics or videos, seeing as it is nearly impossible to get my husband to take any! This was a rare occasion! LOL!







Telling her what a GOOD GIRL she is!

Dislikes the bugs!


Clarence had been DYING to ride Reva. She is only three, at this point in these pics had only been backed three times, so of course I always said NO! Next summer, maybe!

Well, he won out. I let him sit on her while my husband helped.


Clarence was so beside himself with excitement to ride the filly! She was SO GOOD. I would NOT recommend doing this with most 3 yo fillies, but Reva is just simply a Super Horse!


With Shawn at Clarence's leg, I walked Reva around a little in her paddock. She walked on eggshells. Perfect girl!

He'll be doing Leadline with her next year! LOL! ;-) Just kidding......no showing next year.


The rule here is that if you ride, you help take care of the horse. Clarence wanted to put her hoof polish on. He tells me now that he has ridden her, Reva is HIS horse. I can have Sparky and Dreamy if I want.......too funny.

Reva Update!

So, my filly Reva has been coming along very well! She is the SWEETEST horse EVER. Seriously, she is the easiest horse to work with. No one believes she is only a three year old! Even my farrier cannot believe how easygoing she is.

Granted, she does have the occasional baby moment. Like throwing her outside water tub around. Yeah, that's great. :P I fill it up and she finds a way to dump it. Luckily she does not do that often! She has also found clever ways to remove her flymask and her orange safety vest. Pretty funny. And she likes to take things off the wall at night from her stall. Like things that she really should NOT be able to reach! LOL! But that is all trivial stuff. When it comes to her manners, both on the ground and under saddle, she is a perfect angel.

Today I brushed all three mares outside in their paddocks in the gorgeous sun. I can easily work on my older mares, Sparky and Dreamy, without a halter or lead. So when I went to groom Reva, I just walked out and started. Hmmmmm, I thought. Maybe I ought to get a halter and lead? Nah, within moments I see that she is closing her eyes and loving the attention. She was not about to move for anything. That is what I love about her. She ADORES people and getting attention. She is not "in-your-face" about it though. She is respectful, listens well, and pays close attention to your body language.

So far, I have been on her back about twelve times since August. Usually it is for 20 minutes or so, a few times closer to 30. We have walked and trotted, and even walked over groundpoles! OOOH! She easily learned to move away from leg pressure and bend her ribcage. She seems to like her French link snaffle and reaches for the bit. She wants to throw her head when we transition to the trot, but then finds the bit and is steady. She still has her drunken sailor moments under saddle at times, where she cannot seem to keep her body straight! LOL! But for a coming four year old, I am very very pleased with her progress. I keep it fun, short, and positive. She will pretty much get the winter off, save groundwork and the occasional ride if the weather is decent. I plan to start again in the spring 2010. I want to spend the year training her, maybe doing a clinic or two, taking her to an SMDA show to "school on the grounds" but not show, and maybe trucking her to my instructor's for a mini lesson or two. I just want to take my time and expose her to as much as I can.

Then the plan is to start showing her at Intro level in 2011. :)

Here she is begging pizza from my husband back in July.




mPretty girl! This was in Sept. getting ready to ride.




This was a cool day in October. She is fussing for me to bring her in for evening grain.




Wearing one of her many new blankets. We had a cold snap in October.


Her new stall sign!

Dressage Queen?

Words are funny. Labels are misleading. Being an English teacher, I value words and proper usage. ;)

Having recently been "accused" of being a dressage queen (DQ), I have thought about this term lately. Obviously it is a derogatory term used to describe someone who partakes in the sport of dressage. I personally think there are many people who qualify to be called such a name, myself NOT being one of them. Interestingly enough, many of these folks who are so deserving do not even ride dressage........hmmmmmmmm. Interesting, you say?

So I have my own ideas about what a dressage queen is. I used the almighty web to help me create a the following list.

1) A dressage queen has more bling on her tack than is necessary.
Nope, not me! Yes, I do own four tastefully beaded browbands. But that is the KEY WORD: tasteful. I am not the type of person who thinks hot pink and Swarovski crystals are a good thing. GAG.

2)When you show up to a barn and there is a loud voice, this is your first clue that you might be approaching a dressage queen.
Again, not me! I am not the type of person who is loud and overbearing. Yes, you might hear me laughing loudly because I like to have fun, but I am not a blah-blah-blah let-me-tell-you-all-about-my-horse and how she is the top performance horse in the country kind of person. YIKES!

3) Once you get closer to that loud voice, look for manicured nails, the second sign of a dressage queen.
OMG, definitely NOT ME! :) I cannot think of anything more putrid than designer nails. GAG again.

4) Don’t listen to what the voice is saying, you might get sucked into an hour long conversation you never intended on being a part of, which is the third sign of a dressage queen.
OMG, I like to talk. But I have a very good sense of the fact that I am not the most important person in the world. I do not need to go on and on and get attention. Nope, just not me.

5) Look for the tack trunk the loud voice is going to, if it is filled with every color pad, matching polo wraps, at least 10 different brow bands, or basically a well stocked tack shop, that is your fourth sign of a dressage queen.
Yes, I admit, I like tack. But I do NOT have 18 bridles, breastplates, saddle pads, etc. etc. that I have to cart around everywhere and show off. :) I do not have a traveling tack shop when I show. I might have three different disciplines of tack, but I am not overboard.

6) Excuses and drama are a final guaranteed sign of a dressage queen. She has every excuse, besides her inability to ride, for why her horse is not going well, including that the judge is just TERRIBLE!
Again, just not me. I do not make excuses for my horse. Yes, I might admit that it is my fault that she is not going well, or that she had a vaccine right before the show (see post about UNH show.....sigh), or that the footing is bad. There are definitely reasons behind why my horse does not perform the best she can. But usually it is my fault. And I DO NOT EVER act like a sore loser when the judge does not pin me in an open show when I think my horse should have placed. I may compete wholeheartedly, but I win graciously and lose GRACEFULLY. Always. You will never hear me wailing and screaming across the showgrounds about how the judge was bad or did not look at my horse. Showing is subjective and I accept that.

There is a great little "tip of the month" in this November's issue of the Horse's Maine. I love what it says about not spouting off. I have witnessed this and it is SO unattractive and DRESSAGE QUEEN LIKE! LOL! Ugly, just ugly. To be such a sore loser is just ridiculous.

And of course drama. You are most certainly a dressage queen if you thrive on drama. I know people like this and I have systematically cut them out of my life. There is no reason for negativity, jumping to conclusions, hearing/reading only what you want to hear, being unable to work with others, acting vicious and rude, etc etc.

So I think I have effectively cleared up the fact that while I can act spoiled and snobby at times, I am certainly NOT a dressage queen. But I do know plenty of people who do not even RIDE dressage who fit each and every one of these criteria. :D


Check out: http://www.citizenhorse.com/2008/04/16/dressage-queens/

ETA: I was kindly reminded today by a friend that DQ actually stands for DRAMA QUEEN! LOL! ;-) And that I should, of course, wear my "tiara" proudly. LOL!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D Inside joke, but funny nonetheless.

SMDA Ride-Re-Ride - Oct. 18, 2009

Our last show this year was the Southern Maine Dressage Association (SMDA) Ride-Re-Ride at the Hollis Equestrian Park. This is where you ride your test and after 10 minutes of working with the judge, you get to ride it again immediately.

The judge was Sandra Beaulieu. We rode Training 4 and scored a 60.4% and then a 62%!!! I was super proud of my girl! We placed first! Many people, including the judge, had not seen Dreamy since last year's Ride-Re-Ride. All commented that she looked very consistent and better balanced. :)

Clarence did the costume class again this year. :) So darn cute! Here we go, first one in the ring!




Apparently, Dreamy and I can do this with our eyes closed. tee hee! It was SO COLD that day. I am wearing so many layers!


Adorable kiddo! Hard to believe he is five years old already!




When I saw this pic, the first thing I thought (besides, WOW my kid has a good seat!) was why in the world am I standing like that? On the wrong side? Then it dawned on me.....the judge is down the lineup to the right. So yes, I am standing there like I am in an in-hand class. LOL!!!!!! I guess showing is rather ingrained.


They gave out black ribbons with pumpkins on them to each kid! They were cool! Can you tell he wants off the horse? Feet already out of stirrups!


Some pics were taken by my dad and some were taken (and kindly emailed to me) by Robyn Cuffey. :)

Marshaling at Scarborough Downs - Oct. 17, 2009

On Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, the Standardbred Performance Society set up an informational booth and marshaled the race card at Scarborough Downs. It was special because it was the day of the 2 YO Stakes Finals for both pacers and trotters!

Of course, I marshaled again with my partner in crime, Shelly. We had a blast! Our horses are like peas in a pod.....neither of them like other horses (Dreamy never learned how to play nicely with others and McKeever was a stud until five years ago.....) but they LOVE each other! We trailer and show them all over the place!

And of course, we are now really snazzy with our perfectly matching saddle pads and windbreakers.

Yeah, we are awesome! LOL! :D

My horse looks headless....


This guy was giving McKeever (right) some fistfuls of grass. Dreamy (left) was like, "Hey, now, wait a minute....!!!"


Dreamy is in the background, McKeever is close up.


Dreamy says MOM, I'M BORED!

Aw, Deb comes along and pets me.


McKeever (left) and Dreamy (right). The next few pics show us bringing the winner back to the circle.




Dreamy (left) and McKeever (right). Here we are starting to lead out the post parade.

Again, bringing the winner back.

Post Parade TWINS!