Standardbred Excellence

How funny...!!

2012-02-08T20:20:00.000-05:00

You have to check this out. It cracks me up! I want one of these! LOL!!!

This is a mythical creature. This type of man does not exist, at least in my world. A girl can wish though...LOL!!

Another blog award!

2012-02-07T21:23:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Kate over at Riding from the Ground Up for bestowing blog award to me! Yay! This one is called the One Lovely Blog award. I love sharing these (sort of silly, admit it) awards with my little blogging community. It is good fun and it is almost like winning ribbons! LOL!! ;-D

I am supposed to tell you seven things about myself and chose 15 blogs to share this award with.

1. I try really hard to not be the "mean old English teacher" in all facets of my life. ;-)

2. I despise anything remotely related to being domestic. My only domestic quality is that I live in a house! ;-) I routinely wish I had a housewife who would do all that cooking, cleaning, and laundry awfulness for me. UGGG! My barn is always cleaner than my house.

3. I am way too competitive for my own good. But I do have sportsmanship and can win humbly and lose gracefully.

4. I can be too honest at times, which can get me into trouble.

5. I have a Puritan work ethic and have to remember not to burn myself out. Saying no is hard to do. I also sometimes hold others to a higher ethical standard than they hold themselves and it stresses me out.

6. I am easily frustrated by parents who lie for their children. They need to make their little cherubs own up to their poor choices and not blame others.

7. I can be quiet, which leads others to sometimes think I am snobby. That is the FURTHEST thing from the truth! If you don't like me, you definitely don't know me. :-)

And the 15 blogs I will award this to:

1. G is for Greta
2. The Polka Dot Periodical
3. The Adventures of Lucy
4. Memoirs of a Horse Girl
5. We are Flying Solo
6. Haiku Farm
7. Hopeful Jumpers
8. Born to Trot
9. A Horse and a Half
10 Now That's A Trot
11. Horses of Follywoods
12. Sprinkler Bandit
13. Green 'n Green = Black 'n Blue
14. Slow and Steady Wins the Race
15. Live to Ride

A good read...

2012-02-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

In talking about "Jack Benny" on a friend's Facebook status, I googled the name to find out more about the man who lends his name to horse show classes for riders over a certain "mature" age. ;-) After looking at a Wikipedia article, the next link was this story.

Sometimes it helps to remember how truly lucky you are...

Saddleseat??

2012-02-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

Longtime readers know that I fooled around with saddleseat last year (read here and here) on my big mare. I know very little about saddleseat, but Reva has a big trot and I liked the way the clothes look, so I thought WHY NOT? LOL! I am stupid and brave, what can I say? I basically looked like a hunt seat rider dressed in a saddleseat suit and tack. :-D Looking at the pics now, I see how low my hands were, etc. But we had a blast! I knew that we were not perfect, but it was about having fun (and wearing cool clothing! LOL!!!)

In an effort to actually LEARN more about this discipline for real, I took my first saddleseat lesson today! It was super fun! I love that my instructor Theresa did not make me feel like a complete idiot! LOL! I rode a cute chestnut Saddlebred mare named Gina. (Oh, how I love chestnut mares!!) Theresa's daughter rode her in a big show last fall and did quite well.

Obviously, the mare looks 100000 times better when ridden by someone who knows what they are doing! LOL! But I figured this was a fun photo to share!

Anyway, it was definitely interesting to be on a horse that moves so differently than I am used to. My biggest problems right now are not sitting back far enough in the saddle and not keeping my hands high enough. And trying to figure out how to tighten one rein (the snaffle) while not touching the other rein (the curb) is going to take some getting used to! Gina was uncomplicated to ride, but I know she was a bit confused by me and my wishy washy aids. We basically just walked, trotted, and cantered while I tried to stay on and not completely embarrass myself, and I had so much fun. Her gaits were nice and the way she moves is different than what we look for in dressage or hunt seat. Her canter was very comfortable but felt so rocking and odd! It even sounded different to me! She doesn't bend like I expect her to, so that will take some time for me to understand as well.

I am going back next weekend for another lesson. I'd like to take a bunch, because I think it is a cool new thing to learn! It is funny that some people have been a bit taken aback by my desire to try something new. This completely drives me nuts. I admit I will always love dressage and eventing and will probably always show in those disciplines. Any horse I own will be ridden with dressage basics. I love my dressage lessons with Judy and will resume those once the footing improves (we are in the midst of ice and snow here...).

But I have never been a discipline snob. The only thing I am not too fond of is the way QHs are ridden at the high levels, but all that means to me is that I know I personally will never ride that way. Do I care what people do with their horses? No way! As long as you are having fun and taking good care of your horse, then knock yourself out. I would never look down on or crack jokes about someone doing something different with their horse. I think it is cool to see/learn about new things. I have friends with Hackney ponies, and while I know NOTHING about how to ride/show them, I think it is totally cool. I have friends who only like to trail ride. Do I think they are beneath me or that I should crack jokes because they don't compete like I do? NO WAY!

And as I explained it further, I have won a shit ton of ribbons, awards, championships, year ends, etc. with my three horses and I have nothing to prove to anyone. Sparky is retired, Dreamy is pretty much plateaued, and Reva is only six so I have lots of time to do lots of things with her. I have been riding for nearly 30 years and I just have a desire to be versatile! I have NEVER tried saddleseat before now. Will any of my current horses ever be truly competitive in open saddleseat competition? No way. Do I plan to buy a Saddlebred? No, at least not right now. (And actually, I think if I ever wanted to actually ride and show saddleseat I would buy a Morgan. They were my first love after all. :-) Sorry to my SB friends! LOL!!) But why not try something for fun and enjoy myself? Someone asked me recently what my horse/showing plans were for 2012. I immediately answered "to have fun". And this is totally in line with that goal. I have a plan to try team penning this year too as well as foxhunting. We might just do them each once, but I have always wanted to do these things.

I have never been able to choose between straight dressage and eventing, so I have always done both. I have played around in hunter/pleasure shows forever as well. So why not add saddleseat, team penning, and foxhunting to my repertoire?

Think before you judge someone. Obviously this applies to life in general, but also to horses. Nothing irks me more than someone being a discipline snob. Enjoy the variety of what is out there to do with horses. Even if YOU don't want to do it with your horse, appreciate that others do. There is more to life than 20 meter circles in a dressage ring.

Even though I really do LOVE riding 20 meter circles in a dressage ring. LOL!!!! ;-D Just writing that makes me want to take a dressage lesson...

Shameless plea!

2012-02-04T20:21:00.000-05:00

Kate over at The Adventures of Lucy is holding a contest to win one of her beautiful hand painted saddle pads. In order to enter, I had to write a poem (not my strong suit) and post a pic on Facebook. If you have a FB account, please hop over and like my mare's photo and poem please? I really appreciate it!! :-) And be sure to like Kate's business, Polar Square Designs! I have been coveting these gorgeous pads for a while, but have not been able to save up to purchase one yet. With your help, Reva could win one!

This is the pic I used for the contest:

Maine Dressage Society Banquet 2011

2012-01-29T19:23:00.000-05:00

Today was the Maine Dressage Society Banquet for 2011. I brought my fabulous instructor Judy along with me. Dreamy won a bunch of awards and I am super proud!

Training level - 4th place
First level - 11th place
Aged Horse division - 4th place
Standardbred breed recognition certificates at Training and First!

I have to say, my favorite ribbon is the 11th place! That is the coolest ribbon ever! I don't have anything like that! :-)

Just one banquet left in February for the SPHO-NJ!

2012 Goals

2012-01-27T17:08:00.018-05:00

I searched around and realized I never wrote down my 2011 goals! LOL!!! Oh well! I had an amazing year and I do feel I accomplished many things I set out to do:

All the mares were healthy, happy, and sound - this is usually my main goal of any year
Reva successfully started her show career and did very well
I tried saddleseat with Reva just on a whim...and we even tried western too!
I took Dreamy on an overnight 3-day trip to Acadia!
Dreamy was successful in her first year at First level and Prix Caprilli, as well as her first time out at Beginner Novice (eventing)
I completed NaBloPoMo 2011!

What a great year! :-) Now, on to goals for 2012...

Sparky
My old mare will be 30 years old this year! Go Sparky! My sweet mare is doing so well. As always, I just want to keep her happy and safe. She deserves the best retirement I can provide for her!

Keep her healthy, happy, and sound

Dreamy

My fabulous Standardbred mare is turning 21 this year! It is amazing how quickly times goes by. I was just thinking how I wish it was 2003 again and I was just starting Dreamy under saddle. She has helped me achieve so many different goals and taught me so much. She is the ultimate ambassador for her breed, in my own eyes anyway. ;-)

Keep her healthy, happy, and sound
Compete in at least one horse trial (or more) at Beginner Novice level
Go foxhunting!!
Hopefully attend a few hunter paces
Attend at least one team penning clinic (May)
Marshal at the track when asked
Ride at Acadia again (July)
Continue all of our good dressage work, take a few lessons here and there with Judy
Maybe take a few jumping lessons...??? Would need to find an instructor

Reva

The Super Filly is turning SIX this year! Ahhhh! Where does the time go? Seems like just yesterday I was starting this awkward three year old and now she is a big grown up girl! LOL! Reva blew me away in 2011, proving just how great Standardbreds really are and how much you can accomplish when you work your tail off.

Keep her healthy, happy, and sound
Continue the excellent under saddle work from late fall 2011
Work on bending, transitions, and transitions within gaits
Work on balance at the canter to be ready for 3-gait (and Intro C/Training 1??) in 2013
Attend at least one clinic
Take at least 2 lessons per month with Judy, preferably more if possible
Compete in Intro A and B at SMDA schooling shows and maybe other venues too...
Compete in MHA shows in 2-gait classes (maybe roadster under saddle as well?)

My Personal Goals

Strengthen my core and use the Wii to work out
Attend Standardbred Nationals with Dreamy or Reva....maybe. It is being held in September this year! :-( That is a very tough time of year for me to go away, since I am back teaching at the high school. I have already been down there four times to show and I don't feel a HUGE MAJOR NEED to go. If it works out for me, great! If not, it is OK too.
Go on beach rides with Dreamy/Reva as much as possible!
The Standardbred Performance Society needs to be more active. I am not sure how this might look, but I have some ideas.

Award

2012-01-26T17:19:00.001-05:00

Yay! My blog won an award! This was given to me by Emily over at Born to Trot. Emily has a Standardbred gelding named Jet. Definitely check out her blog! Liebster means "dearest" in German, and the award is intended to help up-and-coming blogs get the attention they deserve.

Here are the rules:
1. Copy and paste the award on this blog into your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who gave the award.
3. Pick your five favorite blogs with less than 200 followers and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they received the award.
4. Hope that the five blogs chosen will keep spreading the love and pass it on to five more blogs!

Grey Brook Eventing
Kate is a very accomplished horsewoman and I enjoy reading about her dressage and eventing journey out in CA where she attends Stanford, as well as here in Area 1.

Little Keebler
Laura writes about her horse Dolly and is looking for a new house! She is a blogger friend from up in Canada!

Riding From the Ground up
Kate is another blogger friend from Canada. She owns a lovely mare Cadence and does dressage and eventing.

Tania and Otis
Tania is a real life friend and we have had many adventures together! She has not posted in a while, but maybe this award will help motivate her. ;-)

The Foxhunting Friesian
Sarah is another real life friend; actually we went to UNH together! She writes about her Friesian mare Daatje and their foxhunting escapades!

SMDA dressage banquet 2011

2012-01-25T20:32:00.001-05:00

Southern Maine Dressage Association held their banquet on January 20, 2012. I was excited to see how Dreamy fared this year, her first year at First Level. SMDA awards are divided up by test, which is more fun than by level like the state banquet.

We ended up Grand Champion at Prix Caprilli, which I expected, having been undefeated in all five shows this past summer. We were Reserve Champion at Training level, which was exciting! We were third in First 1 and fourth in First 2. Yay Dreamy! Here is the link.

There was only one pic posted from the professional photographer that was there. I am not that impressed, as it just seems like an odd angle to set up your camera.......? Many of the photos of others were like that as well. Weird. Oh well, it does not matter. We had fun this past year back at SMDA since 2008. I did not do SMDA in 2009 or 2010 since I only competed in USDF/USEF shows those two years.

Prix Caprilli champions! I won a pretty navy blue embroidered fleece jacket as well.

Our pretty SMDA year end awards! Go Dreamy!

This Sunday is the state banquet through Maine Dressage Society!

Ad with a twist: horse is NOT looking for a good home....

2012-01-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

I have mare who will turn 30 years old this year. She is not looking for a new home. She is sound, sane, still doing great, but she is aged. She is not looking for a new home because she will never be dumped. Actually, she has a nice airy stall and private paddock, is eating lots of hay, and is grained twice a day just like she would be if she was still a usable horse. If you know of a new home that would like to pick up my old horse who has done her time with me, who would like to pay her vet/farrier bills long into retirement, please don't call me because it's MY job to do that for her.

Back in 1993, Sparky came into my life as my first horse. As her eleventh owner in ten years, I promised her a forever home and she's got it.

I borrowed this from Amy and tweaked it for my own use. I love it. :-)

Changes in turnout, aka Reva is a PITA

2012-01-02T14:30:00.001-05:00

It has been wonderful to have over a week off from work for the holidays. I didn't get all that much done but was able to just relax, which is something I don't do enough. Unfortunately, I did spend a good deal of time mending fences ARG! Reva has again decided she doesn't respect the fence and dismantled it on a daily basis. At first, she was taking down the fence next to Sparky. While Sparky is very sweet natured and I am sure they would get along fine if turned out together, Sparky is also 29 years old and does not need to deal with the rambunctiousness of a coming 6 year old.

Just at Christmas, Reva decided to start taking down the fence into Dreamy's paddock. This took a bit more skill, as I have two gates between them, creating a "corridor" so that they cannot be obnoxious over the fence. I also think Dreamy might have played a role based on the way the fence was broken. Dreamy has never gotten along that well with any horse, and she is the most annoying squealer I have ever met. She will squeal at a horse every single day that she has been stabled next to for years as though she has never met the horse. The squealing would not be that bad alone, but she adds in lots of stall wall kicking and striking. :-/

The Monday after Christmas was the worst. On the third trip out to mend the fence, I gave up. I pulled down the two gates that separated Reva and Dreamy, made everything safe, hooked up the more powerful fence shocker, and threw a bunch of hay piles. They were so adamant about being together that I figured I would let them try it. I watched Dreamy closely, waiting for her to double barrel Reva, which is her immediate normal reaction to being turned out with others. Mostly they eyed each other and ate hay. Reva tried sharing a hay pile with Dreamy, but she was having none of that and pushed Reva away with very mean ears. I did see Dreamy kick out pretty hard just once, but it was only a warning shot apparently because she was a good horse length away from Reva when she did it.

Overall, I would say both mares are pleased with the arrangement. Reva is holding her own but also really REALLY wants to be Dreamy's BFF. Dreamy has been very gracious about the entire change, acquiescing it in a nearly wholehearted manner. I really thought Dreamy would bully and abuse Reva, but that has not seemed to happen. Sparky seems a bit miffed to still be in her own private adjacent paddock, but an almost 30 year old should not have to worry about being bullied or jockeying for a hay pile IMO. It has been a week now and so far, so good. It is a pain for me to feed them in the AM now, but I much rather figure that out than deal with daily broken fences. I prefer to keep them in their own separate turnouts, because they are all close enough to still feel like a herd, but I don't have to deal any of the problems of being in a herd. I head back to work on Tuesday, so that will be the real test, since I won't be home to keep a close eye on them. I suppose we shall see!

Tried to be sneaky, but they heard me opening the door of the house. All the girls had been napping...from left to right: Reva, Dreamy, and Sparky

2011 in Review

2011-12-31T10:33:00.000-05:00

In an effort to not feel so blah about blogging, I figured I would copy my fellow bloggers who do yearly reviews. So here you are....Standardbred Excellence for the year 2011!

January
The new year began with a recap of my horse goals. I complained about riding in the winter in the Northeast and shared a book review with you. I hit my 300th post, won a blog award, shared more video from WEG, and applauded the USEF helmet rule. Oh, and it hit -19 degrees here in Maine. Somehow I have blocked that memory until just rereading that post! Ahhh!

February
I reported out on the Maine Dressage Society banquet, which is always something to look forward to during the dreary months of winter. I had fun with my friend Tania at Dover Saddlery and discussed the topic of "red snow" as it relates to horse husbandry. Reva earned her own stall plate, at the request of a reader I talked about my Morgan's relatives, and I reveled in my little Standardbred featured in the 2010 USDF Yearbook! I wrote about how much I love horses in honor of Valentine's Day, I laughed at my mare Reva and her reaction to sheep, and shared an interview about Standardbreds. I rounded out the short month by attending the SPHO-NJ banquet!

March
In March I did a 30 day challenge. Click here to see all of my posts!

April
By now, my conditioning schedule was in full swung. Tania and I went on a fun beach ride! And I continued riding my horses as much as possible because of that wonderful thing we teachers love, school vacations! :-)

May
Reva had more dental work done and I added to my horse tooth collection. I worried about moving up to First Level with Dreamy, which ended up being No Big Deal. Reva went to her first ever horse show and was champion of her division! Whooo! And I publicly thanked two of my horsey friends Tania and Shelly!

June
Reva went to her second horse show, first ever trail ride, and tackled the scary noodle curtain. Dreamy and I started back into the swing of lessons and went to another SMDA dressage show. Reva went to her first big overnight show in Skowhegan and was fabulous! Dreamy and I went to the UNH dressage show at the end of the month.

July
We had a wonderful summer and I was so busy (in a great way!) in July that I never touched the blog! LOL! Reva had the month off from showing. Dreamy and I spent a long weekend showing at Isaac Royal's USDF show, followed by another SMDA show, then had an AWESOME vacation at Acadia National Park, and finished the month doing well at a horse trial in New Hampshire.

August
Again, we were busy at shows! Dreamy went to another SMDA dressage show, had fun at a clinic with Peter Atkins. Reva made her first trip to the National Standardbred show in New Jersey and I had a rant about being "on the bit".

September
Reva debuted saddleseat at the MHA Labor Day Classic, her fifth show of the year. Dreamy was busy marshaling at the track, competing in a combined test, and our last SMDA show of the season. Reva continued her winning ways at another MHA show and earned her first custom browband!

October
I mourned along with the rest of the horse blogging community as Andrea had to put down her beloved mare Gogo. Reva went to a dressage show and cleaned up at her eighth and last show of the year, even trying out western just for giggles. We got a shout-out from friend Ellen Harvey at the USTA. Dreamy went Beginner Novice for the first time at Sunset Farm and marshals at the 3YO Finals at Scarborough Downs. Reva makes good strides in her training and we lunge her to work on her canter.

November
Reva continues to make great progress in her training as I take advantage of the gorgeous fall weather to take as many lessons as possible. I attend the 2011 MHA Year End Banquet with friends Shelly, Tania, and Katie. And I am proud to say I completed NaBloPoMo 2011!!

December
I talk about unsuccessfully switching Dreamy's SmartPak and Reva's reluctance to bend. We have a wonderful Christmas here and I am very much looking forward to 2012! Show dates are already rolling in which makes me excited! :-)

I had planned to recap my 2011 goals here too...but then I realized I never actually posted them at all! Whoops! Suffice it to say, I met all my goals....keep Sparky happy and healthy in her retirement, rock it out at Prix Caprilli and First Level with Dreamy, and have an awesome year showing Reva. I think I will outline more specific goals for 2012 in a January post...

PRODUCT REVIEW: The Water Bucket Cozy

2011-12-30T17:12:00.089-05:00

I have had the opportunity to test out the Water Bucket Cozy over the last week. I wanted something that might not freeze the buckets quite so solid but without any electricity. It retails for $42.95 at SmartPak which is pretty decent since a heated bucket is about the same price.

Mine looks like this except in black...and I think this one is the small 2.5 gallon bucket, while I have the 5 gallon version. But you get the drift! LOL!

When I opened the package, the Cozy was like a big poofy jacket for a bucket. LOL! It came with nice little instructions and only took me a moment to figure out how to put it onto the bucket. It went on easily and has stayed very clean and neat over the last eight days.

So far I am loving it! I am using it for Sparky, as she is very good about not destroying things. I moved the top cover out a bit so that the opening is larger for her to get used to it. The company does recommend adding 4 cups of hot water to increase insulation but so far I am just filling it normally from the barn spigot. I think that as the winter continues into the "deep freeze" I will add the recommended hot water. But so far, there has just been a bit of very thin ice on the top, but absolutely no ice on the sides. Both of my other horses' buckets have had much more serious ice on the top and sides by morning. And the company is based out of New Hampshire, which is neat. You can order directly from them (looks like it is $4 cheaper to do that than most retailers, but then the shipping is $8), but since I get free shipping from SmartPak it was cheaper to get it from them. Many other tack stores carry them as well from the looks, including Dover.

So why am I so excited about this cool new invention, asks those of you who use heated buckets all winter. I know many people happily use heated buckets, but I have never had any inclination to want them in my own barn. I refer to them as "barn burners". LOL! There is too much risk involved in my opinion, from barn fires to horses electrocuting themselves by chewing the cord. And because I only have one four-way outlet in my barn that is not directly outside the stalls, I cannot use heated buckets even if I did want to, as they are not supposed to be used with extension cords.

It is a complete pain to break ice out of buckets, but I rather break ice than have dead horses. I give the horses one last check around 10 PM and they have to go until 6:15 AM, which means their buckets normally do freeze. I have kept my horses for almost 20 years like this with no issue, as Sparky has NEVER had a heated water bucket. I realize some of you readers think I am a bad horse person for not using them, but I am happy with it, my horses are clearly happy with it, and so, the end. ;-D And in no way do I think that anyone who does use a heated water bucket is negligent; I am just saying they are not for me and my horse husbandry style. :-) So if you are like me, here is a great alternative to the heated buckets.

Looking to buy a nice western bridle?

2011-12-30T14:15:00.000-05:00

I am selling a western bridle on eBay...check it out! If you know someone who might be interested, please share the link with them! Thank you!

Merry (Very Belated) Christmas!

2011-12-29T17:02:00.003-05:00

As much as I tried to get in a blog post before Christmas, it just didn't happen. Oh well! Here are some fun pics from right before Christmas. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, no matter which one(s) you celebrate!!

My son made a snowman in the only snow we have had since the one storm at Halloween! Very weird Maine winter weather here! There is currently no snow! (BTW, I love my dog running up in the background...LOL!)

Santa cookies are standard around here...

Sparky was NOT impressed with her antlers...LOL!

...and neither was Mac! What a patient cat! LOL!

Santa filled their stockings with treats! Reva got a new dandy brush as well!

Reva didn't notice her antlers and kept eating her grain...

Hi MOM!

Dreamy WOULD NOT POSE. Such a pain. LOL!

I love how Reva is still interested in me instead of eating. That is another barn cat named Riley.

Update and musings...

2011-12-12T21:55:00.001-05:00

I always find that after I blog continuously for a month I need a break. LOL! And truthfully nothing exciting is happening around here right now. I have had a bunch of little ideas for posts but nothing that seemed worthy to write on its own. So here is a little bit of everything with very little coherence. LOL!

We are having the oddest winter so far; it has been warm and MUDDY and just recently has gotten very cold and the ground froze up. I am trying hard to get the mares out 2-3 times a week each, but there have been days I wanted to ride and it was just too muddy. Over the weekend it was a bit too frozen. Oh well! Maybe it will snow (which I hate but it is better than the frozen rutted ground!) and then I can ride in the snow as long as the ice stays away.

It is funny to me that over the spring and summer I would ride both mares each day and at the end, in my fatigue, would think, "Soon it will be winter and we can have some downtime!" Of course, now that it is here, I hate it! LOL! I miss riding them both each day, 5-6 times a week. I wish I had an indoor! But then of course it would be too cold or too dusty...ha ha ha...so instead of being a complainer I am just enjoying my horses each day. Some days it is just feeding, mucking, and picking feet. Today I brushed everyone as they ate their dinners, which is one of my favorite ways to be with them. They all are well behaved enough to stand quietly in their stalls without halters/leads as I spiff them up. I have decided to not clip anyone this year as long as I can help it, so all the mares have thick, luxuriant coats. They are like big stuffed animals.

Sparky is looking and feeling so well. I always breathe an inner sigh of relief each morning that she greets me with her head over her stall door. At her age (29), I always feel the need to be prepared for "that morning." Uggg. :*( She thoroughly enjoyed the massive amounts of mud in the bottom of her paddock these past few weeks and showed me such by slathering it all over her body each day. Ha ha ha. It was almost warm enough last week for me to contemplate bathing her, but I just broke out the Showsheen and Cowboy Magic instead!

Dreamy has been enjoying some "fun" and easier rides over the past few weeks. I have taken her out on the trail as much as possible, taking easy strolls through the pines and then bouncy canters up the hills (there are a lot of hills!) and just riding for fun instead of "training". She is still in decent shape and I hope I can ride as enough through the winter to avoid having to completely start her at square one in the spring.

I switched Dreamy's Smartpak over from Recovery EQ and Glanzen 3 to just Trisport, thinking I was so smart to save some cash. Yeah, no. We are in week 5 and she is feeling stiff under saddle. She is not lame and granted she is not in 100% shape, but I know my mare and she is not as fluid and free in her gaits as before. So much for trying to be frugal! I love Recovery EQ and Dreamy has done so well on it; I changed her Smartpak back last week. I will finish up the Trisport until the Recovery EQ comes at the end of the month. I think I might actually write a testimonial for the Recovery EQ and send it to Smartpak. Normally I am not one to do that, but in this case I think it warrants one!

And Miss Reva...she has been accepting bending at the trot as a normal part of her life lately...ha ha ha. She has also begun using speed to show her displeasure at times so it is back to reestablishing rhythm and tempo with her for a bit. She is much more opinionated that I gave her credit for in the beginning and I think will prove to be more challenging in the end than Dreamy. But I could be wrong. Her training came along in leaps and bounds this past fall and despite her lightened workload right now, I am hopeful that we will be able to easily pick things back up in the spring. Her body has changed so much and I can tell correct work is starting to improve her overall balance.

Call me crazy, but when you have horses in your backyard, you tend to notice every little detail. Reva enjoys cavorting in her paddock/pasture and when she bucked she always looked like she might fall over at any moment on her head. She always seemed "top heavy" to me and her back end would be somewhere out in the next town over. But just in the last few weeks I am noticing how much she now uses her hind end when she plays. She has taken to rearing up and spinning off her hind end, something I have never seen her do. When she plays she is much more "up" in the front now. She finally is starting to look graceful when she plays rather than like a drunken wind up toy. LOL! Yay for correct dressage work!

So overall, things are going well! I am not dreading winter as much as I was a month ago. It helps that I am still using my barn hose (except for yesterday, Sunday, when it hovered right around 30 all day). ;-) I am sure we will all pay for this mild winter later on, but I will take it for now! I still have three year end banquets coming up in January and February which I am looking forward to. And I am hopeful to get in a few beach rides and lessons this winter when I can!

NaBloPoMo - I did it!

2011-12-01T16:04:00.003-05:00

I did it! Thirty posts in thirty days...well actually, it was 32 posts! :-D

I am not sure what made me want to do the NaBloPoMo challenge this year. Part of me wanted to see if I could actually do it, part of me wanted to be like other blogger friends who have done this in the past, and part of me just thought it would look cool to put an icon like the one above on my blog! LOL! :-p

I do not think I would have been as successful had I not used the prompts each day. There were some that I did not like writing as much as others, but overall it was not bad. There are times when I have so much to write about and then other times I feel like I have the most boring life ever; writing something along the lines of, "Well, I fed the horses, mucked stalls, and had two good rides today" just seems silly to do every single day. There are times when whatever I am doing for training under saddle with the mares is just not that interesting.

Obviously it is easier in the spring, summer, and fall to write more because I am showing a lot. Now as we head into winter, lessons have slowed down (sadly, my instructor does not have an indoor), shows are over, and it is harder to fit in ride time. Thankfully the footing has been decent enough so far to keep both Reva and Dreamy fit, but I am unable to ride both in a day because of the lack of daylight. I am happy to ride each one 3-4 times a week though, which is better than having to stop riding all together. I will keep it up as long as I can until the temperatures drop or the footing deteriorates. Maybe we will have a mild winter and I can continue riding! It would be great to not have to start at square one of conditioning in March. :-)

Happy blogging! I hope that my NaBloPoMo or other 30 Day Challenge prompts might inspire you to use them as well!

NaBloPoMo Day #30

2011-11-30T19:27:00.001-05:00

Day #30 - A photo (or two!) of my horse being herself

Reva

Her curiosity and love of kids is adorable...July 2009

I love those dopey ears and sweet expression! Spring 2010

Dreamy

She is such a packer with my son...December 2010

This is so Dreamy...that unamused expression...WHAT is my mother doing now?? Taken at WEG practice at the Red Mile 2010

Sparky

This is her mean mare face. ;-D Spring 1998

But really she is such a sweetheart...winter 2007

NaBloPoMo Day #29

2011-11-29T19:35:00.001-05:00

Day #29 - One thing my horse did that really affected me

Reva
Bringing Reva to her first ever off-farm experience in 2010 really made me proud. It was the first time I really asked her to completely trust me and I was excited to see that she did. It gave me confidence that I was on the right track with her and a glimpse at how she might act at other off-farm environments. She was such a quick learner and really did "all the right things". Of course, her first show was pretty gratifying too, but the prompt says one thing. ;-)

Reva at the 2010 Chris Lombard clinic

Dreamy
Out of all the experiences we have had, I would say my trip to the World Equestrian Games and Dreamy's USDF success stands out to me the most. 2010 was a huge year for us. I know there were other more poignant moments with Dreamy, but riding at WEG, earning good dressage scores and ultimately our All-Breed national championships was such a hard earned goal for me. It was surreal to truck my horse to Kentucky last September and be a part of the Standardbred demos. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience in so many ways. And then I had a similar feeling when I flew to Florida last December (almost a year ago now!) to attend the USDF Symposium as a vendor (Tina and I created a Standardbred Dressage booth courtesy of the USTA!) and the USDF Awards Gala! It might very well be the only time I attend both my lifetime.

I'm in the middle, posing with Heather (left) and Tina (right)

Sparky
Obviously as my first horse, Sparky has affected me in many wonderful ways over the nearly 19 years I have owned her. But there is one incident from the first spring I owned her that will forever stand out to me. I was boarding her for a short time at a local farm near my middle school (I was in the eighth grade) where I could get off the bus at the barn and my mom would pick me up later in the afternoon. I loved that part of this barn (most other parts, not so much, but that is a different story not for the blog). We had permission to ride in the flat grass field directly next door to the barn, as it was owned by one of my classmate's parents. Being young and foolish, I checked the field for holes but that is about it. We were trotting along the edge, close to some bushes near the fence line of the boarding barn and I heard a weird rustling noise. I caught the sight of something and quickly realized it was a wire. I brought Sparky down to a walk and halt immediately. I hopped off and saw that it was actually old BARB WIRE and it had somehow gotten caught around Sparky's hind leg. AHHHH! The only way to get her free was to drop the reins. I was close enough to the barn to yell for help, but I also knew that I needed to get her free RIGHT NOW and not wait for help. Plus, I worried that yelling would make Sparky nervous. Bear in mind, I had owned this horse for about seven months at this point. All of these thoughts went through my mind in about half a second. I spoke soothingly to Sparky, dropped the reins, and continued to talk with her, telling her STAND, good girl, you're OK, STAND.....and so on. Thankfully she stood like a statue, never moving away or even bending down to reach for grass. I was able to disentangle her hind leg very quickly from the wire and there were no cuts. We were very, very lucky. I will never forget how it felt to have my horse stand so still without anyone holding on to her and allow me to lift her hind leg out of the barb wire mess. It amazes me that she trusted me THAT much so early in our relationship. It still amazes me today. She is not a flighty mare, but she can be hot and opinionated and patience is not always her best virtue. ;-) I am convinced she knew something was wrong and that I was going to help her. (And the barb wire was cleaned up after that! Phew!)

My senior pic with Sparky! 1997

NaBloPoMo Day #28

2011-11-28T17:16:00.002-05:00

Day #28 - The current status of my horse's training

Reva
Reva is the least trained of my horses, with only seven months of under saddle training. She is solid walk/trot, while her canter is coming along. She will pick up the left lead without issue but the right lead only about 80% of the time. She understands how to reach into the connection with the bit and has a pretty decent rhythm as long as she stays relaxed. Her relaxation is an issue at times though and she is currently resisting true straightness/ bend/shoulder fore. When she resists, she gets quick. She hold her tension in her jaw, specifically her TMJ, and will grind her teeth. She will get a complete chiropractic work-up this spring, or maybe even earlier. (Her teeth are done every 6 months and were just floated at the end of September...) There are moments of absolute brilliance, where her trot becomes amazing and she is so soft in the bridle. And there are moments of garbage too...LOL! I have to remind myself she has only been under saddle for seven months now. And before that she had ~30 rides on her. So I am pleased where she is in her current training. :-) She is going to be at Intro level next year and if we show in open shows again I will keep her in 2-gait. I hope to move up to Training level and 3-gait with her in 2013.

Dreamy
Dreamy can school all the First level movements minus the canter loops. Well, we can do them but they are not good enough for competition. :-0 And we can do Second level movements of shoulder-in, renvers, travers (harder), and turn on the haunches, but she will never show at that level. She is safe and handy over fences up to 2'6" and I will keep her at that height or lower. I know she could do higher, but as she is almost 21 years old I am happy with keeping her sound. :-) Dreamy is probably trained as far along as she is ever going to be. Her canter is not a "normal" dressage canter, but it is pretty decent. Right now my only plan is to do a few Beginner Novice events with her next year and foxhunt in the fall. If we do any straight dressage it will be at First level and 3-gait at open shows.

Sparky
Miss Sparky is retired. :-) She is as trained as she will ever be. She reached First level movements, jumping up to 3', and Preliminary level combined driving before retirement.

NaBloPoMo Day #27

2011-11-27T16:56:00.026-05:00

Day #27 - Any horses I may have considered instead of my horse

Reva
Choosing to own Reva was sort of a ~~ridiculous~~ impulsive decision. I had received two emails about her from my friend Helene and fell in love with her photos. I knew I wanted a young horse in the future, but I did not think the future was that day in July 2009. LOL! Oh well. I am glad I own her but did not consider any horse instead of her.

Dreamy
I looked for a number of weeks for an older retired Standardbred that needed a home back in early 2003 when I decided to bring my mare Sparky home. I figured I could find something older with issues that needed a home and could be a companion for Sparky. I called and emailed about many different mares through a local Standardbred forum, but none of them sounded like anything I really wanted, so I never met any of them. I found out through Sparky's massage therapist (at the time) that Dreamy needed a home, and having known her for years since she lived at a farm near my grandfather's, I knew I wanted her. So while I did inquire about many other horses, Dreamy was the only one I took seriously.

Sparky
My parents and I looked for my first horse for a LONG time, much to the chagrin of my 13 year old self! LOL! It was at least a year, and we looked at many different horses and called about a ton of them. At the time there was no internet (gasp!) with DreamHorse.com and all that so I would scour the statewide Uncle Henry's publication on a weekly basis. Sparky just sort of happened to fall into our laps and while she was much different than the fancy Morgans we had been looking at (she was in a bad situation and her abilities were unknown), she was born at the farm where I began my riding career. Once I knew she needed a new home, there was no other horse for me. We bought her the day and brought her home within an hour after meeting her.

It is funny to write this all down, because it now dawns on me that all three of my horses have come to me through word-of-mouth. And all of them came to me virtually unknown...my parents bought Sparky for me within an hour after meeting her, Dreamy I only faintly knew from the occasional visits when she had a foal each year (realistically, I think I met her twice in that many years), and I had Reva sent to my farm straight from NJ never having met her! Wow, way to be a super careful horse person! HA HA HA! I think I broke every single rule in the horse buying book. :-p

NaBloPoMo Day #26

2011-11-26T17:27:00.005-05:00

Day #26 - The conditions my horse lived in before I got her

Reva
Reva lived at Showplace Farm in NJ before I got her. She was with John Duer, son of Carter Duer of Peninsula Farm in KY. I actually have a photo of her in her stall at Showplace (below)! She was well taken care of by my friend Rob who was her groom! (I totally creeped this photo from Rob's Facebook page. Ha ha ha)

Reva at Showplace...it is dated March 2009 on Rob's FB album.

Dreamy
Dreamy lived at a private farm in Wells, ME before I got her. She was taken care of and had her own small paddock. But I can't say she was spoiled like she is here!

The day I brought Dreamy home to my farm in 2003.

Sparky
Sparky had the worst living situation of my three mares. She was at a private home in Weeks Mills, ME when we bought her. She was chained in a straight stall with no bedding, hay, or water but lots of manure! There were chickens all throughout the barn and lots of chicken poop on her back. :-( She was not quite up to proper weight and it was as close to a rescue as possible without really being a rescue. It was a bad situation that could have become much worse.

I'd have to scan an earlier photo, but this is from probably 1996.

My farm is not fancy or beautiful, but it is safe and my mares are pampered with the best I can provide! :-D

NaBloPoMo Day #25

2011-11-25T22:27:00.000-05:00

Day #25 - A common misconception about my horse

Oh, this is an easy one! :-D There are WAY TOO MANY misconceptions about the Standardbred.

Standardbreds do not make good show horses. FALSE!
Of course not! Just take a look around this blog here! :-D Standardbreds can be retrained for many different disciplines. The neat thing about Standardbreds is that you can find them in many different sizes and shapes, so you are bound to find one that can jump, or do dressage, or turn barrels, or cut cows...or do it all! Standardbreds are incredibly versatile and enjoying having a job! They are general very well behaved at shows as they have "seen it all" at the track.

Standardbreds cannot canter. FALSE!
They are trained on the track to NOT canter, so it is not as much a physical limitation but a mental block. Generally once they understand you WANT them to canter, they have a very easy time learning to balance and produce a decent canter. Of course, some horses might have physical limitations as in any breed. Not every Standardbred will have a canter similar to a fancy warmblood, but some do! :-) Truthfully, with patience and tactful riding, a Standardbred can do whatever you want to teach it to do!

Standardbreds are crazy race horses! FALSE!
Oh geez! Standardbreds are the most non crazy horses out there! Granted, you will find a crazy one out there somewhere, I am sure, but in general Standardbreds have super temperaments and very mellow personalities. I gallop my Standardbred mare Dreamy on cross country courses in a French link snaffle. (Actually she has always been in a plain snaffle.)

All Standardbreds are ugly. FALSE!
Well, you can certainly find a Standardbred out there that you find ugly. I have seen my fair share of ugly _______ (fill in the blank with any/all breeds!!) Standardbreds are bred for speed, not beauty, but even the most Roman nosed one of the bunch will have a heart of gold...so truly how can you call a sweet horse ugly! ;-)

Standardbreds who are no longer racing are all lame and crippled. FALSE!
Of course, there are those who stop racing because they truly have been injured. You will see stifle injuries as the most common I would say, with some splint and suspensory injuries too. But generally, unless you want to compete heavily, a Standardbred with a properly healed racing injury will be fine for light riding. But most Standardbreds come off the track because they no longer have the desire to race, but their legs are clean. A failed racehorse is not a failed horse.

And my biggest pet peeve...Standardbreds have to be rescued from the track. FALSE!!
Arg!!!!! Hearing this makes me ANGRY! There are bad people involved in EVERY single breed and EVERY single industry/discipline. The vast majority of Standardbred horsemen and women are wonderful owners and care meticulously for their horses. They depend on their horses for their livelihood and it would make no sense to mistreat them. Do Standardbreds often need new careers and/or be rehomed after their time on the track? Yes. But they do not need to be "rescued" from anything!!

NaBloPoMo Day #24

2011-11-24T17:47:00.001-05:00

Day #24 - Where I was in my horsemanship before I got my horse

I started riding at age 6 and became the proud owner of my first horse Sparky in January of 1993 when I was 13. I was a confident young rider at that point, walk/trot/canter and jump. I did not have a ton of experience with different horses but I think I was a pretty decent rider. I spent two years prior leasing a very hot Morgan mare named Tiffany, who taught me how to be a tactful yet effective rider. Sparky taught me patience and the importance of trust.

Dreamy came into my life much later, in 2003. Hmm..I just noticed that it was ten years after I got Sparky; actually it was ten years and four months. ;-) By the time I got Dreamy, I had been through college where I rode different horses multiple times a week in the equestrian program. All of my elective credits were earned in the equine program and I actually have a minor in equine studies. I don't think I would have been as confident in training Dreamy myself without the time I spent studying with Janet Briggs and Amy (something) at school. I am thankful to now have a wonderful instructor Judy Thibeau who has helped me immensely in the past three years.

Through all my successes with Dreamy, there have certainly been many mistakes. The time I put into her has allowed me to train Reva well. I think the things that took me forever to learn with Dreamy has taken much less time with Reva (THANK GOD). I do think that riding school horses (aka horses who know more than me, Dreamy, and Reva combined) would be beneficial to me at this point in my riding. But it is hard enough to find the time and money to take lessons on my own horses, so taking lessons on other horses has just not happened. But I am very happy where I am in my horsemanship. I wish I had time for more lessons and clinics, but overall I cannot complain. :-) I am a solid amateur rider, but by no means extraordinary and I will never be a trainer or instructor. I only have Second Level dreams, so it is all good. :-D

On a different note, I am kind of getting bored with the different NaBloPoMo prompts I have been using. LOL! Thankfully there are only six more days left! I am not always a great blogger, as I have times where I blog a lot and then times when I ignore my blog, so I figured I would need the prompts to help me along. Part of me wishes I had just done my own thing, but I like to finish what I start.

OH! And today I hit 80 followers! Yay! I love my loyal readers and love when you leave a comment! If you are reading and have not yet added yourself as a "follower" to my blog, please do! :-) Look in the upper left hand side of the blog and click the link that says "follow". :-D Thanks!

NaBloPoMo Day #23

2011-11-23T13:32:00.000-05:00

Day #23 - Any competing I do with my horse

I love to show and any regular readers of my blog know I do a lot of competing. Dressage shows, open pleasure shows, three and two phase events, versatility challenges, I love them all. I have shown at schooling shows, USDF rated shows, "AA" rated shows and everything in between. I have shown all over New England and have gone to New Jersey for the last four years to attend the National Standardbred Show. I don't need to bore you with all the details of all the many places I have shown!

In many ways, showing helps motivate me. My tack is cleaner when I show too! LOL! ;-) Being at home with no one to ride with (unless I make specific plans) can be difficult to keep focused. It is too easy to take a day off from riding if I am tired and no one is there encouraging me to ride with them, so knowing I have to prepare for a show helps keep me motivated to ride six days a week. I like having challenges and setting goals with my horses. But simply making training goals are not enough for my competitive nature. I like to show in order to test our training and of course ribbons are FUN! ;-) But showing for me is also a social opportunity. The camaraderie and silly memories are just as much fun as winning a ribbon.

Now, I do want to say that I have nothing against those who chose to not show for any variety of reasons. Showing is not the "be all, end all" in terms of horses. I respect people who do not show just as much as those who do. If enjoying your horse without showing is what makes you happy, GO FOR IT! :-) I just know for me personally I would not be happy without showing at least a few times a year. I don't think that showing defines who a person is. Of course, I like sharing my successes here on my blog and posting pics, etc. etc. But does that make me a better horseman? No way! But of course, this is all my opinion and I am sure there are others out there who disagree. That is OK! I just wanted to make it clear that just because I love to show does not mean I look down upon anyone who does not.

Reva's first show ~ May 2011

Ribbons from Dreamy's first show ~ August 2006

My first show with Sparky (and our first blue ribbon!) ~ York County Riders 1994

NaBloPoMo Day #22

2011-11-22T09:07:00.006-05:00

Day #22 - What specific disciplines do I do with my horse?

I grew up doing dressage and eventing, with some pleasure shows in there as well. But in the last two years I apparently have gotten bored, because I have tried western on both my Standardbreds and saddleseat this past year on Reva. (Damn those MHA shows I have been going to where I have met Saddlebred and Hackney friends! LOL! ;-) I really want to try team penning some day and I am DEFINITELY going foxhunting next year!

So specifically, I am a dressage and event rider, but I also like to have fun and make my horses versatile. A good horse is a good horse, regardless of what seat you ride. I am not a snob when it comes to breeds or disciplines. It is actually pretty fun to bring along four saddles and four outfits to a show! Ha ha ha.

Reva
In her one year of showing, she did in-hand (hunter and western), showmanship, equitation, hunter under saddle and over fences, western, trail, dressage, and saddleseat. Whew!

Reva's first time showing saddleseat! MHA Labor Day Classic 2011

Dreamy
She has done in-hand (hunter), showmanship, equitation, hunter under saddle and over fences, roaster under saddle, western, trail, barrel racing, pole bending, dressage, eventing, and lots of marshaling at the track!

Dreamy's first time down centerline! SMDA in 2007

Sparky
We did it all...in-hand (hunter), showmanship, equitation, hunter under saddle and over fences, western, trail, barrel racing, pole bending, dressage, eventing, pleasure driving, and combined driving.

Sparky and I in 2006 at a CDE at Preliminary level...she won it!

2011 MHA Banquet

2011-11-21T20:59:00.001-05:00

The Maine Horse Association year end banquet was this past Saturday night. It was a very fun evening with three of my horsey girlfriends, Tania, Shelly, and Katie! And of course we got to see all of our MHA show buddies too!

Reva and Dreamy both won year end awards from MHA this year!

Dreamy
Reserve Champion Training level dressage - 67.275%
Reserve Champion First level dressage - 61.99%

Reva
Champion Introductory level dressage - 65.945%
Recipient of the Standardbred Pleasure Challenge Trophy
Champion Standardbred 2-Gait Pleasure
Champion Standardbred In-Hand
Reserve Champion English Horse In-Hand

The dressage divisions and English Horse In-Hand were open to all breeds. I am super proud of them both! Not bad for Reva's first year showing...and having only been under saddle for seven months (with about 30 rides before that!) I am already excited for 2012!

Showin' 'em how it's done Standardbred style!

Here is the STB Challenge trophy donated last year by the Standardbred Performance Society. I designed the trophy...bought the pottery on Etsy.com and my brother made the wooden holder. My friend Shelly's horse won it last year and Reva won it this year!

Reva's three championships also earned us a garment bag, bridle bag, and stall front bag. Yay!

No photo session is complete with being ridiculously foolish...yes, I am 32 but act like a kid. :-D This pic is actually sort of scary! HA HA HA

NaBloPoMo Day #21

2011-11-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

Day #21 - How my horse responds to different environments

For the most part, all three of my horses respond calmly to new environments. I am lucky to own horses with good minds. Sparky was always pretty chill when I took her somewhere new and I never had to worry much about her. We showed all over the place and she was normally the same horse at home as she was at a show or on the trail.

Dreamy is very calm too, but the transition from the dressage warm up ring to the competition ring used to be a problem for her. I think much of it was because I would get tense. We would sometimes leave our best ride in the warm up. But we have not had an issue with that for the last two years. Dreamy has been all over the place with me, from the quiet Acadia National Park trails, to the electric atmosphere at WEG 2010, to horse shows all over New England, to the harness racing tracks, to the Maine beaches. She might look around in a new environment but stays smart and I have had few problems. She used to "lose her halt" during the first year I marshaled at the track with her, but we have been able to successfully work through that. (See below.)

Reva is very laid back in new environments for her age. She disliked the covered ring at Skowhegan, so the two shows we did there presented more of a challenge than shows we did in an open ring. But Dreamy never liked that ring either, nor do many other horses. For her first year out and about, I am very pleased with her mature and calm response to new places. She was stabled overnight with strange horses as well and never made a peep.

I think the key to having horses stay calm in any environment is to stay calm yourself. Horses pick up on so much from their rider/handler. If I am apprehensive, they figure they ought to be as well. I have always approached new environments as though we have done it 100 times already. And normally the horse will follow my brave lead. I much rather work through something than give up. For example, when Dreamy used to be unable to halt when we first started marshaling at the tracks, instead of fighting with her or giving up on marshaling, I worked her through it. I would make her halt for two seconds and allow her to move off MY LEG, not when she figured it was time. I would do this 164686903 times in the course of one afternoon on the track...by the fifth race or so, Dreamy would get bored with me and just stand still. LOL! I wouldn't fight with her, I would just outwit her. And instead of whining about it and saying, "My horse is bad at the track", I just brought her there as much as I could. DISCLAIMER: Dreamy was never dangerous at the track. She just felt she needed to be in motion rather than stand still. Obviously, I would not have ridden a dangerous horse who put me or any of the drivers/racers in jeopardy. So now Dreamy is completely laid back at the track and loves to stand along the fence greeting the fans. :-D

I think there are times when I have done things with my horses that other people think I am crazy for doing. I am not saying I do anything dumb, because I certainly don't, but I really don't get all caught up in worry about new situations. I know I have a trusting relationship with them before I ask them to do something. And I think I am sometimes braver than I realize...something that doesn't make me nervous might make another rider VERY nervous. I figure I might as well try something out and see what happens. I know my horses are not dangerous and I am able to be brave for them. I am pretty sure that I would have never been so successful with Reva this year at shows if I had not been brave for her. She follows my lead and has come to the conclusion that if I say something is OK, it probably is. I hope that never changes. There is a great line here from a clinic with Reva in 2010. The clinician, Chris Lombard, "admitted to me that he did not believe me in the beginning when I said Reva was confident. He figured she would be timid, just from seeing her in the first few moments in the ring, spooking at the crossrail in front of the audience. He was happy to say he was wrong. He said that she was confident because I was confident. He said that with a nervous or timid rider/handler, he was not sure that Reva would be so calm. That was pretty cool to hear as well." Reva has not doubted me yet and for that I am thankful. Of course I was nervous the first time I showed her, but I made deliberate decisions regarding that show to set us both up for success. And it paid off! :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #20

2011-11-20T14:36:00.001-05:00

Day #20 - How my horse was trained

Reva and Dreamy
No one ever sat on Dreamy before me and only one person (my friend Helene) had ever sat on Reva...and it was for a bareback pony ride around the NJ farm. Both of my Standardbreds were trained by me, an adult amateur who does well only because she works her a** off. ;-) I would never make it as a horse trainer and I am OK with that. I have to work hard to figure out my timing and feel, and I take lessons as much as I can to make sure I am headed in the right direction. I had started Dreamy under saddle for about a year before I started regular lessons with her; thankfully I have been taking lessons on Reva all along. I ride both of them dressage 95% of the time, but will put jumping tack on Dreamy to jump (which is never more than once a week) and was riding Reva saddleseat a handful of times this past summer in order to show. I take dressage lessons as well. I personally feel that a dressage foundation will allow a horse to pursue any discipline. I especially like a dressage basis for Standardbreds because it teaches them how to move their body correctly and how to balance.

Sparky
Sparky was trained under saddle before I bought her as a 10 year old. But she was out of shape, out of balance, and scared to death of accepting the bit. She had been at the mercy of a series of unforgiving owners...one prior owner told me he had to use a "running W" to throw her to the ground because she was "difficult" to train. O.O Sparky's first few owners were young girls who probably did not put a very solid foundation on her. The young man who sold her to me said if he wanted to win a race against his buddies, he would ride Sparky. When asked how he slowed her down, he added, "Oh, it only takes a few sharp tugs and she slows right down." He said this while pointing to a deeply ported western curb bit. Yikes.

I was only 13 years old when I got Sparky and decided to take her back to the true basics, working her in long lines, teaching her voice commands on the longe, and treating her like she was a youngster. I built a trusting relationship with her for three months before I even got on her back. (Plus, I got her in January and without an indoor it was no big deal to wait until April to ride! LOL!) My farrier at the time chided me for taking so long to ride her. I remember my instructor at the time having me use a pelham, standing martingale, and a chambon (but not at all once...LOL) in the beginning with Sparky before just using a regular eggbutt snaffle. I rode "balance seat" and did dressage, jumping, eventing, and hunter under saddle. I wish I had ridden DRESSAGE at that time because I think she would have come along better in the beginning with a pure dressage basis (and without the gadgets.) :-/ It was not until four years after I got Sparky that I really focused on her dressage training, which is what made her an even stronger horse and eventually a superb driving horse.

NaBloPoMo Day #19

2011-11-19T19:45:00.001-05:00

Day #19 - Advice for riders with similar horses

Training and riding a Standardbred successfully takes patience. And more patience. And then more patience on top of that. Did I mention patience?

Standardbreds are super easy to train. And they are also the hardest horses to train. Why you ask? They are easy because they have such great attitudes. At the track (or in training for the track), they have seen it all. They have the mentality from the Morgan and the athleticism from the Thoroughbred. You can literally walk and trot them the first time you get on. Standardbreds have the best work ethic I have ever seen in a breed.

But they are also difficult to train, especially if you want to compete and do well. Walk and trot is easy enough, but once you start asking for the canter and more advanced movements, they need to understand balance and connection to the bit. Obviously, Standardbreds are not trained on the track to move like a dressage horse...so really it is a matter of "re-training" and re-muscling them. They CAN canter, but because they are gaited horses they will always have a tendency to get lateral. I began taking lessons in 2008 because I KNEW that I needed help to bring Dreamy (and now Reva) along. It would have certainly taken less time if my instructor rode my horses for me, but I am proud I have done their training myself even if it has taken double the time.

On the lower right side, click on "training" or "riding lessons". I have written many posts since 2008 about the training successes and difficulties with Dreamy and now with Reva. It has been a journey like no other. I have learned to be a better rider. I have learned that while it would be a whole lot easier to ride dressage on a fancy breed, it is infinitely more satisfying to do it on a Standardbred. I am certainly not the best rider out there. I am a true adult amateur who has to fight with her (short and stubby) body to do what I want it to do. I do not have great timing and have to really think about what I am asking my horse.

I have written about cantering, my frustrations, more frustration, the difference in a Standardbred's outline, and even when things come together and it makes you cry with joy. I started my blog as a way to track Dreamy's progress, but I also hope to help other Standardbred owners out there. If I can be successful, anyone can be! It just takes hard work, determination, and a really wonderful breed. :-D And LOTS of patience!

NaBloPoMo Day #18

2011-11-18T18:21:00.001-05:00

Day #18 - My future plans with my horse

Reva
My hope with Reva is to continue her dressage training, with some hunters, western, and saddleseat thrown in to keep her versatile. Someday we will try eventing once she is less green over fences. I'm also dying to try sidesaddle someday... ;-) If I can ever afford it, I want to get a cart and harness for her to become a (pleasure) driving horse; all of my cob-sized driving equipment is WAAY too small for her. I hope to take her to at least First Level in dressage and maybe Second... ;-D Of course, we will move up to 3-gait for hunters/ western/saddleseat when she is ready as well. Next year I plan to do Introductory A and B with her and aim for Intro C in the fall of 2012. Of course, it goes without saying that I want to keep her happy and healthy and enjoy fun things such as trail rides, beach rides, and trips to Acadia!

Dreamy
Dreamy has achieved all of the goals I set out to achieve and more! Her future could be that of lawn ornament and I would be OK with that. She owes me nothing while I owe her everything. In the future, I want to do more Beginner Novice events, even if we only do a few next year, since moving up this past fall at the 2-phase went well. As long as she is sound and happy, I will keep jumping her. I would do another year of Prix Caprilli but it appears the local dressage association (SMDA) has taken it off their class lists for next year! D-: I am super sad about that. I am not sure I will continue showing in dressage shows, but instead just the eventing. The BIG plan next year is to try foxhunting, which runs from August to November, with the Wentworth Hunt. I am planning to attend their final hunt of the year next week as a guest. YAY!!!! And of course, keeping her happy and healthy and having fun is top priority.

Sparky
I plan to keep Sparky as healthy and happy as possible as she ages. She has earned her retirement and pampered lifestyle. :-) Next year she will turn 30, and I hope to celebrate many more of her birthdays. She has kept her weight very well (sometimes too well...LOL) on excellent second crop hay and Triple Crown senior grain. Each day with her is special and I don't take any of the time for granted. :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #17

2011-11-17T20:44:00.013-05:00

Day #17 - Things my horse has taught me

Patience
Trust
Determination
Sportsmanship
Hard work
Sacrifice
Priorities
Forgiveness
Responsibility

NaBloPoMo Day #16

2011-11-16T20:43:00.001-05:00

Day #16 - Progress I have made with my horse since I bought her

Reva
Since Reva came into my life back in 2009, she has made a lot of progress. I taught her to walk, trot, and canter under saddle. In fact, besides a bareback pony ride by my friend Helene, I am the only person who has ridden her at all. She has learned how to be a "fancy show horse" (LOL) by going to day and overnight shows here in Maine and the National show in New Jersey. She has made a huge amount of progress in a short time, and I am super proud of her. :-)

Dreamy
Obviously, Dreamy is much the same way as Reva. She had actually never had anyone on her back when I got her years ago. She has progressed from a completely unbroke 15 year old broodmare into a successful show horse and trusted friend. Her awards are listed on the right side of my blog...but more importantly she she has become a wonderful ambassador for her breed and one of my "heart horses". She made me grow as a rider and learn to appreciate the training process.

Sparky
Sparky was "trained" under saddle when I first got her, but she was not properly trained. She also had trust issues with humans...I had a hard time convincing her to let me brush her and catch her in the pasture/stall. She was successful in the show ring in many disciplines, jumped around many cross country courses, trotted up center line for me numerous times, and learned a new discipline (carriage driving) at age 18. She turned into my best friend and the most trusted equine partner that I think I will ever have in my life. :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #15

2011-11-15T11:03:00.004-05:00

Day #15 - Any special tricks my horse knows

None of my three mares know any tricks. I have thought about teaching them to bow, but I never really followed through with it. I guess I am not really a trick type of person. My horses are not circus acts. ;-) Asking my horses to do tricks feels as though I am degrading them.

I do have a funny story about tricks though. When I first got Sparky years ago, I found out by accident that she had been taught how to "beg" for treats. As her eleventh owner in her ten years of life, it did not surprise me that someone along the line taught her a trick. I was about to feed her a treat but got sidetracked talking to someone (I think it was my mother). Sparky was on crossties and knew I had the treat. She ended up raising her foreleg and "begging" for the treat. I remember laughing and finding it super funny. I tried it again, and she lifted her foreleg again. I never did it too much, but every once in a while I would ask for her to "beg". I know I did it much more when I was younger, and would often show new people how my horse "knew a trick".

NaBloPoMo Day #14

2011-11-14T20:19:00.000-05:00

Day #14 - Any regrets that I have with my horse

Yikes...this is a hard one. I try to not have regrets in my life, because even when I change my mind about something, I try to remember there was a time when it was what I wanted. There is a much more succinct quote like that somewhere, but I am too lazy to Google it. ;-)

Reva
I kind of regret waiting so long to really start Reva. I waited to put her into more serious work this year, her five year old year, when I wish I had done this when she was four. But then again, I don't want to rush her, as she is a horse who has had MANY MANY training miles as a yearling and two year old. So what is one year? I am really happy with her and I do think it was a good choice. But if I had to pick a regret, I deep down wish I had started her a year earlier.

Dreamy
Hmmm...you know, I have been sitting here staring at my screen for a few minutes trying to decide what I regret with Dreamy. I can't think of anything. The one thing I sometimes wish is that I could afford to put her into professional training with my instructor. I think it would have taken MUCH less time to bring her along than me doing it myself. But you know, then I realize that even if I could afford it, I really don't think I would have ever done it. There is something so much more satisfying about being able to say that everything that horse knows is because I TAUGHT IT TO HER MYSELF. Granted, I have to own the good AND the bad (ha ha ha), but knowing I have trained her (with my instructor's guidance, of course, but I am her only rider) makes our competitive success that much better. No, we don't always win. But when we do well, it is because of our hard work together. So I guess I cannot really call this a regret after all. Sometimes I am too hard on myself and think how much better trained she would be if I had my instructor training her for me. :-p

Sparky
I know I have made some stupid decisions with Sparky. Having owned her since I was a know-it-all thirteen year old (ha ha), there is no way I could say I have always done everything perfectly with her. I boarded her at a farm that never actually "abused" her, but I wish I had moved her out of there sooner than I did; they stopped feeding her more than one flake of hay a day, they turned her out in the manure pile (no joke!), and caused her to have a gas colic because when they finally did turn her out in a field, they did it for HOURS in a very grassy field. After a few months of boarding her, all of these things began to happen and we moved her pretty quickly. I was only fourteen and it sucked. :-( When I was sixteen, she made me really mad about something she did (I have no idea now what it was) and I hit her in the face. I deeply regret that decision and I have never EVER done that again, to her or another horse. I know it was nothing dangerous to me and I should have worked her through the issue, but being young and unable to control my temper is my only excuse. I knew better then but I did it anyway. :-(

I regret not going abroad in college because I was too scared to leave Sparky in the US. I wanted desperately to study in Cambridge for a semester, but the thought of not being there for my horse if she colicked or foundered (she did both twice during my first two years of college). Granted, she was boarded with my grandfather who is an amazing horseman, so I never had to worry about her day-to-day care. But it killed me to think I might be stuck in England if something bad happened to her.

I wish I had more time to fuss over her and groom her every day, because I know I will regret not spending enough time with her once she is gone, but trying to be a (high school) teacher, be a mom, keep up my house and barn, and ride and show two other horses does not always leave me much time for Sparky. :-( It breaks my heart and I do wish I had more time to devote to her, even just an extra 20 minutes to brush her. She is retired, so I don't feel bad that I don't ride her. She will be 30 next year (!!!) and I will have owned her for 19 years this coming January 2012. That is amazing to me. Overall, while I know I have made mistakes, I also take comfort in the fact that I have provided the very best I can for my horses and they are very healthy and well taken care of. I also know they are VERY forgiving of me and my mistakes. :-) So I try hard not to dwell on my regrets. I rather focus on how lucky I am to have them in my life.

NaBloPoMo Day #13

2011-11-13T14:18:00.001-05:00

Day #13 - Something I wish I could change about my horse

To be honest, I love my horses as they are. Sure, I wish Reva could be a bit less opinionated (but what fun would THAT be...?) and I wish Dreamy's canter was naturally better and she did not have COPD (but these issues are workable for me and not that big of a deal in the scheme of life), and I wish Sparky were 20 years younger (but there is not much I can do about that!). Yet those are silly things. They are really good horses, willing to provide me with companionship, trust, and enjoyment. Instead of wishing I could change them, I just work harder (if it legitimately something I can change) or find acceptance.

How to make your instructor say HOLY SH*T!

2011-11-12T21:08:00.002-05:00

LOL! ;-D

Last Sunday I brought Reva over to my instructor's farm for a lesson. My time is limited for lessons with Judy, as she does not have an indoor and the indoor where she keeps her horse for the winter does not allow outside instructors. I am hoping to sneak in a few more lessons before winter really settles here in Maine.

I have only been riding Reva about four times a week lately, which is about what I have time for when school is in session and we begin to lose daylight. So I was not expecting much last week for a lesson, as I wonder if she is in the best shape any longer.

It was a beautiful fall day, with a bit of a breeze. Reva does not usually seem to be affected by the wind, but Judy's neighbors have an annoying dog that ran over as soon as I unloaded her. It is small and moves like a dart; it is scared of horses but is very curious. I wish it would just come over and get a good kick from a horse to smarten it up....oh WAIT, I wish the OWNER would just keep it in their own yard! Grrrrr...

So anyway, as soon as the little thing ran over, one of Judy's boarders started running and bucking in her paddock. Reva is pretty level headed, but she definitely feeds off other horses. It only took a moment to settle her down and get tacked up, but with the dog running around and the neighbor kids bouncing on a trampoline, Reva's attention was not 100% on me.

Still, I was pleased with her walk and trot work. We are starting to really work on bending and engaging her inside hind leg. She is finally past the baby stages of turn, stop, and go and beginning to understand inside leg to outside hand. There are moments of resistance in which she displays subtle teeth grinding. Oh Reva! :-p Judy was having me think "over bending" with her which actually made her simply bend correctly. I have worked hard to keep her straight and take even contact on the bit, but now it is time to move like a big girl.

When Reva moves correctly and relaxes, she has the most amazing trot. There is a moment of suspension, where it feels like we are "floating" while I am posting "up". It is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. It feels like I am riding a "fancy dressage horse". LOL! Judy gets excited and I can hear it in her voice..."niiiiice trot!" I know there will come a time when suddenly THIS trot will be our normal. Rome was not built in a day. I have time. I know that the consistent and correct work we do will pay off. :-)

So maybe you are wondering why I named this post what I did. LOL!!!! Well, I have been working on Reva's canter, of course. I started some brief lunging in the past few weeks to help her figure out her balance in the canter and accept some contact. So when I asked her to canter on the left lead last Sunday in my lesson, it was fabulous! Judy actually said, "Holy sh*t!" HA HA HA! I love it! I love that we have actually improved that much! Reva's canter was lovely and uphill, no rushing, no discombobulation, and pretty decent balance! Whoooo! She is not yet strong enough for more than a few strides, maybe half a circle, but it was so exciting! It is the first time her left lead canter has been SOOOO nice!

The right lead is a different story though. We are starting to work on her right lead canter now that the left lead is so much improved. Her right lead is the more difficult of the two leads for her. She does not always want to pick up the right lead, which made me really nervous for a while. And when she would pick up anything (usually wrong) to the right, it was awful. She would cross canter, buck, and it felt like her hind legs were going in a million different directions.

Today, six days after that lesson above with the left lead being so awesome, we did some work on the right lead canter on the lunge line. I love being able to still take lessons...I am hoping to keep this up as long as there is no snow! Her right lead is obviously more difficult for her, BUT she never did any of the weird things on the lunge that she has done under saddle. YAY!!! It made me feel so much better today! It was a bit cold and windy and she was being a bit of a firecracker on the lunge line. Judy worked her for me, which is nice because I like watching at times. Seeing her take the right lead and canter "normally" was great. I am feeling better that there is not a physical issue there.

After Judy finished lunging her, I took a lesson. Reva was much calmer by then and her trot work was super nice. I also think working her on the lunge for a brief time in the trot and canter helped loosen her up immensely. In the past, I have just lunged her (about twice a week) or just ridden. Today we did both and it worked well. Almost 100% of the trot was that amazing gait I described before. Judy told me she looked like a warmblood today. ;-) She was bending so much better...we have worked on that ALL WEEK and it was nice to show Judy our progress. Her trot only deteriorated after some of the right lead canter, as she started to get tired and unsure of what to do with herself. We'll get there! Her left lead canter was super nice again and I tried the right lead...she picked it up once and then we had a few wrong leads.

(Side note: Here is a great technique Judy taught me to encourage Reva to take the correct lead. Let's say I want the left lead canter. I will trot her in a 20-25 m. circle to the right, usually between X and A, concentrating on bending her and keeping her in a good rhythm and tempo. As we come towards X, I will keep a slight right bend but ride her into the other direction...as I approach the fence, headed towards M I ask for the left canter lead. Basically it is like riding a figure eight of two 20 m. circles, with one half in the trot to set her up for the canter. In the left lead, I can change the bend to the left and ask for the canter, while in the harder right lead I have been having her stay slightly counterbent. It works great!)

Finally she picked up the correct lead and it really wasn't that bad! It was more balanced under saddle than it has EVER been. I was so happy! Lately Reva's training is really coming together. She is extremely opinionated but I never really saw it until now. She has been so easy to train all along, I have been waiting to see if that would change as we moved beyond the easy basics (forward, halt, turn). I wondered if she would have temper tantrums as the work got harder. I guess I would not yet call anything a tantrum, but she has clear opinions at times. Thankfully she also shows a real desire to improve, because I can tell she WANTS to be right. But sometimes she thinks SHE is more right than me! LOL! Last week she got frustrated when being asked for bend at the trot...I can tell because she grinds her teeth. Today she only did it once for a few strides and stopped. I love it! It is so satisfying to see such obvious improvement in a young horse. :-) I wish I had some video of her under saddle.

NaBloPoMo Day #12

2011-11-12T20:11:00.001-05:00

Day #12 - My favorite thing about my horse

Soft muzzles...

Happy ears...

Kind eyes...

I love everything about my horses. Yes, they are expensive and time consuming. But my horses define who I am. I don’t ever remember not having horses in my life. I think for me it is an inborn trait! I enjoy the responsibility that comes with owning horses and keeping them in my backyard. I enjoy working hard, getting blisters, feeling tired and sweaty after a good ride or putting up hundreds of hay bales. Riding and showing allows me to set goals and create hopes/dreams for the future. My horses’ good health and my riding accomplishments make me very proud. My horses give me comfort, teach me patience, and accept me for who I am. I know I will never be without a horse in my life.

This is a great saying that describes why I love horses..

From time to time people tell me, “lighten up, it's just a horse”, or “that's a lot of money for just a horse”. They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a horse.” Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a horse.”

Many hours have passed and my only companion was “just a horse”, but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a horse," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of “just a horse” gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day. If you, too, think it's “just a horse”, then you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend”, “just a sunrise,” or “just a promise”.

”Just a horse” brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. “Just a horse” brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. So for me and folks like me, it's not “just a horse” but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

”Just a horse” brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from the worries of the day. I hope that someday they can understand that it's not “just a horse”, but the very thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being “just a woman.”

So the next time you hear the phrase “just a horse”, just smile.... because they “just” don't understand.

NaBloPoMo Day #11

2011-11-11T17:22:00.000-05:00

Day #11 - The best thing my horse has ever done

Reva has been the best five year old to train!

One of many wins during her first year showing ~ 2011

Dreamy has been one of the best ambassadors for the Standardbred breed!

First year showing ~ 2007

Sparky has been the best first horse I could have ever asked for!

First year together! York County Riders ~ 1993

NaBloPoMo Day #10

2011-11-10T12:50:00.000-05:00

Day #10 - The worst thing my horse has ever done

Very rarely does a horse do something "wrong" without most of it (if not all...) being the rider's fault. I don't believe horses are inherently bad. And sometimes "bad" things happen and there are really no specific causes or ways they could have been avoided...and if so, it is usually my fault! With that said, I will do my best to answer today's prompt! :-p

Reva
Most of the naughty things Reva has done are truly baby moments, when she does something stupid only because she is young. She chews on things she shouldn't, such as crossties and lead ropes, but most of that is gone now as I have taken the time to teach her not to do it. The "worst" thing Reva has probably ever eaten were the little black guards I put on the water buckets. Needless to say, Reva no longer has them on her buckets. That was my own fault. LOL! And one morning I found her loose on the front lawn, as she unhooked her stall door and took a stroll.....while this nearly gave me a heart attack, it wasn't like she planned to do it or did it to make me mad. She just found a way to open the double ended snap, like any nosy and mouthy young horse will do! She also went through a phase where she was going through the fence of her paddock on a daily basis, but that was my fault; I raised the fence so it had a top wire of 5+ feet and bought a new (and very strong) charger. She also bucked right in front of a judge at her third horse show this year (the Downeast Congress) and dropped us from first into fifth (last) place, according to the judge who felt the need to tell me that. But in all reality, any of her "worst" behavior are just baby moments. She is a very good girl who tries hard to please.

Dreamy
The worst thing Dreamy has ever done was probably kicking Sparky really hard during the second day I owned her. That was my fault, as I still did not realize that Dreamy had no social manners. It was not that bad, just gave Sparky a hematoma on her hindquarter. I soon separated them and they got along fine over the fence. She tripped once at a show at the canter (again, not her fault, but the footing was horrendous at that farm) and I fell off, spraining my ankle. We still placed fourth! LOL! And just recently she has started going through her paddock fence; she even jumped over a 3+ foot fence to leave to eat the grass on the other side! Geez!!! LOL! But again, my fault. I raised her fence like I did to Reva's last year...and started plugging in the (super strong) charger. Duh. So again, none of these are really that bad and certainly not entirely her fault. Dreamy is a solid citizen who wants to do the right thing.

Sparky
It is funny, but I cannot even remember any of the naughty things that Sparky has done over the years. I am sure she has done silly things, because I remember falling off her at times. But when a horse is genuinely spooked, I don't think I can "blame" them for being bad. They are just being horses! She dumped me once by shying pretty hard to the right and I fell off....well, I was riding her bareback with just a halter and a lead rope. I was bringing her in from a huge pasture years ago when I boarded her...she spooked at my boyfriend (now my husband) who was hiding behind a rock. Why he decided to do that remains a mystery to me! LOL! I was more mad at HIM than my horse, who had a normal reaction to something scary! She is really not a fence breaker, even when she was younger. The scariest thing she has ever done was having a couple colic episodes, foundering once back when I was in college, and having a bad reaction to spring shots one year. But again, those are a part of owning a horse, and while none of them could be pinpointed to poor horse husbandry on my part (thank goodness!) I also don't blame Sparky for any of these issues! She is a very good mare. :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #9

2011-11-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

Day #9 - My horse's social life

All three of my horses are completely different when it comes to how they interact with other horses. It is kind of funny; I have the social butterfly, the loner, and the easygoing friend-with-everyone horse. LOL!

Reva
Reva is a social butterfly. She loves people, she loves other horses, and would probably enjoy more of a social life, if only I had the right horses to turn her out with. Right now, everyone is turned out alone, with smaller ~~mud~~ dirt paddocks and larger grass pastures. Reva likes everyone, but Dreamy would beat her up and Sparky is just too old to really have a turn out buddy who is 5 years old. Once in a while this summer, for short periods of time, I would put Reva and Sparky together to graze. They both loved it. But Sparky would very obviously get tired of Reva moving around SO much, so I would put them back into their respective spaces.

Dreamy
Dreamy never learned how to play with others in kindergarten. She was (probably) not turned out much as a 2 and 3 year old racehorse, and then she became a baby making machine, only turned out with her foal. So she has never learned the manners appropriate to having a social life. She kicks the living snot out of everyone I have tried to turn her out with! Dreamy has always been a bit of a loner, whether that is her natural personality or just has become her personality due to her lack of interactions. The only horse Dreamy has ever really taken a shine to is McKeever, my friend Shelly's gelding. McKeever has his own bad manners at times, having been gelded late in life. However the two of them are in love, and we often refer to them as an old married couple. They have traveled many, many miles together in the horse trailer and stabled together at many shows and events. They actually get along great, and I bet they could even be turned out together if the situation ever presented itself.

Sparky
Sparky has been turned out with many horses over the past (almost) 19 years I have owned her. She gets along with everyone and she hates being left alone. She has been at the bottom of the pecking order, the top, and in between. Her best buddy was my grandfather's Standardbred Volo. They were seriously two-peas-in-a-pod. The best turnout for her was when I briefly boarded her back at the farm where she was born; she was turned out with her mother and full sister. That was a pretty neat experience, because based on the way she acted with her dam (also called Sparky...so we called them "Sparky Sr." and "Sparky Jr." LOL!) it was clear that they remembered each other. At almost 30 years old, Sparky has earned the right to her own space. I think she enjoys having her own paddock/pasture and loves to stand close to Reva with a fence between them.

NaBloPoMo Day #8

2011-11-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

Day #8 - Successes and challenges overcome with my horse

This is a hard one to answer without going into incredible detail. There are successes every day with a horse and I have not always remembered/documented every single little thing. So I will just give an overview of some of the major successes with each of my mares.

Reva
A big success for Reva was simply starting her under saddle. Granted, she was super easy, but I did it myself with no help. She had a great start in her racehorse training so riding was not that scary or difficult for her. Our first time off the farm at the Chris Lombard clinic was a huge success, showing me that she has potential and is a thinker. And of course, this show season was a HUGE success, not just because of the awesome ribbons and awards she won in her first time out, but because she was calm and happy. I am pleased that she was able to compete well and despite some baby mistakes, I think she will be a successful show horse for years to come.

Dreamy
I think the biggest challenge I overcame with Dreamy is training her to be a riding horse when she was 15 years old and only knew how to be a broodmare. Granted, she had early race training and a few starts too, but again, I did all her training myself. I did begin lessons with her in 2008 because I knew I needed help, but my instructor is my instructor, not my trainer. She has gotten on Dreamy a few times, but she is instructing ME on how to train my horse. She does not train my horse (or me! LOL! ;-) I am proud of how far I was able to bring Dreamy along, winning many ribbons and awards in open shows and dressage. We earned good scores at First level dressage and Prix Caprilli this year which makes me very, very proud. We have showed in schooling shows, "AA" rated shows, breed specific shows/classes, USDF rated shows, and even did demonstrations at the World Equestrian Games in 2010. Most of the time she is the only Standardbred at the shows we compete in, therefore she has been a wonderful ambassador for the breed! I have accomplished and exceeded every goal I have set with this mare. She is amazing! :-)

Sparky
I would say the biggest success with Sparky was earning her trust and building a solid relationship with her despite her past. She was the best first horse I could have asked for. She overcame her fear of humans to become a willing and able partner for me. She was never the most perfect show horse, but we earned our fair share of ribbons and awards over the years. I think we could have done even better if I had been more confident in myself; however, Sparky also helped me to become a more confident teenager in many ways. She was unable to jump any longer when her hocks began to fuse (back in 1999), so I am proud that I was able to retrain her myself in a new discipline (from eventing to carriage driving) so we could continue our journey together. I am proud of her and I know a piece of my heart will leave when she leaves this Earth. She is my "heart horse".

NaBloPoMo Day #7

2011-11-07T19:20:00.001-05:00

Day #7 - Any vices or challenges with my horse

With any horse, there are day-to-day or week-to-week training challenges. Obviously there have been more than I am listing here, but most of it was typical and easily overcome. But on the whole, all of my mares have been pretty easy to work with and easy to train, so I honestly don't remember many of the challenges.

Reva
Reva likes to put everything in her mouth. Everything. She has certainly gotten better over the last two years, since most of it was her being a "baby", but she is still the type of horse who tries to lick or chew things to figure it out. She is my toddler who I have to watch carefully at all times....oh look, the leadrope! Chew! Oh look, a bucket of sudsy shampoo! Slurp! Oh look, the siding of the barn! Chomp! Sigh. She doesn't bite, she just gnaws on things. She also likes to wipe her foamy mouth at the end of a ride on things: my truck hood at a show, the fence post, my sleeve. Our current challenge is her right lead canter, but that is coming along well. :-)

Dreamy
Dreamy has recently developed a bad habit of walking through her fence. She has figured out that the shock only last for a moment when she pushes through the tape with her chest, and the grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side, of course! Never mind that there is plenty of grass in her pasture and a pile of hay in her paddock! I have raised all the fences with an extra strand up at five feet so she has finally decided that she rather not walk through it anymore. Foolish mare! It looks dumb, but it works! I would say our biggest challenge has been her canter. It has come a LONG way but it will never be a "normal" canter and we will never score above a 6 on a canter circle. Oh well! (Though we have received 7s and 8s on our canter departs!) I am still very proud of her and am happy with what she can do rather than worry about what she cannot.

Sparky
Sparky's one vice is that she cannot be left alone. She freaks out! Obviously, horses are social animals and most dislike being alone. Many can handle their buddy leaving for a show or trail ride, with just a bit of pacing, some screaming, and then calm down. Not Sparky! She completely loses her mind. I tried a boarder for a while (well three actually...) when I started showing Dreamy so I would not have to leave Sparky alone. When none of the boarders panned out, acquiring Reva served a purpose other than just a young horse to bring along: she keeps Sparky sane when I show Dreamy! Sparky's biggest challenge was earning her trust way back in the beginning and helping her find her balance. She was very afraid of heavy hands and accepting contact, but was able to grow to trust me enough to accept the bit.

NaBloPoMo Day #6

2011-11-06T19:17:00.001-05:00

Day 6 - My horse's favorite food

I don't feed many things other than hay and grain. Once in a while I will do carrots or apples. Normally the mares just get Rounders cookies each day. So I don't really know what to answer for "favorite" food. All three of them enjoy the cookies!

I will say that Dreamy would not eat carrots when I first got her. She absolutely REFUSED them. LOL! I used to give carrots at night check instead of the cookies, but I had to give Dreamy apples instead. I started to add carrots to her PM grain and after leaving the chunks a few nights in a row, she finally started to eat them. She is hands down the pickiest horse I have ever met!

Sparky, on the other hand, will eat ANYTHING! She has eaten just about every type of food I might have on me at the barn or at a show. She is not picky AT ALL!

I am not sure about Reva...I have never really offered her much besides the apples and carrots and cookies!

Reva thinks she wants a piece of pizza from my husband. LOL! He wouldn't share, so I have no idea if she likes pizza...hahaha!

NaBloPoMo Day #5

2011-11-05T17:04:00.000-04:00

Day #5 - My horse's talents and natural abilities

Reva
I would say that Reva's natural talent so far is her extended trot. She is a trotter, which helps! LOL! But she extends so easily (and sometimes when I am not asking...such as during a victory pass! LOL!)

Dreamy
You know, it is funny to think about after all her showing success, but Dreamy has to work pretty hard at dressage and jumping. She is not naturally talented under saddle, but her WORK ETHIC comes very easily. She is a worker bee and wants to please.

Sparky
My little Morgan was a very versatile and safe horse in her day. I did all sorts of things with her, but I would have to say she was the most talented as a driving horse. We competed up to Preliminary in CDEs and driven dressage and open in pleasure driving shows. She went on the bit easily and perked right up in harness. I miss driving her.

NaBloPoMo Day #4

2011-11-04T12:56:00.000-04:00

Day 4 - My horse's favorite thing to do

Well, this is a hard one. Just because I think my horse "likes" to do something does mean I am correct! LOL! ;-) But I will make my best guess.

Reva
I would have to say that Reva's favorite thing to do is to be the center of attention and go fast! She is a complete "pocket pony" without being rude or pushy. She ADORES people. I have seriously never been around a horse who loves people as much as she does. She follows me around any chance she gets, she will stand forever to be brushed and scratched, and she will leave her grain to give me smooches. I think it is pretty impressive for a horse to leave her GRAIN just to love on her human. :-D

The other thing she does appear to love to do is go fast! She loves to self exercise in her field, running and leaping up the big hill, bucking and farting around her hay pile, and then speeding back down the hill to start again. She is playful and enjoys acting like a kid! (Well, she is only 5, so I suppose this is to be expected.) She seems to like learning new things under saddle, but the one thing she is pretty sure she ought to do if be FAST. Her trot is super fast but she is learning how to respond to half halts so I am not constantly having to "rate" her speed. I think she enjoyed showing saddleseat this year for just that reason...I let her trot faster than I do when she is going hunt seat or dressage.

Dreamy
Dreamy's favorite thing to do is probably grazing and trail riding. I think she enjoys showing to a point, but I also think she much rather be home relaxing. Trail riding on the buckle or cantering along the trails seems to be when she is most relaxed and happy. And I think Dreamy would enjoy a 50+ acre field of lush grass...she has about an acre to graze on and a smaller dirt paddock (all to herself), but she sometimes gets into moods where she will break through the fence (!!!!) to graze on the lawn. Arg! She has been doing this lately and it drives me nuts! LOL!

Sparky
Sparky seems to love her stall, relaxing in the sunshine, and eating cookies! She always preferred driving to riding, but now she is mostly retired. She never used to like being groomed and fussed over, but I have noticed in the last few months she is enjoying grooming much more. Maybe she misses the more frequent attention she used to have when she was in constant work. It has now been five years since she was retired from the show ring. But Sparky's favorite thing is treats! She loves horse cookies and I feed each mare a "Rounder" cookie after chores while they are eating their grain in their stalls. Sparky has me trained; she will stand and wait at her door for her treat each night. :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #3

2011-11-03T19:28:00.001-04:00

Day #3 - My horse's sire and dam

Revenue Stream
(Revenue - Irish Caviar - Meadowbranch Irish)

Reva's sire, the Swedish stallion Revenue

His face remind me of Reva!

Dreamy Starlet
(On the Road Again - Dreamy Almahurst - Bret Hanover)

On the Road Again is a Canadian Hall of Fame stallion. The link above has a video of him too!

On The Road Again

Dreamy poses at her grandsire's grave at the Kentucky Horse Park when we rode at the World Equestrian Games 2010!

Joydale Sparklerslas
(Kennebec Chief - Kennebec Spark - Tinder Box)

Kennebec Spark aka Sparky

Kennebec Chief aka Kenny

Me riding Kenny circa 1988. I was nine and we are about to ride my first ever dressage test! He was the nicest and most well behaved stallion I have ever met!

This is a fun post, that shows many horses of my past, as well as Kenny and Sparky, my Sparky's sire and dam! And here is another post about Sparky's famous relatives!

BTW, I did a similar 30 day challenge back in March. Here is post #1 that has info about my mares as well! :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #2

2011-11-02T21:11:00.001-04:00

Day #2 - When I got her, from where, and why

Reva
Reva came into my life on July 3, 2009 when she was an unraced three year old. I received her papers and officially owned her on April 20, 2010. She was given to me by Carter Duer of Peninsula Farm in Kentucky. His son John had her in training in New Jersey, but she was not going to make it in the stakes program. My friend Rob was her groom at the time, and my other friend Helene had sent out an email with pics that Reva was looking for a new home. I tried hard to ignore the first email, but on the second one I responded back asking how much they were asking for her. There was something about her kind eye and presence that made me want her in my barn. I really did not need another horse, but I knew that Dreamy would eventually have to be retired and I would need a young horse to ride. It was not the right time, but I am glad I took the risk to have her shipped up to me in Maine, sight unseen! I started her lightly, putting about 20 rides on her in two years. This year (2011) she started showing and has done very well!

Dreamy
I brought Dreamy home on May 30, 2003 when she was 12 years old. She officially become mine on December 25, 2006 when her owner sent me her papers for Christmas! Dreamy was given to me as a free lease and then later "for keeps" by Jack McGee. He had used her as a broodmare and wanted her to find a good home. I originally had brought Dreamy here to my farm as a companion horse for Sparky, but eventually I decided to start riding her. She was a completely untrained 15 year old broodmare when I finally started her under saddle. Five years later, with 77 year end awards (over half of them championships and not including 2011) and 215 ribbons (a third of them blues!), I'd say she has been a successful show horse!

Sparky
My parents bought Sparky for me on January 17, 1993. She was 1o years old and I was thirteen. Sparky was my first horse and was the best first horse a young girl could ask for. She had been born on the Morgan farm where I grew up, but had been bounced around to numerous owners over the years; I was her 11th owner in her ten short years. My parents and I had spent over a year searching for the right first horse, and Sparky fell into our laps. She was underweight and not the "fancy show horse" I had envisioned, but as soon as I met her I knew she had to become mine. I am so glad my parents agreed to take a chance. My mother has called her my "diamond-in-the-rough", and both my parents agree that Sparky helped shape my teenage years (and beyond) in a positive way. I did everything with Sparky and she taught me how to be a patient and responsible rider and young person.

You can read more about my girls here. :-)

NaBloPoMo Day #1

2011-11-01T20:05:00.002-04:00

I had hoped to begin the NaBloPoMo, which stands for National Blog Posting Month, this November. I botched it up already by missing Nov. 1. DUH. So I am going to pretend this is actually Nov. 1 and I'll do two. ;-p Technically I am already breaking the rules. Oh well.

Day 1 - Name, age, breed, and coloring of my horse

I could not decide if I should pick one horse or write about all three. I think I should just write about all three!

Revenue Stream - "Reva"
2006 bay Standardbred

Dreamy Starlet - "Dreamy"
1991 black Standardbred

Joydale Sparklerslas - "Sparky"
1982 chestnut Morgan

Longing as a brief training technique

2011-10-26T20:29:00.000-04:00

I am not a fan of longing horses. In fact, before this past Sunday, I cannot remember the last time I longed a horse. But with Reva's canter being a bit wonky at times (she will pick it up but has a hard time maintaining it whereas other times she is fine...) my instructor Judy recommended trying to build her canter on the longe for a short time.

My "ring" where I ride is really just a (not very level) area of Dreamy's grass pasture. It is certainly not ideal to ride in, much less longe a horse! Add to that my dislike of longing and I made the choice to bring Reva to Judy's for her first longing lesson. While I feel as though I am a capable horsewoman, I wanted to be with Judy in her level ring with excellent footing. And plus, I figured I would need help teaching Reva how to longe and would need another person. There is always the scary fact that a horse can fall on the longe line, so I wanted to be with Judy for support and help.

Judy offered to try her out first, which was fine with me. I really wasn't nervous, but I did want Reva to have a good first experience and I knew for a fact that Judy could do that.

Reva acted like she had been longed before. I highly doubt that, but she was so calm and quiet. I realized she had done some baby longing at the Chris Lombard clinic back in 2010, but even then she acted like she knew what she was doing.

Chris Lombard clinic in 2010...

Here we are on Sunday morning at Judy's farm....

Being a complete pain and pawing while I try to take a pic. She is a good girl, but she does have the 5 yo ADD problem at times!

Just starting on her first circle! Good girl!

And here she is trotting for the first time!! :-)

She was so good! When in doubt, she stops. I love it. I much rather have a horse who stops and thinks than bolts, bucks, and farts. LOL! She is super sensitive on the longe, meaning she is very aware of your body language and will easily move or stop with only subtle prompting. I love that!

I brought her over to Judy's again on Tuesday to use her ring and Reva was excellent. I think longing might be a key to helping her canter. :-) I will ride her the next few times and go back to longing in a few days.

Marshaling at Scarborough Downs - Oct. 16, 2011

2011-10-23T20:54:00.000-04:00

What a fantastic way to end the horse show season! Back in July, my friend Shelly and I were asked to marshal at the 3yo Maine Sire Stakes Final at Scarborough Downs. Marshaling at the track is one of my most favorite things to do! It was a windy and chilly day, but at least the sun was out. Post time was at 12:05, so we arrived early to get our horses ready. Our horses are very similar looking and we wear identical clothing, so we always look snazzy as we bring down the post parades. Dreamy and McKeever are best buds and know their job on the track. They are calm and happy, which adds to the FUN!

There were 14 races, which made for a very long day in the saddle! Thankfully, much of what we do is standing around. LOL! We bring down the post parade (we trot down), stand off to the side of the track while the race goes, then we bring the winner back to the winner's circle. Then we stand at the fence by the apron and chat up the crowd! The horses love the attention from everyone. Once the next race is coming down the chute from the paddock, we go up and bring them down again. It is a lot of fun watching the horses race, seeing old friends, and meeting new ones!

Dreamy is just chillin' and watchin' a race...nbd. She is so good at the track!

McKeever (left) and Dreamy. Can you tell which of our two horses was more competitive back in the day? LOL!

Shelly and McKeever!

We switched horses! I am on McKeever, who appears to be asleep!

And Shelly on Dreamy. My mare looks so impressed! LOL! Shelly is on her phone....big surprise! ;-D

This year we got a bit bored and decided for the last two races to switch horses! HA HA HA! For all the years we have been friends, we have never ridden each other's horses. So I climbed aboard McKeever (who is MUCH wider than Dreamy, by the way!) and Shelly got on Dreamy. We giggled and laughed about how SAFE we were.....great idea to ride a new unfamiliar horse for the first time on the TRACK! LOL!!! Of course, our horses are very well behaved and both of us are decent riders, so I knew it would be fine when I suggested it. McKeever likes to pace, so I had a funny time at first trying to get him to trot rather than pace. He was so good though! :-) Such a sweet horse. Dreamy was good for Shelly too. While we waited for the 13th race, Shelly cantered her on the back part of the old TB mile track and I took a video. LOL! It is funny to see your horse with someone else riding!

Shelly cantering Dreamy! from Elizabeth Tewksbury on Vimeo.

We had so much fun, as usual! I love being asked to marshal! Thanks to Diann P., Susan H., and all the horsemen for a great day! :-)

Sunset Farm 2-phase - Oct. 15, 2011

2011-10-22T21:07:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday, Dreamy and I competed in a two phase at Sunset Farm in Waterford, Maine. After many successful events at Elementary, I figured we might as well try to move up to Beginner Novice and see what happened. I entered both the Elementary and Beginner Novice divisions, figuring that two dressage tests and two stadium jump courses would not be that taxing.

My first ride time was not until around 2:30, so I did not have to leave until noon time! It is so bizarre to leave for a horse show that late! LOL! I cleaned the house and barn, went grocery shopping, bought grain, and still had time to bathe Dreamy and pack the trailer! :-P My friend Amber came along to help and take pics! My camera died during the first jumping round (of course!) so there are not many pics.

Dreamy was super good, as usual. Sunset Farm is small and there is a lot of stuff close to the ring, but she was fine. One poor young rider fell off her pony when it tripped right before our test, and was sitting directly outside the ring at A being taken care of, but Dreamy never noticed and was focused the entire ride. She did decide in our second test that she might as well do some trot lengthenings during our three trot changes of rein. Silly mare! This is not First level! LOL!!! Apparently, Dreamy has decided that all dressage tests are now First level tests, seeing as we did F1 and F2 this year. :-p But other than wanting to lengthen her trot, I was really happy with how we did. There was even a HUGE puddle at M that she trotted and cantered through....not happily, but without a fuss. She is pretty convinced that puddles do NOT belong in dressage rings!! LOL!

I always make the decisions about what tests to ride when I am weeks away from the show, in order to mail in my entry on the opening date. Things that sound good while sitting at my desk are not always smart choices when actually at the show! LOL! I had planned to memorize the jump courses when I first arrived at 1PM before I rode my dressage. Sadly, the courses were not yet set up! Ugggg! So I had to change my game plan.

I warmed up for BN Test A and felt pretty confident. The warm up is small, but I knew that ahead of time and tried to coordinate my cantering when it was not as full. I have ridden this test a few times in the last two years. As long as I did not completely mess up and HALT on the first center line, I knew I would be OK. (See story HERE!) LOL!) We ended up tied for first with a 33.5 in our Elementary division. Good marks, a few 6s, seven 7s, three 8s and a few 5s on canter circles. The judge wrote, "Super reach in walk! Canter needs to improve suppleness."

Dreamy does NOT want to get her hooves wet! LOL! I love my face!

Trot, trot, trot.......whoops! She does a slow motion trot into the puddle!

Look Mom! I do very BIG trot on the diagonals, right??

I had about an hour between dressage tests and had planned to return to the trailer and let Dreamy relax. Thankfully it was a cooler day, so I did not feel bad that I instead had to walk over to the jump field to memorize both my courses. There was a hand drawn map of the courses on a poster sized paper, but it was completely not to scale and made me confused. So I had Amber hold Dreamy (thank goodness she was there to help!) and I went in and scurried about to figure out the course. I had hoped the Elementary and Beginner Novice courses would be the same, just with different heights. NOPE!!!! :-( They were different courses! Oh crap! So I did my best to figure them out, which took forever. I had to run all over the place, checking fence numbers, and then try to differentiate between the two courses. I had forgotten to have Amber bring a pen and paper from the trailer (which was parked waaay down the road), which would have helped tremendously as I am a visual learner. Oh well. Just suck it up and just do it was all I could tell myself.

As soon as I felt somewhat comfortable with the courses, I had to memorize BN test B! I had never ridden it or even looked at it before that moment. LOL! I love that all my tests are right on my iPhone, so it was simple enough to look at the diagrams, remount Dreamy, and give it a try! I spent some time walking and trotting her around, with a few small 15 m. canter circles. This is when Dreamy decided she ought to do her trot lengthenings on each diagonal and I know I made some awful faces as I struggled to remember the test! LOL! But I remembered it all just fine, despite a few moments of panic about where to go next and at which gait. We were in second place with a 39 for our Beginner Novice division. This time we scored two 5s, six 6s, eight 7s, and four 8s! We did well on much of our trot work and of course the stretchy walk in both tests for those 8s! Judge wrote, "Elegant horse! Appears to need more strength over topline to help support a more pure canter rhythm." Or maybe she's just a pacer..... ;-D In all serious though, her canter has really improved and I think it is just what it is. There are time we have gotten 6s on our canter circles which was exciting and when the canter depart is a single score, we have even gotten 7s. But the canter is what it is. And I am OK with that. :-)

I had a short amount of time to return to the trailer to change tack and clothing in order to jump. It was starting to get later in the day and the clouds were rolling in. It had sprinkled here and there, but I really did not think it would rain. I made the bad choice to only wear my short sleeved dressage shirt under my jumping vest. I was hot at the time I was changing everything around to jump, not thinking about how it might cool off more as the sun went down. Dreamy warmed up well over a few fences and then it began to rain. And rain, rain, rain. It poured while the sun was out, causing a pretty rainbow to appear! That was cool....but I was FROZEN!!! My teeth were chattering, my hands felt like ice cubes, and I was just miserably cold!

Our first jumping round was just 2' in the Elementary, and I knew the course pretty well. There were just nine jumps (or maybe 10...) but despite the rain and footing, I knew we would be OK. Many horses had trouble at one of the fences, a blue, pink, and white gate. Dreamy just sailed over it! :-D We ended up going clean, tied for first, but the collective marks on our dressage test were just a bit lower, so we ended up second. Yay Dreamy!

Our second jumping round was raised up to 2'6" for Beginner Novice. We also had twelve jumps and a one stride combination. I was a bit nervous, as I knew the footing was getting slippery and the jumps were higher than anything we have done at a show before. I had Amber hold Dreamy again while I walked the course, as I wanted to make double sure I knew it. It took a minute for them to raise the jumps, so I had plenty of time. It started to DOWNPOUR, but I just memorized it quickly, hopped on, and went first!

Dreamy was perfect!!! She never hesitated and jumped everything without any problems. I am sure I got in her way and my position was not the best, but I am so proud of her for doing so well our first time out at Beginner Novice!! She was the only horse who went clean, so we easily moved up to first place! Yay!!! All I wanted to do was have fun and go clean our first time out at BN, so to win was just amazing. We even ended up winning the overall high point senior rider award! That is so cool! We won a pretty autumn themed basket with lots of Halloween candy! Our ribbon were cute, as they were all purple with just the placing written on them. I have never won a purple ribbon before! LOL! I think the farm was trying to get rid of old ribbons, and must have had a ton of purple ones so they just restapled the middle part on them with the placing listed, but it was still kind of fun. Who cares about the ribbons!! We won our first ever Beginner Novice 2-phase! Yay Dreamy! Hopefully next year we can try a Beginner Novice event at Hilltop or Green Acres and maybe even try the USEA rated Snowfields next August! I know that is a lofty dream, but who knows??

Gotta love my camera on the wrong setting. LOL!

Whee! Love her tail!

Despite the fact that I was frozen, soaked, and got home long after dark, I would say Dreamy and I had a very successful last show of 2011! :-) Professional pics are here!

USTA Blog

2011-10-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

"...the mares teach folks at horse shows all over New England just what a Standardbred can do – in every imaginable discipline."

Thanks to Ellen Harvey at the USTA for the shout-out in her blog! I love when my mares are featured! Ellen is a wonderful supporter of the Standardbred athlete, both on the track and off! :-D

Ever After Mustang Benefit Show - Oct. 8, 2011

2011-10-14T20:27:00.001-04:00

Reva and I went to the Ever After Mustang Benefit Show on Saturday, October 8, 2011. It was held at the Hollis Equestrian Park on one of the most gorgeous fall days. I showed here before with Dreamy and have always enjoyed this laid back show. The judge was a great horsewoman Jan Neil, and while I cannot remember why/how I know her, I was really happy to show under her. I think she is a fair and knowledgeable judge. It was Reva's last show for 2011, which has been her first year of showing. To say I am proud of her is an understatement. She has been so good this year and allowed me to have a great time bringing along a young horse.

None of my friends decided to show that day, so I had to go alone. So of course, I have no pics save for a few crappy ones from my iPhone. :-( Oh well. I was not nearly as nervous as I was with Reva back in May, when I had NO idea how she would act. So I was pretty comfortable showing her alone for the first time. I knew she would be OK, but I also knew there would be decent people there to help if something went wrong. The Hollis Equestrian Park is also only 30 minutes from my house, so my family was close by just in case.

We started the day with class #1 Open Fitting and Showmanship. While I freely admit I do not like in-hand or showmanship classes, we have done them all year so I figured I might as well just suck it up and do it one last time. LOL! Reva was super good, standing quietly in the line up and moving correctly when I asked. There were seven horses in the class, all sizes, breeds, and all ages of handlers. There were a few that I knew would not be much competition (one horse was very dirty, for example) but a few of them looked really good. We were at the end of the line, so I got to watch five horses before we were asked to walk, trot, and set up for the judge.

I noticed that Jan would give each handler a comment or two after they showed their horse. For me, she just smiled and said "Very nice job!" After she sent in her card, she came back through the line up and all she had for me was another smile and an "Excellent turnout." I had high hopes of placing well. They started with 7th place and went up, so I kept waiting to hear my name. YAY for Reva mare as she placed first! :-) It was a great start to the day.

We did not have much time for the next class #6 Walk Trot Adult English Pleasure. I tacked her up quickly in her hunt tack, having decided to stick with hunt seat since there was a hunter under saddle class right afterward. No time to change from saddleseat to hunt seat! There were four riders in the class: two were on Standardbreds (yay!) and the other was on a young Friesian mare (she ended up knowing me from SMDA shows which was cool). I knew that Reva could be competitive, but at the same time she can be naughty and buck, so it could go either way. Reva seemed very happy and relaxed. She has shown at Hollis three other times this year, so it was not a new venue. I was pleased with how she went, though she was a little stronger in the trot than I would have liked. The warm up ring had been packed and I do not yet feel comfortable working her in a crowded warm up like that yet. But all in all, when we arrived into the line up I was feeling very good about our ride. Even if we placed last, I was still happy with her.

But we placed first! Yay again! We were on a roll. The next class #7 was Walk Trot Open Hunter Under Saddle. There were five riders this time. I had to ask the ribbon girl to hang onto the ribbon from the pleasure class since I had no one with me to take it and had to stay right in the ring to show again. I felt that if I could keep Reva slow and steady, we had a shot at another win.

We were doing well until the judge asked for an extended trot. :-P I know Reva has a nice big trot, but I have not really worked on it at all. Everything this year has been about SLOW, SLOW, and MORE SLOW. Hahahaha! I did my best to ease her into a bigger trot, but whoa boy, that mare wants to move out. She is a TROTTER after all! LOL! I rode her very tactfully and she only tried to buck once. I do give her credit, as she tried to buck but actually listened to me and my driving aids.........that was pretty cool! I figured the judge would not appreciate her moments of "exuberance" in the extended trot so we would not place well. Either that, or she would forgive us a bit since it was a hunter class after all. I had no idea what the others looked like, since I am very focused when I show, especially on a young horse like Reva.

In the line up the judge said, "What a gorgeous extended trot!" That was pretty neat. We placed first again! Wooo! It felt really good to be placing so well. Reva was certainly showing me she understood what this showing thing was all about and seemed to be having fun. The ribbon girl was very sweet and took our ribbons and prize bags (more on that later) back to my truck which was very close to the secretary's booth where she was working.

We had a short break until class #10 Walk Trot Adult Equitation. We walked around, I gave her a drink of water, and we practiced the art of "doing nothing". I have been teaching Reva that it is OK to just stand still under saddle, without having to fuss or shift her weight around. She seemed happy despite the fact that it was a bit hot for October and her winter coat is getting thick. Again, there were the same four of us from the Adult English Pleasure class. Reva was excellent, with very decent trot work and only a small bit of initial rushing in the first trot (Do you want to see more of my extended trot? she seemed to be saying....) We won again. I almost started to feel embarrassed for winning all four of our classes. LOL! A few people made comments, teasing me to give others a chance to win, and while I knew it was meant to be funny it still didn't sit right with me. Although I am competitive and enjoy winning ribbons, I am not a show off and I think I am very humble. Besides here on my blog, I don't write about my horses. I clap for everyone and say good job/nice work/congratulations to others. Oh well. The next class proved that we don't always win, which was good. :-D

Reva was starting to get a little fussy. We had to stay in the ring again, for class #10 Walk Trot Command Class. There were 10 of us in the class, which meant that all the youth riders came back into the ring. I was a little worried, since Reva has never done well in larger classes. Showing with little kids makes me worried too, since if Reva is naughty I don't want to cause a problem for a young rider. It never dawned on me until they called for the first trot that the kids might trot right up next to her, instead of staying well spaced. A small pony came right up next to her left shoulder and she BUCKED all the way down the long side. I knew it was bound to happen based on her slight attitude change in the beginning of the class. Of course, we were called out since the command was to "trot" not "buck". HA HA HA! Though one of the spotters told me she couldn't believe I stayed on. It is funny because Reva's bucks never feel that big to me, but apparently they are. The only bummer is that because it was a command class, we had to go stand in the center, so it felt to me like I was teaching her that if she bucks she gets to be finished and go stand. Oh well. That is the way life is sometimes. :-) We placed 7th out of ten, which I was still happy with based on her silly bucking. It taught me that 1. maybe back-to-back classes are not a good idea with her and 2. we have GOT TO work on having other horses trot up behind us. I know she is young, but she needs to learn some ring etiquette. It is time! Sadly, I rarely ride with others, but I am guessing my friend Tania and her horse Otis might be able to practice with us. At least if we can't do it this fall, we can work on it next spring.

Thankfully we had a break until class #18 Adult Walk Trot Over Fences (18") so Reva got to chill at the trailer, eat some hay, and drink plenty of water. She is great at taking care of herself at shows, drinking and eating without any issues. I was able to eat lunch and relax too. It was hot and there was not much shade, but I had to remind myself that it was one of the nicest days we will see until next summer! Winter is coming! :-(

I did not have high expectations for the jumping class. I have not worked on jumping with Reva that much and besides the one time at Nationals this past August, we have never shown over jumps. I wanted to get her into the ring for the experience, and the jumps were teeny tiny (definitely lower than 18"!) I don't believe in over jumping any horse, especially a five year old, but going over eight cross rails is not going to hurt her. She is not a natural jumper, I don't think. She tends to hesitate right before the fence as she learns to use and bounce off from her hocks. Though much of that is simply strength and experience, so who knows. She was willing and did not try to buck, take off, or have a rail down like she did at Nationals. But she was not nearly as steady as I would eventually like her to be. She got a little wiggly in some of her approaches, but again, that will get better. We placed third out of three, which I was happy with. We went clean and calm and that is all I can ask for right now. :-) (Side note: a fellow STB rider placed first which was great! She was nervous about jumping but had a great round! Yay!)

We were only supposed to have three classes left, but they added in two barrels classes. I entered Reva in the walk trot one, since they needed at least five to run the class and I got talked into it. I retacked her up in our Western gear and changed my clothes...I decided to try her Western since they had two Walk Trot Western classes at this show. It was sort of a silly last minute decision but I figured why not. LOL! I tried her out Western for the first time on Tuesday just four days before this show. It was sort of a silly last minute decision but I figured why not. LOL! I tried her out Western for the first time on Tuesday that week and she was super good. My saddle fit her well and I was able to ride her in her normal snaffle and show with two hands since she is only five. She picked up on the jog very quickly, which was surprising. I figured she would want to careen around at the trot and I would scrap the entire idea. I rode her Western again on Thursday and she was perfect. Seriously had a perfect, slow, comfortable Western jog! Who would have thunk!?!?! ;-D

We did the Walk Trot Barrels class and Egg and Spoon in our western tack. I don't think my orange colors that I used with Dreamy looked quite as nice on Reva, but that doesn't matter. She was such a good sport about trying barrels. She had no idea what I wanted, but she tried her best. We were not terribly fast and I had to post in my Western saddle (LOL) but we ended up second out of 6 riders! So I guess we were fast enough! Egg and Spoon made me giggle the entire time. I have not done that class in forever! I was pretty sure the egg would come off immediately, but I made it around at the walk and then into the trot for half the ring until it popped out! LOL! I ended up in second out of five riders. That was pretty funny. The young rider who won would have trotted around all day, as she had her thumb beside the egg. ;-D But I thought it was neat to see her smile at having won, so it is totally a non issue. Ha ha ha.

Lastly we had our two Western classes: Adult Walk Jog Pleasure and Adult Walk Jog Equitation. I was seriously bummed that we were the only ones (so of course we won) because I wanted actual competition! Reva was perfect, walking and jogging like we had been doing it all summer. I was so impressed with her jog. Even the judge was surprised, commenting to me in the line up that she couldn't believe how good she looked Western. I love that Reva has successfully shown hunt seat, saddleseat, dressage, and now Western and all the judges have made comments about how she looks good. :-D

Reva ended up winning the Walk Trot High Point Champion of the day! Yay! We were given a very nice black Rambo saddle pad from Dover Saddlery.

So overall it was a very successful day! We earned great ribbons in large and small classes, I showed Reva all by myself for the first time, and we debuted in Western tack after just two practice sessions earlier that week! As much as I wonder if I should have "specialized" in just one seat with her, I am happy we tried a but of everything. Her basic training has been solely dressage and I truly feel that is the best way to start a young horse. And Reva picked up on everything so quickly, I thought it would be fun to try lots of different things to keep it interesting for her. As her canter improves, I have hopes of going walk/trot/canter with her next year, but time will tell. I don't want to push her and I won't show her 3 gait until her canter is correct. I have time, lots of time, and I want to train her correctly.

We won lots of cool stuff! For each first place ribbon, we won a bag of goodies or a saddle pad!

We won some really cool stuff! I love receiving items I will actually use instead of plastic trophies.

Black Rambo pad with the Dover Saddlery emblem (for the high point award)
Two white Centuar saddle pads (perfect for embroidering something!)
Bag of Applezz N' Oats horse treats
Bottle of Absorbine liniment
Two bottles of Cowboy Magic detangler and shine (never tried it, but it looks cool!)
A small jar of Lederbalsam (love this stuff!)
Two small spray bottles of Eqyss Marigold Rehydrant Spray (never tried this either)
Two Farnam health care record sheets
Equimax magnet
Nutrena heart girth tape measure
Two gift certificates to Andy's Agway (totaling $20)
A large sponge

I asked a young rider to take our photo at the end of the day!

She is so darn cute!

Ha ha ha, not impressed with the photo taking!

RIP Gogo Fatale

2011-10-11T15:37:00.001-04:00

I have no words for the sadness I feel for Andrea and her beloved mare Gogo. Rest easy, beautiful girl. Andrea, you are not alone...please know you are doing the right thing and I admire your strength.

Somewhere...somewhere in time's own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some Paradise where horses go.
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.

~Stanley Harrison

Hidden Brook Farm Dressage Show - Oct. 1, 2011

2011-10-04T20:28:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, Oct. 11, 2011, I brought Reva to her second ever dressage show at Hidden Brook Farm in Norway, ME. The first time she ever did a dressage test was back in August at the National Standardbred Show. She was such a good mare that I thought it would try one more with her this season. I had decided that if she showed improvement all year (which she did) that I would try a dressage test or two at least at Nationals. I really did not expect to even ride a test with her this year, much less four of them! I am glad we did it and it means that she will be ready to rock the dressage ring in 2012. ;-) We did not earn any dressage year end awards this year, since we did not do enough dressage shows to qualify. But year end awards and ribbons were not my goals, but instead I wanted her to have a positive experience.

In our two dressage shows this year, we did both Intro A and B. I think that Intro B is easier than A. I also dislike the walking and no halting on the centerlines, but whatever. :-P At least the Intro tests are easier to remember than my First level tests with Dreamy this year! LOL!

I woke up on Saturday morning with an awful stomach ache and had to run to the bathroom numerous times, which almost made me cancel. But I really wanted to ride her in a dressage test again, so I sucked it up. And sucked down numerous Pepto Bismol tablets! (BTW, it was nothing to do with nerves and everything to do with a pizza I ate the night before! BLAH!!!)

My friend Amber came along again as my helper and photographer. I was happy to ride early at 9:18 and then again at 10:12. We were back home by just after noon time! Yay for showing at Intro level instead of First level! ;-D It was overcast and threatening rain all morning, but did not start to pour until just as we were leaving the show! Yay again! I love to show at Hidden Brook Farm as it is very relaxed and laid back. Plus the judge Yvonn Coleman-Larson is one of my favorite judges ever.

Parking is tight at HBF, and with my big trailer I was a bit worried. But we were the first ones there! :-) It gave me plenty of time to walk Reva around the farm, the warm up, and around the outside of the dressage ring. After showing Sparky and then Dreamy for so many years, I had forgotten how a young horse needs time to settle before they compete, especially in a new place. But she settled in beautifully and I set about grooming, tacking, and getting ready for our first ride.

Reva was excellent for the first few minutes of our warm up. I had just begun to trot when a young rider entered the warm up area to lunge her horse. Now, the warm up at HBF is not that big, but it is plenty large enough for numerous horses to ride around safely. It is NOT big enough for a horse to be lunged as well. The horse being lunged was all worked up and whinnying at its friend back at the trailer, so I tried my best to stay out of its way. Reva is pretty laid back for a five year old, but she is still only a five year old! Of course, the young rider had a difficult time lunging the horse, and soon they were all over the warm up area instead of sticking to one end or corner or what-have-you. Well great. I figured I still had about 20 minutes left, so I might as well just wait it out. We walked as quietly as we could and stayed out of the way.

Oh no. ANOTHER horse was brought into the warm up to be lunged! AHHHHH! Now there was seriously no room to ride even at a walk. I rode over to the warm up steward to see if she would ask the handlers to go to the indoor to lunge. She agreed she did not think it was a good idea for them to be in the warm up, but she was hesitant and did not want to speak up (AHHHH! That is your job!!!). So I was stuck; I had nowhere to trot, much less walk around. I could have gone over to the indoor myself, but Reva has never been in an indoor and 10 minutes before the third test of her life did not seem like a good time to try it. And of course, by now both horses were bucking, farting, and generally being idiots on the lunge lines. Reva started to get very interested in their misbehavior......

The first rider was finishing up her test. I was to be the third rider of the day. The warm up steward asked if I wanted to switch places and go second, as the third rider (she had to be about 8 years old...) had just gotten on her pony. I really did not want to go in to ride a test without a decent warm up, but it was either go NOW or go back to the warm up with the crazy horses being lunged. I sighed inwardly, bit my tongue, and said I would ride early.

I truly think Reva would have been fine despite the lack of warm up if there had not been two horses bucking wildly around their handlers in the warm up, just 50 feet away from the dressage ring. I asked for a trot while waiting for the judge to ring the bell, and HOLY SH!T!! My horse grew about a foot and a half. She was so close to explosion I almost scratched. But I figured I would at least give it a try. I knew that unless I truly felt unsafe, I had to ride her through it. She had to learn to deal with distractions (even BIG BUCKING ONES) and still perform. If I had thought she would have truly had a bad experience, I would have stopped as well.

I willed my body to ride as tactfully and quietly as possible. Reva wanted to spook and be naughty so badly, but I have to hand it to her. She kept her head and all four hooves on the ground. We entered at A and had the most twisted pretzel shaped center line of my life. She was trying so hard to be a good girl and listen to me, but she twisted her haunches and shoulders all around almost as though she was trying not to buck. I could feel her underneath me, and all I could think was please don't let me fall off....

I figured the test would be completely awful. She did start to settle in the first half of the first trot circle, only to come around to face the warm up and pretzel her body again with tension. She would go from a lovely swinging Training level trot to a short little rushing Awful trot. There were some nice moments, but her tension was such that we could not relax or travel straight. I knew I would ride the free walk very tactfully, so we would not get as good of a stretch and swing as I wanted to show. I started to let out the reins carefully and bless her, she went down to accept the contact and sighed loudly. I was still very cautious, but I was glad she was able to relax in that movement. We finished the test in a slightly less rushed manner and all I could do at the last halt was laugh. At least we had made it through. Maybe we had done it at Mach 10 trotter speed, with a completely pretzel shaped body, but we did it. The judge was complimentary, reminding me that with better tempo we would have more relaxation and straightness. I thanked her and told her it was Reva's second dressage show and, with a laugh, that usually our tempo was not quite that fast! She acted surprised and said I was on the right track, that with more conditioning and experience we would do well. :-)

Starting the free walk...

And finishing the free walk!

There were eight Intro A riders and they split it into two divisions: junior and senior. I was in the senior division of course, with four riders. I was very surprised to place third behind two professional riders on young horses (who both scored in the 70s!) with a 60.6%!! I did not feel that we had broken 60% at all, but we did earn two 5s, ten 6s, and three 7s (right trot circle, change of rein, and rider position!) :-)

Thankfully the horses were no longer being lunged once we were done. I had planned to allow Reva to relax at the trailer briefly between tests, but since we had not had much of a warm up beforehand, I figured I might as well ride her until our next test. I let her walk around and chill for a few minutes before I picked her up and asked for the trot. She wanted to be rushy and tense, but within a few moments of transitions, I had my sensible mare back underneath me. We had a very very good warm up! I was pleased that she was not only so well behaved and going along like her old self, but also that she was doing this with five other horses in the warm up. It was a good experience and totally made up for the defeat I felt after Intro A! I gave her lots of walk breaks and time to stand around at one point to chill.

We were both in a much better state of mind for Intro B. I knew it would be a much better test! I don't have any pics, but I do have a video! Yay!

Hidden Brook Farm Dressage Show from Elizabeth Tewksbury on Vimeo.

I was much happier with her overall, despite a few moments of loss of balance and slight changes in her tempo. It cracked me up with she almost left the ring during our walk.....look at 1:18. HA HA HA! I was not expecting it and when I went to correct her with my right leg she just bulged into me. Oh Reva! :-P We ended up with six 6s and nine 7s! We had all 7s on our collectives except a 6 on gaits (since she has a bit of irregularity in her walk when she gets tense). But the word "tension" did not appear ONCE (while it appeared three times in Intro A!)! Yay! Our comments were that we were much more relaxed and "would like to see horse reaching still more over topline into contact."

The photos are stills from the video so they are poor quality. I will leave them small. But she looks good for her second show, I think!

We ended up placing third again (against the same riders), with the two professionals placing waaaay high above us. I was very pleased with the 66.3%! My only goals were to stay on (the horse) and stay in (the ring), have a positive experience for Reva, and maybe break 60%! After seeing that 60.6% for such a lousy test, I secretly hoped to break 65% on the second one...and we did! I would say it was a very good outing for the young mare!

"Trotter ears" only a mother could love....LOL!

One of our two ribbons.

I love my girl! :-)

Big thanks to Amber for her help and her photography skills! There are more pics here on my Facebook page. :-)

Sending love and support...

2011-10-03T20:59:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite blogger friends, Andrea, is facing a very difficult decision right now with her gorgeous mare Gogo. After several successful years of eventing, Gogo sustained an injury at the AECs two years ago. Andrea has done absolutely everything in her power to help Gogo heal, but sadly it sounds like she might have to make the difficult decision to let her go. I really admire Andrea as a horse person, rider, and woman. It is completely heartbreaking to me to read her blog posts and Facebook statuses lately. I never understand why bad things happen to great people and horses.

Please take a moment to visit Andrea's blog and leave her a message. I know fellow horse folks understand what it is like to have to make the kindest and most difficult decision for their beloved horse.

We are all thinking of you, Andrea and Gogo. xoxox

MHA Maine Event Horse Show - Sept. 25, 2011

2011-09-29T22:46:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday was the last MHA horse show of the season. The Maine Event is held at the Hollis Equestrian Park and is a Class A show. I brought Reva to do four in hand classes and four riding classes. She was a very good girl and I am super proud of her!! I decided to ride her both saddleseat and hunt seat. Professional photos by Unbridled Photography are HERE.

Results for the day...
Championship 2-Gait Standardbred
1st place Standardbred 2-Gait Pleasure
1st place Standardbred 2-Gait Equitation
1st place Open 2-Gait Pleasure
1st place Standardbred In Hand
1st place Hunter Horse In Hand
3rd place English Horse In Hand
3rd place Open Horse Halter Championship

In Hand...

Oh HIIIII judge!

This one makes me smile! :-)

HIIIIII again judge!!

Saddleseat...

Love my Morgan wanna-be! ;-D

I know her head needs to be higher...but she still looks really pretty! :-D

Hunt seat...

It was a great day, despite the heat and humidity. My friend Shelly couldn't bring McKeever, as she was marshaling at the Cumberland Fair. While I did miss having her there, it was a lot of fun to spend time with friends Margo, Amanda, and Nathan. They always make me laugh. And Amanda had a WONDERFUL ride on her gorgeous 3 year old American Saddlebred, pinning second in ASB Country Pleasure!!!! Yay Amanda and Gemma!!!

Thanks to my friend Amber for helping out as my groom and photographer for the day! :-)

Reva's New Jewelry

2011-09-24T09:02:00.003-04:00

After showing so much progress and growth this year, not to mention winning many ribbons, I felt Reva had certainly "earned" her first custom browband. Thanks to Half Halt Designs!

I think she likes it.....LOL! :-D

SMDA Dressage Show - Sept. 18, 2011

2011-09-23T20:55:00.000-04:00

Dreamy and I competed in our last SMDA show of the season on Sunday, September 18, 2011. My friend Tania (from the Stepping Stone 2-phase post) came along with Otis. It was their first dressage show and I really hoped they would do well, especially after the debacle of the weekend before. Tania rode Intro A and B, so her times were much earlier than mine. I hauled Dreamy to the show grounds a few hours early so that I could be there to support Tania. She and Otis ROCKED their two tests, winning both A and B with excellent scores! Sweet redemption! (And the show actually used the RIGHT TESTS!!!!! :-/) You can read about her day here! I am hopeful that she will become a member of SMDA and try for year end points next year!

I was very pleased with our last dressage show of the year. We entered Training 3, Prix Caprilli, and First 1. Dreamy was a bit stiff when I first got on her and had a hard time maintaining the connection to the bit in our first test especially. She wanted to lean on me and travel above the bit. Maybe leaving her on the trailer for almost 3 hours was a bad idea.....oh well. Live and learn. But I did feel that she improved over the day and the more walking and stretching I did with her, the better. I have to also remember that she is 20 years old this year, and while very sound and happy in her work, she simply has age working against her.

We scored a 62.400% on our Training 3 test for a second place out of four riders. We had a two 5s on our canter circles (First time since last year...poop!), and the rest were 7s and 8s. I also got a 5 on our trot transition, but the comment says "balanced". So that seems sort of odd, to get a low score but it says it was balanced??? Oh well. We had 6s and 7s on the collectives.

Love this photo! Training 3

This was our fifth time competing in the (training level) Prix Caprilli and we were UNDEFEATED for the year! Yay! We won for the fifth time with a 65.800% out of just two riders this time. (It was more fun to win this class when there were 5 riders, but oh well! ;-) It was all 6s and 7s with an 8 on the free walk. Again with the 6s and 7s on collectives. I love finally getting 7s on rider position. And I know I can still improve and make those 8s!!

Prix Caprilli!

I think I look so weird jumping in dressage tack!! LOL!

And I even have a video!

We scored a 63.100% and placed three out of seven (or maybe six?) on First 1. It was all 6s and 7s, with 8s on the free walk and final center line/salute. Again, 6s and 7s on the collectives with a 7 this time on submission. This was a much better test than Training 3 and she was much more fluid and supple. We had 6s on our right lead canter and lengthening, with a 7 on the transition! To the left we are still a bit lacking, with a 5 on the left lead circle, and 6s on the depart and lengthening. Oh, and we did get a 7 on the first trot lengthening! Progress is slow, but we are getting there! :-)

Starting the stretchy trot circle...

Our final year end scores for the Southern Maine Dressage Association are as follows. The club awards year ends based on tests. So I was able to qualify for four different tests this year from five shows! I am excited to attend the banquet in January!

Prix Caprilli = 67.5%
Training 3 = 62.8%
First 1 = 61.733%
First 2 = 57.00%
*SMDA averages the tests together

And as for Maine Dressage Society, they award year ends by level only. Prix Caprilli did not count at the state level, only at the southern Maine regional level. That was sort of a bummer, since our Prix Caprilli Training level scores were better than our Training 3 scores. LOL! And I also had to include our test scores from the USDF three day Isaac Royal show we did back in July.

Training Level =60.833%
First Level =61.104%
*MDS uses the median score, NOT the average

Overall I am very proud of our year! All of our training level scores came from Test 3, which is the hardest test in the level now. My goal was to average out at at least 60% at both levels, especially for First since it is our first year trying it. You can see that First 2 is a hard test for Dreamy and the average was a bit lower (and I only rode it three times early in the season, so no opportunity to show further growth this fall). But our overall First level score for MDS was higher than Training level! HA HA HA! I was pretty nervous to try First Level at all this year, not to mention on a horse not bred to do dressage (ha ha ha), so this feels like a real success.

Put your ears up mare!

Love


Hard work pays off!

This is Dreamy's Look of Death.

Dreamy: "Don't get near me!"
Otis: "But I looooooove you!

Stepping Stone Farm 2-Phase - Sept. 11, 2011

2011-09-22T15:55:00.003-04:00

Dreamy and I went up to Carmel, ME (almost three hours away) on Sunday, September 11 for a 2-phase event. My friend Tania came along with me and I trailered her horse Otis. It was Tania's first 2-phase, as she did her first three phase earlier this summer. I have never been to this farm and normally I do not attend any of the Maine Eventing and Combined Training Association (MECTA) events because I have never found them particularly well run.

Well, sadly, this one was no different. I will never show here again. :-(

While everything else was awful, I will say that Dreamy was fabulous. We won dressage with a 27.62, which is amazing. We had a few 6s, mostly 7s and 8s, and TWO NINES!!!! Holy crap! They were on our free walk and left lead canter depart. We went clear in stadium and she was very easy and happy. The stadium course was very tight but I was pleased with her. It made me realize that we could easily move up to Beginner Novice if we wanted (we show at Elementary right now, which is one step below BN). We tied for first and the tie was broken by our collective marks...which put us into second place overall! YAY DREAMY!

I was not happy with the parking, the warm up, or the general lack of professionalism. The farm is right on top of Route 95, aka the Maine Turnpike, the major interstate here in the state. We had to park across the (busy) street from the farm, in an uneven field that had not been mowed for quite a long time, which meant we were surrounded by dangerous traffic if a horse got loose. I was not comfortable leaving a horse tied to the trailer, so we ended up keeping the horses with us at all times. It was not ideal.

Worse was the dressage warm up. It was a small, cramped, muddy, and extremely unlevel area behind the indoor and about 20 feet from the interstate. It was hard to hear over the roar of the cars and trucks going 65+ mph. No one could canter more than four strides and two horses warming up at the same time made it too cramped. Yeah, it was ridiculous. Dressage was held in a small and dark indoor, which would not have been that bad except for the UNLEVEL footing! Every time we came around into the center of the ring for a movement, we were going downhill. I felt like I was riding my dressage test on a mountainside.

Stadium warm up was cramped between the side of the indoor and a steep hill on the regular road in an area about 15' x 20'. With three jumps in a line across, it was incredibly unsafe. And when you landed from a jump, you immediately landed into the "dressage warm up". Yep, it was stellar. (note the sarcasm) I firmly believe if you are going to hold a competition at your farm, you must have adequate facilities. Not the case here. :-(

And then there was no one around to help. The farm owner/event manager was also the stadium judge so there was no way to ask her any questions. My friend Tania had a mishap in the dressage (see link below) but there was no way to interrupt the jumping to speak with the manager!! And while it showed on the score board that I was the winner of my division, they handed me a red ribbon. It felt very awkward to do this, but I asked why I had not won since that is what the score board showed. The young girl who gave me my ribbon and dressage test said that a boarder there at the farm decided to ride at the last minute and they never bothered to put her on the score board. So I was to accept the fact that I tied with someone else and when the tie was broken I was in second. I feel it is only correct to show ALL the rides and scores on the board. It felt wrong and unethical to me and only further confirmed that Stepping Stone Farm was NOT a place to every return to. We never even took any photos because we were both upset and just wanted to go home at the end of the day.

Here is Tania's mishap. It was pretty infuriating to me and very upsetting to her. I think it was WORSE than all of my complaints above combined. The events that happened were out of her control and nothing she could have planned for. I am proud of her and Otis no matter what. We both sent negative event evaluations to MECTA and she also sent a letter directly to the farm. Within days, without any other word or note, she received a refund check in the mail. It was the least they could do.

Despite that, we did have fun together. Tania and I get along very well and it is always fun to spend time with her. And both horses were very well behaved. :-)

****CAUTION!****

Please remember the opinions expressed here are MINE alone! If you disagree, that is fine. Freedom of speech is honored in Bloggerland, so I am free to write my opinion and you are free to disagree. If you are offended, just stop reading! :-) Yay! It is as easy as that.

Marshaling at Cornish Horsemen's Day

2011-09-21T20:47:00.000-04:00

For the sixth year in a row, Dreamy and I went to the local trotting track here in town to marshal the amateur races at the Cornish Horseman's Day on September 10, 2011. We had a great time with Shelly and McKeever, our partners in crime. Sadly no one took any photos except the track photographer, so I have none to share right now! :-( Oh well!

It is neat that after a few years of attending as a part of a local club, Shelly and I (and McKeever and Dreamy, of course!) are now specifically requested as marshals. Diann P. has requested us for the last three years and it makes me feel very proud that she does so. Also, she has requested that we marshal at the Sire Stakes Finals at Scarborough Downs. Unfortunately, this year we could not be there for the 2 year olds (Sept. 11) but we will be there for the 3 year olds in October!

I enjoy being at the track and marshaling is one of my favorite activities. I also think it is a great way to show the public how STBs can have successful under saddle careers after racing. Highlights at Cornish this year included chatting with many spectators, ordering a hot dog over the fence and eating it on horseback (without even dripping ANY mustard on my white breeches! WHOOO!!), and having NO racing mishaps on the track! Yay!

This is why I love Peter Atikins....

2011-09-20T23:23:00.000-04:00

A blog friend went to an event camp this summer....and one of the clinicians was Peter Atkins! LOL! You have to watch the video (click on his name). I hope I get to ride with him again someday!

Labor Day Classic - Sept. 3-4, 2011

2011-09-20T21:58:00.001-04:00

The Maine Horse Association (MHA) added a new show to the roster this year by affiliating with the the Maine Quarter Horse (MeQHA). The show was typically just a QH show, but became an open Class B show this year. It was fun to return to Skowhegan Fairgrounds for a second time in a year; normally we just go up in June for the Downeast Congress.

Reva and I had a good show with many ribbons. She was a very good girl. My goals were to have fun and have no bucking in the under saddle classes. We achieved both goals! Yay!!

Reva being such a big girl...she is calm and happy at shows and I love it!

Results:
Reserve Champion Open 2-Gait Pleasure (out of 4)
Reserve Champion Standardbred 2-Gait Pleasure (out of 2)
1st place Standardbred 2-Gait Pleasure (out of 2)
2nd place Standardbred In Hand (out of 2)
2nd place Standardbred Equitation (out of 2)
2nd place Open 2-Gait Pleasure (out of 4)
4th place Hunter Horse In Hand (out of 5)
4th place Trail Challenge (out of 7)

Our In Hand ribbons...

And the really funny part.......are you ready for this??? I showed SADDLESEAT! LOL! Yes, the "dressage queen" rode saddleseat. It was so fun. Apparently, I have been hanging around at too many MHA shows in the past three years.....HA HA HA! A friend of mine loaned me her saddleseat suit, saddle, and bridle for the show season.

It was super fun and the judge even complimented me at the end of my last class. She was one of the judges at the Downeast Congress back in June and told me that while she thought Reva looked really good hunt seat that she thought she liked her even better saddleseat! Other people commented that with her headset, if you did not realize she was a Standardbred, you would never guess.

1st in STB Pleasure and 2nd in Open Pleasure on Saturday...

All our ribbons!

The only downfall was my equitation...yeah, I look like a hunt seat rider playing dress up. HA HA HA! I will never win an equitation class riding saddleseat like I can win an equitation class riding hunt seat, well at least not until I can take a few lessons (this winter..... ;-) . OH WELL! :-D

We even tried a class for fun called Trail Challenge. Basically you have to navigate your horse around a course at the walk and trot with only a carrot or other form of bribery. We signed up for it at the last minute, mostly because my friend Shelly signed up for it with her horse McKeever, and I was really happy with 4th place. The last obstacle was trotting over four ground poles and then halting right at the closed gate. Well, as we are trotting along, the gate person OPENED THE GATE! I instinctively reached out and touched her lead...just as I did I realized I would be penalized. I honestly don't think Reva even realized the gate was open, but I was not taking any chances just in case! :-)

Professional photos are HERE. They are awesome! :-) There are two random in hand photos that are NOT me or Reva though...whoops! LOL!