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Showing posts from March, 2009

Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...

Contact....contact....contact!

Well, after a not-so-good weekend of rain and a swollen hock, I was pretty bummed. Sunday her hock was totally back to normal, but it was POURING. I mean just absolutely miserable. There was no way I wanted to ride. And Monday night S and I had to go to kindergarten information night. Yes, my baby will be starting kindergarten this coming fall. Where does the time go??? Anyway, the sun was out today and I was bound and determined to ride. I got the stalls done, the barn cleaned, and the mares inside and grained by 5PM. I cleaned them both up and got all my tack ready to go by the crossties . Back in the house by 6PM to make dinner for us humans, S arrived home at 6:30. Good timing. :) I was able to go out to the barn and just tack up. I rode for just over 30 minutes and overall I am pretty happy with our ride. Dreamy was totally calm and willing. I rode in the field, but I was probably pushing it a little. I just could NOT ride in the driveway tonight. UHGGGG . Most of...

The new header pic

To commemorate the start of our show season on April 19, I thought I would post Dreamy's first ever trot down centerline! She was just a perfect mare at her first ever show. Not even afraid of the ring or the judge's booth or ANYTHING! Yes, I think my mare is amazing. :)

Shows and Hocks

Well, I have officially entered the first two shows of the year! First is a combined test down at UNH on April 19. We are going to do Modified Beginner Novice. I am not expecting anything exciting, just a chance to get out and do something early. Then our official start of the show season will begin on May 10 at the NEDA Spring USDF show! I got my confirmation email yesterday, saying that my entry is complete and I am all signed up for Training 2 and Training 4! Whoo ! I asked the very nice show secretary if I could ride as LATE as possible on that Sunday. See, this is a two day show, but I am only riding on Sunday because 1. I will still be teaching so taking off for a weekend will not really work well and 2. It is a TON of money to get an overnight stall ($150). As it is, this show cost me $120 to enter the two classes, which includes both the class fees ($40 each and $10 for the T4 to be a qualifying ride. I doubt we will qualify but it would SUCK if the score was good en...

A Trifecta!

I am happy to say I was able to get THREE (yeah, that's right, count 'em....THREE!) rides in over the last couple days. I rode Friday afternoon when I got home from school, Saturday afternoon, and then again today on Sunday. It was SO NICE to ride more than ONE day in a row! In her typical "OMG-It's-Spring-And-I-Am-Excited" mode, Dreamy was very "up" on Friday. I think that is the nicest way to put it, and perhaps the least vulgar. Yes, I had a few choice words for my mare when she decided that piaffing and attempting to do airs above the ground would be a good choice instead of walking along like a sane horse. Now while I can appreciate her upper level dressage efforts, I really just wanted to stay on! GRRR... Foolish mare. It was brisk, sunny, and she was ready to rock. The nice thing was she immediately calmed down after her crazy mare impersonation. I could feel her thinking, "Oh whoops, that made Mom mad since she just yelled at me....

Spring!

My vet was here for spring shots today. Almost $600 later.......both mares have their vaccinations, rabies, and Coggins . I did a fecal for the heck of it and also bought a new tube of Banamine . Thankfully for my checkbook, I do teeth floating in the fall, so I can spread the wealth around. So far, no issues. It seems that there are always issues with spring shots: a colic, nasty sore necks, or even hives and seizure episodes! (Yes, one year Sparky totally became covered in HUGE hives and then had what appeared to be a seizure about 10 minutes after the vet left. Scary stuff. Luckily, the vet was just next door and was able to come back over within 5 minutes. She ended up being fine, but I was pretty shook up.) But tonight, all looks well. A tiny bit of swelling on the point of buttock area, but nothing else. Both mares had their shots between 2:30-3:30 and cleaned up their dinners at 5:30. SO here's hoping we are OK. Yesterday I had a good ride in the gorgeous weather....

Pretty Pony and Adorable Son

OK, OK, so that is NOT a Standardbred in the header photo. XD In honor of my wonderful mare Sparky (who is 27 years young!), as well as the imminent arrival of spring, AND my gorgeous little boy C, I wanted to post this cute photo from spring 2007. I know Dreamy won't mind sharing the spotlight. :) ADDED INFO: When I replaced this photo from the header with a new one, I decided to post it here. :)

Just a Horse

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a horse" or"that's a lot of money to spend 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 never once did I 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" and "just a promise". "Just a horse" beings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a horse" brings out t...

Faith Restored

I got to ride BOTH days this past weekend! WHOO ! It was 60+ in the sun and 50 in the (shady) barn on Saturday. SO NICE! Even the MUD was worth it! My dad came to get C at 9AM and they went up to camp. (Camp is on a small pond only 20 minutes from my house). That gave me time to do my stalls, clean the barn, and ride! Dreamy was as high as a kite! WHOO ! She was so fresh, but not in a dangerous way. Being alone, had I felt for one second that I was in danger of falling, I would have gotten off. But that is the nice thing about her. She might be all "get up and go", but she is never hard to ride or control. We walked around, breaking a path through the snow, and the footing was excellent. When I asked her to trot the first time, she instead gave me the loveliest canter depart ever! LOL ! She was like, "Can we just canter today every time you put your legs on?" Darn mare KNOWS the difference between a trot cue and a canter cue! But no...

That is my leg! LOL!

Remember when I talked about Dreamy being in the MDS omnibus twice? Well, that pic of my leg is really me! NO having to eat my hat! (But I TOTALLY knew that was us....) Anyway, I have been in touch with the photographer and I think I am going to buy a copy! I love that pic. I have always wanted an artsy pic of my leg. Silly, I know. LOL!

Riding with Lendon!!!

So, one of my dreams has always been to take lessons with Lendon Gray. I completely adore her. She is one of the only BNT / BNR that I actually think really highly of. OK, well, her and the O'Connors . I applied to take a lesson with her through the NEDA Flextime program , which I talked about here If I had been smarter, I would have become a working student with Lendon back when I was in college or right afterward. Oh well, too late now. :p So I wrote to her recently, saying that while I may not have received a Flextime lesson with her, I was still interested in possibly coming down to take lessons over a weekend. I had no idea if this was even something she would consider, seeing as I am sure she has plenty of local clients already and having me come down would probably be a pain in the butt. I was pleasantly surprised to get an email the other day, saying: Elizabeth, I would love to have you come. Lessons are $110. Stabling is about $35 per night although a new perso...

A REAL Dressage Coat

I have two riding coats.....an ancient black hunt coat and an "Ebay find" gray hunt coat. I have always wanted a "real" dressage coat, but just cannot afford it right now. Plus, having a perfectly suitable black jacket makes me wonder why I need a new one. But I want a REAL one, with the silver buttons and the flap in the back. LOL ! I have been scouring Ebay , to no avail. Plus it is SO hard to find a coat on Ebay and not be able to try it on. So I found this great UK shop that carries PIKEUR coats so cheap, like half price!!!!!! www.amirashop.co.uk And they are totally re putable ! I emailed for more info on sizing, since it is all German and I have no idea what a size "36" means. LOL ! Here is what I got back. Looks like I am a size 38 and want a Diana. :D We shall see......I am all about spending money lately, huh??? Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your e-mail, the Pikeur jackets are measured by chest circumference. A German 34 has ...