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Showing posts from May, 2009

NER United States Pony Club Show Jump Rally - July 20, 2019

Ellie and I had SO MUCH FUN at our first Pony Club jump rally this year.  We drove up to Clay Brook Farms, where we had our D-1/D-2 rating, in order to compete for the day on July 20.  This happened to be one of the hottest days of summer, so the organizers modified the schedule a bit.  Instead of doing two rounds in the morning and one in the afternoon, we all did just two rounds (with a ten-minute break in between) all in the morning, so we were done and headed out just after lunch.  
Everything ran so smoothly despite the condensed format.  We were able to do our formal inspections right before we mounted up, and we were all encouraged to limit our warm up time.  We were not allowed to wear jackets, and there was a TON of horse water and ice cold human water available at numerous stations around the field.
I was competing with Epona Pony Club, but I was again put on a Horsemaster team with two other adults from Foxcroft Pony Club, Angie and Beth, the two riders I competed with at the…
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Sorry, I have to complain...

I am kind of annoyed at two recognized shows that I have entered this year. One is coming up at the end of June at UNH. They wanted you to send your (huge amounts) of money and entry by May 6. And as of just a second ago, they STILL HAVE NOT POSTED THE ACCEPTED LIST???

Um, what? It has been 23 days. I think that is absolutely ridiculous. I actually called the secretary two days ago to check and see if I could find out if I had been accepted or wait listed or WHAT! I was SO polite on the message. And you guessed it, she has yet to call back. And this is part of her JOB. She is paid to run these shows.

And the other one is a show in July up here in Maine. The entry was due yesterday, so I forked over another HUGE check. I called the organizer the night before last to ask about stabling and such, since I unfortunately have a special need horse when it comes to stalls (her RAO). And yet again, you guessed it, no phone call back. Granted, the show is not until July, but still. …
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Cantering your Standardbred

When I first started riding Dreamy in 2006, I became involved in a local breed club. Long story short, for MANY MANY reasons I am no longer a member by my own choice. It just was not an environment for me. But during the time I was a member and an officer, I asked multiple times for them to hold a "Canter Clinic". It was something they had done years before, when I had no need for one. Of course, this never happened.

But anyway, Dreamy's canter has gone from nonexistent to pretty good. It is still not 100% balanced, and after about 1.5 times around a 20 m. circle it sort of falls apart, but hey, I am impressed with what we have. I think we are fine where we are for dressage, at Training level. The canter is not perfect, but it would be absolutely ridiculous and unfair for me to stay at Intro (walk/trot) level. I don't think we are actually ready for 3-gait under saddle classes, such as what we will do at the show in Skowhegan in a few weeks, but whatever. H…
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Lessons and Training

Wow, you would think I have been doing nothing lately, with the lack of posts! :) Quite the contrary! I have been very busy riding and taking lessons, but of course my job right now is out of control busy!!!! So while I have been doing horsey things, I have had no time to blog about it. I teach twelfth grade English and I was the prom adviser. My kids are graduating on June 7. Thankfully prom was over on May 16, but now I am in the midst of final grades, senior week activities, overseeing senior exit exhibits, and helping with marching practice. As a matter of fact, I am sitting here in my classroom at the moment, waiting for a student to do her senior exit exhibit at 3:45. Only a half hour to sit around and wait for her....then she presents for an hour. That means I get to go home by 5PM today! That is better than yesterday, when I arrived home after 6PM.........ah the joys of teaching!
So after the NEDA Spring show, I knew I had a lot to work on to improve our connection. …
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NEDA Spring Photographs

I hate trying to get my photos into a long post, so I am going to do the photos separate. I am hoping that I can get a professional pic too.

I am actually on the center line (got a 7 on this center line) but from S's vantage point, it looks bad. LOL!



I am sitting up, but Dreamy is on her forehand....




Whoa, big canter stride. Unfortunately, S never got a good pic of the canter. My position is not that bad, really. Definitely getting better!


Free walk...her hind legs look odd. ??
Cantering and I am TRYING so hard to sit up and keep my legs at the girth...

YAY! Our second place ribbon for Training 2! With the nice backdrop of gravel piles. We should have though of it and taken a pic near a NEDA banner or something nicer.....

This is our good luck charm, thanks to On the Bit! :) :) :) Thanks M!!!! I know it is working!!!

C wanted to take some pics....so here is S looking over my tests at the end of the day...

C taking pics of me untacking Dreamy. For an almost five year old, he ta…
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NEDA Spring - "No guts, no glory"

I had the best time at NEDA Spring this past weekend. It was just perfect and we had a FANTASTIC day. I think it was the two best tests we have EVER had. :) To date....of course.

My times were later in the day (Thank you Sue McKeown!) so we left around 8AM. MapQuest told me it was a 3 hour, 11 minute trip, so I planned for 3 and a half hours. There was no way around going down Rte. 93 that I could figure out, so yes folks, we drove through the middle of Boston. Over the Tobin Bridge. I am not that nervous of a driver, nor is S, so we figured "NO GUTS, NO GLORY!" Seeing as I was throwing all caution to the wind, entering a pretty big show with a STB, we figured we might as well live large. So that was the weekend's motto: No guts, no glory. LOL!

The trip down was uneventful, except for a cranky child. We should have left C with his grandparents, but S was like, "Oh he'll be fine...." Ah well. And there was the tunnel in Boston, where I told Shawn…
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Horse Illustrated Profile - I am FAMOUS!

I was featured in the June 2009 Horse Illustrated HI Profile section. Yes, your friend STBEventer is FAMOUS! LOL! I filled out the information back in the summer of 2008 and sort of forgot about it. I received an email a couple of week ago congratulating me on being chosen! I even won an Absorbine Stall Disinfectant Kit, which is a $50 value! And Absorbine sent me a shirt too! :)

I thought I would keep it a secret from everyone until the issue came out. I was able to purchase it today. Here is the full page...

And here is the close-up....


I hope you can read it! Go out and buy your own copy today! Maybe I will even sign it for you.......ROFLMAO! ;-)
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Odds and Ends

Well, first off, let me say that I am SCARED sh!tless for this weekend's show. For some reason, competing at NEDA Spring down in MA seemed like such a good idea back in February. Now, just six days out, I am rather nervous! I got my times:

Training 2 = 1:33
Training 4 = 3:00

There are eight riders in my T2 class and 22 (HOLY CRAP) in my T4 class. There will be no ribbons this weekend. I am just aiming to break 60% on both tests. That is all I want. :)

Also, I am in the process of breaking in my new tall boots. Seeing as I bought them in March (I think...) there is no excuse for them to not be ready. I just kept putting it off because I KNOW they will hurt. So right now I am wearing them and my legs feel as though they might fall off. UGGG. They are Ariat Challenge Field Boots. I broke in my last pair of boots the fall of 1997, which was my first semester at college. I had to walk to the barn from my dorm and well, they broke in pretty quickly. That was nice, but it was …
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Linda Zang Symposium May 2009

I applied and was accepted as a demo rider for the SMDA Linda Zang Dressage Symposium May 2-3, 2009. It was very exciting to be chosen, and even though it meant my "2009 educational fund" was tapped out rather early on, it was well worth the money.

This clinic featured the typical Who's Who of dressage warmbloods: Hanoverians, Dutch Warmbloods, Oldenburgs, Swedish Warmbloods, and Holsteiners.

And then there was Dreamy, a Standardbred. The Little Horse That Could. :D YAY!

I trucked Dreamy to the symposium myself both mornings. It was just easier that way. I have been to Spring Creek Farm many times and it is only about 50 minutes from my house. My "free auditor" was my instructor Judy. I was very happy to have her there both days to see me ride.

We left the farm around 6:15AM and got down there a little after 7:00. I had plenty of time to relax, brush her, tack her up, get myself ready, and get on. I will give a run down of each day...

DAY ONE
We entered th…
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