Clover Ledge Farm

Dreamy and I had our first show of the year this past Sunday, May 15, at the Southern Maine Dressage Association (SMDA) show.  We did three new tests and debuted at First Level!  YAY!  It was pouring rain, so not the best day (or footing) for our debut, but I was still pretty happy with our results overall.  The first test of the day was Prix Caprilli Training Test 2 .  I was pretty nervous to try this test.  I jumped Dreamy for the first time this year the previous Thursday and she was pretty ummm...forward.  And not the kind of forward you want in a dressage test.  LOL!  Just what is Prix Caprilli?  It is a dressage test with jumps!  It is not a hunter or jumper course though.  It is judged just like a dressage test, so fluidity, rhythm, relaxation, connection, gaits and all those things count.  There just happens to be a few jumps in the ring too.   While I have practiced parts of the test, including riding up center line with jumps directly on the right, it was SO incredibly FU

I have many wonderful horse friends all over the place, from here in my home state, to Florida, New Jersey, and even the west coast.  But I wanted to write up a little something here on the blog for two of my horse friends I am very thankful for.  They both deserve their moment in the blog spotlight!  :-D First is my friend Tania.  She was a HUGE help to me last year at WEG, doing everything from riding co-pilot in my truck, to actually driving my rig for me after I had driven 10 hours straight, to helping me prep Dreamy for each ride, to taking awesome pics of us all!  :-)  And she was nice enough to volunteer to tag along to the May 8 show, Reva's first show ever, so that I did not have to be alone.  She is officially now my "show mommy".....HA HA HA!  ;-D  I show alone a lot, so it was nice to have someone to help me and keep me sane!  LOL!  She and I also did a beach ride this year and have many more adventures planned!  THANK YOU TANIA!  :-D Here we are at W

In addition to bringing Dreamy along this year like usual, I decided to see what Reva might be able to accomplish in the show ring as well.  (As you can see from the new header photo, she has started her show career with a bang!! LOL!)  She is just five this year, and truth be told, I have really not put much time into her.  I hemmed and hawed all winter about what I wanted to try with her.  I considered waiting another year before we even tried a show.  I debated on doing dressage, hunters, or a combination of both.  Or maybe saddleseat..... ;-D By the end of the winter, I knew that in order to really put the time into her, I needed a clear goal.  I enjoy showing for many reasons, but I have also found it helps keep me motivated to ride and train.  I like setting goals and trying to meet them not only at home or in my lessons, but trying to also meet them at horse shows. Anyway, I decided to start Reva with in-hand and hunter under saddle 2-gait classes this year.  There are a c

Dreamy has been going quite well lately.  We spent seven weeks conditioning this year, from the middle of March until the end of April.  I was very organized and methodical in my approach this year, more so than normal anyway, and she looks great.  She feels great, too, which is exciting. Coming back from an Easter Day 2011 trail ride with Dreamy and my faithful dog Lucy.  That is my (white) house and lawn in the upper right hand side...the official road ends at my house (on the other side of the hill here) and we have this old discontinued town road that goes on for over 2 miles.  Our connection and acceptance of the bit/aids is 100% improved.  Granted, it is something we have been working on for three years now, so I suppose it is ABOUT TIME I got my act together.  LOL!  ;-D  There are times when she will get a little behind the bit, mostly at the stretchy free walk, but I finally have steady and consistent contact at the walk, trot, and canter!  I think spending two full weeks

Sadly, I have not been motivated to blog lately, not because nothing exciting is happening, but because I am pretty tuckered out after teaching all day, doing horse chores, making dinner, riding two horses, spending time with my son and helping him with his homework, cleaning the house (sometimes), and all that good stuff.  :-)  Most nights, by the time 10PM rolls around and I have just finished folding the third load of laundry and still need to take a shower because I smell like a horse, I am not exactly excited to get online much less write something entertaining. Anyway, at the beginning of April, the horses had their spring shots.  Everything is routine and it is usually a pretty easy visit.  I have their teeth floated in the fall, so that way not only can I spread out the huge veterinary expen$e$, my vet can also examine everyone every six months.  Both Dreamy and Sparky have uncomplicated mouths and teeth.  Reva, on the other hand, is a bit more of a challenge. The first time