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Showing posts from September, 2016

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...

Fun t-shirt

I follow several blogs and this morning I casually clicked on a website, Vantage Equestrian Lifestyle , which was reviewed by blogger The $900 Facebook Pony .  She reviewed a cute eventing t-shirt, which I fully expected to be pricey (it is, at $29).  I clicked around a little, seeing a link for Breeds.  I was floored to see "Raise Your Standards" and thought there is NO WAY they have Standardbred apparel !  Lo and behold, they DO !! OK, so it is even more expensive than the cute dressage tee at $35, but GUYS IT IS A STANDARDBRED!  LOL!  Not sure I will be buying this anytime soon because $$$, but it is definitely on my wishlist now! 

Esprit Equestrian Center 2-Phase III - September 25, 2016

Snappy and I competed in our third and last 2-phase of the year at Esprit Equestrian Center this past weekend.  She was fantastic and the fall weather was gorgeous, so it was a great day!  I went alone, so there are no pics or video (sad face), but rest assured she was adorable as always and I wore my new Horseware Competition Jacket in blue for stadium (that I saved for all spring and summer LOL), so we looked fab haha. Again, there were just three riders in our division.  I admit I was really hoping for a first place, but always a bridesmaid, never a bride I guess!  ;-)  Just kidding, I am really pleased with our placing because it was our best 2-phase dressage score and calmest jumping round to date.  She warmed up fine for dressage despite the fact there were seven riders in a tiny space at once.  She has no problems being in close quarters with other horses going in every direction, which I am going to assume is from her years on the track. ...

XC Clinic - September 11, 2016

NOTE: I have been waiting to publish this post until I am sent pics, so if I do end up with pics someday, I will post them!  ;-) Snappy and I had a GREAT time at a cross country clinic at Rest and Be Thankful Farm on September 11, 2016 with a local Preliminary rider.  I knew I needed to find a way to school her over XC jumps before we ever tried a full 3-phase and this was the perfect place to do so. After a summer of sunshine and drought conditions, Sunday morning's sky threatened rain.  Not exactly the best weather to have a "calm" cross country schooling haha.  We arrived around 8:25 AM for our 9 AM lesson and no one else was there yet.  The wind was whipping and I was slightly worried that Snappy would be wound up between the weather and being alone.  I took my time getting my tack and cross country gear organized before I unloaded her.  By 8:45, I decided to just start getting her ready because I also did not want to be late.  I was just...

600th Post!

I don't have a snazzy and concise title, mostly because this post is going to be about several different things.  But it is the 600th post ever on my blog!  Whoo! First, I realized that my videos from the August Esprit 2-Phase did not load via Blogger, so I went back and added them into Vimeo instead.  Not that anyone is super interested in seeing our baby level dressage and jumping, but now they are there.  :-) I've seen a lot of progress recently with Miss Snappy.  It's funny how you can feel as though you have plateaued and nothing is changing, and suddenly things come together.   She is no longer having spooking fits about hacking out, which is LOVELY.  It is easy to forget she spent the first twelve years of her life either in a stall or on a perfectly groomed racetrack, so things like boulders and trees can be scary.  She is finally able to hack around on the buckle, trot a little without dying, and cross a tiny stream.  We have ve...

Esprit Equestrian Center 2-Phase II - August 28, 2016

Snappy and I competed in our third 2-phase at the end of August, again at Esprit Equestrian Center.  She was super good this time around, not afraid of the indoor at all and jumped around the stadium course in a much braver fashion.  She was, however, deathly afraid of the pretty brush boxes made out of pallets.  So she spooked at them before we started the course, as we were trotting by on our way to jump #3 (and I stopped to let her take a look at them), spooked at them when we went by on our way to jump #5, and then of course wanted to suck back and avoid them altogether on the actual jump they were at #8.  Ohhhh mare!   I was happy with how she felt in dressage, and we were sitting in 2nd place in our small three rider division with a 32.81.  We jumped clear for a second place finish overall!  We are headed to their third 2-phase at the end of September.   Snap Dancer - Esprit 2-Phase Dressage from Elizabeth Sanborn on Vimeo . ...