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Showing posts from July, 2019

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

NER United States Pony Club Dressage Rally - June 23, 2019

After our first ever Pony Club rally in May , it became apparent my current PC wasn't going to be as active as I had hoped.  I ended up joining a more established PC here in Maine, which is part of the Northeast Region (NER).  Now I am a member of both clubs! So by joining Epona Pony Club, I was able to attend my second dressage rally of the year.  It was held at a farm an hour away, right near where I go for my jumping lessons with Babette.  It was an easy drive down, but once I arrived it was a little hectic.  It was the first time this farm had hosted a rally and everyone was all stressed out about parking.  As I waited patiently in line in the farm's driveway, I told the parking guy I could put my rig anywhere he wanted.  He looked at me incredulously, "You can back that thing up yourself?" standing happily tied to my teammate's trailer for the day I almost rolled my eyeballs out of my head.  From what I understand, many of the drivers that day were

She's Not a Baby Anymore!

Early spring saw some immediate changes in how Ellie carried herself and our dressage work started to truly improve.  There had been times last year where flat work felt like a fight and I wondered to myself if she was ever going to just relax and listen to me haha. Thankfully, as the title suggests, Ellie has suddenly grown up in front of my eyes.  We have had some really stellar lessons lately, where I feel like I am suddenly able to make things click.  We also had an incredibly frustrating dressage lesson a few weeks ago where Ellie was in rip-roaring peeing heat (not normal for her) and we worked through 45 minutes of her refusing to bend right.  So, ya know, as much as she is improving, she is still an opinionated redheaded mare!  ;-) But, I have to give her credit because she is really working her little butt off for me!  Sadly, I had not been able to schedule in a jump lesson before our first three-phase, which led to me riding her ridiculously backward at a slow trot the e

RABT Horse Trials - June 15, 2019

Summer has arrived and life has gotten full, giving me no time to sit down to chronicle all the fun we have been having.  Time to catch up before I get overwhelmed haha. Our last day of school (aka my last day of work for the school year) was Friday, June 14.  I jumped right into summer vacation by competing with Ellie at a local horse trial the following day.  We had a blast, and it was the perfect opportunity for Ellie's first three-phase.  Sadly, I only have pics from dressage. photo used with purchase from Suddenly Still Photography We were the first rider of the day with an 8am dressage time, so I had to hustle our butts out of the house pretty darn early haha.  This venue is owned by a childhood friend's parents and is where I take jumping lessons with Babette, so it is a familiar place.  They have held a couple of "ultimate 2-phases" but this was their first true three-phase.  I was pretty excited to be a part of this inaugural event and I do hope it