This last weekend I arrived at Westworld with Jayden to compete at the Spring Fling horse show. I was excited to be there and test out some of what I'd been working on at home with him. Latelly we had really been addressing his physical fitness and I could feel the difference in his collection when I would ride him.
Friday was an amazing day! I felt our communication was superb...everything I asked he was right there for me. When I'd ask for more drive and push with his hind end (for the BIG trot) he would engage and up his RPM's (as I call it) without increasing his speed. He was so good in fact we quit after only 20 minutes under saddle - that's the reward as I don't believe in drilling something so much that the horse gets frustrated and then you can't quit on a good note. Knowing when to quit is half the battle.
Saturday dawned dark and rainy. Although we were showing undercover, it was cold and windy/rainy and downright unpleasant. Becuase we were all compressed into one arena for warm-up and showing, I had a hard time finding a place to do some on-line pattern work with him. Our favorite warm-up at the shows is the Falling Leaf. Usually when he starts he's licking his lips and his tongue comes way out of his mouth - by the time we are done he's relaxed, confidant and doesn't want to move his feet much.
That day however I was only able to play with him for about 20 minutes and although his feet were moving slower (than when we started), his brain was still quite active - he struck me then as more of a Left Extrovert than the Introvert he is at home.
I made a mental note of that and decided he was acting like a partner and it was time to get on and warm him up. The warm up went well...if I felt him brace or tense AT ALL up I just went right back to what I know relaxes him mentally and the physical brace would disappear.
Just before our turn to do the pattern I mentally ran through each thing I would ask of him and how I was going to do it. I call it riding the pattern in my head. It helps me focus so that when I actually do it, it's like I've already done it. Jayden was WONDERFUL! His transitions were great, he stayed with me mentally, emotionally and physcially right through the pattern. The end result was a 6th place placing out of 14 horses. I was so proud of him!
In case you haven't already seen it, I just recently watched the April Savvy Club DVD where Linda shows an extrovert how to get the most from her introverted horse. On Sunday when I warmed him up with Falling Leaf pattern I changed my energy to match some of what I saw on the DVD and suddenly I had Jayden offering to do more than he usually does. THAT WAS GREAT!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Year End Success!
Abbey and I finished up the 2008 year as Overall Green Rider Champions on the Arizona Paint Horse Circuit! Although the year ended nearly three months ago, we don't have our awards ceremony until nearly April. It's a long time to wait to pick up awards and I was really looking forward to it.
1st - Green Handler Showmanship
1st - Green Rider Trail
1st - Green Rider Horsemanship
1st - Green Rider Hunt Seat Eq
Friday, March 27, 2009
Fun With Horses & Dogs!
If you're a Parelli follower than you probably already know that Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan and celebrated Horse Whisperer Pat Parelli are teaming up to help rebuild troubled relationships between dogs and horses.
Cesar and Pat will be appearing together for the first time on an upcoming episode of Cesar's Dog Whisperer which will air on the NatGeo channel Friday, April 3rd at 8pm ET. This episode is intended to help horses with "dog problems" and dogs with "horse problems." Cesar and Pat ride in to help a shepherd mix Chloe and Tibetan spaniel mix Hobo (who chase after the working horses), and 22-year old mare Cupcake (who is frightening the riders). Make sure you tune in to see this exciting team up of horse and dog expertise!
If you want to Let National Geographic Channelknow that you want to see more of Pat and Cesar together WRITE an e-mail to comments@natgeochannel.com and say "PRETTY PLEASE CAN WE HAVE MORE PAT!?".
Speaking of dog and horse relationships, I recently happened to have my camera with me in the arena and took video of Riley (my friend Jessica's dog), who is attempting to lead her two year old paint gelding Tater Tot to the gate of the arena. Both Riley and Tater have been spending a lot of time together lately and have become friends. If you look you'll also see Draco, my German Shepard/Husky mix running around with Riley. Click the Play button below to see Riley and Tater in action. You'll have to forgive my initial comments as I was yelling at my camera (and called it stupid) as I hurried to get the footage. I wanted to edit this out but thought it was more important to share it with you...hopefully it brightens your day!
For more information on dogs, horses and their relationships, please see the following links:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dog-whisperer/3735/Overview - Read all about the upcoming Dog Whisperer episode with Pat and Cesar, see pictures, videos and an overview.
http://enews.parelli.com/ - March 27th edition of the Parelli enews celebrates Horseman Ray Hunt and talks about the upcoming Dog Whisperer episode with Pat Parelli.
Cesar and Pat will be appearing together for the first time on an upcoming episode of Cesar's Dog Whisperer which will air on the NatGeo channel Friday, April 3rd at 8pm ET. This episode is intended to help horses with "dog problems" and dogs with "horse problems." Cesar and Pat ride in to help a shepherd mix Chloe and Tibetan spaniel mix Hobo (who chase after the working horses), and 22-year old mare Cupcake (who is frightening the riders). Make sure you tune in to see this exciting team up of horse and dog expertise!
If you want to Let National Geographic Channelknow that you want to see more of Pat and Cesar together WRITE an e-mail to comments@natgeochannel.com and say "PRETTY PLEASE CAN WE HAVE MORE PAT!?".
Speaking of dog and horse relationships, I recently happened to have my camera with me in the arena and took video of Riley (my friend Jessica's dog), who is attempting to lead her two year old paint gelding Tater Tot to the gate of the arena. Both Riley and Tater have been spending a lot of time together lately and have become friends. If you look you'll also see Draco, my German Shepard/Husky mix running around with Riley. Click the Play button below to see Riley and Tater in action. You'll have to forgive my initial comments as I was yelling at my camera (and called it stupid) as I hurried to get the footage. I wanted to edit this out but thought it was more important to share it with you...hopefully it brightens your day!
For more information on dogs, horses and their relationships, please see the following links:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dog-whisperer/3735/Overview - Read all about the upcoming Dog Whisperer episode with Pat and Cesar, see pictures, videos and an overview.
http://enews.parelli.com/ - March 27th edition of the Parelli enews celebrates Horseman Ray Hunt and talks about the upcoming Dog Whisperer episode with Pat Parelli.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Winter Wonderland...well not really!
My post title this week is a joke because while there are people in this country just freezing their behinds off we had the most wonderful weather (70's) over the weekend for our horse show.
That's me and Jayden on the left getting ready for showmanship. I have to thank my mom for some of the wonderful photos from this weekend and she hasn't even gotten her new camera yet! She did however use mine for the weekend which I'm thrilled to say I just purchased on Thursday in time to use it for photos and miscellaneous video. I did get to see myself riding Jayden for the first time thanks to this wonderful little device. :)
This weekend was such a learning experience and full of surprises (good ones!) too. For starters, this was my first away show with Jayden - we arrived on Friday to the grounds and stayed until Sunday evening. The away shows work a bit different than the day shows because the horses have more time to settle in, only 3 classes (usually per day) rather than the standard 8-10 for a day show.
I moved up a level from Green Rider since showing last year and I'm now in the Novice Amateur category. This is a larger group (about twice as big) as the Green so I was a bit nervous about how I would do.
We kicked off our weekend with a bit of sleeping in (lol) since I didn't show Trail and I arrived Saturday morning at the show grounds around 8:15. The order of classes is all mixed around from last year so nothing really felt like it flowed the way I was used to all day. Jayden did really well though and handled it like a champ. We took 5th place in our Western Horsemanship under one judge (horesmanship is judged on the rider) which was a surprise because there were 18 people in the class and it was his first time ever executing a pattern under pressure.
We kicked off our weekend with a bit of sleeping in (lol) since I didn't show Trail and I arrived Saturday morning at the show grounds around 8:15. The order of classes is all mixed around from last year so nothing really felt like it flowed the way I was used to all day. Jayden did really well though and handled it like a champ. We took 5th place in our Western Horsemanship under one judge (horesmanship is judged on the rider) which was a surprise because there were 18 people in the class and it was his first time ever executing a pattern under pressure.
He is so comfortable to ride that for the Western Pleasure class (judged on the horse's gaits and tempermant) I was able to mostly sit up there and just show it off; that's such a GREAT feeling! We pulled a 2nd place out of our hat in the pleasure under the same judge that gave us the 5th place.
Sunday starts with Showmanship which is my favorite class. Showmanship gives you a chance to really shine one-on-one for the judge. Typically you execute a combination of maneuvers such as walking, trotting, stopping, backing, backing around objects and pivoting (90, 180, 270, 360, 540, 720 degrees) and then stop in front of the judge and set up for inspection. All 4 of your horses legs must be square and even. The judge will walk around the horse and you must move back and forth at your horse's head at the appropriate time to "present" your horse. The skill comes in as the movements must all be succinct, they must flow and must not be awkward. You must also execute each one with the smallest degree of error possible. Have I mentioned this is my favorite class yet?!
If you'd like to see a video example of a showmanship pattern click the Play button below. This is Jayden and I in action at the Copper Country POR show in January 2009.
Cool huh?
Later in the day on Sunday we ride English which is just as fun (well ALMOST) since we have to dress up in outfits that no one over the age of 16 should be required to wear....seriously! We have to wear skin tight pants that require an undergarment because they show every little flaw that all women of any age over 30 probably have. Don't get me started on this one, I'd love to rebell and wear something else!
I'm getting off track..sorry. We snagged a 5th & 6th in the English equitation pattern (judged on the rider) and then a 2nd & 3rd in the Hunter Under Saddle (judged on the horse). We finished up around 5:30 and I was exhausted; Jayden was practically asleep by the side of the arena. By the time we pulled into home it was after 7pm and I was relieved to see the home fires burning. April is now on my mind...lots of practicing to do and I know just where I'm going to start...Parelli Patterns!
If you would like to see some photos from the show of our whole gange, you can visit http://community.webshots.com/user/kkmr2
Friday, March 6, 2009
Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, it's off to show I go!
We're getting packed and ready to leave for our Winter Horse Show today and as I write this there is excitement in the air. I spent some time last night with a barn buddy and I can't count the number of times she said "I'm so excited to go!"
They've completely changed the schedule of classes, order in which we ride them in and the flow of the show so this weekend should be VERY interesting.
This also marks my first *official* paint show with Jayden. We praciced last weekend at the Blue Ribbon Horse show (that's another story for later) and he did quite well winning under both judges in the 1st Year Green 5 & Under Western Pleasure class.
Gotta run, stay tuned for updates about the show, funny photos and some interesting video!
They've completely changed the schedule of classes, order in which we ride them in and the flow of the show so this weekend should be VERY interesting.
This also marks my first *official* paint show with Jayden. We praciced last weekend at the Blue Ribbon Horse show (that's another story for later) and he did quite well winning under both judges in the 1st Year Green 5 & Under Western Pleasure class.
Gotta run, stay tuned for updates about the show, funny photos and some interesting video!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Learning Patience
Whew! Where has the time gone?! I looked up and realized it was almost 5 weeks since my last post - naughty me :)
Jayden and I are getting prepared to start showing together full-time. In preparation for that I've been hauling him to some schooling shows. I'm a firm believer in mental and emotional fitness in my horses because without it, it doesn't make a bit of difference how physically capable they are of doing something.
Last Sunday we hit a local show that is for beginners and a great place to school inexperienced horses. Needless to say, the horse I thought I would be taking never even showed up. Sure he loaded in the trailer, sure he warmed up great with the "falling leaf" Parelli pattern but then we did something we haven't had to do yet - WAIT.
If you've ever heard the expression "hurry up and wait" it's the most perfect definition for what we ended up doing. The show experienced some issues and what should have been a 15 minute wait, turned into over an hour. The longer my horse had to wait, the more unprepared he became. I watched my normally left brained introvert gelding turn into a borderline right brain extrovert. Was he acting "crazy?" No. But suddenly he couldn't stand still and he had to move his feet.
I decided to put this to good use and practiced backing, pivoting and maneauvering him around to try and re-engage his brain. As long as we were moving everything was fine. The second we stopped and stood still for a mock inspection it all fell apart again. I knew right then that we were in trouble so to speak.
We did make it through the class and he did perform well since only a short time during the pattern did he actually have to stand still. He tried hard, but he still moved during inspection. Lesson learned. This horse needs pretty involved mental and emotional warm up time when he's feeling unconfidant. Translation....for a day show there is A LOT more preparation involved than when we go to an away show where we have stable accomodations.
Later in the day I had him tied to the trailer while taking a short lunch break. Jayden stood still for all of 1 minute before pawing, striking the air and then turning to and fro trying to see the other horses in the arena. I decided to just observe him (that's probably not what I should have done) but I wanted to see just how upset he would get. For about 15 minutes he was constantly moving - I could see the emotional tension building in him. Finally after I couldn't stand to see him so far over a threshold, I untied him and put him back to work so to speak, moving his feat and re-engaging his brain. This worked well while I was on the ground but the calm we finally experienced on the ground did not translate to the saddle.
I won't bore you with the details and a blow by blow - but I do want to say that I've chaned my game plan again. We are working on retreating away from his buddies to the trailer (even when its at home) and when that's going well, tying to the trailer and learning to stand still. It's only been three days (the first day there was a BIG hole next to the trailer) but these last two he was much better.
All in all - we are both learning patience - with ourselves and with each other.
Jayden and I are getting prepared to start showing together full-time. In preparation for that I've been hauling him to some schooling shows. I'm a firm believer in mental and emotional fitness in my horses because without it, it doesn't make a bit of difference how physically capable they are of doing something.
Last Sunday we hit a local show that is for beginners and a great place to school inexperienced horses. Needless to say, the horse I thought I would be taking never even showed up. Sure he loaded in the trailer, sure he warmed up great with the "falling leaf" Parelli pattern but then we did something we haven't had to do yet - WAIT.
If you've ever heard the expression "hurry up and wait" it's the most perfect definition for what we ended up doing. The show experienced some issues and what should have been a 15 minute wait, turned into over an hour. The longer my horse had to wait, the more unprepared he became. I watched my normally left brained introvert gelding turn into a borderline right brain extrovert. Was he acting "crazy?" No. But suddenly he couldn't stand still and he had to move his feet.
I decided to put this to good use and practiced backing, pivoting and maneauvering him around to try and re-engage his brain. As long as we were moving everything was fine. The second we stopped and stood still for a mock inspection it all fell apart again. I knew right then that we were in trouble so to speak.
We did make it through the class and he did perform well since only a short time during the pattern did he actually have to stand still. He tried hard, but he still moved during inspection. Lesson learned. This horse needs pretty involved mental and emotional warm up time when he's feeling unconfidant. Translation....for a day show there is A LOT more preparation involved than when we go to an away show where we have stable accomodations.
Later in the day I had him tied to the trailer while taking a short lunch break. Jayden stood still for all of 1 minute before pawing, striking the air and then turning to and fro trying to see the other horses in the arena. I decided to just observe him (that's probably not what I should have done) but I wanted to see just how upset he would get. For about 15 minutes he was constantly moving - I could see the emotional tension building in him. Finally after I couldn't stand to see him so far over a threshold, I untied him and put him back to work so to speak, moving his feat and re-engaging his brain. This worked well while I was on the ground but the calm we finally experienced on the ground did not translate to the saddle.
I won't bore you with the details and a blow by blow - but I do want to say that I've chaned my game plan again. We are working on retreating away from his buddies to the trailer (even when its at home) and when that's going well, tying to the trailer and learning to stand still. It's only been three days (the first day there was a BIG hole next to the trailer) but these last two he was much better.
All in all - we are both learning patience - with ourselves and with each other.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
2009 off with a BANG!
HAPPY NEY YEAR!
My head is still spinning that 2008 is over, BUT I know I was ready for 2009. Usually I have difficulty dfor the first month or so of the new year and will continue to write the old year on checks and any lists that I keep.
Well move over 2008 because surprisingly, I haven't done it once! Now before you chuckle, I realize that it's only the second day of 2009, but what the heck, I can be optimistic right?
So in the midst of all of our end of the year madness, I just realized that I never posted for December. It seems I am falling down on the job.
Latelly I feel as though my heart and mind want to go in about a hundred different directions as I sift thrugh all I want to accomplish in 2009. In addition to managing two businesses, I also have to manage myself and my horse activities in a way that leaves me feeling satisfied. Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that suddenly things started to slip? I looked up at the beginning of this week and realized that I haven't ridden or really worked with Jayden in about 3 weeks. That feels like forever to me!
Horsemanship (just like anything) is an every day thing. Even if you're not at the barn....if you're a horse lover you're probably thinking about being there, what you'll do when you're there, how to make the most of the time with your horse (and you know the rest). For me it gets worse when I'm competing because I am always nervous that perhaps I haven't done enough to prepare mentally, emotionally and physically and that I'll push my horse past thresholds. Even though my whole goal is NOT to push past anything but to get him so comfortable that he wants to go show with me.
So even though I was so busy in December that I couldn't really squeeze physical time in with Jayden, my mind was nearly always with him (horses are an obsession! if you don't believe me, buy one and you'll be hooked :).
I'm going to jump ahead but stick with me....
I'm just returned yesterday (New Year's day) from Tucson and the Copper Country Paint-o-Rama. I showed in 2006 there and the weather was awful so I was a bit hesitant about going this year.
I had a blast!!!
I spent some quality time with my friends (thanks Stacy for just giving me a shove!) and laughed and spent time with my horse. What could be better than 24 uninterrupted hours at the barn?!
The result?
All my reservations were moot: the ones where I imagined that it would be cold (it was 70 degrees), the one where I imagined my horse wasn't ready and then the biggie....that I wasn't up to the challenge of being a good leader for him.
I've made no secret of the fact that Showmanship is easily my favorite activity in the show ring. I guess it's because I can really display the results of the ground work and relationship building I have done with my horse.
Watch the video below if you would like to see our performance in the Novice Amatuer Showmanship class on New Year's day.
My biggest mistake in 2008 was doubting the time I had spent with my horse; that somehow because I had been inconsistent these last few weeks, that I hadn't been effective when I was with him.
I think the point to all of this is that everything we do today with our horses is for tomorrow. I've heard Linda say this over and over but it finally sank in these past few days.
Happy horsing around!
My head is still spinning that 2008 is over, BUT I know I was ready for 2009. Usually I have difficulty dfor the first month or so of the new year and will continue to write the old year on checks and any lists that I keep.
Well move over 2008 because surprisingly, I haven't done it once! Now before you chuckle, I realize that it's only the second day of 2009, but what the heck, I can be optimistic right?
So in the midst of all of our end of the year madness, I just realized that I never posted for December. It seems I am falling down on the job.
Latelly I feel as though my heart and mind want to go in about a hundred different directions as I sift thrugh all I want to accomplish in 2009. In addition to managing two businesses, I also have to manage myself and my horse activities in a way that leaves me feeling satisfied. Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that suddenly things started to slip? I looked up at the beginning of this week and realized that I haven't ridden or really worked with Jayden in about 3 weeks. That feels like forever to me!
Horsemanship (just like anything) is an every day thing. Even if you're not at the barn....if you're a horse lover you're probably thinking about being there, what you'll do when you're there, how to make the most of the time with your horse (and you know the rest). For me it gets worse when I'm competing because I am always nervous that perhaps I haven't done enough to prepare mentally, emotionally and physically and that I'll push my horse past thresholds. Even though my whole goal is NOT to push past anything but to get him so comfortable that he wants to go show with me.
So even though I was so busy in December that I couldn't really squeeze physical time in with Jayden, my mind was nearly always with him (horses are an obsession! if you don't believe me, buy one and you'll be hooked :).
I'm going to jump ahead but stick with me....
I'm just returned yesterday (New Year's day) from Tucson and the Copper Country Paint-o-Rama. I showed in 2006 there and the weather was awful so I was a bit hesitant about going this year.
I had a blast!!!
I spent some quality time with my friends (thanks Stacy for just giving me a shove!) and laughed and spent time with my horse. What could be better than 24 uninterrupted hours at the barn?!
The result?
All my reservations were moot: the ones where I imagined that it would be cold (it was 70 degrees), the one where I imagined my horse wasn't ready and then the biggie....that I wasn't up to the challenge of being a good leader for him.
I've made no secret of the fact that Showmanship is easily my favorite activity in the show ring. I guess it's because I can really display the results of the ground work and relationship building I have done with my horse.
Watch the video below if you would like to see our performance in the Novice Amatuer Showmanship class on New Year's day.
My biggest mistake in 2008 was doubting the time I had spent with my horse; that somehow because I had been inconsistent these last few weeks, that I hadn't been effective when I was with him.
I think the point to all of this is that everything we do today with our horses is for tomorrow. I've heard Linda say this over and over but it finally sank in these past few days.
Happy horsing around!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)