Did you say "horse show"?

That's right! I said the magic words, HORSE SHOW!! I'm beside myself ecstatic! For the first time in 2 1/2 years, I get to go ride, yes you hear me right, RIDE in a horse show!!! WEEEEE!!!!! Granted, it's only a schooling show, but, it's a horse show and by george, I'm riding in it. I've been sitting watching on the sidelines since I completed the CO Horse Park Horse Trails back in 2009, been grooming and braiding, and prepping horses for shows, but not getting to ride at all. And it's been pure torture! Recently though, I learned of a small dressage schooling show happening just a few miles down the road at a neighboring barn. I conferred with Baby's owner, who was also very excited at the possibility of going to a show (this will be her first show!!), and we decided to give it a shot....

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I want my own horse....

Like, wickedly bad :( I've got two horses I can ride, sure. The one mare, Magic, is used as a lesson horse several days of the week, so my times to ride her are fairly limited, she also has a bit of a mechanical lameness due to a club foot, so we are careful how much work she does do. But she's a fun ride, and considering I've only been riding her 1-2 times a week, has improved in LEAPS and BOUNDS!! She's gone from not knowing how to move off the leg resistant to the bit/bridle, rushing, nonrhythmic.... to being able to bend both directions and easily change the bend, to yeilding to the bit and carrying herself in a nice, relaxed manner, to keeping a steady rhythmic walk and trot, her turns on the forehand are dang near perfect, and she is learning what a leg-yeild is now. Fast learner she...

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I would rather horse shop anyday

So I sold my truck last Monday. And now I can go purchase a new vehicle!!! Easy as pie right? HA!! Finding the right vehicle, with the right price, with the right mileage, with the right options, with the right owner history, with the right maintenance record, with the right 4x4 option, with the right deal is IMPOSSIBLE At least it feels like it after today! AUUUGGGHHH Can I have one of those big blow up punching bag things to take out all my frustrations upon?? I've also learned that there are two types of car salesman. There are of course the blood thirsty, money driven, sell sell sell work you into a corner and make you live outside of your means sales men that give the entire industry the bad rep. They want to shove whatever vehicle you are even remotely interested in down your throat,...

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Coming up for a breath of air!

Oh my, crazy crazy life it is here. Sold my pickup truck, so hustling now to try and find a new vehicle. Think I've found "the one" and will go look at it, depending on it's mechanical soundness we may come home with it. I'm trying hard NOT to have a huge loan on a new vehicle to pay off. Cuz I wants to still have monies for ponies. I'm trying my darnest hardest right now to talk Brent into leasing a horse. I've found a mare that I want to trial on lease for a couple months. She's a 1/4 Dutch warmblood (Rampal granddaughter) and 3/4 Thoroughbred. She's super cute, super adorable, a good look in her eye, and a gorgeous sooty bay. Owner has had a family crisis and is selling her horses dirt cheap, needs to get rid of the expense soon of this mare, and is open to just about anything. So we'll...

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I thought of a great blog topic last night

And now I can't remember it!! I haven't been posting much, partly due to the fact I don't have my own horse at the moment :( partly due to how dang busy I've been, and partly due to my lack of motivation to write LOL My project ponies are coming along great. Magic, the QH mare is doing fantastic, she's got those turns on the forehand just about down pat, as well as reinback. Working on confirming the turns on the haunches now. Then we get to tackle the leg yeild, and eventually the sidepass. The last two are going to be rather tricky, she just doesn't GET the fact that yes, she can indeed go sideways aaaannnd go forward at the same time. She mostly just takes inside leg pressure as "go faster!!!" sooo... we are having to re-wire that button big time, and it's going to be a slow process....

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Poking my nose places it shouldn't be

I can't afford a horse... I don't have time for a horse... I can't afford a horse... I already have a horse I can ride.... Yet I'm still looking for one!!! I have the pony bug, bad... Ack. Found this super duper cute paint pony, 13.2hh, sturdy as a tank, 12 years old, basic training, for dirt cheap. Want. Want. Want. He would be an awesome project, retrain, start in harness maybe, sell for 10x what I paid in a year.... But I really really don't have time for a horse of my own, with school, work, the kids, my second job cleaning stalls, I barely have the time to ride the one horse I'm retraining as is. How in the world could I fit in my own project? I still want him though!! I'm hopeless, ...

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Puppy meets ponies

This past week little miss Maggie bear got to take her first car ride down the street to visit the barn. Along with fearless Fiona as her mentor, she was able to tackle all the strange and exciting sights and smells of the equine world! She learned some really valuable things that she'd like to pass along. 1. Horses are actually NOT puppy eating monsters But they are still big and scary and should be avoided at all costs. However, they are much less scary when mommy is standing right next to them to make sure they don't trample me. They are much less scary too when they are on the ground, when they leap up though, I don't really like that. 2....

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The Mighty Mouse Hunter

My puppy scored herself a kill yesterday, first one ever. And she was so proud of herself!! I got home from work and let her out of her kennel and she was running crazed puppy circles around the house so I decided to take the dogs out front to burn some energy playing keep away with each other with the spiffy pink tennis ball (total win for girl dogs btw). Hubby then came home with our "new" vehicle, so we were checking it out, seeing what needed to be done, etc. As we were doing so, the dogs kinda dissapeared around the vehicles into the neighbor's yard, I knew where they were so didn't think much of it. Until little Maggie comes trotting...

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Goin to the dogs

Just when things seem like they are finally settling down and getting to resemble some sort of normalcy, bam, ya get another curve ball. And another... and another!! DUCK AND COVER Just had to get that out. So, my husband got his car squished between a pickup and a semi on the interstate on monday. Oh joy. And only liability insurace. Double joy. Now we gotta find a new vehicle asap. Triple joy. Definitely been a rather large lesson in trust and paitence this week, we are probably going to end up getting the minivan I learned how to drive in from my mom, she's been wanting to buy a new car anyway, what better timing? Aside from that, I am having...

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Officially horseless

So, little crazy Callie mare left Tuesday evening. Was I sad to see her go? No, not really. We didn't click, and she wasn't really that much fun to ride for me. But, she was a fantastic learning opportunity, reminded me how much I've been able to slack off on push-button horses. Oops. I am sad to no longer have "My" horse at the barn. I still have two horses I can ride. Baby, the 21 year old thoroughbred mare that knows it all, just needs to be brought back into shape. And Magic, an older QH lesson mare who needs a bit of a tuneup after being ridden by kiddos all the time. And with the current changes in my life and how dang BUSY I am all of a sudden, it's for the best really. Things too have fallen through with the baby I was going to get. I was going to get a very nicely bred Warmblood...

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Half-halts and the Lunge Line

I had a bit of a light bulb moment the other day while lunging Callie. It finally truly dawned on me how important half-halts and leg are while lunging a horse. You may be thinking, "whaaaa? but I'm not riding, leg? are you crazy?" I might be lol, but just because you aren't riding your horse doesn't mean you can have your leg on. Most people think of  lunging as a quick and easy way to exercise their horse, slap some side reins on, throw them at the end of a line, and voila, I can build fitness, exercise them, and help improve their balance. Right? Wrong. Only if done correctly. The horse may have side reins on, may have a bit in their mouth and saddle on their back, but if they are just carrening around on their forehand, unbalanced, hindend disengaged, they are doing more harm...

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When it rains, it pours

Literally and figuratively!! Literally, the storm front moved in and the thunder started rolling Tuesday evening, it's been raining ever since. Things are muddy, wet, cold, and gross. Trying to get the muck cart from the barn to the dump pile is an epic task, the mud is slick as ice, I can't get any traction! It's only a matter of time until I loose my footing and faceplant into the manure... oh my. Figuratively, life is just crazy right now. CRAZY! I'm soooooo glad the semester is over, although I didn't do so hot on my finals DUE to said craziness, oh well, I still passed both classes with a B, I'll take it, considering all that's gone on in the past couple months. But man, just... man. Things are looking up for us, the changes that have happened are really good, but I'm...

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My horse show Mom

My mom is the best! Not only did she give me my love and passion for horses to begin with, but once I really got rockin and rollin in the horse show world, she became my biggest fan and supporter at shows. It started with those first fun little schooling shows at Greenie Mountain Stables where I learned how to ride, kicking my way over fences on Natt, that cranky (but loveable) arab mare who hated jumping, yet I was bound and determined to jump her anyway... and when I got her around that X-rail course with NO refusals, not only was my grin the biggest, but my mom was cheering the loudest! Then as I grew up and started attending Pony Club ralllies, while she was not allowed to help ME directly, she still helped. Volunteering as gate steward for the dressage ring was her favorite...

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First Impressions of the Derby Field

The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow!! And I haven't read a lick up yet on any of the horses starting. I've been so caught up with Badminton and Rolex eventing goodness that my horse racing passion has taken a backseat. Normally I'm busy following all the prep races throughout the spring like the Wood Memorial, Arkansas Derby, Santa Anita, etc. But, thanks to working full time, chemistry, and my discovery of EventingNation.com (<< best site ever by the way) horse racing hasn't exactly been my list of priorities. I now how a little more than 24 hours to review the entries for the Derby set to run tomorrow!! Yikes! And of course work doesn't allow me to download Past Performances from anywhere cuz it's a PDF file... grrrrrrr That said, from what info I CAN find about these horses and their...

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The Canter Under Saddle

It exists!!! *happy dances* After about a week and half of focusing on fitness and only cantering on the lunge with side reins (which is definitely improving, her freak-out-run-away moments are becoming fewer and less frequent), I cantered Callie under saddle yesterday. Initially she tried to fight me, and tell me "NO I can't do this!" but I insisted, we had a bit of a discussion about listening to inside rein and inside leg aids, and when I asked for the canter again, she gave it to me. HUZAH! It is still very unbalanced, and a little rushed, and still definitely not 100% relaxed, but it was without fighting, without her head in the air, without her trying to stop, and she was yeilding to the bit and just, cantering! She did it both ways, it's obviously hard for her to hold, but that will...

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I was mugged!

It was just another day at work, just doing my thing. Working quietly, thinking about this and that. And then i was attacked! It was terrifying! I didn't hear him at all, he just snuck up behind me and grabbed me, I couldn't move, and he wouldn't let go. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but to no avail. When I hollored for help he finally let me go and ran away, but I thought for sure there I was a gonner!! Thankfully I was able to snatch a quick picture to indentify him.... ...

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4/27/11 Conditioning Ride

Yeah, couldn't think of a title, just some quick notes on how the ride on Callie went today. Decided to do trot sets, and I didn't lunge her prior. I had considered going outside, but it was blowing like no tomorrow, and since she is so spooky in the outdoor as-is, I decided I better save that endeavor for another day. Walked for 10 minutes to warm up, doing lots of suppleing, getting her forward first and then to give to the bit both directions. Also did some leg yeilding out on the circle.  Then we did 3x 6:00minute trots. A light contact on the bit, almost bordering on long and low, and just really encouraging her to move. She felt great, she felt loose, forward, and free in her gait. Didn't feel sucked back at all, and (for her) felt really focused the entire time. Only a few...

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You know it's a slow day at work...

... when your supervisors tell you to go into Meetings so that you can do the Hokey Pokey, putting one foot  in, putting one foot out... LOL!!! Other than that, it's been a horribly slow and boring day here at work, I think we should have been closed today, more than once I just sat around for an hour poking around on the internet wasting time. I guess really, I don't mind... I'm getting paid to look at pretty horsies and read badminton updates. Then I get annoyed when I do get a call and it interrupts me!! I rode little crazy mare on Friday, and she was awesome. Took her to the indoor, amazing how much better she is when there are no visual distractions. She was a little stick under saddle at first, but I just told her forward-forward-forward and once she got into front of my leg...

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Crazy mare!

It's been raining here, off and on moisture, not a torrential downpour, but off and on showers with patches of sunshine inbetween. It's been nice, things had been getting waaaay too dry here, so the moisture is much desired. Last night we had our first real thunderstorm, hurray!!! Today dawned clear as a bell with the sun shining brightly, they are calling for more thunderstorms this afternoon. Everything is getting green now with the rain, and it's lovely. A beautiful evening on the farm from a few days ago  Yesterday evening I decided to put in a quick ride on Callie mare, my plan was to do trot sets... that didn't exactly go as planned!!...

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A Must Read

If you read nothing else today, you should read this: Eventing Etiquette For Dummies Anybody and everybody who has anything to do with horse showing, even if you don't event, should read that blog. Thankfully in Eventing, stuck-up and rude people are few and far between, but I unfortunately know that in other disciplines that is not the case. If more people got off their high horse and put a smile on their face and made an effort to help someone ELSE out instead of themselves... the entire horse show world would be a much happier place. In other news... Little miss Callie mare threw a shoe, her left hind. And get this. She took it off while leaving every single nail behind. ???? Don't ask me how she did it, it looks like there should be a shoe there, the nails are there, but, the shoe...

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Now back to the reguarly scheduled programming

Ok, I'll drag my mind back outta LOTR geekieness and update on horsey things. Good day yesterday, I love my Saturday afternoons, get to ride multiple horses, clean pens, do what I want. My barn owner has asked me to do some training with one of her horses, an older QH mare named Magic. They use her for pony lessons to beginner riders and she's started to get a little sour with the kids, not wanting to stand still, not wanting to trot, etc. So I'm going to work with her 1-2 times a week to sort out the kinks. Fun stuff. So I rode her yesterday, first thing, almost right off the bat, I noticed that her saddle didn't fit right, it was a little too wide. When I mounted up she was not happy. I jumped off and added an extra pad to fill in the space behind her withers, muuuuccch happier horse!...

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I interrupt your horsey news for a geek alert!

They have started filming on The Hobbit!!! Just... *jumps up and down excitedly* :D I looooooove the Lord of the Rings. I have been a huge fan of it since I was a child and my mom read to me the first chapter of The Hobbit in order to convince me to read the series. We used to quiz each other on LOTR knowledge and trivia LOOONG before the movies were even thought of! So, needless to say when The Fellowship of the Ring was announced, we were excited but slightly optimistic, worried that Hollywood wouldn't stay true to Tolkien's epic story. But, these doubts were soon soundly laid to rest (with the exception of the exclusion of Tom Bombadil, that is my ONLY complaint about the movies really). I now own and cherish the extended edition of the trillogy (12 hours of tolkien goodness, yeeeesssss!!!...

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Pony pictures

Finally dragged some photos off my phone to share! First we have Mr. Pie, who is doing just fine in his new home, I'm so happy, I couldn't have asked for a more loving home for him to live out his days in. I will miss his personality though, he is most certainly one of a kind! If I could have kept him I would've, but my budget said otherwise, that's ok, what I wanted to do and what he could do physically just weren't the same. It's a perfect situation really. I'm happy. Taking one last spin on my boy the day before he left. <3 him! Looking pretty in pink, lol. Handsome boy :)  Only one of Callie, she could still use another 100lbs...

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Sunday afternoon ramblings

It's super slow at work this afternoon, and I'm super bored. It's the kind of day where you only get about 1 call an hour, and it's a "I want to cancel my account." call.... c'mon people! So, I'm getting back into teaching lessons, for the lady at my barn, and now for a local Pony Club. Fun stuff. I much prefer teaching the lady at my barn tho... she listens and really tries hard, and really shows significant improvement from lesson to lesson. That's the best kind of student, you only have to teach them something once, and they'll go and apply it. Whereas the pony club kids... oy vey, I taught that bunch last fall, crazyness!!! Only two kids were really serious about even remotely listening to me, they were playing with each other, goofing off, being kids LOL. Hopefully they've grown up...

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Ah-ha!!

Ya know what I'm talking about, you've been fighting with an issue for days, weeks, months, trying to find a solution to it, and all of a sudden you stumble upon the answer. Most often on accident. Depending on the degree of the discovery, I classify it as either "lightbulb" or "ah-ha" moments. Lightbulb being the best! Lol. Today though, was an "ah-ha" moment :) Been having an issue with Callie and her canter, she has been throwing a fit on the right canter lead, major resistance, head in the air, running away on the lunge line, wanting to stop and not move, etc. In general not wanting to maintain a quiet, relaxed canter. Either on the lunge...

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For once, I want an iPhone

I'm an avid Android user, I've shunned all things Apple for years, just didn't care to get caught up in it, besides... I think they are WAY too much $$ for what they can do. I think iPhones are over-prices, over-hyped phones, and I'm perfectly happy with my Droid. I also much prefer my Sansa mp3 player, it can play video, listen to radio, play music, all the same things an iPod can do, but at half the cost... and a longer battery life!! BUT. The Badminton iPhone App has me reeeaaaally wishing, for the first time in my life, that I had an iPhone. I want that app so bad! But unfortunately it's only for iPhones, boooooo. It has live scores, rider profiles, virtual course walks, podcasts, the whole shebang. But... I can't have it!! Grrr. I think there is a Rolex app...

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Collective Marks

So, I've just discovered this morning that Doug Payne has a blog, hurray for getting to stalk more upper level eventers!! I was reading his most recent entry and had a fond giggle of remembrance when I saw his picture of collective marks (though, they aren't anything to sneeze at, a 10 for a rider is pretty damn impressive!). While I've never gotten those kind of marks at a real dressage/eventing/combined test show of any kind, schooling or not, (normally end up with 8s and 7s) I have gotten those kinds of marks before. I do, or well, have done Civil War Cavalry Reenacting. It's a ton of fun, and I've been a history buff since I was...

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Nothing much of consequence

So, I'm at work, bored, actually getting a lot of calls, but they are short and quick, with time inbetween to do whatever... and I'm bored! I'm riding little mare Callie a couple times a week. We had a good "discussion" on the lunge yesterday, she's AWESOME about up transitions, walk-trot, trot-canter, awesome. Down transitions? Huh? What are those?? When I become a little more insistent upon her listening and obeying, she slams on the brakes and turns and stares me down and then tries to bolt the other direction. Uhhh... I don't think so! So we schooled transitions on the lunge and were able to end on a really good note =), walk-halt still need a tad bit more work, but they did really improve. Undersaddle she is such a busy body! I see now why she didn't do well out on Cross Country!...

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Oh mare...

I had forgotten how "fun" mares can be!! Ah but I love them. A couple days ago I didn't have much time, so I decided to just stop by to groom Callie, as she is shedding in great gobs of hair! Holy moly!! Well, I just wandered out to the paddock with the shedding blade. All was going well until the other horses decided to mob me, and Callie started to get agitated as I was trying to get her to stand still but she wanted nothing to do with the other horses (she's bottom rung on the authority ladder). As I was trying to get hair off her bum she finally had enough and leapt away, letting out a not-so-well-aimed kick right at me!!! Oh. no. you. don't. That landed her a prompt round pen session about who is alpha "mare" and I very clearly told her that kicking at me is NOT ok. She did pretty...

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Introducing....

My NEW horse!!!! As in, legally mine!! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures at this point in time as he (or she) isn't even born yet! Actually... isn't even conceived yet if you want to get technical. The long and short of it is, I'm purchasing a foal in utero to be my new Eventing prospect. If all goes as planned, it will be an upper level horse! I was thinking originally I'd wait until the mare was actually BRED, but as the news got spilled elsewhere online, I figured, aaaahh what the heck, I'll post it here as well. :) Momma is a lovely Dutch Warmblood mare, standing 16 1/2hh high, is wide as a tank (which is in part to being a brood...

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Yes, you must trot

I rode Callie at my barn for the first time yesterday. It wasn't a terribly long ride, but it was a start! I lunged her first, and she looked a tad looser than the day before, I rather like her trot, it has a lot of natural elasticity to it. Once she gets fit and really loosens up I can see it being pretty nice. I then got on her and did some bending back and forth, she's actually rather supple laterally, I was a little surprised, it's the longitudinal suppleness and fitness that she's lacking at the moment. Then I asked for the trot. This is how it went: Me: Callie, please trot Callie: no.... Me: Callie, trot. Callie: No. Me: Trot, now! Callie: *puts ears back and slows down* NO! Me: *change in tactic* Ok, do a walking turn on the forehand, get that hind end moving up under...

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Oh my, that's a mane!

Callie is starting to settle in, she got turned out with the gang on Sunday and all went relatively well. The little hackney pony was being his normally tiny studly self, which is hilarious, he thinks he's the top dog and yet he's the smallest horse!! Callie for now is at the bottom of the chain, but I think she'll work her way up. She seems a little stressed about the move, not being around her buddies and in a new and strange place. I'm trying to show her that I'm the cookie lady and happy to give her loves and grooming. However, she's definitely not as food oriented as Pie is so we'll see how it goes. As for Pie, he has settled in very nicely...

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"New" mare is here

Successfully swapped horses yesterday! And for the next few months at least I'll have a little thoroughbred mare named Callie to play with. She's cute, little, in horrible need of a haircut, and can jump!! YAY Her owner brought her over and she got off the trailer just fine, we put her into the arena which shares the fenceline with the main turnout where the herd lives. She immediatly wandered down there to say hi, and all the horses came over. She stood there, just stood there, not making a fuss, while all the other horses squealed and make a fuss... namely the little hackney pony, he's the smalled horse out there but thinks he is the biggest LOL! Then we got Pie and went to load him up to go to the pasture, and I was fully prepared with "motivation" and all expecting him to through a...

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Not Thrilled...

... at all. First, I'm sure everybody in the eventing world has heard about the two, and only two, people selected by the USEF for the short list for the Chef d'Equipe/Technical Advisor position for the US Eventing Team. http://useventing.com/blog/?p=14544 Those two people are David O'Conner and Leslie Law. Any guesses on who is going to get the position? Can anybody say politics? I was reeeaaaaally hoping that Jimmy Wofford would get the position, or at least get to the short list! I mean, seriously??? Ugh. I'm not saying that David or Leslie can't properly run our eventing program, but I just think Jim and his way of approaching things would reeaaally put a new spin on the eventing program. Ah well, I didn't do the interviews or anything... but still. I don't understand why one wouldn't...

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Big changes ahead!!

And I'm ridiculously excited!!! I am still getting that little mare, Callie, to lease, she will be coming this Saturday. I'll have her for a few months at my barn before she goes home, should be fun to have a horse to ride regularly for at least a little! But, the big changes, well, I think I'll keep my mouth shut for a little longer until it's finalized here in a month or two... but in short, I'm going to getting about as close to my dream horse as possible. Pie will be going to a loving retirement home where he'll be ridden lightly and just pampered, it'll be perfect for him. I want to be able to run and jump and he just doesn't fit that bill anymore unfortunately. I love him to little bitty Pie pieces, and I wish I could hang onto him because he is so wonderful, but I cannot afford both...

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Horse Swap!!

So, it looks like I'll be "swapping" horses for a couple months! Should be fun I think. See, Pie right now, he reeeaaally needs his shoes pulled and to just go barefoot for awhile to let his foot grow out, he's just not staying sound right now. So, I was poking around on craigslist a few weeks ago, and came across a link for a horse for lease, a 9 year old TB mare who has a knack for jumping. The owner is pregnant so can't ride at the moment and wants to find someone to lease her mare until July or so. She said either the mare can be kept at her pasture, or can be boarded somewhere. So I emailed with the proposition that I take the mare to my barn, and my horse, Pie, goes and lives at her pasture, barefoot. My idea was met with great enthusiasim and it looks like it will work out perfectly....

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What a good horse

So, I went back and re-watched my last Cross Country round I did on the horse I leased for awhile, Wild Yonder (more affectionately called "Buddy boy")... I had a blast! It was Novice at the 2008 Colorado Horse Park horse trials. Though, looking back at it today, I realized something... that horse saved my butt out there!! More than once! He was such a saint of a horse, pretty much did whatever I asked him to, even if I put him to the jump at a really awkward spot, or didn't have him properly in front of my leg (that was our biggest issue). Ahhh what a good boy! His new owner is one lucky lady, I hope to see them at a few events this year...

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It's monday

Packers won the Super Bowl. Yay. I'm only happy because Pittsburgh didn't win another super bowl title... I'm not a fan of the Packers, however I do like Aaron Rogers, he strikes me as a good guy, not to mention he's a darn good quarterback. I'm scheming on something regarding Pie and a possible way to let him go barefoot for awhile, which is something I think he really needs. This scheme would also include an alternative horse for me to ride (and jump!), we'll see if it works out or not. ;) Nothing else, it's monday... it's busy... it sucks. Ready for summer. Just a few more months and things will start to thaw! Oh yeah, and I also wanted to say... the Darth Vader kid VW comercial during the super bowl last night was a total win in my book. Too cu...

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Super bowl sunday ramblings

So, nothing terribly interesting to report on. We've managed to make it back above sub-zero temperatures, it was 21*F this morning when I went out to start my truck to head to work and dangit if it didn't feel WARM! That's sad... lol The super bowl is today, and... me, football loving me, hasn't watched a lick of football this year. I blame it on work, school, and not having cable for the past couple of months. Of the teams playing, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers, I don't like either team, however I DESPISE the Steelers, right alongside the Patriots. Grr... evil teams, both of them. So, that said, while I do not care for the...

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Hungry anybody?

So, it's the beginning of the year, time to start paying attention to the Derby prep races, start looking through stats and deciding which 3-year-old thoroughbred has the best chance of taking those roses. Time to watch those wonderful prep races, the Wood Memorial, the Santa Anita Derby, the Gotham Stakes, the Arkansas Derby, the San Felipe, the Rebel Stakes... AAAHH!! So exciting!! I don't really pay any attention to 2-year-old races, because, most of these colts don't really come into their own until like March and April when the prep races start heating up. A lot of the colts who show early speed as a 2-year-old, winning races such as the Juvenile at the Breeders Cup, are often caught by the REAL winners in the spring, the ones who mature a little later, and are able to show the stamina...

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Frozen!

Holy moly, had a farrier appointment today, it was about three below zero. And to add to frozen fingers and toes, Pie was not cooperating! I think they got left in yesterday, so all he wanted was to go OUT!! Standing still to get his feet done was not on his to-do list for the day. But now that he's got new shoes on that head bob at the trot should go away. As for me, I was completely frozen by the time I finished the stalls and got home. And for news in the eventing world, the deadline for applications for the United States Eventing Team technical advisor and Chef d'Equipe position was yesterday. Of the know applicants, I'm most excited about Leslie Law and Jimmy Wofford putting their names out there for the job. Can't wait to see the short list!Published with Blogger-droid v...

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Pie's Foot

So I said I'd do a post on Pie. So, lets see,  I rode him on friday, he was doing the same thing again, tense tense tense and getting really quick, pretty much not wanting to give me his back. So I decided to mess with the saddle, I've recently started using a Passier Grand Gilbert dressage saddle on him, it's owned by the owner of the barn I do chores at, as long as he's not using it, I'm free to use it on Pie. Well, I had initially started to use it with my fleece half-pad, cuz I was thinking it was a tad wide, well, friday I gave it a try without, soooo much better. He was still quick, but was giving me his back. I felt rather sheepish...

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