Monday Make-Up

I had to go to a make-up lesson today at 11:30. It was a pretty fun lesson, and I learned a few important things.

They were using the extra horse that they'd originally reserved for me, so I had to wait around and have them bring me a pony in from the pasture. The pony was absolutely adorable ("a little fox," as the instructor later described her), and her name was Jasmine. She looked like a nice chestnut at first, but I noticed what looked like a very faint dorsal stripe while I was grooming her. Hm. She was quite sweet, even though she pinned her ears and nosed at me while I did her girth. 

I was the first person to finish tacking up, so I walked Jasmine down to the indoor arena and waited for someone to give me some instruction. A woman came out into the ring and told me to go ahead and mount. She disappeared for a while, and I'm so glad she did. 

Jasmine didn't want me to mount her. She would take a step or two away from the mounting block (She was definitely short enough for me to mount her without a block, but I always try to use one for the sake of my hip.) and refused to back up when I asked her to move back to it. I put the block aside and attempted to mount without one. Jasmine, once again, walked off, and then the saddle slipped. I could've sworn the girth was tight enough, as I'd just adjusted it for the second time. I made it to the ground just barely on my feet, and then I had to tack up all over again while fighting with Jasmine to make her hold still. I eventually got on, though.  I would've been terribly embarrassed if anyone had been watching me :) 

We worked at a walk and trot on the flat for a while, and the teacher even asked us to drop our stirrups at the walk. I was so happy. Then, she asked us to do a posting trot over a single pole. That was easy enough. She made a little crossrail after everyone had been over the pole twice, and then we jumped the crossrail twice each. That was also easy, so I was happy. Then, I realized that we were going to jump some really big jumps. They honestly weren't very big, but they weren't crossrails; they were the biggest jumps I've ever jumped. 

First, we had to cross the arena and jump two jumps in a row. They were far apart, but they were big for me. To add to everything, Jasmine got really excited when she realized we were jumping. The first two weren't so bad. They felt HUGE when Jasmine jumped them, but everything was okay. I just grabbed mane, gave her all the release she needed, and tried to keep myself balanced. The second time around, we did three jumps. We had to do the second jump from the first go, then canter around and turn to another jump, and then go diagonally, make a tiny turn in the line, and go over the third and final jump. 

That was an absolute disaster for me. On the first jump, I don't know what happened. I got popped up, which hurt my hip really bad, and I had to circle Jasmine after it to collect myself and get her back under control. She got really excited before and after that first jump. The instructor happened to be standing behind us when we jumped the second jump. The second jump was even worse than the last. We took the jump and I felt myself shift my weight onto my left stirrup. My right foot came straight out of the stirrup as Jasmine began the jump. Then, of course, she took off after the jump. I had to fight her to get her to stop because I definitely wasn't taking the third jump with only one stirrup. The instructor told me exactly what I'd done and said she thought I was going to fall for sure. I was certainly happy that I hadn't, and then I remembered my terrible lean. Miss Janet was the first one to tell me about it during one of our lessons, and today I realized just how imperative it is that I correct it. I finally got to the third jump, and it turned out to be rather uneventful in comparison to the other two. 

By the way, my name is Ann. Heh, yeah, that's what the instructor called me throughout the lesson :) I didn't catch her name either, so it's okay. 

I would write about my weekend with Stella, but, like the final jump, it was rather uneventful. I cleaned stalls, played with Stella, brushed Stella, and did some horse photography. Oh, yeah, and I also ate figs. 

I get to jump again tomorrow! That's exciting. 

Tuesday and Thursday Lessons on Cotton and Ozzie

This week, I got to ride two bay paint geldings.  The first one was a horse named Cotton. He was fun to ride. We rode in the outdoor ring for the first time, which was kind of exciting. We also jumped, which was equally as exciting. I really didn't like cantering Cotton because he would just...stop. We would be cantering along, and then he'd break into a jarring trot, regardless of how much I used my legs. Laura rode him before, and she told me that he did it with her too. We worked on the flat for a while, even though I couldn't hear a word that Teresa was saying to us.  I barely heard her ask us to canter, and then I didn't hear that she wanted us to canter in two-point. Jumping was great. We trotted the jump once and cantered it a few times after.  Once, Cotton broke into a trot about 15 feet before the jump, and I didn't want to fight with him straight to the jump. I made him circle and then brought him back into line. We had some very nice jumps, or at least they felt nice. 

Today I rode a pony named Ozzie. I walked up to his stall and started telling him that he was just too cute--because he was :) He pinned his ears and wrinkled his nose just like Mac used to do, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. When I was grooming and tacking him up, though, I wasn't laughing. I ducked under his neck while he was tied and I heard a little pop. It sounded like I'd bumped his chin and made him pop his lips, so I dismissed it. I was cautious, though, and I later realized that the little bugger was making serious attempts at biting me. I slapped him one time really hard and he didn't do it again. He was actually really good for me after that. He snapped and sneered as I did up his girth, but I glared at him and he didn't reach around after me. 

Riding him was quite nice. He had pony gaits, but his canter was still lovely to ride. His trot was fine, except when he saw other horses cantering and wanted to canter with them. I think I was having a pretty bad day. I lost my left stirrup while asking him to canter the first time, but I just cantered on without it. I also got my right foot jammed into the stirrup once while cantering, but that time I stopped and fixed it. I definitely don't want my feet to be THAT secure in the stirrups. I seriously thought I was going to lose my balance and just slip off a couple of times. I hated the saddle. It was way too small for me, and the seat was really shallow. We played a follow-the-leader game where we walked and trotted around the ring, maintaining one horse length between horses, switching directions, and changing line order. It was different.

I can't wait to go home and see Stella and everyone at the barn. 

Last Tuesday's Ride and...STATE!!!!!

I didn't get around to writing about last Tuesday's ride before I left for State, so I guess I'll write about it now. I rode Laura's favorite horse, Hope. I think she was a bay, but I truthfully don't remember. That's really, really sad. Hope was really slow and I had to urge her on in order to get her to trot and canter. Beth taught us on Tuesday and we did a lot of jumping. It was so much fun. We jumped two jumps in a row, which I've never done. Of course, there were a lot of strides between the jumps, but it was still awesome. One of the jumps that I did felt absolutely amazing. I even cantered to the second jump, which made it feel so nice. I thought I was going to fall off one time, though. I think my heels came up, or, rather, just didn't sink down. I'm used to working with a dressage-type leg, but now I'm at jumping-intensive boot camp and I have to learn that the heels get shoved down more. I guess I'll figure it out a little better once I've hit the ground a time or two because of it.

Ah, but that lesson was a while ago. I've got to talk about State! Yeah, so I left school on Wednesday afternoon so I could get ready to leave early on Thursday. When we got to the showgrounds, I had to get ready for showmanship that evening. I turned in my project book and then started to braid Stella's mane and tail. Stella also had to be clipped, which was an ordeal. She's fine with clipping as long as we don't touch her mule ears. We had to have two people hold her--one with a twitch (I don't necessarily like seeing them used, but I don't like seeing horses and humans hurt and killed.)--and one person clipping her. Stella ended up stepping on my foot, and all I remember was shoving her and then yelling "Get her off! Get her off!" because I thought she was going to break my entire foot or the ankle itself. I couldn't do very much because she had stepped on the foot that was farthest from her and I couldn't turn around.  I thought something was broken because I couldn't put weight on it for almost ten minutes, and then I thought my big toenail was going to come off because my big toe was covered in blood. Everything's okay now, though, and I just have some places on my foot where the skin got scraped and/or ripped off. 

Sorry if you thought that was disgusting. Hahaha. 

Showmanship went really well. Stella wouldn't go into the chute without exploding, so I requested to wait until I could go straight through without waiting around other horses. She still got upset, but no one else was around to get hurt. I got her to calm down once we were in the arena, and then we executed a decent pattern. I was really expecting a red ribbon, but the ring steward handed me a blue. Hunter showmanship at State really is a lot easier than Western, as there are less hunter people who've been taught how to do it. Lucky for me, I have a trainer who specializes in all of that fun Western stuff and thinks I ride in a "wussy" saddle :) I had to memorize the callback pattern after I got out of the ring, so I led Stella around with the book in my hand. Larry held her for me while I practiced the pattern on foot (I look like an idiot, but it helps a whole lot.) and then we practiced a few key parts of the pattern. Our callback pattern was actually pretty good. I overshot a cone by a foot or so because we were backing and I lost track of where it was; it was totally my fault. Stella also didn't want to come directly into a trot from a halt. We took a few extra strides, but it was all okay.  All in all, I was very pleased. Stella even started to fall asleep while we were in the lineup. She fidgeted a little when people started to clap, but she was very good. I got 11th place, so I didn't get a ribbon. I was still happy, though. 

Friday's schooling session was amazing. I tacked Stella up in Larry's old Western saddle and worked her in one of the outdoor rings. We did a lot of bending and leg yielding. Her trot was amazing. Her canter was brilliant. She was so soft and rounded, she accepted the bit, and her stride was long and slow. I felt centered, relaxed, and focused. I couldn't believe it, and Larry said that it was awesome. 

I had my first go of pleasure on Friday. We had an excellent ride, but, once again, we got the wrong lead both ways of the ring. I caught it immediately both times, but the judge saw it at least one way. I don't know why she got the wrong lead. I asked correctly and she got the right lead every time while we were schooling. It was a great ride, though, so I was happy with her. 

One of my schooling sessions was a disaster. Some idiot came flying out of the bushes on a bike and scared over half of the horses who were working in the ring. Both of my seatbones were on one side of the saddle at one point, so I have no idea how I stayed on.  I saw the kid and tried to keep Stella focused, but when he came out of the bush, Stella just gave a massive leap and I tried to follow her. I got her to calm down after a while, and then we started to work again. I heard a little thud and some mad hoofbeats, so I looked and saw that someone's saddle had slipped and their horse was running madly around the ring. Stella usually freaks out when people fall off and their horses run around, so I halted her and hoped the horse wouldn't come near us. Sure enough, the horse came running toward us, and I started cussing and trying to get it to run away from us. The horse kept running straight for us. I hoped that the horse would run out at the last second, but I turned around and relaxed my body just seconds before the stupid horse galloped right into Stella's hind end.  Stella, being a good-natured creature, didn't kick or even pin her ears. She just stood there and was very nervous and surprised. It took me a long time to calm her down again. People kept riding up on her, and Stella would get nervous and pin her ears.  I felt so sorry for her. I'm realizing how alike we are. I used to be terrified when people would drive behind me after I got into my second rear-end crash. 

Equitation was a blast, though. I felt so good, and Stella was excellent. The only catch was that the judge favored the two-point-cantering, butt-poking, crappy English riders over those who ride correctly. Yeah, we're supposed to be able to take a jump should one pop up in front of us, but as long as there's enough distance for the horse to make it, there's enough distance for me to get up in a two-point. Larry thought it was a great ride, and I personally think I would have placed high in the class if the 4-H trend wasn't to ride in an excessively forward seat. I was happy. I was especially proud of Stella. When we were working, a girl fell off right in front of us. Stella spooked and whipped around, but I got her under control and got her to calm down. The horse ran to the other side of the ring and everything was good. Stella also had a problem the first time we cantered because another rider rudely cantered--or should I say hand-galloped, perhaps bolted?--up behind us and barely made it past without running into us.  Stella rightfully spooked and became upset, but I calmed her down and she went along fine after it.

Mindy and I stayed in the trailer on Friday night. Our friend John, whom we met at Southern Regionals a few years ago, came all the way from South Carolina to watch us at the show. We went to the hotel to take a shower and then we went to the barn to play with the horses. Mindy wanted to school Gemini in the trail arena before her class the next morning, so we went to get her saddle from the tack room. We ran into a little problem when we realized it was locked. Mindy decided that she wasn't going to ride, but John said that he would get it. We stood and watched as he climbed on a tack trunk, climbed on the stall bar, and hauled himself up and over the top into the tack stall. Mindy and I started to laugh when we wondered how he was going to get the saddle out. He told us to throw a lead rope over, which he brought under the swell of the saddle and clipped onto itself.  We held it while he struggled to climb back up and out of the tack stall. I wish I'd had my camera, because it was very impressive! Mindy did get her saddle and rode for a few minutes. A show official made her get off because the EMTs had left for the night; I wanted to let the show official know just how hard we'd worked to get the saddle, but I understand the rule. We messed around with Leo's stable management card ("Remove bot eggs. Horse needs water. Clean stall. You suck." Sigh. The joy that a simple practical joke can bring...) and then got Abby from the trailer and played on the hill. I almost fell down the hill because Abby jumped on my back while I was sitting down. It was so much fun. Eventually John had to go back to his tent, so Mindy and I went into the trailer and got ready for bed. We brought Abby up into the gooseneck with us and gave her a spot between us. It was so nice and warm in the trailer. We hadn't realized just how cold it had been outside, and we were especially cold from sitting in the wet grass on the hill.

On Saturday, I had my final class, second go pleasure. I schooled Stella in the arena where the class was going to be held, and she was perfect. I rode her around a lot, and we had fun. I gave her a Gatorade, and we had to play tug-of-war so that I could get the bottle out of her mouth. I don't regret teaching her how to drink out of a bottle :) When it was time for the class, Stella freaked out in the chute again.  Larry led me into the ring and Stella was calm again.  She was actually being very good. I thought the class was much too large for the arena, but I figured everything would be okay. When we were asked to canter, Stella exploded. I don't know what caused it, but she simply exploded. I had to use her neck to help me balance because she was going absolutely insane. She wasn't bucking, but she was throwing herself around, backing, turning, and whatever else she could. After that, the judge called to split the class. Stella went well the second way, but the damage was done.  The judge selected a few numbers to be excused, and we were one of them. The crowd applauded and cheered loudly for us, which caused Stella to explode again.  I reined her in and sent her out of the ring, where she exploded again in the chute.  A woman who was stupidly standing in the center of the chute with the horses saw Stella getting upset and started to shield her face and scream. Of course that didn't help, so Stella's explosion carried on into the schooling ring that the chute led into. I schooled Stella for a few more minutes before I got off and took her back to the barn. I untacked Stella, groomed her, gave her some hay, and picked her stall. I was really upset about what had happened. See, I really wanted to go to Southern Regionals this year, and I actually thought I could make it this year. The best laid plans don't always work out, though. I was upset that I had no clue why Stella exploded in the middle of the class like that. Larry walked with me to the coliseum and talked to me. He asked me if I was disappointed, and I told him that I was. He said that he was disappointed for me, and that my time would come someday. Then, he jokingly said that he could sell Stella and buy another horse for me to ride. He kind of wants me to start doing Western again, but he promised me a long time ago that he'd never again sell a horse from under me. I don't know. I always seem to feel a lot better when I talk to Larry. We went shopping in the coliseum for a birthday gift for Jean.

On Saturday evening, we went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday. As usual, I had a terrible time finding something to eat, so I opted for a plain baked potato and unlimited trips to the salad bar. I made a gorgeous salad and ate every bite of it, and then I topped my potato with items from the salad bar and made a gorgeous baked potato. Guess what. I ate every bite of that too :) We came back and watched drill team performances. There was one that I really liked that was done to some very awesome techno.

On Sunday, I played with Stella and Abby for most of the day. Stella insisted on eating my cookies and picking up and dumping out the muck bucket when I was cleaning her stall. I was a total rebel as I walked around the showgrounds with Abby. The show officials discriminate on the basis of species, and Abby wasn't supposed to be there at all. But she walked around with me, played with little kids, came into the barn, sat in the tack stall with me, and even came into the bathroom with me. She hated that. I had to tie her to the hand rail. 

This year was excellent. I can't wait until next year! And I can't wait until I get to ride tomorrow, either. 

A Huge Post (Because I've slacked off over the past week.)

Yeah, I've been doing a lot of stuff this week other than typing blog posts. For example, I was waking up early in the morning so that I could watch episodes of House online; they absolutely will not work unless I do it early in the morning. I've also been working on my project books for State, as I'll be leaving this Wednesday for the biggest horse show of the year. And, of course, I've been laboring over Chemistry and Latin work. 

I rode a chestnut pony named Bugsy on Tuesday last week. He was very cute and very fun to ride. I liked his trot and canter, and he was very polite. On Thursday, I...actually...rode...a horse! His name was Magic, and he was a very large bay gelding. I loved riding him. His gaits were pleasant, and I enjoyed being on a horse for once. I also liked the saddle that I was using a whole lot. We even jumped! Teresa set out a small crossrail for those who had previous jumping experience, and I was the second person to go. My first jump sucked (I have almost no upper body strength, and I kind of fell forward onto his neck.), but they got better. I haven't jumped in a while, and, even then, it was just tiny crossrails on Stella. 

The only downside to Thursday's ride was the pain. My hip has been bothering me for the past week or so, and riding on Thursday seemed to aggravate it. I remember riding a canter-trot transition that was particularly painful. After the lesson was over, I dropped my stirrups, tipped my head back, and nearly cried from the pain. Teresa obviously never saw the papers that I filled out during the orientation meeting, because I specifically noted my hip and back issues and the fact that they've kept me from riding in the past. She asked me if I'm nervous about jumping, and I had to explain to her how I was feeling. She was quite understanding about the whole thing. 

My hip is actually hurting right now. 

I went to a show this weekend too. It was a western show, so I planned to go and just school Stella, maybe do a bit of showmanship with her. When we got there, however, I decided I was going to try riding in a go-as-you-please class for a bit of fun. I just wore my paddock boots, jeans, one of the show shirts that I loaned to my sister, and my schooling helmet in the classes, and I used one of the extra saddles that Larry put in the trailer. I rode Stella just like I would if I had been in an English class, except I sat the trot instead of posting. I kept plenty of contact, trotted, cantered, rode with both hands (She was in the same snaffle she normally works in, but on a western bridle. The only problem was that she's 6, and the cutoff age for snaffle bits is 5.), the works. Of course I didn't place in that class, but she went along perfectly. She was calm, focused, and just...oh, I had to go in pleasure and equitation after that class! 

Pleasure was okay. Stella stayed calm, just like in the previous class. We got the wrong lead BOTH ways of the ring, though. I have no idea why. It was probably my fault, especially since she was behaving herself. Sometimes she gets worked up when I'm riding and, no matter how well I cue her, she'll take off on whatever lead she feels like. But I really think something was off with me. After the pleasure class, the judge stopped me and asked me how old Stella is. I told her the truth, but I also told her that we were just in the class for schooling purposes and that we're normally an English pair. She said that it was fine, and that Stella was a very nice mover. She was the same judge who judged at the last show--the one who said that Stella needed to round up and collect. I guess she recognized us. She asked me how old Stella is at the last show too. 

Equitation went very well. I didn't expect much in the way of ribbons, mostly because I had to sit a full-out trot while everyone else was sitting a comfy little jog :) Stella behaved herself for our third and final class, and I was so proud of her. The judge asked us to drop our stirrups at the jog. I got so excited because I love stirrupless work. Call me a masochist, but it's true! I came out of that class in 5th place, which was pretty good in my opinion. It was a pretty big class. 

All in all, I was very pleased with the show. I hadn't been there in a very long time. It was actually where I had my first horse show, and where Squeeky fell over with me at that first horse show. Err, yeah. He had a little tantrum and ended up toppling over sideways onto my leg. It was actually one of my least painful falls, maybe my least painful. Haha, but I digress. 

I rode after we left the show as well. Larry and I worked Chester for a while, which was a lot of fun. Chester reminds me so much of Mac; it almost makes me cry sometimes when I'm riding him. Today I rode Stella and Tatiana. Stella was very good. We did lots of stirrupless work, and I have the bruises on my knees to prove it. I was so happy with her. I almost did a bit of bareback riding, but I've learned my lesson about pushing my luck when things are going just THAT good. Tatiana was frustrating. It was my first time riding her without Larry holding on to her in some fashion, and I'm not quite sure she understood everything I was asking her to do. It took a lot to make her turn and move. We trotted a little bit, which was a whole lot of fun. 

I had a good weekend, and I am so ready for State. 

When the World is "Mud-Luscious" and "Puddle-Wonderful"...

The hurricane completely ruined my riding plans this weekend, but I did get to go home and play with Stella. Larry was off at a big Quarter Horse show, so I didn't get to see him. Jean was there, though. 

Stella did not enjoy all of the wind and rain on Friday. She tends to, er, freak out whenever it rains. I think it's mostly from the rain hitting the roof, but perhaps there's something else that she doesn't like that I don't pick up on. After the rain, however, I turned her out in the muddy arena so that she could trot around a bit and so I could safely clean her stall. I took lots of pictures of her because I happened to have my camera with me. There are also a few pictures of my poor paddock boots completely engulfed in mud and Jack frolicking in the puddles with a stick that he found, but they're mostly of Stella. I also brushed Stella after I finished her stall, and then we had a wonderful de-spooking session with the purple duster. 

Stella got upset when I was dusting the cobwebs all the way across the barn, but when I finished with our de-spooking session, she thought of it as a funny-looking, purple treat dispenser. I started out by offering a treat to her, but only if she would bring her nose a few inches from the duster. I made her go closer until she was touching it and wiggling her lips over it, and then I started to rub it on her back and poke her with it. I touched her with it until she stopped twitching, and then I immediately removed it. I started to stroke her with it and touch it to random parts of her body. She was perfectly fine with the duster when I was all finished, so I offered her a final treat and ended our session. 

On Saturday, I went to the barn for a while too. I basically did the same thing, but with more stall mucking and less de-spooking and photography. It was still fun, though. 

Today, I went to the barn for an hour or so, just to say goodbye to Stella. I put her out in the muddy arena, cleaned her stall, watered the horses, and went to bring her back inside. She rolled right in the biggest mud puddle out there; her entire right side was caked. I waited as long as I could for her to dry and then curried the dried mud off. Hopefully a kind soul will see her tonight and finish the job for me :) 

I went out to Jack's Pond to see how everything fared during the hurricane. Our boat was fine, but I saw two big black snakes. The first one really startled me. I was walking through some stuff and then I heard rustling leaves as the snake slithered away. I saw his entire body, and I'd guess he was nearly three feet long. I left that area and went over to the little tree that's fallen into the pond. A frog jumped into the pond and another snake slithered into the tall grass. I still can't decide whether it looked more like a brown tail or a black tail. Either way, both of the snakes could have been poisonous or nonpoisonous. Oh well, I didn't get bitten, so it's all good. I'll have to be more careful when I'm down there from now on. 

I'm excited about riding again on Tuesday. I need to do homework before then, though. I guess I'll do it tomorrow, as it's nearly midnight now.

Thursday Lesson on Barney

I got to ride another pony today, but he was super-cute. His name was Barney, and he almost looked like a fat little Icelandic pony. Laura suggested that to me, and I definitely agree. 

I know I complained about the saddle being too small on Tuesday, but today's saddle was at least a size 17. It was hard, but it didn't bother me. I liked the fact that the seat was deeper than the last saddle I rode in, and I actually appreciated the saddle being too big. The one thing I was scared about, though, was the width of my stirrup irons. I almost didn't get on, and, looking back now, I probably should've gone back for different leathers. They were only slightly wider than my boot, which is EXTREMELY dangerous. I normally drop my stirrups if I think I'm falling off, but I think I probably would have been dragged had something gone wrong... 

Of course, Barney didn't do anything that would have caused me to fall, let alone become unseated at all. (Uh, there was one thing, but I'll talk about that later.) I hopped on and walked him around the ring. He really didn't want to stand for mounting, but I jumped on anyway and made him walk in a really tight circle until he decided to wait for me. When he halted, we sat for a minute before I asked him to walk off. I made an assumption that Barney was going to want to go, go, go. Oh, man, I was so wrong. 

As we walked, I found myself having to urge him on to keep him at a snail's pace. He also liked cutting corners, which I quickly taught him not to do. Teresa asked us to go into a posting trot, and I found it extremely difficult to rise with him. I thought my shoulders felt a little rounded, but Teresa never mentioned it to me. We did a sitting trot, which was very easy to do on Barney. Eventually I had to get a crop. Barney was making a joke of me, and he just needed a tap or two behind my leg before he went along properly. We also did a trot while in two-point, and I thought it felt pretty good. I think my back is flattening out, which is excellent. We did a posting trot over the poles a couple of times, and as I passed, Teresa said "Oh, wow, Barney actually went through." I'm not quite sure what she meant by that, because later she said that "Barney loves jumping." 

Trying to get Barney to canter was ridiculous. Teresa divided us into two groups for cantering, and I was in the first group. I set Barney up, asked for the canter, and got...a very crazy trot. I tried again with the crop behind my leg and eventually got him back into the trot. At home, if Stella doesn't take an upward transition in a reasonable amount of time, I stop her and try again. Therefore, that's exactly what I kept on doing. I did eventually get him to canter, but it was on the wrong lead and I pulled him back just as Teresa decided to switch groups. 

The other lead was a little better. I asked Teresa, and evidently she wants me to keep going in the terrible trot until he decides he ought to canter. I would be told to get off the horse if I did that at home, but I'll do things their way at this barn. Instead of kicking Barney into the canter, I whopped his little butt a few times and got him to do a little bit of the canter. He actually got the right lead, which earned him a pat. I also liked how he didn't use his head for balance nearly as much as the other two ponies that I've been on at this barn. 

When we went back into the trot, Barney and I had to pass a jump that was near the rail. Because "Barney loves jumping," he thought he might try to jump over the jump instead of passing it. I pushed him back on the rail, but it was a tad too little, too late. My knee hit the standard and knocked the pole down; I almost thought I was going to take the entire standard out--that, or get pulled off (But, really, how could I manage that? Pants/boot getting caught aside.). It hurt a lot, and the pain was magnified because it was the knee that was already hurting for some reason. I do applaud Barney for not spooking, which is exactly what would have happened with Stella. Stella finally realizes that the stationary standards aren't going to bite or trap her, but I don't think she understands that the poles and standards can move without the world coming to an end. Barney tried to go through the poles once right before the lesson was over, but I made him stay on the rail and stay away from the standard.

I think I've decided that I prefer silly horses to remarkably lethargic ones. 

Me?

There's nothing horsey going on today. I only get to ride at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I can't go home until Friday. 

I think I should give a brief overview of my life with horses. It might help people understand just how I ended up with Stella. 

Okay. So I started riding when I was 11. The barn was a mile or so down the road, and I took weekly western lessons on a horse named Sonny. I rode a few other horses at this barn, mostly when Sonny's arthritis was giving him trouble, but usually I just rode Sonny. I learned to walk, trot, and canter. My instructor wanted me to do speed on him, but I refused. We stuck to riding in the ring and going on trail rides, which I loved. Eventually, my lessons were just trail rides--"Go ride down to such-and-such point and come back." Then, my instructor decided that she didn't want to give lessons anymore. She offered to lease Sonny to me, but then she turned around and decided not to let me lease him. She was a little odd, to say the least. 

I spent about a month without horses before I met a woman whose daughter owned a barn. She told me that her grandkids were both leaving for college and that I was welcome to come and ride. I took her up on that offer and started riding and having lessons at that barn. I had two people teaching me to ride, one who trains pleasure horses for the AQHA circuit (He's still my instructor.) and the other who has a background in just about everything horsey (She stopped giving lessons in order to manage a therapeutic riding stable.). I rode a horse named Hoppie for my first lesson, where I learned that I had been taught how to ride incorrectly. They started me on Squeeky, though, and I spent a LONG time learning how to sit correctly, cue the horse correctly, and generally do what I should have been taught the first time. 

Squeeky was an interesting horse, and to this day I have no idea why they let me ride him. He wasn't bad, he was just intelligent. If he got bored, he would make up games to entertain himself. These games included "Throw A Bucking Fit," "Stop And Refuse To Move," "Come To A Screeching Halt In A Corner," "Make Unexpected 180-Degree Turns (Preferably At The Canter)," and "Run Like An Out-Of-Control Freight Train And Buck Randomly." Even though he did all of that, I still loved him. He had the greatest personality and most brilliant mind I have ever seen in a horse. He loved to jump, so one of my instructors got me to try English so that I might eventually show him over fences. Eventually, however, Squeeky was sold. (Don't worry, this part of the story ends happily.)

After Squeeky, I started riding a horse named Mac. Mac had been mistreated by someone, and he was really not a happy horse. He was extremely intimidating to anyone who didn't know him well. He didn't trust me to touch his face for a long time, but eventually I got him to let me comb his forelock, brush his face, and even put my hands around his ears and eyes. He never got over the clippers near his face, though. 

I rode Mac for a long time, doing both English and western. He was a nice ride, but he could be quite resistant (likely due to physical pain) and was very spooky. We went to lots of shows, won a couple ribbons, and had a wonderful time together. 

(This is the part of the story that really doesn't end happily. At least not for a long time.) One day, Mac fell while I was riding him. We were just trotting along when something felt wrong and then he dropped to his knees. We both got up unharmed, but the next day the vet came out to check on him. Long story short, we had to take him to an equine veterinary facility, they diagnosed him (a correct, but incomplete, diagnosis), he didn't get better, we realized that he probably had EPM, we started him on medicine, and he fell again. I spent the night with him, the vet said he was never going to stand again, and Mac was euthanized. 

I stayed away from the barn for a few days. I seriously never wanted to go back. Then, Larry, my instructor, "made" me ride again at a friend's barn. It was about a week before I could go back to the barn where Mac died, a few days after before I could look at the stall where he died or visit the grave, a few days more before I could mount a horse at all, about a week more before I could go into the stall where Mac died, and several more weeks before I could ride a horse without having to stop from crying too hard. To this day, I sometimes think about him when I ride, and I often cry when I step into the stall where he died. 

After Mac's death, I started riding Stella. Stella was green, energetic, and somewhat frightening to me. The thought of riding (and possibly loving) another horse terrified me at first, especially one like Stella. She is so nice that it's hard not to enjoy riding her--and that scared me. Of course, Stella is also extremely unpredictable, which bothered me for a while. I also spent a lot of time feeling plain-out angry as I rode. Eventually, I decided that I was angry because Stella is alive and Mac isn't. 

All of that's in my past, though. Now, Stella and I are a happy, confident pair, and I miss her very much when I'm away. 

The latter part of this post seems disorganized. That's probably because I'm hungry. Hm. It's lunchtime.

Tuesday Lesson on Missy

I got to ride another pony today. Her name is Missy, and she's a cute little chestnut. I kind of wanted to ride a horse like the rest of the class, but I can't complain. Missy and John T are both very nice, and riding ponies is something I don't have much experience with. I just don't get all of the jokes about demonic school ponies--I skipped that part and went straight to horses. In fact, I had NEVER ridden a pony until a few months ago, when Ellie offered to let me trot Spanky around bareback one night. 

I hated the saddle that I was riding in, though. I must complain about that. The seat was too small and too shallow, which is a terrible combination. It took me forever to get myself adjusted. First the stirrups were too short. Then, they were uneven. Then they were at my flatwork length, and I was happy. After I started around the ring, the instructor told us that we were going to be working two-point over poles. Therefore, I had to stop and adjust my stirrups again. Finally everything was fixed and I could actually ride. 

Trotting around was nice. Missy was an absolute giraffe, but I guess that's how they do it at this barn. I really feel like my shoulders are staying back. I'm finally sitting back again (I think my problem was that my stirrups were too short. Once the stirrups came down a hole or two, I started sitting back.), and everything is starting to feel right. Teresa keeps getting on me about my heels. They do need to go down a tad bit. Other than that, she hasn't mentioned any other equitation flaw more than once. 

We did a posting trot over the ground poles for a while, and then we did a two-point over them. I think Missy likes jumping. She did a little mini jump over the pole each time I went over in a two-point. I really had to keep her in check with half-halts because she wanted to rush the approach and departure. It was fun to work over poles again. I haven't done that in a while. I heard that Larry worked Stella over poles a few nights ago, so hopefully she won't be afraid of them come time for me to take her in Hunter Hack next season ;) 

We cantered one at a time today. While the rest of the class trotted, one person would canter, and then we would switch. I have to say that Missy's canter was nice. She picked it up easily, and it was nice to ride. Like John T, Missy really used her head to balance at the canter. She moved her head less than John T, however. Missy also stopped very easily. On the left lead, she got a little strong. I had to use lots of little half-halts to bring her back to me. She was very good at the canter, though. 

Missy didn't steer quite as easily as John T; she did steer nicely, but not quite like him. There was a big traffic jam up by one of the standards, so I circled off to avoid cantering into them. There was a maze of empty standards right where I was headed, but I was fairly certain that I could make it. Once I was there, though, my terrible depth perception (It's especially bad--and terrifying--when I'm driving.) told me that I might run Missy straight into a standard. Because I second-guessed myself, Missy broke. I picked up the canter again, but Teresa saw the break. After everyone had cantered, she called us over and told us what we need to do. She told me that I just need to avoid second-guessing myself. It actually made me feel pretty good. 

I think it was a pretty good ride. I'm excited now because we'll be jumping every Tuesday. I also learned that we can try out for the equestrian team at the beginning of next semester, which I might like to do. I didn't try out this semester because I wanted to see exactly what they're going to be teaching me, but now I really want to. 

I want to go see Stella. I also really want to go home this weekend. She needs a good workout, and so do I. 

EDIT: As an aside, I just ate a fortune cookie that Jean gave me. The fortune says "The wheel of good fortune is finally turning in your direction!" Oh, I certainly hope so.

Starting Out

I went home this weekend so that I could see Stella and go to a show. The show was okay; I came out of my classes on Stella's back rather than on a stretcher, so I was happy. She wasn't afraid of the standards in the middle of the ring,  but that's probably due to the fact that she now knows what they're for. I got fifths all around in the Adult Hunter division, and I got a fourth in the Open Adult division. The judge did make a comment to me that Stella's a great mover, but she said that she should be more round and collected. I'm well aware of that, and Stella actually rounds her topline and collects herself when she isn't focused on running around like a giraffe and freaking out because people are throwing frisbees several hundred feet away. It was just one of her days, and it didn't help that I haven't been doing much riding at school. 

There was one funny thing that happened while I was schooling in the field, though. Stella and I were working a trot circle when I saw Tina, who was supposedly tied to the trailer, put her head on the ground. The lead rope fell out of the tie ring and landed on the ground. Tina, being a wonderfully calm four year old, started to mosey around and nibble at the grass. I jumped off Stella, led her over to Tina, and captured our loose horse before she could wander off. Then, I led both horses over to Larry and told him that Tina got loose. He started fussing and asked me who had tied her. It wasn't me, haha. Abby also got untied from the trailer. She came running over to us while we were watching some classes, dragging her leash behind her. If two loose critters isn't enough for you, Sydney also got loose. Sydney hates being tied, and she hasn't been to a show for a while either. She got upset about something and started pulling back. I don't know if someone untied the lead or if it broke ('Twas the old red cotton lead.), but Sydney trotted off and Larry had to go catch her. 

Yeah. Our horses and dogs normally don't get loose like that. And normally we also don't let our dogs get stepped on, which happened to poor Abby. Abby decided to lie down by Tina's feet, and Tina accidentally stepped on one of Abby's paws. Abby let out a terrible squeal until Tina let off of her, and then she started running around and jumping on people. I think she was saying "Oh, I just got stepped on! Please give me pats and kisses to make it all better!" Abby didn't seem hurt at all afterward, so I think she's fine. 

I went to the barn to work and ride yesterday as well, which was great. Mindy was there, and she rode Chester while I rode Stella. We schooled for a while, and then we halted in the center of the ring. Mindy wanted me to take a picture of her on Chester, and then we got into a conversation about how calm Chester is. Mindy and I both helped Larry back and train him just a few months ago. Now, we can do just about anything on the horse. To prove this, Mindy stood in the saddle while Chester dozed off. Next, she sat back down and started swinging her legs up on the swell of the saddle. Chester's response? Cocking his back foot. I told Mindy about Stella's response the first time I attempted an emergency dismount at a walk, and she asked me how to do one. I showed her at a halt, and then we started talking about doing them at a walk, trot, and canter. Next thing I know, I'm trying (and actually doing) an emergency dismount at a walk. Of course, that didn't satisfy us. I cued Stella into a trot and tried an emergency dismount at a trot for the first time. On my first attempt, I couldn't quite get my feet out of the stirrups, so I dropped them and tried to bring Stella into a slow trot. I tried again, and I finally was able to bring myself up and out of the saddle. I'm thankful that Stella stopped, as I hit the ground laughing so hard that I wouldn't have been able to run alongside her. 

It was so much fun. I'm going to miss Stella this week, but I'm hoping to go home again this weekend. Larry and Mindy are going to a big show this weekend, so I won't get to see them. I wish I could go, but I know it's impossible for me to get a ride there from here. Oh well, I'm sure there will be others. 

I get to ride tomorrow, which is exciting. I kind of hope I get to ride John T again, but I'm up for a new horse too. I don't know who will teach the lesson. Perhaps it'll be Beth. She hasn't taught us yet; last week, it was Teresa, and Beth only watched. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.