Today we had a 4-H pool party and meeting. It was a whole lot of fun. We drove down to Cassie's grandma's house, where we immediately jumped into the pool. Well, I immediately got into the pool. I have no qualms about stripping down to my bathing suit, especially among friends, and I love swimming because it's good exercise that doesn't stress my joints. Heather and Mindy sat near the pool for a while until Cassie and I coaxed them in with a few gentle splashes. We got really crazy in the pool, splashing at one another and tipping raft-relaxers into the water (I got tipped two or three times; I was just asking for it!). We started up a jumping-in contest. Ellie's mom and Cassie's riding instructor judged the biggest splash, smallest splash, funniest jump, and the target jump, where we took turns trying to jump and land in, on, or through a big inner tube. I won the funniest jump contest with my beautiful slapstick-esque jump, where I pretended to slip and fall into the pool. After we'd had enough of swimming, we went to eat and then had our meeting.
We planned to have a yard sale, a bake sale, and a few other things in order to raise some more money before State in September. We also want to have a sort of arts-and-crafts night where we work on photo collages to hang on our stalls at State. The club used to have really nice wooden and metal plaques to hang on the stalls, but everyone who actually had one has either aged out of the club or changed horses. I think I had one, but it had Mac's show name on it. Cassie also had one, but she had a different horse as well. Yeah, everyone else has aged out--I used to be one of the younger members in the club, but now I'm the oldest by about two years.
I'm old. And I feel old.
Carolynn got a new puppy the other day. She's a little brown and white Chihuahua/terrier, and her name is Bella. Bella bites a whole lot with her little needle-teeth, but she's absolutely adorable. Abby is rather jealous, I think. And poor Jack can't do anything but bark whenever he sees her.
I took the lesson kids out to the pond yesterday. They thoroughly enjoyed the ride in the holey boat, which had a particularly big leak yesterday. I took the boat off the line and paddled out to the middle of the pond, where we watched Abby run around and splash in the water. Abby decided to swim out to us and wouldn't abandon the idea of climbing into the boat. I decided to help her into the boat, which involved tipping it over as far as I could without flipping it over, grabbing her front end, and hauling the filthy, wet dog into my lap. She showed her appreciation of our fine watercraft and her brave rescuer by shaking and soaking all of us as soon as she set paw on board. I was sopping wet from head to toe, but it was so much fun. I haven't taken the boat off of the rope in a while.
After our boat excursion, the kids came back to ride. After they had their fun, I longed Stella--who was in a wild, galloping mood and has been for the past few days--and rode her. She worried me a little when I had her on the longe line, but she made me proud when I rode her. We had a wonderful ride. My posting trot is getting much better. For a while my lower leg kept coming forward, which made my torso come forward, which threw everything out of alignment and made everything fall to pieces. Now, I've re-adopted the classical seat and Stella greatly appreciates it. Stella feels like she driving more from her hindquarters, and she's rounding up and coming onto the bit beautifully. She's really gotten the hang of a free walk, and she likes to cool out with some bending and a nice free walk. Last night I noticed that my right hip joint didn't have the same range of motion as my left. I don't know why. It was strange and it didn't hurt, but I noticed a slight difference as I was posting. Oh well. I'll have to see if I can feel a difference next time I ride.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Letter to a Lost Lover
Mac,
I've missed you so much over the last two years. We haven't been able to talk the way we used to, with me trying to whisper sweet nothings into your pinned ears and you silently hoping that I wouldn't stop. Do you remember all of those times I spent sitting in your stall, watching you eat? I remember them. I remember the night I slept beside you and got to watch the sun rise through the barn doors with you. We were lying together in the sawdust, trusting one another so much as I rested my body between your hooves and my head on your powerful side. It would have been one of the most beautiful nights of my life had it not been your last.
I know I shouldn't dwell on that, my dear. So much has changed here. Your brother, Chester, is growing into a fine young stallion. He would make you proud, I'm sure. He reminds me of you every day, and I can't help but think of you whenever I ride him. Baby Jessie is the newest addition to the barn. She is somewhat related to you; her father is the same as Chester's. I guess that counts for something. She is a lovely little girl, and she is going to be an amazing hunter someday. Stella is becoming quite a fine young lady--already an amazing hunter. We've recently started over fences together, and she absolutely loves it. She doesn't look the same as she did when you last saw her, but I don't think that any of us do.
I've changed some physically, but I've changed much more mentally. I feel different, at least. I spent a very long time suffering after you passed, but I've put the pain behind me and chosen to live life with a new sort of vigor. There's no need to worry about me. Sometimes I sit alone at night, listening to music, and I cry when I think of you. Sometimes something will remind me of you and I'll walk off by myself as I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Looking at pictures of you brings back good memories. Sometimes I think about our last year at State, when my mom was taking pictures of us at your stall with my blue Stable Management ribbon. I'll honestly say that I wanted to be out on the hill, letting you graze as I talked to my friends. I remember, however, one thought that I had... I knew that, one day, I would be glad to have those pictures. I really, really do love them.
It must sound like I cry a lot. I used to, but not so much anymore. I've come to a point where I like to think of the wonderful things we used to do together. I remember our first show together, where we won the halter class and I got my first blue ribbon. I remember the day that Jacqui rode you and you refused to move no matter what she did. I remember falling off at District because that woman scared you. I remember going for a trail ride to the back field. I remember the perfect rides we had, where we truly reached the state that I crave so much. I remember the day you bit me and threw me on the ground, and that day you bit Stephanie. I remember riding you around the yard and walking right up to those deer. I remember finally making it through the rope gate at State. I remember when you used to jump over the mud puddles in the arena because you were afraid to step in the "holes."
Now, Mac, it's time for you to remember something.
Remember that I love you dearly and that I will never forget you. You're gone and you've been gone for a long time now, but that doesn't change things. You're my good Sir and my wonderful gentleman. You'll live forever in my memories and the stories that I promise to share with anyone who is willing to listen. Much love, my love.
I've missed you so much over the last two years. We haven't been able to talk the way we used to, with me trying to whisper sweet nothings into your pinned ears and you silently hoping that I wouldn't stop. Do you remember all of those times I spent sitting in your stall, watching you eat? I remember them. I remember the night I slept beside you and got to watch the sun rise through the barn doors with you. We were lying together in the sawdust, trusting one another so much as I rested my body between your hooves and my head on your powerful side. It would have been one of the most beautiful nights of my life had it not been your last.
I know I shouldn't dwell on that, my dear. So much has changed here. Your brother, Chester, is growing into a fine young stallion. He would make you proud, I'm sure. He reminds me of you every day, and I can't help but think of you whenever I ride him. Baby Jessie is the newest addition to the barn. She is somewhat related to you; her father is the same as Chester's. I guess that counts for something. She is a lovely little girl, and she is going to be an amazing hunter someday. Stella is becoming quite a fine young lady--already an amazing hunter. We've recently started over fences together, and she absolutely loves it. She doesn't look the same as she did when you last saw her, but I don't think that any of us do.
I've changed some physically, but I've changed much more mentally. I feel different, at least. I spent a very long time suffering after you passed, but I've put the pain behind me and chosen to live life with a new sort of vigor. There's no need to worry about me. Sometimes I sit alone at night, listening to music, and I cry when I think of you. Sometimes something will remind me of you and I'll walk off by myself as I feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Looking at pictures of you brings back good memories. Sometimes I think about our last year at State, when my mom was taking pictures of us at your stall with my blue Stable Management ribbon. I'll honestly say that I wanted to be out on the hill, letting you graze as I talked to my friends. I remember, however, one thought that I had... I knew that, one day, I would be glad to have those pictures. I really, really do love them.
It must sound like I cry a lot. I used to, but not so much anymore. I've come to a point where I like to think of the wonderful things we used to do together. I remember our first show together, where we won the halter class and I got my first blue ribbon. I remember the day that Jacqui rode you and you refused to move no matter what she did. I remember falling off at District because that woman scared you. I remember going for a trail ride to the back field. I remember the perfect rides we had, where we truly reached the state that I crave so much. I remember the day you bit me and threw me on the ground, and that day you bit Stephanie. I remember riding you around the yard and walking right up to those deer. I remember finally making it through the rope gate at State. I remember when you used to jump over the mud puddles in the arena because you were afraid to step in the "holes."
Now, Mac, it's time for you to remember something.
Remember that I love you dearly and that I will never forget you. You're gone and you've been gone for a long time now, but that doesn't change things. You're my good Sir and my wonderful gentleman. You'll live forever in my memories and the stories that I promise to share with anyone who is willing to listen. Much love, my love.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Lost (with a) dog.
We were supposed to do hay today, but Larry decided that he just wanted me to clean the barn and give the horses their dinners instead. I took care of all that, kissed on Stella for while, and then decided that I was going to go out into the woods and walk to Gregg's Place. I had a slight feeling that it was a bad idea when I started heading out there, but I went anyway.
Abby followed me faithfully and led me bravely. She stuck fairly close to my side even though there were so many interesting things to get into. We crossed over logs and jumped over the dry stream bed. We ducked under the vines and thorny plants until we were surrounded by the mass mess of Gregg's Place. The only trouble was, we'd gone to Gregg's Place before when the trees were bare and the trailer was clearly visible. The whole thing was covered in thick green plant material, and I wasn't about to go plowing through there. It was the kind of place that would invite snakes and other animals; I'm not afraid of snakes and other animals by any means, but I definitely respect them and know that they're capable of seriously injuring me or my little Hoo-Dog. I decided to walk out a little farther to see just how far the clutter was spread out. I found a whole lot of old car parts and an old shopping cart, as well as a toaster, the top to a small saucepan, and a broken green laundry basket. Abby still followed faithfully and we strolled through the grasses. At some points, the tallest grasses reached my shoulders. I'm 5'7", so it really was some pretty tall grass. Abby ran along with her nose to the ground until I heard the sound of a car nearby and told her to stop and stand near me. I was scared to death because, well, I thought I was going to get caught for trespassing--and in this area, that could very well involve a shotgun. Gregg's Place is completely abandoned and most of the place I was exploring actually is barn property, but the part I was currently on, er...really wasn't. I crouched in the grass with Abby until I couldn't hear the car, and then I somehow got disoriented.
I should have known that I'd gotten myself turned around when Abby and I came to two massive fallen trees. Abby was able to squeeze under it, but it was well over four feet high and difficult for me to climb over because my hip was hurting. Looking back, I could have just gone around it (The hole where the roots had been was massive!), but I wasn't thinking entirely clearly because I was trying to move quickly. I was impressed by the size of the trees, but I didn't stop to think that, hey, I hadn't seen them before.
We eventually came to the end of the woods, where Abby and I stepped onto a small dirt path. In my head, I thought we were heading toward an asphalt road. I'd never seen the path before and I couldn't see either end of it, so I was very worried. I assumed that one way would lead me to a house and, obviously, deeper into the woods, while one would lead me to a/the road. I figured that as long as I made it to a main road, we'd be okay, even if it wasn't the road I originally intended to reach. While I was standing around and thinking, Abby decided to take off running one way down the dirt road. I hesitated and called to her for a few seconds, afraid that I'd get myself even more lost if I went anywhere without thinking, but quickly decided that I really didn't want to lose her and took off running after her. We ran together for a few minutes until I spotted an asphalt road. I hugged Abby and gave her a good scratch on her back for taking me to the road. I carried her a few hundred feet down the road and finally realized that we were heading back toward the barn. I carried her most of the way back to the barn, mostly when there were cars passing. She's so good about them, but I was still worried. When I finally saw the house and the willow tree and my car and the workshop, I was so happy. We walked back up to the barn and I gave Abby a quick bath because I thought I saw her run through some poison ivy. She wouldn't start to itch, but everyone else who petted her would. I also thought that I'd touched some, so I washed all of my exposed skin with apple-scented doggy shampoo :) We were both soaking wet, so I dragged Abby into the feed room to dry her off. She was absolutely WILD, wanting to romp and play instead of having her coat toweled and her Aussie feathering combed.
After she was all clean, I set up the jump in the arena and we jumped it for a while. I also set out the cones in a weave. Abby wasn't very interested in jumping today, so we didn't go very high. Usually, she can do about four feet, but I didn't want to push her today. I kept the jump between eighteen inches and two feet and covered it with saddle pads as a filler. She took it a couple of times before Jack moseyed over. He wanted to play with us, so I tried to call him over the jump. He ran up to it but chickened out and slammed on his brakes, sending him sliding into the pole. One of the jump standards is broken, so it toppled over when the pole was dislodged. Jack was amazed at what he'd just done, so he took the moment where everything was in a disarray to snatch up one of the cones and run off with it. I chased him around (which is exactly what he wanted) and eventually tricked him into giving me the cone. I put the one cone out of his reach and...he picked up another. We repeated the chase until I could get all of the cones up somewhere where Jack couldn't grab them. His finale was knocking down our jump again and then losing interest and walking off like he hadn't done a thing.
Everyone sat on the porch for a while and talked, and then we went home. I turned out Stella, Tatiana, and Baby Jessie before we went. They all ran around like crazy wild horses, kicking up their heels and a massive cloud of dust. They even coordinated themselves for a while, cantering and galloping in straight lines behind one another, running three abreast, turning simultaneously... It was very nice to watch.
This afternoon was a lot of fun. We have to do hay again tomorrow.
Abby followed me faithfully and led me bravely. She stuck fairly close to my side even though there were so many interesting things to get into. We crossed over logs and jumped over the dry stream bed. We ducked under the vines and thorny plants until we were surrounded by the mass mess of Gregg's Place. The only trouble was, we'd gone to Gregg's Place before when the trees were bare and the trailer was clearly visible. The whole thing was covered in thick green plant material, and I wasn't about to go plowing through there. It was the kind of place that would invite snakes and other animals; I'm not afraid of snakes and other animals by any means, but I definitely respect them and know that they're capable of seriously injuring me or my little Hoo-Dog. I decided to walk out a little farther to see just how far the clutter was spread out. I found a whole lot of old car parts and an old shopping cart, as well as a toaster, the top to a small saucepan, and a broken green laundry basket. Abby still followed faithfully and we strolled through the grasses. At some points, the tallest grasses reached my shoulders. I'm 5'7", so it really was some pretty tall grass. Abby ran along with her nose to the ground until I heard the sound of a car nearby and told her to stop and stand near me. I was scared to death because, well, I thought I was going to get caught for trespassing--and in this area, that could very well involve a shotgun. Gregg's Place is completely abandoned and most of the place I was exploring actually is barn property, but the part I was currently on, er...really wasn't. I crouched in the grass with Abby until I couldn't hear the car, and then I somehow got disoriented.
I should have known that I'd gotten myself turned around when Abby and I came to two massive fallen trees. Abby was able to squeeze under it, but it was well over four feet high and difficult for me to climb over because my hip was hurting. Looking back, I could have just gone around it (The hole where the roots had been was massive!), but I wasn't thinking entirely clearly because I was trying to move quickly. I was impressed by the size of the trees, but I didn't stop to think that, hey, I hadn't seen them before.
We eventually came to the end of the woods, where Abby and I stepped onto a small dirt path. In my head, I thought we were heading toward an asphalt road. I'd never seen the path before and I couldn't see either end of it, so I was very worried. I assumed that one way would lead me to a house and, obviously, deeper into the woods, while one would lead me to a/the road. I figured that as long as I made it to a main road, we'd be okay, even if it wasn't the road I originally intended to reach. While I was standing around and thinking, Abby decided to take off running one way down the dirt road. I hesitated and called to her for a few seconds, afraid that I'd get myself even more lost if I went anywhere without thinking, but quickly decided that I really didn't want to lose her and took off running after her. We ran together for a few minutes until I spotted an asphalt road. I hugged Abby and gave her a good scratch on her back for taking me to the road. I carried her a few hundred feet down the road and finally realized that we were heading back toward the barn. I carried her most of the way back to the barn, mostly when there were cars passing. She's so good about them, but I was still worried. When I finally saw the house and the willow tree and my car and the workshop, I was so happy. We walked back up to the barn and I gave Abby a quick bath because I thought I saw her run through some poison ivy. She wouldn't start to itch, but everyone else who petted her would. I also thought that I'd touched some, so I washed all of my exposed skin with apple-scented doggy shampoo :) We were both soaking wet, so I dragged Abby into the feed room to dry her off. She was absolutely WILD, wanting to romp and play instead of having her coat toweled and her Aussie feathering combed.
After she was all clean, I set up the jump in the arena and we jumped it for a while. I also set out the cones in a weave. Abby wasn't very interested in jumping today, so we didn't go very high. Usually, she can do about four feet, but I didn't want to push her today. I kept the jump between eighteen inches and two feet and covered it with saddle pads as a filler. She took it a couple of times before Jack moseyed over. He wanted to play with us, so I tried to call him over the jump. He ran up to it but chickened out and slammed on his brakes, sending him sliding into the pole. One of the jump standards is broken, so it toppled over when the pole was dislodged. Jack was amazed at what he'd just done, so he took the moment where everything was in a disarray to snatch up one of the cones and run off with it. I chased him around (which is exactly what he wanted) and eventually tricked him into giving me the cone. I put the one cone out of his reach and...he picked up another. We repeated the chase until I could get all of the cones up somewhere where Jack couldn't grab them. His finale was knocking down our jump again and then losing interest and walking off like he hadn't done a thing.
Everyone sat on the porch for a while and talked, and then we went home. I turned out Stella, Tatiana, and Baby Jessie before we went. They all ran around like crazy wild horses, kicking up their heels and a massive cloud of dust. They even coordinated themselves for a while, cantering and galloping in straight lines behind one another, running three abreast, turning simultaneously... It was very nice to watch.
This afternoon was a lot of fun. We have to do hay again tomorrow.
Quarter Horse...Part II
I guess I'll go ahead and finish with my entry about our spectacular adventure at the summer AQHA show.
I guess I should explain the title of the last entry. We woke up at 5:15 AM on Friday morning to get ready and leave for the showgrounds, and we called for a wakeup call the night before. We never trust the alarm clocks in the hotel rooms, after all. So, since I'm the best at waking up early in the morning, I was busy getting dressed and washing up while my mom and sister were lying in bed and shielding their eyes from the bathroom light that I turned on. About five minutes after I initially got out of bed (Everyone else had gotten up by then, too.), there was a loud noise. I instantly knew that it was the fire alarm, so I rushed to put on my shoes and check the door to see if I could go outside. The trip was becoming all too similar to being back at college (We were actually very close to the college, and everyone knows about dorm fire drills...) when suddenly the alarm turned off and silence was restored to the dark halls. I glanced out the window and saw firetrucks in the parking lot, and Anna, Mindy's mom, called our room to ask us if we'd heard it. She said that she woke up and thought it was the wakeup call, haha :) My sister and I were all ready, so we flopped out on the bed and laughed about the thought of the fire sprinklers going off while people are sleeping in their beds. When we went down to the lobby to snatch up some free breakfast, the poor guy who was at the desk told us that someone had tried to go through the fire escape exit to go to the nearby Denny's restaurant. He added that he's on first-name basis with the local fire department because it happens a whole lot. It was so funny.
I wrote about all of my classes and how proud I was of my little girl. She honestly did give me some impressive rides. As far as pleasure goes, we won all of our classes :) I love her so much.
After all of our classes on Saturday, Mindy and I went to a trailer that was selling tack and other horse stuff. Stella lost her nice lavender halter about a week and a half ago, and I still haven't been able to find it. I'd borrowed an old halter from out of the trailer and we were doing fine with that, but I really wanted to get Stella a new halter. Mindy helped me pick out a few that would look really nice on Stella, and then I brought Stella up to the trailer so we could try them on. She usually wears ridiculously small halters, and I ended up getting a purple cob-sized halter for her. It was very inexpensive, but it looks great on her and I think she's happy to have her own halter again. They had some halters like the last one I had for her, but none of them were lavender and I really wanted to get Stella a purple halter. Sometimes I like to say that I've always wanted a girl horse because I can take her "clothes shopping," braid her mane and tail, and even put that glittery hoof polish (Eh, that's crossing the line...) on her without the guilty feeling of emasculating my poor horse. The funny thing is that I can't stand clothes shopping for myself, and I don't overdo the whole personal grooming thing. She's my little girl; I have to spoil her a little :)
On Sunday, I gave Stella a thorough grooming in her stall, put the new halter on her, and took her out to graze. She was SO happy. She loves to hand-graze. She usually likes to cruise around with her nose an inch or so off the ground until she finds the perfect spot, where she'll munch until the good stuff is gone. I think she was very happy to get out and have a nice snack. I remember the first year we took Stella to this show, just weeks before Mac died. I was leading her around while we waited for Larry to get the trailer hitched and ready for the horses. I turned my back while Stella was grazing and tried to get her to follow me as I walked a few feet closer to my mom and sister, who were also holding horses. I felt a small pull in the lead and heard the satisfied "sigh-plunk" of a horse about to roll, and I turned to see Stella taking a nice roll on the grass. She's a character, isn't she? I thought about that a lot while we were grazing in the same spot.
We packed up when everyone else was finished showing, and then we headed out for the ride home. I think Stella was very glad to be back in her own stall. I gave her fresh sawdust, hay, and water. Then, she got her dinner and I went home to have my own dinner. But first we shared kisses and sweet nothings as I thanked her for an amazing four days.
I'm so lucky to have a horse like Stella.
I guess I should explain the title of the last entry. We woke up at 5:15 AM on Friday morning to get ready and leave for the showgrounds, and we called for a wakeup call the night before. We never trust the alarm clocks in the hotel rooms, after all. So, since I'm the best at waking up early in the morning, I was busy getting dressed and washing up while my mom and sister were lying in bed and shielding their eyes from the bathroom light that I turned on. About five minutes after I initially got out of bed (Everyone else had gotten up by then, too.), there was a loud noise. I instantly knew that it was the fire alarm, so I rushed to put on my shoes and check the door to see if I could go outside. The trip was becoming all too similar to being back at college (We were actually very close to the college, and everyone knows about dorm fire drills...) when suddenly the alarm turned off and silence was restored to the dark halls. I glanced out the window and saw firetrucks in the parking lot, and Anna, Mindy's mom, called our room to ask us if we'd heard it. She said that she woke up and thought it was the wakeup call, haha :) My sister and I were all ready, so we flopped out on the bed and laughed about the thought of the fire sprinklers going off while people are sleeping in their beds. When we went down to the lobby to snatch up some free breakfast, the poor guy who was at the desk told us that someone had tried to go through the fire escape exit to go to the nearby Denny's restaurant. He added that he's on first-name basis with the local fire department because it happens a whole lot. It was so funny.
I wrote about all of my classes and how proud I was of my little girl. She honestly did give me some impressive rides. As far as pleasure goes, we won all of our classes :) I love her so much.
After all of our classes on Saturday, Mindy and I went to a trailer that was selling tack and other horse stuff. Stella lost her nice lavender halter about a week and a half ago, and I still haven't been able to find it. I'd borrowed an old halter from out of the trailer and we were doing fine with that, but I really wanted to get Stella a new halter. Mindy helped me pick out a few that would look really nice on Stella, and then I brought Stella up to the trailer so we could try them on. She usually wears ridiculously small halters, and I ended up getting a purple cob-sized halter for her. It was very inexpensive, but it looks great on her and I think she's happy to have her own halter again. They had some halters like the last one I had for her, but none of them were lavender and I really wanted to get Stella a purple halter. Sometimes I like to say that I've always wanted a girl horse because I can take her "clothes shopping," braid her mane and tail, and even put that glittery hoof polish (Eh, that's crossing the line...) on her without the guilty feeling of emasculating my poor horse. The funny thing is that I can't stand clothes shopping for myself, and I don't overdo the whole personal grooming thing. She's my little girl; I have to spoil her a little :)
On Sunday, I gave Stella a thorough grooming in her stall, put the new halter on her, and took her out to graze. She was SO happy. She loves to hand-graze. She usually likes to cruise around with her nose an inch or so off the ground until she finds the perfect spot, where she'll munch until the good stuff is gone. I think she was very happy to get out and have a nice snack. I remember the first year we took Stella to this show, just weeks before Mac died. I was leading her around while we waited for Larry to get the trailer hitched and ready for the horses. I turned my back while Stella was grazing and tried to get her to follow me as I walked a few feet closer to my mom and sister, who were also holding horses. I felt a small pull in the lead and heard the satisfied "sigh-plunk" of a horse about to roll, and I turned to see Stella taking a nice roll on the grass. She's a character, isn't she? I thought about that a lot while we were grazing in the same spot.
We packed up when everyone else was finished showing, and then we headed out for the ride home. I think Stella was very glad to be back in her own stall. I gave her fresh sawdust, hay, and water. Then, she got her dinner and I went home to have my own dinner. But first we shared kisses and sweet nothings as I thanked her for an amazing four days.
I'm so lucky to have a horse like Stella.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
"I'm going to Denny's. Oh...oh, $#!+..."
The quarter horse show was absolutely wonderful. I want to write about everything that happened, but I really need to backtrack to the stuff that we did before the show.
We went to a local show last weekend. Stella was well-behaved for part of the show (including one class), but I was really upset by her behavior in our last two classes. In our equitation class, we were having a great time until we started cantering. Even then, we had a great time...until someone on a very nasty little horse upset Stella by running up behind her and then shoving herself in the tiny space between Stella's haunches and the rail. Stella took off and then had a terrible mare flare right in the middle of the ring. She started acting like she was going to rear, so I got her moving again and we managed to canter a few more strides before the judge called for the reverse. She wasn't the same after that. She threw her head in the air and hollowed out her back, and she even tried to buck while we were trotting. I wasn't very happy with her.
In the next class, I could feel that Stella was ready to do something crazy. I was so right. Stella absolutely EXPLODED. I don't know exactly what she did, but it had the upward force of one of her bronc bucks and felt like she jumped straight off the ground (No, it wasn't a buck.). It completely threw out my hip to the point where I started crying from the pain. I was absolutely and utterly loaded with a cocktail of painkillers even before I started riding, so I shudder to think of what the pain would have been like if I had gone without them. I decided to be really stubborn (read: stupid) and not excuse myself from the class. Instead, I decided that I would go into the center and trot some circles with Stella until the judge called for the lineup. She wasn't terrible after I semi-excused myself, but I was in so much pain and she was just too volatile for me to try to canter her again.
After that class, I was really, really upset. I took her back to the trailer and tied her up while I hunted for some sort of pain reliever that wouldn't conflict with everything else I'd already taken. After I'd taken a dose of ibuprofen, I longed Stella again in the schooling ring. I made her work enough to get her calmed down, and then I jumped on her for a short ride. She was quite good for me. I wasn't in as much pain, but I still didn't ride for a long time. I was actually really proud of her. Someone even commented on the dramatic change. As I was leading her back to the trailer, Angie, our vet (who would really like to buy Stella from Larry but probably won't do it because she knows just how much Stella means to me--she was the one who ended Mac's life, after all), came over to me and said that I handled the last class really well and that she would've done the exact same thing. She told me that it looked like Stella had been jabbed hard in the belly with spurs, but she knew that was impossible because I wasn't wearing spurs and would never do that even if I did have them on. She also told me that there was a horse in the class who seemed to upset all of the others, and that particularly nasty horse was near Stella both times that she erupted, as well as near another horse who had a "tantrum" in the class. That's something interesting to think about...
At that show, I also judged the therapeutic riding classes. My old riding instructor, Nancy, called Larry and asked if I would help her out. I was glad to do it because I love the therapeutic riding school and love to help them out whenever I can. The kids were great, and they were having so much fun. I was supposed to judge the classes on equitation, so I mostly looked for a relaxed, balanced, safe seat. It was nice to see Nancy again, and I got some experience as an actual judge instead of just a ring steward.
And now back to the show.
Stella proved to me that she is the most unpredictable horse I've ever worked with. She was...wonderful. Sometimes I think she has all of her little "mare flares" at shows because I get nervous or something. Honestly, though, I never feel nervous at all until AFTER she does something, so I can't be the cause of it. When we got to the showgrounds, I unloaded her and put her into her stall. She whinnied to the other horses for a few minutes, but then she settled down with some hay and water. She usually runs circles in the stall all night when we go to shows like this one, but she was pretty calm in just a few minutes. We fed the horses and took care of them before taking them out for a ride. I longed Stella in the big arena and then walked her around the rail up to all of the spooky things. She used to be afraid of the show office, announcer's booths, and a trash can that was in one corner of the arena. She didn't spook at anything, and I took her back to the barn to tack her up. We went out and had a lovely ride together. I was so proud of her. That night, I bathed her and got her ready for our classes on Friday. We went to dinner at Denny's late that night after we'd finished at the barn. The restaurant was right beside our hotel (hahaha, more on that later) and it was open at the hours we were able to go and eat. We had a great meal and then put the horses and ourselves to bed.
The hotel was great. For the past few years, we'd been staying in one hotel, but we decided against it this year because of a little "incident," courtesy of our intoxicated neighbors, that made our first night absolutely miserable. It was pet-friendly, had an indoor pool, and very nice on the inside of the rooms. The beds were amazingly comfortable. They were much higher off the ground than normal beds (I'm glad I fell off the bed last year instead of this one :P) and it was a little surprising to slide that extra six inches or so to the floor first thing each morning.
The pool was also great. We went swimming and sat in the hot tub for the last two nights. The warm water of the hot tub helped relax my stiff muscles, while swimming helped me stretch and allowed me to be weightless and take the strain off of my joints for a while.
On Friday, I took Stella out for showmanship. I personally think our patterns were very good, but we didn't place. She's still a little slow with her pivot compared to the other horses. She also halted slightly crooked when we started the inspection, but I was worried about correcting it because I'm sure the problem would've just gotten worse if I messed with her too much. We did walk-trot after that, and she was very, very good. She moved out like the huge 17-hand hunters that towered over us (Stella isn't a "trendy" hunter, but I like to fit my horse...), rounded herself up, came onto the vertical, and gave me an impressive go. I was so proud.
On Saturday, we did showmanship again. We got 3rd out of 5 under one judge, and 4th under another. I still thought our patterns were really good. The small trotting circle screwed over a couple of horses in the pattern, but Stella handled it perfectly. After that, I tacked Stella up and schooled her before our riding classes. Once again, she was great. The one thing that distracted her was a truck driving around a nearby arena to pick up some jumps. She was interested in the jumps as well as the noisy truck. She didn't spook, but she really wanted to look and see what was going on. In the walk-trot class, Stella worked very well. The judges asked us to extend the trot. Stella didn't quite extend; she really just quickened her pace a little. At home, I can get her to extend her walk and canter, but I'm having some difficulty in getting some real extension of her trot.
I've really got to finish this tomorrow. I'm tired...
We went to a local show last weekend. Stella was well-behaved for part of the show (including one class), but I was really upset by her behavior in our last two classes. In our equitation class, we were having a great time until we started cantering. Even then, we had a great time...until someone on a very nasty little horse upset Stella by running up behind her and then shoving herself in the tiny space between Stella's haunches and the rail. Stella took off and then had a terrible mare flare right in the middle of the ring. She started acting like she was going to rear, so I got her moving again and we managed to canter a few more strides before the judge called for the reverse. She wasn't the same after that. She threw her head in the air and hollowed out her back, and she even tried to buck while we were trotting. I wasn't very happy with her.
In the next class, I could feel that Stella was ready to do something crazy. I was so right. Stella absolutely EXPLODED. I don't know exactly what she did, but it had the upward force of one of her bronc bucks and felt like she jumped straight off the ground (No, it wasn't a buck.). It completely threw out my hip to the point where I started crying from the pain. I was absolutely and utterly loaded with a cocktail of painkillers even before I started riding, so I shudder to think of what the pain would have been like if I had gone without them. I decided to be really stubborn (read: stupid) and not excuse myself from the class. Instead, I decided that I would go into the center and trot some circles with Stella until the judge called for the lineup. She wasn't terrible after I semi-excused myself, but I was in so much pain and she was just too volatile for me to try to canter her again.
After that class, I was really, really upset. I took her back to the trailer and tied her up while I hunted for some sort of pain reliever that wouldn't conflict with everything else I'd already taken. After I'd taken a dose of ibuprofen, I longed Stella again in the schooling ring. I made her work enough to get her calmed down, and then I jumped on her for a short ride. She was quite good for me. I wasn't in as much pain, but I still didn't ride for a long time. I was actually really proud of her. Someone even commented on the dramatic change. As I was leading her back to the trailer, Angie, our vet (who would really like to buy Stella from Larry but probably won't do it because she knows just how much Stella means to me--she was the one who ended Mac's life, after all), came over to me and said that I handled the last class really well and that she would've done the exact same thing. She told me that it looked like Stella had been jabbed hard in the belly with spurs, but she knew that was impossible because I wasn't wearing spurs and would never do that even if I did have them on. She also told me that there was a horse in the class who seemed to upset all of the others, and that particularly nasty horse was near Stella both times that she erupted, as well as near another horse who had a "tantrum" in the class. That's something interesting to think about...
At that show, I also judged the therapeutic riding classes. My old riding instructor, Nancy, called Larry and asked if I would help her out. I was glad to do it because I love the therapeutic riding school and love to help them out whenever I can. The kids were great, and they were having so much fun. I was supposed to judge the classes on equitation, so I mostly looked for a relaxed, balanced, safe seat. It was nice to see Nancy again, and I got some experience as an actual judge instead of just a ring steward.
And now back to the show.
Stella proved to me that she is the most unpredictable horse I've ever worked with. She was...wonderful. Sometimes I think she has all of her little "mare flares" at shows because I get nervous or something. Honestly, though, I never feel nervous at all until AFTER she does something, so I can't be the cause of it. When we got to the showgrounds, I unloaded her and put her into her stall. She whinnied to the other horses for a few minutes, but then she settled down with some hay and water. She usually runs circles in the stall all night when we go to shows like this one, but she was pretty calm in just a few minutes. We fed the horses and took care of them before taking them out for a ride. I longed Stella in the big arena and then walked her around the rail up to all of the spooky things. She used to be afraid of the show office, announcer's booths, and a trash can that was in one corner of the arena. She didn't spook at anything, and I took her back to the barn to tack her up. We went out and had a lovely ride together. I was so proud of her. That night, I bathed her and got her ready for our classes on Friday. We went to dinner at Denny's late that night after we'd finished at the barn. The restaurant was right beside our hotel (hahaha, more on that later) and it was open at the hours we were able to go and eat. We had a great meal and then put the horses and ourselves to bed.
The hotel was great. For the past few years, we'd been staying in one hotel, but we decided against it this year because of a little "incident," courtesy of our intoxicated neighbors, that made our first night absolutely miserable. It was pet-friendly, had an indoor pool, and very nice on the inside of the rooms. The beds were amazingly comfortable. They were much higher off the ground than normal beds (I'm glad I fell off the bed last year instead of this one :P) and it was a little surprising to slide that extra six inches or so to the floor first thing each morning.
The pool was also great. We went swimming and sat in the hot tub for the last two nights. The warm water of the hot tub helped relax my stiff muscles, while swimming helped me stretch and allowed me to be weightless and take the strain off of my joints for a while.
On Friday, I took Stella out for showmanship. I personally think our patterns were very good, but we didn't place. She's still a little slow with her pivot compared to the other horses. She also halted slightly crooked when we started the inspection, but I was worried about correcting it because I'm sure the problem would've just gotten worse if I messed with her too much. We did walk-trot after that, and she was very, very good. She moved out like the huge 17-hand hunters that towered over us (Stella isn't a "trendy" hunter, but I like to fit my horse...), rounded herself up, came onto the vertical, and gave me an impressive go. I was so proud.
On Saturday, we did showmanship again. We got 3rd out of 5 under one judge, and 4th under another. I still thought our patterns were really good. The small trotting circle screwed over a couple of horses in the pattern, but Stella handled it perfectly. After that, I tacked Stella up and schooled her before our riding classes. Once again, she was great. The one thing that distracted her was a truck driving around a nearby arena to pick up some jumps. She was interested in the jumps as well as the noisy truck. She didn't spook, but she really wanted to look and see what was going on. In the walk-trot class, Stella worked very well. The judges asked us to extend the trot. Stella didn't quite extend; she really just quickened her pace a little. At home, I can get her to extend her walk and canter, but I'm having some difficulty in getting some real extension of her trot.
I've really got to finish this tomorrow. I'm tired...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
