Another XC Schooling... BIG News!

There will be video to come, of course...  Once it is downloaded and edited...


In the meantime, there are some pics to wet your appetite...


First, there was this obligatory selfie before heading out to school....

Me, Fancy Pony, Baby Dax, and A

There was some practice over a few Novice jumps (and, to be honest, they didn't feel any different than the BN jumps).

A made the observation that Whisper jumps differently over the Novice fences.  Like, she actually puts in an effort.

Except maybe for this one...

The Novice Wall

...and maybe the mushroom top....

But there was this one...  And it felt incredible!

Then, later, we were hanging out next to it when I realized......

This thing is bigger than I thought!!


Boathouse after the water

Same boathouse...  I'm 5'6"...

Now, had I realized the thing was quite this big, I would NEVER have asked the pony to attempt it!

On the other hand, we would come around the corner, and she kept looking at these jumps with interest.  She was feeling so forward, willing, and cooperative, we decided to give it a shot!

She was committed as soon as we were out of the water!  It was incredible!

Pretty sure we'll be trying this again...

Are You CRAZY??

Yes.
The Fancy Pony is crazy.
And it's pretty darn funny...


So, C takes care of the ponies, and she is incredibly amazing!
She has this system down when she feeds the herd dinner.
She puts her pony's feed up in the round pen.
She then lets only him into that field, refastens the electric tape, and closes him in once he has meandered his way into the round pen.


Well, Whisper would usually be next in line to start eating.
So, she's videotaping the ho-hum dinner routine.  Fastens the electric tape.
Starts following her pony up to the round pen...


THEN, there is this bump and all you see id a flash of white legs!
It turns out that Whisper didn't want to wait for her turn.
So, she just JUMPED the electric tape to follow C up to the feed room!!

3'6" ?  No problem!

This mare is crazy!

That's my kind of crazy, too!

I see new and exciting jumps in our future...

Foxhunting, anyone?

Take A Ride On The FANCY PONY!

Please enjoy riding along with us on a cross-country schooling adventure!

Link: http://youtu.be/8Tofs2sPpzc

What To Eat At A Horse Show?

I felt compelled to cross-post this one...

I constantly wonder how I can eat better at a horse show.

My horse show fare used to look something like this:
Breakfast - Lamar's Donuts (it was kind of a tradition!)
Lunch - hotdog, chips, and pop from the concession stand
Dinner - wherever we went out to eat once the day was done...

Dehydration was a constant companion!

This did NOT support my performance!!

So, what do I do now? How can I eat better?

WATER!!
The first change I made was to fill a large water bottle, keep it near me at almost all times, and drink from it EVERY time I check my horse's water, head to warm up, or come out of a class.
If you have a groom, hand them your water bottle and give them explicit instruction: "Make sure I'm constantly drinking this water!"

I added HUMAN food planning to my show prep list. I mean, no one forgets hay and horse feed... But, I always ended up at the show grounds with nothing to nourish myself!

I started planning travel-friendly meals. For single-day shows, I'd make up a batch of breakfast burritos to share with the whole crew instead of buying donuts. They packed well in large, flat tupperware and retained heat long enough to get to the barn. I wraped them individually in papertowels to keep them from sticking together.

A power-breakfast was a great start for me!

I'd like to share my current meal-plan for eating away from home.
I am NOT a nutritionist (not yet, at least).
However, I strive for balanced nutrition and minimal processing. I know there are places I will fall short, and that's OK. I hope you get value from this meal plan!

THE MEALS

BREAKFAST:
Shakeology - with almond/coconut milk, ice, peanut butter, and spinach

SECOND BREAKFAST:
Banana
2 Hard-Boiled eggs
Cheddar cheese stick
Baby Carrots

LUNCH:
Veggie Wrap (with mixed greens, broccoli, and carrots)
or
Turkey Wrap (with mixed greens and cheese)

SNACK:
Diced Melon (or Strawberries, or Pineapple)
No-Bake Energy Bites

DINNER:
Grilled Chicken Salad

In my next post, I'll share my personal touches on each of the recipes and how I make them work for me!

What do you eat when you're away from home?

Please share with me in the comments!

Quick and Dirty

Stuffs is happening, and I'm not making the time I need to sit down and write!!

Baby Dax jumped 2'6" with A in their last lesson, and it was so lovely!  The were both looking confident and comfortable.  It makes me so excited!!

Saturday morning, we made plans to ride before the heat set in.  Instead, a thuderstorm moved in...
So, we bit the bullet and met at the barn anyway.  As soon as the storm cleared, we tacked up.  With the arena a mess, we just headed down the road to see what we could find!
We had the loveliest road ride and found some tracks that could work nicely for conditioning!
It rained on us at least twice, and Baby Dax and Fancy Pony were less than impressed when the rain was pelting in our faces while A and I said, "Carry on anyway!"

Plans were hatched for some endurance riding...

Pony Spa Day happened afterward, where we got rained on at least 3 more times while also experiencing a chunk of muggy heat somewhere in the middle.

Media from cross-country schooling has made it from the card to the computer and now must be edited so that it can be posted to the internet!
...bad blogger I am...

The Short Story

Coach put us through our Paces over the weekend.
It was our first XC schooling since LAST YEAR!!

Seriously, where does the time go??

I knew as we went over our first jump that the Fancy Pony was ON.
She felt forward, brave, and biddable!  Not the slightest hesitation!
We ran through all the beginner novice stuff and only did a few novice jumps.  Coach wanted to be very careful not to undermine her confidence since she was doing so well.

We jumped some new jumps we had never seen before!  I just pointed and she went!  It felt.... EASY!

At the end of our practice, after we hopped over the BN stone wall, she was still feeling so incredible and full of steam.  I couldn't resist.  Coach wasn't there to ask, so I took it upon myself to circle around and take the Novice stone wall and call it a day.

Of course, the Brave Fancy Pony gobbled it up and kept on trucking - looking for the next challenge!

Sunday, we completed the Beginner Novice horse trial with some personal bests!
We brought home a hard won 6th place, and I couldn't be prouder!

double clean in stadium - could have cut the turns even more, if I'd wanted to...

Pictures, video, and gopro footage to come!!

Single Steps...

So, the Fancy Pony and I have gone back to DRESSAGE SCHOOL.
According to our tests, she needs more submission and to "accept the bridle."

So, with some direction from Coach, we've addressed it.  And we keep practicing.

I focus on stabilizing my lats (Latissimus dorsi) in order to establish boundaries without pulling back with my hand.
...and to prevent me giving before she does...

She can be sassy about it, sometimes.  However, she is beginning to accept a little more direction.
We have been playing the transition game.
She can count to 10.
She can count to 5.

I changed the game.  She had to maintain that perfect trot for 5 *and* maintain the contact for the transition to happen.
She became sassy again.
Then, she figured out the rules and things became fun.

We started to dance!

I played with positioning.
Shoulder in at the walk.
Maintain the shoulder in positioning for 5 trot strides.
Transition back to the walk while maintaining the shoulder in position.

Free walk break.

Trot.  Just trot.  Just trot and maintain.  Just dance with me!
Canter!
Trot.
Canter 5 strides.
Trot 5 strides.
Canter 5 strides.

Trot.
Trot bigger!
trot fancier!
Trot littler.
Shoulder in.
Straighten out.
Trot like it's fun.
Turn on the quarter line.
Leg tield on step.
Straight.
leg yield 2 steps.
straight.
party trot!

Walk it out.

Gather the walk together.
Find the connection.
Shoulder in position.
Take one step off the rail.
(what do you mean?)
Just one step.
No, keep the shoulder in position.
(You mean canter like this?)
No, no.  Just take a deep breath.
Shoulder in position.
One step.  Outside hind across inside hind.
(like this?)
Exactly like that!
Take a good long walk break.

Other side.
Shoulder in.
One step.
(canter!)
Not exactly, but thank you for trying something!
Walk.
Bend the ribs.
One step.
(shoulder in more!!)
Nope.  Nice try.
And one last time.
Bend.
Shoulder in.
One step.
(I know this can't be right, but I'm doing it anyway)
That's EXACTLY right!!
More walk.
Lots of walk.

We played in the basic gaits a little more and called it one hell of a workout!