Hunter Pace!

We survived!!!

I feel like a great weight has been removed from my shoulders. There is nothing quite like bringing a green horse to an event to make you  feel  some pressure.

I left UK in last night so his legs would be dry for this morning. Jean and I met at the barn for six-thirty-ish and grained all the critters. I'd packed everything on the trailer the night before, so I didn't need to do much. I brushed UK and then turned him out on the grass while Gail hooked up her trailer and positioned it for us to load.

Chilling while we wait for our turn.

After Bubba and Rebel were on it was UK's turn. He wasn't sure how he felt about a slant load, but after some encouragement he got on and settled in for the ride.

We arrived at the pace with some time to spare. We walked down to get our number and lunch tickets, and were informed that we could take our time if we needed (this made Jean relax quite a bit!). This ended up being a very good thing, as a horse in the trailer next to us had managed to get it's hind leg stuck over the divider. I lent a leadrope, Gail provided a jack and other people did what they could. The mare had bitten her tongue so her mouth was bloody, luckily that seemed to have been the worst of it one they got her off. 

UK ready to unload.

Once that horror was taken care of we unloaded our horses. Stef was with us to help and watch the pace, so with her assistance all three of us got tacked up and mounted. As soon as I got on UK I could feel all the tension and excitement coursing through his veins. He then tried to do some hops and spins, but I was having none of it. We started down the road towards the start gate when Jean asked where our number was. Oops! I'd completely forgotten to put it on after the hoopla with the horse stuck in the trailer. Stef came to my rescue and I managed to get the number on just in time. 

We were then informed that the first jump was the photo jump. Jean and I both expressed our disapproval loudly before leaving the start gate. We walked. Bubba hadn't been completely sound so we wanted to take it easy (we were signed up for the hack division anyways) and I also didn't want to give UK the opportunity to misbehave. He was completely prepared to jump the photo jump when he saw another group of horses. He was so distracted and disconcerted by them that I was forced to just ride on without jumping the photo jump. :(

For the next half hour or so I had to use every ounce of skill I had to stay on my horse. Other teams would come flying up behind us without calling out first and UK hated that. Bucking, spinning, small rears, bunny hops, you name it he probably did it. I was more then a little annoyed at these people. If you're going to pass or overtake another group of horses you not only announce your presence but you tell them how you're going to pass them. Not gallop up their asses and then pass by inches away. At one point I snapped at a group of approaching riders as UK did a rather impressive series of levades followed by some spinning, "CALL OUT BEFORE YOU COME UP ON A GREEN HORSE!!!" I really thought I was coming off during one UK's worse fits, and pulled a muscle in my ass thanks to my attempts to stay with the bucking bronco. Meanwhile Bubba continued to be the fantastic rock that he is, and helped calm UK between groups of horses. 

Then came the water crossings. As long as UK didn't have to go first he was ready to do it, albeit reluctantly. With every crossing he got a little braver, and a little more confident that he wouldn't drown if he got his feet wet. We crossed everything from small trickles of water to rivers ten feet across and at least eight inches deep. The further we got into the course, the calmer UK got. I took most of the go-arounds, as the footing was wet and slick. We did however jump the small coops that were scattered throughout the course when the footing was okay. He'd never jumped a coop before, we had one stop because he wasn't paying attention but after that he was a champ. 

At the halfway point Gail decided to retire Bubba who was getting a little too tired. Jean and I continued on without her and took advantage of the better footing in the higher fields. We finally got to do some real canter and a decent amount of trot. The view was amazing, the sun had come out and there was a slight wind. It was perfect riding weather. We had a few more hiccups (including one caused by a cyclist flying up behind us on the road) but overall UK was a champ. He even lead through some deep mud and across some water before we got to the finish. 

I really wanted to jump UK more, but both the take off and landing points at the jumps were more then a bit treacherous. UK is pretty good at being careful in bad footing, but I wanted to have him feel safe and not have anything horrifying happen. We were aiming for a positive experience for him, so he'd want to do this again. So I didn't jump much at all. Hopefully next year it won't be quite so muddy. 

I really wanted to jump this one, but the mud on the landing was very deep.

We cantered the last little bit home, with UK in the lead and Rebel happy that it was almost over. We untacked and brushed our muddy-sweaty beasts. I even managed to find a hose to hose his legs off after going for a little walk. We loaded the horses and then went to get our lunches. 

A tired but happy UK.

UK was exhausted mentally, but amazingly he had tons more physical energy. All our long trail rides, muscle building and trot work had really paid off. After a ten and a half mile hunter pace he could have done a lot more if I asked it of him. 

In between his little meltdowns he was a superstar. He could jump and then halt if I asked. We could to a nice forward canter/hand gallop and when I asked him to lengthen or shorten he did. I was able to stay off his back and out of his way but still be there for him when he needed me. There was a few minutes while hand galloping through a field that felt like I was riding cross country somewhere. We had a fantastic rhythm and balance, and it felt like we could go on like that forever.

Over all I'm very proud of my boy. He wasn't perfect. He was in fact quite the opposite of perfect but he tried to be good. He didn't do anything dirty on purpose and he put his trust in me and did things he'd never done before. Even though he want to go at all times he kept walking calmly, and even on a long rein, when I asked him. 

I'll give him tomorrow off, but ride him Tuesday to make sure he recovered okay.

I'm going to go to bed now! I'm all cut up from multiple encounters with thorny branches, and that muscle in my rear end needs to rest. 

Living in New England can be a bit hard.

So UK had a light week leading up to Holloween as I was away Thursday and Friday. Saturday dawned cold and brisk and then 15 to 20 inches of snow dropped on Connecticut. Other New England states got hit as well but not quite as hard as Connecticut. UK was wrapped up in a blanket and sharing a shed with Ethan, so he had it easy. The humans didn't have it quite so good.

100% of my county was out of power by the end of Saturday, and the rest of the state didn't fare much better. Trees, wires and telephone poles were down everywhere. Sunday was bright and sunny, but no one really noticed as they were too busy trying to dig out of the white stuff. I was actually stuck without a car for a couple of days so I couldn't even check on UK, but luckily Sally had him covered for me.

The week slowly warmed up and the snow started to melt. Everything was snow and puddles and mud. It was just gross. The ring was a frozen mess, so I rode UK up and down the driveway on Thursday and even made down the road a little bit so we could walk around a field owned by the state.

Then Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today we trail rode with Jean. Friday she rode Rebel and the rest of the time she rode Maggie. At first we tried going down the trails but weren't able to get very far thanks to all the downed trees. We bushwhacked a little and I found out UK likes being an equine battering ram. So Saturday Jean and I decided to ride down the road and had a nice three and a half mile walk to survey the damage on the nearby streets. UK kept his cool over bridges, past barking dogs and when people flew by us in their cars.

A combined effort of some of the guys from our barn and a couple other people who use the trails made it so Jean and I were able to ride the majority of the main trail again yesterday and today. We even jumped a one of the downed trees before it got cut!

UK still throws his temper tantrums when we go down the trails, but they disappear when we go somewhere new. He's a little too smart for his own good. I think I'm going to have to get bigger spurs because as he gets stronger and fuzzier my little prince of wales become less effective when he misbehaves.

Tomorrow I hope to ride him in the ring and give him a little refresher in moving off of my leg, as it should be thawed enough.

Oh! I almost forgot. The hunter pace got postponed to the 20th of this month, thanks to Winter Storm Alfred. So I have more time to get his giant ego-ness ready. ;)

Another major milestone passed!

UK jumped his first real course earlier this evening! It's the first time he's had more then a line to do in one go.
We had an outside line, two jumps on separate diagonal lines, and a jump on the other outside line with the plank rails he hated so much that he refused to jump them if they were more then six inches off the ground until now.

We did a couple of different courses and didn't have any major problems. He even did a bending line! All of the jumps were 2'3" or 2'6" and he jumped them all like they were no big deal. I also didn't do much more then set the pace and let him figure out the rest on his own. That's when he really impressed me! He never took the big one!!!! He waited and balanced himself with no cue from me!!! I am so proud!

He's still a little bit wiggly down the lines, but otherwise he's improved by miles these last couple of months. I can angle the jump and he doesn't care. Our only problems stemmed from landing on the wrong lead and not wanting to slow down to do a simple change because he was so excited about jumping. Which means I need to start teaching him flying changes.... argh. I hate flying changes.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get him out in the back field to jump the jumps out there. I need to where the spurs for that though, which means I need new spur straps. I broke the buckle on one this afternoon.

Oh and we're doing a hunter pace weekend after next! No turning back now! I'm nervous and excited and totally over-thinking it. But we'll be fine, we're going with Jean on Maggie and Gail on Bubba. A bomb could go off next to Bubba and he wouldn't care.

Okay, need some sleep! Toodles!

Trail Ride Tuesday

So I got to go trail riding on Tuesday (it's been raining ever since). I brought my sister-in-law along and let her ride Jet who belongs to a friend of mine. A bomb could go off next to Jet and he wouldn't care. My friend does cowboy mounted shooting on him.

Anyhoo, UK is green as all heck when it comes to trail riding. He gets bored and starts being an asshole, and so I need the other horse with us to just ignore his antics. My SIL had her hip broken two years ago by a nasty horse and is still recovering, so I wanted this to be a positive experience for her.

UK and Jet say hi.

I tacked up western, put on my big spurs and used a jury rigged tie down made out of a rope halter, some snaps and a leather strap on UK (my real tie down is being repaired as a dog ate part of it). We put on high visability vests as it's hunting season and hit the trail.

Amy enjoying herself.

My barn is smack dab in the middle of a huge wildlife management area. So just and 1/8 mile down from our driveway is the main trail head. UK was an ass a few times, but when Jet didn't react and I used my spurs he gave in a little. Once we were a mile or two away from home he stopped thinking about being a brat and started to enjoy being were we were.

We had a blast. The weather was beautiful and no one else was out, so we had the trails to ourselves. UK was a rockstar by the end, even leading through the water on the way back (he hates getting his pretty little toes wet).

The overlook at the dam.

I can't wait to get out again once it stops raining and dries up a bit. We're going to be attempting his first hunter pace next month. I am equal parts excited and scared.

Well we haven't floated away yet.

The lack of updates is due mostly to the weeks of rain we've been getting. We're stuck in a constant state of muddy despair. So much for fall being crisp and clear...

UK got ridden twice last week, and it was bootcamp due to him pulling some attitude while trying to go on a trailride. I'll just suffice it to say that what should have been a 40 minute ride was forced to be over 2 hours. He wasn't scared, he was just being a rebellious ass.

Oh and then thanks to the mud he pulled a front shoe again, but I'm not going to bother to call the farrier out till things dry up a bit. He's got an easy boot on the foot for the moment, so he'll be fine.

It's cold, wet and grey out almost constantly. UK is snug in his shed with a turnout sheet on, as he started to loose weight again due to his wussy nature and the cold nights. For a horse born in upstate NY he sure doesn't handle cold weather well!

Apologies!

I know I haven't been good about updating lately. I'm really sorry! Things have been busy!

Last weekend my sister-in-law came up to ride again. This time she rode first and then I hopped on to take UK over a few jumps.

I'm still not back in shape, but both UK and I are improving. Oh what I'd give to have the body I had five years ago with the skill set I have now!

UK's had it pretty light this week as my ankle decided to give out on me. I'm hoping to ride tomorrow, weather permitting!

Dressage practice and corners!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I sort of married into a dressage family. Both my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law do dressage. Then Betsy who owned the barn where I had UK before was a dressage rider, as well as my friend Kristy who owns Dacharia. I felt a bit outnumber to be honest, as I have always considered myself a huntseat/equitation rider.

Anyways, the reason I'm pointing this out is when it comes to dressage as a sport I'm really rather clueless. I can watch and evaluate just fine, as I know a lot of dressage as flatwork, but competing in dressage is a whole other ball game. I did drill team and I know where the basic dressage letters are, but other then that I'm just not up to par. Considering I want to event with UK, I really need to learn how to do a dressage test. So I asked my sister-in-law, Amy, to come to the barn last Saturday and give me some help.

We never got around to practicing an actual test because it dawned on me that I didn't know exactly how big a 20 meter circle was. So we mostly practiced those after warming UK up. Plus I didn't want him too tired because Amy was going to ride him for a little bit after me.

The other big change was I decided to ride in spurs. UK actually didn't seem to mind them, and was much more willing to listen to the spurs then listen to a crop/whip. He's a lot of work on flat, he really needs leg every step of the trot and canter. He's very responsive but tends to want to suck back more then move forward because of his western training as a baby. And as I'm still not exactly at peak physical condition I could use the extra help.

UK has no trouble tracking forward, which is why we now use bell boots.

Look at the muscles!

Amy getting a lovely working trot from UK.

UK's still weaker to the right, but he has improved. We can go straight without dropping our shoulder now, and even have a fairly balanced circle if I give him lots of help. All the bending and stretching has done wonders for his confidence. He's much more willing to try new things because he knows he's stronger now.

Amy finished her ride on him by trotting over some poles someone left in the ring.

So I lunged UK on tuesday and ended up lunging him over a jump as well. It wasn't a regular jump either, it was a corner! Using two barrels, I lay them down and put a pole on each end, then had the poles resting on safety cones so it all made a triangle. I let UK take a good look at it and then asked him to trot it. He did it every time, and never tried to run out! In fact he was enjoying himself so much he kept jumping the widest part, clearing it by at least a foot. After that display I decided that purchasing a neck strap might be a very good idea.

It rained for three days straight, so he got them off to chill in his shed with LD. The rain stopped yesterday afternoon, finally, and I went up to ride. He didn't have a whole lot of energy so I just flatted him lightly, and then decided to jump the crossrail that someone had left up in the ring. My corner jump hadn't fallen down, so I asked him to jump it tracking right (I always start out jumping off his bad direction as it gives him confidence). He did it great! We trotted it again, and then cantered it a couple times, switched directions and did it off the left just as well! I was able to point him right at the end of it and he never tried to run out. I'm ridiculously proud of my little paint horse!

I hope to do some more jumping with him tomorrow!