He arrived early

The Easter Bunny that is!

The cutest Easter Bunny ever!

Here is a classic "Does my butt look big?" pose!

The pony was super good today! I am sad to leave him for so long, our longest apart since I have had him! But am way super duper excited to leave also!

Well that was terrible!

Last night my mom and I went to the Equine Expos opening Extravaganza. We were completely dissapointed. The most entertaining thing of the night was when a magician (no idea why he was there, the whole thing was super strange)  got pooped on by a bird, I lost it. I was cracking up and couldnt stop! No one even told him and he kept on doing his magic trick with a huge white streak across his black hat (he is lucky he was wearing a hat!)! Anyways when we got there they were just starting a Western Vs. Dressage thing with a little quarter horse stud as the reiner and a Frisian stud as the dressage dude. It was bad. Unplanned and the Frisian stud was plain freaked out. The most impressive thing he did was trot in a straight line because the other times he was scooting sideways and spooking. Then there was a drill team. Once again not entertaining it wasnt a fast paced fun looking one. Then there was a interesting theater performance called If Wishes Were Horses. Wow. That is all I could say! I couldnt follow it. They had a wizard dude tell a story then a couple girls came out on Andalusions and Friesens but not many of them were liking riding in the dark and were freaking out. One horse tried to dump its rider like 5 times! The whole thing was super strange and I was very unimpressed! At least today is all about shopping!

Snow in March?

Yes that would be here in beautiful crazy Oregon. We have had like 7 inches of snow in two days. Here is a little snow picture of Sky today! She potentially has someone interested in her pending what the ladies vet says and how a vet check goes if we make it that far. We will see, im not holding my breath though.

Mystic pony has a lesson with Teacher Mary tonight! He has been super good recently so hopefully he keeps it up for tonight. I leave on Sunday for Florida so he will have a nice long vacation. Im sure when I come back we will have taken like 5 steps backwards but luckily he gets it all back pretty quickly and we will hopefully have our mojo back in time for our show on the 14th!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from today, and some of Mystic pony right before we left for the show last weekend that I forgot I took! I need to get a picture of him with new breast plate on because it is adorable!

The cutest pony ever:

Not happy we me at all! He says NO MORE pictures/baths/braiding!

Mystic pony won this picture frame at the show!

Sky:

Enjoying being outside!

She got her own pink shoulder guard so she doesnt have to borrow Mystics blue one :)

The puppies:

How can you not love that face? That face has clearly worked well since he has had a full hip replacement and just had a TPLO knee surgery last summer

New agility star in the making :)

My boys :)

Where has time gone??

Wow... looking back on the last week since coming back from the show on Saturday of last weekend I have ridden the pony twice. As in 2 times in a whole week. What is wrong with this picture?! I have him Sunday/Monday off on purpose, rode him Tuesday, Wednesday  he had off, rode him Thursday, got called into work all day Friday and had to get ready for the Canby Tack sale after work, then today I woke up at 4:50 am to head up to Canby for the tack sale (he got a breast collar for his jump saddle..super cute!) and didnt get back till 4 which by then I was ready to pass out in my bed. Considering this is show season and we have lots and lots of work to do I should probably get going! The other thing is that even if I work him all this week I leave for Florida Sunday night (the 25th) and dont get back till April 3rd. So there is another almost week and a half off :/ Definitely NOT complaining about the trip to Florida though. I am way super excited for it! I cannot wait! Hopefully I can con my mom into at least going out and fixing his fair a couple times and hosing his muddy legs off so he doesnt get super gross. Once I get back we will have a week and a half till our next show. I have a feeling we will be cramming as much riding time into that time as possible. Im sure he isnt complaining one bit about his mini vacation but now I know that if things dont go as well at the show it is my fault (it is always my fault with him!).
On a good note he was really very good for the most part the couple times I rode him this week! His leg yields are getting better. He kept trying to lead with his haunches which is weird because he hasnt been and at the show we got that his haunches were lagging to far.  Clearly it is just me and how I ride him to each one, im probably confusing the heck out of him!

I will send my entry in for the show this week. We are sticking with First Level test 1 and First Level test 2 again. Then in May, at the OSU Dressage Team show, we will brave First Level test 3 since we will have to ride that one at Championships (which he only needs 1 more qualifying score for!!!!!!!). The thing I really, really like about Championships is that you only ride one test a day. So one day we will ride First Level test 2 and the next we will ride First Level test 3. I feel like that is the best way to get two solid tests out of him. He is always good even in the second tests of one day but his fuel tank is definitely on empty so we dont get as good of work as we could. Also it will allow us more warm up time prior to the tests since we wont have to worry about wearing them out. At the last show warm up was a huge issue for us as we couldnt school any lengthenings or leg yields before going into the show ring. And we need to practice both beforehand to get anything decent out of him! The good thing about him (amoung everything else perfect about him that is) is that I dont have to worry about him having a week off and being a complete idiot at the show. He will be heavier in the bridle and not as supple, especially to the right, for the first few rides but that is it. So luckily I am not worried about the show at all. He is a solid guy all around :)

Dressage for the Ages Show

What a day! Things just seemed to line up for all of us. The weather held up and didnt rain, like it was supposed to, at all really! It really could have been a miserable show if it rains as we didnt get stalls because we were both riding First test 1 and 2 and when we entered didnt think we would have that much time between classes.
 I headed up early with my mom so I could watch some people we knew who rode earlier. Tolo, my horse that I just sold over the summer, was there so it was nice to see him!

Alanna and Stephanie then came up with the boys just after 1. Mystic came off looking like he needed a nap! Rhythm was also very calm for his first show! We headed to the warm up ring just to hand walk to boys around since we had time. Mystic pony really didnt care about anything but we didnt expect any less of him. Papa Rhythm took everything in very good, he looked at some things but never even came close to having a complete blow out (well besides the drain pipe, those eat horses! He just jumped but came right back) and definitely got a gold star for being so good throughout the whole experience. It was nice that we got to walk the boys in the indoor stadium arena so that the judges stand wouldn't be so scary when we had our tests, it was scaring majority of the horses. After getting our arena time in we headed back to the trailer to tack up. Mystic pony came out ready to go when I got on him and was really good in warm up. We rode First test 1 first (where Alanna did First test 2) so warm up time was short as I didnt want to have no engine by our second test (that planned failed anyways.. whoops!). He came into his test really good. His trot lengthenings were not as good as they could be but we didnt really get to do them at all in warm up since it was full of a bunch of people who clearly dont ride with other people. You would start a lengthening in there and have to stop like 3 strides out because someone cut you off. His second one in that test was better but still not great. One thing he kept trying to do was pop his shoulder inside and away from the rail (we had this problem, much worse, last year). We also got a couple comments on his canter being to 'down hill' at the end of our first test. He definitely was tired at the end of it and was trying, and clearly succeeding, to get really heavy and pull me down at the canter. Over all I was VERY happy with him and the fact that we just finished our first First level test! We got  good collective marks (all 7's and 8's!), along with our 74.8% and 1st place (YAY!) and the judges comment at the end said "Very willing horse".
Our second test definitely left some room for improvement but nothing I didnt already know. Once again warm up was bad. Getting any sorts of lengthening or leg yields was almost impossible with the other riders so I cant really blame him when we got in the show ring and he was 1)super tired and 2) didnt really get to do them in warm up. I actually thought his leg yield was decent for him. We got 6's on both of them. She commented that we got a late start, I actually started early but didnt get much of a response in the beginning. She also said his haunches lagged behind. I think I was just praying that I would get any response at all and didnt ride him as well as I could have, especially since I was also trying to just keep him moving forward! That being said our lowest scores were on our leg yields and lengthenings. His engine was dying on me. I think that if I rode him stronger he would have given me more, lessons learned for next show! Our scores for this test were more across the board from 6 to 9. Some of it was me and not riding him to where I should, circles to large, some of it was him ready for a full nights sleep, and all of it will get better with more time. Especially our lengthenings and leg yields. She commented at the end that he is a very steady guy and I rode accurately and thoughtfully but he needs more impulsion as we move up this level. Again he still got a 68 % and won his class though!

I think it was a great start to our show season. I didnt really know what to expect going into it so now that I know, I can get back to work! Obviously if Teacher Mary would have been riding him he would have done much better but I am getting there with him, slowly but surely! All the judges comments were correct and I could feel all of what she said throughout my tests. I know that she was quite a generous point giver so I dont expect these scored next show (with a much tougher judge) but I still felt like she had our all weak point on there too.

 He was so good and all our mistakes were mostly just a matter of me riding him stronger and better to get it.
 Quite a few people came up to me and just loved him for how steady and willing he was. Once guy came up and said "the first word that came to me when I saw him was 'heart'." I think that describes hims very well. Now its just a matter of me riding him better, dont you just hate when its all your fault?! :)
First level test 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFeyF1bF1RU
First level test 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P78JtNQsL88

Seriously awesome

..way to start our show season! This picture will have to do for now, im pooped and headed to bed!

The day we have been waiting for!

Tomorrow is the day we have been looking forward to for the last 4 months! At the end of last show season I was ready to not have to bathe his weekly, it got old VERY fast! But now I am so itching to get back in the show ring!
This morning I spent 3 hours at the barn riding and bathing. I got his feather so nice and soft. He does have one stain still that WILL NOT come off! Ugh... I went and got some hydrogen peroxide tonight so we will see if that helps. I left the barn the first time today at 2 to go to work, then came back at 6. I brought horses in and brushed the pony out really quick. Alanna then arrived with the pizza :) We ate and started watching Bridesmaids before we started cleaning our tack. Before I knew it we were out there for a couple hours! It is SO nice to have our riders room. It is heated, has a fridge/sink, a table, nice cozy leather couches, and a flat screen tv making it for a very comfortable tack cleaning. I mean its so nice someone could live in it!
Anyways, today I spent a total of almost 7 hours at the barn. 7 hours of slaving over my horse to get 10 minutes in the show ring (first level test 1 and first level test 2). Hopefully after tomorrow I will still think it was all worth it :) Im heading up earlier then my pony so I can watch some people I know ride. Tolo is also competing with his new owner so I am excited to see him again :) Im sure there will be pictures and videos to post tomorrow!

Getting closer

Got our ride times and we are ready to go for Saturday! Well... except for the whole being clean part :) He was pretty good last night. I think the changes we made in my lesson are REALLY helping! I worked him for 40 minutes and he was pretty tired but still felt like he could do more. I can really tell he is getting in better shape. I also made him look less like a homeless horse and more like a show pony buy clipping his goat hairs and bridle path.
Some people think its weird to give him a day off like 2 days before the show but he really doesnt change at all (unless its a week.. figured that one out! Man on man was he heavy and stiff when I came back!). So he just gets to hang out today and will go back to work for Th/F and show on Saturday then of course he needs another day off since we know he is going to be a star pony at the show!
Friday is also bath/tack cleaning party/Bridesmaids night! I am going to go out to the barn in the morning and give him a short but hopefully sweet ride before hitting the wash rack for about 10 hours it will seem like. Then after work I am going back out to organize all my show stuff, clean all my tack, etc with Alanna! We made it into a party and she is bringing pizza, im bringing drinks, were going to pop Bridesmaids into the tv in our riders room and get it all done in a warm and cozy room at the barn!

A Super Sunday!

The pony was a super start today for our ride! I gave him the day after our lesson off then just took him on a 45 minute bareback trail ride yesterday so we hadnt worked on our lesson learnings until today and man o man if I didnt have a perfect pony!
I tried to really focus on 2 things. 1) keeping track of my left rein and making sure I wasnt pulling with it and 2) not trying to 'package' him up to much and getting him working more from his hind end and getting more correct. That was a big fault of mine recently I think. I was trying to put him together way to much and was I was holding him up with the reins. Today he was very light in the bridle and carrying himself. Everything was much easier! Our leg yields reached the wall from X both ways by the end and our transitions were much better. We also worked on our trot to canter transitions a little. We spiraled in our trot circle and leg yielded out to a bigger circle to ask for the canter and I tried really hard to be firmer with my hands so he could pop his head up in the transition also and we got 2 nice ones, one each way, before I quit. We did a little bit of lengthening on a circle like we did in our lesson and he was awesome! I could push him out and bring him back with just my seat and he didnt bring his head up or fight it at all.
It was just a great ride overall and I was SO happy with him! We kept our ride short and sweet because he was such a star! After we stopped I walked him down the road to cool him out since the weather was nice and sunny. I love my pony :)

Adorable? I think yes.

My little toy/mini aussie got an adorable coat today! It was on major sale at Wilco for only $8!

Iz a little bit hyper all the time and not very smart but my mummy sayz she still luvs me!!

Along with that I got a gallon of this special shampoo that my Aunt and Uncle used in Bend that worked really well on their guys. It is normally like 30 something dollars and I got it for 9 on clearance! I spent 18 bucks and saved over 50 on 2 items! I would say that is pretty good for not planning on getting any of those things.

Adorable thing number 2 of the day? My mom got her early birthday present today. She ruined the whole cute surprise I had but whats new? So meet dog #6 (crazy hoarders? I think so...) Jinx a 5-6 month old mutt :)

Adorable thing #3?

Last August getting ready for a horse show!

Going out to see this adorable face :) If you can look at him without smiling you need therapy. I washed his feather with my new shampoo and it looked even whiter then it did after last weekends washing which is a great sign. Then we went on a 45 minute bareback trail ride in the forest as the weather was super nice. Ride times come out tomorrow, CANT WAIT! Tomorrow he gets his face clipped (wiskers, bridle path, goat hairs), on Friday he will get a full head to toe bath and Alanna and I are having a tack cleaning party while we watch Bridesmaids (she still hasnt seen it! Im pretty sure I have watched it 10 times now..!). Then Saturday we head to the show!
Teacher Mary got us a beginning of the show season present, white show gloves! I am going to have to tell Mystics Mama Rhein and Teacher Mary got us a present because then we know he will really be a star at the show so he can show off to his girl friend. Thank you Mary! We will keep you well updated at the show even if we do wish you could be there with us :)

He loves his Teacher Mary

Yup, he really does! He says:
I love my Teacher Mary. She gives me lots of cookies and she pets me and tells me im so cute and she also makes my mom ride me lots and lots better so I dont have to be going around all embarrassed because my mommy doesnt know what she is doing. I mean we all know that everyone is looking at me anyways!
Love Mystic Pony

We had a great lesson last night. Definitely got some things to work on but we have gotten better in some areas we have really been working on also! Our leg yields are slowly but surely coming along and he is getting much easier to ride in general tracking right (his hard side, yay!). We obviously wont 'fix' all our problems in a week but I am going to really work on riding into my corners and using the short side wall like it is a wall and not cut it off so we can have a more accurate test. I also need to keep working on my left rein that I like to take too much contact with. I have been working hard on it and have gotten better but its still hard at the canter for me. Another thing is I really need to help him out more when preparing for our lenthenings so we are not just running across the diagonal because I didnt get him pushing from his hind end.

Im really excited for the show to see what kind of marks and comments we get. I know we have lots of work to do in first level still but I still feel confident that if I can ride a solid accurate test with him that we will do well!