2015 Goals

Well hopefully we will accomplish more of our goals in 2015 than we did in 2014 but honestly, it was still a great year for us so there are no complaints from me :)

Here were our 2014 ones:
-Solidify our 2nd level work and show at all 3 tests by end of year (even if its just at a league show) and hopefully earn some, or all, of our 1st + 2nd level scores for my bronze medal
This was a 2/3 completion! We got all of our 1st and 2nd level scores towards my bronze but did not show 2nd level test 3. That was totally fine with me and if we had been getting our lessons the last half of the year this would have easily been done.

Nothing but smiles :)

-If we can get our act together compete at league championships at 2nd level
Qualified, yes! Competed, no :( We would have just done 1st level this year but in 2015 2nd level should be a god!

-Compete at Devonwood!!! (as many times as we can afford. If its just once I will be thrilled but more would be amazing)
Yes, yes, yes, and yes! Loved every second of it and cannot wait to go back! 

Favorite place to go down the centerline

-Compete at Inavale again, dont get lost,  and finish on our dressage score that will be in the 20s
A big fat, no. In fact we didn't do anything show wise for eventing and only went xc schooling once.

-School XC more and maybe even move up to novice just at a derby/one day (in no rush to move up at a recognized)
We got out once (well twice if you count the time we ponied Mylo out there). He was a star!

-Have solid dressage pony changes
I wouldn't call them solid but they are coming along! This would be a much bigger success if we were consistent in our lessons.

-Condition him better throughout the year
First half of the year Pony was much more fit! With the lack of work recently he is definitely out of shape. That needs to change!

-Lesson, lesson, lesson! Shoot for 2 a month!
Another first half of year was great and almost non existent the 2nd half :(

All in all it was a great year and I know that had the money been in my account more of these would have been accomplished (or all of them!). The lack of goals completed were in no way due to him which is really encouraging for 2015! 

1) My biggest goal or 2015 is to find a good balance between dressage and eventing shows. I tend to throw myself all into one and totally forget the other and then end up really missing doing the other. I would like to attend at least one recognized of each (hopefully Heart of the Valley ,since it is a double show, and Inavale)

2) Still want to go to Championships!

3) Start Mylo under saddle towards the end of the year and decide what his winter plans will be

4) Show 3rd level at a league show

5) Last but not least find a good balance between school, work, and riding. The end of this year really kicked my butt and I need to get back into a consistent routine!

Heres to a great 2015 :)

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone! Pony and I, along with a good friend went on my annual Christmas Eve trail ride and were lucky enough for the weather to clear up just in time and stayed nice for our whole ride. Our barn had a Christmas party but it was on a day I wasn't able to attend so I did a little dressing up for our trail ride instead.

It was a nice relaxing hour and a half trail ride and the boys were perfect, like normal! We even had people taking pictures of us from their houses as we rode by.

Today Mylo has been home for 6 months exactly! So blessed to have this boy in my life. Not only is it our 6 months of being together but it is also his half birthday, meaning he is now 2.5 years old! 

Day 1

6 months late (today) :)

He is in a much better weight, gained loads of muscle, his hair is coming in much thicker, his feather is improving, and he is still cuter then all get out! He free lunges, walks/trots on a lunge line, knows a few tricks, ponies off other horses, cross ties/ties, picks up all four feet with no issues, reliably loads, knows voice commands, and I'm sure I am missing something. Most importantly he puts a smile on my face everyday :)

He did give me quite a scare yesterday and I was instantly reminded how important it is to teach your horse the word whoa. It is one thing that I teach all my horses from the beginning and it is one thing that I do not slack on as far as allowing them to get away with it. When I say whoa I want and instant response and boy and I glad! Milo gets really excited when I put new shavings in his stall and rolls and rolls and rolls. Yesterday he go himself cast in his stall with his front legs sticking out his door to the paddock and his hind legs twisted and stuck inside. I heard him trying to roll back over (I was in another horses stall) and looked in to find him totally stuck. I told him whoa and from that moment on he didn't move a leg. He wasn't panicked but instead just laid there, not moving, while I climbed all over him to get a rope around him so I could help pull him over. Even when I was flipping him over he didn't thrash around or anything (although I would have liked a little help from him! haha). He immediately stood up, smiled at me, and frisked me for cookies. Thankfully I was there when it happened and I am even more thankful for his intelligence and trust in me. All is well today and he is no worse for the wear!

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope you all have an amazing 2015 :)

Looking Back: 2014 edition part 2

July

This was a pretty laid back month for us after a solid go of the first half of the year. Mylo got to go to his very first show. He wasn't in perfect show condition as far as weight and muscle yet but it was a great outing for him. He screamed a little, stood some but was wiggly some also (mostly at the end). Best part was that he loaded/unloaded like a dream with no practice! 

Tying to the trailer really tested his patience!

August

August brought us to our once a year breed show that we attend. Mylo didn't get to go this year as he was (still is haha) so awkward and I did want to spend $250 on a show for him to do 3 classes when he was so gangly and baby looking. Mystic was a total star and swept all his riding classes including English pleasure, dressage suitability, trail, musical freestyle, and lead line. Along with those he got reserve champion gelding.

More than that though he  was a great example of the breed and was a perfect gentlemen for all his visitors (so many visitors!). The judge absolutely loved him and have him rave reviews all weekend.

September

This month was a great month for Mylo but a rough month for Mystic. He ended up being lame all of it and was on stall rest. Thankfully he is all well and no worse for the wear now :)

Standing wraps on a Vanner... Not as easy as it should be!

Mylo has major outings this month including the beach, another show, XC schooling, and to Perrydale Trails! Each outing he got better and better and he was a total star! It was so much fun to get him out and have him respond as well as he did.

October

Basically I was just trying to get through the month. Hours at work increased, school was going and the boys got semi neglected. Mylo moved into his barn at the end of the month.

He is enjoying the pampered pony life!

November

Just as crazy as October but we managed an outing to the indoor trail course in Eugene that was a ton of fun!

Pretty sure my saddle made very few appearances this month.

Mylo remained at the barn and even got saddled for the first time! We did some desensitizing and he could care less about any of it.

Someone is going to need an actual pony saddle...

December

Nothing much to say about December so far either. The boys are happy, healthy, and ready for the new year! I will post my 2015 goals for both of them a little later. For now, I leave you with a cute Christmasy Mylo and Mystic posing by his 2014 ribbons :)

Looking Back: 2014 Edition Part 1

Even though the year is not over we are done with our adventures (away from the barn atleast!) for the year so I figured since I had time I should recap what our year looked like. Overall it was a great year for us! Like most years, I would have liked to get out more but such is life when you no longer have your own trailer. The saying you dont know what you have till its gone? Makes me think of my trailer "Big Red" every time. She is dearly missed! As it goes I think we made the best out of the outing we were able to make and I am very thankful for friends who were willing to haul us there.

January

We spent half of our January continuing to do this:

A stubborn abscess took us out of the game for over a month (most frustrating thing ever!). Mid January he finally got to go back to work but obviously we had a lot of building of muscle and conditioning to do after a long break.

February

We began to crack down on our dressage and had our first lesson of the new year!

Pre lesson pic in early Feb.

March

We had our first outing in March at the NW hitse expo where we were chosen to be a demo pair for the Dolly Hannon clinic. Even better is we got to ride with our trainer and her mare in the same clinic slot. We had a great ride and got some great compliments from Dolly which definitely boosted my confidence for our upcoming recognized debut.

Post clinic picture with our trainer!

April

This makes nth marks our very first recognized dressage show, ever! Not only was it both of our first time there but it was also our first time doing 2nd level. I probably learned more at this show then I have at any other. I learned that if I wanted to play with the "big boys" I needed to learn to ride my horse better in the ring. Instead of demanding more from him I would accept mediocre because the judge was watching. It was SO nice to finally have a trainer at a show with us. A huge milestone for us was also that Pony had an ah ha moment with lengthenings! We won both our first level tests and got almost a 64 % on our first 2nd level test ever.

We also attended an open Welsh show with Alanna and Emi where Pony and I took Champion English pair :)

Keepin it classy as usual

May

Doing two recognized dressage shows just a month apart was so much fun! Time flew between the two but I felt like we had progressed so much after working in our "take homes" from the first show. We once again took 1st in both our first level tests and even topped the entire 1st level crowd (something like 15 riders)on one test! I feel like I rode way better and it reflected in our scores where we broke 70 % :) overall we improved all our scores and even earned a 66. Something % in our second level test, good enough for a red ribbon!

We also got to hit the bech for the first time of the year. It was SO windy and rainy, by far the worst weather we have encountered, but we sucked it up and had a blast anyways 

I don't always ride barefoot but when I do it's 35 degrees with a 30 mph wind!

And lastly we went XC schooling! It was so much fun to get out on the course for the first time since Inavale the year before. Pony was a star and jumped everything first time and trucked right into the water. I can't wait to event him more this year :)

June

In June got a call from my Aunt in Florida who basically said "I know a horse in a not so good situation and he is ready to ship to you from NC just give me the green light". Needless to say Mylo arrived on his 2nd birthday on June 14th. He needed food, love, and a bath!

It is always a little scary not knowing what is coming off the trailer (although I have had practice in agreeing sight unseen with the rescues) but this boy has exceeded all expectations! He is truely a wonderful boy.

And just like that there is our first 6 months of 2014 :)

Still alive!

We are all still alive and doing well. Mystics work load has been cut in about half and I can't say he is complaining much! I am semi on the hunt for a partial leader for him through the spring until I get out of school for the summer but we will see how that goes. There is just not enough hours in the day or energy in me to do it all! The winter break from school is much needed and eve bough I will be house sitting for basically all of it I hope that I have more time to ride! I have never been in this position before so having him somewhat in the back burner is definitely a strange feeling. 

The important part is that both of my boys are happy healthy, and are enjoying themselves :) 

 First time with a saddle on!

Pony checking out his 2014 ribbons! We may not have gotten out too much (or as much as I would like) but he sure is consistent :) over all these years he still has more blue ribbons than any other color by far, such a good pony!

Extreme Trail Course and Baby Update~

Life is pretty crazy right now which is obvious with my lack of updating. I almost just scraped the idea of writing anything for awhile but I really do, do this mostly so I can come back and look at it at a later date. When Mylo is 4 it will be fun to look back and read updates about him and se picture of him as a baby.

Mylo has been doing great! He gets to go out on pasture with friends and gets pampered a little more over there. He is definitely not complaining about all the pamper, that is for sure! I mostly just get him in the arena and play around with him doing tricks and such but have also started free 'lunging' him, especially on the days that the weather isn't nice enough for them to get out on pasture. I have only done it a few times but he isn't half bad considering his lack of training in that area! My favorite thing about it is that he has really learned the word 'whoa' and stops immediately. He has also been learning how to cross tie like a big boy. It has been very uneventful besides him doing impatient pawing every now and again. He also got his first blanket and let me tell you, it is adorable! I love this baby boy, he is so much fun! Cant wait to see this boy with a kid on his back :)


Does it get much cuter than a tiny pony sporting this outfit?!

Sunday a friend and took our boys to the extreme indoor trail course in Eugene. We had thought about taking both our big boys and our babies but decided we would both rather just take our riding horses. I really don't think that Mylo would have 'issues' there so I am not overly concerned with getting him out. Although it would be fun! Mystic was great, for the most part, and we had a blast! We ended up doing all of the obstacles except we only did one of them the easy way (moving suspension bridge that we only did over the short side not the whole length). Last year he had a weird issue with the water there (which he doesn't normally have an issue with water) and he tried to continue that this weekend. I sacrificed my cold feet and got him in and then he proceeded to want to take me in the water every chance after that! After taking him through/over everything with his bridle we then went and did everything bridleless. He was very responsive and really had to think about where to put his feet/body without me there balancing him and I had to trust that he wouldn't take my leg off on a log ;) We did the waters, a teeter totter, moving bridge, big platforms, narrow bridges over water, navigated over logs/rocks on skinny trails, and went in dug out ditches. We wouldn't win any competitions for this but he does pretty good and controlled his inner 'chicken' side!

Here is a sad cell phone video, but it video evidence of our bridleless skills:

Look how fit he is looking!

Bridleless in the water

Awkward Pony stance

 

Over the bridge!



In the ditch



Into the water

The good boys :)