And were off!

Sent my entry for our first recognized show off this morning and now the next month cannot go by fast enough. Well actually it could go slow because we still have work to do! It may seem crazy to some people (those who can afford to hit every show they want) but I have never shown at this facility and have always dreamed about it. Being a horse poor college student I cannot afford to go to most 'big' shows so have settled for the schooling shows, league shows, and derbys or one days instead of the real deal. I can't wait! Now I just need to pay to update his registration (which I was supposed to do when he turned 5.... whoops) so he can get in for breed awards too. It wouldnt be much because there really are not many Gypsys that are out doing this but the few I know are also at the some training point that we are. They both have been in professional training full time and are ridden by their trainers at the shows though.

We wont actually be riding in this arena as the show is a smaller one ring show (outdoor shows and April in Oregon don't mix haha) in the indoor. So we will be in the barn you see in the upper right hand corner. It is equally as gorgeous in there though!

We were picked!

I got an email last night saying we were choose to be a demo rider for Dolly Hannon at the NW Horse Fair and Expo in March! We got picked for the Sunday group with the focus being on "how to get your horse on the bit". I am really looking forward to it! Even though Pony is very good in new places he does get nervous in arenas with lots going on, even if it doesnt show I can feel it. So just for the experience factor it will be totally worth it but I have also heard great things about Dolly and am looking forward to getting other outside opinion on how we are doing! Another fun thing is that we are riding in the same clinic as our wonderful trainer.

We had a great ride tonight and hope to continue that theme for the rest of the week :)

Drunk on Dressage

After working Pony tonight I really realized how scattered our schedule has been basically all month (due to snow, me having other commitments, etc) and it really took a toll on his fitness. It was in no way amazing before but it was much better than it is now. Thankfully we should be back on schedule now and get build him back up in time for our first show. That is the one super hard thing about having a Gypsy, they lose fitness 10 times easier and faster than they gain it!

Something I have really noticed (or payed more attention to today) is that at the end of our ride when I let him just walk on the buckle he acts like a drunk swerving around the entire arena! He gets really close to the walls, tries to stop at the radio to tell me he is done, and just turns and walks where ever he thinks he wants to go. It is the weirdest thing! Usually I just say "Pony stop" and he walks like a normal horse haha! I think it is his way to telling me he is done!

On another note this is Ponys new browband strand :) I think this will be his show one for now. Isnt it gorgeous?!

I also have a pair of brand new white Kerrits full seat sit tight supremes size med that need a new home! Sadly they are too small for me and it was going to cost me more to return them (thats why I usually only order from Smartpak) so I just held on to them. Still have tags on and everything! Let me know if anyone is interested. I was thinking $80 (retail around $120) but open to offers :)

Suns out funs out!

Lucky for us the sun made an appearance today and the temp was up enough for Pony to go out with just a rain sheet, the first time this year! Alanna and I picked the perfect weekend to bring Emi up to the barn and get some video of Pony for a class project I am doing and got really lucky with the weather. Sadly this week has been a bit crazy for me and I have had something to do almost every night making it hard to get in real rides. Hopefully this next week we can get back on track. Anyways, Pony was his normal great self today as I just hopped on bridleless to get some video and pony Emi around! It was pretty adorable.

Yes he is still bridleless :)

Entries for Devonwood in the Spring open on the 26th and our entry is almost all filled out and ready, just need to add in the class # and fees and send it in! SO exciting :)

Here is a fake "sales" video of Pony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_twUofu0Q0&feature=c4-overview&list=UUVHw-LY_2U2B0WK4ue3bJZQ

It is just some more recent dressage work and today bridleless ride! I am just using our Inavale video to show jumping and such. Putting together this video I was looking back at old pictures and video and have really noticed how much he has grown up recently. What a good pony I have :) Also I noticed how much his mane grew in the last year:

March 2013

Dec 2013

He is like a Chia pet. Feed him and watch it grow! Love this Pony more than anything!

Ready to go!

Pony and I are officially all ready to compete this year as far as memberships go, or I hope at least as there are so many! I have spent enough money just in memberships that I could have paid for our first show, how ridiculous is that?! I guess that is the price we pay to compete in such an expensive sport. I have this new technique where I just enter my card info click enter and never look at my bank statement, it seems to be working decently so far :)

I am still waiting to see when the Devonwood in the Spring show entry comes out and still hoping that we can make it!

Ponys first 2nd level test last year. Cant wait to get nice pictures this year :)

Wow!

Pony and I had a lesson tonight and it is safe to say that, just shortly after getting home from the barn, I can already feel it! We had some really, really nice work and some not so nice work. The not so nice work definitely came at the end of our lesson after we had gotten really nice (and really hard) work in the beginning and we could both really tell that he was just tired so we opted to stop on that and not push it as we were not going to get the quality of work we were looking for.

We are at the point where the rubber meets the road and I need to buckle down and really ask for correct work. Something that I really need to be conscious of is to go for high quality work for very short periods of time before giving him a break but at the same time I need to make sure I am not settling for mediocre work just because it is hard (for both of us!). We are asking him to carry himself and really sit on his hind end which is just flat out hard. He is in no way naughty about any of it but definitely has some invasion techniques that he sucks me into, so he isnt truly carrying himself, and if we dont teach him how to do it now then 3rd level will be impossible! 1st level we could fake it till we made it but that is no more. The good news is that he can, and does, give it to me when I ride him for it and it will only get better with more work and time. Let me just tell you how freaking hard it is though!

I am super excited for show season to start (and jealous of all those on the east coast who have already started) and it will be SO nice to have Mary coaching us at Devonwood to really help us get our best work. We talked a little tonight and if finances permit we hope to go to Devonwood in the Spring in April before hitting Heart of the Valley in May! If we can go to both then I think we will plan on doing first level test 2/3 on Saturday and second level test 1 on Sunday for the first show and then go from there for HOV. I want to qualify him for Champs at 1st level (and get my 1st level scores!) and it will be good to get him out and have a more relaxed first day since it will be both our first 'big' girl/boy show. Counting down the day!

Feelin' good!

Now that our huge snow storm of 2014 is over, the great flood of 2014 has started. The temp has finally risen, and it was actually a super nice night to ride, which means that most of the snow has melted in a matter of 2 days. This also means that the pastures, therefore our ponies, are muddy messes!

Legs hosed off and ready to ride!

We had an absolutely awesome ride tonight! We didnt do much because another boarder came out to walk her horse and we ended up walking and talking for about 30 minutes... whoops! Even though we only worked for about 20 minutes he is feeling better and better. All the sudden we have had ginormous lightbulb moments where everything has just come together beautifully. After our last lesson I feel like I have him carrying himself so much more and in return all our work is improving. I have been frustrated with our trot lengthenings, you know those things we have been doing for 2 years now and supposedly were supposed to have for 1st level? They are doing SO much better, it is amazing what your horse can do when they have someone riding them well :)

While we were walking and talking tonight we started talking more about 2014 show season and some events we are going to try to hit together (if we can both get our ponys ready in time!) and it got me super excited! It will be fun to see how 2014 treats us :)

Braving the snow

Today the temp finally started to get above freezing and helped melt some of the snow off, not much but some. I was really hoping this would be the case so I could try to move my little car, that I so smartly parked right behind our SUV, so I could get our SUV out and try to get out of my house for the first time in 3 days. I did a little digging and then hopped in my car, gunned it backwards and made it just far enough to shimmy our bigger rig out... score! It definitely was not an easy drive but we skated our way to the barn and made it in one piece.

I am so glad I made it out because I know how stir crazy Pony gets while being stuck in his stall and considering he hadnt been out of it since Thursday night I knew he would be wanting to stretch his legs. I didnt get out there till just after 4, as I wanted to give the snow most of the day to melt, so I didnt ride as I didnt want to be driving home in the dark. Instead I rebraided his mane and took him out to the arena so he could stretch his legs out.

Feeling good!

So handsome :)

Checking out the snow outside! He was a Bend, OR guy after all!

He was very happy to see me and get out of his stall! After he played a little on his own he came over and followed me around a little bit, it is super cute :) I just got news that my classes tomorrow are cancelled so hopefully tomorrow we can get back to work, work.

I have been doing lots of window shopping online since being snowed in but havent justified any purchases (besides pretty new browband strands!) as there is still some stuff that we actually need for show season. It is still fun to shop though!

Record Setting

Ok, I am not actually sure that we have set records in the last few days, but if we didnt then the records are from like 100 years ago, but we have more snow here than I have ever seen (probably almost 2 feet)! Sadly this means I am officially snowed in and now have not seen Pony in 2 days. Like my car has snow up past its wheels (you have to work just to get the door to open) and it has a thick layer of ice over my entire car. I do know that all the horses have been staying inside and got a all is well text today from the barn owner. I REALLY hope that I can get my car out tomorrow but its not looking promising at all.

The sad part about being 21, the only kid at home, and living on the outskirts of town means that I have no one but our 5 dogs to play in the snow with. It is pretty hysterical to watch them in the snow, especially my little Mini Aussie who all but disappears when he goes outside now!

The gang :)

Between my Netflix marathon of Greys Anatomy (I am currently re watching the entire show which has been a solid time killer since being stuck inside) I have managed to file my taxes which will fund our first recognized dressage show, and first time showing at Devonwood! About time! I also started organizing his 'book' which includes his registration papers, his DNA results, all his previous dressage tests, etc for this year. So although I havent been able to ride I am making progress towards our Devonwood debut :)

Ready to hit that centerline (and for the gorgeous weather)!

I love snow!

I may be one of the only people in the Corvallis area who loved that it dumped snow on us today! And I mean dumped. We didnt have any when I went to bed last night and we currently have upwards of 8-9 inches. Its the perfect powdery snow and I love it! As usual people are freaking out and not going anywhere but I decided I would chance it and go to the barn (I already had driven into town to go to the store) and it paid off. I had a lovely walk in the snow with Pony! No one wanted to be out in the snow with me so I was out there solo. The only downside of not having a bunch of kids at your barn is that you have no one to pull on a sled.

Nothing stops Pony from getting to his grass!

When I got home I took our small pack of dogs, we have 5 now after losing one at the end of last year, outside to run and play in the snow! They loved it and were super cute :)

Harley, my mini aussie :)

Max, my bionic mutt :)

Check out this hilarious video I got of my moms dog making my dog face plant it in the snow! What can they say, they were just having so much fun!

No so long later...

We have freezing temps and expected snow again (we NEVER get this much snow!)... I sure did like all the sun we were having! It was freezing cold tonight and yet I still talked myself into heading out for a productive, yet shorter, ride. It may have been in the upper 20's but with the windchill it was in the teens!

I tacked Pony up quick, before I could change my mind and ride bareback, and and layered up on clothes including a full horse cooler! Although I have a quartersheet it wasnt going to cut it tonight so I jerry rigged my cooler over the both of us and rode with it. We didnt work too long (mostly because a friend brought her mare out to walk with us. She hasnt been out much due to getting her house ready to sell so we were catching up) but I got some really nice work and our friend even commented on one of our beautiful canter to walk transitions and how much he was sitting with his hind end! Go Pony!

Since the temp is supposed to keep dropping over the next few days and with the predication of snow and freezing ice I am fully prepared for short trips to the barn. Either hopping on bareback or quick trips just to check on him. Part of me really wants that ton of snow we had back in December so I can hook him up to a sled but the other part is totally ready to not be freezing cold! I love nothing more then my warm fuzzy blanket in my cozy bed and this love is exaggerated on cold days. It took a lot of talking myself into going out to the barn tonight when all I really wanted to do was crawl in my bed and get warm! Once I get on it is always worth it but it was COLD tonight and my thighs are still thawing out!

Loving this weather!

Unlike the people in the East who are dealing with tons and tons of snow we have been having gorgeous weather the last few weeks (with some stretches of rain/wind mixed in). Today it was sunny and gorgeous so Alanna and I took the boys out for a short hour long trail ride. I have been a bit skeptical about taking him out since the last time we hit the trails he came up with a nasty abscess so we just kept it to a walk. He has really good hooves (like really!) but trotting/cantering on gravel can do damage on even the best of them. I have started thinking about ways, besides putting shoes on him which I won't do, to help him on the more rocky trail so I dont have to worry about it but I am pretty sure they dont make hoof boots large enough for him. We found some size 4 boots while shopping today but even they looked way to small. So we will settle for just walking for the trails by our barn.

It was a perfect relaxing ride with our boys! I just hoped on Pony bareback and the boys walked much better together than they have in the past (aka: Roz wasnt racing away and Pony wasnt dragging along)! I have been house sitting in town so hadnt been able to ride the last two days so it was a perfect low key ride back before he gets a good workout tomorrow.

After our trail ride we went to Wilco for their first day of Wilco Farm Days! We all got some good deals and will definitely go back before the end of the month to stock up again. The best part about it? $1 rolls of vet wrap! You can bet I stocked up on those and will again before the end of the sale! Along with his 10 rolls of vet wrap he got a new big water bucket for his stall (currently he has a short rubber one since he would knock his big plastic ones over when he was first being stalled but boarders dogs go in his stall and take baths in his water...), dewormer, and a Himalayan Salt block. I have never tried these salt blocks before but I have heard good things about them (and it was on sale!) so I picked one up that I can just tie up in his stall. Luckily pay day comes before the end of the sale because we will be re stocking again in a few weeks :) Nothing beats good farm store sales!