Remembering Lexi

I had planned to wrap up the last posts of the year with a "Year In Review" theme - you know, look back at how far Molly has come and all that she has accomplished. However, although this is supposed to be a post about Molly, I have suffered a huge heartbreak with my horse and feel that I need to dedicate this post to him.

As most of my readers already know, I ride as well as Molly, my horse, Lexi, was given to me a few years ago by a friend of a friend sort of thing. I had just sold another horse and happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Lexi turned out to be everything I was looking for and then some. While I wasn't sure about his "color" at the time and I couldn't even try him because he was missing 3 shoes and had the 4th hanging on by a prayer, I took him home anyway based on word of mouth. I gave him a bath, and put shoes on as quickly as I could get a blacksmith out. When I was finally able to try him about 3 days later, I knew from the first few steps that he was the horse for me. We walked, trotted and cantered around the ring like we had been together for ages and he was SO comfortable!

Lexi the first day I got him - after his bath!

I think I got him in the last week of September or first week of October - there was just enough time to send in entries for the last show of the season - I needed 3 more scores to get my GMO Bronze Medal - I figured why not - I may only get one or two of the scores but since we were there why not try for all three. So that was the plan - enter T-2, T-3, and T-4 and see what happens. Lexi was a children's hunter, not a dressage horse - the whole "round" thing was a bit of a mystery to him but he was a good sport about it and pretty non phased by any new challenge I presented to him. The show was on the last weekend of October - the foliage was perfect. I thought - well, at least I may get some nice pictures out of this. The wind however was something that would have sent Dorothy looking for Toto! Fortunately, I did not need a reader because it would have been impossible to hear - also, the wind was blowing at you full force head on as you marched down center line. This turned out to be good for us because Lexi kept his head down in order to forge ahead into the wind. Our tests were respectable - especially for a horse that had never been in a dressage ring before. The scores were all posted at the same time - T-2 - go it T-3 got it T-4.....oh wait there is an error - we have to re do some of these....Oh come on - you're killing me! Finally the corrected scores were posted and we got all 3 scores above 60%! Not much above 60, but who cares - all I needed were 60's! I had done it, I had earned a bronze medal - and I completed it on a horse with virtually no dressage training who I had had for less than a month! That was it, I was totally in love- head over heels, hook line and sinker - you name it.

No matter what I asked of him - Lexi gave it an honest effort. He was generally interested and curious about new things - like eventing. This horse missed his calling in life. He was an absolute saint on the trails and he LOVED to jump. Eventing was a natural for him. He would literally drag me through water! He never refused a jump - he would raise his head and wiggle from side to side as if to say "Mom are you sure we want to jump THAT?" but as long as I kept him straight and kept my leg on him he would go (yes, Lexi - we're jumping that). I even won my first event with him!

In November of 2007 Lexi broke his hip - no one knows exactly what happened, but he was turned out fine and came him "Barbaro" lame - actually he wouldn't even come in - it took a while for the gals at the barn to coax him in. When he finally did come, he got as far as the indoor and that was it - I arrived about 10 min after they called me to find him standing in the middle of the indoor, shaking and dripping in sweat - he was miserable and I was scared. Because the orthopedist at the clinic thought he had a good prognosis (it was basically the race horse "knocked down hip") she suggest stall rest for 12 weeks and then hand walking etc. We did it and he came back - not exactly good as new, but he was pain free and relatively sound (did I mention that he was 20!). By April of 2008 he was back in regular work - although I had pretty much cut out any jumping. We were working on our 1st level freestyle!

Lexi and I showed the whole season this year and we had a great time - we even snuck out to go cross country a few times with Molly and my best friend - maybe a little jumping would be okay - it was certainly good for his mind. We are 1st level MF Champions for one of my associations this year - what a great year! Because we were basically limited to flatwork, I also tried a little side saddle over the summer - I love the idea, but boy was it hard! Again, present Lexi with a challenge and he stepped up to the plate! He was a very confused boy - "I'm going to keep drifting left Mom because I think you're falling off!" We only did a few lessons, but we did it - together.

I got the "dreaded" call on Thanksgiving morning (2008) from the farm - I wasn't even out of bed yet. The message said that Lexi was dragging his left hind leg - uh oh - not good - that's the same side as the hip. But it can't be the same thing again. Because it was Thanksgiving I had them give him bute and put him on stall rest.

My vet was with me in that it couldn't be the same thing again - he must have twisted something, or aggravated it etc. He took x-rays of everything that he could and prescribed a muscle relaxer, stall rest and hand walking. Unfortunately, almost 2 weeks later and he was no better - in fact, I thought he was worse. I called the vet again in total panic (I have never hyper ventilated but I did that day). He came out took more xrays and then called the orthopedist for a consult - it was apparent that is was the hip again and it was serious. Lexi's prognosis for a satisfactory recovery was "0" - we could try to let it heal to see if he would be pasture sound but his athletic career was over. Additionally, there was a very grave concern that he could go down in his stall and not be able to get up. My vet said that he would support me in any decision so I should think about which way I wanted to go and call him. Thank God my best friend was there with me. My other friend had been waiting with us drinking coffee until the vet got there - you gotta love horse friends - they're always there when you need them! I thought about things for the next day, talked to my friends and finally forced myself to text my vet - I couldn't even talk to him - it was time to let Lexi go. I hoped and prayed all weekend for a miraculous recovery, but in my heart I knew that we would not get lucky twice.

So this morning, I let Lexi go - I hope that he is pain free and in peace. He was so good to everyone he came in contact with. Even in death, he was a champ - no drama, I'm okay Mom. I will miss him immensely - I have never know a horse like him.

Be at peace my sweet boy - I will always remember you

Gotcha!

In light of Treenie's latest attempts to take off with Molly, I made an emergency trip to the local tack shop in search of a pony sized pelham. Fortunately, they had one and we were able to try it out on Friday before the horse show. Below is a video with Treenie in her "normal" bit - the double twisted wire...believe it or not, this is not Treenie at her worst. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being horriffic) this this is about a 5-6. Her antics last week were about an 8-9!

Here is some video of the horse show this past weekend - with the pelham. What do you think?

Big difference no? It seems that we have found the answer - for now - until Treenie pulls something else out of her bag of tricks. However, the pelham has really seemed to have given her something that she never really had before - respect. I hope that this is something we can just build upon and will be able to keep moving forward now! Molly LOVED doing the short stirrup hunters.

I had an interesting phone call this morning - it was from the woman we bought Treenie from! She needed a phone number of a mutual acquaintance. Anyway, she asked how Treenie has been and I told her fine. I did tell her about the latest development and the move to a pelham. She told me that would use a kimberwicke when Treenie got bossy. Maybe for a few weeks until she remembered who was supposed to be the boss and then would go back to her normal bit. I felt a lot better because now I know that this is the pony and not us! I also felt that I was handling the problem correctly. So I guess I DO know something!

Molly really held her own in the short stirrup hunters this weekend. She needs to work on the finer points or riding courses in a show - like getting her lead changes consistently, but up until now, the priority has just been to get to the jumps. She has all winter to perfect things. She is definitely ready to move up though - maybe I need to update the title of the blog to Adventures in Short Stirrups?

This coming weekend is our big "local" dressage championship show. I am really excited about it. Molly could take it or leave it. She really does not realize that there are very few kids her age that do dressage. The fact that she is competitive at 9 with adults is a huge accomplishment. I just wish she would appreciate it!

Ladies Who Lunch

Doesn't everyone love to get dressed for a special lunch date? If Molly and Treenie ever get invited to tea at the Plaza, they're ready - boas and pocketbook terrier included!

This past weekend was our barn horse show - it was a long and busy day concluding with a costume class. For once, Molly was ready and had been planning Treenie's costume for weeks - several trips to the Halloween store (fortunately it was in season this time!) several rummages though the costume box and several combinations and permutations of accessories until finally, the PERFECT outfit! If Molly could have figured out a way to get Treenie to wear high heels believe me, she would have had that pony tip toeing around!

By the end of the day, everyone was beat and the whole appeal of the costume class had worn off of most everyone at the show. A few die hards stuck it out to watch and pretty much everyone who had entered had scratched, but Molly had put so much effort into her costume that they found a few girls to fill the class so they could run it for Molly. It was worth it because it made us laugh so hard we forgot how tired we were!

So here's to Miss Treenie - to Molly she truly is "My Little Trinket"!

(I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille)

Devil Pony Rises Again!

Oh Boy, the evenings have been getting chilly and Devil Pony seems to have resurfaced!

We are having a barn horseshow this weekend (at regular show prices I must add). Everyone has been practicing for it over the past month. The course is set and last night the jumps were all decorated - just like a real show!

The really good news is that Molly has been able to sit up and steer Treenie to every jump - no run outs. The bad news is that now the little devil has decided that if she can't run out she will grab a hold of the bit, bear down and just run. Molly seems to handle it well, but it must be a little scary and it is definitely NOT pretty - what happened to our cute little hunter pony?

Molly's trainer said to put her anti-grazing reins and martingale back on - I'm not sure these are what she needs. As Molly was putting her things away, I made an emergency call to one of my sales reps who also happens to be a bit expert. "Hi T - Treenie has turned back into the Devil - the DOUBLE TWISTED WIRE that she currently has isn't working - what else can we do?" Of course T who has become a dear friend over the years, reminds me that she told me a while ago to get a pelham. So, after discussing the pros and cons as well as broken vs mullen mouth, I now have a mission today so that we can try it tomorrow. I happen to agree with T - once Treenie gets grabbed by the curb chain a few times (probably twice to be exact) I am pretty confident the game will be over. She is devious, but not mean or stupid. She is really the queen of evasion. So, we shall see if this does the trick - I wish I had video of last night - it looked like a combination of pony jumpers and pony race horse!

This is cute pony....

I know!!!

How many times has your child/children said that to you when you TOTALLY know that they don't know? It drives me insane because apparently, at 9 years old Molly knows everything. (Which translates into I know nothing). I guess I just have a child genius on my hands and have never recognized this gift.



Today Molly showed at our local hunter show. The weather has been so nice and fall like until today when it turned back into summer and 90+ degrees. Of course! Because of the heat, they were trying to move the show along so they were not splitting the classes that would normally have been split. As a result, Molly had 11 in the mini stirrups. We are a little burned out with showing at this point, that I really did not care as long as it meant we could get home sooner.



The classes were fine and lasted about 5-7 minutes each. Even though there were 11 kids, there were a good 3-5 that were really not competitive - you know, basically hanging on by the seat of their pants. Molly was either 4th or 6th in every class - nothing higher and nothing in the middle - just 4th or 6th.



Schooling for the cross rail class was a little crazy with 11 horses and 3-5 kids who could barely steer - add in one stupid short stirrup rider who insisted on schooling with the mini's and was trying to jump the diagonal lines! Anyway, Molly KNEW how to school the course and kept encouraging Treenie to canter down the lines. Now she does know that that is not our plan. She is supposed to trot in and trot out both lines. She finally got it right after 3 times around so we quit before poor Treener's dropped dead on us.



Molly was 5th to go - as the 3rd kid was going I started going over the plan with Molly - 1) they specifically said no opening circle so get a nice trot as soon as you get in. 2) Get lined up with the first jump and look straight down the line. 3) Keep your heels down and eyes up... at this point I got the "I KNOW" smart remark. Rather than argue with her I told her to watch her mouth and dropped it.



So, in she goes - points 1-3 were great. I was sure she was on her way to a great ribbon - maybe even winning it. The she jumped the 3rd jump and proceeded to let Treenie canter down the line towards home. That's it - pack up and go home because now she was no longer consistent. I was livid! Molly totally knows the plan - she also totally knows how to sit up and whoa to get Treenie back to the trot. There was no excuse for this other than that she wanted to canter.

Surprisingly, Molly ended up 4th for the class - considering the inconsistency, I thought she got lucky. Molly on the other hand thought that it just meant that it wasn't so important to stick to your plan.

I REALLY need to send her to a show with her trainer as opposed to me. Hover, there is a problem with this - Our barn really only goes to stupid recognized shows which charge an obscene amount of money - the closest for example charges $25 per class, $25 Grounds fee, $17 Drug fee. Add to that $60 trainer fee and the dinky mini or short stirrups - which are unrecognized end up costing $202!!! And that's if I bring the pony over - it is another $85 if I pay for trailering. I'm sorry, but I just can't swallow that. Especially when we have been showing all summer for $65 on the cheap end and $80 in the high end. I have tried to encourage these guys to go to some of the local shows, but they are just not interested. It also kills me that my friends buy into this whole hog and just fork over butt loads of money every month when they don't have to.

So, it looks like Molly and I are stuck with each other for next season also - I just wish that she would realize and accept that I really do know what I am talking about and just listen to me - I know - never going to happen!

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Each week at camp they have "dress up". The kids come up with costumes for their horses/ponies and they have a parade. Of course, we are always scrambling at the last minute because you can not find costume stuff in July/August! I had the brainstorm that we could use our "Man in the yellow Hat" costume and Molly could be Curious George.

Here is my poor Lexi being the sport that he is (the painted saint) and Molly with 1/2 of her CG costume. I missed the "main event" of the costume extravaganza, but apparently, all of the kids were different characters from the Curious George cartoon and Lexi actually carried around Molly and another girl at the same time.

Lexi is a good boy - you can literally do anything to him - however, take a good look at the expression on his face - "I will not hurt her, but YOU will pay for this!" Fortunately we left for vaca the next day - I think he forgot about it.

Dressage Divas

Whew! We have had a whirlwind summer! I thought things would just coast along, but we were BUSY! Molly continued to horseshow throughout July and August - we even worked some of our vacations around her showing.

The kids officially kicked off summer with a "family" week at the beach - I stayed home and had a VERY nice week to myself. Then things jumped into full swing with camp and Thursday Dressage Shows.

Despite the fact that Molly has told me she hates dressage, she has continued to get REALLY good scores in the intro tests ( she is consistently scoring in the mid 60's!). We all even did the regular schooling show in June (Molly, me and the lady who 1/2 leases my horse ALL showed). We all got great scores - I even broke 70 for the first time! We also ALL qualified for our GMO dressage championships! Only the lady who leases Lexi is going to go. Molly, K and I are saving ourselves for the smaller local championship show.

There are some people "in our circle" that downplay our successes because we only do local/schooling shows. The bottom line is that we really only have local/schooling show level horses ( my poor horse broke his hip for crying out loud). I scribe and work at a fair amount of horseshows - I am totally open eyed to the fact that we would be completely outclassed at recognized shows. And you know what, that's okay because we found an appropriate arena to compete. We are competitive at these shows and we have fun. That's what it is all about. So we will continue to compete for our local year end awards and GMO awards because it's fun. I am sure that everyone reading this blog knows that horses and showing cost way too much to not get any enjoyment!

Both Molly and her best bud K have gotten really positive feedback from the judges. Helpful, constructive upbeat feedback - just like in the mini stirrups - NOT! This is one of the reasons that I push Molly to do this (and the fact that I am a BIG dressage fan and it is something we can do together - Lexi's hunter/jumper days are over.) I keep telling Molly and K that they will appreciate this background in the future. After all, who can argue that learning to keep a steady rhythm, make round circles, bend in the correct direction and keep your horse straight are not skills everyone needs to master?

So, since the only lessons Molly has had were during the 3 weeks she spent at the barn at camp, I set up real dressage lessons for her and I with a real dressage trainer at a real dressage barn! Molly is not so thrilled, but I can't wait! I have not had a lesson since before Lexi broke his hip in November. It just did not make sense to me to pay for lessons for myself while I rehabbed Lexi when Molly certainly needed the instruction. Balancing the costs of two horses is a challenge.

September and October will be busy show months for us. Starting this weekend, I will be at a show either with Molly or with my lessee just about every weekend. The hubby is not going to be thrilled but this is the big finale and the last push for points for year end awards. Before you know it, winter will be here and shows will be hard to come by!

Can I Help You?

This is what we see when we go out to get our pony every day! I had seen these fly masks on the web and thought they were really cute, but they were really expensive. I immediately thought - hey, I can do that! So I picked up a cute pony size fly mask and some cool colored permament markers and let Molly go to town with her design. She was really excited to do it and it is kind of cute - especially with the pink floppy ears! By pure luck, we managed to get the "glasses" right where Miss Treener's eyes are.

Molly showed again this past weekend - it was our local hunter show. Because of the holiday weekend, I really did not know what to expect as far as turnout - well, I guess the "staycation" theme has caught on because the show was packed! I could hardly find a spot to park our van and unload! The classes were huge and as a result, many of the divisions were split into 2 sections. It seems like they split the mini's by age as Molly was again in the B section. The first group of kids seemed young compared to Molly's group and they only had 7 kids while Molly's group had 9. Also, all the kids in Molly's group were pretty much at the same skill level. I have to say, it was good company this weekend because the kids were all competent mini riders. Once she finally got going, the classes ran pretty quickly - Molly was 3rd in the Eq, 4th in the pleasure and 5th in the figure 8. For some reason, she just can't seem to get the figure 8 down - the shape was better but still not 100% - oh well, something to work on.

Molly also won her cross rail class! It is the 3rd jumping class in a row that she has won - it seems like we have figured out the secret formula for this class!

This is my first attempt to upload video - it is from the FOD show a few weeks ago - Molly won this class also. At least you can finally see some action!

Thursday is our local dressage series again - I was hoping to make a nice Mom/Daughter day of it as I was scheduled to ride my musical freestyle. Unfortunately, my horse slipped and has 8 stitches on his ankle! So I guess it's pony groom for me! I am sure that Molly will do well - if only she can figure out how to make ROUND circles!!

Quick Update

Sorry I have not written lately - It has been on my mind, but when I looked at our blog today I realized that our last post was May 31st!! Oh my - how rude!!!

Since the last post, we've been to 2 horse shows and 1 more XC schooling/trail ride. The first show was a very little, very casual dressage schooling show. Molly and her best barn bud K went together. I am totally hooked on making things with my computer, so I bought the HP T-shirt transfer kit and little white polo shirts and made the girls matching shirts with the farm logo. They looked very nice and put together for two little pony kids. The judge was overly nice and had a lot of compliments for both girls - they rode from the legs, had great positions and their trainer was doing a great job with them. She was also great with her criticism because she kept it constructive. She really was wonderful. Molly scored a 60 something and a 62 something in the intro A & B (I said the judge was really nice). This show was the first of a little series so we are adding it to our "quest for points". Last year Molly went to 2 of the shows with my horse and she was 5th overall at the year end (against all other adults!). I think she is off to a good start!

Next we went to the good old FOD show south of us - I have to say, knowing that the mini's do not start until 2pm makes planning your day SO much easier. We got there early and as usually met my mom and her friend Annette. They are becoming Molly's personal fan club. My best friend (horsey and non horsey) Ronnie cam with us also so we had quite an entourage. Molly warmed up with no problems - good thing Ronnie was there as I got a devastating call in the middle of the schooling that one of my friends has died suddenly - Ronnie was able to take over supervising the schooling while I made several calls to other friends.

There were about 7 in the classes - mostly the same kids that had been there all along and a few newcomers. Molly was 3rd in the pleasure, 2nd in the Eq, 5th in the Fig 8 and 1st in the crossrails. Overall she was reserve champion which totally made her day. My husband met us down there and picked up Molly - he was off to the beach for the week with the kids and I was officially on my own for the week!!

Last week, I Molly and I took our horses to another park that has some xc jumps - my horse is now completely recovered from his hip injury (as recovered as he is going to get anyway for a 20 yr old). He is jumping really well and seems so happy to be able to go out again - he was a children's hunter for most of his life but he LOVES to go cross country - this is one horse that totally missed his calling in life - I'm just glad I can let him have some fun in his golden years. Anyway, Molly was a little apprehensive - she is totally my daughter and does not like to push beyond her comfort zone. This park has no "warm up" rings, just open fields with big long rolling hills and some trails. So there was so "testing" period to see how Treenie would act (I knew she would be fine because it seems she to was destined to be an event horse!) - Anyway, we walked toward one trail, crossed a nice stream with no problems and off we went. We trotted on the trails, on the hills etc. I finally found the field I was looking for with the little logs and baby bank jump. Molly just foll wed me over everything - Treenie wasn't too sure about the bank down, but she did do it - twice! Then we cantered along the sides of some hay fields. As we were cantering we came up to a nice log - I yelled back that I was going to jump it - Molly said she was going to go around - the next thing I heard were little canter, canter, canter steps up and over behind me and Molly cantering up next to me. I looked at her and she had a big smile "it was just easier to jump it" she said.

Tomorrow we have another mini stirrup show - hopefully it does not pour on us! Will try to post some video next!

Cross Country Pony

How Cute are they!!

Friday was our XC schooling day. It was an absolutely beautiful day with lots of sun and clear skies. We got off to a great start leaving the barn on time and getting to the horse park without incident.

Of course, the "hunter" girls immediately headed for one of the rings to warm up (chickens). Molly and her friend followed since they are only 9 - the "hunter girls" are the barn owner and manger who are in their mid 20's, so they're really the "boss". After about 15 minutes they decided to head up to one of the dressage rings so K could practice her tests - Molly got kind of bored with all of this - as was I, but since I did encourage everyone else to come with us, it was only fair that I be a team player.

FINALLY, they were ready to head out onto the XC course - they were so excited to see all of the jumps and at the fact that there was a nice amount of little jumps for everyone to play with. We spent a lot of time just going back and forth over little logs, hay bales, railroad ties etc. Molly was a little nervous at first, but Treenie NEVER looked at anything - she just went and jumped like a good pony should. She did stop at one jump that everyone had trouble with. It was a cross rail in a post and rail fence - see pix below. I don't know what the issue is with this jump, but whenever I event here, my horse backs off to take a look at it too - EVERY TIME! It is a little 2 ft cross rail but there is something scary about it I guess. However, Molly stuck to her plan and did get over it. AND, when one of the hunter girls was having a really tough time at it, Molly asked "do you want me to lead you?" We all got a huge chuckle because the response was, "Only if you don't mind me jumping on top of you". The hunters were a little wild. One was over jumping everything by like 4 ft - I'm not kidding - I have the pic to prove it! Our hunter girls are good jocks boy.

And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon!

(and that was from a trot)

The Very Scary Cross Rail

Lovely Form Too!

Molly and K also were the first to get their ponies into the water. I thought Treenie was going to roll in it she was splashing so much. Molly said that when they first started out in the ring that she didn't know what the big deal was but once she saw the xc jumps she thought she was just going to "walk around" while everyone jumped. However, once she got started, she kept up with the everyone else and jumped with the group. She said she had a lot of fun and would like to think about doing a starter event in the fall! I think I may have an event rider on my hands!

Of course, it was a rush to get back to the barn and unload in time to pick my son up at preschool, then rush home grab quick showers and shuffle Molly off to her dance recital rehearsal - nothing like over scheduling!

Why I Hate the Hunters!

Warning: This post may offend some die hard hunter fans - sorry, I have to get this off my chest!



Preface - I was a hunter rider for 20+ years, children's hunters, schooling hunters, pre-adult hunters, adult amateurs etc - been there, done that - and I was perfectly content while I was doing it. The turning point came during a lesson. I had been jumping a course that turned out really well - I hit every distance and it felt great. I turned to the instructor and said "that felt really good" - her response was "you could have been 6 inches closer to the last jump". That's it, I was done. I was not interested in having to be that perfect. I stopped riding for a while shortly after that. I had just had a baby (Molly) and life was too complicated to fit in riding that was just frustrating so I took a break. I started again after reconnecting with a friend who had moved onto eventing. I evented a little as a junior - it was fun and in the lower levels, you just had to get from one side to the other. Maybe this is what I needed. My friend set me up with an event barn and that was it I was hooked! I have not been back in the hunter rings since. I LOVE the fact that you get an actual score and on the dressage test there are comments along with the scores. You know exactly why you got what you got.



So, Molly is now doing the mini stirrups which brings me back to the hunter shows. Almost every time we go I think "God, I HATE this." There is no sense to the judges' picks. At least not that I can see and I have a good eye. At one show, the judge pinned a short strided horse that limped in the corners in the pleasure class - can someone please explain that? At another, a pony stops twice to poop in the middle of the class and that kid is in the top 3 - I'm sorry, I just don't get it.



Molly showed again on Saturday. It was another HUGE division - 10 in each class. She was 4th in the pleasure, nothing in the Eq, 6th in the Figure 8 and 4th in the cross rails. I can't really say why she got what she got. Treenie is a decent mover so I thought she should have been higher in the pleasure. They asked for a sit trot in the eq which Molly does great - more than half of the kids bounced around like jumping beans - but Molly got nothing. In the Fig 8, I expected her to get nothing because one of her circles was really lopsided but she managed to pick up 6th. I REALLY thought she won the o/f class but was 4th.



On the way home she asked me why she only got the places she got - I had no answer. I told her that the judge picked the ones she liked best. I also told her that there was nothing that she really should have done differently - she is riding really well and there is nothing we need to change. She really is on the right path, in the right program and has the right pony.



I thought a lot about her question on the ride home. To put everything in perspective:



1-This is her 1st year of showing (her 5th show to be exact)
2-This is the mini-stirrups - not the Maclay's!
3-She manages to get a piece of the ribbons almost every class
4-She is usually in the top half of the class
5-She said - out of the blue - that she loves to horse show



I felt a lot less frustrated after I came up with my list. I think it was bothering me more than it was her. Still, I can't help but wonder if we are doing anything to help these riders along by handing out arbitrary ribbons with no reasoning? Would it be so terrible if the judge handed out the ribbons and gave each rider a little comment? Like they do at a schooling dressage show? Nothing too deep, but just a little hint "try to keep your heels way down" or "make sure you don't let your reins get too long". Something - anything to give a clue on what the judge was looking for.




So, that's my soap box for the week. As parents, we shell out a lot of money for our kids to show, I don't think it is too much to ask for a little feedback.



If the weather holds out, Molly will be going cross country schooling on Friday. It should be really fun. I know once she gets a taste of it and realizes she can stay in control, she will love it. She also has a dressage show coming up on June 12 - scores and feedback to make Mom happy!



Will try to take a lot of pics of the xc day!

A Pony In Our Backyard!

Saturday was Molly's "cousin's" birthday party (in this family, we have to have multiple birthdays - don't ask!). She had been wanting to show off Treenie to her cousins for quite a while now. She decided that her "theme" would be Treenie and that the pony would also be the "guest of honor". Luckily it was a beautiful day so Miss Treeners was able to make an apperance. We live in a development but have a "dedicated open space" land parcel adjacent to our backyard. However, it is definitely NOT common to see a pony in the open space. Our neighbor kids were totally shocked to see Molly riding a pony in the field!

Miss Treenie was definitely a star - she totally LOVED all of the attention the kids doted on her - she tolerated pony rides and was even good enough to let 2 of Molly's cousins ride her on their own. My 1 niece really loved her and spent a ton of time grooming her and fussing over her - it was so cute when she said "Aunt Lori, do you think I can ride her by myself?" She did great and even rode her alone in the big field - making the pony go where she wanted her to go. Treenie is a funny, funny pony though. I can tell by the look in her eye when the little mischief wheels are turning in that pony brain of hers. I KNEW she was thinking of dragging my niece back toward the house instead of staying on the circle. Treenie would look over at me to see if I was watching her! I would just say "I'm watching you" and then tell my niece to pull her head in the other direction - Treenie only tried to get away once and then gave it up once she made eye contact with me - Ponies!

Treenie definitely was having a great time eating all of our grass - she did not want to go back on the van - I had to lure her with birdseed (well, it's not like I keep grain at me house!). Overall it was a great doy for Molly, the cousins and Treenie! We love this pony!

Her First Blue Ribbon - Priceless!

First off - thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments. It is nice to know that SOMEONE is reading this besides me! I actually quite enjoy writing, and hope that this blog has been kept light enough for everyone.

So, Saturday was another show for Molly. It was down at a farm about an hour south of our town. The last time we went to this show, I had e-mailed the organizer for directions because the ones on the prize list did not cover the direction we were coming from AND mapquest could not find the address. One would think that the organizer would be able to give good directions from a major interstate right? WRONG! I left with about 1/2 tank of gas in one tank and a almost full 2nd tank. The directions I was given were so wrong and out of the way (40 minutes out of the way to be exact) that I had to search for a gas station before we even got to the show. It was incredibly frustrating because I had been to this farm before - I came from a totally different direction, but went home the way I wanted to come so I knew there was a direct route. Anyway, we did get there on time. However, I was smart enough to right down the way I went home so that I would know how to get back.

This time, I filled both tanks a few days before so we could just jump in and go. I HATE having to do anything other than load the pony the day of the show - call me lazy, but I spent over 20 years showing hunters and getting up before sunrise to bathe/braid etc. Been there, done that! Plus, it's tough dragging an 8year old out of bed at 6 AM. However, because this show was on a Sat AND we did not have to be there until 1pm, I did opt not to bathe or braid the day before - Molly went out on Fri and hopped on bareback for a bit and Treenie got to sleep outside with her friend.

Sat turned out to be beautiful - we got to the barn around 9 AM with the intention of bathing but the farrier was there monopolizing the wash stall with the hot water - ugh!! Fortunately, I pulled Treenie's sheet off and she was really clean - I mean really clean - I know she had rolled since her last bath, but she stayed out of the mud so nothing was ground in. Fine - I can use the cold hose on the other side of the barn to wash her legs and tail - spray her with a little healthy hair care and done - clean enough! Then I braided while Molly packed (or supposedly packed) the van. We had a foal born Friday morning, so it was REALLY hard for Molly (and me) to stop staring at this adorable little thing and actually get something done. Since Treenie is all of 11.2H, it takes me about 20 minutes to braid her. We were on the road at 11:20 - 10 minutes before our scheduled 11:30 departure.

My backwards directions were perfect and we were there in exactly 1 hour and 1/4 tank of gas - that's right, only 1/4!! At $3.59/gal I was thrilled. My Mom met us there with one of her friends (great, now I have to be nice AND cheery!) I've actually known this woman since I was born (my Mom's friend, not my Mom - well, I guess I've known my Mom since I was born too - you know what I'm trying to say!!) It was actually very funny, because while Annette really liked the pony, she was also really afraid of her - she is really afraid of all animals. She was so eager to help but to scared to actually do anything - she decided that she would supervise Molly getting dressed. I tacked Treenie up in the van - another advantage of having a small pony - I can pull her out of the stall but still cross tie her in the "aisle" of the van. It sure beats walking up and down the ramp to unload everything and, you don't have to worry about leaving anything behind because it never leaves the van! I made my Mom hold Treenie while Molly got ready - ho hum are you done yet??? I do not know what takes so long to throw on a pair of breeches and shirt - sheesh!

My Mom was never allowed to come to horse shows when I showed as a junior. My Dad and I always went. He would tend bar on Thurs/Fri and Sat nites (in addition to his reg job just to pay for my horse) until 2:30 AM then get up at 5 or 6 to take me to a horse show. We were a team - I could leave him with my horse to go register and he would have him unloaded and mostly tacked by the time I got back. He just did it (and did it correctly for the most part) without being asked. My Dad died years ago but I have no doubt that he would still get up at 5 in the morning to take Molly to a horse show these days. So, now my Mom is trying to fill his shoes. She can hold the pony, but that's about it. I know for sure, that she can not tack up or do anything else but that's okay. That's what I'm there for. Molly likes having her meet us at shows and I know she like spending time with Molly.

The classes were pretty uneventful - the ring was very muddy - guess what - Miss Treenie is definitely NOT a mudder! She went, but VERY delicately - she was very concerned about getting those little piggies dirty! Molly got a 3rd in Pleasure, 4th in the EQ and 4th in the Fig 8. The delight was the crossrails class. First, the course was diagonal line to diagonal line - have you ever heard of that in the mini's?? Good thing Molly is doing regular courses at home! I put her in 2nd - we don't like to go first but I hate going way down in the line up. The first kid totally missed the last jump - she is another of these kids who thinks they can canter the whole thing - look where that got her! Molly went in did a great opening circle and proceeded to trot the WHOLE course, use all her space on the ends of the ring and get the correct diagonals. It was really her best course ever. The rest of the kids did a trot/canter combo that was completely inconsistent and some were even not in control. Molly's was by far the most organized and well planned of the group (okay, maybe I'm a little partial). However, I did hear the judge ask the ring steward if she was supposed to penalize the kids who cantered. I'm not sure what the response was but it started out as "it's up to you..." Whatever her decision was, Molly won the class! It was her first blue ribbon ever and very exciting. It's extra nice when you can win a jumping class!

Everything's Coming Up Roses...

Sunday was another show day for Molly. I can't say enough how cute our pony is! She just gets better and better. I really think she likes to horse show. She gets the cutest expression on her face and really ties to be on her best behavior. It has been great for Molly because it is giving her the confidence she needs to know that she can do this.





There were only 6 in the whole division this time - who knows - perhaps because there was just another show the week before, or because the weather prediction was kind of iffy all week, but there were 10 fewer kids this week. 6 is a good number, and, it was "good company" - meaning that the kids were mostly all about the same level so Molly really earned her ribbons. She ended up 2nd in the Eq, 4th in the Pleasure, 4th in the Figure 8 and 2nd over fences.

Overall, she was Reserve Champion which was huge for her. She was SO proud.

This is our first year in the mini's, but after only 3 shows I am already having a problem with it. I'm digging out my prizelist now as I type because I want to quote this correctly..."Rider's may not cross enter into any other class or division at the same show where they are required to canter". By definition, the division is called Mini Stirrup Walk/Trot Division. Can someone please tell me why kids are going in and cantering the entire cross rails course? I understand the kids who trot in and canter out the lines, trot in the corner and trot in and canter out the other line. Molly does that sometimes because she just likes to canter her jumps. I tell her that mini's should TROT everything. But these kids that go in with a courtesy circle then pick up a canter and proceed to canter the course I think are technically wrong. Also, if they are cantering this course, then move up to short stirrups where they expect you to canter! It REALLY annoys me - so much so that I am going to go to the next association meeting to try to get some clarification on this. It is not a matter that Molly can't do it, but I think this division was created for a reason and we need to maintain that reason so that the kids coming up will have a proper division in which to show. (I should have been a constitutional law attorney!)

Molly trotted in and cantered out, did a simple change onto the correct lead (phew!) at the end of the ring and cantered the entire last line - fortunately the strides all worked out or it could have been ugly! It really was a nice round even if it wasn't how we had schooled it.

Molly's new little show friend did not have as good as day - last week her pony wouldn't go - I mean just wouldn't go. He would stop and rear. This week she brought a different pony who cantered off with her after about 30 sec in the 1st class. I felt SO bad - I was wracking my brain " do I have an extra pony in the van?" I have an extra of almost everything so it was not crazy to wonder if I had stuck in an extra pony! Unfortunately, I did not - nor did I have a stronger bit that might work - I just wish I had something that might have been able to help her. She was a REALLY good sport and went back up and schooled the pony before they put him away. I hope they can work it out, because she really is a sweet little kid and it is nice to have a friend at shows!

We're off again on Saturday and then things will quiet down until June. I told Molly that for her birthday at the end of this month I would take her cross country schooling - that should be interesting!

Pretty Is As Pretty Does

Years ago (many, many years ago) I read an article in the Chronicle entitled "Pretty Is As Pretty Does". It was written by a Pony Confirmation Hunter judge who was concerned about the ponies being bred for confirmation and movement but not necessarily temperament. This judge was seeing a lot of beautiful ponies on the line, but many (not all) were just rank and ill behaved under saddle. Hence the title.

I've carried that phrase with me over the years because I found that it applies to a lot in everyday life - human and horse. But I am especially finding it applicable now that Molly has really gotten into riding. I'll be the first to raise my hand - our pony can be a BEAST! She can also be absolutely spectacular. It's a matter of setting limits and ground rules. I have to admit, she is really pretty easy and does have a wonderful temperament - however, she is a pony - she is ridden by a child - she will try to take advantage of a situation given the opportunity.

Today was another show day for us. It was a local show so we did not have a crack of dawn morning. It was raining when we got to the barn, but by the time we got to the show, it had stopped and stayed dry for the rest of the day.

As we were getting Treenie wrapped in the AM, I noticed that she was shivering - not all over, just her hind end. She was covered and felt warm under her sheet. The temp had gone down about 20 degrees from earlier in the week so it was a bit understandable. However, like I said, she felt warm underneath so I began to wonder if she was just anxious (do horses get nervous in anticipation??) I did not want to alarm Molly so I quietly brought it to her trainer's attention who was not worried and told me to make sure I brought another blanket just in case. Treener's seemed eager to go and walked right up the ramp into the van - she practically self loads!

The ride to the show was uneventful - we actually left 12 minutes ahead of schedule -unfortunately, my friend Michelle had planned to drive with us (I misunderstood) and we left without her! And, I did not hit the guard rail crossing the bridge at the end of our street (I did this with the barn owners trailer taking my horse to the clinic. It was really not a big deal but I was mortified!) This is why I like my van - it's all 1 piece!!

Anyway, ho hum - got to the show, checked in and began to get ready - they actually were running on time! I had heard horror stories about last year and how behind they were because of conflicts. Treenie came down the ramp, took a look around and you could almost see her immediately settle in - "Oh, I know where I am - all's cool!" I think she used to show at this show a lot with her old owner so she must have felt at home.

In the warm up ring she marched around like a carousel horse - any direction - with traffic, against traffic across the center - didn't matter. Both Treenie and Molly were just really together and content. It was a really NICE picture. Treenie was so mellow that Molly even cantered in the warm up ring. Since the Mini's do not canter, I don't ask for this if Treenie has her "she devil" look in her eye. She is actually a little better after she canters, so it's good if she can, but not worth risking getting taken off with. Also, no stick needed today.

Things were clicking right on schedule until the Pleasure division - can you believe that they actually held a schooling break before the xc pleasure class because it had 2 cross rails??? The same 2 cross rails that these horses just jumped in the division before - Give me a break! Okay Molly, jump down this is going to take a while! We hung out for a while until the FINALLY pinned the class.

We walked to the ring as they were calling the division - it seemed like mini stirrup kids started coming out of the woodwork! It was really like watching ants get flushed out of their hill. There were 16 mini's. I'm looking at my friends saying - they're going to have to split this - there is no way these kids can stay out of each other's way. Thankfully, they did - they lined everyone up and randomly picked numbers to make 2 divisions of 8 each. Phew! That's better. Of course, Molly winds up in the B group which means another 30-45 minuted before she goes.

So we hung out some more, took some pix and both Molly and Treenie had a potty break (better now than in the ring!)

FINALLY it was Molly's turn. (And I'm getting to the reason for the title) She went in and immediately started to trot around so Miss Treenie could see all the sights. I was really proud that she was all business. Treenie was practically a push button pony! They looked great, rode great and were a really a nice overall picture. Treenie was a Very Pretty Pony!

Schooling for the cross rail class was a little tricky as Treenie LOVES to follow other horses - she pulled Molly down the lines a few times but she did go to all the jumps and never tried to duck out. When it was their turn I told Molly t0 pick a plan ans stick with it (either trot in and canter out both lines or trot the whole thing - trotting is my preference because 1) that is what a mini is technically supposed to do and 2) it give Molly a little more time to react if something goes awry) .

To my HUGE surprise, she trotted in and trotted out both lines AND got her diagonals in between the jumps! Woo Hoo! She's really getting it! It was a really nice, respectable round.

In the end, Molly was 4th in all 3 of the flat classes and 5th in the over fences class. Not too bad for her second show. AND, she did not lose any teeth this time!

See, pretty really is as pretty does!

Dressage Day

We've finally had our run of nice weather here - days in the mid to upper 70's. It got a little warm fast, but I'll take it over the gray raw days we've had.

Tim wanted to play soccer this spring, so I convinced Tom and that this was a "boy" thing and that he should be responsible for taking Tim for the next 7 Saturdays (I was NOT going to be schlepping to soccer on Saturdays - I do it all week and am done by the weekends). However, this has given me an opportunity to take Molly to ride without having to drag Tim along so off we went.

Now, I was not riding when I was 8. I didn't start until I was like 11 or 12 and I got my first when I was 14, but I do remember wanting to jump like ALL the time. Fortunately, my trainer (yes, the very one I took Molly to a few weeks ago) was very disciplined with flatwork and made it VERY clear that it was not good for the horse to jump every time I rode - I needed to work on my flatwork more. As I think about it now, it is a lot like to guys who spend their time at the driving range - how many times do you need your driver on a golf course? 18 - and sometimes not even that many (I used to play 75% of my game with a 5 iron). The game of golf is really played in the short game with the irons and putter - The same with riding - if your flatwork is correct, the fences should fall into place.

With flatwork in mind (and an incentive to make it interesting) I decided that Molly should start practicing her dressage tests. Because we are at a Hunter/Jumper barn, there is really no clear flat place to practice tests. Our ring is full of jumps and our indoor now has 2 temp stalls in the middle (making "down center line" and impossibility). I rode my horse on a nice grassy area next to the barn - there is no fencing or boundaries, but for me it's not an issue. I wasn't sure what Treenie would think of this though - she can clearly see her paddock and her "mares". Since this area is adjacent to the parking area, it is raised and has about a 2 foot retaining wall. I did have a little reservation of Treenie just jumping down to the gravel and taking off to the paddock. Molly is really riding well on the flat and taking off never even occurred to Treenie. She did look really good, but I kept telling Molly to keep her bent to the inside so she had to pay attention to Molly and not the mares - that seemed to work.

Walking and trotting turned out to be a non issue and I was glad for Molly to learn that she could ride in yet another place trouble free. I hopped down and got our dressage markers from the truck and set them up. Molly did a few dressage shows last year on my horse - it was VERY cute because it looked like a peanut on an elephant. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to retain much over the winter. So, I had to go over again, all the little "dressage do's and don'ts"

1. Do ride around the outside of the ring until the judge rings the bell

2. Do Not go into the ring until the judge rings the bell

(In an 8 year old mind, these two are mutually exclusive so you MUST say both)

3. Down Center line means "straight" down center line, not meandering left and right.

4. Salute is with your right hand

5. Go into ALL of your corners!

6. ETC

Some things were better than others, and frankly, for the first try this year it wasn't too bad - EXCEPT for the attitude! Miss Molly has never done this on Treenie - Miss Molly had forgotten how to make nice straight lines and even circles but, when I would tell her that a line was too crooked or a circle not correctly shaped and to do it again, she says "NO, it's fine". I was dumbfounded! I NEVER told my trainer "no". (Okay, I did recently, but I'm in my 40's!) It is the first time in a very long time that Know it All Molly has been outright defiant. Needless to say, I made her stop immediately and explained exactly how things work when Mom is paying all the bills. Plus, I'm a dressage rider! I've been riding for over 30 years! I think I know what I'm doing (and when to ask for help!). She wasn't too happy, but finally decided to see thing my way. We ran through the test again and called it a day - she stripped Treenie's saddle and rode her bareback for a while.

So that was our Saturday. My horse is 1/2 leased to a wonderful girl who has great dressage goals this year. I'm hoping that both Molly and Michelle will go to some dressage shows together - watch out for the M & M's!

Oh, and I thought this was really cute - Tim actually asked to ride this week...

Sit Up and Steer!

Wednesday is lesson day - sometimes it is Thursday, but it is usually Wednesday. It is an especially good lesson day when Molly's to best barn buds K and S are there also. Today the three musketeers were together.

Lesson days are a little hectic - Molly gets off the bus at 3:15 and we REALLY need to leave by 3:30 in order for her to get Treeners out of the field and tacked up on time - we're usually late but so it everyone else. The bottom line is that 4pm really doesn't work for us. In fact, K gets taken out of school early in order to get there somewhat on time. However, that seems to be the only slot they have available for us - it used to be a 4:30 slot, but over the winter it changed and now we really have to hustle to make it work. Unfortunately, neither of my kids are good about hustling... Tim ALWAYS takes off his shoes and loses one just as Molly walks in the door from school. Molly, needs to rifle through her drawers to look for the one pair of breeches that are usually in the wash - she has like 6 pair, but the ones she wants each week (and it differs from week to week) are the ones that are NOT in her drawer. So, she has no choice but to throw all of the breeches on the floor - yell at me that she can't find the ones she wants and then watch TV until I start yelling that we're late - Meanwhile, Tim starts yelling that he's not going to the "stupid barn" because he's watching something and is not going to miss it - Calgon - take me away!

Once we get there, things are much more mellow - we need to tack up quick, but I'm pretty good with that and Molly and I seem to be able to work off of each other. Hopefully, Tim stays in the car and watches a DVD. At 5, he really has not interest nor sense around horses and just doesn't get it that he has to be careful.

Finally, everyone is up and the lesson starts - I can breathe again. Just writing this has made my chest tighten with the stress!

Since some of the shows with mini stirrup ask you to actually jump a course (4 jumps usually once around the outside), Molly is doing regular courses in her lessons - today she did diagonal, diagonal, outside, outside. 8 jumps in total. That's a lot to put together when you have only been jumping for a few months - all winter it was really only single jumps because our indoor is a little small. So, 8 jumps in a row in a big ring is a big accomplishment. Treenie is not the most honest pony in the world either - you absolutely MUST sit up and steer - if you hang out in your 2-point and loop the reins you can bet she'll duck out. I've seen this enough times that I can pretty much tell 3 strides out if she's going to jump or run out. Molly too will figure this out some day - we all keep telling her to "sit up and steer!" but it seems to fall on deaf ears. I'm afraid she is going to have to learn by hitting the ground a few times. Right now, she thinks she is too cool because she can get over these jumps - it make take several attempts, but she does get over them. It would be nice if she got over them on the FIRST try. Miss Treenie can really jump when she wants to - actually, once she gets going she is a very cute little jumper ...

We all laughed today because we thought she may also have a future in the pony jumpers...

Amazingly, Molly seems to have a natural ability to stick to her back even when she jumps huge. Wish I had that same ability - oh to be 8 and fearless again....

Horse Show - Check!

Because this blog is primarily about my daughter, I have been very evasive about where we live - call it maternal instinct, but with the Internet and kids, the less info the better. However, I will say that we live on the East Coast - and spring has been SLOW to come.

I really needed it to be spring because our pony definitely needed to be clipped before we could take her anywhere. I really could not ethically clip her when the temperatures was only reaching the 40's during the day. Even with extra blankets, I thought that would just be mean. So I had been holding off hoping for some warm weather. I knew I needed at least 2 weeks between the clip and the show because frankly, I'm not the best body clipper in the world. I'm too impatient and anxious to just get it done. As a result, I end up with a lot of unsightly clip lines. I know the secret to a good clip is slow small strokes, but I just can't make myself do that - therefore I needed some time for it to even itself out.

Fortunately the temps slowly started to climb and we had some really nice days - enough to reassure me that the "winter" was finally over. So about 2 weeks ago I spent the day clipping our little hairy beast. It was very rewarding because she really looks great. I also got the bright idea that I should take Molly and the pony somewhere off the farm for a school. I'm really lucky that my old hunter trainer is also a very good friend. I called her and set up a lesson for Molly down at her farm. It was a good confidence builder for Molly to know that she could ride Treenie in different places. Molly rode great and Treenie was perfect. They were REALLY ready to horseshow.

Now, I'm not sure if this is just me, or if every Mom has this issue - over scheduling. It seems like we can go for weeks with nothing to do and then all of a sudden, we have like 5 things to do in the same weekend. What's up with that??? The horse show has been scheduled for weeks. Wouldn't you know - Molly's school Talent Show is the Friday night before AND Brownie Camporee is the Sat and Sun. Okay, I can somehow fit all this in - schedule a lesson for Thursday, talent show Friday. Drop Molly off at 7 AM Sat for Camporee. Bathe/Braid pony & pack for show Sat afternoon. Leave house at 7 AM Sun to pick Molly up from Campoee (1 hour away each direction) get back to barn to pack up pony and head to show by 11 AM. Thank God the mini's did not start until after 2pm!!

As it turned out, the mini's started around 3pm. We were there by 1pm so Molly had plenty of time to school and get organized. Treenie seems to like going places so she is great to load and travels well.

Schooling was typical hunter show schooling - for those of you that do not know what this means close your eyes and picture this....

1. A ring about 1500 sq feet

2. Anywhere from 10-25 horses and ponies in at the same time all doing different things - walking, trotting cantering, in all different directions, circling and changing directions.

3. Add in horses that are jumping the fences in all different directions

4. Every one's trainer yelling instructions to their individual students.

Now, imagine that you are 8 years old riding one of the smallest ponies in the ring. Pretty intimidating - no?

Somehow, Molly was not at all phased by all the confusion - she stayed on the rail and trotted, circled on the ends of the ring if she had room. Treenie was a little fresh and Molly just kept her going until she settled. I was impressed. She even schooled her course in all of the commotion. I have to give her credit - Treenie was tough. She just didn't want to be "medium". She was either too quick and a little "runny" or sucking back and getting behind Molly's leg and popping over the jumps. Despite this, Molly still wanted to do the jump class.

The mini stirrups had 10 in the division!! That's huge - last year they had like 5 or 6 at each show - oh boy....

The first class was pleasure - Molly did and excellent job of keeping by herself, not getting boxed in and keeping her pace consistent. She was very "workmanlike" and did her best. She ended up 4th which I thought was quite good.

The next class was equitation - of course, there was the one kid who really wasn't in control riding the pony who would take advantage of the situation. Actually this was the same kid who in the first class fell off 3 times!! Her pony would just slam on the brakes and yank his head down to eat the grass on the outside of the ring. The poor judge helped her get back on the last time and told her to cut of the side of the ring near the grass so he wouldn't do that again! Every time she fell off they had to stop the class to get her back on - Molly even said - "Mom, she's fallen off 3 times already - why doesn't she just leave?"

So, in the next class, this pony starts to canter after they reversed direction - not running away, just cantering - looked quite comfortable actually. However, this kid had no control - her reins were too long, she was flopping all over and totally unable to steer effectively. So poorly was she riding that while trying to circle she pointed the pony toward the outside line of jumps - IN THE WRONG DIRECTION - and proceeded to jump the line before she could stop. Of course, they had stopped the other riders while trying to get this kid under control - I could see Molly just sitting on Treenie rolling her eyes - what can I say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! After all the excitement, they ended that class by just having the other 9 kids line up - quit while they were ahead I guess. Molly ended up 5th in that one.

The figure 8 class was relatively uneventful - of course there were some that were clearly better than others, but no one was run away with or went in the wrong direction (darn - no more excitement!). Molly's figure 8 was nearly perfect except that she forgot to change her diagonal when she changed direction. Hello?? What is the the whole point of this particular class? Oh well at least the circles were really good.

Finally over fences class - mini stirrup over fence classes are different at every show - some shows have you only jump 2 jumps, some 4 jumps, you never know until you get there. So, this show was 4 jumps - once around the outside. Treenie was not as good as she had been - she had a look in her eye like "give me the chance and I am taking off!" I really wanted Molly to trot in and trot out of the lines - cantering was only going to lead to problems I thought. So, what does Molly do? Nice opening courtesy circle, trots up to the 1st fence and proceeds to canter down the line - jumps the second fence big and Molly's gets left, then bounced forward. Treenie pops her head up and smacks Molly in the face - knocking out one of her loose teeth! Molly didn't know what to do with her tooth - she didn't want to drop it so she just came out of the ring. All the practicing, schooling and discussions we had about this show - but no contingency plan for loosing a tooth! How could I have forgotten to plan for that?? Ugh!!!

So that was our day - I found a short cut home - yeah! and was home and unpacked with no further drama. It's back to lessons, lessons, lessons until our next show in 2 weeks!! I'll have to make sure she doesn't have any more loose teeth for the next one.

Bad Pony!

Okay, so Treenie was basically the boss in this relationship for the first year we had her. However, with the help of her wonderful and encouraging trainer, Molly was slowly started to win some of the battles. "Don't let her win Molly - you can do it!" was a phrase we heard often. Keep in mind, that poor Molly was probably all of 45 lbs at the time! Of course, just as things were starting to come together, it was time to mix things up - the weather changed and we could go outside again.

The first trip was just that - a trip. Molly mounted inside, and proceeded to walk out the door with the rest of the others in the group. Miss Treenie began to walk toward the ring and realized that her paddock was just a bit beyond - "See Ya' I'm going back to my paddock" and off she trotted with Molly yelling the whole way while trying to stop her. Fortunately, her pony groom (aka ME) was there to retireve her and drag her back INTO the ring.

The first several lessons seemed to put them back to square one - unless Treenie could follow another horse around the ring, she pretty much decided that she would just take Molly wherever Treenie wanted to go. Molly was nothing more than another annoying fly on her back. At this point I was really starting to second guess this decision - was this the right pony? Will Molly ever be able to sort this out? The problem with a small pony is there are a limited number of people who can ride her - hence our problems. Fortunately, we have a great adult rider who is quite petite and she was able to get on for a few schools - of course, Treenie was great for her but the same old as soon as Molly would ride her.

The turning point came during a lesson - Treenie has just decided that she was going to stop and try to turn toward the rail. Molly was coached through the stopping and told to shorten her reins and pull Treenie's head to the inside. As she did that, Treenie jerked her head down and pulled Molly in front of the saddle then in a split second she spun and dumped Molly - scaring her to death. We had never fallen off before so our ego was more hurt than anything fortunately. However, momma bear absolutely did not like what she just saw. Pony tricks are one thing - being dirty and nasty (which this clearly was) is absolutely not tolerable! Molly did get back on and make the little she devil trot around the ring before she gave up for the day - good for her - no treats for pony!

Of course, I am driving home thinking - Molly needs more leverage - she can't win this battle alone - clearly the grazing reins which we had been using were not enough. We were already in a double twisted wire so that option was pretty much exhausted also. I had to come up with something....and then it hit me. I was on the phone to Beval's the next day - Hello, do you have a pony size "tack noseband"? Of course, they were out of the tack nosebands but did have a chain one - okay, better than nothing and it was reasonably priced! I'll take it and you better send me a standing martingale too!

Okay, here come the big guns - anti grazing reins so she can't pull her head down, standing martingale so she can't throw her head up - chain noseband so she feels some pull and punishes herself if she tosses her head. It took Treenie all of 10 minutes to figure out that the party was over. She flipped her nose 1 time and realized that it wasn't worth the fight. Low and behold, that pony CAN walk, trot and canter around the ring, circle through the middle AND change direction when asked. She does know how to listen - she actually is the nice pony I thought I bought!

We kept her accoutrement (I LOVE that word) on for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Everything was working and Molly was riding well and gaining confidence - why mess with it. As the lesson moved back indoors and there were not other issues arising, I decided to take off the grazing reins. Molly was mortified - NO! I NEED THEM! she would argue with me. Finally, I told her to just get over it and took them off - guess what no problems! A month or so later I removed the martingale - you can't use a martigale in the flat classes, so we needed to see how things would go - again - no problems! The noseband will stay - Molly needs that extra leverage that it gives her and I don't want Miss Treenie to realize that she is now naked.

So, the winter has gone by, Molly has ridden consistently and improved immensely. Her position look great, she's in control and she's confident. She's ready to horseshow...oh wait - our pony is on turnout board - although she is blanketed, she looks like a hairy beast. No one will be able to tell if Molly is riding a pony or a sheepdog. Okay, need a plan.....

How Did We End Up Here?

This blog is about my daughter - Molly who is almost 9 years old. Somehow, in a moment of delusion, I decided that she needed a pony. I've been riding for over 25 years and have owned, leased, borrowed many horses in my time so I kind of knew what I was getting into. I currently have my own horse and compete quite frequently. OK, I really did know what I was getting into, but somehow I think I was sticking my head in the sand. Anyway, in November 2006, I bought Molly her pony. Treenie is a cute 15 year old pony mutt - her coggins say POA but I think there is some Shetland in her. We knew the pony because Molly used to take lessons on her - I knew she was safe and that was the most important factor in the decision.

When we got Treenie, Molly was just starting to figure out posting - her balance was not perfect and her timing was not quite there. However, as I said - Treenie was safe and I could always put Molly on the lunge line.

The first year was tough - At the time we were boarding at a barn about 40 min from our home. I would go out to ride my horse after the kids went to school and then go back to take Molly to ride. That did not last very long as it got to be a drag. As a result, I started taking Molly only on the weekends - that posed a problem with the hubby who said "I'm not a babysitter". - Funny, I can "babysit" kids all day though and foolish me - I though it was "parenting"! Okay, so this isn't working out either - plus I now had 2 horses on full board - OUCH!! Finally I got my act together and found a great barn for the pony near our home. I moved her in January of 2007.

Advantages - 1. Molly could go out and ride several times a week 2. They would take Treenie on turn out board for 1/2 the price I was paying at the other place 3. The instruction and people seemed really nice.

Disadvantages - Oh yeah - there weren't any!

Okay, so now I had a workable solution except it was kind of a crummy winter so Molly really did not ride consistently. As a result, Miss Treenie got a little spoiled and started getting a little piggy - dragging Molly into the center of the ring - trying to drag her out of the ring etc - you know - typical pony stuff. Fortunately, Molly stuck it out and things got better - until the spring when lessons went from the indoor to the outdoor -

Stay tuned for rest of this wild ride...