We've Moved!

Our Blog has moved!

Please visit us at....

ponygroom.wordpress.com

The new blog is called "The Pony Project"

The blog is still about Molly and her pony but things have changed!

1. Molly now has a new pony Delilah (until recently I was calling her "Delightless").

2. We are at a new barn with a new trainer

3. Molly has moved up to the Short Stirrups (although her stirrups get longer every day!)

We're Moving!

No, we are not physically moving, but I am going to move the blog to another host AND update the name. Since Molly has moved beyond the mini stirrups, the blog was really not relevant any longer.

Once I set up the new account, I will make a final post with the new name and location.

Hey There Delilah

Molly has had a pony on trial for almost 2 weeks now. We are vetting her tomorrow so hopefully all will work out. She is very sweet and kind. I have a feeling she may have been "manhandled" at some point in her past as she can be a little "wary" of things. However, she is great with the kids and wants to trust the rest of us. She has been nothing but polite and well mannered since we have had her.

She was a bit of a spook the first day at the barn. Add to a new place, crappy weather and no turn out and I think she was just out of sorts. Molly did ride her both on her own and in some lessons and she was very safe and not at all naughty. Because the kids were home for spring break all week we really had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with this pony. Miss Delilah (that's what I was told her name was but who knows) did jump all of the jumps in our ring, although sometimes she needed to have a look first. That gave me cause for concern because I am really expecting to find something that will just jump around cold and not care. Poor Molly was riding with a HUGE audience - everyone at the barn wanted to see the new pony so I am sure Molly had some butterflies about having to "perform". Once she got a look at everything Delilah did march right up to all of the jumps and did her lead changes when asked. She never once got quick. Okay, maybe we can work with this.

The next day was a much nicer day. The weather of the previous day could not decide what it wanted to do - for 10 minutes it was nice and sunny, then it would turn grey and windy and snow flurry for 10 minutes. So, the pony and Molly were having to deal with the weather fluctuating between April and February for 10 minute intervals. This day I had higher expectations for several reasons - pony had finally gotten some turnout, Molly was feeling more comfortable with her, and it was a nice, warm sunny day. Here is what we got...

We decided to take her to a big A show the next day just to school. Even though she was cute enough in the lessons, I still wanted to see what she would do at a show - would she be unphased by the whole scene? Would she be up and excited? Would she be a total freak and scare Molly? Since Molly is looking to do some serious showing, it was important that we find this out ahead of time. As it turned out, she was none of the above really - she was "curious but unphased". Who would have thought that one? She seemed generally interested in everything that was going on, but as soon as Molly got on she seemed to go into "babysitter" mode and just packed Molly around (GOOD PONY). Molly rode her in the indoor which had schooling for 3 rings! The Children's Hunters, Pony jumpers and the Short/Mini stirrups. It was an interesting combination for sure. Delilah just did her thing and never looked at what anyone else was doing. We then took her outside to school in the ring with the short stirrup kids. This is really what I wanted to see. How would she be with the actual jumps. She did take a look at one, but Molly just sat and sent her forward and that was it. No issue and not another look. We were all really pleased that she seemed to know her job and just went to work. Even with all the ponies schooling is all different directions, she was cool, calm and collected. She even got all her lead changes.

We hung out for the rest of the day to watch the gal who runs the barn go. Delilah hung out on the van without a peep from her. She even ran out of hay and just looked out the window instead. She is a very sweet pony! SO tomorrow is the big day. I seriously doubt there will be any lameness issues - she has been very sound since we've had her. But, you just never know what may turn up. I am keeping my fingers crossed - we really like this one!

Oh Danny Boy

**NOTE** I wrote this post RIGHT after the show and saved in anticipating adding video - sorry, I'm just not going to get around to posting the video. Besides, it was only about 30 secs before the battery died!

Well, Danny had his first ever Dressage show on Sunday. The good news is that he is DEFINITELY a dressage horse. The bad news is that we need to develop a better prep plan because he was NOT the same horse at the show that he is at home. This is okay though - I just need to know that and be able to plan for it. The fact that he was clipped earlier this week and it was like 27 degrees when I got to the farm did not help things I'm sure!



We went for a lesson on Friday and he was out of the world fabulous. My trainer rode him for the first 1/2 of the lesson. I thought it would be good for her to feel what he does and good for him to get a really good school with correct aids. Lastly I thought it would be easier for me once she set him up. I was right on that plan on all counts. She was able to make him move like I have never seen him move before - I actually had chills at one point. It reaffirmed my thoughts that this is really his destiny. After a while of watching I was really getting antsy to get on. In my head I was thinking - ok, my turn...that's good can I try...come on come on me now , me now. She FINALLY gave him back to me and it was great. He was soft, supple and forward. It was so cool to get a connection and feel his back just springing along. I left feeling really prepared for our first show in 2 days.



I had been having second thoughts that maybe it was too soon - mayby we weren't really ready. If Danny was my own horse I wouldn't care so much, but I'm riding him for his owner. He is for sale and it is my responsibility to make sure he is prepared to be successful. So I had some reservations - was he REALLY ready? Did I choose the correct tests (T-2 and T-3)? Could I actually pull this off? You have to keep on mind - Danny is 8 - sometimes he has the attention span of a 4 year old. He was broken and only ridden by his owner for his whole life. All he really knows is how the huunters go. He had been turned out for a WHOLE YEAR until I started riding him in January. Basically, he has only been back in work for about 10 weeks and he is being asked to do things that he has never been asked to do before. So, not too much pressure right??

Tack Sale

The Somerset County 4H Association is holding its annual tack sale THIS WEEK...

Location: Somerset County 4H Center 310 Milltown Road Bridgewater, NJ

Sale Dates:
March 20th 6-10pm
March 21st 9-1pm

Anyone wishing to sell tack...

All items must be clean and in safe condition

Bring Items to 4H Center
Wed March 18th - 6-10pm
Thur March 19th 9-1pm

All items not sold must be picked up by 2pm pn March 21st
Consignment fee 20%

Additional Info 908-526-1510
732-469-6295 after 5pm

He's a Rock Star!

I mentioned in my first update that I have been given a great opportunity to ride a really nice horse for someone. This is really an unbelievable opportunity because Danny is a really nice horse and this isn't costing me anything other than lessons and showing expenses. AND, the lessons are with my dressage trainer, not someone picked by Danny's owner.



So here is the low down. Mr. D is an 8 yr old KWPN/TB cross from the Concord/Voltaire line. He is a nice big boy toppping out at 16.3 1/2, and a nice mover. He has a wonderful puppy-dog personality and is really very quiet. His problem? He does not like the jumps. In fact, he is convinced that they will eat him. SO....if the jumps will eat you, it makes it difficult to be a show hunter. The solution? Dressage. That's where I come in being the resident DQ at a all hunter/eq barn.



Danny's owner is a top level adult eq rider. She is consistently #1 in our zone and #3 in the country. She horse shows - A LOT - to keep this rank. When Danny decided he was no longer going to entertain her ideas of a hunter for him, she literally "turned him out" and put him at a farm on pasture board for the rest of the show season so she could concentrate on her eq horse. So there he sat, and sat, and sat. All the while eating lush grass and getting fat! The only problem is that Danny is a "people horse". He LOVES attention and LOVES people. While he had pasture buddies, he did not like being away from people. He would harass the poor farm owner at the pasture farm by standing over him as he tried to do fence maintenance, or follow him around when he was throwing hay. Mr. Farm owner felt threatened by this and sent Danny home from "camp" in December (stupid horse). There was now a perfectly nice horse to ride - that NEEDED to be ridden and to find a job - and me, a horseless rider.



D and I have been together now since the first week of January and things have been going well. He has good basics which makes things easy. AND, he generally like having a job and seems VERY happy with he career change. He's clueless sometimes, but a quick study and things have been great. We went for out first lesson with my trainer a few weeks ago and she really liked him. She said we were a well matched and competent pair. She was also able to help me get some really decent work out of him - much more than I get at home. By the end of the lesson we were both exhausted!



This past week, it seems like we took a step backwards. I know, this happens with horses, but I was starting to get REALLY frustrated. I find it more stressful when it is someone else's horse. I feel the need to show that I am always doing a god job and moving him forward. The ultimate goal is to get him in a really nice place and sell him for a nice chunk of change so I do feel a little pressure - imposed strictly by myself - not at all from the owner - but I still feel it. This week I felt like everything was just a fight and the problems were not going away. I was starting to worry that maybe he was too much horse for me.



While discussing this with my friend, she said that she finally figured "it" out with her horse and that she wanted to come try it with Danny to see if it worked on other horses. She came out today. OMG - At first it was ugly - I mean REALLY ugly. Danny was MAD, his stuck his nose in the air, swished his tail and just refused to give in. Now, in this situation I would have said - "oh buddy, what's the matter you don't like this, here how about if I ask this way?" and he would have gotten away with being a butt. Not this time. my friend took up the contact put her hands in one place and put her leg on - and on and on until he finally figured it out to just accept the contact. Surprisingly, the resistance only lasted for about 5 minutes. It seemed like an eternity to me. I was starting to wonder how long I should let it go on before I stepped in - after all, if she really pissed him off, it would be ME who would have to fix it! But seriously, 5 minutes - maybe 7 tops and then this GORGEOUS dressage horse emerged! He was straight, he was supple, he was forward and he was in the contact. I usually get some of these things, but usually not all at the same time! This was amazing and he looked great.



I got on and by now the resistance was totally gone so all I had to do was look pretty - it was great. All of our issues were gone! We have been having a sticky right lead problem - not today. He has been bulgy and a little unbalanced - not today. It was SO exciting. There is a REALLY great dressage horse in there. I just need to learn how to bring it out!

Could this one the THE ONE?

Molly tried a pony last week that just wasn't a match - oh well. It was a good experience for her to get on something new and she what it threw at her. The pony was actually a little rude, but Molly kept her cool and really acted like a pro (especially for a 9 year old!). She did a great job riding it but it was obvious this just wasn't for her. Plus, it was at the top of our budget so in my mind it had better be nice!

Yesterday we tried another. I really had no expectations since the ad had no picture and no video - great, we could be going out to see a half lame, horrible mover and ugly to boot. However, I googled the farm - the website looked pretty respectable and I was familiar with the shows they attend so I crossed my fingers and off we went.

The pony was actually pretty cute. He is quite green, but sensible, a good mover, and good jumper. He had a nice little attitude and was really good about the jumps. Of course, as soon as we walked in I thought he looked a little off (ok maybe more than a little - he was kind of head bobbing off) but there were a lot of factors going on here I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Molly got on and rode pretty much like a sack of potatoes. I did not think this guy liked you to hang on his face, but Molly rode around with reins a mile too long. He didn't seem to care. Molly's stirrups were too long so her balance was all over the place - he didn't seem to care. He wasn't perfect - he needs work. He is inside out, a bit inverted and he gets a little quick. But I think he has a very kind attitude and when we finally did get Molly situated right and she put him together a bit he was VERY cute. He will not be something she can go out and horseshow on next weekend, but by the summer we should have something workable for the show ring (if we take him).

So here are the pro's for this one - Molly wanted to take him home as soon as we were done. He is a nice mover, a nice jumper and a nice attitude. He is also CHEAP (in horse terms) I think he can be flipped for nice money with a little work. We can take him on trial.

The con's - 1. WE NEED TO SELL TREENIE FIRST 2. He is green 3. He needs work

I think it is worth taking him on trial. We can see how he is and how much he progresses in a week. My concern is what if we really like him at the end of the week and we still have nothing happening on Treenie? Do I send him back and hope he doesn't get sold in the meantime? Can I send him back and ask for a right of first refusal? I'm kind of hoping we take him and then don't really like him because then - problem solved right? Oh boy, it's times like these when I really wish we did some other sport - like running!

The Saint and the "aint"

We showed Treenie to our first prospective buyers today - she was a SAINT and the kid actually rode her pretty well for a beginner. If these people are really interested, it would definitely be a good match.

After the "showing" I went on to ride Danny. As I said Trennie was a saint - Danny, not so much. This poor boy is eight with the attention span of a 4 year old and today was a particularly bad ADHD day. Of course, being so beautiful out I had to ride outside, but that only gave him more cause to look around and pay attention to anything but me! Riding outside also means riding around JUMPS. D really doesn't like jumps - at all. At one point I was just cantering a simple circle near one of the jumps and he literally jumped off the outside rein, did a flying lead change and bulged in the opposite direction. Well, at least he's athletic? We are officially signed up for a show on the 22nd - I hope we can stay in the ring!

I am thinking that he may benefit from some type of supplement to help him focus - I think B-1 is about the only thing out there - it is also supposed to have some calming benefits. He's not hot, but a little edgy - normally if he is unsure about something he will back off my leg (if he can't climb into my lap first) but today he was just strong and obnoxious. Oh well, I'll chalk it up to spring fever and run out for some B-1 - it certainly can't hurt!

FINALLY - An Update!

I admit it - I am a bad blogger! I love to read the blogs I follow and actually get annoyed when they are not updated in a few days. But as a blogger, I am the pits and probably totally annoying to the few followers I do have. I apologize. I promise to try to be a more frequent poster this year. How about once a week - at least?

That said, there are actually several updates to report...

1. Thanks to everyone who left messages, called and/or sent e-mails about Lexi. Your kind words of sympathy and encouragement really meant a lot to me (I'm getting teary writing this) and helped me get through a really tough time. I was having his portrait drawn by the same girl who did Treenie's and wouldn't you know it she finished it up right after Christmas - how is that for timing. Now all I have to do is get is framed and he can complete the "wall of fame" in my living room! This gal is an art student in NYC - she is VERY reasonable (like around $200). She is hoping to pick up some consignments for the summer - I will gladly pass along her info!

2. Molly finished out the year with several year end awards. She was 6th at one show series where we went to 1/2 of the shows, 4th at our local h/j assoc. AND the big one - Champion of the Intro Starter Rider division for Dressage and she was given the award for Up and Coming Dressage Rider!! This was a total surprise to us and of course she was in the bathroom when they presented the award - Oh well!

3. Molly has officially moved up to the short stirrup division for this show year - I guess this blog should really be "Adventures in Short Stirrups" now - oh wait - I'm not sure if we're staying in this division. What's that you say - you can't go back once you move up?? Of course not silly - Molly definitely will not go back to the mini's - however, she may end up not doing the full year in the short stirrups but moving to the pre-children's hunters. More on that later - maybe a post for next week??

4. We have decided to sell Treenie so that Molly can move up to a med or large pony. It has been pretty apparent that Treenie, as cute as she is, may not be competitive (aka Fancy) enough for the other divisions. And, Molly is starting to outgrow her. We will probably be able to squeeze this season out of her, but that's about it. So, she is officially for sale - she has an ad on Dream Horse for now and we have several people looking at her. Molly went and tried a large pony this week, but it wasn't for her so the search is on!!

5. I have been given an unbelievable opportunity to train and campaign a really cool horse for the gal who runs Molly's barn. She has a KWPN/TB that she has owned since he was 2. He has VERY respectable bloodlines and she had hoped he would become her Adult Amateur horse. Unfortunately, a 7, he made it clear to her that he REALLY did not like the jumps so a hunter/eq career was not in his future. As a result, we agreed that I would ride and campaign him as a dressage horse this season and hopefully turn him into a nice dressage horse for an amateur. Again- more on this in later blogs. In short, things are going extremely well - he is super sweet, and seems to love his new job. I took him for our first lesson with my dressage trainer and she really liked him. I am really hopeful for the season with this one! I'll post video soon - need to download from my camera first.

So, I should have a lot to write about now - new divisions, new horses, new opportunities. Stay tuned because this may turn out to be a wild whirlwind of a season for us!

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!