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!

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!!

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....