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.....