Sunday, December 28, 2008

Last Lesson of 2008

Today I had my last lesson for 2008 with my Mom. Satchmo was muddy but in a good mood :) We worked on the flat for a while and did some walk - trot and walk - canter transitions. It was good :D I'm pretty sure Venice's legs grew, though, because the stirrups seem a little longer than usual. Then we worked over fences and it seems to be working well to just canter right into jumping and sitting back helps, too. I don't think I was sitting back enough so at least that was good.

Last but not least, we jumped 2'6"! That's right, 2'6"! Heck yea! :D Go Satchmo!! I can seriously vision him doing well even higher later in his career! I was so happy! :)

We didn't get any pictures of it, but I have a few witnesses ;) Happy New Year! 2009 is Satchmo's year!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Brrr it's Cold!

Saturday morning I went to the barn to ride Mr. Satchmo. It was pretty cold and windy but I managed to ride for 20 minutes. The ground was frozen, too, and Satchmo being the dainty flower he is did not like that. It took some coaxing from me to let him know that the more we moved the softer the ground would become but he didn't believe me until 2 min until we finished when the ground was actually starting to melt on its own. I worked on some transition stuff and did 1 jump and called it a day. I want to work on flying lead changes but I suck at them so for now I just worked on simple changes across the diagonal and trying to decrease the number of trot strides he takes before picking up the new lead. I figured that should be doing some sort of good. I found it amuzing that every time I asked him to pick up a new lead he swished his tail once. Some how his tail helps lol! Sally was there, too, just finishing up with Moonie who flirted mercelessly over the fence with Smash and Rizzo. Little floozies ;P I put Satch back and went home after that. :)

Monday, December 1, 2008

Thanksgiving Riding

What a weekend of riding! This weekend I took a little road trip with my Mom to Wilson College in PA to visit Monty. It has been 2 years since I donated him to the school and I had the sudden urge to finally see him. We drove up at 10am and finally arrived a little after 11:30am. I found Monty in Barn 2. The whole facility was great. 3 barns 2 indoor rings an outdoor ring and a cross country course! Monty looked just how I'd left him and I was happy he was still nice and fat. I was worried he would be too thin since he was hard to keep weight on - but it seems as if Wilson College knows how to keep him healthy. He gets 8 flakes of hay a day!! Talk about sparing no expense!! I found someone in charge and told them who I was and she told me I could hop on him and do whatever I wanted. It was weird not having any sort of rules but I went with the flow. I tacked Monty up and I could tell he just wasn't the same. He was still sweet and willing, but his spunky personality was definitely toned down. He didn't recognize me like I somehow thought he would and he definitely had a school horse mentality - a little sour. I dragged him to the outdoor ring and got on. He walked, trotted, and cantered wonderfully and was actually more balanced than I ever really got him to be. Then I popped him over some fences and he was like a push button horse! I couldn't believe it! He could find his own spots and was so even paced through the line to get the correct strides!! I could tell he had some fun jumping and I remembered why I had loved him so much. I didn't know what else to do with him so I hopped off after only about 15 minutes and took him back. I felt some better closure with him and that I really had grown out of him. He wouldn't be a challenge for me to ride anymore and we had both changed over the past 2 years. Sad to admit, but I was happy he was teaching little kids how to ride and was such an asset to the program. I left with my Mom and some great pics and a satisfied feeling about Monty's future.

Sunday I went back to Cathy's for a lesson in the rain on Satchmo. Satchmo was really quite good despite the cold icky weather and we even were schooling over 2'3" fences :) Cathy's plan is school him at home no lower than 2'3"-2'6" then we can show him at 2' next spring :) I'm excited! Hope Satchmo is excited, too! LOL!

I guess that's really it for the update over Thanksgiving weekend. :) yay horses!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Show Day!

Today was the Talbot Run Combined Show. But before I get into that, I want to lightly touch on Saturday.

Saturday my Mom and I went to the barn for show prep. We put all of our tack in the trailer and groomed our mounts as best we could in the frigid temps. Luckily Satchmo was pretty clean after Venice's lesson. Bella was not as clean though. BUT I witnessed something disturbing...Satchmo ate poop. yeah...he ate poop. gross. We were there for an hour or 2 and then went home to get all of our clothes together, too.

Sunday we all met at 7am at the barn. It was cold and early but since it was a crowd, it was actually not too bad. Donna, Sallie, Cassidy, Aileen, Cathy, my Mom, and I were all there and a little nervous. I guess the horses were nervous too because we had a little loading issue. The one trailer ramp was frozen and the horses were slipping on it. Not a great start. Rizzo was also very upset to be left behind but she had to Rodan to keep her company. When we got to Talbot Run Cathy got to her judging post and we started getting ready.

Donna rode first and we watched in the viewing booth. I only saw her first test and it was good! Satch was so well behaved! After her first test I went and got myself dressed to come take Satchmo from her. I saw maybe the last few moments of her second test. Then it was my turn and our test was ok. Our walk was rather lazy, our halts were crooked, and per usual the right was not as good as the left. I then had 45 min to waste before I could jump. I showed Satchmo all of the jumps in the ring and got him used to it as much as I could. Cassidy and my Mom soon joined me and we went on little parades around the property until the jumping warm up area was available. That paddock they used was horrible. The ground was completely frozen and Satchmo didn't want to jump and slipped once! So I decided to just forget it and go back to the show ring and go blind. And it paid off! My goal was to canter the course and I succeeded! I had to trot a fence because I lost my stirrups but I cantered the rest and Satch was SO brave! I barely had to encourage him to keep going!!! :D I was very happy!

My Mom jumped next and Bella was really pumped to jump! She and my Mom had a great round, too! Sallie went next and Moonie was great! He plopped over the jumps just how she wanted him to. It was a great improvement from their last show experience :) Everyone did really well! And I think we had a GREAT spread of food and drink :D Gotta do that more often!

A little boy ended up winning 1st place, my Mom got 2nd place, I got 3rd, and Sallie got 4th :D Go Cirque Du Solan`! :P

We had some minor reloading issues again but when Cathy finished judging got everyone loaded and went back home. I don't have any pictures to post right now but if I aquire any, I will add them. here is the link from Aileen's photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/568871114dqQyOI

This next paragraph is dedicated to Moonie since I know his Mom loves reading about him ;)
Moonie is approx. 5' by 7'.
Moonie is made of 2 right angle triangles.
Moonie does not run away.
Moonie loves Satchmo.
Moonie relates dressage to geometry - rhombus = collection; parallelogram = extension; triangles = cut in half - someone get the glue! or is he made of glue because he's a horse??? trick question!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Semi-Private Lesson

This Sunday I shared a lesson slot with my Mom since the show is next Sunday. It worked out rather well actually because we both got to ride and we typically have the same lesson anyway - maybe a little more dressage for my Mom and more jumping for me. We ran through the tests and did a little jumping. Cathy and I decided my goal for Sunday is to canter all of the jumps at Talbot Run so that the 18" division is easy for Satchmo and will be ready for the 2" division next season. Satchmo was really quite grumpy in the beginning - I guess he hates the winter weather, too. I don't blame him, it was really windy and kind of brutal. Unfortunately this won't be the worst of it :(

All in all, a good lesson :) Now I can coordinate Saturday's grooming if necessary and Sunday's show day :D YAY! Should be exciting!

MENTAL NOTE: 18" is the 2nd hole on Cathy's jump standards and 2'-ish is the 4th hole. (it's a little more than 2')

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Riding Under the Lights

Tonight I went out to the barn and plucked Satchmo from the field for a ride under the *NEW* lights :) It was a good ride - a few little grumpy moments - and he was mostly good :) We only worked on the flat and I rode a dressage test. My mom is going to help with the next Talbot Run combined show and so I need to practice as much as I can in the next few weeks. Hopefully he'll be as good for me as he's been for everyone else at the shows *hope*

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Scheduling Conflicts

I haven't had an opportunity to get back out to the barn lately. :( seems like Satchmo has become Mr. Show King these past 2 weeks and my schedule hasn't exactly been helping the situation, either...so slight hiadis until frisbee season is over and Satchmo isn't so high in demand. sucks right now to not get to go out there but it's life. Whatcha gonna do? :P

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Hiccups

So there are some slight hiccups in our training right now. I have to unfortunately take a break from lessons, but Donna has been VERY nice and offered to let me ride once a week on my own. So yesterday I went for one of those rides. It was great, too! Satchmo was lazy and slow but once we started jumping he woke up a bit and did great! He even landed on the correct lead each time which was a relief. He hadn't been landing correctly before and actually had been landing correct in the front and incorrect in the back. Thankfully that seems not to be plaguing him right now. Hopefully next time I go for my practice ride my Mom can be there to take some pictures :)

I can't live without riding :)

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Slowly But Surely - Progress

This past Sunday I had a lesson after 2 weekends. I was SO excited and nervous. I hadn't ridden a TB in 2 weeks! Nor had I really felt I had continued in my path to get back in shape for fall show season...oh well...So I tacked Mr. Satch up and got him out to start in the ring. I was feeling extra confident after my adventure in California so we only warmed up in the ring then headed out to the field.







In the field we worked over trot poles and a small crossrail followed by another small crossrail.




Satchmo was feeling pretty good and trying with all of his might to stay well behaved. He plopped over the fences and then gave me hints he was having so much fun that he wished I would let him run amok in the field. I had to say no. We want good calm behavior in the field!




The crossrail got upped to a vertical and after he landed nicely we stopped jumping and did some transition work in the top half of the field and called it a day.


Good Boy, Satch :) Cathy and I are contemplating what sort of bit to use in the field. And we're still taking things slowly with him again as not to overwhelm him. No more bucking! :)

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Slight Detour

I went on vacation and missed 2 lessons... hence why this hasn't been updated in a while. I will update after my next lesson this Sunday :)

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Jumping Again

Last week I got to jump again! I was really nervous but it turned out to be SO much fun! Satchmo is almost back to his old self :) We stayed in the ring this week getting back into jumping just so we could have a relaxed atmosphere. Next time, though, we're going to need to get back in the field and overcome our field jumping issues. That'll be a potentially tough lesson. But Mom and Dad got some pretty nice jumping shots that I've added to this blog. I have to take a 2 week break though, due to a horseback riding vacation I'm going on with my Mom so hopefully that'll keep me in riding shape and maybe I'll learn some new tricks :)



We started our warm up with an X and then moved to approx. 2' and capped out around 2'3". Go Satchmo! :)

Monday, August 25, 2008

Progress

Saturday I had my lesson. Satchmo was very relaxed as he had gotten a massage earlier that day. So relaxed even that I had to practically drag him out to the ring and I was regretting not wearing spurs. We were walking and trotting in what felt like slow motion the whole hour. But, aside from the slow motion the lesson was great! We worked on my position some more and actually made some progress with my left shoulder and we had some very nice cantering. We did some downward transitions and I still have trouble going from trot to halt or even walk to halt, but it got better.

My favorite part was when we did some extended trotting and I could feel him really reaching and I could hear him kicking his front feet. It was very cool! I gave him a bath and then returned him to Moonie for the rest of the evening.




All in all, a great lesson and Cathy said next week when the saddle is fitted properly we can try jumping again. I'm a little nervous but I think Satchmo has had plenty of time to regroup. We'll soon find out, I'm sure!

Monday, August 18, 2008

First Blog

This is my first blog about Satchmo and me. I wanted to start documenting our progress for his Mom, Donna, and so I can see just how far we've come. Time for a little history. I've been riding Satchmo for about a year now pretty consistently with weekly lessons, pipe openers, and some cross country schooling sessions. We've come a long way from picking up both canter leads and learning how to jump. Recently we've hit a little snag but we are slowly coming out of it. We've been encountering bucking after jumps and problems with cantering (swaping in the back on both leads). This past Saturday (August 16th) I had a great lesson! It was a flat lesson in the ring and we worked on my position (which needs lots of help), some transition work, and thankfully both leads successfully! After the bulk of the lesson we went into the field to trot both directions. I was a little nervous because the last time I was in the field I ended up on the ground and with a huge bruise. Luckily, it was relaxing and nothing happened other than some light trotting. I know Venice and Donna rode him the next day in a Jean Paul clinic, but I did not. My next lesson will be Saturday and hopefully we'll continue to make progress. I am going to try to post some pictures on here..... if I can figure it out.