Vacayyyytion

Yeah, I'm currently in the Outer Banks...no riding for me until the 11th haha!

Sasha update: Well, I had just been doing the normal, just hacking her and having lessons, and they were going fairly well until last Tuesday. She decided to be a witch, and not listen. When I half-halted in a line, she would fling her head up and rock back, then launch forward again obnoxiously. This escalated into her backing up randomly and shying away violently a few strides away from the jumps. When I would turn to circle her, she would resist then suddenly wheel around in a mini-rear and charge off. She was so obnoxious haha. I know I started it, but if she gets a little tense and does something wrong and you correct her too harshly, she will suddenly go downhill and be awful.

Of course, after this one awful day she decided to be PERFECT. She's always like that. If she/we have an awful day, she will be perfect for the next week. So after that day, it was really hot. I had to ride in the indoor. The horses got their hooves done Thursday morning, and I hacked her bareback after for 15 minutes. Our canter didn't go so well. >.< It wasn't awful, but she was a little fast and it took a circle to get it under control lol. There were a few "oh sh-" strides where I thought she was GONE and then she would settle haha!

Friday in my lesson, things were back to normal. I started riding like I normally do (I went through a week/phase where everything just felt...off. She wasn't as soft as normal, and I felt like a complete beginner again.) Well, I did lots of flatwork in my Friday lesson, and just did an in and out in the indoor. It was like 95oF out and humid. I only jumped up to 2'3", 2'6", but it felt PERFECT! My instructor and I were talking about it and we agreed that if she's quiet and it's hot, what's the point in proving we can go any higher? He said she can jump 3'6" any day, but why bother if I'm about to faint off her from heat exhaustion? =P

I rode around Saturday morning and did a lot of transitions and flexibility and bending exercises, and popped her through the in and out. I then left for vacation! I already missed her by 12 o' clock on Saturday. I left the barn at 11:30....I have my trainer riding her every few days, friends giving her treats, sending me pics of her, and free lunging her for me. Oh, and my trainer says his goal is to have Sasha ready to do the 2'6" when I get back. She can easily step over the height, but whether she can get around a course at a show CALMLY is the real question. Honestly, I feel that when it's not a baby baby jump she listens better. The next show is a week after I get back, a charity/benefit show. I'm pumped! I am going to work my butt off the week before. After that, the next show is a four day thing, then a handful of local shows, and then the Skidmore Finals! I am so excited for next year, I think she will be so responsive and good.

Oh, and Colby updates: Apparently, he's an awesome trail horse, just needs arena work. He got a few days off after doing a lot of trails last Saturday, and I didn't really have a lot of time/energy to ride him after that, but I'll keep working with him when I get back a little.

Fun stuff.

Helping out with my barn's camp is tedious haha.

Now that that's out of the way....

So there is a girl from Sasha's old barn who has been helping with my barn's camp [still not sure why...whatever haha]. Well, she rode Sasha a lot and was going to lease her if I hadn't bought her. I let her ride Sasha a little today, and they were both so good! ^^ I hacked Sasha a little before she got on, and it was raining on and off. Sasha was pretty good, I did some no stirrups work, and cantered her over some ground poles, nothing fancy.

Well, here comes the funny part. The girl who rode Sash and I were talking about how fun it would be to buy a green pony, put some miles on it, then resell it. We were talking about this while going through a pasture to grab some horses for the campers. There's this cute little four year old 14.1 ish bay gelding that was munching grass next to the horses we were getting. She goes "awww he's so cute!" I go "That's Colby, he doesn't really do anything." We instantly stare at each other because BAM! that's our pony! We won't buy or resell, but he's definately my project. Apparently, he bucked a buch of people off [no, really, he was barely broken in -facepalm-] I talked with the barn owner, and she's thrilled if I get him going a little. I rode him today, and it was interesting. We let him run around in the indoor, and then I went to tack him up. The saddle goes on without a fuss, and then comes the bridle. Well....that was interesting. He flipped out and started spinning around in the stall because he's so touchy about his ears and face. That will need to be worked on. I eventually remembered what we did with a horse at my old barn that had the same issue, just not as bad. We took off the noseband and browband, and so it was just the bit, the crownpiece, and the throatlatch. We [my friend helped] unbuckled the side, then flipped it over his ears and refastened it.

I bring him into the indoor arena, because he is awful in the outdoor. I start basically from scratch. I lay over his back, etc. I get on with my friend walking him, and then he was fine. I then have her let go, and I just walk for about 10 minutes. He was super green, needing big opening reins and very basic aids. After a while, I make my friend come walk/jog next to me for a trot. Again, he was being so good that I had her let go and I just trotted THE FREAKING MOST COMFY HORSE EVER around a few times, then reverse etc. It was a pretty short ride, but I want to take it really slowly with him.

Yeah. So you will get Sasha and Colby updates. He is honestly the cutest little thing, probably a Morgan or Arab cross, dark bay, long mane, gorgeous head.

Show News! And awesome lesson!

I promised I'd be a better updater!

Anyways. So Saturday comes around, and we're shipping Sasha and a friend's horse to the show. My instructor was supposed to be at the barn anyways, and he was going to make sure the horses got on without a fuss.

After a while of waiting, we call him. Turns out, the car he's had for two days broke down. Yeah. So he was carless. He is currently using my dad's car haha. So, we decide to load without him. I get Sasha on the trailer without a fuss, she just walks right in. The second horse, Music, would not go in second, as we later discovered. So we unload Sash, open up the partition, and eventually get Music on. We then try to put Sasha on, who also doesn't want to go in second. The whole thing took about 30, 40 minutes. -.- Oh well. We get the show grounds, and I have a lesson. That was, um, interesting. Normally Sasha doesn't care about new places, but she went berserk. She was spooking, fresh, backing up for no reason, flipping her head up in the air, and not listening AT ALL. My trainer ended up getting on her for a little bit she was so obnoxious. I was considering not showing at that point.

I do all my show prep anyways because we figured she might settle down by the next day. What do you know, she's perfectly quiet in the schooling ring. I had trainers that saw her Saturday ask if I drugged her. No, actually, I didn't thanks for asking. I got four thirds, a fourth, a first, and $10 from my stakes class. She was really strong one round, and started flipping her head up really badly and getting fresh, so her martingale got shortened a few holes. I'm quite happy, actually. I almost wonder if she was in heat because she was slightly obnoxious for a few days before the show. She wasn't awful, but she felt a little off from her normal way of going.

Right, so she got Monday off, and then I had a lesson today. It was awesome. I rode with Chiara and Noodle and one of my barn friends who just bought a super cute OTTB a week ago. She's a little green and has little jumping experience, but she's an awesome mover and can JUMP. Right, so the lesson started with some flatwork, then cavalettis. After going through those, a little crossrail was added at the end. Then, and in and out, then a triple, then a four jump gymnastic. Eventually, Chiara and I were just riding, and the girl with the OTTB stopped so that we could jump higher. It was so fun. The first jump was just a regular, meh crossrail, to a slightly bigger crossrail, to a 2'9"/3' vertical, to a massive crossrail. By massive, I mean the cups were set on the top holes on 6' standards. Biggest crossrail I've ever done haha.

She was really good, and she stop once and ran around once, but both were my fault. =[ But it was a pretty long, fun lesson.

It has been waaaay too long!

Sorry for abandoning you guys! =[


I'm not sure what happened. Either way, it has been theeeee craziest few months. Sasha has been the worst and the best she's ever been. She has been AWFUL whenever she goes into heat. I mean rearing, going crazy type awful.....yeahhh. She settled down since one incident where she randomly reared three strides out from a jump...I got super mad, whaled her with my leg, made her go to the jump and GALLOP after until she realized she was stupid. She didn't rear again lol.


Anyways, the show in my last post was awful. She schooled perfectly in her elevator bit, she was swapped into her snaffle to show, she took off one round, and promptly got thrown back into her elevator bit. Legal shmegal. We didn't place, due to the illegal bit, but she stayed under control.


At another show [Sasha's old barn!] several weeks later, I rode Velvet because Sasha was in heat/crazy haha. We did pretty well, I SOMEHOW managed to sit her canter. It is a super crappy pony canter. It was fun, considering I hadn't had a lesson on her since November and rode her about three times since then. xD


The next away show was at my old farm again. It took TWO. HOURS. to get her on the trailer. When we arrive at the show, my mom goes to back her off, and she spins around [I'm still not sure how....] and tears down the ramp. Anyways. She was strong, but in her snaffle bit and kind of listening. Except she decided to start being a jumpy little witch in our flat classes and she started spooking at things that she had just gone by without a fuss. Oh, and she took off in my hunter flat class at the canter. It suckedddd. I don't remember our ribbons, but they were meh.


Our last show, at my barn, was good! =D It was all outside, and it rained and rained and rained and rained the day before. The arena was kind of a little bit sort of really flooded. Anyways, Sasha's old owner was there. We talked a bit, I updated her on Sasha and I's shenanigans, etc.


GUESS WHO GOT HER FIRST CHAMPION RIBBON IN TWO OR THREE YEARRRSSS????? =_D Sasha was a little strong t first, but she settled. I got three firsts, three seconds, and two thirds....and I know she can go a lot better than she did.


Right. So towards the middle of June, I was riding Sash in a lesson, jumping crazy courses, etc etc. I was told to just canter calmly up an easy outside line after doing rollbacks, broken lines, and other crazy stuff. Sasha canters around the corner, sees the TINY, PLAIN CROSSRAIL, and stops dead and backs up. No matter what I did, she wouldn't go over it. She backed up, she galloped over it a few times, flipped out every time she saw it, etc. She finally trotted up to it calmly, started jumping it, I released and mentally went "yessss!" and then....she ripped backwards, fell on her butt, sent me flying [onto my feet like the classy person I am], slipped and almost fell onto the ground [the side of her haunches hit it] then jumped up, spun around, shook herself off and stood there patiently. After that, it went downhill even worse until my instructor ended up getting on her [I smashed my face on the saddle going down, couldn't breathe, and COULDN'T GET HER OVER THE FREAKING JUMP] after an hour of not going over the jump. That is the only time I have never been able to get Sasha to listen after a certain amount of time. Anyways, I get back on and do some other things with her, and she settles and snaps back into being an angel after another 20 minutes. Of course.


So then, a few days later, I'm popping over a few jumps on my own, and I jumped ahead ONCE [bad me! I know better!] and she slams on the brakes and twists her body. Totally my fault. Again, I land on my feet. If you're going to fall, fall with style!


I just remember two lessons. One of them I did a line and a broken line. The end jump of both was a three foot oxer. What do you know, little mare steps over it as if it's not there! She listens, is adjustable, and perfect!


The other one was yesterday. First, I first did crazy amounts of flatwork indoors while thunder and lightning quickly pass over the area. Then, I went outside and started with a little line trotting in with a little oxer at then end. We work on adding and subtracting strides. Then, I do another line, same thing, except with a not so little oxer. Finally, [I feel like I'm doing fourth grade English again lol] I canter a diagonal then canter up the other line.


Yeah. So I've been jumping Sasha on my own, and doing little courses. I make some pretty crazy ones up haha.


OHHHH! And we got our own trailer. A gorgeous, new Eclipse two horse straight load ramp with no dressing room but two saddle racks and six bridle hooks. Sasha now walks straight in. It was really funny, my instructor and I quickly loaded her last night after my lesson when the sky was kind of gray again, and there was some distant thunder. We get her on in under a minute. Then, we let her sit on there for minute with us up in the front of it, the ramp and butt bar down. My instructor then tells me to back her off. I take my time cueing her to back because of what happened last time I unloaded her. She's about to take her first step back, and all of a sudden it starts pouring, so we just chill in the trailer. It starts thundering and lightninging [?] really badly, but she just stands quietly in the trailer being fed treats. Eventually, the storm settles slightly but there's still rain. We back her out of the trailer into the rain, and she practically trots back into the trailer! Mission accomplished!


Today, we decided to drive the horses around so my mom can learn to drive the trailer before the stress of the show. We load Sasha and Velvet on [both walked straight in, no hesitation] and drive around. We drove to my house [our neighbors giving us interested looks lmfao xD] and back to the barn. Sasha bumps her head going out but had her headbumper. We tried loading her back in after that, and she was still fine. We worked on getting her backing out quietly with her head down.


And I've finally started cantering her bareback. I've done it with a halter [stupid friends pressuring me] and then did it in a bridle repeatedly after that.


In summary, [4th grade English again] Sasha has been very responsive and amazing lately. And I'm showing this weekend! Squeee apparently this may be my last show at 2'! Took long enoughg! xD


Love you! Thanks for being patient! <3
Cruce