Just came off a win at Training with Vanity's Revenge at the Hillcrest HT.... finished on our dressage score of 32. After the Tryon schooling HT, where she was a bit of a freight train on xc, I tried Livi's old jumping bit (a myler with lifters) on her. Worked a treat--we were able to gallop and go for time at Hillcrest because I had fingertip brakes! Other than a kamikaze-ish leap into the water (at least she didn't think abou stopping, and my position stayed good!) it was a great xc run. She also jumped clean in showjumping again! Her dressage felt MUCH better, though looking at the pictures it is obvious that she is a bit tight in her neck at the canter still, and my right hand KEEPS POPPING UP at the canter. Ugh!
So this weekend we have the Foothills HT, with Revi running Training and Melanie and Drayco running Novice. Next weekend Revi and I are going to a clinic with Lucinda Green in GA, which is exciting.... I've cliniced with Lucinda before and she is GREAT, and she doesn't come around that often so I'm really looking forward to it.
The weekend after the clinic is the Tryon Horse Trials which is also the NCDCTA Championships. Following that I have a couple of students doing the FRC schooling HT on the 24th.... the day after the Parade of Breeds for which I think I may have committed to providing Irish Sporthorses and Thoroughbreds.... better line up some handlers for that.... and then the NEXT weekend is the Virginia Horse Trials!
Busy month, so hopefully will have lots more updates soon!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
The leaves are turning.....!
I noticed the other day. Actually I thought they were getting scorched by the bonfire Dwayne had started in the paddock after he knocked down the old broodmare shed.... but then the next day I was riding in the ring and noticed some maples NOT in the vicinity of the fire had gotten yellow too! How time flies!
Vanity's Revenge has a full schedule of events at Training this fall, then moving up to Preliminary.... dressage is going well, and Dr. Robin and Dr. Karla (vet and chiro) are working with us to address a physical weakness that becomes a training problem.... left hip sticks, left hind has more trouble coming through, gets hollow in the right rein, compensates, left hip sticks..... which really came first? Who can say? We ran Training at Tryon a couple weeks ago and despite not running xc since Virginia she ate up the course, bringing about a switch to Livi's old jumping bit--a myler d-ring with lifters.....! Brakes are nice and jumping has been going GREAT.
Seattle Jones, our young stallion, is doing fabulously well. I only ride him a couple times a week for about 20 minutes to avoid the temptation to overdo it, since he is so smart and sensible. We did go on a little xc school last week, hopping over a couple of BN fences but mostly just going for exposure to the "Big Three": ditches, banks and water! None of which phase him in the least. He made a brief attempt to recall his racing days which lasted about 20 strides and was halfhearted at best.... then he was back to his usual mellow self cantering about. He is ridiculously EASY to ride..... light, responsive, balanced, clever, patient to the fences.....! He is so mature and definitely overall one of the nicest horses I've ever ridden. I can't wait until he starts real work next year!
Erin has been riding Dwayne's Irish gelding Scamper (aka Kildalton Splash), it is good that he finally has a job! He's done his first combined test successfully and will be doing his first horse trial soon! He is a very fancy fellow and is starting to develop a really pleasant manner.
We have a project horse, Bates.... he's gone Intermediate but his dressage is a bit of a train wreck, might have broke 50 once or twice in his career....! So he's in Dressage Boot Camp. Carrie is helping me keep him exercised and he's coming along. Mostly it is his left lead canter, and seems to be a matter of strengthening his back and hind end....! He is a big impressive looking fellow, dead honest to jump, so he'll be fun once he's 'cleaned up'.
Stormy has, alas, fallen by the wayside.... I'm so busy I just tell myself she's getting "growing up time" as she is a much less mature 3-year-old than Jones....!
Vanna had her Formula One foal, who is now the biggest 2 month old filly I've ever handled! She has an attitude but she has quickly learned the value of manners (courtesy a wee little CTJ meeting at two weeks of age) and loads, hauls, stands quietly, gives her feet, and even trots in hand already. She is still nameless, though Dr. Smith calls her Pita since she didn't appreciate her vaccinations as a newborn.....
We have quite a few showing this fall: Dana, Marshall, Laura, and Heather all starting out, Iris, Carrie, Erin and Melanie with their established mounts..... (hope I'm not missing anyone!) In October we have shows and clinics scheduled every weekend and November is not lookng much different! Go team!
Vanity's Revenge has a full schedule of events at Training this fall, then moving up to Preliminary.... dressage is going well, and Dr. Robin and Dr. Karla (vet and chiro) are working with us to address a physical weakness that becomes a training problem.... left hip sticks, left hind has more trouble coming through, gets hollow in the right rein, compensates, left hip sticks..... which really came first? Who can say? We ran Training at Tryon a couple weeks ago and despite not running xc since Virginia she ate up the course, bringing about a switch to Livi's old jumping bit--a myler d-ring with lifters.....! Brakes are nice and jumping has been going GREAT.
Seattle Jones, our young stallion, is doing fabulously well. I only ride him a couple times a week for about 20 minutes to avoid the temptation to overdo it, since he is so smart and sensible. We did go on a little xc school last week, hopping over a couple of BN fences but mostly just going for exposure to the "Big Three": ditches, banks and water! None of which phase him in the least. He made a brief attempt to recall his racing days which lasted about 20 strides and was halfhearted at best.... then he was back to his usual mellow self cantering about. He is ridiculously EASY to ride..... light, responsive, balanced, clever, patient to the fences.....! He is so mature and definitely overall one of the nicest horses I've ever ridden. I can't wait until he starts real work next year!
Erin has been riding Dwayne's Irish gelding Scamper (aka Kildalton Splash), it is good that he finally has a job! He's done his first combined test successfully and will be doing his first horse trial soon! He is a very fancy fellow and is starting to develop a really pleasant manner.
We have a project horse, Bates.... he's gone Intermediate but his dressage is a bit of a train wreck, might have broke 50 once or twice in his career....! So he's in Dressage Boot Camp. Carrie is helping me keep him exercised and he's coming along. Mostly it is his left lead canter, and seems to be a matter of strengthening his back and hind end....! He is a big impressive looking fellow, dead honest to jump, so he'll be fun once he's 'cleaned up'.
Stormy has, alas, fallen by the wayside.... I'm so busy I just tell myself she's getting "growing up time" as she is a much less mature 3-year-old than Jones....!
Vanna had her Formula One foal, who is now the biggest 2 month old filly I've ever handled! She has an attitude but she has quickly learned the value of manners (courtesy a wee little CTJ meeting at two weeks of age) and loads, hauls, stands quietly, gives her feet, and even trots in hand already. She is still nameless, though Dr. Smith calls her Pita since she didn't appreciate her vaccinations as a newborn.....
We have quite a few showing this fall: Dana, Marshall, Laura, and Heather all starting out, Iris, Carrie, Erin and Melanie with their established mounts..... (hope I'm not missing anyone!) In October we have shows and clinics scheduled every weekend and November is not lookng much different! Go team!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Dwayne is off for the weekend (Mopar Nationals) and I'm waiting for it to cool down a bit.... bit of a quiet season for us Southern eventers. No shows planned until a schooling show at shady Foxtrack on the 31st! Doing a couple clinics with my fave dressage trainer, Jennifer Baumert, to work on Revi's dressage skills..... that is going well.... and doing gymnastics with the horses at home. Of the three horses I had in for 60 days training, one went home to her owner's farm and hauls in for weekly lessons now that she is civilized w/t/c/small jumps, and the other two are now boarders and take lessons. One, Tide, is starting his eventing career at Foxtrack.
Working student Ashley Nee decamped for Boston but is back in NC now, may start taking lessons again. We have a new girl, Elizabeth, doing AM chores but she's moving to VA in August. Dana Carpenter will be taking over most mornings at least (Dana owns Tide) and we are looking into her converting to full-time on-premises w/s status this winter.
Our young stallion Seattle Jones is doing very well, bred three mares so far and still very well behaved, doing great under saddle, and has developed a killer jump! Vanity Fair, my TB mare who has gone intermediate, foaled a chestnut-turning-grey filly by Formula One and we are working on the logistics of breeding her back to British stallion Future Illusion (by Fleetwater Opposition). My Intermediate Hanoverian mare I am planning on breeding to Formula One as well.
Stormy, who I acquired from the same trainer as Seattle Jones, is finally back u/s after two months off (while I was concentrating on training horses) and is doing great. She is not as naturally bold as Jones, but we shall see. She jumps very cute.
Working student Ashley Nee decamped for Boston but is back in NC now, may start taking lessons again. We have a new girl, Elizabeth, doing AM chores but she's moving to VA in August. Dana Carpenter will be taking over most mornings at least (Dana owns Tide) and we are looking into her converting to full-time on-premises w/s status this winter.
Our young stallion Seattle Jones is doing very well, bred three mares so far and still very well behaved, doing great under saddle, and has developed a killer jump! Vanity Fair, my TB mare who has gone intermediate, foaled a chestnut-turning-grey filly by Formula One and we are working on the logistics of breeding her back to British stallion Future Illusion (by Fleetwater Opposition). My Intermediate Hanoverian mare I am planning on breeding to Formula One as well.
Stormy, who I acquired from the same trainer as Seattle Jones, is finally back u/s after two months off (while I was concentrating on training horses) and is doing great. She is not as naturally bold as Jones, but we shall see. She jumps very cute.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Training updates....
Got back yesterday afternoon from the VA Horse Trials. My little 6yo TB mare, Vanity's Revenge, showed a lot of improvement.... despite all the "atmosphere" at the VA Horse Center, she was pretty chill all weekend, was much improved in dressage in her throughness and straightness (just not consistently!), and showjumped well (just tapped one jump down) . XC was Saturday, and the downpours all day left the footing in the warmup extremely deep and chopped up, so I warmed up w/t/c in the dressage area and went xc "cold". The galloping lanes were deep but they had put down a fair amount of screenings around the jumps so those weren't too bad. Revi was great! I thought the course was a little harder than some of the training courses I've ridden there, which suited me down to the ground with the way Revi is going.... there was a 3-stride downhill bending line at four... no problem... a one-stride with a faux corner at seven.... no problem.... coop, bank, off over a log drop.... no problem! I didn't wear a watch as I didn't want to be tempted to chase the time with the condition of the footing, so we had about ten time penalties, but she handled the footing so well that next time I will go for it!
Melanie and Drayco had a great dressage (first place), an uncharacteristic jump down in stadium (he was surprisingly attentive in the coliseum, but there were only two clear rounds in her division so she only dropped to third!). On cross-country, he warmed up nicely but Mel was ready for his usual fireball antics on xc... which didn't happen, and she is so used to him being "hot" that she was a bit at a loss!! As a result they had stops that knocked them out of the ribbons, but next time he comes out of the start box like he's going for a Sunday hack she knows to give him a couple of pops to wake him up!!
A lot going on at home.... training horses are doing well, although there is one so hard-headed that I told her owner this morning "If a human told her to eat, she'd starve to death for spite!" But we're going to give her a while longer before deciding what to do with her, she is a very spoiled mare who raced lightly then sat in a pasture for four years so she has some definite OPINIONS. I'm confident she'll be a nice horse (the tough ones usually are!).... but maybe not for her owner, who is not a very 'insistent' sort. Ah well! Tide is coming along nicely, Tessa is doing GREAT w/t/c and going over poles, chasing the ducks from next door out of the arena (a month and a half ago it was a challenge to get her IN THE RING, now she thinks she is the bomb!). I am back to working Scamper and he is getting over his idea that whenever things aren't going his way he can buck his way out of it. He's going to make such a nice horse when he learns to think about his options first! It will probably take quite a few more Come To Jesus incidents before that really clicks..... (repeat, the tough ones usually are the best in the long run.....)
Rode Jones, my 3 yo colt, for the first time since the xc schooling a couple weeks ago. He was fabulous, of course. Oh, about the cross-country schooling.... that went so well! Heather and Christine and Laura went for their first-ever schooling and had a great time. Drayco went and he and Mel jumped mostly Training and Prelim stuff very nicely. And Jones trotted and cantered around like a perfect gentleman, walked and trotted through water, over ditches and tiny banks, and cantered a few Maiden fences.... a great start for his eventing career!
Upcoming we are going to the CHSC show at the Ark to do Jumpers, then the schooling HT at the Ark with all the greenies and Revi and Drayco, then Jones has a FEH show in Virginia. Summer is going to be busy!
Melanie and Drayco had a great dressage (first place), an uncharacteristic jump down in stadium (he was surprisingly attentive in the coliseum, but there were only two clear rounds in her division so she only dropped to third!). On cross-country, he warmed up nicely but Mel was ready for his usual fireball antics on xc... which didn't happen, and she is so used to him being "hot" that she was a bit at a loss!! As a result they had stops that knocked them out of the ribbons, but next time he comes out of the start box like he's going for a Sunday hack she knows to give him a couple of pops to wake him up!!
A lot going on at home.... training horses are doing well, although there is one so hard-headed that I told her owner this morning "If a human told her to eat, she'd starve to death for spite!" But we're going to give her a while longer before deciding what to do with her, she is a very spoiled mare who raced lightly then sat in a pasture for four years so she has some definite OPINIONS. I'm confident she'll be a nice horse (the tough ones usually are!).... but maybe not for her owner, who is not a very 'insistent' sort. Ah well! Tide is coming along nicely, Tessa is doing GREAT w/t/c and going over poles, chasing the ducks from next door out of the arena (a month and a half ago it was a challenge to get her IN THE RING, now she thinks she is the bomb!). I am back to working Scamper and he is getting over his idea that whenever things aren't going his way he can buck his way out of it. He's going to make such a nice horse when he learns to think about his options first! It will probably take quite a few more Come To Jesus incidents before that really clicks..... (repeat, the tough ones usually are the best in the long run.....)
Rode Jones, my 3 yo colt, for the first time since the xc schooling a couple weeks ago. He was fabulous, of course. Oh, about the cross-country schooling.... that went so well! Heather and Christine and Laura went for their first-ever schooling and had a great time. Drayco went and he and Mel jumped mostly Training and Prelim stuff very nicely. And Jones trotted and cantered around like a perfect gentleman, walked and trotted through water, over ditches and tiny banks, and cantered a few Maiden fences.... a great start for his eventing career!
Upcoming we are going to the CHSC show at the Ark to do Jumpers, then the schooling HT at the Ark with all the greenies and Revi and Drayco, then Jones has a FEH show in Virginia. Summer is going to be busy!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Three lessons and one training ride and I'm taking the afternoon off since it is Sunday! And hot. Again. Supposed to rain tomorrow and then I hope it is dry Tuesday, Revi and I are going to be the demo ride for an ICP Level III Stadium assessment. Paul Ebersole is the candidate giving the lesson so that is pretty exciting!
Revi is doing well, she finished about midpack in the Training division at the Fork, still working on dressage! She ate up the cross-country course, and we are putting up mirrors in our arena which is already helping a TON with dressage! We will see how that turns out when we do VA in May. Thomas (Heather's horse) finished on his dressage score at the Fork, which was good for midpack. Then I rode him Novice at Longleaf and he had a good dressage test, a really FABULOUS cross-country run.... we were doing better than Training speed on a light rein, and loped over the last few fences to avoid getting a speeding ticket!... and two rails in stadium, he just felt tired. He has no muscle in his topline so it is to be expected, I can't wait to see what he looks like in a year though! Melanie and her horse Drayco did great at Longleaf, finishing on their dressage score for SIXTH place out of thirty!
Revi is doing well, she finished about midpack in the Training division at the Fork, still working on dressage! She ate up the cross-country course, and we are putting up mirrors in our arena which is already helping a TON with dressage! We will see how that turns out when we do VA in May. Thomas (Heather's horse) finished on his dressage score at the Fork, which was good for midpack. Then I rode him Novice at Longleaf and he had a good dressage test, a really FABULOUS cross-country run.... we were doing better than Training speed on a light rein, and loped over the last few fences to avoid getting a speeding ticket!... and two rails in stadium, he just felt tired. He has no muscle in his topline so it is to be expected, I can't wait to see what he looks like in a year though! Melanie and her horse Drayco did great at Longleaf, finishing on their dressage score for SIXTH place out of thirty!
Friday, April 2, 2010
A rare free afternoon! It is hot hot hot here (80+!) and I'm not used to it yet, so after shoeing and teaching all morning, and grabbing lunch at the chinese place with student Kim Meeks, I'm taking a wee A/C break. I'm chillin' this afternoon because we only had a half-day of shoeing, and now Dwayne has gone to his friend's garage to work on his hot rod '36 pickup. So I'm free as a bird (until 4, my next scheduled lesson, which I probably could have made earlier--forgot it was Good Friday so the kids are out of school!). A/C break means noodle around on the computer for a little bit and read a chapter of my library book. Wish I could take a nap, minimal sleep last night, but it is against my religion to sleep during daylight hours!
Then I'm going to go see if Stormy (3 yo gdtr of Storm Cat x Mariah's Storm) is sound..... she had a bruise/abcess and just got the shoe put back on the other day. She needs to get back to work so she can catch up to Jones, who cantered a couple crossrails today in fine style. That's all he gets to do until next winter, when we'll jump a few real fences to see if he can do the YEH shows..... only if he requires MINIMAL o/f work to be ready. Not going to drill a four-year-old over jumps! I'll probably take Revi out for a hack.... she's been hitting the dressage pretty hard, getting ready for the Fork. Trying to get her more connected to the right rein.... dentist says her teeth are fine, chiropractor says she is often stuck in her left hip, saddle fitter is coming next week just in case that is why.... Meanwhile lots of lateral work and long/low to loosen her up.....
Then I'm going to go see if Stormy (3 yo gdtr of Storm Cat x Mariah's Storm) is sound..... she had a bruise/abcess and just got the shoe put back on the other day. She needs to get back to work so she can catch up to Jones, who cantered a couple crossrails today in fine style. That's all he gets to do until next winter, when we'll jump a few real fences to see if he can do the YEH shows..... only if he requires MINIMAL o/f work to be ready. Not going to drill a four-year-old over jumps! I'll probably take Revi out for a hack.... she's been hitting the dressage pretty hard, getting ready for the Fork. Trying to get her more connected to the right rein.... dentist says her teeth are fine, chiropractor says she is often stuck in her left hip, saddle fitter is coming next week just in case that is why.... Meanwhile lots of lateral work and long/low to loosen her up.....
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Vanity's Revenge is doing very well, she has run two recognized Training horse trials, The Ark and Southern Pines, and skipped blithely around xc. Southern Pines was her first "away" show and she was a little on-edge, so dressage and jumping 'manners' went bye-bye, but overall I was pleased. The following week we schooled at CHP and she was fabulous. Our next event is the Fork in two weeks.
At the Fork I will also be riding Trusting Thomas, who belongs to my client Heather. He has run two Novices with working student Ashley Nee, who is unavailable that weekend. Thomas is a big, rangy fellow who has spent several years running around with his head in the air, but he is coming right along learning how to carry himself properly, and is a very honest fellow (hence the name). It should be a fun day.
Another up-and-comer is Third Charm's three year old stallion, Seattle Jones, by Smarty Jones out of a Seattle Slew mare. In February our senior stallion, Lose That, passed away from a stroke, but Jones seems to be just what the doctor ordered to fill his shoes. He won the Future Event Horse competition at the Ark in February, and just went to his first show on Saturday, winning his first-ever undersaddle class and snoozing by the arena rail for most of the day watching students go in the jumper classes. Jones stands 16h, with a lovely uphill way of going, plenty of suspension, and a natural tendency to be round and light. With his exceptional bloodlines, conformation, gaits, and sweetheart temperament, all he lacks is the performance record to be the "whole package".... I look forward to showing him this summer on the flat and maybe doing some wee crossrail classes to get started on that!
At the Fork I will also be riding Trusting Thomas, who belongs to my client Heather. He has run two Novices with working student Ashley Nee, who is unavailable that weekend. Thomas is a big, rangy fellow who has spent several years running around with his head in the air, but he is coming right along learning how to carry himself properly, and is a very honest fellow (hence the name). It should be a fun day.
Another up-and-comer is Third Charm's three year old stallion, Seattle Jones, by Smarty Jones out of a Seattle Slew mare. In February our senior stallion, Lose That, passed away from a stroke, but Jones seems to be just what the doctor ordered to fill his shoes. He won the Future Event Horse competition at the Ark in February, and just went to his first show on Saturday, winning his first-ever undersaddle class and snoozing by the arena rail for most of the day watching students go in the jumper classes. Jones stands 16h, with a lovely uphill way of going, plenty of suspension, and a natural tendency to be round and light. With his exceptional bloodlines, conformation, gaits, and sweetheart temperament, all he lacks is the performance record to be the "whole package".... I look forward to showing him this summer on the flat and maybe doing some wee crossrail classes to get started on that!
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