One and a half years ago my heart was ripped out and shredded when Bones left us. I always knew she was my special girl, but it has taken me this long to find peace with her passing.
This summer I found myself smiling at her memories instead of becoming teary and I knew it was time to fill the large void that she left. I love Einstein, but there is something about a big dog that I miss dearly.
Now you’d think being married to a vet would make the dog selection process easier. In fact it is quite the opposite. Every breed I mentioned was responded to with a laundry list of health and behavioral issues. Finally I landed on one that would fit in perfectly and for once the hubby was silent. That’s as close to approval as I’ll ever get when it comes to adding a furry family member.
All that was left was selecting a breeder and waiting for puppies. Turned out I didn’t need to wait. A breeder in Aiken had a litter from May 17, 2017 with four females ready for homes. We went to “just look” on Saturday afternoon and came home with this little ball of floof.
Wyatt promptly named her Waggy Tail. Not my first choice but better than his typical Wyatt or Gizmo. We will call her Wags for short.
Wyatt immediately fell in love and I have some serious competition for puppy time. She sat with him in his car seat most of the way home and if she is allowed to walk on her own it s a miracle. I don’t mind though. She is going to get big fast and soon will be too heavy for him to lift.
He snuggled with her for nearly the entire 2 hour ride home. I have a feeling they will be fast friends
I really hope she becomes Wyatt’s best friend. I believe every little boy needs a dog best friend and Einstein just isn’t it for him.
As for me, I’m already quite taken to her. So fluffy. So cute. So loveable. I can’t wait to see what all we do together. Einstein isn’t so sure about her just yet. She is a bit small for him and he isn’t so keen on sharing after all these years alone. He will start loving her too once she gets big enough to interact with him more.
She loves to snuggle. Something I’ll need to remember once she hits the teenage yearsI have a dozen of these shots of her. She is hard to take pics of!Puppy pounce!Little ears can still flopBe still my heartAll worn out
Welcome to the crazy family, Waggy Tail!
Did I mention that Trainer is not only awesome at training, but is also the kindest person on earth? Well, she is.
One of the unexpected issues with bringing the Dynamic Duo home has been finding a farrier willing to come out for trims on two horses on an evening or weekend when I could be there to hold. Most around me don’t even work weekends and evenings are also hard to find. The ones who do need at least 4 horses. I reverted to doing them myself which is a whole lot easier when they are home and I can do a little at a time, but I really want an actual farrier.
I asked Trainer a while back for recommendations, but kept running into the four horse minimum. She has her farrier come in every five weeks all the way from Aiken and told me I could bring them in. The problem was that he always comes on a Wednesday when I work. I thought it over and shot her a text with honestly little hope it would work out. I figured I could trailer them in on Tuesday night after work, pay a stall fee, hope someone would be willing to hold them for me and then grab them Wednesday after work (maybe sneaking in a lesson too). She was unavailable for a lesson, but told me I could plop them in a spare paddock without any fee and she was more than willing to hold them. My jaw dropped. I owe her big time!!!
Tuesday night I got this when I tried to get Gem to load her up:
After the two idiots nearly ran themselves to heat exhaustion, it was 98F with high humidity, we hosed them off and headed to the barn. Pete was put into the pasture and I tacked Gem up in her dressage gear to see how she would be. I was a little curious to see what I would be dealing with. The last few times I tried to school her in any way were just downward spirals of tension and bracing. Since then she had the IPE ride and two trail rides just for fun.
I hates dressage mom. Why must you torture me?
I went to the dressage court with no real plan. All I wanted was a relaxed ride with walk and trot. If we could add in some 20 meter circles to work on bend that would be a bonus.
She was in an unusual mood. I wouldn’t call her relaxed, but she also wasn’t tense or racing around. She listened to small cues, halted spot on when asked with no fuss and did walk to trot transitions agreeably enough. But she was also looking for reasons to spook and spent time staring at anything she thought would allow her to get away with spooking. I just ignored her and carried on. Half way through she got insanely heavy in my hands. I am working really, really hard to get my position better and to not let her break me out of it. Or as trainer always says to me “be greedy with your position”. When she didn’t get away with anything, she just leaned. It felt like all 900 lbs of her was in my hands and her head was nearly dragging on the ground. Having never dealt with this from her, I wasn’t really certain what to do. I knew she was sucked way back behind my leg, but I was concerned that booting her forward would result in her getting tense and bracing. So instead I kept my position where it was and began working on lots and lots and lots of bending in every direction all over the place. I figured that she would eventually have to start carrying herself or she wold trip and that was exactly what happened.
I ended it after that and let her out in her overnight paddock to await the farrier the next day.
I don’t hates eating grass with my BFF
On Wednesday I got the info that the farrier thought everything looking great which is always good to hear when you have been the one trimming for the past 6 months. I had taken the truck to work so I could go get them afterward. They were both ready to come home, but first I wanted to ride again. A kid free night at an empty barn? Who could pass that up?
I only had my dressage saddle with me, so it was back in the dressage tack again. This time I headed to the jump arena where the jumps were all set to sky scraper height, but it would give me obstacles to work around.
So shiny!!!
Gem was AMAZING. Light in the bridle. The perfect balance of forward but relaxed. She halted. She walked. She trotted. She was so good that it felt like we were floating on air around that arena. I could barely feel her feet touch the ground. I was grinning like a fool.
With her being so responsive, I went back to working on my favorite exercise: sending her forward and bringing her back with just the rhythm and speed of my posting. No change in the pressure of my reins at all. And she listened so perfectly. I let her out into an extended trot down the long sides and brought her back by tightening my core and slowing my posting down when on the short sides and she hit it right every single time. I was giggling out loud and I am sure the barn crew thought I was insane.
I’ll just go to sleep here thank you
It was the type of ride I never want to end, but it was another insanely hot night and I had to load them up to go home eventually. I’m not sure if it was the location, the fact that she got her wiggles out with galloping like mad for 20 minutes the night before, the three fun rides she last had or what, but I’ll take it. This is the Gemmie I had before the CT and I am so very glad to have her back again. Our next lesson is Wednesday night, so hopefully this is the horse that comes to play.
Halfway done and nearly on track to finish the entire challenge by year’s end. This one was on me and I knew I wanted to grab a biography. Which one was not as clear, but I found one that seemed to fit the bill. My mom was not so enthusiastic at first, but ended up really enjoying it.
A book with a character’s name in the title: American Legend: The real life adventures of David Crockett by Buddy Levy
David Crockett grew into a legend, but first he was a man. A man who loved the wide open spaces that the newly formed America had to offer. A man who lived for hunting, travel and the odd military battle. His life was not without its misfortunes, however much of his life was due to this own errors in judgement and inability to manage his own accounts. He lived a life in constant debt even after spending multiple terms in Congress and becoming a well known author.
His need for constant motion, his hunt for fortune and land, and his need to pay off debt eventually led him to Texas and the Alamo. Many people only remember the legends that surrounded the best known frontiersman, but he led a life that brought him out of the woods and into celebrity.
As a biography goes, this one was both informative and very entertaining. I didn’t know a whole lot about the frontiersman prior to reading this book and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. The author presents David Crockett in the raw, without glossing over the negative nor dwelling on it. By the end of the biography, I felt like I had a sense of the man as a whole with all his positive and negative attributes presented for inspection.
I really enjoy a biography that includes letters or other form of personal correspondence from the person as I feel it gives you a real sense of the person and this one did not disappoint in that regard either. There are several passages from letters or speeches that David Crockett gave and many more quotes from his peers of the time.
The novel reads quickly as well without too much time spent belaboring any one point in his life which ranges from his early childhood to his death at the Alamo. The author also tries to give motivation behind Crockett’s decisions, which while it is mostly conjecture, flows well with the narrative of his life.
Sunday was it: the culmination of all the hard work and experiences that the Pony Clubbers from around the word came for. It was Nations Cup day. Two 3′ jumping rounds with a jump off for any teams tied. The riders met their horses on Saturday and had an hour to test them out. Some were lucky enough to draw the same horses they had for the Kangaroo Cup CT the weekend before, but most found themselves on brand new mounts.
Warm up
The morning was glorious. Sunny, blue skies with a slight breeze. Fate was smiling down on me again and I was conscripted to be the jump scribe. I took a quick walk around the course with the judge and then manned my position in the booth with an amazing view of all the action.
The course
The horses came out ready to play. There was only one refusal the entire day which unfortunately resulted in a fall. For these girls to have just met the horse and sitting in all new tack going over a very tight and technical 3′ course and doing it well? It was inspiring.
I learned a lot watching the rounds, speaking with the jump judge and listening to the course designer. I’ve now had the chance to volunteer as a dressage score runner, cross country jump judge and jump scribe and must say the scribe is my favorite. It left no chance for pictures of the rounds, but it was a great way to see the show and take part.
The first round saw only one rail down, the refusal/fall, one girl who jumped fence 4 instead of 11 at the very end of her course, and all within optimal time. The judge and designer, friends for years, started thinking of way to make those rails fall out of the very deep jump cups as there were plenty of hard knocks that resulted in the rails bouncing a bit but staying put.
Three horses stood out during the entire day. One was a gorgeous liver chestnut saddlebred. I’m partial to the breed anyway but he just floated over the course as if they were mere speed bumps along the way. He was moving in a lovely canter where he was rocked back on his hind end and it looked effortless. After his round, he knew he did well and started prancing and threw in a few happy bucks. The big guy deserved to feel happy.
The second was another chestnut, actually now that I think about it they all were, who bucked between every single fence. The poor rider had a lot of extra energy to contain, but did an excellent job making it clear around every time. The final horse was a small little Ferrari, owned by a fellow blogger too, and is a pony mix of some kind. He flew around that course! His small, short stride made the rider work hard to make the distances happen and they put in the fastest rounds all day long. He looked like a ton of fun!
The second round saw the course get more technical and there were a few more rails down and one time fault. At the end there would be a jump off: team USA versus Hong Kong for 3rd/4th place and team New Zealand versus Australia for 1st/2nd. The jump off was my absolute favorite part. Six jumps with the first four being set in a near circle jumping each from different directions. It was tight. It was fast. It was amazing!
Lots of rails fell and one rider jumped the wrong sequence. The horses looked a little hot and tired by this point, but were still in it to win. Of note, the horses that were in a nice balanced canter presented not only a lovely picture, but also had the cleanest and fastest rounds. The ones who were flat and strung out were a little hard to watch and the judge made comments every time. In the end the placings went: Canada, Hong Kong, US, Australia and New Zealand to win it all!
Victory GallopRibbon ceremony. The riders got ribbons and the horses all had neck ribbons that the owners got to keepTeam USA
All the riders deserved to feel really proud of the effort they put in. New horses, new tack, new country and an exhausting 10 days leading up to it and they all looked amazing out there. I’m sad to see the program end, but I know they are all happy to get back home. The next IPE year will be in 2019 and I have no idea what the hosting country will be. I’m just hoping that when it comes back around to the US in 2027, that it will be close by again so I can participate and help out when able. If you or anyone you know are in Pony Club, the event is something worth looking into. I don’t know all the selection details, but I do know you have to be at least B rated and at least 17 years of age at time of selection.
I shouldn’t be allowed out of the house. It just pisses me off.
My mom offered up to watch the kiddo so we could go ride. I wasn’t going to pass an offer like that up, so Dusty and I loaded up and hit the trails on the 4th. Any trail time is good, but on a typical work day? Even better.
We go ride again. Ok.
Turns out we weren’t the only ones trying to beat the heat and get a ride in before the festivities began and we pulled into an already teaming parking lot. Of course, it wouldn’t have been so bad if people actually parked with any thought outside of themselves. It was a bad omen for the rest of the day when we saw several way too large rigs pulled in diagnonally taking up multiple spaces and making the trail head a maze.
Dusty told me not to let it ruin my day, a bad habit I have of letting things like this get to me. So I did.
A gorgeous day to be out on trail
We headed out to repeat the same loop we did a couple of weeks ago. The footing was even better and we made good time when we could before Pete got tired and asked to start walking more. The big old guy is starting to wonder why he was pulled out of retirement.
Things were going well until we came to an access road. We were walking along due to the gravel footing and I just happened to look behind me and saw a woman running. She showed no signs of slowing and never called out that she was coming up behind us. Had I not looked back I wouldn’t have known she was there until she spooked the crap out of the horses.
When she nearly ran smack into Pete’s butt she turned and called her off leash dog to her. I won’t even get into my complete hatred of dogs and horses mixing here because that would take a while, but this woman didn’t even apologize. Instead she stood right next to us shrieking for her loose dog and then proceeded to take off running again once he was in sight behind her. She was darn lucky our horses are both idiot and dog proof or they could have had some serious injuries from getting trampled or kicked.
The only time the extremely affable Pete gets upset is when Gem gets even a hair ahead of him on trail. I love that I caught his glare while taking my favorite shadow picture
From there it went down hill although we still enjoyed the ride immensely and the horses were most excellent. Pete handled the terrain better than last time although I think he was a bit foot sore with all the rain making his dinner plate hooves soft.
There had been a deer up ahead in the large field
The trail has two road crossings at the end and both can be a bit hairy as cars tend to go flying down the country road. We came to the second one and saw a large group of six riders on the other side immobile. We paused on our side and watched for a little bit but the group were just chit chatting and effectively blocking the entire trail on the other side making crossing the road impossible. Our side wasn’t safe for just chilling out at: a small clearing right at the road without any shoulder and with a deep ditch on either side. We were growing restless and needed to cross but no amount of nicely asking them to move away from the road was producing results.
We did a lot more trotting which Pete handled very well. A few more times out and he may get in shape yet
Dusty hates confrontation and while I don’t go looking for it, well depending on who you talk to, I won’t back away either and started ramping up to tell them they had until we crossed to move or get bowled over. Dusty asked me not to make a scene and fortunately for him they deemed it time to move right about then any way.
At this point I was a bit tired of dealing with stupid, rude and self absorbed people. We ended up back at the trailer with two very sweaty and hot horses and stripped tack quickly to go use the single hose available. We walked over to find three of those same ladies already there. We settled in to wait for our turn while the horses enjoyed grazing.
Hot and sweaty at the end of the ride
I was doing just fine until the remaining three from their group came walking over and completely cut us off. I glared. Dusty asked me to bite my tongue. I was doing pretty well with that until the one lady looked at me and said “sorry our group of six got here before you” in a condescending not really sorry and making me really angry type of way. My mouth dropped to the floor. “Um…no your group of three were here first. The rest of you cut us off by some sort of group association and should actually be behind us in line” Dusty groaned but the woman just turned away.
The ever patient Dusty losing it a bit
So there we were waiting our turn behind six horses at the hose on an extremely hot morning. If I had been at the hose, I would have watered my horse quickly and efficiently so that everyone got cooled off quickly. Nope. These ladies held their beer in one hand, the hose in the other and talked, washed off their boots and girths before their horse and in general didn’t give a flying crap about anyone but themselves. I was seething mad by the time the last horse was being led away.
Except that wasn’t even the end because they didn’t actually move away from the hose area and I had to plow my way through telling them that they will be lucky not to be kicked if they continued to stand in my path. Rude people make me want to teach Gem to kick on command.
It was bad enough that my very non confrontational, much easier going then myself, husband even made comments. That’s a rarity. As we sprayed our two off we noted that these same people were the ones who parked diagonally across multiple spots making an already busy parking lot near impossible to either park or drive in. Shocking.
Trail etiquette people. It’s important. Or you know, just don’t be an asshat when out in public. That works too.
Gem’s limo is a 2011 Eclipse two horse straight load. We researched the crap out of trailers comparing them to our needs and wants and this trailer fit the bill perfectly. We bought it new at a horse expo and got a great price. Since then it has travelled to dozens of trail heads, hauled the horses from WI to SC and been to every endurance/ride and tie/hunter pace/whatever else I’ve dragged Gem to in then name of friendly competition and has been great.
As always though, more organization helps and so over time we have added some small modifications that have had big impacts on the function of the trailer. Here are my top five small, extremely easy to do, projects:
5) More tie rings. Lessons are always learned the hard way it seems. At a ride and tie event a couple years ago, Gem pulled back at the trailer for the first and only time I’ve had her. She broke the tie ring and unfortunately the hag bag, connected to the same tie ring as she was, came flying with her which made a bad situation worse. It all ended fine, but I immediately ordered new tie rings and added a second one above the original on each side to attach the hay bag to. We then also added tie rings to the very back. This was done due to the hunter paces where they cram trailers in so close that it is nearly impossible to tack up. Having the ability to tie her out the back gives me plenty of safe options
4) Bungee cords for the buckets. I have a bucket issue. I own, and I recently counted so this number is accurate, 21 buckets. Every time I’m at the feed store I buy a new bucket. The husband is not happy about this but I keep telling him you can’t have too many and besides it could always be worse. At least buckets are cheap. I could have a saddle buying problem instead.
Anyway…. with all the buckets I needed a way to contain them so they weren’t flying all over the place. Two simple bungee cords holding them to the spare tire helps keep the ever growing tower stable.
Not even half my total bucket collection. You just never know when you will need one. Or twelve. 3) Hanging my saddle rack. This saddle rack is one of my favorite accessories. It folds neatly for storage and when unfolded has a neat spot for the saddle/pad, a hook for the bridle and a basket for grooming supplies. Bonus: wheels for easy toting around ride camp or show barn. I don’t like things on my trailer floor, so we added a simple bracket and carabiner to hang the whole thing out of the way
2) Hanging bag for all the things. Pretty much every boarding situation we found ourselves in had us living out of the trailer and with the horses home and no barn it’s now the tack room. I was at a loss at first with all the extra, but non essential items like their blankets, coolers, extra saddle pads, extra girth etc.
I found this blanket bag that is supposed to be for horse shows and knew I had stumbled on the solution. We attached it to the trailer wall and it now holds everything out of the way and keeps it all clean. Right now it has our three winter blankets, Gem’s cooler, my two endurance mohair girths, a cantle bag and my spare endurance reins. It holds so many items and leaves the area free for every day use items.
1) Hanging groom tote. I love this thing and can’t remember how I functioned without it. All my grooming supplies hang on the door for easy access. I can’t believe how much this holds: riding and hoof trimming gloves, no thrush powder, body glide to keep her skin happy, curries and brushes, ear bonnets, hoof pick, electrolyte syringes, sweat scraper, sponge, hair bands, shampoo, conditioner, fly spray, tail comb, leather hole punch, scissors, belly balm and desirin, quick braid spray, people bug spray, her body wash and then in the Velcro attached zip ouch I keep their coggins and health certificates. I attach my half chaos on one side and typically my bit for the endurance bridle on the other. It still isn’t full!
I wrote last month about needing to solve my fly problem. It’s too late to release fly predators and fly spray is only lasting 24-48 hours. Plus a part of me dies every time I coat my horse in chemicals while doing my best not to breathe it all in.
My first thought was to purchase fly sheets, but the high heat and humidity around here made me hesitate. I don’t need my horses to get heat stroke. Then I stumbled upon the Shoofly Leggings and noticed a local friend was using them. She had nothing but good things to say, so I bit the bullet and ordered two sets.
I found mine at Jeffers for $49 a set which includes four leggings. I ordered a medium for Gem (15h, 950lbs) and a large for Pete (16h, 1200 lbs). The website gives recommendations based on horse size and also provides a size chart with exact measurements for those more motivated than I am.
The blue large was in stock and arrived about 5 days later. The orange mediums were on back order and ended up arriving the day after the other set, so not so bad. I got free shipping by adding in a lovely black dressage pad ($18 which was more than shipping would have been, but shhh…wife math) with cool max lining that I’ve been wanting.
So what are they?
Shoofly Leggings are PVC mesh, loose fitting fly boots. They have Velcro to attach along the entire vertical edge and fleece lining the bottom. They are meant to be open at the top to allow air flow, freedom of movement and prevent rubs. They have no chemicals in them.
Performance and durability?
They ended up fitting perfectly with plenty of room for error too. Our horses are out 24/7 and they wore them for the last two weeks straight with a break for riding only. During that time they rolled, galloped around like idiots, stood in the pouring rain and played in puddles.
Not a single legging came off or loose the entire time and when we took them off, while they were filthy dirty and the white fleece was brown instead, they didn’t have a single tear or rip. The Velcro was just as sticky coated in mud as it was when brand new.
We will see what shape they are in after the entire season, but they stood up to nearly everything possible in the first few weeks of wear and still looked brand new after a hose down.
As for the horses, they had no rubs whatsoever.
Do they work?
It appears so even if I did break my horses in the process. From the moment they went on, the stomping ceased entirely. Of course these do nothing for flies on their body or head, but the non stop stomping that was occurring even with fly spray finally let up. I was impressed.
Any cons?
Of course! The biggest and really only thing I don’t like is the fleece on the bottom. White anything is just not a good idea around horses and they quickly became brown. I don’t care what they look like as long as they function, but a color other than white would be better.
In addition, the fleece caked in the mud and rain and became hard and rigid instead of the soft and pliable material you would want around the horse flesh. It came clean with the hose, but who wants to hose them off after every rain storm that blows through? If they changed it to a different material all together, it would be perfect.
I’d recommend them to anyone having to fight the stomping of their horse. They are easy to put on and take off with just one strip of Velcro and have held up in the short term perfectly. Shop around to find them. Jeffers was the lowest price I could find when I was shopping.
Trainer enlisted my help as a jump judge for Sunday. The teams scrambled to make four teams of five kids (one from each country) and got a chance to ride their new horses for one hour on Saturday. I’m amazed at these riders. Brand new to them horses and they only had an hour to get acquainted.
The weather was so much better for Sunday. Sunny and low 90s with a cool breeze. The riders all come from countries that are deep in winter so they might not have been so happy with our southern heat and humidity.
Sunday was the first competitive event as each team geared up for dressage followed by a derby type round with four stadium fences followed immediately by eleven cross country jumps. The riders from Hong Kong had never been cross country before. They only ever ride in an arena. So different than here in the US and I was sad I didn’t get a chance to talk to them about how they board and care for their horses.
I was put in charge of the up bank at 13 and the palisade at 14 and thankfully all riders were clear through both. In fact pretty much all riders had clear rounds with only two falls on course and two refusals out of 20 runs. Pretty impressive for only just meeting their horse the day before!
The up bank at 13 had an uphill approach into the shade.Then they continued uphill with a right hand turn over 14. The horses sounded tired at this point as it was a course of either going up or down a hill but everyone jumped clean
I was so glad I got another chance to participate and help out. Everyone was so gracious about getting to ride and compete someone else’s horse and they all seemed to have a good time.
While jump 14 looked big and intimidating to me, not a single horse backed off. After this they had a very long uphill Gallop to the final fence at 15I could also see jump 12 which seemed like an inviting enough jump. It came after a long downhill run and then cut sharp left uphill to my twoSuch a gorgeous day.Coming up the bank in the shade.The view I had of riders leaving the water at jump 9
The rest of the week will be jammed with fun, local activities for the riders including a trip to an amusement park, kayaking and zip lining on the Green River, Tryon Horse Country tour, and a fun night at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (home of the AECs last year and WEG in 2018) until their last weekend which will host the Kangaroo Cup, a 3′ jumper show. I am hoping to make it to the jumper show as well and hope they all have a great week.
Sometimes you just get really lucky in life. I’m still grinning from Friday and know that my chance of ever getting to do something like this again in my life is slim to none.
Every two years Pony Clubs around the world put together a team of elite young riders to travel to a host country and compete. There are five countries involved: US, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. The host country rotates so that each one hosts every 10 years.
Not only is 2017 an InterPacific year, but it is a year for the US to host. To make the stars align even more, Trainer, who has been the US team coach the last four competitions, stepped aside as coach this year and instead got wrangled into the position of organizer. This means that not only is the US hosting, but it is being hosted at the barn I train at.
Told you this would never align again like this.
The thing about the IPE is that the host country needs to provide the horses for the entire event which lasts nearly two weeks. This year the riders landed in SC on the 28th and the first riding event was a fun games day and trail ride on Friday the 30th. Apparently the riders from Hong Kong had zero access to any riding outside an arena, so getting them out on trail was a big priority for Trainer.
Once the schedule was set, poor Trainer had the stressful job of gathering up over 30 horses for the day. When she asked if Gem could be used I jumped on the opportunity. Words fail me to express how amazing I think this entire thing is. Getting young riders out into the world, seeing how things go in other cultures, making new friends, and riding local horses? I’m jealous I never knew this even existed when I was young enough to participate.
I closed my office on Friday and blocked my surgery schedule. I think I was more excited to do this than any event where I rode my horse! Gem and I pulled into the barn around 745am and I got her settled into a stall for the morning. The forecast was ugly. A major storm was supposed to crash down on us at any moment, but the excitement of all the riders made it feel like the sun was shining all morning.
Gem being a great traveler as always. What do you do when dropped into a new situation with no clue what will be expected of you? Eat of course!
The riders got to choose what horse they wanted for the day. I know Gem looks a little plain next to all the fancy paint horses and tall, lean TBs so I worried nobody would really want her. A lovely girl from Australia stopped by and asked if she could ride her. I was so happy she wasn’t the last one picked in gym class!
Go Team Australia! Gem’s head looks very Arabian in this pictureGetting to know each other. As an aside, Gem looks fantastic in her new black pad. I am becoming more plain as the days go by.
I tacked her up in her jump gear and told the young rider, who was B rated in Pony Club which basically means she rides better than I likely ever will, that she could do anything she liked. There was nothing she could do to Gem to break her that I haven’t already tried.
The rain started coming down right as everyone wandered to the arena for the games, but since it is winter back at their home a warm summer rain wasn’t going to spoil their fun.
Super glad for my Kerits long riding rain coat
The first game was pole bending and I got to watch the practice run. The girl started trotting but soon got Gem flying at the canter and Gem was game on. She was even doing flying lead changes between the poles! Trainer laughed saying maybe I was persuing the wrong discipline with her.
Unfortunately, I missed the actual competitive round as I got wrangled to be interviewed by the local news station as an owner. I have zero intention of watching that horror show on TV. I’m just hoping they worked some magical editing skills to make me not look like a complete moron. Apparently though Gem did amazing. Trainer laughed again saying that this is the perfect example of a task based activity and how well Gem does when she gets the point. Sigh. Maybe I need to buy some blingy shirts and cowboy boots?
Charlie the Belgian was a big hit. It was hilarious watching him do the games and his poor rider could barely reach the flags and cups. It was hilarious and by the end everyone was in love with himWhat’s more American than a paint mule?
After that they played with a flag race, some cup stuff and spent about an hour and a half just having fun. Gem did amazing. I can’t stress enough how proud I am of her. Even in the torrential downpour, she stood quietly waiting her turn and was game on when asked. Trainer even mentioned how competitive she is and it is true. Gem hates conditioning/training but adores competition.
All the horses did so well. Most of these were either pasture puffs or event horses so having them all do gymkhana games was great.
When all the games were finished, they took a short break and talked about the poker ride that was up next. I’m sure most people know what that is, but basically you go on trail and pick up cards along the way to make a poker hand. The team with the best hand wins.
They asked if I’d mind standing in the rain forest to hand out a card and so I missed most of the action. I did get to see Gem as she rode by me and the girl had a huge smile on her face. She was gushing about how awesome Gem had been for her and said her friends were jealous! Made my heart melt to hear.
Trainer lent me her car to wait in until the riders started coming by. It was pouring the entire time and I was a little sad to leave it to go stand in the woods
After that it was time to untack and eat lunch. My rider gave me a special pin from her home Pony Club as a thank you. She told me that she had never ridden a horse who could trot so fast. In the games she would ask for more speed and Gem would just up her trotting. She did get her to canter a lot too, but she said her trot was so fast she didn’t need to canter. On trail, she could tell Gem wanted to trot and not walk so she let her. She apparently even took her over a down bank and a small roll top! She said Gem was hesitant but once she put her leg on and told her she really did want her to go, she popped over no issue. Sounds about right.
Food!
All too soon lunch was over and it was time to load up and go home. I wished her luck the rest of the week. This weekend is the first real competition with a CT that’s set up for BN with dressage then cross country and then next weekend is a 3′ jumper show for them. I was asked to jump judge on Sunday so I told her I’d be rooting for her.
The ground was dry when I pulled in at 745 am. This was at 12 pm when I was leaving. Lots of rain!
I felt really lucky to be involved in this. Every rider was thankful and excited to be there and learn all they could about riding in the US. Maybe some day Wyatt will get into it and be on the team.
The Roaming Rider 