XC Clinic

So took Sienna to a clinic today; sort of curious to see which of the twins I’d get – that’d be Superpony or Psychopony. Unfortunately I haven’t figured out yet how to tell them apart when loading >;-P

Find random field to park in – but no sign of farm??? Very strange. Somebody who had just finished their ride directed me down the road and across the street. Ummmm ok. Leave pony (whichever one!) on the trailer with her hay and go for a hike to figure out where I’m going.

Find barn, lesson before is just getting started. Watch for a second or two; one friend of mine is riding and I’d really love to stay and watch, while another couple who I’d love to gossip with are sitting watching. But unfortunately poor protocol to gossip while lesson is going on, and I left the pony alone (see above) so wasn’t comfortable hanging out in the arena watching.

Pull Sienna off the trailer and she immediately embarks on her quest for the perfect piece of grass. This is a good sign – Superpony’s interest is food; Psycopony’s interest is ummmm everything else! Have an hour before we need to be in the ring so gradually interrupt the quest to put random pieces of tack on. When it came time to mount she even *almost* stood still :) hahaha

My old coach was there w/ her T horse and a student riding the last horse I started there (who I wanted to buy to take to Denny’s with me last year). So that was sort of entertaining to watch.

Anyways – they’re getting themselves organized and the fourth horse in our group is bouncing around while his owner is tacking up. By this point I’m reasonably certain Superpony has come to play. Woohoo!

So the first half of the clinic is indoors, and within a few seconds of being in there I *know* it’s Superpony today. How? Because our trot was civilized :) hahaha we weren’t tearing around on the very edge of control. Just a nice quiet trot both directions. Occasionally looking at things but generally pretty amazing. Some flat work, working on bending, then trotting poles and eventually trot poles to a little jump. All super-easy for Si, except of course that the bending exercise was off the left and she was definitely in perma-right mode. But not tragic. Clinician gave me some suppling suggestions so will try those @ home. Jumping was no problem. Si was being her superstar self and I never got anything other than a “good” – but that being said, he didn’t seem to be overly picky either. I felt I was riding reasonably well, but that’s easy to do when your horse is being a saint. The one time we jumped off center, which he commented on, but then seemed surprised when I asked if I could do it again.

Actually that was a thread with both clinicians today that I found a little unusual. The first one humoured me and said sure – and later got me to do it once more to prove it wasn’t a fluke :) but the second clinician too would say something was wrong, but then move on before fixing it and I found that a little frustrating. Both were pretty consistent about it though, although none of the other riders asked for the opportunity to correct their mistakes. Said old coach was way underchallenged by the whole thing and her horse is about two years ahead of all the other horses there so there wasn’t a lot for her to do; she did also fix the one thing she got called on. One of the other riders I think was going on the “thank god I survived and he didn’t say anything” theory. She seemed to get through most of the day that way. The last rider was on quite a hot and very athletic horse – I was quite impressed by her because not only did she deal with her mount bouncing around, but she made a genuine effort to implement the changes recommended and got great results. Sienna was not bouncing around so we didn’t really get anything to change. He asked for a line in 6 strides, so we gave him a line in 6 strides. We went over the scary tarp jump – she launched the first time, but after a couple attempts was stepping over it, no effort required. Superpony :) That was another random one I had to ask about (“can we go over that?” puzzled look, “ummm sure” with a shrug. Hahaha I love amusing the clinicians. But why *not* take every advantage to teach her something, esp when in superpony mode?) Our last line we were coming in offstride so I sat up and put her together so she got in fairly deep – it was successful but not overly smooth. I apologized out of habit and he stopped me and told me not to apologize since it was the right decision (well yeah, but it’s a decision that should’ve been made 5 strides earlier). That was another one I wanted to redo, but no go that time because everybody was ready to go cross.

So we switch clinicians and go outside. Great track, amazing footing, pond in the middle. I wish I had that at home :) Start with a trot around the track. NP. Then go around once at PT pace. I was bang on. Hahaha pretty excited about that. I didn’t actually tell the clinician the right number so she doesn’t know that little detail, but when I took the time to look more closely at my watch I discovered it.

So we’re supposed to go again. This time Si was busy shying at stuff for the first section and when I put my leg on and told her to smarten up and go, well she went :) Not actually her fastest by any means but unfortunately significantly faster than PT speed, esp towards home. And not the least bit inclined to stop *sigh* So clinician teaches me her emergency breaking system, which I found reasonably useful later. Will have to work on that one :)

So now there are three fences on the “home stretch” – we’re supposed to gallop around the track and then over the three. Ummmm yeah not such a good idea. Did you miss the “no breaks” part of the last paragraph? I told you I cannot rate or stop her, and she’s super-green, so I’m not about to point her at a fence in that situation. So I just trotted her up the home stretch and did the jumps in a quiet canter. I was highly amused to note that the other two girls followed my lead on that. The clinician however was less amused. Ah well.

Next we got a mini-course. Over little logs, down bank, over ugly-looking but not overly large fence. Ummm ok, except for the whole bank part. Any objection to walking down? Puzzled look. Umm we’ve done two of these, ever. Oh ok then, go up and then down it. So we go up, yeah superstar pony. Amused to note that yet again the other two are following me (why do I always have to be the one to speak up?). Going down though, superpony was less than sure. As in not *quite* rear and spin but almost there. So I trot her around a bit and when she’s good hop off and lead her down the bank. Brilliant. Clinician was *not* happy w/ me for that. But when I got back on she did it perfectly so all good.

So we do our mini-course. No problem. Mr crop was employed for the ugly jump – which gave us an extra foot or two and quite the landing, but she went over it when she wasn’t sure so that was good. This was a case of something I wanted to redo that didn’t get to. (Eventually did do it again, but long past the useful timing).

N then we went to the ditch. N this was less than good. Suffice to say, when I felt the meltdown coming I should've just lead her over it, remounted and all would've been well. But I tried to do it the clinician's way. And when we couldn't even get close to it anymore she gave up. So I tried leading her at that point but it was way too late. So now Superpony has a ditch issue. Frig. Guess what we'll be spending the summer doing? Rode her over a few fences we'd already done to finish with (including the ugly :)

So the first half of the clinic was not particularly interesting or challenging but my horse was awesome so I was pretty thrilled at that. Amazingly well behaved. The second half taught my horse that ditches house monsters AND that she has an option about whether to jump. NOT good. So while I am actually very happy with how my horse went, I have to admit to being thoroughly disappointed overall *sigh*

XC Clinic

(from GRS Blog) So took Sienna to a clinic today; sort of curious to see which of the twins I’d get – that’d be Superpony or Psychopony. Unfortunately I haven’t figured out yet how to tell them apart when loading >;-P Find random field to park in – but no sign of farm??? Very strange. Somebody who had just finished their ride directed me down the road and across the street. Ummmm ok. Leave pony (whichever one!) on the trailer with her hay and go for a hike to figure out where I’m going. Find barn, lesson before is just getting started. Watch for a second or two; one friend of mine is riding and I’d really love to stay and watch, while another couple who I’d love to gossip with are sitting watching. But unfortunately poor protocol to gossip while lesson is going on, and I left the pony alone (see above) so wasn’t comfortable hanging out in the arena watching. Pull Sienna off the trailer and she immediately embarks on her quest for the perfect piece of grass. This is a good sign – Superpony’s interest is food; Psycopony’s interest is ummmm everything else! Have an hour before we need to be in the ring so gradually interrupt the quest to put random pieces of tack on. When it came time to mount she even *almost* stood still :) hahaha My old coach was there w/ her T horse and a student riding the last horse I started there (who I wanted to buy to take to Denny’s with me last year). So that was sort of entertaining to watch. Anyways – they’re getting themselves organized and the fourth horse in our group is bouncing around while his owner is tacking up. By this point I’m reasonably certain Superpony has come to play. Woohoo! So the first half of the clinic is indoors, and within a few seconds of being in there I *know* it’s Superpony today. How? Because our trot was civilized :) hahaha we weren’t tearing around on the very edge of control. Just a nice quiet trot both directions. Occasionally looking at things but generally pretty amazing. Some flat work, working on bending, then trotting poles and eventually trot poles to a little jump. All super-easy for Si, except of course that the bending exercise was off the left and she was definitely in perma-right mode. But not tragic. Clinician gave me some suppling suggestions so will try those @ home. Jumping was no problem. Si was being her superstar self and I never got anything other than a “good” – but that being said, he didn’t seem to be overly picky either. I felt I was riding reasonably well, but that’s easy to do when your horse is being a saint. The one time we jumped off center, which he commented on, but then seemed surprised when I asked if I could do it again. Actually that was a thread with both clinicians today that I found a little unusual. The first one humoured me and said sure – and later got me to do it once more to prove it wasn’t a fluke :) but the second clinician too would say something was wrong, but then move on before fixing it and I found that a little frustrating. Both were pretty consistent about it though, although none of the other riders asked for the opportunity to correct their mistakes. Said old coach was way underchallenged by the whole thing and her horse is about two years ahead of all the other horses there so there wasn’t a lot for her to do; she did also fix the one thing she got called on. One of the other riders I think was going on the “thank god I survived and he didn’t say anything” theory. She seemed to get through most of the day that way. The last rider was on quite a hot and very athletic horse – I was quite impressed by her because not only did she deal with her mount bouncing around, but she made a genuine effort to implement the changes recommended and got great results. Sienna was not bouncing around so we didn’t really get anything to change. He asked for a line in 6 strides, so we gave him a line in 6 strides. We went over the scary tarp jump – she launched the first time, but after a couple attempts was stepping over it, no effort required. Superpony :) That was another random one I had to ask about (“can we go over that?” puzzled look, “ummm sure” with a shrug. Hahaha I love amusing the clinicians. But why *not* take every advantage to teach her something, esp when in superpony mode?) Our last line we were coming in offstride so I sat up and put her together so she got in fairly deep – it was successful but not overly smooth. I apologized out of habit and he stopped me and told me not to apologize since it was the right decision (well yeah, but it’s a decision that should’ve been made 5 strides earlier). That was another one I wanted to redo, but no go that time because everybody was ready to go cross. So we switch clinicians and go outside. Great track, amazing footing, pond in the middle. I wish I had that at home :) Start with a trot around the track. NP. Then go around once at PT pace. I was bang on. Hahaha pretty excited about that. I didn’t actually tell the clinician the right number so she doesn’t know that little detail, but when I took the time to look more closely at my watch I discovered it. So we’re supposed to go again. This time Si was busy shying at stuff for the first section and when I put my leg on and told her to smarten up and go, well she went :) Not actually her fastest by any means but unfortunately significantly faster than PT speed, esp towards home. And not the least bit inclined to stop *sigh* So clinician teaches me her emergency breaking system, which I found reasonably useful later. Will have to work on that one :) So now there are three fences on the “home stretch” – we’re supposed to gallop around the track and then over the three. Ummmm yeah not such a good idea. Did you miss the “no breaks” part of the last paragraph? I told you I cannot rate or stop her, and she’s super-green, so I’m not about to point her at a fence in that situation. So I just trotted her up the home stretch and did the jumps in a quiet canter. I was highly amused to note that the other two girls followed my lead on that. The clinician however was less amused. Ah well. Next we got a mini-course. Over little logs, down bank, over ugly-looking but not overly large fence. Ummm ok, except for the whole bank part. Any objection to walking down? Puzzled look. Umm we’ve done two of these, ever. Oh ok then, go up and then down it. So we go up, yeah superstar pony. Amused to note that yet again the other two are following me (why do I always have to be the one to speak up?). Going down though, superpony was less than sure. As in not *quite* rear and spin but almost there. So I trot her around a bit and when she’s good hop off and lead her down the bank. Brilliant. Clinician was *not* happy w/ me for that. But when I got back on she did it perfectly so all good. So we do our mini-course. No problem. Mr crop was employed for the ugly jump – which gave us an extra foot or two and quite the landing, but she went over it when she wasn’t sure so that was good. This was a case of something I wanted to redo that didn’t get to. (Eventually did do it again, but long past the useful timing). N then we went to the ditch. N this was less than good. Suffice to say, when I felt the meltdown coming I should've just lead her over it, remounted and all would've been well. But I tried to do it the clinician's way. And when we couldn't even get close to it anymore she gave up. So I tried leading her at that point but it was way too late. So now Superpony has a ditch issue. Frig. Guess what we'll be spending the summer doing? Rode her over a few fences we'd already done to finish with (including the ugly :) So the first half of the clinic was not particularly interesting or challenging but my horse was awesome so I was pretty thrilled at that. Amazingly well behaved. The second half taught my horse that ditches house monsters AND that she has an option about whether to jump. NOT good. So while I am actually very happy with how my horse went, I have to admit to being thoroughly disappointed overall *sigh*

The return of Superpony!

The superpony is back! I wonder how long she'll stick around for this time?

So amazing dr lesson on Tues. Didn't ride Wed cause she had some weird puffiness where the girth should go. Well that and both pony and I were zonked (although *I* at least had the excuse of having gone running at lunch :) Thurs puffiness was less and when I squished it she didn't really care so figured I'd ride anyways -- not as though I ever have my girth tight to begin with >;-P She was still pretty tired but amazingly good. Rode for all of about 20 mins. Hopped over some tiny things, and then untacked and let her graze for the rest of our "work" time :) Everybody needs a day like that once in a while.

This am I get her out and hop on and she's still in lazy mode. hmmmmm either dr lesson was far more intense than it felt (don't really believe that since she wasn't giving any "I'm tired" signs - which are usually pretty obvious, subtlety is not her strong suit - while we were there) or she's just chilled this week with the more civilized weather or whatever. We trotted around for a bit admittedly putting fairly little effort into our warmup. So coach comes out (with not one but TWO incredibly cute bouncing fluffballs :) and has us do some basic trot work - but not nearly as intense as it generally is (maybe we got excused cause I told him we did dr on Tues?). Ok forward into the canter and he wants me shifting between two and three point -- a valid and useful exercise except that I was expecting dressage and my stirrups were approximately 5 holes too long for that. Pulled up after all of about two strides "if we're going to play this game can I shorten my stirrups?" (of course already doing so by the time I finished asking the question -- which really translated to, are we going back to dressage after we run around?) I got a laugh and a nod so I figured that meant no dressage for us today. Altogether now: awwwwwwww. So we do a few laps alternating between a canter and a hand-gallop with focus pretty much entirely on my position (he made one little shift that made such a huge diff -- esp once we got to the jumping aspect of things! -- one of those "well why didn't somebody point this out 10 yrs ago?" sheesh. hahaha but it's all good. Now I just have to be able to replicate!)

So I warm the pony up over random fences (thank Epona she's still being a saint :) while my coach builds our one and only fence for the day. Very nice hogsback, not particularly high - maybe entry level? "Ok, jump that at 350mpm". Hey wait a sec -- since when were we deemed to be where accuracy is expected? What happened to being please with simply getting from point A to point B without losing our little mind? Almost as bad as DQ coach asking for a circle and just expecting it would be 20m. hahaha no. My circles are random sizes (albeit I do aim for round!) unless otherwise specified. Funny, from that moment on (and that moment was several months ago) all circle sizes have been specified. >;-P

Ok but back to today - jump that at 350mpm. This is not particularly challenging since I default to 350mpm and therefore Sienna is very comfortable jumping at that pace :) So yeah, no problem. Did it a couple times both ways consistently. All good. Then it's 450 down the long side, 350 around the corner, 300 to and over the fence. Ummm 300? We can trot 300 >;-P @ least when she's in zoomy mode we can. So the 350-450 increase was np (and as we did this multiple times over the lesson by the end we could even do it w/o falling on the forehand. Yeah us :), and back to 350 also ok (450 around the short end of that ring is a little terrifying so self-preservation kicks in @ some point). Back to 300 worked. For a stride or two. Then we trotted. Yeah pony can jump entry oxers out of a trot >;-P "Don't worry, I'll do it better next time," I assured my coach as we cantered away. Sometimes you just don't need to hear the analysis. hahaha. The next time with a touch more leg we kept the 300. Was still a really icky jump, but at least on pace and in the right gait. Then we just played with different combos -- 450 long, 350 short, 400 jump. Can she go forward and come back on command and can I keep whatever pace he wants me to keep consistently. There were a few cases where coming back took longer than it technically should've :) The 450 - 300 jump (ie long gallop to coffin) took an extra try (1st time we trotted) but we did get it :)

But what really had me so excited was that by the end she was jumping beautifully out of whatever pace we were in, and more importantly, LANDING in the same rhythm. Woohoo!!! And most of those fences had her little knees up around her ears :)

I will say though, after more than half an hour of cantering and galloping (albeit slowly) on the pony who wasn't particularly high to begin with, both of us were pretty zonked. And I definitely did not end up going for my run today. hahaha I think some more fitness is required for both of us; actually I think I just need to pick up another horse to ride. One at a time just isn't cutting it.

The return of Superpony!

(taken from GRS Blog The superpony is back! I wonder how long she'll stick around for this time? So amazing dr lesson on Tues. Didn't ride Wed cause she had some weird puffiness where the girth should go. Well that and both pony and I were zonked (although *I* at least had the excuse of having gone running at lunch :) Thurs puffiness was less and when I squished it she didn't really care so figured I'd ride anyways -- not as though I ever have my girth tight to begin with >;-P She was still pretty tired but amazingly good. Rode for all of about 20 mins. Hopped over some tiny things, and then untacked and let her graze for the rest of our "work" time :) Everybody needs a day like that once in a while. This am I get her out and hop on and she's still in lazy mode. hmmmmm either dr lesson was far more intense than it felt (don't really believe that since she wasn't giving any "I'm tired" signs - which are usually pretty obvious, subtlety is not her strong suit - while we were there) or she's just chilled this week with the more civilized weather or whatever. We trotted around for a bit admittedly putting fairly little effort into our warmup. So coach comes out (with not one but TWO incredibly cute bouncing fluffballs :) and has us do some basic trot work - but not nearly as intense as it generally is (maybe we got excused cause I told him we did dr on Tues?). Ok forward into the canter and he wants me shifting between two and three point -- a valid and useful exercise except that I was expecting dressage and my stirrups were approximately 5 holes too long for that. Pulled up after all of about two strides "if we're going to play this game can I shorten my stirrups?" (of course already doing so by the time I finished asking the question -- which really translated to, are we going back to dressage after we run around?) I got a laugh and a nod so I figured that meant no dressage for us today. Altogether now: awwwwwwww. So we do a few laps alternating between a canter and a hand-gallop with focus pretty much entirely on my position (he made one little shift that made such a huge diff -- esp once we got to the jumping aspect of things! -- one of those "well why didn't somebody point this out 10 yrs ago?" sheesh. hahaha but it's all good. Now I just have to be able to replicate!) So I warm the pony up over random fences (thank Epona she's still being a saint :) while my coach builds our one and only fence for the day. Very nice hogsback, not particularly high - maybe entry level? "Ok, jump that at 350mpm". Hey wait a sec -- since when were we deemed to be where accuracy is expected? What happened to being please with simply getting from point A to point B without losing our little mind? Almost as bad as DQ coach asking for a circle and just expecting it would be 20m. hahaha no. My circles are random sizes (albeit I do aim for round!) unless otherwise specified. Funny, from that moment on (and that moment was several months ago) all circle sizes have been specified. >;-P Ok but back to today - jump that at 350mpm. This is not particularly challenging since I default to 350mpm and therefore Sienna is very comfortable jumping at that pace :) So yeah, no problem. Did it a couple times both ways consistently. All good. Then it's 450 down the long side, 350 around the corner, 300 to and over the fence. Ummm 300? We can trot 300 >;-P @ least when she's in zoomy mode we can. So the 350-450 increase was np (and as we did this multiple times over the lesson by the end we could even do it w/o falling on the forehand. Yeah us :), and back to 350 also ok (450 around the short end of that ring is a little terrifying so self-preservation kicks in @ some point). Back to 300 worked. For a stride or two. Then we trotted. Yeah pony can jump entry oxers out of a trot >;-P "Don't worry, I'll do it better next time," I assured my coach as we cantered away. Sometimes you just don't need to hear the analysis. hahaha. The next time with a touch more leg we kept the 300. Was still a really icky jump, but at least on pace and in the right gait. Then we just played with different combos -- 450 long, 350 short, 400 jump. Can she go forward and come back on command and can I keep whatever pace he wants me to keep consistently. There were a few cases where coming back took longer than it technically should've :) The 450 - 300 jump (ie long gallop to coffin) took an extra try (1st time we trotted) but we did get it :) But what really had me so excited was that by the end she was jumping beautifully out of whatever pace we were in, and more importantly, LANDING in the same rhythm. Woohoo!!! And most of those fences had her little knees up around her ears :) I will say though, after more than half an hour of cantering and galloping (albeit slowly) on the pony who wasn't particularly high to begin with, both of us were pretty zonked. And I definitely did not end up going for my run today. hahaha I think some more fitness is required for both of us; actually I think I just need to pick up another horse to ride. One at a time just isn't cutting it.

Friday Flash #35 - First Encounter

Ok so for the record, I can't believe I'm on #35!!!! Woohoo! This story stands on its own as a flash, but it's also a continuation of the story I started "way back when" in flash #2... It also has two endings. The flash ending, here. And the alternate ending which just moves the story along a little. I'll include both -- let me know which you think works better!!! BTW, if you want the back story: Knowing The Next Step The Watcher The Survivor Thanks for reading! ----- First Encounter: As she followed well behind Kale, muttering to herself about the pace he was setting and questioning her sanity in staying with him, Jezina's internal monologue was interrupted by a whimpering not far off in the woods. She stopped to listen more carefully as Kale disappeared around a bend farther ahead. There it was again. A sad sound. Like a cross between the mewling cry of a kitten and the high-pitched chirp of a young bird. Curious, she stepped off the trail toward the sound. For all that it was quiet, Jezina had thought the sound was nearby but as she found herself heading deeper into the woods she realized her senses had been somewhat distorted. She considered heading back, realizing it'd be smart to at least tell Kale where she'd gone, but was worried that whatever was crying was hurt. That and, she acknowledged to herself, she really didn't want Kale along. So she continued deeper into the woods, out of sight of the trail she'd been following. She crossed the treeline and found herself in a meadow. There was something foreboding about the meadow; the scene was one of pastoral peace and Jezina could see no reason for her unease, but still she hesitated. The sound was noticeably louder and when she scanned the open area she saw it. An animal of some type, trapped by a log on the other side of the meadow. Dismissing her fears as foolish, Jezina sprinted across the meadow towards the wounded animal, slowing to a walk when she got near so as not to scare it. When she approached it, murmuring gently, the animal looked at her with the most disconcertingly intelligent eyes. The creature was unlike any Jezina had ever seen. The size of a large dog, it was blue and very fluffy. She felt a girl's need to hug it, although some instinct warned her that would be a very bad idea. It had tiny wings, too small for the body, that seemed to be made of crystal, and large amber eyes that looked at her quizzically. It looked pointedly at its trapped claw and then tilted its head sideways looking at Jezina as though to say "Well? Would you do something about this?" The look was so human and so indignant it instantly brought a smile to her face. "Alright little one, let me see what I can do." Taking a closer look, Jezina could see that his claw had slipped through a knot hole in the fallen tree, and he couldn't twist it in any way that would let him pull it back out. She tried to move it gently, but he squawked and hit her with his little wing, scratching her face. She sat back and looked at him -- those wings may be small, but they were powerful! "Ok," she said softly, gentling him, "I'm trying to help here." Realizing she'd be unable to maneuver his claw out, Jezina set about trying to break the slightly rotting stump to widen the hole he'd gone through. It was hard work, especially as she had to keep the log stable or the critter screeched in pain. Jezina’s labours were rewarded as she heard a snap and the piece she was working on broke off, sending her comically tumbling backwards and the blue fluffball falling off the other side, free. She laughed out loud as the critter bounced back up and over to her side as though saying "I meant to do that!" She sat and watched him play, leaping off the log and fluttering his tiny wings in a frantic and fairly unsuccessful attempt to hover. Enjoying the moment of sheer childish frivolity, Jezina climbed onto the log and mimicked the creature, jumping off and flapping her arms. He watched her do that once and then waited for her to join her on the log again -- his intentions clear. Both leapt at the same time, only the animal actually managed a hover of a second or two, landing well after Jezina. Sensing the "so there" in his eyes, she turned and performed a formal bow saying "You win, little one, that was pretty impressive." Lost in the silliness of the moment, Jezina was happier and more relaxed than she'd been in a long time. Which meant the cold voice, when it interrupted, seemed that much harsher. "Jezina!" At the sharp command, Jezina looked across the meadow to see Kale glaring at her with a level of hatred she'd hoped they were past. Sighing she looked at the little creature who at Kale's appearance had stopped bouncing around and moved to stand in front of Jezi -- seemingly protecting her from the intruder. "It's ok little one," she said, feeling only half foolish for explaining things to this seemingly intelligent being, "he's a . . . friend," she picked for lack of a better word. "Jezina you've got to get out of there NOW!" Kale stated adamantly. "I'm fine Kale," she reassured him, "he's friendly." "Jezina," Kale spoke very quietly one eye warily on the critter, "this is a dragon's lair, and that's a baby blue-wing. He looks harmless, but could kill both of us in an instant. And where there's a baby, there's a mother. We have to get out of here before she arrives." And Jezina knew she'd mistaken the hatred in his eyes. What she was really seeing was fear. A closer look around their meadow confirmed what Kale was saying. The meadow in the middle of the forest was not a natural construct. The log the critter had been caught was obviously dragged from elsewhere, but there was no path through the woods. Jezina had taken the meadow at face value; dragons to her were magnificent mythical creatures -- certainly not cute blue fluffballs. But, she was learning, sometimes the myths were real. "Well little one, even though I'd much rather stay and play with you, it looks like I'd better be going. It seems your mum might not like me being here. Stay out of the logs ok?" she asked him with a quick pat on the head. She'd taken only one step across the meadow toward Kale when she heard a sound not even her nightmares could create. The roar was fierce, the ground shook underneath, and the temperature rose to nearly scalding. The little critter cowered behind her, and she instinctively put a hand on his head reassuringly. "Where was Kale's icy glare when you needed it?" the scarily logical part of her brain asked while the rest of her frantically tried to think of what to do next. She felt the temperature drop slightly as the roar faded, allowing her a slight reprieve as she quickly scanned the area for a hiding spot. She was considering whether or not she could hide in the log she'd just rescued the baby dragon from when she ran out of time. --30-- ...More

First Encounter - 2nd Ending

As the massive creature landed in the meadow between her and Kale, the little one scurried around in front of Jezina and stared up at his mother defiantly. The adult dragon paused and tilted her head ever so slightly, looking at her child. Jezina had the distinct impression he had just saved her life. At least for the moment. Awestruck, Jezina looked at the giant dragon. She, for it was definitely the little one's mother, was pure power. Her sheer size was overwhelming. The long thick tale of scales had destroyed the trees nearest to Kale with only the slightest flick, sending him retreating further into the woods. Her body was a shimmering royal blue, with huge crystalline wings that reflected the sunlight. Her highly intelligent eyes were golden and framed with huge lashes. There was no sign in her of the fluffy critter with tiny wings she must once have been. The giant being lowered her magnificent blue head until she was face-to-face with Jezina. She turned her head so one giant eye was pointed directly at Jezina and slowly scrolled back and forth. Jezina held perfectly still, hardly daring to breath. She felt as though every feature were being examined and memorized, for what she had no idea. The dragon pulled back slightly so she could look at Jezina head on. She sniffed briefly and then threw her head up and snorted, as though trying to rid herself of a sour taste. If Jezina hadn't been so scared, she might've been insulted. The dragon reached over Jezina and picked her young up in her teeth by the scruff of his neck, and then spreading her magnificent wings, was airborn. The stunning dragon hovered momentarily over her lair, before she, with a couple slow flaps of her wings, was gone. ----- So was it better to see what happened? Or better to be left wondering?

Theory Thursday 12 - Conformation

So I've made a *start* on Conformation Theory for this week's Theory Thursday. It's a good intro to but there's so much more I'd like to include! May have to do a "part two" some day :) In the interim, I'll put a bunch of good books on the resource section. Notice the future tense there -- that day is not yet here *sigh* But it will happen. Maybe for next Thursday :) Maybe.

Technically this is the last one till the end of show season, as my world gets insanely busy about now (can ya tell???). But I intend over the next few weeks to flesh out the articles that are already there, correct some typos, add more study guides, and expand the reference section. That's the plan anyways :) I have a few wonderful souls who help me proof read (since my good intentions of writing on Wed and editing on Thurs always get interrupted by, oh yeah, life! and so the editing phase simply doesn't happen. hahaha) and their good advice has been sorely neglected the last couple weeks (although at least one has been left in because it amused me!) However I would like to remedy that.

Then the real question is whether to start it up again in the fall? Has it been helpful? Is anybody reading it? >;-P If so, what would you like to see? I still have a bunch of topics floating around my head so could happen. Guess we'll find out :)

Cheers!

Einstein

Ok so I would be remiss if I didn't share this one...



Meet Einstein

Einstein

Ok so I would be remiss if I didn't share this one...



Meet Einstein

How to have a dressage lesson

(from GRS blog) So where were you all night? I had a dressage lesson. It took you *that* long? I wasn't gone *that* long... Only 2... 3... 6... and a half hours. Ok maybe I was gone for a while. But let me provide a short summary of what's involved in this process: 1. Leave work. I never manage to get out of work on time, so this eats up an extra 15mins all in itself. 2. Crawl through early-rush-hour traffic (which I would've missed entirely if not for step one!) to the barn. 3. Park car. 4. Pray to auto gods that the Beast will deign to start. 5. Start Beast. 6. Thank auto gods 7. Back Beast up to trailer. 8. Pull Beast forward and try again, this time at least pretending to pay attention to where the middle is! 9. Lower trailer hitch onto ball. 10. Forcibly push/pull/shove trailer into place since step 8 was less accurate than it perhaps should've been (who nees the gym?!?! You lift weights - I lift TRAILERS!) 11. Pull Beast and Murray (that'd be the trailer - see Nicole's Guest Post if you want in the loop on how that came to be) forward to safe place to load. 12. Intelligently park facing the direction we need to leave. 13. Put down ramp and chest bar. 14. Fill haynet. 15. Attach lungeline to side of trailer "just-in-case". (has anybody noticed I haven't technically seen my horse yet?) 16. Pack tack and gear in Beast 17. Fill water bucket even though I *know* she won't drink it 18. Collect shipping boots from Murray and bring them to the barn. 19. Bring grooming kit to crossties 20. Locate pony's halter (it'd gone for a walk) and put on pony. 21. Put pony in crossties. 22. Groom pony. 23. Wonder why pony isn't making nasty faces. 24. Put boots on pony. 25. Put shipping boots on over regular boots. 26. Watch pony do the shipping-boot dance. 27. Lead pony to trailer. 28. Wonder why pony walks on trailer like a pro. 29. Give pony treat and pats 30. Leave pony munching in trailer and go behind her to do up butt strap 31. Return to front of pony to tie her 32. Replace chest bar 33. Pat pony 34. Close back gate 35. Close people door 36. Recheck everything is done up/attached correctly (I'm a little paranoid about this - esp as Murray can be, well, temporamental :) 37. Remove lungeline from side of trailer. 38. Start Beast. 39. Realize Beast is very hungry. Too hungry to make it to the lesson and back w/o food. 40. Realize oh-so-intelligent parking to leave in the right direction sets us exactly the WRONG direction for gas. 41. 3-point-turn in w/ Beast/Murray combo. And it WAS 3 points. Sadly this is not nearlly as impressive as it sounds as I had a fairly huge and straight area to work with :) But we don't need to mention that. 42. Feed Beast 43. One last loop around the parking lot to get back to the original exit. 44. Back into the traffic crawl. 45. What's with all the HUGE trucks?!?!? Poor Murray's starting to get a complex. 46. Hit every red light in Guelph. There are a lot of them. 47. Get to coach's barn. 48. Yeah for round-about! Park trailer facing the exit. 49. Open people-door so Sienna can see out. She's significantly happier with it open. 50. Put on half-chaps (only item it's really awkward to put on while holding a dancing pony). 51. Drop back gate. 52. Attach leadline to pony. 53. Detach bungee. 54. Undo butt chain. 55. Reverse pony (she's a pro at this!) 56. Laugh when pony stops with front legs STILL on trailer gate and starts looking for grass. 57. Very quickly pull off shipping boots and store in trailer. 58. Sigh when pony realizes that far more interesting than the grass are the scary tractors and the horses in the distance. 59. Realize pony has grown significantly and can no longer be referred to as "pony". 60. Admire horse who has turned into a statue. 61. A very large, very strong statue. 62. A statue that could randomly jump in any direction at any time. 63. Contemplate the wisdom of using the statuesqe moment to quickly tack up horse. 64. Contemplate for too long and get taken for a jog by horse who's deemed standing still is a good way to get eaten. 65. Realize it's *really* hard to put a saddle on a horse who's standing on her hind legs. 66. Laugh when said horse takes half a second between landing and trying to run away to grab some grass -- clearly this is more a game than anything. Teenage. Thoroughbred. Chestnut. Mare. On a cold windy day. 67. I should know better. 68. Turns out I *do* know better. 69. Choosing to pick my battles, take TTBCM into the barn and put her in cross-ties. 70. Put her in cross-ties far away from the door. 71. Where it's quiet. 72. And there's nothing interesting going on. 73. She's still *very* tall. 74. Debate the wisdom of leaving her unsupervised in cross-ties to go get tack. 75. Realize I have no choice. 76. Leave Sienna (who does cross tie remarkably well now -- although I still remember all too well the days she didn't!) 77. Go get tack and gear. 78. Return. 79. Pat Sienna for still being where I left her :) 80. Groom horse. 81. Wait, didn't we do that already? 82. Yeah well when your horse burries her head in her food and flings it everywhere, she always gets off the trailer covered in hay. At grain time she's covered in beatpulp. It's actually fairly entertaining. If a bit of a pita. 83. Tack up horse. 84. Tack up rider. 85. Lead very tall bouncing horse to arena. 86. Notice jumping lesson going on. 87. Stand surprised and watch. Remember, dq barn. People just don't jump here. But sure enough there's a great tiny course. Jumps are little but interesting -- complete with a painted wall and an empty brush box (which we all know is *way* scarier than a full one). 88. Ask permission to ride around jump lesson. 89. Permission granted. 90. Lead Sienna into ring only to discover she's returned to her usual size and entirely relaxed. 91. Apparently friends, indoors (she loves that ring for some reason -- maybe it's the mirrors?), and jumps are a good thing. 92. Warm-up around jump lesson 93. Trot over random fences 94. Jumping is a great w/u for dressage :) 95. Make friends with other riders in the ring. 96. Watch as lesson jump-crew disasembles entire course. 97. Boooo 98. Warmup for a bit 99. Warmup a little more. Either I was way early or my coach was late. But I'm really not sure which. Last time it was my fault so I'm thinking this time it's up to her :) 100. But I could be wrong. 101. Have lesson. (ummmm will elaborate on this point later :) 102. Note, we're past step 100 when the lesson begins! 103. Be totally shown up by the Superstar CTBM (yeah how often do you see THAT combo together?!?!) 104. Spend a lot of time goofing around making smart-ass comments which my amazingly patient coach tolerates while getting best results ever from the superpony. 105. Finish lesson. 106. Cool out horse. 107. Untack horse. 108. It turned into winter again :( 109. Boooo 110. Locate blanket for Sienna. 111. Sit and chat for a while. 112. Offer water to horse. 113. Watch horse reject water. 114. Offer to let horse graze. 115. Watch horse turn back into very tall, very strong, statue. 116. Get boots from Murray and put on Sienna. 117. Repeat steps 25-54 but substitute "feed Lauren" for "feed Murray" and "junkfood" for "gasoline". Why are there still SO many huge trucks on the hwy? 146. Put Sienna back in her stall. 147. Let her chill for a bit. 148. Unpack Beast 149. Take blanket and boots off Sienna 150. Groom Sienna. 151. Put sheet on Sienna. 152. Return boots to Murray and blanket to Beast. 153. Put brushes away. 154. Give horse night feed 155. Clean and refill horse's water after she dunks night feed. 156. Clean Murray 157. Park Murray (lots of fun in the dark let me tell you!) 158. Detatch Murray from Beast. 159. Park Beast. 160. Pull fuse from Beast, so it might deign to start again next time. 161. Make beat-pulp for tomorrow's feed. 162. Chat with other people finishing up with their horses. 163. Double check that everything's done and away and Sienna is fed, clean, dry and happy. 164. Drive home. So hey, suddenly doesn't seem so excessive does it? Note that your answer to that will reveal whether or not you're a horse person. hahahah Although admittedly most nights I can do it in about 2h less than that -- not entirely sure where that time went But that's ok. It was fun. Yes I just said fun in reference to dressage. Send some skates to your friends in hell, they just may need them >;-P Fun because....? Partially because my horse, who's been a *complete* wingnut for a couple weeks now, was a complete and total star. And partially cause I was in a silly mood and M's pretty kewl about that n just goes along w/ it :) So as mentioned, we get there and Si's a *little* high. Literally. And when I went to go in the ring there was a jump lesson going on, so I wasn't sure how that would go over. But it was like somebody flicked the off switch. We went in the ring n she was an old school pony :) Couldn't care less that the others were jumping. Stayed out of the way and trotted over the occasional fence (I had a good laugh in that she was doing the green-bean "giant leap" over these tiny fences) and was generally absolutely amazing. And when the jumps were put away and the others left, still amazing :) So when M comes in and asks what we need help with... Well ummmm lost her mind and doesn't bend left. I say as my quiet as can be horse does a lovely left bend. *sigh* Maybe I should just show her the video from GV *g* I don't think she'll ever believe me otherwise :) I couldn't help but laugh part way through as M was reiterating the importance of schooling the "almost" transitions. As in almost walk, almost canter, etc. And my mind immediately follows with "almost" jump. hahaha which would definitely be less than a good thing! And I suppose this would be why most DQs want nothing to do w/ eventers *g* Or part of it anyways :) The other one was "always be running through the mental checklist" which is great till you have the sewing-machine-on-speed trot happening and realize you're technically not even at step ONE on the list. Kinda makes the list a moot point >;-P We did get there though and sooner rather than later. And by the end pony was an absolute superstar. Attentive and really trying hard and actually accomplishing something that could almost be considered dressage. Woohoo! There's hope to be had :)