Rider Level Exam Info

Time has come for our fall rider exams!   Testing only the lower levels this time (upper levels are in the spring).

All candidates must be members of the Ontario Equestrian Federation.  This can be done online: https://www.horse.on.ca/membership/membership_2012extended/index.html or I'll have a printed application at the barn in the am.

Costs with HST include: $22.60 payable to the Ontario Equestrian Federation (admin fee) and $45.20 payable to Graduate Riding School for the exam itself.

All candidates should arrive at the barn properly attired by 9am.

Group 1 (testing level 1):
Tonya - Nick
Paige - Bella
Maddie - Louis
Kassidy - Lissy

Group 2 (testing level 3):
Brena - Bella
Olivia - Lissy
Caelan - Nick

Group 3 (testing level 3):
Bryn - Nick
Sarah - Louis
Chelsea - Lissy

Schedule:

9am 
- Group 1: Stable management and riding test
- Group 2 and 3: Written and partial stable management

10:30am
- Group 1: Written
- Group 2 and 3: Ride (both groups will do flat then both groups will jump)

Noon
- Group 2 and 3: Stable management

Thanksgiving Weekend :)

So Thanksgiving weekend was absolutely amazing!  Thanks tons to Hailey for looking after the barn for me -- greatly appreciated!

Weather was, well about as perfect as it gets really.  Bright, sunny and warm!

Temp according to my car :)

Went up to the cottage, one of my favourite places in the world to spend time, and got there in time for an amazing dinner :)   mmmmmm sooooo much good food.  Sweet!

What can I say?  I was HUNGRY!

So anyways the whole weekend was just about perfect.  Relaxing and fun and good company.  Finally had a chance to play with my camera a bit :)  Pics will eventually be on FB, but it's currently not letting me u/l anything.  Boo.  Anyways - fav shot of the weekend:

Can't decide whether this one is cool, creepy, or both :)

Had a good laugh when we were out on the boat...  Knew where we were and how to get home, but not exactly how to get where we were going -- so don't they whip out the GPI (ummm that'd be official plural of GPS :) on the various iphones.  Out in the middle of a lake in the middle of nowhere - staying at a cottage with no electricity - yet somehow the smart phones save the day.  And sure enough, they got us where we were supposed to be going :)

Ugh - sorry about the orange -- pc I'm on has no editing software.  Boo.  Maybe fix another day :)   But you get the point *g*

Had an even better laugh on the way home though -- didn't feel like sitting in crazy traffic, so pulled off the highway north of Barrie.  Now I know lots of ways home from Barrie, but they all start in the south end.  Pulled out my map book (remember those?  pre-nav/smart-phones/etc...  pieces of paper all bound together -- they have images of maps on each one and you have to flip between them to follow any particular road :) anyways - planned my new route, stopped for gas, and good to go.   Problem is, new route didn't go where the decade-old map book said it would.  Fail.  And at least two streets I was on had "turn here for road X" signs -- neither one of which led to road X.  Sheesh.   Anyways at one point I just had this feeling that something was very wrong and I was more lost than I should be...  Finally figured out -- the sun was on the wrong side.   I should be going south or west and the sun was on my left side at 4pm.   Fail.  So I turned around and went back to the last "turn here for road X" sign and basically ignored it and just kept driving.  Navigated by the sun till I found a sign pointing toward a town I knew was in the right direction and then followed that.   But at one point it hit me how sad it was that with all the technology we'd had on that little boat in the middle of nowhere, I was navigating using the sun >;-P   Sheesh.

I did, however, make it back with enough time to feed my horses *and* sneak in a short hack :)  Yeah me.

What did you learn today?

(from GRS blog :)

So they say you should learn something new every day.  They did NOT say it has to be something important.  hahaha and I freely admit that the VAST majority of the "something new"s I learn are, well, shall we say less than useful.  Often bordering on the edge of "waste of brain cells".

But today's  something new was reasonably entertaining.  Time will tell if it's actually useful or not, but definitely caught my attention.

So I was having a dressage lesson and we're trotting around our pretty little 20m circle.  Horse is through and connected and working hard and technically doing everything right, but we were missing the "wow" factor.  And honestly, I didn't think much of it, because I'm not even entirely convinced she has "wow" in her.  After Zel, my "wow" setting is kinda high - not necessarily reasonable for a teenage horse with tons of holes in her training who's not even really fit.

But regardless, I'm trotting around trying to gain a little more suspension and we've tried all the usual tricks (I'll tell ya - after last week's shoulder-fore through cavelletti exercise everything seems easy!) but the magic is somewhat lacking.  And then my coach comes up with the most random instruction I've ever heard:

"Make her outside ear go forwards."

Ummmm sorry?   I don't think I know the aid for that!  hahaha but he was on the edge of frustrated so I figured I'd better just figure it out...  Now Athena is very manourverable.  I can put any leg in any position you want it - shoulder in/out, renverse, traverse, head up/down forward/back, any combination of the above.  All no problem.  Admittedly the lateral work isn't competition quality yet, but at least the legs go where I ask them to :)   But move the outside ear forward?   I can get some horses to give me floppy ears, and I can almost always get them to flick their ears back on me.   But forward?

My first thought was to flick my dressage whip up in front of her outside eye -- pretty sure that'd work.  But also pretty sure that was *not* the look he was going for.  And he wasn't really feeling like tolerating me being a smart ass today so I quashed that plan.  Most days I can get away with it, but not always *g*

So I sit there and I fiddle and I play (getting such instructions as "not both ears, only the outside") and eventually by some fluke I'm quite certain I had nothing to do with (oh wait - take credit for flukes!  Ummm yes, I did that and I did it on purpose!) the outside ear flicked forward.  Cool.

But alas, was only for a stride.  Played around a bit and got it again, significantly faster.  And this time it held for a couple strides.  And those strides felt remarkably improved.  And then we lost it.

Rinse and repeat.

Eventually I get it for most of the circle.  And all of a sudden, with that outside ear pointing forward we have incredible suspension and this lovely floaty trot I didn't even believe she was capable of.  We found the "wow" factor.  And better yet - we could even repeat it going the other way!  Sweet.

Apparently that is, in fact, a fairly common side effect when you get all the aids together for brilliance -- the outside ear comes forward while the inside remains focused on the rider -- but this was the first time *ever* I've had a coach focus my attention towards that as the goal rather than the byproduct.   Interesting experience.

So now I've learned today that all my years of telling Stephy not to watch her horse's ears was apparently wrong -- she was just watching for the magic to happen :)

hmmmm or maybe not.

From what do pheasants feed?

So Wednesday was a brilliance or disaster kind of day...

Steph, the awesome student who came to help Hailey and I at Cedar Run despite the stupidly early start, had asked if I would take her out to school xc.   Totally reasonable request and, let's be honest, I *like* schooling xc - and if it's just one student, that means I *have* to ride too.  The things I do for my students :)

hahaha ok so where to go?  Well first we were going to go up to Myrddin and hop around there -- which would've been fine.  It's close, they have a ton of new jumps, and I know the property inside and out.  No problem.  Except that I wasn't thrilled with my last xc school, and since there's a very realistic chance this'd be the last outting of the year I wanted to make sure it was good.  And I wanted help.

So when we were up at Grandview I asked Bob if he could fit us in -- I usually go up there a couple of times a year for xc schools and it's always a good experience.  I love the variety of jumps and his coaching style - so it's a good combination.  And he's kewl with me bringing students along so that's always a plus too.  And despite short notice and a rather limited available timespan, he fit us in.  Sweet.

Loading Athena is always, ummmm, an experience.  *sigh*  But fortunately this time she got on with only minor grief - maybe 15 mins instead of 2h.   And Lissy's a pro so she just walked herself on and away we went.   On time even.  All good.

Until we're driving down Trafalgar and all of a sudden the truck and trailer start lurching in a big way.  And my digital trailer break readout starts jumping around wildly.   Not fun.   Get pulled over and stopped and go check on the horses.  Truck and trailer are still hooked up correctly; no warning lights or anything disconnected.  Horses are both shaking and clearly anxious (understandable - so was I!) but seem otherwise ok.  So we chill them out and then continue.  Stopped again right before getting on the highway just to check and both horses were once again calmly munching hay.   Strange.

Rest of the drive was entirely uneventful.  Got to Grandview and unloaded - both horses relaxed and happily grazing -- a HUGE difference from Athena's last outting!  Pull the boots off and...  Both of Lissy's hocks are scraped.  :(   Booo.   Not seriously enough to need stitches, but seriously enough that she's in no shape for a ride.  SO glad she had the boots on - can only imagine what would've happened without the extra padding!   No idea what caused it; my first guess was she tried to kick A and lost her balance.  Although my coach mentioned once he had a similar experience with a horse who freaked out when a bee got in the trailer.   I never saw anything but who knows?   What is obvious is that for whatever reason when we were going in a straight line at a consistent speed, all of a sudden all her weight went against the trailer door and her hind legs slid under her (think sitting).  Poor girl.   The trailer door is now seriously warped out.

Since she doesn't need the vet and movement will be better for her than standing and she's happy grazing along, I tack up Athena and we take both horses up to the sand ring.  I briefly considered offering Steph Athena since the whole reason we were there was for her to go xc, but both she and I know that my horse of choice has never been *her* horse of choice (and vice versa) and that her catch riding one of my horses on xc is likely to be ummmm less than successful.

Start warming up and when Bob gets there, explain about Lis.  He takes a look too and agrees with her walking along and offers us cleaning supplies when we get back.  Sweet.  So I give the 30 second rundown on Athena's history, explain some of the challenges I've been having with her, and mention our goal of starting at PT next year and if all goes well upgrading to T mid-season.   He starts us out over a tiny show jump fence on the wheel of death, that grew every two or three laps.   It wasn't nearly as accurate as I'd like -- our wheel was somewhat lopsided at times!   But at least we started consistently hitting a distance and landing on the correct lead.  So that's a start.  Then had us do a mini-course (really mini - 3 fences set at about E height).  First attempt was rather disastrous.  Second attempt after he made a few changes to my position was brilliant.  We're either *really* on or *really* not.  hahaha.   And sometime before show season starts I need to shift the balance so that the ON is a whole lot more frequent!   But it was really great to have some feedback not just about her but about me.  Because obviously the better I do it, the more I'll be able to help her.  Most of the time it's all about training her but I really appreciate when we can fix me in the process *g*

Ok and out on XC.   Jump a few E fences with some discussion about how to get/keep her butt underneath her so we can actually get to the base of the fence with some power.  First course a little iffy.  Next one with the PT fences thrown in, much better.   Switch fields...

And leave my brain behind.  hahaha   Seriously.  Was embarrassingly bad.   Not the riding - that was actually mostly getting better.  No, what was bad was how *many* times I could jump the wrong fence.   So he set a course that included "go through the gap and jump the pheasant feeder".   Ok, now I have absolutely no idea what a pheasant feeder looks like.   M had one at her place that she called that -- I always called it a mushroom.  Mostly cause, well, it looks like a mushroom.  I know - I'm creative that way. Only problem?  No mushrooms in sight.   There's a round coup off on an angle that could be a mushroom-top flat on the ground...  There's a triangle house/coup like thing.  And there's a palisade.   Now the palisade is in the gap and has a slight drop to it (which was also in the instructions).  So I point - 'over there?' -- yes.  Ok fine.  Go jump my course.

"Great job, but wrong fence.  That one's much harder than what I wanted you to do."  hmmmmm oops.   "I wanted you to go through *that* gap," pointing to a different tree line, "and jump the pheasant feeder."

Oh ok, "the one over there?" I ask, pointing to the shortened mushroom.  "How do you get there?"   What can I say, it looked like an awkward line.   "Just follow the path," he told me with an implied "you idiot" hahaha.  Oh... Ok.   Off I go.   And it *was* an awkward line.  Very awkward.  And we landed slightly out of control.   But eventually got it back together and finished the course.

Return to coach.  "You really don't want to jump that pheasant feeder do you?"  Frig.   Only one fence left.   And I can see how both ways I was pointing would've seemed like I was pointing at it.  And sure enough there is a *much* easier approach to it with a newly mowed path.   "I was *trying* to make it easy for you..."  Really, at that point there's no way to salvage the situation -- although now I know that pheasant feeders can be round OR triangle shaped, but they always have the mushroom post under them *g*.  There's your educational moment for the day.  And for the record, we jumped it beautifully.   We also got a TON of practice with the icky turn to the sharkstooth that we did following each of the wrong jumps *g*   So when we see that on competition, we're set!  hahahah   But I can't remember the last time I went off course, so to do it twice in a ROW -- when there are only 3 fences to choose from at that -- well that's so bad it becomes funny.   Only saving grace is that Bob's taught me before and knows I'm not *usually* a complete idiot.  >;-P   That and at least I made *different* mistakes each time.  Points for creativity!  Hey - I'll take em where I can get em.

And on the plus side - I got to jump several extra fences, one of which was an ok size.  And that's the first palisade I've ever done with her too.  Yeah us.

On to the ditch.  Which she shows no fear at but goes through rather than over.  hmmmm less good.  Try a couple more times and she does it better each time.   Was having some control issues at this point, esp going downhill, but they're flatwork not jump related.

Alright, on to the bank.  A couple E fences spread out to get us going then up the bank and back down again.  No prob.  Except that 3 strides in front of the first E fence she grabbed the bit in her teeth and nosedived.  Yeah - a little terrifying.  It took me a good 10 strides to get her back after that (that may not seem like much, but it felt like forever!  And if there'd been a second fence 2 strides later, we would've been in serious trouble).  Show jumped the second one - it was beautiful, but really I rode it like stadium rather than xc.  And the banks both ways np.   We got a new course in the same field but with all the PT fences instead of the E fences.   The jumps rode well and I was starting to find the right balance there, but the in-between was a battle and a half.  That whole big loose-ring snaffle thing again.   Doesn't give you a ton of power when your horse turns into a runaway freight train.  Ah well >;-P    Cantered her over the T ditch a few times - perfect.  She learns fast this one.

But at this point, while clearly the adrenaline was still there, she was lagging.  So I mentioned to Bob that I didn't have much horse left and we shortcutted the rest of the random jumps (which, let's be honest, she'd've done just fine) and headed over to the water.   Water will be an interesting challenge for us I think.  She goes in just fine, but can't seem to figure out how to *keep* moving once she's in there.   We jumped in and out over a little stad fence a few times, but the jump in, canter through, jump out....  Well I never did manage to maintain the canter all the way through and the jump out out of the trot was, shall we say, less than pretty.  *sigh*   So we got a good effort and left her on that.

And pretty clearly if we can get our act together in the other two phases as well, PT will be a totally appropriate starting place next season.  So pretty stoked about that.

Head back to the trailer, give Athena a bath (with only a *minor* meltdown at the washstall), then trade horses with Stephy and cold hose Lissy's hocks (she was not thrilled at that, but not horrid either).  Then thanks to Bob and Sarah got her cleaned up and thoroughly slathered for the ride home.

Have to admit I was a little concerned.  How to load these two horses with only two people?   I usually like to load Athena first so no horse is trapped in the trailer while she plays her games, BUT it takes two people to load her.  And with the trailer ride up being so scary, I wasn't sure either one of them would be willing to get back on *sigh*.   So I decided to try Lissy first -- she's such a sweetheart.   And she thought about it for a second, but then she followed me on, quietly as could be.   Athena took a while longer, but even from her there was no drama (now to be fair, she was *rather* tired at this point :).   Both horses loaded and treated and we could go home.

Fortunately without incident and they both unloaded beautifully.   I did call the vet the next day for Lissy, just to be sure.  He agreed that it was superficial and put her on just-in-case antibiotic and anti-inflammatory meds.  Figures she'll be good to go early next week.   Phew.

But yeah - best xc ride of the summer for me and got some much needed fine tuning.  So pretty excited about that :)

It's raining Snurkies...

So today we went to Grandview to do some volunteering.  Hailey, Margaret, Rowan and I got there at exactly the right time as Kelley was announcing the jump judge briefing about to start.   So we get our jump assignments and listen to the briefing and head out armed with warm clothes and chairs.  The girls were going one direction and I another.  Sarah suggested taking the truck to sit in and I sort of shrugged it off.  A strange combination of always being told *not* to drive on the course and feeling particularly wimpy about sitting in a truck instead of outside with everybody else.  Yeah, I'm an idiot.  Fortunately Sarah pulled rank and *told* me to take the truck out.  Well you don't argue with the boss right?

Thank the gods I didn't argue with the boss *g*   Cause I was incredibly grateful to her half an hour later when the torrential rain started.   Bitter cold AND wet - yeah, a quick retreat to the truck was called for.  And I felt soooo bad for the girls who had no truck to escape to.

Now my primary goal was to spend the day learning to work my camera.  I figured with 150-200 riders, there should be lots of practice.  All good right?  Yeah, except that I neglected to put the battery IN the camera before I left *sigh*   So instead I settled in to watch and direct traffic (where I was for the first level, there was far more need for traffic direction than there was for jump judging :)

So we watched the entire entry division -- about 75% of which was in the rain, and then got called in for lunch. The girls were very cold and very wet, so I had them sit in the truck with the heat on for a while while we got sorted out for the next round.  I attempted to get us all hot chocolate too, but sadly the line was too long so that was a horrible fail.  However I *did* manage to snag a second vehicle, compliments of the incredibly generous Janette who let us borrow her car.   I think the girls were far happier about that than the hot chocolate!   So I had hopes that for PT, Rowan and I would be able to share the truck and Hailey and Margaret the car.

Good plan right?   Well I managed to get the car parked in a location that, while a little awkward, did allow both girls to clearly see what needed to be seen while staying dry and warm.  They were pretty happy about that :)    Sadly though, I couldn't manage to get the truck in a similarly decent location.   And then Sarah to the rescue, came and left HER truck for Rowan. Sweet.  Now all were able to be dry.   Except that one of my fences was the bank so had to go outside every few riders to rake.  But such is life.  Fortunately part way through PT, the rain stopped.  Sweet.

The open riders had no problem with either of the fences I was watching, but the sr and jr met challenges at both.  Nothing serious fortunately, just enough to keep me interested *g*   I think Hailey and Margaret were wishing for a little more excitement at their fences, but really - the first time out it's best if everything goes smoothly :)

On to one last level change -- here there were 3 fences for the 4 of us and all of them together and uncomplicated.  So I drove the truck out and left it with the girls and went for a social walk :)   Wandered around the PT and T courses, sort of mentally placing where Athena is now and where I want her to be next summer (she could handle PT xc today, but *just*.  Def not anywhere close to T.  And while we could 'get around' stadium at either level, that's def not competition ready either yet.  But hey - 6 months of gymnastics should help with that *g*).  Anyways - got to socialize with a few people as I wandered and watch some of the T course.  And *really* can't wait for next summer to get here so I can play too!  hahaha

Wander back to check on the girls who were doing just fine without me (isn't it great to feel needed?  >;-)  hahaha and watched the end of the T division.   Load everybody up and head back, turn in papers, etc.  Stop to chat for a bit with Vic and Kelley, return Janette's car, and then get directed to the volunteer lottery.  Cool.   So right off the top Margaret wins a mug.  Sweet.  And we were all very jealous.   And a few seconds later Hailey, who has the best luck of anybody I've ever met, also wins one.  hahaha so as I'm chatting with a girl I met earlier (who is from there and owns several mugs :) about the fact that all the cool kids have mugs, *my* name was called too.  Woohoo!

So there were a few more prizes to give out and Sarah randomly finds two extra mugs.  So Kelley draws another name and happy person gets a mug.  And goes to draw a second one when Sarah stops her and simply hands it to Rowan.  "Well she can't be the only one in the group without one."   I thought that was about the coolest thing of the day.   I'm not sure the other dozen or so people standing there hoping for a prize necessarily agreed, but it made me smile.   But the next name drawn was for a $100 prize, so I'm quite certain that winner was happy all the mugs were gone *g*

The trip home was, ummmm, pure silliness.   Pretty sure Hailey and Margaret had passed the 'overtired' point *g*   A sample conversation:

Hailey: "It's a Snurkey"
Margaret: "But that doesn't look anything *like* a Snurkey!"

And I'm left wondering how one can argue so passionately about the look of an invented creature... hahaha  insert TWO HOURS of this.  Somehow Rowan and I stayed sane.  Mostly by not listening too closely.

oh and for the curious -- Hailey has clarified.  Apparently "a 'snurkey' is a snail and a turkey , combined :) You know, because Margaret and I are cool kids and make up random creatures like that".

So now you know.

But all in all it was a fun day.  As always GV people were amazing to their volunteers and the show was totally well run and on time.  And I was really proud of the girls that despite the barely-above-freezing weather and awful rain there was no whining or complaining and all three seemed totally kewl with the idea of doing it again (although perhaps on more of a summer day :)

And now it is definitely time to sleep.

GRS clinics with David Wilding-Davis

So Sunday dawned bright and early.   But our day started well before then.

Hailey and I were going to ride with former Canadian Event Team member David Wilding-Davis up at the gorgeous Cedar Run Horse Park.  Our ride time was 9am.  Only catch?  Cedar Run is north of Collingwood... So let's do the math (a very bad idea early in the am)...   9am ride time means there 8:30 (maybe we can push that to 8:45 if need be - especially as Steph very kindly agreed to sacrifice her Sunday and come help!).   Ok so targeting 8:30.  3h drive.  hmmmm 7:30, 6:30, 5:30....   Leave home at 5:30.  Fun.   Some of you may be aware that loading is not a strength of Athena's...  That means starting loading at 4:30...  Which I was not about to do, so compromise at 5.  Which requires being at the barn at 4 to bring horses in, feed, hook up trailer, etc etc.  Which means leaving home at 3:15.

I repeat, 3:15.

The things we do for our sport.  Especially Steph who wasn't even riding!  (Have I mentioned how awesome she is?).   So I set the alarm for 3 -- I can be out fast when it means an extra few minutes of vital sleep!   I also know that it's *really* more like 2.5h drive, just the anal side of me always leaves 3 so we're not late.  So I mentally adjust that leaving any time before 6 will get us there with lots of time.

So alarm goes off at 3 and I'm up and out on time.  Hailey texted me about then so I knew she was already on her way.  Driving the truck and actually remember to take everything out of the rabbit that I needed.  All good right?  Yeah - except that I got half way to the barn and realized the key to my office is with the key to the rabbit.  At home.  And I need stuff out of the office.  Less good.

Turn around, go back and get said key, muttering at self all the way *sigh*.   Pause long enough to text Hailey and beg her assistance to bring my horse in and feed since now I'm going to be VERY late and Athena is not the fastest eater on the planet.  Fortunately Hailey, too, is very awesome and took care of this (I totally have the best students on the planet!).   And she's been showing all summer so knows a lot of what needs to be done to travel (hay nets etc).   She even groomed my horse and put her shipping boots on!   I'm so spoiled :)

So I get to the farm a little before 5.  Go to hook up the trailer and the ball wasn't attached to the truck -- no  big deal, I expect it's in the back of the truck.  Except it's locked.  And it has an actual key hole.  And the truck doesn't use a normal key.  This is *not* a good sign.  So I drive to the indoor arena and turn the lights on so I can see and start trying to figure out how to get the back of the truck open -- fortunately there's an inside button too and all was good.  Drive back and hook up trailer, which, btw, is ridiculously easy when you have a backup camera!  hahaha

Loading A was a bit of a snot -- and definitely got away from us once and went for a very impressive run around an indoor (ever try to catch a black horse in a dark arena before sunrise?  Yeah - I don't recommend it.  Fortunately the lights don't take that long to turn on :)   Some pretty incredible movement though.  However, at least she was a 20 min brat not a 2h brat and with Laura's help (now *that* is a dedicated friend coming out to help load a horse at that hour!) we got her on.  Bella the super pony of course just hops on next to her and away we go, just before 6am.

Drive was uneventful; the sun rose about half way there which made things a whole lot more civil, and we saw very little risk of the threatened rain.  Also, given the complete lack of traffic we made excellent time, getting to Cedar Run in about 2h.  Despite my awful start to the morning, we were still early. hahaha sweet.  We pulled in to find a chain across the gate.  hmmmm tricky.   Fortunately it turned out that it had already been opened for us earlier, so we were able to let ourselves in and unload.

At which point Bella started grazing contentedly and Athena started a power march exploring as much of the property as she could.  She also somehow managed to get filthy in the trailer so while Steph explored with her I followed along trying to get a moving Athena groomed and presentable.  Or close enough to :)

Eventually got both horses tacked up -- Hailey bridling her own pony alone for the first time off property (a fact which appalled both Steph and I when she mentioned it *g*  And here I thought *I* was spoiled :)   Hop on and Bella was quite content to chill; Athena, less so.  So we went for a power trot and a half and a few canters while we waited for David till eventually she chilled enough to walk.  Not to graze, but to walk.

When David got there we did a brief warmup and then started hopping over some tiny logs.  Athena was reasonably rideable by this point (yeah for earlier energy dismissal :) but Bella came to life!  Have never seen that pony quite so, ummmm, exuberant *g*   Hailey did an awesome job with her, mostly giggling at her antics and trying really hard to follow David's instructions on how to slow that pony down!  hahaha

So we went around jumping mostly PE and E logs with the occasional PT fence thrown in for good measure.  I was a little frustrated because I felt I wasn't riding particularly well, but at very least with David's help we got Athena jumping a little more consistently :)  So that was good.  "This is not the type of horse I'm used to seeing you on..."  hahaha no, no she's not.  Pretty much the extreme opposite actually.  "Ok well this'd get you killed if you were sitting on your usual type, but probably work with her."  hahaha sure enough - it worked :)

And while I was feeling pretty out of it, I was being totally shown up by my student who was proving to be a superstar; Hailey was busy putting in some of the best riding I've seen from her.  hahaha and Bella did, eventually, chill out and return to her usual superstar self.  We went down to the bank complex in the woods which was lots of fun -- Hailey took the whole "lean back" thing to a whole new level -- aiming for Rolex rather than Entry :)   But she moderated it before we got to the more complex bank that had a showjump fence after it.   Then up top again to jump a few mini-courses.  Always good :)   Both horses were excellent for that actually.

Off to play with the ditch, which went just fine.  Athena was feeling slightly tired and so getting *very* strong at this point (breaks were ummmm intermittent at best - and the fat snaffle I had her in wasn't going to do much about it :), but at least she was honest about it.   Bella didn't even blink.

Follow the banks and the ditch with a quick play in the water and we've got all aspects of XC covered!  It was sooooooo much fun :)   Made better by good company, perfect weather, and *almost* well behaved horses (totally well behaved would be boring after all :).   Loading to go home Amy (D's equally amazing wife) helped me out with Athena and we got her on with very little argument.  *phew*   Drive home in daylight was reasonable -- really, if you're going to go that far, that's the direction to go in.  The same time spent on the 401 or even the 400 isn't nearly as pleasant!  Got home just in time to feed the horses their dinner :)

Overall an awesome day!  Thanks tons to David for yet another brilliant clinic!

Pics on Facebook here if you're interested :)

Happy babbling

Ever wonder why we do it?  What makes it worth the hours and the physical labour, and the pain and hurt and frustration that horses bring?    If you don't instinctively know, it'll be very hard to explain, but today's GRS post tries.  And if you *do* know, but are perhaps having trouble remembering at the moment, give it a read and it'll remind you :)

Today was so much fun.   Even hay yesterday was fun when interspersed with pizza and friends :)   I definitely have the coolest job on the planet.

A few years ago I published a "why we event" - in response to one of Denny's posts (long before I ever met him!) about showing under horrific conditions...   Today was another of those for me.  What are your reasons why?  (feel free to sub in any form of riding for event :)

Today Hailey officially past the point of no return...

So sometimes the fun of teaching is in reliving "firsts" through your students.  

Hailey was at the barn all day helping out (well past the wonderful-working-student requirements :) so we went for a fun ride when I was done teaching.  Under the 'power hack' category -- officially because it was Athena's conditioning day but really because it was  fun.   Gorgeous sunny day, perfect temperature, just the right time to go riding. Even better when you have good company with you.

Even better still when I asked Athena for her nice lovely canter and look back to see the giant grin on Hailey's face as Sienna's keeping up easily :)  Kinda wish I'd had my camera.

So we'd warmed up and were playing down on the plateau and I suggested she let Sienna go a bit -- which she did and came back with a big grin on her face.  All good.   But was really only a hand-gallop if that.  Still a big step up from galloping her pony (which she only just did for the first time a couple weeks ago), but still not *really* galloping.  Those who've done it, know the difference.  And Si has one of the nicest gallops I've ever sat on :)

But ok.  After Athena's break, we went back up and did another trot loop; all good except for minor technical difficulties when my stirrup buckle broke.  Buckle?  Really?  Who does that happen to?  Sheesh.   I *thought* the stirrup had just slipped off the stirrup bar, but no, sadly it was not such an easy fix.   So we detoured our loop by the paddocks and I dropped off both stirrups and we kept going.  Fortunately it was near the end of Athena's schedule so no need for endless 2-pt with no stirrups.  Awwww >;-P   Hack back down to the plateau and tell Hailey she could go for another gallop if she wanted.  hahaha yeah right.  If.  She was gone in a heartbeat and this time got an actual gallop.  Sweet.  And came back grinning ear to ear.   Kinda made me smile just to watch.

So we let the horses graze for a bit  (funny, Athena doesn't have any problems eating with the bit in any more :) - but you see, I know my horses fairly well, and I knew Sienna had the game down.  And I knew Hailey didn't know.  *insert coach laugh here*  "Want to go once more?" Hailey's eyes just lit up -- I think she was pretty sure we were done so picked Si up before I could change my mind.  "Bridge your reins and just let her go."   Ever ridden a race horse before?  Even a failed one?  Know what happens when you bridge your reins and let them go?  hahaha well for Si it takes about a stride and  a half to settle into a lovely galloping rhythm.   Which got a great laugh from her pilot.   But the real fun was when they turned around at the other end to come home.  And Si shifted into gear.  hahaha  All I hear from the far end of the plateau was "HOLY S...." well - it's a pg rated blog - you can fill in the blanks :)   But it was all excitement - nothing that even vaguely resembled hesitation or fear *g*   Kid's going to be a highly decent eventer :)

Do you remember the first time you galloped so fast you couldn't see?   Do you remember the adrenaline rush of being just *slightly* (that's the story we're sticking to) out of control and unconsciously deciding to trust your horse and enjoy every second of it?  And perhaps just a little bit of your brain wondering if you'd  stop before you ran out of space?  And the excited part telling the worried part to shut up and enjoy the ride?  That was what I saw today.  hahaha in this case stopping was not such a worry since Si wasn't likely to leave Athena without being explicitly told to -- but the first time *I* did it, we could've gone for a very long way >;-P   Ok, maybe I wasn't always the smartest cookie -- but I had a lot of fun.  Still do :)

So yeah - the look on her face brought back so many memories of good times nearly forgotten - and pretty much made my day.   Not sure how I'm ever going to get her back in the dressage ring now...  hahaha but that's a challenge for another day >;-P

And judging from the comments on my FB status, I'm not the only one it brings back fun memories for :)

All I can say to Hailey is -- for the days when it's cold and rainy and miserable and you get bucked off in a pile of manure and you're wondering why any idiot would ever subject themselves to such insanity, remember today.  And you'll know.

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks a real advance. -- Einstein

(stolen from GRS blog.   Mostly horse-related, but enough random babbling I figured it could survive here too :)


Whoever says there are no stupid questions has never had to answer them with a straight face.  There are stupid questions.  Lots of them.  After all, what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they suddenly become smart just in time to ask questions?  And I think I've heard them all.  And very smart people still sometimes ask stupid questions.  The difference is, they generally *realize* it's a stupid question about a heart-beat later.  To me, the stupid questions break down into three categories:
- questions you already know the answer to,
- questions already answered in the last 30 seconds (therefore stupid because you clearly were not paying attention and/or see point one),
- and questions that even a modicum of common sense clearly answers.

Now I realize that common sense is not so common, but since my students tend to be of above average intelligence (yeah!) I feel this rule applies.   "Can I walk under my horse?" would be considered a question in this category by anybody whose age is in double digits or higher.  And no, I'm not inventive enough to make that up.

That mini-rant being said, I actively encourage questions in my lessons because the vast majority of them are legitimate and serve to either aid in learning or highlight a skill that needs more clarification -- since both of these things are part of my job description, anything that makes that easier is a bonus!

But one of the things that makes teaching truly interesting is when I get asked a really *intelligent* question.  To me a truly intelligent question does one of two things:
- it demonstrates an understanding or attempt at comprehension of a skill or concept that is well beyond the rider's current abilities,
- or, it really makes me think about the answer.

The first of those always impresses me and gives me hope for whichever student asked the question.  The second of those is part of what makes teaching really interesting.  Neither is entirely common.  Today I had *both*.

A just-off-the-lunge-line student who watched a more advanced class asking me the difference between flexion and bend.  Totally simple question with an easy answer -- but what made it intelligent, imo, was that she considered what she was watching, was paying enough attention to realize she didn't really *know* what she was watching, figured out precisely which piece she didn't understand, AND she cared enough to ask.   That's not entirely common.

And later on a student asking me how to feel when the horse drops his shoulder.   Not how to *fix* it, which she mostly already knew, but how to feel it.   I definitely had to consider how to answer that one for a second or two :)   hahaha long enough that she was questioning if her question made sense *g*   Yes, it's a good question, I just need a second to give it a good answer!   And any question I have to think about interests me :)  Next time I won't have to think about it cause it's under the "answered and filed" section now.  hahaha but the first time somebody asks me something interesting is always fun.

For those who ride, consider this one -- I remember similarly a fairly novice student (about EC rider 3) a few months ago asking me how it feels when your horse goes on the bit.  For those who know, how would you answer that?  And it's not an adult, so you can't be overly technical.   Do you go with the emotional yet slightly useless answer: "it feels incredible/it feels like you're floating/it feels like you suddenly have 10x the amount of power"?   Or do you go with the literal: "the weight in your hands softens, as their back lifts you feel as though you're sitting on something round and sit straighter so as to stay in balance, your hips swing more to accommodate the horse stepping farther underneath..."   Well that list could keep going :)   But really, the first one is a fairly useless answer and the second one is entirely too technical.  Neither is going to be of any use whatsoever to a student who's still trying to learn to flex without the horse turning.  But she asked the question, so I had to at least try to answer :)   Explaining aids is easy; explaining feel is far more of a challenge.  Usually, imho, even harder than teaching them to feel it themselves.  But fortunately once you've done that you don't *have* to explain it, cause they already know :)

Anyways - after I had to go discuss (read brag about :) with another coach the fact that I'd had *TWO* intelligent questions in one day, it left me thinking through what exactly qualified as an intelligent question.  Or not >;-P   And this is the overtired result of that.

Mid-Summer Newsletter

Formatted version available here: http://graduateridingschool.com/news_mid-summer11.html



Alright, I admit that technically this is really the fall newsletter, but that’s not due for another month and while I have news now, I can’t bring myself to end summer early. Soooo this year you get two summers and no fall. Sound like a good plan? If only I could work it to two summers and no winter >;-P



Important Dates

- September 4 and 17: Hay day!

- September 10: Video Clinic at GRS

- Fall horse shows: Sept 11 – Myrddin SC, Sept 24 - Glen Oro HT OR Sept 25 - Joshua HT, Oct 9 - Woodwinds HT, Oct 29-30 RCRA Dressage

- October 8: David Wilding-Davis Clinic at Cedar Run

- October 15-16: Hyde Moffat Clinic at GEC

October 15-16: Pat Burgess Clinic at Eventing Canada

- October 23: Equine Canada Rider Level testing at GRS



GRS Clothing

Will be in mid-September! Woohoo! We’ll be doing another order that’ll include sweatshirts mid-November; hopefully in time for Christmas. If there’s anything in particular you’d like us to source, let me know!



New Sign!

Most of you will have noticed our gorgeous new sign out front! HUGE thanks to Overdrive Design for the design and to Vic Baigent for making it come to life! :)



Video Week

Thanks to all who offered video testimonials. Nicole is working on compiling those now and hopefully you’ll see them up on the website this fall!



Equine Canada Rider Testing

The EC Rider program challenges riders who are interested in knowing about the horses as well as riding. These exams are highly recommended, particularly for any rider who thinks she may want her own horse some day. The exams include four parts: a written test, a stable management test, a riding on the flat test, and a riding over fences test. We will be holding an exam October 23 for anybody interested in doing Rider levels 1-4 (higher levels will be offered this spring). If you wish to participate, let me know – you should start studying now! If you’re interested but not sure which level is appropriate, ask. To participate you must be a member of the Ontario Equestrian Federation (horse.on.ca).



GRS could use your help!

On September 4, 300 bales of hay are being delivered to see our horses through the winter and on September 17, 200 more. On the plus side, our horses will be happy. On the down side, all of these need to be stacked! The more hands, the easier this job is. Would greatly appreciate any extra hands. Sept 4 at 1:00, Sept 17 date and time TBC.



Fall Lesson Schedule

To accommodate new students, extra adult lessons, and a few work/school schedule changes there will have to be some changes to the lesson schedule. Please check out http://graduateridingschool.com/fall2011_sched.html and let me know if there are any concerns about making your suggested time.



Upcoming Clinics

There are several exciting clinic opportunities coming your way!



Video clinic – Sept 10. This clinic is open to riders of all levels, but a limited number of participants. The clinic will included a lesson that is professionally videoed – a valuable learning tool as you can see what you’re doing right and what needs some work! Sometimes seeing *is* believing :) Cost for the clinic is $75 and will include either a 1/2h private dressage lesson or a 1h-1.5h group jumping lesson. You will get a dvd of your ride to keep.



David Wilding-Davis Clinic – Oct 8. This is a XC clinic up in Cedar Run, open to riders PE + (anybody who did Equus CT could do this clinic). I have space for one more rider to come with me, after that we’ll have to hire a trailer so that’ll up the cost significantly. David has evented at the top levels and represented the Canadian team. He is also about the most positive and easy going clinician around – I take all my green horses to him because they come home pretty sure they can jump the moon. Clinic cost is $75, and I expect trailering to be between 100 and 150. First come, first serve :) Clinic will include a 2h cross-country lesson.



Hyde Moffat Clinic – Oct 15/16. This clinic is open to riders of all levels and is being hosted by GEC (our neighbours – no trailering fees!) Hyde Moffat is an international level hunter/jumper coach who places a strong emphasis on correct flatwork and basics. There is one group that will do flatwork both days. All the others will do flat on Saturday will and jumping on Sunday. Jumping groups start at cross-rail level and go up to 2’9”+. Cost for this clinic is $225+hst. Each horse may only have one rider, so if you want to participate book your space now! Note that I will be away this weekend, so participants will have to be confident getting themselves ready and to the ring on time unsupervised. Even if you’re not riding, you should consider coming out to watch!



Pat Burgess Clinic – Oct 15/16. Unfortunately conflicts with Hyde’s clinic or I’d do both, but I’m going to ride with Pat who’s visiting from England. I have space for one more in the trailer. Cost is $345 and includes stabling and HST. Trailering will be about $100. We’ll go up Saturday and come home on Sunday. Pat was the coach of the British event team in the 80s, when they were essentially unbeatable. She is super patient with greenbean horses and new riders as well as being able to pick up on the finer details for more experienced riders. This clinic is two days of stadium – day one will be gymnastics and day two will be course work. Riders must be comfortable at least Entry level (2’9”) to participate. Spectators are welcome at a cost of $10/day.



Competitive Season

The GRS team continues to bring home piles of ribbons from every show they attend! Awesome job girls! Apollo, Nick, Bella, Jack and Lissy have all been out competing successfully. From the GEC schooling hunter show congrats to Alex, Caelan, Emily M, Emily S, Hailey, Kennedy, Olivia, and Rowan. Both Kennedy and Rowan were piloting their horses around their first ever hunter rounds and both girls did an awesome job, bringing home 3rd and 1st respectively. Sweet! This was followed up with Caelan, Hailey, Kennedy, and Paige attending the Lollipop show – first time competing off property for both Caelan and Paige! Paige brought home first in walk/trot equitation. Not a bad way to start!



In eventing, Hailey has been out fairly consistently with Bella, upgrading to entry level and focusing on improving her dreaded dressage! Her hard work has paid off now and she’s regularly in the ribbons.



For all the shows you can see a more detailed write-up on the GRS Blog. Photos are sometimes on the blog and always on Facebook.



Upcoming Shows:

- Sept 24: Glen Oro HT OR

- Sept 25: Joshua HT – Joshua is a schooling level event that offers lower divisions than exist at normal horse trials. This has a 2’ division and allows you to keep going even if you get eliminated (really – it means you need the practice!) The only membership required is OEF, so particularly for those who went to the Equus CT at intro level and think you might want to give this a try, it’s a good place to start. Let me know asap if you’re interested.

- October 9: Woodwinds HT

- October 29-30: RCRA Dressage – this is a schooling level dressage show. If dressage is your thing, this show starts at w/t level and goes up from there. We will only go one of the two days, but which is open to negotiation. OEF and EC Bronze memberships required.



GRS Online

If you haven’t seen it recently, check out our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/GraduateRidingSchool It includes daily horse-related YouTube videos, as well as photos and videos from around the barn. Alternately, keep current on GRS adventures by reading this blog right here! Like to write? Consider being a guest author! Write a post about one of your lessons or your favourite horse or something going on at the barn and send it to Lauren for publishing. Youtube page with GRS videos is under construction. Look for it coming soon.



Coming this Winter

So it’s definitely *not* time for a winter newsletter, but for those who like to plan *way* ahead:

- Winter theory lessons will be on Sunday afternoons again this winter. They will run January through March; we’ll host Rider Level exams at the end as we did last year.

- In January lesson prices will be going up slightly in order to keep lesson sizes small.

- We’re hoping to host both a dressage clinic and a jump clinic mid-winter that will be open to anybody who’s interested. More details on that in January :)

Gold star to anybody who read this far!