GRS goes to Caledon HT

Victoria and Nina on XC

I was *so* proud of the girls at Caledon today!

We had Emily on Charlie (their first HT together), Olivia on Bella (their third HT - old pros really!), Rowan on Lissy (also first HT together), and Victoria also doing her first HT ever on her horse Nina.

Olivia and Bella in dressage

Rowan was, as seems to be tradition, first in dressage for the day -- but it was great as it meant we had the warm-up to ourselves.  The times were such that I was pretty much in the warm-up ring all day.  The only test I got to really watch was Victoria's, as she was last.  The snippets I saw though all seemed to go reasonably well :)

Steph walked the girls around xc as there really wasn't time for me to go with them and when I finished in dressage warm-up I headed over to help the first riders warm-up for stadium.  Stadium was a tough PE course, maxed and including a related distance.  But it was fair, set on good distances, and almost all on flat approaches.  We gave Lissy a "scary" fence in warm-up -- once again having the warmup ring to ourselves.  She wasn't too sure about that, but by the time she was jumping confidently in w/u, she was totally ready for the show ring.  Rowan jumped her around clear and on time!  Sweet.

Olivia was next in with Bella the Superpony :)  Bella likes this game and has been to Caledon often *g*  But Liv did a great job controlling her enthusiasm as they booked it around show jumping.

Olivia and Bella in Stadium

And then, moments before it was Emily's turn, the sky let go with its wrath.  The rain was torrential enough to shift my theoretically water-proof contacts in my eyes so I couldn't see (and was desperately hoping I had a spare back in my car after the last time I cleaned it!).  Despite thunder and the odd burst of lightning, the show wasn't called, so Em went in the ring.  Charlie was less than amused -- his contract does *not* include inclement weather.  But Emily did a fantastic job of relocating his brain, and once she got him pointed at the first fence he remembered he *likes* jumping and they put in a fabulous round!  Woohoo!

Emily and Charlie in stadium in the torrential downpour!

 The rain seemed to have scared everybody away, because even though it lightened significantly, Victoria was the only one left in the warm-up ring :)   So she too got to play with a scary jump before going in and entered the ring ready to tackle anything!  They had a brief drive-by, but other than that an excellent run with no drama -- which for Nina, is a good thing!

Victoria and Nina in stadium

Then off to play the XC game.  The warmup had a few natural fences spread around which made navigating more awkward, but jumping more fun and realistic for XC.  The first three girls all had a blast and jumped clean.  Time faults all around -- Olivia was fast but took a detour *g*   The other two took their time -- all good on the first show!  Victoria and Nina had a double look at fence four, but other than that and one minor temper-tantrum when Nina felt she should get to go home, they made it around beautifully!

Rowan and Lissy on XC

When all was said and done the skies opened once more and the ponies basically loaded themselves back in the trailer to escape it!  They're not stupid :)   Rowan and Lissy finished in 2nd, Olivia and Bella in 7th, Emily and Charlie in 8th, and Victoria and Nina in 10th.  Awesome job ladies!

Emily and Charlie

Only an eventer can hit the ground three times in two days and call it a success.

So I got a message from my mum this morning:  "Loved the blog post, but let's not have any more yellow rabbits today."  My mum's a wise lady.  One of these days I'll learn to listen to her.  Today was not that day. And let's be honest, wisdom wasn't exactly the word of the weekend. Sheesh.

If you're just joining us -- the game is, I took Lexi -- basically unbroke, after six weeks off and four rides back, to the Lucinda Green clinic at Eventing Canada.  Right.  If you actually know me in person, you won't be terribly surprised by this *g*  If you don't, you may be considering sending the men in white coats my way.  You may be right >;-P

Alright, back to our regularly scheduled program.  I figured the only thing we had going for us with our utter and complete lack of preparation, was that by XC day, she'd be *very* tired.  And a tired horse is a ridable horse.  Theoretically.

About how I expected to find her...

As with yesterday, my goals were actually *very* realistic.  I wanted her to hack out (something she's never done), with a group of other horses (which she did for the first time yesterday), and not lose her brain.  I also had vague thoughts of trotting her around said other horses and hopefully riding her through the water.  Banks and ditches were in the far periphery of my brain (cause, let's be honest, I'm a xc rider) but were not sincerely part of the actual goals of the day - more of a "maybe if everything else is perfect" variation.

Lexi was still pretty calm and happy in her stall when I got there. This is something I've noticed from day one with her and am *thrilled* about -- she seems to settle easily in new environments. Not that she's been to many -- but when I brought her home, no drama.  Change paddock, no drama.  Ride in the sandring - okay admittedly there was some drama, but not insanity :)   I was expecting a very tired grey mare...  That's not what I found.  Alert, happy, head over the open part of the stall watching the world.  Uh oh...

What's next?

Tacked her up and got on indoors -- needed Steph to hold her for that (thanks again Stephy!).  Our "never get on unless you're standing still" rule isn't terribly easy to apply in a clinic scenario.  If I lunged her long enough to overcome her adrenaline, I'd not have any horse left to ride.  So I made the decision that for these two days, she could be held to mount.  She still had to stand -- but she had help to do so correctly *g*  We followed her newest best friend out where the others were walking around the start of the xc course.  Amazingly she didn't really seem to care about the donkey we had to pass at all.  hahaha now the dirt, and the grass, and the rocks, and the . . .    Well you get the picture.

She jigged her way out but once we were there I was mostly able to keep her in a walk.  When Lucinda arrived the others halted all around her.  I tried to do the same but it was an utter and complete fail.  So though I felt incredibly rude walking around while she was talking, forcing Lexi to stand would've had her standing on two legs.  Her brain just wasn't up to that yet.  So we walked.

The warm-up was, imo, going to be the most exciting part of the day.  I've ridden with Lucinda a few times so was reasonably confident the actual lesson would involve one horse going at a time in an organized fashion through whatever exercise we were working on.  But warm-up?  We'd only just gotten out there and suddenly all four of her buddies were going different directions at different speeds.  Oh dear.

And I have to give her credit -- that's a difficult situation and she didn't lose it entirely.  There was some dancing on her hind legs (I *really* hate that game) - then finally got her at least moving forward.  A couple scoots at high speed when another horse cantered or jumped behind her.  I have to say the other riders were being amazingly considerate and cognizant of the fact that I had little to no steering.   They basically rode around us. I know at least one changed her line when she saw I was having a challenge.  She had right of way, but I couldn't give it to her.  I did at least shout a "sorry/thanks" as they turned away *g*  I love eventers.  Especially eventers who ride babies.  They get it.

But Lexi dealt.  And soon I could at least pick the gait (Trot please!  Walk gives too much time to think and canter too much adrenaline).  She'd go *really* fast then super slow depending where we were or how much she wanted to investigate the footing -- which was perfect, but you know, different colours of grass are a problem.  Steering was slowly coming into play.  It wasn't exactly accurate yet, but I could at least get her going mostly where I wanted to go.

Brain almost reinstalled :)

All too soon we were being called over to start the class.  Fair - everybody else was ready to go.  I would've liked a brain, but really - I wasn't finding it in that field, so may as well ride on!  First exercise -- go between the barrels and drop down the bank.   Right, about that...   Did you read yesterday's experience?  Oh dear...

But I think the outside world was just entirely too fascinating to focus on silly barrels.  Lexi went through them with barely a scoot and walked off the bank like a pro!  We cantered away with more enthusiasm than was strictly required to shouts of "straight line halt! Don't let her learn to run away!" behind us.  Tricky with neither steering nor breaks, but we got there *g*   Going back up, Lucinda let us go first so we could go through the barrels once rather than over them.  She was a star!

First time down the baby bank

Next it was down the bank, right turn, over the skinny.  It wasn't pretty, but we got it done.   Reverse and go back up -- this time *with* the barrel jump on top of the bank.  And she did it absolutely perfectly!   Back over the barrels, down the drop, over the skinny...   And so on and so forth.  By the end she was trotting the bank easily and we were well under control -- getting to the skinny as though we knew what we were doing instead of resembling a drunk but determined snake on speed.   The others in my group did the same thing with a second skinny on top of the bank and the log afterwards, but Lexi was excused from that one.

Did you get this though, cause this was the highlight -- she jumped the barrels like a SANE horse.  On the first try!  Do you have any idea how excited I was by that???  hahaha oh yeah, and up and down banks a complete non-issue.  After Si who always *launched* off a bank, this was pretty sweet too.

We had a stop and group chat about the different issues being faced by each rider in the group and suggestions on how to deal with them.  While this was going on though, Lexi was supposed to be learning to stand still.  At least a little of the edge was off by this point, but this was definitely a challenge.  And I'll admit, far more of my focus was on keeping her still and calm (she'd eat a bite or two but then wanted to be off again) than on the actual conversation.  But she does have to learn to be patient in a group, and when Lucinda says halt, she means it *g*  Eventually I got her to hang out between two horses where there was enough space for a tiny circle every few minutes when it reached the "forward or up" stage of her abilities.  Not ideal yet, but admittedly far better than I'd expected even half an hour earlier.

Okay, next stop - the ditch.  Ohhhh, ahhhh...   Having hand walked her over the ditch yesterday, I wasn't actually concerned about this one at all.  She might clear it by a mile, but I had complete faith we'd do it.  We watched a couple others go and then took a lead from her super-star buddy, Oz.  Great name eh?  :)  Oz is 18 and knows his job, but can be over-enthusiastic about it at times *g*

First ditch ever!

So I rode to the ditch reasonably defensively -- baby horse, first ditch...  Not new here.   She jumped it absolutely perfectly.  I was thrilled.  And subconsiously relaxed the defensiveness a little on takeoff.  I thought she might bolt or buck a little on landing but I was okay with that.  We were over.  Right, my subconsious is no longer allowed to make executive decisions.  She landed, perfectly.  And then I was standing on the ground next to her holding her reins.  Again?  Really???

Just like that.  Really.

Oh dear.   But I pretty quickly figured out what had happened.  You see, our fearless leader Oz had been having speed issues, so Lucinda had been getting them to stop after every fence.  Until this point it had taken multiple strides to make that happen.  His rider though was working *really* hard.  And on this jump got him stopped on the FIRST stride.  Which meant as Lex landed she had nowhere to go *sigh*  So she jumped off to the right in a big way, and I kept my nice straight line.  Classic. Apparently it was nearly identical to the move that unseated me yesterday, except this time she had a reason for it.  hahaha I'm going to have to learn to stick that or convince her to jump straight!  Preferably both :)

So Oz got a new rule - when they're being the babysitter, they keep going after the fence for at least a few strides *g*  After the second try though we got to do it by ourselves and she was an absolute pro-star!  I was so stoked.  Lucinda gave us permission to excuse ourselves then if we wanted -- I guess hitting the ground twice in two days isn't always easy to shake off *g*  But no way, my pony was being a superstar!  The fact that I can't seem to stay on her isn't her fault.

The ditch was then built up into a coffin, using show jumps but with natural standards and rails so it looked xc-ish.  Lexi got to go first.  You remember -- the one who has done gymnastics what, maybe three times?  And not since before she got hurt.  And never been ridden outside before.  And been introduced to a ditch only a couple paragraphs ago?  Yeah that one.  And she did it like an absolute pro.  Both directions, shadows be damned.  You can imagine the grin on my face.  It's still there actually.

Through the baby coffin

The only thing Lexi was having trouble with was standing still while the others were going.  Esp if they all happened to be on the other side of an obstacle from her.  Even though she could always see them, that wasn't allowed.  When the drama really started to present itself we were given permission to resume our walking around *g*  Phew - that makes life easier.  And knowing that she could walk, she was actually willing to stand for longer periods -- although it probably helped that at the same time another horse came through the coffin and joined us.  There'd been a rather long discussion going on while Lex was on one side and everybody else on the other.

So everybody's having their turns and Lexi's being patient, standing slightly off the path in the longer grass.  And then - we're on the ground.  No signs, no pawing, no change of behaviour.  Her front legs buckled, she went down and flopped over sideways.  I was terrified something horrible was happening.  Hopped off her (fortunately kicked my leg out as she lay down, so not trapped or squished). And then...  she starts to roll!  Omg.  I was actually stunned -- my emotions couldn't get around utter fear that something horrible had happened to my horse to dealing with the fact that no, she just felt like a roll.  Frig.  And then I just had to laugh -- what else can you do at this point?  I mean *really*???  I said we were there to provide the comic relief, but this was excessive!

But when Sasha does it, it's cute...

I'm still shaking my head remembering.  Seriously?  Does that even happen?  I'd understand it if we were in the water, or if she'd been pawing and I'd ignored her, or even if she'd stepped way under with her hind legs.  But no.  Nothing.  Just standing still then on the ground.  Sheesh.

Was offered yet another chance to excuse myself from the class -- by this point I was starting to wonder if Lucinda really thought it'd be best if we went home *g*  But she seemed amused when I simply fixed my saddle and accepted yet another leg-up.  Tried to position Lexi so she was downhill but that wasn't going to happen -- however, the guy who was actually giving me the leg-up just laughed.  No problem.  Turns out he's a lot stronger than the hundred-and-nothing pound twenty year old women who I usually get a boost from *g* Imagine that.  So I'm back on and Lucinda's just kinda shaking her head - credit for guts if not sanity.  hahaha   "But Lucinda, I haven't been swimming yet."

"No, you've had your three, you're done."  hahaha oh good.

We went and had more standing still practice while the three more experienced horses practised with the training coffin.  One of the other horses was ditchy and had been an absolute superstar over the baby ditch, so his rider opted out of this exercise and she and I hung out and watched the others play.  Good practice for Lexi who stood still AND stayed on her feet.  Funny, I never thought I'd consider that an achievement!

Then it was to the big hill, for lack of a better description.  They've built two decent sized steps out of nothing, so there's an easy slope up one side of this man-made bank and one-stride steps down the other.  But what Lucinda does is have them climb up the side of the bank, halt at the top, then climb down the other side.  This is not my favourite exercise, having ridden a couple horses who tend to leap off of it.  But Lexi had been *really* sensible so far so...   Yup, she was a pro.  An absolute star.  Only hesitated once at the scary down (one side is steeper than the other) but she still did it without a lead and calmly.  I was pretty stoked.

Up the mountain

Then it was time to jump the actual steps, which I figured we'd be excused from.  But she actually got to play!  Just instead of doing both steps, we climbed up the grass to the bottom step and dropped off of it.  Much bigger than the first bank, but she did it like an absolute pro!  A bit more enthusiasm than technically necessary *g* but she went on the first try.  Super brave!  Lucinda's instructions: "slide the reins to the buckle, grab the oh sh*t strap, and lean back." bahahaha and there we have the real reason for the martingale.  We did not progress to the double steps, which I think was the right choice.  I don't doubt we would've done it, but I'm not convinced it would've been pretty or a positive experience.

Off the bigger bank

So ditches, banks...  The only thing left is water.  Lexi wasn't certain she wanted to go in, but after everybody else went in and a buddy came back to get her, she gave it a go and soon enough was confidently splashing through on her own.  We also went up the bank out several times.  Then it was time to go down it -- she *really* wasn't sure about that, but she gamely made the effort to follow the Great and Mighty Oz.  She oh so quietly stepped down - no wild leaps for her!  And then got her foot caught on the edge of the bank :(  Had a horrible time getting her feet under her and very nearly went swimming :(  Sooo disappointed. She really scared herself and after that there was no way she was going off the bank again.  But I did, at least, get her back in the water -- first taking several leads and then getting her going in all the entrances on her own several times.  So that part's good.  But suspect down drops into water might be an issue for a little while...  I see more wading in my future *sigh*   Will deal with that another day :)

Pats for the brave pony in the water

Finished up with more discussion, which will get its own post, and then hacked back.  This amused me to no end -- pony should be tired.   She doesn't have the best walk in the world and I wouldn't let her jig, so she was having to work to keep up with the other horses.  And yet -- she still had all kinds of energy to spook at the backpack lying on the ground, the rock that was clearly offending her, the mud puddle...  Sheesh.  She was still bouncing when we finally made it back to the barn.  hahaha gotta love her!

Line of the day from Lucinda - "Your mare is *such* a character and I'm so glad you are such a plucky rider!" bahahaha love it!   She also gave me a mini confirmation analysis when I ran into her while grazing Lexi afterwards (she was on her way back out to teach again) showing me what exactly it was about her build that she really liked.  So what a great way to finish the clinic :)

Uber-Green Drama Queen Meets Lucinda Green

So let's discuss wise life choices.  This would include things like:
- making sure your horse is reasonably broke and confident in at least three gaits and two directions before going out in public
- practising loading a baby horse before actually needing to go somewhere
- exposing your baby horse to being ridden with other horses before going out in public
- teaching your horse to jump out of at least two, preferably four, gaits before attending a jumping clinic
- or at very least, teaching your horse to jump before attending a jumping clinic
- ensuring horse is fit and consistently in work
- ensure rider is fit and consistently in work *g*
- wear broken in gear
- be well rested

Anybody want to make a guess how many of those wise life choices I applied today?  Anybody?

That's right, absolutely none.  You're not new here...   Wise life choices I *did* make:
- remembered Lucinda's running martingale preference; found and packed one
- packed the trailer and cleaned tack the night before!

Yeah me.  So what if it's a *slightly* shorter list -- at least there's a list!  Does two things count as a list?

Some of you may know that I tend to love attending clinics.  I go to a *lot* of them, with a lot of different people and riding a lot of different horses.  In hopes of learning, well, a lot :)  Of all the clinicians I've ridden with, Lucinda Green is by far my favourite.   I've ridden with her a few times now, always with different horses and always had a good result.  So when April 1 (April fools...  hmmmm were the fates trying to tell me something?) arrived and the clinic was officially open, I sent in my entries.   At the time, Lexi was in the middle of a growth spurt, so slightly unbalanced, but for the most part she could w/t/c and jump small fences.  Sweet.  I figured with 10 weeks till the clinic, and spring theoretically arriving, I should be able to introduce her to most of the things on the "wise life choices" list...   Even including another jump clinic.  I was going to ride her when Waylon came to our place.  Great plan -- introduce a challenge in a controlled environment where she's comfortable.  Horse training 101.

All good right?  The day before the first clinic she went lame.  Stone bruise.  Okay, nbd.  Except the bruise took *weeks* to heal!  I got on her again, *this* week.  Oh dear.  So she hasn't jumped in...  about six weeks.  Has been ridden in the sandring once.  Has never really hacked or even pretended to do XC.  Certainly hasn't been schooling.  Is very much not fit (nor, for that matter, am I!).   But we can still go right?

Knowing this was a Very Bad Idea, I called Arthur to ask how green the green group really was.  Emerald.  Sweet!  Just what we need.  He amazingly generously offered me the loan of one of his horses for the clinic if it wasn't going to work out with Lexi -- which, having ridden one of his horses before, I know would be a *ton* of fun!  But I really wanted to take my pony.  I've seen Lucinda work with greenbeans before and really like her methodology.

Alright, so...  Well rested.  Right.  First lesson in six weeks on Friday, Wits End on Sat -- which was awesome btw and will get its own post on the GRS Blog later this week!  My superstar students came 3rd and 4th. BUT, that property involves a *lot* of walking and a 5:30 am load time.  And we know how much I like mornings...  And then I was in the first group today.  Slightly better - 6:45 load time.  But still.  Rest = fail.

Also neglected to do any loading practice.  Ashley came out to help (thanks Ash!) but she doesn't actually have a ton (read "any") loading experience, so if Lexi chose to make that a drama moment, I'd be toast.  She loaded easily enough to come home though, so I had hope.  And sure enough, she walked right on following the sweet feed.  Woohoo!  She was *not* happy once she got on -- rocking truck and trailer together *sigh*  So can only hope she'll choose to get back on again tomorrow to come home!

Anyways - we got there!  Yeah!  She had some trouble unloading :(  But managed it injury free.  She grew a whole lot looking around, but was being manageable.  We found our stall (in my favourite of the three barns - pretty stoked about that.  hahaha little things in life!)  and she settled really quickly.  Yeah!  Tacked her up in there - didn't want to risk cross ties.  hahaha I'm only *mostly* insane!  I do know about picking our battles!  Then I put on my "worn three times" new field boots -- sure, may as well complicate the game with knees that don't bend and super-slippery boots.  No problem!

She was awesome when I led her into the ring.  It was raining and she was pretty huffy about that, but as far as brain-cells go...  I was super impressed.  Three other horses walking around, lots of people, little dogs, and strange place.  She was alert, but really not stupid at all.  I led her around the ring a couple times and then hopped on.  Needed Ashley to hold her so I could mount, but otherwise she was awesome.  We continued our exploration of the ring and I was soooo pleased with her.  A fourth horse joined us and she didn't care.  She was a little snarky toward one of the horses, so we kept our distance, but no meltdown with others trotting around/by/toward her.  And tbh, that alone would've been enough for me.  I could've dismounted and gone home and still been thrilled.   We loaded, went to a strange place, walked and trotted with strange horses, and kept her brain.  That's pretty good.

And *then* Lucinda got there.  That's right, you read all the way to here and the clinic hasn't even started yet!  Welcome to my life >;-P

We did the introduction thing and I was brutally honest about our complete lack of preparation and stated my willingness to sit out anything inappropriate or once Lexi got tired (two hour lesson people!  Lex has never been ridden more than 45 minutes, ever.  And has four days under saddle since being deemed sound.) And as the introductions were going on I realized that other people's ideas of "emerald" and mine differed slightly *g*   But, admittedly, all at an appropriate level for where we would've been had I actually *had* the 10 weeks to work with Lexi.  One an 18yo horse who's done intermediate.  hahaha fair though, being ridden by an entry rider and it absolutely was an appropriate group.  One that was a rescue/retrain that had a lot of challenges, so that seemed reasonable.  A nine year old who was competing entry -- they were probably the strongest of the group.  And a hunter horse/rider pair just learning to event.

So we're to head out and w/u over fences.  Two rules: no cantering (sweet!) and no runouts.  If the horse stops in front - okay.  Stay there till somebody comes and puts the jump down for you.  But do not let them go around.  And *most* of the fences were tiny skinnies.  But nothing over 2'.

Have I mentioned Lexi's never done a skinny?  And we only sort-of have steering.  And some of them were built on marshmellows, which I thought might be absolutely horrifying...

Even in the rain!

She was a *saint*.  Tried her little heart out.  Jumped everything on the first try.

So then it was time for course work.  "Can everybody jump out of the canter?"   Everybody else nods obediently.  Lucinda looks at me.  hahaha "Well I suspect we can...   Haven't actually done it before, but we *should* be able to."

Of course I volunteer to go first *g*   Partially because I'm *really* good at memorizing courses and confident enough to go first, and partially because I figured if we went first it'd make everybody else look really good *g*  hahaha   The rule for Lexi was trot the skinnies and if the world was good canter the easier fences.  Oh, and don't help in the canter.  Let baby horses make mistakes over baby jumps so they learn to develop their own eye.  Ummmmm a little terrifying.  Effective - Lex smartened up really fast and was super cool to ride.  But man we got some wicked jumps - I felt like I was being launched all over the place and my eq in some of those photos *cringe*  Oh dear...

Crazy bendy lines over skinnies.  Go superpony!

She did it!  On the first try!  There were a few dodgy jumps and a few unusual lines and distances, but she did it.   Canter wasn't really happening at all and she felt pretty sticky...  But she did technically go over everything *g*

Rinse and repeat.  We did several of these (with breaks inbetween so others could go of course).  And then Lucinda had us jump a skinny-less forward moving course (a challenge to design since there were only three non-skinny fences to work with) to get her jumping out of the canter.  And here she did let me help a little in that I was permitted to keep her reasonably collected and aim for the deeper spots rather than letting her launch herself wherever.  Tricky since...  Well...  We've only just started cantering to begin with -- collecting (or lengthening for that matter) is still a bit of a dream.   BUT she had so much impulsion and enthusiasm that I actually had something to work with and we got it done.

I was *so* happy with her!

And then we were dismissed from class *g*   I deemed that she would stick around for the rest of the class because hanging out eating while others jumped would be a good thing for her.  So I pulled off her martingale and loosened her girth and then left her with Ashley to go ditch my helmet, vest, etc before returning to the ring to be jump crew and listen in on the rest of the class.  (ummmm I'll do a summary of actual lessons learned tomorrow or the next day on the GRS blog).

The rest of my group jumped some bigger fences and slightly more technical lines, and then Lucinda pulled out two barrels and had them working on jumping out of the walk and practising the emergency rein contact on landing (ie - long reins, held out to the side, leaning back).  So as they were finishing and doing a recap I asked if I could walk Lexi past the barrels...

Now, keep in mind - until this point, Lucinda has seen nothing except a quiet superstar greenbean willing to try her heart out.  The fact that I mentioned in passing two hours ago that she has some drama-queen tendencies had either been forgotten or put down to exaggeration.  But I had a pretty good idea that the barrels were going to be exciting and thought it'd be good to at least let her see them.

"Well why don't you get back on?  We'll spread them apart and you can go through them a few times and work with her while the next group warms up."

Okay.  So I book it back to the barn to grab my helmet -- hesitate for a moment about my vest and decide it'd be stupid not to wear it since I was already there.  Opted not to bother with the martingale though -- we were already going to be going into the next group's time so didn't want to waste more.  Ashley gave me a leg up (I was very impressed by that since she doesn't have a ton of experience with it and there's more of an art to it than people think!) and we were set.

Seriously - you *can* fit through the gap...

My friend Adriana had separated the barrels and I suggested perhaps they should be wider apart.  She rolled her eyes at me, but obliged :)  And as we approached it became clear people were going to see the other Lexi... hahahha oh dear.  But even I underestimated her.  I was prepared for the quick stop or the speedy spin...  I was evidently not prepared for the "take one step and then jump the moon -- oh, and go sideways at the same time."  *sigh*  That whole be well rested thing?  That might've been good.  I might've been sharp enough to stick it then.  Alas, I was not.  One of my friends figured between Lexi's height (16.1 ish... = a little over 6') + as high as she jumped (guesstimating about 4') + the extra I got launched on top of that...  I was prob about 8-10' up when we parted company.  I would like to say I bounced, but sadly it was more of a dull thud.

Yeah - just like that.

I looked up to make sure she hadn't gone anywhere and wasn't tangled in her reins and then chose to just sit there for a second.  It was a good fall, as far as falls go.  I landed pretty much flat out and other than a headache and some stiffness, I'm totally fine.  I did, however, decide discretion was the better part of valour and led her through the barrels a few times before remounting *g*   When she started stepping through them like a sane horse, I got back on.

The barrels crept closer and closer together every few rounds...

Lucinda had to lead us through the first time, but then we were able to make it through.  There were a few mad dashes to the end of the ring to escape the scary monster that lives between the barrels, but she started coming back to me faster and faster.  Every few laps the barrels would be moved closer together and she'd jump them a few times and then chill again...

So it turns out Lexi can jump! 

And in the end they were actually together.  Wooho!  hahaha from the look on my face you'd think *I* was seeing gremlins too.  hahaha but actually I was thrilled that she was actually jumping it!  And that she demonstrated there's some power there when she wants it :)

Returning from one of our out-of-ring adventures

So we did that a bunch of times (it was scary every time) and then jumped around some "easy" stuff to end positively.  She was pretty excited by this point -- trotting after the fences wasn't such an option any more, but we got *the* most amazing canter!  I was just riding around grinning like a little kid.

Uphill canter much?

She got put away and I played ring crew/photographer for the next group.  Had a moment when I realized all the photos of my group were shot in HUGE size and had to figure out how to change the resolution so I could keep taking photos.  16g card filled in 150 photos.  Yikes.  I fit more than 2000 on that card the other day.  hahaha  Double duty kept me busy and I really enjoyed myself.

But at lunch time, I decided to *actually* be wise, and took Lexi for a walk around the xc course.  In hand - halter and leadline.  We walked through the field, down the bank, over the ditch and into the water.  Seriously!  I was soooo impressed.  The bank and the ditch were *massive* flying leaps that had me fearing for my life on the ground -- so tomorrow could be seriously entertaining.  The water she didn't want to go in at all, but I just waited her out standing in it and telling her she was a superstar...  She eventually joined me -- quite calmly actually.  The only problem?  The water's *deep*.  About half way up my thigh.  So I got very soaked.  After we were done playing I dumped the water out of my boots (they're surprisingly heavy when full of water!) but I still squished on the ride home.  bahahaha Lexi spooked at the noise the first few steps, but chilled eventually.  We went back over the ditch and up the bank on the way home -- still pretty horrifying.  Tomorrow should be highly entertaining.  But the only *real* goal is to hack out with other horses and maintain a brain.  Anything extra is merely a bonus :)

Finished with more ring crewing and photography.  Really having fun playing with my camera :)  And, pretty well as soon as I stopped riding the sun came out.  I had foolishly listened to the weather forecast (not like I haven't lived her my whole life or anything.  Sheesh.) and was prepared for all sorts of horrid weather, but not for sun.  So I'm a little toasted now.  hahaha ah well - at least it was a gorgeous day.

Oh, and Lucinda really likes my horse *g*  That pretty much made my day.  Just saying.

XC tomorrow.  And the barrels are part of a bank combination.  And a water combination.  Wish us luck :)   Or velcro -- methinks velcro would be more useful than luck!

GRS goes to Wits End

Kennedy and Athena warming up for XC

The weather was perfect for our adventure to Wits End today!   SO much fun!

With just two riders and times together it made for a super-easy day.   Kennedy's first HT ever, riding Athena.  And Olivia on Bella doing their second run.

Dressage was way off in the valley, but with the two of them riding back to back they were able to go down to the ring together so neither horse had a meltdown at being alone.  Both put in reasonable tests -- Kennedy's was a great example of brilliance (on the bit and forward) or disaster (inverted drunken giraffe) depending on the moment.  Hahaha I had a few of those tests myself with Athena last year *g*  Olivia's test was civilized, now we just need to finesse it a little more :)

After dressage we paused to walk stadium on the way back.  It was a decent course for PE and the girls seemed a little trepidatious about it -- especially Kennedy who's never actually jumped a full course before :)  But I trust my horses and the girls are ready, so I wasn't particularly concerned.  There were no real horse eating monsters on that course.

Olivia and Bella in stadium

Warm-up went well -- Kennedy was a little hesitant and as a result Athena a little lazy, but she woke her up in time.  Bella was, as per her usual Superpony self, raring to go :)   Olivia was in first and put in a great round.  She rode this one far more than at Glen Oro, sitting up before her fences and making sure to hold her lines and use all her space.  Was really happy to see that!   Kennedy racked up a few time faults with some extra trotting in the ring, but she put in a great round jumping clear and confidently.

Kennedy and Athena in stadium

XC walk revealed a fun and inviting course -- all the scary things from last year had been removed.

So, we go over there, then...

We did stop a few times so the girls could make really sure they knew where they were going, but overall it seemed like it should make for a good run.

Olivia and Bella on XC

And so it did :)  Both girls were clear and smiling by the end of it!  Ponies totally fit and no problems despite the warmer temps.  Overall a great day :)

Kennedy and Athena on XC

And in the end -- both came home with ribbons!  Olivia was 3rd and Kennedy 4th.  It's taken all of two shows for Liv to qualify for champs.  Awesome job kiddo!

Taking care of Athena afterwards...

#FridayFlash 60: In the silence of the night

“Highness, I could use your assistance.”

“Of course,” she said instantly.

Lissa turned her horse to follow the wizard Zander across the camp, nodding to people as they passed through.  It was Illian's turn to be her shadow again tonight, and he followed without question or comment.

They left camp and rode toward the quickly setting sun.  Her eyes adjusted to the dim light easily enough, but soon she was relying on her horse to follow as she could hardly see Zander in front of her.

Zander’s voice, when he spoke, seemed exceptionally loud in the silence of the night even though in reality it was barely more than a whisper.  “Highness, you know what I’m looking for?”

“Yes,” she answered after realizing he couldn't see her nod.

“It is here somewhere.  There is a chance you might be better able to find it than I.  You should be able to communicate with the earth the same way you speak to the dragons.”

Speak to the earth the way she spoke to the dragons.  Right.  Hi earth, how you doin'?  She smiled, amused by her own smart-ass attempt.  The only answer she received was a crunch of grass as her mare snagged a bite to eat.  But she acknowledged that wasn't going to get them anywhere.  Zander said she had the skill; he didn't, so he couldn't teach her to use it.  She was on her own, but she’d been on her own before. 

Speak to the earth the way she spoke to the dragons.  Okay, so how did she speak to the dragons?  She brought the image of her dragon, Dezian, to mind. Can you hear me? She asked.

Yes highness, how can I serve you? The voice was fainter than she was used to, but no less majestic.

Don’t come here, she said, warding off any instinct the dragon might have; Dezian showing up would not aid 

their stealth mission.  I need to talk to the earth; do you know how to do that?

It is no different than us talking.  Just open your mind and listen.  The earth is far older; it speaks 

slower and only when necessary.  Be patient.

Thank you Dezian.  She didn't really know how to apply what she’d just been told, but at least she’d been paying conscious attention to how she spoke to her dragon.  First she had to visualize her; then she could communicate.

She dismounted, somehow knowing it was the right thing to do.  Illian appeared behind her and she gave him her reins.

“Your highness?” he asked as she stepped away from him.

“I’m not going far,” she took only a few more steps to a tree bigger than any she’d ever seen at home, but of average height here, and ran a hand softly down its bark.  She sat at its base, leaning back against it.  Her legs were stretched out in front of her and her hands lay softly at her sides.  One, resting on a dirt patch, the other on slightly damp moss.  She closed her eyes.

Great and mighty earth, she said, serious this time and her tone one of pure respect.  Would you do me the honour of sharing your knowledge?

She waited patiently, focusing on her breathing.  Slowly inhale, pause, and exhale – as though she were preparing to meditate.  Without her vision, her other senses became more attune.  The moss seemed softer under her hand.  She could smell the dirt, but also the rain that had fallen hours earlier and a whiff of a flower somewhere nearby.  Her ears heard the songs of the crickets calling; she felt like she understood their longing, but could do nothing to remedy it.  An owl hooted somewhere far in the distance and a wolf howled; the two couldn't possibly have been connected, but somehow it seemed as though they were communicating with each other.  But she couldn't quite grasp what they said.

She tried to close her ears to the night, listening only to the sound of her own breath.  Inhale, pause, exhale.  She lost track of time.  She could've been sitting there minutes or hours.  Inhale, pause, What is it you seek?  She was startled, because she hadn't really expected to receive a response, but exhaled just as calmly, focusing on maintaining her meditative state.

Inhale, pause, Once, long ago, a tunnel was dug through your magnificent forest. Exhale.

This did happen, it wasn't so much a voice as a memory.  The image of a much younger forest floated through her mind.  She was having trouble separating the earth’s thoughts from her own.

I would really appreciate knowing where the entrance to the tunnel is, she thought in-between breaths.

You already have this knowledge, and while that answer should have both surprised and frustrated her, it didn't.  Because it was correct.  She found she had the knowledge of this forest and all it had seen since the days when it was nothing but weeds and dirt.  She knew of the trees that had grown mighty, only to be felled by an axe.  She knew of the animals and their reliance on one another in their life circle.  And she knew of the people – those who had loved, those who had killed, and everybody in-between.  Watching eons of history flip through her mind in seconds she continued to focus on her breathing and paused when she saw a boulder being moved, a tunnel being sealed.  And she knew, better than she’d known her own home, exactly where the tunnel Zander sought was.  

Thank you for this gift, meaning so much more than thank you.  Is there anything I can do for you, majesty?  She doubted the title was correct, but it seemed to suit and she hoped at very least it wouldn't offend.

Use your tunnel, Lissa, and then restore this forest to those who belong here.  She was unsurprised to hear her given name used; what was a queen next to the earth?

It will be done. It was a promise she would keep.

-----------------------------------------------------

From my WIP.  Thoughts?

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

All sorts of procrastinating right now, so figured - hey, why not write a blog post?  hahaha that counts as being productive, right?   Especially as I'm procrastinating writing -- a war's about to happen and somebody I like is going to die and it's all sorts of drama.  And really, I'm just not that into drama so...  Here I sit.

On the plus side -- the book that's actually *finished* is now available in print copies too!!!  WOOHOO!  Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk both have it :)   Somehow getting it on the Canadian site is a challenge.  Sheesh.  Classic eh?  Kobo and Kindle versions too of course :)   Okay - plug done.  hahaha   I have to say, I've been absolutely amazed by the support I've gotten.  All sorts of people reading it (and enjoying! or so they tell me anyways *g*   Slight chance they're just being polite...) who I wouldn't have expected to.   Hugely appreciate it all!

My book with the slightly psychotic MC that I really wasn't sure about (ohhh fun blog post in the works about that one -- maybe on the weekend) -- that one I think I *will* publish, but probably under a different name.  hahaha because realistically, anybody who liked the first one and the one I'm writing now probably won't like this one.  And vice versa.  But we'll see :)   Current one, other than the scene I'm not writing right now, I'm quite enjoying and it's moving at crazy-fast speed.  Nanowrimo will never seem a challenge again!   All of this is a bit intense since show season is well under way AND Lexi is *sound* again!!!!  Woohoo!!!!  *knocking like crazy on all sorts of virtual wood*  So time is proving to be a little elusive.  But such is always the challenge of my life, and I mostly enjoy it.

Speaking of show season -- took five riders to Foxcroft last weekend (story on GRS blog) -- what a blast.  As some of you already know, that's where I grew up, which makes it oh so much more fun. I really enjoy going back to visit and seeing everybody again.  They even still have two of the horses from when I was there -- one of which was the first greenbean I ever worked with.   *PAUSE...  Minor break as procrastination enters a whole new level and I go hunt for a photo from then...*

bahahaha - look what I found!  Oh dear.
Yes she was a chestnut mare (who's surprised by this?)
And yes, I've always liked the long spot (same question!)

I would just like to note, I should get some sort of award for that procrastination effort.  That wasn't actually the photo I was looking for, but at least I found one of the right horse *g*   I also found every graduation from kindergarten on!  hahaha and a ton of photos ranging everywhere from tiny kid through high school and uni.  Basically my entire life until digital.  And oh so many of my friends from back then too :)  hahaha What fun I could have with those!

hahaha anyways - @ Foxcroft the girls and their horses were superstars!  All jumped double clear :)  Woohoo!!!  Four of the five came home with ribbons.  Not half bad since three of those were on their first show ever!  So yeah - all round it was a good day.

And tonight I taught Galloping 101 - which just might be my single all-time favourite lesson to teach.  Mostly because the excitement level of the students afterwards is hard to beat.  About the only thing that tops it is the first time they run XC in competition :)   And it helps that I have superstar ponies who know their jobs and are safe to gallop on as well as a nice big field to play in *g*   The perfect weather didn't hurt any either (sure I'll take credit for that.  Why not? :)   So yeah, pretty much on a high from that one.

And Lexi's supposed to go to Lucinda Green this weekend.  You know, the clinic I signed up for when I still had 10 weeks to get her ready.  And then she went off for five of them. And has been back for about four rides. *shaking head*.   Oh dear.  So it will definitely be an interesting experience!  My unbroke, unfit, almost 5-yo horse riding off property in a group situation over fences -- all for the first time ever!   No problem.  Maybe I'll wear a vest *g*

Get my new (to me) trailer tomorrow.  Yeah freedom!

And now, off to accomplish something.  True story.  Stop laughing.

GRS goes to Foxcroft CT

Amazing day at Foxcroft today!

Spoiled by a load time of 8am :)  Then super-tight times with five riders doing three phases in less than three hours.  No problem.

Emily and Charlie in dressage

Rowan on Lissy and Emily on Charlie were on with tons of time to warm up for dressage.  Charlie was a little high at first, but soon became his usual "dressage is boring" self.  I was really happy with both their tests -- accurate and rhythmical.

Discussing the oh-so-scary ditch -- which they all jumped flawlessly!

The other girls (Brena, Rebecca and Victoria) brought their horses (Bella, Athena and Nina respectively) over to dressage where all five horses were left with their awesome grooms (Barb, Chelsea, Kennedy, Laura, and Olivia) so we could go walk both courses.  XC course walk was first and I was really excited about it.  Wish I'd had Lexi with me -- what a great baby run!  Totally inviting :)   I chatted with Nicholas who was supervising XC and he let me know that we could do the schooling round as an actual school -- so I'd be able to take the girls in as a group and coach them through it before sending them out on their competition round.  Perfect!

Walking stadium

We got to show jumping with just enough time to walk it -- also a super friendly and inviting course.  Sweet. Steph took Rowan and Emily back to get ready for stadium, while I worked with the other three riders getting ready for dressage.  I got to see the two girls jump from the dressage warmup right about as Rebecca was about to go in the ring for dressage :)   Both Rebecca and Brena were riding their first off-property test ever and they did a great job!  Victoria and Nina have a little more experience in dressage but it's still fairly new :)  Nina was being far more quiet than Victoria expected -- awesome mare!

Emily and Charlie in stadium

As soon as they finished dressage they went to switch tack to warm up for show jumping with Steph.  At the same time, Rowan and Emily were heading to XC, so I went to meet them for their warmup.  It was so much fun!  Our course only opened this weekend, so it's been a while since I've gotten to teach XC -- and just like riding it, it's my fav phase to teach too :)  They rode so well!   Up and down the bank, over the ditches, and jumping everything I asked them to on the first time!  Woohoo!   I didn't have them jump the entire course, just enough to get the feel for it and then we went back to start box to do it for real.   Rowan was first out and basically showed us how it's supposed to be done :)  She and Lissy were absolute superstars!  Woohoo!  Then it was Emily's turn -- and Charlie knows what 3-2-1-Go means *g*  hahaha oh dear.  She had a great round.  He wasn't too sure when they got back to the box and had to go out again (the course did two loops of the field) but she rode it beautifully and soon had their rhythm re-established :)

Rowan and Lissy XC

And while she was on course, Rebecca was in show jumping so I was watching both going at the same time.  hahaha  She and Athena seemed to be having a great run, so I was happy about that.  Em finished XC with a giant grin on her face, so I left the girls to take care of their horses and booked it to stadium in time to watch Brena and Bella zoom around the course.  hahaha so much fun!  Then Victoria and Nina were in -- she looked at one very scary fence in warm-up, but we got her over no problem.  And then their competition round was brilliant!  Woohoo!

Rebecca and Athena XC

Trip back to the trailer to give all the horses a drink and then back to XC.  This group of riders has less experience than the first two, so we took it a little slower, but they did an awesome job.  Neither Victoria nor Nina have any real xc experience, yet they jumped everything -- and both seemed to be having a blast!  hahaha Bella and Athena both think XC is tons of fun and did a good job of convincing their riders.  Brena gets a HUGE gold star for conquring her personal boogy-jump, the ditch!  They did it several times, all beautifully.

Brena and Bella in stadium

And then it was time for them to run their courses.  Rebecca and Athena were first and it was all-round beautiful.  Woohoo.  Then Brena and Bella headed out -- they had a few discussions about speed *g*  But eventually worked it out.  Her status message afterwards pretty much said it all:

And then it was Victoria's turn.  Before leaving this morning Victoria was not too sure this was one of my more brilliant ideas.  We discussed the fact that it's not necessary -- she could stop any time she wanted.  As we schooled, she seemed more comfortable with the idea, but sitting in the start box, still nervous.  We discussed that she can walk or trot anywhere she wanted to.  No speed required.  So they walked out of the box, trotted the first fence, landed cantering and just kept going.  hahaha so much fun!  What an awesome ride!  Jumped clear - of course!  And came back grinning as big as every other rider.  I think we may have addicted her too :)

Victoria and Nina over the ditch

So yeah - overall an absolutely amazing day!  Perfect weather.  Tons o fun!  Oh and all the riders got clear round ribbons on XC and we brought home four ribbons in the actual competition!  Woohoo!!!

HUGE thanks to Steph for being my right hand :)  Would've been *very* hard to warm-up people in two rings at the same time!   And of course to our awesome grooms (who were exceptionally busy at this one with all the tight times) and the amazing support crew/cheering squad!   It's just that much better when you can come back, eyes wide and grinning ear to ear, and say "Did you see that?!?!?!"

Well I did.  And it was excellent.