Blogger meet up and CTJ moments

At least the weekend ended on a good note.

Saturday I spent most of the morning getting hives and sunburned while I helped set up a large temporary paddock in a 28 acre field. With our ring almost complete, we're trying to keep several horses near the barn and paddock space is limited until they get the perimeter fence near the barn finished. Anyway, we made a nice big paddock that can be moved around and included a section of the stream so we don't have to worry about watering those horses. Later in the afternoon we decided to go do a little flat work and jumping (followed by a nice hack). it was about a billion degrees outside so we didn't do too much in terms of jumping but Riley decided to pick that time to act like a total butthead. Keep in mind we were schooling the very same gymnastic as last time, but this time just two cross rails. It basically rode like a 3-4 stride line. The cows had recently been moved and he used them as an excuse to not pay attention to me, but we got through the line a couple of times successfully albeit with one ear on the cows. The three of us took turns schooling it and then we set up a bounce going in a different direction (essentially perpendicular to the gymnastic). Riley's never done a bounce so it was first set as a tiny cross rail and a pole for the second fence. Whne I tried to get him to leave the other horses, he pulled his nappy behavior again and I booted him forward. I head toward the X and at the last second he decided to spin-duck-bolt left... fucker... I took one look at Emily and she thought I was going to hand him over to her, but I was PISSED. Now that I know what his evasion is, I can prepare for it much, much better. Came around again, same thing, this time I grabbed my right rein and slammed him into the standard. I stood him directly in front of it and made him crawl over it. I came around again and this time cracked him on the shoulder with my whip and he leapt over it. You see... I'm not asking him to do anything hard. No, he hasn't schooled a bounce yet, but he knows how to go over a cross rail and a pole. So we continued to school it until he went through without sucking back. We put the second X up and he sort of fumbled his way through but didn't touch anything...a few more times and he was bouncing through like he's been doing it forever. Good boy. He was all too frazzled that I actually got after him though. He's the type of horse that doesn't need a beating, but if you are going to use your whip, you have to use it once and MEAN it. Our Come to Jesus moment was when he realized I was serious and that I am not falling for his bullshit anymore. After we ended that on a good note the three of us headed for a nice trot hack around the property. It's about a 2 mile loop up and down hills and through the woods and over a stream. Riley was pretty agitated, but settled once he realized that work was not over. We let the farm owner lead as her horse had some trouble riding around all alone the day before and we wanted to boost his confidence. Everyone was lathered by the time we got back to the barn!

Blogger royalty right here.

Sunday was a really tough day for me and I knew that the best thing I could do was spend time with Riley. I also wanted to stop and see Carly from Poor Woman Showing  ride at Plantation as it's right down the road from our farm. I arrived to a very packed parking lot of trailers, the turnout was intense! As I checked around for Carly I heard someone shout my name, what great timing, she was just walking up from her trailer to head to showjumping warm up. Um, nothing I have seen or read in Carly's blog could prepare for the beast that is Bobby Magee. He blasted around warm up (not in a dangerous way of course and over jumped every warm up fence. I parked myself outside the ring to get a good spot, and was very surprised at the size of these novice fences!

Fence #3 I believe, rocket boosters, enabled.

Part one of the in and out, no biggie.

Beasting part two.

And because I am the best, I brought Bobby his favorite treat... Mt. Dew!!!

Then we ran into fellow blogger Alli from Pony'tude who recognized us from the internet!!!!! So of course we forced Bobby to pose for a photo! It's so much fun to meet up IRL!

While Carly did not have quite the day she wanted, she came home with a number and not a letter and also learned that Bobby may need some new brakes for jumping:) What I learned is that Carly is a hell of a rider and has an auto-release to die for. We're trying to plan a weekend that she can come down so we can get into pony adventures together!

I headed off to the farm to ride my own pony who was less than enthused.

See Carly, you're not the only one with a derpy pony.

We did a little flat work (and by that I mean on undulated terrain near the cows) and then we set off on the same path we rode the day before, this time alone. He was brilliant. We had to pass his herd mates, go away from the farm, into the dark woods, over a stream, out of the woods, past the sheep and goats and all the way from his old field back to the barn. We trotted a lot of it so he could stay focused on me because he was a little behind my leg to start, but he was awesome the whole way around. The only thing he spooked at was a tiny evergreen planted in someone's front yard that he's literally walked by a million times. Oh, when I say our ring is almost done, I mean we are just waiting for the final footing to be put in! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Waiting for footing! It's huge!

Some redundant through the ears photos:

Heading out to do flat work, wayyyy down by the tree on the left... from there we go through the path between the fields (where you can see the shed), way down to the left and into the woods

Into the woods. One ear on me, one ear on whatever he thinks is scary.

Down to the water crossing.

Out of the property and on to the road. Our property starts at the fence line again.

On the buckle, feet kicked out from my stirrups almost home.

He got a good bath and I grazed him until he was semi-dry while I enjoyed a beer in the sun. I forgot to mention that we had a long narrow cardboard box in the barn aisle that Riley decided was exceptionally scary (so I made him eat grain off of it)... but then 5 minutes later he did this:

He literally had his head in the bucket at one point.

Nerd.

He is the best at making me feel sane.