Someone guessed!

Our cover is blown; an acquaintance at the show correctly guessed that Lance is a mustang! :-)   She had the advantage of having boarded her mare at a facility that hosts the area's Mustang Teen Challenge, though; there were around 35 young mustangs there at the time and she said she recognized Lance's "look."

Speaking of looking, I was sure glad I was able to get to the show grounds early enough to ride Lance around the show ring before classes started. He was a spooky little looky-loo at first, just as you'd expect an inexperienced young horse to be. But he relaxed in a very reasonable amount of time so we could go to work, checking his "go and whoa" responses, etc. He was being such a good boy . . . until our first test. Oh, he wasn't naughty, I just lost my gas peddle – completely! By the end of our trot work it felt like he was barely jogging; I was relieved when he didn't break to the walk before it was time to ask for a downward transition. Before our second test, you can be sure I tested his "go" again thoroughly! (In his defense, his saddle time at the show was far longer than anything we've done up to today, low-intensity though it was.) The refresher paid off; he had better energy in the second test until near the end, and even then didn't peter out as dramatically as he had in the first test.

So how did the judge think we looked? (Have you picked up on the hints? ;-)

My green-as-grass goober did me proud, placing second in both his classes with scores of 67.5% and 69.375%! Not only that, but he tied for first place in the first class, losing the tiebreaker (collective marks) by one point because of less "steady contact" – to a 14-year-old horse!

I asked the person in the announcer's booth to shoot video, but all she managed to get was one halt and salute at X. :-/

I have to say, though, that I'm pretty happy with the swingy tail I see here!

Someone else filmed our second test, so if I can get her to upload it to YouTube for me, I'll include it in another post.

The added bonus? It's clear and SUNNY today! What a blessing for someone who shows out her trailer!

As ready as we're going to be

I was able to ride Wednesday morning before our homeschool co-op; again Lance was spot on with the 'new world riding order' and responded near perfectly to light aids under saddle (on the lunge line I still have to regularly reinforce the rule that he must stay in the gait I ask for until I ask for something different).

Yesterday was committed to other stuff until late afternoon, when it started to rain – with much more in the forecast. I started to fret. I will be gone all day tomorrow; if I was washed out of riding today, Sir Lancelot would have three days off before his show debut early Sunday morning. Not a good set-up.

When I woke up this morning, it was windy but not raining. I hustled out to do chores, hoping the break would hold long enough to do something with Lance. Chores done, only occasional raindrops falling, I led him to the arena; I figured with a day off and the wind gusting, he'd be feeling frisky. I had my camera at the ready to record some action; instead I captured my big goober doing what he does best – moving away from me only reluctantly, and returning every chance he gets:




I should have known. This horse "joins up" like nobody's business; I don't know if his breeder worked on that concept or if Lance is just a big puppy in horse's clothing (I suspect it's the latter). After riding on Wednesday I pulled off his tack so he could roll in the wet sand (he's laid in his pee spot and gotten stinky again), but all he wanted to do was grub for blades of grass or follow me if I moved. I walked all over the arena in big and small serpentines to test him; he stayed right behind me. So I walked out the arena gate and back to the barn, leading him without a hand or strap on him! Heaven help my heart....

Anyhoo, we had a productive little schooling session this morning before the rain let loose again, and I'm feeling prepared for and relaxed about our walk/trot classes Sunday morning. I just hope that rain doesn't turn to snow up here on our hill!

Clean-cut kid

This morning I had the weather and time to work with Lance, and was eager to apply what I'd listened to yesterday. But first I got the clippers out to trim up his bridle path, chin, ears and fetlocks, and used scissors to shape his tail a bit. The boy cleans up pretty good! I think I am going to relax my standards, dress casually (sweater or vest instead of dressage coat), and not braid him for the show this weekend, as Sylvia suggested in the comments the other day.

After Lance's 'shave and a haircut,' I tacked him up and put him on the lunge line. I figured the first "go question" – Is my horse taking responsibility for maintaining the gait I put him in? – would be even easier to ask from the ground than from the saddle. It didn't take long at all for Lance to understand what I was expecting – not that he wanted to exert himself that much, mind you. :-)

Then I mounted, and worked on the second "go question." When I lightly apply a driving aid (leg, seat, voice or whip), does my horse respond enthusiastically and surge forward? Again, it didn't take long at all for Lance to understand my expectations and comply. (Obviously, the horse is plenty smart; it's the owner we should worry about – ha.) It was so nice to ride a more responsive horse with more energetic gaits! Now if only I can find more time and dry spells to ride this week, I really do think we'll be better prepared for the show on Sunday than we would have been if I hadn't listened to Jane Savoie's excellent presentation yesterday.

Always learning – and relearning

No time to ride today as I was providing 'Mom's Taxi Service,' so I listened again to Jane Savoie's teleseminar while driving Brian to the coast. Uh, yeah; I needed that. I have not been making Lance take responsibility for maintaining whatever gait I put him in, nor making him respect my 'go' aids. There's probably a lot more I have not been doing, but that was as far as I got in the teleseminar. Sigh; I have no business taking Lance into the dressage show ring without these basics in place! I'll work on them this week if I get the chance; the weather forecast sounds wet. If I don't, oh well; a little humble pie never hurt anyone, and it's still experience.

Last Friday was unseasonably warm and sunny, so I took the opportunity to give Lance a quick shower after I rode him. Now he's wearing a sheet so he'll hopefully stay cleaner for our Sunday show. If I'm going to braid his mane somehow I'm going to have to get up at o'dark thirty; our first ride is at 8:07 a.m.!

My funny Valentine

Isn't this some kind of ballet pose?

Or did Lance just want to hide behind his (rather skimpy) tail?

I started Valentine's Day out right with a ride in the sunshine on my pretty red boy. My attire was surprisingly – and unintentionally – coordinated; dusky purple breeches and jacket, lighter lavender sweatshirt. Once upon a time when I was a schoolgirl artist, a teacher told me "red and purple do not go together." Of course, I had just combined those colors in one of my creations, and immediately felt bad. I've come a long way, baby; I don't let others' opinions affect me that much anymore. So here's to bucking trends and not letting anyone else (except God) define for you what is good and right!