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Showing posts from September, 2010

Wentworth Hunter Pace - June 6, 2021

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the

MHA Maine Event Horse Show

This past Saturday, September 25, 2010 was the last MHA (Maine Horse Association) affiliated horse show with a Standardbred division.  We had three shows this year to accumulate points towards Standardbred In-Hand and Standardbred 3-Gait Pleasure year end awards. The day was gorgeous and sunny.  I spent the day showing with my good friend Shelly and we had a blast as usual.  We had so much fun and I am sad to see our 2010 show season come to a close.  :(  Here we are below...Shelly showed her Standardbred western for the first time and did well!   She's going to kill me for posting this, but I think it is cute!  :)   Overall it was a good day.  My grandfather came to watch for a while in the afternoon, which was neat.  We placed 4th out of four in Standardbred In-Hand.  LOL!  Judges either love Dreamy or not, so it was not surprising.  I expected a last place finish since this was the same judge from the 2009 Downeast Congress who did not place her in-hand there at all.  It&

Sunset Farm 2-Phase

Dreamy and I had a good showing at the Sunset Farm 2-phase combined test on Sept. 18, 2010.  I had never shown there before.  We rode two dressage tests in the morning (Training 1 and 2) and then did the Modified Beginner Novice 2-phase in the afternoon.  The dressage tests went OK.  I wish I had been able to get a better warm-up before the classes...the area was a very small 30 m. circle area and quite honestly was not adequate.  With more than one other horse in there, it was impossible to do much trotting or cantering without running someone over.  :(  We had a 59% something on our first test and a 60%s omething on the second one.  Not horrible, but not great.  They scored all the Training tests as one big class so we did not place in the top 6th.....but got a 7th and 8th respectively. Of course, I was all worried about memorizing my Beginner Novice A eventing dressage test.  Why did I think it would be a good idea to do three different tests in three hours?  I have no idea!  LOL!

Green Acres Horse Trials - Sept. 12

Dreamy and I were so busy this year with other things, it was not until this past weekend I was able to attend a horse trial!  I miss eventing!!!  We competed at Green Acres in Madbury, NH.  It is a decent venue...while it was a little chilly last Sunday, it was still a good day.  And usually the organization is better than it was this past Sunday....I suspect they were short on volunteers.  Here is Dreamy just chilling at the trailer...taken on my iPhone so not the best quality.  :) There were 12 riders in our (senior rider) division of Modified Beginner Novice (at GA they call it Elementary).  Basically it is Beginner Novice with lower fences.  Instead of jumping 2'11", we just jump 2'3" which is where Dreamy is more comfortable.  As she is now 19 years old, I am not jumping her higher than that.  :) Our dressage test was decent.  We did the USEA Beginner Novice A test, which is roughly comparable to a USDF Training 2 level test.  There is never enough spac

Marshaling at Cornish Trotting Park - Sept. 11

Dreamy and I have marshaled the annual amateur races at the Cornish Trotting Park every year since 2006.  This year I was not planning to attend...until one of the organizers saw me in the hardware store (gotta love living in a small town! LOL) and asked me if I would do it.  Of course, I said SURE!  :)  My partner in crime, Shelly, and her gelding McKeever also came along. It was a gorgeous day and there were only eight races this year.  A long lost friend from elementary school whom I have reconnected with on FaceBook took these excellent pics!  Thanks Katie!  :) Bringing a race down for post parade.  Dreamy is on the right.   Visiting with our "fans"....LOL!  Dreamy liked the kiddos the best.  Pretty mare!  I am not liking my new white breeches...the full seat is too "sticky" and I couldn't seem to post right!  :-P  LOL!  But Dreamy looks nice! More time with our "fans"!  LOL!

Let's Try Something New!

There seems to be a new craze around here called "Versatility Trail Challenges".  There have been several close by me this year, but between trying to compete in USDF shows all over New England as well as the Maine Horse Association affiliated shows, I have not been able to try one. So I was excited to go to a local farm (just 15 minutes from me) called Piper Ridge on Saturday, August 28.  It was a gorgeous day and the last weekend of summer vacation, so I thought it would be a great day to try something new! I had no real idea what to expect.  I knew it would be something like a big glorified trail class.  But Dreamy and I have never actually PRACTICED most of the different things.  I had done the trail class at Nationals this year and won a fifth place ribbon....LOL!  So that was the extent of our experience.  ha ha ha There were 18 people in my division and they only placed out to 6th place, so I had no expectations for a ribbon at all.  I just wanted to see what

Pony Prison

Miss Reva has been a naughty pony.  She went through a bad phase for a few weeks of breaking through the fence every day or two.  She would often just join Sparky in her adjoining paddock/pasture, so it was OK.  She knew that the shock was minor and it only hurt for a second, if at all.  With the dry weather, my charger was not working up to par.  That is fine with my two older mares, who went for years without needing the fence turned on.   But one day Reva decided to break FREE and take a stroll around my yard.  It all ended up being alright because I was home and discovered her quickly.  But with only a few days until school began and I returned to the classroom to teach, I realized I had to do something to keep her safe and do it quickly.  I considered a round pen, but soon realized it was rather costly.  Plus I really did not want her in a round pen.  X-P And while a nice wooden or vinyl fence would be nice, it is not going to happen here.  Maybe someday when we build our dre

Riding Lesson....

Oh Blogger, how I've missed you!  LOL!  With the start of school, life has been hectic, but not in a bad way.  I miss summer, but I like to teach, so life is good.  :) I took a riding lesson on August 27, right before I had to return to school that Monday.  I knew it would be my last one for a while, since I can no longer take a lesson during the week with school in session and my weekends are pretty full for the next few weeks. We did some really great lateral exercises.  Dreamy was SOOO good....relaxed and accepting the bit without any fussing.  I was super happy with how she went.  I just wish I did not have to wait a few weeks until my next lesson....after having lessons almost every week this summer, this working business is getting in the way!  LOL! First we did a shoulder in exercise.  We did it in both directions, but I will explain it on the left rein.  We trotted down the long side in shoulder-in to the left.  We turned left (say at "C") down the center li

Just because...

The other day I had to walk out into Dreamy's pasture for something.  She was eating hay on the far side of her paddock (which opens up into said pasture).  She spotted me and marched right over in order to follow me all the way out in the pasture.   I gave her a scratch on her neck, she watched what I was doing, and then she followed me back into her paddock.   It was just so cute. I know that is not a big deal, but for Dreamy it is.  Not only did she leave her hay pile to be with me, but it was so cute how she just wanted to see what I was up to.  It was like she wanted to be with me just because.   When I first got her back in 2003, she was very aloof and kind of indifferent to people...not in a rude way, just in a very uninterested way.  When I started riding her in 2006, she started to become more friendly, but it really has not been until the last year or so that she is really showing an attachment to me. It is moments like that where I completely fall in love with

National Standardbred Show 2010 - PICS!

Well, here are a few pics from the National Show.  I am waiting on a CD of pics from a friend of mine, and I have yet to make a purchase from the show photographers.  I have been super busy with the start of school (ahhh, the dreary working life is back!  LOL)! But, anyway, here are a few until I get all of them.....ENJOY! Here we are in one of the many under saddle classes...this was either Hunter or Pleasure. Hunter over Crossrails... Our western debut!  :D Our stall......with some of our ribbons! Back home modeling our ribbons!  :)  Dreamy was so not impressed!  I had to take over 50 photos to get a few where she did not have her grumpy bored face. Here are just our dressage ribbons! And the rest! National Reserve Champion Training level dressage - I love neck sashes!  Dreamy has won two in her life...so far!  ;-)