Feb. 22, 2004. oops, been a little sloppy in the upkeep here, so some of the links wont work til i finish the cleanup. i've been busy studying morse code...for those wondering WHY, i got my ham radio license and need to know code in order to upgrade. i got most of it down, i just need to finish learning the alphabet and numbers, and i'm good to go :) for those curious, check out ARRL's web site, and also QRZ, which is another ham site.
Sept. 19, 2002. well yeehaa! i just moved out of the house and got a decent job, and i'm able to keep my horse too! not too shabby. and as promised i'll FINALLY get the pics up from the 2-phase that i've been talking about.
check out some neat links!
November 10
yeah there's been a bit of a lapse in the upkeep here. Mouse and I went to a 2 phase on the 4 of this month. We took a sixth place in the dressage test, and a fourth overall with the scores from cross country. I'm quite proud of him actually. It took all season but he finally WALKED on the free walk! the judge told us we had a nice accurate test, but he needs to go more forward. on the course, he didnt want to cross the first obstacle, so we lost a LOT of time due to that. once he gets going he's fine. so now i just have to get him to accept going over obstacles....i'll get some pictures up soon...i have to size them a little smaller first!!!!
July 24
ok i've been on cloud 9 all day. i did some research on Mouse and found out that he has Man O War in his pedigree...5 generations back! yowser!! so anyway, we went to a dressage show on July 15. it wasnt a good day for us test-wise, but considering everything going against us, we did well. the ring steward thought i had an illegal bit on Mouse as we were going in for our first test, so we had to do a last-minute tack change to a different bridle. SO we rode with a strange bit, and then the judge eliminated us about 10 seconds into the test because Mouse looked a little "off" and was "too unsound to continue". to which everyone that knows him said.."WHAT?!?!" we rode our second test with no serious problems other that a lack of forward movement (he was busy sightseeing at the time), but he held his tantrum til we were on the way out of the ring. now i'm debating an open show this saturday (the 28). the show itself wont be bad, but its in the middle of a fair...and thats going to be asking a lot of this guy i think. we'll have to see how he goes.
July 9
all i can say is ouch! Mouse and i went to a dressage and 2 phase on june 17, but we got rained out before entering the ring....it has since been rescheduled to august 11, with another on the 12. SO...yesterday we went to a small open show. we did well in equitation, pleasure and discipline rail, taking second, third, and second, respectively. trail class was our nemesis, and as a result of landing flat on my back on the ground i have a little trouble moving today. therefore the "ouch" i mentioned earlier.
may 22
whew! having shows for three weeks running gets crazy! on the plus side, i'm getting good at braiding Mouse's tail :P our first show was a schooling two-phase, consisting of a dressage test and a cross country course. we took second on the dressage test, and second with our combined score with cross country. i'm beginning to think this horse is going to be an eventer, which means i'll have to learn how to jump in order to keep up with him :} he BLASTED through the cross country like he'd done it all his life....kinda fun :)
second show was also a schooling show, but we didnt do too well...took fourth out of four. he got mad when a horse cantered past him and that ended it for us right there. he just cant stand to see someone canter past him....yet.
our third show was this past sunday. we won our equitation class, which is MY weak point, because my position is not quite perfect and its judged more on the rider than the horse. trail class was a bit more than he wanted to do....between the barrels and the snow fencing he just went *pop!*...at least he held his tantrum til we were on the way back from the trail ring. :P we went from one end of the show ground to the other and halfway back SIDEWAYS, at a canter, bucking and rearing all at once. good thing i was getting into cutting or i'd never have stayed with him :P we won our command class, and took third in pleasure because he started spooking at the announcer's booth (which he'd been going by all day in his other classes). we took overall champion for adult walk-trot, so i guess things didnt turn out too badly :) at least i get a week off from showing now...time to earn more entry fees!
here's some pics from the schooling show on may 13.
April 19,
i conquered three demons at once :) first was even being back ON a horse after the fall that broke my hand, second was cantering in the direction that i had been going before the rodeo started under me, and third..it was the same direction that Mouse used to race in, and he COLLECTED his canter! amazing! we went through the Intro level dressage test yesterday, and he did alright except for a major grump session coming down the centerline. so we would have lost points on straightness and submission, but that's why it was practice :P haven't made up my mind yet if i'm going to try for the show on the 22...guess i ought to make up my mind soon on that score.
April 4,
well the cast is off but i STILL can't go back to work yet...i've only been cleared for light work, and there is none of that at the barn. ARGH! i have to go for physical therapy to get my hand working properly again, so i guess that lets out a show on april 22. it's a shame, because Mouse has really been moving beautifully lately. quite a lovely trot, and i even got him to canter a complete circle in his bad direction on the lunge line. oh well, more time to prepare for a small dressage show on May 6.
Feb. 23,
I'm out of commission for a few weeks with a broken hand. Yes, I did break it coming off a horse, and no, it wasn't Mouse. I'm already climbing the walls, and I've only had the cast on for two days! argh! /whine mode: OFF
Jan. 27, 2001.
Mouse is developing quite a beautiful trot now. He's finally figuring out how to use his back end to push himself along, instead of pulling with his front legs and head. His canter is quite rough though, and as soon as I can work him consistently, that is going to be the next phase. Right now we're only working once a week during my riding lesson at an indoor arena. Too much snow and ice outside to ride safely. Can't wait for spring!!!
so now what? november 5 was a bust due to weather. we went to a show nov. 19 instead. same five classes, picked up four third place ribbons and a first. i could get to like discipline rail if i keep winning it :)
we had our first show together on october 15. we went in 5 classes and picked up 5 ribbons. we took fifth place in equitation and pleasure, WON the discipline rail class, took second in trail, and fourth in a second pleasure class. as soon as i have some pictures from that i'll get them up here. he went through the trail class like an old pro. did a BEAUTIFUL backup (not his strong point) and let me move a raincoat from one pole to another. here's a pic from that show.
In May 2000 I bought a 7 year old off-the-track Thoroughbred, and I'm retraining him for dressage. Here he is...
