Nana and Dandy in the AHACO Walk/Trot Pleasure

Before I move on to the Region 4 All Arabian Horse Championships I really need to post about NaNa's pleasure class on Dandy. It's not just because it's such a cute picture with that little kid riding that great big horse but it's also because Richard and I had a bit of an altercation over that class.

Now, I'm sure you must be wondering how either Richard or I could get ourselves into any kind of trouble over a walk trot class. But horse shows can get stressful sometimes and where there's stress, short fuses are bound to follow. In this particular case both of us were running on some pretty short fuses for a collection of reasons.

It all began innocently enough. We were outside the barn getting ready to head up to the warm-up when Richard told NaNa to bridle her horse. NaNa grabbed the reins and poor Dandy's head shot straight up into the air as the child's grab made direct contact with his poor face.

Richard was busy adjusting the child's foot into the irons so he actually missed the whole display. I was the sole witness to the rude intrusion on Dandy's mouth and I responded instinctively with a stern voice, "NaNa, less hands and more leg!"

As the startled child heeded my instructions, Dandy rolled right over into the bridle and we proceeded on towards the warm-up arena. Things probably would have ended right there except Richard came over to me admonishing me that I needed to be more patient. After all, Nana is just a little girl.

Like I said, both of us were running on short fuses so telling me to be patient when anyone grabs one of my horses harshly in the face was more than enough to push me over the proverbial edge. To my way of thinking accepting harsh treatment is NEVER acceptable no matter how young the rider. If you want to teach good horsemanship, that is a very important place to start.

For me it's a given if I allow anyone at all to ride my horses that the horses will be treated appropriately at all times. I never would allow any of my horses to be used or abused by anyone without speaking up.........and certainly NOT Dandy. I did NOT take kindly to Richard's comment and I don't think he really took kindly to my follow up that if the horse wasn't going to come first, then my horse wasn't going to be involved.

I think poor Richard didn't really know what hit him. I doubt he was prepared to deal with me in a tailspin when all he wanted to do was get this kid in the class and get the darn horse show finished. But I wasn't about to let it drop. I didn't want my horse going into a class until it was perfectly clear that indiscriminate pulling on his face was NOT allowed.

We did manage to get through it although I think some in the proximity thought I was having a true meltdown. But after many years of standing around and letting others tell me how my horses should be treated (which I might add always ended up in my horses paying the price) I was not about to stand there and take it anymore. I was a determined advocate for my horse ........and I didn't care who knew it.


NaNa rode her class.........and despite her obvious lack of steering in some important places still managed to get qualified.

Richard and I, well, we managed to resolve the remnants of the conflict after the horse show was over. We really are not on different sides of this. It was more a matter of the stress of a hectic morning and the overlap that results from too many people, too close together for too long a time. We're OK now and Richard learned an important lesson about me. If I have a problem, he can count on me speaking up! Oh, and Dandy...........well, he's totally forgiven NaNa for her transgression. He loves packing that kid for sure!

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Arabian Horse at Liberty

While I'm recuperating I thought you might enjoy these videos. Since many think Arabian horses are spooky crazy things........I love anything that shows the other side of these amazing creatures.






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Dragging

It's been a week since I arrived home from the Region 4 All Arabian Horse Championships and my butt is still dragging. I don't know what I thought I was doing taking four horses but that was way too much work for this old broad. I can't seem to recoup despite my early departure to bed most every evening.

Granted those eight days with no more than four hours of sleep on any given night would have been tough even in my younger days. But I just can't remember when I have had such trouble catching up. At this rate it'll be weeks before I'm back to normal again..........that is if there is a normal for me.

So I apologize for my floundering blogging as of late. I've had the best of intentions but they seemed to get lost in the fog in my mushy brain. I never have been able to crank out blog posts when my eyelids are drooping. There must be some kind of connection between those sagging lids and brain function for me. I can't imagine why that is, I used to get great inspirations when I was half asleep. Getting old is indeed the pits!

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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem AAOTR Championship

My last class at the AHACO All Arabian Horse Show was the purebred Adult Amateur Owner to Ride (AAOTR) western pleasure class. As I get further along this road of finishing my western pleasure horse this class is the one that tells me how far I have come and how far I have yet to go. I know I must be consistently competitive in this class before I will ever be competitive at the national level.

Also riding in this class is the woman on the chestnut stallion that collided with my horse in the qualifying class. I may have missed her in the warm-up arena before that class but I certainly wasn't about to make that same mistake again. I was painfully aware of her presence at what seemed like every turn as we warmed up.

My horse was going well in the warm-up. It's a big arena with lots of commotion going everywhere. Horses seem to be working both directions while their support personnel all congregate in the middle. Maybe that added congestion gave him a sense of security in regards to the "threat" from that other horse.

Whatever the reason, as soon as we went into the ring my horse became immediately tense. I had to shorten up my reins to keep him rated at the proper speed. It's frustrating to work so well in the warm-up only to loose it upon entering the ring but riding the horse I had was going to have to be the game plan yet again.

Then there was that other horse. Already having had one wreck, I sure didn't need another. It was obvious the horse had issues in the ring. Keeping a safe distance was going to have to be my top priority.

It's not that I haven't had to be wary of horses before but this situation was different. Not only was the other stallion more volatile, the rider seemed to have less control. Also she seemed to be unaware that she was having a problem at all. That made the pair even more threatening. Combined with my horse's brightly checkered past of ring mishaps, the last thing I needed was another wreck that might cement his fear in the ring.

At the jog finding a safe distance seemed to be easy. It was at the lope that things got difficult. Each time I would circle around to avoid the chestnut stallion, it seemed the horse managed to come right along with me. I found myself making repeated circles at the one end of the arena looking for a place to go that provided that safe distance I needed.

By the time I was able to find an opening on the rail without that stallion coming up behind, the announcer called for the jog. I'd spent most of the lope just circling at the far end of the arena away from the judge. That's not really the way I prefer to show my horse but at least we'd avoided any issues.

When the announce called for the line-up I waited for the chestnut stallion to find a place in line first. I wanted to keep my horse as far away from him as possible. Blowing up in the line-up was also one of this horse's issues. When the class finally all settled into place, I was at one end and the red stallion was at the other.

As they called out the placings I pondered my ride. I'd spent the entire time focusing on the position of the other horse first. My actual ride had come in a distant second. Imagine my surprise to find I'd placed third in this class. Legs was improving despite the outside interruptions.

To be continued............

Dandy in Walk Trot

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Wordless Wednesday

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Too Pooped!

Well, I'm back but still definitely too pooped to post. My mind is mush which hasn't lent itself to writing much. So thanks to Lady of Chaos for this goody in my email inbox. A photo like this surely needs to be shared. Can't wait to hear the story behind it.........but I must admit seeing this colt in such a predicament almost makes my mind want to spin off guessing what the story might be.......notice I said almost. I get about as far as the thought of guessing what the story might be....but no strings of thought actually follow. However, I can't help but think this pic might be a great one for a caption contest, don't ya think?

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AHACO Walk/Trot Equitation Video

Nana and Dandy walk/trot eq


I'm sorry about the confusion on the videos. I checked them all when I uploaded them and thought I was ok with the length. I have deleted the original video I posted here and replaced it with one that is supposed to be still available on YouTube. Will try to see if I can figure out how to edit those that turned out to be too long. In the the meantime, I hope you enjoy watching Nana's ride on Dandy.

AAOTR Championship

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Salem..........and Ghost Horses..........

Last year when I was gone to the Region 4 All Arabian Championships, I posted the series Ghosts of Horses Past in Salem Even though I did get an anonymous commenter who accused me of posting fiction, this account is something I lived and I can't help but think of every time I show horses in Salem.

Since life has been chaotic here lately I didn't get my sh*t together enough to finish the series I had hoped on the "secret" colt. But I can't help but drop something interesting in here so my Wordless Wednesday post is a story of its own........but as usual, the details will be forthcoming sometimes..........soon, I hope.

In the meantime here's a little clue, if you haven't guessed already, MiKael Meets Richard...............the ghost horse



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Wordless Wednesday

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AHACO Western Pleasure Amateur Owner to Ride Video

40 & over



Walk/Trot Eq with Dandy


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AHACO Select Rider Video

AAOTR Video


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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem Select Rider Championship

The next class I rode Legs was the select rider championship. I remember that as being a pretty good ride. The Arabian horse is going much rounder and slower and softer now. Things are really coming together.

Just like he'd done the day before, the horse was slower and more relaxed in the warm-up arena. I had a nice ride out there only to ride into the arena and have it all come up.............just a notch.........but still UP.

I had to shorten up my reins just a bit and rode the horse I had. He stayed rated pretty well on his own at the jog. At the lope, however, I had to remind him some that he needed to stay together and go slow. Not bad.........but not a national championship winning ride either. But such a huge improvement from a year ago.......and a big improvement from just the Daffodil show last month.

All in all it was a pretty nice ride up until the point the judge stopped us on the rail and asked us to back four steps, I think. I very carefully checked my weight to see it was equal in both stirrups. Then I asked my horse to back.

Legs responded by making a 180° turn. The whole time he was turning I was trying to block him with my leg......but Legs totally ignored it thinking he knew exactly what I wanted. When they asked us to walk off, I figured I better turn my horse around so I could proceed in the same direction as the rest of the class.

Within a few steps of reaching the correct direction, we were asked to lope, I think. Who knows, actually! After the embarrassment of doing a turn on the haunches instead of backing, I was ready for the line-up.

Once in the line-up, the judge made his way down talking to some of the exhibitors. When he reached me, he laughed and told me we'd had the class won until that crazy back. He said he'd even given us the benefit of stopping us on the wall so we "select" riders would have the support of the wall to aid in our back. Once my horse didn't back, the judge had no choice but to "redo" his placings for the class.

However, I wasn't alone is this. From what he said evidently his choice for reserve champion didn't back either. The judge bumped Legs to third and the other horse and rider to fourth. Still not bad considering...........I guess..........

The judge also commented that I should just keep working on it. He asked if I was planning on showing at regionals. When I answered in the affirmative, he responded, "Good! This horse is a REAL pretty mover. You had moments of brilliance." I must admit, that felt good!


To be continued.................

Select Rider Video

AAOTR Championship


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The Horse's Injury..........mmmm, Injuries!

Trying to get ready for the Region 4 All Arabian Championships there's been a lot to do. There's been no time to take a break to deal with the aftermath of this accident. It was only because Richard had company from out of town that I didn't miss any "scheduled" work time getting horses schooled for the big event.

Thursday's plan was to ride horses after Richard returned from taking his guests to the airport. We got our wires crossed so I arrived at noon instead of at the 9 am he'd hoped for. When I left here, everything was fine. When I returned............not so much..........

Having my nose broken just couldn't be enough to push the limits on an already stressful week. As I came to the back of the horse trailer to begin unloading, Dave was frantically trying to tell me something about my colt........the very colt that broke my nose the day before...............the same colt that is supposed to some on Friday night in the AHA Sweepstakes Breeding Entry Colts class.

I rushed to his stall to find the horse with a maybe six inch gash in his neck. He'd managed to find a nail and used it to scratch himself.........the only problem was that nail ripped this ugly swatch out of his neck.

Instead of heading back to Richard's to pick up Louie, I loaded up the colt and headed for the vet's. Lucky for me, he was there and had time to "sew" this colt up.

I've said all along........this colt is a hot thing! I don't say that lightly. He's about as hot as I've ever seen. He has a good mind and can be trained to deal with things..........but new things............well............they're tough.

The vet thought he was going to sew that wound up right there in the sunlight. Granted the light was great, but I just didn't see this colt standing there to get the wound numbed up enough to work on. I figured we'd just put him in the palpation chute and deal with him there. He'd managed to deal with that whole situation when he'd needed his teeth floated.

But wouldn't you know, another day............another horse............and the horse is bigger now.....................that chute just didn't look that confining to him. The vet stuck the needle into the horse's vein and the colt responded by going straight up into the air.........then the horse leapt over the gate on the chute.

The horse's back legs got hooked on that gate and he came crashing to the floor. The colt landed right on his nose with his left stifle stuck on the top of that palpation chute gate. We all scattered as the horse trashed wildly trying to flee.

Before I could figure a way to help the horse he managed to free himself. The horse pooped up immediately trying to escape but I managed to grab him and get him under control. When the horse finally stopped in front of me the needle was still dangling from where it was lodged in his vein.

I pointed that fact out to the vet and he quickly took advantage of the situation injecting the sedation. After all the adrenaline of this latest wreck a second dose was needed to even begin the work of dealing with the horse's neck.

While we waited for him to come down, we checked the horse over thoroughly for damage from his escape. We got off lucky. There were no broken bones........only superficial wounds.

The horse cut his upper gums. They were bleeding quite profusely. He also cut a small "V" into his lower lip which was also producing its share of blood. There was a patch of hide gone over his left knee. His right hind leg had a couple of strips of hide gone that ran down the canon bone. The left leg had an assortment of smaller cuts, some longer stripes of missing hide on the cannon bone and some random patches of missing hair.

By the time the vet was finished, the colt had 20 staples in his neck. There were a half dozen stitches in his lower lip and the rest would be treated with topical antibacterial ointment.

The real trick in all of this is giving the little bugger his antibiotics. He's toatlly turned into Mr Hyde. It take twitching him to even get a syringe into his mouth...........and grabbing his nose is a trick in itself.

He's equally naughty about having the hot packs on his neck wound. Although once the warm compress is in place it is obvious that it feels better.

Last night when I applied the first warm towels, the wound was already swollen and gross. By morning, most of the swelling had gone down. Despite the horse's reluctance to be treated..........the wound is responding really well. By this evening the area is totally flat.

It is obvious the colt is sore from his assault on the palpation chute. I lounged him this morning, and while he was not lame, he was definitely not quite for himself. Normally, he is bouncing around, striking at the ground and tossing his head............today he just went around in circles......it was actually kind of nice for a change.

So today we were off for Region 4. We're quite a pair the two of us. I'd really like to be sleeping for about a week to let this head of mine rest but the horse show is calling..........by the time you read this, I'll be in Salem and hopefully getting ready to hit the sack in my tent.

There will be posts while I am gone. I got all the horses's stuff packed and laundry done.........and forgot to do my own. So while I'm sitting up waiting for MY laundry to get finished, I'm going to schedule posts to carry through until I get back home.

Wish us luck!



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My Injury

On Wednesday I was trying to fit the "secret" colt with a show halter. I don't know if I've mentioned before this colt is really, really naughty about having his poll touched. I've never seen a horse quite so territorial about his poll before and I've known for a while there would probably be problems putting a show halter on this horse.

With all the issues the horse arrived here with, this thing with his poll was just another thing on the list. As the other things have fallen away as he's learned what's expected of him here, this one issue has resisted all efforts to get it under control.

I've trained the horse to stand up for showing in halter with a schooling halter. You'd think since it slips over the ears like a bridle(only not as restricted as a bridle would be) that a show halter would not be a problem. But show halters are finer AND they are usually buckled right at the poll. I knew the colt would not tolerate working right over his poll for this.

I tried a couple of different ways to put the show halter on this horse. First I tried slipping it over his ears just like the schooling halter goes. The show halter is just not as flexible as the schooling halter and it just wouldn't give sufficiently.

Then I tried pulling the open halter further down the horse's neck and fastening it there. That worked OK but the halter was too big with the noseband hitting over an inch under the horse's tearbone.

It's when I tried the smaller halter that I got into trouble. It wouldn't go far enough down the horse's neck to reach a spot he was comfortable having me mess with getting it buckled. The darn colt wheeled around away from me knocking me off balance. As he completed his 180° turn he slammed the side of his head right smack dab in the middle of my face..........breaking my nose.

I heard the awful crack as the horse connected with my face. The stars began to swirl as blood gushed from my nose. I did the best I could to get myself out of that stall, secure the door and get myself into the house. All the time the stars continued to swirl and then even my stomach began to turn.

By the time I reached the house, I needed to get to a chair. Luckily Lindsay was in the house and was able to get me an ice pack, something for my gushing nose.................and drugs..........my head was beginning to pound.......and pound it has for three days.

I spent most of the first day just sitting in a chair. The ice pack became my best friend as it seemed to be the only thing that eased the throbbing pain at all. Normally, the cold and I just do NOT get along.........but in this instance I have come to appreciate how it helped me to get through.

It was several hours before I could even walk without my nose beginning to bleed again. I could feel the blood running down my throat if I even shifted my position in my chair. Having broken my nose before, I can say this is the hardest I have ever been hit.

The surprising thing is the ice really did great things for the swelling. While I do have some discoloration across my nose and underneath my eyes, it is nowhere near what one would expect. However, the headache I have totally makes up for the lack of bruising. Spreading my hand over the center of my face, that entire area still throbs 60 hours later.

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Injured!

Sorry, I missed posting last night due to an injury. I thought I was going to get a post done for today about the incident but I had a horse injured today so I've had my hands full mursing myself AND a horse. Hope to get everyone brought up to speed sometime tomorrow unless, God forbid, something else happens.

2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem Select Rider

Before Rachel got her next chance at showing Dandy in hunter pleasure, it was my turn to show Legs. The purebred western pleasure select rider class was the next class for the two of us.

For those of you who don't know what a "select rider" is, it is a rider who has not earned a top five at the regional level or a top ten at the national level in a given division. A select rider may win two titles in the select rider category before becoming ineligible to show as a select rider.

Because I've done most of my showing on green, unfinished horses, I don't have the wins it takes to make me ineligible for this class. The only top five I have achieved is with Dandy in the trail division.

There's a lot less pressure for me to ride in this class. While I know most of the horses in this class are more finished than my horse, I also know I have more experience riding than the other riders. For me that balances things out a bit and I feel like we can be really competitive in this class. I also know the day is coming when we will no longer be eligible to ride in this class but in the meantime I'm going to make the most out of it.

The other thing about these classes is they are also smaller. For a horse having problems in the ring, smaller is definitely better. With less horses working, it's much easier for a nervous horse to relax.

With all of the problems with Legs being scared in the ring, my only goal was to get around the ring with a clean ride. I know if this Arabian horse is ever going to get over his fear it's going to take clean, uneventful rides in the show ring. All the clean rides at home just aren't the same as racking them up in the show ring.

Legs was totally relaxed in the warm-up arena. His transitions into the lope were a bit fast but he came back easily to where he belonged. Also our "friend" riding the chestnut stallion didn't appear to be riding in this class, so I had hopes for smooth sailing.

Jogging into the arena, my horse tensed up. The rate of his jog moved up a bit and I had to shorten my reins. I had hoped to ride him on the nice drape of the warm-up but the clean ride was more important than the draped rein.

I remember the judge mixed up things in this class. Instead of the usual jog, lope, walk, reverse, lope, jog the horses get to know tooooo well, he broke us down to the walk and had us lope from there. I was glad for the change up, it really helps keep the horses from getting too ring savvy.

Legs's transition from the walk into the lope was actually pretty darn good. Having not practiced that transition in the warm-up, I was surprised the horse actually nailed it. Not only was the transition good, the horse didn't speed up immediately. He stayed nice and round for several strides before I had to remind him to round up again.

There were a couple of odd noises here and there. I felt my horse tense but he didn't pick up any steam. He just seemed to roll with things listening to my cues. I was relieved when the announcer called for the jog. We'd made it through the first lope without incident.

The second way of the ring went about the same. I still had a shorter rein than I would have preferred but I thought the horse was giving me a nice ride. He seemed to be attentive and trying his best. I really couldn't ask for much else.

We did have a bit of trouble with him dropping his shoulder to the outside at the lope. He's just not got the hang of that romel rein yet. Funny how holding the reins in two hands I can put my inside leg on the horse and get an immediate response of him bending around it but you put the reins in one hand and he gets stiff like a board...........totally forgetting that inside leg means to flex. Other than that it was a good ride.

I felt pretty confident when we pulled into the line-up. Despite the shorter rein, Legs had stayed soft and responsive. I hadn't picked him up enough to "feel" the bit even once. It was a world of improvement from past rides. Probably the best ride I'd had to date.....even if I did have a few things to fix. Progress............that's a good thing............and the blue ribbon wasn't half bad either.

To be continued..........

More Horse Show

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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem - JOTR cont

Now, don't get me wrong on my evaluation of Rachel's ride on Dandy. Just like training horses is a process, learning how to ride them is a process too. Everyone learns at their own rate and Rachel definitely still has a lot to learn. However, in the months she has been working with Richard she has come a long way.

Richard has put her onto different horses with different issues, not just for a ride or two, but repeatedly working on learning how to deal with things particular to that horse. That's given her the opportunity to get the "feel" of different things and she's had to learn how to use her legs and her seat.

My observations about Dandy and Rachel together are strictly about seeing what needs to be "fixed" to make the pair competitive at the level Rachel still says she wants to compete. As I've said many times before, you can't get there if you aren't willing to see what you need to "fix." Being barn blind, whether it be to the quality of a horse OR the quality of a ride, never got anyone into the winners circle.

While Richard has worked teaching Rachel how to ride horses he is familiar with, he is not all that familiar with Dandy. He has an impression of how he believes the horse goes but that is only based on what he has seen......and mostly that's been Rachel riding the horse.

Richard has worked the horse in the long lines "teaching" him a higher headset for hunter pleasure. He's been impressed with the horse's willingness to give him whatever he asks. However, Richard has never ridden the horse. He doesn't know this horse can do with a rider exactly what he does in the long lines if the rider knows how to ask.

Since Richard is the one working with Rachel, he needs to know that she is interfering somehow with Dandy doing his job. Something about their communication is off and finding the key to that will change the outcome of their relationship.

Knowing that Rachel has improved tremendously in the use of her legs since this time last year, I suspect the issue has more to do with her confidence and something about the way she is holding her reins. Having seen how hard Rachel is currently working, I believe knowing what these issues are and fixing them is important to her. So Richard and I have put our heads together to see if we can figure out what's causing this difference in Dandy's potential and their actual rides.

I must admit that part of the problem has been the communication between Richard and me. Sometimes I think he understands what I'm saying only to discover later we were not on the same page.

That has certainly been the case when it comes to Dandy. The horse's history with EPM and the long process it took me to correct his illness created issues have made me the rider I am. But others are just beginning to learn that I am that rider and that the horse really did come out the other side.

Now it's just a matter of whether Rachel can figure out how to get that kind of ride from the horse. This first ride at Salem was only one step in her reaching that goal. Rachel was already working on getting a better ride before she hit the ring for her next class.

To be continued...............

Select Rider

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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem - JOTR

Later that session Rachel rode Dandy in the hunter pleasure junior owner to ride class. I had been gone the week before this show managing that Morgan horse show so I hadn't been around for Rachel's schooling of Dandy.

Dandy is a well trained hunter pleasure horse and doing his job correctly this horse should be competitive at the national level. However, Rachel just has not been getting those kinds of rides out of this horse. Exactly why that is is probably open for discussion BUT getting to the bottom of things is important if the kid is planning on taking this horse to Youth Nationals this year.

Watching the pair together in the warm-up, it looked to me like the horse was heavy in Rachel's hands. As long as that is the case, it's going to be tough for them to be competitive. Rachel's attempts asking the horse to move forward into the bit were only getting part of the desired response.
By the time the gate opened and the riders called into class I didn't hold much hope for Rachel and Dandy having a great ride. The horse just seems to be plodding along instead of executing that springy beautiful trot that sets him apart from other horses. They entered the ring with the horse's frame being a bit long and the trot good but not great.

The transition into the canter was beautiful. Dandy always seems to nail those upward transitions no matter how the rest of a ride might be going. I will probably always measure the quality of upward transitions against those of this horse, they are just so flawless.

The move into the hand gallop, however, left something to be desired. Rachel used to hand gallop readily but now she seems to be holding something back. While there was a differentiation in speed between the canter and the hand gallop, smaller horses were definitely lapping 16 hand Dandy at this gait. The horse towers over the others in the class and this lapping at the hand gallop would be easily ascertained by the judge.

Rachel's transitions down are just not good. While the rest of his work in the class is good, it just is not pretty on these downward transitions. Dandy has learned he can hollow out his back and stick his nose out as he comes down either to the trot or the walk. It's not because the horse can't BE as flawless coming down as he is going up, it's more along the lines of communication between Dandy and Rachel.

The class proceeded pretty much along those lines. Sometimes there were brief instances where flashes of greatness could be seen but for the most part it was a clean ride with not much particularly special about it. However, at the A level such a ride is an accomplishment in itself. I figured that Rachel should find her way into the ribbons based on the other rides around her.

There were eight horses standing in the line-up, three of those horses were from our barn. Rachel and Dandy ended up with a fifth place ribbon. I think AP took a third on her mare, Belle, and Cody didn't get a ribbon.

That meant AP and Belle were qualified for the regional class. Cody on Amos was still hunting for points to qualify and Rachel on Dandy were shy one point. The championship class would give Rachel and Cody another chance to earn the points they needed for the regional championships.

To be continued.........

JOTR cont.

Sorry this pic is from the archives. I didn't get pics of Rachel riding Dandy in Salem. There is video but a problem with the camera has prevented the uploads at this time. Will post when I have them.

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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem - Walk/Trot Eq

One of the things that happens when you take that many horses to a show is the schedule is packed with classes for those within the barn. Since none of us are really professionals at this dealing with that much can be a chore all in itself. Trying to be sure that everyone gets what they need done ahead of time can be tough. Yet many are newbies to this scene in the first place and need some guidance on what they "should" be doing.

The obvious things that need to be done are getting the horses prepared. That doesn't include just clipping and bathing but schooling in the arena before classes. If a horse has more than one rider, it means the riders need their time schooling within that arena as well. It's a lot to keep track of the classes let alone being sure everyone has had a chance to ride.

One of the riders who slipped through the cracks was Nana. She has never shown in this arena. Even though Dandy has seen it many, many times it would have been a good thing to get the kid some ring time before she actually had to ride a class.

Before we knew it was time for Nana to show Dandy in the Walk/Trot Equitation class. Unlike the Daffodil Spring Show where the youngster pulled off three lessons before she ever hit the ring in a class, at this show she didn't get a single lesson.

Nana really is not an experienced enough rider to be "ready" for equitation. The reason she shows in that class is strictly for ring time. She needs experience learning about traffic and such and it's really not important what type of class it is, just that she gets to ride with others in the ring. Getting the right diagonal and riding in the "perfect" equitation position are only goals for somewhere down the road.

This kid has all the faith in the world in Dandy and IF she has any fear it's sure not visible. She was up and on her horse and ready to ride with no qualms what so ever. They had some time in the warm up and then it was on to the class.

Dandy is a trooper. He takes his job as a caretaker for this child quite seriously. He walked through the gate and headed for the rail just like he'd been doing it all his life. However, walking into the arena is NOT his normal way to enter, but the horse just took it in stride and went along as Nana requested.

When she asked the horse to trot, he was a bit reluctant. He's still care taking her a bit and thinks she really shouldn't be going all that fast. But with a little coaxing Nana did get him up to speed.

About that time the announcer asked the horses to reverse. Now reversing at the trot in junior and amateur classes can get a bit hairy as far as I'm concerned. But reversing at the trot in a walk/trot class seems like a bit much to me. The only saving grace in this class was there were only three horses.

Nana has been schooled at the walk on changing directions................however, not at the trot. When she heard the command to reverse she did it just like she'd been taught to do at the walk, that meant she turned Dandy right into the rail.

Thankfully she wasn't directly on the rail and Dandy is a talented horse. I had visions of Dandy's head smacking into the wall because there really wasn't much room for that big horse to turn. However, Dandy just went where the kid pointed him and never missed a beat. He continued on through that tight turn at the trot and they headed on down the rail.

Now remember, this was an equitation class. That meant it was being judged on the rider's ability and not the horse's. At the Daffodil Show Nana had managed to get both of her diagonals right and actually do a pretty good job with her posture as well. In this class, things just weren't quite the same. The sharp turn into the wall was the least of Nana's worries. Her arm position and her leg position pretty much showed her experience level..........in simpler terms.............they sucked................but it's ok, like I said before, she's really NOT an Eq rider, yet..........but I have no doubt that day is coming.

When the horses were lined up in the center for the placings of the class, the judge talked to each child. When I asked Nana what the judge said to her, she said he told her where her elbows and heels were supposed to be. I don't know if she was phased by his input or not, she was just tickled to have her third place ribbon.

Dandy was tickled to have had the chance to get her around the ring. You could tell from the expression on his face he was darn proud of himself. Next up would be Dandy and Rachel............

JOTR

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Another Wordless Wednesday - Oops! on Thursday

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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem - A Little about Fate

Sometimes Fate just has to get her extra laughs. Life isn't complicated enough without throwing one more wrench into the mix. And you can bet that this fickle fingered woman really had fun with me at this horse show.

Stalled right on the same aisle was the woman with the chestnut stallion. Seems like every time I went up towards the arena I had to pass her either sitting there, or in the stall doing something with her horse. It was an awkward situation to say the least.

If I had caused that kind of wreck in a class, I would have tried to locate the person or persons I'd affected so I could apologize. I just couldn't walk away and say nothing. True, my horse has exploded in classes and probably affected others' rides but to actually run into another horse, I've never come even close.

I can remember my first year of showing. My then show horse, Mark, right in the middle of the class began backing up instead of going forward. I think the other riders (all two of them) were jogging which just happened to be the required gait. I was mortified.........and I'm still apologizing to this day to the woman who was behind me as my horse backed. My backing horse did not cause her any kind of issues at all, yet I'm still bugged by the fact my horse was backing in her direction.

This woman, on the other hand, didn't say a word. I'm pretty sure she knew I was the one she'd run into. Her behavior when she would walked by our stalls seemed to be a bit stilted. But that silence was like the elephant in the room. Everyone around seemed to feel it........and it was mentioned more than just a few times. I was constantly being asked if she'd apologized to me. That alone made for a long, slow show.

Of the eleven horses taken to the show one of them just happened to be Louie. We started him way back in November. MiKael Meets Richard......Getting Started.....Louie but between my surgery and Richard's injury we figure he had about sixty-eight days under saddle since that time.

Despite this sporadic training schedule, Louie has been a star. He's coming along quite famously and is very near being ready to show so we decided to take him along to see what we had. If it went well, we'd enter him in a class, if not, it would be a great schooling opportunity and people would get a chance to see another of Legs's babies.

But that fickle fingered woman, Fate, had her way with Louie as well. He developed a burn on the back of his left front fetlock from a bell boot no less. The burn was ugly and for at least one day, Louie was too sore to work............so showing was out of the question........and so was showing off!

Other than that, Louie proved he deserved the confidence we'd placed in him. His first ride in the warm-up he spent little time actually IN the bridle. The young horse was qawking around checking out this new world but he whizzed through traffic like he'd been doing it all his life.

We decided to not ask the young Arabian horse for anything more than forward movement. Richard and I both decided we'd ask him for more when he was ready to handle more and only then. We wanted his first experience at a show to be a positive one.

Louie rewarded our patience by rolling over and booking down the rail when we decided the time was right. One of my trainer friends watched intently as Richard instructed Cody on what to ask from the young horse. The trainer couldn't believe Louie had so little time under saddle, yet used himself so well.

It was nice to see one of my Legs' babies get the attention he so deserved. Before the show was over this trainer was asking lots of questions about my horses and their talent. He even made the comment maybe he had "under estimated MiKael's horses."

To be continued...............

Walk/Trot Eq


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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem -AAOTR cont.

We finished the rest of the class without incident. I could feel a sort of tension in my Arabian horse but it was different from other times. When we were asked to come down to the walk, my horse sighed as he went into the transition. A simple clue the horse knew slower was better.

We reversed at the walk and our transition into the lope was just as pretty as the one before the wreck. Still there was this slight little edge that told me both of us were hypervigilant...........watching...........waiting...........for the other shoe to drop. It was a relief when the announce called for the line-up.

When we pulled into line, my horse sighed his own brief sense of relief as he came to a halt. Then that relief was shattered as that same chestnut stallion jogged in behind us. Legs looked over at the horse warily so I reached down reassuringly patting him on the neck. Then the horse gave another small sigh as he side stepped just a little away from the direction of that horse.

Thankfully the rider chose to line-up at the opposite end of the formation. I'm not sure how Legs would have felt to have that horse standing right next to him. And me, I'm not sure how I would have felt either. All I can say for sure is I was relieved to see them by the in gate and us by the gazebo.

As we stood there my mind kept racing back to that scene wondering if there had been any way I could have avoided this wreck. Playing it over and over as they placed the class, none of it made sense to me. Also I couldn't help but wonder what it was going to take to fix this for my horse.

I listened as they placed the class through to five places. At that I got caught up in the fact it was a Sweepstakes class and it should have been placed to six. I don't know if it was my show management instinct or just a good diversion but I came out of the class talking about how the class should have been placed to six for the Sweepstakes payout instead of anything about the wreck.

I saw Donna Fletcher from Silver Aspen Ranch as I exited the arena. I knew she would understand the importance of this error so I caught her attention and told her about the placings to five in this Sweepstakes class.

Donna said she'd go right to the office and let them know about the error. Then I went back to thinking about the wreck in the class. The people from my barn swarmed around us as we cleared the out gate. I think they were all just as stunned as Legs and I.

I heard Melanie ask me if I hadn't known ahead of time that horse was in the class. When I confirmed I hadn't she apologized for not warning me.....she had noticed the horse immediately in the warm-up and remembered the pair having issues from last year. You could bet from this point forward I'd be watching for them.

We passed Donna Fletcher as we headed back to the barn. She let me know the office was going to take care of their error and award a sixth place ribbon.

Just about the time we reached the stalls, I was paged to the back gate. Rachel took my horse and I headed back to the arena wondering if, after all of this, my horse was going to be the one to fill that sixth place.

When I reached the out gate, they had no idea why I had been paged. I told them about the sixth placing and they handed me a ribbon. But getting a ribbon wasn't really what I had in mind, I only want them if they are really mine to have so I headed to the office to see if they knew why I'd been paged.

As a walked by the in gate, the show manager noticed me and said, "Oh I see you've already got your ribbon." Not the usual way to "officially get placed sixth but I'd take it none the less. This green ribbon represented not only 5 more points towards qualifications but at least 50 bucks from the Sweepstakes points program. At least this class wasn't a total loss.

To be continued........

A Little about Fate

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2009 AHACO Arabian Horse Show in Salem -AAOTR

Taking that many horses to a show, it's hard for me to keep track of what everyone did. I have a printout from the show office with the information on the two horses of mine that showed. Without that I'd probably have forgotten already lots of what happened.

My first class on Legs was the AAOTR (Adult Amateur Owner to Ride) 40 & over class on Thursday evening. Angie and Melanie both ride in that class as well so that meant our three horses made up nearly one third of the ten horse class.

To be honest I was so focused on "just getting through" and having a clean ride that I didn't really pay much attention to what other horses went into the ring. Normally in the warm-up arena I'm scoping out the other horses. Looking around for any potential problems to avoid in the ring is always a good plan but on this night, I was preoccupied.

My Arabian horse warmed up nicely. He seemed to be quiet and relaxed. Right from the start he worked just exactly the way I wanted. He did get distracted a couple of times by things happening around him in the warm-up arena but it was reaction to this things that pleased me. Legs just seemed to take them in stride.

When the paddock announcer made the final call for our class, I headed my horse out of the warm-up arena and onto the walkway that leads to the arena. Most of the time I am the first one to enter the ring. Part of that has to do with my show management mentality and keeping the show flowing on schedule and part has to do with getting a few minutes to school my horse once he enters the ring.

Since this routine is pretty usual for me, Legs is used to entering the ring alone. The norm is it takes a bit for the second horse to even follow. The rules state the gate must close two minutes after the first horse enters the ring but that rule is rarely followed. Straggling horses entering the arena is commonplace.

Legs started off jogging a hair faster than he has been schooling at home but by the time we hit the first wall he'd rated himself right where he belonged. As the photographer lined up to take a shot, I remember thinking this might actually be a picture we can use for a change. So far so good, the horse seemed to be relaxed.

I remember hearing the music playing as I realized my horse was right on time with the beat. Now, I can't even remember what song was playing, but I do remember it feel cool to have the horse be so in sync.

When the announcer asked us to lope, I waited for the horses around me to go before I even asked Legs to make his transition. When I asked the horse responded with one of the best transitions he's done in the western pleasure ring. I felt a sense of relief that I didn't have a horse tensing beneath me at this faster gait.

We made one full circle of the arena before disaster struck. As we were just going into the first corner of the far end I noticed a chestnut stallion just entering the opposite corner giving his rider fits. The horse was clearly not going forward, he was bouncing up and down in place spitting the bridle out at the same time.

I tried to turn Legs off the rail as a diversionary tactic but my horse didn't respond to the request to move off the rail immediately. As I struggled with him I increased the amount of outside leg I was using to the point I was poking him sharply with my spur. Finally the horse responded by moving away from the rail and we headed towards a place on the far off rail.
Somewhere in the middle of that course, the red horse found us. I can't really tell you how he managed to reach us at this location because it all happened just way too fast. What I can tell you is I felt the impact as that horse ran backwards right smack into Legs's face.

My heart stopped at that very instant. I just couldn't believe the luck that Legs had been encountering in the ring and this last episode really took the cake. I can't even begin to tell you how defeated I felt at that moment.

My poor horse leapt into the air upon impact throwing me straight up and out of the saddle. I heard the onlookers gasp in horror at the wreck unfolding before their eyes. Richard says there was about a foot of air between me and the saddle but it didn't feel the least bit off balance to me.

I easily landed right where I belonged in the middle of my horse. I asked the horse to roll back over into the bridle and just like the trooper he is, he did just that. Within a stride or too we were doing the same nice slow lope we'd been doing before the wreck.

To be continued.................

AAOTR cont.......

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