LMFAO

I really felt like this needed to be shared with those who have not come across it on YouTube yet.  This man is brilliant and I am a huge fan!  This freestyle won him the freestyle Dressage Under The Stars for 2012 by the way.

Clinic Day

I took Buck to a dressage clinic today about an hour from where we live and I just have to say, he was phenomenal during the clinic.  I didn't get any pictures or videos unfortunately (I'll explain why the camera was forgotten in a minute), the day started out horribly.

I didn't ride until 1:30pm but I wanted to make sure I got up in time to pull his mane and make him semi-sort-of presentable.  He's pasture bound now most of the time due to the lack of stalls (there's a barn but the horses can go in and out as they want right now).  It has been raining and nasty off and on all week long (yesterday was a particularly gorgeous day though, go figure).  and he was a MUDDY mess.

I woke up at 8:30, already running behind and went out to feed and work on his mane while he was eating.  It was FREEZING this morning, a whopping 45 degrees!  On top of that there was a steady rain coming down and he was a God awful muddy mess. His mane was easy it just needed a little tidying but the rest of him was pretty nasty.  I was lucky he had blankets on so his whole body wasn't covered in mud but his neck and head took a unbelievable amount of elbow grease to clean and I resorted to spraying his legs off with the hose because I was pretty sure there was no way I was going to just brush that off.

Shawn hooked the truck and trailer up and we were ready to start loading him at about 10:30, I figured he'd just get in and I could run in, change my clothes and we could go... WRONG!

I may have forgotten to mention since the accident with Dolly my mom gave me her retired barrel horse, Sweetie (21 years old) to be Buck's pasture buddy.  She was very upset he was leaving, trotting back and forth and calling out to him.  I can't wait until we get a barn where I can put her in a stall so I don't have to worry about her while we're gone.

Because she was freaking out he started freaking out and was rearing up on the end of the lead rope and would NOT get in the trailer, at this point it had gone from a steady rain to a pouring rain by the way.  He did finally get in and then started bouncing up and down and kicking in the trailer!!

I raced inside and changed my clothes, forgetting my cellphone, clinic application and coggins results (and the previously mentioned camera) in the process so when Shawn went in to change he had to grab all of it for me.  It only took him 5 to 10 minutes but it felt like forever because I stood out in the rain making sure Buck didn't do something crazy while we were waiting to leave and I was getting soaked through (next time I should remember to wear jeans and just change into my breeches once I get where I'm going!).

We finally left and everything was cake from there, Sweetie had gotten over him leaving before we even pulled out and was back to eating her breakfast and stopped calling out to him and the trailer trip went on without a hitch.

He was perfect during the clinic (Claudia Misner was teaching) and she even got him to really bend on the circle in all three gaits which we were having considerable problems with (OTTB).  I also noticed I sit kind of crooked on his back which could be due to me compensating for him being crooked (which only makes him MORE crooked) so I had to concentrate on straightening myself out.  Helped to make him A LOT straighter.  When he bent at the ribs he felt almost light and floating... it was incredible.  I can't wait to get back on him again.  I really wish I had pictures, he was working from the rear and looking amazing... I'm so excited!!  Also, it stopped raining long enough for me to get him tacked up, warmed up in the outdoor arena, through the clinic, and back in the trailer and headed home, it was amazing.  I'm so glad I didn't decide to back out because of the bad morning we were having.

Claudia was amazing and I highly recommend getting involved in one of her clinics if you should ever get the opportunity.

Barns & Clinics

So, the barn idea got scratched because the building the new house plan got scratched.  Yesterday we placed a bid on an already existing house with 7.5 acres, fenced for horses but no barn...  Hopefully we get the whole thing pretty cheap and can build a barn this summer after I graduate.

On another note, Claudia Misner clinic is this weekend and I've decided to take Buck to it on Sunday morning.  I figure even one day of getting him off the property for a while and riding some where new is good no matter what we're doing.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures and maybe even a video to post for you guys after the weekend.  Wish me luck!

Barn Plans

We have decided to build a barn!  For me this is sooooooooo exciting I just can't put it into words!!  I will show you the basic plans and then tell you how I'm going to change them to benefit, well, Buck for the most part haha!

So the first picture is the basic plan only I will be changing it some what.  I want to keep the 5 stalls on the left side since we're considering the possibilities of opening up to boarders (given that's feasible with such problems as liabilities, insurance, etc.) and lessons (kids only since I don't consider myself decent enough to teach anything but beginners and again after the considerations of liabilities).  I believe the aisle way being big enough to drive through is a great idea because I have every intention of putting hay lofts above the stalls with holes in the floor above each stall, that way you can just cut open a bale and drop hay down into the manger and not have to worry about throwing down bales, stacking, etc. 

On the right side of the barn I plan to remove the one random stall at the very end of the barn since that seems kind of silly and just making that a wash rack instead.  The storage space next to it has a roll up garage door on the outside and could be used to store a tractor or whatever else you might want.  Right next to that would be the tack room.  Which leaves me with a big open space I have not yet figured out what to do with.  Also, I'm trying to figure out where I could possibly add on an indoor arena some time in the (distant) future... maybe after I win the lottery or something.  The right side of the barn will be right up next to the drive way which goes back down to the house so it is not likely the blank space could be left as a possible connection spot for said indoor arena.  It would probably have to come down to taking out the top (well the top as far as the picture you're looking at is concerned) where one of the big sliding doors would be into the aisle way and putting the arena on that end of the barn, which would mean in order to drive through the barn you would have to drive through the arena either to go all the way through or back into the barn from the other end... I haven't really figured this part out yet but it will be a while before this matters I guess.

Obviously the roof in the basic plan is not high enough to accommodate a hay loft but my father owns a construction company and I'm sure he could help me draw up plans more specific to my ideal barn.

Finally, the other picture is what I would like my stall fronts to look like, I think those are simple enough and could be quite simple to build and set up... plus they look nice.  It should all turn out to look something similar to this:

Thoughts anyone or any good ideas you might have about making the perfect barn?  I'm so excited about the possibilities of building the barn I can't hardly wait!!!  I'm sure this idea will probably change a thousand times before we actually start building.

World Dressage Masters

They did it again!  81.383% in the Grand Prix and 83.700% in the Grand Prix Freestyle puts Steffen Peters and Ravel at the top of the 2012 World Dressage Masters in Palm Beach, FL!  I'm so glad they did it again, they are such an amazing team!  I found both videos from the Grand Prix (video 1) and Grand Prix Freestyle (video 2) should you like to watch their amazing tests :-)  Congratulations to Steffen and Ravel on another victory for the United States.

Palm Trees and Ocean Air

Wow sorry, been a little neglectful with the blog!

I've decided I want to move to Florida!  I know what you're thinking, "yeah, yeah, you and everyone else girl", but let's think about this for a minute...

1) Gorgeous weather 90% of the time, who wouldn't love that right? AND
2) Dressage HEAVEN!  Some of the best horse shows, clincs, etc., in the world are held in Florida.

For example, this week (starting January 26th) begins the 2012 World Dressage Masters, yet another 2012 World Cup and Olympic Qualifier and North America's only World Dressage Masters CDI5*.  I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have the chance to go to something like that since Missouri isn't exactly known for dressage shows what so ever.  Let's face it, I live in the world of cowboys and rodeos... no Grand Prix or World Qualifiers in my future if I stay around here.

At the WDM, Totilas is expecting to be showing with his current rider, Matthias Alexander Rath, after their spectacular showing in Aachens in July and the German team silver medal at the European Championships, I'm sure this duo will be a highly anticipated attraction to all those in attendance.  I love Totilas, he is an amazing athlete, but with Steffen Peters competing on Ravel again to defend his 2011 championship and score of 80.87% in the Grand Prix, and the 2011 European Dressage Championship gold medal winning team from Great Britain (Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester, I feel like this championship is going to be a bit of a thriller for those fans of Totilas during his only public appearance while in North America.  Personally, I'm hoping Steffen and Ravel can repeat their amazing performance from last year.  This pair also won the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2010 WDM in Palm Beach.

I couldn't find a video of the actual CDI5* Grand Prix test from 2011 of Steffen and Ravel but I did find their CDI5* Grand Prix Freestyle which won them a score of 84.53% and the Grand Prix Freestyle division as well.

New Years Resolutions & Contemplations

So, it occurred to me today as I was making up the new schedule for work for the month of January, 2011 is going to be over in 4 days!  Looking back on the entire year I can't say I really have too many regrets.  Some different things I've learned this year and the resolutions to go along with them (equestrian and otherwise):



1.  There comes a time when you get tired of trying to make everyone happy and you need to make yourself happy.  A time when you're done with the drama and find that the people who are important to you are the ones who you are important to.
There is definitely no reason to put up with drama.  I guess maybe it's because I'm older than the girls I go to school with (I'm 27) but I have found several times this year that I am really over drama.  I don't want to listen to it, I don't want to deal with it, and I certainly don't want to be around people who cause it.  Between working 3 jobs and a full load of classes, my horse, and my family I do NOT have time for friends with drama issues.  This year I vow to cut as much of that out of my life as I can... I don't want friends like that.


2.  Don't bother reserving a space in your heart for people who do not make an effort to stay.
Again, I have joined a couple of different groups over the last year with people in them who claim to be my friends but when it comes down to it I don't feel like I can really count on them for anything.  So one of my resolutions this year is to cut out the people in my life who aren't really friends at all and who cause more drama than they help


3.  If you want to fly, you have to give up things that weigh you down and doing something wrong ten times is more productive than doing nothing at all.  Every success has a path of failures behind it and every failure is one step closer on the path to success.
I'm sure by now this is starting to sound like some sappy life lessons sort of post but I would like this next year to be the year I really do something with Buck.  I think he deserves it for me to take him on to shows and really make something out of him, whether I keep him and continue to progress or sell him to someone who can really make something out of him.


4.  While you're busy looking for the perfect person, you will probably miss the imperfect person who can make you perfectly happy.... Relationships must be chosen wisely, it is better to be alone than in bad company.
I have found (I guess this goes along with 1 and 2) I do not have the time or the energy anymore to put up with drama and bad friends.  Also, my husband is my best friend and we were just married in March of 2011 and I can't imagine my life without him.  No resolution here except to keep a good thing going lol!


5.  Someone will always be better looking, smarter, or charming, but they will never be you.  Be proud of who you are, your knowledge, and your skills, it's what makes you an individual.
I have a hard time with this and I have learned this year more than years in the past to just be excepting of who I am.  The people who really matter in my life do not have to be impressed all the time and those that I feel need to be impressed, are not worth having around.  I am who I am and if people can't be happy with that then there is no reason for them to be in my life.


6.  Making progress involves taking risk.  Step up to that next level test, push yourself, push your horse.  You will not know how far you and your partner can go until you make that one bold move.
2012 I am hoping will be the year Buck and I really accomplish something.  I want to start riding more with Cheryl when she gets back from Florida.  I want to start going to more events, and I want to really move him along and see what he's got.  I think there's a lot of untapped potential in him and it would be a waste for me to leave him sitting around again for another year.


7.  It is alright to fall apart for a little while.  You don't always have to pretend to be strong.  It is healthy to shed a tear and as soon as you do, the sooner you can smile again (R.I.P Dolly and Casino).
I try to be the tough one all the time but this year more than most has shown me it's alright to cry, it's even beneficial.  With the death of Casino and then Dolly last month, I have learned that getting it out helps you grieve and recover faster than if you bottle your feelings up instead.


8.  You can't take things too personally.  Rarely do people do things because of you, they usually do things because of them.
I want to stop worrying about what people think so much.  I want to stop ruminating over the mistakes I make at work or in my personal life and for goodness sakes stop taking things so personal.  I am not too bad about it anymore, but I need to realize that just because my supervisor at works tells me I messed something up, it does not mean he's going to fire me the next time I mess up.... mistakes happen and it's ok.


9.  You end up regretting the things you did not do much more than the things you did do (please see #6).
I don't know if I've learned this in the last year but definitely over my life time.  I regret not joining the Air Force, I regret not going to one University and sticking to it from the beginning... blah blah blah.   In 2012 I want to stop questioning everything all the time and be more spontaneous.  I don't mean I want to make a bunch of stupid mistakes but I want to be able to look back at my life in another 30 or 40 years and not see a bunch of things I wish I had gotten to do when I was younger.


10.  Regardless of how messy your past has been, your future is still clean.  Don't start every day with the broken pieces of yesterday.  Every day is a fresh start.  Each day is a new beginning.  Every morning you wake up is the first day of the rest of your life.  Live like you're invincible, but love like there's no tomorrow.
I think this is just a general good rule to live by.  You never know when your last day will be, but you can't live your life waiting for the other shoe to drop either.  Get on with it!  Live your life vicariously through yourself and make it exactly the way you want it to be because no one is holding you back but you.  You want to ride at Rolex some day?  Get yourself in gear and run for it!  You are only waiting on yourself...

Virtual Reality?

Here's an interesting little thing I came across on Facebook this morning thanks to The Chronicle of the Horse.  Apparently you no longer have to even leave the comfort of your own facilities to enter a horse show.


HorseShow.com has now made it where all you have to do is enter your information, video yourself and your horse performing say the movements of a First Level dressage test, upload it and voila, instant show entry.  You can compete and win prizes including money and ribbons.  One show in particular, the Fall Harvest Dressage Festival gives you 21+ days to enter at this point (Entries actually opened November 7th), the classes are judged from December 31st until January 9th and the results are posted on the 9th.  1st place wins $250, 2nd wins $100, and 3rd place wins $50, plus the classes only cost $15 to enter!  All the classes are still judged by legitimate USEF judges by USEF standards.  Generally you can wear whatever you want, with the exception of a helmet which is required, but if you want to have a chance to win the money obviously you would treat it the same as any other horse show.


Some of the advantages to showing like this is obviously that it is CHEAP and you can enter over and over again without having to worry about transportation costs, stalling fees, office fees, etc.  You can compete against all kinds of people all over the world.  The ribbons and trophies are virtual but the money is for real and you can also win other things depending on the shows you are entering (I wonder if they are going to give away saddles???).  You still get the judging cards like you do from all the classes (even the ones that are not dressage shows) with all the judges comments which could greatly help with training and learning in general. 


So here's my question?  What do you guys think about this??  Do you think this is going to become the future of horse shows?  At some point are we all just going to get so paranoid (from the scare of Equine Herpes earlier this year) and are things going to be so expensive we can't afford to or want to travel anymore?  

Silver Lining

It's been hard trying to go on about everything after my disastrous weekend with Dolly.  On Monday in my stable management class the lecture was about horse slaughter, then today we had to talk about what we would do if a boarders horse died on our property (of our imaginary boarding stable we are all going to own after graduation).  That really sucked to have to listen to (so I tuned it out by reading Dressage Today behind my laptop).

So after the crappy lecture I decided to go out and see Buck who is still at New Spring at this point.  I thought I'd take advantage of the fact he's in a barn with an attached indoor arena and go ride.  He was brilliant as alway but we are having a couple of different problems I can't seem to get past.  First, I just can't seem to get him around my leg.  On a circle he feels like he's tilted into the circle, kind of like he's dropping his shoulder in, but his nose is pointed towards the outside of the circle.  No amount of pushing him off my leg or opening reins seems to make a difference and I'm kind of confused.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Secondly, he is LAZY!  I am constantly having to push him forward the entire time I ride him.  If I do not ride him with a whip or spurs it's almost impossible to keep him forward.  If he could get the head set right, I think he would be a fabulous western pleasure horse haha!  Not to offend any western pleasure riders out there, I definitely do not think those horses are lazy I just think his normal gaits are slow enough to be good at that.  He's got a gorgeous natural canter and a good active walk when I keep him motivated but by the time I get done riding him my legs feel like jelly.

Finally, the silver lining behind Dolly's tragedy.  I am probably not going to be buying another western riding horse any time soon since that's not really what I'm interested in doing anyway.  So I think I'm going to sell all of her tack and stuff.  With the money I get from the saddle, bridles, and other western stuff I have I am going to put in a saving account with Buck's name on it so I will have money for different horsey things I might need (such as a cross country safety vest or the broken reins that I finally replaced last week).  I never seem to have the money when I need something, this way that's no longer a problem.  Has anyone else ever done anything like that before?  Is that a little horse crazy?

Pan-America Games

Not sure if anyone has been following the Pan-American Games this year but the United States CLEANED UP the medals this year!

The USET received Team Golds in Dressage, Jumping and Eventing as well as Individual Golds in Jumping (Cristine McCrea on Romantovich Take) and Dressage (Steffan Peters on Weltino's Magic)!  To make it even better the teams also received individual silvers in Dressage (Heather Anderson Blitz on Paragon), Jumping (Beezie Madden on Coral Reef Via Volo), and Eventing (Hannah Burnett on Harbour Pilot).  Along with Individual Bronze medals in Dressage (Marisa Festerling on Big Tyme and Eventing (Bruce Davidson Jr. on Foxwood High)!

All in all I would say October has been an incredible month for our favorite equestrians and a HUGE congratulations goes out to every one of the participants in the Pan-American games.  No matter your placing, at the end of the day it is a great honor to be a part of any of the teams which travelled to compete at Guadalajara this year.

The U.S teams have not just done well in equestrian events but in most every event they have competed in bringing home 92 gold medals, 79 silver medals, and 65 bronze medals, putting the U.S at the top of the medal table followed by Cuba (136 total medals) and Brazil (141 total medals).

Needless to say it's been a great month for all of my favorite sports teams.... USET gold medals, St. Louis Cardinals 11th World Series win, the Kansas City Chiefs upset the San Diego Chargers, and Mizzou upset 16th ranked Texas A&M this weekend.  I'd say the U.S and Missouri have had a great October.... can't wait to see what November has to bring!

Money Pains

Everyone knows horses = money... of course for some people that means people with horses HAVE money.  As those of us who actually have horses know it actually means people with horses are BROKE! 

I don't know what hay prices are where you come from (I know Texas and Oklahoma are having it rough this year) but I just spent $400 on 100 bales of lespedeza and prairie grass bales for my two horses.  That's not going to last me the whole winter and I'll probably have to get at least another 100 before the end of the winter.  What are hay prices like where you come from and what are you feeding?

Also, I can't remember if I wrote about this earlier but Buck broke his bridle after he decided it would be fun to try and do a back flip while we were riding, not a good idea!!  So I need to replace the reins on my snaffle bridle and I haven't really found that are worth anything that are less than $50.  So if you know of any good, black reins which are not going to break the bank hook me up!

I was also planning on purchasing a double bridle at some point in the near future.  I was looking through the Dressage Extensions magazine I received in the mail yesterday and here's kind of what I noticed on that front...

Cheapest Double Bridle = $189.95 (good news it comes with handstop reins for the snaffle and plain leather reins for the curb so you don't have to spend money on that part)

Cheapest Loose Ring Bradoon = $18.95 (not sure this is what I'm going to go with I just use a loose ring on a snaffle bridle I have now and it seemed like a good choice for this purpose)

Cheapest Curb = $39.95

So with all three of these things a new double bridle is going to set me back $248.85.  Don't get me wrong, I think for a double bridle that would be a heck of a deal and honestly, the cheapest bridle in the magazine was not the one I REALLY wanted (I really like the ShowTime Weymouth Bridle with the crank caveson which is $258.95 and you still have to buy the reins separate which range from $73.95 to $109.95... totaling $332.90 to $368.90!)  Guess it's gonna be a while before I invest in that bridle.  Good thing we're a long way from those levels yet!

Finally, my riding teacher is great, I love her to death, I just wish I lived closer to her.  I have been working and getting paid every month for the chores at the barn but she's getting ready to leave for the winter and go to FL (LUCKY!).  Anyway, I want to keep riding at the barn while she's gone so the idea is to bring my horse up one night and ride and do chores that night, leave him there the next day and do chores and take him home that night.  So basically I'll do two days of chores and he'll get to spend the night up there.  Good side is the barn is awesome!  Indoor arena, outdoor jumping arena, outdoor grass dressage arena and trails and cross country course all over the property.  Pretty much if I died this place would be heaven for me haha!  Not to mention it would solve my problem with his anxiety over watching Dolly while I'm trying to get some work done with him!

My only concern is there will be no money involved, just the trade of my horses stay for the work (which it only take like 20 minutes to feed during the winter because there's only like 6 horses at the barn and the owner makes my life SO easy... it's really the easiest barn job I've ever had).  It costs about $70.00 to fill up the truck right now (gas is $3.15) and it take me it's a half of a tank to get to the barn and home again (it's about an hour away).  So I guess I wonder if the cost of driving up there is worth the pay off. 

I can't afford to board him permanently I don't think (I think $350 a month) so I drive and ride for a while and bring him home again.  I go to college in the town where her barn is so I'm driving up there and back every day anyway (although I'm driving a car that gets 32 mpg)which makes during the week would the best so I wouldn't have to burn gas going up there on the weekends.  I just don't know what to do.

Obviously my first instinct was an automatic yes because she's great and I love the barn and it's the perfect training facility for a prospering eventer. Then I started worrying about the gas money.  My husband is the most supportive person ever so he told me to do it because it does no good to have Buck if he's not going to get ridden hahaha!  He's not a trail horse and he's not a pasture pony... he needs a job!

So after this LONG post that is my money rant and worry, I just don't know what to do with myself.  Why can't I just win the lottery??? Oh right.... I have to buy a ticket first :-p

How Far

I received my latest issue of Dressage Today and there were some ads in the back for horses for sale.  Great read by the way if you're in or interested in getting involved in the FEI Junior & Young Rider Program.  It's really my favorite magazine.  Anyway, I've never noticed the ads in the back before and I was flipping through them day dreaming about which ones I would buy if I had more than $10 in my checking account. As I flipped through the pages I just happened to spot this guy thrown in there with horses anywhere from $3,500 to $60,000... $225,000!!!

My question to you is, how much would you be willing to pay for a competition horse?  How far would you go to compete international?  Honestly, if I had the money to spare, it wouldn't be beyond me to consider a horse who's purchase price fell into the 6 digit range hahaha!

Here is the link to his full ad on Equine.com, Aristo.  He is gorgeous, beautiful gaits and obviously has proven himself internationally...  If I could only win the lottery (of course you have to buy a ticket first).  So just how far would you go (given you had the financial means of course)?

Random Thought

So I was reading one of my Dressage Today magazines earlier today and there was an article about the men in dressage.  The article is Wanted: More Men in Dressage if you're curious.

I was then thinking about all the dressage shows, or any english shows I've been to for that matter, and I think I only remember competing with one guy and he was in the junior division.   I live in the midwest, a world of rodeo, roping and western riding.  Every guy I know who rides either ropes, rodeos, or just trail rides for fun.  I don't know any who actually ride english.  Here they even make fun of the men they do see competing in english events saying it's for "sissys" or it's a "wimpy" sport... little do they know!  I'm just making an assumption but I would venture to say in other countries there are many man who compete in english events.

Anyway, it's as though you go for years in lower level dressage competitions rarely seeing men at all and then one day you get to an upper level, national or international events and suddenly  they are dominating the competition (Steffen Peters, Guenter Seidel, John Williams, etc.)!  Now granted I understand some of these men do compete in eventing but still, a lot of them are still clearing out those "blue ribbons" in dressage.

What I wanna know, does the same apply to other parts of the country?  Are your dressage or english riding competitions dominated by women or do you compete equally against both genders?

Brilliant Video!

This video gave me chills and I just had to share it!  Good job ohsoawesome12!

Season Changes and Blankets

So it's getting closer to the time of year when I have to start thinking about blanketing Buck for the winter. Now, normally it wouldn't be a big deal because he usually lives in a stall and the sheet I have for him works pretty well. Now I have moved to a place where there are no stalls, just a shed he can go in and out of with Dolly whenever he wants.

My concerns are 1) he doesn't really grow a good winter coat so he needs something pretty thick I think, 2) since he is out all the time it makes it difficult to keep him from tearing up the blanket so I need something which will hold up and 3) like most college students I am running on a limited budget so I need to find something which has 1 and 2 but is also not a ridiculous price.

Last year I had purchased a Wrangler (I think) blanket for him when he went out to the pasture during the day but sadly one of the girls who turns out turned him out in a pasture with a horse who ended up almost ripping the blanket right off of him. Needless to say I do not think it is repairable.

I'm hoping maybe some of you will have some suggestions on blankets you've tried and liked because at this point I'm not really sure which way I want to go with this.

P.S. I don't blanket Dolly because she turns into a wooly mammoth in the winter and some how always manages to get blankets off and wrapped around her no matter how many straps they have on them!

I love Dolly... She's a great little horse and fun to have around when I just want to go for a ride and not actually "work". She's a great trail horse and it's kind of fun to go run barrels every once in a while just to do something different.

So here's my problem. Buck has some SERIOUS separation anxiety when I take him away from her to ride. The anxiety is so bad I really have a hard time getting anything done with him. Lately he's even been scary, he rears back and jumps around and cries for her. He has to spin around to where he can see her all the time and it's just getting frustration and discouraging.

I really don't want to sell Dolly because I really love having her around, not to mention I'm the only person she's never tried to buck off so I feel like she kind of likes me too. I'm starting to think this may be my only solution to this little dilemma. I love her but I want to be able to keep working Buck without worrying about the safety of myself and him anymore than I already do. Plus, his training and career is more important to me then how I feel about her considering she's only really around because I love her and she's fun.

I also don't know that I like leaving him out in the pasture alone all the time, horses as we all know are herd animals and I would think for him that would be kind of depressing and boring...

So I'm asking you for your opinion on this one. Should I just suck it up and put my little painted pony up for sale, or is there another way to get him to behave while we work.. I mean really he could stop being a baby for the whole hour or so that we're working...

P.S. the little black pegasus really isn't relevant to this blog... I just thought he was cute haha!

European Championships

Thoughts?  Comments? Feelings? Anyone?

Typically this event is dominated by Germany and the Netherlands but this year was definitely not the case.   Between the stunning ride by Carl Hester on Uthopia  and Charlotte Dujardin the British team is making a shocking sweep of the competition it seems.  Carl Hester and Uthopia scored an 82.568% and even scored a perfect 10 from all the judges on their extended trot.  That pair was amazing.

Obviously this video isn't from the European Championships but I thought I would share it for those who haven't seen them in action.  I don't know if I feel this horse is as flashy as Totilas but I do think his tests are flawless.  When it comes to raw talent and natural movement, Uthopia is definitely not lacking in either.  

This video is from the same competition as the video of Carl but this is Charlotte Dujardin.  Between her and Carl the British team may show a team record score now since the two of them are both averaging 80%.  It's nice to see, no matter what training fads come into the competitions throughout the years, after it's all said and done flawless equitation and spectacular talent can still bring home a gold medal.

Totilas ended up scoring a 79.453% which seated him for a third place individual medal and the highest score for the German team who acquired him from the Netherland team after their house cleaning 2010 year with him.  This years championships were one of two times he's placed outside of the top two positions.  

Laura Bechtolsheimer, who makes me feel like there's hope for me she's only 26 years old with a fabulous show record for the British team so far in her career, finished 5th with a decent 77.280%.  So far she's received a silver medal at the 2009 ECs as well as three silvers (two individuals and one team) at WEG in 2010 and 3 gold medals at the 2010 World Championships on the gelding, Mistral Hojris who she competed on in the 2011 ECs.

So for the first time in the 25 years of the FEI European Championships Britain claimed a well deserved team gold.  I am interested to see how the rest of the competition plays out for the rest of the week as well how things unfold and line up for the upcoming Olympic Games.

**Update** I found a video from FEI TV with some highlights of the championships!

Problem Children

I rode Buck for the first time yesterday since our horse show and since I moved Dolly back home.  Epic failure on that!  I figured he would be a little hard to get a long with since she was out there but I didn't realize exactly what I was going to be in for.

First off I have to tell you, the only place I have to ride at home is an approx. 3 acre pasture, the same place where the horses live when I'm not riding.  Which already makes for an awkward situation since Buck is never really in the mindset to work when we're out there.  Dolly followed us around for a little while which worked out fine until she got bored and started to walk away.  Buck FREAKED out!  He reared up and spun around so I had to bail off to keep from falling off.  When I bailed he got even more panicked and backed up really hard, in turn breaking the reins *sad face*.  After the little panic attack and broken reins I tied a lead rope where the reins had been and finished the ride... he of course was perfectly fine because Dolly decided she didn't really need to go any where after all.

I'm a little torn, I don't want to put her up for sale but at the same time I can't continue on dealing with spastic outbursts every time I ride, not to mention replacing multiple sets of broken reins.  What to do, what to do....

After a decent ride with Buck I decided it was time for me to "Cowgirl Up" and get on Dolly.  No worries, I'm not crazy (she hasn't been ridden for at least a year and a half) I put on my helmet like I do when I ride Buck.  I saddled her up and put the long line on her, prepared to see how she was and then decide if I would get on.  

Definitely got a bigger surprise than I was prepared for.  I was walking out to where I ride with her on the long line beside me and she grunted loudly and started bucking!!!  When I say bucking I mean I should seriously consider selling her to a rodeo stock contractor!  She stood up, threw down her head and proceeded to jump straight up and down, all four feet off the ground WHILE she was spinning around!  I can't even begin to paint you a vivid enough picture of exactly what happened.  As she spun she wrapped the long line around the saddle until I couldn't hold on any longer.  Afterwards she ran around the pasture with Buck on her heels until she ran out of breath (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Once she was done I walked up to her, unwrapped the long line and walked back up to the top of the hill where I ride.  Then I long lined her for 15 minutes or so.  She was perfect than walk, trot and canter both directions without even a bobble....  I decided I'd brave it and get on (I didn't want her to think I was scared of her!)

Helmet on I proceeded to climb up onto the western saddle.  She was already pretty out of breath so I decided we'd stick with mostly walking and maybe a little trotting.  I rode her around until her breathing went back to normal and I figured I didn't want to test my luck any longer...

Curious

So I know this is an old controversial topic but I was reading some different articles on the topic because I am interested in the whole subject and thought I'd write about it... Cloning.  What are your thoughts on the whole thing?  Particularly in our sport.

From "Gemini" the cloned colt of Gem Twist to "Clayton" the stallion owned by 11 time World Champion barrel racer Charmayne James, cloned from her gelding Scamper.  Both horses are probably what Dianna called "once in a lifetime" horses so I completely understand why Charmayne and those around Gem Twist would want to clone them, but should they?

In 2004 the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Association) passed a rule stating that any horse produced from cloning could not be registered with their association.  Which, if I understand the rules of AQHA registration, means their offspring can not be registered with the association.  Now in most events... such as barrel racing and show jumping... breed registration doesn't really matter that much, your horses can still participate in events where breed associations are not sponsoring the event.

My concern is does this make it easier for those to have the money to win because they have a clone of a horse who probably set the bar in their events in the past.  Consider having to compete against Gem Twist again (that is to say if Gemini comes out with Gem Twist's talent of course) he was a horse who definitely made a mark in the Show Jumping world and now because a particular group of people could afford it, he's back and competing again (to a point anyway).  Does that give them an obvious advantage over those who can not afford to clone a horse like that?

I know that it's usually those who can afford the expensive horses who tend to do well in certain events (it's not always the case but more often than not) anyway but does this give them an even larger advantage over those who can not afford to clone?  What would happen in dressage if they decided to clone say, Totilas or Brentina?  Do you think cloning will have an effect on dressage competitions or not?

Dressage Queens

Sorry this is probably going to be REALLY long.

Saturday I went to my first show of the year, the Show-Me State Games/USDF Region 4 Competition (it's been almost a year and a half since I went to a show with my Thoroughbred).  It was epic!  The weather was AMAZING!!  It has been basically 200 degrees around here for almost two weeks now and yesterday it was a blistering... 75 degrees!  Oh Missouri how I love you.

My first ride was at 7:45 in the morning so I wanted to get to the show grounds no later than 6:30... that sure didn't happen.  We pulled out of the drive at 5:15 AM (already behind schedule) to go pick up my horse from my trainers barn.  The electric brakes on my trailer started grabbing really hard, even when you weren't touching the brakes on the truck!!  I had to jump out at a stoplight, yank the plug from the truck and jump back in.  So now the brakes stopped grabbing but it was still dark out and we didn't have any lights.  We had to sneak to the barn (which is 45 minutes from my house) without getting busted.  Thankfully, we made it, but we were seriously running behind because we didn't get to the barn until 6 and still had to load all of my tack AND Buck (my Thoroughbred)! AHH!  I am starting to stress out.  We got everything loaded and Buck decided he wanted to be a good boy and didn't fight getting into the trailer too much, we pulled out of my trainers drive at 6:30.  I tried to hurry as best I could pulling a 5,000 pound trailer with a 1,500 pound horse in it. 

It was 7:00 AM when we got to the show grounds and got parked.  I raced to change into my show clothes (red polo, white breeches and dress boots), ran to check in, and threw my tack on Buck.  My trainer showed up some where in the middle and we went to the arena to warm up (7:25!).  One of the show stewards (who was not a horse person) came up and snapped at me about not being out in front of the arena for my test (7:40).  Luckily for me, my trainer, who is an 'R' judge and has been around the block once or twice at dressage shows caught her, telling her that my ride was not until 7:45 so I still had time to warm up, the lady was NOT happy.  My trainer saw the person in the ring was headed down the center line for her final salute so I made my way to the big standard arena for my turn, I was SO nervous!!

Buck was a ROCKSTAR!!  Despite the crazy hurried morning he was brilliant and did everything just the way I asked him (even though I did not do the best job of asking).  Going back and looking at the video later I was very impressed with how far he's come since our last horse show (which was a DISASTER). Hopefully at some point in the near future I will be able to post some pictures from this horse show and our last one so you can see what I'm talking about.  After the ride I took him back to the trailer since we didn't go again until 11:13 AM.  I waited around for our score, watching the other people in my Training Level Test 2 class and also watching an awesome FEI test performed by a gorgeous Fresian stallion.  Scores were up and tragically... 48%, sad day.  Considering how well he did I thought we would have done a little better, but I was just happy with the way he performed either way, he was such a good boy.

I did my second test, Training Level Test 1, in the small grass arena and it was much worse than the first one despite the longer, amazing warm up.  Buck kept trying to out run me, possibly because of the cross country jumps he could see since the small arena for this test was on the grass in the barns cross country course.  There was a different judge for this test and surprisingly he scored a 59%.  I wonder what he would have scored on the first test with that judge...

I was done and got to sit, relax, and watch the rest of my team mates go the rest of the day.  Sadly for them it started raining about noon and didn't stop until almost 3 PM.  2 of my team mates rode beautifully (in my opinion) even though it was pouring rain on them the entire time.  The final team mate had a decent ride I had thought, but she was not happy with the way her horse was performing and pulled out of her final test.  He had some serious fly bites on his wither area she thought might have been hurting him.  I had heard before she rode we were sitting with a good chance at a team silver medal, but because our scores on our 2 tests are added up and divided by the number of riders on our teams and she left before her second test, we received a bronze medal instead.  I can't say for sure what I would have done in that situation but needless to say your horses health and happiness comes first above all else and if he was in pain there was no reason to ride the second test.  

All craziness aside, I have to say after not going to a show for a year and a half, Buck was brilliant and I hope to get to show more this year with him.

**Edit** I finally received our team photo from the show so I decided I should at least post that up here :-)  Buck and I are the ones on the far left!