July 28th 2009

Cash: I rode him in  one class after having 3 warm up jumps. We went first in the classic. I practiced being very positive and confident. We had a wonderful first round. Our jump off was a little slow because I missed an inside turn and didn't gallop enough. It was smooth and positive though. We ended in 7th out of 13 :) 

July 26th 2009

Jack: He was so good! Most of my round was near perfect. I did a beautiful bending 8, a couple nice long approaches. My last jump was a little messed up. He was pulling me, so I wanted to go for the short distance. I knew the long one was better though so I asked him for that. He did it, but I fell back in the tack. Other than that, it was great! 

Calypso: It was our best round so far. We were double clear. We went fast, but not too fast. There were no really bad distances or anything! 

July 25th 2009

Jack: Today was so much better! Our first class was a level 0. We went around confidently and smoothly. I didn't collected enough in two lines, but I didn't panic and I got him over the jumps. The second class was a level 1. Again, we were slow and steady. We got over every single jump. We were deep to a one stride because I tried to get a lead change and didn't move on after not getting it. The rest of the course was so much better. We rode the lines correctly. 

Calypso: Our first class was a level 1. We were very smooth and collected. Mark said it looked like a Maclay round! We were deep a couple places, but I didn't panic. We got all our numbers. Our second class was a level 2. We started confidently and got over all the jumps in all the numbers. Our only mistake was getting really deep to a two stride. I didn't tense though and got him over it. We kept all the rails up in both classes. This is because I kept him very balanced and centered. He was responsive. I rode him for a while before our first class, which I feel helped a lot. 

July 24th 2009

Today was kind of disastrous, but it taught me so much. 

Jack: We went to do a 3'6" course. Our first few jumps were great, but we jumped slow and deep into a long 2 stride. He couldn't jump out. We went to jump it again and I had the same canter and distance. He stopped. Our next course was level 1. We were much better, except we refused a 2 stride again. He was very spooky. I got him over the 1st jump when I thought he wasn't going over it. 

Calypso: We stopped at our 2nd jump. I thought I had enough leg on him, but I guess I didn't. It was extremely frustrating. The rest of the course was good. He knocked rails which was stupid because he should have picked up his feet. 

Thursday July 23rd 2009

Marcus: He was so good today. We warmed up much calmer. I made sure to make decisions to every single jump and turn. I did all the inside turns in all my classes. Overall, it was very positive :) 

Wednesday July 22nd 2009

Spy: We warmed up well. Then we went into the ring, and he was pretty spooky. I kept my leg on, but didn't trust him to go over it. I pulled a bit. I cut in a bit to the 2nd jump and rode backwards instead of up. We refused and got beeped out. Kellie rode him in a class after to try and get him to be ok. THey were fine up until the triple. He stopped dirty :(

Cash: He was so good! I didn't think I was going to be able to ride him, but I did :) Our first class was a training jumper class. I was way over the time allowed. I didn't let loose enough. We got the numbers and got over everything. The children's class was next at 3'6" Our first round was much better. I opened up his stride and trusted him to go over everything. We made the jump off. I galloped a little too much and left out strides when I shouldn't have. I got a little lost, which cost me 3 sec. The classic was the last class we did. I fixed my issue with the lines, but I ended up loosing my rein to a jump so we had it down. I needed to work harder on making a plan and sticking to it. I was supposed to do an inside turn. I started to, but changed my mind.

I have issues sticking to my plan and committing to one decision. I need to work on being decisive and brave. 

July Tuesday 21st 2009

Spy: I did a jumper class. We were supposed to do two, but the other one got cancelled. Our first round was good. I pulled a little too much. We refused the first jump of our jump off because I didn't give him any direction. After that, the course was great. 

Sunday July 19th 2009

Jack: He was so good! We did the THIS in the morning. We got close to an oxer and scored a 78.5. It was a very solid and positive round. Mark said I should have tested. I was 7th out of 30! 

The next class was the WIHS hunter phase.  I did it as a 3'6" warm up. We were late on a lead change. Other than that, it was great! 

The Maclay was next. The entire course was pretty perfect, except we got a little fast down the last bending line. We chipped a little, but we got called back for the flat out of 24. We flatted very well :) Ended in 8th 

USEF: I was very happy with this round. It was solid and consistent. My only mistake was doing 7 instead of 6 in a bending line. I over steadied. 

Calypso: We did a level 2. It was ok. We got over all the jumps, but he had a rail. 

July 18th 2009 (HITS Day 4)

Jack: we hacked. He was perfect. 

Calypso and my day was not so hot! Our classes were in the Grand Prix ring. The first class I went in shell shocked and only got over 4 jumps! The second class was better. I was much calmer. We got over 7 jumps. I thought he should have helped me out, but he didn't. Idk if the jumps were that much bigger or what it was. Maybe we just had a bad day? Nevertheless, it was disapointing. I would have loved to place in a $10,000 classic. Oh well. 

July 17th 2009 (HITS day 3)

Jack

Central Equine Junior Medal: so much better than yesterday. We got over every jump keeping it up :) It was in the hunter stadium too! We used hind boots which definitely helped. We were a little deep in a couple places. Other than that it was great. 

I didn't get to show Calypso because of the weather. We have the 10,000 classic tomorrow!! 

July 16th 2009 (HITS day 2)

 Jack

- 15-17 1st class: He seemed a little spooky, and I forgot my crop. We refused the first jump. Other than that the class was messy, but ok. 

- 15-17 2nd class: much better. I borrowed a crop. He was good for the most part. I needed to get a 7, but I got 8. I just second guessed myself. 

- 15-17  3rd class: much smoother. He was still hyper. 

-  15-17 flat: He was good, but we didn't look as good as we could have. 

- PHA: so much better. Everything was out of stride and smooth. He was very lazy though. We had 2 rails! If we hadn't done that, we would have placed much better. We did a nice trot jump, and hand galloped well. 

Calypso 

- Low Child/Adult Jumper: Funny class! We were very calm and collected. Everything was good, except I over steadied down a line and saw 8 instead of 7, but didn't jump the jump! Other than that, everything was great :) 

July 15th 2009 (HITS day 1)

Jack: We lessoned with Mark today. Nothing too big. He was fresh. We worked on jumped out of a collected canter. It definitely helped me work with the shorter distances. 

Calypso: we worked on working out of a collected canter as well. He was round and jumped up to me. 

July 14th 2009

So today was very rushed. We got to the show late, and I only had the MHJ before the NEHC :(

MHJ: good. first class with Spy. We went a little fast and somewhat unorganized, but other than that I was happy. 

NEHC: Perfect except for a swap off the ground :( I thought we would have won, but we were 2nd. It is my 3rd time being 2nd in the NEHC. Each jump was found well. 

M&S: We ended up getting six in the bending line. Other than that, the jumps were good. 

USEF: I liked it except I swapped off the ground in the bending line. I ended up 5th. 

Maclay: first four jumps were perfect. I proceeded to run to nothing and refused. The rest of the course afterwards was ok. 

July 13th 2009

Spy: I hacked him because I am showing tomorrow. I worked on doing everything I would for the Maclay flat. We counter cantered and did some sitting trot. 

July 11th 2009

Spy: I hacked spy for a while, and then jumped him after. I was in the working student lesson. It was fun. I jumped around with Sarah and Sam. Spy was amazing. I felt like we got something accomplished. 

Calypso: We went on a trail and worked on his stamina. He was tired after. We had a very nice gallop. 

July 10th 2009

Horse show :)

Today was great. 

15-17: I messed it up by taking my leg off at the second jump. We were getting there in 4 when it was supposed to be a three. I bailed and didn't do anything. After that, the course was great. 6th 

MHJ: same course as the 15-17. It was much better than the 15-17, but I didn't get a lead change from right to left. 4th 

NEHC: I loved my course. Every jump came up in stride. The two stride was a little short, but nothing bad. We ended up 2nd. 

THIS: I had a beautiful round until I chipped badly. Kellie said I would have scored a 90 instead of the 70 I got. I didn't set Jack up correctly out of the turn. Our test was bad too. I felt like we would refuse the trot jump, so instead of working harder to fix it, I let him refuse it. 

USEF: I loved my round. Kellie said it was the best round I had ever had home or at a show. It was smooth and consistent. I thought I was going to test, but I ended up 5th out of 14. 

Maclay: I kept my cool through out the entire class. I didn't rush the last jump out of the turn. I relaxed and fixed all the mistakes I had made through out the day. Our flat face was calm and collected. We ended up placing 1st. I was so happy. The line up felt like forever. 

July 9th 2009

Jack: we flatted to get ready for a show. He was pretty good. We needed to work on calming him down. 

Calypso: we hacked. He was pretty calm, and I needed a lot more leg. 

July 8th 2009

Calypso: we jumped finally! He was great. I galloped an oxer. I could have been faster, but I was chicken. The second time I did it, we went $10,000 classic fast :)

Jack: He was so good. We did a couple courses to get ready for the horse show. I felt like we were really clicking. 

Spyder: She was perfect! I finally feel like she is getting better. We w/t/c beautifully. I even got her to collect and extend. 

July 7th 2009

Jack: Hacked

Calypso: Hacked

Spy: we hacked around and then jumped a little. He was great. I chipped a lot. 

June 29th 2009

Jack: I hacked him to let him stretch his legs. Then I let him graze. He was so good :) 

Calypso: I felt pretty sick at this point in the day. We were both coughing pretty bad. I felt dizzy and overheated. We were supposed to do 2 classes, but I ended up only doing 1. Our warm up sucked. I was crying before going into the ring because I felt so sick, but I wanted to show anyway. Our first round was awesome. It was calm and not desperate. Calypso was really being a good friend. Our lines rode correctly, our roll backs were smooth, and our triple worked out well. Then we had the jump off. I was so out of breath and tired I didn't know if I could do it. We did anyway. 1 to 2 was great- tight and quick. The outside oxer was found out of stride. 5 was found not as quickly as it could have been. 6 to 7 was the bank with a jump getting to it and coming down from it. This was great. Then we had a vertical which we nailed. The final roll back took way too long. I basically collapsed on him walking out of the ring. I was so tired. I ended up scratching the classic. I felt like shit. Calypso got some dex because of his bad breathing too. I was impressed at how well we did in general but especially with the situation. 

Now, since I am sick, I have to take a week off of riding. I'll be riding again monday or tuesday :( 

June 28th 2009

15-17 flat: so much better than usual. He pulled me in one direction, but I was able to keep it together for the most part. 

15-17 fences: I saw the jumps, and thought I was going to have a heart attack. They looked so much bigger than usual. I decided if I got around the course ok, I'd be happy with it. We did get around the course ok, and I could have done much better, but I was happy with it. We ended 6th. 

USEF: I really liked my course. I let him run off at the end, but I felt like I knew where I was and kept him together for the most part. We ended 9th. 

Maclay: Ahh so frustrating. Our course was absolutely beautiful before and after the stop. I tried to stuff in 11 strides instead of 10 to a built up one stride. I know if I wasn't counting at the beginning I shouldn't have started counting at the end. If this hadn't happen,  I definitely would have gotten points. We flatted anyway because so few people cleared the course. This was our best flat so far! He was quiet and slow. I was so happy with it. We ended up 6th. 

Connecticut medal: This was a 3' or 3'3" (idk) medal in the hunter ring. The only real mistake we made was not being patient enough to the 2 stride and not staying out enough in our corners. I found that closing my eyes for a second helps before doing a long approach. We flatted for this too (they called back 8 out of 14). Again, Jack was quiet and attentive. He was a pleasure to ride. We ended up 7th which was how we came into the flat :) 

NEHC: I loved my course Everything seemed to really work until the last line (the 2 stride). I lined up every jump and closed my eyes right after the turn to calm down. The jumps just showed themselves. It was great. The judge was next to the two line so I couldn't really close my eyes. I need to find a better thing to do so I can do it when the judge is looking at me. I didn't relax enough. We got in deep to the 2, and I know we could have done it better. It was upsetting because the rest of the course was so perfect. We ended up 4th. 

June 26th 2009

Horse show!

Today was both good and bad as well as an incredible learning experience. I finally got the concept of looking over the jumps. It helped so much! 

First, I rode Calypso. This didn't go too well. We refused a triple, but after that it was ok. I didn't get after him though. The rest of the course was great. The 2nd class was our classic. He tried to run out in the warm up ring and again I didn't scold him for it. So big surprise he did it in the show ring again :( I was so aggravated. Our course ended well, but there was no reason I should have let that happen. 

Jack and I were super stars. I was a little late getting on for the flat, so we had to trot down to the ring. This got him excited, so he was very strong. We did better than usual which was good :) We had a little bit of a break where I lunged him. He is so quiet on the line. I flatted him for a while before our 15-17 class. He was being very good. In the warm up ring I finally started understanding looking over the jump. It makes finding the distances so much easier. I was so happy with my warm up. 

15-17: It was pretty good. Definitely places to get better. We needed to stay out in our corners more. We ended up 5th. 

THIS: This class rocked. We stayed even paced and attentive every stride. My roll backs looked flawless. We didn't let it fall apart at the end of the course. We ended up with an 83! We tested. You had to canter right to an oxer at the in-gate end of the ring, then trot over the jump in the center of the ring, halt, then canter the four stride. After this you had to extended trot to the in-gate and walk out. I absolutely loved how I tested. I didn't get nervous, and I did my absolute best. My mind was completely in the show ring. We ended up 2nd which was where we were going into the test :) 

NEHC: The course really was not the difficult, but everyone seemed to be having trouble with it. Out of 14 people, 3 or 4 fell off either in the ring or practice ring, 7 refused, and many people added in the bending 4 and bending 6. After watching all of this, I was a bit nervous, but it was just the same as the other courses I had been jumped. We rushed the 4 a little so we had the out rail down :( after that everything was so nicely executed. I loved my 3 to the bending 6. I ended up 2nd. Ugh one place off from what I needed to qualify. I was wicked happy with the day regardless. 

June 25th 2009

Jack: we jumped the never ending course today. Kellie wanted to make sure he wouldn't stop, and that I wouldn't let him. the first part of our lesson included me trying to get him over his fear of the trash can. that was interesting. He respected me much more after that. Our jumping part was actually pretty good. 

Calypso: we decided to show tomorrow, so I jumped him a course. He was absolutely perfect. He left long or short and just didn't care where. I was pretty sloppy and definitely needed to tone things down.