March 29th 2009

Calypso: He is still getting over getting kicked. I rode him in a twisted snaffle. No martingale, no draws. He was great. It is nice to canter around like a hunter once in a while. 

Cash: I rode him in a gag. He was great. 20 min hack

Quino: I rode him in a three ring. 20 min hack. He seemed relaxed. 

My feet really hurt for most of my ride, and I found it hard to stay in a half-seat for the last ride.

-Casey

March 28th 2009

Calypso: he got kicked in the paddock, so we just lightly hacked. He was great :) 

Jack: I rode him in his show bit. He was very light and workable. 

Cash: I rode my trainers new project horse in a gag with a martingale. I was wicked nervous because I heard he had a huge buck in him. He was really cool. Downhill, but cool. We ended up jumping 4'

After all of this, I went to a horse show and got back at 9:00 p.m. I rode both Marcus and Jack. I have never seen Marcus so relaxed at a horse show. Jack was great too. I made a stupid mistake 3x. I ran up to nothing. Aside from that, I was so proud of how I was doing.  I ended with a 3rd ,6th ,8th. It's equitation. lol.

-Casey

March 27th 2009

Jack: I rode Jack in his show bit today (a pelham). He was absolutely perfect. I felt like our hard work paid off. We had one bad line, but besides that everything was great. 

Marcus: I rode Marcus in an elevator and a martingale. He was very strong, but he listened. I struggled with a long one to a short five. I need to work on whoaing on the landing, not two strides out. 

Spyder: She was great! It was the first time since I've brought her back that we rode with another horse in the ring. She tried to chase him. SHe was perfectly sound for Spyder. :) 

Show tomorrow!!

-Casey

March 26th 2009

Spyder : I rode her in a twisted snaffle. She was great. It was just a light hack. She is coming back from being sore. We w/t/c a little. Spyder was a little off, but great. 

Calypso: I rode Calypso in yoke reins and a twisted snaffle out on the trails. He was pretty strong today. He was very fast too. I tried to get him to listen for a while, and then I let him run. After that, he listened pretty well. I need to work on using more leg instead of so much hand. 

Jack: I rode Jack in a three ring and yoke reins. He was pretty good. He didn't listen as much as the other day. He was heavy at first, but then lightened up when I used more leg. I might show him Saturday or Sunday. 

-Casey

March 25th 2009

Calypso: I rode Calypso in a twisted snaffle and yoke reins. He was pretty strong, and I was having a hard time seeing distances. We jumped a 3'6" course. It was nice after having the winter as down time. He is jumping much stronger. I need to work on looking up and over the jump instead of starring it down. 

Jack: He was perfect today! We jumped a course...probably 3'. He was pretty soft, and the distances came up nicely. I was thrilled with this ride :) 

I've been working on landing in both stirrups. For some reasons, this is a bit of a challenge. I've realized that basic instruction (like when you are first starting to ride) is so important. I didn't have solid instruction, so these things that at my level I should be totally ok with, I'm not. I'll just have to work harder. 

I think I'm going to one or two horse shows this weekend :) Hopefully, I will get my New England! 

-Casey

March 24th 2009

Today I rode Jack, Calypso, and CJ.

Jack: I rode Jack in a three ring and draw reins on the side. He was pretty fresh at first, but after a while he calmed down and was near perfect. His counter canter going to the right needs a little work. His mouth was pretty soft towards the end. He still is harder on the left side than the right side. 

Calypso: I rode Calypso in a slow twist with draw reins on the side. He was very strong with his mouth, but I needed to use more leg. Eventually, he lightened up. I needed a lot more leg. I need to work on using both sides of Calypso's mouth and counting rhythm. 

CJ: I rode CJ in a double twisted wire and a martingale. I was supposed to school him. I schooled him like a horse instead of a school pony. I need to work on schooling him with a longer rein. He was great. 

Introduction

I am starting a riding journal. Writing is easier to do online. 

Basically, every time I ride I will write about it. I'll write about what I need

 to work on and what went well. Here are the horses I'll be talking about: 

Calypso: He is my jumper. I've had him for two years. He is 16.2hh, bay, and has a cute star and snip. We do the level 3's. 

Jack: He's my equitation horse. He is 17.0 hh and a chestnut. He has a white wide strip. We do the junior medals and the big Eq. 

Spyder: She is my first pony. She has two blue eyes and is a light bay. She has a wide white strip. We used to do the jumpers locally... She actually did everything- Hunters, Jumpers, and Equitation. 

 

Marcus: He is 17.0 hh and dark bay. He was a grand prix prospect. Now he is a school horse at Walnut Hill Farm (www.walnut-hill-farm.com) and a very sweet equitation horse. He is a very sweet horse, but can get a little strong. 

CJ: He is a paint/appaloosa who stands about 14.0hh. We've had him in my family for 4 or so years. He is very friendly and willing. He is used as a school pony at Walnut Hill Farm. 

Rio: He is 13.2 hh or 13.3hh. Rio is a mustang and is very fast! He is used as a w/t school pony for the kids at WHF or a jumper for the older kids at WHF. He's been in my family since 1999.

Liam: He is a boarder's horse that I sometimes school. He used to be a dressage horse. Now, he is learning how to jump. He has learned very quickly. Liam is about 16.0 hh or 16.1hh. He takes so much leg. 

I think that is about it! If I think of anyone else, I'll post them here. 

-Casey