Friday May 8th 2009

15-17:  jack and I put in a solid round. It wasn't completely perfect, but it was accurate and confident. We ended up 7th o/f and on the flat. 

PHA: Jack and I did so well! We landed the counter lead for a tight counter canter roll back. We lost it a stride out :( Other than that the course was amazing

USEF: I don't remember it that well. I know it went well. We did a nice roll back to a two stride. 

Children's Jumper: It was a great first round. Pretty accurate. In the jump off I lost my stirrup! We finished in 2nd though! We sliced a jump and did nice tight roll backs. 

May 6th 2009

Marcus: He was so great today. I rode him in an elevator. We worked on the flat for a bit, and then we worked on tight roll backs. I need to work on landing in both feet and quickening my recovery time. We had a bunch of really tight roll backs. It was great. 

Spy: He is a new gelding at the barn. He looks like Marcus except he is skinnier. We worked on the flat and over poles. I got confused at the beginning when I was trying to collect him. Once I relaxed, he was perfect. He needs to be ridden more like a hunter. You have to ask not command. We had a very successful ride. 

I'm off to Saratoga tomorrow afternoon!

May 5th 2009

I rode at my school today. I am drawing a blank on the pony's name :(  Flip is his name! He is so sweet. You need to be very calm with him which is always a challenge for me. We worked very well together. He helped me with slowing my thoughts and not searching for a distance way far out. 

May 3rd 2009

Jack: Today was incredibly frustrating. I wanted a clear course. I was so excited about getting over the first jump that I steered him toward the standard of the 2nd jump. Needless to say, we refused. Once we went over that jump, the rest of the course was beautiful. I just needed to line up the jump better. 

Calypso: We had a decent warm up. I go on course and totally messed up the first jump. We bun-geed it as Kellie said. The rest of the course was fast and on target. I need to get in the zone more and not flip out. 

-Casey

May 2nd 2009

Calypso: We were on fire today. I finally rode like I used to with the same energy and conviction. We got the last rail down. My fault because I tried to do five in a seven. oops. We had a super fast time though :)

Jack: we were so much better today. Our first class was good, but I made a mistake. The second class was awesome! I could have done better and slowed for my lead changes. I need to think and relax more. We ended up being good enough to test! They made us hear the test in the ring so our trainer couldn't help us. I had to test first! It was awesome. I did a great job and ended 4th :) Then we had our Mcclay course. It was awesome too. Very positive. I shouldn't have dove in to jump 9, but other than that I was happy with it. Even the flat went well. A couple horses were freaking out, but Jack remained calm (a little fast, but calm). We didn't pin, but it is the Mcclay and it is my first year. 

Tomorrow I have the Governor's Cup and a Child Jumper classic :) 

-Casey

May 1st 2009

Calypso: The first real jumped class I have shown him in since Fidelity was fucking awesome. I could have been faster and more daring, but for a first time out it was great. We ended 4th- so we got to ride for ribbons. My 2nd class was awesome except the first jump...my bad!

Jack: The morning started off very well. It was our first time showing at a real big show. We ended up winning. The class was competitive, but I guess we did something right. The rest of the day sucked. He spooked/I didn't pick a distance. We refused 3x in one class. Then the next class I fucked it up.  I went for 6 in a 7 line. oops. I miscounted. Jack was like I am going to keep you safe so no jump! We ended on that note, but oh well .

-Casey

April 29th 2009

Marcus: I jumped Marcus today. He was amazing- a real confidence booster. We jumped pretty high. The higher we jumped the stronger he got. It was so much fun

Classic: He is a thoroughbred that Kellie and Sam have been working with. I rode him for the first time. He has very nice gaits. we jumped little jumps. I was incredibly patient.