100 percent SUPER results for our horses at the Double A Horseshow

Yesterday was a fabulous day for us at the Double A show. Amy rode Ittybit in Schooling Hunter, along with me on Winston and Jenna on Rusty. (Rusty is pictured here with me at Dalton a couple of weeks ago...) All three horses were perfect and Jenna got third with me fourth. We all did the same class because it was a huge show and we were afraid if we waited until the end of the day for jumpers that it would rain and we wouldn't get to ride! Anyway, in the jumpers I turned the tables on miss Jenna! Monty and I were third and Jenna fourth! Monty and Rusty flew round the course cutting their corners like pros and Amy got two sixths with Itty who was switching his leads like a made hunter horse!!!! Trudy cleaned up and won just about everything in the afternoon. Olivia got a championship (Basic Hunter) on a very tired and well hehaved Nick who has been schooled twice a day all week and promised not to misbehave in the future! Nola schooled Sam who was perfect.

A nice sunny day...

Nola, Jenna, Amy and I got to ride in the rare sun at a beautiful private farm today. We got to go schooling at a gorgeous farm near Over The Hill Farm. All our horses improved and worked hard under Trudy's direction. It was so nice to be in a group schooling situation that WAS NOT a show! We really got some new stuff under our belts. Anyway, Mike is on his way home from his trip to Arizona so Shane will be happy. Wonder if it will be sunny again tomorrow???

Getting busier...have had no time to write!!!

The last few weeks have been hectic...lots of rain, mud, horses coming in and out and both Nola and I doing horseshows. This weekend was supposed to be the Dessin horseshow but it's been mysteriously cancelled so we get a break of sorts. Mike is chomping at the bit to cut hay but after two weeks of torrential thunderstorms, with another WEEK of rain forecast, he is being forced to wait. I'm nursing a smashed finger which has finally improved this morning after four painful days. All horses are good...Monty is going better than ever and likes his new farrier Brian who has helped his stride a lot. Tuffy is amazing...I rode him yesterday after almost two weeks off and he's just the same. He's very clever and learns fast but he still feels like a two year old under saddle. I may do some shows with him later in the year. Rusty blew away the warmbloods at the Dalton schooling show last weekend and proved he's the best all around horse ever! Now we go to the Double A horseshow with him and Monty to do jumpers on June 28th with Jenna riding Rusty. Doc is still out in the field at home...doesn't seem to care that he is alone. Lexie has a cut on her neck from where I accidentally cut her with the scissors getting her ear mats out. The vet glued it and it is healing. Big oops!

Feeling philosophical...

Sometimes I really struggle to understand human relationships...People get so caught up in arguments and 'he said, she said' that the cause of the conflict in the first place becomes forgotten. We all deal with it differently and I don't deal with it well at all. I think I might become a hermit and live in a cave with my animals. After days like today I lean on them...just to see Lexie curled up on the back seat as I drive home is a comfort. I find solace in the sight of Doc swishing his tail and eating grass without a care in the world. Does that make me a crazy cat (or horse) lady? Maybe, but each to their own!

Back from the Cook Forest...

Yes we've been back for a week...but it's been too busy to write. Mike, Amy and I had a relaxing trip and lots of good rides with Rusty, Dunson and Ittybit. The weather was great and the food as good as ever. Today I signed us up for Direct TV as our one channel has finally failed us. It's been like camping here in the evenings...with no TV we've been sitting on the porch, Rita's been gardening and Mike and I have been cooking together and even reading! He's done more yardwork in the last week than in the four years I've lived here! Or is it five?! We'll be married five years on August 2nd so it's five. Perhaps I shouldn't get the TV after all...Anyway, today is Memorial Day and we've been chilling out at home and enjoying a relaxing day. Yesterday's horse show was tiring, as the new horse I was riding decided to pull my arms out. It wasn't just him though...a lot of horses were overly fresh. I actually really like this one...he's talented and usually very quiet. Alright, Mike wants to go food shopping now so I'd better go...where did this new husband of mine come from!!!!

Monty does fantanstic...in a HUNTER, not a jumper class!

Wehad a good weekend manning the farm by ourseleves while Nola, 12 horses and a bevey of boarders, clients and helpers attended the Dillgberg show. We had OK weather and did some spring cleaning and had some good rides. Then yesterday I made a late decision to go to the NPHA opener show to do some fences with Monty. Birchtown's new second arena is up and running so it was nice to be able to wait inside to take your turn. The judge was Wendy Chapot, who I believe is frank's daughter, or at least a close relative. I knew things were looking up when she placed Monty second only to Trudy and Thunder in his flat class. The We did Working Hunter and he put in the round of his life and took third to Trudy again. I was thrilled with him and had a really relaxing afternoon. Showing Monty is always a blast because there's no stress...he's just an angel!

We need water! The hunter pace hits 90 degrees!

Amy, Angie and I had a great time at the hunter pace at Bucks County Horse Park. The course was almost eight miles and baking hot, and we ended up on our knees drinking from a stream halfway through! The horses were great (Itty and Azi have the Arabian trait of being imervious to heat!) and Rusty got to jump a ton of cross country fences, including some of the bigger ones. The heatwave continues, and today found me shampooing Doc outside his stall here at the house. When he was all clean and cool I turned him loose to graze for a minute while I went to get the scissors to give him his Spring haircut. When I came out of the house there he was rolling in the newly rototilled garden!!! Of course when I approached him he took off round the garden and dropped and rolled again, before spotting an escape route and galloping off through the brush in the lower field into the woods (there's no fence, and we back onto thousands of acres of private land!). I could hear him crashing around and sure enough, he came thundering back up through the garden, leaving huge footprints before stopping on the lawn to graze. I finally managed to catch him and found myself caked in dirt as the sweating, mud covered brat shook himself all over me!

Over The Hill Farm show...proud moments!!!

Jenna, Amy, Olivia and Nicole showed off their strengths today at the OTHF show. The girls rode flawlessly and gave folks a glowing impression of the quality of the horses, riders and training at RO-NO Ranch.
I rode Monty first in the jumper class and he felt fluid, flexible and very easy to turn so I was thrilled. He got a second thanks to his quick turns. Jenna took Rusty in a jumper class too and got a second place; once again showing great potential as one to watch in a speed class. She uses her eyes to line up the turns and beat out horses that galloped and knocked fences down by making sure she was clear.
Then Jenna and Rusty did beautifully in the Equitation class against stiffcompetition,winning the flat class. Rusty has turned into the consummate equitation horse...he was so fluid around the course and Jenna and he looked like they were one.
Amy and Ittybit were a picture of calmness and rythm all day. Her flat classes were controlled and he really stood out in the cross rail class for his balanced, pretty style. People kept asking me what breed he was and barely anyone noticed his missing eye!
Kanani continues to improve, as does Nicole. He was calm on the ground and settled very quickly under saddle. He and I won the basic hunter class and then Nicole did very well in her flat class. We were looking for A1 behaviour from him and he delivered.
Olivia and Nick triumphed in a very competitive Long Stirrup Division. The judge was very thorough, asking the girls to sit the trot AND two point in the walk trot class. Our winter drilling paid off as Amy, Olivia and Nicle aced the tests she gave! Olivia was third in the walk trot, and then moved up to first in the canter division. You could tell she felt she and Nick could have done better over fences but she impressed the judge who pinned her first...Champions again!!! All in all it was a relaxed and friendly show which everyone enjoyed. AND the weather co-operated!

Makes you think...

Today I got home from a wonderful day...trail riding, taking care of healthy, happy horses, watching folks enjoy their animals...
Then I get home and watch '60 minutes' where the featured story is a woman who worked hard her whole life and now had her cancer care taken away because her insurance company dropped her when she became too sick to work. Her local hospital had to close their cancer clinic because they didn't have enough money to run it. Then the healthcare provider took away her bed and wheelchair. She's terminally ill. I just wanted to tell her kids to come out here and get some horse therapy. I was so hopping mad at how this woman was treated after paying her taxes all her life. At the end of the story they said the reporter called her insurance company and they reinstated her coverage. What about all the other folks who didn't get featured on TV...?
Anyway...I'll be hugging my humans and animals extra close after hearing her story...

A truly lovely day...and great kids!...

Today was the kind of day we waited all winter for...60 degrees and the birds were singing. Nola and I took Jenna, Nicole, Olivia, Rachel Berger and Amy up to Lake Equestrian to school the horses. The horses behaved beautifully and the girls rode really well. It was nice to see everyone relaxing and enjoying the feel of a good horse on a gorgeous day. Nola schooled PJ the Paso Fino and he was a gent. It's nice to see how being away from a show environment helped everyone settle and have a fun and focused ride. I also noticed for the thousandth time what a great group of kids and boarders we have!
I came home to find that Tuffy, who has a nasty cut on his muzzle, is doing much better. It's healing up well and looks like the skin flap is resetting itelf. He cut himself on something sharp and has not been best pleased about me cleaning it.

No rewards without hard work...

When I was young I used to read my Pony Club manual and all sorts of other horse 'how to' books and magazines and put it all into practice on my ponies. It amazes me the difference a generation makes. Nowadays, unless the 'trainer' or parents say it's OK, kids don't seem to do so much for themselves. I wonder if our 'helecopter' supervision is to blame, or if it's just a generational thing. For instance I clearly remember designing 'fittening' programs for my ponies which involved timed walking and trotting on the roads (but not TOO much trotting because the book said that causes navicular!). We knew all the causes of laminitis, how to wrap just about any part of the horse and the dire consequences of doing it wrong. We braided and loaded our own ponies for horseshows by the age of eleven, and sorted out their naughty behaviours by ourselves. The latter mainly involved putting on Pelham bits and martingales. We tied baler twine from their bits to their saddles to stop them eating grass and galloped them on the beach to blow the cobwebs away. I remember my sister falling off in the waves on Rock Beach on Christmas Eve when I was about 13 and she was nine or ten. We used to make jumps from everything we could get our hands on. We cut pallets in half and stuffed them with brush and used milk crates for wings. We watched Baminton Horse Trials and then did 'cross-country' in our paddock, riding up and down huge piles of dirt that Dad kept in the field. That one ended up with me falling Jasmin on my face and scuffing up my nose. We also dug a ditch which little Treasure stopped dead and threw me in. I think what I notice most from thinking about this stuff is that what we had back then that today's kids don't now is TIME. Our nights and weekends were our own to play with the horses, build obstacles and just be outside. No after school activities and limited homework meant we had time to be creative. Wow, we were lucky!!!!

Signs of spring

The clinic was really rewarding...all the participants came away with new ideas and their horses all benefited. It was fun to focus on teaching for a whole weekend and I think we would be open to doing another clinic later in the year. Currently I'm feeling in limbo between winter and spring. A few days of warmer weather, then a freezing night, 60 degrees down to 20 degrees in 12 hours...come on!!!!

Soggy weather

The warm up is finally here and the neighbors have their maple trees tapped for sap. (sorry about the American spelling of neighbours, mom!) I didn't Americanize 'mum'...we always spelled it 'mom' in our family! Today it poured and Bart and I had to unload atruckload of sawdust in the rain all afternoon. It's muddy out, although there are patches of ice lurking underneath. The weather is supposed to get cold again tomorrow though...surprise, surprise. Nola and the crew at the Harrisburg Expo report that all is going well. Jess on Coloso and Robbie on Dusty are both taking it in turns to lead Coloso's baby Tiro around the arena in the stallion and Paso demonstrations. Probably the first time in history that a breeding stallion has ponied his own weanling baby!!! At home all the horses are doing well and we're trying to get them out of the arena and on the trail.

Doc had a bellyache...

Doc is feeling much better today after colicking out of the blue yesterday. I found him down and grumbling about it at about four in the afternoon. Mike brought Banamine and he was feeling better within a few minutes of getting the shot. Today I dosed him with Probios, a probiotic powder. Gas colic can be caused by toxins realeased by the death of good bacteria in the caecum. It can have many different causes. Anyway, the Probios helps redress that balance. Also I bought the boys a salt block which they went to town on. Hopefully that will keep them drinking. So I told Doc I have now officially rescued him from death's door THREE times...

Never take cold medication while shopping online...

Nola and I got to ride in my lovely new Stubben Artus saddle today! I ordered it from the same tackstore I always deal with (Trumbell Mountain Tack) because they made me an offer I couldn't refuse! My other saddle is now languishing in the trunk of my car waiting to have it's e-bay pictures taken! Funny how you can convince yourself that something is comfortable when it isn't. I kept noticing my knees were killing me when I rode Monty. The new saddle is so roomy and comfy you forget you're in it. It started me wondering about how many people are riding HORSES that don't fit them. I wonder how many people out there 'make do' with a horse that isn't really 'comfortable'. For those who soldier on because they don't want to see the horse sold or go to to an uncertain future I salute them. But for those who's horses lack training, are spoiled or just plain aren't up to par...I feel for them!!!! Just as well you can't buy and sell THEM on ebay.

First outing of the year!

Well, the Birchtown show was adventurous! We had a spicy horse, a hyper horse, and then there was Rusty! As always Rusty was a super-trooper and I thought this photo that Shelley took today shows him off at his best. We saw some fabulous horses today and enoyed better weatehr than of late, AND the nice heated indoor arena. Erin and Will held the fort beautifully at home while we showed. Nicole was a big help at the show. Thanks everyone!

Survived the birthday!

The last couple of days have been hectic. Lots of appointments and lessons to take care of while taking care of the farm. Very hectic! Thanks to everyone for their kind birthday wishes and lots of cake! Thanks Mike, Shelley and Amy for the cakes! Anyway, Nola has exciting news from Florida where she purchased a fabulous Fino stallion for Roseanne. Very exciting news for everyone at the barn as this horse will be a phenom at the shows. Anyway, am trying to shake off the cold which has been threatening for a week before the Birtchtown show tomorrow.

" There is no beginning or end. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. "

Warmer weather!

Here's Tuffy enjoying the forty degree weather. Nola left for Florida this morning so the lunatics are running the asylum for ten days! Everything went smoothly today...helped along by the fact that it was warm out all day! The snow in the hayfield melted off enough that I could ride Sam and Lady out there. Doc and Tuffy are spending the night 'naked' for the first time in months. I realized just how busy we've been today when Maribelle asked where I wanted to go for lunch on Friday. I had forgotten that the 13th is my birthday! Quite remarkable that 35 feels THIS young.

Things to be thankful for...

Today I found so many different things to be thankful for...and they were all due to people going above and beyond. Well, except for the first one...the weather. Even though it read 24 degrees in the barn it FELT warm enough to actually ride comfortably for the first time in a while. Anyway, this afternoon as I started getting ready to teach, one of my students had an attack of nerves. Now when you have three students and two are up and riding there's not much you can do when the third feels unable to get on. There's nothing worse as an instructor than not being able to help someone who's crippled by fright. As I finished up my lesson I turned around to see Nola helping Jennifer into the saddle and leading her into the arena. Needless to say, an hour of watching other folks ride had banished those nerves! Nola had noticed this and brought Sebastian back to the mounting block for her. She then worked with her and got her gaiting by herself for the first time. To see Jennifer come over that sounding board with a huge smile really made my day! Confidence is everything isn't it? Then on my way home a snowstorm blew up and I didn't want to drive through it to Over The Hill Farm to check on Monty. I called Trudy who manages the barn and she assured me that he was fine and not to attempt the trip as they had two inches of snow in an hour. She rides him once a week for me, so I asked if she'd had the chance to ride him, fully expecting to hear 'no' because it's been so cold. Well, not only had she ridden him but she'd had him ridden twice more under her supervision, complete with draw reins so he'd work properly! I can't tell you how nice it is to know he's so well taken care of when I can't get there. Plus, he's staying fit. Anyway, as Nola said, today was a good day and we feel we may see the light at the end of the tunnel which this winter has been!!

Don't forget to sign up for our clinic on March 7/8th!

I'm really looking forward to our clinic on March 7/8th for several reasons.
First it will be nice to see folks and give them an opportunity to get out and about after this incredibly tough winter.
Second, as someone who has participated in lots of clinics, they really get you thinking 'outside the box' and help you get motivated. It's not just the time YOU spend with the clinician. It's watching other people and seeing how their issues and the clinician's response to them compare to yours. That's why we're also including a 'group' session later in the day and open schooling in the evening.
If you are going to participate in the clinic I have a couple of tips.
First, it's important to feel confident in yourself and to be open minded about what the clinician is telling you. That way you give her suggestions 100% and can incorporate the stuff that works into your riding.
Second, be prepared to tell us about you and your horse (problems AND goals) and to answer questions while you ride. Throughout my BHS training the instructor constantly 'put us on the spot' to answer questions WHILE we rode. It helps break tension and encourages the rider to look up. We would have to ride a new horse for five minutes and then tell the instructor EXACTLY what education the horse had and how we would improve him! Then we would go out for forty five minutes and do it.
Anyway, one final piece of advice. If you can get videoed while riding in the clinic, or at least take notes immediately afterwards, you can double the value of your lesson. See you there!

Why don't horse sales photos ever look like they're supposed to!!!???

This is Tuffy triumphantly facing me down after twenty minutes of attempted video and photo shooting! I did manage to shoot video but naturally it won't load on the computer without crashing everything! Every time I tried to take a picture he would walk up and start licking the camera. This picture shows his 'horsehead' on his forehead perfectly but heaven forbid he stand with his front legs closer together. Also note the attractive road sign in the background. Next time someone sends me a dreadful sales picture with an apologetic note I will be a little less quick to judge!

Backyard horsekeeping hints!

If you ever wondered what it would be like to keep your horses at home...read on! Doc and Tuffy (my two hay-burning Thoroughbreds) are currently residing in my backyard pasture. The obvious advantages are...
It's cheap (they eat the hay my husband makes).
It's handy (I only have to step outside to feed them)
It gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling (they're currently in their stall thirty yards away and I can check on them during the commercials with a flashlight from my front porch).
However, the first thing you learn by bringing your horses home is that their manners go down the toilet. They lived out all summer and are now completely inseperable. You can't take one out of the pasture without the other breaking through the electric tape. Also you can forget riding. I tried (once) to lunge Doc and three year old Tuffy trotted and cantered at his shoulder the whole time. Twice he got tangled in the lunge line and the two of them stood there bound up tight looking so comical I gave up 'lunging for exercise and manners' and chased them round the pasture kicking a football instead!
F.Y.I. I did take them back to RO-NO Ranch for a month or two in the Fall and they were perfect within five minutes of getting off the trailer and acted like they didn't even recognize each other!
My stall arrangements leave a lot to be desired too. I have a neat little 'run in' stall about 10' by 12' attached the the back of our garage with a small boarded corral area about 12' by 12'. I've noticed there's enough room for two horses to turn around, but NOT if I'm in there. Invariably I end up sandwiched between Tuffy's butt and the wall. Every time the weather gets bad I rush home to bring them in, imagining them warm and cozy munching hay. Instead they stand outide the shelter in the rain or snow, hanging their heads over the fence, thumbing their noses at my efforts to make them comfortable. (Nola is reading this and laughing at me right now!!!)
Because I work, I only really see my boys in daylight on Mondays (my day off). That's the day we backyard horsekeepers clean the stall (my boys only come in about once a week, although January/February may be more), burn the feed bags, buy MORE feed, attempt to pick out feet and give up when Tuffy walks off (because you can't tie him to the electric fence!). It's also the day I diligently empty and refill the water tank, check the tank heater and wonder why my horses would rather dig a hole and drink from the frozen creek in their pasture than lower themselves to dip their noses in my carefully maintained tank!

Got the winter blues? Cheer up by remembering the best thing you did with your horse last year...!

At this time of year it's hard to muster the desire to ride...let alone WORK your horse. Sometimes the best medicine is to inspire ourselves. Feel free to post your best moments in the hope that they'll inspire someone else!

Mine...galloping across endless open fields in the Cook Forest on Rusty. Amy was on Ittybit and we left the group and galloped ahead. What made it so memorable was when we pulled up we realized we had company. There stood a grinning little older man in glasses on a puffing Morgan mare who had been hot on our heels the whole way without us knowing! It brought back memories of galloping on the beach in Cornwall when we were kids...