JR
GRAND SLAM JAM!
A group of us showed at the Missouri Fox Trotter World Show this past week. We are all students of Parelli and study with Tony and Jenny Vaught of
“For the Horse” Ranch.
We are Hope Kahout, Mindy B.(I have forgotten how to spell her last name),
Nichole Vaught, Caitlyn Vaught. We won 19 World Champion Ribbons!
Nichole and Velvet won 13 World Champion competitions and were awarded World Grand Champion Youth Ranch Horse and World Grand Champion Youth Versatility.
That’s Jenny holding the sign. Tony was missing when we got together for this picture.
Nova and I won two world champion competitions and some other places. Nova and I were awarded World Grand Champion Novice Versatility.
Mindy and Caitlyn won the Amatuer and Youth World Grand Champion awards.
We were awarded our reserve and World Grand Champion presentations on Saturday night in front of the crowd that came to see the World Grand Champion performance horse competitions. They got to see a lot of us Versatility people too!
Nichole and Velvet were presented with TWO GARLANDS! Nichole got to ride Velvet around the arena twice – with each garland. Nichole got two belt buckles and two horse head statues -gorgeous. They didn’t have a buckle for Novice World Grand Champion, so Nichole gave me one of her belt buckles. Blue ribbon winners also got a nice statue of a fox trotter horse. Nichole could not carry all her 13 boxes at the same time. She needs a trophy room.
Here’s Nichole and Velvet?during an event during the Ranch Horse competition.
I’d like to point out that my horses, Velvet and Nova,?won a total of 15 World
Championships and three World Grand Champion awards. I follow the way of natural
horsemanship via the Pat Parelli methods!? Look at how it can turn out!!!
Here’s Nova and I practicing.
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t199/storminthenight/MFT%20Show/Nova8.jpg
Here’s Jenny on the horse that I wrote many stories about in the 8 years I owned him (JR). Jenny got 5th in Open Ranch Horse and 3rd in Open Versatility http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t199/storminthenight/MFT%20Show/?action=view&\
current=P1010324.jpg
Here’s Tony on Diva – I gave him Diva to start for me and he fell in love with
her.? She has been sold and Tony is her trainer.
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t199/storminthenight/MFT%20Show/P1010180.jpg?\
t=1252980455
YEE HAW!!!
JR’s Journal – Chris and JR in Parelli Spotlight
Chris has Down’s syndrome. He also has a connection with animals. Chris and JR performed in Pat Parelli’s Kansas City Celebration Spotlight events. They did “online”. JR was in tune with Chris. JR was using everything he had to do what Chris wanted him to do. Now and then Chris moved out of position which made it difficult for JR to do what Chris wanted. He tried. The audience held our breath…and then JR did it! The audience erupted.
Chris and JR performed like clouds on a dreamy day. They drifted around the arena in harmony.
Everyone was very moved. Pat was really moved and awarded Chris his level 2 string-on the spot…in the arena.
Chris became a Level 1 graduate and tears were in everyone’s eyes.
Note: JR was sold to Lynne and Walan Burger in 2008. Chris is Lynne’s nephew.
JR’s Journal – Passed the Parelli Level 1!
JR’s Journal – Walk in the Park Horror
JR and I were practicing our gait last Sunday. I like to call it purity of gait practice. We rode by ourselves at James A Reed Park. The park has a lot of trails and they are flat and grassy. It’s just great for consistency.
We were zipping up the side of a paved road going to the trail head on the other side of the road.
Out in the parking lot FLASHES a 7-8 year old girl RUNNING with a KITE! The KITE is low to the ground and is dipping and flipping.
My heart commenced to dip and flip.
Just think how I felt being there alive and convinced that any second something unpleasant was going to occur…like sitting on a volcano about to erupt. Think how you would feel if the same thing happened. Yup, you would feel a certainty that you were going to die.
FORTUNATELY, we were still far enough away that the KITE wasn’t a scary object to JR. Guess how GRATEFUL I was for that!
The little girl kept running around in the parking lot with the flippin’ an dippin’kite. Instead of dying on the spot, I was now thinking that I was either going to have to stay in that spot for the rest of my life or turn around and go back the way I came when…
THE LITTLE GIRL FELL DOWN IN THE GRAVEL. She dropped the KITE! This made me VERY HAPPY. When she started screaming in pain, I tried to feel sorry for her, but couldn’t. After all, she tried to kill me.
JR and I went on up to the gravel parking lot. As we were passing by the parking lot, the brother asked the little girl what was wrong with the kite. The little girl (between screaming) told him it was broken. He started to dart after the kite and I YELLED, “PLEASE DON”T TOUCH THE KITE! The horse will be scared of it and KILL ME!”
The entire family looked at me with a stunned expression on their face… the little girl even quit crying. They must have thought I was insane, or from Mars, Or they were marveling at how JR and I looked pretty kewl, maybe they were admiring the fact that JR and my hair matches. Either way, I lived and I passed by them into SAFETY!
I felt bad about saying that about JR, but the potential for JR to face the fearful thing and run backwards from the kite over the dam dropoff or into the lake was a real possibility.
GASP, I might have had to make an emergency dismount and end up in the emergency room!
I’m thinking that all kites in WalMart should be destroyed and there should be a KITE search of every car that goes into James A Reed park!
JR’s Journal- JR the Tall is a Guard Horse
| May 27, 2003 |
| I was out in the pasture yesterday. The horses were across the lake. I walked way over there to see them and to trim some nasty saplings growing around the lake.The dogs came with me…as they always do. Cricket,our black dog, just got her 25lbs of hair removed in her yearly summer trim. She turned into a small short haired dog with a cute little bandana. JR saw me and started walking towards me to say HI. Then he started running to me. “WOW,” I thought, “He’s really happy to see me!” His focus had changed to Cricket. JR was in full pursuit of the strange black dog, and Cricket was running for her life! He chased little Cricket ALL the WAY around the lake. She barely escaped thru the gate.JR didn’t recognize Cricket as a small short haired dog! He was protecting the herd!
I didn’t realize that JR was the pasture guard! Cricket didn’t come back into the pasture on that day. JR THE TALL -GUARD HORSE |
JR’s Journal – Susan’s Big Blank Duh Look
JR and I were in a combined L2 and L3 clinic today doing just lovely.
We do have a horse in the clinic that tends to get upset when another horse
comes near him or touches him. I knew that from being in an earlier clinic
with him…but I got too close.
All of sudden we heard the squeal, the back up to kick, only we were too
close. The horse whirled and then the head snaked at us. Ears pinned and
teeth barred. The horse went in for the big bite and back up.
In a few hours after the dust settled, maybe in real time it was a
millisecond, I saw that the horse had my reins in his mouth. He was pulling
on my reins.
I sat there with a dumbfounded look on my face. DUH! After a few more
hours which might have been millisecond #2, the other rider slapped her horse with her mecate and he dropped the rein.
JR and I went running to JENNY! Jenny told me that when things go bad like
that, get off the horse! You have no idea what is going to happen…and
anything could happen. My best bet would have been to quickly get off.
I made my face go DUH again with a big blank look so everyone could see what a quick thinker I had been when danger started.
A lesson learned.
Why does this horse do this? It’s not because he is dominant and hates other
horses. It’s because he’s scared of other horses and puts on this great act,
so no one will know it.
During the rest of the clinic, we worked on those fears. First, we put him
near other horses and when he snaked his head and started after a horse, he
got to canter for a long time. He got to do flying lead changes. It took
two times before he settled down in a group of horses.
Next, some of the riders with a treat in their pocket came over and fed him.
Wow…that was a great surprise for him.
Lastly, we stood next to him and petted him with a carrot stick. His whole
attitude had drastically changed when the clinic was over. Not to say that
he was cured…but Jenny gave the owner some things to do at home to further work on this.
whew..Ok, here it is again…The big Blank look with open mouth…Duh
JR’s Journal – A lot of Excitement in Learning How To Stop
I was going to ride JR at home and was doing the pre flight check up. He did his version of the bucking bronco. He has no suspension when he bucks. It just looks like a rocking chair canter with the head down! This went on for a while. Then the wind came up and the rain clouds approached. I decided this was not the time for valor! We loaded up and went over to Pine Dell.
Well, the arena was being used for turn out for a weanling and older friend. So, we rode outside after all. He was nice and pyched up, but we managed to have a beautiful ride up and back in the 40 acre hay field. He did a smooth fox trot the entire time! He had been switching back and forth between the running walk and the fox trot.
Then, one of my friends told me that she was having a lesson with Jenny at 4:00 and would I like to join it.! whooppee. Jenny was late, but husband Tony was there to start us out. I complained about JR’s stop at the canter. It takes him too long to stop after I ask. Tony asked me if I wanted to get a REALLY REALLY good …almost reining horse stop. I said, Yes!.
Passenger riding is the answer. Since I don’t have a great stop at the trot either, we elected to do this at a trot.
Passenger riding. In an arena. You do not hang on to the reins. You don’t tell the horse where to go with leg aides. His job is to travel nicely in one direction next to the wall…that’s when I get to ask with my body for him to stop.
Traveling nicely along the wall is not the horse’s idea. They like to go in small circles…get next to other horses in the arena…visit places they like to stop at ..like the middle. My job is to keep JR trotting…even in the tight little circles.
In the arena is the weanling (loose), Tony is training a spooky horse and two other women riding. Did I mention that JR was fascinated with the weanling. He kept trying to visit the weanling.
All set. I let the reins loose and get set…GO! WELL…all JR wanted to do was chase the weanling! We zipped along towards the weanling and the weanling took off…and so did JR! Forget the passenger riding, our game turned into a Cutting Horse Game. I let out my famous quiet scream and soon the cutting horse game came to a stop. Tony decided that my passenger game needed to continue without the weanling. The weanling was delivered back to his stall.
I have a COW HORSE! JR hooked onto that weanling like he wanted to eat him for dinner. I’ve been wondering how JR would do at a cow clinic and now I KNOW!
Well, the passenger game continued. We tried really hard to run into Tony and the spooky horse. I have to urge JR to go faster when we turn into the middle, which really spooked the spooky horse. Tony did appreciate this. It helped the spooky horse to learn that nothing was going to eat him. Then we decided to go help the cantering horse. We were fox trotting ..heads even… with the horse that was cantering. The cantering horse was on the wall and JR and I were on the inside. We looked like synchronized swimming there for a while. The end of the arena came…we both made the turn and JR cut her off on the far long wall. But, no matter! I apologized to everyone before we started.
We did some more nice little circles and fast turns here and there and finally JR discovered that being on the wall was the nicest place to be. I asked him to stop several times and he didn’t listen, so he got pushed to go faster….but we did stay in the fox trot almost the entire time this went on! Finally, his body told him to listen to my body and he stopped. We stayed stopped for about 5 minutes. That’s the release that teaches!
We got to do this once more and it didn’t take near as long …nor near as many quick little turns for him until he was floating along the wall and then came to a stop when my body told him. This time the stop was almost reining horse stop!
The lesson with Jenny was pretty nice. We fox trotted nicely.He cantered nicely. We pretended to do flying lead changes. Jenny complimented us at the end of the lesson!
I had a bunch of fun with JR today. He is SO Much Fun to ride now that he has the gait back!!!
JR’s Journal – Jenny’s Opinion
JR’s proud Daddy came over to see him and Jenny wanted to show us how she first gets on a colt. She gets on the colt bareback. In case she has to suddenly bail off, there’s no stirrups, horn, etc preventing immediate ejection!
Jenny got a small stool and stood by JR’s side. He moved and she went through about 3 minutes of moving him around until he was very grateful to stand still. She jumped up on his back and just hung there, rubbing him all over with her feet and her hands. She did that about three separate times. Then she did it on the other side. Finally, when she jumped up on him, she swung her leg over and sat up. JR just stood there. He was very very calm. He thinks that’s all he has to do. Jenny was giving several people lessons during this and finally she got to sit up and resume giving directions to the students in the arena. After about 4 minutes, Jenny got off and then got on the other side. She got right on this time, and again, JR just stood there as calm and relaxed as can be.
Watching him, I did think that he looked just a little bit like a horse rather than my baby!
Later that weekend, we had a going away party. Terry asked Jenny, “What do you think of JR by now?” I shuddered. I had wanted to ask that very same question, but was fearful that she might tell me that “it takes him a long time to figure things out…or something else horrible.” So, I have been afraid to ask. Jenny replied, “I like him! He’s smart and catches on very fast.” I about fainted with relief and pride. Then the daring Terry asked, “What will he be like compared to Velvet?” I thought, what a stupid question. No one can top the esteemed Velvet! Jenny replied to Terry, “I think he’ll be better than Velvet. He’s very laid back and picks things up quickly.” I lost control of my body parts and slid under the table in pure shock!
JR’s Journal – Clinic Journey
At official yearling status…exactly one year of age, JR attended his first clinic at Pine Dell. It was his first time to ride in a trailer by himself, to be in a barn, and to be in an indoor arena. He was just a LITTLE upset when we arrived at Pine Dell. I heard a lot of yearling whinny during the first part of the day…most of it right in my ear.
BUT, he did just great! He had the least problems of any horse in the clinic. Of course he hasn’t had the time to develop many opposition reflex habits. We played all the games. I discovered he knows how to follow the feel of the rope and he moves when he feels pressure. At the end of the day, we had many barrel and pole obstacles to walk, trot and canter across, over or go between. We finished all the tasks before anyone else and we were in our stall eating our late lunch. The bigger horses got to stay and be rode for another hour.
About a month later, we went to another beginning clinic. He did even better this time. He certainly didn’t whinny like he did the first clinic. He grew up a lot that first clinic and bonded with me. After the second clinic was over, I felt like JR and I shared the same skin. His general inclination is to stay close, no matter how many times I shoo him back.
So why am I paying to take JR to a clinic when he is too young to ride? Easy Answer! These two clinics got him in an arena with nine other horse…all running around with their humans. He certainly got used to being in a crowd. He hasn’t had a chance to develop opposition reflex yet, so I was easily able to do all the tasks assigned. He is easy to convince to do what I ask of him. I feel that I’m developing a much better horse by taking him to these clinics. At a delicate time in the building of his personality, I’m in an arena with an expert trainer…my safety net.
Besides, we had a good time!!!