Monthly Archives: October 2010
Nova’s Notebook – Fun Show Ups and Downs
Out of our comfort zone we took part in a Fun Show. The ringmen were rodeo clowns-dressed in their rodeo clown clothes.
Does that tell you how far out of our comfort zone we were? Hope and Chip and Nova and I went to the show!
Nova did fantastic in everything and she provided a great deal of comic relief during the obstacle course at the hay bales stacked up with the scary scare crow. Think hay bales as a source of food. Forget about the scary scarecrow. snort
To get into the arena, we had to get to the back of the arena. We had to go thru a scary barn aisle filled with things, plus at the back of the huge arena, guess what was outside…cows! Nova is still scared of cows. So at first, we couldn’t ride to the back of the arena. We had to walk. Then we had to mount.
We saw a plastic chair waiting to be our mounting block and Hope and I were very happy at this beautiful sight. When the show started, I led Nova back to the arena entry way, got up on the plastic chair and was telling Nova to line up for me to get on.
CRASH!!! The CHAIR SEAT BROKE! Suddenly, I was standing on the ground wearing a plastic chair. Good GAD! Only a few people saw that. I quickly disrobed from the chair and tossed it over the side of the arena where it was hidden from view.
Egg and Spoon commenced. I was on my horse with the help of a strong young man.
We were the only gaited horse in the competition. Luckily, we are a smooth riding gaited horse. The announcer yelled EXTENDED TROT to try to get Nova and I to speed up into a bouncy gait. We did speed up from a flat foot gait into a smooth fox trot. Most of the people had lost their eggs by then. Just three of us were left. We sped up into a canter. Nova has a smooth canter depart and a very smooth canter. We were able to keep our egg and we won the class. We got amazing prizes.
We had many other success today.
This was Hope’s first show and she won two ribbons. We are very proud of Hope who stepped completely out of her trail riding world into the show arena!!!
WOOO WHOOO HOPE!
Nova’s 100 Mile 2+ hour group lesson
Nova and I resting in the middle of the arena after cantering miles and miles. Well, that’s what Nova and I thought anyway. We worked on flying lead changes today. We didn’t get any, but she is a “pop” away from getting that done.
Flying lead changes aren’t really easy for a Missouri Fox Trotter. It takes a bit of work to get that done.
We also flew around the arena today with 10 other people in our 2 hour group lesson! Jennifer Vaught gave our lesson today and we were a happy group of people to get to ride! I don’t know how long we rode, but it was way more than 2 hours. Nova thinks it was more like 10 hours, but she hasn’t learned yet how to read a clock.
Nova was so tired after we were done, she didn’t want to follow me anywhere. She was stuck to the arena floor. I had to chase her hindquarters around to get her to walk with me.
100 miles is what we did today. That’s what Nova and I think!
Powder’s Progress – Development Pending
Sunday, Powder will be headed to “For the Horse” Ranch to enjoy 30 days of training with Jennifer Vaught.
Jenny was a Parelli 3 Star instructor for 15 years. Pat found Jenny near the beginning of the development of the Parelli people training system and asked her to be an instructor. She has influenced untold numbers of people in the midwest. She has influenced my life a great deal!
Jenny has taken two Horse Development courses with Pat Parelli and Pat’s mentor Ronnie Willus and was certified as a Young Horse developer.
Jenny is the secret to all my successes with horses. She’s started all my horses. I can’t imagine what I would do with a young horse without Jenny being in my life.
Powder will be the fifth horse for me to develop into a finished saddle horse. I can’t imagine developing a horse without that crucial start from a Parelli certified “Colt Starter” and one who has started thousands of horses…..including Sage, Velvet, JR, Nova and soon Powder!
Powder has the potential to be the best of them all!
Jenny and Tony are going to be wintering in Florida for 2010. They are taking in training horses. They will be about an hour south of Orlando. Contact them if you are interested.
Powder’s Progress – Take a Giant Step
Powder - Winter
Surprise! I asked Jennifer Vaught if she might want to train Powder for 30 days and the answer is YES!
We’re talking mid October thru Mid November. I’ve also just about talked Jenny into blogging about training Powder. Wouldn’t that be something!
I think everyone should send Jenny an email and tell her how excited you would be to read a blog about Jenny’s thoughts during 30 days of training. What does she hope to accomplish in the daily sessions? What happens during Powder’s training. When does the first ride happen? How far will Jenny and Powder get in 30 days! Just think about a diary of training one of JJ’s daughter!
Send that email now! forthehorse@ymail.com
For the Horse Ranch
Vaught Family General Store and Information
Powder’s Progress – Two Years Old Today!
Powder - October 2008
She was born two years ago. Her birthday is today! But hold on! She’s going to be two again in 2011…for showing purposes! Powder is two, she’ll have two birthdays. Isn’t that two cool!
Powder was born in October and the rule is…Oct. thru December babies are deemed to attain their age in the following year.
In this past few weeks, I’m determined that Powder will have the best horse development ever. I’ve been playing with her at home and taking her to Pine Dell.
Taking Powder to Pine Dell is totally cool. We have to get into the trailer. At Pine Dell, we have two indoor arenas and two outdoor arenas in which to play. We also have a covered round pen. Life is good for us.
A couple of days ago, I decided that we would play in the small outdoor arena by the road. We don’t have a busy road at home. But next to the smaller outdoor arena, cars and trucks and bigger trucks zip up and down that road. We even had a motorcycle zip by and put on the big ZZZZZZZooom for us. You know that big load snort horses have for big danger warning? I’d forgotten about that snort until it went off in my ear. Powder did the Big Exhale Snort right into my ear. It made me yell. Ouch
Tonight we played in the small arena. There were little sounds in the rafters…like little feet pattering above Powder’s body. SNORT!!! Whoo WEE!
Later we had another horse come into the arena. He was having some fun on his lunge line..bucking and carrying on. Then we had the rumble snorting from Powder. I got to see Powder with her tail straight up running around for a while. But when she hit the end of the rope, she softened and came right back into softness. Love that horse!
After we get done with all these new experiences…maybe this could be called seasoning, we have to get back into the trailer. This isn’t our favorite thing in the world. Tonight we had horses all over the place and a tractor. Powder got in the trailer and ran out several times. We waited until she was semi calm in the trailer before I threw the lead rope over her back and let her stay in.
It’s a short ride home..perfect for trailer “seasoning”. She was really upset when we got home. I opened the door. She came out with her front feet and started eating grass. Her back feet were forgotten as they stayed in the trailer for a time. Yep, the trailer is a big deal!
Nova’s Notebook – Gaiting Out on the Trail
Hope and I got to ride on the first crisp days of the Fall Weekend. Hope’s husband wondered if 50 degrees was going to be too cold for us to ride. ha! We are cowgirl trail riders (for a while yet..until it gets too cold for us)
Here’s Hope on Chip, a beautiful silver chocolate Rocky Mountain horse. Today, even the green alge was beautiful on one of the many lakes and ponds we ride by at James A. Reed park.
We had a great time in the windy crispy weather. Sadly, I’m riding one of my older Circle Y Flex Lite saddles and the difference was enough to make my unmentionable parts a little sore.
(below, Nova wonders whether blackened dead suflowers are good to eat!)
Then we rode again on Sunday. My unmentionable parts were sorely distressed at this assult and protested. Hope persuaded me to go on some longer parts of the trail which made the ride…longer and more painful.
Poor Hope. I started whining and grouching.
The only time it didn’t hurt to ride is when Nova was doing her flat foot walk and fox trot. ah…sigh… I love it. Gaited horses are the best… those gaits melt saddle sores!
During the much anticipated stretch back to the trailer…the running stretch… ha, Nova opened up her fox trot and gave me the fastest and smoothest fox trot ever. GPS said our fastest speed was 12 mph. WOWSA