All about my horses!

Monthly Archives: April 2015

Samson Campaign Starts

Samson loves the Green Ball

Samson loves the green ball


Samson is Velvet and JJ’s son.  He is owned by Nichole.  Jenny made the mistake of letting me play with Samson during a Yound and Green Horse Development Clinic.  I fell in love and wanted to steal him.  I decided that stealing him wasn’t really ethical, because I gave Samson to Nichole as a Christmas present before he was even born.  I faked a registration paper.  I wanted her always to have a Velvet in her life.

So, instead of stealing him.  I am borrowing him.  I have permission.  Samson is home with me.  He is wonderful.  I’ve groomed him.  It’s been too muddy to do anything at the home place.  So today, I was contemplating taking him to an indoor arena I get to ride in.  hmmmm.  He needs to travel and go to different places to get used to the big world.  I got him out of the pasture.  I decided to practice trailer loading.  Samson loaded himself into the trailer and I thought…let’s go!  Let’s start the Samson Campaign!

We got to our destination and Samson was nervous but under control.  We managed to get into the barn and then the arena!  Whoowee!  We played.  We had a somewhat nervous but fun time in the new arena.  Arenas alway have sounds, creaking, popping and noises here and there.  Plus heavy truck traffic goes by this arena.  it’s a quiet arena with some great noises to get a horse underway to exist in the complex world of humans.

After we played, we went back to the trailer.  It’s a windy day and the wind blows the trailer door shut.  I have nothing that fastens that door open.  So I had to tie the door open because Samson was just a little nervous about getting into the trailer.  We played around the trailer, getting used to the wind and traffic noises.  Finally, Samson got into the trailer and we went home.  We played from 12:30 to 2:30.

When we got home, Samson got to be turned out with the entire herd today in the entire pasture.

The Longest Ride

Getting the Red

Getting the Red


This is it:  Cisco’s first horse show.  His human birth mommy, Brenda, came all the way from Virginia to see him.  She has not seen him since he was sold some years ago.  
Brenda and Cisco

Brenda and Cisco


Brenda’s friends and I held her hands as we walked down the aisle to Cisco’s stall.  Brenda melted when she first saw him.  Cisco’s eyes were wide open when she walked into the stalled and rubbed him.  He was very surprised to see her again, especially in this big huge arena foreign place.  Brenda loved on him and groomed him.  She and her friends cheered for Cisco and I during the entire show.  Cisco has had nothing but love and goodness from humans his entire life.  He is a very lucky horse to have had knowledgable and kind people as his caretakers.

I’m the horse show manager.  Not much stress…ha!  There are a million and a half things to remember and do when you are the show manager.  Plus Getting the show started is a nervous time.  I asked Jenny to warm Cisco up for me.  When I took him there early in the morning, I did have about 10 minutes to walk him in the arena.  Jenny also took him into the arena before the show.

This is the first time in my life that my name was called to be “on deck” as I was mounting my horse for my first ride.  Normally, I would have been there two hours early, rode, played on-line and worried.  But, as the show manager, all that wasn’t possible.  I did get my good friend Hope, to move my trail ride appearance to last of the entries.  So I did get ride him for about 10 minutes in the warm-up arena which is just outside of the big arena.

We did perfect in the trail pattern except he was scared of the jump standards that made up the rope gate.  He told me he scared of those big funny shaped wood things, so I decided to skip the rope gate and go on.  I did notice when Cisco and I went into the arena, I had chose the wrong bridle. I had to ride with one hand with an English style bridle,with short “buckle reins. Whoops! We changed bridles in time for Fox Trot Western Pleasure. We looked great!
Later in the rail classes, we had changed back to our classic bridle. My good friend looked at me in the arena and said, where’s you “nose thing”? Whoops we participated in several classes without our beautiful purple designer noseband!

I had entered him in six classes.  His get up and go didn’t really appear the entire show.  I had to urge him to keep going and not slow down a bunch of times.  We did break gait a lot which doesn’t get one a win in the ribbons.  Who cares!  His first show!  He did great!  We won a couple of second places!  In our last class, near the end of the show, we had to canter.  I was just hoping that he would canter.  Not only did he canter, but he didn’t drop down into a slower gait.  Urging him to keep cantering both ways of the arena took a bunch of my energy too.  I was out of breath when the class was over.  Lordy!  So, we were called up to get our second place ribbon.  I decided to give the crowd a thrill and told Cisco to canter off.  We cantered off and I dropped my ribbon.  I’ve never dropped a ribbon.  I don’t recall seeing anyone ever dropping a ribbon.  scream!  The crowd went wild!

Trail Class

Trail Class Lineup


Cisco did great!  He’s got the “it factor”.  I have the show bug.  It’s going to be an amazing show season!  Yee Haw

Precious Yellow

My  yellow raincoat has been missing around a year.  It was on a hanger in a store when we first met.  It started out life as a very expensive name brand wondrous water proof  soft raincoat.  You didn’t meet many like this in the early 90’s.  I met it before I had horses and when I used to shop for fun.  I can’t imagine going to shopping centers as having fun since moving to the country and having horses.

No matter.  I met “the yellow” on a sale hanger.  I was shocked that the size might fit me.  I tried it on.  It’s a full length raincoat and a little too long for my short legs, but we fell in love.  I bought it.  People have seen me and my yellow raincoat forever.  We are constant companions at all the national horse shows in Ava and before that at all the Parelli events in Colorado.  My yellow raincoat and I lived thru the aftermath of hurricane rains at a show in Ava, Missouri.  That was in 2007 or 2008!

Last year my rain coat was missing when the spring national show occurred in June.  It was still missing at the national show in September.  During the year during the infrequent rainstorms I wondered where my yellow friend was hiding in my house or trailers.  Missing Missing Missing

This is the second horse show at Lone Wolf riding center that I designed the trail class.  Today, I went to Cleveland, Missouri to survey the arena and to look at the stuff piled around wanting to be used as obstacles in the trail class.  I took a close look at the mail box and there was a yellow flash of something in the mail box.  I went closer to look and there was my yellow raincoat.  Last year I used the sweet yellow in the trail class.  The riders were to take the raincoat out of the mailbox and put at least one arm in the sleeve.  I remember being alarmed at that decision.  It took too long and someone might tear the precious yellow.  So the rider just took it out and layer it on their horse and put it back into the mail box.

My raincoat has been used as a trail obstacle for a year!  Used by unknown hordes of riders.  No one has washed precious yellow and it has lived in arena drifting dirt for an entire year.  My brain forgot that precious yellow was a trail obstacle in Cleveland, Mo!

I tugged my yellow out of the mailbox and it was fully and wonderfully intact!

Good Lordy!

It’s going to rain this weekend.  Precious yellow has been washed and will be ready to go tomorrow back in partnership with it’s beloved human.

Precious Yellow and I have been reunited!

Lovable Lucky Star

Gone is the “Horse of No”.    The Horse of No really has left the building.  Lucky Star has become willing to go!  Last year he was coming along well except for bristling when I asked for the canter.  The canter  was bracy and stiff because Lucky was protesting having to go at such speed and effort.  It wasn’t a pleasant experience for the rider as there was a different canter going on with each side of Lucky Star.  He was leading the canter with one leg in the front and the other leg in the back, making the rider feel bounced.

By the end of summer, Lucky was ready to show in non-canter classes.  We did manage two classes at our Fox Trotter club show in August.  He only stopped and balked at the gate twice as we were going around the track.  We were ready for the big national show and I sent Lucky Star to training with Jenny for two weeks.  He had no chance.  He learned to canter willingly under Jenny’s training!  I had a new horse after two weeks!  However, He came down with a cold and was unable to show at the Celebration.

Spring came in March and my riding has started.  He canters!  There is no balk.  There is hesitation and the desire to stop next to the gate to escape to grazing on the grass, but it’s just a thought instead of a full fledged balk.

I rode him the second day and Lucky Star suffered big time.  He needs sympathy.  He had to canter all over the arena.  We did drop to trot lead changes on the rail.  We serpentined through the middle of the arena and did drop to trot lead changes as we hit the middle.  Our lead changes weren’t pretty, but we had impulsion.  Impulsion used to be a “no” word in the language of the Lucky Star.  Lucky has impulsion now.  He will go.  Sweat was present upon his body and he had a bath upon our return home.  Poor Lucky Star.

All Lucky Star’s lack of work ethic was expressed in the arena.  Out on the trail Lucky has always been ready to explore the trails.  At least with other horses as company.  He’s a great trail horse…brave, willing and smooth.

More later on Lovable Lucky Star as we continue our journey.

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