First Flying Change is Magnificent!

January 8, 2021Posted inFancy, Flying Change, Missouri Fox Trotter
Yesterday Fancy gave me the best present I have wanted in all my second childhood years with my horses.  My dream is clearly written in both books I have written about my horse journey. On 12/23/2019, Fancy gave me a flying lead change. She is a smart, athletic horse who loves to GO.  I am blessed. Thanks to Erin Patterson for setting up lead change patterns and coaching in our individual and group lessons! Thanks to Tony Vaught who developed her potential and gave her the "restart" a horse like…

Big Half Lie

December 27, 2020Posted inFancy, Flying Change
Here is the half lie: I know more about flying lead changes than full time amateur reining competitors. I would score a 100% on a scholarship test. I could write a Master's Degree thesis about flying lead changes. My brain knows everything about flying changes EXCEPT when I'm riding. When my brain is sitting on top of a fast cantering horse trying to be the brilliant controller, it experiences failure. My brain refuses to remember all the facts when zipping around the arena. The brain can now usually remember which…

Fancy’s Best Friend, Mulie

December 23, 2020Posted inFancy
I pulled into the stable with truck and trailer. Fancy understands she is leaving when she sees that. I go into the barn to get her mandatory reward grain. She hasn’t come up to the gate yet as she always does when I come with the car. Hmmmm. I rattle the grain bucket several times. She doesn’t move. HmmmI decide to put the grain bucket in the trailer with a lot of grain rattling. Hmmm, no movement.I get her halter and walk to her gate. She sauntered up then and…

Fancy, Where are You?

December 22, 2020Posted inFancy, Flying Change
Erin from barn aisle to me in the arena, “Susan, Fancy is loose somewhere.” What? I had fastened her to one of the cross ties while I watched the rest of a lesson with a young girl new to riding. Fancy and I tried to kill her earlier in our flying attempts and fast cantering during our group lesson. Fancy was in a stall! Hmmm I thought I had put on her halter and failed to secure her to cross tie. I swore a young girl in the aisle to…

Abject Failure..FLC

December 6, 2020Posted inFancy, Flying Change
It's a good thing I didn't set up my camera to take pictures. It's a good thing I didn't wear my good cowboy hat. I failed at FLC today. Fancy suffered One good thing is that my brain finally noticed that I'm breaking one of the rules, don't lean back when asking for change. I've never noticed my body leaning back before at the high drama moment. I also forgot to be enthusiastic about halfway through our attempts. There is just so much!

Boring Boring FLC

December 5, 2020Posted inFancy, Flying Change
You don't have to read this blog. It's about flying lead changes again. Erin Patterson rode Fancy today in a training lesson. Her focus is everything, but concentrating on flying lead changes. It was warm enough today to ride outside in the large arena.. Erin warmed Fancy up and did some figure eights. Fancy started doing wonderful flying changes, awesome to watch. After much success, Erin decided to go for straight long flying changes. Fall on the ground! Erin and Fancy did flying lead changes the length of the large…