The Pico Question

At long last we had a party lesson at the Rocking C - alas, without Nancy E, Kathy B, or Mary B.  Before we got started, Spanky and Daisy escaped the yard and ran straight to 412 with Patty and me in hot pursuit.  I am happy to say that no dogs were hurt on the highway but Patty and I had twin heart-attacks.  Whew.

So the girls had their lesson - Alaina and Ivy on their normal mounts for the first time in months.  Sunny was moving well and seemed to remember most of his training - the canter was a bit fast but he was good with the trail obstacles.  Pico was going sound but didn't look as fluid to the left.  They took things very lightly during the lesson and Patty suggests bringing him back into work very slowly.  Either Pico is on the mend and we can bring him back into work or very shortly, we might discover that he still has a problem.  Cross fingers that he is going to be sound.

 

Mallory / Mario and me / Splash worked in the outdoor arena because the sun was shining and the winds were light.  Splash and I worked on more impulsion for the trot.  Patty had me work on leaning a bit forward and increasing my tempo.  Hard work, but we made progress with extention along the long sides and collection on the shorts.  Before our lesson, I practiced cat yoga stretches with the help of Boots who jumped on each knee in turn.  Its hard to balance with cats leaping in your lap.

Pico gets out of his Stall

So, after 3 months off and 2 months on Stall Rest, is Pico fit to trot?  Inquiring minds want to know.

Ivy has been diligent about hand walking Pico twice a day while he was on stall rest.  Also, she has been missing her boy even though she was able to borrow very nice horses for drill the last few months (first Ahab and then Mario).  We planned to evaluate Pico at ride night Tuesday but Ivy was sick so I lunged him and Alaina rode him a bit.  On the lunge, trot looked good but Pico couldn't hold the lead behind in either direction.  Just out of shape?

So, on Saturday while most of our horsey friends were at the schooling show championships, we traveled to the Rocking C to check again.  We also took Sunny and Splash to play with.  And, Mallory was checking out a possible new mount for Roxy.  RT is very cute and will make a very nice show horse.  Sunny was a little fast but, overall, very good.  To bad he looks to be in foal.  Even Pico has gained a bit of weight while laying around the stall eating bon-bons (his girth was a bit tight).  I can relate although I don't get to eat enough bon-bons.  Both girls were very happy to be back in the saddles on their respective horses.

 

And, Kathy H shared her big boy with both girls to see what a big mover feels like.  It looked very fun from the ground but I bet it was a bit intimidating from the back of the BIG Horse.

 

So, cross fingers and toes that we get a little rain and that Pico and Sunny and Splash AND Sister all stay sound.  YaYa!

The Deezie Do

The frenzy of fall, with the Rogers County Free Fair, Fair Fun Show, Tulsa State Fair, September and October dressage schooling shows, Junior Dressage Camp, Heartland drill competition and all the practices to go along with all that, has wound down - just in time since the weather has been pretty nice for all those horsey events.  If you don't mind a little Oklahoma WIND.  This weekend started off warm and dry followed by a storm front that brought a little rain, thunder, and much colder temperatures.  I guess winter is coming after all.

Patty was out of town so (sob) no party lesson.  I figured we would do some riding at the Wild O Ranch arena but.... the wind was ridiculous and we got wimpy.  Who wants to fight with Splash in a dust devil?  But, by late afternoon, I was in need of some equine therapy and Ivy wanted to give Pico a little riding test.

Ivy brushed Pico and I brushed Diez.  Ivy put a bridle on Pico and we tried to give him a test with trot to the left.  He seemed sound but he was pretty resistant to cooperation after 2 months in the stall.  So, the real test will be Tuesday night when we take him to ride night  Cross all fingers and toes for soundness.  If not, it will be back to the vet for more tests.

 

After the Pico test, I grabbed a bridle and dusted off the Deezie-Do for a little bareback ride around the WOR.  I dropped the sandals as we left the trailer and I enjoyed my ride with the wind in my hair and toes.  Note to self: don't ride barefoot through the front field where all the cedar trees are growing to stirrup (foot) level.  Diez was pretty sure that her Union would disapprove of her having to carry me around after her official retirement but she wasn't adament.  So we wandered around at a walk and Diez enjoyed a bite or two of trail salad including a pear or two when we went by the pear tree.

 

Now that November is almost half over, its time to schedule our YaYa Christmas Bash and Dirty Santa gathering as well as the New Year's trail ride.  Sound good?

Drill Team Pictures - Better Late than Never...

Larry and Patty C

Alaina and Sister

Dynamite Line-Up

Ivy and Alaina before the first drill



Dressage Drill

 

Ivy and Ashlyn plan for the Dressage Drill



The Madagascar warmup     

 

 

 

 

 

Gypsy Drill                    

 

 

 



 

 

 

High Point Small Group Youth              

Drill Competition

Click here to see all the photos from the drill competition. 

Oklahoma can have some really lovely weather in November.  Fabulous fall light and temperatures cool in the morning warming up nicely into the 70's.  That's what we had last weekend for the Heartland Drill Competition at the Claremore Expo.  The team (Marilyn, Lauren, Ashlyn, Allison, Anna, Roxy, Ivy, and Alaina) gathered on Friday evening for our 6:00pm rehearsal time and the girls ran through all their drills - in the big indoor arena.  Several of the horses were a little fresh but, overall, they did well.  Final decisions were made regarding which girls would perform each drill and final costume details were completed.  Then, since it was still balmy, we washed horses.  Sister really looks good clean.  Dirty?  Not so much.

Alaina and Ivy dressed for Madagascar

The competition started at 8:15am with opening ceremonies performed by the Heartland Drill Team - they were inspiring with each member carrying a large American flag. 

Then, to work preparing for our first drill, Dynamite.  Lauren, Roxy, Ivy, Alaina, Anna, and Ashlyn wore mostly black with a red TNT sash topped with curly smoke fuses.  Mario was pretty excited at the beginning, jigging in circles when he was supposed to be standing and Patriot was a bit chargey.  But, overall the drill was pretty good.  The judges had a double dose of dynamite since the team just before also used the same music - hold the matches.

Next on the schedule was the Classical Dressage Drill complete with classical music.  The girls were in their hunt attire including white gloves, white leg wraps, white pads and white stock-ties.  Ivy and Alaina were both sitting out.  The drill went really well and compared to other performances the team stood out both musically and visually.  The team used the drill to demonstrate some classic dressage movements including shoulder-in, leg yields, and turns on the forehand.

The music for the Madagascar Drill was "You got to Move it, Move it."  The girls wore their black outfits with different bright-color leg wraps/pads for each horse.  Several horses were spooked by the booming beat from the speaker overhead and which resulted in a couple of pattern breaks.  This was not their best drill and the girls used their improvisational skills when patterns were broken.  Still, it could have been worse - no one fell off.

The last performance was the Gypsy Drill which included the most elaborate costume and was the best drill of the day.  The horses and girls were mostly settled down and the pattern went well.  The costumes were really well recieved (hand made by our Beth Bassett). 

 

Other teams took glitter and extravagant costumes to the next level.  But I admit that I want to ride in drills too.  So, who is game for an adult dressage drill team to compete next year?  YaYa!