Gambit the Jumper

Last week, Becky had me ride Gambit every day to give him a tune up. I haven't even sat on him since the winter, and I haven't put any serious rides on him in almost a year. We were over due for some saddle time together.

We did a lot of flat work, specifically focusing on collecting and bending, engaging the hindquarters, and holding a slower, more balanced trot. Gambit is fat and out of shape, but he tried really hard and did everything I asked. I did end up putting him back in a bit towards the end of the week. He is steady and reliable and stops off your seat/voice, but he needs a little help when it comes to being supple and lifting his shoulder through turns. The bit allows for a little more finesse and I think it's going to help Becky, who has been less than thrilled with Gambit's new tendency to lean on the right rein. I wish I'd had someone to video our rides in the indoor at the end of the week because Gambit looked super fancy and content.

No bit. Steady and obedient, but definitely not using his topline at all.

We also played around a bit over fences. I've been having Becky do some cross rails with him in her lessons, and he has gone from plowing through everything to making a genuine effort. It was time to put his jumping to the test. I also happened to have Mike with me one day so I was able to finally get pictures of Gambit jumping. He blew me away! He went from hopping cross rails to jumping everything in the ring, including a big honkin' oxer and all kinds of filler.

He's all the proof I need to counter that old myth: standardbreds can't jump.

Gambit has no formal education over fences, and this was his first time jumping anything other than small, plain verticals. He's proving to be a very versatile guy.

NEATO Photos

It took a really long time, but I managed to get my pro photos from NEATO with Steel. All pictures by Deborah L. Whorf, used with purchase.

RIP Dancer

I woke up to a message nobody wants to receive. Dancer's little girl wrote to tell me that Dancer had been killed in a trailering accident. They were on their way back from a show, where he'd done very well. I had just seen  photos of him plastered in blue ribbons, and his little girl had recently friended me so I could get updates. She'd moved him to a friend's barn and Mike and I were talking about possibly going to visit him one day. Apparently he suffered a badly broken pelvis and had to be put down right there at the gas station. I am sick about it. He was so loved... by his breeders, by us, by his current owners. I cannot imagine the heartbreak, and I am pretty devastated myself. RIP, Dancer. You were everything a thoroughbred should be and more.

Friday Fotos: Sunset

Snapped this out of the car window on my way home from giving lessons. No editing whatsoever. The road I normally take home has been closed for bridge repair, and this shot was taken on the detour. There was something about this moment that was so symbolic for me. The photo was taken at the beginning of the month, immediately before I gave my two weeks at work. The moment was peaceful and full of clarity. I forgot I took it until I stumbled across it last night. Looking back, I think this is the moment that I knew I needed a change. There's a message in this to me: sometimes an unexpected detour shows you the hidden beauty in your life. I'm rolling with it.

Walking at Home

It's time for another post in which I obsess about living here. This goes back to Memorial Day weekend, when Mike and I basically sat at home and hit the reset button for a change. We took the dogs for a walk right in the back yard. I knew there was a little hunting trail in the woods behind the pasture, but we had never really explored it.

I had just played a game of fetch with Herbie, and she was already pooped. Still, she was excited to tag along on an adventure. I kept Julio on a leash because I don't trust him  not to put his nose to the ground and run off tracking something. Better safe than sorry.

We walked past the horse pastures and Tookie watched us go. Herbie bounded along next to Mike while Julio explored all the things.

I paused to take a picture from the back of the pasture. The view of the property from the woods is one of my favorites, but I never remember to bring my camera when I'm back there.

We walked down the trail and chatted and day dreamed about calling this place our own. What would it be like to build a cabin back in the woods, away from the road. Would we clear the woods to make more horse pasture, or keep this little secluded spot as our own little secret?

Herbie was pretty hot and tired already, she she kept taking breaks in the shade. She looked so content.

Julio was busy rolling around in something dead and looking quite pleased with himself.

By then, Herbie was ready for more, and I took a picture of her eager little face.

Some time later, we passed a fallen tree. Where the roots had pulled out of the ground was a really muddy puddle full of tad poles. Herbie splashed right in, dropping her ball in the process. She got herself nice and filthy before diving in to retrieve her toy. I was choking with laughter watching her snorkel in an attempt to find it.

Soon after, we crossed a lovely little stream. Herbie was already self cleaning and didn't look like she'd just been rolling around in a mud puddle. This is for those of you who have asked me how I keep her so clean. I really don't. She gets disgusting and then she kind of gets clean on her own. I do bathe her when she stinks.

We eventually hit a spot where the trail got narrow and hard to follow. I think the landlord is in the process of clearing it, and it will be interesting to see if it expands in the future. We turned back for home, taking in the peaceful surroundings.

Herbie wasn't done being gross yet and rolled in dead stuff too. This is the point at which both dogs qualified for baths.

We emerged from the woods, happy and dirty. The horses watched us make our way back towards the house.

Needless to say, the dogs got washed when we got upstairs. They were both tuckered out and promptly went their separate ways to take naps.

It's nice to have a little bit of woods to call our own. It's not a lot of trail, but it's enough to take a walk on a busy day without having to get in the car and drive somewhere, or walk down the road past other people's barking dogs. I love having a place where I can safely let Herbie off leash without breaking any rules. I see a lot more wandering in the woods in our future.

Old Dominion 2016

Photo by Becky Pearman, used with purchase.

Old "The Beast of the East" Dominion v. Dom. Round two. *ding*

From the moment I learned about endurance riding, the OD 50 has been top of my to-conquer list. I crewed for Wendy and the late, great Jimmy back in 2011 and was dying to try the ride myself. My goals are moving up in ranks these days (no spoilers) but the OD 50 has continued to elude me. First, I couldn't seem to find my way across the starting line for various reasons. I did top ten in the LD in 2014, but all that did was make me hungrier for the real thing. Last year, thanks to Dodie, I was finally able to get across the starting line on Steel. We had an awesome 30+ miles, riding the hardest part of the trail, and making good work of the terrain. Unfortunately, Steel threw a shoe a few miles shy of Laurel Run, and even though she looked sound enough to continue after seeing the farrier, I made the tough choice to pull her and save her for the next ride. I don't regret my decision for one second, but I was sad that I didn't get to finish the ride.

Friday Fotos: Photos by Mike

I promised I'd share Mike's pictures from the yard, so here they are. He loves his macro photography and all of these were taken in manual except for the one of Tookie.

Endurance Memoirs

I am working on a silly little writing project on the side, but this is going to serve as my OD preview entry. Check it out if you're so inclined. It's a little less factual report and a little more literary license. Be kind.

Spyder

Last week was very hard. I got a call from Jess on Tuesday asking if I was anywhere near the horse hospital. I live ten minutes away, and I found out that Spyder was there and not doing well. I left work as fast as I could and beat Jess to the clinic (she lives two hours away). Spyder was in acute renal failure and he looked really rough when I got there. It's not my story to tell, but the short version is that Spyder didn't make it. I cancelled my Wednesday lessons to be with Jess and Spyder in his final hours. Jess's post about it is here.  My heart breaks for her and I cannot imagine what she is going through. Spyder was only nine and they had already accomplished so much together.

RIP, big guy. You are already missed so much.

Introducing: Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a six year old paint gelding that I fell in love with pretty much immediately. I would own about ten of him if I could, and I'm not even a big fan of spotted horses. He is a total sweetheart, super tolerant, honest as the day is long, and I think he's adorable and well-marked. You would never guess his age based on his behavior, and he is about as saintly as they come.

Kaleido belongs to Hannah, a middle school-aged girl at Cara's. She came from the same barn as Cam and the two of them are neighbors and good friends. When Cam started lessoning with me, I was secretly hoping Hannah would follow suit, and I was thrilled when she did.

Hannah is another hard working young rider who is detail oriented, does her homework, and is an absolute joy to teach. She is also extremely helpful around the barn in general and to me specifically. She knows that my least favorite horse chore of all time is setting jumps, and she is almost always around to help me when fences need to be set or moved. I adore the girl.

Plus, I think she's more excited about my wedding than just about anyone else, and I think I'm just going to have her come dress shopping with me. Hahaha.

Anyway, Hannah has had Kaleido for about a year now, and they have come a really long way together.

Kaleido got off to a bit of a rushed start with his old owner. His former training involved draw reins, spurs, and a lot of smacking. Thankfully, he's a very forgiving soul and doesn't seem to have any fallout as a result. He is a little stiff and a little pokey, but as far as vices go, those are good problems to have. Laziness we can work with!

Hannah did do a dressage show with Kaleido once, and after he got over freaking out about the little white fence, they looked really cute. His freak out, which I'll have to share a picture of if I can find it, literally lasted a second and a half, and then he was fine.

Still eye balling that suspicious fence.

When Hannah first started riding Kaleido, he had no idea what a jump was. Needless to say, they've gotten over that! He is actually a super cute and honest jumper. We're doing lots of gymnastics (do I sound like a broken record yet?) to wake him up a little bit, but his jumping is really very good already. I am kicking myself for not having my camera for their last jumping lesson. They looked awesome!

For now, we're mostly working on Kaleido's flat work. We're incorporating some basic dressage to get him loosened up, relaxed, and more forward. Kaleido is as patient and kind as they come, but waking him up to get him working can be a struggle. Hannah says she feels a difference already, and I've hopped on him myself a few times to push his buttons. He responds really well with a little extra leg (no spur) and I'm excited to watch them come together. You can see the wheel's turning in the little horse's head, and I can see him putting together than dressage doesn't mean pain.

Pats for a good boy 

I am hoping to share a lot more of Kaleido and Hannah this summer, and I think they could really excel in the show ring together. They are another really rewarding pair to work with, and I look forward to seeing them every week.

Barn Sunset

My obsession with the yard continues. Two nights ago we had an incredible sunset while we were out feeding the horses (the perks never end!) I actually missed the best parts before I managed to get my camera, but even the tail end of the colors was stunning. I'm going to just dump these one after another because I'm having a hard time picking favorites.

I think this one is the one I like best though:

Saturday Snaps: Cam and Slang

Without going into too much detail on the public blog, I have quit my 'day job'. I gave my two weeks notice on Thursday in the form of a letter of resignation. I was super nervous about how my boss would react, but she actually called and thanked me. It sounds like she was ready to take a break herself. So in the next two weeks, I will help her close the doors to the clinic. Then, I will be training horses full time! I have waited a long time to take the plunge, and I am excited to see what happens next. In the mean time, have some photos of Cam and Slang in their last lesson. They are among many "new" clients who are making this transition possible!

The Backyard

I am currently obsessed with the back yard at home. Mike and I had a rare three day weekend together and we spent it mostly relaxing at home. We left the property to grab groceries, lunch, and liquor,  but otherwise we stayed home and let other people come to us. We spent a good bit of time outside over the course of three days, despite the fact that it's suddenly summer weather-wise.

I took my camera with me to spend some time in the sunshine taking artsy fartsy photos.

I started out with the buttercups in the back pasture.

From there, I noticed the wild blackberries in bloom, and spent some time obsessing over those.

By that point, Mike had joined me outside, and I think his photos are going to get their own entry because he never shares them and they are really quite good!

We meandered down to the corner of the barn yard, where there's a tiny pond habitat in the hollow where a large tree used to be. The stump and the roots make for an intricate mini-world, and it's full of frogs and insects and probably snakes, though we didn't get lucky enough to see any of those.

That's when I switched to black and white and wandered off to enjoy the blue, blue sky and the whispering breeze and the variety of plants growing in the little grove behind the barn.

And then the barn caught my eye too, and I walked up to take pictures of that as well.  Oreo emerged to see what I was up to. He's been in 'horsey jail' since he started going through the woods to eat the neighbor's lush lawn grass. That in and of itself is not a problem. The neighbor used to be a horse owner and the grass is not treated with chemicals. The problem is that when Oreo is ready to come home, he doesn't go back through the woods. He goes down the road! Granted, it's a quiet country street, but we can't take a chance on him getting hit by a car, so Oreo gets locked in the barn yard. Given that the barn yard features the three stall barn, surrounding 'dry' lot, and an alley that connects to the neighbor's shady, grassy paddock, I don't think Oreo can complain. Still, he came over to investigate and I took some photos of him too. This first one is my favorite!

So there you have it, a look into my back yard. There will be a few more posts to follow because I really am obsessed. This time every year, and then again in the fall, I always feel so lucky to be living in our quaint little apartment on our mountaintop farm. I just don't see how it could get any better.