My Girl Hanging Out!

d

Here's an early June photo and video montage of my beautiful lovely Violet, hanging out with her friend, Blaze.  You can't see her other two friends, Mystery and Farrah who are also relaxing and chilling.  The four lovely ladies of St. George!

New Orleans Krewe, Again!

Namaste!

More Awkward Jumping

Here's a May photo of my critters in the walkway and a video of Violet and I trying to learn the half halt!

My Big Bold Girl and Jackass by Catnip in Early May!

Namaste!

Zelia in the Garden

Here's a May 2nd photo of Zelia helping me clear out and prepare the garden by tilling and putting down new compost!  We had fun that day!

Jack in the Flowers

Here's my beloved in the tulips of Spring.  What a gorgeaus boy!

Renny and Pessoa

This little fellow is going to get a present of Pessoa ropes, so he can continue with his soft sweet self!  I am writing this entry on June 2nd and I am days away from my summer teaching money!!

New Orleans Krewe

Rock on.  Namaste.

A Good Sunday!

I'm writing this entry on June 2nd and this past Sunday, Lex and I went to St. George to ride.  She rode Violet and I rode my little Renny.  We set up a bending line of cavaletti, the gift box of ground poles for tight serpentines, and 4 groundpoles in a circle to have different activites.  And then we also did a dressage test.  Renny was so funny -- he just banged out four good rounds of work and did the prettiest little dressage test.  Nothing bothers him.  And Violet had a blast because she likes little task challenges where she can shine!!  It was lots of fun!

Special Creatures

I have two beautiful catnip bushes -- one in the front walkway and one in the backyard.  You need beautiful catnip bushes when you have adorable creatures.  Here are photos of Jackass and Zelia, my elderly wonderful companions.  Jack is having great difficulty as of my writing this entry on June 9th.  He's lost a record amount of weight and I've made an appointment for him with his physician. He's still lively and vigorous and comes to his meals, so I believe that while his health is worsening, he is still richly enjoying ruling our world.  And then there's my beautiful Zelia.  She got a bath yesterday and once the cool water got her clean and sweet smelling, she turned into a happy joyful puppy.  I was so happy to go for a walk with her and enjoy her puppy self!!  I love both these New Orleans creatures!

My Good Bendy Boy!

I love this sweet pony.  And he's so willing and agreeable and smart.  I would like to make this pony into my dressage, eventing, hunter pony, if possible. 

Fresh Garden 2011

Here are photos and video from late May shortly after I got my main garden planted.  This year, I planted more from seed, added more fencing to repel bunnies, got planters for potatoes, planted more columbine, bee balm and russian sage for a butterfly and bee garden, as well as other improvements.  Right now the garden looks terrific. I'm writing on June 9th and the seedlings and plants have strongly taken hold and are doing very well.  And the fencing really has done the trick!  No bunnies are breaking the boundaries!!

Learning to Ride with Empathy!

I am trying to be a better rider and learn more, so I am working hard in lessons and doing reading on the side.  Currently, as I write this in early June, I am reading Karin Blignault's book, Successful Schooling: Training your Horse with Empathy. I love it.  She is very clear and direct and focused on how horses learn and how to be efficient in training.  Each chapter is filled with useful information about how to get your horse to work long and low.  Today, for example, I learned that there are 3 primary kinds of half-halts for very distinct purposes.  I defintely want to get better at all the various half-halts, so that I can help my horses with upward and downward transitions, engagement, collection, impulsion.  One of my goals this year was to ride softer, but stronger!  And I definitely need a half-halt for that.  

Violet's Big Course!

d

I'm writing this entry on June 2nd, and on May 30th, Monday, Violet had a big adventure.  We were in our jumping lesson on Monday night and it was 1,000 degrees!  So hot!  But she brought her big wonderful heart and we were practicing cantering courses with tight turns and diagonals and bending lines.  And she was meeting the challenge sweetly.  So, Stacey set up the course, so that every jump except for the very first crossrail was set at the 3 hole.  Our first course with everything at the 3 hole.  And Violet just quietly cantered the whole thing!  It was amazing!

My Beloved Sport Pony!

Here's an early June video and photo of Renny relaxing with his buddies and hanging with his Grams.  I just love this little guy.  He makes me so proud and happy.  And when I'm sitting on him and turn and look at his rear end, I am just so impressed at the best qualities he got from his dam and grampa Easy Jet.  I miss Hailee a great deal and I hope she knows that I want the very best for her.

Violet Works Hard!

This video is from May 19th and the picture is of Renny's flowers.  I am writing this entry on Thursday, June 9th.  Violet has just been bringing her very best heart to work for many many weeks now.  She's an absolute joy to ride.  She's been working hard to take correct leads off jumps.  She'll let me tweak her speed and pacing.  She's been working very hard to negotiate suppling with me and engage her hindquarters and lift her belly.  She was very happy to work hard at a jumping lesson where we figure 8ed over a jump to work on getting leads.  This past Saturday, she let me work on upward and downward transitions, counter-cantering, and dressage patterns.  And in lessons with Kelsey and Emily this week, she was lovely.  Emily even helped me to get her to canter with suppleness while carrying her head low and to offer a leg yield at the canter.  It was so fun.  Anyway, I've decided to try and secure a little dressage training, so that I can help her work on developing a shoulder-in and haunches-in as well as other lateral suppleness!  She's my beautiful red girl!

Four Jumping Lessons!

Renny has had four jumping lessons, since he turned 3 years old in May.  I'm writing this entry on May 2nd and this past Monday, May 30th, he was amazing as usual.  During his first jumping lesson, he popped over as quiet and sweet as you please, lifting his knees properly.  And during his second jumping lesson, he was quite happy to trot in and canter out, during a small course of four jumps -- two on each side.  He took them both ways.  And mind you, during this second lesson, Grama dropped the reins as he popped over a rail and so he had to canter quite straight for many strides before jumping in a relaxed fashion over the next crossrail without aids from reins.  We thought that was cool until the third lesson.  The course was a 3 bounce with a 3 stride to a bending line crossrail.  And let me tell you.  Renny bounced quietly and sweetly and broke into a lovely quiet canter and popped happily over the crossrail several times.  Wonderful pony.  And then this past week, he was practicing jumping and then turning towards diagonal jumps -- no problem!  Trot in, canter away, break into trot for the next crossrail.  All good!  And then Stacey says, make him canter in.  I was nervous because cantering into a jump is a high-end sort of skill.  But Renny broke into his sweet responsive canter, and went straight, true, balanced and even right to the center of the jump.  And he popped over sweet and quiet and engaged and clean.  He is truly a spectacular pony!

Relaxed Team Renegade and My Poor Fella

Here are photos of me and Renny  after his very first jumping adventure.  That was in very early May and now we are in the first week in June.  He's been just super in lessons, but lately I have been feeling that he's not quite happy.  I wouldn't say he's sour or disagreeable, but I've just felt a little reluctance in him. And I've been saying it for a few days.  But on Monday it came to ahead.  I was in our weekly private lesson with Emily as the teacher because Stacey was on vacation.  And we were working on helping Renny get long and low at the canter -- and we cantered him around and around and around and around in both directions while fussing with half-halts on his face.  He was doing very good, bringing his best heart.  And then we stopped and I chatted with Emily about how to improve our work.  And she said canter again -- and that's when things went haywire.  Poor Renny  felt he'd had enough, so he threw out frustrated little donkey kicks and I had to keep riding him until he quit donkey kicking.  It was a sad moment.  And it underscored to me that I may be a timid rider, but I am his trainer and I am sensitive to his needs.  So, the next two days, I fed him lots of carrots and gave him cool baths and hand grazed him by the pond.  And I took him on a little mellow trail ride.  I am now going to work on letting him enjoy the good stuff he already knows how to do rather than alwasy piling on something new and expecting him to rise and shine to the challenge.  He has risen with his best heart to every challenge and deserves a chance to be loved and respected and cherished for that effort.  I felt blue about this experience, but I know he and I will be all right!

Riding Outdoors on June 1st!

Here are May 10th photos of Renny's very first attempts at jumping.  he was just stepping over because he didn't feel the need to get worked up about crossrails at the 3 hole.  He wouldn't jump until the 4 hole! I'm writing this entry on June 2nd and last night, Renny and I had an outdoor riding lesson for the second time.  He was terrific, even though the wind was just blasting us!!  The sun was gorgeaus and the air was cool.  When I went to get Renny from his pasture, Amy told me that you could spot him anywhere -- he was so shiny and glossy and handsome.  And indeed he was.  He looked like a million red dollars!  And he was super happy and came walking briskly up to me for some love before his work out!  We had a good time!

Zelia and the Pre-Garden

Here's a little photo of Zelia right after I broke up the soil the day before Renny's birthday in May.  Since then I built up rows, put up new fencing, and planted the most wonderful little garden. So, soon I will have to post the young garden in early bloom photo!



My Sacred Rest Places

Here is a photo of Zelia and Jackass resting right on my side of the bed -- I love to sleep.  And here is a video of my other sacred place -- my lovely barn at St. George.  I wish I had a little photo of my garden to complete this viewing of sacred places!

My Lovely and Loving Girl

This mare brings me such happiness.  She wants to please and work hard.  She wants to show off her talent.  She wants to be part of my family.  And she wants to be adored and admired.  She's got such a refined loving sensibility.  I just think she's spectacular!

My Darling Creature

d

These pictures and video were taken May 19th. I love the little pony pictured here and love his kindness and calm.  I am writing this entry on Saturday, May 28th, and just yesterday when I went to visit him, as soon as he saw me, he came jetting across his pasture, even crashing through a big giant lake puddle to get to me and greet me. He's such a good kind friend and faithful pony!

Bouncing Renny!

Here is a photo of Renny taken the evening of his first jumping lesson.  Since then he's had two jumping lessons, so three total.  And each time, he is amazing.  On the first evening, we just tweaked the height until we found the height at which he would comfortably jump.  And then we jumped a single line.  On the second lesson, we trotted in both directions outside lines on each side of the arena.  And then this past Monday, as I write this on Saturday May 28th, Renny blew our minds.  He had a three bounce set up with a three stride to a cross rail toward the end of the arena.  And he did it time and time again with the same speed, energy, good will and excellent assessment of distance -- bounce, bounce, bounce, break into light fluid relaxed canter for three strides, bounce, and then canter away -- happy happy happy pony and grama!

Team Renegade and Trainer

Here we are in early May, working on our first jumping lesson.  Renny looks so sweet and calm and sensible -- which he always is.  I love him!

Violet's Wonderful Course

d

I am writing this entry on Saturday, May 28th, and I am very happy to write that it's been an amazing week of riding.  Here's a photo from a few weeks ago of Violet's first bath and some video from a few weeks ago as well of her jumping a "control" session.  This week, we had a teeny breakthrough.  On Thursday, Stacey had set up an 11 fence course with a 3 bounce to a three stride crossrail to a cavaletti in our scary gate corner to a turn to a diagonal to a turn to an outside line with a line with two strides and then a single stride and then a turn to a diagonal and then a bending line to close.  It was a FUN course.  And for whatever reason, Violet and I were in sync and she was soft and I was soft and we just kept feeling each other out.  And so our jumping was soft and lovely.  I don't know what I was most proud about -- maintaining a nice speed through the whole course, catching most of our leads and quietly changing the ones we didn't, taking the cavaletti in the corner at a canter and then continuing to canter or tweaking our speed in the final bending line.  It was all just so relaxed and fluid -- which is a big deal for us!! 

My Big Beautiful Jumping Girl

Here is a mid-May photo of Violet having her first bath of the year.  She loved it.  She acted exactly like she was in a spa and enjoyed every shampoo, cream, conditioner, medication, and ungeunt that I put on her.  I practically expected her to ask for a glass of chardonnay with her treats.  We had a fun time.  And, of course, she was gorgeaus afterwards -- just glinting!  And we'd had an amazing outdoor ride too with her performing beautifully and solidly and surefootedly and being soft on all upwards and downward transitions.  We were happy campers.  And then here's a little video footage of her and I jumping, during our Monday night lessons!

Violet and I Work on Control!

Here's a little mid-May video of Violet and I working on control over jumps.  We have a hard time because I refuse to sit back and I'm not very good at half-halts yet.  But we still do pretty good as Team Tenderness!

Hunter Pony in Training

Here are photos and a video of a mid-May training session, during Renny's second time at crossrails.  He's amazing!!

My Beautiful Hunter Pony, Jumping for the Second Time!

Look how beautiful and game he is as he jumps in mid-May!!

My First Renny Fall

Here's the videotape of my first fall from Renny.  I'm including photos taken that same riding session too -- so you can see the contrast between my little poky pony and my "chasin' cows" pony!

Renny's First Course

I'm writing this entry on May 19th and this previous Monday, Renny jumped for the second time with me.  He was just terrific.  Here's the video of his first course (well, first among several firsts of that evening).  In this video, he had just been scared and I'd fallen off and we'd gotten back to work.  And in this video, I even drop the reins on an in-and-out and he just canters straight and true to the jump and pops over.  He's a terrific, amazing pony!!

Me and My Pony - A Wrinkle

I'm writing this entry on May 19th and Renny and I have had an unusual week.  So, on Saturday, Renny tripped and fell to both knees and I rolled off him and had to help him to his feet.  He stood stock still patiently waiting for me to help him out of the jam.  He was on page with being part of the team.  But it was our first fall!  We fell as a team.  Then on Monday, we had our very second jumping lesson together and he was doing a beautiful beautiful job.  He jumped gracefully, he wanted to canter to the jumps, he was fine with jumping 4 in a circuit.  But he was nervous because of that darn black cat who likes to hide behind the green gate.  And sure enough, as I was jumping Renny down the line, I could tell that Renny was bothered by something off the very first jump.  His head was lifted and his ears were searching.  By the second jump, he was definitely alert and sure enough he scooted out from under me like a bottle rocket and I hit the ground.  But good boy that he is, he returned immediately to me and we resumed our work.  But I was definitely nervous -- two falls in two rides.  But just last night, we had a riding lesson with 5 other riders and we were great -- we were back to being a team and trotted and cantered ground poles, travelled straight between cones at the sitting and posting trot.  Halting nicely.  I felt so relieved to finally have a solid ride between us and our two wrinkles!!  I've ridden him 121 times and only fallen twice so far -- we're doing good!

Team Renegade!

Here's a photo taken May 9th of Renny and me, after our first wonderful successful jumping lesson.  Look how relaxed we both are -- we are good teammates.  We love each other and bring our best heart to eachother.  His trainer says that he's a $30,000 pony.  But I know that he's priceless!!!  Such a good boy!

Renny's First Jumping Efforts

Here are some May 9th photos of Renny's first official jumping efforts with Grams.  You can see him figuring things out -- He wants to do a good job!!