A Speedy Session!

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My Renny has the heart of Secretariat, endurance of Stymie, handiness of Easy Jet, elegance of Man o' War, and complete pony hipness of Teddy!  Oh, yes he does!!

Renny Practicing Cantering!

So, this morning, Saturday, August 28th, the 25th day of his training, I only got to watch for awhile before I had to go get Violet to get ready for my riding lesson.  And so I only got to see Renny doing a brisk healthy speedy canter.  Apparently, once I left, Renny did an elegant low relaxed happy hunter canter with ease and grace!  I am hoping to see that beautiful canter tomorrow!!!

Renny Longing!

Coy and I chuckle because Renny  is just doing amazingly well and likes to learn and wants to have a challenge tossed at him every day.  So, for example, today he was absolutely cheerful about longing up and down the arena and then happy to longe over cavaletti.  All good!  And Coy said that he's amazed because Renny got so quiet so fast -- that he expected it to take a little longer because it was a public barn and Renny gets handled a lot.  My pony is a quiet hardworking guy -- kind of like John Wayne in The Quiet Man.  Anyway, Coy also says that Renny absolutely understands that Coy is alpha and that he's given up that fight -- mostly.  The one place where you still see the little teensy shadow of testing like a little 2 year-old manly colt should do is at the longing -- longing to the left, he likes to test whether he really has to canter or not. And today was a hoot because when Coy said, yes, you have to, Renny popped upwards and gave the softest prettiest lightest little canter on the line.  What a good naughty boy!!

Handsome Quiet Pony

One of the amazing qualities Renny has is that he is happy to come to a true absolutely still halt and then just stand there for as long as it takes to receive another order.  Coy and I just stood and chatted and planned and talked for as long as we pleased, and little Renny just took a snooze. And then after that teeny snooze, he was happy absolutely happy to start up again and go from a walk to canter.  He's truly a sport pony deluxe!

Renny and His Trainer, Again!

Okay, so again, I'm writing this entry on Saturday, August 28th.  The morning started out crisp and cool and lovely and then turned warm and bright.  And I got to enjoy my morning coffee while watching Coy and Renny  work beautifully.  My pony worked light and loose on the longe line, jumped happily over the cavaletti at all 3 heights, and walked, trotted and cantered with ease.  He was happy to walk the rail with complete calm and he was at ease with each step.  I mean, I am so proud I can barely stand it.  Coy says that he is really a talented amazing pony and that he doubts that he will end up with a child for years because he will be so athletic and competitive that an adult will want him!

Renny and His Trainer on Day 25!

So, I am writing this post on Saturday, August 28th.  I just left the barn to come to my office to write this post, in fact.  I have had one of the nicest mornings of my life.  Coy and I enjoyed the training session with Renny who was wonderful.  Coy kept talking about how good Renny and giving me training advice and it just seemed like my pony was working with ease and sweetness to please his trainer!  Mary and I had a great riding lesson with Stacey and then Mary and I traded horse stories while we were in the wash racks with our beautiful creatures.  Mary told me that I needed to keep Renny that he was something special and would become a wonderful dressage pony.  I told her that Renny deserved a kid and a training barn and someone who would really ride him so that he's wonderful.  And Mary said that I was a kid and that I was at a training barn and that I could ride him and enjoy him.  I laughed and laughed!  What a really lovely quiet wonderful joyful morning -- a slice of heaven!

Tired Pony

This Day 24 was a tough one, I thought, but Coy thought it was well within Renny's abilities.  He had a very long, taxing longing session, a ride around the farm, a short very supportive and friendly boosting ride by Coy and then he carried his Grandma.  Today as I write this note is Day 25 of training -- I hope it is a very light session. And then he has Saturday to relax before having another training session, is 26th and last formal one, with Grandma on Sunday.  Whoops!  I'm not allowing myself to refer to myself as his Grandma anymore.  I want to love him, but I was to help greenbuild him, so that he's ready for his new family and new trainer.  I want to love, but not spoil or confuse him.  I am looking forward to seeing this guy!

All the Love in My Heart

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I've been blessed by my herd.  They are a good group and Renny is an amazing pony.  I hope that in the months ahead, I can develop a calm level-headed courage and strength.  I want to bring my best buddhist self to little Renny's training.  And I hope and pray that his new family, a good loving family, is being prepared to find him!

Working Pony

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Check out those hindquarters, that relaxed stride and that headset! Day 24!  Namaste!

A Special Moment in Life

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Renny's training has brought up lots of happy memories for me.  I remember when he was just a teeny tiny guy who would take naps curled up like a cat in the straw or laid out flat at his ma's feet.  I remember when he was a rowdy little guy trying to eat grain just like his mama.  I remember when his mama gave him a big vicious bite and I was so upset with her.  I remember how shy he was about meeting Ruthie and later how rowdy and bossy he was with his herd of teenager thoroughbreds and then super bossy with his herd of baby weanlings.  I have loved him his entire life.  I loved him when he peeked at me when we opened the trailer door at the inspection site, when he stood at the open barn door at that inspection site and gave a "Renny's in the house" whinny of greeting to everyone.  I loved him when he kicked/stretched out at me with his hind leg when he was eating breakfast the next day.  I loved him when he pushed impatiently at me to leave him and his fancy pants mane alone when he was trying to unwind in his home pasture after the trip.  I have loved him constantly.  And I know in my heart, he loves and counts on me too.  I hope that over the next few weeks, I really learn how to ride him well and confidently, so that I can prove to him that he is right to have faith and trust in me -- that he and I from the very very start have always been Team Renegade.

Renny's Strengths

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One day Coy was training Renny and at the end of the session, he was just sitting on him mounted and I was walking toward them, indecisive, wanting to hug my little guy, but not interfere with his training.  When Coy just burst out saying that Renny had a great mind and a very light feel.  That Renny was amazing and would probably be light and responsive his entire life.  And he even wished his own mare was as light and good-minded.  And I won't ever forget that moment because it just burst out of Coy -- words of praise for a young green pony.  This is an example of how wonderful my training mornings were -- a decent person helping me with my beloved pony.  Namaste.

Nice Folks

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Okay, again some video from early training and a photo from Day 24!  During the course of training, I got a chance to really reflect on all the people who care for me and Hailee and Renny.  Folks stopped by to watch training, like Julie and Lexie.  Folks took care to treat and care for them when I travelled, such as Robin and Sarah.  Beth, Kelsey and Emily offered lots of support.  Tracy said she wanted to visit Hailee and Renny.  Baker asked to videotape and photograph important moments.  Gay and Mary had encouraging words.  Chelsea helped with him when he was just a little guy.  Stacey helped me when Renny had a kick injury and offered lots of advice about how to stay strong during training.  And, of course, Coy brought his best talented self to Renny, by being a consistent calm disciplined talented source of care, even when I was wiggy and wanted to cancel the training.  Coy and my friends got me over the bump of my own indecision.  And I'm grateful.  It's been fun to go through this first 30 days with such great great people!

Renny's Day 24!

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Now here is the beginning of video from earlier in his training, but photos from Day 24, the day I rode which was just yesterday, August 26th!  It's all a little confusing, I know.  But you'll notice that he looks smaller in the videos, but in the photos, he's looking like a strong working pony.  Anyway, Day 24 was kind of a mixed bag for Renny.  He got in trouble because he decided he didn't want to longe to the left, though he had done it beautifully quietly and softly just the day before.  So, he ended up being worked for a long time until he got soft.  Then Coy took him for a relaxing ride around St. George to the outdoor arena. And that is what these photos show, my pony moving quietly and happily on a beautiful cool sunlit late-August radiant morning.  He trotted comfortably.  He cantered serenely all the way around this really large arena on the correct lead and without breaking.  He halted with a true halt which even included a nap because I'm sure he was getting tired.  And so by the time I mounted, I was so eager to have my try.  And it was wonderful.  Coy told me about how to lift his shoulder and bring him around.  How to use a single rein. How to direct rein versus indirect rein.  How to apply less than a single ounce of pressure to get him to lift his back and reach his hindquarters under and bring his face into the bridle.  And let me tell you, he may be a green pony, but he does ALL these things better than my Violet.  So, I am going to try and improve my riding to help not set Renny back and to help move Violet forward!

Team Renegade -- Renny and his Good Trainer

Here is a picture of Easy Blue Renegade and his world-class trainer, Coy Moyers.  I will never ever be able to tell you how grateful I am for this young man's help with my pony.  This summer was absolutely a blessed sacred happy time in my life because of this man's labors.