New Stuff

Erin

Yesterday I went to the Cowboy Race on Maybelle. It was a blast, and Maybelle did every obstacle better than I ever imagined she would. We opened (and closed!) every gate, herded and successfully "branded" and trailered the cows, and even side passed over a 6 foot log. She galloped as soon as I picked up the reins, but would halt and stand while I leaned over to grab something, or to open a gate. We roped the "steer" on our first try, and crossed successfully through the snake pit. But most importantly, we conquered all 25 obstacles, and had a lot of fun!

Next week is the hunter pace and I am so excited to bring Maybelle! My family will be in Colorado, so I will be going with Heritage Farm. I am super excited, as it will be my first hunter pace ever!

A different pony

Indra

This summer has been a big horse summer for me, filled with lessons, camp, trail rides, my "sisters", gymkhanas, and hopefully a couple horse shows.

In my last lesson I was riding with a trainer i have ridden with two times before, but never with Allegro. I had the most amazing ride on my pony ever! I got her bending around the turns, picking up the canter from a slow trot, and not running full blast over the jumps. By the end of a three hour lesson I could already feel the difference in me and my pony.

Yesterday Erin and I went to the Heritage Farm auction to look at the horses. My family went in not really thinking about getting a horse and we came out without a horse, but there were a few instances where we were seriously thinking about it. There is one mare who didn't end up getting sold named Mary who I have ridden a couple times and have loved. She is about 13.1 or 13.2 hands and is like a bog Allegro. She is gorgeous. I am seriously thinking about her. Maybe I'll ride her a couple more times and maybe by the end of the summer I'll have a new mare named Mary.

I have big goals for the upcoming show season. I hope to bring Allegro to a couple shows, and compete in the jumper ring with her. I am also hoping that by next summer she and I will be ready to compete in the Northampton Hunter/Jumper show in the jumper ring, and maybe we'll get up to the Big E. All of these goals come with practice. So I guess I have a year of hard work in front of me.

Tango

Erin

Lately Tango has changed a lot. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. The way she moves, carries herself, and acts has all changed. She is like a matured, more experienced, less green horse, and it has been really rewarding for me. I feel like all the time I have spent going slow and gentle with her is paying off, and now I can actually go more places and do more things.

I think the thing that has surprised me the most is that she jumps, nicely. Last month I had never imagined jumping her the way I do now. She is so graceful over the jumps, she makes it seem so easy. Her timing isn't always the best, but she puts a lot of effort in, and that's what matters the most. I am really proud of her, and I can't wait to take her to a hunter pace!

Crazy crazy crazy!

Erin and Kaylee

Last Friday we had a very exciting, crazy adventure. We were on our way to Heritage Farm for a cattle clinic when the craziness started. Everything was like normal as we sat in the truck, talking to pass the time. Then we pulled up to an intersection in Northampton, and the truck stalled. We all froze, our eyes wide as Roberta tried to get it running again. Cars behind us began honking just as the truck started up again. We all sighed and relaxed as the truck started moving again, but that was not the end of our problems. "It's still not running right," Roberta said. Then the truck completely broke down, and we were stuck on the side of Rt. 10, 4 miles away from the farm. Jamie was picking up parts in Pittsfield, and he didn't have a cell phone on him, so we either had to continue on to the farm without the truck and trailer, call a towing company, or wait for Jamie to get home.

It didn't take long for us to decide, and soon my mom had Tango and Willy tacked up and unloaded. We got on the horses and headed off down the road, riding in the breakdown lane. Roberta and Jason walked behind us, leading Flash (Jason's lab puppy). After about a mile, Roberta and Jason couldn't keep up, so we continued on without them. Every time we reached a grassy stretch, we would trot, but when we were on pavement we would walk. Both horses were being great, not even twitching as big rigs, buses, and motorcycles whizzed by. Many people stared at us as they drove by, but we just smiled, waved, and kept going.

45 minutes later we turned onto Florence Rd, and the farm was right there. We were hot and sweaty, but the horses weren't tired at all, so we brought them over to the ring to prepare for the clinic. Roberta and Jason showed up soon afterwards, having hitched a ride. Erin and Jason then participated in the clinic and did great, and then Jamie came to fix the truck, and was able to get it to Heritage so he had the whole parking lot to fix it in. By that point it was already 8pm, so we put the horses in stalls and went out to dinner. The truck still needed a lot of work, so we let the horses stay in stalls for the night while we went home. The next morning Jamie went back and fixed the truck, and trailered the horses home.

Anyways, that concludes our exciting, scary, and crazy adventure. :)

A New Beginning

Kaylee

We gave Dixie (the bay mare) back to Josh. She had compressed heels and it was going to take her awhile to recover. So now we are going to look into getting an Arab cross. He is 29 but he acts like a young horse. Erin is going to take him to her house first and after we see if he is good or not he will come to my house. I am very excited to give another horse a chance but will miss Dixie dearly.

First Day of Summer

Erin

Hey everyone!! It's the first day of summer and I figured our blog needed a new template.

I have some very exciting news. We have been granted permission to use the barn apartments at the farm I work at down the street. This means we will be able to watch movies while eating popcorn and drinking cold soda, and having a nice porch to sit on at night to watch the stars and listen to the sound of horses eating their dinner. The apartments are nice and cozy, with two beds in one room and two more in the other. We are aloud to move around mattresses and beds as we like, so we can all be in the same room. Now all we need is a sleepover party!!!

Also, I wanted to write about how nice it is to go for a fun gallop through the fields on my favorite pony, just like in years before. The only thing that has changed is I am taller, and Maybelle has stayed the same size. I am dreading the day when I truly outgrow her, but hopefully that wont be for a while. It's so fun and exhilarating to run into the paddock, through a bridle on your pony's head, and jump on, barefoot and bareback. Then all I need to do is jump the stone wall, and we're off, whizzing around the edge of the fields. There's this one spot where I used to race my friend (she rode her four wheeler) and every time we hit it Maybelle picks up even more speed and we fly up the hill with me whooping and putting my arms out like a bird. There's nothing like going for a run on your pony. :)

Some disappointing news

Indra writes about Coach again

Today our vet came out to do Coach's teeth and I also had her look at his inflamed ankle that was particularly large and swollen today. She had me trot him up and down the driveway and then checked out his ankle. It turned out to be a fused joint. Not good. At all. She tried to flex it but couldn't and then had be trot him up and down again. The lameness was even worse! He was hobbling down the driveway like his ankle was throbbing. It probably was. Amy concluded that I couldn't do any more jumping and had to ride him at least four times a week six or seven would be better. I can only do light work with him meaning walk trot. A ten minute walk more up followed my five to ten minute walk and trot session. Bad news comes with the good. He has been an angel and I am so happy that this isn't worse.