Well, with only 15 days to go till our first show, we are into full training mode. Little dude is making great strides in adapting to his nervous mom’s driving style. He is getting so well behaved under harness, that I forget that he is still a little hotrod under the hood.

I found out, a little while ago, that LD can moved out at an ungodly speed of 30.94 kph (19.2252247 mph) when he thinks he needs to. I will not go into details on the spook, but lets just say, I don’t want to do that type of speed in a cart without asking for it first!

We have been working on the cones and obstacles lots & we are getting better. So, hopefully for the show, we will be up to speed and on target.  I seem to be more of the problem then he is. I keep looking at the cones as we pass them, but paul has been after me about sitting up and looking forward, so hopefully this all will hammered into my head by showtime.

I have a lot to learn and a very short time to learn it in. I don’t want disappoint myself. Wellington has always been on of those places of “One day, I’m going to show there” places, so, I have personal expectations for this show.  I got hooked on horses at this show ground & I always thought that I would get to be a dressage rider there, but that was not to be. So, to get to show there with Little Dude, I am thrilled and a little scared. I really hope that the experience will live up to what I have thought of the place.

By the way, the new cart is a godsend!!! It has stood up to anything that we have thrown at it so far, and believe me, we have tried it out hard! Also, on the equipment front, for the people who think that cheaper is good, please think on this point. We learned the hard way about the cheap nylon harnesses and novice horses. Believe me, get a good harness!!! If something goes bad, the harness is what might be what keeps you & your equine from being hurt.

• Lessons learned this weekend. 1) need to find a min sized shadow roll 2) LD can move very FAST when spooked!! 30kph (GPD reading) too fast!! #
• Lessons learned this weekend. 1) need to find a mini sized shadow roll 2) LD can move very FAST when spooked!! 30kph (GPS reading) too fast! #
• Paul has a dressage show saturday and midgie comes home tonight. It is going to be a very busy weekend. #

• Heading out for a drive with LD. More endurance training today. This heat is brutal!!! 1st show is less than 30 days away!! #
• Off to work teddy this morning!!!! 27 days till the show…. #

Well, I have been Little Dude’s primary driver for about a month. I took the walking boot off shortly after we lost lookie. I have been trying to keep busy so that I don’t think about the loss of lookie. I miss him, but I know that he is not suffering any more. I know that he helped Little Dude find his passion for driving. Little dude is driving like a champ now.

Shortly after, We got a Pacific Smart Cart for him, becuase we REALLY needed a better cart. We got the marathon shafts as well for it becuase he wouldn’t realy bend to the right in the cart, but he would bend both ways long lining him. What a difference!!! He seems much happier in this cart then he has been driving. There has been such a change in his attitude towards driving. He seems to be enjoying it a lot.

We have taken him back to Black prong since losing Lookie and other than learning that he needs to be able to see other horses in when he is in a stall (otherwise, the humans in the appt in the barn don’t get any sleep) he was a good boy. He loves the hazards and we ARE fast!!!! We are going to be competing at Preliminary Level VSE this coming winter, so we will see what the competitions do with us. Around here (at least at the events that I can pull up the results for) when they allow a VSE to compete, they compete at the training level & this will just not work for me and little dude. We canter in the hazards. We will just have to see what they say.

Our first competition will be on Sept 18 in wellington. they are doing a trial event with carriages down at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. This is the same place that they have the winter equestrian festival every year. They are going to be doing some pleasure classes and then in the afternoon, they are going to be running cones and obstacles. Little Dude will be doing the cones and obstacles as a single VSE.

But, I have a surprise for everyone, Little Dude will be pairing up with a mini named Teddy, do to the obstacles as a VSE tandem & Bob Giles will be driving them!!! Little dude and Teddy have been driven as a tandem once before, back in April (at the Bob Giles Clinic). Bob thought that they would be a good tandem pair and so, on a whim, we put them together …. The picture is from that clinic. Little Dude is the leader and Teddy is the wheeler. Bob is looking forward to this and I think it is going to be fun for little dude and teddy.

Looking back, Little dude has come such a long ways since that clinic. I took him to that clinic to see what I could do to get him to enjoy his job, and look at us now.  I can’t believe that I have been working with him for over a year now. My how the time flys by!