Archive for the ‘shows’ Category

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.

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!

I am sorry for the timing of this post,
but I just didn’t know where to start. I had to do some griefing & some rethinking about things.

So, let me begin. Lookie was put down on July 5th, 2010, after an almost 3 year fight with laminitis. I did what was best for him, not what was easiest for me. I loved him so much, it hurts. We had plans for the winter show season, but they were not meant to be.

We always dreaded the summer. Lookie’s feet were always at thier worst during this time of year. This year was no different. What began like an abcsess or an injury in his rear left leg, became the catalyst for that foot & his front feet. They just couldn’t hold together long enough. 

We will carry on. Little dude will have To learn to show without his big brother & Port Mayaka will be emotional for me. I think about him everytime I’m around the barn.

Lookie is with us in spirit & I will never forget him. There will be other horses in our lives, but lookie will always be special in my eyes. I just hope we can live up to the expectations that lookie had for us, now that he is gone.

The last couple weeks have been used learning to cope with the changes in my life and learning all about driving. I have had balance issues for as long as I can remember (My mom used to called me a weeble-wobble) but back in October I had a really bad bout of vertigo and my balance has not been the same since. It has gotten to the point that riding has become hazardous to my health. It is not the horses, it is just me. So, I stopped working with Jack. After thinking about what I wanted to do with horses, I decided to go back to what I first started with. Driving. Dodger, my first horse, was a standardbred pacer in his previous life before I got him. My parents got him as a rescue. My mom broke him to saddle, but mom wanted to make sure that I knew how to drive as well.

So, I have been doing lots of research. minis, carts, ponies, events, etc. I went over to plant city to a HDT. it was cool. driven dressage, cones, and a marathon. I met some of the nicest people. I am still looking for the right horse, but as the news of my discipline change, I have been able to start to work with other people’s driving horses. I look forward to what the future holds for me.

On a another front, Paul is going to be riding Lookie saddle seat tomorrow at a local 4H show. I am going to do 2 halter classes with Lookie before hand with him as well. I will post the video of the class tomorrow (hopefully). Our friend, Bonnie, will be showing with Lookie in the saddle seat class. It is going to be a fun day!!!