Simon is a slightly slower learner than previous ponies I have had. He tries his best, but things just don’t sink in as quickly. With most of the previous ponies I have trained for games, they seemed to pick up a skill or pattern immediately. With them I would start their first time through bending poles at a trot and by the time we turned around the end pole to bend back, they were already cantering through them.

Not Simon. Granted he is built more like an 18 wheeler and weaving is harder, my previous ponies were more like Moseratis so it was a tad easier for them, it’s been a year now and he still seems a bit confused going through the poles. After we complete a run through them I imagine his brain, “so you want me to change which side of the pole I am running on? Are you sure about that?”

Last night we were doing a little practice and went through the poles at a steady, slow, almost plodding canter, and before we made it to the 5th pole we had already knocked down two. I employ all of my bending skills with him. I neck rein, I direct rein, I throw my weight, I kick with my heels (I even had spurs on last night) and he does move over, just not nearly enough. The second pole he took out was almost smack in the middle of his chest.

I righted the poles and tried going through them again and we did a bit better, managing to leave all the pole standing, although I don’t know if it was physically possible for Simon to go any slower and still maintain the three beat canter. He often trots faster.

His end turn has really improved over the past year though. I give him that. He is developing a nice turn on the haunches. I even had to grab the pole to keep it upright when we turned around it the second time. Go Simon!

Next we worked through litter race some. This is another race that has been a particular challenge for Simon. In litter, the rider starts at the A line and rides up the field to a neatly lined up “pile” of cartons. For MGAA we use water bottle like containers with the end cut off. The open end is facing away from the A line. So the rider must ride behind the containers, turning to face the A line, and using a little stick (4 foot dowel rod), scoop up one carton. The rider then rides back to the A line, dropping the litter from the stick into a trash can that is sitting in the middle of the field. (up and back).

All of my previous ponies quickly learned to gallop up, canter a tight turn around the cartons, leaving me enough space to lean and scoop up one littler on the turn, and gallop back with me depositing the litter on the run.

Not so easy for Simon. Last year we cantered up, trotted a turn, stopped, I scooped the litter, and then he galloped home. Although Simon seems to have really grasped how to complete this task, breaking down to a trot and then stopping even for a second, really eats up time. So I have been making an effort to teach him to continue moving through his turn.

We have been working on this pretty rigorously for the past month and are getting mixed results. Most days, the first four or five times through the race Simon does not quite understand that I am asking him to turn completely and he turns half way. Eventually he gets it and continues through the turn although then we are still left trying to get the size of his turn perfected, which is disconcertingly inconsistent.

Sometimes I ask him to turn and he drops his butt and turns nice and tight on his haunches. Other times he makes a big sweeping arch of a turn and we wind up three lanes over. Sometimes he gets distracted by a bird or a tree branch and makes the turn but with his head in the wrong direction and his body bowed awkwardly. This inconsistency makes it frustrating for me to determine just when and how much force to use to ask for the turn. Too much and he runs over the litter, too little and they are out of reach.

I am told that this is a draft brain. That drafts are generally known for their willingness and interest in pleasing their rider, but are a little slow on the uptake.

We are going to keep working on this particular skill and eventually we are going to get it right. Hopefully before the competition season gets going!