January 26, 2015

This practice was awesome!  My riding was well on, and we got through a lot of races and teammate Matt, joined us!  It was a triple winner!

Our usual group, Val, Zoe, Becca and myself all showed up.  We were also joined by Matt, who was a good sport and rode Simon.  We were also joined by three pony club riders.  There was  little pony swapping while equipment was being set and changed which I think the girls enjoyed.

We blasted through speed weavers, 3 mug, mug shuffle, bottle, litter, flag fliers, two flag, balloon, joust, ring, sword, ball and cone, agility aces and pony express.  I was personally happy with my bottle.  I got my flying pick on the way home confidently and squarely.  This put an extra big smile on my face.  My litter was also on, and my turns in all the races felt great.  Oh and my two flag was beautiful.  Go me!

The last practice Poe was a bit strong, and was not checking like I have trained him to, nor was he giving me his excellent woes like I have learned to love.  I decided I would try throwing a bit back into his mouth and see if I could *remind* him of how important his breaks are.  The only bit he seemed to work well in previously was a rubber D snaffle which is what I put in his mouth.  He went and he stopped, but there was no enthusiasm about it.  After about a half hour I put his hackamore back on, the little S hackamore to be specific.  I could feel him kick it into go gear.  He was digging into his turns and jamming into his handoffs with no prompting from me.  He was checking and stopping like a pro, and he put his game face on.  Poe is one pony that loves his job.

Matt, being the good sport he is rode Simon.  He was actually a good fit on Simon, and he got to practice his skills and enjoy some fun with us.  Matt rode excellently, showing good form and strong skills.  I would expect no less from him.  Zoe and Petal were looking good too.  Petal seemed especially on and into the job.  Their 3 mug looked outstanding.  Val and Sprite are always awesome.  Val’s ability to compensate and adjust to changing shape is amazing.  Last of our usual crew is Becca and Jiggy.  This was their third practice and it was clear that something clicked for them.  Their improvement is showing.  This week we played balloon and joust, both of which I thought would be games Becca would really enjoy.  I think I was correct!

Until next practice!

The following photos were taken by Matt Brown