November 13, 2019

Photo: K Brookes

The first weekend of November we had a Gamblers Choice one day fun day at the Woodstock Equestrian grounds in Maryland hosted by Stacey Calhoun. These are always way fun and make an excellent training day.

Photo: K Brookes

For the first session Kim W and I drew each other. I rode with Kim maybe 10+ years ago at a similar event and had a good time. This session was just as fun. She’s very laid back and easy going and was a joy to play with.

Photo: K Brookes

Possum is learning to move out more and was working hard and doing an excellent job all session.

Photo: K Brookes

We had a 30 minute break while leadline rode and I made a point of sitting on Possum in the back of the arena and having him stand and wait. This is a huge challenge for him and tends to spoil his mood. Since we do a lot of standing and chilling in games this is a skill he needs to learn. He started off good but started to get rather agitated towards the end. He tossed his head, pawed and started to cross his legs and do turn on the forehands.

Photo: K Brookes

We went right into session two from standing around which tested his lack of work ethic. He was a bit grumpy, as I expected, but he worked right out of it and was an excellent pony all session. This is a huge improvement for him.

For session two, Ashtyn and I drew each other. I was lucky enough to draw her at the last gamblers choice so I knew this would be another fun session. Ashtyn is a joy and we spent a lot of time laughing. We are also signed up to ride together at the first Popsicle pairs at the end of the month. Good times!

Photo: K Brookes

So I managed to have two excellent sessions and possum was an good pony. He is starting to move out and keep up with the pack. We are losing them on our end turn though. We have to get that right hand lead and balance to get that improved. Work work work. But he is turning into a rather nice games pony.

Photo: K Brookes

I also enjoyed both of my partners. They are both skilled and solid players so we got to work on handoffs (which were perfect all around) and general skills. What more could I ask for?

Photo G Arens

Pizza. Pizza is what I could ask for.

One of the nice things about these events is we fit in a social pizza lunch with time to chat and catch up. Side note, the veggie pizza is probably the best veggie pizza I have had. Amazing.

Photo G Arens

So a fun day with improvements with the pony. Yea.

Photo G Arens