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

January 13, 2015
We missed the last practice and I have hardly ridden at all since it.  Luckily we had one this past Sunday, and two more scheduled for the next two Sundays coming up.

It was a quiet practice with just three of us, Zoe, Becca and myself.  But we got through quite a few races, and really had some fun. It also felt SOOOO good to be back in the saddle after all the cold, dark and sick that’s been messing up my riding time.

I was feeling really on for two flag, getting my put ins nicely at a canter.  Bottle also went particularly well, with me practicing my center placements, and also getting those smoothly at a canter.  Zoe brought to my attention that I was leaning over effectively, which I realized was the case.  We practiced some ball dunks and I felt really good about those, making each one nice and cleanly, and acknowledging how far I was leaning.   I was also really happy with sword race.  We worked with the plastic rings today, and I felt that Zoe and I had really solid speedy handoffs (without loosing fingers, thumbs or rings!).

Becca, playing games for her second time, really enjoyed sword.  I think we will have to do joust and balloon next time because I am sure she will really like those two as well.

Zoe worked on some running vaults and got a nice smack on her leg.  I am sure she has a bruise as a reward.

On the drive home I spent some time thinking about my ride and decided I am really proud of myself.  I rode really well, and I felt more confident and comfortable than I have in a good while.  My skills were on, and I felt *good* with them.  Go Me!

Now to wait until next Sunday to do it again!

December 16, 2014

This past Sunday was another great practice in the books.  For this one Zoe, Val and I were joined by Devorah who drove down from PA to play with us!  Devorah rode Poe and they worked really well together.  Poe seemed to really enjoy Devorah, and the same in reverse.

We were also joined by a new friend, Becca.  She came with her pony, Jiggy.  A nice beefy Percheron cross pony that seemed to really enjoy himself.  Becca and Jiggy did really well and I hope they will come back and play with us again in two weeks.

Zoe and Petal just look better and better.  That pair really hits it off.  And Val, well gosh, her and Sprite are always spot on.  Both Zoe and Val were getting vaults and riding like champs.

I started off on Spike, as I talked about in yesterdays post, and then I switched onto Simon.  I kept saying how much I love riding Simon and how easy he is.  I raced him through carton twice with no thought, smooth, good dunks, and kicking all the way home.  Next was litter, and again, just a gallop down and a scoop on the move, no thinking involved.  And Simon loves it.

Becca was not able to join us for pizza but the rest of us stopped and grabbed a bite and has some social time at a table.  It would be nice if we all lived closer and could do this more frequently.  But I’ll take every two weeks, its better than nothing!

December 15, 2014

Yesterday was one of our scheduled games practices and I was extremely excited to take Spike.  It was his first time around the games equipment and also the first real ride I got in on him.

Starting out, loading on the trailer was a bit of a struggle (and again on the way home), so that’s something we will be working on next weekend.  We arrived and tacked up, and Zoe took him for a spin so I could see him move out and hear her assessment.  We both agreed he is a little sticky going away from the other ponies, but not ridiculously so.  She said he was a little looky, but nothing bad, and his response at something spooky was to slow down.  She walked through bending poles and took a walking handoff.  He didn’t mind.

We switched bits, and then I hopped on.  After a bit of hacking around, Val rode next to me, to see how he felt about other ponies, and he was fine with that.  Of course most ponies are just fine next to old man Sprite.  Next I dove into bending, trotting through including slow changeovers.  The second time through he was much more efficient.

From bending we moved onto mug shuffle, which we trotted through happily several times.  No big deal.  Then three mug, which went rather smoothly, surprisingly so actually.

Next we moved to flag fliers.  Val flapped the flag around and Spike didn’t care.  So I took the flag and started out.  He actually had a nice end turn, and we did a nice smooth trotting pick up and handover.  We ran a few times through with him being completely comfortable.

The final bit of games I threw at him for the day was bottle shuttle.  I rode the pattern, just touching the barrels and he was fine.  Then Val rode with me, making lots of noise with the bottle, shaking and squishing it and then handed it over to me.  Spike was a little interested in it but that was about it.

This all took about an hour, and I decided that it was a good start and I would end him on that note.  He was really fantastic.  He listens to leg, which will make a lot of things easier.  At first he was a little unsure of making so many tight turns, squiggles, and weaves but after a few minutes he got the picture and was happy to take up the task.  He does not neck rein yet, which is something I will be putting on him, but he does like to carry himself with his head tucked.  We decided he was very dressagey.

My plan is to bring him along slowly, putting a solid games foundation on him. I want to install good stops, turns, stands and trust going both ways before I add any speed.  I am in no rush, so this should be a fun opportunity to make myself the perfect games pony-partner!  I am extremely excited!

I am so thankful to my team and friends for being so helpful and encouraging with Spike and me.  They are the best.

In the photos Zoe and I had on the same MGAA sweatshirt.  Hilarious!

Above: Zoe at the canter, and below: Devorah giving Zoe Spike’s first hand off.

Above and Below: Zoe walking out

Above: Me hacking out with a pat on the neck, Below: me trotting through flag fliers

Above: me and Spikes first flag pick up, and Below: trotting back up for our next run through the race.

And we run through flag again.

November 27, 2014

Some shots from last Sunday’s practice.