July 4, 2019

Our JPR team for the day – left to right – Heather on Tag, Krista on Possum, Val on Babyface, Carly on Remi, and Tommy on Quibble.

Although I am supposed to be taking my riding lightly while my finger heals up a bit I had already signed up for a JPR (Judged Pleasure Ride) with some of my friends and there were no refunds (I checked). So clearly I had to ride, right?

We just happened to all pull into the venue in a line. One, two, three in a row. We checked in, had a chat and a mimosa and then tacked up.

It was a super hot sunny muggy day but luckily most of the ride was in the shade.

We were delayed on our start out time due to a back up at the first obstacle.

Obstacle 1 Video:

In this obstacle your time starts as you cross the cones, you walk to the mailbox, stop and stand, open the mailbox, remove a piece of mail, close the mailbox, and then ride to the other mailbox. Here you stop/stand, open the box, deposit the mail, close the mailbox and then ride through the end cones.

I went first on Possum and I was u sure how he would do. I have gotten the mail at my house on him quite a few times but this was his first obstacle. He did really well. I was super impressed.

Heather and Val has nearly clean runs, Remy started off a bit jumpy, and Tommy talked quibble all the way through.

Krista – 10

Val – 9

Heather – 8

Carly – 7

Tommy – 7

Obstacle 2 Video:

This obstacle has a white circle painted on the ground. You had to ride through the start cones and place your horses front hooves in the circle. Then do a turn on the forehand in either direction around the circle keeping the front hooves in. Then ride through the exit cones.

You would think this wouldn’t have been too hard for us. Our ponies cross lines all the time. But “lines” are not circles in the woods. Val and I were a mess. I never got Possum to touch the circle. Tommy sort of walked around it, making his own circle but did make contact. Carly got a little contact but was still pretty far from perfection. Heather was the most successful of the group.

This is the only obstacle any of us got as low as a 1 at.

Krista – 1

Val – 1

Heather – 6

Carly – 3

Tommy – 1

Obstacle 3 Video:

The Barrel Walk – in this obstacle you enter the course at a walk, collect the end of the pole from the jump standard, walk a circle around the barrel and standard, keeping the other end of the pole on top of the barrel. Then you replace the pole and exit the course.

This obstacle went pretty well for all of us. The only real issues derived from making too small of a circle and having the end pop off the barrel. I enjoyed this one.

Krista – 9

Val – 10

Heather – 7

Carly – 8

Tommy – 5

Obstacle 7 Video (this Obstacle was purposefully out of order)

This one was set up on the field in the sun. There were three bending poles with a shoot at the end. You trotted in and through the poles and then into the shoot and halted for a three count before trotting out. There were two wooden dog cut outs at the shoot.

The cutouts were scary to Possum and I think Babyface was a little u sure what this stop and halt after bending poles was all about.

Krista – 6

Val – 7

Heather – 7

Carly – 10

Tommy – 9

Obstacle 4 Video:

The Ghost. For this obstacle you rode in quietly at the walk, collected a rope that was hanging from a tree, then while backing up you pulled the rope to lift the ghost. You continued until all four hooves crossed a line on the ground.

The ghost was surprisingly heavy. It had rocks in it and if you released it too quickly it crashed loudly. I accidentally did that and Possum jumped. For the most part we were all successful at this obstacle just not as tidy as we should be.

Krista – 7

Val – 8

Heather – 7

Carly – 7

Tommy – 7

Obstacle 5 Video:

The walk on stuff obstacle. This obstacle was very short. Two jump standards marked the start, with a muddy spot just before it and a rug laying on the ground just after it. Touching the rug was a small wooden bridge which touched the edge of a tarp that finished up at a second set of jump standards to mark the end. It was maybe 10-15 feet long in total.

I did terrible at this obstacle. We did not touch any part of it. Tag marched on over like a champ. Everyone else successfully crossed but with jumpy ponies.

Krista – 2

Val – 8

Heather – 10

Carly – 5

Tommy – 5

Obstacle 6 Video:

The backing obstacle. For this one you rode in a shoot, turned right and after a few steps stopped and stood next to a jump standard with a bell on top of it. You rang the bell and then backed up the shoot to a second standard with bell. You range this bell then trotted forward and out.

Possum did pretty well at this one for not having the strongest back. When I got to the second bell we were too wide for me to reach the bell and in moving him over (not much lateral skills) Possum stepped out which lost us some points.

Carly was very similar to me and stepped out at the same point. Tommy and Heather has near perfect rides. Val’s run was much more entertaining. Babyface got stuck towards the end of his backing and reared up rather big, knocking the stand and such over. Val held on just fine and all was ok.

Krista – 8

Val – 6

Heather – 9

Carly – 8

Tommy – 9

Obstacle 8 Video:

The car wash. Ride forward and through the hanging tarp at a walk.

We all did really well at this one. Possum, Remi, and Quibble paused at it. But otherwise this was no big deal.

Krista – 9

Val – 10

Heather – 10

Carly – 8

Tommy – 9

obstacle 9 Video:

The flag carrier obstacle. Walk in and up to a barrel. Collect the flag, trot with the flag vertical around the cone and then break down to a walk at the line, placing the flag in the second barrel at a walk.

This was a fun obstacle too. Tommy attempted it all at a moving trot which was sort of funny.

Krista – 9

Val – 8

Heather – 7

Carly – 8

Tommy – 7

Obstacle 10 was – push the ball.

Using your horse only you push the ball through the standards.

Obstacle 10 Video:

This one was fun but took forever. There was a slight hill and the ball inevitably went down the hill and then it took some maneuvering to get it back up and to the side through the standards.

Heather has the least success with Tag being sure this was not ok. Remi kept trying to pick up the ball, biting it, but the rest of us were mostly successful.

Krista – 7

Val – 7

Heather – 3

Carly – 5

Tommy – 5

We got back, untacked and cooked out. Then we enjoyed the lovely provided lunch.

It was a really fun ride with some really fun friends. Although it was super hot and humid and it took forever, but really about four hours to complete. There was no where to really move out and making up some time either. They really could have cut some of the riding through trail to shorten it up some. I also felt like some of the judges were not consistent in their scoring, possibly too generous sometimes and not generous enough at other times.

May 18, 2019

In interest of making Possum a well rounded and successful games pony he needs to have more experiences, see as much as possible, and get out and about. He also needs to do different things. So when Heather invited me to join her and Joan at Almeda’s play day I jumped at the chance. Normally this would have been a Simon thing, but Possum needed the experience more.

I should mention that Heather did an amazing job videoing Possum and I. But I SUCKED at videoing her and Joan. I ended up doing that thing where I thought I hit record, but when I hit stop recording I was actually starting the recording. So I ended up with a lot of video of my pocket and not much of Heather and Joan.

Video of the obstacles in the outdoor ring

We started off in the outdoor arena. Going into the ring there was a green sheet of wood with a black target on the center. The obstacle was called “The Black Hole”.

Tucker marched right over it with Heather. Joan dismounted and managed to get Angelina over it as well. Possum was not having it. I got off and he wouldn’t even lead over it. So we started with a Fearless Tucker, a Let-Me-Look-First Angelina, and a Nope Possum.

In the ring I introduced Possum to a few of the scarier obstacles from the ground with little success. Heather and Angelina were also on the ground showing their ponies the scarier obstacles. We eventually mounted up and Heather and Tucker continued to succeed. Joan and Angelina accomplished obstacles with a bit more introduction, making leaps and bounds. And I turned Possum to some of the obstacles I didn’t think would bother him and we hit on some success.

There was a flag obstacle. Pick it up from the standard, ride down and around another standard and return it. Easy peasy.

The pin wheel, which is a base with poles sticking out that you ride over and around. The goal is to not hit the poles. We successfully navigated the pinwheel but we did tap the poles.

Next I rode Possum over to the large ball so he could check it out (think yoga/Pilates ball in extra big size). He smelled the ball and then started to push it around with his nose. He got really into it and pushed it all over all on his own. This was a break through for him.

Next we all worked on the outdoor noodle obstacle. We made it a bit wider and started on foot. We eventually led the ponies through and then we all managed to ride through.

Heather rode over the bridge and teeter totter, Tucker was being such a pro! She also rode the long zig zag over the tarp. Joan led over them but Possum was still unsure. None of us were particularly successful with the water obstacle. I believe I have heard it called a sleuth box but I could be wrong. There is a board with holes in it that allows it to sink and water to push up when it is stepped on.

We took a brief break for water and to grab some pony treats and then moved onto the field obstacles.

Video of the obstacles in the field

The first obstacle was a gate which we all three crushed.

The second obstacle in the field was the car wash. We let the ponies check it out and eventually touch noses through the gaps from opposite sides. This seemed to help Possum and he marched on through. I quickly rewarded him with a treat. This began the rewards which seemed to make a marked difference in his success.

We moved onto the dragging obstacle. It was a rather large heavy pole and I was pleasantly surprised that Possum did this obstacle with out a thought. Heather also pulled it around with Tucker.

Next was another noodle obstacle. This one involved three hanging barrels with noodles sticking out of them. None of us were particularly successful here but all three ponies sniffed and checked out the obstacle. Possum pushed the barrels some and I wondered if that’s because they are the same white barrels his hay is fed out of.

We moved on to the natural obstacles. There were quite a few. A water trap which Tucker splashed right into as did Possum and Angelina. There was a section of dirt filled tractor tires that Tucker climbed up and down and Possum and Angelina did as well to a lesser degree.

There were a couple obstacles that involved walking through logs and branches. We were all successful here. And another tarp! Tucker crushed this one and Angelina succeeded next. Possum was back to Nope.

There were also a few narrow bridge type of walkways and a turn around box which we did not mess with much. But we did spend some time with the noodle car wash! These noodles had bells on the ends and included a tunnel. Possum watched Tucker and Angelina go through and then he rode on through himself like a brave pony.

Then we moved onto the third section, the indoor.

Video of the obstacles in the indoor

In the indoor there were a bunch of obstacles. All of us crushed the mailbox (Which was filled with carrots). Both Possum and Tucker were too interested in the carrots to be afraid.

There were three bridges here, one of which was tall. Heather and I led and then rode over them successfully while Joan started to tackle the noodle obstacle. Heather and I joined her and after some work all of us succeeded.

We also navigated the tarp obstacle, the pinwheel, the extra tall ball and cone, and the raised zig zag. Heather was the only one successful with the ball pit.

finally we headed back to the outdoor ring and redid a few of the obstacles that challenged us early on. Tucker seemed like he had had enough at this point. But Possum redeemed himself by taking on the water obstacle like a pro, first on foot and then mounted. He did all the bridges without a second thought, including the teeter totter and crossed the zig zag tarp.

It was a really fun day, and we certainly got our money’s worth, riding for around three hours. We even ran into some Shenandoah Trail Riders friends. Katie was on her tall pony Tiny, who turned three today. First, wow for a three year old. And two, she is much taller than I thought. And I think Melissa may have talked me into the Shenandoah Trail Riders, St Jude’s ride tomorrow.

My final group conclusion is that we all need more noodle work.

It was a really good time. I am so proud of Possum. He did excellent and made major improvement from start to finish. He really is a smart pony. When I took him up to obstacles he engaged each one, initially just looking at them but he did progress to sniffing and pushing at them with his nose. He also learned quickly that he got a treat when he was successful and brave. Eventually he would stop after the obstacle and reach for a treat.

It was an excellent mental work out, and a good desensitization for him.

April 27, 2019

Possum has crap balance, particularly to the right. And successful games ponies need to have outstanding balance.

I have been working on some light hill work and getting him to better carry himself. He has learned quickly and he has progressed considerably. He is learning to use his neck, back, and butt better and his top line is developing from it.

Friday I decided to step up the lunging. I put on a surcingle, bridle, and relaxed side reins. I could not find my regular length lunge line so I was working with a ground driving line I picked up at auction for tying Daisy in camp at competitions. Not the longest but long enough.

I have lunged Possum a few times, so we have the logistics worked out between us and he went right to work.

I started off to the right, on the flat. Well, relatively flat. I have what I call “the riding field” which is just a field with a semi level section. So slightly angled with some rolls in it which is where I started. I switched direction after a while and eventually walked the circle over to the side of the hill in the other section of the riding field. This part of the hill has a mild grade, and also a minor dip coming into and out of the hill portion of the circle.

Adding in the hill on a lunge line was a suggestion of Jenny’s. She initially mentioned the technique when I was telling her how Possum was throwing his head into a mini leap to go up hills. I did utilize it at the start of his hill work. Unfortunately the footing was so terrible at the time that lunging with even some speed on a hill was a bit too slidie. Now is a good time to add this back in since there is better footing and with Possum having developed somewhat improved balance.

We eased into the hill, adding a bit more with each circle. Possum did a great job and moved decently. Eventually we eased back off the hill and then reversed direction.

Possum is particularly stiff and unbalanced to the right so I wanted to give that side a bit of extra focus. After a few nice circles to the right we worked back onto the hill for a while before coming back to the flat and calling it a good session.

I’ll continue throwing some lunge session into Possum’s training and will shorten the side reins a little. I may also move over to the steeper part of the hill too.

Brief video:

The above was on Friday. Today (Saturday) I linger again. This time I did bring in the side reins one loop and moved to the steeper part of the hill.

Again he did excellent.

He listened better to my cues and worked even harder.

*it is extremely hard to lunge and take a photo and or video.

a clip of today’s work.