March 25, 2014

On Saturday, Carol Ann and I drove up to Maryland and took part in the Taylormade Stables Individuals competition.  It was a fantastic opportunity to school in a competition format.  For me this meant I got to get a better feel for what Poe and I need to work on.  I also pushed a little more than I would have in a team setting, although I should have done that a lot more than I did.

Our speed weavers race was pretty crap.  I really had to work through the whole race.  In reflection, I usually warm up through bending and move on, never really pushing through it like it’s a real race.  I also found I need to put some more work into my ball and cone / high low, ball skills.  Poe was completely cooperative in those races, but unsure of what I was doing and my confidence was not where it should have been.  Another race I was pretty crap in was bottle.  My end pick up specifically sucked. Again, I blame it on my personal confidence in Poe.  I need to lean more, holding my outside rein lightly to keep him straight, and trust that he will do his part.  I got my pick but it was a weak pick.

I was particularly happy with my mug and flag races, which are generally strong races for me.  3 mug was a bit sloppy at my last practice so I was exceptionally happy to roll through it with that mechanical flowing feel, for the most part.  We lost it just a little on the last turn, and we need to put on some more speed, but the improvement was significant.

Another skill Poe really has going for him, that I need to push him to improve even more, is his amazing breaks.  On most races we were hanging tight with the pack until just shy of the end of the lane, when I checked him up for his turn.  Part of this was because he was often on the wrong lead, and I didn’t trust him to pull through the turn on his own.   Linda correctly told me that he is ready for me to push him through it anyway, and I need to listen to her.  Toward the end of the session he switched his lead on his own just before the turn and was setting himself up like a pro.  This is where I was loosing ground.  I can fix this.

The other place I can gain some ground is when I come up on an obstacle mid lane, and need to check up to complete a skill.  Poe can fly up and stop.  He does not need me to check him up in advance like a pony in training.  So I need to work on trusting him to do his job efficiently.

The pony is smart, and he loves this job.  He really wants to do excel.  So bottom line, I need to trust him.  And really practice bending, like its a real race.

**photo credit to Genevieve of EquiStar Photography**
you can find a link to her work on the right hand side of the page. She is wonderful enough to allow me to use her work in this blog.

March 23, 2014

My new riding friend, Beth, came out and tried games out for the first time. We started with the classic flag fliers race and she picked it up quickly.

We moved onto mug shuffle, 3 mug, bottle and ball and cone. She picked them up quickly and really enjoyed herself. Simon was have a ball too.

The last practice I had with Poe he was a total slug. But for this practice he was spot on. Beth even pointed out how much he appeared to be enjoying himself. And he was. He was digging into his turns and pulling out some speed.

I am excited to have more practices with Beth. It was fun to introduce her to games while getting in some low key practice.

March 22, 2014

This past Sunday, Carol Ann and I were planning to head to Maryland to take part in the fun winter Taylormade Games Series.  Everyone rides as individuals, and it is a great opportunity to get some personal practice time in.  It’s perfect for getting Poe out and gaining some confidence on him, and also some miles for him and his skills.  But the weather was creeping in at home earlier than up there, and we would have ended up driving home in the snow.  Kathy, the host, kindly offered to switch us so we could ride earlier, but it was still going to land us in the snow with ponies in the trailer.  So we decided to have a practice at Carol Ann’s house instead.

Before heading out of the barn, I tacked up Poe, and accidentally dropped his rope, while I turned my head.  I turned back around and he was off, galloping around the outside of the fence, with Simon matching him from inside the fence.  15 minutes of him flying back and forth in full tack, and he was finally ready to stop. He loaded up with him bashing around in the trailer, off we went. I mention this because he was full of vinegar that morning.

We arrived at Carol Ann’s and she said, wow, he looks wound up today.  And he was, all spicey and being devilish.  He was trying to walk all over me, which is something I thought we had worked out of a while ago.  I led him to the riding area and mounted up, and right then, Poe’s fire, switched off, and I was sitting on a lump. 

He was like riding a slug.  I had to kick him into a canter for bending, and push him to move out more in two flag.  Finally we did a balloon race, which encouraged him to move out a little faster.

Where was my games pony at?

I am hoping it was just a fluke, and he was just having a bad day.

On a good note, Carol Ann and I had some really spot on hand offs.  Particularly for having so many months off from riding with anyone else, I was really impressed with our awesome-ness.  Hopefully that does stick.

Carol ann invited me to have lunch with her, and I made it back to the barn just as the snow started to stick.