Monday, March 14, 2011

Spring Forward

Spring in OK means weather of some sort.  Friday was hot and dry and windy - with the entire state under a burn ban, wildfires were burning and my drive home from work was smoky all the way.  Saturday was sunny and beautiful with no wind and the temperature was warm.  Ahhh, great day for the SPL (Sat. Party Lesson).

So, the girls and I joined Kathy B, Nancy E, Mallory S-B, Roxie and Maddie for lessons at 10 and 11.  Alaina brought Diez since the dressage show is NEXT weekend!  Diez is still trying to figure out what went wrong with her pasture pet retirement; but she was in luck and Alaina switched over to Casper once Kathy arrived.  Ivy and Pico ended their lesson with some fine jumping.

The new dressage tests have been issued and Kathy B has the book.  Each level has 3 tests including Intro.  But.... Intro C has a little canter.  So, Sister and I will do Intro A and Intro B next weekend.

Alaina and Diez plan to try Intro C and Training 1 and Ivy and Pico will ride Training 3 and First 1.  Wow, 2011 should be really fun.

Sister was pretty good in the lesson and we worked on keeping my hands steady (especially inside) and tryed to push into the bridle rather than pulling.  After shoulder fore exercises at the walk and spiral circles in and out at the trot, it was time to try canter.  Luckily, right lead was first and after preparation for depart, Sister took the right lead and cantered nicely for me.  Patty was impressed and so was I.  Left lead wasn't so pretty.  But, after resisting bend/setup, SIster took left lead canter with evil mare ears and serious tail swish - but no kickout.  All in all, success.  Time for LAL (Lunch after lesson) at Graham's.
A cold front came through and Sunday was cloudy and cool (not cold compared to sub-artic) and there was a threat of rain.  The girls had spent the night with Roxie so I loaded Diez, Pico, and Sister and headed to Cheval Lake just afternoon.  We had a great afternoon.  Ivy, Alaina, Roxie, and Mattie joined Jordan to play in the big arena.  Meanwhile, I lunged Sister before mounting up and joining the Girls and Mallory for some arena work.  Although we didn't work to hard, Sister took left lead canter first and with a little more grace than yesterday - and then did right lead canter too.

Its spring break this week and I have some days off.  So, it the rain coming down tonight doesn't swamp my arena, we should get a little more practice in before the show.  Even got to see the YaYa Sisters for birthday dinner at Olive Garden on Wed. Night.  With the Spring Forward, evening rides with my sista's is coming soon.

1 comment:

  1. I love your blog. The work you're doing with kids and horses is fantastic. Am I guessing correctly that you are in OK?
    I wrote a horse series, Keystone Stables Books, about folks who have a riding academy like yours and a special needs ranch. Your 10 and older riders would love the books.
    Marsha Hubler, author
    Please visit me at www.marshahubler.com and
    www.horsefactsbymarshahubler.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete