We all survived and managed to have a great time and look FANTASTIC!
Everyone is off to a really great start :)
Thunder Crest Performance Horses |
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Huge congrats to all that went out to the hunter pace from the barn this past weekend!
We all survived and managed to have a great time and look FANTASTIC! Everyone is off to a really great start :)
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As previously promised, here are some photos of all the horses in action!! Hudson is a 6 year old TB owned by Margie O'Brien, the owner of Oblong Valley Stables. I assist with training both horse and rider. Due to his leg conformation, Hudson will be a dressage horse only, and he proves to be a very athletic and sweet horse. Even though he is young and fairly green, he always gives his best effort and tries to take care of his rider. Here is Jolie (she has her own blog below this one)...Owned, trained and ridden by me. She an be too athletic for her own good sometimes, but is a blast to ride, no matter what. Clearly, she needs to be a hunter, however my jumper background takes over and she doesn't necessarily hate it. Hopefully her blog will be updated today or tomorrow with photos of her jumping day today. Kilian is an older Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by the Chamberlin family. He has been dubbed the "guest horse" as he is generally an all around good boy. He does not do much with his life except fall victim to my playing around with his uber-schooled self. I keep him in mostly consistent work to maintain fitness so he can be as rideable and safe as possible for anyone that wants to just hop on. I was shocked to see these photos, because in the barn he's just plain Killian, but in fact he is quite the fancy horse! Then there's my main squeeze, OZ (name in all caps, because that is his personality)...OZ was my first horse and has been with me since I was 11, basically a 12th birthday present. He is now 25, and still completely awesome. He unfortunately missed out on stardom to cart around my child @$$ in the childrens hunters/eq, jumpers, etc. but in his prime his talent was limitless. We are planning to compete this season, with a mix of jumpers and events, probably limited to the 3'3" stuff or lower. He's a dressage master (Although he hates it), and has never said "no" to anything asked of him...I could go on forever, hes the love of my life... Famous Rain Pie...hes that' POA that was for sale, was sold, returned and now for sale again, currently owned by the Chamberlin family (the owners of the farm). I do not know the details on that front....He remains to be the pony I never had growing up and my other, other half, next to OZ and OZ's best boy toy friend. Jumping MACHINE is the only way to describe him, honest, willing and tries to find the horse steps in the lines...this pony needs a belly guard, he's fantastic. Last but not least is Robin, here ridden by one of my students Erica. Robin is a 7 year old quarter horse, that somehow defies physics and is actually a very capable jumper (she is a very downhill shaped QH!). She also is owned by the Chamberlin family. Erica and Robin are learning to be a team, Erica learning both how to ride better and how to effectively train a horse and Robin learning how to be obedient and pleasurable. Last year, at this time they could not safely canter a course of crossrails and now they have just completed their C-1...what a huge step!
Anyway, this is most of the crew at Oblong....well my crew. There are four other horses, a retired pony, Michael's horse Linus, Lizzie's rent-a-horse Rico (that was my rent-a-horse when I was about her age as well, and taught me the ropes!), and a boarder Tucker...I do not do much with them, so probably won't be too much to see of them this summer on this page. Thunder Crest has been unbelievably busy lately! Between preparing students for their pony club ratings, as well as looking at potential new horses to add to the family, we've been all over doing everything under the sun!
A big congrats to the girls that got their ratings this past weekend! You've been working hard and have earned it, but there is still a long road to go and it will be a great, fun summer! As far as the addition of a new horse(s) to the family, I'm still in decision limbo, not sure who to pick and/or when...Certainly I will cave shortly, but until then, no news there for now... This week I want to focus on getting some videos of our horses and riders posted, it will be great to be able to look back and see how far the students have come over the summer, certainly if there were videos between last summer and now, you would see vast improvements. Anyway, off to the barn for some lessons and such! Courtney King-Dye has always been someone that I adored - tall, slender, wonderful with horses, a great teacher, lovely rider and generally an all around nice person (at least in my experience of having "met" her a handful of times while I was grooming horses for her clients and preparing my bosses horses for their lessons with her). Obviously, tragedy struck and she made the best of it (for those of you who haven't done so, read her blog, she's great!!). Anyway, it was just one more thing that made me really admire her.
So, reading through my stack of magazines I got behind in reading over the last semester of school, I made a point to read her article in the May 2012 Dressage Today, "reprimand and praise." I make a point to read every month's article, not just because she has great things to say, but because her way of saying certain things brings a smile to my face (much like Jim Woffords articles in Practical Horseman, some things are just a little funny, haha). Anyway, in this article, Courtney touched on perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves in the ENTIRE EQUINE WORLD...I will quote the article (because this smidgen of idea needs to be engraved in gold and then replicated and hung in every barn EVERYWHERE and engrained in the brains of ALL because what she talks about just darn obnoxious...but CKD says it much classier than I..)...."Nagging can happen on the longe, too. It always bugs me when people just won't be quiet while longeing. They're constantly clucking, saying 'good boy' or flipping the whip. Like riding, how's the horse supposed to understand when you're asking him for something if you're saying something, through voice or body language, all the time?" I cheered, hooted and hollered seeing this, it's not just MY pet peeve, it's some else's too and her opinion counts a bit more than mine. I also tried to figure out how I could tear this article from the magazine and save it forever and show it to everyone without messing anything up..haha...Anyway, having been in numerous boarding facilities this is something I have encountered very often, and the tinge of pain I feel watching this happen never eases. It's one of the first things I teach with any horse (actually, somewhat voice commands, which is something CKD doesn't like BUT the point is the same, one cue to one action): on the lunge (and thus when riding) one " whoa" means four legs stop moving, one cluck means four legs move FORWARD (not back or sideways), and with some a "kiss" to canter...I go into this more in Pogo's blog on The Thoroughbred Chronicles site...but regardless, I had to point out that I am not the only crazy person out there that thinks it's bad training to confuse the horse (and annoy spectators) with incessant cues that never end... Thats all for today...haha :D If any of you are like me, many spent your junior years or even now, sitting on the rail at rated shows, either just watching to watch or watching your competition....generally your competition are big, fancy, lofty warmbloods worth thousands and thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, you have your off the track horse, grade pony, or something of the like, you go in dressed to what you consider the nines (maybe or maybe not tailored sportsmans, but certainly not Ariat Monacos on your feet, maybe a GPA, maybe not) and put in your best round....sometimes you win or lose, but still the thought has crossed EVERYONES mind when they see that big import "Man, I wish I could ride that horse!"
I have been fortunate enough over the past week to ride some quality horses at a sale barn near me. They are the types of horses that you walk past in a stall and are like, "I would give my left kidney to have one ride on that animal" type-lookin-creatures....Eye catching, stunning to watch perform and undoubtedly will be phenomenal athletes cleaning up in the show ring one day... As most do, you start with the straight forward rides and then eventually get rides that are better, nicer, etc. and I finally got that ride on the "super big, nice import." He is enormous (I am small, 17+ is huge for me!), bay, stunning, always looking happy and bright to see a person, and a caliber above (maybe just one, maybe more) what I have been riding. Anyway, I was excited...that big stunning bay horse looked like a blast, so floaty and talented...... Ok, I'm still in pain and felt like I did 6 bagillion crunches and I maybe rode the thing for 20 minutes TOPS....Holy cow, the amount of leg+seat+hand it took to keep this thing packaged was unbelievable....By no means am I the fittest, but I'm not weak and this horse was like riding a cruise ship. I finally got a taste of what those big show horses ride like..............and I will admit, it's not my favorite. Give me a sporty, quick TB any day of the week, hell, give me 10 everyday, but this particular one of those massive imports was enough for me. So for all of you that are hoping to one day ride one of those, just take solace in that they might not be all they're cracked up to be! Obviously, different strokes for different folks, but that giant warmblood game isn't quite made for tiny little me! Holy Preakness, what a race!
If you missed the preakness, I suggest finding an instant replay, it was a GREAT RACE. The pace was slow, which may or may not have had an effect, but certainly created one heck of an exciting race. Bodemeister seems to always want to take the lead, however cannot really pull it off. It's a shame, the makings are all there, Bob Baffert as a trainer, Mike Smith as a jockey, a horse bred out the @$$, but unfortunately is too gentlemanlike giving it up at the wire.... Can I'll Have Another take the triple crown? Maybe....It has not been done in 34 years or something like this....I personally would like to see it be a round number and go to some great sob story such as Union Rags (who I believe IS running the Belmont) So maybe he'll steal this guys thunder.... thoughts? Derby Day finally arrived, but not before our long trip down from NY to KY....
We left at about 1am on Thursday and drove the 9.5 hours through fog, across the NY mountains, the extremely flat land of Ohio and then to the beautiful rolling pastures of KY. Three Chimneys was holding an open house as a pre-event to the memorial service for Dynaformer. After almost crashing my car approximately 9 times on the two mile trip down one of Kentucky's Scenic Byways, we arrived at our destination and the fun began. We had private tours of many stud farms including Three Chimneys, Spendthrift Farm, Shadwell Farm and of course Keeneland. We had drive-by tours of big farms including Lanes End, Winstar and Stonestreet, but that doesn't even begin to sum up all of what there was to see and what we did see. The derby was a great time with record crowds and even though we couldn't see the race in person we enjoyed the infield crowd, good shopping, decent food and terrible mint julips (approx. 9/10 bourbon, 1/10 ice and a mint leaf, haha). It was amazing to see what all of the TB people are aiming at, that 2 seconds of excitement... It was extremely sad to leave and after a not so tough decision, we will be looking for a farm to relocate to in KY. It may not be tomorrow that we head down Today was the first show of the season. It was a very small, local show but it was a great confidence booster and start. Jolie finished out last season only competing through the 2'3" hunters, so I decided to start today in the 2' hunters to see where we were at, she had not been alone in an arena in quite some time and had not been showing at least since last July. She was wonderful, and I am more than pleased with her progress. She completed both jumping rounds with a 1st and 2nd place. We decided to skip out on the hack class - I really didn't think she could contain herself and I wanted to keep the first show of the year light, easy, and successful!
I also have been wanting to touch on the jumper aspect of things and see what Jolie's forte might be. We entered in the 2'6" jumpers, and once we got rolling, she was super. We finished our jumper class with a 2nd place, I was so proud. I do want to mention a couple of things (conversation points! SO TALK, PEOPLE!) Number 1, the new USHJA rule that playing is allowed in hunter classes. The reasoning behind this sort of thing is, #1 most obviously for the welfare of the horse. It's too often you see the poor guys on lunge lines for hours and hours and hours and go into the arena dead. To me, it's not attractive and its super boring, so props for that. #2 (and I wish I could quote) is that Thoroughbreds are becoming more popular and they need to have a chance at winning too, but they are so "high strung" it's hard for them to keep their cool. This sortof miffed me - My TB's KNOW how to go around quiet, and not always "play" - on occasion, this "play" is because of temper (get off my mouth, I don't want to half halt today!) or just on occasion blatant disobedience. Why should something like that be excused? Anyway videos of today will show that this rule played in my favor for course #2, I am glad because Jolie was really super except for two of our corners where I half halted and she said "no damnit, I wanna be forward and fall in" - regardless, thoughts on this would make an excellent topic. Where do you stand on the whole thing?? The last thing I will leave you all with is thoughts on horsemanship. Today, it was really hard for me to decide what classes to do....and why not do them all? Well, because you have to keep the horses well being in mind. Oz didn't get to show today, he didn't school well yesterday, he is weak behind without any hills or long stretches for his gallops, so why MAKE him show, for a stinkin' ribbon...? Anyway, just a friendly reminder to keep your horse in mind, do whats best, make appropriate decisions to have a successful day and In case this is a surprise to you, I like Thoroughbreds. I am a huge fan of going to the races and watching, learning, talking to the people, grooms, etc. The Finger Lakes track is very close to school so I frequent the backside, go make small talk with some trainers and grooms, and watch the races from the trackside, even though they aren't the best of the best it's still a lot of fun....Obviously most people are counting down to that first Saturday in May to see the run for the Roses. This year as a graduation present to myself, I will be driving down to watch the Derby...very exciting and only a little over a week to go. I am extremely excited as a baby I worked with will be running, not sure if he's got a shot to win but that would be really fantastic...my theory is one has to win it, if your in the race, you have a chance!!!
I will actually also be making a trip to Finger Lakes tomorrow to go and watch some races. I have some babies that I worked with racing, so that will be a lot of fun. I highly encourage anyone that has not gone to the track to go. I think there are a lot of misconceptions, although the mood in the air most certainly changes an hour before a horse goes in a race, I think you'll find that the backside of a track is really a laid back and comfortable place to be, and that the horses are really treated well. There is never a horse without hay in front of it, and it's few and far between that you find the nasty horse with the cone in front of it's stall that will undoubtedly rip your head of for blinking wrong at it, most are always blanketed accordingly, water buckets full, aisles raked neatly and wraps done up properly. Most are personable and also enjoy a good scratch as you walk by. Tracks always had a bad rep, at least around where I grew up and now the more I see, the more I wonder how and why that ever came about. Anyway, if you're ever looking for something to do on your day off, to to the track! It's an experience for sure, and you might get hooked. OR you just might get to see your next big show horse lose it's last race (that's my plans!!!) Buy American. Buy an OTTB. I think that for some horse people, that "pat on the back" moment is few and far between. I think especially for those that are "superiors" to admit a job well done on a younger, less experienced hand, whatever can be tough. Mostly, I think it's funny how the horses get to take the cake on whatever the outcome. A quick sale of a nice horse, or the prospect that comes along quickly has the reasoning of "luck" or "the prodigy horse/pony/prospect" it's rarely "you did a good job," "you put in the effort," "you worked really hard."
However, it turns into the rider problem when things don't go well...for example, the horse takes awhile to get to a certain point, or the horse doesn't sell right away, or things just don't go as planned...it's never the case that the horse might be difficult, stubborn, or even perhaps just not the right match for the rider doing the work. The reasoning becomes, "the rider is doing it wrong," "they are not putting in enough time," or "they're working too much on one thing." I think it's the most important thing to let go of whatever ego is there and admit when a job is well done and to look at the entire picture. I have seen many horse and rider pairs and the rider is really putting forth their best effort, yet the horse is just stubborn or ignorant and perhaps has plateaued, maybe it's just like oil and water, but whatever reason it doesn't work, to noone else's fault but whatever superpower controls what happens. I think for the sake of upcoming horsemen/horsewomen, and to keep our sport alive, we need to instill a hair of confidence in the younger riders and allow them to take pride from small accomplishments. If all the time people are looking to the elders, what happens when that is gone? What happens when all we're told is that we are lucky? How do we know to keep up with the "good work" that's being overlooked? Maybe it's just the walk of horse people I tend to be involved with, but I've looked around and that "big pat" that my horses get rarely gets passed to the rider. Regardless, I try and at least instill that into my students, I look at the bigger picture, see the small accomplishments, and PRAISE for that..... |
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