Millésimé Equestrienne

Busy busy busy!!

2012-02-03T13:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry again for the delay in posting! Things have been crazy busy with lessons, work and trying to get lots of riding in! First I should show you one of the projects I did up last weekend. I wanted to make sure the little saddle I have was well protected from scratches & bumps when it's in storage. Plus we have kittens that seem to LOVE to jump ontop of saddles when they're at the barn. This little one does not live at the barn for that reason. Anyways, isn't it just too cute!!

It was so small I had to hand sew some parts and machine sew the rest. Turned out pretty good though I think! Boy did I buy way too much fleece for it though!! I have enough leftover to make another one! On other notes, I've been riding Rain a lot lately and she's been doing quite well. Though this past week she has decided that ground poles are SKEEEERY! So we've had a few "discussions" about not slamming on the brakes right before them. I've got two students going to a show this weekend with me. This will be their first hunter jumper show and they're very excited! The younger one is only doing the ground-rails classes (poles on the ground) and the older girl will be doing the ground rails and possibly some x-rails. The older girl has had a few blows to her confidence in the past so she's riding one of our trusty school horses that just LOVES to jump and also loves the kids, so I know she'll have a fantastic time. I'm also taking Rain and I've decided her show name (for now) is "A Rainy Day Project" because that's really what she is and it's a clever play on words. Not too sure how well Rain will do considering how she's been acting lately but it will be good exposure. I'm also rather excited to finally get to wear my fancy brown show coat, gloves, helmet & boots to a show! We're definitely going for the "vintage" look. Tonight we're off to the barn for braiding, bathing, cleaning tack & getting the trailer loaded! It'll be an early morning to get to the show on time! We'll hopefully be loaded & leaving the barn by 5:45 a.m... Aren't horse shows fun?? lol Stay tuned for pics from the show!

The wee sidesaddle!

2012-01-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

I finally have a sidesaddle small enough to fit my lesson kids. I figured why not? They are definitely VERY hard to find. Let me tell you, this little saddle is just adorable! When I opened the box and pulled it out it was definitely an "Awww!" moment. I believe the seat measures 18" from the front of the leaping horn to the back of the seat and I thought to myself "Well it can't be *that* small, it's only 4" shorter than my saddle".
Yes, yes it can be! It's almost a miniature version of my saddle.

And of course the first thing I had to do was strap it to a horse and test it out... Well I gues *I* didn't get to test it out but one of my little lesson girls did. And surprisingly, to fit this big guy, it only took a 56" girth, with an extender and a stirrup leather to make the overgirth reach around his belly.

She was an absolute natural! They were both motoring around the arena in no time at all, trotting, leg yielding, weaving around some pylons. I have to say, for a little tiny saddle, it rides very nicely and stayed put quite well.

I said to her at the end of her lesson "So next week, you can decide if you'd like to ride in your regular sidesaddle or the little one." and she shouted "SIDESADDLE!!!". I'd say I've got another one hooked.... LOL

Holy COOOOLD Batman!!

2012-01-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

It is even colder than yesterday and sounds like it's going to get worse before it gets better! Ick.
Today our high is.... are you ready for it? -28 celcius. And to be honest, I don't think we're even going to make that, it's currently staying pretty steady at -30. Any breeze at all and we'll be well into the -40's. Yuck, yuck & double yuck!

Tonight will be extra fun with a low of -38.

Y'know what's interesting about this cold weather? (here comes the science nerd in me) If you take a container of boiling hot water outside and throw it into the air, it will instantly crystallize and turn into snow. Neat eh?

On another note, poor Brigit was pretty stiff & slow moving yesterday morning when I went out to check on her. I think her age really shows in this weather. So I took pity on her and asked the barn owner if she could stay inside at night until this weather warmed up a bit. Into the heated barn she went. I figured Rain was hairy & young enough that she'd be ok. Tonight I might bring them both in, it'll make me feel less guilty as I sit on the couch, wrapped up in a nice warm blanket! lol

I did make it to the fabric store yesterday and they had some really good sales on, so I've got a few more projects to work on. Some nice lavendar polo's for Rain, a fleece cover for the wee saddle, a wee saddle pad and maybe another vest? That should keep me busy for at least the rest of the week... probably longer.

Winter has REALLY arrived.... Yuck.

2012-01-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

It's -20 outside and snowing today. We've had such nice mild weather until today, so I guess we can't complain too much. Though I wish the wind would die down, with the wind chill it's a good -26 celcius.

But hey, we're tough Canadian girls and we can deal with it. We didn't cancel lessons this morning and all my girls did really well. The worst part was bringing in horses I think. I don't know that the horses mind the cold all that much, they were sure feeling a bit silly today!

I sure didn't feel like riding myself today. I've spent the rest of the afternoon hiding inside, watching some movies (Downton Abbey is on at 7pm tonight!), reading a new book on dressage by Jane Savoie and working on some sewing projects. Definitely a good day for it!

Exciting Christmas Present!

2012-01-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

For Christmas my wonderful SO and my parents got together to pay for a trip to Maryland at the end of March for the ISSO Awards Banquet & Clinic. I couldn't have been more excited!!! I've been looking through the AAA Travel Book since Christmas and having so much fun looking at all of the neat things to do & see down there. I've really always wanted to travel to that part of the country. I'll also get to meet a LOT of people that I've only every talked with on the phone or via email. And I've even been invited to go foxhunting! I'm aiming to be there for just over a week and planning to cram as much in as possible!!!

I know a few of my blog followers are from that area, so hopefully we'll get to meet!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

We were away visiting family over the holidays and I didn't get a chance to do any posting. We had a great visit with lots of family that I haven't seen in a long time. We did a LOT of driving and a LOT of eating but I suppose that's what the holidays are all about! Hopefully you all had a wonderful Christmas & New Years as well!

Prior to leaving, I went to a dressage show and we tried out the 1st level tests. As you might recall I was having a lot of problems with a few pretty important parts of the test so I was nervous that we would completely tank. Well to my surprise, it all went very well! We nailed the canter to trot transitions, we got some nice lengthening, our canter loops were lovely, the stretchy trot circles were relaxed and very stretchy and we even managed the leg yeilds.... without a whip.
I decided not to ride with the whip because it was just creating too much tension, so I had schooled the leg yields a few times with the whip and then went without. I used that "phantom limb" theory and some bum movement on my part and there was the leg yield! I got a 6 for the leg yield to the left and a 6 to the right, so I figure I must have done it equally well both ways (or equally poorly haha).
And my scores? 60% on the first test (which was the easier one) and 62.5% on the second ! (even though we got lost in the test at one point... ooops!) We did much better than I thought we would, so maybe there is hope for 1st level next year.... Hmm....

I think I figured out what the problem was at home too. I couldn't believe how much we had struggled with some of the movements at home and then at the show, they were easy. I think the size of the arena is key! The show arena was HUGE compared to ours and allowed a lot more time between movements and it didn't feel so rushed. So I think if we decide to persue this further, we're going to need to school regularly at another bigger arena.

Or.....maybe not....

2011-12-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

I'm rethinking my big dreams of trying 1st level. Lets just say that schooling hasn't been going very well since our "lightbulb" day.

A few issues that I've run into this week include:

- Mare has decided that she enjoys the "lengthened" portions of the test a little too much... meaning it's REALLY hard to quietly come back down to a working gait.

- Mare has decided she is NOT a fan of that darned magical whip. I am having issues managing my reins and the whip and it seems every time I go to shorten my reins, the whip wiggles a little and then our relaxation goes out to the window and falls into a heap of locked jaw.

- Mare now thinks that we should always lengthen across the diagonal which results in very poor transitions from trot to canter at "X". Darn that locked jaw again!

- The canter loop is a complete disaster. Who would think coming off the wall to the quarter line and back to the wall would be so difficult but apparently according to "The Mare" we must try for multiple flying changes (Hmm... Maybe one day we *could* do tempi changes!?!) the one direction or fall apart into a discombobulated trot the other way.

LOL Oh the fun of moving up a level! I'm thinking we might be better off sticking with what we know! LOL

The Magical Stick.... First level here we come??

2011-12-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

So since the Championships I was thinking to myself, would I continue to do some dressage next year? Or was this just a fun thing to do for this year? I really enjoyed the dressage shows, everyone was incredibly friendly and I just had a lot of fun.
The one thing that kept sticking in my mind was that we'd absolutely have to move up a level if we continued next year because... that's how it works. So I began reading through the 1st level tests and realized that the main difference between training and 1st is the addition of lengthened gaits and leg yielding. The lengthening didn't seem to be too much of an issue, we could do that and a leg yield to the right we could do, but what about the leg yield to the left.... Nah we'd never be able to do 1st level. I had tried it a few times with a dressage whip but it just didn't work, it wasn't stiff enough to actually ask her to move over.

There's a schooling show coming up this weekend that was I planning to take some of my lesson kids to and I was mulling over the idea of trying a 1st level test to see if we could somewhat get ourselves through it.

Now I must have the most supportive family when it comes to showing and this whole sidesaddle business because my mom gave me an early Christmas present the other day. She gave me an absolutely gorgeous sidesaddle whip. It's MUCH longer than than the hunt whips I've got and perfect for dressage.
I tried it out last night and I swear, this stick is magical!! I played around at the walk and trot to start with, so I could get used to riding with it and so Brigit could get used to it being there and then we tried a leg yield to the left and I swear, that horse has never leg yielded so well in all the time I've had her!! Down the quarter line we came, opened the left rein a bit and laid the stick against her belly and we had this amazing lateral feeling. Normally her hind end lags a little bit but with this whip in just the right spot you could feel everything engage and almost swing over underneath you. What a neat, lightbulb moment!

Now don't get me wrong, I know I'm in for a lot more work if we want to do 1st level and do it well but this is definitely a promising start!! I think the biggest challenge is going to be getting Brigit to relax when I'm riding with a whip.... she really doesn't like them and is so sensitive that if she even sees it move out of the corner of her eye she thinks it's time to move....Which could make that stretchy trot circle even more tricky to get.. I found the most difficult part was keeping it still at the canter; normally I'd rest it on my leg if I was astride but aside, it's really got nowhere to go. It'll probably just take a bunch of riding to get both of us used to it and desensitized a bit.

Not only is it magical.... but it's awfully pretty too!

One of these days I'll get a video of the infamous leg yielding to share too!

And I guess if I didn't officially have a collection of antique whips before.... I sure do now! I guess if I'm down to *only* 2 sidesaddles then it's ok to collect something else... hehe

He is DEFINITELY a keeper!

2011-12-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

My significant other recently started a new job (ok not so recently, almost a month ago) and he's on shift work a few hours away. On one of his trips home, he stopped in a litttle town that is very well known for their antique shops. There's this one store that is just HUGE, 3 stories full of antiques of all sorts. And every once in awhile a little gem will pop up. He stopped in there, looked around for awhile and then asked the clerk if they happened to have anything related to sidesaddle riding.

And what do you know! The clerk says "Why yes actually! We just got this in the other day!" and pulls out this absolutely gorgeous ladies hunt whip.

Bamboo shaft, antler handle and an absolutely gorgeous engraved silver collar. What a find!

And being the good man he is, he brought it home for me!

Here's a close up of the handle & collar.

The other end was missing the waxed cord that's usually wound around to help secure the "snapper" (I can't think of the actual name for that little bit of leather on the end right now... duh!) and I was worried that it might come off if I ever tried to use it, even just for demo purposes. So I figured I'd stop by the local leather repair place and see what they could suggest. Turns out they had just what the doctor ordered. Though I'm wondering if I should have used a darker color?
Here's the end all fixed up.

Photos from the summer

2011-12-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

I look at these photos and recall how HOT that wool habit was to wear that day. And then I look outside today.... and I'd be glad to have it on! It's snowing and about -8, roads aren't great and it's an overall good day to be inside!
Anyways, my mother ordered some photos from a local photographer that came down to see our sidesaddle demonstration at the Bar U clinic. She is just AMAZING and seemed to catch the horses at exactly the right moments.

Doesn't Brigit just look amazing? (I'm still not sure how well I like the look of a bowler on me... lol)

Crossing the creek makes for some great photos.

And this is my friend Cait & her little gelding Eddie. He's technically a pony but don't tell him that! His ego is more than big enough to keep up with Brigit's size! They really do make the ultimate pleasure pairs couple.

Prayers please

2011-12-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is a bit off topic from my usual posts but I'd like to request some prayers for one of our students that was involved in a serious car accident last night. Unfortunately we live in an area with a lot of deer & moose and she hit a moose and has some pretty severe injuries.

Some extra good thoughts sure can't hurt!

Our hunter-jumper re-debut!

2011-12-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

I say re-debut because we used to show hunter-jumpers but now we're trying it in a sidesaddle!

I have to say I was SO pleased with Brigit. I warmed her up astride because I thought she might get a bit looky at some of the decorations (it was full blown Christmas in the ring!) and I thought it would be better to get her settled with a leg on each side first. She was SO quiet and SO good I could hardly believe it. No spooks, no speedy-ness, no rushing or pulling on me. Just a nice soft easy going pony.

Went back and changed tack and I changed into my sidesaddle attire (which I was up till 11:30 pm finishing!) and back into the ring we went! Boy were a lot of people VERY surprised to see me riding sidesaddle and I got a lot of "You're not going to JUMP like that are you?!?!"... You betcha!!
Warming up in our fancy Christmas outfit...

Let me tell you I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. We went in and did a few warmup jumps and everything went really smoothly so my nerves settled down a bit. My next fear.... forgetting the course! But thank goodness for the hunter world.... Love their easy to remember, flowing courses. Quarterline, diagonal, outside line, diagonal, outside line and DONE.

Our first division was the 2'0" classes. The course rode really nicely and I thought we nailed every jump except one. Boy was this TIRING though! My leg was aching already after one round! 3 more to go and 2 flat classes!

We made it around the courses and had a really fun time. I was pretty proud of myself that we'd survived and actually made it look not too bad! And we'd placed in every class! We ended up with two 3rd's, a 4th, two 6th's and an 8th. Definitely not too shabby at all! The classes were fairly big and the riders were very good. You could tell most of them are pretty serious hunter riders, so I think we did well considering we were really just kind of winging it.

This is a video of one of our 2'3" rounds... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u8BCBy1RwU

The owner of the barn we were at (who's on the Canadian Equestrian Team) was helping to hand out ribbons on the last division and was so impressed that we had jumped sidesaddle! He asked if we'd be showing in any other classes as he'd really like to see it (didn't get to see our previous rounds). I said I wasn't too sure, I was getting pretty tired and Brigit was too. Plus we hadn't jumped 2'6" sidesaddle. I figured I'd try a few warmup jumps and they went well... So I figured what the heck, why not. Well.... we probably shouldn't have... it was not a good round. I think my right leg was just too tired and for the life of me I couldn't find a nice distance to any of the fences, nor could I stay with the motion. There was a few times I thought I was going to get ejected! We made it around the course but let me tell you... it wasn't pretty. The barn owner was still pretty impressed though and offered to let us do another round but I declined, I was just too tired.

From looking at some of the photos, I can see that I definitely need to fix my position. It appears that I'm tipping over to the left over the fences, so no wonder I was feeling like I was nearly getting chucked out of the saddle on the landing. Hopefully with more practice and awareness that I'm doing it, I can fix it. At this point... I sure can't imagine going any higher (though I'd LOVE to!). There has to be something I'm doing or not doing quite right that's holding me back.... hmm..... A new challenge to conquer!
This is the photo that shows me tipping to the left badly!

Into orbit we go! Well...hopefully not anyways!

2011-12-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the big day. It's our first official "hunter-jumper" over fences show....sidesaddle.

I think I'm prepared.... at least I hope I am! I jumped again last night and things seemed to be going really well, so hopefully when we get to the show we can pull off a few nice rounds (or at the very least, not make a gigantic idiot out of ourselves lol).

I even tried out my new apron last night.... Yes that's what I've been making with all that fancy fabric. A Christmas sidesaddle outfit. Apron, vest & stock tie. I was really impressed by how well the apron fit & it hangs just about perfectly level, pretty good for my second try at making one!

The stock tie took me awhile to figure out how to tie the darned thing (probably longer than it took me to make it), I've only ever had the fake, pre-tied ones. I sat in the bathroom, in front of the mirror with my laptop on the counter, trying to follow along with the a youtube video. It was a bit funny but I think I've got it down pat now! (btw, these are extremely easy to make).
Here's the video if anyone wants to learn how to tie a proper stock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9-ypyBARQU

Tonight will be a busy one with all of the prep... Ride, bath Brigit, clean tack, swap bits to different bridles, clean boots, iron clothes, make sure everything is in the trailer and hopefully get some sleep!

Oh and I've got to finish my vest... Turns out the sizing on the package of the pattern and the sizing on the actual pattern itself... were different. i.e. the vest is MUCH too big for me and needs some major alterations. Just hoping I can get it done tonight!!

The jumping condundrum....

2011-11-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

This whole jumping business makes me go "hmm.....". I've been practising it a fair bit and it is getting better but I still don't feel like I'm that good at it. X-rails, we can do all day long and they are feeling really good. However, once it goes up to a vertical.... things seem to fall apart a bit.
Part of the issue is maintaining a good rhythm (on the accordian mare as I like to refer to her as...) and thus, finding a nice distance. It seems that our tendancy is to come up to the fence with a good rhythm and at the last minute, suck back and pop a nasty chip in. Let me tell you, it doesn't feel nice on the back. However, neither does taking off from a really long spot and launching over the fence...

I'm definitely feeling a little bit intimidated by the fact that I entered in a show this friday and it's mainly jumping.... It's bizarre to be a bit wigged out by a 2'0" and 2'3" division... That's just small potatoes... but not so much in a sidesaddle. I figure as long as my right leg doesn't give out and I can cling on, we should at least make it around even if it isn't totally pretty... lol

Issue #2 is jumping a fence on the right lead vs. the left lead. I seem to have a heck of a time keeping my right shoulder back over the fence and on landing. My whole body really wants to twist to the left over the fence, again, doesn't feel so nice especially combined with a not so nice distance....

Hopefully we can get this down pat in the next few days and don't make a complete arse out of ourselves!! LOL

Can you guess??

2011-11-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what I'm making.... (I'll give you a hint, it's fabric!)

It may be freezing cold out there but I'm definitely having a very productive day!

No show today... TOO COLD!!!

2011-11-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

As I type this, it's a whopping -24 degrees celcius and with the wind chill today it was nearly -38. YUCK. The cold snap is only supposed to last until Monday though luckily and then it'll warm up.

I just could not justify trailering my old girl in this weather for a bit of fun. There will be more shows! Actually... there is a Christmas Hunter/Jumper show in 2 weeks time that I'm thinking of going to if the weather is alright.

I did run out and check on everyone today and they all seemed happy & warm outside, there was even some running around & bucking going on, so they must be feeling alright!

Can I please come & visit someone that lives somewhere warmer for a bit???

I dunno about this....

2011-11-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hmmm.... So I'm supposed to go to a show this weekend, dressage on Saturday (eeek more new tests to remember!) and some hunter stuff on Sunday. They have some smaller classes (X-rails, 2' and 2'3") that I was thinking I might attempt sidesaddle. I'm excited but nervous at the same time! I think we've got this jumping business down pat and we had a really nice ride tonight, including some jumps and such but I can definitely feel a crick in my back after riding! Lets hope I don't feel like I've been hit by a bus after this weekend! lol

Few more days to practice, so hopefully we can wing it and have some fun!

Just for Julie!

2011-11-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

Do we ride in the snow up here in the great white north?

Why of course we do!

It makes for some amazing photos...

And sometimes some really silly fun!
A willing/tolerant horse, a "flying saucer", a rope and the appropriate winter gear...check!

Lots of fun! Unless you fall off...

Or end up in the ditch! Ooops!

Winter seems to be here....

2011-11-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

We've had our first snow, the ponies have grown their winter coats and it's getting COOOOLD at night! Tonight their predicting somewhere between -14 and -18 degrees celcius. Brrrr!!!

Rain's first blanket. Snug as a bug!

And a cute one of Brigit and her new friend. Brigit hurt her leg last week and has required some cold hosing. One of the little girls at the barn wanted to help me, so I let her do some cold hosing. Brigit is sooooo careful when the little ones are around.

Feeling art-sy!

2011-11-08T10:18:00.001-07:00

I bought some prints awhile ago and finally in September, got around to getting them framed. I had WAY too much fun at the framing place picking out frames and mattes. They were finally done on the weekend so we picked them up, they turned out SO well! Now the main issue.... where do I find room to hang them?!?!

Sorry about the reflection on some of them, without the flash, the true colors weren't really showing through and they looked really washed out.

This one is my absolute favorite hands down.

Young horses make me laugh

2011-11-03T20:20:00.000-06:00

Tonight was Rain's 4th ride in the indoor arena and I think she was feeling a little bit spunky and decided that things were maybe a little scary. Her ears were going back & forth like they were on a constant swivel mode. Thus far she's never really spooked or done anything bad, just looked.

But tonight we had our first spook. My boyfriend was watching us ride and we're trotting down the long wall when all of a sudden she starts to scoot forward on me. I couldn't really figure out what she was spooking at and I look over to see my dear boyfriend, nearly in tears laughing. He finally caught his breath and told me that as she came down the long wall, she started to toot and she spooked herself. The whole time she had this look on her face like "What's that?!?! What's that behind me?!?!" LOL

It's funny the things we don't notice after riding broke horses for so long but babies sure do!!

Introducing.....

2011-10-24T09:23:00.000-06:00

The newest member of my "herd", well I guess I only have 2 at the moment so it's just a pair.
This is Rain (not sure I'm sold on her name...), she's a 15.2 HH Appendix mare, 4 years old and has just the BEST mind ever. She's so quiet and fun to ride.

A friend rode her a few weeks ago and told me about this fantastic horse I just had to take a look at. So this weekend I went and rode her on one of the hunts. We do have a hunt club up here but they're just mock hunts for fun. At first I was a little cautious because after all, this is only a 4 year old that I've never ridden before. But she was great! She just loped along and by the time we hit the halfway point of the ride we were jumping everything! She's a very honest and fun horse to jump. Doesn't pull or get hot at all.

I had so much fun on her that I thought she just had to come home with me. She definitely has the potential to be the next sidesaddle horse!

It was such a gorgeous day to be out riding in the foothills, the mountains had fresh snow on them and the temperature was perfect.

Can't wait to ride her again tonight!

What do I do with all these TOMATOES?!?!

2011-10-11T10:30:00.000-06:00

I need suggestions! I've made BBQ sauce, huge stock pots of pasta sauce and have salsa coming out my ears.
But I've STILL got more tomatoes! What in the world am I going to do with the rest?

Ideas? Recipes? Mailing addresses so I can send you some?? lol

Otherwise this year's gardening is pretty much done. Still have to bring in some carrots & onions, finish cleaning out the beds & I'd like to get some good compost to mix in with the soil.

I have full intentions of digging up the front flower beds and redistributing the bulbs and planting some more. I wasn't really happy with how they looked this spring so I want to re-do them. We shall see when/if that happens! It's getting dark here earlier & earlier so it's hard to do in the evenings.

Haven't been riding too much lately, I decided to give Brigit a bit of time off after all the showing this summer. I did hop on bareback yesterday though and had a really nice ride. Pony Club is done for the year so I've got a lot more spare time, it's odd not having such a busy week but kind of nice for sure. Not too much interesting around here though!

Pics from Provincials!

2011-09-27T16:05:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures of us in action at the Championships! Thanks again for all the congrats & nice comments everyone! I love sharing this stuff with you guys!

(The squarest halt we've ever had.... All thanks to a "dip" right at X! LOL)

The behemoth!

2011-09-23T08:52:00.000-06:00

Tomato that is! Look at the size of this thing!! It's off of one of the "Hawaiian Pineapple" plants I think it must weight over 2 lbs!

But now I don't know what to do with it! Do I break out the salt shaker & eat it, all to myself? Do I make some fresh salsa for dinner? A tomato sandwich?

I'd better make up my mind quick!

Provincials & Regionals

2011-09-21T15:21:00.000-06:00

We had a great 4 days, met all kinds of wonderful people and the weather even cooperated for us!

At Provincials (Thurs/Fri) we ended up in 3rd place overall. I think we might have placed a touch higher but our first test wasn't so great. I thought Brigit was going to jump out of the dressage arena at "A"! She was pretty hot & spooky but we still ended up with 66%. Our second test was much better and we had a score of 67%. On both tests we got the same comments "Not enough impulsion" which is usually not Brigit at all!

So I had a new found friend help me out and we went to work getting a feel for "more impulsion". Well it worked! On the first day of Regionals (Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba) we ended up 2nd with a score of 68.75% and for our second ride we had 67.6% and ended up Reserve Champion for our division!

A friend came out to take some photos on the weekend, this is the only one I have thus far but I'll share more when I get them.

Rotten news.

2011-09-14T18:21:00.000-06:00

Just as I was heading home today, my uncle called to tell me that my grandmother had passed away suddenly. We were very close so it's been a real shock to the system and a rough afternoon. It's hard to imagine never seeing her or hearing her voice again. She was a huge influence in my life and supported everything I did. I'm really going to miss her.

Still deciding on what I should do. I should probably get myself moving and go to the show. There's better use than just sitting here being a leaky blob and I'm sure my grandma wouldn't have wanted me to sit around and pass up this opportunity that we've worked hard for.

Just a really sad day.

Ride Times

2011-09-14T14:50:00.000-06:00

For those that are close and maybe want to come watch.

Thursday at 10:55 pm Outdoor Arena

Friday at 1:28 pm Covered Arena

Saturday at 1:50 pm Covered Arena

Sunday at 10:09 am Outdoor Arena

With only riding once a day, I'm not sure what the heck I'm going to do with myself for the rest of the time!! LOL Watching the upper classes probably and then maybe some shopping? Napping? Reading? Learning to knit?? lol

What am I forgetting?

2011-09-14T13:57:00.000-06:00

I should probably be thinking about work but I'm having a hard time concentrating!

I just can't keep thinking "What am I forgetting?". I've got a list going that's about a mile long. Our weather has definitely turned to "fall" and it's really chilly out there, so there are lots more things to bring so neither I or Brigit is cold.

The one thing I always seem to forget is a darned wheelbarrow! Today I'm not going to forget one though... because I'm going to go BUY one and designate it specifically for the horse trailer/shows.

Brigit had her massage/adjustment at lunch and there were definitely some things out here & there, which should explain why she's been a bit difficult to ride lately. Makes sense, if your back is out or your sore, it's hard to do what you normally do.

This evening I've got to bath, pack my stuff, pack the horse trailer and get up to the show grounds, hopefully before 9pm! That's when they close the arena's for the evening and I'd really like to have some time to ride there tonight. Seems like so much to do!

So nervous.....

2011-09-13T21:47:00.000-06:00

Thursday & Friday we're off to the Provincial Dressage Championships and on Saturday/Sunday we're riding at the Western Canadian Regional Dressage Championships.
I'm really nervous because we haven't been having any good rides lately. The simplest things (astride or aside) have felt like a battle to accomplish. For some reason everything is scary and results in breaking gait, counter bend and just overall rotten rides.
I have the chiropractor coming out tomorrow and I'm sure hoping maybe a miracle will happen and we can get back on track and put in some good rides this weekend.
How exciting would that be to do well at the Provincial or Regional level, riding sidesaddle?

Wish us LOTS of luck! I think we're going to need it!!

From sidesaddles to stagecoaches!

2011-09-05T12:56:00.000-06:00

Gotta love anything old that has lots of history to it!

This past weekend a really good friend of mine got married and she asked me if I would look after braiding & polishing up the draft horses. So in the past few weeks I've learned how to do a draft horse mane roll (more of a weave than a braid). The mane roll's stay in SO much better than a running braid but they do take practice!

(no don't worry, I only wore the cowboy boots when I was around the horses doing touch up's on their manes. Didn't want my toes getting smushed if I got stepped on!)

Her father in law borrowed a friend's old stagecoach for her grand entrance to the wedding. It was absolutely amazing. They went from her Grandparent's acreage (where the wedding took place) into town to pick her up and back. They definitely turned a lot of heads!

I even got to go for a ride when they were all done pictures.

And the groom's father even let me take the team & stagecoach for a spin. So much fun!

Looks like I've started yet another collection

2011-08-24T14:31:00.001-06:00

How does that song go? Something about being excited about whips?? Well you bet I am! But I only get excited about antique whips, especially hunt whips!

On our holiday to British Columbia we did a fairly obscene amount of antique shopping. Whenever I'm parusing the piles of interesting old stuff, I've always got that "holy grail" in mind. You guys know what I mean... Anything sidesaddle related, an actual sidesaddle itself is especially exciting, photos, boots, hats etc. It seems up here hunt whips are few and far between but every once in awhile you can strike it rich and come across one. Most are in pretty terrible shape, likely because a lot of people have no idea what they are and just toss them aside.

A few years ago while antique shopping with some friends, I found this lovely little whip at a shop that specializes in military antiques. It's fairly large so I'm assuming it's a man's hunt whip.

On our holidays we came across a shop that had a GORGEOUS ladies whip, lash & all still intact. I gasped when I saw it and knew it HAD to come home with me. (think little girly squeals on the way out of the store with it in hand! lol) The little silver collar has the initials "E.A." on it. I wonder who E.A. was? I believe the shaft is covered in braided/woven linen. The leather was really dry and I feared that the lash might break right off so I carefully oiled it and I think it will hold a bit better now.

We stopped by another antique shop that specializes in movie props and all kinds of interesting stuff and you guessed it! I found ANOTHER one! This one with braided leather on the shaft and in almost perfect condition! It is MUCH more stout, so it's definitely a man's whip. The guys at the store had no idea what it was (to my advantage) so I got it for a song! On the collar are tiny letters "ZK", maybe it's a whip made by Zair? I'm not sure!

And all three together to show the size & color differences!

I think I can safely say, I've got a collection of whips now too! I want to build a little "whip rack" to put in the living room to show them off. Maybe that'll be a winter project though!

Bits about bits

2011-08-22T15:30:00.000-06:00

I've been doing some thinking about the whole "poll too low" comments and the fact that Brigit looooves to curl her neck in. She's very very soft in the mouth (most days) and I ride her in an eggbutt french-link snaffle. I'm wondering if a bit change might help our issue?

I've had two thoughts... Swap to a regular loose ring snaffle so there's nothing to lean on and perhaps that will make her curl in less?

Or perhaps change from a french link to a regular snaffle mouthpiece, perhaps that french link is just "too comfortable" and allows her to roll under?

Or perhaps something with a little roller on it for her to play with?

Or perhaps a waterford bit? They're supposed to be the most gentle bits and the mouthpiece doesn't allow for any leaning or resistence since it's to "bendy".

I don't really want to go out and buy all new bits though! Might have to see what I can beg & borrow to give my theories a try.

Back from holidays! On to the saddle search!!

2011-08-22T11:22:00.000-06:00

We had a good time, did WAY too much running around trying to visit as many people as possible but that's ok! I'm actually quite happy to be at work today and "relax" at my desk and not be in a car!
We had a great visit with a lot of our relatives and ended off our trip with a wedding on Saturday. We had a GREAT time and I got to wear a fun new dress I ordered online.

This week I'm going to focus my attention on a search for a new sidesaddle. Brigit has put on some weight through her back and my sidesaddle is not fitting well anymore. Likely this has been a bit of an issue all along but now that she's a bit chubbier, I'm thinking it has gotten worse. The point on the nearside of the saddle is too curved and is digging into her side. I noticed a sore spot on her side after our last show and ran my hand down under the saddle and what do you know.... Ouch! I always think to check how the top portion of the saddle is fitting but I suppose I didn't think of that. I will know now!

So now I'm on the hunt to find something different. Going to do multiple wither tracings tonight and send them off to various people and see what we can dig up! I've seen some lovely saddles around! Unfortunately it will mean that I have to begrudingly give up one of my sidesaddles to pay for it. I would love to keep them all and just hoard them! But they might as well be enjoyed by someone else. The Great West saddle I will NEVER sell but my Champion & Wilton I probably will. I'm torn on selling my Aulton & Butler, I love that saddle and it was my very first one.... So I'm humming & hawing about it! I guess I'll cross that bridge when I find one that's suitable!

Another successful show aside! Updated with a video link!

2011-08-14T17:30:00.003-06:00

We went to another show today and did the Training level tests 2 & 3. Brigit was really settled & calm and behaved really well.

We only had one hiccup in the first test (test 2) - in our poor attempt at a stretchy circle, we broke into a canter accidently, the judge gave us a "4".... Ooops! I think that's the worst mark I've gotten on a movement thus far. We still managed to score 69% and get 2nd place out of 14 people though! Just imagine if we would have been more successful on that movement!

Test 3 we nailed that stretchy circle and got an "8" on it (Boo yah! lol) and I felt like the test overall went WAY better than the first one, it was smooth, consistent and I thought our transitions were pretty bang on. However I guess it didn't look like it to the judge! We got 3rd place and a 68%. Still really good considering there was 16 people in the class. She commented a bunch of times that Brigit's poll was too low, which she does tend to do a lot, mostly when she's upset. But I really didn't think she looked or felt that bad. Ah well! I'm still really happy with our ride!

Here's the video from our 2nd test today, what do you think? (Also, Robin if you're reading this, any thoughts on the poll too low thing? How can I fix/improve that?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMJA_mo8rHg

We got lots of nice compliments on our turnout, I'm so glad the weather was a decent temperature, not too warm & with a nice breeze. I was still pretty hot in the wool habit with the wool vest underneat but hey, the price of lookin good!

Exciting news & pro pictures!

2011-08-05T11:19:00.000-06:00

I've really had nothing too interesting to post about lately (I'm sure you're sick of hearing about my gigantic tomato plants haha) hence my slight break in posts.

We ordered some pictures from the photographer at the dressage show we went to and they finally came! Her pictures are SO much better than the ones my camera took. Wish I hadn't had such goofy faces in so many though! LOL

This is my favorite.

Our attempt at a stretchy trot, doesn't look all too bad but we can do sooooo much better! (Think western pleasure pony with nose almost to the ground)

There must have been something scary in the distance, it's really hard to get a pic with B's ears forward!

I wish I didn't look so grouchy!

This one is really cool & very artsy! Just love how all the colors are so rich.

Now onto the exciting news!! My scores were good enough from that show, to qualify me for the Alberta Provicial Dressage Championships ANNNND the Western Canadian Regional Dressage Championships!! I'm really excited, this is really further than I've ever made it in terms of riding, it's a big accomplishment for me. When I did the hunter & jumper thing, I did so/so but didn't put this much effort into it and it's really paying off. So of course, this is an opportunity not to be passed up! I'll be saving my pennies and practicing my tests! I hope we can do just as well as we have thus far! The championships are on September 15-18.

First ripe tomato of the summer!

2011-07-25T22:13:00.000-06:00

And it was YUMMY!

The Black Krim tomatoes seem to be the earliest to mature but are surprisingly the biggest out of the different varieties I started. The one I had tonight was nearly 1 lb! I pulled it off the vine the other day and let it sit in the window and have been waiting & waiting for it to be ripe. I've never grown these before so I wasn't entirely sure when it was really & truly ripe but thought I'd give it a try tonight.

When ripe, they are a dark reddish, brownish, purplish color with some green streaks. When you cut it open it's a deep red with green seeds. Very flavorful and juicy!

But do you know what I forgot to do? Take a picture of it to share. I will with the next ripe one! Should be another few days till the next is ready.

I have a feeling the other varieties are going to ALL be ripe at the same time and I'm going to have a deluge of tomatoes.

I can't wait for fresh tomatoes in salad, or for snacks, sandwiches and in pasta. Hmm perhaps some brushetta and fresh salsa?

Any other good ideas or recipes for tomatoes? What's your favorite thing to do with yours?

Navy Side Saddle Habit for Sale!

2011-07-25T11:25:00.001-06:00

I have listed my navy side-saddle habit for sale on Ebay. There was no need for me to keep it since I've recently gotten a new navy wool one made to fit me.

Here is the link to it but I'll also post the details below.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220818082193&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Great starter habit for someone just getting into sidesaddle and not wanting to order a custom habit just yet or for someone looking for a lighter weight habit for the summer. This was my first habit but I've since upgraded, otherwise I'd be keeping it! Has been to many shows and demonstrations and always gets lots of compliments! This is a proper sidesaddle habit, not just a jacket made to match an existing apron. Please note with the photos, the habit does not have any funny spots on it or stains/discoloration. There are a few that show up in the photos but these are simply dust in the air reflecting light. The habit may look slightly "shiny" in the photos, however, it is not actually shiny material at all. Just a nice navy blue habit.

Material is a polyester blend, thus lighter weight than wool and a bit cooler in the summertime. Fully lined jacket & apron. The apron is weighted to keep it lying down and straight. Apron closes with a button at the top and velcro the rest of the way down for safety. The jacket has 2 buttons and elegantly tapers down at the bottom. Made by Jaffera's Tailoring in Old Forge, PA. I am 5'6" and the habit fits me well in terms of height. Usually I wear a "Medium" size shirt (I believe that equates to size 36 or 8-10 depending on where you are and what system of measurement you use) and size 30 (9-10) jeans.

Someone slightly taller or shorter could easily wear this habit too. There is some wear & tear on the bottom of the apron where it tucks under your right foot but it is not noticeable when you are riding.

Measurements are as follows:

Jacket:

Waist - 31.5" (measured from the outside of the jacket. I measure a 30" and it fits me well.

Sleeve Length - 23" (measured from point of shoulder to cuff)

Length of jacket - 26" (measured from bottom of collar to bottom of jacket)

Bust - 36"

Shoulder - 17 1/4" (measured from point of shoulder to point of shoulder)

Apron:

Waistline to back of apron (short part) - 11 3/4"

Length of Apron - 30"

****A note on measurements - there is room with this habit to take it in further or let it out. There is also room to drop the hem of the apron for a slightly taller rider. It shouldn't be hard to have it tailored to fit you perfectly****

The Calgary Stampede!

2011-07-14T15:07:00.000-06:00

Well we survived and had a great time!

The day started out by POURING rain, I was glad I had the wool habits now! On my way to the Stampede grounds I got cut off on the freeway and missed the turn-off I was supposed to take. I got turned around and managed to get back to where I needed to be on time. By the time I got into Calgary the rain had stopped and it was nice out.

It was really neat going in the back entrance and getting to see all the behind the scenes stuff. I got a pass with my picture on it (that gets me into anywhere!) and I drove past hundreds of trailers, motor homes and the barns full of the chuckwagon horses. Twice I got directed into the wrong area and had to back the trailer up (eeek!) but I managed it with no issues! Good thing I've gotten some practice! I ended up parking right next to the area where all the singers have their giant, fancy motorhomes.

I got tacked up & dressed and we headed over to the arena. I have to say, I think my tweed habit is my new favorite! I got a new green tie & shirt with a collar, I think it looks a lot better than a stock tie and from reading one of the other blogs, it also wasn't correct! Brigit was a tad lookie at things to start with but soon she was taking it all in stride. There was a LOT going on. We were right next to a bunch of draft horses with wagons and the military tanks plus lots of people, kids & strollers. Not to mention the donkeys & mules with their carts & wagons were in behind me.

We had a great demo and showed off our stuff while the announcer read a script I wrote. Brigit was fantastic! They set up a little jump for us and boy did that open some eyes! I think we've finally got this jumping aside business figured out! We went over it a bunch of times (carefully because the footing was really deep & wet) and the crowd really enjoyed it. Afterwards we had some fun answering questions. Brigit even let a whole bunch of kids climb up on the fence and pet her (normally she's not too sure what to think of wee people). I was really pleased with her.

The cutest comment came from a little girl who was quite concerned when she saw me ride in, she asked her mom "Did that lady break her leg?". Too funny!

People of all ages came over and were just fascinated. It was really fun! We even had some people there for the cutting competition from Texas come over and ask to take photos. I have to say, riding sidesaddle seems to be the ultimate ice-breaker!

Calgary Stampede tomorrow!

2011-07-12T20:42:00.000-06:00

I'm getting everything ready to head to the Stampede tomorrow. Little bit nervous about taking the truck & trailer into the heart of Calgary but I'm sure I'll manage.

I'm doing a sidesaddle demo at 1pm tomorrow, wish me luck! Bought a new shirt & tie to go with the tweed habit and some more hair nets (not sure where all of mine went?!?!). Think I should be good to go in the morning!

Wish me luck!

The one & only galloping picture

2011-07-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

That I have from the race on July 1st. I found a photographer that had taken it and he graciously agreed to let me have a copy to share. All photo credits go to James Tworow.

You can tell we were really flying!

So proud of my little garden!

2011-07-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

It's doing really really well! Thus far it's been safe from hail *KNOCK ON WOOD* and everything is thriving.

Including the grass.....which took me 2 hours to mow and weed whip yesterday.

We had radishes out of the garden last night in our salad. The little french breakfast radishes are really tasty, not hot at all.

And the carrots, lettuce & sweet peas are coming along nicely!

I planted a second round of radishes that have come up. The garlic is doing well, as is the brussel sprout plant I tried as an experiment. The spring onions sure look itty bitty though.

There are even little pumpkins forming!! I'm so surpised at them!

The zucchini plant is doing well, as are the mini summer squashes (they sure are a lot more 'mini' than I thought they'd be).

And the cabbage is starting to curl it's leaves in and ball up like it's supposed to. (I'm sure there must be a technical name for it)

And last but definitely not least, my gorgeous tomato plants! They seem happy as can be growing up their spirals. I'm pretty sure that the striped paste tomatoes will EASILY be at the top of the spiral by the end of the summer.

The Ildi tomatoes just started to flower, they are going to be absolutely covered in teeny tiny tomatoes.

The Black Krim's have already set fruit and they just keep getting bigger and BIGGER! They're a little deformed too... But I can't wait for them to ripen so I can try one!

The 'Striped Paste' tomatoes have started to set fruit as well, they are looking really good! I'm interested to see how big they will get.

I'm curious about the Hawaiian pineapple tomatoes too. They've just started to flower (LOTS of flowers on each plant). Each flower is really BIG, I don't think I've ever seen a tomato flower that big before to be honest. I should have taken a picture of it.

Another fantastic show!!!

2011-07-11T14:37:00.001-06:00

Boy do I feel like we are on a roll!

I did get my new habits in time for the show. Although it invovled me driving an hour down to the distribution centre because they "Don't ship to a PO box", which would have been great to know prior to using them for shipping! But oh well. I got them and they are absolutely GORGEOUS!!! I really couldn't be more pleased. The quality of the materials and the workmanship are just amazing. The navy habit fits so much better than my previous one does and the tweed is just to die for!

If anyone is interested, I HIGHLY recommend Trish Daly at Showtime Supplies for any of your show needs. http://www.showtimesupplies.co.uk/side-saddle.html Her prices are reasonable and she went above & beyond!

Anyways on to the show!

I was entered in 3 jumping divisions but only got to compete in one because they ran later than planned and ended up going at the same time as the flat classes. We really didn't have the best rounds so I decided we'd just scratch out of the rest and do the flat classes inside. I was surprised that we got a 1st and 2nd place in the jumping division we were in because we were a tad rushy through the whole thing.

Perhaps Brigit just wanted more of a challenge! lol

We had to do hunt seat equitation astride, which we got 3rd place in. We absolutely nailed out pattern except I looked down for my diagonals and the judge dinged me for it.

Then we did a quick swap to our sidesaddle gear and tried out the new navy habit! It fit so nicely! But BOY was I ever HOT! The wool sure takes some getting used to!

We did Road Hack, Show Hack, Low Hunter Hack, English Pleasure, Ladies Sidesaddle and Pleasure Pairs. We were definitely having an "on" day because we won everything but English Pleasure where we got 2nd place! We were getting all of our transitions quickly and nicely and everything just seemed to fall into place!

(I really need to get the hem in the navy apron lengthened because it was too short and you could see my right foot most of the time.)

I changed into my tweed habit for Low Hunter Hack and English Pleasure but unfortunately don't have any pictures of it yet. The hunter hack class was so much fun! Now I really want to do more jumping aside!

It's too bad these two pictures were blurry! They'd be good ones!

Brigit really HATES standing in the lineup though. At the end of one class she refused to stand still and just kept shaking her head.
This is what Brigit thinks of having to stand still... lol

In total we came home with 6 - 1sts, 2 - 2nd's, a third and we earned our entry fees back and then some! Definitely a good day's work!

Please be here today!!!

2011-07-08T11:17:00.000-06:00

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my habits from the UK. I'm absolutely DYING to see them and of course try them on!!! They were *supposed* to be here yesterday but must have gotten caught up in Calgary or taken longer to get through the sorting facility. Hopefully today!!! I'm going to run to the post office on my lunch break to check & see!

Fingers crossed!!!!

I'm off to another show tomorrow. It's a local one so only about 5 minutes from home. It will be such a treat not to have to drive all over to get there.

We are entered in the 2'6" hunter division and 2'9" & 3'0" jumper divisions. (and no, I'm not doing it sidesaddle! haha) I was wondering the other day what the heck I was thinking entering in the 3'0" class because I just haven't been jumping enough. So wednesday night I decided I was going to jump and see how comfortable I felt. Well we had a beyond fantastic schooling session. Everything was just coming together and we had no issues. Definitely feeling good about it tomorrow!

There are also the standard english pleasure classes, hunt seat equitation etc. They are also having a "Ladies Side Saddle Class" which I am really excited for! Thus far I think there are only a few people entered but I hope some more people come out of the woodwork for it! I've also bravely entered the 18" hunter hack division and am going to attempt it sidesaddle!!! Could be good, could end in a sore back! haha (for me that is). A friend of mine is coming up to ride sidesaddle and we're also going to do the pleasure pairs class aside, should be fun!

Holy HAIL!!!

2011-07-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Last night we had an absolutely NASTY storm blow through. I had pony club lessons to teach but I ran home first and put as many plants under cover as possible.

The further north I drove, the blacker the sky got. It was raining when I arrived at the barn but wasn't too bad so we went on with lessons (luckily my first lesson only had one rider). Before long it started to hail so we moved our vehicles under cover of the barn's lean-to.

We rode for a little bit longer before we started to hear a "Thunk-Thunk" sound on the roof of the arena. I was a bit worried that the skylights might break so I called the rider over to the side of the arena and got her to hop off. We took a peek out the door to see MASSIVE hail stones hitting the ground and bouncing 10' back into the air.

Then the hail got even bigger and we look up to see pieces of it smashing through not only the skylights of the arena but the roof too! We quickly hurried for the lounge area which is more sheltered and brought the horse in with us. Luckily Lizzy is a good girl and didn't mind being in an odd place like that.

A tornado touched down only a few miles away so I think we were very lucky. It was definitely a bit scary!

Anyways, on to the photos!

This is how big the hail was. Literally tennis ball sized.

You can see all the holes in the roof of the arena.

And the pieces of roof & skylight all over the arena.

Camping does NOT = eating hot dogs all weekend!

2011-07-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

We went out camping for a night in the mountains this past weekend. I love to go camping and especially love to cook in my cast iron pots on the campfire.I refuse to eat smokies and junk food all weekend long. It's a real art but a fun challenge!

We had some chili and delicious cornbread made in the cast iron skillet for dinner. The cornbread was something I hadn't tried before but boy did it turn out well! YUM!

As you can tell, there wasn't much left!

And later we needed dessert of course! Marshmellows? I think not! S'mores? Nah... How about black forest cake?? Yes you CAN make it on the campfire! And it is soooo good! Just have to make sure you have a low fire and the pot doesn't get too hot.

We had to get inventive in the morning as we'd forgotten to bring a coffee percolator or any filters. Sooo we used paper towel to strain the grinds out.

A festive breakfast skillet in the morning. It was windy and trying to rain so I thought the wee umbrellas would brighten the mood.

And here's my friend Karen on my other "red mare". This one is a little more unpredictable than Brigit! lol

So what's your favorite thing to make when camping?

Next time.... I'm going to attempt to make cinnamon buns!

Millarville Races 2011! The ladies sidesaddle race

2011-07-05T11:05:00.001-06:00

Friday July 1st was Canada Day here and I trucked down to a little hamlet called Millarville. They've been having horse races there for 106 years and this year they decided to include a ladies sidesaddle race to celebrate the tradition & history of the races.

We had an absolute blast! Everyone got dressed right up (I spent HOURS ironing my darned linen habit...but it was worth it!) and we paraded around the grounds until it was time for us to go.

All of us ladies dressed up for a group photo.

There was a lot of people and the weather was perfect. After singing of the national anthem and a musical ride, it was our turn.

And we're off to do our "post parade" past the crowd.

This pony is an absolute star! Love him!

The official race was originally meant to be a gaited horse race but seeing that only one person brought a gaited horse, they changed it to a 350 yard trot race. Some of the ladies were on younger/newer horses and they weren't too sure about going full out. We did our parade past the grandstand and then it was back to the start line. Well off we went but Brigit would NOT trot!! I tried absolutely everything to get her to trot, to no avail. We cantered sideways with our head tucked to our chest and did everything BUT trot. We ended up 3rd though and we even got a little trophy!

On our way back to the start line. Eddie & Brigit make such a cute pair and he sure doesn't have any trouble keeping up with Brigit's long legs!

Back to the start line to get ready to go.

And we're off!

I have to say the best part was after the "official" race, one of the other gals and I decided to stage a second "unofficial" race. We turned around and let our horses fly, galloping full tilt back past the grandstand with the crowd cheering! We definitely caught everyone by surprise! It was so much fun. I think Brigit thoroughly enjoyed herself too. (I'm also happy to say my new, slightly smaller, hat didn't blow off!)

I laughed when my friend's mother commented on the video of us galloping, she said "You two girls just can't go out in public, can you?! The challenge was to be ladylike for less than an hour and next thing we know...." (meant in a joking manner of course).

I'm working on getting the video of us galloping so I can share it on my blog., I just don't have it.... yet! I'm hoping I can get some more pictures too!

Growing like weeds

2011-07-05T08:48:00.000-06:00

We've been getting lots of nice weather interspersed with some rain and everything is looking just great! We did have a big storm blow through last night and I ran around in the pouring rain throwing sheets over everything just in case it decided to hail. Luckily it didn't!
I had to take some pictures to share. The flowers are all blooming, the baskets are overflowing and some things, like my pumpkins have suddenly gotten HUGE! I ate my first radish out of the garden this weekend too!

I think I'm actually going to get a pumpkin or two for halloween this year!

And there should be LOTS of squash & zucchini!

The tomatoes are getting really tall and climbing up their spirals. They all have flowers on them but the "Black Krim" tomatoes are by far the earliest to produce fruit. There are some HUGE tomatoes on the vine, should be another week or so until they are ripe! Yum!!

The lettuce is veeeeery slowly growing, as are the carrots. I need to give them some fertilizer and hopefully that will help them get bigger faster.

The onions and garlic are growing, some faster than others. This is my first time growing both, so I really have no clue what I'm doing! lol

The herbs are all doing well...except my basil, it's just not happy at all.

My watermelon kind of stinks. I can't figure out what to do to make it happy. It doesn't like the hot sun/heat and wilts, so it's been sitting on the front porch and only gets morning sun. It hasn't done much of anything. I don't have high hopes for getting any melons.

And here are the flowers. I have some ideas for next year and I think it's going to involve digging up most of the tulips and replanting them in clumps vs one here and there. It looks a bit messy in my opinion. I guess that's what happens when you impulse plant! lol

Guess what's in the mail.......

2011-07-04T22:57:00.000-06:00

My new riding habits!! Let me tell you I am SOOOO EXCITED! I can't wait for them to come and you know I'll be tearing open the packaging as soon as it gets here and trying everything on!

I've always loved the look of a tweed habit and decided to spoil myself with a new habit. I figured it would look sharp on more informal occassions or if showing in hunter classes. Aaaaand since the price was right, I figured since I was really getting into this showing sidesaddle business it was time to upgrade my navy habit. It required a TON of alterations to make it fit halfway decent and it's just never been quite right. Lovely habit but just not as well fitted to me as it could be. So yes, I have both a tweed AND a navy habit coming! Yay!! They should be here just in time for my show this weekend. Double Yay!!

So...... Do you want to see a picture of them???

Really?

Are you suuuuuure?

Ok, ok, I'll quit teasing, here they are!

Here's the navy one...

And the tweed one...

They should be here Thurs! I can't wait!!!

Red's & Blue's almost all the way!

2011-06-27T11:00:00.000-06:00

Well we survived our first BIG dressage show. I showed up on friday feeling a tad overwhelmed and wondered if I'd bitten off more than I could chew. We had a good ride and then got Brigit settled in. I didn't sleep much that night because I was trying to so hard to remember all my tests. I was paranoid that I would forget!

Saturday morning was windy but Brigit seemed fine in the warm up. I was absolutely paranoid that I would forget where I was going so I convinced someone to read for me. I went in to do my first test and Brigit was suddenly HOT and super wound up. I had to fight her for every downward transition (or so it felt like) and coming across the diagonal to X at the canter she desperately wanted to do a flying change so I struggled to prevent it. I didn't think we had that great of a ride at all and was a bit annoyed. I couldn't figure out what the issue was that was making her so hot and fussy.
Our second test was only about 40 minutes later and it went a little better although it was still a bit of a fight. I can tell when Brigit is upset because she curls her neck up and isn't light & responsive at all. When we got the comment sheet back from the judge we had a "Poll too low" or "Behind the vertical" about 15 times.... Dah!!

I went for lunch and had a pity beer because I really didn't feel that we did nearly as well as I know we can. Then I went to check the results to see how poorly we had done. Well let me tell you, I was SHOCKED and stood there with my mouth open staring at the wall when I read my score of 64.2% on my first test and 70% on my second!!! That meant we got 2nd place in the one class and 1st place in the other!!! Wow!!

I had to wait until about 4pm for my third ride on sunday so let Brigit wander and eat some grass and then went and bought a new manure fork for the trailer.... Something I ALWAYS forget at home.

Our third ride felt so much better. Brigit was a little more settled and everything went as it should...... Until our last transition, going from a canter to a trot and then down the center line. Well Brigit decided she'd had enough of this and would NOT trot. I was either going to get a walk or a teeny-tiny collected canter, no trot. I finally got it just as we turned to go up the centre line. I was so annoyed. I'm sure we would have had that class too if we could have gotten that last transition. Damn! Turns out the judge must have thought we did everything else very well and we got another 2nd place with a mark of 68.75%.

Saturday evening they had a "Gala" event and they asked me if I would do a sidesaddle demo. A friend of mine came too and we had lots of fun with it. Started out with a bit of a pattern and then just did whatever we felt like. Brigit definitely enjoyed just messing about much more than doing a test. She had some lovely flying changes, extensions and leg yeilds. After that they had steak for supper along with some wine! Yum!

Sunday morning I woke up to rain. I so wanted to just stay in bed but thought I'd better get up since I paid good money to be there. Our first test was at 8:30 am. Luckily for us the rain stopped just as I left the barn to ride and started again after we got back. Again Brigit was really upset and fussy in the warm up ring. I couldn't get her to stand for the life of me. She was pawing & stomping with her back legs. Even so I was still a lot happier with our ride than saturday's. We got all of our transitions where they should be and she was listening better. Still a touch hot but what can you do.

I had to wait until 3:30 for my next ride so I went to a friend's place for lunch and had a good visit. And then had the saddle fitter take some measurements on Brigit's back to see if they had any used saddles that would be suitable to try.

Our last ride of the day I figured I would just wing it. We'd done pretty well all weekend so it didn't matter how this last one went. I went down to the ring, got on, organized my apron and went in the ring. Surprisingly Brigit did SO much better without a warmup! We had our best feeling test yet. Brigit was much more normal, soft and listening a lot better. We nailed all of our transitions and I came out feeling really pleased. Great way to end our weekend!

I went and checked our results after I got the trailer all packed up and was again surprised to see that we'd gotten a 3rd (64%) in our first class and a 2nd (68%) for our second ride that day!

I really don't care how we place at the shows, I just want to put in a good ride and do as well as I know we can. The ribbons are just a bonus! I'm really proud of that 70% score, although I don't think it felt like a 70% ride lol. It's so frustrating to know that you can do a test so well at home and then come to a show and have it feel like you're riding a totally different horse. Obviously it wasn't as bad as I thought it was but most of our tests didn't feel as good as they could. I keep thinking, if only our rides could have been as relaxed and nice as they are at home.

A few things I'm going to work on are our stretchy trot & stretchy walk. I think if we could have gotten those, we would have scored even higher. In every test they were pretty bad. With Brigit being so hot, the attempted stretchy trot turned into "lets trot as fast as I can with my head up!" and our "free walk" was all over the place in terms of pace and where her head was; up, down, looking this way and that etc. If we can get those two things better, I think we'll be able to do even better! I think I've been bitten by the dressage bug!

Now here's the question.... How in the world do you get a slightly fracticious, hot mare to RELAX?!?! (My boyfriend suggested giving Brigit a beer with her lunch too LOL).

Anyways, enough of a novel, on to some pictures! Sorry there aren't more, I will hopefully get some more emailed to me soon.

Into the ring we go... (I like this pic, I look nice & skinny in it! haha)

Around the corner we come... I need to pick that inside shoulder up!

Our attempt at a "stretchy trot" The first half was nice but kind of fell apart after we crossed the centre line.

Across the diagonal we go.

These are the best pics, the rest of the pics are slightly blurry. Enjoy!

Hi ho, hi ho! Off to the show I go!

2011-06-24T10:16:00.000-06:00

Decided I was taking a day off of work today so I could sleep in a bit and get all my stuff together and actually feel prepared! I have a list of things I need to do today and then later this afternoon I'll be heading to the show.

I ride 3 tests tomorrow and another 2 on sunday. I had such a fantastic ride on wednesday night and I really hope we can have that same feeling all weekend. If so, I think we'll do well! The chiro treatment really really helped a lot, it's going to be a regular part of our "health regeime" to keep Brigit feeling good.

So I'm off to get my stuff ready, clean tack, water the garden, finish cleaning the trailer, bath & ride Brigit and grab some groceries so I have some snacks and don't have to spend a fortune on food this weekend.

Wish me luck!!

I just don't feel ready....

2011-06-22T10:04:00.000-06:00

After my upbeat post a few days ago about how much I have going on, today I'm feeling like I have TOO MUCH going on.

I entered in this big dressage show this weekend and I just don't feel ready. I haven't had enough time to practice the tests or just plain ride, period. I'm still going but I hope I can get time to ride in the next few days.

I rode last night and had a so/so ride. Brigit is still being really difficult although she feels a ton better suppleness & movement wise. The wind was blowing really hard which I think caused a bunch of her agitation. I hope that's all.

I think I'm going to need a reader for my tests too. I've been trying my hardest to memorize the other 2 tests I need to ride (3 total) and for the life of me I just can't remember past a certain point. I've got the first one no problem and the 2nd is coming but I can't see remembering the 3rd and not getting all three mixed up! lol THAT would be embarrassing!

I see the light now!

2011-06-20T22:42:00.000-06:00

After spending over an hour and a half with my horse chiro/massage person, who also happens to be a very good friend. I learned a LOT about why things have been like they have lately.

The reason I couldn't get that long & low, stretchy trot, walk or otherwise... several vertebrae at the base of Brigit's neck were out and she just *couldn't* do it.

The reason I could get a nice bend to the left but not to the right. Her one hip was dropped and sacrum was all weird. After a massage and an adjustment, she looks like she has an entirely different hind end!

And also, as I suspected, my english saddle doesn't fit. It fits her in terms of tree width and the gullet is nice and high for her big withers. However the gullet itself is too narrow and is putting pressure on either side of her spine. No wonder she's unhappy! Not only that but she thinks the saddle is over-stuffed at the back and is putting way more pressure there than anywhere else.

So Brigit is feelin good again and I'm on the hunt for a new saddle. (Or at least a new to me saddle!) I'm ok with that though because I really am glad it's something fixable and not just a major training roadblock. Until then I'll be riding bareback or sidesaddle which is good too!

Time for a massage/chiro appt.....

2011-06-20T14:46:00.002-06:00

But it's not for me!

Something is up with Brigit and I'm thinking she's out in her back somewhere or sore. She just hasn't been herself and I really wonder if her saddle is pinching or something along those lines. Ride her in my english saddle and she's super cranky and reactive. Ride her bareback and she's super mellow. I am wondering if the weight she has put on has changed the shape of her back and her saddle no longer fits. Tonight she gets a massage and a chiro adjustment to hopefully make her feel better.

I also think there must be something out in her neck, she doesn't want to do any cookie stretches to the left. Will keep you updated!

Yesterday's Show

2011-06-19T20:33:00.000-06:00

I've been out & about most of today, the rain has finally cleared so I thought I'd better take advantage of it.

The show yesterday was.... interesting. It was put on by a breed association so I knew there would be a breed judge but even so, I wasn't really pleased with the judging. I guess that's what it's all about though, paying for someone else's opinion and sometimes opinions differ.

Brigit and I still did well considering she was being a huge BUTT. She was super hot & spooky during warm up and nearly pulled my arms off through ever class. We did the english pleasure sidesaddle (to many people's shock & question "Are you ALLOWED to do that?") and got 5th, which I think is about right seeing that Brigit was pulling as hard as she was. We switched to our astride saddle and got 2nd in english equitation, 2nd in show hack, 1st in the command class and a 4th in a fun class. I have no issues with my placings so perhaps I should shut up....

BUT.... I brought one of my students to the show with me and since last weekend's show, she's improved immensely. However, I think the cards were stacked against her riding a draft X at a breed show. She didn't place in ONE class, I was so disappointed for her. Several other english instructors that I know were at the show and none of us could figure out what he was placing & why; other than anything that went like a WP horse placed higher.

Now I know that the show was put on by a breed association but when you extend an invitation "other" breeds to come to your show, it should be judged to the description of the class, not the breed standard. Otherwise people like myself won't attend again. ie English classes should be forward moving and should look different than western class, in my humble opinion of course. A horse that carries itself in a gorgeous, more upright frame and doesn't put a foot wrong *should* place higher than something that is dragging it's face on the ground. (There was a girl riding a gorgeous horse with dressage background that didn't even place in english pleasure and really should have, gorgeous little horse!)

Now onto my HUGEST pet peeve. Equitation classes judged soley on a pattern. I like patterns, I do, I see their purpose and it can really separate the riders from the rest. If a rider has a perfect pattern and nails all of their transitions where they should be, and looks good doing it they should win, right? What if they happen to go on the wrong side of ONE cone? Oh right, they're disqualified. I think it's beyond ridiculous to disqualify (especially JUNIOR) riders based on what side of the cone they pass a cone. Eq patterns should be judged on a rider's position, correct aids, quality of circles, pace, correct diagonals & leads and quality transitions; THAT is what good eq is all about. This judge dq'd 2 junior riders (one of which imho should have gotten 2nd or 3rd based on equitation & quality of her pattern elements) for going on the wrong side of a cone and refused to give out 5th & 6th place ribbons in the class.

It shouldn't matter if you pass the cone on the right or left side if you get your transitions where they should be and complete all elements of said pattern.

I *get* that it is THE rule, but I think it's a dumb rule. Staying on the right or left side of a stupid pylon is not what equitation is all about. You want a riding pattern, then having a riding pattern class. Urgh.

Anyways.... I'll bite my tongue now.

All bathed & braided up & ready to show again!

2011-06-17T22:28:00.000-06:00

Spent about 3 hours at the barn prepping for our show tomorrow. Bathed both horses (one my riding students is coming to the show with me), braided, cleaned tack and got everything loaded up.

It's not a very big show and sometimes I really wonder why I go to all the effort to bath & braid but I think the extra effort really shows. And if we're going to be riding sidesaddle and look spectacular, I'd better not do it on a dirty pony!

Habit has been dry cleaned yet again, seems like it needs to get cleaned after every time I use it (I can't get over how fast it gets absolutely FILTHY). Saddle pads are in the wash, shirt is starched and ironed and I think we're pretty much set.

Just hoping we have decent weather tomorrow. It's been super rainy and they're predicting more rain again. Blah. It won't be fun trying to stay clean if it's really muddy & rainy all day. I guess I should suck it up though; after looking at Leila's pictures of them showing in the pouring rain! THAT is dedication!

Wish us luck! Will return with more pictures tomorrow!

To my fellow bloggers.....

2011-06-17T22:20:00.000-06:00

I really really have been reading your posts lately but blogger will only let me post on certain people's blogs! I wish they would hurry up and fix whatever issue they are having.

Anita I'm so glad to hear you and your family are ok after yet another earthquake!

Robin I'm so sorry about you and Owen. I hope they can fix the both of you so you can keep on your sidesaddle quest!

I think I've been able to comment on everyone else's blogs but if not, I may be forced to add comments after my posts lol.

Things are about to get BUSY!!

2011-06-17T09:01:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've just been running here, there & everywhere and keep forgetting to post something.

We're running summer courses at the college and I'm teaching Pony Club two days a week and lessons at the barn I board at on Mondays (just had a few more students sign up too!) and trying to cram a ride in on Brigit here and there! I sure don't feel like I've been consistent at all with her lately.

Tomorrow we're off to a show, luckily it's really close to home. I emailed the show secretary to ask if they had a problem with me riding sidesaddle and they said I could with the exception of the equitation class, which is pretty standard. Ideally I'd like to be able to ride most of the classes sidesaddle but it might involve a major panic tack/dress change! Pleasure is first, followed by a bunch of classes where I'll have a chance to change to English tack for equitation. Then there is another pleasure class & show hack right back to back with the equitation, so I'm not sure if I'd have time to switch back to sidesaddle or not, even though I'd love to. Guess we'll have to play that one as it goes.

Next weekend is a big dressage show that I was asked to do a demo during their Gala evening. I've got another sidesaddle rider coming to join me so it should be really good! I figured since I did so well at that last dressage show and since I was already going to be there, I might as well enter into the training level tests again. I really need to get riding and riding sidesaddle as I haven't done it in weeks! Plus now I have to remember two more tests! EEEEK!!! I'd much prefer to memorize them and do them myself but I may enlist the help of a reader so I don't screw up! I'm super excited for this though! A friend is going to be my groom and I'm going to groom for her as she's doing the 4th level tests. Plus one of my Pony Club students will be there doing the FEI Children's Freestyle. She's an awesome little rider and usually cleans up at shows! The best part is she rides a little grade QH mare and beats all the fancy scmancy warmbloods! That is bragging rights right there!!!

July 1st is a friday and it's Canada Day. I'll be going down to the Millarville Race Track. They are celebrating their 105th anniversary of racing and are going to have a ladies sidesaddle race! It should be fun....although we're only supposed to trot.... Time to break out the sports bra! LOL

July 9 & 10 is the Didsbury Horse Show which should be a really fun one! They have some hunter & jumper classes and all kinds of flat classes PLUS they've added a ladies sidesaddle class!! Very excited for this one! (My new habits should be here too!) I asked the show secretary about riding sidesaddle and again, I can ride in anything I'd like except for equitation. I even entered in the 18" hunter hack class, why not! I've harassed as many ladies as I can to come to the sidesaddle class so we have a good turnout, I think we will....hopefully!! Caitlin & her pony Eddie are coming up for sure and in addition to the sidesaddle class, her and I are going to do the pairs class sidesaddle. Won't that look smashing; two chestnuts (one big & one small) and two ladies dressed to the nines?

After that weekend is the Calgary Stampede, which I've been invited to come & ride at and do a few demo's. We'll be there on Wednesday and on Sunday. (Saturday is a friend's wedding and I have to make their wedding cake! lol)

After that things slow down for awhile (thank goodness!!), I'm sure looking forward to it all but I know I'm probably doing a tad too much! No rest for the wicked!

Look at this fancy saddle!

2011-06-16T13:39:00.000-06:00

It's practically a piece of art! Found this on Ebay today and thought it was worthwhile sharing.

(The leaping head is sure a bit funny though isn't it?)

Sunday Show

2011-06-13T22:48:00.000-06:00

I took one of my riding students to a horse show yesterday and she did so well! She's only ridden this horse for about a month and he's no easy ride! He is LAZY but has enough sass to him to provide a challenge. He normally gets ridden with a crop but at the show they aren't allowed, so we swapped to spurs. And normally it's a bit of a battle to keep him going but not yesterday! He was just motoring and didn't want to slow down! So we made the mistake of taking the spurs off. She had a lovely pleasure class but just as the judge was looking at her, Mr.LazyPants broke to a trot. Darn!!! Not much you can do about that though. She still had a great day and *I* think they really stood out and looked awesome! And luckily she's about my height so I brought my show clothes and they fit her pretty well. The coat was a tad big but not bad and my boots fit her better than they fit me!

Oh no! Not a postal strike!

2011-06-06T10:51:00.000-06:00

Yup, they're talking about a possible postal strike here in Canada as early as today. For the most part a lot of people won't be hugely affected. But for those that are trying to get horse show entries mailed in or are expecting items in the mail..... it will be a bit trickier!

I'm trying to enter in two shows at the moment and it's frustrating because they don't want faxed or scanned/emailed entries, I think they will change that in light of the strike though.

A little secret I've been keeping.... I've ordered a new habit! Actually TWO of them! I decided I didn't like my navy habit, it just doesn't fit quite right so it's time for an upgrade. I'm also getting a tweed habit. I just love how they look and hopefully it'll stay a bit cleaner than the navy! They are supposed to be done in a few weeks time so hopefully the strike will be over before it's time to pop them in the mail.

What a pain!

A schooling roadblock....Urgh.

2011-06-06T08:33:00.000-06:00

I guess it's my turn to have a riding roadblock and be incredibly frustrated. Yesterday was gorgeous outside, Brigit had her feet trimmed and then I decided to ride outside in her paddock since it's finally dried up. She was really really good outside but I could tell the footing still wasn't quite up to snuff so we went inside to finish up...... Which resulted in a pretty good battle.

Everything was suddenly a big deal to my silly red headed mare. The scary ray of light peaking through the door that she had to try and leap over, the stuff in the corner we had to spook at, the noise the other horse made that made her scoot forward.... Then she started to get upset with anything I did. If I moved my leg AT ALL, she scooted forward. If I tried to adjust my reins at all, she would throw her head up and get all discombobulated. If I tried to half halt to slow her down a touch, her head would go up or she'd suck her nose to her chest and just run right through me. I finally resorted to walk/halt transitions until she could do them relatively settled and we quit.

What the heck?!?!?!

I sure hope tomorrow's ride is better.... urgh.

This is why I love where I work!

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

Everything is starting to burst with color with the past few weeks of warm weather! As our school has a horticulture program the grounds are absolutely immaculate during the spring/summer/fall. Every day something new pops up. The amount of work that goes into the gardens is astonishing but well worth it!

Allium in bloom.

This is the "Alumni Peony Garden", I can't wait to see this blooming!

I love these apple trees that are trained to grow against the wall. An otherwise ugly wall is transformed!

These orange tulips are so unusual!

The alpine garden is bursting with color.

This little flower is so neat!

The moss phlox is gorgeous. I wish I had a spot to plant some of this in my garden.

Even the marsh marigold in the ponds are blooming.

There are many ancient apple trees on campus, their twisted trunks & branches are so interesting, especially when they're blooming!

I went and stood under one to take some pictures and the smell was amazing!

Some of the annuals are starting to be planted outside. I love their color combinations.

I'm not sure what the flowers under the tree are but they sure are neat!

Some peony's with really unusual leaves looking like they're about to bloom.

No idea what this is but it's interesting!

Some teeny tiny daffodils

And some more tulips.

I must have taken 50 pictures while wandering around today, there are so many different things everywhere you look. Aren't I lucky??

Grrr!!! Why can't I comment?!?!

2011-06-01T15:55:00.002-06:00

I don't know why but blogger is not letting me leave comments on anyone else's blogs or my own! I have been reading everyone else's posts, I just haven't been able to comment.

Anybody know how to fix this?

Goodbye Cody! But just for the summer!

2011-06-01T11:17:00.000-06:00

One of my best school horses is heading out to pasture for the summer. His wonderful owner graciously loaned him to me to use for my lessons & to help work off some fat. I don't know if we've managed to get much off of him but we've had fun with him!

Isn't he adorable with his little rider?

Fun day at the barn!

2011-05-26T11:22:00.000-06:00

I've been promising my lesson kids that we would have a "Pizza Fun Day" and we finally decided to have one on holiday monday last week. (It was Victoria Day here in Canada). I've been so busy that I've finally gotten around to doing a few posts!
We had all of the kids & their horses out to have a couple hours of pizza, cupcakes and games instead of their regular lesson. They had an absolute blast!

Mmmmm pizza!

Everybody getting warmed up, our little arena was FULL!

Explaining the rules of the "rotten tomato" game.... otherwise known as the "Egg & Spoon Race". I didn't have enough eggs, nor did I want to have smashed eggs all over the arena, so I improvised with some over-ripe rotten tomatoes I had sitting around.

Getting ready to play...

They were just doing too well, so I had to make it harder.... 2-point and don't drop your tomato!

And we did some "pole bending" relay races.

Musical stalls was the favorite game of the day! They absolutely loved this one!

And last but not least was the water glass race. I had to laugh how they all bunch up when they're concentrating on something else!

We'll definitely have to do another day of games!

I'm pretty impressed by the pictures my new camera takes inside the barn!

It's branding time in Alberta!

2011-05-25T11:19:00.001-06:00

With the spring weather & green grass it comes time to brand the new calves. A friend and her fiancee had their first crop of calves together this year and I thought it was pretty special so I tried to take lots of pictures.
The weather was miserable & raining but lots of people still turned out to help! It took us about 1.5 hrs to brand & vaccinate 75 calves. Normally we'd brand outside but due to the weather, we moved inside one of the big sheds on their farm. It worked out quite well and once everyone got to work wrestling calves, branding or giving vaccines, we warmed right up.

We had the calves on one side of the shed, the roper goes in to bring one out.

Under the watchful eye of their mama's standing outside.

These two were very interested and watching intently.

Two people hold the calf while it gets it's vaccines.

Just look at the size of that needle! Don't make her mad!

These are the branding irons being heated up.

And then in comes the branding iron.

We usually had two teams going at a time, one calf gets it's vaccinations while the other is branded and vice versa.

Even the little guys were helping out!

And making sure that spare horse didn't wander off.

Or just hanging out with dad watching.

There's the finished product. Branding is key to being able to keep track of your animals when they're out on pasture. Some community grazing associations have thousands of acres and thousands of cows on them. So you have to be able to quickly & easily identify which ones are yours.

And then out they go.

Back outside to find their mama's.

Once we were done it was time to head back to the trucks, take off our gear and head to the house for a big lunch.

Brandings are generally some hard work and a lot of fun. It's a great chance for friends, neighbors and family to get together and help each other out. Most are quite the social event!

What the HAIL!!!!

2011-05-19T20:45:00.000-06:00

Well I'm glad that I haven't gotten too overzealous with planting yet because we had a pretty good hail storm this evening. There are piles of hail in the ditches and by the gutters of the house. :( Those pretty tulips I posted pictures of in my last post? Shredded to smithereens. I'm glad we got to enjoy them for a week anyways. The rest of my tulips are immature enough that their buds didn't get ruined. Some of the trees are missing leaves and luckily my peony's are sheltered enough they didn't get hit.

This is the un-fun part of gardening in Alberta. The weather can be so unpredictable. Our average "last day of frost" is May 23, I think I'm going to wait until June 1 at least to put my more tender stuff out.

And just in case of frost or more hail, I bought some heavy duty clear plastic to make a "lean-to" against the fence. The frost I can deal with but seeing your entire garden hailed out is so disheartening.

We usually don't get hail storms until August here. Today we had a really good thunderstorm that brought in the hail. 2 years ago we had such a bad storm there was tornados spotted and a huge portion of the Alberta farmer's had their crops absolutely smashed into the ground.

I hope this isn't a bad sign of how our summer is going to be!!

Progress & Flowers in the yard!!

2011-05-19T10:02:00.000-06:00

We worked on building raised flower beds ALL last weekend and it took us a few nights this week to get them filled with soil. THREE loads of it and a LOT of shovelling!
My plan for this one is to put tomatoes here. I've started 4 different varieties of heritage tomatoes (Black Krim, Striped Paste, Ildi and Hawaiian Pineapple) to try this year. In past years I've only ever put tomatoes in pots on the deck, this year I'm upping the ante! This spot in the yard gets sun almost ALL day, so should be perfect. I've also got some gorgeous sunflowers & broom corn to plant along the back. Plus I'm going to put some nasturtiums and marigolds in and around the tomatoes.

This other bed is a bit more shaded in the afternoon but I think it will be good for lettuce, carrots, radish, cabbage and various other stuff. Plus I've got some really nice sweat peas that I'll put in the back for some extra color.

Very excited to get going on the gardening this weekend!

I also found some gorgeous hydrangeas. I've never seen them in these colors (I'm really not a fan of the blue ones). Aren't they pretty?

My tulips are finally blooming too. Well just a few at the moment. These are some new ones I planted last fall, I really like them.

And the viola's that I planted last year apparently re-seeded themselves and have gone a little crazy! They look pretty though (albeit a little messy). There are white lillies planted in there, so in the summer when they're blooming it should look quite nice.

Uncertain times....

2011-05-18T11:39:00.000-06:00

As many of you may have heard or may be experiencing in your area. In Alberta we are dealing with a case of "Neurologic Rhino" or EHV1 or Equine Herpes Virus. The "outbreak" started at a cutting show in Utah where several Alberta horses were present. They have no identified horses in Alberta & British Columbia that have tested positive for it and are under quarantine. I believe there is only ONE case in Alberta and TWO in BC.

Everyone is absolutely panic'ing about it and to be honest I'm a little fed up with all of the misinformation and half truths being spread around. A lot of people aren't really READING the information that's being put out, they're finding the worst case scenario tid bits and using to them to create mass hysteria.

After muddling through the information, here is what I know. EHV1 is normally a flu virus that presents itself as a runny nose/cough/fever. The vaccine prevents the respiratory version. However, in some horses the EHV1 is mutating and causing neurologic symptoms which *can* result in death. The vaccine doesn't protect against the neurologic strain.

A lot of people are peddling this virus as a guaranteed death sentance for horses if they get it, which is completely untrue. If you horse comes into contact with a horse that has EHV1, there is no guarantee that your horse will even get it in the first place. In the second place, if they do contract EHV1, there is no guarantee that it will mutate and cause neurologic symptoms. In the third place, if they *DO* get the neurologic symptoms, they can recover.

If your horse is not at a cutting or reining horse barn, you probably don't need to worry at all. I would say that if your horse is healthy and doesn't have a compromised immune system and has their regular vaccinations, you likely have even less to worry about.

Personally, I think the reason this disease is apparently so rampant & voracious is because a) It was at a national show with HUNDREDS of horses from across the continent and b) a lot of these horses are kept indoors 24/7/365, which IMHO is VERY unhealthy and can lead to a cough/COPD (ie compromised immune systems) from the ammonia build up in stuffy barns and are in heavy training so their bodies are stressed.

Some common sense will keep you safe. Stay at home if you are really worried. If you still want to show, have a look at the calendar before you go and see what other events the facility has held...anything with reiners or cutters, you may want to steer clear of for awhile. Take your own buckets, don't stable there if you don't have to and tie to your trailer vs. a common hitching rail. Don't hang out in between classes with other people/horses, take your's back to your trailer while you wait.

Thus far there are a LOT of barns here that are self quarantining for the next 3 weeks and a lot of shows are being cancelled or postponed. I say KUDOS to the barns/show officials for taking that precaution and having their priorities straight and trying to do their part to prevent the spread. Personally, I don't know what a 3 week quarantine will do, it doesn't seem like enough to really stop the "outbreak".

So I guess I may not get as much showing in as I had wanted to this summer, time will tell. I'm not too hurt about it because my pocket book will be happy! At the moment everyone is still unsure of the situation just yet, we will see what happens over the coming weeks. Perhaps Brigit will get kicked out for the summer at a friend's place to enjoy some grass again and I will spend more time in my garden. Either way, it will still be a good summer!

Finally! Photos from our 1st Dressage show!

2011-05-11T15:37:00.000-06:00

I hummed & I hawed about buying some photos of our first show, but since it was our 1st show sidesaddle, I should probably have some record of it! I wasn't sure about the photos because I'm not convinced I entirely like them, a) I really should have cleaned up Brigit's mane, b) I wish she wasn't so darn over-bent in so many of the photos. Oh well, she was relaxed, I'll take over-bent over "big-brown-giraffe"! LOL and c) I sure make some odd faces and am not the most photogenic when I'm concentrating (or out of breath for that matter! lol)

All rights to Briarwood Photography for taking the photos. You can see all of the photos here... http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=1031043&category=36

Here are the ones I chose to get. (If the links don't work - you may have to sign up to view, the photo numbers are 1045, 1049 and 1055)

http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=1031043&category=36&photo=1045

http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=1031043&category=36&photo=1049

http://www.pictage.com/client/eventPhotos.do?event=1031043&category=36&photo=1055

I also am convinced my habit looks a little frumpy on me. Time to save my pennies for an upgrade!

It's officially spring in Alberta when....

2011-05-10T21:54:00.000-06:00

You see these beauties blooming on the native prairie. They're always the first wildflowers to bloom and this year they're really thriving! Some fields are absolutely purple with all of the flowers. They're called "Crocus" or "Pasque-flower".

I splurged and bought a new camera today. It's a Fujifilm Finepix S2950. Not quite an SLR but definitely a few steps above my little blurry point & shoot. I'm having so much fun learning all of the things it can do! It takes videos (Yay sidesaddle videos!), it can do panorama shots (wish I would have figured that out while I was looking at the field of crocus today!), it'll take a rapid series of photos (6 photos/second) which will also be handy for riding shots, it's good inside/outside/dark & light, has a stability feature and even has BLINK detection! How the camera figures out when someone is going to blink I'll never know! You can also choose your own ISO & Aperature but I'm a ways off from knowing how to work that. Thus far I'm super happy with it! It's been a fun day playing with it.

And the best part! It was on sale!

I found a......

2011-05-09T14:32:00.002-06:00

stainless steel food mill at the local hardware shop of all places! Home made tomato sauce here I come!!!

Too many......PLANTS!

2011-05-09T09:54:00.000-06:00

Aka... I got carried away when starting stuff this spring.

I started 2 types of pumpkins (4 of each) and 2 types of squash (6 of each) and now they're taking over my basement!

I guess I really expected a poorer germination percentage and that some plants wouldn't make it this far... I was wrong! Luckily other people have spoken for my "leftovers" and they'll all have homes.

I picked one of each pumpkin and one of each type of squash and put them in bigger planters so they'll be ready to head outside when the weather is finally ok to put vegetables outside (prob not till end of May).

Not to mention the cabbage and various other things I've got growing in the kitchen window.

Our house has really been taken over by plants (I think I need a plant intervention!) on the floor, on the kitchen table, a tray full of coleous (sp?) in the bathtub.... It's starting to resemble the enchanted forest! lol

I love spring!

Yard projects - aka spring is finally here!

2011-05-08T15:30:00.000-06:00

I pulled a LOT of weeds today. Urgh. The grassy weeds and lawn that tries to creep into my flower beds drives me nuts. But it sure was fun to see what's coming up, spring is definitely here!

Some little pansies are blooming already. Hardy little things they are!

Aside from tulips, these little iris' are my favorite in the spring.

And I can't get over how many tulips there are in the front bed this year! We separated & spaced them out in the fall but I wasn't sure how many would actually come up. It's going to be gorgeous when they all bloom!

I'm happy to see my peony's are coming back with vigor. As are the lupines which self seeded themselves last year; there will be LOTS this summer. This bed is really protected, almost too much so and it doesn't get as much moisture so I always worry about it drying out and the plants dying but these ones seem to do well and spruce up an otherwise boring corner of the house.

The back yard involved a LOT of sod pulling. We bought a hot tub (YAY!) and now we need somewhere to put it. We pulled up sod (now on my list of least favorite jobs! lol) and took the railing off the deck. The plan is to put the hot tub on the ground and build a bigger deck. It was exciting to get it started!

And this year I've decided I want to grow vegetables but as you can see from the pics, we live in town and don't have the hugest yard. A square vegetable patch isn't the best option so we're going to put raised beds along the fence. Originally we just had a flower bed in the corner of the yard.

On my wish list is a garden shed with a planting bench & a small lean-to greenhouse off the side... I think we'll worry about the deck and planters first! lol

Too many.... TOMATOES! (never!)

2011-05-07T20:32:00.000-06:00

Friday they were taking down the tomato vines in the college greenhouses and they were still chalk full of tomatoes in various stages of ripeness. The tomato lover in me just couldn't see them go to waste..... So I asked if I could pick them.... Well me and my rubbermaid bin grabbed as many as I could carry.

Now to wait for them to ripen so I can try out the tomato sauce recipe from SmartAlex's blog!

I'm really looking forward to home made sauce! YUM! I've already eaten a fair share of the really ripe tomatoes and they are delish! (lucky for me, my SO hates raw tomatoes... more for me!)

The Mane Event 2011

2011-05-02T16:19:00.001-06:00

I'm back and I survived! Actually I did more than just survive, I had a great time! But I'm not going to lie, I was exhaused last night!

Thursday evening involved a lot of this...

But our booth was looking pretty good when we were done. Now to wait for everyone else to arrive with their saddles.

Friday morning I got up good & early (watched a few royal wedding highlights of course!), went to the barn and decided against giving Brigit a full bath. It was ROTTEN outside, rain which turned to snow a little later on. Poor Brigit was soaked and shaking when I brought her in. So I just washed her legs with warm water and left her to dry in a stall with a nice pile of hay. Ran home to pack & finish ironing and then we were back to the barn to grab Brigit and my tack and we were off!

The Expo opened at 11:00 am so we had to be there before then to finish getting the booth set up. I was initially worried that we wouldn't have enough stuff for our booth but it ended up turning out really well, don't you think?

The two lovely ladies in this pic are Betty-Lynn and Amanda. I really don't think I could have pulled this off without them! Betty-Lynn makes sidesaddles and Amanda is a newcomer to the world of riding aside. We had saddles dating back to the 1700's.... Now that I think of it... Why didn't I take more photos of the saddles!! Darn.

Actually, after looking at the photos my camera took, I'm going to be purchasing a new camera very soon. This one seems to be wearing out and as you'll notice, most pictures are out of focus. How frustrating!

Anyways, we had a lot of fun answering questions and showing people what an apron was and how we wore it. It was great to have a saddle for people to try sitting in. We started a tally sheet on friday to count how many people tried sitting in the saddle. I believe we ended up with well over 200 people and probably 1/4 of those (ok maybe a tiny bit less) were men!

Friday involved a LOT of running around here and there to grab things we'd forgotten, man the booth and in the afternoon Betty-Lynn (who did the talking), Charis and I (we did the riding) had a demonstration in the round pen. I wasn't sure what Brigit would think of it but she did well.
On our way to the demo a friend of mine snapped this pic.

Betty-Lynn brought a bunch of saddles over to the round pen to use them in her talk about the progression of sidesaddles.

Then it was back to the barn to untack, change and man the booth some more. I have to say, I wish the hours weren't quite as late, we were exhausted by the end of each day. Friday the tradeshow ended at 9pm, Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 6pm. All that time and we barely even got to do any shopping! (ok I did some... hellooooo plaid breeches! hehe). I think I watched maybe 5 minutes of the Greg Best clinic, wish I could have seen more!

Saturday was another busy day but we had reinforcements come in!

From left to right is Jim, me, Betty-Lynn, Lee, Karen and Caitlin. Missing from the photo is Matt (our picture taker), Charis and Holly.

There was so many people on saturday! I couldn't get over how busy it was. On one of my trips in and out, I walked by a booth that had gloves for 50% off. I've been looking for a pair of nice brown gloves for FOREVER and finally found some here! What a deal!

In the afternoon we had another demo but this time it was in the big ring. Lee had done a write up and she graciously read it while we rode. Betty-Lynn let me wear her black habit, isn't it nice?

Here we are, headed for our afternoon demo. Charis on Peppy, Caitlin on Eddie and me on Brigit.

Pardon the blurry pics, I'm so annoyed with my camera! I hope some better pics turn up.
Caitlin went in her western outfit.

Charis rode in her queen's outfit.

And me in the black formal habit.

We tried to add some humor to our demo, so Charis & I rode in, while Caitlin ran in on foot leading her horse. When she went to try to mount by herself, Lee said "Ladies never mount from the ground!", so Caitlin whistled and her boyfriend came running in to put her up. It was definitely a crowd pleaser! We had a lot of fun showing off (especially our leg yields and lead changes). It was so hot in there that we were all out of breath after 8 minutes of riding!

Saturday night we had another demonstration during the "Saturday Night Equine Experience" as they call it. They put on a big show about 1.5 hrs long to show off different horses and ways of riding etc and the stands & floor space is usually packed. There had to be over 1000 people there watching! This was our 3 minutes of fame! It was just Caitlin and I so we devised a bit of a pattern and rode to "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. Everyone was impressed by our flying lead changes and we really got the crowd going when we let our horses gallop around the ring. It was really neat to hear that many people cheering as we raced around!

Unfortunately ALL of the pictures from my camera our evening performance were blurry.

We had so many people come by the booth the next day and comment on how impressed they were and how much they enjoyed watching us ride! I think the funniest comment was from one lady who said "That was really neat to watch... They didn't even look scared!". LOL

I think we did incredibly well for this being our first time having a booth, it definitely caught people's eye and generated a lot of interest.

Sunday we got to sit back and just watch the booth and do a little bit of shopping here and there. It was nice not to have to ride, we were all tuckered right out.

Tired and still so much to do!

2011-04-28T22:52:00.000-06:00

Well I got nearly everything I needed to do today, done. First of all, I am so grateful for my wonderful friend Karen, she was such a huge help today.

I got off work mid-afternoon, after a trip to the greenhouses to grab some plants to beautify our booth. Well in my usual fashion "some" plants turned into LOTS of plants. A pot of pansies, a couple planters with petunias, a hosta like plant, some sweet smelling purple stuff and pussy-willow branches, and some cut flowers for a bouquet. Karen and I got her trailer all loaded up this afternoon and then we were off!

We lucked out because our booth was really near to the front doors where we had parked so we didn't have to cart everything very far. We got all of the big stuff in, pictures up, flowers in, carpet down, saddles on the stands and the mannequin dressed. Looks pretty darned good! I'm really proud of it. Tomorrow morning we'll finish it all off and then hopefully things will go smoothly! Just have to finish putting some photos up, set up the slideshow and perhaps do some last minute re-arranging.

I should have bathed Brigit tonight but I was honestly just too tired. So that means I'll get up early, bath, finish my laundry, pack and then load up and go again.

Lots to do!

2011-04-26T10:28:00.000-06:00

This week is going to be almost entirely devoted to preparation for "The Mane Event". Which is a big horse expo that happens once a year. You might remember that I rode at the Mane Event last year but ended up doing it by myself.

This year, we're going all out! A bunch of other ladies are joining me and we have several demo's throughout the weekend, as well as having a booth devoted to sidesaddle. Which means I've got a list a mile long of things to remember to do before hand and things to remember to bring. Luckily we'll only be 45 minutes from home if I do forget something and need to run home for it. We head up there to get set up on Thursday night....

Which means I've got two nights.... Oh wait... I'm teaching pony club on Wednesday... Ok one night to ride, bath, clean tack, get my stuff ready, pack the trailer etc. AHHH! LOL Nah, I think I've got a good handle on it actually, although I do have moments of feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all. It'll all work out though I'm sure.

We're planning on making our booth look like an old fashioned tack room. I found a used (aka cheap) rug that looks old & antique-ish. We have a plethora of saddle stands so we can cram as many saddles in there as possible. I've got some plants to spruce it up. A mannequin (or two) to dress up. Folding chairs & stools. A sidesaddle table cloth. I've printed off a bunch of photos to put on the walls and have a CD of photos for a slideshow. And I'm working on some descriptions for the saddles to give people an idea of the history and uniqueness of each saddle.

Any other ideas? Things I should bring or do?

Nice day for a walk..... Back to the barn....

2011-04-23T09:56:00.000-06:00

Had a lovely ride down the ride in the sun yesterday. Brigit has some front shoes on now so it's a little easier to tour down the gravel roads without sore feet.

So the ride away from the barn was lovely.... Buuuut the ride home, not so much. We had a full on battle/melt down because "somebody" aka Brigit would NOT walk. Instead we had prancing, dancing ridiculousness. There really isn't any reasoning with the horse when she decides she wants to go home and NOW. So rather than letting the battle continue and being frustrated and ending up with sore arms, I got off and walked 1 mile home. And we walked at MY pace.

It was still a nice day for a walk! lol

My brain is TIRED!

2011-04-22T15:51:00.000-06:00

So glad it's finally the weekend! Today is "officially" a holiday here but instead I signed up for a coaching workshop this week. It was fantastic and I sure learned a lot and met some great people. We worked on analyzing performance of both dressage & jumping horses & riders. Talked about how to develop mental skills (a bit of sports psychology) and designing a yearly competition plan and all kinds of other things! It was LOT all crammed into 20 hours but I'm sure glad I went!

Last night we had our first night of pony club lessons. 16 riders and their horses came for an evaluation so I can figure out where to group them for lessons. We sure have a mix of riders, right from very little, leadline kids just starting to ride all the way up to more advanced girls that have been riding for forever. It was a great night. We are so lucky to be able to use the arena that we do, it's huge and has skylights so it's nice & light... The only issue is it's so big I'm pretty "hoarse" by the end of the night from trying to talk loud enough! lol

One of the ladies I met at the workshop is a high level eventer and since I know very little about cross country jumping & fences, I asked her if she would come up to do a clinic or if we could come down to her. She thought that sounded like a fantastic idea and is excited to do it! I'm excited too!

The weather here has FINALLY smartened up and our snow is melting! I even have a few crocuses blooming in the front yard!

Anyways, it's time for a brain break, I'm off for a ride in the sunshine!

Our first dressage show!

2011-04-17T17:53:00.000-06:00

I've officially followed in a few fellow blogger's footsteps and delved into the world of dressage. We've been practicing our test (Training Level Test 1)for the last couple of weeks and we've had some up's and down's at home. I really wasn't sure how it would go but I figured, well I'm entered and paid up, I'd better go. Our trouble spots have been the canter to trot transition and the stretchy trot & walk parts. The trot tends to be a bit too fast (in my opinion anyways) and the walk is not so straight and not as stretchy as it could be.

The cheap side of me originally planned to trailer down the morning of the show. Then I got to thinking.... Our first class was at 7:50 am.... How early am I going to have to get up?? Ick. So I coughed up the $ and trailered down the night before. It was a REALLY good idea because it SNOWED a bunch more overnight and wouldn't have been the best drive down. Plus it gave me the opportunity to school in the arena the night before, which was good because Brigit thought the fake flowers that decorated all of the letter cones were TERRIFYING at first. Once she got over that, we had a lovely, relaxed ride. The arena has this neat footing, it's white silica sand & cotton fibre so it feels really nice & springy to ride in! I'm also glad I went down the night before because I had lots of time to get Brigit and all of my stuff ready, much more relaxed than trying to come down the morning of.
I have to say, there are benefits to riding in a small arena all the time. You really learn to use your arena and go deep into corners. The ring was HUGE compared to ours at home, Must have been 20 m by at least 60 m or more. It was awesome to have some more time to get organized in between some of the movements (ie the canter half circle, to the trot, to the stretchy trot circle).

I didn't sleep well at all, I kept trying to remember the directions to get back to the barn from my friend's house (where I stayed the night) and I kept running through the dressage test in my head.

On to the show! So we show up for the warm up at 7:00 am and this time we're sidesaddle and everybody is looking. Now Brigit is ok with the fake flowers but she's terrified of the judges table....oh no. Back out of the ring to finish getting dressed and then we're in for the "Dressage Pleasure Hack". The class went really well but I had no idea what the judge thought of me riding sidesaddle. Turns out we got 2nd place! And the judge came up to me afterwards and said she was very impressed and she admitted that she had to check the rulebook because she's never had anyone ride sidesaddle.

Our next ride wasn't until 12:00, so I untacked & both Brigit and I had some breakfast. I learned a lot from watching everyone else's ride and listening to other trainers give their students tips. I noticed a lot of not-so-round circles and cut corners, something we've been really working on! The more I watched, the more confident I felt about our ride.

We got another warm up session before I went in for my test. I started at the far end and just wanted to focus on relaxation and that stretchy circle. I swear we almost had the heck/neck set of a reiner! Brigit was trotting and cantering around with her head nearly on the ground! Wow! ...And then we went to the other end of the ring and suddenly Brigit had decided she was terrified of the judges table...... Ooooh no. We're talking, totally counter bent, giving the hairy eyeball to the judge, going sideways et al. Oh well, not much we can do about it now! We walked up and down the holding area working on focus and a nice quiet halt and then it was our turn....

It felt like everybody came out of the barn to watch and boy was I nervous!! Our trot in and halt was great, except Brigit turned her head to look at something during the salute, darn! Brigit looked at the judges table a bit as we went past but was pretty good. I was so pleased with the whole test, our circles were round (although we need to work on our bend going to the right more), our transitions were dead on and smooth. The trot circle was SUPER stretchy and Brigit really lengthened out, the judge thought it was a bit rushed, which I agree but she was really reaching so I didn't fiddle with it too much. Considering it's our first test, I could't have been happier with it!
It's in my nature to pick apart my ride though and there's a couple places I'd work on improving. Our "free walk" across the diagonal wasn't totally horrible but I wasn't happy with it. It wasn't very stretchy at all and our pace was really inconsistent, something the judge noted too. After the free walk we had to trot at "C", right where the judge was sitting and all Brigit wanted to do was stare at the judge, she was totally counterbent and there wasn't much I could do about it without a leg on the right side! lol I could hear the judge say "resisting..." to the scribe as I went past. The rest went really well but by this time I was getting TIRED!

I was really pleased with ourselves! It went really smooth and only had a couple of minor hiccups. We got a big round of applause! I realized that were were up against some stiff competition and didn't really expect much in terms of placing considering it was our first time out. Because I teach riding lessons and do some tune up rides, I'm considered a pro, so I have to ride against the pro's (I don't mind).

Boy was I ever shocked & proud to hear that we earned ourselves 2nd place with a score of 65.208%!!!! Yay us!

I had a lot of fun at the show and I really understand why people love dressage! I think I may be hooked and will definitely be doing this again! The perfectionist in me loves the challenge of getting each element just right!

Unfortunately I have NO pictures of us!!! BUT there was a professional photographer at the show that takes amazing photos, I will be buying a few and I'll share them when I get them!

Field trip to the fish hatchery!

2011-04-15T08:00:00.000-06:00

I have to say, this had to be one of the most interesting field trips I've been on yet!
The hatchery is run by the government and is used to stock lakes and ponds around the province to help create sustainable fishing. They mostly raise triploid rainbow trout.
Triploid (three chromosomes) rainbow trout are unable to reproduce, thus making it so they can't breed with native fish or become an invasive problem. To "sterilize" the fish and turn them into triploid fish, they are subject the eggs to a high pressure treatment.

We started off in the "egg" room. All of the shelves behind our tour guide contain little trays that are filled with fertilized fish eggs. They have fresh (cold!) water circulating through the trays to keep the eggs healthy. Someone has to go through each tray, every day, to pick out the dead eggs to keep them healthy. I think each tray contains somewhere between 5000-10000 eggs!

Then we moved into the fry area. (Baby fish are called fry) Each of these tubs contains up to 10000 fry. Everything is kept at specific temperatures (3-10 degrees celcius) to keep the fish healthy and growing.

Look at them all!

Once they get big enough, they move the fish into larger holding tanks where they live and grow big enough to be released. They're usually released when they're about a year old. One of these large tanks contains about 24000 fish.

We even got to feed the fish. I have to admit, we all reverted back to about 5th grade as we laughed and throughly enjoyed feeding the fish! They really get in a frenzy for the food.

Don't worry, they aren't crammed tightly into a small tank, they just like to crowd the areas where they know they'll get fed!

We even got to tour through the basement workings of the fish hatchery, the plumbing and cooling system is amazing!

What's white & fluffy and comes to visit in April around Easter???

2011-04-14T11:47:00.001-06:00

If you guessed the Easter Bunny..... Well you're right but I was actually referring to THIS........
.....
.....

MORE snow. It's not very cold out but it sure is WET. I'm glad for my muck boots or I'd have wet feet today. All over the province there's flooding and this sure won't help things. It's melting pretty quickly but they're predicting more this weekend.

On a more positive note, look at how well my seedlings are doing!

The watermelon just sprouted (in the foreground) and from front to back in the planting trays you can see broom corn, canteloupe (not very good germ on these, only 50%), summer squash and lots of tomatoes. In the middle are zinnia & spring onion seedlings and at the back is the cabbage that I transplanted yesterday. I can't believe how much it's grown in only a day!! I think adding miracle grow to the water is definitely the key!
I can see I'll be doing more transplanting very soon!!!

I've got mini bell peppers and yellow cherry tomatoes planted too but they haven't germinated yet.... :S

Show prep!

2011-04-13T15:46:00.000-06:00

I need to remember to charge my camera for this weekend's show! For once I'm not nervous (yet) and feel like we're ready! I really believe the combination of the acupuncture, Adequan and getting teeth floated has done wonders! Brigit hasn't felt this relaxed and mellow in a long time. I was actually having to encourage her to pick up the pace a bit last night. Our test seems to be decent enough, although our stretchy trot circle is still giving us some troubles.
I fully don't expect to place a) because I'm riding sidesaddle, b) because I've never really ridden a dressage test before and c) because there will be a LOT of people there! But we're going for the experience, it'll be fun!

Lets hope the SNOW that they're predicting doesn't amount to much so I can get to the show and home without incident. Ick.

My habit is at the drycleaners and should be ready tomorrow or Friday. Brigit got a hair cut & whisker trim yesterday and is looking sharp and tack cleaning is going to happen tonight. I've realized leaving everything to the last minute isn't a good plan! Tomorrow is a bit of a write off as it's the first night of Pony Club lessons for the year. Excited and a bit nervous about that! There's 19 kids this year!!!

Still debating on whether or not to bath friday.... My lazy side says not to and my show-nut side says I should.

Seedlings seedlings everywhere!

2011-04-13T09:27:00.000-06:00

I *think* I may have gotten a tiny bit carried away with my planting.... But oh how I love to watch all of the seedling sprout and get bigger. I'm very lucky to have a warm, bright spot to start seedlings this year, germination rates have been very good.

Thus far almost all of my tomatoes have sprouted; the striped paste, black krim and hawaiian pineapple. I planted some small yellow cherry tomatoes "Ildi" a week or so later so they've yet to germinate. All of the pumkins have sprouted and are HUGE already! I had to transplant them out of the starting tray already. I have two varieties, "Cinderella" and "Little Pump-ke-mon". No idea where I'll put them but that's besides the point. I started 6 of each for some reason, so friends will definitely be getting gifts of pumpkin plants among other things.

I've got TONS of zinnia, the spring onions are just starting to sprout, yellow zucchini, summer squash, cabbage and some broom corn are all up.

I also decided I was determined to try planting some melons this year! They likely won't amount to anything due to our short growing season but I can try! I have some yellow watermelon and cantaloupe started! I really hope I can get some fruit out of them!

Spring is slowly getting here, the grass is greening up in places and I can see hundreds of tulips bulbs peeking out of the ground...... But there's MORE snow in the forecast for the next week. Boo. I'm happy to have my little seedlings to tend to, it makes me feel like spring is here, even if it might not feel like it outside!

Annual tune up!

2011-04-10T22:16:00.000-06:00

Poor Brigit had her annual vet check & tune up this weekend. She was none too impressed.
Well I think she enjoyed the acupuncture treatment, she suuuure was relaxed afterwards. She got a total of 31 needles and only had a few sore-ish spots but overall wasn't bad. More just a treat & maintenance thing now.
Then we did the shots. Brigit HATES shots and tends to tense up and flinch badly. She had two regular shots and then we gave her a shot of Adequan. I've heard really good things about it and thought it'd be worth doing now that Brigit's getting up there and we're planning on having a busy summer. You'd never know Brigit will be 18 this year and I'd sure like to keep it that way!
And we did teeth. I feel like a bad horse mom, I didn't have her teeth done last year but I really should have. She had some sharp points. I know better than to leave it for longer than a year!

Some of my lesson kids came down to learn about what the vet does. They all really enjoyed themselves and were fascinated watching our wonderful vet at work. They were really interested to look inside Brigit's mouth and see all their teeth.

Brigit got the day off to relax in the sun. I hope her neck isn't sore from all those shots! Poor girl. Better than getting sick though.

We FINALLY are having some spring like weather! Nice enough to sit on the back deck and enjoy a BBQ today and do some repotting of root bound plants. We have BIG plans for our back yard this spring too! Very excited to get started! Maybe all of the snow will be gone in another week....or so?

Love my saddle!

2011-04-08T09:53:00.000-06:00

Last night I figured I needed to school in my sidesaddle, mostly for my sake and to get an idea of where we were and what needed some extra work.

I brought out the Aulton & Butler and I just love this saddle. The C&W is nice but this one is just "my" saddle. With the Cashel riser pad underneath is rides so nicely again. One day I'll save up the $ and send my A&B down to Lillian to have it re-stuffed and fixed up. For now this will do.

I don't know why but it seems that Brigit goes soooooo wonderfully sidesaddle. Some of the issues we have astride, completely disappear aside.

We're entered in a dressage show next weekend, doing the Training Level 1 test and I've been practicing lots! I doubt we'll place but I think we'll still put in a good test and enjoy ourselves. Our trouble spots are our trot to canter transitions, we tend to lurch into them with our head up and then settle into a canter. Our canter to trot transitions...Brigit would much prefer to just walk. And the stretchy trot circle is tough! But we're getting it.

I think I've also figured out how to JUMP!!!!!! HOORAY!!!! I shortened my stirrup up on hole (probably considered slightly too short) but it was so much easier to get my left thigh into the leaping head and maintain my forward position over the fence! I just trotted a few fences and cantered over one but I didn't get left behind once and my back isn't sore today! YAY!!!!

LEG! It fixes just about everything!!

2011-04-04T11:45:00.000-06:00

So at my lesson last week the instructor was telling me to get my leg ON. I thought I had my leg on but once I understood what she was after.... I realized my leg wasn't "on" at ALL.

I've swapped to riding in one of my school saddles that has no knee rolls because I think my saddle is just too comfy and doesn't MAKE me ride correctly. The first day in the flat saddle, I felt like such a blob! But it's getting better & better as I ride more in it. I can actually FEEL that leg on or feel when it's not.

The more leg I added, the more awesome things got! Brigit's canter was more forward and regular, none of the head up/head down/head up/head down business! No discombobulated moments!

AND! The most amazing part was that we were able to get the stretchy walk AND trot!! I'd slowly let the reins slide through my fingers and she'd stretch waaaaaaay down. Hooray!!!

The weather has improved too! We're expecting a whopping high of +7 and it's bright & sunny out! Things should do a lot of melting this week. I noticed that the tulips right alongside the house are starting to peek out of the ground too!

Another snow day.....

2011-04-02T09:41:00.001-06:00

We are yet again, the "victims" of another winter storm. Luckily it isn't very cold, only about 0 celcius but we sure are getting a pile of snow. It's starting to feel as if it will never end! We usually get some warm weather in March that melts all the snow and then another good snowstorm or two in April. This year we haven't gotten much warm weather so we still have mounds and mounds of snow. Does anybody from a warmer climate want to adopt me? I'll clean stalls! Dishes! Be a personal groom! Please?

Today I was supposed to head down to have a meeting with the other sidesaddle ladies that will be attending "The Mane Event" horse expo at the end of April. We needed to discuss what we were going to do for our demonstrations, what we all needed to bring and set some dates for practicing. The roads are just too bad today so we're hoping to do it tomorrow instead. It's definitely tricky getting everyone together considering our unpredictable weather and the distance between us.

I also decided, late last night that I was going to going to be brave and enter in the dressage show two weeks from now. EEEEK! They have a couple of flat classes and actual dressage tests. I entered in the "Dressage Pleasure Hack" (no idea what that is...), Road Hack and the Training Level 1 Test. I figured why not, might as well have a goal and something to aim for. I've never done a dressage test at a show before and only ever had a few dressage lessons, so this might be totally nuts but I guess we shall see!
The only part of the test I really have an issue with is "rising trot, 20 m circle at "A", lengthen reins and let your horse stretch down and out". Brigit is a bit too uptight to do that, especially if I'm trying to "post" the trot sidesaddle.... Hmm... Perhaps since I'm not going anywhere today, I'll go to the barn and practice, practice, practice!

A new sidesaddle candidate?

2011-03-30T09:02:00.003-06:00

I rode Brigit in my C&W last night with the Cashel wedge pad underneath, it really made a difference! The saddle wasn't nearly as uphill as it was. Success!

We played around with the dressage tests a bit more again and all went well until our second time through it. First time through I trotted the whole thing. Second time through I added the cantering bits. It started off not too bad and then kindof went into the pot. Brigit does this thing when she isn't paying attention. She drifts to the wall, ends up off-balance, jams her head up which results in a loss of power from behind and we end up in a nice discombobulated mess and then she lurches back into a canter with her head way up there. This is something we definitely need to work on some more. All in all though she was good and we ended on a good note.
I'm humming & hawing over whether to enter in a dressage schooling show in 2 weeks. I really want to but not if we're going to have issues like the one above at the show. I have to decide by Friday....

After my ride on Brigit my friend I jokingly said to a friend "Hey lets try the sidesaddle on your horse!". She willingly obliged and we swapped the sidesaddle onto her gelding. He wasn't very sure of the sidesaddle at first, mostly you could tell he felt a little lost without that right leg to guide him. But in no time at all we were trotting and cantering around the arena! What a good boy!

What do you think? Should I steal him and make him into a sidesaddle pony?

Here's a short video of us trotting.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Pretty good for his first time!

Do you really wanna know why I teach lessons?

2011-03-29T10:40:00.000-06:00

Because the kids bring me all kinds of goodies.... Candy at Halloween, Easty chocolate & my favorite.....home made cookies!!

Plus they're usually accompanied by a cute not like this!

Adorable! And as you can see, the cookies were quite tasty!

Want some more cuteness? This is Jolie on Cody. He used to be a stud but is the sweetest thing you've ever seen. Just loves the attention the kids give him.... And he puts up with a pink saddle pad & polo's, what a good guy!

He's a little on the tubby side.... We're workin' on that!

Snow, snow & more snow!!!

2011-03-26T23:33:00.000-06:00

Ok Mother Nature, it's almost April and it's still snowing and below 0 temps. Really? Please please please can we have spring??? I'm so sick of winter. We haven't even seen the sun in DAYS it's been so foggy and rotten. I'm about ready to go into hibernation....

Went for some therapeutic tack shopping today. A local tack shop was having a big anniversary sale so I stocked up on all kinds of good things! Breeches were 50% off, got a wedge pad to try under my C&W, some hoof polish, shampoo and some other odds and ends. Successful shopping trip!

I'm determined to get a ride in tomorrow, snow or no snow.

Show pictures!

2011-03-22T14:31:00.002-06:00

I have a CD full of photos from the show and figured I'd better share them! They're MUCH better quality than the blurry ones my camera took.

Sidesaddle in the Hunter Under Saddle Class...

English Equitation...

And on to the jumping!

Tuckered out pony.

Getting our cooler....

A new show to get addicted to!

2011-03-22T08:20:00.000-06:00

I can't remember what I was looking for but I stumbled across this really interesting BBC series called "Edwardian Farm". Three historians go to live at an old farmstead in England (for a year I think?) and they live just as the Edwardians would have.

I've only just made it through the first episode but I'm absolutely fascinated by it!

All of the episodes are available on Youtube. Have a watch if you've got some free time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H10TJT87BaU

Pony Club!!!

2011-03-21T13:45:00.000-06:00

Pony club lessons start in April! I'm really excited to have been asked to teach the club again this year. Should DEFINITELY keep me busy & help support my sidesaddle fetish! They have close to 20 kids this year ranging from very beginners to those jumping 3'+. I had a lot of fun teaching them last year (learned a lot myself too!), they're a really fun bunch of kids & parents.
The arena we're riding at is top notch too! So big I usually end up hoarse by the end of the night from trying to talk loud enough so everybody can hear me at either end lol. Lots of jumps to use too!

Very exciting! 2011 is going to be a great year! (Already is!)

A thought on different saddles

2011-03-20T08:14:00.017-06:00

Yesterday at the show I rode in my Aulton & Butler saddle and it just felt right. Now that I've done some more riding in my Champion & Wilton and swapped back to the A&B, I really notice a difference between the two and really like the A&B so much better. Brigit seems to like it better as well. I'm going to keep riding in both and see if the C&W becomes easier as I get back in sidesaddle shape. I have a feeling the A&B is just the one for me. Not sure if I'll send the C&W down the road or not. Have to mull that one over for awhile.

Still not sure what to do about this whole jumping aside business... I really want to do it though!

Great start to the show season!

2011-03-19T21:48:00.000-06:00

Our first show of the year was a huge success!!

I don't know why but I always feel like I'm running late the morning of a show no matter how much preparation I do the morning before. I can't seem to settle down until we're actually there and tacked up.

Anyways, it was a small show, it was cold out and I think the entries were down because of it. That's alright though, the goal was to get out sidesaddle and have some fun.

First class was the Open Hunter Under Saddle class. Brigit was so good! She had a look at a few things around the arena but overall settled and gave me some beautiful transitions. Including the canter to trot transition which usually gives us trouble! My camera was on a funny setting so it didn't take great pics, but here are a few anyways. A friend took some much better pics so when I get them from her I'll upload them too.

We won the class!

Next we did a really quick tack & outfit change and went back for the Equitation class. I was soooo greatful that my wonderful boyfriend came to help me change tack, hold my horse and run to grab stuff.

We won that class too!

Next was the hunter over fences class and the equitation over fences. I again was so impressed with Brigit as we haven't been jumping at all in the last 3 or 4 weeks. She jumped everything really well, including the more "ominous" fences. There was a few rushy spots but she came back to me well. Unfortunately I have no o/f classes but I can tell you.... we won both of them!

We ended up with the High Point ribbon and a nice embroidered cooler! Brigit really didn't think much of having a ribbon put on the bridle as you can tell in the picture. LOL Silly mare.

Lets hope we can continue on this path for the rest of 2011!

This showing business is a LOT of work!

2011-03-18T22:25:00.000-06:00

And we haven't even gotten to the show yet!

I spent most of tonight riding, cleaning tack (how did it get so dirty?), bathing, brushing, wrapping legs and my wonderful boyfriend came down and trimmed feet and even helped me scrub legs! Poor Brigit was less than impressed by all of this and I'm sure she's thinking "oh not this again!". She looked like a bona-fide show pony all clean, wrapped & tucked into a stall full of fluffy shavings.

Now to get my stuff ready! Polish boots, iron stock tie & shirt....

Makes me wonder WHY I go through all this work for only a couple of classes but I figure if I'm going sidesaddle, I'd better be polished and look the part!

I'm so glad this show doesn't start until 9:30!

Wish me luck!

Fresh flower friday & Wish me luck tomorrow!!

2011-03-18T15:23:00.000-06:00

This friday I decided I had enough potted plants for my house and needed some cut flowers to spruce things up. They had snapdragons growing just about as tall as I am! I got a bucket full of the snaps, alostromeria and some really pretty lilies....all for $5.

The flowers are helping the spring fever I'm feeling, although the arrival of my seeds would have helped even more! I expected them to be here this week but they haven't arrived. Hopefully early next week!

It's another gorgeous day and I think all of the snow we had the other day has melted. Unfortunately they're calling for another big dump of it tomorrow night.

Tonight I'll be riding, cleaning tack & bathing Brigit in preparation for a small show tomorrow. There are a few flat classes and some small over fences classes that I've entered in. The committee has agreed to let me ride sidesaddle in the hack class. It'll be our first time out aside this year, wish us luck!!!
We had a wonderful ride last night so I think we'll have a good time.

I'll make sure somebody gets some pictures so I can share!