From A Dressage Saddle...

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tuesday...

I do suppose I should post something since stuff has happened and there are no post as of this moment (the moment before this post was set up).

Well, let me see. Relly has been hauled off to Florida where he should be until March (??). Mrs. Love will follow on New Years day. Until she get back, Natalie and Mrs. R will take turns giving me lessons.

The R's came yesterday with their horses Oberon and Buttons. I rode Whit first and then hopped on Buttons until they had to leave. I didn't do anything new with Buttons; we went over a few trotting poles and cantered very little at the end of the ride. The nice thing is that Buttons doesn't need much encouraging to go into canter. Getting her on the correct lead is a different story when she is tired. Usually all she needs is a smack with a whip or crop (I prefer a whip) to keep going.

Whitney was a good girl too. We trotted a little at the beginning and it felt pretty good. Then Mrs. Love had me work on posting trot without stirrups - not my fave but I'm feeling the difference when I do have stirrups. She wants me to lengthen my "no stirrup time" by 5 minutes every lesson "without complaining". I didn't think I was complaining except for needing a brake every half-minute because my thighs were burning up.

When we were done with that, Mrs. Love worked with Anna and Oberon while I walked Whitney around a little. Then we trotted some more. At first Whitney seemed stuck and Mrs. Love said that she was thinking passage. Eventually I got her more forward and she was really going. It was so fun! I went all around and did circles and what not. I did a diagonal change with her and that was when she flew. I was having so much fun and was trying to correct my seat and stuff on my own because Mrs. Love and the R's were talking at one end of the indoor.

It was an interesting day and later I went into Whit's stall to feed her my apples from lunch. She got irritated because I was teasing her and started pinning her ears. She got her apples and I had to leave to get home.

-Hanna

How It Happened

For years I had admired the white bank-barn with black trim only from the road. I wondered what it was like inside and who the horses and owner was. Whne I asked my grandma if she knew who they were, she told me their name and that she knew them from another church in our town. As I found out later, my grandma actually put in a good word for me once.

In eary summer of '09, an advertisement for a new barn manager was put up at my church. I recognized the picture of the barn and begged my mom to call and ask if they wanted a working student too. My mom called and we set up a day that I could go out and be given a look around.

When we arrived, I was nervous. After Mrs. Love told me it was nice to meet me, I replied, "Oh, good!" I was concentraiting on making sure that I shook her hand correctly. So much for that.

So that's how it happend and here I am!

At the Barn..

... there are five horses at the moment. Let me introduce them to you!

Whitney: She's my baby. I ride her during a normal lesson and afterwards we snuggle in her stall. She's a good snuggler. Whit is a 22-year-old Hanoverian mare who schooled for Grand Prix in dressage before she got EPM and was retired. Since then, Whit has had two colts and a filly. The filly died not long after she was born but the colts are still around.

Baci Della Vita: "Baci" - his barn name - is one of Whit's colts. Now a 6-year-old gelding, he tops just under 18 hands and he is mostly known for his size. He's not particularly careful about where he puts his hooves and tends to be a bit of a pushy boy. Baci can make adorable faces and he's got sweet curly ears.

Wildfire: Also known as Wifi, this Hanoverian is (I think) in her teens. She is a sweet tempered brood mare that's for sale right now. Although she is affectionate, there are times when you must walk on egg shells and have to be on your gurad with Wifi. She tends to spook easily, but she would make a pretty good dressage horse because she is a sensitive mount to her rider.

Rendezvous: Or "Rendez", is a funny social little guy. Or at least he's little for now - from what the vet says, he could end up as big as Baci! Rendez has an adorable face with the only curly mane in the barn, though he has bumped his face so many times that he has lumps. : ( He makes up for it though with his normally sweet personality. Rendez is out of Wifi and is her only foal - so far.

Relentless Love: This is a newly gelded horse with a lot to say and the attitude of a stallion still lingering. Relly is very good at making people hear him, even if they are not in the barn. Relly is another one of Whit's colts and he's 4-years-old. He's a stunning chestnut who's on his way to becomming at high lever competetor one day. He will be gone from mid-December untill March, away in warm Florida for some intensive training with his owner (my boss/instructor) with her former Olimpic trainer.

In the way on people there are four who are usually around the barn when I am:

Mrs. Love: She is my boss/instructor and also the owner of all five Hanoverians at the barn. She showed with Whitney and a few other horses up untill 10 years ago when Whit got EPM. Before that, she dabbled in eventing, show jumping, and cross country until she realized dressage to be her favorite discipline. Once again, she is setting off for another journey with Relly when she travels with him to Florida for training in dressage.

Natalie: Natalie is the barn manager whom I work with while I'm there. She oversees the managing, feeding, turning out, cleaning, and just about everything else related to the barn.

Jumbo: Don't ask where he got his name - I couldn't tell ya. Anyway, Jumbo is the trainer who works Baci, Rendez, and Relly during the week. He broke them under saddle a year and a half ago and has only come off once. Jumbo is great on the back of the horse, though he is not as good on the ground.