Old Friends

At the end of a rough day today there was a brilliant rainbow in the sky to the east. As I watched it get brighter and brighter, an antelope walked towards me just in front of the rainbow, then stopped and faced me for a minute. It brought me peace and made me feel the power of home.

Front Range Exceptional Equestrians Show

This Friday I judged the F.R.E.E. show again.  I judge this show for the Front Range Exceptional Equestrians every year for a few reasons.  I love attending this show because it's great to see the riders and their progress each year, as well as meet riders new to the therapeutic riding program.  I love the costume class, though it is definitely the most difficult to judge out of all the classes.  How do you choose between fanged dragons, princesses, wizards, an astronaut, and Santa's elves?





The show has an obstacle course, a pattern, a timed game, and a riding skills class for each division.  This year was outer-space themed.  I score and place the riders in reference to a write-up on each of their abilities and skills, which the executive director gives me ahead of time.  That way I'm judging the riders based on what they can do, not based on how they compare to others in their class.  The most important part of the show for me is the comments I give the riders verbally in the lineup at the end of the riding skills class on the rail.  This is my opportunity to tell each rider something I noticed that they did well.  I know when I compete myself that I may forget what color ribbon I went home with, but I definitely remember if the judge tells me I excelled at something, so I try to give these riders similar positive memories.

I choose to judge this show every year because it is a way for me to give back to the community.  It is a volunteer-run organization with folks who work tirelessly, to the extend that it feels like they essentially plan and pull off a wedding every first Friday in August.  I used to train horses for a therapeutic riding program and this show brings back many fond memories for me.  I also take a moment to reflect each time I judge this show on how close I came to being a therapeutic rider myself.  After having a brain injury and spending time in a wheelchair and walker, it is never lost on me how fortunate I am to not only be able to walk and drive on my own, but to be able to ride horses independently, to gallop, to jump, and to enjoy difficult horses like my overly tall and goofy Highboy. 

I brought two of my youth students to this show, and it was a great experience for them to help with setting and resetting the obstacle course, as well as see different types of riders on their mounts.  They were able to appreciate the accomplishments of the riders, and notice the generosity of the volunteers who led horses and sidewalked next to them all day. 

The FREE show is always a treat for me every year, and this was another great one in the books.

Antelope Racing

What does the average Northern Colorado couple do on their fourteenth wedding anniversary?  Head to open space and race antelope of course.  Today Owen and I got an early start to celebrate fourteen years.  We took Highboy and headed out to the open space at Soapstone Prairie just a bit north of our place.  Highboy was excited at the start and did some hopping around in eagerness to get going, but once he settled down he blazed the way for Owen, who is marathon fit and was running on foot. 

The Pronghorn loop we do isn't incredibly interesting terrain to look at, mostly an open field, but we do always see wildlife.  First we passed by a prairie dog colony, and what looked like a guinea pig on steroids was briskly waddling parallel to the trail as Highboy and I trotted along.  Then it stopped, crouching over a large hole, and stared us down.  Once it was holding still we could see it was a badger getting ready to make a stand over his home.  We hustled on our way, we didn't want to mess with a defensive badger. 

The ten mile loop curved while Owen and Highboy alternated who was leading.  About five miles in we came to the sandy service trail that has the best and straightest path for galloping.  As I usually do when we reach this point I let Highboy open up, and he started to run.  He wasn't trying super hard, but at least he was running forwards instead of jumping up and down.  We passed through the middle of a herd of cattle, and Highboy was fine with them, he just paid close attention.  After the cows, we encountered a particularly athletic antelope.  The antelope and Highboy seemed to exchange a glance that said, "hey, want to race?", then they both kicked it into another gear.  I thought it was fun to contend with an antelope at top speed out in the open, and Highboy thought so too.  Eventually the antelope veered off to the north and we continued on the path.  Total we probably galloped about two miles.

Then Highboy and I had to take a walk break to let him catch his breath and let Owen catch up.  As we meandered down the path I noticed several lizards scurrying just ahead of us.  I always wonder why they don't just step off the trail into the taller grass and disappear? 

Owen caught up to us and then passed us headed back towards the parking area.  I got a little video from on top of Highboy which can be seen here:

Then Owen and I took a selfie, and Highboy managed to fit some of his long face in the photo too.  It was a very fun ride, and I feel grateful to have a husband who is game to run ten miles with me even when I'm on a horse who offers a good spirited fist-bump as we pass on the trail. 

Bijou Springs Pair Pace at Dawson Butte

The Bijou Springs Hunt held their annual pair pace today at Dawson Butte Open Space in Larkspur.  A large group from Bit of Honey went, but we were lacking in the photography department due to the layout of the course through many wooded areas.  It was a very fun course, though!

I took Monty first in the Novice division (jumps up to 2'11").  Up here in Wellington there aren't as many trees as in Larkspur, so this was Monty's first opportunity to go galloping through changes in lighting, as we went from sun to shade and back over forty jumps on course.  He took a good look at a few changes in lighting and jumps he hadn't seen before, but once he got the idea that this was just a fast trail ride over jumps he was all in!  He booked it around the course, carefully and quickly picking his footing in the tricky spots with roots, downhill jigs, and then he soared over every single one of the fences on course.  He loves this kind of thing, we have a good time doing just fast trail riding closer to home.  This was merely a slightly more complicated version of a run at Soapstone.  Monty did great and came away with a cool third place ribbon.

Cosmo and Jasi rode the course at the Beginner Novice level with Carol and Shambhu, and even got ribbons themselves!  Jasi was the team captain and they went under the team name The Bit of Honey Bees.  This was the first pair pace for both of them and they all did great.

Next I rode Rain, the athletic paint mare, in the elementary division.  We were planning to go much more slowly so that she could have a good experience and come out of it confident.  I got her tacked up and we headed out on the nearly three mile walk to the warmup area and start box.  There was a turn in the sandy service road, with a rotting log which surprised her.  Unfortunately, I hadn't taken enough time to re-calibrate my own body and riding settings, and I was still in Riding a Thoroughbred mode.  Thoroughbreds tend to bolt or jump in the air when they spook.  Not so with a compact Quarter Horse type.  They tend to do more of a "duck and spin" maneuver.  I anticipated incorrectly, which resulted in an unplanned dismount as Rain threw her head down and spun away from the log.  It felt somewhat comical.  I was calmly sitting aboard the horse, then without any notice I was suddenly standing, both feet on the ground.  She just simply spun right out from underneath me!

However, this random gravity check did cause my air vest to deploy, but AFTER I'd landed squarely on my own feet.  Rain was fine until the pin on my vest pulled and I instantly puffed up with a bang and a striking resemblance to the stay-puff marshmallow man.  She darted away from me, I lost my grip on her reins, and she then took off at top speed.

I saw which way she was headed (into the fields afar), and I began my trek to relocate my mount.  Some friends had been riding behind me and saw the whole thing, and did comment on how I should have gotten a ten for being able to stick the landing!  They offered to go try to catch Rain, but I figured once Rain calmed down I'd be able to grab her so I sent them on their way to the starting gate.

I hoofed it along a sandy road, then into a vast field with grass that came up to my waist.  It crossed my mind that I was well dressed for this hike.  If there were rattlesnakes in the tall grass I had my high leather boots on so I should have been good even if I encountered an ill-tempered reptile.  At one point I found myself in what appeared to be the driveway of an abandoned house.  There were some rough looking windows and a cock-eyed ladder up against the side of the house, but no one appeared to have been around for some time.  I continued on. 

Finally I made it to a marsh and I squelched my way over to the fence line where Rain had finally stopped and decided to have a snack on the lush green grass growing there.  I called her, and as soon as she saw me she hurried over, looking relieved that someone had come to fetch her from this barbaric wilderness.  I led her back to the original service road that should have taken us to the start of the ride, and I placed my air vest on a t-post to give it time to deflate.  Then I climbed aboard Rain a second time, and we continued on to the start box.

After our foray into uncharted territory Rain didn't need much warm up before we headed out on course.  A quick ten second countdown to go, then we were off at a cautious trot.  I rode Rain conservatively because I wanted her to feel confident, especially after our pre-course detour.  We trotted and walked, and by the end of the ride she had figured out what she was supposed to be doing.  That's half the challenge with the horses, just teaching them how to play the game.  She trotted over some of the lower fences (all were optional).  She was startled by the photographer on course, who was lurking ominously in the shade, but once Rain realized it was just a human she was fine and we continued on our way.  She even gave me a nice little balanced canter over the last three fences at the finish.

Once we were done riding the two mile course, we joined back up again to the service road and headed back to the scene of our earlier indiscretion.  We passed the log successfully without even a second glance, I picked up my vest where I'd left it in the field, and we made our way back to the horse trailers.  Rain's owner was anxious today, and so I initially just expressed how well Rain did on course, especially once she understood the task.  Later in the day, once everyone had settled down in chairs near the shade to eat some lunch I divulged the fact that I had indeed experienced a perfect ten landing when I had my unscheduled dismount.  I figured Rain's owner was going to hear about it from our mutual friends, and I wanted to be the one to explain how it had all gone down.  Rain's owner reacted well to the news, and expressed gratitude that SHE hadn't been aboard!

As we drove home from the show the whole group of us laughed and generally enjoyed the tales of the day.  I usually say "I didn't fall off, so it was a good day", but this afternoon I'm claiming, "I stuck the landing, so it was a good day!"

Note at Liberty

This week I worked Note for the first time with tack on, including a saddle and bridle.  I discovered that he really loved his job racing, and he was excited to get back to it!  He thought the tack meant going out for a gallop, and he was pretty confused when I explained I wanted him to just mosey around on the lunge line and over obstacles.  He had a hard time with this idea, so after he had gotten himself a bit worked up in the arena, we adjourned to the round pen and I pulled all his equipment off and we did some liberty work to get him to settle.  He follows me around nicely with no halter or leadrope, walking and trotting next to me, always just in step with my stride.  Jasi took some excellent photos of us together.

When I sat down on the mounting block to give him some unstructured time, he came right over for a snuggle.  I guess he forgives me for being a strange human asking him to do a job very different from the one he performed which made him so successful in his career at the racetrack. 

Highboy's Hops

I've known for a long time that Highboy misbehaves to amuse himself when he's bored.  I also know that the more complicated the angle, the bigger the jump, the trickier the footwork, the better he rides.  That's why at the saddle club he creates such drama over a six inch flower, because he needs to do it for entertainment since a regular cross rail should be more complicated to be interesting.

Today I was jumping Highboy in the arena, after a brief warmup at the walk, trot, and porpoising (Highboy's entertaining version of a canter).

 
My eleven o'clock riding lesson showed up and was willing to set fences for me.  Jasi was here as well and asked if she could photograph Highboy's shenanigans.  I had a course set in the arena, which could be taken from many different directions and made as simple or complicated as I needed it.

I had done the course as ground poles and cross rails, and Highboy felt he had mastered that.  We raised a couple of the jumps to about 2'6", and he decided that he should experiment over those.  He played with jumping them high, jumping them low and long, all kinds of body contortions.  I asked my jump crew to raise them again, hopefully to a height that would cause Highboy to pay attention.  We put one at about 3'3", and another at 3'9".  Finally, something Highboy was interested in!  He just launched himself over the sunflower fence set at the greater height, easily clearing it even without having to fold his limbs very much.

When I sent him through the line on the other side over the tree jump, he stepped over the crossrail, then rocked back on his haunches and jumped the bigger fence.  Upon landing, he assumed the demeanor of a football player who has just scored a touchdown.  He spiked the ball, jumped up and down in the air a few times, and did a little victory dance.  What can I say, the horse loves to jump!

In the photos you can see the focus he has, and the laser beam vision he gets when he locks onto the next fence.  He is always calm and thoughtful on his approach, it's just the after-party that gets out of hand.  Hence my face in this landing photo as I brace for the celebratory bucking that will ensue.

It's not a big deal to me, I'm glad he enjoys his job.  I have full confidence that he is going to outgrow his touchdown tendencies.  After he has cleared a new type of fence or answered a technical question well and he understands the principles behind it, he does settle right down.

I am also really pleased with my position in this photo, despite the fact that we missed catching a bunch of the horse's body.  My stirrup leather is perpendicular to the ground, my heel is down, there is a straight line from my elbow through the reins to his mouth, my eyes are up, and my back is parallel to Highoy's back.  A great position, especially considering I knew he was going to start frolicking once we landed!  Most of the time I'm my own worst critic when I see photos of myself riding, but this is one to be proud of.

Despite jumping in the morning, Highboy was still put out that I took Fason out to the back forty acres to ride with Jasi and Cosmo.  If he had his druthers Highboy would be the horse I ride all day every day.

Fason did well out in the field, this was his first time out there mounted.  I've ponied him from Tao the haflinger out there several times, but today I rode him while Jasi schooled some of the cross country fences with Cosmo in preparation for the pair pace this weekend.  Fason did well, but when Jasi and Cosmo trotted an approach to a log, then Cosmo gave a little hop over it, Fason was sure that we were all going to run and play together!  He was pretty disappointed when I said we were only out to walk around and step over the small logs.  It was good for him, though, because I want him long, stretchy, relaxed, and swinging in his walk up and down hills and over small obstacles.

Note Checks Out the Bit of Honey Circus

The time has come, as it does for all the retired racehorses here, for Note (Jockey Club OneForNothing) to be introduced to the Bit of Honey Training circus. It's not dignified, it's not traditional, but it sure is fun!

This morning Note and I went to the arena to putter around and play with some of the Bit of Honey Circus paraphernalia.  I lunged him a little both directions at the walk and trot and found him to be very quiet and tractable.  He lunged over the poles and the tires with no trouble, clearly he remembered from last week what was to be done with that stuff.

Next I took him into the covered portion of the arena, where I keep the extra toys.  Today we worked with hula hoops, pool noodles, and pinwheels.  Note is a very reasonable horse, and as I find with many of the track horses who have significant racing records, nothing much bothers him.  When a horse spends years at the race track, they get used to all kinds of things.  Machinery, other horses, commotion, strange noises, they are exposed to all kinds of things and learn that it's no big deal.  Note is definitely of this variety, because he didn't have any reaction to the orange pool noodle, even when I flopped it all over his body and even between his front and back legs.  Next I took out the hula hoops, which have beads or something inside them to make a little noise when they turn.  Note was interested, but had no concern about them.

So I hung them around his neck and lunged him a bit more.  No reaction other than putting his head down, which then made the hoops tumble off over his head.  He would then stop and look at me as if to ask, "Are you going to replace those?  Or should we move on to something else?"  We next went to hand walking over jumps while wearing the hula hoops.  He paused briefly to investigate the pinwheels on the ground, but then calmly walked over all the obstacles. 

The most interesting part of today's session for Note was the neighbor's llamas.  This was his first opportunity to get a good look at them from the arena, since he can't see them from where he lives in his paddock.  He was interested, but not at all concerned or stressed about them.  This horse has a great head on his shoulders.