Summer?

We are in one of the last few weeks of May, and my birthday is Friday! I'll be 16! I can't help but feel that I'm running out of time as a junior rider... so I'll just have to make the next couple of years really count! It is FINALLY warmer outside, and I'm trying to make it out to the barn more, without much luck. I recently got a job, and I've been doing a lot of school work lately! So I'm not exactly having the easiest time making time for Sy. We have about 3 weeks of school left, so I'm really hoping it will be easier after that! When I do make it out to the barn however, I notice how amazing Sy is starting to look. He's shedding out the last bits of his winter coat, and he is looking fantastic with all of the weight he's gained! He will especially look great after he's gained some more of his muscle back. I'm so excited to see how he turns out once we start showing! I'm really hoping to get some new software for my birthday so I'm able to edit video, then I'll be able to put some video of him up! :) I'll post more when I get to work with him more!

Is it spring yet??

March is finally here, and it started out beautifully! It was actually almost 40 degrees! I hope it stays this nice all week, because I need to get some serious riding in! I haven't ridden Sy in 2 weeks! If it manages to stay this nice though, I am going to start jumping him more! It's about time we started getting ready for shows! Also, as soon as I start riding him more often, and get him back into shape, I am going to set up some videos! I can't wait for everyone to see how he's coming along!

Lessons

So, I'm really thinking I need lessons again! Since I moved Sy to a new barn three months ago, I haven't taken any lessons! I really need to work on some things with a trainer so Sy and I can be totally prepared for this show season! My goal is to have him ready to show on the A circuit by September, because I want to show him in pre-greens at Maffitt Lake EC the end of that month. So hopefully we'll be ready by then! We'll see what happens I suppose! Also, as we head into March and April, it will hopefully warm up some! I am so sick of this cold and snowy weather! Once it warms up and I'm out at the barn more often, I'm planning on getting some videos of Sy and I made, that will eventually go on YouTube. I'll let you guys know when that is going to happen though!

Bareback Riding

Last night I messed around with Sy trying out totally random, new things that he's never done before. When I first got on him, we jumped a crosspole a few times bareback, and with only a halter and lead rope on. He was very good, and was picking up his feet over the jump much more than he did before when I was jumping him. That's always been something he has needed to work on. He is usually quite lazy, and often hits the jump with his feet! He was very good about it last night though! After I jumped him, I took his halter off and looped the lead rope around his neck and tried riding him using only that. It was difficult at first, since he doesn't neck rein, but with a little help from my leg aids, he quickly picked up on what I wanted! He was such a good boy, and I can't wait to go out tomorrow and ride him again! :)

I feel so loved :)

So... on Sunday I rode Sy for the first time in a week! I've been so busy with finals and showchoir! Luckily, I got good grades on all of my finals, and both of our showchoirs rocked like no other. :) But anyway, on Sunday I just rode him bareback with only a halter on, and he was being pretty good, but he was also just a little excited to be getting out of his stall! While I was in the arena with Sy, one of the other boarders at my barn came in and to lunge her pony, Gidget. So I finished up my riding and took him back to his stall. I was brushing him and cleaning him off before I put his blanket back on, when Gidget's owner came over to the stall to talk to me. She commented on how well Sy and I worked together and asked if I was planning on showing him this year. I explained what I'm HOPING to show him in, and where he came from and what not, and we ended up talking about myself as a rider. She commented on how experienced I looked when I was riding, and that she hopes that we have a successful show season. After this conversation, I am only that much more excited to get Sy out in the show ring. I can't wait to see how he does! I am planning on trying jumping with him again starting sometime in February, and it should be a breeze now that he's had some time off and also has his lead changes almost down pat! We'll see how it goes!

Winter!

So far this winter, it has been very difficult for me to get out to the barn to ride! I am not one for cold weather, so riding in -10 degree weather is not something I look forward to! I did go out the other day however, to check up on Sy and see how the new farrier did with him. His hooves did look fantastic (I think I like this farrier!), and my mom said that she discussed Sy's "issues" with the farrier, and he was very helpful. When we bought Sy, he obviously hadn't had them done in a very long time, possibly even 6 months to a year! We have been working with his hooves for the past six months trying to reshape them and hopefully get them back to the point where he can have shoes on. I want to try shoes on at least his front feet for when we start jumping more.
Since I haven't spent much time riding so far this winter, Sy really hasn't had much jumping work. I've only been doing flatwork with him, and an awful lot of bareback to keep me warm! And I am definitely not going to jump bareback! Sy's too thin for that! Once I start riding a little more, I'm thinking I want to work on some oxers with him. He is terrible at really picking up his feet and getting over the jump. He is definitely known for crashing through jumps! Oh well, I suppose that's what I'm supposed to help him with! With oxers, I think he'll apply himself a little more. If not, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. We'll just have to see what happens! I'm really hoping for the weather to warm up in a week or two like it's "supposed to," but I won't believe it until I see it! If only the indoor arena was heated...

1st Post!

I started this blog so other people can follow my progress as a rider. To start off, I figure I should give just a little bit of information about my background. I started riding 7 years ago, with a very humble little training operation, where all I learned was walk/trot. After the trainer there stopped giving lessons, I moved on the a larger hunter/jumper show barn. Since that barn, I have gone through many lesson horses, a Paint mare that I leased, as well as a medium pony that I had hopes of Pony Finals with. I have bounced around quite a bit, from trainer to trainer, barn to barn, and even with what I wanted to get out of riding.
With the lesson horses, I was fine going to all of the little schooling shows, nothing could have made me happier! As I moved on to my first horse that I leased, April, I learned many things about my style of riding, and what I wanted in a horse. April was definitely a jumper, she was all about speed, so I started showing her in jumpers. I quickly learned that jumpers wasn't for me! After the lease on April ended, I began riding a pony that my trainer had just gotten in a trade, Panda. She was definitely a challenge, but she also turned out to be a very competitive hunter in the smaller schooling shows. We started winning almost every class we were in, so we began to look more towards the larger shows, the "A" circuit. We took her to an "A" show in May 2009, and ended up doing terribly! Of course, seeing as it was our first "A" show together, we just weren't prepared for it. After that year, her green status expired, so I am now too old to ride her, seeing as she is a medium pony.
About 2 months after the "A" show, an amazing offer came up. One of the boarders at the stable had a friend selling her 10 year old off the track Thoroughbred for an amazing price. We had been looking for a suitable horse for over a year and a half, so we decided to go check him out. When we arrived at the stable to try him out, he was seriously underweight, and he obviously hadn't had his feet trimmed in a very long time. He was also very fidgety, although I knew that was fairly normal for an OTTB. As soon as I got on him though, he was a changed horse. He had amazing work ethic, and put his entire head into what I was telling him to do. Later that week, I came home with my very own horse, Silent Run (aka "Sy"), something I could have only dreamed about two months before that!
So this is an overview of my riding career so far, and a little bit of information about my horse! I plan on using this blog to track Sy's progress and the shows that I compete in throughout my career as a Junior equestrian! Hope you enjoy!