Thursday
Had a perfectly delightful horsey afternoon yesterday. Got back from the dentist, bolted down some lunch, fussed at Tony about bringing Blackie to the vet, then headed out to the barn to fetch up the mare. My trainer said something about clipping her, which I took to mean tidy up Clover's whiskers and bridlepath, but she actually meant doing an entire body clip! Off came tons of thick, growing every-which-way, hard to clip hair, and from under it appeared a mousy brown mare. Clover was very good for the entire procedure, she didn't fuss much at all, even when we pulled her forelegs forward, one at a time, to clip behind and under her elbows. For some reason, however, she is fussy about being clipped from the knees and hocks--even with the farrier earlier today. She had her borium-tipped shoes reset (I know, there's no more ice, but the reset was cheaper than a complete new set of shoes) and did her funny clunky tap dance of annoyance.
After sweeping the remains of the clip job, I tacked up and rode with no other purpose other than to just ride and reinforce the fact that I am a pleasant burden to carry around, not a nasty one that constantly whacks with the whip and nags with the legs. I tried to approximate good position and went from there--I worked less to stay in position and just rode riding through instead of around resistances, the main one being a suck-back hop-buck at the letter A, which is the entrance and exit of the dressage ring, leading to freedom and food. I just kept after Clover to keep moving along, and rewarded her when she fussed less than usual. We did some cantering, and had some bucks in the up transitions. Overall, it was a fun, challenging ride, and felt like we'd progressed a lot.
Then my trainer handed me an entry form for the Evenstride 2 phase: walk/trot dressage test, 18" crossrails. April 8, just about one month from now. Gotta practice forward, rhythm and accuracy. Centerlines and 20 meter circles, changes of rein across the diagonal, maybe even a doubler, I think.
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Today's whoop-te-doo news: my County Competitor sold at the Chubby Pony. It was on consignment there. I was only going to ask $400 as it was older and in need of restuffing, but Dottie put it up at $675. Less the 15% consignment fee, I net $575. I've already got it spent, on Lende shipping boots and a new dressage coat for me. The Schumacher coat that Dottie had been holding for me when my saddle sold was stolen by the shifty fucking family that scammed her, taking what they could from her staging area in back of the store. Nice people. I'll never be able to afford a coat like that, not at a new price. Poor Dottie, she does so much for us local eventers, she doesn't deserve that crap. I hope the cops round that family up at their local WalMart someday and we get to see it when it gets broadcast on one of Tony's cop shows.
After sweeping the remains of the clip job, I tacked up and rode with no other purpose other than to just ride and reinforce the fact that I am a pleasant burden to carry around, not a nasty one that constantly whacks with the whip and nags with the legs. I tried to approximate good position and went from there--I worked less to stay in position and just rode riding through instead of around resistances, the main one being a suck-back hop-buck at the letter A, which is the entrance and exit of the dressage ring, leading to freedom and food. I just kept after Clover to keep moving along, and rewarded her when she fussed less than usual. We did some cantering, and had some bucks in the up transitions. Overall, it was a fun, challenging ride, and felt like we'd progressed a lot.
Then my trainer handed me an entry form for the Evenstride 2 phase: walk/trot dressage test, 18" crossrails. April 8, just about one month from now. Gotta practice forward, rhythm and accuracy. Centerlines and 20 meter circles, changes of rein across the diagonal, maybe even a doubler, I think.
*
Today's whoop-te-doo news: my County Competitor sold at the Chubby Pony. It was on consignment there. I was only going to ask $400 as it was older and in need of restuffing, but Dottie put it up at $675. Less the 15% consignment fee, I net $575. I've already got it spent, on Lende shipping boots and a new dressage coat for me. The Schumacher coat that Dottie had been holding for me when my saddle sold was stolen by the shifty fucking family that scammed her, taking what they could from her staging area in back of the store. Nice people. I'll never be able to afford a coat like that, not at a new price. Poor Dottie, she does so much for us local eventers, she doesn't deserve that crap. I hope the cops round that family up at their local WalMart someday and we get to see it when it gets broadcast on one of Tony's cop shows.
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