Ring Around the Rosie!

There was no way that Friday could possibly be as great as Thursday. Could Mother Nature be so gracious two days in a row? No, not even close. Friday was cold and drizzly. When I arrived at the farm, Rosalie was getting her weekly ride in with Christine. I was the only one there complaining about the weather. But then again, I get cold more easily than most people. It looked like Rosalie was turning into a very good rider. Her seat stays in the saddle like there is glue on her back pockets. Textbook wrangler! I also must give three cheers to Christine for being such a great teacher and riding companion. Hip Hip Hip Hurray for Christine!


Because Charlie had been so jumpy on the trail on Wednesday, Christine wanted to get him in the ring and have a good ride on him. Once again, he looked great in English tack (Sorry, Bill, it is true!) Christine had Charlie looking like a million bucks.


Lilly didn't look half bad herself. You see in the picture she is wearing her Renegades which seems strange because the ring is so soft. But when I first got on her, sans the ruby slippers, she seemed reluctant to move her feet. Was it attitude or tender tootsies? One way to find out was to put the Renegades on her. Honestly, I thought she moved a little better with them on. I continue to give those boots the thumbs up. I only worry about them getting pulled off in deep and slippery mud.


This picture doesn't look like anything new, but I have posted it because I am not using a saddle and trotting without a saddle is kind of a big deal for me! I should start doing a little bareback riding each time I am in the ring. I guess I am very bad at setting and keeping certain horsemanship goals....

Saturday (which is today) I was back in the ring. I was psyched that Jackie was able to squeeze in a few hours with Pokey. We vacillated between ring work or a trail ride and decided on the ring. Bill was down there with Freddie, and we thought if we were in the ring, if Christine showed up, then we'd head out on the trail. I decided that I would only take action shots today.

There's Bill who ended up getting on Pokey for a few seconds....

This is not an action shot! But I thought it was really cute.

Jackie was working on getting Pokey all collected. It wasn't anything she has ever worked on before, I don't think. Like her daughter Rosalie, Jackie is a natural in a saddle. Plus, she really loves it. Bill and Jackie worked a lot on getting Pokey to canter from a stand still and getting him up on the correct lead. It's so funny how everything is crystal clear from the ground!


Pokey looks very nice there. He is such a willing horse. For a very short clip of Jackie and Pokey in action, all you need to do is click right here!
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With Lilly, I tried to get the sidepass right. Going one way she's pretty good. And going the other way she gets wiggly and crooked. I know it might be rider error! But maybe it isn't. Maybe she's just better on one side than the other? If you'd like to see a few videos of me practicing, I have two clips on YouTube that you can view by clicking here (this one Bill helps get Lilly understand what we are doing), and by clicking here (let's just say this is a learning moment for us). Many thanks to Jackie for filming!
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One small note about the video: No, I was not so worried about getting shot in the ring that I was wearing safety orange! Hah! When I got ready in the barn, I really thought we were going to end up in the woods so I prepared myself and the dog for it. Please don't think New England hunters are so crazy that they shoot people on their own land while riding horses!! Oy vey!


Tomorrow is Halloween! Do you have your costumes ready?