Connor

[Erin ♥]

haha..your lucky your mom got that far..my mom freaks when i'm grooming and the horse moves even the tinyest bit.. the most my mom has seen me do on a horse is trot and now she hasn't seen one of my lessons since i moved to equine which was a good while ago now! haha.. i agree.. god love paranoid parents!

[maria]

haha, yeah the very first time I rode Connor, when I was trying him out, we were cantering and he sorta stumbled in the middle of it. It was no biggie, we just kept on going, but my mom said afterwords that it was at that moment she realized just how much higher off the ground I was, LOL!

well, since I didn't have school in the afternoon I went down to the barn 'cause it was so nice out. I decided to work on catching Connor in his field, so that he learns that not every time I go to see him in the field he is coming in and working.

Con is usually an bum to catch, but I decided I may as well practice. I went up to the field with a lead rope, and grabbed onto his halter. Like I expected him to, he flung up his head and took off. So then I was like what the hell, i have time to kill, may as well try it out. (it being this new technique sue told me about).

i know it sounds really really weird, but when the horse doesn't come to you, you chase him away, and keep him running until he decides to come to you. so after about 45 mins of running around cloverdales fields i just stopped next to him, and he walked towards me!!!!!!!! It was SOOOOO cool! the first time he did that, he took off again when i went to put the lead on him, so i drove him away again, but the 2nd time, he let me grab his halter, AND lead him down to the gate!!!!!!! i was SOOOOOO proud!!!I decided to let him go when we got to the gate because a) they had only been out for 20 mins before i got there and b) he ended up being really good.

i was very happy with that! after that i went into his field and he let me grab his halter without pulling, lean up against him, touch his face, all WHILE i was holding a lead rope

Later I had a lesson, and he was pretty good. So so at least! We worked on my equitation, and sitting WAY back in the saddle!

[horseperson]

I've heard about that technique. Did any of the other horses try to join in the game?

I'm glad it worked, because I know he can be a pain to catch. Good work!

[sl]

Con's deffinalty a pain to catch when he doesnt want to come in and cloverdales fields can be quite tiresom to chase a horse around.

[maria]

Marsha: No, the other horses were to lazy lol! When Ruth tried it after with Duff, ALL the horses ran around....except Con ;D He was like, nah, already done that! lol! And yeah, that's the one thing I HATE about our fields

Anyway, onto the important stuff. Rode in the late afternoon so I got to watch the sun go down as I was riding Very nice and calm....just the opposite of my horse ;D I think we were both happy that the ground was nice enough to canter on, and he definitely showed his happiness!!!!! After crazy canter's around the ring, we worked on a nice loose trot to get him calmed down, and we also did lotsa and lotsa trot in long spurts. All in all he was really good, he only started speeding after we cantered for a few times Our last canter was excellent though! I was sitting in the right position that Sue taught me, he had his head down in a frame, and he was bending really really nicely!

After when we were cooling out I sat up straight, and did all the stuff (position wise) that I'm supposed to learn how to do ALL the time! When everything was in the EXACT right position, all at the same time, his head would go down in a frame!!!!!! And I swear to god I was riding on the buckle!

It still amazes me each time I do that.

[maria]

Well, me and Connor did the dressage show as well. I was VERY VERY happy with how we did!!! And I achieveved both of my personal goals for the show, which I felt pleased with before I even got my scores back. We did very well, considering we had NEVER done the tests before, I was doing my training level for the first time....and we haven't cantered in about 6 months!!!! Our transitions were well done (said the judge) even the canter ones. We have been practicing halt/w/t transitions, and it payed off handsomely.

We ended up with a 63.7% in W/T A which got us a 4th place ribbon. And a 61.9% in W/T B which got us a third place ribbon.

We also did our Training level, and my goal for this one was not to let him buck in front of the judge (he was very happy to canter the night before and showed it to!!!) which we did reasonable in earning us a 58.6% and bringing home a 3rd place ribbon.

For not having done them before and not schooling canter, I was pleasently surprised whith his results, and the marks that I lost..well, that just gives me something to work on!

[horseperson]

Excellent Maria! You are doing such a great job with him... the two of you are getting better and better. You should be proud (and I know you are!).

[maria]

OMG!!!!!! I ACTUALLY JUMPED TODAY!!!!!!!!!! OK, so it was just a little cross rail, but Connor jumped it like a PRO!!!!!!! We started off just trotting up over our two poles (there was one single jump in the middle of the ring) and we practised staying stargiht all the way to it, then Sue slowly raised it to half a crossrail, and then a full one!!!!! I know it was little, but it actually MADE MY DAY!!! LOL!!!!

[maria]

JUMPED AGAIN!!!!! FINALLY!!!!! LOL!!! AND we jumped a brush jump, ot at least, that's what I call it ;D

We started out over a cross rail, and we worked on halting afterwords. Even though it was tiny, Connor got WAYYYY excited, as did I!!! ;D haha!!! after a while, we got it, and we both calmed down a little bit. Then Sue raised it to a 2'3 vertical, and we jumped it in both directions, again, halting on the straight line after the jump, to get him listening.

THEN, at the very end, after we did the vertical, to our poles and all that, Sue told me to jump the OTHER jump in the ring. THE BIG.....SCARY.....SOLID LOOKING......BRUSH JUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!! We did it once, and all I had to do was give him some leg, look up and over, and he just about sprouted wings over it I was VERY proud, as it had been mine AND his first time jumping something like that. Afterwords we measured it, and it was 2'6!!! haha, it actually made my day!!

[oxmaybesoxo]

Sounds great Maria I some how don't think your going to be the dressage rider that Sue desperately wants you and Connar to be. You seem to have your own ideas on what you both want to really be doing

[Jasmine]

Sounds like you guys are doing great Maria! Can't wait to see you and Conner go at camp. Only like 1 more day to go!!!

[sl]

jumping is only dressage with obstacles

[maria]

May 15, 2008 21:33:37 GMT -3 oxmaybesoxo said:

I some how don't think your going to be the dressage rider that Sue desperately wants you and Connor to be. You seem to have your own ideas on what you both want to really be doing

haha, It's funny, because I was actually starting to love dressage, but I think that was only 'cause I forgot how fun jumping was ;D LOL!!!!! Connor LOVES flying over the jumps just has much as me, we both get high by jumping ;D

This weekend has been really fun, Saturday we jumped a gymnastic line with a bounce, to a vertical, and Connor was a superstar I had to work a lot on slowing him down after the line though, because he got pretty excited after we started jumping

Then yesterday we did a hunter course. We haven't really practiced them, but we tried walk to canter transitions. They were actually pretty good for our first couple tries, guess all that dressage work DOES pay off It felt like he got a bit speedy, but he made all the jumps until we got to our very last diagonal line, and he didn't really like the plank silly pony! We got over it eventually, and he was best kind after that

Today during the jumper course I'm going to try to sit up straighter before and after the jump,, as that is where my problems lie One thing Liz did say though, was that my lower leg looked very good, and that my position o/f was quite good also My parents also just bought me a BEAUTIFUL new black jumping/crash vest, which I've been wearing, it makes me feel invincible, plus very cool lol!!!

[maria]

Well, since the jumping camp I've had some really good flat rides, but also some, when we were doing serpintines in canter, where Connor has been a complete train Its funny, one day he's super, and the next, he's hard on my hands! Silly pony!

Anyway, in my last lesson Sue took out the poles, and we did an equitation course. He got a bit excited, but we got through all right. Then yesterday, me and Julia set up the same thing and rode it. Connor was a superstar And, thanks to Liz, me and jules paced out the poles right ;D lol! The main thing me and Connor were working on was a line, and then a tight turn to a diagonaly, to a broken line, and then the same on the other side of the ring, with more poles.

Julia was "helping" (aka yelling at me!) to sit back, and it really worked, I was very pleased with Connor's AND my performance, and I can really feel I HUGE difference when I sit back and collect him. It's a good feeling!!!

[maria]

WELL! I had my very first ride up at King Ranch today! I had a lesson with Sue, and once I relaxed and concentrated on my riding, it went quite well We went and caught Connor in his field, and then tacked him up outside, with Sue holding onto him. He was pretty good, a bit fidgety, but he wasn't bad.

I got on him, and I was REALLY nervous, lol! We just started walking around, getting a feel for the new place, and then we did some trot circles and serpentines. It felt really weird at first, because it was a new arena, new footing, PLUS the fact Connor lost a shoe (getting it put back tomorrow though). At first I was really tense, but Connor was perfect, and my ride went really well. We finished off with some canter circles, and although our transition was a little rough, once we got into, it was a really nice canter.

Before my ride I met a couple people to for the first time, including Jason (who is really nice and cool, lol!) and his little son, who is completely adorable!!!

I'm gonna get some pics of Connor soon with his new girlfriend, Zam, and his new best friend, Spud the goat ;D