OTTB Charm

So, as you may have gathered from the title, I did in fact make it to the Karen O'Connor clinic this past weekend (yes I'm very late on this post...we just won't talk about that). Spoiler alert, it was amazing . Epic water shot (I've always wanted one of these) Day one was SJ work. We were in the BN group, and Banner was wonderfully bored with everything we did. Karen honed in really quickly on what everyone needed to work on, and we were no exception. Her first, and biggest note for me was that I need to get the impulsion from Banner sooner, but be a better manager, because he can quickly go from impulsion to impulsive.  Banner and I only did each exercise once, which can easily feel like you got overlooked, but I know from watching Karen several other times, that if you only do it one time, that means you did it right. I felt like we got some good notes and work, and I honestly felt awfully proud & happy that she didn't feel the need to dril...

So at the end of my last post, I mentioned giving Banner a few  well deserved days off. I fully intended to give him like 4-5 days off and then launch into some work. LOL. He got nearly 2 weeks off. But we did stay semi-productive in that time - I bribed him into still liking my presence with many, many  cookies, he had a chiropractic adjustment by our vet (and wow did that make a difference!!), and he got his fall vaccines & teeth floated. Phew. I do actually ride sometimes though First: His chiropractor appointment. Banner has this strange tendency under saddle to hold his hindquarters to the right, and fairly significantly to the right at that! Apparently this has been common for him for a very long time, since I mentioned it to a trainer who hadn't ridden him since May of 2017 , and even she was like "oh yeah, he still does that annoying thing with his haunches?". Instantly, when I realized this was an ongoing issue with him (not just a me problem or an ou...

This weekend, our local barn hosted their first ever true schooling HT. It was a 2-day show, with dressage & SJ on Saturday, and XC on Sunday. Banner and I signed up to do the Beginner Novice! Our dressage test was mid-morning, and there was a storm threatening all day on Saturday. It was definitely brisk, and it was getting to a few of the horses, but Banner came out true to his unicorn status and warmed up like a champ. We are working on improving his transitions, and he gave me some of his best yet to date. His downwards tend to be a bit abrupt, and his upwards tend to start in the front with his back legs struggling to catch up, but on Saturday we got most of our transitions in great form - fluid and smooth! He stayed relaxed and rhythmic in our test and gave me some great work. Our upward canter transitions could have been better, and our free walk could have been stretchier, but I was pleased with our test, and excited about the fact that I still think we have so mu...

Yesterday, I said goodbye to Wonder. I haven't had enough time for 3 horses, and something had to give. I had been toying with the idea of selling him for a little while, but hadn't really fully committed. I lightly marketed him on ISO Facebook posts, but didn't really expect much, if anything, to come out of it. Luckily, I was wrong! The perfect home just happened to come up within a week of me beginning to market him. My all-time favorite photo with him A family reached out to me, interested in him for their 15yo daughter. She loves thoroughbreds, but their current horse is needing to be retired. She can get anxious over fences, so she needs a horse that doesn't feed off of her anxiety. I was happy to have them out to see Wonder, but I really wasn't sure how he would be with someone that young, and with some anxiety when jumping. It turns out that he is a perfect  match for her. He is steady and quiet in all the ways she needs him to be, but he listens and ...

Banner has been mine for almost a full 2 months now, and I have been loving every single moment with him. He is incredibly versatile, but so gentle at the same time. He is bringing a joy to riding that I haven't felt in years , if ever. He is easily the most trained horse out of my 3 and is always game for trying new things. Like riding tackless for the first time. And then letting me stand up on him - no big deal. I am definitely still learning how to ride him though. He is a big, huge tattletale on me when I shift or change. He will cruise along at the canter as long as I ask him to, but if I take my leg off, he breaks. We are working on our counter canter (with trainer help), and he swaps leads if I shift my weight by an ounce. He is forgiving and awesome over fences and is teaching me a lot, but he requires a correct ride! *photos are just from a random home ride, not our lesson* In order to try to improve my own riding and give him the ride that he deserves, ...

I'm way late on this post, but better late than never, right? Charmer and I had our 3 year anniversary on July 7th this year. I always get him something for our "gotcha day" anniversary. The first year was a leather halter, the second year was a saddle (which we just desperately needed anyways, but worked out as his "present"), this year we got a PS of Sweden bridle. Also, despite having lots of photos under saddle with Charmer, I have little to no profile photoshoot style pictures. So part 2 of his gift this year was getting a photoshoot taken in his new bridle! He looks so good in his PSoS bridle! Heels, hearts & horses. All I need in life.  Just can't believe how good his body condition is right now! Quiet moments with my best friend. I love how this shot captures how much I love him. New profile picture? I think yes. Charmer is looking so good lately! Also, I'm 5'6" & in 3" heels and I'm b...