Clover Ledge Farm

After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time!  most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the end, at the time it bled a lot and we were unsure how quickly it might swell up, etc. Margaret handwalked Jester to the stirrup cup snack/drink pit stop (again, it was so hot, so walking alongside a peppy little Morgan was a lot of work!) and we were given permission to go straight back to the starting point instead of finishing the ride. We still had to get back about a mile and a half to the farm, so poor Margaret walked Jester back the entire way as we followed carefully.  Having a kicking incident certainly made for a not great day in the end. But we had fun in the beginning of the ride at least! I am unsure if I will be able to convince Margaret to come along on another hunter pace with me though! 🙈... [Read more]

For our first horse trial of the year, I felt dropping down a level to Advanced Elementary was a solid decision. Babette agreed with me, and after several positive jump lessons through the spring, I felt confident and ready for the Course Brook schooling event in Massachusetts.  Basically, the jumps are four inches shorter than Beginner Novice (2'3' instead of 2'7") and we had to ride BN Test A instead of BN Test B. The four inches don't seem like a lot, but my trepidation of Ellie's stopping behavior is still there. I am not scared or nervous, but it stresses me out when I do everything right and she will still choose to stop. Granted, there are times I forget to give after a half halt on the approach or forget to put my leg on, but there are definitely plenty of times when she just stops despite the fact I am doing everything "right". Getting to Course Brook is a three hour haul, but I have now been there enough that the drive is not that bad. I actually left quite earlier than I needed to, which is not normal for me haha, thinking I might get a parking spot closer to Babette's trailer (she had a student riding much earlier than me). Thank goodness I did leave so early, because it just so happened a large section of I-95 in southern Maine was shut down due to a bad tractor trailer accident. We had to detour waaaaaaaay around and it added an extra 45 minutes to the drive, which was just about the same number of minutes early I had left the house. I think I would have missed dressage had I not been running so early, which is just crazy because I am never so early! we won the fanciest hoof pick ever haha But anyway, we did arrive with plenty of time to check in, get organized, and head over to dressage warm up. Ellie was actually quite good in the crowded and hectic warm up space, which was also super hot and dusty. After focusing so much on First 1 and 2, I admit I really didn't ride BN Test A as well as I could have, because I just sort of went in and did it instead of thinking about it as much as I think about my First level tests. But we still managed a 32.5 which was good enough for 5th place in a field of 11 riders, putting me 1.4 points behind the leader. No pics or video of dressage, but who wants to watch that anyway haha. After I took care of Ellie, I walked the courses with Babette. She was coaching a bunch of other riders besides me, but I was the only one in AE that day. The XC was essentially just a bunch of logs, the water, and a little house as the final jump but there were some tricky approaches. It was kind of nice to have a technical course to ride since it made me really think as I rode instead of just thinking straightforward logs were easy. This video is the last fence! Show jump was also a decent course with a six stride related distance we did in 7 and an easy bending line. This level does not allow combinations, so definitely a simple course for us. Babette videoed the entire course for me. Going clear in both XC and show jumping moved us up from 5th to 3rd! Yay! It was the perfect confidence building ride for a spring HT. Everything felt easy and Ellie felt rideable and confident. Our XC round was just fabulous where I felt like I could ask her to move forward but easily get her canter back to bouncy and balanced before each fence. She jumped just about every XC fence out of stride, just finding the perfect distance because of the decent canter every time. I still felt that little nagging doubt of well sure, you did fine at AE but this isn't BN. Regardless of my ridiculous inner voice, it was exactly what I needed to start the eventing season of 2021!... [Read more]

Ten days after the April 22 dressage show at HBF, we were back for their second show! It felt like a lot of showing after a winter off, but it also was good to test where we were so early on. Plus, these shows are so laid back and ho-hum for us, since it is our lesson barn, it is always good to practice tests in the ring where we lesson! We had run through First 2 earlier that week in our lesson and Beth really liked how I rode that test better than First 1. This was especially true in the canter work, as you lengthen the stride and then circle 15 m. in First 1 but you do the opposite in First 2. For where we are right now, cantering the 15 m. circle and THEN asking for the lengthening seems to help Ellie balance and develop her medium canter much more than how it is asked for in First 1. I know we are not ready quite yet for the canter loops of First 3, but to me it didn't matter which of the other First level tests we rode. So as Beth is the show secretary haha, she just had me ride First 2 and a reride that Sunday instead of First 1. Overall, I was really pleased with a 65.7143% and 66.4286% on the reride. While I have managed to finally install a pretty reliable half halt and we do not rush through tests, we still have moments particularly in our balance from canter to trot where she wants to dump on her forehand and rush a bit. Our comments were about more balance in the canter transition and lengthenings but that "the horse is clearly willing and motivated to work for you" which I thought was a funny comment. I also got the comment "fun horse!" on the reride. We did bump up a few movements from a 6.5 to a 7 and 7.5 in the trot work and stretch circle to gain almost a point haha. I am super happy to see 7s and 7.5s for rider position and use of aids! I feel like the new (to me) saddle is finally allowing me to be a much more effective rider and sit in better balance. It felt good to go in and do the thing without any worry or pressure about a new test. I felt confident and ready and Ellie just feels so much more mature this year! She is starting to understand her job and feel confident in the work as well, which is really rewarding.... [Read more]

Our final NEJA show in their winter series was at the end of April. On a whim, I decided to kick it old school and wear my rust breeches and navy coat. I definitely got a few "looks" from some of the HJ crowd, but it was worth being the weirdo eventer girl haha. It was a gorgeous spring day and our rounds were all excellent. Rejoice really seems to enjoy her newfound jumper pony status and powered around like she knew what she was doing haha.  My goals for the day were to win the ground poles speed class by taking a sneaky route someone's trainer would not approve of again haha like I did at the March show and to remember my jump off round like I did NOT do at the March show! Though there wasn't a super sneaky route to take in the ground poles class, I made sure to set her up for tight turns and rollbacks. We did win the class out of nine riders! Whoot! Our speed cross rails was also a good class, with Rejoice willing to listen to half halts, turn on a dime, and also to GO when asked. Out of twelve riders, we placed third! For the cross rails class with the jump off, I made sure I knew my courses well. After we went clear in the first round, I took a minute to look at and repeat the jump off course. I am glad I took this moment to breathe and remember the jump off, as I remembered the entire course! Yay! Both goals met!  We ended up third out of five in our jump off class, which was great! Such a fun way to start 2021 and Rejoice has given me a confidence boost over fences. I think I have moved through the stuck mindset of expecting a stop at every fence like I did last year. Rejoice helped me practice putting my leg on and expecting the horse to jump, because that is exactly what she does. Completely no drama and no doubting her rider. she's pretty cute!... [Read more]

While Rejoice and I were busy playing jumper pony, Ellie and I had been concentrating on our dressage lessons during the late winter and early spring. It felt good to come back from a pretty laidback winter and not to have lost any training; in fact, I think Ellie's winter break did her a world of good. It felt as though she had matured a ton and was ready to be a First Level horse. She is coming nine this year and I think it is my favorite age so far! this was March but pretty representative of our winter rides Beth and I agreed it would be a good idea to knock off the rust and get the first 2021 show under our belt, so I entered the little schooling show her barn held during April school vacation. It ended up being freezing cold and spitting sn*w (which is better than the rain that was forecasted I suppose lol), so the weather wasn't exactly ideal and fun, but it was worth getting into the big outside ring and riding First 1 to see where we were at. We had not ridden this test since August 2020. Due to the not-so-fun spring weather, I do not have any photos/videos because no one wanted to hang out and watch. We were able to ride First 1 twice almost back to back (one rider in between) which was nice. I was seriously frozen and wore a black winter coat and winter breeches hahaha.  But despite the fact the weather was sub par, Ellie was super! i win dis We banged out a 66.5517% and a 67.2414% to place first and second in First 1 out of four rides (two other riders did F1 once). I made our canter circles a little too big, but that was easily fixable. We had comments about nice bend, being supple (!!!!), and needing more push from behind in the lengthenings. I was pumped to get all 7s on rider position/seat and use of aids, which I attribute to the fact I am no longer fighting with my saddle haha. Overall, I felt really good about this first show of the year! And seeing as the highest we scored on this test in 2020 was a 63%, I'd say we have made some improvements!... [Read more]

Rejoice and I were ready for our second jumper show of 2021! I was determined to ride more confidently and ask my zoomy pony for a little more speed, as she had proven to me how good she was back in February. Let's be real. I just wanted to be ground pole champion of the world hahahahaha. Margaret did Rejoice's braids again, and this time because it wasn't absolutely freezing I put on her cute little boots and bells. I mean, it was ground poles and crossrails, but she was seriously the cutest little jumper pony! I walked the course and really liked the quick turns and flow. I decided to make a sneak attack between jumps 4 and 5 in ground poles to save some serious time hahaha.  Even better was the trainer telling her kid instructions as they watched my round: "Don't do that. Wide turn, go to the rail." We won (speed) ground poles out of ten riders! WHOOT! We ended up second out of sixteen in the speed cross rails class.  Then we had a great jump off round cross rails class, going clear in the first round. We headed directly into the jump off, which is always tough for me as I have a hard time remembering courses never mind when there are no jump numbers like in eventing! We were super fast and clear, but as we are headed towards the final fence, I was like ohhhh wait, how the heck am I going to get to that fence......OH DAMN I MISSED AN ENTIRE COMBINATION! All I could do was laugh, so we just went the long way around and jumped the last fence. Somehow we still placed third out of seven even though I didn't even do the combination hahaha. I will never really understand how jumpers work! Rejoice is just too much fun. I love her sassy tail and those happy ears as she happily motors around the course like she's been doing this all her life. I enjoy having a horse who I can truly just have fun with and not have any goals or expectations for her or for myself.... [Read more]

I feel as though winter shows always feel like a fun thing to do until it is actually the morning of, and it is SO FREAKING COLD outside, and you think why am I like this? so cold but so cute But I digress. Margaret and I decided it would be super fun and exciting to bring Rejoice to the winter schooling shows at a local farm. Rejoice is actually a pretty decent jumper and seems to enjoy it much more than anything too dressage related haha. After our success at the three versatility challenges in 2020, I figured it might be fun to bop around a few little courses. Jumping Rejoice also helped give me confidence that had been lost in 2020 with Ellie's stopping issues. Rejoice is honest and the jumps were so tiny that it gave me the opportunity to just jump without much thought. I mean really, we did ground poles and cross rails. Adorable and so fun!  look at her cute little ears and plump & fuzzy mama belly Rejoice was a little wide eyed and I definitely was overthinking everything, but we made it around our two little courses and even brought home a 6th place ribbon for our effort in groundpoles haha. We were seventh in crossrails but no ribbons for that! Rejoice did have one weirdo moment in the first class where she decided maybe it would be safer to NOT hop over the groundpoles, as a previous horse had knocked them apart. She literally looked down and went OHHH NOPE and skidded to a halt from the canter. I was NOT prepared for that, but thankfully it made me shake the cobwebs out of my brain and remember how to ride LOL! I am unsure how I stayed on and it never even counted against us as a refusal since I popped back up into the saddle and we went over. Ohhhhh Rejoice! *facepalm* look at that heel grab lol it is the only thing I can think of that saved me from falling off ha It was a FREAKING COLD day (high of 28), so Margaret and I only stayed long enough for my classes and we left. We decided it was worth doing again for sure, but hopefully March would be much warmer haha. jumps so tiny she has one front on the ground and a hind also on the ground ha yay mare!... [Read more]

Whew! That was a whole lotta posts in a short amount of time! All caught up with 2020 and now we are moving forward! is this not the CUTEST photo of my youngest riding Rejoice back in January?? I never really wrote any goals for 2021, but they are pretty simple: Keep the ponies happy and healthy Ellie: Have multiple solid experiences at BN level Maybe have Babette take Ellie N by fall Confident in all First Level movements by end of 2021 Rejoice: Continue to have fun outings when we can! Dreamy: Keep her comfortable, sound, and in good weight (she was looking a bit elderly/unsound this winter to me so she is back on Equioxx) this was my favorite Bernie meme even better is that Janet Foy made it her FB profile pic hahaha I gave Ellie most of the winter off and just did some toodling around in the sn*w here and there. I felt as though we had grown SO much in 2020 that we both needed a little down time to digest it all. Babette was in Aiken anyway and I did not want to take dressage lessons, or more accurately I did not want to deal with the focus of lessons in the dead of winter! You never know what the roads are going to be like, what my steep driveway is going to be like, the fact I would have to clip Ellie more than just the little bib clip I did, trying to make progress even though I couldn't practice much at home......BLAH. I enjoyed the little break to be honest. Here is a ridiculously massive Google Meet from my living room haha One entire grade/wing was quarantined in January for ten days. Yup, that included me! I had my first COVID test and thankfully was negative! I did end up riding a lot with Margaret over the winter, and Rejoice seemed to like getting out when the footing was favorable. I mean mostly we just bopped around and didn't do much productive, which was exactly what we needed to survive winter haha. We even rode one day in the sn*w in February and it actually was quite nice! (If you know me, you know I am NOT a fan of winter lol). To beat the winter blues, we cooked up a lot of schemes about what we wanted to do in 2021 and ended up deciding to play jumper pony with Rejoice at a local farm during their winter jumper series. More on that later... Ultimately, I feel as though I came into 2021 with a much more positive outlook than I felt during most of 2020. Winter didn't feel as never ending as usual, I felt excited to get going again, but also tried to enjoy the quiet months too.... [Read more]

Despite the fact 2020 was a year of cancelled shows and lots of horse show changes, I am still pleased with the fact Ellie was able to qualify for a few year end awards. Rejoice even got into the act with one of her own! Ellie Maine Horse Association First Level Champion 62.2414% Family Pleasure Horse Program (Most Hours Award) Maine Dressage Society First Level AA, 3rd place 62.2414% Western Maine Dressage Society First Level AA, Reserve Champion 62.2414% (no pic because I have not received the ribbon yet) American Morgan Horse Association Bronze Medal in Dressage *While they suspended the Open Competition in 2020, they still awarded medallions. For a bronze in dressage, we had to earn 8 scores for Training or First level tests completed in at least 5 shows with at least 4 different judges. At least 2 scores must be from First level. All scores must be 60% or higher. Rejoice Maine Horse Association Family Pleasure Horse Program (25 or More Hours Award)... [Read more]

Ellie finally became a foxhunter! She was such a star and thought it was the most exciting trail ride of her life haha. It included new horses to meet, hounds that looked like fun to meet, three deer jumping into our path, going fast through the fields, and then getting to eat grass at the holds while wearing her bridle. She took it all in stride and with a maturity I wasn't sure would ever happen LOL! This was a perfect culmination of a year of growing up and learning how to work as a team. We had SO MUCH FUN! I hope to do a few more fox hunts this fall in 2021! before we headed out we are way in the back haha Ellie is on the far left!... [Read more]

With my show season with Ellie over after the RABT fall XC derby, it was time to enjoy the fall foliage and do something fun to end the crazy dumpster fire of 2020. Margaret and I decided to take our two older mares out to a hunter pace put on by a local fox hunt.  It was a perfect fall day to enjoy being out and about with each other. Rejoice is the best trail horse ever and Margaret's horse Ladyhawke is always brave, too. Being out with the two matriarchs was so much fun! of course, we matched keeping a close eye on the sheep in the field... [Read more]

Through September, I felt as though Ellie and I had overcome most of our major challenges. This is not to say things were suddenly perfect, and I certainly did stupid things like forget to put my leg on at times, but Babette had helped me learn how to balance her before a jump so 1. Ellie stopped fussing and could SEE the jump and 2. I could put my leg on because she wasn't rushing at the fence. I stopped allowing myself to be fooled by the fact she would take me to the fence and feel so forward and then surprisingly grind to a stop. It wasn't a true forward and it was too unbalanced. I learned how to set the canter pace and use leg to ask her to go forward at the base. It sounds so much easier when I write it out, but honestly it took me some time as a rider to really iron this out with Ellie. So, with that newfound confidence, we entered the Fall XC Derby at Rest & Be Thankful (RABT), the farm where we take our jumping lessons. I was excited to give BN another try on a course I knew well.  We had a great warm up until I failed to put my leg on and we had a stop. Uggggh I would get so frustrated with myself back then. Babette had me jump a few more times before we headed off for our course. The first round was timed and counted for placings, while our second round was just for schooling/for fun. warming up jump 1 game faces ON also jump 1 just a different angle jump 2 made me so friggin happy jumping out in the field and coming back up to the top I love when she's galloping along and her fly bonnet does this haha Alright, we did have a stop at the smallest fence on course I let her lose momentum coming up the hill on the approach, and I never put my leg on So this was the re-present and ummmm she did NOT want to touch it haha So OBVIOUSLY, Margaret had to photo shop in a Rolex fence because clearly Ellie wants to be an Advanced horse hahaha this horse loves cantering through the water! those ears! second to last jump we had gone out into the woods for a few fences  but no pics of those final fence! seriously so happy and proud despite the one stop (my fault!) I could not have asked for a better round We had a small break before it was time for our second (practice) round. These two photos are from that round, where I just did the first few fences to get over this one without a stop, and we galloped through the water again (it was just after this) and we quit.  jumping it like a normal horse haha I got teary at the end of the first course and could not thank Babette enough for all of her help and unwavering support. It felt so good to have a successful XC outing on a challenging yet accessible course. We ended 6th out of 14 in our BN Senior division due to our stop. Had we gone clear, we would've won because we were closest to optimum time. We joined a team with two of our Pony Club friends and we ended up 8th in the team placings. Of course, both young riders went clear and I dragged us down with our stop, but it was still fun to win a brown team ribbon haha. Without much else available on the fall calendar due to COVID, this ended up being our last competitive experience of 2020. It felt like a solid success to end our year and give Ellie some much needed down time.... [Read more]

By mid September, Ellie and I had started to get ourselves together. It wasn't perfect, but it felt so much better to have put in the time, sweat, and tears to begin to move past our issues with stopping. I felt really discouraged for most of the summer, so moving through that was huge. Of course, my rides at Green Acres and Esprit in August had still contained stops, but our lessons were where we really showed improvement.  when you ask your small child to take a photo of you on your horse and he wants a selfie, too  I took Ellie down one day to the farm where Babette was based out of for years called Gathering Farm (she is now at a new barn because Gathering sold over the winter). It was an opportunity to take a lesson over fences in a new place, so while it wasn't totally like a show, it was nice to jump in that environment. And can I just say that Hamilton, MA is such beautiful horse country! It is home to Myopia Hunt as well as many other lovely barns like Ledyard Farm. Back in the 1970s, Gathering was the USET headquarters where Jack LeGeoff taught. So lots of rich history and I am glad I got to see and ride at the farm one last time before it was sold. Mama, I want to clean your tack, too! Why sure, here's a bridle! Also, I mentioned that I finally had come to grips in 2020 that I needed a new dressage saddle. It fit Ellie well, but it did no favors for my position. I had to find a big girl dressage saddle that not only was comfortable for us both but also would not break the bank. I searched and searched and lucked out with Maryland Tack Exchange (which is now located in FL which confused me at first but ok). I found a wide Trilogy Amadeo Elite for $2K, which I was pretty excited about since new they start at $4850. It fits Ellie so well after a little flocking rearrangement and I feel like I can actually sit up like a real dressage rider. Thankfully I was able to sell my Stubben within a month for $1000, so it worked out.  Even my saddle fitter was like WOW, you are good at this finding used saddles thing! haha She's fit a dressage and jump saddle to Rejoice and a dressage saddle to my friend Margaret's young horse, and she has been impressed with our ability to find decent used saddles for good prices that actually are close to perfect for our horses!  Not saying I love saddle shopping/fitting, but I have had good luck with saddles over the past year. So one small part of 2020 was quite good in that respect!... [Read more]

Rejoice and I attended the third and versatility challenge of the 2020 series in September and had another great day. She exceeded my expectations, improved her scores yet again, and handled every obstacle like a pro. It was so worth finding something to do together to increase our bond, and the ribbons were just a fun bonus!  We placed sixth out of 12 with a 54.2 out of a possible 70 points! Our best score yet! Each obstacle is worth a possible 0 to 5 points. This last try we had our first fives! In fact, we earned four 5s, one for the ground tie and remount, another for the judged trot across the ring, another for the noodle gate, and one for the milk jug drag. I was under the impression the club did year end awards for versatility, but alas they did not. In fact, they really only seemed to do year ends for their gaming shows, so even though I didn't go into this expecting a year end, once I ended up completing all three and actually placing well, I looked into their website and realized there wasn't any year end recognition. Oh well, it was still a blast! Sadly, their first one of 2021 is coming up and I already have something to bring Ellie to, so I cannot do it. The other two are conflicting with other dates of events I want to attend, so I am unsure if I will get to any this year.... [Read more]

This was the event where Babette was to ride Ellie to give her (and I) confidence around show jump and XC. It was super weird for me to have my horse at an event but not be her rider! But I was so excited for this and knew it would be good for me to see. I also literally had just gotten a new saddle that week before this show and LOVED IT so much. So Babette was the first one to compete in it haha.  Ellie was great in the huge and chaotic dressage warm up. Babette rode her conservatively, which was fine. She never really got her over her back though (not an issue since she was there to jump the mare and not get some outstanding dressage score) and that meant her free walk was non existent haha. But it didn't matter as they put in a respectable test and were sitting 4th out of a BN division of 11 riders. The SJ and XC courses all looked good to me, except honestly there was one fence on XC I was really glad Babette was going to be dealing with instead of me. The farm has a random small indoor off to the side of the XC course, which is bright and airy because it is a covered arena. One of the T jumps and one of the BN jumps were located inside of this arena, which doesn't sound scary but you had to canter up a hill to enter the indoor and only had about three strides before the fence had to be jumped. It just seemed like a bad type of fence had I been the rider because it was literally only visible for a few strides out and if Ellie fought me on entering the arena, it would have definitely been a stop. Babette and Ellie rocked around the show jump course looking like the pros they are! It was so fun to see Ellie just do the thing. I was excited and nervous for XC and just wanted Ellie to have a good round out there. photo used with purchase from Flatlands Foto photo used with purchase from Flatlands Foto I love this photo of Babette & Ellie! And she did! Of course, Babette told me Ellie had a few hesitant moments but she also responded perfectly to Babette just putting her leg on and saying nope, it's ok, we just jump the stuff. It was EXACTLY what Ellie needed and for me to witness! photo used with purchase from Flatlands Foto Going double clear made me figure they had held onto fourth or at least moved up a spot. To my utter surprise and delight, they WON! YAY! I was so excited to see their names on the top spot after I had taken care of Ellie and wandered down to the secretary's booth. Of course, it would not have mattered what place they had come in at the end, as all I wanted was a confident trip around the two courses. But how sweet to finish first! this was just after XC We were so proud and happy! And I even got Babette to wear my XC shirt to match Ellie haha... [Read more]

After the mostly successful but still a lot of refusals event at Green Acres two weeks earlier, I decided to take Ellie out to a local 2-phase for another experience over fences. I knew we could get eliminated, but the point was to get her out and get her over everything for my own confidence. And when I put my leg on I had to mean it.  Dressage was status quo with a 36.67 and the comment nicely forward but needs to be more supple, tight today. It is not a great indoor in which to do a calm dressage test, so we had some tension issues we normally do not have. But whatever, I was here to jump not worry about a dressage score. still cute above the kick boards on each long side are stalls all the horses are left inside and it is noisy Ellie is just short enough she cannot see anything over the walls but she hears and reacts to everything. This is not just an Ellie issue - lots of riders are not fond of riding tests in this indoor (they do have an outdoor but don't use it for small arena tests...) When it was time to jump, I warned the barn manager/SJ steward that we might have three stops but I wanted to finish the course no matter what. Thankfully, she is a kind person who had no problem with this, so I was able to re-present Ellie to the three fences she stopped at. So while we were eliminated, again at least I got to get her around a course. We would've won had we gone clear haha. But it was nice to have the entire crowd supporting us and cheering us on. My friend Margaret and her sister Kathleen were there, and both agreed Ellie was making dirty stops and I had grit to get her over everything.  my face in this one hahaha this was a two stride and I was like mofo we are GOING OVER BOTH So, not our best showing, but it was worth giving it a try and sticking with it!... [Read more]

Because we had SO much fun at the May versatility challenge, Rejoice and I went back for the second one in August! Again, she was a super star and we had a solid ride. This time I dragged Margaret along with me haha and she took lots of pics! warming up and Rejoice was MUCH calmer this time she figured out how nice it is to just chill instead of being so forward we practiced A LOT over tarps but she was still suspicious of the half barrels haha this was a scary blob of milk jugs we had to drag from one pole bending pole to another it actually made a few of the horses spook and riders even fell off Rejoice had never done anything like this before and she NAILED IT ps- she was staring at the bull cut out that was set OUTSIDE the ring at the far corner hahaha she's a pro at gates and helped with her nose on this one 😂 she would NOT step on even one of these little raised bridges in May but this time she marched up and over three of them without blinking BEST MARE EVER I was ridiculously proud haha the requisite noodle curtain - NAILED IT we ended up in fourth place this time around! YAY! This was another large novice division and the top three riders were all experienced (in their second year of novice). I believe there were 12 riders and we earned a 36 out of 65 possible points! So being right up there in the placings was pretty cool. Even though I started this for just the hell of it, it turned into something Rejoice really excelled at and we both enjoyed!... [Read more]

Again, before I recap this show and why we did it, I need to give some training background. After the not-so-good TE at CourseBrook's USEA event, Babette rode Ellie and we made some decisions. Ellie was stopping at fences with me because I did not always put my leg on, yes. However, in riding Ellie, Babette was able to realize that there were times that everything was "correct" and Ellie would still stop. She was fussing and flipping her head up at half halts before a fence that there were times she legit did not even see the fence until the very last moment. Then we had the OMG A FENCE surprise stop that even Babette wasn't prepared for.  Huh. I nervously worried aloud that maybe it was because she had an eyesight issue? No, as Babette was able to show me, when Ellie accepted the balancing half halt before the fence, saw the fence, and you were able to then put your leg on, she was fine. Like amazingly fine. Ellie had been jumping in the NS beval, so Babette had me move the reins out of the bottom ring. Ellie was still not impressed with the idea of half halting instead of blasting to every jump, but it helped immensely. Babette jumped her over everything, including a bunch of big Novice fences and even asked her to come into fences at angles. Ellie became a little jumping machine and Babette gleefully asked, "Can she be my next Novice horse?" (Side note: since the training ride with Babette, Ellie jumps in the NS bit she uses for dressage and it works super!) Then it dawned on me. We were signed up for the fall event at Course Brook on September 5, but I suddenly wondered if Babette would ride her for me instead. Like maybe my horse needed a confident ride around a BN course with Babette and I needed to SEE her going around well for things to come together. Babette readily agreed to take my spot as rider (and then asked if she could bring Ellie and I to Aiken for the winter or at least send Ellie down....hahaha I wish!) Having Babette ride Ellie gave her a TON of information. It confirmed for her what Ellie is doing and how to help me ride her more successfully. Sometimes I cannot always verbalize what is happening and the instructor cannot necessarily see it, so for me to have someone who will ride Ellie once in a while is crucial.  So at that late July lesson/training ride, we made a plan. This is the reason I decided to enter the little schooling HT at Green Acres in NH and step down to Advanced Elementary (2'3") just to get some confidence. I needed to have a "test" of all the things we started to work on in lessons. I went into the HT just wanting to get around the courses and jump everything. The nice part was you could have up to five refusals and not be asked to stop midround, so I could at least get her over EVERYTHING. Once your horse starts stopping, it can break down your confidence in a weird way. Like I wasn't scared to jump, but I started being scared of having a stop. Our dressage was decent enough, still struggle bussing in the canter a bit, for a 34.72. And we were clear in stadium! YAY! That was a huge boost for me and I knew we could make it through XC.  We had to go straight to XC after stadium. She hopped over the first two fences like nothing and I was feeling good.  Then at the third fence, we had a group of people crossing right in the line of the fence, leading a horse no less, because the path between trailer parking and everything else went right through the XC course. Uggg. It should have be fine, but of course I had to yell out COMING THROUGH and then got myself all worried and we had a stop. UGGGGG. It was a stupid little yellow box and we definitely should not have stopped, but it was just bad timing. It didn't help the group with the horse was just kinda moseying through and not really thinking about where they were actually walking. Thinking back now, I know had I put my leg on and said JUMP THIS NOW, she would have, but at the time I just couldn't seem to do that and "allowed" the stops. When she backed down a little, instead of putting on my leg and saying GO, I went "oh yeah, you're right, let's stop". I tried to not let it rattle me and we jumped around the rest of the front field of jumps just fine. But then we had two more refusals at two different fences (and I cannot recall which ones), so technically we would have been eliminated but as I said this schooling HT allows up to five refusals. So I could keep going and we got around the entire course. It wasn't ideal but I am happy that when I asked her a second time we were able to get over the three she stopped at.  We ended up in fifth place in our division of either 6 or 7. Onward and upward!... [Read more]

Our third attempt at First level was at the August "team" show at HBF. This is always a fun show because not only do we get to ride and be scored on our tests, we are also put into teams ahead of time for an overall team score as well. Complete with neck sashes and a white polo awards ceremony, this is always a highlight of summer showing! Ellie and I had some serious growing pains with First Level in 2020, which is probably fitting in the Year of the Dumpster Fire that was 2020 haha. However, it gave me space to figure things out, with the help of Beth of course, and just sticking with First 1 and showing at HBF. This August show was a clear step in the right direction and helped me to remember that progress is not linear just because you want it to be. Training an opinionated young horse teaches much more than just horsemanship.  Our first ride was a 61.2069% with our typical unbalanced bobbles in the canter and difficulty with submission. Our reride was a bit better with a 63.4483% because I decided to ride her firmly. No, you cannot blow through my half halts and trot like a sewing machine, especially after the canter. No, you cannot gallop down the long side in the canter or ignore my half halt before the 15 m. circle because WE HAVE TO TURN when I say so. LOL she has so much confidence that her way is the right way, and it wasn't really until the end of August she started truly working with me instead of trying to be "right". I needed to put my foot down a little, even at a show, because that's why they are called schooling shows! We were paired with two other AA riders as our team, and we were reserve champs of our division! Yay!... [Read more]

So you need a little background before I talk about this trail challenge thing! Throughout 2020, I put some time and effort into riding Ellie's dam, Rejoice. She never had consistent training when she was younger and then she spent several years just being a broodmare, so while I did not (and still do not) have any lofty goals for this mare, I did want to enjoy her as a pleasure horse. Mostly because she is safe and sweet and seems to enjoy getting out and about.  she is the BEST trail horse and will go anywhere I ask! being all majestic, I guess But when I first started riding her the fall of 2019, I realized I had my work cut out for me LOL! She didn't understand my seat, she was used to being completely ridden off her face/bit (owner just before me rode her in a tie-down/draw rein combo), and had zero half halt. Like we called it a 1/16th halt haha. early April 2020 I took my time, reminded her about how inside leg to outside rein works, and never used any devices on her. I was patient and kind, and of course, she is pretty much an Ellie clone so everything that worked well with Ellie in the beginning of her training works well for Rejoice.  Eventually Rejoice decided that maybe she didn't need to always GO FAST and throw her head straight in the air. She developed a "quarter halt" hahaha and is mostly on her way to having a true half halt at this point. I made sure her dressage and jump saddles are both well fitted to her. I experimented with bits until I found what seemed to work best for her (a turtle top beval by NS in case you are wondering!). I think she will always be easier to ride using the beval's bottom rein attachment because it allows me just a smidge more control without having to be too heavy with my half halts. Plus, we are never showing dressage so I don't care that the beval rings are illegal in the dressage ring. yes, she's wearing a dressage number Margaret and I pretended we were at a show because, ya know, at this point we figured shows might not happen haha So all of that is to say that by spring of 2020, I felt like Rejoice could probably handle being seen in public hahaha and I was looking for fun things to do in COVID times because I didn't know how much of a show season we would all have at all. Rejoice probably didn't need to have her own big adventure, but I thought she would enjoy it. Also, I have done versatility trail challenge things before in the past, and Rejoice seemed like she would be brave and capable. I figured if it went well, GREAT! If it was a disaster, NO PROBLEM. No pressure and no expectations other than having fun are my prerequisites with Rejoice. Off we headed to a ride-reride trail challenge with Ellis River Riders. This club has been around for years, but I had never made the drive up. They have a lovely little show grounds with permanent stalls, a nice big riding ring, and an extensive trail system. It's such a gem and I only wish it were closer to me! Rejoice was a little overwhelmed when we first got there, not having done much off the farm for many years. She was not naughty at all, just some pawing and then feeling very forward under saddle. Like she just did not want to do anything other than be in motion, so I let her walk and walk and walk until she decided that hanging out with the other riders/horses in our division by the in-gate to watch the riders before us was a good idea. I have to say, though we practiced with a bunch of obstacles at home, Rejoice had to navigate obstacles she had never seen before. She really tried hard to do what I asked and nothing she did was unexpected or unsafe. I had to ride her into a huge hula hoop, halt and dismount, and then walk around her body and remount (mounting block provided haha). Rejoice was like oh hai mom where you goin i come tooo! which wasn't what she was supposed to do but it really wasn't a huge deal to me. I just walked reallyfast around her before she could move away haha.  She also gave the life sized bull cut-out a HUGE stare down, but was willing to back up in the little three sided panel thing with it right behind her even though she thought I was making poor life choices by asking her for that. She stepped up on a tire/bank thing that I am 100% sure she has never done anything remotely like in her life without a thought just because I asked her. She did everything I asked but I am sure her eyes were popping out of her head the entire time. This is why I love this mare, because she is always up for something new, she's safe, and she is fun! you can see the bull cut out thing in the background *on high alert for more bulls* Pssst, it's behind you, Rejoice The cool thing about this trail challenge was after you went through the pattern, you got your score card back and had the opportunity to ask the judge questions before doing it again. Then they averaged our scores for an overall placing. The bad part was it took FOREVER for all the divisions before us to go through twice. But they fed us a yummy lunch and I met lots of nice folks, including two girls who literally live four miles down the road from me LOL! Rejoice and I did the novice division, which is the lowest division, and ended up in fifth in a big division of 10! WHOOT! For our first try, I was pretty impressed! We scored a 31.5 on our first attempt and a 42 on our second (out of a possible 75)! Plus it was so fun and laid back, even the more experienced novice riders  in our division were friendly and welcoming. I really liked that! And no one cared that I showed up with a dressage saddle haha. she's so cute and looks so much like Ellie yay smart pony!... [Read more]

So, this was the big recognized BN event I had planned for and hoped for in 2020. Ellie and I had done well at the BN 2-phase in May and the BN cross country derby the week prior. I thought we could do just fine. Yet, we had started to have a problem with jumping that sort of began slowly and ended up becoming a real problem. At the time, I had a bad habit of taking my leg off and expecting my horse to jump, as my previous Standardbreds were so incredibly honest. Ellie is brave and willing, but as the fences got bigger (not that BN is that high, but 2'7" was certainly the largest we had jumped by 2020!) and I just sort of sat there passively, Ellie started to stop. She would stop if she thought the jump looked a bit scary, she would stop if she just didn't understand the question, she would stop because she really wasn't seeing the jump. Hmm. It took Babette and I a while to figure this all out, but the catalyst was this recognized event at Course Brook Farm in MA. We had competed at Course Brook before, in fact we won our Elementary division in 2019 at their schooling trials, so I felt really confident. Probably too confident. Dressage went well and we were sitting 9T in a division of 13 riders with a 35.5 in dressage. Not our best test but for the busy venue and our unbalanced canter, I was pleased. Ellie was calm and relaxed and I was excited to jump. Babette was there to coach us, and we were to go into show jump first and XC fifteen minutes later.  I am still angry that the USEA tests are not available in a nice app, like the USDF Test Pro. So this is how I study my test at my trailer. DUMB. 😂 Our jump warm up went well, no stops, and I was ready to nail the show jumping round. I admit, there were things on XC that made me a little worried, but I figured we would be fine! Ellie and I trotted into SJ, picked up a canter like we owned the place. She was a little hesitant to fence 1, but I remembered to put my leg on and over we went. She peeked at fence 2, which was a related distance to fence 3 (five or six strides, I cannot remember now haha) and our canter lost some of its punch. I felt her start to slow but I was like ohhh she is cantering so nicely, just loping along....yeah no. I didn't put my leg on and we ended up having a stop at fence 3.  So, at least her braids looked good? I tried the loopy button braids for long manes by myself and it looked decent! This is also the only media I have from the entire event. Whatevs OK, good wake up call for me. I tried to shake it off and regroup. I wanted to do well, I wanted to give Ellie a good ride, I wanted to prove to myself I could actually do the thing. So I went around and started the combination again. We jumped fence 2 and then fence 3 and... OH SHIT. Yeah, I heard the whistle and immediately realized what I had done. In my effort to shake off the stop at 3, I stupidly went around and jumped fence 2 again, as if it were a combination and not two separately flagged/numbered fences. Totally a ridiculous mistake but whatever. Except, I burst into tears. Yup, right there at the busy and crowded out gate I stood there bawling. Poor Babette is so patient with me LOL! I mean, I wasn't making a scene but I was definitely having a hard time not feeling like absolute crap and the tears wouldn't stop. I just felt like I had let my horse down, let myself down, let Babette down. I was sad I couldn't even go out on XC, but deep down I was a little relieved as well. I was just an emotional mess. Babette is the best instructor ever, and she was kind and reassuring and made me feel better enough to get myself together. So our first recognized event ever and we ended up with a TE. Better than an E, I suppose. And the fact is, I am never planning to sell Ellie, so her USEA record absolutely does not matter. I am also an adult amateur who has trained her myself, and I never plan to go pro or event past Novice level LOL! But of course, when you are a neurotic Type A person as I am who puts waaaaay too much self imposed pressure on myself for who even knows why, you think about things like OMG there's a TE on her record! The following week I had Babette ride Ellie during my lesson slot, which gave us both a ton of information and a plan going forward. Looking back I remember being so upset, but it also was a really great opportunity for us to break through some issues that needed to be fixed. With 2020 already being a shitshow for everything anyway, it felt totally appropriate to take a big step back and get my act together.... [Read more]

We headed back to our lesson barn in July for another go at First Level. This was a little different, as Beth decided to try a Thursday show. This meant it was a super relaxed day with a bit few entries than normal. At this point, we were still struggling with Ellie's canter, to help her find her balance by slowing down the canter. This was a huge work in progress in 2020, so this show we still had comments related to her balance in the canter. However, we also scored a few 7s and an 8 on our trot, free walk, and center lines which was great. We ended up with a pair of 61% which was incredibly accurate for that point in time in a small class of five.  First 1 the first time = 61.8966% 3rd First 1 the reride = 61.5517% 4th This was also about the time I finally admitted to myself that my Stubben Juventus just wasn't working well. Yes, it fit Ellie perfectly, but it really didn't fit me. It tipped me forward and I just couldn't be effective in the saddle. I started a super slow search to find something that might work better and not be a million dollars haha. Stay tuned on that!... [Read more]

At the beginning of July, Ellie and I tackled our first ever BN level XC course at a competition! We take jumping lessons with Babette at RABT Farm (Rest & Be Thankful Farm), so having Babette there that day to coach me was perfect.  We did have some bobbles on my part, like not riding to each fence and not enough leg (NEVER ENOUGH LEG) so we had one stop on course, but I was super pumped to have a chance to jump around a course at a place we are totally comfortable but it was a crazy chaotic day with 50 horse/rider pairs and a ton more activity than our Wednesday lesson days!  ready to go I paid for a second unjudged round after our division of nine riders jumped and we went clean. It was a beautiful summer day and such a fun opportunity. All COVID protocols were in place and people were super respectful of them.  Due to our stop, we ended up in 8th place with a 3rd place team finish! I paired up with two of my Epona PC teammates for the team competition and they both won their divisions!  I bought this pic because it so perfectly shows how steering and listening is difficult for Ms. Ellie haha. Unsurprisingly, this is the jump she stopped at.   seriously the teeniest jump on course oh well, she jumped it well on a reapproach I love this photo and it has been my laptop desktop photo since it was taken... [Read more]

Ellie and I had a late start to starting up dressage lessons in the spring of 2020, which was fine with me since I appreciated the opportunity to get out for lessons at all! So many of our issues at the time stemmed from connection (a lack thereof) and Ellie blowing off my seat/half halts. It was nice to look at 2020 as an opportunity to really buckle down on training and not worry about showing rated or pushing ourselves to really get solid at First level. Beth (my instructor) wanted us to tackle First level in the competition ring, even though we still had plenty of bobbles and Ellie did not always want to work as a team haha. But the pressure was off due to COVID which was actually just what we needed. We tackled First Level in the middle of June 2020. We ended up only doing dressage tests/shows at Hidden Brook Farm, where we take lessons, which was perfect. And we only did First 1 last year because we were NOT ready to do much else haha. It was a huge growing year. Our debut at First Level was not terrible haha. We rode First 1 and a reride, scoring a 62.5862% and then a 60.8621% on the reride for fourth and a fifth place ribbons in our class. The judge encouraged us to work on the balance in her canter, which could get rushy and remarked on her too quick tempo. The best comment was "Sometimes horse has more energy than balance" which is exactly the biggest problem we worked on throughout 2020. Overall, I was pretty excited to stay above 60% and the test rode well for us with lots of room for improvement!... [Read more]

Of course, none of us had any idea if we would be able to compete in 2020. I will say that my big goals for the year (which were sitting in an unpublished post from January 2020!) were to keep my horses healthy, happy, sound, to move up to BN with Ellie, and to complete one recognized horse trial at BN. And despite all of the COVID-19 protocols and cancellations over the year, we did meet our goals (mostly). Many of the local barns here in Maine took on the challenge of bringing us safe competitions in 2020. Ellie and I started the year by competing in a little schooling 2-phase and debuting at BN. It went well and it got me excited about the year's possibilities.  We had a great dressage test (placed second in our division) and then had one rail in our show jump course. The rail was totally my fault and for our first ever BN outing, I was pretty excited! We ended up fourth in a mid-sized division. And because I do not remember much else for specifics, here's a big old photo dump! with our BFFs Margaret and Jester (who is Ellie's uncle/brother haha) from her first ever cross rail course to her first BN this cracks me up Ellie has a little scope and a wood allergy at times haha... [Read more]