Thankful

 I am very grateful for this sweet, talented, kind, hilarious, challenging, and athletic dragon mare. I'm so excited for our future and am hoping that we can take it slow and not push her but keep her entertained!

She got today off since she's been working hard and it's Thanksgiving and Mike and I went to visit Aimee in Greenville. But she gave herself a little work out anyways. And then we snuggled. 

 

And because I can't remember if I posted these, which were from a few days ago (not today), but they're too good to not share... here they are

 

 

Ready to Rock and Roll

 Poor Foo Foo. She got Sunday and Monday off after the show. But today was lesson day and since Lyric is presumably still lame, she got to go back to work. But she was ready! She got to wear the back on track sheet as it had rained overnight and it was a hair chilly and soggy still, and add in the wind....  Plus she was nasty and I was hoping this would help clean her up a bit. ;) It didn't really.... She loaded right up though and we got to Ashland. The original plan was stadium but since it had rained, Lucy closed the arenas so we moved the lessons to the XC field. No big deal. 

As I was just about to put her bridle on I heard some screaming coming from the XC area. And then it continued.... and Funny heard it too. She was starting to get amped up so I untied her and held her and about that time I saw a kid on a pony come galloping up the path towards the trailers. The kid was still screaming. The pony just looked like it was having a strong canter. She came in to the trailer parking area and kept going. I yelled out to pull on one rein.... turn the horse... pull just one rein....  I'm not sure if she heard me and did or the pony just got bored and came to join us, but I managed to grab the reins and stop the pony. The girl hopped off and was crying. She apparently had no stirrups the whole way from XC. Well sat cowgirl! I called Jacel to tell her all was well and at that point Courtney and Annabelle showed up. The girl hopped back on and they all headed back to XC, except for Courtney. Funny was now spinning in circles around me so I asked Courtney if she would stick around just long enough for me to get the bridle on. She said she was joining my lesson instead. Cool! Funny settled and I got her bridle on and got on. 

We bounced our way to cross country with her flinging her head around but mostly staying to a walk. The pony runaway and another pony were finishing up there lesson so I trotted around a tiny bit. At one point we got to close to Romeo and Funny pinned her ears and kicked out and poor Romeo scooted out of the way. Sorry Court!!! Spicy mare is spicy today! 

Once the ponies finished we got started. Funny was a bit of a dragon today but she was a good girl too! And she was on FIRE!!! We warmed up over some small stuff and then Jacel was like... "Holly, honey.... she's ready... it's time to let her grow up".  So then she had us jump some bigger jumps. Including the small brush log out of the water! She told me I could let Funny run past it if I felt she wasn't ready and... I did. Funny was like "ummm... what are we doing?". So I circled and pointed her at it with more gumption and she popped out of the water over it like it was nothing. Then we did the BN up bank and she lit up that and was looking for her next fence! We did a few other smaller things and Courtney and Annabelle were impressed with her :) Eeeehhhhh :) :) So then they finished up and headed back and me and Jacel finished up. She was like.... okay... go let her put her nose on that coop. I was like... "Um, isn't that a BN coop? It's big!" and she was like.. yeah.. it's time. Stop treating her like a baby horse. So we walked up to and she was more concerned with eating grass. So Jacel told me to turn her back to it and put her nose on it again and give her a little squeeze.. just to get her to pay attention. Like we've done with Lyric. So I did. And Funny was like "okay"... rocked back on her haunched and LEAPED OVER IT from a standstill!!! While I was holding her back because I felt her rock back and tried to stop her. She scrambled a little bit with her hind end over it but landed at a nonchalant walk. Ha ha... Okay baby girl... we get it. You are cool. You don't need to look at things. I laughed and was like "well dang.. I guess we're fine to trot it". ha ha. And we were. She trotted up to it, broke into the canter and just jumped it. Then Jacel had me take her over the triple stack! And then we did the roll top at the top of the hill. And she was amazing! She just jumped over it all. Like it was no big deal. And LOOK AT HER!! Baby girl has some hops! 

I'm so proud and I had so much fun. We talked about how she needed more education because she has the talent and bravery but doesn't quite understand all the questions. And we joked about running her training level at Kentucky AEC's in 2026 but... we also talked about how we knew we would have to take it slow with her and not create holes and build up her education so that she and I could conquer the world. :) Jacel also told me "With all the love in her heart"... that Dan had nothing on Funny. Funny was going to be my prelim horse! I don't disagree. She's freaking bold, brave, confident, cocky, talented, and... hopefully not as broken. 

Today was fun. Really fun! After our lesson we went on a long walk hack and just enjoyed our day. 

And then tonight... I signed her up to run starter at Chatt Hills' year end show. I kind of hope it's a challenging starter course because... I think she'll be game. But hopefully it won't be too beefy. I'm going to try to go school it Saturday to help her and me out. For now, I think *I* need the schooling the day before for my confidence. And then I'll probably just haul her home and go back the next day. And hope I don't have too early of a ride time. And I will definitely give her gastrogard! 

 

 

Poplar Star!

Holy cow!!! Baby horse exceeded my expections!!!!

 

I told everyone (including myself) that even if today was a disaster, we had already won because yesterday was so epic! And yet... she kept stepping up to the plate!  

She hadn't eaten much hay or drank much, so... in retrospect I really should have done gastrogard. And will next time. But at this point, there wasn't much I could do. I did bring my hot pot up to the barn and made her 4 pots of hot water to make her breakfast warm and soupy but she didn't eat it. Ugh. But she looked like she had laid down a little bit and she was not acting painful or colicky. We went for a walk and she ate some grass but was mostly distracted. But she behaved. She was a hair bouncy but nothing terrible at all. 

 

We rode dressage at 10:21, so... after our walk I let her chill in her stall and hopefully eat hay. She was picking at it a little bit. I also bemered her hoping that would help settle her tummy. Once it was time, I got her tacked up and swung a leg over at the barns. We hacked down to the warm up arena and headed in. It wasn't too terribly crowded and she was super. Jacel couldn't be there but it was okay. I did my homework and we did lots of changes of directions, some leg yields (attempts) and some turn on the forehand and haunches. She was really quite good actually. She wasn't too quick and we got some really nice work. It's been as good as it's ever been, and more good than bad. It wasn't better than we've done, but... definitely as good as we've been doing! Especially at a show environment! She wasn't even that quick. We got a nice tempo for most of the ride!! 

So then I wasn't sure when it was our turn so I headed over a hair earlier so we just hung out at the in gate. I walked her down along the outside of the fence because they were on a break and wouldn't let us in until the judges got back to their booth. So we headed in and trotted to the third arena and went around. She spooked a tiny bit at the judges booth but then was fine. I think a paper fluttered or something. They rang the bell and in we went. And she was super! It was just intro B, no canter work. A rather boring test. She started out nice but our halt wasn't really square. And then our circle started beautiful but then got flat at the second half. Our walk was decent but she doesn't really reach for the bit in the free walk yet. And then our second trot got a hair quicker. And our second halt was really wiggly, but I also schooled it instead of trying to keep as many points. But I didn't care. I was elated. She stayed in the ring, she did all the things, and she wasn't an inverted tense hot mess! We ended up scoring a 38.3, which I felt was a little harsh but... oh well. That put us in 6th of 6. Doh. But that's okay. It doesn't matter and quite frankly, I know that's not what she's capable of.

So then we hacked back up and I walked her around the show jumping course a bit (from the drive) so that she could see some of it. Then we untacked and I let her chill. And pretty quickly it was time to get ready for stadium! Eeeks! I got her tacked back up and we headed down. I went the short way but cheated and followed another pony so she was brave. We met Jacel in warm up and did our trots and canters. Jacel told me to keep her tempo slower so she rocked back and used herself vs running onto her forehand. She said it made a huge difference in her gait. I know.. I can feel it! Then we jumped a few jumps. She was landing and then whichever way she landed in her balance, she would lean hard that way and drift. So I had to work hard to make her go straight. Then Jacel had me land and halt her. And we did that twice and by the third time she was landing more on her hind end, straighter, and much easier to halt. Yay! Jacel said that I needed to teach her to be accountable and how to use her body and this was a good way to help her balance and be held accountable. And it worked.

 

So then we headed in to the que. It was good for her to have to "stand". Except we didn't stand. Like her brother, she fidgeted so we walked around, ate a few bites of grass here and there, etc. But she wasn't naughty...she didn't try to get me off or bolt... she didn't try to kick anyone or even make faces at anyone. Although she did try to eat the corn husk decor. :) Ha ha! Finally it was our turn. And right about that time, some awful drilling noise went off. It sounded like a jack hammer. Jacel told me to wait to go closer until that stopped but then they rang the bell, so... we had to go. Funny didn't care. We had a great round. We trotted some, cantered some, and she jumped them all! We didn't have any deer jumps! As we came to last fence in the corner, facing the show office... she came to a screeching halt! And was staring up at the top of the hills, where all the stuff was. The flags, the chairs, the people, the covered patio, the gazebo thing.... She was just overwhelmed. It wasn't the jump itself. It was all the stuff "behind" it. I told her she was okay and urged her on and she picked up the walk.. then the trot, and then trotted the last fence. GOOD GIRL!! They gave us a stop but again.. whatever. I'm so proud of her!

She got to get untacked and chilled again a bit while I helped the others and got some lunch. (I was able to eat!... a little but still). It was finally time to go again and I was running a little late because I was trying to watch Mackenzie's ride. I went to open her stall door and couldn't! She had pawed/kicked the board so hard it popped out at the bottom and was blocking her door from opening. Girl!!! It took me and Courtney wrestling with it to get it popped out so I could open the door. Courtney to the rescue again! She had also given me some replenimash since Funny wasn't drinking and that got her drinking a fair amount. Plus she rescued Danielle who went to dressage in her elevator by giving her a new bit. MVP! So we got tacked up and I got on and we headed back down to warm up. She was a bit cautious and concerned about the ponies popping around warm up but held her ground. I let her look a little bit and then we headed in to the fray. And she was super! She trotted a few jumps and the last one was perfect! I need to kick my feet out in front of me so I don't do the tipple topple on the backside and throw off her balance. 

So off we went to the start box. Funny was good but once we had the 30 second count down and I walked her into it, she knew. Like how though?! She acted like a prelim horse, bouncing and waiting for the "have a great ride"! I laughed and thought "oh crud... we're totally going to pass that pony ahead of us". Off we went. I made her trot but we may have cantered before we hit the first fence. And then she cantered on and was so brave. We trotted a few fences just to get our balance and make sure all was well, like the downhill fences. And we had to trot a few times and even did one big canter circle because we were hot on the tail of the girl ahead of us. She trotted through the water bravely and didn't stop to roll! After the jump after the water I was able to pass the girl in front of us and then we pretty much cantered the whole rest of the course (minus the steep downhill on an angle jump). She was so brave and jumped everything nicely, except we got a deer jump to the last fence again. GOOD PONY!!!!!!

After I got her untacked, I helped Grace get on and get ready to warm up. Me and Funny walked them down to the jump warm up. I was hoping to get Funny rinsed off as she got a little sweaty but... it worked out well because it wasn't that warm and she dried off. And she was able to graze while we hung out with Grace. And she even had a good roll, with two flips! And then while we were grazing a trainer asked her breeding and told me she was a nice quality horse! Yay! Also, Jacel had mentioned earlier that "Lyric was going to be the horse to teach me a lot and make me a better rider, but Funny... Funny was going to take me places!".  :) :) 

Funny was a little fussy back in her stall again but she behaved well enough and didn't break her stall anymore. I ate some food and packed up and helped the others and then we loaded up and headed home. And she loaded right up! 

So yep... best baby horse ever! Oh, and we ended up 3rd! We would have been 3rd without the stop too. I'm so excited about our future. It's going to be hard to not move her up to quick. Because, she's gonna be game for it! But she needs to educate herself too. I will need to be careful that we educate her on how to use her body, how to adjust and balance and read the questions. Because she has the athleticism and boldness in place. I don't want to ruin that by overfacing her and scaring (Or hurting) her! But man ....she's gonna be so much fun when we get to the upper levels. Heck, she's fun now! 

Way to rise up baby girl! Now lets go home and tell the others how amazing you are! (But don't rub it in Lyrics face too much!)

Best BIG KID Ever!!!

 Ok Funny! We see you :) :) Showing up and showing off!!

I could not be more proud of this girl! She and I had so much fun today. Bless her for being such a good girl. She hauled to Poplar today, which is a long haul for her. Especially since I had to get gas and drop a bit off at Ashland. We got to Poplar and were running behind so I unloaded her, pulled off her clothes, put her in the stall to pee and drink a little (I don't think she did though) and let me go to the bathroom. Then walked her back to the trailer, tacked her up, and we headed to XC school. We went with Victoria and Piper. Jacel rode the e-bike. Funny was good and walked down to XC schooling, though we did have to follow Piper through the maze of chairs and flags by the concession stand and covered sitting area. She was a little wiggly walking down and sort of semi-spooked at the ebike a few times. But we got to warm up and picked up the trot and just... trotted around like she was a seasoned show horse. I lost her shoulder a time or two but was able to get it back easily, which was good. Because I don't need another Lyric. 

Then we walked over to the start box and trotted up to the first fence. She popped over it nonchalantly and so we circled and did the starter one next to it. She also popped over that one like it was no big deal. So we carried on and basically schooled the entire amoeba and starter course! She even jumped the starter bench, which was pretty big and on a slight downhill!! Yeah girl! We did have one stop/run out at one fence because I wasn't paying enough attention and let her. And she stopped at the water and wouldn't go in at first. But it was super windy and the water was rippling at her. Once she went in from the side she was brave and went in the original way after. She went up and down a bank (that wasn't on course but since it was there). And she had fun! We even cantered a fence or two! What a GOOD horse! 

  

Seriously.... she grew up so much today and was acting like .... an adult horse! Not a feral baby horse!

 

So then we decided to hack out with Mackenzie while they schooled. And Funny had SO MUCH FUN! She was like "finally... they've realized I'm greatness and have put me in the presence of other greatness". Hee hee. Plus it was good for her to walk around and graze while we watched Mack ride. And she heard the air vest go off when Mack fell off. She spooked but only a few steps. Then when Mack cantered on and did a few jumps in a row, we cantered along too. A few times though Funny got carried away and we couldn't stop until we caught up. I was giggling because I think had I pointed Funny at the bigger fences, she would have popped on over them! And then we were cantering up a hill behind Jacel going up on the bike and Funny was racing her and then as she passed her, let out a huge buck. Not close enough to be scary at all to Jacel but still, as we passed her. Hee hee. Silly girl! 

Then while Mack was talking to Jacel I walked Funny over the ditch, so Jacel was like... do the ditch and this B element. Um... that's beginner novice!! But... okay. Eeeks! And baby horse trotted that ditch, then picked up the canter and popped right over that fairly substantial (for what we've been jumping) cabin like she had done it already! Um... yes ma'am!! And then we cantered over another starter cabin, because we could. 

 

Oh how much fun we had. I really think Funny had the best day ever too! She was so happy and proud of herself! As she should be. 

 

I gave her a quick bath. But.. it might have been a little too chilly. She was shivering! But not for long because she got her County cooler on and we grazed in the sunshine (and wind). She's been good in her stall too. My only worry is that she hasn't really drank anything. But she got soup for dinner... and hasn't eaten much hay but is acting fine and ate some grass. I'm hoping as the after dinner bed checks go away and it gets quiet, she'll drink and eat. I put two peppermints in her water bucket to help entice her. 

 

I'm just so proud of her and am so excited about her future! I don't know how tomorrow will go. She might be overstimulated... she might dump me.... she might step out of the dressage arena.... or she may be a superstar and act like she was born for the show ring and be amazing. But no matter what happens, I'm so proud of her for today. Hopefully tomorrow will be at least mostly sane and not feral. But I can always scratch. And most importantly, I hope she drinks tonight!

That'll do Funbuns, That'll do!