Just a quick update for those who might be actually reading this every now and then. :)

Been riding. A lot. Good stuff happening. Cat learning to turn for a bending line. Loosening up the stiff side a little too. :) We jumped an Oxer and the 2'3" brush box.

*happy dance*

Thank you for tuning in. We now return you to your regularly schedule internet browsing.

Well I just realized that I didn't put the picture up on the other post. DUH. So look for it on the bottom here. :)

Just came back from the barn and a perfectly LOVELY ride on The Cat! :) Today I think I started to really like this horse. :D

We did some flat work to warm up. (Like it wasn't 90 degrees already) She is really stiff to the right so I"m doing lots of 3 loop Serpentines and suppling exercises. I noticed just a tiny bit of improvement today.

We started over our little cross rails and she was really starting to get the idea of not rushing TO the jump or AWAY from the jump! And yep! I remembered to look up ahead and to sit up after the jump to help rate her speed. And glory be, whattya know? It worked! hehahaha

So then I thought, hey we're doin good, lets add a jump on a five stride straight line. So we do that with ease. I'm all happy now! Yesterday when I tried it she was dodging out about three strides into it and really fighting going through the grid. Today I think she figured out what I wanted to do and was locking onto the second jump and really staying straight! She even chipped in a half stride at one point when I got a little discombobulated and didn't ride her true. GOOD GIRL! She had every chance on that one to dodge out and she rode it through! THERE IS PROMISE HERE! :)

So then we do that a few times and I decide to get a little cocky and throw in a bending line. (our jumps are pretty much set up in a course that has a lot of different options available in any direction, we all just change heights depending on what we are doing) So there is a cross rail to another cross rail on a four stride bending line. Next to the first X is also a solid coop that would make it a five stride bending. But she doesn't really like the coop so much so I went with the shorter line.

Anyway, the first attempt she just takes off after the first X and I'm like, whoa! slow down honey! :) So I then made her walk this sharp little turn and show her the next jump I'm aiming for. So we try again. This time she takes a huge leap over the first x and turns the right way for the next one but goes flying past like WHAT THE ?? is that jump doing there?!?!? lol  SO our third attempt I really concentrate on sitting back and LOOKING at the next jump and she finally figured it out! We did like two canter strides and break to trot but she pops right over the second x! YAY!! I'm so happy after that I just decide to go for a walk in the XC field. She deserved it!

So we go all the way to the bottom of the field and she kind of looks at me like, hey can we? And I say, sure! And we have the most lovely, uphill, balanced canter across the bottom of the field! It was magical I think! lol  If we can accomplish that in a Dressage test I think we'll get 8s!! (well maybe 7s but you know) After that I really let her have a gallop up the long hill. She LOVES that hill and really shows her racehorse bloodline. It's soooo much fun!  One day I have to get somebody to video that long run up... I want to see if my smile is a big as it feels. :D

So I'm kind of torn whether to give her tomorrow off and ride Sunday or ride tomorrow and build on todays and give her Sunday off..... maybe I'll just see how I wake up tomorrow. hehehe

So here's the picture that didnt' post: just something funny I found online:

Well I was able to ride Cat TWICE this week already!! WOOHOOOO!

We rode Tuesday and Wednesday and are going to take a mini-lesson this evening. :) I'm really pleased with her this week. (notice I said this week, so far, it may change, it often does)

We've gone over some cross rails in both rides and she is really starting to not RUSH at them with anticipation, which is something we have really had to work on. So now, we go slow TO the jump and run like mad away from it!! OY! *head desk*    So our new plan will be a grid AFTER the jump to get her to back off a bit and slow down after jumping. And of course, I will be screaming at MYSELF to SIT UP! Don't just stay in two point!!!  (bad habits hard to die)

It has been a little cooler the past few days. That has probably helped me in my motivation to get off my backside and put it on a horse! hehehe

Not much else going on.

OH! In July the lady I work for is taking her Hanovarian foal to the Foal Inspection in Walkertown, NC. AND I get to go! Yay! It's funny, because I had her talking about going and I was thinking about asking her if I could tag along... and now I get to go AND get paid for helping out! Much better. ;)

So check back in late July as I will most likely have a TON of pictures posted. I am obsessed with my camera and horses. :)

Oh again! So last year my laptop was fried because of the ONE time I didn't have it plugged into the surge protector we got a power surge!! *head desk* Anyway, I was totally bummed because (of course) I hadn't finished backing up all my pictures onto a disk. Yeah about five or six YEARS worth of pictures... LOST........ But maybe not! One of the ladies at the barn has a friend that is looking into it for me this week! He thinks he may be able to at least get my pictures off the hard drive!!!  *happy dance* *happy dance*  I am so THRILLED!!!  I had some really great pictures on there, including some of our friends from England on their last visit here! Unreplaceable stuff you know.

So over all this has been a good week for me. :) Guess I need to close now and go clean my house... sigh.. I hate cleaning house.  AH! We are going for SUSHI tomorrow night!! Whoot Whoot!!

Hmmm what picture can I close with? Let's see......Oh here's a good one I found online. :)

Hello again!

WOW. What is up with the heat? We went from 70s to 100s over night it seems like!!

Don't get me wrong, I would rather have summer than winter but come on! Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all in the 100s. It was cooler today. 94.       yeah.. that's cooler.   and did I mention the humidity?

So last week we put up just over 500 bales of hay. YAY!!

And I rode Cat today! YAY!!! We actually had a good ride. :) No one else was at the barn so I really took my time and concentrated on getting my seat right, correct aids, light hands.... and then it started to lightening. OY VEY!! I really am beginning to think I am not meant to ride this horse!!

But up til the storm came we were doing great! She was really settling in and relaxing to the contact. She's really stiff bending to the right and so our circles tend to get smaller and smaller and smaller..... so we worked on bending lines a little too. Just to get some of that stiffness worked on.

We did a few cross rails and down a grid of poles with a cross rail at the end. Trying to convince her not to RUSH the jumps. She's sees them, locks on, and then we're off! lol  Crazy Cat.  She is improving though.

She is so different from any other horse I've ridden!  So I'm really trying to figure her out and get inside her head to see what she's thinking. Not easy!

So hopefully tomorrow will go according to plan and I'll ride again. Supposed to be cooler. Only 92 for the high!   WoooHoooo!

Since I have no recent pictures I'm just gonna go have a look and throw something random up.

Well, I get depressed every time I sign on and see Teddy. So I'm gonna post again and see if I have any other decent pictures to put up.

The Cat is doing well. I've been extremely busy with my house & garden as well as my barn jobs, so yes The Cat has suffered and been left to get ever fatter in the pasture. :) I doubt she is complaining.

I did get out a couple times last week and will be heading that way this evening so it's really not too bad. We lunged last Friday since she has decided to be frightened of the building next to the arena. Goofy Cat.  But she settled in and was moving nicely. I put side reins on her for the first time and she figured them out pretty quickly. She really looks good when she gets in a nice frame!

So, it's like 90 degrees. And what to I get to spend the afternoon doing? Yup, loading hay. What fun. yippee. hurrah. sigh.

So off I go! Here's a funny pic of me and Cat pretending we know how to jump.