Planning Ahead

I'm a planner. Not like a list maker, but a planner. I've found that I really like having events lined up to look forward to. This time of year is a bit ho-hum for me because I haven't got anything really exciting coming up to look forward to for several months. Yes, Christmas, time with the family and getting to slow down a bit is lovely, but I really enjoy going out and doing the activities with the horses (ponies/donkey) and my crew. The next thing on the list is Horse Expo in Red Deer in April, after the long-lining clinic. An excellent way to start the show season and I'm looking forward to it. But that's in April... it's December... Seasonal affect is a real thing! So what's the longer picture? Last year I had a goal of participating in Falcor's first combined driving event and we did that! He's come along so well and I'm more and more confident with him. Jasmine and Phillippe are just rockstars to have out as well. This year we'll drive again. With Ritchie home, we'll breed a couple of the mares. While Special's doing the mom thing, Ali can be driving - or may be too busy working by then. But after breeding season, it's time for me to get back in the tack. My health has improved greatly and stabilized. My horse is home. It's time to ride. I reached out to a friendly aquaintence last weekend, asked if I could come hang out at the barn with her, see if I could get the bug to ride. She's super cool, a Saskie, like me. And it was awesome to just hang out, talk horses, talk life (we're both 40-something) kids, etc. By the end of the visit, I felt like I wanted to go home, put my horse in the trailer, and bring him over to ride together. That's what I was wondering if I could find again, and it absolutely found me! So my game plan is to ride at home in between driving, get my body back into it, and then see what kind of fun we can get into in the fall next year. I'm not going to make a goal of showing FEI or what have you, I just want to have fun. Because isn't that the point anyways? With that, I wish you the merriest of merries, good health and all the joy you can handle. I wish you good fortune and welcome that same goodness to my own home and world. And, of course, happy horseing!

Nearly Christmas - Recap on the Year

It must have been a busy one, I haven't managed a single blog post since April. Here we are, nearly 8 months later. What happened this year? Let's see, April we hit up the Horse Expo in Red Deer. This was the first time I'd been down since Mane Event, so a few years - pre-COVID for sure. Ali and I took down Phillippe the donkey and her superstar Jasmine pony. We did daily demos for the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club as well as the Alberta Carriage Driving Association. It was a very busy few days running between the two organizations and I'm thrilled that a wonderful volunteer has stepped up to take over organizing the ACDA participation in 2025. Everything went really well and I developed a relationship with the new owners of Saddle Up Magazine! They were so smitten with Mr. Phillippe that they offered to publish a monthly feature: Adventures with Phillippe where we post a photo and talk about interesting things we got up to in the month. I understand they get great reviews on it! Horse Expo went so well that the ADMC was invited back to participate in Westerner Days so Jasmine and Phillippe came south again, this time my dear friend (and enabler) Jed took the lines of Jasmine for me for daily demos and parade walking.

Falcor had a brillint year of deveoopment. I started taking him with us in the spring. We started with Sparrowhawk Spring Fling in New Serepta where he stood at the trailer and ground drove the grounds on the practise day. I did not hitch him there, just got him to experience. He was a hot tamale but every time we went out, he felt better and better. At the ADMC/Northern Lights collaborative show, I showed him ground driving. He won some ribbons and, again, had a day of standing at the trailer experiencing everything in this new horse-show life. From there, we schooled Brown's property in Vimy, we schooled Minds Eye in Morinville, and we competed in our first derby! No ribbons there for him, but I was thrilled that he could handle all the elements - dressage, cones and a small derby course, and do it calmly and confidently! Regardless of ribbons, it was a huge win for us!

Phillippe competed in the ADMC/NL show weekend winning top driving long ears and overall champion longears (highest points from driving day and open show day) earning us 2 belt buckles! We'd also won top driving donkey from 2023 with the ADMC - a total of 3 belt buckles! Pretty impressive for a tiny beasty. Phillippe also competed in the Pace event and placed third! It was a format that we could be very successful in as he is not fast, but he is very consistent. We were only 20 seconds off our expected time. I was so impressed.

Jasmine and Ali didn't show a whole lot. They did show at the collaborative show in pleasure driving. There were enough juniors there that she did not win the junior high point! Although that pony did win the barrel race. Ali competed in the Harvest Moon derby with Jasmine too where they upped their game to preliminary level and won junior championship. That was enough for the pair of them to win ACDA junior high-point championship this year.

I drove enough that I earned my 100-hour pin! I think I'm actually half way to my 500-hour certificate! I got to teach some clinics with Jed, go on adventures, organize another show for Westlock, and made lots of new friends (read: enabled numerous more people into driving!) Ritchie also had a successful year with Tamara in para dressage. I got to visit him a few times in Red Deer as we were passing through. It was great to see him so loved. He has returned home now and will take a year off training. I'm going to do some preventative maintenance for him as there's an old injury that could potentially cuase some issues in the future. We will live cover him this summer and let him enjoy just being a horse. I'm not sure what it will look like following that, if I will have the ambition to climb back aboard and try showing dressage again, or if something else needs to be arranged... And last, but far from least, Uri has gone to North Carolina to pursue his show pony carrer as a sport horse. I sold him to a lovely lady there and she sends me regular updates. I'm confident it's an ideal match and I'm so excited for their future together. Ali did get to have the first "ride" on him about 2 weeks before he left (she sat on him in tack and walked about 6 steps forward - the most uneventful first ride ever!) I understand he grew on the road and now measured 16.1 hh. We've already paid for a re-breed.

And so, that's what it is! It was a great year and I'm looking forward to what 2025 is going to bring. Stay tuned and happy horseing!

Spring is Sprung

Spring is sprung and boy is it about to get busy! I've got so many things coming up this year, I must be living for adventures. First up, Hose Expo in Red Deer. There used to be an equine trade show, pre-COVID,called Mane Event Expo. Well, COVID happened and I guess it went belly up. A new group has taken over the dates and venue and rebranded to Hose Expo. This will be my first experience with these new organizers and I'm looking foward to a busy 3 days. Phillippe and I will be heading down to be part of the demo team with the Alberta Donkey and Mule Club where we will also spend some time manning the booth, I'm sure. Conveniently enough, right beside the booth is the Alberta Carriage Driving booth where I'll also be spending plenty of time when I'm not assisting in demos with that group. The ACDA is going to be doing some grass-roots demos on starting harness and long line training, a talk about carriages and putting the horse to the cart, and a third demo for putting the pieces together and starting a new driving program. I'm still working on securing volunteers to help with the booth and to provide instruction for 2/3 days. There's still time. Falcor and I have been out driving in the field several times already. He is a spicy little meatball. I appreciate that he's likely never had so much space to move in as out in our hay field so the beginning of the drives feels a bit like "hang on and pray" until he's gotten it out of his system. The field is not flat or smooth and jostles me around a lot despite really good suspension! We have not had a run away yet, but sometimes he feels like he'd like to go that direction. Recently he started experimenting with canter steps during our drives. That's pretty neat! I'm really looking forward to the arena getting dry so we can work in there. Hopefully a more cotnained space will help him to get a bit more focused on the program and not trotting like crazy all over the field. Right now it feels like CDE are a long way off for him but that tells me that I need to get some direction and coaching. I don't have enough tools in my toolbelt for him yet. I do feel confident that he is feeling better in his body. We found a friend with a Bemer horse system and have done a number of sessions for him. It really seems to be making a difference. I like watching him learn that he can relax and feel good.

The other fun that's happened lately was taking Jasmine and Phillippe to Kiss 91.7 FM's radio station for their morning show with Pepper and Dylan. It's a small world and a fun situation of someone knowing someone who could facilitate a visit with silly little animals safely. They were very good littles, and the radio persoanlities were just lovely as well. An early morning, but well worth it for something new and different.

Varity is the spice of life, so they say. Mine must be plenty well seasoned! Happy Horseing!

Winter Wonderland

What sort of exciting updates do I have for you today? Not much, really. Winter has been very slow to get underway this year. I understand it's another El-Ninio year so we've had a lot of spring-like temperatures and not much snow. There was a week of VERY cold and two decent dumps of snow, but it's certainly been dry and mild overall. Wheels were left on carts for a long time before putting on skis only to have the littles out only a few times before I put wheels back on again. Falcor, the hackney pony, got to do some real work recently in breaking trail in the field for the littles. We used a pallet with a couple of tires on top and dragged it around in the field. Falcor decided it might be a really good opportunity to pactice halting. That amused me. I realized this year that I likely won't be able to manage 3 driving animals myself. That's quite a lot to keep conditioned and in work. Two, two I stand a chance, but 3 is unreasonable. So I've offered an on-farm driving lease for someone interested in learning. Sure enough, it wasn't 24 hours after posting that I had a very interested lady contact me. Turns out we've met a couple of times over the years at various equestrian clinics. Really nice person and very enthusiastic to learn harness, hitching and driving. Jasmine took good care of her and they had a great time. I'm looking forward to her returning and driving with her this summer. Uri continues to grow and has nearly reached uncle Jose's size. I'll find a couple of shows to take him to this summer to continue his education before he goes for under-saddle training as a 3 year old. He's still just so keen to do and try. Although sometimes it's irritating, I really do enjoy him. Well, until things start moving again, that's about all I have to share. Stay warm and happy horseing!

Whaddya Mean New Pony??!

Yes, I did mention that I have a new pony, that I expect to do really well in CDE, in my last post. And I know you've just been chomping at that proverbial bit to find out what it is! Or you've creeped my facebook profile or business page and you've already found out. Either way, here's the details: I have a wonderful friend, beautiful soul, kindest lady on earth and just a pure joy - Shannon. Shannon has done a lot of work driving. She's shown Morgans and driven Saddlebreds, Standardbreds (on the track!!) and Morgans. She's got loads of experience on me and I adore how cool she is in the lines. Well, she'd acquired this darling little Hackney pony - The Speculator LF, "Spec", retired from the breed show circuit. I mentioned to her a few months ago that, when she has him driving again, I'd love to come out and try taking the lines. She invited me out whenever I was available. Obviously, I made myself available right away! I packed up my truck with my K-bike after lowering the wheels. I knew we'd be stretching it right to the end of appropriate height, but it worked. I packed Jasmine's harness beacuse it was the biggest adjustment I have. Poor dude, nothing fit quite right. The saddle on the harness was obviously too narrow; we had to tie the top of the hip strap to the turn back because it was adjusted so long. Not sure if he'd ever had breeching on before... But he tolerated it all and around Shannon went! It was so fun to watch her. You could just see that's where her heart was. And then I got to take the lines. It was awesome! So cool! Probably the top end of height that I'd be comfortable driving (at 11 hands!), but it was really neat! A few weeks later, Shannon messaged me. She's dealing with some life changes and challenges (girl, I hear you!) and wanted to know if Spec could come join our herd. I talked with my mom - kind of hoping she'd talk me out of it... no such luck! We decided, if he can be tolerant of the little kids riding, he could come live with us because we do need a move-up pony for them that's bigger than the minis. So, once again, we packed up all our stuff, this time included a tiny saddle, girth and bridle, and away we went with my friend Kelsey and her 8-year-old daughter. We put the little dude in the indoor arena at the boarding facility, which he'd never been in. It's a cover-all, fabric building, and it was windy! He was saddled, bridled and then boarded by Kelsey's daughter. Ali was on the leading end, Kelsey was beside her child and they walked around. Little Spec was very aware of the building, but he remained foot perfect while being ridden. He was far more concerned about his surroundings than the little person on his back. He proved to be tolerant, so I came back a few days later and brought him home. Jasmine was immediately in heat. Phillippe the donkey wasn't very happy about the new intruder, and Spec was equally unimpressed with him. They all settled in fairly quickly and are a good, cohesive herd now. I didn't love the name Spec. I really want him to let go of the hot-horse and high-knees driving that he'd spent his first 16 years learning. I don't particularly want a fire-breathing dragon in harness. The kids need a friendly dragon. Even a LUCK dragon. Ah - there it is. We've dubbed him Falcor and I will show him under the name "My Never-Ending Story" #amIright ??!! I've had him out a few times to ground drive. He definitely thinks he knows what's expected of him and, even barefoot, those knees come up really high! He also thinks the donkey is terrifying in harness! He's fine just naked - they live together! But in harness and put to cart, terrifying. I think he's going to spend a lot of time dragging the old tire around the property this fall - once I figure out an appropriate harness for him... And then CDE next year! Oh, and he's going to go for a month of under-saddle training with Melissa Glowinski so he can be ready to have the kids aboard. So at 16, The Speculator LF, aka My Never-Ending Story aka Spec aka Falcor is now a member of our herd. I own a Hackney pony!

I'd actually been considering looking for a young Welsh to start up as my next driving pony in a few years. Guess that's not what's happening afterall! Happy Horseing!

In CDE the "D" is for Donkey!

We did it! We made it successfully through out first CDE! What a fantastic adventure with the most wonderful, inviting and encouraging people. The Harvest Moon Combined Driving (Donkey) Event was hosted by the Klondike Driving Club at the beautiful facility owned by the Brown family outside of Vimy. There was, what I understand to be, a moderate turnout of drivers. Most were single-horse entries, several minis and one pair of lovely palomino welsh mares affectionately referred to as the Golden Girls. On Friday evening, we took up our vehicles for measurements and checked in. We had a course tour of the marathon and a look at the obstacles. There was a competitors' meeting that evening and I got all my questions answered.

Saturday morning, as bright and early as my migrane allowed, we arrived on the grounds and got set up for dressage and cones. It was such a delight seeing everyone dressed in turnout for dressage. I was hoping to wear my tophat, but the facility waiver states certified helmet, so I obliged. There will be another day for more fancy headgear. I drove the first dressage test with Phillippe, Ali was just a couple of tests after me. Now, I realized very well that my donkey was not going to have any movement to write home about, but after riding and judging dressage for over a decade, I knew I'd be able to drive a very accurate test. Indeed, the comments agreed. I learned about eventing dressage, how it's scored in penalty points, not in percentage like regular dressage. I'm proud to tell you that we were not the bottom of the barrel! The judge was kind and generous and very encouraging for my little long ears. My score equalled out ot over 65%. Phillippe was not as relaxed and confident as I would have liked, but that didn't matter. It was his first time in the ring. He'll be more confident next time he sees one. From dressage, we went straight to cones. Despite a moment where I got lost (who put 13 waaaay over on the other side of the field??!!) we were clean through the cones, with only 4 minutes over ideal time! In training level - the beginner level we're competing in, we're only permitted to walk and trot. Donkeys just don't trot as fast as ponies or horses. So we trotted the whole thing and had an accurate tour, there's really no way to get him to make time. All we can aim for in the future is to get closer to ideal. So many of the competitors were cheering for us and stopped to watch his cones course. He seems to be quite the novelty. Sunday was a much earlier start. Phillippe and I were asked to be second out on the marathon course, 1 minute after the first driver. This was done because we were not going to be competative on speed and we wanted to be out of the way for the next driver after us. It was a 6 km tour through the property with 5 sets of gates. Training level only requires the first 3 gates to be negotiated. I'd studied the courses the night before so I had my plan in place. Again, I'm very glad to say we were clear through all the obstacles! Phillippe trotted the entire way around and did not feel like he was spent at the finish line. We even went through the water and over the bridge. He felt so brave and interested in what we were doing. Again, everyone who was out volunteering or watching cheered us on! When we crossed the finish line, we were a mere 14 minutes over ideal time!!! Despite that, we finished the competition on a number, not eliminated! In the end, we placed 7/9 in trainnig level.

Ali and Jasmine had a great time too. They had a clean first dressage test - the first dressage test Ali's ever negotiated and she had to do it by memory. Definitely room for improvement but she scored 64% (yes I beat her!!! But that's the only place I beat her!) She had 1 ball down in the cones course and was only seconds over time allowed! That pony just loves to motor!

In marathon, they went backwards through one set of gates which cost them, but overall were only 2 minutes over ideal time. That's pretty impressive for a little $50 kijij pony trained by a teen! I was very proud of them. They did win a junior high-point prize as well. A lovely dash storage bag for her vehicle. I'm very excited to try CDE again next year. I have ideas on what I can do to be even more prepared and perhaps slightly more "competative" - that just means with our basline times and scores, not with anyone else, YET! Besides, I've now acquired another pony who I expect will be very competative!! More on that next time! In the meantime, happy horseing!

Driving. That is ALL

Did we talk about this? It's been a work in progress for sure. But we seem to have some things figured out! Matter of fact, both Jasmine and Phillippe have even shown in driving classes this year with their first CDEs yet to come! I started the year with a pretty peppy and cooperative pony. Jasmine had a good idea of driving and was pretty confident, just not refined. The donkey, however, was a little different... He was pretty convinced that he really didn't need to cooperate with me or respond to my polite requests. I was disheartened because driving him was something I wanted to do so badly!!! But he was a brute! Thank goodness I have friends, amazing, wonderful friends, who have experience both in driving and with long ears. Sawatzky Equine team had hosted a clinic in early spring - late winter, it was months ago now, for ponies and littles beginning driving. We put the crew in the trailer and headed up! I was gifted with some wonderful tools that included both equipment and a mindset shift. I'll tell you, by the end of the day, I had a LOVELY donkey who was cooperative and relaxed. From there, we've been sailing with consistent and steady progress, so much so that we've participated in a second green driving animal clinic, driving classes (and won 2/3) in this spring's Alberta Donkey and Mule Club show, have driven at a local eventing facility including successfully navigating through their water hazard, participated in a "fun day" hosted by my local driving club chapter, again getting through water, and also cones, gates and a dressage arena! We now regularly do 5 km conditioning drives down the road, much to the delight of the neighbours.

Jasmine has become quite consistent, so much so that I can hand her lines over to green drivers and feel confident that they will have a positive driving experience on their own. Ali's done a great job with her. Although that pony is FORWARD, she's got places to get to, she's super confident, but she's not intimidating. Every once in a while I still get to take the lines on her as well.

Plans from here, as I mentioned, to experience our first CDE. I'm not sure that a donkey can be competative, but the fact that he's game to try is everything! It makes me delighted that we can just go out. I'd had some health complications at the beginning of the year that made riding not the safest idea for me, for 6 months... But!! I had the littles to drive. That saved my sanity, I think. I had figured that driving would be a fun retirement hobby when my body is not up to climbing into the tack anymore. I just didn't realize I'd be additing it to my life this early! Driving is a blast. The littles are so fun and I can't imagine ever not having this in my life. Happy Horseing!