Into the Sea

The ocean is a spiritual place for me, when I am on a beach with sand and crashing waves I feel like I can breathe again. Calm, meditative...

Not so much when you take your horse there.

There are many things horse threatening things between the trailer and the water. Blowing sea grass, blowing sand, dark sand, light sand, deep sand, the sand that comes off your hooves, driftwood, tire tracks, seaweed, your own shadow.

The foamy stuff left on the sand from the last wave. The waves coming in. The waves going out.

It was very exciting.

Jasper got to accompany Jessica and Josh's 3 stallions that were going to Long Beach, WA for a professional photo shoot.

Luckily he had a big strong (pony) stallion to lead the way...

(Photos courtesy of Carolynn Bunch, check out her website. Thank you Carolynn!)

Cardi providing moral support.

CARDI! Do you not SEE those waves coming STRAIGHT AT US??

Oh, the foam...

During a very athletic head-down-sideways-4-feet-all-at-once leap 10 feet above the horse eating waves, my cell phone fell to the bottom of the sea. I'm just glad I didn't end up there too.

Horse vs. ocean was a very cool experience. And I figure if he was able to set foot in moving ocean water, water complexes on cross country courses shouldn't be a problem. Right? ... right? ..?

I took a few candid snapshots of Josh and Jessica. Here are a few beach pictures of Cardi from last year.

Heading down to the beach through the parking lot.

Jessica & Josh

Nothing like the pro photos, but you get the idea.

Check out Jessica's website Equi-Librium later on for the pics.

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No show.

I am not going to the show on Sunday after all. Instead, I am back at home dealing with my renter situation. You would think that by the age of 40 someone would have figured out how to pay (incredibly cheap) rent. You know, you put a check in an envelope and mail it at the beginning of the month.

ANYWAY, just wanted to thank everyone for all of their well wishes and support. It looks like we might be going to a *-real-* recognized 3-Day in June at Aspen Farms. I was really hoping for a test run this weekend but it wasn't meant to be.


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1-Day Event on Sunday...

We're signed up to compete in a 1-day event this Sunday at Northwest Equestrian Center. I think there are all three phases in one day- dressage, XC, stadium. Beginner Novice level... we can trot into the stadium jumps, right? And wrong leads in dressage are only one score, right? I'm a little nervous, but we're past the 2' division...

Cross Country jumping at Aspen Farms

Jasper went to his second cross country clinic early Sunday morning! My friend Terri called earlier in the week and said there was room in the Steuart Pittman clinic for a Beginning Novice horse. It was part of the Area 7 Adult Rider's Eventing Camp that lasted over the course of 3 days, but there wasn't enough stabling available to fill all the clinics so they needed some people to haul in every day. She brought her horse Jed up from Portland and they rode in a rating clinic with Jonathan Elliot.

We hauled Jasper and Jed over very, very early in the morning. Both of us wanted an hour or so to hack around the course before the clinic started. We unloaded and Jasper didn't scream, spin in circles, or kick in place. He didn't pull back when tied to the trailer and all halters and lead ropes stayed intact and in one piece. He didn't run over anyone and send them to the first-aid tent. In fact, he stood at the trailer and ate hay out of a hay bag. Is this MY horse??? I was ready to load up and leave 15 minutes after we got there and call it a successful day.


Aspen Farms is beautiful. Rolling hills of green grass, lots of galloping trails, and the jumps are awesome. Terri and I hacked around at a walk and Jasper slightly spooked going by most of the jumps. He did go over a ditch though, no problem.

Steuart is a good instructor and a very nice person in general. Jasper was an absolute rock star. It's like he's been thinking about our other time out at XC and figured things out in his head. He was forward to the jumps and didn't suck back like last time. Instead of breaking down from canter to trot to jump, he accelerated from trot to canter. He jumped most everything out of stride and I didn't do a thing to help him other than just staying still and keeping some leg on. He STOOD STILL for short amounts of time when it was someone else's turn. Baby's growing up!

(YIKES! Turn off your sound)



The only refusal we had was the logs right before the water. He actually jumped it awkwardly the time before, but somehow I lost my stirrup and leather off my saddle and it landed in the pond.



Better it than me.

I was really, really lucky to have the Andreas show up and offer to take pictures and video for me. Andrea and Andrea are clients and friends of Jessica and so kindly got up at the crack of dawn to come to the clinic. Maggie (the organizer) also took some nice shots. I am a little aghast at how bad my leg (and body) position is in some of them... always stuff to work on I guess.

Contemplating the down bank.

Jed & Jasper

We jumped this today. It was big.

Anyway I really couldn't have asked for more. It was a total blast. A possible horse trials in our near future??

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Yelm

Jasper on the right when he lifted his head up from dead horse sleep.

Jasper lives at the house in a pasture with another OTTB named Robbie. It is really his first ever friend, because they were both the lowest of the low in the pecking order until they were with each other. Even though Robbie has decided he's the boss, he doesn't really bite Jasper or remove huge chunks of hair. (Thank you Robbie). They are inseparable in their paddock and eat, sleep, and graze together. You can tell them apart because Robbie naps with his head and neck up while Jasper sleeps flat out and looks like a dead horse.

Jasper in one of the turn out pens, arena in background.

In the mornings Jasper gets loaded up in the horse trailer and trailered about 10 minutes to the barn. There, he has to be in a stall which caused a lot of stress and whinnying at first, but is starting to get quieter. I think he's exhausted at the end of the day because he never lays down and is not used to standing up all that time. He's being a good boy so far. I'm working on posting the trot with a 'purpose' and being able to rate the trot just by slowing or speeding up posting. He already was pretty good at this before we came, but now I'm purposefully posting all the time not just when I want him to slow down or speed up. Apparently I ride like I'm always trying to stay out of the horse's way, which makes sense if you look at a lot of the horses I've ridden in the past. We're also working on canter transitions. We're really powering up the trot, almost to the brink of canter, then giving a very obvious scooping cue to pick up the canter. He's really "getting" the cue, but not always the correct lead.

Yelm is in the center of most things eventing. Aspen Farms is right down the road, and Northwest Equestrain Center isn't much further.

Josh (assistant trainer & eventer) takes stadium lessons on Merlin at Caber, about an hour away.

Everything is very close, especially compared to Spokane. I just wish Jasper was ready for a BN level horse trail to be able to take advantage of everything here... but good news. There is a big 4-day clinic going on at Aspen this weekend, and it turns out that they have space on Sunday morning at 8am for a Beginning-Beginning Novice X-country lesson with Steuart Pittman. Not only that, but my friend Terri is bringing her horse Jed up on Sat. to stay overnight at our barn so she can ride in a clinic as well. I'm hoping I can talk someone there into videoing or taking a few pictures.

Jasper's not gonna know what hit him...

Jessica and Cardi at the jog in LA at the Festival of the Horse.

We head to Yelm tomorrow to train with Jessica Wisdom for 2 months. And by train I mean work. Jasper, my 3 birds and I are being picked up around 9 in the morning to make the trip to the wrong side of the mountains. Poor little guy has no idea. Every time I go to the barn he's doing dead horse. Although he completely blew a gasket today when his 20-something-something neighbor got taken out for a trail ride. The world as he knew it was coming to an end. Well, buddy...

The dressage shows in Los Angeles and Sacramento went well. Cardi the PSG & I1 Welsh pony was a star and the two 4-year-olds were very well behaved. It was a long time to be on the road and I don't know if I'm exactly cut out to be a show groom, but well worth the experience and I'm glad I went. Jessica is a true professional. Honestly the highlights of the whole thing were Cardi's musical freestyles. If Jessica posts one I'll link it. He won at the I1 level in Sacramento with a score in the high 60's. Oh, and the sushi place we went to in Sacramento was worth the trip. AMAZING sushi. I think I'd fly to Sac just to go back there.

Day one was a 12 hour drive. We followed Kari and Rick all the way to LA. Here we go by Mt. Shasta.

LA with 6-horse trailers? Egads.

Day two was about 10.5 hours. Finally made it.

Cardi the super pony.

The very handsome 4-year-old stallion Diamond.

4-year-old Rio warming up for her test.

Puh-leeeeeeeeeeaaaaase can I have a taste of your camera? I won't hurt it I pwomise...

Guenter Seidel and U2

Rick and Kari and their tiny little horses after a trail ride hack.

Festival of the Horse

Los Angeles Equestrian Center

Cardi & Jessica, extended trot.
Pony Power.

more later... :)