Wordless Wednesday

Some photos from our ride Monday night!

 50 Shades of Hay??? No...Grey! 

Deer Creek Trail Ride

Yesterday Stephen was nice enough to take me trail riding! With our new three horse trailer, we packed my friend's in, too! Melissa came with her mare Rydel and Sarah brought her horse Ozzy. It couldn't have gone any better!

Melissa & Rydel, Sonny & Me, Ozzy & Sarah

It rained all morning, but by the time Stephen picked us up it had stopped. It turned sunny and beautiful; the trails weren't muddy, but not dusty either. The weather was great, the horses were all fabulous, the scenery was beautiful, the trailer was awesome, there was good company...it was perfect! 

Lovin' the new ride! 

The trails were awesome, winding in and out of the woods, up and down hills, through the water (or what should have been)... the only thing missing was jumps ;). Sonny was the best he has ever been. For one, he walked right on the trailer. He loved it. He was brave the whole trail ride, was confident through all the scary things, and most importantly: he was such a good listener! At the last hunter pace he got a little excited and wanted to go, go, go. Today he was all about whatever I wanted. Impressive for an LBI, eh? You want canter, okay! You want walk, okay! He was perfect. We basically spent the whole ride on a loose rein, something I normally wouldn't think of while trotting and cantering on a trail. He is usually in GO mode and wants to blast around. I actually just used a California roll in my reins and played with steady rein if I needed him to slow down a bit. He listened and settled in to some really comfortable trot and canter! Very balanced and relaxed. I was thrilled! 

~10 miles and 150 photos later... ;)

Ozzy and Rydel were just as great, which made for such a fabulous time. I was so glad to spend the day with my best friends and have such a great time! Wish I could do that more often!

Enjoy! 

Good News, Bad News

Bad news first: school started today.

I am not thrilled about it. Especially when I was lucky enough to spend my entire summer hanging out with my Sonshine. Ugh, getting up for class, even though it was 2 hours later than normal, sucked way worse than getting up to go see Sonny. But I have to get it done. Have to. Not an option (at least I try to convince myself that is the truth).

I don't have class on Thursday, and only 1 hour of class on Tuesday and Friday. Monday and Wednesday I have to be on campus from like 10-4, but that is totally survivable, right? Please tell me it is.

When I got out of class I went straight to the barn and got to ride with three of my boarders: Eliza, Katie and Rachel. We started out in the arena and went on a really great trail ride. So happy to have them around to ride with! Sonny did fabulous, of course. He trotted AND cantered on a loose rein out on the trail without going full speed ahead. Yay :). We also played with contact at the canter today. It was BEAUTIFUL and felt so wonderful. I need to get pictures or videos. Today I did notice that when I played with contact at the trot he lost his impulsion. Definitely something to work on. In general I think I have been lagging in having him be responsive lately. I need Juli to get back from Colorado and give us some motivation!

Good news: well, the best kind of prize is a sur-prize, so I think I will wait ;). Stay tuned!

Sonny and his best bud, D'Art. They adore each other
so much, it could give you a cavity. 

Happy Trails :)

Today I went to my first hunter pace and wow, was it incredible! So much more fun that I could have ever hoped, and I even had high expectations.

My friend Sarah took Sonny and I along with her arabian, Sarabi. We met up with one of her friends, Stacey, and her arabian stallion (so many S names!) The pace was so much more laid back that I could have expected. Everyone told me that it wasn't competitive, but I could have never imaged how it was! We showed up this morning around 10, tacked up, and rode out! No ride times, no waiting, and definitely nothing serious; just get on and go :).

The pace was held on a 130, beautiful property. The trail started out in the woods and it was serious! The path had sharp turns, hills and valleys, mud, water, and sharp edges. Luckily, Sonny was a total superstar and wasn't phased by anything. Through the woods he confidently marched through the mud and water and was great going up and down the steep hills. Along the path were jumps, about 32 total. The first jump was just straw bales and he jumped it without question! The next food jumps in the woods were logs that Sonny kept a good eye on. After a good bit we came out of the woods into a meadow. At a small log jump I played the yo-yo game and got him confident enough to jump it. After that, the rest was history!

The trail continued to wind in and out of the woods and meadows. There were always optional jumps, almost all of them were logs. After the yo-yo game, he confidently flew over anything I pointed him out. By the end of the pace, he was aiming for the jumps! I was so impressed!! He never likes to jump at home and he here is practically dragging me to them. I couldn't have been more excited or possible have any more fun.

At one point the trail went through a big creek. The water was almost knee high in some places and so much fun to ride through! Not only did he ride through the water, he confidently walked over a spooky bridge. I was absolutely thrilled!

Needless to say, I am beyond thrilled with my fabulous, Parelli pony. Just last year at this time we went on our first (and up until this point) and last trail ride. He was so naughty, pulling me the entire time and not wanting to slow down. He tried to kill me by dragging me through trees in order to avoid a puddle. So to see him today, without any other trail riding practice, blew me away. I am still smiling :). Can't wait for the next one!

Sarah, me, and Stacey! 

The New, the Fun, and the Exciting

The new:

We have boarders! Yahoo! Our first boarder is the fabulous Eliza Farrell. Eliza is a fun, talented young lady that has so much going for her. Maybe that is part of the reason she is surrounded by so many handsome men?

Photo by The Perfect Pear Photography

Meet Ardie, Peter, and Trace. They are all thoroughbreds and are all so well behaved! Absolute gentlemen! Eliza does eventing and works with a Thoroughbred adoption program, New Vocations. She will be bringing three more horses in September, all of which I can’t wait to meet!

Our second boarder came yesterday with her impressive gelding, D’Artarian. Although I just met his owner, Katie, for the first time yesterday, she is a very sweet, hard working girl who was a joy to be around. Sonny thought the same thing of D'Art, who he absolutely adored and is thrilled to have as a pasture mate!

It was love at first sight!

The fun:

Things have been awesome at the farm! Sonny LOVES his little slice of heaven! It's so great to pull up every morning and see him already outside :). What makes it even better: he hasn't been going to the bathroom inside! I taught him to pee in the pea gravel and he poos outside. So I rarely have to clean his stall now. Major win!

Eliza, Katie and I went on a trail ride yesterday and had an absolute blast! We rode down to the paylake, over around a horse farm, and through a path into a corn field where we found a cool, old barn. Definitely pony pal status ;). We had a really great time and Sonny even enjoyed a good gallop on the way home! So much fun!

Katie, Eliza, and me!

The exciting: 
Things are really starting to fall into place at Shady Acres Farm! Out fencing is done, our hoop bar is up, major work is being done on the bathroom, lounge, etc. and the stalls are looking great! We currently have the four boarded horses (Adie, Peter, Trace, and D'Art), Sonny, and a little mare named Ginger (more about her soon). Tomorrow we have an older guy coming who belongs to an absolutely wonderful couple that just got into horses. Then in September, Eliza is brining three more horses and we have a half-arab coming.
I also feel like I am confident enough to do my level 3 online and freestyle DVDs. I will probably be uploading those soon, so stay tuned!