Horse Showing in Happy Valley: Part Two

Couldn't help thinking of that movie Children of the Corn...

Hello again.  I thought I'd give an update on the rest of our away show adventures at the Lion Country Horse Show.

On the second day of showing Noah was slated to do a derby class, which he'd never done before.  Our trainer knew we were trying to make the most of our show experience, so after Noah did well on the first day she asked if we wanted to give the derby on the following day a try.  What the heck, we figured.  Pfffffftttt.  Had I known what it cost to enter the class, I would have given it a pass.  This is where our lack of show experience came in -- I had no idea the class fee for a derby was waaaaaayyyyyy more than for a normal hunter division.  Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

Because this was his first attempt, we had no expectations whatsoever, which translated to absolutely no nerves.  We got to the show early and took James out for a good graze, then a nice long hack around the grounds and some neighboring fields.  When it got close to class time they did a relaxed warm up and then headed off to the in-gate to memorize their courses.  As it was the Fourth of July and Crazy Hat Day, the girls from our barn had decorated each other's and Noah's helmets, so as he headed up to the ring Noah looked like a bedazzled General Patton.  (I was really surprised he let the girls do that because he's kind of a keep-it-under-the-radar kind of dude, but I could tell he felt very happy to be included.)

The new Captain America model riding helmet...

Noah and James went in to the ring and proceeded to lay down the best round I've ever seen them do. (I'm actually lucky I saw it.  I had every intention of taking pictures but then realized I couldn't see a damn thing so ditched the camera and just took memory pictures with my eyes.) Their rhythm was relaxed, their distances spot on, and they nailed all the high options to score some bonus points.  Noah was light and following with his hands (something he's been working on) and this translated into a very happy, relaxed James.  Noah left the ring absolutely beaming and patting James profusely. His smile got even bigger when their score was announced as an 82, putting them in second place.

We had a moment or two of anxiety over the handy round, as it required them to do a trot fence, which they'd not practiced that much at home.  Their handy round was not quite as smooth as the previous round (dang trot jump!) but they still scored well enough to remain in second.  Holy crap!!  The kid had just completed his first derby (admittedly a baby one - not the height of the national or international derbies) and had gotten a second place!  He actually got to be in a victory lap, which was way cool.  Needless to say there was much rejoicing, and James was given many treats and pats, another long graze and an extra long massage from Mom.  What made the day extra special is that our barn-mate Carly and her wonder-mare Kalifornia Dreamin' won the National Derby later that afternoon - it was an abundance of awesomeness!

So proud of my boys!!

Carly, her mom Kathy, and Kalifornia Dreamin'

The rest of our week was wonderful.  Noah went to the lake with the rest of the kids, we spent a night making s'mores around the hotel's fire pit.  We did dinner with our barn family almost every night.  Noah did a couple classes Saturday and Sunday, and he did well.  He didn't have another round like he did in the derby, but there was a good mix of good moments and teaching moments.  Most importantly, he was spending a ton of bonding time with his horse, and learning all kinds of things about grooming and horse management.

Mom! Please! Put the camera away.

S'mores! (The dog in the pic is actually named S'mores!)

Inspecting the course

I was loving life too.  You know what it's like when you spend most of your day working and running around with the kids and then running to spend what precious free time you can steal with your horse.   It was so wonderful to have my whole entire day be about spending time with our horse, and with people who felt the same way as we do about horses.  It's kinda like wandering around lost and then finally finding your tribe.  OK, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but you know what I mean.

So there you have it.  Noah's first big away show.  We had a blast, a lot of laughs, and a ton of mother/son bonding time.  Who knows, it may be another 3 years before we can do something like this again.  Heck, we may never get to do another away show again, so I'm glad that both the kids and I have had the experience once. I'm most proud of the fact that we spent each moment of the experience taking it in and enjoying every moment of it, and thanking James profusely for his part in making it happen.

Happy Horse Showing in Happy Valley

This is a very exciting week for Noah and I.  We are out at Kocher Farm in Pennsylvania Furnace,  Pennsylvania, at the Lion Country Horse Show. The show is held just a stone's throw from State College, the home of Penn State University. The bucolic valley the college is situated in has been called Happy Valley since a study in the late 1980's listed the area as one of the least stressful places in the US to live.

This could be why:

Blue skies, farms and cornfields. Bye-bye stress.

A few years ago Sophie and I went to HITS Saugerties together, which the very first away show for us both.  Now it's Noah's turn. (I was supposed to show too, but Sug decided she'd rather have her coffin joints injected.) So this week all the focus is on Noah and James. 

We've been having a blast together.  We had loads of good conversations and laughs on the 4 hour drive out.  I love hanging with the Boy - our senses of humor are very similar and we are both okay either spending time together or giving each other space when necessary.

One of the highlights of the drive out?  Electric Avenue!!  Now I know where it is!  Pennsylvania!

We're gonna rock down to....

We've been having a blast spending the last two days with James and the gang from the barn. James is not used to so much stall time, so we've taken him out for hacks around the show grounds and fields and for lots of grazing time.  Some of the others have done lots of these away shows and are used to them; Noah and I are new to the whole thing and we're like kids in a candy store.  Time to pick out stalls?  Great!! Time to hay?  We're in!  Night check? Yay!  Torrential downpour and we have to lower the tent flaps in sideways rain? Good times!

James rocking the braided look

Does Charles Owen offer this model?

The first day we got organized and Noah had a lesson, then we hung out and watched some of the others show. Today (Day 2) was Noah's first actual show day. It was sunny and gorgeous when Noah took James out for his morning hack, but as we got closer to his class, things got ominous.  Just as we were ready to go to the ring all hell broke loose.  The show organizers got on the loudspeaker and order everyone back to the barns and told us to lower the tent flaps.  Thunder and lightning shook the tents, making James uneasy, so we stayed with him.  Luckily the storm lasted only about 35 minutes, but they were pretty intense minutes.  When the storm front petered out a bit, we hurried to the ring so the class could be run before the skies opened up again.

Uh-oh

Batten down the hatches

Noah and James did well.  Noah had a GPS issue in the first class, which was a shame as they were doing so well.  It began to rain in the second round, so that was not quite as smooth but they wound up pinning third.  By the time they did the hack it was raining a bit stronger and James was not pleased.  He held himself together, but his handsome face showed he was not happy about the situation.  Despite that they got fifth.  Noah was not thrilled with his riding, but he was happy to have spent so much of the day with his horse.

And now I'm ready to crash face-first into my bed.  This horse-showing stuff ain't easy.  ;)

James and the Evil SuckMonster

So the umbrella isn't an issue, but the vacuum is. Go figure.

My kids' OTTB James is the equine version of the Peanuts character "Pig-Pen."  He lives for a good roll that will grind and cake mud into every nook and cranny he possesses.  James loooooooves looking like a four-legged Swamp Thing; although his riders are less enthusiastic about his hygienic practices.

It's rained for the past couple of days, which means James has been in high heaven, no doubt finding every patch of dirt in his field.  My son and I knew what we were going to find when we got to the barn, and James didn't disappoint.  He was covered stem to stern, his forelock sticking up like a Mohawk and the only things not covered in dried mud were the eyes that were gazing gleefully out at us.  James looked like a kid who'd gotten into the cookie jar and ate every last one, clearly very pleased with himself.

Sadly for James, his pleasure was not to last long.  Noah curried, curried some more, and yet even more.  Currying and a couple passes with the stiff brush didn't do much against the muck - if you tapped his croup a mushroom cloud of dust came up - so it was decided it was time to break out the vacuum.  Have I ever mentioned that James does not like the vacuum?  Nope, not even a little bit.  To James, the vacuum is the source of all evil in this world.

Noah dragged the vacuum over to James, who had pulled his head back and was eyeing Noah with obvious misgivings.  "You brought this on yourself," Noah told his horse.  He then walked up to James and held the vacuum cleaner head under his nose, saying "You know what this is.  You know how this works. I turn it on and it makes a  WHHHOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHH noise and I put it on and it sucks all the dirt out."  James sniffed the end of the vacuum, his eyes going from machine to boy and back again.  Noah then rubbed the head along James' neck and shoulders, talking to him the whole time.

He cleans up quite nicely!

Sugar and I watched this whole exchange with great interest and many giggles from our vantage point across the aisle.  Sug loves the vacuum, and clearly had no idea why James was apprehensive.  As we watched, Noah turned the vacuum on and poor James' eyes damn near goggled out of his head!  He startled, braced his legs out like he was Bambi on the ice, snorted, and whipped his head over to look at me as if to say, "I want to speak with Management! I'd like to file a formal protest!"  He then swiveled his head to give Noah the hairy eyeball and snorted emphatically.

Noah kept talking to James, praising his bravery (???) and making glacially slow, sweeping movements with the vacuum.  This eventually relaxed James, and he reduced his Terror Alert Status from High to Guarded, his ears tracking back and forth in case anybody decided to try any more funny business.

When Noah finished, James let out a HUUUUUUGE sigh and hung his head on the cross-ties, his demeanor indicating he felt highly put-upon by the indignities of being subjected to such a traumatic experience. Noah went over and grabbed a carrot for James, who brightened and scarfed it down,  immediately forgetting his encounter with the Evil SuckMonster.

Dragons and Pixies and Trolls - Oh My!

Are those trolls over there??

I know my Mom mostly writes stuff here and sometimes Sug has something to say, but I feel I've been under-represented and I've decided to take things into my own hooves and add my two cents to this blog.

I'm really glad winter is over, but we've done well despite the weather.  Sophie (my girl) and Noah (my boy) have been working hard and improving.  We continued to have fun together. Sometimes instead of riding they just played with me in the indoor arena, running around with me and leading me through obstacle courses, which  was fun.  Sometimes when it was too cold to ride they just groomed me or clipped me or did what they call a "Spa Day."

Now that the weather has gotten nicer we get to come out of the ring and play outside.  I like trail rides a lot, but I'm not a huge fan of our outdoor ring.  Others may disagree, but I swear dragons and trolls run rampant in that place!  Mom and I went out there the other day, and yeah, it was a bit brisk and there was a breeze, and it was the first time we'd been outside, so I was feeling pretty happy.

As we walked down the wooded path to the ring, I swear I saw a troll come out from under a pile of leaves, and I bolted forward to get us out of harm's way.  You'd think Mom would have been happy that I saved our bacon, but oddly enough she was less than thrilled.  She put me into a shoulder-in and said "That's not a troll, you goofball, it's a squirrel!"   I feel a simple thank you would have been more in order.

We passed through the rest of Troll Path unscathed and entered the outdoor.  There were some new jumps in there, so I felt the need to go over and investigate, as it's common knowledge that pixies inhabit jump standards and will jump out and bite you at any opportunity.  I snorted loudly at the standards to scare away any pixies that may have been hiding there, and just to be on the safe side I snorted the next several times we passed in order to discourage them from returning.  Mom called me a boobie and made me shoulder-in past it in both directions.

I could not understand why Mom was not impressed by my diligent attention to our safety.  For example, when when approached the mounting block I very clearly saw a dragon hiding behind it, waiting to pounce.  I did everything I could to convince mom it was not safe to advance: I snorted, side passed, planted myself and then reversed field rapidly.  "James, you eejit, that's no dragon.  That's a chihuahua!"  We did a shoulder-in past the mounting block in both directions.

I was starting to notice a pattern.

Mom remained calm and chatted to me the entire time we rode, telling me that we were safe and there were no horse-eating beasties about and if by some chance they appeared she said she'd take care of me.  She told me I was a brave boy when I managed to control my fear and pass whatever demon I saw.  (I don't see how I was brave - the woman didn't give me much choice!)  She babbled on to the point where finally I relaxed and began to believe that either she was supremely confident in her dragon fighting abilities, or she was dumber than a box of rocks and completely oblivious to her surroundings.   I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and  put my mind to the job at hand, but I remained ever vigilant just in case she was wrong.

Chief Safety Officer James relaxing after a tough shift.

Thankfully we finished our session without incident and returned to the barn unscathed and ready to fight another day.  Mom gave me a carrot and a mint for overcoming my anxieties and bravely facing down my demons.  I know she was patronizing me, but I can overlook that because of the treats.  She put me back in my stall with my hay and I heaved a sigh of relief, thankful the ordeals of the day were done.

James

Perfect Friday Night...

Tall, handsome, dark-haired gentleman who likes
long walks in the woods, cuddling, and massages.

Okay, so I should probably be sharing an update an how my last couple lessons went.  Better yet, I should be uploading the videos my husband took from one of those lessons to YouTube.

Oh well, so much for doing what I should be doing.

You're not gonna judge, right?

Wanna know how to have a fabulous Friday night?  Ride your kids' horse.  Then give him a massage. Seriously, I kid you not.

Poor ol' James was feeling a bit stiff and creaky tonight and so was I, so I let Noah ride Sug and James and I just puttered about, with me letting him go long and low and playing around with some bendy work.  No muss, no fuss, just good, clean funsies.

When we were done Noah cleaned my tack so I could give James a massage. Holy crap, that horse told me so clearly where to put my hands and how much pressure to use it was as if he was speaking English!  I mean, any horse will tell you what feels good and what doesn't, but James took it a step further.  If I put my hands on an area where he wanted pressure, he'd lean into me and press himself into my hands at the angle he wanted and with the amount of pressure he wanted.  And when that area felt better, he'd shift himself and show me what he wanted until my hands found the next ouchie spot.  Have you ever been getting a massage from someone and instead of just telling the person, "Up to the right a bit and press harder" you find yourself squirming and wiggling and trying to direct them with  body language?  Well, that's what James was doing.

I swear, that horse is such a smart cookie!  When I massage Sug, she'll often turn her head to rest her muzzle on my arm and groom me, which I swear is her way of saying "Thank you."  She's also been known to present her rump to me if she wants a bit of a tushie-rub. Both horses tell me I'm doing something right by blinking, chewing, yawning or sighing, but James takes his communication up a notch. At one point he moved his neck until my hands hit the right spot, and then he rubbed his neck up and down and into my hands, almost like he was trying to scratch an itch.  When I worked on his triceps and deltoids he'd pick his front leg up, lean in to the pressure, and then extend the leg again when I'd finished the movement.  It was wild!  He was totally directing the show, and it was just such a cool level of communication.

He was clearly enjoying himself to the utmost, and his relief and relaxation were so visible I felt like I was Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny all rolled into one.

Noah and I celebrated a great night with the ponies by going to our favorite pizza joint after we left the barn. When we got home I grabbed a glass of wine, a book, and took a nice long bath.

Yep, pretty much the ideal Friday night. :)