Jadie and Stella

Hi, I want to brag a little. Jadie just turned 13 and she has a SC 5yo filly that she has trained completly by herself. We love to trail ride and Stella is very steady in the woods. She is slow and Jadie seems to be content with that. We often tease that Stella has two gears, slow and stop. I am telling you this because I think Stella found a new gear this week!

Jadie and Stella have been practicing carying a flag, just in case she could do the opening cerimony at our county fair. Well, to my suprise, they let her. I was so worried about Stella. Some days she is the greatest, other days, she is very contrary. There were lots of people and the announcer was very loud. I told Jadie to just keep Stella moving off to the side and I waved the flag around and over her to see how she was going to reach. So far, very good. I handed Jadie the flag and she moved toward the crowd, just the two of them. As soon as Stella stepped through the gate, she dropped her head and started off in the most perfect jog! My husband nudged me and said, "Stella just slipped into SHOW-OFF gear!" They looked beautiful together, Perfect! They did figure 8's in a slow, level jog; then loped figure 8's with flying lead changes. Many people came rushing up to them afterwards. They got a lot of hoots and hollers and even that did not faze Stella.

The horse show was Monday. Jadie took Stella, a 2yo filly (Lexi), and a yearling (Jera). The show started at noon and it was 96 degrees, HOT! The first class was Ground Driving with 6 horses. Jadie got first with Stella (third year in a row.) I think that is Stella's favorite class and she really shows off! Jadie also got third with the 2yo. That was Lexi's first show and she was very nervious. Jera was too scared to go in the ring alone, so they did not compete. At home, Jera is so great. I guess that I need to work on getting the youngsters off the farm before the shows. Funny thing is Jadie's brother got second with a Quarter Pony that Jadie trained two years ago and works with regularly. So really, Jadie got first, second, and third!

Jadie and Stella got first in their Jr Showmanship class, against fancy QHs. In the championship class, the judge added a cone after a couple kids did their pattern. Jadie did not understand what the new cone meant, so she ended up backing up too far. She still got Reserve Champion Showmanship!

During their Walk/Trot Class, I knew they would win, they just looked so perfect together. Stella and Jadie took first, my son took second, and my daughter took third out of 11 horses. My son usually wins that class. He rode over to Jadie and gave her a high five and hug and told her that her long practices were paying off. They were still on horseback, so the hug really got attention from the crowd.

Jadie and Stella took first place in Western Horsemanship (9-13YO). Stella does not like the right lead. She missed it the first try, but Jadie pulled her up and then Stella took it. I knew the judge saw that, so I did not think that they would place. The judge pulled the kids into a semi-circle around her at the end and talked to them about the good and bad parts of their ride. The judge told Jadie that she liked how Jadie could feel the wrong lead and fixed it. The kids were still in the circle when they announced the winners. Jadie put her reins around the horn and was clapping for the kids. She did not evenrealize that they called her name for a few seconds. I was very proud of her good sportsmanship. But they went off pattern in the championship and did not place.

Jadie and Stella got first in Western Pleasure and third in English Pleasure. Stella was hot and tired by this point and did not want to show any more. So Stella really acted out during the championship and they did not place. The judge pulled her to the side at the end of the class. She told Jadie that she had a very well balance, good moving, and nicely muscled horse and she was a very balance rider and that she should be very pleased with all they had done together that day. She told Jadie to unsaddle, give Stella a drink and cool her off and be very proud! That little talk means more to Jadie then all the ribbons!

The next class that they were in was a gymkanna. Speed and control. There is a box made of PVP pipe on buckets (12' deep and 10" wide) and three cones. The idea is to stand calm in the box, race out, weavethe cones, and race back into the box. At no time can the box be knocked down. Fastest time wins. Jadie was third to run. Jadie has been trying to teach Stella to 'slide stop' like in reining. At first the practice was for fun, now it has a use. Stella slowly walked into the box, stood calmly, and they got the nod from the judge. She spun around and took off! Digging like a QH. Stella does flying leadchanges around the cones, it is so cute. But not really super fast. On the way back to the box, I could see that they were still gaining speed. Just as Stella's shoulders entered the box, Jadie asked for the stop. Stella dropped her rump and slide three feet to a complete halt! It was beautiful! The crowd went wild, a standing ovation! Their time was 13.2 seconds. The horse that got second place ran it in 16.3. Everyone else was in the 17s.

And of course, they won the trail class. Stella is just so calm and easy. They just started side passing. Stella always thinks Jadie is asking for a back, or at least that is what she is comfortable giving. So that part was a little tricky, but Stella finally gave Jadie three steps sidways.

After the show Jadie was walking Stellaback to the barn. The judge called her over and again was bragging on Stella's balance and movement. She told Jadie that she really loved watching them in the ring. She said there was one thing that she wanted Jadie to work on and that was Jadie reaching to two hand the reins. Jadie told her that Stella is just 5 yo and has only been riding in a shanked bit this summer. So if Stella does not respond at first, Jadie starts to two hand her. The judge seemed to understand. She then told Jadie that whomever trained Stella to this point, did a wonderful job and gave her a solid foundation to grow on and that Jadie and Stella will go far together. Jadie told her that she was the only one that has ever trained Stella, and the judge's mouth fell open.

I know that Stella should be farther along in her training. But we are learning as we go. We are slow, but we have fun. We are on top of the world right now! Next year, they are going to compete in Pleasure Driving and, of course, they will won it also! Ok, maybe I bragged a lot. But Jadie has worked so much, and she does most of it on her own, while I am at work. Thanks for reading.

Oh, and Stella looks so tense in these pictures. It is due to bad photography. She was not tense during the classes, as you can see in the ground driving picture.

Laura