No Time Like the Present ~

To start preparing for my big 'Century Club' debut :)



After our big melt down on Monday.. the temperatures plummeted back down with those frigid winds. The driveway and roads were a bit treacherous.  Zoe and I decided to work together in the indoor.

So many times I start out in the indoor and get bored after 15 minutes and want to get out in the air and scenery. Yesterday - Keri and I worked on lots of "stuff" in preparation for our 100 year show time. We have 10 years to perfect our form :)


Zoe and I began with an exercise we started using last winter -- supposed to give a good work-out for the horses core wise.

After 15 minutes of trotting this, Keri was exhausted. I decided to make this an every other day routine for her now that I see how she has backslid - even after all that traveling she does over mountains and through valleys.


For relaxation and re-grouping - we did some side stepping down the poles and backing in between them.  Then, with some tips from Zoe -- Keri commenced her work in collecting up and working from the hind end.   I nearly always ride Keri on the buckle while we glide down the trail.. and I am rubber necking sights ... chattering away.  It's been a long time since Keri and I have done any showing - so her new schooling was a bit of a shocker. :)  

We did a lot of work at the walk.... with judicious use of a good tappity tap from the crop. Keri tends to get in "lesson" mode when she's in the indoor -- as she does give a lot of lessons -- lazy, careful, pokey. We are aiming for some collection and animation :)  Both at the same time !  Little circles at every corner. 


You all know I love my treeless - but I wonder if I need to get back in my Isabelle for my century club graduate work ? The treeless is so much like a big easy chair --



Zoe took a video -- the first I'll post here ..  we were coming down the long side and I forgot about the video when I yelled to Keri -- get off the wall you idiot...  I love this mare but I do call her a lot of names... some of them endearing, some of them not. 

And we are getting our halt nicely .. something we don't do much when galloping around the country side.

While Keri took a breather break -- I shot some quick video of Dancer.  She never gets in in the indoor unless she's giving a lesson -- and that is just not the same as being "ridden".  Dancer has a really lovely head.

At the end of the session, Keri and I ran through the intro test A three times.  We left the indoor so we could come trotting in (like when the bell rings) she got outside and thought ... EGADS.. we are finally done with that foolishness.  I had to 'coax' her in the first time and then she did not want to halt well on X.  The second and third time she was perfect. Her 20 meter circles were quite good actually.

That ended up being a lot of fun -- as a reward we trotted down the paved road a mile and back -- then it was time for chores.

Dancer loves an outing ... I always feel badly we can't get her out more often.




Enjoy ~