August Show-Reflections

Ollie did really well this show. Of course, lots of things to fix and improve, but I am proud of how far he has come.

In this blog post, I am reflecting over what I need to fix, and what needs to be tweaked.

In the June 25th Show, Ollie:

Pros:
Trotted nicely
Was friendly with the other horses
Walked, trotted, and loped when asked
Stopped easily
Willing to try hard for me

Cons:
Loped too fast and without collection
Loped on the wrong lead on his left
Didn't set up fast enough for the judge during inspection
Didn't respect the bit enough
Didn't like to walk over the Bridge
Didn't want to sidepass
Little bit too lethargic


I spent the next 35 days (he got some days off after the show) working on his lead changes, a more collected lope, better neck reining, and more respect for his bit. I also decided to enter him in English classes.

(June) Wrong Lead, head up in the air, fighting the bit slightly. 

(August) Correct lead, head lowered, slack reins. 

His showmanship set up improved a lot as well.

He....

 Side-passed much better

Crossed the Bridge easily

Respected the bit much more

Slowed his lope

Picked up the correct lead every time I asked

Pivoted much better

Listened well

His back up needs to be more straight-both on the ground and under saddle. 

However, the things I want to fix on Ollie this month are:

Better neck reining

Holding his collection for a longer time

Lowering his head a little bit more

Being sharper on his showmanship

Sharpening my pattern classes

Backing up straight

..As for myself, I want to:

Lower my hands in Western classes

Put my leg farther back when riding English

Be sharper on my Quarters in Showmanship

Pick up the right Diagonals during the posting trot

Ollie and I have our work cut out for us, but we just keep chipping away!

~Alyssa

Aurora Horseman's Association Show-June 25th

Last Saturday, Ollie and I made our little show debut at a local show called Aurora Horseman's Association.

I have been working with Ollie for months prepping for this show. He still is very far from where I want him, but in the end I'm hoping for him to be a Ranch Riding horse, not a Western Pleasure mount. Nontheless, he did great for his first show, picking up 4 3rd place, 1 4th, 2 5ths, and 3 6ths. We entered 10 classes, and placed in each of them, which I was excited about! I used two bits, but sadly my family didn't get any pictures of his Horsemanship and Equitation in the curb. Overall, we competed in Halter, Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Western Equitation, Horsemanship, Western Trail, Keyhole, Barrels, and Wild Card. 

In Halter, he did extremely well. I had my horse trainers, mentors, and friends here at this show. I actually showed with a very good friend of mine who placed 3rd overall High-point at the AQHA Silver Dollar Circuit in Vegas this year, and was Circuit Champ in Trail at that show as well. I love all the support and critique I get from multiple horse savvy people. :)  After each run we would pick apart what I needed to fix, and what Ollie needed to improve on. Training takes a long, long time, but it's so worth it! 

I was a little slow on my Quarters.

After Showmanship and Halter (which he placed 3rd in each class....if I was standing on the right side of the horse for Showmanship I would've placed higher...whoops) we had a break while English went, and then Ollie and I got ready for Western Pleasure.

He still really needs to bring his nose in, raise his back, and shorten his stride. It is hard for him to hold a collected lope for long periods of time, so I didn't even ask for a collected lope during the whole show. 

 We then went into the practice ring.......

....and then was judged in Western Pleasure, Equitation, and Horsemanship. 

Extended trot lol....

Then I took a quick break, and saddled up for Gymkhanna. I was just going to let Ollie run like he used to, because we have been working on a "slow button" for so long.

I don't know what I'm doing here....

Yes, I am riding in a CLINTON ANDERSON SADDLE (!!) because I bought it a few months ago and forgot to blog about it. I have a picture of Clinton Anderson and I on my Instagram. 

We practiced the Keyhole a few times to warm up...

...and then we ran. Of course, we actually had a run every 30 minutes or so because of all of the people attending, so during that time I met some new friends...

Left To Right: Lillian, Kyle, Me, Alex (I already know her well lol) and her mom, Mrs. Tanya. 

Keyhole

Then we did Barrels....(I'm laughing because he was SO SLOW). 

And lastly, we did Wild Card. I don't have any good pictures of it, though. 

Afterwards, I just did a little bit of work with him to bring him back down from all of the speed events (which we mostly placed 5-6th in because I have slowed him down...and because he was tired). 

Me...doing something. Idrk what exactly...

Overall, I had an amazing time, and I cannot wait until the next show. August 13th AHA Show, here I come, with both a better horse and better rider!!

~Alyssa

Riding Part 3.....Collection and Basic Patterns

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog for Part 3!

I got these pictures last week, but I just have not had the time to blog about it yet..until now! Enjoy!

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Mrs. June came over to help me work on some Collection and Pattern work. Since Ollie's first show is June 25th, we are working on a lot of collection, bending, and patterns. He want him to learn two "styles" of how to carry his body, both "Collected", and "Long and Low." 

Ollie has a very high tie-in to from his chest to his neck, and with his breeding, he prefers to keep his head at the natural level, as shown here:

It is nice that he already naturally carries his neck in a good place for the show ring, but I really have to bring that nose in, as shown here:

It will take some time for him to tip his nose in and to hold it for longer periods of time, but practice makes perfect, right? :)

Anyway, before I got started on cones, Mrs. June had me warm Ollie up a little bit. I started with groundwork first...

In this picture I am keeping my feet in the same spot and just having Ollie trot around me.
 It is a super fun exercise to try! 

..and then did some bending to get his body soft and supple...

..as well as some trotting,,,,

...and loping each direction. 

I wanted him to turn sharply. Please note, I riding in a different saddle, and it places me slightly off of the shoulder-hip-heel placement of my body. No worries! I am getting a new saddle next month! 

After his warm up, I got directions from Mrs. June on how to use the patterns she had set up with the cones. 

Making sure I knew exactly what I was doing. 

My instructions were to walk up to the first pair of cones, and stop Ollie right to where his shoulder would be right next to the cone....

Laughing, because I missed the cones and stopped Ollie too late. Oops!

...walk diagonally to the next pair of cones, but ask Ollie to go "Long and Low"....

...and then stop at the next pair of cones. 

After I stopped Ollie, I would bend his head from side to side, ask him to collect, and walk off. After Ollie taking 5-6 collected steps, I would slowly release the reins and ask him to go "Long and Low". 

*Excuse the posture* Sometimes Ollie would go behind the vertical, but Mrs. June and I are going to worry about that later. I will blog post on it, too!!

Asking Ollie to go "Long and Low". He likes that! 

We then repeated this for 30 minutes or so. Basically, it was a big figure 8 with four stopping places. 

After Ollie started to do the pattern well at the walk (so, about 15 minutes) we did it at the trot. 

Overall, Ollie did fantastic, and I am so excited for our show!! We have 10 weeks (ish) left, and I am ready to see how far Mrs. June and I can take him. Stay tuned, more content is coming!!!

What am I doing!?  *Insert crying happy face emoji* 

Until next time!
~Alyssa

Groundwork/Riding Part 2......Rollbacks and Bareback Riding

Hello, and welcome to Part 2 of this 3 part series! 

After I did the plastic bag desensitization and basic round pen work that I showed in my last post, I worked on some Rollbacks On The Ground. Ollie LOVES doing these, and I love doing them with him. It is kind of like a dance, and sometimes I put on my headphones and listen to music with a beat that matches our Rollbacks. It is a lot of fun. This particular time I didn't have my headphones on, and for half of these Rollbacks I didn't use the Handy Stick.

To ask Ollie to Rollback, I put him out on the circle. When he is loping (trotting also works, but you will get a better rollback out of a lope) I step in front of the horses' drive line (shoulder) change my lead rope into my other hand, point, look the new direction, and cluck (or kiss. I typically kiss because that is Ollie's lope/canter cue). 

It is important to have some energy in your body for this exercise because it takes a lot of energy for the horse to Rollback. Rollbacks are EXTREMELY good for hot horses who need to move their feet, and get on the thinking side of the brain. 

Clucking, or kissing, will "scoot" the horse out the Rollback. A Rollback needs to have (like I said) a lot of energy. The horse needs to get on his haunches and turn using his hindquarters.

He is on his forequarters right now...this is because he is about to turn on his hindquarters.

Turning on his hindquarters

This lesson can also be done at the trot once the horse is used to it. I wasn't using the Handy Stick for any of these Rollbacks...just getting in front of the drive line.

Getting in front of the shoulder, and changing the lead rope to my other hand...

Pointing and looking the new direction. 

See him turning on his hindquarters?

After doing each side 4-5 times (so around 10 total rollbacks) I bring Ollie into the center for a good rub. When horses are first learning they may need to do more "rollbacks" before they start to understand. Don't finish too early, but at the same time don't ask too much of the horse in one lesson. This is where timing and feel, and knowing the horse's capabilities come into play.

After rollbacks, I decided to just hop on Ollie bareback. Well, let me actually re-phrase that.....

I cannot swing on the back of horses. I am working on it, but I just cannot seem to be able to use momentum and swing my body up on Ollie without the help of a bucket/fence/round pen fence.....if y'all have any suggestions or tips that could help me, I would love to know a few! 

I just hopped on him using the round pen. 

...and then flexed him to take his halter off once I got on. 

Freedom!! Haha! 

I love this picture. Ollie looks very relaxed. 

Exaggerating the "whoa" cue with my body. 

I love this horse!!!!!

Part 3 coming soon!!! Riding, and more collection! 

~Alyssa