Happiness

This is what happiness is....


...and I really need my hat shaped. :)

~Alyssa

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-August 13th

Hello Everyone!

Well, yesterday Ollie had his second horse show. We've been working hard at home, and it REALLY paid off.

I also got 1 other 2nd and 1 3rd not pictured. :) 

Ollie and I placed 2nd in Halter....

1st in Showmanship...

1st in English Pleasure...

As well as 1st in both English Equitation and  English Pattern..

(I have no pictures from Pattern and Equitation...so here is one of my practice pictures). 

After a lunch break, I switched to Western and spent some time practicing...

Placed 1st in Pleasure...

2nd in Horsemanship and Pattern...

..and placed 2nd and 3rd in Western and English Trail. 

5 1st's, 4 2nd's and 1 3rd won Ollie and I both English AND Western Highpoint!!

With that, we won 10 ribbons, 2 plaques, and a AHA Highpoint Dover Saddlery monogrammed Saddle Pad. So thankful for this horse! 

Next Show: September 10th. 

~Alyssa 

 

Lope Transformation

January

February-March

April-May

June

Today

Big difference!! So proud of this boy!

Next show in 10 days. :)

~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

Photo Shoot with Alex

Last Saturday, my friend Alex and I decided to do a photo shoot. Alex has beautiful horses, and one day I hope to grow Ollie's hair out as long as Ike's (yeah, a girl can dream. lol).

First we took some portrait shots..

Ollie, prick your ears!!!

..and then we went for a trail ride. We both had our Canon camera's, so we each got photos of each other. 

I had Ollie go through some water...

..and stand in the middle of these..tall plants. The name of these things is currently escaping me. 

Lastly, we loped/galloped on a flat part of the Open space...

I BELIEVE I CAN FLYYYYY

"Go Ollie, go!!"

*cue awkward lead change*

..and then I galloped Ollie up a hill. 

I have even more pictures, but those are going to have to wait for the next post. Thank you so much for taking pictures with me, Alex!

~Alyssa