August 13 - Gidget, Gunner,

Phoned and talked to Jason about Gidget. He said Gidget has been lunged...so he said to do that...at least for 1/2 hr...and then ride. She has also been ridden with other horses so I asked about riding with Bailey and Skeena and he said that would be a perfect match up because Skeena is very calm. They are also pasture pals now.

Also asked about showing in Great Falls. He said Gunner is way too green to show there...plus the fact that he is already on his way home.

He said he is having a hard time with Gunner's studdiness. Said that even after being ridden hard for 2 hrs and then showing in Moose Jaw he was still bouncing all over the place, talking away. And when showing his attention wasn't always 100% on the cow...but on the other horses at times. He is hoping that another 2 weeks of really hard work will get it under control enough to do well at Olds etc. God I hope so!!!

August 11 - A mishmash of stuff

Gidget was good tonight. Just did ground stuff with her without tack...just to see where her mind set was after a full day in the arena. And she was very attentive..did everything I asked...even lunged a bit at the end of the leadrope with no issues...so I will ride tomorrow night.

Did not do anything with Hyde though due to the below.

Got a call from Mike (guy from work) and he said he was coming out...so it was a mad rush to do supper and straighten the house a tad if we decided to come inside afterwards. LOL

He looked over everyone. Really likes Cuba AND Gidget. Took pics of them both to show his girlfriend and said he would be letting us know. Talked to Doyle and I about boarding as he would need to board them for a year...they are looking at farms/acreages right now but don't really want to move in the winter. Doyle said he would think about it to him and he said that was fine...and would not be a buying deal breaker but likes the set up here (arena for the young horses to learn in and his girlfriend as well)...we know the horses...places to ride...people to ride with etc. right away which he likes too.

He said - if he decides to buy and we decide to board - for us to just give him a total cost for the horses and a year's board on both and he will just write a cheque. Doyle liked that idea...said if it goes okay - then we should have enough to buy all our winter hay as well as all the fencing materials we want to get!!!

I did play with my camera a little bit tonight. Got all the polarizing lenses (the three small ones) onto both fancy lenses. Took some shots with both...just out the window...playing with focusing right now. Will read my instruction book more tomorrow and write some notes on the settings...and how to work them so I don't have to carry the instruction book. I also set up my carry-case. LOL

HE DID IT AGAIN

Gunner scored another 65 today. Placed a little lower in the pack though - 8th or 9th. Still in the money!!!

I can't believe it...2 classes - 2 days earnings.

Jason said he worked just as good but said he felt more nervous today - not Jason...but Gunner. Not sure why. He also said he could tell he is green...so the more he gets out and does the big practice works at the shows the better - more comfortable he will be.

He now heads to Great Falls, Montana and will do a practice work there. Then home for a short rest before going to Olds, Alberta for the first big 3 year old show of the season.

Jason also did okay with his horses today. He won the 4 year old derby on his gelding Fizzle. But his 3 year old lost ground today - placed in the mid-teens. And his stud horse lost a cow today so no scored. He said he was still very pleased with how they all worked so that is good.

August 9 - Thankful..

..that Hyde is a good boy.

I caught up Hyde after I put Gidget away and we did a 1/2 hr ride.

In the arena this time, so we worked on trotting and did two laps at a lope.

We even did a big figure 8 at the trot ... so we are doing good.

And I figured out the tight hind quarter turn to the left too - so we are doing that now.

And to the right, we went fast enough in the turn that he had to do one of those "jump cross over" steps!! And I had to grab for the horn. LOL

August 9 - First at home ride on Gidget

on Gidget happened tonight.

Man...I don't know if I can do such a green horse now. She is sooo nervous that I am very nervous. She quivers and shakes and tosses her head and bounces all over the place.

I am thinking she has been mainly ridden in Jason's small arena with no distractions so this is just a lot for her to compute...and the listening to me is not there at all. She has the horses on each side of the arena - at a distance but still there to pay attention to. She also has cats playing in the long grass...kids all over the
place...noises coming from the shop etc.

Each time I asked for a turn or a stop, she put her head between her knees and would step however she wanted.

I am soo unsure how to handle her.

I know it will get better with time...but my confidence in riding green is sooo not good. I am still nervous on Hyde and he at least has 17 MONTHS of training rather than just 21 rides.

EEPS.

August 8 - Camera arrives finally

MY CAMERA AND ACCESSORIES finally arrived today.

Boy there was a lot of stuff.

Now to start reading to figure out how to work everything. LOL

OH MY LORD - this thing is HEAVY. Am going to have to start weight training I think.

Takes nice pics. Haven't figured out all the bells and whistles yet...but starting to figure some things out. Will have to watch the dvd that I bought.

One thing I noticed is it doesn't have the zoom power of my Sony. So in a bit, I think I will be buying a zoom lens as well. Not sure how the heck you are supposed to carry all this stuff at once and all the time. GOODNESS.

August 8 - GUNNER SHOWS!!!

YIPPEE!!! I AM SOOO STOKED!!! if the show wasn't so far away I would be there for tomorrow - to hell with the overtime I signed up for. LOL

Anyways. In talking to Jason, he said Gunner did really well. Warmed up like a good boy. And was very focused on the cows while showing. Said he rode good and hard...just needs to clean up his turns a bit as he did get a little behind.

He scored a 65. Came in 7th out of 31 entered in the 3 year old Open Class. And HE IS NOW AN NCHA EARNER. They pay to 10th place.

Jason was happy with all 4 horses that he showed. His own 3 year old came in 3rd in the class. He also showed his own 12 year old stud and a gelding in the $3000 Novice Horse Class and came in 1st and 2nd. Scored a 74 on his stud!! Which is very good for this horses FIRST year showing.

All 4 horses show again tomorrow in the same classes. And we are hoping for good things again.

Jason's only real concern with Gunner was his attitude after he was done showing. Chrissy was cooling him out and he was being pretty studdy...penis dropped and all. So Jason said that needs to be worked on!!!

August 4 - Gidget comes home

Went over to Jason's tonight to get Gidget. She is doing really well. She has about 21 rides on her. Jason rode her around for a bit and then we switched saddles and I got on. Jason, being the trainer (LOL), was a lot more comfortable and had her trotting and loping. Me, on the other hand, just walked. But I did get her to back up about 8 steps...Jason said she hadn't done more than one or two for him and Dan. So I was very happy.



he said she very level headed...and shouldn't take much to finish out. Told me to do lots of BIG trail rides with her. I think I will stick to the arena for a while yet. LOL

Getting her into the trailer though was the same as it was to get her to his place. He didn't put up with it for very long and did the "let's lunge really hard and you will just go in". Took him about 20 minutes of hard lunging on the lead rope and lots of "force" to get her in the first time...and then he did it two more times just to reinforce it. So that is one more thing I need to practice with her.

Still working on the backlog

Goodness I have been sooo busy lately that my blog has, once again, taken the backseat to the rest of my life.

Hopefully, I will get caught up one day. LOL

But here goes with the next round of updates.