Results!!!

Let me begin by saying I LOVE my horse:-) He is fantastic, amazing, beautiful, hard-working, and I couldn't of been more proud of him this weekend:-) Trainer M was so excited with our results!!! So was everyone else who knows our backstory:)

Because of Romeo's history was to have a relaxed outing with no major incidents, to stay in the ring, to stay on the horse, and to have a relaxed and rhythmical ride. M said to forget about flexion, forget about collection and just relax and stay steady. Both of us are just starting to work on flexing and collecting so forget that stuff and aim for one-and-two-and-three-and-breathe-ect......

Well we did just that!! Except for turning his head to look at the judge's box every time we passed it He was great!! No spooking, no bucking, and very relaxed!! Goal accomplished!!!! Yeah for Romeo!!!!!

We scored a 60.85 on both tests. I thought the judge scored generously. I felt that our first test would be high 50's but we got 60! I did feel as though our second test was better but felt the score was fair. All her remarks were about his accepting the bit and that is what we expected.

She absolutely loved Romeo... who doesn't love a golden boy:) and made comments on our turn-out and even said that he was a lovely and expressive horse. He clearly thought the show ring was meant for him!! We had an awesome time, even though we were there ALL day!!!

Roomie's first test was at 8 am and my last test was at 4:30, add the temperature in the 90's you get three very tired horses and 2 very tired humans. The July show is going to be even hotter!!! And I can't even imagine how awful the August one will be :-/

Here are a few pics....

All dressed up and ready to shine:-)

M telling me how awesome my horse is!!

What a good boy!!!!

Well now that we have our first show under our belts it's time to get back to work. No slacking at the Flying Solo!!!!! The goal is to figure out this whole on the bit thing ;) Tuesday's ride was great and hopefully he looked as great as he felt. I am tapping tonight ride to make sure!! I HAVE to nail down my elbow position at the trot!!! That's my goal for the next week!!!

Stayed tuned for more updates on how Jo and Ria did with Roomie and maybe.... if  I can figure it out... a video or two!!!

Tomorrow is the BIG day

Well I haven't updated in awhile... so sorry!! I've been quite busy preparing for this show. It seems that all I have done for the past 2 weeks is ride, ride, ride!! Not that I'm complaining.... really there are few places that I would rather be then in the saddle.

So to recap the past 2 weeks. First off the week before our"clinic" with trainer M it rained and rained here in AR. So I felt that I was not as well prepared as I would have like to be but what can you do about the weather?? The weekend was soooooo much fun!!! We left early Friday morning and rode that afternoon. M is an awesome trainer... no time limit. She rides till your horse is done... note I did not say the rider, lol. So encouraging. She said that Romeo looked and acted like a different horse, such a great compliment, and many more would follow throughout the weekend so I was beaming for most of it. Such a great feeling to know that all that hard work has done some sort of good :)

Saturday M had to work (she is an RN and works the weekend shift and runs the farm during the week). But that didn't stop rommie and I from working. She rode Ria and I rode Romeo. I didn't ride to long but wanted to work on the things we had worked in the lesson. I figured it I was paying for 4 lessons, plus the gas, and the food, I was going to get as much out of it as I could!!! Romeo felt tense and most likely he was sore from the previous lesson, but worked through it during the ride.

That evening we had another lesson and spent most of it going over the two tests we will ride at the show, we also rode through them and M and her man D loved it!!! Said that if we rode like that we would be hard to beat!!! WOW, what a compliment. M said that his movement was awesome and combine the relaxation with his nice rhythm and then add that gold coat, she said the judge was going to LOVE us :) I was sooooo soooo excited to hear that.

That evening after our ride I made dinner for everyone and we just sat around and talked.

Oh, I completely forgot about our "theory" sessions with D. He is a former reiner/4th level dressage rider. He just recently purchased the beautiful Bree and is starting to get back into the dressage world. The man has amazing stories and is a great teacher himself. Him and M make the perfect pair and are so much fun to hang with!! So during the day while M worked, D sat and gave us tips, and told stories. Roomie and I learned so much that are heads where exploding!!!

Sunday morning I rode again, and was lucky enough to get a "lesson" from D. He was out doing chores and stopped to watch my ride and ended up giving me a short lesson. I was forever grateful!!! That evening's lessons was the only one that was not-so-nice. Romeo was just not there and I think I finally had the boy tired. It was a good lesson for me though because I got to get some great advice on dealing with him when he gets moody.

Monday was sad as the vacation was over :( but the lesson went great and M was sooo excited about us showing. She has lots of confidence in all 3 the horses.... probably more so then we are!!!

Wish the show had been last weekend:-/ because after 2 weeks of training on my own I feel the need for a trainer again.

Here are some pics from the weekend

*****note: a video camera is the best investment the Flying Solo has ever made!!!!

Roomie bought a camera for her bday and so we now tape most of our rides. It has been real nice to be able to watch the ride right after getting off.

But now the wait is over.... tomorrow is the show!!! Roomie rides Jo at 8 am!!!! and then again around 9:40. Then I ride next.... at 3!!! That's a long time in between rides. And then Ria does her test, then I go again at 4:47. So we will be there at least 12 hours. The good news is that since I will be there before anyone rides I get to introduce Romeo to the judge's box!! So I do have some motivation to get up at 4:30 am!!!!

Already a tad nervous so all prayers welcomed!!!! My goal: to stay in arena and on the horse!!! lol, we should be able to do that ;)

Day 17: Your equestrian idol

Hmmm... that's an interesting question. As a child I LOVED the O'Conners and still do. I remember David getting "lost" on the jump course on Custom Made and was so sad when He stopped competing. Karen's pony Teddy was my inspiration as I trained my 15 h AQHA mare to jump and dreamed of someday eventing her.

Today I love keeping up with Karen and her team, but I also love Philip and Boyd!! In the dressage world the Netherlands riders have always been my fav.

Day 16: Your most recent fall

Oh I remember my last fall.... like it was yesterday.... but I wrote about it here, so go read it over at my other blog:-)

Day 15: Helmet or no helmet?

HELMET.... every single time I get on any horse.... no matter what!!! I am a big stickler for this. I have first hand experience as to just how important this is, as I have cracked open a few helmets on a bomb-proof horse and have also found that one rock in that no-rocks-anywhere-in-the-vicinity pasture. I sometimes ride with a handful of western riders and always get the your-a-weirdo looks but really who cares? It is an essential riding element... not an optional one in my book. 

Day 14: Your dream barn/farm

SO I had a little fun with this one:-)

First off I need some land.... preferably in the lovely state of Virginia located near the Blue Ridge Mountains so I can look at them every day:-)

Found here

And of course some pastures that have lots of green grass...

Found here

And it would be nice to have a few acres of trails through trees like this...

Found here

Next we need fences for the pasture...

Found here

How about some pastures that look like this??

Found here

Okay so now on to the barn:-)
This one would work....

Found here

With a large tack room...

Found here

And a heated wash room...

Found here

With big and classy looking stalls...

Found here

Of course since this is my dream farm it is an eventing farm so we need a dressage arena...

Found here

And a jump arena....

Found here

And since it gets cold in VA... it is necessary to have one large indoor....

Found here

or maybe two...

Found here

Lets not forget about a cross country course:-)

Found here

So there you have it.... my dream farm:-)

But honestly.... I really like the place I am it. It is definitely a place I have dreamed of living at. I have my horse in my back yard... property for the dogs to run on.... an arena... arena lights.... jumps... close to a trainer... and I have a friend to ride and train with. 

Day 13: Favorite place you have ridden

Well my favorite place I have ridden would have to be the week I spend on an island off the coast of Spain. My grandma told each of us grandchildren that when we graduated hs we could go on a vacation of our choice with her. I really wanted to go to the summer Olympics in Athan which happened to be that year but travel and lodging was going to be very difficult and expensive so we choose Spain instead. One of my dreams had always been to ride and Andalusian and to ride on the beach so we found an equestrian vacation that would make both of those dreams come true.

The week consisted of 5 days guided trail riding around the island, 2 riding lessons, and a tour of one of the stud farms that was located there on the island. My horse for the week was a dapple gray (one of my favs!!) and he was a very large and muscled up half Andalusian half some french bred. I fell in love with him!! wanted to bring him home:-) but of course I couldn't :-( One of the days we transported the horses out to the beach and spent the whole day riding and galloping along the beaches on the Mediterranean. It was simply the best feeling in the whole world and someday I hope to do it again!!!