Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 4 - Groundwork with Peppy the Firecracker

90% of horse training is knowing when to quit.

Peppy’s day

Background on Peppy.  She is a 6yr old mare that I raised.  Great lil horse but a firecracker.  She is always in a hurry.  She is sensitive and overreacts to cues.  “Clucking” as softly as I can to ask her to trot or lope is like touching her with a cattle prod.  I don’t even own one but she acts like I carry it in my back pocket.  She tries so hard to anticipate what I want and then gets rattled if she guesses wrong.  That’s without me asking for anything.  She is a full sister to Cayenne.  Their dam was hot and maternal grandsire was a firecracker so they come by it genetically.  I think I escalated the sensitivity with Peppy because I pushed her too hard, too early.  When I started her, she reminded me so much of Cayenne only maybe better, that I asked for a lot.  Last year, I backed off and only rode her at a walk and trot, focusing on bending, rating, and building her confidence.  I also started doing groundwork with her after my first Jim Anderson clinic a year ago.  I was helping some but mainly just skirting around the issues of her overreacting. 

I took Peppy to the last (4^th) day of the Jim Anderson clinic to ask him for help with my lil crackhead.  He watched me send her around at a trot and stop her in each direction on the line.  Her trot was voluntary as soon as I sent her out (with the softest directional cue with my whip that I could muster) and 900mph.  Jim immediately said I need to stop moving quietly around her.  He said overcue her to desensitize her.  He had me cluck repeatedly so she quit jumping out of her skin when she heard it.  He wanted it to not mean so much to her.  He worked her and had her switch directions every time she trotted until she’d just walk on the line.  It didn’t take long at all, she just needed to know what to do.  He had me use a stick and string instead of a whip.  He did that because you can’t be as accurate with a stick and string.  The cues with it are a lot more random so she stops thinking that every movement or noise means something.  He also had me use a plastic sack on a stick to cue her with to help her chill out.  She is not afraid of a plastic sack but it helped to add variety and furthered the idea that “not everything is a cue to jump over the moon.”

The first thing he tried with her was to have me lope her on the line and then stop and rest her until her head dropped.  She ran around the small circle completely discombobulated, rushing and tense with her tail in a kink.  He had me do that while he worked with the other people in my group.  Each time, she scurried around in typical Peppy fashion but she did learn to relax quicker in between.  Mind you, we were not physically wearing her out, she only went a few laps before I used any softness or positive change for an excuse to reward her with a stop and rest session.  Jim observed that the exercise was not working how he’d hoped so he changed it up.  This is one thing I admire about Jim, he will observe and adjust as needed to help each individual horse more effectively. 

Jim wanted to work the tension out of her body and have her bending on the circle.  He used a short, blunt stick, kept her at a walk on only a couple feet of rope and bumped her on the shoulder and ribs any time she wasn’t giving softly with her head and neck.  This seemed to help a lot and also set a foundation to move her to a trot (and eventually a lope after I do lots of homework) out further on the line while staying soft and bendy rather than stiff and rushed.  I worked her at a walk with rest periods in between then moved her to a trot, still on a very small circle.  When she stayed softly bent with slack in the rope, I dropped the stick to cue her to stop and let her digest the information. 

Jim added another exercise for me to work on after she’d licked her lips between bending work.  Peppy had rattled her nose at him early on and moved away like she was afraid of him coming up to her.  She can be like that.  He had me jump around, run at her and then pet her so she’d stop flying around when someone approached her too fast.  She caught on to that pretty quick.  That will help with her being so sensitive, too. 

Peppy was so much better with Jim’s guidance.  He said to just work her for 10 minutes at a time.  As she gets better and better, I can move to a bigger circle and faster gaits.  She just has to stay soft.  If I do my homework, when it comes time to put her back to work under saddle, the softness will carry over.  One thing he said about a horse like Peppy is that you have to work her with her feet moving.  He said you can desensitize her to a plastic bag (for example) while she’s standing still but once she gets moving, everything will change.   Other types of horses carry over that type of work from standing to moving much better.  I’ve noticed that with Scrappy, my other 6yr old, as well as other horses but didn’t realize that some types of horses are more prone to be like that.

Peppy is one of my “left behind” horses that I’ve not had the time to work regularly.  These ten minute groundwork sessions will be easy for me to accomplish with her.  Peppy’s hypersensitivity and tension was not only a pain in the butt for me, it was unhealthy for her mind.  I think that she will have a better quality of life overall without the worry.  She is a fun horse with a kind eye.  She is an overachiever with endless heart.

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 4 - Wrapping Up

October 3rd, 2016  

I rode Cayenne the majority of the lesson on the 4th day.  I want to just throw in here how fortunate I feel to be able to take 4 days of a Jim Anderson clinic.  This includes 2 days off work.  I have learned a lot and intend to do my homework so my horses and I will continue to show improvement.

I loped circles in good form.  I picked her up in the bridle and pushed her hind legs deeper underneath her with my legs.  She does not hold form for long.  She will go a few strides, maybe a quarter of a circle before she starts to string out again.  I think the longest was half a circle.  She noticed the pigeons flying around but hardly bobbled at all.  She was concentrating more on me than what was going on around her.   I release her slowly because if I drop the reins too fast, she bobbles and almost breaks gait.  It probably takes me 2-3 strides to completely release her to a drape rein.  I am just amazed at the transformation from the only semi-giving horse I had a few days ago to the much softer one.  Big lessons include picking her up smoothly, not bumping, and holding her steady until she gives.  I have always treated her like a colt and gave to too many “tries” rather than asking for a more responsible horse.  I’ve ridden this horse for seven years, we’re done trying the easy stuff.  She’s ready to do it.

Speaking of ready, Jim told me to put her in a solid mouthed shanked bit long term.  We discussed my Monte Foreman curb, which is completely solid.  The bit Jim had me use on Cayenne has a solid curb mouthpiece but the shanks swivel out a bit.  I’d say it’s a medium port.  He said the port was important for tongue relief.  His bit had a pretty thick mouthpiece and then the port tapered some for additional relief.  Jim said as long as I can get her head to the side with one rein in the Foreman, to go ahead and use it.  I already know that I can.  He said play with it for a month or so then go back to the looser mouthed curb I’ve had on her.  If I need more lateral at any time, just switch bits.  It made me happy to hear that she’s ready for a solid bit. 

Since our loping went well, Jim asked me what else I’d like to work on.  I asked for a lesson on speed transitions within a gait ie. Rate.  I used to have cues that worked alright for what I was doing but with all the fine tuning/finesse work Jim has been teaching me, those subtle cues are mixing together.  For example, to slow my lope before, I just sat deep while keeping my legs on.  Jim has me sitting deeper in my saddle all the time and even deeper when doing a rundown to a stop.  That takes my “sit deep to slow” cue out of the picture. 

He said it’s mainly below the knee to cue for faster or slower.  Put leg on to build speed.  To rate down, squeeze your thighs, take inside leg off and tip toe up/push heel down like stop position while keeping outside leg on to keep loping.  If she doesn’t respond, draw her back softly with my hands.  I practiced a few times.  Taking the leg off and pushing my “brake” broke her to a trot immediately.  He had me just push her back to the lope and then reward her with a walk and stop.  Nice and easy.

One exercise Jim said he does to help enforce the idea that running fast will be followed with relaxing is to run around the arena fast, rate back, get on an obstacle and sit.   That works great on cowboy challenge horses especially because on your free ride, they are anticipating the slow down and chill coming up.  That is one of the coolest things about his yellow mare, Marilynn.  She will run her heart out on free rides, hustle between obstacles and then just drop to a standstill and chill.

We wrapped up by spinning each direction.  She is not spinning as fast as I ultimately want but we are laying a good foundation.  She was even more relaxed and I am rocking her back pretty well as needed.  She did not grab the bit and chew on it like she has in the past while we’re standing after a spin.  She spins better right than left.

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 3 - Pick Up Smooth & Lope Pretty

Sunday, October 2nd, 2016.  Previously posted on Facebook:

I guess I don't need to tag Lisa Lichte and Laurie Ward since so many of my friends have responded to my clinic reviews with either positive comments or pm's. I didn't actually expect more than five people to sit and read through the whole "book!" I am glad that others can learn from my successes and my mistakes. Day 1 and Day 2 have already been posted and if anyone missed them, I will briefly go over them before continuing to post about Day 3. If you are really bored, go read the first posts in their entirety for more detail.

In review, on Day 1 of the Jim Anderson clinic, I brought a fairly green colt and did groundwork. That went very well. I also rode Cayenne briefly at the end of my session to check out my spin. That went well. I went to the "scary" end of the arena to work on loping circles on a drape rein. She had warmed up well but caught me off guard with a quick spook. She then reacted to me off kilter and spooked away from me and I got dumped. I held onto a rein instead of just turning her loose. She did not give to the rein and ended up doing a tapdance over the top of me and sat down, tangled in her rein. There were literally spots before my eyes and I'm glad she didn't actually step on me! We were both fine and I loped her more on not so drape of a loose rein.

On Day 2, Jim expressed his concern about the spooking incident on Day 1. He was not worried about the spook itself, he was worried about the fact that she stayed in an elevated flight mode and didn't give to the rein I was holding. We discussed "why" it happened and determined it was likely because she had been in "trouble" for spooking. I had created more tension in her because not only was she afraid of "things," she was afraid of my reaction to her reaction. We set her up to be spooked and Jim found that she was not giving to pressure when she was scared, she went into flight mode and stayed there for much too long. He worked her on the ground first then I worked her, just getting her to bend her head and neck laterally and give up the spook. We moved to the saddle and worked a one rein stop to help her learn that as soon as she spooked, we went right into relax mode. Retraining the brain. It seemed to work quite well. She will still spook but will not have the high level of anxiety of "what's going to happen now?"

Day 3. I warmed Cayenne up on the ground to check out our "scary corner." She was much, much better although I did take the opportunity to bend her around when she tried to hurry past the portion of her trot circle closest to the wall. I then warmed her up under saddle and she did better but not great. She would lope her circles but with a lot of leg and guidance. No spooking sideways but definite tension about the pigeons, the sunlight streaming through a crack, etc. Jim observed then put a person with a flag on my end so I could try to work her through the issue. She still didn't have the dramatic reactions from the day before but was almost asking me to just pull her head around and "save her" from what was coming. My steering was going to heck as she made me pick up my reins in both hands and really guide her around.

Jim came back, saw what was going on and decided we needed to adjust since she was now comfortable with the one rein stop and relax idea. He got on Cayenne and really got into her because she wasn't trying hard enough. She was giving 75% but the other 25% was gawking off in the corner and looking for upcoming scary things. She gave him a lot of resistance for a few circles. Like, "Whose spotted horse is that?" kind of resistance. He got her giving vertically, driving up strong in the lope, and "with him" 120%. When she was soft, he gave her a loose rein. When she came out of form, he picked her up, fixed her and let her loose again. When he picked up on the reins, she was asking, "What do you want, Jim?" She wasn't even thinking about flags, pigeons, corners and was loping so pretty!

I got back on and Jim had me lope her the same. He tells me over and over (he must think I'm deaf or slow sometimes!) to pick her up smoothly and hold her until she gives. I want to pick her up bumping her mouth and I don't pick her up far enough. I also give when she head bobs, not truly holds the position. In other words, I don't ask for enough of her at this stage of training. I'm sure I didn't have her loping as pretty as Jim did but it sure felt good when it was good and it was easy to fix her up when she started to lope flat. She did not even think of spooking because she was concentrating so hard on me and what I wanted.

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 2 - Spooking My Horse On Purpose

Saturday, October 1st, 2016.  Previously posted on Facebook.

Here is my review of my go at Day 2 of the Jim Anderson clinic. We went "back to basics." After Cayenne's little demo of her spook on Day 1, Jim said he thought about it a lot and wanted to help me get her better. Not that she will not ever spook because she is a horse and a cow bred, looky horse. He said that the spook itself didn't bother him so much as her continued elevated adrenaline level afterwards and the fact that she did not give to pressure (when I held onto the rein) I would not have ended up getting danced on and nearly sat on if she would have just given to that rein pressure.

We went over what I have done in the past when she has spooked. Like I said, she is very "looky" and that doesn't bother me. But, there have been times where she will take huge leaps straight in the air or whirled 180 degrees and launched over relatively nothing. She is very fast and I have been lucky to ride her out every time except 2 of those spooks. I've hit the ground twice this year including Day 1. It does not matter if she's fresh or physically tired. I have gotten her in big trouble on some of those spooks and sometimes just when she's going overboard with lots of little spooks or the tippy-toe-high-head-blowing-nose crap she will pull. I have pulled her head around, jerked her around, spurred her on the inside to kick her hind end around, etc to try to let her know that it is absolutely not acceptable. She maintains a little better after that but it really hasn't helped. I never did that to her when she was green because I am a lot more understanding and patient with a young horse. Cayenne is 10 years old and I started her as a 3 year old. I have ridden this horse a lot of years and at about 6 or 7 was when I started having issues with the violent spooks. That correlates with about the time when I started thinking, "I've had enough of this, now you will get punished for spooking." I figured she was trained enough, had been hauled to countless events, trail competitions, etc that she should be trying harder to maintain. While I still think that is true, I went about it the wrong way.

So, Jim helped me get to the root of my issue: Cayenne is a spooky horse and when she spooks, I have caused a fear of punishment. So, I get a big spook and then a high level of tension in anticipation of the aftermath. The "fix" is to teach her a new result of her spook. We started on the ground with her in a rope halter. I stood in the "scary corner" of the arena with a couple flags and Jim checked her out. She did her typical flyaway, high anxiety reaction. Jim pulled her around and asked her to give both vertically and laterally with her head/neck. She flew around quite a few times and was braced up against the pressure. He got her to give and then we started again. I took her after a few minutes and he flagged. We got her where she'd trot around in circles and I'd use a blunt stick to keep her out of the circle when she went by him (by poking her in the shoulder or ribs) and if she reacted dramatically to the flags, which she did many, many times, I'd drop the stick and grab the rope up close and bend her head around to her shoulder/armpit until she stopped and gave softly. We'd stop and give her breaks as she really was trying. Once we had it in hand pretty well, Jim had someone else be my flagger while he worked with other people in the clinic. He said that once I could get her bent around and soft in 2 seconds from the spook (rather than 6, 10, or 20) then I could saddle her up. We got to this point.

We actually put her in the round pen and did some joining up first just to help her get back "with me." At that point, we also dealt with her excessively pinny ears at liberty. She used to pin her ears on the line, which Jim had me fix this spring by chucking her under the chin with the tail of my whip. Jim chucked her under the chin when she gave him a dirty look and then called her to him with the other whip. Of course, she was completely shocked but she kept her ears up! I had to chuck her twice to get her snarly ears up and then she quit. I'd actually forgotten that she did that since she hadn't done it on the line in so many months.

Under saddle, Jim rode her to feel out her spook. I stood in the corner again and he loped circles on that end of the arena. He did a one-rein stop on her a few times without her being spooked. Then we moved on to me scaring her with the flags. As soon as she'd spook, he'd one rein stop her and wait until she gave completely (standing with head at his boot) She was not in "trouble" like I'd taught her. She just had to give to pressure and use her thinking brain rather than stay in that elevated state of mind. He did it quite a few times and then I got on. Nothing like knowing someone is purposely going to spook your horse while you lope circles!

Jim Anderson Clinic - Day 1 - Horses and Birds

I am firing up the old blog after three years of silence.  This is at the suggestion of several friends, both "real" and "Facebook."  I posted a few incredibly lengthy Facebook reviews of a clinic I went to last weekend.  It was for the benefit of a couple friends who were not able to be there.  I expected possibly a total of five people to slog through the entire post.  Boy, was I wrong!  The response via comment, private message, text and actual real face-to-face conversation (happens on occasion) was eye opening.  I either have seriously interested friends or they are bored, nice, or a combination of both. 

I apparently entertain, educate and well, give people someone to laugh at when all else fails.  Someone asked me, "Don't you ever get embarrassed?!"  Not when it comes to horses and learning.  What could possibly be the most embarrassing thing to happen at a clinic?  Most of us would say falling off my horse or arriving to the clinic naked.  I checked the "Fall off horse in front of a world renowned clinician and random friends and strangers" box on Friday.  I could say that my green colt broke in two and bucked me off into the rafters.  I can't.  A pigeon scared my horse.  My colt.  No, not really.  My "broke" horse had a heart attack and dumped me on my head over a domestic bird.  I am smiling just thinking about it.  Read the copied and pasted Facebook post below for all of the glorious details plus the seriously great lessons I learned from Jim Anderson.  

I am cheating a bit and basically copying and pasting it to my blog over the next few days.  After that, I promise my writing will be all original.  

Friday, Sept 30th, I took Pistol, my 5yr old gelding, with me to the Jim Anderson clinic for some help with groundwork. Pistol is a gentle, laid back character with a tendency to lean, push and just not be very responsive both on the ground and under saddle. I had him doing the basics on the ground and he has about 60 rides, but hadn't been worked in 2 months. Pistol tended to trot around me on a line with his nose straight or tipped out and pushing his shoulder into me.

Jim immediately put a lariat rope halter on him so that it was more uncomfortable for Pistol to lean on the end of the halter rope. I would send Pistol around me at a trot and any time he took up the slack in the rope, I stepped back so he had to give to get relief. I also used my whip to flick him on the shoulder or rib cage to get him to arc his body properly on the circle. This worked well and Pistol was "getting" the idea of trotting around with his body arced properly with his shoulders freed up instead of bound up.

I definitely see where this will help his lope circles. I work hard loping him properly as he wants to drop his shoulder in, tip his nose slightly out and cut the circle. I have to basically drift him with the reins and push him out with my inside leg a lot more than should be necessary. We also worked with the sidepass drill down the fence to help him free up his shoulders and worked on reversing direction on the line without cutting into me too much. He is not rocking back on his hocks like is ideal but he responded well.

For our final work, we moved to the round pen and turned Pistol loose. He was very attentive to me and quickly picked up the idea of facing up and following me. I was very happy with Pistol. He was nervous when we first got to the arena but even though he was quivering, he would stop and stand when I asked him on the line. Sometimes he creeps forward because I think his favorite place to stand would be with his feet on your feet and his head laid against you. He backs off easily when told as that is a typical Pistol move. After his work, he stood tied to the trailer very well, only nickering occasionally. No holes to China or hoofprints on my fender.;)

I quickly warmed up Cayenne for the last little bit of my clinic time. She actually warmed up well without her typical spooky crap, which led me to go to sleep at the wheel a little later and get dumped! Yes, I got to eat some arena dirt.:) I had her loping on a very draped rein and she spooked hard right from the pigeons. It unseated me and she rolled back away from me and that was that. It wouldn't have been quite as exciting but I held onto a rein and it wrapped around her legs, causing her to do a tapdance trying to keep her feet and not step on me. She almost sat on me! I don't know why I didn't just let her go!

Anyway, I did have a good ride on her. Her spin is coming way better and the #1 reason is because I've been having her stand between spins until she relaxes. Even at Jim's clinic 2 weeks ago, I'd spin her and then while she stood, she'd nervously chew the bit, stretch her neck and just exhibit stressed behavior. It'd take her several minutes or longer to relax and drop her head on her own. I've only spun her a couple days since that clinic but have emphasized the lesson Jim tries to drive into our heads about WAITING ha ha! Jim also said she is so much more relaxed because she understands what I want better because I am being more clear with my cues. I'm more clear with my cues because I am understanding better, thanks to Jim!

In my lope circles, it's mainly on me keeping my shoulders back further and my pockets deeper in the saddle. There ya have it! I'm off for another day of riding! 

Smart Little Sign: Extreme Cowboy Race Champion

Smarty once again proved to be my steady eddy.  We hauled nine hours to Lynden, WA to compete in Craig Cameron's Extreme Cowboy Race.  I took Smarty and his daughter, Smart Little Cayenne.  Neither horse had been in the arena so I chose Smarty to run on Friday night.  He was good as gold and loped around that arena and over every obstacle like he'd been in there every day!  He won the go round.

I rode Cayenne on Saturday.  She was in rare form and not in a good way!  I managed to milk her through the preliminary round in the Extreme Cowboy Race and somehow she won her go, also.  Both horses made the finals to run on Sunday.

Since I had two horses in the Open Division, the management had me go first on one and last on the other so I had time to switch.  I rode Cayenne first to get her out of the way.  She was a lot better than Saturday but still really bothered by the arena and was acting very mare-ish at the in gate.  She ran a beautiful course other than not ground tying at either spot and not standing still for the dismount, pick up right front foot, and remount obstacle.  It's hard to demonstrate that you are picking up the horse's foot when she keeps picking it up on her own!  She had some great points like beautiful jumps and coming when called for me to mount off of an obstacle.  She has so much energy pumping on the inside that it is hard to remain calm on her!  She probably feels the same about me!

I hurried and switched horses.  Husband, Ransom, gave me a "calm down" talk and I ended up with plenty of time to watch other contestants go before I had to run again.  I stopped shaking and started breathing before I went in the gate on Smarty.  Smarty just oozes confidence and calm.

Our run was super!  Smarty was his usual quiet self and helped me just sit back and work out the details.  Our free ride (gallop around the arena) was relaxed, the gate obstacle was smooth, the tarp carry was wonderful except for it hooking on his tail after I hung it up and rode off.  He was pooping and I didn't pay attention.  He didn't care at all about his tail accessory and I think he deserved extra points for my mistake!  He walked a step or two at the first ground tie while I was "milking" the cow.  His jumps were beautiful and he was in the correct lead every time.  His trash walk (trot) was on a totally loose rein with no hesitation.  The obstacle where I ground tied him and crawled through a tunnel was great.  He stood stock still like it happened every day!  We didn't make it through the cones without spilling a water cup but we tried :)  He stood like a champ while I dismounted on the near side, reached under him to squeeze his off side chestnut for him to pick up his right front foot, and mounted up for my last free ride.  I was (and still am) so proud of him!  Here is a link to his run:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY-aoCQ8D7I

I had missed a couple runs when I was switching horses so was not sure how everyone did.  I figured Smarty was in the top 5 but didn't want to get my hopes up.  During the awards, I was called up for the Reserve Championship.  I was so happy and yet beating myself up for not fixing little bobbles that make the difference between 1st and 2nd place!  Then they called me back up for the Championship!!!  Cayenne had won the Reserve and Smarty took the Championship by a long shot!  I was over the moon! 

I am so thankful for my wonderful horses and even more so for my husband!  Ransom was on the sidelines helping me get prepared, encouraging, calming, and videoing the whole weekend.  I think he understands my horse sickness a little better and saw the extremely competitive side of me.  He even told Craig Cameron how I always ride my horses whether it's after dark or in the rain :)

Freckles On Fire

Long overdue pics of my 2013 filly.  Sired by Smart Little Sign (Smarty) and out of my AQHA mare, Top This Sail, who is by Freckles Flynn.  We call this filly "Slider."  She is probably my best one yet but, of course, how they go under saddle is the ultimate deciding factor! 

Update on Smart Little Cayenne

Cayenne has been doing a bit of everything this past year.  She placed 4th in a 25 mile limited distance endurance ride, Home on the Range, near Washtucna, WA last spring.  More importantly to me, she took the Best Condition Award at that ride.  Cayenne liked the endurance as she prefers to get out and cover ground and has a wide competitive streak in her.

I rode Cayenne in two weekend clinics with Pat Wyse.  One in Sandpoint in April and one in Montana in May.  She has a lot of talent but I am working on getting good enough to ride her to her full potential!

I competed in a couple small trail challenges, did some gaming, competed in our first (and second and third) Competitive Mounted Orienteering rides, and moved cows a little.  We had a lot of fun and did well!

In Novemeber, I hauled Cayenne and her sire, Smart Little Cayenne, to Eugene, OR for the Northwest Mountain Trail Championships at the Oregon Horse Center.  Cayenne took 5th in the Novice Horse class.  She was the only horse to score a "10" on an obstacle all weekend in her class.  That obstacle was the ground tie.  All that practice paid off!  Cayenne did better than I expected competing there but Smart Little Sign was my rock star.  He came out of two years of no competition and took Reserve Grand Champion in Eugene!

Another Quarter Horse

I've added another Quarter Horse to my herd. She may not have spots but she's certainly worthy! It has been tough to find a suitable Appaloosa broodmare I wanted, especially in my area, so I went AQHA. "Jessie" is a daughter of Freckles Flynn, whose NCHA earnings are over $100,000. Her dam is a daughter of an NRHA money earner and Topsail Cody bred. Jessie is bay with black points, about 15-15.1 hands, and easy on the eyes. I will breed her to Smarty for a 2013 foal. That seems like a long way from now but time flies!

Smart Little Pistol

He's a pistol! Annie and Smarty's colt is weaned now. He's pretty smart and thinks he's something special. I'll wait to make that assessment in a couple years when I'm riding him! First two pictures are of Smart Little Pistol and the last is of his sire, Smart Little Sign.

Welcome Scrappy

**Check out the updated pics below!**

I needed another horse like I needed more barn cats. Scrappy is a yearling AQHA filly. I went to look at Scrappy on a whim (and under pressure from my mom!) because I liked her bloodlines and was interested in buying a riding prospect. She was also about 10 minutes from my house. She was definitely a "prospect" but quite promising. I saw her sire and dam on the premises and picked out her 3yr old full brother as my favorite on the place before I knew his relation. Her sire has won about $30,000 in NCHA cutting and her dam is by an NCHA money earner.

I think that Scrappy will be fun to ride in the Pat Wyse clinics when she grows up. She is eating me out of house and home and getting up to speed on her schooling. She is more challenging than my point and shoot Smarty foals but is coming along.

I bought Scrappy April 13th, 2011 (13 is a lucky number, right?). The first picture is Scrappy the day after I brought her home. The head shot and picture at the hitching rail were taken a few weeks later. The picture of her grazing was taken after about six weeks.

**Update**The 5th and 6th pictures were taken in September 2011. Scrappy now fits in with my herd even though she's a bit small for her age. My other yearling, Peppy, is definitely the ringleader but Scrappy has emerged from her shell quite nicely.
 



**Another Update**
Last pic is of Scrappy saddled upon December 31, 2011.

Sold Horses

I sold a few horses since last fall. Turbo, my 2008 gelding, and Dusty aka Frosty, the grulla 2010 filly out of Barts Quincy T, sold to Janice and Roley Schoonover of Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. They've done a great job starting Turbo under saddle and I got to watch him show off his moves at the Pat Wyse clinic in Sandpoint in April. It has been determined that Turbo should have been named something else because there is not a fast bone in his body! Turbo is sired by Dreams Reward (by Dreamfinder) and out of a mare I used to own, Quincys Sparkee (by Stardee). Frosty has changed colors from a black/grulla with spots over her hips to a brown roan. I imagine she will end up a varnish roan like her dam. Frosty is by Smarty and her dam is a daughter of Mighty Black Bart. If all goes as planned, Turbo and Frosty will eventually end up in the guest string at Western Pleasure.

I sold Blaze (Willie B Smart), my 2007 red roan blanketed gelding, to Tami Moyer. Blaze is by Smarty and out of a Geneo JJ daughter. He had about 70 rides on him when Tami took over. She intends to barrel race Blaze once he has some more miles on him. Tami holds various Omoksee speed records on her current Appaloosa gelding, Rocky, and now races him in 4D barrels at the age of 18. When Tami and I started communicating about Blaze, neither of us knew that her Rocky was a colt that my mom raised and I rode to win a 2yr old Western Pleasure Futurity back in 1995! It really is a small world and it was wonderful to see Rocky after so many years!

Pictures are of Rocky and Blaze tied to the trailer (talk about a nearly matched pair!), Frosty at 5 days old, Turbo tied to the hitching rail as a long 2yr old on the day he was picked up, and Blaze alone tied to the trailer.

Smart Little Colt

Annie (An T She Sweet) foaled a smartly colored colt by Smarty (Smart Little Sign) on May 20th. He is Smarty's only foal coming in 2011 and he's just perfect! He is not for sale as I can't wait to put a leg over him!

Cayenne's 2nd Championship Buckle!

My Little Cayenne won herself another buckle! We actually got a break and she got to compete in a class for horses 4 years old and under. I guess that's where she really belongs so it wasn't really a break, just out of the norm for us. The event was the Inland Empire Back Country Horsemen (IEBCH) Trail Challenge at Busy Bee Arena near Airway Heights, WA on Saturday, September 18th. We won the green horse class and took 2nd in the open class. I'm not sure how many people were in each class.

There were many obstacles on the course and each class rode the exact same thing but were, of course, only competing against the others in their respective classes. The course was broken down into four sections with one rider on each section at a time. That made it faster to get everyone through. After each section, you rode a short distance to wait at the next section. I thought it was very well organized. I rode the whole course twice since I signed up for two classes. I competed in the green horse class first. I figured Cayenne would do better the second time through but she did not!

Here is a breakdown of each obstacle in each section:

Section#1
A: Walk to and over bridge
B: Trot up to and around a stump, trot down and back to bridge, walk over bridge and walk to C.
C: Step over log, sidepass to mailbox, get map out of mailbox, sidepass back (log was marked where you stepped over & exited it)
D: Pick up left lead & lope to log
E: Walk over log & up hill to exit

Section#2
A: Walk up trail & around camp site (yellow dome tent)
B: Walk down trail & over logs
C: Walk between trees (next to deer spinal column on ground, fox pelts hanging on a rope & fake deer standing nearby)
D: 90 degree forehand turn, back through "L," 270 degree haunch turn
E: Walk into box, stop, turn 360 degrees, walk out to exit

Section#3
A: Open gate, go through, & close gate
B: Walk to log, drag log to post up the trail, hang rope on the post
C: Walk up hill to cone, turn 180 degrees on haunches, back up hill to next cone, & stop.
D: Walk down hill to post with log, drag log back to 1st post (log on left of horse this time)
E: Work gate again & exit

Section#4
A: Walk up steep hill
B: Move bag of cans from tree "A" to tree "B"
C: Walk to slicker, take it off tree & put it on yourself, take it off, & place it back on tree
D: Walk under tree arch
E: Walk through deadfall to the exit

One nice thing about having 20 obstacles judged by 4 different judges is that if you mess up on one or two obstacles, you can make it up on other obstacles, or if one judge doesn't care for your style (or your horse's style) their opinion won't ruin your whole score. Most of the obstacles were natural and it was a typical trail ride setting. My horse didn't even know we were actually "doing" anything on some obstacles like walking over logs or up and down hills.

Cayenne didn't actually do better than she did at the last two events we've been to. She was a bit edgy and worried about other horses she could see through the trees on various parts of the course. The "bad" things she did on course were:

Section#1: Stepped off sideways at the end of the bridge on the first crossing instead of straight off the end. Wiggled a step while I was folding up the map at the mailbox (I erred in judgment on this as I knew she was nervous & should have kept her moving rather than try to take extra time standing still), broke to a trot before I asked her to stop at the log (the second time through she gave me a nice sliding stop at the log).

Section#2: Didn't respond perfectly to cues on where to put her hind end on the "L" back through. She did "okay" the first time but was a total brat the second time as she switched her butt back & forth at the entrance, overreacting to cues to take "one" step over with her butt & knocked the "L" logs around. All the while tense with her head up trying to look for another horse!

Section#3: Perfect the 1st time but the 2nd time she was a little impatient but pretty good.

Section#4: A bit distracted the 2nd time so had to be cued too much to sidepass over & hold still to pick up & put down cans. Wiggled several times while I was putting on the slicker & looking through the woods for other horses. I should have been able to let her have a slack rein while standing there but that would have resulted in her walking off! I think she nickered once each time in this section, too.

The very good things she did on the course were:

Section#1: Trotted down the hill even though the ground was rough & had a good stop from a lope the 2nd time through
Section#2: Didn't bobble at all over the tent, deer spine, fox pelts, or fake deer. Good pivots the 1st time through
Section#3: Absolutely flawless the 1st time, perfect gate work, great log drag, perfect back up on a fairly steep hill
Section#4: Good with cans the 1st time

Overall, she did a good job but I need to work on her concentrating when distracted. She rides alone wonderfully but it's when she sees other horses through the trees that she thinks she needs to keep an eye on them or call to them. Part of the problem there was that she's been turned out "being a horse" for two weeks without her red raspberry leaves (drugs) so she's being a snot. Most people couldn't tell she was being bratty, except for the 2nd time through the "L," but I know her and she wasn't on top of her game. I get nervous and she feeds off of me, too. Just more to work on!

Thanks to IEBCH for a great event & to Aslin Finch for sponsoring the Montana Silver buckles! The 2nd place saddle stand was hand made by a member of IEBCH and is now proudly displayed in my living room with the saddle Mr (my gelding) won at a trail challenge in Santa, ID a few years ago on it. Photos of me riding Cayenne were taken by Laura McConnell. Thanks Laura!

ACTHA Ride at the Hatley Ranch

I rode down to Deary, Idaho with a friend and had a fun filled weekend on George Hatley's ranch. We got there Friday evening in time to go for a trail ride. Saturday morning, we went on the ACTHA Competitive Trail Challenge ride, which was sponsored by the Appaloosa Museum. It was a six mile loop with six judged areas. We got out in front so were able to flush a couple nice whitetail bucks, among other deer, birds, etc. I rode Cayenne in the Open Division. The course was as follows:

Log/Trail: Ride across a log, stop, turn 180 degrees, cross log again. Then ride back over log and negotiate a little trail through the sticks, bushes, and trees. Cayenne did fine, pivoting on a hind foot for both turns at the log.

Gate: Open gate, go through, and close. Cay did this with ease although I bumped her hind foot with the gate while closing it.

Water: Go to center of a shallow pool of water, stop, back 3 steps, continue straight out of water. Cayenne hesitated at the edge of the water, sniffed the water briefly, went in and completed the rest of the obstacle fine.

Hill: Ride up a hill, stopping in the middle for about 5 seconds. Cayenne did this perfectly.

Ground Tie: Dismount, lead horse through round corral gate, closing gate behind you, ground tie in center of round pen, walk a complete circle around horse, lead horse back out of round pen, and mount on off side. We did this well except Cayenne ate grass while ground tied! I also failed to check my cinch and headstall before remounting but am not sure if the judge was looking for that or not. I forgot about that little trail competition detail!

Back Up: Back a figure eight around a tree and a stump. Cayenne did great, backing and steering easily on a fairly loose rein.

The Pleasure Division, which my friend rode in, was slightly easier. We rode together but each of us stayed well away from the obstacle while the other was completing it. The differences in pleasure included: They did not have to do the turns at the log crossing, they simply crossed and rode out the little trail. They did not have to close the gate behind them. They crossed straight through the water without stopping or backing. They rode up the hill without stopping. They had to do the entire ground tie exercise but remounted on the near side of the horse instead of the off side. They backed a circle around the tree instead of the figure eight.

I think the ACTHA rides are a great way to get riders interested and experienced in the trail competitions. I like the ACTHA rides but I prefer more of a challenge. The other thing I noticed is that because of the small number of obstacles, if a rider doesn't do well on one obstacle, it pretty much takes them out of the running. Some competitions I go to have 20 or more obstacles so if a rider's horse doesn't do one obstacle or does poorly on a few, they can still be competitive. I think the ACTHA rides appeal to many people because they do get to go out and ride the trails. They are also low key and fun so are not intimidating to people who don't show horses. Overall, I have to say that the ACTHA rides are a great idea!

Cayenne and I ended up winning the Open Division! I was really happy! There were only three of us in that division but my competitors were seasoned riders on good mounts. I was also happy that instead of "ACTHA Bucks," the prizes were tangible items. I got to pick out a really nice hay bag for my Open win and also won "Best Dressed Female Rider!" I picked out a bottle of wine with Appaloosas on it for that. My wedding anniversary is coming up so maybe I can have a drink of wine to celebrate!

The second ride of the day was a fundraiser for the Appaloosa Museum. I hadn't planned on doing it but it was for a good cause and part of the money was jackpotted back. We rode the same course but went as a group with the judge riding with us. I wish I knew his last name but "George" was our judge and a very experienced eye. He critiqued each rider after each obstacle so it was a great learning experience! I think we would have had more riders if everyone had known it was going to be a lesson! I rode worse and Cayenne didn't behave as well on the jackpot ride! I would have thought we'd have done better the second time around. I think her youth came into play more as she didn't feel as comfortable leaving the large group of horses to go complete each obstacle by herself. She didn't do badly but it took a few obstacles to get back in the game. I was really happy that she did not eat while ground tied though! I corrected her with a voice command as she started lowering her head and she stopped and stood quietly while I walked the circle around her. We ended up winning the jackpot for our group.

On Sunday, I think there were 39 of us that went on a guided pleasure ride. It was a nice "thank you" from the Appaloosa Museum to all of the participants. We cruised around over various terrain on the Hatley Ranch as well as Forest Service ground. Since we were walking head to tail, and often two abreast, we got to b.s. the entire ride. It was a relaxing way to end the weekend.

The Hatley Pony Club grounds were perfect for the trail event. I look forward to another one next year! The cook shack was a nice gathering place for everyone to talk horse and eat. The volunteers were friendly and helpful all weekend. A big thanks to everyone who made it happen!

Last 2010 Cowboy Race in Sandpoint

The course for the last Craig Cameron sanctioned Extreme Cowboy Race in Sandpoint, Idaho was awesome! It was packed with challenges, which made it lots of fun! I rode Smart Little Cayenne, my 4yr old filly. I will list the obstacles in order and how I did on them:

Tunnel: The front of the tunnel was obscured by hanging tarp strips and pool noodles. You had to duck upon entering the tunnel as it was pretty short. It was constructed of wire cattle panels curved over the top and covered in black plastic. Cayenne hesitated at the front and then went on through.

Ground Tie: On paper, this didn't sound too difficult. In application, it was a bit harder! You had to ride towards a baby goat tied to the fence, ground tie in a pole 360 box, dismount and go about 15 feet to the goat, untie it, move it to the next fence post, retie it, and go remount on the off side. Cayenne stared at the goat from the starting line and I was worried she'd leave as soon as I left her "ground tied." I even left my reins up on her neck so she wouldn't step on them! She did great and didn't move at all! The goat refused to lead and pulled back as you tried to tie it so it was a challenge in itself!

Pony: You had to pony an actual pony in a figure eight around a couple obstacles. Cayenne had no problem sidepassing up to him, letting me take the rope off of the fencepost, and leading him on the figure eight. He had hung back on the person who rode ahead of me so I just led him at a walk and kept him in position.

Jump: Two 55 gallon barrels laying on their sides. We took it at a trot and I was able to push Cayenne over them fairly easily.

Tennis Ball: Pick up a tennis racket off the fence, stand in the saddle and hit a tennis ball hanging from a tree branch. Cayenne did well on this one and stood still while I hit the ball. I, on the other hand, didn't have very good balance so I sat back in the saddle immediately after hitting the ball so I wouldn't fall off!

Circle: Pick up a length of rope off of a spool and lope a circle around the spool while holding the rope. We did pretty well on this one although the rope wasn't tight all the time, which meant our circle was an oval!

Log Drag: Actually, a jump standard drag. Pick up the rope off the fence and drag the standard down the fence a ways before putting the rope on the fence again. Cay did fine. I trotted her while doing the drag.

Ball Carry: Pick up a big rubber ball sitting on a feed tub, carry it about 30 feet, set it on top of a 5 gallon bucket. Cayenne did fine but I was unable to make the ball stay on the bucket. I don't think anyone else did either.

Bridge: The loudest, scariest metal bridge that teetered on a ROUND pole! Everyone had issues with the bridge. Cay put a foot on it, pulled back and moved her hip right, out of line with the bridge. I got her straight again and pushed her straight over the bridge. I was really happy with this as I didn't think she'd go over it. She doesn't like questionable footing and that bridge was definitely in that category! She may have done the best on the bridge out of everyone.

Sprinkler: Ride through an oscillating sprinkler on the ground. No problem.

Ring Pick-Up: Three plastic rings were lightly attached to the fence. We had to go down the fenceline and grab them by hand. I trotted down and missed the center ring. That was no fault of Cayenne's, just my lack of coordination!

Spin Box: Spin twice left and twice right. Cay thought we were doing a rollback initially and attempted to leave the box. I stopped her and she did the rest of the spins pretty well.

Unsaddle: Dismount, unsaddle, remount bareback, go out of the arena out into the back part of the fairgrounds, pick a stuffed snowman/santa off of a treebranch, return to the arena, go all the way to the other end of the arena and through the finish line. I was excited to get to use my new cue to get Cayenne to move up next to the mounting block. I learned it from Bob, a fellow rider at the Pat Wyse clinic, just for trail competitions. I hopped on the mounting block, cued her, she stepped right over to me, and I jumped on with no problem. I trotted her out to get santa and loped her back through the arena.

It was a tough course to remember what came next! I really liked the difficulty presented. It was timed but time only counted for tiebreakers and in the horsemanship score. I trotted or loped Cayenne between most of the obstacles and she rated back down easily and quickly. I think everyone liked the course. There were five entries in the Open Division and I took 2nd place. I'm pretty happy about that! I don't expect Cayenne to be "trained" for at least another full year and more likely two. I'm happy with how she's working for me so far but have to remember that she's young and inexperienced!

The Cowboy Race was on Thursday. Friday I left for Deary, Idaho for the American Competitive Trail Horse Association competition on Saturday. That will be featured in the next post.

Thank you to Janene Grende for taking these and allowing me to share them! Janene is a talented artist and owned a relative of my Smart Little Cayenne. Her horse, "Grandma's Redsky," is featured in a silk painting by Janene that also graces some Montana license plates. Isn't that awesome?! Her site is www.janenegrende.com

Pat Wyse Clinic

I took Cayenne and Blaze to the two-week summer seminar at Pat Wyse's ranch near Townsend, Montana the last week of July and fist week of August. I have ridden in Pat's clinics for years. My riding always improves under him and I have a lot of fun!

Cayenne did well. Her stops are coming along and we made good progress on her turn-a-rounds. She changes leads too easily so I have to ride to the outside quite a bit, especially through the center where we "might" change leads. I really like to ride her and felt good about our progress.

Blaze did fine, too. I will have to count but I think I had less than 30 rides on him when we went. We kept it pretty simple for him. He is a very easy lead changer so we did some flying lead changes. He also did some stops, rollbacks, drop to trot lead changes, flexing exercises, etc. He was nice and calm throughout and I'm happy with how he's coming along.

It was nice to see everyone at the clinic and I also got to meet some new people there. Camp food is always delicious! I took my kitty, Abigail, so had company at night in the trailer.

Quick Update

I'm busy helping hay so don't have time to blog. Heck, I haven't even checked my email in a week! A quick update though:

I am NOT doing the Trainer's Challenge at the Horsin' Around Expo in Sandpoint this weekend. Blaze stepped on himself and cut his heel. It's not bad but I'm giving him some time off to heal. The Trainer's Challenge competition is a lot of work both mentally and physically and there is no sense in pushing him when he's not 100%. I considered starting Turbo, my two-year-old, but don't think it'd be fair to give him a one-week crash course before taking him. He's a sweet colt with a good mind but I shouldn't take advantage of him!

Several weeks ago, June 27th, I competed in the Extreme Cowboy Race in Sandpoint. I have yet to blog about it but will briefly later. It was fun but not many people turned out for it. I'm doing another one this Sunday on Cayenne. I also showed Cay at the Fist Full of Silver Appaloosa Show in Spokane on July 3rd. I took her just to contribute a "body" for the show as she is definitely not a show horse. I wanted to do the reining on her Sunday but had family in town so just did the first day of the show. I entered her in aged mares, most colorful, hunter under saddle, and junior trail. She really was a little trooper as she's hardly even had my english saddle on. Maybe fifteen minutes to ensure that it fit okay. She was really tired and somewhat cranky by the time trail class came around and she (and I) performed poorly. She was scared of some fake geese and couldn't get her mind off of them for the rest of the obstacles. I should have slowed her down and collected her but I was done, too! I rushed her through and was happy to finish an extremely ugly ride!

I shall return later. I am raking and baling hay for the rest of the day.

ACTHA Ride at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch

The ACTHA ride at Western Pleasure was wonderful! It was a world record attempt for the biggest nationwide trail competition. The trails at the ranch are just about as good as it gets! They were well worn trails winding through the trees, up and down easy hills and through lots of water from muddy standing water to a belly deep pond to rushing streams. It was one of the first hot days of the season but we rode in dappled sun and light breezes so it was perfect. The course was six miles long. There were six judged areas. Several judged areas consisted of multiple portions. Some judged areas were slightly more difficult for the open riders. This is what I did in the open class:

#1: Ride over a small bridge, into an "L" and back out, walk over a piece of plywood, sidepass over a pole to open a mailbox, and open and close a gate. This obstacle was near the parking area so you could do it first or last. Cayenne was strangely hesitant about the bridge and it took some urging. The rest was fine.

#2: Drag an ex-Christmas tree about 10' and then back up, pulling it back to the starting point. No problem.

#3: Ride into a ravine, cross a narrow section of moving water, and climb a steep hill. Cay was excited about horses she'd glimpsed up ahead of us and when she loped up the steep hill, I let her. I still scored well but should have made her walk. I schooled her at the top once we were out of the judging area.

#4: Wade through a belly deep pond. No problem.

#5: At cattle holding pens, sidepass through one gateway, turn on haunches and set up to sidepass through a second gateway, turn on forehand, back across corral until hind feet between two cones. Cay was sticky sidepassing the first portion, the rest was ok.

#6: Sidehill through trees, come down bank, cross rocky, fast moving creek, and go up moderate bank on other side. No problem.

Cayenne and I took 2nd in the Open. I'm not sure how many were in that class but I will guess 12-15. We also tied for "Best Groomed Horse." I guess the quick hosing at 6am paid off! I got a dog rain jacket from Muddy Creek and a gift certificate for 32oz of eZall for that. I got $100 in ACTHA bucks for the 2nd place. I have not decided what to spend it on but may get a rain jacket for myself from Muddy Creek.

The ride was the best ran I have been to all year. Janice and Roley Schoonover at Western Pleasure Guest Ranch have experience at putting on rides as well as other events. The riders went out smoothly, lunch was ready when we came back, and the scores were tallied in record time! The trails were also well marked and interesting. I'm sure it is difficult trying to decide how hard to make the trails. If they are too easy, they're boring for the experienced riders on experienced horses. If they are too hard, they become a safety risk for novice riders or horses. I would not have wanted to be on a green horse raised in a flat corral. I would have felt comfortable being on one of my own green horses that I trust to handle themselves over logs, up and down steep and muddy banks, etc.

I came across a fairly novice rider on a fairly novice three year old mare at the beginning of the ride. She was not a competitor but a volunteer who was going to hand out completion ribbons at the end of the ride. Her horse didn't want to go out on the trail by itself so I volunteered to be her buddy. Cayenne did great and didn't mind the mare coming right up behind us quite a bit. I normally like to trot or lope out for the first mile or two but I figured it would be a day to take it easy and help someone avoid a wreck. It was a good confidence builder for both the mare and the rider and I was impressed with how they both did overall. They were not judged on the obstacles, and held back while I was, but they did have to complete some just because they were the trail! The last obstacle, the bank and the rushing creek, was the only thing that panicked the mare. That was in part due to some excited paint horses that had came up behind us while we waited for the judge, and the fact that I had disappeared down the hill in the trees to complete the obstacle by myself. I doubled back to the creek bank to wait for the lady to cross but her horse got scared and took off across the hillside. The judge almost got ran over. The mare hit the judge with the point of her shoulder as she bolted past and the judge had to jump down the hill and skid to a stop on her butt to avoid continuing into the creek! The lady was going to go on up to the top of the ridge and hook up with another trail back to the lodge. I figured that was a bad idea so I came back across the creek. She was able to put her horse's nose in Cayenne's tail and she followed us right across. She just needed some reassurance! All's well that ends well!

Although Western Pleasure is just over two hours away from me, I will be inclined to participate in events they have due to the positives at the ACTHA ride. Their lodge is beautiful, they have a warm-up arena, and the shady lawn was nice to relax on while eating lunch and partaking in the awards ceremony. Good job, Western Pleasure!

Busy, busy!

I brought Blaze home from pasture yesterday. I need to get him going again for the Trainer's Challenge in Sandpoint. I wanted to bring Turbo and start him but I have too many horses to ride as it is. It's good to be busy!

I'm riding in my first ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association) ride on Sunday. It's six miles, six obstacles, and six judges. It's at Janice and Roley Schoonover's Western Pleasure Guest Ranch in the Sandpoint, Idaho area. Their place is beautiful and I heard there is a lot of water on the trail so it should be fun. Whether the water is normally there or if it's there because of all the rain we've had in the past couple weeks will be determined on Sunday! I'm riding Cayenne.