this is a lovely icelandic mare named sunna. she is for sale, though it looks like seniormost student is going ahead with adopting a qh from the mspca instead. but i had so much fun meeting her i wanted to share a photo:
Three little ponies who didn't like their hay Said to each other "Let's run away!" Said the first "I will canter!" Said the second "I will trot!" Said the third "I will run if it's not too hot!"
And they all started off With their tails in the air. But they couldn't jump the fence So they're all still there.
friday evening, seniormost and the werewolf and smallest student and elf my elf and i all went out to lowell to hear "great big sea" play in the park. it was a dandy event. i danced and sang along and punched my fist in the air and ate a hot dog and some pastries. we left a little early, b/c i had a big weekend coming up, and i still had to wash my hair.
saturday morning started a bit earlier than expected b/c one of my riding students, to whom i give a lift, had missed my email about scheduling for later. anyway before i went up to teach i went to the drugstore and packed an overnight kit, then we did go up and she had a very nice lesson. then goddessfarmer (beneath whose beneficience all should smile) came around with her stock trailer, and she took stjarni and me up to new hampshire, while my student drove the fubaru back home.
up at the gorgeous barn in nh, goddessfarmer instructed me both in outdoor jumping (no problems, except that stjarni doesn't seem to care too much if he knocks things down, and i'm a little afraid of going too fast, esp. downhill) and dressage (in which i need to steer better and get a clearer trot, no questions). she particularly pointed out to me a need to keep my hands down and closer together, which i am struggling to embody. riding in the ring is pretty different from off on the trails, where i mostly give stjarni his head, but i am less consistent with contact than i ought to be when i really do want him to go here or there and i'm willing to take responsibility for the footing. i also got to see quietann ride goddessfarmer's lovely older mare minnie, and the two of them have a relationship that was a joy to behold.
need i mention that ponykins was perfectly behaved (if not always perfectly 2-beat at the trot) throughout all this crazy new stuff? even in the wash stall, where he had his first serious sudsy bath since, umm, last summer. even when we went back to goddessfarmer's own farm and turned him out with pigs, at whom he mildly sniffed. he's such an amazing guy :)
then the three of us, plus chocorua and their amazing a, went out to a fabulous dinner at which i had pea-tendril soup and something involving peach vodka and licor 43 and lime slices. mmmm :)
early the next morning we got up, chowed down on the farm-fresh eggs and yummy bread and recently-picked peaches (i gotta do another peach vodka, oh yes i do) and took off for the green acres stables eventing day. quietann and minnie were to do two dressage tests, and stjarni (renamed "lord fuzzy kins" by the girl on the phone when i did my last-minute registration, as she'd stopped in her tracks at "stjarni" and i didn't want to coax her through spelling "lyon's pride") and i were signed up for pre-elementary, baby's-first-two-phase (w/t dressage test, 18" jump course with one two-footer thrown in).
my ride times were early. it was a beautiful breezy summer morning. stjarni tolted more than trotted in the dressage test (he defaults to that still when nervous, and i haven't been practicing it all that much with him lately, to be honest) so we lost a bunch of points for "not two-beat" at the trot. but the judge had seen an icelandic before and didn't call us out for lameness or anything, and despite the fact that i don't think we scored exceptionally well (i can't tell how we scored at all -- penalty points? percentages?) we were somehow second in our division (of five or six) after the dressage. sweet!
then there was some more hanging around trying not to wear out the pony with "warm-ups" (i think i get a bit overenthused) and then we did the jump course. i'm not sure stjarni bothered to actually *jump* anything besides the two-footer (which i could clearly feel) but we had a fine round. (despite my having forgotten my crop; apparently i can use my legs to urge and steer ;) i let him pick the pace while i chose the directions, and the only fault we had was when after clearing the two-footer i was too emotionally overcome to remember where the next jump was, so we came in a bit close and stjarni nearly stopped right before it. i asked nicely, and he stepped over, but we did knock down a rail. welly-oh.
after untacking and whatnot i wandered up to the food stand in search of "vitamin water" and my scores. the girl in the booth said "have you picked up your ribbon yet?" and i said "no, did i get one?" and she said "you won." and when i walked around to the side, there it was: a big blue ribbon with our number on it. i swear, i never *win* anything. mostly b/c i don't tend to enter competitive events, i suppose. but although i did once tie for a first place in some horse show class as a kid, i never did anything remotely like WINNING A DIVISION. i just boggled. and afaik, this was stjarni's VERY FIRST HORSE SHOW EVER. and his, umm, sixth time going over fences? -- i should look back at my logs. BEST. PONY. EVER.
then i ate a hot dog, went into the tack-shop trailer and spent awhile raving at the lady in there about iceys (and somehow ended up swapping stjarni's silver-squares-blinged browband prize for one with purple and black crystals, not that anyone will ever *see* his browbands, under alla that forelock fuzz...)
(btw stjarni is now officially CUTEST. PONY. EVER. little girls and grown women kept coming up to tell me so. indeed, the judge's remarks on my dressage begin, "Really cute guy." :) :) :)
then we waited around til afternoon, when quietann had her two dressage tests with minnie. i was strategically placed with a grazing stjarni on a lead rope near the judge's box, but minnie was entirely relaxed, and their test was superb. the judge was just about gushing over them after their first test. i overheard :) i was down at the other end of the ring to watch their second test, also beautiful, although like stjarni's containing a couple more missteps. but overall they were spectacular, and collected their share of pretty ribbons as well :)
then goddessfarmer efficiently herded us all back to the truck and took minnie home, and then stjarni and me back to our barn, and then quietann drove me back to my actual home stomping grounds (more about this another time under "real estate") where we had richardson's ice cream from mr crepe (having *just* missed getting it at jordan's furniture store, which now that i think of it is sorta weird anyway...) and then i went home and there were my pets and housemates and the elf, and coraline and i went out for fabulous food and then lounged in the hammock on the back porch. we saw two perseids before weariness overtook me and i went in to sleep.
Hi! I wanted to post this link to a friends website. She is an amazing trainer, teacher, rider, horsewoman. She's working on establishing her own business in Chicago and I'm trying to do everything I can to help her. Please take a moment to check out her site. Anyone who's interested in horses and especially classical riding as the foundation for all riding should take a look. Thank you so much! Hey, and post more cute ponies! I haven't seen many in awhile. Although there was a super handsome bay recently...
Does anyone know if the event was broadcast or will be showing on tv? (update: answer to my own question ... http://community.livejournal.com/equestrian/3426269.html )
