♣Ambitious♣

It's about that time of year. The horses are getting their winter coats back. The top show jumpers are already itching to get to Wellington. Barn hands wonder daily whether or not they should wear their fuzzy socks to work, and Starbucks is bringing back the Pumpkin Spice Latte. But, the most important thing about this time of year, excluding the fact that Starbucks is bringing back the Pumpkin Spice Latte, is the annual Dover Saddlery Photo Contest. Yes, you heard me right. One of the top sellers of English equine equipment started their photo contest the other day or so, and I, being an emerging hobby photographer, decided to enter again this year. That $250 gift certificate will be mine. Just think of all the saddle pads that I could buy with that. What I need you to do is take the time to go vote for my pictures, or, if you planned on entering but haven't done so yet, make sure that you enter your photos ASAP. They're letting you enter as many photos as you want this...

I don't have the patience or self confidence to bother with a long description of my lesson. It was bad. That's all you need to know.

If they did, I don't care! I've been waiting a long time to be able to put those jumps up, and it was worth the wait. Miss S finally let us set up the new jumps in the big outdoor and they look awesome. There are so many colors and combinations. It's all just so lovely. Here are some crummy, iPod pics of them.     Of course, however, the jumps were set up after the lesson so no jumping them until next week. I'm fine with that though, my lesson was awesome. It seems that the hunter/jumper gods visited me once again, and while I was not perfect (Oh mighty hunter/jumper gods, please hold my lower leg in place . . . and give me a new saddle; I really need a new saddle, thanks!), I was still very happy with my ride. I was on Baby yesterday, and we warmed up in the grass area by the driveway. It's gonna be a pasture soon, so we're enjoying it until then. Of course Baby just isn't giving a hoot about leg (I could...

I've only recently thought about this, but I want to take a moment to thank a friend. To whomever is reading this, odds are, you don't know my past pertaining to horses. Few people do; there isn't much of a past actually, but that past is very thing that influenced where I am today. I've loved horses since I was born, probably even before that, but, up until I was 13 years old, I had ridden a grand total of eight times. I'm not exaggerating. Two of those rides were on vacations, five were at a week long horse camp, and the last was at a friend's house on her two OTTBs. Horses were something that I loved beyond all reason, but I never knew how to pursue that passion. I thought you either had a horse or you didn't; there was no in between. It was in sixth grade, before those lucky seven first rides, that I met Caroline. She was my best friend. She was my absolute best friend, and I wish that we still had that friendship today, but I guess things change. Anyw...

Even though I am a hunter trying to ride a hunter course and making a mediocre attempt at making this horse move like a hunter, I can't ride him like a hunter. Easy, right? Wrong! It's actually unreasonably difficult. Let me explain. Today, I rode Splash. How that happened, I do not know, but it happened. Splash was a WP World Champion in his younger years, and he's not really suited to hunters (which I don't really care about because he tucks like a beast over jumps). I had to push him so much, but, surprisingly, not as much as Duke (ya know, the bred, raised, and trained hunter pony). I've really been focusing on squeezing more with my calves and letting my weight fall down and around my horse as opposed to pinching at the knee and putting all my weight on that one joint. It's a work in progress, but it was definitely better today than it's been my last couple of lessons, especially over fences. I was really proud of just how improved ...

Oh lawd, prepare yourselves for an emotional rant that may or may not include colorful language. So, I had my third and most likely final lesson with Miss E this morning. Transportation is too difficult to get. My dad can't take me every Monday because he has work most Mondays, and even when the lessons are after school he still doesn't like the idea of me getting a ride with someone else. Personally, I think he's just being stubborn, but I'm still the child so I have basically no say. The whole idea of riding at Miss E's was so I could be in Pony Club, get a rating, compete, move up my rating, and then have something to present to an upper level rider when I apply for a working student position. Pony Club gives me an advantage over other riders, not to mention it was a part of the tried and true method that was suggested to me by someone who knows what they are doing when it comes to horses and competing. Now I'm at a point where I have to find a s...