Teachers Part 3 - Delaney

Delaney was in training at Steph's when I arrived to be a working student. He was an adorable 14.2 hand Connemara pony with some of the worst ground manners I'd ever seen, but for as obnoxious as he was on the ground, I very quickly grew to love him under saddle. Delaney and I taught each other. I taught him about cross-country fences, big gymnastic grids, and not being a crazy, spooky jerk on the flat. He taught me that a grown person on a pony had better never anticipate the fences, because there isn't really any neck to jump up, and you're probably going to throw that pony's balance off. He also taught me that ponies are incredibly fun, and that even when that jump at the end of the grid is over said pony's head, the two of you will be just fine if you just keep coming.
Delaney was one of those horses who is brave as can be over fences, but thinks everything he walks/trots/canters by is going to eat him. And it's going to eat him every time he goes by it. I probably don't have to tell you that sometimes this made me want to kill him. I distinctly remember one lesson where Steph had me cantering for a solid 10-15 minutes straight because we weren't allowed to stop until Delaney stopped shying at the barrels when we cantered past. Eventually he did stop, but I think he was just tired. What all of that excessive spooking taught me, however, was how to "ride the spook". I tend to do this with Dee, too, who is a bit of a boredom spooker. To "ride the spook", I would simply engage Delaney in some other activity. These were usually lateral in nature. For instance, when he was engaged in a shoulder-in while passing the barrels, he couldn't simply drop to the inside and shy away from them. Instead, he had to focus, focus, focus. These made our rides pretty interesting, because we were hardly ever just "trotting around".
Above, I mentioned Delaney's atrocious ground manners, but saying they were bad doesn't do it justice. I was one of the only people in the barn who liked him, because I knew how cool he was to ride. The girls who just handled him on the ground? Well... his nickname was "Looney". This was because occasionally at least once a week, when you least expected it, he would just... leave. And when he decided to do this, no force on earth could stop him (except once, when he tried to leave a stall and one of the girls somehow managed to react quickly enough to slam all of her weight against him while he was leaving and essentially pin him in the stall door). One day, I was getting him ready to show to a potential buyer. As I was grooming him (in his stall), he suddenly decided it was time to leave. He bowled straight past me, out of the stall, around the corner, down the aisle, and into the paddock attached to the barn. I was not happy. I caught him, yelled at him, and had no sooner gotten him into his stall when he wheeled around and left again, ripping the lead rope out of my hand and hitting the cement aisle in such a frenzy that as he tried to two-wheel it around the corner to gallop down the aisle, he slipped and fell over, got back up and went careening out into the paddock. He was fine, and after that he stood nicely to be tacked up. The bad part? The potential buyers walked in just as he took his second little romp. Needless to say, Delaney also taught me hyper-vigilence.
I would like to throw in (to show you how awesome this pony was to ride) that the clients who watched him being such a fool on the ground were the ones who bought him. They're still together. Actually, I saw him at Riga Meadow a few years back, which you can read about here.

Teachers Part 2 - Sprinkles

(My mom and I were taking christmas photos that day, and of course he was black with mud. How he found a mud puddle in all that snow is beyond me, but I think the photo came out ok.)

I was probably 9 when I met Sprinkles. He was a naughty fleabitten gray pony, and his owner didn't ride him very often. As it turned out, they were looking for someone to lease him. Naughty or not, I leapt at the chance to have a horse of my "own". Surprisingly, Sprink and I got along pretty well. He was super fun on the flat, and while he was a little devious over fences, he taught me a whole lot about sheer determination, and when he was good, he was very good.
I don't think I've ever fallen off of a horse as much as I fell off of Sprink at the beginning. He was a dirty stopper over fences, and I was woefully unprepared. He also had a very nasty little trick where he would stop, drop his shoulder as if he was going to spin, then change his mind and jump. Actually, strike that. I don't think he changed his mind. I think his plan was to jump all along, but he had to be naughty about it. That little trick caught me out constantly when we first partnered up. Eventually, though, I learned my lesson and started really riding to the fence, and not leaning up his neck when I thought he should take off. This allowed me to sit down and ride to the base of the fence. Of course, even this didn't always work.
I'll never forget the day that I was doing a jump school, and I was cantering up to the barrels, which were set up right next to the hay bales. That naughty pony cantered up to the barrels, and instead of taking off, he ducked to the right and leapt over the hay bales instead. He was quick, he was clever, and he was apparently pretty lazy. I mean, that was a pretty dirty trick just to be able to jump a little lower. However, I stayed with him that time. The next time we cantered up to the barrels, I closed the right door hard and gave him a thump with my whip before the jump. Over we went. Take that, pony.
Sprinkles also taught me to sit quietly. Well, I shouldn't say that. I guess he didn't teach me to sit quietly as much as he forced me not to STOP sitting quietly. One of the reasons that Sprink and I got along was because I could sit on him without bouncing around, or being too handsy. He HATED people bouncing in their seat or hands, and he retaliated against that sort of bad rider behavior. He had been going really well for me, so when I went on vacation, I asked if maybe Bon could use him once or twice just to keep him working while I was away. Well, when I got back, I found out he had been used once, and had caused some problems. Apparently, the girl who rode him bounced a little, and Sprink took off. Of course, when he took off, she bounced more, at which point he said "enough is enough" and bucked her off. Bad Poneh. But, you gotta hand it to him, he was a very strict teacher who wanted you to practice perfect. I still think that he was a good stepping-stone into my life of riding and loving the "hot" Thoroughbreds. (I don't really think most of them are hot-heads... sensitive? sure, but for the most part, I think that rather than being hot-headed, most of them are sensible and smart with a propensity for being hyper-sentitive and/or easily bored - at which point, they get "creative")
I will add that he never outgrew that pet peeve. After I got Sierra, Sprinkles' owner sold him to Bon as a lesson horse. I think she figured that he had gotten over the bad behavior, because he and I were doing really well together (I just outgrew him, he was probably only 14 hands). He went on to break one of my friends' arms. Pony don't play the bouncing game.
In sum, Sprinkles was yet another horse that I met towards the end of his life, but he was a great teacher and a better friend. He was the first horse that I could kind of call my own, and I will always love him as if he were truly my first pony.

Amazing...

I just wanted to quickly comment on how wonderful people can be...

I am friends with CANTER KY on facebook, and tonight I saw a shared post from a CA rescue. It was a chestnut TB gelding named Scat Thief who was in a sad state and sitting in an auction lot in CA. Over the next few hours, I watched people rally and raise enough money for the rescue to purchase and support this horse for a year, just to make sure he was safe. I will admit that I even chipped in what little bit I could to help him. He is safe and sound now. I just wanted to post this because it warms my heart that so many people who had never met this horse would jump in and help just to keep him from meeting a potentially terrible end.

Teachers Part 1 - Jasmine

I've spoken a lot on here about my old horses. About Sierra, Dusty, Kess, and [obviously] this blog's namesake, Tango. However, they are not the only horses who have taught me over the years. So, for the next few weeks, I plan on spotlighting the other important horses that I've encountered over the years. To do that, I'm going back. ALLLLLL the way back. First up, we have Jasmine.

(Jasmine is the black pony - with little me on board)

She was a big pony [and let's face it, at 7, I just flat out thought she was big], probably somewhere around 14.2 and built pretty solidly. She was also a lazy pony, and a lot of people didn't like her all that much, because unless you let her know, quite clearly, that "WE ARE GOING FORWARD TODAY", she would barely budge. She also farted ALLL the time. We all used to get a kick out of that. But, despite the laziness and the gassiness, I grew to love that pony. I learned very quickly that the first time she protested going forward in a lesson, one authoritative thwack with the whip cured the problem for the rest of the day. She was a smart pony that way - ridden in several lessons a day, she saved energy wherever possible. You had to mean business if you wanted her all.
Once I learned her trick, she was a blast to ride. She was the first horse that I ever had a lot of confidence jumping with, and while everyone else wanted to ride Pierre, the little fleabitten gray Arab who was known around the barn as the "best pony jumper", I wanted Jasmine. This was because once Jas and I came to an understanding about the forwardness, she was a pretty impressive jumper. While Pierre went like a hunter - long and rhythmical - Jasmine was more like a jumper - a bit rounder, a bit more up and down in her canter - and I LOVED that. I still love that. In anything I ride. Maybe she's why.
Jasmine was also the first horse that I "went cross-country" with. I put that in quotes because in fact, I just cantered her around a hilly field, jumped a little log in the woods and a ditch at the reservoir. But it was a start! And we did it a lot!
Jasmine and I were also pretty darn good at gymkhana games. Sit-a-buck? No problem, she was round and super easy to sit. Slow-canter? She LOVED to slow-canter! We even rocked the jumper derby. The funny part was that everyone thought I was crazy picking jasmine for a speed jumping class, but we put in a valiant showing. I couldn't tell you if we won or not, but we didn't come in last [time-wise], and we kept all the jumps in the cups.
That pony taught a lot of people to ride over the course of her long life, and I'm glad to say that she taught me, too. I wish I had gotten the chance to see that pony in her prime, because I'll bet she was amazing. As it was, I found her in the twilight of her life. I was around for her retirement, and for her death. For that pony, though, death wasn't something we needed to mourn. She was probably 25 or 30, and she had been with the same person for almost her whole life. I think that she even had a foal at some point. To say that she lived a full life would be an understatement. To say that she lived a good life would be accurate.

Shopping

Why is it that even though Dee is approximately 800 miles away from me, I still find myself browsing through smartpak and bit of britain for things I'd like to buy her?

This Rambo newmarket fleece is GORGEOUS in the gray. I've always liked the red/yellow/black version, but I LOVE the gray. That will have to go on my list for future purchases.

Just Like Your Favorite Spot on the Sofa

Your own horse. The horse you've spent hour after hour sitting on. The horse you've poured blood, sweat, tears, and yes, let's face it, dollars, into. That horse's back is the most comfortable back in the world. I went up to ride Dee right before the New Year. She hadn't been ridden in a few weeks, and maybe just jumping on without lounging was't the most intelligent thing to do, but it was great to be on her again. She was, after all was said and done, not terrible. We had some airs above the ground, but she's grown up a lot. Two years ago, she would have probably been a rodeo star, but now she was just a little bit of a snot a couple times. Maybe now I understand her better, too, though. When she sucked back and started doing her weird head shake, lip-smack thing, I booted her in the ribs. When she shot forward and did her best impression of a capriole, I laughed, brought her back to a walk, composed her, and off we went again. I think we're both more comfortable these days. After I rode her, I got on one of the other horses. He was an adorable, pudgy, kind of short, warmblood looking thing. I had a total blast on him, but it's amazing to me how foreign it feels when you get up on another horse. Especially when that other horse has been trained by someone who's got a slightly different style. For instance, when I get up on one of Steph's horses, I can usually find the right buttons pretty quickly, and it's not quite as foreign because I'm at least used to how the horses she trains go. It took me a little longer to find Scooter's buttons, and I'm not entirely sure that I pushed them all correctly. BUT, he was sweet and fun anyway. Getting on Dee, on the other hand, was like settling into my favorite spot on the sofa. It was familiar, comfortable and predictable. I guess after a certain amount of time, even if you don't realize it, you start to learn the little "tells" before a spook or some other naughty gesture.

Happy Holidays!

A Mare-y Christmas and a Horsey New Year to everyone!