Jen and I are in LA for Anime Expo.  Our travel day was not so fun, after being stuck on a plane in Chicago for an hour with no air conditioning because of a fueling error, and then arriving at LAX in time for massive traffic jam caused by the bomb scare.  Not a great way to start our vacation.

Anyway, Sunday I rode Cookie, and that was a pretty wild ride.  He is really game, and he kept racking, even when I kept asking him to trot.  It was a flashback to Woody.  They did say that I had him racing around at the rack at about as fast as he's ever gone.  Too bad that's not what I was trying to do!  He's very challenging for me, but he kept going in forward motion, which is something that Blondie has trouble remembering to do.

I rode Blondie first, and she spooked at the back gate again.  A had to get on, and with D's help, got her going by the far end again.  Stupid mare.

Monday I rode Classi, and Jen rode Harley.  M said that I looked more in control than I even had, my posting was low, and the mare even set her head.  Riding Cookie will make the rest of the horses seem easy for a few weeks, now.

Things will be quiet here for the next week or so - after we get back home, there will be another week off since the morgans have a show as soon as we return.  Check out my other blog if you're interested in the rest of our AX trip.

Pictures to return when lessons start up again.  My PC is still in the shop, and I still have a ton of pictures from the last show to download off the memory cards.

Wednesday, I couldn't get Classi to hold her head up.  Recently, I had been having trouble getting her to keep her head down and her nose in.  This time around she looked like a western horse, and I just couldn't get her to give to the bridle.  It was also hot and humid, which is always an interesting combo.

Friday night, same problem with Blondie.  It was so hot and humid that we spent a lot of time walking, but everyone still was hot and uncomfortable during the lesson.  We have been really lucky that the horse shows so far haven't been like that.  It's always so much fun to dress in your wool 3-piece suit and then ride in a class under the blazing sun.  Yup, my favorite part of showing.

Anyway, M asked me if I would consider riding Blondie hunt because she doesn't like to hold her head up.  I guess I wouldn't have a problem with this if I didn't know full well that she CAN hold her head up.  I just don't know how to make her do it, and make her give me more impulsion, especially when she is tired.   I just feel that these are things that I have to learn how to do, and honestly, I am considering this year as an experiment in learning how to show.  By next year, I truly believe that things will start falling into place for us.  And I'm very happy with last week's Saturday show results.  Third place is the best I've done riding any horse, not to mention that it was my spooktacular horse that accomplished this.  I just need to be patient, keep working hard, and things will eventually work out the way I want them to.

This is Blondie's auntie

Sunday we headed to the fairgrounds a little later in the morning, and I ate a little more for breakfast.  Good move - I didn't feel sick again like the day before.  I decided to wear my new suit, which I bought two years ago but have never worn.  I didn't feel that I was deserving of such nice clothing, given my prior riding skills.  I finally feel comfortable enough riding Blondie that I pulled it out of its suit bag. 

Jen's diet is really working, and the suit fit great.  We didn't really like any of the shirts that I had brought, but with the right tie, I made due.  Jen said that it looked good.  Yay!

Off to the fairgrounds, dressed in my special suit and my new power bra, I was ready for the horse show.  There was that awful waiting again, but it seemed to go by faster than Saturday.  Pretty soon it was time to get up on Blondie, with M and A arguing about how we warmed her up the day before.  They kept insisting that we went to the tiny warm up ring, but we actually went to the track to trot a few times and canter a pass.  Not on Sunday.  It sort of irritates me when I am not given a chance to warm up.  The horse may not need to canter, but I need to know that I can get her on the correct lead.  It helps me feel better about going into class.  Grrrr.

After a hard ride, we placed 4th out of 7.  It was a slightly larger class with a different judge.  She obviously didn't like Blondie so much.  Ah, well.

After the class, Jen and I headed back to East Lansing to get some coffee and lunch.  We went to Schuler Books for the coffee, and I was surprised that they actually had the Seven Seas light novels that I haven't been able to find anywhere else.  Score!

After a yummy cap, we headed over to Cancun's for lunch.  It's a good thing that we are going back on the diet this week, because it seemed like we ate an awful lot.  I got the combo platter with a chile and a taco.  Jen got some weird thing with guac.  I hate guac.

Since we had checked out of the hotel, we didn't have anywhere to crash, so we headed back to the fairgrounds for a long wait until I rode in the second to the last class.  We took pictures, shot some video, helped people get ready for class, and even discovered that Liz liked manga.  She read several of the volumes that I brought, so we talked about series that we liked.  Then we got a free ice cream, waited for a huge storm to pass, and even squeezed in watching a few classes.  There was a driving class with a hackey and two Friesians, and I wished we had been in it.

My class finally came up, and I had changed into my old brown suit because of the rain.  That must be the reason we were 5th.  There were 6 or 7 entries, I can't remember which.  I was a little disappointed, but I am trying to remind myself that the ribbon doesn't really matter.  I just couldn't get Blondie to go with much impulsion.  Better luck next show - at least I'm riding her now, instead of watching someone else ride her.

Got home and discovered that my computer had crashed.  Not happy about that.  At all.  The guys at work are trying to save my data, but the system is pretty fubarred.  Crap.  Go out of town for two days, and come back to a huge mess.  I would be beside myself because my laptop was misbehaving, too, but Mike fixed it for me.  I think.   Once my PC is back up, I'll post some of the videos that I took.  

Today was a long day, and it's only 7:30!  We got up at 6, ate some bad free food at the hotel, and headed off to the show.  I didn't eat much, which turned out to be a mistake.  During the trot the first way of the ring, I was so nauseated that I thought I was going to puke right there in front of everyone.  That was not much fun!  I must have had an adrenalin spike or something, I don't think it was nerves because I didn't really feel nervous.

The wait to ride always seems like an eternity.  We helped Audie get ready because her mom couldn't be there today, and then waited some more.  My class was 10 in.  We did the usually quick warm up with Blondie, and then we headed into the class.

She wouldn't ride on the rail, and M kept yelling to ride straight lines.  I thought she meant to ride on the rail, she just meant to ride a straight line.  Blondie was good other than avoiding the rail, and we were 3 of our 6.

After the class, I was not feeling very well; I was so hot and my stomach was being very touchy.  I changed out of my suit, and Jen and I headed off for some lunch.  We ended up at Los Tres Amigos for some Mexican.  The food was good, the salsa was actually spicy, and the service wasn't bad.  We ended up with enough leftovers that we didn't have to worry about what to have for dinner.

After a refreshing two hour nap, we went back to the fairgrounds, stopping for a latte at Dunkin' Donuts, which they screwed up.  The guy was obviously new, and I think he put both flavor shots into Jen's.   We ended up pouring half of hers into mine and mixing them up so that Jen's wasn't so sweet and mine wasn't so bitter.  Oh well.  Won't be stopping there again tomorrow.

Back at the fairgrounds, it was a long wait until my last class of the day.  It was the last class!  Argh!  The show dragged so slowly today that they had to postpone the academy show by an hour.  I hope that the show moves a little faster tomorrow.

The championship class went well, and we were 3 out of 5.  I did better riding straight lines, but I over-rode her on the trot the second way and she started getting silly.  Good thing I was trotting by M and D and M was able to tell me to just settle.  Blondie settled once I did, and she kept motoring along for me.   When I got back to the barn, both M and D thought that I should have been 2nd, and M said that at one point, I should have been first.  She said I rode my horse every step of the way.  Yaay!  Things are improving.

I have to say that Jen's diet is working, too.  I have been following it with her for a week, and my riding clothes already fit better.  Of course, we have totally blown it this weekend, but we'll go back on Monday.

Well, here I sit with Jen, taking a little break after a late lunch.  We went to downtown East Lansing for sushi at Omi, and since Coldstone was giving away free pieces of ice cream cake, that was high on the list of places to visit, too.  Since we had so much left over sushi, I didn't want to walk around for very long, as it's a little warm out.  Guess what?  The Coldstone was right next door!  Score!  The cake was good!

We also had to stop and pick up a toothbrush because somebody forgot to bring one, and again, we lucked out.  There was a CVS on the other side of Omi!  Score again!  Jen picked out a toothbrush, ignoring my suggestion that she pick up the Hello Kitty one that was 50 percent off.  How could she?  50 PERCENT OFF!

On our way to East Lansing, we stopped at Build a Bear to pick up some clothes for Pal Mickey (join me in November for coverage), hit the clearance rack at Kohl's, and got my oil changed.  It was overdue.  Now we are waiting to head out to the fairgrounds - I'm supposed to give Blondie a spin around the arena around 8, which probably means I'll be riding around 9.  She is just terrible the first few times around a new place, so I'm so eager to hop on for a ride - not really.  Someone else is going to have to warm her up so I don't get into trouble.

Wednesday's lesson started about a half an hour late, which was a little annoying because I had been up since 3am.  I was so tired that I considered not going, but I made myself go anyway.  Classi was better behaved, and she even set her head for me.  A had put her in a bitting rig earlier in the day, since she forgot how to give to the bridle.  The lesson was shorter than normal, and I was so happy to finally get home.

Horses are space aliens.  There is no other excuse for their bizarre behavior.  Monday, Classi was being a pig about her bridle and kept her nose stuck straight out.  M had me drop the snaffle rein and work with just the curb rein, bending and turning her jaw to try to get her to relax.  That wasn't working, so we started turning circles, massaging the reins.  Classi kept turning her head to look out the back gate.  We couldn't figure out what she was trying to look at.  M had me take her on the rail and start walking before she got silly.  Too late!

The rest of the lesson was a fight to ride her through her sudden terror of the tree out the back.  We closed the back door but the horrifying image of that horse eating tree was etched on her mind.  She was almost worse than Blondie!  Argh!  She refused to go forward and started getting light on her feet.  I turned her in a circle and tried again.  For 15 minutes, she insisted that she wasn't going near the back gate while I insisted that she was.  What a frustrating, tiring way to spend an evening! 

What did I learn?  Horses are space aliens!  That's what!!!  It's a tree, you silly mare!  A tree!  It's 20 feet from the door, and it runs a lot slower than you do!  Argh!

Oh, look at that! It's already Sunday, and I haven't updated in a while.  The big news in Michigan, as in much of the Midwest, is the string of severe storms that blasted through the area.  It seemed that it stormed almost every day!  Each new storm brought more power outages.  We were lucky that the power only went out briefly.  Usually, we are the first to loose it, and the last to get it back.

Yesterday we wasted most of the day replacing our washer and dryer.  The dryer has been broken for months, and I finally became fed up with hanging everything up.  Relying on Dean's assessment that we needed an electric dryer, we had to waste another hour and a half going back to Lowe's for a price adjustment (units were cheaper at Home Depot), and to exchange the electric dry for the GAS one that we really needed.  Everything is set to be delivered in two weeks, as they are special orders.  More about them when they arrive.

I rode Classi in the group lesson and on Friday night.  The Wednesday lesson was partly conducted on the horse, and the remainder was a lesson in fitting and showing.  It was too hot and humid to work them for the whole hour, so everyone got a break and learned how to stand when the judge marches by.

Friday was another night devoted to head set and collection.  It was also hot again.  M said that I had my best ride on Classi, and I was able to keep her collected at the trot and the canter.  I wish I remembered what I did, because I couldn't do it today.

It wasn't as hot, but I became so overheated when I was riding Blondie.  It was stuffy in the arena, and I must have been dehydrated to start.  My face felt so hot, and I just wasn't feeling very well.  A said that Blondie looked good, but I thought that she was fighting the bridle too much, and other than a pass down the rail, I don't think that I ever got her head set.

Classi wouldn't bend at the poll, regardless of what I did.  This was frustrating the heck out of me.  In addition, she has a very bouncy canter the first way, and A was yelling at me the entire time to sit and stop bouncing on her back.  I was sitting.  Some more constructive advice would have helped, as it was obvious that I was having a hard time with her.  Grrrr.  It gets really frustrating when everyone is yelling different things at you, like "bring your hands up and back" and "put your hands down -they're too high" - all at the same time.

After getting Classi back in her stall, M asked if anyone wanted to jog Sammy, so I volunteered.  I haven't driven since the last horse show, and I haven't driven him since last year.  He is fun to drive because he just goes around and around.  He has a habit of cocking his head to the left, and I worked at getting it straight, with mixed results.  M had me work on head set and smooth transitions.

The next horse show is next week, and it's actually two back to back shows, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday.  I decided not to take Classi, because 8 classes in two days is a little more than I can handle, especially if the weather is hot and humid.  I'll let her stay home and sleep and take her to Schwartz Creek instead.  I am also going to ride Blondie instead of drive her, which might get interesting.  I hope I can ride her inside the ring before the classes start on Saturday, because the Mason arena is scary for her. 

After Sunday's feelings of frustration, I wasn't so sure how I felt about riding last night.  I knew I wouldn't be riding Blondie, and since M had to leave to go to a meeting, I doubted that I would be riding Classi.  When Jen called to reschedule her lesson, I discovered I would be taking a longe line lesson with L.

Arriving at the barn, L and I went to get Jimmy.  He didn't have a halter on, so L asked if I minded riding Doc instead, since he was already in the barn.  No problem.  I didn't think the old guy would cause me too much trouble.  M wanted L to longe him for a few minutes first, because he hurt himself at the equestrian meet on Saturday.  He seemed sound, so we saddled him up.  

I had a really good lesson.  I worked very hard to improve my balance and leg strength - it certainly can't hurt since I own a crazy mare.  I was even able to canter with no reins, though I didn't feel totally solid in my seat.  I was much sweater than the horse by the time we were finished.

Because he wasn't very hot, L held him and let him eat grass while I brushed him. That's when I noticed that a large tree had fallen across the fenceline and took out two of the smaller pastures.  What a mess!  It was a big tree, and both it and the fence were in pieces. I don't know how I didn't see it when I first pulled up!  Tunnel vision, I guess.

PS - In keeping with being a lesson from Hell, I haven't proofread this entry, because I want to pretend the events didn't happen.  Please ignore the typos.

Friday was blisteringly hot.  I rode Classi, and worked mainly at getting her head set.  I use too much snaffle in a training bridle, and too much curb in a show bridle.  It's very confusing and frustrating.  It took about 15 minutes to get her to drop her head, and I don't really think it was because of anything I did.  I think she just decided it was time to stop playing with me and she finally bent over.

Today was another scorching day.  I headed out a little early, because it was hot and humid at 9 am.  I got Blondie ready, Sarah helped me put on her show bridle, and then I took her out to the arena.  So far so good. D was finishing up with Tina and Gizmo, so he had me get on and just walk her around the arena.  We made it about halfway down the first rail when my stupid, stupid mare spooked, spun out, and almost dumped me.  I managed to grab mane and stayed on her back.  Everyone asked what happened, and I said she spooked.  She hasn't done that in a long time, so I was a little surprised, especially since the back door was open.  No scary line of light.  There was a white horse trailer parked in front of the door, and D thought that the sun shining on it was the problem.  I went into the middle of the arena, and M closed the door.  It really irritated me that my horse is such a space cadet that we had to close the door.

Ok, this is where things got really fun.  I couldn't get her anywhere near the back gate, even with M's help.  She didn't wait very long before having me get off. She got on, and then Blondie probably wished she had just trotted by the back gate.  M couldn't get her passed it, either, and even she had to grab mane.  At one point she got off and swatted Blondie if she went anywhere BUT near the back gate.  She asked one of the girls to go get D, because she needed help.  By the time he came to the arena, she managed to have Blondie go by the door without having a tantrum.

I got on, and we trotted both ways, cantered both ways, and got off.  Quick.  Everyone was a sweating, dripping mess by then.  I am feeling pretty low right now - after walking not even halfway down the rail, I broke my horse.  D told me it was about time for her to do something "silly," as he puts it.  In my terminology it was "retarded" and I'm still a peeved that I couldn't ride her through it.

After cooling off, I got Classi ready and took her for a spin.  It was really hot by then, so, again, I worked mainly on getting head set.  I didn't have it right until we cantered, when she dropped her head and finally tucked her nose in. 

After that, I was so sweaty and uncomfortable, I could hardly wait to get home.  It's only the first week of June, and the temps are already unbearable.  I can hardly wait for August. Ugh!

Monday's lesson was a very rough longe line lesson on Jimmy.  I wasn't very thrilled when I first learned of the lesson plan, but after feeling crabby about it for a bit, I realized that it is something I need to do.  I therefore set about to make the best of it, and worked as hard as I could to strengthen my muscles.

I admit that I felt a few moments of alarm when Jen was left unattended on Doc while L finished up Kim's lesson.  All was quickly turned good, however, and Jen had a longe line lesson, too.  She said later that she enjoyed it, and that her legs were very sore for a few days.

Wednesday's group lesson had 5 riders.  It was so humid!  While the temps weren't terrible, the humidity was just a killer.  We didn't work the horses the whole hour, instead working on no stirrups exercises and letting them walk out.

Classi started right off the bat jumping in fear from something.  I think if was an indentation in the dirt.  She is the spookiest horse I have ever ridden!  More so than Blondie, which I never would have thought possible.  Leasing her has given me so much more confidence on my own horse, but I am still very leery when I ride her.  I make sure that there's no air between my legs and the saddle, and that I hang on in case she does something silly.  Which she usually does, four or five times.

The walk and trot portion of the lesson was pretty standard, but I picked up the canter twice on the wrong lead going the first way.  Twice!  I haven't done that with her in ages.  M said that her head was tilted to the left, which had her pick up the wrong lead.  Going the first way, she did keep her head cocked to the left, and I couldn't get her to hold it straight.  After last week's wonderful lesson, I guess this week just wouldn't seem so smooth.

We took the horses outside to walk them out.  Getting Classi to walk through the mud and over the indentation left by the barn door was kind of funny, as she splayed her legs and didn't want to have anything to do with walking over it.  With M's help, we got her outside, but I only walked her part of the way down the drive.  She started getting to be a handful, especially when she saw the yearlings running up to the fence to get a closer look at us, so we headed back to the barn.  It was a lot cooler outside, so I took her tack off, grabbed a lead rope, and let her eat grass until the bugs were too much for her.

Friday's lesson is going to be interesting.  It is supposed to be 93 degrees and very humid, which means we won't be riding for very long.