Trotting in the play area

What a great session! Ellie is becoming more and more confident and understanding! I had her push Deuce around tonight, too. That is very tough for her, but she started to get a small glimpse of what I wanted and tried her best.

We did lots of snakey bends and trot departs.

Leaving the arena and taking Z for a walk

Today, I rode Ellie outside the arena with Kendall babysitting. The weather and footing have been so tough for getting good work done with Ellie. We've stayed in the indoor most of the time and I really want to get her going outside of that building. I walked and trotted her around the outdoor with Kendall and Rain helping us out. Ellie felt good and ready for more. Kendall, on the other hand, doesn't have a lot of patience for babysitting. She really wanted to take off and cover some ground but Ellie and I weren't quite ready for that. Next time...

I also took Z on my walk today. We went 4 miles and Z was happy to just mosey down the road with me and the dogs. I'm hoping to get her on some of my walks and help get her ready for endurance rides this season. I have a lot of miles to walk, but I also need to get Z ready and fit. Hope I can figure out how to get both done together - at least sometimes.

Out go the LIGHTS!

Rode Ellie while I coached Kris and Rio today. Ellie was a great trainers mount. She's coming along very nicely.

For Kris and Rio, tracking their programs:

sideways #4

figure 8#2

passenger #1

In the middle of the lesson the lights went out. Luckily, everyone stayed calm. The generator ran out of gas! It was absolutely pitch dark, but it was great to see how calm we all stayed. It could have been a mess.

Kris trimmed Rain before she left.

Lessons and Playtime

Today was a great day. Had a coaching lesson with Kris and Rio. They are making huge progress with every session. Today was mounting session #2, Figure 8 session #1, and sideways session #3. The next lesson is slated for riding.

Had Gem with me to coach Kris. He had a serious need for attention today! I tried to play with him while I helped out Kris, but it was tough. He gave me some gorgeous COD's though and a couple at the canter. We also did some nice figure 8's at the trot on the 22'.

Then I played a little with Ellie and we rode around the indoor. Chrissy was there with Cowboy and Kendall had kids over, playing in the sand. It's just been so windy that the indoor has become a place for playtime for kids AND grown-ups! I worked on Ellie's forward when asked and worked on trot. Her feet got stuck a couple times and I wasn't sure if she was worried or just not feeling energetic. Either way, I took it slow and tried to build the communication.

Kris got Cowboy and Ellie trimmed.

Coaching and riding Z

Had a great day riding in the indoor with Melissa, Summer and Kendall. The wind was obnoxious and Kendall got a little worried and didn't stay on long. Summer rode her brand new mare (nice mare!) and I rode Z. Melissa and I played with yo-yo and building trot departs. I tried to give Summer some good tips and at the end, Melissa and Summer did passenger lesson at the walk and trot. Summer had never done that, so I hope she really learned something.

Z and I had some nice moments and I just had her in the rope hack. She seemed to enjoy being the chosen horse today. I need to get her moving and start working on her fitness.

Friday night riding!

Kendall and I ducked into the indoor for some Friday night riding time! I had Ellie and she was on Rain. We were going to ride out front, but the sun was going down so fast. I did ride Ellie for a few minutes in the play area and she was feeling great. But the sun was tipping it's hat so fast, we decide to head indoors.

Ellie did nicely and she's becoming very calm about the whole deal. Riding, mounting, the indoor, it's all becoming a breeze for her. I'm pretty pleased with her progress! Played with figure 8, follow the rail and backwards.

Playing with Gem in the indoor

Played with:

Figure 8

change of direction

stick to me from zone 3

He was very worried about being away from the herd in the indoor. He was listening and trying but very focused elsewhere. I kept him playing until he was calmer and more confident. Hopefully next time is better.

Kime teaches at my place

What a fun day! I had a group of 5-6 riders in the indoor for the first time. The sand was just delivered a few days earlier and wasn't yet groomed. We used it as terrain and made the best of it. I started with Gem. He and I did not have a good connection at all. I was so distracted and sometimes I feel like Kime is extra hard on me. Being the host adds a tough element. I also was coping with a friend feeling left out and we were texting. It was just a tough morning. After a break, I pulled out Ellie. My goal was to work on colt-starting with Ellie with Kime's coaching. Ellie felt good and was dealing with the big group quite well. She was glad to be with Kade, too. Kime had me ride her as another rider would trot off in front of us. The idea was for Ellie's trotting to be her idea - following the horse in front and pulling her into the trot. I was not to ask for it at all. I had no doubt that this would work, but it was a tough lesson as I couldn't hear Kime well and we were following Lexi who was obviously giving Ellie "get away" messages. Eventually it worked, when we put Kade in front instead. Ellie's trot was forward and free. It was a bittersweet lesson, but I was glad for the time with the group and getting Ellie moving out like that. It gives us another thing to play with and progress from.

Fun day in my amazing indoor arena. I'm a very fortunate girl!

More time with Ellie

She had a few days off because of my work travel, but today we went in the indoor and got some trotting work done. She's getting more balanced in the larger space. It started off a little slow because Sky was running around outside the arena and whinnying. Rain and Kendall were in the indoor with us and not sure which mare he was talking to. Either way, we had to ride for a bit and work out the worries before I asked her for trot.

She has a nice stride in the trot and covers good ground! It's a bigger trot, too. It started snowing while we were riding and the wind picked up a little. Luckily, that didn't cause much concern. I was happy with her progress today. We finished with some indirect and direct rein.

Ellie's first Follow the Trail!

Rode Ellie in the indoor with Marla, Chrissy and Kendall today. Chrissy rode Cowboy a little, Marla led us around on Z and Kendall rode Rain. Ellie and I followed and sort of mimicked a trail ride scenario. Ellie did great following them and this was her first ride with other horses. She was calm and pretty easy-going. At one point, the herd outside the arena got restless and that definitely caused Ellie some concern. I hopped off to be sure we didn't have a huge train wreck with all the horses and riders inside. After things calmed, I got back on and rode her a little more.

She's doing really well and she's ready for the trail.