8/28/2007 Roxy has been sold to a little girl who is absolutely head over heels for her! Yay Lillie! I'll be getting another lesson horse pretty soon. For now, here's a bit of a heads up on the lesson horse situation. Right now Dublin, Dandy, and Prissy are being used in lessons. At the end of October, my lease on Dublin will be up, and one of my other students will be taking over it, so Dublin will no longer be used in lessons. There is another horse coming to Best Friends Farm at the beginning of September, that may possibly get used in lessons – however, I know very little about this horse yet. I cannot afford to purchase another horse for lessons right now – hence, a fundraiser! After donations to the USERL, first we'll purchase new equipment for the arena – new cones, jumps, gates/latches, equipment to fix some of the stall doors, and a few other necessaries that won't be too expensive. Then I'll start looking for another lesson horse!

It's been really hot lately, so lessons were kind of on hold. We have new students, and the horses are doing great. Prissy had a cough for a few days, but she's well over it by now. Dublin has definitely played her part in introducing new students to the fantastic sport of horseback riding. Kudos to all of my lesson horses!

6/8/2007 Well, Roxy is gone now....she's on lease for the summer to a girl in Pfafftown, about an hour from here, with intent to buy. I really hope everything works out and Roxy is a great match for this little girl.

For the past two weeks I've been working with Dylan, an 8 year old paint horse. He has a lot of issues...going too fast, not paying attention, having trouble focusing on his work, not turning. But all these things are curable and he's been doing so much better! I rode him Tuesday and he had very little problem turning whenever I asked him to, he stayed steady at the trot several times around the arena before offering to go faster, and he cantered when asked to (if a little bit too fast). He is rather terrified of traffic, though, so I've been working with him on that. Thankfully I have Velcro legs though, because every time I've taken him out on the shoulder of the road he does fine for a little while, then spooks and rears up and spins to take off for a hundred feet or so. I'm going to work him on the ground tonight to see if he's any calmer that way.

5/20/2007 Increased training and work with Roxy has proven her to be a fantastic little mare all in all. She'll stand in the crossties now, as long as you brush her lightly...she has thin skin and is sensitive. I found out that she's hard to catch in the pasture, so I've been turning her out in a round pen until she gets used to the idea. I finally got up the nerve to ride her bareback with just a halter and lead rope, and she did fantastically! She's jumping almost 2' with me on her now, and I've started training her on barrels. I've only worked her on them for two days so far, and we're down to 21 seconds. I'd like to get it down a whole lot farther than that, so I'm going to be working on that in the following weeks. More updates to come. She's doing better with the kids, and slowly but surely starting to figure out her role as a lesson horse.

She's for sale right now, unfortunately, as I'm not sure I'm able to afford keeping two horses right now. We'll see though; it all depends on how much I've got going on and how many lessons I can teach in a month. Boarding two horses and half leasing another one can take quite a toll on expenses, as I'm sure you can imagine.

It's been about a week since I rode last, so I don't have any training news, to be quite honest. I have a lesson to teach tomorrow and then I'll probably ride if I have time, so hopefully this will be updated to a greater extent later on in the week.

I rode Prissy only three times this week; I've been really busy and just haven't had the time. But both time I rode she did really well. The first time was after a lesson and we worked on bending, without a martingale, and Prisy did really well. She kept wanting to stick her nose out and pop her shoulder, but using my legs to keep her going in circles and figure eights really got her working and moving nicely. It's relatively difficult to get her in the correct frame, but once she gets it, she really moves out nicely and carries herself well. The second time was also after a lesson; it was western so I just left the western saddle on and switched to an English bridle. We worked on staying in a slow jog for a good while, and got some very nice downward transitions going on too. I'm content with the progress we've made this week, particularly with her getting new shoes! She'd worn the toes almost completely down on her last set. I guess that's what happens when she hasn't been shod since September... :) God bless you all.

Really, though, the arena is far too cluttered to work very well. It's small enough as it is, but with the amount of poles scattered around it's really difficult to work. I think tomorrow I'll probably change it up a bit and see what I can achieve while everyone is at the show. ;) I started watching the video tonight, and I'm pretty excited to put a new plan into action. More updates to come!

 10/23/2006 Success! Turn on the forehand has been accomplished. The use of a dressage whip as an aid to cue her haunches over helps greatly, but Prissy mostly does a turn on the forehand when she's asked! Today's workout was wonderful, despite the chilly 40 degree weather. I worked Prissy in a martingale today, for a change of pace and to keep her head down as I worked with her. I worked on my sitting trot a lot last week, and I can definitely see an improvement now. I walked, trotted, and cantered without stirrups today, and noticed a significant improvement in balance. =) 

  Prissy was rushing out of every jump I took her over today, so I worked with her a little on merely slowing down, and also introduced a new concept to her today: haunches-in. Because she now knows the cue to move her haunches over (turn on the forehand), I tried this both at the walk and trot. The traversing on the track was easier to achieve at the trot due to the added impulsion of the gait. I worked on that only on the straight sides of the arena, and only asked for a few steps at a time until she turned her haunches out and kept her shoulders on the track. It was amazing! Goes to show what perseverance will do, I suppose.

10/18/2006 Turn-on-the-forehand is progressing nicely. As I open up the rein on one side of her neck and cue with the same leg, sitting slightly in the direction I'm asking for, Prissy will now almost always pivot her back end around her front end, instead of what we did at the beginning - she'd take a step backwards, I'd encourage her back forward again and tighten the reins so she'd know not to walk forward with the side-wards cue, and she'd start backing up again. Either that or I'd have her head all the way around by my knee to even get her to take the hint to move around her front end. She's getting it though. I added the use of a crop tonight to encourage her hindquarters to move over.

I'm ordering a surcingle, cavesson, and side reins from Country Supply, because I want to work on her form from the ground as well as from the saddle. There is much lacking, and a whole lot to be said for her position. We shall see. I'll update as the training progresses.

10/7/2006 I had to cancel all of my lessons today due to the rainy, misty, generally gray-gloomy skies. The good news is that I got plenty of sleep, and later on it cleared up just enough for me to ride for about 40 minutes. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how things went, but not completely. Prissy's foot is well healed and the limp is almost gone. We mostly trotted today; I wanted to work on her bending through a circle. Both of us started out a little rusty, probably because it's been about two weeks since I rode her. I focused on keeping my inside leg behind the girth and outside on the girth, made sure my hands were quiet, and was looking where I was going, and by the time we finished I had a beautiful circle going.

  Cantering, though, was a completely different story. I want to get Prissy to do a flying lead change. Problem is, I don't know how to do one or ask for one, really. I did some research on it, but I don't really know what it's like. So I tried what I've read, but except for one time all I got was a really fast, really lousy counter-canter. Not exactly what I was looking for. I think she changed one time, but even now I'm not totally sure. I'll just have to keep working on it. Riding lessons are too expensive, so I guess I'll continue to just learn on my own.

10/5/2006 Prissy is still a little sore but not nearly as bad. She can trot at a good pace now and barely bob her head.  I haven't ridden her for nearly two weeks; I've just been teaching lessons on her to kinda give her a break. All of her lessons have been walk/trot anyway, so it's not too strenuous for her. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to ride her a bit. I don't want to stress her out, either, by teaching on her AND riding her all the time. That's just not fair.

Her eye infection is back, too. Remember a year or so ago when her eye got all gunky and the vet had to come and flush it out, and gave me gross medicine to put in it? It's back. I still have the medicine, so I'm using that in the high hopes that it will go away quickly and without me having to call the vet. So that's the scoop on Prissy right now....

10/1/2006 Prissy has gone somewhat lame from her shoes being done...her foot got cut down a little too far, and now her soles are too thin (they were thin before, but now they're even thinner) and they aren't very tough, so she's tender-footed now. I'm going to be putting stuff on her hooves every day to get them healed so she can be ridden more easily. Talk about a mare that's all heart though...she'll walk, trot, canter, and even jump on a sore foot. Have you ever seen a horse with a bigger heart?

I'm teaching on another lesson horse now too, Kopper. People at the barn don't like Kopper, but I do, so I'm going to use him in my lessons since he never gets used. He's nice and slow for the beginners, but will go faster if you use a crop and more leg, and he jumps sooo smoothly it's incredible.

8/15/2006 Three students rode Prissy yesterday, so she walked and trotted, halted and backed up for three hours, not to mention standing still six different times to be tacked up, then untacked, and repeated two more times. What a patient girl she is. She also had a lesson tonight, and did very well. Hopefully I will be able to ride tomorrow for a while, but somehow I doubt that will be the case, due to an extremely busy schedule (in other words, I have a date tomorrow night). :) Probably the earliest I will get to ride is Friday, since Thursday is when I'm celebrating my dad's birthday with my family. So Priss will get a nice rest, more than likely. She's been so good; she deserves a rest.

8/9/2006 Prissy has been so well behaved since she got her new shoes. She has behaved nearly perfectly for everyone that has ridden her. I haven't had any problem with her at all. She had four lessons this week, and I get to go ride her tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, and perhaps on Sunday as well. If there was a show this weekend I would want to go to it. I guess I'm not really prepared though. Prissy has been doing very well with her jumping...lately I've been working with her on turning tightly to come up on another jump. She does pretty well....she can either canter or trot the turn, and still make a fairly high jump. It's pretty cool. She's so pretty and so lovely and such a sweetheart....

8/2/2006 Thursday and Friday I rode Prissy and she wasn't very good, because it had been about a week or so since I had ridden her, due to the fact that her toes were getting really long and she started tripping a lot...she needed new shoes in a bad way. So she got new shoes on Wednesday, and when I rode her the next two days, she was awful. Then Saturday Eric and I went out early to feed the horses so that we'd have time to ride later before it got dark...when we finished, I rode first. Prissy was PERFECT. I mean, she was the best I can ever remember her being. I had no problem with her at all...it was a fantastic ride, and I felt so good afterwards. Then Eric rode, and he did SO GOOD!!!! He finally learned how to post the RIGHT way, and did so well! I'm so proud of him, too. He stayed in the saddle totally at the canter, and stayed upright and kept his heels down and everything. Prissy only had one lesson this week, so I've been able to work with her a lot.

Then today I rode and she did almost equally as well. We have jumped a lot lately, and she soars over anything I aim her at...I LOVE my horse!!!!

7/27/2006 Prissy has been doing excellently well lately. She gets turned out every day, she's fat and happy and getting lots of exercise. Usually she has about five lessons a week on her, and I ride whenever I get a chance. I rode last night and Prissy was having issues with speeding up and turning funny. We worked a lot of circles, both walking and trotting, until she figured out that I wanted her to actually BEND around the circle instead of going cockeyed around it! She kept speeding up on the straight-aways, but she finally settled down and worked for me sorta. I worked on two-point position for me, and standing in the stirrups at a walk and trot, and also worked on canter a little bit. If I haven't cantered her for a while, she gets to where it takes her about forty feet to stop cantering. I have to do lots of rollback, stop & back maneuvers to get her to the point where she'll stop almost on a dime as soon as I ask her to. Usually then her memory stays refreshed for a week or so.

6/29/2006 Today Prissy moves to another barn. She'll get to spend a lot of time with other horses, since she'll get turned out all night, every night, rain or shine. Well, I guess it doesn't really shine at night, but you get the point. Anyway. I've got about seven to nine students waiting for me to move so they can begin riding lessons...I need to contact all those people and let them know that they can schedule lessons now. Hopefully I will be able to earn a lot of money this summer from the riding stuff, and people will want their children/themselves to continue on past summer...once they get into it, it's hard to emotionally un-attach yourself!!

So yeah...I'm looking forward to a good time there. I will begin lessons hopefully next week myself, and I'm really looking forward to that. I can't wait to get some professional jumping instruction, and maybe some dressage too!!

6/23/2006 Prissy behaved very well yesterday. I actually felt like I was riding correctly, too, for the first time in quite a while. I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be in reference to her movements and where my body needed to be centered, etc. It was great! I felt very secure, and we moved together very well. My boyfriend, Eric, rode her for about an hour before I got there to ride, so she was already worn out. :) But he said that she was very good for him, too. That's a wonderful thing!! She has been sort of misbehaving lately. Not a good thing. I hope we'll be able to start taking lessons within another week or two. That would be awesome!

6/20/2006 Vacation Bible School has kept me from riding as much as I would have liked to this past week, but finally it's over and I can ride again. I went out to ride Prissy the last several days...Sunday night I rode bareback in the arena, at just a walk and job. Yesterday I rode for about an hour, and worked with Prissy on walk, jog, and lope. She still doesn't lope very well, and I have yet to figure out how to teach her to. *smile* She jogs really well, though, and usually stays pretty slow. I've been working with her on getting her to bend through her turns, because she tends to remain somewhat stiff through the ends of the arena, which leads to a not-so-straight going down the sides of the arena. I will be moving Prissy to another stable in about two weeks, where she and I will begin jumping and dressage lessons, along with Prissy being able to continue teaching others how to ride.

May 27, 2006 Prissy went in a show with Annica and Maggie last weekend, and they did a superb job! Annica came away with a second, third, and fourth place, and Maggie with two seconds, and third, and a fourth. We're all going in another show this coming weekend, on June 3rd. Eric, Bradley, and I are all going to ride Prissy. This is going to be a fun show...this one has games and races in it! I'm going to go out and work with Prissy a lot today, working on my balance with bareback riding for the bareback class, and also on getting her running and stopping really quickly. That's going to be so much fun! Training over all has been going very well....Prissy is listening very well and behaving almost perfectly. She's getting turned out more now, too, so that helps a lot.

May 15, 2006 I'm fine now....Prissy and I are getting along quite superbly, if I do say so myself! Unfortunately, though, Prissy has started picking up some VERY undesirable habits...like trying to bite people and/or horses when they go by, cribbing, which I have managed to stop, and kicking the walls of her stall. I believe I've managed to diagnose the problem, though. She's suffering from "vices of confinement". In other words, she doesn't get out enough. She's in her stall about twenty two to twenty-three hours a day, and if I don't manage to get over there, she's in there much longer than that! I'm going to start working with her more, and also she is going to be out in the pasture every night now. She will get turned out in the evening after being fed, or sometimes she'll eat with the other horses. Then when I go to work in the mornings, I'll bring her in and maybe groom her a little if I have time. Then she'll come back out in the evenings for a walk, or lessons, or grooming, or whatever I feel like doing, then when I'm done I'll turn her back out and the process will begin all over again. Hopefully it'll drastically improve her behavior. :)

May 6, 2006 Haven't been riding a whole lot lately, partly because I don't trust myself. When Prissy doesn't do what I want her to do, for some reason now I tend to get violently angry. So then I just stop riding her so I don't do something I regret. Some days she's perfect, other days I want to get forceful and make her do what I want her to do, instead of teaching her how to do it. Lessons are going well; Annica and Maggie will be performing in a show in a couple of weeks, and Bradley is learning very well how to post and sitting trot, and how to post without stirrups. Hopefully Prissy will be getting some new children to teach soon, too...she'd like that. I might go out to the barn today, but I doubt I will.

April 2, 2006 I hung out with Prissy for almost the entire evening. I went over there around six or so, and didn't leave till almost nine. I started out grooming her...she stood nice and still, and she's starting to shed her winter coat, so the ground was then covered in brown horse hair. After that I took her out into the round pen to clip her, since the horse show is this coming Saturday, and her ears looked horrendous....hair sticking out all over the place, like she was eighty years old. It took me probably thirty minutes to do that, since she's so fussy about her ears. I got it done, though, and it doesn't look half bad. The I washed her tail, and her face, and clipped her muzzle and head and eyelashes, and her legs too. I washed her legs, and the grungy spots on her, then braided her tail really nicely, then we went for a trail ride for thirty/forty minutes. Prissy was so good...she even jumped over a creek!! I'm so proud of her. When we got back I groomed her really well, braided her tail back up, and sprayed her coat with conditioner, so she looks good. I've got lessons tomorrow, and because of my new job, I'll probably be out at the barn every night now. Whee!!

April 1, 2006 Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to ride Prissy in the last several days, because of work, schoolwork catch-up, and all kinds of other stuff like car trouble. I'm going to go ride her today, though. And because my new job is located about a quarter mile from the barn, I'll be able to go over there and ride any time I want after I get off work, provided I don't have lessons. I'm going to go over there this afternoon, to ride and spice Prissy up for the show next weekend. The show is April 8th....we'll be showing in both English and Western classes....hopefully we'll do well. Ya never know until the day of......

March 30, 2006 The arena has been dry, the kids have been riding well, and we're all preparing to show once May rolls around. Life has been crazy for me mostly, so I haven't had the time to update EK like I'd like to. I rode Prissy on Sunday, the 26th, and she was an angel. I dressed out in my full show gear, just to get used to it again since it's been a year since I wore any of it. It still all fit, and it's amazing how much easier it is to ride in tall boots and breeches than work boots and jeans!!! Totally different feel, that's for sure. She was amazing, though...she trotted beautifully, with a spring in her step and stretching out, and her canter was slow and her head down. She walked with a sprightly step and didn't pitch a fit at all. Then Tuesday Annica and Maggie jumper her a little bit, and Annica cantered. It was Maggie's first time back on after breaking her arm, so she just took it easy for the most part. Annica though, boy, she was going all out!! John and Bradley had their lessons yesterday, and John rode in the arena and trotted a lot, and Bradley was brave enough to go on a trail ride with a bunch of other horses (all of them ended up acting up, and by the end of the ride all but one person was walking). It's all been going well though....I have no complaints!!

2/7/2006 Prissy had lessons again today. Annica and Maggie rode first, and they both learned a lot about showing today. I had them tack up Prissy entirely by themselves, with the only help from me being tightening the girth, since they're not strong enough to do it alone. Then I introduced them to what the show ring would be like, how to enter it, where to go, what to do and what not to do, etc. They both did pretty well, and followed instructions. Both of the girls are looking forward to showing in April at the Piedmont Saddle Club horse show.

Leslie also rode today. She worked on trotting and walking, and since she broke her tailbone awhile back in a fall from a horse, she's been recovering slowly but surely. All three of my students rode without a martingale today and did an excellent job. Annica and Maggie rode in the new saddle, the smaller one, so they had that to adjust to as well. As always, I'm proud of my students!

2/4/2006 Yesterday I went over to the barn, but it had rained AGAIN, so the ground wasn't really good enough for riding. I rode her for about five minutes in the least icky part of the arena, then took her saddle and bridle off and turned another horse out with her so they could play. The other horse rolled in the mud immediately and I had to hose him off and wipe him down before putting him back in the stall. Prissy ran around a lot. She has this absolutely beautiful floating-looking trot.....wow! What a show-off!

Since I didn't ride, I cleaned instead. Prissy has been really bored lately, by the looks of the corners of some of the boards in her stall...she's started cribbing!! ARG!!! NOT a good thing at ALL. I put some stuff in her stall for her to play with, and I'll go tomorrow and get some real toys for her, along with some stuff to spray on the boards to keep her from cribbing. She needs to get turned out more...but she doesn't. They keep neglecting to do so, especially since the pasture isn't closed in anymore since they started renovation. I'm really getting fed up.....and it's really, really frustrating. Arg. The strange thing is that I've gone out to the barn more while I'm working forty hours a week then I did when I was working only fifteen or twenty hours a week....go figure.

2/2/2006 I didn't get to ride for very long today, because I didn't get out of bed this morning and go ride before work, like I was originally planning to. I set my alarm for seven and got up, but changed my mind and went back to bed for another hour, then got up and went to work. I did go to the barn when I got off work at 5:15 though. It was almost dark when I got to the barn, but I rode anyway. I gave Priss a quick grooming and put the saddle on her, and put the stirrups back on my saddle (I took them off yesterday so I could use them on the child's saddle). I rode down in the outdoor arena and walked, trotted, and cantered Priss around for about thirty minutes. It was almost pitch dark by the time I was done, but that was okay, cause there was a light across the street that lit stuff up somewhat! I rode without a martingale again, and Priss did fine. I have to work somewhat to get her to stop as quickly as she does with one, but we're working on that. I've ridden her for four days straight this week! That's almost unheard of! I'm going to try to make it out there tomorrow after work, too, and then hopefully Saturday and Sunday too.

2/1/2006 Prissy was really good today. I went to the barn early, before Bradley rode today, so that I could ride as well. She started out today about the same as she did yesterday, although she WAS more willing to do what I asked her to do. We walked and trotted for a while, and cantered...she went nice and slowly at the canter as well, and didn't try to fly around the arena. I worked her without a martingale today, and she did very well. I hope she does that well when I show her in April!

Bradley had a lesson today, too. He has been sick with the flu since last week, so I didn't stress him out with a whole lot of trotting. He warmed up at the walk and then trotted a little bit, then we played games the rest of the time. He played "bucketball", throwing the yellow balls in the bucket. He did really well, weaving through cones, trotting back and forth, catching the balls, and making them into the bucket. Then we did a few more games, like weaving back and forth between the sides of the arena at a trot, colleting cones on the fence. It went really well, and he got to be the first one to try out the new saddle!!

1/31/2006 I got Prissy out today and she decided that she wanted to go really slowly, for some odd reason. Usually she wants to go really fast, and it's a chore convincing her that she needs to slow down. It was all I could do to keep her walking, and then took a lot of urging to get her to trot, and a lot to keep her trotting. I practiced my sitting trot for about ten minutes, just to work on my balance and such. That really worked my whole body, since I haven't ridden rigorously for a while, and my horse is so bloody rough at the trot!! But anyway. After about twenty minutes she started perking up a bit and listened to me a lot more. I cantered her a bit, and she likes to speed up going down one side, so I worked on quick stops and turns to slow her down. We trotted a lot and generally just worked really hard again. She didn't get sweaty today, but she was blowing by the time we were done. I had a lot of fun today with her, although today was more work than play...gotta get out of that mentality!!

1/30/2006 Priss did relatively well today, considering she hasn't been ridden for over a week, due to inopportune weather conditions. I worked her really hard, walking, trotting, and cantering for well over an hour. She didn't really want to work for me at first, and got a little ornery at times, but once I got her moving she pretty much settled down and went to work. I didn't do anything really fancy with her, just working on regulating speeds and I worked on my own abilities at the sitting trot, since Prissy is really rough at the trot. I also worked on staying sitting up and forward more at the canter, since I tend to lean back too much. I love my horse...I missed her so much last week!!!

1/25/2006 It rained AGAIN!!!! Can you believe this?? I'm so tired of rain ruining the ground....!!! Oh well, I'll shut up now. On the good side of things, my new saddle came in! I ordered a 14" English saddle for my younger students, who are lost in the huge saddle that I use for them on a regular basis. It's the cutest little thing....I ordered a saddle package, so it came with a bridle and bit, and a girth and saddle pad, stirrups, stirrup leathers, the whole nine yards. I went out to the barn yesterday to fit it all on her...it was so much fun! I've never had a new saddle before...they've always been used. Too bad it's too small for me... :( Just kidding. Prissy got a really good grooming and a face clipping while I was at it...so I got a couple of things done, despite the fact that the ground was so gross.  Not a whole lot to report at the moment....so adios!

1/20/2006 It rained again Tuesday evening, so the arena turned somewhat sloppy again. I taught lessons on Thursday as usual, and Prissy was really good. She had four lessons that day, and she didn't act up even a single time for any of the students. She trotted nicely, not too fast, she stopped when she was told to and went when she was asked to. I let all of my students work her a little over some small crossrails, about six inches high. She loved that, even though she didn't really get to jump them...she pretty much just walked and trotted over them. Her attitude improves a hundred percent when she's jumping...she absolutely adores the sport! I'm going to start jumping her more once the weather gets nicer, it stops raining, and I have a little bit more time on my hands. She had a lesson yesterday that lasted for about two hours, and that went really well too....Leslie, the student, handled her very well, going around tight turns through the cones, stopping, backing up, trotting, etc. Prissy has definitely had a good week.

1/18/2006 Priss was SO good today. I went out to the barn this afternoon to ride....it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, it was warm enough that I just wore a jean jacket over a t-shirt, and the ground was dry. I put two jumps in the arena to start with, to practice with. Priss was good for tacking up, and I walked her around to start with, and then trotted around a lot, working on keeping her at a steady pace. She did really well, too, with not speeding up too much and maintaining a steady gait. After I warmed her up walking and trotting, I walked her over the jumps....she was fine. Then I started trotting her over them, and she did really well! Honestly, I expected that she would run out, stop, jump too high, or run out of the jumps, but she didn't. I had trouble a couple of times with her going too fast, but very few instances. Overall, she did really well. She cantered at a nice rate of speed, jumped well, turned tightly, and responded to even the lightest touch. I had no trouble with her today at all. It was a very pleasurable ride, one that I hope will repeat itself tomorrow!

1/16/2006 It's been really rainy/sloppy lately, and it rained yet AGAIN on Friday, so I couldn't go on with my lesson on Saturday...poor Bradley. Still, the massive winds that the storm kicked up were a blessing in disguise, because they dried up the ground! The outdoor arena, which has been ankle-deep in mud and standing water for the past month, is now almost totally dry! Praise God! Now we can ride outside!

My best friend, Mandi, came to visit this weekend on her way back to college. She spent the night, and yesterday we went to the barn after church so she could ride. She has problems with her left knee that prevent her from mounting from that side, but Prissy was great and let her mount from the other side. We got lots of pictures, and those will be posted shortly... :) We had a lot of fun. I got on for about ten minutes and trotted and cantered Prissy around after Mandi walked her for about half an hour. I'm going to go out tomorrow and ride her for a long time, and start jumping her again. Updates on that later!

1/10/2006 Every time Prissy has a new student, she tests them. She will walk really slowly, just to see if they'll make her work more, and sometimes she'll stop to see if they can keep her going before she stops. When they ask her to turn, she'll see if they really mean it by turning her head but going in the opposite direction....she is testing them to see if they will figure out how to make her do what they want her to do. She's a great horse to learn on because she won't just do everything for you....she makes you work for it. She's a lot of fun to learn on, though, because she's kind and willing to do what you want her to do...as long as you communicate it to her properly. Personally, I think she's a lot of fun, and so do her other riders. Definitely a challenge at times, but a very good learning experience.

1/5/2006 I've been working with Prissy for the last couple of days on Parelli training methods...you know, yielding to pressure and all that. She did pretty well, but a couple of times I really had to focus on not getting upset or angry or yanking her around a little bit because she didn't understand what I was asking her to do. I need to just spend more time with her, period. She's a wonderful horse. She had three lessons today and did really well. She even did well trotting through all the muck on one side of the round pen! More later....

1/2/2006 Priss has really been acting up lately, as any of you that have been following this blog will know. On Saturday when I went out to ride, she was a pain. She really wouldn't do anything I asked her to, and she even bucked a couple of times (albeit half-heartedly). She's had major attitude problems when I ride her. She's fine with my students, but whenever I ask anything more from her she's a pain. I got tired of the attitude. I figured that turning her out with the other horses might help her, so I put her out in the pasture (where she's never been) with five other horses. She hasn't been out with other horses since I moved her to that barn back in June. I can already see an improvement in her attitude....she stands still to be tacked up. She got turned out again yesterday with them, too. I might go over to the barn today if I have time before work...although it's pretty gross outside because it's been raining.

12/28/2005 It's been really rainy lately (it finally dried up yesterday, but I was getting ready to go over to the barn and it started pouring down rain again), so I haven't been able to ride a whole lot. On Monday, though, I did get to ride for over an hour. I took Prissy down the road with the intent to go on the trails, but she boogered and just acted up really badly. I worked very patiently with her in the cul-de-sac at the end of the road for probably twenty to thirty minutes, intermittently trying to get her to go down the trail (it starts at the end of the road). She would take two steps past the pavement, then throw her head up and try to back up. I did get her to go down there, though, after a lot of time and patience, and she did really well from there on out.

We rode back in the fields and looked at the construction going on in the place of our old pastures. I worked her with trotting and cantering in a little grassy area that wasn't plowed through, and she did somewhat well. It wasn't the greatest she's ever been, but with the weather the way it has been, I can't expect too much from her. She's a great horse. She learned a new trick, too...putting her head on my shoulder when I tell her to. I haven't decided what I'm going to teach her next.

12/18/2005 Priss has been pretty good lately. I took her out Sunday evening and rode down the street, found a little area that was dry enough to ride, and walked and trotted her for quite some time. She started out really antsy, trying to go back to the barn and all that jazz. She settled down after about 15 minutes or so, though, and we really got to work. I worked her in a circle, and her circles were nice and round and she bent around them nicely. I'm proud of her performance. Then yesterday I went over there and rode her out along the road....she did well, because usually she spooks or refuses to go forward for a while, but she didn't pull that trick yesterday. We made it to another larger field, and worked their for a while. She kept wanting to go back, but I wouldn't let her. She settled down enough to jog on a loose rein a little bit, but she was trotting way too fast for the most part. It took a lot of half-halts to get her to slow down, and I had to stop and back her up a lot to get her to remember that I was the one in charge. Sometimes she gets up a full head of steam and just wants to GO...even though she's not supposed to. Oh well. I still love her!!

12/14/2005 Because of inclement weather and the fact that I'm now working a night shift at UPS, I haven't been able to get out to ride very often lately. I did find a large field in which I can let Priss run as much as she wants....which she undoubtedly enjoys. She has been having problems lately with her back legs locking up...I had to run her home the other day because she couldn't walk. She could only go at a canter and be able to maintain a steady pace. I don't know what the problem is. The same thing happened last winter, and I started giving her vegetable oil in her grain and the problem cleared up, so I'm doing that again to see if it does any good. I'm having her turned out every day too, because she just doesn't get out enough to stretch her poor little legs. :)

11/22/2005 I really need to start riding Prissy more....when I go without riding her for a long time, like a week with only my students riding her, she ends up being really bad the next time I ride her. I mean, she's really good for the kids or whoever is riding her, but then when I ride her, it really shows how little I've been riding her. I wanted to go on a trail ride yesterday, and she didn't want to leave the yard. Then going down the road, she was a pain when she kept trying to turn back. I had to get off of her to even get her onto the actual trail because she steadfastly refused to go past the little bit of water that blocked the entrance to the trail. After that she was mostly fine, except because it was really cold she kept snorting and blowing at everything....which got really really annoying. It just rained a lot yesterday, so the ground was pretty gross...there is an area behind the barn that is being developed where there is a really long flat stretch that would have been perfect for running on, had it not been all red clay and really sloppy from the rain. It was really gross. So yeah...it's all good.

11/14/2005 The last time I rode Prissy was Saturday (this is Monday). I got on her bareback in the round pen, without a halter or lead rope or saddle or anything. I was a little apprehensive because usually she doesn't do what I want her to do...she's a pain bareback because she hollows out her back and won't do anything. And she certainly never would have cantered before. So I was riding around on her, letting her go wherever, but making her keep walking. She didn't like it at first, but she got over it. She did so well, too...we walked, jogged, trotted, and cantered all perfectly beautifully and she steered and turned and did whatever I asked her to, without a fuss...and she kept her head down and relaxed the whole time, too!

Because all this was going so well, brilliant me decided to ride her outside the round pen. So I put a halter and lead rope on her and took her out on the road. She did fine....until I asked her to canter. She started cantering just fine, and I was fine too. All this time we had moved almost perfectly together, but she jumped sideways up onto the curb just as she started cantering. I lost my balance and went over to the left side....and couldn't recover. Over I went. I hit both my knees, my left hip, my left elbow on the hard ground, then my head bounced off the incredibly hard concrete curb. Fortunately, I was wearing a helmet. That's exactly why I stress that my students wear helmets!!!! I'm alright though...recovering. My neck still hurts a lot, and I have a couple of huge bruises, but hey...it builds character, right??

11/10/2005 Did the Friendly Game with Prissy today. She did pretty well...she's generally very tolerant of stuff being thrown all over her anyway. She was really good for the students this morning...she cooperated really well, so they all learned a lot. She got to run around in the pasture for a while too, and for some reason was really snotty to a gelding that she used to like. Don't know what's wrong with her. :) She's a happy horse, though, that's for sure. She's got the life of Mr. Ed.

11/9/2005 I'm looking into doing Parelli Horsemanship stuff with Prissy...she doesn't like being ridden bareback a whole lot, and can be a real pain sometimes. So, I'm going to work a lot with her on the ground. The only problem is, it takes so long to get over there, and gas is so expensive!! If I could, I'd be over there every day, cause that is really what it's going to take. However, with work and school and church, that's kind of an impossibility. I played the "friendly" game with her yesterday, and she did really well...stood still the whole time and let me rub my hands all over her. She was really patient about it.

11/5/2005 It's getting colder and colder, so Prissy is having blankets on more now. She's doing really well in lessons still, and I've been riding her occasionally as well. My boyfriend and I rode double on her last night. We tried it a while ago using a saddle, but that didn't work too well. It was cool though....I expected her to freak out a little, but she didn't. She was really good about it. She does have a problem with trotting bareback though...she never wants to trot or canter bareback with me on her. I have no idea why. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Oh well...she does it for the kids, and that's really all that matters. She has a couple of lessons this week, and that's about it.....

10/24/2005 Priss did really well with lessons today. Today Bradley, an eleven year old, rode her. He did really well...even though it was bitter cold and windy out. They both did an excellent job. They only walked for today, but learned to do figure eights, sit with the bareback pad, stop quietly, have soft hands, ask for transitions quietly, and more. I'm proud of both of them. Prissy is so patient, and she'll take you wherever you want to go....

10/20/2005 Prissy had two lessons this morning, both with sisters, Annica and Maggie. They both did an extraordinary job, especially learning how to stand in the stirrups! Both girls exceeded my expectations outstandingly well, and by the end of their hours both were able to stand in the stirrups without holding onto anything, and in turn steer around cones, stop and go while standing, and also to stand and sit at intervals to cones set around the arena at interchanging positions. Prissy was a very good lesson horse through all of these exercises, never once speeding up or getting fussy, even though the reins were really long and she pretty much could have done whatever she wanted. She went where they told her to and listened very well. It's so impressive to me that she instinctively knows who's on her, and can adjust her temperament accordingly. I love my little mare!!! She's so awesome!!! Come and find out for yourself!!!

10/18/2005 I took a trail ride on Priss this morning. She glistened by the time I was finished brushing her, and I tacked up English and headed out. We went down the road and into the woods. I just walked her most of the time, and she was content to just plod down the road/trail at her own pace....she didn't even really attempt to speed up, even going up and down the hills back there. We rode out around the construction areas in Greensboro that used to be our pastures. It's pathetic...I wish it were still all woods and grass for the horses...but instead it's totally filled with dirt, piles of junk, and huge, heavy earthmovers. I rode up where they were working to survey what they were doing, and everyone was looking at me. I hope they realized that they were encroaching on my riding grounds. I was already not in a very good mood, so that didn't do a whole lot to help it...usually I could run out there, but now it's dangerous because of all the ditches...

10/15/2005 Prissy has been a wonderful lesson horse lately...she's been so good to the kids, and the adults that have been learning on her. She's patient, and she is so good when people are trying to learn on her...

10/01/2005 Priss has had a really bad habit lately of not stopping because she wants to keep running. So, today I decided that, since I had a little time on my hands, I was going to do something about it. I saddled up and went out on the road. We first conquered the slow trot and bending at the poll. We then made it over the curb to step down onto the street, and crossed the not busy intersection, and stepped up onto a curb that we previously hadn't been able to do. Prissy and I went down the sidewalk until we got to the guardrails - which Prissy is deathly afraid of. It didn't help that there was a muskrat in the weeds and dashed down away from the sidewalk. I didn't let her back up or turn around though...I made her stand still until she got over it. We rode down next to the highway where the do the billboard changes, and ran back and forth, showing off to all the people on their way to work. We trekked back the way we had come, and Prissy started acting up when I asked her to stand still so I could talk to someone. I tried out the trick I mentioned above (see Training Tip), and she did really well. She cantered instead of ran, and listened very well to my cues. Major breakthrough.

8/30/2005 Marty and I went riding today, out along the Boulder Road. We went yesterday, but only went as far as Chimney Rock road. Today Marty road Lady, a horse I've been training, and I rode Prissy. Prissy did really well. I've been working on keeping her head down and making her jog, and she did both very well today. She didn't spook at anything except culvert along the road, and she walked and jogged on a loose rein without trying to get away with anything. We walked both in the road and in the grass along the side of the road, and she was good either way. We walked back into a bunch of the industrial parks and she looked around a lot, but didn't act up at all. On the way back we had to go up a rise in the ground, and she jumped it, which I wasn't expecting...my feet came out of the stirrups and I ended up jabbing her in the side with the spurs, which she definitely didn't like! She started bucking half-heartedly, then stopped and was good from then on.

8/21/2005 Prissy has been a lesson horse lately...teaching beginners how to ride. She's doing really well, considering she's never done it before. She's very patient, and loves kids, so she's very quiet and kind to everyone. She does what she's told if she's made to do it, otherwise it takes a while to get her to do the right thing. It's easier for someone to ride her if they've already had some riding experience, but she's good just the same. I'm really proud of her. She really is a wonderful little mare.

8/8/2005 My boyfriend and I went on a trail ride yesterday with a bunch of the people from the barn...it was so much fun! We went all the way to Asheboro and rode through the mountains for about three hours. It was so much fun! Prissy had a lot of fun taking off around the trails, and we went up and down some really steep hills, and made a huge jump across a  hilly creek thing, and it was just so much fun! Priss plunged chest deep into a river that she didn't realize was so deep, and she forded creeks and stuff too. I'm so proud of my baby!!!

8/3/2005 Riding has been going fairly well, considering. Prissy got another pressure nail the other day, and is almost completely healed from that. I rode Huck, a disobedient trail horse, yesterday to try to get him into rideable shape. He did pretty well for the most part, but obviously needs a firm hand to work him and let him know that he's not going to win the fight. He bucked a couple of times but I stayed on, and he tried my patience more than once but never won. He's doing better after I did some groundwork with him and such, but so far....that's it in the Equine Kingdom horse world!

7/28/2005 Riding Prissy has kinda taken a backseat for awhile now...don't really know why. She got new shoes yesterday, and she's adjusting to her new home pretty well. She has developed a new funny habit of drooling water on people that are standing with their backs to her in front of her stall. It's quite a riot. We've gone on a couple of trail rides and worked in the round pen, she's worked with some kids, and we've just hung out a bit...nothing exciting, due to the extreme heat here lately. The temp is in the 100s. Yowie! Anyway, it's really hot out. I'm going over there in a bit to ride, though, and turn her out.

7/18/2005 I've been slacking lately in updating and even in riding Prissy. I've been working with a couple of other horses, Sapphire and Arapaho, and teaching them some stuff so they're more suitable for riding. I rode Prissy for quite a while today, though. We went on a trail ride along the road today back in the industrial parks and had a lot of fun. We found a big open space where we worked a lot on some cantering, loping, jogging, turns and stuff that we haven't had the space to do for quite a while now. That should be our regular place of working now. There's plenty of room to run, too. It was a lot of fun.

7/3/2005 Made the move to another barn...Maple Hills Stables. It's really awesome...the people are really nice and the barn is beautiful, and I can finally teach lessons! I've already got a few people that want to take lessons...hopefully once I start advertising I'll build a huge customer base. I rode bareback in the corral yesterday, and went on a really long trail ride the other day. I had to get off of her to make her go over a creek, and then she all but leaped across it on the way back. She was really good for the most part. I'm really proud of her. She's getting along with the other horses well, and enjoys her new home. (I think)

6/15/2005 Did more work today and worked in the indoor arena, since it was too hot to ride outside. The temperature was up to over 95 degrees, so I didn't ride for very long either. Nothing phenomenal, really...just walking, trotting, and cantering...the basics.

6/13/2005 Boring workout today, really. We didn't do anything markedly interesting, other than maybe working in the pasture to build up her muscle tone. Other than that there really is nothing interesting to report whatsoever. We walked, trotted, cantered. That's about it!

6/11/2005 My dad and I went over to the barn this morning to take videos of Prissy doing all kinds of stuff...you can view them farther up the page, and there're more of them on another page, whose link is at the bottom. Priss was so very good today. She was calm and collected and did everything right. It was soooo great! She was just absolutely fantastic. We jumped 2 feet and 3 feet and she didn't hesitate once. She just loves it. She only knocked the jump over once, and it was my fault for the approach I gave her. It sucked. But she's such a sweetheart. She's got such a big heart...she wants to make me happy!!

6/9/2005 It's so hot today...about 95 degrees, therefore I didn't ride. I did go over to the barn, though, and clean Prissy's stall and hose off her salt block, which was getting pretty nasty. So now her stall is neat and clean, and she got about half a flake of alfalfa. I lunged her for about ten minutes as well, and she had fun doing that. She's so calm on the lunge line, too. She'll walk, trot, canter, and stop on command, which is really cool. I also groomed her really well and made an attempt at taming her mane, which for some reason has been quite unruly lately. Her tail is all detangled too, and I clipped her muzzle, ears, and bridle path. She was SOOO good getting her ears done! I didn't even have a lead rope on her, didn't have her tied, and it took me about five minutes to do both ears! That is absolutely unheard of for Prissy! She's so awesome!!

6/7/2005 Haven't had much of a chance to ride a whole lot lately, with school and everything filling up my days, and Food Lion scheduling me to work so much. Prissy is doing very well, though. Yesterday was really hot, and she was really sweaty before I even rode her, but she was really good. Not perfect, but good. She went slowly enough for my tastes, and I rode in the indoor arena because it was so hot outside. It was in the 90s yesterday, believe it or not. So I thought I'd give her a break and ride out of the sun.

6/3/2005 Prissy did a lot better last night than the last couple of days. It rained all day yesterday, so we had to ride inside because the outdoor riding arena was absolutely soaked. She was pretty good, though. She slowed down a lot, and listened better. I didn't get to ride for as long as I would have liked, because they changed my work schedule so I worked 4 hours longer than I was supposed to originally. I won't get to ride today, either, so I'll just go over and lunge her so she'll get at least a little bit of a workout. Maybe I'll go put her on the hot walker so she'll be able to stretch a bit.

5/30/2005 Jumped Prissy thee feet yesterday!! She did so very well! I usually don't jump her that high because certain people are paranoid that I'm going to get hurt, but she loves it! She absolutely loves it! When we get a few steps from the jump her ears go forward and you can just feel her get excited! She does everything with her whole heart....she doesn't hold back at all! The jump is halfway up her chest and she'll still jump it like it's not even there! Although I have a hard time having good form when I'm going over the jumps because I've never had formal training, she's still doing fantastically. I'm really impressed with her. She won't even hesitate. The worst she'll do is run a bit after the landing, if you let her. Other than that she's wonderful!!!!!

5/26/2005 Didn't get a chance to ride today because I had work, and school....and besides, there's not really anything I can do over there until she gets new shoes!!

5/25/2005 Priss is doing good. I gave her a good bath the other day, so she's all shiny and beautiful now, and looks really good. The farrier is coming on Friday to give her new shoes, and I'm gonna start jumping her again, and working her a good bit. So that should be cool. My horse trailer is finally finished, too, so anyone who is looking for a two horse bumper pull trailer....I've got one for sale!!!

5/20/2005 Prissy is still for sale....no one wants to buy this gorgeous, awesome horse?

I've been out of town since the 6th, and got back on the 18th...went over to ride that night, and she was every bit as good as if I'd never left, despite not being ridden for twelve whole days!!! How many horses can you say that about?? She does need new shoes, though...it's been about twelve weeks. Shame on me....I meant to call my farrier before I left and set up an appointment for after I got back, but I forgot, and I'm having trouble reaching him...yikes. So yeah, she needs new shoes before I can ride her again.

4/30/2005 Didn't ride long....had a church social function thingie to go to. It was good, though...despite the fact that I haven't ridden Priss since Monday, and before that about a week, she was absolutely SO good!!! Loped, jogged, cantered, long trotted...you name it, she did it right off the bat....no lunging or anything first. Just got on and rode, and she was awesome!!

4/14/2005 Riding was short but sweet today. Priss behaved very well and did everything right, despite not having been ridden for four days straight. We rode indoors and walked, jogged, trotted, cantered, loped, ran as fast as we could, etc.

4/11/2005 The show was awesome! Prissy did fantastically in both English and western. She loped, jogged, and everything. We placed in English, three firsts, a second, a third, and three fourths, and in western we placed third in Egg and Spoon. We didn't place otherwise because I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to be wearing a short sleeve shirt...and no one bothered to tell me. Oh well, it was a good show anyway. I'm quite pleased.

4/6/2005 Riding was very brief today, because I had work until 8:45, then had to go pick my bro and a friend up. I cleaned Prissy's stall because I haven't done it at all so far this week, so that took a bit of time...then I cleaned her up and rode for a few minutes. She wasn't perfect, but she was good enough, especially after that trail ride yesterday. She loped once all the way around the arena at the same pace before I stopped her. That's improvement for you right there. And I got a couple more people wanting to know about her...even one lady who showed her when she was a three-year-old! She said she was good back then....if only she could see her now! People keep writing wanting to know why I'm selling her....I don't doubt why, because she's such an incredibly cool horse!

4/5/4005 Oooo we had soo much fun today!!! Not only did we work more on rollbacks and loping and stuff, but we went on a trail ride too! I rode Priss all the way over to the Piedmont Saddle Club, which is probably around five miles from the barn. That's where the show is going to be this weekend. She was so good, too! Didn't spook at anything, not even once. Not at traffic, barking dogs, goofy stuff on the side of the road, going over a bridge, trash cans, culverts...nothing. She was sooooo good! I'm so proud of her! When we got there I talked to some of the people. They were very impressed and thought Prissy was absolutely gorgeous. I don't have a ride to the show this weekend, so I had to see how long it was going to take. I told them that, and they offered to send a trailer to pick me and Prissy up. Wasn't that cool?? We ran a bit on the way back and had a lot of fun.

4/4/2005 More rollbacks. Prissy is finally loping! After all this time, she's finally, finally loping! Truly loping, too, not some fake imitation. She's going slow, and it's smooth, most of the time! The rollbacks worked!!! Hallelujah! Praise God! I don't know if anyone else could get her to lope, but I can, and that's all that matters at the moment! It's so awesome! She did so well! She's loping all the way around the outdoor arena almost a whole time without breaking gait or going faster, all on a loose rein! How awesome is that??? I'm so proud of her! She tries so very hard...she just hates going slowly. She tries for me, though, and that makes me feel great. This horse is truly the greatest on earth.

4/1/2005 Again, riding today was interesting. I did soo many rollbacks with Priss I'm surprised she didn't get dizzy and fall down. See the sections of the fence in the pictures above? We'd canter, stop, turn, lope two fence posts, stop, turn, and repeat, repeatedly. That got old, but it also got her to slow down and go a steady pace, loping most of the time. If we work on it lots and lots every day for the next seven days before the show, she should get it by next Saturday. Her jogging was really good, as usual. Other than that, the night was rather boring. We worked on patterns some, and that went pretty well.

3/31/2005 Riding today was...interesting, to say the least. Priss was very energetic, and raring to go. I didn't lunge her beforehand, because I knew she didn't need it. She wasn't spooky or jumpy or anything, she just wanted to run and not stop. I forced her to go slowly, though, but it was so very hard. She did not want to slow down at all. Her canter was fine, but since I'm trying to get her to lope, it's very frustrating that I can't get her to do it. Rollbacks work some of the time, and other times pull and release technique works. But no single thing works one hundred percent of the time. It got really old after a while, trust me. Since she wanted to run, and she can go for a really long time without stopping, I pulled her head in quite a bit and then wrapped the reins (western) around the saddle horn and just sat back and let her go. She cantered pretty nicely for a really long time. After our workout she was so sweaty I gave her a bath. And I wasn't in the mood to put up with any more crap from her, so I sprayed the hose in her face and she let me. She stuck her head up in the air, but she didn't protest anywhere near what I thought she would. I was really impressed with that...and now I can cite that as one more thing that she can have done to her. What a unique horse.

3/30/3005 Didn't ride today because I had school and then work at four....so the window there was very narrow. I got off work a bit early, but I took karate instead, because I still wouldn't have had time to ride. So Priss went without today. She'll live.

3/29/2005 I rode Priss western again today. She did fairly well...by the end of an hour or so, she was able to lope about halfway around the arena. We've got a show on April 9th and I'd like to show her in some western pleasure classes, so we've got a lot of work to do before then. Hopefully I'll be able to ride every day before then. I let Kristin, one of the girls at the barn, ride her for a while too, just to get her used to being ridden by someone other than me...since I'm the only person that's extensively ridden her, and she's used to me riding her. It doesn't take that long to figure her out...it just takes a little while to get used to her. She's a great horse, but she can be pretty stubborn. Her jog was pretty good today, and we worked on neck reining some more. She's been fairly decent lately, show material for the most part. Every horse has their days, though, just like us.

3/27/2005 Despite the fact that I've been gone for the last five days, Prissy was really good when I rode her today. She hasn't been ridden or turned out or even lunged, and she still went really slowly and everything. She walked nicely, and jogged, and even loped a bit when I rode today. She was really good; I could hardly believe it!! I'm going to go to a show at the Piedmont Saddle Club on April 9th, so we're going to be getting ready for that for the next couple of weeks. I plan to enter about 19 classes or so...good advertisement for selling her, anyway. I might have the announcer say that she's for sale if she does well enough, so that would be good. We'll have to see! :)

3/23/2005 Priss was good today....I rode her without the martingale, and she did pretty well. She had issues with turning correctly, but we got it after a while.

3/19/2005 Rode for about ten minutes today...I got off work 40 minutes early, so I had a bit of time to go over to the barn before I had to meet a couple of friends. I turned Priss out while I cleaned out her stall, then rode English a little bit. She walked, jogged, trotted, and cantered beautifully and slowly even, without a martingale and in sloppy ground (it rained a couple of days ago). It was really cool...she's been really good lately. I've had a couple of people write to me about the ads I've posted on horsetopia.com, but no calls.

3/15/2005 I started jumping Prissy again....she did so incredibly well! Not one single time did she spook, shy, refuse, bolt, or anything. She jumped crooked a couple of times,