Riding /Longe Lesson Photos

Just wanted to share some recent photos of my son, D and his pony Tonto during a recent lesson with another Pike Road Girl, K. This Pike Road Girl and I grew up together, and she still resides in Pike Road, teaching lessons and managing a huge barn of beautiful horses. Thank you K, for taking the time to work with D and Tonto!!

A little history on Tonto....back in 2002 I was surfing the internet and came across a pony for sale. Tobiano tri-colored paint pony, 11.2 hands, 6 years old....He reminded me so much of Buck, my first pony, that I thought I had to have him. My parents were kind enough to go look at him, then purchase him..."for the grandkids"...which translates into "for my daughter that can't outgrow the horse thing." So, Tonto arrives in October 2002. Very green, very skittish. After talking to the lady that owned him prior to the lady my parents bought him from, I find out that Tonto had been in an abusive situation. The skittishness then made sense. I worked with Tonto off and on for several years, trying to undo some of the abusive memories that were etched into his mind. He has made tremendous, slow progress. Now, my 12 year old son, D, is beginning to really ride Tonto. They are coming along so well, and seem to have a trusting relationship.

Fast forward to this summer. I started riding Tonto at the beginning of the summer every chance I got, just to get him going a little better (I'm only 4'11 tall, so I don't think I'm killing him...). Now D has started riding him every chance he gets, "because Tonto is so much fun!" I've ridden for many years, but I'm not gifted in the teaching aspect, so I'm hoping to have K work with them on occasion. D needs to work on his position and soft hands. (The position will come....poor D is riding in my dressage saddle that swallows him. Tonto needs a crouper to keep the saddle from sliding up his neck...) But anyway, I am so proud of both of them, so I wanted to share some photos.

Starting out on the longe line:

Time to ride off the longe:

These two are doing great together!

Now, Tonto does not know how to canter under saddle...no one ever taught him how. K worked with him on the longe a bit. She got him to canter several half circles, then rewarded him majorly and we stopped. I didn't get any good canter shots, but I loved these huge trot photos!

What a good pony!!! My dream is to take D and Tonto to a few local hunter shows or maybe join Pony Club.... :) We'll see what the future brings. For now, I am so happy with these guys!

Isn't he cute?

A few more shots from the Thursday before the lesson with K:

Got to get those hands quiet, shoulders back and D's heels under his seat, but it will come. Thanks again K - we really appreciate you!

Days Gone By

As promised, here are a few more photos from the past. When we moved to Pike Road in December of 1983, good fortune was on my side. We moved to a house on a dirt road and were lucky enough to live beside another horse-crazy girl my age. I'll refer to her as Horse Crazy Girl #1 (HCG1). Neither of us had a horse back then, but we dreamed of what it would be like to have one. We would make horses out of saw horses, sand, tree limbs, our bicycles...whatever we could find that somewhat resembled a horse.

Then we met HCG2 who lived on a dirt road a little farther down Pike Road. She had several horses, and when we were lucky, she'd ride over and let us ride double with her. To the left is a photo of HCG1 and HCG2 riding Jesse. HCG2 introduced us to other horse people and we began taking lessons from local barns, consuming every horsey tidbit our brains would absorb.

My pony, Buck (in beautiful braids...yah right) arrived in 1985, so HCG1 and HCG2 and I would spend time brushing Buck and occasionally riding with HCG2 (on her horses). HCG2 had a really sweet bay QH mare named Maggie that she would let me ride sometimes.

I fell in love with Maggie and talked my parents into buying her on March 22, 1986. I remember that day because HCG2 rode Maggie over to my house and decided she wanted to ride Buck...who we didn't ride very often because he lived up to his name very well. Buck ended up bucking HCG2 off and breaking the growth plate in her ankle, requiring several surgeries and numerous casts...on both legs. The doctor decided it was best to remove the growth plates from both ankles for fear of HCG2's legs growing different heights. (Maggie and me in 1986--->)

Finally, in December of 1987, HCG1's Dad agreed to let her have a horse. He bought her one beautiful, HUGE Quarter Horse named Cutter Jay Bird. This guy was BIG...at least 16.2 hands, if not a little taller, but as sweet as they come. HCG1 and I finally had our own horses we could ride and we spent many hours on our horses exploring the woods and fields.


HGC1 and Cutter, December 1985

Ha - below are some shots from our drill team days...no, we didn't really belong to a drill team, but we were pretty good!

From left to right: HCG1 and Cutter, HCG2 and Sonny, and Maggie and me.

Here we are again! Thanks to my Dad who took thousands of photos...and still does. I cherish the photos (and my Dad!).

So, what are we up to now? Well, I've lost touch with HCG2, but I stay in touch with HCG1. She lives way far away, owns a gorgeous Sporthorse Arabian and does all of the big-time dressage shows. In her spare time she is an awesome Engineer for a power company. As for me, I still own 3 wonderful horses. Maggie is now 30 years old, Tonto is the funny little paint pony, and I have a very green large pony named Filly that resides with a friend for the time being (saving for a later blog). Having three precious children and a very busy husband keep me busy as well. Life is good, and I am very blessed.

It Was Pretty Neat...

...to watch my equestrian idol from my younger years teach a show jumping clinic at a nearby farm yesterday. In 1988, Greg Best rode his incredible horse Gem Twist in the Seoul Summer Olympics. They earned the individual and team silver medals for show jumping. I have it on video....If you are a horse person, you have to admit they were totally incredible.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

With Greg Best [as the rider]
Gem Twist began winning early in his career with rider Greg Best, including the 1985 USET Talent Derby as a six-year-old. He went on to win his first two competitions at the Grand Prix level, the Grand Prix of Tampa and the Grand Prix of Florida, in 1987. He finished the year with his first American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Horse of the Year honor, as well as a team silver medal from the Pan American Games. Best continued to ride Gem Twist for several years with great success, including earning two silver medals at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. In 1989, Gem Twist was named the American Grand Prix Association Horse of the Year for the second time. In 1990, he was named the "World's Best Horse" at the World Equestrian Games in Stockholm. However, Best injured his shoulder in 1992, and the ride was turned over to Leslie Burr Howard (then Leslie Burr Lenehan).[3]

I was only able to watch the clinic for about an hour and half, and I was not able to introduce myself or talk to him, but never-the-less, it was too neat to see him in person. He was very kind and polite to his students and was a pleasure to be around.

Here are some photos of Greg working with my friend's daughter E. This was the cutest pony!!! I didn't get to see them do much jumping, so these are all on the flat.

After watching the clinic, I made Drew ride his pony, Tonto. :)

These two make such a cute team.

Happy Birthday, to My Oldest Baby!

Our oldest son turned 12 today. My gosh, where has the time gone??

We are so proud of him - he is such a wonderful person.

Happy Birthday!!!

It Began Way Back...

See, I told you it started way back - as far as I can remember. Here are some OLD photos for your viewing pleasure. I believe I was about 3 years old in these photos, around 1977.

My Dad was probably relieved when he no longer had to lead me around on other people's horses. :)

The "Horse" Thing

This post is for you Sisundermoud - and not EVERYTHING you talk about is misunderstood. I get your point most of the time (although sometimes I may act like I don't...). :)

So, the "Horse" thing. I don't know when it started or what started it. I have just always loved horses...for as long as I can remember. When we would take family vacations or visit the grandparents, I would always stare out the window waiting to get a glimpse of a horse or pony grazing in a pasture. I asked for a horse EVERY Christmas...as far back as I can remember. Mom and Dad gave me Breyer horses to try to satisfy my interest, but I got frustrated when I would sit on them and the legs would break off. You just can't ride a Breyer, no matter how hard you try. (After a while I decided I should should put the Breyers on a shelf rather than try to ride them...so now I have 400 or so...) Then I tried the bicycle....my girlfriends and I would tear around the cul-de-sac in Birmingham pretending to ride our magnificent steeds, but that just didn't do the trick either. My parents would take me to a horse farm on occasion and lead me around on a pony so I could get my "horse fix" for the time being. There were some really nice folks that had horses near my grandparents, so when we visited, I always made my Mom take me to their place so I could see the horses. Sometimes they were kind enough to lead me around for a while.

Finally, after we moved to Pike Road when I was 9 years old, my grandfather bought me a pony. I had been taking riding lessons for a while and riding with a friend every chance I got, so I guess my parents felt like I had enough interest in horses to let me have one; plus we now had 8 acres that needed something to graze on it. My uncle's neighbor had a cute pinto pony named Buck that he decided to sell and because my uncle loved this pony so much, Grandpa decided to buy him and give him to me for my birthday. My dear uncle truly loved this pony - he allowed Buck to roam his fields and his yard. As Buddy was building his house, Buck kept him company, even standing by him as he hammered and sawed. My uncle said Buck even toured the house a couple of times when he left the door open. Anyway, Uncle Buddy hauled Buck from Tennessee to Pike Road for me and that was what began a love affair with horses that still lasts today. Buck had been abused in his past and after a couple of very trying years and a few broken bones (mine, a cousin's and a friend's), Buck and I formed an incredible bond of trust and friendship that few people truly experience with an animal. I will save Buck's story for another post, but he was the light that started the flame that continues to burn in my heart.

I can't tell you exactly what it is about horses that I love, but to me they are the most amazing, magnificent, awe-inspiring animals God put on this earth. To feel their muscles under their glossy coat, to watch them tear across an open field, to see the depth of their liquid eyes, to hear the sigh of a contented horse, to watch a horse and rider team compete together as one; all of these things and more are what I love about horses. And I guess I should say that it isn't just a love of horses, it is a sickness; an obsession. I have tried so many times to turn away from them, to put them on hold for a while, but I just can't. I crave time to spend with my horses. Not to ride, but to just be with them, near them, touch them, smell them, watch them. Maybe therapy would help?

So, that is the best I can explain the "Horse" Thing at the moment. I'll be sure to post more about Buck and my other horses, so stay tuned! (I might even tell some stories about my kids, my hubbie, and our other animals...) Until next time...

About Pike Road Girl

Thanks for visiting Pike Road Girl's blog. She doesn't know that I am starting her a blog tonight, but I was trying to think of another way for her to have an outlet for her love of horses until we get our property ready to bring her ponies to our home. Pike Road Girl and I have been married for going on 9 years and have three pretty darn good children. We met in college and became best buds. I think we still are, but life starts passing you by when work and children come into the mix. Pike Road Girl loves horses and pretty much anything else that doesn't talk back (dogs, cats, rabbits, fish, hermit crabs, plants etc...) She doesn't really know how much I really appreciate her under appreciated ability to handle all of the things that she does on a daily basis. I thought this blog would be a good time for me say some of these things and then send her on her way with her very own blog. If your looking for someone who shares your love of horses (and all other animals and plants and the environment) then you have come to the right place. Pike Road girl is truly one of God's greatest gifts to this world. She is the friendliest person you will ever meet and will try to help anyone with troubles. Welcome to Pike Road Girl's Blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I know she will! I love you honey!