Oso went to his first show last weekend, a combined test (dressage and show jumping) schooling show at the Woodside horse park. It was a great first show experience for him! He stabled overnight with no problems, was easy to handle on the show grounds, and entered a real dressage court for the first time. He was great in the warmup area (sometimes the scariest place at a show!) even when a horse took off with his rider at full speed. While our dressage test had a few tense ‘baby’ moments, Oso received some excellent comments–“Elegant horse” and “nicely on bit”! He will definitely settle as he gets a few more show experiences under his belt. I was very proud of him during our jumping round, as it was definitely more jumps than we had ever done in a row (a total of 8) and even included a bending line. I am fairly certain Oso now considers himself a ‘grown up’ and very important show horse now, as he has been more focused and wants to get right to work in our rides at home since the show!
Archive | September, 2016
Harry and Snowman Screening
Neigh Savers had the pleasure of presenting an advance screening of this film last night – September 17th, 2016! We had a great turnout and everyone loved it! Special thanks to Gina and her staff at Brightstar Saddlery for providing the venue and all their assistance. Great job by the SoCal Neigh Savers Team: Board Director Maureen Sowell, volunteers Victoria Brentwood, Nenah Mikuska and Annie Eitman.
Help get this film the exposure it deserves by calling your local theater and ask them to bring it to your town!
Oso Schooling at Woodside
Another great trailering and training session with Oso at the horse park. After a nice hack around the cross country course, we headed up to the arena to pop over a few show jumps. In the last few weeks, I have focused on developing Oso’s strength and adjustability in the canter through work in the lunge. Lunging Oso in side reins and Pessoa system (not something I use on every horse, but Oso seems to like the support it provides) has helped him develop confidence in his canter and steadiness in the bridle. It has definitely paid off, as he trotted and cantered small cross rails and verticals in good rhythm, even throwing in a flying lead change when we changed direction. We ended by going up and down the banks in the arena–Oso’s first introduction to this element! Looks like we might be off to our first show on Sunday, stay tuned!