riding Bewitched, Calypso's Song & Wishful Thinking, plus, having a long conversation with mom(Dana) -- Fantail's Kid's Riding Board

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Subject: riding Bewitched, Calypso's Song & Wishful Thinking, plus, having a long conversation with mom(Dana)

Author:
Arianna (Dana)

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Date Posted: 19:01:30 09/10/02 Tue

Arianna grabbed her safety vest, gloves & helmet, & walked back to her horses stall.Today, Arianna was going to jump her bay TB mare, Bewitched, over onw of the cross country courses @ Timeless Farm.Bewitched was all tacked up & ready to go.Ari led Bewitched to the stable yard & got on her.Arianna rode Bewitched to the cross country course.It took 10 minutes to get there @ a walk & trot.Arianna cantered Bewitched around some before trotting her bay TB mare over a solid, small wooden crossrail.Then she cantered Witch over the small jump.Arianna did a few more warm up jumps before trying part of the course.Arianna got Witch to canter & rode her to the first jump.Witch went @ a steady pace to the solid coop & leaped over the 4" jump.Arianna squeezed the 16 hand mare into a hand gallop & kept her at that pace until they came close to the next jump, a 3'-6" log.Witch leaped over the jump & galloped on.Arianna slowed Witch down to a trot.She trotted Witch to the next jump.Witch leapt up onto the ledge of the jump & trotted 2 paces before jumping over a soldi wooden wall.On the other side of the wall, was a 4 foot drop.Beiwtched managed to get over that jump perfectly, & Arianna squeezed her back into a canter.They took a 4'-6" stone wall & a coffin jump before Arianna slowed Bewitched down to a trot, & then a walk.Arianna hadn't planned on spending much time jumping part of the cross country course today, so she decided to canter & gallop for 2 miles with intervals for walking & trotting.She finally rode Bewitched back to Timeless Farm & walked the sweaty bay mare out before dismounting, untacking & hosing off Bewitched.Then she gave Witch a carrot & turned her out with Dutchess, Glorious Honor, Firefly & Milady.Then she brought Calypso's Song up to the stable.After grooming & tacking up her Holsteiner mare.Arianna led her to the outdoor arena, where her mom, Dana was waiting to watch Arianna's first ride on Song.the 4 y/o mare had very good ground manners, & was rather well behaved.Arianna said hi to her mom & then mounted Song.the 13 y/o teenager had ridden many green horses before, and was a experienced rider partly because of that.Song was no exception of a green horse & bucked a few times while Arianna was walking her around."keep your leg tight on her, & push your heels down," called Ari's mom.Arianna nodded and did as her mom had instucted.After walking for another couple of mins, Dana said to Ari "okay, lets see a trot." Arianna squeezed Song & she sprang into a light, bouncy trot."I know what you mean when you say Holsteiner's have springy back ends!" Ari called to her mother.Dana smiled & said "Calypso has to be the worst of them! that horses back end got make a chained on anchor bounce!" Arianna laughed & called "I'll get used to it soon enough!" After a little trotting, Dana said "now lets see a canter.This is going to be a lot bouncier than what your used to on Bewitched, so make sure your prepared!" Arianna nodded & cued Bewitched to canter.The bay Holsteiner psrang into a very bouncy canter."Can I buy shock absorbers for her saddle mom? there not for the horse, there for me!" it was Dana's turn to laugh this time.Arianna went into half-point and said "this is a lot better." Dana called to her "I want to see you sit when you canter Ari!" Arianna mock frowned & sat to Song's canter."Your position looks good Ari, but try wrapping your legs arouns her so you don't bounce so much." Arianna nodded & wrapped her legs around Song as far as they could go.It helped Ari & she didn't bounce so much.Of course, her legs JUST touched the edges of Song's belly.After another lap of cantering, Ari slowed Song to a walk & reversed direction with her.After a lap at the walk, she picked up a canter with Song.a couple mintues later, Ari slowed Song to a walk again & walked out the beautiful Holsteiner mare.Then Arianna dismounted & led Song nack to the stable.She quickly untacked the bay mare & then fed her a peppermint & turned her out.Arianna watched the pretty horse kick up her heels as she ran off in the pasture to her friends once Arianna had let her run free in the pasture.The beautiful mare stuck her elegantly scuplted head in the air & whinnied to her pasture-mates, April & Candy Apple.Then Arianna walked back to the barn to get her last ride of the day ready.Wishful Thinking, a 5 y/o Welsh pony gelding, was in his stall, munching hay when Arianna opened his stall door & came in with a lead rope.She quickly led him into the barn aisle & clipped crossties to his leather halter.Arianna had ridden the cute pony since he was 3, & hadn't even been trained to jump yet.She wasn't quite sure hwy her mom kept him.Dana had enough english lesson horses & ponies already, & Daric and Jonathan already had ponies.Arianna's mom didn't ride Wishful, & he was a young, well-trained pony who could sell for a quite a bit of money.Well, thought Arianna, I don't mind, I like Wishful & I'm glad mom is keeping him.Arianna quickly set to work grooming the 13.2 hand chestnut pony.Then she tacked up Wishful & finally led him to the one of the indoor jumping arenas.Arianna set up some groundpoles, cavaletti, crossrails & 2" and 2'-3" jumps.The indoor arena was large, so it held all of the jumpd & rails she put in it.Arianna mounted Wishful & quickly warmed up the willing pony at all 3 gaits.Then she walked & trotted him over some ground-poles & cavaletti to get him extending his pace.Arianna hopped him over a line of 2 small crossrails & then cantered him to some gymnastic jumps.It was a simple pattern of a 1'-9" single, a 2 foot single & a 2'-3" single.1, 2, 3, counted Arianna in her head, Wishful made a beautiful jump over the first single & picked himself up to jump the next single.There were no strides in-between the 3 jumps, so Wishful had to rock back on his haunches to get over the jump,Then he cleared the 3rd a final jump with a foot to spare.Arianna & Wishful looked perfect over the last jump with the ponies knee's tucked up & even, his coat gleaming & his rider in perfect position.Arianna slowed Wishful down to a trot, & trotted into a line of 2 foot jumps.He took the first single, which consisted of 1 rail & a board, both painted green.Wishful went into canter on landing & cantered 4 strides before flying over a green painted oxer, which was made of 2 rails & 2 boards.Arianna kept Wishful at a canter & did a rollback, jumping him over a single on the oppisite side of the arena.Wishful was confused, & almost ducked out on the jump, but good training kept him from doing that.Wishful was still only doing hunter courses, so when he found himself going over a single jump on the oppisite side of the arena after he had jumped a line, he was un-sure why his rider had directed him to jump this fence.Arianna slowed the chestnut pony down to a walk, & then cantered him in a courtesy circle.She cantered Wishful to the first line of the hunter course she was doing.Wishful jumped the line well, & made a large turn to the diagonal line like he should.Arianna jumped him over the rest of the course, & seeing that he did the course fine, she slowed him down to a walk & then walked him out for a few laps in both directions.Then the 13 y/o girl dismounted & led Wishful back to his stall.Arianna untacked him & then put his tack away.Arianna walked over to the hay barn, & seeing that no one was there to help yet, she loaded one of the carts attached a tractor with hay.Arianna got into the tractor, & drove it to the hay barn.Arianna was only 13, but she was old enough to drive a tractor to the stable.She put the proper amount of flakes of hay in each horses stall in the stallions barn & then drove the tractor back to the hay barn to re-load it.a couple of the barn hands were already there and said that they would do the hay, so Arianna thanked them for that & walked over to the office barn, hoping that her mom was there.It wasn't easy to find someone in a facility with 8 barns, various arenas, lots of trails & 10 miles of pasture land.Arianna must have had good luck just then, because her mother was in the barn office."Well hello Ari," said Dana."Hey mom," Arianna replied."I'm glad you found me Ari, I was just going to look for you, I have a few questions."
"what are they mom?
"Well," Dana said."number 1, I've got a few horses I was wondering if you could school a few horses.Macho Man needs work on dressage, I'd like Little Princess to go up a few inches in how high she is jumping, & I need a experienced rider to do jumping & dressage with Whirlwind, the new Anglo-Arab lesson horse." Arianna said "okay mom, I'll work with them." Dana nodded and said "thanks Arianna, tomorrow I will show you what you should do with them.number 2, I was thinking about Wishful, we don't have much need for him here, and he could be a great kids pony.The only problem is that I've been looking for a buyer, but no one wants to buy him.I was thinking about half-leasing him to someone.A child of course, but we would still be able to keep up his training, & you would be able to ride him, just that another kid would ride him part-time." "mom, I know what a half-lease is!" Arianna protested.Her mom said "I was just worried that you would take it bad!I know your sort-of attached to Wishful." "I am mom." "Well," said Dana."Maybe we shouldn't half-lease him." Arianna smiled and said "you mean it mom? you really won't lease him out?" Dana smiled back & said "If you want him Ari, he's your's." Arianna gasped and said "You mean I can..can...HAVE him?" Dana nodded."Thank you SOOO much mom! you WON'T regret this! THANK YOU!!!!" Arianna excited said."Now number 3 is that I have a friend at a stable called Blackwood Acres who needs a few horses and a pony exercised.It would only be twice a week, what do you say? She'll pay $5 a ride." Arianna shrugged & said "k mom, what does she need me to do with them?" Dana replied, "the first horse is a chestnut TB/Shire gelding who does the hunter/jumpers.His show name is Too Much To Handle.The second horse is a light grey Arabian mare who does eventing.The 3rd horse is a black-bay Morgan gelding who is great at dressage, but needs some work on jumping.Does that answer your question Ari? Arianna nodded & said now what will I be doing with Macho, Princess & Whirlwind?" Dana said "Macho is stating to school the training level dressage test, he could also work on jumping, he currently does 2'-6" but I know he has potential to do at least 3 foot hunter/jumper courses.Little Princess is currently doing 2 foot jumper courses, I want you to school her at 2'-3" stuff, eventually 2'-6" jumps.Whirlwind jumps 3'-9" & does 2nd level dressage, she is schooling 3rd level." Arianna said "okay mom, thanx, I'll se ya later, I've got barn chores to do."See ya later Ari," her mom said back.Arianna stepped out of the office & set off to do her barn chores.

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