The Ups And Downs Of Walking

Training Journal

 
Quiet side: It is wonderful to be walking our horse.

Competitive side: Yes it is. When are we going to trot?

Quiet side: We trot. And canter.

Competitive side: Pffft. A few minutes on a long rein is not trotting. Well, technically it is trotting. But it’s not working. Circles. Contact. Basic stuff. Canter more often than once a month.

Quiet side: It’s all about anxiety management. He knows how to do everything already. As soon as his brain is online, the body will follow.

Competitive side: Interesting how the sensitive horsemanship answer is the same as the weenie answer.

Quiet side: That’s rude.

Competitive side: Yup. And may I also point out that he is 20 years old. That’s a whole new level of starting late.

Quiet side: May I point out how how far we’ve come.

Competitive side: Jumping. Remember jumping?

Quiet side: —

Competitive side: I thought so. Ain’t gonna get ready for jumping by walking around on the buckle.

Quiet side: Festina lente.

Competitive side: Lots of lente; not so much festina.

Quiet side: It takes the time it takes.

Competitive side: Life is short. Yolo.

Quiet side: We are smelling the flowers.

Competitive side: We are wandering around aimlessly.

Quiet side: Potato, potahto.

Competitive side: We have the chance to own a fantastically talented horse and this is what we chose to do with him?

Quiet side: Are you trying to help or trying to crank up the guilt knob?

Competitive side: Whatever it takes.

Quiet side: Be quiet. It is wonderful to be walking our horse.
~~~
And there you have my brain.

Discussing the Dichotomy
[Is Your Horse A Dog Or A Sailboat?]
[Split Personality]
[Countdowns]

Does anyone else’s brain send mixed messages?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Why! Are! We! Waiting! Schooling The Hurry Up & Wait

Training Journal

 

 
We’ve all been to shows where you get ready and then wait, and wait, and wait. Yet, we never practice this at home. At least, I don’t. Get on. Ride. Get off. That’s the general routine at home. Then we go to shows and expect the horse to be good with a different paradigm. Most horses are.

Since we have been blessed with a pair of princess cupcake snowflakes, I am now schooling things I used to take for granted. As an example, Rodney went over to Stepping Stone Farm to hang out under saddle. We stood in the middle of the ring to watch a lesson. We did a little bit of work. We watched this lesson. We went over to the other ring and watched that lesson.

In the beginning, he thought it was odd and a touch concerning to have horses swirling around him. Then in the middle, he stood still but started stretching his head down and doing weird things with his tongue. In any other horse, I would have interpreted this as obedient but bored. This horse never gets bored. At home, we’ve stood for 20-30 minutes while he quietly gazes at the world around him [Switching Horses]. By the end, he was was all, ‘Okay. They work. I watch. Cool.’

Does anyone else school this?

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Inktober Word

Discovering Art

 

 
Week 2 [Inktober Cat]
Week 1 [Inktober Horse]
Inktober
#inktober
#inktober2019
“Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week.” Rules

Process
The plan was to have the I slanting down, the K slanting up, with the N criss-crossed in the middle. Then I drew the lines the wrong way on the I and had to adapt. When I tried to make another one, the outlines of the letters never got right. I am trying to envision the result as a happy little tree.

Materials
Pen: Zebra fountain pen. Is there a better celebration of ink that the fountain pen? These Zebra pens are disposable, which is not environmental but so convenient. A gateway to real, i.e. refillable, fountain pens.
Paper: Canson Mix Media, spiral bound, 98 lb
Digitization: cell phone camera
Post-production: resized, border, & watermark in GIMP
Retouching: None.
~~~
Speaking of words, I have found a new way to describe my approach to Inktober. Fun Art. This concept comes courtesy of the post Not Fine Art…But Fun Art by Artistcoveries: Discovering the joy of art. The concept is self-evident. As the author says, “I’m going for entertainment, amusement, and enjoyment.” Sounds good to me.

This is not an excuse for my poor draftsmanship, or at least not just an excuse. In the post, another speaker says, “We can’t get too crafty.” If there is a divide between fine art and craft, I come down with solid thud on the craft side. Craft can be both useful and beautiful. Fine art is … Well, the nature of art, the relationship between art and craft, and my feelings on same is a ponderment for another day.

Meanwhile.

Fun Art.

Wheeeeeee!

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Canter Collage, Show Photos, Alabama Charity 2019

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 


 
To keep himself entertained when not holding my paw, my stellar groundperson bought our camera to the show. For some reason, ASB show photographers never have pictures of the horses cantering. To remedy that oversight, I present Sam at the canter. [Show Report]
 

 
I find the feet fascinating. So many different configurations.

Update
Does a horse have feet or hooves? Both. A deer has two hooves on each foot, so hoof and foot are slightly different things. “Some odd-toed ungulates (equids) have one hoof on each foot.” Wiki: Hoof

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Transportation, The Downside of Driving II

Driving Thursday

 

A while back a friend expressed interest in CDE driving; they expressed concern about all the equipment. I wanted to be encouraging, but they were right. Harness. Carts. And the vehicles to move said equipment.

After the show [Report], we brought home two of the three carts Stepping Stone Farm had taken to the show, which were two show carts for Academy Driving and the bike for the road pony. Coach Courtney often brings a jog cart for training (pictured below).

Neither of these are our personal carts. That’s right, carts, plural. We own four, in various stages of utility. They seem to multiply when one is not looking. This caused me reflect on the moving of carts over the years.

Heading to ProAm 2017 [Showing Without My Security Blanket II], image from my previous Instagram account [rodneyssaga] 4/4/17.

Not pictured, coming home from Kentucky [CAA] with a marathon cart in the bed of the truck (our future four-wheel cart, pictured below) & pulling a box trailer carrying Coach Kate’s fancy, antique, pleasure driving carriage [CAA Photos].

Picking up our second cart [New Equipment: Intro Cart].

Not pictured. Driving the long way to Memphis to pick up the cart we used. “Heading out. 1st stop Franklin to drop off carriage. Driving is an exercise in cart logistics.” [Show Tweets: Nashoba Carriage Classic 2017]

#3 [New Equipment: Carriage].

#4 [Scoring Serious Wife/Navigator Points].

Photo by Deb Kesecker

For Winter Tournament, we show in the jog cart [A Wordless Story].

For the record. 1) Ten carts are pictured/mentioned here, nine of which have been in/behind our truck. We have yet to haul the new road pony bike [Them]. Give it time. 2) Our first cart was the one Mathilda destroyed many years ago [Driving Miss M].
~~~

Previous [Downside of Driving]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Putting The Show In Showmanship, Show Report, Alabama Charity 2019, Riding

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 


 
Alabama Charity Championship Horse Show
Saturday, October 12, 2019


 
104. Academy Showmanship WTC — Adult Amateur, 3rd of 4
105. Academy Equitation WTC — Adult Amateur, 2nd of 4
108. Academy WTC — Any Age Rider Championship, 6th of 12, 3rd highest placing adult.


 
After the drama of the driving class [Taking The Reins], I was so happy to get on Sam. It was the least nervous I’ve been about a horse show class in years. It was wonderful.

I give myself high marks for ringmanship [Virtue]. I had a plan. It wasn’t alway the best plan, but at least I was decisive. Part of the problem with traffic management is the lack of concrete answers. You have to weigh the variables on the fly. In one class, I came down from the trot in a timely fashion but ended up in an awkward spot for the canter. Fortunately, Sam will canter from anywhere. In the Championship class, I trotted to a good spot, but there were more people in the class than I am used to and I could tell I was taking too long even as I did it. Unfortunately there is no way to practice game-time decisions. You just have to keep playing the game.

I scored less well in remembering to equitate or to fire up the horse, which sound like separate tasks, but aren’t really. Sitting back would have made it easier for me to remind Sam to stay elevated. If Sam had been moving in his best possible frame, I would have had an easier time sitting fancy and gotten less argument about making zippy turns. It’s all tied together.

The winner of the adult classes also won the championship and has been nigh on unbeatable all year. I wasn’t getting the better of them, not with Mr. Anti-Sparkle. I heart Sam, but he doesn’t wow the judges. Or, I should say that the judges don’t see his inherent wowness. The adult rider who finished ahead of me in two of the three class is also from Stepping Stone Farm. So, yeah team! All of which is a long-winded way of saying, ya can’t win em all.

BTW, the green ribbon measures 41 inches from crown to tip.
~~~
Previous shows. Mainly for me, because I wonder about these things.
[Show Report: Alabama Charity Championship, Decatur AL] 2013, Alvin
[Show Report: Alabama Charity 2014] Lola
[Show Report: Alabama Charity Championship 2015] Eddie, Big, Wilco
“When she discovers boys, she’ll lose interest in horses.” [Photos]
[Show Report, Alabama Charity Championship 2016], [Photos] Iggie & Alvin
[Show Report: Alabama Charity Championship 2017], [Photos] Dottie & Snippy
2018 Did not attend [This Is Why You Can’t Do It All], [For This I Cleaned My Tack?]

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott