Driving a cones course

Pardon the driving, I need to tighten my lines.  However, if you've never driven a cones course before this is a decent example of one.  This was taken at the National Drive 2012.  They were great, every day they changed the two cones courses so there were lots of opportunites to practice cone driving.

Judged Trail Ride with Best

This is our new theme!

I recently had the opportunity to take Best in the woods, of course, we didn't just start out with a nice hack through the woods.  No, we tackled the Cal-U Equestrian Team's Judged Trail Ride in Mingo Park.  You could ride in teams and we were fortunate that an experienced friend let us trail along with her mare.  Best did very good overall.  He practiced leading and following as well as standing quietly while waiting for others to finish their obstacle.  Overall he finished 6th in the Best of the Rest category, not bad for his first outing.  

We were a bit over-matched by the terrain though, Mingo has some hills that were much steeper than we had tackled before.  We had some problems with the saddle slipping back but Best was very tolerant.  I'm still working on developing my seat and Best had several opportunities to dump me but he never took it.  At one point we were going up hill at a trot, with the saddle slid back, when my stirrup came out of the keeper, suddenly I'm grabbing mane, riding with one stirrup with the other stirrup dangling upside down from my toe.  Yes, he was very good for not trying anything at that point. 

Here are a few pictures from the event, they were taken by a Cal-U team member.

Here we go on a Jungle Cruise!  Going through the dangling cloth while walking down the tarp resulted in some dancing but he was more concerned about the noise then anything else.  He's very much a city boy - 21 gun salutes and firetrucks are no problem but rustling leaves are 'weird.'  He was much better on tarps as time went on though. 

We had to walk on the tarp and then do a 360 on the haunches.  Since Best has studs in his shoes we walked across the tarp and then did our 360 so we wouldn't tear it.

We jogged down this 'road' before stepping over the 'bumps.'

Best visits the Dark Side

Yes, it's true, Best and I have been visiting the Dark Side.  While I haven't seen any of the rumored cookies I have noticed that they have caramel apples, which is nearly as good.

Best and I went to our first riding show this weekend. He did great!  We came home with 2 blues, 1 second, a fifth and a sixth, out of seven classes.  We didn't place in the first class, Best was clearly a bit baffled by what we were doing (keyhole race) but never refused.  And then there was the jug race (you're give a milk jug, you ride down to a barrel, pop milk jug into bin, and then ride back) which his rider lost for him.  I was determined not to get my hand stuck and thus proceeded to drop it, bouncing it off my knee, toe and finally the barrel.  Good news though, Best couldn't have cared less. In other classes, especially those without a lot of turns, well, let's just say in walk/trot speed classes a STB can trot it out!

We won this team class called Twister.

His ears are up and he's trying to do his best.

Yup, he was really concerned about things.  Note the loose rein.  This was toward the end of the day.  He was concerned in the morning for about 10 mins. about the STBs working on the track but after that he was fine.  He still needs a bit more work on his social skills but by the end of the day he was weaving between horse on the way to the gate like a pro.

While it was great that Best placed it should also be noted that once again he was a great ambassador for Standardbreds.  Several people mentioned that they were impressed with his temperament.  One lady specifically mentioned that we inspired her.  She is about my size with a STB that she doesn't ride.  Hopefully she'll be able to get out there and start riding again.  I also talked to two ladies in the supermarket who had been at the show, they said that I should be very proud of Best.  I am.

Best makes a new friend

One of the hardest things for Best is making new horse friends. He's pretty independent, which is really nice when I go out by myself (no whinnies for barn buddies) but I also think he should be a horse.  Horses are meant to be herd animals.  I was delighted when he made friends with Red (in bridle), although I've never seen horses spend so much time rubbing heads and licking each other.

Ride and Drive Horse?

Best is turning out to be quite the riding horse.  When we came back from Kentucky I brought my saddle and bridle with us.  Since then, bit by bit, I've been getting on him more and more.  I haven't ridden with any consistency since 2003, primarily because I kept getting hurt.  Best is extremely patient with me.  I have a three-tier step stool that I use to just slide into the saddle.  When I'm getting off him, he'll stand patiently while I move the steps around to get better alignment.  While I don't think we're going to win any ridding classes anytime soon we are having fun, or at least I am.

Blinkers are Best's security blanket.  When I first started ridding him he was very hesitant about everything, if I rode him in his driving bridle then he was more confident.  So I started line driving him without blinkers and riding him just for short periods.  He's really coming along now and relaxing much more.  However, Best is definitely a city horse. Since we got my stirrups straightened out we've made a ton of progress and we did our first ride out to the very back hay field recently. Mailboxes, trash cans, flags are all okay, rabbits are tolerated, but frogs who croak suddenly, well, they're scary without blinkers.  He's very good about not spooking out from under me or trying to run but sometimes his body language just shouts OMG Nature!  

We'll continue to take it slow - building up his back muscles, my leg muscles and our overall confidence - but we're taken the first steps and I'd love to have him as a ride and drive horse for next year.

Cool Summer Treats

This summer has been very hot and I was looking for cool treats for Best.  I've tried a variety of options but the one he likes best is frozen apple juice.  I just fill the ice cube trays with apple juice, freeze overnight, and we're good to go.  I also tried ice cubes of honey water and carrots but the apple juice is preferred

To make a larger treat I cutting the top off a pop bottle, filling it with water before adding carrots and honey.  A round bottle works best, otherwise he uses the edges to eat if faster.  I also recommend using a smooth sided bottle (without grips) as that makes it much easier to remove from the container.

I have found that Best likes the treats better if they are just frozen overnight.  I think they don't freeze 100% through and that makes them easier for him to eat.

Tandem with Against the Best and Draken

We had a great trip to the KY Horse Park for Carriage Round-up.  First off, it marks my having Best for one year! It's hard to believe a whole year has passed (okay, he spent 4 months this winter with my parents but still).  Secondly, we drove tandem!

Clay Maier was nice enough to come over on Saturday afternoon to help us drive tandem.  Notice Best checking this idea out.  He was very good but we have to work on his collection.  

 While driving tandem (one horse in front of the other) dates back to the 12th century, it first became popular as well as sociably way to reach hunts during the mid-1800s.  Tandem driving is referred to as an advanced school of driving and one that is comparable in some ways to driving a four-in-hand.  The horses must be well trained, especially the lead horse, as there are no shafts to guide him and he is about 10 feet out from the carriage.  This type of driving is very exciting and beautiful but done incorrectly can have disastrous results.  With this in mind experts were asked for their assistance. Many thanks to Charlie Poppe for the equipment loan and Jerry & Nancy Bedinghaus for their assistance harnessing.  Most of all, thank you to Clay for making this such a positive experience.

You can watch Best bob his head in this clip and almost mess up Draken.  Thank goodness nobody shook their head.  You'll notice that while Draken's stride is a bit shorter than Best's he is the more forward of the two, that is why he is in front.

Here are the boys as I drive them.

And the final result...

Best as a Music Critic (aka our Memorial Day Parade)

So...(you just know a story is going to be unique when it starts out this way)...we did the McDonald (PA) Memorial Day parade today.  It actually went pretty well overall.  

We got to the parade line-up a bit later that recommended but still with plenty of time.  Best looked everything over, decided that there was nothing interesting happening and considered dozing.  That is until the band started playing while walking toward him.  He'd been around a band in his last parade and couldn't have cared less but he didn't like this one and we were supposed to be right behind them.  Somewhere in the greater Pittsburgh area there is a band leader going, "I can't believe they were going to put that horse behind us! What were they thinking?!?!"  Best was a very tough music critic and after a firm request on his part to go home, we got ourselves together and ended up following the fire trucks.  He was quite happy to follow the fire trucks and did so like a veteran parade horse (this was just his second parade).  People clapped for us and we waved.  It was great to see so many veterans and their spouses out an about.  We stayed through the first ceremony which included the ceremonial rifle firing.  We were two houses away when they did that and Best stood like a good horse for it. 

The great thing about Best is that once the scary thing is gone, he settles right down.  That's only the third time in a year that he had a problem and his "problems" are very easily controlled.  (knock on wood) He doesn't even really spook, he tells you more with his ears and stride if he doesn't like something.  We went through a one lane tunnel on our way to the parade and other than flicking the ears and slowing down a bit he went right on through.  It was pretty dark in there and the footing changed but it was no big deal.  Apparently he just prefers his music on the radio.

I need to get a bit more organized because having to keep everything, including my harness, in one tack box almost guarantees that whatever you are looking for is only going to be found at the very bottom of the box.  And, of course, since I was looking for the black yarn, I should have just started in the darkest corner of the box.   Finally, I did get my act together and got the poppies braided into Best's mane (to learn why poppies are appropriate for Memorial Day click here) and they stayed in the whole 9 miles (round trip).   I think we looked quite well overall.  

PS.  On the way back I saw my first PA snake.  He was pretending to be a branch on the side of the road and if he hadn't been so big (biggest snake I've ever seen) he would have fooled me.  Thankfully he didn't move as we passed because we had cars passing us right then.  I'm okay with going another 8 or 9 years without seeing one.

A Saturday Drive with Best

Photos from Equine Affaire

 The SPHO-OHIO booth was looking quite nice.  Here it is with Draken's ribbon banner.  They gave out coloring books, the USTA flyer that outlines the various organizations that they have partnerships with (including the American Driving Society), and lots and lots of candy.  Best and I were quite busy during the duration of Equine Affaire.  All total we did 3 "on-foot" demos (including a shoeing demo with Danver Childs), four driving clinics and 2 driven breed demonstrations.

Best spent some time on Thursday in the petting stall attached to the booth.  Since we were promoting the new USTA/ADS partnership he was in full marathon harness.  He did an excellent job and was very calm.

We also spent some time in the 'green pen' which was a demo area.  Several people came over to say hello as we line drived around the little square.  Again, Best did great and several people commented on his personality.

One thing that Best still seems to find amazing is riding horses.  He just loves to watch them.  Here he is watching Stacy Westfall and Vanquero doing a demo.

Mr. Best wasn't quite on his absolute best behavior but he did pretty darn good.  At one point there were about 30 horses (including a Haflinger drill team warming up) and he just kept walking.  Standing is still a bit of a problem under some situations - he'll try for you but get antsy.  At one point he stood quietly for nearly 20 mins while we waited for our turn in a clinic so it's not like he can't do it but when there is a lot of activity he would much prefer to just walk quietly.  Really, as long as he behaves himself I'm willing to walk.  The only thing that truly bothered him was when a noisy crowd came out of the Colosseum.  To solve that we just turned him and went the other way while moving off the rail a bit and, just like that,  life was good again.  He's not perfect (what horse is) but he's pretty darn good.

SPECIAL THANKS --

Thanks to Chris and Melanie Glover for helping me put the banner up.


MEGA Thanks to Robin Lawson for not only taking pictures but helping get Best ready for all of his events. We packed a lot into four days and Robin was a critical part of us getting everywhere on time (I've got to get a watch that matches with my driving outfit) while looking all nice and shiny.


Thanks to the SPHO-Ohio for allowing us to tag along with them.

Equine Affaire Ohio get ready because here we come!

It's official!  In just a few days we head out to Equine Affaire in Columbus, Ohio to take part in that horse experience.  Against the Best will be representing the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization of Ohio as a pleasure driving horse on Saturday and Sunday.   Additionally he will participating in the Andy Marcoux driving clinics.  So our schedule looks like this:

Thursday - arriving and Best will be in the SPHO stall in Voinovich Arena at some point 

Friday - 'free' day for me!  Hoping to see Jeff Wilson and Jennifer Moshier's clinics.  Jeff is our "neighbor" from Delhi, NY and FB friend Katie Clouser is going to be doing some of Jennifer's clinics with her horse Maggie. 

SAT 4/14/12 - 2:15pm - 2:30pm*Rod's Covered Paddock * Breed Demo 

SAT 4/14/12 • 2:30pm–4:00pm* Rod's Covered Paddock *Driving Clinic 

SAT 4/14/12 • 5:15pm–6:45pm*Rod's Covered Paddock *Driving Clinic 

SUN 4/15/12 • 9:30am–11:00a* Voinovich Arena*Driving Clinic 

SUN 4/15/12 - 1:15pm-1:30pm* Coliseum*Breed Demo 

SUN 4/15/12 • 2:30pm–4:00pm* Rod's Covered Paddock* Driving Clinic

Please stop by and say 'hello!'

Some other Standardbred friends that will be with us in the booth are:

Thursday:  Senator and All American Legacy 

Friday:  8:45-11:30 Lace N Ribbons

            12:00-2:30 Moonlight Fantasty

              2:45-4:30  Ottawa Hanover

              5:00-7:15  Inspector Hall

Saturday: 8:45-11:30 No Homework

                11:45-1:30 Crimson Viking

                  2:45-4:30 Coalford Admiral

                  5:00-7:15  Silver Match

Sunday:  11:45-1:00  All American Legacy 

                   2:45-4:30  Trobby

Special note -

Kid's pavillion on Friday at 12:45 - All American Legacy - stop by and get your coloring book!

In addition to stopping by the Standardbred and New Vocations booth don't forget to stop over and check out the Nokota horses on display. Their breed demo is Saturday night at 5:15 in the Voinovich Arena.  FB friend Jorja Mottayaw will be over there with her horse.

Back to PA

It's time to put on you're traveling shoes!  Yes, that's right, Best will be coming back to Pittsburgh soon.  Right now he's scheduled to arrive on the first of March.  We have a new boarding arrangement which is much closer to my house, we have new horse friends in the area and we have a whole new set of activities scheduled.  I'm very excited about this new season as it looks to be full of parades, exhibitions and, of course, showing.

Filling out

Due to the weather we haven't been able to drive much this winter. As a result Best is getting a lot more ground work done than originally planned. He's learning how to side pass, pivot on the forehand, pivot on the hindquarters, etc. Additionally he's really starting to fill out. Here he is in all his glory! Better look quick because he's already looking for his blanket. Brrrr.

This video isn't really anything special except that it makes me laugh every time I watch it.  Best thinks he's so 'bad' but an eight year old has driven him.  lol  I guess we're only as bad as we think we are.

Video taken at Lane Cove Dressage - I've got the arena part way set up for obstacle work.