Posts Tagged ‘bitless bridle
Boomerang the Roping Pony
You might remember that for my Birthday I wanted a lariat so that I could learn to rope. To my surprise my husband had already gotten me one – before I publicly announced on the blog that it was on my wish list! I had no big plans for the rope, it was more just for fun and a good way to desensitize the ponies to new things.
I spent the last few weeks roping things around the farm, fence posts, traffic cones, dachshunds, I even tried to rope the neighbor’s dog that escaped (unfortunately my attempt was unsuccessful – although we did end up catching the dog). Then I started roping things in and around Boomer to get him used to it.
Then just a few days ago I decided to try it while riding him. I wasn’t surprised to find that it didn’t faze him much, and I began using clicker training to teach him that the rope was a positive thing.
My first few attempts to rope while mounted were pretty pathetic. Boomer tolerated me while I roped his face, a couple of legs, and tail. I’m still not quite sure how the cowboys manage to the throw the lasso, hold the extra rope, and steer the horse at the same time. It’s not easy!
Anyway, here’s a few video clips of my first attempts at TROTTING and roping.
I could definitely use some more practice! Although I’m very happy with Boomer’s attitude towards it. Maybe soon we’ll work our way up to cantering! Yeehaw!
Horse World Expo – Highlights
While at the Horse World Expo, competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race wasn’t the only thing I did. There were lots of things to see and do, and even more to learn. I wish I had seen EVERYTHING, but it just wasn’t possible. Here are a few things I got to experience that you might find interesting.
Cowboy Mounted Shooting was a pretty popular demo to see. And don’t worry, they said that all the horses had their ears plugged and they don’t use LIVE ammunition.
I also got to watch the spectacular night show, Theatre Equus. My favorite part by far was Guy McLean, who flew his horses here all the way from Australia. I didn’t get to learn much about his training methods, but none-the-less his demonstrations with his horses were AMAZING.
He had a horse that could canter backwards. Seriously.
USDF Young Rider Championships - Super Hero Pas De Deux - Kyley & Megan
We also got to hang out with our friends from El Brio Vanner, home to Odd Job Bob, the star of the movie – The Greening of Whitney Brown. El Brio Vanner is actually right down the street from our farm in PA, and I grew up taking riding lessons with one of their trainers. We always have fun reminiscing about pony camp days and playing with Breyer Horses. 🙂
We also spent some time at the Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle booth, as they were excited to learn about Boomerang competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race in one of their bridles.
Our Horse Trailer
Surprisingly I bought nothing at the expo, as much as I wanted to. I think my biggest temptation would have been one of the horse trailers. Swoon. Any horse trailer dealers want to sponsor a couple of trick ponies? We’ll take it all over the country! haha. Our little old rusty maroon trailer has seen better days. And man wouldn’t I give anything to have a tackroom! At least it’s still a step up from my childhood horse trailer……
My Childhood Horse Trailer
Yes, that’s my first pony, Oreo Cookie, in the back of our “Horse Trailer”. We were on our way to a show. It’s a wonder I have any friends! haha
Well we had a great time at the Expo, and hopefully we’ll be back again next year! 🙂 I hope you enjoyed sharing in on the adventure with me!
Lariat
I’m constantly learning something new. There will ALWAYS be something I don’t know, so why not try to learn EVERYTHING I can? It’s sort of a sickness I have, I want to try everything.
So while competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race was something totally new and different for me, I couldn’t leave it at just that. While at the expo I jumped at the chance to learn how to throw a lariat. After all, I could have been asked to rope a “cow” during the competition for all I knew.
I was sort of relieved we didn’t have to rope something, because I think I could use a little more practice.
I’ve added a Lariat to my Birthday wish list (which is tomorrow!) because it was so much fun I can’t wait to give it a try while riding a horse!
After trying my hand at tossing the lariat I made sure Boomerang was ready for roping too. During one of our schooling sessions in the indoor I practiced throwing a lead rope around his head, ears, and sides. Just to make sure that should I NEED to throw the rope in the race, he would be fully comfortable with it. You can never be too prepared!
Anyone else out there know how to throw a rope? Any secret pointers so I can look super cool throwing my lariat off an english saddle?
Extreme Cowboy Race 2011 – Finals
Yesterday’s post was about the Preliminary Round in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race at the Harrisburg, PA Horse World Expo. Today it’s onto the Finals!
On Sunday the Expo opened with a drill from the Canadian Cowgirls, then Craig Cameron’s team began setting up the Race in the main arena. Not only did we have to learn a new course in a matter of minutes, but we had changed locations too. In my early morning and late night rides I had been schooling in both arenas, so luckily Boomer had at least been able to see both indoors.
I walked the course and set about committing it to memory. I’m fortunate to have a photographic memory of sorts – but under pressure – you never know if you’ll suddenly draw a blank. Being in the #2 spot meant that I got to ride 10th, which allowed me to watch several riders before me.
The finals course was definitely a lot harder, and going in to day #4 at the expo my energy was beginning to fade. And poor Boomerang had been in a stall for 4 days as well (aside from riding and hand walking time) – something that was starting to weigh on his patience a little.
As I watched the riders go before me, I noticed that many of them were attempting the flying dismount I had used in my run the day before (it had earned me major points with the judges). And then tragedy struck for the rider right before me. Seconds before she crossed the finish line she attempted to do the flying dismount. Unfortunately she got stuck in the saddle and landed wrong – ultimately fracturing her ankle. Paramedics came, and she was taken out of the arena in a stretcher. (I believe she is doing fine now). Definitely didn’t help my nerves right before I was set to ride.
But we braved on. Here is a video of our finals run:
It wasn’t one of my better rides. Afterward I sort of beat myself up about my spill – ironically this was the very first time I have ever fallen off Boomerang. I sort of dwelled on the fact that I ate dirt for several hours afterward – but then I watched the video. After watching the video I realized that, yes, I had made some mistakes – but there were also some very good points in my run.
My beginning free ride was fought with a little lead swapping on Boomer’s part. But I opted to ignore his need to switch his leads, because I could tell immediately that he was going to be a little spooky on this run (not sure why), so I needed to concentrate on sitting back and making sure I didn’t fall off this time. I was happy though that he seemed almost unfazed by the cheering this time around.
Our log drag started off perfectly, then I decided to ask too much – and attempted to get Boomer to back with the log, something we had practiced many times. He met me with a little resistance so I quickly abandoned that avenue.
The tarp walk should have been a cake walk, but something must have caught Boomer’s eye and made him jump. But he quickly composed himself and walked calmly across it.
Then came the log gate, my enemy. In all honesty, I didn’t expect it to be that heavy. Once I had it lifted, and realized Boomer was in a less than willing attitude, it was already too late. After I went under it I knew I had to drop it, or it was going to drag me off the saddle, but when I looked back all I could see was Boomer’s rump. Dropping it would mean throwing the log onto my pony – and I definitely didn’t want to do that. So instead I hung onto it until it was clear of my pony, at which point it just toppled me off my pony. I think Boomer could have saved me, but instead he ducked his head and I went over the front. I don’t really blame him, I did lift a log over top of him, but at least he was kind enough to wait for me so I could remount. Thanks Boomer.
After my fall I was a little discombobulated. My brain switched from “do the obstacles properly” to “don’t fall off again you dummy”. So when I rounded the corner to start my pole bending I attempted to ask Boomer to start weaving on the right. But Boomer was too smart, he knew when we do bending poles we always start on the left so that our spin can be a right turn. One little hop on his part and he had me set right again.
We started to improve a little more after the pole bending and next it was onto the ground tieing. I taught Boomer to ground tie (or stay) just a few weeks earlier, but it had never been proven to this extent. Boomer proved that my training had worked though, because after I gave him the stay command he stood like a statue until I returned. He actually stood for quite some time, because I dropped my crop inside the chute and had to crawl backwards to get it. For my remount I had planned to vault on, but by the time I got back to Boomer I was quite tired. I contemplated it for a second, then decided to use my stirrup. I worried if I vaulted I wouldn’t have the strength to get in the saddle, causing me to miss or make Boomer move – which would of gotten us less points. I think the stirrup was the better choice, because Boomer stood like a stone as I mounted – which I’m sure earned us extra points.
The sidepassing was a non-issue for Boomer, and he did exactly as I asked.
The tarp carry was a non-issue for Boomer as well. I tried to get more of it over his back – but it was awkwardly large and started to get tangled in my reins. But Boomer was fine with it, so relaxed in fact that when I asked him to trot he said “no, I think I’m tired now, and we can just walk”. haha. But I was happy he was perfectly calm in this situation.
Boomer showed me once again he knows exactly what to do when it comes to jumps. Me on the other hand – this picture just proves I have no idea how to look pretty over a jump. haha. I think it’s funny – the only reason I carried a crop in this competition is because I thought I “might” need it to convince Boomer to jump scary things (just a little tap on his shoulder usually does the trick). Obviously it’s more of a “security blanket” for me, and I didn’t use it once in the entire competition. In fact, it more just hindered me by getting caught in my reins, and causing me to have to find a place to stash it when I lifted things. Oh well, live and learn.
Next up was the trash chute, and again, Boomer was a star.
The bucket carry was another non-issue for Boomer. Well other than the fact that he saw a bucket and his “pony” kicked in. “Omg is there food in there for me?” He kept trying to turn his head so he could reach inside, making carrying the extremely heavy bucket difficult for me. Finally I let him have a look see, and once he realized it was just water we were back in business.
For our last free ride I was a bit more cautious than the day before. I knew he had been spooky the first time around – so I opted to take a more controlled approach. It worked out fine and Boomer quietly galloped around the arena.
I decided to go for the flying dismount at the end. And thankfully I landed properly and we safely crossed the finish line.
So it may not have been as “polished” ride as the first day – but overall it was actually pretty decent. I really can’t complain, because Boomerang really tried for me. The whole weekend was a lot to ask for a young pony.
In the end we took home 6th place. 4th, 5th and 6th all had a one point difference – so we were all very close. Afterward Craig Cameron gave me a hug and told me he thought I had a lot of heart and he was impressed with what I had done with my pony.
I’m glad I did it. It was one of the most stressful, challenging, and rewarding things I have ever done.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about the Winner of the Extreme Cowboy Race. He’s a real cowboy with a palomino Stallion!
See more pictures from the event on our facebook page.
Extreme Cowboy Race 2011 – Preliminary Round
6 weeks ago I decided to do something I’ve never done before. I knew it would be hard, I knew it would be stressful, I knew it would make me stronger.
Last weekend I competed in Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race.
In the 6 weeks leading up to the competition Boomerang and I trained intensely. We took western lessons, I transported him to every arena in our area that I could so that he got used to new surroundings, we practiced new obstacles, and tested our abilities to focus in stressful situations. But I knew going into this that there would be elements we couldn’t prepare for. The unknown was scary.
We arrived at the Horse World Expo in Harrisburg PA on Thursday. I had never been there before as a “participant”, and let me tell you, it’s a scary scary place for a horse.
Winding halls lined with stalls, electric “garage” doors, echos, loud noises, carts, dogs, and people – everywhere.
Boomerang handled everything pretty well. Immediately I began schooling him in the indoor arenas every chance I got. I wanted him to be comfortable with his surroundings before the preliminary race on Saturday. The indoor arenas at “schooling time” were an obstacle in and of itself. Not only did LOTS of horses and riders attempt to use them at the same time, but there were teams hooked to carts, horses being lunged, as well as the horses that freaked out as soon as they entered the arenas. Navigating around in them was an obstacle in and of itself. The only thing that I couldn’t prepare for was the noise of a cheering crowd. As the days went on I saw many horses freeze in fear or bolt in any direction possible after hearing their first round of applause. I’m not gonna lie, it made me nervous. I had no idea what Boomer would do when we had to walk into that arena on Saturday. Would he bolt, would he buck, would he refuse to listen to my commands, would I be able to regain control?
If you follow along with the Painting Ponies on our Facebook Page, then you already know what happened. But for everyone else, here is the video of our preliminary round in the Extreme Cowboy Race:
If you look closely in the beginning of the video, you will notice what did happen when the crowd applauded for the first time – Boomer had a little “fear reaction”. But at about 0.34 seconds you can see what I did to refocus him. I asked him to halt, and when he listened and stopped moving his feet I clicked and rewarded him. And that’s all it took to remind him that listening to me was much more worth it than worrying about what the crowd did. 🙂
Our preliminary ride actually put us in 2nd place out of 23 riders and earned us a spot in the Finals on Sunday (where only 11 were chosen).
I was so proud of Boomer. Our ride was far from perfect. I almost fell off when he spooked at something in the beginning of our lap around the arena, my roll backs were a little disappointing – considering Boomer can do them soooo much better, I could have cantered the barrel pattern, my sidepassing started a little sticky, and my keyhole pattern could have been done WAY faster. But it doesn’t matter. I accomplished something. I rode against (and beat) several professional horse trainers, I did western reining patterns in english tack, I rode in a Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle (we were the only pair to ride bitless), and I competed in my very first Extreme Cowboy Race.
Craig Cameron (the announcer and organizer of these events) and his crew were impressed to say the least. I don’t think expected what they saw, heck I didn’t even expect it.
But it really didn’t matter what anyone else thought. It mattered that in a mere 7 minutes I had managed to challenge the relationship I shared with my pony, and we came out the other end victorious. I felt like if we could accomplish this, there’s not limit to what we can do. Not only did I teach Boomer some of these western maneuvers in a mere 6 weeks – but I did it without spurs and without a bit. yeah!
You can see more photos from our first round on the Painting Pony Facebook Page, and check back tomorrow to hear all about the Finals!
