Posts Tagged ‘mounted games
Bombproof Pony
On Sunday we held a little event at Iron Horse Farm. It was mostly a mounted games competition but we also set up a little obstacle course for anyone who wanted to give it a try. Most of the games ponies were pretty great about running through the course – hardly bulking at any of the obstacles.
That’s one of the great things about mounted games. It introduces the kids & ponies to a wide array of strange objects, ultimately creating a pretty bombproof pony.
After watching all of the kids have fun through the course I decided to pull Boomerang out and give it a whirl….bareback and bitless. Boomer is an exceptional pony who is VERY brave. I have yet to find ANYTHING that makes him nervous or spooky. On the rare occasion he may take an extra second to look at something, but without fail he will always crosses it, touches it, or picks it up in his mouth. Here’s a video of Boomer and I doing the course for the first time. It should be noted that he hasn’t seen ANY of these objects before in their current setup, nor has he gone through the course. Also we typically set up objects in our arena, so it’s in a different setting than he’s used to.
P.S. I had the fastest time of the day! woohoo!
And here’s a video of Boomer cantering over the tarp. He’s such a cool pony.
Check out Ammo the Dachshund’s posts on the day’s events. Part 1 & Part 2
Traveling with Ponies
Well I’m back from my big trip to New Jersey for the 2010 MGAA National Competition. Not only did I bring along my competition mount, Chesapeake Boomerang, but also trick pony extraordinaire, Chincoteague Minnow, and my ever present sidekick, Ammo the Dachshund.
The plan was to have Minnow paint and perform on Thursday Night, with a little help from Boomer and Minnow. Boomer was then primed to compete in mounted games for 3 days – his longest and biggest competition since I’ve had him. And Ammo, well he was just there to be cute – and I could have never left home without him!
We arrived late on Wednesday night. We got the ponies checked in and bedded down for the night in their stalls. We then set up our campsite in the blazing heat (yes it was even hot when the sun set). I spent most of the night warding off miskitos to no avail while the dachshund slept soundly on my pillow.
The next day was even hotter than the first as I readied Boomerang for the first day of riding. In the warm-up arena I could tell he was hyped and ready to race. We worked on channeling his adrenaline as I asked him to compose himself and stand still.
As we barreled across the start line in the first race I was impressed at Boomerang’s ability to respond to my commands even when I knew he was completely full of himself. As we finished nearly half the races in our set, a big storm approached the horse park. The organizers rushed all of the riders and ponies into the indoor to get shelter from the darkening sky.
Lightning crashed, wind blew, and the rain poured as we hid out in the indoor. I used the opportunity to work on Boomer’s laydown in the arena with many strange horses and riders surrounding him. He successfully laid down about 5 or 6 times. During our stint in the indoor I was approached by several of my fellow competitors asking about my bitless bridle. As far as I know I am the ONLY Mounted Games Competitor on the Eastern Half of the US that competes in a Dr. Cook’s Bitless Bridle. People were interested in how I controlled my pony at high speed with no bit, I talked to them about clicker training and the importance of a really good stop. I think a lot of people were surprised to see a speed horse without a harsh bit or the ever popular hackamoore. Made me proud that my pony was well trained enough to run with the big boys yet I could stop on a dime like the rest of them without yanking on his mouth.
After the storm we returned to the rest of our races. Boomer and I made it through the day with barely any mistakes in our races, and I was very proud of him in how he channeled his high energy.
Unfortunately the ravaging storm wrecked our tent causing us to get a hotel room for the remainder of the trip. Something I think both the Dachshund and my mom were very happy about.
Thursday night I readied Minnow for his trick performance. Minnow painted a wonderful painting that was auctioned off to benefit the non-profit mounted games group, MGAA. He raised $200 and his art was a big hit with everyone! Minnow then performed his beach skit for everyone. Ammo stepped in and stole the show when he decided to dig a big hole in the indoor arena – he had everyone laughing. Ammo even surprised me with how enthusiastic he was to perform his tricks too. He jumped through his hoop, played dead, made a scratch art painting, and even gave me a high five. He was pretty adorable!
Boomer later “crashed the party” and performed his newly learned bow for everyone. I then attempted to get him to lay down, but he had a little trouble. I ended up skipping it, only to have him do it later while Minnow’s painting was being auctioned. I was just happy he did it at all – considering he only learned the trick a little over a week ago.
Minnow had a blast performing, as I gave him a little bute to help with his arthritis limp, he was definitely feeling good (faced the dogs’ arthritis treatment a while ago, used glucosamine chondroitin). Afterwards he took a much needed gallop and buck around the indoor. It made me smile to see him frisky and feeling good again.
Day two of competition felt even HOTTER! Ammo got frequent water hosedowns as he layed by the side of the arena watching me ride. By day two both Boomer and I were a little drained. Boomer was moving slower in the heat, and I was struggling with my sore muscles. Our first session had a few more mistakes than the first day, but I sort of expected it. By the second session of the day I had a little more energy and so did Boomer, but he was still sort of dragging. He wasn’t used to the heat, nor the multitude of competition days. I can’t say I blame him. I’m just glad he did try, unlike the many ponies that started refusing to cross the start line on day 2 for one reason or another.
In the evening I gave a little talk on clicker training to the few people that decided to show up for my demo. It ended up being a bad time slot, as everyone seemed to have gone back to the hotels to shower and eat after a full day of competing. Can’t say I blame them – that’s what I wanted to be doing. But Minnow was happy to be out showing off his tricks again, he’s a real ham sometimes.
Day 3 was the final day of competition, and Boomer seemed to be dragging even more. I worked in the warm-up on clicking him for offering me more acceleration, and it seemed to help a little. I know his muscles must have been very sore – and being the smart pony he is, he’d start off the line in a controlled canter, complete his skill and when pointed towards home he’d let out the speed knowing that the faster he got to the finish the faster he got to rest. I was again happy he at least decided to try for me, even if it wasn’t as speedy as I would have liked.
At the end of the competition we took home 4th place in the Masters C Final. I had hopped to do a little better, but was still proud of Boomer for trying. Its a lot to ask of a horse to stay in a stall for 4 days in 90 plus degrees and run their heart out for you for 3 days straight. He handled it a lot better than a lot of the other ponies did.
And now its time to gear up for PONY PENNING at the end of July! Anyone have any great trick suggestions I can teach Minnow over the next month before we go?
Boomerang’s Bow
Last night I spent some time working with Boomerang on the ground. We worked on moving away from pressure, turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, and sidepasses. I then thought it would be fun to see if I could get him to bow. Boomer really likes the soft screenings in our arena, and almost every time he sees it he tries to lay down in it. I knew working in a soft fluffy part of the arena would entice him to put his limbs on the ground.
I started off by just working on getting him to pick up and hold his leg up. Each time picked up a leg when I tapped it, he got clicked. Eventually I progressed to enticing his head to the ground with a treat, and pretty soon Boomer was putting his knee to the ground. This is the same method I used to teach Minnow to bow back in 2004. Minnow has a pretty nice bow when he wants to, but its tough for him to do now because of his ringbone. I think it hurts a little, so I try not to ask him to do it too often, and I’m quicker to let him offer less of an effort than I would expect from Boomer. I think with a few more sessions Boomer should have a pretty nice bow, perhaps nice enough to showcase at MGAA Nationals in a few weeks. We shall see!
Boomerang Training Update
As many of you know I have been training my now 7 year old Chincoteague Pony, Boomerang, to play mounted games since August of 2008. I’ve spent a long time working with him and we still have a long way to go. This year was the first year I stepped him up to compete in the masters level of Mounted Games, because I believed he was emotionally ready. And while he is emotionally ready, we still have a lot of specific skills I’d like to work on with him. Our training will never be finished as I believe there is always more we can learn together, but I do think with a few more specific skills he will be pretty polished.
On Sunday we had a clinic at the farm with Natural Horsemanship Trainer, Chris Carlile. I was able to take away a few things that I will start to implement into his training. I plan to do a full post and review on the clinic later – as I’m waiting to get some photos and videos back from my dad.
But in the meantime I do have a video from yesterday.
I was working with Boomer on teaching him to ride with speed to an object, settle into a nice square halt, and then ride off with speed when I gave him the signal. Obviously when we started out we began at a trot and have now worked up to a controlled canter, but the hope is to eventually be able to do this at a gallop. In mounted games, the best ponies are able to ride with bursts of speed, yet quickly transition to a solid halt so their riders can perform tasks like putting a flag into a chute, or placing a ring on a peg. If Boomer can master this skill in the heat of competition, then I will have a valuable “weapon” to use in wining a race.
I love watching this video because I can see Boomer really starting to push off of his hind end more. I’ve spent a long time teaching him to rock his weight back in order to propel himself forward. Boomer is naturally more on his forehand, and its been a challenge to teach him not to be, but this video proves that he’s definitely starting to get it, and build the muscle for it. I’m excited to see more improvement in the months to come.
Painting Pony Website Has New Look!
After months and months of hard work, mostly on my husband’s part, we have finally launched the new Painting Pony Website. The old website was outdated and drab, mostly because it was the product of my tinkering and teaching myself how to design a website on my own. And while I WAS thoroughly impressed with myself and my ability to at least create a functional website, it wasn’t a true representation of Painting Pony.
Painting Pony needed a brighter look that was playful and fun, just like the ponies. I also envisioned a beach-ier feel, after all the ponies do hail from an island, and I wanted the website to have more information about Misty of Chincoteague.
Enter my graphic designer husband. He unknowingly agreed to design me a new site, probably not realizing it would take up most of his free time for the next 6 months. He deserves a big pat on the back for putting up with all my changes and stipulations. I promised him the ponies would sell more paintings so I can take him out to dinner to celebrate!
So to help kick off the launch of the new website I’m offering a FREE 5×7 mini painting with EVERY purchase. Makes a great gift for your favorite horse lover, or simply keep it for yourself! Enter the coupon code NEWWEB in the notes to seller section during check out to get your free gift. This offer will expire on May 31, 2010.
