Pony Club Camp

Well, this is a bit overdue...but better late than never! I went to Pony Club camp the last weekend in July. It was supposed to be a mix of Pony Clubbers and Horsemasters, but it turned out to be all Pony Clubbers and one lone Horsemaster, me. Let me tell you, those Pony Clubbers are way more horsemastery than me!

I arrived Thursday evening and attempted to settle Skate in his stall. He was not a happy camper...lots of pacing and calling out. I slept in a tent outside the barn and slept maybe an hour total b/c I just knew he was going to work himself into a colic. One of his neighbors had severe allergies and spent the evening coughing - I kept panicking that it was Skate and he was choking. It was ridiculous - this is why I should never have my horse at home, I'd be a total helicopter mom.

By Friday morning he had settled a bit...I had a dressage lesson late morning. Funny thing was, once he was out of his stall, he was perfectly content. He just didn't like being in there all alone. It was also a cinder block barn - and visibility was low for the horses. The windows were barred and he couldn't really see his neighbors. Anyway, Skate impressed everyone with his ground tying skills, he was that quiet once out of the stall. I found out there were enough turnout paddocks for the him to go out in the evening, so that was my plan.

The dressage lesson was good. The woman teaching the lesson was a woman I had seen ride at Skate's first show - her horse had a meltdown so I remember it really well. We discussed how that judge was TOUGH for a schooling show - no one had scored above a 62 that whole day (I had scored a 54 and a 50, and my rides were not that bad). Anyway, we worked a lot on transitions, as I have a tendency to collapse and cause Skate to sorta shuffle into the next gate. I also learned my left shoulder is way ahead of my right. I had no idea I was that crooked. We then worked on TL 3, so I could ride that test for the fix-a-test that evening. That evening I rode the test and she scored me a 62...with instructions to work on my circles (as usual) and that Skate's not really reaching down consistently for the stretchy circle or the free walk. He stretches at first, but then pops back up, down, up, down. This was our first attempt at TL3, but it was way more entertaining than TL1. Geez, that test is boring!

Skate was out all night Friday, and was happy as a clam. I, however, was a nervous nelly over my upcoming jumping lesson. I haven't really jumped in a year! Thank goodness they let me do a private lesson. The instructor was awesome. Super positive and supportive. She helped my confidence and gave me some great position pointers to make me more secure. The lesson was focused on gymnastics....and she tricked me into doing the whole thing by saying we'd stick with poles if she felt I needed to. By the end we were doing 4 poles to a x-rail, to a 2' vertical, to a 2'3" oxer, to another 2'9" oxer! Yay! Thank you Skate, for being a trooper and toting my unbalanced butt over those.

Sunday was another jumping lesson, with the focus on our position. I sucked it up and rode with the big kids : ) That lesson was super fun. Skate was a little rushy and cranky - once the height went up he bounced the one stride and commenced to continue bouncing up and down after the line. I managed to hang on and come back through, and learned my lesson about trying to sit on Skate's withers over fences. He's already prone to getting on his forehand due to his conformation, so I've got to help him stay balanced by staying BACK over fences. I got to do the whole gymnastic with NO HANDS! That'll teach ya not to lean. The other teens were brave enough to do no hands, no stirrups, but I said no thanks to that. Ha.

We then went on to switch horses. The first horse I got on was a huge mare that was a Hobbes replica. She was the horse everyone needs to learn to jump on...very flat easy peasy jumper. I loved her although she did require some encouragement to go forward. That's the type of horse I ride better, anyway, though...Skate's tendency to get rushy has taught me a lot, but its not my specialty. The next horse I got on was a 14 h pony! She was the cutest little thing - basically pushbutton but was a jumping fool. I was terrified that she'd have to crack her back over those bigger oxers, but her jump was easier to ride than Skate's! She's got little springs for hooves.

While I was riding the other horses, Skate was getting schooled by the teens. The first girl who rode him whipped his rushy butt into shape. She's a super rider and had much better control of her body than me, so she was able to really focus on balancing him between fences. He was transformed into a cute hunter pony after she finished with him! We all agreed she rode him way better than I did - we had to critique each other's rides and discuss what we would work on with each person's horse to improve their way of going.

Lots of other things went on during the weekend; we drove to Tryon to watch a dressage show and do a little shopping (bought some Akene leather conditioner, that stuff is awesome), did a bunch of crafts (tie dye, anyone?), and watched some horsey videos. I had a great time, although I wish I had another horsemaster there with me!

Since that weekend, Skate has been a superstar. Every ride has been easy and I'm really looking forward to my lesson tomorrow. I think the 3 days of hard riding must have refocused him, maybe?