So, while looking through the results for the WEGs, I was curious about whether Canada had sent any riders for the endurance portion. Lo and behold, we sent four riders, and one of the horse's names was very familiar... Nightwinds Savanah! Now for those who are new to the blog, I bought Koda from a farm northeast of Edmonton named Nightwind Arabians...
After a bit of googling, found out that Nightwinds Savanah is a half-sister to Koda! How cool is that?
Last weekend I called up my friend P whom I haven't seen all summer (so busy!) and we decided to hit the trails together down at Rocky Lane. Now as you guys know, where I live it is relatively flat unless you're down in the river valleys. The Rocky Lane trails? Down in the river valley! I've only ridden on them a few times and still have plenty of trails to explore, but the trails aren't too extensive or confusing so it was easy to get around.
Can't see this view too much
Even though the trails are in an area that is somewhat populated (by the indoor arena, school farm project, and community hall) you have to keep your eye out for bears. Luckily, we only have black bears up here and the rare brown bear sighting, so not too much to worry about. Either way, we tacked up and headed off for an adventure. P is a GREAT trail companion, we both ride in a similar style, just relaxed and enjoying the day. We didn't really have a plan as to which trails we were going to do, we just went out and rode. P had her emergency pack on and I brought my phone (better service). At one point I asked P to stop and turn as the photo was gorgeous - we were right beside the river, the light was perfect! As she turned her horse Uncle Frank (yes, her gelding's name is Uncle Frank!!!), she heard crashing down on the river bank. Lo and behold, bear cubs. She yells bear, we both turn and high-tail it out of there. The horses were perfect, and with the shot of adrenaline we were flying high!
Post-bear sighting, adrenaline running high!
After that, we made our way down to the river. I'd never been along this trail before and it was gorgeous, the terrain was great. As time wound down, we started to make our way back to the trail head, we accidentally went on the biathlon trail.
Such a handsome man
P and Uncle Frank looking like bosses
Once we went through the biathlon trail (while jumping over some tree obstacles) we were back at the trailers where we found the new barn cat at the school farm project. Koda decided to make him his new friend since the cat was absolutely certain he was coming home with us.
Over the long weekend in August, Koda and I with new Hubs and Shi in tow, headed down to Red Deer for a two day clinic at Alhambra Stables. I went to the clinic for the first time last year and it was really beneficial, not too expensive, and we received a ton of instruction. This year it was a bit of a different format since instead of having two lessons per day, they had two the first day, then one the second (stadium and dressage on the Saturday, XC on Sunday).
Stadium lesson
Koda and I had some good rides, although he's starting to get a bit "playful" after fences in stadium, rooting down and doing little crow hops or baby kick outs. Nothing too unsettling, but it is new behaviour for him. The clinician (and friend of mine!) are sure it's just him growing up into his new role and understanding his job, so he's playing at it now. I know what I need to do to keep it under wraps (leg on, head up, soft hands forward) which is what I need to practice anyway, so there's more incentive now.
The stadium lesson was fairly simple, did a basic gymnastic, then worked on doing some lines in a small course. We had some babies in the group (horses, not riders) so we took things slowly. The focus was on striding and placing the horse exactly where you wanted them, riding your lines, and riding between your fences.
Simple gymnastic
Mini course with Koda being playful
The dressage lesson was a private one where you had to wear an ear piece so that you could hear the clinician. A bit different for us (technology? Whaaaat?) so that took a bit of getting used to, but man oh man did we take a lot away from that lesson! One thing she really emphasized was to get the ribs moving, and that will cause the abdominal muscles to engaged, causing the back to lift, and all that good stuff. To achieve this magical moment, all we had to do was an 'active' turn on the forehand. It's all about getting the horse to continually move their feet while doing the turn, particularly the front legs being lifted up and down, but landing in the same place while moving the ribs around that point. Don't muck around with your hands too much, it's all on seat, leg, leg, leg, and more LEG!
The family!
Another tip she had for us was when Koda isn't listening to the inside leg, do some counter bend to move his body INTO my inside leg so that there was something there to respond to. It's a bit of a twist to think of it, but it got his abdominal muscles engaged and caused him to soften out whenever he got locked into a stiff position. The key within all the tips she gave us was emphasis on riding the entire horse, don't fuss with the reins so much, and LEG! Koda can be fancy when I ride him right, we just need to do more of it.
Finally figured out how to ride up banks!
Love his form in this shot
Cross country was a fun day where we got to play around on some logs, did some baby ramps and table like things, and played on terrain. Koda was a star for all of it, although he did catch me sleeping a couple of times and he decided that nope, he didn't want to go down the bank, and nope, that little house thing doesn't look that nice. All in all we had a great weekend playing around down at Alhambra and I'm hoping that next year we'll be able to make it down for their summer horse trial.
Sorry for being extremely lax on updating the blog! We've been pretty busy here with clearing out the old and bringing in the new, along with family visits and getting back into our usual routine back home. Koda and I have done a few clinics and rides since we've been back, plus I got an incredible surprise from the Hubs as a late wedding gift. Here's a few shots of what we've been up to lately:
After a whirlwind of emotions and travel and driving (oh, the driving...) we're back home and ready to roll. I know this is mainly an equestrian blog, but I think a few details on the wedding! We actually had one ceremony with two receptions. The (now) Hub's family is all in Nova Scotia whereas my family is in Ontario. Since we met in Nova Scotia (and its easier for my family to travel) we had the main ceremony and reception there. The day went off without a hitch, with HUGE shout outs to my bridesmaids who were absolutely FABULOUS. Couldn't have had everything done in time without them, they were absolutely fabulous. The reception was wonderful, we received tons of compliments on the day from the food to the venue.
Stay tuned for updates on the first few rides back, and prep for the Alhambra clinic this weekend!
Here's a last post for a while as we're into our final countdown to the big day! Hopefully the next post will include a copy photos of a white dress, but we shall see!
As we move through the first really bad heat wave of the summer, riding has slowed down to almost a halt. The evenings are hot and storm clouds fill the skies most nights. When I go out to the barn, Koda is usually covered in salt sweat stains and the clouds are rolling in. I refuse to ride when there's thunder and lightening, so Koda has had an impromptu almost week off. Now that things are cooling off, we're slowly getting back into a rhythm, and it's all about putting into practise this new way of riding.
Storm over the canola fields
Taking on these new challenges and changing how I've been riding is an exciting time. When I find that balance of enough leg (ha... enough... there's never enough!) and just the right tension and weight in my shoulders and elbows, along with keeping the tempo and rhythm down, it feels like we're floating. Koda will never be a 10+ mover, he's just not built for it, but with me doing whatever I can to help him move lightly, he'll be at his best. Now is especially a crucial time since we're building and stretching all of those muscles along his topline. I've noticed that every time something starts to get a bit squirrely, it's because my legs aren't on. At all. So! To remedy that, my legs are constantly getting put through their paces. Yay for developing legs of iron.
Internal Monologue:
"Yes! Arms are soft, elbows are weighted, I'm not tight in my shoulders and chest, perfect..." "But why is his back dropped? Why does it seem like I'm riding a giraffe" "Oh sh*t, legs ON! But don't speed up, stay steady, stay relaxed..." "There it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
My new 'mantra' I guess you could call it is 'soften to his soften'. Grammatically, it doesn't make sense, but it really has helped me stay soft and steady in my riding, to be a kinder and more in-tune rider. After these types of rides, it's satisfying to see that both Koda and I are all sweated up. I've started keeping drinks in my trailer and bringing treats out to the barn as after my rides I'll sit on my trailer hitch and let Koda graze while I nibble on my snacks. It's a wonderful time in the evening, mosquitoes aren't that bad, he's contentedly grazing while I refuel with some snap peas and gatorade.
Peaceful, lovely, satisfying.
Nothing much else is going on right now, the jumps will be pulled out into the back field soon, so I'm hoping I'll get some fun helmet cam video or maybe entice someone to come out to take a few photos.
Sorry for the lack of updates/media outlet! As the big day arrives, things are going to be more and more hectic. The countdown is on! 13 Days left of having a Fiancé!
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