May 18 is Amanda’s birthday. This year she turned 6. She is still a petite little girl at a whopping 35 pounds, but she certainly holds her own.
Wednesday morning Amanda opened up her presents from mormor and morfar. She got a Breyer winged horse and story, some riding pants, a shirt from us, and a doll riding outfit. Then we told her we were going on a field trip to the American Girl doll store in Boston. There she would get to pick out her own doll and an accessory from grandma and grandpa. She was very excited!
After chores we all headed out. Amanda is not very patient in the car, too say the least, and I believe she asked every ten minutes if we were there yet. An hour and a half later we finally arrived.
Alex sat down on a bench and started reading. He finished two books during the day!
The girls explored the store and made plans of what to bring home. They brought McKenna and Saige and I treated the girls to hair styles for their dolls at the doll salon.
Then we headed to the bistro for lunch. The dolls get to sit at the table in their own hang-on-the-table chairs. The dolls got their own tea cups. The food was kid-friendly.
After lunch we picked up the doll Amanda picked out- a truly me doll with long wavy red hair and green eyes. I guess she secretly wants to be a redhead! She also used her money from grandma and grandpa and some allowance money to get a new doll horse (the girls play horse with their dolls-duh), It’s an appaloosa.
Vicki used some of her allowance money to purchase a few new things for her dolls.
I had promised Alex a trip to the LEGO store inside the Natick mall, a whopping two minute walk from The American Girl Doll store. He had been patient all day while the girls browsed and quickly set his eyes on a big LEGO Technic truck. Lucky for him, his allowance account still had enough funds in it. He was happy. He started building it the minute we got home. The instruction book has 471 pages. It might take him a day or two to complete.
Vicki made Amanda some cupcakes and decorated them with Rarity, Amanda’s favorite My Little Pony. It was supposed to be a cake, but Amanda agreed Vicki could make the real cake for her “friend” party.
Last night about 9:15, I unloaded a new horse from the trailer into the barn. He had spent 6 hours getting hauled in from VT. Since we took this one sight unseen, Anna and I put him in the cross-ties and checked him over. At the end of the barn, there was a 10 year old girl sneaking around in the shadows trying to catch a glimpse of the new pony. When we spied her, she darted back into the house. I went inside and told Vicki it was ok for her to join us in the barn, so with a huge grin, she grabbed her jacket, slipped her boots back on, and happily followed me back out.
He was a little lonely today, turned out in a paddock alone, so Devil got to join him. They made fast friends and spent the afternoon mowing any new shoots of grass.
After work, I had a few trim appointments and then finally got home to get to know my new mount. His shoes were just pulled this weekend, so the first order of business was to get him fitted with boots. One benefit of being a dealer (and having 6 other horses on the farm using boots) is I can usually fit a horse with something we have on hand. Once that was taken care of, we tacked up and headed to the arena.
Introducing Mojo! He is a register Half Arabian (the other half is Dutch Harness Horse) and his registered name is Money Shot. Mojo is owned by a local farrier who has been following our story and thought we were the right match for her horse. Mojo is 10 years old, 15.3 hh, and 850 lbs. He has long legs, a long back, and a narrow barrel. He spent the early part of his life as an arena/show horse and has spent about the last 3 years as a trail, endurance, and CTR mount. He seems very well matched for our desire of a versatile horse for some dressage, eventing, and endurance. We are a little concerned that Vicki may try to claim him.
As the light was fading fast, I did manage to get about 30 minutes of saddle time on him tonight. This weekend we are doing a 25 mile Limited Distance endurance event with NEATO, so that will be a true test of our compatibility. We have him on an extended trial, so stay tuned for more Mojo!
How show season officially kicked off this weekend for Sawyer Family Farm. Friday evening was spent in the barn trimming hooves, kids clipping fetlocks and bridle paths, washing ponies, braiding manes, and loading the trailer. The kids elected to spend some allowance to buy a sleazy for each pony to keep the mane a little nicer overnight before a show. Devil didn’t seem to care about his purple sleazy as long as it had a hole to eat through. Nike was less impressed with his green sleazy, although I believe he has likely worn one many times before.
Devil in his new sleezy
Nike in his new sleezy
Saturday morning, everyone was up by 5:30 for breakfast and to load ponies. We were at the CT 4-H Horse Show by about 7:45 and spent over 9 hours on the show grounds. It was a bright, sunny day and great weather for showing. The Barnyard Buddies 4-H Club was represented by Alex on Nike, Vicki on Devil, and Alexis on Ace.
L-R Devil, Vicki, Nike, Alex, Ace, Alexis
The 4-H Horse Show starts with Showmanship. All exhibitors must do Showmanship to participate in mounted classes. There was a bit of waiting around since Showmanship is one at a time. Vicki got the highest score of the three in Showmanship, but in reality, none of the three enjoy it or put much effort into Showmanship. They prefer to ride.
Alex is bored
Vicki showing Devil
Alex showing Nike
Alexis showing Ace
Throughout the day, Alex and Vicki were competing against each other. Vicki only moved up to walk/trot/canter classes for 1 show last year. There were 9 junior (under 13 as of Jan 1st) riders in the English W/T/C classes for Equitation (judging more of the rider position), Pleasure (judging more of the horse’s movement), and Discipline (correctly executing the movements within a specified time). Alex got 5th in all 3. Vicki got 6th in all 3. Alex was simply happy to beat Vicki. Vicki was disappointed, but I think it finally made her realize it is harder to show in those classes than she expected.
There was a fair amount of waiting in between classes while the senior riders did their classes. Devil and Nike were both extremely well-behaved. Nike is a seasoned show pony at 23 years old, so I think he was explaining it to Devil. One thing about Nike is that so many people recognize him. At this show, an instructor we had never met recognized Nike from when she taught the girl who owned him more than 10 years ago. He is one of those gems that makes the rounds in the local barns teaching kids how to ride.
“Listen kid, here is how this works…”
Happy to be at a show
Bored, but willing to smile
Vicki chose to enter the English Trail class. In that class, the kids must ride a specified pattern that includes various obstacles such as a wooden bridge, weaving cones, and ground poles. One obstacle was to stop the horse in a box made from jump poles with 2 front hooves outside the box and 2 rear hooves inside. Then side pass the horse keeping the pole between the front and rear hooves, including a 90 degree turn around a corner. Vicki gave it a noble effort, but Devil just didn’t understand what she wanted and they didn’t complete that obstacle. However, the next obstacle was to back your horse through 2 cones, make a 180 degree turn around a 3rd cone, and continue to back out between the original pair. They completed the series flawlessly and the gate attendant mentioned Vicki did better at that than any other rider she had seen. In the end, Vicki was thrilled to learn she won the class!
Backing around the cones
Throughout the day, Amanda was very well-behaved. Her favorite event is the cake walk, which she looks forward to all year. She is very outgoing and always manages to find a new friend.
Sitting by the arena, waiting patiently
Sporting her new cap she bought with allowance money
Cake walk time!
Amanda and her new friend take their cake walk winnings to share
At the end of the day, the Gymkhana classes were held and included Bending Poles, Arena Race, and Barrels. This year, the W/T/C Gymkhana classes had 6 entries: all juniors and all riding English (which is a little different). It was nice to see some kids entering just to have a fun time. Devil was the smallest pony in the class and it showed in his times. The short legs make it hard to outrun the bigger horses. Alex was the most experienced in the class and as a result, got 1st in 2 of the events and 2nd in the 3rd event. That was good enough to win the Gymkhana Division (and gave him 6 total wins over his sister).
Alex and Nike running bending poles
After a long day, we headed home. Luckily Chinese takeout was on the way home. We unloaded ponies and ate a quick dinner. After dinner, the trailer was unloaded of some items and reloaded with others, because Sunday was the 1st West Greenwich Hunter Pace for the season!
One really nice thing about the WGHA hunter paces is they are close. Since it is only a 15 minute drive, we can get up at 7 and still make it to the ride with plenty of time. Today, Anna rode Dakota with Alex on Nike, Vicki on Devil, and Alexis on Ace.
Amanda and I hung out at the trailer and I worked on changing out the interior trailer lights to LED lights while they were gone. They rode 11 miles in about 1:54. As soon as they got back, I could tell it hadn’t been a relaxing ride for the group. The fatigue from showing on Saturday had a definite impact causing some melt downs (Vicki) on the trail. Compounding the problem, Devil is in the best shape of his life and was full of energy and giving Vicki some trouble because he wasn’t tired at all. After a filling lunch, everyone was feeling better. Anna scored 3rd in her division and the kids placed 4th in the junior division. It was amazing to see 14 junior teams at the hunter pace today! Next time, maybe we won’t schedule the kids for 2 days of events. Maybe.
4th place in the Junior Division for the kids and 3rd in the Hilltopper Division for Anna
Tonight, I will be picking up a new horse for a pre-purchase trial. It will be after dark by the time we get home, so stay tuned for new pictures later this week.
This afternoon, we headed to the Mystic YMCA for some swimming time. All the kids did lessons over the winter, but with our summer horse schedule, we decided not to do lessons right now. Instead, we will do 1 or 2 evenings a week at the pool as a family and I will coach the kids. The kids have an event coming up in June that we are specifically training for, so stay tuned.
After plenty of lap work, we headed out and stopped in Mystic Cycle Center so I could replace me helmet (the padding was worn out from age, not damage from an accident). On the outside rack, there was a used bike in awesome condition that was a good size for Alex. Just a hair large, but he will fit it great in a month or two. Alex had seriously outgrown his previous bike and the price was unbelievable based on the condition, so we decided to get it. By the time we were done, everyone was hungry and we didn’t have anything planned for at home. Five Guys was on the way home. We all worked out. Five Guys uses real potatoes for their fries, so it’s healthier than McDonald’s. We love Five Guys and to quote Amanda “Five Guys has THE BEST hot dogs.”
We finally got home and it wasn’t dark. What do you do when you bring home a new bike? That’s right. Alex, Vicki, and I went out for a short ride while Anna fed the horses and Amanda watched a show (swimming was enough for her). I meant to do a short loop. I underestimated the length of the short loop and how long it would take with Vicki on a small bike. I missed a turn, realizing it as we cruised by the turn. The kids were doing fine, so the “short loop” got a little longer than planned. However, light was fading fast, as in, the sun was well below the horizon. We made it back to the house just before dark. The limiting factor on the ride was definitely the bike Vicki was riding. She was working at least twice as hard as Alex. So now we are watching for a used bike upgrade for Vicki. In the end, we rode 7.7 miles in 55 minutes. They should sleep well tonight.
Along the way, I spent time teaching the kids about safety when riding along the road. We talked about safety in a bike group, marking hazards for other riders, maintaining your line when cars pass, announcing passes, etc. We did have 1 scare when a large SUV decided to fly around us on a curve, into a blind hill, with a guard rail on our side and high bank on the other side. As the SUV came around, a car crested the hill and discovered the SUV in his lane. Now, the car appeared to be speeding as well (common on our road) and instead of hitting the brakes, he swerved to the side and hit a large rock on the embankment. The sound of the loud pop was his tire blowing out. Of course, he was well over 1/4 mile down the road by the time he was able to slow enough to stop and check the damage.
The incident highlighted for the kids the fact that you can never trust drivers to do the safe thing and you have to be vigilant on the roads.
Vicki warming up before the ride. Her bike had a leaky tire so she switched to Alex’s old bike
Alex figuring out the new range of gears and brakes
Almost ready to head out
Alex spent a lot of time cruising with the low effort on the new bike
Last weekend was family trail riding. Amanda rode Huey for 6 miles, including about 3 miles of it by herself, off the lead line.
Amanda riding Huey without help
Amanda riding Huey without help
Anna and Dakota
This morning, Alex and Vicki had a jumping lesson with Pony Club. It was a nice cool morning and they both did great. Both pairs, Alex/Nike and Vicki/Devil are very well matched and we hope they will have a lot of fun together this summer.
Alex on Nike
Vicki on Devil
There are no photos, but King went back into work this week. He has recovered better than we expected from his EPM. He has definitely lost a lot of fitness over the winter, so it will be a long, slow conditioning program. We are cautiously optimistic that he will be in the 60-70% that are able to make a complete recovery from EPM and resume full activity.
Today we said farewell to Echo. While we loved his personality and got along great with him, he just wasn’t quite the right match for what we are looking for. So, our search for the next horse resumes.
Today, we joined a group ride with NEATO (New England Arabian Trail Organization) at Pattaconk State Forest, which was a new venue for us. We rode just the single 10 mile loop. We were originally planning to do 18 miles, but the day got started a little later than planned and we had 5 flat tires on the trail. A “Flat Tire” on the trail is our code word for a boot problem. We have been having a lot of boot problems lately, but we have some Renegade boots on order and hopefully, that will reduce the number of boot casualties.
This comic is such an amazingly accurate illustration of my relationship with Echo. Don’t get me wrong, Echo and I are getting along great. But out on the trail, he goes into full Arab mode. Last summer, Misti literally spooked at a Butterfly crossing the road ahead of us. It seems Echo is quite untrusting of rocks. In particular large rocks on the side of the trail, flat rocks in the road, and rocks that are a different color than other rocks. Throughout the ride today, as Echo would veer to the side, Anna would laugh and say “Perhaps a bush.” It was the scary mud puddle that caused a spook resulting in my forward somersault over Echo’s shoulder.
Even though we didn’t ride as far as originally planned, it was a good training ride and I think we are still on track for Alex and Vicki to do their first 25 mile ride in May. Echo, Dakota, Nike, and Devil all did great.
Vicki loves to bake, and she particularly enjoys making birthday cakes. Today, she made Anna’s birthday cake, as specified by the birthday girl. It’s called a “European Layer Cake”.
3 layers of yellow cake
Strawberry jam between the first 2 layers
French Vanilla pudding between the next 2 layer
Topped with fresh made whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Vicki did an excellent job making it all by herself.
In April 1996, 20 years ago, I met a very attractive blonde from Sweden at the Naval Academy’s International Ball. I had duties to attend to escorting women to the ball, so our introduction was brief. However, a couple of hours later, I was able to find her again and asked her to dance. 20 years later, we are still together and she is just as attractive at 40 as she was at 20.
There will be no big surprises, just some gardening time and saddle time as Anna requested. However, I wanted to share a few of the pictures from our early years that stand out in my mind. Click on the photos to see the details.
This was taken on our 1st date. The morning after we met, I met Anna at her bed and breakfast and took her out for breakfast in Annapolis.
A candid of Anna laying on my bed at my parent’s house
Anna in Chicago, Summer 1996
Anna on Mackinac Island, Summer 1996
Fall 1996, overlooking the Naval Academy
Fall 1996 in Alabama for Anna’s first Thanksgiving
This morning we awoke to just under an inch of snow. This has been one of the weirdest winters (and now springs) since we moved to CT 10 years ago. By the time we went out for morning chores, it was still snowing, but the snow on the ground was melting. By lunch, the wind was blowing enough to drop the wind chill a fair amount and the snow on the trees was turning to ice. So we went for a trail ride.
Amanda came to breakfast in her mermaid wrap that was made for her at Christmas by a family friend.
Today’s trail ride featured 6 miles of an air temperature about 37F, wind chill in the 20s, and ice constantly hitting us (and the horses) as it blew out of the trees. There were only 4 of us on today’s ride: I was on Echo, Alexis on Ace, Vicki on Devil, and Alex on Dakota. The 3 ponies did great. Echo was great for the first half. When we hit the turnaround point, I moved him from lead horse to last horse. He didn’t care for that and it made the second half of the ride more interesting. He wasn’t bad, but he didn’t want to trot behind the others. It is definitely an area we will have to keep on working on. I did decide to run him out a little to burn off some of the energy (the ponies were all happy to keep trotting along quietly as we pulled away for a couple of minutes). Echo established a new top end speed today at 25.8 mph. He sustained higher than 20 mph for 1/4 mile, but we had to pull up when 3 of his 4 boots had come off and were holding on by the gaiters. I’m not really convinced the Gloves (hoof boot) are designed for speeds above 20 mph because that seems to be when we consistently have problems. I also rode Echo in an S Hack today for the first time. I was overall satisfied with the control and stopping power. The advantage of riding in a hackamore when doing trail/distance riding is it is easier for the horses to stop and eat/drink at breaks along the way. Next weekend we will do a longer conditioning ride with at least Dakota, Devil, and Echo as we continue to prepare for our first 25 miler of the season in May.
This morning the kids were up and hunting eggs at 7. There are no pictures, because like I said, the kids were up. They did follow the “rules for the egg hunt”. Vicki decided to make up rules for the Easter egg hunt and posted them on the fridge yesterday. Here are the rules:
No waking anybody ’till 7:00.
No starting to gather eggs ’till everybody is up and ready.
No opening eggs ’till you are inside (plastic eggs filled with candy).
No stealing eggs from other egg hunters. (Amanda’s rule)
No bikes. (Amanda’s rule to prevent the older siblings from having an advantage)
No candy before breakfast.
Have fun!
Apparently, it was also a competition (because Vicki is quite competitive) and there were pre-determined criteria for the winners.
1st place – Golden egg
2nd place – Silver egg or most eggs
3rd place – Least eggs
It took about 30 minutes for the egg hunt to be completed and judged. I know this, because at 7:30 Amanda showed up in our room crying because she lost. Actually, she got second, which was evident when Alex got upset because a 5-year-old beat him. Vicki collected 70 eggs including the golden egg (can you tell she is competitive). Amanda had 43. Alex had 39. There was no sympathy for the losers. We had a discussion about losing. Not everyone wins in this family.
Earlier in the week, we spent almost 6 hours (4 of which included all the kids) working on cleaning up the tack room in the barn. Saddles and bridles were cleaned. Tack was reorganized. Items were identified to be sold. This morning, we cleaned up the tack room in the horse trailer and then loaded the trailer to haul out for a trail ride.
Today was the first time we ever hauled 5 horses and ponies in our trailer so the whole family could ride off-site. We have a 4 horse slant load trailer, but the rear tack folds flat. Devil and Huey have no problem sharing that space. We left them loose like in a stock trailer and they had plenty of room to move and turn around. We hauled out to Arcadia, which is less than 20 minutes away. Amanda has been on many trail rides with Huey at home, but this was the first time she got to ride him at an away event. Anna still keeps a lead line from Dakota to Huey.
The weather was nice in the mid 50s by the time we were ready to ride and we opted to ride from the Midway parking area, which gives immediate access to nice open fields. The ride wasn’t as peaceful as some, because Amanda kept yelling “Faster!” “Canter Huey, Canter!” We knew her stamina wouldn’t be great with the trotting and cantering (and the temps). Huey was a rock star. He walked, trotted, and cantered at all the right times. Amanda had a blast. She is definitely a speed demon. While she probably isn’t ready for the hunter paces quite yet, she is light years ahead of where Alex and Vicki were at her age as far as trail experience and confidence goes.
Amanda was satisfied after 4.3 miles in 50 minutes (a 5.1 mph average). When we arrived back at the trailer, there was a quick change of Alex off Nike and onto Dakota. Nike and Huey stayed at the trailer with Anna and Amanda while Echo, Dakota, and Devil went back out with Alex, Vicki and I for another 5.7 miles. The second outing was almost all trotting except for short walk breaks and a little cantering at the end. Alex and Vicki have decided they plan to join me for a 25 mile ride in May and it’s time to get kids and ponies ready for the ride.
The second round was a good workout for all involved. Devil is the one we are most concerned about because his legs are so much shorter than Echo’s and Dakota’s. We determined that Devil was able to maintain a nice consistent trot up to almost 8 mph. We were able to average 6.3 mph on our second round, which is well above what we need to average to complete the ride in May. With the kids, faster is actually better because time in the saddle and keeping them fueled with calories will be the biggest challenges. Alex and Vicki tested out wearing their Camelbacks during the ride and that seemed to work. It eliminates them needing any kind of saddle bags and allows them to sip water continuously during the ride. We also bought both of them triathlon shorts to wear under their riding pants to reduce the risk of rubs from 4-5 hours of saddle time as we increase the distances.
By the time we wrapped things up, temps had dropped back into the 40s. Everyone was happy to get home, unload all the gear, do evening chores, and head inside for dinner. We enjoyed some Easter cupcakes for dessert made by Anna, Vicki, and Amanda.
Group selfie
Alex trying to get into the picture
Group selfie
Life through Echo’s ears
Vicki and Devil
Alex and Nike
Quick water break. It’s hard for Anna to drink and hold a lead line to Huey while moving.
Alex on Dakota in a pond. Just a quick water stop for the ponies.
