After weeks of frigid temperatures, this weekend was a welcome relief with highs in the upper 40s. Saturday morning, Alex took Dakota out for a short solo trail ride. Saturday afternoon Vicki rode Duchess and Amanda rode Huey at Pony Club games practice. This was Duchess’ first group practice and she did awesome.
This morning started with 4 hours of tack and tack room cleaning to kick off the ride season. After a break, we tacked up for a ride. As usual, I took Mojo and Vicki rode Duchess. Alex rode Teddy, which will be a regular occurrence this year as they will be competing together at endurance rides. Amanda elected to ride Devil, which was interesting, as Devil is a lot hotter on the trail than Huey. Finally, Anna rode Amira for their first time in the woods.
We rode for 1:15 which was just about perfect for today. The temperatures were dropping, but everyone had a good time. Amira did great – she crossed water without hesitation, took turns leading, following, and bringing up the rear of the group. Amira fits in well with the herd and had a great first outing. The sun set before our ride ended and we got to ride in at dusk with another beautiful New England sunset.
It was a typical busy weekend for the family. Saturday morning started out early with the “Proud to Tri” youth triathlon for Alex and Vicki. It was held at Harkness Park and included an open water swim in the ocean. The temps were in the upper 40s when we got up but the kids weren’t cold once things got going. They have been practicing throughout the summer with the Nutmeg Youth Triathlon Team and this was the final event of the season. The swim was 200 yds, 4 miles on the bike, and a 1.5 mile run. They both had a good time at the race.
Anna, Delia, and Vicki before the start (friends from the NYTT)
Vicki coming out of the swim
Alex headed into the swim
Alex coming out of the swim
Alex coming out of T1
Vicki coming off the bike
Vicki headed out on the run
Alex coming in on the bike
Alex headed in to T2
Alex headed out on the run
Vicki finishing
Alex finishing
Saturday afternoon, Alexis and Christina came over to spend the night with Vicki and do a trail ride. Christina brought her horse, Fiona, and Alexis borrowed Mojo. Alex joined us on Dakota and I was riding Teddy. Mojo has been getting treated for Lyme for the past 2 weeks and been in a stall with only riding for exercise. As a result, he was being quite unruly on the trails, so Alexis and I switched mounts after the first mile. Teddy was a rock star and has turned out to be one of the more reliable loaner horses for trail riding. The group rode 6 miles and it was a great success for Christina and Fiona in particular, as it was their first trail ride together.
Sunday morning started with chores and loading horses onto the trailer to head out for lessons at Horse Power Farm. I rode Mojo for my lesson and then Alex rode Dakota and Vicki rode Duchess. All three of us had outstanding rides and a lot of fun!
This morning I ran the Griswold Sunflower 6k road race at Buttonwoods Farm. At only 2.5 miles from the house, it doesn’t get much more local than that. Before I talk about the results, I want to give an update from my May post “Primal Diet and Fitness“. If you didn’t read it, or don’t remember it, please go back and take a look. It has been almost 3 months since that post. I have continued to follow the Primal diet and training approach for endurance sports. My weight loss steadied out with my new weight at 164 lbs; I lost 21 lbs. I may still lose a little more, but I feel great and I definitely feel that I have found a sustainable eating plan. On the training front, I have continued to limit my heart rate to 140 bpm in my marathon run training. I am not worried about a specific speed goal. On Thursday of this week, I did 16 miles in 3:00. It was my longest run to date and my heart rate did creep up in the heat. However, I wasn’t crippled from the run and recovered quickly.
With my focus on distance, I haven’t done any speed work at all. In fact, a sprint triathlon in June is the only other time I have truly tested my speed in the past 4 months. So today’s 6k race was a little bit of a question mark in my mind; I really didn’t know what kind of pace I could sustain.
It turns out, I was able to run the race in 26:21 for a 7:04 min/mile pace. That was good enough for 18th out of 566 runners and 3rd (out of 30) in the men’s 40-49 age group. I can live with that!
After I came home and had some breakfast (I don’t eat before running), we loaded up the trailer with 5 horses and headed to Arcadia in RI. Today I rode Mojo, Anna rode Dakota, Vicki rode Duchess, Alex rode Teddy, and Amanda rode Huey. This was a switch up ride for Alex and Anna to test out some things and the first time we have taken Duchess out for a trail ride at a different location. All the horses behaved for the most part. Mojo won the “Most Typical Arab” award for his spook at a butterfly flying across the trail. We didn’t ride too hard and did 10.5 miles in 2:30. When we got home, it was time to put some steaks on the grill and call it a day. The weather was great and we made the most of it.
80+F on Easter? In CT? That is definitely horse riding weather. After doing a few small projects around the farm this morning, the family went on an afternoon trail ride from home. We only rode for about 5 miles in 1:20, but there were some important lessons learned.
Mojo is always on the lookout for danger ahead
Amanda on Huey, Alex on Dakota, and Anna on Teddy
Vicki on Duchess
Amanda is building her confidence and endurance in the saddle on the trails. She did the whole ride today without any leadline assistance, including 4 small water crossings which are usually a challenge for her on Huey. She didn’t have any problem handling the trotting.
Vicki rode Duchess. This is only her second time out on the trails with Duchess and they are making progress. Today she rode in a bitless bridle and that definitely helped. It’s definitely different having a mare back in the herd. Duchess isn’t completely comfortable with all the boys yet and she will threaten to kick or bite any horse that enters her space. Unfortunately, there were a lot of motorcycles out today as well and in the first encounter, Huey ended up too close and Duchess kicked him, hitting Amanda’s foot. It didn’t actually hurt Amanda, just scared her. That also rattled Vicki a little. Later in the ride, Duchess threatened to kick Dakota when he rode up too close on her butt and it made Vicki really upset. She decided to get off and walk for a while (about a half mile) and then mounted back up when she had calmed down. While it may not seem like much, it was an important lesson for Vicki about backing off when her emotions run too high and calming down to handle the situation.
Overall, the ride was a success. No one got thrown. No one got hurt.
When we got back home, Vicki stayed on Duchess and joined Mojo and I in the front pasture for a little jumping. This was the first time Vicki has gotten to taken Duchess over anything other than ground poles. We didn’t work too long and we kept everything low, but they did very well together. Vicki has learned to control her canter speed and in the bitless bridle, they seem to be getting along better. I didn’t have much opportunity to take pictures because I was jumping Mojo (who was a rock star!) but I did shoot a short video clip of Vicki trying a simple approach at the canter. Despite the challenges on the trail, after over 2 hours of saddle time, she was all smiles as we headed in to the barn.
It has been almost 3 weeks since we made a blog post. It’s not that nothing has been blog-worthy, but rather, we have been so busy we haven’t had time to sit down and catch up.
Last weekend was our annual trip to the Hartford County 4-H Camp for Pony Club Columbus Camp. We took 4 of our horses – Mojo (for Alex and Rob), Teddy (for Vicki), Devil (for Vicki), and Huey (for Amanda). It started to rain on us Saturday afternoon and rained all day Sunday. All the kids did 1 lesson in the pouring rain on Sunday and then decided to skip the afternoon lesson. Devil was getting seriously underutilized and came home on Sunday afternoon. He was literally climbing the walls in the stall and losing his mind. He was much happier to be turned out with King when he got home.
Alex ended up riding 3.5 lessons on Mojo, including jumping. I picked up 2.5 lessons on Mojo and we were able to loan him out for 2 more lessons when another kid had her horse go lame. In the end, Mojo did 8 lessons in 2.5 days. And he was awesome for every lesson.
Vicki rode Teddy for 3 lessons and 1 on Devil. Teddy was calm and cool with Vicki and they were able to work on some jumping. Amanda did 4 lessons on Huey; we were much more focused on the experience for them rather than a specific lesson goal. I’m sure we didn’t take nearly enough photos, but here are a few.
Vicki and Teddy working on the flat
Vicki and Teddy working on the flat
Alex and Mojo working in the rain
Vicki helping lead a friend
Amanda with a walker for her warm up
Vicki and Teddy learning about cross rails
Alex and Mojo on the 3rd day
Vicki and Teddy on the 3rd day
Alex and Mojo working on cross rails
Talking to the instructor after the lesson
Teddy and Mojo conferring about the weekend
Mojo being a rock star for another Pony Clubber
Amanda and Huey on the 3rd day
Amanda and Huey on the 3rd day
Amanda and Huey on the 3rd day
The horses were happy to be home after camp.
King standing watch while the group who went to camp sleep in the next morning
Since Vicki is outgrowing Devil, and Amanda is moving up to ride Devil occasionally, Huey is getting used a little less. We have decided that he will stick around and become our driving pony. We were lucky enough to find a harness locally that fit him, so he has been getting worked for some ground driving. This week, Vicki and Alex both got to start learning how to ground drive Huey.
Vicki ground driving Huey around the yard
Vicki ground driving Huey around the yard
Alex ground driving Huey on the trails
Alex ground driving Huey on the trails
On Friday evening, Alex and I were able to spend a couple of hours in the stand hunting deer. We got to see 3 young bucks and 1 doe, but came home empty-handed. Saturday morning, Alex and I took Mack out for the opening of pheasant season.
A good evening for a hunt
Scanning for deer
Today, we did a family trail ride. King’s health over the past year has been up and down as he combats EPM. For the last few days, he has been doing surprisingly well. Today, Alex was able to ride him for an hour covering 4 miles on our trail ride. All 5 members of our family rode with all 5 of our horses. Vicki rode Huey since he has been giving Amanda attitude on the trails and Vicki can work the spunk out of him if needed.
Amanda warming up on Devil
Alex waiting with King
Everyone is saddled and ready to go
Vicki and Huey bringing up the rear
Alex and King leading the group
Amanda loves riding Devil
Anna on Teddy and Vicki on Huey
Alex and King
Once the ride was over, we did a little work outside and came in for dinner. Fried pheasant from yesterday’s hunt, rice and gravy, and cole slaw with a cabbage picked from our garden this afternoon.
There is no question that October and November are my favorite months in New England.
It’s been a long day. I did some trimming this morning while Anna and the kids did chores. After lunch, we had a swim with some friends, then back home to ride some horses. Vicki spent some time riding Devil bareback, including jumping him to get ready for the show tomorrow. Of course, tomorrow she will likely be using a saddle. Alex and Vicki both rode Nike for a short session. After that, Vicki rode Dakota (her third ride for the day), Amanda rode Huey, and Alexis rode Ace. Anna and I were able to go for a short trail ride to evaluate Teddy on the trails. Teddy is making great progress with he fear of ears being handled. We are able to halter him reliably and bridle him, although it requires disassembling the bridle. He is not ready to have a bridle passed over his ears and it requires patience to put the brow band back across his head. Anna has been working on this with him every day, and he is showing a lot of improvement. I am confident he will continue to get better and we will get past the problems eventually.
On our trail ride, I was on Mojo and Anna was on Teddy. We just did a 5 mile ride because it was late and the deer flies were ridiculously bad. I had a few that made it into my mouth, my ears, and swarmed my eyes. Teddy is definitely an Arab. He has a nice solid trot, but does have that Arab mindset that large rocks and logs could be a hiding place for a mountain lion. Nothing too dramatic, but just enough to keep the ride interesting. We have introduced Teddy to Glove boots. He wasn’t too fond of them on his hind feet, but once we got moving, he didn’t have time to worry about it.
Anna on Teddy for their first trail ride together.
Anna on Teddy for their first trail ride together.
A view through the ears of Mojo
I need a selfie stick
I did manage to take a short video while we trotted through the corn fields. Anna thinks maybe we should invest in a GoPro to mount on my helmet. Teddy walked through water, has a nice ground covering trot, and Anna looks good on him. His first trail ride was an overwhelming success. The only thing he is lacking is conditioning, but we know how to fix that.
Now that May is coming to an end, our schedule is calming down a little. Things have been non-stop with music concerts and horse activities. This weekend, Alex and Vicki participated in the local Pony Club eventing rally at Mystic Valley Hunt Club. At a Pony Club rally, the parents can help set up the area first thing in the morning, and then the rest of the day is up to the kids. We arrived at MVHC at 7 and didn’t leave until about 5:45 that evening. The kids had horse management inspections (including verifying all required equipment was present and labeled), a written test, formal inspections of rider and mount, dressage tests, stadium jumping, and cross country jumping. Parents are not allowed in the areas at all, so it is all up to the kids.
Eventing Rally Team L-R Alex, Nina, Vicki, Christina, Alexis
It was a long and hot day, but the team managed to keep their spirits up and had some good rides. Alex and Nike had great jumping rounds. The jumping Steward (keeping track of which rider was next and sending them into the arena) turned to me after their first jumping round and said “Is he your son?” I said yes. She replied, “I was not prepared for how well he would ride. They are a really good team.” It perfectly captured Alex. He was moping around during the course walk and acting like he hated everything. But as soon as they enter the jumping course, it’s pure business and Alex had a huge smile on his face.
As good as Alex’s day was, Vicki’s was even better. She rode the best dressage test I have ever seen her ride and it was reflected in her 69 score. Then on the stadium and cross country courses, she had clear rounds and loved every minute of it.
Vicki warming up for dressage
Vicki riding her dressage test
Vicki riding her dressage test
Alex waiting for dressage
Alex riding his dressage test
Vicki and Devil jumping stadium
Vicki and Devil jumping stadium
Vicki and Devil jumping stadium
Alex and Nike jumping stadium
Alex and Nike jumping stadium
Alex and Nike jumping stadium
Alex and Nike jumping stadium
At the end of the day, the team won 1st place in Horse Management and 5th overall.
Yesterday was wet and still hot, so we gave the horses a break. This evening, we decided to head out for a trail ride. Alex really didn’t want to go, so he got a pass (I’m sure Nike didn’t mind). For those who have been following, King had EPM over the winter. We have been bringing him back into work slowly and are cautiously optimistic that he might actually make it back to competitions this summer. This evening, Anna rode King, I rode Mojo, Vicki rode Dakota, and Amanda rode Huey.
Amanda loves to ride the trails with her Momma
Dakota and Huey consulting about the best tasting leaves along the trail
Anna and King
Amanda is becoming quite the trail rider. We only rode 5 miles over 1:15, but Amanda was constantly announcing when we needed to trot or walk based on the terrain, although her default is always more speed. They did plenty of trotting and cantering. She and Huey are a great team. Mojo was great. I love his trail demeanor and he is very level headed. He is definitely powerful and loves to race, which makes him a great match for me.
Hands down, the best part of the ride tonight was watching King back in work. King was the first horse that was “my horse”. We bought him in 2002 for me and he has been a rock star. The last 2 years have been rough with injuries and illness, but tonight he had every bit of his power back and was moving great. I look forward to his return to hunter paces.
Yesterday brought the first snow storm of the season and we got about 6″, which was perfect for some fun with the horses. This morning while working on chores, Vicki and Alexis disappeared. We discovered them riding bareback on their ponies in the front pasture.
Alexis on Ace
Vicki on Devil
Vicki on Devil and Alexis on Ace
Vicki on Devil
Alex and Amanda finished their chores and spent some time trying to build a snow fort. Mack was helping.
Mack and Alex
Mack coming to see the camera
Mack trying to take Amanda’s mitten off
Mack loves the snow
After lunch, we saddled up all 7 horses for a short 4 mile trail ride.
Alex on Nike leading the way, Carrie on King, Anna on Dakota, Amanda on Huey
Anna on Dakota and Amanda on Huey
Alex on Nike
Carrie on King
Rob on Misti
Alexis on Ace and Vicki on Devil (hanging back so they feel like they are on their own ride)
Alexis on Ace and Vicki on Devil (hanging back so they feel like they are on their own ride)
We had a nice relaxing day on the farm with just the right amount of snow! The day ended with a pretty sunset as we did the evening chores.
Anna and I hosted the first Mystic Pony Club Pachaug Turkey Trot today. We didn’t have a very large participation from the club, but the kids that rode had a good time.
It was the first time I have ridden Misti in 4 weeks (since the infamous Ayer Mt Hunter Pace). Misti finished her Oxytetracycline for her Lyme treatment this morning and has been on Gastrogard for 5 days. We started with Anna working her on the lunge line for about 20 minutes. Then Anna rode her for a while in the arena. Then I rode her in the arena. She got a break while we tacked up the rest of the crew and then we mounted up for some more work in the arena as everyone warmed up. It was so nice to have a good ride. I was very anxious about how she would behave, and she was great.
During the warm up, Amanda worked on her trotting with Huey. You can watch the video here. During the trail ride, Anna kept a line from Dakota to Huey to prevent him from deciding to head home early.
Once everyone was ready, we headed out for a nice 4.5 mile ride. It was Alex on Nike, Christina on Saffron, Alexis on Ace, Vicki on Devil, Amanda on Huey, Anna on Dakota, and I was on Misti. We crossed water, encountered vehicles, hikers, and bikers with no drama. I have to say, the Best Pony Award goes to Dakota. He is just a rock star on the trails and doesn’t care if the lead line to Huey wraps around his legs, under his tail, or anywhere else. That pony is one of the best chances we ever took.
The bottom line is, we had a great day enjoying the outdoors and riding as a group. Misti spent over 3 hours under saddle and redeemed herself. Amanda rode Huey for 2 hours straight. I hope everyone else had a good conclusion to their holiday weekend. Enjoy the pictures.
This evening, I needed to trim some of our horses. Vicki has been asking for me to teach her to trim Devil, so I let her work on him. She attempted his right front hoof. I helped. She decided it was a lot harder than it looked when I did the work. But she wants to keep learning and do her own trimming when she is a little stronger.
Vicki picking out Devil’s hoof
Vicki picking out Devil’s hoof
Vicki rasping Devil’s hoof
Vicki rasping Devil’s hoof
Vicki rasping Devil’s hoof
Vicki rasping Devil’s hoof
Vicki rasping Devil’s hoof
On Sunday afternoon, we did a family trail ride. It was the first time in almost 5 months that everyone has been healthy enough to ride at the same time! Of course, Misti wasn’t able to go, so I went on King. Amanda is loving trail rides on Huey (although Anna keeps her on a tether). We did a 4 mile loop and the temps were well into the 50s by the time we got done. It seems like fall didn’t waste any time making itself known.
