So Farrah has been sidelined with ulcers.  Luckily they have cleared up and she is back to being mostly herself:  I am used to her normal red-headed ways.  When she started trying to bite my legs (while I was mounted) and kick out, rear and buck, we knew something was wrong with her!  Even for her, that behavior was a bit much. 

While Farrah regains some fitness and is reminded that we still have dressage to work on, I began riding my daughter's pony.  Obviously I needed a new pony to ride, and Lucy was available (my daughter's walk trot pony, 13.3 hands).  Now, this is a great quiet pony at the walk.  Out of the walk, think energizer bunny on stimulants. 

Lucy is also 14 years old, has had 4 foals and is not quite sure why life now involves "real work".  Toting a kid (or two) around is not real work.  Dressage is abhored and jumping a course can be somewhat entertaining for spectators (she won't refuse, but it is often not a completely straight line from A to B).  Dressage was not going to be her strong suit, but she is brave and can jump.  To prove dressage is NOT a word Lucy likes, even after repeated lessons we proceeded to score a 42 and 45 at BN!  Ouch.  Submission is an interesting concept for Lucy....we will have to work on that.

Lucy has now finished two recognized competitions this spring, finishing 7th out of 14 at Rocking Horse and 11th out of 17 at Ocala.  I am showing her in the open BN and we have managed to finish on our dressage score, with a few xc time penalties at Ocala.

The stadium for both shows was interesting.  I almost fell off after crossing the timers at Rocking Horse (Lucy likes to shake sometimes, like a dog when wet, and she did that to me after the last fence, at the canter!).  In Ocala, I put in FOUR strides to the two stride (and this pony can have a horse stride to her canter, but I can't remember what I was doing, but certainly riding her to the fence was not IT at that part of the course).  I rode the remainder of the course much better, thanked Lucy for ignoring the lack of rider concentration and then on to XC.

Lucky for me the end result (time penalties) didn't change our overall position as I got lost on course at Ocala.  I walked it three times, so you would think that wouldn't be a problem.  I recall jumping fence four, turning, and heard the announcer say something about my long way to the barrels.  Since I was cantering aimlessly about, looking for fence five, I then remembered where the barrels were actually located and galloped on to them.

Lucy jumped the jumps well and forgave me for getting her lost.  Now on to my three year old (a connemara cross) while I hand over the reins to a teenager (for Lucy competition) and we get Farrah going again.

Kick on!