Olivia and Gambler!

Today, my friend Olivia came to ride Gambler! It was a lot of fun to see her and catch up. I know her through YoungRider, and she lives super close to me. I rode her horse Riley in the summer (and he is the cutest horse ever, except for Gambler of course).

It's always really fun to see other people ride Gambler. He is much better about other people riding him now then he used to be.

I rode Gambler for a few minutes before Olivia got on. He was so good. He's doing really well. He is still having a hard time going to the left. It's just hard for him to bend and go round, especially in the corners. I have a lesson next week, hopefully, and Heather will be of great help per usual! He got his lead going to the right on our second try today. Baby steps!

The ring is kind of a swamp from the rain/sleet the other day, and one half of the ring is a huge puddle. I wanted to trot Gambler through it and see what he did, but I had a feeling he'd slip, because he is dorky and clumsy!

Olivia looked really good on Gambler. She looks so tiny! He is getting so big, it's insane.

It's so cool to compare his movement in these photos versus photos from a few months ago. Such nice, positive changes, and I love seeing that!

Gambler's new blanket came in the mail yesterday. I spend and arm and a leg and approximately half my soul on blankets last year that Gambler destroyed and no longer fit him. Wah. They were really nice Rambo's, too. I was able to sell one that I never used, and hopefully I'll get around to fixing the other two and selling them for a little bit. He has a nice blanket from Smartpak though. It's an 81", holy moly. It's a little big for him, but he'll grow into it. And he looks awfully handsome in it!

Gambler is so fuzzy this year. Last year he grew hardly any winter coat, but this year he is all fluffy! I guess that means we're going to have a bad winter. He's nice and warm, though; I foresee lots of bareback this winter on the days that I'm too cold to do anything else!

Now, story time. So, Monday I fell off Auggie. It was hilarious. And I want to write this so that in ten years I can look back and laugh again. So, the fat pen ponies haven't been coming in when the rest of the horses do. I had to ride Auggie anyways, so I just volunteered to go look around the field for them. I got up to the top of the far hill, which is close to the road. Well, some dummy drove down the road really fast and honked, and Auggie lost it. Which is so weird because he's usually very calm and when he does spook, they're nothing bad! Well, this time, he jumped forward and to the side. I (not so) gracefully tumbled over his shoulder, "ass over teakettle" as Sally said. I was by myself, which was the scariest part, because I was as far away from the barn as I could get; as I was falling, all I could think about was what if I was paralyzed and I had to army crawl back to the barn! Oh, goodness. Luckily, I am all in one piece, albeit a little sore on Tuesday!

Also, I have a photoshoot with Gambler on Sunday. I am part excited, part terrified, because getting in front of the camera and looking decent isn't really my forte.

Thankful, Thankful, Thankful!

Did I mention I'm really thankful?

Okay, so not a day goes by that I do not thank The Lord for my amazing horse, and all He has blessed me with. If you've read any of my prior posts, you'll see that I pretty much just talk about how blessed I am by my pony just about as often as I use punctuation. But since it's the week of Thanksgiving, I figured I would write a whole long blog post because ya'll. I'm really blessed. And sometimes I don't remember that and snap at my farrier or get annoyed with my horse or cry to my parents about money. Sometimes I want to give up, because I'm so caught up in my own whatever that I don't see how good I have it.

But I have it good. Really, really good, in fact.

First and foremost, I have the best horse ever. And yes, I am super biased. But really, he is just the bomb dot com, and I love him with all my heart. He is the most forgiving horse I have ever met, despite his questionable past, despite the fact that I mess up a lot. He tries his blessed little heart out for me. Even when I am unclear, even when I ask too much, he puts his 100% into it, and I love that. He is the biggest goofball, with the funniest "smiles", the biggest yawns, the cutest face (I mean, seriously), and the dorkiest personality.

I am so beyond thankful for the people who helped Gambler and I get started. I am thankful for Annie, who brought my horse back to her farm as a three day old, and raised him. I am thankful for Jeff, who taught me how to train horses; who put up with me and all of my dumb mistakes, who sparked my interest in Christ, who gave me my passion for horse training, and who has played such a huge role in my life. I am so beyond thankful to my dear friend Kelsi, who has done so much for me and Gambler - who gave both Gambler and I a home and a place of love and safety last summer, who has supported me through everything, who knows more about me than anyone else, who has helped me realize I am good enough, and who has taught me that the people who don't see that don't matter. Though we are now thousands of miles away and don't take as much anymore, that girl means the world to me, because she has helped me and my horse become who we are today, individually and as a team.

I would not have a horse without my parents. Their support in my endeavors with Gambler mean so much to me, and I could not be more blessed. My dad has blessed me with a stable job at his office, that has taught me so much about the business world, as well as supplied me with the funds to pay for my portion of Gambler. My mom and grandmother are the most amazing cheerleaders, and are constantly helping me out in one way or another. I am also grateful for my dear siblings, who put up with me constantly smelling like horses, and who don't grumble (too much) about the fact that my mom is constantly driving me to and from the barn.

I am thankful for all of my amazing friends who have been there for Gambler and I from day one of bringing him home. I am especially blessed by my friends Ada, Madi, Allie, and Rebecca. These girls are just the greatest, and have helped me through so much. There is no way I will ever repay them. Rebecca was very helpful when I first brought Gambler home. She helped me with him so much and blessed me a lot financially, for which I am eternally grateful. She's the sweetest girl ever, and even though time has separated us, I am so beyond blessed to have had her calming and knowledgeable presence the terrifying first few months of owning Gambler. Ada and Madi have been here for me since before Gambler even came into my life. These girls are hands down my two best friends, and I love them both dearly. They're such amazing people and I don't know what I did to deserve such loyal, unconditionally loving, and amazing friends. They have blessed Gambler and I on so many levels, and I don't know how I will ever repay them. Ada continues to be my comic relief, my confidante, and the girl who puts me to shame with my riding because there is not a single inch of her that is not dripping with talent. Madi has helped me with Gambler's training so much, and has been such a source of light and encouragement to me throughout our struggles. She is such a loyal friend whom I love dearly. Allie is equally as amazing as all of these girls. She has encouraged me to improve and reach new heights in both my training with Gambler and my relationship with Christ. She's also the funniest person to ever live, and I love her dearly.

Gambler and I are so beyond lucky to have been able to learn from a lot of wonderful horsewomen this past year or so. There are absolutely no words to express how thankful I am to have been able to work with a friend of mine, Sarah, last winter. She helped Gambler and I through a very difficult time, and helped me to put some finishing touches on Gambler's very basic walk-trot-canter training. More recently, I have been able to take some lessons with my wonderful barn owner. She has taught me so much, and observing her riding her personal horses has really aided in my personal development as a rider/trainer. I have developed a love and appreciation for dressage that I never thought I could possess, and more than that, I have come to appreciate the hard work that it takes to run a farm. Heather is one of the strongest people I know, and I could not be more honored to be able to learn from her, about every aspect of life. I am thankful for Florence, who came into my life at an essential time, and has given me the confidence that I can do this. I am also thankful for Heather's sister, Kim, who is such a sweet warrior of a woman, and who will be helping me teach Gambler how to jump. I am so blessed to be able to learn from these women.


I am thankful for my awesome farrier, who puts up with me, and who has helped Gambler in so many ways. Gambler's feet weren't great when I first bought him, but thanks to my awesome farrier's hard work, they are now!

Last, but most certainly not least, I am thankful for my Sovereign Lord, who has somehow seen it fit to bless me with such an enormously wonderful life, dripping in blessings. Even though I mess up a lot, He loves me. And that truth has helped me through so much. Gambler and I have faced a lot of obstacles in our time together, as anyone who knows me personally knows. The Lord has helped us through a lot, when the odds were stacked against us big time. For that, I am so thankful. And I know, that whatever will happen, next week, a year from now, ten years from now... My God has got this.

On a few unrelated notes... my horse has been amazing (see the pictures of him struttin' it above as reference), and also, this is our third winter together. Time flies when you're having fun?!

Updates

(Seeing as I seem incapable of blogging on a daily basis)

Gambler continues to blow me away. The Lord is, as always, so, so good, and continues to bless Gambler and I on a daily basis. I honestly just could not be more pleased with how Gambler is doing. He is improving every ride, continues to make me laugh like a madwoman, and is really just growing into himself so well.

I just love my precious little pony!

I had off from school last Monday and Tuesday, so was able to get some good, solid rides in on both Gambler and Auggie. On Monday, I went out to lunch with my grandmother, and then she came to watch me ride Gambler. She hasn't seen me ride him since the beginning of the summer, and even though she is as "unhorsey" as one could get (she's terrified of them. It's honestly so funny), she kept commenting on how well he was doing and how much he had changed! I first started off with lunging him super briefly in the neck stretcher, and then we played around a little bit at liberty. He is such a goofball, and makes me smile so big. :)

I really like the neck stretcher, but I think we will not be using it for a while. Which is awesome, because he is just doing that good! I bought the neck stretcher a few weeks ago, lunged and rode in it once or twice, and then Florence uses it. However, I rode in it the other day and it made him really heavy on the bit. I have always been very anti-gadget, but liked this... However, now I think it's just going to sit in my tack box, because I've been able to achieve the same thing, if not better, without it.

Anyways, Gambler was, of course, really good last Monday! I had some trouble last week getting his lateral flexion going to the left, which has always been his harder side - he just naturally can't really bend very well going that way, and wants to counterbend. His canter going that way is also not great, he drops his shoulder and leans, while sticking his neck in the air like a giraffe. It's probably hideous. Well, last week, I wasn't able to get his right lead! Nada! No matter how many times I tried. He can get pretty strong at the canter, so it was kinda annoying to have to pick up the canter, fight a little bit to get him back into the trot, and start all over again! Oh well, he's never perfect, and neither am I!

My grandmother got some adorable pictures of us, which I love! Most of the pictures of Gambler and I are awkward selfies, so it was nice for her to use my camera and actually take some good ones!

Tuesday, I went to the barn midday again, so I had the ring to myself! I decided to putter around with Gambler at liberty for a little while, and lunge him over some jumps. I started off with the jumps super low, although he got really excited and jumped them really big! It was a two stride to a four stride. I raised them a little, and he just sailed through them! The first few times, he was a little confused and tried to put five strides, before trying to jump the actual chute itself... what a dweeb. However, he was sailing through the chute at the end. He honestly is dripping with potential, I just love it! He's so bold and honest, tucks his knees up nicely, streeeeetches over the jump (holy freaking scope. I foresee being jumped out of the tack lots and lots!), and is just all around adorable while jumping. ;) The rest of our ride on Tuesday wasn't great, he was kind of spooky and the fact that he wasn't flexing well and wasn't getting his lead was kind of discouraging. Wednesday, same thing. I thought perhaps he was a little burned out, so I gave him Thursday, Friday and Saturday off. Spoiled pony!

Today I had a lesson. Oh my word. It was so great! Usually Heather rides for part of our lesson, but she hurt her knee, so I rode for the whole thing. Going down to the ring, I was not so sure how well it would go, because it was so windy! I thought surely Gambler would be a total spazz, but he was an absolute champion through all of the gusts! What a good little five year old he is!

We first started off getting him nice and supple and stretching out. Then, we introduced leg yields to him! He was so good at it, picked it up very quickly, oddly enough going to the left, which is his hard way! He was good at it both ways at the walk, but had a harder time going to the right when we put him into the trot! Well, we worked a lot on it, and he finally he got it! We also worked on vertical flexion, ie bending at the poll. He was kind of confused and frustrated at the beginning, but got it pretty quickly. He is starting to look so fancy! His trot has changed so much since he has started to round over the back, I love it!

As I mentioned, I've been having some issues getting his right lead... So what Heather had me do was leg yield over to the track, and before he was even straight on the track, ask for the canter! He got it! Woo hoo! That will be my mode of attack from hereonout to get the canter when he doesn't pick up the lead! After more leg yielding, we did some canter work going to the left, which is the way he was less balanced. By this point, he was kind of tired, but we worked through it! Heather had me on a smaller circle, and just encouraging him to bend! Well, we did some more trot, and then went to canter again going to the left, but he was going nuts! It was feeding time, so Duchessa, O'Brien, and George were going crazy! Gambler didn't try anything stupid, but he was just so distracted that he wouldn't get his lead. Oh well! We got it, and then he tripped (a BIG trip) and when he got back together, he was on the other lead! I honestly am so blown away by how hard he tries though, every time he stumbles he never breaks gait. He just wants to please so much, and I love him for that.

Obviously, we had to end on a good note, so got some nice trot sets before calling it a day. I am so pleased with how he's doing, and the icing on the cake is that Heather keeps complimenting me! She said he is going to be such a nice dressage pony, and that just makes me so happy to hear. I couldn't have done any of this without her, and I am so thankful for her. She really is just so amazing!

I am truly so blessed! Love my pony and all of the people who grace our life with their presence! I am really trying to be more mindful and thankful of those people, especially with Thanksgiving creeping closer! Gambler and I are so lucky to have some really awesome people in our life, I really could not have done any of this without them.