Went to a huge swap meet this weekend hosted by our friends from the Great Lakes Appaloosa Horse Club. Bought a few things but managed to stay remarkably restrained on the spending front.

Later in the day, our hunter jumper friends joined us at our barn to work on jumping with us. Sally helped us by riding our horses over the fences we weren't sure we were ready for. We jumped small cross rails, higher cross rails and then a vertical. Rio and Dancer both made it over and did not refuse once. It was quite different than the little trot overs they had been doing up until now.

Sally gave us some great pointers on how and when to cue for the jump. She also helped me with body position and where to look when jumping. It was really fun to actually JUMP over the fence. We are going to keep practicing the jumping 2 times a week to keep improving. Hopefully this will help me get over my anxiety about having to jump during the ECR.

Speaking of ECR and Equine Affaire in general, Brenda and I finished our videos and sent them out last week. They were due this past Monday. I would expect that we would hear no earlier than the second week of March as to whether we were accepted to any of the clinics we applied for.

Training Progress (?)
Jumping
After taking a bit of time off, we are back at the training regime with gusto. I'm getting more and more nervous about the jumping. We really need to step up our training. It's one of those things that I am just going to have to go for it and keep trying. I need to "mean it" when we approach the little fence and just urge her over.
So far, the little cross rails are almost too easy although she still bangs her legs on them sometimes (yes, we are using leg wraps). She is just lazy about it (like most things). This week we will raise up the height and probably use verticals instead of the cross rails for a while. There is no doubt that my helmet will be on my head for this stuff.
Loping
Loping and lead changes are going okay. The lead changes are a little rough. She tends to quickly veer in the new direction once the lead change happens. I think my legs are all over the place when I cue the change. I need to stay more centered and maybe ask for it at a different time. I really need the whole arena to practice this. This has been a little tough as I seem to be timing my workouts along with everyone else at the barn.
Bareback riding
The next major obstacle to tackle is bareback riding which I have done very little ...ever...in my life! I am positive that if we make it to the finals, we will be bareback part of the time. I don't think my little trotting is going to make it. Sooooo, canter it is. I just hope the fall doesn't hurt too much :-)
Other random stuff
We finished our application videos for Equine Affaire. Both Brenda and I are applying to be in a couple of clinics. Of course you already know I am applying for the Extreme Cowboy Race as well. The video for ECR is a bit different than the one for the clinics. I have applied to participate with Stacy Westfall and Julie Goodnight. I'll post the videos at some point (when I figure out how to do it).
My work computer CRASHED last week, causing me to lose everything on my hard drive. This includes many of my files for the website. If you are reading this and wondering why the heck the website isn't updated, well, that's why. I hope to be able to get back most of the files. I plan on updating the site this week.
Rio's weight is picking up. I have added shredded beet pulp to her diet along with the change in feed. Right now I give her about 2lbs a day. I soak it for about 1/2 hour before I give it to her. She seems to like it. I'm going to increase the amount gradually over the next several days to a maximum of 4 lbs/day. Too much beet pulp can throw off the calcium level and cause problems in the kidneys. Since she is already getting some in her feed, 4 lbs should be fine.

Skinny Horse
I'm back from my wonderful vacation. Rio still looks very skinny. We have continued to up her hay. I brought a scale to the barn to make sure we are giving her the maximum amount of her new feed.(she can have up to six lbs a day). No idea how many lbs the scoop we use holds, so the vet suggested we weigh it to be sure. She also suggested adding corn oil-up to 2 cups a day. Keep your fingers crossed that she will start putting some weight on and get back to her old self.
Extreme Cowboy Race Training
With all that in mind, we are training more slowly then I would have liked but that is the way it goes...I am not about to jeapordize her health. We have been working on moving hips, shoulders and laterally. Her spins are coming along slowly. I feel like maybe I am not cueing her quite right on the spins...especially where I put my foot. I'm going to see what my trusty books/magazines might have to say about that.
I am still nervous about our ability to jump and about my bareback riding. I am going to make sure and ride at least 10-15 minutes each time bareback. I can do this at a walk and trot and work up to the canter (I hope). I am sure that if we make it into the finals, we will have to complete part of the course bareback.
As far as jumping goes, I am going to continue the ground pole work with the low cross rail as the last option but for now, we will only do that once a week. We will work up to three times a week and add some height at the end. Right now that last cross rail is about 1 foot or so. In March, we will add multiple jumps so we eventually get used to jumping three jumps in a row.
Equine Affaire
The information on the clinics we can apply for are up on the Equine Affaire site. Brenda and I have been looking them over. The applications and videos are due by the 25th of this month. Since I won't know by then if I am accepted to the ECR, I won't be applying for any clinics that take place on Saturday or Sunday. It's kind of too bad since there were a couple I was interested in.
We will finish filming what we need for the application videos next weekend. I am trying to think of a creative way to showcase our work--and to get CHOSEN.