My Horse History

I have been thinking lately about how far I have come in my horse owning journey. When I look back to that first year in particular, I cannot believe how far we have come. I have to say I am proud of what I (we) have accomplished.

A little background
I have had Rio for over two years. In case you don't know, Rio is a nine year old Appaloosa/Quarter Horse mare with champion quarter horse bloodlines. Her sire is out of Zippo Pine Bar and her dam is out of Mr. Conclusion. She is registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club.

We mostly trail ride but want to continue to develop skills in other areas. We competed in our first show last year, taking home two blue ribbons.

I spent a good part of the first year working on control on the ground and establishing respect and trust. We made some tremendous accomplishments in our second year. Last spring I was terrified to go out on the trail. I was fearful of the unknown and unsure how she would react to the many “terrors of the trail”. My fears were unfounded as she proved to be level-headed and calm. Each ride built my confidence and comfort level. Now we go out without any problems, sometimes tackling tough terrain and sticky situations.

Our riding highlights of 2007:
-Richie Wingfield Clinic –Oct. 2007
-All Horse Parade Sept. 2006-Jane riding
-Equine Affaire-demo horse/rider in two Suzanne Sheppard and Bob Jeffries clinics
-3-day Horsemanship Clinic w/Clinton Anderson
-Ohio Quarter Horse Association Charity Trail Ride
-National Day of the Cowboy Horse Parade
-All Horse Parade-Delaware Ohio Sept 2007
-Standardbred Horse Show Sept. 2007
-Best of America by Horseback Grand Tour Ride-Smoke Rise Ranch, Ohio-October 2007

Highlights of 2008 (so far!)
-Equine Affaire-Demo horse/rider in Julie Goodnight, Craig Cameron
-Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race-April 2008—12th place!
-Hunter Pace in Urbana-May 2008
-Not So Extreme Cowboy Race-May 2008-Wooster
-Best of America Ride-Midwest Trail Ride-June 2008
-Smoke Rise Cow Clinic
-Shaun McBride Clinic-Feb 2008
-Kerry Kuhn clinic – Aug. 2008
-All Horse Parade-Sept 2008
-4H advisor Show-July 2008
-Hunter Pace-Rocky Fork Hunt Club-August 2008
-Standardbred Pace-August 2008

Wow, quite an impressive list if I do say so myself!

What we are working on
Due to the weather in Ohio, we do to get to spend as much time outside as we would like in the winter months. We typically spend a good part of the winter, working inside the indoor arena. I don’t know much about her past training, but many times when we try something “new”, she seems to know it already. We are currently working on refining the canter and softening and suppling. I feel that I am still very heavy in the bridle and would like to learn some techniques for refining my cues (both leg and rein) as well as my seat. I don’t feel as balanced and under control as I would like, particularly at higher speeds.