Equestrian Blog

Last week was crazy.

As Judson is quickly approaching midterm, classes have not even considered slowing down. If anything life has gotten more busy and more hectic.

On top of  normal school stuff - class, homework, and the likes, some of us had to get ready for a horse show. At least I started the week thinking I was going to have to get ready for a show, than I got sick.  I don't know if YOU can ride a horse when you can't breathe, but I can't.  So I spent the first half of the week trying to get better so that I could spend the second half of the week getting ready for the show, but that didn't happen either.  By Wednesday, I still wasn't well enough to ride in class, this meant that I had to make the call not to go to the show.  I guess this was the best since it was suppose to be so cold and icky over the weekend, which it was.

In fact, Thursday afternoon the weather was projected to be so bad that they closed the school for Friday. Unfortunately, for students Friday was already a scheduled "institutional effectiveness" day," meaning we didn't have class.  I guess we still had a long weekend so it didn't really matter. Since I wasn't able to go to the show I headed home Thursday night. It was a good thing too, because, come Friday, it really did snow! We got 2 ½ inches of snow at home in Oxford, Ala. 

Thankfully, the team was able to get to Athens, Ga. for Saturday's show, despite the snow. Turned out that it snowed there, too and the show had to be canceled.  I think everyone had a good time anyways though, hanging out relaxing and, of course, playing in the snow.

This weekend was our first and second show of the semester.  We had 2 western shows in one day. The shows were hosted by Georgia Tech and took place at Linda's Riding School in Conyers, Ga.

I think we all had a pretty good time. It could have been a little more enjoyable though if the weather had been nicer. It was cold the whole time and got colder as the day went on. It was windy which made things a little interesting in the show ring - wind seems to make horses a little friskier - and it rained/snowed/sleeted on and off all day. Thankfully, the show was under a covered arena so we didn't have to actually ride in the rain and such, but we did have to walk back and forth to the van in it. It could have been worse though so I won't complain.

The show did go well, though. We tied for high point team with Berry College in the first show and tied for reserve high point team with North Georgia in the second show. So, overall, we did very well. It helped that we had our three new team members: Lindy, Meagan, and Megan showing with us (to learn more about the new team members, please see my previous blog "We Are Glad You Joined").  A couple of them were a little bit nervous during their first time, but for their first show they did very well.  Plus, they had awesome team members singing to them from the rail!  :)

Everyone else had a pretty good show, too. I feel like I could have done better myself, but everyone has good days and some, not as good days. I will just have to work to make improvements for next time.

Next weekend is the UGA show and will be two huntseat shows in two days. I will let everyone know how it goes. Until then, try to stay warm.

One of the great things about Judson is it's unique learning environment...

Today, for my Huntseat team class, we went to Blackjack Farms in Birmingham to watch Meredith Bell, one of our team members have a lesson. Blackjack Farms is a show barn that offers lessons and boarding for jumping and eventing. This was a great opportunity for us for a couple of different reasons.

The first of which is that it let us see another equestrian facility.  Although this reason is not directly related to being on the team, some of us on the team are also equine science minors or equine interdisciplinary majors. A big part of these studies is figuring out what type of equine business we want to own/work for.

Another is that while it gave Meredith the chance to get another lesson in, it gave the rest of us a chance to observe her ride and learn from what she did. When we ride in class we are all having to worry about what we are doing on our horse and don't very often have the chance to see each other ride. For me personally, it helps me to see an example of what I need to do or need not do. Having us there also made it possible for Meredith to have her lesson recorded so that she can go back and watch herself ride.

A third reason is that it allowed us to experience a lesson with a different instructor. Even though not all of us were riding, we still got to hear the instruction and the explanation of what and how something should be done. It is always good to have a variety of instruction, because regardless of how good an instructor is, someone else is always likely to see something different and have a slightly different style of teaching that could help you.

           Along with getting back to school, we have gotten back to riding. It was a bit of a slow start; first we had to go over the paper work for the classes and then wait for some ridiculously cold weather to pass. Though many of us would have liked to just get on a horse, it gave us a chance to review and get back in the mindset of riding  after a month and a half of non-poniness (yes, I did just make a word, but I could not come up with one already in existence that I liked!). This time was also really good for the beginner classes that have people in them that have never ridden, or at least never ridden at Judson before. These classes were able to  watch a video on the fundamentals of riding and learn a little more about how Judson equestrian program works.

            Once we seemed to be over the cold spell our regular routine picked up; Getting to the barn 15-20 minutes before class to get the horse we are riding groomed and tacked, then heading up to the arena to have class. We ride for around an hour, warm up and have a lesson, then head back down to the barn to untack and put the horses up.

            The first day I rode was a little crazy. Just like many of the team members have not ridden since around Thanksgiving, the Judson horses have not been ridden in the same amount of time. So, as you can imagine, they were a little high on energy! It was also a little bit windy that day and there was a lot going on. We had some visitors watching my class to see if they would be interested in a horse that was no longer working in our program. Things had been going well until a gust of wind blew a few sheets of paper out of a folder that was sitting outside the ring. As the paper flew so did three of the horses! Ok... they didn't really fly, but it gave them an excuse to spook - running and bucking. Fortunately, all riders stayed on their horse until they were able to safely dismount and the escaping paper was captured.  We got our horses calmed back down and were able to finish the class with no more incidents. It gave us a chance, though, to experience first-hand the importance of riding with proper position and keeping our heels down!