TOA Blog Hoppin'- Shining Star

The theme from this blog hop from Beka?

Shining Star!

Let's talk about the biggest achievements your horse has accomplished.  I'm not talking about you as a rider - I want to know what your ponykins has done to make you proud.  Is there a glorious satin collection, did he/she figure out some dressage movement that took months to learn, or are is it just a great day when your butt stays in the saddle? 

I could pick shining moments for each of my girls. For Vegas, it was getting that collected jog all the way around the arena without picking a fight. We had worked basically every day with her as a 3 year old on not falling on her face when she did ANYTHING. She was always so heavy on the forhand (and still is...but less so) that she scrambled everywhere and argued with me constantly. She finally figured out that she could do it! And I was so proud. Even more so when she could do it at a show. We were still faster than everybody, but she did the best she could.

Pandora? Well, that little mare busts out her shining star smarts with almost every ride. I am always amazed at how fast she can pick up things, especially from my seat. Sometimes, this gets her into trouble because she assumes that she did whatever the maneuver was correctly the first time, and gets flustered when I ask her for "more". Still, so impressed with this small creature.

As for the Lucy Goose, her major accomplishment was moving from ranch horse mode to arena horse mode. The poor girl had been a ranch pony for 13 years, and then was suddenly moved from her home and asked to do things like lunge, trot circles and lope around a much smaller space. It was really hard for her to adjust, but she always tried to her best and she was able to figure out what we were asking her.

And then Bacon. She is proving herself to be a giant shining star. Not only did she start jumping again this year after a year off for lameness issues, she took us to our first event derbies ever. We completed our first dressage tests. She has kept me safe when I am feeling less than well. She went from an extremely nervous nelly to an almost seasoned pro in just one season. And I love her for that.