Well, I haven't been riding much lately because i just went on vacation! It was so much fun to get away from Tucson. The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS. But of course, thanks to my dear friends, I got updates on the horse world back in Tucson :D Hillary, Renee, and Camille always seem to keep Sarah and I posted so well. And of course, Emily spammed me with pictures of sweet Josephine while I was away, too :) But I also went on a weekend getaway to Megan's graduation and to visit Sarah and got to ride Koders! It was awesome. He is such a good boy!! But he totally helped me realize some stuff I need to work on! Here are a couple pictures of master Kodi and I!
Now on to the good stuff: JOSEPH!!
When I got back, I had to wait a week (boo) before I could ride Joe! But when I finally did, holy CROW he was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!! I know I said in my last blog that he was awesome, but this topped it!! We schooled the BIGGEST BY FAR I have schooled since my accident in October. I feel my confidence rising every time I get on that sweet little pony. We were schooling 3'-3'3" which is a huuuge deal for me. He just makes me so happy. I was going around the course smiling. I don't know any other time I had done that except for with Ebro maybe a few times. It feels so wonderful to be HAPPY while riding. Which it makes me so MAD that other people don't like it that it makes me happy! Josephine is a wonderful pony and I know how lucky I am to have been given the opportunity to work with him! WHO CARES IF I'M 5'5, ALMOST 19 AND STILL RIDING A PONY!? If it's not your decision, then don't bother me about it!! It makes me feel so happy that I have such a strong bond with an animal. I love when I even start walking down the barn isle and I call out "Joooooseph!" and he sticks his head up and walks to the stall door. I love when I walk to get him from the turn out and he whinnies to me. He has absolutely changed my life. We have been, as Renee so fittingly phrased it, to hell and back and I wouldn't have it any other way. Even though there are some days that I can go ride him and he can absolutely destroy my confidence, I go back to his stall after getting off and being mad at myself and he makes me smile and laugh. Even when that confidence is gone, it builds back up 100 times stronger. Each and every time I have gone out to the barn the last couple months, I have felt myself becoming more and more like the old Alana. The Alana who wasn't afraid to jump a solid 3' fence. I am so happy to say that because of my trainers, and "my" pony, I didn't come back from an accident too fast. I prevented another one from happening. I slowly went back to the basics. I started from dressage work; get my seat more balanced, and my pony more balanced, and the rest will fall in to place. We started at crossrails and now are building back up to where we were. I am so happy that we handled the situation as we should have. I love my trainers, without them, I don't know what I would do without them. I probably never would have gotten back on a horse. And I will make it my one life goal, that I can actually call him MY pony one day. Even if he is old and retired and all he can do is stand in a pasture, I will own him.
Since I have officially gotten all my mushy/ranty stuff out of my system (lol) I am going to post some pictures of sweet little Joseph! His little pony butt was SO well behaved!! I will also put a little hyper link to a video of our courses. He is such a special guy. I cannot say it enough, but I am so blessed to have him in my life.
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| not the best pic of me, but he jumped so well! |
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| LOVE how well he is moving behind here!! |
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| this fence bordered from 3'3-3'6. it was the bigger option in a mock jumper course :) |
First of all.
ReplyDeleteRant. I may rant about this on tumblr later, too.
When people hear "pony" they think of little kids and pony rides. I understand that. Non-horse people are just that, non-horse...equine people, I should say.
EQUINE people. EQUESTRIANS. For those who classify themselves as such should have a very clear understanding that you do not have to be a CHILD to ride ponies. Many children start off riding "bombproof" horses or "schoolmasters" and not ponies. Ponies are notorious for being little jerks and incredibly hard to ride. And they ARE! Some kids do start off on ponies, the ones that are incredibly arthritic and you need a cattle prod just to make go forward. Or they get some jerkoff pony. It's not a common thing (that I've seen anyway)for kids to get the "perfect" pony for them. Ponies are jerks and many adults can barely ride them! Not because of their height or weight but because ponies can be VERY hard to ride...for anyone!
I give mad kudos to those who can and still do ride ponies and ride them correctly.
You and Josephine HAVE come such a long way and although I didn't know you when your confidence was shattered, I have SEEN your confidence grow each time you ride him. Every time you talk about that damn sweet little pony, the love you have for him gushes and oozes from each word. You two are a TEAM. Who CARES what the haters say. Haters can rant on and on and will do so because they most likely have not the skill to adequately ride a mischievous pony.
Good on you and keep up the great work!!
renee you make me smile. actually teared up from that. legitimately. he is so special to me. i truthfully dont know what i would do without him. he is everything to me. thanks for always supporting me :')
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