Now We’re Cooking

Okay, got the invite. I’m an official member of VSF again!

The Trail Course

By the way, in case anyone was curious, the trail course at the show this weekend was as follows. Enter at a walk and stop in front of the hay bale. Dismount and walk your horse to the hay bale. Spray your horse with a few squirts of the provided fly spray and check two hooves for rocks with the provided hoof pick while your horse stands quietly. Remount, using the hay bale as a mounting block if desired. Walk your horse to the bridge and stop on the bridge for a two seconds before proceeding. Proceed at an intermediate gait to the pivot box. Step into the pivot box and ask your horse to do a full circle. Step out of the pivot box and proceed at a walk to the slicker hanging on a pole. Take the slicker off the pole and put it on. Remove the slicker and hang it back on the pole. Pick up a canter and canter to the cavaletti poles, laid out in a hand shaped pattern. At a walk, weave through the cavaletti poles in a serpentine pattern. Walk to the cones and turn your horse around. Back through the cones in a serpentine pattern. Turn your horse back around and proceed at an intermediate gait to the water obstacle (a box tray with water in it). Walk through the water obstacle and proceed to the cavaletti pole. Sidepass down the cavaletti pole to the mailbox. Open the mailbox and take out a piece of candy. Proceed at walk to the rope gait. Remove the rope, go through the gate, and replace the rope, without dropping the rope.

That’s it, that was the course we did. Thought some of you might be curious/interested.

Weird…

Got my first level in probably about a year in WoW tonight. So, up to level 45 now. It’s a little bittersweet that it’s Bulwyrth on Cho’gall instead of Bulworth on Kil’Jaeden, but still cool. I also made about 5 gold, but spent 4 of it, on flying, buying more food for my pet, buying 2 new enchanting spells, and buying some reagents so I could cast both of those new spells on my gear. I still haven’t met up with anyone from VSF yet. Apparently they all have new characters or character names now, too, so I haven’t been able to find them even. Hopefully I’ll get a guild invite by the end of the week.

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over

So I found out that VSF clan got sick of crowded Kil’Jaeden and moved all their characters over to Cho’gall. So, I followed suit last night. Maybe I can start having some fun doing group PVP again. I haven’t really been playing Wow much lately, so hopefully this will renew my interest. Unfortunately Bulworth was already taken on Cho’gall, so I had to rename my character. Now I’m Bulwyrth. Here’s my new profile: http://wow.allakhazam.com/profile.html?1760408. I logged in tonight and decided to wander over to Feralas, since I had picked up a Feralas quest in Orgrimmar a while back, but had still never been there. I had to fly to Shadow Prey Village and then walk down to Feralas. Before I did that, though, I explored Valley of Spears and wandered up to Sargeron, because I’d never been through those areas either. Got a bit of experience and made sure there was nothing terribly interesting there. While I was in Valley of Spears, I got ganked. After rezzing, I made my way down to Feralas, all the way through to Camp Mojache. I only saw one other person the entire way to Feralas after rezzing, and they were friendly. I guess that is the one nice benefit of being on a less populated server – it’s more safe to travel alone in contested areas. Anyway, I got a number of quests there and completed three or four of them, got just over halfway to next level (45), made about 4 gold, and discovered around 10 new areas. Not bad for my first night back in a while!

Gaited Show This Weekend

I ventured up to Vallejo this weekend with Apache for the 5th Annual All Gaited Breed Show put on by PPHRNA (Peruvian Paso Horse Registry of North America) at the Solano County Fairgrounds. It was a very last minute decision as I was under the false impression that the show was in two more weeks. So I got the dog boarded last minute, packed up some bags, called my trusty hauler, who fortunately was available, made a reservation on hotels.com and got up there Friday night after work. First thing Saturday morning I was up at the fairgrounds to get him ready for the halter classes. He was actually quite good while I did his braids. I didn’t even have to put a halter on him to do his mane braid. He moved around just enough while I was trying to do his forelock that I had to halter him, but he was still very good – none of his usual hitting me in the stomach with his nose the whole time or trying to stick his nose in the air to put his forelock out of reach. Once I had the braids done and any poop or dirt stains wiped off with Cowboy Magic, I went and got myself into my saddle seat suit.

The show office was running late so I waited until about 8:30 to get Apache’s bridle on and take him to the warm up ring. Now, ever since our last show months ago, I have been working on halter with him a little bit every time I ride. I make him stand quietly without chewing the bit and with his head where it’s supposed to be and ears up. He has been *soooooo* good about it. However, in the warm up at the show this weekend, he went right back to being his old self. I was so annoyed with him. Even at the last show we went to, before we did all the extra work, he was really good in halter, standing alert without moving a muscle and not chewing at all. Granted, that wasn’t typical at all, which is why we worked on it so much, but after doing all that work, I was quite upset that he was ignoring what he knew I wanted him to do. I kept correcting him and he would stop for 2 seconds, then go back to it. I did what I could, but, the show finally started about 45 minutes late and we were in the first class of the day – Halter, SSH, Stallions & Geldings, 3 & over. He kept breaking his stance, chewing on the bit, slobbering everywhere, and putting his nose up in the air while gnawing on the bit instead of standing still with his head where it belongs, and of course, even while the judge was giving him his once over. We got 2nd place out of 3 entries, which frankly, I was amazed by given his performance.

After that class, I put him back in the stall to give him a mental and physical break for a few classes, then got him back out and took him back to the warm up to work on standing still some more. I was a lot harsher in my corrections, using the crop, when he wouldn’t listen, and he got a little better, but still mostly didn’t care what I thought or had to say about it. Finally our next class was up – Halter, Open Gaited Breed, Stallions & Geldings, 3 & over. He did a little better, still doing everything he did the first time, but a little less than before. This time we got 1st out of 3 entries, which was just nuts, but I am not complaining.

We were elligible for the Championship Halter class then, so again I gave him another break for a few classes. Then, I took him back to the warm up and worked on him some more before we had to go in. The Championship Hatler class had 5 entries, including a gorgeous Peruvian Paso stallion, two other Peruvians, the only horse from the 2 & under division, which was a black TWH stallion, and Apache. They asked us to show our horses in hand in gait for what seemed like an eternity before they asked us to stand them up. Apache was, again, a little better than the previous two classes, but still not great. They sent us down to the other end of the arena after they gave everyone a once over, so they could deliberate. Not surprisingly, the black Peruvian stallion took the Championship ribbon.

After the halter class Championship ended, there was a 10 minute break before the under saddle classes began. I ran and got Apache’s black leather cutback saddle and bridle on and took him to the warm up ring, because we were in the 2nd under saddle class – SSH, 2 gait, Open. I was disappointed to find that Apache was *not* on his game. He was not giving me his usual swing in his gait, he was not hitting it with his strong rhythm – it felt kind of strung out or just dead…not animated. And I was having to push push push to keep him going. He wanted to die out. This was *really* weird for Apache. At home, he does somtimes make me push him, but he’ll still give me a nice rhythm and swing. And at shows, he is usually 10 times the horse he usually is, giving me tons of animation and push. That’s what I got from him at the Elk Grove show and what won us all those blues and reds. When we got into the arena it was even worse. I think he was already not feeling up to his usual self, but on top of that he didn’t like the arena footing – it was awful, granted, but the other horses were managing. I was not at all surprised when we got 5th place out of 8 – except that I was surprised we got anything at all.

Our next class was SSH, 3-gait, Open. I warmed up his canter, which he was doing amazingly well, but he was still awful in his gaits, relative to what he usually gives me at shows and still not that great compared to even what I get at home when he’s bored in the arena. My friend Libby had shown up by then and watched the class. She said we looked *great* – that Apache was the only one with any swing, but of course technically SSH do not have to have a gait with swing (a walking gait) – any four-beat gait is correct, so the judge may (and should) not care about that. She also said his canter looked gorgeous, which I could feel anyway. He picked up his left and right lead with no problems and had a nice, floating, rocking chair motion, with his head down and bent at the poll, great, consistent rhythm – everything you could want. All that canter work paid off! I have no idea how everyone else’s canter looked. The other two horses were behind me both ways of the ring on the canter, so I couldn’t see them. Anyway, we still ended up getting 3rd of 3, which I assume was because of his pitiful performance on two slower gaits. After that, Apache was done for the day.

The second day, we were again in the first class of the day – Open Gaited Breed, Trail Class (i.e., trail obstacle). He aced *everything* except the water obstacle and the gate.I was really proud of him because he sailed right through everything else. For the water obstacle, they had this box/tray that is used to soak cattle hooves. It looked really weird and he had never seen anything like it before (nor had I), so he refused it. All the other horses refused it too, except one – Nicole Shoppe’s horse. Every other horse that got worked up at the water obstacle didn’t do very well on the last two that came after that – the side pass to the mailbox and the gate – but Apache kept his composure. His side pass to the mailbox was the best side pass he’s ever given me. Apache messing up on the gate actually shocked me – I figured we’d ace it – but it wasn’t because of being worked up and he recovered well. After turning him on the haunch to get through the gate, when I asked him to back up to the pole so I could reattach the rope, he backed to the left instead of straight back, which he does a lot. That made the rope stretch at an angle kind of under his neck, which he decided he didn’t like and tried to back away from. I kicked him forward, but not very aggressively because he’s usually very responsive. Turns out I should have kicked *hard* because he decided not to respond and took one more step back, which made the rope taught enough that I couldn’t hold on to it anymore, so I dropped it. However, I had already planned ahead as to what I would do if that happened, even though I didn’t imagine we’d have any problems with the gate, when I saw another girl drop the rope and dismount and then try to get back on while juggling the rope and keep her spooked horse close enough to the gate to keep it in hand. I walked Apache to the end where the rope was still attached, high enough up on the pole that I could reach it, grabbed that end and then snaked it through my hands until the unattached end was in my hands. Then I backed Apache right back up to the other pole and reattached it. So, that could have gone better too, but since I know he can ace gates, I’m not worried about it. I just need to react faster and harder next time when he steps away and be prepared to correct him backing to the left. The water obstacle however is something I plan on practicing a lot at home, once I can find one of those cow hoof soakers. The class results? Nicole Schoppe’s horse, of course, got 1st, and we got 2nd, out of 8 entries.

After the trail class, the arena was open for a while, so I took him in there and warmed him up for a bit just going through his gaits and he was awesome – totally animated. But that was in the morning when it was still cold. Our first under saddle class wasn’t for a few hours – Open Gaited Breed, 3 gait. I just did that one as a warm up before any of the SSH classes. Unfortunatelly, he had reverted to the way he was the day before. I had to really push him for his gaits. We still managed to get 1st place out of 3 entries though (his canter at least was awesome). The other horses were an Icelandic and some random gaited breed I couldn’t recognize. I’m not sure how they did, I didn’t really see, but we somehow got 1st. The next class (immediately after this one) was SSH Owner to Ride. We got 3rd of 5, which was good considering how dead Apache was being. I ended up going in one championship class – SSH 2 Gait Open – before the hauler showed up and we had to leave. I decided to take my crop in that time and before the class I warmed him up and let him know I was willing to use it. After that he wasn’t giving me trouble in the class with dying out on me, but his gait still wasn’t really *on*, you know, relative to what I know he’s capable of. However, it was good enough that we got Reserve Champion. Between that and the Trail performance, I was really happy with the results, but I was a little annoyed with him being so dead and off his game the whole show as far as his gaits go. Still, over all, he was a good boy!

Canter Work

Apache has made so much progress on his canter. I am totally thrilled about where we’re at. He hardly ever gives me the left lead when I want the right lead anymore. In fact, the other day, he gave me the right lead when I asked for the left. Not good, I know, but remarkable given his old patterns. We have done a lot of work over the past 6 months on simple lead changes while doing a change of direction on the diagonal. He has gotten very good at that, sometimes switching leads in as little as one or two strides in a middle gait. The past few weeks, we have been working on doing simple lead changes up the middle of the arena on a straight away. We have gotten up to four swaps on one pass. He has made such amazing progress. His right lead canter has gotten to the point that it’s just a smooth and rhythmic as the left lead. He still doesn’t want to bend at the poll as much as he is willing to on the left lead, but that’s about the only difference these days. The next advancement will be perfecting the flying lead change. We have done some work on that, but I think he’s finally in a place where we can make good headway there.

Get Along Little Doggies!

This past weekend Apache and I attended a cow penning clinic put on by the couple who owns the barn where we board. Apache, being from Texas, had seen cows many times, and in fact ones much bigger than these. However, he had never interacted directly with them before. Before they started the practice runs, they put the herd into the arena and let us take the horses in to get used to them. Apache was just not sure what to make of it all. He would walk excitedly up to the cows and then spin and try to take off running if they would make any sudden moves. He wanted to race around the arena with an occasional pause to have another look. Finally, he calmed down and eventually we were asked to empty out the arena so we could begin the practice runs.

Now, the way a run works is as follows. The herd is in the arena down at the far end and a small pen is at the near end. There are 30 cattle in the herd all with numbers around their neck. Numbers 0-9 are used with three of each number. Teams of three go into the arena and raise their hands when they are ready to begin. At that point, one of the numbers is called out, designating your three target cows. There are three “positions” to be played by the three team members – first, holder, and second. All three of you run down to the far end as soon as your number is called and try to locate a cow with the right number in the herd. You all try to help the first position locate one. As soon as he has located one, first position goes into the herd and pulls out the targetted cow. It is the holder’s job to stay with first position and help him pull the cow and run him down to the other end, where the pen is. All the while, second position is staying back from the herd, trying to keep his eye on the next target cow. As soon as first position gets the first cow out, second position moves in to get the second cow. The holder should then aid second position in getting this cow, while first position tries to locate and keep an eye on the third. If all goes well, you will be able to get all three cows down to the other end. At that point, you have to herd those three into the pen. However, frequently the cows that have been run down to the other end, try to sneak back up the arena to get back to the herd, so you have to keep an eye on that also. The spectators help by yelling “Back door!” whenever a cow tries to run back to the herd. Additionally, sometimes a cow that isn’t your target number, called a “dirty”, gets down to the other end. One is okay, but if you end up with two or more cows of the wrong number in the pen, it’s a disqualification. The clincher is that you have 2 minutes to complete the task. If you can’t get all three in 2 minutes, you can just try for two. And if you can’t get two, you can just try for one. Note that it is a lot easier to succeed if you aren’t the first team in with a fresh herd, as the cows get more and more tired as the event goes on.

We spent from 9 a.m. to noon doing practice runs. There was a mix of experienced cow penners and total newbies, so one or two newbies would team up with an experienced person to get some instruction during the practice runs. At noon, we broke for lunch and had a BBQ. We started up again around 1 p.m. We continued practice for about an hour and then we begin the “jackpot” run. In the jackpot run, the teams of three were randomly drawn. Each team got to go once (there were seven teams). The only difference was that you entered the arena and there was a guy on the fench with a flag. When you passed that guy, heading down towards the cattle, your number was called out. Now, in the jackpot run, the team with the shortest time getting three cows in the pen wins. If no teams get three, the team with the shortest time getting two cows in the pen wins. If no teams get two, the team with the shortest time getting one cow wins. My team was first. We got one cow and took almost the full two minutes, because, being first, we of course spent the entire time trying to get all three cows. After that, five teams went and none got a single cow, so I was starting to feel a lot better about our performance. The final team went and of course, their strategy is easy and obvious at this point: get one cow in the pen as quickly as posssible. Of course they were able to get one cow in quicker than we did with that as their only goal. So they got first, and we ended up with second (which still paid out $30 each – pretty good for my first time!). I was still very proud since no other teams got any. Those cows were hard! My trainer later told me that the herd we were using were normally used for roping, which tends to make them a lot harder to run for penning.

Overall, I had a great time and so did Apache. He was brave from the beginning, going up to the herd when I asked, even if cautiously. However, in the first few runs, he wasn’t quite getting it. I’d dig my heels in asking for a gallop and he’d start running after the cow, and then suddenly throw his head up in the air to get away from the bit and run right past the cow all the way to the far end of the arena, doing little bucking fits as he went. He wasn’t quite getting that he needed to move at top speed, but still be under my control and listen. To be fair, I haven’t done a lot of full-out gallop work with him before. Finally by the end of the day, he was definitely starting to understand that the running had a purpose, that we were chasing the cows, not just randomly galloping around. And he seemed to like chasing them too! : P I will definitely do it again.