Roze Goes Back to Work

So while Ty continues to rest and recover, I've put Roze back to work to get some time in the saddle. Surprisingly she was quite happy and willing to get back to work. We've just been playing around with Hunter Pleasure, but I've entered her in a show later this month. I thought it would be fun to go to a show with no pressure and just enjoy some Hunter Pleasure classes. Roze loves this class and should have a blast to. Since she is now pregnant, I thought it would also be in her best interest not to push her to far.

Roze competing in Hunter Pleasure 2011

Next week I'm off to the Egyptian Event for the first time, I'm so excited to meet new people and to see all the wonderful horses, it should be a great get away. I'm hoping to be able to get tons of photos and share my experience...stay tuned.

The Winds of Change

People are generally resistant to change. I used to embrace it enthusiastically, but as I've gotten a little older I've certainly built up my own resistance to it. In life sometimes we can carefully plan our decisions, others we are gently nudged into and others we are forced to jump in head long.

The winds of change have certainly been blowing in my direction. Ty came out of the last schooling show sore on his tendon, upon further diagnostics, we found a tear in his deep digital flexor. Once again he'll be off for show season. His future in the show ring is now questionable with so many issues in his right front. He is super talented and the easiest horse to ever work with, I keep hoping for a miracle. We're planning an extended break and a slow and careful recovery, good things are worth the wait, right?

We're still working on getting Roze bred, we'll have another vet check in two weeks, crossing our fingers that this time we'll finally get lucky.

We have some other changes and plans in the work, but can't quite spill the beans so as not to jinx anything, but stay tuned....

Everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, and things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they go right.

~Unknown

So it begins...

The unofficial start of the 2012 show season has begun, with Ty and I heading off to Dunmovin Farm in West Chester, PA for a dressage schooling show. Since he was only shown lightly in 2011 because I chose to focus on Roze, I was very excited to get him back in the ring. He schooled so well this past week, I actually gave him Friday night off. He was wonderful warming up before our ride, like he's an old pro. Our test was ok, however the footing was way too deep for his liking and we pulled him from his second test. None the less it was great to get him out and know that he knows what the game is all about. We think he looks pretty good, but then again we're partial. We're starting to mark our calenders for shows this summer, so stay tuned.

Roze will likely not see the show ring this year, but will spend a lot of time with the vet. She's been all checked out to be bred and we will soon begin the process. We're very excited to see what she will produce, it's going to be a very long year!

Waiting Out Winter

I always find myself getting a bit anxious this time of year. It's between holidays and still too early to seriously think about next year's shows. I find myself having to sit on my hands and not push my horses too much too soon. December always seems to bring a peak from our fall training push, it would be great to have some shows around to gauge our progress, before taking the next few weeks easy while winter throws its worse at us. We'll be looking forward to an early spring to continue our plans and of course show!

One of our last hoorays before the inevitable freeze, was hosting a Dancing with Horses Clinic. It was great to see many of our friends and of course Roze and Ty were able to participate. I had rode Ty in one of these clinics a few months back, but he has progressed so much in his training that I knew there would be some changes. Sure enough his tempo has changed as he has collected more, so we got some exciting Cajun style music to ride to. I also rode Roze, she hasn't been out in awhile and relished the attention and chance to show off. We'll be working on choreographing a musical freestyle for Ty this winter for the next show season. Interesting enough, the NJ Arab shows are now offering musical freestyle classes, so there is a lot to look forward to!

So for the next few weeks, we'll be waiting out winter, quietly enjoying our horses and keeping them in shape, while laying plans for next year.

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with as much hope and excitement as we have here at Roze Arabians.

2011 Christmas Card

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Leaps & Bounds

Life and the journey of Dressage sometimes move at a snails pace and at times there are surprises along the way and we move forward by leaps and bounds. This past weekend Ty and I had the chance to participate in a clinic with Judy Westlake. I've had the opportunity to ride with Judy in the past and have always walked away with new tools and knowledge. Unfortunately the last time Ty and I rode with Judy, Ty had just recovered from his tendon surgery so we took it easy.

This time around was a whole other ballgame. Ty has been working very well. After a rough year he finally was beginning to feel like he was back where he was before his surgery. This weekend I fully intended on taking advantage of the chance to work with Judy and allow Ty to excel, it managed to exceed all expectations. Ty has officially blossmed into a true dressage horse and has shown some glimpses at his amazing potential.

Our first ride was on Saturday. We got off to a bit of a slow start, getting into a rhythm. We began by getting Ty working better off the outside rein and getting him to balance and hold himself up. We played with circles, sprialling in and out. We seemed to be just getting into the swing of things and the lesson was over.

Sunday I had scheduled two lessons, I wasn't sure if Ty was up for the test, but we figured we'd give it a shot. We picked up Sunday right where we left off on Saturday. Ty has an amazing memory and only in the past few weeks have I begun to truly realize how incredibly smart and willing he is as we've begun to start into new work again.

Ty was working off my outside rein, just as we had got him doing on Saturday. We then moved into working on the leg yield to encourage him to carry himself and work correctly off his outside leg. We worked through it at the walk, trot and then into the canter. We then played around a bit in the canter leg yielding in then going into counter canter.

Ty had a two hour break and then it was on to his second ride, a true test of both his physical and mental endurance. We picked the leg yield back up turning it into shoulder in. Again Ty picked it up quickly and efficiently. Then we moved back into the canter working our newly found shoulder in to perfect our 10m canter circle. We didn't quite master this movement, but have the tools. Ty was wearing out towards the end of our second lesson, but he was a trooper.

I could not have in my wildest dreams imagined we'd make this big of a leap this weekend. I knew Ty was a willing and talented partner, but his level of dedication to the task at hand left me speechless. Ty is still young and has a ways to go, but I'm confident that he has the talent to do something truly remarkable one of these days.

2011 Show Season - That's Not Quite How We Planned It



Roze's first go at Native Costume

So our 2011 show season has officially ended. This season had a lot of highs and some lows. As always our season started out with high expectations and didn't go as planned. Roze was finally back in the show ring after a two year hiatus that included recovery from major hock surgery. Ty was back in the ring after his rookie season was cut short with a disappointing injury and recovery from tendon surgery. There was a lot on the line for my goals, I wanted Roze to earn enough points to receive her Legion of Honor and I wanted to have the opportunity to take Ty to Regionals and possibly Nationals, a feat I have personally been trying to achieve for years.

Our first show started on a rocky note, Roze was a bit rusty and Ty was fighting some body soreness. We opted after our first show to give Ty some extended time off to rest, finish growing and hopefully recover. With Ty off it also gave me the ability to focus on Roze 100%.

Roze's last show at PAJAG

Roze went on to have a fairly successful season. We successfully competed at second level. It was certainly a reach for Roze's ability but she tried very hard for me and earned respectable scores. She handled her very intense show schedule with her normal eagerness. I was able to earn one second level score towards my USDF Bronze Medal. We also made it out to some open dressage competitions where Roze earned a new career high score of 71.786%. The culmination of Roze's show season was that she ultimately received enough points to earn her Legion of Honor. With this success achieved and Roze growing weary of the dressage work we ended our season in June. It was a good note to wrap up what was likely Roze's last time in the dressage ring for awhile. She was happy to have the pressure off and we went on to try some new disciplines, trail ride and just enjoy some down time.

With Roze's shows wrapped up it was time to get Ty back to work and see if he would come back. We started back to work in August. It was a slow journey getting him back in shape. Unfortunately we missed Regionals and Nationals was out of the question as he wasn't in tip top shape. The time off seem to have done wonders for his body and mind. He came back eager, happy and sound. September was looking good and we did joke about entering him at Nationals last minute. I guess the fortunate part was the post entry fees were cost prohibitive and it was likely a good decision not to push our luck. I opted instead to enter him in one last show in October. It was an open dressage show and of course Ty was in great shape and I was sick as a dog. We went and tried our best, our scores were not what we had hoped for but Ty was back, we survived and made it through our tests and we have a good starting point to work up from for next year's shows. Ty also had the chance to participate in the Dancing with Horses clinic with Michael Matson. Ty was a hit at the clinic and really likes to "dance" to music. We enjoyed this clinic so much that we're sponsoring one locally and will try to put together a dressage musical freestyle for Ty this winter.

Ty warming up at Bucks Co. Horse Park

This winter Ty will be working hard to become a solid first level horse and start on second level. We have a great team of trainers and clinicians lined up to work with. Of course only time will tell if his talent and our luck will hold up. I'm sure we'll learn a lot along the way and in the end that's really what it's all about.

Roze's future in the show ring is a bit less certain. She will bred in the spring and it will really be up to her if she wants to compete and if she'll be comfortable. Managing her arthritis and hock issues is becoming ever more challenging. She's still very happy to work but definitely is not as limber as she used to be. Roze has went on to achieve more than I could have hoped for given the challenges she has had to overcome. She has given more of herself and worked harder then most horses would have ever been willing to do. Her future under saddle is hers to chose at this point.

If you are facing in the right direction, all you need to do is keep on walking.

- Buddhist saying