With Father's Day this Sunday, I figured I would brag about my dad today! Most non-rider horse show dads act bored, confused, and oftentimes just plain uninterested at horse shows. Not mine. He can watch the hunter ring for hours, not only without a complaint, but with interest and knowledge of what is going on. He …
Category: Sports
Reaction
Chance has been quiet as can be the past couple of weeks since summer kicked in. That changed a little bit today. It actually was not too terribly hot this morning, there was a nice breeze. I guess he got a little excited about it. He started out lazy on the flat, and over the …
When Things Don’t Work Out
"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." - Randy Pausch All of us ambitious types set goals for ourselves. We plan and work hard to achieve the things we desire; and oftentimes we do achieve them. But what about when no matter how hard we try, things just don't work …
Equestrian Athletes
It is astounding to me how few riders think of themselves as athletes. "We just ride horses," I have been told. At horse shows, I have seen even trainers chowing down on junk food all day, and guzzling sodas. Many riders and trainers do not exercise outside of riding. In my opinion, equestrians are athletes and …
Calming the Spook
Horses are very sensitive animals. As prey animals, they instinctively are very aware of their surroundings. They know when something is different, and they can sense things we may not be able to see. This often leads to spooking. Horses are called "dumb" or "crazy" for spooking at some invisible phantom, or for peeking at a new …
Endless Possibilities
As an ambitious, goal-oriented person with big dreams I have always had a hard time with not moving forward at the pace I would like. I often think about how far I have to go to get where I want. I am also extremely hard on myself, as well as very critical of my every …
Flat Work for the Hunter Ring
Chance has never taken his flat work very seriously. Flat work is very important for jumping disciplines, but he just doesn't buy it. He simply likes to plop around like a plow horse, until I point him toward a jump. Then he takes life seriously and goes to work. After only flatting for over a month at …
Show Horse Life
Yesterday, Chance and I finally made it to a show! He has managed to injure himself before every show so far this year. Not yesterday though, so maybe that streak is over! We went to simply school and hang out. If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that we have had some serious …
Healing Trust Issues
Trust is absolutely key to a horse and rider relationship. When it is lost or broken - whether by horse or by rider - it is very difficult to repair. However, I am learning that healing trust issues is possible. Many of you know of the major struggles I have had with Chance; many bad …
Field Trip
Yesterday, my trainer and I took Chance to a neighboring farm to school. We are trying to get him off the farm in low stress situations to see if that helps his horse show anxiety. He was wild-eyed when he got off the trailer, but instead of throwing him on the lunge line I took …
Laurel Ashton Equestrian 