Yuma Training and Jamie's Birthday!

Well, this has got to be the most frustrating moment of my entire winter....

Most of you know that my goal this whole season was to come down here, find a trainer that I clicked with, and ride at least two days a week, to REALLY work on my skills, balance and CONFIDENCE.

Well, that is exactly what I've done. And now, I JUST found out that all the videos I've taken of the training sessions, that I'm not able to download onto my computer from my phone!!!  I had a setting set wrong, and now it won't transfer!!! 

I wanted SO BAD TO SHARE THAT WITH ALL OF YOU!

 I just spent this winter doing some things that I am SO PROUD of myself for, that it's hard for me to even be humble about it.  I really never thought I'd actually get to this point.  After taking that fall early in my first lessons...during a Lope,  I just couldn't get my confidence up that the saddle wasn't going to roll on me again, or that I'd ever have the balance to stay in the saddle.  I also  needed to learn to post in order to be square and smooth during a trot. I was just a sloppy sack of potatoes plopping around in the saddle!!!  It was my goal to clean that up this season.

I thank our cousin Palamino Girl for getting me started on posting. That weekend I spent with her really got me on the right track with that. And my trainer continued to work that with me while down here. I feel I've cleaned that up quite a bit.

But, I've worked SO HARD on all these things and now I can't even share a video with you!!!  Grrrr...
I will just have to show Desert Rose when I get up there with her. She will have to be my witness to all of these things that I actually have video of my completing these tasks.  I'm just so sad....I had such a good post planned!

But, at least I can feel good about myself because before I came down this winter,  I had very low self confidence and now I've done all of these things and I feel SO MUCH better this year, especially knowing I can stay on bareback while trotting and loping.  That did wonders for my balance and self esteem.  And yes, cousins, I did all that with my helmet on!! 
And no.... I don't plan on making a habit of "trail riding" bareback, I just trained that way in the round pen, in a controlled environment so I could get my seat. I figured if I could do that and stay on, then I could certainly ride in a saddle.

These are the videos I can't get off of my phone:
* Trotting Bareback
* LOPING BAREBACK!!!
* POSTING!!!
* Polebending (Even at a LOPE!)
* JUMPING OVER POLES (in the arena) at a Lope!!! (Only about 1 1/2' high)
* Learned how to swim with and condition a horse in the River

I'm sure I wasn't as pretty as some people doing these things, but here's the most important thing!
 I STAYED ON!  During this whole season!  I got through an entire season of training, learning new techniques, not mention GETTING LOST in the mountains and having to spend the night riding treacherous terrain. So, I'm pretty happy about all of that, but its so bittersweet that I can't share it with you.... :-(

I was VERY fortunate to find Jamie McDermott, My trainer. She is bit younger than my son and she's a Competative Barrel Racer.

Jamie and Sky

We have so much fun together. I really wish my cousins could meet her, because I know you would love her too!   We hit it off so well, She got me to step out of my "comfort box" of trail riding and kept trying to get me to try new things such as the Barrel racing, pole bending techniques etc. and I got her to step out of HER "comfort box" into trail riding!   (Something she just doesn't have time for what with training and conditioning/competing) with her horses.  New boxes for both of us...  And a great new friendship!

I might be able to post the videos on my blog separately from this post...I will try that. But here are some pictures, in the meantime.
Today, it was Jamie's birthday and we went to the river to swim with the horses!  Her friend Alice came with her horse "Mo."

Talk about simple tacking!!!  Yea, a beach towel!  Now that's what I'm talkin about!  This is the one short ride we do take bareback. (When in Rome...)  We trailer the horses down to the city park, then ride them down a short ways to the river.

Jamie uses this technique to condition them occasionally.  Her horses love the water, they splash around in it and roll in it like toddlers.  But, today as you might get to see in the videos, for some reason Wispy just didn't want to go in at first!  Funny horse.

I am riding Sky, and he is SOOO attached to Jamie that he didn't want to go in unless he was following her.  Pathetic....but a sweet little guy.    I did finally get him in to swim for a moment.  Ya see, Jamie lovingly calls him her "little mistake."  She raised him from a baby before she really realized what the consequeneces could be, and let him follow her around the yard, go jogging with her and everything.  So he is like a devoted dog! But, he is sooo attached, he can't be out of her site. I've watched him have terrible anxiety fits while tied up to the trailer if she is out of his site, but nearby.  She says she could never get rid of him now.  (Not that she would...) but, of course, she does NOT do that with her other horses now. Live and Learn.....

So on this beautiful, warm, sunny day we brought along wine for this special occasion and then we ordered PIZZA and had it delivered to us while we were at the river. How fun is that?  We had a great day!

 Sky always checking out Jamie's food,   hee! hee! He think's he should at least get a nibble....

Fortunately for us, he wasn't into pizza... :-)

My Yuma Girlfriends