Saturday, January 2, 2016

TEAM 78 - TREASURE A DUN MEMORY (MICHIGAN)


2014 PLACED ___ OVERALL
___IN MICHIGAN DISTANCE DERBY
RETURNING FROM 2015

113 comments:

  1. Two Te Buster (Cadiz)
    9 y/o AQHA/FQHR Gelding

    I bought Cadiz as a long yearling. He has been an FQHR, year end, state champion in Conformation. He loves to show and always thinks it should be his turn to be worked. Cadiz comes when I call. If he is out of sight, he whinnies and then comes. Of course, he also goes to the gate if you hook up the trailer (and loads if you just point him at the trailer or say "get in your trailer").
    Cadiz is very athletic. He is not as finished as I expected at this point, but his training has been interrupted by first my husband and then me having cancer. However, whenever I am ready to ride, so is Cadiz.
    Cadiz and I have a goal to show Western Dressage this year.

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  2. I was able to get on Cadiz for a few minutes after I fed the horses lunch. That was the highlight of my day.

    1/2 - .23

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  3. The idea was to ride in the snow. There were a few flakes so it worked out. There is a picture of a snowflake on Cadiz.

    1/3 - .36

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  4. All right, I did a first time thing today. I rode in my pajamas. That is right: a camo shirt and warm, brightly colored lounge pants with dragonfly print. There was some static while dismounting.

    1/4 - .27

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Somehow my previous log posted twice. That is why I removed one, but, anyway, mysteries of the cyberworld aside, let us move on to today's ride.

    It was very, cold this morning. It had warmed up to possibly 20° when I went out to feed lunch and ride. I decided to try riding Cadiz in a halter today. I checked what was in the house and put English reins on a lovely, heavy leather, hand tooled bronc halter. Cadiz did well, but the footing is deteriorating. The crust sometimes holds and sometimes does not. It is best where he and Stick have walked a trail. I do hope it warms up and we get a melt so we can start over.

    1/5 - .30

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  7. Cadiz and I rode outside the pasture today. The footing was better working on both sides of and across the driveway. Cadiz was ready for more action the ride dictated so we worked in an oval until it bacame as an arena. Sneaker was following just to the inside. By the time we were done today, we had two sets of tracks: the horse path and the dog path. We worked on some jogging today and achieved some self carriage and acceptable pace. I was quite pleased. We also overcame Cadiz looking i to the woods and starting to get himself into a dither. It was a good ride.

    1/6 - 1.06

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  8. It was late, but Cadiz was still willing to ride. The temperature was above freezing today. That was nice, but it did not help the footing any.

    1/7 - .45

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  9. All of the rain has improved the footing in the pasture. The rain is about to start and then there is a lot of weather foolishness coming. Cadiz and I got in a ride, though. Two neat things happened. First we rode further out along the fence line and I was eye to eye with a blue jay. Second, I found a spot where the horses looked like they had moved the snow to make butterfly.

    1/9 - .35

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  10. So much snow last night and today. The temperature has dropped. The wind is formidable. I have made plenty of storm prep and it is a good day to stay inside. But, I just want to ride. Cadiz was completely willing.

    1/10 - .32

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  11. Welcome to The 2016 Great Distance Derby!
    May you have many SMILES & MILES throughout the year!

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  12. There was a break in riding while I had my last chemo and then got through the side effects. Today is above freezing and the sun came out for a while. Cadiz was so very ready for it to be his turn again. We rode farther south in the pasture (around the power pole) and along the west fence. Sneaker rode along with us. Cadiz stopped and looked at him a few times when he was really close. I am very proud of my horse today.

    10/25 - .36

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  13. Well, that last ride's date was 1/25, not 10/25. Oops. Type-o.

    I had a very fun ride on Cadiz. We went even further in the pasture. We found a huge bee/wasp/hornet nest. We had a little sport spook when the dog moved. We discussed that sport spooking is not an appropriate use of ride time. Cadiz got more used to riding with Sneaker.

    2/1 - 1.09

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  14. The length of the ride does not tell the story of the fun.
    Heather and her niece, Erica, came for the weekend. We did horses, geocaching, and Wine and Colors. To start, I rode Cadiz and Heather rode Stick. Then, Kristen rode Cadiz while I gave Erica a lesson on Stick. Heather took pictures.
    Cadiz was very good with Kristen: no squinty eyes and no horns.
    It was a great weekend.

    2/6 - .26

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  15. I decided to try every tracking app on my phone. I planned to ride the same route with every one and then post an album of the Distance Derby Facebook page so people could see what they were like. I only got through three, however, before the footing really began to deteriorate.

    2/8 - .28 (Map My Tracks)
    2/8 - .25 (Endomondo)
    2/8 - .24 (Runtastic)

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  16. It was a bit nicer today and the wind was just starting to come up. Cadiz was not sure if he wanted to ride because I had just cleaned all the chaff out of the hay building for their lunch.

    2/18 - .46

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  17. Yesterday I rode Stick and ponied Cadiz. Cadiz was thrilled to be out, but kept entertaining himself by sport spooking. Stick was walking like a crazy, so Cadiz jogged the majority of the 2.51 miles.

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  18. Just a quick pasture ride to see how a bridle looked. Cadiz is shedding.

    3/20 - .37

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  19. It was a nice day and of all the things to do, I chose to ride my horse. I also spent extensive time with the new shedding blade.

    3/26 - 1.43

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  20. Cadiz and I had a good schooling ride. We worked on shoulder moving (easy for Cadiz), hip moving (easier left than right), and balanced jog. Rode in the offset O again. Time to change back to a 3 piece.

    4/14 - 1.25

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  21. Stick got ridden before Cadiz today. How very unfair. I rode Cadiz while I gave a lesson. It was awesome to do that again. Cadiz did a couple demos of technique. He concentrated so hard on his jog. Very proud of Cadiz today.

    4/17 - 1.16

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  22. Making sure Cadiz got his turn. We opened the round pen gate and rode around a bit after a little schooling.

    4/18 - 1.04

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  23. Two rides today. One was our regular ride where we worked a lot at the trot. The second was at Ginger's for my first time hooking up and hauling the gooseneck.

    4/23 - 1.37

    First Haul Ride
    4/23 - 1.30

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  24. A regular schooling ride. We did a couple canter departs and Cadiz really tried to rock back and step into one of them.

    5/5 - 1.49

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  25. Cadiz wanted a turn, but did not really want to work today.

    5/6 - 1.42

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  26. Since there was a big trail ride today, Cadiz had to have at least a little turn.

    5/8 - .65

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  27. Great ride working on moving to a shanked bit. Cadiz has ridden in my short shanked Myler, but today we tried a Francois Gauthier short shank hinged futurity port. Basically it is like the Myler only with more tongue relief. Cadiz worked well. Good start.

    5/9 - 1.75

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  28. All right. Western Dressage is on our mind. I put Cadiz's Sprenger loose O-ring on his Texas Stars bridle. We practiced along both sides and across the drive. It is not quite dressage size, but it is much bigger than the round pen. He was willing to work, but constantly bent to the outside as he looked for fairies.

    5/17 - 2.19

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  29. A better ride today in the same spot. Cadiz does not really understand uneven ground. We went through Western Dressage Intro Test 1. It is hard to read the test while riding.

    5/18 - 2.32

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  30. This ride was a 4-H meeting. It was our first big trailer trip. We went to the fairgrounds in Greenville. There were 2 4-Hers that I was teaching. Cadiz really had to think about the footing as it was rather hard and uneven. It was a fantastic night.

    Ranch Hands 4-H Practice
    5/19 - 3.24

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  31. I got a Whinny Widget for Western Dressage Intro Level, so we went through the first test tonight. Kym read the test. I also backed the trailer in with only four back and for the.

    5/20 - 1.13

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  32. It had to be a quick ride, but we did ride. Worked on a more forward walk and transitions.

    5/21 - .85

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  33. Schooled Western Dressage Intro Test 3 this evening. Jean looked up the test and read for us. It was amusing that she was in Tennessee and Cadiz and I were in Newaygo, MI. The Bluetooth makes it so we can talk while I ride, so there is a safety factor to it.

    5/22 - 2.64

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  34. Schooled late in the evening because it is hot and humid. We are not skipping, though.

    5/23 - 1.46

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  35. Our second time trailering to Greenville for 4-H. We even stopped for fuel. Cadiz is learning that me riding him while I am teaching is different that regular working. We took the opportunity in the large arena to work on some cantering. The left was good. The right had stiffness in the shoulder and poll. The girls in the 4-H group were very eager to work and we rode for 1 hour 32 minutes.

    5/25 - 4.13

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  36. It was almost 9:00 pm when we rode, but we did. We will not be riding tomorrow because Kristen, Sneaker, and I are going to Mackinaw for the day.

    5/26 - 1.50

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  37. Talked to Dad as I rode tonight and Cadiz did his best serpentines ever. After schooling we rode around in the field. Sneaker loved that part. He sits in the shade while we school and then is allowed to come when we "trail ride" in the field.

    5/28 - 2.43

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  38. We beat the heat and rode in the morning. Test 3 is coming along. Also, Cadiz was happy because he got to ride before Stick.

    5/29 - 1.42

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  39. Tonight we started on Western Dressage Intro Test 4. It will come. Then we practiced trail riding in the field. I let Cadiz jog a bit. He seemed to be having fun as I let him practice balance on uneven ground. I only half halted if very necessary.

    5/30 - 2.87

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  40. Arlene came over and read tests for us. Cadiz really nailed his turns down the center line.

    5/31 - 2.09

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  41. Arlene read tests for us again. Today we rode early in the morning and Arlene sat in a chair at E. That gave Cadiz something new to look at. Also, rain is predicted for later today. If it does we have our ride in.
    Interestingly,today's ride is the same distance as yesterday's.

    6/1 - 2.09

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  42. No rain so 4-H was a go. We had the best ride/teaching session. Cadiz is all about Greenville Fairgrounds now. I am very happy with my horse.
    The question is - Do two rides today count toward a ride Friday (when I will not be riding as I will be at the Toledo Zoo)

    6/1 - 2.51

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  43. Cadiz wanted to ride, but he did not want to school. We practiced trail riding in the field and even went to the east to what was Grandma's property. This is the first time that Cadiz has done that alone. We may not have been working Western Dressage, but we definitely were accomplishing something.

    6/2 - 1.97

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  44. I got the results of the CT Scan today. The cancer has grown. Now we are trying a different chemo. This one is 3 days in a row every 3rd week. It takes an hour on the no exam days.
    I focused on the good things - Kristen coming to 4-H with Cadiz and I. I even drove over the Hardy Dam on the way home.

    6/8 - 3.04

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  45. Chemo has made me tired. I promised Cadiz that we would ride today no matter what. I rode late - after teaching a lesson. We rode bareback with the Francois Gauthier brushed aluminum hinged low port futility but. Cadiz settled and rode great.

    6/13 - 1.08

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  46. I love teaching lessons, but every once in a while there are frustrations. Tonight's lesson has me at wits end trying to get them to be on time. They usually get riding for their 6:00 lesson at 6:40. Tonight I rode Cadiz to push the frustration away.

    6/14 - 1.53

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  47. Off to the Greenville Fairgrounds this evening for 4-H. Ella was there with Classy and we worked on Dressage and Reining. Sherry brought Echo and we worked on technique for getting Echo in frame. Cadiz had a lot of rhythm to the jog and is riding next to other horses better. He did get looking across the fairgrounds and had to unfocus on a big CAT equipment moving bleachers. Next week will be our last 4-H Practice at the fairgrounds for this year.

    6/15 - 2.82

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  48. There was the option of 4-H Practice this evening, but only Ella and Classy committed. They came to the house where we schooled dressage. Cadiz worked on one-handed with the FG bit again.

    6/16 - 1.58

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  49. On 6/18 Cadiz was ponied just over 6 miles and he had a new experience of going somewhere and then waiting in a round pen and then going home. Sunday morning he got to ride. The field was already hot. We did some one handed.

    6/19 - 1.48

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  50. Our ride with a friend turned into a schooling session with her horse and much helping her. Cadiz was tied to the trailer for a bout an hour. His haybag ran out and he just waited. I was proud of him.

    6/21 - .62

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  51. Rode with a friend and her horse today. They had a much better ride than yesterday. I rode Cadiz in his Loose O-ring French Link. He was really good.

    6/22 - 1.07

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  52. We worked one handed today. Rain was threatening, but we rode. We rode out of and back in to the round pen so a friend could lunge and then we rode together. We did a lot of one handed turns at the jog today.

    6/23 - 1.98

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  53. Cadiz's first ride after I went to Norwalk. In had to rest up before I could before ride. Cadiz was happy to be at it again.

    6/29 - 1.60

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  54. WooHoo! The holiday weekend is here. Schooling rides and trail rides.
    Things were a bit frisky this evening as everyone settled in for the weekend. Cadiz rode in his barrel saddle and French Link.

    Holiday Schooling Ride 1
    7/1 - 2.04

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  55. Ryon saddle for our schooling ride tonight, black pad, FG bit. We worked and I taught. This is the first time Cadiz has experienced this at home. Lots of one handed turning work.

    Holiday Schooling Ride 2
    7/2 - 1.80

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  56. Ryon saddle, 5 Star pad, FG bit. Cadiz schooled alone tonight. He enjoyed himself. We cantered in the dressage arena for the first time. He was not confident to canter across the drive, but his canter was straight. Cadiz even stepped into the canter once. To the right, he tried a canter across the drive to the right. We build confidence by emphasizing try which is a success. Then went in the field for a bit so Sneaker could be part of the ride. Very proud tonight.

    Holiday Schooling Ride 3
    7/3 - 2.09

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  57. Last ride of the holiday weekend. Cadiz cantered to the left in the dressage arena and went across the drive. Told him how well he did and went for a field ride with Sneaker.
    The flies were so bad that Absorbine Red, Cutter, and Raid were not controlling them.
    What a great holiday weekend we had.

    Holiday Schooling Ride 4
    7/4 - 1.27

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  58. This day had some firsts. I rode Cadiz in the rain. Not just rain; a down poor, an it can not rain any harder down pour. Well, yes, yes it can rain harder. And lightning. And thunder. Cadiz went through puddles for the first time because a lap before, the arena had no puddles. He was questioning of the whole thing at first, but settled in and rode. Cadiz would never give up his turn. The ladies riding with me that I were taking a lesson rode like they were in a indoor. I have never had my horse, tack, and self that wet, but I am very happy to have had the experience.

    7/7 - 2.59

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  59. Sometimes you just want to ride your horse and talk to a friend.

    7/8 - 1.50

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  60. First ride of the day was a schooling ride. I rode Cadiz in the Ryon with the FG bit. We worked on one-handed; jog turns, marching walk, and transitions. We worked with a horse and rider in the round pen and then moved to the dressage arena.

    7/9 - 2.65

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  61. And part two of riding for today. Cadiz came - when called - at a trot and then a canter from his building. We rode a bit in the dressage arena with another horse and rider and then showed how we practice trail riding in the field. Sneaker was right with us and even ran up once. Neither horse cared. We even did the dip twice. Both horses were really good.

    7/9 - 1.61

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  62. Today was Horse Day Camp 1. After a 2 hour delay due to rain, we started with the lesson part of the day. Cadiz went through a puddle for the first time. He went from both directions and only half jumped it once. He is learning that when I am riding while teaching there is a different rhythm to the workout than when we are schooling alone. He is also learning that there may be stopping at any moment and patience is good.

    7/11 - 1.91

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  63. Windy today, but not quite as dreadfully hot. After two days off, I want to ride. When I went out later to feed, Cadiz expected another ride. Apparently riding twice on Saturday set a trend.

    7/14 - 2.28

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  64. Our schooling work today was okay. The exciting part was when we were practicing trail riding. We spooked up about thirty turkeys. There were 3 hens and their babies. They flew up and landed in the pines and oaks. Cadiz put his head up and his eyes were huge, but he held his ground and was able to go on when the show was over. We rode that path again just to confirm that nothing had changed.
    I was super, extra, proud of him.

    7/15 - 2.47

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  65. Cadiz rode over the bridge today! He spent months in hand convinced it was for jumping no matter that each time He was told it was not.

    7/16 - 2.93

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  66. There were 8 ladies scheduled to come ride today, but all cancelled due to a storm coming. The storm went completely around and we got not a drop. It was very windy.

    7/17 - 1.82

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  67. Horse Day Camp 2 - Lesson

    7/18 - 1.83

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  68. Over chemo side effects. Summoning energy to ride.

    7/26 - 1.14

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  69. Feeling a bit better today. It was hot. Schooled and practiced trail riding.

    7/27 - 2.09

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  70. A schooling ride for Cadiz before the ladies arrive for a trail ride. Cadiz was very good with trucks and trailers coming up the drive.

    7/31 - 1.34

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  71. Show in a week and a half. Time to focus.

    8/2 - 1.30

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  72. Hotter than I thought and so many flies.

    8/3 - .85

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  73. Friday night blues ride

    8/5 - 1.47

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  74. Cadiz got to use the Blue Ribbon Pleasure Saddle today. It rides narrower than the Ryon, but is a larger saddle. Mighty fine.

    8/6 - 1.31

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  75. Horse Day Camp Schooling Ride. Had some excellent jog work and quite a few dismount and remount, back to work

    8/9 - 2.67

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  76. Just did not have it to ride during chemo. Show today was cancelled due to rain. Did a brief ride tonight.

    8/13 - .74

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  77. Time to get back in training

    8/15 - 1.00

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  78. Western Dressage Show in our future. Time to get back at it. Had a discussion about moving shoulders to the right.

    8/18 - 1.54

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  79. Very tired this evening, but do not want to miss a chance to ride. Kristen read tests (Intro 1, 3, and 4) for Cadiz and I. Three is still my favorite. Our walk is improving.

    8/19 - 1.47

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  80. Cadiz and I had a good schooling ride tonight. Riding in the Loose O-ring French Link.

    8/21 - 1.79

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  81. Schooling for the Western Dressage Show

    8/24 - 2.07

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  82. We are focused on a weekend of showing.

    8/25 - 1.18

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  83. Tomorrow is it. Cadiz is ready.

    8/26 - 1.68

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  84. Cadiz and I did a Western Dressage discussion and demo. It went really well.

    8/29 - 1.74

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  85. Started the holiday weekend with a Friday evening schooling ride so Cadiz is one up on Stick.

    9/2 - .75

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  86. Very fun schooling ride. There were two of us and we did drill team work. The passing and rating was good for both horses.

    9/3 - 1.16

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  87. We schooled by ourselves this evening. Cadiz worked pretty well and enjoyed his turn.

    9/4 - 1.66

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  88. Last ride of the holiday weekend. After everyone left, I intended to go in and rest. Cadiz gave a plaintive little whinny, so I rode right then. Some schooling and some practice trail riding. The bugs were bad.

    9/5 - 1.22

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  89. Chemo is done. Clinical trial is currently not for me. Maybe a pleasure show. . .

    9/12 - .91

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  90. Flies are bothersome tonight.

    9/14 - .70

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  91. Working on our walk. Had some very nice working jog today.

    9/16 - .87

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  92. Cadiz let Stick and I borrow his trailer yesterday, so I definitely had to ride him before today's ride. He was very correct and we did some demo work on shoulder position and hip angle.

    9/18 - .83

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  93. Cadiz worked hard tonight. We worked on a more forward walk, transitions to the canter, and the canter. His shoulders got too tight a few times, but we ended with an acceptable line each direction.

    9/20 - 1.68

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  94. More canter work. The right lead is better than the left. Had more horse in front of my saddle after cantering.

    9/23 - 2.09

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  95. A good warm up and then canter work. Also moving the hip without cantering. Ended with a decent left lead line and end of the arena. Lots of half halts. We will improve. A good canter does improve the walk.

    9/25 - 2.02

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  96. It finally stopped raining. Cadiz was very ready to ride. We worked a lot on going through a puddle and some leg yield at trot.

    10/2 - 1.54

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  97. Some canter work today and a half halt at the canter that was remarkable. We will get to Basic next year. Want to do as much as we can yet this fall.

    10/4 - 1.41

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  98. After a wonderful trip to the UP, Cadiz was very ready to ride when I got home.

    10/11 - 1.34

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  99. After a fun trip with friends to Shipshewana, there is nothing like a ride to end the day.

    10/14 - .97

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  100. Schooled walk, teardrop shapes, and puddles today.

    10/17 - 1.45

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  101. We really schooled canter today. Cadiz has better right lead transitions than left. Hip moving is improving.

    10/20 - 1.88

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  102. Cadiz worked so well today. He acts like he has a show yet this fall. We worked on canter. We did leg yield. We moved hips. We went and worked the oval driveway area. Excellent ride.

    10/22 - 2.20

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  103. Rode Cadiz before the trail ride today. He is so serious about schooling right now. Very proud of Cadiz.

    10/23 - 1.54

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  104. Excellent leg yielding work tonight and going through two different puddles. Very good ride.

    10/27 - 2.28

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  105. Cadiz *had* to be ridden today. Kristen and Charlie watched as we got in a short ride. He did not have a long warm-up, but ride really well. The right lead canter was nice. The left lead was still quick.

    10/28 - 1.21

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  106. You just have to ride on Halloween.

    10/31 - 1.32

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  107. Back from California. Cadiz tried to do every exercise. He is so happy to work again.

    11/30 - 1.00

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  108. About half schooling and half in the field so Sneaker could exercise too.

    12/1 - 1.25

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  109. We rode. Not all rides are the same amount of good.

    12/4 - .93

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  110. Good ride today. Quite a bit of trot work.

    12/5 - 1.59

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  111. We had a lot of snow, but finally it stopped snowing and the sun came out. Tooled around on Cadiz in our arena area.


    12/13 - .85

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