Horses

Reining in the Rain

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Elizabeth

Ahhhh! With another weekend here at Sherwood Forest Faire under my belt, I’ve finally gotten a chance to sit down on this rainy Monday and write out another post for all you avid readers. As promised, I really want to focus on my riding and the specific ideas I’ve been trying to work on. So while the rain pitter patters outside, I’m going to take this opportunity to try and go more in depth about some of the things I’m working on.

In some of my previous posts, I know I’ve gone over some of the ideas Dave and Kelly advocate; more specifically the idea to ride a horse more with your seat and body than with your hands. This pretty much boils down to the main goal of working towards having a horse that is relaxed and responsive to minimal aids. As I’ve also stated previously, all our horses are trained in Western Reining, an equine sport that focuses on these ideas. The National Reining Horse Association handbook defines the reining horse as such, “To rein a horse is not only to guide him, but also to control his every movement. The best reined horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. Any movement on his own must be considered a lack of control…”

Now, growing up, I was aware of reining, and loved watching the shows I was able to get to, but never had actually ridden a reining horse nor had any inking of the way one was trained or properly ridden. Having just come from a strong jumper background, reining was completely different than what I had been used to. The notion of spending so much time on technique and fine details was foreign, as most of the equestrian sports I’d competed in had been about speed and time. Now I’ve gotten to a point where I’m becoming more aware of the finer details in riding a horse, and can take the time to focus on and refine those techniques.

There’s just so much I could go into and talk about, and so much that I’ve learned so far, but the one important idea that I feel I’m really starting to unearth and discover is how to use my legs and seat in an effective manner. Specifically speaking, learning to use my leg and spurs to get a horse to frame up and also stop and back up. This has been, by far, the most difficult idea for me to grasp. I’ve been riding for 15 years, and learning to use my leg to stop is the exact opposite of what I’ve been taught. For me, I learned leg = go and reins = stop, so the idea of using my legs/seat to stop has been quite different for me.

This last weekend though, I felt like some things are starting to finally become clearer to me on the topic. Abraham wanted to rush off at the end and would want to pop up his head and just run off, but as soon as I felt him wanting to surge forward, I squeezed him with my spurs and pushed him backwards. And it worked! It was my “Aha!” moment of the day, I could get this horse to back up and go forward quietly without having to hold onto his face and then expect a big surge. Every time he felt like rushing off, I squeezed him with my spurs and told him to back it up and hold on. Then, when he’d settled back down, I’d quietly ask him to walk forward, and then nicely pick up the canter.

I know that I’m just touching the tip of the iceberg at this point, but the fact that I’m finally actually starting to understand these ideas is wonderful. It’s amazing too how little you have to use to ask these horses to do something. Another thing Dave preaches is the use of the outside rein to help balance a horse, and again I had another “Aha!” moment with Abe. While asking him to side pass, I always found him over-bent to the inside and trying to move too fast. After stopping and assessing what I might be doing wrong, I remembered Dave preaching about being aware of how you’re asking a horse to do something. So I let out my reins a bit, used my seat to ask him forward, and then very quietly lifted my outside rein just as a support while gently asking him over with my leg. By simply using less spur and not trying to force him over by pulling his head over, I was able to get a wonderful side pass!

It’s always so hard to remember to nicely ask a horse to do something rather than thinking that you have to muscle them into something. For me, when I get panicked, I find myself wanting to snatch at the reins to find control in the situation again, something I’m sure many of us equestrians are guilty of. But I’m finding more and more just how much you can accomplish without grabbing on a horse’s face. Riding horses is a sport which constantly pushes you to constantly keep learning and adjusting, and although this can lead to much frustration, also leads to wonderful success when you are able to finally grasp something.

I’ll wrap this up with a well written quote by author Jane Smiley, “All equestrians, if they last long enough, learn that riding in whatever form is a lifelong sport and art, an endeavor that is both familiar and new every time you take a horse out of his stall or pasture”.

So I will keep learning, and keep growing, constantly chipping away at these ideas, and constantly working on becoming a better rider.

Stay dry this Monday my friends, and remember to keep pushing forward and working towards your goal. Much love.

Abraham and I after a wonderful weekend.

Abraham and I after a wonderful weekend.

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Return to Sherwood Forest

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Elizabeth

As most of you know, I had my first jousting experience at Sherwood Forest Faire 2 years ago, and then last year I spent a month there training with the New Riders before joining their team. Needless to say, this faire is important to me, and hands down one of my absolute favorites. Not only in terms of the performance we get to put out, but the people there are all wonderful, and the fans are also great. We’ve been here since the beginning of February (yes, I know, shame on me for not updating this sooner….) and I have nothing but good things to report!

First and foremost, this year the whole team got to come down to Texas and instead of the usual 4 horses, we were able to bring 8. Indigo got to come along too, and me and that big dumpling have been having a great time together. I really enjoyed riding him in Minnesota, but then he had a ton of foot problems and I then I had my problems, so it’s been nice to get back in sync with him. I definitely forot how huge he is! At 18.2 hands, it completely reinforces his nickname of “Horsezilla”. I’ve only been riding in the gaming show thus far as I work on getting back into the swing of things, and Indy and I seem to be doing well together.

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We’ve put the gaming show together in such a way that it pits the guys vs the girls. Shelby and I represent the women and Mark and Harry are the men’s team. We then all take turns at slicing the cabbage, spearing the apples, and running the rings on the quintain. So far, I believe the women have won 3 of the 4 shows, so I feel safe in saying that we make a pretty fantastic team. I always like the gaming show, because not only can we make it fun, but it’s also a good time to check in with your horse in front of a crowd. Indy’s gotten into a bad habit of wanting to rush of the line coming from the audience side, so it’s been good to reinforce quietly standing and having a relaxed and easy departure.

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In between shows Shelby and I have been doing horse rides (yey…) and then have been helping to squire for the guys during the joust. As of now, our shows consist of all 3 guys doing round robin matches and then a ground fight at the end. Dave, Mark, and Harry have all been killing it on the field though, and so far, we’ve had some amazing shows with lots of hard hits and unhorsings. I’m actually really enjoying squiring, although it always makes me increasingly eager to get back into my armor and start hitting guys with sticks again!

Speaking of armor, last week I suited up and we had a look at how things could of possibly happened to of caused my break to happen. And oddly enough, there’s nothing blaringly obvious that would give reason or rhyme as to why the leg broke. However, it was nice to put some of my gear on and work with Indy. I plan to keep wearing it as much as I can and get back in the lyst as soon as I get the go ahead to. Shelby and I even plan to ride in our armor like we did in Minnesota for the gaming show to get even more practice that way.

I’m really enjoying the time we have here in Texas, and really hope that things continue to move in a positive direction. Having the whole team here is just wonderful, and I’m quite glad we didn’t have to split up. Like I said earlier, there’s some really great people here in Texas, and I’ve been given a great opportunity to do some work with a great organization out here. The foundation is called Horse Boy and they work with autistic kids through horses and different learning methods. I’ll be sure to update you all on how that goes with them, because it really is a fantastic organization!

Sorry this post isn’t the most riveting or exciting, but things have been pretty vanilla with me coming back from my injury. I’m just taking things slow and easing myself back into my routine. I think I’ll focus my next post on more horse oriented stuff, and try to get some pictures from practice.

If you’re in the Texas area, do try and stop by the Sherwood Forest Faire. It truly is a fun experience, and you’ll get to see an amazing joust!

Much love to you all!

Love from Indy and I

Love from Indy and I

Categories: Adventure Time!, Horses | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

True Grit

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Elizabeth

Well folks, it was almost exactly 2 months ago that I flew out of New Orleans with a newly repaired femur fracture; and I’m happy to report that today I will be headed back out on the road to meet up with my team! It’s been a long two month recovery, and it has not been easy, but I’m pleased that all my hard work has paid off and I’m feeling optimistic for the future!

A quick rundown as to where I stand (pun intended); at my last follow up visit, the radiographs showed my leg is healing extremely well, and there’s lots of callus forming around the break. The doctor gave me permission to return to light work and gave me to ok to ride again, although he did restrict me to a nice easy horse for a while, and nothing too vigorous for the time being. Which unfortunately means no jousting for a bit. Everyone seems to be very impressed with how quickly I’ve gotten back on the horse (more puns… sorry), and my therapist is especially surprised that only 8 weeks post op I was doing well enough to actually get on the horse. However, she told me I’m one of the few people who actually comes in 3 times a week throughout recovery, in addition to doing all the exercises they give and all the reps. See kids, hard work does pay off!

Just last week I was able to get on a horse again, and we had a smashing good ride. I’ll listen to the doctor to a point, but when you set me and my horse loose in thousands of acres of foothills, I will most definitely do more than just a “nice easy walk”. I’ve been riding every day I can get out, and have cantered through fields and up hills, jumped ditches, and spent hours in the saddle already. However, I will lament the fact that my riding muscles had all but disappeared and after my first ride back, I was left walking pretty bowlegged! I’m more than ready to get back on and continue training, but for all you mom’s out there, I will try to take it slow and listen to my body.

Being laid up for a while has given me plenty of time to think about everything, and up to this moment, I am happy to proclaim that I have absolutely no regrets. This surprises some people, because after sustaining an injury like mine, a lot of folks wouldn’t be inclined to head back out on the road and continue doing what I do. Something I’ve realized though is that horse people have a lot of pride, and can be very stubborn, and I fully attest to living up to those characteristics. I will never again get the chance to travel the country with an amazing team of horses and people, and it’s definitely worth sacrificing for. As a matter of fact, it’s a surprise it took me this long to actually get a bad injury from riding horses! I’d say that after 16 years, it was about time! Life is fleeting, and full of unexpected perils, and while I understand this, I refuse to sit idle out of fear of injury. Horses will always be a part of my life, and every time I get in the saddle, I accept this risk. Because gosh darn it, it’s just too much fun!

I look back on 2014 in review, and am more than pleased with how it turned out. With this being the beginning of a new year, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me. Last year, I was able to travel to Texas, Idaho, Ohio, New York, Minnesota, and Louisiana; and since most of my travel was driving, got to see so much more of the country. I’m also awed by the amount of new people I’ve met, and how great they’ve all been. I consider myself very blessed to be working with such an amazing team, and couldn’t be where I am without their support.

It’s hard to express the point of my life that I’m in right now, but it mostly flip flops between extreme comfort and happiness with my vagabond, gypsy lifestyle, and complete terror that I’m doing something wrong. Shouldn’t I have a full time, well paying job using my college education? Shouldn’t I be concerned with words like 401K and retirement? There’s a lot of fear sometimes that I’m doing something wrong, but then I just take a moment to stop and look at my life. I’m happy with what I’m doing. I’m learning so much about horses and improving my riding. I’m getting lots of “real life experience” (I really hate that term, isn’t all of life a real life experience?) and learning lots of practical skills, like how to live off an extremely tight budget and still have a good time. I have very few really big obligations or responsibilities at this time in my life, and have no need to rush and “settle down”. Thankfully, I am able to talk myself down when I have these little moments, and it makes me realize just how lucky I am to be experiencing all this.

I ran across a quote the other day that is going to be my life motto for the next year, “Not all who wander are lost”. Really, it doesn’t get much truer than that! So this year I’m going to take my time wandering, and not worry about being lost or being off the beaten path of society. I am ready to embrace what life may throw at me, and put my all into whatever that may be. I am also grateful that I have so many people to support me as I wander through life, especially my parents and close friends, because while they may offer advice (and sometimes it’s rather strong advice) at the end of the day, they always have my back.

So here’s to a 2015 full of adventure and wanderlust, for as we all know, it is better to take the road less traveled.

***UPDATE*** I wrote this on my flight to Florida on Monday, however am just now getting a chance to post in. I  have successfully made it to Florida, and been reunited with my team. I’ve gotten to ride my big man Indy, and had tons of fun with my team. We are currently in Gainesville, FL performing this weekend, but will be on the road again come Monday. Now that I’m back, expect lots more posts! Much Love!

Reunited and it feels so good!

Reunited and it feels so good!

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The Adventures of Mighty Mouse and the Dame Elizabeth!

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Elizabeth

Whew! It’s been awhile since I sat down and put my adventures to paper (…erm… keyboard?), and it isn’t because it’s been uneventful around here, it’s simply because I’ve been lazy. “Boo laziness!” you may shout, but nay, you are right to scold. I really have been learning a ton about the riding technique and should be writing it all down to better retain it. However, I am now, so shush up and listen to the tales I shall tell ye.

The last few weeks have really been spent increasing my knowledge and skill in the saddle. I’ve always considered myself a good rider and horsewoman, but it has been very humbling to realize how much more there is to learn and how much room there is to grow. Focusing on the reining techniques and style is really making me take the time to slow down and get things right, rather than working on speed or completing a task. Riding Drill Team and Hunter/Jumpers taught me to ride for speed and to complete a course, whereas here I’m really getting to focus on collection, cadence, and consistency. It’s amazing how you can spend an entire ride just working on getting your horse to round up, bend at the poll, and change gait without changing speed too much. The “little” things people don’t really think about are actually huge things, and I’m finally getting to a point where I’m seeing how these “little” things transfer to how our horses ride and perform in a show and in the joust.

For instance, Kelly and Dave worked with me at length to get Abraham to ride together into the bridle, frame up and then transition gaits. We spent a lot of time working on the walk to trot transition, and I really had to focus on riding him up into the bridle with my seat and leg while not grabbing or pulling on his face. Fast forward to the other day; I’m riding Abe in armor in the lyst practicing passes, and am really working on that upward transition where Abe rides together into the canter. There was one or two passes where we got it, and the power that I felt coming from him was tremendous! He wasn’t just dragging himself through and hanging on the bridle, he had rounded up and driving himself through his hindquarters, and it was a wonderful feeling. The difference from Abe with his head up and back hollowed out running though a pass and Abe with himself rounded up and collected was like riding two different horses, and I bet you can guess which one I preferred!

I worked quite a bit with Marcus as well, and seeing as he is one of the “Old Guard” horses and knows his job extremely well, I felt like I could trust him a little more. I don’t know exactly what it was, but he really helped me realize it’s not just him I can trust, but I need to trust all of the horses more too. I know I’ve touched on this before, about needing to trust the horses more, and it’s really something difficult to do! However, I really think I have made strides in this over the last month, and am so grateful for Marcus, Abe, and Tara. After working with Marcus, I found it easier to trust Abe, and am finally getting to a point where I don’t need to latch on to his face to try and get my point across. There was on day where I spent a lot of my time working with no reins to focus on using my seat and legs, and he took perfect care of me. Once I’d started trusting Abe more, I was able to transition that to Tara. Tara’s only been jousting since February at the Sherwood faire, but just like Abe, Dave has really done a fine job with her. She really wants to try hard, and I’ve only ever once seen her get belligerent and say no to something. Riding Tara has really made me take everything I’ve learned from Marcus and Abe, and apply it to a completely different horse.

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Me and Tara “Mighty Mouse” after our ride.

The last week I’ve been riding Tara every day, and every day I grow to like her more and more. She picks things up quick, and although I was a bit worried about her the first few days, she’s really showing me that I can trust her too. We’re still trying to perfect our transitions into the canter, and to ride more collected in the canter, but she tries whenever I ask and I can see a definitive improvement from the first time I asked her to today. The first day I got in armor to ride, she acted like she had completely forgotten what armor was and though it was going to eat her. Thankfully, today she hadn’t a care in a world about it, and I’m very proud of her for that. We practiced our transitions, lance passes, and the baston course, and while she still gets a little sticky while circling the other horse during our baston course, today was the first day I was able to ride her with only one hand and really ask her around with my leg. Oh, and let’s not forget about the best part of Tara; her stops! She gets to the end of that lyst and you can have the biggest drape in your reins, and as soon as you even think about stopping, she’s on it. For being a silly looking, disproportionate horse, she really is great.

The amount of time we have till the shows start is coming to end, and I know it’s going to be here sooner than I would like. I’ve really enjoyed this time just focusing on the horses and working on our technique, but now is the time to go out there and put it into action. I’m excited for the possibilities Tara and I have before us, and even though we’ve already had our rough times doing shows together as Lady Riders in Minnesota, I have high hopes for us here. I know it probably won’t be perfect, and that’s ok, because then we’ll have something to work on, but I fully intend to go out there and give it my all. Like they say, nothing worth having comes easy!

Much love to you all, and wish me and Mighty Mouse luck in the lyst!

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Louisiana heat….it ain’t no treat!

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Elizabeth

It’s almost been a full week since we arrived in Hammond, and I have some very choice words for this state, but since this is a family friendly blog, I will refrain from telling you my true feeling about our current location. Friday was full of Louisiana adventures, as we rolled into site and had to clear 6 months of brush from the horse’s pens, as well as get water set up and start making camp. I was besieged by fire ants twice, swarmed by hornets, came face to face with a few giant banana and orb weaver spiders, and almost grabbed a water moccasin. The local wildlife has not improved at all, and the cherry on top is the lovely temperatures in the high 80’s with 90% humidity. Someone save me please…

Right off the trailer with my gals Christine and Daisy. Notice the cheery excitement... this was before I met the terrors of Louisiana!

Right off the trailer with my gals Christine and Daisy. Notice the cheery excitement… this was before I met the terrors of Louisiana!

We basically spent the first few days just getting some much needed R&R for us and horses, after 13 straight weekends of shows and 3 days on the road, we all needed it. Saturday was the first weekend we’d had off in months, and we spent it sleeping in, then enjoying a 3 hour breakfast with each other, and spending the rest of the day watching the spiders catch prey and playing cards. It was so nice, so so so very nice! As of Sunday, the whole team was officially present and settled in, and I must admit, I do like the setup of joust camp here and the fact that everyone and the horses are so close to each other.

Tuesday was the first day we got back to riding, and I am eager to spend the next month working on my technique and really honing my skills in the saddle. I know what my flaws are, and I’m in a sticky transition period of ditching my old ways of riding and learning the methods Kelly and Dave teach. Yesterday I rode Christine, and actually had a decent ride on her. Christine is one of the “old guard” horses, one of the few that have been doing this for so long, they know their job better than you do. But just because they know their job, doesn’t mean they’re going to do it the way you need them to. Christine’s biggest problem is she is very forward and pushy, and can be extremely stubborn and frustrating to ride.

Working with Christine, I really have to focus on keeping my hands from just hanging on her face, and instead, give my contact meaning. I’m also working on riding more with my seat and legs, and trusting the horse without always resorting to grabbing at their face. This is my biggest barrier, because when I panic, I want to snatch up the reins and pull them to a stop. So when Dave just tells me to sit into a stop, there’s always this instant panic of, “OH MY GOD! THIS ISN’T GOING TO WORK! MY HORSE WON’T STOP!” I have to push that away and just trust Dave and Christine, and lo and behold, when I sit deep, she stops.

Today I got to work with Marcus and Christine, and I do enjoy riding Marcus; he’s such a sweet old man! But just like Christine, he’s one of the “old guard” horses, and his biggest issues are keeping him in frame and having him nicely come off the line and not surging forward. I was very happy with how my rides went today, and even though they weren’t perfect, I’m starting to better understand how I need to work with theses horses and what I need to do to accomplish that. The exercises Dave’s had me incorporating into my rides help me to trust my horse more, work off a lighter hand, and ride more with my hips and seat. One of the exercises I’ve had success with is working in a circle and slowing brining your horse down into a pivot; all while trying to use minimal rein aids and working off your seat and legs. Dave also spent some time with me and Christine teaching me to frame her up and slow her down into a collected trot by simply firming my hands, rounding her with my legs, and relaxing my seat. One of the things Dave told me today that really stuck was to ride Christine with my fingertips. It really made me conscientious of my hands and how I was having contact with her.

Love the setup here. Marcus is right by my tent, so I get to hear his farts all the time!

Love the setup here. Marcus is right by my tent, so I get to hear his farts all the time!

It’s a different change of pace to go out to ride and spend most of my time just working on technique at a walk or a trot. Coming from a hunter jumper background where there was a lot of speed and jumps, it’s definitely different to spend so much time on the little things. I love it though, and I’m slowly starting to appreciate more and more the amazing training behind these horses. They are so finely tuned and so precise, and to watch Dave or Kelly ride them to their full potential, it really is a thing of beauty. Even though it may be extremely frustrating at times to spend so much effort and time on such little things, I can’t wait till it all clicks for me. All I can do is chip away a little bit every day, because as anyone who rides horses knows, there’s always something new to learn and strive towards.

Seeing as the Louisiana Renaissance Festival doesn’t start until the first weekend of November, I will mostly be focusing my posts on the riding technique and my time here in Hammond. If there’s anything specific you all would like a post about, please don’t hesitate to request it! I would love to do something that you, my readers, would like to know more about.

Anyways, it’s stupidly hot here today, and I unfortunately must venture out of the nicely air conditioned coffee house to head back to site to take care of the horses. Alas! Stay cool my friends, as I will not be. Much Love!

Categories: Horses | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

Another Goodbye, Another Good Time

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Elizabeth

Once again I find myself forlorn with the fact that yet another faire has come to a close. Minnesota was more fun than I could of ever imagined, and I am so thankful for the opportunities that were presented to me here, as well as the memories that I made and the friends that I met. It has been quite the memorable experience here, but as sad as I may be to leave, I am also excited for the adventures that Louisiana holds in wait for me.

Our last weekend here ended up being a three day weekend, as the festival was open on Friday as well as the usual Saturday and Sunday. Two day weekends typically tire us out pretty effectively, so having to make it through a three day weekend was something none of us were really looking forward to. Thankfully, Friday ended up being a slower day, so Shelby and I actually got a chance to walk around the faire a bit and get some shopping done. Minnesota’s fair is a lot larger than Sterling, so there was quite a bit to see, and the shops are quite more numerous and varied. After working there 7 weeks, it was nice to be able to peruse the grounds and enjoy a nice break.

Daisy and I

Daisy and I

However, the best part about the weekend was the fact that I got to ride Daisy the Destroyer for my passes! Daisy is pretty much once of the best jousting horses the company owns, she knows her job and will take care of you in the lyst. Plus she’s an adorable teddy bear, as well as the fiercest war horse who will paw the ground in anticipation of the run. Everyone loves Daisy, and I was absolutely thrilled that I got the privilege to ride her. After my tough last weekend with Abe, it was decided that I should ride Daisy to boost back my confidence, as she would give me nice clean runs so I could focus on my lance control and seat.

Sir William and I preparing to enter the field

Sir William and I preparing to enter the field

Daisy did not disappoint! She ran like a champ, and gave me some wonderful runs. Friday Dave took me out the last pass when we both collided, Saturday I made it through all the passes without meeting the dirt, and Sunday I was once again blasted into the ground. Even though I was unhorsed a few times, I still had an amazing weekend, and felt like I was in such better control of my universe during passes. Having a reliable horse under you makes it so much easier to get the job done, and I am so thankful for Daisy. I felt like my aim was better, and I was able to deliver some solid blows and even break a few lances! I know the things I need to improve on, mostly riding through the hit and driving me and my horse forward, but I feel like I’m making strides in the right direction.

As we head into the next faire, I am excited for what the future hold for me. I will be more integrated into the show in Louisiana, participating in both the Baston Course as well as the ground fight. I’m very excited, but know that it will be a lot of work and leave me aching and sore. But the best part is that I love what I do, so the aches aren’t too bad and the pain ebbs away. After Saturday’s show, I dismounted Daisy and skipped to the center to meet Dave, a grin from ear to ear. And even after Friday and Sunday’s falls, I was back on my feet talking with my audience with a smile on my face telling them I was okay and that I loved it.

 

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Anatomy of a Blowout

Having a supportive crowd makes what I do so much more amazing as well. I love talking with my audience afterwards, and getting to meet the people who were cheering me on during my passes. Some of my favorite interactions this faire were a grandma who wanted to take a picture with me and a family with 3 boys. The grandma took a picture and told me she was going to send it to her granddaughter and tell her she could be anything she wanted to, and told me she was proud of my accomplishments. The family was adorable when the mom told me all the boys were so worried when I came off and wanted to make sure I was ok. I had to reassure them that I was alright, and they were all amazed and in awe of my armor and my riding. There were so many people who came up and told me how awesome it was to see a woman on the field, and I love that I am able to inspire others and leave people pleased with the performance they saw.

No caption needed. Thank you Daisy!

No caption needed. Thank you Daisy!

This job is not easy. There is little financial gain in it, and I find myself in a constant state of discomfort in one small way or another. We work hard. We play hard. There’s constant struggles to overcome, and I will always have to be striving to do better than my best. But it’s worth it. It’s worth living in a tent and making very little. To wake up every day and get to work with amazing people and amazing horses, it’s worth it. To go to bed every night with a smile on my face and laughter in my heart, it’s worth it. A lot of people questioned my decision to do this, and to this day I still face criticism for my decision, but I am so very glad that I did. The memories I’m making and the experiences that I’m gaining are worth all the heartache and pain I have to overcome for this job.

Tomorrow the wheels hit the road and I will be headed down south for more adventures, and I am more than ready to face what’s in store for me.  Since the faire doesn’t actually start until November, I will be sure to take some time to introduce more of the crew and horses here and spend time talking about our technique rides with the horses. Stay tuned my faithful followers, and wish me luck on my travels!

Much love to you all!

 

XoXo

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dustin’ Off Your Britches and Gettin’ Back On

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Elizabeth

Happy Monday my eager readers! After a long and harrowing weekend, I am happy to announce that I survived another weekend here in Minnesota, although it was a struggle. I definitely have had better weekend in the past, but still was able to walk away from my shows with improvements for the future and new lessons learned from my mistakes.

Saturday was by far one of the hardest days I’ve had to get through working here at the company. I was set to joust Harry in the gaming show, and we were both eager to finally meet on the track. I was trying hard to focus myself and not get stressed or anxious, as I knew Abe would immediately pick up on my emotions if I let them get the better of me. I felt like I was doing alright, but started to lose my composure after the first pass. Slowly, everything started slipping downhill, and instead of being able to stay in control of my world, I let myself slip too. It’s my biggest downfall at this point; that instance where one thing goes amiss and I am unable to refocus myself. Long story short, I was only able to get two rushed and sloppy passes in before I somehow lost my balance for no real reason and simply fell off Abe at the end of lyst.

Embarrassed and frustrated does not even begin to describe how I felt lying in the dirt after my mess of a joust. I was so upset that I couldn’t tune in with my horse and frustrated at the fact that even though I realized I was panicking and could feel myself doing completely the wrong things, I was unable to correct them. I had to quickly head back to the tent to get out of my gear and take a couple minutes to myself before I was ready to see anyone, let alone go over how the show had gone. I was able to get my composure back and tell myself that things would be better. Dave talked with me for a bit afterwards and I tried to just move on and focus on the rest of the shows for the day. Tara and I would be working together as Lady Riders and I had high hopes that she would help turn around my misfortune.

I was wrong. Right out of the gate I had my day turn from bad to worse within minutes of the show starting. We set up for the Baston course and prepare to make our salute passes, where we all charge and pass each other in the center. Tara gets a bee in her bonnet, sees Christine crowding towards us, panics, slams on the breaks and spins in front of Christine and Mark, throwing me into the dirt as Christine’s feet thud right next to my head. I was so upset that I’d come off two shows in a row, I jump up, avoid the horses running towards me for the second pass and march right back to Tara. Brushing off concerned squires, I mount up and quickly try to resettle her and bring her attention back before we run in to hit Harry with our beating stick. We made it through the rest of the show ok, but boy oh boy was I even more frustrated by the end of that show.

I was trying so hard just to move on and let my mistakes be in the past, but at the same time, it’s very hard to get back up and dust yourself off when you come off twice during two shows on two different horses. I was questioning my riding ability and beating myself up over the mistakes I’d made. Riding horses can be a cruel and unforgiving passion, but can also offer the greatest rewards and accomplishments as well, you just have to stick with it through the hard times. Our last show came around and I was ready to grit my teeth and have a kick ass show. Of course, as we’re setting up, Dave has to get a few quick jabs in, asking if I want a seatbelt or maybe some super glue for my saddle. I’m able to joke back, telling him some Velcro would be nice!

I’m so glad I was able to refocus myself for the last show, because Tara and I did fantastic together, and I think it was the most successful ride I’ve ever had on that little mare. I just worked on the things I knew I had messed up on with Abe during the first show; getting her to respond to my leg and seat while giving her a loose and relaxed rein. We really connected, and I felt like I chipped away a little more at the ideas that Dave is trying to teach me. I know I won’t be able to perfect my riding overnight, but the fact that I had a mini break through with Tara made my day immensely better. Plus I stayed on the entire show, Tara and I effectively hit Harry with our beating stick, and I knocked him out with a good stunt shield hit at the end. As always, my mom was a great support too, asking me at the end of the day what I had taken away from this all. I replied I needed to trust my horse more, because Abe and Tara will take care of me if I let them, and I need to ride with my leg and body, not by panicking and pulling on their face. Overall, it was shitty, I was upset, but it happens to all of us, and we all make idiots of ourselves. Tomorrow would just be another opportunity to prove I can do better.

Yey! We knocked off Sir Henry!

Yey! We knocked off Sir Henry!

Lo and behold, the next day was better! I decided just to take the gaming show as an opportunity to school with Abe, and tune back in with him without having to worry about making passes with anyone. I really focused on working him with my leg, using my seat to stop him, and not letting him get worked up and rushed. At the end of the show, Shelby and I did dry passes in the lyst with Dave coaching me, and it was exactly what I needed. By our final pass, I had Abe running nicely off the “scary” end without getting upset with Penny running by us, and stopping nicely at the end. Abe and I worked together for the rest of the day, and both our shows as Lady Riders went beautifully. Now all that’s left is to figure out how to transfer all that into my jousting, and not let my helmet and guard hinder me when I’m in the lyst. It’s definitely going to be something I’m going to have to put a lot of work into, but I know that it will pay off immensely in the end!

I’m so happy that the weekend turned out for the better, and I was able to turn around my terrible Saturday. Next weekend is our last weekend here in Minnesota, so I’m hoping to be able to end the faire on a good note. I’ll be diligently practicing with Abe all this week!

And as a bonus for you all, here’s some awesome pictures from the lovely Amanda Rolls, one of our most senior squires here and a wonderful help!

 

Preparing to vanquish my foes ;)

Preparing to enter the Lyst

Abe and I on our ride in. Ignore my constipated face, at least Abe looks bad ass here...

Abe and I on our ride in

Much love to you all!

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Jousting, jousting, and MORE jousting!!

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Elizabeth

Once again, I find myself terribly behind in my blog entries. Therefore I will begin with an apology. However the last week was incredibly difficult, as I unfortunately I started the week with a visit to the emergency room and ended it with a crippling loss. It was a tough week to get through, and I was very distracted physically and mentally to put much effort into the blog, but thankfully things are starting to settle down and I have some spare time to sit down and write some things down. I know I have 2 weekends to catch you up on, so this post might be lengthy, or it might be broken into two separate posts. I haven’t quite decided yet, but I will promise you that I will get you caught up!

I believe that I last left off with my entry about my first official passes with the company, so I will try and pick up starting the week after that. Nothing much else to say there, except Indigo has been working through some foot issues, so I’ve been playing musical horses with Abe and Tara. Had some good rides with Tara, but boy oh boy does that little engine have some go in her! I wasn’t planning to joust the next weekend, because Indy was out, but last minute decided to do the gaming show with Abraham. It was a quick decision we made the morning of, but we managed to get everything together and have a nice show. Dave’s moved up from the nice passes, and has been delivering spot on, crushing blows that have kept me on my toes. Abe and I were riding together smoothly and managing to keep steady until out last pass when my saddle rigging on the left side completely busted apart and sent me crashing to the ground. Upon falling, both straps on the left side of my breastplate completely busted as well, leaving me and Abe a tattered, falling apart mess. Overall, it was a good show and I was just happy to be in the lyst again!

Since I have been working with getting into the lyst and jousting, Maggie has been spending most of the weekends up top since there isn’t a need for her on the field at this time. However, last weekend we decided to bring her down and have her start getting used to the atmosphere, including the elephants and camels and bouncy trampoline. Shelby and I were working Millie and her and she was doing pretty alright for me considering all the new things she was encountering. However, something set her off and she decided it was imperative to run home as fast as she could. My luck with saddles had apparently run out for the day, because my left stirrup completely broke mid run, and I was sent rolling though the ground, eventually being stopped by a solid concrete wall. After laying there for a while, I was able to get up, where I was then checked up and made sure nothing was terribly broken. I had a rather large knot on my head, a tremendous scrape on my arm, some nice road rash and bruising on my hip, a painful big toe, and I managed to re-injure my bad knee. My whole left side hurt, and it was painful to breath in deep breaths, but nothing was seriously hurt, and I hadn’t lost conscious. Mostly I was upset that I came off and had hurt myself in a non-jousting related incident, and irritated that this might sideline my jousting.

I refused a trip to the urgent care that night, opting instead to cover myself in ice-packs and rest up for the night. However, the next morning, I was incredibly dizzy and unfocused, so one of the first aid people who had seen me the day before strongly suggested that I take a visit to the urgent care to make sure there wasn’t anything seriously wrong with my head. Thankfully Christine was free to take me in, so I got to spend the day in the emergency room making sure nothing was seriously wrong. After some poking and prodding, along with a CT scan, it was diagnosed that I had nothing more than a concussion and come minor chest contusions. Thankfully, I just had to deal with some lingering headaches and a abundance of bruising the following week; nothing that was going to keep me out too long!

Tuesday I was back up on Abe training, and although we took it nice and easy, it was still great to be out on Abe again. He is such a gifted horse, and I really enjoy working with him. Dave has done an incredible job training him to this point, and I always walk away from our rides impressed with his abilities. Riding Abe also helps me to really quiet down my hands and my body; Abraham is so fine tuned, I get to work with how little it takes to get him to do something. Most of the time it’s just the barest touch or encouragement and he is right there ad responsive. It makes me work on putting more trust into him, as I have to relax and work off much lighter commands. Dave was telling me how I want everything I do to have meaning, and not just to hang on him or give him mixed signals. I want to ask for something, and then let him go. It can be frustrating at first, because most people’s reaction is to tense up and grab at the reins when you don’t get what you want right away, but once you find each other, it’s quite rewarding.

Charge on!!!

Charge on!!!

The next weekend saw Abe and I armoring up in the lyst together again, once again taking passes with Dave and Tara. I was having a stressful morning already, having to completely fix my broken saddle and was in a panic trying to find stirrups that were long enough for me to use. It was just one of those off mornings, and I couldn’t shake my jitters and anxiety. Abe obviously picked up on it, and was an energized rocket on the field. My lance control was terrible, I couldn’t make any hits, and was fighting hard to keep my horse under control. However, I did manage to stay on through all of Dave’s hits, but definitely walked away with a long lists of improvements I wanted to work on for the next day.

A series of surprise events led us into having to do some last minute show rearranging Sunday morning, and after brainstorming how to fix our problem, it was decided that Dave would sit out the joust in the morning in order to marshal and I would get to meet Mark in the lyst for passes. I was ecstatic, as I had been nagging on the other guys to joust with me for the last week or so. We hustled to get ourselves and the horses ready, and I was thankful Mark was able to make jokes and help lighten the mood, as I was worried I’d panic again like I had the day before. Abe and I entered the lyst and I could already feel that his demeanor was calmer and more in tune with me. We come forward, and I was able to completely brake my lance the first pass out. I was thrilled, shouting and whooping at the end of the lyst. Second pass saw us both deliver good hits, and at this point I was ahead in points. We came about for our last pass and we met with a tremendous impact. I felt myself being rocked backwards, and tried to bring myself forwards… accidentally over compensating and taking myself right off the side of Abe. Drat! I quickly bounced to my feet and walked to the middle to meet Mark, where we embraced and laughed and high fived each other. It was heartening to know that I rocked him back pretty good with that last hit, and I probably would have had the lead had I not come tumbling off. Oh well. It was still a great show and I was very happy with my passes and Abraham.

This week I plan to work incredibly hard to start building up my stamina and getting used to the rigors of doing a full show, which includes not only lance passes, but the baston course and a ground fight as well. I also get to learn how to stunt fall in armor, which is something I’m less than thrilled about, but it’ll give me a good reason to practice getting up in my armor too, because right now I look like a floundering turtle trying to stand up. Lots of work ahead of me, but I’m ready to buckle down and get it done!!

Oh, and here’s an amazing shot of me spearing an apple right in half! The part I like best about this picture is that you can see the reflection of everything in front of me in my breatplate! Pretty nice to have stainless steel armor with a mirror finish!

Precision!

Death to the apple!!

Much love to you all! Wish me luck as my training continues!

Categories: Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Welcome to Minnesota!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Elizabeth

After a long and harrowing trip from Sterling, NY, I now find myself in Chaska, MN for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival! Huzzah! The road was long, and peppered with numerous ridiculous toll roads, but myself and the horses finally made it, and now the whole team is once again reunited together! It’s so nice to be able to see everyone again, and I am so thankful we have such a wonderful group of people that I get to call my dysfunctional joust family! We put the “fun” in “dysfunctional”! 😉

 

Leaving Sterling bright and early!

Leaving Sterling bright and early!

An ironic coincidence!

An ironic coincidence!

Anyways! We made it, and I’m once again set up in my tent, right next door to everyone else… there’s really no privacy here. Since the fair itself is situated on a rock quarry that is constantly expanding and eating up the land, we have to live about a mile away from the actual site in a weird little shanty town we’ve established. The worst part about our living situation is the fact that in order to get the horses to the site, we have to load everyone up and haul them back and forth, which is the biggest pain imaginable!

 

My first weekend is under my belt, and it was sure an exhausting one! We arrived on site Thursday evening, had a short practice Friday, and then jumped right into the show Saturday. Maggie is currently out with some sort of minor eye problem (the vet is coming out today) so Friday evening it was decided that I would ride Indigo. I’ve ridden him a few times in armor for practice, but haven’t been on him in over a month and have never done a show with him. I do enjoy riding him though, he’s a gorgeous 18.2 hand black Percheron with a wonderful disposition, all though he can be a bit of a idiot on occasion. There are 3 shows per day at this fair; a gaming show at 11am, then two jousts at 1pm and 4pm. Indy was a fired up dragon for the gaming show, pawing the ground and eager to go with gusto!

 

Ready to go! Love this big guy!

Ready to go! Love this big guy!

The gaming show consists of riding past a cabbage and slicing the thinnest bit off with a sword, then trying to spear 3 apples placed atop the stanchions, and finally running the rings, starting with a 6″ ring, then a 4″ ring, and ending with a 2″ ring. Since I haven’t gamed since March, we did pretty terrible, missing the cabbage, only hitting one of the apples, and only getting the 6″ ring. But the next day we did much better, hitting all 3 apples and getting both the 6″ and 2″ rings. Indy was a lot better the second day as well, and we had figured each other out by then. I also had fans who found me after the show and cheered me on some more, it was great.

 

For the joust show, we are sticking to the same script we used in Sterling, which means we do the bit where we get to ride up next to the knights and beat them with stick until they fall off their horses. Since Indy doesn’t care about armor or hitting, we can ride right up and thoroughly smash Harry before he tumbles off and we ride away victorious. Then for the rest of the show we pretty much ride around looking pretty, which we both do quite well, and everyone complements Indy on what a great horse he is. He is very regal and majestic looking with his hair all braided and decked in his shiny armor! I’ve had a lot of fun interacting with the audience at this fair as well, and am enjoying adding commentary to our bits.

Look at that concentration! We make such a good pair!

Look at that concentration! We make such a good pair!

 

At the end of the joust, after Harry is declared the winner of the ground fight, us lady riders are supposed to come out with the children of the crowd and enforce the kings justice, which basically means we hit him with the stunt shield and then we are declared the overall winners of the field. And for the last show yesterday, I completely threw the stunt shield right over Harry’s head. And then I did the completely wrong thing and went “OH NO!” and covered my face with my hands… it was terrible… Thank goodness Harry is good at thinking on his feet and without missing beat goes, “What was that?! Come here and give me a kiss baby!”, at which point I shriek and try to run away from him while Shelby quickly grabs the shield and then hits him good. Still, it was so unbelievably embarrassing to miss like that, and I had to go hid in Indy’s stall to escape everyone’s ridicule.

 

Week two will soon be upon us, and I plan to be up in armor competing against the boys in the joust. I can’t believe how quickly this has crept up on me, and although I’m eager and excited, I’m also extremely anxious as well. This whole week I will be practicing in the counter tilt in full armor, with my horse in full armor as well. We do not use a center tilt rope for our joust, so I have to get used to riding against someone with no middle barrier, which is a bit daunting. I also have to figure out if I will be riding Indigo or Tara for the joust, both are great jousting horses, I just need to figure out which one I will sync better with. However, since Tara is almost a full foot shorter than Indy, it would be less of a distance to fall from her! I will be sure to keep everyone updated with how this week goes, wish me luck!

 

Much love to you all!

Categories: Adventure Time!, Horses | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saturday and Sunday’s Spectacular Synopsis

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Elizabeth

Well, it would seem another weekend has come and gone, and I must say, I feel like my time here in Sterling is quickly slipping away from me. This upcoming weekend will be the final weekend here and then I will be headed to Minnesota with the team to spend some time there. Due to an overlap in the schedules, we had to send most of the team up to Minneapolis already so they could get set up and be there for opening weekend while a few of us stay here and finish out Sterling. Dave and Jesse are staying to joust, Ryan will be coming in for the weekend to joust, and Silas will be marshalling. It will be reminiscent of Texas, and I am very eager to have the guys back together for a weekend!

The weekend went very well with Maggie, although I was a bit nervous to ride. Not due to anything horse related, however I stupidly was running on uneven ground and tripped and sprained my ankle quite badly on Friday. I still got up and rode that day, although it required me to mount on the right side and ride without the use of my stirrups (which actually ended up being a good exercise!). Maggie took good care of me and we ended up having a short, but successful ride. Thankfully my ankle didn’t bother me too much over the weekend, I just made sure to keep it wrapped, ice it on my breaks, and made sure to take lots of ibuprofen.

As far as Miss Maggie is concerned, I am more and more impressed with her talent as I get to spend time working with her. We’ve been working on her cadence and getting her to slow down and realize that she doesn’t need to speed thorough everything and that it’s actually easier to take things slowly and in a calm manner. Kelly put it in the simplest terms for us, “Try and do things in slow motion. Get her to go as slow and unrushed as she can”, which really made me pay more attention to the speed and rhythm at which we do things. By the end of the week, we were able to do passes in the lyst with her head dropped down and relaxed at a nice, slow trot. Her departures are getting better too, and instead of wanting to rush into things, she’s starting to slow down some.

She did well during the show as well, and except for a few moments of panic, she is starting to get more and more comfortable in a show setting. They had put up a center lyst rope for the weekend to keep Marcus running strait, and oh my goodness, you would have thought there was a horse eating snake in the middle of the lyst. Let’s just say Maggie had a couple special moments realizing that the rope in the middle wasn’t going to hurt her or jump out and scare her. She once again was able to make her passes without too much fuss, and I can notice improvement every show. She’s definitely still a work in progress, but I see how far she’s come in the last 2 months and it makes me very happy!

Standing so quietly! And I'm so excited! Over what, I don't exactly know...

Standing so quietly! And I’m so excited! Over what, I don’t exactly know…

 

We’ve been preparing for the final weekend here, and since Ryan hasn’t arrived yet, I’ve been filling in for him during practices. Since the rest of the team is in Minnesota, we’ve only got Abe, Tara, and Marcus here for jousting horses, and Millie stayed to be our marshal horse. I got up on Marcus today in half my armor and all of his armor, as did Jesse and Dave, so we could run through the show. I do enjoy riding Marcus, and even though he’s a well trained jousting horse, he still has his issues that need to be worked though. I was able to apply a lot of what I’ve been working on with Maggie to Marcus, and we ended up having a good ride together. Tomorrow I’m riding with my helm, and I’m ever so excited to lose most of my vision and ability to breathe… All part of the jousting process unfortunately!

 

Preparing for the final weekend at Sterling Renaissance Festival! Yey Marcus, such a good old man!

Preparing for the final weekend at Sterling Renaissance Festival! Yey Marcus, such a good old man!

Time for a fun story! Monday was spent packing the two trailers that were headed to MN, and as part of the packing process, we had to pack up feed. As we are moving hay, we discover that a giant colony of big, fluffy bumblebees had made their nest in one of the pallets that the hay was on. So as we’re moving this hay, all these angry bees start coming up and swarming us. People were either panicking and running away from the bees, or trying to remain calm and unnoticed. I was calm… until one flew in my hair and stung my hand. Then I panicked and started running and doing the “flee the bee” dance. It was quite comical to see everyone running around flailing at little fluffy bees, even if they did sting us!

We leave in a week to head to Minneapolis, and even though I am very excited to get somewhere new, I will also miss Sterling a lot. However, once we get to Minnesota, I should hopefully be able to joust there, and that makes me very excited! I will make sure to keep everyone updated on my travels, and will most definitely post at least once more before the wheels hit the road!

Much love to you all!

Categories: Adventure Time!, Horses, Jousting | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

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