Happy Birthday to Me!

Apparently I'm 4 today! I'm practically a grown up! In fact, according to the books I am no longer a colt. That's right, old sports. I just became a horse. This calls for a big party.

For my birthday, I got a pedicure first as it was much needed after my big adventure on Sunday (more on that in a moment!). After that, Spode's family came to celebrate with me and take some pictures of me and Spode in our lesson. I was pretty anxious to get going so Spode didn't expect me to behave well for her lesson, but I was awesome, as usual. They don't call me the Great Gatsby for nothing!

I'm also pretty good at posing, if I do say so myself. 

Spode got to try out her teacher's dressage saddle today and is in love with it. It's not a perfect fit for me though, so I guess I'll be trying on numerous saddles in the future in hopes of finding one that works for both of us. A future birthday present!

Having an audience was more than a little distracting!

Spode is still working on getting me to do as she asks with no reins, especially no inside rein. It is still very much a work in progress, but I'm getting the idea of leg and seat very well.

I still occasionally bulge my shoulder and blow through her leg when there's no rein there, but I listened pretty well today. I'm 4 now, after all.  I know better!

I think Spode has a harder time throwing away her reins than I do with listening to leg for direction. Just saying. 

We continue to work on poles to stretch my shoulders as well--I am a pro at these!

Looking very professional, don't you think? 

After my lesson, it was celebration time! Spode baked me a cake this year. It was kind of weird, to be honest, but I ate it anyway just to makes Spode happy. It had spaghetti in it! Why!? Bizarre. But it also had oats, carrots, apples, and molasses, and who can resist that! Baked in a heart shape--I'm yours.

It was complete with four carrot candles!

A sticky but delicious concoction! 

After my cake and lots of pats and hugs, I went back outside to enjoy a birthday roll since I'd been hosed off. Ah, bliss. 

Thank you, Spode! Even if you do have a strange obsession with putting hats on horses, I love you anyway.

Seriously, I don't know what it is about Spode and hats, but I guess crowns are going to be my thing from now on. I think it's because I used to be called "Prince" before Gatsby. Holding on to my roots!

My 4 yr crown is much better than my 3 yr old crown. Imagine how good my 20 year old crown will look! I expect real gold!  

That's it? No champagne? Another year with no Rolls Royce? You let me down. 

I'm going to spend the rest of my evening partying with my horse friends. I've shipped in lots of oranges and lemons along with a special squeezer (that one's just for my literary pals!). Don't expect any invitations unless your name is Nick Carraway, but you're welcome to drop in. Especially if you bring me daisies...

Yesterday I had the day off because I worked really, REALLY hard on Sunday. Especially for a three year old! Well, okay, I was practically 4 on Sunday as well. It just wasn't official. I also worked hard on Saturday--Spode and I did join up after I was particularly rude in the barn. It was exhausting, but I eventually acknowledged Spode as the leader. Forgive me.
On Sunday I got back on the trailer with my new girlfriend, Jenny. Hey, I'm grown up now. I need to think about these things, though for some reason Spode says I can't have kids. I wonder why... Regardless, I like Jenny a lot. She's a flashy girl, too. A flapper? I think so! She's nice to chat to in the trailer, and I think we'll be doing it more often in our future!

Spode came very early in the morning to brush me and feed me breakfast, which I got all over my face just to see her face. It's a good thing Spode has a sense of humour. You need it with a horse like me.

This is what happens when you play with your food, old sports. 

Anyway, on went the shipping boots (and with them I noticed immediately that Spode's anxiety suddenly sky rocketed. She's still a work in progress while I'm getting to be an old pro at trailering!) and we arrived at a nice farm where we got to go on a trail ride. This would be my first, and I was eager to get going. 

Jenny and I are ready to hit the trails! Whatever that means!

I encountered actual hills for the first time in my life. That was a bit of a learning curve. At first I tried to speed up going down hills, but Spode quickly put an end to that as she panicked about falling down the hill on both our faces. Sigh. So instead she taught me to use my butt and go down slowly. Sometimes a little too slowly, but Spode was confusing me with her cues since she's a bit of a weeny about hills to start with. I also stopped a few times so I could get a better look at things with my left eye that's not quite as good as my right. In the darker woods it was especially hard to see in that eye as adjusting to light takes longer for me now after all my health issues. Still, it's far better than not being able to see anything in that eye like before, so it's a blessing! 

There was lots of scary stuff on the trail, especially a beaver pond. Although I admit I was a bit silly about that. After I was finally pushed into putting my foot in the water, I realized it was completely safe and continued to plod along on a loose rein at a relaxed walk. My bad. My turn to be the weenie of our team. Jenny and I travelled quite a distance, but eventually I was tired and requested that we turn back. That was all fine, but we ran into many, many horses on the way home, which ended up being our scariest thing. Especially on narrow trails and there were 2 horses bigger than me that really scared me. Still, nothing too bad so Spode was very pleased with our big adventure in the woods. I enjoyed it, too. I see a lot more of it happening in our future! 

A walk in the woods followed by grazing? Yeah, I am okay with this. Please, let's do more! Plus I had some admirers who came to see me and give me pats. I even had some paparazzi here!

Ready for home!

Spode and her friend got hungry on the way home and Spode needed to work on relaxing about having me on the trailer (for god's sake, old sport, I'M FINE!) so we stopped for fries. Jenny and I begged our pals for some food as well. As it turns out, Jenny quite enjoys regular fries but doesn't like sweet potato fries, while I'm the opposite. Sweet potatoes are delicious!! We also had some visitors in the parking lot. 

More fries please!!! Yum, salt. 

Seriously, put the fries in my belly stat. 

So of course, we arrived home without a scratch. Much to Spode's surprise, Jenny and I whinnied to each other when I got off. Yep, I like that mare! I finished the day with a glorious roll. 

Is there anything better after a long ride? I think not. 

And that's all that's been going on with me for the last little while! Life sure has been busy lately, but June is looking pretty quiet. Spode is going to watch a big dressage show on the weekend, and I suspect that we will be very dressage focused afterwards as a result. Goal setting and all that, but there's always hacks and bareback fooling around mixed in with that. Life is good! 

Until later, old sports.

Jay. 

My first show... and the judge laughed at us!

*Yawn* Old sports, I had a heck of a day, yesterday. And the day before, for that matter. For any of my equine readers who do not have experience with the dressage world, there are many, MANY hours of preparation involved for a whopping 7 minutes in the show ring. Humans are so ridiculous.

It started off with another practice ride on Saturday (followed by many treats because, according to Spode, I was a superstar and did one of my tests flawlessly. Oh Spode--don't you know I'm always a superstar??). Yes, the good thing about shows is definitely the influx of treats. After our ride, I felt a sense of dread however because Spode whipped out her bathing supplies. A bucket filled with about 10 million different shampoos for different purposes. This girl has a problem. I have shampoos for my white legs, shampoos for my body, conditioners for my body, and different shampoo and conditioners for my tail. Good lord! This from the girl who scoffs at the very idea of buying any special shampoo for her hair. (Spode in: priorities, Gatsby. Priorities).

Yes, my owner takes pictures of my butt. Ah horse people. You gotta love 'em. 

So with all those shampoos, bathing took an extraordinarily long time. But always look on the bright side: afterwards, I got to eat grass to my heart's content waiting to dry off. Once I was dry, Spode begrudgingly let me outside again. I had a plan. I knew she would yell at me if I rolled right in front of her, so I pretended to be focused on eating hay until she went away. I thought she had gone for the day so happily lay down and rolled in the dirt. But little did I know that Spode was feeding the other horses, so she popped her head around the corner and yelled at me. Then I had to come back inside to be groomed again. She waited until it was cooler in the evening and then put a blanket on me before turning me out. Damn!

What have I done to deserve this? 

Grrr. Still, it is preferable to being stalled for the night, I suppose. After a kiss goodnight and threats if I dared rip my blanket and get dirty, Spode left.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. Spode came out very early and shampooed my legs for the third time. My tail got braided and then my mane. She also braided my forelock. Or attempted to. Spode had her chow clothes on underneath her t-shirt and I couldn't resist playing with her stock tie while she tried to french braid me. That and knock her off the stool. This made Spode very angry. I can't imagine why. Anyway, apparently I am now going to be trained to keep my head still for braiding in future. Big sigh.  

I made it up to Spode by being a perfect gentleman for my mane braiding, and I must say, I looked pretty dapper. I may be new money and a West Egger, but I've got class! Now if only I had a pink suit to match... Spode's mum still said I should have a cart behind me though. Meanie! 

The trailer arrived and I thought about not getting on for a few minutes. I tried the statue method, but it got pretty boring standing at the bottom of the ramp not doing anything, so I eventually got on. The trailer ride over was fine, and I got off in a good mood. I was a little bit anxious with my new surroundings, but overall it was just fine. The only thing I really didn't like was when the horses next door to me left to go to the warm up ring and I thought I was all alone. I paced in a circle for a while but didn't do anything "bad" according to Spode. And hers is the opinion that matters! Yes, Spode was very pleased with my behaviour for my first outing. 

The warm up was much more stressful for me. Spode took a long time getting on because mounting blocks are an issue for her, especially when she's wearing new tall boots. Luckily there's a ramp so she didn't have to bend too much to get on, but I did have to stand still with all that commotion. We managed eventually. I was super excited by this point and had a strong urge to run. Spode let me trot right away to burn off some of that energy in case I decided to explode instead. And yes, it was in the back of my mind to do just that, but I resisted the urge. I opted to be very speedy and take the bit instead. Spode was constantly telling me to slow down and I was constantly telling her I'd rather have a bit of a canter. Ah well, we communicated eventually and I settled down and relaxed before my first test. 

I had no issues leaving the warm up and the other horses to go to the ring, being a naturally independent chap. And I also had no issue with the judge's booth, the dressage letters, the flowers, the wee dressage fence, or the crowd or people in chairs watching. I was mainly interested in the crowd, and especially Spode's brother-in-law who was acting as photographer for the day. I'm used to Spode taking pictures with her tiny phone, but he had an actual camera... a pretty interesting thing! And I am such a camera hog, I did my test constantly looking at him and the rest of my fan club. On our way to the warm up, a woman stopped me and Spode to comment on my height and cuteness factor. Just then, 2 car loads of people pulled up yelling Gatsby. "Oh, you're famous! And you have a whole fan club!" the woman said. Damn straight. The name's Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, old sport. Here's my card. Please, do come to one of my parties. 

I have a water bucket instead of a champagne glass, but close enough!

The photos are in the process of being edited, I'm told, but for now I have a video of my test. Spode talked to me the whole time to get me relaxed and focused. There were some hiccups (blame it all on Spode. I am flawless!) but I did not do any of the things Spode was most scared of: jumping out of the ring or taking off into the hills. I did my test fast, strong, and bulgy, but I did it! It'll only get better from here. Spode was over the moon. I left the ring looking rather pleased with myself as a result.

The Great Gatsby-Test B

The judge seemed to like me quite a bit, (er, and Spode said he was a very generous marker...) we got a whopping 70% on our first test despite the mistakes.

After the first test, Spode jumped off and I had a bit of a break. I was less than impressed when she got back on a little later. Um, what? We have never done this before... Usually when you get off, I am done for the day. You want me to do that all over again? Really!? Being a show horse sucks! 

I put on the brakes a couple of times to express my disappointment to Spode, but we carried on anyway. Once I gave up trying to tell Spode I wanted to be done, I settled into a nice rhythm and stopped trying to haul her all over the place like my first warm up. Our second test was much calmer and softer, and Spode didn't need to constantly talk to me. I still looked everywhere except where I was going, but at least my body was more on task this time around. Spode was so excited with me that when we went down centreline for our final halt and salute, Spode forgot to salute! She was so focused on telling me how I put the Great in The Great Gatsby that she dropped her hand and patted me instead of paying her respects to the judge. That was when the judge laughed at us. I was confused! Excuse me, sir! I just finished my first dressage show, and you are laughing at me! I relaxed once I realized that it was Spode he was laughing at and not me, and then Spode laughed too so it's all good. 

The Great Gatsby-Test D

On this test, we got 74%. Wowzers! That made us reserve open champs for the day, and Spode couldn't be happier with how I handled myself all day. I was totally chilled out and happy to eat hay by the trailer while waiting for the results, and I am well on my way to becoming a show horse. My fan club all came by and told me I was good. Yep, I was feeling pretty happy with myself by the end of the day. So much positive energy can give a horse a complex! But not me. I'm big enough to take it all in ;)

Spode took me home, made sure my legs were alright, and then let me eat some grass. Bliss.

This makes it all worth it!

But the best part of the day was probably this:

Oh yeah! That's the spot!!

Spode came out after she had cleaned up everything to again check that I was alright (such a worrier, that one) and to give me more treats. 

I'm on my way, Spode! Stay right there.

Hello again. You seem to be in a treat-giving mood today. I am happy to oblige while you are like this!

You love my afro, don't you? It's very in. 

Today I am not doing anything, really. Still chillaxing after such a busy day, but Spode promised to come out to check that I'm okay (again!) and to let me have some more grass. This week we're getting ready for a hack next weekend and I have another round of vaccines to go through. May sure has been a busy month! My next show won't be until July, so stay tuned, fan club!

Until later, old sports.

Jay. 

Practice Makes Perfect

Well, perfect is probably wishful thinking. Let's call it "Practice Makes Improvement". Yeah, that's better.
Today Spode and her friend decided I should go for an adventure. Even though it was a bit of a rainy day, Spode still dressed me up and got me ready to get on the trailer.

Oh look, another blanket outgrown. Wonderful. My back boots are also looking pretty tiny. 

There is almost always grazing involved when I'm waiting for a trailer. I know this from experience. For a 3 year old horse, I've been on a trailer surprisingly often. This was my 6th trip, but a new trailer to me. To my surprise, this was also the first trip where there was already a horse on board. A girl! It actually wasn't that exciting. I wanted to stop and smell her before getting on but Spode told me that was rude. Once I was on board, we chatted a bit on the trip over and she told me about the place I was going to. I think we'll be taking some more trips together in the future so we can be hacking buddies one day. More adventures await! 

Once I got to my destination, the other horse went into her field and I went into the barn. I was a little nervous since I didn't really understand why I was there. I couldn't figure out if this was my new home or what. I like my home! But just as I was thinking that, Spode started to put on my boots and saddle, which just confused me more. Huh? We came all this way just so you could ride me? Horse people are so weird. 

Once I was tacked up (after hitting my nose on the barn ceiling. Ouch!) Spode walked me around the ring. There was lots and lots for me to look at, but I only had one spook at a mounting ramp. It was just weird looking. But Spode actually ended up getting on me from that thing after trying and failing to get on from the ground. Building a mounting block is now on her to do list, I think. 

Anyway, once Spode was on I was feeling more myself. Up until that point I was pretty jittery if I was asked to stand still. My baby brain was kicking in--I can only use my brain if my feet are moving! 

After a walk around and a little trot, I was good to go and relaxed into our usual routine, albeit with my head up and me looking around a lot more than usual. But according to Spode I was relaxed in my back and wasn't tense. I just wanted to see things. I'm allowed as a 3 yr old, I think! It's a good thing Spode thinks so as well. 

Free walk was not quite as stretchy as at home, but gimme a break! 

We had some good moments, Spode just didn't have my full attention for that long!

Spode ran me through my dressage tests and was quite pleased. A very good day for my first ride away from home! And considering I pretty much got off the trailer, got tacked up, and then ridden in quick succession, hopefully the slower pace of a show will get me more relaxed. Only time will tell! But the weekend is coming up fast!

Check it. I can halt like a pro when I'm on the ball. When I'm fully focused, I'm basically a rockstar. Just wait until I grow up! 

So yes, old sports, I am a wonderful horse and my Spode loved me up big time when I got home. I trailered home quietly all by myself and was quite happy when I poked my head out the window and saw that we were back at Fox Hollow. Ah, home sweet home. 

The rest of my week has been more of the same. I've been schooling a lot more than usual since our show is coming up so fast, but Spode has promised we'll get back to mixing things up more often like we usually do as soon as the show is out of the way. Only 3 more rides to go before the big day thanks to my resting schedule. 

This is my please stop with all the dressage face. Back to hacking please! 

It hasn't been all work and play, not really. We're still working our way up to riding on the shoulder of the road and I've been out in the hay fields a few times in the past couple of weeks. Spode also wants to get back to some ground work and long lining for some variety. 

Cooling out time is a great time to walk along the road! 

In two weeks I should also be going on my first hack away from home-now that'll be exciting! Hopefully it goes as well as today did. Any day that ends with a giant hug from Spode and a handful of treats is well worth it in my books. She promised me an adventure, and I sure got one!

Until later, old sports.

Jay. 

My teacher the student

Greetings, old sports!

Spode and I have been up to our usual tricks: working on dressage, hacking, and chilling out. Spode is bound and determined to take me to a show in less than 2 weeks despite the fact that I am far from ready (according to her, anyway). But Spode has a hard time giving up on something she's put her mind to. We've practiced our tests an we can manage them, but we're not going out with the intention of wowing anyone. She says we just need to show up and keep all 4 feet on the ground, and she'll be happy. I aim to please!

We've been practicing being sane everywhere outside the ring too! Good way to get ready. 

I haven't been doing much "new" stuff as a result, but Spode promised that once the show is done, we won't be going out again until July, so we can get back to doing typical stuff with a little more variety.  But for now, I'm not complaining. I'm especially not complaining since I'm now getting real food! No more minuscule amounts of equilizer--I now get equilizer and "Performance". Yeah, baby! It's delicious. And surprisingly high in fat, so Spode says I'm only allowed to stay on it if I continue exercising a lot and actually losing the fat. Every day she tries to feel my ribs and fails. Then she wags her finger at me and gives me a treat. Oh Spode. And you wonder why you're not getting anywhere... 

This, of course, is the other reason you're not getting anywhere: work me into a sweat, bathe me, then let me eat grass till I dry. See a problem here? I'm not saying anything to her though! I'm going on the assumption that Spode has no time to read this blog...

The only new thing that Spode is trying to work on is introducing me more to the road. This is more of something for her to work on than me, we discovered. She took me for a walk down the road and I was a super cool dude. No spooking at anything, not even recycling bins or cyclists. Spode, on the other hand, was jittery and nervous. Yeah, just who is it that needs to build confidence her? At least she's honest. She told me she's going to take a while to build up the nerve to get on me and ride me near the road. She promised she'll lead me down the road until SHE's calm before she even attempts the saddle since I pick up on her nerves. 

She doesn't seem to realize I'm as dangerous on the ground as I am under saddle. Who got their foot broken again? Oh yeah, Spode. 

I also learned how to canter in the field, but we're putting canter on hold again now as my stifle has been giving me trouble since I've grown a little taller again. For now we're back to building up strength with lots of straightness work and trot poles. We've got lots of time to develop the canter at a later date when I'm less of a gangly teenager.

Damn these ever growing hind legs! The stockings just keep getting taller! 

The other major new thing? Lessons! Yeah, miss Wolff is going back to being a student this summer for the first time in.... years. Thanks to her teaching degree and thesis research, she told me she got the rest of her education funded. On top of that, she got a prize for some educational technology thing she came up with (Spode got the technology prize? Puh-lease! I'm a horse with a blog for god's sakes! I should be the one winning the big bucks!) so she's all set for the year with some money to spare. Well, assuming I stay healthy of course. I'm working on it. Anyway, the money is supposed to go towards her education, but she's also decided to spend some of it on her riding education. 

And that brings us to today--our first lesson! I enjoyed it a lot. I didn't work my body as much as usual but I certainly worked my mind, and so did Spode. 

This is how I look when we don't do lessons! Too tired! Well, perhaps it was more because I still have a fair amount of winter hair despite the fact that it's 26 degrees outside. Is it too soon to complain about the heat?

It's quite nice to have Spode as the student--make my life a little easier to have someone telling her what to do instead of having Spode call all the shots. Bad habits be gone! We worked on trot poles, straightness, and 20 metre circles today with next to no reins. Spode told me after that her teacher has the exact same training philosophy as her when it comes to reins (especially the inside rein--or lack thereof--which they seemed to blather on about endlessly. They're obsessed, I tell you!), so all 3 of us are equally pleased. Me especially because I like being able to do what I please with my head. As it turns out, what I want to do it also what Spode and her teacher want me to do--put it down. How wonderful! I think this summer is going to be quite the educational journey for all of us. I'll be writing a lot about it, I'm sure! Spode told me she'll be out bright and early to practice some more. As long as I get my tasty breakfast first, she can come as early as she wants...

Until later, old sports!

Wait a second, am I missing a meal?

Jay.