OTTB Success Stories

Posts Tagged ‘Jumping’

[View with PicLens]

I was hoping to get some pictures of Fast Commander today at a lesson, but my husband was needing the digital camera for something he was doing. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some soon to send. “Commander” is great and seems to retain everything despite erratic schedules. He has jumped up to 3ft in lessons. He has really become more coordinated & athletic as he has matured, and he has gotten quite good in his lateral work. Anywhere we go, someone asks, “How big is he?” (17HH & still all legs.) He’s a pleasure to ride & I think he has a ton of talent. Of course, we still have lots to learn as he is not truly five yet. We are starting to think about Spring show schedules and wish for the end of a cold Winter.

I hope all is happy & healthy with you guys.
Stephanie

Austin's Wolf is successful at 3'

Hi all!
This weekend Austin’s Wolf and I did our second 3′ show to get more experience under our belts.

We were not as fit as I would have liked – holidays and family visits through off our schedule and we did not have a show in December.

Started with a Friday night schooling in gale force winds with about 15 horses in the ring all jumping every which way…..  took us longer working than I wanted to settle.

Saturday was a nice day and we had a couple good rounds….

Sunday we were both tired and had two flat classes and a couple more over fences.

We placed, but not as well as I would have liked the second day……

Attached are a couple of pictures from my resident photographer Josh.

Hugs to everyone!
Laurie

Austin’s Wolf now has a Photo Gallery with Albums show all his winning pictures.
Be sure to read all of  Austin’s Wolf’s Success Stories.

Dear Elizabeth,
I am not a good e-mailer and I apologize. There have been many times when I’ve thought of you and Becky in the past year. (Can’t believe it’s been a year). I bought Mr. Inquisitive from you when he was 3 years old last December. He has been such a pleasure. I have been taking it slow with his training since I am in no hurry and he seemed to benefit from this approach. He is an excellent jumper-my trainer loves him. He uses himself very correctly and is nice and steady. We’ve gone to a number of shows just to hang out and then to eventually school. It’s paid off.

I ‘ve been riding him myself since the first time we tacked him up and I have to admit I was a little nervous. At 57 I was asking myself what was I doing!! He could have been so different but he has taken such good care of me. I will send you some pictures when I get a little technical help with that one.

Thanks for putting in all the time and effort to make a difference for so many horses and people. I couldn’t be happier. Happy Holidays!!

Warmest wishes,
Suzie Jacobson

Read more about Mr. Inquisitive who was a former Prospect Horse For Sale on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site in December 2008.

Me Tru aka "Marvin" at the race track.

Dear Elizabeth,

I still haven’t purchased a digital camera. However, you can be sure that I wrote it on my Christmas wish list!

Me Tru, aka Marvin, is doing fantastically well. He has gained weight, and has a nice thick winter coat that is shiny and sleek. He comes to the gate for attention and still has a beautiful, kind eye.

Marvin is learning to jump. He loves it! He doesn’t rush the jump or get hot, he just moves like he’s having fun and is ready for more. He’s careful, but not to the point that he over-jumps. When I make a mistake, he is very forgiving. However, because he is smart, I have to be careful that my mistakes don’t teach him bad habits.

Marvin quickly learned voice commands while longeing. He also learned to keep his feet in place for carrot stretches. His muscles feel pretty tight, so I’ve introduced him to massage. At first, he was impatient in the cross-ties, but he’s learned to relax, especially for the brachiocephalicus, and hamstring groups. He’ll make funny faces when I find a tight spot, and will occasionally nicker when it feels really good.

My husband rode Marvin the other day. Marvin took great care of him – it was the first time my husband has ever been in a saddle. My trainer frequently comments about Marvin’s gentle disposition and willingness to try to understand what he is being asked to do. We got a big laugh when my husband waved to the video camera instead of signaling to turn, and Marvin marched straight to the top of the shaving pile.

Thank you for making this possible!

Fondly,
Kathryn

Off-the-track Thoroughbred, Chipawild is very quiet and not wild.

Chipawild is doing very well. Doing lead changes and starting to jump small courses. My daughter’s trainer says she is very easy and learns quickly – only has to be shown things once. She still needs a lot of leg and the professional who schools her says she needs to push all the time at the canter to keep her from breaking – maybe why she wasn’t the fastest! I was up in Mass yesterday and saw here for the first time in quite a while. She still needs more weight but nonetheless he is moving in the right direction and her coat looks good. She has a few marish tendencies when being grooming (which is just like my daughter’s move up from a pony horse who is a Canadian many years of the track OTTB) but my daughter adores her and loves fawning over her (although I think the mare only puts up with the fawning!). It is just great for me how happy my daughter is with this horse. Although she had many ponies and horses and showed a lot growing up I think this is the first horse she feels is really HERS (an adult sort of  “hers”) and it wonderful to see her begin to mature as a  horsewoman being (mostly) in charge of her own horse.

Thanks again for all you do and Happy Thanksgiving,

Sara

Hi Elizabeth,

Here’s the latest in our series of Wolfie & Laurie videos at horse shows. Wolfie continues to improve and develop, and the team earned 3 blues and 1 red plus division champion at a local show. It was their first competition at 3’!

See Austin’s Wolf’s video on YouTube.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and Barry.

Joshua

Dakota Spirit and Chilletecaux attended their first horse show.

Yesterday I took Dakota Spirit and Chilletecaux to a schooling show at Ashland Farm. They were so good. First time in the horse show atmosphere had them big eyed and on their toes. Even laid back Dakota got an extra burst of energy!

We did two show jump classes each as I didn’t want to over do it the first time away from home jumping.

Chille jumped like they were all 4′ of course the over achiever in him showing thru… so proud of himself.

Dakota was cautious to start but jumped like a star once he got the idea. Looking to the warm up a couple of times for crowd approval. Small crowds count too.

The judge was very complimentary too. We had lots of fun and plan to go out again soon.

Thanks for finding such fun rides!

Jane

dakota-chilletecaux_20091121_15

dakota-chilletecaux_20091121_13

dakota-chilletecaux_20091121_11

dakota-chilletecaux_20091121_09

dakota-chilletecaux_20091121_07

dakota-chilletecaux_20091121_05

Dakota Spirit and Chilletecaux have a new horse trailer.

Off-the-track Thoroughbred, Chilletecaux and his owner/trainer Jane Chance

Wow, this weather is so wonderful! The boyz (Chilletecaux and Dakota Spirit) have been doing so well. Nancy (the older Ms. Lane) came out to watch both horses go which is great for me given she is such a good ground person. She reminded me not to let Chille get me leading with my body, to keep open to help him stay slower. So easy without someone on the ground and she has such a good eye.

Also on the other hand to try not to help Dakota and let him find his feet. So funny to ride the ‘day dreamer’ to the jumps and feel the surprise when his mind has wondered. Nancy could tell Slim where to place poles as we went – THANKS Slim!

Started little verticles this week and the tiny outside line. So easy for both horses. Went for a short trail ride thru the woods behind the barn – first time it’s been dry enough lately. Can’t wait for my truck to get here… we have plans!

Talk to you soon,
Jane

I didn’t get to ride as much this weekend due to the rain, but Rap had a good day Saturday. I worked him in the ring schooling him over ground poles to improve his stride and then over low jumps up to 2′. He is doing great and gets better with each session. I also took him on a nice quiet trail ride after the ring work and he did great on that too! We rode out across the hayfield while the tractors were raking and baling hay, he never paid a minutes attention to the tractors.

rap-it-up_20091004_1

Rap It Up learns to open gates which will come in handy during fox hunting.

rap-it-up_20091004_2

Rap It Up learns to open gates which will come in handy during fox hunting.

rap-it-up_20091004_3

Rap It Up learns to open gates which will come in handy during fox hunting.

rap-it-up_20091004_4

Rap It Up learns to open gates which will come in handy during fox hunting.

Rap It Up at his first fox hunt

Rap It Up at his first fox hunt

Here are some pictures of Rap opening the gate to the ring. If ex-racehorses lived up to their stereotype, Rap would have had plenty of opportunities to have a “meltdown” since he has been at out farm. He has encountered tractors, ATVs at night complete with headlights, he has been around foxhound pups, our border collie who trail rides with us, and constantly runs under Rap’s feet and he continues to be okay with all of it! His experience at the track has only prepared him for life away from the track because he has seen and done so much. I think this is the reason that he is already so steady even though he is only 4 years old.

Just wanted to let you know that he is doing great and I am very pleased with his attitude and his progress.

Hope you and Barry are doing well. Ol’ Rap (Rap It Up) is making steady progress. He is jumping better with each practice, he acts like he has had some previous schooling over jumps because he is already jumping so well. He gets a bit nervous at times but overall he has been very willing to do what I ask of him.

-David