My Wittle Business…

I haven't made anything lately, but just so you guys know, I do make jewelry. I do earrings, necklaces, wine charms and bracelets. I made wine charms for my 4-H leader that were horse themed and she loved them. And I also made wine charms for a Newport themed basket for a raffle the 4-H was doing. I want to expand on what I can make so I am going to do some research on different methods of jewelry making. If you guys have any ideas, let me know!

The link to my page is down below!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bella-Sophia/187383487983093?ref=hl

Acapella!

Has anyone else heard this?! My mum showed it to me and I was amazed with gifted voices. I swear, this group gave me chills! Like chills running up and down my spine! But these people are so talented! It's literally amazing. Their voices are so angelic and gifted. They also have done Macklemore and Lordes covers which are just as amazing as The Little Drummer Boy. Go watch this video and you will get the chills down your spine as well. 

Monday Funtime

So my lesson on Monday was great! He was easy to bring in from the field since he was right next to the gate and he heard the crinkle of the peppermint. So I brought him in and went to get tacked up. He was such a good boy just standing there. He finally had his blanket on so he wasn't as dirty as he usually was when he didn't have his blanket. So his poo stains on his legs were fading which is good since we have to do our Christmas photo soon. 

We warmed up with simple posting trot and some of the exercises that I learned from Ryan Minor. I had him at a trot or a walk, and I would stand up in my stirrups as Hercules would move to the gait he was going at. We did some cantering in circles and a simple lead change in the middle of the ring. I mainly focused on doing a lot of serpentines with him to help his bend and also to get his mind focused on me rather than on the horses coming in. He was good until the middle of our lesson when he started to whinny to the others.

During the lesson, he was a bit wound up since everyone was coming in for dinner. We worked on extending the trot down the long sides and slowing a collecting the trot on the short sides. Hercules did not really like this exercise but we had to get him to listen. We did a lot of halt-back up-trot sequences at different parts of the ring so that he knew that I wanted to stop. He did start to calm down, but he was a bit to mellow when we were jumping. He would just trot over them rather than jump them. Since it is winter, he is bound to be more spunky since he does not like winter very much. I will just have to start working him harder when warming up. Mess around with his brain a bit. 

Our Moment

Guys… I gave in. I could not help it. This perfume smells so lovely and beautiful. I love it! It's just the roll on perfume so I keep it in my purse. I love it. I can't stop saying that. How many other directioner's have this perfume? If you have the perfume and are a fan off the boys like me, follow or comment! I would to know some more directioners! I love the boys just as much as you do. They are so inspirational and they have grown into such handsome gentlemen. It's cute when I look back and see how young they were before they were the gents they are today. So inspirational. My favorite is Niall. He's so handsome and adorable. I'd love to meet him one day in my life. That would be a dream come true.

It's 39 Degrees!

Oh my goodness gracious you guys! It's about 35 degrees outside, I nearly froze this morning walking my dog! Good thing I put her winter coat on or she would have froze, but she looked very cute in her Newmarket coat. 

I hope I ride in the indoor arena tomorrow if it's going to be 39 degrees. I do not want my instructor to be sitting outside in the freezing weather with the biting wind that makes it feel colder. I am definitely bringing my bit warmer for Hercules' bit so his mouth is not shocked by the cold metal, and I am pulling out my Ariat jacket to wear over my Newmarket because it is definitely that time of year to bring out the heavy jackets. I think I am going to bring my Mountain Horse Boots in from the garage and then wear them in the lesson. I am not fond of ice block feet with normal leather tall boots. I prefer to be warm. 

I am, as of now sitting all bundled up in a blanket on my recliner with Mud who is keeping me warm as well. I just made tonights desert, Apple and Blackberry Crumble. Mhm mmm good! If you read my blog, please go follow my Instagram. The link to it is in the Links Page up at the top. You'll see more photos of Hercules and Mudlynn! :)

Anyways, I just got back from the library at one of the joint campus' of the community college I go to, and man it is HUGE. I think it's about the length of a football field. They had so many books I was in heaven! I love reading, I need to read more books. Do you guys have any book suggestions? I was at that library because I was working with my group members on our psychology project which is on Lycanthropy. It is actually a very interesting subject. We had three aspects on it; historical, psychological and the mainstream which was like entertainment. It's amazing how the entertainment world has manipulated it because in some films or tv shows, the werewolf is either more animal like or human like. I found it very interesting as I am very into any type of film that has some sort of supernatural aspect in it. 

Well guys, I am signing off! I will have maybe just a few head shots of Hercules tomorrow from my phone as my mom is just going to drop me off and do a bit of shopping! Bye Guys!

Monday Funtime

To start off, I am so sorry I didn't blog last night, I was exhausted from my ride and was out late with my mum at the auto shop cause our car had a minor booboo.

I have decided to call my Monday posts "Monday Funtime" because something unexpected always happens with Hercules in my lessons. 

So, yesterday we had two things happen; my funtime on Hercules and also my instructors horse was put down. I did end up riding in my lesson because my instructor wanted to keep moving and not get swallowed up in grief I guess. I mean, in the beginning she was a bit zoned out because of it all. We didn't do much jumping because of one little event plus I was getting tired. So, Kitchie (my instructor) wanted to try teaching a flying lead change over a pole. As we are trying to do the flying lead change; keep in mind it's dinner time and Hercules can see all the others going in; as we are doing to the lead change, he goes all bucking bronco with me on him. I lost one stirrup yet I still stayed on. My instructor commented saying I had a good stick and I think it means seat, but if I am wrong let me know! Anyways, after that fiasco, it took me half and hour to calm him down. And we did do some jumping but it was just a cross rail, I was too worn out for doing a course! After Hercules' fun moment of dreaming to be a bronco, my thighs were killing me!

Also, we tried on my Christmas halter to see if it fit him and with a few adjustments, it did! Can't wait for when we take Christmas card photos with Mom! He and I will so dapper! 

Here's a sneak peak of the halter!

Brr it's getting cold!

Brrr... It's cold outside. I am surprised it hasn't even snowed yet. Apparently the ground is still too warm for any kind of snow to stick to it. Rhode Island (my hometown) has snow already! I am so jealous. Well, it is definitely time to break out my Mountain Horse winter tall boots and my new Ariat jacket for riding. Man, I even broke out MudLynn's Newmarket blanket for our walks so that she doesn't get cold. She is a spoiled little doggie. All she really needs now is an equestrian themed collar from Up Country Inc. and she will then be a full equestria-dog. 

I wonder how cold it will be on Monday during my lesson... We shall see... I have to remember to take my Christmas halter and lead rope to make sure it fits Hercules well. I think it will because it's an Arabian sized halter but it can be adjusted to fit. I really hope that it does fit, but if it doesn't, I will be devastated. My mom and I bought that halter I think two years ago at Equine Affaire. We saw it the year before we bought it and decided to get it because it was going to be our last Equine Affaire for a while since we moved to Virginia. Oh how I miss Equine Affaire. I looked at the demonstrators, clinics and speakers online and really wished I could have gone. But I couldn't so I made do with pictures and videos that my friends posted. 

Well, ta-ta my beauties!

Interesting Date

It's 11/12/13. A date like 11/11/11 and 12/12/12. Next year it will be 12/13/14. Amazing huh?

Early Day!

Happy Veterans Day!!

Anyway's, I had an earlier lesson today because my instructor wanted to do it earlier. I warmed Hercules up in the indoor while waiting for my instructor. He was pretty good today on the flat. Later on, Kitchie came out of the office and we went outside to the arena. They took the dressage ring out so now there are jumps on both sides. There were only 5; two on the outside and one on the inside. We didn't jump the middle jump but we made it into trotting poles. Hercules was really good at extending his stride over the poles. If he was 14.2 instead of 14.3, he would have been worth a lot of money. I just found out that he is part Welsh Pony and part Thoroughbred. We are getting better at jumping, I am starting to be able to sense when he is going to refuse the jump. Also we are getting better at landing with the correct leads because I am starting to shift my weight to the outside and lightly half halt with the inside rein. I did almost fall off again today but i grabbed his neck so I was literally hanging on for dear life on his neck. But overall, we are definitely improving in our leads when landing from a jump. BYE GUYS!!

Why Helmets are so Important!

We all know we are taught to wear helmets. Although, some people don't wear helmets all the time that they ride. 

Examples of riding without a helmet.

Some people who don't wear helmets say it makes their head hot, it's unstylish, or it gives me helmet hair. These people do not know what can happen if they get in an accident.

Courtney King Dye

Courtney and Mythilus

Courtney King Dye is an astonishing rider who was at the Beijing Olympics. 3 years ago, Courtney suffered a traumatic brain injury due to her horse that slipped and fell on top of her; thing is, she was not wearing a helmet. Although she has suffered from her injury, she is still striving for recovery with speech therapy, occupational and physical therapy. But, her financial coverage for her speech therapy was cut off. She is grateful that Lendon Gray and another person whose name I believe is Blythe Clark, ( I can't understand Courtney clearly from the video) who started a fund to help cover her medical costs.

Please raise awareness for those you see who ride without helmets. Show them this video of Courtney and tell them "This could be you if you keep riding without a helmet."

Our brain is the most important aspect of our body. It is fragile to injury and needs to be protected.

To Show or Not to Show....

Hey guys! So I have thought long and hard about next spring show season and I have decided not to show. It's costs way too much for me. It's like $300 a weekend and I just don't have that money. As much as I would like to show, I am deciding not to. I shouldn't complain because others spend a great deal more on shows, but I am just not that well, to put it bluntly, rich. I am so busy with school right now, the only type of job I can get is the random babysitting job. I am going to start saving my money for IHSA Team shows which is what I really want to do. Also I need to start saving up for a car. I'll still be doing my riding lessons so that I can maintain my riding time, but as for shows, I won't be able to do those. This also means I am not getting a new saddle, bridle or martingale. I don't need those until I actually own a horse of my own.

Winter Yet? Christmas Soon?

GUYS! There are 50 days till Christmas! Isn't that exciting?! Time to go shopping! Haha! No. This year it's a small Christmas. I like small Christmas's because it's nice. No fuss over gifts.

 I'm still getting things for my dog, parents and Hercules.

Hercules is just getting an apple since he isn't my horse. MudLynn I think is getting an orthopedic bed from L.L Bean. I don't really need anything since I already got my Christmas present early which was my Barbour jacket. I love that jacket so much! I'm not saying what I am getting my presents because my mom follows my blog, well reads it actually.

I put a Christmas countdown on my blog now! :)

My family and I have a few Christmas traditions. We go to nearly every Christmas craft fair! There are so many amazing crafts and goodies that we see. People are so talented. Then, this year we are going to Christmas in the Country again at Triple R Ranch! It's nice to experience Christmas in the country. We also have traditional trips to Target and Barnes and Noble where we have a spending limit, I think it is $30 but I am not sure.

Do you guys have any Christmas traditions? 

Achey Achey Me

Oh my gosh you guys, you have no idea how sore I feel right now. Trust me, I feel asleep right as my head hit the pillow. I was THAT tired. And then I woke up this morning with incredibly achey shoulders! I'm using my cherry pit bag to try and help sooth my shoulders a bit. My right shoulder hurts a bit more because it's the shoulder I landed on when I fell or flew off of Hercules. Man, that pony is so getting work next Monday! He got today off so he could rest after being ridden for two days straight. Thank the lord I needed a rest. 

How do you guys sooth your muscles when their sore from a ride?

Ways to Try to Avoid Sore Muscles

So currently I am very very sore from my two days of riding at the clinic. I realized it is because I do not do my stretching exercises like I used to when I was in my high school gym class. So I have figured out what I am going to do!

1. Do yoga at least once a week.
2. Look on YouTube for workout videos made specifically for equestriennes.
3. Start taking my dog on more walks. 

I have found some videos on YouTube that I am going to try.

How do you guys stay in fit for riding?

Ryan Minor Clinic Day 2

Today's part of the clinic was very interesting. We did some flat work, jump work and had a few falls. 

For flat, we worked on shoulder in and haunches out at the walk and at the trot. Hercules started out really good in the beginning but he was a bit speedy at the trot when we were working on those two exercises. We also worked on the transition from the trot to the walk to make it look much cleaner and easier. After that, we worked on trotting over three ground poles that were set in a curved line. 

When we started jumping, that is where it all changed... We started by cantering over the curved line towards a small oxer, I think it was about 2 feet. It was okay, we had a few refusals but I made him get over it. During one try, he stopped on his breaks and a flew and summer salted over his head. But that did not stop me from getting back on again. I got back on and tried again but Ryan stopped me because he sensed that Hercules was refuse again. So Ryan got on him and literally worked him up to a sweat. He went over the oxer, green hill like wall, a low cross rail and a higher cross rail. Hercules still tried to refuse the jumps but he was just forced to go over them with some pushing with a crop. I think he jumped him over that course at least 6-7 times. I learned that I now need to ride him with a crop. He is no show pony that is ridden multiple times a week, he is just a lesson horse.

I really wish I could lease him so that he would get ridden more but I can't since I don't have enough money. But I know that I will work him even more when it comes to my lessons. He is getting tomorrow off since he was ridden two days in a row. 

The clinic was an amazing experience and really helped me to improve some points in my riding and jumping. My leg muscles are so sore but it's a good sore, my left forearm actually is a bit sore too.

Day 1 of Ryan Minor Clinic

The clinic was amazing! Ryan Minor is an amazing equestrian, his riding is flawless. 

We worked on schooling our horses this morning. The things we did were a series of posture repetitions around the ring. So, we started by warming our horses up at a trot to get them going and moving forward. On one long side, we would stand in our stirrups with our leg slightly behind the girth with helped strengthen our balance and leg. Then, we would be half in-half out of the saddle on one short side of the ring and lastly we did an exaggerated version of a two-point position which is really when your body is at least an inch off the horses neck on the other long side. 

After that, we pushed them up into the canter. He had us hand gallop our horses to get them to move forward a bit more. And then we basically did the same thing we did at the trot to help balance our core and strengthen our legs at the canter. It also forces the heel down even more, and it hurt my ankle a bit because my boots were tied a bit too tight. They still need to be broken in a bit more. 

We then started to do the jumping which was a trial for me and Hercules. I learned that I had to stay sitting in the saddle and not leaning forward because that weight tells the horse unconsciously "I can't do it" and it causes them to stop or refuse the jump. So, what we had to do was to sit in the saddle until the horse took off over the jump and sit in a two-point position and then after we landed, I had to sit back in the saddle to keep him going. Hercules and I mainly jumped the two diagonal jumps. We aren't ready for the oxer that the other two girls were doing. One day we will be. 

The schooling we did over the jumps was pretty interesting. We would be tracking to the right at the canter and going towards the yellow jump and then either landing with the right lead or waiting to do a simple change, and then we would ride the short side and turn towards the red jump. As we would keep doing this jump pattern, it sort of looks like a figure eight.

I can tell you, my legs are KILLING me. Literally, I didn't know what muscles that were in my leg that I hadn't used before.

Overall, I had an amazing experience and cannot wait until tomorrow morning for the course jumping part of the clinic.

I know it's blurry but it shows my posture over the jump

Ryan telling me about my riding