My first month with Audi
"Practice like you've never won, perform like you've never lost." This is a quote I came across on an Instagram account and since has stuck in my head. Every day, I create a movie clip in my head of what I want to achieve during the ride. Whether it be better hands on my part or creating more energy in the hind legs, I always keep it simple and progress through steps so I alleviate the pressure of getting it all done in one ride.
Having only Dex for the past two years narrowed my vision and riding to one specific horse. So when I became a working student for Christa, it opened up a whole new ball game. I have ridden horses that vary in training from the two star level to just broken off the track. It was hard for me to adjust at first. I found I kept trying to ride the horses as I would Dex instead of listening to the horse and feeling what the horse needed. It created some not so pretty rides on my part. So when my parents decided to allow me to find a nice project horse, I was stoked!
I looked on quite a lot of OTTB sites in search of a horse that jumped out at me. After a few weeks of no luck, a family friend brought me a flyer she found at a feed store in Ocala. On the flyer was a chestnut OTTB that reminded me of a warmblood mare I lost a few years back. Immediately I took a picture of the flyer and sent it to my mom to get her opinion. She looked up the mare’s Jockey
Club name, Jenn’s Bellaboo, on YouTube and came across a few quick videos of the mare trotting and galloping in a huge field. I looked at one video briefly and wasn’t very impressed to begin with, however, my mom forced me to go out and see her in person. Boy oh boy, do I have to thank my mom yet again.
Another working student and friend who was living with me at the time came with me to see the mare. When we got there I had my friend walk and trot her away from me so I could see how she moved. As I saw her trot a few times, I asked the lady who owned her if I could see her lunge. After we couldn’t find a lunge line, we just turned her out in a small paddock and let her loose. My jaw dropped. She not only was fancy but she had a perfect horsenality that would match with my personality. I wasn’t off the property yet before I was calling my mom saying we had to buy her. Fast forward a week, and I bought the mare.
I ended up getting to the farm a little later than expected and was worried about having to load her in the pitch black. Considering I practice Parelli I figured it didn’t matter how long it took, but to my surprise she loaded right into the trailer first go. I was shocked and the first thing I said was, “this mare will be a fun one.” So off we went and began our journey together.
For a few days I let her get used to the move and just groomed and did some TLC on her. The first time I worked with her was on the ground teaching her the seven games of Parelli. By the end of the session she was jumping over flower boxes and small cross country logs. I couldn’t believe how quick and game she was to learn.
By week two, I began her sessions under saddle. The first few times I only walked and started
the game of contact as a way to reintroduce the bit. I knew from the vetting that she needed her teeth done badly so I was always very aware of how she reacted to the bit and didn’t push too much. By the end of the week, I had decided I wanted to start introducing her to small show jumps. The first time I jumped her was fantastic! Granted she was a wiggle worm but she never refused and was seeking out the jumps herself. By week three, she was jumping 2ft courses with flower boxes and barrels. So a few days ago, we took her out to the cross country field to play with the small
logs. Audi actively sought out the jumps yet again and never raced or took off with me. She
maintained a very rhythmic and balanced canter over all 7 of the small logs we did in a row. I began to play with her adjustability and see if I could move her up and slow her down. I was able to put more strides in a line and take strides out all while she remained composed. I really can’t begin to describe how excited I am to have Audi in my string of horses. She will be my focus while Dex is on vacation so keep checking back weekly to read my updates of how Audi progressed!
