Today

Good thing I have such awesome friends!
Becky rode all my guys today.
Duncan did some flat work and was beautiful to watch. He really likes the Micklem bridle I have. His back opens up so well after his first canter, I'm going to try him in my back on tack sheets. He napped in one yesterday. I just have to remember not to leave it hanging in his reach once I take it off though. He likes to pull things in his stall, paw at them and then roll around on them!

Fiesta inspected cross country fences today and hacked through small spaces. Fiesta has a much different program then the other horses. She also did a little stretchy work as I want her body adjusted to working in the sand. Fiesta is also a fan of the micklem!

Callie was stunning to watch.
Becky will be running her for me this weekend at sportring days while my shoulder recovers.

Ava was also incredible to watch. This mare can freaking MOVE!!!!!
Beasty will stay at Maras for the next five days, then hopefully I can ease back into riding!
It's hard watching all the fun!

Mary Mack

Today

Good thing I have such awesome friends!
Becky rode all my guys today.
Duncan did some flat work and was beautiful to watch. He really likes the Micklem bridle I have. His back opens up so well after his first canter, I'm going to try him in my back on tack sheets. He napped in one yesterday. I just have to remember not to leave it hanging in his reach once I take it off though. He likes to pull things in his stall, paw at them and then roll around on them!

Fiesta inspected cross country fences today and hacked through small spaces. Fiesta has a much different program then the other horses. She also did a little stretchy work as I want her body adjusted to working in the sand. Fiesta is also a fan of the micklem!

Callie was stunning to watch.
Becky will be running her for me this weekend at sportring days while my shoulder recovers.

Ava was also incredible to watch. This mare can freaking MOVE!!!!!
Beasty will stay at Maras for the next five days, then hopefully I can ease back into riding!
It's hard watching all the fun!

Mary Mack

Vacation

Beasty is benefiting from my time off. She has landed in the lap of luxury at Maras!

Mary Mack

Oops

Me a bucking horse and a rock ended with a trip to the er and a follow up at the orthopedist.
I have torn the ligaments that hold my collar bone and shoulder blade. My modeling career will be affected greatly.
Thank god there are no broken bones. Broken bones need more time to heal. Fortunately for me, ligaments do not really heal so I can start riding as soon as the pain has subsided.
Becky, Stephen, and Mara will be helping me out during my time off.

Mary Mack

Mary Mack

Mary Mack

Today

Today was busy! Ava hacked around the show grounds after having 8 days off. I also turned Beast and Callie out with out her moments before I mounted. She was perfect any ways. :) Duncan napped for a while this morning. He was resting up to be a bit of a wild man for his mid day ride. Ironically enough we almost took out his old owner Jessica Botner-Harris. Thankfully she is super nice. I felt bad I couldn't stop and chat but we were going sideways at a bit of speed. Doodles was just upset about leaving fiesta behind. He is a very dedicated gentleman. We worked at the trot for awhile stretching. Then we focused on repetition, repetition, repetition. Duncan was walking totally relaxed by the end of it just soaking up the big show atmosphere like a pro.

This experience is so amazing for the horses.

All of the horses have had a bit of an attachment disorder....Except fiesta. She was not too concerned about going for a little ride on her own. In fact she has quite the air about her this year. She acts like a confident, popular teenager. I think I embarrass her. Callie and Beasty were both good. Beast was ready to pounce on that cross country though. Pounce like a cat on an unsuspecting squeaky victim.

Everyone has bellys full of yummy hay, stalls bedded to the max, and happy little faces.

Tomorrow most of the horses will hack out and peek at the cross country then do a bit of flat work.

I'm glad that I have allowed proper time for the horses to adjust to the sandy footing. It is quite a change for them!

I am beat. I'm sure this blog post reads a bit odd....maybe I should post in the morning after my coffee!

Mary Mack

I'm three and I am an m&m eating, chocolate milk drinking camping fool!!!!

Duncan and Fiesta are in love. They enjoy long walks around their paddock.
They like to stare at cross country warm up and take naps on alf alfa.

Duncan likes to take his halter off magically without breaking it.

Mary Mack

Camping dog

Mary Mack

Home sweet home 1

Mary Mack

Aiken or bust.

So the trip down was fairly uneventful. We woke at 3. Left the house at 4, sleepy toddler in tow.
Got to the barn at 430, a half hour behind schedule. Did everything, loaded the horses and left.
We did not have much luck with gas stations.
Everything was slow and pumps were always broken.
Dave was driving a 26 foot uhaul full of awesome hay, with the camper attached.
I was hauling the horses.
I had maggie, scruffy and myra with me.
I did well until about 130, then all the coffee caught up and I started tweaking.
Every noise was amplified, I kept hearing the horses shift (probably not really). Scruffy was breathing down my neck.
I called a few friends ...but I could not pretend to be normal so I gave in and just drove the rest of the way with eminem rapping things a toddler should never hear. She had a pen and her hand that she named"batman" so she was distracted.
As for her naming her hand, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

We arrived, got the horses and camper set up and it was about 9 pm.
Ava likes to roll obsessively when ever she gets to a new place. Now although I know this, I was still tweaking a bit so I hand walked her for a while.
In the dark.
At a place she has never even imagined existed, after being on a trailer 11 hours.
Good thing Ava is amazing because I was clearly not thinking.
All the other horses looked so hopeful so I ended up walking them all for laps around the farm.
They were all angels. Warms my heart.

Today we got much more settled.
I have a paddock 24 hours  a day so everyone is getting ample turnout.

All the horses but Ava worked.
Beasty and Callie had lessons with Mara and what can I say. Mara is amazing and therefore my horses were amazing.
I learned so damn much today.

Tomorrow the young/green horses will flat/hack while the comp is going on.
Beasty and Callie will have a relaxing hack. Unless Beasty sees cross country. Then relaxing will turn into bouncing.

My biggest supporter and most amazing husband ever is watching jungle book with Maggie.
He has double handled 100 bales of hay,Set up the camper, helped with the horses fixed various things, videoed my lessons, and has been the best dad ever.

Tomorrow he and Mags will get a ride home with Mara. Alexis will pick them up in va and take them the rest of the way. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Alexis!

I am exhausted and happy.
I have such a great group of horses.
I had no idea how much one Duncan  doodles could make me laugh. Someone has already asked to try Ava.I may or may not have said not yet.
And by not yet I mean never.
Just kidding.I didn't actually say that.

Ok I'm delirious off to sleep I go.

Mary Mack

Our first hay casualty has occurred.....

Oh duncan doodles.

Mary Mack

Stuff

Alexa cleaned up at the jumper show on KNICKERBOCKER!!!!
Dave and I at the game and Maggie and mommy's slumber party!

Also a huge huge huge congrats to Ameriah on her new horse Finn!
And also to Alison on her purchase of Justin!!!!

Mary Mack

It's that time....

Things have been CRAZY BUSY!!!!!!!
The good news is that in exactly a week, I will be arriving in Aiken. Then I will be all alone (with my four legged besty Myra)in a camper every night and will have nothing better to do then blog obsessively. I suppose I could do the whole social thing but that would involve, well, being social.
Not so much.

The horses are doing so well.
I have made major break throughs with all of them.
Ava continues to simply amaze me.
Ava's flat work is definitely shinning. Once I get her work ethic fully established over the next month or so,I can not even begin to imagine how her training will take off, and where it can take us!

Beast is turning into a wild woman.
She has taken to bolting on our walk hacks. No, not little kid saying their pony bolted "bolting"......more like almost fall off the back of her and hang on her face for dear life kind of "bolting".
She is all business in the ring when practicing dressage, but I think we are definitely ready for Pine Tops cross country!!!

Callie has been the sweetest most wonderful little mare. Dare I say I have figured out some of her winter needs?
Only time will tell. I just hope and pray that I can keep this mare acting the way she is because I am in love.
One thing I know for sure is that I have found bribery works well with Callie. One can't squirt off from the mounting block if they are busy looking for their post mounting treat. Also loading her back up with Back on Track products seems to help ;)

Summer has also turned a corner. She turned off of awesome street with some pot holes of distractions and puddles of goofy....We made a right hand turn onto Amazing street with clean white lines of focus and beautiful pavers of submission.
I am so excited about her upcoming year.

I am looking forward to my time in Aiken with Duncan Doodles and Fiesta.

I will miss my little Maggie Bear to no ends. I am so thankful that Dave will be able to drive with me to set me up, and to visit often. I will miss all my client/friends.
I wish I had more time to work with Vanessa. We have started making so much progress.
I hate to cut this short but I have a date with a three year old. We have a slumber party planned in the Family room!!!!!

I didn't proof read this, sorry :)

Mary Mack