Feathers Fly, Hearts Soar

I kept telling Roscoe we were going to have fun. He did not believe me since he had to have his chrome cleaned and his tail washed. He at least was able to have some turn out before we loaded him at noon. Loch Moy farm is a two hour drive into Maryland, so we definitely wanted to make sure we topped off the tank. After driving by the entrance once, we made it there by 230. That gave Roscoe an hour to chill. Well it turned out to be a bit longer. The 230 person still had not gone when we arrived. I was okay with it. We got to watch three sessions and see how things worked.

The Jump Chute set to beginning height

Chris Ryan the clinician, comes from Ireland and it was wonderful to watch him work. First he has the head collar (yes that is what he called it) removed and let the horse settle into the area. Once they are ready he asks the horse to move around the arena. During this time he checks their balance and their acceptance. One two year old Appy/TB cross had some balance issues, cross cantering, wrong leads, and he figured out that he could barrel through the pole barriers. Chris kept telling the owner not to worry, his talent was still there. He found positive points with every horse. This horse he also recommended he learn to respect people.

The arena wrecker :)

The next horse was another young one, either two or three, Donnerhall son. This big boy floated around the ring. Chris said he did not trot, he danced. He had the owner lead him into the chute so the horse would be comfortable. I did not get to see much of his session since I went to get my screaming horse off the trailer. Peggy was practicing with the camera which is why I have this photos.

Dancing Donnerhall son

Roscoe was a bit of a shit when he caught sight of the other horse, but he was not unmanageable. We walked down to the arena to see how things would go. I think they were all cautious of the fact that Roscoe is a stallion.

I think someone grew...

Chris asked if I would be able to catch him if the head collar was removed. Of course I said yes. So off Roscoe went to explore.

Can someone open the chute?

Chris said "This will be fun." Watching Roscoe canter around, Chris was thrilled with his build and uphill movement. He asked me if Roscoe could cover TB mares. He proceeded to say that he should cover a line of TB mares. The Irish are big into TB/crosses so I took this as a big compliment.

Then they opened the chute and had Roscoe trot in and go over pole, pole, pole, baby x, three times. This let him see the chute and focus on the work. Plus he tested the helpers.

The jump was raised and he went through again, no worries. To back him off, Chris put coats on the jumps and when the second jump went up, a back pack under it. Roscoe was funny because he got tired of waiting for them to put the jumps up and went for a run. When it was time to go in, he played hard to get. When they left him alone, he did a U turn and went into the chute. Silly Cob!

Long spot

They raised the verticals and the oxer, which Roscoe took in stride. Chris was saying he wished Roscoe would hit one and learn to respect the fences. It never happened, that boy flies. As Chris raised the oxer he said Roscoe is exhilarated to fly. Roscoe's canter gives him the awesome jump. I have heard it forever, you can fix the trot, but not the walk or canter. That they are born with.
The final jump over 3 or four runs, you can see the changes.

The rain started during this part and soon turned into a downpour. Roscoe kept working. He had his hiccups, but with some encouragement he moved on. Last 30sec is pocket fuzz, since the rain got too heavy.

The jumps went up and Chris asked him to canter in. He needed to come in controlled and rock back for his take offs. Chris said Roscoe would like it better since he wants to push off square. He said Roscoe is a smart pony. In the saddle I would need to keep my hands soft and my leg on.

The final run made all our hearts soar as Roscoe's feathers flew over a big oxer. Chris asked all during the session if I was happy.

Hell yes! Chris worked Roscoe in hand a bit to get him to respect a person's space. I was pleased that Roscoe worked well with him. All the volunteers seemed to figure out he was not a fire breathing stallion as he visited them during the session.

Sadly, the USEA photographer/writer left just before. Chris even told Peggy that they should do an article about Roscoe. Coming from someone who evaluates young horses all the time, that was an amazing comment for Roscoe. It is always nice when a non biased person tells you your horse is wonderful.

Checking out his audience

He comes back in September and I am considering going again. It is definitely worth the $70 and 4 hours of driving. Even if you have a mature horse the jump chute can be beneficial to reminding them to be quick with their feet and to take care of themselves. After putting Comrade through at home, jumping him today was night and day different to our previous jumping sessions. Comrade has a confidence that made the jumping easier today.

Now to get back to dressage for the weekend.