Official Level 1 Graduate!!

Yes!! I just heard back from Kristi and I passed Level 1! I am an official Level 1 Graduate!! Yes!

Here's what she said:

Miranda-
Thank you very much for your On Line audition. The assessment team has viewed your audition and it was a pleasure. We appreciate theopportunity to be a part of your horsemanship journey. Congratulations!! You are a level 1 graduate! Your On Line savvy is level 1+!! Great job!!

Now as you set your sights on level 2 it is time to start playing on the 22' line. Add more distance and flow to your On Line play. Also, be sure to add laps to your Circling Game that has you in a neutral position.Thanks again for your dedication to your horse and to the Parelli program. We look forward to viewing your future success.
Have fun and keep it natural!
--Kristi

YEA!! I'm so excited. Thank you Brizzee for being patient with me, and thank you for teaching me so much! I'm looking forward to the Journey ahead!! The future is looking really good right now! :-)

Official Level 1 grads,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

Content...?

Well, we went for another ride on Monday. That was fun. Brizzee kept wanting to eat the grass when I was saddling her, and then after a couple of back ups, she stood with her head low, looking at the grass. It was so funny, so I "porcupined" her head down and let her eat the grass. lol .

After the horses were all saddled we were on our way! Brizzee was really different from the other day. She was still loose and relaxed, but she wasn't as loose as she was on Sunday. She didn't trot, or prance, she just walked calmly, head down halfway, looking around at things. On the way back she wasn't trotting either. She just walked calmly. Even when we passed our driveway, she didn't even look at it!

I'm not sure if she was content/happy, or if she was just sore from the day before? But my mom seems to think that she was content. And when we get back I lined her up with my mom's pick up (I was secretly hoping that she would kick it or something, leaving a "horsey" mark. lol) and she sidepassed just a little! So, we've had fun.

Yesterday I was going to play with her again, but our friend pulled in, so instead I rode Sugar again. That was pretty fun. Depending on if it thunders or not today, I might go out there and do some Level 2 things and Liberty with her :-)

Oh, and we finally sent off our Auditions and paperwork yesterday!!! I'm really excited about that, except I don't think I'll pass. But if I don't, we'll just continue playing with each other, and send it in again.

I'm just wondering how long I'll have to wait. Will I have to wait a few days, a few weeks, a month... hmm. This will be good exercise for my "patience". hehe.

Savvy On,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~
PS. I had a dream last night where I was riding a horse bareback and bridless ...except it wasn't any of ours...how interesting! (Lea, will you sell me Eddie?? LOL. Just kidding).

Trail Ride

My mom and I went for a trial ride yesterday after playing with the horses. She played with Ute and Storm, while I laid across Brizzee and rode her bareback a little bit. Then we saddled up the horses, and went for a ride down the dirt road. It was really fun! Brizzee was trotting a lot, and she felt really loose, really relaxed. I've never felt her so relaxed and loose before, so that was fun. She followed along right behind Ute, and if she walked beside him she had to trot to keep up with his long stride. lol.



That was a lot of fun. That was my...second trail ride down that road, but the first time we didn't go very far. I think I finally found my balance point! I was experimenting with it, and I got right into the right position where I felt more secure then ever, and my hips, legs, and everything just started moving with her. So, I finally found my balance point. I thought I had been on it all along because the palm of my hand was resting on her rump, but yesterday I found a "new", "right" balance point...I guess. It was really nice.


Coming back Brizzee was really loose, but she kept wanting to trot. It's funny, Ute's head was down, and on the way back it was high, and he too was walking really fast. It was fun. Brizzee would slow down when I pulled back on the reins a little bit, but then she would trot again. But it got better, so I was excited about that! :-)


We rode for about an hour or so. When we went back into the paddock, mom suggested that I try to get Brizzee to canter. I was nervous, but all the other times I tried to get her to canter, she wouldn't do it. So I thought; "Oh, all right, I'll go ahead and squeeze and "cluck", but she won't go", so I wasn't worried about it... *grin*. She was trotting, I barely squeezed, and she actually CANTERED! My first canter on my own horse! We cantered three times. I was flopping all over in the saddle (lol) but it was still fun and awesome. A canter on two horses, and three canters on Brizzee. She was so responsive, and felt so relaxed. I was happy, but I still like her trot!


Mom promised me that once I rode the canter, I wouldn't like the trot. Well, Brizzee did canter THREE times yesterday, and guess what? I still L*O*V*E her trot. I guess that's probably weird, but oh well.


I wish I had Brizzee from the time she was a weanling, but oh well. After getting firm with her on the ground a few times, we are starting to have fun and she's trusting me a LITTLE more, but it took a while. And when I ride her I need to be a little "heavy" and "firm" before I can get lighter and lighter :-( But I'll only get as firm as I have to, before I'll get lighter... It would also help if I coud remember everything. lol. It's getting a little better though. The whole time I played with her on the ground before riding her yesterday, I kept thinking. "Energy in my body, bend to stop, energy in my body, bend to stop, do the trombone, do the butterfly, pedal, balance point, energy in my body, bent to stop, trombone, butterfly, pedal, balance point, etc."


It was fun, a lot of fun! My mom is going to be gone most of the day today, so I'm going to go out in a little while (might have to wear shorts, it's supposed to be 80 today...YIKES!) and play with the Circling Game, Transitions Online, Change of Direction, Seven Games with an Obstacle, and then maybe play some Liberty! No riding today though, mom has this rule that when she's gone, I can't ride, but it's okay. I'm excited to go out and play with her. My confidence has just..."blossomed!" I am very, very confident with anything I do with Brizzee now.


I'm so thankful to the Parelli's, and to Larry for letting my buy his horse, who was a knutt head when I got her, and now she's my best friend! I love you Briz! Here's some pics from yesterday:

She was soo good, she just stood there while this crazy person crawled all over on her! lol.

Sleepy head.

I almost fell asleep, lol.

My mom playing with Storm.


Mom, playing the Porcupine Game with Ute.

Savvy On,

~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

My First Canter!!

I rode Sugar today. She was right between being a RBI/LBE...weird huh? So anyways, I played with her, and then rode her. She did really good. She was calm, relaxed, and did really well. I was trying to figure out how they "cued" her and stuff. We walked, and trotted. Whenever she would trot though, my feet came back, and I went forward. I have a foot problem, and it's really hard to keep my feet forward, especially with the trot.

But she felt really good, so I took my feet out of the stirrups to see if I'd do better that way. I asked her for the trot again. (However, I had no clue what was next) She did. My feet went back, I went forward and...*blushing*...I squeezed with my legs :( Next thing I knew we were in a rythym and it was like we were soaring!! SHE WAS CANTERING! I was holding onto the saddle horn for dear life, but I stayed on. I was super excited! I've never cantered before, and that felt so great!

I like doing things on the ground better then riding, because I don't have a clue of what to do in the saddle, not to mention my feet problem, but my mom says that more riding is good for me.

Anywho, I gave her lots of treats, turned her loose, haltered my horse, played a little bit on the ground, and then sat on her. I let her eat some left over hay and a little bit of grass while I sat on her. And then I got thirsty, so I slid off, put her away, and now I'm here, posting this! I'm going to go out in a little while again and do some things in level 2 with Briz: Seven Games with an Obstacle, Transitions Online, Change of Direction, and try to get her feet on a pedastal and maybe see if she'll jump! But it doesn't matter.

I'm excited about my first canter, but also a little bummed because I wanted my first canter to be on Brizzee, but oh well. By the way, the trot still ROCKS!! I love Brizzee's trot, it's so smooth and short...I love her trot! I love my girl, period. lol. Oh, here's some pics of Sugar that I took today.

Savvy On,

~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~ & ~Sugar~

Best day!

Where do I begin? I went out to play with Brizzee today. I had just headed out there to take some pictures of her, and the spring grass and stuff, but it was such a nice day, so I grabbed her halter and the 22 foot line.

She came up to me immediately, and all the other horses went into their own pens no problem. So I was happy about that...wow, it's all ready 7:05, when I went outside it was 3. hehe. Anyways, I played with Brizzee a little bit on the ground, and sidepassed her over to the cement water trough. She did really well, so I got on the water trough, rubbed her back, laid across her, etc.

I did this for a while, groomed her for about an hour. I think 45 minutes of that hour was spend on her tail. LOL. I love her tail, is that wierd? I just love grooming her tail. Weird. Anywho, we went outside the pen, and I sidepassed her through the gate, got the natural hackamore, sidepassed her back through the gate, went over to the water trough, got on, and then we just rode around a little bit. I just went where she went. And she'd start trotting and I'd think I'm going to fall off. *gasp*, but I didn't and it was really fun.

Then she just stood still by the gate, so I laid across, had both of my legs hanging off the same side, laid across her, got on my knees on her! The whole time she just stands there, looking around and then looks at me like, what are you doing? So I just kinda manuevered all over around her. Then to end the day we went outside, and I let her have a little green grass. She like that.

And when I took the Natural Hackamore off, I was sitting down, lowered her head, and then I laid down in front of her after it was off, and she just sniffed all aroudn me, and the treats were falling out of my pocket so she enjoyed those. And then she put her head over my side, and nickered! :-) I love my horse! Today was all in all, AWESOME. I wish my mom would've been outside and taken some pictures, but oh well. Here's some pics that I took.

Brizzee

She was nibbling on me...can't see her face, but it's funny.

Below: Taken at the Team Sorting. She was nervous because Ute wasn't there...of course.

Savvy On,

~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

Brain Dead!!

Well, we went to the the Team Sorting today. It was pretty fun. My mom decided to ride Ute in the Team Sorting, and she did REALLY good. If they would've gotten just one more cow out, she would have been in the money, but it's okay, it's fun anyways! Brizzee did really good...as long as we were with Ute. LOL. But that was my fault.

As soon as I got her out this morning, she was prancing around, trotting (no bucking, cro hopping, or any of that stuff, which is really good ;) And she was pawing when I tied her to the trialer to groom her, and she usually doesn't paw, so I started having doubts. But we played a little bit, play stick to me...except she was out away from me, but she stayed even with me, so I guess that counts. And then she wouldn't load. And that was my fault because I was really nervous, my hands, feet, legs, and pretty much my whole body was shaking. I wasn't scare dof her, just being there.

But anyways, I calmed down, and she loaded right up. It's amazing what can happen when you adjust what you do. hehe. So then we were on the way. She did really good when we first got there, paid attention to me, did everything I suggested and/or asked, which was really good.

When I got on, I just rode next to Ute, and I'd leave Ute, and she was okay at first, and then she started fighting, pushing against me, ignoring me trying to bend her until she reached Ute, then she would bend nicely...of course. And the funny thing is, here, she doesn't stay around the horses. She's off doing her own thing. But eventually hopefully she'll be lookign to me more, and not Ute... I HOPE!

So anyways, I realized after we left (I always dwell on what I did, what I could've done differently, etc.) And no wonder she wanted to stay with Ute! I'm brain dead. I watch all the Fluidity dvd's, and I practice it when I walk, sit, whatever I do. I get the "go" energy in my body, and then the "stop" energy. And I practice my bending all the time, but as soon as I get on, everything is gone!

I am brain dead. I have no creativity, nothing to give her to do...no where important to go, and I may remember once or twice to have energy, but it last for about 2.5 seconds before it's gone. And then she stops and I'm like; "Why does she keep stopping!" Well gee, I wonder WHY! I know what I'm doing wrong in the saddle now, but if I go out there tomorrow and ride, I'll do the same thing! How do I overcome this? How do I remember to be fluid, to have ENERGY, and bring my ENERGY down.

I know it's hard for me to keep my feet in the right position because I have a foot problem. When I was a baby they were supposed to break all the my bones from my hips down to my toes, but they didn't, so now I walk like I duck. And when I sit in the saddle, and just drape my legs around my horse, or just let them hang or whatever, the bottom of my feet are sticking out to the side, and I'm kickign her in the flanks! I wasn't even aware of this until my mom said something today. So now I have to keep watching for that. It hurts, but I think...I hope, that it'll start getting easier and more "natural" as we ride more.

I just need to figure out how to keep everything in my mind when I'm riding her, and playing with her on the ground, and think of tasks to do. Course, maybe I have such a brain over load that everything that I go brain dead. I don't know. Does anyone have any suggestions, or has this ever happened to you?

Savvy On,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~
Pics tomorrow, hopefully!

Pictures!

It's been a long time since I posted pics, so I figured I would do that today.

A tooth.

Savvy On,

~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

Online Level 1/2 Audition!!

YIPEE!! YES!! SUPER!!

My mom filmed me doing the Online Level 1/2 Audition today, and we're going to send it in!! My mom was just getting ready to turn it off when Brizzee FINALLY trotted!! Yippee! So, I'm excited to send that in and see how we did.

My mom also played with her Quarter Horse Gelding, Ute, and she's going to send hers in too. She also did one with Storm, my uncle Arab, and she did really good, except she hasn't done everything on the Online Level 1 Self Assessment yet, but I'm excited!!

As soon as I'm done with class and school today, I'll download my videos...that'll only take all night. lol.

Savvy On,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

Auditions!

I am getting ready to go out and record my mom doing her Online Level 1/2 Audition with our Uncle's Arabian mare, Storm! It's funny, she hasn't practiced the Figure 8 yet, so it'll be fun! :-)

And depending on when we finish with that, I'm hoping that she'll record me doing my Online Level 1/2 Audition with my girl, so I'm excited!! I have class at 2, and after that I'm hoping to ride her again! I guess I'll just need to ride her a lot more, before she'll get confident enough (in both herself and me) before we can start being lighter, and doing more things the Parelli way.

My mom brought up an interesting suggestions yesterday. You know how...you have days where you don't want to do something on the computer, so you do school, and you want to learn something...new about Math, but you don't understand so you get frustrated and go to something else? Okay, that's not a very good example, but anyways. My mom suggested that maybe in order for our us to move on to new things on the ground, we have to ride more, and switch back and forth. She might just be bored on the ground (just like with us with math) but then when I introduce her to new things, she might not understand and get frustrated. And when we go back to basics, she's bored again, so then we RIDE! And then do more on the ground...yeah, that doesn't make much sense with the way I'm writing it, but I'm hoping that strategy will work, if not, there's always something else!!

Savvy On,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

FREESTYLE!!

Well, I rode Brizzee yesterday...ALL DAY! It was an awesome day yesterday!

I went to play with her. We played on the ground, and she was really paying attention, looking at me, and was really good! We had fun. I then saddled her, and rode her a little bit in the pen. She was dull, kept fighting, always went to the gate, then stopped. She woudln't bend...until we got to the gate. I'm thinking; "Okay, so she's just not confident, maybe something's poking her..." And then mom opened the gate.

We went out in the driveway, rode around, and she was still pulling against me, not bending. So we rode between the corrals and the field. She was really slow going away, and then coming back she was trotting, and go really fast. So we went down there again, rode around in our fourth corral (which it just has rail road ties set up, there's no fence.) And we rode around down there, weaving in and out of the rail road ties, and then going up and down little hills. My mom calls them "bunny hills".

We rode out on the dirt road, and then when we came back, Brizzee was really trotting, prancing, I don't know how many times I bent her. I think I had calluses on my hand. I wanted to play with her on the ground because I just thought she was unconfident, but my mom kept saying: "She's not unconfident! This is what she is used to Randa. Larry rode her this way, and used a heavy hand on her. Your just going to have to get firm with her in the saddle a few times before she'll start getting lighter, and lighter. You're introducing her to a whole new world, so you need to just introduce her to things a little bit at a time."

So I rode her all day, and she didn't buck! lol. I beat if I would've just let her go going back up to the house, she would have galloped, so I'm glad that I didn't. :-) But it was fun, very fun! And when we got back and I dismounted, she had a different look in her eyes. She actually looked
H-A-P-P-Y. She was actually looking around, looking interested in things, I've never seen her like that before! She was an LBE! I think maybe her "true" horsenality has been buried all these years, and now it's starting to "reveal itself"...if that is possible with horses. But I was happy!!

On Saturday I'll probably take her to the Team Sorting. I'm not going to Team Sort, but I'll ride her, see how she does. I'm looking forward to it. And I know that the second things start feeling bad, or going wrong, I can get off. So I'm looking forward to it. And I think I'll wait until everyone is standing still, watching the Team Sorting before I ride her in the arena. I get too "AAAAHHH!" When everyone is right there. So it'll be fun!!

Sugar: I also played with Sugar yesterday for about an hour. My mom wnated me to ride Ute, her horse, but I didn't really want to. So instead, I asked if I could ride Sugar, our friend's horse. I played with her on the ground, and she was fine. Didnt' ask for the trot or anything at the Circling Game, until my mom told me to, so then I asked for it. Boy, she can REAR!! That's the first time I have ever been in person with a horse rearing before. It's like...Wow! Look at that!! It was interesting. :-)

So I was playing with her, and then mom says; "Take her into the round pen and work her." I don't know why, but to me when you do that it just seems irritating. I have only done that with my horse a few times right after I got her, but that was before Parelli. In my oppoinon, when you are PLAYING with your horse without a line, you should all ready have a relationship, and then play with your horse.

But mom kept insisting, so I turned her loose in the round pen, thinking; "Gosh, I really don't want to work her like this." But I did. I had her switch directions a lot (of course, she would turn into the fence :-( And so I was playing with her, and then I really started not feeling too good. Everything began to seem a little distant and my head just starting POUNDING.

Luckily she came into me at that moment, so I just petted her, and leaned against her, then put the halter on, trying to ignore my head pounding. And when I turned to mom she's like; "Are you okay? You look purple." I thought I was going to pass out, but I was okay. Today my face is red/purple, and my head pounds really hard at times.

But I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll go out and play with Brizzee some more! Maybe ride her, play Online and Liberty with her. Maybe she's just bored, and that's what her problem is...but why would she get unconfident when I introdce her to new things? I don't know. But it was fun yesterday!! I LOVE MY HORSE!!

Savvy On,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~

Video

Here is the link to our video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H58HVgv4yQ&feature=channel_page



As soon as the wind stops, and it's a little nicer outside, we're going to try for our Online Level 1/2 Audition again.

Then we're going to start doing more Freestyle things! And when she's ready (may be next week, may be next year) we'll film our Level 2 Freestyle Audition!!
Oh, I have my video on that little thing on my profile now too!

Savvy On,
~Randa~ & ~Brizzee~