Freestyle, Tractor Dances - and new wheels for the boys

The last two weeks contained a myriad of activities. First the Freestyle Clinic with Karen Robinson of Applause Dressage. Unbelievable, but nine years after I initially set out to do a freestyle I might finally be getting there. For a myriad of reasons it never came to fruition with Saumur - so now Remy has to pick up the reins.  Karen quickly honed in on our strengths and weaknesses, and came up with a creative and fun choreography in our morning session. The afternoon was music selection, where we agreed that something fun and light is called for. And much to my delight, 'Renegade' and 'Imagine Dragons' are a fit. FUN!





From there Remy went home to do a completely different dance - this time with the tractor. We decided that Remy's spooking issues when something startles him from behind needed to be addressed some more. JP had the idea of using the tractor with Brandt riding Remy. It was quite a show of dodging, retreating, charging forward. Actually it was a very good learning experience. Brandt pointed out that Remy is allowed to leave, but he must leave with his hind end (not dodging/dropping the shoulders). As Remy's left eye is the weaker one, it's important for me to be ready with the left leg, and to keep it on.


The boys spend quite a bit of time on the road, JP and I are the equine equivalent of "Soccer Parents". So JP took our Sundowner trailer in for an inspection to get ready for winter. With all the quality issues we had (numerous blown out tires due to faulty axle construction) I was pretty much fed up with the trailer, even though the factory eventually repaired it. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, they had also installed the wrong tires in order to save a buck or two, which means that added to the blow out issues. The dealership manager got the brunt of my anger (sorry, Israel!). Make a long story short, we received a good offer for a trade in, and JP will pick up our Lakota next week. It's also an All-Aluminum trailer and has a lot a excellent features. Definitely much more sturdy and less corners cut for cost savings.


Talk about priorities: I need a new car - but I'm spending way more time contemplating the best possible, safest ride for the boys. Priorities!