The Cadillac Ranch

So my parents are buying property in Norco (Horsetown USA!), one cause we are tired of boarding, and two cause my dad wants us to train out of a nice facility that we can do what we please with.

I'm super stoked. My dad came up with a name for the ranch, and I came up with the logo. awesome no? I'm working on a website right now, we need someone to come out and take cool photos of us with our ponies then it will be bitchen.



Ruger was a "ranch horse" yesterday when i rode her. you know, when cowboys or working ranching break a horse from a hackamore to a snaffle they ride with the snaffle over the hackamore so they can ride with both and still have control..so thats what i did. she was awesome, i love her.

more later.
-Jenn

bits, bridles, and a brilliant idea

Ruger is learning what a snaffle is all about and coming along nicely. We put the bridle on like a pro and we know how to lead from it now. It helps when horses are smart when you are training them! She didn't enjoy backing up (remember those holes I was talking about being left unfilled? our backing is the grand canyon of holes) so I bought two new long lines and attempted to drive her backward in the round pen.

nope.

having someone walk in front of her with a tarp.

nope.

backing her like i do in a showmanship class .

bingo!

she will get it eventually. I have some tricks up my sleeve for when I ride her in the snaffle to get her to back, but on the ground frustrates me.
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Kristy Reed has a brilliant idea and I want to be in on it 110%. She wants to create a club that puts on 5 to 6 shows for MUSTANGS ONLY with daily highpoint and year end awards. (I think it should be a BLM branded, or offspring of BLM branded mustang show only cause your going to get grade horses whos owners will claim "mustang" just to show.)

How friggin sweet is that?? I want to get it started NOW! :) Please chime in if you know how to get one of these clubs started and what is needed!

Ruger, Striker, and Miss El Paso

Thought the other day that I would keep this thing updated so all of my followers (all 3 of you lol) could keep tabs on us.

Ruger and Striker are learning to take bits in thier mouths this week. We were going to give them a week off, but I've heard of some trainers from other EMM's that gave thier horses time off and they are pretty much starting over. So, to keep that away from us I'm trial riding and working in the round pen.

When you have 90 days to gentle and break a wild horse, there are holes that you leave unfilled just to get them to the show. Ruger hasn't had a bit in her mouth for more than a day...ever... I opted to leave that hole open cause I didn't want to deal with trying to stick something in a wild horses mouth..choose your battles wisley with the wild ones i say.

She opened her mouth and took the snaffle like a pro yesterday, she's ready for one anyway cause she now has callouses on her jaw from the bosal and doesn't listen anymore(ok sometimes, but not always)

She picked up this biting thing at the EMM too..i let her do it cause i didn't want anyone to buy her, but now that she's home..it's ass kickin time! lol.


Miss El Paso has a tendon thats acting up but she isn't sore on it so we are icing it and working more on her ground work. I like my horses DEAD on the ground, whoa means whoa, and clucking means get your ass in gear. it's funny to work with a horse that I haven't started..there are holes to fill that I don't know about, it's like whack a mole...find it, whack it, move on.

Stryker is well...stryker and is currently turned out with carlton in the round-ish pen. The place we are at ran out of stalls so they built a turnout of sorts for friendly horses to go in till some horses leave...you hear that Ruger I said FRIENDLY! :)

There are now more mustangs at the facility than there are "broke" horses..lol. The owners have 2 and we have 4.

Last but not least....

I have a great broke trail horse that I'm offering FREE to a good home. This guy thinks he's a person, and loves attention. He's been sitting for a while so he's out of shape, fat, and kinda ugly, but he's way cool. oh, and he has (so i was told) a bone spur on in his foot. every so often he will take a lame step but thats it.

let me know if your interested in him.


till later
-Jenn

the best..

Well everyone is home safe and sound. Mary brought Stryker home for $750, Ruger came home with us for $1500 and we bought Miss El Paso (who is being renamed to Baretta) for $2000.

The EMM Norco Trail Challenge was the best time I've ever had..We met so many new friends that I personally will forever remember, everyone was so helpful and caring, it wasn't like any of the other "horse shows" i've been too.

Ruger and I had a great in hand pattern and rode the hills in the "rual trail challenge" with no problems on Friday. Saturday I was a little worried about our riding pattern as we don't pick up the lope right away but she did exactly as I asked with no issues and we aced our "urban trail challenge" the only thing that scared us enough to launch us into the street was a windmil wirly bird thing that came out of no where.

Somehow I made it into the top ten (haha!) and of course I came with no pattern, I did find music last second so I was ok...or so I thought. We walked into the pen, Ruger decided she was done, and started balking and rearing so I pushed her forward and kept making her trot a circle. Ray Ariss and Hail Yeah were the interviewers and he had nothing but nice things to say about my riding. As did Ken McNab and Mark Lyon. I ended up 10th, but damn it if I didn't have a butt load of people at my stall telling me I did a fantastic job and praising me for not giving up.

Mark Lyon found me yesterday filling water buckets and stood there to talk to me for a good half hour. He had nothing but good things to say and mentioned that if Ruger had cooperated and I had a clean run, I would have been in the top 4. He also insisted that I put in an application for fort worth.

I personally want to thank Patty, Randi, Ken, Mark, the MHF, and the BLM for allowing me to show not only what I can do with a mustang but what Ruger can do!

I will definatly be back for the next one in Norco, and this time I'm coming for blood!! :)

-Jenn

2+1=3

So we brought ruger and striker home... Plus we bought a cute little broke mare named miss el paso.

Patty, the founder, didn't realize that my dad had a tv show till today so when I came into the pen she annouced it and had me announceto the audience what we did in our shop. Haha.

She also challenged my dad to a little "mustang challenge" of his own.. A little horsepower vs. "horse power" for next years norco trail challenge.

Too cool!!

Well when I get to a computer and it's easier to type ill post more! :)

-jenn

We made top ten!!!

Ruger and I had a friggin blast at the norco challenge, they let Mary ride, but not for placing.

Rugie and I made top ten and had a wild ride in the finals so we ended up 10th but damn it I made the top 10!! I'm proud of Mary and I ... AND the horses!!

We are going to do it again when and if they come back

Well I'm on an iPhone at dinner so I'll blog more later.

-jenn

the plea

ok.

so i know my horse is pretty bad ass...i ask that all of you following and attending..


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T BID ON HER!


I really want to bring her home with me..and i have limited funds(my tax return) to buy her back.i will be heart broken at best if someone else takes her home. besides..good luck trying to ride her..she's catapulted mary many times cause she wasn't "mom". :)

as for striker.. don't bid on her either cause mary is in LOVE with her...that and she will try to take your head off. you think I'm kidding? haha..i WILL NOT touch or lead her, and I'm not scared of "bad" horses normally.


-also- i have heard rumors that people walk willy nilly into stalls with the horses without the trainers. in less your looking to get kicked and maimed, i wouldn't walk into a 12x12 totally enclosed box stall with a nervous partially trained mustang without consent of the trainer.

I have my handy iphone so i will be posting how things go, most likely RIGHT after they happen..at the show..and photos.

Lets hope i make it into the top ten! :)

the "scary" arena

Yesterday was a relaxing and fulfilling day. We took Ruger and Striker(formerly Gidget) to the Ingalls arena in Norco where the competition will be. They were having a GSPA open show up there and they are really cool about letting people ride in the arena during lunch and breaks.

My mom came with Roxy and my dad even ponied up and rode Carlton!! :)

Now, it's a HUGE indoor arena with aluminum bleachers on one side and smelly bucking chutes on the other, I know for those of you not in california indoor arenas are no big deal, but out here (where the sun is always shining!) we have outdoor arenas and the indoor arena has become a horse killer to those not acclimated to them.

We rode up to the pen and stood and watched all the kids practicing showmanship, and some halter classes. The girls were falling asleep standing at the rail..a lady on a mule rode up and noticed they were mustangs, so i gave her the whole EMM speal and she was very impressed.

The show staffers had added a cart class and there were 3 horses pulling carts around the property..now there are two things that scare any normal sized horse. mini's and carts. We stood on the rail and watched them warm up for their class, then they called a 10 min open arena..mary and i looked at each other and walked into the arena. There was only 2 other people besides us, brave enough to come into an arena with carts. The mares took a second to adjust and look at everything, then it was down to business and we trotted around the whole arena without any problems at all. We followed the carts, walked next to them, and let them pass us without any problems at all. We even handled the other horses cantering by us with no issues.

They didn't care about all the commotion or the loud speakers, people walking up to and by them other horses standing next to them. I am so proud of both of them!!

The mares get a day off today, and they are going back to basics tomarrow in the round pen, just for shits and giggles cause it's good to revisit the fundamentals every now and then. Wednesday we are taking them back out to my grandmas for somemore riding around the property, we might even take them to McCall Park in the mountains.

we will see :)

-Jenn