Camp, Camp, Camp!

So, I just got back from camp but I guess I should probably do a recap from our cross country school at Poplar the week before camp. It was great, we did the whole Beginner Novice course & he didn't stop at anything. He was being funky about the water but oh well. Now for CAMPPPPPPP. Of course, it was extremely fun & has made me feel extremely confident going into River Glen next weekend! The first day was a little iffy for Genzo. We were in an arena with 12 other horses & riders... a few of which either didn't know how to steer, or just didn't watch where they were going. He was a little nuts but finally settled into everything by the end of the lesson. The second day was great! We worked on 20 meter circles in our dressage lesson but didn't get the opportunity to do our jumping lesson because it decided to rain. Wednesday was also good, starting off the morning with a great jumping lesson where we did a circle of jumps that was extremely difficult but we got through it! We played games on horseback that night, but I chose to not use Dargenzio because I didn't think he'd be very cooperative. Thursday was great! I had a private dressage lesson in the morning, where we really got Dargenzio in the correct show frame. Our jumping lesson was soooooo fun too! We did four bounces to a going three stride oxer! & Friday, my favorite day, we went cross country schooling! Genzo was being amazing so my trainer thought it'd be good for us to pop over some of her Training level questions including a humungous log/fallen down tree sort of thing. It was extremely wide but only like 3 ft. tall. Dargenzio went directly up to it without a question & popped right over it :p We also went over a Trakhener, which he also took like a piece of cake. Today, we had the camp show & I got to do the Beginner Novice test B for our dressage test (since I'm doing it next weekend) & we did Novice level show jumping! He was awesome, except for being a little uptight & looky in dressage. Our show jumping course was great except for the fact that I was having a difficult time finding my distances so we had quite a few long distances, but oh well. I'm excited for River Glen & I *hope* this is my last Beginner Novice! I also came home to "Christmas In July"... My parents went out & bought two mini four wheelers for shows & got Dargenzio a bunch of stuff including a saddle pad, a new set of open fronts, bridle, etc.

SIT ON YOUR BUTT!

That title basically sums up my last two weeks. We're teaching Dargenzio to sit on his lovely hindend that God blessed him with. You would think since he has such a nice hindend, he'd be willing to sit on it right? NOPE. He is a total cow about sitting on his butt. Thankfully, we are getting there. We've had quite a few dressage lessons. Most of them start out horrific, but end REALLY nicely. His canter work is really coming together & he realizes that it isn't that hard to sit on his butt for three strides. With all of this hindend work, he has become extremely balanced & I was more than impressed with our hill work yesterday. We've been gradually building up our trot & canter sets, because I need Dargenzio to get more fit or he'll die running around Novice. Yesterday, he was able to withstand two 5 minute trot sets, & two 3 minute canter sets. He was also sooooooo balanced that my job was easy. I'm normally having to half halt every few seconds & I have to help him balance going down the hill. Not yesterday. I was kinda playing monkey, just sitting up there & steering. I really hope he is like this at River Glen because I cannot have an unbalanced five year old running around cross country(; He is really starting to prove himself & the feeling that he is finally achieving what I've been working for, for such a long time, is awesome. Now for the truck. We have officially bought a new truck & it will be coming home while I'm at Summer camp! (More good news, I'm now going to my trainer's Summer camp) Big Blue is officially up for sale & I've decided to name the new truck, Debby Dually. I think it fits very well. She is a brand new (yes, we did get a brand new truck for the price of a used one, thank you Daddy-O) 2012 Ford F-350 Super Duty, with the King Ranch package! They're currently installing gooseneck hookups for us, so we will be set once we go get her! I'm getting pumped for Summer camp & River Glen, & I'm not too sure which one I'm more excited about! I'll try to keep everyone updated with Dargenzio's progress but for now, enjoy this picture of him moping before our third day of (SIT ON YOUR BUTT!) work...

& now for one of our new truck!

Forgot to add! We're going cross country schooling at Poplar, at the end of the week! Hoping to school their whole Beginner Novice course (even though Genzo thinks its nothing) & a few Novice questions!

Looking Up!

I've been MIA for a while since I've been extremely busy, but I'll give everyone a recap of what's going on. I have signed Dargenzio up for his first Horse Trial (& I went ahead & paid so I can't back out on this one) at River Glen, in August. I'm super excited but nervous at the same time since I don't know how well Dargenzio will take that 10 hour trailer ride without a buddy. We have been doing many lessons & will start doing three dressage lessons a week with my trainer, so we can get ready for River Glen. Hopefully River Glen will go well so we can move up to Novice. Now... My truck is NOT fixed like the mechanic said it was. You would think that after putting $800 into getting the engine fixed that it would actually be fixed, well no. We brought it home from Georgia & the day after we got home, the engine quit again. This time, we're going to take it to yet another Ford mechanic. But, we just bought a new truck so we now have a backup & don't have to worry about being stranded on the side of a busy highway(; We have decided to sell Big Blue, after we get the engine fixed, so we don't have four vehicles & a trailer sitting in our yard anymore. This Summer has been hectic but totally worth it & I'm enjoying it :D