So these past two days I was able to get out with the horses! I had several friends come over who had never ridden a horse, so who else to put them on but Kahlua! She as usual tested their patience and momma had to get on her to straighten her out( she even tried to pull one over on me that little brat)! I rode Valero while my friends were learning on Kahlua. Lero made a very good teaching assistant. He was very calm and when Kahlua needed a little push as far as speed goes he had no problem tailing her (Probably because he never gets to do that on his own out in the pasture ;D). I decided to do some trick stuff on Lero to get him ready for this adoption we are going to in Illinois! I stood on him, sat backwards and rode around on him, flipped off him, and tried something new.... riding him on his butt. He didn't like this, crow hopped once, and i landed on my feet disciplined him and got back on and he was good! Valero was barely sweating when we got off but Kahlua was dripping so i hosed Kahlua down. Great days!


May 30th.

Well its been a while since i've been about to get out there with Valero, but I was finally able to since I am now on summer break! I groomed him a bit. Then wouldn't you know, it started raining! I took this as an opportunity, put on the yellow rain coat we use for desensitizing and lunged him/disengaged his hind quarters several times. By this point it was pouring so I took him back to his pen, threw the rain coat over him a few times and let him go! Very productive little lesson!
 
Well my life has been crazy busy since i last posted! It is finally starting to slow down enough to be able to start doing some horsey things!! Check it out!!
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Wooo! Wild Horses! ;)
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"OMG GUYS THE HAY IS COMING IN!!! " :) Quote from Valero...
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I like this pic because of the brands!
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Yup! Theres Valero! Look at how collected he is! Makes me proud! :)
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We have even started sidepassing!
I am going to head out and do some more stuff with them today! Hopefully get to ride Kahlua and get her back into shape! I am soo excited! 5 days and counting till EMM in Tennessee!!! Go Abby!!! :)

Oh and P.S. Please vote "yes" for Mustangs on this pole!!! It would help out a lot! :)
http://apps.nevadaappeal.com/utils/polling/poll_results.php?poll_ident=2884

TaTa 4 now! :)

 

Saturday

Wow! I am so proud of Valero and Cord!I actually rode them! Valero could care less when I sat on him! He responded to my leg cues and bit pressure!! What I did to get him ready for me to actually ride him was I watched Kitty Lauman's Success Under Saddle. I also put fake legs on him(boat bumpers) to get him used to things hitting him in the sides. I was very impressed with how well he handled everything!
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I also rode Cord today! He didn't respond to leg pressure(Which i was happy with because the last time I rode him once I put my feet on him he had a bucking fit) This was the one hole we had the last time we tried to train Cord to saddle. We didn't get him used to leg pressure. My mom just led me around while i was on him make sure he had no fits. We didn't get any pictures of this unfortunately.
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That red and blue thing attached to his cinch is rubber reins. It gets him to give to the bit. You can learn more in Kitty Lauman's video.
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Beauty shots.
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Kahlua enjoying the sun.
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Valentine
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Our audience.
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Valero being Mr. Mouthy!
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BUSTED!
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Angel and Dad.

Sunday

Today we only had 3 hours to work with our horses due to how busy we were. Valero was responding better to leg cues and bit pressure.
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Backing!
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Petting Lero for a job well done!
We started off with my mom leading me around on Cord, then I told my mom," Take the halter off." She looked at me like i was CRAZY! haha! "The bird has to leave the nest sometime,mom. Cord needs to figure this out on his own and he can't do that if he is following you the whole time." is what I told her to get her to take off the lead. Cord was very confused at first as to why my mom was not leading him anymore and when I put leg pressure on him... nothing. So to get him to move I turned his head away from my mom . Once Cord got going he caught onto the idea of walking around.
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Thats all for this post!! I was going to play with them today but out of NOWHERE stupid SNOW shows up on my SPRING break!!!! UGH!!! Stupid snow!!!
 
    Well it was that annual time of the year for the MM&BSC meeting! We arrived at 11 and there was already so many people there! Before the official meeting began we had time to catch up and eat!(Good food BTW!) Karen came up to me and asked me if I liked her shirt! I replied, "YES!" Later on in the meeting she said,"Since you like my shirt so much you can have it!" So she gave it to me! (SHE HAD ANOTHER SHIRT ON UNDERNEATH WHEN SHE TOOK IT OFF!)
    When the official meeting began they started handing out awards,old and new.
*Best Dressed Cowgirl: Angela(my mom)
*Best Dressed Cowboy: Glen
There were 3 new awards, the Dona Brown Living Legend Award,  the Mary Brieck Trail Riding Award,  and the Jimmie Demmitt Youth Award.
The DBLL's went to ...
*Kristi and Randy for their hardships with Elena and Izzy/Sky. They stood by their horses when they were going through some real bad health spots.
*Brenda and Jay for helping Levi(their mustang) regain his sight and have a new lease on life.
 The Mary Brieck Trail Riding Award  was made to honor Mary Brieck who promoted mustangs through trail riding. This award went to...
*None other then April!



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April accepting the award from 2 of Mary's friends and her husband.
The Jimmie Dimmitt Award went to ...
*Me!! The award says,"Presented to Jessi in recognition of excellence in promoting America's living legends in 2010."
*And Makinly!
The whole thing was very emotional! My mother typed up a biography on my whole life! I was speechless at first! Thank you everyone!
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Me accepting the award from Tina!
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Jay and Chris having a discussion!
We all so very much enjoyed this meeting! Looking around while we were in that group picture I just thought how crazy it was that this group started with just Kristi and Randy and progressed into so much! AMAZING!
Pictures courtesy of Dona Brown.
 
Well we have gotten 10 inches so far... its supposed to snow more tonight. Ugh!! Go away! I want Summer! Heres some more pics of the snowdays.
 
Lindley, my mom, grandma and i arrived in Indianapolis around 11 pm eastern time. Lindley and I weren't really tired so we went to the hotel lobby to use their PC.Lindley was bored so she went to talk to the hotel manager for fun. "Hi I am Lindley! What's your name?, how was your day? Did seeing me make it better?" He replied ," Adam, stressful and of course." I told Lindley, "Lindley it's Adam's job to say that he is the manager!" Hearing this she took a pad of paper while Adam was in the back office and wrote, "Adam thanks for being my new friend! -Lindley- P.S.Keep this because one day i will be famous!" haha! When Lindley and I were back in the room my mom needed the hotel's password for the laptops. Lindley called the front desk, "Adam It's Lindley!!!" "Who?" "Lindley, your new friend!!" haha Lindley is hilarious!

Saturday the clinic started!My arms were aching by the end of the day! I have never lifted that many people in my life(I am mostly the base). The clinic helped improve my stamina , helped with my mounts, taught me how to walk on stilts, and gave me tons of new moves to think about!

Sunday was competition day! Because i was not around when they grouped everyone into groups of three i got put into a group with 1 other person...(This person was very new to vaulting and was still not sure of themself on the barrel and on the horse. )We got Jen to help us in the routine since it required 3 people but at the end of the day Jen wasn't feeling well and my original partner did not feel comfortable doing the routine, so i got paired with another group that lost a member because she had previous plans. Turns out we got Grand Champion for our freestyle!! My freestyle got 5th and I got Grand Champion(for combined attitude, effort and scores) and I got Reserve Highpoint (For scores) ! So overall it was an amazing first and got me feeling a lot more confident in vaulting! I can't wait to do another clinic!

Oh and P.S. The German instructor putting on the clinic talked to my mom about this foreign exchange vaulting program thing i might possibly be able to do! A german girl my age at my skill level will come here to the states and vault with my coach(Jen) and I 3 times a week for 3 weeks and vice versa! Isn't that cool! I am sooo psyched to do it! I just need to learn German so i can understand them! :D

EMM

10/13/2010

2 Comments

 
Sorry everyone! I know this post is way past due but at least i am posting!!!We(Valero, Kahlua, My dad, grandma, mom and i ) left for Lincoln, Nebraska! Leaving at 5 AM we arrived in Columbia at 7 AM.Karen , Brian, and Boom all loaded into the correct vehicle and we now headed straight for Nebraska! Literally as we were 10 minutes away from the Events Center one of the trainers we were caravanning with blew a tire on her truck!
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We did not have all the right tools so who saved us?!
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This guy!!! Jay was traveling by himself from Kansas!You were our hero Jay!!!
My horses arrived at the Events Center before i did!!! :D When i got there i got to meet my newest best horsey friends : Stephanie, Abby, and Brooke!!
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Here we are playing with our horses!
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Brian, Valero and I talking in the practice arena.
We headed to the trainers meeting after this. All of our table had Karen,My mom, Stephanie, Abby, Brooke, Shayla, Eve, and I at first... There was one open seat and Karen yelled to Jay,"Come sit at the kiddie table Jay!!" I replied, " This isn't the kiddie table! It's the Youth trainer's table!" Karen got bored...
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It was raining cats and dogs! Poor Stephanie wasn't used to this kind of rain because she lives in Colorado ! So she was all bundled up in her snowboarding jacket!We left and headed back to the hotel to get rested up for what the next day held!

Friday!

  Friday we had the Extreme cowboy race first.Valero went 2nd and i think he did fantastically! He did everything i asked,the only things that took him a while were the cowboy curtain and the dragging of the monstrous sled(That thing was heavy!!!)I sent him into the trailer(I believe we were 1 out of the 4 people that got there horses sent in)7 Horses competed in the youth EMM Extreme Cowboy Challenge.Kahlua's run was next and we were only competing against 1 other youth.(he was 18 and his horse was FLAWLESS with the obstacles) It was just not Lua's day... She was on the wrong lead, didn't back for me or sidepass, and when i sent her into the trailer she turned around and jumped out before i could get her out...But i was told she was entertaining. She would not go near the sled so as i was leaning over her neck to reach for the rope she dropped her head and down i slid!I landed it!I grabbed the sled, got on her and was able to finish pulling it.When we had to open the gate i unlatched it then asked her to push it with her nose like she does for me at home. There was an instant "AWWWW!" from the audience.haha! Lero and i ended up getting 3rd in the 1st round and Lua and i 2nd.   
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Valero and I getting ready for Craig Camereon Extreme Cowboy Race.
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Before the Extreme Cowboy Race!
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Lero and I at the fence obstacle!
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Lua and I in the Extreme Cowboy race.
Next was the in hand portion of the EMM and Lero did well!The pivoting,trotting through cones,trailer loading,backing the L,and the fan were all flawless.But when i asked him to walk over the 1 ground pole he jumped it and when i was getting ready to pick up his feet he was antsy.Showmanship was entirely my fault he did everything i asked but i messed up the pattern.
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Mouthy Lero before Showmanship.
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Valero and I before showmanship.
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In showmanship.
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Youth Showmanship line-up.
It was nice having everyone there to support me!
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Brian's gift to me for Lero(buckeyes for goodluck... and the rest is a inside joke! :D)
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Karen's gift to me! Blue and Pink my two fav colors!
At the finals of the Extreme Cowboy race he was really nervous.(we think it was a combination of the clapping/screaming and whistling of the crowd and being by himself in the arena.)We got to the fourth obstacle(keep in mind the gate is still open) and he got startled by someone's whistle and took off for the gate with his feet flying!I got left behind because of my sprained ankle and got kicked in the stomach. Chad Kelly had Lero in the round pen and was working him like crazy.All the judges and Craig Cameron  ran over to me and were trying to calm me down.If you were in the audience this is what you saw/ heard...Craig's face was in shock as he looked up to the audience and said"You will never believe this!She wants to finish!!!"As i finished Craig Cameron took Lero and lunged the heck out of him in the arena.When he took the rope the crowd went" OHHHHHH" One of the judges came up to me and said,"I would have never done that!You are going home tonight a real hero!"I scratched Lua from her finals cause i could barely breathe.  
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Craig Camereon and I.

Saturday

By Saturday i was better.Still sore , but i wanted to finish what i came there to do.I lunged Lero until he was pretty hot,let him cool, then dressed him up in his freestyle wear.He was adorable!!!I will try to find a pic.Valero's routine did not go as i expected.I wanted him to drive through the curtain,he was swerving so much i just took off his gear and led him through it, i wanted him to sidepass,we were running out of time,i wanted him to jump the barrels the first time i asked,he did it the second, and i also wanted to lead him over the tarp and teeter totter halter less but he was so hyper i just lead him over it with a halter.I also wanted to lay him down but we ran out of time so we just bowed.I do have to say though its good the judges had no idea what i wanted him to do because it was a freestyle .THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED AND SUPPORTED ME THIS WEEKEND! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!I ended up in 4th!!!Can you believe it! $300 in cash for the EMM  and $300 in gift cards to Smith Brothers for the Extreme Cowboy Race and winning 3rd in stall decorations!After this i threw a pool party at my hotel for youth trainers who wanted to come.My mom went all out for it!She got us pizza,soda, and cookie cake!We had an amazing time!!!The MHF wanted the youth trainers to do a dance before the top 10 adult finals.We did the Cha Cha slide.Abby, Shayla and i decided we were going to pull Craig Camereon out! He came and danced with us!I fell in love with Lisa Sink's horse Noche!She just brought him up to me and dropped his reins in my lap!He put his head in my lap and he was just soooo cute!I really tried to convince my parents to let me have him! My dad and mom gave me the option of getting him and letting Lero go to adoption or getting Lero.Of course i got Lero!(But boy whoever got that horse it was a steal! He went for around $300!)
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Some of my support team!
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Valero in his freestyle gear! 'Surfs up dude!'
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Wildfire/Shayla, Apache/Brooke, and Valero/I.
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Noche and I!
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Shayla, I, and Abby after we were told who won and we were getting ready for the pool party!
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Abby and I at the pool party!

Sunday

Sunday was sad for all of my friends...most of them besides 2 had to give up their horse.Abby's parent's surprised her and bought Jack back for her,as well as Andrea's parents,but Stephanie's horse(Who placed 2nd in the competition!) went for $150 to Chad Kelly who eventually that day adopted him out to a guy for his grandson. Ren is going to be a cattle working horse.Chad Kelly also bought Brooke's horse Apache.He gave her the option of keeping him but she couldn't. And Finally Shayla's horse went to another trainer in the EMM. So yes the weekend was mostly happy but very sad in the end.I was told i couldn't do it again because my parents were afraid i would end up crying when i have to give up the next one.My mom said she didn't know if she could force me to give up one.

Extra pics!

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Boom and Karen who ended up adopting Boom!
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Diana and Cochise! She took him home!
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Jay and Levi! Jay adopted Levi and is going to get back Levi's sight for him!!If you look in the background you can see Karen and Boomer practicing their bow!
Thanks to Karen For use of her photos and Thank you again to all my supporters! I still miss my Nebraska EMM friends! Although it seems as if a chapter of my life has closed i am going to view it as a new beginning! This competition has shown me how great it is to earn the trust of a once wild animal! It has me wanting to train more horses! Valero and I will have many more adventures! Until the next update!!!!


Jessi and Steen's Valero
P.S.  Valero still misses his friends he hung out with while in Nebraska(ironically it was the horses of my friends!!!)
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What we woke up too Saturday morning
April,Bryan,Diane, and Karen over nighted at our house.When Bryan,April and Diane arrived with the 31 foot trailer my mom told them to circle around the circle so they could come back and park.As they were going around the circle we heard a big crash.Mom said,"I hope they didn't run into the mailboxes!"Sure enough the 3 mailboxes at the circle were smashed.Not completely smashed but in rough shape.Our neighbors were nice and said they'd take care of the boxes(Even though bryan said he'd pay for them.)The next day  Kahlua ,my mom and I went with Karen/Tripp, Diane /Cochise, April/Nevada and Brian/Zip to do the ACTHA ride in St.Louis. It was great.The first obstacle wasgoing through vines and trotting off over logs,Kahlua hesitated at first then she went right through!On the second obstacle we had to trot over caveletes(little jumps)and canter off on the right lead after it.Kahlua trotted the caveletes fine but there was hardly enough room to canter off.My mom said she heard someone say i got a few strides in but i didn't think so.The third obstacle wasthe bridge. Kahlua went right on the bridge.Then on the fourth obstacle Kahlua and I trotted through barrels and did a flying emergency dismount while she was still walking(Don't worry it was part of the obstacle.) Anyways the fifth obstacle was dragging a log which she did great and the sixth was side passing over to the rain slicker and putting it in front of and behind the saddle.I don't know if we side passed  but i was actually surprised when Lua and I placed 2nd overall the Juniors! We got a $25 gift card to walmart and some ACTHA bucks! Diane and Cochise did great!She made Cochise do some obstacles even horses with 4 years of training wouldn't do!Karen was riding Tripp for the first time for a while and she did good too! Even if Tripp and her Did not complete a obstacle she always had a big smile on her face! Of course April and Brian did amazing!They are seasoned pros!
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Diane and Cochise dragging the log.
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April and Nevada dragging the log.
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There was actually a lot of mustangs there! Some people with mustangs i didn't even know!
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Brian and Zip dragging the log.
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Kahlua and I
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Karen dragged the log but wasn't able to hang it back up. Like i said always a smile on her face!
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Walking over logs: April and Nevada
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Zip and Bryan
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Diane and Cochise
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Karen and Tripp
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Bryan and Zip on the bridge.
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Smile!
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April and Nevada
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Smile!
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On the bridge with Lua
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Smile!
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Diane and Cochise
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:D
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Sniffing the bridge!Karen and Tripp
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My fav pic!
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I love this pic of Nevada's brand!
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Group photo!
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My poor sweaty baby!
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It was April and Bryan's anniversary!

Extras

Kahlua got a boyfriend yesterday!!! They shared a hay bag and Kahlua never put up a fuss with him!(Its unusual for Lua because she never likes geldings or any type of male horse!)The dashing young horse was Tripp!And when Lua left they kept whinning to each other!It was sooo cute!)
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Kahlua and Tripp!
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Bryan
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Smile!
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Karen's 'huh?' look!haha!
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Lua and her second place ribbon!
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Thats what her ribbon looks like!
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'Is this angle good?' Kahlua says.
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Lua and Tripp!
Well thats all for now folks!haha! I gots to get packing for the EMM! I am nervous Yet excited!I hope to see a lot of people there!
 
I am so happy with vaulting right now!It is sooo much fun!I am working on flying arabesks(which is where you stick your leg into the air and jump and switch.)
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Flying arebesks
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Little girl who is vaulting with us!She's 3!
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Supergirl!
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Well today was one of the nicest days of the summer Temp. wise but wasn't a good day with Lero...I went up to start working with him and noticed his frog was bleeding...i imediately called mom,who called the farrier.He was going to come out this afternoon unless the bleeding stopped because he was not feeling too well.I could not work him because my mom did not want to risk hurting him any further...When my mom got home she told me to wash his hoof out with hydrogen peroxide and then soak his foot in warm water/epsom salt/iodine.In order to keep his foot in the bucket i had to stroak his leg...so i pulled up a chair and stroaked his leg for 20 minutes while he ate his grain...Update on his hoof tomorrow because the farrier is coming out early...Schools starting soon so Lero and I have to adjust to a new schedule.    :(