Cha'Cote OLL3 Audition ~ Pass 3++

Well, we finally did it....we taped OLL3. Me and Cha'Cote! Not to bad either.....doubt I will pass....but we shall see....I am sending it in tomorrow.....wish me and my not so wild anymore mustang good luck!

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Jasons OLL1 Parelli Audition Pass 1++

Well he did it! My 11yo son has completed OLL1. Here is his audition. I am sending it in tomorrow. This was take 2. Take 1 he was a little chatty in between tasks and we went over in time. So take 2, is a teeny bit "rushed". Spirit of course is still working on getting better in the "back" after trotting, but he is getting better. As an EXTREME RBI, he basically has his throttle on the floor, with the brake pushed down hard too. If you let up on the brake.......he spins his wheels and burns rubber! I am so proud of him. He has trained him all by himself, and is following the Parelli Levels Pathway to a tee. We rescued Spirit from a VERY abusive situation almost nine years ago and he is partialy blind in his right eye from the abuse. After getting kicked by Spirit 7 yrs ago falling off of him, Jason hasn't gotten "back in the saddle" till they started thier Parelli Journey only 6 weeks ago. They still need to refine things, but what a wonderful start they have going. Hope you enjoy, I know I did!

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Liberty L3 Audition ~ Pass 3+

Well, here it is, my Liberty L3 audition. I met a wonderful new friend online who inspired me to just do it. Thanks Michelle! (not me of course) But like named and minded souls for sure! I am sending it in tomorrow. It went pretty well too! She was a little introverted, and was sour to the figure 8. I have mentioned it before, but a reminder.....I spoiled her to the fig8 when "I" was learning it. Over and Over for and extreme LBE, I don't know how she didn't come and kick my head in. So now, sometimes she is just sooooo uninterested, and tries to make up her own games with the cones. As far as the weave.....it was only our second time doing it at liberty! Recap: Rose's favorite games....put your nose or foot on something.....sideways over something. So if she can take my game of going AROUND the cone and turn it into a sidepass or foot on, she is quite proud of yourself....as you will see in the weave. I tripped in a couple of pot holes....eek....at least I didn't break an ankle. I tuned out a couple of times and forgot I was taping and on a time limit, even though Jason, bless his heart, was giving me the time every 30 seconds. He did a good job taping me. Thank You Baby!

Two more to go for the green string!

Aye, aye, aye Online or Freestyle next?

Wish me luck.......
Michelle.....it is your turn....and I am holding you to it!

Savvy On
Michelle

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Freestyle L2..Pass 2+

Well Folks….I did it. I taped my Freestyle L2 audition and sent it in today. That’s right. I took Rose out, after not touching her for about 4-5months, and hopped on and taped it. Love being a gold member. No stress, just tape it and send it in. If I don’t pass…..I am not out $50 that I have to pay again with a resubmission, and I will get some feed back on what I should work on. Though I know what I need to work on. A LOT! I did it more for my fear makeover than my levels journey. Rose was a good sport, then she had a little LBE fit, then she got with the program. I can’t believe I used a bareback pad either. I basically just hopped on to have a little fun and see if I could do it. The hardest part was clamoring up onto the barrel to mount her. THANK GOD she didn’t move. It is hard to see in the video, but that barrel was not very sturdy. I was a little shaky at first, but my balance came back real quick. She has a wide enough back for me ride bareback on, unlike Snookie, whom is like riding a 2x4. Rose hates to be saddled, and boy was she voicing her opinion about it. I played Linda’s game that she plays with Allure, where she plays with his mouth more than he wants her to. Smacking her will only start a HUGE fight. She is very defensive about being saddled….Oddly….sometimes I even give her a cookie….it blows her mind. I don’t do it all the time though because I don’t want to set up a habit. The other thing I do with her, with the bareback pad is….
I reach under and grab the girth and then the billet with the same hand, so it is snug, and if she gives a dirty look or tries to bite me (almost a guarantee if we haven’t ridden in a while) I start to make the pad VERY annoying, sliding the whole thing around, bouncing the girth on her belly, pulling down on the pad….what ever I can do to make it annoying. As soon as her face softens, I stop. Basically she can be nice and I will be nice and saddle her with my very softest savvy….But if she wants to be a witch, it will be worse than she fears. And I always finish with a very annoying muzzle rub. This process is what worked, after many months of trial and error on a very defensive, claustrophobic extreme LBE!
She was really good on my mounting though…..also a big claustrophobic moment for her…usually. But she didn’t seem to mind much….that was good. We practiced the things I would want to do for the audition, and she got a little hard to steer. She is so sensitive, that if one side of your body squeezes just a hair more than the other, she will side pass, turn or bend in half. So then she started dive bombing things…..she likes to make me think she is going to jump something so I will stop asking her to work…..she knows I will stop her as I am too chicken to jump. Viola….she is super horse that doesn’t have to do any thing at all, and I am the low life human who loses again. So, we worked thru a few of those, got out my tummy butterflies about trotting bareback…..she has an amazingly swinging back and if I am not careful, I’ll bounce right off. But I didn’t….Yeah! She definitely needs some mastery in the porcupine and driving on the hind end, especially on the left side. I noticed that last year when we played together. So I will be focusing a lot of attention on that. But for this audition, I just focused on the relationship over the compulsories, and just doing it. Hoping that we would be able to complete all the things on the list before we ran out of our 10 min camera time….I did NOT want to have to scramble my way back up onto that barrel! So I put the video on my audition page. I should know in less than 6 weeks if I passed. And I couldn’t be happier that daylight saving is this weekend. The sky is black just around 7 pm now, so that means in one week, I will be able to do some serious playing after work during the week. Weather permitting of course. Right now, there just isn’t much time after a commute, wardrobe change and hugs n kisses for the family. So check out the video….nothing pretty…but it is more for my soul than my skills!
Savvy On
Michelle

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We passed L2 ... 2++ 11-24-09

I got to work today and checked my email, and found a wonderful surprise. The results of our OLL2....Passed 2++. Ok, so not the most momentous and grand gesture in horsemanship, but for me and Miyagi it is. I am proud that I have learned enough, to take a wild RBE rescued pony, had the guts to actually put my fat butt on international view, and make her a trusting partner in 5 weeks. I first want to say that I am proud that I did not let two fighting kids in the background piss me off. And that I resisted all urges to turn around and KILL them! So a week later I was asking myself, as I was talking about how smart Miyagi is, and it dawned on me, that maybe...just maybe...my horses aren't getting smarter....I am. I doubt 8 yrs ago, when I started on this venture, I could have achieved this in 6mos. Let alone weeks. I got proud...not too proud...as my skills have changed little in the last 2 years since my car accident. So I am most proud that I am completing something I gave up on two years ago. I just watched my OLL1 tape, the one where I was ripped from my couch cushins and forced to produce. And what a difference a few months of playing with my horse made. I didn't recognise my self in the L1 tape. I hated how deteriorated my timing and skills had become, that's when the fear of failure set in. But one day I looked in the mirror and told myself, not only do you have to deal with the horse that shows up, but the YOU that shows up. If Snookie goes all RBE on me, I just treat her accordingly, I don't dismiss her as worthless. So neither should I treat myself that way. Today, I was on top of the world if not on top of the horse! I am already starting L3 on line with Miyagi, and have hopes to tape that in the near future. But first, I am concentrating on L2 freestyle!Savvy On
Michelle

OLL2 Miyagi ~ Pass 2++

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Michelle~N~Rose OLL1 ~ Pass 1+

This is the infamous L1 audition. I was in a DEEP depression from the car accident, and hadn't played with my horses for over a year. At this point I hadnt' been off my couch for months and when my friend learned that the new auditions were free, but just for another week, she came over, yanked me off my couch and MADE me do this. I have to say at the time I was mad at her, but in the end.......it was what finally got me stop being a couch jockey!

Pathetic, I know, but at least you can see you don't have to be perfect to pass L1

Savvy On
Michelle

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