Woah, what is that canter?! I will never forget the day I tried Harley. Not because of her beautiful head carriage, or her crazy high motion, or even her elegant conformation, but because of her insane canter. I tried her in a snaffle bridle with one rein and a martingale and only cantered down one rail. It was a struggle to get her into the gait, and once I finally did, I had no idea what I was about to deal with. Her canter was crazy fast, long-strided, lofty, and about impossible to sit. I think I was only in the saddle 20% of the time. She was swapping leads about every stride or two and couldn’t seem to go straight if her life depended on it. She didn’t understand leg, vocal cues, or what my hands and seat were doing to attempt to slow it down. By the time I got around the corner, she fell out of the canter, so we just decided to not try it again.

Other than her canter, however, she was beautiful and had great patience, especially for a 3-year-old, so we bought her. We saw potential in her, and since she was so young, figured it would be easier to teach her new things to fix that crazy canter. However, my first ride at home with her was a train wreck. She had no clue what was going on or what I was asking. She didn’t know how to trot a circle, walk, steer or how to use a bridle. After that ride, I realized how much work this journey was going to be, but I was thrilled about teaching this young mare equitation.

Alivia and Harley waited in the lineup of their qualifier at Lexington.We hit the show season under Knollwood Farm with exhilaration and determination for a season full of great experiences and lots of learning. Our first show was Bridlespur in Lake St. Louis, Mo., where we showed in three-gaited junior exhibitor to start. We got through the class with very minimal mistakes. She was perfect up until one canter lead swap, but she swapped right back. In the championship she made no mistakes, and we had a very clean class. I came away from that show feeling like we both gained some confidence in the ring. The first class on a new horse is always very nerve-racking for both the rider and the horse. Once you get into the ring for the first time together, you can really start to focus on improving each class little by little.

The next show we did was Madison Classic in Madison, Wisc. We again showed in three-gaited, but this time it was even better. Her canter was extremely slow and controlled. I even did some off the wall passes without feeling like she was going to swap her leads. She was also trotting confidently off the rail, as well as walking calm and collected. She would drift towards to middle every once in a while, but that was easy to fix now that she has learned what my leg, seat, and hands can do to guide her. We placed third and reserve in a large and competitive class.

After Madison, we decided that it was time to get her into some equitation classes. Her first equitation class was at Midwest Charity Horse Show at the fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. We got through a very clean qualifier class with no mistakes. We put her into the UPHA as her first pattern class and she rocked it! She was very calm and trusted me with the simple workout. We left that show feeling very accomplished and proud of how much she was learning and the pace that she was learning all of it.

The next show on the schedule was Lexington Junior League, so we had about four weeks to prepare for that. We worked very hard at home on her cantering from the middle, small circles without swapping, and most importantly, her demeanor in a pattern. She has the tendency to get anxious and anticipate the next gait. We really worked on calming her down and making her wait for the next thing. We would come down from a gait and park her out for a few moments. We would let her catch her breath and allow her to calm down and wait for me to tell her what she should do next. By the time Lexington rolled around, we were in a great place with her pattern ability. We put her into the 14-17 Saddle Seat Equitation qualifier and the championship. The first class went great with no mistakes. The day of the championship I was anxious for what the pattern would be, but I was also excited because I could really see how she would execute a pattern that both of us didn’t know.

Alivia loved on Harley after completing an amazing pattern during the Senior Equitation Championship at Lexington.The pattern came out an hour before the session, and honestly, I thought we were doomed. It was a challenging pattern for a newly equitated horse to complete, but once my trainers and I broke it down and walked it many times, I felt confident that we could do it. I did not think it was going to be the best pattern, but I knew that she would try her best.

We had great rail work other than one canter mistake, but it was very minimal – we picked up the wrong lead, but I stopped after only one stride and got it right back. We were the fourth to complete the workout, so I had some time to prepare both myself and Harley. I did a lot of deep breathing to calm my nerves, which always helps me tremendously. For Harley, I walked many circles to make sure that she was listening to my seat and legs. I also did many stops and starts to make sure that she was listening and waiting for me to tell her what to do. When it came to our turn, we were both more than ready. To my surprise, we ended up nailing what pattern! The pattern had a few elements that she had never done before, but she trusted me, waited for me and did exactly what I asked when I asked of it without hesitation! We were all so beyond proud of her and the accomplishment that she made. Her first big girl pattern, at a huge show, and she nailed it!

Harley was very pleased with herself when we got back to the barn. She was even more pleased when I gave her her treats, which was probably too many, but I didn’t care too much.

Stay tuned for our next blog where I plan to dive into more of her canter progress and her silly personality!