Another Day In My Westernaire Life!

So today I completed my transformation into a White Division Double A Rider in 2 ways.

1. SPURS
2. DIAGRAMS

That's right diagrams started today. I have to do 5 before next ride. So today I got Apache #77 for Junior 1 and Chester #122 for White Star. Thank goodness I got to wear spurs today! Apache has over sized ears that flop when he walks and he is adorable. But so slow. He was great for grooming. We rode to the Moore. Bill talked to us about how to ride with spurs. Loose rein, kiss, calf pressure, and finally do a little tap tap with the spur if he doesn't respond earlier. Usually that's enough. So we worked on building up and breaking down to eights and fours. Apache is bouncy! Oh my goodness! Then we got to lope in 4's. Apache's lope is absolutely to die for! I had to use my spurs to get him to fast trot and lope. I can't even begin to describe the difference it makes. Definitely feels different too. We also got to try 2 thread the needles and a pass through! We did awesome! We did have a Halt Ho (Stop Immediately) during the 1st thread. We talked through it gave more instruction and tried again. We did it very nicely. So after Juniors my friends and I went to the cafeteria and warmed up. I definitely did not wear enough layers. I was cold! I did remember my yellow leather gloves. We pulled out our binders and helped each other study for the quiz. One friend also gave me another Winddancer pin for my backpack along with a pin for Summer who was my 2nd Tenderfoot ride. Then we went to the Hutchinson Arena to check in for White Star. We went back to the water troughs and I was given Chester. He is a beautiful paint. So we spent a lot of White Star working on riding as a team not individual riders. Also a lot more discussion about spurs. It changes the whole way you ride and communicate with your horse but it is so much easier! Totally worth the whole wait through Tenderfoot. Chester's trot is SO SMOOTH! So much more comfortable than Apache. His lope though is more on the choppy side. Not a nice flowing gait. But we were loping very nicely on the rail. Dodging Cinder and Dakota. Even with spurs Dakota wasn't moving an inch! White star was actually really fun! I actually got a compliment from Danielle! Which if you know her means a lot. She sure pushes us. After White Star I went to the store and bought my Flag Boot! It is a piece of pipe or something with a leather strap. When we ride with flags we will put the flag boot around our stirrup and use it to help support the flag. It's just plain white right now. I will post when I decorate it. Then it was time to check in for diagramming. So 1st thing we did was hand in our 20 Sequences. Then we took  our first Sequence Test that actually counts. Out of the 30 or so riders on my team 4 got the pop one 2 weeks ago right. I was one of them :) Then we took our quiz. We had to label an arena and some arrows, name the color code, monitor + instructor names, and some questions from the White Division Basics. I think I did really well. I passed my Sequence Test 100% so far rocking it in Double A! Then we learned how to make a sloppy copy. Danielle stuck a giant sized version of the 4 maneuvers + line up. We could move around the room and we used Double Arena diagramming paper. It's just a quick sketch of what we have to diagram at home. A few numbers some really sloppy quick arrows and some motion dots ( - - - - ). It was very intense. But we got through it. We also learned how to fill in the heading of the diagrams. So for my homework I have to

1. Hand write my sequence 20 more times
2. 5 Diagrams

Here are the pictures!

Apache

Chester

Apache

Riding with my Spurs

Apache and I Loping

Chester

Chester and I loping in White Star

Schedule for 11-23-13

So I am at Westernaires until 1:00 pm this week! I get more breaks in between my classes though so that's nice. We will start diagramming our drill this week so we have to bring colored pencils and all our supplies. We also have our Sequence Test and Quiz #1. We finally get to ride with our SPURS! I am so excited :) I love being a 2nd year!

6:30 - 8:00 am  = J1 Grooming/Saddle
8:00 - 9:00 am  = J1 Ride
10:00 - 11:00 am  = White Star Ride
12:00 - 1:00 pm  = White Star Diagramming

1st Quizzes and Sequence Tests

So I just got the email from my monitor telling us what to study before our ride on Saturday. We will have Quiz #1 and our 1st Sequence Test.  Here is what my email said

Quiz 1 will cover

•     The contents of the folder (except the Rulebook, and American Flag Etiquette)
•     The Westernaire Drill Design
•     Monitors and Instructors
•     The Color Code

Don't forget your 20 handwriiten Sequences.

Don't forget you will have a Sequence Test (this one counts) this week.

Thanks

Danielle, Aline, Brittany (Instructors)

Well it looks like I will be studying this week and writing out 20 sequences! I definitely need to study the rider color code and The Westernaire Drill Design! So excited to ride this week! I will let you know my schedule for the day when I can! 

1st Blue Ropes Practice!

Wow! Ropes was really fun! I went to the store and bought my 10 foot rope. They weren't expensive at all. $ 5.22 It was just a length of stiff rope 10 feet long. That was about 1:30 pm then I went and watched some Tenderfoot classes and found my friends horses. So we hung around at the trailer area opposite the 3 outdoor arenas and played with her horses. I went and checked in with my monitor and waited for Danielle to arrive at about 2:45. She is my ropes instructor as well as my White Star instructor. Once she arrived she and some Red Ropers helped us learn how to tape our ropes. We used black electrical tape. We had to loop one end tightly around to make the Honda then taped the other end to prevent fraying. We spaced out into a big circle. She told us to wear tennis shoes from now on because it will be easier to do ropes with shoes instead of boots. I wore my tennis shoes anyway so I was fine. Then she taught us how to hold the rope before we start. You grasp the tail and loop in three fingers, separated by your index finger and held on the outside with your thumb. Now for twirling our Flat Loop you can't just move your wrist and arms. It's not that easy. In fact it is all twirled by your fingers. You start the loop inside towards yourself and twirl with your fingers. It took a little bit to get the hang of but I got it. Man your lower arm muscles just start burning! It will take awhile for my arms to get used to it. Danielle is a good at multi - tasking she was pushing a baby stroller spinning a loop and instructing the class. Then we played a little game. We had a giant rope going as a jump rope, then we each individually had to jump in, jump rope, and spin the loop. It was really hard! I absolutely failed but I was laughing. So much fun!!!! Danielle made 2 people run laps because she will not allow us to say, "I can't" She will let us say,"My rope is not cooperating with me." But she will not take I can't. It was so much fun getting to do my first specialty. She said I was doing very good :) We were just having a great time goofing off. Soon Horse Roman riders started lining up to go in the White Arena and our class was over :( But I get to ride again in 1 week! GO BLUE ROPES!!! Here are the pictures.

Honda

My 10' Rope

Horse Pasture

Danielle talking to the class

Blue Ropes Call!!!

Hey I just got my call for my first Blue Trick Roping Class on November 16, 2013. I am so excited! We have to go to the Westernaires store and purchase a 10 foot rope. Then our class is at 3 pm behind the White Arena! I can not wait! It is going to be so much fun. Sure I won't be riding horses but I still get to be at Westernaires with my friends and enjoy learning a new skill. What I like about ropes is that I don't have to be at Westernaires to practice. During the week, if I have some free time, I can pick up my ropes and practice a little. I can not wait! Getting to be at Westernaires every Saturday will be so cool! Guess I will be writing on Saturday!

1st Junior 1 and White Star Rides!!!

Whew! I lived threw my 1st real day in white division :) I checked in at 6:30 for Junior 1 then got assigned my horse. I got Keno #15. Finding him in the pasture was funny. I had a JI helping me. We had looked everywhere and couldn't find him. We asked an adult wrangler she turned and pointed to a horse who we had walked passed at least 4 times. Keno apparently likes to shift color. He is a red roan but as winter comes his coat gets darker making him look like a red bay. But it was funny because we were like he is going to be right under our noses I know it. He was. I offered him water but he refused. He was such an angel this morning for grooming! He just stood there and did everything I asked. He probably wasn't really awake yet. Bridling took a little bit of work though. I would stick my finger in the corner of his mouth to try and make him open up and he would just grind his teeth a little rather than opening. After much persuasion I finally got it in. After that we were all set. We rode down to the Moore Arena and started our ride. We weren't allowed to wear our spurs :( Sad day but I didn't care because Keno doesn't need them. He does everything you ask of him and listens so well. His trot is a little on the bouncy side but not unbearable. His lope though is AWESOME! He is so calm and collected and responds so well to leg cues. I loved finally getting a good 5 laps of loping around the arena. I can't even describe the rush. We met in the center to have a talk and all the horses started snorting. I mean all so there were 20 or so horses all snorting repeatedly. It was funny! All too soon the ride was over and we dismounted and watered our horses. Then I went with my team to clean the Red and Blue Arenas. We finished early so I went to the cafeteria and got some breakfast. By now its about 9:30 - 9:45am. I then walked to the Hutchinson Arena and payed for the next ride and checked in with my other monitor. It was so weird getting my horse without grooming first. 1st time ever. It was also weird riding so late. So for my 1st White Star ride I got Cisco #76. I had to mount up like 3 different times to fix my stirrups and check his cinch. While mounting up one time I cut my right pointer finger on part of his saddle. I think it might have been the metal design on the back or something... I have no clue. But it hurt. The skin on my knuckle was all screwed up. So I had a bloody finger to ride with. So 1st we talked in the center learned Danielle's (my Instructor) expectations, etc. Then we headed out on the rail. Cisco has NO slow button. He has a hackamore so his bridle had no bit, but instead applied pressure to his nose. Every time I would even slightly pull back he would toss his head. Twice I got horse spit all over my glasses. He never stopped. So when we got into 4's and 8's and I was stuck with Brutus, Dakota, and Cinder. 3 very stubborn horses... It wasn't a good mix. His saddle isn't very comfortable either. Oh and this whole ride was ridden without stirrups. So him spazing out didn't help at all. This ride went really fast. It was uneventful. Kind of blah but still really fun to ride twice in one day. In White Star we have a special way we call to dismount.

Instructor,"Who are we!?"

Riders,"WHITE STAR!"

Instructor,"Who are we!?"

Riders,"WHITE STAR!"

Instructor,"Prepare to dismount!"

Riders,"WHITE STAR!"

It was really cool! In normal classes we just have

Instructor," Prepare to dismount!"

Riders,"Westernaires!"

When we are calling to dismount we stand up in our stirrups. I like White Star's call off much better! Then after I watered Cisco and put him on the rail I headed to the Seminar Room for my 1st Diagramming Class. There we went over the basics of what is expected and how to diagram. We looked at examples and took some notes. We learned about how we will make a really quick sloppy copy then make it nice and pretty at home. Then we had a Pop Sequence Test. Good thing I memorized! I am about 99.9% positive that I aced it. Diagramming will really start next ride (November 23,2013) So at the end of the day (about noon) I had a throbbing finger, raw inside of my knee, sore thigh muscles, and a smile on my face. :) It was a great day and my teams did well enough that we are allowed to wear our spurs next ride!

Here are the pictures!

Keno

Cisco

Bedazzled Bandanna

Hey I just bedazzled my bandanna. In sparkly letters it says," RIDE WITH PRIDE" which is the Westernaires slogan. I also put a few light blue and silver sparkles as well. 1st Junior and White Star Rides Tomorrow! Here are two pictures of my bandanna. I will write after my 1st crazy Saturday!

Junior Team!

Hey everybody! I'm on Junior 1!!! Yay! So i will check in just like I did for Tenderfeet and wake up at 5 to groom and saddle! I'm so happy I love going out to catch my horse! Grooming is also a great way to learn the horse's attitude before riding. J1 has to clean the Red and Blue Arenas after our ride. Not my favorite thing but every Westernaire has to do their part. Between Diagramming, Junior Rides, and Base Team Rides I will be done at around 'noon. Here is my schedule back to back activities! I am going to be booking it all around Westernaires to get where I need to be on time. Ready for year 2! I do like the extra ride time. This is the only year in Westernaires where we are part of a Blue Division team AND a White Division Base Team. It will be amazing getting to ride twice in one day!

6:30 - 8 = Groom/Saddle for J1
8 - 9 = Ride for J1
9 - 10 = Cleaning for J1
10 - 11 = Ride for White Star
11 - 12 = Diagramming for White Star

Junior Team Agony

Sitting here staring at an empty email box... waiting for anything about Westernaires to pop up. I want to know if I'm on J1 because I want to groom and saddle in the mornings like I did for Tenderfoot. Oh well. Another 24 hours of waiting won't kill me. I guess. Write when I know :)

PROMOTION SATURDAY!!!!!

So today was Promotion Saturday!!! I arrived early and checked in to my monitors at the Livestock Arena. There I sat anxiously in the stands. After a while our monitors gave us our rider information forms. But we couldn't open it. A man,(Whose name I don't know) started to talk. We were instructed to open our sheets. The number in the corner of my sheet was a 35. So was many others around me. Well at least I won't move up alone. Then they started calling out the numbers and telling us where to go. My number was called and I was instructed to meet at the West Side of the Stands. There we met our instructors of our new team. They said," Hi I'm Danielle, I'm Brittany, and I'm Aline and Welcome to White Star!" I got on a Double A Team!!!!!!! I could not believe it!!!! I wanted this team so badly. My new costume colors are Purple, Green, Pink, and White. These are our show costume colors. For regular riding we wear our practice uniform. I can not wait to start riding next week! I guess my equitation test with Belle did me good. I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost half of my Tenderfoot class went with me to White Star and a bunch from T- 9 as well. We were given a floppy binder. Mine is gray, with diagramming sheets and sequences as well as a copy of the Westernaire Rule Book and lots of other information. My homework for this week is to hand write out my sequences 10 times and write 1 to 2 short paragraphs of what I like about Westernaires and what I hope to achieve. They are due at our 1st ride. We will also be starting diagramming right away. I can't believe I skipped Single A! I will let you know what Junior Team I am on when I know!

Single Arena Diagramming Paper

Here are some pictures!

My Number

View From the Stands

Flag with Name

Double Arena Diagramming Paper

Flag Without Name

To view photos from last years White Star Team (Standard Drill Show) September 2013

Click Here

To view photos from last years White Star Team (White Olympics) August 2013

Click Here

To view photos from last years White Star Team (White Division Show) June 2013

Click Here

Headed to Promotion Saturday!!!

I am leaving now to find out my new Westernaires team(s) for the 2013 - 2014 year!!! I am so excited and nervous I can barley breathe! I know that no matter what team I'm on I will have a blast! The costume's not important, the complexity and awesomeness of the drill's not important. It's the memories  made and the fun times had and friendships strengthened and created that makes you team your family. I will write as soon as I can! Wish me luck!

Here are guidelines for Advancement within White Division

1.  Attendance
2.  Attitude and Deportment
3.  Dependability
4.  Classroom Grades
5.  Equitation Test
6.  Team Grade
7.  Ticket Sales from Annual Show
8.  Instructor/Monitor comments and suggestions