FEI YEAR OF YOUTH BLOG

Friends For Life! – by Erin ReidyThursday, September 3, 2009

It is weird not having the same pony face pop out of the stall when you walk by. It’s weird not riding the way I was taught, it’s weird not seeing my pony everyday. Every time I ride a new horse I miss Chester more and more. I keep thinking of the positives of riding new horses, I would become a better rider and all that but I would rather be the same level rider all my life and ride the one and only pony I really love. He means the world to me and I keep trying to convince myself that he will forgive me for leaving. Unlike humans he doesn’t know that it wasn’t my choice to leave. I miss him so much, it feels like I am on another planet. The way I was taught to ride is different from the way they want me to ride. It feels like I am supposed to forget all of what I have been taught about riding and learn it this way all over.

During my last lesson in Singapore I kept wishing it was my old trainer teaching me, the same barns surrounding me and the same pony I would ride that loved me. I miss them everyday. I wish Chester was with me every time I’m at the new stable. I wish I could see his beautiful eyes looking at me or when he and Giorgio play, I just wish I could see him again. I wish we could pay to buy and bring him over here. That would be like the best thing that has ever happened in my life, but I guess that won’t happen because the costs almost seem impossible. But even when someone comes to buy him, I know he will never forget me, and I will never forget him. He was one of the best things that ever happened to me. He was my best friend and it feels like he is so close to me in my heart but in real life he is across the world.

When I fell of the other day on this horse, I wasn’t crying because it hurt, I was crying because I realized that this was it, I was going to be riding these kinds of horses that act like this and they don’t act like my pony back home. It was like hitting a brick wall, realizing that no horse is perfect, but in my mind Chester was as close to perfect as it got. When I am not near him it feels like a part of me is missing, I love him with all my heart and wish that he was here with me.

I just wanted to write this for everyone who is missing a horse that they are away from. Saying I know how they feel. As if a part of you is gone, a horse becomes more than just a pet they become a friend for life, even when they are away.

Erin Reidy


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Teresita & Mickey: A sad goodbye! by Erin ReidyTuesday, August 18, 2009

Teresita & Mickey:  A sad goodbye

 

This post is not about me, it’s about my friend Teresita. She is an amazing rider and deals with the trouble horses give her. She has not got the perfect school horses to ride, the little wobbly gelding, the kicking pony and now Mickey. Mickey is 24 years old, and has not had a consistent rider until Teresita. Mickey would jump but then go super-fast and bob his head, he definitely was out of training; Teresita took him on.

 

As she rode him more and more he became accustomed to her and decided to accept her as his rider. He bobbed his head during dressage and panicked after jumps, but more and more the panicking started to decrease and Teresita learned how to deal with the head bobbing. He still does it, but now she knows how to deal with it.

 

The first show she went to was called Spring Flowers. Teresita and Mickey went together. They were doing a jumping course and like we all expected he refused 3 jumps, but Teresita took it as a learning experence and still got him over them. There was still some work to be done.

 

It was the same lesson where Skipper and I jumped 3 feet when Mickey did too. Now at Rancho Del Lago we learned that when you horse does something right make sure they know that they were good. This is exactly what Teresita did, “Good boy yes mickey moo moo”. During the summer we pretty much spent all the time at Rancho Del Lago, for us it is a home away from home. We have morning lessons every morning before camp and it goes dressage, jumping, games, dresage, jumping. So Teresita and Mickey got to work on their skills a lot more. The work definitely paid off…

 

July 26th, MHA show. Teresita, Me, Ariel, and Nikki were all going. This turned out to be one of the best shows RDL had ever had. The story about Mickey at shows is he has not completed one full round of jumping in a VERY long time. After I did my jumper classes, I watched all my friends ride. Ariel did great, so did Nikki but the real ride of the day that made everyone so happy was Teresita’s. She made history that day. She completed cross rail divisions and got good placing. For the hunter equation Nikki got Champion.
But what I really am trying to say is that Mickey and Teresita have both come a really long way. And from Mickey being the pasture horse to 1st place hunter, is huge. He has turned out to be a really great horse. But because he is older, RDL needs younger horses, they need to sell him. I wanted to write this so that if anyone wants a pleasure horse or a trail buddy or even a horse for your backyard look at him. I know Teresita doesn’t want to say goodbye, and who would, but he is for sale and I would love to help both my favorite barn in the world and one of my favorite people in the world find a good home for him. 

 

Erin Reidy 

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