Donkey Days 2016

Last weekend was an exciting weekend filled with donkey riding in the annual Donkey Days clinic taught by JoDe Colllins.  I rode a green jenny named Flo, who was a sensitive and willing.  She willingly tried many of the obstacles, even though some were new to her.  As I rode, I noticed that I was better at guiding Flo through the obstacles and asking her to do what I wanted than I had been the last time I had ridden a donkey, which was a year ago.  It goes to show that I have learned a lot in the past year, and that I have really fine-tuned my riding skills.  I was able to keep my hands in front of me, rather pulling them out to the side to turn. This kept my aids more effective.  I also tried to use my leg to ask Flo to do certain things.  Over the weekend,  the other clients and I worked on several obstacles courses.  Since I had practiced some of these obstacles last year, I was prepared to take them on.

Pool noodles

I first rode through some pool noodles.  Flo was hesitant to try at first, but I was instructed to  ask her closer one step at a time.  With donkeys, patience is required.  You cannot force them through something if they decide they do not want to do something, because once they decide to tune everything out, they are impervious to everything.  Flo did not get to this point.  I asked her closer to the noodles one step at a time, until she leapt through.

I next went over a tarp with the same process, and then the cavaletti and a small wooden box,  and finally a ramp. Everyone tried more obstacles on their before we went on a trail ride down a dirt road. On the trail ride, Flo really started walking out, taking huge walk strides and staying near the front of the group. I didn't need to apply leg or really use many aids at all.

Tarp obstacle

Pole bending

 The next day also included a variety of obstacles and ended with a trail down a different road.  It was fun to ride a donkey; they are so very different than horses.  If you would like to learn more about them, look at the AMA website, or you can ask me and I can try to find out the answer.

Welcome, 2016!

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had a fabulous holiday season; I had a great one and spent a lot of time playing board games with my brothers.  Now that the holidays are over and a new year has begun,  my brief hiatus from riding and blogging should be over, so I can start getting back on track.  Last year brought so many changes and new experiences, and I hope 2016 does as well!

In January of 2015,  I was offered a working student position Laura Hermanson, a professional dressage rider who specializes in riding and training mules.  She is the first person to ever ride a mule in the US Dressage Finals, which she did in 2014.  Before riding with her, I didn't know much about mules at all.

Myself and one of Laura's mules, Moxie.

I also didn't know much about riding and training.  At the beginning of last year, I was still very much a beginner.  I was still piecing together the most basic elements of riding, and my riding and handling style were uncoordinated.  I'm still not completely fluid in my aids, but training with Laura has opened a completely new dimension to riding: communication and training.  With her,  I learned how to better communicate and build a relationship with a horse, and how to better understand the nuances of a horse's behavior.  I learned that horses are aware of the subtle, almost imperceptible changes in our bodies and energy,  and was taught how to channel that energy and how to move my body in ways that influence the horses.  Furthermore, I learned how to teach and train a horse.  Before this year,  I was a rider who would simply hop on and go.  This year, I learned how to work with a horse on the ground to teach them and to set them up for success under saddle.  By lungeing a horse before riding, one can watch how the horse moves and ask them to become round.  Then, when I finally mounted, the horse would already be warmed up and would have already stretched and become round.

May 2015–I'll get another to compare later on!

In addition to learning so much, I have also experienced many new things.  In March, I rode a donkey named Buddy, which was an interesting experience.  Donkeys are kind, gentle creatures,  but they also do not like to work harder than necessary, so many do not go faster than a jog.

In April, I rode a mule in a western trail clinic(part 2).  Before then, I had only ridden western a handful of times, and riding a mule was a completely new experience.  I learned so much in that clinic.   I continued riding western over the summer.

Finally, in October I rode a mule named Ruby in western pleasure and trail at my first show.  By then, my aids were a bit more refined, and I had learned to move a horse more with my legs and less with my hands.  The show was an extraordinary experience.

This year, I hope to continue refining and honing my skills.  In the spring, I want to ride in a few hunter classes at another mule show, so I'll be working on no-stirrup work to gain a more solid position.  I hope this new year brings many more experiences and successes for myself and all my readers!

Oak Star Ranch Mule and Donkey Derby

 Last weekend, from the 17th to 19th, was the Oak Star Ranch Mule and Donkey Derby, which Laura has been planning and preparing for these past few months. As the name suggests, it was a show specifically for mules and donkeys. Never before have I ever seen so many mules and donkeys in one place. There were at least 30 altogether, I think.

 The first day of the show was the gymkhana and packing day. There were several different classes, including a donkey class. There were various different events, including pole bending, single stake(the horse and rider go to the pole, turning around and heading back the starting line), speed ball(they go to a gone, drop a golf ball in it, and run back), speed barrels(similar to pole bending except three barrels set further apart than pole bending poles), and keyhole(riders have to enter a small circle marked by flour, turn around without crossing the line, and head back). All these events are timed, and the fastest pair wins. I was one of the timers for these events.

 They are really exciting to watch! There were two sisters that were really good, winning or placing in most of the gymkhanas. They literally galloped their mules through each event, finishing most in around ten seconds, at least five seconds faster than most, depending on the event. During the speed ball event, they didn't even to stop to drop the golf in the cone. They just slowed down enough to drop it in and not next to the cone. The donkey classes were hilarious! Donkeys are often stubborn and a little lazy, not wanting to work so hard. Many of them didn't go faster than the walk or a slow jog. It was funny!

None of the pictures turned out too well. Here are a couple dressage pictures.
The jumping one didn't turn out.

 In the late afternoon was the packing competition. Mules are often used for packing because they are smart and surefooted. In fact, the nearby Yosemite National Park has a pack station, which is where Laura worked and first became interested in mules. The object of the packing competition is to correctly tie the packs on the mule faster than anyone else. It was really interesting because I have never seen this before. In another of the packing competitions, the each competitors had to actually load their mule, tie the packs one, and mount their horse, leading the mule to then end of the arena and back. I timed these events too, and really enjoyed watching them.

 The next day was all the English events. There was dressage, followed by hunters and jumpers, ending with the flat classes(English pleasure and equitation). Some of the rides from the clinic were riding in the dressage classes. One of the mules I really like was Señor Grande, a 17 hand mule. He was really consistent in the contact, not once coming off the bit, and he had big movements because of his size.

 I also enjoyed watching the hunters and jumpers. There were so many hunter classes at different fence sizes, with the final hunter class of the day being a 2' 6" class. Some of those mules were really good jumpers and tucked their knees nicely over the fences. I helped fix the fences if needed and timed the jumper classes. The most exciting jumper class to watch was the Gambler's Choice class. In this event, the rider has to jump as many fences as possible within 45 seconds. Each jump is worth a certain amount of points, depending on the difficulty of the jump, and each jump can only be jumped twice. The time goes by quickly, but the riders found creative ways to jump as many fences as possible. It is a really exciting competition to watch!

 The final classes were hunter hack, English pleasure, and equitation. Even the donkeys has their own flat class. Sunday was all the western classes, but I did not get to watch those. It was a very busy yet exciting weekend!

I Rode a Donkey!

 I had a very exciting weekend at the Donkey Days Clinic, which was taught by a donkey expert named JoDee. At the clinic, I rode a seven year old donkey named Buddy. Donkeys are quite different than horses. They take a lot more patience to work with, and typically do not want to work very hard, yet they are the safest equines because they don't bolt or buck. They are very fun to ride and be around. They aren't as sensitive in the mouth as horses are, so when riding donkey you can't just pull on their faces, which will only make them brace, which I noticed as I watched other riders. You ask for something, like circling, with the leg aids and pull only if needed.

 One characteristic necessary for riding donkeys is patience. It can take a long time for them to understand what you are asking if you ask something new, but you have to keep asking until they make an effort. I experienced this first hand when I was asked by JoDee to back Buddy up. I cued Buddy to back up, but he only opened his mouth and braced, and then began evading by doing a turn on the forehand. He wasn't doing this to be naughty, he just didn't know what to do. It is important with donkeys just to hang in there and keep asking. I continued to ask, and used my left leg to keep him from spinning, but he just decided to go the other way. JoDee stood nearby helping by holding the reins near the bit.

The group and I(I'm on the left).

 It took a long time before Buddy backed up. After a while, I began to get a little frustrated, so I took a deep breath and tried to relax. Finally, I managed to get him to back up a few steps. I praised and patted Buddy. He didn't back up straightly, which was okay, and JoDee reiterated the importance of rewarding the effort. The allow Buddy to think about what had happened, she went on to work on the other donkeys and riders. I even watched her ride a beautiful dark brown(it looked like something you would see in a painting) male donkey. He had not been ridden in a year, and had only been ridden about fifteen times prior, so he was pretty green. It was neat to watch.

 A little later on, I witnessed some funny donkey behavior. While everyone was sitting on their donkeys, watching the clinician work on a young, on of the donkeys laid down–with a rider on her. It was hilarious! I had never seen that happen before! After watching for a while, I again attempted to back Buddy up, this time with a lot more success. He backed quite a few strides, which was great!

A donkey all the way from Nevada! I rode in an Australian saddle.

 Next, I rode a Western trail course for the first time. There were several obstacles, including a rope gate, two barrels to figure eight around, a box to do a turn on the forehand in, and two parallel poles to back out of. I had some difficultly at the rope gate, not being able to keep Buddy standing still parallel to the gate. Buddy seemed to be a little nervous as he was one of the least experienced of the group. I tried quite a few times, to no avail, so JoDee helped by opening the gate and having me follow her through the gate and back. We did this several times, and them I moved on.

 The rest was pretty straight-forward. I trotted him in a figure eight pattern around two barrels, then halted in a box made of white poles. I spun Buddy around first one war, and then the other, before exiting. I then walked through two parallel poles, halted a few seconds, and asked Buddy to back. He did it, and well too! It was so rewarding. To finish off, I went to the rail and headed towards the group. I kicked him into a fast trot and tried to get him to canter. I managed to get him to canter a few strides and trot the rest of the way, which was great because as I said donkeys don't always want to world hard.

 I had such an amazing and educational time riding Buddy! Now, I have ridden a horse, a mule, and donkey, all in one month! If you ever get the chance to ride a donkey, you should. It's fun and can be a learning experience.

Donkey Days This Weekend

These past two weeks, Laura and I have been busy preparing for the events coming up, including Donkey Days, a clinic taught by a donkey expert, which takes place this weekend. Until recently I wasn’t aware people really rode donkeys, but it there will be quite a few people there. I may even get the chance to ride a donkey, which I think will be really awesome! It is going to be really exciting!

 Friday, after some hard work in the blazing sun, Laura and I went for a ride. We were joined by a women who has a donkey. While Laura rode in the arena, the woman on the donkey and I warmed up on the trailsI worked on getting Lucky up in front of my leg as we warmed up. 

 I spent the last few minutes of my ride on the level ground where the dressage arena once was(we had taken it down last week). At the trot, I continued working on getting her forward. She was actually pretty good about moving at a steady tempo and at the speed I wanted. 

 Before cantering, I put her on a circle. Since she is much better to the left, I started her in that direction. Lucky has a really nice, easy to sit canter. On Moe and Chester, I stubble to keep seated in the saddle, but I had no problem on Lucky. I went around and around several times, working on getting my position and moving my hips with her movement. The last few strides felt really great! 

We moved all these panels( and a few more) last week, thing them apart
and then reconstructing them into box stalls for the clinic and then next month's show. 

 We decided to try to see how well Lucky went to right since she had done so good to the left. Going right was more difficult. Lucky doesn't go very well to the right and often leans in. Because of this, I and to really focus on using my inside leg to get her to not lean. Whenever she leaned in, I pointed my toes in, tapping her shoulder with the whip if necessary. Before long I began to feel when she leaned in. All this was done at the trot. I noticed that at one side of the circle, Lucky land in more than the other parts, so I decided to ask for canter a little bit after she passed that side to set her up for success. She had a good transition, but began leaning in and fell out of canter after a few circles. 

 After spending a few minutes getting her ready and not leaning, I again asked for canter. This time was much better! I even felt when she was about to leaned in on my leg again, tapping her inside shoulder before it happened. As she cantered, I let my legs stretch long, lifting my hands to bend my elbows and putting my hands close together. All three are things I need to work on, which is why I focuses on them. What went well: 

• I had a really great canter on Lucky!

I'll definitely share about the donkey clinic. have a great weekend everyone!