The Path to Kentucky Starts with New York

I was super excited heading into this past weekend – my first ACTHA (American Competitive Trail Horse Association - https://www.actha.us/) competition. This is the same type of competition being offered in Kentucky when we travel down in October for the Thoroughbred Makeover Competition – which is what I am planning to show Cupid & Kahleesi in.

The Planning

This all started with a long weekend trip to our family cabin in New York – a typical venture for James & I over the Civic long weekend. It became slightly more complicated when we realized that not all our Corgi puppies would be picked up by their owners yet, so two of them would be coming with us to New York along with our 3 dogs.

Then I was doing some reading about the trail competition that will be part of the Thoroughbred Makeover Contest – I have been preparing with Extreme Cowboy and Mountain Trail Clinics because we don't have ACTHA events here. Then I realized there was one in New York the same weekend we would be down there. I googled the address and it was only about 2.5hrs away from our cabin.

I okayed the idea with James, booked the appointment with the vet for the horse’s paperwork and then signed myself up for the competition. Then we confirmed our farm sitter and helpers (thank you so much!) and made the rest of our plans.

I didn’t stop there… days before we were set to leave, I found this adorable fluffy Corgi female that was available in Illinois. We’ve been looking for a fluffy female for a very long time, so I okayed the idea with James and put a deposit. The plan included a side trip for me to drive to Illinois for the puppy.

The Trip

We packed everything up Friday – our things and the things for the 2 horses, 3 dogs, and 2 puppies. We strolled into the Cracker Box Palace at around 10pm. I put Cupid & Kahleesi into a round pen with food and water, we let the dogs have a potty break, and slept in our trailer for the night. It’s so nice to have a trailer with a bed!

The Show

The Obstacle Class

I was so excited I woke up extra early. The first part of the show was the obstacle course in the outdoor ring. It looked very similar to obstacles we’ve had at the NHA horse shows – a tarp, pool noodle standard, a low bridge, mail box, and a few very similar things to what we’ve been practicing. 

The biggest difference with this type of competition was we had to stop and wait for the judge to be ready at each obstacle – also the idea was to keep the same pace for the course/obstacle. So when I trotted the pole/barrel pivot obstacle I actually lost marks because I changed my cadence.

I loved how it was similar to the NHA shows – a focus on calm horsemanship and riding the obstacles on a loose rein. People were English or Western just like at the NHA shows and I met a couple Parelli people there who were working on their Level 3!

There were 7 competitors at different levels, and I was the only person in my level (Pleasure Competitive), so I decided to bump up to the hardest level (Open) so that we wouldn’t be competing against ourselves.

We got to do the course twice – the second time was the ‘gamblers choice’ because if you chose to do the second round it would replace your first score… so you had to decide if you would do better the first or second time.

I did the course the second time with both horses because despite the obstacles being similar to home my horses hesitated at a few of them and I thought we’d do better the second time.

  

One of the obstacles was a real chicken we had to side pass to the chicken and then away from the chicken! Good thing we have lots of them roaming free on the farm at home!

We placed 2^nd and 3^rd in this class – 1^st place went to an awesome cowboy with a beautiful relationship with his horse. He told me they’d been doing these competitions for years and they definitely looked the part!

Tip for success: before you compete remember to read all the rules and ask the judge any questions before your pattern – make sure you know what you will gain points or lose points for

The Obstacle Trail Ride

This was the most fun competition ever!! There were 13 competitors on the ride and we left in groups of 3 or 4. My group was the first to go in a group of 3. I led my group onto the trail for the first mile. There were 6 obstacles on the trail. Each obstacle was a mile apart.

The obstacles we did at each mile were:

1.      A labyrinth of poles – we have to navigate through the poles, zigzagging our way through without hitting the poles.

2.      A natural water crossing of about 60ft long with a steep bank on the opposite site.

3.      Backing through an L shape of poles.

4.      Taking a camera off of a stand and taking a selfie with a goat

5.      Riding through fake vines and halting right after them

6.      Riding around a scary pool noodle and balloon obstacle

I rode the course with Cupid and when we reached the water crossing he looked around and hesitated. I took a deep breath with him and then asked him to try - he walked right across and I was so proud.

The horse behind me was having trouble with the water so the judge told us to ride on ahead to the next obstacle without my group. This was my first solo trail ride ever with Cupid (I actually never ride solo on trail rides because its always safer in a group). I gave Cupid the cue and he marched on.

What an incredible high I was on – it was so rewarding for my horse to trust me and go. We rode walk, trot, and canter on a relaxed rein through the forest, apple orchards, peach fields (or is it a peach orchard?), open fields and across the road. It was amazing… knowing that all the time and effort I put into training my horse from the ground up… putting the right amount of love, language, and leadership in so that we could get to this moment and succeed. It felt amazing.

After I got back with Cupid I went out with Kahleesi to ride the trail course au concours. I had the same incredible experience of my trusting equine partner to carry me through the trail completely solo for the first time. It was so exciting and rewarding. She was super awesome with the obstacles and the scariest part of our ride was the mud which she figured out confidently by the end of the ride.

Cupid was super awesome and aced all the obstacles finishing with 1^st place in our level…. But it was only us in our level. I was still super proud because we did everything really well and at the more advanced level.

The Big Surprise

The best part of the competition was at the end when they were awarding the Judge’s Pick. This is where you actually get a hoof pick and it’s to represent the judge’s pick. The judge gets to pick their favourite horse & rider team that represents a great partnership. Cupid and I were chosen.

I was super thrilled that our partnership that we have been working so hard on was showing through to people who had never met us before. 

It was a fantastic experience and now I know what we have to work on for Kentucky, but also what we are doing well and that we are on the right track. 

Tip for Success: When you make a goal for yourself (and your horse), try making a plan to help you succeed. In your plan include when you are going to practice, what skills you need to accomplish and the steps needed to get there. Then you can budget your time wisely and work towards your goal. 

Whatever your goal, make a plan, write it down, and check off the steps along the way to measure your progress.

Tip for Success: Goals can be as simple as learning to master walk to halt transitions, or as complex as planning to compete at the Kentucky Makeover Competition.Pick a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and has a time line.  

Tip for Success: Remember that horses need Love, Language and Leadership to be trusting willing partners. Too much love without leadership will lead to a fearful horse that doesn't believe in you, too little appropriate language will lead to a confused horse, and no love will create a sour horse. The perfect combination creates the perfect partner. 

At the Cabin

After the show we went to our cabin in New York and settled in for the night just at dark. The next morning we woke up and went for a quick hour trail ride before I headed off to pick up our new fluffy puppy from Illinois while James took care of all the animals. 

Picking up Puppy

What an incredible drive - just over 1100km. After I got back I realized the GPS was set to no toll roads... so I probably didn't need to drive through Kentucky lol, but one look on our new little fluffy face and I knew it was worth the drive!

I stayed the night in Indiana at a hotel with puppy (now named Eevee) and headed back the next morning. The drive seemed faster on the way home. I got back around 7pm and we headed out for another trail ride.

Check out this hilarious video of when we introduced our new puppy to the other ones: https://youtu.be/pk7469ReOkc

Finally a Day of No Long Driving

On Tuesday we decided to call our bosses to ask for one more day of vacation - luckily they were okay with that. This meant I could have one day without any long driving trips... the only driving I did was into town for food. We were able to relax and do a lot of trail riding, playing with the dogs and a swim in the pond. 

We took turns riding Cupid and Kahleesi and explored some trails - there are thousands and thousands of acres of trails in the mountains at our cabin so we had lots of fun exploring :)

Heading Home

On our last day we went for another quick trail and then packed up the gang... which took a bit longer than I thought - I guess 3 puppies, 3 dogs, and 2 horses come with a lot of things! We headed home around noonish and didn't have trouble at the border... but we did hit Toronto traffic so we decided to stop at Pet Smart and got Eevee a new dog tag. Then made it back by 9ish. It feels nice to be home but it sure was a fun long weekend!!

Some Fun for You

If you're interested in trying out obstacles for yourself, be sure to come to our Saturday August 29th NHA Horse Agility and Obstacle show - there will be A LOT of obstacles (and some new ones!) - learn more here http://nhassociation.ca/horseagility.html

We also have our PHH schooling show that has some obstacle classes as well as hunter, jumper and western speed events classes . Learn more about the PHH show here http://partridgehorsehill.com/HorseShowClinic.html 

Video

Watch some fun from the weekend

https://youtu.be/ei1pUMBWYX4

New Pembroke Welsh Corgi Pups at PHH!

What an exciting time at PHH, we have new puppies! There is just something special to watch the special bond between mom and pups and the love they instantly feel for each other.

James & I began Corgi breeding because of our love of the Corgi breed. We think these dogs are absolutely perfect. They have the agility and ability to do big dog things like fetch, swim, be hardy around the farm, run fast, and keep up but they still have the convenience of being a small dog – you can pick them up, they fit in your lap for cuddles, they don’t take up a lot of space on the bed, and on road trips they fit compactly into the car so they can join on family vacations. Best of all they are so incredibly adorable, sweet, smart, friendly, and beautiful.

Our breeding journey began with several trips to the states – it is nearly impossible to get Corgi’s with breeding rights in Ontario so it was actually easier to drive to the states to purchase dogs with breeding rights down there. Quigley came from Michigan and our females came from Pennsylvania. Then came the paperwork – we had to register our dogs with the American Kennel Club, and then get them registered with the Canadian Kennel Club… each with their own paper hoops to jump through.

Now we are very excited to have Lona’s first litter of pups. She gave birth on Monday November 24^th between 7am – 1pm. We knew her labour was coming because we regularly were checking her temperature morning and night, and her temperature had dropped to 98.6 the night before which can mean labour will start soon.

Lona had other signs too – she was becoming more restless, nesting in her bed, not wanting to go outside, itching at herself, her belly and nipples were getting very full, she was becoming aggressive towards Molly (her sister), and the night before her labour she actually turned down some scraps of salmon… Lona never ever turns down food so we knew something was up!

That night she was also restless and she woke us up a few times with gentle ‘woofs’ asking to be let out and at around 2am she came over to James and just wanted cuddles.

That morning I called my mom and asked her to come over and watch Lona. Her temperature wasn’t as low as typically it would be before birth so I wasn’t sure I should stay home, but I knew she should be watched. My mom, Annette was on her way to the rescue and as she arrived Lona had 3 pups and had another 3 pups in the following few hours. It can be normal for them to take a break between pups and can go as long as 4hrs between pups without concern.

Lona is an excellent mother and is very affectionate to her pups – but definitely not towards Molly. Typically she loves her sister but she has become aggressive towards Molly for now and is only happy to be around Molly if they are outside in the backyard. For now we have them separated when in the house.

For safety we have Lona’s pups in a swimming pool (no water of course!) and it keeps the pups contained but allows Lona to jump out if she wants to.

The pups have all been nicknamed so that we remember who is who. Their markings are all distinct enough we can tell them apart. They are all going to be red & white corgis. They have some black hairs in places, but the interesting thing about their colour is that it will change as they grow up and eventually will be the same colour as Lona/Quigley except for their unique white markings.

If you are interested in a Corgi, or want to see pictures, please check out our Pembroke Welsh Corgi Puppy page on our website at:

http://partridgehorsehill.com/Corgis.html

#PHH #Corgi #puppies