Ah-maza-zing!

Yes. That's right. My weekend was so amazing, it deserved another syllable. Ah-maza-zing! I don't even know where to start, it was so awesome! I feel so... energized, renewed, knowledgeable, hyped, and dedicated right now! This weekend at the Horse and Soul tour was what I have been wanting, nay, NEEDING, to really commit to Parelli.

I've posted in the past about being... let's say "shy" about telling people about Parelli, or even practicing where others can see me. And while I have made some great strides lately (no longer hiding in the round pen, not afraid to play with Gwen even when others are having riding lessons in the ring) I've still been... quiet. Well, no more! I am a proud Parelli student, and I am happy to show it! (I can totally hear Diana Ross singing "I'm coming out..." in my head right now...).

I was lucky enough to catch a t-shirt this weekend, and lucky enough that it was one I wanted! A red "Keep Calm and Savvy On" shirt, which I proudly wore to the barn today. I've also got a hunter-green Parelli cap, that I'll be utilizing in sunny weather ;)

I didn't take as many pictures as I could (should) have, but I was so engrossed that I forgot to lift my camera.

Aside from the demonstrations, being able to go thru the merchandise area and actually put my hands on everything was awesome. I am a very tactile, visual person. I've been dying to put my hands on some Parelli saddles, the flex pad, etc., and this weekend I got to do just that! It was a struggle not to max out my credit card, but I held back!  I didn't deprive myself entirely however... I came away with some awesome goodies including...

• 3 tee shirts: my winning catch, a "may the Horse be with You" shirt (i'm a huge Star Wars geek), and a "Horse and Soul" shirt.
• My Parelli Cap
• A Proud to be RBI bracelet
• A "Seven Games" Keychain (wanted one forever!)
• A pink 22' line (10% off Pink things for Breast Cancer Awareness month! Whoo!)
• And maybe most important of all..... Level's 1/2 on DVD (finally!!!!!)

I was so stoked about the level 1/2 on DVD that I started watching it in the hotel room on Saturday night!

One of the things I really got out of this weekend was about riding. I've been putting off riding Gwen (using the lame excuse of not having a saddle) because I felt like I needed to wait for us to be awesome at everything on the ground first. But really, Gwen has been doing amazing On Line, and I just feel like a klutz in the saddle. Watching Pat work with a non-Parelli horses on the ground and then in the saddle, I got to thinking that Gwen and I were ready for it. Or, more importantly, I felt like I had the tools and knowledge to make our time under saddle comfortable and progressive. My goal is to ride at least once a week, using a lesson saddle until I can get my own.  I will always make sure that Gwen is OK with this, but she's been so responsive and "in-tune" with me the past few times I played with her, that I think we're ready.

Today, I put her on our new 22' line with no expectations. I was focusing more on me than her, meaning that our play session was about me getting comfortable with handling 10 more feet of rope, rather than focusing on Gwen's improvement. As a result... Gwen was amazing! She backed up off phase one TO THE END OF THE ROPE!  I about quit there, I was so in shock. And then, once she got there, she stopped and waiting for me to direct her, rather than just assuming it was Circle Time. Whoohoo!  We played yo-yo a couple more times before I put her on a circle, figuring I'd have a lot of rope under my feet... but she stayed at the end of it without pulling, at walk and trot (I wasn't in the arena, and the ground was too uneven, so I didn't ask for Canter this time), and then came right on back in when I asked her to, no resistance. I was on cloud nine, it was so awesome!

We were just as connected for the rest of the evening, thru side-ways and squeeze. I'm so encouraged by the way we've been going these past three/four sessions that... I think I'm ready to film my audition. Next time my boyfriend and I both have a Sunday off, I've asked him to come to the barn to film me. (Sunday is the only day the barn is "closed" and therefore I'm more likely to have the arena to myself). With any luck, I'll have it submitted before Novemeber, way ahead of my goal :)

And now some pictures!

My haul ;)

This guy was awesome, galloping around bareback/bridleless.

And twirling a rope!

Told you I din't take near enough pictures! I have about a dozen of this guy (forgot his name... from Texas!) on his horse bareback/brideless, just galloping around the arena, doing rollbacks and sliding stops. Just amazing!

J