I tend to schedule vacation time so that I can go "work" at other "jobs". Our staycation in May was pretty rare; it's not often I schedule time off of work with nothing planned other than having fun.
Last week, I took the week off so I could work a private health fair that earned me enough money to pay for my new baby. It was a few really early mornings, and I don't like mornings. I think it's uncivilized to be up and moving before the sun bothers to make an appearance. However, I enjoy working with the crew I had and I'll enjoy my new baby even more, so it was worth it.
As I was going through my emails last week, I came across a two-fer coupon for a Michael Jackson tribute show, HIStory II. Jay and I had talked about going, but took one look at the prices and decided not to. Buuuuutttt, with the two-fer, the price wasn't so bad.
So we went.
And had a great time.
I love to do stuff like this; if I ever won the powerball (in addition to everything else I'd want to do with the money), I would totally buy season tickets - the 2013-2014 line up for the Lincoln Center is amazing.
Now, I'm packing up to head down to Julie Goodnight's place - it's time to shoot the Colorado Episodes of her TV show, Horse Master with Julie Goodnight. Heidi, her producer, always works us hard, but I learn so much and have a ton of fun that it's absolutely worth it. If you're a horse owner and you haven't watched it, you should give it a go.
I can tell you honestly that nothing on the show is faked; I've been working with the show for about five years. Each episode is filmed in a 24-hour period. Julie watches the horse and rider/handler, gives some teaching (like in a clinic), the horse and rider go work on the new skills, and come back the next day for the "after" footage. The change in the horses and riders/handlers is astounding.
Showing posts with label julie goodnight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label julie goodnight. Show all posts
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Friday, May 11, 2012
If You Can't Say Something Nice...
...don't say anything at all.
Which is why I've been so quiet lately and why you've been inundated with Ripley stuff.
What do you write about when you can't write about what's going on in your life? My job description has changed and I'm having a hard time adjusting. Can't really write about it - though I'd love to - because I don't know who (if anybody) from work reads my blog.
My kids (well, two of them) are adults and dealing with adult things. Can't write about what they're going through because it's their "stuff" to deal with.
That leaves me with Ripley and pseudo-running. So, because y'all are riveted by RCC's beautification of Rip, here are a couple of pictures of her newest additions.
A long time ago, before RCC and I met, the kids and I dreamed about owning a ranch (still do) and I told them I'd name it after them - The 3 Heathens. We even drew up a "brand". RCC had the brand made as a badge, painted it alien green and added it to Ripley.
Digger has the brand tattooed on his forearm and I'm fixing to have it tattooed on my shoulder blade. Ashinator is trying to figure out how to incorporate the brand into her family tree tattoo on her forearm. Some families have family shields, apparently, we have a family tattoo.
The running thing is still going. I started week four of Ease into 5K, which called for a four minute run and a six minute run. I managed the four minute, but the six minute was too much mentally. I have no doubt that my body can run for six minutes straight, but - wow - I'm having a hard time being mentally tough enough to gut it through. I've got to get through it or I'll never progress. The Bolder Boulder is coming up, which RCC and I will be doing, but we'll be walking it. I do want to be able to do the Run For Your Lives Zombie obstacle course in July for my birthday, so I really have to get through this training program. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any...
The Bionic Cowgirl and I are going to see a Julie Goodnight clinic tomorrow as a fundraiser for the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center; it's Mom's combo birthday/Mother's Day gift and of course the weather's supposed to be crappy, but we need the moisture, so I'll keep the whining to a minimum. It'll be good to watch Julie at a clinic. Though I'm part of her Colorado crew, the focus is on making the TV show work when we're filming. I learn a ton at each shoot, but everyone is always multi-tasking, so it's not focused learning. I've sat in on several of her lectures at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo and loved every second, so I'm anticipating an amazing day with Mom tomorrow. One of these days, I'm going to participate in one of Julie's riding clinics, I swear. It's one thing to learn from the ground, but I'd love to ride in one of her clinics.
Which is why I've been so quiet lately and why you've been inundated with Ripley stuff.
What do you write about when you can't write about what's going on in your life? My job description has changed and I'm having a hard time adjusting. Can't really write about it - though I'd love to - because I don't know who (if anybody) from work reads my blog.
My kids (well, two of them) are adults and dealing with adult things. Can't write about what they're going through because it's their "stuff" to deal with.
That leaves me with Ripley and pseudo-running. So, because y'all are riveted by RCC's beautification of Rip, here are a couple of pictures of her newest additions.
 |
| Black is the new chrome apparently, so the chrome had to go. |
 |
| A couple layers of Plasti-Dip, let it dry and... |
 |
| ...no more chrome. (Sorry for the lousy pic, the phone washed out the green) |
 |
| The kids' 3 Heathens brand |
Digger has the brand tattooed on his forearm and I'm fixing to have it tattooed on my shoulder blade. Ashinator is trying to figure out how to incorporate the brand into her family tree tattoo on her forearm. Some families have family shields, apparently, we have a family tattoo.
The running thing is still going. I started week four of Ease into 5K, which called for a four minute run and a six minute run. I managed the four minute, but the six minute was too much mentally. I have no doubt that my body can run for six minutes straight, but - wow - I'm having a hard time being mentally tough enough to gut it through. I've got to get through it or I'll never progress. The Bolder Boulder is coming up, which RCC and I will be doing, but we'll be walking it. I do want to be able to do the Run For Your Lives Zombie obstacle course in July for my birthday, so I really have to get through this training program. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any...
The Bionic Cowgirl and I are going to see a Julie Goodnight clinic tomorrow as a fundraiser for the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center; it's Mom's combo birthday/Mother's Day gift and of course the weather's supposed to be crappy, but we need the moisture, so I'll keep the whining to a minimum. It'll be good to watch Julie at a clinic. Though I'm part of her Colorado crew, the focus is on making the TV show work when we're filming. I learn a ton at each shoot, but everyone is always multi-tasking, so it's not focused learning. I've sat in on several of her lectures at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo and loved every second, so I'm anticipating an amazing day with Mom tomorrow. One of these days, I'm going to participate in one of Julie's riding clinics, I swear. It's one thing to learn from the ground, but I'd love to ride in one of her clinics.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Extreme Cowboy Race
The Rocky Mountain Horse Expo is always a lot of fun and last year's Expo is where I heard the casting call for "Horse Master with Julie Goodnight", so the fact that the Expo turned my little girl Estes and me into TV stars (yeah, right) will always endear the Expo to me.
This year, I was a little disappointed (OK, a LOT disappointed) that Julie wouldn't be a clinician - the first time in 15 years - but, I was super excited about Craig Cameron's "Extreme Cowboy Race". The XCR is a timed event in which the horse and rider are scored on their ability to complete 13 different obstacles and the rider is scored on his or her horsemanship. I'd given serious thought to asking Ida to ride Estes for me, but one look at the $250 entry fee had me thinking again.
After watching the race, I really wish I had entered Estes - she could have done all of the obstacles, though I might have had trouble with a couple. Side-passing over logs and backing between fence panels may have done me in. I'm not so fond of the jumping either, but it wasn't like Hunter/Jumper jumping, just little 18" jumps to simulate deadfall, so I'd've been ok.
While I love watching the XCR (check out some videos on YouTube), I just worry about it becoming an "event". Versatility Ranch Horse competitions were a lot of fun to watch until they became so regulated and people started training their horses for the "events". What I loved about the Versatility Ranch Horse competitions when I first saw them, is that they were (or seemed) real, something that any "real" ranch horse could do. Now, the horses and riders train only for those competitions; there are no real working ranch horses in them, only expensive, over-trained, pedigreed horses.
My fear is that XCR will succumb to the same fate. Already, there's an XCRA (Extreme Cowboy Race Association) and that's the first step in becoming an "event". So while I'll continue to enjoy them and contemplate entering, I'll also be mourning the slow death of a competition that was once for anyone with a willing horse.
This year, I was a little disappointed (OK, a LOT disappointed) that Julie wouldn't be a clinician - the first time in 15 years - but, I was super excited about Craig Cameron's "Extreme Cowboy Race". The XCR is a timed event in which the horse and rider are scored on their ability to complete 13 different obstacles and the rider is scored on his or her horsemanship. I'd given serious thought to asking Ida to ride Estes for me, but one look at the $250 entry fee had me thinking again.
After watching the race, I really wish I had entered Estes - she could have done all of the obstacles, though I might have had trouble with a couple. Side-passing over logs and backing between fence panels may have done me in. I'm not so fond of the jumping either, but it wasn't like Hunter/Jumper jumping, just little 18" jumps to simulate deadfall, so I'd've been ok.
While I love watching the XCR (check out some videos on YouTube), I just worry about it becoming an "event". Versatility Ranch Horse competitions were a lot of fun to watch until they became so regulated and people started training their horses for the "events". What I loved about the Versatility Ranch Horse competitions when I first saw them, is that they were (or seemed) real, something that any "real" ranch horse could do. Now, the horses and riders train only for those competitions; there are no real working ranch horses in them, only expensive, over-trained, pedigreed horses.
My fear is that XCR will succumb to the same fate. Already, there's an XCRA (Extreme Cowboy Race Association) and that's the first step in becoming an "event". So while I'll continue to enjoy them and contemplate entering, I'll also be mourning the slow death of a competition that was once for anyone with a willing horse.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
2008 in Review
January started off as any other month - rough. I was cranky about being single and broke, which I can't blame on Christmas; it just seemed like I couldn't get ahead no matter what I did. Can't say I was looking forward to 2008, I expected it to be just like the years before.
May - Life just keeps getting better and better. In addition to falling in love (yes, I finally admitted it to myself - everyone else had it figured out, I was just a little slow), the equine love of my life, Estes, became mine. Estes is perhaps the only animal I could love more than RCC. He completely understands that because of the canine love of his life, Allie-bird. My baby, Monster, turned 13 and was abducted by aliens (how else do you explain the huge personality change from my sweet little boy to the teenaged Monster?).
July - Monster was initally a saint when he moved back home, but began to slide back into his old habits and things got a little rough at home, but I handled it a lot better than I had in the past. Just having someone other than Digger and Ashee-butt to talk to about the house drama made a huge difference. RCC, Monster, and I went camping in Wyoming with my friends Angie and Matt; Monster and RCC spent some good quality time together and came back fairly close. Digger and Ashee-butt had been able to spend more time with him than Monster because they still lived with me - Monster kind of had to play catch-up.
October - Because of his situation at school, Monster made the decision to move to Arizona for a "fresh start". Ugh! I tried to talk him out of it multiple times, but he was determined to leave in November. Good luck and God speed. On October 30th, Monster was hit by a car while skateboarding in his aunt and uncle's neighborhood. Perhaps the worst news a mom can hear is, "your son's been hit by a car". No updates on his injuries, just that he's in room so-and-so at PVH. Turned out to be "just" a broken arm. He was lucky. Again, I was reminded how wonderful RCC is and what a help he's been to all of us.
February - still cranky about being single - actually ratcheted it up a notch with Valentine's Day coming. I hated Valentine's Day. Really, I was - for years - a raging bitch between November and February because everything is so "couple" and "family" oriented that it seemed like I was constantly being slapped in the face with my singledom every time I turned around. Add to it that Monster had been acting up at school and finances hadn't gotten any better - I was a PLEASURE to be around. Right up until I threw a temper tantrum a couple of days after Valentine's Day and did a search (again) on Cupid.com. Found an interesting profile for RockCrawlinChef so I sent off an eye-contact. He responded positively and we began daily email communication.
March - Monster was still acting up in school and had been suspended for trying to pass off Advil as Vicodin (idiot). Digger and Ashee-butt, along with the daily emails from RCC, helped keep me sane. After emailling almost constantly for six weeks, we decided to meet in person. Less than 24 hours before the face-to-face, Monster told me he was moving in with his dad. He ripped my heart, still beating, right out of my chest. Thank God for RCC; I had offered him an out, told him that my life was a shamble and told him that he probably didn't need all the drama in my life, and yet he still wanted to meet me. Came home from the meeting 5 hours later and Ashee-butt told me I was going to marry him. Silly girl, what was she thinking?
April - I'm twitterpated! No doubt about it. Stick a fork in me I'm done. Done. Don't know what happened, thought I had my heart guarded pretty well, but that damn RCC just rolled right on by my defenses and stole my heart. Took him up to the Lodge to meet the parents, to Denver to meet Staci, to my Defensive Pistol match, introduced him to the herd. Guess that boy's not going anywhere now.
May - Life just keeps getting better and better. In addition to falling in love (yes, I finally admitted it to myself - everyone else had it figured out, I was just a little slow), the equine love of my life, Estes, became mine. Estes is perhaps the only animal I could love more than RCC. He completely understands that because of the canine love of his life, Allie-bird. My baby, Monster, turned 13 and was abducted by aliens (how else do you explain the huge personality change from my sweet little boy to the teenaged Monster?).
June - Estes and I travelled with Mom and Ashee-butt to Salida to Julie Goodnight's ranch to appear on her show, "Horse Master with Julie Goodnight." While I was gone, Monster and his dad got into a big fight and Jim kicked Monster out of the house. RCC, God bless him, drove Monster to Loveland to pick up his stuff from his dad's and helped him move back into my house. Two days after I got home from Horse Master, RCC proposed. Guess Ashee-butt knew something afterall back in March. Wow, can life get any better?
July - Monster was initally a saint when he moved back home, but began to slide back into his old habits and things got a little rough at home, but I handled it a lot better than I had in the past. Just having someone other than Digger and Ashee-butt to talk to about the house drama made a huge difference. RCC, Monster, and I went camping in Wyoming with my friends Angie and Matt; Monster and RCC spent some good quality time together and came back fairly close. Digger and Ashee-butt had been able to spend more time with him than Monster because they still lived with me - Monster kind of had to play catch-up.August - Time to meet RCC's family in Utah. I don't know what I was most nervous about - meeting his Utah family or a road trip involving his mom, sister, and brothers. Both turned out to be a lot of fun and we came back with a couple of stories and new experiences (sleeping in the Excursion was a new experience for me at least). The kids' dad moved to Arizona; the boys, who don't spend much time with him, are handling it ok. Ashee-butt, on the other hand, is such a Daddy's girl that it's really hard for her. Digger turned 17. Where is the time going? There's no way he should be so close to adult-hood.
September - Monster's having trouble in school again. He had kind of anticipated it considering everything that happened during spring semester with his suspension. School for him started on a positive note, but slowly back-slid. Digger also was struggling - that damn disease of his sometimes controls him, not the other way around. Even though he was scheduled for one on-site class, most of the time he couldn't make it and ended up completely Homebound. We've settled into a routine - even Ashee-butt is getting used to being at home all the time, not just during the week.
October - Because of his situation at school, Monster made the decision to move to Arizona for a "fresh start". Ugh! I tried to talk him out of it multiple times, but he was determined to leave in November. Good luck and God speed. On October 30th, Monster was hit by a car while skateboarding in his aunt and uncle's neighborhood. Perhaps the worst news a mom can hear is, "your son's been hit by a car". No updates on his injuries, just that he's in room so-and-so at PVH. Turned out to be "just" a broken arm. He was lucky. Again, I was reminded how wonderful RCC is and what a help he's been to all of us.
November - Monster moved to Arizona. The house is much quieter, but I miss his energy and wit. The drama has gone with him. I hope he finds what he's looking for in Arizona. RCC, Digger, and I had our first Thanksgiving together (Ashee-butt was visiting Monster in AZ for the holiday). I really could get used to this being in love and having a "complete" family thing.
December - My baby girl turned 16! And got a hole in her nose, that I paid for (what was I thinking?!). Seriously, it's darling, but I can't believe how expensive it is to poke a sharp, pointy object through one little nostril! We had our first Christmas tree in 7 years. Christmas was fabulous and came off without a hitch! Digger finally got the tattoo he'd been wanting. And I fall a little more in love every day.
What's next? Who really knows? What I know is that my life a year ago really sucked and it affected the kids. We are all in a much better position to face the new year. What I do know is that good things can snowball just like bad things can. I never really believed that, but I do now.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Horse Master with Julie Goodnight
In June, I got the unbelievable opportunity to work with Julie Goodnight on her show, "Horse Master with Julie Goodnight" (http://www.horsemaster.tv/). Estes, the equine love of my life, had a bit of an issue with standing still for mounting and walking off without a cue. Julie showed me how to fix it and what follows is my journal from that most amazing three days.
HorseMaster Cast:
· Julie Goodnight – HorseMaster
· Heidi Nyland – Producer
· Lucy – Grip/Heidi’s “boss”
· Twyla – Grip/training assistant
· Brenda – Julie’s Office Manager
· Cheryl – Grip/Wardrobe Wrangler/Hair/Make-up
· Steve – Cameraman
· Bo – Film editing/camera assist
· Alle – Grip/Go-Fer (15 yo)
· Tara – Cosequin rep
· Linda /Stinger – came for water crossing, ended up being bad saddle fit and sore back
· Dave/? Horse – Versatility/flying lead changes
Day OneFinally got in to GTS about 5:00 pm as they were wrapping up the first day’s shooting. Met the rep from Circle Y Saddles who finally got us settled with Lucy. Unloaded Estes into an outdoor pen behind the high-dollar horses – she looked as good as or better than the others. Signed a million release forms for the show and property liability. Got my “party favors” – Dan Post socks, Circle Y t-shirt, bandana, and Troxel helmet (wow!).
Dropped the trailer at 4 Seasons RV park on the other side of Salida (GTS is closer to Poncha Springs than Salida). Really “cute” as Ash says. The bathroom/shower house was nice and well-kept (Thank God – I hate public showers). Went to dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant – Los Girasoles – where the waiter spent the night hitting on Ash. Now I know how Mom felt when we’d go to Mexico and the waiters there would hit on Nelle all the time.
The shower house, while well-kept, was much creepier after dark. All I could think about while I was taking my shower was all of the ‘80s slasher movies. Can’t say as I liked being so far away from the trailer by in a strange town all by my lonesome.
Day Two
Up and at ‘em and on the set (GTS) at 7:00 am getting my girl ready. Cheryl chose my tops to compliment Julie’s outfit (pink long sleeve and black vest) for the day’s shoot. Lucy took one look at my saddle and decided to oil it because it is so ugly. It was much prettier after it got oiled, but then the executive decision was made to put Estes in a Circle Y saddle, so Estes and I got to ride in an expensive Flex tree saddle – cool, but I’m not sure I could really tell the difference.
Shooting day really was hurry up and wait. When it was finally my time on film, I was swarmed by Cheryl, Lucy and Heidi to fix my hair under my helmet (required by one of the liability releases) and “mike up”. We went up to one of Julie’s pastures that would look “trail-like” for my “before” shot. That shot went pretty well as far as being a disaster. I couldn’t get my foot up into the stirrup, Estes danced around and almost spun away from me, we had to resort to finding a mounting block (a rock, just like I’d have to find in the mountains) before I could mount up. Finally, after much gymnastics and horse vaulting, I climbed aboard and managed to get her to stand still long enough to get both feet in the stirrups. Then for my “B” role, we stripped the saddle and found another mounting block – a tree stump this time – for my bareback mounting show. I managed to get up, but again, it was a mixture of gymnastics and horse vaulting. I could really get used to having a “crew”; the minute I was done filming, Ash and Mom would step in and take Estes to get her ready for the next shot or start fussing with my hair to make sure I was presentable. Lucy was always ready with my jacket so I wouldn’t get too cold between takes – it wasn’t too terribly bad J.
The “before” shot was the easy part – then I had to do the interview. Thank god I’m used to public speaking, because the interview was a bit tough. Mostly because I had to keep reminding myself to keep it short and not say “um” – thank you speech class. The toughest part, though, was trying to make eye contact with the camera, which was less than three feet away from me. Well, that and trying to keep from getting a splinter enema from the tree stump I was sitting on. The day was going pretty well until the wind kicked up. That stupid wind! We broke, had lunch, sat around and waited for the wind to stop. In the meantime, the other two people arrived with their horses: Dave, who happens to be the President of the National Versatility Ranch Horse Association, and Linda with her horse, Stinger, who wanted to work on water crossing.
Steve, Heidi and Julie decided they could shoot some footage of Dave despite the wind, because no one needed to be miked, so Estes and I stood down and we went to watch the versatility horse. Dave really needed to work on transitions; specifically his lead changes. We stood out in the cold wind for a long while watching them film Dave and his mare do each component of a VRH competition: reining, cow work, and trail. It was pretty cool and I know that Estes can and will do all of that. We also managed to take some footage of Linda and Stinger, who entered the water like a pro, so we had to go to Plan B for Linda, which was to work on Stinger’s canter. Linda thought it was too fast and wanted him to gear down to a nice easy lope. Once we left the pond and went back to the outdoor arena, it was obvious that Linda and Stinger’s biggest problem was not the water crossing, but that he was in pain. Her saddle didn’t fit him or her well and she was practically sitting on the cantle. His head was too high and he was hollowing out his back trying to get away from the painful saddle. I can’t quite explain how he moved, but when he went into a canter he would really try hard for a couple of steps, then it would just hurt too much and he’d lift his head, hollow out his back and lock his forelegs. A couple of steps like that and he’d set to bucking – not hard – but bucking sure enough. Poor Linda kept insisting that she was trying to “communicate” with him that she wanted him to slow his canter to an easy lope. That wasn’t the problem at all. Her idea of “communicating” was more like dictating – she was telling, but not listening to what Stinger was trying to tell her, which was “ouch, ouch, ouch”.
After all of the non-verbal shooting was done, the decision was made to move to Cheryl’s indoor arena, which wasn’t ideal, but at least we could continue shooting. By this time Estes had been tied at the rail for six hours or so and was behaving beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for a better behaved horse. None of the other horses had such a long down time without being used or broken down. Since Cheryl’s place was just a quarter mile away or so, I decided to ride Estes and Mom and Ash took the truck. It wasn’t a long ride by any means, but it certainly felt good to stretch our legs. Estes was stiff from being in the trailer on the mountain passes for four hours the day before and then being tied to the rail for so long. It took a while to get the whole production moved to Cheryl’s, so once we got there, Cheryl gave Estes a stall and run to be turned out in for a bit. It was only twenty minutes or so, but between the walk and getting turned out, she started to loosen up. The light in the indoor arena wasn’t great, but at least it was even and out of the wind. We ended up using the flatbed of Mom’s truck as a base for the camera. Mom just pulled the truck up to the door of the arena, removed the rail, and Scott and Bo set up shop. It worked out great, because then they had a good overhead angle and didn’t take up any arena space, so we had more work room.
We got everyone settled, and then it was Estes’ turn again. “My” crew was busy helping the camera crew get settled, so Heidi’s crew helped me get Estes ready. They practically fell on her – Twyla was putting gel in Estes’ mane, Alle was cleaning out her eye boogers and runny nose, and Lucy was brushing out her tail. Cheryl, in the mean time, was trying to make my hair look presentable and Heidi was getting me miked up. Twyla did a final dust off of Estes and Heidi attacked my vest with a pet hair remover. In just a few minutes they had both of us looking better than we had a right to. Estes looked as good as any show horse I’d seen by the time they were done with her. And she LOVED every minute of the primping and pampering.
She put on a heck of a show for the camera again, dancing around and spinning away from me when I tried to mount up. I managed (as I always do) to get up and get her under control, but she wouldn’t stand still for Julie to talk to me, so we spent a long time circling. Then it was Julie’s turn. Julie attached a longe line to her bridle and talked me through mounting up in slow motion. The minute Estes got out of line (when she felt the weight in her stirrup), Julie sent her out on the longe and worked her. It was amazing how quickly she was able to get her foot out of the stirrup and set Estes to cantering. That’s all it took. One correction. Once Estes realized that she was going to WORK if she didn’t behave, she settled right down. It was freakin’ amazing. Julie talked me through the correction one more time and we were done other than our practice time with Twyla. During the time I was riding for Julie, Estes was acting up and playing a bit – nothing big, but enough to impress the hell out of Dave. He offered to work with me at any time on the VRH skills I’d need to compete. He seemed to think that we’d be into prizes right off the bat with just a few lessons on what was expected of her.
I rode Estes back to Julie’s, turned her out, and went back to Cheryl’s to see Julie work with Dave. I learned so much about lead changes during his session. Before, I never had a clue how to cue for a lead change, but I think, once we get Estes’ mounting issues straightened out, I’m going to start working with her on figure eights and lead changes.
Despite the fact that Estes only needed one correction from Julie to be “fixed”, I still had to practice with her, so it was back over to Julie’s at 7 pm for my practice session with Twyla. She did awesome! It only took one correction from me to get her straightened out. I mounted her from the on-side and the off-side and she never moved a muscle. So, as a final test, I had Ash mount up. Again, she never moved a muscle. It was miraculous! She stood quietly and waited for her cue to move out. A totally different horse after just a few minutes. Since she did so well in the arena, I stripped her saddle, took her out of the arena and mounted her bareback. Twyla was shocked at how well she did bareback (me, too). Finally, by 8:00 we were done with our day. Hallelujah!
Day ThreeLast day! Kind of bitter sweet. I’m so thrilled with Estes’ progress and so proud of her. She won everyone over with her easy-going personality and her intelligence. Even Julie was surprised that it only took one correction from each of us to change 18 years of training.
6:00 am we were on set and getting ready; Cheryl was digging through my clothes to find the perfect complement to Julie’s outfit and “my crew” was getting Estes ready – I really could get used to this. A quick breakfast in the Bunkhouse and it was hurry up and wait again. Mom walked Estes up and down the yard for a long while to warm her up so she wouldn’t be shivering on camera, and then I rode her around a bit – no standing on the rail for my baby today. Finally we were called to the set for our “after” clips with Julie. Estes stood like a champ for me to mount up in the arena so we moved out to the field to give her her “Final Exam” for Julie. She did the first take perfectly, but Heidi wasn’t happy with the ending, so we had to do it again. By that time, Estes was done playing and because we didn’t have the longe line attached, we couldn’t correct her and we managed to undo the training we did the day before, but it’s still fixable. We knew we’d have a set back now and then, so I’m not too disappointed.
Julie then used Estes for her “Quick Tip” for the episode – where to stand and how to hold the stirrup to help reduce the chance of the horse walking off. And, just like that, our TV stint was done! It felt good to get loaded up and get on our way, but it was hard to leave the crew – everyone was so nice and went out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable.
HorseMaster Cast:
· Julie Goodnight – HorseMaster
· Heidi Nyland – Producer
· Lucy – Grip/Heidi’s “boss”
· Twyla – Grip/training assistant
· Brenda – Julie’s Office Manager
· Cheryl – Grip/Wardrobe Wrangler/Hair/Make-up
· Steve – Cameraman
· Bo – Film editing/camera assist
· Alle – Grip/Go-Fer (15 yo)
· Tara – Cosequin rep
· Linda /Stinger – came for water crossing, ended up being bad saddle fit and sore back
· Dave/? Horse – Versatility/flying lead changes
Day OneFinally got in to GTS about 5:00 pm as they were wrapping up the first day’s shooting. Met the rep from Circle Y Saddles who finally got us settled with Lucy. Unloaded Estes into an outdoor pen behind the high-dollar horses – she looked as good as or better than the others. Signed a million release forms for the show and property liability. Got my “party favors” – Dan Post socks, Circle Y t-shirt, bandana, and Troxel helmet (wow!).
Dropped the trailer at 4 Seasons RV park on the other side of Salida (GTS is closer to Poncha Springs than Salida). Really “cute” as Ash says. The bathroom/shower house was nice and well-kept (Thank God – I hate public showers). Went to dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant – Los Girasoles – where the waiter spent the night hitting on Ash. Now I know how Mom felt when we’d go to Mexico and the waiters there would hit on Nelle all the time.
The shower house, while well-kept, was much creepier after dark. All I could think about while I was taking my shower was all of the ‘80s slasher movies. Can’t say as I liked being so far away from the trailer by in a strange town all by my lonesome.
Day Two
Up and at ‘em and on the set (GTS) at 7:00 am getting my girl ready. Cheryl chose my tops to compliment Julie’s outfit (pink long sleeve and black vest) for the day’s shoot. Lucy took one look at my saddle and decided to oil it because it is so ugly. It was much prettier after it got oiled, but then the executive decision was made to put Estes in a Circle Y saddle, so Estes and I got to ride in an expensive Flex tree saddle – cool, but I’m not sure I could really tell the difference.
Shooting day really was hurry up and wait. When it was finally my time on film, I was swarmed by Cheryl, Lucy and Heidi to fix my hair under my helmet (required by one of the liability releases) and “mike up”. We went up to one of Julie’s pastures that would look “trail-like” for my “before” shot. That shot went pretty well as far as being a disaster. I couldn’t get my foot up into the stirrup, Estes danced around and almost spun away from me, we had to resort to finding a mounting block (a rock, just like I’d have to find in the mountains) before I could mount up. Finally, after much gymnastics and horse vaulting, I climbed aboard and managed to get her to stand still long enough to get both feet in the stirrups. Then for my “B” role, we stripped the saddle and found another mounting block – a tree stump this time – for my bareback mounting show. I managed to get up, but again, it was a mixture of gymnastics and horse vaulting. I could really get used to having a “crew”; the minute I was done filming, Ash and Mom would step in and take Estes to get her ready for the next shot or start fussing with my hair to make sure I was presentable. Lucy was always ready with my jacket so I wouldn’t get too cold between takes – it wasn’t too terribly bad J.
The “before” shot was the easy part – then I had to do the interview. Thank god I’m used to public speaking, because the interview was a bit tough. Mostly because I had to keep reminding myself to keep it short and not say “um” – thank you speech class. The toughest part, though, was trying to make eye contact with the camera, which was less than three feet away from me. Well, that and trying to keep from getting a splinter enema from the tree stump I was sitting on. The day was going pretty well until the wind kicked up. That stupid wind! We broke, had lunch, sat around and waited for the wind to stop. In the meantime, the other two people arrived with their horses: Dave, who happens to be the President of the National Versatility Ranch Horse Association, and Linda with her horse, Stinger, who wanted to work on water crossing.
Steve, Heidi and Julie decided they could shoot some footage of Dave despite the wind, because no one needed to be miked, so Estes and I stood down and we went to watch the versatility horse. Dave really needed to work on transitions; specifically his lead changes. We stood out in the cold wind for a long while watching them film Dave and his mare do each component of a VRH competition: reining, cow work, and trail. It was pretty cool and I know that Estes can and will do all of that. We also managed to take some footage of Linda and Stinger, who entered the water like a pro, so we had to go to Plan B for Linda, which was to work on Stinger’s canter. Linda thought it was too fast and wanted him to gear down to a nice easy lope. Once we left the pond and went back to the outdoor arena, it was obvious that Linda and Stinger’s biggest problem was not the water crossing, but that he was in pain. Her saddle didn’t fit him or her well and she was practically sitting on the cantle. His head was too high and he was hollowing out his back trying to get away from the painful saddle. I can’t quite explain how he moved, but when he went into a canter he would really try hard for a couple of steps, then it would just hurt too much and he’d lift his head, hollow out his back and lock his forelegs. A couple of steps like that and he’d set to bucking – not hard – but bucking sure enough. Poor Linda kept insisting that she was trying to “communicate” with him that she wanted him to slow his canter to an easy lope. That wasn’t the problem at all. Her idea of “communicating” was more like dictating – she was telling, but not listening to what Stinger was trying to tell her, which was “ouch, ouch, ouch”.
After all of the non-verbal shooting was done, the decision was made to move to Cheryl’s indoor arena, which wasn’t ideal, but at least we could continue shooting. By this time Estes had been tied at the rail for six hours or so and was behaving beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for a better behaved horse. None of the other horses had such a long down time without being used or broken down. Since Cheryl’s place was just a quarter mile away or so, I decided to ride Estes and Mom and Ash took the truck. It wasn’t a long ride by any means, but it certainly felt good to stretch our legs. Estes was stiff from being in the trailer on the mountain passes for four hours the day before and then being tied to the rail for so long. It took a while to get the whole production moved to Cheryl’s, so once we got there, Cheryl gave Estes a stall and run to be turned out in for a bit. It was only twenty minutes or so, but between the walk and getting turned out, she started to loosen up. The light in the indoor arena wasn’t great, but at least it was even and out of the wind. We ended up using the flatbed of Mom’s truck as a base for the camera. Mom just pulled the truck up to the door of the arena, removed the rail, and Scott and Bo set up shop. It worked out great, because then they had a good overhead angle and didn’t take up any arena space, so we had more work room.
We got everyone settled, and then it was Estes’ turn again. “My” crew was busy helping the camera crew get settled, so Heidi’s crew helped me get Estes ready. They practically fell on her – Twyla was putting gel in Estes’ mane, Alle was cleaning out her eye boogers and runny nose, and Lucy was brushing out her tail. Cheryl, in the mean time, was trying to make my hair look presentable and Heidi was getting me miked up. Twyla did a final dust off of Estes and Heidi attacked my vest with a pet hair remover. In just a few minutes they had both of us looking better than we had a right to. Estes looked as good as any show horse I’d seen by the time they were done with her. And she LOVED every minute of the primping and pampering.
She put on a heck of a show for the camera again, dancing around and spinning away from me when I tried to mount up. I managed (as I always do) to get up and get her under control, but she wouldn’t stand still for Julie to talk to me, so we spent a long time circling. Then it was Julie’s turn. Julie attached a longe line to her bridle and talked me through mounting up in slow motion. The minute Estes got out of line (when she felt the weight in her stirrup), Julie sent her out on the longe and worked her. It was amazing how quickly she was able to get her foot out of the stirrup and set Estes to cantering. That’s all it took. One correction. Once Estes realized that she was going to WORK if she didn’t behave, she settled right down. It was freakin’ amazing. Julie talked me through the correction one more time and we were done other than our practice time with Twyla. During the time I was riding for Julie, Estes was acting up and playing a bit – nothing big, but enough to impress the hell out of Dave. He offered to work with me at any time on the VRH skills I’d need to compete. He seemed to think that we’d be into prizes right off the bat with just a few lessons on what was expected of her.
I rode Estes back to Julie’s, turned her out, and went back to Cheryl’s to see Julie work with Dave. I learned so much about lead changes during his session. Before, I never had a clue how to cue for a lead change, but I think, once we get Estes’ mounting issues straightened out, I’m going to start working with her on figure eights and lead changes.
Despite the fact that Estes only needed one correction from Julie to be “fixed”, I still had to practice with her, so it was back over to Julie’s at 7 pm for my practice session with Twyla. She did awesome! It only took one correction from me to get her straightened out. I mounted her from the on-side and the off-side and she never moved a muscle. So, as a final test, I had Ash mount up. Again, she never moved a muscle. It was miraculous! She stood quietly and waited for her cue to move out. A totally different horse after just a few minutes. Since she did so well in the arena, I stripped her saddle, took her out of the arena and mounted her bareback. Twyla was shocked at how well she did bareback (me, too). Finally, by 8:00 we were done with our day. Hallelujah!
Day ThreeLast day! Kind of bitter sweet. I’m so thrilled with Estes’ progress and so proud of her. She won everyone over with her easy-going personality and her intelligence. Even Julie was surprised that it only took one correction from each of us to change 18 years of training.
6:00 am we were on set and getting ready; Cheryl was digging through my clothes to find the perfect complement to Julie’s outfit and “my crew” was getting Estes ready – I really could get used to this. A quick breakfast in the Bunkhouse and it was hurry up and wait again. Mom walked Estes up and down the yard for a long while to warm her up so she wouldn’t be shivering on camera, and then I rode her around a bit – no standing on the rail for my baby today. Finally we were called to the set for our “after” clips with Julie. Estes stood like a champ for me to mount up in the arena so we moved out to the field to give her her “Final Exam” for Julie. She did the first take perfectly, but Heidi wasn’t happy with the ending, so we had to do it again. By that time, Estes was done playing and because we didn’t have the longe line attached, we couldn’t correct her and we managed to undo the training we did the day before, but it’s still fixable. We knew we’d have a set back now and then, so I’m not too disappointed.
Julie then used Estes for her “Quick Tip” for the episode – where to stand and how to hold the stirrup to help reduce the chance of the horse walking off. And, just like that, our TV stint was done! It felt good to get loaded up and get on our way, but it was hard to leave the crew – everyone was so nice and went out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable.
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