More cuteness overload...

I haven't done much talking about my students here lately, but we went to a mini-event/combined test a few weekends ago, and a good friend of mine got some STELLAR photos of my gang, so I thought I'd steal them and post them so you could marvel in the cuteness of my "kidlets."

I know every trainer says they have the best students ever, but there is really no way anyone can have students as awesome as mine. They put a smile on my face (most days) and make my job worth it (most days). I love being successful myself, but I really have just as fun watching the kidlets be successful! Really!

So, without any further ado, please, revel in their cuteness.

This is Tori and her pony, Snickers. Tori is 11 and Snickers is a 12 year old AQHA mare who had belong to a college friend of mine since she was a yearling. Snickers landed with Tori about a month ago and Tori is working towards her first BN horse trial in late fall. She is fearless on Snickers and Snickers is just challenging enough to make Tori work a little bit.

This is Olivia and Major. Olivia is 14, Major is 12, I think, and he's a 14.3 Morgan gelding. EVERY PERSON should have a Major in their lives. He has brought Olivia up from the very beginning and now she is cruising around BN with him. His dressage is a work in progress but he is brilliant to jump and he and Liv have an amazing relationship. He is Mr. Personality and they are so lucky to have each other!

Amanda and Jazz make a great pair and have come such a long way! Amanda is 13 and Jazz is 8, we got Jazz from a hunter barn and she has been a fabulous horse to learn on. She has definitely challenged Amanda, but Jazz's slightly sensitive nature is well matched with Amanda's critical-thinking way of learning. They are moving forward together in great bounds and are looking forward to moving up to 2' at our next show. Jazz is ALL mare and Amanda is just as sassy to boot!

Anna and Murphy are another great pair. Anna moved onto Murphy from her "starter" pony to learn the ropes of eventing. Murphy is a teenaged Irish Sport horse who has evented up through the prelim and Anna is a 13 year old who has big aspirations, so they clicked right away. Anna is Murphy's third teenager and one of his favorite sayings is "WHY did you get me another teenager?!" Anna did her first BN at Maydaze and hopes to do plenty more this summer!

 Ansleigh and her pony Ronny, an Anglo-arab, are learning together and having a lot of fun, but also learning the ups and downs of eventing together! Ansleigh has borrowed sweet, aged Ibn from the gang at Southern Promise for a little confidence boost and is doing very well with him! Ansleigh is tiny but spunky and is proving to be a real DQ!



And now for the... more... senior... kidlet division...

Shannon and Pumpkin are another new team. Pumpkin was a diamond in the rough craigslist pony and Shannon is learning about eventing with Pumpkin while I teach him! He is by far one of my favorite ponies to ride and I only wish he was 16 hands! Shannon enjoys riding with her daughter Tori (well, sometimes) and we're all having a ball this summer learning together!

Kelly and Scout are working super hard and proving that hard work will pay off!! Also aiming towards their first BN in late fall, Kelly had dedicated herself to her goal and Scout is, somewhat grudgingly, coming along with her! Scout is a Belgian/TB and was a PMU rescue that Kelly has brought along herself, he is bold and never boring, especially because he is OBSESSED with his BFF, Pumpkin! Watch out for these guys in the fall!

Nancy and Ben are a match made in heaven! Ben is another PMU baby, a Belgian/QH cross that we got from a hunter barn. He has decided that he LOVES eventing, although dressage may not be his favorite, and Nancy has had a ton of fun on XC with him! He won at his first mini-event and is looking forward to many more exciting shows with Nancy. His bold attitude suits Nancy's gung-ho learning style and they put a smile on each other's face!



There are other students I should mention, too, although I don't have exceedingly cute pics of them from the last show:

Leslie and Sam- Leslie took (most) of the above fabulous pics. Look for Sam's eventing debut in June, and Leslie in late fall. Sam is a registered APHA 'Aint... he's very red and not very spotted and is basically an oversized Golden Retriever. If you're missing something, it's probably in his mouth.

Robin and Moose were my Charter Students! Moose is an Arab pony and Robin is an adult with stubby legs, so they make a great pair. Some days, Moose is so not-an-arab it's not even funny, and some days Moose is SO-an-arab it makes us all what to cry. Either way, it's been fun watching Robin and Moose learn together and their partnership grow over the years.

Laura shares Ronny with Ansleigh, though it seems that this summer, Laura has stolen him, fair and square! Laura and Ronny are another great match, some days they both have infinite patience with each other, and some days they don't! Laura is looking forward to taking Ronny to a mini-event or two this summer before grudgingly passing the reins back to Ansleigh!

Diana is Laura's younger daughter and Ainsleigh's little sister. She's hot on her sister's heels, riding her borrowed pony Danny and hoping to get her hands back on Ibn in the near future! Diana has a whole lot of gumption and is a definite "pony kid" who grits her teeth and gets the job done... sometimes I wish we could all be as gutsy as Diana!


And, not to be left out...

Have I mentioned how special my trainer is? And I don't mean special like "special," I mean special like "How many trainers do you know that take a vested interest in their students' students?" Here's Amy aboard Snickers, giving her a XC little tune up for Tori at the last show. Although, I'm not going to lie, I think she did it for her own selfish reasons... who wouldn't want to take a pony like Snickers around XC?!

As Amy says... "She's a go-getter!"

(And yes, I had too much fun writing this post!! I'm procrastinating because I got the wrong rider's pics on my CD from Maydaze, so I will give you a full first-training recap when I get my CD with the RIGHT pics on it!)