Meet Marqui

 Things don't always turn out the way you expected.  I went to my foal meet and greet with my heart set on one filly and walked away with another filly clearly imprinted on my mind as the next partner for me.

Everyone, meet Marqui.

Quillane Marqui (Stonecroft Gold Medallion x Taraco Mourinho)

She had my attention from the very first pictures of her standing outside with her dam.

She's about 12 hours old in that picture but it definitely made me stop scrolling.  And she just kept showing up in pictures looking like a million bucks.  I was already waiting for a different foal from the same breeder but the breeder had a hunch and held on to her for me.  I went to see her yesterday and . . .

She is now four months old and loves to sit on her butt.  Three nice gaits, super pretty head, playful and very smart personality.  As the breeder said, 'competition mare mind'.  She definitely wasn't happy when people weren't watching her though she's going through a 'can't catch me' phase.  She oozes sport pony potential.  She leads and picks up her feet like a lady and her baby clip was done with her loose in her stall while she watched with a curious expression.  She's quite certain she's a princess already and her dam has the long suffering face of someone ready for weaning as her filly rears up and whacks her with her front feet.

Believe it or not, her dam is 20 years old.  She's Stonecroft Gold Medallion and her sire is Stonecroft Bold as Brass. She has performance points in western pleasure from her youth but these days she just makes beautiful babies.  She likes to test people to see if you mean it (she is definitely a cob) but also loves to snuggle and get skritches.

Stonecroft Gold Medallion (Thornbeck Golden Deilen x Stonecroft Bold as Brass)

The sire is Taraco Mourinho, an imported stallion with good results in the dressage ring and approved Westfalen pony book.  This means Marqui is eligible for German Riding Pony as well as the NEDA Breeders Futurity.  Word has it that he's doing PSG work now.  He had the top Westfalen KDR foal in 2021 for NA out of a WB mare.  I believe this is his first purebred Welsh Cob foal.  I didn't get to meet him since he lives in FL but his owner is also his rider and she loves him.  His nickname is NP for Naughty Pony so we are getting plenty of sass.

Taraco Mourinho (Danaway Flash Jack x Paith Magical Meredith x Thorneyside Flyer)

His inspection notes include always going uphill and cooperative in all gaits.  Plenty of videos with him taking his mom for trail rides and some pictures of him playing in the ocean from when he lived in Maine.  Like the many cobs we met while touring the breeder's facility, he seems a good guy that has a sense of humor with many strong opinions.  And fantastic feet.  OMG the feet on these cobs, every single one had great feet.  So good.

Marqui's Westfalen inspection is August 23rd so that will be interesting.  I'll probably take that day off from work to go spectate.  Fingers crossed the judges like her as much as me and Trainer Z.  From there it's just a matter of waiting and letting her grow up.  I'm very excited and more than a bit intimidated by taking on this project.  I'll have Trainer Z and the breeder along for the ride but it's still quite an adventure.  

Welcome to the family, Marqui.  You'll have big horse shoes to fill but I think you've got it covered.

New normal

 Three rides in eight days?  Who am I?

He's super excited for more riding, you can tell

Last weekend I had my lesson and then, because it was a holiday weekend and I was on break from school, I snuck in an extra ride.  And then today I had my now regularly scheduled lesson.  It feels so good to have an official time slot on the calendar so I can pick up some momentum.

Theo is being a very good boy while his mom gets her groove back.  The first lessons were mostly about me figuring out how to ride again after a couple years and figuring out all the new buttons on Theo.  Learning the new buttons has really been the challenge.  The Theo I left off had very limited forward, you had to basically chase him up in front of your leg.  This new Theo has his own forward and you have to get back over his hind legs and let him do his thing.  I keep getting forward and chasing him off his rhythm which results in a slightly too fast, too downhill, too long Theo.  Fine at First, not going to work as we're working his canter half pass and his shoulder in.  

It's taking a lot of repetition with supervision to get used to the new ride.  Don't throw the kitchen sink at him, just send him forward.  If he breaks he gets in trouble but assume he's going to do the thing.  This gets me back so I can get his shoulders up instead of driving him down.  It also frees me up to do other things like setting his bend and freeing up the inside shoulder so he can move sideways.  

I have to take a lot of breaks.  Theo is going to Theo and he insists his rider do half the lifting.  Minor detail it's a thousand pound horse we're lifting.  He still expects you to do your half.  My abs start screaming once I get him up in front.  I'm sure his abs are feeling the same, to be fair, but it's not easy picking up 500 pounds of horse.  Trainer Z says she always rides him first so she's got the strength necessary.  It's no longer the Thigh Master, now it's Abs of Steel.

He's suddenly started going grey all across his face and it makes me sad

We also did sitting trot over trot poles while trying to not soften and let him get too long.  I'm going to need to go soak in the tub for a bit.  Since I only ride once a week I'm going to have to start doing some strength training at home.  Apparently Third Level Theo requires serious core strength.  But he's also a very, very fancy boy.

Third Level Theo at your service

One day, one day I will be strong enough to create that canter.  But for right now, I've got to do my core strength and keep building my confidence back up.  Today my response to a threatened spook was to correct it without changing gait and snark "I am still your mother".  No flash of anxiety or need to do anything about it, just correct and move on.  Theo believed me so I guess that's coming back as well.  It's a good thing, we're going to wake up the monster a bit before I get to play with his flying changes.  

Fancy prance and future plans

 Got some video of Theo's last outing and have to say, he looks amazing.  Yes, I'm biased, but he looks amazing.

This is the Theo that has trainers offering money on the spot because they think he's perfect for their nervous adult ammies.  They also don't watch his warm ups so they don't know the truth.  

He has the best attitude in this test.  This is his fancy prance and he's happy to show his fancy prance.  He's also happy to halt and even happier to walk.  I can see why his canter/walk/canter is usually his highest scoring movement.  The first one got away from them but the second one is how he usually does them.  Trainer Z is talking about doing a series of them down center line in her freestyle.  Daaaaamn.  I believe this is his test that got him a 67% with 7s and 8s for his technical movements.  6.5 for the medium which is a pop the champagne win as far as we're concerned.  At least the judges are giving him points for trying.

Since he's got the scores he needs to qualify for his freestyle, he's taking July off as usual.  It hit 90's this weekend with high humidity and he is a puddle.  He'll probably remain a puddle until the summer heat settles in August.  Good time for technical stuff, bad time to show him off.  The plan for him right now is to get Trainer Z her bronze bar in freestyle.  Which means he'll have to go get his qualifying score for Third next year but that gives him another year to dial in those flying changes.

July is hot, miserable, and a good time to take a break from training.  It is also the time that a very special baby is due and I'm scheduled to go meet them.  Surprise surprise, there is a respected Welsh Cob breeder two hours away from me.  Fingers crossed for a little palomino colt but the color doesn't really matter.  Neither does the gender if I'm going to be honest.  I'll happily take a chestnut filly with flaxen mane and tail just like the dam so long as they are built like daddy (mommy also has plenty to add to the equation) and have both parents' fantastic temperament.

Quillane Authentic

The tough part may be choosing since there's a buckskin filly already running around that is pretty dang special.  Highly suspicious I'll be buying my first foal next month.  Whether it's the July foal or the pretty buckskin filly is really the question.  Don't worry, I'm bringing Trainer Z to keep my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds.

Quillane Marqui

But Trainer Z has a weak spot for buckskin mares.  I did not know this.

Third Level Pony

 I was so nervous sending Theo to a multi-day show with Trainer Z.  He's always been a handful and takes a lot of management to keep him from getting dangerous. He loves Trainer Z and they've worked out a great relationship all their own but he's different when he's in a stall for a couple days.  I didn't want anyone to get hurt.  I've been glued to my laptop and phone for days, worried about getting a bad phone call.

Apparently, I didn't need to worry.

Friday was an awesome warm up with Theo being a total gentleman except for one banner which he decided was evil.  Trainer Z figured that would get her a good canter extension so win?  We'll call that a win.  And I've definitely corrupted her with the colorful get ups.

Saturday was a lovely Second Level 3 test to get that qualifying score for their freestyle.  They needed a 63% and Theo delivered a 63.09% on their first try.  There was a rider error in the test so there were points left for them to pick up and Trainer Z was delighted with his performance.  She'd never experienced show Theo who is an absolute twit in the warm up and then sparkles when he hits center line.  It's something you can explain but until you feel the way he lifts his back and powers up as he enters, you don't quite understand.  Trainer Z now understands.  I don't know how it's possible that a horse can understand something like that, but he understands what a show ring is and loves to show off.  In warm up he'll flip you the middle finger and have little temper tantrums but when the sand box is all his, it's go time.

That was already a big victory.  They had the score they needed, they had the first show bugs out of the way.  Day two was just icing on the cake as far as I was concerned but Trainer Z wanted those points that were still on the table in the Second 3 test.  They went back in and got a 66.5% for second place in the open division for Second 3.  Ahhhhh!  I was so proud of them that I almost forgot he was also entered in Third 1 in case Trainer Z thought he was ready to give that a shot.

Apparently she thought he was ready because the scores popped up on my laptop.  60.3% in his Third level debut.  I'm so proud of them both!  His first show in years with a new rider and a new venue and he rocked it.  Absolutely rocked it.  I'm so excited, I just don't have words.  He's come a long way from the mutt school horse that struggled at Training Level.  Sending him off to Trainer Z was the best choice I could have made for him.  

Superstar

 With all of the bad reports I get, it's a particular delight to get some good reports.  Trainer Z messaged me on Sunday with pictures of Theo making new friends during his bath.

Bathtime is better with cookies and new friends

Ah, the tiny ones.  Theo loves them.  They ask for nothing and give him all the attention, skritches, and cookies.  He needed a bath since it was clinic time on Monday.  He got packed up with Sparklepants and off they went.

We're here!

I will admit to being on pins and needles.  A new ring in a place he's never seen after a couple years of no shows or clinics?  Evil Theo could easily show up.  But I didn't need to worry, Theo is a bit of an old warhorse at this point.  He knows how clinics work.  Trainer Z messaged me afterward all aglow.  He was so good that the Second Level stuff got boring and they worked on Third.  Clean changes in both directions!

Trainer Z also surprised me by dressing him up in colors. I'm such a terrible influence.  Glad I left his dark purple browband for her, it looks awesome with the forest green.

I'm so proud of him.  I got a video clip of him doing his left to right change, the one that was very sticky and he would trot one step rather then do an actual flying change.  He's got the mechanics pretty well sorted out now.  It's not fluid yet but it's a definite flying change with no drama and he no longer needs a pole on the ground to remind him to do it flying and not cheat.  He's still doing it as he heads into the wall but he's not far off from being able to do it at X.  His right to left is now clean and being done at X.  Well, sort of, he has to really concentrate and it takes a couple strides for him to plan the move in his head so accuracy is a bit spotty still.  But hey, that's fine for Third.  It's willing, it's clean, there's no drama.  

He still winds himself up for the change, you can see him going '1, 2, Change!' as he's cantering along.  It's pretty cute.  He also grunts as he picks himself up to prep for the change.  But it's very calm, he's no longer upset or flustered.  Theo's an odd duck that way.  Learning something completely new upsets him and he gets overwrought.  Once he understands the request, it suddenly becomes no big deal and he can practice without any effect on his emotional state.  Turn on the haunches was the same, shoulder in was the same, half pass was the same.  Flying change was harder because he couldn't do baby steps or practice at the walk.  We're finally through the part where Theo gets upset because he doesn't understand.  Now he understands and we can finally just work on them without drama.

No lesson for me this weekend since I'm going camping but next weekend, I can start working toward being able to ride that fancy, Third Level horse I own.

Hope

 Third time is a charm, right?

He has no business being this pretty

Third ride back and I feel fine.  I did have my first encounter with 'omg it's going to kill me' Theo when the arena doors dared to slide against each other and creak as we were trotting past.  Fortunately I've ridden that enough times to know reflexively how to stop him.  Hold the left rein like it's the only thing keeping you alive and sit back.  He stopped straight and stared.  Trainer Z was on supervisor duty and decided to latch the doors to stop the noise rather than have us have a set back.  And then we marched off and acted like nothing had happened.  Kind of glad we got that out of the way.  I still know how to get deep in the saddle and how to stop that spin before it can start.  Theo stopping straight isn't a problem.  That spin?  Let's just not do that, papi.

I actually rode him enough to get him breathing hard.  It's a good thing, Trainer Z is taking him to a clinic tomorrow and it's his first trip off property in a long time.  But she noted my strength, fitness, and confidence appear to be fine now and asked if I'd like to get back into formal lessons rather than supervised free riding.  Yay!  Next weekend I'm camping but in two weeks, it's back to the grindstone so she can fix my wayward hands and teach me how to correctly ride my Third Level pony that she has all tuned up.  I couldn't get a clean canter-walk today so I know it's time to get back to formal training for me as well as Theo.

Mom is still crooked, news at 11

I did some sitting trot to check that out and it wasn't bad.  Just a couple minutes and I can tell that it's something that's going to require careful management but we can at least work on it.  Theo's trot is appalling to sit but I only need to do it for three minutes or so at a time to get through a Third Level test.

Am I thinking about that Bronze again?  You betcha.  And why not?  I may be embarrassed to have my trainer get on my horse first at the show but that shouldn't stop me from finishing what we started. 

Watching Trainer Z work with Sparklepants

Once Theo's going Third in the show ring with Trainer Z, I want to take a shot at those last two scores.  Last year I couldn't ride more than thirty minutes without suffering the next day and couldn't really sit the canter.  Now I'm riding 45 minutes with real work and doing fine with nothing more than some Advil that night.  Who knows what I'll be able to do in 2023?  And he's very polite about his changes now that he understands the request.  They're about 75% confirmed right now, per Trainer Z.  Once I'm back in formal lessons, I can learn how to ask for them correctly.  I don't need to win, I just need two 60's.  

Yes, I'm starting to hope again.  We may not be done just yet.

So foals, how does that work?

 I hinted that Trainer Z and I were discussing a potentially cool upcoming project as it appears my neck is going to let me play for awhile longer.  We talked a couple times and now it's kind of becoming a thing.  For the first time in my life, I want to own a horse with a pedigree.  I want to know where they came from, who bred them, and what they were meant to be when they grew up.  I want to have baby pictures and watch someone look like they're flying a kite while getting the baby around a triangle.  And it's the perfect time since Theo would be around 23 by the time this theoretical baby was old enough to become my primary focus.

I'm going to buy a foal.  

I still feel like screaming every time I say that.

I'm very lucky that Trainer Z is on board and this is far from her first rodeo.  She's got one due at the end of the month and her four year old stallion was born on her property.  And he's such a riot, he's turning into this total clown that loves to watch her working the other horses.  He will also peer in the window while she's using the wash stall, it's hilarious.  

Just look at this weirdo

As much as I love her horses, her breeding program isn't for me.  Her horses are getting scooped up by people with grand, CDI type goals.  They need a lot of horse and I, frankly, have reached the point in my life where I don't need that much horse.  I need smaller gaits, not bigger.  And I want to be closer to the ground.  I'm tiny, damn it!

I wrote about what I want back in 2019 (before all hell broke loose) and it's more true now then when I wrote it.  I want short, sturdy, hairy, and fun.  I need enough power and brains to go up the levels but not so much I live in fear of what will happen.  And with my changed status, Trainer Z was ADAMANT that I not look at big, powerful, dressage bred WB.  As much as she'd enjoy having another fancy baby in the barn, she likes her client in one piece even more.  And I think she just likes the idea of having a fancy pony in her herd.  And we both immediately latched on to it being a stocky, native breed pony.  None of these mini-WB ponies.  Good feet, good brain, lots of self preservation.  Or, in her words:

Think: THICK, small, round, cute, and fancy.

So we're shopping.  She reaching out to her contacts, I've started reaching out to the few Welsh Cob breeders I know (Quillane and Castleberry, for those that are curious).  The plan is to find the right foal and to have Trainer Z manage the baby until they're safe enough for my AA butt.  Probably five or six years (because I'm still dumb enough to get on a five year old).  So a very nice start for the pony, growing up at a barn with their care and training supervised by a GP rider that's also a breeder.  And I can help with the ground stuff!  I have no restrictions on handling so I can get them ready to show in the breed ring or the DHSB stuff.  

Now comes the hard part.  Picking a foal.  Especially as I've never done this.  Trainer Z is absolutely helping but she's got a business to run.  Some of the leg work has to fall on me, especially as we're diving into a breed she hasn't shopped for in the past.  I have Welsh cob pictures and pedigrees all over the place right now, trying to figure out what's going to work for us.  I didn't realize how hard it is to get a feel for the mares since they don't usually have under saddle pictures or even decent confirmation pictures.  My eyes aren't trained to understand a broodmare belly. 

So for those that have done something crazy like this, how did you do it?  How did you pick the perfect one?  And what questions should I ask the breeders?  Because asking 'are your horses awesome?' doesn't seem very effective.