My goal and dream for four years has been to go to Pony Finals. Pony Finals is a place located in Lexington, Kentucky, that usually contains at least 600 ponies!! About 300 in each section!! . At Pony Finals,  you need to qualify by June to be able to compete. Pony Finals is in August. There is a live stream on T.V where you can watch all the amazing ponies show! You qualify by earning enough points at a regular show, meaning you need to win first our second over all the weekend out of at least three ponies. (most of the time more) In my horse show blog, I mentioned that I compete in the small ponies meaning that I compete in a section the all the ponies. You may tell from the name, that my section contains the smallest ponies out of the medium and large pony groups. There is also a green section, but this time, not sticking up to the name. This section is still divided by size, but there is normally less ponies in this group and this is the ponies (doesn’t have to be the riders) first time at Pony Finals is they qualify. If they don’t qualify, then they have to move to the regulars next year. Green ponies are usually less trained and thats why they have their own section. Since I lease (rent for the year) my pony, Squeak, he has been to pony finals once before but I have not. Like I said, going to Pony Finals has been my main dream for four years, but unfortunately, I haven’t had the best luck. Like in 2021, my first Pony Finals in progress pony was named Heidi. Heidi was unfortunately uncomfortable jumping and would regularly refuse and try to dump me onto the jumps. We sold her to a farm that would do smaller jumps on her. After that, I got Annie and she was perfect for Pony Finals! Well, until she broke her leg two days before a show. But she is okay and now is a brood mare in Ohio! Well, now that I have qualified, lets talk about this dream of a weekend. On Friday after school, we drove 5 hours to Aiken SC. There, we quickly rode Squeak, then cared for him. The next day was Saturday. We got there around 5:00 am so I could ride before I showed! I showed at 6:30 am. The first day went excellent getting all firsts and seconds. The show was looking good! The next day also went amazing! I won the hack, which is a class judged on how fancy your pony is, and moves. I got mostly seconds after that. I was so happy when the judge said I was second place over the whole weekend! Now, I was qualified and I couldn’t be more happy! Remember to never give up on your dreams. Here are some photos of the show.

Photos taken by me or my mom

In Science class lately, we’ve all been doing research about a planet or a space object and putting it into a slide. I’ve been learning about Saturn and have learned so much! For example, did you know that in 2025 (next year!!) Saturn’s rings will temporarily disappear because every 15 Saturn years, (450 earth years) its rings are pointed EXACTLY towards the sun so both the northern and southern hemispheres of Saturn get the same amount of heat, (not much) so it’s like if spring or any season was the same temperature everywhere!!!!! That’s so cool?! Right?! Well I can’t WAIT to see my classes projects and present mine! I would love to hear about yours!

 

 

For a while now in LA, we have been working on illustrating and writing comics based on wisdom tale stories we read earlier this school year. I wrote a comic about The Old Dog And The Coyote. This tale is about an old dog who started to loose his hearing. His job on the farm was to keep prediters away from the chickens. When a wolf starts chasing the chickens and the old dog doesn’t notice, the farmer kicks him off the farm and instructs him to go live on his own. While looking for food, he runs into a coyote trying to jump over a cactus. The coyote fails and gets thorns stuck all over its body. The old dog plucks each and every thorn out of the coyote and saves it. In return, the coyote prete NB ds to chase the chickens while the dog pretends to scare it off. This convinces the farmer to let him come back. The important lesson this story teaches is if you do good, it will come back around. I chose this amazing story because I thought the lesson was incredible and the way the author teaches it is amazing. This has been one of my all time favorite LA projects!! I can not WAIT to look at yours!

(Photo taken by me)

 

My favourite thing to do is compete in horse shows. On this blog, I will be sharing my usual show routine and things I enjoy from the show. My favriote show to compete at is Tryon, TIEC. (Tryon Internatinal Equestrian Center) I love competing there because there are fun activities, the arenas are big and buetiful, and the food is amazing! Heres a little sneak peak of what it looks like.

(These photos are not of me and are from the Tryon website)

I also enjoy showing at other shows such as Triangle Farms, (in Raliegh, NC) and Segfield at The Park, (in Pinehurst, NC) but mostly Tryon. (in Tryon, NC) here is my schedule over the busy but amazing weekend showing at Tryon. 5:00 am is our early start to the day! I wake up, get on some of my show clothes such as my show shirt, breeches, belt, and boots. This is what it looks like laid out. (photo taken by me in my room)

Then we hit the road from the rental house we usually stay in. We arrive at the show before the sun does along my trainers, my showing buddies/people from my farm, and amazing pony, Squeak, are already there. My mom drops me off to walk Squeak, which lets him stretch his legs, while she grabs my breakfast. I will eat this after I show since my class is the first class to go, I have to get ready, and I have to get ready quick! My mom braids my hair into two braids. In the style I show in, hunters, you are required to either have your hair braided into two braids, or in a hair net. Since my class only has children and ponies, the judges like to see cute little braids and cute little ponies. Well, the second one is already a check for me! Right Squeak? Haha! After my braids are done, I put in some bows. Many people like me have lucky bows. When you where your lucky bows, you get good luck! Here are mine: (photo taken by me in my room)

Then I put on my gloves, jacket, garders, and gloves. Im all set, but what about Squeak? Well, first I groom him, or clean him with brushes. next, we tack him up. A saddle pad, saddle, and bridle. I hop on and warm up! I learn my course off of a piece of paper which says which jumps I need to jump in order. Once I have memorized that, I put my show face on and walk into the arena. The announcer will announce that I am about to do my round like this, “Next in the arena is number___ Louisa (my last name) and Arnaby Mighty Mouse.” (Arnaby Mighty Mouse is squeaks show name, or the name he is called at shows. I know it sounds weird but most horses have them!) Usually, I do a warm up course which allows Squeak to get his fear of anything in the ring out before I do my judged courses. I learn one course after another and do my best to impress the judge. My class competes over 2 feet and 3 inch jumps. after everyone in my class finishes their over fences, we will under saddle. This means we all spread out into the arena and show off how fancy out ponies can be. This class is judged on who’s pony stretches out the most, and how they move. After we finish that, the judge will announce who won that award. Then we will hear how the judge placed us in our over fences. The over fences, or jumping classes, are judged on who has the smoothest, easiest going round. Since I am the first class to go, I am able to just hang out around the show the rest of the day. Sunday goes the same except this time, we may add two classes! I know this sounds crazy, but sometimes on Sunday, I have to wake up even earlier! You may wonder why, how, and have so many questions, so Ill explain it! (Yay! even more confusing, long explanations!) This special class is called a derby. Derbys are confusing, weird courses that I wont hurt you brain with. We’ll just say they’re longer, and can have weird twist to them, like a jump you trot, or a jump you have to roll back to. Derby’s are judged on how handy, or how tight your horse can turn, and smoothness. Usually there is a big neck ribbon that looks like this: (This photo was taken by a photographer at the State Fair show in Raleigh. Its on the website KristenHannahPhotography)

This was in a derby at the State Fair, Raleigh, NC. Most of the time the derbys are called Pony Derbys. these are only for ponies competing to qualify for Pony Finals. Pony Finals is what it sounds like. All of the top ponies come together in August at Lexington, Kentucky and compete. Other than a derby, Sunday also adds a confirmation. this class is when you take off your pony’s saddle, hold them in the middle of the ring, and show how nice your pony can stand, how muscular they are, and believe it or not, how pretty they are. After all the classes I have mentioned are scored from a scale of 0/100, (you get a zero if you fall off or get three refusals, and an 100 if you are perfect which isn’t possible) the top two overall champion and reserve champion are announced. If you get one of these in the small, medium, or large pony division, you have access to go to Pony Finals. Pony Finals is my goal currently unachieved, but hopefully not for long! My most recent show was at Triangle farms, Raleigh. Squeak was great! My next show is in Aiken in two weeks. Here are some photos of my last show!

(Photo from the horse show photos website)

(Photo taken by my mom)

If you are interested, confused, or just want to talk more about horse showing, I will always be happy to at school!

 

I live skiing. I’ve been skiing for seven years now and love it so much!! My family and I go skiing every year for spring break. This year, were going to Colorado I have been here before. We usually either go to Colorado or Montana. I love both of these places with my whole heart! They are both beautiful and wonderful to ski in. Last year, we went to Utah. That was also a magical place to go! Last year was my first time going there. I love skiing with my dad. We both love the double black powder days! Next year, he is going to take me to Wyoming. We are going to hike up a big mountain, and then ski down it. Im supper excited! I will give a little recap on my ski trip last year. Last year, we went skiing in Sundance, Utah. We were meant to go to Calafornia, but the weather was awful! There were floods and hurricanes so we went to Utah instead. We stayed in this super cool house that had a bedroom in a little corner with a LADDER leading up to it! It was basically a bunk bed but with a ladder to the room instead of the bed! We skied for about three days in ski school, had a fun family ski day at the trick parck and down some slopes, and then since the snow was looking extra powdery and activily snowy, my dad and I went together on a father daughter run! It was so much fun! The powder snow was frech and went up to my knees! I had a great trip last year and hope to have another one this year in Aspen, Colorado. I would love to know if ski or snowboard and if so, so much about it! Also, part of the reason I LOVE skiing is this view. so pretty.

(Taken by me)

These are some photos me skiing through the years taken by me or a family member! Bye!

Thanksgiving lives after its name. Thanksgiving started in 1620 when the Mayflower set sail for America from the UK for a new life. I’m sure they were thankful to be able to come here! Well, if they were, I’m sure that didn’t last for long. To be fair, they did have to leave many loved ones behind they may never see again! They didn’t have FaceTime or airplanes back then. Imagine you set sail for 66 days leaving behind friends and family! That would be pretty hard to be thankful at the time. And not to forget, people started to get very sick very soon. Luckily, only one person died over the journey. Although this probably seemed rough for everyone onboard, they were in for a treat. Everyone had to cram under the boat for sleep. Talking about all this miserable stuff on a THANKSgiving post doesn’t feel right so let’s fast forward to when the pilgrims finally got to America! After that long trip I’m sure they super happy to finally get what many suffered for. However, things didn’t go as planned. The pilgrims brought diseases to America and gave them to the native Americans. This hurt the native Americans population. The pilgrims weren’t happy either to see that they didn’t have this land to themselves. A war between the native Americans and the pilgrims started. After they set peace they helped each other with things. They soon planned a dinner which would continue for years and years annually afterwards. And yes, if you haven’t guessed already, that was thanksgiving dinner. We still celebrate thanksgiving now thinking about all the amazing things in your life. Here are ten things I’m thankful for;
Family,
My pets, (especially my ponies!)
Shelter,
Food / water,
Sports,
Friends,
Clothes,
Weekends,
Candy,
Life.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving because I did! I stayed in the mountains with my cousins, grandparents, brothers, and parents. I am so thankful that I was able to be there! What are your thankful for? Here are photos from my Thanksgiving!

(All photos were either taken by me or my mom at our mountain house)

I have been riding for six years and would rather do nothing else than be around my horses. This all started with my mom’s old horse Frenchie. We owned Frenchie from when I was zero to three. I loved visiting her every day with my mom. Every now and than my mom would sit me on top of Frenchie and acording to my mom, I loved it. Frenchie was a beautiful, big, sweet horse. when I was three years old, when my first brother was born. Kids and horses are a LOT of work on a budget and my parents soon realized that and unfortunately, sold Frenchie. Although I haven’t seen Frenchie since then, she has impacted my riding life and love. One summer day, my cousin invited me to do a horse day camp with her. I said sure and had the best week of my life. Even just walking around was so fun! However, my cousin didn’t feel the same. I started taking lessons once a week at the same farm. Unfortunately, this barn was way overpriced so we switched. My first lesson at this new barn was on a pony named Peanut. I was able to ride 3 times a week now with better training and it was STILL even cheaper than the last barn. After many fun lessons at this barn, I got to ride a small mare named Jeanie in April, 2019. I immediately LOVED Jeanie and would ask my trainer constantly if I could ride Jeanie more. My trainer suggested leasing Jeanie to my mom. My mom said she would think about it. After begging and begging, she agreed. I was so happy! I rode Jeanie every single lesson now, and she was mine for a while. I had been working a long time on proving to my trainer that I could canter. However, she refused to let me. Well, that was until one day. This one day, I was riding Jeanie when my trainer finally said I was ready to canter.

This summer, we read a book called Finding Someplace by Denise Lewis Patrick. In one part, Reesie, the main character, had to pack up her stuff and leave her house because what was her house then, was soon to be destroyed by hurricane Catrina. Recently, my class acted as if we were in Reesie’s  situation by drawing our own backpack and packing it up with what we would bring if we were in a hurricane. Here is what mine looked liked.

This was such a fun activity for me and now I know what I would bring if I were in a hurricane!

On August 30th, we hit the road at 8:30 am on the Carolina Livery bus to Camp Kirkwood. We had a fun 2 1/2 hour bus ride reading, talking, singing, drawing and more fun activities. Once we arrived, we found our cabins and ate lunch. (All of the pictures below were taken by my teachers while we were at camp!)

The next day, on August 31st, we did activities like the swimming pool, team building, the V swing, etc. it was a fun and busy day. That night, we watched a movie, The Lorax and hiked to a fire, sang songs, and roasted s’mores. We were all tired afterwords.

The next day, on September 1st, we met a pig named Bubbles and we boated and zip lined out of the fun three days. After the zip line, we packed up and headed home.

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