September – Failure is a Requirement for Success

I wish summer wasn’t about to end, but it was an amazing summer. It was a summer of ups and downs. But one of the biggest things I learned this summer is that failure is a requirement for success. Tommie and I did an interview for Associated Press at Breyerfest. I did not realize it, but one of the reasons he was willing to train me was because when he asked how many times I had fallen off….I responded too many to count.
I think you learn the most when things don’t go the way you hoped. Every time you do something new, there is a chance it won’t go well or will need tweaked or you will have to practice it more.

I had a great summer, because I really challenged myself as a rider. Yes, I had setbacks. I missed my mount on Puddles in the July 4th show and fell to the ground (the crowd thought that was what was intended, but it wasn’t) I took many falls, had an occasional refusal trying to learn horse striding over 3 foot jumps and the list goes on, but the successes more than made up for the setbacks.

However, I am really proud that I challenged myself all spring and summer. I learned a lot. It is hard to believe that I jumped Rosie for the first time less than a year ago. Now I jump her over full courses bridleless. I made the ride off in my first regional equitation final. My young ponies that I broke and am training are doing really well. I put together two new acts. I taught my ponies a bunch of new tricks. I started riding and jumping more of our horses. I jumped bigger jumps and am riding and training animals that are young.

There are so many things I want to do with my horse……But I know you have to willing to try and you might fail the first time, but the important thing is to DREAM BIG…..And keep trying. You just have to take the setbacks in stride and keep moving forward to the next hurdle. It's been an amazing ride!

Lizzy

September - SBS Show - Snarky, but Kindness is Still Required

We took ten horses to Summer Breeze. My dad showed four. I rode six and showed five. Rosie was champion in the equitation and reserve champion in her hunter division. We won the equitation over fences and were first and second in the hunter over fences classes. Silver was champion in the pony hunters. Seabreeze was reserve champion. Missy was reserve champion in the baby greens. I took Jazz, but I did not show her, because we didn’t get time to get her schooled. She was pretty fresh.

At the end of the day I showed CICI (Seabreeze). CiCi is always pretty snarky. She does not like to work. She will buck, rear and carry on until she realizes it is too much work and easier to just do her job. She rode an amazing course great jumps, good rhythm and lead changes. The course in the above video was actually featured on a Chronicle of the Horse blog, as an example of a nice hunter pony. Unfortunately at the end of the course I was tired and spurred a bit hard when she wasn’t coming around the corner as readily as I thought she should…..she bucked me off. It was kind of deserved. My mom says that most of the time horses try their hearts out for us. They are usually bad because we aren’t clear about what we want. We punish them for our mistakes. I know she is right ….It is important to always asked yourself, when your horses isn’t doing what you want if it is their fault or yours

Lizzy

August - Centre County Grange Fair

Every year in Centre Hall, there is Centre County Grange Fair. They set up rows and rows of tents and rows and rows of RV’s. It is quite a site to see. It is the largest and oldest encampment fair in the country. We have not been in town for the fair the last few years, but just happened to be home this year. They have a horse show on Tuesday of the fair for residents of the area. It is free to residents of Centre County and less than 3 miles from our house. I talked my mom into letting me take a few of the young horses to the fair. We had a blast. I took Missy, Silver, Mattee and Toby. All three are five and six years old. This was the second show of the year for all three, because we have been on the road so much with performing. They were awesome. My dad rode Mattee. Mattee won the two under saddle classes and hunter over fences. Silver was second in both of her two over fences classes. Missy won the Hunter hack class and Equitation class. I showed Toby without a bridle and he was awesome. We took him along, just because he wanted to go. I dressed Toby up for the costume class. He is into anything that gets him attention and peppermint and that does not require much work. We shipped in to the fair on Monday. Stayed in our camper and showed on Tuesday. It was a really fun show, because there is such a variety of horses and it is very low key. We had a great time. Thank you to the Weaver and Yoder family for all the effort you put forth to make the Centre County Grange Fair residence show possible. Hope to see you next year!

Lizzy

August - 4-H Districts

4-H District Horse Show had its high points and low points. We qualified for districts in two classes working hunter over fences and working hunter under saddle. I had the choice at round-up to show equitation on the flat and hunter hack or equitation over fences and the working hunter at three foot. I chose to compete in the more difficult classes. I just started riding Rosie two days prior to round-up last summer. She had been sold, but it did not work out. While away from the farm she was over faced when jumping. As a result, she came home underweight, very nervous and with a mean stop at the jumps. We have spent the last year working putting weight back on her and reschooling her. She is doing great, but I am just learning the horse stride. Rosie does not have a big stride, so I have to land and flow, than settle to jump out of the line. Needless to say, we had a refusal at district at the first fence of the working hunter class. It did not help that there was a large pile of construction materials that was spooking most of the horses including Rosie, but Rosie had a stop none the less. We did come back and win our under saddle class. I was disappointed that things did not go well in my over fences class, but Rosie schooled amazing. I was really proud of myself for entering the more difficult classes. My mother says you often times learn more from your failures than your successes. I love Rosie so much ……..and we just keep getting better and better!
Lizzy

August - High Hopes Farm Summer Camp

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I spent a week with my friend Gabby at the camp that is run, where she boards her pony. It is an awesome camp. It is run by Perry and Katie Fitzpatrick. At camp, we swim ponies, ride cross country, ride side saddle, go to a reining farm and all kinds of cool stuff. We swim and cook out. We sleep on Perry's front proch. It is an awesome camp. Can't wait to go again next year. It is cool getting to spend the weel with Gabby.

Lizzy

August – Quentin EPPHSA Horse Shows

We showed at two back-to-back rated shows at the Quentin riding club. We took the big Imperatore horse van with our little camper behind. We just purchased the camper a few months ago. It was really cool to have at the show. We woke up really early, schooled horses and than took a nap. We also had an air conditioned spot to each lunch. It was awesome. I showed Rosie and Jazz. I did not keep Rosie in front of my leg in our first class and we missed a lead change. I fixed the problem and we won the next over fences class. My friend gabby hacked Rosie to a second place finish in the US. We were reserve champion at the first show. Jazz was consistently in the ribbons, but she was a star on Sunday. I qualified for the EPPHSA year end equitation final. I rode Jazz and we were in the top four. This was the first equitation final I have ever ridden in…..it was really cool. Jazz was great. She also won the hack the second day. They were both really good. We had a great time at these shows.

Lizzy

August - Photo Shoot with Barry Bland

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Barry Bland from Barcroft media in London came to the farm to take pictures. Barcroft distributes and produces media of all kinds all over the world.

To Discovery Channel International…..in case you are reading this…..Tommie and I are ready to go to work to for you in a variety show about horses. We have all kinds of great ideas.

We rode a bunch of horses. Barry shoots all over the world. He travels extensively. Barry was amazing. He took some fantastic pictures. He had some of the fanciest camera equipment that I have ever seen. He has a really cool cat book that he just shot, that is going to be released to the retail market soon. I hope to have the opportunity to work with Barry again sometime. He was a really talented photographer. Barry…if you are reading this…..Thank You Again for the Amazing Pictures1

Lizzy

August - Visit with Vernon Brewley

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Vernon brewley from Hill Shepard marketing spent a day with us at Carousel Farm. Vernon has worked with some of the top horseman in the country to produce educational videos, set-up tours and design websites. Vernon’s firm does a lot of work for “The Road to the Horse”. "The Road to the Horse" is a competition run in Tennessee, where they bring in three top trainers. They are than given a very limited amount of time to break a young horse from scratch. I would like to compete in “The Road to the Horse" some day. We worked horses all day and Vernon took pictures throughout the day. Vernon was really nice. It was really interesting talking with him. We look forward to the possibility of working together on some projects in the future. Thank You for Taking the Time to Visit us at the Farm!

Lizzy

August - Heritage Horse Show

We have not been showing much this summer, because we were doing so much traveling. We took Jazz, Mattee and Addy to Heritage. They were all fresh to start, but settled well for their classes. It was a really nice day! We haven’t been to a Heritage show in quite a while, but really like these shows, the ring footing is good, jumps are nice and food is free.

Lizzy

August - Tony

For the last few decades Carousel Farm has many young horses. In the over twenty five years of breaking horses, my parents had only one young horse that seemed to continually fall through the cracks. The farm delegated his training during several periods of time. He is not a mean horse, but he is very timid and can become quickly defensive. Several young rider/trainers offered to assist in the process only to fail. In addition, his allergies to flies and propensity to get minor injuries have also contributed to the difficulty in getting him into a program. My mom has always had a great relationship with Tony, but my mom has to be careful, because she had major back surgery 5 years ago. Tony is now 6 years old and 17 hands. Knowing that it was now or never to get Tony into a program, my mother asked Tommie if he could get on him and really sack him out, so my mom could proceed with his training. Tommie agreed. He put three sessions in on him. Mom and dad have been riding him ever sense. It is amazing how his personality has blossomed. He comes right up to you and hangs his head in the aisle. He seems to love having a job. My mom has grown to adore him. He follows my mom around like a dog. She has him doing liberty and following her with no halter and lead through our sensory course. My mom mostly supports mine and my dad’s my riding now, but she has claimed Tony as hers. It is so nice to see Tony enjoying having a job and it is nice that my mom is getting so much enjoyment out of working with him.

Lizzy

August – Playing at Home with the Horses

I love to travel, but I also like to just play around with my animals when I am home. I will play with the cats. I like to stroll around the farm, feeding all of the horses peppermints and taking pictures of them. We have a sensory course in our indoor with all kinds of obstacles. It is like a big horse playground. If I am tired or the weather isn’t great, I like to just play with the horses in the indoor with the sensory course. They love it…..and it is great training for them. Cecil likes to spook at everything. She also can be really snarky to ride. She doesn’t like to work. As much as she likes to spook…..she likes attention even more. It is amazing what she will do, if you are giving her attention, but not demanding that she work very hard. She will put up with just about anything under these circumstances. We call her “carrot top” With all of her antics; she is an incredible affectionate pony on the ground!

Lizzy

July - Chincoteague

We arrived in Chincoteague Sunday evening. We took are little travel trailer. It was a tough week, because we didn’t have hook-ups. It was hot, humid, wet and buggy, but we made the most of it. Monday, we went to the pony penning. Tuesday, they do selection on which ponies will be buying back to be returned to the island. Wednesday, they swim the ponies across the bay. Thursday is the auction.

Tommie was invited to be ambassador for the Beebe ranch and was asked to present Nightmist’s Legend, a Misty descendent. The entire Equine extremist Team shipped in Sunday night and set up camp at Beebe ranch. Beebe ranch was home to Misty and Stormy. Our week at Beebe ranch was challenging. We had limited electric, mud, mosquitoes and bad thunder storms. We were determined to make the best of it. We spent time at the ranch, attended some scheduled activities, signed some autographs, did a radio interview and attended the swim activities. We did a lot of biking. My mom and I biked all over the island and wildlife sanctuary. We also spent some time at the beach.

On Wednesday, the day of the swim, I watched the swim from a boat. My mom was given the job of taking ground footage. She had to hike through really deep, smelly marsh. Then she waited at the shore line in black sand with jelly fish. She said she was not sure what she was doing there until the ponies appeared.

Once the ponies appeared, she new it was something really special. She was less than 30 feet away from where they were. She shot wonderful video of them coming onto the shore. When the ponies are in the water you see all their heads just bobbing in the water. In is really a neat thing to get to see.

One thing we were very curious about prior to making the trip was how the ponies were cared for….The care was acceptable, but had room for improvement. They were all penned together two days prior to the sale. There was some fighting throughout the pen. The pen was rather muddy, but the horses seemed to have access to unlimited hay and water. There was a veterinarian in attendance at the sale. The handling of the ponies was a little rough, but the ponies aren’t broke.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see the swim, attend the sale and visit Beebe ranch. When the ponies come..... swimming across the bay, it was a moment that I won’t forget. There are challenges with everything we doing. Anything worth doing is often challenging. You have to embrace the journey.
Dream Big

Lizzy Traband Reporting

July - 4-H Round-up

I had a tough decision to make for round-up…..should I ride the easier classes and increase my odds of qualifying for state in more classes or do I challenge myself. Well I am an Equine Extremist……I decided to go for the challenge. My mom says you learn more when you put yourself outside your comfort zone. I decided to ride the equitation and working hunter over fences at 3 foot. We won the hunter class, but did not qualify in the equitation class. We also won our working hunter under saddle class……so we will be competing in two classes at districts. It is hard to believe, that I just started riding Rosie two days prior to round-up last summer. She had been sold, but it did not work out. While away from the farm she was over faced when jumping. As a result, she came home underweight, very nervous and with a mean stop at the jumps. We have spent the last year working putting weight back on her and reschooling her. She is doing great, but I am just learning the horse stride. Rosie does not have a big stride, so I have to land and flow, than settle to jump out of the line. I had hoped to qualify for the equitation and hunter over fences class. I was really proud of myself for entering the more difficult classes. I love Rosie so much ……..She has come so far over the course of the year!

Lizzy

July - Associated Press Interview

Thank you to ….for the associated press article. While at Breyerfest, I spent quite a bit of time with …who wrote a really nice article for the Associated Press. They took a bunch of photographs as well. Toby really hammed it up for one of the photos. The article appeared in many publications across the country including USA Today. It was really cool seeing the article in so many different publications. Thank you to Kathleen Fallon, publicist for Breyer for contacting the Associated Press and ….for writing the article and Associated Press for carrying the story.

Lizzy

July - Breyerfest

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Breyerfest was amazing. It was super busy, but really cool. Rosie did a great job with her bridleless jumping routine……and I rode Toby bareback & bridleless in his little routine at Breyer. He did a great job. Tommie and I closed the event with me riding on his shoulders on blade. We performed twice each day. I signed autographs, did a whole bunch of interviews and attended scheduled activities. I met all of the saddle club girls. They were all really fun. My best friend gabby went to Kentucky with us. We took our bikes to bike all over the horse park. One day we rode the ponies on the Rolex course. At night Gabby and swam with lots of other kids attending Breyerfest and staying at the hotel.

The hospitality by everyone at Breyer was impeccable. Our suite was amazing. All the amenities, including breakfast made to order, horsdeorves every night and the special dinner Breyer hosted for everyone performing was awesome. Having Toby made into a Breyer horse was so amazing. I still can’t believe that he is a Breyer model. It was really fun walking around the hotel seeing Toby in so many of the judged window displays. Thank you again to everyone at Breyer for putting on such a great event.

Lizzy

July – Toby is a Breyer Model

Toby is a Breyer model….Toby is a Breyer model……Toby is a Breyer model…..Really……It’s not just a dream. All I can say is DREAM BIG I did and it worked!

Lizzy

July - Centre Daily Times Article

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Thank you to Ed Mahan for the amazing article in the Centre Daily Times. The Centre Daily Times called about doing an interview. Ed came out with a photographer and spent most of the afternoon at the farm. I was quite surprised to see that the article was almost three full pages with almost the entire front page. My dad made the front page a few years ago. …..so mom….whats taking you so long….only kidding mom. Anyway, I was really surprised at the article. Thank you to Ed and The Centre Daily Times for such a nice article!

Lizzy

July - And Then There were Seven….Cats that is!

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When we were in Sterling, we did a lot of trail riding. My dad and I headed out one day and found two stray cats. They were really sweet, so we took them back to the farm with us. The next day we were showing my mom where we found them. One jumped from the tree onto her shoulder. She couldn’t ride with the cat, so my dad and I went back later that night. We found five more kitties. They were all really sweet. We brought them all home to State College. I was supposed to get them home after they were vetted. But instead I play with them every night. They love people….love to be held….and love to play. My mom finally agreed to allow them to be permanent residents at Carousel Farm. Since we found them all on the weekend while performing in Sterling, Illinois, we named them Saturday, Sunday, Sterling, Silver, Showtime, Seiko and Sneaky. They are the coolest cats I have ever met.

Lizzy

July - Night of Amazing Horses

The July Night of Amazing Horses was challenging for me. I am taking three acts to Breyerfest…….two of them brand new. I put together a new act on Puddles and Rosie. We reworked both acts a lot while in Chicago. We did not do a formal rehearsal for the July 4th show. I had to make some additional adjustments after actually doing the acts in front of a crowd, but it was a great time to get some of the kinks worked out before Breyerfest. The horses can react very differently with an audience, bright lights and loud music. Puddles is always super quiet. I found out that he lights up in front of a full audience, so I will have to prep him a little more for future performances. Rosie does not like jumping towards the audience. We modified her routine slightly and it rode much better. All and all, it was a great weekend. I love to perform. My horses were really great about everything.

Lizzy

July – Puddles Jumps Fire!

I think it is really cool how Tommie jumps fire. I recently taught Puddles to jump fire. I haven’t decided how, but I am hoping to work it into an act for him. I think it looks really cool. The toughest thing is that you have to have ground help to set the jump and light it. Once lit, it will only burn for a short period of time. Puddles does not seem to care about the fire.

Lizzy

June - Cooks Forest

Mom and I went to Cook’s Forest to film Tommie in the little colt breaking challenge that they had. Josh Lyons, Tommie and Richie Winfield participated. They all did a really good job. Tommie and Josh had harder animals than Ritchie. Josh spent a lot of extra time to work through his colt’s issues. Tommie went for broke and chose to sack his colt out as soon as he had the opportunity. Most people aren’t as athletic as Tommie and would not be successful in this approach, but Tommie is very strong, balanced and has great intuition around horses, so he has the talent to do this. I would like to compete in a colt challenge sometime. I break and train my own animals (with my mom’s help) I am breaking Vinny right now…….I am ready, willing and interested for anyone who is willing to let a kid compete!……..I learned a lot watching the guys work there colts. We went swimming, tubing and canoeing, while at Cook’s Forest, as well. Thank you to Ray Smith and family for their hospitality.

Lizzy

June - Jodons Horse Show

Our farm went to Jodons Horse Show. The farm had a great show. My dad was champion on two of his mounts and reserve champion on his third mount. Two farm clients, Jillian Woolridge and Danielle Rush, competed that day as well. They were both reserve champion in their divisions. I showed Rosie, CiCi and Silver. I had an amazing horse show two weeks prior, but I didn’t do so well at this show. My mom figured, since all my horses and I rode so well at the last horse show, that I could handle my own prep, so she worked really hard prepping my dad’s horses and Danielle and Jillian’s horse. It is tough at a horse show, when we have a bunch of horses all showing at the same time to be there for everyone. I thought I could handle my prep, as well. I was totally happy that the farm did so well! But I personally learned, that I still need my mom. Sometimes I think I know exactly what I need to do, but I made a few decisions, that with my mom’s assistance I would have done differently, that led to some difficulties. Jodons is a small ring with deep footing and a spooky surroundings. I rode a few lines too quiet, missed some lead changes on the ends and had some problems with my green ponies spooking. I am very proud of my riding, but my mom still has some great input, as to how to best ride some of these courses. There are some simple things I could have done to round out the problems. My animals are no worse for wear, but I definitely made some rider errors that resulted in my animals not be shown to their fullest potential. I like knowing my animals were given the best ride possible! Thank You mom for helping me!

June - Best friend Gabby Visits at the Farm

Gabby came to visit the week after school let out. We had a blast. We rode every day….all day. We packed our lunch every day, so we wouldn’t have to leave the barn to eat lunch. We groomed Sassy and Sparkle. We rode all the ponies and all the horses. At night we played with the horses even more and jumped on the tramp. I wish gabby lived closer. We have a great time hanging out together. I am hoping she will be able to go to Breyerfest with us!

Lizzy

May – Training at Elizabeths

Training at Elizabeth’s is always fun. My mom and Elizabeth are really funny when they are together. We have fun spending time together. As for riding, Elizabeth is the best rider I know. I really want to show in the big equitations. I have a lot of work to do. I just started riding horses versus ponies a year ago. I have learned so much this year, but have a lot more to learn. Luckily, I have great riders helping me!
Lizzy

May - First Ever Equine Extremist Games

We concluded the equine extremist clinic at Carousel Farm with the first annual Equine extremist Games. We had the following games:

Horse Soccer
Obstacle Dribble Course
Freestyle Obstacle Course
Best Trick
Bareback Dollar
Can Race

The freestyle activities were awesome. Ron won the freestyle obstacle course. Chuck was grand champion over the entire games. At one point he reached down to pick up a ball and flipped off. It was unintentional. He did not get hurt, but it was really funny to watch. He also attempted some bareback bridleless jumps. He was really intense and very entertaining. Everyone made great progress throughout the clinic. The Equine Extremist games were a blast. Tommie……we should make it a competition at expos. I have never participated in anything like it! It was a blast!

Lizzy

May - Puddles New Tricks

I have been working on a lot of things with Puddles. The May clinic at the farm with Tommie was awesome. Now Puddles will bow on on leg and then two.....this was a while coming. His laydown is getting better and better. He is also sitting up nicely. The biggest new trick is he now will bow with me on him. It is really cool. We have started to teach him to sitt down from a standing position. This is a difficult trick to train, but he is doing great. I will keep you posted with his progress.

Lizzy

May - Tommie Turvey Clinic at Carousel Farm

Tommie came to Carousel Farm to do a clinic. The clinic was completely filled. Tommie showed everyone how to teach your horse to bow and laydown. We also set up an obstacle / sensory course. He taught a variety of other tricks as well....like smiling, saying yes and saying no. Everyone in attendance was awesome. Ron and Rosario brought a wonderful paint mare and mini. Jen and Jen brought some Chincoteague ponies. Chuck brought a big appaloosa. Judy Jenkins came just to get away. And there were others in and out over the weekend. I had a great time meeting everyone. Tommie worked really hard to help lay everyones horses down. everyone seemes to have a great time. Lizzy

May - Sensory Clinic

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The day after Night of Amazing Horses, we did a sensory clinic with Karen. When we travel to a shows, we never know what else will be going on .....strollers, loud music, smoke, balloons, umbrellas, anything goes. When I was performing in Chicago, our warm-up area was about 200 feet from a railroad track with frequent trains. Unfortunately, Toby was not very happy about the trains. On the opening night, the train came right before we had to go in the ring. I had a challenge riding that night. Toby was really excited, but we did well! At the sensory training, we try to expose the horses to everything we can think of......fire, blowers, tarps, bridges, flares. The hope is they will become acclimated to all of these things and not be scared when they have to perform. It was a great clinic. Thank You Karen! Lizzy

May - Night of Amazing Horses in Chicago

We had a wonderful show........Rich Bruner and TJ came in to do a shooting and sword performance. Anna debuted with a liberty act. Laurie did an act on her horse Tonto. Ben, Laurie and Anna did a fire act with juggling and bolos. And of course ......Tommie did all of his acts including the Roman Riding, Riding Instructor, Liberty and closing Roping Act. Toby was wonderful and layed down his act like a seasoned performer. Matt McGlauglin was supposed to make the trip, but was unable to come....so mom was asked to do a bridleless routine wth some jumps on her favorite horse "Jacquoe". She only had a day or two to work something out.....so she kept it simple and rode t0 "The Climb". She did pretty good ......even know she prefers doing props! Lizzy

May - Back Flip

One of the goals I have is to do a back flip off of one of my ponies. I now have a tramp at home to practice, but haven't tried one on the tramp yet. While in Chicago, they put a weight lifting belt around my waist with several ropes. I tried a few back flips off of the pedsestal.....but I need to work on it a lot more. If they had not been spotting me, I would have fall on my heads a time or two. I need to keep working on the "ole" back flip.....but we'll get eventually! Lizzy

May - Rosin Back Riding & Vualting

In May, we traveled to Chicago for a Night of Amazing Horses performance. We traveled early to do some training. One of the things we worked on was vualting and rosin back riding. We rode a big creamello draft horse named Sugar. Sugar was donated to the equine extremist organization by Chris Penrod. Creamello is a very rare color for horses. When we were riding, we wore a belt around our waist attasched to a cable. A spotter controlled the cable and caught you, if you fell. I had ridden Puddles standing up on a vualting pad, but Sugar is much bigger with a much bigger stride. It was really cool. Thank You Tommie & Thank You Chris Penrod (for providing such an awesome horse!)

April - First Spring Horse Show

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We spent last weekend at the first horse show of the year. My mom is starting to let me ride more of the HORSES, as well as the ponies! All and all it went really well. The highlight of the weekend is that Rosie and I won the classic and I was awarded high point rider. The low point of the weekend is that I had a cold that resulted in me waking up Sunday morning with a fever. They took my temperature with a digital thermometer that read 101. Well I was sure it was wrong, but a retake with an old fashioned thermometer read 103. Needless to say my mom would not let me show on Sunday. They propped me up in front of a movie, but by 11 AM, I was back at the horse show helping out. My parents still wouldn't let me ride, but I was able to watch the babies go. Needless to say my cold was an ear infection that kept me out of school for two days. I am better now. The show went well. The horses all went well. My two green ponies, Silver and CiCi jumped around in a great rythm. We are going to start working on lead changes. I showed Rosie for the first time over 3'. Our goal is to keep her happy and relaxed. We are pleased with the progress of her reschooling. She won a cooler in the big open hunter classic class, that was pretty neat

I showed Jacquoe for the first time in the special hunters. He is a very athletic horse. It went well, but it is a lot a work to keep him round. My mom showed my dads horse, DeLeonardo, because he has a little spook and needs a really solid ride to the fences. He does not do well with a lot of horses schooling around him, so schooling was eventful, but my mom hung tough and won classes on him on both Saturday and Sunday. She was champion in the special hunters. My dad had a really good horse show. He showed his green horse Andante in the adult amatuers hunters. This was a big deal, because my dad hasn't show in years. Addy won some low ribbons, but she is a little sloppy over lower fences. She is really scopey and will be a star at 3'6". My dad did a really good job riding his horse Shco Gun. Gunner has a poor work ethic, but my dad did a great job keeping him in front of his leg. One of the highlights of the show was my dad on Accapello (Missy). Missy is a fancy little chestnut filly, that we bred. She is actually my horse, but this was her first horseshow with us. We weren't sure how she would do, but she was awesome. She has a really big stride, went right to the jumps and has an auto change. She was amazing. I am going to start riding her this weekend. I can't wait! The last big news of the weekend was our client Danielle Grannas. Her horse is at our farm. She had lost her confidence to ride, but she actually showed this weekend and did great. It was wonderful to see her back in the saddle and get better and better every class! It was a long weekend. We all worked hard and were pretty tired on Monday, but I am ready to go again. I had a really good time! Lizzy

April - Easter Holiday & Training with Elizabeth

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We spent Easter with my mom's close friend, Elizabeth and her family. Elizabeth helps me with me riding. We shipped in with a few horses to do some training, as well.

When Elizabeth was visiting us over Christmas, she fell in love with our Aussie dog Neuman. When she was in Florida this winter, she bought an Aussie and named it Peyton. Peyton is a really cool dog. He is in the picture above with Elizabeth's son Allen. (Allen, thought you might like this post!)

We had a really great time. We had an egg hunt and lots of fun on Easter. My mom was able to spend time with her god baby ......Eden. I had a wonderful time riding and as always learned quite a few things......We can't wait to go back!

Lizzy

April - My Aunt Visits from Qualalampar

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My aunt visited at the farm for the weekend. She works all over the world for International Red Cross. We spent the weekend playing with the horses, eating lots of food and playing games. We rebuilt our outside ring hunter course and decorated it with new floweres, as well. The hat, jacket, purse and scarf were all handmade items, that she picked up for me in her travels. You can't see the hat really well, but it is very colorful and really neat. We had a great weekend! Hopefully, I will get to see her again soon!

Lizzy

April - Trick Riding & Hippodrome Stand - on Puddles

It was so cool. We have been working Puddles in an old trick saddle of Tommies. I have a few poses down......a couple different fenders. These are typically done at a full out gallop. I will have to be careful, because it is critical to hang on. I have only one hand to hang on with.

But I was able to canter Puddles standing on him using the Hippodrome straps. It was a blast. I think I am going to see what he thinks about fire. Wouldn't it be cool to jump fire standing in the trick saddle (with my mom, dad or tommies help...of course)

No matter what, I was really happy with how well he has learned voice commands. He stepped right into the canter with me standing on his back.

Anyway....I'll keep you posted on our progress!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - Sassy and Sparkle get a New Job!

In February, we unexpectedly retired two ponies.....Sassy & Sparkle.... in addition to a third.....Fancy.... that we were expecting to retire to the farm! Well, Sassy and Fancy have been attached at the hip, since they were weaned 22 years ago.

Well.....thinking attached at the hip.........They are both chestnut......They are almost the same size....... They love each other.......Let me see.......Why I say .......Roman Team. I called Cynthia Warner, who bred them 22 years ago. They were used for riding lessons for years, but neither were ridden much in the last two years. She loved the idea after she stopped laughing.

So meet the new Carousel Farm Roman Riding team. They had their first couple of training sessions together. They have been ridden side-by-side. We rode them this weekend with two riders side-by-side with me standing on their back. Sassy has a little spook, but I think it will work out ok.

We are having some pony roman pads and matching headstalls made!

Voila......Carousel Farm goes Roman. If nothing else it should be entertaining!

I'll keep everyone posted on my blog!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - Thank You Tommie - PA, MD & CANAM Video Journal

To Tommie.........

Tommie...It is so cool getting to do things with you and your horses. I want to be a great horseman like you. I come home from every expo excited about trying new things with my animals. you have made me a better trainer and rider. I love Ace, Poker Joe and Joker, they teach me so much! When I am in a demo or training session, I never know what you will think of next, but this is what makes it so much fun! You have added so much color to my life My mom and I worked really hard on this video! Hope you like it! Thank you! Lizzy (grasshopper)

Tommie.....this one is for you..........

I frequently get asked what it is like traveling to expos and riding with Tommie. Tommie is an amazing trainer. He is funny. He is kind. He is very patient with me. His horses are incredible. I love his horses. They are really friendly and like people. All his horses have different personalities. Ace likes to snuggle. Joker likes to play. Blade likes to act like "Big Man on Campus" ....And Poker Joe has an attitude that "He is just better than everyone else".

It is really cool traveling with the Equine Extremist Team. They are all helpful. Jamie is one of my biggest fans always taking control of things, when I am struggling in a rehearsal. And Karen makes sure all the little details aren't overlooked. I have learned so much. It has made me a better trainer, performer and rider. They are like a second family to me.

As for what we do at the expos.......well ......the days are long and non-stop. We work really, really, really hard, but its all good! I really enjoy doing demos with Tommie. I never really know what we are going to do next, but I have a great time.

My mom and I put together a video journal on a day at an expo. We included clips from the MD, PA and CANAM expos.

The Equine Extremist Team is just the best!

Hope you enjoy!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - Jumping Warm-up for Horse Shows

The outside ring has been set with a show course and new flowers for the jumps were purchased last weekend. It is time to really ride and jump again! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!

Since we live in Pennsylvania where it snows, our young horses and show horses basically get most of the winter off. I ride a few animals every day all winter, but I only ride the really well seasoned horses or close to the ground ponies, when it is cold.

We don't travel to Florida for the winter, because I am busy at expos and it is expensive. We do mostly local and some rated shows. I would love to show at more rated shows, but I could only show at a lot of rated shows on my own horses, if the goal was to sell my mount after they were established, because the rated shows are expensive. Unfortunately, I am very attached to the horses in the barn right now. My four main mounts (Toby, Puddles, Rosie & Jacquoe) ride bridleless and get used for expos, performances and demonstrations. The rest of the horses at Carousel Farm that would be suited for rated shows are still really young.

We just started to get all of the horses back in shape. We don't jump unless we are consistently riding them. We just started jumping. I am really excited to show this year. I will be showing two ponies that I broke and trained with my mom "Set in Silver" and "CiCi". I have one catch ride "Liz". In addition, now that I started riding "Rosie" in the summer, mom is going to let me start showing "Rosie" and "Jacquoe" over fences, who are both horses that were bred and trained at our farm. She also said, if I stay consistent and continue to improve, she will start letting me jump bigger fences at shows.

My mom did mostly catch riding at shows when she was a kid. I am hoping, if I keep getting better, I will be offered some catch rides. Maybe I can spend a winter in Florida with Elizabeth. But for the time being I am really excited about the farm horses I have to ride. I am also excited about the young horses we have coming along.

If things go well with Silver this summer, I would like to try to show her at the USEF pony finals next summer in the large pony green division. We have one young horse eligable for IHF O/F in 2011 and 2012. I would love to ride her at IHF. I also really want to show the Medal McClay. I think my mom's horse "Jazz", who is coming 5 could do the big equitations, because the jumps are easy for her and she is handy. In the meantime, I know I have to keep becoming a better and better technician over fences to ride in these classes.

Anyway for the time being...we have two back-to-back schooling shows this weekend. The first show of the season is always a challenge, because the horses can be fresh, but I can't wait.

Hopefully I will have lots of great things to blog about next week!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - Taiji Horsemanship is Born!

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When we were coming home from Canada, Tommie bought me a little necklace….just something he thought I would like. It had the yin and yang symbol on it. I had noticed this symbol on some of his stuff but never really though much about it. I knew it was the pattern we look to achieve with liberty, but that was about it. I just knew it was really cool looking. When we finally returned home, my mom and I looked it up on the internet.

I have been attending expos for a while, because my family owns a stallion, that we sometimes exhibit at expos. My mother has always said that good horsemanship is just plain good horsemanship regardless of the discipline you are riding. And that the best of the best are all doing a lot of the same things. My mom in conjuction with Tommie and Elizabeth has been teaching me how to train horses various skills. I like to teach my horses to do all kinds of things, so I have begun to think about training in a way that can be used to training a horse any skill.

When watching various clinic sessions at expos, I found that many of the sessions don’t cover everything you need to know. They skip steps, forget steps or the clinician bought a horse who already knew the gig, so never really learned how to train the skill in the first place. I am a little kid, who has a bunch of young animals to work with, so I need to know every step. In addition, some programs never seem to get to the fun stuff. I want to ride and jump and do cool stuff and be safe about it.

I have started doing some teaching at expos, as well as riding in demos with Tommie. My mom says that the best students are teachers and the best teachers are students. After looking up Yin and Yang on the internet, I realized that applying those principles to horse training provides a perfect way to break down how to think about horse training.

To Read more about Taiji Horsemanship: Click Here!

Tommie, Elizabeth and my mom are the true masters of Taiji horsemanship. They can see a training challenge and know how to break down and teach the skills required to train and complete the desired skills or task. Being only eleven, if I can establish a way to think about training that allows me to better understand what they are doing and why it works maybe others can use this to help them better understand how to train their horses.

Thus with one small random act of kindness by Tommie on March 28, 2009 “Taiji Horsemanship” was born. .

The best part is..... I have never seen training presented quite like this. I have seen skills taught in a way that fits Taiji Horsemanship, but have never seen a way to look at training taught, that could be used to break down any training task. I know I am a kid, but I am a kid. I have to break it down. It has to be easy and it has to be safe or I am not going to be able to do it! I am pretty excited about mastering, refining and applying Taiji horsemanship to all kinds of training tasks and challenges, which I can use when I ride, train and teach. Maybe others will be able to use it too.

To Tommie Turvey......I love my necklace. In fact, I have worn it almost everyday, but more importantly thanks for working with and beleiving in "a little girl". Your'e horses are amazing. I love Ace, Joker, Poker Joe and Blade. You are a great trainer and my friend. I have learned so much. I can't wait to see what we can do with all the horses next.....Can't wait to see what you are going to do with "The Black"! The "Black" is in a class of his own and so are you!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - Daddy's Audition Tape for Night of Amazing Horses

My dad went to Canada with us. In fact to get there, he had to take a taxi, to a plane, to a train, to a shuttle on Friday, but he made it in time for the nighttime show. He really wanted to see me ride!

After spending the weekend grooming, he decided riding would be more fun. We were like OK...and just what are you proposing to be in Tommie's show. There is a group out of Kentucky that does a beer toast ride on Icelandic ponies. My dad thought he could do this or perhaps a comedy routine like Tommies on one of our ponies. We tried to explain that Tommies routine is cleverly trained and rehearsed.

Well anyway .......Tommie.......here is my dad's audition clip for your show. Mom told him not to give up his day job. To all watching.......enjoy! He has the "Style" part down!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - BNR Stable Trick Riding Clinic

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On the way home from Canada, we stopped at BNR Stables for a trick riding clinic. BNR has a wonderful kids riding program. She does lots of lessons and camps. She had a whole little building decorated with educational horse stuff. They also had an entire little western town and petting zoo. It was pretty cool!

Tommie taught us some basic trick riding poses ......all done at a stand still. They are normally done at a full gallop. We worked on some different mounts. We also roman rode. The highlight for me was riding Blade standing up in Hippodrone straps on a trick saddle. Tommies horses are the best!

BNR Stables is close to Niagara Falls, so we went to see the falls that night and for sushi. i love sushi.

Thank you to BNR stables for the hospitality. Hope to visit again. Come visit us in the states!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

March - CanAm Equine Emporium

To everyone in canada.....Thank You....everyone was so nice! Thank you to Paul McGuire for the special award on Sunday. I love the necklace!....And thank you to those in attendance of the night time show on Friday.....that was my first standing ovation. The hospitality in canada was amazing!

I always enjoy seeing the canadian Cowgirls and talking with Gwen. You have the best costumes and your drill team work is wonderful!

During the day, I rode with Tommie in his demos. Toby is getting better and better at his laydown. One of the highlights of the week was roping on Blade. I have been practicing my flat rope. It took me a few tries, but I roped off of Blade standing on a pedastool. It was awesome.

I taught a couple sessions solo as well.....Horse training and Riding through the eyes of Youth and Starting the Young Rider and Backyard Vualting.

Thank you again to everyone in Canada. My grandfather always loved Canada. I have to say I have never been treated better! I was hoping to get back to canada in May, but need attend school. It is our last few weeks.....but I hope to be back to CanAm next year.

Yeah Canada!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

February - Pennsylvania Horse Expo - February

We had a great time at the Pennsylvania Horse expo. Tommie's night time performances were excellent. His dual liberty act was really good.

The days were long. We did an interview in the morning for the evening news on the expo. I also did a morning interview with Wayne Williams for his television show called "Speaking of Horses".

We did demonstrations during the day. Tommie and I did a new stunt where he cantered on Blade with me on his shoulders. We also did a lot of trick training and roman riding. Toby is getting better and better at his lay down.

Thank you to everyone that stopped by to say "Hi"

See you again soon!

Lizzy

February - Fancy Retires to Carousel Farm! - February

At the end of February, mom picked up three ponies from Maryland for retirement at Carousel Farm. My mom always said that she would eventually retire her favorite pony hunter to Carousel Farm and she did. Fancy is 35 years old and still a character.

My mom said that she had more personality than anything else she rode as a kid. She has many stories about Fancy's shenanigans. When she came to the farm, mom coddled her for three days. She than decided to turn Fancy out. Being lead by a leadshank alone (not recommended), Fancy decided it was about time and drug my mom along the barn out to the field. My mom was cracking up that even at 35 years old, she still had spunk.

Her back is swayed and hip bones pronounced, but she is still a character. We are having a blast having her at the farm. We now let her graze anywhere she wants inside or outside the fencing. After a while she will walk herself into the barn into her stall. Her stall is at the middle of the barn, where all the activity is. She knows her stall and seems to approve.

She can't eat hay anymore, but she can't chew it, so she gets chopped alfalfa.

When mom went to get Fancy, she also brought home Sassy and Sparkle. This was not a part of the original plan, but Sassy is Fancy's baby. Sparkle was born within three weeks of Sassy. They have been buddies for the last 22 years. Cynthia, who had them kept Bubba (A horse my mom won in a horsemanship contest in 1981) and Bucky. All the horses had placement homes, but would have had to be separated. My mom and Cynthia just could not separate them, so Bubba and Bucky are in retirement in Maryland and Sassy and Sparkle are in retirement at our farm.

Sassy and Sparkle are 22 years old, but they are really healthy. I told my mom I was sure I could find them a new job!

See you again soon !

Lizzy

February - Imperatore Horse Van

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Thanks to me and all my riding, mom and dad decided to put the old Imperatore horse van back on the raod. We have a really nice four star five horse head to head, but we needed more transportation for my horses and client horses to go to the shows. My parents also thought we should have a back-up vehicle for hauling horses in case of an emergency. The imperatore horse van was a 1967 on the original chassis. The old truck still ran, but my dad didn't think it was safe, so before Christmas we bought a used International deisel truck. Frank DiBella moved the old horse box to our new truck and did some other renovations to the van. We just picked the van up. It is really cool. The new truck is awesome! It has AC and a radio! My dad and I are going to sand and reurethane the inside to fix it up even more. It is really cool! I can wait to use it.

See you again soon!

Lizzy

January - Maryland Horse Expo

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The first expo, we attended this year was in Timonium, MD. This is always a tough expo, because it is cold and there is no place to warm-up. There is no night time show at the Maryland expo. I did demonstrations during the day with Tommie. We had a great time. Toby is getting better and better at his lay down. In addition, Tommie and I tried a new trick....roman riding bridleless with Ace and Joker. I rode and Tommie roman rode. At first, I was having trouble steering and Tommie fell off, but we worked it out. It was really cool!

I also like going to the Maryland expo, because I get to see my good friend Gabby (shown above with Tommie and me).

We were off to Pennsylvania next!

See you again soon!

Lizzy

Hi, My Name is Lizzy Traband!

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Hi, My name is Lizzy. I turned 11 years old in January. I live at Carousel Farm in Pennsylvania with my parents. I love to ride. Sometimes I perform with Tommie Turvey and his Night of Amazing Horses, sometimes we do demonstrations together at expos and sometimes I show hunters at local and rated shows. When at home I like to see what I can do with my animals. I do all kinds of things with my horses like tricks, vaulting, roman riding and driving, but my most favorite thing to do is to ride bridleless. We let the horses ride bridleless at the end of a training session as a reward.

Everyone in my family works to train and take care of our animals. I do the evening feeding. Most of my animals are young and were trained here at our farm.

Yes, if you look closely at my pictures I was born with one hand, but it does not slow me down. This is all I know. I think we all face challenges. My mom says where there is a will there is a way!

Sometimes at the expos I teach clinics on different topics like starting the young rider or jumping gymnastics. I really enjoy teaching as well as riding, training and caring for my animals.

There are so many things I want to do....like show one of my ponies at USEF pony finals, ride in the Paraolympics, ride in the Medal McClay and one day ride some jumpers.

But anything that gives me an excuse to play with my horses is good for me!

I have had some wonderful adventures with my horses. I hope to use my blog to posts some stories about our adventures!

Hope you enjoy!

Lizzy