It's About The Horse

LaPrincipessa · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject: Hey Y'all - From S. TN/N. AL

Hi! My name is Lisa and I live in Ardmore, TN - a town that technically straddles the border with AL. I've lived in Huntsville, AL on and off for the past 22 years. Since I wasn't born and bred south of the Mason/Dixon line, I am not a Southerner. But if you ask my Mum, I'm from further south than anyone around here could dream - see, I'm half Aussie!

Like most, I've loved horses all my life but didn't really get into them until adulthood. Except for the occassional trail ride or series of lessons, I remained on the outside until I started taking regular lessons in 2001. I was introduced to Parelli via a tour stop in Perry, GA in Feb. 2002 and was hooked.

I bought my first horse - Moose, an older OTTB - in August 2002. Moose should have been the perfect first horse. And on paper, he was. Unfortunately, paper horses are often very different from the three-dimensional creatures we actually handle and ride. Not long into my life with Moose I discovered his extreme claustrophobia which most manifested itself in his preference for death over trailer-loading. With the help of a PNH instructor, I was able to move Moose past his trailer-loading fears and go on to a good partnership with my beautiful boy.

Our partnership was cut very short. In October 2003 Moose suffered an impaction colic that ruptured his gut. With no choice, I put him down and kissed my "dream turned nightmare turned dream" good-bye.

Two short weeks later, I met - and subsequently bought - an unstarted 2 yr old QH filly. It was love at first sight and all rational thought went out the window the instant I laid eyes on her. Skips Dixie Crystal, whom I called Cricket, came into my life and the rest, they say, is history.

Cricket and I have been together for over six years. It's been an intersting ride with a very smart, very athletic little mare. How, exactly, we've survived without causing serious bodily harm to one another is a complete mystery. But here we are, together and loving it.

I am still very active in Parelli but am beginning to branch out a little. I passed L1 (the old VHS version) with Moose in August 2003. I passed L2 with Cricket around May 2007 doing the ground work from the VHS version and the riding from the blue box DVD kit. We auditioned for and passed our L3 online last fall and passed liberty this winter (if anyone follows Parelli on Facebook, etc. my liberty audition was the first featured audition on the Parelli YouTube channel).

I've studied a little bit of natural dressage with Mark Russell and am about to embark on Centered Riding lessons with a local Level IV apprentice. I've also toyed around with Clicker Training.

My username "LaPrincipessa" comes from one of Cricket's many nicknames. Italian for "princess" it actually referes to "the princess and the pea" rather than any royal status. Cricket is an incredibly demanding horse who has very specific requirements for all aspects of her comfort.

So there is the not-so-brief story of me. I look forward to learning and sharing.

~ Lisa

jackspark · Member Joined: 10 Jan 2010 Posts: 4473 Location: Missouri

Hey Lisa! Very glad to have you here. I am a relative newcomer too and have had a blast on the forum! So many great people and sooo much info. There is something for everyone here; see you on the threads. Nancy
_________________
Nancy

Flying Monkey Trainer

A journey of a thousand miles must
begin with a single step. Lao Tzu

Mandy'sMarty · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:30 pm Post subject:

Welcome, Lisa!

My first 'in-person' introduction to Parelli was at the 2004 Perry tour stop.
Was the Huntsville tour stop in 2005? I was there too. Maybe we were standing together in one of those long food lines.

Come over and join us at the Longstreet's Charge endurance rides this Memorial Weekend in LaFayette, GA. Just a hop over the mountains and a skip across Lake Guntersville.
_________________
Marty

We must be willing to let go of
The life that we planned
So as to have the life
That is waiting for us.

~Author Unknown

LaPrincipessa · Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:40 pm Post subject:

Yes the Huntsville tour stop was 2005. I was there - working the Parelli Equipment side. If you stopped the the L1 "booth" or saw a girl with her arm wrapped in gauze sporting a hand lettered card that read "this was not horse-related" - that was me. Just three days before the event, I tripped and suffered a nasty break to my left arm. They put me under a sign that read "ask me how to be safer with horses." Neil Pye put the sign on my arm. Turned out to be a good conversation starter.

Would love to join you for a ride but alas, no truck or trailer

PasoBaby_CarolU · Site Admin Joined: 31 Jan 2009 Posts: 9014

I think I like Cricket already.

I have a friend with two mares named La Dama and Diva...and he wonders why he's "staff."

_________________
Carol Nudell
Corazon de Oro Paso Finos

"The path to your horse's heart lies through your own."

Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools, and accepted by idiots. - Words of Wisdom - Mhar

‎"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss activities; Small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

thelmanelle · Member Joined: 20 Sep 2009 Posts: 3246

Welcome!

Sonya

Pyrgirl · Member Joined: 07 Feb 2009 Posts: 1308

Hi Lisa!!!
Welcome to the forum.
And hugs to Cricket, too.
Do you recognize my mini girl in the avatar?
Probably not, but you surely would remember Aslan who has now gone to live with Reyn. Reyn and Aslan are in love. :-)
_________________
My gold neither sparkles nor jingles. It glistens in the sunlight and nickers in the night.

LaPrincipessa · Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:34 pm Post subject:

Hey Patty!
No, I didn't recognize your mini - it's been ages since I first met them. I did see Aslan up at Carol's last fall. Reyn was playing with him and having a ball. I'm so glad you found a perfect home for him. Reyn had always wanted an Arab and was smitten with Sprint. I'm sure she's just in heaven with Aslan (truly, one of the cutest things on four hooves).

Cricket is doing great! I'm getting ready for a L3/4 camp with Carol in about six weeks. Agh! Too much to do but all fun nonetheless!

Lisa

cheerios · Member Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 1163 Location: TEXAS

welcome Lisa! I think you'll enjoy yourself here. A lot of people here are similar to you--have done quite a bit of parelli but are now exploring and branching out.

Saw that you mentioned clicker training. I do quite a bit of it with the horses I work with -- they love it!

I love the name Cricket! (Maybe because we have a Cricket at the rescue right now and he's a total sweetheart. http://neverenuffacres.org/?p=195)

You should post some pictures of your horse so we can see her!

cheers,

Mary
_________________
~Mary
Currently playing with 20 rescue horses in North Texas

check out my blog: http://stalecheerios.com/blog

LaPrincipessa · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:54 pm Post subject:

Mary,
Thanks for the welcome. I've been missing my Parelli forums! I belonged to a couple of email lists but was unhappy with the direction they were headed. It's not that I'm against anything non-Parelli but I was tired of all the emails that were chit chat or way off-topic or even topics in which I just wasn't interested. I like this format - I can pick and choose.

I've messed around with CT a little - I have two of Alexandra Kurland's books and Sharon Foley's book. I like everything about it except the learning curve! I'm so comfortable with my Parelli tools and skills and just seem to default to that when I get unsure or uncomfortable. And things with Cricket were a struggle for so long, adding something new just confused the whole situation. Now that we've reached a new place in our partnership, I find it so much easier to think everything she does is wonderful. I can see where we might be in a better place to play with CT again. Before, I was too critical and expected too much and Cricket thought it was way too much work for a cookie! Pretty messed up when a totally food motivated horse passes over a treat!

The pic in my avatar is from our 2005 course at the Parelli Center. I don't have any great pictures of Cricket. Need to get some more. She's changed so much since her last "photo shoot."

~ Lisa

whisperingwindfarms · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:16 pm Post subject:

YEA! Lisa and Cricket are here! Yippeee!!!!!!

_________________
Erin

Visit my Blog! http://havesavvy.wordpress.com/

cheerios · Member Joined: 17 Feb 2009 Posts: 1163 Location: TEXAS