Today we played some more with the ditch by the gate and worked on getting Kai connected. When he was ready I rode him to the arena. I quickly checked him for ticks and didn't find any. The garlic tick spray mom made for him is working better than the Fiskes! We started the session doing zone 5 driving in the outdoor focusing on trot transitions and changes of direction at the trot. There were two other people riding in the arena and Kai stayed connected to me. 
 
Next we played with canter circles and flying lead changes. Kai tends to get excited when doing fast changes of direction and can get bracy so for now I am using the fence to help him. He did a good change when I finally got my timing right and we quit on that. 
 
I decided to just try freestyle lead changes and see what happens. So I tackled him up in the bareback pad and set up a cavaletti on the lowest setting and then asked Kai to go over it at liberty. At first he ran off but then quickly came back and did as I asked. My reasoning was that if he did it willingly at liberty he is very likely to easily go over it when I ride him. When I got on I asked him for lateral flexion as always and then asked him to canter right away.
 
I cantered him a lap and then asked him to do a lead change over the cavaletti. And he nailed it!!!! Farrah showed me how to set up the horse for a lead change during my lessons with her in Cody. I also got to watch Isabelle Farmer 2* Parelli professional teaching her horse lead changes over a jump too. Observing Isabelle's timing helped me so much!
 
Kai did two more flying changes one in each direction and I jumped off and untacked him on the spot. I hosed him off and gave him his Apple before putting him back in the pasture. 
 

DAY 2 
Today was a slow session for us. 
We did some more zone 5 driving and each time Kai gets lighter and lighter. We focused on sideways and changes of direction. 
I did find some ticks on him but not nearly as many as last session. 
 
DAY 3 
Today Kai came to catch me on about  30 feet distance. It was so sweet how eagerly he came to me. When we came out of the gate I decided it would be fun to ride him back to the arena. I can mount from the ground but I thought it would be fun to ask him to stand in the ditch. It turns out that Kai has not stood in a ditch before and he felt unconfident doing that for me. So we played friendly game with standing in the ditch until he felt calmer.
 
When he was connected I mounted and all the way to the barn we did sideways alternating sides every ten steps or so. I also practiced asking his HQ to step left or right while we were still going forward. I experimented with touching my leg to his side in time with his feet. It was very neat that all of a sudden he was responding so much better and faster.
 
When we got to the arena I rode him on the rail for a few minutes reviewing stretching down at the trot. Next we did some ground driving building on the sideways we did last session. I am hoping to quickly get his zone 5 driving really good so we can start planning our level 4 online audition.  We also worked on getting the changes of direction going smoothly. 
 
We also began learning haunches in on both sides. Kai is trying really hard and can be in the right bend and still have three tracks for only half a step. I am so happy with that on the first session! I asked him to also bring his legs together a couple of times for teaching him to lie down. 
 
We did some Liberty spins before walking back to the paddock. 

On the day after we arrived back home we went to visit Kai. He has been running wild in the pasture up the road and has been completely abandoned for an entire week. 
 
I called him by the gate and all the other horses looked up and Kai barely flicked an ear in my direction. I called him again and then started walking towards the herd. Everybody started running away so I ran after them.
 
Kai very quickly realized that I was here for him and then he eagerly came to meet me. I gave him an apple and rubbed him all over. I told him that I was sorry for leaving him like that. We then started the walk all the way to the indoor. Kai was not only wet, he was a complete mud monster! I have never seen him this muddy before! I decided that it would be easier to hose him off than wait for him to dry and then curry the muck off. I started to hose him and found a couple of ticks on his coat. I used to be horribly afraid of ticks but after pulling a good bunch of them off Kai I don't think touching them is that bad. 
 
When Kai was all clean we went to the indoor to play! We did zone 5 driving first and Kai got it immediately because of what Farrah taught me. He wasn't that light but he could easily understand where I wanted him to go.
 
I then let him loose while I went to get the grooming tote and found him rubbing his tail on the wall. This is very strange because I have not seen Kai rub his tail before. I called him and he was so busy rubbing that he wouldn't come to me. I then went to him and started checking his tail bone for ticks but there weren't any. So I started gently scratching him looking for the spot when he spread his legs showing me that his whole inner thighs and bum were infested with ticks. I got to work removing them and then put fiskes all around his bum and thighs and sheath to sooth the bites and repel more ticks from biting him there. 
 
We did some zone 5 driving working on follow the rail and some figure eights. Since Farrah taught me about the driving rein and the porcupine rein all of our problems and misunderstanding were gone. Anna was teaching a lesson at the same time as I was playing and I took lots of breaks to watch. When the lesson was done I rode Kai bareback for a few laps around the arena. 
 
At the end of our session I let my brother and sister play some stick-to-me with him and I gave them a pony ride each. This is huge for Kai because he used to have an issue with my siblings handling him. He would quickly get very dominant and pushy and be unhappy when they rode him. I was so proud of him for behaving the whole time and being calm when they rode him. 
I have him a cookie and put him back in the pasture after that. 

I still can't believe how lucky I am to have Farrah Green as my mentor for the Parelli Foundation Future of Horsemanship Scholarship. Farrah is an amazing teacher and knows exactly how to feel for her students, both human and horse. I have never met someone who can teach with such finesse and timing before. In particular she knows how to put her students out of their comfort zones just the right amount, never letting them get unconfident or discouraged while getting more out of them and their horses than they thought they could. I end my lessons with her feeling even more excited to learn and always inspired and encouraged. 
 
I had a spectacular week with her in Cody, Wyoming, and feel so blessed to have this opportunity. My lessons with her focused on my next two auditions, Level 4 Online and Level 3 Freestyle. I couldn't wait to teach my horse Kai this stuff! 
 
We also all worked on an obstacle course for the horses during our stay. I did have some doubts about finishing it in time for the open house, however with everyone's hard work it all came together! 
 
It was beautiful to see Farrah leading and organizing the whole thing. She made sure all members of her team felt happy and appreciated while keeping us focused and on task. Because of this everyone gave a 120% and it all came together. 
 
When it was time for the open house I got to be part of a savvy team for the first time! I was so nervous at first but when I saw how happily the rest of the savvy team was working together in the arena I calmed down enough to really enjoy myself. I loved the energy of the whole savvy team-- so welcoming and so focused on building savvy and being better partners. 
 
 
I also got to ride in my first parade before we went back home to Canada. What was interesting is that the majority of the riders at the parade treated their horses with kindness and understanding.
 
I learned an incredible amount during my stay in Cody--about true leadership and teamwork and of course being a better partner for the horses that I play with.