HITS Hunter Prix(s)

One of my goals this year is to have Winds participate in Derby classes instead of a Pro Division. 

This plan is driven by a few considerations, not the least of which is trying to minimize the number of rounds that the Gray Prince does each week.  In addition to that, I really love watching him jump bigger jumps and I think the Derby classes are even more fun to watch when your horse is going around the track. 

I also recognize that Winds probably won't be jumping bigger jumps forever, so if he's sound and happy, I'd like to make the memories while I can.

So, while I would have loved to toss Winds in a few Derbies while we were out in the sunshine - one of my gripes with HITS is that they only offer USHJA sanctioned classes during two of their eight weeks of showing.  If you aren't there week 4 or 8, your only similar option is to enter the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix which is way, way less exciting.  I still entered it, because it got Winds in front of some bigger jumps (3'5"), and on a longer track.  The only bummer is that the second round was still a classic hunter round, so no fun handy shenanigans, and no high options....

But, I tried to remember that California is our Spring Training, not the World Series - so we were there to learn, practice, move up and see where we stood after a winter of good work.  

This was also our first chance to experiment with a (much) lighter schedule.  Winds isn't a spooky horse, but he is easily excited by bigger jumps and gets a bit keen.  So "prepping" him is less about getting him so tired he won't bother to spook, and more about taking a teeny tiny edge off so he doesn't power off the ground and attack his fences with too much gusto.

For Week V, Winds had two classes on Tuesday (one with me, and one with the pro), then nothing Wednesday, another warm up in Ring 1 on Thursday - the Prix Friday, then two AA rounds with me on Saturday and two more on Sunday.  

Eight rounds over six days.  Totally reasonable.  

For the Prix on Friday, he was extremely casual until he realized the jumps were 3'5" and that was more fun than the 3' he'd been snoozing over all week.  He wasn't naughty, but definitely a bit tighter across his back than I'd like to see and opening up a bit over his fences.

He jumped mostly well, got some good scores, and if he hadn't had an extremely uncharacteristic scoot coming home in the second round - I think he would have pulled a pretty high ribbon.  With the scoot, we dropped down to 9th - but still a respectable result in a polished crowd.  Especially since we were using the Hunter Prix as a warm up/data point to see where we were at.  

Here are the videos from Week V:

Week VI we stuck to the same schedule, but dropped a trainer warm up on Tuesday.  He was more relaxed across the board and looked softer in the ring for the Prix.   Second round he swapped in the two stride, but otherwise looked like he was remembering how to be a show hunter.  Winds managed to snag 4th place, in another lovely field and paid for our dinner out that night (holla!).

Majesty

Week VI Videos:




On the horizon we head up to Thunderbird for a week in April, where Winds will probably do a one round Canadian Derby (I love those) and pack me around the AA's.  After that, we have some down time until we go back to Tbird at the end of May for two weeks of showing. That would be the first time we would be able to consider an International Derby if he feels good and ready.

Summer Shows, and New Baby Horse and Everything

Holy no blog.  I wish I had been inspired to write the last couple weeks because lots of fun things have been happening, plus a few cute things (LEADLINE) and one not so fun (MRI). BOOOOOO

But let's do the 60 second rundown, shall we?

Thunderbird.  Both boys went up to Tbird in August for both weeks of showing.  Windsor was a superstar.  He did one warm up class with the pro, looked bored, and then didn't come out again until the Derby, which was in a different ring and in hindsight, he was WAY TOO FRESH. 

Bored, but also fresh? V V Confusing

Whelp, lesson learned.  He overjumped everything, and while it wasn't his most fluid course ever, the 72.5 base score drew confused gasps from bystanders who aren't as biased as I am. It's the first time he hasn't made the handy... had to happen sometime!

Then it was my turn.  We did our equitation and managed to win a round and get second on the flat out of about 22.  I was thrilled. 

Turns out Pilates actually works.

Winds was awesome, and our courses were actually interesting.  We were champion.

All of my ribbons have been chewed on.

Quiz made his debut in the Baby Greens and won his first class each day and was SO TIRED in his second that some baby mistake usually came out.  But he is a DUDE.  Didn't bat an eye at anything.  No lunge, no extra rides, prep, voodoo, nothing.  He's just a solid citizen.  He peeked at the flower boxes exactly once as he hopped over and never batted an eye after that.

Best. Baby.

Week two was much the same repeat.  Quiz rocked the Baby Greens again, Windsy packed me around the Eq and the Hunters. 

We repeated our performance in the Eq - and had a nice finish to the show in our Hunters, winning one round, nabbing a ribbon in a HUGE flat class and getting our proverbial shit together in the classic to get 2nd (due to an 85 in our second round).

Also, I fell slightly in love with a Nations Cup rider, who I may have stalked a teeny tiny bit (equal interest in his horse, let's be real), bought a new show shirt, oh and débuted my new Burgundy show coat from AA.  It was a good show.

(He's 20 and decidedly NOT single, but a middle aged girl can dream)

At home, Quiz has continued to be a total stud.  He learns every ride, has yet to get grumpy or say no, and even with a lot of rides by yours truly - is finding his balance and fitness.  I have yet to really fault him for something.

Winds was stepping a bit short at the end of the show, so Paranoid Polly over here had the vet out once we were home.  She confirmed that he was looking slightly off on the LF again, and that it did block out in the foot.  So we headed south for ANOTHER MRI to see what's up. 

Are things continuing to heal? Did he re-injure it? Is this the new status quo and I need adjust his management and schedule accordingly? Who knows. 


Well, Hopefully, I'll know - as soon as my vet calls.  Still waiting for the official report...


OH, and the kid did her first deadline class.  It was insanely adorable and there are so many photos that I need to do a separate post on that.  Hopefully I'll get around to that before she turns 16. 

Onward!

MIlner Downs - Derby Time!

Last year, one of my favorite parts of the show at Milner was watching the Canadian Hunter Derby.  The big grass field lends itself to a Derby course - and I enjoyed learning about the Canadian format.

Going into this year I wasn't sure if Winds would have the fitness to enter again, but he felt so good at 3' on Thursday that we opted to go for it. 

Down here, the USHJA runs derbies over two rounds.  The first round is scored like a traditional hunter round (out of 100), with the opportunity for earning up to 4 extra points if you jump all 4 high options offered.  The top 12 horse and rider combos return for a second Handy round which offers a shortened course where the judging emphasizes efficiency and brilliance.  Again the round is scored out of 100, with a possible 4 extra points for high options. Scores are added together to determine the overall winner.  

I love the drama of coming back for the Handy Round in reverse order.  It's fun, and the top competitors have an idea of how much they have to push it in order to get a winning score. 

However the downside of the USHJA format is that it takes forever and spectators can lose interest watching 50 Classic rounds, and even in smaller classes the horses have to stand by for the Handy, which is sometimes tricky, especially if you've got multiple rides.

In Canada, while the course format and build is similar, they have condensed the Derbies to only one round.  You still get a base hunter score out of 100, but then you are awarded 2 points for every high option (there are 5), and also given a score for handiness on a scale of 1-10.  This means the high options and handy score account for a possible 20 bonus points, and can swing the total score dramatically. 

The other big difference, is that where the USHJA National Derby is 3' with high options up to 3'5" and the International Derby is 3'6"-4'  with high options that are at least 4'3" - in Canada they offer two height sections, one with the base fences at 3'3" and the other with the base at 3'6", but the height sections are still judged as one class.

I like that the one round format keeps the class a bit more spectator friendly (and for the moment anyway, I like that it is fewer jumps).  Also, for horses who also go in divisions with their owner, or do a full pro division, I think it's easier to add the Derby to your schedule when it's 12 jumps, not 20. 

But I digress -  One round, we had nothing else to show that day, so Winds was entered. 

While my excitement for a Derby can never be contained, I was also a little nervous to test the beast at 3'3".  He hadn't jumped that high since Paso back in November, which meant I wasn't sure if he would be overly excited and crazy, or stiff, or come up sore afterward...

Winds warmed up well.  He was a bit stuck behind the leg, but that was a problem we knew would go away once he was in the ring.  To his credit he was following the rein better than he normally does and was stepping through nicely on landing (which is my major paranoia these days). 

The disadvantage of the one-and-done format is that you don't know how handy you have to be to win.  When you come back in reverse order for the USHJA class, you have a sense if you need to go big and make up points, or if you can play it safe and try to just not screw up. 

In the Canadian class, especially if you are early in the order you don't know if someone is going to post a huge score after your go - so your strategy has to shift a bit.  For this round, the high options weren't really very high.  Some of them were nearly the same height, but offered a slightly more difficult track.  The plan was to pick up bonus points on 4 of the 5 options - leaving a split rail fence that was airy and on a tough track.  Other than that, there were options for some nice inside turns, long gallops and not a single related distance. 

Winds marched straight into the ring and looked FABULOUS.  Every time this horse goes in for a derby it reinforces to me that this is where he shines.  He loves hunting the jumps, and perks up in a way that he doesn't for Hunter rounds at the same height.  It's a joy to watch.



Things that I love about this round -

Winds looks eager and interested.

He landed all his leads easily

NO CROSS LEADS

His big open step.

His cute squishy face.

The judge also loved his trip and rewarded him with a base score of 89 (his highest derby score to date) with 8 for the high options and a 7 for Handiness for a total of 104.   I was thrilled, but tried not to get too excited about holding first place, as last year we were knocked into second by the very last horse to go.

This year however, Winds held the top spot and got to lead the victory gallop, which is always a lovely frosting on top of a great ride. 

Next up - The Ammy rounds with yours truly.....

2016 in Review

Man, my blogging voice has just dropped off the face of the earth.  I do have some fun updates (uh... like another call to the pet psychic!), but since I have a few moments, I wanted to sit down and do a year in review post since I'm feeling festive and reflective.

Jan 2016

January saw an onslaught of gear for the new horse.  We bought, we oiled, we reviewed, we used.  It was fun.  I set some goals for Windsor and myself and we started making plans.

I also realized that in the first two months of riding, Windsor had yet to be a jerk.  He was even, polite and proving himself to be a trustworthy amateur partner, something I had never really experienced.  Such. A. Dude.

Feb 2016

We start working on our foundation.  Lots of lateral work, lots of small courses. Lots of adjustments for yours truly.  Windsor gets stronger and seems to enjoy the work (even if there were no 1.40m fences in sight..)


March 2016

March saw the start of show season.  Windsor was prepped, I realize we have a nearly entirely new wardrobe for the show ring, and we get ready for California. 

Prairie found a new home as a mama.

love you. miss you.

We dig into Windy's holes in his training and explain that yes he really does have to carry a 12' stride even if we were going slower than he was used to, but all the work paid off well when we got to Blenheim and had a great first show out together.

April 2016

We start off with another week down at Blenheim.  I move up to the 2'9" and Winds kept marching around the 3' Pre Green Ring.

We figure out he is NOT spooky or silly (while cantering through a herd of geese on course).  In fact, he's a really, really easy horse to show.  I still feel like I am driving on the wrong side of the road, but I get some confidence.

At home we rest, enjoy some cold rainy days and formulate the rest of our season.


May 2016

We continue on quest to strengthen Winds' topline and get me to stop bracing my g*d d*mn hands.  It's a struggle.

We go North to show for one week at Thunderbird.  Windsy moves up to the 3'3" Pre Greens, I show the 2'9".  He gets reserve in everything. Points for consistency?

. 

And it rains. 

Like 6" 

So rainy.

It takes me a week to dry out and warm up again - and a month for my tack to recover.

June 2016


(Apparently I only blogged about shows... huh).

June it felt like everything started coming together.  We show two weeks up in the mountains, and Winds was a stud.  He claimed his first championship in the 3'3" Pre Greens, won my Classic in the 2'9" and entered his first derby, and WON IT. 

I nearly died.  All of my horsey dreams came true in one show.  All of them.

The second week, he managed reserve in the combined Pre Greens, Champion in my division and another blue in another Derby.  We probably should have retired right then and there.

I start to realize that Winds is maybe part unicorn.

July 2016

Windsy gets some down time, enjoys the big, grassy field all day and gets ready for a week of showing up at Milner Downs.

Milner is fun.  It feels like camp.  Everyone is nice, the field is gorgeous and the staff is so welcoming.

Oh, and Windsy goes Champion in the Pre Green and Champion with me in the 2'9".  We skip our Eq and enter the Canadian Derby.  He pulls down a score of 100 and claims second place.

Somehow we end up winning more money than the show cost and I go home with MONEY IN MY POCKET.  I didn't know that was a thing that could happen. (It doesn't happen again)

August 2016

I lose my brain and add an extra show in August.  We show two days at Evergreen Classic in the PG and the Derby.  Winds is TOTALLY off his game in his division and just looks bored and blah. 

Cutest Trot fence ever.

But, true to form he perked up for the Derby and pulled down a 3rd in a large field.

Then he had a week off to enjoy grass before hauling back to Thunderbird for two more weeks.  We get lots of reserves (again) both in the Pre Greens and my divisions.  but the Headliner is definitely another 2nd in another Canadian Derby, and another 3rd in another USHJA Derby.

Dude has some Derby Chops.

September 2016

September we (again) took it easy until Zone Finals, which we hauled into for two days only.  Windsor told us he didn't mind showing indoors, and once again, got a little casual about his job at 3'3".  He had two GREAT rounds, and two crap rounds which sort of blew up the division.

October 2016

We spend ALL of October at home, which is the first month without a show since February.  I realize this is INSANE and we relish our routine at home.  Not a lot happens.  I'm traveling, Winds rests and we lose a bit of our fitness (or at least I do).

November 2016

We head to Cali for two weeks in Paso Robles.  Gorgeous show park (aside from the tarantulas), great footing and lovely weather made for a really nice capstone to the year.  Winds and I put in some really solid rounds and I feel totally ready for the move to the AA's in 2017. 

Winds manages to win the USHJA Pre Green Challenge as well as snags 3rd a big National Derby.

December 2016

Life plays catch up with us and Winds isn't the center of attention for a few weeks.  We've been working on lots of flat work, poles and extra carrots. Nothing too exciting, but that's fine by me. 

Points lock in for USEF and WSHJA, and it looks like Winds will be the Zone 9 HOTY 3'3" Pre Green as well as Zone Reserve for National Derbies. 

Also, Champion Supermodel

For our local org, he is the Grand Champion for 3'3" Pre Green, 2'9" Low AA and Low AA Equitation. 

Definitely a fairy tale year full of lots of learning and great opportunities to show.  I'm not sure our schedule will ever allow us to be on the road so much again, so I'm glad I've got lots of ribbons and pictures and videos to commemorate such a rare and uninterrupted season!

Centeral Cali Classic - Derby Day!

Get it.

By Friday, Winds was back to his (mostly) normal self.  I bought him some new electrolytes, made sure he was taken out to a big field where he could roll, and hand-walked his legs off. 

The result was that on Friday afternoon for my rounds, he felt great to me and we opted to keep him in the National Derby.

The course looked good, the field was gorgeous and there was a COMPLIMENTARY WINE TASTING to keep everyone entertained (and happy) during the whole class.  (seriously brilliant).

Nothing worried me about round one and I was glad to see the course built up to height.  Winds needed something to catch his attention and I hoped this was it.

We were 20th to go out of 40, which gave me plenty of time to watch some trips before setting jumps for Winds.  The plan was to carry some pace, take all the high options and hope that the judges liked him a bit more than they did earlier in the week.

Given all my doubts from the Pre-Greens, I was extremely happy with a 85 + 4 for an 89.  It put us into 3rd place, and held 5th by the time John French got all six of his rides through and the Classic Round was done. 

Looking at the roster of entries, this was legitimately the first Derby where I wasn't confident that we would make the Handy.  There were some gorgeous horses, and unless Windsy decided to jump like old-Windsy, I really didn't think we'd make the cut.  So, to throw down a nicely clean round and be rewarded by the judge's was not only a relief - but really, really exciting.

The sun and heat of the show tricked me into thinking it was still summer (and not November), so it wasn't until the Classic round was drawing to a close that I realized how dark it was actually getting for the handy. 

The track was interesting.  A trot fence immediately in front of the in-gate was an early question, along with two opportunities for some TIGHT slices.   The first option was to slice the trot jump (actually much closer to the in-gate) and go in front of that un-used vertical on your way to #2.  No one attempted this until about halfway through the round, then almost everyone followed suit. #2-#3 rode straight forward, then #4, #5, #6 had three high options in a row that weeded out the horses not quite capable of holding their balance together for multiple 3'6" fences in a row (the scopey ones had no issue, and it provided a nice place to ideally show a lot of brilliant pace and BIG jumping efforts on a large step).  #7 was straightforward, with a possibility of a tight slice and return to #8 for your final high option.  No one opted for the final slice, and while it looked real tricky, I was hoping someone would show off.

When you *really* hope your horse doesn't spook at shadows....

Because a few riders had multiple horses (cough, Frenchie, cough cough).  the whole round was out of order which made keeping score hard.  Windsor rode back 10th, and had a nice trip.  They took the first inside turn, and laid down an otherwise correct round.  Nothing crazy, but really lovely.  I swear in person his exploded over the oxers like crazy - in the video it looks like a normal jump.



I thought that the base score of 82.5 seemed low relative to the other scores tossed out, but since Windsy held his brain together and didn't bat an eye at the low light or crazy shadows - it was enough to move us up to 3rd overall.

love him.

The thing that's crazy impressive to me about this result is that Windsor has yet to place below third in a Derby. 

He's for sure not the fanciest horse in the field, but he is brave, and he is consistent, and he has yet to say no to anything he's seen on course. 

That said - I can see where we are leaving some points on the table and I think that as his skills continue to improve, he'll be even more fun to watch in these classes. 

I nearly had my trainer talked into doing the $25,000 International Derby that closes out the show this week, but it would ruin his eligibility for the First Year Greens in 2017, and as much as I can't wait to see him take on those big courses - I'll just have to wait.

Money Shot

I finally caved and bought the folder of pro pics from Thunderbird... because... well, it doesn't take long for me to start going through horse show withdrawals and having some new pics to flip through is just the sort of dopamine hit I need to keep me going (even if we are literally in the middle of another show as we speak....).

In theory it would have been helpful to purchase said photos prior to blogging about Thunderbird so that I had some, you know, pictures.... but oh well.

I assure you that the rest of them will surface - and that there are some really cute ones (cause.. it's Windsor).  But I just HAVE to share this one snap that cracks me up:

Legit - it looks like my trainer is riding a boatload of magic-flying-ferns instead of a horse.  And I can only see enough of Winds to tell that he is super round and his ears are forward and it would have been an AWESOME pic of the derby...

If you could see him.

I'm still sort of tempted to blow it up and frame it for the barn tack room though. 



I should say that to the photographer's credit, they got lots of other good shots and as hysterical as this photo is - it's not indicative of their general competence.  I'm always grateful to have awesome pro shots, so I hope they keep shooting my guy ;)

Tbird - Week Two, (mostly just the derby...)

Well I've lost all sense of what happened week two of tbird.  Thank god for videos and ribbons to remind me of what happened.  I definitely recall a delicious signature cocktail that involved apricots and vinegar.... and I also remember that the temp finally dropped to something reasonable... so that was nice too.

The Pre-Greens wee frustrating.  Winds jumped out of his skin and scored a 89 and 88 in his first two rounds.  He was consistent everywhere.  Basically, all he had to do to clinch the division was place high enough to score ONE point in the last round.  But of course, that's when he decides to sit on a rail and drop one in the judge's line.... Ghosts of Stakes-Past seem to haunt us...

The Derby the second week was a full USHJA two rounder-er and was scheduled for Thursday, which meant he had already gone around twice for the PG. 

We drew a reasonably late spot in the order (which I like) and the track was set nicely.  I do forget that the USHJA jumps are set to only 3' with 3'5"(ish) options - and Winds just doesn't really give a rip about 3'.  It's hard to show him off or get much style out of him at that height...

The trip was smooth.  Good pace, decent jumps and overall a nice flowing rounds. He was rewarded with a 86+4 for a total first round score of 90. 



That was good enough to return second or third, (can't remember), but he was up there. 

The trip was good - especially since I could tell that Winds was a bit stiff in the bridle.  Trot fence was soft and lovely, inside turns worked out well, and they were able to take a bold pace between high options and still come back nicely for the two stride at the end. 



Very happy with the boy.  Two small rubs probably took some of the shimmer off the score and we ended up with an 85+4 for an 89, which ultimately slid us into third overall.

So, that means Winds has been in six derbies this summer and come away with six top three finishes - with matched pairs of firsts, seconds and thirds.   He's been so consistent in these classes, I think the Derby ring is really where he shines.

At some point I'll get to my Eq and Hunter divisions.  But they aren't quite as exciting....

Tbird - Canadian Derby

The first week of Thunderbird, there was a Canadian Derby offered on Saturday.  If you recall from Milner, the Canadian Derbies run in a one round format with a traditional base score, plus up to 10 points for high options (2 points each), and up to 10 points awarded for Handiness displayed on course. 

I've been having so much fun watching Winds in the Derbies, that I opted to not show my Hunter division over Saturday and Sunday and instead give him a light weekend with only the one Derby round Saturday night.

Happy Derby Day!

Friday afternoon we had the aforementioned vet take a peek as Winds.  He didn't find anything alarming (whew, big sigh) and just spent some time adjusting his shoulders and back and stretching him out every which way. 

The nugget of useful information was that Winds' right hip doesn't want to abduct (is that moving out? I mean the one where your hip rolls out) as much as his left.  BUT his right hip rolls under easier than his left hip does. 

Windsor wasn't sore to palpation, just unevenly stiff and very happy to have some massage and stretching time.  He also got some B6 shots in the trouble areas and that was it.

The vet told us to let him know how he felt and that we'd see improvement anywhere from 1 to 5 days out.  If we didn't feel any change, a more traditional lameness exam might be appropriate if we wanted to go looking for an explanation.

I hacked Winds out early on Saturday and he felt a bit looser to me.  Changes were lighter, better balanced and I wasn't feeling like he wanted off the right lead.  So I did some stretchy-trot figure eights then went for a long walk on a loose rein around the grounds.

Winds went towards the end of the order-of-go, which meant he didn't even start warming up until about 6:30pm.  By that time we had seem enough spooks and stops from shadows and horses who would rather be eating their dinner, that I was starting to question my decision to enter him.

But, as soon as he started warming up I could tell he was feeling great and trainer was happy with his way of going and if nothing else - I wanted to see him jump a round to compare to earlier in the week.

The course was nicely designed, options for some handy turns, etc.  But I was disappointed the class was taking place in a normal arena.  No combined rings, no change in venue.  Just the same ring we'd been in all week. 

But he went in bright, and jumped around well.  He got a tad strong in a few places, which really only shows itself as him getting stiff in the bridle.  N was able to take the high options and the planned inside turns. 

I don't have a ton of fascinating commentary.  He was jumping straighter, staying lighter and using his back more than he was earlier in the week and that was the big win.




Of course a base score of 83 plus 10 points for all 5  high options and a 7 for hardiness wasn't bad either.  Winds finished on another 100 and that was good enough for second place.  We were two points behind the winner - and honestly, they had a lovely, very polished trip and deserved the win.

With such a nice trip, we decided that Winds was ok to stay for the second week of the show.  We had rented a grass paddock that the horses were all taking turns in, and between that and three days to be off aside from long walks - I figured his schedule was lighter than normal. 

I did show my equitation on Friday, but I'll recap that along with my hunter rounds form the second week at the same time.... On to week two!