... And the Show Went On (aka: The A/O's)

The day of Quiz's injury, I spent most of the afternoon in a bit of a daze.  I was questioning my decision to attempt surgery, questioning why I asked my horses to ship through snow and ice to California in the first place, and questioning the pursuit of this sport in general.  I wasn't really sure what to do or where to go, but eventually I realized I had entered Winds in a class - and I was supposed to be dressed and on.

Buttoning up my hunt coat seemed like the last thing I should be doing, but one of my barnmates looked at me and told me that nothing could possibly help more in this situation than throwing a leg over a trusted horse and enjoying the chance to ride.

photos by the incomparable Quinn Saunders

I nodded (I think), and tacked Windsor up.  Usually at the shows I try to stay out of our Groom's way, since my "help" just disrupts the system - but I needed to curry my horse and run my hands down strong, healthy legs to reconnect with what I was doing.

Winds isn't exactly a horse who seems overly concerned with the emotional states of those around him, but to his credit, he was gentle and calm with me.  No sign of his usual busy mouth or fidgeting, he just let me work through my emotions in the calm of a familiar routine.

Our round definitely wasn't my finest, but it certainly wasn't our worst.  I felt jittery and tight, but not nervous, rather overwhelmed with the day.  After I was a bit deep to our first fence, I shrugged it off, put my leg on, and let Winds set the pace for the rest of the ride.

True to form, he took care of me, and my barnmate was right - I needed the ride.

It was a good reset for me.  It helped reset my perspective, reset my goals and reset my expectations for our upcoming debut in the 3'3" A/O's.

And that's the really *happy* headline here - we did the A/O's and totally survived.  We even got some ribbons!  So let's move on to that.

Our work over the winter was really productive.  We have been focusing on some subtle changes to my balance which in turn are helping me trust Windsor's step for the move up, rather than wait for the add.  Additionally, we had a wildly fun clinic with John French right before Christmas that really boosted my confidence.  We spent the weekend jumping up and riding tight, technical tracks that forced me to really focus on balance and rhythm.

All of that added up to the massive mental success of staring at the jumps in Ring 1 and thinking "man, these don't look scary at all."

So we started our first week with more confidence than I usually have after a long cold winter and I think it showed.  Here's our first round, which, aside from being a little deep into the outside 5 stride, I'm super happy with.



The second round (incidentally the first round of our classic) was hands down one of my best in the show ring ever.  Winds was attentive, rideable and very soft.  Which meant any mistakes were solely mine.  We didn't really have any major ones, and as I landed out of our last line I actually thought to myself "holy shit, this might be our highest score over!"



Then I heard the announcer give me a 72, and I thought "Crap.  Welcome to the A/O's."

And that dear friends, became the theme of the show -

Really, really good personal progress with a large side of humility at the exponential increase in the consistency of my competitors.

As I watched my videos back I could see how in the AA's, an accurate ride was almost always enough to pull a top ribbon - but in the A/O's (at this show anyway), a good ribbon would require accuracy and style.

Winds always jumps a pretty good jump, but even I could see that compared to the other horses in the class we were just sorta getting it done.  I wasn't bringing out the best, roundest, most expressive effort every time.

Dang it.

But I was still incredibly happy with how I rode.  I had a few pinch me moments of waiting for the jog, thinking about how I first came to the desert five years ago with a very anxious Prairie having the goal of coming home with just one ribbon.

In some ways those endless rounds at 2'3" and 2'6" in Ring 7 feel like ages ago - but in other ways they feel so familiar and recent it's hard to believe how much has really happened.

So, I gratefully accepted a 6th place ribbon for my first round.  I didn't even jog the second round, which - just to be clear means I was 11th, 12th or 13th out of 13.

I'm not complaining, I just have to giggle that I came out of the ring thinking "WOW, BEST RIDE EVER!!!" and the judge was all "nah, all these other horses were better."   And the judge was right, they all were - It was just a shocking adjustment of relativity.

Sunday I got to come out and ride my first real Handy in competition.  I was VERY excited about it because I think Handy's are fun, and Windsor is a blast to ride in them.

So it was exceptionally disappointing to have the worst warm up ever.

Windsor's expression is ACCURATE

Windsor's canter was just sorta.... busted feeling.  Not lame.  Just clunky and heavy and not at all inspiring to ride to a fence.  I pulled up (a lot) because I didn't think I could close a gap.
Then Winds figured out I was going to keep pulling up and decided that he would just do it for me.
Then I had a panic attack.
Then my trainer asked another trainer to come help and I nearly ran them both over.
Then I took a long walk break and tried to pull my brain together.
Then it was my turn to ride.

First was a regular Hunter round.  I forget how it went, because the video doesn't exist, but I know it was bad.  We added in one line... nearly left a stride out in another... It was touch and go to say the least.  Winds was not impressed, and my confidence was plummeting.

We went back in immediately for the Handy and I just sorta decided to attack it.  Carry pace, make the horse pay attention and go get it.

Winds was a good dude.  He totally got on board with the plan and acted like I hadn't been trying to crash him all morning.  He did get annoyed with his earplugs (which we never wear because he gets really annoyed with earplugs) about halfway through.  Normally that would have unnerved me, but at the time I was so dead set on putting in a solid round that I just growled at him and stuck to my plan.  We finished, and I felt pretty darn good about the result.




True to form we jogged 10th (out of 13) in both rounds.

We also rode our Classic round, which we qualified for by the skin of our teeth.  We came back in 15th position with our 72 (the Classic combined all the age groups with the top 16 rode the second round), and managed to move up to 12th with a decent score of 77.  Winds was annoyed to go ride an extra long Hunter round after the Handy, and he made it very known that he is always (usually) done after the Handy.  Me thinks the Prince needs to adjust his expectations slightly.

I collected my pretty magenta ribbon for our hard fought 12th place and headed for the barn to reflect on our first division on 2019, and first time in the A/O's.

I took a lot of comfort in the fact that (aside from our first round Sunday) I didn't make any mistakes that I wasn't perfectly capable of making at a lower height.  The jumps actually "felt" smaller at 3'3" than they did when we moved up to 2'9" - which tells me how much more comfortable I am on Winds these days - and that's a WIN for sure.

Any frustration I felt was a reflection of my disappointment at not adapting to the horse I had that day - not frustration with Winds or our preparation.  I feel like I've gotten to a place where I ride pretty well if Winds is perky, and soft and totally on task.  The mistakes start to come out if Winds is tired, or cranky or stiff.  I haven't figured out how to adjust my ride and maintain my accuracy when he's anything but my favorite ride.  It's something I really want to focus on this year since I typically only get my "favorite" version of Winds about once a week.

But mostly, I felt like I belonged in the ring, didn't embarrass my trainer (too much) and had a really good time galloping around some slightly larger jumps.

Exactly what I needed after a long, emotional week.

MIlner Downs - The start of the week

Last week we ventured to Milner Downs to return to what was one of my favorite shows last year.  It's hard to beat a big, gorgeous, grass field to gallop around in all week, but on top of that the staff is crazy friendly, the hospitality is great and it ends up feeling more like a fun summer camp than a frenzied horse show.

Our plan was to step Windsor up a bit from his extra (extra) light duty at Tbird last month and see how he felt.

Tuesday he hacked out well, so I was excited to see him go Wednesday. 

Windsor, was also excited to go Wednesday (though not excited about selfies) - and the single warm up round at 2'9" turned into three, as Mister Man lacked a bit of focus and manners during his first (two) trips around.

Loose hair, don't care!

Here's the first round - not bad by any means, but if you know Winds, you can see that he's powering off the ground and tight in his back, both signs that he wants to paaaarrrrrrrty.



By the third round he was a bit less excited to be out in the big world:




It was a bit to be expected, we haven't been lunging him at all (which I like) - and even last year when Milner was our 6th week of showing, he perked up quite a bit when he got out in the big field. 

We ended the day on a good note, and opted to hack the Under Saddle just to let him explore the ring a bit more.  With all the extra classes he ended up with a very unplanned Reserve Champion in the Schooling 2'9" Hunter division.

Definitely didn't mean to take him around the ring three times, but height doesn't seem to affect his freshness (much), so I'm glad we kept it low at 2'9" and let him work out his wiggles without too much effort. 

Looking at the schedule for the rest of the week, my 2'9" Modified AA's was stretched out over Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - leaving a nice gap on Friday for Winds to maybe contest the Derby. 

Since he hadn't popped over anything over 2'9" since last November (gulp), we added one round at 3' on Thursday to see if he felt loose, or if the added height brought out any old symptoms of discomfort. 

(looks like a different beast when he is braided)

He jumped the 3' better than the 2'9" so we finalized our plan to have him do the (one round Canadian style) derby Friday, and just cart me around one round at a time the rest of the week.

Stay tuned for the DERBY, and also my triumphant (low) return to my beloved 2'9".

Meet Quiz! (and a naming contest)

It's been really, really, really hard not to jump the gun on this, but meet Quiz!

Picture already shared.  Need more stat.

Quiz is the aforementioned Brown Brad, a 5 year old cute gelding by Quadroneur (drool).

Much like Windsor - (while adorable) he appears to be far too chill (and slow) to really excel in Europe as a Jumper.  Fortunately for Quiz, he's cute as hell, trots like he's on a cloud, and I think will make one heck of a fancy little Hunter stateside.

I have always coveted liver chestnuts, and also the Quaterback lineage, so I'm just giddy as all get out at the prospect of finding both in Quiz. 

Quiz lacks the significant resume that Windsor had (no world championships for this guy), but he's only 5, and while he has shown, 1.10m is the extent of his experience at this point. 

What I really like about Quiz other than his color (and his daddy, and his trot..) is that he appears to have a very Windsor-esque brain.  Very chill, not in a rush to get anywhere and very unconcerned about where you pilot him to in front of a fence.  Chip in? Leave long? NBD.  We'll just lope around and figure it out later....

I LOVE THAT. 

His classy good looks are just some really, really nice icing on a lovely liver chestnut cake. 

The wire has been sent, and his ticket is currently being booked.  Fingers crossed he gets here soon!!

Without further ado, some video.  Please note, this boy is in steel.  Swoon. 




The plan will be to get him out right away, (likely in August at Thunderbird) and see how he handles life as a Hunter.  Part of my agreement with The Husband is that this horse (unlike Winds) will always be for sale.  I hope I get to enjoy him for a while before someone snatches him away, but make no mistake - I have my Windsy, and while I'd love to have two - I will definitely allow another ammy to find theirs if the situation presents itself.

Anyway, the second order of business is that this thing needs a USEF name.  He is literally registered as just "Quiz," which I think is cute and will definitely keep for his barn name.  But he needs a big boy name for the show ring.

I already have a short list of favorites, but since none of them are perfection, I'm going to mine the blog-hive and see if you guys can top it.  (which, very likely).

Here are the guidelines:

1) start with a Q.
2) Sound like a regal, fancy, calm Hunter.
3) Don't be something that USEF has a ton of (Quiescence, Quintessential, Quixote, etc). 
4) I am open to creative spelling (Qredit is an example), but bear in mind ease of announcer pronunciation.
5) bonus points if it ties into Heir Apparent/Windsor.  I love a theme!

If I end up using your suggestion I will get you a $50 gift certificate to the online tack store of choice (Dover, SmartPak, RH, etc.).  If I stick with one of my picks, I get the gift cert (lol).

The "contest" is open until I actually register the beast.

Sound good? 

OMG SO EXCITED. 

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.

Thunderbird Summer Fort Classic - Pre-Greens

I adore showing at Thunderbird.  There's a post brewing about what makes some venues so much nicer to be at than others... but for now I can say with conviction that given the back-to-back comparison with the Evergreen Classic -  Tbird wins. Hands down.

I was a bit timid about Tbird after I felt like Winds wasn't jumping his best at Evergreen, but the bigger rings and fabulous footing seemed to make a difference.  He still wasn't blooming over the fences how I like him to, but he was soft and correct and a very obedient boy. 

Those of you living through insane heat waves will giggle, but two weeks of 85+ is not our normal here and everyone, including the horses were a bit droopy. 

So Hot.  But so cute.

But the grounds were lovely, jumps were beautifully built, and Windsor is unquestioningly adorable when he does his job.

First Round was great. No warm up classes, no lunge, nothing.  He was pretty chill aside from getting a bit quick through the two stride at the end.

He ended up Second in a nicely competitive 3'3" division of 10. 



Second round was also great.  A bit more pace (in a good way), but a bit stiffer in the judge's line.  We were 3rd.



We came back for the jog and under saddle (omg. So sweaty). And Winds was a good sport.  He was a bit sluggish, but he uses his shoulder significantly better on the nice GGT footing than he does in sand.  It's really fun to hack him on that surface because it feels like you can actually push his stride out a bit.  We snagged a 3rd on the flat which is a *really* nice ribbon for us in that company.  The two (also gray) horses ahead of us are super adorable Huntery-Hunters that we aren't likely to finish ahead of Under Saddle, ever.

The second day Winds was definitely jumping a bit stiff.  He maintained a nice balance and pace, but he was wanting to lean a bit and pop off his right lead - which is a new trick.  A hard rub at the first fence and a swap into he judge's line kept us out of the ribbons in this trip.



The last round was a bit of a recovery.  Whether Winds was just looser after jumping a round or what - I'm not sure, but he seemed to work out of it a bit.  He snagged a second place in this, even with a bit of a rub in the 5 to 2 stride (love 5 to 2 strides, so fun).


The 2nd was great because not only did it clinch Reserve in the division, but it was a Stake class, so he earned some money too. 

Hoever the stiffness was a tad alarming.  Even with his crazy schedule I never like to think my horse is sore or compensating somewhere, so we booked an appointment with an FEI vet who was on the grounds and specializes in bodywork and acupuncture. 

I always love the idea of having a practitioner who is capable of catching potentially bigger issues (and exploring them if necessary). 

If Winds still wasn't feeling good after his session - I could haul him home early and start his time off a bit earlier than planned.

So that's the start to the first week of Third (spoiler alert, he felt great after the bodywork and we stayed....).

In the Interim...

Winds has been living the life the last couple of weeks.  Lots of turnout, some down time, and a bit of a dialed back routine while we take advantage of a few weeks at home.

Totally deserved after two weeks of this

The vet did come out when we got home from the June shows, and I made sure to be there so I could provide intricate details about what was feeling a tad off.

well, he's cross-leading a bit on landings.. but only from a tighter distance or weaker pace...

I see.

And he's feeling a bit sulky in the corners, though that might be ulcers because it wasn't really a thing the first week and I do think his tummy might hurt and that's the sort of thing that would really flare up week two of showing and no he's not on any gastrogard or anything right now so yeah.

Ok.

And what else, well, the cross lead never happens with me, but I only show him 2'9"  It happens in the pro classes at 3'3", but more in warm up where the ring has a shorter approach and only twice in competition

not hard - not trying

once was in the morning and I had fed him two carrots, so the next day I fed him THREE carrots and it didn't happen so maybe it has to do with carrots and not anything else but I don't really know because it's really subtle and he still won the derby so obviously he's still "going" well it just feels subtly different and I don't know if we'll be able to pinpoint it.

You get it - the all too familiar vet-ramble where we verbally diarrhea all the crazy-ass conspiracy theories we've brainstormed at 2am to explain the mystery lameness/illness/moodiness/whatever in our horses.

I asked if the vet wanted to see him under saddle since whatever the issue was, it was weird and subtle and hard to replicate.

But instead we started on the lunge, where my 18 minute preamble became immediately irrelevant as the horse was clearly stepping short on the left front.

(not weird, not subtle, not actually hard to replicate)

It was mostly gone when tracking to the right, and not any worse on the hard ground outside.... and Windsor flexed negative everywhere.... so aside from the slightly short step, there wasn't really anything obvious to pursue diagnostically.

So without going on a crazy lameness witch-hunt we decided to give him a few days of anti-inflams and the rest of the week off before pulling him out on Monday to see how he looked.

He looked sound.

Which meant we moved forward with a light week of flatwork and some cavaletti whereby he felt awesome and worked well.

Oh - I forgot to mention that the extended week off included a gastroscopy and diagnosis for some ulcers which were consistent for a horse in his level of work who's been traveling and showing and flying around the world and whatnot (as you do).

That all means he's on some tummy meds to address that particular issue and we'll see where we end up in a month.

Aside from that - all is well.  Winds is happy and sound and relishing his big grassy field. 

As for me, I am finally in town for an uninterrupted stint and trying to get back in some semblance of riding shape before our next outing up to Canada again on the 20th.

Tbird - Ammy Eq

Life is whirling at approximately a million miles per hour and I'm losing days and weeks faster than I can catch up. 

Recapping Thunderbird has totally fallen between the cracks, but with another two weeks of showing starting next week - I really could use the review and reminder of what went well, and what didn't.

My rides at Thunderbird started with my full Eq division on Friday afternoon.  Two rounds over fences and a flat.

With the slight drizzle, N talked me into warming up in the Jumper ring, which - while totally insane - shared the same (great) footing as the ring I was competing in, which was not only better in the damp - but would give me a better sense of how Windsy would ride in it.

I nearly called it quits while I was going through my flatwork due to flailing, panicking jumpers and what is apparently a total disregard for the who left-to-left thing, but Winds was unconcerned, so I tried to be unconcerned and get on with it.

His jumps we spot on. He moved up nicely, stayed uphill and when we nailed three in a row, we decided we weren't going to do any better and headed for the ring.

pre-round treats

I didn't have an opportunity to ride a Low round before my division started - which, as I've explained I love/hate.  However I had ridden Winds in his Pre-Green Under Saddle so I was at least vaguely aware of how the ring was riding and the slope.  The first Eq course was interesting.  Single on the short diagonal, broken line, outside line, rollback.

obligatory arm-wavey-course-visualization

Windsy really picked up in the ring and while you can't really see it on the footage - I panicked a tad about him wanting to take me to the fences, and went to my hand. 

But, we put in a pretty even round, if a bit conservative in my rollback (I should have left one out) and managed a 3rd in a class of 15.



Second round was similar.  Single on the short diagonal (new lead!), long gallop to the oxer, rollback, line, rollback.

Again, I was in my hand and throttling him back too much. He feels so overpowered when I'm mid-course but the videos make it painfully obviously how dialed down I have him.  I liked our first fence and our oxer, the rollback was ok, but I could have shaped it a bit more.  Too quiet into the judge's line, but we got out okay and an okay final rollback, though we took the scenic route (whoops).


We snagged a 3rd again purely because some other lovely riders had some really unfortunate issues with horses who were not interested in the rain (this was a theme for the weekend.  I have never seen so many stops, bucks, pinned ears and general "eff you" moments from otherwise steady mounts).

But whateves, I'll take the ribbon ;)

I let Winds go pee before we did our flat, which whittled to 12 after a few riders decided to avoid the rain (or go school some fences instead). Windsy was awesome, and I was feeling much more confident than I did about my Eq on the flat in Cali.  I stayed down around him and less tense and was rewarded with a 2nd which put us Reserve for the Division.

Love this horse. and really enjoying figuring out how to be a better rider on him.  I feel like we're getting closer... ever so slowly. 

Stay tuned for the Hunters, errrr I mean Competitive Horse Swimming...

tbird - Pro Days

If I happened to intrigue you with my (very) general summary of the show - then I hope that I can remember enough details to make these more specific posts worthwhile..

I didn't get up to the show for Windsy's first day of Low Hunter rounds.  The plan was to show him in a 3' round, which was in the ring the Pre-Greens (and my divisions) would run in, as well as a 3'3" round in a different ring, but to see how the height felt.

Apparently in his first 3' round, Winds jumped the crap out of fence one - and was cantering boldly down to fence two when he slammed on the brakes for no apparent reason.  He jumped the rest of the course fine - but the stop was out of character so a second round at 3' was added. 

He must have jumped around nicely, because he pulled down a 2nd place in a big, open class.

Then he moved over to the other ring (where we wouldn't be showing) to pop around at 3'3" and laid down a nice trip, but swapped off his lead while he looked at something outside the ring, which kept him out of the ribbons in the 45 horse class.

I zoomed up to the show grounds early on Wednesday so I would be sure to catch his trips.  Which I did - but I forgot my camera.  So... that sorta sucked.

But it looked like this

Our barn had two horses showing in the 3'3" PGs so I actually got to see a majority of the division go which was educational, and a bit intimidating as I watched lovely round, after lovely round go by. 

I had to remind myself that lots of these barns put in at least half a circuit at Thermal and have had 3-4 weeks of additional shows since then.  Where as we had two lovely weeks in CA, but those were instead of our "normal" spring shows, not really a pre-season warmup...

But, both our horses were lovely and Windsy managed a 2nd and 3rd, while our barnmate won the second class.

Then I got dressed so I would be ready for the Under Saddle, which is about when I remembered that in Canada they jog the Pre-Greens. I have literally not spent one minute working with Winds in hand, so I wasn't too sure how it would go.  He was baffled as to why we were jogging back into the ring, but he was a decent sport, if a bit lazy. 

The Under Saddle was uneventful - as they tend to be.  But I managed to nearly pick up the wrong lead to the left and spent about 6 strides trying to re organize and strike off.   Either the judge didn't see us - or he didn't care, because we managed a 5th in a class where I was pretty sure we wouldn't ribbon (why do they only ribbon to 6th up here?).

Winds then decided to eat his bandages overnight, which led to a very grumpy purchase of new wraps as well as a Likit holder so that he could amuse himself with something more appropriate. He made his way through nearly the entire thing before his classes in the afternoon - but all wraps were left intact so I consider it a worthwhile investment. 

The temp also dropped a ton overnight and even through the monsoon's hadn't set in yet, I was literally wearing every layer I had packed in an attempt to stay warm.

also coffee. all the coffee.

I did actually remember to keep my phone in my pocket on Thursday, so you can all ooh and ahh over the lovely boringness of a beautiful Hunter round filmed poorly on a phone.  Winds nailed his first round with an 87 and won it.  Even with a conservative 10 strides in the bending line. 

Everyone was squishing in 10. So it was disappointing when in the second round, N laid down a gorgeous trip and a beautiful 9 in the bending, only to have a rail dropped in the judge's line (dang it!). 



I didn't even notice the rail while I was filming, so I was totally confused when they announced a score of 46.  Dropped us out of ribbons in that class, and meant that we missed champion by 3 points. I'd be more disappointed if I wasn't so freaking thrilled with how Windsy jumped.

We were presented with our (absurdly large) ribbon for Reserve and took all the prom pictures we could. 

This ribbon is legit taller than my toddler.

Overall it was awesome to feel like the move up to 3'3" was really easy for Winds.  We knew scope wouldn't be an issue, but having him stay soft and relaxed is a big victory - as is getting up the lines and cleaning up our changes.

I think we'll probably hold him in the 3'3" PGs for the rest of the season.  No real reason to move up and I think he can get some great mileage in the ring without beating up his legs too much.

As the rain set in I was getting extremely excited about stepping back into the ring myself and Friday would bring my Eq division with two rounds over fences and a flat.....

Blenheim Spring Classic II - Day One

Windsor's first day of showing (in the States) was a great one (for him) and a long one (for me).

I was up at the crack of dawn for an early flight down to California.  It was the time of day where I'm only up if I'm a) still dancing or b) doing something for a horse.  :)

The flight was quick, and although the rental car process was not - I still made it to the show in time for his classes.

horrified I forgot to bring treats

Having never shown here - I'm a big fan of the grounds.  Grass everywhere (read: no dust) and the footing is lovely.  Most of the grass we show on at home is pretty gosh darn hard, and so far I'd have to say the footing here is really well maintained here...  The grounds also seem rather spectator friendly with ample shade and seating and places to enjoy the show.  Bonus points for a big Dressage show going on as well so I'm sneaking in some time to watch the super fancy ponies do their super fancy things. 

The report from earlier in the week was that he had schooled wonderfully, but since the show rings are on grass - there was no opportunity to take him for a spin in them and see how he felt about grass (or caulks, etc..).

Because of that, we opted to drop him into the 3' so that we didn't feel badly about adding a second division for extra experience.  That meant that N would take him in a (giant) Low 3' division, and the 3' Pre Greens.

This was (for sure) a good call.  He was calm, and confident in the ring, but still a bit.... jumpery to the fences themselves.. 

He was definitely a bit confused about the job description and what all was going on in the giant grass field - so much so that he didn't even see the first fence, and ended up with a stop before he even got started... (Monkey-covering-its-face-emoji). 

But after that bobble, he got to work and he started to figure things out a bit.  He slowed himself on takeoff, relaxed in the huge turns, and started to enjoy the show.

He was able to do all four rounds nearly back to back, and really looked like a total pro at the back gate and on the grounds.  Nothing phased him.  Not the kids running around, not the flags flapping in the wind, not the water pouring off the tent roof, not the garbage trucks, or wild horses, or anything.

His brain is sound - he just needs some time on the job.

(iPhone video still)

If you follow us on insta (@cfantonelli) I'm doing a better job of frequent updates... but I will try to blog often enough that I don't forget the (fun) details.

I managed two iPhone videos on the first day- his second round in the Lows, and his first Pre-Green round.

The Low Class:



His Pre-Green:


The Low division had almost 80 horses in each round, and even though they split it into two sections, we missed the ribbons (though clearly the round with a stop was a throw away..).  However, He managed a 3rd and an 8th in a pretty lovely Pre-Green Division of 14. 

I was (OBVIOUSLY) thrilled to have some satin to commemorate his first foray into Hunter Land and promptly took all the pictures and hung them proudly on the tack room wall.

We ended the day with smiles all around, excitement about what's to come and a slight sunburn on my forehead because I am not an adult and cannot keep my face covered...

He's a KEEPER!!!

Butterflies

I came to a small realization last week as I sat in my den with The Boy watching terrible tv and chatting (as we tend to do most nights).  He asked me if I had ridden (it was Thursday, and I usually ride on Thursdays), but I said I hadn't bercause of work... but I was going Friday instead and he simply said "good."

(riveting dialogue I know)

And as I sat there I thought - it is good.  I'm totally excited about it, and I find myself always eager to get in the car and make my way to the barn. 

This isn't a high threshold to hit - I'm excited to go to the barn for almost any reason, but as I started thinking about our lesson-to-come and the ride we already had on Wednesday, I was so eager to be back at the barn that I had literal butterflies.

Like, can't wait for the Big Show/Big Date/Big Interview type butterflies.  The kind that don't necessarily keep you up at night, but they at least have you check the clock when you wake up to see if it's reasonable to get out of bed yet. 

I guess it's sort of like Christmas Eve butterflies when you are a kid - and I get them every time I think about going to ride.

I finally said as much out loud and we had a slightly more interesting dialogue about why that is. 

Even at my lowest lows in the middle of my biggest struggles with a horse - I've always been itching to get back to work with them. 

Even when Pia was flinging me into walls I would willingly blow off happy hours with friends or postpone work commitments just to get to the barn. 

What I'm trying to say is- I've always been a horse crazy girl, so I wouldn't expect anyone to think it was weird for me to be really-really-excited about going to the barn. 

In fact, I wouldn't expect me to really think it was weird either -

But there is a difference these days, and I think it has to do with the fact that in almost two months of riding Windsor I haven't had even one moment under saddle where I felt like he was being a jerk. 

I've been frustrated, or wished he didn't so willingly let me made bad decisions, (I swear he sees that I'm over the pace and just let's us eat the fence sometimes..) but he's never given me the middle finger, or tuned out, or been spooky at weird stuff or done anything to make me nervous to try again.

We aren't exactly throwing the jumps up at this point, so I'm not going to say that every ride is some magical synergistic experience - but it's also never terrifying and I always get out of the irons with big pats and thank yous.

I don't think I've ever had two months of rides on a horse without one Jerk move somewhere.  Whether it was spooking at a corner of the ring (repeatedly) or panicking about a particular canter lead, or refusing to trot forward or whatever - I've come to always expect a sprinkling of those moments - which is what makes the total absence of them so - butterfly inducing.

It's a pretty cool thing actually. 

And now I understand why some of my peers spend literal years searching for the right horse with the right brain.  I've set out with that goal but always ended up distracted (and enamored with) the pretty mare, or the big trot or whatever other "shiny" object catches my eye.

though he does have a pretty dreamy forelock...

So I'm enjoying it.  I'm trying not to obsess about perfection and progress (which is hard for me), but rather stay aware and mindful of how much more relaxing my rides have become and figuring out how to leverage that for maximum fun. 

Making The Right Choice - Gus

As owners we make so many choices on behalf of our big lumbering animals that they don't really get to have a say on.  Where they live, what they eat, who they hang out with, what they do all day, what they wear and when, who else gets to work with them. 

Gus, in situ

Basically our horses are screwed if we're morons, selfish, or just incapable of making good decisions.  At least our spouses, friends and bosses can fire us if we're too obnoxious - but not our sweet ponies! they are stuck with our thoughts and decisions and bless them for their patience.

This responsibility is exactly what wakes me up at night every once in a while wondering if I should try a different treatment, supplement regimen or even discipline in order to be fair to my horses, but nowhere does this guilty conscious shout louder than when I'm looking for a new home for one of my horses. 

Admittedly I haven't sent that many horses down the road - and I've sent even fewer to homes and/or owners that I haven't had a 10+ year relationship with (really just 2).

So, there was a bit of trepidation when Gus loaded on the trailer last winter bound for a new home, in a new state with new people. 

But every time I hear from his new mom about how he's doing and what he's up to, I get that huge, massive sigh of relief that only comes when you know that your beloved pony found a home better than you could give him yourself. 

Gus. Is. Great.

He's also living the life most horses only dream of.  Huge green pastures, a nice turnout buddy, and most importantly a little girl to adore him. 

I should note all of these photos are from the farm his new family just moved to, I've been choking down my jealousy ever since they landed in my inbox. 

want want want

 

Gus Heaven

Gus House :)

 

I mean, I'm tempted to move out there myself.

But I can assure you, there are no 2am musings over whether or not I did right by Gus. 

Gus. Is. Great.