Well, it's been long enough that all my highs and lows have dulled into a fog - which means I can watch my videos again without the self-talk getting out of control.
Thank god Windsor looks like he knows what he's doing
The loss of detail in my memory after just a week makes me wonder what the hell people who don't blog or journal do.
at least I'm in my heel?
I feel like if I didn't go through the act of writing summaries (or have them to look back on) if someone asked me how my season was, or what we do, I'd be hard pressed to answer with much more than,
"uhhhhh. we.... jump things..... Usually 8 things.... but sometimes 10 things! and we..... get better... at... it. Unless we don't..... Lead changes are hard...... oxers are easy....?"
And that would be a totally accurate, if entirely boring description.
if that's not a "stop it, Mom" face, I don't know what is....
I'll try to do slightly better than that - but zero promises because, the more I reread that sentence, the more I think it pretty much sums up Milner (and Cle Elum, and Tbird, and Blenheim...). Oops.
2'9" - very small. much boring.
So, ammy days.
The schedule was friendly for us floppy ammys because they offered us an open card EVERY DAY before our rounds. So even though my divisions was spread out over Thursday and Friday and Saturday and Sunday - I had two rounds to ride each day if I wanted to.
I scratched Friday for the Derby - but that was only an Eq round and a Low warm up - so I didn't miss it much.
Thursday was interesting - I was grateful for the spin around the ring for Windsor's Pre Green Under Saddle as it gave me a chance to scope out the shape of the (not rectangular) ring and eyeball the slightly offset angles some of the jumps had.
My first round was a Low 2'9". our warm up was potentially the best ever. Even riding ont he downhill slope to the fences Winds was up un front of me and SO ADJUSTABLE. we nailed everything. Of course that meant I had to chip my first fence on course (duh). First line was lovely, second line was one of my favs to date as we really moved up to it. Judge's line was fine - but a bit tight out... then the single oxer (which we usually rock) was tight also and I let winds jump over himself instead of really rocking back. Somehow we won it.
Second round (first of the division) was very similar. Still tight in the judge's line, but we fixed our single oxer and kept a pretty consistent rhythm (for us) the entire time. He just looks so lovely in a big grass field...
Saturday I came back for two more rounds. The Low was okay. I was still tight out of the Judge's line (learning is hard). and tight into the outside line... I liked my two stride and uh, that's about it. We finished 2nd.
My division Round is one of my favorites (I saw that a lot) to date. It flowed, we moved up to bigger distances without looking weird and we got all our changes without bottling up too much. these are probably the two most consistent rounds I've done with Winds back to back. I felt pretty competent until I saw the video and realized how much I'm still opening up and cutting off his jump. Sorry dude. We won this one though - go team.
Then we hacked - and managed a 2nd place which is really good for us!
Sunday you get a thrilling change in perspective for videoing (oooohhhhh ahhhhh). but sadly the rounds were a tad lackluster. In my Low (thank god there was a low) We were lackluster. First fence was great... but then I was tight both in and out (wtf?) of the first line. Single oxer to the judge was okay... but I rode a bit backwards to it. Then, I totally misread the diagonal line away and pretty much missed the turn. I zig zagged back to it and lost my straightness so the distance (and our rhythm) just evaporated. I opted to add instead of spuring the crap out of him so that was too bad... but we finished ok on the two stride. We somehow got 6th (out of 8) even with the add...
My last round for the show was a bummer. First fence was fine - but then I fought about our change allllll the way around the corner until the mailbox (also, mailbox?). That was a bummer since the rest of the course was pretty decent. Frustrating way to end the show. But, alas - if I could just get my act together on not leaning in... it probably wouldn't be a problem...
We got a 3rd - which much like earlier in the week felt kind for such a late change. But the judge's clearly liked Windsy and were kind to him all week. The 2nd, 1st, and 3rd over fences, plus 2nd on the flat held on for Champion and Winds collected another lovely blanket. (sidenote - Milner did champion SHEETS instead of coolers which feels very useful!).
Lalo is the BEST, and always so proud of the horses.
Saturday finally saw the start of my rides with Winds for this show.
JK, pro ride in the derby - not me.
I really didn't miss my Eq division in terms of extra trips - but it's a little weird to not actually ride my horse until Saturday of a show. I felt like I had been on vacation and was playing catch up in class.
The upside of me not riding on Friday was that Winds was that much more schooled, and that much more relaxed about my division.
I added a Low round (for my warm up, not his) and looked forward to two rounds over fences for my division.
The weekend was a really good learning one, so let's just dive into that, shall we?
(also I will be posting a bevy of videos, ignore at will).
So for the Low - it was REALLY obvious that Winds was still in Derby mode. He looks uber chill on the video, but he was quite a bit more... forward thinking... than I'm used to and I didn't adjust to it as effectively as I could have.
Good thing about Derby mode is that his balance stays super up and back without much effort, bad things about Derby mode include a much more open step and slightly weaker brakes when I'm trying to fit one more step in.
Moving up to a bigger distance was cake (see the last line), but we were tight getting out every time and even when I could read the distance it was hard for me to ask Windsy to wait.
Only major bummer was a missed change in our closing circle - from right to left - our nemesis. I know I'm tipping in, even though my entire body feels like I'm stepping out and trying to lighten the front end. ARGH. very frustrating.
I got assertive and cleaned up my act for the first round of the division, and it totally worked out. To date this was one of my bet rounds on Winds at a show. My main complaint is that in "being more assertive" I got a tad tight with my hands and started opening up too early on my fences (hard to break that old XC habit). BUT we moved up nicely in each line, and never got tight out. I rode the crap out of the single oxer and landed our left lead twice - thereby eliminating that pesky change issue...
We won this one, and I felt like we deserved it.
But theeeeen I got a little cocky.
Or, maybe cocky is the wrong word, I just thought if I sat there, the same thing would happen again.
It didn't.
I came out of the ring really frustrated and feeling like I didn't deserve to ride. It was a bummer of a way to end the day. And in fact it was such a disappointing trip that I avoided the back gate and seeing/hearing about how the class pinned for like four hours.
Then I watched the video and realized it wasn't actually that tragic (well, most of it anyway) and got over myself.
In point of fact, there were only two major bobbles. One, I swam into the outside line and thought maybe we were going to crash. On video it just looks like I justcouldn't pick a distance.
Then, I checked him hard into the judge's line and Winds pulled a rail to let me know that's a no-no. He played a little, but we got out just fine and the round was done.
9 horses rode the round. Ribbons to 8th, and uh.... obviously we we're 9th. Whoopsie, sorry Windsor.
Sunday I came back with a clear head (full heart, can't lose?) ready to not ride like a nitwit.
But then warm up was a struggle and I was just killing myself on my leads. Winds was a bit sulky in the turns and despite my attempt at positive thinking I was getting frustrated.
It's one thing to have a hard, tricky horse (Prair) that most people have a hard time riding (Prair) not warm up perfectly - But when your horse is scoring 90's with the Pro and winning big classes, it's harder to place the blame anywhere other than your uneven hands and slouchy twisted hips.
Finally my trainer told me to just twist my hips hard to the outside when I was rebalancing in the corner or asking for a change - and the clouds parted and angels sang.
I have been trying (aggressively) to control Winds' butt with my outside leg, which often results in my heel getting comedically far back on his side (move over move over move OVER), without actually being that effective.
When I turn my hips/shoulders out, and drive my outside seat bone back and down, the inside hind magically goes where I want it to. All without weighting the forehand.
Ta-Da
I made a snide comment about why she didn't just tell me to do this sooner, but really I was grinning from ear to ear and couldn't stop playing with my new trick.
The first round for the day (Round 3) rode really well. Much like the Derby, the course designer managed to get as creative as one can in the Hunters and I enjoyed having some interesting tracks and single fences to ride.
You'll notice me engage that outside seat bone in every corner as I straighten onto my track.
And you'll notice that it's brilliantly easy to step up and onto a nice distance. And you'll also notice that our terrible-no-good-very-bad left changes are prompt and balanced.
I did get a tad tight into the outside line, but everything else rode smoothly and felt like a bit of redemption from where we left things on Saturday.
Our final round for the division (first for the Classic) was awesome. I don't have a lot to say, because it felt like everything clicked. Nice rhythm, nice balance, no crazy distances... We certainly had our best ride through a two-stride to date - and other than opening up and cutting off his jump a bit - it was great. We were given an 84 and took first place in the round.
And that's where I should have stopped. That whole "quit while you're ahead" thing is so hard to do. But I knew I had that top score going back in for the second Classic Round and that was probably the wrong fact to be thinking about.
I also noticed was that this might be the first time (ever) that I felt tired during a round. I've never been on course and thought "hmm, maybe I'll turn early and save myself a couple strides.. we might get done faster" but that was definitely running through my mind with about 3 fences left to go.
I think I might have to up my cardio game, or commit to three lessons a week as opposed to the cushy two I've been enjoying. Anyway, it's not the best excuse, but I do think it contributed to me perching a bit more and losing my nice light-seat connection.
Realistically the only major issue was a totally botched change where I got Winds so bottled up we nearly halted in the process. But the entire round just wasn't as flowing as the first two of the day. I am proud of my last two singles as I don't get a lot of opportunity to ride tracks like that in the show ring.
We scored a 68 (oops) and that slid us into 5th for the classic, which was higher up in the pack than I thought we would end up, but certainly didn't win any Voltaire swag like we did the first week. (who needs an extra girth anyway... sob).
We came back for the hack about an hour later, and I felt like I got a pretty stellar ride out of him. I was able to keep a slightly bigger trot (and canter) even with a decently full ring with 10 horses. I was disappointed to place 6th (behind two pretty lame horses?) - but that's the Hunters and realistically I know this judge prefers the traditional, long, TB type over a tighter, bouncy little warmblood. I thought we'd be 3rd-ish as there were definitely a couple lovely movers who I mentally pinned 1st and 2nd.
I actually have footage because The Boy was feeling magnanimous and temporarily lifted his ban on filming flat classes. I feel like I haven't posted a clip of Winds' gaits in a while, so it's going up for posterity.
Ultimately, a 2nd and 1st from our last two rounds were enough to snag Champion since the pinnings were very all over the place for almost everyone.
The first week of our June shows is officially in the books - and it was a great one. I am struggling with horse show hangover, so here's a massive dump of videos, pics and anything else I can remember...
super stoked.
It's been three years since I last showed at Swiftwater (two years since I was running around preggo watching Prair go around..) so it was great to be back at the Washington State Horse Park enjoying some fun showing (relatively) close to home.
This venue isn't super developed, (mostly tents, open rings, etc) and it has a very homey, fun, hospitable vibe. It almost feels like summer camp - which makes me a very happy horse-show-er.
Winds' week stated on Wednesday with the 3'3" Pre Greens. For being a sold out show, I was a little sad to see only three entered in the division, but since the other two were from a really lovely barn, it was still pretty stiff competition.
Winds had one warm up round, which went decently, but he was a tad playful so it was a wise entry.
His first PG round was beautiful and focused:
I didn't tape his second one - but it was also lovely. Cause he's lovely.
He also hacked for the division on Wednesday and managed a Blue is all three classes.
Thursday he came out for two final rounds of the PG. Also pretty good. I think this video is his 3rd round of the division... but I can't remember because unlike Prair, Winds mostly just does his job without a lot of antics. So there aero fewer.... um... punctuation marks to differentiate the different trips with.
He was 2nd and 1st, which made for his first (official) Champion ribbon and, dummmm da dummm - COOLER.
so feigning cute.
The entire barn finished the day pretty early - so we took advantage of the best part of this venue - the trails, and headed out for a ride.
This was my first real trail ride with Windsor, and he was predictably easy. He definitely wants to lead and/or go faster. But zero spook, zero anxiety, zero problems. Shocking I know, but I was really pleased. It's awesome to be able to take your fancy show pony out into the woods and feel like they can still be a good, normal horse.
There was some discussion as to what to do Friday. Winds was showing well at the venue (some horses find it a tad spooky), and I tossed out the idea of him doing the Derby Friday evening. All I had on the books was my 2'9" Eq division (two rounds and a flat), but that's still a lot of trips (assuming he would make it back for the Handy).
Ultimately we decided to scratch my rounds over fences, and try the Derby (with my trainer in the irons, not me, lol).
Prair did a few smaller non-sanctioned derbies, but never quite made it to the actual big (medium?) leagues. So I was really excited to see one of my very own ponies (especially one who could take all the high options) go around a longer track.
The show had a nice hosted party for the class, so we all grabbed dinner, some spots on the side of the ring where we could see as much as possible, and got ready to watch some lovely rounds.
Winds drew 9th in the order (out of 21) and one of our juniors drew 18th. Winds headed down to the ring early for the walk (it cracks me up that the horses get to walk the course). Winds was unconcerned, but did try to eat most of the jumps he investigated.
The only question mark I had in my mind was surrounding the hay bale jumps. Not because Winds doesn't normally jump hay bales, but because they had been stacked all week at the divider between the two hunter rings. The Derby takes up both rings, and you jump the hay bales to cross in and out of the second ring for a few fences. I knew the jump wouldn't be spooky, but I thought it would be possible that Winds would be backed off since all week the bales had been a "fence" that you don't jump and now they were fences 6 and 9 in a course...
Anyway, we watched the first few horses go, with no major issues, and when we left to go warm up over fences the high score was an 80.
Winds warmed up great, forward, perky and attentive. We set a few big oxers and then headed to the gate.
I was thrilled with a 82 + 4.
Winds was a stud. Nice forward stride, solid jumping efforts and zero concern over the "tricky" parts of the course. He just might be a Derby Boy after all...
The score held the top spot until the last horse went and posted a 86 + 4 with a really LOVELY round.
There was a quick reset for the Handy and we had the luxury of watching (almost) everyone else go. It wasn't the handiest track, and options for slick inside turns were limited.
After watching the first few trips where riders opted for some flashy tracks - it seemed like the judges weren't hugely rewarding the risk. Lots of nice horses with nice trips wee scoring in the 70's even with risky options. So we debated how hard to push for the handy options if it wasn't going to bring down a huge score.
Ultimately I told N to do what she felt was best for Winds. I wasn't expecting him to win, so if she wanted a solid, conservative experience - then fine. On the other hand, if he felt like he could pull off the tighter turns, I told her to go for it and if he botched it - I wouldn't really care....
So, she took the high options, and some tighter turns, but not anything crazy handy....
And an EIGHTY SIX. + 4... for a 90 in the second round. The horse ahead of us was returning with a 90, so we needed them to score an 85 or lower in order to leapfrog them..
I trotted down to the back gate to watch the final ride go and congratulate my trainer on such a well ridden first Derby with Winds. She really does do such a lovely job with him - it's a pleasure to watch.
Anyway, the final ride looked smooth, with no major mistakes, but I couldn't see the far end of the course from the back gate. They took 3 of the high options and received a base score of 82 for a total of 85, which gave Winds the win by one point.
I squealed, and fueled by a couple glasses of wine proceeded to run around like a slightly crazy person videoing the victory gallop, trying to find my husband, and doing god knows what else.
apparently dragging my child into pictures
I think the whole thing was so exciting because I truly had no expectations of his performance. I thought we'd get some good experience, maybe have a couple bobbles and feel good about trying... so what a great surprise.
Anyway, there were some celebratory toasts and merriment, but the week wasn't over.
Saturday I rode a warm up 2'9" round, and two of my 2'9" low adult rounds.
It had POURED overnight and the ring was a giant puddle. In an attempt to make thing better, the ring crew had raked the footing right in front of the jumps, which essentially created a perfectly even rectangular puddle, which Winds was 99% sure was a Liverpool.
So the first round was... interesting as we jumped everything, including the 4' puddles in front of each fence. I didn't blame him, but I was a tad thrown off and got pretty tight trying to negotiate putting Windsor's feet in the puddles instead of just in front of them...
The following round was better - with a couple late changes, but no puddle jumping. The third round was GREAT, except as we were moving up on the long gallop to an oxer, I felt his right hind slip in the mud and I pulled out.
Apparently the judge later told the steward "I don't know why that girl pulled the Derby Horse out of his jump, but her makeup was impeccable."
So, uh... points for that I guess.
There were eight riding in my division, so our 4th, 3rd and 6th ribbons were solid indications of how tough of a time other horses were having with the puddles as well...
Sunday, the rings were even soggier, and a ton of people scratched the day. I waited it out and since things started to dry out, I decided to try it - totally ready to retire if Winds didn't feel great in the footing.
When I was still deciding if it was worth it to ride or not - one of the ladies in the barn said that she always uses the saying "I'd rather look back and say I wish I had, than I wish I hadn't."
I'm sure that's a well known adage, but I hadn't heard it before and it struck a cord with me.
Anyway, the first round went pretty well, and the footing held up much better than I thought it would. We had some late changes again, maybe a chip to the first fence... second round was similar and we pulled a 3rd and 4th.
Finally we rode our Classic (which thankfully did not include our last division round) and pulled it all together. We stayed balanced and forward and nailed our changes for an 86. Which is hands down the best score I've ever gotten in the irons.
It was good enough for 1st, and if we were only going to win one round I'm so excited it was the Classic, because it happened to be sponsored by Voltaire and came with a really pretty platter and a NEW HUNTER GIRTH.
I haven't bitten the bullet on a good leather girth for Windsor, so it was an incredibly useful prize, as well as a much nicer one than I would have gotten for myself, so whee!
Winds wanted treats on that platter...
I don't have any footage from my rides since, although I dragged the husband out to watch, he was mostly busy doing this the entire time:
The kiddo was exceptionally cute at the show this time, she really wanted to meet all the horses, sit on them and play around... Dare I try leadline next week?!?
insisting on holding the "leash"
my helmet looks oddly appropriate on her, huge head much?
So even though some of my rides were lackluster, Windsor certainly wasn't and he more than earned his keep!
A few days off, then we wash, rinse and repeat for the second week!
The short summary of my three days showing Winds last week is that things went okay, then they were a bit tragic, then they were somewhat better.
Classic photo-of-a-photo moment
The longer story is that it's really obvious I haven't shown in a year, and haven't ridden Windsor outside since...... germany.
He is, a god damn saint. Horse deserves a halo. (Also, this horse wears his ears WELL, getting good photos is not going to be a challenge... )
I have literally never had a horse who is so frigging easy to manage at a show.
He is quiet in his stall.
Quiet on hand walks
Quiet in warm up
Quiet at the back gate
Quiet in the ring...
Quiet in the wash rack...
He's just the same god damn horse (gelding!) everywhere, every time.
East, but not always interested...
And that is so EASY, that my poor overachieving brain has to find something else to wig out about.
So I decided those things were going to be reading my distances in the lines (face palm) and left lead changes. Because why leave well enough alone.
One of Windsor's best features is that no matter where I throw him at the jump, a) he jumps and b) he doesn't get mad.
This is in stark contrast to Prair who was unhappy (and freaked out) if you missed her distance by more than 6" either way. Her panic attacks have left me with severe PTSD about missing, but I got pretty good at not missing because I always knew were I was with her.
Winds is so adjustable, and so sensitive to contact, that when I go to take a feel and lock in on a fence, he backs off the distance (even though I swear I'm not pulling) and things go to shit.
Then I get into the lines and his stride is so adjustable I spend all 4 or 5 (or 6) strides changing everything all the time and end up somewhere I shouldn't be on the out.
This is not ideal.
(and maybe led to me leaving a stride out... MAYBE).
So, things were a bit rough on Friday for my Eq rounds (though we pulled a 2nd after we cleaned things up in our last trip) and I didn't really beat myself up because - new horse, so that was great.
Saturday, I had expectations to add some polish to everything and totally self destructed. I chipped, I pulled, I kicked, I waited, I leaned in on my changes, it was ugly. I thought my trainer was going to demote me to cross rails. really. I did. She had every reason to.
(I really like the girl at the end telling her trainer I got 5 in the 6... dammit)
Saturday left me really discouraged because, while I'm used to having issues to work out - I'm also used to FIXING THEM and not just repeating the same mistakes.
By the end of the day, Windsor had finally had enough of my bad decision making and started tuning me out, which led to better distances, but isn't exactly the end goal.
I ended up Reserve in the Eq - mostly due to that one 2nd place ribbon and a win on the flat (thank god). The other two rounds over fences were... interesting.
Sunday, we started with an Under Saddle which was going great until I let him almost step into the wrong lead right in front of the judge (BAD) and that killed it for us. I am figuring out how to find his ideal pace where he swings his shoulder a bit more and carries a nice little hunter frame. We'll dial that in next week no prob.
Finally, I had two more Hunter rounds which were EXCELLENT (given our new relative scale of tragic to acceptable) and even the parts that felt fast or tense look pretty hunter-y on video. so yay me.
Our ribbons were worse (since apparently everyone else also stepped up their game) but at least I finished the week with a solid sense of competency and excitement about what lies ahead.
All in all a great start. We ribboned in every class, which is something that I sort of expected given his CRAZY CUTE factor, but we've got a long way to go before we're kicking ass and taking names in any sort of consistent manner.
I just have to keep reminding myself that I really don't know him that well yet - we haven't been outside in big rings EVER before this and Winds also doesn't totally understand his new job description. I think once we get used to at least one of those things - we'll be a much more consistent team and maybe (just maybe) we'll get out of the baby ring.
I've been making a habit of watching Windsor get worked by my trainer on Wednesdays, and it's been really helpful - not only to see him go, but also to hear her narrate her ride.
This week wasn't a huge school by any means, but it was still a good one. I know last week I was saying that our #1 goal is getting him to land and move up. That is still a good goal, and important, but we are noticing that there are two considerations with that -
1) the harder you ride him the more he braces and almost backs off... which is... not helpful
2) The harder you ride, the more likely he is to swap off his lead.
For a while we thought this swapping was mostly a preference to be on his right lead. But some thinking has shown that he basically just wants to be on the counter lead, in between lines regardless of direction. (so, going left he swaps right, going right he swaps, or lands, left).
I sorta prefer that since it suggests is more of a balance issue than a lameness or weakness... but it's still a bit confusing.
It's possible that there wasn't much attention paid to his leads (or balance) in his previous job so he's just invented his own way of going that's easiest for him. Those might be somewhat difficult habits to break.. but we are working on it.
I'm tempted to try setting some lines across the diagonal and see if he's as likely to swap without the "support" of the walls to guide his leads... we'll see.
Anyway, here's your Windsor spam. Quick clips of trot and canter- then work over fences. I tried to include the swapping clips for future evidence :)
Oh yeah, and we added some flowers to a fence thinking he'd wig out.
Did. Not. Notice. (good boy).
It's nice to be able to take my observations from watching and apply them to my own lessons. Makes everything just a *touch* more tangible.
Yesterday's ride was lovely - I worked on doing less and just "supporting" more, which was a good mindset for me to be in, and we reaped the rewards in terms of only having one horrendous jump, instead of like.... six. ;)
The final weekend was a total whirlwind, and I'm definitely in the midst of a horse show hangover. I'm sitting in a pile of dirty horse laundry, dirty baby laundry and one very passive aggressive cat who dislikes his routine being disrupted for such an extended family absence....
But I just remember (what I can) of week VII before it all disappears from my laundry-addled brain.
We left off with Prair's wild success in the Open 2'6 division, marked by her win in a big class over fences.
When I took over the ride on Friday, the mare felt awesome. a tad more of a push ride than I expected, but I suppose that's reasonable after two long weeks on hard ground.
What felt great was the mare's balance and her changes. She was much more responsive to my seat and much easier to balance for the change than when I finished up the previous weekend. After a quick and soft warm-up we headed for the ring and knocked out of first division.
About all I remember is that we had four pretty nice rounds. A couple late changes, but overall better and better, slower jumps. The Boy returned to the show with a head cold which kept him home with baby - so I am lacking any videos or images to jog my memory of any remotely interesting details.
I do know the divisions were a tad smaller this week, I think there were maybe 16? We got stuck in a rotation with the cutest horse ever who has been kicking our butt all circuit. He's small, but looks like an overgrown pony with a nice trot and just adorable jump - even over 2'. By comparison, Prair's patented-2'-lurch look a tad less.... stylish.
Anyway, going back to back with him wasn't ideal in terms of judging, but we still came away with a 2nd, 5th, 6th and 1st over fences. Added to a win on the flat and we snagged Reserve behind Mr-Cute-Pony-Pants.
Saturday started with a fun 2'6" medal, which I hadn't been participating in the earlier weeks. The course looked fun but all of our rollbacks and bending lines were on our right lead (doh) so I was perhaps a bit nervous about that. Prair and I were first in the order (ugh) which didn't help my nerves.
Amazingly, we landed all our leads and were having a flawless round until the final rollback which was pretty tight and to the right. I sliced the first fence slightly to get a better angle, landed balanced and on our right lead... then braced a tad and lost the stomp in Prair's hind foot and she didn't see the next fence so we sorta.... stopped.
Not a refusal per se (much like our stop last week in the wind), but more of a "what the hell, where are we going lady... oh... a jump..... yeeah, no."
I don't love that Prair is backing off and downshifting when she's confused, but I suppose it might be a step forward from blind panic and bolting. Who knows.. I'm trying to tell myself it's a step forward and not that I'm actually turning my mare into a stopper.
Anyway, I was so, so so so so so so so sad. The rest of the course was easy and pretty and I was really upset with myself for not getting a better line in that rollback.
I tried to console myself with reminders that we haven't even schooled a rollback since the same medal last year, but still.
it's 2'6" and Prair was on point.
So sad.
I got even more frustrated when I watched everyone else have at least one medium bobble so I'm pretty sure if I could have erased the stop - we would at least have been called back to test. Argh.
Right after the medal we rode our three rounds for our 2'3" Hunter. I recall great rounds with maybe one late change, but the judge didn't use us much. There were about 20 of us and we missed the ribbons when we had a late change but eeked out an 8th and 7th in our last two rounds. We came back a few hours later to win the hack and boost our confidence a bit.
Saturday afternoon I had entered the 2' Eq again. When the temps hit 88 I was seriously questioning why I thought three more rounds were a good idea and when I pulled the mare out of her stall for a third time, her expression echoed that sentiment.
But we ambled back to the rings and wilted in the sun while the course was reset (ahem- lowered) for our division.
Let me correct that - I mean "division" in the loosest sense. Apparently only two other ammys were delirious enough to think that bumbling around 3 rounds in the height of the afternoon heat sounded like a good idea.
What we lacked in competition was made up for by a mercifully brief outing. Seemed everyone was eager to be done, so warm ups were brief, everyone pre-loaded into the ring and I think the whole thing (including flat) was done in 40 minutes.
My only challenge was that this was our first time showing in Ring 3, which is substantially larger than our normal rings, and it has a weird berm at the end (where they sometimes place a jump) and an irregular zigzag fence line by the judge's booth.
The courses themselves were normal hunter lines, so I really only focused on keeping Prair's attention and holding her straight when the jump lines didn't mirror the arena fences... I was pleasantly surprised by Prair's focus and total lack of concern for the new ring. Our only tense moment was when a horse in the ring next door went down their outside line as we went down ours and Prair maybe thought they were racing.
Out of a whopping three we placed 2nd, 1st, 1st, then won the flat for another championship, though it didn't feel like a big "win."
Don't get me wrong, I still snapped up my ribbon and cooler, but it's not like we beat out a huge crowd or were tested over difficult courses for the honor..
Sunday our last division of the circuit was our 2'6" Modified Hunter. Again, smaller numbers.. maybe only 20, but holy smokes, there were all beautiful. I enjoyed watching a few rounds before we started our warm-up, but Prair didn't feel great. She was stiff, heavy and really (really) reluctant to move off my leg.
We switched to a warm up ring with better footing, but still, the mare was slooooooow. It was hard to get her going for a few warm up fences, but after talking with N we decided to head for the ring and see how she was. N felt like all the horses were getting a bit foot sore and reluctant, but that Prair didn't look (or feel) off on one side or the other.
Our first fence in, I just couldn't get a pace and we pulled up. After that we got rolling, we finished ok. N and I talked, and thought maybe we should scratch but didn't want our last round to have a stop. So we went back in, got a nice clean round (with great changes) and called it a show. Prair was listening, focused and trying, but I could feel her backing off at the fences and that she was jumping flatter than she had been.. I didn't like it and neither did N.
In hindsight we probably didn't need any jumps on Sunday, but the previous two weeks Prair hadn't felt so worn out at the end of the weekend... so finishing with our "normal" 2'6" division seemed like a fun idea.
I've never felt Prair so tired/sore/cranky about moving off my leg, so I'm hoping all is well. Hopefully some time off, some previcox and a one over by our vet will have her back to feeling fresh.
Thermal 2015 is in the books. I'll keep digesting our trip and post some thoughts and observations, (along with an update on Prair's leg when the vet sees her Wednesday..) but for now, those are the basic details.
I am totally lacking in any clever observations on the day. Perhaps due to lack of interesting occurrences, or perhaps due to the fact that the kiddo actually napped for 2 hours so I laid in the sun like a lizard and drank Greyhounds all afternoon.
Either or. You pick.
The mare has had an easy few days. She hasn't jumped since Sunday and hacked lightly yesterday just to stretch her out and let her move her bones.
I suppose the one upside of stall rest is that going into our third week of showing Prairie isn't beating down her stall to get to some turnout. She's grown quite accustomed to horse-jail and sunny horse-jail is apparently better than rainy horse-jail.
Anyway, Prair warmed up fabulously. Loose, trot swinging, lead changes came easy, totally chill And she looked like a stud waiting around. Usually I don't think she looks nearly as elegant when she's not braided, but today she was working her sleepy I-woke-up-like-this swagger like a super model.
My Queen.
She had two rounds with N, and that was it. The first went pretty well and I have a (bad) video.
The second round was a tad rougher, due mostly to the footing I think. For some reason our ring was the only ring that was still showing the ill effects of last weekend's storm. The corners were deep, slick and sloppy.
And anything that throws Prair off balance is no good for us.
N schooled it well, took a circle to calm down and made it a nice learning experience. If the footing hasn't resolved itself by tomorrow we'll scratch over fences. It's just not worth tense rounds at this point.
So tomorrow we have a flat and (maybe) two rounds. Then we head straight into the last weekend of showing for us at HITS Thermal 2015. Can't believe this is almost over!!!
It was insane. Tents were blowing over, trash cans were attacking ponies, jumps couldn't stay upright for people to finish their courses and visibility would reduce to near zero.
It was nuts.
Ring Crew worked overtime.. holy lord.
And yet, I was certain showing was a great idea.
It was a decent idea... mostly because I rode my first set of courses early before full haboob-ery and Prair was lovely. I've already lost some of the details, but nothing bad enough happened to stick out in my mind to remember the different courses. The big trickery was that there was a bending line (to be clear I mean trickery in terms of low-level-hunter-trickery) that was set for 7 strides. It rode reeeallllly long our first course and it felt like Prair launched from about 42 feet away in order to not add in an extra stride.
The second time we rode it, I really rode up (and more direct) and we still superman-ed out. The third time we rode it we measured the distance well, but it felt like we were gunning for it at about 500mpm. The rest of the course was fine. we nailed it.
Judge didn't love us however and didn't use us for any of the ribbons (wah waaaaah), though it was a 45 person division so I knew it was going to take a perferctly-perfect trip to even get close to satin.
The hack was boring, Prair was stressed beyond measure since we all hacked together and they only opened the outside lines (not the quarterlines) so it was an (absurd) exercise in merging trying to stuff everyone through the standards down each long side. Not our strong suit, but we squeaked out a 4th.
In the afternoon (and the haboob), we went back (not sure why) for our Eq division. It was in the same ring, with the same 3 courses (and the same damn bending line) so I had a good game plan (kick) for our rides (kick, kick, kick).
Apparently most people thought a desert windstorm was a good reason to not test the patience of their 2' ammy horses, so the division dwindled to 8 of us (lol). Prair was a total stud given she had to close her eyeballs to keep the dust out, and we managed to get up the lines in a much smoother fashion. Though during our second course a huge gust of wind came up and it literally felt like we were being blown backwards. I have never felt such an insane headwind while riding. It was truly confusing.
Anyway, Prair totally held it together, and since almost everyone else had some fairly large mistakes, we managed to win all the rounds, and then squeaked out a win on the flat.
Which means, DRUMROLL - we have obtained a cooler from HITS 2015.
Very happy about that. Although slightly disappointed that it is the exact same cooler from last year.
I know, I know... don't complain about coolers, but seriously HITS, pick a new color of polar fleece, or embroider the year on there or SOMETHING.
Obtaining a cooler proved to be quite timely because today, the Haboob was gone and the biblical rainstorms started.
It was cold. It was muddy, and it was really, really wet.
Bear in mind I live in Seattle. Where we are pretty much always in the rain. And this, this was so much worse. So when it was time for the mile long march to the ring this morning for our 2'6" Hunters, I swaddled Prair and I up in the cooler and headed out into the storm.
Apparently a good number of Californians scratch when it rains, so our division dropped to 28 and the ring ran really, really fast. Prair and I were the last to ride and we still went a full 90 minutes before we had been signed up for.
I wasn't complaining though, since everything was slop getting sloppier and going earlier cut down on waiting in the rain.
Our biggest challenge to the day was that we were scheduled in the far ring which runs next to the highway with buses and trucks zooming by at 55 mph. Prair did not enjoy that experience earlier in the week and I figured the added splooshing of puddles probably wouldn't endear her to the truck traffic any more.
We started well, though she was a tad backed off the pace (I think because the footing was slick?) but we had a lovely first fence going away which brought up the outside (by the road) line coming home. I felt Prair lock onto a truck on the road and then when she realized there were jumps to be jumped she just sorta... stopped. She didn't spook, she didn't invert, she just.... downshifted and was not open to negotiation about it which was a very new feeling for me.
I circled, dialed down our pace a bit and we finished the course adding in the lines which felt like the right move at the time.
We went right back in and had a great course, though I nearly jumped the wrong first fence. I was so focused on establishing our pace that I failed to notice that there were two single fences set on the diagonal. Fortunately N shouted "PINK!!!! PINK FLOWERS" with just enough time for me to zigzag away from the yellow flowers and get rolling... the rest of the course was rock solid and even our changes were clean. The third course was hands down the best trip of the week and I was so, so pleased with the mare. We (somehow) nabbed a 7th in our second round and a very respectable 3rd in our final trip. The flat was fine, most people skipped it (there were maybe 10 of us?) Prair was reasonably calm, but she kept "jumping" the flat spots where the jumps had been so we sorta skipped around the ring. We managed a 2nd in the hack behind a really lovely chubby hunter we see a lot at home and that was officially the end of HITS Thermal week 6.
Well, aside from some obligatory shopping (new spurs.. and I'm flirting with a new huntcoat? I'm thinking dark green could look sharp on Prair...)
But we're done. I'm feeling like a more effective rider over the 2'6" fences than the 2' stuff, but I think I'll probably stay low again next week in the name of saving Prair's legs and taking it easy on her LF.
I did get suckered into a pair of those ice vibe boots, which actually sound pretty cool. They sound handy for Prair's little legs, so I'll be sure to do a full report once I've got my hot little hands on them.
So this entire process is a tad absurd, but I have finally extracted a couple of short videos from my phone. True to baby-hunter form, they are hideously boring, but there's a mare, some palm trees and some wee-baby-jumps, which are all splendid in my book...
A couple of the lines were closer to 2'6" and some were closer to 2'. What's cool is Prair is feeling better and easier over the bigger (lol) jumps than the smaller ones. This time last year she was definitely a bit more anxious or uncomfortable the bigger (lol) the jumps got. I'm hoping this means we might actually get to campaign a Pre-Green season but that's a chick that I definitely don't want to count before it hatches...
So here we are for our first round of our 2'6" Hunter on Sunday. Great first trip of the day, only real bobble was Prair getting slightly spooked by something (goblins?) at the far end of the ring, but otherwise the mistakes were mine. I didn't quite move up in the lines enough so we were a bit long getting out of them, but Prair handled it well. Also, even though we got our right lead changes, they are a tad rough (especially the last one).
Second round I measured the lines better, and our right lead changes were a tad better, but we built a bit more in the ends (especially by the gate). I need to keep me hip closed a tad longer over the fences and release a bit more to help that I think. But again - good mare!
Our third round (same course as the first) was great, and we actually landed our right lead at the end so that was a big win. Everything else is about the same - which is waaaaay more consistency than we've ever had, so that's really, really fun.
Finally, The Boy has officially stopped recording flat classes so I'm lacking evidence of how Prair's going there. I'll maybe make him video one next week so I have some reference point for where she's at in terms of frame and self carriage these days, but I can extrapolate from how she's going over fences for now...
Mare is off today and enjoying a hand walk, schooling tomorrow then I think a 2'6" division with N on Wednesday and Thursday before we start back up on Friday!
Well, it's in the books. We had a great (and busy weekend) and we all survived. Maybe a tad more sleep deprived than at previous shows, but all together not so bad..
Heart Melt.
Friday, Prairie started with two rounds at 2' with N - which went well. We thought it was worth it since Prair didn't do any pro days and if nothing else I wanted N to know how she was feeling in the ring. The first round Prair was a tad nervous, so N added in the lines, which I think was the correct decision. Second round they did the strides, and Prair looked fab. They nabbed a 4th in a huge class.
Then I got on for a 2' Hunter Division. We had 4 courses and a flat. The first round was GLORIOUS. Just absolutely glorious. I was ready for some anxiety and rushing, but Prair just felt lovely. Her back is strong enough now that she can carry a much higher balance and I'm learning that if I really stay forward over the tack and keep my hip closed - Prair stays more confident.
As soon as I drop back or open my hip, Prair gets a tad braced and wants to scoot. So forward it is. My thighs are very aware of the difference....
Our second round, both of our changes to the right lead were late, which is a ghost of Christmas past, but the jumps and lines were lovely so I was thrilled. Our final round we fixed the changes and did ok again.
I don't know if it's because everyone is starting off the second half of the circuit in conservative divisions or what, but the caliber of horses was NUTS. Totally gorgeous movers, with pretty jumps and auto changes. Last year I wasn't so swarmed by gorgeous ponies, but the increased competition is sort of fun.
Our first round was good enough for a 4th (out of 25), and our last round managed a 6th. The late changes were a big enough mistake to keep us out of the ribbons in such good company for the two middle trips, but that's okay. We managed a 4th in the under saddle which was a compliment given who was in the ring and the fact that Prair thought she was being chased by a herd of wildebeest.
All in all, I finished the day impressed with how chill the mare was. We're walking to and from the barn (which is in BFN) on the buckle and relaxed. She's so much more comfortable it's insane. I'm especially pleased given the fact that she's been living in a stall and an indoor since July.
Saturday we had two divisions - a 2'3" Hunter and a 2' Eq. The 2'3" Hunter is not very memorable (no videos since The Boy was camped at the barn with the baby..) but I remember struggling with our leads again. We had three courses, the first two we were out of the ribbons but we won the last round out of 22. The hack was a tad brutal, but again - 4th.
Picking out her pony
Mare had a good break before our Eq, which ran late in the afternoon and most of the 2/2'6" riders opted to go home and sit by the pool or drink wine rather than stick around. 7 of us did though (stupid..) and rode (another) 3 rounds and hacked. Prair was aces the first round and we won. The second round we got stuck in our change which freaked the mare out then I pulled her up before our next fence to reorganize. Somehow, we still pinned 4th (lol) if that's any indication how much everyone else wished they had opted for the wine/pool option... We recovered for our last round and squeaked out a 2nd, but got a frustrating 3rd on the flat.
Now normally I'm the first to acknowledge that there is always someone better than me on the flat, but seriously - I'm pretty sure I won that class. Prair was a star and even though the judge was a tad odd (called for lengthenings in a 2' class????) I was confused by the pinning. I did get on her bad side when as we entered the ring I pulled my number to the outside and she snapped at me saying "DO NOT DO THAT." I apologized and said I thought they preferred it, and she said "ABOSULTELY NOT, IT'S OBNOXIOUS"
oof.
Not sure how you recover from that, but whatevs. The 3rd kept us Reserve, though I was a little grumpy that the 4 point difference is what lost us the cooler. wah. No matter though, still super impressed with how we're going.
The Baby got Guacamole (and my phone) I got a margarita the size of my torso.
Today, we wrapped the week with one final division at 2'6". If youtube ever figures it out I'll post videos, but right now I'm in a losing battle... so no promises. The first round was great and Prair was smooth with her changes. We were a little behind the pace so our six stride lines were a tada stretchy, but that's a new problem that I'm ok with for the time being. We still managed 4th in a field of 18. The second two rounds were about the same and we missed the ribbons in one - nabbed 3rd in the other.
Prair was her best in the hack and she really stayed relaxed and calm the entire time. I was able to float the reins without losing her shape and she felt lovely - so I was a tad surprised to pin 6th, but in talking with N - I wonder how much of it is due to her big, heavy egg bar steel shoes. I sorta feel like she's trying to float in ski boots while everyone else is in ballet slippers. She's definitely not quite as flat in the knee, but all in all she feels 100% more relaxed and happy in her work... oh and sound. She feels sound, so I don't really care about the hacks. (slight lie, I miss winning them, but I'm ok with it).
Oksy, sorry for the boring recap, next week I'm really going to try to post daily so I have slightly more interesting observations than "line.. diagonal... ,line... missed change... line" But for now I'm tired, and the glass (cough, bottle) of wine I'm nursing isn't exactly making my thoughts more cogent.
To sum up, I'm over the moon. It's so fun to feel like your horse is enjoying their job and to be at the point where I'm worried about a single change and not running out of the arena feels like a victory. Hell, after 6 months of rehab, just feeling good and sound is something to celebrate.
Week V down, back soon with Week VI.
Go Prair.
The Boy has been busy taking baby pics instead of Prair pics.. so here's another.
And we're back! I probably won't get to see the mare go this weekend with her HLL, but I did manage to sneak away to the show to watch both Pro Days with The Boy. Juggling work, impending baby and all the impending baby obligations has left us a tad over scheduled, but somehow horse time always wins out :)
It was a lot of horse show hurry-up-and-wait (not shocking, but the weather was cooperating, and more importantly there's a super delicious taco truck with endless supplies of tostadas and enchiladas to keep the pregnant lady happy.
The mare was a rock star. Period. We decided to throw her on gastrogard for the second week and just see if that helped out at all.
Week 2 - got this.
I don't know if it was the gastrogard, or the effect of having settled in for a week, or all the extra trail rides - but mare was SOLID. She was just that teeeeensiest bit more relaxed everywhere. In her stall, in the grooming stall, walking around... everywhere.
And boy did it show in her rounds.
Wednesday Prair had two rounds in Ring Two and a flat, and then two rounds in the big ring. She looked decidedly better than last week, N was able to float her reins a bit, but Prair was still rather intrigued by everyone on the far side of the ring. Small peek at the oxer set in front of the judge's booth, but otherwise pretty chill. Usually we bring the mare out in between rounds just to reset and regroup, but N felt like she was calm enough that not only could they stay in but they could transition to the trot for their opening/closing circles rather than working through the walk.
I know that sounds like a super lame Hunter Detail, but with Prair being able to ask her to work and show her off a bit more is new... in the past we've utilized the walk for those extra precious seconds of calm and cool... So, two rounds, both lovely aside from a couple peeks here and there. Also new? No warm up classes, just straight to work. A year ago I wouldn't have considered skipping the warm ups - but this week she didn't need them! (whee).
In an odd turn of events, Prair was a tad more tense in the Big Ring than she was in the smaller ring, but I think that's because her final two rounds were literally the last classes of the day and the wind was starting to pick up a bit making everything more... interesting. Prair still looked lovely, and better than last week, just a tad more on edge than for her first few trips.
Our big success for those rounds was landing. every. lead. That never happens. Usually Prair prefers her left, and we end up with changes (albeit better ones!) to swap to the right. It was really nice to see her following the reins and landing soft and ambidextrously.
Again, like last week there were two separate 2'9" divisions. The one in the small ring (Low Working Hunter) and the one in the big ring (Schooling Hunter). For some reason the division in the smaller ring was stacked with horses going in the rated divisions, and the division in the large ring was significantly less competitive.
Prair was rewarded for her efforts and came away with some good ribbons:
Wednesday Results:
Low Working Hunter 1 4th/10
Low Working Hunter 2 5th/10
Low Working Hunter U/S 1st/ less (not everyone hacked)
Schooling Hunter 1 1st/6
Schooling Hunter 2 1st/6
Thursday it all came together. Prair looked spectacular, warmed up spectacular and I think gave us her best work yet. She had two more rounds in the small ring and then her final two rounds and a hack in the big ring.
For her first couple of rounds N was even able to float the reins at the base of the jumps. Prair was jumping up and through her back wonderfully and seemed totally chill and adjustable in between fences. I was thrilled. So cool to watch her finally start to understand her job and be proficient. I think the decision to hold at 2'9" and have a confidence building week was a good one...
About an hour later Prair came back for her final two rounds in the big ring. For some reason everyone joined the party and her classes were about twice the size they had been on Wednesday, plus we were in front of the judge who maybe didn't enjoy her quite as much... Mostly I decided I just wanted to finish the pro days on a solid, consistent performance and if Prair could do that I'd be a happy horse mom.
Boy, did she ever. N laid down probably the most consistent two trips I've seen Prairie put in. Her tempo was steady, she was easily moving up or holding to the fences, balancing herself... all in all just acting like a REAL HUNTER. all grown up. Sure it's only 2'9" but we'll get there. I just love watching it.
The judge's must have seen some improvement from Wednesday to Thursday as well because Prair managed to pin highly in both rings - even taking a clean sweep of her Schooling Hunter division. It was good enough for another championship along a reserve in the Low's. That means 3 tri colors for three divisions (the low's didn't hack last week) and Prair's first tri-colors with N in the tack!
Hard to complain about a show that ends like that! The Boy and I made a quick exit after the final under saddle and somehow managed to still not be late to a cocktail event downtown less than two hours later.
I'm grateful I got to log some serious pony time before Miss Baby shows up, since we're looking to give Prair July off from showing, before hopefully being back on our feet to watch her go in August.
One final clip from the 3rd round in the Big Ring - so proud!
Thursday Results:
Low Working Hunter 3 3rd/10
Low Working Hunter 4 2nd/10
Schooling Hunter 3 1st/12 (more people joined the party)
Schooling Hunter 4 1st/12
Schooling Hunter U/S 1st/less (not everyone hacked)
Reserve Ch. Low Working Hunter 2'9" Champion Schooling Hunter 2'9"
