The (extremely) Amateur Adults

I've spent the better part of the last two years trying to undo enough bad habits that I can (respectably) make my way around the AA's with my 1.40m horse.

At times this timeline and process has been frustrating and disheartening, but I continue to adore my gray horse and his ability to help me let go of sins past and learn how to ride like a competent adult who has a significantly reduced sense of risk tolerance and a significantly increased sensitivity to self preservation.

So, when the moment finally came for us to go canter around the 3' ring together, I am really, really proud that there were lots of moments that looked like this:

And thankfully only one moment that looked like this:

But we'll get to that.

All in all, I had a lot of fun.  Winds was significantly more interested in his job than he was with me in the ring last summer which I attribute to a combination of increased comfort as well as increased give-a-shit-ness for a slightly taller fence.

My videos show that I am in fact riding better, and that I can be taught.  So that is something that I am trying to hold on to and pat myself on the back for.  They also show me that I still love to drop my hands, wait in the corner and collapse my left side.

But that's why we love this sport, there's always something (or like 10 somethings) to be working on.  I admit that like most type A ammys in the Hunter Ring, it's much, much easier to focus on the 10 somethings than it is on the progress - but I'm lucky to have a crazy supportive group of barn ladies who are always quick to point out what's going well or more importantly - going better than before.

Here is my first round from our first week.  All in all - not disastrous! I got Winds to the first fence mostly perfect and he clobbered it like he didn't notice it was there.  I was somewhat surprised since I spent the whole time in our approach thinking "holy crap his front end is light, holy crap his front end is light.." and then WHACK -  Not so light.

Anyway, there was that, and a monster chip, but otherwise we recovered.  I look tense, but you can tell I'm starting to relax by the end.  The judge might have mixed up his notes because we pulled a 3rd in this round.  I know Winds is pretty lovely, but I guess maybe everyone else had a bobble too.  I guess since it was the first day of the second half of the circuit maybe I wasn't the only one stepping back into the ring for the first time in a while....

 

And for comparison when nerves were slightly less at play - here is our second round on Sunday from the first week.  Not perfect by any means, but a more consistent pace, I was thinking more in the corner and way more at ease with Winds' level of engagement.  I think we got 4th in this one out of about 20.  (TAKE THE RIBBONS AND RUN).

 

The second week was much the same, with mostly small improvements.  Still a slightly late change or one chip sprinkled in each round, but the rest of it was pretty good distances with pretty good pace and pretty good decisions.  I just need to up the consistency and we'll start finding more success.  

I did have my HORRID very bad, no good, chip during the second week. 

It's probably the first time I thought I was actually going to flip my horse (and that includes all the harebrained shit I did on cross country in my youth).  I totally overthought a corner, second guessed myself (be patient, be patient, she said be patient, holy crap we need to gooooooo!).  And it didn't work out well.  I gunned Winds, he tried to listen, then realized he needed to put a foot down, but I was pretty sure his legs were going to land in the flower boxes and trip us.  I had already mentally committed to bailing of his left shoulder when he managed to touch toes down - pop them back up and get us over in a much less dramatic fashion than I had pictured.  (Word has it we stayed very straight, because my trainer couldn't tell how ugly it was from behind.....)

My next thought was "hmm.  That was bad.  We should just regroup, add in the line and come out more organized."  But Winds landed, knew he had ground to make up and marched right up the line in 5 and jumped out like I hadn't totally messed up the first part.  What a prince he is.  

So ended our first exploration of the AA's together.  Mostly good, some nerves, some pilot error, a LOT of pats for Windsor and a couple good ribbons to feel good about.  

Next up - Thunderbird!

Two Weeks in the Desert

The boys and I are back from our first trip back to HITS in three years (and both of their first trips to the show). 

I continue to have several gripes about how HITS operates their shows, but I do have to give them credit for some significant infrastructure improvements - and I can't deny that I love getting out into the sunshine and show ring months before the circuit kicks off at home. 

Two weeks of showing saw me tiptoe into the Adult Amateurs with fairly consistent results (only one gasp-worthy moment).  Winds galloped around the Devoucoux Prix both weeks with admirable rounds and top ribbons.  Quiz moved into the 3' Greens, won a very competitive hack, and took first in a class of 85 with John French in the irons.  I meandered around the 2'3" with the baby, drank a lot of wine with my barn ladies and walked over 50 miles each week which totally justified my breakfast burrito habit... 

We experimented with a (much) lighter schedule for Windsor both weeks.  One pro warm up to get him in the ring that would have the Prix.  Then just my AA division.  The second week I added a 2'9" Eq over fences to ride something a bit more fun (adult Eq ran the same day as the Prix so I wasn't able to play in that ring..).  He's definitely a bit brighter with fewer trips around the ring, but I think keeping his miles to a minimum will serve us all better in the long run.  

Quiz was a dude and took everything including the 40mph winds without batting an eye.  The first week he looked a little wiggly and green in his division, but by the end of week two the polish was really starting to come out and show itself over fences.  I wanted to ride him in all the tiny divisions, but in the name of not overwhelming him or making him hate shows, we kept it light and low key.

I'll get some videos up of the Prix rounds and some of Quiz's debut as well.  I'd love to share the video with Frenchie riding, but uh.... I managed to not press record so I have exactly ONE SECOND of that glorious round.  dammit. 

After a week of rest and relaxation we'll get back to work and focus on fixing the small stuff before heading up to Thunderbird in April! 

Summer Shows, and New Baby Horse and Everything

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

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

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

Bored, but also fresh? V V Confusing

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

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

Turns out Pilates actually works.

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

All of my ribbons have been chewed on.

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

Best. Baby.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

Onward!

Milner - The Ammy Rides

I know the Derby round was the most exciting news to come out of Milner, and no one is ever very interested in small, slow ammy rounds.  But for me, the headline at this show was "HOLY SHIT I LOVED EVERY ROUND."

Which, may seem like a close cousin to "OMG I love my horse."  But it's not.  I loved Pia - but she tried to murder me a lot.  I hated a lot of those rides - even though I "loved my horse." 

I got closer with Prair, because - well, Prair.  But really, even at our most relaxed, it always felt like our success was tenuous at best, and I was always ready for all the proverbial shoes to drop.

I guess I could say that I thought I had already loved every round on Windsy.  But that's probably like saying I thought I loved my high school boyfriend.  True statement at the time, but possibly worth some revision in hindsight...

But back to Windsy. 

I warmed up on Thursday for my first round, with the option to have a Low round before my division started.  Our warmup was lovely.  Not brilliant, but not argumentative. I found my pace and the jumps were coming up fairly easily. 

As we walked down to the back gate I just had this feeling that the Low round was going to be a waste of jumps.  So, we scratched it, and I headed in for my first round at 2'9" cold. 

I was a little nervous about the first fence.  It wasn't your normal Hunter-quarterline-single, which was enough to have me over thinking it.  But Winds lifted his balance and showed me the slightly forward spot out of stride. 

MAGIC.

Then he came back to me, we stayed out of the bit of muck at the end of the ring and I tried hard to keep our step through the turn.  We did.  And stepped right up to the rolltop into the judges line. 

MAGIC.

Then it was single oxer time.  Again, winds sat back, I kept him straight, and BAM, jump. 

Up the outside line, and home in the two stride.  (we swapped into the two stride, but I so didn't care).  At every fence I literally thought "oh, there it is, let's go get it" and added some gas pedal. 

Winds jumped open and round and super duper soft.  The lines were set long, which was also great since I'm used to choking him back - it was so fluid and fun to land and continue and jump out with some push instead of pull...

When we landed after the two stride, my smile was HUGE.  I have never, ever, ever had that much fun on course.  (well, maybe on XC with the old wonder pony, but I was 12, that doesn't count).

Winds was forward, I stayed soft, everything was small adjustments and just flowed. 




Thank god I scratched the warm up, because if I had wasted that round on a Low, I probably would have tensed up and butchered the second round when it counted....

The next day was the Derby, so all I had to do was stretch Winds' legs in the morning.  But Saturday we were back at it.

I was a bit tentative getting on - mostly just nervous that I would feel some crippling soreness or stiffness that I would be able to attribute to the bigger jumps in the Derby - but nothing.  Winds felt loose and lovely.

He was a bit slow at the canter so I picked up a crop (I prefer a shoulder tap and rubber ball spurs over a sharper spur..) and he was perfect.

As we walked into the ring I realized both the crop, and spurs were probably unnecessary.

He was looking at EVERYTHING.  Flowers. Grass. Jumps. Fence posts! OMG.  I had a brief PTSD flashback of Prairie's eyeballs popping out of her head and certain death - but I shoved those thoughts aside and tried to believe that Winds would be good.

Turns out he was perfect

We had the same weird first fence, and Winds was so fluffed up it was all I could do to not grab at his face and start a tug o' war.  But gentleman that he is, he sat back, waited for the fence and there was zero drama. 

Then I cut off the end of the ring (to stay out of mud) and had to be somewhat thoughtful about my track into a bending line on the outside.  Winds was light, and straight and we stepped right up to it.  Loved that line, and it was set long so we got to continue nicely and move up to the out. 

Didn't love my ride into the diagonal, I lost the hind end and ended up adding in.  Knowing the lines were long, I gunned Winds on the landing and he popped off his lead but we got up there ok.  In hindsight I think I could have been less panicked about making it up the line  and not lost my lead by finessing it a bit more, but lesson learned.

Then it was a single oxer set on the outside.  I had built up this fence as my boogie fence because without a real arena fence, lots of horses were bulging, never getting straight and then really messing up the distance.  Winds was still pretty keen at this point which made my track easier and straight wasn't an issue - so we made it through ok.  (I also realized I had been holding my breath and finally started breathing again on the landing, WHOOPS).

Finally, a smooth seven stride home and we were done (with a new favorite round in the books). 




Even with the swap, somehow we won the class, which was reinforced by a win on the flat (maybe the first time that's happened?).  It was a good Saturday.

Sunday we came out for one final round, and I decided to let Winds keep his hair down, so it was a bit of a casual day ;)

fluffy hair

Warm up was our trickiest.  He was dull again, and again I picked up my crop.  I remembered to put it down before we went in the ring, but I didn't have the same, lofty, eager beast under me. 

I was reminded by a barnmate that Windsor is almost always a bit more charged and looky the day after a Derby, but quickly returns to his casually bored self after a round or two. 

I think Winds was for sure bored, but also tired, and potentially a bit sore from jumping significantly more than he had been at home.  He didn't feel stiff per se, just lacked the lifted energy that was so magical for my first two rounds. 

This round felt rough by comparison.  I didn't feel that fluid connection and it sort of felt like I was grinding the gears in the corner.  My adjustments felt clunky and jarring, and while Winds didn't seem to mind, I never got a great rhythm that I could groove into

The video looks less awkward than it felt (thankfully), but still not our finest.  Mostly what I see now is that I didn't trust my canter, so I was fussing in the corner, then pushing him just past the distance even when it was right there.  Most of the time it was fine, but I forced him over his shoulder a bit.

This was fine.

this was a little tight.

All in all, not a bad ride at all, just not quite as magic as the others, but I am proud that I still mostly made good decisions and stayed with him, instead of totally panicking and getting in a fight. 




It was a fabulous show, I adore getting to gallop around the big grass field and we definitely came away with a confidence building outing!

Oh, and a championship, and a cooler.  That's always nice too.  I love this horse show and wish we got to be here more often.

Now it's a few weeks at home getting to know the new kid and gearing up for Thunderbird!

MIlner Downs - Derby Time!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Things that I love about this round -

Winds looks eager and interested.

He landed all his leads easily

NO CROSS LEADS

His big open step.

His cute squishy face.

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

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

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

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".

Windsy's Big Trip (aka, first show back)

Belated, but happy, show round up!

Have you missed us? BECUASE I HAVE.

Almost two weeks ago, Winds got loaded up and made his way back to Thunderbird for our first (!!) show of 2017.  The plan was mostly to get him out to stretch his legs (literally) and keep me from going stir crazy at home in the indoor (also, literally) - and I think we accomplished both.

Winds was reportedly quite fresh for schooling day, and in lieu of spinning on the lunge line he had two a day hacks with a decent canter set to help get the wiggles out.

I was there for the first day of showing, which saw Windsy entered in a Hi/Low 2'9" round.  His warm up looked honestly a bit stiff, but in the ring he looked loose and a bit more forward thinking than I am used to the Gray Prince being.  (you can tell because his ears are pinned forward and he's using his shoulders well... otherwise it only *feels* like a powder keg and looks like a lazy Hunter).



Canada now does red/blue rankings for their Low classes, so they don't get traditionally pinned, but a ribbon gets assigned based on how good your score is.  (Winds got a Red, which is first in Canada). I like this system as a way to handle the huge Low classes, but it sorta sucks they all show up as. "DNP" on the USEF record...

Anyway,  that was it for Wednesday.  Thursday I got early to hack Winds around the rings and loosen him up.  He felt great, and it was so, so, so, so nice to be on a horse, in a warm summer breeze taking in the bustle of a show before classes got underway.  SO nice. 

A couple hours later Winds had another Low 2'9" round.  This warm up looked a bit smoother, he was stepping under more, and using his back a bit better.  I breathed a small sigh of relief that his body seemed to feel good and watched him head for the ring.




The course looked a lot like the day before.  Totally chill and quiet from my perspective, powder keg on hooves according to the trainer.  So.... another early hack was scheduled for Friday before my magnificent return to the equitation (cough, 2'6", cough) ring. 

Friday, I had two rounds and a flat.  And it was hot.  That actually worked in my favor since Winds decided to blow a furry coat out in mid June and was a bit... well... wilted in the sunshine.

Our warm up was blissfully short as I somehow found all my fences decently so we parked at the back gate and watched a couple rounds.

I will say that for having not been in the show ring for 8 months, I feel really (really, really) good about this ride.  There are some, uh, misses.  But, overall, I like my hip angle more, I like Windsor's balance more, and in general it feels more thoughtful that our previous courses together.

I feel like it's weird to post a video of an Eq round and say "just watch the part between the fences" but that's what I'm doing, so just focus on the ride between the fences.

He looks sexy.  (I, on the other hand am in the only hunt coat that currently fits,  WHOOPS).



I actually felt ok about most of the fences, including the first one (YAY!).  But, I was particularly bummed about the single oxer - couldn't make a decision, then when Winds made one for me, I thought that not staying with him would somehow be a good idea (it wasn't). 

Then the rest worked out ok, I kept his balance up and that saved most of it until I chipped the crap out of the bending line at the end.  Lost his mouth, fought for a change, then got out ok.

I got 5th.  And that ribbon is going ON THE WALL, because we made it to a show, made it around and all is right with the world again.

Anyway, second round.  Started with the bending line I ended with before and threw in a rollback (what is this, medal finals??? I'm old and hot and tired...). 

sorry for blurry stills, pro photos on order!

Winds was amping up a bit, but we fixed a few mistakes - namely the bending line.  Then I got tight into the diagonal, but recovered.  Into the Judge's line Winds locked on HARD and started dragging me, so I choked him back and got a little weak.  I almost couldn't pull him out of the line (whoops), but I finally got him to let go of the oxer out and pay attention to the rollback.  I actually really liked how I finished the rollback, given how we started.... 

Then, Winds was thinking this must be a jumper course and he tried to switch gears.  I over compensated and we crawled to the last line, but finished ok.

Oh, also, the video is sideways.  I have no idea how it got sideways, and even less of an idea of how to get it un-sideways, so...sorry



We got 2nd.  In a nice division of 12.  So I was pretty stoked. (plus, 2nd is blue, so... that's always a plus).

The flat was toasty and a bit brutal.  Winds was good, but apparently I looked a bit droopy (sidenote: I am a bit droopy these days).  My sitting trot is not where it should be, but all else was fine.  Winds couldn't care less about traffic and that's a great feeling when you are nose to tail and fighting for space down the quarterlines.

Somehow our 3rd place on the flat was enough for Reserve, so Winds and I managed to maintain our weird streak of getting Reserve in every division we enter at Tbird.  (it's great for the ribbon wall).

His neck is somehow 2" long in this pic.. but RIBBON

I stuck around to watch the Juniors do their thing, but then I hit the road to join the family for the 4th.  Winds enjoyed some down days and turnout (I LOVE the turnouts at Tbird. #grass).

So now we are home and gearing up for Milner Downs, which you may recall is where I got all my lovely pictures of Windsor galloping across a big grass field.  They also have a really fun Derby.  I'm not sure we'll be ready for it, but I'm not-so-secretly hoping we can enter. 

He's been feeling great at home, and I'm really hoping we hold the trend.  This horse is so incredibly fun to ride and learn on, I just want to ride him forever. 

(Nice) Stuff to Hold the Stuff

I love bags.  Purses, luggage, beautiful tech covers.  Anything really.

A bag for everything and everything in a bag I say. 

But, much like actually blow-drying my hair (a thing that didn't happen today), or putting on a sharp outfit (also a thing that didn't happen).... There is a transformative power when I am carrying a nice bag.

And I don't mean that in the "this-is-a-$40k-birkin-what-up" way.  I mean that I feel very adult and organized when my purse is nice, my luggage is classy or I if have my favorite reusable grocery bags with me (thanks Silver Oak winery!). 

Similar to the hair/outfit condition - even though I appreciate them, I don't always have nice bags. 

Specifically, for the last three years I have been carrying my hunt coats around in the tack-store-provided garment bag.   At best, it is designed to hold one hunt coat decently while you walk out of the store.  Instead I have asked it to carry 3 coats, at least 2 shirts and a whole mess of gloves, hats and hairnets up and down the West Coast.

To its credit, the free coat bag has handled this task better than expected.  In fact, it's done a pretty excellent job.  In addition to being over stuffed, the poor thing has been shoved in my trunk and shipped 1200 miles, strewn in the back of my car for weeks on end, used as an umbrella while sprinting to the barn, wiped off wet bleachers and other non-traditional tasks.

But last summer I noticed that the weird plastic/fabric was finally starting to disintegrate and that my days of making the most of the free-coat-bag were numbered.

So I started the casual hunt for a nice garment bag for use at the shows.  And since I like to match, first stop was Noble Outfitters' Signature line.

Last year at some point I got myself the Noble Outfitters Signature boot bag.

I swear I wrote about it, but I cannot for the life of me find a review anywhere so I'm going to assume it is on the rather long list of things I forgot to blog about.

I LOVE it.. 

And after a full season of dragging it around, I love it even more.   It is attractive and thoughtful in its construction - both key considerations when I am making a horse/show related purchase.

First off, the bag is crazy tall, so my mutant Konigs fit nicely.  The boots themselves are separated by a nice padded divider and the foot portion of the bag is roomy enough that boots easily slide in and out without wrestling and shoving.

The liner easily wipes clean (when muddy boots have been shoved in) and there is enough extra space that I can keep a rag or two tucked in the main bag as well.  My polishing kit fits in the side pocket and I adore the leather trim (and nameplate they provide).

At $109 it is not the cheapest boot bag on the market (by a long shot), and while I think the initial purchase was potentially wine induced, now that it's stood up well to a year of abuse, I can justify the steep price.

So naturally, when the freebie-coat-bag started to lose it, I turned to Noble Outfitters again for the coordinating hanging option.  At $149, it was a bit tougher for me to justify the upgrade, (since the first bag was, well... free).  But at some point during the Black Friday or Cyber something madness, I stumbled across it for under $100 and bit the bullet.

Having been used to a glorified drycleaner bag for so long, the new Signature bag feels a bit huge and bulky.  It easily holds all of my things (and backups for my backups), and frankly has enough space for me to pack ALL my clothes for a show in it.  The one thing I'm not sure of yet is that the zipper only extends part way down the bag, which makes it slightly more awkward to get hanging items in and out, but does keep all the random crap in the bottom from spilling all over the tack room....

I think it is a near certainty that I will have lots of random crap in the bottom - this is probably a net win.

There is about 18" of bag beyond the bottom of my hunt coats... could be good for a shadbelly?? or just lots of crap...

The Signature bag is more akin to traditional luggage than it is to just a "cover."  While this is good for storage quantity and durability, it does add weight.  The bag has it's own hanging hook, and organizes the shirts/coats inside, rather than having your own hangers poke out the top for hanging. 

pictured: actual garment bag hook thing

This definitely helps keeps items on their hangars, and is beneficial if the bag is going to be thrown around in your car or trunk, but not necessary if you just need to keep the dust off.  It's also handy if you don't travel with a larger barn that sets up a clothing rack as the bag's hook easily latches onto a stall, trailer door or pretty much anything in sight.

I finally got around to getting the included plates engraved, so now they really feel fancy.

(fluff monkey obviously attached at all times)

Long story short, the Signature bags are gorgeous - and to get back to my original point, I feel downright classy and organized with both of them slung over my shoulder.

Most importantly though - it leaves both hands free for a large coffee and a tall toddler. 

The Hunters (a brief intro for those on the other side)

I was reminiscing over old blog posts and reliving last year's show season, when I noticed a trend of comments saying "great job! can you explain the hunters so I know what it means" or "cool! I think.... because I don't really understand what you guys do.."

And I remembered that I have always intended to do a "Hunters for Dummies" post, but never gotten around to it. 

Ideally you get to wear a shadbelly while jumping.  #goals.

So we're getting around to it.  I'll do my best to explain the sport, but please bear in mind that this pony-clubbing-former-eventer is by no means a sanctioned ambassador of the Hunter Ring. 

Hopefully my (reasonably) fresh eyes will be more helpful than my currently eroding vocabulary.

Let's start simple.  People often refer to Hunters and Jumpers together.  But once you set foot in H/J land, you realize that the Hunter ring and Jumper ring are very different places (usually on literal opposite sides of the show park).  For the purposes of this post, I'm focusing just on the Hunters. 

For anyone who lives really, really far away from H/J land - Jumpers are objective - make the time allowed, don't knock stuff down.  Hunters are subjective - jump the (easier) course assigned, get judged for how you look doing it. (think: ice skating).

What the Hunters mean for me, is that a ride that would have left me cheering in my youth (yay! No stops no rails!), is now something that I can beat myself up about (my canter sucked, we had a late change, and we left a stride out of the line...). 

Why I chose to do this to myself I don't know.  Maybe it's the perfectionist DQ lurking in me..and since I like jumping, but am too chicken to do XC anymore - the Hunters are where I belong....

The Goal:

When presenting a horse in the Hunters, the goal is to basically show that your horse is athletic, polite and safe.  All things that would make a lovely fox hunter out in the field. (though the number of show Hunters who have ever been fox hunting is a very, very tiny number that is very, very close to zero).

What that has come to mean is that successful Hunters complete their task in a relaxed, easy going manner, while showing brilliant (scopey, even, careful) jumping style, and covering the ground in an even, balanced rhythm. 

Exhibit A: Windsy

To translate further:  A competitive Hunter a) is pretty, b) moves well, c) has a big stride and slow step d) explodes into the air with a round jump, knees square (ideally touching it's nose) and ears forward e) looks EASY to ride f) shows no sign of irritation or anxiety.

So let's say you read that and say "hey! I have that horse (fyi, if you do you're sitting on a gold mine), how do I get one of those fancy Champion ribbons at a show?"

You enter a Division.  Divisions are comprised of 3 or 4 separate classes over fences at a given height and one flat class called the Under Saddle.

Your classes over fences will be a straight forward course of 8-10 jumps. Typically you figure eight around the ring (line, diagonal, line diagonal...) alternating related distances with single fences.  for some of the bigger divisions, the last class over fences with be a designated a "Handy" round which means you're supposed to show off how agile and adjustable your horse is.  Typically you see fewer related distances, options for inside turns, sometimes a hand gallop or trot fence gets thrown in. (it's as close to a jump off as the Hunters ever get..)

Traditional Hunter courses are not that technical, and the jumps tend to look similar enough that you expect the leaderboard to be decided by the subjective performance, rather than major faults like refusals or rails. 

USEF defines a Hunter "performance" as "an even hunting pace, manners, jumping style together with faults and way of moving over the course. Manners to be emphasized in Ladies and Amateur classes; brilliance in Corinthian and Formal Hunting Attire classes."

Not exactly a lot to go on.  But don't worry, the list of stuff you aren't supposed to do is nice and long:

1. The following faults are scored according to the judges opinion and depending on severity or division, may be considered minor or major faults.

a. Rubbing the jump

b. Swapping leads in a line or in front of a jump

c. Late lead changes

d. Spooking

e. Kicking up or out

f. Jumping out of form

g. Jumping off the center line of jump

h. Bucking and/or playing

i. Adding a stride in a line with a related distance

j. Eliminating a stride in a line with a related distance

k. Striking off on a wrong lead on the courtesy circle. (May be corrected with either a simple or flying change of lead)

2. The following are considered major faults.

a. Knockdown

b. Refusal

c. Refusal or stopping while on course

d. Crossing the track. A track is established once a horse has landed from a fence or completes a required test and follows the horse until the consecutive fence is jumped or the next test is executed. Upon completion of each consecutive fence or performance of the next test, the track is erased. Crossing a track between obstacles and/ or required tests shall constitute a disobedience and will be penalized by the judge(s). Exceptions 1.  A course diagram that requires a rider to cross his track. 2.  Snake or multiple panel jumps that are jumped consecutively.

e. Dangerous jumping

f. Addressing a jump - coming to a stop in front of a jump in order to show the jump to the horse.

g. Completely missing a lead change

h. Adding or eliminating a stride in an in and out.

i. Breaking stride, or Trotting while on course. (Exceptions-Where posted on the course diagram i.e. trot jumps, steep banks, etc, and also as outlined above in HU137.1k. Striking off on a wrong lead on the courtesy circle.)

So, you know -just don't do any of that stuff.

(we did almost all of that stuff)

Anyway, so you and everyone else in your division jump your rounds, and each class is pinned separately, so you collect a different ribbon for each. (or if you're me you collect a ribbon, then chipped/pulled/crosscantered your second course, so you don't collect another one...)

The final component of a full division is the Under Saddle class, which is a traditional rail class.  Everyone is in the ring at the same time, and asked to walk, trot and canter both directions.  It's basically a beauty pageant and horses are judged on their way of going and general impression.  Hunter judges like to see a big sweeping trot with daisy cutter movement (aka - a flat knee).  Again, horses should look relaxed and obedient (but Prairie taught me that you can look like a lunatic and still win with a big trot in front of the right judge....).

Tension with a side of nice trot.

When it's all said and done, a Champion and Reserve Champion are awarded extra ribbons (and sometimes a cooler!).  That designation is made by tallying up the results of all the results in each class of the division.  First place gets you 10 points, Second gets you 6 points, Third gets 4, Fourth gets 2, Fifth gets 1 and Sixth gets 1/2 a point. 

That point spread means that blue ribbons are worth their weight in GOLD.  If you can win a couple classes and blow the other ones, you're still doing better than the horse that is consistently third and fourth... (I think this is weird, and the point spread in Canada rewards consistency a bit more which I like).

So that's your basic "how to" on getting a cooler.

Like any discipline there is a ride range of levels and weird restrictions. 

The "Open" divisions tend to be mostly pro's and start with the Green and Young Hunters.  Young Hunters is a new thing, and restricts the divisions by age.  Horses 5 years and younger show at 3', 6 years and younger at 3'3" and 7 years and younger show 3'6". 

It's new, we'll see if it sticks, I hope it does.

Green Hunters just got a revamp, but similar to the Young Hunter divisions, it offers a place to show developing horses away from the big veterans on the circuit.  USEF has worked hard to elevate the Green Program and at a lot of the shows they are some of the most competitive classes in terms of numbers and quality of horses.

The Green program allows horses so spend two years showing at 3' and 3'3" before having to either move up to Green 3'6" or compete against the other more experienced 3'3" horses.  Horses also have one year to show in the Green 3'6" and another year to show in the Green 3'9" if they can.

Good form, nice expression, super polite.

Windsor showed last year in the Pre-Green 3'3".  The name Pre-Green has been replaced, and this year he could choose to spend a second year at Green 3'3", or move up to the Green 3'6". But basically, last year he was always showing against horses who were also in their first or second year at 3'3". 

If you're horse isn't eligible Green or Young, you get kicked into the general open divisions.  These start at 3' (split into Small and Large Hunter for under/over 16h), then move into the Performance Hunters which are offered at multiple heights and not restricted by age or experience.

If you have a real looker (with no popped splints or windpuffs) you can also enter the Conformation Hunters which places a higher emphasis on conformation (duh) and way of going.  Conformation divisions also have an in-hand class added to your over fences classes and Under Saddle.

Still with me?

Ammy's and Kids have their own divisions that start at 2'3" and go up to 3'6".  We also ride 4 courses over fences and parade around in an Under Saddle. 

Typically you see the open(/pro) divisions run on Wednesdays and Thursdays so that us ammy's can show on the weekend and kids don't have to miss too much school. 

You can start to see how if you have a horse who shows with a pro, then goes around with an ammy or kid on the weekend - it's pretty easy  to rack up a packed schedule - and we haven't talked about Derbies, Classics or if your horse also takes you in the Equitation ring...

One of the things that's been tough for my former Dressage/eventer brain to comprehend is the nature of numerical scores in the Hunter Ring.  Judges take notes during every round, and at the end of each course, they assign an overall score (0-100).  However, scores are not always announced (though they are for WCHR classes, derbies and medals), and you never get to go pick up your scorecard like you do after a dressage test.  While most judges will score the same round within a point or two, there seems to be less consistency than there is in Dressage for how you score a particular moment, which makes it hard to even compare your own personal scores from day to day. 

When I was riding Dressage, the first time I would score 70% on any given test always felt like an achievement, and like it was a pretty consistent benchmark of my ability.  Last summer I can distinctly remember Windsy getting a 92 for a lovely round up at Thunderbird, but knew in my head it was probably closer to an 88 from a majority of other judges, which sort of cheapened the score.

There is also the oddity of a judge not being able to assign the same score to more than one horse/rider pair in any class.  So, let's take Windsy's 92.  He could have gotten a 92 because the judge got excited by an earlier trip and threw out an exuberant 91 to someone else.  Then Windsy comes along and he thinks to himself, hmmm I like this a bit more than the horse we gave a 91 to... so I'll go 92 which still leaves some room for a 91.5 (or even a 91.25) if another horse splits the difference.

In that way, the scores lose a bit of their independent meaning as judge's focus on making sure the performances are ranked correctly more than the true independent legitimacy of any one score.

A little odd right? it's taken me some time to get used to, but I think I've acclimated enough that I'm no longer shocked by the process...

At it's heart, I really do like the core of what Show Hunters do. 

Be athletic.  Be polite.  And look lovely doing it. 

However, like any sport - there is a dark underbelly to achieving the most extreme interpretation of that goal.

The Hunter Ring has been berated for rewarding relaxation so much that it has encouraged a dead-head, sedated look where the horses are cantering soooooo sloooowly that whether or not they've actually been drugged, it's the look that wins.  The courses have also been dumbed down over the last couple of decades, and I've seen more than one hissy fit at shows if the course designer tried to shake things up a bit.

However, I think the pendulum is swinging the other way.   Judges are being encouraged to reward brilliance and forgive the horse for acting like a reasonable horse, if it say... shakes it's head after a fabulous jumping effort. 

I specifically recall that during one of Winds' derbies last summer, a (very competitive) horse on the circuit laid down a lovely, albeit SLOW trip where it barely centered up to each fence before heaving itself over (stylishly) and loping off on the other side.  I was sitting there thinking to myself that we were screwed if the judge threw a high score at that round. 

Much to my surprise it got a shockingly low score and the judges consistently rewarded horses showing more pace, brilliance and general expression.  (I will say this shift is most obvious in the derby ring where brilliance is specifically called for, but still.... things seem to be trending in a good direction).

So there's my basic, rambling Hunters 101.  What did I forget? And for those who have been doing this waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy longer than I have, what do you add when describing Hunter Land to people?