I've still got a lot to sort through with the car accident, etc, so you'll just have to be happy with a massive photo dump for now.
Showing posts with label dvha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dvha. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
WW: Thursday Night Dressage
Two weeks ago, I ran over to DVHA to take pictures of Marissa and Tucker at their first dressage show! They did awesome and won both of their classes. This year, DVHA is also doing western dressage classes on Thursday nights. It just so happened that Sandy was there with Ember at their first dressage show. It was fantastic to see everyone and it was great to just hang out around horses without actually doing much of anything.
I've still got a lot to sort through with the car accident, etc, so you'll just have to be happy with a massive photo dump for now.
I've still got a lot to sort through with the car accident, etc, so you'll just have to be happy with a massive photo dump for now.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Dressage Championships
Thursday was the TND championships at DVHA. It did not go nearly as well as CP's first two shows, but I keep reminding myself that I'm not allowed to complain. The fact that this pony went from bucking bronco to show-worthy in less than six months is impressive. The fact that he kept all four feet on the ground even on a bad, bad day is great. I am not allowed to bitch about the results in his third ever show, period. Still, it bothers me because I know that he's better than that and I know that WE are capable of more (and our past results show that). I feel pretty confident in saying that, had we ridden like we ride at home or like we've ridden in the last two shows (or even if we'd ridden like we did in warm up), we would have won the whole shebang. That is not what happened though.
My goals for championships were as follows:
1. No bucking or falling off.
2. Break 60% in all three tests
3. Pick up the correct lead both ways at the canter and hold it
4. Come back down out of the canter without a tug-of-war
I reminded Erin that I was not allowed to rant or complain if the tests were less than perfect. No micromanaging the pony and no taking the show too seriously.
At the last show, I gave CP a half hour warm up. It proved to be much too long, even for just two tests. For the championships, I was riding all three Intro tests and I knew we needed a shorter warm-up. I decided to aim for a ten minute walk-trot warm up before knocking out A and B. Then I'd school the canter a bit before entering the show ring for test C. It seemed like a pretty solid plan.Turns out I was stuck in what I call the Goldilocks Principle. Half an hour was too much. Ten minutes was too little. We still haven't found just right.
Erin came with me to be my show mommy, reader, and photographer. My ride times were in the middle of the afternoon, making it impossible for anyone else in the CP Fan Club to make it. We got the pony cleaned up and loaded quickly and easily. Erin even had time to braid him, which was a nice finishing touch.
We got to the show grounds, parking behind the fancy German couple with the 'young horse' who I'm pretty sure was born doing third level. I unloaded the pony, signed into the office, and got into my show gear. The show secretary commented on the fact that I was cutting it close to my ride time, but I assured her I was keeping an eye on the clock. I had bought new tall boots and a belt leading up to the show and everything fit well and matched nicely. Woo!
I hopped on CP 15 minutes before our ride time and made my way casually to the warm up ring. CP was familiar with the routine by then and didn't put a foot out of line. The showgrounds crew had moved some standards around so he did ogle at those a bit when we first got to the warm up, but otherwise he was being very good. Our halts were in place and his trot was soft and relaxed. I felt confident going into the show ring for test A. Maybe too confident...
It was only as we entered the dressage arena that I realized they had put up all sorts of fancy flowers by the letters surrounding the ring. They were very pretty, but they were also new! and exciting! After the initial gawking, CP was not spooked by the flowers. He was, however, intrigued by them, and spent the entire test staring over the rail at them. He kept his feet right where they needed to be, but I had to keep correcting his bend and he was definitely not soft and on the bit. I grimaced, knowing the test had not gone as well as usual. Still, we halted squarely at the end, thanked the judge, and rode away with lots of praise aimed at the pony.
In between tests, I spotted my trailer loading 'buddy' from last time. She was riding a skinny, dark bay horse and they both looked super crabby. Her friends were hanging out by the fence, making nasty remarks until they figured out that Erin was with me. Wonderful.
By the second test, CP was completely over the flowers. However, he also seemed to be completely over the whole showing thing. I'm pretty sure he 'knew' that this was the last test and he was almost done with 'this silly flatwork business' for the day. We entered the ring braced through the neck and above the bit. He continued to fight with me through all our transitions and his idea of relaxing at the free walk was to shake his head in annoyance at his fancy new braids. At one point, he actually started to slow out of the trot and I had to BOOT him to keep him from breaking into a walk. I found out after the fact that he'd been taking a poo... which did make it slightly less frustrating and slightly more funny. I will say that our circles were nice and round for a change (hooray geometry!) and he did give me some nice moments at the medium walk.
Still not thrilled with our performance, I exited the ring and went back to the warm up, putting it behind me and focusing on our upcoming canter. As luck would have it, CP gave me the PERFECT canter the first time I asked. I actually cursed to myself, "Dammit. Should have saved it for the test!" Still, he was being cooperative and even relaxing a bit now that nobody was watching (I wonder how much of that was me).
I entered the ring one last time with a definite 'let's get this over with' attitude. CP seemed happier now that we'd gotten a chance to canter and had mixed the routine up a bit, and I found myself thinking it was time to move him up before he died of boredom. As we came down the center line, I noticed my buddy's cheering squad stalking up the grassy hill behind the ring. I can't prove it, of course, but I suspect they were trying to get a rise out of me and spook my pony. Sadly for them, CP is not a spooky horse and completely ignored both them and the tractor baling hay in the next field over. As for me, their eyes locked on my performance just made me that much more determined to ride well.
The last test went fairly well. CP was finally starting to relax at the trot, although he still wasn't as soft and submissive as I've seen him at home. He took ANOTHER poo break, which made me want to whack him a little. As for the canter, the thing that I was stressing over all day, I needn't have worried. CP picked up both leads the second I asked, maintained a steady if somewhat-quick gait all the way around his circles, and slowed back down at the mere thought of 'trot'. I finally smiled.
And then I made an error.
In Intro.
With a reader.
*facedesk*
I had read the test over before the show and thought I had it memorized. Unfortunately, I sort of tuned out when I got to the part about coming down the center line, figuring, "Yeah, yeah... x, halt salute." Turns out it's not x at all. Instead, it's G... a letter I didn't even know existed, so to speak! So when Erin read, "G, halt salute," I sort of did a double take. I knew Erin hadn't said X, but I didn't know what she HAD said. E and C didn't make sense... so what was left? I halted at X anyway, hoping that it would be close enough. Oops! Moral of the story: read your test all the way through!
It wasn't long between when I put the pony away and when the results were up. There was a brief mix up with ride numbers, but it was resolved shortly. Of course the mix-up involved me and my arch nemesis, but I just took the opportunity to be extra sweet to her face.
I was not looking forward to seeing how we'd done. I honestly felt like it was some of the worst riding I'd done in my life, and CP was definitely not showing his best side. I just wanted to see how bad it was and go home.
The test by test break down:
Test A: It was almost as bad as I'd expected. We did get a 7 on our final halt, but everything else was 5.5-6.5. CP earned a 7 on his gaits, but only a 5 on his submission. Over all, our score was a lousy 59%. The judge called us an attractive pair, but made a lot of comments on my need to learn about contact. Ouch. Still, we got 3rd in the class, so at least we were bringing home a ribbon.
Test B: We faired only slightly better with a 60%. This time we only got 5.5's because of CP's poo incident and we got 7's on our medium walk, which is what I expect of him at this point. I was shocked to find out we got second place, only behind the fancy German young horse.
Test C: Our final test was much better than our other two. Despite the fact that it was only his first time cantering in front of a judge, CP scored 6's on the canter. He got 7's on his free walk and working trot and would have gotten a 7 on his halt if I knew where it was. The judge commented on how nicely turned out we were and called us a cute pair. She also expressed surprise at how not-tired he was, suggesting we slow his tempo to get him better engaged (I know... *hangs head in shame*). We ended up with a 62%, which was acceptable for our first canter showing and earned us a second place in the class. If I knew how to read a test, maybe we would have won -_-
Over all I can't complain. CP earned Reserve Champion in two out of his three classes despite it being a very bad day for both of us (and at only his third show!). I keep reminding him that he has to trudge through the flat stuff if he wants to get to the excitement of eventing.
Best of all, our timing allowed us to stay and watch OntheBit show with her horse, Lucky! The two of them were having an awesome day and rode extremely well! They even scored an elusive 9 on their last test! AND OTB wound up with Grand Champion, which she totally deserved! Most awesomely, I was able to take pictures of the two of them, which I think made everyone happy all around. I won't steal OTB's thunder by going into too much detail about her show, but I'm willing to bet she'll spill all the nitty gritty on her blog soon :)
1. No bucking or falling off.
2. Break 60% in all three tests
3. Pick up the correct lead both ways at the canter and hold it
4. Come back down out of the canter without a tug-of-war
I reminded Erin that I was not allowed to rant or complain if the tests were less than perfect. No micromanaging the pony and no taking the show too seriously.
At the last show, I gave CP a half hour warm up. It proved to be much too long, even for just two tests. For the championships, I was riding all three Intro tests and I knew we needed a shorter warm-up. I decided to aim for a ten minute walk-trot warm up before knocking out A and B. Then I'd school the canter a bit before entering the show ring for test C. It seemed like a pretty solid plan.Turns out I was stuck in what I call the Goldilocks Principle. Half an hour was too much. Ten minutes was too little. We still haven't found just right.
Erin came with me to be my show mommy, reader, and photographer. My ride times were in the middle of the afternoon, making it impossible for anyone else in the CP Fan Club to make it. We got the pony cleaned up and loaded quickly and easily. Erin even had time to braid him, which was a nice finishing touch.
We got to the show grounds, parking behind the fancy German couple with the 'young horse' who I'm pretty sure was born doing third level. I unloaded the pony, signed into the office, and got into my show gear. The show secretary commented on the fact that I was cutting it close to my ride time, but I assured her I was keeping an eye on the clock. I had bought new tall boots and a belt leading up to the show and everything fit well and matched nicely. Woo!
It was only as we entered the dressage arena that I realized they had put up all sorts of fancy flowers by the letters surrounding the ring. They were very pretty, but they were also new! and exciting! After the initial gawking, CP was not spooked by the flowers. He was, however, intrigued by them, and spent the entire test staring over the rail at them. He kept his feet right where they needed to be, but I had to keep correcting his bend and he was definitely not soft and on the bit. I grimaced, knowing the test had not gone as well as usual. Still, we halted squarely at the end, thanked the judge, and rode away with lots of praise aimed at the pony.
In between tests, I spotted my trailer loading 'buddy' from last time. She was riding a skinny, dark bay horse and they both looked super crabby. Her friends were hanging out by the fence, making nasty remarks until they figured out that Erin was with me. Wonderful.
By the second test, CP was completely over the flowers. However, he also seemed to be completely over the whole showing thing. I'm pretty sure he 'knew' that this was the last test and he was almost done with 'this silly flatwork business' for the day. We entered the ring braced through the neck and above the bit. He continued to fight with me through all our transitions and his idea of relaxing at the free walk was to shake his head in annoyance at his fancy new braids. At one point, he actually started to slow out of the trot and I had to BOOT him to keep him from breaking into a walk. I found out after the fact that he'd been taking a poo... which did make it slightly less frustrating and slightly more funny. I will say that our circles were nice and round for a change (hooray geometry!) and he did give me some nice moments at the medium walk.
I entered the ring one last time with a definite 'let's get this over with' attitude. CP seemed happier now that we'd gotten a chance to canter and had mixed the routine up a bit, and I found myself thinking it was time to move him up before he died of boredom. As we came down the center line, I noticed my buddy's cheering squad stalking up the grassy hill behind the ring. I can't prove it, of course, but I suspect they were trying to get a rise out of me and spook my pony. Sadly for them, CP is not a spooky horse and completely ignored both them and the tractor baling hay in the next field over. As for me, their eyes locked on my performance just made me that much more determined to ride well.
The last test went fairly well. CP was finally starting to relax at the trot, although he still wasn't as soft and submissive as I've seen him at home. He took ANOTHER poo break, which made me want to whack him a little. As for the canter, the thing that I was stressing over all day, I needn't have worried. CP picked up both leads the second I asked, maintained a steady if somewhat-quick gait all the way around his circles, and slowed back down at the mere thought of 'trot'. I finally smiled.
And then I made an error.
In Intro.
With a reader.
*facedesk*
It wasn't long between when I put the pony away and when the results were up. There was a brief mix up with ride numbers, but it was resolved shortly. Of course the mix-up involved me and my arch nemesis, but I just took the opportunity to be extra sweet to her face.
I was not looking forward to seeing how we'd done. I honestly felt like it was some of the worst riding I'd done in my life, and CP was definitely not showing his best side. I just wanted to see how bad it was and go home.
The test by test break down:
Test A: It was almost as bad as I'd expected. We did get a 7 on our final halt, but everything else was 5.5-6.5. CP earned a 7 on his gaits, but only a 5 on his submission. Over all, our score was a lousy 59%. The judge called us an attractive pair, but made a lot of comments on my need to learn about contact. Ouch. Still, we got 3rd in the class, so at least we were bringing home a ribbon.
Test B: We faired only slightly better with a 60%. This time we only got 5.5's because of CP's poo incident and we got 7's on our medium walk, which is what I expect of him at this point. I was shocked to find out we got second place, only behind the fancy German young horse.
Test C: Our final test was much better than our other two. Despite the fact that it was only his first time cantering in front of a judge, CP scored 6's on the canter. He got 7's on his free walk and working trot and would have gotten a 7 on his halt if I knew where it was. The judge commented on how nicely turned out we were and called us a cute pair. She also expressed surprise at how not-tired he was, suggesting we slow his tempo to get him better engaged (I know... *hangs head in shame*). We ended up with a 62%, which was acceptable for our first canter showing and earned us a second place in the class. If I knew how to read a test, maybe we would have won -_-
Over all I can't complain. CP earned Reserve Champion in two out of his three classes despite it being a very bad day for both of us (and at only his third show!). I keep reminding him that he has to trudge through the flat stuff if he wants to get to the excitement of eventing.
Best of all, our timing allowed us to stay and watch OntheBit show with her horse, Lucky! The two of them were having an awesome day and rode extremely well! They even scored an elusive 9 on their last test! AND OTB wound up with Grand Champion, which she totally deserved! Most awesomely, I was able to take pictures of the two of them, which I think made everyone happy all around. I won't steal OTB's thunder by going into too much detail about her show, but I'm willing to bet she'll spill all the nitty gritty on her blog soon :)
Saturday, August 18, 2012
CP's Second Dressage Show
On Thursday, I took CP for his second dressage show at DVHA. In stark contrast to our debut, I was completely unconcerned. I knew where I was going, what I was doing, and how I should expect to fare. At the last second, I recruited Erin to be my reader. I know the tests by now, but I still worry that I'll forget something once I'm actually in the ring.
It turns out that Thursday was wardrobe malfunction day for me. The zipper on my tall boots came apart when I was getting ready before my warm up. Thankfully, Jen had a pair of black half chaps in her trailer, so that saved the day. My calves are much bigger than hers, but I made it work. Thank goodness it's a schooling show! The tall boots will need to see a cobbler before championships (and I think there's going to be an elastic gusset in my future).
My big mistake for the day was that I warmed CP up too much. I really think I bored him and wore him out before he even entered the ring for his first test. Half an hour is way too much. I think he's fine with a 10-15 minute warm up just to loosen him up a little bit. He was pretty good in the warm up. He needed to look at the banners on the rail a few times before he stopped thinking about them, but once he got over that, he was giving me good stretches of relaxed trot. We spent a lot of time hanging out by the gate with Erin. CP even gained an adoring young fan, who very politely asked me if she could pet my horse. I keep reminding CP that if he keeps being good, he can have a little girl of his own some day.
This time, Mike had a short-ish day at work and was able to make it in time for both of my tests, despite the fact that we were going off nearly half an hour earlier than last time.
I entered the lower ring for Intro A, cool, calm, and ready to do it. There was an office mix up with my number (I was signed up as 180, but they gave me 292 when I checked in), but that got sorted out right away. The judge wished me luck and rang her bell.
CP blew our entrance at A right off the bat. Despite my best steering, he refused to stay straight down the centerline. Instead, he kept drifting to the right, and missed X by a good bit before I was able to correct him. My jabs to the right side of his rib cage went unheeded. I suspect he was trying to get over to Mike, the cookie/scratch man, who was standing on the rail with the camera. Thankfully, we reached C well enough and tracked successfully to the right like normal riders.
Our first 20m circle was sloppy, and I wasn't really surprised. CP was definitely less bendy to the right than usual.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the first test was that I really had to boot CP along to keep him moving. He really felt sluggish as we made our way around the letters. I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, and despite my outwardly calm demeanor, I felt like I had completely blown the test. I saluted at the end and approached the judge.
"You had a very nice ride," she told me.
"Really? I felt like it was terrible!"
She went on to tell me that my second circle was much better than my first and that we had some really nice moments at the trot. She also complimented our contact. I can't complain about having to push through some laziness with a pony who used to explode into the air at the mere thought of a rider.
It didn't take long to figure out just why CP was such a slug in the first test. As soon as we were in the grass, he practically crossed his legs. Before long, he found a good spot, parked way out, and took a giant pee. He'd probably been holding it since we left the barn! He grunted in relief and immediately loosened up EVERYWHERE. Much better.
My buddy from the Horse Park was riding two back to back tests in the upper ring before me, but she offered to let me sneak CP in in between rounds. I took her up on the offer, wanting to get it over with and get the pony home. The judge thanked me for my willingness to step in.
I have great news. We had halts this week! CP marched right down the centerline and stopped squarely while I saluted. Good man!!!
Once again, I blew the circle, but this time it was entirely my fault. I'm used to my 20x40 arena so when I ride in the 20x60 I make my circle too big on the first side, then do it correctly for the second side, effectively creating a ~20m egg. Oops.
I will say that I was pleased with CP's responsiveness through the transitions. It was also the first time he seemed to actually loosen up in his free walk. Progress! I finished the test feeling pretty satisfied, and with a pretty good idea of what we need to work on next.
The judge seemed to really love CP and called him all sorts of wonderful things when she heard his story.
"I will tell you," she said, "that I gave you a 9 on your trot to medium walk transition." My jaw nearly hit the ground. Our first 9!! I was delighted. "But... did you ever take geometry in high school?"
I laughed. "No, I think I skipped that one."
"That would explain it. You need to work on your circles."
"Yup."
"I think you're on the right track though. You had a very good ride. Good luck with him!"
"Thank you."
And then I got involved in some massive drama. It just wouldn't be horse showing without it.
On the other side of the parking lot was a cluster of rigs with an even bigger cluster of snotty show kids. I know one of the teenage girls was riding in a Kimberwick and after her horse had enough of her gacking on his mouth, he dumped her and she had to be seen by the medics. She seems to be fine, but it was still a poor judgement call on the mom/trainer's part.
At the end of the day, I saw a lot of commotion over by one of their trailers. A gaggle of people were trying to load an unruly warmblood mare, first up the back of their trailer, then up the side ramp. The poor horse was rearing and kicking out and just looked generally unhappy. Mike said something to me, but I decided to stay out of it, as usual.
That is, I stayed out of it until, about 20 minutes in, these people had the mare all but hog-tied with the lunge line and were beating her relentlessly with a broom.
After checking with Erin that I wasn't breaking some unspoken show world rule, I approached the scene.
Very calmly I said, "Hi. I don't mean to offend anybody. Please feel free to tell me to just go away, but I trailer load horses professionally. Would you mind if I give her a try?"
The heavyset woman who was putting a chain on the horse replied, "Yes please. Just do me a favor and don't flip her over." Really, that should have been the second I walked away, but I really wanted to help this poor horse.
As it turns out, this mare had sat in a field for the first five years of her life basically untouched. The trainer had loaded her for the first time ever earlier that afternoon. When the mare didn't immediately step onto the trailer, they lost their patience and did the old lunge-line-behind-the-haunches trick and forced her into the trailer.
Congratulations. You had the opportunity to make a horse's first trailer loading experience into a learning experience. Instead, you just did way more damage than you can even comprehend.
The mare was no dummy and figured out that if she stood sideways to the ramp, they couldn't physically pulley her into the box. Add the fact that they took away the horse's ability to step backwards if she became unsure of herself, and you have a mare who resorted to kicking out in protest. In the first few minutes that I had her, she tried to barge through me, cow kick me, and rip backwards away from me. She didn't succeed at any of the above, and ten minutes later I had her standing calmly with her two front feet on the ramp to the trailer.
That's when the heavy set woman (who I realized by now was in charge of the whole operation) stepped forward and snapped, "I'll have my horse back now, thanks." She ripped the lead rope out of my hands.
Very calmly I replied, "Ok. Good luck with her. Have a good night."
Mike was muttering darkly as I walked away, but I really thought that would be the end of it. A few minutes later, the horse was in the trailer and Mike and I were up at the show office waiting for my test results. I casually looked out the window and spotted our mom/trainer friend stalking up the hill and looking pissed.
"Uh oh, I bet she's coming up here to say something to me," I observed. I debated ducking out the back door of the office, but decided that I'm really much too old to be hiding from people who are mean.
"I don't think she knows we're up here," Mike reasoned.
"No, no... I'm pretty sure she's coming up here to yell." That angry walk is unmistakable.
Moments later, the office door slammed open and in stomped an angry bull of a woman. She glared at me and pointed an accusing finger in my face. Mike stepped defensively between us, but held his tongue.
"I don't appreciate the way you approached that situation," she growled. "And I just wanted to come up here and give you some feedback."
I wanted to just apologize and tell her I didn't need feedback and call it a night, but before I could open my mouth, she tutted over me like she was scolding a dog, "Upp, upp, upp..."
THAT did it for me. I'm sorry, I am not your fucking dog. You don't get to upp-upp me. We are both adults. You are twice my age. You are NOT going to speak to me like that. I thought Mike was going to slam the door in her face. Or hit her. Maybe both.
She whirled on Mike, "And I see you over there, rolling your eyes and laughing because you think your girlfriend or whomever," she was practically spitting, "is perfect."
"No. I just think you need to calm down," he retorted before falling silent again.
She went back to lecturing me. "I was trying to teach my daughter something." Yeah, I heard your brat of a kid walking around the showgrounds talking about how her pony, Chocolate, is being a real shit this week, and how 'Chocolate really needs a good beating.' Good parenting. "And I don't appreciate the fact that you stepped in."
"Did I or did I not ask you very politely if you wanted my help?"
"You did."
"And did I or did I not willingly give you your horse back the second that you asked?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"If you didn't want my help, the correct answer to my offer was 'no thank you' and we could have left it at that."
"Well, I just wanted to give you some feedback on your method. I'm a horse trainer and I think my feedback is valuable. You're young and you need to learn a thing or two."
"Lady, people like you call me in six months when that horse flips over and hurts somebody. I did learn a thing or two tonight, thank you. I learned NOT to approach people like you and offer my help. I need to wait until you go to far and come to me. In the future, I will turn a blind eye and ignore your struggles. Thank you for opening my eyes to the error of my ways."
"I just wanted to tell you that that mare has never kicked out at an aid before tonight. She has never reared before." Bullshit, I watched her kick and rear for twenty minutes before I finally stepped in. "And she has certainly never bled from her gums before."
At this point, I lost it a little bit. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa... I did not have a damn thing in your horse's mouth when I worked with her. I had her in a leather halter."
"Well, she wasn't bleeding when I worked with her..."
This time it was me who raised her voice and cut the other woman off, "Don't you DARE go insinuating that I in any way abused your horse. If your horse's gums are bleeding, that's something YOU need to be ashamed of and maybe YOU need to re-evaluate YOUR techniques."
She blathered on for a while, repeating a lot of what she'd already said about offering feedback and the correct way to approach people in a show setting and blah, blah, blah...
Eventually she got to the point (the point where she's trying to save face because she's ashamed of her atrocious behavior). "The way you handle this after tonight is very important and you need to be careful what you tell people."
"What I tell people? You and your horse are not that important to me. After this week, I won't think about it again."
"Well, I don't know what you observed or what you saw or what you thought you saw..."
"O, you mean the part where you were beating your horse with a broom?" The kid gloves came off.
"I did NOT beat her with a broom."
"Everyone in the parking area saw you beating that horse with a broom. That is NOT ok."
"O, but it's ok to hit her ten times harder than that with a crop like you were doing??"
Anybody who has ever seen me trailer load a horse knows how ridiculous THAT accusation is. If you think I can physically hit a horse as hard with a crop as you were hitting her with that broom, thank you. I didn't think I was that strong. I'm flattered.
"There is more than one technique, and your method isn't always correct," she continued on.
Deciding that I was done with the conversation, I made my closing statement. "Yes. You are right. There are many ways to handle a horse. It's YOUR horse. It is your job to be her advocate and look out for her best interest. I'm sorry my method wasn't well received and that I messed up your horse. Sincerely, I'm sorry." Her eyes were burning into mine, sensing the sarcasm, but unable to argue with the words without looking bad. "You got her on the trailer. Congratulations and good luck with her. I'm sure I'll see you at championships. Have a good night."
And she stormed away.
What I WANTED to say, and might have if this hadn't happened right in front of the show secretary was, "If you want to man handle a horse into a trailer, fine. You're not quite a thousand pounds, though you are getting there, so I'm not sure you'll have much luck."
And after watching them peel out of the show driveway, I'm not surprised the horse didn't enjoy her ride down to the show in the Box of Death.
Next time, I'm taking pictures, finding out the so called trainer's name, and outing her all over the entire internet horse community. The photos would speak for themselves.
The show secretary rolled her eyes as I apologized for the scene, then handed me my scores.
In the first test, CP scored 66%, a whole percent higher than last time. He got a bunch of 7's and an 8 for his change of rein at the trot (and for his gaits). I think we may have broken 70 if he hadn't blown the entrance (our first 5. Ouch.) and if I knew what a circle was. Overall, no complaints.
And on the second test.
Drum roll please...
The pony scored a whopping 73%. Again, I was left slack jawed. 8 for his halt, 9 for the transition, 8 for the free walk, 8 fo rthe medium walk, 8 for the trot transition, 8 for the other halt. 8 for rider position and 8 for rider effectiveness (although I maintain that he would be even better if I stayed out of his way).
I think it's time to move up! Unfortunately, we're only qualified for Intro at the championships. I will be doing test C and *gasp* cantering though.
We left the show grounds after I thanked Erin for reading and Mike for having my back against Trainer-Mom. (He says I did a good job holding my own, but he was ready to step in if I looked distressed at all.) Mike wasn't quite over the whole thing, but I reminded him that 90% of show people are crazy and that it's why I DON'T normally show (no offense to you wonderful people who do).
But the eventful nature of the night was far from over. On the way home, we were making our way up the big hill on 31. I was in the right lane, minding my own business and talking to Erin when I heard the awful scrape of metal on metal. CP's nose ducked back into the trailer and my first response was, "What the hell? I'm nowhere near the guardrail!!!"
I could see Mike in the side mirror, swerving to avoid some kind of debris in the road.
At the top of the hill, I put on my four-ways and started to pull over, fearing the worst, but Mike waved us on. I had Erin called him and he informed us that we had simply lost a heat shield on the truck. It hadn't done any damage and when I told Jen, she shrugged and said, "Huh. I thought I took that off already." I think truck-truck needs a good once-over.
So there you have it. My overly-exciting foray back into the world of Dressage Queens.
It turns out that Thursday was wardrobe malfunction day for me. The zipper on my tall boots came apart when I was getting ready before my warm up. Thankfully, Jen had a pair of black half chaps in her trailer, so that saved the day. My calves are much bigger than hers, but I made it work. Thank goodness it's a schooling show! The tall boots will need to see a cobbler before championships (and I think there's going to be an elastic gusset in my future).
My big mistake for the day was that I warmed CP up too much. I really think I bored him and wore him out before he even entered the ring for his first test. Half an hour is way too much. I think he's fine with a 10-15 minute warm up just to loosen him up a little bit. He was pretty good in the warm up. He needed to look at the banners on the rail a few times before he stopped thinking about them, but once he got over that, he was giving me good stretches of relaxed trot. We spent a lot of time hanging out by the gate with Erin. CP even gained an adoring young fan, who very politely asked me if she could pet my horse. I keep reminding CP that if he keeps being good, he can have a little girl of his own some day.
This time, Mike had a short-ish day at work and was able to make it in time for both of my tests, despite the fact that we were going off nearly half an hour earlier than last time.
I entered the lower ring for Intro A, cool, calm, and ready to do it. There was an office mix up with my number (I was signed up as 180, but they gave me 292 when I checked in), but that got sorted out right away. The judge wished me luck and rang her bell.
Our first 20m circle was sloppy, and I wasn't really surprised. CP was definitely less bendy to the right than usual.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the first test was that I really had to boot CP along to keep him moving. He really felt sluggish as we made our way around the letters. I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, and despite my outwardly calm demeanor, I felt like I had completely blown the test. I saluted at the end and approached the judge.
"You had a very nice ride," she told me.
"Really? I felt like it was terrible!"
It didn't take long to figure out just why CP was such a slug in the first test. As soon as we were in the grass, he practically crossed his legs. Before long, he found a good spot, parked way out, and took a giant pee. He'd probably been holding it since we left the barn! He grunted in relief and immediately loosened up EVERYWHERE. Much better.
My buddy from the Horse Park was riding two back to back tests in the upper ring before me, but she offered to let me sneak CP in in between rounds. I took her up on the offer, wanting to get it over with and get the pony home. The judge thanked me for my willingness to step in.
Once again, I blew the circle, but this time it was entirely my fault. I'm used to my 20x40 arena so when I ride in the 20x60 I make my circle too big on the first side, then do it correctly for the second side, effectively creating a ~20m egg. Oops.
I will say that I was pleased with CP's responsiveness through the transitions. It was also the first time he seemed to actually loosen up in his free walk. Progress! I finished the test feeling pretty satisfied, and with a pretty good idea of what we need to work on next.
The judge seemed to really love CP and called him all sorts of wonderful things when she heard his story.
"I will tell you," she said, "that I gave you a 9 on your trot to medium walk transition." My jaw nearly hit the ground. Our first 9!! I was delighted. "But... did you ever take geometry in high school?"
I laughed. "No, I think I skipped that one."
"That would explain it. You need to work on your circles."
"Yup."
"I think you're on the right track though. You had a very good ride. Good luck with him!"
"Thank you."
On the other side of the parking lot was a cluster of rigs with an even bigger cluster of snotty show kids. I know one of the teenage girls was riding in a Kimberwick and after her horse had enough of her gacking on his mouth, he dumped her and she had to be seen by the medics. She seems to be fine, but it was still a poor judgement call on the mom/trainer's part.
At the end of the day, I saw a lot of commotion over by one of their trailers. A gaggle of people were trying to load an unruly warmblood mare, first up the back of their trailer, then up the side ramp. The poor horse was rearing and kicking out and just looked generally unhappy. Mike said something to me, but I decided to stay out of it, as usual.
That is, I stayed out of it until, about 20 minutes in, these people had the mare all but hog-tied with the lunge line and were beating her relentlessly with a broom.
After checking with Erin that I wasn't breaking some unspoken show world rule, I approached the scene.
Very calmly I said, "Hi. I don't mean to offend anybody. Please feel free to tell me to just go away, but I trailer load horses professionally. Would you mind if I give her a try?"
The heavyset woman who was putting a chain on the horse replied, "Yes please. Just do me a favor and don't flip her over." Really, that should have been the second I walked away, but I really wanted to help this poor horse.
As it turns out, this mare had sat in a field for the first five years of her life basically untouched. The trainer had loaded her for the first time ever earlier that afternoon. When the mare didn't immediately step onto the trailer, they lost their patience and did the old lunge-line-behind-the-haunches trick and forced her into the trailer.
Congratulations. You had the opportunity to make a horse's first trailer loading experience into a learning experience. Instead, you just did way more damage than you can even comprehend.
The mare was no dummy and figured out that if she stood sideways to the ramp, they couldn't physically pulley her into the box. Add the fact that they took away the horse's ability to step backwards if she became unsure of herself, and you have a mare who resorted to kicking out in protest. In the first few minutes that I had her, she tried to barge through me, cow kick me, and rip backwards away from me. She didn't succeed at any of the above, and ten minutes later I had her standing calmly with her two front feet on the ramp to the trailer.
That's when the heavy set woman (who I realized by now was in charge of the whole operation) stepped forward and snapped, "I'll have my horse back now, thanks." She ripped the lead rope out of my hands.
Very calmly I replied, "Ok. Good luck with her. Have a good night."
Mike was muttering darkly as I walked away, but I really thought that would be the end of it. A few minutes later, the horse was in the trailer and Mike and I were up at the show office waiting for my test results. I casually looked out the window and spotted our mom/trainer friend stalking up the hill and looking pissed.
"Uh oh, I bet she's coming up here to say something to me," I observed. I debated ducking out the back door of the office, but decided that I'm really much too old to be hiding from people who are mean.
"I don't think she knows we're up here," Mike reasoned.
"No, no... I'm pretty sure she's coming up here to yell." That angry walk is unmistakable.
Moments later, the office door slammed open and in stomped an angry bull of a woman. She glared at me and pointed an accusing finger in my face. Mike stepped defensively between us, but held his tongue.
"I don't appreciate the way you approached that situation," she growled. "And I just wanted to come up here and give you some feedback."
I wanted to just apologize and tell her I didn't need feedback and call it a night, but before I could open my mouth, she tutted over me like she was scolding a dog, "Upp, upp, upp..."
THAT did it for me. I'm sorry, I am not your fucking dog. You don't get to upp-upp me. We are both adults. You are twice my age. You are NOT going to speak to me like that. I thought Mike was going to slam the door in her face. Or hit her. Maybe both.
She whirled on Mike, "And I see you over there, rolling your eyes and laughing because you think your girlfriend or whomever," she was practically spitting, "is perfect."
"No. I just think you need to calm down," he retorted before falling silent again.
She went back to lecturing me. "I was trying to teach my daughter something." Yeah, I heard your brat of a kid walking around the showgrounds talking about how her pony, Chocolate, is being a real shit this week, and how 'Chocolate really needs a good beating.' Good parenting. "And I don't appreciate the fact that you stepped in."
"Did I or did I not ask you very politely if you wanted my help?"
"You did."
"And did I or did I not willingly give you your horse back the second that you asked?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"If you didn't want my help, the correct answer to my offer was 'no thank you' and we could have left it at that."
"Well, I just wanted to give you some feedback on your method. I'm a horse trainer and I think my feedback is valuable. You're young and you need to learn a thing or two."
"Lady, people like you call me in six months when that horse flips over and hurts somebody. I did learn a thing or two tonight, thank you. I learned NOT to approach people like you and offer my help. I need to wait until you go to far and come to me. In the future, I will turn a blind eye and ignore your struggles. Thank you for opening my eyes to the error of my ways."
"I just wanted to tell you that that mare has never kicked out at an aid before tonight. She has never reared before." Bullshit, I watched her kick and rear for twenty minutes before I finally stepped in. "And she has certainly never bled from her gums before."
At this point, I lost it a little bit. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa... I did not have a damn thing in your horse's mouth when I worked with her. I had her in a leather halter."
"Well, she wasn't bleeding when I worked with her..."
This time it was me who raised her voice and cut the other woman off, "Don't you DARE go insinuating that I in any way abused your horse. If your horse's gums are bleeding, that's something YOU need to be ashamed of and maybe YOU need to re-evaluate YOUR techniques."
She blathered on for a while, repeating a lot of what she'd already said about offering feedback and the correct way to approach people in a show setting and blah, blah, blah...
Eventually she got to the point (the point where she's trying to save face because she's ashamed of her atrocious behavior). "The way you handle this after tonight is very important and you need to be careful what you tell people."
"What I tell people? You and your horse are not that important to me. After this week, I won't think about it again."
"Well, I don't know what you observed or what you saw or what you thought you saw..."
"O, you mean the part where you were beating your horse with a broom?" The kid gloves came off.
"I did NOT beat her with a broom."
"Everyone in the parking area saw you beating that horse with a broom. That is NOT ok."
"O, but it's ok to hit her ten times harder than that with a crop like you were doing??"
Anybody who has ever seen me trailer load a horse knows how ridiculous THAT accusation is. If you think I can physically hit a horse as hard with a crop as you were hitting her with that broom, thank you. I didn't think I was that strong. I'm flattered.
"There is more than one technique, and your method isn't always correct," she continued on.
Deciding that I was done with the conversation, I made my closing statement. "Yes. You are right. There are many ways to handle a horse. It's YOUR horse. It is your job to be her advocate and look out for her best interest. I'm sorry my method wasn't well received and that I messed up your horse. Sincerely, I'm sorry." Her eyes were burning into mine, sensing the sarcasm, but unable to argue with the words without looking bad. "You got her on the trailer. Congratulations and good luck with her. I'm sure I'll see you at championships. Have a good night."
And she stormed away.
What I WANTED to say, and might have if this hadn't happened right in front of the show secretary was, "If you want to man handle a horse into a trailer, fine. You're not quite a thousand pounds, though you are getting there, so I'm not sure you'll have much luck."
And after watching them peel out of the show driveway, I'm not surprised the horse didn't enjoy her ride down to the show in the Box of Death.
Next time, I'm taking pictures, finding out the so called trainer's name, and outing her all over the entire internet horse community. The photos would speak for themselves.
The show secretary rolled her eyes as I apologized for the scene, then handed me my scores.
In the first test, CP scored 66%, a whole percent higher than last time. He got a bunch of 7's and an 8 for his change of rein at the trot (and for his gaits). I think we may have broken 70 if he hadn't blown the entrance (our first 5. Ouch.) and if I knew what a circle was. Overall, no complaints.
And on the second test.
Drum roll please...
The pony scored a whopping 73%. Again, I was left slack jawed. 8 for his halt, 9 for the transition, 8 for the free walk, 8 fo rthe medium walk, 8 for the trot transition, 8 for the other halt. 8 for rider position and 8 for rider effectiveness (although I maintain that he would be even better if I stayed out of his way).
I think it's time to move up! Unfortunately, we're only qualified for Intro at the championships. I will be doing test C and *gasp* cantering though.
We left the show grounds after I thanked Erin for reading and Mike for having my back against Trainer-Mom. (He says I did a good job holding my own, but he was ready to step in if I looked distressed at all.) Mike wasn't quite over the whole thing, but I reminded him that 90% of show people are crazy and that it's why I DON'T normally show (no offense to you wonderful people who do).
But the eventful nature of the night was far from over. On the way home, we were making our way up the big hill on 31. I was in the right lane, minding my own business and talking to Erin when I heard the awful scrape of metal on metal. CP's nose ducked back into the trailer and my first response was, "What the hell? I'm nowhere near the guardrail!!!"
I could see Mike in the side mirror, swerving to avoid some kind of debris in the road.
At the top of the hill, I put on my four-ways and started to pull over, fearing the worst, but Mike waved us on. I had Erin called him and he informed us that we had simply lost a heat shield on the truck. It hadn't done any damage and when I told Jen, she shrugged and said, "Huh. I thought I took that off already." I think truck-truck needs a good once-over.
So there you have it. My overly-exciting foray back into the world of Dressage Queens.
Monday, August 6, 2012
CP's First Dressage Show
You read that right! I went to a dressage show.
CP is for sale. I use the term loosely because he's not being actively advertised anywhere and there's no price set on him yet. However, the goal is to find him a competition home and move him along. He has way too much talent to just sit around, and he's too small for his owner to ride, but too challenging for any of the kids he knows. What he really needs is one of those bad ass jumper teens who leap their ponies fearlessly over four foot fences... or a small eventer who wants an epic pony.
Obviously, we want to boost the pony's value as much as possible. One way to do that is to compete him. I've been dropping hints, but I'm very low-pressure and I'm letting the owner decide what he wants the pony to show in (and what entry fees he wants to shell money out for). I've reminded him that you have to pump money into a horse to get money out, but quite honestly, I'm not in a hurry to get rid of the pony. I'm going to miss the bugger when he goes.
CP is beginning to school First Level at home (he's pretty consistent at Training and we've started stepping it up) so I decided it was high time to put him in an Intro Level event. It just so happened that OnTheBit was debating scratching from Thursday Night Dressage and was willing to give me her ride times. After a few emails back and forth with the ride secretary, I found myself signed up for Intro A and B around 6:30 on Thursday night.
With a heavy sigh I went out to buy white breeches and and black gloves. It's only a schooling show, but I wanted to look professional. It's bad enough that CP had to wear a black saddle and brown bridle (o the horror!)
And then I started to get nervous. As you have probably gathered, I am not much of a show person. It just doesn't do it for me. I love dressage and think it should be the basis of all horse training. I enjoy jumping and find it exciting. I'm happy to hop around a course at home or jack the oxer up a few holes for a challenge. Cross country schooling is like crack to me. But I just find showing so tedious. I'd much rather ride 50 miles in the woods. At least there's a change in scenery involved there! I was really afraid this show was going to be a chore.
I set a few simple goals for myself and CP. After all, that's what show people do, right?
1. Don't fall off the pony. THAT would be embarrassing. If he could not bronc at all, that would be ideal.
2. Don't micromanage CP. It's his first show, his first time seeing the dressage fence, and a whole new environment. Don't expect him to perform at his best. Don't worry about a frame. It's freakin' Intro. Ride it like it's Intro.
3. If 1&2, then break 60%. That would be awesome.
The plan was to ride the pony Monday through Wednesday, bring him in early on Thursday, lunge him under tack, get him cleaned up, ship him up to the showgrounds, and warm up for half an hour before the test. It did not happen that way.
I schooled the tests at home on Monday night with Mike reading to me from the fence line. On Tuesday, Tor came and jumped the pony around and got him nice and tired. On Wednesday, it stormed really badly. Even with an indoor, it wasn't worth going out to work with him. Then, on Thursday, I worked in the clinic until 4pm, only to realize that I had left my Coggins at home. Dammit. I borrowed Carolyn's car and drove home to get it, leaving no time to lunge the pony.
Instead, I brought him in, cleaned him up, saddled him, and threw him in the trailer. I firmly believe that CP only acts up because he is cold backed. He has no soreness issues and doesn't put a foot out of line if you warm him up correctly. I was hoping the 20 minute ride to DVHA would loosen his back up. It's a trick that seems to have worked in the past. In fact, the pony had never acted up away from home.
I pulled out of the driveway with a steel three horse slant gooseneck in tow, with just one tiny pony in the middle stall. CP poked his nose out the window the whole way to the show, like a dog. I think he would stick his whole head out if I didn't have a stall guard up, making it impossible. He definitely loves trailer rides, the dork.
I parked far away from the other trailers just as Lynn and Erin pulled into the car parking. They had come out to show their support, and I was thrilled to have them. Shortly after, OnTheBit arrived. I had made her promise to be my Show Mommy and she arrived well-prepared, stocked with brownies and champagne, ready to hold my hand.
We got signed in and I wiggled in to my show gear. I had a jacket with me, but decided to ditch it because of temperatures in the high 80's, with lots of humidity. I had zipped up my tall boots the night before to make sure I still fit into them, but getting them on at the show turned out to be quite the event. It took three people to get me into the damn things, and there was a corkscrew involved. I wish I was joking.
Once I was set, I bridled CP, who had been standing quietly next to the trailer without a care in the world, and hopped on board. The frisky pony didn't react. I was thrilled. We hung out by the trailer for a while, just chatting and getting relaxed. At six o'clock we rode up to the warm-up ring.
CP, who had been confident and quiet up until that point, was extremely concerned about the sponsor signs hanging on the arena fence. With a little bit of persuasion and steady inside leg, however, he got over it and went on to have a very nice warm up.
Ride times were running ahead of schedule and I was in Ring 1 for Intro A before I knew it.
CP had never seen a dressage fence before. The first time I showed Ozzy, he nearly sat down when he spotted it for the first time, then spent the entire test alternately trying to jump it and get away from it. OnTheBit assured me that the people running the schooling show tend to be very understanding about green horses and will give you a moment to get acclimated if you make it clear that you're letting the horse investigate the fence.
I entered the ring and made it very obvious that I was letting CP look at the fence. He was indeed gawking at it and trying to figure out what strange jump set up this was. Before I even got all the way around the first corner, however, the judge rang her bell. A look at the judge's stand revealed that I had the Tough Judge. Great.
I took a deep breath and entered at A at the working trot. CP performed very well for his first time in a dressage arena. He was definitely eyeballing the fence and I let him take a little distance from the rail. I'd rather have him a bit away from the edge than spooking. He did not mind the judge's booth at all and he was very steady through the whole test. As it turns out, Lynn got the whole thing on video:
When we finished our test, I praised the pony lavishly before riding up to the judge's booth. The judge's comment was as follows:
"Cute pony. Over all you had a very nice ride. My only suggestion is that geometry matters at this level. I would have liked to see him closer to the rail."
And I was dismissed.
Mike pulled in just as I was exiting the ring after my first test. He had rushed over straight from work and would have made it on time if my test went off when it was supposed to. Christine was right behind him, having driven an hour and a half to watch me trot around for five minutes. I seriously have the best friends in the entire world. It was kind of a ridiculous crowd for Intro. Haha.
I had just enough time to compose myself and ride to Ring 2 for my second test. By then, I think CP was a bit bored with the whole experience. Walk and trot? Where's the cantering? Where's the jumping? It's ok, bud, I promise it gets more interesting after this.
There was no halt at the beginning of the first test and when I asked for one in the second, CP was not exactly obedient. Whoops. He did, however, stay right along the rail for the second test. The fence was no longer something he was concerned about. We did get attacked by a bomber during our free walk, so there was more head shaking than stretching down. CP also tried to convince me that the test was over at A by drifting his shoulder toward the exit. I blocked him with my leg and chuckled to myself. Smart ass! CP didn't want to halt at the end of the test either, but I insisted and he actually ended up pretty square at the end of it, all things considered.
The applause I got from the rail was really heart warming and I rode up to the judge with a big smile on my face. Again, I was told what a cute pony I had. "He needs to be a little more supple," I was told. I think he needs to be a little more off the farm. Haha.
We rode back to the trailer where I stripped the tack off the pony. Mike hand grazed him while I wiggled into more comfortable clothes before hosing CP off.
I was delighted. Our first outing hadn't been a disaster. In fact, I had accomplished my first two goals. CP had been on his best behavior and I had ridden through the glitches without getting overly nitpicky. The scores aside, I was satisfied with our first show.
Of course, I did stick around to get my score cards. So... did I accomplish all three goals? Here's the breakdown:
INTRO A:
I was thrilled to find my scorecard dotted with 6.5's and 7's. The pony hadn't scored less than 6 on anything. He got lots of nice comments on how straight he was. The remarks at the bottom said, "Steady and energetic. Horse needs to be more relaxed and stretch over his back." The comments on his circles said, "Counter bent at times, slightly off the rail." Yup, that would be from looking at the fence.
And the score?
65.3125%!!! That's with the strict judge! He broke 60! I could have done a cartwheel. GOOD PONY!
INTRO B:
Nothing below a 6.5 and not one, but two 8's (for his medium walk and his walk-trot transition). We did get a comment on our free walk that said, "Some loss of rhythm from bug," but I'm not going to hold it against him. But the best comment all night was under submission in collective marks. It said, simply, "Halts??" Yeah...
And the score for this one was a whopping 69.6875%. Wow. If he would just hold still or if I would just find the middle ground between micromanaging and leaving him completely alone, we would have broken 70 on our first time out!!
Nope, I certainly can't complain.
We drove back to the barn in a group to return the trailer and eat some celebratory pizza. I declared the night a success. And I didn't even pee my fancy white breeches.
I pulled out of the driveway with a steel three horse slant gooseneck in tow, with just one tiny pony in the middle stall. CP poked his nose out the window the whole way to the show, like a dog. I think he would stick his whole head out if I didn't have a stall guard up, making it impossible. He definitely loves trailer rides, the dork.
I parked far away from the other trailers just as Lynn and Erin pulled into the car parking. They had come out to show their support, and I was thrilled to have them. Shortly after, OnTheBit arrived. I had made her promise to be my Show Mommy and she arrived well-prepared, stocked with brownies and champagne, ready to hold my hand.
We got signed in and I wiggled in to my show gear. I had a jacket with me, but decided to ditch it because of temperatures in the high 80's, with lots of humidity. I had zipped up my tall boots the night before to make sure I still fit into them, but getting them on at the show turned out to be quite the event. It took three people to get me into the damn things, and there was a corkscrew involved. I wish I was joking.
"They fit, I swear!"
Once I was set, I bridled CP, who had been standing quietly next to the trailer without a care in the world, and hopped on board. The frisky pony didn't react. I was thrilled. We hung out by the trailer for a while, just chatting and getting relaxed. At six o'clock we rode up to the warm-up ring.
CP, who had been confident and quiet up until that point, was extremely concerned about the sponsor signs hanging on the arena fence. With a little bit of persuasion and steady inside leg, however, he got over it and went on to have a very nice warm up.
Ride times were running ahead of schedule and I was in Ring 1 for Intro A before I knew it.
CP had never seen a dressage fence before. The first time I showed Ozzy, he nearly sat down when he spotted it for the first time, then spent the entire test alternately trying to jump it and get away from it. OnTheBit assured me that the people running the schooling show tend to be very understanding about green horses and will give you a moment to get acclimated if you make it clear that you're letting the horse investigate the fence.
I entered the ring and made it very obvious that I was letting CP look at the fence. He was indeed gawking at it and trying to figure out what strange jump set up this was. Before I even got all the way around the first corner, however, the judge rang her bell. A look at the judge's stand revealed that I had the Tough Judge. Great.
I took a deep breath and entered at A at the working trot. CP performed very well for his first time in a dressage arena. He was definitely eyeballing the fence and I let him take a little distance from the rail. I'd rather have him a bit away from the edge than spooking. He did not mind the judge's booth at all and he was very steady through the whole test. As it turns out, Lynn got the whole thing on video:
When we finished our test, I praised the pony lavishly before riding up to the judge's booth. The judge's comment was as follows:
"Cute pony. Over all you had a very nice ride. My only suggestion is that geometry matters at this level. I would have liked to see him closer to the rail."
And I was dismissed.
Nice medium walk.
Mike pulled in just as I was exiting the ring after my first test. He had rushed over straight from work and would have made it on time if my test went off when it was supposed to. Christine was right behind him, having driven an hour and a half to watch me trot around for five minutes. I seriously have the best friends in the entire world. It was kind of a ridiculous crowd for Intro. Haha.
I had just enough time to compose myself and ride to Ring 2 for my second test. By then, I think CP was a bit bored with the whole experience. Walk and trot? Where's the cantering? Where's the jumping? It's ok, bud, I promise it gets more interesting after this.
There was no halt at the beginning of the first test and when I asked for one in the second, CP was not exactly obedient. Whoops. He did, however, stay right along the rail for the second test. The fence was no longer something he was concerned about. We did get attacked by a bomber during our free walk, so there was more head shaking than stretching down. CP also tried to convince me that the test was over at A by drifting his shoulder toward the exit. I blocked him with my leg and chuckled to myself. Smart ass! CP didn't want to halt at the end of the test either, but I insisted and he actually ended up pretty square at the end of it, all things considered.
Proof of halt.
The applause I got from the rail was really heart warming and I rode up to the judge with a big smile on my face. Again, I was told what a cute pony I had. "He needs to be a little more supple," I was told. I think he needs to be a little more off the farm. Haha.
We rode back to the trailer where I stripped the tack off the pony. Mike hand grazed him while I wiggled into more comfortable clothes before hosing CP off.
I was delighted. Our first outing hadn't been a disaster. In fact, I had accomplished my first two goals. CP had been on his best behavior and I had ridden through the glitches without getting overly nitpicky. The scores aside, I was satisfied with our first show.
Of course, I did stick around to get my score cards. So... did I accomplish all three goals? Here's the breakdown:
INTRO A:
I was thrilled to find my scorecard dotted with 6.5's and 7's. The pony hadn't scored less than 6 on anything. He got lots of nice comments on how straight he was. The remarks at the bottom said, "Steady and energetic. Horse needs to be more relaxed and stretch over his back." The comments on his circles said, "Counter bent at times, slightly off the rail." Yup, that would be from looking at the fence.
And the score?
65.3125%!!! That's with the strict judge! He broke 60! I could have done a cartwheel. GOOD PONY!
INTRO B:
Nothing below a 6.5 and not one, but two 8's (for his medium walk and his walk-trot transition). We did get a comment on our free walk that said, "Some loss of rhythm from bug," but I'm not going to hold it against him. But the best comment all night was under submission in collective marks. It said, simply, "Halts??" Yeah...
And the score for this one was a whopping 69.6875%. Wow. If he would just hold still or if I would just find the middle ground between micromanaging and leaving him completely alone, we would have broken 70 on our first time out!!
Nope, I certainly can't complain.
We drove back to the barn in a group to return the trailer and eat some celebratory pizza. I declared the night a success. And I didn't even pee my fancy white breeches.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)