Dressage Day at Fair Hill International CIC

It was a great day for dressage today at Fair Hill!  It was very exciting to ride in a shadbelly for the first time! On to cross country tomorrow :)

Morven Recap

I'm proud to report that Indy had one of his best dressage tests to date this past weekend at Morven!  Scores were running fairly high, with the top score in our division being a 30, a 38 being the second best.  Although initially our 41.7 doesn't sound too spectacular, but it put us right up there in the placings, and more importantly, I felt that I rode the test as well as I could have, and got the most out of Indy that I could have on that given day.  Stadium went similarly well, with one unfortunate rail, and cross country was a blast as usual.  We finished one tenth of a second away from the optimum time - pretty accurate with the minute markers on my new watch!  All in all, it was a solid event, leaving us qualified for the Virginia CCI * in May.  Our next outing will be in just over two weeks at Fair Hill, where we will compete in the CIC *.  Our season is off to a great start!  More updates and pictures to come.

Keep at your work everyone, we're approaching the highlights of the spring season, enjoy the weather, and everything will start to pay off soon!  Happy riding :)
-Sophia

the Second Southern Pines

We had a great weekend at Southern Pines II, which proved to be quite exciting on cross country day with lots of thrills and spills.  It was a gorgeously designed course, and quite difficult for this early in the season.

The first thing that I noticed when we got there was that during the two weeks since the last event, all the wisteria had burst into bloom, making a purple cloud in the treetops that created a general "Garden of Eden" impression.  Seeing this confirmed the fact that spring is upon us, and show season is in full swing!  I've always loved the course at Southern Pines, and over the past year a lot of work has been done on the grounds.  It shows - lush green grass is growing in neatly planted rows, and most of the underbrush has been cleared out, leaving scenic tall pines dotting the rolling hills.  The care which has clearly been taken of the grounds here make it seem almost like a pristine golf course.

Many of the big names going for the Olympic team were there to compete in the Advanced and Intermediate divisions, making the atmosphere truly vibrate with excitement.

On Friday, Indy and I had a decent dressage test, improving the trot work and walk alot, but unfortunately swapping leads in the counter canter to put us out of the running for the higher places.  Cross country day was Saturday, and the JYOP divisions went stadium that day as well before heading out on course.  It was an educational show jump round for Indy; he had never jumped in front of a crowd before and had a bit of a spook at the stands full of people - causing a couple of uncharacteristic rails - but otherwise jumped around well.

After watching and hearing about the divisions being decimated by falls, TE's, and withdrawals all morning, nerves were on edge as we headed to the start box.  I was determined to ride my butt off at every single jump and combination, and try to stick with my minute markers to come in as close to the time as I could.  At that point in the season, I wasn't sure where Indy was exactly with his fitness, so this six-and-a-half minute course would be a good gauge.  He's been on a 5 day galloping schedule and trotting all winter, so I expected him to feel pretty good.  As it turned out, he finished easily, 8 seconds over time from setting up at combinations (next time I'll have to adjust my minute markers accordingly), but I felt that I could have pushed faster without taxing him.  We jumped everything easily, and felt very solid in the technical questions - it was an absolute blast!!!  Nothing can beat the thrill and adrenaline of cross country, I'm convinced!

I was very happy to complete the event with my third qualifying score - Indy and I are now all set to go to the CIC * at Fair Hill in April.  Yay!!  Daily training will continue, along with working all the other new additions (more on these later!), as we progress towards April.  Enjoy the spring!

Southern Pines 1: Pipe Opener

I'd been looking forward to the weekend of March 10th and 11th since the beginning of last November... counting days and getting increasingly more excited as the date of my first planned event for 2012 neared, after my plans for riding at Pine Top fell through.  The thrill of competition - the intense bond with your equine partner - the fleeting, adrenaline-filled moments that decide the outcome of an event - the gratitude for your horse, your support team, and your ability to compete and strivings to get better - that is the crux of our sport, the goal to which we direct our passion, the incredible payoff of devoting endless hours of work and sacrifice to horses.

After a successful move-up in the fall, boosting Indy's confidence, and a winter of dressage/gymnastic work and conditioning, to say that he was ready to go would have been more than a mild understatement.  Indy was breathing fire as we walked to the start box for cross country, and finished the course looking for more jumps.  The excitability of the first time out for the spring didn't help as much in the dressage and stadium phases, but that is to be expected, and he is ready to come back to compete in the Junior Young Rider Open Preliminary division with me in two weeks.

A huge thanks is in order to my wonderful coach, my friends/fellow students and their families, and everyone else who provided a support network.  And not to forget my family and everyone who helped take care of the barn at home!  It was a great weekend that re-ignited my passion for the sport and desire to continue competing to the highest level I can attain.  It kindled the fire that I've been fine-tuning and strengthening over the winter, and Indy and I cannot wait for our next show!

Lists

Since I have an admittedly OCD/Type A personality, for the most part, it shouldn't come as a surprise that lists are what make my world go round.  I make lists for everything in an attempt to stay organized and efficient.  With everyone heading out on the weekends now for the spring show season, it might be time to brush the dust off of your competition packing list and get into gear!  I'll skip listing most of the regular stuff so I don't risk boring you here (general tack for all disciplines, appropriate attire and clothing for yourself, feed, hay, bedding, veterinary care items, etc.), but I'm going to try to hit some of the big things all across the board that people either tend to forget, or don't think of at all.

-Tack Cleaning Supplies... unpacking is a lot easier when you don't return home with dirty tack!
-Hose
-Coggins and Vet Certificate for traveling out-of-state
-Make sure to bring freshly washed, weather-appropriate sheets and coolers.
-Extras, extras, extras!  You never know what will get wet, dirty, or broken.
-Running Shoes - to get in that extra course walk... or "course run", if your times are tight!
-Wellies - to walk your lines in the water.
-Duct Tape.. it fixes everything!
-Spare Tire with all necessary tools
-If you're a dog person... bring a leash!  Nothing worse than a random dog jumping into the dressage ring during your test, trust me!
-Handy "How to tie a stock tie" instruction book if you are like me... enough said.
-Old bridle numbers
-Show Sheen, Baby wipes, Fly spray, and Baby oil
-Hair nets!!! And spurs, whip, crop, gloves...
-Always bring more towels and rags than you think you need...
-And of course, the number one rule is to never, ever forget treats.  Peppermints, apples, carrots.. We must treat our ponies like the royalty they think they are!

-Bring some of your horse's extra shoes with the studs already in them to the start box for cross country.  That way they're handy if you pull a shoe on course.

-Don't forget to pick up ice for after cross country!  On busy show mornings that's often the first thing to slip my mind.

- Wraps and liniment or poultice, depending on what you use.  Just watch out for cuts and sand with poultice; it can lead to issues.

-Salt source or electrolyte powder for your horse if heat is a worry.

-Pack a cooler of waters, fruits, veggies, and anything else you want.  Often there aren't many healthy options to eat on the road, so it's good to bring some of your own food, too.

I'm going to keep this brief for now, but the main thing is to double and triple check everything before the day before.  Beyond that, there isn't much else you can do if you are well prepared!  And good luck!

Fences Make Good Neighbors... but they don't make good friends

Yesterday was one of those long, hard days of work that has little to do with actually riding, and a lot to do with elbow grease, dirt, and sweat.   Last week, one of the pasture fences blew down in the middle an extraordinarily windy night.  While, thankfully, the horses were in, the other casualties included several stray jump barrels that blew into the tree line bordering the next farm over.  After finding them, it took some effort to roll them the considerable distance back home.  Is barrel wrangling a marketable skill?

However, the fence was a bit harder to fix.  We had always joked that it was more of an optical barrier to keep the horses in, than a physical one, and planned on switching to electric soon.  This storm gave us the perfect opportunity to jump-start the project.

While cutting down boards, picking up the boards, yanking up posts, picking up the posts, and filling three out of every four holes with sand sounds like quite a varied list of tasks, when you factor in the variable of time (roughly two hours to complete each element), the monotony seems endless.  In that you cannot allow your mind to drift when dealing with heavy machinery, and must instead focus entirely on pulling up one post, setting it aside, then pulling up the next, and the next, this particular task is more than a little bit like setting out on a long run.  Rather than contemplating the miles that you are about to stride over in a hopefully effortless fashion, you must instead focus on what's right in front of you: starting with a single step.  If you count the total number of steps - or posts - that lie ahead of you, your incentive to start will quickly diminish.  And so, in this way, we worked for seven hours, doing the same small tasks over and over.

On the bright side (and there always is a bright side!), I now feel proficient at driving old stick shift tractors.  After stalling, getting stuck in the wrong gear, and many other neophyte-type mistakes, which were a neverending source of humor throughout the day, my driving was getting pretty slick by the end.

I'm just glad that 1) I did my two rides in the morning, before the fence, 2) I had good (and strong) company to work with, 3) that we got the holes filled before the pouring rain arrived today, and 4) I'm living my dream, living my dream :)

Now we can look forward to putting in the posts and stringing the new fence - a process that should take significantly less time, as well as much less future maintenance.  Oh yeah, and switching the fencing of three other fields, but that will be another day's adventure!

Jack Be Nimble

In dedication to a little horse with a big heart...

I had to say a hard to goodbye Jack today, when he returned to his owner's farm.  Sadly, we discovered a cyst on his left front navicular bone, causing off and on lameness that will make him unable to work for the rest of his life.  An adorable liver chestnut with a Secretariat-style star and stripe, and an in-your-pocket personality, Jack had found his niche in foxhunting and was showing promise for a bright future before his untimely retirement.

In the spring of 2011, Jack came to us, a green, four year old OTTB who had been put out in a field after his racing career was over.  At first he just learned the basics of dressage and jumping, and how to balance himself.  But in the fall when he started hunting, we found a discipline where he shone.  He went first flight his first time out (which was incidentally my first time out too), jumped all the big boy jumps, wasn't phased by the hounds, and somehow managed to get in at least a 30 second nap at all the checks.  It was a joy to learn the ropes of hunting on a horse who took to it so naturally.

The other phenomenal story about Jack is his incredible fitness.  Within the one week of being on a foxhunting conditioning program, we couldn't get him to break a sweat or start blowing at all with up to two hour rides of trotting and cantering.  His musculature changed so rapidly, it seemed like he had turned into an incredible endurance athlete overnight.  He had literally turned into a nearly ideal foxhunter, and there were several people interested in buying him when...

It came on suddenly, as these things do, and at first we thought Jack had just gotten an abcess.  However, after several weeks of treatment with nothing coming to a head, it was clear that further investigation was warranted.  The x-rays revealed the source of Jack's soreness, and the difficult decision was made that he would leave.

However, these things happen in life, and there's always a new path to take.  These days, Jack has found a new job as a therapy horse for the Wounded Warriors program to help veteran soldiers recover from their traumatic experiences.  They couldn't have a better horse for that job; Jack absolutely thrives on attention.  So, we'll never know the sort of hunt horse he could've been, but sometimes these twists and turns in life are for the best.   This post is for the little horse we called Jack Be Nimble, the horse who galloped happily in the hunt field, whose cheerful face was always the first one to greet me as I walked into the barn every morning, whose bright spirit will now go on to help others as a shining beacon of hope.  To Jack.