Cross Country Indoors!

The first sound I heard upon waking for cross country day was the drip of rain on shingles.  My heart sank as my fantasy of finally galloping my horse on Waredaca's turf evaporated.  Much to my surprise, however, the sadness was misplaced.  As we arrived to help set up new jumps in the indoor, I saw that Eric managed to create interesting, challenging questions that taught just as much, if not more due to the horses' lack of distraction, as being out in the field might have!!  That man has some undeniable talent!

There was a different focus for each group.  For ours, it was moving your horse forward in balance, both straight and through turns, and using your rhythm and pace to be competitive with accuracy and planning.  Making it even more educational was our eclectic group of horses.  Beth rode her experienced Prelim TB mare (a fantastic Silver Charm daughter with overflowing enthusiasm), another Adult Rider friend rode her green OTTB gelding, one of Kate Chadderton's young working students rode her spectacular jumper of a pony, and I had Encore, still rough around the edges, but making real strides in consistency and approaching readiness for Training level.

It was hard.

As we warmed up at the trot, we were instructed to look at all the possible lines, approaches and turns for each jump.  Eventing is not about beating each other, it's about beating the course designer.  So we trotted around, looking at everything.

Then we were told we were terrible at it, ha (learning isn't all roses, and I very much liked that, with each passing day, we were held to a higher standard, with no malice, but with a strong sense of accountability).  That wandering around in warmup without riding the lines of the course (when this option is available) is a complete waste of time -- ride the turns, ride the approaches, know what every. single. option. is.

By take three, we finally got more aggressive as a group and attacked the arena much more critically, although the Stern Irishman was not exactly impressed.  I could see by their faces that my lesson buddies were determined to kick some butt now too!

An important point about your first warmup jump for cross country:  its purpose is to wake the horse up.  Not to be pretty.  Not to win an eq medal.  Ride that horse forward to the jump and don't do a darn thing.  If he crashes through it like a gorilla, he wasn't awake.  He will be on the next one, unless he's as dumb as a post, in which case you probably should not leave the start box.  And you sure don't want to find that out on the very solid first jump out on course!

We worked both ways through a simple bounce and then added a jump or two following it, keeping the emphasis on riding forward (don't you add that stride!!!) and being quick with your eye to guide your horse to the next jump.

Now it was time for the meat:  turns.  This is where many people lose time and when you are trying to be competitive at Training and above, time matters.  It's also a good thing to practice at all levels.  Truly good cross country riding isn't about who can run the fastest.  We ride racehorses for goodness sake, they're plenty fast.  Good cross country riding is about who has the most finely tuned technical skill, who has laid the best foundation on their horse to be sharp and accurate on course without sacrificing balance or rhythm.  Watch Britain's Fox-Pitt or Germany's Jung and you will quickly see what that means.  Skill, finesse, and a concrete plan A, B, C, D, and Z. 

This is where it got ugly (for us!).  Encore is very capable of sitting on his butt, stepping under himself, and turning beautifully.  However, I had never schooled this skill on such a tight line (it was about a 12 m circle), so we both looked something like AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! JUMP!!



After Eric got me to stop pulling on the inside rein, though (NOT ALLOWED), and really pushing with my outside leg, Encore quickly began to understand what I was asking of him.  That big crash in the middle is actually not him hitting a rail -- that is me pulling the whole standard down with my toe!  Go big or go home!



Before long we were able to put all this together and even add a constructed corner to finish off in style.



I cannot fully express my gratitude to Beth for not only setting this up, but making it possible for me to participate.  She is amazing!  Thank you too to Sunset Hill and Kate Chadderton for their hospitality and beautiful facility.  Kate is great fun and a lovely, patient rider; look for her and her current *** mount, Collection Pass, as they gallop towards 2014's Rolex!

And of course, thank you to Eric Smiley -- a wealth of experience, knowledge, an incredibly deep and thorough understanding of horsemanship and correct riding and training, generous, hilarious, helpful, gifted, fun yet disciplined, and with that quick eye of an excellent teacher and equestrian.  Thank you for sharing so much and for putting up with the weird girl, haha. 

Read More

Clinic Videos From Show Jumping Day

Yep, I'm taking the lazy way out for these.  Highlights covering most of the types of exercises Eric used to get the horses rhythmic, straight, and balanced.

Warming the canter up over a pole.  Circle good, corners bad.  While Encore's trot needs to be much more forward at the beginning, I soooo excited about how much more steady he has become in the bridle.



Basic warmup line.  Don't allow your horse to speed up (I did, several times, oops), don't make a bid for the fence, do relax and wait for it to happen in its own time.



A single vertical on the circle (notice a circle trend?).  I'm super proud of Encore in this one, he is such a pro!!!



Of course, right after that triumph, I did this.  But I think it illustrates an excellent point that Eric made often:  YOU are in charge of finding the canter and the line.  Then you pass the torch to your horse and he is in charge of jumping whatever it is you point him at.



And our last course.

Read More

Learning With An Irish Smile

Quick vid capture from today's jumping warmup

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Every clinic is different.  Infused with the personality and riding style of the technician, distilled over years of experience and mistakes and triumphs, and hopefully capped with the flourish of their unique teaching style.  Eric Smiley is no different.

It's difficult to accurately convey the details of this one though.  With a quiet humility and a ready smile, he says he's "not one of the big boys," but with accomplishments from 1982's Irish Field Event Rider of the Year to 2012's Belgian Olympic Team Coach, one could certainly insist that there is more than one definition of big.

A gifted instructor, he makes a quick connection with all of us, asking each rider (1) what they like most about their horse and (2) what is one thing they would like to fix THAT DAY.  "People coming to clinics always have a long list of negative things about their horses, but I want to get you to think of what you enjoy about them."  And this is only the first of many questions and insights that strip away all of the fuss and details and noise surrounding How To Ride Your Horse and reach down to the heart of what we are trying to accomplish and polish the gems of wisdom passed down through generations of horsemen.

I'm a visual, logical, process-oriented person; I like to understand why I am doing something and what end I am trying to achieve.  This is probably why I enjoy listening to all of Eric's lessons.  There is no "use outside rein, now more leg, now your left buttcheek, now inhale three times..."  Instead, he challenges us to really think about and engage into each ride, using questions aimed at simplifying and streamlining how you approach riding and training.  These are concepts which you then fill in with details and through this, deepen your understanding.  For example...

What is forward?  The horse should be taking you.  Not you chasing him or tapping him or nudging him.
What is impulsion?  Energy that you can then do something with.  I thought of it this way:  trying to ride without impulsion is like trying to wash a car with an empty bucket.
What does 'through' mean?  There are NO blockages in the flow of energy from your leg to hind leg to hock to stifle to hip to back to neck to poll to jaw to hand.  So, are there?  Examine each of these areas.
How many ways is it possible to jump a fence?  Four -- twice in each direction, one turning left and one turning right.  Know them all for every fence you see.
How do we turn our horse after a fence?  Using the outside aids.  Then the eyes and the inside hand show him where to go.
and...

DON'T RIDE CORNERS!  Yes, that's right.  Why?  Because they are hard.  Try that one at your next lesson, ha!  But in all seriousness, because almost no one rides them correctly.  They lose impulsion and rhythm in the corner, so when schooling your jumps, keep your lines on a curve and your energy flowing forward, stay out of the corners and you won't get stuck in them.  I heard this one alllllll day today, stadium day.

But I already know these things, you protest.  Perhaps, but have you really, really thought about them, the biomechanics and the definitions and the reasons, and applied that directly to practice?

Encore has been, in short, a gem.  On dressage day, I identified my one project as consistency -- in contact, in rhythm, in outline.  I'll be damned if he wasn't solid as anything.  Today, throughout the entire jump school, he remained attentive, balanced, steady as a metronome, and jumped as round and lovely as you could ever want.

Giant breakthroughs?  For us, no (although several other riders have made amazing strides with their mounts, particularly the very green horses).  Well, I was told my lower leg was completely wrong and got my stirrups jacked up two holes, details...  However, the sessions have nonetheless been extremely valuable to me by offering not only a vastly simplified way to think about what and how I want to ask my horse, but perhaps even more noteworthy, how to think about what is NOT working.  You can't fix a problem if you don't understand the cause!

What do you do when your horse is hanging on the bit?  Push his hind leg farther beneath him with your leg.  Why?  Because if he is hanging, there is too much weight on his front legs.  Placing his hind leg farther beneath his body shifts his balance back a bit, weighting his rear through the hocks and lightening his front end.  He is, quite simply, a teeter totter.  Understand this dynamic and you have the power to manipulate it into any variation of balance you desire.

Tomorrow is the best part, naturally, as we head over to Waredaca, just down the road, to school cross country both to ours and our horses' delight.  We've been lucky so far and not really been rained on, as well as having the benefit of Sunset Hill's massive indoor arena.  If the weather will hold until 3 pm, everyone will be home free!

Naturally, a wonderful part of it all, and one of the reasons I love this sport, is the people.  Meeting (and perhaps re-meeting, hey, I have a terrible memory) fellow Adult Riders, spending time with the awesomeness that is friend Beth, soaking up my doggy fix, margaritas by the pool and the best sangria you've ever tasted (hey, these things are important) and basking in the exchange of knowledge and skill between teacher and rider and horse; all of these pieces just make me hungry for more.

Read More

The Becky Diaries: An Afterward

All eyes are turned to my favourite patch of turf right now, a park filled with history in Lexington, KY and an event that continues to change, but still offers the amazing spectacle of horse-human partnerships giving their all in an incredibly difficult test of courage, grace under pressure, and preparation.

Just before lunch today, behind those rolling fencelines, our hero and teacher, Becky, and her workhorse of an OTTB, Can't Fire Me, laid down the gauntlet in the dressage arena and I was lucky enough to watch online as they smoothly cantered into second place, just behind the legendary Andrew Nicholson.  While they are up there, checking and double checking jump gear and legs and footing for the days ahead, I figured it was the perfect time to wrap up my training series with the last few tips from the woman herself.  Turn your sound up!



When watching other jumping lessons, I'd often noticed Becky yelling, "Keep your body between the reins!" at a rider's cantering back.  I'm a very visual person, so the concept seemed obvious enough.  I had no idea that I did not practice it!  Becky demonstrates above in a way that makes it very clear to me why you NEED to separate your eyes from your body.  I have a very hard time with this and I also am mostly unaware of it unless I specifically think about it.  After repeating our jump line while working on this concept, I immediately felt a sharper, more accurate response from Encore too!



I think we've all done it (do it!) -- as we approach a drop, we slow down so the horse has time to read the question and he is not tempted to launch at terminal velocity, leaving an unsuspecting rider on top of the bank wondering if she found a crop or lost her horse.  This often takes some, er, convincing on the rider's part, so the horse's head comes up against the rein as we "discuss" this strategy.  We then arrive at the edge of the drop with an inverted horse who then might put his head down with a snort and skid to q stop to investigate the sudden appearance of a cliff at his feet.

What we should be doing instead is using our body and balance to ask the horse to shift his weight back while we let out the rein several strides early (see above video).  This encourages him to lower his head and neck so he can see the edge and put his body in the right shape to leave the bank rounder and softer and we now have far less of a chance of catching him in the mouth.  Another one that seems obvious, yet takes thought to get done.

Finally, a conundrum I have puzzled for many years.  There is an insistent chant in the horse world that when you first mount, you MUST let your horse walk around, stretch out muscles, and not ask anything of him for X period of time.  But my horse spends 23 (often 24, ha) hours a day walking around, rolling, galloping, stretching in the field he lives in, is the prior statement not better applied to horses who are primarily stalled, standing still?  I've gone back and forth in dressage and schooling warmups and never settled on either side of the fence.  So, after watching her school one of the youngsters, I just asked.

Becky confirmed my suspicions.  PARTICULARLY if a horse lives outside for all of much of his time, he's already moving.  When you get on, it's work time.  You can have a lap to check out distractions if you need it, but after that, we pick up the reins and get to work.  Of course, you still retain your common sense -- your starting work might be in a longer frame or focusing on serpentines or other figures to supple his body, but he is still asked to immediately move forward into the bridle, step under himself, and lift his back.  And asked is the key word.  He is working towards this -- a green horse, an older horse might take longer to get there, but he still has to be trying.

Talented young RJ (Telperion) out for a test flight.

Thus endeth the Becky Diaries of 2013 and one of the richest training experiences of my life.  Becky's graciousness, eye for detail, phenomenal instincts, positive teaching approach, insistence on correctness, and systematic approach to building a horse in both strength and skill all impress me endlessly.  She deserves nothing but success and I hope that this year is her year to shine in the Rolex spotlight.  I will certainly be waiting with bated breath until Teddy clears the last jump in stadium!

I can  honestly say that Becky is probably one of the best, if not the best, instructors I have ever worked with (and that is some stiff competition), both in terms of teaching skill and compatibility with my style of learning and riding.  It was truly a gift and an honour to live and ride with her for those two weeks (although my horse was probably less excited about the Raising of the Bar), thank you, Becky.  Thank you again to everyone I met and watched and learned from, thank you to Amber for coming down and helping, thank you to Encore for showing up for work and trying his hardest every day, and thank you most of all to my mother, who made it possible.

Read More

W Is For Widiculousness

Encore:  Oooo, look trees!

In the dressage arena that is.

Encore's back was available for warmup and his body felt decent, if a bit stiff from the trailer ride.  His brain...appeared to have blown out somewhere back on Highway 1.

I worked at suppling his body and pushing his inside hind leg underneath him.  I asked for many changes of bend and tried very hard not to hang on my left rein.  Becky swung by on a big, stunning dapple grey going BN who looked ready to do Prelim Test A and she said hi; I tried not spit on myself in mortification because I already knew I was not riding at my best and my horse was spooking at camera shutters and apparently birdwatching, judging by his posture.  I can only hope she was busy riding and did not actually witness my test.  Afterwards, I actually stopped by to ask the secretary, a friend of mine, if she could post my score under a code instead of my name.  Shame.

I was unaware that he was plotting evil.

Trainwreck would be an understatement.  After trotting down centerline, Encore checked out and completely ignored my existence as he studied trees, other horses, dirt, and anything else that seemed remotely interesting.  His rider was not even close to that category.  I had zero response to leg, hand, seat, body, no bend, no push, no.thing.  I hope the judge enjoyed my downward transition to trot where I finally had to yell, "WHOA, DAMMIT!"  She tactfully wrote, "Against hand.  Rider's aids ineffective."  Ya think?  I was not in love with my horse.

I could not let that stand.  I rode back to the field behind our rig and we proceeded to have a lesson in who decides when and how and where things happen.  It took about 30 minutes, but Encore eventually ran out of evasions and realized I was just going to sit there and keep asking, so he gave in and discovered that obedience is easier.  That was when I realized that THAT was the ride I should have given him in warmup.  I'm pretty good at lessons after the fact.

I did my best to let it go, although a set of stripped out stud holes and an ineffective wrench may have led to rage-hurling said wrench across a field.  It wasn't my finest moment, although it did make me feel better for 45 seconds and since I throw like a girl, it didn't go very far; Amber had the grace to not laugh out loud and fetch it later.  Bless her.

A rather more responsive horse warmed up for XC, which was a straightforward course with some good rider balance and steering questions.  The first 3 jumps were also on the steeplechase track, which I have wanted to run on for yearrrrssss.  Oh yes, my racehorse noticed the rail and the marker poles and the oval.

Beautiful track, I finally got to run on you...

I did not put on the helmet cam, my apologies.  Time was short and I wanted to focus on my horse; additionally, post-course walk, I knew there would not be anything new or dramatic to see.  Mea culpa.  Although you might have been entertained when Encore teleported sideways when someone opened their car door (perhaps he just left his brain at home?) and I barely clung on with one calf muscle. 

Oh, and car lady, it's fine to open your door, my horse usually has no issues with that on non-idiot days and you did nothing wrong, but when someone almost gets dumped (on their already trashed leg) as you do, it's common courtesy to apologize and at least ask if they are ok instead of squawking, "OMG!"  Just sayin'.

We made it to about jump 7 or 8 when I could feel my horse was developing some muscle-tiredness behind.  He was jumping very well, boldly and honestly, but between jumps, I had a cinder block at the end of my reins.  Today I feel like I was dragged behind a truck!

It was good mileage for him though.  Encore was excellent over a log two strides from the first big water and really showed off our improved "down" skills off a big drop.  The following jump was the baby sunken road, so the ground dropped sharply behind a log pile fence and he is still leery of leaping when he cannot see the landing.  He did stop in front of it, but I insisted and he climbed over (it wasn't very big) without taking a step backwards (GOOD BOY!) so we were able to finish with no penalties except for two seconds of time.  Which was a result of my having to pulley-rein him in a circle mid-course and make him trot down a very steep hill so we would not roll down it instead.  :\

As we crossed between the finish flags, I knew I had a tired horse and I felt in a couple of lead swaps that he had developed some butt soreness.  It was not a difficult decision to just withdraw, call it a day, and head home.  There was nothing to be gained by staying overnight and jumping a flat, ugly stadium course -- that kind of mileage I can do without, thank you. 

In the end, it was not a total loss.  We were pushing our timeline between his back injections and the event, so I am not surprised his muscles tired early.  I hope that a few more weeks of slow, steady work on some hills and the lines will bring him back to solid.

Sure I caaan be round, but...oh look, pony!

There were good lessons:  I need to push harder in warmup, take more time, and bloody well RIDE, no matter what anyone else is doing.  Encore got in a much needed XC run and handily answered all questions, with only one minor hiccup.  So my entry fee was not wasted and hey, even with all that, we still weren't last!

I will employ some Advil and enjoy an unexpected Sunday break crammed between two weeks of work travel and fish rodeos.  Encore can rest and we will resume our work at a slower pace later in the week.

To come:  the promised unveiling of a surprise at the event.  Better pictures need to be procured to do justice to said surprise.  Trust me, you will be filled with want. 

Last but not at all least:  THANK YOU, Amber, for being an expert team crew despite my dressage tantrums (I did not eat or drink enough, bad bad event blood sugar rule breaking!) and stud struggles.  You are truly awesome and I am so so so grateful to have had your help!

Read More

The Becky Diaries: Day 10: Stadium Jumping

It was time to put it all together.  Adjustability, focus, position, balance, and accuracy.  All without running over Scrappy.  Yeah, I think you get kicked out for that.

We started out as we do with David -- a simple, tiny pole you canter in both directions.  Your goal is to be in a consistent rhythm, be steady in your position, soft with your hand, and have your horse in front of your leg without galloping around like a nutball.



Although apparently, you are supposed to approach jumps with a straight horse.  Sheesh.  So picky.



Next, we find our rhythm and pace to another single jump.  Keeping the straight approach and your position, settle and commit to your canter rhythm and just. ride. it. no. matter. what.  I was apparently confused by being in the XC field so I decided that we still needed to gallop fences.  Tiny show jumping fences. 



Becky, however, did not see any need for a 15' stride to a 2'3" fence (I wanted to be REALLY sure we cleared it!) and had us bring it down a notch to, say, a show jumping canter.  Crazy woman.



Then came something new for Encore:  a short bending line.  The first time through took some seat-of-my-pants steering (what, leaning doesn't help?) and he did some greenie foot-shuffling, but it improved each time until we finally got my eyes and both our bodies on the same page and he understood the question being asked.



Success!



With our eyes tuned up, it was time to put a few jumps together and NOT lose the rhythm, focus, and balance by thinking ahead and preparing.  No celebrating what you just jumped, no sigh of relief, no worrying, simply, ok, next this.  I honestly thought I would have to work hard to steer from a wide triple bar to a skinny vertical and that my horse would fall apart and rush after the wide first jump.  Colour me pleasantly surprised.



THREE jumps, with Becky emphasizing planning and waiting for your turn after the skinny to give you the squarest possible approach to the oxer, ENSURING your horse's hips are lined up just as we'd worked on over the warmup pole.



Finally, we get to our course.  Encore was very good; the hardest thing for me was staying mentally focused -- my tendency is to lose my brain about halfway through the course.  Becky made an excellent suggestion of picking the points on your course where there is some space between the jumps and bring your horse back like you were starting a whole new course with the next jump being your first.  It was a really effective mental exercise for, erm, ADD overthinkers like me.  *guilty*



We were given the option to be done at that point, but I wanted to fix our messy bit of the first four jumps.  I resettled my brain, promised my mentally tired pony we were nearly done and fixed it.  Well, the second time.



I think that is actually the first time Encore has ever bucked!  To be fair, I was trying one link tighter on the Pelham chain since he'd nearly ripped my shoulders out in the snaffle the day before.  It worked VERY well and I needed to be lighter on it than I was.  My leg strength is getting much better in PT, but we are still working on lateral muscles and I am just starting on rebuilding my abs so I do not fall back in the saddle as much after the apex of the jump.  *more guilty*

But to say I am proud of Encore does not even begin to cover it.  He came to the paddock gate and loaded on the trailer 20 times in 10 days without a single protest.  He tried so hard every day and never once tried to purposefully evade work; his protests were limited to explaining to me when things were hard, which is fair enough.  That horse knows how to WORK and caught me a little off guard by bringing it at a whole new level of pressure.  All I can say is...

GOOD BOY!!

Read More

The Becky Diaries: Day 9: Adjustability

It is the end times.  *insert ominous music here*  Tomorrow will be just washing linens and throwing things back in the truck and hauling our butts back to what I'm sure will be a very excited Solo!

After a quiet Tuesday morning watching the girls long line Comet and RJ (Becky was off in Aiken Mon/Tues for the USET High Performance Training Sessions -- I wanted to creep there soooo badly, but figured that might be pushing it) and helping set up a new stadium course, I fetched a rested Encore and Becky was kind enough to squeeze us in at the end of the day when she returned.

It's springy!!!!!  Just like my horse.  Or is that jumpy?

By "rested," I mean completely refilled with insane amounts of energy and with renewed conviction that large, hilly fields are only for galloping and avoiding large predators.

I knew I should have put the Pelham on.  I won't make that mistake twice.

Shoulders ow.

But it was time to install some new gears, or rather put controls on pre-existing gears so they appear when I ask for them, rather than at Encore's whim.  I quickly discovered it was NOT going to be a soft and round day, try as I might and I cursed myself for not rebuilding those core muscles faster after surgery.

Exercise 1:  Working in a circle, establish teeny tiny canter, as close to cantering in place as possible.
Key points:  Wrap your calves around the horse and use your core/thighs to (as my dressage trainer put it) "suction cup" his back and ribcage up underneath you without losing the hind leg energy.  It's ok if he breaks or loses stride, he just needs more strength.  Think of making a transition to walk, but do NOT lean back; this will only dig your seat into his back and hollow him out.  Keep hands low, connect your elbows to your hips, and ride through his assertion that he can surely go no slower.

Teddy watches big bro Comet give Dad a lesson.

Exercise 2:  Push him forward into a big, giant canter for about 6-8 strides, then come immediately back to teeny canter.  Stay on circle.
Key points:  Don't give up your position and seat when going to big canter or else he'll just get strung out.  When coming back to teeny canter, GET IT NOW -- don't fight about it for ten strides.  If you are not getting a change, you might have to get in his face a time or two.  Again, don't lean back, make an elastic wall of core, elbows, thigh, and butt suction him back up to that tiny stride.  Rinse and repeat a billion times and only do each (big, teeny) for a short time, maybe half the circle.

Exercise 3:  Get soft, round walk, pick up teeny canter for 5 strides, walk, reverse direction, repeat ad nauseum.
Key points:  Don't ask for the canter until you have a moment of topline softness in the walk, then lead with your inside hip.  Accept the first few tiny canter strides that you might feel like are just him being stuck; don't push him too far out of that, those are him really sitting on his butt.  Come back to the walk quickly and as you reverse direction, use the turn to unlock him.  Soften him, then get canter back. 

I have been a wuss and avoided exercises like these so far because even though I knew it was time to take this step, I was dodging getting him riled up.  Encore really did a lot better with then I thought, however, given that we had thusfar not played much with adjustability.  As Becky said, you might just start out the exercises going through the motions, but give them a chance to relax into it through repetition and it will get better.

Solo demonstrates the barrel in 2010.

Exercise 4:  Use a small jump (we had a single barrel on its side with two vee rails resting on it) and use all your canters in approach and landing.  For example, approach in big canter, land in teeny canter.  Approach in teeny canter, land in big canter.  Approach in medium canter, land in teeny canter.
Key points:  Approach is easy, landing is HARD.  Hold your position and committment to the gait you chose all the way to the base of the jump.  Get the new pace as quickly as possible on landing.  Even though this one was difficult, I really liked and could see its utility for a variety of training goals.  I'm not sure Encore completely got it yet, but he did very well at holding the rhythm I picked and not pulling me to the fence.

Hopefully, we can build on this work today when we finally tackle show jumping.  I tend to fall apart in the second half of courses, so I will be trying to improve my focus and slow things down.  Which will, please universe, be a bit easier with some brakes not provided by the snaffle -- Encore is really very good about understanding that arenas are for work now.  This is great news for, say, competing at the horse park.  He just needs to get the memo (which has not failed due to lack of sending, believe me!) that work can happen anywhere, gasp!

Read More

The Becky Diaries: Day 6: Cross Country

What could possibly be wrong with that?

A warm beautiful Saturday meant it was time to revisit our XC skills and work on some drops.  Apparently, my signature zombie move when dropping off a bank is neither correct nor effective.  Colour me shocked.  *sarcasm font*

I had expected to mount a very tired pony after his attitude in the long lining pen yesterday, so I hopped on with the intention of doing just a little lateral yielding to get his hind legs moving.  Instead, when I asked for trot, I discovered someone had slept well indeed and I was sitting on a rocket, ready for launch!

A little N table on the ridge

The exercises were basic -- a few simple warmup lines, small down-banks, some accuracy questions, and a drop into water.  But the theme throughout was optimizing my position and eradicating the zombie.

Upon approaching a drop question, the horse needs to lower his head to examine the jump and then execute it, so my challenge was to make sure I let out the reins upon approach so when he needed to lower his head, the space was already there.  As he jumped, I was to focus on keeping those hands down, shoulder back, and give him freedom to do his job.  

Drop it like it's hot...with lower hands.

A few skinnies asked a similar question -- keeping Encore straight, as soft as possible, and keeping my hands on his withers the entire time.  The drop into water carried it one step further, making sure I did not choke up on him, which would then have him approaching the drop with his head in the air instead of down and ready to stretch over the edge.

Although we often took about 1/2 a mile to stop after each jump, it was great fun to have another go at XC when he wasn't fearing wild beasts (I'm sure having a schooling buddy helped!) and he put on his best bold, clever hat for the day and worked through it all like a pro.

It was a nice way to spend the afternoon before chilling the beer and readying the food for the annual farm party -- yes, live band included!  All I can say is that eventers of all ages have no issues with climbing up on those picnic tables and showing off their mad body control, shaking what their mommas gave 'em!

Our last lesson before his day off will revisit our dressage.  I have no idea WHAT to expect from him at this point as far as energy level is concerned.  It's very warm today and the wind has FINALLY taken a break, so hopefully I won't have quite the brick-mouthed machine of XC inside the little white fences!

It's hard to believe we only have three lessons left.  I have no words to encompass what an amazing opportunity and what a good, hard-working, hilarious, and genuine group of people I've met.  The real world doesn't seem to appealing; I'm in no rush to go back!

Read More

The Becky Diaries: Day 4: Cross Country

You FB peeps already guessed who this snoozer is!

It was Pi Day!  But I forgot to get pie to celebrate, sigh.

The days seem too short, even as they technically get longer!  Although I am determined to catch more morning schools now, to heck with real world duties!

Today was a mini XC school -- we've gone through the three disciplines I think so Becky can get a feel for Encore and where he is and how he ticks.  Simple exercises to establish and focus on the basics.

It all began well enough, with Encore cruising in a lovely, round rhythm through yesterday's cavaletti bounce.  I could feel he had definitely used some energy in the past two days (haven't we both!?) but I'd stretched him in warmup and he still felt solid.

It was a short loveliness.

I felt his body stiffen as we paused to listen to Becky and his head whipped towards the barn up the hill.  It was the "OMG WARNING DANGER CONCERN!" body language and his ears (and brain) trained like a laser away from me to whatever silent menace he perceived.

I moved on to a simple jump series of BN bench/cabin-types, then added a N table.  He jumped but his focus remained elsewhere.  We were a hot mess the first time through and required some putting back together.

Two mares at the same time!  Lesson in leg yield.

Normally, it is not difficult to keep him up and in front of my leg as long as I concentrate, but now, I was riding Solo -- pushing him up into the contact and having to work for it.  No fair spoiling me then taking it away, horse!

We moved down to a wide ditch, but at this point, his brain had hit rolling boil and it appeared we were being stalked by a saber-toothed tiger.  He probably did not appreciate us laughing at him, but sorry buddy, work trumps invisible tigers.

So it took some coaxing to cross the ditch, but cross he did, although by braille a few times.  We continued to walk across it until he jumped it with some semblence of order.  Since he remained intent on his perceived predator, I had to compete hard for his attention to bring him back to walk each time.  It was extremely helpful when Becky had me lower my "whoa" hands from my shoulders (I know I'm not the only one whose hands come up when trying to stop the mildly desperate horse) to Encore's withers.  It helped lower his energy as well and bring him down more quietly as I kept my hands low and quiet and he finally began to relax a little.

A few exercises through the water and surrounding mounds and cavaletti followed, all very easy for Encore, but my job was to keep my position solid and still and my hands low over the rolling mounds and jumps.

We've all enjoyed this streak of Carolina blue skies!

Whatever it was he saw, he remained certain of its need for attention the entire time, so the lesson itself did not involve as much complexity as I might have thought.  However, it was a VERY valuable opportunity to have Becky there on a rare occassion when he does mentally vacate (I can probably count the times he has done this on my hands), as she was able to tweak my body language through my hands and core to help quiet him instead of ending up in a fight with him.  Because he is not trying to avoid work and he is a very honest tryer in all things; he simply got sucked into the horse parallel mental universe where invisible monsters live.

And now I am laughing because I bet to any horse owner, that insane-sounding place description elicits a completely blase, "Oh yeah, I totally know that universe."

Next on the syllabus:  long lining - the magical Holder way.

Read More

The Becky Diaries: Day 3: Gymnastics

The porch view of the Windhaven dressage and gynmastic work area.

I did not get to do much creeping watching today; since I had to fetch Encore late morning and he had become so disgusting I decided to bathe him following our lesson, it was more of a day for peeks here and there.

Since it was another gorgeous, sunny morning, I ambled to the front porch to watch Teddy (Can't Fire Me) execute his gallop sets, which Becky mixed with cavaletti and ground pole work.  He really is a fantastic horse with a powerful gallop and Becky makes him look super rideable.  Watching him surge up the hills and then settle back into tiny rollback turns to the rails made me feel like I had a very privileged box seat indeed!

As I packed up to head to So8ths, I was also able to catch a few minutes of Comet's dressage school as he practiced his tempi changes, moving from fours to threes to twos.  He still has his signature aura of something very special and it's easy to see why he is Becky's Solo.

Junior horse in his hotel room.

Encore and I were the first lesson after the daily break, so we were alone warming up at the top of the hill, leaving Encore convinced that all the world's horses had deserted him to an uncertain fate.  I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before due to a loudly snoring temporary roommate, so I struggled to be patient and breathe and decided to stop and work on the turns-on-forehand from yesterday.

Becky and Scrappy arrived, the latter to supervise all parties, and our turns were pronounced much improved from the day before (it must have been all the practice I'm sure Encore did overnight).  Then we revisited the trot and canter work from the day before, alternating large circles with ~15m circles.

So8ths hovel of a barn.  Poor horses.

It was as if I had brought a different horse.  More likely, my horse was relieved that I was finally starting to use the aids properly.  But Encore was so much softer and willing in the bridle, trying hard to keep his withers up and push from behind and, miracle of miracles, staying focused on the work at hand!

Key points:  Stay even on both reins (I was caught multiple times with my trademark hang on the left rein, dangit).  When he is moving in a good rhythm and wants to stretch down, let him have the rein as long as he is not falling down the hill and then push him a little bit forward over that newly stretched topline.  Really focus on keeping the rhythm of trot and canter very pure (Encore can sneak a disconnected tranter in to try and avoid pushing at the canter).  Alternating very small circles at the canter, swing your hips to push his hind legs forward forward forward through the tight turns you make with your outside aids (this felt amazing).

They have a tiny dressage arena over there too.

Exercise 1:  Jumping a single cavaletti, alternate the approach on a small circle from the left and right.
Key points:  Use an opening rein and new outside leg over the jump to show him where we are going.  The primary focus is holding the rhythm and my position consistent the whole time (woohoo, something I am successful at!), not letting him fall apart or get strung out.

Exercise 2:  Jump single cavaletti to bounce cavaletti series to single to low gymnastic line.  I've drawn you a masterpiece of a diagram.  The low line is not pictured.  Because I was too lazy to redo it when I realized I'd run out of room.  Deal with it.
Key points:  Rhythm, hold position over jumps, use outside aids and really push him forward through the tight turns.  All of these are on the side of an incline, so you MUST stay balanced and not let him just fall on his face.

Nope, always got lost after 3rd jump.

Exercise 3:  Jump larger gymnastic line of vertical-two strides-wide oxer, then do 10 rollback turns over cavaletti (ok, it may have been slightly less than 10, all I know is I got lost every time).  If you get lost, just turn and jump something.  And yes, all of the turns were as tight as they look.
Key points:  Keep his hind legs swinging in the turns.  REALLY stay solid with your position over the jumps; be still and let him jump beneath you while you stay in the center.  Hold him together with your core and thigh between jumps so he doesn't get so strung out.

The last green arrow leads back to the low gymnastic line.  The goal was to alternate direction with each turn, which my confused self didn't do, but I did turn and jump SOMETHING each time and I started and ended in the right place, so was given the ok on execution, ha.

One of four beautiful wood sculptures at So8ths.

We did several variations on this exercise, but the goals and design were the same.  The turns continued to improve; I was quite excited to discover the Encore was much stronger than I thought and as he figured out how to sit down and pivot, it became easier and easier for him.

He retains his tendency to slow down when he is thinking about the question in front of him or if he needs to sort out his feet, so he would fade a bit in front of both gymnastics.  I heard David in my head upon approach saying, "go forward now!" but still could not get enough impulsion through the first line.  Becky recognized the effort and reminded me which piece I was missing:  since the line is built for a forward, powerful canter, build that in front of it by not just applying more leg, but keeping him balanced in front with your core so his rhythm does not get faster, but that power keeps building beneath the saddle.  Aha, got it! 

So now I just need to build cavaletti when I get home.  Oh, and a place to put them.  Next up for us:  XC!
 

Read More

Through The Chute

Inspired by the ongoing Retired Racehorse Training Project's 100-day challenge, I decided to coerce ask Amber to help me build a jump chute for Encore yesterday.  We'd just put together a simple crossrail-two strides-oxer and see what he had to offer.  I figured about 30 minutes or so?

Horse time does not equal real time.

We managed, through Operation Material Hunt, to devise a very professional chute (I could only find 3 barrels) and, quite satisfied with ourselves, turned Encore loose to have a go.  I began by leading him through, then let him trot through on his own, then added some ground poles.  He quickly figured out the route, so I added the crossrail first on its own.

Ummm, yeah, cleared it, buddy!

Simple enough, so I added a single pole to the second jump to make a small vertical.  Encore put his brain to the task immediately and found a much more efficient way to complete the task.  PS I am sorry, I cannot figure out how to turn off the autoplay of next video in Youtube.  It's making me insane.  If anyone knows, let me in on the secret!



After a slight modification to our construction, we were able to explain it was a JUMPING chute.  Then I added the back pole to the oxer and he amused himself at will!  Although he insisted in staying near the fence on the muddy half when there was perfectly nice footing 12" over, sigh...



Once he got the game, he quite enjoyed practicing!

Finally, mum lets me do something fun in the arena!

 From then on, it was just a matter of raising the poles and see how he went.  He didn't even have to start trying until we got to about 3'3", sheesh!



We finished around 3'7" to 3'9".



I'm not sure he'll have the scope for Training...or Prelim...or whatever.  Since this is the best he can do when he's a bit fat and out of shape.  Another racehorse (not) ruined by three years of racing...

A crying shame...that jr. is AWESOME!

I could stop here and say everything was wonderful.  But any of you who have read for a while know that one of my core rules is honesty:  training isn't a path of a sunshine and roses and I, for one, am very grateful that horses are forgiving creatures and don't shun me for my errors.  I hate that I make them, but I try my hardest to learn from them, which is why I share them.

Because then, proceeding to make the most basic training mistake of all time, I registered that he was jumping a bit tired, and somehow allowed sneaky brain to go, ok we'll just go one more hole.  Sigh.  You'd think I'd have learned by now.  Poor Encore's butt was t.i.r.e.d. and the correct thing to do would be to take epically awesome, stop, and stuff horse with treats.  Alas, I yet again let my horse down by not listening to myself.

Bless his trying heart, he jumped it!  Well, mostly.  His front half easily cleared all three feet and eleven inches of poles.  Unfortunately, his worn out bum dropped his hind legs after the first pole of the oxer, so he took the back rail down quite spectacularly.  But it was an unfair question really and one that I know should have waited until he was stronger.

So we then had to rework through the chute over a much simpler 2'6" oxer just to make sure he hadn't lost his confidence.  He was a very good boy -- so much so that as Amber and I were disassembling the chute, he kept coming through it, despite our attempts to wave him off!!  We had to throw all the poles on the ground in a hurry just to prove to him that we were done!

I'm so proud of him and ECSTATIC to see that he shows no signs of his strained ligament from last fall.  Now it's just burning fat and building more muscle.  Oh yeah, and finishing PT and neither of us hurting ourselves again.  Yeah, that's all...

Read More

A Gear In The Complex Machine, Pt. II

The anticipation was palpable as dawn crept over Waredaca's rolling course.  A light mist and a breeze made it perfect galloping weather.  All our organizing was done the night before so we only had to man our stations (with the barrrrely enough volunteers who showed up) with scoresheets and timers and pens and cameras and radios and drinks and to stalk each rider through their phases.


 


I took up my traditional role as the finish timer of Phase D.  I love seeing the big grins as each partnership gallop through the finish flags, having finished the greatest accomplishment in our sport:  endurance day of a true long format event.

Tools of the trade.

Bonus:  the borrowed vehicle I sat in had heated seats.  At least, it did until the battery died.

It also came with a friend.  3 minutes can be long...

From my vantage point, I could watch riders trot off on Phase A (warmup), finish Phase C (cooldown), enter and work the 10-minute box, and then, of course, the last two jumps of the cross country course.  It was up to me to hit the red button, recording everyone's timing fate on the Seiko ribbon and reporting it to Brian.  50 times.  At (mostly) 3 minute intervals. 

It went something like this (warning, terrible cell phone video resolution):





The latter was one of my favourite horses, Mr. President. a big drafty paint cross who was actually a lovely mover and jumper and had the sweetest face; I wanted to pick him up and put him in my (very large) pocket and take him home.

But it wasn't all the same thing.  Some had more trouble than others with the concept of flags (apologies again for poor video but the conversation is worth it)...



By afternoon, it was done.  I believe one horse withdrew in the vet box and the only fall was an unfortunate soul whose mount tripped and fell on his knees starting Phase A.  Trotting.  Fortunately, you don't get eliminated for that.

After that, it's a like snowball rolling downhill, already having gathered so much momentum,  your exhausted brain just rolls along with it.  Scoresheets were all turned over the the head scorer, we all ran away and passed out after a final review of which prizes go where, and the sun had set on a fantastic day.

Saturday was almost anticlimactic after the thrill of completing the day before.  After the morning jog up,  I worked as pole steward when tired or looky horses didn't quite get all four feet over and as holder of all prizes for distribution.  The three divisions (2 Training, 1 Novice) jumped around, collected their loot, and we bolted for home.

I'll keep going back.  Maybe next year I will be on a horse.  More likely, I'll be defying death by golf cart again.  A behind the scenes video would be fascinating -- you truly would not believe the flurry and hard work and acts of generousity beyond the call of duty that are constantly occuring behind that usually smooth face of each event.

Even greater though, is the knowledge and experience I gain with each trip.  Not only do I meet new judges, officials, clincians, product reps, and adult riders, but I learn tidbits from the seemingly bottomless well of how to successfully complete a long format event.  Things you never get from a clinic or a lesson.  When I finally DO make it to competitor status, I will be the one sitting there feeling (relatively) confident about exactly what is going to happen every day, as well as how to be not only successful but EFFICIENT with my competition plan.  Because I've seen what worked and I've seen what didn't and I've seen the difference between how you ride and manage a true 3-day horse and how you ride a regular horse trial horse.

And all I remember thinking, the whole time this year, was, Encore could totally own this...

Read More

The Horseman's Decision

Dr. Bob warned me on Tuesday that Encore would be sore for a while following a rather large chiropractic adjustment and recommended that I keep him on bute for the rest of the week.  I asked if he would be ok to do the horse trial and he didn't say no.  But I saw a look that I knew and I wondered.  Looking back, I think he made a gamble and because he knows me, hoped it would work.

I schooled Encore lightly on Thursday, some walk/trot lateral and stretching work and a few crossrails.  He felt great.

We trailered to the Horse Park on Friday and settled in for the night.  I wanted to hack him that evening, but ran out of time and daylight and we had to settle for a walk.

Carolina dawn.

 The Moment of Weakness

Dressage warmup was ugly.  Encore was unfocused.  I regretted not making the time to at least longe him the day before.  He had no bend, ignored my leg except to leap forward from every application.  He was stiff, cranky, and anticipatory.  40 minutes of work brought some improvement and I thought we might squeak through.

We didn't.  He turned like a motorcycle, ignored every aide, had no bend in either direction, stiffened and braced whether I was soft or not, and generally brought me near to tears by the end.  Which is almost impossible.  I made a promise on this blog that I would be open about the whole process, that I would not create some kind of false Facebook life where only the good is shared.  So yes, there is a video.  A sad, sad video.  Erm, at least I am getting better at sitting up straight?  And yes, yes he is violently allergic to the rail and wanders drunkenly down the long side like a lost cow. 



I slumped in despair when we left the arena.  Arriving back at our stall, where we were next door to our friend Sue and her magical, wonderful homebred, Rocky The Amazing Horse, I finally said it out loud:  "This just makes me want to give up.  I want to pack up my trailer right now and go home."

The Rally

I didn't.  I took a deep, shaky breath and took a long look at my horse.  I gave him a snack and a drink and thought hard.  He is a worker bee, he does not generally just behave like an asshole because he can.  Gearing up for stadium jumping (it was a one day HT), I decided to feel every step and carefully evaluate what was going on beneath me.

He jumped five or six warmup fences well, moving up when I asked and mostly maintaining a rhythm.  But he leaned hard on the left rein and his left lead canter was a bit flat.  We started our course and after jump 1 when he hit the ground running, the pieces began to form a clearer picture.

He ran at the jumps and about halfway through, started pulling rails behind.  There were only 9 fences so it ended quickly and as we walked out, the answer was clear:  his left hip was still sore, despite the bute and he needed more time.  Apparently a few jumps was ok.  15 was too many.

The Big Decision 

We began our walk over to XC, my first thought being, "Well, we might as well finish."  Then I paused.  Why?  There was nothing to gain -- the course was EXACTLY the same as the once we jumped at 5 Points, there were no new challenges.  I hadn't checked our dressage score, but I've gotten fairly accurate in my assessments and it certainly was not competitive and we'd just pulled at least 3 rails.  I knew my horse was sore and there was nothing to be gained by running him up and down hills for 4 minutes, knowing he would jump flat, chip in, and generally try his best while being physically compromised.  That would just be stupid.

So I walked over to the steward (who was very kind and sympathetic, thank you), calmly informed her we were withdrawing because my horse was sore, and returned the barn to pack up.

The legendary CHP steeplechase infield would not see this Thoroughbred's hoofprints today.

Disheartening?  Absolutely.  A hard choice?  Not really, because I strive to always put my horse first.  Frustrating?  Well, considering my day would have been better spent drinking and setting $300 on fire, yes, I'd say so.  Six hours of driving and we had neither learned nor developed a thing.

The Aftermath

I knew someday it was a choice I would have to make -- looking out for my horse in the long term vs. the short term gratification of completing an event.  It was a choice I will never forgive myself for not making for Solo and it cost us both a great deal.  It was the indisputably right choice to make for Encore yesterday.  I was also encouraged that people in stabling near us that I didn't even know expressed their support and good wishes for our choice and our future when we made it back.

I don't think there is any real damage done; I will talk to Dr. Bob on Monday and assess.  The only real stressor is that we have four weeks and I'm already $400 in to the VA Horse Trials in November.  A part of me wants to just give up, scratch, move the surgery up and be done with it.  This fall season was supposed to be fun, the last good thing I had to look forward to for a long time.  Since 5 Points, it has not been fun.

Because I think it all traces back to that point (ha, see what I did there):  Encore was going very well and had an excellent dressage test.  But he had two big slips on XC on the hard ground and even then, I felt something that I couldn't identify and he jumped poorly on Sunday.  Now I am just upset with myself for not figuring out the problem sooner -- a tweaked up back that just needed a reset and some time, which I attempted to do too close to a competition because I was too slow.

But I am stubborn.  Perhaps stupidly so.  But I'm not giving up just yet; I never thought for a second any of this would be easy.

As of this past Wednesday, he is tapped for studs and wore them on Saturday, so we shall have no more slipping.  Hopefully, all he needs is a bit more time for his hip to settle and rest and he will be back to good.  Did you hear that, big, young, thing?  Get good, I need you!

Oh, we'll be back.  The dream will not die that easily.

Read More

Encore Goes Training!

Only without extended trot.

I can see your face now:  o.o

That's what mine looked like on Saturday too.  To be fair, one never does know what you'll get with a schooling horse trial, but I have been to a number of excellent ones in our area and never gave it a second thought.  This particular trial had its inaugural run this spring; the farm owner is lovely, gracious, generous woman, who allows us to school on her her amazing XC facilities and enjoy her gorgeous farm.  There were some hiccups (and 30 mph wind!) in what was Encore's first BN HT, not unanticipated given that this was their first go at putting it on.  I sent some email feedback on points that I LOVED and points that I thought could be improved to make for a smoother experience.  So I decided to give it another chance.

Sigh.

Our dressage test was once again a llama parade on downhill grass (Encore has not quite mastered the balanced AND round AND go down a hill thing yet).  Even though our score was slightly better than the one we received at Five Points, I was very unhappy with the test and my horse was tense and unhappy in the "arena."

The rather humbling downside of going to a schooling event in Southern Pines is that half or more of your division is probably made up of people who have, at one time or another, ridden around Rolex, or train 8 horses a day.  The horse before you and the horse after you will very likely perform a soft and lovely dressage exhibition that doesn't even have a whiff of llama hovering in the smallest corner.  You are certainly left with no false impressions as to how you stack up in the wide eventing world!!!!

Ride times were again so close together that you'd have to be a marathon runner to walk your courses and get back in time for your jump times, because locales were far apart.  Fortunately, I keep my bike in the back of my truck during eventing season; it helped some, but I was exhausted already when I finished the course walk and got on to jump.

The stadium warmup was.....uncontrolled chaos in a very small space.  Encore cantered around very nicely and jumped well, but at once point, we slid to a halt as the path in front of us was completely blocked by two horses leaping and spinning and we had no where to go.  My horse watched with much curiosity, like what is up with that???

The course itself had walked okay, but was taking down riders left and right with refusals and missed lines, many at the first fence.  I closed my leg to it and told Encore it was over or through and he did it all!  The lines were very twisty and difficult, especially for a green horse and we pulled the last rail, a big oxer off of a bending lines of 4 or 5 strides.  But I was proud of him for being in the half of the division that survived it and making 9 out of 10 challenging fences clean jumping efforts! 



Side note:  Even though we've been at this for a year now, because of my job and travel, much of Encore's training is still rough around the edges, so he still remains quite green about some things in comparison to a horse who is ridden and in training every day.  Finesse will come with time, but one of the hardest parts of being a working adult amateur is FINDING (usually MAKING) that time.  I almost feel as if I am letting him down a bit because he has enormous ability and I should be presenting it better -- I know that he doesn't know that, but I do.  And since I won't be able to ride after November for quite some time, we are out there, rough edges and all, while I still can.

Cross country  was definitely a tough course if you didn't have an honest, bold, and steerable horse.  Lucky me!  There was even a mini Stockholm slide (watch for fence 11, a small log with a drop slide behind it) that Encore was sure had no ground on the other side.  Fortunately, stumbling/walking over a  jump still counts as "jumping."  It was very different from any course I have ridden with several new challenges, so I really enjoyed it -- I could tell Encore was getting a bit tired, we did this whole event in 3 hours (0.0) but he jumped well to the end....and then fell asleep in his water bucket.  You can watch the helmet cam, but I advise you to tilt your left ear about 45 degrees to your left shoulder -- we had so little time to get ready for jumping, I just slapped it on the helmet, so the horizon is, well, unconventional.



Because of the complexity of questions asked and the rideability the jump courses demanded, I did leave feeling as if we had just completed a Training Level HT with slightly smaller jumps.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  On one hand, yes, I am proud of Encore for finishing it!  On the other though, this fall was meant to be confidence-building mileage -- and I'm not sure bombing around sharp turns in showjumping is quite that.  I also don't really enjoy having to dash around the entire time like a headless chicken.   Efficient is great, but give me a chance to sit and eat my WHOLE granola bar at least and for my horse to get a snack and a drink, since we don't ALL travel with staff.

Again, the farm and owner are wonderful and it is a big, generous thing to open your land and private property so other riders can use the facilities you have built and I am always grateful for that.  I am a bit sad that it appears my feedback fell on deaf ears, but I am not an organizer (HUGE job) so there may be limitations of which I am not aware.

We all also have choices of where we go to compete and this has taught me that not all are the same and not every event will have the same expectations of your horse, even though you are the same level.  There were definitely lessons learned both positive and negative, so now we move forward to our next event, back at CHP, where I DO know what to expect and what is expected of me. 

Read More