A Year of Lessons

As of March 3rd (tomorrow), I've taken lessons with Tracey for a year!

I can't believe how much Rico and I have changed in the last year. Biting the bullet and taking regular (expensive) lessons with a big name trainer was a really hard decision. I had to put away my ego and brace myself for a constantly depleting bank account but I'm so glad that I did.

At the end of 2012, Rico and I showed for the first time since 2009. We did fourth level test one and scored a 62% and some change. It was about the same quality test that it had been in 2009 and I was closer to Prix St George only in that my horse was finally sound after three years of battling injury after injury.

Riding with too high hands and too high a headset on a
frustrated yet unacceptably patient horse

First show back in 3 years

Not terrible but not an FEI horse

Winter of 2012 was rough. Rico and I started having issues again brought on by my inability to ride a horse this powerful, problems I had always had with him. I started looking for a trainer and at the end of February, I watched a clinic Tracey was teaching and was impressed. Her attention to detail is incredible, she sees everything, even things I can't begin to feel. She is firm about the basics coming first and wasn't afraid to bring riders in the clinic back to the walk to address a concern.

March 3rd in 2013 was my first clinic with her. I came into the clinic without any expectations. She asked me what I was working on and I blurted out that I wanted to do Prix St George on this damn horse. I wanted him to do the pirouettes, I wanted the zig zag to be better, I wanted to have him do his tempis without getting so crooked.

Getting scolded a bit. 

My first lesson was all walk-trot transitions with a little canter at the end. And that's when I knew she was the perfect trainer for me.

Lots of walking!

Oooo some trotting

I get really ambitious. Too ambitious. The sky isn't the limit for Rico and I, there is no limit. I wanted him to go Prix St George so badly that I was focusing exclusively on those movements figuring that if I practiced them enough, we'd be able to do it. Tracey knocked me down to reality and helped me retrain my horse.

A month (or so) after our first lesson

After three months of the basics, in June of 2013 I moved Rico up to 4th test 2. We earned a 65% and I was in absolute shock.

Half pass right

Preparing for our first pirouette

A few weeks later we did another 4-2 and despite a bad warm up and a high horse, we earned a 63%.

Move over, Rico!

Trying to hold it all together

After a pelvis injury at the end of July, Rico and I were back on track for Prix St George. I picked the show carefully, we were going to do the September Yarra Yarra show. The same facility I did my very first show ever on Rico. The same facility I did my first Prix St George on Leo and my first Grand Prix. I have a lot of really great memories there and I know that the footing is perfect and that Rico performs well there.

Young Rico and teenage Megan trying to stay in control at
Rico's first ever dressage show!

We earned a 65%! I couldn't believe how well it went. We struggled a tad in the pirouettes, and had a misstep in the 3-tempis, but other than that, perfection. (I have pictures but not on this blog for some reason... I might go find them and post them but they're not that impressive).

I decided to do another Prix St George at Greenville in October. We had a miscount in the 3s and 4s (one my fault and one his) but we walked away with a 66%!

Charging up centerline in my fancy new shadbelly

Right pirouette coming along alright

Finally, I decided to end the year at Starr Vaughn Equestrian in November. I should have scratched. I was very very sick and couldn't ride very much the week coming up to the show. We arrived and my horse was a psycho. I barely made it through the test and ended up being sick the entire next week. But we got a 61% for 3rd out of 7!

This horse is sassy.

So sassy

At the last minute, I was welcomed into an Alfredo Hernandez clinic at the end of November. I had my sights on Grand Prix. I'm missing my two Grand Prix scores for my USDF Gold Medal and to get them on Rico would mean the world to me. Alfredo thought my goal of Grand Prix was very do-able, that Rico was a great horse, and that I had done a great job with him. Yay! He now has piaffe and passage and we're looking forward to another clinic with Alfredo!

Alfredo liked Rico's trick!

Learning the passage

This winter I moved Rico to Woodmyst, we had a minor issue with a splint and a less-than-minor back injury on my part but we're both doing better now. Grand Prix may not happen this year, but maybe next year.

Woodmyst allows for ample silliness at night

But the fact that it's even in the future at all is all because of my awesome trainer! And a really really amazing horse :)

He's the best! Such a hard worker.

In other news, Rico gets his hocks done (along with a lameness check up) on Wednesday! Then we're back to lessons next week in preparation for Greenville at the end of March. Hopefully all of our hard work over the winter will pay off with a clean Prix St George and a good score.