Memberships and Test Riding

This last week, TC and I hit a big milestone. I've wanted to be able to do a rated show on him for years now. I thought we might be able to do one the fall when he was four years old, but I got my previous job and moved him to a place where I had no trainer, no trailer, and eventually no confidence. Then he got hurt.

The next year (last year) I had wanted to show him but he was still so much horse for me and was a dingbat in new places. I was also recovering financially from vet bills and being unemployed, so it seemed silly to show him when I a) needed to buy all his member$hip$ and b) didn't think we'd score well anyway.

Then this spring he and I worked on our relationship and took the pressure off of rated shows. Coming into the summer though, I was itching to get out of the schooling show ring and put some real scores on this sucker.

He's getting so light in front, I mean this was back in May but
still!

I chose two shows at the end of July that are held at my trainer's barn. The major pros of doing these shows are that we have been to this facility twice now with no theatrics, it's not a million degrees there for a July show, the shows tend to be small and quiet, and the judges weren't too terrifying (though they aren't the world's most generous judges either). The only con is that there is no place to longe, which isn't a problem for us because I just do ground work before getting on. Oh and I struggle with hauling in there because it's a bit cramped for turning around, but luckily it's been long enough since I've shown where my mom wants to come watch!

I'm just going to do Training 2 and 3 at each show. I want to make an attempt at All Breeds, and you have to get eight scores from four different judges at four different shows, including two at the highest test of the level. So by the end of these two shows, we'll be halfway there. I just felt like First level was too much of a push because he's still learning about counter canter and I have a less rideable canter in tests. I'd rather not rush to get shit scores on him when we can totally do training level easily.

Free walk can look like this all day long

So what better way to celebrate buying his memberships and planning for a show than to test ride (and probably call the vet because any time I try to make plans for the future something explodes). And on Tuesday night we did just that.

I warmed up pretty briefly. I had wanted to ride both tests back to back, then work on some lengthenings. The day before we had done a ton of collected canter work, so trot lengthenings sounded like a good way of making progress without making him sore or sour to the collected work.

The tests are getting easier and easier to ride. I mean they're easy tests. But his rideability is so much better now. I don't feel like I'm having to do any sort of oh god hold it together let's just get through this type of riding. Except in the left lead canter sometimes... But we're getting there.

Remove boots, braid pony, put on show clothes, and just do this

Training 2 was foot perfect except the right lead canter transition. The geometry was easy, the transitions were prompt and through, the centerlines were straight, and he even halted square both times. But damn that one transition. He's still a little weak in his canter transitions in general, and this is definitely a tricky thing to fix. He stays most through and is most prompt/unlikely to make a mistake when he's a little amped in trot, but if I ride him that amped in trot, he's like riding a powder keg and I feel like he's going to explode at any minute.

Doing that in a show is a bad idea.

So what I need to do is a) more canter transitions at home to prep, b) more canter transitions in warm up, and c) amp his trot up right before asking. I did none of those things for this test, so he hesitated, so I tapped him, so he took off in a giant trot, so we had to come around again. Once in canter though, it rode super well, so just need to work on solidifying those transitions.

Good pony

Training 3 rode super well too. Except that he was probably on the edge of powder keg mode. I know it's good to ride him when he's like that, he's more likely to be like that at shows, and he's not being bad, he's just SUPER ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT WORKING. And a lot of my riding needs to be redirected at keeping him quiet. But even then he gets really enthused about listening to me about THAT so then he slows down too much. I'm slowly becoming more seamless about how I'm handling this- add energy to my seat when he gets behind me, take energy away from my seat when he gets amped. With time he'll settle, I'm sure.

But even with having to manage him, the test was again super easy. The only thing I noticed that could use work is that I played with not changing my posting diagonal for the loops and that was a bad idea. It's probably me but switching diagonals as I pass quarter line really helps me with the geometry and bend. As such, the bend in the middle of each loop wasn't great. I feel like he never really shifted weight to the new outside rein/old inside rein so was then tighter on the new inside shoulder.

The canter work went well except he went to break as we passed C in the first canter where he needed to go across the diagonal. As such, we lost tone in the canter and he got flat and quick. Definitely need to practice that and ride it more firmly. The downward was shockingly okay though, actually all of his canter trot transitions were really good all day- schooling simple changes has really helped him figure out how to actively slow down.

Generally I was REALLY happy with where both tests are. The major goals for our first rated shows are as follows, and I think we'll be okay:

- earn above a 65% on either test (this is for the FSA bronze elite status that he can get)
- keep our median Training level score above 60%

And of course, have fun, be sound, and stay in the court so that all four tests count. Other than those two things (and really, I just need the 65% at some point, not at this show), I have no expectations!

Literally could we just have a repeat of this schooling show at
the rated shows?

On the to do list was to get memberships (check, I gave all my money and one limb to USDF/USEF to get him lifetime memberships and to renew mine), to get his ownership transferred to me in the FSA (ready to mail), to pull his mane (ugh), to practice braiding his forelock (he is going to be so obnoxious), and to get another lesson at trainer's barn. Then it's show time!