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| This happened |
FRIDAY - Horse Expo
On Friday, my mom and I decided to have a fun mother-daughter horse trip up to the Western States Horse Expo (my mom is also the only person I know who would both be interested in the expo and have Friday off to go up there! No one else is funemployed like me I guess). I totally recommend it even just for the shopping. We saw a couple of demos, including the Tennessee Walker demo (since my dad has a TWH) and the cowboy dressage demo (NOT western dressage so I could only watch for maybe 10 minutes).
Mostly just shopping though. I got a really good deal on a pair of Goode Rider breeches. I've never had breeches this nice, but I'm actually thinking that I prefer the Pipers. The Goode Riders seem to be a bit tight around my knees and lower thighs while being a little looser in my hips (I did get a 28R rather than a 26L though because the 26s were super super tight). I don't think I have unreasonably large knees? They were cheap though, they look amazing, and they are super lightweight so I like them enough. Just not enough to wear them for a full day ever again! The backs of my knees hurt a bit.
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SATURDAY- Getting to the Show
The show was at Woodside, which is essentially the premier show facility in the bay area. I used to work there and only this last year haven't been a trainer there. This place is HUGE, it's over 200 acres (about half of that is pasture and the rest is the facility). It's on rolling hills, has about eight large arenas and a full size cross country course. It's best known as an eventing facility but they also have reining shows, dressage shows, hunter/jumper shows, and apparently baby schooling shows.
When I first got to TC's ranch at 6:40, five baby horses (like real babies- weanlings and yearlings) were loose! So I had to round them up by myself until Ali came to help me. Definitely an interesting start to the morning.
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| His butt isn't that pointy, the light makes it look like that though! |
We arrived and left the horses in the trailer (I love that TC is okay with this, unlike a certain bay horse I know) while we checked in. Unfortunately they didn't have a longeing arena, only a little pad of driveway on a hill with some footing dumped on it. Great.
After a walk around the place, which let me know that TC was going to be really stupid about hills because sometimes horses were trotting/cantering in rings that were ABOVE him and this is terrifying, I longed for about 5 minutes without the chambon and maybe 2-3 minutes with. Not long enough.
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SATURDAY- The Warm Up
TC handled himself okay when I got on, but got progressively worse as we walked to the show ring. He really couldn't stand the walkway between two arenas. Now, I worked there for 3-4 years and every single horse I rode that wasn't a seasoned show horse would have a heart attack down this damn aisle. Even some of the higher level show horses would walk down the aisle like they were walking down a corridor in a haunted house.
There's an arena on your right, which happened to be the show ring, but is primarily used for polo so the arena walls have slats. So TC saw that and kept spooking when horses went by.
THEN on the other side of the walkway is a large berm with an arena on the other side, just enough to see horses' ears and riders' helmets bobbing by. So TC saw that and freaked out too.
Luckily the warm up was small and attached to the show ring so phew, no riding between warm up and show ring. I just stuck him on a circle and figure-8s at the trot while he screamed and spun around and threatened to rear whenever he walked (yes we had a new fun trick today, but I fixed it damn good, he doesn't do that anymore). Eventually I got him to a point where my half halts were making it through all the tension he was bringing to the table and I forced myself to stay engaged and keep him with me.
He finally FINALLY relaxed a bit where I decided that the show wasn't the worst idea I've ever had.
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SATURDAY- The Test
We headed around the ring and he spooked at every stupid letter (which had bushes near them), then snorted at the judges. Luckily for him, the judges had COOKIES. Judges should always have cookies. He stood there and stared at them and ate their cookies. I felt bad because he can be such an intimidating horse when he's being kind of a jerk and he was ALL about their fucking cookies so he kept trying to climb in the booth.
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| Give me cookies |
They were so sweet (judge and scribe), the whole time I was riding around, they told him what a good boy he was.
The test was decent. He was much straighter than last time, much easier to maneuver, we didn't go off course, we didn't come off the bit, and we got a 66.5% for sixth place (the judging was a touch kind I think- I think we deserved a 61-63). He got a 7.5 for gaits and a 7 for impulsion, I got a 7.5 for rider position and a 7 for rider effectiveness. It was fun to get such high rider scores on a baby horse, even if I think that my effectiveness score should have been lower.
It wasn't all amazing though, he was really tricky in the transitions (one step of canter into trot, slamming on the breaks into walk), refusing to bend at all, careening through corners, I lost control in one circle as he flew sideways, and he was so short in the neck that I was nearly getting poked in the eyes by his ears.
Sooo we have a long way to go, but I was proud of him!
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SATURDAY- Cross Country Schooling
THEN, damn this post is getting long, power through, guys, power through because...
I JUMPED OUT ON CROSS COUNTRY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS!!!
After standing around for an hour (Ali's ride was four hours after mine, ughhh), I decided to pop back on him to head out on cross country. My main goal was to get him into the water complex, which was pretty close to where we parked. Ali led her horse out to babysit us but let us lead.
TC walked right up to the water after sniffing some of the jumps. He snorted and snorted at the water, skittered around it once, then went in.
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| Must sniff this first for some reason |
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| Then must sniff water a lot |
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| Okay water seems alright |
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| This is okay... |
And refused to come out.
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| YAS WATER IS SO FUN MAYBE I WILL ROLL |
He stood and pawed in it, he trotted around in it, but he would NOT get out. I had to KICK him out of the water and he immediately spun around and went back in to play.
I've never had a horse take to water this quickly before. He's walked through puddles but he's never seen a water complex.
By the end of our time out there, he was trotting in and (reluctantly) out of the water! No leaping no stopping no skittering sideways, just dragging me into the water and then slamming on the brakes to paw.
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| NOW he stretches into contact, take it in everyone, it happens so rarely outside of home |
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| All dressage tests will now be ridden in large puddles |
When I finally got him away from the water, I let him walk over the world's smallest cross country fence, which was a tiny tiny log. He actually hopped it, then cantered off all excited about it. I let him trot around and jump it from the trot, which he did happily, looking for the next one (um, sorry baby, we're surrounded by Prelim + fences).
I found another log, one that was too big to walk over (probably 12-18" and about that wide with poles on each side) and let him sniff it. Then we came around and trotted it! He was STOKED about this. Not in a crazy gallopy way, but like he had found his calling (damnit). Don't judge me for not having my vest, it's not on my list of things to grab when going to a dressage show!
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| *crop was not me, my picture-taker cut me out accidentally* I know he's laying right and is loose below the knee on that left front but there's potential there! For a horse who has only jumped three times, he looks pretty good. |
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| Downhill was too hard to jump over, must trot over instead |
I trotted it again and he came in all professional, ears pricked, forward but not running (like, I could keep my leg on but didn't have to drive him) and quietly hopped over it and cantered away.
We did it a couple of times and then wandered around the course a bit. He never spooked, he never whinnied, he never got fast or nervous. He just quietly explored, sniffing huge fences (even the spooky ones that my past event horses were scared of) and weaving around the tracks.
This horse guys, this horse may be my return to eventing one day.
But first maybe not so much tension in the sand box :)
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| Yep, even cantering out there! Crazy |
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SUNDAY- Hasn't Happened Yet
Yah it hasn't but I'm already beat just thinking about it. I have a student doing her first third level tests (3-1 and 3-2) on a horse she trained herself from roughly Intro level (weekly lessons with me and me only hopping on when necessary- I can count on one hand the number of times I've had to sit on her this year). Just a year ago this horse was doing Training level and we were considering a move up to First (which she did in August 2014). This kid is incredible, this horse is incredible. And I'm so looking forward to TC getting up there one day, but it will for sure take longer than a year!
