Unexpected Outcomes

Well the big move up to Intermediate didn't quite go as planned.  I felt prepared and ready for the big day and we started off amazingly well with a 34 in dressage to sit in 3rd place...I was so pumped!!  He was very steady and rideable in the test and I really feel like our warmup method is rock solid.  It was great to show off his skills at this level and score so well. 

Then we were on to Show Jumping...here's where it all fell apart...literally.  He was a little bit rank to start the course, but I wasn't too upset with jumps 1-4.  Jump 5 was a triple bar 2 strides to a vertical, 5 strides to an oxer.  Well it was a bit of a mess and I got to the oxer in 4 1/2, but we made it through.  I overadjusted then and got him a bit backward for a rollback to a skinny and then a bending line to the triple combo.  We hit the triple on stride, so I thought, then all of a sudden I was counting 1 and a half.  He popped over the maximum oxer middle element and popped me right out of the saddle.  So a big fat E and we never made it to XC.  Obviously I was really disappointed to not finish and knew I had some work to do.  I just didn't like the feeling that I wasn't ready and I wasn't good enough.  And I struggled a lot with my confidence in the weeks after the event.  I was doubting EVERYTHING.  I decided to move back down to Prelim for Seneca in June and then see where we were.  The week of Seneca was extremely busy for work and in hindsight I shouldn't have competed this weekend.   I was in Boston for half the week and then Philly for a customer event so it was very hectic.  Plus my ride time was super early and we had to get up at 3am...not a recipe for success.  I rode terrible in dressage and was very disappointed in my test and somehow got a 33.  Show jumping was the reason I was there and I desperately wanted a smooth round.  Luckily, I think, they had the same exact triple combo set in the course, vertical 1 stride big oxer 2 strides vertical.  I walked the course several times and of course was nervous.  During warmup he was extremely testy and nappy and I was worried.  I didn't warm up enough and should've taken more time to make sure he was adjustable and listening, but chalk that up to my bad attitude.  He bolted a bit when I first got in the ring, but I wisely halted him and took my time after they blew the whistle.  I need to try and apply some of my dressage knowledge to SJ...45 seconds is a long time and I need to take advantage of that and try and settle him in before we start.  Anyway, I was really, really happy with the way the course rode.  He wasn't listening well in the turn from 1 to 2 and then I made a move at a long spot and he sort of shuffled into it but that was our only bobble.  Everything else rode exactly as I walked.  And the triple was simple...he skipped right through it.  Everything was set for a 6' takeoff and landing and I really paid attention to the striding and knew if I jumped a little shallow I had to let him roll down, but he's very easy to lengthen so if it seems long most people may need to ride and I need to just settle and if it's at all short I need to WHOA.  I made a really dumb mistake on XC and had a runout at a table...I got there on a really long stride and tried to take it at an angle to better setup for the 110° turn I had to make and I never put my left leg on.  He was right to runout...again disappointing because all of the combos rode great and it felt easy and smooth the rest of the course.  I just had a little mental blackout. 

So Seneca was a bit of a confidence boost, but I really need to figure out how to manage the mental side of the sport.  I'm still shaky and balancing riding at this level with my career has proven to be a lot harder this past year.  The plan is to move back up at MD II in July.  I'm comfortable there and I think it's the next logical place to give it a go.  I've been really focusing on training in jumping and am going to try and tackle a jumper show this week....we'll see how that goes.  I think it will help to just be able to do multiple rounds and smooth it out for confidence.  I'm going to look for more throughout the summer, but it's proving to be difficult to find them at the height I need.  My expectations have been reset now and I'm just looking one show at a time.  I really want to succeed and figure all of this out...I am trying to keep dreaming and believing....my support system is really trying to help me, but I think this is for me to figure out on my own. 

Intermediate here we come...

So it's t minus 3 days until the big move up to Intermediate....I still have trouble seeing the word in print (although I've looked at the entry status a million times this week and still love seeing I next to Hobby's name)!! 
This has been an interesting week so far, I'm a bit of a nutcase, but Seth seems to have expected it.  I'll say that it's been an emotional rollercoaster and we're only half way through the week!  At times I'm surprisingly calm, but I just don't think my body can handle the nervousness all the time...it would be emotional overload!

I started off the week with a fantastic jump school with Martha Redman....we jumped BIG!  I was slightly disappointed because I continued to have trouble finding my rhythm down the diagonal to a big oxer.  I kept softening six strides out and then tried to gun it and ended up with a flat jump.  We were also in an indoor so I think that was backing us both off a little.  I just need to keep the rhythm and ride his canter forward and up all the way to the jump and then we were golden.  And of course the biggest thing is for me to keep my eye up or else Hobby jumps me out of the tack :).  Then on Sunday it was a dressage lesson with David Smith.  He dissected the new movements for me and Hobbs was a rock star.  My biggest aha moment was when David was explaining that the medium trot and canter are collected movements and it's very different from the lengthenings.  His analogy was to think of asking for a rein back with each stride of the mediums.  The rein back happens when all of the forward energy bounces off the bit and transfers his weight to his haunches.  During the mediums I should always be thinking of transferring the weight to the haunches...and he can't get any faster. 

So after these lessons I thought I would feel prepared and ready to go.  But Monday came and so did my feelings of doubt.  I just kept thinking what happens if I screw up?  I don't want to scare him or myself.  I called Courtney to congratulate her on her fantastic weekend at Jersey and she tried to talk me off the ledge, but I wasn't quite there.  Then of course last night I have a pretty terrible ride on him...I just felt tentative and uncomfortable.  Tentative is NOT AN OPTION this weekend!  The fact is I have a great jumper, he's done it before, he loves it, I love it and I've done everything I can to prepare.  Now I just have to believe and have a little faith in us.  It's off to a lesson today with Danny and then I just have to put my game face on and be confident.  I know myself well enough to know that I'm just going through these phases this week...Saturday will come and sure I'll be nervous but we will rise to the challenge!!

Welcome Jango

Seth finally got a little tired of just being my groom and we decided to try and start looking for a new partner for him.  I put the bug in Courtney's ear in Aiken and when we got home we tried a few at her place and Seth really got motivated.  He realized just how much fun jumping is and we really started to ramp up the search and get serious.  About a month ago Seth tried Mr. Bojangles aka "Jango" and it seemed to be a perfect match.  He was really kind and sweet and went very nicely for Seth.  His competition record was somewhat spotty for the past year with several stops at Training and Preliminary, so we were apprehensive.  We decided to take him XC schooling at Fairhill and see what we had to work with.  Well...he was a perfect angel...Seth was schooling most of the Training elements and they looked great!  We signed an agreement with a contingency that Seth would show him at the Fairhill Schooling Show the first weekend in May and have a successful event.  We had Jango and our place for a week before the show and he was such a pleasure to be around that we were definitely rooting for everything to work.  Well Seth laid down a 26.9 in dressage and ran clear in stadium and XC, so needless to say it was a SUCCESSFUL EVENT!!!  It was great to be there with Seth and see him be rewarded with such a great partner.  Seth has been my rock for the past few years and keeps my horses going without complaining that he doesn't get to ride in shows.  I'm so glad we found Jango and am so excited to see what this pair will do this season!!!

 

Aiken!!!!

Well after the high of the Area II Championships last October I finished out my season at Waredaca.  I was pretty nervous about a table corner combo on the XC course and as it turns out I picked up a VERY disappointing 20 points at that combo.  The whole course just wasn't flowing...I was getting tossed around pretty bad and I really was not focusing on keep my upper body steady.  The combo was at the very end of the course and there was a long gallop up a hill...a big old table bending right 4 strides to a corner.  We jump in big and I end up in a heap, jerk myself up mainly with the right rein and Hobbs braces and we miss the line and have a run out.  It was disappointing because I just didn't focus, but live and learn.  Hobbs and I ended up being the Area II Adult Amateur Preliminary Champions for 2012 which was fantastic!  Despite a few hiccups, we had a great year in 2012 and got to ride at BROMONT!!!

I decided to keep training through the end of December before I gave him time off to try and take advantage of the weather.  Working with Martha Redman seemed to really be helping our show jumping and everything seemed to keep getting better.  With Danny gone I also spent some time training with Courtney Cooper....she's definitley not afraid to raise the heights beyond my comfort level...it's so much fun!!!  Hobbs was feeling a little off on his right front, so we gave him some time off in Jan.  Even when we started to come back toward the end of Jan, he still didn't feel right so we put pads on him to try and protect him against the hard ground.  We got his coffin joints injected and that paired with the pads seemed to do the trick.  After spending the winter focusing on all the details I felt ready to start the season.  We had a bad winter with lots of cold weather and hard ground so I was debating going to Aiken for a week or two to train with Courtney and open my season. 

Despite some other family hiccups, with Legend getting sick again and Legacy tearing open his chest repeatedly, we decided that I should make the trip to Aiken and Seth would fly to NC to meet me for the show.  I left early on a Saturday morning...the drive was rough for the first few hours, but Hobbs seemed to love his new trailer and so did I. 

I spent the week with Courtney in Aiken and then travelled to Southern Pines and met Seth for my first outing.  The week with Courtney was great, except for the nightmare hotel at Hampton Inn!!  The day I got down to Aiken the temperature was 77°!!!  As the week went on it got a bit colder, but considering it was snowing at home, I was in heaven!  I got to XC school at Paradise which was a great facility.  We were a little rusty, but Hobbs was soooo calm and really mature about it.  There were no flip outs or rodeo episodes so I was really happy.  I was a little worried because he definitely did not seem to be in the best shape.  As we were leaving the facility, one of the girls put my cell phone on the wheel well of the trailer and I drove 2 miles down the road before we realized it.  We spent the next 1 1/2 hours looking for my stupid phone and somehow we found it on the side of the road 1.5 miles away from the facility...somehow it still worked!!  It was great to be completely absorbed in the horses for an entire week...I got to watch Courtney jump school at Sally Cousins twice and watched her work with her Advanced horse a few times....it was awesome!! 

After my boot camp, it was back North to Southern Pines.  I got to the show on Thursday afternoon and picked up my groom from the airport :).  I wasn't sure how the show was going to go with it being the first outing, but I know I had done all my homework over the winter and Hobbs was feeling great.  We stuck with our same routine of a full warmup 2 hours before my test and then I get on 10 minutes before my ride time.  The weather was a bit chilly and luckily I had a 1pm ride time.  Hobbs was really focused during my first warmup and I felt good...it was uncanny how calm I felt...I didn't have any butterflies.  Hobbs seemed to be taking everything in stride and didn't seem anxious.  As we approached our ride time, Seth went over to check the timing to make sure everything was on time and I got on 15 minutes before my ride time.  As I got over to the warmup, Hobbs felt really steady.  They were running a bit early and instead of risking getting blown into the ring as soon as I got over there, I chose to go over early to make sure I could get a few circles around the ring because that seems to make him a bit tense. 
We got in the ring and he was a bit more up, but extremely manageable.  The first turn was a bit tense and in our test we went right into our mediums...because of where they are in the test, it wasn't our best but I was just happy I had a horse.  As the test went on I was shocked at how well he was behaving...I had my horse!  I finished the test and thought, WOW I'm really happy with that...it was steady and accurate....two words that are usually not used to describe our dressage.  I knew the judge was scoring pretty high, so I wasn't sure how I was going to score, but I was stoked.  Well I ended up with a 28.7 and was winning my class of 27 riders by over 4 points!!!  I could've gone home at this point and been happy...but I didn't :)

Seth and I walked the XC course and it was a solid course.  There were lots of questions including a sunken road and a bank island in the second water complex.  Ironically the first water complex was named the "Beaver Pond Question."  There was also a pretty severe angled bench combo at the end of the course that was quite challenging for Prelim.  The course had a good section through the woods and felt like a true XC course...the first water complex was a bit shadowy and of course it was in my mind about the water issues in the past.  I was excited and nervous...more nervous than I
would've liked.  On Saturday in XC warmup, again Hobbs was so mature and VERY well behaved.  I got him in the startbox again on my own and we were off!!  It was great to be on course again with this horse...he's incredible on XC.  He felt strong but not maniacal like times in the past.  Everything was riding very smooth and I had a good rhythm.  I wasn't too happy with my ride through the sunken road because I stared down into the drop but my boy was an angel through it.  There was absolutely no hesitation at the first water and I let out a huge sigh of relief.  Hobbs definitely felt tired and I didn't push.  Courtney made sure to tell me that I DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT MAKE TIME despite my first place position.  So I let Hobbs pick our speed and I cut out distance where I felt comfortable without making the questions too hard.  The second water rode perfectly and we finished clean and over the time by ~25 seconds...exactly where I wanted to be.  I was a little mad at myself on the very last jump, a big table, I lost focus and let him flatten out and we got that terrible long spot I love.  I'll give myself a break and chalk that up to endurance :).  All in all it was a fantastic first XC round.  Even with my time faults I had only dropped to 2nd!!

I had to show jump on Saturday afternoon and I knew I wasn't going to have much horse left since he wasn't in tip top shape.  During warmup he was hitting jumps pretty hard and stung himself pretty bad.  All I could think of was our outing at VA and how terrible that SJ round was.  I knew I had to have a strong upper body and help him get around this course....there were a few max oxers, but it wasn't too intimidating.  Seth was definitely nervous and desperately wanted me to be relaxed, but I was in my shut down zone where he affectionatley says it looks like my face is melting...I guess that's my focused face :).  We got in the ring and started our round...it was by far the smoothest round I've ever had.  We got to jump #3, a skinny off a turn, and he uncharacteristically had the rail with his hind.  We worked through the rest of the course until the very last oxer and I leaned at him just a tiny bit and he had the rail with his front.  It was disappointing, but definitely attributable to his stamina.  I believe the same ride in another month once he's been conditioned is a clean round every time.  I thought I had completly blown my placing any maybe would end up in 6th or so...still not too shabby.  Turns out there were quite a few rails across my division and still ended up in 3rd...if I would've only had one rail I would've won..so it was really tight!!  Winning certainly wasn't my goal, but it would've been really sweet after the hard work.  Winning the dressage phase was such an amazing feat on this horse though I certainly can't complain.  I was so thrilled with his composure in all three phases that the final result really isn't what I'll remember from the trip.  I finally hit my goal of breaking 30 in the dressage phase, I rode all of my combos on XC exactly as I walked them and I hit all of my spots and distances on the stadium course.  Let's hope this is just a preview for the rest of the season!! 

Championships!!

After Millbrook we spent a lot of time training and trying to get focused for the rest of the season.  It was tough after Bromont...nothing seemed that excited because there was so much anticipation leading up to it.  We had some really great lessons with David learning how important the half halt is.  He taught us that to properly half halt you contract your back muscles like you are trying to tip a chair forward and then squeeze with your upper thighs.  I got Legacy and Hobbs both responding to that and now Legacy actually walks instead of jigs!!  We had a great XC school with Danny working more on our gallop.  I need to set my hands to get him rounder and stretch and strengthen my chest before the jump.  That's all I need to rebalance him so he jumps better and lifts his shoulders.  I also spent some time with Martha Redman who taught me that I need to sit back into the saddle and ride quicker after the fences instead of going to my hand.  That helps the fussiness during stadium.

We went to MD HT in September and showed some improvement.  We had planned to get their early and do the double warmup, but the ring steward failed to mention they were 35 minutes behind, so  my 10 minute warmup ended up being 45 minutes.  He was calm and stood by the ring, but then during the test he got tense and we ended up not scoring very well.  I was pretty disappointed because we had done so well at Millbrook and I thought we had cracked the code.  Stadium was better and flowed more, so there was some improvement.  The warmup ring wasn't run very well and I ended up being rushed...no excuses!!  The XC course was straightforward, I overcorrected the gallop and the first 4 or 5 fences were just backward and I got really tight spots.  I got it together and the rest of the course had a really nice rhythm.

Then we were on to the Prelim Championships at Morven.  I had some bad rides leading up to the show and  Hobbs took a funny step and I thought he tweaked something and wouldn't be able to go, so I had a bad vibe about the weekend.  Seth being Mr. Positive ignored me and on we went.  We tried the double warmup  method again for dressage.  Warmup #1 was not so good...he was tense and fussy, so I had low expectations for dressage, but I had convinced myself I was there to have a perfect XC run so I could feel comfortable moving up.  Well warmup #2 was better and the test went much better than expected...a 33.0, putting us in 9th place out of 22 (way more competitive than last year's championships!).  The XC course was pretty tough...I thought #2 of the year behind Bromont.  He warmed up great...I couldn't turn to the right w/o him freaking out but he was jumping amazing ;).  For the first time I got him in the start box by myself....it was huge!!  It cost me a few seconds because I had to trot in and I didn't time it right, but I'll take it.  The course rode great and so smooth...I was really, really happy.  The weather wasn't great, but the rain somewhat held off so it wasn't sloppy at all.  All of the combos rode exactly how I walked it.  The only bobble was I let him trot off the huge drop and then I got a really long spot on the chevron out.  I need to be more confident riding forward into the combinations and not get sucked into riding backwards because of him getting strung out.  If I have him in the proper balance the striding will be there.  I got 5.2 time faults, 13 seconds over...but I know where I missed it.  I had a large turn from #3 to #4 and I just let him wander instead of riding him forward through the turn. I easily could've made the time and just slightly lost focus.  
Stadium was a little tough on the grass...the footing was a bit deep.  Again, he warmed up great.  Fence #1 and #2 were a little backward, but then I woke up and the rest of the course rode really well.  We got a little disconnected in the first triple combo...I lost my reins and had to just use my body to hold him together.  He got pretty flat but tried his heart out and got through it clean.  With the clean round, we moved up to 6th and finished as the top placing amateur!!  It was a great weekend and again I was so lucky to have the support of Seth, Mom, Dave and John...I'm a lucky gal ;)  

Moving on..

Well Hobby had some well-deserved time off after Bromont.  The plan was to try nd go to a recognized dressage show in Jersery on July 4th weekend, but the forecast was 108 at my ride time and I decided to scratch...Hobby would definitely hate dressage forever if I put him through that!  So I decided to take it easy until Millbrook. 

Unfortunately when we got back from Bromont, Legacy's leg was blown up again but no fever.  We put him on some bute and Seth showed him at the MCTA Starter Trial and had his best dressage ever, scoring at 29!!!  Still had some issues on XC, but it was a huge improvement!  After that a few abcesses popped out of his leg and he took him to New Bolton for a biopsy.  Of course, no results....then we had another relapse.  He seemed to trip in the pasture and hit his leg and the next morning he had a fever and was three legged lame...I just about lost it.  Although Dr. Blauner was not positive about it, it seems

that Legacy's leg is quite resilent, within a few days it was somewhat back to normal and he was back in work.  It's really frustrating and we tried to buy a compression stocking but it didn't work. We are trying some natural supplements to boost his immune system to see if we can't keep this under control.  Seth showed him again at Bucks in mid-August and he shut down again on XC.  Seth rode wonderfully and got him through it, but he banged his leg pretty good on the last jump.  I walked away and just thought, this horse doesn't want to do this.  Seth and I had a long talk and decided it was time to hang up Legacy's eventing career. 

In the meantime, Hobby and I went to Millbrook and had some ups and downs.  We warmed up early on our dressage day and then he had a 2 hour break and then I got on 15 minutes before my ride time.  I also put him on a Calm & Focus supplement and dabbed some lavender oil on him before my ride, who knows what worked, but we had an awesome dressage test and were sitting in 2nd on a 30.4!!  The XC course looked small but technical, so I was a little worried.  I didn't ride until late in the day, so I had all day to think.  We started on course and he felt great...was raring to go.  I was really happy that the coffin rode much better than Bromont.  Then we got to the table/corner 4 stride combo and I just missed...he was too flat and forward and we just glanced right off the corner.  We got through the rest of the course and didn't have much time which was an indication of our problem.  We're going too fast...and it's not b/c I want to go that fast, but b/c I don't check him back b/c he's so excited.  Stadium was kind of a mess, my head just wasn't there...I overcorrected on some lines and it was just a choppy round.  I got through it with one rail and some time faults.  I walked away feeling really confused...I was so happy about the dressage, but I felt like I couldn't follow through...I had some work to do....

So we came home and I did some work with Danny on how to change his balance on XC and make sure I was in the correct position.  I need to set my hands and slow down abit and not worry about time until I get the right feel.  Then I started to doubt...every jump workout I overanalyze and overcriticize myself.  As soon as something goes wrong I automatically think I'm terrible.  I started to feel like I should just give up...Seth was stunned.  Then I had an amazing lesson with David...he was so positive and told me to go for my dreams.  I had decided that I was going to try Legacy in dressage and keep going with Hobbs.  Which, yes, means we are looking for a new horse for Seth.  David just clarified everything for me...I need to realize that when I'm working on tiny little details and refining, I'm progressing.  Sometimes it feels like it's taking steps backwards, but that's what it's like to ride at the upper levels.  I need to not get so down on myself b/c I'm not working on flying changes.  I need to refine everything so that when it's time to do a flying change it's easy!   I'm going to spend the next few weeks working on basics...developing the topline and developing a half halt.  I need to stop riding with my hands and use my back and seat to talk to my horses.  I need to make that a focus and get that right.  I need to ride perfect and expect perfection.  It's tough during a work week to have those type of workouts, but I need to try.  I'm re-motivated and want to get to the top!!!

BROMONT!!!

Leading up to Bromont there were some doubtful moments as to whether I should go or not, Danny had some issues with injuries so he was debating the trip, I had been struggling a bit with his tenseness in dressage and didn't want to make a fool of myself and, as all of our horsepeople know, the dollar requirements were quite high. Seth and I decided that this was our vacation for the year and you never know what could happen in the future with qualifying, so I wasn't going to miss this for any of the reasons listed above. At one point, we just threw it all out the door and said, "Bromont HERE WE COME!"  It has been my dream to compete in the Olympics and this was an amazing opportunity to be able to ride at the Olympic facility from 1976.



We got to the facility on Monday afternoon...it took about 9 hours to get there.  As you approach the facility you can see the massive XC jumps and there is a Bromont sign with the Olympic rings up on the side of the mountain...I have to admit I got goosebumps and was teary eyed each time :).  We spent the next few days getting acclimated to the place and I got to watch some pretty amazing workouts.  It was a very focus

ed environment with it being an Olympic year.  This was the Canadian team's last mandatory outing and many of the U.S. pairs still fighting for spots were there.  Twice a day Linda Zang, David O'Connor, Silva Martin and many others would be working with the Olympic hopefuls right next to the stabling area!  Most of the events I go to, professionals are always around, but amateurs are the majority, so it definitely had a different feel.  I was just in awe... everywhere I went I saw all of these "famous" horse and rider combos...I guess I was a bit starstruck.

 

Onto the acutal competition...first of all, there were 58 entries in the CCI1*.    I had had a bad workout on Tuesday, but on Wednesday he seemed to settle in, so I thought our arriving early was the ticket....I was wrong dressage on Thursday was a MESS.  The atmosphere got the best of Hobbs' nerves and he was incredibly tense.  Let's just say I was just happy to finish and not get eliminated for jumping out of the ring.  It was tough to swallow the disappointment...I did get to watch a lot of other rides on Thursday and Friday and saw a lot of other horses melting down, which made me feel better.  One actually came in the ring and just froze...wouldn't move at all, so it DEFINITELY could have been worse. 

Saturday it was on to XC....the course was HUGE!!!  Optimum time was 7 minutes and it was hilly, so time and fitness were going to be a factor.  The first water complex was a maximum brush, one stride to a log/drop into the water and then a slight left bend out over a skinny...I was worried about this one.  I think the easiest jump on the course might have been a corner...there weren't many gimmies.  Well Hobbs was a champion, he galloped around the course like it was Beginner Novice.  Once he got out there, as always, he was super focused.  We finished up double clear and he was still raring to go in the vet box!

We ran late in the day on Saturday and then were the first to jump on Sunday, so I was hoping I had done my homework with conditioning and he would be able to rebound.  He felt great in warmup and despite a delay and being in the big stadium again, he jumped

 really well and we ended up with 1 time fault and 1 rail.  It was amazing to hear the sound of applause as I crossed the finish line.  We ended up 31st out of 58, but were 7th of amateurs which I'm really proud of.  The atmosphere was so electric and it was such an amazing week.  I feel honored to have had the opportunity to compete at that level and will keep moving forward.  Who knows, maybe it's the Bromont CCI2* next year!!! 

Below are some more pics of the trip!

Beautiful XC Course!

Love the volvos in the background...

2nd water complex with the ducks!

Huge and airy...oh and then a 90° left turn to offset houses!!!

I forced as many pictures as I could with the Bromont sign

Gotta love the corner shaped like a hot tub behind us :)




Having fun in the town with Mom & Dave...