Well we finally got to start our show season. After some shuffling around the weather, Seth took Jango to a starter trial at Full Moon Farm 2 weeks ago and I was able to run Hobbs at Plantation last weekend. We both lucked out and finally had beautiful weather. No snow, hail or rain!
Seth & Jango SJ
Seth & Jango XC
Jango and Seth had a mediocre dressage test - we planned poorly and cut our timing too close so his dressage warmup was rushed and they never really got their rhythm. Plus he had to ride in an indoor which is never easy to get a fluid test. Moving on to jumping. He had the best show jump round I've seen from them yet. It was very smooth and fluid and absolutely no hesitation. He and Jango then had a beautiful XC round, again no hesitation and it wasn't quite as frantic as last year because Seth didn't feel the need to chase him. They really looked great and Novice looked so easy for them so now they've got their eyes set on Training in Fair Hill in May.
Last weekend was Hobbs and my debut at Plantation. It was actually really nice to compete over 2 days for a lot of reasons. First of all, my nerves were a little better on dressage and SJ day since I didn't have XC looming over my head. Second, the facility is so close and I had early times so we were home around lunch both days so we had some time to do other things! Plus is was GORGEOUS weather so we got to spend a lot of time outside! I digress...so on Saturday I wasn't very happy with my dressage test. We got there early to do our pre-warmup which went very well and then my actual warmup also went very well. Then I got in the ring and he just got fussy. It wasn't any type of blowup- different than usual, he just didn't want to accept the bridle. There were some really good moments and I got an 8 on my mediums so I just need to build on that. The SJ was in grass and was very loopy. We didn't realize that Prelim jumped before Intermediate so as we were walking we thought the Intermediate looked pretty small until we realized it was Prelim..hehe.
Anyway, I got to see a number of rides go and there were very few clear rounds. It seemed like a challenging course. Again, I was pretty nervous, more than I would've liked but I had a great warmup followed by one of my best rounds. There were a few small mistakes but overall smooth and solid. I had one rail and 3 seconds of time which I was thrilled with. Our performance on Saturday was good enough to put us in 5th going into XC.
The XC course was a solid Prelim track but certainly doable. There were a few bending questions which are always tough for us because of how big he jumps. Plus I had the whole breathing issue somewhat in the back of my mind. He was great again in warmup...not quite as fluid as our SJ warmup but good. Then he was a champ getting into the startbox all by himself! He felt great on course...everything seemed easy which is what I hoped for. I didn't push the pace at all since I was planning on running him this weekend at Fair Hill. We came hope with zero jump penalties and ~25 seconds over optimum time moving up to finish in 4th. So the first 2 outings were very respectable for Beaventing and we're looking forward to the rest of this season!
Well 2014 has proven to be difficult thus far. First, we have had to deal with the winter from hell that is now becoming the spring from hell. My plan was to open at Morven Park last weekend to get a Prelim run in and then move up to Intermediate at Fair Hill in 2 weeks. The week leading up to Morven brought a few inches of snow and then a downpour/hail on Saturday causing the event to turn into a CT! Luckily we had decided to scratch on Saturday and didn't make the 3.5 hour drive for a Prelim CT. Then came the rejiggering of plans...I took over Seth's entry at Plantation for next weekend and will run him back to back weekends to try and get back in the groove. Seth is going to Full Moon Farm starter trial this weekend to get an outing and plan his move up to Training. At this point we can save a few bucks with him going to schooling trials until he's comfortable at Training...we know he can dominate the Novice world but he's got bigger plans for Jango!
Through all of this I was still concerned with Hobbs' breathing so we decided to have Kathy check him out. We thought he was just struggling because of the extreme cold, but now that we are actually getting 40+° weather it didn't make sense. Unfortunately, she found that he does have some asymmetry that has developed in his airway which is causing the noise. He's not fully paralyzed yet, but it certainly could progress. Surgery will be an option, but with only 70% success rate it's a risk. Our plan of attack is to run him and see how much it's affecting him by monitoring his heart rate. He will need to be more fit now to compensate for his deficiency, but I'm hoping that his big heart and zeal for running XC will triumph. Kathy showed us this really cool case, AliveCor for our iphone that can track all the data and take his heart rate, so we promptly ordered one on the way home. I will be honest I haven't spent a lot of effort tracking his conditioning in the past since I felt he would become too fit and then was unmanageable in dressage. But now I'm obsessed with it and feel like I want to ride him all the time and take his heart rate to make sure he is ok. I'm freaking out a bit about it and of course every time he takes a deep breath or sighs I'm concerned. It's also hard because I know him so well so I'm overanalyzing everything and trying to make sure he's still happy with his job. He makes a lot of noise now when we're working and that's something I'm going to have to get used to, but it's hard to adjust to especially since I know something is wrong. I don't feel like he and I are done yet - although this winter was rough, we are more in sync than we have ever been and I felt much more confident going into this season. Then this comes up and my confidence is shattered for a completely different reason. In this sport it feels like every time you set a high goal there are major obstacles to overcome and you are continuously tested. It's tiring and frustrating, but I know from past experience that it is super rewarding if you can achieve your goals!
2013 brought many successes for Beaventing. Hobbs and I successfully ended the season as an Intermediate pair. After our triumph at NJHP we went on to successfully complete Fair Hill (first clean XC jump) and then Morven to end the season. We had an unfortunate run-out at Morven at a tough question, but he felt great on course. We had a tough corner combo early on in the course which he took like a champ. Our dressage was a disaster, but I will chalk that up to bad planning...we should've arrived earlier since Jango was along for the ride. Seth and Jango had a fantastic run at Morven at the Novice Championships. They were in a very competitive 10th place after their best dressage test to date and then went clean on XC, with a very sticky moment at the maxed out trakehner (see video below). They then had to jump in the indoor and sadly had 2 rails to drop them back, but it was an incredible weekend with Seth competing against some of the top riders in the sport. It was a solid way to end the 2013 season.
We took it easy going into the winter and then the winter from hell hit. Record snowfall and most of January and February we were lucky to see temps in the 20's. It was an awful winter for training, plus my work was VERY demanding. We pretty much hit every indoor within a 30 mile radius. Oh, and most of Chester County lost power for over a week! Needless to say, we weren't able to go South with Courtney as planned but we did what we could. Seth and Jango made a lot of progress and were able to get to a CT at Thorncroft in January which went very well. They are really developing a great relationship and 2014 looks to be a standout year for the pair. Today was our first XC school of the year at Unicorn and they looked fantastic...they even did a corner and a chevron skinny....Training here they come! Hobbs and I will debut at Morven next weekend at Prelim and hopefully bounce back to Intermediate at Fair Hill in April. Then we'll see what the season brings. I'm feeling much more comfortable with the bigger fences and Hobbs and I seem to really be in sync. His dressage has really been solid...I toyed with a double bridle this winter a few times and we had been working on changes. He's just so darn athletic it's a lot of fun! I'm hoping it all translates this year and we continue to improve.
Well lot's to update. Maryland was quite an improvement, but we did not achieve our result of completing an Intermediate. Dressage was solid and show jumping was soooo much better. I messed up the first jump, which was a training level vertical, and had that rail. I just lost the power in the canter, but we were clean the rest of the round and it was much smoother and I felt better. Still trying to get more in sync with him, but all in all it was a huge improvement. XC started out fantastic and he felt great through the entire first half. We had a brush to a right hand 90° turn to a corner...it was pretty slick out due to a lot of rain and guess what...he slipped in the turn and I had a runout at the corner. I tried to come back around to it, but I really didn't do very much and another runout. By this time we were both pretty shaken up and shocked and I should've hung it up, but I didn't and I got a big fat E! At first I was just happy that I had gotten a little bit farther in my quest to go Intermediate, but as reality set in, of course I was disappointed. I didn't get to try some of the tougher questions on the course including the water. So we decided to reroute and try and go to New Jersey. Now, I had officially banned the state of New Jersey from my show schedule. I had never had luck there...all the way back to Pizzaz and dressage shows...it was CURSED! But nonetheless, I decided things couldn't get much worse so why not try and break the curse. So I emailed them and found out they were still accepting entries on Event Entries after the closing date. So I entered and got ready to go.
So the Wednesday before the show when times came out, I wasn't on the list...the damn curse. All day Seth was trying to get ahold of the organizers with no luck. At this point I'm thinking a higher power really just doesn't want me to go to NJ. Turns out there was a miscommunication and we were all good and I had my times by Thursday evening...but I was really having doubts during that time of uncertainty. And so off to NJHP we went to try the Intermediate. They ran dressage and stadium on Saturday and XC on Sunday which was a bonus for me. More time to digest the material and be more focused. I was not sure what to expect...I thought the XC may be a bit difficult knowing they run a 2* there, but again I didn't have much to lose. So of course I see the class list and it's all Advanced horses and professionals which was quite daunting. Then after my first warmup we decide to watch a little bit of the Prelim SJ....it was a bloodbath. We saw 2 falls, multiple refusals including knocking down standards. That got in my head (imagine that), so dressage was so-so, he got a little tense and we ended up with a 38. Honestly, considering the competition I really didn't care what my score was and I was freaking out a bit about SJ. We are still trying to figure out how much time I need in my 2nd warmup. At MD I felt like I didn't have enough time to warmup my shoulder-in and haunches-in with 10-15 minutes but at NJ I felt I had a bit too much time with 20 minutes, so it's still a work in progress. So after the Preliminary disasters I was feeling nervous about stadium...I didn't get a chance to walk it and it looked big. The triple was 2 huge oxers to a vertical, both 1 strides. I was the last Intermediate to go and watching others the course seemed to be riding much better.
Courtney warmed me up and he felt great, but I had been there before. The round was great...I was very pleased again with our improvements, but still have some work to do. I had changed my bit to a full cheek with a gag converter after MD to try and get him to be more responsive and less curled and it seemed to work...although we are still getting used to it. So 2 rails down but a much smoother round and improvement...I was happy and relieved to make it to Sunday!
Now came the "wicked" XC course. It looked very fair and upon first glance I was OK with it. I think I'm to the point that I know it's not going to be easy anywhere and there are always going to be a lot of tough questions...but isn't that what Intermediate should be? Or else everyone would do it!!! It was definitely tougher than MD, but over the course of the week leading up to the show I had gotten mad and I had a different attitude. It was basically my old self, motivated and excited to challenge myself and embark upon something new. We had done all the prepping and now I just had to get it done! Saturday night was a sleepless night for me. As time went the bad nerves came...the doubting nerves...the jumps got bigger and closer together in my head and I just got a little wacky. I was super nervous on Sunday morning. Seth and Mom were trying to talk to me and get me out of my head, but at this point I just needed to be alone. I got on and started to warmup but again things were a little different. The past few shows I just wanted to get on and get it over with so my nerves would be gone. I tried to embrace them this weekend and enjoy the tension and then relief from getting through and learning. I really tried to think about what I was doing and have a plan for everything and I think it helped. My warmup for XC was OK...I saw a bunch of folks come through the water which was pretty tough and it seemed to be riding well, so in this case it was good to watch others unlike stadium. I was pretty nervouse about #6 which was a left corner just like the one that got us at MD. We started out on course and again it was riding really well...#6 came and went and he was great. 7 abc was a table, bending 7 strides to 2 BIG skinny brushes 4 strides apart.
I always get nervous for these b/c he jumps so big over the tables I tend to get thrown around and then overcorrect and miss my line...it rode great he was perfect through it. He was a bit shifty at the coffin which I think was partly due to the new bit configuration but we were good through there as well. A few more big tables and then came the water. We had to make a right had turn sort of away from warmup and he got a little nappy, then it was a house down a steep hill to a big log into the water, left bend 6 strides, house in the water, 6 strides to a skinny brush out. Well there is no way I got any of that striding correct...it was a bit of a mess with him kind of jumping into the water on all fours trotting a few steps and drifting left leaving an extremely long spot to the jump in the water. But with my new attitude and Hobby's heart, we got it done...it wasn't pretty but we were clean. Then we had the trakehner and a long gallop to a shark's tooth looking jump on a angle to 2 offset houses on angles. Coming up the hill on a gallop I never really checked him back and got him straight...I thought I found my line, but I felt him shift to the left about 3 strides out and I knew I was done...another left runout :(. I actually used my whip and took my time to turn around and jump it straight...I had 4 strides until the next jump and they weren't big, so I knew I had time to sort out the line. Looking back I probably should've taken the in straight from the beginning considering the issues I had been having with the left side. So we got through and there was only one major question left...table to a corner...my favorite. Luckily it was a straight line and a right corner. He jumped in big over the table, but I just made sure to not pull on the reins and I sat up and kicked and he stayed right on the line and we got through. So one runout, but a completion of our first Intermediate. I can officially say we are an Intermediate team now!! It hasn't fully sunk in and although we weren't competitive this weekend, we are certainly ready for this level. I think I've realized that this moveup is harder for us because I don't have any experience at this level and I only ride one horse. I certainly would ride the water differently if I could do it on a 2nd horse which is what most of the riders at this level can do. It may just take me more time to figure it out and I have to be ok with that. I have adjusted my expectations and tried to not let the mistakes (runouts or E's or RF's) get me down. I got to compete at Intermediate and I feel pretty good about myself and my Hobby! It was nice to celebrate a success with the Beaventing clan...I know Seth and Mom feel my pain when thing go badly and they feel my joy as well. I can't always process it right away b/c I'm wound so tight on show day, but as the days pass I am just getting more excited for the future and looking forward to continuing my journey with Hobbs.
Here we are again two weeks before another try at Intermediate and I'm getting some DMX in my belly. I'm not as intimidated now seeing the big "I" next to Hobby's name. I'm definitely feeling different going into this one...I want to classify it as confidence, but I think it's more numbness at this point. I went to Jumper Schooling at Windurra Farm last week and had a positive experience. The jumps were Intermediate height and yeah I wish it would've been smoother, but it was good to get out and do a few rounds without a major hiccup. I still need to get the right pace and make sure he's out in front of me for the larger jumps. I think that's one adjustment I've not been consistent on...he's got to have the momentum to get over the big oxers and I think that was part of our problem at Windurra and why I felt like the rounds were somewhat disjointed. I do also need to make sure he's up in front so his shoulder gets out of the way...I did feel like he was getting underneath a lot of the jumps and in my jump workout yesterday I discovered a stronger half halt a few strides out does wonders. It's all the little things falling into place :). I'm getting much more comfortable jumping at the 3"11" height now and I'm anxious to build some new standards so I can go even higher. I want to start thinking about how to be perfect instead of just how to get around...I've had an attitude adjustment!
Seth and Jango will also be making their Recognized debut at MD II at Novice. They had a positive XC school at Laurel Hill and will be looking for one more school before the show. They are getting along great and have been building their relationship over the past few weeks. The flatwork has been looking fabulous and I'm excited to see what this pair can do this year. He's hoping to qualify for the Novice 3-Day at Waredaca in October.
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.
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!!
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!!!
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!!
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 ;)
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!!!
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 :)
Well I have lots and lots of updates. Last season went really well with Hobbs and we finished out the season with the Preliminary Championships at the Virginia Horse Trials. It was such an amazing facility and brought back a lot of memories from Pony Club Nationals and doing my musical kur in the Coliseum on Pizzaz! It was a crazy weekend in October 2011 when we got a snow storm up the East coast!!! The weather caused the schedule to get changed around and I had to run XC on Friday afternoon unexpectedly. The terrain caused some time faults for us and I learned he wasn't in the best shape for hills...but of course we were clean jumping because he's amazing. I did the jumping derby on Friday night and ended up getting second to Holly Payne thanks to some creative lines my trainer, Seth, and I came up with ;). We had Saturday off because of snow and then show jumped in the Coliseum on Sunday...it was a terrible round. We had 5 rails and it was ugly. I think the arena backed him off a bit and I didn't adjust plus he was still tired from XC. We ended up in 6th and it was a good experience but not the best.
The Coliseum
Over the winter I really wanted to focus on dressage and show jumping (obviously after VA HT). I never thought I'd say this, but XC is our strongest phase. I really focused on my jumping position and did a lot of jumping with one hand in the air to try and get my upper body back. I am also still working on getting the landing to be softer with the big jump of Hobbs. It helps me to think about trying to sit in the saddle sooner on the way down. Those adjustments have helped Hobbs to jump a little smoother and me to stay out of his way. I also focused on getting him rounder and using his hind end more when cantering/galloping. That has also helped him jump better and smoother. I need to make sure that I have enough power in his stride without chasing him and getting him flat. On the flat, Seth and I started working with David Smith. He's a tough trainer and doesn't let you get away with mediocre work...he definitely calls your bluff and makes sure you are getting the most out of each workout. The first thing he worked on with both Hobbs and Legacy was working a lot of long and low to develop the topline muscle and atrophy the muscles on the underside of the neck. He has really focused on getting Hobbs into the outside rein so that I have more control, especially when he decides to have a meltdown. He has also focused on getting his hind end engaged through many, many transitions. My typical workout now must include at least 5 minutes when I get on of long and low to get his topline stretched out. I then move him forward and make sure I can't hear his inside hind leg ticking the ground. After he's forward and in front of my leg, I pick him up into frame and begin my work. I have also done a lot of cavaletti work to get his joints flexed and moving. The most progress I've felt is in our medium trot. David had me do tons of walk/halt, trot/walk, canter/trot transitions in a row prior to asking for a medium. This really gets Hobbs sitting on his hind end and he's become much stronger and able to hold his mediums longer. We're still working, but they have come a long way.
The first event at Morven was solid. Hobbs was great in dressage warmup and in the ring, but I got claustrophobic in the small arena and didn't ride an accurate test. It was ashame because I had the horse and I could've pushed him a bit to try and get better scores, but I wasn't focused enough. We had a rail in stadium...it was a better round, but still not where I wanted to be. XC was great again! I was really happy because it was on the longer side and we came in 15 seconds under the optimum time and I really didn't have to push him, so I felt like I did a better job conditioning him. So the plan was to shoot for Bromont CCI 1* in June. Since Morven went so well and I felt comfortable, I decided to go for the Fairhill CIC 1* in April. It was a bit nervewracking because it felt quick, but I knew the XC was there and I figured the rest would come. So we went through the process of getting Hobbs' FEI passport renewed which was a nightmare. I never got the passport when I bought him so I tracked down Gayle Davis on Facebook and got the passport and then had to redo all of his vaccines and put through all of the paperwork to change the owner. I got everything done in time and we were off to FHI.
The first blip was the in-barns on Thursday evening. I never knew anything about them and hadn't planned on stabling on Thursday since I didn't ride dressage until 9:30 on Friday morning. Well apparently there was some sort of glitch on the website where it said in-barns were Thursday from 1pm-4pm but Keli or I never saw it. So we got there early on Friday morning and took some crap from the vet about missing in-barns on Thursday, but we got checked in and all was good. Oddly we had to trailer to dressage on Gallaher Road. I had a fantastic warmup, but when we got up to the upper ring he started to get anxious and proceeded to meltdown right before I went in the ring. He was extremely fussy and really had a fit when I asked for the right lead canter, but we got through it and ended up with a 62.8...good enough for 12th place. I was really disappointed because we are further along than that, but I had to move on and make sure I went clean the rest of the weekend. The XC course was tough...there were a few tough banks and the water was tough with a turn and an upbank, one stride to the skinny bear. He was incredible though. I picked into 5A/B which was a corner combo, but he added a stride and saved me. That combo woke me up and we tore up the rest of the course. It was the smoothest ride I've had...it felt like every jump was just in stride and so easy. I was so happy and proud that I didn't care about my 62.8...plus we moved up to 9th with a double clear. The weather then turned for Sunday's jog and SJ. It went from 75° and sunny on Saturday to 45° and rainy on Sunday. The jog was uneventful, but kind of nervewracking just thinking about something being wrong, plus with the ugly weather I couldn't wear the outfit I wanted!! I was nervous about stadium just based on the last few rounds and some of the issues I was working through. Now with rain and deep footing I knew it was going to be tough. I was still on a high from Saturday's XC and it was nice to have Danny there to warm me up. After a few jumps, in I went to the ring and we flew around clean...only 1 of 2 clean rounds in my division. I had one small mistake in a 5 stride combo where I didn't adjust to his big jump in and tried to leave out a stride...again Hobby saved me and jumped out of it with me up his neck. Our double clear stadium round catapulted us into 4th place!!! As we were coming out of the ring, Hobb's first owner, Charlotte came up and introduced herself. It was so nice to meet her and really cool that she came out to see our boy and support us. The whole weekend was somewhat surreal and I'm still letting it sink in. As always, I had amazing support from my hubby Seth, my Mom and Dave and my brother John. Tracy and Matt also came down for XC day. I can say I doubted my competitiveness in FEI competitions after Friday and felt defeated at yet another nervous dressage test, but we proved why eventing isn't all about dressage...it truly takes an all-around athlete to complete all three phases.
I am 33 years old and trying to live my dream with the help of my wonderful husband and family. Since I was about 8 years old, I've dreamed of riding my horse in the Olympic Games. I rode all through high school and then took a hiatus for college and a career. I met a terrific guy who married me (despite my craziness), and saw my passion for horses and decided to support my riding career....he also started a riding career of his own along the way. We started with one horse, Legacy, and then added Cody a year later for Seth. We then purchased Sempre Fino ("Hobbs") to take me up through the levels and last year we added Mr. Bojangles ("Jango") for Seth. In addition to the horses, we also have the sweetest dog in the world, Mulligan and 3 cats, Legend, Ollie and Cameo.
