Beaventing @ Journey's End

Another positive outing for Beaventing in 2011. Seth and I took Cody and Legacy to Journey's End for FCDA's combined test today. The day started a bit rough for Cody and Seth...Cody's bond to Legacy hasn't been broken at all by the introduction of Hobbs :). With 45 mph wind gusts and Legacy and the show, Cody was a bit tense in warmup and for his test to say the least. I didn't get to see it, but Seth's comments seemed fair. Cody was winnying for Legacy through his test and Seth said he couldn't stop him when he was cantering. So unfortunately they didn't show their best stuff. Seth handled it really well and although he was disappointed with dressage, he didn't let it carry over. He had a beautiful stadium round, again I didn't get to see it :(. But Cody was really forward and was jumping really well. Hopefully we can try a Novice CT this summer to continue moving forward. Plus if Legacy isn't there, his dressage has improved so much he'll be fine. He just needs to learn how to get connection!!

Legacy was wound up as well to start the day. When I went to get on I said to my mom, "it's like boarding a rocket." I just thought he was ready to explode. We were doing lengthened trot in the warmup for about 15 minutes as well. It was reminiscent of Millbrook when I couldn't settle him. So I thought the dressage was going to not be good at all...but my lengthenings would be good! Well he settled in really nicely and we ended up with a 30.9 in dressage, which I thought was generous. He was a bit tense and not as keen to my aids as I would've liked. I definitely didn't ride as accurately as I normally do either and some of my transitions were early/late. But, nonetheless, he did settle and we had a solid showing. I knew his lengthenings were there today and I pushed too hard and got him off balance at the end. I need to learn to settle in and ride the stride instead of pushing for more...it just feels so awesome I never want to stop asking him to lengthen. Then to the jumping. Well when I was warming up, some dressage queen was freaking out b/c her horse couldn't handle someone jumping. So I said, leave and give me 5 minutes. Legacy was definitely ready to jump...he just felt like a fire-breathing dragon going into the fences. He really, really wanted to go....a wonderful feeling after last year. The jump round went really smooth. There was absolutely no feeling of hesitation and I really felt like he had a good time. He felt like he had his old jump back too. He was really trying and wasn't doing the minimum amount like he was last year. He was really jumping round, and although he was really heavy in my hands, he came back and settled into a collected canter when I asked. The jumps felt too easy. It was a very positive outing for us. Now I need to XC school and see what I have there. He's been raring to go...yesterday I just galloped back and forth across the property, so he's ready for a schooling. I really hope I can get him going at Training again and have Seth take him to some small stuff this year. I think it will be a lot of fun and it's a nice mix for him. I think he'll be much happier with a less aggressive schedule and I just need to pay attention to his mood and what he's telling me he wants to do. Based on today...he wants to do this!!

So, all in all it was a good day for Beaventing. It was nice to be at a local show and both be able to ride, but Cody's insecurity will make it difficult...oh well. Hopefully I can fight the windburn and go out and give Hobbs a flatworkout tonight to prep for Fairhill next weekend!

Go Beaventing...

Off to a Great Start

Well Hobbs and I have started the 2011 show season with a bang. I took him to the MD HT Combined Test 2 weekends ago and he was fantastic. He stayed cool as a cucumber the entire day and really showed well. Our dressage test was calm and accurate and we got a 34.1. I didn't jazz him up at all and just focused on being relaxed. Because of that, we didn't score very well on impulsion scores and the lengthened trot was average at best, but I was extremely happy. We need to continue focusing on relaxation so he comes through over his back and keep swinging through his gaits. He's been so much better at home, so I know it's bound to come through at shows eventually and this test was a significant improvement to last year. The main comments from the judge were to have him push more with his hind end and get more engagement...I totally agree and by mid-season I hope to be able to show off his full gaits without worrying about him having a panic attack :). In show jumping, we were warming up all by ourselves and he was great. We did maybe 3 jumps and were ready to go. The course had two decent combinations in it and it rode great. I didn't have enough pace into the first 2 jumps, which was a bending line, and ended up with really tight spots, but then I added some leg and the rest of the course was beautiful. I've finally learned how to go with his HUGE jump (see pic)!! I just need to keep working on the pace and learning how to go with him with my arms to let him build the energy...it all goes back to trusting him.

I had a lesson with Danny as well, and the focus was me learning how to give with my arms and the finesse I need with this horse. I have to learn how subtle I can be to get a response from him since he's so sensitive. We did a lot of work with my knuckles staying in his mane all the way through the jump. I need to stop bringing them back to me to balance...a lovely habit I got from freight train Legacy. I have to train my body's response to give my hands and let him come up to my body as he's jumping instead of throwing my upper body at him during takeoff and then using his mouth to balance in the air. I also need to focus on weight in my heels so I stay in balance with him. One of the other tricks that we discussed was having a decent gallop around the show jump course prior to the first jump and then half halting on the way to get the balance...if you open them up to start it kind of gets them in gear for the course, so we were playing with the feel of that as well.

Last weekend we were off to Morven for the real season opener. As soon as we started tacking him up I knew I had a different horse than the CT and I was a bit nervous we were going to have a rough day. We pulled the indoor for our dressage test, which I think ended up being a blessing because he couldn't see much of anything to get him excited. While walking up to the indoor I felt like I was sitting on a rocket...he was ready to explode. I thought there was no way I was going to settle him enough to get a good test. The warmup was tiny and crowded, he settled in surprisingly well. He definitely wasn't as relaxed as he had been at home or even the past weekend, but we put together an average test for a 37.7 and tied for 8th. Part of the errors were me just not being accurate with my movements, which is really a pet peeve of mine. I was also riding without spurs due to the fear of him freaking out and then me spurring him. I think I would've been fine with spurs and then our transitions may have been more crisp. All in all, I was really happy with the test mainly because we had some really nice moments and it was a big feat to have him settle down and ride a calm test. So the weather wasn't great...just as I was to get ready to show jump, it started to hail!! Luckily it passed through quickly and I squeezed in my jumping with no weather. He was definitely anxious during show jump warmup, but no rodeo movements :). Again, we had a nice round...he was jumping a bit squirrly, but I stayed with him and we went clean. It was a nice open, galloping course, which let me practice adjusting his stride. The jumps seemed way too small for him, but I think he pretends they are bigger. We then headed down to cross country. Well, little did I know that there was a delay in XC and not stadium due to the weather. So we get down there and there is 10 horses in front of me. I could tell right away, Hobbs did not want to wait. He started his squirmy, hopping, rearing, twisting dance again. This time I just put him to a task like I had discussed with Danny. We would just go on a 10 meter circle until he settled. I also didn't try and get him to go a direction he didn't want to go. I just compromised with him and asked him to go the other direction. He just gets really anxious and loves his job and wants to get going. We almost didn't make it in the start box, because we were moonwalking away from it...haha. I think Seth needs to be in warmup with me just in case I need him to lead me over if Hobbs has a hissy fit. Once we got on course it was awesome...he took off sailing over the first 2 jumps and I just let him gallop on. I never got my watch set, so I had no clue what kind of time we were at (we came in 30 sec under optimum time). The course was great...again lot's of open galloping room...it was a bit muddy, but he's great with his feet so we had no issues with slipping. I was happy with how rideable he was even with him raring to go. We went through the quarry in a mini-coffin like combo without the ditch and he came back to me after a big gallop really well. I felt better about the fly fences, but still need to get my eye going for prelim speeds. I had a terrible ride into the water....I asked for a long spot and he put an extra 1/2 stride in, so we slithered over the tiny log and were fine. His stamina was great and I was glad since I haven't done any real conditioning on him. I think he'll be easier to get in shape than Legacy...he does condition himself in the pasture when he's feeling good!! We ended the day on our dressage score of 37.7 and moved up to 3rd place! I was just really happy that we got through the day and I feel more comfortable with his antics during warmup. I think I have a plan for dealing with him when he gets excited and I hope we can continue to learn each other and it will get better and better. I hate to be positive, being the eternal pessimist I am, but I'm really excited to see where it goes with Hobbs. He's really a lot of fun to ride and he really seems to enjoy his job. I think we compliment each other and have different strengths...I support him in dressage and he supports me in jumping. I hope we can continue growing together and moving forward!!

Slacker

Wow I have been a total slacker for the last 3 months!! Not only in blogging world, but in my life too. This has been quite a winter for us and has certainly put a kink in my developmental plans for the off-season. It's been cold, windy and most recently icy :(. I've been lucky if I ride twice a week right now and it's only b/c we are able to use Tracy and Matt's indoor. Well I'm seven weeks away from Morven and Seth cleared the ring for me last weekend and supposedly we are getting spring-like weather for the next week. So I'm motivated....at least I was until there were 20 mph winds today...yuck!! I rode Hobbs and Legacy anyway and had good rides on both of them. Here's an update on each of them..

Legacy - I haven't been doing too much progressive training, just trying different ulcer medications for maintenance and judging his mood. The plan is to go Training and potentially for Seth to take over the ride, so there's no rush with him. He has no issues with Training dressage and the jumping problems have nothing to do with training...just mental. So he's basically just been kept in enough work to keep him sane. Seth has been riding him sporadically to try and get some miles on him and get used to him. I have continued to work on getting him light and relaxed and using his hindend. He really does resist hard work, so it's a challenge to challenge him. He was full of it today and dug huge ditches in the ring galloping around on the longe line. He really is a sick freak though when he's amped up and does lengthenings...it was fun..hehe.

Hobbs - We spent a lot of November and December with him in the roundpen desensitizing him. He seems to be a lot better and really hasnt' had any major meltdowns except the other day when I was longeing him. He was amped up today and I was able to control him and get him calmed down enough to do quite nice dressage work. He's continued to be against my right rein and bulge his right shoulder...especially going to the left. I really need to get him straight so that when I'm doing jumping lines he doesn't wobble. The one time I had a combo set up in the indoor he was drifting right the entire time and really crooked...so that's definitley a huge hole that I need to fix. He's still an amazing jumper and has been sound and healthy all winter.

Mr. Cody Joe Step has pretty much been off and is fuzzy and fat and happy with life. When we do ride him he's perfectly happy to do whatever we ask and is so easy to have around. He balances out our other nutjobs...kinda ;).

So hopefully we are on our way to spring. I'm hoping to do a jumper show next weekend, but it's going to depend on the weather this week...keep your fingers crossed the weather forecast is accurate!!

Wrapping Up 2010

Well the end of the season has come and gone. It's bittersweet because I have more time, but it's a tough time of year to stay motivated. I've been so busy at work and I know I need to keep moving forward with Hobbs and Legacy, but I kind of just want to rest. They both had off enough time this summer that they don't need down time, but I do :). It's also tough because I want to keep riding while the weather is somewhat decent...ugh, I HATE winter.

I had a lesson with Danny yesterday on Hobbs and Legacy and it helped to motivate me a bit. Legacy was really good. We worked on getting him to jump better and teaching him to stand off the jump and use his shoulders. He's never been very good because he doesn't have to try very hard at Training level. Now that I have him honest again, it's time to work on the details of jumping. Danny said there's basically 2 things a rider could do with a horse like Legacy....1) completely throw the reins away into the jumps to let him wear a few so he learns to stand off or 2) hold him tight on the way to the jump and just let him pat the ground...aka WAIT! So I've been helping and holding him for so many years, I'm not ready as a rider to just throw the reins away. So we worked on a single vertical on a circle. I want to focus on a longer more powerful stride since that's where he tends to jump flat. So I would get that canter and then out of the turn I would bump him up and balance him and then I would hold against him, sit up straight and wait for the jump. I could really feel the difference when I did it right. It basically boils down to I need to do less and let Legacy learn a few things on his own. I can't give him a reason to quit and blame me. I rode the same exercise again today and it went really well. I just have to make sure that when I hold against him, he doesn't get stronger and it doesn't spiral out of control. I'm going to ride like this for the next month and then hopefully I can back off and let go a bit and he will learn to stand off the jumps on his own.

Then we went to Hobbs. I told him about the Rubicon Rodeo and we decided the best thing was for us to work in the roundpen. It was a great decision. I know Hobbs can jump, so the main problem is to fix his mental meltdowns. Seth and I had been working him in the roundpen doing Dave Webber's exercises, but Danny had some slight variations that make more sense for Hobbs. Danny's main focus was desensitizing him and clarifying the type of energy being used (which was really an aha moment for me). He put him on the halter and lead and just tried to rub and flick the whip all over him...Hobbs was really nervous at first, but then working through it he started to settle. He worked on that for awhile and we realized that he was much worsed on the left side for some reason. Then I got on and was just bumping him with my legs and almost petting him all over...meanwhile getting him to stand still. He is a very nervous horse and I think if we can get him desensitized I will have a plan for when he meltsdown. Danny was saying if I get a routine I can just do that at a show as soon as I get him off the truck so that I completely desensitize him and he's mentally stronger. My plan is to work him in the roundpen for the next month and see where he's at. I worked him today and he was much better than yesterday...of course I think being in a new environment also adds stress, so perhaps we'll have to find another venue to test him mid-December.

It was a solid end to the season. Danny is headed off to Texas for the winter, so we won't have any lessons until the end of January unless a dressage lesson comes up. I've got to power through and keep next season in mind. It's hard to get excited after what happened last year and I think that's playing into my mood. Even though I have a new horse that is completely different and honest, I'm still weary of having plans of grandeur. As Seth would say, my pessimism is showing through :).

Last Show of the Season

This post is a little late, but I do have an interesting tale about my last show of the season on Hobbs. We were down at Rubicon last weekend and it was a brisk fall day. Anyone that knows horses knows there is a period of about two weeks in the fall where they all go berserk for no reason and act like crazy madmen. Well lucky for me this show caught that period of Hobbs' fall season. We warmed up for dressage and I could tell he was definitely more nervous than at Radnor. There was this one particular HUGE gray horse...it had to be 18 hands that really freaked him out. So my test was not very good...very tense and I had switched to a metal snaffle and I should've stuck with the Happy Mouth b/c he was also sensitive to the bit which made him even more tense...so we left the ring with a 43.6...yuck!

Next onto Stadium...my times were close together so not much downtime in between. It was awesome because both my brothers came to watch and they really have never seen me ride at this level, so it was exciting. Well I start trying to warm up Hobbs and he flips out. He becomes ultra sensitive to any of my aids and he periodically decides to jump in the air, twist, buck, rear, etc. He didn't want to be in the warm up area at all. Once again the gray monster horse was there galloping around sounding like a jet engine/earthquake. So I basically cannot do anything with him and I'm just trying to stay in the saddle...I'm now distracting everyone and my time has come and passed and I'm just trying to decide if I should scratch....lovely since my brothers were there and all they got to see was dressage. Well my wonderful Seth comes up with the idea for me to go over to cross country warm up and see if he gets better. One important piece of info was that the stadium warm up was right next to all the trailers and the XC warm up was across the facility. So we go over to the other warmup and he's completely fine. So I decide to go for it...the round was a bit crazy and he was a maniac in between jumping, but I felt much more comfortable on him at this show. I feel like it's flowing a lot better and we are more in sync. We had one rail, but he was being a bit cocky, so I was glad for it :). After all of this I decide that I'm not even going to worry about time and I gave Seth my watch...I just wanted to be in control on course. So we finally get out on course and he feels great...all of the combos rode great...I feel like he gets more attentive when there is something to think about. I do think that he's bored with Training and he doesn't respect the jumps. He was hitting a lot of them and will focus on people on course instead of me if I let him. There was one moment where we came into the field next to the trailer and had to turn away and jump a max table...we didn't come close to making the turn and we almost took out a group of folks walking the course...oops. Nonetheless we went clean, but had some time faults...which shocked me b/c I thought we were moving good. Anyway, without those time faults we would've been in 3rd or 4th...but we finished in 12th. I was really proud of the outcome of the day though. I felt like I had overcome a huge obstacle with the way he was acting throughout the jumping warm up and I don't know if many riders would've been able to keep their focus and ride through all of that. I definitely think that XC is his forte and hopefully when we run XC before stadium he will be more rideable in the stadium ring. There's definitely still a lot to learn from each other, but I definitely got to see another side of Hobbs!!

Don't Call it a Comeback

Well Legacy reappeared this weekend. We ran Training and the Plantation Starter Trials and he smoked the competition. We pulled at 25.9 in dressage and were leading by 8 points. We didn't add a point to our score and ended on that to win the division. The dressage was good as usual, although we were on a crappy grass ring...I think the scoring was a bit generous but I'll take it. We had one of the lowest dressage scores of the day!! The stadium was straightforward and smaller than we've seen and he was fine. I didn't ride it terribly well...just didn't prepare for each jump and didn't map out my turns well when I walked the course. But we got through it without even a rub, so he didn't fault me for my less than stellar riding. Cross country was somewhat sticky, but nothing like he was a few months ago. He galloped at the fences with a purpose which was great to feel. I basically had to have him jump a log into the foundation from a standstill at fence #3 and then we had a really awkward approach to #4 thanks to the course designer. I'd say it was somewhat spooky b/c he didn't see the house he was to jump until about 2 strides out b/c it was around a corner, but at both of those questions, he hesitated but then went forward when I applied leg. We had 2 other sticky spots, one at a dead log on course, which for some reason he seems to balk at since he does the same thing at the log at Bucks County...must be something with his vision, and the other stickiness was at the water. We had to jump a small log into the water, about 6 strides out he sort of backed off, but I just clucked, squeezed and put my hands forward and he responded. So it was by no means a breeze on XC, but definitely a HUGE step in the right direction. I've never been so nervous...before stadium Seth was standing next to me and he could see my whole body was shaking. It was just that so much was riding on this performance. I had decided if he shut down like he did at Rubicon, Surefire, MD or NJ I was going to hang it up with him. Luckily, he acted nothing like that. We just need to build confidence and I've been there before with him, so I feel so relieved. No matter what happens, I'll always have a special connection with him b/c of all we've been through and how much I've learned from him. I don't know if he'll be the best horse I'll ever ride, but he's certainly given me a lot of great memories. So that's the end of the season for Legacy and I, it was a great way to end it all. The plan next year is just to have a solid year at Training and just play it by ear. We've got one more weekend with Hobbs at Rubicon and then winter break!

No Need for a "Good Eye"

It's been a busy week for me...Seth was away last week at a wedding in El Paso, TX and I was riding all 3 of our boys (trying to anyway)....finally they are all sound!! Not to mention we also had a monsoon which created a muddy mess at the barn, our bay window started leaking and my car died. Lots of fun... But over the weekend I had some great rides on all three of them. On Sunday I had Legacy jumping two verticals on a circle and he was fantastic. I only rode him for about 15 min and then we just walked around. He's been very good lately at not changing his pace on the way to the jump and I'm not having to hold him in my hands to achieve that. I think riding Hobbs is helping me feel the way Legacy needs to be. His flatwork has continued to be strong. I feel ready for the CT this weekend at Bucks...although I've been dealing with some bad weather this week, so hopefully I can get a few more good rides in before Sunday.

Cody seems to really be progressing as well. I think he's finally given in to the fact that he has to go round and use his big butt! He's also been jumping really, really well. Seth had a lesson last night and it was the best I've ever seen them look. It was the most consistent frame I've ever seen Seth have with him. Seth's position is also getting steadier and more comfortable which has helped Cody find his own balance. As long as Seth uses his leg to push Cody through to the contact at all times (especially during transitions) then they should improve their dressage score. Seth is targeted a schooling show at Tranquility Farm next weekend.

Now for the "natural", Hobbs. He's really been fun to ride. I had a lesson last night and Danny got on him for a few minutes and I got to see a little bit of his true ability...some crazy lead changes unintentionally :). He seems to be used to having resistance and seems like he was pushed into the bridle. I'm glad Danny sat on him b/c he confirmed a lot of what I was feeling. He needs to work on unlocking his jaw and come over his back into the bridle. I need to spend the next month getting him to stretch out and down and then we can slowly bring his poll back up. I need to work on my position a lot. I need to learn that my seat keeps the rhythm in the canter and my leg is a backup and a way to direct him where to go. He's very, very good at listening to your seat and as soon as my rhythm is off he breaks to the trot....so he's a good teacher. I also need to work on keeping my outside shoulder (especially left) back to get a more balanced and upright canter. When asking for a canter depart I need to STOP rounding my back and keep my torso straight and strong. Lots of homework for me. We jumped a little and the main concept I need to learn is that the distance is set by whatever canter stride I'm on. If I shorten his stride 15 strides out, then I'm asking for him to add a stride and I can't try and move up to the fence at the last minute. If I'm on a normal stride or a gallop stride I need to either do nothing and let the stride come or I need to move up when I see the distance...I can't try and add at the last minute. I worked on this at Danny's and again last night and when I just let things happen the distance was perfect nearly every time. Using this philosophy makes the necessity for having a "good eye" obsolete.

I'm excited and nervous for this weekend. I'm just hoping for a solid day in all three phases. I don't want to feel out of whack and I just want everything to go smoothly. My ride times are fantastic for Saturday so that's the first positive note...hopefully that luck will carry through the tail end of the season :).