Friday, July 26, 2019

The Drama Package!!

Thank you all SO MUCH for your kind words about our unfortunate first foray into recognized eventing.

Obviously nobody here needs to be told that I can occasionally dwell and be a bit hard on myself. I really appreciate all of you who pointed out (correctly!) that last weekend presented some tough circumstances. And... Ya know... Thanks to your support, and, uh, ahem, cough cough, some practice at moving on from adversity, I felt like probably we'd be just fine.

he will be for sale never, inquiries can be sent to talk2thehand@nochanceinhell.org
That feeling was bolstered after I scheduled an emergency private SJ lesson with Sally Cousins. During which.... Sally repeatedly declared the horse PERFECT, and I saw his KNEES over EVERY SINGLE FENCE.

Yes all that capitalization is probably overkill. But I feel like emphasis is important here LOL. Basically, Charlie came out for that lesson as if he had a score to settle. And boy, he sure proved to us that he can JOMP. But, ya know, maybe not in 120* heat index. Ok, brosef, I can work with you on that.

Probably more to come on that lesson later. But.... That's not what this post is about. This is FRIDAY post, after all. Y'all want some FUN, right??

jusssssst in case you forgot that charlie is a Very Large Horse, and thus makes every jump look Very Small, here is a human for comparison
So I already told you there were pro pics. And, uh, if you've gotten this far you've probs already scrolled ahead. Lol..... But basically, GRC Photography was shooting at FMF last weekend, and when they saw shit going down in stadium, they hit Burst Mode like there was no tomorrow.

The photos were incredible. Obvi when it's your fall, you're always kinda obsessed, right? But at $20 a pop, I had to be judicious in buying.

After torturing myself forever (and anybody foolish enough to take my messages, shoutout KC), I finally selected three images: the jump pic above, and 2 of the fall pics. Tho, Austen had mused about how awesome it would be if photographers offered a "DRAMA PACKAGE" for when shit goes awry. Solid gold idea, amirite?

So I ordered my tame 3 photos from GRC, but replied to the invoice with a shoutout to that SJ photographer for so quickly locking onto the drama, and expressing my overall gratitude at this outfit's dedication to always being there to capture the moment.

Long story short, GRC got that email and felt that, since I liked the "fall" pictures so much, I should get 'em all with my order. And thus, instead of 3 pictures transferred, I got 42!!!! Obvi GIF material, Yo, lololol!

you're my boy, blue.  forever <3
So. Thanks to the generosity of GRC Photo, we can see a clearer picture of what happened. Which.... Ya know... Basically, Charlie deflated like a balloon.

Obviously I'm sad that it happened at all. But I continue to feel like my horse just.... got too hot and just couldn't keep going. He sorta.... gave himself up to the lord in that moment, LOL. Almost as if at that exact second, he didn't really quite care what happened next.

I'm happy, tho, to say that he's made a complete recovery. That's the nice thing about extreme environmental conditions is that they don't last. Charlie is fine and fit and eager for the next challenge. Soon enough, bro! Soon Enough!!

For today, tho, we get to enjoy this masterpiece of a DRAMA GIF knowing that all parties walked away A-OK. Happy Friday, y'all!!




46 comments:

  1. Saddlebred show photographer STOP shooting when something goes wrong. I'm all, Why! Those are the best pix! (I ride a horse who likes to ... express himself in victory passes.) Glad everyone is okay.

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    1. Oh man I hate it when the footage cuts out right when you know something big happened!!! And lol at the victory passes lol... I definitely appreciate that these photogs keep the camera rolling no matter what!

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  2. Lord jesus, may I never stop giggling at this gif. 😂

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  3. I didn’t realize that he fell. That was a lovely over-the-neck dismount you did! Clearly a dismount, not a fall. 😎 that was lovely of GRC to do that. I’m glad you both have recovered.

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    1. So generous of GRC! And yea we lost a lot of altitude reeeeeal quick haha. It doesn’t technically count as a horse fall since Charlie’s shoulders didn’t touch the ground, but yea he really didn’t make much effort to fight gravity there, did he.....

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  4. It looks so tame and gentle in the gif LOL. Glad you guys walked away no worse for wear!

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    1. It was honestly extremely gentle. I have a knot on my shin from where I landed on a pole but that’s it. Charlie didn’t have a mark anywhere - not his knees or even his lips. Kinda crazy haha - my falls from ponies have been WAY worse!!

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  5. I'm glad that neither of you were hurt. Nice job to the photog to give you all the pics. Adversity seems to be the main challenge for us AA folks and always something to work on. Great that you had a SJ lesson so quickly after to get things back on track.

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    1. Oh man adversity sometimes feels like my middle name LOL. Tho I guess we had a pretty smooth run for a while there so eh, just par for the course! And at least we got these sweet pics from the deal haha

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  6. Camel!charlie kneels when its hot.

    The good news is, he was so much closer to the ground when you came off!!! you had about 3 feet to go. Win!

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    1. Lol right? He’s all like, “I’m sorry ma’am but this ride has ended!” And *poof!* I was on the ground looking back up at him haha

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  7. Omg he really DID go down like a camel! :D

    That first pic, tho, is beautiful and frame worthy and you both are PERFECTION.

    I'm so glad you had an emergency lesson with Sally, with a much different outcome. I'm sure that must have gone a long way towards making you feel much better!

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    1. PS. My old trainer had a saying that "it doesn't count as a fall if you go down with the ship".

      So, technically, you didn't really fall off Charlie. :)

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    2. Thanks I really love that first photo <3 he gave such a massive effort over that fence, but I think that was also what basically emptied the tank since our next jump was where we went down. Can’t say he wasn’t trying tho!!!

      And lol I like the way your trainer thinks haha - I’ll definitey subscribe to the “going down with the ship” metaphor!!!

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  8. Omg "The Drama Package" is the most bestest idea EVER! I am totally sharing this with some photog friends, bc this totally needs to become a thing. And massive kudos to GRC for sending you all of the pics, that is amazing service! I am sure they were very pleased you took the time to be appreciative of their effort and spontaneity!
    I'm thrilled to see your dismount was a soft and gentle as it looked in the helmetcam! He really just decided "Nope, gonna kneel instead". Oh Charlie! Thankfully it doesn't stay that hot forever, and there are always more jumps to go over. And it sounds like he KILLED the SJ lesson, so #WIN

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    1. Ha all credit to Austen for the idea but yessss more photogs should offer it!! Grc is such a great outfit - lord knows I’ve purchased literally hundreds of shots from them over the years !

      And yea Charlie was definitely done-zo at that fence. I’m honestly not sure he even really knew or cared what would happen when he stopped actively jumping. He just .... completely zonked out. Poor guy. He tried so hard, and came out in fantastic fighting form yesterday. Just an unfortunately blip!!

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  9. You look rather graceful in that gif. Even horses have bad days and just can’t that day. That first photo is amazing. You guys look like you are flying. You’ll get it next time!

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    1. Thanks!! I’m so grateful to have that first shot haha. We were basically alone at the show - a friend was there with her trailer too and we got to park next to each other which was nice, but our ride times were all pretty close so I was always alone at the rings - meaning no pics. So I’m glad to have at least one good one as a silver lining!!

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  10. The gif is obviously perfect in every way, but so is the knees-to-nose picture. So glad you were able to get a lesson with Sally and that C has already moved on from the drama. I shall be emailing you at talk2thehand@nochanceinhell.org shortly to discuss a purchase price, lololol

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    1. Oh man Charlie is still just on fire. Bad day at full moon aside, he’s been raring to go. I’m actually wondering if a new supp I have him on has made him run a bit hotter. I like it!! Sally was basically like “uh yea I see no issues here, he is perfect” lol

      And yes, plz do email. But I’ll never sell tho ;) I’m keepin this one!!! :D

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    2. Oooohh, what supplement- so I know what NEVER to get either of my horses, bahaha

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    3. lol i'll probably write about it eventually - but i started charlie on purina supersport to see if it can help support better muscle development and recovery. the vet who evaluated him a couple weeks ago felt like his case is mostly muscular, vs soft tissue or mechanical, so i figured it was worth a shot.

      honestly tho, charlie's on a shit ton of stuff that is notorious for making horses hotter -- he eats mountains of alfalfa and his feed packs a big punch too. if it weren't so friggin expensive (and, er, illegal, details details), i'd probably be feeding the horse straight cocaine... big guy occasionally needs a little jolt!!! ;)

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  11. If only we could edit out the jump and put yall on top of a tower like those diving horses and riders then you would appear to be jumping into a dive to a tiny pool below.

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    1. Omggggggggg brilliant haha. I feel like that could probably be arranged :D

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  12. haha omg this is amazing thank you for sharing this again!

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  13. That just reminded me, I was running a trail race once and fell face first, fat lip, nose and face all scratched up. Usually they take a photo when you cross the finish, but mine was conspicuously absent. Lol I actually was hoping to see it :p

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    1. omgosh haha - that's unfortunate for sure!!! some of our local photogs will put a password lock on albums where there was a fall when they do their batch uploads, so that way only the rider can access any potentially problematic issues. and i can definitely see the wisdom in that, vs just making everything public. at least in this instance tho... i don't really mind so whatever!

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  14. That GIF tho, haha.
    Glad you both are OK!

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  15. Wow, quite a gif! Glad you both are no worse for wear (is that the correct way to say it?)

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  16. That is spectacular. I'm with you on the drama package. I'd be buying that all the time, haha

    The gif is just stellar. Poor sir really did just deflate.

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  17. At my first 50 with Ozzy, he dramatically dumped my ass at the start and proceeded to drag, trample, and kick me around camp RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER. Imagine my disappointment when I logged onto the SmugMug site later and didn't see a single photo of myself on the ground. I reached out to the photog, thinking she was being polite about posting my fail online, only to find out that she was too worried to keep shooting. SO sad. Needless to say, I'm thrilled that you get this awesome GIF to remember the moment by. I'm sure it sucked at the time, but it does make for excellent blogging!

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  18. "Your quarter has run out. Game over."

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  19. I didn't get a chance to comment on the original post from your recognized debut, but ugh, girl I'm so sorry you hit the dirt! Like you said though, it was really the perfect storm of rotten conditions and sometimes shit just happens. SO glad you and Charles are OK and ready to get back out there for some sweet sweet redemption! That GIF is priceless as well.

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  20. I'm hoping to have gotten some good drama/tantrum pics from this past weekend. I love the pretty ones,but people tend to stop shooting when the shit hits the fan. I want to see that!!!

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  21. That gif is awesome. The only thing that would have made it better is if he had grabbed a bite of grass while he was on his knees.

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  22. If you don't get great pictures, the fall is simply not worth it! And in my case, if I don't have a decent bruise to show off it wasn't worth the pain!

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  23. That's awesome they sent you the whole series! I'm still sorry it happened, but I mean, yay for drama filled media? Glad everyone is a-ok, and moving along just fine from this episode. Good call on the lesson right away. I think that's the best way to handle such mishaps.

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  24. This is great! And I'm so glad you and Charlie are both OK. That jumping photo is LEGIT by the way!

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  25. oh my! Glad you are both ok, and that you got media out of it ;-)

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  26. He was just like "plop." lol! I mean total bummer of course but glad you are both OK and love how you can poke fun at yourself! We all have to - its a coping mechanism!! haha!

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  27. So not pleased this happened to you.

    But OMG so pleased they gave you all the photos.

    GRC for the win

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  28. You weren't kidding about going down like a camel! He was SO gentle though! Like, "Oops Emma, um, yes, well, there we go..." --- good on you for recognizing it's just another day, not a dream-ender. Have been dumped so many times this year and am finally realizing getting dumped is just another data point for training/planning.

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  29. Those pictures! I'll admit, I love a good fall as long as no one is seriously hurt. Definitely nothing to beat yourself up about in that heat though, I'd probably do the same if I was Charlie.

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