Monday, May 22, 2023

volunteer report @ Fair Hill

Happy Monday, y'all! Let's break up the monotony of ... inaction ... around these parts by reliving the quiet satisfaction of spending a beautiful day volunteering at a wonderful local horse show, yes? Yes. 

oh hai there, charles!
Hopefully by this point, you've already been inspired to set up your (free!) (no membership required!) account thru USEA's Volunteer Portal. It's an easy one-stop-shop for discovering volunteer opportunities near you, and signing up for actual volunteer positions couldn't be easier. There are definitions, descriptions, and even some videos on what you can expect once on site. Virtually none of these roles require any prior experience.  

And the best part, once you have an account, you'll get regular emails about events near you that are looking for volunteers. Most offer all sorts of rewards and/or swag -- like t-shirts, meals during your shift, schooling passes, and more! 

pic shamelessly stolen from facebook a few weeks ago, when i stewarded dressage warm up for Fair Hill's spring FEI event
Personally, I try to volunteer at least monthly -- sometimes more often, depending on what else is going on in life and/or on ye olde eventing calendar. 

Stewarding the warm up ring (for any phase, honestly) is usually my preferred role. I like being on my feet and interacting with the riders, ya know? (Plus, cough cough, bossing people around lol). And actually, I got to do that last month at Fair Hill's International Spring Event. 

back again for more -- this time just jump judging!
This weekend was more of a last-minute sign up, tho. Charlie hasn't been sound (more on that later), my schedule was unexpectedly light, and the event needed warm bodies. Check and check, sign me up! 

Just about anybody can be a jump judge. It's engaging enough to keep you focused, but honestly pretty low key. Which is good bc.... Most events need literally dozens of jump judges. Mostly just to have eyes and a radio constantly focused on every horse galloping at speed over immovable objects. Ya know. Just in case. But also for ensuring accurate scoring and timing, etc.

Boyd Martin's former mount and homebred Ray Price, capably piloted by his new rider Jessica Gehman to win their class!
I felt especially lucky this weekend to get somewhat interesting jump assignments too! Not bc of penalties or refusals or whatever* but bc I got to see a variety of different riding styles. 

Like, on the Training course, for example, I was assigned to the last combination on course. It was two inviting roll tops, set on a fairly open 3 strides on a straight line -- but slightly downhill and a little bit on a camber. And most riders did the long 3 basically pretty much fine, as you might expect by the end of the course etc. 

Tho a couple produced very measured pleasant looking 4-stride efforts. One soul fit in 5 (very strong looking horse held to a very controlled short stride). And a couple chopped in a sketchy half stride on the way out. Mostly tho... Riders committed to the distance and made it happen - cool to watch!

(*One of the first things you learn as a jump judge is that.... Actually, most horses and riders just go out there and jump the things more or less fine! It's kinda inspiring, actually!)

Phillip Dutton on one of his N horses, demonstrating one of many many different approaches we saw to this decidedly tricky terrain for the water complex
Similar story for my Novice course assignments. And honestly this is a big reason why I like volunteering at the lower levels at national events -- it's more relatable lol. These are my people (even if, uh, it's still a whole bunch of pros mixed in there too...). 

The N water looked tame on paper --- cross through the water, then out over a little log on the far side. In reality, tho? The terrain changes everything here. You come down a big hill into kinda a shadowy unexpected pond. At least the banks into the water aren't that steep --- but the banks out ARE. You end up going up a little bump, then back down to the log. It's a lot of footwork!

and Diego Farje, assistant rider at Windurra, demonstrating a different but equally effective (and possibly quite educational?) approach
Obviously quite a few riders made this look totally like NBD. Bc... Ya know... For a seasoned horse it all makes reasonable sense. But at Novice... Well... You get a mix of basically every level of horse and rider experience, combined every which way. 

So it was cool watching how everyone handled it. Some allowed a patient, slow approach --- some were significantly more, uh, positive is a word lol. I'm not even sure how Charlie would have done it. Probably fine lol, but I also probably would have had heart burn about it going in LOL!

finishing up the day with BN at one of Fair Hill's iconic ruins
Anyway, last fence of the day was the most boring --- as the lort intended, given that it's BN and the whole point is to help horses and riders learn to be a little boring haha... Still, tho, honestly not a bad way to pass an afternoon. 
 
sir. grow your feet and that could be us!
So. Anyway. If you haven't created an account on the Volunteer Portal, go do that now! And if you already have an account.... Go sign up for something!! Lol...

Oh, and anyway anyway... Charles. My dear friend Charles. He's good. Last you heard, we were going again! and Horse showing! But then started to feel the nagging worries of foot soreness after like ONE proper jump lesson (omg we coursed around 3', it was glorious! no pics tho, sorry). Then a sudden cacophony of lost shoes and more bruised feet. 

Guys. A horse should NOT be so sore after ONE jump lesson, ya know? So at a planned vet visit intended to do his normal hock maintenance, we instead pivoted to the more pressing front end needs and did his coffins again (last time 2019). Sigh. 

As far as my vet could tell, this horse should be sound. But. More insights came to light, after a few more lost shoes, and therefore an unusual farrier appt where I could actually be there. And... Well.... I learned that we need a new farrier. Recall Charlie's former farrier of many years retired this past winter. The new guy hasn't had an easy go of it, after Charlie's whole gravel-induced subsolar abscess apocalypse. But.... Ya know. At the end of the day, I need the horse to be sound, and I need a farrier to produce that outcome without ignorant me supervising. Sooooooo.... Let's hope for better luck with the next? 



25 comments:

  1. Ah, major bummer about Charlie. Hope everything gets sorted out and that he is feeling better soon. And thank you so much for volunteering. It's not near as much fun as competing but you are right, there's a lot you can learn through observation. Every time I attend a horse show (not that often, admittedly) I am amazed at how many people it takes to pull them off. They don't take place without folks like you who are ready and willing to participate.

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    1. And folks like YOU too!! I don’t know what sorts of events might be around your area but it’s worth taking a peek and maybe signing up for something!!!

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    2. Yup, you are right! Something to look into for sure.

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  2. I am sorry about Chuck. I am curious about the shoeing issue but understand if you don’t want to be public about it.

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    1. Eh I mean the horse isn’t sound after getting shod…. That’s basically it. I might have ideas about why (maybe trimmed too short? Maybe not great nail placement? Something with the angles?) but realistically what do I know, other than… maybe time to try a different farrier

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  3. Warm up ring steward is actually my least favorite position! I am not loud enough to effectively boss people around. Also, so sorry you are in sore foot purgatory as well. I hate this for both of us. Dang thoroughbreds and sensitive tootsies!

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    1. ughhhhhh it's the never ending story, apparently. like, c'mon horses --- just be sound :(

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    2. Was thinking about you guys and hope everything is going alright <3

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  4. I really thought about volunteering this weekend and I just didn't. I've been so inconsistent riding that I just wanted to take advantage of a weekend free to ride. But, I still feel bad about it, especially since I know how much they were looking for last minute volunteers (I've also had so many migraines that I didn't want to commit and cancel or commit and be miserable).

    Poor Charles. I hope things get sorted out soon with a new farrier and you both get to enjoy some nice weather. Sending good thoughts. Jiminy is sore too (his fault) so I'll join the sore feet club.

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    1. honestly i think they ended up ok for volunteers, at least on sunday there seemed to be plenty of folks and everything ran pretty smoothly -- so don't feel too guilty!

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  5. We are also having some shoeing / tripping concerns - ugh. I hope things end up being resolved for Charles

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    1. ugh... well, ya know what they say --- it's not the best club in the world but the members are pretty cool ;)

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  6. Emma I love when you’re my bossy warmup steward! You keep things controlled and moving while being firm and pleasant. Good luck with Sir Charles’s feet.

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    1. aw haha thank you! i'm hopeful his feet will come around soon enough too.....

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  7. Best of luck farrier shopping. I have a guy that's... ok? But not great? I guess I'm lukewarm about my farrier but not unhappy enough to shop yet. *sigh* At least (a) horse is not lame and (b) I can usually get the guy on the phone within three tries. I would LIKE a great farrier, but the only one I approve of locally is chock full of clients. *sigh* And also the current one doesn't immediately assume my horse is a jerk because of the breed.

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  8. There's nothing that annoys me more than paying someone a buttload of money to make my sound horse lame. Lameness after shoeing or trimming is a hard, hard no for me. Kudos for advocating for Charlie like you always do and the best of luck with the new farrier!

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  9. There is a shortage of farriers here. I can actually only find someone who trims, so I need to limit horse shopping to horses that will survive barefoot. I totally understand the frustration re: willing to pay the money but not getting the service you need. I hope you find someone perfect and Charlie's feeling fantastic again soon!

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  10. Looks like a fun day volunteering!
    So sorry to hear about Charlie and his sore feet. And especially the farrier. A good one is hard to find. I have deep seated fears about my own farrier retiring someday. I mean... I'm pretty sure he's in sixties, so like... it could happen. I hope you find a good one asap!
    Also, when I needed Al to grow his feet faster, I put him on a tablespoon of plain gelatin twice a day (in his feed). Did it work? I honestly have no idea if it was the gelatin, but he grew a ton of foot. Not that you were looking for suggestions... But I am who I am so figured I'd throw it out there.

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    1. thank you, yea.... just ya know.. horses lol :P

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  12. LynnT here -- site won't let me log in to comment. I've signed up for the volunteer site, but would be happier volunteering for an event that I know at least one person at -- would you mind PMing me to let me know if there are any events in the next few weeks you'd be at? I'd be happy to bake...

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    1. hey Lynn - that's awesome! shoot me an email at fraidycat.eventing at gmail ;)

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  13. Ok, I'm starting to worry about you guys. It's been a minute. Is Charles ok? Is Emma ok?

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  14. I hope everything's ok. You've been quiet for a while...

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  15. Getting worried about you and Charlie. Hope all is well.
    Betsy in WI

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