windurra: the unmounted sessions

The Windurra Camp curriculum was truly designed to be a 360* immersion into the performance ecosystem. Because as we all know, there’s more — FAR more — to success with horses than just what happens in the saddle. Arguably, a solid comprehensive system will get you sustainably farther than just talent or resources alone.

As performance coach Natalie Hummel said in her kickoff keynote session “Think Like A Champion,” Boyd’s system is set up so that it would literally take more work for him to stop, than it would to keep executing the plan to be World #1.

Natalie Hummel opened the camp with a group session on framing mindset

So she opened the camp with a talk intended to provide riders and participants with a framework to establish sustainably healthy mentality, accountability and intentionality. 

The material would be familiar to anybody who has listened to Natalie’s podcasts or RideIQ sessions, but essentially she focused on shortening emotional recovery time. Everybody makes mistakes, it’s inevitable — and the temptation to get stuck into the drama is hard to resist. But that drama, or the dwelling, is basically just wasteful consumption of what may be limited resources of energy, attention, stamina, etc.  

ah yes. all my red flags LOL

So she talked about the “Notice - Reset - Recover” process, comparing it to “how many strides does it take to bring your horse from an extended to collected gait (Editor’s note: this is a major recurring theme across the whole camp). Specifically, “Feel your feelings, then carry on” and stay in the moment.

Her C.H.A.M.P. framework is designed to help riders recognize and name the common pitfalls or emotional obstacles to improve awareness, recovery and resetting to: Composure, Humility, Alignment, Mastery, and Performance Standard. Scan the QR code below if you’re interested in more material.

scan the code if you’re interested in more material

For me, and actually for many session participants, that “Composure” element is a pretty big one… And not gonna lie, when I got back to the barn later that evening, I explained very carefully to Doozy** that “Composure” would be our vocabulary word of the day for… ever, probably LOL.

And another little mantra from Natalie: Taking feedback is not the same as dwelling or fixating. She suggested asking ourselves in a difficult moment, “WWBD” (what would Boyd do?), with the answer: “Win this Moment.” You can’t carry a mistake forward, you can’t ride yesterday’s round or yesterday’s horse, you can’t be stuck on the last jump when another is right in front of you. Whether we like it or not, our horses demand that we stay present in the moment with them.

(**Who was a hot fucking mess bc her fields did a normal rotation but she had ended up turned out alone in a new paddock for a couple hours in the changeover and was very very sad about it…)

 

Xander from Stübben led a deep dive session on bitting

Obviously readers won’t be surprised that the sports psychology session resonated with me, as that’s an area I’ve personally spent a LOT of time working on in myself over the last few years… But let’s keep moving through this 360* ecosystem, shifting gears to the Stübben session on a key piece of equipment in our sport: bits. 

Boyd tag-teamed this session with Stübben product designer and internationally recognized bitting specialist Xander Boere, with demonstrations conducted by a working student whose name I missed (sorry!) but who has started the FEI eventing levels with his thoroughbred gelding.

one of boyd’s working students did the bitting demo ride on a sensitive slightly insecure but lovely and very willing thoroughbred gelding. 

Boyd talked a lot about his own favorite bits, and especially the reality that while he may have literally hundreds in his collection, he probably uses the same three or four 95% of the time (regular snaffles, twisted snaffles for jumping, and a baby Pelham). Xander, meanwhile, emphasized that your bitting solution needs to support a good contact, and that without that contact and connection, you lose the body of the horse.

He advised riders to use bits they like the feeling of, that the horse also likes. Realistically some horses will just get offended at some bits or some points of pressure, so a little trial and error may be needed. 

A general guideline he offered was that a smoother reaction that takes longer to work is “better” than the alternative of a quicker reaction that’s less smooth, bc you can always keep finessing and refining the training from there. 

boyd, looking deep in thought lol

Key topics in the talk included reviewing cheek piece styles, mouth pieces, materials, and best practices for fit. For example, a loose ring bit wants a finger of space on either side of the mouth to avoid pinching, but an eggbutt can be much closer. 

The baby Pelham is one of Boyd’s favorites — especially for his working students who might be hacking or exercising his horses — bc its action helps bring the horse’s head down and back up without a lot of fussing or tinkering in the connection. Alternatively, the three ring can help with raising a horse’s head up, tho you may sacrifice some hollowness in the back. 

Most of Boyd’s horses will flat in their ‘normal’ bit 90% of the time, but there may be certain scenarios where it’s helpful to change it up. For example, after a show when the horse is feeling tight in his back, or before a show during ring familiarization — these are both examples of a time where you can move back and forth between bits to help the horse understand and achieve the beneficial posture with minimal fuss.

doozy is clearly so excited to put my takeaways to work as we keep chugging along in the rehab

Xander also highlighted a new plastic compound Stübben is using for their bits. It’s his feeling that rubber as a bit material is basically outdated technology — that rubber is actually too drying and too prone to wear and tear. The plastic, on the other hand, encourages a wetter mouth and is less likely to get chewed up. 

I actually ordered a baby Pelham in the plastic material (with the same mouthpiece as the kimberwick Boyd’s holding above) using the clinic discount, and will report back!

(Editor’s note: another major theme from the clinic — an ever-growing shopping list LOL)

head groom / operations manager / boyd’s-right-hand-man Steph’s personal horse was an extremely willing participant as demo horse in Dr Kevin Keane’s session

As with anything with horses, there really aren’t any hard and fast rules or requirements here — the horses haven’t read the textbooks and all our experiences will vary slightly. If you’re interested in getting more personalized feedback or even a fitting, it might be worth reaching out to either a rep or independent fitter in your area!

And same caveat with the next session, “When do you NEED the vet?” with Kevin Keane, DVM. He was crystal clear that these are really just informal guidelines and helpful highlights based on the experiences of the professionals leading these sessions. When in doubt (or in urgent need!) — turn to your trusted tribe.

Kevin’s an accomplished vet and also an accomplished eventer in his own right!

Apparently Boyd’s head groom* Steph suggested this topic to Kevin, so he put together a remarkably concise and clear list, and talked through each aspect — including why it matters to his practice.

The session started with a review of measuring Temperature / Pulse / Respiration (TPR), the relative normal ranges, and the circumstances where variance is totally ok and non-emergent. His main point was to encourage folks to be comfortable enough with these metrics to be ready able and willing to provide them in a call to the vet should a situation arise, so vets can triage their response. 

(*A wildly underwhelming title for the person who by all accounts is a major driver in overall program operations…)

great session on when do you NEED your vet

Then he went through his emergency list — specifically, the situations where he feels it’s appropriate for a vet to make an emergency visit to see the horse immediately, vs scheduling an appointment. The list is:

1 - Eye: pain, tearing, shut, discoloration. Especially if you live in a warmer climate like Florida, apparently the fungal pathology can get very bad, very fast.

2 - Uncontrolled bleeding. The blood vessels get larger higher up the leg, as does the scale of blood loss. He reminded the audience that in emergencies, you want to do what it takes to save the horse first — and worry about complications later. Example: use the tourniquets or vet wrap around delicate structures etc. if that’s what it takes to save the horse

3 - Lacerations need stitches if the skin edges are separated. K.I.S.S.

#justwindurrathings

4 - Colic: painful abdomen. Again, he reminded the audience that there are a LOT of other organs in the abdomen beyond just the guts, and that uncontrolled pain can be a big deal. You’ll want to be able to tell the vet your horse’s TPR (prior to administering banamine or any other drugs!)

5 - Choke: food material coming out of nostrils. Horses that are choking for a long time are at increased risk of dehydration, compounding the emergency. Soaking food is a good way to reduce risk.

6 - Lameness: affecting horse’s mobility. The distinction between an emergency call and scheduling an appointment can be fuzzier here, but is basically related to whether the horse can actually get around or not - esp to get to the water bucket. When in doubt, make the call.

7 - Neurological status change. Biggest issue here is safety to the humans and other horses who may be in the same space as an ataxic horse.

the conditioning pond: shallow water, peacefully ensconced within some shrubbery, best enjoyed as a quiet group activity

It’s probably a safe bet that if you pinned Kevin down to keep meditating on this question for another couple of hours, days or weeks, the list might get a little longer… Or maybe there’s something you would add to or clarify about that list, based on your own experiences??  Honestly, tho, I appreciated the simplicity and focus on the most common situations. 

Ultimately, his most emphatic advice to the audience was to develop a good relationship with your team — your vets, farriers, trainers, etc., so that if the unthinkable happens, you’ve got the resources you need.

i would like to please special order an exact copy of this round pen for doozy LOL

Whew, ok, are you still with me? I know this is a lot of information packed into a single post, but hang in there — we are shifting to the last topic addressed in the various unmounted sessions, which you may have guessed based on the last few pictures: Conditioning!

I saved this for last because I’m honestly most interested in adapting or modifying to fit my situation, vs trying to replicate a 5* fitness program for Doozy. Thanks but, uh, no thanks!

doozy’s first time in our home round pen — complete with chicken coops LOL

The horses at Windurra spent a LOT of time conditioning — the vast majority of their ridden time falls more into this category than “proper schooling.” A typical session for a horse could include hacking out with a working student for 20min before being delivered to Boyd for a dedicated ~20min schooling ride, flat or jumping, then picked up by another working student for a second cool down hack.

Very rarely would a horse go straight from the arena back to the stall — they’ll at least walk the drive way or do a loop around the fields. Something. Variety in location, footing, terrain — it’s all part of the program.

For more intentional conditioning hacks — let’s say an hour of walk/trot out in the woods and fields — the horses trot on the flat and uphill sections, walk on downhill. Boyd said he’s not too insistent on frame through this work, only that the horse isn’t upside down or inverted. He wants the back to be soft, but the work is more about the heart and lungs vs muscles.

“what the fuck with that rooster tho” — doozy, being tall but composed

Peter Wylde offered some perspectives on connecting the conditioning to the schooling in his various sessions (more on all that in a later post!). He said he’s fond of free lunging a horse (if you have a safe secure space like a round pen) for ~5min each direction in loose relatively passive side reins — either connected to the side or just down to the girth. Then remove the side reins and do another few minutes each way. 

He also likes integrating more passive conditioning style work into his warm ups — including getting up off the horse’s back and letting them go 3-4 times around the ring. Not running or chasing, just a low frame, free back, sending the horse forward but letting him take a deep breath. This is apparently an approach Michael Jung uses even in his dressage warm ups.

and then off on a semi-serene hack! better than fully-feral, amirite?

Steph Simpson added some additional nuance to those thoughts in what turned out to be a 1:1 discussion on conditioning on the last day when a lot was going on and I was the only one who showed up LOL. It was super cool tho bc we really got into the weeds on my own special critter, Ms Mondeuse. 

And, well. Basically, Steph said her impression of my description of where we are with the rehab (on one hand progressing slower bc we don’t have a ton of control; on the other hand introducing more complicated flatwork sooner for… the same reason LOL) was that it sounds like a “Hostage Situation,” except she’s not sure which of us is the hostage. Oh. My. God.. haha…hahaha??

doozy maybe you’ll be grown up one day

She talked about the slow canter / galloping program they use to leg up the horses in the winter, and wondered if a similar structure (in concept if not in intensity) might suit Doozy? 

Basically, all along I’ve had this idea that Doozy doesn’t need to be fit. I don’t WANT her to be fit. Thanks, but dear god no thanks… Except, that approach might be missing a key concept that was another major recurring theme throughout the whole camp: You have to find ways to let the horse succeed, let them do what they’re good at, find salvation in the forward. 

And guys… Well. Doozy is good at running lol. It’s like her lungs are in her feet, she never really takes a breath until we’re settling in at canter. There’s a reason cross country is our easiest phase, ya know?

So Steph suggested adapting their slow canter (aka quasi gallop) program into my work — as appropriate with the rehab schedule — starting with 2-3 minutes of continuous canter in week 1, sticking with it long enough to get over the “hump” of what might an explosive start lol. Then for the next couple weeks, adding in a second 2-3 minute interval. Then increasing again to a third interval for another few weeks, etc. Eventually their horses get up to 5 intervals of a mile each, tho obvi that’s not my goal. 

Rather, Doozy’s goal would be to integrate this type of work into our system to 1) alleviate the hostage crisis; and 2) create a more productive connection for practicing the “forward and back” that will be a major theme in the Dressage and Show Jumping posts.

We’ll see lol — does any of that conditioning work align with your program? Or any thoughts / ideas / comments from the other sessions on sports psychology, bitting, or vet work? Or maybe you’re just waiting for me to get on with the good stuff — the ridden sessions?? lol… 

windurra camp ‘26

All the way back in July 2017, some friends and I embarked on a casual informal “adult camp” that included a day trip out to Boyd Martin’s legendary international eventing facility Windurra for a guided tour. 

That was a great and memorable day — so when I won an educational grant this year from the MCTA, it was a no-brainer to splurge on auditing the official Windurra Camp: a three day extravaganza full of demonstrations, lectures, and unmounted sessions in addition to traditional clinic lessons!

the auditors’ goody bag came complete with branded swag, natch

The clinic was an immersive experience of long days chock full of content and material from a broad range of professionals. And, as you might expect, I took a TON of notes! And pictures, omg so many pictures LOL!

So I’ll spend the next couple days working through the mountain of material — hopefully digesting and distilling it all down to the biggest themes, takeaways, learnings, observations and ideas. 

Today’s post will focus on cross country, pulling the threads together from a few different sessions, including auditing participant lessons, former steeplechase jockey Mark Beecher’s session on galloping position, and Boyd’s demo schooling session with Liz Halliday Sharp’s Paris Olympics horse, Cooley Nutcracker. 

brace yo’self, bc i took a LOT of notes!

Subsequent posts will be dedicated to show jumping (featuring Peter Wylde), dressage (featuring Silva Martin, Brett Parbery and Laura Graves), and then a miscellaneous catch-all from the unmounted demos and sessions, including: 

- The Champion Mindset with Natalie Hummel

- Bitting Discussion & Demonstration with Xander from Stübben

- When To Call The Vet with Kevin Keane, DVM

- General (and also Personal!) Conditioning Discussions with Steph Simpson and Peter Wylde

boyd did a cross country galloping position demonstration on this chromey chestnut

Hopefully at least some of that will be interesting to the average reader lol… So let’s dig in, yes?

Tho, lol, I’ll be honest with you… I’m starting this recap series with cross country bc it’s the easiest for me to get out quickly… mostly bc… ymmv but I find auditing xc clinics to be less impactful than other phases, in the grand scheme of things. 

So much of cross country riding is really just about feel. And since most of us don’t have the luxury of setting up our own schooling fields, it’s not like we’re taking away exercises or combinations to recreate at home either. The lower levels are most fundamentally just one jump at a time, applying skills and training developed from normal every day ring riding.

lessons were replete with lots of discussion of principles

What WAS interesting to me, however, was the number of recurring themes throughout the entire clinic: no matter who led the session for which phase, certain patterns and concepts emerged again and again. And one major theme related to techniques for warming up the horse, preparing for a ride in any of the three phases.

Shocking exactly nobody, the name of that theme is Adjustability. Also known as forward and back, lengthen and collect, transitions within and between gaits, forever.

every session had tons of auditors too!!

For the cross country clinic lessons, Boyd started by having riders find a light seat at trot, immediately working on adjustability in the gait off just the rider’s position: trot, nearly walk, then trot off again. Rinse, repeat, then canter. 

In canter, riders would shorten the stride on a small-ish circle, maybe 15m, then ride forward again. With the intention of right away trying different lengths of canter — including opening onto a more open stride in a truer galloping position.

random flashback to a million years ago when charlie and i did epic things like jumping that same jump <3 <3 <3

In Boyd’s demo rides, Peter Wylde offered a sort of live-stream narration (audible in the video below!), and in his words, “the warm up is intended to help the horse take a breath and get in sync.” The purpose is to connect and feel ready, and that just doing the short quick bare minimum in order to start jumping jumps can be less helpful in the long term (Editor’s note: guilty as charged!). 

For the first couple jumps, Boyd suggested “don’t think cross country yet” — just keep it really simple. And in his demo with Bali, he started with a simple figure-8 over two inviting tables — focusing on politeness and turning both directions equally well on landing.

back to boyd, doing another demonstration — this time a serious but simple schooling ride with Cooley Nutcracker

As a schooling ride progresses, Boyd encouraged riders to try to recreate the feeling of being on course — taking longer straight approaches and big sweeping turns, vs more twisty show-jumpery type lines. The first few fences are really thinking about turning each way, checking all the aids, checking for politeness rather than “desperation.”

Relating to pace, Peter advised that when on simple flat ground — non-complex / combination scenarios — you’re basically looking to do one less stride to everything than you’d do in show jumping.

it’s insane how easy these two make it all look

Former steeplechase jockey Mark Beecher tag-teamed the galloping position sessions with Boyd, and encouraged riders to practice catching jumps on a more forward flying stride — the “minimal set up” type galloping fence. 

While he said it’s inevitable that riders will make mistakes doing this practice (and therefore suggested practicing in low-consequence scenarios like with a ground pole or small safe slope-y type jump), he was adamant that it was a critical part of learning to be smooth in cross country. 

Riding forward, keep coming forward — don’t necessarily commit to the forward with your body while you work on developing the feel — but keep riding forward.

Bali trying to act like he wouldn’t accidentally murder boyd while spooking at his own reflection lol

For each session, and especially for Boyd’s demo with Bali, he talked about the importance of keeping it simple. You don’t have to jump every jump every time — especially if schooling is something you can do more frequently. 

The checklist is basically to practice the gears (forward and back), check the turning, try a little terrain (jumping up and downhill), and hit the three main hallmarks of xc (ditches, banks and water) — with any combinations as appropriate by level.

video from their schooling ride here — short and sweet!

Horses at Windurra generally jump twice a week — maybe one session is show jumping and the other is cross country, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be both. 

Especially for the veteran campaigners, cross country days can be selected base on optimal conditions. For example, it rained on and off all day Saturday, so the ground was perfect on Sunday for Boyd to bring Bali out for his first cross country jumps since Kentucky.

tfw you get home early after an inspiring clinic and can’t wait to get on your horse, denim be damned!

I’m sure the riders had more takeaways from their various lessons — likely with specific homework related to posture, technique, or how to help their horse with various questions etc. For example, Boyd was adamant in his coaching about position details like keeping the upper body back with hands forward especially down banks or for jumps with stuff on landing.

But for me, the breakdown on how to approach the warm up is probably most applicable. Namely bc I’m literally notoriously terrible about just rushing through it bc Doozy is so much easier to jump than to flat lol… Sigh…  

More than anything, tho, the cross country sessions just made me feel a little sad, jealous and #FOMO-y — and eager to get Doozy fully recovered so we can get out there for ourselves again!! All in good time, hopefully. 

And in the meantime, more to come on the rest of the sessions soon — definitely lmk if there’s anything either from the xc sessions or from the stuff yet to come that seems particularly interesting to you!

the seventh rabbit

It was our first big exciting weekend in Dooz Land in a couple months now — for two main reasons!

1. We had our first riding lesson since Doozy’s accident, and 

2. It was in a clinic with another 5* eventer whom I’ve admired for a long time now!

pretty biscuit, lookin serene <3

So sure sure, it may seem a bit silly to take a rehabbing horse to a big ticket clinic with someone so accomplished… Especially when that rehabbing horse is basically a wild animal incapable of simply… just… trotting a circle. 

But, eh, I have my reasons and am glad we did it!

also looking like a friggin tank, like a whole ass brick house LOL

So, let’s get into it! Tho a quick note — I have like zero media from the lesson itself, tho basically a couple week’s worth of random snapshots from our day to day horsey activities. So the pictures are only semi related, and basically in chronological order to capture more or less Doozy’s rehab progression.

hackin in our fly boots with our favorite unicorn friends

Anyway. Former West Coast eventer Matt Brown relocated with his wife to the East Coast a few years ago. That name might sound familiar to long time blog readers bc I’ve referenced him a fair amount as it relates to goal setting and mental health. His essays were instrumental in helping me reframe my overall horsey goals, pursuits and experiences to prioritize fulfillment from the process itself, rather than any specific outcome.

He’s also just, ya know, a pretty impressive rider with substantial credentials and accomplishments, nbd. 

quick fangirl video i took a few years ago

So when a drop dead gorgeous farm like 20min from home announced the clinic, honestly it felt like a no-brainer. Doozy’s rehab is progressing day by day, she’s remained extremely sound and consistent… plus it’s not like there isn’t plenty of low hanging fruit for us to work on at the extreme basics. It IS US, after all.

ooooh finally tried on the replacement bridle

And real talk… when I say the “rehab is progressing,” I mean that in only the barest bones terms. As in, the horse continues to exist each day, and remains sound with the leg looking good even as we layer in more intervals of trot and even a (very) little canter. The quality of that work, tho? Well… It has not been great. 

doozy attempting to go nuclear while i try to just trot a long side a few weeks ago
(pic not from lesson but representative of Ms Thing having a bit of a hair trigger lately)

The tension and explosiveness have been unrelenting. Especially paired with my insecurities about setting her back in her recovery, it’s meant for maybe slower going than would otherwise be prescribed. And Doozy hates slow going LOL.

aaaaand back to peaceful serene tack pictures LOL! this bridle is almost the same as the one she exploded, except for the noseband design… i think i liked the last style better, but c’est la vie! maybe it’ll grown on me…

One of the trickiest aspects for me in trying to learn how to cope with and manage Doozy’s tension is that everybody has their own method, their own approach. We’ve tried a lot of different tactics and techniques over the years, and I worry sometimes about being too scattered or inconsistent — not giving any one technique enough time to actually work for the horse before shifting to trying some other way. 

we’ve been wearing mostly dressage tack lately anyway

But meanwhile, the issues persist and we’ve absolutely fallen into some hardwired patterns, routines and codependencies at this point. In other words, the tension is more or less baked in. 

In a strange way, tho, being relegated to rehab gives us a new chance, a new opportunity to confront the issue.

lots of walkies in the paddock next to the arena, since it has lovely afternoon shade

So we arrived at the clinic a little sheepishly in our dressage tack (pretty sure we were the only flat riders of the day), and I was blunt with Matt: Our flat work is basically unhinged, I don’t have an answer for the tension, and we’ve been at it long enough to have developed all manner of bad habits and escalation triggers in each other. But she’s a good horse and a nice person.

lots of walkies inside the arena too — including during lessons when there are dust ghosts omg

And Matt picked up immediately that a lot of Doozy’s anxiety is rooted in being an overachiever. She wants to understand, she wants to be right, she knows something is going to happen, so let’s make it happen right now! Add in her absurd untiring athleticism and… yea. It’s a lot LOL.

seems like it should be pleasant and relaxing, no?

He started us at the walk, reins at the buckle, asking me to sit deep and really feel her hind end footfalls. Trying to really plug me in seat first, helping Doozy find her fluid slinky walk with neck long and low, but not curled.

“you and i have different views on what’s considered ‘pleasant’” — doozy, probably

When I picked up the reins, it was with the intention to find contact without changing Doozy’s neck posture (long, level or low, not curled), with following arms and elbows. If we lost any of that — if Doozy got choppy or tense — I was to release back to the buckle and restart.

{*insert jaws theme song here*}

Eventually, once I could maintain a contact on the reins — not like, having Doozy in a frame necessarily, just a feel of the contact while she maintained a long forward self carriage — we started working the trot on a circle. Which, real talk, actually meant exploding immediately into porpoise canter exactly as she did when I first got her, like the last 3 years of schooling and training never happened hahaha(sob).

tacking + grooming in the main aisle these days instead of the grooming bays bc apparently being in everybody’s way is less spooky to the doozy

This is where Matt’s technique diverged substantially from other lessons we’ve had. Almost every single major professional who has seen Doozy has insisted that in the moments when she wants to explode forward, breaking gait or spooling out, I should immediately bring her back. 

Matt, however, instead had me let her carry on — don’t try to stop her — but guide her onto increasingly smaller circles until she starts to think that maybe trotting would be better. Which, for Doozy and her freakish balance, is a pretty small circle.

omg stop the presses — it’s doozy out in public again for the first time in months!!

But the idea was to not fight, not get into her face with the contact — not even let the contact itself be a major part of the conversation. He wanted me to avoid micromanaging, avoid telling Doozy exactly what to do, and instead think more along the lines of guiding her to a place where she could make the right choice herself.

for as challenging as this horse is for me, it’s nice to know that she’s become very good at some things!

And this pattern basically became our whole session. Doozy would explode into porpoise mode, I’d refrain from immediately clutching at her, and instead guide her onto smaller circles until she found her own soft balance. 

Then, let the circle expand slightly until she lost it again, then bring it back in. Expansion, contraction, usually just quarters of the circle at a time, sorta a breathing in and out.

“that wasn’t me, that was some other red horse” — sweet doozy, butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth

And believe it or not, we actually achieved some pretty great moments of both trot and canter using this technique. Which, shouldn’t be too hard to believe bc Doozy HAS had extensive schooling and is a lovely mover LOL. But ya know how it is…

Basically Matt’s whole thing was to help Doozy be a little more accountable for her own self regulation, a little more responsible for her choices. She wants / needs me to be there for her, but it can’t be micromanaging or trying to shut her down.

oh lady… it doesn’t have to be so hard!

And he told a little story about the seven rabbits — a horse who on a trail ride encountered a rabbit but didn’t spook. Then saw another rabbit, but still didn’t spook. Rabbit after rabbit, the horse was fine. Finally, tho, after the seventh rabbit darted in front of him, he shied away and unraveled. And the rider was perplexed bc clearly the horse had demonstrated that he’s not actually afraid of rabbits. But the lesson is that a horse’s capacity for bravery isn’t infinite, they can only take so many rabbits. 

To Matt, Doozy is basically always on that edge — she’s like a Zero Rabbits kinda horse, even when she seems calm she’s only ever one little bunny hop away from a big reaction (hey, kinda like how she hurt herself in the first place!).

Which, ya know… #accurate lol… So we’ll see. We’ll practice this new method and approach, see where it gets us. At this rate I’d settled for even just like one more rabbit, please!! 

 

click beetles + boat houses + trot steps, oh my!

Well the festivities have finally concluded for MDCTA’s annual recognized event, and follow on unrecognized Jenny Camp Horse Trial. But just because the party’s over doesn’t mean the fun stops, amirite?

these boat houses are some of my favorite jumps at all levels — charlie jumped this T one a couple times, like in 2019. they definitely deserve some TLC and fresh paint!

There was still jump painting going on right up through the day before the starter trial, and in fact a couple more got done afterward too. It’s so much easier to get them painted nicely when they’re out in the field vs stacked up in storage, ya know? And some of them were pretty desperate for attention…

taking the club into the digital age with an actual database for the jumps, complete with printable reports!

I’m not the world’s best jump painter, tbh — I’m a little too fast and sloppy and not as disciplined about the scraping and prepping as some others… But I *am* good at compiling, cataloging, and recording information into usable data and shared information hubs. So I finally took pictures of everything and made a digital jump inventory!

this N version of the boat house used to live at our last boarding barn, and charlie and i jumped it literally zillions of times, memorably that one time we actually won an event

From my experience as a volunteer, storing and sharing information centrally is so much more efficient than having everything residing inside key individuals’ heads. Not that there’s anything wrong with key individuals who generally know all the things, but… ya know. Being ‘key’ and all that, they’re typically busy and doing a million things. Much easier to just have a list.

and here’s the legendary USEA VIP original gold medalist volunteer Sue, painting yet another of the boat houses, this time the P version!

That way, when some of the country’s most amazing volunteers show up ready and eager to beautify our precious jumps, everything is ready to go for them! And voila! More jumps get painted, less time is wasted tracking down busy bees, and everyone is happy! By my count, something like 17 jumps total got painted for this event!! Amazing!

the club receives grants for introducing new groups to eventing — here’s a set of actual small children, apparently accomplished steeplechase riders, warming their race horses up before schooling xc

The schooling week in between horse trials is always a big hit too. I don’t know the final numbers on how many folks came through, but it was a LOT. Such a great resource for the local community to have full competition courses available to school so close to home! 

what goes up must eventually come down: unflagging is the least sexy task

I’d personally love to see the club offer more events at Shawan Downs throughout the calendar year. It’s apparently more feasible than I dared hope… but ya know. It’s a LOT of work, especially for a skeleton crew of board members and volunteers, almost all of whom are either retired or working full time jobs on top of, ya know, having lives and stuff.

new flexible pipe flag attachments recommended by the xc builder were a solid win!

But there are some ideas bumping around. Including opportunities to streamline some of the fussier tasks and chores — like this new method for flagging the fences, recommended by the cross country builder. Sure, it takes a little time to install each tube, but once it’s set, the flags go in and out, no muss no fuss, no friggin zip ties, AND — this style counts as frangible for narrow jumps and corners!

Only trick is to buy the right type of tubing, bc the really flexible stuff will completely relax and lose its shape once you cut it open. Ahem. Cough cough. Ask me how I know….

everyone knows hypothetically about staking jumps… but few spend much time thinking about unstaking jumps… blergh, 2 stakes + ~4 screws per fence x ~100 fences…

Anyway, tho, for many tasks, there really are no shortcuts. Like staking the fences. Sure sure, plenty of facilities out there get away with leaving jumps unstaked. And sure, plenty of oopsie rolled fences don’t result in major accidents — like that time Charlie and I rolled a house at Windurra. 

it’s a fun way to get intimate with the local bugs — meet the Click Beetle,
a gigantic native bug i’ve somehow gone my entire life without ever seeing before

Buuuuuuut…. when there ARE accidents, they can be legitimately catastrophic and fatal for everybody. Thanks but… no thanks. The few hours spent staking and unstaking is cheap insurance, as far as this club is concerned. It’s just hours that need to be accounted for in planning any additional events.

if bugs aren’t your thing, here’s cats instead, in a very good box

The neat thing about accounting for hours, tho, is that it’s all just numbers at the end of the day. If you know what things need to get done, and how long* those things take to do, it’s just a matter of assigning tasks, budgeting for paid professionals where feasible, and working backwards from a date, right? In theory??

(*And I mean the REAL time things take — like including the 20 minutes spent looking for the drill bit you dropped in the grass, or the extra trips to the hardware store bc you bought the wrong material — not the ‘aspirational’ guesstimates LOL)

anyway tho. doozy. she’s still a weirdo LOL

Well. In theory, all things are possible LOL! Like, maybe in theory, if the club decides to host a fall event at Shawan, mayyyyyybe Doozy will be fully rehabbed by then? 

and we’re still tack walking with friends!!

I still honestly don’t really have a sense of timeline for that, and am trying not to set any expectations, consciously or unconsciously, even as I may or may not be trying to manifest opportunities LOL.

do we look happy? <3 <3 <3

But we’ve been tack walking for a couple weeks now, and have started introducing little bits of trot, one long side of the arena at a time. Well. Ahem. And the occasional accidental canter step, bc Doozy is who she is. 

ain’t a bad way to spend an evening!

The mare feels like a million dollars tho… A million feral dollars LOL, especially compared to all those nice obedient well-schooled dressage horses I’ve been taking lessons on haha. Like. Doozy, some horses just ya know, do the thing without all those feelings and opinions!

oooooooh but the rehab continues!!!!
(not pictured: lots of feelings and opinions! oooh, or cohesive color coordinated outfit choices LOL #dontjudge #allthebluesatonce #andalittlegreentoo)

I have this beautiful fantasy that perhaps we can use this rehab period to maybe polish over some of those little rough spots in our schooling… Ya know, like, if we have to be walking and doing lots of transitions bc we’re only doing littles bits of trot at a time… might as well make the practice count, right? 

Seems like a nice idea LOL, we’ll see how it turns out in the real world tho. As long as we come out the other end with a happy sound horse ready to go run and jump again, I’ll be happy regardless!

So… yea. Lots of wishful thinking going on at the moment — hoping and wishing for more fun club stuff, and hopefully a happy sound horse to do the things with! Now that the club stuff is wrapping for the spring, it’s time to get serious about that other part!