Tuesday, August 18, 2015

making it happen - 3' in the show ring

The jumper show this weekend was a total blast - we had a lot of fun and managed to get done exactly what I wanted to get done.

plus we got some satin!!
I can totally understand why people love this discipline - the courses were super fun, and the general atmosphere was quite enjoyable. But wow, standing around waiting for our classes kinda sucked. Ride times ppl. They are awesome.

the in-and-out rode super well every time
I signed up for four classes - the optimum time and timed course with jump off for both the 2'6" and 3' divisions. Tho we ended up having a rail in the timed 2'6" course and therefore not doing the jump off, and I scratched from the second 3' class bc Isabel had been phenomenal and we were ready to go home after 3hrs in the tack (ugh).

she's such a good girl!
I also got on a little earlier than I intended bc of misunderstanding where they were in the classes... but it was fine. We warmed up briefly in the cross country field - testing the 'whoa' and 'go' in our canter and jumping the typical three warm up fences that you see at events (cross rail, vertical and oxer). Aside from a super gappy first attempt at the vertical, everything went smoothly and we consigned ourselves to waiting (and waiting).

hunting the next fence
I managed to get my number in for 3rd in the order of go - kinda my favorite place to be. A couple opportunities to see the course ridden, but not so much time to start getting antsy. Perfect.

The optimum time course rode really well imo - and was very similar to a typical stadium course. Lots of bending lines and short approaches. Much nicer than the actual stadium round I rode here at the event earlier this summer haha.

some of the trainers were referring to this as the 'McDonalds' fence haha
Our first 2'6" trip went pretty well for us. We were a little under-powered to jump 2 and ended up fitting in one-too-many strides to jump 3, but I think I fixed it well enough to finish the course out nicely.

the swedish oxer caused a bit of grief - we had a rail here in one of our 2'6" classes
The timed class was next, with the jump off round jumped separately after all riders had finished their trips. We had a rail at the swedish oxer (when I forgot to steer... oops) but otherwise it was a nice round. Sadly this one wasn't on video.

liver pool is nbd
Then we waited around FOREVER for the 2'6" division to wrap (I skipped out on the speed class - we weren't going for time or ribbons or points or anything, and two pleasant 2'6" trips were enough) before heading in for a trip around the 2'9"-3' course.

do we look happy?
Again, I thought everything rode really nicely. We were a little snug into jump 1, and I didn't balance early enough down the 8a-b in-and-out bending to the liverpool, and we only just barely fit the 5 in (then almost fell on our faces in the corner haha)... Plus we had a very unfortunate rail at 4 when Izzy rolled it with a hind leg... But really I was quite satisfied with the course and opted to finish with that.


Izzy certainly had it in her to do another course... but eh, she was good and I was happy. Plus I was kinda tired of waiting around by that point and it was starting to really get hot out.

smile for the camera!
And, perhaps more importantly - we'd already achieved my objective for the day. I wanted to jump around a 3' course (tho technically this was a 2'9"-3' combined class) to see how I felt about it. Isabel was obviously fine - we already knew she can do it no problem. But what about me?

oh wait - she just wanted the tree
I had been a little concerned that the jumps would somehow look bigger in the show ring. That the atmosphere and fill would build them up to look and feel different from our schooling. But actually it was fine. No different. The jumps looked right and rode fine.

'mmm delishus treeees' - isabel
Sure, we still made mistakes - but they're the same mistakes I always make. Not related to being scared or freaked out or anything, just typical mistakes that I can make over jumps of any size. And this makes me feel REALLY good.

mare was very ready to go home
Plus, even better - we managed to snag a couple ribbons for our efforts. 5th place in the 2'6" optimum time class (somewhat astounding bc I have no idea how the rules work and it was a big class) and 4th in the 3' optimum time (a function of there only being 5 total riders in that division).

pretty pretty ribbons!!
So yea, a good day. It would have been more fun if I had friends there riding with me (we were showing solo), but everyone was super friendly and we had fun chatting with all the other riders. I would definitely do a show like this again just to get that mileage and experience - but probably not for a while bc the next two weekends will find us back in action at actual horse trials!!!

52 comments:

  1. How much freaking fun! Go Team Emmabel! You live in an area with such a wealth of competitive opportunities. If I can ever get Griffin to a good point I may have to just haul over for a week and play.

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    1. yessss haha you should definitely come up this way for a little fun! we are so so so lucky to have so much stuff around. this particular farm is super close to home and they host TONS of fun shows - we'll actually be back in a couple weeks for a hunter pace!

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  2. SO awesome! I'm incredibly proud of you!! It looks like you and Iz are having so much fun :)

    The only, only thing I hate about the h/j world is the lack of ride times. Totally feel your pain!

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    1. thanks! and i've definitely been spoiled by ride times... tho there's something sorta nice in the community feeling of hangin out by the gate... but no, i like ride times. always haha.

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  3. Looks good to me! Yes, minor mistakes but you look safe and capable. And I would have shit myself if there was a liverpool on any of my courses, so you get all the points plus 10 million for just hopping over, NBD. Congrats on a great showing!

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    1. thanks! the mistakes are (very) slowly getting ironed out in lessons... but i always expect them to be a little worse at shows just as a function of nerves/environment/etc. so i'm actually pretty pleased with how relatively smooth everything was. and especially pleased in how easily isabel compensated for my mistakes, even at the bigger fences.

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  4. Woo hoo! You guys are on fire, I love it! You need to be kick ass eventing...you not fraidy.

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    1. haha thanks! she's certainly taking our local little show world by storm!!

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  5. Y'all look great!

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  6. That's awesome. What a good outing. Congrats!

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    1. thanks - it was exactly what i had hoped for

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  7. You did it!!!!!! I think you both looks great and really in control - totally capable. All those jump lessons are paying off! It would be a dream for me to get Maggie to a 3' class someday, so seeing you guys do it makes me weirdly proud lol

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    1. thanks - the jump lessons are definitely working! i never really thought we would do a 3' class, but now that we have it doesn't really feel much different, and it's still actually pretty easy for the horse. so no reason to think Maggie wouldn't feel the same!

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  8. You both look so good! And those are some very pretty ribbons!
    I don't blame her for eating the tree, weeping willows are my favorite too. I do stop at putting them in my mouth, but I can see why she'd want to.

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    1. haha there i was just thinking it would make a nice backdrop for some pretty portrait type pictures. i think i got more than i bargained for lol

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  9. awesome! looks like you had a ton of fun. she's so much fun to watch.

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  10. I'm still pretty convinced your blog name will have to change at some point! Nothing fraidy about that course! Great job you two :)

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    1. haha thanks. we will see - i feel like changing that would jinx it tho lol

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  11. Awesome! You guys look amazing in that video, like super comfortable over those fences. Congrats!

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    1. thank you - it really did feel super comfortable too. not sure it'll always be like that, but definitely a good start for a new height

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  12. You both you like you're having a blast!

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    1. thanks!! it felt really good to get out there and lay down rounds that, for us at least, are pretty good

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  13. Whoooot! And how nice you got some satin too!

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    1. that satin was definitely a sweet bonus haha

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  14. You two are a totally different pair from when you first started this blog! Looking like total badasses. When's the Novice debut? ;)

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    1. thanks :D and that's really the million dollar question, isn't it?

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  15. Great job! Those are big jumps, and you two look wonderful going over them.

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    1. thanks! it felt like we got a lot of air time haha

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  16. Team Emmabell got skillz (Wordpress still hates me) - http://backinthetack.wordpress.com

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  17. Wow, you both look amazing! Great job out there!

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    1. thanks - sometimes she makes it feel reeeeeally easy haha

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  18. Woo, look at the jump in that little mare! Very nice work you cute little team!

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    1. haha i think she really like this jumping stuff :D

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  19. you guys look amazing!!! sad i didnt get to go :( But you both really look like you were having a blast and that is just awesome!

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    1. we were bummed you couldn't go too - but we'll drag you along next time one way or another :D

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  20. Woot woot! Great speed and rhythm and obviously the height was not a problem at all! =)

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    1. thanks! i was kinda amazed at how easily isabel adjusted to the change in heights too - what a good horse!

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  21. Well done! That first headshot is adorable, btw.

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    1. haha thanks - i had about 17 others that all looked like variations of the 'outtakes' at the end of this post, but fortunately that one shot somehow made it through in which she looks like her normal nice self lol

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  22. Love the photo where you're smiling and Isabel is full derping. Herp derp.

    You guys killed it this weekend. Can't wait for more!!

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    1. lol thanks!! she's always full of funny faces :D and there is definitely more to come - a whooooole bunch of action packed weekends coming this way soon!

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