friday foto finish iii

I'm kinda loving these photo dump posts as a way to collect all the various pictures and whatnot on my phone that haven't made it into any posts of their own.

Maybe they're kinda the 'B Sides' of blog pictures haha, but idk, maybe it's a nice way to run through where we've been recently without spending a whole awful lot of time on it?

Anyway, as it is, Charlie and I have in fact been up to stuff since our lesson in the apocalyptic rain last week haha. Actually tho, I think boarding at an h/j barn with an attached indoor has made me go a little soft. Brita might feel similarly about boarding at OF, which also has an attached indoor.

We spent the last few years riding outside come hell or high water (literally), but last week suddenly found ourselves darting to the OF indoor the moment big fat rain drops started falling from the sky (pictured above). Such wimps!! Still glad they convinced us to go back out lol...

Really tho, the weather has been so nice that I definitely shouldn't complain. Trees are blossoming!!! Except... well. I'm complaining a little bit bc we're looking down the barrel of a relatively mild cold snap this weekend and I'm afraid all these pretty, delicate little buds and blossoms won't make it. Sad :(

But onto happier (but still pretty in pink!) thoughts: Here's what went down with Isabel this past weekend. Basically, she's looking for a lease rider. A previous test ride with a student from the lesson program apparently went poorly - much bucking and bolting and reportedly scary equine shenanigans, and the parents noped right out of that situation. Oh Izzy, you devil.

The owner contacted me and I immediately thought of another rider from the program who loves Arabs, has a quiet way of riding, and is fascinated by dressage. Perfect. So I went out Saturday and Sunday to ride the horse first, then get the student in the tack for mini lessons. Day 1 found both Izzy and student a bit tense as they sought common ground, but Day 2 showed BIG improvements. (And let's just not talk about my own inner turmoil stemming from how good it felt to be on that mare again...)

I think they could be a really great partnership - the student has worlds to learn from Izzy, and frankly Izzy needs a job. Obvi any arrangements are between the student and owner at this point, but I think they're at least going to give it a try! I deemed it a good sign when the student texted me that picture of Izzy in a bright pink and SPARKLY bridle. Yassss. 

Shifting gears back to Charlie before I end up totally consumed by all thoughts Isabel.... Charlie's had a good week. A solid schedule of a mixture of purposeful schools and hack-abouts. We especially enjoyed being able to get out to explore more of the campus grounds with another barnmate and her horse, Tip, who happens to be the big boss man in Charlie's herd.

While not hacking around, Charlie has dabbled a little bit with hopping over fences at home, since trainer P said I needed to keep putting jumps in front of him now that he's starting to figure it out. But we've also been trying to dig a little deeper into our flat work. Because.... 

We have another schooling dressage show tomorrow!!! Much excitement!! Same venue as last time (OF) and same test too. I'm not totally thrilled about the early start time, as it doesn't leave a lot of space for easing into the day. But I'm choosing to see that as an advantage.

By this point, OF is a fairly ho-hum venue for Charlie. But I personally would really like to get more exposure to busier, electric atmospheres. So maybe by making it an earlier morning with more of a time crunch between shipping in, warming up and actually riding our tests, it'll serve as a test for putting a little more pressure on the horse (and me?)? 

Because guys. Guys. I'm doing it. It's happening. Entries are in for Charlie's first real big boy event at the end of the month. Ahhhh!!!! So excitednervous haha. I love Loch Moy. Really truly. We'll just do the lowest of the low unsanctioned baby CT divisions: 18"/2' fences and the Intro B test, which hopefully Charlie can navigate with confidence.

The question mark? Loch Moy can draw a crowd. It's not unheard of for these starter horse trials to have 300+ entries. That's a LOT of atmosphere. The trailers pack in close and horses are legitimately in every direction. My focus for the day will absolutely revolve around setting Charlie up to handle that atmosphere successfully.

So anything I can do between now and then to start introducing Charlie to more atmosphere and pressure to perform in distracting circumstances will only help. Starting with this weekend's dressage show! And maybe some other stuff too we'll see ;)

I'm also exploring ways to keep Charlie's inner dinosaur away from any potential tar pits. He continues to be SUPER in this regard - changing to the fuzzy girth really has made a massive difference (the spurs help too haha). But since adjusting that element of tack, I've avoided schooling in my dressage tack - for fear that it could also be part of the problem.

My hope is that Charlie acted out in the dressage tack too bc his girth groove was generally sore and any pressure aggravated it (in addition to the behavior just being a standard trick up his sleeve anyway). But, just in case, I've been experimenting this week. See - I bought this fuzzy stretchy terry cloth-esque girth cover from Hawk like... years ago. 

It's obviously way longer than a dressage girth, but I snipped a slit on each end where the billets meet the girth so that the cover reaches all the way to the saddle flap, but the girth is still adjustable. The terry cloth material isn't great for this - it'll probably eventually fray (and might not survive a trip through the wash) - but it covers up Charlie's problem zone: right where the leather billets would otherwise sit against his skin.

I rode in this arrangement twice in a row this week, and will do so again for the show. It's not the most attractive setup ever... but it's also not super hideous. Actually esp when I'm in the saddle you might not even notice.

We'll see how it holds up, I guess, or whether it's worth the effort. This particular girth fits fine compared to the leather one that started the problem in the first place, so this cover might not even be necessary. For now tho I'm rollin with it haha. Anything for the princess, right?

Anyway, Charlie gets today off after a good week's full of work, and we'll see how he comes out tomorrow morning for our tests. I keep telling him he's got to defend his "Undefeated Champion Dressage Horse" title lol, but idk how he feels about that.

Regardless it should be a good day no matter what, esp since we'll be hangin out at the show with some other friends and ponies and puppies. It might be cold but I don't care - it's just so exciting to be showing again!

Hope you all have a great weekend planned too - whether it involves setting the stage for the season to come or not!