I work at a consulting firm full of type-A geniuses, each a master of something—and everyone’s got an analogy for everything. It's like a sport: who can pull the most perfectly relatable client story out of their hat, fastest. My boss, in particular, is fond of saying, “If you’re resting on your laurels, you’re wearing them in the wrong place.”
arrived just in time to enjoy pleasantly subsiding temps + humidity
And ya know. I admit to spending maybe more time than was quite necessary basking in the glow of our wonderful Loch Moy experience last month… But. Eh. It’s been hot, I knew there was work travel on the horizon (happened last week), and let’s be real: we’re allowed to be adult amateurs who can sit back and rejoice after doing a “big thing” every now and again, right? It’s all good.
the helmet cam always makes evening look so majestic!
Tho I’m also trying to really learn and understand all the various components that help create wonderful positive experiences in the first place. Namely, for us (and me and my mental demons in particular), it seems to be steady consistent “bite-sized outings” where everything feels easy and routine and mundane and normal.
With that in mind, I spent some time calendaring the next couple weeks between planned lessons and other outings, with an intent to balance Doozy’s trailer schedule, and decided that last night was the night to pop back over to Tranquillity for a little trip around the xc course.
not a new jump, but a good one
By now we’re all kinda familiar with the routine, right? Tranquillity just makes it so darn easy to get out and do whatever needs doing. I actually decided to warm up in one of the outdoor rings too, more or less to try to keep myself as honest as possible.
It wasn’t a perfect warm up — Doozy definitely knew what was up and was distracted by other horses (and deer) milling about the property — but honestly it was totally fine, and she popped over the little x-rails setup in the ring as quietly as she ever gets. Good ‘nuff!
brief interruption orienting the uninitiated to Tranquillity’s inviting layout: we parked next to the two big outdoor rings along the driveway, warmed up in the third outdoor (spiral), then basically made a circuit around the various fields (notably, the hay fields only ever really have jumps on the edges if at all).
Then we were off for a nice little jaunt about. Just trying to find the jumps nicely, reminding myself to circle and get balanced whenever necessary, and trying to keep everything easy breezy.
We started with mostly logs, but honestly Doozy was jumping fine — if a little fast and excitable. Bc, erm, it mayyyyyy or may not have been our first proper jump school since Loch Moy LOL. All good tho.
oooh putting this together is new for us, tho!
I knew from last time that as much as I like putting little lines together, Doozy sometimes seems to do better with single jumps when she’s feeling too hot to trot. Tho, interestingly, on this particular night, we actually had our very best set of jumps after what was a nice long straight run (the above gif) — just like what we’d see at an event.
not a new bench either, tho got quite a nice little shot to it
So it’s not necessarily that she does better on singles vs related distances, but just that she does better when she has a fair amount of time to relax into a more forward rhythm and cover some ground. Which… Is hard to trust when the shorter approaches feel so choppy and explosive. But interesting food for thought, none the less.
ooh first time with this slightly larger ramp-y triple bar!
Anyway, in trying to process all that information in real time while also making snap judgments about whatever jumps happened to appear in front of us, I opted to finish the schooling with a little loop around three nice fences — two of which are familiar, and one that was slightly larger but also friendly, all of which would require some threading the needle thru the driveway trees.
basic brown boxes are always good to us, even when i take a crazy tight approach LOL
And it was good! Tho actually I opted to throw in a last minute circle before the second jump (the new-to-us triple bar) just bc I didn’t totally love our level of straightness and canter, and preferred to circle, do a simple change of lead to Doozy’s left leg (just in case she found the weird water cooler jump on the left side a little spooky), and make it all a little more clear.
walked over the little log bump
It obvi didn’t matter tho LOL, Doozy was fine, jumped it great, and then even jumped the final fence fine too even tho I turned wayyy too early through the trees and we weren’t at all straight. Oops. What a mare haha.
omg there was swamp water for once!! we just snarfled through it, no real schooling
We stopped by the water mud puddle on our way back to the trailers just for the culture, more or less. Doozy was skeptical, as is natural — this ain’t exactly the world’s most inviting water complex. But she figured it out like the clever biscuit she is.
In a way I’m kinda grateful to just have helmet camera lol, bc it hides so many imperfections and really just showcases the feelings and vibes of a ride. Which, ya know, are what core memories are made of, right?
Like I could totally feel throughout the ride when my hands were misbehaving, or I wasn’t riding as straight as possible, or whatever other flaw you can imagine. But. Eh. That’s what the practice is for, I suppose! One little nibble at a time lol….
I’ve said from the very start with Doozy that the plan was always to ‘take it slow.’ Charlie taught me many, many lessons — more than a few of which I was not quite ready (or entirely willing) to learn. Chief among them: there isn’t some magical destination which, upon reaching, aha - we have unlocked fulfillment!
another lesson without compelling media, sorry guys!
Going bigger, higher, faster is not necessarily a reward unto itself, it turns out. Especially when the dogged pursuit means rushing through or under appreciating what should be special memorable experiences. For example, like when I’d walk away from a horse show feeling frustrated bc it wasn’t “good enough” for our move up plans, when actually in reality it should have been a happy and fun day and literally nobody robbed me of that joy except for myself.
In fact, it’s easily arguable that this overall approach is what ultimately took a lot of the fun out of competing entirely. If you only want one thing, and you ‘fail’ at that thing… it’s hard to not feel like, well, a failure, ya know?
did remember to nab pics of our new stirrup leathers tho — Henri de Rivel nylon lined in chocolate, paid ~$55 at Dover. first impressions: they feel great under the leg — flat, smooth, and unobtrusively easy to put my leg where i want it
So with Doozy, I’m really trying to do things a little differently. Tho, human nature being what it is, it’s also been easy to subconsciously slide into old mentalities and thought processes.
Like when Doozy finished the season so well last year, and was out and about starting to jump bigger things in clinics, it felt natural to assume that, well, we’d probably move up to BN at the beginning of this year’s season — and maybe even finish the year at N.
it’s a tougher leather with exposed nylon backing, compared to a very soft leather encasing a nylon core on pricier styles
It seemed like a reasonable idea at the time — bc doesn’t it always?? But obviously we all know by now how very vastly differently this year started out for us. And real talk? I’m kinda a little grateful for the interruption and reminder to think through what it is I really want.
Bc…. What I want is to have fun at horse shows, feel confident about what we’re doing, and not feel like I’m betting quite so heavily on the good will and nature of my horse to carry us through sketchier moments.
i loved these Passiers and perhaps 5 years is a reasonable life span for that style (paid ~$85 new on ebay in 2020), but they are well and truly dead. maybe the tougher HDR leathers will last longer?
In fact, reading back through this post of Charlie’s second season opener (which I linked to in an unrelated post a couple weeks ago) really drove home that… While that experience was well and fine for that era in my riding life, I’m really kinda trying to go for something, erm, a little different now haha.
anything for Ms Princess, who had to have another saddle check (just 6 weeks after the last flocking) bc we are having a recurring problem likely related to our codependent crookedness… her back looked all clear after our lesson tho!
And. Obviously, Doozy is not Charlie. I got lucky with him in so many ways, I got away with a lot haha. Not quite sure the results would be the same with this funny little firecracker mare lol.
anyway, the rest of the pics are from hacking out. can you believe this is AUGUST grass??? unreal
She is an exciting horse tho, and I’m excited with the progress we’re making on this new and different approach — this rigorous dogged pursuit of…. wait for it… the fundamentals.
We finally had another lesson with event trainer Woodge this week (recall she was traveling for her own competition last week and so we snuck in a reunion with dressage trainer C), yet another session of “remedial trotting.” And guys, Doozy was brilliant omg <3
doozy likes marching me straight up to these clusters of mouth-height tall grasses lol
No media, obvi, so you’ll have to take my word for it. Which, natch, is up to you haha. It’s hard to go from earning 50% on a dressage test to swearing up and down that a horse is fantastic on the flat, but here we are lol.
woods are still full of (suspicious) ferns! they cut a new high trail too — on soft loam vs the rocky stream bottom, so we actually got to do a few little log jompies omg, and doozy was super chill about them!
We stayed almost exclusively on a 20m circle for the full lesson, and only ever did sustained walking and trotting (a few bits of canter snuck in, but only temporarily).
The circle had jump standards with poles at 3o’clock and 9o’clock (ie bisecting the circle, and we essentially carved a horse-width sized track into the footing. Noting: the width of our track should be equally narrow all the way around, not just where the poles were.
i love how her hacking confidence keeps growing <3 <3
The focus was all about posture — both mine and Doozy’s — while maintaining inside bend and outside shoulder control. Which actually felt like a really really complementary next lesson after riding with Trainer C last week. Like we kinda put the ‘yin’ and the ‘yang’ together finally.
happy marching across hill and dale, away from and back toward home!
And Doozy was so good — was able to have moments where she really felt on the aids, stable, balanced, could do thoughtful balanced serpentine changes of direction inside the 20m circle at trot, could shift down to a 15m circle over just one of the pole exercises while Woodge adjusted the other, and basically just settled into trotting over the various pole configurations like it’s easy and boring. Good girl!
oooooh the butterfly bush is blooming again!
The pole configurations included going from single poles at each end, to sets of two poles (at trotting distance), to three poles (still trotting), to one side actually having a little cross rail — which was SUPER EXCITING the first time, but boring thereafter — then back to finishing with four trot poles on each end.
Not groundbreaking stuff, guys. But it was incredible to feel the difference in how easy it was for me to sit tall and still with long legs, shoulders back, and hands together and down when Doozy was so secure in her own balance and posture. It’s really clear how much we feed off each other’s instability in the chaos lol.
i love riding out with friends, but sometimes going solo is nicer for letting doozy power walk to her heart’s content
And funny enough, more than once (more than three times, if we’re being honest) Woodge asked what I did differently in a moment of softness… and all I could do was just shrug like, “I dunno, Doozy just got it?” Again it really felt like the pieces we’ve been working on since riding with Trainer C were super complementary to the approach Woodge is taking with us, which may or may not inform my scheduling choices for the foreseeable future.
Regardless, and kinda back to my main earlier point — It’s exciting to see where Doozy is right now. And liberating in a way to remind myself that there’s no clock, there’s no rush. The reward is in the positive experience, the horse that “gets it.”
And it’s giving me an entirely new and unfamiliar — but GOOD — kind of rush when I click “submit payment” on entry forms. Who knew that was even an option LOL :D
Happy Friday, y’all!! It’s been a long week, and I’ve been out of town for most of it. Nothing new and exciting going on, so let’s close things out with a fun collection of some of my favorite Charlie videos, in no particular order <3 <3
a brief horror vignette
killer charles finally free after the heel grab from hell
killjoy charles, not participating kthxbai
Most Saintly of Charles
just charlie himself, playing with anything and everything
no blanket was safe within his reach
still steady despite a conditioning ride gone awry!
Happy Friday! We finally — finally — made it out for another lesson with longtime dressage trainer C this week, much rejoicing!!
For the last couple months we’ve kinda been focusing all our resources on lessons with the new 5* trainer. Not necessarily bc one is better than the other or whatever, but actually bc I kinda wanted to see what would happen if we hunkered down with weekly lessons in one ‘program.’
always with the #snacks
Verdict? It turns out, there is no silver bullet, no Disney FastPass. The process takes the time it takes, and no one single method is the only “way.” We are loving the process, tho, the lessons are energizing and productive and I look forward to where they take us.
But ya know, I’ve also always loved riding under the guidance of a variety of perspectives (provided they are complementary v confusing to the horse). So when scheduling conflicts arose this week, I leapt at the opportunity to get back on the books with dressage trainer C, who hasn’t seen Doozy since our ill-fated CT at Thornridge last spring.
farrier used a new substance under the clips this cycle — it hardens like epoxy, tho apparently isn’t sticky and doesn’t need all the same rigmarole. the idea is basically to “minimize the damage” from just being a thoroughbred existing in summertime
And it was honestly a great lesson! Nothing new, nothing “ground breaking” per se, but in a weird way, it feels like with Doozy I’m somehow hearing some of this stuff with new ears. Understanding the mechanics on maybe a deeper level.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re very VERY much still in the kiddy pool haha. But thinking back on my riding history, especially as it pertains to dressage… Well. Realistically Isabel was the first horse I ever tried to do “dressage” with, and let’s be honest here — I really got lucky with her. She was talented and game, and we could be successful even with my limited education.
it comes in this cool little tube, applied by hand before he fully finishes the shoe with a few more hammers on the clips, clinching the nails, last few rasps etc.
Then with Charlie, obvi we had a few good years of working on continuing that education, pushing our boundaries etc. But frankly, the work never came easily to him. And in his early days I was in such a rush to get him moving up the levels that I definitely skipped a few steps. Then by the end of his riding years, after we’d been through so much together, I was decidedly disinclined to pick on him, push him, or drill him through work he didn’t love.
So, yea. Maybe it makes sense why it feels like I’m still kinda learning some of this stuff “for real” now with Doozy. My sweet young mare whose first and foremost job is to help me continue learning and expanding my education in this lifelong sport.
anyway. back to our scheduled programming: #snax at the trailer, apparently tail-less
In our lessons with Woodge this year, we’ve been laser focused on lateral balance — straightness, suppleness, bend, etc. With my understanding of the approach being to start with outside aids and control the outside shoulder while working on that inside bend. And as such, we work almost entirely on small circles.
In this lesson with trainer C, she wants the same outcome, the same lateral balance and flexibility (bc you can’t have the longitudinal balance without the lateral), but we took a bit more of an ‘inside to out’ approach in this lesson.
mirror selfies!! this is one indoor i *never* mind
Really really focusing on making sure I could always see an inside eyelash no matter what figure we were riding or where we were on a circle or on the rail or whatever. Again — this isn’t exactly a new directive, but our results this lesson were fantastic. Crazy how continual practice actually moves the needle like that LOL!
We spent almost the entire lesson working on getting that whole-of-body inside bend in both directions, using sweeping circles to find the bend, then straightening onto a quarter line (without losing the bend) and going instantly into a leg yield to the wall. Again and again, rinse repeat.
paying the meter before getting started lol
For my part, I tried to stay very conscious of my posture: sitting tall and with weight traveling long down my inside leg like rebar for Doozy to form around, holding a steady post and hands hopefully not going too wild.
I had a recent discovery about our leg yields too, actually. I want to get super pretzel-y and feel like I’m “doing something” to create the leg yield. But strangely, with Doozy — hell, maybe with every horse and I’m only just now figuring this out lol — it turns out that our best leg yields come with almost the absence of a direct aid. Almost like a quiet opening of the door to the outside, and she goes.
(Provided, of course, that I’ve got myself seated and balanced where I belong.)
ooooookay so indoor screenshots from the wall-mounted helmet cam are… not persuasive haha. watch the video if you’re curious
None of this happens in a vacuum, right? Like we have spent the last 3 months working weekly with a trainer to establish clear consistent outside aids with the horse. Both Doozy and I are benefiting very much from that work — esp with consistent supervision and eyes on the ground.
It makes sense, then, that in this lesson where we worked on refining the inside aids, we’d see the cumulative effort come together into a really nice result with the horse.
video makes more sense than screenshots i promise
Doozy, for her part, was super for this ride. Really really trying, really staying with me. Even when we started up again after a break for our next little work session — the part recorded in the video above — I felt like our tempo started a bit fast and somewhat less consistent, but it doesn’t look that way at all in the video.
Well, ok, you can decide for yourself LOL, but I thought she looked super workman like and way steadier than it felt.
doozy was a very good girl tho <3 <3
That last session of work continued with the same themes — sweeping circles to the quarter line for instant leg yields to the wall, then back onto the circle. Only now we intermixed transitions into and out of canter, a couple times in each direction.
It was kinda funny to me bc this is almost exactly how I’ve been schooling canter at home — just quick hits a few times in a ride, a circle here, then trot, a circle there, then trot again. Mostly to help Doozy stop anticipating and learn how to trot nicely even after a canter. So it was super helpful to keep this approach going in a lesson too.
lots of pets for a good effort <3
Also just a fun lesson overall, too. Let’s be real, there’s a reason why I’ve been riding with C on and off for ten years at this point (hard to believe, but that’s the truth!).
My absolute favorite era of riding was when I was consistently working with 3 distinct trainers on a routine basis each month. A lot of that was circumstantial + geographical luck (whether I realized it at the time or not), and it’s been extremely difficult to replicate the same alchemy again… But maybe with Doozy there will be a new era upon us?
Happy hump day, y’all. How about a nice selection of printed pro pics from Loch Moy, yes? Pictures chosen on the strength of just how damn happy I look, like I’m actually having fun competing — even if we aren’t exactly doing it ‘picture’ perfectly.
pictured: so proud of this little mare
absolutely cruisin’ around show jumping in 77 seconds omg haha
yes yes one day i’ll learn to put my hands down, but omg look at us lockin’ on and going to our fences!
wheeeee jompies!!!
what a mare <3 <3 already looking forward to the next time!
For now, at least, it looks like we successfully eradicated Doozy’s emerging skin funk outbreak, whew! Recall I wrote two weeks ago about some early signs of rain rot, including hives and little scabs, bleh…
already a steamy biscuit before we even ride….
Naturally Doozy would try to go bald right before our big show LOL, it’s almost like this horse just *does not want* to be pretty in public haha(sob). Fortunately, tho, it seems like the chlorhexidine rinses cleared things up pretty quickly!
little bald spots prove there WAS some sort of dermatitis infection, but we successfully stopped the spread, whew!
The treatment was: first, bathing with diluted chlorhex, then a day later, a light gloss of MTG over all the likely hot spots. Then for most of the next few days (tho not exactly every day), more rinsing with the diluted chlorhex. Plus plenty of currying to try to rid Doozy’s coat of as much loose hairs as possible.
bleh she’s got some crud down the backs of her hind legs now, tho
And it seems to have done the trick, at least on the bulk of her body and flanks, etc. Everything is squeaky clean and smooth, for now. Aside from obviously the bug bites and sweaty crusts from all the humidity, bleh. Oh, and another little patch of funk that’s blossoming down her hind legs. It’s always something, amirite?
Just when you think you’re getting the *whole horse* with whatever treatment tinctures and tonics you’re applying… something crops up in yet another spot.
not gonna argue about the ick tho when the grass is still growing!
Ah well, it’s a good reminder to not get complacent bc with all the rain we’ve been having, presumably there will be more hives still yet to come. Doozy’s moss-like rain rot outbreak last year lasted well through August, so we aren’t exactly out of the woods in that regard yet.
will complain about still needing to ride indoors bc the outdoor arena is too soggy tho
It’s all good, tho. Grooming is one of my favorite horsey activities. And especially with all the heat and humidity and rain, plus with taking it a little easy resting on our laurels after Doozy’s excellent* (*except on paper lol) outing at Loch Moy, it’s been nice to just kinda chill out and enjoy each other’s company.
except… we did a little recon this weekend and decided this paddock will be perfect for outdoor rides (when not already in use for turn out). it’s where the most grass sensitive horses go, too, so presumably won’t be an issue if we leave a few tracks
We’ve done a little hacking here and there, and obvi a few flat schools too… But ugh I am really so tired of riding in the stuffy dusty indoor rings!
Again, I’m grateful to have the option. And also appreciative of having more freedom in those spaces recently — the bustling lesson program’s head trainer moved on earlier this summer, rendering ring traffic suddenly a nonissue!
doesn’t this look pleasantly grass ring-esque?? this might actually be the broadest expanse of flattish ground on the whole farm haha
But I’d still much rather ride outside, all things being equal. Tho we may start experimenting with schooling in the grassy paddocks on occasion. At least, when they don’t have horses in them lol — so probably not on weeknights.
Could be a win-win, too, bc it may help Doozy get more confident and balanced doing proper flat work on (gentle) terrain. I suspect that part of our issues earlier this year at Thornridge and St Augustine related to Doozy feeling increasingly tense in grass warm up fields when she wasn’t super confident in her balance / the footing.
looking forward to a cooler week ahead
The paddocks also have the advantage of maybe feeling quasi-ring-like, since they’re fenced. And ya know. It’s something different. Who doesn’t love a little variety every now and again?
Right now the forecast looks like maybe more rain right in time for the outdoor arena to have fully dried LOL(sob), so a little creativity may be in order haha.
make good choices out there!
We’ll see, haha. It’s probably still another quiet week ahead of us, a nice little breather. Doozy gets her feet done today — she’s desperately due after only just 4 weeks, another consequence of the frequent rain and growing grass!
And we’ll probably try to sneak in a lesson at some point (fingers crossed!). But mostly we’re just gonna hang out in cruise control before I leave town for a few days next week. And maybe the outdoor ring will have dried up by the time I get home again…? A girl can dream haha…
A few things definitely worked in our favor to help produce a successful experience at Loch Moy this weekend. Aside from the weather, obvi, the heat and humidity were super unpleasant — but at least manageable.
Our ride times tho were straight up princess stuff haha — I was the penultimate rider of the day in every phase. Meaning I didn’t even need to arrive at Doozy’s barn to bathe and braid until 9am. Fairy tales, guys, the stuff of fairy tales LOL!
grazing around the rings pre-ride (but post-hose, dear lord it was so hot we were constantly hosing and sponging off…). she looks civilized here, but moments later lost her sh!t and had grazing privileges revoked, instead going back to the trailer to shut up and eat forage lol
Later times meant we’d get quieter warm up rings too, and I could be less psycho about watching the clock bc if there were horses around, they were virtually all going before me lol.
Ooh it also meant prime parking, as trailers were already leaving by the time we arrived. All the better to conserve steps on a hot day! And easy access to the public wash stalls + hand walking / grazing options. Tho, uh, not gonna lie. Doozy had a bit of an unpleasant explosion on our little hand walk / graze — including spinning and rearing and screaming and all that. Instantly making me worry whether any of this was gonna play out at all, ugh.
pictured: stuffing her face with forage while i tediously snip out the braids. these puppies def weren’t coming loose on their own LOL
Somehow, tho, by the time I was ready to get on and warm up for dressage, Doozy had returned to earth (helped, presumably, by keeping her face buried in that Triple Crown Stress Free forage Carly recommended a while back).
And our warm up was honestly fine. No little explosions or anything, tho I also really didn’t push any buttons. I’m still working on understanding the balance between asking more of Doozy — and risking increasing tension — or keeping a lid on things. Honestly? I don’t think there’s really a “right” answer at the moment, at least from a judging perspective. Kinda a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation.
So on this day, I prioritized Doozy’s feelings over our function, let’s say, lol… and ultimately was super proud of her efforts. She stayed with me, didn’t slip into canter (although we came verrrry close once or twice), was still able to release in her free walk, got all her leads, and basically just went forth and did the things!
disappointing tho not unfair scores click for full size
There is literally zero media at all from dressage tho (sorry!) so you’ll just have to take my word for it. And my perspective is, I dismounted telling the mare how proud I was of her, and believing that we were gonna have a good go at the rest of it <3
show jumping was back in the center ring, on the new footing with iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain in the distance
So ya know, all that was left to do was actually have a good go!
I recently watched the Dance Life mini series on Prime about an elite professional dancing academy in Australia. In the season finale, a dancer describes her nerves ahead of the big graduation performance, in which she had a leading role, and said, “I wanted it, I got it, so now I just have to do it.” And idk about you all, but that’s an empowering perspective, ya know?
the course was super twisty with some unexpected turns
Like. Doozy and I *have* done our homework, even if you’d literally never believe it by watching us go in the dressage ring LOL. But in the show jump ring? Mare knows what’s going on in there. She understands the assignment haha.
it actually suited doozy nicely!
We warmed up decently well and relatively briefly, and then just watched the course while waiting our turn. I didn’t get to walk the course, but there wasn’t anything related — a couple bending lines that were going on variable 8+ strides.
this high contrast oxer going toward the parking lot caught a couple horses out
The course was literally all S bends and changes of direction — like, jump-land-turn!, over and over again. Which honestly suited Doozy decently well, especially with all the practice we’ve been doing with using lateral bend to adjust balance and speed instead of pulling straight back. And also all our work in lessons about straightness etc.
if anything, tho, the ‘lookiness’ of the jump helped doozy stand off just enough for a great shot
Like you can still see moments where I don’t have her shoulders totally squared to the fence — like the brown Kings jump in the gif above — but more or less we got through the whole course with minimal ‘ears in face’ moments! That’s definitely a win in my book lol!
you can see that she was clearly a good girl down this line to the last, but a little more rider input in waiting might have saved us the rail. c’est la vie!
Our pace was a little fast at times, a bit hurried still — we may or may not have had the fastest time of the division, oops. But especially as the course went on, it felt like I was able to sorta stabilize 3-4 strides out and get decently steady rhythm to the jumps.
show jumping video!
It was a bummer about the rail at the last, but ya know, that’s also the test haha. Like, a whoooole bunch of riders had that same rail, and all for the same reason: letting the horse get increasingly strung out throughout the course. No biggie, just more to work on!
patient biscuit at the start box <3
And anyway, we wasted no time getting over to cross country — where they were sending riders out quickly and efficiently. These volunteers did such an amazing job all day long in the scorching conditions. And many of them had been there for all three days of the show!
then set off like a champ!
I didn’t love the selection of warm up fences for starter — there was a too-tiny coop, and all the rest were slightly larger than what we’d see on course. I knew Doozy was gonna be fine for the jumps tho, just wanted to give her a chance to orient her feet to jumping on terrain, so we just trotted the tiny coop once and called it good.
And it was good! Doozy waited patiently in the box for our turn, then walked out politely, picked up a pleasant trot, eased into canter, and blissfully jumped the first two fences positively and confidently! Then a fun longish stretch uphill toward the woods where I let her run a little bit for once haha.
then straight into the woods!
The course itself… I can’t tell if I liked or disliked it LOL! Obviously the lowest levels get the short end of the stick when it comes to the best pieces of ground etc — considering how many levels ran at this show. But they did a nice job of placing our jumps in intuitive spots. Even when you couldn’t see the next jump, you knew it was gonna be right where you expected it.
i never let my guard down about these little garden gates lol but doozy jumped it fine!
Most of our jumps were actually in the woods too — a ballsy choice given that the original forecasts suggested huge hits of rain this week. Tho, given that it ended up being so hot instead, the shady woods proved to be a good call.
Tho I’ll never forget advice from Dan ages and ages ago about the transition from jumping in a field to jumping in the woods: he counseled that many horses back off and get behind the leg going into the woods, and that you need to be proactive.
you literally can’t even see the down slope we’re about to go down, it’s so steep. you just see the edge and then the far side bottom lol… also note that black car center top in the pic — that’s up by the water
Doozy did indeed back off — esp given that the finish line was in the same spot and a horse was coming through right as we approached jump 3. She was a bit distracted at first, but then locked on kept going. I tried to be proactive in not taking anything for granted, especially with again some funny turns and needing to steer around higher level jumps, but Doozy was honestly great!
Tho my least favorite part of the course was that they sent us straight up and down the hillsides between the woods and the fields twice. I opted to trot Doozy into jump 6, right before a steep descent, to help keep her balanced and make walking down that hill easier.
back up the hill to the fun little array by the water!
Obvi she then blasted right back up the other side for the next little section. I liked how the water was set up on course — not flagged, very much a ‘choose your own adventure’ sort of deal. But obviously much easier to get from jump 8 to 9 by passing directly through — which Doozy did remarkably bravely, good girl!
good girl literally just walked right in and picked up her trot! also, see the black car by the tree in the top left corner? we’re looking straight back across the gulch to where we had just come from lol
Then we went straight back down the same hill we’d just come up, to make a weird 90* turn to a spooky roll top. I opted to again trot the off camber hillside before getting straight to the fence — so it’s pretty easy to see how I got time faults. But eh, it gave Doozy time to think through and understand each jump.
then straight back down into the gulch for this tricky little cut out roll that caught a few people off guard — esp with the spooky jump judges down in the shady hole to the left
Sometimes the mare’s feet move faster than her brain, ya know? And like, she’s not a dumb horse, quite the opposite actually. But she’s reactive and her instincts are usually to move first, think second. It felt like she was thinking the whole way around this course, tho, and making great decisions at every opportunity!
no rest for the weary, tho, it was straight back up the hill again back into the woods to our final two fences!
She blasted back up the hillside into the woods to catch our last two little jumps on course, and then through the finish lines!
cross country video!
What a good girl, I really cannot say how proud I was of her, and how fun the ride was — not just after it was over lol, but actually in the moment!
crispy biscuit ready to eat her cookie and go home <3 <3
The results on paper really don’t do the horse justice, especially compared to some of our earlier outings this year. But ya know, at the end of the day, nobody is going to care more than I do, right lol?? So we’ll keep working on the details and the training and all that… But for now I’m just happy and relieved to feel like we’re finally starting to put it all together!!
