A million years ago, Isabel and I went to a fun local hunter trials at Tranquillity, and it left a lasting impression on me. These are natural type tracks over varied terrain and styles of fence commonly seen in hunting: coops, split rail fences, brush, stone walls, etc.
Not dissimilar from eventing-style cross country, but a slightly different flavor -- especially considering the rounds are judged. Each fence gets a score from 1-10, plus an overall round score, based on way of going, style, safety, pleasantness, etc. Basically evaluating the horse + rider as field hunters.
And this year? We made it back to Tranquillity again for the same. Yesssss!! We were a much smaller group this time around (a party of 2) for a variety of reasons mostly having to do with various lamenesses among our horsey set, womp :(
class list -- left and right side classes refer to two separate tracks as indicated
But we would not be deterred!! The weather was gorgeous and the footing perfection. Seriously, it's hard to believe after all the rain last week.... But, eh, it was a dry summer and the ground soaked it right up.
the track for Pairs + Teams differed from the rest to accommodate the "abreast" requirement for the final jump
To be honest, the field trials course at Tranquillity isn't my most favorite -- and doesn't change much from year to year. The track winds through mostly permanent fixtures alongside the jump rings -- vs the horse trials tracks that change yearly, feature predominantly portables, and extend through the various fields.
possibly not the best pair in terms of height differential lol, but who cares, right?
My biggest complaint is that it's almost entirely up and down a particularly hilly bit of ground, with multiple downhill questions (ie: either entire approaches or landings). Plus a lot of the jumps are vertical and sorta "delicate" looking. Think: split rail fences etc., whereas I prefer solid stuff like cabins or rolltops for my somewhat brutish gelding lol.
spirit did his best to keep up! and charles did his best to keep a lid on it <3
But. Again. That's all just personal preference (read: omg I *hate* jumping downhill). And these are judged rounds. It's not like eventing where we just gotta get through the flags -- they want the course ridden, and ridden smoothly and pleasantly.
100% here for the gratuitous media <3 <3 <3
PLUS. My teammate Spirit is quite a bit smaller than Charlie. He and his teenage rider have slayed since becoming eventing partners just a few short months ago -- but they also often trot some of their courses. So.... I had plenty motivation to just take it easy with Charlie, go slow, be steady, no rushing. And no real glory in the high options either, ya know?
my favorite parts were the jumps in and out of the arenas
As far as Charlie is concerned, if he were allowed to write the rules, EVERY jumping class ever would be a teams + pairs class haha. Charlie loves jumping in groups. Tho, I think his favorite is when he can follow (as he did at EHHC). But ya know, he doesn't mind leading either, good boy ;)
like so!!
Mostly, my biggest focus was just making sure Charlie knew what he was doing and was relaxed. Which.... is slightly challenging in this environment bc warm up is generally *always* a zoo haha, and the list of riders ahead of you is always long, with lots of horses in various stages of excitement milling around waiting for their turns.
and also so!!
We were nearly done warming up when a positively fire-breathing chestnut dragon entered the ring, trumpeting his arrival with tail flagged straight up haha. Literally every horse stopped and stared, eyes wide agog, wondering what fresh hell that horse had seen, haha. Charlie and Spirit were no exception.
actually basically anything on level ground was A+ this is fence 5, the trot jump
So we had to pause and chill for a little bit, then get back to actually jump a couple things, then get the hell outta that warm up ring asap -- lest the dragon proclaim some fresh new terror to all the other horses haha. Tho, naturally, at this point the starting list was quite long.... meaning we had to wait something like 15-20min before actually going.
omg tho the ground was generally not level lol
Obviously tho these are a good set of horses, and once we actually trotted out to begin -- they were aces. We trotted a sorta generous path to the first log just to let them look around a little, and trotted the first fence for good measure.
particularly this jump landed very downhill -- omg i hate downhill haha
My favorite section of the course was the little loop through the arenas that came as 2-3-4, mostly bc it was flat ground LOL. The course called for trotting jump 5, a good sized brick wall, which Charlie did surprisingly well, then a quick off-camber turn to a shrub fence.
From there, we cruised down to a zig-zag lincoln logs type fence -- with Charlie somewhat incredulously spookin at the mini donk in the next door paddock. Then back around toward the arenas again, catching a big coop along the way. Last jump in this first half was the split rail fence pictured above -- my least favorite on course haha, tho Charlie was quite pleasant to it.
pretend brush fence -- i think just pallets tbh
We zoomed down that hill, kinda skipped over the little box at the very bottom of the hill, then climbed back up to a series of stone walls and stone coops making up the back half of the course. Last couple jumps were first a faux-brush vertical made from pallets, then an actual brush jump made from living shrubs.
omg a real brush fence tho!! proper shrubbery lol, also landing TF downhill omg
I actually really liked both of these jumps. The pallets bc it was on nicely flat ground, and the shrubs bc it was sizeable enough that Charlie probably wouldn't plow into it lol. Tho you can sorta see that we aimed straight back downhill after the shrubs omg.
wheeeeeee off camber downhill turns haha
And omg, I was 100% grateful for the studs as we landed going straight downhill toward home (basically where the camera is positioned in the above shot), but had to immediately roll back off camber away from home back up the hill toward our final jump.
whew, we made the turn -- headed to the last abreast!
We made the turn tho! And actually, my barn mate REALLY nailed the whole ride. We knew going in that Charlie would cover ground a lot faster than Spirit, so she cut every turn where I went wide and we were right next to each other to the last -- which, again, should be jumped abreast.
success!!!
Also, just a little glowup on that rider too, she went back out for a second solo ride a little bit later, and won second place in a big juniors class!
Ooooh, and we were 4th in our pairs class too -- which was unexpected after Spirit had a bit of confusion about the trot jump (and, ahem, yours truly also has unimpressive equitation on the best of days -- let alone when half the jumps are downhill....). So ya know -- definitely an awesome day for the ponies haha.
good boy charlie <3
That's kinda it, too, haha. Rides like this certainly don't matter for anything. There's exactly zero regulation on the design and scope of the "test," and not a clue who the judges were.... It's literally just a field full of jumps --- go jump them!
And. I am HERE for it! This is the stuff, as far as I'm concerned. The good stuff.
Y'all don't need to be told of my constant pursuit of better horsemanship. But... At my most basic instinct, the purpose of all that "betterment" is... enjoyment. And days like this are the payoff. Theraison d'ĂȘtre. So this feels like a fitting end (?) to 2021's season of good ground <3
The last few weeks of summer around here were a bit tough for really doing a lot of good jumping. We've been on the receiving end of a fairly intense localized drought - with no significant rainfall at Charlie's farm since the second week of July.
charles the field hunter <3
I'm honestly at this point pretty sure that the issues we started having with jumping (like at our last xc lesson at Windurra) had more to do with the cumulative effect of existing on rock hard ground than anything else. It's just... kinda a grind, ya know? And Charlie is a BIG horse, that's a lot of dad bod to keep pounding across the ground lol.
how cute is this course map tho??
So the time off from his nasty bat-cave puncture was actually maybe a blessing in disguise. I kept him tack walking basically the whole time bc he was never really lame. Plus, he's a relatively high mileage model that does better when kept in motion haha.
trainer P brought her gelding over too. try to tell me this classy dude doesn't sorta look like an overgrown shetland LOL
And, ya know, eventually it'll probably rain right?? (Fingers crossed for tomorrow, actually!) And I'd like to put together a proper fall season. It's the best season for riding anyway, after all.
Temperatures have cooled down in a big way, with highs hovering around the low 70s / high 60s. The horses are all completely fluffed out already -- Charlie is legit a woolly mammoth -- but it's still not quite blanket season yet. So actually Charlie may end up getting clipped a little early this year lol. The fluff + dad bod is.... not the sportiest look!!
aw charlie and tommy are frens
But anyway tho, one of the best aspects of the fall riding season in Maryland is that all the local hunt clubs start gearing up for fox hunting season. Specifically, it becomes hunter trial season!!
Hunter Trials are sorta a unique blend of hunter paces, cross country, fox hunting and show hunters. The course is maybe a little shorter than your typical BN cross country course, and contains an array of natural style fences that you might encounter on a hunt. There are usually two tracks - one with fences not to exceed 3' and the other not to exceed 2'6.
also sorta kinda (intensely) jealous of all these kiddos getting to experience this at their ages haha. tho ya know, i guess it's never too late to start!
Riders may enter the course as individuals, pairs (2 riders) or teams (3+ riders). Each jumping effort is judged individually on a score from 0-100, reflecting overall brilliance in way of going, safety, and pleasantness. According to Trainer P, her overall view of judging the fence boiled down to: "Does that look like a horse I'd like to hunt?"
distant pixels jump a log!!
For the pairs and teams classes, horses must stay together throughout the course. So, for instance, if one horse has a refusal the other must wait until they get over the fence before continuing to the next. Also, the final fence must be jumped abreast.
fox hunters apparently love their upright split rail type fences lol
I got my first taste of a hunter trial wayyyyy back in 2014 with Isabel, when we went over to Tranquility for what I had hoped would more or less constitute some positive mileage schooling xc. And... wow, I was so immediately hooked!
I had gone to that show alone and found myself intensely jealous of all the folks doing the pairs and teams classes, and vowed that I'd return with friends next time haha.
final fence must be jumped abreast
Unfortunately that day never came with Isabel (something I still regret, le sigh!) but finally Charlie and I made it out last October to the Elkridge Harford Hunt Club's hunter trials. That was easily one of the highlights of the year for me haha. Plus, it really drove home a point that I'd already sorta vaguely understood: Charlie LOVES riding in company!
aww but aren't they just the best blurry pixels ?? <3 <3 <3
Obviously he's got a lot of experience at this point, since we do group trail rides, hunter paces, and paper chases galore each year. But honestly I think he just really enjoys having company galloping around.
This makes him a great baby sitter too, as all our friends who came with us this year (we had a group of about 4 -- our usual lesson crew!) were doing it for the first time.
the scene was kinda crazy - packed to the gills with all manner of horses and ponies, including more than a few licensed jockeys on timber horses
Trainer P came too, plus we ran into all other manner of friends at the outing. Trainer P wanted me to do the first class with one of the newer juniors in our group, and her chestnut ottb Tommy. They're a very capable pair but Trainer P just wanted to make sure they had a positive experience out there for the first go.
Unfortunately I somehow took us off course and we skipped a whole section - whoops!! But it was super fun. She and the other junior in our group did their second rounds in the junior / jockey class. Which, itself was super super SUPER awesome:: There were loads of pro licensed jockeys at the event (mostly timber racers and steeplechasers, I believe) and they'd pair up with a junior to do the course. How fucking cool, right??
So for my second round, since I obviously wasn't eligible to do the junior class (womp), I went out with my barn mate Amy and her ottb gelding Punky. And we had a grand old time haha. Punky..... lived up to his name LOL, and Charlie and I spent a fair amount of time standing stationary waiting for Punky to return from whatever lark he happened to go on....
But honestly? It was SO FUN. Since it was our second round we knew the course a bit better and I jumped more of the bigger stuff (originally I was a little nervous about how respectful Charlie would be of those upright airy rail fences....). So I put that first in the video since it makes for better watching.
charlie and punky were happy and tired after round 2. carrot bites for good pones!
Charlie for his part was a STAR. He was perfect. This was the best he's felt jumping in ages. He just settled in, kept a steady pace, carried me to the fences. Adjusted for short and long, jumped everything cleanly.
And even more impressively - at one point around 3:25 in the video we had to stop to wait for Punky, who had missed a turn. So Charlie's just standing there at a halt, waiting patiently. Then as Punky made it back on course, Charlie just picked up immediately into the same exact perfect canter and proceeded directly to the next fence.
Which like... Wow. For any of you all who remember our earlier "dinosaur stuck in tar pit" days, and any of our issues with getting out of the start box.... That's kinda a huge deal that Charlie could just stop and start, no fuss no muss.
and head scritches for my best boy <3
Honestly this whole experience for me really drove home the fact that... Charlie is such a good boy. And even tho sometimes I feel like we didn't really make any big obvious "improvements" this year, like moving up a level for instance, I can look at a day like this and objectively appreciate that my horse has come so far in his maturity and schooling and downright pleasantness as a "do-anything" riding horse.
This summer wasn't the easiest for me in a lot of ways. We had a few low moments, a few existential crises, and more than a few nagging thoughts in the back of my mind on whether I can actually even do the things that I want to do. And even on this day, after our first run I was really doubting whether I should press my luck and go a second time.
But we did it. And it was good. Better than good. Charlie is just so fun, he's just such a good boy. I'm so lucky to have him and be able to enjoy him on days like this <3 <3 <3
So.... Lesson learned is that sometimes it's important to step back on those fun outings haha. And for anyone curious - these hunter paces are ahhhhmazing for just getting out there and letting it rip. I highly recommend haha, 10 / 10 would do again ;)
Happy Monday, everyone (and Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadian readers)!! We had a busy weekend over here in Charlieland, complete with FINALLY checking off an item that's been sitting on my bucket list since Nov 2014.
riding in pairs and teams is ridiculously fun guys omg
If you remember, way back when Isabel and I were first getting started as eventers, we hit up a local hunter trials at Tranquility to get a little more mileage over natural obstacles. It was a great time, but what really struck me was watching the pairs and teams classes - they looked like the absolute most fun omg. And ever since then I've been itching to get back to a similar style event.
looking like a field hunter, no? haha close enough, at least ;)
It only took four years lol, but FINALLY I got to go to another hunter trials! This time hosted by the Elkridge Harford Hunt Pony Club at a venue about 20min away from Charlie's barn. A couple other barn mates were also going - including some kiddos who are members of this pony club, and another friend who has done basically all the things with her superstar mare Cosmic.
charlie's got his priorities in order haha. also, do you recognize Noelle??
So we got to get all dressed up like fox hunters: conservative tack, fitted white saddle pads, conservative jackets, tan breeches, stock ties, the whole nine yards lol. My outfit wasn't exactly perfectly in style, with brown boots, hackamore, and skull cap (with helmet cam, natch) - but I wasn't the only one with each of those things haha.
atmosphere was really fun too
And honestly my plan for the day was just to straight up have fun. I only expected to do the course one or two times - really I just desperately wanted to do the pairs / teams rides haha.
first jump was immediately after a steep stream crossing
To add to the casual nature of the outing, we didn't even walk our courses in advance. Katie's been to the venue many times before, so just looking at a printed map was sufficient for her to know where we were supposed to go. And considering her mare prefers to lead and Charlie is always happy to follow, I honestly didn't worry about needing to know what lay ahead of us.
possibly my favorite jump on course bc of the major drop on landing haha
The way the course works is that there are low and high options for every fence, and you can jump whatever looks good to you. Technically riders are judged on style and form (the "hunters" part of this, vs eventing where all that matters is that you make it through the flags) and you get more points for high options. Realistically tho, the "judges" were mostly pony club parents so idk how serious it really was.
wheeee air time!!!
For pairs and teams, you are expected to stick together through the course. So if one rider has trouble somewhere, the rest are supposed to wait. Of particular note: the final fence must be jumped abreast.
rail road ties! Charlie loved following Cos around haha
Katie and I warmed up briefly in the outdoor polo ring (yea did I mention this venue is awesome?!) and right off the bat I let Charlie attach himself to Cos, which obvi he was happy to do. No pressure, no serious flat work. Just trotted and cantered around, and caught each of the jumps (cross, vertical, oxer) in a relaxed manner. Then it was time to head to the starting line!
red barns!
The course starts off by immediately crossing a small creek and then, bam, a set of jumps immediately on the other side. Definitely sets the tone for the horses haha!
lots o coops
Then it was off across the country side, with lots of up hill galloping over all manner of natural style obstacles. Mostly coops, lots of logs. A couple box and barn jumps, and rail road ties etc etc.
these a-frame logs were pretty cool too
Nothing was particularly challenging or large, and while there was lots of terrain it was all extremely inviting to the horses.
small coop. fun fact - we almost died over this one!
Especially doing the pairs class, Charlie felt perfectly happy to keep chugging right on along no matter what cropped up in his path haha.
MOAR COOPS
I was particularly pleased that even tho he was clearly following Cos, he was still looking at the jumps themselves too, and locking on and finding his stride. Perfect!
#feelings about going slow thru the stream crossings
Then after a brief jaunt through the woods, and another creek crossing, we emerged back into the main field where the trailers were parked to jump a couple more fences and finish abreast over the hay bales.
and another coop guys omg
All told, the course was a little shorter than maybe a standard BN course. After completing the pairs class, we reconvened with the other barn mates and picked up a third to get right back out there for another go with the teams class.
finishing abreast over the final line of hay bales
The second round was even more fun than the first - Charlie was totally in the zone and seemed to really love the whole idea of jumping with friends haha.
horses happy about the running and jomping haha
Tho after we finished that round, I was satisfied to be done for the day. Charlie's winter coat is really fuzzing out, but it was in the high 80s and super muggy out. Poor guy was covered in thick white lather!
charlie and cos were basically obsessed with each other too
Plus, from a schooling perspective I didn't necessarily see any real value in jumping everything again in a solo round. There wasn't necessarily anything I felt like needed work or would be reasonably improved from another shot.
he got to watch a lot of little ponies go too <3
The jumps were nbd for Charlie - nothing merited a look from him, nothing made him pause. The terrain and conditions were also fine with him - the streams didn't slow him down and neither did the mud. Tho obvi haha the studs helped...
quietly observing, as only a charlie can do
So after we finished the second course I opted to pull all his tack, scrub off all the foam and crusting sweat, and plug the pony full of carrots haha. And fortunately he was also very good about tanking up on some water too, phew!
aww sweet tired pony <3
We stuck around for the rest of the day tho, since Katie wanted to do another solo round, plus the other barn mates were doing the fun hack classes and whatnot.
helmet cam from the team ride!
The event was really cool too for all levels - they also had an indoor arena course with smaller jumps, and a set of communicating outdoor grass rings that had full derby courses at small heights. The hack classes were held in that outdoor ring, as were some of the games classes. It was all super centrally located too, so it was easy to watch everyone go.
aw he's the most handsome tho
Definitely a fun style of event for riders of any discipline - from hunters to eventers. And definitely DEFINITELY just another reason why I'm DYING to take this horse fox hunting haha.
look we actually got a ribbon too!!! and it has a FOX on it!
So. Another item crossed off the bucket list! Hopefully not for the last time either lol, and ideally it won't be another 4 years before we get to do this again!!
