Guys, not gonna lie... I kinda feel like a kid again, omg.
this lovely cooler was a very unexpected and generous gift, ngl i got a little teary eyed <3
And let's be clear here, haha --- I mean that in a few different ways. On one hand, the innocent childlike glee of finally getting back out and doing things with my pony!! And also, the kinda childish feeling of taking an extremely green and rough-around-the-edges horse out in public.
Mostly, tho, it's all about that first feeling <3
deep breath, dooz -- throwing you right into the deep end!
Doozy and I participated in another schooling dressage show this weekend. This time, tho, it was an away show with an "L" judge and entries that included FEI horses (not to mention one of Boyd Martin's former Olympic mounts, omfg).
going down center line of the large court for our dinky Intro B test like........
We were, without a doubt, not the classiest entry on the order of go haha. But ya know, I wanted to be there, and Doozy was more or less on board. And so we did it!
yes i wore my stupid white gloves again <3
I know not everyone would make the same decision. And some might say that our dollars spent on entries might be better utilized in lessons. And you wouldn't necessarily be wrong either, but I just don't see it as a zero sum equation.
It's not "either / or," ya know? We can do ALL the things!!
only nearly fell off once, when passing the judges stand
And this experience was itself instructive in many many ways. While also facilitating a generally positive set of circumstances for Doozy.
cantering on purpose!! rider still can't seem to sit tho haha
The forecast called for buckets and buckets of rain to start at some point around midday, so they set the schedule such that riders were arranged into blocks, with that set all sharing the indoor for warm up time (outdoor arenas were also open and available all day) and then doing their tests, and then giving way for the next 'block.'
basically representative footage
Our group was arranged into a block together --- meaning Doozy and I got to familiarize in the ring among a group of empathetic friends. We were also the first block to go, and in fact the first trailer to arrive on site. So it was a pretty quiet environment too!
"is it even worth getting there if you don't get there FAST?!?" -- Doozy, probably
Just like at Loch Moy, we basically proceeded from the trailer to the mounting block (with a person at the block with us ((hai Katie!!))), no hand walkies needed. And ring familiarization was fairly smooth too.
Honestly, the biggest hurdles for our rides had to do with 1) Doozy was very preoccupied with Rosette; and 2) Doozy isn't exactly what you'd call "schooled" yet LOL.
halt, salute, survive!!
It turns out, the stuff that's hard at home (like, ya know, trotting a circle on an even tempo with correct bend) doesn't magically get better at a show. We know this. And it's ok. And thus the quality of our rides was not any better than what you've seen in recent videos.
NOTABLY, however, the rides weren't any worse either.
#basically
Doozy went forth and did the things. She did normal green horse stuff like sucking back going away from the in gate, and wanting to zoom going toward the in gate. We broke gait a number of times all over the place, and our 'circles' were anything but.
the collection of unimpressive (but cute!!) satin grows!!!
But ya know. We did eventually present three clear gaits in both directions. The horse did in fact execute two complete tests --- the only error being when I chose to repeat one of the Intro C circles after we misfired into the lead and were slow to fix it. #SchoolingShow, right??
AND. She also stood more or less quietly outside the ring while our friends took their turns. And experienced a lot of people and horses coming and going without fuss. Basically a big deposit into the "Soft Skills" bank, as far as I'm concerned!
onto phase 2!!!
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!!!
honestly this was a major part of why we joined the party in the first place
Lol for real, the only reason I originally wanted to tag along was bc the group planned to jump around the cute little schooling xc field afterward.
Y'all might remember the first time I came to the Stables at Fox Crossing back in February 2022, when Royal and Charlie did a little jumper show. I swore then that we'd be back to "conquer" the xc field later... and now was our chance!!
not much side view of us jumping, but plenty of helmet cam!
Tho obvi, the forecast of "buckets and buckets of rain" kinda dampened our hopes that it would all work out... except that it did! We got lucky -- the rain held off and we squeaked in an efficient school for all involved, without mucking up any of their footing!!
nonchalant about steps
And guys. If Doozy was confused about me dismounting, changing some tack stuff (like adding the martingale), and getting back on again... she hid it well. And she was shockingly good out in the field too. Like started off a little herd bound, but grew increasingly bold about doing our own thing when she realized jompies were happening!
wheeeee!! also, lol @ rosette's expression
We basically stuck to all the little logs, and she was more or less game. Had one kinda distracted runout when Rosette was directly in our line of sight as we approached the jump, then Doozy was like, "Holy shit who put that there!" and squirted out to the side. Nbd, tho, jumped it the second time fine and had no further issues.
cantering out in an open field. who woulda thunk!
We also played around with the super fun bank complex around the water! It was like a jungle gym for ponies, guys, 100% recommend haha.
Doozy did get a little wild at times with our jumps -- but we finished on a few really positive notes and it felt like a really solid overall introduction to jumping on grass + terrain.
honestly pretty chill at the trailer this day (also, i love the OTTB's innate ability to 'suck it in' the second you take a pic --- look at her nostrils lol)
Honestly the whole day was a pretty big net positive for the horse. None of the "tasks" are individually difficult for her, she just needs to learn to be able to put it all together. As the judge said, tho, 'exposure + time' will be key for this horse.
happy to hang out aboard too! good girl, Dooz!!
As far as I'm concerned, this is the good stuff. It's been a long year+ sitting on the sidelines with all of Charlie's soundness issues. And I'm obvi still hopeful that there are future Charlie adventures still ahead of us!
But in the meantime, there's Mondeuse. And it's a lot of fun so far!!!
Ok so.... uh, yea, that wrap totally failed lol. Which ya know... Eh, I tried?
hmmmmmmmm. i swear the horse has a giant lush tidy pasture ---- but it bottoms out at the gate near the stream, where you can observe it gets a little, uh, wet
At least Charlie got to spend a day out with his friends? He's a good dog, but..... a little bit of a terrorist on stall rest. Everyone was happier to see him turn tail lol.
side story: trucky truck 2.0 went on another fun adventure! something we've had on the books for months, which let's be real --- was probably why charlie decided to go lame in the first place LOL...
I really really really hoped he'd come in from the pasture in relatively decent shape but, alas, 'twas not to be. He's still just too sore.
really loving this tonneau cover too. sure, the cap on the former truck was amazing and much more permanent, but it's so nice to be able to easily reach in anywhere in the bed, vs having to crawl all the way in just to reach something in the back
So my guess is he'll probably have to stay in more often than he can go out, at least for the next week or two. On days when he's walking well enough... Yea, I'd like him to go out. At least for that mental health, ya know? And of course, in consultation with the vet...
anyway. it was a fun day at the show, even if charlie wasn't among our party
But on the days when he's sore? Well. Homeboy doesn't really want to go anywhere anyway. He cried at me a little bit on Saturday morning while I turned out all his friends. But it was half hearted, and he was more than happy to just chill out and tuck into a fresh hay net.
meanwhile, in charlieland. hmmmmmmm.
Anyway. For those curious about the wrap... Idk. It was probably destined to fail no matter what. But I think the little feedbag insert was the primary culprit.
i blame the feedbag insert
Something about how it doesn't adhere to any of the layers makes me suspect that creates an opportunity for the layers to all pull at each other in ways they wouldn't if the wrap acted as one cohesive thick layer. If that makes sense?
hard to see, but the little animalintex worm is still wedged in there!
Regardless, the little scrap of Elastikon was long gone by the time Charlie came in, as was, somewhat hilariously, the inner gauze wrap. Just -- poof! -- totally disappeared.
so ya know, that's something i guess lol
Just the outer layers of duct tape and vet wrap remained as a little 'flip flop' wrapped around Charlie's fetlock. Tho, for better or worse, at least it was relatively loosely wrapped. So there were no rub marks or tight spots or anything.
Plus -- somewhat miraculously, the little squib of animalintax that I shoved into the groove of his hoof was still there doin it's thing. Or, uh, at least trying?
mikey is so helpful
So I dunno. I tried. Wrapping this horse for turnout in that field is honestly a fool's errand anyway. I guess if he absolutely *must* be wrapped, then he just can't be turned out there.
love these ponies, even tho i wish charlie could come play too <3 but hey -- silver linings -- now with the extended cab truck, it's easy to fill up the bus and travel in comfort!!!
Tho for right now, he's not really getting turned out anyway so eh, maybe the "should we / shouldn't we" wrap conundrum will solve itself before he's even ready to go out again?
We shall see, I supposed! In the meantime, cross your fingers that Charlie feels better soon before we're all driven crazy....
We had a lot of fun in 2021 with the monthly summer CT series at Thornridge Manor. Not just bc shows are fun, omg! But also.... getting my own butt in gear to put together a show-worthy-ish round once a month was just.... so SO beneficial for allaying my imposter syndrome.
majestically overlooking the xc course during pre-ride walkies. 100% will be back to conquer that later!
We laid low for a few weeks throughout early winter, but basically ever since the solstice, we've kinda quietly started getting back into a groove again. And luckily, little jumper shows are starting to reappear on the calendar, yay omg!
but first, we conquer the warm up! twas a tad frozen, but organizers were on their AAA+ game with dragging and everything was nicely groomed in time for our rounds!
There's a venue I've had my eye on for YEARS, but never actually made it out, but this weekend was finally TIME! The Stables at Fox Crossing are in Cochranville, PA, basically right around the corner from Windurra. And omg, they have the cutest looking xc schooling field too -- looks like sort of a Tranquillity feel, but with more jumps concentrated in one place. We will 100% be back for that omg!
finally!!! go time!!! also, peep that cafe-style heater!! there were THREE in this area alone
This weekend tho, it was just the jumpers. On a somewhat frigid morning, but we didn't care. Charlie and Royal traveled well, and we arrived in good time to get a lay of the land. They sent out ride times in advance that Megan and I both sorta intuitively understood were "optimistic" times for a jumper show.... But we didn't care. We'd rather be early.
behold --- the ring! jam-packed with twisty turny beautiful jumps
And let's be real, the show *could* have run on time, but..... instead they chose to be friendly and inviting. Rider having trouble getting around? Get the coach in there to help them finish. Didn't go clear? Do the jump off anyway. Everybody got a good time and jumped all the jumps, with as much encouragement as was needed. Yep, I will 100% always be fine waiting around in that sort of environment!
engage go-go-charlie!
Charlie and I entered two 2'9 classes. The over-thinking part of my brain always wants me to "do more" or whatever. But my emotional side is still kinda fragile and I really want to build on the stability and resilience we (I) started to feel through last summer. So, we carry on.
omg they gave the 2'9 division a 24' in and out, i almost croaked lol but charlie was fine
Especially with winter and stuff, it's hard to get in preparation and reps. But Charlie is so good. Y'all saw him doing grids a couple weeks ago. And I jumped him again, but omg this time in our outdoor jump ring bc we had a week of good weather!! And he's just good. He is trained. He is a packer, bless his darling bay soul <3
pictured: my horse is a very good horse
So for our actual courses... I tried to just trust it, ya know? Tho -- something that makes me quite excited for the potential future, I *did* find myself channeling recent lessons with KGK (that new trainer we've met exactly twice). Mostly --- just feeling the length of Charlie between my hand and leg. Not necessarily "shortening" him (at least, not without supervision), but just trying to "feel" his ends as we approached a jump.
omg you have to watch the video for this sequence. spoilers, we go from this long spot to a left turn to the yellow/blue standard bottom right corner of the frame
And guys, Charlie LIKES that style of being ridden. I've always known he wants rein contact, and always known he wants leg on. Really, he IS a full contact sort of horse. But for some reason, envisioning his body the way KGK describes sticks in my mind, and helps me remember to give Charlie what he wants.
omg he TURNS 'n BURNS omg
We were still a little inconsistent around our first course tho. Mostly for *me* reasons. I was nervous, ya know? It's a narrow indoor with all sorts of twisting turning lines -- and more than a few places where you land with a jump directly in front of you that you are NOT intended to jump. I was worried about Charlie getting backed off, so did his job for him and put him behind my leg myself lol, whoops.
sir, my heart, you have it <3
He was obviously still a very good boy, and jumped from some *very* close distances.... But I was also very happy to have a second round to go out and try to be a bit more forward. Still feel his front and hind end. still do all the stuff I've been working on.... But, with allowance, ya know?
the goodest boy <3
And our second round (source of all these pictures, plus the video below) was MUCH better. Like, not gonna lie, I'm still happy with the first round too bc this is legit the shit for me, ya know?? Going out and riding my amazing horse even through all my mistakes lol. But... Riding two rounds in a row is really useful for me, esp as an eventer who is so used to "one shot."
literally the only "long" run on course, and he just loped on down like a perfect hunter
For my second round, I just reminded myself to let him go and trust him and be a bit more forward. A little looser even as I focused on keeping a feel of his "ends." And? It worked out!!
voila! et fin
The courses were honestly a bit bananas and not really something we're likely to see in a stadium round at a horse trials, or even in a proper jumper show (since, spoiler alert guys --- we might be trending in that direction). So it doesn't bug me that we weren't really perfect for all of it. Actually, it's pretty good that we weren't. It's good for my brain to experience imperfection and survival at the same time lol.
look at how happy our horses are!!! lol
Tho, I'm also not gonna argue with winning both our classes lol. In, ahem, a class of two. And, of course, it should be noted, we lost the division bc I didn't ride the third round. Again tho, I wasn't there to win. I was there to ride two rounds. And we did that. And our second round was better (by far) from our first round. And Charlie knew it. Voila, the end.
Idk about y'all, but that basically ties it up for me goals-wise in February lol. This show was definitely very different from some of the indoors jumpers shows I've done before... But.... I think I liked it? It was harder, much more complicated.... But, the people were fantastic and they were on top of their footing conditions even in bad weather.
for real tho, so fun
On one hand, for horses that are struggling, that sorta cramped crazy jumper environment might back them off too much... But, honestly? I think it was just the ticket for Charlie. He really adjusted and adapted and handled the turns and everything great.
Kinda... Makes me wanna do more of... this with Charlie. Tho, lol, their xc course still called to me. So idk, we aren't done with that either. Maybe some sort of hybrid going forward? Idk. We'll see. It's February, after all. Any body else out there trying to make sense of early season plannings and ideations?
