friday video flashback: 2014 Rolex 4*

Happy Friday, everyone! It's been.... wow. It's been a week. All the way back on Monday, I wrote about how the covid-19 crisis finally "got real" for Marylanders, in that just about every single citizen was impacted in some tangible, meaningful way.

And, as many of you are experiencing, things have only escalated from there. There has been a lot of uncertainty and some chaos. I feel very fortunate to say that, at least for my own network anfd connections, not too too many consequences as yet. There is worry tho, especially as speculation runs rampant and cold hard facts remain rarer than rocking horse manure.

shot from our epic 2019 LRK3DE5* trip!!!!

Conventional wisdom says that we will adapt to the current "new normal," tho. And settle. Right now everyone is on edge, and that's freakin exhausting haha, and therefore unsustainable. Soon (I hope), we'll be able to step back a bit and assess.

In the meantime, I'm still a little too consumed by vague nihilistic existentialism to like... idk, sit down and write about our recent dressage fix a test clinic (tho it was, in fact, awesome haha). That'll come eventually, probably tho ;)

I'm **not** so preoccupied, however, to not be sad about the cancellation of this year's Kentucky 5*. Per my and my group's annual tradition, we'd already secured our tickets and booked travel well in advance. And had been nervously gnawing on our fingertips for the last few weeks before they inevitably (and correctly) announced the cancellation.

NBC's 2014 Rolex 4* Coverage

(obvi tons of familiar faces bc duh, but it's fun for me to recognize folks like Dan in the video. equal parts sad tho bc both he and his wife Katilin were qualified, sound and ready to return ((finally!)) to this level of competition this year. .... sigh)

Boo. Add another hash mark to the "lost" tally bc of this insane pandemic.

But!! With hope (and healthy doses of precaution and prophylactics), life goes on.

So, before we get too sad about losing the 2020 5*, or too excited about the 2021 5*, let's instead sit back and enjoy the throwback to simpler times haha. Specifically, NBC's 2014 broadcast of the then-called Rolex Kentucky 4*. Go watch, it's lovely ;)

----

Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that you're all doing ok, and adapting to the evolving situation within reason. How are you all coping? Have things changed much for you? Or maybe not at all?

Are you like me, for whom "self quarantine" kiiiiiinda describes my normal every day to day life?? Or maybe where you are, self quarantine isn't even a thing and you're not so sure what I'm even talking about? Or, god forbid, you're dealing with consequences the rest of us are only just now realizing could be coming? Or, perhaps you feel differently, and think this will all be a distant memory sooner than anyone says?

Also. If anybody is intensely bored or feeling particularly isolated by this new self-quarantine lifestyle, feel free to drop me a line at fraidycat.eventing at gmail.

spring cleaning: tail edition

I don't know about you all and where you live, but here in Maryland basically everyone sorta hit coronavirus fever pitch at the exact same time yesterday. It's been kinda surreal.

Like the virus has been in the news for weeks and weeks - first in China, and then those poor quarantined cruise ships. And all along we've more or less been told to expect it'd come our way eventually.... And even now, while we know it's "Here," it almost doesn't feel like it because I don't personally know anybody affected directly by the illness.

charlie trying to look pitiful so i won't spray him with the cold water haha

But... The big difference - the change factor, as far as I can tell, is that as of this weekend, just about everyone in Maryland has had their life disrupted in some tangible way. Whether it's office or school closures, cancelled travel, modified hours or depleted inventories at stores and restaurants...

And as of yesterday, it was all anybody could talk about. And everybody seems a little anxious too. Uncertain. Like nobody really knows what to expect, or what it all means, tho they also feel like they should "do something" about it. Will it blow over? Will we have forgotten about all of this six months down the line? Or, will the unthinkable happen? Will we be affected more personally by an unfolding tragedy?

in case you weren't aware, we marylanders are kiiiiiinda obsessed with our flag. we put it on er'rythang

Uncertainty, for me at least, is extremely nerve wracking. And it's such a strange feeling juxtaposed as it is to what is turning out to be a friggin glorious spring season. Everything is blooming, the weather is mild, and people are eager to be outside -- esp with all the kids and college students who have been released early to their spring breaks.

My own personal life honestly isn't particularly disrupted. I work from home full time already, and my job at a consulting firm isn't really dealing with anything worse than travel chaos. Our clients, all non profits, are still dedicated to their missions. Many more so now than ever. And so the wheels keep turning.

picked up a bunch of new products using my store credit at maryland saddlery! 

The biggest complaint I can claim at present is the cancellation of all our horse show plans. Which.... obviously we can recognize as probably the right choice, even if it's pretty disappointing.

So yea.... It's very strange times right now. And a particularly strange weekend as it sorta "got real" for everyone in my network - horsey or otherwise. Presumably we'll know more in the not-so-distant future. But for now we're all just kinda going about our days, waiting and seeing.

Which, for my purposes this weekend, meant attending another Fix-a-Test clinic (very grateful it wasn't cancelled - details coming soon!), and hitting up my local tack shop to use up some store credit that's been burning a hole in the proverbial pocket for far too long.

pictured: poop dreads. gross, charlie. this is what you get when your horse smooshes his butt into the back of the trailer for an hour...

In particular, I wanted some open front boots, per Martin Douzant's recommendation (success!), and fresh grooming products to help usher Charlie through the changing seasons.

He actually got his first bath on a particularly warm night last week before our jumper show. To be perfectly honest, I really don't bathe him often -- preferring frequent vigorous currying instead of stripping his natural oils with soap. But springtime is always good for rinsing off the months of accumulated winter nasties haha.

but it's nothing a little warm soapy water can't fix!

Plus, naturally when our jumper show last week was running predictably late, Charlie ended up standing around on the trailer for a good long while. During which he had his tail smooshed up against the butt bar, while repeatedly pooping into it. And it was nasssssty omg.

So... Yea haha. Had to fix that. The selection of grooming products at Maryland Saddlery is limited, but I'm already a fan of Cowboy Magic's detangler - and somewhat of the opinion that most shampoos are more or less the same basic ingredients. The Cowboy Magic shampoo smelled nice (rosewater!) and included a bottle of spray shine stuff too, so that's what I got.

this is my preferred method for cleaning tails, you really don't need a very big bucket either!

Frankly it probably would have been cheaper to just get some Mane 'n Tail from the local grocery store like I've done before, but eh. I had store credit, so why not, right?

In terms of actual tail care.... I'm one of those who practices abject neglect. Charlie has absolutely luxurious hair and a freakin lovely tail. I'm not even lying when I say it's one of the attributes that sold me on him haha.

scrub-a-dub-dub! also look how gross and dingy those suds are even tho i'd already been rinsing and rinsing haha

But yea, I basically neglect it. Mostly bc that's typically the safest way to help it stay full and luscious. It gets banged twice a year up to mid cannon (otherwise it grows fast enough to drag in the mud!!), and washed probably every month or two. And I use a detangler product with some regularity.

Lots of folks recommend against products containing silicone since it can dry out the hairs and leave them prone to breakage. Idk tho... haha, I love the way it feels. Plus I feel like it helps repel dirt, and the hair gets less tangled and knotted. I usually just work it in with my fingers, and avoid brushing the tail altogether unless it's freshly cleaned for a show. Ymmv!

don't forget to pay the meter

Plus, last year I shelled out for one of those fancy Tail Tamer brushes. Which, actually, I really really like, and do feel like it's better for avoiding breakage than some other brushes I've used. Most of the time if I'm brushing the tail, I'm just smoothing out the very ends with a brush, and hand-picking some strands higher up.

If I'm going to brush the whole thing, tho, it's gotta be freshly cleaned and detangled, and I divide it into lots of small sections to brush out one at a time. But again, I only ever really do that for shows to be honest.

ta da!! clean tail on a dirty fuzzy pony <3

So on this particular day, mostly what I cared about was washing out all the nastiness and doing some light detangling. Meaning I mostly worked out snarls with my fingers, and just brushed about half way up the tail.

It's always so satisfying tho when you're done <3 Or haha, it probably would have been more satisfying if the rest of the horse was clean too! Instead of kinda dusty and still with some mud caked on in places (and in his mane... whoops) since I'd been a little lazy in my grooming.

bye charlie! make good choices!!!

But hey, one step at a time, right? He's just gonna go roll anyway, let's be real. And considering we suddenly don't have any immediate or urgent plans to be out in public.... Well, I guess it doesn't really matter anyway, right? Sigh...

Anyone else out there taking advantage of the blossoming spring to get your pony all freshly cleaned up? Or maybe taking advantage of a sudden onslaught of free time due to the Covid-19 pandemic? Or, and hopefully this is not the case, maybe you've seen other worse consequences to everything that's going on? Either way - hope you're all staying safe and healthy!!

love in the time of cholera

Whew, is anybody sick yet of reading about sickness?? I honestly couldn't even really believe I came down with the flu. Hadn't been sick in something like well over a decade -- just lucky, I guess.

But it meant I had basically forgot what it even was to be sick. Let alone with something like the flu that completely flattens you!

throwback to that other flu quarantine situation... for real, tho, protec yo'selves!!!

And, naturally, the timing being what it was, I felt more than a little sheepish having to always be like, "but it's only the normal flu, I swear!!!" Still, tho, what a mess.

The timing was doubly worse bc last I wrote on ye olde blog, we had just attacked some grid work in a lesson for the first time in forever. And I teased that we'd soon be attending another gymnastics clinic, to be my second time riding with local-ish professional Martin Douzant.

charles, the CDC says plz stop putting your mouf on things

You might recall that I rode with Martin the first time last October for a private XC lesson on Loch Moy's competition course. That lesson was so great that I've been keeping an eye out for more lesson opps every since. And this was to be the day!! A semi-private gymnastics lesson at the adorably quaint Coexist Stables over in Mt Airy.

Literally from the day I came down with the flu, all I could think about was recovering enough for this lesson. And because I have extreme first world problems, I admit to being very dramatically desolate when it seemed like I might not be able to pull it together enough to go.

legit the only pic i took from our gymnastics clinic with Martin Douzant, from after our ride when i basically collapsed in a chair while my barn mate had her lesson. i am so sorry :(

Somehow I made it to the barn, tho. And figured that since I promised to drive a barn mate and didn't want to ruin her day too, I might as well put Charlie on the trailer. I could at least try to get on and see what happened, right? Just one step at a time, ya know? Tho, haha, full disclosure - I mayyyy have had a tiny pity party on Charlie's shoulder while waffling about all this. 

Somehow, tho, I rallied. And Charlie, bless his gentle soul, took care of me through the lesson.**

**Ahem, as did the gatorade...

grid progression at the Martin Douzant clinic. ridden both directions up until the right most element became a vertical, then it was ridden only L to R
lines are ground poles; big X's are crossrails; lines with a small x at one end are half cross rails (just one side raised); and lines with two small x's are verticals

And the lesson was actually pretty good. All very basic gymnastic work (which was basically the only reason I could even pretend to try haha).

Martin had us keep our warm up very very light, since the work itself would be taxing. Then it was right away cantering through the long line of 9 ground poles set at bounce distances (probably 9' tho I didn't ask).

When going through just the poles, Martin reminded me that it was *my* responsibility to rate Charlie as we went through. That it was up to me to help prevent him from lengthening his stride down the line. If we started knocking the poles by the end, that was my own mistake.

final configuration. would have ended with an oxer (ridden left to right) but i ran out of steam

But that responsibility had to shift to Charlie once the individual elements started systematically gaining height. Much like my last lesson with Martin, he wanted us softening in the stride before a fence. His point being: there really isn't anything we can do at that point to make a change other than interfering. 

And naturally, since basically all the elements of the full line ended up being "within a stride" to a jump, it required staying soft in the hands the whole way down the line. So instead we had to focus on arriving at the first element in the proper balance.

recovered well enough to make a long-anticipated trip Aiken tho! what you see here might look like people, but do not be deceived. this is not Brooke, Lauren or Ronan. This is actually offset rolltops on the P course at Sporting Days Farm. Obvi.

And about that first element - Martin was very specifically explicit in his directions. He wanted us to pick up our canter *AT* the first pole. Not after the first pole, not before the first pole. At it.

Especially as the exercise progressed, he said we were too late if we only just cantered at the first element with height. But, at the same time, we were *not* to rush at the pole and canter prematurely. Especially for Charlie, he wanted plenty of RPMs in the trot, but on a very short stride to help arrive at the exercise in some manner of pseudo collection.

and this is obviously a brush fence. obviously.

So yea. Pretty standard gymnastic exercise haha. And it was good. Fucking hard, but good. And Charlie was sooooo good. What a horse, guys.

He got a little upset at the very beginning bc he was confused about whether we were trotting or cantering. I think he thought I was going to pick on him about walk-canter (since we've been practicing) when I just wanted trot. So we had a dinosaur-in-tar-pit moment that Martin obvi didn't get. But once Charlie understood all I wanted was trot, all was well again in his world.

I also talked a bit with Martin about the feedback we got from Sally about uphill balance. And actually, Martin's reaction was reassuring. He said what basically everyone says - that the horse has a nice and pleasantly balanced canter. Charlie's canter is good. He just told me to make sure Charlie's poll remains the highest point, but just don't use my hands to do it.

Haha. Ok. Sounds good, thanks! lol...

oooooh i also got to meet this fancy duo! 

For real, tho, it was reassuring. Tho Martin did prescribe moar bounces in our regular work. And. Um. Ahem, open front boots.... Lol Charlie was not particularly respectful of the grid!

All in all, tho, I was really glad to have been able to actually survive the lesson. And learn a thing or two from it. It was kinda expensive for what it was, but for whatever reason I really enjoy Martin's instruction and felt like it was a good barometer in that moment.

Slightly unrelated - it was also a good barometer for testing whether I'd be able to make a long-anticipated trip later in the week. Last October I booked a trip down to Aiken, SC for a few farm tours etc, and was sliiiiightly concerned my illness would get in the way and ruin everything.

had lunch with KC too, but failed at taking even any photos - so enjoy this screen shot of legitimately what the map looks like trying to drive through the horror show that is DC

Luckily, tho, I did in fact recover in time, and proved to myself through the Martin clinic that I could rally. So I made it, yay! And even better - I'd sorta hastily gotten Sara and KC on the horn about meeting up as I made my way through the area. The plans were all very last minute, but thankfully both were super flexible about timing etc, since I'd be stopping by their respective towns on my way back north again.

First up was Sara, whose farm I stopped by kiiiiinda early in the morning lol. And omg, what a farm! Y'all have seen the pictures on her blog, but it's even better in person. Something about how the barn and arena are situated on the land just make everything look really open and bright and spacious. I loved it! And Sara!!! And the husband and kiddos and four-legged residents too ;)

flashback to a year ago when KC and I met when she came to maryland!! pro tip - if you come to maryland, lemme know bc i will likely do what i can to meet you where you are!

And before I knew it, Sara was handing me the reins to that appy Eeyore!! Who was shockingly reminiscent of the early Isabel days actually. That pony is one heckuva springy flexible little pocket rocket. And has a lot more "Go!" than Charlie LOL.

I was just sorta sitting on him trying to not spring forth into canter every other step while leg yielding hither and yon -- feeling like Sara's probably gonna win literally all the dressage at some point in the not-so-distant future.

So ya know. Keep an eye out for that haha!! And thank you Sara for being so welcoming <3 loved chatting and hope for more opportunities!!

also failed at media at this AOPF jumper show!! boo hiss. was a super cute farm tho - we warmed up in this dressage ring then competed in the indoor below

Sadly I had a very strict schedule and had to get back on the road... which just about two hours later saw me exiting the highway in KC's neighborhood for brunch!

I was bummed to not meet Pilgrim, whose farm is a bit farther off the highway. But still, it was awesome catching up (remember we met a year ago when KC came up to Loch Moy!) and getting the scoop on what that magnificent new ottb Leo is up to down in Florida lol. And also make sure P has laid off his cycle of eye/hoof/tendon injuries.... ugh. Plus KC shared a couple other newsworthy items that she'll presumably blog eventually - so uh, stay tuned for that too!

the indoor at AOPF is narrow but actually pretty lovely. this was the course we did, snapped the only pic after i learned my barn friend had forgotten to video our round WOMP

To be honest, it felt a little unfair to push off so soon from that brunch too... But the road beckons. And damn but those were some long ass drives! Hopefully tho there will be more future opportunities to meet up with both of those lovely ladies - and other bloggers too!!

Hands down my favorite thing about having this little space on the internet has been the connections I've made with you all <3

so i grabbed some artsy shots of chuck to at least have something

Anyway, tho, no rest for the weary. During my absence from home, I may or may not have bribed some barn rats with Starbucks gift cards to keep Charlie moving. I think they mostly just hacked him out, but every little thing helps.

Especially since I'd be returning Monday and taking him to a local schooling jumper show that Wednesday.

you're a good dog, charlie

I am 100% devastated to not have video of our round. Full disclosure. I actually am still repeating in my head the exact moment when I observed that I probably should say some gentle prodding reminder to the person who had my phone to, ya know, start recording.... But I didn't do it. And so neither did she. And I have nobody to blame but myself. Siiiiiiiiiigh.

So you'll just have to take my word for it haha that it was a good time ;)

"i know" charlie, probably

There's a new local series offering schooling jumper shows on weekday evenings at a couple different farms. It's pegged as the "AGO" series, standing for AOPF (An Otherwise Perfect Farm), Good to Go Farm, and Oldfields. Oldfields, naturally, being the site of our last little local schooling jumper show.

It's a new series tho and I think they're still figuring out the scheduling and logistics etc. They did their best to provide advance estimates for when each class would ride, but as might be expected those estimates were blown wayyyyyy the fuck out of the water basically immediately. Like, when we arrived in time to hit the end of the 90s but they were still on crossrails. Whoops!

gosh he's the sweetest tho, dweeby hair and all <3 <3 <3

It worked out, tho. Thanks to daylight savings we had enough light to get our horses warmed up in the outdoor (unlit) dressage ring without being unreasonably premature for our own rounds. Plus all the Oldfields kiddos had to leave by 7ish anyway to get back to campus. Which meant that while the crossrails and 60cm classes were packed, the 80cm was very thin and basically everyone was gone except for me, my trailer mate, and two other stragglers for the 90cm.

My original plan was to do one 90 and one 100, but with things as they were, our coach actually did the course reset and made it a combination of heights 90-100 all in one. Which suited the organizers who were all basically dying to go home lol.

and spring is here! forsythia already starting to bloom!

I had some anxiety about the course -- vague existential dread, ya know -- ahead of time. Like, the indoor was narrow. And the distances were all set on a full 12' stride.

There were two backwards (imo) rollbacks, a suuuuuper skinny on a strange line, an unforgiving end jump, and the hardest line (24'-60' triple) on a short turn going away from the gate (the blue and white line in the pic above).

But... Our warm up was very smooth. And by the time they were resetting the jumps for our turns, I had Charlie walking around inside the indoor to acclimate and he felt allllll business. So... I just stayed in the ring and went first. And? He was ALL business.

Super forward, distances right there, no issue with the 12' stride in a narrow constricted indoor. No spook at anything. Some drift issues, esp when I forgot which jump I was aiming at in our first rollback (like I said, imo they were backwards), so I piloted us to a couple missed turns. And we dropped the last fence - the unforgiving end jump off the left lead after that blue and white line.

sheeps probably ready to be sheared soon too ;)

But overall the feeling was very good. We were much more forward than we had been at Oldfields (take my word for it LOL) and I didn't feel like I stuffed Charlie to anything. Most of our issues felt more circumstantial to the environment -- which is not likely to be replicated at any of our 'proper' events this year. So it didn't seem like a repeat course was necessary.

And I especially liked how Charlie felt. He felt rideable. He listened. He went forth, went where he was pointed. Read the jumps, jumped them well. Had a rub or two, and one down. But.... Ya know. That's mostly on me at this point LOL, let's be real.

So overall it felt like a worthwhile experience. A late night, a long wait. And jumps that were maybe skewing toward too-small for what I want to do. But.... actually that's really ok haha.

Our entries are in to open the season, and I feel ready. The venue's message so far is "The show must go on!" so I'm hopeful. Who knows what will actually happen, right? But for now, we're being boy scouts and are prepared. Cross your fingers for us LOL. Or.... Ya know... Commiserate with us if you've had to deal with cancellations or illness or any of the above chaos too!

the anti-grid grid

After a few days of gorgeous and DRY weather after what felt like weeks of rain, the morning of our most recent lesson dawned gray and soggy. Womp haha. At least the footing was pretty much perfect tho after the dry spell!

pics today are mostly unrelated. just random snaps from my phone! here, i can't tell if he's trying to optimize his head height for scritches, or if his head is just plain ol' too heavy haha

This was my first chance to fill in the gaps for resident upper level event rider K about what, specifically, Sally had said about Charlie's uphill balance during our clinic a couple weeks ago. And to start thinking about ways to continue developing the horse's canter in that direction.

And true to form, trainer K had a great exercise for us to try. We warmed up with a figure 8 pattern over two simple verticals first. Wherein we pretty effectively demonstrated the whole "little short here, little long there" pattern haha - especially off the R lead. Then it was on to the exercise!

the grid in its final form
from L to R: a set of low verticals 1 stride apart with placing pole between, left side of placing pole raised slightly. 4 strides to oxer, with plank placed along the left side of the line of travel to discourage drift. V-poles placed on oxer to improve straightness.

It was a grid, but also kinda not a grid at the same time, if that makes sense. Or, rather, still a gymnastic exercise - but spread out over slightly longer distances.

Often when I think of a grid or gymnastic, I'm imagining a combination of elements that flow fairly smoothly across short distances (bounces or 1 or 2 strides) from one to the next without requiring a lot of adjustments from the rider. Like, it's the rider's job to arrive at the first element at the appropriate speed / balance / straightness / etc, and to stay straight down the line. But generally that's kinda it - there isn't usually a whole lot of room for much else.

charlie looking at me like i just interrupted a moment here

This line was a little different bc the final element was spaced just shy of 60' from the start of the grid. That's..... plenty of room for stuff to happen LOL. Plenty of room to get in trouble ;)

charlie creepin on the new barn cat

The line started by two relatively low verticals with a placing pole between them. I didn't ask the exact measurements here, but knowing trainer K's focus on improving our balance on a 12' stride, I'm guessing the verticals were north of 20' apart. 

This one stride grid, combined with the bounce pole in between, was intended to get Charlie lifting and using his shoulders. As you all may be perfectly aware, he kinda likes to jump a little flat and across, without necessarily a whole lot of lifting up. Theoretically, these first few elements would help set the tone for Charlie.

tho no cat could ever compare to chatty cat from isabel's barn, who i saw over the weekend while building the standards!!

But then.... We had 4 strides (on a sliiiightly shorter than true distance, not quite 60') to actually try to hold that together. So, in other words, we had to actually kinda work for it lol, instead of letting the grid do the work for us. Does that sorta make sense? 

out wanderin the farm. they finally filled in the massively eroded canyon on this sweet uphill path!

It was actually pretty interesting, too. Like. I'm almost positive that I've ridden very similar jump configurations before. The part of the T show jumping course at the Aloha HT that we actually completed before I fell off had almost the same line, but backwards (so a long line into a one stride).

And I bet if I dug around long enough I'd find examples of something similar with trainer P, who adores grids and gymnastics of all stripes. Tho, she sets almost everything on a shorter compressed stride.

wanderin the fields with lesson kiddos. i wonder if these kids realize how lucky they are haha #kindajealous

That's all well and fine and dandy for practicing, but what I've learned with Charlie is that the balance he holds on a shorter stride doesn't necessarily translate when I go to ride him on a true 12' stride. And.... our competition courses are all set on 12' strides sooooooo, we probably need to fix that haha.

Thus explaining why we've been doing so much work on making Charlie adjustable and rideable in a more forward and 'true' canter. And why, even tho this exercise kinda looks familiar to me, it rode quite a bit harder.

another day, another rain storm.... charlie makin new friends in a temporary paddock while waiting for the farrier!

Charlie, for his part, wanted to drift a little left. No doubt some symptom of codependent compensation between our mutual crookedness haha. Also possibly a way for him to add back in that extra distance to make the oxer easier on himself haha. So trainer K added some features to the exercise to help with that.

Actually it was mildly hilarious bc I saw her put the plank on the ground, but did *not* see her raise one end of the bounce pole. So when we got into the exercise we were both like, "OH!" and then had to scramble a little to keep moving down the line (Charlie legit stepped on the plank too, whoops!).

and, naturally, charlie not even bothering to wait for me to leave before getting himself all up close and personal with that wire fencing.... ugh

It worked out tho. We just kept cycling through off each lead, usually beginning each turn with some rideability exercises via transitions between walk-trot-canter to get Charlie up immediately in front of my leg.

It was hard tho, way more work through a grid than I expected lol. We were both huffing and puffing by the end. There were some really good efforts in there, tho. Trainer K is trying to help us find a different "sweet spot" for our takeoff distance, since I tend to want to get Charlie a little close. And this really seemed to help with that - esp as it relates to helping *me* get more comfortable with that distance .

We'll see tho. It seems like every winter we get back into "Grid Bootcamp" -- especially when we're confined to the tiny indoor. But with this crazy mild winter, the outdoor has stayed usable and so we've continued on coursework and whatnot. So it's kinda nice to practice grids again. Actually, if all goes to plan, we'll be doing some more gymnastics this weekend -- with Martin again!! So stay tuned for that.

How to build jump standards

Alternate titles for this DIY project:

"How to build jump standards with inexpensive material, limited tools, and basically zero experience!"
...
"Jump Standards for Dummies!"
...
"Can you believe I still possess all ten fingers after this?!?"
...

Ahem, haha. Moooooving on.

gosh, aren't they pretty tho??

So it's been a couple years since my last DIY jump equipment post. You might remember, back in early 2015 Isabel and I contested our second ever BN at Waredaca, and had a completely shocking and unexpected refusal at an unassuming little white lattice jump on xc.

After which, naturally, I made it my business to familiarize Princess with said lattice. Lol... And thus was born the simple DIY Lattice Gate.

sketched out plans on graph paper to help create materials list

That project was a lot of fun, and I've sorta toyed with all manner of jump / jump equipment DIY ideas since then. Finally tho, the time was right. I asked the management at Isabel's barn (my old stomping grounds!) if they would reimburse the cost of materials in exchange for me getting experience building them some standards.

Obviously they said yes haha. Who wouldn't, right?

i made it into a video for all you visual learners ;)

if you were ever curious about whether i drone on irl the way i do in writing, here's yer answer lol

I sketched out some plans on graph paper - including trying to figure out the right scale for everything. A lot of folks in a lot of different tutorials and forums suggest all manner of various dimensions for these pieces, but my final materials list is as follows:

For one complete set of 4' standards:
-  one 12'x2"x8" board
-  one 8'x4"x4" post
-  sixteen 3" exterior decking screws

measuring tape was helpful haha

In terms of tools used for the project, there are many options. In very broad strokes, however, you need some variation of a:

- measuring implement
- cutting tool to break the lumber down to size
- drilling / driving tool for assembly and the jump cup pinholes
- 1/2" drilling bit for the jump cup pinholes
- bit to drive in your screws

honestly not sure i've ever used a circular saw before this. turned out to be pretty easy tho!

I used all cordless Ryobi tools bc that's the type of batteries I have, and it's easiest to stay with one manufacturer. For this project, I used my circular saw, drill, and hammer drill. The hammer drill was..... ha, overkill lol. Buuuuuut it certainly made quick work of the job!

the "feet" are taking shape!! only needed approximately 8 million cuts with the circular saw lol...

Anyway. My plans called for each standard to have a single 4' upright, supported by a base made up of four "feet."

I therefore used 8' 4x4"s to make the uprights, but if you wanted taller (or shorter) standards you could obvi adjust as needed. Pressure treated lumber can be heavy, so keep that in mind when considering what height you really need.

beveling the edges seemed like a nice touch. the 1/2" version (second from left) turned out better than the 1" versions tho (all the rest) esp in terms of making my imprecise cuts/measurements less obvious lol

The base pieces were cut from the 2"x8" board, and one 12' board breaks down perfectly into eight 18" segments.

I've seen plans that called for using 2x6" boards, and using lengths shorter than 18"... but this was what looked best and most proportional to my eye. Considering the materials for this type of project aren't exactly expensive (I made three complete sets for ~$60), it doesn't make a ton of sense to skimp on dimensions.

everything smoothed out really nicely tho with a block plane!

Too-small dimensions will just make the standards look janky, and possibly reduce their durability long-term. Considering there are already plenty of other ways for these things to come out looking.... definitely homemade haha, the dimensions don't need to also contribute to that effort.

drilling the pinholes was hands down the hardest task - luckily a woodworker friend made me this jig

Anyway. The construction couldn't be simpler. My local hardware store cut the 12' boards in half for me, then I did the rest of the cutting back at the barn. Reducing each 2x8" board into 18" segments.

I also traced an angle on to each base piece to cut off the top-facing 90* corner. This makes the standards look nicer, but also makes them safer. It's one less pointy bit to step (or fall) on when things go a little sideways....

originally tried to use a 1/2" auger bit, but it kept getting stuck in all the wet wood chips

As a totally optional design feature, I cut a bevel into the tops of each standard. My circular saw has a base that can be adjusted to any angle up to 45*, so this was actually pretty easy to do. Tho I wasn't particularly precise with my cuts or measurements, and.... You can tell haha.

1/2" spade bit + hammer drill = emma's winning formula

Still tho, I think it does make them look more finished, and most of the unevenness in appearances worked out with a block plane and sanding. For future projects, I'll start my bevel about half an inch from the top instead of the full inch I did this time.

hardware rated for exterior conditions is important, since these standards will live outdoors full time

Also optional: I pre-drilled the screw holes into all my base feet. I'm like 87.5% positive that you could definitely skip this step and have it not make any real difference.

But supposedly this step helps prevent splitting the boards when driving in a screw. And anyway, I wanted more experience operating the drill so I was fine with the extra effort. YMMV lol..

also found it helpful to get all the screws started in the base pieces before trying to assemble everything

The last big step before assembling the standards is to drill all the pinholes. I guess you could do it after attaching the base too.... but it seemed easier this way. And "easier" is key bc this was without a doubt the hardest step of the whole project.

Drilling 4" holes into wettish pressure treated lumber took a lot more effort than I expected. And my first attempt was a complete fail, even with an experienced woodworker supervising my progress. I used a 1/2" auger bit, and basically as you drill down you want to occasionally pull the drill back out to release the accumulation of sawdust. Otherwise that dust just keeps compacting into the bit and everything seizes up.

#needsmoreclamps.... 

My timing and technique were.... not good haha, and so the bit kept jamming, sending my poor Ryobi drill into a smoking fit.

Swapping out to a spade bit (still 1/2" diameter) made a huge difference. Especially since there's more clearance around the shaft of this bit for all that sawdust accumulation, so it's a lot harder for it to get totally stuck. I also swapped to a hammer drill lol. A bit more power never hurts ;)

a better work bench or more clamps would have made attaching the feet less awkward, but honestly this was maybe the easiest step

Once I had the new set up, we were smooth sailing. My woodworker friend also made me a little pre-measured jig to line up and clamp down for all the pinholes. This was handy for feeling like I could get all those holes drilled pretty quickly. But after a few uses, the holes started getting blown out and less accurate.

So some of the standards have pinholes that are a bit visibly misaligned. Nbd tho, they all still fit with normal jump cups. If I were to repeat the process, tho, I'd just measure and mark each hole location myself and skip the jig.

and ta da!!!! the standards have come to life!

Once all the holes are drilled, there's nothing left to do but screw on the bases! This was kinda awkward for me considering my somewhat amateurish power tool skills, combined with not having an appropriate work bench or enough clamps or whatever lol.

But once I figured out I could start all the screws in their base pieces ahead of actually attaching to the upright, we were in business.

this treated lumber will take a few months or even a year to dry before it should be painted, but they're ready to go!!

And, ya know, that's basically it! The standards could use a little finish work like sanding etc. But realistically they have to dry for a few months to a year before they can be painted, and they'll probably have to get sanded at that point again anyway. So I just left them as they are for now.

Overall, the project was honestly harder than I expected. Especially in terms of the actual physical strength it takes to handle the lumber and operate everything effectively. For instance, I have tiny little hands and every tool is somehow jusssssst barely too big for my reach haha.

Even so, tho, it was a super rewarding project and was very beginner-friendly. I have all manner of more complex or "exciting" jump equipment projects. But these humble standards were a great first go. Plus naturally any lesson program is always eager to have new equipment haha.