monday memo - an eventful weekend

Guys. GUYS! We had an awesome weekend. It was everything I'd hoped for, plus some. I am grinning like a fool. 

And I have a metric ton of pics and videos to share with you. 

But... I'm also exhausted. (and football is on. #priorities)

So I'm just going to leave these little teasers here. You can expect full posts starting tomorrow. 

But wait a second - that last one doesn't fit? It sure looks like an xc rolltop, doesn't it?? But there's no xc in Combined Training events... what gives, eh?? Patience - all will be made clear soon :)

CT goals

My second CT with Isabel is tomorrow! To prepare, I'm organizing my objectives for the day.

We are in the same division as in July: 2' Stadium and 2011 USDF Intro Test B.

The only difference is the name change from Elementary B to Introductory A. For some reason, I thought they changed the dressage test to a w-t-c version too, but nope: still just w-t. This is FINE by me since our canter resembles lumpy mashed potatoes. 

So, the goals:

Dressage

We are doing the same test in front of the same judge. This is an opportunity to truly gauge our progress this summer. 

My goal: Improve overall score from 42.2

Particularly, I *hope* to improve our transitions, halts, and the circle to the right. Each of these areas remain difficult for us, but I believe we've made progress. 

For the collectives, the coefficient is on submission here... which is, uh.. not Isabel's strong suit (especially when we're against lesson ponies, who are as submissive as they come). Again, I'd like to see that score improve - even if just by .5. 

Most of the judge's notes revolve around overuse of hands - a constant struggle. In the last few weeks I've started to feel my arms hanging from my shoulders. And I've used that weight for contact, instead of bracing and doing weird things with my wrists. We shall see if the judge agrees that this is better. 

Things to keep the same: accuracy and geometry were decent last time. Transition from free walk to medium walk is usually solid with Isabel. And impulsion - not a problem for my gal.

Stadium:

My stadium round last time was clear. So, uh, yea I'd like to go clear again. 

But lo - there is still room for improvement!! I would love to avoid falling on our ass, please!

thanks, but no thanks.

I'll achieve this goal by creating a *balanced* canter with horse firmly in front of my leg. 

So yea, my goals are pretty simple: improve upon past performances. Fortunately for the lesson kiddos, I'm not very competitive. Otherwise...

kids gotta learn how to lose somehow

lol just kidding!! ....sorta ;)

SFTS Blog Hop: Why do you do what you do?

Jenn from Stories from the Saddle started a new blog hop! 

She wants to know: Why do you do what you do?

Excellent topic! Perhaps this wasn't the intent, but I'm going to take this as an opportunity for a little trip down memory lane. Throwback Thurs.., er, Friday?? 

I learned to ride at a barn that didn't outwardly align itself with a specific discipline. We were quite isolated, actually, and the trainer/owner was very traditional and strict. She was certain that her way was not only the best way, but the only way. 

We didn't show, per se, except for one big year-end event that was a closed-barn demonstration to show our parents where their money went.

she liked drill patterns performed to military tunes. go figure

(i'm on the tall blaze-faced mare Toby)

So I really didn't know much about the wider world of horses, though I got an excellent education on all things horse care related. I now recognize the barn as being mostly dressage-oriented, though we jumped occasionally, and the trainer's fundamental philosophy was traditional, balanced seat riding.

when you got to a certain age, you did dressage tests instead of drill patterns.

i could not for the life of me get Candy to canter in our test.

it was actually quite idyllic

I started riding at hunter barns when I joined the IHSA team in college because that was the de facto discipline. I really loved the barn where the team practiced, so when I graduated and moved, I found a barn that was similar (more on these barns here and here). This was more about seeking the familiar than actually knowing what was out there, or what my goals were. 

It's kinda interesting, in retrospect, because I've never really fit in super well with the hunter world. That's not to say that I felt excluded or out of place (I didn't and don't) - I just never felt that my talents (or lack there of? lol) where a great match. 

doing my hunter thang with Lad in Rochester, circa 2006

In any case, things got interesting when I found Isabel (or when she found me?). I had a *very* affordable six month lease on her, and figured she'd serve to get me into good enough shape to be successful at my new hunter barn after a few years off. 

But a funny thing happened - Isabel became an exciting mount in her own right and I extended the lease indefinitely. Then I discovered this excellent blogging community, and was really inspired by all the various ways you enjoy your horses and fit them into your lifestyles, regardless of resources and background. 

I realized that I had a special horse on my hands, and that I'd never get the same kind of animal at this cost ever again. 

oh hai. wanna have some fun?

By this time I was educated enough in various disciplines to recognize that I'd be squandering my game arabian mare's talents by squishing her into a hunter mold. So I started thinking about which disciplines she could excel in. Obviously anything trail related - trail challenges or endurance, for instance. 

But my heart has always been in jumping. And I've always had a fixation on cross country (despite my wussiness lol). Getting judged on just time and faults? And scrappiness is rewarded?? Yea, Isabel can do that. 

So we took the dive into eventing this spring. We started dressage and jumping lessons, and have been xc schooling together twice. And our first full three-phase horse trial is coming up in just over a week. That makes us official, right? :)

schooling on turf!!

I FINALLY rode my horse again! woo hoo!! We hadn't ridden since last thursday, tho I've certainly spent plenty of time at the barn cold hosing and scrubbing and generally fretting over Isabel's wound. 

It's a bit infected, but showed immediate improvement after starting her on bute and SMZs. The swelling has gone down a tad and she was less fussy about me scrubbing and treating it. She's been sound all along. Just dramatic. Ya know, red mare stuff. 

her fan club thought she looked 'majestic' with her back-lit mane and tail

Then I noticed a trainer taking a lesson out to the temporary turf ring set up for this weekend's CT and figured, what the hell - let's go for it. So I tossed on the tack, thinking that if Isabel was uncomfortable or uncooperative we'd just putz around at the walk to get familiar with the ring.

Isabel luvs putzing. also, notice the bold deer hangin out? 

But Isabel was NOT uncomfortable or uncooperative. She wasn't even particularly fresh or sassy. Just straight up ready for whatever. She was a little looky around the ring, since it's essentially a roped off section of a large field, with pastures etc in the distance to eyeball. But she settled down nicely and even showed off a relaxed and soft trot for the trainer (who hasn't seen us go in a few months and was impressed that she can actually put her head down lol). 

seriously - this doe and fawn just don't care

The lesson kid riding with us is showing in the 12" division, so the fences were set at speed bump height. I typically avoid jumping anything below 2' just to stay on top of my confidence game - but I think I'm finally past the "2' looks big" stage, plus I really wanted to pop over some stuff and get a sense of the terrain and turns. 

apparently i *do* know how to release - but only over itty bitty stuff

The course isn't actually set yet for the show, but I had plunked down a bunch of standards and poles and cavaletti in potential spots last weekend and nobody has bothered moving them... 

 this coop might be the biggest thing out there right now

Isabel wanted to careen around the turns, and there are definitely areas of the ring where it's more difficult to balance her - especially the corners nearest the barn. Plus the corners ended up being the lowest ground in the ring bc we tried to make it as big as possible while still keeping it mostly flat.

 she's ready to GO

But she steered around really well, and didn't take off or anything. If anything, she's too adjustable. I'm super paranoid about wiping out like we nearly did last time we jumped out here... so I was definitely holding for the shorter distances. This led to me burying her a couple times... (when will I ever learn??) but she's pretty forgiving and getting buried at an 18" fence doesn't faze her.

showin off over her fave - a little X

It was essentially just a fun ride after so many days off - and was pretty similar to my last ride, wherein we aimed for low-pressure and positive. I'm still pretty bummed that we missed out on the big lessons and xc schooling this past weekend... and I think we will stay in the 2' division just to maintain my own sanity. 

But it's nice to know that Isabel didn't really lose anything from it. We simply didn't gain new experiences. Those will come in time though.  

Most of the pictures above are stills from this video - but it's still fun to watch (for me, at least lol). The commentary is funny too, as the videographer is pretty much Isabel's #1 fan, and then got terrified at the end bc maybe she thought we were going to run them over? lol fun times

combined trainings past and future

Isabel's home barn is hosting a combined training show this Sunday - the second since July. These are very low-key events. They are open to the public, but only one or two horses trailered in last time. So it ended up being mostly our own students competing. 

For me, it's a great way to dip my toes into competitive events without feeling a lot of pressure. Plus, since I help organize and set everything up (including planning the jump course!), I have a pretty good feeling for how it's all going to ride. 

July's event was my first judged dressage test ever, and it was enlightening. Fortunately the judge didn't find any training holes that I didn't already know about. 

But I learned that I ride much more passively during the actual test - more passenger than pilot. So that's an area for improvement this next time around. We're getting the same judge for this next event, so I'm looking forward to hearing her take on our progress. 

The judge spent around ten minutes with each rider discussing their test and scores. VERY educational - but also very slow. So slow that all the ride times were blown out of the water and the jump ring came to a complete standstill while the riders worked through dressage.

The jump arena was set in a big field and included terrain + dewy grass, which ended up causing a lot of problems for some horses (we were no exception). So this time around, we'll open the jump ring a few hours after the show actually starts, so that the grass will be drier and riders are more likely to be finished their tests in time. We also adjusted the location of the arena relative to the field to get flatter terrain.

the september version. pretty, no?

Since the competitors are mostly lesson kids, the trainers added in non-recognized divisions, including 2' and 2'3" classes (no one entered the actual BN class last time around...). Last time, Isabel and I did the 2' class - aka Elementary B with a w-t dressage test. This time the 2' class will be Intro A with a w-t-c test. I originally planned to do Intro B, the 2'3" class... but Isabel's wound (and subsequent infection, boo) has me second guessing this. 

Our stadium round in July was ok-ish enough. Izzy was pretty keyed up and giraffing around by this point and wayyyy over-jumped everything (repeatedly popping me out of the tack), though at least we mostly found decent distances. Our lack of organization and balance actually led to a huge 'oh shit' moment after jump three, wherein she nearly fell on her ass. 

oops

She trotted off sound though, and jumped more conservatively and 'across' instead of 'up' after that. I also opted to trot into the remaining lines and through all the corners afterward, too. Silly mare. 

video of our stadium round. check out 0:53 for our derp moment

her pride was a little sore... but she recovered quickly

We were in second after dressage (should have been third, really, had another student made actual circles instead of squares), and the rider in first had a refusal in stadium. So despite nearly eating it, our round was technically clear and moved us into first! yay us!

All in all, Isabel felt confident over fences, but wasn't jumping as well as she usually does in the arena, and we had some serious deer leaps in warm up. 

Since we haven't been able to practice in the newly set up turf ring (and might not be able to at all), I'm doubting the wisdom of moving up to 2'3"... so I will probably stay at 2', though at least it'll be a w-t-c dressage test this time around. 

bio-mechanics at the ...gym?

I work at a higher ed institution, and typically hit up their gym after work a few nights a week to shake off the stress and ennui of sitting for 8 hours straight. 

In doing so, I mostly just try to ignore the ~18 year old gazelles loping easily along on the treadmills next to me. You know. I just gotta do my own thing. 

But the other night I noticed something about all the rest of them: all their ponytails were swinging side to side in easy rhythm with their footfalls. A quick check of my own reflection showed that my ponytail bounced more up-and-down, and kinda stilted. 

Hm. 

My bio-mechanics trainer (whom I sadly haven't seen in months!!!) says that when a horse is truly working from his hind end through his back, it feels like a wave of energy with every step - moving from hind hoof all the way through to his nose. 

Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice @ WEG from Eventing Nation

But if the horse is tense or locked somewhere, that wave is interrupted. 

So I wondered - could the same thing be happening to me? Am I tense or locked somewhere in such a way that the energy and 'swing' from my steps can't make it all the way to my skull?

I tried to feel inside my chest, shoulders, lower back, neck etc looking for areas of stiffness (also a great distraction from the evils of actually being on a treadmill, fyi) - and tried to see what changes made my ponytail 'swing.'

Turns out - I isolated my chin (the base of my skull really, but it was easier to think chin). I tend to tuck my chin down - and constantly get dinged for it in my rides.

"Emma, lengthen your neck!" 

"Emma, look UP!! Gee I'd hate to drive with you!"

Etc etc

But it turns out, when I actually lifted my chin (and consequently softened the base of my skull) - BOOM: ponytail swings softly with my footfalls. 

I knew that looking up was an important element of steering, but I guess I always thought it had to do with weight distribution? So now I'm thinking if I can remove the stiffness and 'locks' in my own body, it'll be easier to help Isabel do the same??

In any case, from now on - Emma, chin UP!!


{fyi this post was accidentally published a little while back - so it might have already shown up in RSS feeds - sorry if this is a repeat for you!}

the best laid plans

On Saturday afternoon, after finishing the morning barn chores, gassing up the truck, hitching and packing the trailer... ponykins came in from the field with a wound on her hock. It appears to be superficial, but the area is pretty swollen and she's very sensitive about it. Trots out sound though. 

All the same, though, no xc schooling for wounded ouchy mare. But hey, cold hosing is fun too, right???

On Sunday, the area was a bit more swollen and the wound was draining. Still sound, but still reason enough to cancel our dressage lesson. Instead, we did lots more cold hosing, scrubbing, and treating with various tinctures and ointments. Plus some happy pills mixed with dinner. 

Fingers crossed that the swelling goes down quickly. The wound itself isn't particularly worrisome, except that it might be trying to get infected. 

There's one more lesson of our planned 'big weekend' on Monday night, but I don't expect to ride in it at this point.

It's a bit disappointing, if i'm being honest. But Isabel's well-being trumps my plans & adventures every time. 

But (provided Isabel heals quickly and with no complication) it means that I might drop down a level in our upcoming events since we didn't practice as much as I wanted to - and I didn't get the confidence boost that Saturday's xc school was intended to be. Why push it, right?