This month marks three years since I began leasing Isabel. What started out as a quick 6 month lease has transformed into something else entirely.
It amazes me daily how much we have both changed and grown over the course of these years.
pretty mare
The horse was practically unmanageable when I met her, and I was only just beginning the long slog back to riding fitness after four years out of the saddle. Not to mention the fact that neither of us had a whole lot of confidence in the other, nor did I have much confidence in myself.
Even just last year, when I finally got us into a training routine (and started blogging!), I wondered how far things could really go. I doubted whether Isabel would ever be considered 'well-schooled' or if I would ever be brave enough to tackle beginner novice.
But it turns out I've been underestimating her all along. She rises to every occasion and continuously inspires me to go farther and try harder.
I feel so lucky to have found Isabel, and am excited to look forward to wherever the partnership might lead next!
Phew, finally a post that I can keep fairly brief, after so many days in a row of looonnnnggg pictorials haha. Our first ride post horse trial was a lesson with Dan. No ride media tho, so I'm still working through photos from Austen. Really, I can't get enough of these!
she's not spoiled at all ;)
Anyway, we kept the lesson pretty simple. I told him about our performance at Loch Moy, particularly the stadium round, and he was, er, not really impressed.
He reaffirmed what I suspected too - that I should have given myself more time between cross country schooling and the event to reestablish our slow and collected flat work in the ring.
Essentially, the big takeaway was that speed is the enemy of adjustability. And by not working to fix that and just allowing Isabel to blast through our stadium round, I pretty much guaranteed that we would have rails. Again, Dan wanted me thinking about distinct riding styles between each phase - and that concept of really pushing the mare up into the bridle with hands halfway up the neck was for cross country, not show jumping.
left side: girthy mare glare. right side: sweetness and light
So for the ride itself, he had us start out with that long and low trot work we established a couple weeks ago. Isabel started out very retracted in her neck and it took a while to fix that. And especially through transitions, he said not to let her get so straight through her body. We NEED inside bend.
He wanted me thinking of having Isabel in shoulder in on the circle - especially at canter. By working on that positioning I should be able to do less with my hands, thus also allowing Isabel to lengthen her neck and soften to my hands.
It actually wasn't all that hard to achieve, but it took time and patience. When I'm schooling on my own I just lack that discipline to wait for the mare to soften and stop bracing before I do things like transition up. Theoretically that's something that should be able to fix. Just be patient and disciplined. Easy peasy, right?
Anyway, jumping was pretty basic - just building on the same concepts. He wanted me to continue thinking of that shoulder in positioning while circling over a cross rail, and then eventually a line. And by doing so, I could rate and balance her without being super handsy. It also helped me land the leads (sorta lol).
yes to flying! no to racing around like a bat out of hell
And by the end of the ride Isabel felt much closer to her normal self and was way less reactive and rigid to the legs. So my plan for the week is to keep building on these same ideas - inside bend, longer neck, shoulder in positioning, etc etc - on the flat to really get Isabel back to her normal fancy well-schooled self.
The rain date for the Oktoberfest horse trial at Olde Hope is this Sunday, and I plan to again treat it like schooling. Especially that stadium round - I would like to ride that course as if Dan were watching and critiquing. No racing around getting flat and fast!
So we'll see how the last couple rides go between now and then, starting with tonight! Happy Friday everyone :)
I really hope you're not tired of these uber picture heavy posts yet, bc here's another... And alas my standard photo quality doesn't hold a flame to the nice pics I shared from Austen, nor will it likely hold up against the pictures Britt took. But. Well. It's what I got so we're going with it!
It was such a perfect day - Alli (and her adorable pup Max!) and I met up at Fair Hill to catch the 3* cross country. The Miseventer was out and about too, along with one of her friends who was on the awards committee, and as such could give us the inside scoop on the course and how everything was supposed to go.
This was my first time spectating at an upper level competition - previously the highest level I'd watched with my own eyes was prelim at the MCTA HT at Shawan Downs. So actually being able to get up close and personal with these fences... well, it was intense haha. Neither Alli nor I thought much about the idea of *actually* jumping one of these skinny angled brush fences haha.
We ran into Britt too! That was especially cool bc she was able to tell us all about some insider knowledge on some of the riders and horses (cough, Forrest Nymph, cough). Read her post here for all the awesome details. So nice to meet you Britt - hope you enjoyed your time in Maryland!
But of course you probably want to know about some of the action too :) Pretty sure this is Ellen Doughty Hume and Sir Oberon.
We tried to catch as much of the course as possible and moved around the different combinations. This particular coffin combo - Rebecca's Rails - was especially harrowing. We actually didn't see any issues here tho, beyond one rider going for the option instead of the direct route. This might be Cooley Cross Border and Kim Severson.
Horses were slowing waaayyyyyyy down on approach - some of them seemed even slower than a typical show jumping speed. Crackerjack was raring to go with Boyd Martin.
But for the most part the riders made it look easy - especially Phillip Dutton, pictured here with Mighty Nice (and who we had the privilege of seeing on a couple different horses through the day).
Maximus!!!!!! Also check out Alli's awesome boots.
There were a couple tailgate areas set up close to fences of interest as well. Like this large seating area near the food vendors. And ya know, just this MASSIVE table. Nbd.
There was plenty else to look at too, beyond the competitors and obstacles. Like all the outriders, who were dressed to the nines with their horses groomed to perfection.
This is Piney!! The giant white mule with 12" ears!! He was suuuuuuper sweet too :) (as was the appy Memphis, pictured behind Piney)
Check out his awesomely braided tail too! This guy was definitely hard to miss haha.
We also got to see a couple competitors up close in somewhat unfortunate circumstances - as in, on the long walk back to the stabling after retiring (or otherwise) on course. I think this is Jessica Phoenix and A Little Romance. So very sorry but I've misplaced my competitors list and therefore can't confirm who all of these riders pictured are. Which is annoying bc I probably knew who it was at the time of snapping the pic... but alas, memory is a fickle thing. But if you recognize a face lmk!!
Another incredible thing was watching riders walk the course throughout the day. This particular competitor looks so nonchalant, right? Just like, "oh nbd, just a massive fucking corner. Lah di dah, yay cross country!"
This combo was neat too - with a sunken road leading immediately up a steep (but short) hill to a skinny twisted log. And actually, it's one of those fences where we mere mortals look at it and think, well, put it on a long straight galloping path, give it some of those big steeplechase wings, and give me a stout shot of liquor , and mayyyyybe I could do it haha. Pretty sure this is Marilyn Little jumping with RF West Indie.
Owl hole! We stayed at this combo long enough to watch a couple riders. This particular view was neat bc you can see the 2* path on the right side - that red skinny to the duck to the brush coming towards the camera. And the 3* ran in the opposite direction - finishing at the corner just visible at the rider's left shoulder (I think it might be Lillian Heard?) through the owl hole.
More owl hole!!!
And then the corner. Nbd. Muggle, Nilson Moreira da Silva's huge chestnut, obviously was not particularly impressed haha.
You can see why this was a popular tailgate area tho - definitely prime for spectating!
This was also the area where we spotted a certain someone's coach walking around sporting quite the mask! #alwaysbeaunicorn
All the jumps for the following day's stadium course were laid out and ready to go next to the main arena.
Which, that arena was INSANE by the way. These jumps were f*ing HUGE - even from such a distance. Just look at that corner! Incredible.
This line was kinda interesting too - the jumps (again, massive) were set on a bit of an angle so we saw riders getting variable striding depending on how much bend they put in. I can't even imagine walking that line trying to come up with a plan. Nope haha.
But obviously I CAN imagine being ridiculous in the children's play area with Alli. I mean, we do both ride ponies (or almost-ponies, in Isabel's case) so this felt fitting haha.
And I can also imagine poring longingly over some of the many fine saddles on display at the vendor tents...
But to protect my own sanity I just snapped these pics on the go and didn't get close enough to risk losing will power lol.
Ooh and we just so happened to come across the Equiery's tailgate. They had food and beverages (of the adult variety, too!) and tables for anyone who want to stop by and enjoy the view!
Which was pretty spectacular in itself - they were positioned to see a giant oxer that rode in a bending line to those angled brush fences from the first couple pictures of this post. The angle was insane, but riders like Werner Geven (pictured here in bright pink instead of his typical orange in support of breast cancer month and his wife) made it look easy.
Unfortunately Werner was pulled up immediately after the combo - we initially thought there was a hold on course, but it turned out he was eliminated. I'm not totally clear on the circumstances since all we saw was how he came through this combo, but perhaps he missed a fence somewhere along the way? Idk, it was a shame tho.
Food from the Equiery. And also a pretty clear example of how there are two kinds of people in this world haha. I'll take my fried chicken and cheese thank you very much, and the Miseventer can have her veggies. lol
More sweet jumps!! This particular roll top or mushroom or table or whatever you want to call it, was on the 2* course - but I just loved all the farm yard animal decorations!
Especially the cat. Obviously lol.
The 3* course had these corners for their barnyard themed combo. And can you believe the angle on these jumps? I seriously cannot fathom threading a line through there... tho we saw Colleen Rutledge get through and make it look pretty easy in the process, so... yea. Impressive!
Another 2* fence - but look how cute!!! Fishies!!!
We finished the day off at two side by side water combos near the start gate. This line above was the Frog Pond - fence 5 - that started with a log into the water, then over the duck, then over a skinny brush fence. I think this rider is Joe Meyer, maybe with Clip Clop?
Which Phillip and Fernhill Cubalawn handled easily.
I loved the duck's reflection in the water!
Here comes Phillip back through the other side - fence 24 that had a brush fence into the water to an arrowhead to a big table. This area was super convenient for spectating bc we could run back and forth to catch the same competitors as they looped through the course.
Arrowhead in the water! Ryan Wood and Fernhill Classic made it look easy too. Also check out all those geese decorations on the old ruined structure. Hard to tell but there are also 'nesting geese' in all the trees and along the banks. Seriously cute decorations!
Boyd Martin and Blackfoot Mystery and the Duuuuuckkkk!!!!
And Boyd finishes up the day as the final competitor over the C element of this combo. (also of note - he went through the combo with only one stirrup... crazy!)
And obviously I took a ton of video clips to create a fun little compilation video if you have any interest in seeing any of these riders in action :)
But yea it was an awesome day and I had so much fun wandering around with our little group. It was an especially perfect remedy for the stress and tension that had been building up inside me in anticipation of the following day's event at Loch Moy. Seeing all these pros canter around giant obstacles was nothing short of inspiring, and spending time with friends was just what I needed to chill out and relax a little bit.
Cross country time!!! Complete with tons more gorgeous pictures from Austen haha. All of my favorite things in one post - what's not to love?
sweet mare is very sweet <3
I actually felt a little better about my life after walking this cross country course than I did walking the BN course last spring at our move up. Probably just bc I have a little more experience and was a bit better prepared this time around.
so much quieter compared to before dressage lol
Whatever the reasons, the course actually struck me as fairly inviting and easy. There were a few challenging areas but I had a pretty clear plan for how to handle them just based on my walk. And the height looked ok. Granted I intentionally did not get any closer than necessary to most of the jumps... but generally it all looked about how I expected.
ready for action?
Plus Isabel felt pretty game and was jumping out of her skin (despite what all those knocked rails might suggest).
that tail tho!
So it was just a matter of hitting a couple solid warm up fences (one BN fence we jumped last spring, and another novice sized hanging log thingy) then waiting our turn to go out on course.
cabbage box claimed a couple victims
Izzy left the start box well and settled right into cruising gear. All the same tho, we kinda fumbled jump 1. It was inviting and shared with BN, but somehow wasn't really riding well all the same. I managed to get a little ahead of Isabel (or rather, more likely, probably didn't work hard enough to get her in front of me), but we got over it and I immediately kicked her forward.
caber (a term i had to google bc wtf is a caber?)
Fence 2 was a little stilted too - more of that same backwards riding. But it was ok - tho I also started laying on the verbal encouragement at this point, since Izzy responds really well to it.
gallllloooopppp woooo hoooo
She was clicking almost into gear, but we had a little too much fast and not quite enough pull. Meaning - she was really GOING, but she wasn't necessarily pulling me along too and was kinda slipping behind my leg.
ark
So we kinda crawled over the ark too - which came up pretty quickly after the first two fences - before getting some room to settle into a gallop.
log roll
We finally got into that good gallop gear tho, and Isabel carried me over fence 4 beautifully before weaving through the trees to the 5 A-B combo.
coop
This combo had worried me a little bit on the walk for a couple reasons. They're nestled in the woods - and Dan is fond of saying that horses will always try to back off and get behind your leg in the woods. Plus they were maxed out and walked in three strides (for a 12' stride).
roll top
But they are very inviting, plain fences. And Isabel really has no problem hitting a 12' stride when she's galloping. So yea my gut felt iffy about them... but my brain knew better.
And obviously Isabel was fine. Locked on and marched straight down the line and immediately hunted for whatever was next. Good mare!
pheasant feeder
And next was the feeder. She wiggled ever so slightly on approach but still jumped it fine. Then we trotted down a steep rocky hill. I was kinda happy to have this little 'pause' in the course bc Isabel still felt really strong, but was verging on getting flat and felt like she could easily slip behind my leg if I wasn't careful.
first ever trakehner ... gulp!
But I wanted to be careful, bc right after the downhill was a quick left turn to a trakehner, something I've never tried with Isabel before. And it had a pretty open face - meaning the ditch was clearly visible from a ways out. It was really a small log tho, and I just focused on that part of it and Isabel cruised over no issue.
loved all the other bigger jumps peppered across the course. that barn was HUGE!
Then we GALLOPED up the hill haha. This mare is so fast - she really GOES! It's such an incredible feeling to just let her go like that too, tho obvi I had to reel it in a bit for the jumps...
bothy (another term i googled lol)
But the next fence was pretty straight forward. We had a refusal at the BN version of this fence last time we were at Loch Moy... but that was because it was right out of the water and I was an idiot and tried to jump it from a trot.
we don't care about no bothy tho!
I didn't expect the fence itself to cause any issues and Isabel agreed. Up and over at a pretty forward clip.
could the water be any more inviting? i don't think so haha
My biggest concern about novice cross country turned out to be a nonissue on this course - the water was a standalone obstacle. No jumps before or after. Awesome!
trit trot through the water (apparently still defensive about it tho lol). also what's this green thing in the foreground?
I still trotted the mare through it just to be play it safe, but she was fine.
crappy lighting - but it's a loch ness type monster jump! how f*ing neat is that? (obvi not on our course tho haha)
Then again tho - coming down to trot was yet another opportunity to sort of reorganize and make sure we had an appropriate canter for the rest of the course.
another coop
Next up was another big coop that I didn't get very close to on the walk but again expected it to go well. Especially after Isabel nailed the coop in the woods. And she jumped it beautifully right out of stride. Yesssss.
up bank bending to the garden gate. looks .... potentially challenging
My immediate gut reaction upon walking this 11-12 line was that we ought to circle between the two since they were flagged separately. Neither obstacle individually looks terrible - but add in the bend and what could possibly be an overly strong and disorganized canter AND our left drift issues and... yea.
garden gate - numbered separately from the bank, rather than as an A-B combo
Part of me was tempted to try it - but then I thought back to my goals for the day, especially that 'ride smart' bit. We could probably have made this work no problem (Izzy NAILED the up bank), but circling would give us the best shot. So we circled. And it was alllll gravy.
timber table on rising ground (and sugarloaf mountain!)
Then we had to quickly get over to hug the treeline for a kinda bizarre turn to this large table set on an uphill approach. This one made me a bit nervous too... and we actually came in to it pretty under powered. It was fine tho. Isabel jumps the jumps. She's a pro :)
mdht log (and more mountain)
But then naturally I totally biffed this skinny log - easily the smallest fence on course. Poor mare. One day I will learn to commit to the forward stride. But at this fence I pulled for the add and poor horse thunked her legs on it. Le sigh.
lattice and mountain
Then down hill to the lattice - historically our bogey fence. Isabel barely climbed over the BN version last spring, then we had a stop at a similar fence at Waredaca. But she didn't even blink this time. Awesome.
lattice is officially off the shit list
I am retaining the right to be worried about bright white versions of this style fence, but otherwise I think our lattice issues may be laid to rest.
produce stand
Then it was on to the final fence - a very large produce stand. Very large - but very inviting. And actually pretty reminiscent of the final fence on course at Olde Hope last month. I saw a couple riders have issues here (including one horse that practically body slammed the thing...) but honestly expected it to go well should we make it this far.
flying
And oh boy, did it go well. This was maybe our nicest combined effort on course. It was perfect.
she's incredible
Isabel SOARED over it - you can really get a sense for the air time in the video too. What a feeling!
It felt SO GOOD to finish this course without penalties. Isabel couldn't have been any better through that course. She didn't look at anything, and did everything exactly the way I asked (even if I was being kinda stupid lol).
the many faces of mare stare
It's crazy to think about - but the mare has become so educated about cross country now that it's really quite easy for her. Like this course - the height was fine, and there really weren't any questions that she can't easily handle. I still rode it pretty conservatively in places, bc that's just my general instinct - but Isabel could easily go for the bold ride too, I think.
poor austen got put to work too (also isabel is such a midget compared to wick!)
So we finished on a strong note. The dressage test was a little disappointing - but it was also super uncharacteristic and I suspect that maybe only one out of every half dozen tests will ever go that way. And stadium... well, that's all on me. I know the problems and how to fix them... it's just a process of actually doing it haha.
seriously. this mare. she is so sweet!
I was also way more tense and stressed going into this event than I have been in... a while. And that most definitely affected Isabel a bit too.
But the relief I felt upon completion was immense - so that should get a little easier with each novice event. Because yea, we're gonna stay here, I think. And in fact, we'll be back in a couple weeks for the final HT of the fall series. Exciting!
