2020 in review: FEI Spectating

It should come as no surprise to anybody following along for the last couple years, but I LOVE going to big horse shows as a spectator. Love it, haha. Really, anything at the upper levels is pretty exciting -- and the internationals are especially fun. 

We're super lucky here in Area II to be surrounded by so many world class venues. I particularly love trying to film as much of the action as humanly possible -- and can often be found scrambling alllll over the grounds, only staying at any one jump or feature for just 2-3 horses at a time (obvi changing angles between each horse!).  

Emily Beshear & Olney Uncle Sam
Fair Hill CCI 3* 2020

Actually, one of my consolation buys during the interminable days of lockdown last spring was a new camcorder expressly for this purpose (a Canon Vixia for anybody curious -- it's responsible for every video, gif, and still shot in this post). 

Previously, all of my big FEI XC Compilation videos were made with iphone footage and.... You could definitely tell haha. It only barely counted as "HD" and the zoom was especially bad. This new Canon, on the other hand, takes a much crisper picture and has 57x zoom. Yesssss!!

Tim Bourke & Quality Obsession
Fair Hill CCI 3* 2020

Obvi the global pandemic changed everything, but 2020 was supposed to be a HUGE year for spectatorship. 

We were supposed to go to BOTH of North America's CCI5* events: Kentucky and the inaugural Fair Hill 5*. Plus naturally we'd hit up all the other usual 3* and 4* haunts too -- Loch Moy, Great Meadow, Jersey Fresh, Plantation Field, Morven Park, etc. 

Instead, virtually the all spring / early summer events were wiped off the calendar entirely. And even once major competitions resumed, spectators weren't allowed due to covid restrictions. 

Fair Hill CCI3*-S XC 2020 Compilation Video

Luckily, tho, there are a couple allowable exceptions to the "no spectators" rule at most competitions. Most relevant to my interests? Volunteering. 

I wasn't sure how the process worked (for instance, if I volunteered on a different day than cross country, would I still be allowed in?) so for the first event of the season -- Fair Hill's 3* test event on the brand new international track -- I signed up for multiple days and roles to maximize the likelihood I'd be allowed to spectate XC. 

Fair Hill is close(ish) to home so this was doable. I familiarized myself with the new track in advance while flagging and decorating all the fences. Then got to film ALL of cross country day (video above!!), and then saw all of show jumping while volunteering at the in-gate. Yess!

Jennie Brannigan & Bliss III
Great Meadow CCI 4* 2020

That was my first time really using the new Canon camera, and I paired it with a monopod to help stabilize the extreme zoom capability. It was a cool track for getting a feel, too, since it was basically two long side-by-side lanes where you could stand in the middle and see nearly everything haha. 

Overall, while I was thrilled with the improved quality of the footage (and you should 100% watch that video if you haven't), it actually felt like the monopod made it shakier, not more stable. 

So a couple weeks later at Great Meadow, I stuck with handheld videoing. And guys, Great Meadow is gorgeous. From every angle, in every direction, there's always something beautiful in the background (even if it's just the rolling green Virginia countryside). 

Great Meadow CCI4*-S XC 2020 Compilation Video

Great Meadow is substantially farther from home for me, tho -- basically on the other side of DC. Which.... for those uninitiated with local traffic, is a massively unpleasant drive haha.  

I emailed the volunteer coordinator in advance and ultimately ended up signing up for cross country clean up. Which meant I could spend the whole day watching all the action before reporting for duty at the volunteer tent. Perfect!!

This was such an incredible event too. The track is dotted with iconic features all the way around and the class was enormous. Benefited in no small part by being one of the very few 4* classes offered this year in our area. 

ALL the big hitters were there, and I spent the day circulating the track again and again, catching every feature from multiple angles with multiple horses. Definitely one of my favorite videos! 

Boyd Martin & On Cue
Plantation Field CCI 3* 2020

One tricky aspect of the new Canon is it's a little fussy about focusing at its most extreme zoom range. Which.... is unfortunate, obviously. It eventually figures it out -- it's just a little slow to do so (or I'm a little ham-handed at managing the settings). 

I ended up slowing down the zoom speed, which definitely helped smooth things out. Plus I'm getting better at setting up my shot sooner so the camera has time to sort itself out. 

Most of these big events have anywhere from 30-60 horses running, usually at intervals of at least 2min between horses (but often closer to 3min), so that makes it reasonably easy to plan ahead for each shot and move from feature to feature in between horses. 

Boyd Martin & Long Island T
Plantation Field CCI 3* 2020

So by the time Plantation rolled around, I felt confident in operating the camera to create a pretty excellent video. 

This turned out to be important bc..... Well. You all probably know. There has been extensive community dialog this year regarding this legendary venue's name*. Some dialog has, in my opinion, been very constructive and very important. Some of it, tho, was.... less so. And multiple parties on both sides I think, if given the chance, would probably in retrospect wish they played their hands differently. 

Long story short, the courses were set and competition horses were already onsite doing their in-barns and jogs when news broke this would be the final running of this iconic event. 

(*Pro tip: if you're having trouble understanding why people care about the name, consider Maya Black has won major classes at this event multiple times in recent years -- and in fact won the 3* again this year -- leading to undeniably cringeworthy headlines like, "Black Wins Plantation!")

 

Boyd Martin & Long Island T
Plantation Field CCI3* 2020

It was actually sorta surreal -- this was another event where I signed up for advance volunteer roles -- helping to set up and finalize the xc courses prior to their ground jury inspection. I spent all morning with one of the course designers trimming brush and fixing flags and placing ropes and all that.... Only to be absolutely blindsided when the news dropped like a bomb later that same afternoon. 

So.... I figured, if this really would be the last running of this event (and honestly I maintain hope some mediation or solution will be found!), then dammit --- I'd make the best freakin video I could possibly make. 

Plantation is similar to Great Meadow (and to the old Fair Hill track, which I admit to strongly preferring to the new track.....) in that it's kinda an irregular shaped track that winds through various different terrain features including very natural looking water, ditch and bank complexes. 

The most notable features at Plantation are it's setting on a massive hillside, and the absolutely stunning stone ruins incorporated into various jump combinations. So I definitely tried to capture as much of all that as possible in the footage. 

Plantation Field CCI3*-S XC 2020 Compilation Video

One tricky thing in my filming style is tending to hold fairly tight frames on the horse and rider. I like this bc, imo, it creates a more engaging and intimate view of the action. But... one big downside is it's easier to chop off a horse or rider head or leg or something bc (obviously) the horse is constantly moving in and out of frame lol. 

So I need to find a balance where I can keep the frame tight enough to maintain that personal high-impact feeling, but without risking losing the big picture. 

That's what practice is all about, tho, right?? And here's hoping the competition landscape next year will be easier for all that. At this point it's still not looking particularly likely we'll get to go to Kentucky. But fingers crossed more of our local options will be a go! 

I also need to keep working on pushing these videos out to wider audiences haha, bc let's be real.... my own network and readership is.... limited lol. But I strongly believe these videos would appeal to a wider audience if I could just get in front of them. Lol... That's another downside of being terrible at social media I guess! That said --- for any of you who enjoyed these videos I'd love to hear about it! And would especially be grateful if you'd share with your own networks!

12 Days of Christmas: 2020

A couple years ago, Cathryn did a blog hop on the 12 Days of Christmas, and I had a lot of fun coming up with a little jingle for Isabel. 

So, in the spirit of the coming holidays, I thought we could give it another shot, this time with a 2020 spin on things!!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love sent to me:

Twelve playful ponies!

Eleven button braids!

Ten cavaletti!

Nine miles at Fair Hill!

Eight weeks of lockdown!

 

Seven shoes a-missing!

Six friends a-pacing!

 

and scored a Five on my free walk!

Four show jump rounds,

Three catch rides,

Two satin ribbons,

And a horse who keeps me dreaming! 

****

Despite everything 2020 has thrown at us, and despite a strange and socially distant holiday season, there's so much to look forward to in the new year. Here's to a happy holidays for everyone!! 

our bread and butter

If there's one thing that's been more or less constant in my riding life these past few years, it's the Saturday afternoon jump lesson at OF. Long before Charlie lived at this farm -- and in fact, before Charlie was even mine -- this lesson has been a fixture. 

charlie's herd finally moved to their winter pasture

And fun fact: Actually my first ever proper riding recap here at 'Fraidy Cat Eventing was from one of these lessons --- that time we conquered the astroturf-bedecked Jump of Doom. Ahh memories!

slightly comical that each of these horses is wearing the same face lol

For a few different reasons over the past year, tho, I kinda stepped away from the weekly group rides. I guess I wanted a little more individualized focus, esp as we were so intent on moving up to Training level. 

At this point, tho, all I want is to have as much fun as possible with my horse. And group lessons have always been my favorite. So -- we finally made it back!

just love this horse's face <3

I wrote last week about Charlie's time off from jumping, and and that we're starting back with very basic exercises. Including joining a crossrail lesson. This week was more of the same --- except back with my normal group mates. Which meant the jumps were a little bigger, and everyone got in more reps since adults tend to be better at following directions than 8yos lol...

eeeeee look at this fierce little nugget!

It was a cool little exercise too -- the same configuration as last week. Which goes to show that it works equally well as ground poles or cavaletti, not only actual jumps. It's basically three lines of three jumps each, but with each line sharing the same square oxer as a central element.

simple exercise gives a lot of options!

Each line can be ridden from each direction, and while every line is ridden straight (vs bending), depending on which line you're doing you must jump the oxer on an angle. 

The distances in our set up were all fairly similar -- mostly ~4 strides, altho one diagonal was about 6' shorter than the other I think. Just enough of a difference to keep you adjusting as you cycle through, but not really a big deal. Probably could set at whatever distances you want.

lol i love it when charlie jumps all cute. also you can see how there's a line from each of those three background jumps to the pink and teal oxer

And guys -- Charlie was so good!! It felt so good to be going along and working through exercises like this with him again. He's just.... wow, he's so consistent and steady now. Like.... seriously, you have to watch the video to see him loping around like a hunter -- giving every jump a cute little effort even tho the heights all stayed pretty small <3 <3

when your brontosaurus shows off his inner velociraptor <3 <3

We also had a little line of bounces to incorporate into the pattern, and Charlie was aces even tho he hasn't seen a bounce since probably last February lol. Tho --- I will admit, we did mess it up pretty badly one time, but didn't catch it on video lol. 

d'aww charles

Had already gone through twice when it was three elements, then went to go again after the fourth element was added. And idk if Charlie was off in la la land or not paying attention, but he straight up missed at the first jump and we kinda clobbered and careened through it. 

And oh my goodness, he was SO MAD lol! But... Sorry buddy, can't blame that one on me! He nailed the 4 next time, tho, and again once we put the whole course together (in the video below).

"that was very fluid, except for that last step...." - runner up* for the understatement of the year from Trainer P lol (*second only to "It is what it is")

Honestly, tho, it was a pretty simple ride. All the jumps were right around the 2'-2'6 range and we trotted into everything except the final course, and mostly did the steady add strides. Altho haha -- you can see in the image above there were probably a couple places where a bigger stride would have done better LOL.... Whoops.... 

For real tho, obvi that still image above is pretty awkward, but.... it really doesn't look like much in the video. And was also kinda our only real oopsie (aside from the one calamitous bounce attempt). 

charlie is such a tank haha

I was really pleased that Charlie just came out and executed everything very easily. He felt almost like a lazy school master haha. Bounces, angled fences, related distances, lead changes.... It's all old hat for him at this point. 

omg guys there's video!!

He feels like he knows exactly what we're doing. And like.... The one line where we got pretty close to the final jump (that awkward shot above), the next line through Charlie really picked up to do the more forward step -- and then absolutely nailed his final lead change going into the slippery mud-slick corner (where I was sure we'd either get the change or probably die haha). 

So, ya know, it was nice that he got the change LOL! And also nice that he was able to adjust into that more forward canter we worked on all last year (turns out, tho, I still have to ask for it haha)...

he looks happy to be at it again, no?

Another huge benefit of riding in a group is that it's much easier to get video lol. I haven't had any jumping footage since our disastrous last show attempt where.... Well, Charlie was an entirely different creature on that particular day. So ya know. Always grateful to have that video to help connect what I'm feeling with what it looks like. 

All in all, it was great getting to ride around with my friends in a lesson again -- and I think Charlie enjoyed it too... Anyone else prefer riding with groups vs alone? Or does it depend on what you're doing -- like dressage vs jumping, etc? 

frivolous friday: charlie's party trick

Ok so this is kind of dumb haha. But it's Friday, so why not lol. Plus. Just look at Charlie's ridiculously adorable expression in the pics below and try to tell me he's not the best at tricks!

Ok, well.... Maybe not the BEST, but you know what I mean lol. Charlie is always a horse who has enjoyed solving puzzles -- provided he already knows the answer. 

And for whatever reason, side passing down a pole is one of his favorite silly little puzzles.

You can just step him right up to the pole, and he basically does the rest haha. Just look at that crossover!! 

Just a couple caveats, tho, lol...

1 -- must only ever walk right up *to* the pole, but definitely not over it. And certainly not in such a way as to side pass over top of it. No, no. Charlie does not believe that computes, and why would you even suggest something so controversial anyway? 

2 -- and don't even think about trying it without the pole. 

3 -- must only ever side pass in the direction toward the gate. Not away. Never away. But toward the gate? Oh yes, forward, backward, sideward, anything to go to the gate. Everything to the gate. Probably would walk through fire if it meant getting closer to the gate. 

4 -- must not needs be super pretty, or even particularly smooth. But most certainly requires instant application of many carrots upon completion of said party trick.

"Yes, yes, we all know I'm very impressive -- but would you please hurry up with the carrots??" - Charlie, probably

Hey, whatever it takes to mix it up on those dark weeknight evenings, amirite? TGIF everyone!

new products - winter edition

Lately I've been feeling a bit like a fall-frenzied squirrel, trying to pack away all my acorns before winter sets in. 

handsome pony, just pretend he's clean lol

Making sure I've got everything we need at the barn for optimal comfort and convenience --- including a couple new items in our tack locker. 

L to R: Fair Tales Tangle Tamer Static Free Detangling Spray for Kids
Mane 'n Tail Hoofmaker Hand & Nail Therapy
Coat Defense Daily Preventative Powder

Let's start with the Static Situation. Last month, I told y'all about Charlie's extreme suffering from being constantly zapped with static. And, thanks to you all, I've got a couple new ideas and approaches, and am happy to announce that Charlie has not been zapped once* since then!!!

(*Tho it helps that weather has been mostly mild.... We'll see when it gets really cold again!) 

safety pins in sleeves to reduce static?

One suggestion from Anna was to attach safety pins to my shirt sleeves, as a way to help reduce the accumulation of static charge. This was also a common 'life hack' per the google, which would never ever lie to me. 

Honestly I'm not sure it made a huge difference, and that same shirt was still static-y when I pulled it out of the dryer later (with safety pins still attached). But I also didn't zap the horse so.... Jury's out I guess haha!

can use Coat Defense as a dry shampoo, or alternatively can wet it to make a paste

Honestly, the biggest difference maker I think is the hand lotion situation, and I upgraded my game in that department by ordering the Mane 'n Tail Hoofmaker lotion, at Sarah's suggestion. A little bit goes a long way, but it absorbs quickly and keeps my hands feeling soft and static-free. 

see the bumpiness? looks like an uneven clip but is actually skin funk errywhere

Additionally, a number of you, including Kristen, Stacie and Mandy, suggested various coat spray products to help keep down the static. After a little bit of browsing around, I actually settled on a detangling product designed for kids. It's a pretty clean product (no parabens, sulfates, or even gluten or nuts LOL), plus presumably fairly gentle and nontoxic. 

It smells nice and was wayyyyyyy more cost effective than some similar products designed for horses haha. I add a few spritzes after currying for a nice shiny static-free finish.

kinda just guessing at how to work in the powder

The last recent addition to our grooming kit is the Coat Defense powder. I don't know a ton of people who use this, but the ones who do seem to SWEAR by it. So.... after some suggestions awhile back (maybe when Charlie was dealing with that disgusting leg fungus situation?) I picked up some powder. 

scrub-a-dub-dub!

It apparently comes in both a powder and paste formula, but it was suggested to me that I get the powder since you could just as easily make a paste out of it by adding water. Apparently the paste is good for making a pack or poultice? 

charlie certainly seemed to enjoy the session haha

Anyway, after clipping Charlie, it became apparent that his entire body was absolutely COVERED in those tiny little scurffy skin funk bumps. Like, seriously covered -- but almost imperceptible under all that hair.

relaxed pony off in la la land

Normally I like using MTG on skin funk but.... Eh, I didn't really want to totally soak Charlie in it, esp when he'd need to wear his blanket on top. So I figured I'd give the Coat Defense a chance. I'd previously only really used it for itchy tails and the like, and it seemed to work reasonably well.

aaaaaand he's awake again haha (sporting his snuggy hood shoulder guard)

So Charlie basically got a full body massage with the stuff, haha. It's kinda awkward to apply since... ya know.... it's powder, but I just used my hands and curry comb and applied it fairly generously to make sure it got everywhere. 

snug as a bug in a rug! in Duke's hand-me-downs <3

Notably, even tho it was kinda a cold dry night out when we did that, there was zero static discharges using this stuff too. So... That's useful haha. 

And now, a week or two later, the funk seems mostly cleared up except for some small patches. Whether it cleared up on its own, or the Coat Defense helped, seems kinda moot -- as I'd use it again in a similar situation. I also like the idea of using this powder to help dry any sweaty patches after a ride when Charlie has to get blanketed again. 

very sad that the snuggy hood shoulder guard purchased in the 2017-18 winter has finally reached end of life...

And speaking of blankets.... It's definitely that time of year again. Tho I keep feeling like I haven't quite figured out our best system. A couple days I've felt like Charlie was way over blanketed, and other days I've felt the opposite. Plus he seems to be growing out his clip pretty quickly so... Yea, probably have left him a bit cold at times. 

replacement is a Harrison Howard Anti-Rub Vest Horse Shoulder Guard

One thing that has worked for us, tho, is this bib style of shoulder guard to prevent rubs. For the last three winters I've used a Snuggy Hood bib that I sorta stumbled on by accident for like $15, but that's been unavailable in the US ever since. And damn but I LOVE that guard -- the material, the cut, the tab for keeping it attached to the blanket....

loop to connect to blanket straps seems short

I bought a back-up Weatherbeeta version a few years ago and just.... Idk, it didn't even compare. The cut was all wrong, and the seams started coming apart immediately. Plus the material wasn't as nice. So I've clung to the Snuggy Hood ever since. Except.... Well, it's finally died. And while I *could* order it from the UK, the shipping costs as much as the shoulder guard itself. 

polar fleece at the wither and chest. overall fits higher up the neck than the snuggy hood

So I'm trying out this new Harrison Howard instead. First impressions are ok. It has some nice features -- like the fleecy points of contact. And some not great features -- like the giant seams and a tab that's too short to attach nicely to blankets. 

The material seems ok, tho, and frankly we were way overdue for replacing the Snuggy Hood anyway. So hopefully this one will turn out to work just as well, and won't fall apart. 

now we just wait for winter, i guess?

Blanketing is always kinda a tricky situation for us anyway, since it's not a service offered by my barn, and I live ~45min away. At best, Charlie gets one blanket change per day. Sometimes, tho, he'll go a couple days without a change if I can't get out there. Not really ideal, but we make do, ya know? 

So that's the new winter stuff for now. Anybody else discovered any new products lately that makes winter horse keeping a little more bearable? 

between a rock and an Oakie tree

So let it be known: my absolute favorite socially distant activity is officially trail riding. Preferably on a pleasantly sunny day with temps in the mid 60s, on trails crisscrossing the Gunpowder State Park.

Oakie is a very handsome stately gentleman

And more specifically, with a big ol' group of good friends and great OTTBs!

cute bridle rack!

In other words, the trails at Isabel's old farm were jusssssst the ticket for a covid-safe Friendsgiving activity. 

ready for adventures

Originally we had planned to haul out to a different area of Gunpowder -- the Sweet Air park. But.... light overnight rain meant those trails would be closed to horses. 

assemble!

So, eh, we improvised. And, given the last-minute nature and some logistical considerations, it made more sense for me to borrow one of the privately-owned lesson ponies rather than haul Charlie down. 

that feeling when your horse is finally sound again!

Which.... Turned out to be an absolute treat, since the handsome black stallion gelding Oakie happened to draw the short straw. 

gosh i love these paths!

You might recognize this horse as formerly pinch-hitting as a stand-in for other big group rides, like a paper chase at Fair Hill years ago... He was also present for our surprise-bridal-shower themed hunter pace at Tranquility. 

kinda love the bleak austerity of bare woods!

Bc this horse has been around for a couple years now, and is massively cool. He's tall, dark, and handsome. And is educated as fuck, having formerly done some of the big eq stuff before being purchased by a young rider at Izzy's farm.

our old stomping grounds - the blue trails

These days he mostly just does lessons, tho. And, while he's quite good at his job, it definitely felt like he enjoyed the opportunity to let loose a little in the woods.

emerging from the woods

Which was fitting since there were a couple ottb mares also out with us who were.... absolutely full of beans lol. Many interpretative dance moves were to be seen, much jigging, and snorts galore ringing through the trees haha. 

"pretty sure my friends are out there - let's go!" - oakie, probably

At first, Oakie definitely thought maybe he'd breathe fire too... But... Well, he's kinda an old man now (somewhere around 21 or 22, I think?) and so instead he was just jigging in his heart and spirit, but otherwise simply walking a big walk to keep up with those silly mares lol...

cutting back to the barn -- see the arena through the trees?

And damn it was so nice to be out on those trails again! Back in the day with Isabel we used to crawl all up and down all of those hills, across all those streams, wandering and looping around all over the place. 

"this is definitely not what i ordered" - oakie, definitely

Those trails are definitely a bit more rugged than what we have at Charlie's barn. And a few spots are slightly more eroded than I remember. But they're still super horse-friendly, albeit on the technical side. And just so so so beautiful -- even if it's hard to catch on camera. Probably my favorite pictures of the trails can be found here: 

who remembers this ring from the isabel days??

Before long, tho, we were back at the barn -- and actually back into the arena, where some riders wanted to do a little trotting and cantering and obvi I couldn't resist the opportunity with Oakie too <3

fun with friends <3

Toward the end of my time with Isabel at this barn, the arena base had started to deteriorate and disintegrate, with lots of deep holes forming. They've done a great job rebuilding it, tho, and it looks better than ever. Definitely felt like a nice little bit of nostalgia to ride in there again haha. 

So all in all, it was a really nice way to spend a holiday during these strange covid times. I'm super grateful that, with all the upheaval and unknowns, horse activities have somehow fit more or less cleanly onto the relatively safer end of the spectrum. Go figure, lol.