I've been itching to get out onto our home xc course for a little school for ages and ages, it seems. At first the ground was too hard and dry.... Then it was too wet... Then Charlie had that hoof soreness.... Then it was too wet again.... You know how it goes.
just me and my favorite pony, cantering around
As if right on schedule for my birthday, tho, conditions yesterday were perfect. Cool weather, enough days of dry that the ground was basically perfect while still trending soft and sticky (the better to dig one's toes in!). And Charlie felt like a million bucks. Yessss!
warm up!
Obvi I don't deign to work on my birthday*** so could just get out to the barn at a leisurely hour and enjoy the nicest part of the day.
(***Well, except for the 3hrs that morning spent finishing a report for a proofing deadline with our corporate services team....)
nice little coop into the water
And it's just so funny, guys. My mind is such a strange place sometimes. I've worked really really hard the last two years to literally etch into the stone of my soul that.... Charlie and I can jump around Novice blindfolded and with both hands tied our backs (figuratively tho, c'mon guys). Because... Uh, we can.
splish splash!
But I still have these weird moments of feeling like.... Gosh, idk, what if we can't? What if it's been so long? What if something has changed? What if we both just like.... forgot? Or worse.... What if Charlie doesn't want to anymore?
novice house on a hillside
Because let's be real.... The success is all Charlie's. He is an uncomplicated horse. And I've spent years working on our trust and our partnership. He goes so well not because I'm like... an above average rider (hint: am not). Rather.... It's because he's a good boy, he's good at it, and all he wants from me is a closed leg and steady contact.
novice rolltop
So I spend all this time psyching myself out about however long it's been since we jumped this that or the other thing.... And how all the jumps are in different places from the last time we schooled out there... But then we go.... and we do it.... And, yep, turns out Charlie can still jump dem jumps!
the video is full of epic shadows <3
As is my normal way with xc schooling.... I like to just go out and do it. We spent a good while walking around all the fields checking footing and coming up with a plan. Then I jumped a couple of the itsy bitsies around the water to see where Charlie was at.
wheeeee finishing on our favorite novice table!
Charlie was, to put it lightly, perfection. We've spent so much time this year show jumping that Charlie has become shockingly refined in how quickly he can balance and turn. I LOVE IT!
And so we commenced on a simple little loop through the driest fields on course, finishing with three of my favorite novice fences: a basic house, a big beefy rolltop (that we haven't actually seen in a long time), and our favorite table - above.
the best part is when he jumps the stream crossing right out of stride lol
Maybe it's different with other horses, but I strongly prefer to string multiple fences together with Charlie vs jumping one thing at a time, constantly starting and stopping.
Charlie just is not the same horse at jump 1 in a series as he is at the 5th. Maybe that's a training hole or whatever... But eh, I tend to think it's pretty normal. So I feel like we both have more fun, and get a more consistent experience by getting into a rhythm and going for it. Ymmv, obvi.
good boy <3 also fun fact, youtube flagged this particular clip as a copyright infringement smh....
Mostly tho.... It's just more fun haha. I may not have been inclined at all this past year to actually commit to running 3 full phases at a one day horse trial.... But I still really do love each phase individually --- especially in bite sized morsels <3
And with a horse as good on cross country as Charlie, who wouldn't love it???
I haven't been keeping good enough records lately to expect y'all to be up to date on barn activities.... But perhaps you may remember I started writing this past summer about a new on-farm "human resource."
She comes decorated with fairly impressive judging / officiating credentials nationally and internationally.... And I may or may not have warned her from Day 1 that we would happily exploit the ever loving f*ck out of her extensive knowledge and experience. Ahem.
The exploitation began with a number of Fix-a-Test clinics (the last of which still needs a recap here, sorry!). Shorter days, however, necessitated a strategic change. Specifically -- we can't bogart lighted arena space for the "One Horse At A Time" requirements of dressage tests.
Luckily --- this professional had just the solution: she also specializes in gymnastics! And so -- a group activity for boarders was born!
lecture time at the OK Corral
Our first such iteration was held this week, omg! Charlie, for his part, agreed to be sound enough for a little light entertainment haha, good boy.
And overall, participation was really strong! Bc... Well, while this farm can boast an impressive lesson program... There's just a really weird disconnect from boarders. To the point that... Well. Uh. There just aren't really on-farm lessons for boarders. So... Yea. Pent up demand meant basically a full roster for our first holding of these gymnastic sessions, with even more entries expected for the next iteration...
the ears on this Sir <3
The sessions were great tho. I rode Charlie in the "Poles Plus" division considering he's been NQR and out of work for... gosh, like 2-3 weeks? And.... It felt like a really good experience to see how E teaches, and also what she expects from the horses.
In a nutshell.... She wants horses to be engaged and forward thinking, but.... Also quiet and purposeful.
lol his fierce face jumping 2' PVC
This was obviously all of our first times doing this sort of thing together --- and E is new enough to the barn that she really doesn't know everybody and every horse yet. So exercises were intentionally kept inviting and simple.
But even so... I actually really enjoyed them. We focused on a center line exercise, often even just at the walk. Focusing on precise and balanced turns -- not just yanking the forehand around.
it wouldn't be 'Fraidy Cat Eventing if we didn't milk a single clip for every possible frame
The most interesting configuration (and the only one for which I have video) involved picking up the trot just a few steps before a line of trot poles.
This was so interesting -- almost revolutionary -- in a weird sort of way, bc it really changed how Charlie postured through the transition. He didn't just pick up his trot... He picked it up with reach and impulsion bc those trot poles were right there.
I know the animated gif above doesn't really show it as obviously as I'm stating it out.... But the difference in feel was pretty distinct. And I definitely foresee practicing my transitions in closer proximity to trot poles and/or cavaletti going forward.
you're a good boy, sir, and your tail and your shadow too <3
So. A good ride. And a good ride for a lot of my barn mates too!!
The organizing component is honestly pretty exciting for me too.... Details like optimizing preferences re: timing / height / group size fit right into my skillset -- plus, not gonna lie, my whole goal with this little experiment is to facilitate a really energized and engaged community. So.... The more the merrier, and if people can feel comfortable providing good feedback, the better time everybody will have.
The amazing on-farm resource we have with E is only really available to us in earnest during the off season so.... here's hoping we can keep capitalizing!
Happy Halloween, everyone!! So much to write about around here (like that fix-a-test we did at the beginning of the month, whoops) and dear lord I am so behind on my reading --- will be catching up soon hopefully!
spoooooooky!!
But in the meantime -- omg it's Halloween Season!! We had so many plans lol -- such high hopes. And I may or may not have bought our costume like.... months in advance lol.
very haunted, much hellish
Alas, Charlie has been a bit lame (hoof sore mostly, but some compensatory soreness in his back too) for the last few weeks so we've just rested + buted. So... with great sadness, we missed the last Thornridge CT of the year :'(
ignore the lack of costume --- and look who's riding with no lead line!
Well, let me clarify. Charlie missed it haha. But I still went (in full costume) to help out and cheer on my various barn mates who went (including a few other skeletons, natch, bc obvi it was gonna be a group thing...).
spooky fun for the whole family
And Charlie had to satisfy himself with just doing the at-home Trick-or-Trunk party with the lesson kiddos. All the parents parked in a big circle in our front field, while the costumed kids and ponies did laps collecting candy.
everyone gets a ride!
Charlie.... Did not particularly enjoy that part haha. Had serious vibes from our Christmas-Caroling-Gone-Wrong of a few years ago...
But the kids enjoyed it and Charlie calmed down enough once we got back down to the barn for my sister, niece and nephew to all have a little spin <3
why yes i wore this suit out in public, why are you asking?? lol
After which we naturally stuffed the horse full to the gills with all manner of candy and treats haha, and sorta kinda attempted to wash the paint off.... Then threw him high as a kite back out into the wilderness while we did a little more exploring around the farm.
All in all, maybe not quite the Halloween Horse Show I'd hoped for.... But still a pretty damn good time lol. Fingers crossed the paint cleans off my tack eventually....! Anybody else do any halloween-themed equestrian activities??? Or equestrian-themed halloween activities???
Happy weekend everybody! It's our favorite time of year in Maryland, and I've been haunting the iconic grounds at Fair Hill since Thursday lol.....
It's shaping up to be a beautiful weekend ---- so to give you a little taste, here's a complete round from the 5yo USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championship jumping test, courtesy of Kaitlin Clasing and Whiskey Chaser.
I love this video bc you can see so much of the venue and grounds, plus the gorgeous fall foliage (naturally). Also it's pretty sweet to see a TB hold his own in a big class, not gonna lie lol.
And I was only just a little bit partial toward this horse after spending the day last week scribing for his prior owner at Morven, and hearing all about him... I always love a good story!
Anyway. For the class, the 4 year olds jumped in the downpour... But the 5yo course seemed really challenging, especially the water. A lot of related distances that seemed to ride on trickier striding than you would expect for this type of class. Horses really had to dig deep for a clear!
Regardless, it was beautiful and we got to see a lot of really exciting horses over the last couple of days. Here's hoping 5 years down the line I'll be writing this same post again, but featuring YEH grads from Saturday's 5* Cross Country!!
Last week was super busy for me, with a couple exciting developments and activities -- including bringing home a very special (and familiar) pony, organizing and riding in another fix-a-test clinic, spending all day at Morven scribing my first FEI dressage tests, AND -- the focus of todays post: riding in another fun CT!
charlie enjoys watching the warm up ring -- esp since so many of his friends were in there!
There's a lot to catch up on, so I'm going to try to keep this brief haha. (Emphasis on "Try")
Anyways. Charlie wasn't even supposed to go to MCTA's annual starter event at Tranquillity. Since this event is low cost, close to home, and double points for year end awards, I usually use it as an opportunity to shuttle over barn mates who can't otherwise go to many off-farm shows.
speaking of friends --- omg charlie had his favorite spicy little nugget as a trailer mate again!! he and his lease kiddo are legit adorable
Unfortunately, one of the ponies had a coaching conflict and cancelled at the last minute. Nobody else was immediately available to fill the trailer berth and I had enough volunteer bucks for a free entry so.... Ok, Chuck -- on you go!
We entered the Novice CT bc.... Well. I like CTs and I like Novice and it really is just that simple. None of this really counts for anything anyway, so it hardly made a difference that I wouldn't accrue year end points or be eligible for a ribbon or anything like that. I just wanted to ride a judged test, and execute a show jumping class, and enjoy myself!
charlie lookin proper heading into the ring. perhaps i should consider sitting up tho? just a thought!
Let's start with the dressage. I rode Novice Test A, which we had just practiced during last week's Fix-a-Test clinic (post for another day). So I felt fairly confident in knowing how to ride it, and what I needed from Charlie.
just be grateful there are any pictures at all guys, sorry!
The tricky thing with Tranquillity tho is always the warm up area for dressage: It's on a small-ish and decidedly not flat grassy area (part of their hunter trials course). Plus the ground camber means you're kinda always going downhill in one direction, and uphill in another. It's not ideal for horses like Charlie where we're always trying to get that soft longitudinal balance.
trying to canter as if there were a 1.0m oxer in front of us. not quite succeeding lol
A couple other external factors: Charlie's herd swapped turn out schedules the day before -- meaning they spent the night out (per usual) Friday night, came in for breakfast Saturday morning, but then went right back out again for Saturday daytime - to then spent the night inside, which they'll do all winter. I expected Charlie to be a little tired and maybe stiff from the change, so got on with plenty of time for walking.
d'aww sir, i'm pretty satisfied with his energy in this test
He was honestly very good, tho. The footing went from frosty mush out in warm up, to frosty hard clumps of sand in the dressage court... which he didn't love. But he more or less just went about his test. I'm really trying to stay true to riding in a more forward rhythm in our tests (raise your hand if you've heard THAT before lol...) and am pretty happy with the result in this test.
canter right is always stronger
That left canter transition is still iffy tho (even tho, yes, I DID canter immediately before entering at A), and Charlie still anticipated canter in our second trot loop.... At least he wasn't negatively anticipating it -- like he wasn't fussy or angry -- he just ... went. Which, ok thank you Sir for volunteering forward. But... Ya gotta wait for me! Still better than a few alternatives tho haha.
Other areas of opportunity include the free walk.... the first half of which I thought was ok enough, but the second half after the 90* turn at E was a wash. Stretchy trot ain't great either but that's a symptom of just not being super through over his back throughout the test.
click to embiggen for scores / comments
Last little unfortunate mark was the 10m half circle back onto center line. It's a right turn, and one we've schooled to death. But I think Charlie might just be a little tired and maybe a touch back sore right now, so he's just not stepping through the turn as well as he could. Less a training issue and more just the constant drumbeat of helping Charlie feel his physical best, ya know?
jump time!! in case you weren't aware, we marylanders are obsessed with our flag lol
Anyway. We had a super short break before jumping. They scheduled me at the end of both dressage and SJ phases since I was the only CT entrant, which meant I didn't even bother unsaddling Charlie between rides. It also meant my SJ warm up was very economical. Tho we arrived early enough to walk around and watch the course go.
gosh check out how confident i am about cantering right past jump 3!!
This course.... Did not play to our strengths lol. With two exceptions, it was just a LOT of back and forth across the arena -- single jump out, single jump back, single jump out, single jump back, again and again and again. Only jumps 2 to 3 rode on a long bending line, then there was one combo at 5AB. Everything else was unrelated.
finished strongly enough on a course that didn't quite suit us
The course was also all almost entirely off the left lead. Naturally, with the shortest sharpest turns going L (compared to the wider sweeping R turns). And that 5AB combo? It walked long to a wide oxer -- whereas in eventing we often see our 2-stride combinations structured as oxer-vertical.
Charlie was good tho. Our warm up was excellent, but I probably spent too much time standing around waiting before going in. So he was a tad sluggish to the jumps. Nothing chippy, per se, just not really carrying me forward.
Which also meant every single lead change was simple. Considering we always land right, and this course was almost entirely left.... it meant we would jump, land, trot our lead change, rinse repeat, the whole way around lol.
There was also much clucking and verbal encouragement, since it became very apparent that we were jumping just a little too quietly for that long ass 2-stride with a big oxer out haha. Charlie made it happen tho, good boy.
He just chugged right on around this kinda-crappy course like a good boy, not even knocking a rail! Tho. Uh. Hilariously.... It wasn't until I got home and watched the helmet camera that I realized, OMG WE MISSED 3! Wtf -- did nobody else notice? Or like... Did they just figure that since I wasn't technically really competing, it didn't really matter anyway??? LOL.....
Go figure, the one nice line on the course, and I flew right past it haha.... I think I was too preoccupied with trying to get Charlie going? Who knows...
the long and the short of it
So... Uh... In the real world, it would have been a Technical Elimination. But. In Charlieland, it was another job well done <3
charlie loves his pony tho
Not our best performance in either phase, but solidly workmanlike. A day well spent at our local riding association's last show of the year, at one of our favorite venues, surrounded by a Who's Who of all our local friends and competitors. Srsly, the parking area at this show is like a block party where almost everyone knows each other and everyone is there for a good time.
So I'm glad we ended up riding in it and having a good time. Hopefully there may be some pro pics forthcoming too! Tho... even tho it's my favorite show photographer, I'm not super optimistic about how we'll look in the pics LOL!
In any case, Charlie will get some downtime this week while I'm doing all things Maryland 5* (omg hit me up if you're going!), then some TLC with a few of his favorite practitioners. Then it's full steam ahead going into our favorite fall riding season!
We really haven't ridden many dressage tests this year, just 8 spread across two CTs, two Fix-a-Test clinics, and one schooling dressage show -- with the ridden tests split evenly between Novice Test A and Test B.
Charlie and I have been riding Novice tests for.... whew, a few years lol... But these are the new 2022 tests, so it's interesting to take a pause and see how it's playing out so far compared to what I expected back in 2021.
It's especially useful timing right now since we randomly have an even split between Test A and Test B, lol. Which, notably, will not be true after tonight when I do another Fix-a-Test clinic, and this weekend where we'll do another CT. So. Now is the time! Let's compare and contrast!
Note: Test A has greater range in scores, while Test B has greater density in the 6.5+ zone. Most and least frequently recorded marks for each test are labeled.
Charlie and I have ridden each test 4 times. Both tests have 16 movements, plus the single Collectives score ("Harmony of Athlete and Horse"). So I have 68 total marks from each test, all of which are reflected in the above histogram showing the frequency of each mark by test.
Now.... I want to be clear that this is.... not a perfect comparison. Y'all might remember that Charlie was... hm, a bad dog at our Thornridge Fix-a-Test clinic last March. He was ready for his hocks to get done, and didn't care who knew lol. And in both rides (Test A) we got absolutely stuck in a tantrum around movements 9 and 10. But.... It was a friendly judge so the scores were, ahem, generous, and we still ended up with personal records. Just keep that in mind!
Note: Y-axis is movement score, while X-axis is movement number. So, the line shows our average score by movement from "Enter at A" (far left) to "Halt, salute" and Collective Score (far right). There is valid skepticism about whether some scores from Test A would withstand objective scrutiny...
Even so, it's still very interesting to compare how we progress through the test based on average movement score. Most judges say they want to score the entry well unless there is a specific reason not to, so it's no surprise to see scores in both tests dive shortly after entering.
Test A, however, goes into left lead canter very early -- which is a transition that, for us, requires preparation (and, uh, hock injections) or else. Meanwhile, in Test B, we actually get a whole 'nother circuit of the ring, plus a trot-walk-trot transition before cantering left, even tho it's only one 'movement' later on the sheet.
We already discussed that crater in Test A where Charlie has his little tantrum going into the two-loop serpentine (bc he very strongly believes, and cannot be convinced otherwise, that I will ask again for left lead canter, oof). But perhaps more interesting is how both tests kinda end.... in a low spot (aside from the Test A halts which Phoebe generously scored 9s last March...).
Notes: Average scores grouped (loosely) by movement type. The red color saturation reflects the high/low scale for reach test. Ex: Test A High = 8.3 / Low = 5.6; Test B High = 6.9 / Low = 6.0.
Test A ends with a stretchy trot, and Test B ends with that terrible little walk, turn on center line, trot, halt, dealio.... But, I also wonder if it isn't just us sorta losing organization and 'togetherness' as the test progresses. Not unlike how we often kinda start losing it a bit toward the end of a jump round?
Just food for thought, really, but something to remember mid-ride: Emma! Shorten your reins, reestablish your position, pilot not passenger! Finish Strong! Or something!
Also. Generally speaking, our walk work kinda sucks lol. Siiiigh. The horse is in fact capable of a good walk where he uses 'every part of the buffalo' but... either we don't have the 'motivation' or we have to be tactful about tension (or risk breaking gait). Basically just #NeedsWork.
Overall, no matter how you slice it, we score better in Test A on average. But, we are more consistent in Test B. Given that I'm skeptical of whether those Test A scores would withstand objective scrutiny... I'm actually inclined to believe Test B suits us better overall.
Mostly, tho, I need to figure out how to improve Test A for us in two main ways:
1) We need better preparation for that early left lead canter depart. This means being immediately more forward with more energy -- and also probably doing counter canter in warm up, and then cantering again immediately prior to entering the ring.
2) I need to stop the cycle of Charlie anticipating a mythical left lead depart in movement 10. We are intended to walk off the diagonal, trot at C, then do a 2 loop serpentine in trot. Charlie really thinks we're going to canter, tho, and ends up fussing enough to blow multiple scores. Not sure what the solution is, but will work on it.
Bc... Yea, given the choice I think I'd prefer to ride Test B, even tho the little exit tour kinda sucks (wtf, walking the center line???). But realistically, Test A is more commonly used at shows.
So we shall see. There's another little Twilight Fix-a-Test tonight that I wasn't originally riding in, but one rider had to scratch and offered to scribe so I could take her spot. We'll ride Test A, and see how it goes!
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