April 15, 2019

Show Recap: Heartland 2019

I waffled on whether to enter for Heartland or not, but in the end I decided to because:
  1. It's a schooling show
  2. I haven't ridden the 2019 tests yet
  3. It's a great knock-off-the-rust-and-oh-yeah-get-your-Coggins-done show


And knock the rust off your braiding skills while you're at it

We ended up with a 62.162% for 2-1, which I will both not complain about and admit was generous.  We had no major mistakes, but at the same time a lot about it was rough around the edges.  Really, it was the perfect first outing for the year, which is exactly what we were there for, so that's a win.

Gross.  "I can't ride my horse because I'm clamped onto his back like a vise grip" isn't the best way to start your Dressage test, in case you were wondering.
Our scores ranged from a 5.0 for that seriously sticky rein-back, to 8.0's for both centerlines and halts, which was a minor miracle because as I made the turn at A for my final salute, I realized C had been placed to the left of A by about 18".  

It's a schooling show run by pony club parents, and I'm therefore not upset about it, but whew it threw me for a loop.

My lizard brain reacted by going "Shit, ride to the letter" and my final centerline was seriously drunken, but...judge didn't notice the two steps of leg yield I threw in there?  I don't know.  This was an 8.0:

Gift horses and all that.

As I look back at the video of this test (thanks to my trainer for taking it for me!), it looks...hurried.  I can definitely see what both my trainer and KGP mean about him running through me.  I didn't have the best or longest warmup, partially because they sent me over early and I didn't double-check or ask to go at my actual time (see also: first show of the year and knocking the rust off).

#notalengthening but look at me remembering to half halt at F!

I need to be more present - which is partially a result of not knowing this test as thoroughly as I did the old tests.  I need to actually remember to half-halt - which is just...not a habit in high-pressure situations.  I need to relax - and I actually did have a moment I'm quite proud of, when I realized my pressure points were in the middle of my thighs most of the way through the second 10m canter circle and relaxed.




Immediately after I finally relaxed, he finally relaxed.  The next movement was the counter canter in our tough direction, and it was probably the best he's ever done this movement in this direction:


It's good place to start the show season off from even if it wasn't perfect.  The takeaways were: relaxing through my seat and half halting need to become default habits, and I need to find ways to reduce tension for both of us in the show ring.

We were fractions of a percentage point out of second place, but I could not have cared less.  Give me the scores!


13 comments:

  1. LOL your centerline made me chuckle, that was a really nice little leg yield though!

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    1. I mean, style points for a nice leg yield? Lol

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  2. Definitely style points for the straight leg yield. Great first show out!

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  3. 1 -- I am seriously impressed you braided all that hair! 2 -- Wait, dressage isn't supposed to involve vice-gripping your horse??? :o

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  4. Congrats! Sounds like you got exactly what you needed out of this show. I'm guessing the judge probably also noticed C and A were not lined up, and maybe bonus points for working that out? lol!

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  5. Spring is ALL about knocking the rust off for those of us in the North that don't show year-round! Sounds like a great opportunity to do that for both you and Connor!

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  6. I’m so happy for you! That’s a fantastic score :) Also, glad they didn’t follow through on their questionable threat ;)

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  7. It was a show weekend for the Castleberry cobs this weekend b/c I saw one at FENCE HT! He was packing his person around Starter and was doing such a great job. I recognized the Castleberry name from your blog and thought you might enjoy hearing about another one out there enjoying the weekend :)

    Glad you had a good weekend knocking the rust off and having a good time!!!

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    1. I LOVE this!!! Do you remember what the full name was? His breeder would be thrilled.

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    2. Castleberry Triple Praline. If you google Liz Crawley Photos you should find pictures of him from this past show!

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  8. Congrats on a great first outing for 2019!

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  9. Sounds like a good first outing for the year to give you a reference point on what needs to be smoothed over for the future!

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  10. Congrats on a great first outing! I loved your subtle leg yield. I wonder if the judge knew the centerline was off and rewarded your ability to make a split-second decision. I had a similar thing happen at a schooling show last summer. I was way right of C because C wasn't lined up, but I decided to ride straight and make it look intentional. The judge commented that I "missed the centerline" and dinged us for the movement, but then conceded that the centerline maybe wasn't where it should be. It made for a good laugh at the time!

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