Cob Jockey

I've always thought highly of my GMO, but this weekend took my admiration to a whole new level.

Normally our year-end awards is a luncheon with a cash bar at a country club. This year though, they decided to take their "education" mission to heart by having a "Through the Levels" symposium at a brand new local (private, omg) facility.

There aren't enough dollar signs in the world to express how much money this facility must have cost.

They invited the AA, JR/YR and Open high percentage winners of each level this year to bring their horses and ride, in order, from Intro through GP, in front of Angela Jackson who graciously donated (!) her time for this, with the goal being to show the progression of the Dressage horse from the earliest stages of the journey to GP.

It ended up being part clinic, part symposium, as Angela would work on various things with the riders while telling the audience why a particular thing was important both at the level the pair was at, and why it would be important to them in the future. 

She wove that thread throughout the entire day, often referring back like "Remember when I told the First Level riders this, you're now seeing why that's important..."

Third Level featured two 17hh imported WBs and 13hh Lovebug, the "asthmatic Chincoteague pony"

The other cool thing about it was that, I'm not trying to make us sound like a bunch of country bumpkins or anything, but we have far, FAR more off-breeds than Warmbloods in this club, and it was great to see the champions of the levels for the year struggle with some of the same things Connor and I struggle with. 

In some GMOs, inviting the winners of the levels for the year to this wouldn't have been as interesting to me - go even an hour or two away in a couple of directions from my barn and you've got a couple of GMOs with LOTS of imported Warmbloods. At something like this, I want to see people working through the same things I am, fighting the same conformational challenges that I am, and I got that yesterday.

In the middle of the symposium, they took a two-hour break between Second and Third levels for a catered lunch with free beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as a champagne toast followed by the usual awards presentation. For the first time ever, I came home with a tri-color from this awards ceremony for my championship ride in September:

I also got my Reserve Champion Second Level AA high percentage year-end award - turns out I was 0.01 point behind the first place rider, which would have gotten me an invite to ride in this thing! That was a blessing though - I got a blanket instead of a second backpack (and it was cold in the unheated indoor, despite the heated attached barn being a comfortable 60F (heated barns are NOT common at this latitude, so that was a nice surprise!)) and I didn't have to drive to Ohio, pick Connor up, bring him back across the state to ride in this, then bring him back to Ohio. Which I wouldn't have had to do, I could have declined, but come on, you know me. I would have accepted.

I'm savoring these, because it took me three years to win anything at Second (with a COVID year in there) and will likely take me just as long at Third, lol.

So hats off to my GMO, this was such a huge upgrade over the usual country club lunch, and much more in line with the club's education mission. I hope we do this again next year!

What a show yesterday ended up being! 

It had everything - highs, lows, comedy, tragedy - and a couple of good lessons along the way.

We were stabled next to NK, whom I hadn't seen since I stopped riding with her 2 years ago (for no reason other than she's closer to me, but more difficult to get to than CGP).

 

If you remember, my whole goal for this show was to do it for fun, and because we qualified for championships, because why not? The weather ended up being amazing - highs in the low to mid 70s underneath those perfect late-September Indiana skies. My barnmate brought her coming 3 y/o as a non-compete just to see the sights and stay overnight off the property for the first time ever.

Sunday morning dawned clear, cold and panic-inducing, as I realized that I did not, in fact, have enough waxed thread to make it through to the last show of the season. I took a deep breath and calculated that if I did fewer, larger braids and only started the thread near the end of the braid instead of the top, I MIGHT make it. And worst case I could leave the forelock down and pretend he was a stallion. 

I ended up using every. Last. Millimeter. Of thread.

Shitty, shitty braids, lol.

Connor was bothered by those braids for the first time ever for some reason, and kept using a hind foot to scratch them out, which of course was worst case scenario for braids that had a lot less structural integrity than they normally do, but they did live.

Horses that try to scratch their braids out get tied to the wall, and are not happy about it.

But this isn't a blog about braiding, this is a blog about riding. We had two tests on Sunday, which I never do with this horse, but again, we were there 100% for fun. We rode 2-3 for the Imperio Trophy at 9am and then again for the 2-3 AA championship at 11am. Both tests, being championship rides, could be ridden with spurs but I could not carry a whip after warm-up.

Barnmate is such a badass. After lunging and warming up in an unused arena to check her steering and brakes, she walked her baby horse all the way around the warm-up ring, in this bosal hackamore, and he never put a foot wrong or screamed once. On a colt she bred and backed herself. Very impressed!

 

For the Imperio 2-3, he was quite behind my leg. I had gone for relaxation in warm-up and never really gotten him quite jazzed up enough for a test without a whip. It was a steady, workmanlike test with one big error when he broke in the second canter serpentine and then I picked up the wrong lead because OMG I can never remember which lead we're on when he breaks in a serpentine! Then I had to fix it in order to do the simple change.

 

But it didn't feel that bad, so I was surprised to see our lowest score of the season by a lot, a 57%.

Back at the stalls, I was hemming and hawing about whether to scratch the 2-3 championship ride. The idea of legging him through that a second time was exhausting. I actually made a pros and cons list (there were literally no cons, aside from potentially bruising my pride in front of the local IDS crowd), talked to Austen about it, and then the deciding factor was watching a video one of my former eventing teammates took of my first ride. I left a LOT of stupid points on the table, and I knew I could at least do better in accuracy.

 

Just, meh.

So I pulled a tired, confused Connor out of his stall, gave myself a 10 minute warmup that largely consisted of transitions between gaits backed up with spurs then whip if he didn't react to my leg in time, and headed in.

I took this GIF just to show off how my disco ball of a browband blinded the entire crowd, lol. Although fun fact, in the inconsistency of the angle, you can see me fighting to stay over his right side as he continually fights to tip my hip upward and off of him

We f***** brought it.

This scored an 8.0. Right in front of the judge. I'm so proud.

 

Every movement, I went for more, but tactfully, since I didn't have a ton of horse and being too aggressive would have led to him breaking gait, not giving me more impulsion. More angle, more bend, more lengthening, more stretch. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Was it a thousand percent improved from the Imperio ride? You bet.

Position has gone to shit here but my horse is bringing it.

When they announced my score over the intercom of 63.4%, for an improvement of 6% from the same test two hours prior, I was ecstatic. And when they announced we won the championship class, I was stunned. I've left this show crying twice in the past, completely lost on the path of Dressage, so to come home with a blue ribbon (well, I'll receive it at the banquet in November) was just so sweet.

Speaking of the poor announcer, they announced breeder and breeding at this show, and she did an admirable job of trying to read Connor's dam's name (*Bwlchllan Bessie) the first time, but the second time, she took the easy route out with "...and out of a Derwen Desert Express daughter". I cracked up.

The biggest win of this whole show? We did the whole thing in the thin, 3 piece Myler, the bit he goes best in but also the absolute easiest for him to get his tongue over, which often happened in the warm-up ring at shows in the past. It's one thing that he hasn't been trying to get his tongue over at home, but to do it in a show? It's truly a comment on my hands improving.

I love you, buddy <3

And with that, we are truly done with Second!

Last Saturday I competed at the IDS May Schooling Show. My intention was to ride two tests in one day before I try that at the rated show next weekend, and of course, when ride times came out my rides were 5 hours apart and I couldn't make the second one. We were hosting a graduation party/prom for our friends at the IU School of Architecture on Saturday night, and I had to get home to help prep.

All of these folks had to have two negative tests in the previous 5 days in order to attend graduation and almost all are fully vaccinated, in case you're freaking out about the large number of unmasked people in my house.

On Friday afternoon, I went out to catch my horse to load up for the show and...

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

 

I mean, I knew better than to go out to catch him in a raincoat like that. But he lulls me into this false sense of security these days, because he only does this about once every six months now. And we were overdue, since his last episode was in October at GP trainer's.

It was raining on one side of the farm and sunny on the other

He cantered for THIRTY. STRAIGHT. MINUTES. I gave him opportunities to stop only if he kept his attention on me and either stood still or took a step toward me. If he took one step away from me, I clucked him on, not that he needed much encouragement. Even after he was clearly tiring, he still didn't stop cantering.

The next morning, he was pleasantly polite in the bridle but also behind my leg, probably thanks to his endurance workout the night before. I rode the shit out of the test, and it was much better than our last attempt in April. No errors, no mistakes, and our first true canter-walk EVER in the show ring, in his tough direction no less. The only bobble was a buck going into the first canter lengthening, see previous comment about him being behind my leg. It felt like a solid test overall.

First pic with my new coat! This is ABSOLUTELY the most front end elevation I've ever seen in a canter photo of this horse. PC: AK Photography

Unfortunately the judge just straight up didn't like my ride, and scored us a 59.404%. It was like she gave us a baseline of 6.0 for everything, and then if she didn't like something, it was straight to a 5.0, with hardly any 6.5s and only one 7.0. I got the lowest scores of my life on things he always scores really well on, like halts and reinbacks, and just could not understand how that test deserved to score that poorly, especially at a schooling show. 

I need a half halt in this moment, but look at me not pulling on my horse's face! PC: AK Photography

The mystery was solved when I ran into Karen afterwards, and she asked, "Did you have [judge name]?" And I said yeah, and she said, "Been there, that's just how she is, don't let it get to you." I did win my class with that 59% so...yeah. That checks out.

He looks as tired as he felt. PC: AK Photography

That said, I'm not upset. We rode 2-3 error-free. We got a canter-walk in the ring for the first time. I learned how to show him well even when he's tired. All of those things are good things to learn at a schooling show, so I came away feeling like I accomplished something.

Next weekend, less of this!

In addition to trying out all the gear I reviewed this week, I did actually show my horse at the horse show, and it was the absolute best we've ever done 2-1.  And even though the whole point of Dressage is that it'll never be perfect, I am so proud of it.

THIS has changed a lot!

It was the first time we didn't get against each other halfway through the test.  It was the first time we've both stayed relaxed and present.  I actually had the presence of mind to think "Damn, this is the best 2-1 we've ever done" as I finished the first counter canter here:






We may have stayed relaxed, but I also rode hard.  The first thing my trainer said afterward was, "I just watched that entire test with a huge smile on my face.  That was a HUGE improvement!  You rode that with conviction !" And one of her other students said, "You made that look so easy."  That comment meant a lot, because 2-1 did feel easy, for the first time ever.

When I had to basically pick him up and carry him through the counter canter in the tough direction

What was different?  A couple of things.  My trainer warmed us up, which rarely happens, and she did an outstanding job of it.  She has a knack for knowing exactly what the horse needs in the moment, and it was an exceptionally effective warmup.

Relaxed!

I also had CGP's lesson ringing in the back of my mind, and kept my elbows soft and the contact following through most of the test.  I got a little stiff in the canter work, but did a great job with it elsewhere.  I also had a better idea of how to sit in my jump saddle for maximum Dressage position effectiveness.

Perfect?  No.  But believe me when I say this is the best medium walk out of the halt/reinback we've ever gotten.

And, it just felt like progress.  We're better than we were in April.  We've learned things.  And because we're showing, we have this objective measurement in addition to the glowing feeling I came out of the ring with after that test.  68.919%!  A high score by nearly 5%.  It's a fantastic feeling to head into the offseason with.  And it's exactly the reason I show even though I'm not motivated by awards or regionals or anything like that.  Measurable progress!

Check out how straight his tail is after his bodywork - he's carried it to the left the whole time I've known him

Three years ago I left this show feeling dejected, because nothing had changed over the season and I knew I wasn't riding well but I didn't know exactly what was wrong or how to fix it.  Ending on this note this year after all the progress we've made was just so gratifying.  I'm sure some people will look at it as "She's only gone from 1-3 to 2-1 in three years,"and that's totally fair, but there's a whole lot more to the story than that.


Looking forward to really putting in the work over the winter and seeing where we are in the spring!

It's been fun to think ahead to 2019's show season.  I'm planning to mainly stick to schooling shows, with a couple of rated shows thrown in strictly because they're fun.  I may add another rated show in toward the end of the year if I feel like things are really going well, but mainly, my goal for this year is to feel confident at Second - and we don't need to pay the big bucks to do that (thankfully!)

February 9 - Majestic Farms Schooling Show (2-1)
Why: Get out and knock the rust off.  Show in a place Connor has historically been pretty difficult to show in (indoor arena, unfamiliar place).  2-1 is our sweet spot right now with no simple changes, even though I hope to spend the least amount of time doing this test this year.

Got some demons to exorcise from this ring February 2017

April 13 - Heartland Pony Club Schooling Show (2-2)
Why: 20 minutes from my house, cheap, and it'll be a good opportunity to "move up" to the new 2-2 test. 

April 2017

May 11 - IDS Schooling Show (2-2, 2-3?)
Why: 20 minutes from my house, cheap, and maybe I want to play with doing two tests in a day at this one?

May 2017

June 1-2 - Balmoral Rated Show (We'll see how May's show goes before deciding what to enter here)
Why: I've wanted to show at the new Balmoral facility since HITS transformed it from a racetrack to a sporthorse facility a couple years ago.  It's a pretty easy 3 hour drive from home, and I love showing near friends in the Chicago area.

Heartland, 2014

July 13 - Majestic Farms Schooling Show (1-2, 1-3)
Why: IF we do decide to drop back to First Level for NDPC, I will probably use this show as a test run of those tests before NDPC the following weekend.  If we decide we're suddenly championship-caliber at Second, I may not go to this show at all.

IDS July, July 2012 (Awww)

July 18-21 - National Dressage Pony Cup (First Level?)
Why: It was so much fun in 2017, and I've never shown at Lamplight before.  Gotta represent those Dressage ponies!

NDPC 2017

*August 17-18 - Indiana Dressage Festival (2-2, 2-3)
Why: This one is a "maybe", but if I feel like we stand a good chance of getting our Second Level Bronze scores by this point in the season, I'll do it.  Again it's only 20 minutes from my house, which makes logistics easy.

It was pouring rain, hot and humid for this show, blegh.

September 28 - IDS Fall Schooling Show (2-2, 2-3)
Why: I doubt I'll be in the rideoffs this year, but this is still a good end-of-year show.

2018 IDS Fall Show

Anyone else planning on attending any of these?

For January-June's review, click here.

Connor got his first real injury days before Pony Cup, because of course he did.  He got his permanent pony card at a surprising 14.1hh, and we had an absolute blast at NDPC, where we also met Katlyn and Emilie, and Connor met his sister for the first time.  NK gave me some tough love in a lesson, and we survived 2-1 at a schooling show with a 60.000%.  I finally pulled the trigger on a PS of Sweden bridle, and JenJ introduced me to Franklin Balls. I also continued to wax poetic about how much better my life got after I moved Connor.

Still the straightest canter stride this horse has ever taken in his life.

My trainer moved her program from my old barn to my new barn.  I had kind of mixed feelings about this after I realized that I made a lot of progress when I started riding more outside of lessons.  Things were just good, every ride left me with a huge smile on my face.  NK fixed my leg aids in a lesson and I did a side-by-side comparison of my scores from the same test at the same show two days in a row.

We also photographed someone that's not for sale!

So much to blog about!  And I have so much time in which to do it now that my little buddy is 10 minutes away from me.  I am in love with this place and its people already:


But, first thing's first!  We did 1-3 at the IDS schooling show on Saturday.  If you'll remember from my last post, my goals involved drinking with Karen and Liz and improving my canter scores in 1-3.

Karen literally had a drink in her hand when I rolled up around 11:30am, so I had some catching up to do, but I'm happy to report I caught up with the help of "booze water" as Karen dubbed it:

90 calories, 1g carbs, no sugar, 4.5% alcohol, literally might be the perfect horse show beverage.

Connor started our warmup with some epic headshaking.  Now, this horse shakes his head every ride, but something was different about this, so I got off in the warmup ring and noticed his browband was in a weird spot that was probably putting pressure on his head.  I could have ignored the head shaking and written it off, but I'm glad I didn't, poor dude.

All  of the following photos are by Paul Wood Photography.  Kelly was done with her rides by 11am but stayed until Karen and I were done at 4pm, AND her husband took all of these photos, AND she let me borrow her helmet when I forgot mine.  Plus Liz's son Will offered to clean my tack. Such good people all the way around!

The biggest change I made at this show was to really get him fired up going around the outside of the ring, and then completely drop my reins and give him his head for a few seconds when the judge rang the bell.  When he was younger if I did that, it would have been game over the gerbils have left the building, but as the work has gotten harder I've noticed he responds well to short, frequent total releases of pressure.

A dramatic re-enactment of our warmup from, sigh, our test.  I'm a slow learner when it comes to my rein length.  Homeboy wasn't supposed to canter here, and with my reins this long, there wasn't much I could do about it quickly or tactfully. PC: Paul Wood Photography

 I am finally (most of the time) aware of two important things in the canter that are even more important at shows: First, he's going to go faster, pull harder and run through my hands if I am holding too much in my elbows and hands.  Literally let go and he slows down and softens.  Sometimes when he's really hauling me around, I have to give myself a pep talk before letting the reins go, because it feels like the opposite of what he needs, but it's always the right decision.

Second, if my reins are too long, I can't do anything about anything in the canter.

PC: Paul Wood Photography

1-3 has been a thorn in my side forever, and all I've ever wanted is a 70% on it and to feel like we owned it instead of it owning us.  The biggest changes this weekend: I had the confidence to control the canter where I needed to thanks to my most recent lesson.  I had "a canter I could do something with", and obvious differences between the lengthen and the working.

Well, I'm sitting up MOST of the time these days... PC: Paul Wood Photography

I also am SITTING UP in most of the photos!  I'm finally helping him, or if not helping at least not actively hindering him with my position, for the most part.  Obviously a work in progress, but better than the ol' sack of potatoes from the past.

I think my right ankle might have been temporarily broken here.  But look at my shoulders!  Progress! PC: Paul Wood Photography

The one thing I am disappointed with after seeing the photos is the amount of throatlatch tension he's carrying.  I did actively remember to shorten my reins in the test (progress!), and they are way better than they were a few months ago, but they were still too long.  I'm grateful to Paul for getting these photos, because Connor felt pretty relaxed over his back for the most part, I'm not sure I would have realized how tense he was in the throatlatch without these photos.

PC: Paul Wood Photography

Most than anything else, I was able to be very present in the test, and Paul even caught an example of it.  We were just about to go into the 2nd/left canter shallow loop through X, the one Connor almost always breaks on, and I suddenly remembered discovering in the big Dressage ring at my old barn that it was because something something need more cowbell left hind or left bend or

On autopilot PC: Paul Wood Photography

"OH SHIT WE NEED MORE LEFT EVERYTHING!" PC: Paul Wood Photography

Dat hock engagement PC: Paul Wood Photography

 The other thing I made an effort for: I didn't rush the simple change at X.  I have in the past, and then the whole canter sucked after that.  I decided I would take my time, get him balanced no matter how long it took, and then ask.  And the judge agreed: I got an 8.0 on my simple change ("straight, smooth")

Position so bad, pony so cute.

As we came down the centerline, I knew it was the best 1-3 we'd ever done.  1-3 has always been survival mode for me in the past, but we OWNED that sucker on Saturday.  We've had some truly epically bad 1-3's, including a 56% at a rated show I forgot about until JenJ looked it up on Centerline, probably because my brain blocked it out as one of the more traumatic moments of my life #hyperbole.  But this, this was good.  And I smiled:

PC: Paul Wood Photography

because no matter if the judge agreed with me or not, that was progress and I was happy with it.  And it turns out, the judge did agree!  It was our highest 1-3 score by, I believe, at least 7 percentage points if not more:


And, for the Dressage nerds out there:




I just could not have been happier.  And with that, I loaded up my tired pony and took him to his new home!