San Antonio Spring Dressage I

This weekend there were two rated dressage shows that we attended - on Saturday and one Sunday. They were at the same venue and used the same judges, but each rider was judged by a different judge each day, so we could maximize our chances for qualifying for various awards.

I had off Friday, so I loaded the trailer and got everything ready to go. We left when hubby arrived home, and only managed to forget a few things (I don't make lists, which would probably drive most of you crazy, but whatever, it works for me). The show was two hours away, and we made good time and pulled in with plenty of daylight to spare. I headed to the office to get our competitor's pack while hubby parked the rig, and then we unloaded Paddy and got him settled in. Being a well-traveled Haffie, he was at home as soon as the hay net arrived.

A treat from Dad didn't hurt either...

After we unloaded a few things, I tacked up and took Paddy for a tour.

Blurry ear shot of the warmup.

He was pretty good - spent a little time looking around but didn't do any of his usual screaming, thank goodness. We rode for about 30 minutes, then gave him a quick bath before heading out for dinner and THE BEST MARGARITAS EVER OMG. 

On Saturday, I didn't ride till 10:30, so I had plenty of time to pretend to braid my horse and get ready.  Hubby was awesome, holding Paddy while I did his forelock, checking on time, and generally keeping me cared for. With an hour to go, I changed clothes and put my hair up. I've GOT to find a better hair style - I simply have too much hair for a bun, because it just pushes my helmet forward over my eyes no matter how low on my nape it is. And I can't do hunter hair because it just doesn't fit under my helmet. I don't like show bows because they flop, which is visually pretty distracting. #horseshowproblems, right?

 Anyway, I had given us about 30 minutes to warm up, and we spent the first 15 of that walking around loosening up and taking in the sights. Paddy acted like a seasoned show horse - sure, he looked at all the activity, but horses everywhere didn't faze him one bit. Our warmup was going well when we were informed that they were running 10 minutes early and I was up next - YIKES! I could have waited (you are not required to ride until your posted time), but I figured we might as well go. And here's our ride:

It was quick, it was tense. He wasn't really listening to me very well. Still, we managed to squeak out a 63.099%, which I will take any day of the week. I decided that we needed a bit longer warmup, and I needed to make sure he was REALLY on my aids before we went in for our next test. We had a couple of hours before our next test, so we took him back to his stall, let him relax, and got a handwalk/graze in.

Between test hand walking and snacking. We were 3rd of 5.

The humans also got a nap in.

Training Test 3 was at 2:10. This time, I allowed 40 minutes for warmup. We spent a full 20 minutes walking out, and I think that really helped him loosen up. He's not used to being in a stall all the time, so a long warmup was good. The warmup itself went GREAT - he was really listening and we had some beautiful moments and excellent transitions. Unfortunately, as soon as we went down to the far end of the arena, he fell apart. Our test began with us barging up centerline and things going downhill from there. Here are some highlights from the video...

X was... somewhere back there...

Charging across the arena, hollow and stiff.

Bolting down the long side in canter.

I hear that leaning back helps loads when you're trying to get a downward transition (NOT).

"Free to look around with your head in the air" walk

And here's the actual video, if you want to see the carnage:

So, that was worth a 60.9 (8th of 8). I was pretty disappointed - our warmup was SO GOOD, and the test was SO BAD. Where had I gone wrong? Hubby and I discussed, and agreed that he really fell apart when we got down by A, just before we came in. We decided that the next day I would do a couple of 10 meter figure 8s down there before the bell, to get him focused and back on my aids before going in. Alas, horses do not always stick with the plan...