Upate 5 of 5: A fairytale ending

No, I'm not dead. This blog might as well be, but everything at Wyvern Oaks is kind of awesome.

In case you're wondering where updates 1-4 have gone, I'm writing this in reverse order because I'm months behind. Whatever, you get the most fun stuff first.

If we're friends on Facebook, you know that the big news for me this year is that Taran and I qualified for and went to the US Dressage Finals in Lexington, Kentucky. Not only that, but we came away with something I didn't even dare to really hope for: a gorgeous, big-ass neck ribbon. That's right, T is top 10 in the nation for AA 1st Level Freestyle.

Victory lap in the Alltech arena. I only cried a little.

The entire experience of finals was like nothing I've done before. First off, before you show in the regional qualifiers, you have to "declare" your intent to go to nationals if you qualify for an invitation. There are two ways to qualify - you can either get 1st or 2nd place in your class, or you can get a wildcard score, which for freestyles is over a 66%. We qualified with a wildcard score of a 68.5%, with was 7th place. 

Once you qualify, USDF sends you an email "invitation," whereupon you log into their website and pay the class fee for whatever you were invited for. In our case, this was not only the freestyle, but we were also "in line" to ride in the 2nd Level AA championships, because we were 3rd place at regionals. If 1st or 2nd place had declined the invitation, we would have been allowed to compete (note, this did not happen).

After that it was a matter of signing up for the show. Kentucky Horse Park is a little weird because you get your classes through one site, your RV reservations through another, and stall/shavings/hay through a third. Normally all these are included when I sign up for a show online, so I found it a little challenging the first time round. Luckily, things were all in order when we arrived after a long-ass, two-day drive with an overnight stop in Little Rock (also, hell hath no traffic like I-35 northbound from Austin to Dallas when a semi overturns and closes the Interstate for 2.5 hours). 

Unfortunately, our first ride was at 8:40 a.m. on Friday, only 14 hours after we arrived. It was 30 degrees and quite windy, and poor T and I were both frozen. We had trouble finding the arena (it was a 20 minute walk from the barn and there were no signs) and so our warmup time was cut short. Luckily my trainer (who didn't go to Finals) had put me in touch with a good friend of hers, and he was on hand to help me warm up. Given that it was the first time he'd ever seen me ride (and uh, let's just say I'm pretty sure we didn't make a great impression), he did a great job jumping in and getting the job done. We rode a very stiff, uninspired, inattentive test for a 60.854, which was our lowest score to date. T stayed with me though and tried his best, but between the long haul, lack of warmup, and cold, I really didn't set him up for success. Lesson learned though - we really DO need a day to settle in if we're going to be competitive.

Pretty but completely frozen

After our ride, I noticed that T was not very warm under his 200 gram blanket, BOT sheet, and neck cover. I tried to find him something warmer at the show, but none of the vendors had blankets, so we ended up going to a local tack store and picking up a 400 gram turnout with neck cover and belly wrap. Within a few minutes of bundling him up in that, he toasted right up and started eating and drinking more normally. Note to self: Texas gear is insufficient for Kentucky temps. Also Taran prefers warm water.

Why yes my fully clipped Texas horse is bundled up to his eyeballs. Not shown: me also bundled up in my ski pants and parka. It was 23 degrees, don't judge.

Day 2 had us riding 2-3 again at 4 p.m. It was much warmer, and I was own my own for warmup. Well, except for my awesome husband who kept reminding me to let T go forward and turn my thumbs up. I was determined to put in a more forward, uphill, and relaxed test this time, so took plenty of time to warm up and really focused on breathing and staying loose in the tack so T could actually move. We got into the ring and every time I felt him get stuck I let out my breath, relaxed, and put my leg on... and he started moving again. Lesson learned! We had our absolute best mediums to date, and our canter work was SO balanced and round. 

Like, dayum. 

Does anyone remember when we could barely even canter on the left lead?

Uhhhnnnfortunately, we also put in more mistakes than we ever have before. We had a break in the canter, someone fluffed a giant plastic trash bag next to the arena so we bolted in a 10m trot circle, we did a reining spin instead of a TOH, and he was super convinced I wanted to canter down centerline. So our new score was ALSO the lowest ever... 60.061. But we squeaked the 60 and completed his 2nd level performance award, which was why we were riding it. Besides, it was probably the best test quality-wise we've ever done (he also offered 2 piaffe steps in warmup), and I was super stoked about that.

Seriously wish the pro photographer had gotten this one... alas, it's only a blurry screen cap of a zoomed-in video.

Our final ride was the Championships on Sunday morning. We were 4th to last in order of go (they do a draw by computer), so I had a fairly relaxing morning to prep. We had another good warmup (with coaching this time, woohoo!) and there was a scratch so we got to go a bit early. Overall the quality of the ride was not nearly what we had the day before for 2-3, but it wasn't bad either. We had two mistakes - we missed the first change in our line of 3 but managed to make it up, and he spooked at A when a hoof hit the arena wall (driver error, whoops). We got a little behind the music after those mistakes and I had to scramble a bit to catch up, but it worked out mostly OK. It definitely wasn't the super brilliant test I wanted it to be, but we got around and kept it together.

I had my back to the arena and was talking to my coach about how it went when his eyes lit up, and I turned around to see the scoreboard:

 

Hell yes I will take that. Also judge at B, I love you.

There was much frantic scrambling for phones to check how my score compared with the others (aside... did you know that iphones will brick when it's too cold? Just FYI), and I was sitting in 8th, with 3 riders to go.

And then two.

And then one.

And we managed to hold on for 9th.

I am so proud of this piece of satin it's kind of ridiculous.

I know we had mistakes, and I know it's only 9th place. But that damn ribbon couldn't mean more to me than if it said Champion on it and came with a fancy cooler. I am riding a tiny 15.1 homebred pony cross against warmbloods imported from Germany and holding my own. I've been told more than once that I'd need a fancier horse to be competitive... and yet, here we are. We have come so far in the last two years, and worked so hard for it, and we are not done yet. 

Taran not care about fancy ribbon. Taran care about friends OVER THERE.

2nd Level Bronze Medal Scores + 1st Level Awesomeness = best show weekend EVER

This year has gotten away from me. I felt so organized back in January, filling out the calendar with all our travel and events and shows and jousts and family things.

And then there's that moment when you look at your calendar and feel completely overwhelmed, and realize that something's got to give. And for me, one of those somethings has been blogging.

I've been riding lots though, and this weekend was the first show of the year. I was supposed to already have 3 shows done and gone, but see above-mentioned crazy schedule. The venue is our favorite, in San Antonio, in part because everything is covered but mostly because there is a FABULOUS restaurant right next door with awesome margaritas. Important detail, right?

I'd signed up at the last minute because they had some slots left, and it had become apparent that another show I had planned on doing wasn't going to happen because of other scheduling conflicts (*&!@&^ calendar). So I felt kind of unprepared - we haven't set foot at a rated show since Championships early last October, and we were tackling second level for the first time ever.

I really should start believing more in myself and in my horse, because it was quite literally the type of show weekend I've only thought other people, with fancy imported horses, get to have.

First up Saturday morning was 2-1. I'd had a tense warmup Friday night (because OMG SHOW), but Taran's bodyworker, who also takes lessons from the same GP trainer as I do (and happens to be an FEI rider herself), kindly took some time to talk me down from the ledge and reminded me to breathe. She was actually on hand for the rest of the weekend with pointers, and I'm pretty sure she's why we did so well.

When I went down centerline the first time, I had a HUGE smile on my fact. I WAS RIDING SECOND LEVEL. For real. I knew we could do it, and I focused on riding a clean test. We had three mistakes (one blown canter lead and we broke after both medium canters because if I sit too hard in the canter, T thinks I mean walk), but we also had some really nice moments. We left points on the table when I didn't halt for 3 seconds before the rein back, but we also scored an 8 on the centerline and had a lot of 7s for the canter work (?!?!?!). Our final score was a 61.5 for second place (out of 3, .4% behind 1st). And it was good enough for a bronze medal score.

GO TARAN GO!

After that success, I was able to relax even more. Saturday afternoon had us doing 1-3 for the 12th time, but I had hubby read the test because a) I haven't done that test since October and b) I can NEVER remember that damn test. T was feeling a bit tired, but we held it together and only had one mistake (another break after lengthen canter). Overall though, it was a smooth, clean test, and I made the final halt knowing it was the best 1-3 we've ever done, regardless of what the judge thought of it.

Final halt and salute. This got an 8.

I was right - final score was a 69.295%! That got us our second qualifying score for 2017 regional Championships, and it also clinched us 1st place for 1-3 adult amateur. We even squeaked out a Reserve Champion AA First Level ribbon. I picked up my satin and glassware (not going to lie, I love glassware prizes), and thought I'd had just about the most perfect day ever. We topped off the awesome by visiting with horse show friends, and then hubby and I had an amazing seafood dinner. Horse shows are even nicer when you have The World's Best Horse Show Husband (TM).

Satin with bonus glassware

Sunday morning dawned dark and stormy, with a bonus Tornado Watch throughout most of central Texas. Fortunately, my first ride of the day was just after the leading edge of the front moved through. Other folks were not so lucky, and one of the arenas lost power so dressage tests were ridden in the dark. At least the entire facility was covered!

Not what you want to see an hour before your ride time

I was determined to ride a mistake-free test this time. I'd spent some time thinking about my medium-collected canter transitions, which are a big struggle for me, and what I could do differently. We practiced a few in warmup and I had a very clear sequence in my head - inside leg, sit TALL, and FLUFF THE REINS. I went down centerline again with a smile on my face, because I knew we were going to rock it. Our trot work wasn't as good as the day before, but the test was mistake-free and I was really pleased with how solid of a ride we put in. Sure, we are leaving points on the table, but we'll get better at it the more we do it.

This time, the judge was a bit more generous and gave us a whopping 65.6%!!! And damn, I am proud of this test. I can't even believe this is the same horse I was riding a year ago. 

Unfortunately, we had a 5 hour wait until my 1-3 test. I considered scratching because T and I were both tired and we didn't need the score for anything, but I also really to see if we could break 70. We put in a very short, conservative warmup, and then I went out and rode the test like I was riding a second level test - way more uphill and collected than I normally would. We had a couple of transitions that weren't where I wanted them to be (canter at C was early and it would be great if T would actually halt at X long enough for me to finish my salute) but otherwise I was very, very pleased with it. Even the medium to collected canter transitions felt good! 

I was putting away stuff in the trailer when the results showed up online, but I heard this screech from Taran's stall area and hubby yelled across the parking lot "SEVENTY THREE POINT SIX!!!!" I wasn't even sure I'd heard him right, so I checked my phone... yup, a 73.676%. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. That's a lifetime high for me, y'all. I've never even done that well at a schooling show!

Since I'd scored so well but both my divisions were the last of the day, I decided to stick around for the finals, and I'm sure glad I did. We ended up getting first place for both 1-3 and 2-1 in the AA division, AND we got High Point AA for both first level and second level. 

Satin like I've never had before

And then I read my 1-3 test, and I saw this:

I actually grabbed the poor stranger next to me, hugged her, and shoved my test in her face exclaiming "I GOT A TEN!" Sorry, whoever you were, and thanks for understanding my excitement.

So that sums up my fairy tale show weekend. Normally, when you watch the 70+ rides, they're on very fancy horses. I honestly never though we'd be able to score that well, no matter how good of a test we put in. I guess I was wrong. Apparently my little (borrowed) homebred pony, who's spent most of his life being a lawnmower, is more awesome than anyone ever knew. 

Heck, apparently he's a perfect 10!

FTW

"You need to be more demanding"

Hubby and I are attending another clinic with Alfredo this week. As usual, Alfredo insists on good work, and in our first session, about halfway through he said something that really stuck with me.

"You need to be more demanding."

He's right. At second, judges want to see a sharp, workman like test. The halt needs to be trot-halt-trot, not trot... walk a step... halt... stutter back to a trot, like was acceptable at first. When I work on my own, I try to make my movements correct and precise, but there's a whole 'nother level of accuracy when someone is yelling at your in a lesson. Everything needs more bend, more expression, more obedience, more precision.

Take our walk-canter transitions, for instance. I thought they were decent (I mean, we didn't have one like 3 months ago), but decent - with a step of trot - is not enough. THIS is what he wants:

Ignore the part where I push his haunches to the inside the step before the depart and look at how awesome my horse is.

We also worked on improving his gaits, especially the trot. We did a lot of renvers on the circle (ok, I tried to do renvers on a circle, but it's hard and I'm struggling with timing and body position).

I really need to step in the direction I'm going and get my hands right. But Taran is trying hard and the sky is so pretty!

But when we go straight after a few steps of renvers, this magic happens:

All the time like this please.

But riding that uphill, balanced, expressive wave is hard, and it's all too easy to get a little quick and on the forehand:

Half-halt needed. 

So, I gotta be more demanding, of both myself and my horse. Maybe that's my mantra for 2017?

What about you? What's your biggest struggle right now?

Update on the state of affairs

Sometimes, life really gets in the way of doing the things we love, like blogging. I've been holding down Wyvern Oaks solo for the last 6 weeks, because my husband has been off in Mexico doing this:

Here's the link to the Washington Post article, and the one from NPR, and the BBC. If you thought my husband was cool because he jousts, his day job is even more amazing. 

As usual, all the shit happens when he's gone. The dogs have started fighting, we had a tree fall down on the fence, and the painters accidentally knocked the hose loose from the washing machine so I flooded the laundry room.

Oh FFS.

Brego started to show signs of another abscess just days before hubby left, and we waited for it to blow but it didn't.

Suspicious looking.

When it didn't blow after two weeks, I had the vet out. When it still hadn't blown 10 days later, she came back, this time with the hospital farrier, and they took xrays to see where everything was located.

See those two dark lines going down from the hoof wall? Those are TWO rather large pockets of infection.

Roughly an hour of (unsedated) digging later, and we were left with this:

Holy hoofs, Brego.

They think that he had a white line infection somewhere deep in his foot (although the bottom of his foot is currently fine, so we had no way of knowing), and that the abscess last year didn't clear out the whole thing. The hole on the bottom right of the picture goes through to his sole (you can stick a shoe nail through, gag), and if you look in the big hole across the top you'll see a bunch of smaller holes. Those are all infection tracks. I'm flushing everything daily with betadine and copper sulfate, and actually can stick a needle in each of those small holes and flush them. Y'all, holes in horse feet are SO WRONG. 

And I know it's crazy, but Brego has been sound this entire time and is currently out galloping around like a nutcase, despite the swiss-cheese-like appearance of his foot. Vet and farrier will be visiting every two weeks together until we get this all cleared up and grown out. Fun times.

As for Paddy, he's doing fine. He's mostly being neglected, because I spend all my time riding Taran. I did have a great ride at my trainer's barn where he wanted to go zooming at the trot but I made him do nothing but laterals... eventually he decided that was too hard and started behaving himself. It's funny how riding another horse lets you figure out how to ride your own horse that much better.

When not being ridden, he helps me eat weed the garden.

Taran continues to be a rockstar. Seriously, I don't know where this amazing little horse came from - he just keeps getting better and better, a little bit every day.

Let's ignore the fact that I'm being left behind and focus on the amazing trot, ok?

We went to our last show of the spring season this last weekend, a 2-day recognized show here in town where we did 1-2 and 1-3 both days. We spent all weekend getting 2nd place behind a lady on her very nice confirmed 3rd level horse. Interestingly, the judge on the first day didn't seem to like Taran much - we put in two solid tests and we got decent enough scores (64% and 62%) but it wasn't as good as I expected. The second day, we had a new judge at C, but the same judge at E. The judge at C scored us 2% ahead on 1-2, and only .2% behind on 1-3, but the judge at E scored us 5.5% and 3.5% lower. The judges scored within 1% of each other for all the rest of the folks in my class, so it really was just me. Her comments were perfectly reasonable and spot on, but it just seems like the scoring was harder for us. Oh well, I have that judge's name and we won't ride for her again if we can avoid it. We still managed to get a qualifying score on 1-3 for the SWDC and GAIC championship rides (65.5%), so we're now basically maxed out on everything we can do at first level (Taran needs 1 more score for a Performance Award, but we'll get that this fall). Time to think about moving up to Second!

All the ribbons.

Also, have some adorable pet pictures, because I have them:

What happens when you fall asleep mid-stretch.

TOES!

Not sure when I'll get back to regular blogging, but hopefully sometime soon. Hope y'all are well!

... if only I could remember my stupid dressage tests.

Some of you maaaay have noticed that our 1-3 test had a bit of red on the second canter serpentine, and our last halt was a 5.0 instead of the 7.0+ we'd gotten on all our other halts.

Naturally, those were my fault.

Despite being confident that I knew my tests COLD before I went in, I forgot about the second canter serpentine. I realized it halfway through a trot lengthening across the diagonal, before the judge rang the bell. Whoops. There goes my 100% remembering test average this year. Boo. And of course two points for the error. Double boo.

I am so tired of seeing red ink on my tests.

I *also* neglected to do the final halt at the correct letter. 1-3 is weird because you don't halt at X, you actually halt at G... and I halted somewhere that was not G, for a 5.0. Which sucks because that was a pretty decent halt.

Nice, just in the wrong county.

The upshot of all those lost points? If I'd remembered my test AND gotten an 8 on the final halt, I would have had a 69.6... and beat the pro for first level champion. Heck, even if I had JUST remembered the test, I would have had it, because it was only .2% points difference. 

I'm not even mad about it, just more of a *facepalm* kind of moment. Taran was a super star and I was proud of our rides overall. Still... you think I'd learn by now!

What are YOUR tricks for remembering your dressage tests? C'mon fellow bloggers, HELLLLP MEEEEE!

Things that Taran is awesome at

It's been almost exactly two months since I started riding Taran seriously, and boy has he ever made progress in that amount of time. So much progress that I'm kind of blown away by him - this guy has a serious work ethic and he tries so hard to please. Top that off with him being fun to ride and making huge leaps of progress forward (and also sideways, shadows are dangerous) every time I ride him, and I can't wait to get in the saddle each day.

He's got a great work ethic
Taran's a bit on the lazy side, but he tries so hard and if I ask for extra effort, he tries hard to give it. He lives for those "good boys" and pats. Having a horse that really *likes* to work is wonderful.

He learns quickly
Two months ago, I couldn't keep him straight to save my life. His idea of bending was to crane his neck at a 30 degree angle to his body. He would fling his front end up into the air for every transition, and sometimes just because he didn't think he could go forward. Now, he understands how to bend his body from nose to tail. He knows that he can use his hind end for transitions instead of his front end (ok, this is a work in progress, but he gets the concept). He knows that he can move forward and stretch out and use his shoulder. He understands how I'm asking him to change how he uses his body and he seems to remember those things from ride to ride - I can pick up right where I left off on my previous ride and add to it. Assuming there are no terrifying deer or anything, of course. In that case, all bets are off.

So much freer in his shoulder, and not a bad connection either!

He's got a natural tempo and he's balanced
These are the two things I struggle with most on Paddy, who requires micro-management to keep a steady tempo and not fall on his face. It's exhausting and you can't lose focus for a millisecond. Taran, on the other hand, is like a metronome. Even when I ask for baby lengthenings, he just stretches his frame out a little more instead of getting quicker. And despite being built pretty downhill, he sort of levels out under saddle and just carries himself right along. He still needs help and plenty of reminders to keep that hind end engaged and such, but he's not constantly running over his front end and going splat on his face. IT'S AMAZING I TELL YOU. I have no idea why Paddy can't do these things.

He looks a little downhill in this lengthening, but it's mostly the camera angle and the fact that I'm not helping him any. Look at how much he's stepping under! 

He's steady in the contact
Paddy's very challenging because he actually likes a very light contact, and if you start taking more he starts to lean. That of course snowballs into a pulling contest, which I lose every time (you'd think I'd learn not to do that, wouldn't you?) Taran prefers a fairly heavy (to me) contact - it's like he wants to know I'm there at all times. Loss of contact means instant giraffe, but if I add leg and take up the contact, he's right there. He doesn't lean on me or ask me to carry him around, but he's very clear on how he prefers me to hold things. It's so interesting - if I took up that much on Paddy, he's start to pull and hang. For Taran, it's just right.

Steady contact = better canter too.

He's uncomplicated
Taran isn't a tricky horse to ride. He doesn't have any big evasions up his sleeves. If he's not straight it's because I'm letting him be crooked. If he throws his front end up it's because he feels blocked. If he doesn't step through with his hind end it's because I screwed up and didn't ask. The spookiness isn't naughty or trying to get out of work - I genuinely think he's got a vision problem (although the vet cannot find anything wrong, but identifying equine vision problems is difficult if there's not something visibly wrong with the eye). He's not a super physical ride either - he doesn't take a lot of core strength to hold together (unlike some Haffies I know), although he does take a good bit of leg. But overall, he's just a solid guy, and that makes him such a pleasure to ride!

How much does a USDF rated show cost?

This year, I'm trying to be a responsible adult and pretend to budget for shows. Ok, just kidding, I don't really want to know how much money I spend on this sport, but I thought I'd do the math once just to point out to hubby that it's less expensive than driving halfway across the country for a jousting competition. Priorities.

I've signed up for a USDF rated show in March, with Taran. It's in Houston, about a 2.5 hour drive from me.

Per-day costs

• Classes: $40/each, I show 2 per day (USDF allows up to 3). Add $10 for GAIC qualifier and $8 for SWDC qualifier, so add an extra $18 per day (highest test at each level is the qualifier, and I always sign up because I WILL go to the championships if I qualify, dammit). So total of $98 for two tests for one day.
• Show office fee: $35/day (can be up to $50/day, depending on the show)
• USDF drug fee: $16/day
• Total for the weekend: $298, would be $36 less if I didn't do the qualifiers.

I do not pay any non-member fees, but those are $30/day for USEF and $25/day for USDF, for EACH rider/owner/trainer who is not a member. So while having those memberships isn't cheap, it's worth it because of the non-member fees.

Weekend costs

• Stall fee: $120/weekend, plus $12/bag for shavings (I get 4 extras because Paddy likes a fluffy stall for his beauty rest, so another $48, and no you cannot bring your own)
• RV hookups: $50/night (x2 nights). It's not as expensive as a hotel room, but it's also not cheap. However, I do love having the ability to get food and take a nap right at the show. 
• Total for the weekend: $268, would be less if I didn't get extra shavings or have RV hookups.

Others

• Hauling: I have my own rig but let's face it, owning a rig is not cheap. I calculate that it costs me a minimum $1.00 per loaded mile every time I haul with it. If you're thinking that's a lot, it costs about $75 to fill it (38 gallons of diesel, and diesel is a whopping $1.79 right now), $80 each for 2 oil changes per year, roughly $500 in trailer maintenance per year (bearings, lights, and new tires every 4 years or so), and I just paid $2000 in repairs on my truck. So $1.00/mile is pretty reasonable if you consider the real costs of owning a rig. The show is about 300 miles round trip. So that's $300 to haul. Obviously in-town shows are cheaper for hauling, but they're still a good 30 miles from home, so the cost isn't negligible. If you want to cheat on this cost and just figure out fuel costs, it's probably $75, since I can make it there and back on 1 tank. 
• Food: We usually bring most of our own food, but go out on Saturday night for dinner. So including groceries and one dinner out, about $100 for the weekend for 2 people. It seems expensive but do you know how much brie cheese and cider I can put away in a weekend???
• Total for the weekend: $400, would be MUCH less if I didn't do the $1/mile math or eat out. But I like food and I'm trying to be realistic about the costs of owning a rig.

Expenses you might have but I don't:

• Training: I've only had my trainer at one show this year, and our schedules didn't really work out for her to help me warm up. So no training fees, although they'd be $75/day if I did.
• Tack stalls: There are some shows where I would love to have one of these, but I'm cheap. They're about $110/weekend.

Bottom line:

USDF rated shows aren't cheap. Even if you JUST include classes and stall fees (like for an in-town show), it's $466 (tack on an extra $80 if you choose to do the 3 rides per day that USDF allows). Add in the RV hookups, hauling, and food, and you're up to... gulp...

$966

Dear hubby, I hope you're not reading this. :D

Knowing your dressage judges - dressagedetective.com

Until recently, I didn’t really care which judge I rode for at shows. Sure, some judges tend to be a little more lenient than others, but generally scores are pretty close. I just signed up for shows that were close/convenient to me and fit my schedule, and go. Checking out who I'd be riding for didn't really occur to me.

However, I'm trying to qualify for several USDF awards programs, including:

• Region 9 SWDC Championships
• GIAC Championships
• Rider Award (Training level)
• Horse Performance Award (Training level)
• USDF Bronze medal (someday)

Each one of these programs requires you to get a certain score for a certain number of different judges. The Rider Award was the hardest - we needed to have 10 scores from FOUR different judges. I was scrambling to figure out who the judges were for all the shows last year, and it turns out there's one particular judge who is at almost every show I rode at last year. Turns out, he's the 11th most popular judge in the U.S - you might have ridden for him too! 

Anyway, hunting down judges led me to discover dressagedetective.com, which is somewhere I can waste a lot of time. Basically, someone smart had fun scraping dressage data off of public sites (like centerlinescores.com)  and aggregating it. You can look up the judges you're riding for and get an idea of how hard they judge. So for example, you're looking to get that last qualifying score, you might not pick someone with a low generosity rating. Of course, that might come back to haunt you when you're at a championship show and get your ass handed to you by someone who scores harder!

Or if you're me, you don't care so much about the generosity rating, but just want to make sure you're riding for enough different judges so that all your scores count. I swear, picking shows for the calendar is harder than it looks!

Do you pick shows based on judges or other factor? Or is it really more about distance traveled?

A certain Haflinger might be getting a Training Level Performance Award, despite his best efforts otherwise.

Texas Rose Fall Classic I

For those of you not into detailed recaps of Training level dressage tests (which are almost as exciting to watch as paint drying or grass growing), here's the cliff notes version of what happened on Day 1:

• Training 2 - Paddy forgot he's no longer a green horse in warmup, so we had no bend and no brakes in the test, and I forgot to ride because I'm always super nervous for the first test of the weekend. I wore my new brown Pikeur coat and almost expired because while it looks amazing, it breathes about as well as a wetsuit and it was 94 degrees. I managed to forget my test AGAIN (well actually I did the walk MXH and not MEH), so we had to do that part over and took the -2 error. Final score was a 64.4 (2nd/5) despite the judge commenting that EVERY circle was off-center and/or not round. Fail.
• Training 3 - I ditched my coat (yay white everything! So easy to keep clean!). got my act together, and rode the warmup and the test. The test felt pretty solid and workmanlike, even though I rode with too much hand and he got curled after some movements. The canter wasn't as good as he's been at home, but he didn't get too quick or unbalanced so that was a big win. Oh, and I made my circles round, dammit. We scored a 65.0 for 6th/11.

The nitty-gritty details:

If I want to do well in my first test, I have simply GOT to get to the show the night before and get a ride in. That was the original plan, but because of the additional 2 hours it took to drive, we got in much later than expected and there are no lights in any of the outdoor arenas, so riding was out. Unfortunately, Paddy's not an experienced enough horse to be able to go out into a crazy warmup the morning of the show and focus. Plus, he's not fit enough (and the footing was deeper than he's used to, so he got tired more quickly) to put in a long warmup, especially when he's putting in two rides per day. As a result, we didn't have enough time in the first warmup, so I wasn't able to really get him off my seat and especially off my right leg. Because he was so forward and distracted, I was hesitant to put my leg on and really demand that he work, which is what I should have done. Our test lacked focus and bend, and his haunches kept escaping me to the right. At one point it was so bad I remember thinking that we would have gotten good scores for the 2nd level test, where haunches in was a required movement. Oops! Oh, and I forgot my test. Again. Dammit. 

Most of the judge's comments involved making better circles, him being a bit quick, and me needing to prepare him better. That's pretty obvious when you watch the ride:

Training 2

For Training 3, I was determined to make the most of the warmup, actually RIDE this time, and get my circles the right shape. Oh, and not forget my test.  I was really pretty pleased with this test. The canter could be better, and I could have asked for more throughness in the trot, but overall, it was very steady and workmanlike. The judge's comments were mostly about quick tempo, showing more reach from behind, and more bend in turns. Paddy did start to suck back BTV more in this test, which is super hard for me to counteract. I made a mental note to kick him more up into the bridle the next day, because it gets worse the more tired he gets.

Training 3

We stuck him on a hill for this picture so he'd look bigger. I'm not sure it worked. Also, WTF is up with my saddle pad?

Fuzzypony and I stuck around to watch the para riders (SUPER amazing, btw), and then we headed out for dinner. Would you believe we actually got decent sushi in Tyler, Texas? We called it an early night, since the unexpected heat had taken a lot out of both of us and the Haffie.

Top 10 takeaways from Texas Rose Fall Classic Dressage Show

1. Google maps LIES LIKE A RUG about how long it takes to get there. It said 4 hours one way... it took us 6 hours to get there and 5 hours to get home, including a 30-mile detour since the interstate was a parking lot for miles.

2. Always, ALWAYS pack a fan so your poor horse doesn't melt into a little puddle in the 97 degree heat. Especially when he decides to re-grow his winter coat (that you clipped a week and a half before the show) overnight.

3. If they waive coats, don't wear a coat. Because nobody will care how awesome your new brown Pikeur looks if you pass out and fall off your horse.

Looking fancy is not worth losing consciousness.

4.  It's OK that you're competing against a bunch of big fancy warmbloods. Everybody notices the cute Haffie; nobody notices yet another bay Dutch horse (sorry if you have a bay Dutch horse). 

5. I apparently cannot remember a dressage test to save my life. Seriously, off course AGAIN?

At least the judge was nice about it...

6. Angry Orchard hard cider now comes in a 12 pack of cans. Epic.

7. I can probably survive a show by myself, but having Fuzzypony there to make sure I had everything together was awesome. She also braids WAY better than I do. And drinking aforementioned ciders alone is probably bad form, so it was good to have someone to drink with. Also, thank you MC for stepping in at the last moment so Fuzzypony could keep me company! :)

8. Thank the volunteers. No seriously, get off your horse and go thank them. It only takes a minute and they really appreciate it! Almost as much as I appreciate them out there in the blazing sun herding cats dressage riders.  

9. I need a different white saddle pad. Mine is huge and looks stupid.

10. I will totally take that blue ribbon and run with it, even if there was only one other person in my class.

Also, I won a thing! Even if it's only a coffee chai mug.

Str, sl beh vert (aka how to decipher dressage test comments)

Dressage scribes - the people who takes notes that the judge dictates - have a tough time of it. They have to write down everything the judge says, verbatim, and they have to be very quick about it. Not only that, but they have to write legibly, often for hours on end. They're volunteers, and they do the best they can... which means they often use a lot of shorthand when writing. Deciphering scribe's handwriting can be challenging (sorry, every person who's ever had to read a test that I scribed for!), but sometimes figuring out the shorthand is the most fun.

As we were driving home from the show Sunday, hubby was reading the comments on my dressage tests. At one point he asked, "What the heck does s-t-r s-l b-e-h v-e-r-t mean?!?!" I laughed and responded "Straight, slightly behind vertical." He mentioned that you really need a secret decoder ring to read the judge's comments... and then Austen's comments on the "corn" abbreviation made me think - maybe we DO really need a secret dressage decoder ring? So here goes...

• act - action
• bal - balance
• beh – behind
• cl, clr - clear
• corn, crn – corner
• fwd – forward
• O – round, rounder
• ovrstp – overstep
• rhy - rhythm
• rndr - rounder
• sl - slightly
• st, str, str8 – straight
• sup – suppleness, supple
• temp - tempo
• trans, tx – transition
• vert – vertical
• 4hd - forehand

Comment for this post are only allowed in dressage test shorthand. For reference, the full set of abbreviations can be found here...  ;)

Dressage at the Palace - The Videos

I admit, watching Training Level tests is sort of like watching grass grow, but I have them so I'll share them.

Day 1, Training Level Test 2

This was our super tense but obedient ride. I'm OK with that for a start.

 

Day 1, Training Level Test 3

Note the error. Oops.

Day 2, Training Level Test 2 (cut short 'cause Hubby's phone died)

This was actually my favorite test, because the scores were consistently higher and nothing below a 6.0. Progress!

Day 2, Training Level Test 3

Not as many 7s, but the 8s make up for it.

I'm sure y'all will notice that he's behind the vertical. Trust me, the judges noticed too. :) He thinks this is a great evasion whenI hold him with my seat and don't let him charge around. We're really working on having him come up into my hand instead of falling behind, but it's going to take time and better timing on my part. It's always something!

You may also notice that I'm sitting the trot in all the tests - at this level, you're allowed to choose between sitting trot and rising trot. It would be better if I posted, because he's freer in his back. However, he's got a quick stride so posting makes him look even faster, and I can't regulate his tempo very well yet at a posting trot (rider failing), so sitting means a more consistent tempo. 

Overall, I feel like our tests look much more polished than they did just a month ago. We still have a LOT of work to do around balance at the canter, but it's starting to happen. I don't think I'm going to do any more shows until the fall (I could do one in June but it's hot and whyyyy?) so we have the whole summer to work on things. And maybe this fall... First Level?