I didn't do much showing in 2019, but I did manage to get both Leo and Griffy to a local schooling show mid-December.
Griffy is sort of a surprise on the dressage scene - I really hadn't ridden him for the last year, since hubby was busy jousting with him. Then Griffy decided he was done with jousting (he never really loved it, then decided he would just rather not) so after many discussions we decided to find him a nice dressage-only home. After all, Leo was my dressage pony and I really cannot campaign two horses (famous last words). We took Griffy to some lessons with the goal of making a sales video, and while riding for the video I did all of 1-3 and most of the second level movements... so I uh, now have two dressage Haffies?
For this show, I rode Griffy in 1-3 and 2-1. Griffy has an odd issue with drag stripes (it's almost like they make him dizzy?), so naturally we were slated to go first after the arena had been dragged. This made for some rather interesting movements, especially our drunk centerlines with our salsa halts. Otherwise the tests weren't too bad, considering I'd been riding him for less than 3 weeks, and he had not shown in 18 months. We certainly need a lot of refinement, and more of everything, but the bones are solid and he tried hard. We scored in the high 60s on both tests, which I felt was super generous, especially in light of quite a few mistakes.
Griffy 2-1
I rode Leo in Training 3 and 1-1, which was kind of a stretch for him as he's going through a growth spurt and his balance is kind of a hot mess. He was SUPER good in warmup - there was construction going on right outside the arena, which made Griffy really anxious, but Leo ignored it completely. The geometry in the tests was pretty questionable in places (losing the shoulders will do that), but overall they were much smoother than our previous attempt when we showed in September. Both tests also earned scores in the high 60s, which I again thought was overly generous.
Leo 1-1
All fancy 'flinger fotos courtesy of Wellman Photography, used with purchase.
So fancy! Much trot. WTF inside hand?
That hair tho...
I absolutely love pics taken after the final halt where riders are petting their ponies.
Speaking of hair... Leo is giving his big brother Griffy a run for his shampoo commercial.
That hind end almost compensates for the escaped shoulder
Almost square-ish!
Massive shout-out to MC for being the #1Haflinger Holder for the entire day - the boys are unfortunately herd-bound enough that she had to stand in the warmup arena holding one whilst I rode and showed the other.
I'm DEFINITELY getting #10 because HOLY CROSSOVER BATMAN. Taran looks like a legit dressage horse! I only wish I was wearing my coat, but that was the test I almost passed out in, so it's probably a good thing I wasn't.
I'd love to get a picture with my coat too... I think #67 is my fav (lookit that taillll). Are there others? I kiiiinda like #74 but I'm really more for action shots... there are almost too many to choose from!
What are your favorites?
This one is my fav but I took it so I can totally post it here.
Brego's death has cast a bit of a shadow on Wyvern Oaks. You never quite realize how much a presence affects everyone until it has gone. The whole place somehow feels a bit quieter, a bit emptier. Taran is despondent, and Paddy still occasionally calls for his big BFF.
And yet, life goes on without him.
This weekend, we had a schooling show where I did 2-1 and 2-2. Coming into it, I had high hopes that we were much more prepared than we were a few months ago. Taran is more through, better balanced, and has moments where he really shines in the movements. We'd had a lesson Thursday where his w/c/w transitions were really spot on. His counter-canter is stronger, and his transitions from medium to collected canter are actually starting to look like transitions instead of hopes and prayers. I'd even accidentally put on too much outside leg in the canter and he did a few strides of half pass (OMGOMGOMG). Plus, I'm trying out a new saddle that puts my leg in a MUCH better place, and really lets me sit around him.
Naturally, we nailed the warmup and then we both ran out of steam in the tests.
I find that it takes an incredible amount of core strength to ride a collected canter, and Taran doesn't yet the strength to do much collection, so I have to work really hard to help him. You simply cannot hold collection together with your hands, you HAVE to ride it forward and up from your seat and leg, and I just couldn't do it for very long in either test. The sloppier I got, the sloppier and less balanced he got. We had a lot of breaks, and a lot of very poor w/c/w transitions, despite the fact I know we can do those well. I also let him get very quick in the trot for 2-1, in part because I was soooo tense and that caused him to shorten up.
Like this was supposed to be a medium trot. Whoops.
If that canter were any less collected it would be a medium.
One of our more... expressive... walk/canter transitions. At least I know he can rock back on his haunches?
For 2-2, I realized that I didn't have the stamina to ride a tense test, so I made a conscious effort to relax and sit and slow down, and I think it helped. It was still a messy test, but it felt slightly less hurried and rushed.
A better centerline.
It's a shoulder in, can't you tell?
He can really step under himself if I ride him right and let him use his back.
When we were crossing centerline to do our two walk pirouettes, Taran took a HARD look at the shadow made by the covered arena. There's not much you can do when your horse has a moment except smile and kick on. Rather funny but we scored a 6.5 on both pirouettes.
OMG WHO PUT THAT THERE!!!
The judge's comments on both tests can be summed up to "Needs balance and collection and SLOW DOWN." Totally, 100% accurate. Sure, we can do certain things really well at home some of the time, but this is a whole new thing for us both and it's upping the game significantly. I feel like the tests were overall better than the one we did in June (really? June? Damn, that was AGES ago) but we scored about the same (57.7 on 2-1 and 58.4 on 2-2). So while certain aspects of our rides are better, we have a long way to go before we can really put in a solid test. Fortunately we have all winter for me to get into shape so I can ride better!
I've been super nervous about the show all week, because we've had nothing but rain since sometime last weekend. Trainer's arena is flooded, so I was stuck doing walk work on the road. Then Wednesday I got a bit desperate and called over to a place I know that has a covered and begged to be allowed to haul in. The owner agreed, so I got two "real" rides in on Wednesday and Thursday. They were kind of awful though - Wednesday Taran was sassy after doing nothing but walk work for a week, and Thursday he was clearly tired and sore from being sassy on Wednesday.
This is how he felt about having to work after a week of walking.
I gave him a gram of bute on Thursday night after our ride, and then took him to the showgrounds Friday after work for a short (but nice) ride. I double-checked the rules and then gave him another gram of bute Friday night, just in case he was still sore.
And then Saturday he was a damn superstar.
This horse, you guys. He gets in the arena and he's all business. Sure, I have to ride, and I get the test I ride, but he's so workmanlike and he just gets the job done. I'm SO lucky to be on a horse with that kind of work ethic.
He'd probably have an even better work ethic if I let go of my left rein sometimes and didn't bury him in the corners.
For whatever reason, he thought the sand footing, which tends to be deep when dry, was just THE BEST THING EVER after almost 20 inches of rain. He was so light and fluffy and through (and I was trying to ride him lightly off my hands), it was kind of amazing.
Look at me not getting left behind and keeping my hands down and letting him carry himself. For one stride at least.
Also at the last minute I asked my dear darling husband to call my tests because I was super nervous. I luff him.
We did 1-3 and Tr-3, which will be the tests we ride at championships. While they weren't stellar, they were steady, relaxed, and consistent. We scored a 67.7 on Tr-3 and a 66.7 on 1-3. I left points on the table with a lack of square halts, trot lengthenings that weren't, iffy canter transitions, and some figures that weren't quiiiiite the right shape (stupid shallow serpentines). But considering what our rides were like earlier in the week, his performance was stellar, and all the faults were 100% mine.
Tr-3. Sorry, did not upload in HD and it's super blurry.
1-3
There were only 2 riders in the AA division for both tests, so we managed first place in both. We also ended up reserve in both the First and Training level divisions, behind two pros. And I'm not going to lie, I LOVE the giant ribbons at this show!!!
OH MY GOD HIS EARS ARE UP IN A PICTURE. Next time I need to put on a damn hat because hair nets are just not that attractive. It's always something.
FuzzyPony's shirt + my cover-up pants are basically the best combo ever.
Many thanks to FuzzyPony for letting me ride her hoss (oh and also bathing and braiding him), MC for all the pictures, and Hubby for the moral support and test reading. Y'all are the best!
1-3: 67.353 (1st) (qualifying scores for freestyle, SWDC regional championships, and GAIC championships)
1st level reserve champion (.2% behind a pro)
Seriously, this show had the best ribbons.
We missed out of any media for 1-2, but Taran was super and I rode reasonably well. I did get vid for 1-3, where Taran was even better and I rode even better, so here you go:
Look, a 10 meter trot circle with bend. 7.5.
Lengthen stride keeps getting better and better. 6.5.
I wish our leg yields were always this good. 7.0 right, 7.5 left.
Look at my horse, my horse can do a stretchy trot circle. 7.0.
My horse can also do a badass square halt on a dime and trot off like a MF pro. 7.5, coefficient of 2.
He can even sort of fake a decent free walk. 6.0, which is a gift from the judge.
He can lengthen canter too... he just can't come back from it without going splat. 7.0.
We uh, can't do a canter/trot transition very well though. Nice pogo-sticking behind. More leg needed. 6.5, but only because it wasn't scored individually.
Did I mention he can halt square? 7.5
And the video, which doesn't make us look quiiiite as good as the stills (because let's be honest, I can cherry-pick the good moments with stills):
Last night, as I was doing my usual oh-crap-show-and-nothings-ready panic, I started texting with Jan about my woes. This led to me sending her several quiz questions about prepping for shows, and it got funny (the cider might have helped) so I had to share.
Lists for your show stuff
I sort of have a list of what I need... in my head.
I have a packing list I use every time.
Sometimes I get fancy and put it on my phone.
Cleaning tack for the show
It's a good thing I show because otherwise my tack would never get cleaned.
I clean my tack sometimes so getting it show-ready is NBD.
I wipe my tack after every ride so it just needs a touch-up for shows.
My tack is always ready to go to an A show.
At least it's not *dirty*
Packing your trailer for the show
I have to clean out my trailer to pack for a show (also known as, "Honey, here's the jousting shield you've been looking for!")
My tackroom might need a little sweeping, but it's usually pretty quick to get it ready.
My trailer is always tidy, so I just toss in my show stuff.
Everything is in it's place, neatly labeled and stacked, so I'm always ready to go.
Getting your show clothes together
I have everything I need... somewhere (except my $@%^(@#$ stock pin, which has gone MIA again). Stuff may or may not be clean.
I have everything I need, I know where it is, and it's all clean.
I have everything I need cleaned and packed together in a bag that has its own place in my closet, so I just toss that in my car.
Getting your horse show-ready
I think there's a horse-like object under the hair and mud. Can someone pass me a gallon of shampoo?
I need at least 3 hours to tidy, clip, trim, and bathe.
A quick bath and maybe a little tidying is all I need to do.
My horse is ready to go to an A show at any time.
He's half Fells pony, so I'm sure feathers are OK.
Drinking cider while packing for a show
Why didn't I think of that?
Best idea ever
You might forget something!
Crazy.
If you got more than a 14, can I hire you as a groom? Pleeeeeze?
Have you ever been to a show where you feel really sick at your stomach because you're not 100% sure you can rock your classes? Or, have you been to a show where you felt really prepared, and totally ready to strut your stuff? That was me Sunday. I knew there were going to be sticky spots (free walk and stretchy trot, which are OF COURSE the coefficients), and I knew I'd really have to ride, but I felt like we were ready and we could really DO this.
Taran felt a little stiff and tired, but I'd planned for lots of walk warmup and that seemed to help. Despite this being his first rated show, he once again handled the traffic in the warmup arena like a pro. Looking at our warmup video for the second day, he wasn't as through his back and he was a bit heavier in my hand, but we had great canter transitions and felt like we were ready to rock T3.
T3, 65.000%
It was an accurate test, but he wasn't as through or as focused, and we were too quick in the trot. The trot and canter transitions that had been so good in warmup fell apart in the sandbox. There was something fascinating outside the arena over by H, and every time we were anywhere near there, he wanted to check it out. And, you may not be able to tell from the videos, but I was really having to kick him to keep him going. The free walk and stretchy trot weren't horrible (by Taran standards), but this judge was also a bit less generous than the one on Saturday, so we got (rightfully) dinged harder. We finished with a score of 65.000% for 3rd place -which was still good enough to qualify us for the championships. Goal #1 completed!
Those dang coefficients will kill you every time. Also those stupid transitions. YU so hard?
After that, it was a four hour wait until 1-1. I got a second breakfast (I looove having our camper on site, it's just so convenient!), studied my test, watched the videos from the morning, and planned my ride. I got on right on schedule and started my warmup.
The problem with the last ride of the weekend is that everyone's tired. You're tired, your horse is tired, the judge is tired, and people scratch. Taran was heavy and suddenly, he forgot how to canter on the left lead. We blew 2 left lead canter departs in warmup, something we haven't done in about two months. I made sure to set him up for a good one, and then we spent most of the rest of the warmup doing free walk/medium walk transitions. He felt tired but obedient and supple, and I ran through the test in my head one last time.
1-1. My first time at First Level at a rated show. One for the books!
Things started out well enough. Our stretchy trot circle sucked, but that wasn't a surprise. I thought our first trot lengthening, (S-F, San Francisco, thanks Jen!) was pretty good, and he came back well. The free walk was as meh as usual. And then things fell apart with the free/medium walk transition - what was so great in warmup didn't go very well in the sandbox. But, I kept my hand forward and rode him forward instead of pulling back, and the trot transition - while not great - wasn't horrible either. Unfortunately, our prompt and accurate canter transition was on the wrong damn lead. I fixed it as quickly as I could, but we immediately had a lengthen canter down the long side, and got dinged hard for being up-and-down instead of ground covering. Then we had a slight discussion about how big the circle at V was supposed to be, and THEN he wanted to quit on me somewhere around C, so we careened around the corner and a rather unbalanced heap. However, we made it to our transition at X in one piece, and the right lead canter work wasn't too terrible - if you can forgive the levade-and-tail-flip-into-canter transition right in front of the judge. I'm fairly sure you can see the horrified look on her face in the video, if you squint. We did actually get a few strides of lengthen canter, and he came back to me pretty well on the 15 meter circle. Our last trot lengthening started out with nothing, but I kept my hand up and kept asking, and I think the second half of it was pretty good (for him).
Woohoo, a 4.5 on the canter transition, which OF COURSE was a coefficient of 2. Not the movement you want to suck at. Also, apparently I didn't do the first trot lengthening? Although on video, it happened.
That is as lengthened as we get.
... and the rest of it.
Final comments involved needing more freedom and suppleness in his back. Yup and yup. It's what my trainer said to me - "get his back". Obviously I need more of that.
Our score was a 61.296 (for 2nd of 2, lol) - definitely not as high as I wanted, but then, it wasn't the test that I wanted either. Considering how many big mistakes we made, it's more than fair. But the best part is, IT'S OUR FIRST SCORE TOWARD A BRONZE MEDAL. Centerline scores doesn't have this weekend's results up yet, but I'm excited that soon I'll see part of that little medal filled in!
Yes, I realize it's a low score on the easiest test possible that actually counts toward a medal. But it's something I've dreamed about doing since I first heard about the medal program over 15 years ago... and now I've taken the first real step down that path. So while it is a small accomplishment in the grand scheme of things, for me personally it's really very big - and something I'm thrilled to have finally made happen.
