The grand finale!

   Show jumping day is always a nail-biter, and this year was no exception. The drama started at the trot up, where James Alliston's lovely horse, Tivoli, was sent toths hold and then spun on reinspection. The ground jury made some interesting calls, holding Megan O'Donohuge's Pirate, who really seemed mostly just awed by the crowd, lifting his head and wiggling his way up the jog lane. Thankfully, he was accepted on reinspection. Kendal Lehari's Daily Edition was also held, and although he did look a tiny bit ouchy, he was ultimately accepted.
   After watching the trot-up, we went off for a walk around the course. It was BIG, with some interesting distances (which ultimately rode great), lots of corners and skinnies on strides that forced a rider to make a decision or risk a drive-by. It's a real testament to how good the riders have gotten at schooling these accuracy questions- there were really not too many run-outs on cross country.  The course flowed nicely, with the really hard questions often having a slightly simpler intro earlier in the course. My overall impression was that the course was horse friendly but left riders no room for a lapse in concentration, which is a huge upgrade from the tricky, trappy courses that seemed to be where course design was headed a couple of years ago.
   Show jumping started at 1:00 pm due to the NBC broadcast. It's a drag that it starts so late, as it makes it very difficult to fly out on Sunday evening, but we can't complain too much when our sport is being broadcast nationwide. The course looked very nice, although rails fell like mad all afternoon. There were some really nice rides, most notably Hawley Bennett, and Gin and Juice, who looked like she had done nothing at all the day before, she was so fresh! A number of the horses looked a bit tired, and several riders did, as well. William Fox-Pitt and Andrew Nicolson produced lovely clear rounds, and Lynn Symansky did as well, ultimately being one of only two riders to finish on their dressage scores. There are some really great younger riders beating down the door, hungry to prove their worth on a US team, so hopefully we start seeing some new blood infused in the American program in the very near future.
   The horse of the weekend, really, was Quimbo.  He's beautiful in the dressage, great on the cross country (although having Andrew Nicholson as a pilot surely helps) and he's an amazing show jumper. Really an amazing show jumper. He jumped up around the fences, never changing his rhythm, never getting close to a rail- it was lovely, and gave everyone a whole new standard for show jumping.
   So, here we are at the end of our trip to Kentucky. We've hoofed it around the horse park for four days, gotten sunburnt, soaked by rain, done a ton of shopping, seen some amazing horses, seen some legendary riders, and had a fantastic time. I've played Tetris with my duffle bag, managing to cram both Summer's and my new vests in, along with hiking boots, laundry, and enough outerwear to clothe an army. Everything's finally packed, and as long as TSA doesn't open up the bag and muck about with my packing genius, we should all arrive back home this afternoon. Then, it's on to the barn- Luke has to get going, I've got big plans for him!

Cross country day

  The weather cooperated, and we were lucky to have overcast skies and cool temperatures all day here at the horse park. Although rain was forecast, it only ever sprinkled, which was not only great for the horses, it was wonderful for the spectators. There were 27,000 spectators in attendance today, which lead to huge lines at the food stands, and even huger lines at the bars and bathrooms.
   William Fox-Pitt lead off the morning, coming home clean and inside the time, which I'm sure was very welcomed back in the barns. All three of James Alliston's rides looked great (and much better than Galway just a few short weeks ago.) Buck Davidson also rode three around, finishing two clear and inside the time. That means between those two guys, we saw over an hour of cross country riding! They should sleep well tonight!
   There were some great goes from Rolex rookies, also.  I was particularly impressed by Caitlin Sillman, who is as good cross country as she is in the dressage. Daniel Classing also had a great go, finishing double clear. The course rode a lot harder in the afternoon, perhaps because everyone was so unsure of how it would ride in the morning, and they got a bit too secure before the afternoon session. There were a couple of falls, a few run-outs, several eliminations for stops, and a couple of horses who simply ran out of gas and were pulled up by their riders. We're walking the course in the morning, and it will be interesting to walk the distances that had the riders so worried (especially now that I know how the fences jump!)
   The real rides of the day both belong to Andrew Nicholson.  His first ride of the day, Calico Joe, was clear and fast, with some real attacking riding. His second ride, Quimbo, cantered around like it was a Pony Club track. The horse is a beautiful jumper, and has a great gallop, to boot. He looked like he was barely breathing by the end, so unless something happens tonight or during tomorrow's jog, Andrew Nicholson will be jumping to keep his first and second place standings. If he wins, he'll be setting the stage for an epic showdown for the Rolex Grand Slam at Badmiton next weekend.
   We spent the day hoofing it around the course and have plans for a full course walk tomorrow morning. We are also going to the ever interesting Sunday morning jog, which starts at 8:30, so I'm off to bed.

Dressage- day 2

    Today's dressage was packed full of stars for our viewing pleasure. Once again, the Americans were out ridden by the British-based riders, who seem to consistently produce more correct, connected, balanced, and accurate rides. The real bright star for the US was Allie Knowles, who rode a beautiful test. She prepared better, rode smarter, and and even with a mistake, she sits as the best of the American riders. We were treated by William Fox-Pitts second ride on Chilly Morning. The horse was fantastic, and his score of 33.3 was well deserved. You have to wonder if Michael Jung is getting just a bit nervous, knowing that William left two great horses in the UK, to contest Badmiton next weekend. There were some outstanding rides that didn't score well, most notably Heather Gillette, whose horse really has no medium or extended trot, but she squeezed out every single point from her ride.
   We also had the chance to walk around the cross country course today. It looks pretty good, although very big, and with lots of opportunities for run-outs. We are off to the horse park early tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to a day of safe, exciting cross country action. The leader board has lots of potential for change, and with afternoon rain in the forecast, it should be an interesting and exciting day.

Dressage, day 1

   Yesterday kicked off our Rolex 2013 experience. Dressage started at the very civilized hour of10 am, so we had a leisurely breakfast at the motel and made our way over to the horse park.  Crisis #1- Suzi's ticket was at the Pony Club office... There was no way to talk her in- security was there checking bags, so I took Mom, and we hiked over to the USPC offices.  This required going out thru the in gate and then back in, which meant another security check... Luckily, no one seemed to care about all the food I'd packed in (unlike the WEG) so we happily had a healthy and cheap lunch!
    We watched most of the rides yesterday, and I don't think I annoyed too many of the people around me by clucking. No one got up and left, at any rate, so I'm calling it good.  Both William Fox-Pitt and Andrew Nicholson simply outriders the rest of the field.  Their horses were much more connected and through, and it was reflected in the scores. Of the Americans, Caitlin Sillman gets my vote as "most proficient American rider." If I were a senior team rider and I saw a rider of that caliber chasing me down, I'd be spending some SERIOUS time with a real dressage coach, and making damn sure my horse doesn't look for all the world like its always schooled in draw reins!
   The judges seemed to be looking for (surprise,) good uphill balance, consistent connection, and accurate movements.  It appeared that they were penalizing wobbly shoulder-in's, haunches leading in the half-pass, and crooked or swinging flying changes. Of course the few really good movers scored relatively well, but the top of the leader board was full of more average horses who were really well ridden.
    We also saw some really great rides that didn't score particularly well. Beth Perkins did a masterful job containing Sal Dali, and gave a real lesson in how to ride a tense, hot horse in the dressage ring. Sally Cousins mare, Tsunami, is a far from spectacular mover, but she eked out every point- the test was so accurate and while some of the more gifted horses scored better, she managed to keep herself snugged right up to the pack with some very smart riding.
   Post dressage fun, we went shopping! I found some new breeches on super sale, a biking soft shell (Rolex is always my go-to place for clothing for my other sports...) and Summer and I both bought new crash vests. The vests are Kanteq, and they are the most comfortable things EVER! I'm excited to give mine a try (and excited to hang up my old Tipperary!) We're getting ready to head the the horse park for more dressage fun today, and we are going to walk the course. I'll update again tonight!

Leaving on a jet plane...

   I'm excited to announce that as of this morning, I'm officially on vacation!  After a crazy couple of days trying to cram a weeks worth of work into two days, including 8 lessons on monday, and 5 on Tuesday (3 of which were in another county) as well as the normal riding, etc, etc, I'm now happily sitting in a motel in Lexington, Kentucky. The occasion is the Rolex three-day event, and I'm here with my mom, Summer Peterson, and my life-saver of a working student, Suzi Curtis, who is part of the Pony Club's National Youth Board, manning the Pony Club booth this weekend.
   We flew in this morning (on a horribly turbulent flight, complete with the requisite snoring passengers, and noisy eaters, although no screaming babies, which was nice for a change). Mom was out here for the Equine Land Conservation Resource board meeting, so she picked us up in Cincinatti for the short drive to lexington.  So far, we've gone to the grocery store, and Suzi and I have gone for a run.  Tomorrow morning, it's off to the horse park for dressage and shopping. I've got a list of things I need, like stirrup irons and gloves, but I'm sure I'll find lots of things I don't need as well, like a new halter for Luke, or some new breeches.  I'm hoping to see some great rides, so keep checking in, and I'll keep you updated!

The importance of dressage

   I do A LOT of dressage. I started out not liking it (which is why I went into eventing, well, that, and the fact that my mother insisted I learn to ride outside the arena). I was that kid who couldn't sit the trot, couldn't get a horse on the bit, and got frustrated because I couldn't figure it out. Luckily, I had some good jumping horses and plenty of guts so I survived my formative years as an event rider. Now, though, I really enjoy dressage- not only the actual riding in the dressage ring part, but also how much more influence I have to do things like create a good canter, ride a balanced turn, or have my horse truly on the aids enough to ride up to or past some spooky thing, whether its a huge ditch wall on cross country, or a boulder on a trail ride.
   Which brings me to the point of this post... We have all heard how important dressage is to jumping, but dressage itself is so much more than keeping the horse in a frame and hoping nothing bad happens that will bring your score down. Dressage for the event horse, or the trail horse, or the jumper, or the dressage horse should make the horse much more responsive and therefor, much more pleasurable to ride. For many years, I fully subscribed to the idea that upper level dressage makes the horse dependent on the rider for everything, that the increased difficulty in the advanced eventing tests would lead to more cross-country falls, and that too much dressage created a dangerously submissive horse. All of which, I have now decided, are a cop-out, used, taught, and carried on some pedestal, by legions of event riders like myself who struggled with dressage.
   Now, to be clear, I'm not advocating pulling Totilas out of his stall and going out for a spin around Rolex. Physiologically, upper level dressage horses and upper level event horses are two very different critters. Just as you wouldn't expect a fully muscled grand prix horse to gallop easily or efficiently, you can't expect your event horse to have the strength to sustain the collection and self-carriage needed for upper level dressage (I think PSG and up, although conformationally, some horses who are great gallopers and jumpers would struggle even with 3rd level). But, just because you wouldn't do a full test, doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to perform at least some of the movements. So, maybe your event horse will never do one-tempis, but having good, clean, changes isn't that hard, and it sure is nice to be able to ask for a change in the show-jumping! What about doing a roll-back to save some time on course? You don't have to have a canter pirouette, but knowing how to keep a horse balanced and engaged on a ten meter circle would sure be helpful!
    All this brings me to my next point... Preparation instead of reaction. As event riders, we value our reactions above pretty much all else. Reactions keep you safe, they keep you in the saddle, they allow you to roll out of the way when you fall, they allow you to instantly change your mind when your horse jumps into the coffin and wavers, making what was a tight two stride suddenly a long two, or a super scary three. But, preparation is still necessary. We talk a lot about getting the right canter to jump from, but getting the right canter is about much more than just pulling on the reins. The horse must be schooled in such a way that he both understands the request, and performs it willingly and promptly. In short, the horse must be on the aids. Always. Its not physically hard, but it does require the rider actually train the horse, not just expose it to all manner of possible jumps and questions. This is where dressage comes in. It takes long hours spent establishing an aid system, so that the horse reacts in a predictable manner, whether its rebalancing from a half-halt or moving forward off the leg up the the hand to ride up to the base of big fence. The horses you see charging down to things with little regard for the rider are simply not on the aids. They may be good in the dressage phase, but all of those principles cross over into jumping. Just the act of doing dressage, as in practicing tests, schooling movements, or riding in the little white sand-box, mean very little unless the rider schools the horse with an eye towards the same degree of submission while on course, on hacks, and while doing gallops.

  Our responsibility as riders, trainers, and students, is to prepare our horses to the best of our ability, and when we reach the edge of our ability, to enlist the help of someone with more knowledge than ourselves to help further our education. We owe at least that to our horses. Just as in all disciplines, there are good and bad dressage trainers. The good ones have happy, willing horses, and students who progress. I've truly not encountered nearly as much ram and jam schooling in the dressage world as I have in the event world, although my experience is admittedly more limited in dressage-ville. Which brings up an interesting question- why, if event riders are so concerned about making their horses too submissive, do they resort to gadgets, instead of learning how to progress a horse up the levels? Now, not all event riders do this, obviously, but I do have to wonder when I see half the horses schooling in draw-reins the thursday before an event. 

    Event horses love their jobs (or, the ones that keep going love it, at least). They are likely to get high on cross country. This is normal, especially for an upper level horse. Here's a secret... Upper level dressage horses do this, too. Seriously. They aren't robots who just plod around doing zig-zags and canter pirouettes. Those horses are physically strong, and very often, pretty darn hot. Submission is what keeps the horse in the ring, and listening to the rider. Wouldn't you want your event horse to listen and accept your half-halts out on cross country? I would! Those horse and rider combos you watch cruising around, effortlessly rebalancing, accelerating, and who seem to meet the fences correctly time and again? That's a submissive horse. In eventing, I hear it referred to often as "partnership," which is true, if not a bit misleading. The rider may have to use a bigger bit, or a martingale, or go to the whip occasionally, but the overall impression is one of a happy, willing, rideable horse. That's the kind of submission we should all strive for. The sooner the event world starts talking about it, instead of perpetuating the myth of "dressage ruins event horses," the sooner we will consistently start producing truly world class horses and riders in this country, as well as seeing safer rides at the lower levels. 

Galway Downs report

   Summer and I just got back from a couple of beautiful days in sunny Temecula, California. Seriously, it was gorgeous- warm, dry, and I've got a wicked sunburn!  Summer took both of her horses down, and ran the prelim on Tim and the training on Jake. I took the dog, my running shoes, some shorts, and not much else! This is the first show I've not ridden at in quite a long time, and I have to admit, I really missed having horses competing. It was great, however, to be able to focus so exclusively on my student- we walked several of the upper level XC courses, we spent quite a while watching the CIC 3-star and advanced dressage, and discussing the rides, and watched a ton of cross country riding (some of it very good) on Saturday afternoon.
    Both of Summers horses went really well. The theme of the weekend was "preparation not reaction," something that I think event riders in particular struggle with. Both of Summers dressage tests were good, with Tim showing huge upgrades in his work over the winter. She was double clear with both on XC, and really got both horses into a good rhythm and jumping well. Tim was one of only a handful of horses inside the time in his division, so that was the icing on the cake! Both show jumped well, although Jake showed how green and spooky he still is when he nearly wouldn't go through the start flags because he was to busy spooking at the ring decorations! He doesn't know it yet, but the will be spending some quality time at jumper shows this summer... Ultimately, Tim finished in 5th, and although Jake finished well out of the ribbons, she was thrilled with his performance.
    Back at home, Cha Cha is going well and getting ready for his first dressage show of the year in May, and Luke is back on track again after some saddle fit issues. I'm pretty excited about him, and look forward to eventing him this summer. We have some great clinics coming up, including Mary Wanless in May, which is really great for auditors. I look forward to seeing everyone as the season gets started!

And then there was one...

   Bad news today- Coco, my little grulla pony mare, is out for a couple of months with a suspensory injury. She hadn't been feeling great lately, and was noticeably funky behind, so she got a date with the vet on Monday. It doesn't seem to bad, and hopefully she'll be back up and running by Coconio in July, but until then, I'm down to one horse, Luke, to event this year. Granted, I haven't been on Luke for two weeks since I've been battling some serious back soreness due to trying to ride a 5 yr old thoroughbred in the saddle that is fit to the 12 yr old Irish Draught cross...
    The good news is, Kristen, saddle fitter extraordinaire from Schleese, comes on Saturday. The more horses I ride, and the more I learn, the more I realize the utter importance of saddle fit. We ask our horses to do so much for us, and we spend so much time trying to get them going correctly, that its silly to expect them to perform their best in ill-fitting tack. I'm hoping I can find a new (used) saddle to fit Luke, and also re-fit Cha Cha's jumping saddle to him, and we can be on our merry way.
    In the mean time, I've got a handful of nice horses in for training- a young Hannoverian cross who is one of the easiest young horses I've worked with in a long time, even if he's a bit green about things, Bob, the world's most wonderful Appy is back for a few months, and is as enjoyable as ever, and I've got a few more expected in within the next couple of weeks. Cha Cha is progressing very well (and throwing in flying changes at random times, just because he can)- he's gearing up for his first show in May, and Delilah has found a new jockey for the season- Katie rides her well, is gutsy, and is small enough to not lose her balance when Delilah unexpectedly leaps sideways... I'm heading off to California at the end of the month to coach at Galway, and I fully intend to wear shorts all weekend and come home with a tan! From then, its on to Rolex with my mom and Summer, which should be a blast and a nice little vacation. Then, its back home, and back to work- clinics, dressage shows, and events, right up until November!

Struggle and Frustration

   Like all things in life, horses can be hugely disappointing. They go lame, they get sick, they don't behave the way we want them to. Sometimes, we fall off, or loose our tempers, or leave the arena in a huff. I've been struggling a lot lately with taking the next step with all my horses- getting them more supple, more reliably on the bit, and more balanced. I know theoretically how to do it, but I just can't seem to get all the parts to line up in that magical way all riders aspire too. My body doesn't cooperate, or I can't get the timing right, or I release too late, or, or, or... I know that I'm on the edge of a breakthrough, but that is little comfort when I can't seem to put all the pieces together and I'm frustrated and struggling.
   When things are going well, all rides are successful and fun- I'd love them to last forever, but I also know that unless I miraculously learn EVERYTHING there is to know about riding and horses, that won't ever work. Usually it takes a couple of weeks for things to start to feel like they're going downhill. For example, last week, I ended up spending 2 days working on my posting trot. On every horse I rode. Not lateral work, not changes, just posting trot. I just couldn't get it right enough! I know I'm on the right track when I start to recognize what I'm struggling with in my students (sorry, guys!). I know I'm getting closer when I have little glimmers of "GOT IT" in my daily rides. I know I'm really close when I can tell when I'm doing it wrong. I once heard training and learning described as an "inconsistent upward trend," which is perfect.
   Once I figure this next piece of the puzzle out, I'll head merrily along my way until I come up against the next big struggle. Then, I'll try and try, and get frustrated and try some more, because, at Rebecca West said,
  "Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul."
  

The Post Holiday Rush

    Most people talk about the post holiday crash. I prefer the post holiday rush. For me, the holiday season is a time to reflect and recharge, to see friends and family I spend far to little time with during the competition season, to participate in sports that DON"T require a horse, and to eat far to much. My horses don't get a whole lot of down time (maybe two weeks if they've had a long, hard season), but I do decrease the time and intensity of my rides in the dead of winter. Lessons tend to drop off a bit right around the holidays, too, as people attend endless parties, Santa visits, entertain relatives, and catch up on last minute Christmas shopping. The end result of taking it easy for a while is that by the time the holidays are over, everyone, horse and human, are ready to get back down to business!
   For a year that started off with so much promise, I do have to admit, I was a bit disappointed at the end! I really thought Cha Cha would move up to intermediate after the CCI* at Colorado, but sadly, that was not to be. We finally discovered some changes in his pastern joint after a disastrous showing at Rebecca Farms, where he drug me around as the world's slowest runaway. I decided to finish out the season on him after injecting the joint- I was hoping to get a qualifying score at the CCI* at Galway in November. I ended up pulling him from the three-day anyway, and then pulling him up on course in the prelim at Galway. It was his last event, and next year, he moves into dressage land. He'll still get to jump for fun, and I may even let him cruise around a training level here and there, but I'm back to just babies for now. Luckily, I found a great young thoroughbred while I was at Galway (because what else do you do when you are stranded in Southern California for an extra day with no trailer brakes- you go horse shopping!), and mom lent me the money to buy him, so watch out for Luke next season!
   Delilah did a few training levels, and was pretty good. She was a bit of a pill at Rebecca Farms, but thoroughly redeemed herself with a LOVELY double clear show jump round. She had a silly stop at area championships at a very spooky graffiti covered bank, but still finished 5th. Colorado Horse Park was where her season ended, however. She misjudged a fence out of the water and left legs all over it and down we went. It hurt. And it destroyed my second helmet in 2 years (there are hoof marks on the thing). It was so unlike her- she's such a careful mare and a good jumper to boot, and when we got home she still wasn't quite right so she sat the rest of the season out.
   Coco, at least, ended up the season on a high note. She went to a couple of schooling shows and discovered she could do all sorts of things, like get peppermints from very obliging dressage judges, and go away from her friends and I would hold her hand. She finished 2nd in her very first beginner novice (and would have won if she'd had a more competent pilot), and ended the season with an 8th place at Colorado. She is going to be really fun, and I'm looking forward to competing her next year!
   Things went for the most part, better for my students than they did for me. There were a few pop offs, Suzi having the most memorable one, because she has the whole thing on helmet cam! There were also lots of good placings- Summer has a solid prelim horse now, Marley more than just got her feet wet at training, Grace and Luke had a super year, Lani has a nice young horse who is fun and willing, and Suzi had some good showings, but more importantly, maintained her positive outlook even when things weren't going well at all.
    The training horses went home in November, and I got to have knee surgery. This is a very good thing, and was long overdue. I'd managed to schedule an appointment with the doctor for the Monday after Colorado Horse Park, and I'm pretty sure I horrified him. How do you explain to someone that you've just been fallen on for the second time in just over a year, and its your job? I could just see the wheels turning- his kids will never get to have pony rides at the fair ever again... While I recovered, Steph kindly kept Cha Cha and my new thoroughbred Luke going for me, and Suzi took care of all the day to day things like grain, as well as working a couple of the horses. During December, I also lost both of my old advanced horses. Moon was 26 and Celebrity was 30, so they weren't exactly spring chickens, but I still miss them. I'm also secretly hoping that Moon's dressage prowess and Celebrity's cross county skill will magic their way into Luke. Every thing else about that horse has seemed as if it were meant to be, so I'm crossing my fingers!
    So, now that I've compressed eight months down into a couple of paragraphs, I'm going to go. I've got horses to ride, and its supposed to be warm enough in Salt Lake for the footing to thaw, so I'm headed down to teach this afternoon. I haven't seen the kids since before Christmas, and I'm excited to get everyone going again. I head to sunny California in a couple of weeks for teacher training, and then its not long until we'll all be on the road for the first event of the year. Oh, and my New Years resolution is to keep this blog updated! What are you sitting around reading for? Go out and ride your horses!