A good time was had by all...

I feel it's only fair that I update you on how the schooling went at this past weekend's show at Tryon.  In short, Obe was a rock star!  The day went perfectly, even with her brief moments of complaining and protest (during which she stops, hollows, and backs up).  After riding through several of those protest moments, she settled in and I got some decent work out of her.

Allow me to set the stage.  It was HOT.  I don't mean it was warm or a little uncomfortable, it was downright hot.  My friend Stacey had a reading of 104 degrees on her truck's thermometer as we left the showgrounds around 1:30 PM.  Misery. 

Michele and I, though, braved the heat.  We loaded up our ponies around 9 AM and headed south to Tryon.  It's always a blast to ride places with Michele because she's so easy to talk to.  We talked about Rebecca Farm, how to open your seat to encourage lateral movements from your horse, movies that are playing at Cinebar...fun times.  We got to FENCE and parked by the barns (near the wash areas), opened up the trailer doors to let in some air, then went to check in.  I've discovered that this helps Obe.  If I leave her on the trailer with doors open, she gets a chance to rest, look around and decide it's not so bad.  Once we got our numbers, we pulled the girls off the trailer, tacked up and hopped on.

The show organizers were smart...they put warm-up in the covered arena.  Typically, you ride in warm-up longer (and harder) than you do in the show ring, so it's a good idea to put it in a cooler location.  I can handle warming up for 30 minutes in a covered arena, then sucking it up and showing in the blazing sun for about 8 minutes.  No problem.  Stacey was warming up her new horse, Mitchell.  Michele wanted to pop over a few of the warm up jumps, which were down at the end of the arena.  So, I poked around on Obe, working her through her initial stickiness and protesting.  She did well...she was a bit looky, but I'll forgive that since the covered arena creates some interesting shadows.  I then followed Michele over to the jump ring and watched her do a round at Novice height.  Stacey's dressage ride was in the very next ring, so we sat and watched that, too.  Obe was awesome, allowing the other horses to leave without dancing or jigging.  I think the heat helped with that a bit, too! 

Stacey's ride was the last one in the short court arena.  Once the judge and scribe left, Michele and I went in and played around a bit.  This is where Obe started to get a little sticky again...after all, she had to keep an eye on Adora and where she was at all times.  Michele just hacked around the arena while I got Obe inside the dressage arena and worked a bit.  After a few circles and work on lateral stuff, she sighed and got to work.  I love discovering little tools that help, and shoulder-in is THE lateral movement to use with Obe when she's being sticky.  I have to remember to keep the trot energy moving through my knees so I don't lock up.  Once I'm there for her, she engages and settles.  So, I exited the arena, let Michele go in and practice a test, then worked on canter stuff at the end of the larger arena.  Obe was soft, responsive, and fantastic!  So, I quit, walked her out of the arena on the buckle and waited for Michele and Stacey.  I love the fact that she'll just stand and wait patiently now.  Again, the heat probably helped with that - she was begging to stand still - but, it's a nice way to just chill with my pony and let her know that all is right with the world.

The three of us took our horses across the street to the xc area.  FENCE is a great facility, but I HATE crossing the street there.  First, it's on a curve, so you never know when a car is coming.  Second, you have to walk up the street a little ways to get the entry gate, and you walk under the Interstate...so, two over passes above you with cars zooming across WHOMP-WHOMP!  WHOMP-WHOMP! Obe is most comfortable following, so we hung out in the back of our little line of three, and she marched right through like it was no big deal.  Love her. 

This is part of the xc course at FENCE. 



We hacked around a bit around a few of the trails at FENCE, and Obe was so brave when a couple rounded a corner facing us and their off-leash boxer came bounding up to us.  We halted, of course, and just waited for the incredibly apologetic owner to get her dog under control.  Michele looked over her shoulder and said, "Relax your butt cheeks."  I smiled, because I needed to do just that!  I was so tense, scared that Obe was going to either lash out at the dog and kill it or bolt off into the next county.  She stood very still, her ears flicking around, while the boxer sniffed at her legs and her (beautiful) tail.  I was so proud of my girl! 

This is a cuter version of the dog that took its life into its own hands by sniffing Obe's tail.

Back at the trailers, I sponged her down (she was foamy) and gave her ginger snaps.  It was fan-freakin'-tastic! 

Maybe, just maybe, my pony is learning to trust me even more.  :)

Rider, calm thyself!

I'm planning on taking Obe to simply school at a dressage show in Tryon this coming Saturday.  I haven't entered any classes (partially because it's so expensive!  Only $15 to go school all day...I can even school in the competition rings during breaks and after all the rides...THAT'S a deal!).  So, why am I already getting kind of worked up?  When I think about Saturday (and doing the laundry I'll need, making sure I pack my nice helmet, clean up my boots, etc.), I get that little flutter at the base of my ribcage that makes me breathe a little shallower than normal. 

Seriously, JB...get aholt a yerself!

I know it's just a vicious cycle.  I expect Obe to be tense and perhaps interested in schooling the airs above the ground when I take her off campus.  Past experience has shown that she has a proclivity towards this.  My expectations build the tension in me.  My tension then transfers to Obe, which pushes her closer and closer to that cliff edge.  Which makes me tense.  Which transfers to Obe.  You get the picture. 

A couple of months ago, I went with Michele to school Obe at the last dressage show.  While we went to check in at the show office, we left our mares on the trailer with the doors and windows open.  They happily munched their hay.  Once we had our numbers in hand, we pulled the girls off, leisurely tacked up, then hacked around the warm up areas.  We managed to get into the performance rings...AND, I worked Obe in one ring while Michele took her girl to another ring.  Obe wasn't sure about that, at first, feeling a strong desire to keep track of where Adora was and what she was doing.  But, I got some good schooling done.  On the drive home, I was elated!  You would have though I had just won my first FEI class.  I was so proud of my girl...and, let's face it, of myself!  We had a calm, positive experience off campus! 

So, I'm working on making this weekend a repeat of that one.  I just want to hack around, school in the warm ups as though I were going to show.  The show is even offering a schooling show jumping round for various levels, so Obe will be seeing other horses galloping and jumping.  A good thing...we hope.

One of these days, I'll have my own truck and trailer.  Then, Obe is going to get VERY used to trailering off for rides in various places...we're going to go EVERYWHERE.  Or, maybe I just need an old ratty convertible!

Flash Week

Just some time to remember the sweet horse that taught me so very much.

The games ponies play

This morning, I was riding alone in the outdoor arena.  Don't worry, I wasn't alone on the entire property; I won't ride if I'm the only one there.  But, I was the only one riding.  This means that Obe was COMPLETELY distracted, needing to look everywhere and pay attention to everything except me.  It must be the alpha mare in her driving her to feel like she needs to take care of everything.  *sigh* 

The first 35-40 minutes were fantastic.  I got some great canter work, and I then I moved to working on some lateral stuff.  The shoulder-in has improved by leaps and bounds since I've stopped cramming her with my inside leg and, instead, have started opening the outside leg from my hip joint and inviting her to step into it.  Much more fluid. 

After a walk break, I picked the reins back up to work a bit on the timing of my half-halts in sitting trot.  I've been working on making them happen on the upbeat so that I really catch the energy rather than on the downbeat which would kill the energy.  All of the sudden, a corner that we had been riding in for over half an hour became the Lair of All Things Deadly.  Obe absolutely wouldn't go near it.  Her ears were hard and forward; she stopped dead in her tracks, then started back up with that telescoped neck and dropped back that I really hate feeling.  It took all I had in me not to get mad and take it personally.  Seriously, walking around on the buckle, the mare isn't scared of anything.  As soon as I pick up the reins to work, we have the most despicable monsters living in the corners of our arena.  *sigh...again*

This is what she sees in the corners.

So, I walked her a few times through the spooky corner, went to another part of the arena, and worked on my plan...my half-halt timing in the sitting trot.  I actually had some nice collected steps...and the transitions from trot to walk became much more fluid as I really thought about the timing of the half-halt to ask for them.  I have to move my concentration towards the fronts of my thighs and half-halt towards her crest (about where a martingale would sit).  This keeps me riding on TOP of the wave of energy rather than squashing it with my butt.  There's really no delicate way to state that...it's just what it is. 

After my successful school, I dropped the reins back to the buckle, and we walked bravely everywhere.  Silly mare. 

Lesson learned...and still being learned:  Don't take it personally.  She isn't scheming or out to get me.  She's simply acting like a horse...a mare, at that. 

A few thoughts on Aachen...

Not that it really matters what I think in the world of international dressage, but watching the Aachen CDI the other day and reading subsequent articles about the results got me to thinking. 

Steffen's ride was beautiful.  Ravel's half passes were fluid and his transitions were seamless.  The extended canter took my breath away; it looked like he covered the diagonal in three strides.  His ride should have scored better. 

Totilas looked much more pleasant.  Now, I'm not a Totilas basher, per se, but I haven't liked what I've seen.  Sure, he's flashy and bouncy, but the tightness, the poll dipping very low, and the absolute lack of hind end engagement in the trot lengthenings just irks me.  I can't see how he has been scored so phenomenally well.  However, under his new rider (whom I DO NOT envy for having to follow up the Gal/Totilas freak show), Totilas looked much more fluid.  His passage and piaffe were not so extravagant; no hooves flashing up by his ears.  His throatlatch was more open; his frame was longer and more swingy.  Here's an article that gets to the point a little better than I do.

And video of the black wonder horse...

I'm disappointed that Steffen and Ravel didn't score/place better.  I really do love that team.  However, I am glad to see what Rath is doing with Totilas.  The horse looks happy; despite a few bobbles, they were scored fairly consistently across the board and in keeping with the quality of their work.  Well, done, Toto.

Can't...stop....looking

I am completely obsessed with catalogs.  My husband laughs when he sees how excited I get when a new catalog comes in the mail.  Of course, most of my catalogs are horse-related...Dover, SmartPak, Valley Vet Supply, Wild Horsefeathers, Back in the Saddle (there are a couple of sweaters in that catalog that I lust after). 

I can look at catalogs hundreds of times.  The big, annual Dover catalog sits out for the whole year.  Their ubiquitous sales catalogs are devoured time and again...at least, until the next sales catalog comes along.  I even read all the supplement descriptions in Smart Pak, even supplements that I'll know I'll never need for Obe (like energy builders). 

I haven't had a catalog come in the mail for a couple of weeks now, and I'm beginning to feel the strain.  When Jim went out to the mailbox this afternoon, I watched his reflection in the TV screen, craning my neck to see what he was pulling out of the box.  When he came in, I saw some colorful pages in his hands, and my heart began to race.  Unfortunately, it was merely a class catalog for the local community college (NOT the one we teach at...like I'm going to look at that catalog).  Not the kind of catalog I want. 

There's always the online version...but there's something about having those glossy pages in my hand that I can flip back and forth...something compelling. 

Come on, mailman, bring me a catalog!

Miss you long time!

Wow...it's been ages since I last updated my blog. Trust me, it isn't because my life has suddenly paused and nothing has happened! Quite the opposite, in fact...I've been busy and life has kind of gotten away with me. Anyway, here I am.

Today, I turn 35 years old. Ick, even writing that sentence made my stomach do weird flips and flops. That number means I'm on the downhill slope towards that age that begins with the letter "f" and ends with "y." Double ick. And so, I find myself wistfully pondering the passage of time. Ha! No, I'm actually sitting in my office, bundled up in a fleece against the rabid air conditioning that causes my office to hover around 40 degrees, kind of oblivious to the whole birthday thing. Don't get me wrong, I like receiving presents and well wishes as much as the next girl, but today just seems like any other day.

So, I'm going to treat it like any other day. This isn't the day I head downhill towards forty...today, is just another sunny, summer day. I'll teach composition in my summer session class; I'll go to the barn and teach a lesson to a fabulous young rider; I'll work with my own horse; I'll speak with friends; I'll celebrate the fact that the National League won the All-Star Game; I'll have a turkey sandwich and diet 7-Up for lunch; I'll snuggle with my dog; I'll water my flowers in my window boxes; I'll listen to music while I work. It's just like any other day....right?