Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Leap Day!

Happy Leap Day, everyone! 

It's a Leap Year, which means it is also the year of the presidential election in the USA...and also the year of the summer Olympics!!! 

Everyone probably knows that the Olympics this summer are being held in London, England.  I'll be watching the equestrian events with great interest (of course) and I already have my picks for who should be on each team (particularly the dressage and eventing teams).  I'm also excited to see the cross-country course, which is set in a small park in London (it's usually held in some faraway spot because there's not enough room in the host city for a cross country course).  However, I'm also excited to watch swimming, diving, track and field, and gymnastics.  There's always high drama in those events, not to mention just out-and-out physicality and strength.  They are beautiful to watch!

In other news, I'm getting ready to order a new dressage show coat and a new pair of white breeches....eeek!  This means this whole showing thing is getting real...and close...and real!  Yay! 

I have a lesson with Debra tomorrow evening, which will be a great prelude to our trip off the farm this coming Saturday.  We're heading down to a schooling show just to hack around and school in the environment (and possibly stalk Eric Dierks - mentioned in my last post - because he'll be there with a couple of horses).  Then, towards the end of March, I'll ride a test at a schooling show to prep for the upcoming April show.  Whew!  One step at a time, though....I'm focusing on my lesson with Debra and the discussion I want to have about which First Level test to work on right now.  I like the way First 2 breaks up the canter coefficient (it's for the return to working canter after the lengthening).  That's different from First 3 which INCLUDES the lengthening on that movement (and therefore in the coefficient).  I ALWAYS get "show more" on my canter lengthenings, mostly because I'm a little nervous to ask for too much at a show.  Who knows?  We may just end up in another county if I ask for too much.  So, I'm not sure I want to try First 3 quite yet because that would bring the score down - and if it's a coefficient, that means TWO low scores.  So, that's my focus right now...lesson and discussion with Debra.  Then I'll think about Saturday....and then later all that other stuff I mentioned.....eeep!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Everything is connected

After writing yesterday's blog post about my anxiety about expectations and the fear of being judged, I watched a video of Eric Dierks doing an open house at his farm in Tryon.  I'll post the video here, but it's the part beginning at 36:49 that really drew me in.  Eric had just gotten off a green horse, and at this point he is transitioning to a more advanced horse.  The conversation he has with the audience is nothing short of touching for me! 

Here's what I take from that brief conversation. 

1.  Expectations can be my worst enemy.  I think I confuse goals and expectations.  It's good to have goals, to have benchmarks that I want to work towards.  However, when I start laying on top of those goals the expectations that say I have to achieve them by a certain time or in a certain way, I basically set a trap for myself. 

2.  As a rider, I need to know that I'm not being judged in a lesson environment (at a show, of course I'm being judged!).  When Eric mentioned that that's his goal when working with a rider, I wanted to cry.  That's exactly the kind of attitude I want to have as an instructor...and it's exactly the kind of attitude I want/need from any instructor that I ride with (and I definitely don't feel judged with Debra).

3.  The horse needs the rider to chill, to slow down the brain, and to remember the important steps of strengthening and stretching rather than just cranking.  This makes the horse feel comfortable, physically and mentally.

And the last thing I took from this video....

I WANT to work with Eric Dierks!  I'd love to set up a lesson with him sometime.  I have no idea how expensive that would be, but he's only 45 minutes away.  It would seem a shame to not utilize such an invaluable resource that's so close by! 

Tonight, when I ride...my goal is to work on stretching and balance and pace to help make Obe feel comfortable physically and mentally.  However, I will check my expectations at the barn door and ride through a two-way conversation.  Yay, Eric!    

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

It's so public...

I've been playing around with my blog a bit, and I added a new section there on the right that lists the shows I want to attend this year.  I also included the ambitious word "Results" to the title.  EEEEK!  That makes it seem so public, so set in stone, so real.  I truly do want to show quite a bit this year, and I'm working seven days a week to make sure that I can afford to do so.  But, having those goals so...so...out there makes them seem so real. 

Then, that thought triggers those little voices in my head that are attached to my performance.  What if I don't do it?  What if I go and fail?  What if I can't measure up to the expectations that I just put out there for the world to see? 

I know...I know.  It doesn't really matter.  In the whole grand scheme of things, my performance or lack thereof at these shows truly doesn't even make a dent in the universe.  Only in my own little world and my own myopic vision do scores or performance at these shows really matter.  I guess I just feel the weight of it a little differently - I've been wanting to do this my whole life.  I remember being in high school and talking to my friend, Amy, on the phone for hours after she had gotten back from one hunter show or another.  She would tell me every detail, and I would drink them in like a thirsty man at a desert oasis.  As she told me of prepping for classes, braiding, bathing, warming up, and how her courses went, I yearned to be the one at the show.  I wanted to be the one getting up at dawn, feeding the horses, walking my courses, getting nervous, and riding in the ring.  I wanted to be the one who had ribbons on her stall door.  I wanted to be the one who missed school not because of mundane sickness but because of horse shows.  I wanted to be the one who had stories to tell and phone calls to make when I got home. 

Fast forward to my adult life, working in Virginia for a dressage "trainer" (yes, I put it in quotation marks - WHY I put it in quotation marks is for a different blog post).  I had Obe for most of the time I was there, but I wasn't able to afford showing.  So, I traveled to the shows...I WAS the one to get up at dawn and bathe and braid.  I did the stall cleaning, tack polishing, feeding and grooming.  But when it came time to step up in that left stirrup and warm up to ride the tests, that person wasn't me.  It was always someone else. 

Now, I'm staring down the throat of everything I've always wanted.  That's THRILLING, but at the same time it's terrifying.  I know enough about showing that I won't be disappointed by the atmosphere, the hard work, or the details that go into making it happen.  I don't harbor any grand illusions about it in that way.  But this time, I WILL be the one swinging up onto my mare, warming up, riding in the rings, showing and having stories to tell afterwards.  It makes me feel all shaky and funny.  I can't wait, but at the same time I'm a little scared.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Photo evidence!

The fantastic owner of the facility where I went for my lesson last week emailed a few pictures she took of me and Obe during our time there.  So I have proof that my horse was a good girl!  No rearing at the trailer...no flipping out over the new atmosphere...no refusal to work, rearing, bucking or general insanity.

Obe being very good at the trailer while tacking up

A bit grainy...but working at the trot to get the hind stepping under and more expression up front

Monday, February 13, 2012

A complete success!

Friday's jaunt off the farm for a lesson with Debra was a success in every way possible!  I was blown away by my sweet pony's sincere attempts to listen and try during our lesson.  I won't bore you with every detail, but here's the run down...

I got out to the barn on Friday morning and got the truck and trailer pulled up the drive and loaded up with all my gear.  I pulled Obe out of the pasture and cleaned her up (yay for a clean rub rag...even her fuzzy winter fur was gleaming!) and loaded her up.  She went straight on the trailer...no pulling back, no frenzy, no worry. 

On the way to the farm, I took a wrong turn...well, a wrong "veer."  At a fork in the road, I veered left instead of right.  At that point, I kind of started to panic a little, because I wasn't sure how I was going to turn the truck and trailer around on such narrow, country roads.  The truck is a big F-350 flatbed...the trailer is a gooseneck, two-horse with a large dressing room.  So...no small load.  Luckily, I happened upon a mobile home park that had one of the single-wide trailers missing.  So, I pulled in, backed the trailer into the empty spot, and managed to get turned around.  I'm sure the residents of the trailer park were in awe of the "new neighbors" who were moving in with simply a horse trailer!  ;)


A great place to turn a horse trailer around...

Once I went the right direction, the farm was actually easy to find!  I pulled in, met the owner and took Obe off the trailer.  She came out a little jazzed...head up, snorting, looking around and not paying attention.  I just let her look and stand for a few minutes, then I took a chance and tied her to the side of the trailer with her hay net.  After about 20 seconds, she started eating hay, cocked a hind foot in relaxation and just stood there while I groomed, tacked up and talked with the owner of the facility.  I was already blown away, but I was trying desperately to hide it, just in case a future meltdown may ruin the good feelings! 

Debra showed up and we walked together past a little pond (that got a couple of snorts) to the small indoor arena.  It was perfect that I was in such a small space...Obe and I both felt fairly confident - no large open spaces to invite a run into the next county!  I longed first, allowing Obe to get all her snorting and passaging out of her system.  There were cows next to the small arena, and in with the cows was a white pony that had the longest winter fur I've ever seen.  It seriously looked like a yak.  Obe had NO IDEA what that white animal was, and every move it made was worthy of a snort. 


Not EXACTLY how the pony looked, though I'm sure this is what Obe saw.

Finally, she lowered her head a bit and relaxed, so I told Debra I was going to go ahead and get on (where did this courage come from?).  Debra agreed, saying, "If all we do is walk around a bit, it's a success because she's off the farm." 

I think that statement gave me permission to keep my expectations in check and just be okay with whatever I got.  After all, I'd already met my primary goal...to get Obe off the farm. So, I relaxed.  Surprise, surprise...so did OBE!

Once I picked up the posting trot, she was forward, swingy and stretchy...and a small glimmer of hope began to glow in my heart.  Seriously, I was beginning to think that this may actually work out!  An hour later...we had worked on trot lengthenings, canter departs and really pushing her on.  Yes, folks, in a new environment where previously we may have exploded, I was actually PUSHING my horse for more expression in her trot.  She ended the lesson tired, happy, loose and completely on my aids.  I couldn't believe it...we went back to the trailer, I tied her back up with her hay, untacked her, and she stood there.  She just stood there.  FANTASTIC!!! 

Debra and I had a great conversation about my goal...to get my Bronze.  That means all I need is a 60% to get qualifying scores.  As I rode, she told me what was a 60% and what was higher...how to ride for the score with a low-scoring judge...how to take Obe to the brink of losing her balance (or her mind), and then how to ride just below that threshold so that I have some brilliance, but not explosiveness.  If we had had that lesson at home, I would say it was great.  But the fact that we had it OFF the farm made it monumental.  I feel like Obe has turned a corner in the way she mentally reacts to her surroundings...and it feels awesome!

As I was driving back to the barn, I couldn't help but be elated, almost to the point of tears.  It was just me and my pony, taking on the challenge, and doing fabulously!  I couldn't have been happier.  I'm still on cloud 9...three days later!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

"It's a start!"

This coming Friday, I have my first off-campus lesson with Debra.  Jim and Barbara are kindly letting me borrow the farm's truck and trailer to take Obe to a farm in Waynesville that has a small covered arena.  Debra will meet me there for a lesson. 

I'm trying VERY HARD to contain my excitement!  I have no idea how Obe is going to react since we're trailering by ourselves.  I'm hoping that her reaction will be very positive - she tends to get attached to any horse she trailers with.  At shows, she doesn't like to leave that horse, or have that horse leave her, her do anything that doesn't involve keeping track of her brand new BFF that rode on the trailer with her!  Trailering her alone may take care of that issue.  Of course, there will be other horses at this farm, and I'm sure she'll be all curious about them.  I'm interested to see how well I can get her attention and get her to focus. 

I'm also very glad that Debra will be there.  She's so experienced and talented (yet incredibly down-to-earth).  Her presence is calming and reassuring. 

So....we'll see!