Produce Stand - 0 Me - 1

FINALLY! I have finally conquered my produce stand fears and jumped successfully over it! For those of you who aren't exactly sure what I'm talking about here is a photo (not the same jump from last night or the show) of an example of a produce stand jump:

(Source)

My produce stand fence was not as big obviously and it was painted white and like a greenish color but the form of the jump is basically the same. Sadly I do not have photographic proof of me jumping over the produce stand but I do have witnesses!

For as long as I can remember I've been terrified of this type of fence (for no real reason) and it didn't help that the last time I attempted to jump a produce stand it was kind of traumatic. I was schooling at Loch Moy's competition course and kept refusing the fence. Finally I thought I was going to get over it when Smash literally stopped jumping mid-air and landed half on the jump half off (front end on the jump)! I was perplexed, and a little scared, and was starting to get really nervous about even attempting the jump and was instructed to just move on to another jump instead of getting over it. Now that I know what my bad habits were, I totally understand what happened (looked down, leg was not on, and I was probably pulling her reins back instead of being elastic with them), but it doesn't stop me from having a knee jerk fear reaction to the jump.

So jumping the produce stand last night was so therapeutic on many levels.
1. I finally got over the fence I got eliminated at proving I am capable of getting over it
2. I finally faced my long time fear of produce stands
3. Now I know I can jump any produce stand because no matter what color they are, I have successfully jumped it and can and will do it again!

Mentally this was SO good for me!

Last night we schooled most of the BN course again but added in a few other jumps. I added in a few Novice fences, too. Slowly I am figuring out the details to my bad jumping habits and working through them. Last night's big focus was using BOTH legs to keep Smash straight to the jump (seems like common sense but for some reason if she jigs to the left I was only putting my left leg on, so then of course she leaps to the right and I put my right leg on. Back and forth we go until we stop and I lose my balance). It helped tremendously when I just funneled her through both legs to jumps. (...duh.)

Sometimes it feels like I'm never going to get over my jumping issues but I know it takes time and practice - lots of it! Nobody woke up and thought "I'm going to go be an event rider today!", hopped on a horse, and was perfectly successful. I just need to remember it takes time and I am making some good improvements but perfection will never happen and getting close to it will take much longer than 4 months.

Waredaca Recognized Event 8/18/12

Saturday was a very exciting and educational day for me. It was my first rated event that I actually felt prepared for and it was my first event since moving to Waredaca. My ride times were LATE in the afternoon which is very unusual for me. Normally I'm waking up at 4am and done by 2pm where as Saturday I didn't even leave for the barn until 12:30pm. The best part though was no trailering was needed. Man, it's nice to have shows at my own barn!

Upon arrival I noticed the not-so-great braids I asked my friend, Karen, to do for me were 1/2 undone. I started to panic a little since I had only anticipated a few braids to come out - not 1/2 of them! Then I panicked a little more when I struggled to get them into any form of passable braid quality. Smash's mane is thick - thicker than normal because she won't tolerate a traditional mane pulling comb and I have to use the one with a razor in it. On top of that, I must've been mane pulling happy and I pulled it too short. Short and thick hair is not conducive to braiding! Oddly enough I managed to make them passable (still VERY poor though!) and got ready for dressage on time.

My warm-up was going well until I found out the dressage rings were about 20min behind schedule. UGH! So I took a break from schooling Smash until 10min before they were actually ready for me and schooled the crap out of her. I struggled at first for her attention/focus but I finally got it upon entering the ring. I rode hard and it paid off! I only had 1 mishap - an incorrect lead in my right canter circle which got me a very ugly score of 4 - but generally speaking I did well! So well, in fact, that I redeemed my score from Full Moon's show of 38 to a respectable 34.5! Booya! The only things I would've done differently is 1. Not braid (I saw tons of people not braided and I know Smash would've looked much better not braided than braided) 2. Get a better right bend (duh!)and 3. Get a better belt that won't come undone while riding and make me look even more hillbilly than necessary. Here is the video of my dressage test and below are a few pictures my Mom took:

The picture above sums up my dressage...belt undone, Smash poo-pooing dressage in general, her braids looking a hott mess, and me looking DONE!

Next phase was Stadium! I had walked the course a few times and thought it had a few good challenging elements. There was a 2 strided line I needed to ride forward to and a bunch of boxes decorating the fences that had been causing other riders some issues. I made sure in my warm up to trot over my fences before cantering a few and to make sure I was riding assertively and being proactive vs. reactive. I thought all in all I did a great job! Jump number 3 was not our best because Smash started to stare at it but I got us over it and  going into the 2 strided line I made sure to give a tap of the crop behind my leg since I could feel a hair of hesitation from Smash and I was having NONE of it in a short line like that! We only knocked 1 rail though on jump 9 (drat!) with no time faults so I was happy! :) Here's the Helmet Cam video and the Camcorder view with a few pics from my Mom below.

The second photo is of the last jump when her back foot knocked the rail. Drat!

I was half elated and half nervous I was qualified to continue on to XC! There were a couple of elements in the xc course I was nervous about. Jump 4 was on top of a hill and while it was an easy fence I knew it was a total mind game since I could not see the other side of the fence upon the approach. I had to believe in my ability and continue to ride confidently since in reality there was plenty of flat landing area on the other side. Jump 5 was a little nerving because it had intimidated me in the past but I knew I could get over it. Jump 7 was a jump I've done before but going the opposite direction and it was located between bushes and a fence surrounding a house (a real one not some weird fake house in the middle of the field) so I knew it had potential to be spooky. Jump 8 was my arch nemesis the Produce Stand. I have never been confident to them and I knew if I wanted to get over it I had to believe it was just funny shaped and no harder than any of the other fences out there. The rest of the course I knew I could do!

Off I went! I was over jump 1 and 2 with no problem. Had to collect Smash up for jump 3 since she was on a roll and actually moving too fast. Jump 4 I pretended didn't exist and we were clear! Jump 5 wasn't very graceful but we got over it! Clear! Jump 6 was water and Smash almost leaped in! Jump 7 she looked at but got over! Jump 8 I rode up to feeling good and I actually thought 'OMG! I'm doing it!' until eeerrrrrrppppp (sound of screeching tires) I had a last minute "huh?" when Smash hesitated and I ended up looking down to see what was going on and that's all Smash needed to stop and I rolled off. *sigh* I was eliminated. Had I at least stayed on I could've attempted to get over it! But no, I was one with physics and gravity at that moment and kept going (what is in motion, stays in motion, right?). I was really frustrated and bummed out but there was nothing I could do. Here's the Helmet Cam video and the beginning of my xc from camcorder view with a few really nice pics from my Mom:

I hate knowing I could've gotten over that produce stand had I just ridden Smash to the other side of the fence. I hate that I couldn't get back on and try again. But I love that I'm chomping at the bit for redemption and not totally defeated. I love that what I did accomplish on Saturday was some of my best show work. I love that I didn't let nerves take over at all. I love that I had a plan of attack for each warm up and ride and executed it well! I love that I kept my head in the game and had positive thoughts to guide me. And I love that I already have a lesson tonight to get over that produce stand and through the rest of my xc course!

It's SO frustrating getting over old habits. They take over sometimes without me even realizing it and take even more mental effort to make sure I'm doing my *new* habits. I literally have to tell myself a mantra and BELIEVE it to every fence ("Hips open, Leg on, Eyes up, through to the next fence"). I literally say it to myself to every fence. But obviously when I get nervous about something and the mantra fades out or I don't believe in myself 100% I get into trouble. I know it will just take time and mileage. I know I will eventually get there. I just wish I had been able to take it through that Produce stand on Saturday because I KNOW deep down I could've done it the first time. Slowly but surely Smash and I will get there... one produce stand at a time...

P.S. I was in 5th place after dressage... oh what  pretty pink ribbon that would've been...

Then and Now

So while uploading a ton of videos last night and this morning I decided to go back and watch some of the videos I took of me and Smash from earlier this year/last year and I can definitely see a difference! Not to mention, in a couple of weeks will mark the 1 year anniversary of owning Smash!

Here's a video from Loch Moy's Practice show where I jumped Smash over 18" compared to last night's Waredaca Practice show over 2'6".

Things I noticed in the Loch Moy Show was how completely sloppy Smash was jumping and how we couldn't figure out a pace at all. She pulled herself with her shoulders/front end over every single fence and was not really in sync with me at all. My position was weak, too. I could see myself looking at each fence as we came to it - more than Smash was! (definitely a bad habit I've been working hard on lately to correct) I wasn't letting Smash jump and I was trying to jump for her.

Things I noticed at the Waredaca Show was how Smash does still pull over some fences but not all of them. It seemed like if she took a longer spot she was more inclined to lead with her front end but she was getting closer to fences and getting better spots and not nearly as sloppy with her legs. Our pace was much more forward/powerful but not fast. And I wasn't looking at any of the fences and in turn Smash had to look and jump while I just guided and supported her.

Meanwhile I found another video - one of my first XC videos with Smash 2 years ago again at Loch Moy but doing BBN. This was before I owned her and our first show together. Compare that with the xc video from Full Moon and going schooling at Loch Moy last Sunday.Now granted Smash was only 5 at the time of Loch Moy's show but I can actually see some of her development and maturity/experience just in how she carries herself. I notice mostly my position and attitude going xc and I'm glad it's much improved!

I don't have any videos from our absolute failure year but I do have a couple of pictures that illustrates my frustration and why these past few months have been SO great for us:

Not sure if you can tell but we were getting into a lot of trouble. In both cases we didn't complete the Event that day. I got eliminated at Waredaca and I scratched Loch Moy's XC because I was so exhausted from over jumping the stadium. So while we started out well as a duo we definitely hit a wall and now we are back on track and actually even better! It's a shame I couldn't have had smooth sailing this whole time but I definitely learned a lot from both good and bad days!