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.

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!

Waredaca Practice Show 8/15/12

Tonight was the last of the Wednesday night schooling shows at Waredaca. It's been a GREAT opportunity to get in some dressage and stadium practice without the pressure of a formal show (or the price!). I've participated in each one this summer (recap of show 1 and show 2) and each have coincidentally landed the week of a show I'm signed up for and really helped get me mentally prepared for my stadium round.

Tonight was no different. My Mom started the night off with dressage. She got there before I did and rode her Intro B test with Smash. Sadly I missed it but I saw the judge's score and comments and they were GREAT! She got an 8 and mostly 7s! She said she felt like it was one of her best rides with Smash, too! Hoping it's not because no one was there to witness it ;) Even though I missed it, I'm really proud of her great ride and I know she'll just continue to get better as she practices. PVDA watch out, my Mom's on a roll!

About an hour later I tacked up and got Smash warmed up for my stadium rounds. My plan of attack was to make Smash really work/pay attention to me in warm up. None of this ADD 'ooo a butterfly!' or calling to her buddies in the nearby field business! It was work time! So I put her through her paces as if I was prepping for a dressage test and then made her trot all of the warm up fences - even the oxer that was set up.

My first round was done almost entirely at the trot to get and keep Smash's attention and to continue to get her to jump properly instead of thinking she needs to whiz around and fly over everything - in turn ignoring me. I didn't use the helmet cam because trotting makes the video much choppier and harder to watch. But the camcorder captured the gist. I thought it was a great idea to trot a 2'3" course because it made me sit back and wait a tad longer and concentrate on what I was doing vs letting my nerves ride for me.

My second round was done at 2'6" and at a canter. You can see the helmet cam view here. In this round I worked on consistency of pace since the course had a few long approaches and my tendency is to get quick. I definitely implied the 1-2 counting from jump 5b to 6 (the 1stride to the purple and yellow diagonal/vertical) and I think it worked well for me! But the best part is I noticed Smash was listening to me and I could feel her jumping with a smidge more ease than normal and cantering with impulsion from behind vs on the forehand/pulling herself more. She had a couple of wiggly approaches still but nothing as wiggly as normal or as speedy as in the past. I felt very proud that I was one of the few riders to get a straight approach to jump 3, the wave, and not knock it down! I also noticed as I rode around the course whenever I felt myself start to get nervous about certain jumps or start to look down I caught myself in time/sooner and told myself to look up. I also consciously caught myself at times saying "open your hips and put leg on now" instead of progressively getting into the fetal position/slouching and chancing a refusal. It was just a much more proactive and lucid ride than normal. I think I am finally finding the middle ground to dealing with my nerves and not letting them take over.

I'm sure Saturday's stadium course will be nothing like the course I jumped tonight (for one a 1 stride combination is not allowed in BN) but it was still a great practice for the show and my confidence is very high!

Speaking of Saturday here are my ride times:
Dressage: 3:11pm
Stadium: 4:52pm
XC: right after stadium but my official time is 5:10pm

I keep peeping over at the xc field whenever I go get Smash to see if I can see any new jumps and attempt to see the course yet but so far I haven't seen much.  I have noticed a lattice and produce stand is out but that's about it. Guess I'll have to wait until Friday/Saturday to walk the course...dundundun!

XC Schooling at Loch Moy

This weekend was quite a weekend! And it most definitely had it's highs and lows. Oddly enough the highs were not the normal highs and the lows were not the normal lows. Let me explain.

Sunday I was slated to meet my instructor and another rider at Loch Moy for 1 last XC schooling before this Saturday's show. The rated show. The one that costs a lot of money so I better not get eliminated show. So I got a text to meet at 3:30pm. Nick and I did a few things around the house and then headed to Waredaca in hopes of using our new lunge whip and chain rope to load Smash onto the trailer. I had the other rider's phone number as a back up in case we just couldn't get her on. We got to the barn and no joke, it took us 2 tries and she was on the trailer!!! We left the barn at like 3:15pm and I was worried we'd be super early and waiting for the other rider since the texts I was receiving were like "I'm already on and riding and have to ride another horse" which made no sense because why would you ride another horse at the barn when we're supposed to be leaving?? ...it was because we were supposed to meet at Loch Moy at 3:30pm...not leave then. *sigh* whoops. So by the time I got there and realized what I had misunderstood they were done riding while we were pulling in. Thankfully Steph was nice and stayed to give me a quick lesson.

Then more drama. Nick for whatever reason decided to start unloading Smash but didn't wait for me to help and next thing we know Smash has broken off the trailer and is running amok around the Loch Moy xc schooling area. I ran. A lot. Dumb horse was having a blast. Finally she stopped and was sweaty and tired. But guess what - I didn't care.

Once I got on we had a really good lesson! I practiced the crap outta the down bank and even did a few fences I was leery about (they looked big) before calling it a day. Thankfully Smash loaded right back onto the trailer without any issues! Our only problem was she did kick a fence and lost another shoe (she lost a shoe Saturday when she broke free and ran around the farm for 5 min...I don't want to talk about it) so now I need to call the farrier for sure so I can ride her at least on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for Saturday. Here are a few videos from the day.

We ended up back at the farm just in time for the boarder picnic and I had a great time despite being the only person still in riding clothes and not showered. I'm fairly exhausted today, too, but at least I got in some xc before the show.

Highlights:
* Smash loaded on the trailer with minimal issues! And under 10min!
* We had a great schooling O/F
* We managed to get to Loch Moy only 30min after the meeting time that I misunderstood

All in all a good day - hoping that one day we'll have a drama free experience. I'm feeling very thankful right now that the rated show is a home show!