Full Moon Farm Aloha Event 7-29-12

What a day! What a long and educational day! It started off with getting Smash onto the trailer. It was the first time we attempted to trailer her on our trailer again, alone, since the move to Waredaca that resulted in a very traumatic weekend. I was optimistic but nervous about her going on but thankfully I just stayed patient and finally she loaded within the hour I had slated for her. After that bit of relief I regained nervousness about the actual show at Full Moon Farm. First up was dressage.

This show was the first show in a few years that I've had to ride the BN Test B. Normally it's Test A so I have that memorized and I could ride it blindfolded. Well despite practicing it over and over again, I forgot the second trot circle at C and earned a few error points. Meanwhile Smash was being very looky and distracted the entire time and I was struggling with her. She wouldn't go straight, she almost stepped out of the ring, she kept peeping out the open doors... it was a major struggle to ride her and remember the test. Then when she stopped short of G for the final halt and I kicked her a step or 2 up and the judge told me not to do that and just accept a lower score of an early halt. *sigh* I cannot win. Here's the dressage test but the lighting was terrible and they wouldn't allow Nick to stand anywhere with decent light so it's kind of a crappy video.

Needless to say it was the worst dressage test I've ever ridden. I was very discouraged and upset with myself. I've never forgotten part of my test before! But I didn't have much time to dwell on it since Stadium was right around the corner. I decided to just learn from the dressage test and focus on the rest of the day since I had 2 disciplines left.

Stadium was iffy. I got into the ring and felt like I was doing ok until jump 3 when she stopped. I wasn't exactly sure why but I think my leg wasn't 100% on and I was looking down. We got over jump 3. Then she was super sticky to 4 knocking the rail and we refused 5 three strides later. After that happened I was so done with her shenanigans and turned up the heat. The crop came out and from 5-11 she cleared them all without much hesitation and with my "encouragement". I was feeling a little defeated but realized I wasn't eliminated so now I had to refocus once again for XC. Another stadium video can be seen here (camcorder view)

When I walked the XC course I saw 2 jumps I thought I needed to really ride Smash to - jump 4 because of the approach and jump 10 because it was a downhill ditch. Well we start off and jumps 1-3 were shaky but since I was already in no tolerance mode and using my crop she got over them all. The approach to 4 was supposed to be a big loop but they forgot to mow that path out. When I asked someone what the correct path was they explained the forgotten mowed path and said to just go whichever route I wanted and all was a correct route. So I took the mowed route that had me actually ride past 5 & 6 then back around to 4 since the non-mowed "correct" route was very tall and full of thistles. I didn't want to worry about her tripping in a hole I couldn't see. The route I took was not only safer in my eyes but less steep of a downhill approach. Smash had no problem over 4 a black and red feeder, 5/6 the up and down bank, 7 a black roll top, 8 the bench, 9 the hilsinki, and didn't blink an eye at 10 the ditch! We galloped to 11 and she was fine there and as we were coming to the water I was feeling elated we were in the home stretch. Of course that equals a stop at the water. Then a step forward and another stop and sideways stepping until FINALLY going through. Those stops cost me 60 points in penalties! And over an element Smash has never had issues with! grrr. I was not happy with that but it's life. We got over 13 and 14 to finish. Here is the 2 part video Nick took of my cross country course: Part 1 Part 2

Obviously we did not place. With 123.2 penalty points that's far from any sort of ribbon but I don't feel like the day was a total failure. First of all, we got Smash onto the trailer and had this been last summer I would've gotten so defeated by dressage and my first stadium refusal (if I got past jump 1 at all) that I would've gotten eliminated. Second, I learned how to cope with disappointment and how to refocus what to do when things didn't go as I planned. I learned how to deal with my nerves in a productive way, too, and remember all of the new habits I've been working on with Steph. It might not have been proactive but at least I corrected myself and my riding to have some really successful and great moments. Unfortunately the not so great moments really counted against me. My error and crappy dressage ride earned me a score of 47.2 - all time high or should I say low? The refusals in stadium and knocked rail earned me another 16 penalty points. And the 2 water refusals earned me 60 penalty points. But I FINISHED! And after I noticed I wasn't getting the results from Smash I wanted I changed what I was doing to get them! Not only that, I did it all on my own! All by myself! We had a few more issues getting Smash back on the trailer but with the help of Karen Fulton (one of the owners of Full Moon Farm) we got her loaded and home and I learned a few tricks to practice with Smash for this weekend's show to hopefully get her onto the trailer easier.

So to recap the things I learned:

* Do not try and halt again if the horse halts near X or G or where ever you're supposed to halt at the end of your test.
* Remember your dressage test!
* 1 refusal (or as you feel her start to back off) = crop time for the rest of the course no matter what!
* Ride every element as if Smash has never seen it before despite previous schoolings *coughwatercough*
* I CAN conquer my nerves and I AM a good rider!
* Asking for help when things aren't working (aka trailer issues) is not the end of the world
* I can complete the whole event without falling off or getting eliminated! (some people in all of the levels were not so lucky and I know last year I was one of those people)
* A positive attitude goes a LONG way!

Next on our list - the MD Dressage Association show at Liberty View Farm. As long as we get Smash on the trailer, I'm considering this another victory.

Waredaca Wednesday Night Schooling Show 7/25/12

Last night was the second schooling show Waredaca hosted. Basically it is an opportunity for people to come and simulate a real stadium jumping or dressage test but without being timed or judged and with the ability to jump as many rounds at whatever height you want or ride as many dressage tests with 15min worth of feedback as many times as you want to prepare you for your next show or maybe even for this to be a show for you. The last time they hosted this event I found it SO useful because I got to have a "show feel" and jump a real course but still be in a laid back environment and without any stress of winning a ribbon or competing.

My original plan was to jump the 2'6" course then jump a 2'9" course. The actual course does not change - only the height. Here are the helmet cam and camcorder videos from my first round. I was so nervous last night. I don't know why, either. I got SO inside my own head that when I entered the ring for the first time I was only focusing on my brain saying "omg omg omg I'm jumping a course omg omg" instead of "Get a nice canter, eyes up, leg on, keep her straight" I got through the first 6 fences relatively well despite my lack of focus. At jump 7 she stopped - why? because I was staring at it and lacked leg - but she was nice enough to still jump the fence from a standstill. After that we didn't have enough space to recover very well into our next approach and fence which was into a 2 stride combination to a 5 stride bending line. I managed to get her over 8a despite not being straight at all but she did not go over 8b and I also rolled off. I was embarrassed and mad at myself because I knew exactly what I did wrong. By jump 8b I was still staring at all the jumps (aka head down), she was not straight at all (needed more leg), and I was totally unorganized.

Thankfully it was a practice show so nothing counted against me and so I decided my second round was going to be doing 2'6" again instead of trying to get through 2'9". Here are the helmet cam and camcorder videos from my second round.  Finally my turn was up and I went back into the ring and this time I was much more focused on my position and making Smash listen. We had a better pace, she was straighter and more balanced, my eyes were up over every fence, and while I sort of gunned her through the last combination (and she knocked a pole on almost every fence because of it) we got through it! It still wasn't perfect but I walked away having fixed my problems and remembering what I need to focus on for Sunday's show and what NOT to focus on. Clearly obsessing about simply being at a show did me no good. It just made me wig out and defeat myself before I even stepped into the ring. So Sunday my warm up goal is to get into the good mentality and focus on my new tools before stepping into the ring.

My Mom then took Smash after a long wait into the dressage ring. She, too, had a difficult ride but it was mostly due to the judge being so far behind that Smash was getting antsy. My Mom took away the lesson on how to ride Smash even when she's tired or bored and make the best of it. Chances are she won't have too many experiences with Smash when she's like this but it's still good for both of us to have tougher rides so we know how to handle it if it does happen at a show.

I'm still a little disappointed that my ride wasn't perfect or how I envisioned things going but I think with riding in general you have to always have a Plan B to deal with the horse or rider you are dealing with that day and not the horse or rider you envision in your head. And while my confidence didn't sky rocket last night I am very glad I did the practice show and I'm working on getting my brain back in the right place for Sunday.

Practice Practice Practice

Yesterday I had my last lesson before the Full Moon show. We went XC and was kind of limited. A lot of the fences were put away because there aren't any shows at Waredaca until August but we still had enough to work on. I focused more on my canter and rhythm since sometimes Smash is a little too fast in the field and really doesn't need to be. Once I got the rhythm worked out our approaches and fences were much nicer. I'm excited and nervous for the upcoming event :) And ready to do the practice show next Wednesday - which works perfectly since my instructor, Steph, will be out of town.

So what I want to focus on for FMF Aloha Event is my rhythm, still keeping my body/eyes up, and keeping my leg on. I can do this! :)

Next update will cover the practice show. My game plan is to do a 2'3" course and then when I do the course for my second trip I will do the 2'9" division. I decided to do a higher height to
1. Keep Smash on her toes and interested
2. Get my eye used to a higher fence height so Sunday's jumps will look small.
3. To start getting ready for the Novice division.
4. After doing the course at 2'3" I'll know what to expect and can navigate the course with confidence at 2'9"

:) I can't wait!!!

Calendar of Events

Not much excitement has been going on lately. After the unrecognized show and schooling at Morven Park things have been pretty tame. But starting next week things are going to get into high gear again as I prepare for the Recognized Event at Waredaca in August. To give you an idea of what to look forward to here's a little look into the upcoming calendar events:

* July 25th - Practice Show @ Waredaca. My Mom will ride a dressage test and I will ride 2 stadium rounds.

*July 29th - Aloha Horse Trials @ Full Moon Farm. I will be riding BN here as my warm-up/practice for the recognized show.

*August 5th - MD Dressage Assoc. show @ Liberty View Farm. My Mom will be riding 2 tests and I'll ride my BN Test B as extra practice since we'll be there.

* August 18th - Recognized USEF HT @ Waredaca. I'll be riding in BN division but this will more than likely be my last BN show before I move up to Novice!!

There is more to come later in the fall but here is the latest that will be coming up shortly. So stay tuned! There will be more posts about fun activities very soon!

Melting

O.M.G. it is HOT! Not like typical 'I'm slightly sweating so I'm complaining about how hot it is' hot, but legit 'Devil literally went down to Georgia and lit up the entire East Coast on his way' hot. Temps into the triple digits with 70% humidity = dangerous weather. Basically the rule of thumb for me when it's hot outside is to do a little bit o math to determine if it's safe to ride:

Temperature + Relative Humidity % - Wind Speed = Heat Stress Risk Level

130 or less: The horse can recover fine.

140 - 170: The horse has partial cooling capacity and may need some assistance cooling down.

180+: The horse has significantly impaired ability to cool and is at high risk for heat stress or stroke.

So right now at the barn the Temp is 92 + Humidity 43% - Wind Speed 8mph = 127 which is A-O-K to ride safely despite it feeling like 102...

I know sometimes it seems like the calculation is way off BUT I like to use this on days when I can't tell if it's just me whining about the heat or if Smash might have a real issue cooling down and when to recognize those signs.

Other things I do when riding in the summer is make sure to offer Smash water (with electrolytes), take walking breaks, find shade if possible, use liniment in water when sponging down to pull some of the heat out, make sure to use the sweat scraper since water left on the horse can actually insulate the heat instead of pulling it out, fly spray (and other forms of fly protection) can help relieve the irritation/frustration from flies/pests that comes with the heat, and watch your horse for their breathing rate. Huffing and puffing = keep an eye on your horse. Don't forget to hydrate yourself, too! A rider passed out is no help to your horse.

Some is common sense, too, like avoid riding in the peak heat hours from noon - 4pm. This morning I rode at 8am for 20min of flat work and then called it a day. Also, know your horse breed. Some breeds handle the heat a lot better than others. Arabians for example are probably the most adaptive to the heat whereas a draft cross would probably struggle more.

So until this heat wave breaks I hope you use some or all of these tips to stay cool and safe while enjoying the best sport out there! If you have any other tips feel free to leave them in the comments section.

Ride on!

Morven Park Schooling

Happy belated 4th of July! And what better way to celebrate than to go XC schooling? :) Yesterday a group of riders from Waredaca went to Morven Horse Park in Leesburg, VA. A few are competing this weekend at Loch Moy's recognized show and wanted to get in 1 last schooling. Others, like me, just wanted to tag along for the experience. I also thought it was a good time to get Smash back on the trailer after our traumatic trailering experience in May.

I ended up carpooling with a friend, Nancy, and her horse, Piku. I thought having another horse in the trailer with Smash and another human to help me would be the best way to re-introduce Smash to the trailer. We first tried loading Piku and seeing if Smash would go in second to see him (they are buddies in the field). She refused that idea. So then we unloaded Piku and tried again. Still she said No. We decided to give our coach a call and while Nancy was calling her Smash sniffed around, thought a while, and decided it was ok to get on. She practically self loaded herself! It was funny - it had to be her decision, not mine. So LOTS of Stud Muffins later, we were off!

By the time we got to Morven Park it was HOT! We gave the horses a quick drink and sponge before tacking up and meeting Steph and the other 2 riders in the schooling area. I had a rocky start. I think the heat and my exhaustion from the day before were affecting me a little. We had a couple refusals until I finally got my head into the game. We worked mostly over roll tops since the jumps out there were fairly advanced and because of the heat we needed to take it easy. But we did get to work over a ditch (Smash FLEW over it the first time and I had some serious hang time!) and some banks into water.

All in all, though, I had a good time! Then it was time to cool our horses off. We sponged them down with cool water and gave them plenty to drink before hanging out under the shade until they finally all resumed normal breathing and temperature. Smash was a little fickle again getting back on the trailer, but once we stopped asking her to load and left her alone, she loaded herself. Such a silly horse. :P I was so glad we got her back on the trailer! And I was thankful I got to be included with the other riders. It was amazing to see them ride over much larger/challenging fences and to give me something to aspire to. And it was nice making friends :) I'm contemplating entering into the Full Moon Farm event with Nancy at the end of the month but haven't made up my mind yet. Any additional showing/schooling is good, ya know? Plus this show is VERY informal and they encourage Hawaiian shirts! So it might be a good show to do right before the recognized on in August. We'll see.

Hope you enjoyed a few fireworks yesterday!