T3D and HT Weekend Spectacular

This past week has been crazy! Waredaca hosted their Training 3 Day event AND a recognized Horse Trial on the same week/weekend. Things started to get a little crazy the week prior when we were all instructed to move our trailers from our normal parking spot to further down the road. My trailer is my locker. So basically my car has now become my locker because driving down the road, then back, then walking out to get Smash, then putting it all back in the trailer did not appeal to me.

A few days later temporary stalls for the 3 day eventers went up in part of the cross country field. 3 rows of stalls for about 30 competitors, 1 being my friend from college. We were also limited to hacking in the fields and riding in the indoor ring and some limited warm up areas. I felt some what relieved I didn't need to really worry about where to ride since I was still dealing with Smash's abscess. Also, the field boarders got moved to a field closer to the barn which was more convenient for me. Smash was feeling better so she was not standing still when I tried to tie her to the tree and spooking at invisible monsters so taking her to the barn with cross ties was optimal! Feeling better + Tons of pent up energy = annoying horse.

By Wednesday all of the competitors were here and got to jog their horses for the vet and go on course walks with Steven Bradley! So cool! Thursday was the first day of competition: Dressage. It was also the day Smash finally got her shoe put back on! I am more than thrilled to announce Smash is sound! Abscess fully drained and she is ride-able again! :D You have no idea how happy that makes me! Friday was our first ride together after almost an entire month of her being off and it was awesome! In pure Smash fashion she spooked at almost everything and was very up until we got working and she calmed down. I could tell she felt good being back in work.

Friday was also Day 2 of the T3D - Steeplechase/Roads and Tracks/Cross Country day. I had never understood how this classic format worked until I saw it. Basically a rider has a start time where they go on a trail - Track/Road - for sort of like a warm up jog. They have to be at the Steeplechase start at a specific time. The Steeplechase area in this case was a cornered off part of the hay field made into a track/loop with 2 brush fences on either side of the loop. Each rider had 2 minutes to complete 3 loops of this track. It required horses to HAUL a$$ around this track! And you could tell this was every horse's favorite part since they got to go as fast as they wanted and their rider would not slow them down. Once finished this, typically your entourage would double check your tack (look for horse shoe issues/missing studs), hold your horse while you fixed tack, and gave you water if necessary before setting off on the second trail/road/track for a longer run.

You had a specified time to then rejoin your entourage at the 10 min vet box where you jog your horse in for the vet, hop off, and let your entourage start working their magic to cool off your horse as fast as possible. The vet's helpers would take TPR (Temperature, Pulse, and Respiration) every few minutes until your horse's vitals were back to almost resting/normal (temp of 102 or lower, 28-44 beats per min, and 10-24 breaths per min) for the vet to clear you to cross country start box. You had exactly 10 minutes to do this. If your horse does not recover in time they cannot go to the XC phase. We had one person walking the horse, another (me) sponging the horse down with ice water, and another using the sweat scraper to remove the excess water to enable the horses to cool down. Once the horse is vet cleared for vitals, the horse must be jogged again, and then the rider can remount and head to the XC start box. Then they are off for 24 XC jumps. Once they return from XC they must be cleared by the vet again, but this time there is no time limit.

Day 3 was the start of the recognized HT for the weekend and last day of the T3D. I was volunteering all day in the XC field but the format went like this:

* T3D riders did their stadium jumping and were presented with ribbons
* HT riders did their Dressage phase, headed to XC, THEN to stadium to avoid massive chaos

It magically worked out very well! And Sunday, despite Hurricane Sandy's pending arrival, went very well, for the Prelim and Training divisions. The show missed the rain completely and everyone got to compete! And I got to earn some Waredaca Bucks for volunteering *score!*

Next week is the last starter show at Waredaca for the year. I had hoped to ride Novice in this show but after taking all of October off (now because of a hurricane) there is no way it's happening. I considered entering in Elementary but thought no, I don't want to push Smash nor spend the money on an entry fee just for Elem. So I'll just wait for another opportunity. I already got an email for some December jumper shows so I will do some research and see if any of those look interesting to me.

It's been a very exciting week but now with Hurricane Sandy in the area I seriously hope everyone and their horses stay safe!

The Shows That Never Will Be

This weekend and on Oct 6th my Mom was registered to participate in some PVDA horse shows with Smash. Unfortunately there was a little bit of chaos this past weekend that have changed our plans.

Saturday my Mom went to Waredaca for her regular lesson while Nick took me for a trailer driving lesson.  It took me 5min to get the truck to stop pulling 2 millimeters forward every time I got the hitch lined up and let my foot off the brake! That was the beginning of the frustration! We drove the trailer to a nearby school parking lot and I practiced driving forward, backward, backing from the left, and backing from the right. I didn't think I was going to get it. I felt like I kept getting stuck with the trailer turning too far almost jack-knifing and not being able to straighten out and line the trailer into the parking spot I'd picked. Finally I was getting it. I felt great that I could finally back the trailer up on my own no matter how long it took!

I drove the trailer home and didn't kill any one (I did have a long parade of cars behind me since I refused to go anywhere above 45mph). I even backed the trailer back into our parking spot at Waredaca and as I was taking the last wire off the battery as part of my unhitching procedure I hear Nick say "Ummm is that Smash?"

I looked up thinking I'd see my Mom riding or walking her back to the field but instead I saw her still fully tacked and riderless running for the field she lives in. I was wearing shorts and sneakers, clearly not riding clothes, when I exclaimed to a woman who was there just for some cross country schooling "That's my horse!" (why I exclaimed this I have NO idea. I blame the adrenaline and pure shock of seeing Smash running around. Normally I would never shout at strangers random exclamations but there's a first for everything I guess)

She looked at me with the most confused expression imaginable and said "It is?!" Here I am in street clothes, fiddling with my empty trailer, and then claiming that the fully tacked horse running amok is mine. I guess that would confuse me, too. Instantly I take off after her. (Side note: I do know I won't ever catch up to her but I wanted to explain that when I run after Smash it's because I feel if I can keep her within my eye sight I at least know where she is! And yes, there have been times when I have not known where she was which scared the crap out of me! Not to mention if she gets hurt somehow *knock on wood it doesn't happen* I can maybe see what happened) Thankfully there were some girls ahead of me on the road and one had a bike and they were able to catch Smash before I could.

As I'm walking Smash back up to the ring I still notice there is no sight of my Mom. I finally encountered her riding instructor who said she had just come off and she had stayed to make sure she was ok before coming to find Smash. I finally see my Mom and get ready to help her finish her lesson when she says her wrist hurts and cannot get back on. She said she thinks she sprained it and should go to the hospital. She went off to the hospital to get checked out and I told her I'd meet her there since I decided to ride Smash for about 10 min just so she knew running to her field after her rider fell off didn't mean she got to be done.

After I untacked her and Nick helped me put her tack back into the trailer we headed to find my Mom in the hospital. I found out what happened was just Smash spooked at something (probably invisible horse eating monsters), stepped on and broke a dressage ring fence which spooked her again, my Mom fell off since she wasn't expecting it, and Smash decided to run home. I was glad it wasn't Smash being "up" or not focusing because she was bored and wanted an excuse to be silly and that her actions were just Smash being a normal unpredictable horse.

After the trip to the hospital and a few x-rays it turns out my Mom has 2 fractures in her wrist and will require at least a month of rest if not more. So unfortunately she had to scratch from both shows. :( And because I'm not a PVDA member I can't take her place in the show. There will be plenty more shows in the future for my Mom to ride in but it definitely stinks that she can't do these shows this year.

Heal up, Mom! Then you can sign up for more shows!!

Have you ever had to scratch from a show because of a horse related injury?

Flower Boxes

Have you ever asked your instructor what you were going to do in your lesson that day and when you heard what the exercise is thought 'omg that is so simple how am I possibly going to find this worth our time?' and then once you try what sounds like a simple exercise find yourself eating your words?

Yeah. That was me on Wednesday.

I went into my lesson thinking I'd work on some poles/jumping and it'd be easy and fun and full of effortless riding. What happened was the complete opposite. The task was to trot and then canter over 2 flower boxes in a line.

This is what a flower box is:

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They are like 6" tall and maybe 5' long. Usually you need 2 to be long enough for each jump. And usually you place silk flowers in them as decorations for the jump like this:

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There weren't any flowers in the boxes I was instructed to trot over. In fact they weren't even painted white. They were natural colors - i.e. brown - and only 2 of them total. 

I confidently pointed Smash to the first box and missed and proceeded to trot up to the second box missing it, too. It was my wake up call this exercise might be a smidge harder than I first anticipated. But I thought maybe it was a fluke and I just wasn't focusing hard enough. 20 minutes later I was still either missing the boxes completely, Smash tripped over them, or I was completely wiggly in my attempt to get over them resulting in maybe getting over 1 box but not the other. 

20. Minutes. 

This wasn't like jumping a produce stand (my arch nemesis) or a 4' swedish oxer. This was a 6" flower box that a toddler could jump over without trying. Without a horse. or maybe even with one and blindfolded. 

After firmly planting my foot in my mouth and focusing on what was going on and what I needed to do I got it. I got line after line and was unstoppable! Well until we stopped the exercise...which wasn't long after I finally accomplished the task since it had taken me so long. 

So what was going on? I think it's obvious I have an issue with straightness. First I'd ride with only 1 leg on, then I'd try steering with just my hands, then I'd look down to try and see how wiggly I really was which in turn made me wigglier. All wrong. Only after I stopped trying to jump the flower boxes and actually ride Smash and steer with my eyes up and legs on and trot/canter paced evenly did I start being successful. Steph didn't anticipate this exercise being so challenging for me but I think she was glad she had me do it - and I am, too! In fact, my homework for the week is to get 2 more flower boxes out and do it again on my own time. 

I find it amazing how jumping isn't about how big a fence is but rather all of the logistics surrounding the fence. Sure your horse can jump to the moon and back but was it straight? did they use their body correctly? did you use your body correctly? I know tons of people can technically get over jumps but what's more important is HOW you get over the jumps. Not the flashy height of the jump. 

My lesson was very humbling and showed me just how shaky my jumping logistics were. Yeah I can jump over a flower box. Yeah I can get through the line most of the time. But then again most of the time it was not ridden properly. I'm slowly building up my jumping foundation so that when the height does matter my form and Smash's form will already be well established. 

So the next time your instructor has you do something that sounds simple chances are it's not and remember that even simple exercises can challenge us to turn our weaknesses into strengths!

Flower boxes are going to become my new BFFs after this week is over! Guaranteed! 

What To Do in the Fall/Winter

Not sure if you've noticed but the cooler temps are setting in and I'm thinking the official start of fall is going to be a chilly one this year. With that said horse show season is coming to an end in MD and shorter days and frozen ground season is upon us. So with no horse shows for at least 3-4 months, what the heck are we supposed to do besides chip the ice off our horses whiskers?

I've thought of a few fun winter horse activities to consider:

* Foxhunting -  Foxhunting is very popular in MD despite not as much talk about it. Anyone can join but it's best for new riders to go cubbing or to an open introductory hunt that some of the hunt groups provide at the beginning of the season. Below are a list of local fox hunting clubs to check out:

Potomac Hunt Club
De La Brooke Foxhounds
Goshen Hounds
Elkridge-Harford Hounds
Marlborough Hunt
New-Market Middleton Valley Hounds
Wicomico Hunt
Carrollton Hounds

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* Clinics - When horse shows aren't happening, there are sure to be some opportunities to keep your horse in shape and your riding up to par by attending a clinic or 3. You can find a list of clinics in your area either on The Equiery or other organizations like PVDA or MD Dressage or local barns just like you'd search for a horse show. There are plenty of places that have indoor rings, too, that might host jumper clinics.

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* Trail Ride -  When the foliage is lessened due to winter months it is sometimes a little easier to hit the trails. The sun shines through and you aren't constantly dodging branches. A trail ride also provides endurance for your horse and I know I get to catch up with friends since I never ride alone on a trail..

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* Dressage Boot Camp - Winter is the perfect time to really focus on your dressage work. Make a goal for you to accomplish within your dressage work for the winter months to make it more interesting and see how far you get by March! Make it more fun by tracking your progress with video/photos and give yourself and horse a reward for accomplishing your goal at the end of winter. Your reward could be a new dressage whip or more horse treats or to enter into a dressage show at a higher level you normally would ride.

* Goal Setting - Winter is a great time to assess what you want to accomplish next year. Sit down and write out some goals and then more than likely you can make a plan for what you need to do in the winter to achieve those goals. If you want to move up to Novice next season, plan on memorizing the Novice dressage test and practicing it in clinics/schooling shows. Work on grids in jumping that can still be easily set up and done in winter months. Do trot and canter sets in a field to keep endurance up. By the time spring rolls around you won't have to hurry up and get fit again!

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There are plenty of activities to keep you at the barn and your horse in shape during the winter months. Granted the ground might freeze and the temperatures can be tough but if you plan a few activities or set some goals for yourself and your horse you can still make the winter a great time to ride!