$kaddlebred $how

After riding my two boys on Saturday, I headed to the KY state fair for some weirdo ... umm "people" watching and best of all - stake night at the World's Grand Championship saddlebred show.

I have not been to this show since I was a teen, but I still have friends who go and my old trainers (who used to have Morgans but switched to ASBs) were also there. He made sure to poke fun of me and my dressage riding. He said the only reason women ride dressage and do "that sitting trot" is because, and I quote him, "their husbands are too old and tired." I had a good laugh, but secretly wanted to dare him to a sitting-trot challenge. haha.

It is a different world than dressage, that is for sure. Even though I grew up in this world, now that I have been an outsider for so long, some of it really blows my mind. I watch these people ride and think "Some dressage could really help you solve that problem!" ... like when your horse is going sideways down the rail, or has to be run into the canter. Things like that. But then I remember it's not WRONG riding, it's just different. And I really do miss it. 

If your horse tosses a shoe during the class, they stop the class for you and you have 5 minutes for the farrier to tack it back on. This pair excused themselves instead. In my experience, this usually means their shoe was illegal (weight or length of toe).

The show was a blast. So many nice horses ... EXPENSIVE horses. The saddlebreds are doing something right. They draw a GREAT crowd - and charge you to get in! And they draw great entries and it is competitive. People are not afraid to get beat here, like in some other breeds and sports. Even if you get a 5th place, you may still bring home a couple grand. However, in order to even have a chance in hell at winning at a show like this, you are looking at AT LEAST a 6-figure horse. Not joking. And then the cost to board, train, show ... I mean I would have to marry an extremely filthy rich doctor or something. The likes of Carson Kressley and William Shatner also exhibit and own saddlebreds. The sport is all about the show, that is for sure. 

At the end of each championship or "stake" class, they strip the horses of the saddles. Supposedly, the horses are also judged on conformation but I think it's just tradition.

Ladies 3-gaited world's champion

Carson Kressley

Carson shows Saddlebreds and was of course dressed to the 9s.

My jaw hit the ground when I saw this guy in a HELMET. This is very rare in this sport (I never wore a helmet as a kid when I rode my show horse). I wanted to shake this guy's hand!

One of the nicest horses I saw all evening.

William Shatner was driving around in his golf cart.

Beautiful Freedom Hall. The shavings are dyed green.

Ringmasters

Roadster pony

Sorry for the crappy, blurry photos. One day I'll actually learn how to use my camera indoors. Ha.

Favorite bloggers series: Amy & Steady

SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

Hampton, me, Steady and Amy at Octoberfest. 2011 I think? SO FUN!

If you are looking to expand your blog horizon, I urge you to check out Amy's blog - linked above. Amy is not only one of my favorite bloggers, but I also consider her a friend. We have hung out several times outside of blogger land and she is hilarious, kind and quite smart. She is also superwoman because on top of riding, she also has 3 really awesome kids and numerous other projects she maintains. Amy is a darn good rider and what she has done with Steady, a OTTB who raced for quite a long time, is stunning. You should go through her blog and see the transformation! Amy is an inspiration and I miss her dearly. We don't get to see each other much anymore since I moved to Kentuckeh but I'm sure we'll end up at the same show again soon!

 So go check out her blog if you haven't already.

:)

Product review: PC Bell Boots

Professionals Choice ballistic bell boots

Why: You may recall that Hampton sliced his heel bulb back in April or May. Since then, he has lived and worked in bell boots. I have tried several different kinds with the exception of pull-ons. I hate pull ons because I am lazy. That is the only reason. I hate putting them on and taking them off. I pay for Hampton's plethora of items so they damn well better not annoy me. :) That is all.

Size: They run pretty small. Hampton wears an XXL and they are not big on him by any means. The only color choices in this size is black and white. So no fun colors or peace signs for us.

Material: I will say that since wearing these bell boots, Hampton has not suffered any more injuries to his heel bulb. The material is durable and the boot keeps its shape well. It does well in mud, grass, sand, rain, dressage, jumping, hauling, etc. It hoses off easily.

Do they turn? Yes. Maybe not as bad as others, but they DO turn. Infact today, all I had done was WALK to warm up and I hear a wfffftttt sound, look down and the left front was turned completely around. Had to get off and fix it. Maybe I am not putting them on right. I have tried making them tighter, looser, smooshing them down around the hoof ... but they do still turn sometimes.

Do they leave rubs? No. Even after 24/7 wear, they have never rubbed.

Hamper's footsies. These boots do ride a little high. I don't think they are meant to go all the way down to the ground. Also, horse is due for a trim. Geez.

Cost: I picked mine up for around $23 from smartpak. I think that's what they generally run. I do find them worth the money as Hampton's first pair lasted pretty much all summer. I just now replaced them since the stitching broke on the original pair. This is through daily turnout and work in all conditions.

Verdict: I like these boots, thus why I bought another pair. I wish they were more durable but we are talking about Hampton here who is turned out for 16 hours a day in a field of other geldings and it is basically a big frat house out there. They have done a great job of protecting his heels, which is why I bought them. So if you like velcro boots that look nice and are easy to take on and off, I'd recommend these.

Porkchop

Another throwback

Hmmm it seems one of us has gained some weight. (hint: not me.)

Spring 2009

August 2013 (yes that is Hampton and not a broodmare)

4 years of dressage

2009

2013
(photo used with permission)

You and me, baby.

A Day in the Life of a dressage schooling show
(KDA schooling show wrap up)

10 a.m.-4 p.m.I spent all day Saturday cleaning out and organizing my trailer for Sunday's show. I haven't been able to use my wonderful trailer for almost a year! It was so nice of a fellow barn mate to lend us her truck for the weekend.

My bombdiggity trailer

All organized!

4 p.m.: Hampton loaded up fine. But Davey decided he would rather not get on the trailer and became quite defiant about it. After I made his life a living hell outside of the trailer, he did step right up on the ramp and right as I thought he would walk all the way he whipped backward and ripped the rope right out of my hand. He took off toward the field where his friends were. He was captured and this time I used the annoyance method to encourage him on the trailer and on he went.

4:30-6 p.m.: The drive to Masterson Station was uneventful and really easy. Although I did not realize just how hilly I-64 is until I was pulling a trailer with Hampton's fat ass on it. ha!

6:15 p.m.: We arrived and unloaded the boys. The stalls here are super. They are big and roomy and have mats and most of them have windows. However, upon leading Davey (my friend's horse) into his stall, something startled him and he swerved over into my space and smashed my foot something good.

Karen is now a 3 out of 5 on the lameness scale.

 After settling in we decided not to ride because it kept threatening to storm. Instead we just took the boys for a walk to the arenas and let them graze a bit before tucking them in for the night.

11 p.m.: We were so tired that we ended up watching 3 hours of "Honey Boo Boo" on TV. Our IQs were dropping by the minute I think. None of us slept well. The beds were not comfortable and I just kept hoping it would be 7 am already so I could get up and do something. Darn you, Clarion.

7 a.m.: Grabbed a quick breakfast and heading out to feed the boys. They seemed perky and Hampton had drank all of his water. I suggested we lunge them in separate areas because we all know how horses become attached at the hip when you trailer them together.

8 a.m.: We give the boys a quick lunge. Hampton yells for Davey a few times but after about 10 minutes he gives that up. Nicole reports Davey was about the same way. After this initial "weaning" process, they were perfect angels the rest of the day.

9 a.m.: We get Nicole ready for her rides. Her warm up goes really well. She has a really solid go at Training 2. Training 3 is also pretty good but there are a few bobbles. No big deal. They are a green pair and Davey is half Arabian so he really enjoys looking around at things and avoiding the connection. But they will get there! Nicole had a really good point. She said that shows are so refreshing because as you watch others you realize that EVERYONE struggles and has issues. Sometimes you get frustrated when you ride at home all the time and you think you are the only one who is having problems. Which is not true (duh). 

11 a.m.: Nicole and Davey are done for the day so we head back to the stalls and get Davey untacked and hosed off.

11:15 a.m.: Get Hampton braided.

11:30 a.m.: We have some time to sit down and chillax for a bit. I wolf down a mimosa and then get dressed in my show clothes.

12:25 p.m.: Get Hamps groomed and tacked up.

12:45 p.m.: Hop aboard and head to the rings. Warm up goes really well. Hampton is calm and obedient. He is a bit tense in his back so I work on trying to loosen him up. So this was the first time I have tried the sticky spray stuff. I was hoping it would help me sit the medium trot. Well, it did. When I tried to post, my butt came out of the saddle but my pants did not. Hilarity ensued.

Warming up

1:34 p.m.: We trot down the centerline for Second Level Test 3. Hampton is right there for me every step of the way. He was so good! We only had one VERY MINOR bobble where he stumbled in a corner. But it was not bad. We recovered really well. Our medium trot was worlds better than Meadowlake. Counter canter was balanced. I was so proud of him after that test. I was beaming!

Why did I get a 6.5 on rider position?

Preparing for turn on the haunches

We got a 7 on the medium walk

Counter canterin'

10m circle I think

2:24 p.m.: This was our test for First Level (Test 3). I made a big mistake, however, and decided to put my spurs on. I really wanted to "go for it" for the leg yields and encourage dramatic crossover. This decision would be my demise. The trot work of the test went well. Although during our lengthening he ALMOST broke into the canter. I caught it in time, but he did have a few irregular steps. Drat. Then during the canter lengthening I wanted more so I touched him with the spur. Well, that resulted in the classic " F YOU LADY" move and he kicked out during that. That sort of rattled me because I didn't want that to continue so I sort of froze. Not out of fear, but out of caution in that I didn't want my scored to be dinged. So during the canter loop, I felt him ask me if he should swap leads. I stiffened my body as a way of saying "no, don't change" and so he broke to the trot. He did exactly what he has been trained to do. I should have supported him with my seat and legs, but I did not. I froze. Totally my fault. But we got dinged majorly on that. The rest of the test went fine but I was disappointed in myself for not riding well.

My wild stallion

First level

Loved Masterson Station!

3 p.m.: Back to the stalls in which we hose Hampton off and back up the trailer, strip the stalls and get organized for the ride home.

Guess what I made the boy do?

4 p.m.: We go check our scores. Nicole had gotten hers earlier and earned a 58% and I think a 56% in her tests. The judge was pretty harsh. This is not a bad thing but she was not very liberal with giving out any 7s, that is for sure. She did give really good feedback, though, which is what matters. Hampton squeaked out a 62% in First3 to give us second place. I think I may have squealed a bit when we realized that we had WON the Second Level class! (All second level riders were lumped together in one class no matter what test you were riding. There were 6 or 7 riders I think). We scored a 63% and some change. I was REALLY happy with that. We got pretty much straight 6.5s. Man, I don't know what you have to do to get a 7 from this judge! I even got a 6.5 on rider position. I don't think I have ever earned anything less than a 7 for that. BUT ... in Second Level Hampton DID get a 7 on gaits! With a comment of "regular." (Thanks to the ulcer guard? LOL I slay myself sometimes) Which was awesome.

6:30 p.m.: Arrive home exhausted. Put horses to bed, throw our stuff back in the tack room. Whew!

____

Overall this was such a fun show. Masterson Station Park (Lexington) was a nice facility to show at. My only complaint was that the rings were really dusty. In fact during my first level test a bunch of sand got in my contact and was irritating the crap outta me. Not using that for an excuse for my poor riding but, it happened. Comments from the judge included "more uphill balance," "work on straightness at the canter" and "be more accurate" (ARGH!). So nothing I did not know. But this was the first time I felt like we actually belonged at Second Level. We owned it and I did not have to walk around sheepishly like I was out of my league.

Lovely facility (I believe there was a federal prison way out in the background)

DUST.

 Also, I was so thrilled to see Kelly from Princess Diva come out to watch!  Can't wait to see her and Riva out and about in beautiful Kentucky. :)

Now for a bonus! On our walk back to the stalls after our rides, I spotted a bank complex. (Masterson Station has a wide variety of cross country jumps and hosts horse trials, too).

Hmmm, I thought. Wonder if I should take Hamps down the small bank since there is no pressure?

So we did it. In my dressage coat and all. He stepped down the tiny bank no problem. This is something he would not do even just this spring! So then I asked him to step down the BN bank. Down he went! did not even hesitate! I think our fear of down banks has been conquered. I was so, so proud of him for that.

I love this.

Easily and calming stepped down. Neither one of us freaked out.

_______

What's next: He will have a couple of days off and then some hacking this week. I did give him ulcer guard and probiotic doses over the weekend and he did not get any nervous "soft serve" poos like he did at Meadowlake. I was going to do a rated show in early September but I think I'm going to change our plans and aim for October. We will see.

Sexy Rexy update

Little Rex has been working hard all week, too! He has really started to make some dramatic progress lately. This is why I really enjoy the young horses. The progress is so obvious from day to day.

He will start out a bit wiggly but then settle into a nice rhythm and balance as the ride progresses. Today we had NO WIGGLYNESS at all. He stepped right into a balanced trot both directions and we were not even riding in the ring - we were in the grassy area surrounding it. So no "barriers" to rely on. Good critter! Very steady in the contact today with numerous moments of roundness, too.

Ears shot!

Looking not quite so awkward anymore.

Vienna reins help him lower his whole neck.

I have been lunging him a bit in vienna reins which really help encourage him to lower his neck. He is of the Friesian type where he would rather go around like a high headed driving horse. But he needs to build his top line and use his abs. He has really figured it out and is looking super. He is also getting more crisp and prompt canter transitions lately. That will improve with more strength and time.

So, at 3 years old here is where he is at:

• Ties like a pro in the crossties
• Stands quietly for baths, grooming, feet picking.
• Easy to bridle.
• Lunges walk, trot, canter. With or without side reins. Excellent with voice command and body language.
• Walk, trot, canter under saddle.
• Waits by both the small mounting block and the larger one by the arena.
• Can also mount him from the ground
• Hacks out in the field
• Walks over poles and flower boxes
• Rides alone or with other horses

Here is what needs improvement:

• Still thinks fly spray is going to kill him
• Needs more time with the clippers

What's next for Rex:

• Learning baby leg yields at walk and then trot.
• More hacking out in the fields/trail rides
• More prompt canter transitions
• Hill work
• Teach turn on the forehand

Overall he is such a pleasant creature to be around and I have been really enjoying him. He is sensitive but in a good way. He prefers if you just whisper your aids. He has never offered to do anything remotely naughty but I do think he would prefer a quiet rider who has light aids. He tends to worry if you are too "loud." 

Meanwhile ... Hamps has been getting clipped and washed in preparation for Sunday. He will get another bath on Saturday before we take off. But don't tell him that. haha.

woman where is my cookeh!