IDS Show: Redemption Song

Spoiler alert: I have my well behaved Hampton back. :)

He hauled perfectly, and was perfect on Friday for schooling. I did give him a light lunge early Saturday morning to loosen his back, but only for about 10 minutes if that.

Our first test was 3-3 and it was a mistake-free test, clean changes and good rhythm. In my opinion it was still flat and down hill, but that is a struggle I will ALWAYS have with him. I was very pleased that 3-3 felt EASY. I never thought I would say that! The judge awarded us with a 67.9%. That is a personal best for me in 3-3.

Paul Wood photo

By the time I rode 2-3, I was exhausted from dealing with Royale for more than an hour. Hampton was tired, too. But even so we floated through the test with zero mistakes other than one transition where he tripped and went splat. Again, quite downhill and flat but still got a 69%. I will certainly take that any day of the week!

Paul Wood photo

Hampton never put a foot wrong. Never offered to back off to be naughty or anything but act like a perfect seasoned gentleman. It was a great confidence booster for both of us (he got SO MANY COOKIES and also some cranial-sacral release treatment after his second class). This show accomplished exactly what I hoped it would.

Hanging out ringside with Jen and Conner.
SUPERB side-eye, Conner.

I have to say to say it was incredibly refreshing to go in the ring and KNOW that I got this. Instead of showing at the level where we aren't quite confirmed and hoping for the best, I could march right in at 2-3 and 3-3 and have the confidence that we were not overfaced and could do these tests no problem. SO REFRESHING. And that is saying a lot about our progress because those tests are not exactly cakewalks!

... and as for Royale. Well, he is good boy but the gerbils in his brain fell off the wheel. I put on facebook that he was like riding a squirrel high on meth. He was wiggly. Weird in the contact. Avoiding my aids. Running away. Backing off. Running through his shoulders. All I could do was laugh and stay as quiet as I could.

I did get a 7 for rider position for being "quiet and tactful." So there is that.

His first class including lots of bucking in the canter, and a flubbed right lead canter. He started to charge down the last centerline so I floated his teeth once. Sorry not sorry. After that class I went back to the warm up and make him work more. By the second class I had fixed the right lead canter and had better contact. He managed a respectable 62% in Training 2. So I was pleased that he did settle and make improvement.

Jesus H. Christ, Royale. This is what happens when he starts to run off from my leg. So I close my fingers,
and squeeze him like toothpaste. Eventually he won't curl up like this. I hope.

His big thing is that when you put your leg on, he runs. That is not forward, that is running away from my leg and not allowed. What horses like him do is go really fast - making you THINK that they are so good and forward! - when in reality they are training you to take your leg off. No sir, not allowing it. So there were times when he was super curled, and times when he was a giraffe. Because guess what man, I am going to keep my leg on AND keep contact no matter what you do!!

He will come along. He is just green and ... a saddlebred.

Kelly and Fergie head to the ring, with help from hubby Paul who took
fantastic photos of me! Thanks Paul!!!

He is now home with me in KY so maybe Hampton and the herd will wear him out for me. hahaha.

So overall a really great show. Hampton won both his classes and Royale got a 4th and a 5th I think. Perfect weather and I got to watch both Kelly and Fergie, and Jen and Conner absolutely rock their classes too! Wait until you hear the score Jen got!!!! Sadly I did not get to hang out with them as much as I would have liked because I was literally riding for 2 hours straight.

Still having the vet out to give Hamp a look-see this week I hope. Will update on those results.

Other than that, back to work for both boys!

Going back, not giving up

Photos courtesy of Aimee

We have a schooling show this weekend and I'm actually looking forward to it in spite of the fact that it was will be CHAOS and INSANITY because I am showing Hampton and Royale in 2 classes each, and they are all scheduled within about 2 hours of each other. Bring it on though.

I decided to enter Hampton in 2-3, and 3-3. Here's why:

Confidence. Not only did I have my confidence shattered at Mid-Ohio, but Hampton's was, too. He is a laid back dude, and very stoic, but also incredibly sensitive emotionally. When he thinks he is in "trouble" he gets highly over-reactive. He knows when he has messed up, and knows when he has done really well. There was no reward at Mid-Ohio. We both need to go in the arena, have a really great ride and feel like we can do this again.

Need to feel like this again

Just in case. On the other hand, should Hampton decide to act like a mule again, it is far easier for me to make corrections in a Second Level test, rather than fight my way through Fourth level and have to do tempis or pirouettes with a horse who is a hot mess. That is not setting myself or him up for success.

Something NQR. Hamps has not been the same since Mid-Ohio. He has been ok, and not lame per se, but he has been extra spooky, and argues about silly shit. For example, today we were cantering and I asked for some counter bend. He threw a total fit about it. Swapping leads, canter sideways, popping up on front. WTF? To me this says he is uncomfortable somewhere. He did cooperate eventually, and we had a nice moments. But something just isn't right. I have a call in to a super lameness vet to look at him next week. I am afraid it might be time to inject stifles or hocks. He is already on several ulcer-preventatives, but will do a round of omneprozole, too. In the meantime, there is no reason to push him past his comfort zone. And 2-3 is well within his comfort. Third-3 we may run into some problems, but we'll see. He should be ok if I warm him up and let him unlock appropriately.

This please.

Year-end awards/Regionals. Here's the thing. I spent a shit ton of money on memberships, registry fees, etc thinking that I would aim Hamp for some breed awards and regionals this year. I simply do not have the money to keep chasing 60% at 4-3 this year. I can only afford to enter 2, maybe 3, rated shows a year if I am lucky. One of those is already gone. I would really like to go to Regionals this year because it is so close. How about I show at 2-3, and 3-3 and get better scores, qualify for Regionals, and have a better chance at some breed awards, rather than continue to throw money down the drain and hope and pray for a 60% at 4-3? Then get CLOBBERED at Regionals? This comes down to setting myself up for success and I would much rather do that, then continue to feel defeated and overfaced this year. Getting score after score in the 50s is very discouraging.

I am not giving up, just going back to rebuild.

Later this summer I still plan on debuting at PSG (yeah, fuck 4-3. It can eat my butt) and hopefully getting my silver medal! Just need to get Hamp comfortable, and confirm those tempis and pirouettes! Also need to play more with the double bridle. Haven't quite found the perfect combo of bits yet.

I KNOW we are capable, but in horse training sometimes the wheels fall off the bus and you have to go back a step or two. We are in one of those phases right now. And that's ok, we will push through.

This crap we are going through is EXACTLY why people send their horses off to trainers, or just sell them. I could do that, but what would I learn? Nothing. Hampton is always teaching me, if I listen.

So I will.

In other news:

Jen and Conner, and Kelly and Fergie are also showing this weekend! Can't wait to watch them!

Royale, who has been hanging out with Liz all winter, is making his Training Level debut! Very excited to hop back on my favorite saddlebred. Hopefully the weather holds for us. Indiana has been a flood plain lately.

Will hopefully return with plenty of horse show media. :)

Hampton gets a day with two 12-year-olds

After the whirlwind of Rolex, Aimee and I spent Monday morning out torturing playing with Hampton. We had Aimee's shiny new bridle to test out, plus my new browband and halfpad. All outfits! Because we are 12.

(Hampton was properly compensated with cookies)

I never have anyone to take photos of us at the barn these days, so it was a real treat to have Aimee snapping photos of me and Hamps! And let me tell you, the girl is a wizard with an iPhone! I had my "real" camera just in case, but it wasn't needed.

The sky was UNREAL that day.

There are way too many to post in one blog post, but they will provide me with blog media for quite some time!

After prancing around for our photographer, I handed Aimee the reins.

I don't think I even gave her any instructions - she just got on and off they went! Aimee is a much better rider than what she claims to be on her blog, and it was quickly apparent to me that she is a sensitive, thoughtful rider.

She spent some time feeling out Hampton's buttons, and proceeded to walk, trot and canter him around - on the bit, in the double bridle. I really had nothing to say but "Well, that looks good!" There have been a number of people who have not been able to ride him that well. I told Aimee that Hampton will put in as much effort as you ask of him. No more, no less. He quickly figures out the rider and whether or not they are serious, or if he should just take care of them and give a pony ride.

At the end, I took the whip and helped her play with a little piaffe. We didn't get great photos of this because I cannot be the whip person and video at the same time, but they looked great!

And the good thing about photos is that I can see now that Hamps has an issue with this new bridle (or the bits? Which are the same but maybe they lie differently?) So if you notice his mouth is open, or my curb is at too much of an angle, rest assured I have corrected the issue. He just wears a mullen mouth curb anyway but still. Yikes. Yay for media? Sorry Hampton!

Wish we looked like this at Mid-Ohio

Anyway, I LOVE sharing Hampton with people. No, he is not going to be "ruined." You are not going to "un do" any training. I get it with more sensitive, green horses. But Hamp rolls with the program and is happy to do whatever. I wouldn't let anyone on him that I thought would be cruel or dangerous. And if I did, Hampton would take care of that for me. He does not tolerate stupid riding. :)

INSERT COOKEH

Check out Aimee's blog for her point of view! It makes me so happy to hear she enjoyed him.

And yes I am aware of bears!!

Rolex 2017: EPIC

"Michael Jung looks more relaxed during dressage than I do on the toilet."

Austen, Aimee, Leah, Liz, myself ... and random cleavage. 

I know there are probably a zillion Rolex wrap-ups out there in blog land, so I'll keep mind short and sweet. Maybe.

Aimee and Leah stayed with me and were the two greatest people to hang with for the weekend! While we had not met each other before, we got along right away and had a total blast.
These girls are something else, not only did we get along great but they helped me with morning barn chores for 3 of those days! THANK YOU ladies! Truly wonderful gals.

(Aimee also brought me a custom browband and Leah brought me Rum and eggs! I mean where have you guys been all my life?!)

Gotta take the photo with Bruce.

I also knew I would get along with these girls when they wanted to start drinking at 10 a.m. So we did. For 3 days.

Other notable events:

- Morning barn chores in a tornado (confirmed EF1)
- Nearly hitting a deer
- Leah rear-ending a car (she was on foot ....)
- Aimee eating powder electrolytes on mistake
- I accidentally burnt Leah's boobs (sorry girl!)
- 3 college-educated women spending way too long trying to open the hatch of the Jeep
- Day drinking
- A rather bomb-diggity taco party thanks to Amy! (I know how Indiana eventers roll, so I was not shocked at the events ... and possibly partipcated ... but I think some people were taken aback! lol!)
- Lap dancing (see above)
- Free drinks from "Charlie" at my favorite dive bar
- Free shots of bourbon
- My cat Buckley being a creeper to my houseguests
- The Terminator winning Rolex 3 years in a row (is he a robot?)
- Some of the most lovely, consistent dressage I have seen at Rolex.


I scored some great swag!

Right before Rolex I found out I was going to be furloughed from work, so I tried not to make too many bad decisions. But I did buy some things anyway because I'm just not able to adult, and who needs to eat?!

Not a fan of the red, but otherwise WHO do I have to sleep with to get this saddle?!?!

I kicked butt getting free samples, and signing up for drawings. I even WON a bucket full of grooming stuff!

The shopping was off the hook as usual. And obviously watching the best horses and riders in the world is phenomenal. It never gets old, no matter how many times I come to this event.

It was SO FUN meeting up with so many fellow bloggers! Might be too many to list, but here are the ones I remember. I am super horse-show hungover so forgive me if I forget you!

L-R: Myself, Jen, Renate, Lead, Aimee (and Bitsy the best dog!)

You can find more photos and better Rolex coverage on their blogs I am sure.

AIMEE: http://iamthesprinklerbandit.blogspot.com/
LEAH: http://www.dressagebarbie.com/
HILLARY: http://www.equestrianathart.com/
AMANDA: https://the900facebookpony.com/
RENATE and friends: http://grainbeforegroceries.blogspot.com/
STEPHANIE (ack  I need your blog address)
JEN (who I see on a regular basis but still counts!) http://www.cobjockey.com/
AUSTEN (who I also have met and partied with. ha.): http://guineaforaguinness.blogspot.com/
LIZ: https://liz-stout.blogspot.com/
AMY (another long-time friend) http://slowandsteadysmilerwinstherace.blogspot.com/
ALANNA: https://pony3express.blogspot.com


On Monday Aimee did not have to fly out until later so we tortured Hampton for a few hours with photo shoots. Then Aimee got to take a spin on him! More on that in the next post.

A Tail dyin' how-to

Sunbleached tail.
I mean, he could be the 6th Backstreet Boy!

I guess this is all the rage these days, so I decided to give this a try.

Hampton has lived outside 24/7 for most of his life, so naturally he has a rather sunbleached tail. I don't really care, frankly, but I really like the look of a jet black tail that you see in pictures. It seems the eventers are really into this, as are the hunters.

Also, there is no way I am going to attempt a mane so you are on your own there.

Here is my hillbilly tutorial.

WHAT YOU NEED

1. Hair Color. I purchased 2 boxes of Revlon soft black. When I do this again, I will buy 3 or 4 boxes. Two wasn't quite enough, but may be just fine for those of you with horses with less tail, or a shorter tail, etc. Hamp has an average tail, but remember he is super tall so it's quite a bit of hair. I believe each box was $2.99.

2. Latex gloves. (I recommend not using the cheap-o ones that come with the hair color.)

3. Plastic grocery bag. Might be a good idea to make sure you pony is ok with plastic bags before you wrap it onto his butt. Hamps gives zero shits, but I would have never tried this with Royale.

4. Vet wrap

5. Wear old clothes.

The bleached tail look is especially noticeable in late summer.

THE PROCEDURE

After watching some YouTube videos, there are some people who put a "bib" of sorts around the tail to protect butt fur from getting dyed. If you are like me and have a bay horse, you can probably get away with no tail bib. Also, if your horse has high white socks, or other white markings, you can cover those in Vaseline to protect those areas from getting smudged.

Sidenote: Pick a day with no flies to do this. Less tail swishing.

1. Mix your first bottle of hair color.

2. Squirt all around the tail. I used the first box to color the top half of the tail, and the second bottle to color the bottom half. (Like I said, I could have used a 3rd bottle to clean up what I missed). I started on a dry tail.

3. Rub in well, saturate as much hair as you can. Repeat for second bottle.

4. Tie the tail in a low knot. Take grocery bag and cover tail, securing with vet wrap (or whatever you choose).

I would wrap higher if you have a horse that is any color other than bay or black.
Might leave some marks.
Hampton: "Oh FML what is she doing now."

5. Throw horse in stall to wait (I waited 25 minutes or so).

6. Rinse out thoroughly. Use conditioner that comes with the color, or your own conditioner.

Ta- da!!! You have dyed your horse's tail.

It really was quite easy. And while there are spots I missed, it's not obvious and still looks natural.

I'm not sure how long this will last, but I anticipate doing about dye job in June I would think. It's easy, and cheap, and looks really sharp. I did see that Shapley's has a spray that you can also use to color your horse's hair, but I was hesitant to try that due to the smear factor. If anyone else has used that, please chime in!


... meanwhile, it's ROLEX TIME!!!!!!! Aimee and Leah are staying with me so I better get crackin on cleaning my little condo!! Can't let them see how I really live. hahaha. :)

Remember - blogger meetup on Saturday!!

Mid-Ohio Show: The Disaster

Found this photo op on one of our morning walks. haha. *cough*

Pop quiz!

Which of the following happened this weekend.

a) We got the lowest score of the show
b) We plowed over one of the top trainers in the area on a very expensive horse in the warm-up
c) Hampton bucked so big I lost my reins
d) I had an epic 13-year old girl meltdown in the warm up
e) ALL OF THE ABOVE


....


If you answered E - ALL OF THE ABOVE - you are correct!!


I waited until I had simmered down and had good sleep before writing this post. Because on Sunday if someone had offered me $1000 I would have handed Hampton over and said BYE FELICIA. Or, I was going to ask for numbers of tiger sanctuaries. I'm sure Hampton would feed a lot of tigers.

Part of me wanted to not talk about the show. Pretend it never happened. BUT, I've always tried to keep it real on this blog. So here it is. Prepare yourselves. lol

We arrived on Friday and while Hamp hauled well, our schooling was pretty tight. He was chomping like mad on the bit, and really did not want me to touch him. He was very tight and wanted to lurch and get behind the leg and bridle. This is not unusual for him sometimes off the property, so I did not let it bother me. I made some adjustments to my bridle and that seemed to help.

He needed a chain to lead around the grounds Saturday morning. 

Saturday morning he was WILD. I thought that was good, at least he wasn't tired! I can deal with the freshness. The show grounds (a nice facility) had round pens and I let him prance around and burn off some energy. He seemed to appreciate that and was in a much better mental state. However, his back was still tight. Like, lateral cantering tight. I took him on a few more walks/hand grazes before our ride which wasn't until 5 pm.

Thank you Eden Park Equestrian Complex for the round pens!

I will say that he WON the warm up! He felt good. Still tight, but manageable. But boy, did things go in the shitter once we hit the ring.

He broke in the trot extensions (which is NEVER does). Late changes. Out of sequence changes. Piros were a clusterfuck. Nothing went right. After the right piro, I had to stop and pick up the correct lead (he was swapping everywhere), and for a split second I thought "I should just excuse myself. I don't want this score on my record." But, I didn't. I should have, but I didn't.

I don't have photos or video, but just imagine I REALLY stiff intro level TB trying to do 4th level tricks. On the forehand, not collected. Not on the bit. That was us. I was THAT GIRL.

I couldn't even  look my trainer in the face as I walked out of the arena. I was so ashamed and humiliated.

We scored a 52. The lowest score of the show. HIGH FIVE.

You guys know me, I can shake off a bad test. It happens. I made a game plan for Sunday to ride a little pissed off. No more fucking around!

The show rings

Sunday morning he was quiet, seemed very normal. When I got on to warm up, he felt ok. Less chomping the bit, etc. I did a lot of piaffe, turn on the haunches to get him on his hind leg. I was determined to keep his poll up.

Hampton is very good on pulling DOWN on you. And once he is down, I have no leverage. I would MUCH prefer a giraffe. It's so much easier to supple them around and down, than to try and lift 1300+ pounds of horse up. I'm just not strong enough.

Trotting went ok, but once we started cantering I knew I was in trouble. His back was tight as a board. Lateral cantering, and what I call an electric back - the kind where you might be bucked off any second. Super.

I did everything I could think of. Shoulder-in, leg yields at the canter, half pass, forward and back. Nothing was helping. And he just kept getting more pissy with me. Before I knew it, we were getting into an all out fight.

My coach suggested I try a line of changes. HAHAHAHA. Oh god. You know how when you see a horse buck so big that the crowd gasps and stops talking? I was THAT GIRL. He bucked so big I lost my reins for a second.

Stabling area

Then it happened. I decided ok, I need to kick him forward and gallop for a bit here. I asked for forward. Nothing. Sucking back. Propping. Pig rooting. Kicked him again. He put his head down, nose to his chest and fucking bolted right through my left rein. I had ZERO control. There was nothing I could do. I was in the middle of a one-rein stop when bad timing happened and we just happened to be passing a "big name trainer" and her VERY EXPENSIVE horse. We plowed right into her (at a gallop), knocking her into the fence. Boy did she start yelling at me! I apologized profously but SHE WAS PISSED.

I am SURE something like that has NEVER happened to her in all her years of riding.

After I got him stopped, I lost it. My eyes started to water. My lip started quivering.

I bit my lip. Dammit. I started sobbing like a spoiled little 13 year old hunter brat.

I threatened to scratch. I really did not want to get a 40%. I felt like the biggest piece of shit rider. I should not be riding 4th level. Hell, we could not have ridden training level in that state. I was humiliated. All of our hard work, all of my money (I had saved up for 5 months to go to this show), all the emotional investment just overwhelmed me right there. And now I was fucking crying to top it all off.

But my coach said "I think you should go in." And I knew I had to. I am no quitter that's for sure.

So I did. I was fully prepared to excuse myself if things went down the drain.

And ... I made it around. I rode VERY VERY conservatively. Frankly I was in defense mode, scared to death to touch him. Basically just nursing him around.

And hell, the test was SO MUCH BETTER than the day before. Yes, he lacked collection. There was late changes here and there. But I nailed the tempi sequences. The piros were big, but acceptable for our level of greenness. No huge blunders really.

But obviously you cannot nurse a horse around 4-3. There is no more faking it till you make it. We scored a fair 55. I was fine with that. I didn't fall off, and I was not riding my best due to my emotional state. I did what I could with what I had that day. A better rider maybe could have done better, but man he was a tough ride this weekend. When Hampton does not want to play, he is big and he is strong. And he will pull out the asshole stunts.

ASSHOLE award goes to ....

BRIGHT spot of the weekend, a SHOW KITTEH!

The fact is that horses are not machines and I could come up with all sorts of things to blame this weekend on.

It was a long haul.
Stalls were small.
Hamp never lied down
He was attached to the mare he hauled with
I put too much pressure on myself
I need to lift weights
We were overfaced
He can't maintain collection needed for 4th

blah blah blah

The thing is, I KNOW what we are capable of. It's just that for whatever reason he did not want to play this weekend. Which made me ride like shit. It was BOTH of our faults.

BUT. These shows are a major sacrifice for me. I spend a LOT Of money on this horse, and his only job is to make me happy. So, he needs to hold up his end of the bargain. His behavior was unacceptable, and it seems to me that we may have a show ring ridability problem here. It's just that at 4th level I can no longer fake my way through it.

So, I am going to think about what comes next here.

Obviously, this means no freestyle this year. And not going to regionals at 4th level.

Show season is going to get a make over, but I am not quitting. Just going to do something different. Showing is supposed to be fun for me. And this weekend was miserable. I would have been happier taking that $350 and just flushing it. Five months of saving down the tubes. No qualifying scores. Not even close. An utter waste. UGH. Part of sport I guess?

Ok, if you made it this far. Congrats.

Peace. I'll write more later.

MOADT

Mother Of All Dressage Tests.

aka Fourth Level Test 3.

aka the test I am showing this weekend.

shit.

First level

So I am just a little less scared of 4-3 since I have run through it in the ring once back in March. It is indeed a doosey, things come up very quickly, the pattern makes zero sense and if you don't use your corners you will be up a creek with no paddle.

The pirouettes are making great progress, but will still be a hail mary in the show ring. The changes are mostly good as long as I don't let him get downhill - then his croup comes up and they will be late behind. Of course I can't forget all the other movements either! I really have to nail the things we are good at to get as many points as I can if we screw up somewhere. And by we, I mean the rider.

Fourth level is much like 2nd level in that it really tests the rider's ability to ride a test. Can you use your corners? Can you string all these movements together without really having much of a rest? Do you hate yourself? Are you into bizarre self torture? Then fourth level is for you!

Second level

Third Level

So what's my plan this week?

We will do two days of piro work, probably a changes/other stuff day and A LOT of forward and back. I've also be lighting him back up and maintaining the show trot for longer and longer. I think we can get a 7 on gaits if I can keep that up for most of the test. But it's not easy. It creates tension and it's a FINE LINE between good tension (makes him fancy) and too much (lose suppleness, he starts to run off with me). I'm also going to incorporate a lot of pole work this week to keep his back mobilized.

And of course, the usual "de-yak-ing" of the horse has commenced. I have his legs clipped and I dyed his tail! (A first for me, I need to do a post on that). I still have his face to clip, ears and bridlepath to trim, and random other goat hairs to eliminate. (eh hum ... man-scaping).

He may just look like a show horse by the weekend!

I hope I can ride well and do him justice.

Fourth level