USDF National Finals -- Part 1

I am hardly sure where to start.

Going to split my Nationals experience into two posts. Part 1 will be about Hampton and our tests. And Part 2, equally as awesome, will be about THE SWAG AND MY PURCHASE OF THE CENTURY.

---

*Cracks knuckles*

First. If you ever have the opportunity to attend the USDF National Finals, even if you stand no chance at a ribbon, you should make this a bucket list item.

In the 10 minutes it took me to go to the show office to check in, I saw Debbie McDonald and George Williams. And I knew I was no longer in Kansas. I do apologize as I was a bit stunned and did not break out my phone for creeper photos like a proper fan girl would have done.

Awards table

Guys this show is legit. It is the real deal. Six-figure horses strolling around everywhere. Absolute top notch riding. 42 states were represented here, so yes you see the best in the country. Ex-Olympic horses, international horses and riders, Gladstone winners, multiple CDI horses. People flaunting their money. It was like being in Wellington. Only it was 20 degrees. Ha.

Some of the trophies

--

Hampton and I arrived late Friday morning and got settled before we rode a regular PSG class in the afternoon.

He warmed up great, although the footing was pretty sloppy and it took him a while to acclimate to it. We marched in the ring and put in what I thought was a solid test! He was obedient, and we did not make any mistakes.

They had electronic scoring so my score was up on the big light board before I even walked out of the ring! That's way cool! (They also text your score to you). Our score was a 57%+ - our worst ever at the PSG. I suppose that's what I get for trying to show in front of this type of judging panel! haha!

Check your scores at these stations

But also, here's why I cannot afford to make ANY mistakes with Hampton:

From my PSG test. hahaha.
So many 6s

So while other pairs can afford a bobble or two because they are a 7 or an 8 out of the box because their horse is just plain better, I cannot. This judge gave us several 4.5 and 5s, one was on Hampton's medium walk which HAS NEVER EVER HAPPENED. But on the bright side we DID get a 7 on the left canter pirouette which I had been screwing up all year! So there is that.

Here's the thing. If I want scores in the mid to upper 60s, I would have to go back to 2nd or 3rd level. That is just the name of the game now. Hampton is just not uphill enough, or engaged enough (or even "fake engaged" like you see in Fresians) to score much more than a 6 from most judges in PSG and up. The fact is that Hampton is a downhill, flat mover. However, he is a fantastic teacher and he is teaching me how to train a horse up the levels. So we will continue onward. Scores be damned. And he is quite happy to do the FEI still so we keep going! I was disappointed in the score, but happy with my horse and all the progress we have made.

What else can you do?!

---

Saturday morning rolled around and I did my sound check at 6:45 am. FROZEN. It was barely 20 degrees.

6:30 am at the KHP

I did some shopping before my 10:39 ride time which I will post about next.

Teaser: I bought something beautiful. I went full out dressage queen.

Anyhoo, it was maybe a tick warmer around 10 when I got on Hampton to warm up for our championship 4th level freestyle class. He warmed up great. He LOVES this chilly weather. Meanwhile, there were many other fresh and naughty horses. Things were pretty interesting around the horse park haha!

Our time was up and I marched into the Murphy ring. Hampton was uphill, energetic. And stayed that way throughout the test. He was so on my aids, never dropped an ear.

I started grinning during the trot work, I was having so much fun. In fact our trot work got a little sloppy because I was like "weeeee hahahahahaha I love this!" But still, we hung right in there and got a 63%+. Which is about what we have been getting all year, and this was under 3 judges at the National level. Including Janet Foy.

Here is the full video! I don't have to analyze why we don't score that awesome. It's super obvious, but it's fun anyway!



And we didn't get stomped on, the scores (well, except for the top 2 horses I think) the scores were TIGHT. So Hampton really hung in there! We finished 9th. Out of 10 horses. hahahaha! I didn't even expect to beat anyone at this level but that's cool!

I was just so proud of him and how far he has come. He was so happy to be showing and also really showed how awesome of a horse he is when, at the end of our extended canter, two ring ladies flapped their blanket around mere feet from us and Hampton NEVER BLINKED. I can assure you probably any other pair out there would have been spooked. Not Hampton! Check them out in this clip of our freestyle. They are on the right hand side of the screen.

To me that kind of brain is worth far more than those leg flingers who get the big scores but their riders have to be to and from the barns by a ground person.

---

We got all jazzed up for the awards ceremony. Again, it was chaos but Hampton stood there half asleep as if he does this everyday. lol.

Hampton: "Oh another awards thingie. zzzzz"

We took a lap around the Alltech and that was that!

weeeeeee

What an amazing experience! I'm so glad I went, and have a long list of people to thank for helping us not just get to Nationals, but all year along the way.

Waiting to go into the Alltech

Good boy!

The colors at the horse park were gorgeous
Can you spot my new purchase? hee hee

Fluffy posing for a photo

__

This completes our 2018 show season. We may be done showing, but we are not quite done collected loot because:

To be continued ....

Here we go!!

(purchased photo)

Hampton's boob has now gone down to a rather pathetic A-cup size and we are ready for Nationals! Thankfully it was nothing serious (not pigeon fever), but rather a scrape that got a little infected and because it's in a gravity-dependent spot, filled with some fluid.

Hampton is feeling fresh, bright and ready to go. He is body clipped and looks fantastic.

Now for the bad news.

Our class won't be live-streamed on USEF Network, but I do highly recommend you watch some anyway because the caliber of horses here is just phenomenal. Also, the judging scores are ALL OVER THE PLACE, so it does provide some entertainment in that regard too.

My judge at C will be Janet Foy who I ADORE, but am also nervous about riding in front of her! haha!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped us get here this year!

Horses think they are SO FUNNY. :|

Remember how we were all entered in Nationals last year and Hampton came up sick one morning with a fever of 105?

Then we had to of course withdraw from the show.

So this year, I have been obsessing over him. No ticks yet to be found but Saturday he showed up with a man boob:

It kept getting bigger and was about to swell back into the girth area so I had the vet come out and hes got some antibiotics now to hopefully clear this bastard up before the show. I had fears of it popping open at Nationals and having blood and puss all over his legs. Any blood of course would get us eliminated.

So I was all like OH NO YOU DON'T horse and jumped on top of it right away, even though it's minor and just in a bad gravity-dependent spot where that fluid is going to pool.

STILL.

NICE TRY HORSE.

Countdown to Nationals

Photos by Sue Stickle
All from 2018 Regionals

.... I've been sort of keeping a low profile about the whole OMFG WE ARE GOING TO NATIONALS thing .... for fear of jinxing the whole thing.

Also been obsessively checking Hampton for ticks.

But here we are, just days away.

We are going to head down on Friday and do a warm-up PSG (ha, who ever thought I would do a PSG class as a "warmup") and then our Finals class - our 4th level freestyle - is 10:39 am on Saturday.

You can watch all the action on USEF Network. I THINK our class will be live-streamed, but I'm not positive. You don't have to be a USEF member to watch for free either, Sign up for a FREE Fan Membership using promo code usdressagefinals18.

Our finals class is 4th Level Freestyle AA.

I won't be riding in the big Alltech arena though. Not a big deal, but might mean my ride is not live steamed?

And of course I'll be posting on my IG and Snapchat (and FB!) for those who want more behind the scenes live action. 

Hampton has been feeling fresh and super and I am hoping we can keep the momentum up! He loves chilly fall weather. Next on my agenda is body clipping. Ew. Will probably pay a friend to do that because I hate it and also don't own clippers. 

I am just so thankful to even have made it, and that Hampton is so happy and healthy this year. Hoping for clean, solid tests and let the ribbons fall where they fall. Although I think they do place down to 10th here so we may stand a decent chance at a ribbon.

#ribbonho

But just in case you thought Hampton was going to let me off easy, stay tuned .... DUN DUN DUN.

Blog hop: What I've learned from other bloggers

Check out previous posts at May As Well Event and The Roaming Rider.

I thought this was a great idea for a blog hop so I'm jumping right on the wagon.

Instead of listing influential bloggers (because otherwise this would turn into a novel), I have been thinking of lessons I have learned from others and their journeys.

HOW TO LAUGH
Bloggers are the absolute best at making fun of themselves. I mean what else are you going to do? I think some of the best blogs just let it all hang out. All the ugly, the mistakes, the episodes of drunk crying. The usual stuff that accompanies having a horse. But then, somehow, we all manage to laugh and move on to the next. I think readers appreciate your journey if you share the bad stuff too. Because no one escapes it, no matter how they may portray themselves on social media. Bad Eventer, although an outstanding rider, is not afraid to share her uhhh not so great moments!

Man I am glad we are through this "stage" of flying changes.

HOW TO go broke "SAVE" MONEY
Bloggers are the best at finding deals on the internet. Whether its sending you a discount code, or alerting you to a sale, writing up product reviews or just straight up sending you tack - they are there for you. The blogger network is amazing and includes numerous self-proclaimed tack-hos who will shop for you, bargain for you or warn you if something doesn't seem right. You all know who you are. I won't name any names but their initials are Amy, Leah, Amanda, etc. :)

Probably influenced by a blogger by at least something here.

HOW TO BREAK UP WITH YOUR HORSE
Sometimes a horse and rider are not a good match. Sometimes life changes. There are many circumstances that can lead to a situation where you want or need to sell your horse. This is NEVER easy. So many bloggers have written about this heartwrenching decision. Back and forth sometimes for months on whether or not to go forward with the sale. But sometimes it is the best decision for both human and horse, and it is a very real and raw experience to read about someone going through that. They show such strength, and always put the horse first. Megan had a rough patch with her young horse, TC, and sometimes things do turn around the partnership ends up stronger!

Oh I've thought about selling Hampton, too.

HOW TO SAY GOODBYE
And I've read the stories of loss, of death and heartache in the blog world. Expected deaths, euthanasia, tragic death, death of foals. Death of their own human family members. Bloggers have been through it all. And while heartbreaking to read, it's also beautiful to feel how much these horses were loved. Sharing grief is difficult, but it's something we all relate to. Some horses I really felt I knew because they had been part of their human's blog for so long. Some names that come to mind include Ozzy, Go-Go, Carlos, Kuna and Bobby just to name a few. Their humans are the amazing Dom, Andrea, L, Amy and Carly.

Ranbow

HOW TO WIN & LOSE
Some bloggers compete, others do not. But when you have a horse, there is always the good and the bad. And some tears. And money down the drain. And worry. Panic. Possibly anxiety-induced vomiting. But also great moments, thrills, reward, personal best scores, ribbons (boy do we have some ribbon-hos in the community. This writer included). When it's not your day, you go home and go back to work. After possibly drinking. And when you win, you are thankful and enjoy the moment. Plus post all the photos you can, obviously. Sportsmanship and good horsemanship is all over blogger land. It is wonderful to read about. Lucky horses! Austen shares thoughtful posts (more like an analysis - just super writing) on her journey through the good and bad first with Pig and now with Bast.

From a couple years ago. haha. Almost time to do this years.

HOW TO LISTEN
How to listen to your horse. How to listen to yourself. How to listen to your friends. It's all over blog land. In the posts, and in the comments from others. Read A Yankee in Paris for some of the most introspective writing out there. And if you want advice (or don't want advice) bloggers are quick to give it! Most people are very nice and tactful I have found. Sometimes just a different perspective can give you a new way to look at a problem. Jen is also outstanding at analyzing her rides, and the feedback she gets from her horse, Conner.

Austen, Liz, Leah, Amy, Myself and some boobs

Bloggers are the best! Cheers!!!

Dear adulting: F-off.

Our score in our freestyle was good enough for a wild card invite to Nationals.

At first I wasn't even considering going. I am broke, and frankly ready to be done with showing. But after the horse show exhaustion wore off from Regionals, and with the help of friends and family, I was able to come up with the money to go ahead and enter Nationals!

(Plus several bloggers and friends jabbing me to go. hahaha!!! Enablers!)

I figure we both deserve the shot at it, especially after such a tough time last year when Hampton got tick borne fever or some shit.

Who knows when we will get another chance so I am going for it!

How to win an equitation class

Also, make sure your stock tie is straight.
Wow I was a mess by the last class of Regionals.

How to win an equitation class

Here is how the dressage eq classes go. ALL competitors enter the ring for walk and trot rail work. The announcer will call out when you switch gaits. If there are a lot of riders, they will split the class into groups for canter work. After this, riders exit the ring and then do individual patterns.

Here's how to nail this fun class!

(purchased photo)

1) CHECK FOR A PATTERN.
Check the show office, check if it's posted on any boards, check your show packet. Ask other competitors. Ask the show office. Just CHECK TO SEE IF THERE IS A FUCKING PATTERN POSTED BEFORE THE CLASS.

2) It's not about pretty riding, it's about smart riding
Yes, judges are looking for independent hands and seat. But you will score major points for riding smart. Watch your traffic. I mean literally watch it. I will constantly look around to see where other horses are. If there is a big hole, I will cut across the ring or circle to put myself in a better spot. Ride off the rail if you have to. When I was a saddleseat rider, it could get pretty nasty in the ring. Know what to do when someone cuts you off, know how to manage traffic problems and how to confidently ride out of them.

I think there was 14 or 15 in my class at Regionals!

3) Ride a solid horse.
A good equitation horse should help you, not hinder you. Your horse should be able to walk, trot and canter in groups quietly. They should maintain a consistent rhythm and maintain the gait you asked for, until you decide otherwise. They should go on the bit, and be reliable there. If you are competent at first level, you can do an equitation class. I have found the patterns will not ask for anything above this level. Smooth gaits are a plus. The horse is not judged in these classes, but if you ride some green squirrel on crack that is still iffy with his leads, it won't help your case.

World's Best Eq Horse right here. Needs new pilot.

4) Be accurate.
As with all of dressage, be accurate with your pattern and any requests during the class. If they ask you to sit the trot at C, sit the trot at C. Not when they call for sitting trot.

5) Confidence. Even if it's fake.
If you make a mistake, correct it quickly and with purpose. If you had no idea what the pattern was, do the wrong one but do it with purpose. Don't be sloppy.

And: Never let them see you sweat!