Hampton's impeccable timing

Last week I was all set to farm sit for BFF Liz for 3ish days up in Indiana. I had plans to drag Hampton along with me, and go take a lesson from JK while up there since I would be close enough to a one-day haul in.

My plan was to leave Thursday morning.

Guess who had a 104 degree fever Wednesday afternoon?

I does not feel good

I had crosstied him and he just looked ... funky. Hamp is a stoic guy but man when he doesn't feel well it is written ALL OVER HIS FACE. I checked his temp. 104.

I gave him banamine and thought maybe it was a reaction to his recent vaccines and I would make the call in the morning. I alerted my vet who agreed with my plan of action. On Thursday morning his temp was down to 101 something but he wasn't really eating his breakfast so that made my decision very easy. I would just leave him home.

He never showed any other symptoms. Just sort of ran a fever off and on the entire weekend.

By Sunday he was 99.7 and has stayed there.

Much happier when I went out to the barn on Sunday

I looked in every nook and cranny for signs of a tick bite (like I ever pried open his butt cheeks. Total violation). I never found anything. So not sure if this was another spell of anaplasmosis, something viral, reaction to vaccines, a combination, or some random immune response to something. Thankfully no other horses got sick. He's on a round of antibiotics just in case it is tick-borne. The deer tick - the one who carries the bacteria - is most active late fall to early spring, so we fit within the time frame.

But otherwise he seems no worse for wear. We went on a light hack Monday and he seemed just fine.

Plus, with Hampton calling in sick to work I went ahead and stole Royale back from Liz to take to my lesson instead!

... to be continued.

Clinic roundup: Close your legs

Got to ride in a most lovely indoor

It's been a year since I have ridden in any type of clinic. The last one was the Kasey clinic last April - so it was a treat for me to have two days of instruction from Kim Schisler Sosobee, who is a lovely trainer who came up from Georgia.

I have not had lessons from her before, and I was delighted at her thoughtful coaching, and how everything she said aligned with my program and the instruction from my other coaches.

She was very positive, yet firm with what she was looking for. I could tell she had a great empathy for the horses. She complimented Hampton many times on his honest nature, work ethic and his willingness to do what I asked. (Obviously everyone who meets Hampton is charmed by him!)

The indoor

And she worked us.

I LOVE when I get my ass worked off at a clinic. And Hampton totally rose to the occasion - working his butt off too and never getting tired or cranky.

We focused quite a bit on bringing his hind legs closer together. He really steps wide in specific movements - namely turn on the haunches, canter piros and even in the half passes he needs to keep his legs closed (heh), instead of going so wide behind.

Back in Third level. A turn on the haunches, you can see him stepping wide here
with his right hind. The left turn is even worse

She also said that his little "dolphin" evasion is one she has never seen. When something gets difficult for him, he tries so hard to find a way to mechanically do what I want but struggles with his body so he has learned to do this humpy dolphin/rocking horse move in the canter. Hard to describe but it has dinged us many times in the ring because I am not sure what to do with it.

Wide behind

Her answer? Go forward! (duh)

He got pretty squirrely in the changes, and that's because we were working on the 2s on the Friday before the clinic and he's still in the stage where that makes him anticipate and want to take over. And when he takes over, I can't really prep him so he gets croup-high and crooked.

Some points I took away:

• Make the half pass feel "taller"
• SHORTEN MY REINS
• Think piaffe feeling in TOH to keep legs together
• If anticipating the changes, just canter straight for a while
• Make him wait. But stay straight
• Think medium canter into the bit - especially if he gets stuck
• Shoulder fore on the short sides
• Ride 10m circles and push into outside rein to help throughness
• SHORTEN MY REINS
• Hands forward
• Across the diagonal and flying change to the counter canter lead
• SHORTEN MY REINS

The clinic was hosted by another local rider, who happens to also be my dentist,
and who has built herself a STUNNING farm.

Overall a wonderful clinic. I felt like she made a difference in both of us and I have great homework coming into spring. I would definitely ride with her again!

I am so sorry for my utter lack of media. #bloggerfail

But to make up for it, check out this video of the tack room in this barn.

Want to take up in the aisle? Just swing the door around!

Cold hard truth

Speaking of cold.
It has decided to snow in KY.

I expressed my opinion already on the freestyle score requirement change.

And then I saw something Robert Dover posted.

Here it is:

As the lines began to blur between what defined an amateur from a professional at the FEI level, our National Governing Body recognized that our industry and the shows could not thrive without the ongoing income brought in by the vast majority of its membership, the amateurs. Therefore, it was time to create not one but multiple amateur divisions for hunters and jumpers that were determined by the height and size of the fences as well as the horses. Riders loved these classes so much that they grew until they ultimately had to be split at many shows where there were literally hundreds of riders in the division. 

As the years went by, horses became more and more expensive, professionals were living very well off of the amateurs who had always paid large sums to train them as well as compete their top horses toward team competitions. But the amateurs also began to recognize that, given the chance, the training, the confidence and the same great horses being ridden by their pro’s, they might actually have a chance to ride for a team spot and go for that Olympic Dream themselves.

 And that was the beginning of the next new era. It was always the amateurs, for the most part, who held the purse strings. But now they also began to believe they had an equal right to use their money to bankroll their own careers and dreams. And here is where I will state what I have said for years: I have known professionals who could barley sit the trot and had little if any feel but they were smart, thought they were great, and actually produced some quite outstanding results during their careers. I have also known amateurs who could ride fantastic but nobody ever let them in on the secret, so they stayed in their little arenas and never rose to the occasion to become what they should have. We are all literally making this whole thing up, this movie we call our life, as we are going along. In every breath, as we breathe in and breathe out, we are defining outwardly to the universe who we see ourselves as; hopefully the grandest version of who we imagine ourselves to be, whether amateur or professional. 

Training in riding is not supposed to be of less quality because of one’s status, professional or amateur. It is not dictated by the quality of the horse although the results in competition most definitely will be affected by the quality and ability of the horse as well as the talent and training of both horse and rider. 

Recently, there has been quite an uproar over the raising of a qualifying score from 60% to 63% in lower levels for Freestyles. Although I was no longer officially on the Dressage Sport Committee, I was still apparently on the list and received many letters from angry riders who said they felt betrayed by the organization which depends upon their money as their backbone and yet won’t allow these people who simply want to ride their “back yard, home trained, horses which are receiving scores below 63%” into the classes. The judges and members of the committee responded to the very upset riders by saying that they understood their points but that 63% is just barely a score representing “Satisfactory”. It is not “fairly good” but rather only a little better than “Sufficient”. It does not require a super horse or a 40 hour training week to aspire toward a result of Satisfactory and I believe that it is incumbent on everyone who wishes to sit on and put a piece of metal into a horse’s mouth that they learn to ride well enough and communicate with their horse proficiently enough to produce that 63+%. 

Off to bed again but I will be posting more about issues affecting Amateurs tomorrow. I do hope that these 2 posts will open up a larger conversation and I am happy to respond to all questions and comments, even the ones from those who strongly disagree with me. 

___

I get his point. And appreciate what he is trying to say.

But I get this feeling that his overall point is that yes, you CAN get a 63 even on a backyard horse, even on a 6 mover. You just need to ride better and work harder.

I get it but ... also I feel a little talked down to. As if I'm not working hard already. I cannot change my horse's conformation, Mr. Dover.

I intend to bust my ass and get my 63 at PSG AND I-1 this year. In fact I'm going to get ballsy and say this year I think we can get a 65 at PSG. But please don't imply that many of us are not riding well enough, or working hard enough. And that's why we can't reach those scores.

That is simply not true.

How pilates is shaping my riding

Pilates or sex chamber? LOL

Back in November I started going to pilates twice a week. A good friend teaches locally, and I thought not only would I be supporting her business but maybe I would learn something.

By no means am I a gym rat, or workout fanatic or crazy marathon runner.

But I sort of get it now. After every session of pilates I feel so much better. I feel loose, happy and strong. And hungry. haha.

I noticed a difference in my riding almost immediately.

And after several months, there are pretty significant changes I am noticing.

For example, my right foot. It has pointed OUT for ... oh I dunno ... more than 20 years. It is a left over habit from my hunter jumper days.

Look at my right foot. LOOK AT IT.

While it is not perfectly straight yet, it now points forward without having to think about it.

My shoulders have "wings" and that has been pretty much my whole life. This will take a long time to fix, but now I can think "plug your shoulders in" and instantly my core engages and Hampton lifts his withers.

Great photo of my shoulder "wings"

Keeping my shoulders plugged in

My left wrist also has a tendency to curl and flop for whatever reason. Now I can think "point your knuckles to his ears" and that fixes that problem. (thumbs on top though!)

My seat has gotten stronger, and I have developed a "suction cup" feeling especially in the canter that really creates much more jump. It's gross but you have to think suction cup the horse into your hoo-hah. Sorry for that visual.

I am also MUCH more aware of where my body parts are. Especially my sit bones, and how I am turning them and weighting each one. This is made a difference in keeping the rest of me straighter, and therefore Hampton straighter.

Human has been riding better lately. Hmmm.

My core is probably the strongest it has ever been in my LIFE. Which has helped with my lower back. It has made me hips straighter, my hip flexors more loose (minimal seizing up these days!), and even my toes have benefited! #workthosetoes

So while I think I will still have to start running again to up my cardio, I have found pilates to be challenging, rewarding and a major benefit to my riding. I think I'll keep it up!

Although when you find the pilates movements that makes your tempi changes straight please let me know.

Newly crowned saint

Alternate title: How to give George Morris a stroke

Dressage peoples don't ever like to display examples of their bad moments. Of bad riding (unless its someone else). Of ugly moments.

But I am not one of those peoples!

Think my lower leg can't go back any farther? HOLD MY BEER.

*Please note that Hampton got many treats and pats and I made a promise to him that I would 1) Never jump larger jumps in my dressage saddle again and 2) always check the distances set BEFORE I send him down a line. You cannot assume that the person before you had them set for a 12-foot stride.

Terrible on my part but Hampton of course willing.

So yes. Hampton has been schooling great so I decided lets have some fun and jump! We the circle of death and nailed it on both leads, so I said "Let's do down that cool grid!"

I this moment I am thinking "Holy Fucking Shit" in my head and threw my shoulders back as best I could.
Hampton: "Little tight human but alright!"

The jumps were wide oxers. But I said, oh they aren't really that big stop being a damn chicken. I just shorten my stirrups in my dressage saddle and generally I am ok as long as the jumps aren't too big. It is impossible to keep your lower leg on, and mine isn't that great in the first place. These jumps didn't seeeeeeem like they were too big. I had convinced myself I was being a wimp.

ha. hahahahaha. #famous last words.

I think I sent him over 3 times before we got an ok jump and quit. I had to keep dismounting and adjusting the distance so that we would not crash. Hampton saved my ass the first time when I realized the ground rail was wrong and I nearly crapped my pants. But Hampton found his feet and got over anyway! Jumping me WAY OUT OF THE TACK in the process. I thanked him profusely.

OH FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!! --- ME
"Where did human go?" -- Hampton, probably

And that is the story of why my horse should be anointed a saint.

Back to dressage now.

Wheels on the bus

A brain fell out last week.

The great thing about winter is that you can school more difficult movements, and learn new ones.

The sucky thing about winter is that sometimes when you are learning something new the wheels fall off the bus.

The hamster dies on the wheel.

The horse's brain falls out.

He can no longer horse.

Which is what happened to Hampton and I last week.

Has anyone seen my bwwwrrain?

During our lesson, we were working on the tempi changes. The usual - straightness, suppleness, etc. He felt great during a line of 4s, then 3s. And we did several solid 2s in a row as well. Then my coach says "Ok let's try some 1s!"

I have played with a one-one before, and Hampton has done well. But I have only tried going Right-left-right lead.

And during this lesson we did get a couple of those.

But I then I tried going left-right-left lead. It didn't work, not such a big deal. We just go back to doing 3s or even twos to get the rhythm back.

Except. A porkchop brain has splattered on the ground because he would not do a right to left change AT ALL. And that has always been his GOOD change. I went all the way back to doing ONE SINGLE CHANGE like in third level and NOPE.

And then of course it becomes A THING because my coach insists that he HAS TO DO IT, he cannot ignore me. And at the moment I did agree but after I had time to think about it I realized he was truly confused. My legs were flopping all over and I kept asking him to change his lead and eventually he was like "I AM NOT DOING IT I DON'T KNOW OH MY GOD."

Then is escalated to me asking for a change and then he would BOLT. He bucked HARD a few times as well. He was getting tired and frustrated. Eventually I got some random tempis on a circle, and while they were tight and stabby behind he did them so I quit on that.

Oh god I ruined my horse he no longer does changes.

Like I said, thank fuck it is winter and there are no shows coming up.

So the past week I went WAAAAY back to basics. I did walk canter transitions, switching leads each time. Then I would ask for random tempis with no count. And after a few days I now have my Hampton back who does 4s, 3s, and today a beautiful, balanced line of 5 2-tempis with no theatrics whatsoever.

I think he lost confidence and he really does not like being confused. Learning the 1-tempis is like learning a whole new gait (Megan told me this and she is right). I will keep touching on them here and there when he feels good, and I know eventually he will figure it out.

What I will be doing the next couple of days when it is cold as a polar bear's balls.

And for now the wheels seem to be back on the bus.

Until next time.

Survival

Good news: I did survive the massive layoffs in my company!
Bad news: Several co-workers and friends did not. Another major blow to journalism.

Sucks, but all we can really do is keep moving forward.

I had all sorts of plans hashed out in the case that I was axed.

• Couch surf across the country with various bloggers
• Move back home with my mom and keep Hampton in the garage
• Move in with the cats at the humane society
• Sell everything, become world's oldest working student with a big name trainer
• Teach Hampton to barrel race, make a living on the rodeo circuit.
• Run for president
• Go on tour following Phish and sell grilled cheeses
• Pick up a new career as a stripper
• Become a professional wine taster 

Alas, for now I will keep workin for the man. 

And maybe even dare to start planning a 2019 show season.