Taking our sh*tshow on the road

The recent snow and cold ass temps are RUDE.

We are going to be snow birds this winter!

Kind of.

A group of barn girls and a couple of strays (including Liz, and another gal from St. Louis) are packing up and heading to Aiken for a week in February.

We tried to do this trip last year, but various factors thwarted our trip including one horse breaking his leg (he is ok and recovered) and someone in at my work on maternity leave so no one else could take a vacation during that time.

So far all engines are go for February 2020 though!

cliche eye ball shot

Surprisingly, this entire trip is going to cost me as much as a simple rated dressage show.

We booked a cool house to share, making it pretty cheap between 6-7 of us. And the horses will be staying at Jumping Branch Farm. And the rates for a week's stay were also really reasonable.

The eventer gals will also be entering a one-day show while we are there. I had originally planned to do another Starter trial there with them, but have since decided not to. After our Starter event a couple weeks ago, Hampton went lame. And I mean LAME on his left front. Like he was lame coming off the trailer when we got home.

My gut says he was getting rocks stuck under the bar of his shoe because he was overdue to be shod and I kept unearthing rocks lodged under there. He recovered very quickly (within 2 days) and has been sound since. So he would PROBABLY be ok, but I am going to err on the side of caution just in case it did aggravate his navicular. He can totally do a little XC schooling at Jumping Branch, but I feel like one little schooling session is enough for him. I'd really like redemption at Starter level since I couldn't even stay on my horse at the last one, though. haha. Maybe another time.

But meanwhile me and Liz plan to find a dressage trainer to take a lesson or two with!
And of course I will be obnoxiously cheering on my friends at the event as a groom and drinking buddy.

Hampton, left,  and barnmate Yogi will both be going

We are also taking a day to ride Hitchcock Woods of course.

And if anyone has any recommendations I am all ears!

I am pretty excited for this little getaway. Aiken I believe is about 8-9 hours from us, so a decent haul. Hampton has never taken a trip like this, so I'm hoping he handles it ok. I am sure I will have more anxiety than he will. Maybe I'm the one who needs the UlcerGuard.

Who has taken a bigger trip like this? Any advice?

Let the bodies hit the floor

not a dressage show

Finally I have some decent blog content!

Drama - check!
Hilarity - check!
Carnage - check!

On Sunday I took Hampton to Flying Cross Farm and did a little mini-trial to close out our year with something fun and playful.

Sidenote: Our last time seeing any kind of XC fence was five years ago. In fact the zipper on my vest was so corroded I had to have help to unstick the damn thing.

Hampton was quite fresh and frisky and also decided to be buddy sour with his trailer buddy. The trailer ride is about 5 minutes long, by the way. He's a quick bonder. So there was so obnoxious screaming, leaping, threats to buck and sucking back. But whatevs. I was able to just work through that crap and had a really lovely dressage test. We did BN test A. The judge agreed and gave us a 21.4 which I think is something like a 79%

Eventing judges I love you.

We went back to the trailer and change tack and I had Hampton looking like a proper fox hunter haha!

I ended up buying this saddle off Facebook, and went out and got a breast collar, new stirrups and some leathers to go with. He was looking pretty legit haha!

Looking like a proper fox hunter or something!

Next up was show jumping and I had a good friend from college coach me through warm up and she really made all the difference. Hampton was jumping great - really round and up under me. He felt sharp and in front of the leg. But without running on the forehand and careening everywhere.

Our show jumping round was clear and smooth. He was taking me to jumps and seemed to be enjoying it.

At this point I'm like "hey! this isn't so scary. Maybe I can do this!"

ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

So, I decided to go XC before our trailer/show buddy. So that meant having to canter Hampton away from his BEST FRIEND IN THE FUCKING WORLD. I'm thinking, ok horse you are 12 and a show veteran. This shouldn't be an issue anymore. It was obnoxious.

Jump 1 was fine, but I felt him start to waiver and wobble and suck back before fence 2. I put my leg on and thought he would jump it but he stopped and dropped his right shoulder like some sort of cutting horse and I went flying off the side.  I probably leaned at the fence, too, because I was thinking he would go. He didn't. Wonder if I'll stop leaning at fences now. The fence was literally less than 2 feet high. He could have walked over it. I felt like it was a bit of a dirty move, but I know we are both rusty as we have not done this in 5 years. But still. c'mon HAMPTON.

Flying off a 17 hand horse is a good time, let me tell ya. hahaha. Also, it's the first time EVER I have fallen off Hampton! He was like OH SHIT and took off (back toward his buddy of course)

Thank you to my friends who caught him! My coach for the day said he why don't you just get back on and keep going? Since this was a very VERY laid back little mini trial, and there was no one around waiting to go .... that's what I did. I told myself ok, just get over that fence number 2 and then call it a day.

So I got on, and gave him hell. No problems with fence 2 this time .... And so I kept on going. And ended up riding the rest of the course and all the way to the finish flags! No other issues - in fact he really starting taking me to the jumps.

Fall colors were so pretty on the farm!

I am ok - I did bonk the back of my head and had a little headache, and as I am typing this my right shoulder is starting to hurt. But I am glad I had my TraumaVoid helmet on, and that the ground was a little soft for my landing. I got right back up and did my walk of shame to get my loose horse. I felt like a real eventer.

So that is the story of how I fell off at fence 2 at the STARTER level at a horse trial.

Please do not feel guilty for laughing. I am laughing. And was laughing after I fell (in between foul language). it is hilarious and everyone is ok and that is eventing, right? haha! I got back on and rode better and had a great round, so that is what counts. I am happy that I did that and finished on a high note.

the only disappointment is that there is no video. womp womp

Back to the sandbox!

One two three!

We got 3 one-tempis in a row!

.... this was after about 5-10 minutes of going around and around. I could get 1-1, but the elusive third change was just not happening. I was not fast enough with my legs, or Hampton got his legs tangled, or too crooked, or about a billion other things that must align in order to do the ones.

but finally - FINALLY - we got it!

Brick by brick right?

Dead Musicians?

Hamps and I have been enjoying this (finally!) fabulous weather lately!

And without any shows to prep for, we've gone a little rogue.

I took a jumping lesson which I LOVED and so did Hampton. The jumps were not big, but I learned a lot and Hampton even did a little half assed bucking at first he was so happy to be jumping around.

I am kinda sorta looking for a cheap jump saddle, as I can't really keep borrowing from people. And I definitely need to shorten my stirrups even more. I felt like my knees were in my chest but as you can see they most certainly were not. So a call out to my blogger tack-ho friends, my budget is around $200-$300. I realize the kind of saddle that will buy me but I don't jump often. I just want one to bop around on. Medium tree. Annnnnnd go!

And of course we have been working on dresss-AGGGGHHHHE. I have started to play with some one tempis again. I left them alone most of the summer because Hampton was getting riled up about them. I really think he needed to find his balance in the 2s a little better, because now he will do a 1-1 change and remain calm and mostly balanced.

You can see I lose his haunches there a bit at the end, so we have a long, LONG way to go with straightness and balance. But this is a fantastic base. Soon I will try a 1-1-1 and see what happens! 

And the canter pirouettes. Ah yes, those things have really been difficult for us this year. I was not riding them correctly and Hampton learned bad habits because he is smart and he's rather work smarter and not harder.

He learned to slow way down and use his neck instead of his booty. Resulting in his poll DIVING down to the center of the earth. This left me with really no leverage or ability to fix the pirouette within the actual movement. It dinged our scores. It''s horrible to ride when your horse's poll disappears.

Yeah that's the middle of a canter piro.
(Thank you Jen S for capturing both good and not so good!)

I promise I'm not rollkur-ing him. If he dives down on me, you can see he does not
have to load his hind legs. His croup is actually up in the air.
Trust me, I'm putting an end to this habit. 

BUT I have new tricks and have really gotten after this movement the past few months.

You can see he still wants to use his neck, and gets a little locked at the base but this is MUCH better and he is keeping the jump better. So we will keep working at it. I think he can score well on these, he can sit for sure! 

It is so fun training a horse like Hampton who has a wonderful work ethic, but at the same time is really teaching me to deal with just about any trick in the book. 

And finally I've started to work a bit on an I-1 freestyle for next year. I think I've got the choreography somewhat nailed down. Music is still up in the air but I am thinking my theme might be Dead Musicians. hahaha.

Here's what I've got so far:

I am so open to music suggestions, too! Preferably dead. Or at least one person from the band must be dead. 

Disappearing in airports

September was a bizarre month.

At the beginning of the month, Hampton came up mildly lame (grade 1) on his left front. I immediately called the vet out because I was suspecting his navicular was acting up. The vet disagreed, and said it was more likely a mild collateral ligament injury in his hoof.

We injected his coffin joint, and while still allowed to work my vet said no lateral work, tight circles or anything that could torque his foot for 2 weeks.

His body is looking like a snack these days.

So we did that, although two days after the injection he was sound. So who knows. But he is back in full work now and feels great.

But I did decide to scrap the rest of show season. I may hit up a schooling show just to get ring time, but no more rated shows for us this year. Which I was totally ok about. Saves money, and it means we can have a little non-dressage fun to close out the year! :)

--

Then my mom had to have back surgery. She's ok! But I did end up spending almost the whole week up there with her. She is a tough lady. So Hampton ended up with another 4 days off.

I did sneak away for a couple of hours to play with Liz and her kids' pony, Spot. (She lives not far from my mom) He is adorable but is somewhat of a SHIT which only made me laugh and almost fall off.

Spot's opinion on having me cowgirl him around bareback for a bit.

--

And then last Friday a friend very suddenly and unexpected died. She was only 57.

Kathy, on the left.
Want a sobering fact? Out of the six of us in this photo taken in 2014, only myself, Liz,
and Hampton are still alive.

Our local horse community is in shock. She was a kind, wise friend to everyone. She was one of the first friends I made when I moved to KY. We went to a number of shows together, first with her young palomino cross and later with her Morgan/QH cross. She was a integral part of the local TB rehoming organization, Second Stride. She was a mentor and light to many, many people.

L-R: Kathy, Donna, myself, Kim at Rolex a few years ago

I am still in disbelief that she is gone.

Her husband said that about a month ago, she had said "I have such a great life."

Devastated is such a weak word when it comes to this kind of loss for her family and friends. Life is so short and people can be taken so swiftly.

Kathy, you will be missed.

Kathy and Nichole following us back from the show ring.

A day of volunteering

The day was hot, but perfect.

I volunteer frequently in our local eventing community. Odd maybe, because I compete pure dressage but somehow always end up volunteering at events.

The opportunity to be a fence judge at the American Eventing Championships popped up, and since I already had a rare Saturday off thanks to my birthday (I'm 40 WHOA), I went for it.

Saturday was all about the BN horses and riders. I was stationed at the last fence on course and while it was a long, hot day, I enjoyed watching a wide variety of horses and riders gallop, sing, rap, laugh, cluck, stumble and be cheered on through the finish.

I LOVED the wide variety of horses and ponies that ran around the KHP that day. From small ponies, to Appaloosas, to big draft crosses. It was really neat!

One of the most heartbreaking things I saw was a handful of riders who jumped the last jump, but WALKED and in one case even got off her horse BEFORE crossing the finish flags. That's a TE, and I cannot imagine the suck that goes along with getting that news. One gal cantered right past the second to last fence. Otherwise we didn't see much drama other than one refusal.

Except. I witnessed some gob-smacking unprofessional behavior from one of the other volunteers at the finish line. There was some shouting between her and a junior rider. Now, the rider was slightly in the wrong. She was loitering a little too close to the finish line (off her horse), but was on her way walking back to the barn. The volunteer shrieked at her and I didn't hear what the rider said but then someone (I could not tell if it was rider or volunteer) screamed "THE FINISH LINE IS RIGHT HERE BITCH!"

The rider started flailing her arms around so much that she lost hold of her horse and he nearly got loose.

Finish flags by that black car

Then the volunteer started demanding the rider tell her her number and the rider threw her the middle finger. At this point I laughing at this display of ridiculous behavior. I mean, thanks for the drama to break up my day you idiots.

That particular volunteer also made several condescending comments to me over the day, so I wasn't at all surprised she blew up when someone challenged the power she seemed to think she had. haha. Pro tip: be nice to your volunteers. Don't treat them like idiots.

It was a huge championship event with more than 900 pairs I believe! Saw some darn good riding and I think the eventing bug bit me a little bit .... hmmm.


Also, my favorite horse name of the day: My Box of Crayons.

A sweet itchy butt

That title should get me some interesting internet hits. ha.

This summer has been particularly hot, humid and nasty. And for long periods of time. Hampton has never been a particularly sensitive-skin type fellow, but this summer he has battled sweet itch off and on. At least I think it's sweet itch. Or something similar.

Treat pouch is empty. Unacceptable.

I cleaned his sheath, wormed him, and continued to treat these patches with triple antibiotic ointment and eventually MTG when it was no longer raw. And of course lots of fly spray. They only appeared on his butt cheeks or at the top of his croup.

It worked until recently. When he had a really nasty reaction on the top of his butt, resulting in a big, oozing, hot, very painful lesion. I would merely lightly touch it and he would drop his croup down and wiggle away from me. Poor guy.

ouch

I am not a lover of fly sheets. Especially for a horse like Hamp, who is a sweater, I think they trap sweat and gunk and create an even better environment for fungus and skin issues. Hamp has always been good as rolling in the dirt and mud, too.

But I finally cried uncle.

no but are you serious tho. Why you make me look like
white supremicist

At least it isn't 95 degrees with 85% humidity anymore, so I think he will be comfortable. But still makes me cringe a little. Hoping it keeps those nasty bugs off!