Case of the Skinnies

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Britt

And alas, it’s not me.

Foster has been gaining and losing weight since our move three weeks ago, but unfortunately it has been a mostly downward trend. Earlier this week I was shocked to get to the barn and actually see his ribs, a difference that occurred within 2 days of my last visit. Of course my immediate reaction was to feel dramatic, and like a terrible horse owner. I hope I am not, but still I cannot decide what factor has contributed to this less-than-ideal body weight.

I’m not sure if it’s the continuing bad weather that has caused the drop, the stress of the barn change, or any other number of things. Grass is of course minimal to non-existent, but he has a nice big round bale that he should be eating. He is on a weight gain supplement, and is getting heaps of Alfalfa mash every time I see him. His exercise has, if anything, decreased. And although he seems a little flinchy and spooky in the barn, he relaxes nicely when I ride him outside.

So, we’re adding to his grain and working with the barn managers to make sure he is blanketed well in the nightly below-freezing temps. He’ll be getting the next couple days to just sit and eat, and I’m hoping that he’s a bit plumper when I see him again on Sunday. If he doesn’t change by mid next week, I may be looking to switch supplements, increase grain again, or both. Meanwhile, I’ll be trying not to gorge myself on Cadbury eggs! Ugh, the irony!

Eat up, bud!

Saddle Testing

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Britt

My derriere has been sitting in some pretty lovely saddles recently, as I try out multiple models in a quest for giant thigh blocks (something about that just sound awkward, doesn’t it?). While I adore my current M. Toulouse Aachen saddle that I’ve had for years, I just wish it wouldn’t let me slip into a slight chair seat… as comfortable as a chair seat is.

The M. Toulouse on Ivan, displaying a fabulous chair seat

In the same saddle on Foster, concentrating on not letting my leg slip forward

I tried out several Prestige saddles… the first a La Selleria model that was just too wide for Foster- a shame because it was a great deal!

Then I tried a Prestige Optimax…

The Prestige Optimax – a cool looking saddle!

but at 17″, it was way too small for my ghetto booty!

Then a Prestige Galileo…

The Galileo… just look at those thigh blocks!

I quite liked this saddle, but it was also 17″, and while more comfortable than the Optimax, I still think I need an 18″ seat. Of course, this is the most expensive saddle I’ve tried so far! Foster really liked this one too, stretching his back up into it and drooling obscenely all over his legs.

Foster digs the Galileo too!

Tonight I get to try out my friend’s Bates Isabell saddle, which will be interesting as I’ve never sat in one of those! Exciting decisions ahead!

Meanwhile, we are up again to vote for on She Moved to Texas. We would love your vote! If you stopped by and found my ramblings at all interesting please leave us a comment! Happy Tuesday!

Vote for us, Y’all!

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Britt

We are participating in the Equestrian March Madness over at She Moved to Texas, and we would love your vote!

I’m blogging from Pittsburgh while Foster enjoys a few days R & R following the show last weekend. I’ll be back in the -test ride- saddle on Thursday, yay! That’s right- trying out 2 new (to us) dressage saddles for ponykins to see which one we like! So excited!

So until then, not much to report… enjoy this pic of Foster in his Novice debut by Brant Gamma!

A Show Recap: MacNair’s Combined Training

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Britt

Let me start by saying that if I wasn’t prepared for the Running Start Horse Trials, then I really wasn’t prepared for the Combined Training show yesterday. But I thought hey, it doesn’t get much cheaper and easier than 1 dressage test and 1 jumping round at a barn only 25 minutes away, right? So I went, even though Foster had only been ridden three times in just as many weeks (due to my travel adventures, moving barns, one rainstorm from Hell, and one lost shoe).

After getting stuck in the hellstorm..

Anyways, the show went better than expected. We notoriously struggle with the warmup at this facility, as the jump warmup (read: kids on ponies trying to jump fences both directions) and dressage warmup share the same smallish space. But luckily our warmup was only mildly heinous. I tried to focus on relaxation, and spent 20 of my 25 minute warmup encouraging stretchy walk, trot, and canter. Thankfully this approach did help some, though Foster retained some of the tension (I theorize that the tension is also a bit due to lack of muscle and therefore balance in the working paces), but was about 75% alleviated before the test.

Trotty trot trot

So other than having a few tense moments, the test was passable. He felt a little more lateral than usual, which the judge picked up on, but again I put this down to simple loss of conditioning. We are going to have to work to build the strength back up in that right hind in order to achieve perfect straightness. But the test was obedient, and my geometry pretty decent. Foster earned himself two 8’s (20 meter circle trot and our diagonal), and even got a 7 on his right lead canter depart (not expected!). To top it off, we both got 7’s on the collective marks, which I was fairly pleased with as well! (below is a blurry video of the first part of the test)

Following this, I did a hasty tack change, ran around my course on foot (not a single straight line! yikes!) and hopped over a few fences to warm him up. It was apparent that he was lacking a bit of energy, but I hoped he would wake up in my round.

We went in, and noting that the first fence was a nice brick wall, I tapped him on the shoulder to let him know his job. We then proceeded to go around the course like a cross cantering whirlydirvish! It wasn’t pretty, but it sure was forward! He did hit one pole with his backend that I was a bit disappointed about- very uncharacteristic of him but I imagine he was just getting tired. Watching the video makes me cringe a bit, as it’s apparent that I wasn’t really riding the fences- just pointing him at them like a monkey on his back! This is something I seriously need to work on, because I don’t want to give him any bad habits because of my ineptitude. I think a show where I can get in the jumping ring a few times to get my act together would be perfect- maybe a Hunter show is in my future?

Anyways- here is the video so you can see my bad riding (and Foster’s mostly clever footwork) for yourself. Foster, I promise I will do better by you next time! Until then, I need to work on landing on the correct lead, and maybe even trying to teach changes to my horse who wants to change but hasn’t figured out yet how to change the back as well as the front!

It turns out that silly pole cost us 1st place, but we earned ourselves a pretty red ribbon for our efforts! Yay Foster!

What a cutie 🙂

Our next plans include hopefully getting a lesson in (haven’t had one at all this year!) and then I’m debating between a clinic and another horse trial (at Denny Emerson’s farm in Southern Pines). Heading to Pittsburgh again this week, and when I get back we will be working on our fitness! Let’s whip our butts into gear!

A Long Retelling of my Intercollegiate Dressage experiences

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Britt

My first IDA show, on Dan at Averett University

Lauren from She Moved to Texas (a fellow NC State Graduate and NCSU Equestrian Club alum) recently wrote about her experience on NC State’s IHSA (Intercollegiate Hunt Seat Association) team. I was inspired by her interesting perspective to write about my own experiences on NC State’s IDA (Intercollegiate Dressage) team, which has had a huge impact on my life, and especially on my riding.

How IDA Works
Two teams of 4 riders compete, 1 rider in each division (Intro, Lower Training, Upper Training, and First Level). Each rider completes one test, and the score of that test is considered for both the individual, as well as averaged for a team score. The lowest score on the team will be dropped. Each rider draws a horse provided by the hosting school, and has 10 minutes to ride that horse before completing their test. 10 minutes might sound like a lot (especially compared to IHSA, which doesn’t allow any time at all!), but considering that the horse and rider and still judge together and so things like forwardness, suppleness, energy etc will be judged, that 10 minutes flies by!

Some of my Freshmen year team mates

My first year on the team was great fun, but also a huge kick to my ego. My teammates were my best friends, and we all had stupid nicknames (mine would not be appropriate for this blog 😉 ), and tolerated each other’s imitations of dressage movements when we’d had a little too much chick beer at a party (um, hello drunken canter pirouette). I got to show just a couple times, and found that I sucked, even though I thought (the operative word here) I had been schooling 2nd and 3rd level movements in high school. I started in Lower Training (Training tests 1 and 2), and the horses being used were nothing like I had ever ridden. They were mostly stiff, aging TB types, with your average QH or Appendix thrown in here and there for spice. I had no idea what to do with that, so I turned my attention to working with our trainer’s Friesian in my spare time as a way to be helpful and not feel like a terrible rider (even though I cringe at my equitation now!).

Yes, I so loved this horse I made sappy photo collages of us together.

Somewhere in my sophomore year, something clicked. I learned to adjust my riding to the horse I was on, and figured out that these old TB guys were stiff, but they knew their job, and I learned how to sit pretty and finesse my aids. Suddenly, I was placing much better. I had been to just two shows and the year looked bright, when I ended up with a broken ankle that took me out the rest of the season.

Starting to figure it out, Sophomore year

My junior year rocked and I pointed out of Lower Training and into Upper Training (Training 3 and 4). These horses I knew- they were mostly upper level rejects or aged Grand Prix horses. Let me qualify this by saying I had never ridden an upper level horse before, but they were a bit bulkier, with shorter necks (not quite Haflinger or Irish Draught length, but short enough), and I felt like I had a job to do, which gave my confidence in the saddle. Even better, my best friend was our Coach, and the whole team started to place against some of the IDA mega-schools (St. Andrews University, Virginia Intermont, and Virginia Tech all had very well developed IDA programs, compared to NC State’s fledgling group of 10 or so).

Junior year team – small but mighty

Senior year was one of the best ever. I took over as student Coach/VP of the Dressage Team (at that time a division of the over branching NC State Equestrian Club), and learned that I love coaching and giving lessons. I improved my eye helping and watching other riders, and taught myself how to battle show nerves through the struggles of helping them relax. I became even more flexible in my approach to riding as well as coaching, and emphasized softening my hands and leg to encourage relaxation, which translated into the show ring with my own horse as well. That year, the team beat all odds and was Reserve Champion of our region- we were going to Nationals.

Starting 2008/2009 season (me on ground)

Another successful show at Averett (coach not amused?)

Heading to Nationals (I’m holding the big ol’ plate)

I won’t spend too much time on Nationals, but it was truly something to behold. Watching other collegiate riders who were so good was awe-inspiring, and the sense of community we felt as a team and the fun we had with other schools of our region was something so unique and amazing – it’s not often we really feel the team spirit as equestrians! While I did not have the best ride, I am so thankful to have been able to experience Nationals, and will always remember the pride I felt for my teammates and fellow riders.

Meeting Betsy Steiner at Nationals in Ohio

The traditional Golf Cart challenge at Nationals (yes, that’s me in the Elvis get-up)

Unfortunately, my super senior year I was ineligible to compete (you only get 4 years, even though one was with a mostly broken ankle), so instead I became President of the newly formed NC State Equestrian Dressage Club. I’ll admit it was hard not to be competing, but I wanted to leave the team (now club) with the best that I could, and organized a huge recruiting effort to garner attention for the tiny club.

Putting my design skills to work

Now I believe the team is bigger than I left it, and I love that it appears to be thriving! While there were struggles with it, just as there is with anything, I think IDA is a wonderful organization that offers riders a rare chance to hone their skills on a variety of horses, and maybe even continue riding when having a horse in college is not an option. My style of riding is based on the knowledge I gained through IDA, and my school pride and appreciation for dressage has never been more, mostly thanks to my time as an NC State Dressage rider, and I would highly recommend the experience to any equestrian.

With that said, gooo Wolfpack Dressage!

If you want to learn more about Dressage at NC State, visit their facebook page here. For general information about IDA, check out their site.

Post-Move, Pre-Show

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Britt

The move went relatively smoothly, and Foster has spent the last few days settling in with a couple attempted rides in there for good measure. Monday I decided we would actually even work a little, and he felt a bit rusty with his lateral work and I felt rusty all over- but it was a new arena and he hadn’t really done anything in over 2 weeks, so I’m not to upset about it.

Foster checks out the new place

Meanwhile, the fact that I am sore (even two days after my ride) makes me feel like a ball of flubber – I have seriously got to get my own fitness under control! No way am I going to have a lovely, tight position over fences when I feel like this…

Tonight we will be riding through our dressage test (hopefully), which is the test I accidentally memorized for the last show! Novice A is nice and flowy, with only a couple trixy moments where you start a circle at E, canter, then start a new circle at B (never finishing your E circle). Let’s hope we don’ts forget this.

Foster has never shown well in his 2 previous visits to MacNair’s, where we will be competing this weekend, but hopefully 3rd times a charm! Assuming I can get a little jump school in, we will be just about as prepared as we were for Running Start- which is to say we won’t be very prepared. So we will just see how things go! If I go off course or forget my damn test, I will be upset though.

Our last time at MacNair’s

So anyways, that’s about it here on the horse front. The weather is supposed to turn a little scary tonight- winds of up to 25 mph, so here’s hoping I don’t die inside the indoor arena! Woo!

Big [Horse-related] news

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Britt

… I have decided to move Foster. It was a long-thought out, emotional decision, but one I had to make if I wanted any kind of life outside of work and horses. Since I started my new job, the commute to the barn has been much longer (50 minutes long), and has been taking a toll on me- mentally and physically.

The beautiful backdrop driveway for our current barn

Since I am also working later hours than I used to, it means I have been getting out to the barn close to 7 pm every night. Add in an hour and a half of ride time, basic grooming, and a 35 minute drive home and any kind of ‘down time’ doesn’t start until 9 pm. I know I should think of riding as down time, because it’s certainly not a chore, but let’s face it- everybody needs to veg out just a little bit. Not to mention my poor husband is already thinking about bed time at 9 pm, and frankly, so am I. All these reasons, plus the costs of gas meant the whole situation was less than ideal.

Another photo from our engagement shoot at the barn… oldest wood barn in NC!

So I found a place that is closer to work – a whopping 15 minutes away, to be exact! Added bonus that it has an indoor arena, so I can ride even if it’s nasty outside. There are of course a couple compromises to be made, but I am hoping it will be a good fit for us.

Indoor arena at the new facility

I think the hardest thing about making this decision was the thought of leaving a wonderful group of fellow boarders that I have had for the past 3 years. These ladies are fun, fun, fun, and a nice down-to-earth type that I know I can rely on in a pinch. Luckily, they have all been super supportive of my decision and I desperately hope we all stay in touch after the move. It will be sad not to see their faces around the barn, but I hope I can make more barn friends at the new facility.

Fingers crossed that our big move [tomorrow] goes well!

Show Recap: Running Start Horse Trials

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Britt

We could rename this blog “Stupid Things Britt Does With a Horse”, and it would be a more descriptive title than the current version.

But let’s start at the beginning. I arrived home from Pittsburgh Friday night about 7:30, convinced the husband to take me straight to the barn where I cleaned the white bits of Foster and packed the last remaining details for the show. Proceeded home about 10:30pm, and unsuccessfully tried to sleep. Got to barn at 5:30 Saturday morning, hooked up and rolled out around 6:20 am. About 15 minutes before arriving at the show, I asked my buddy to look up the test for me so I could go over it once more in my head [most of my test practice had been mental to date, as riding time has been limited by my geographical location and/or weather]. Found out the test I had ridden once physically, and many more times mentally, was the wrong test, and started memorizing the new one.

One thing I love about my horse is that he brings his A game to shows. He tends to get really tense and anxious at home when he sees the trailer, becomes a bit spooky in the cross ties as I put on his shipping boots and fairly prances his way to the trailer. But once he gets to the show, he unloads casually and is always cool as a cucumber. I had the most relaxed horse under me during warm up, and I felt awesome about his dressage test. Beyond coming above the bit in his canter transitions (which we have practiced absolutely nil in the last month), he felt extremely obedient throughout and soft as butter. My hands are a little low, but I allowed his frame to be more Training dressage like, and so since there is a straight elbow-to-bit line, I’m okay with that. When we checked the scoreboard, the placings reflected a strong test- 2nd out of 13!

Screenshot from dressage

In the showjumping warmup, Foster continued to be really relaxed- almost too relaxed in fact! Julieann acted as my coach and tried to get me into a more forward canter, and while we got it in the end, I was a bit worried that he wouldn’t be able to maintain that pace through the course, but I pledged to try.

Imagine my surprise when Foster came out guns blazing in the arena! I thought the first fence was a bit spooky (and recalling our last horse trail there), decided to ride aggressively with a couple warning taps on the shoulder which may have gotten him a bit revved up. I may have also not held the soft knee I was striving for, and so he sensed my tension and got a bit carried away. Either way, it was a point and shoot kind of round, and he jumped me out of the tack a couple times for sure! But clean and clear and heading to XC!

Overjumping.. just a little!

Cross country was where I of course had the most concerns leading up to the show, because of both technical and fitness related questions. He knocked a pole pretty hard in the warmup and overreacted a little bit (with of course the timers yelling at me to get in the start box), so I chose to approach fence 1 with a more collected canter that I could control. After that he really opened up, and we had a fantastic run all the way through the water fence. After that, I breathed a big sigh of relief and mentally went on cruise control. This was a bit of a mistake.

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I approached the half coffin, cruising along and thinking nothing of it, and Foster saw that there was a second element (it was a jump, 2 strides to a reasonably sized ditch), and hesitated. Had I been thinking at all, I am 100% sure he would have gone straight over it, but that’s just it- I wasn’t thinking. So we had a run out, whereupon I brought him back to it and he went straight over. Over one more fence, and we were done. I pulled him up, told him he was a good good boy, and basked in the knowledge that we finished our first Novice course.

Over fence 2

Then I realized (by way of whispers), that I hadn’t gone through the finish flags.

Palm to forehead, then hopped into a canter and backtracked to go through the flags. Word of advice- don’t leave your brain at jump 15. Whoops! In any case, Foster behaved better than I could ever have imagined, and my stupid mistakes cost us a beautiful red ribbon! But in the end though, it wasn’t about the ribbon- it was about getting around and giving Foster a positive experience at the Novice level. I am so proud of him and how he behaved, and can’t wait to take him to the next one!

I do want to take a moment to thank Julieann for coming with me, being a source of positivity that I really needed, and taking the lovely video for us! You’re the best!

OMG the show is tomorrow!

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Britt

I knew this would happen, (with me being in Pittsburgh and not being able to help but think about the competition tomorrow) but I had nightmares last night about the show last night. As in, oh no, I overslept and now I’m two hours behind for my dressage test! Do you think I can go from dressage directly to cross country? Yeah, stupid, I know.

Other than being in a different state the day before, I feel pretty good about it now that I’ve seen the course map-

XC course map

It’s technical, as expected (6-14 will require all of my brain cells to be operating!), but with the exception of maybe 2 fences, we schooled the entire course on Monday. We even did the exact same pattern for jumps 7 – 12. I’ll be interested to see how he handles the half coffin, but he schooled the ditch by itself without question, so I’ll just have to ride with a balanced approach and half halt to let him know something is coming up, and trust him to do his job. The only fence on there that I am a little worried about is #9- which is a decent sized brush jump with trees for standards- Foster hesitated at this during schooling and I need to remember to come into it with my stick in hand for some extra “we’re doing this” sort of confidence.

Otherwise, I have ridden through my test once, maybe twice in the past two weeks, so I won’t be too sad if our score isn’t as lovely as usual. It will be what it will be. And that’s all there is to it! Que sera, sera!

Running Start XC Schooling

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Britt

So, I am back in Raleigh again, for the time being at least. We did indeed make it to the dinner and reception of the wedding, which was really special! Then Sunday I was able to spend some quality time catching up with Foster, pulling his mane to an actually desirable length and getting him otherwise trimmed up. Then yesterday, thanks to warmer temps melting the snow, we were able to go school XC!

XC schooling last year

I went down by myself (therefore no photos), as my original partner in crime’s horse came up dead lame 2 days prior, and had scheduled a lesson with a trainer I’ve never worked with before. I will admit there were some differences in communication, and I felt like a pretty big dummy at several times. I’ll further admit that I even got a little emotional, as I know I tend to do when I am feeling sick (which I was/am, fighting off a nasty cold and having stomach issues to boot).

In any case, here is what I did manage to learn from the lesson:

Sit into the saddle longer while posting to encourage him to use his backend
Always imagine keeping the hind end underneath me (especially through turns)
Soft, bent knees – no standing in the stirrups!
Make him maintain a rythym (particularly on terrain)
No pulling on the away side of the fence
Ride the canter, don’t just allow it to happen
Swing my hips and connect to him as I ride to the fence (don’t stop riding!)

While I was trying to learn/remember all of this, Foster was thankfully proving himself a mature, solid citizen. He warmed up really nicely, and took to the fences like he’d done it yesterday, not 3 months ago. There was no hesitation at all jumping the Novice questions. The two fences I was most concerned about, the jump over a log into water (he has only done a cross rail version of this), and the trakehner, were ridiculously easy.

What I thought would happen at the water jump

He attacked the water jump. Where I thought I’d be saying Go, I was saying WHOA! Definitely not going to be a problem, and it felt really great to see how confident he has become.

Ali and Baron jumping out over the log jump last summer

The trakehner was also excellent. This was a super friendly jump, where the ditch was not boxed in but still gave the impression of a taller fence and something to look at. There was still a bit of snow on the ground around the fence, so I was a little apprehensive that things might get slippy if he were to suddenly react. Once again, my fears were completely unfounded, and he went over it beautifully. If only I had a photo to prove it!

Because he was so good, and surprisingly peppy even at the end of our schooling, I have committed to the show this weekend. I know we won’t be as prepared as I would like, but I think it will be a good first outing for him at the Novice level. The course will be maxed out technically speaking (there will be a half coffin, bank to pheasant feeder, terrain questions, and of course the water jump), but it won’t be maxed out with height and width. Tonight Foster is going to get an easy stretchy ride and we will prepare as much as possible for a crazy week! Get excited!