After showjumping, we headed over to the cross country course, where I incorporated a couple small angled fences as directed(admittedly not as extreme as at home, I wussed out a little) and felt out whether or not I would be able to rate Foster in the new bit. I also started to panic that I couldn’t remember all of the fences, since our course walk was interrupted by nightfall, and I hadn’t found a chance to revisit the course that day.
With that as the backdrop of our tale, I invite you to watch the helmet cam:
That’s right. As much as it pains me to say it, I went off course. The offending fence was a dinky little vertical at the top of the hill before the bank, that I flew by without a care in the world:
Otherwise, we were out there having a blast, and Foster was listening exceptionally well (other than getting distracted by a rider coming home after fence 1), and was coming back to me easily. I was pulled up with 3 fences to go, and I have no doubt that we would have come in double clear had we completed the course.
So, there ends our last show of the season. While of course it is so disappointing to not finish, I am thrilled with Foster and some of the progress we made. While not our best dressage test, we still proved that we were competitive in a large field. We put in a fluid showjumping round and got all of our spots. And we had one erm, 3/4 of the most relaxed and confident cross country courses to date, with Foster feeling as rideable as ever. It’s not the way I wanted to end the season, but it’s another definite learning experience. I thought 3 days later I would be super bummed, but somehow, I’m not. I’m proud of how Foster went and have a lot to look forward to, and that’s all that matters to me.
As I mentioned yesterday, even though our score was much higher than normal, we were somehow sitting in 2nd place after dressage. These one day events really fly by though, and with under two hours between dressage and the jumping phases, and with tack to attend to and a stadium course to walk, there really wasn’t much time to ruminate on our placing.
Sorry, no photos! Screengrabs instead!
Foster decided once again he would warm up for stadium half awake, surely in an effort to make sure my calves were in working order. All kidding aside though, I seriously need to find a way to get him revved up for the stadium phase, because these pokey warm-ups just aren’t cutting it. Anybody have any suggestions for getting a horse forward while conserving energy?
Blurry photo is blurry
Thankfully he tends to get his motor running in the actual show arena, and I took a big lap around the course so he could see everything and hopefully get excited.
Even with the two poles, I feel like this is one of our better stadium rounds, at least regarding fluidity. I got stiff to fence 2, which he knocked, and I didn’t balance him as I should to fence 5. But there are some positives- I like my turn from 4 to 5 (why did I not ride every turn like that?) and I didn’t get any nasty chippy spots like I tend to do. Also, an actual flying change! But in retrospect, I should have really gotten that simple change faster (ugh), properly balanced before every fence, and not made my turns so sweeping.
Wish I had a photo of this one!
So with 8 jumping faults and 7 time faults to add to our score, we dropped a bit down the leaderboard. While we really should have done better than that, there were plenty of other victims of flying poles, and I tried not to stress over losing a ribbon. We still had cross country to run!
It would be sufficient to say that this week did not go as planned. Not that I’m terribly upset; all is well and the world isn’t going to end, but if I’m honest it is not the way I wanted to end the season. But before we get to all that, let’s start at the beginning!
Thanks to J for taking the beautiful photos!
Saturday Dressage Schooling Our schooling Saturday was utter crap. Foster started out nicely but progressively got heavier and heavier in my hands. He bounced between my aids like no one’s business- if he leaned on his right shoulder, I would block it, and he would lean on my left hand, and so on and so forth. Not wanting to get myself or him into a tizzy, I said a few bad words, found a decent note to end on, and called it a day.
The Course walk
We got out on course with just a little daylight to spare. Just like at the last course, which made it clear that it was a recognized course from a maximum height first fence, this course was evident that we were once again at a schooling show. Fence 1 was shared with beginner novice, and the following 3 fences were quite straightforward. Fence 5 was on a downhill slope, then 6A-B was the sunken road where the B element was on the tougher uphill side. Then breeze over 7, attack the scary brush fence (not so scary since we jumped it last time!), and the rest of the course was somewhat nondescript fences from there, with the addition of a bank and a water element. We definitely ran out of daylight about halfway around, and as you can see, it was really tough to spot the last several fences!
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Dressage Warming up Sunday for the real deal, he felt not quite as heavy, but I bit stiff in my hands. His jaw was not nearly as supple as it has been, and there was not a hint of foam from my normally-rabid-appearing horse. Sitting him back on his butt and lightening up front was just not happening, so I made the decision to post the test, even though my normal preference is to sit.
Pissy pony with a pretty purple tail
The test itself felt mediocre at best. I felt like I had him forward, but not at all supple. Because of his wandering haunches, I sat both centerlines, as well as before both canter transitions to try and keep him round through the transition itself. Here is the video of the test itself:
The test definitely looks better than it felt, which was really surprising to me. The judge’s comments are kind of a mixed bag. We got our first 6 on our free walk, two 5’s (wtf?), but a 7 on a canter transition (yay) and an 8 on a canter circle (double yay). Here’s the test in its entirety:
Our score of 35.7 tied us for 2nd out of 18, which made pretty much every competitor I talked to think that scores were a bit harsher than normal. I definitely wonder how this test may have scored under another judge, but of course, we’ll never know.
Following dressage was a short reprieve, and then it was onto jumping, where the going gets a little more interesting!
Last night during my dressage school, I had the opportunity to have someone video my test. I find this super helpful, having a visual to compare against and fix any niggling issues before (or at) the show. Obviously I don’t expect to be able to change anything drastic, but there are plenty of mental reminders for myself that will make a big difference in the way we score.
It’s not our best test, but considering the conditions, I’m plenty pleased. It started raining as we went down centerline, then within a minute it was sideways raining into the arena, which quickly escalated into a downpour accompanied by tremendous wind- it’s a testament to A’s sweetness that she was willing to sit and video the whole thing (Thank you, A)! There are some moments where Foster was distracted by the elements (particularly near the mirrors, as that’s where it was coming in), and he gets a little behind me leg. The free walk stinks, but again, we’re heading into the rain. I feel pretty confident that this will not be the case this weekend. Also, look at those canter transitions! Not that they are perfect, but definitely a far cry from the completely hollow moments of the past. We’re getting there!
I took a moment to watch a little bit of the video while in the saddle, and immediately decided that we looked as though we were trudging down centerline. The whole test (with a couple exceptions) could be more forward, but it’s a fine line between forward and tense, so I’ll just have to feel that out. I asked A to video one more centerline so I could push the trot a bit and see what it looked like:
I think it’s worth pushing for a little more brilliance down centerline, as long as I can keep him straight, so this will be a change I attempt in the test on Sunday. You can see that I push it a little too far in the 20 meter circle afterwards, though, so I will need to remember to back up my leg with half-halts so as to not get his head to pop up expecting a canter transition.
I’m feeling a little unprepared for the show in that I haven’t made a single list yet, and normally at this point it would be made and double checked a thousand times over. Hopefully I’ve done this enough that I won’t forget anything, but I just hate not having my list!
I hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll shamefully ask for good juju sent our way! Recaps next week!
Here’s something I’ve been pondering for a while, and that is Foster’s feeding regimen. He’s the hardest keeper I’ve had to deal with, which doesn’t mean he’s really much of a hard keeper really, just that the majority of the horses I’ve dealt with have been of the drafty (or Draught-y) type.
Ivan at his leanest. Also my face here is somewhat hilarious
He did lose considerable weight at the last barn, which I attribute to the hard winter, in addition to the crap nutrition of the feed at that facility. His current feed is still nothing fancy, but considerably better than before, and for a while he was looking quite the chunky monkey and we had to decrease the amount he was getting.
This was *not* ok.
Now I feel like his weight is just where it should be, but I wonder if there are things I can do to improve his energy level without making him ‘hot’. Keeping in mind that my horse is somewhat unusual in that he gets a little more spicy in the summer and gets a bit quieter in the winter.. Weird, I know.
Are you guys sick of seeing these photos yet? (most recent good photo of Foster I have)
For the Novice level, I feel like his energy/fitness is fine. We come in under time, and he still feels good to go at the end of my cross country course. I wonder, though, if that energy will be enough for Training, where I will need a bit more ‘oomph’ to get through more complicated combinations and get over larger fences.
What do you guys feed? Any supplements that you truly believe in for giving your horse that extra edge? Any feeds/supplements to stay away from?
Cool! Not like, of course, we have any chance of winning (extra points for Foster’s good looks? no?), or really getting anywhere near the top, but it was neat to see. My luck has been that we’ve either placed in the top 4 or the bottom 2 (mostly thanks to me going off course in some way or another) at pretty much every competition for the last year. Foster’s dressage scores have been as follows at the last 3 shows:
CHP May HT: 31.3
Recognized Show @ FENCE: 30
CHP October HT: 31.7
So we’re scoring pretty consistently in the low 30’s, and my goal for this next show is to bring any 6’s up to 7’s. Here’s looking at you, canter departs! Also, I’ll be disappointed in myself if I get comments about his haunches being right. For jumping, I just hope to go double clear in both phases, and not have a sticky jumping round. Our jumping record for the last 3 shows has been this:
Not perfect, but I’m not complaining. The 2 rails at FENCE were mostly my fault- he was unbalanced for the first, and a little flat for the second. Going double-clear this weekend would mean a lot to me, and I have faith in Foster’s abilities to make it happen!
So our more specific goals for the weekend are this:
7’s on canter departs and downward transitions
8 on free walk/medium walk
no comments about haunches in
square halt
no time faults showjumping
land on the correct lead every time
balance before every fence
no jumping or time faults cross-country
forward, forward, forward!
Have fun!!! (So excited- we have a huge group going!)
Foster got new shoes just in time to have his jumping lesson yesterday, thank goodness. We came so close to the wire though, that I was feeding him from his bucket as he was getting his back feet shod, but we made it!
I rode once again in the ‘Wonder Bit’ to get a second opinion on whether or not it was a good fit. It turns out the first ride was not a fluke, and after a good lesson we decided it would be worth trying it out at the show this weekend!
The lesson began with more lengthening to collected transitions, but a little more complex than before. The exercise included a 10 meter (15 meters @ canter) circle around a fence within the collected gait, followed by a lengthening down the long side to another collected circle around another fence, then rinse and repeat. A lot of the focus here was keeping him straight through the shoulder (which likes to pop out) while still maintaining a slight bend to the inside (sometimes I overcorrect and counter-bend by accident), all while keeping the collected trot/canter active. Collection proved to be the toughest part of this exercise, and we were praised for getting a better response to the lengthening cue (though I need to maintain contact and keep the connection when shooting off).
After this, we reviewed jumps on a circle, spiraling from a 15 meter canter circle out to a large circle that included an oxer and a vertical. Once again, the emphasis was put on keeping him straight. Doug pointed out that when we were straight we got much better spots, and that the quality of the canter needs to be addressed at all times. If I find myself getting to a long spot, I tend to pump my hands, when instead I should sit back a little and allow my seat/leg to do the work.
Pumping at its finest:
Then the fun [difficult] stuff began. Two small fences (2′) were set up in the middle of the arena. My goal was to go through them at a pretty extreme angle (30 degrees or so), with 3 strides in between. The first time I went through without seeing my line, and totally flubbed it. Then I was shown where my line was, and when I should look vs when I should turn (a remnant from the last lesson), and actually got through it, albeit with a little more wiggle than desirable. A third time through, and it was much smoother. Having the angled fence approach is our toolbox will be very valuable, so if we ever get off our line to an element, Foster will know he can still take it. My homework is to practice over a small warmup cross country fence at the show, followed by a lesser angle to a larger fence, and get him mentally sharp in preparation for this idea.
We finished with a short course of 4 fences, including a 1 stride and the couple new fences I have introduced to the arena, the swedish-oxer-liverpool fence and a brick wall. Once again, straightness was an issue, as I tend to not think about my approach until the base of the fence. Instead, I need to be straight 4 strides out, in order to give Foster the best chance possible of being successful. Something interesting, too, that I learned (and this was a duh! moment on my behalf), was with a Swedish oxer you shouldn’t jump the middle, but jump the side that appears as an ascending oxer. So with the below jump, I would approach this slightly left of center:
Overall, this was another great jumping lesson where I took a lot away. I have confidence in the new bit and hope he rates well in it cross country. With each exercise we improved and once again, I have great homework to work on for some time. It felt good to practice both fences that were technical, and a course that was at or slightly above the height we’ll be competing at this weekend. Because of lesson conflicts this week, I am not sure I will have another opportunity to jump before the show, but I feel like this was a great note to finish on for our prep!
You know when you have one of those days when it seems like the people around you are simply determined to make your life just a little bit more difficult? Yeah, I had one of those days last week, and of course it fell on the evening of a lesson.
Sit, stay.
Without going into a rant again (because a couple people have already heard it), Foster twisted a shoe when someone spun out on the gravel just behind him, and he skidded in the cross ties. Awesome. Then we shared the arena with another lesson that was supposed to be long gone, and spent the majority of my lesson distracted, either in fear that we were going to be mowed over or that the other rider would fall off *again*.
Still, we were able to do some work nonetheless. Here’s my quick bullet list of personal reminders/exercises we worked on…
Renvers (haunches out), weight in the direction of the bend, shoulder in the renvers transition
Shoulder-fore in test to keep him straight (especially going right)
Haunches-in/haunches out at canter, releasing on the reins to keep suppleness
Equitate: Hold my hands closed so I can get a proper feel on his mouth (I am *so* bad about this!)
Thinking piaffe in walk transition/don’t let him run away with front-end
Rebalancing (sitting him back) for every transition
Lengthening- focus on quality of start and finish
Since the twisted-shoe fiasco, unfortunately the farrier has not been able to come see us until today. Thankfully Foster is sound on it, and we’ve been doing some flat work with a lot of success. The dip in temperature has definitely improved his workouts, and he’s been feeling much more forward without being fresh.
Tonight we’ve got a jumping lesson, and it will be our first time jumping since the show- not ideal, but of course life and shoe issues get in the way!
I had the honor of photographing Nikki for her bridal portraits back in September. It was a beautiful fall day, and this bride-to-be simply glowed! The sky kept changing as we went along, and I swear to you I felt like I was seeing something out of Pride and Prejudice unravel before me – the scenes of pastoral splendor, combined with a stunning dress and glamorous model were simply too much!
We took this opportunity to photograph Nikki with her mother as well, and I’m so glad we did! What a stunning pair!
Red on the Right 