Show Report: CVDA Part 2: Downpours, mud? Oh what the heck.

Continued from Part 1...

I called the show office that morning. I asked if there were any scratches in Training Level. "Yes, the weather is awful. We have a Training 4 in the afternoon." I immediately snatched it. "I'm hardcore." I explained. Going to a show, in the rain, unprepared? Sure, why not? That wouldn't be crazy!

My husband was overworked and tired. So I called my brother. He agreed to serve as my "groom" in exchange for an evening at the pub. We headed over to the barn.

Armani's legs were covered in mud. I scrapped it off. But more stuck to him. "Oh well, it's just a schooling show. Everything will be muddy."

Armani gave me a funny look. Where the heck are we going? But we loaded right up and headed over. At the show we ran into a friend, who had been grooming for someone else. She was about to leave, but offered to stay and help us. Two grooms for me!

We tacked Armani up. He gave me more funny looks, but he behaved. Then I warmed up on the slick grass. I kept it slow and all went well. We entered the ring for our test...

"Loose horse! Look out! Loose horse!"

I halted at the gate. An acquaintance's horse cantered by. "Oh dear!" I said. When he was caught I quickly put it out of mind. "I won't let it get to me." I thought. We rode into the ring...

The mud was up to Armani's knees and hocks in the corners and a steady rain fell on us. It looked like melted chocolate. He went forward willingly. I felt his muscles working to lift his legs high above the slop. We came around to our first canter depart, I queued him.

Slip... slide... Jump! Hop! Canter!.. slide... trot... queue... skid...

Hmm... We were back to the point where we go back to trot. Ok - no blue ribbon. We got around to the 2nd canter depart. Queued...

Leap! Jump! Canter! Hop! *Grunts, groans* Slip... (lands on butt) slides... trot...

He's being honest. I thought. At this point I made no attempt to queue him again. I just got a forward trot and in two strides we were back to where we'd trot anyway.

After our salute I sheepishly smiled and thanked the judge. "Great gaits." she said, "It's tough weather. When he's stronger behind, he'll have an easier time in mud."

After we left the arena, I checked on my acquaintance. She was reunited with her horse. He had bucked, unseated her, and then slipped and fallen down on the wet grass, before taking off. Fortunately, they were unhurt. She bravely rode her test afterward. Who said dressage riders aren't tough?

It was a few hours before the scores were ready. I put on his Irish knit and my sweater. I gave him more hay, a drink, and sat with him. Armani gave me a dirty look and grumbled. I handed him half of my granola bar.

"Did you hear, FOUR horses went down?" At the office, I learned that 4 horses, including the one ridden by an acquaintance, fell down. I felt fortunate to have stayed upright. We got our score: 51%. I went over our marks. Most were 6 or 7 except the two canter sections. "No canter" "No canter so no transition" the scribe had written repeatedly. In the comments, "Good job despite difficult conditions!" and advice to work on strengthening his back-side.

Armani had been willing and obedient despite the weather. We headed home soaked but pleased.

Time to get some beers!

Show Report: CVDA Part 1: I'm a good girl, really

One of my favorite show series is the CVDA. They put on 3 shows a year.

Show 1 was on my husband's 30th birthday. I "Surprise!" bought Armani on his 28th birthday. On his 29th he was my groom. So this year, I was a good girl. We didn't go.

Show 2 was in a new location, further away. I opted to take the horses to the County Fair instead.

Show 3 was the weekend of our nephew's 1st birthday. I was a good girl again. I didn't sign up... but I'm not saying I didn't go...

My husband and I went to the inlaws on Friday night. The party was on Saturday morning. I kept my composure as 50% of the only childless couple present. Little whirling dervishes, high on frosting, careened recklessly around and into each other. They smushed perfect little cupcakes into their faces and cried; or were the cupcakes eating them? Proud parents, mostly younger than us, ate pretty finger sandwiches and exclaimed over their Junior's genius; how his daycare says he's one of the brightest bulbs in the pack. And when will we expect a little bundle of joy? they asked. Meanwhile the millions of toys played with themselves; beeping, singing, and flashing lights as they gyrated around the floor. When did toys start doing that?

Finally, after a few families left, we left too. I took my headache and stomachache with me as party favors. Yes, I know. I'm a terrible, cold, childless lady entering middle age; a cruel aunt who gives her only nephew boring baby books and wooden puzzles for his 1st birthday. What 21st century baby boy wants those?

My husband suggested we drive home that night. No, no, dear. I insisted, We can spend time with your family. However, he pointed the car for home and home we went. Maybe he was all partied out too. We got in bed at about 1am, an hour that hadn't seen me awake since college. All night a thunderstorm pounded the metal roof of our timberframe. I woke up early. Rain was coming down in sheets. Hmm, the CVDA show is today. It's raining. I bet they've got a lot of scratches...

Show Report: Dartmouth hunter/jumper

Armani and I went to our first hunter/jumper show at Dartmouth Riding Center. We'd been there before for a dressage show. I think Armani remembered the place.

It was a very hot day. Between rounds, horses and riders were lining up in the shade of the trees. Armani was very relaxed; a little too relaxed. I had to really keep him motivated. A few people complimented my "quiet" and "seasoned" show horse. My horse is a quiet campaigner? Surely someone had slipped him a few beers.

My long suffering husband accompanied us. He took photos. Afterwards, I reviewed them. My butt... my butt over a jump... my butt leaning into the trailer... my butt over another jump...

"It was boring." he said. I'll spare you those photos. Here is one of the front of us.



We got one 2nd, two 4ths, and two 6ths. There were a good number of riders in our cross-rail division on good horses. So I was pretty proud. I like the farm and the friendly atmosphere. We plan to go back.

Fair Report: Windsor County Agricultural Fair

Alternate titles:
"Dressage Divas gone wild"
"And now for something completely different"
"Ladies laissez-faire a la fair"
"Show horses shown-up"
"Flags???! We didn't practice this!"

We went to the Windsor County Agricultural Fair's horse show. A friend has been borrowing Huey on occasion. So Armani and I invited them. It was Huey's first time away from home since we bought him last year.

I thought it would be a fun, casual experience. We didn't have a clue what we were in for. We got the program when we arrived. Apparently we were competing in a gymkhana! Hmm - I wonder if we could pirouette through the key-hole?

Throw caution to the wind! We signed up for every event offered! We arrived just barely too late for "Egg & Spoon". Dang! We did Key Hole, Barrels, Flag Race, Pony Express etc. It was a very warm day. So after the first few minutes of nervous excitement, both horses snoozed between games.

We saw many quiet horses. We stood out a bit. The other horses were in western tack.

We met a few interesting people. We chatted with my barn-owner's neighbor whom we'd met before. We met a nice couple with a mother-and-son pair of Peruvian Pasos. We met another nice couple who were just there to watch. They said they watch many horse shows in the area. So perhaps we'll see them again. Armani liked getting his nose scratched by the lady. She had a dog brush with metal bristles. Guess what's on his Christmas list?

Both boys behaved very well. But boy were we shown up! We traded back and forth between second-to-last and last place in every event. But we had fun! Guess we'll need to practice before next year.

Armani runs around the barrels. At first he thought we run away from them.

Chugging to the finish line. Can't seem to find 3rd gear.

Huey hustles to the finish. He earned some praise for OTTBs from the crowd.
"What the heck is that?" 3.5 minutes on the flag race might be the new "World's Worst" record...
Huey shows Armani how we do flags.Happy losers

Show Report: Xenophon Farm Dressage and Combined Tests

In this post, you have the opportunity to play "Judge for the Day"!...

We visited Xenophon Farm in Mass for their June 28 show. It was our first time there. It was also significant for two reasons:

1. It was our first show over fences.
2. It was my first time driving the trailer to a show.

We left in the early morning. We followed my instructor's rig down the interstate. She had three horses. Armani rode in my new trailer with his half-brother, whom she owns. Imagine, my first long distance haul and I was entrusted with a horse I don't even own! My husband kindly offered to ride down with me, so that I'd have another person in the truck just in case. The ride was relatively uneventful except that the young half-brother kicked at stop lights. Ugh.

It is a medium-small farm. The facilities are nice. But it was a bit crowded. They had 2 dressage rings in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, plus 1 jump field. In the morning there was no warm-up ring. Armani and I tried to warm-up in a 20-meter paddock they had open. The classes started at 8am and ran well into the afternoon - which made a long day for out of state travelers like us. But it was otherwise a nice place with friendly competitors.

Armani and I signed up for Training Test 2 and 2 foot jumpers.

First dressage...

Armani was very keyed-up for dressage. I got him under control but he was very distracted and his brother was whinnying. I was really disappointed by our score: an even 50% and last in the class of 10 or so - our worst score all season. But I knew we didn't do very well. Would you like to play judge?



So what do you think? Here's what I thought... The score was close to my guess. After the class I thought we'd get like a 55%. Armani is a naturally up-headed horse. You can see him bob his head a few times. He does that when he's nervous and distracted. More of a warm-up would have helped. I did have my rein shorter than normal. If he'd responded to my aids then I could have allowed him to take the rein contact forward and down. But I never had more than a half-pound of pressure in my hands. The judge's comments seemed to suggest I had hard hands - something of a pet-peeve of mine - so I was really bothered by that.

Oh and did you see him fart near the beginning?


But now on to jumping...
I was already bummed out from dressage. My husband pushed me, "I came here to see you jump." Oh no. Am I becoming a ribbon junky? Just looking for my next fix....?

...I felt better perched on my little jumping saddle with the other riders. I remembered my jumping days in 4H fondly. Armani popped over the fences well. He over jumped most of them. He didn't want to slow up. We just did the group "warm up", which was a bit like a demolition derby. It was exhilarating. I had "ears" in the crowd. Afterward they told me a few people commented favorably on my equitation. Well so much for dressage for that day at least. I happily concluded that we should do some more jumping.

Anyway, it was just a schooling show and we were there for fun and experience. The rest of the day I helped my instructor. Armani and my husband fell asleep at the trailer. I was happy to see them relaxed.

Show Report: GMHA June Show - Sunday and picture wrap up

Continued from Saturday...

Sunday I arrived early hoping to fill a scratch in any Training Level class. Unfortunately, no such luck. So Armani and I rode around the grounds and warm-up ring. My visiting friend, was our personal photographer. She captured a lot of great pics. I have plenty of nice pics of us. But somehow I find myself drawn to the "bloopers". And so I'll wrap up my journal of the weekend with a picture mash-up.

Sunday in the warm-up ring

Hair-ball?

Armani has spotted a Fjord. He loves blondes.

Armani is heartbroken. The Fjord turns out to be a gelding.

My brother pats a dog in the audience.

Armani

On Saturday, Mom pats Armani, who mugs for the camera.

Just to prove we don't always look silly.

Is Armani planning to eat those flowers?

Halt at X.

Canter

White spot on his flank

Trot

Walk

Armani's bare feet

Looking over to the FEI ring

Talk to the hand

Watching the freestyles, my brother tries to not look bored

Armani lets me know what he really thinks of horse shows!

Show Report: GMHA June Show - Saturday (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1...
I finished my lonely lunch of shame. Armani fell asleep. I guess he was feeling more relaxed with the whole show thing. I shrugged off my self loathing. I love being at shows and I was going to make the most of it. I spent the middle of the day wandering around, watching people I did not know ride. I saw some great tests and some bad ones. I took inventory of the male riders. I noted which were attractive, which were too attractive, and which wore rings. I even shopped for my mother as well.

I also noticed that for some people, dressage requires the same amount of prep as a Super Bowl. I saw many coordinated teams. The trainer and the "prep" rider wore headsets. Just before the class, the prep rider dismounts and the nervous owner is thrust aboard. A groom wipes her boots and adjusts her collar. Then after some parting words of wisdom from the trainer the horse and owner go through the motions. More often than not, the horse had a more unpleasant expression after the rug was pulled out from under him, so to speak. They would go through the test wringing their tail and occasionally resorting to hopping as the out-of-shape owner pants and flops about. Then as she exits in tears, the team is ready to support her and exclaim that it was the best ride so far.

I began to wonder if some horse people really are like used car salesmen. And I began to feel pretty proud of myself and other owners like me, doing it all ourselves and smiling as we lost out to major league teams.

My instructor finally arrive. That's right, I was a volunteer groom too. I followed her around with my magical bag of stuff: rubber bands, safety pins, tape, baby wipes, drinks - you never know what you'll need just before she goes in the ring. I observed that the ring I would be riding in was partly under water. I also watched a friend get disqualified after her horse shied at the water and left the ring. Hmm...

My mother arrive with a friend and my brother. I wasn't expecting my brother too. Finally, I had my own entourage! I pranced about with my chin up as we watched. When it was time for me to get ready, they offered to help. Suddenly I felt a need to "be my own man". "I'm OK." I insisted, "You guys watch the show."

I hustled through my process. Armani and were ready much too early. I was concerned about warming up too long and not having enough horse left. So we took things easy. When I found out my ring was running ahead, I happily told the steward "I'm ready as soon as you all are." The judge, probably just as happy to keep things moving, agreed.

I briefly considered a self inflicted "no joking at the judge before the test" policy. Na, I was doing things my way or be damned. "Good Afternoon!" I said. The judge was eating a pastry. Armani was drooling as he often does. "That looks yummy. And I think Armani is hoping you might share." I winked. She smiled and laughed. "He does look like an easy keeper."

We began our test. I rode as if I were at home. I didn't care of my corrections were subtle, I just wanted to make them and get things right. When I ride a test, everything else goes away. There was no puddle. My mother was not there looking nervous. My instructor was not watching shrewdly at E. My friend was not taking photos. My brother was not sitting nearby trying not to look bored.

As we left on a long rein, reality came back. My instructor, never one to butter me up, said it looked like a pretty good ride. My friend took some family photos. The scores were running late. So I untacked and let Armani relax. "You did well, Stinky." I told him sternly. "I suppose I won't ship you off to the sausage factory." A lady rider about to leave in her finery glanced at us with horror. "Yet..." I added ominously.

I kept myself away from the office for a while. We watched some more friends ride. I felt in my element. Finally, while my family made a potty stop, I slipped over to the office - alone. I needed to "man it up" again. My score was posted. I did not have to scan down very far. I was second in my very large class with a score of 63.93% - less than 1% behind first. Well I missed out on an engraved vase. But I was still very happy. I retrieved my red ribbon and my test.

"Capable pair." the judge had commented. She'd given us 7s on our canter, free walk, and halts. "Those are my favor things too." I said to myself. I met my family back at the bathrooms. Not one to boast, I kept my ribbon in my pocket until we got to Armani's stall. I nonchalantly hung it up. "That's not yours is it?" my mom asked in disbelief.

"No, I stole it." I pointed to the next stall. She looked upset. "Just kidding. Anyway, I guess we might as well hang it up." There were rainbows of ribbons up and down our isle. "Have to keep up with the neighborhood."

Next... Sunday... and a managarie of photos.

Show Report: GMHA June Show - Saturday (Part 1)

Continued from Friday...

After my leaving the show grounds late on Friday, I finally got home, ate, and slept - sort of. I still have a hard time sleeping on show nights, although it's getting easier every time. I'll post about some tricks separately.

My Saturday class was at 9:18am. Actually it was supposed to be on Friday. But did I mention that my entry had been mixed up? Yes, that was the first of many things to go wrong.

So I arrived at the grounds around 6:00. It was very quiet, except for horses eating and the scuttling of grooms. I made my way through the temporary equine city to Armani's stall. It quickly became apparent that I was the only non-groom in our little "neighborhood" that morning. Most were teenage girls. They moved nearly silently with down cast eyes. They avoided my gaze and mumbled (if anything) to my cheerful "Good morning!"s. They hurried about with pitch forks and buckets in blue jeans and muck boots.

My husband was out of town. My mother was planning (threatening?) to come watch later. My instructor's first class was not until 2. So I was completely on my own with my horse. For someone social as me, it was very disconcerting.

As it got later, riders and owners began to arrive. I could tell because they were already dressed and much louder than the grooms. I got dressed myself, in the middle of the isle. The bathrooms were far away and if I changed in my stall Armani would "help". People politely looked away. I heard two riders complaining about my next judge. "She expects to see Grand Prix at Second Level!" one shouted defiantly. Hmm... This doesn't bode well for us, I thought.

Our first class was in ring 4, far across the grounds. We were there just before 9. I watched one lady leave the ring in tears after her horse spooked and cantered on the wrong lead - twice. But I felt better as soon as I found that the gentleman ring steward was friendly. Some of the other riders eyed me cautiously as I asked him about the how the ring was running. I laughed "I hope you don't mind all my questions." as I entered the ring. He said "Oh we'll answer them until you are at 3rd level. And I expect to see you back here then!"

"You will!" I grinned.

As I walked up to greet the judge, Armani spooked at her booth. So much for pride. "Good morning!" I said cheerily and laughed "You don't eat horses, do you?" She vaguely smiled and shook her head.

We rode a pretty nice test. Much better than Friday's class. I was pleased. I knew we probably weren't perfect, but I was confident we were at least a 60%. People clapped politely. One of Armani's veterinarians had been watching and greeted us. The ring steward complimented us as we left. I was feeling quite flushed with pride as we untacked. I hustled to the show office as soon as the scores were posted. Thrilling with anticipation I scanned the list... down... and down...

There we were, in last place, just after the lady with the spooking and the wrong lead. Well at least she could feel better now. We had scored a 53%. Disheartened, I picked up my test results. The judge was primarily critical of Armani's self-carriage and contact. She hadn't liked his canter or free walk either; my favorite things. I ate my lunch alone with my horse. My lunch was perfectly packed and precisely planned to deliver maximum nutrition with minimal stomach upset. I can do anything I put my mind to, I insisted to myself. Was I wrong to think we did fairly well? Shouldn't we be able to do even better? I resolved to give my all on our next test....
Continue to Part 2...

Show Report: GMHA June Show - Friday

Do something often enough and it starts to become second nature. So with considerably less trepidation than our first show, I entered my first recognized show - ever: The June Dressage show at GMHA

Among the other things I had to contend with:
- I promised to play "groom" for my instructor.
- My horsey friend from Connecticut was visiting.
- My mother was also planning to come watch.
- My husband had gone to his parents'.
- I was overworked and did not have a lot of ride-time that week.

Photo Caption: Armani and I ford the river on the way to our class.

Friday: we misplace our girth and ourselves

Friday we arrive with my instructor, who was showing 2 other horses that day. We were forced to park all the way across the grounds from our stall. I checked in and got directions. I found what I thought was my stall empty. I settled Armani in. Funny - no one delivered my shavings yet. I ran back to the show office and asked for some to be delivered. Then I hustled to help my instructor. After her classes, I had an hour to prepare for mine.

I ran back. Still no shavings. I asked to have more delivered. And I'd forgotten my girth. I ran across the grounds to her trailer, got the girth, and returned. When I was all tacked and about to depart a lady walked up to us.

"That's my stall!"

"I'm sorry." I said "But this is where I was directed. Perhaps there was a mix-up?"

"You're coming with me to the show office, now!"

Now normally I'm a pretty affable competitor, but I was standing there in my finery, half-way out of the door. It should have been pretty obvious that I was going to ride. "I'm going to my class now. I'm sorry. You'll have to go to the office on your own. Talk to (so-and-so) and tell them (me) sent you. I'll stop by the office afterward. Now please excuse us."

We tried a new thing for us: Dressage Equitation. The junior and senior classes and been combined. I chatted with a nice junior rider. Her Morgan was poised and quiet. Armani was high as a kite.
"She's only 5!" the young lady told me.
"Oh." I said. "Wow... Mine is 7..."

I thought we did well enough. But we placed 4th out of 4. But I was happy to have survived without tasting the dirt. My instructor was heading out. I loaded my stuff into my car. Then I drove back to the office.

We had taken the wrong stall. But the manager had set the lady up with the stall we were supposed to have. Well no harm done. I hope she enjoyed her 2 free bags of shavings.

By the time I unpacked and settled him in it was 8pm. As I left, I passed 6 ladies at the end of an isle sharing wine and laughing. "Now you ladies are doing things right!" I laughed as I headed out for the night...

Continue reading Saturday...

Show Report: Morton Farm Dressage

Armani and I just got back from the schooling show at Morton Farm, the Dartmouth College Riding Center. It's a nice facility; white fences and red barns. The warm-up is conveniently next to the show ring. So I was disappointed to hear that, due to low turn-out, this would be their last dressage show for the year. They will be hosting some hunter/jumper shows however.

This was our first outing of the year. We did Training-1 and 2. Armani was nervous and looky. But he remained under control. We scored 55.6% T-1, 2nd out of 4. Comments on contact and submission.

Between classes we had an hour long break. I was sweltering in my jacket. We retreated to the trailer for a drink and a snack. I was proud to see him starting to doze. How far he has grown from the wild youth I bought at auction.

We revived ourselves for our second test. We scored 56.5% T-2; 4th out of 6. Armani still had enough "spirit" to try to run off with me at the canter. More comments on submission. Perhaps we should take up endurance?

A confession

I've discovered how challenging it is for the "adult amateur". I got out of work late but I still had to clean, practice and pack the night before. After a fitful sleep, courtesy of an ear-ache, Tylenol PM and banishing my ever-supportive husband to the couch, I got to the barn at an uncivilized hour. Loaded Armani. Fortunately I wasn't driving and had a friend. But she was just as "on her own" as me. And it was her first dressage show. I found myself in the unfamiliar position of "experienced showman". Plus we traded off babysitting duty on the accompanying 7 year old. Between the lead rope and holding the kid by the collar (can you halter train children?) I didn't even have a hand to take photos. But seeing my friend's delight at winning her first class was worth while.

Oh and I always pack tasty treats, a la sophisticated "picnic" at the horse show. We sure could have used a hand. There was plenty of food. Will grooms work for food?

Another confession

(Puts on her fireproof suit.) The judge was someone I've taken lessons with regularly. There aren't many schooling shows in a day's drive. My horse and I both need mileage. We were offered a ride. I discussed it with everyone involved. I asked to be entered "hor concours". But the show secretary said that it wouldn't be necessary as it was a small, relaxed schooling show. The judge - trying to make me feel better I think - insisted she'd be "mean" to me. So I put on my bravest face and showed anyway. I planned to be honest if asked; though no one did. But in my own mind, I pictured a total stranger in the booth. However, I still felt a bit awkward. I've always prided myself as a friendly and honest sportsman. Was it immoral of me? Would you have minded if you were there? Or perhaps I'm being too much of worrier?

Show Report: GMHA June Dressage

Piaffe meets the Slip-and-Slide

The GMHA June Dressage Show ran from June Fri 20 - Sun 22 at the historic GMHA grounds in Woodstock, VT. Armani and I didn't sign up because I haven't registered him with the USDF yet. So we'll stick to schooling shows this season. However, I went to watch my instructor and help out on Sunday. The weather had been gorgeous all weekend. Until Sunday morning as I was on my way I drove through sheets of solid rain and lightening streaking over my car. I could barely see, and really tested my new car's handling (new-used... I own horses, I can't afford new). "Oh no!", I thought, "I'm bringing the bad weather with me!" By the time I got to Woodstock (We were half a million strong?) everyone was hiding in their trailers and vehicles. Fortunately, my instructor's horse, nearly 18-hand Big-Bay, has a butt that is pretty hard to miss. It's like a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet sticking out of a two car garage. So I had no trouble finding the trailer in the downpour.

The rain became off-and-on and classes resumed, with some rings running around a half-hour behind schedule. Overall though, I thought it was a testament to how well organized everything was. I was surprised things weren't more behind. And with the number of scratches the rain brought on, they were able to catch up by the end of the day. The only trouble I saw was that the warm-up ring was very, very slick with mud. And although the performance rings were better, I saw more than one horse challenged by the footing. Good reason to spend more time trail riding with my horses I think.

Lil-Pretty-Face did very well in her classes and even my less-than-expert eye thought her last test was a winning test as I watched (and it was). I horsey-sat Big-Bay for the better part of the afternoon, while my instructor rode Pretty-Face. Big-Bay was actually fairly respectful of me, and missed stepping on my feet as I grazed him and tried to curry the mud off of his belly. Being stepped on by my 15-hand Armani is bad enough that my toes are all various shades of blue. So I couldn't imagine if nearly 18-hand Big-Bay had trodden on me.

I was wearing my casual-Sunday-at-the-show clothes while grooming an 18-hand braided bruiser wearing a "Saratoga Dressage Champion" cooler, so I'm pretty sure I was mistaken for a groom more than once. But I actually didn't really mind at all. In fact I felt really happy to be useful. Although I'm confident if anyone closely inspected my "grooming" results, they'd know instantly that I don't have enough talent to be actually paid. That's another reason why I'm happy with the schooling show circuit so far, two words, braiding optional!