Luck’s First TND – Part 3

I got out and went to check in at the show office. I kind of had to pee, but got sidetracked when I heard a big “Are you here with Lucky” being called out to me from the warm-up ring. Remember how my friend recently let me ride her upper level quarter horse so I could fix my position? Well, even though she lives almost an hour an a half away she was there schooling her young FEI prospect!!! I had a friend at the show! And she even brought her Mom who I love and one of her boarders. I felt lighter than air as I walked in the show office to get my number. I only had time to watch the first half of my friends test before I had to go down and get Lucky ready. She came off the trailer much more relaxed than at the last show so I was hoping we were in for a good ride.

I got on her at 5:30 and walked in to the ring. As soon as I turned in my thought was “There must be something wrong with the ring”. Remember how I said it was pouring on my drive to the barn? Well, the warm-up ring looked completely flooded! I hadn’t realized it had rained that much. Not to be deterred I walked Lucky on a loose ring up to the top warm-up instead. What I found was footing that was even worse. By the time I had walked back down to the lower ring Lucky was already starting to take over and get quick. I blanked at that moment. I didn’t know how to fix it, especially with footing that could potentially cause an injury. I was super conservative just trying to get her to listen to my half halts at the walk. She was getting more and more flustered though. I was about ready to cry out in frustration when I heard a voice calling out at the side of the ring “pick up your reins and site deeper”. I could do that. I looked over and my friend had seen that I was in trouble (not hard to spot when your horse is jigging and going sideways) and had come up to help. Yay!

One of her first comments was “I don’t really think that she likes to be left to her own devices in the warm up. I think she is really hoping you will take charge and be strong with what you want her to do”. My warm up got getter and better with help from my friend. She reminded me to put my hands down and not pull, sit up, and circle when I need too. By the time we started to trot I didn’t even think about the scary footing, but rather, I was focused on making the gait as clear and steady as possible. By the time they called me to go in the ring I had a HUGE smile on my face. The horse I was riding in to the show ring was the horse I had at home. As I turned to go around the ring Lucky tensed up, and not having enough space to do figures in I started to panic. I tried to do loops and transitions, but when Lucky tried to trot 700 mph with me after I introduced myself to the judge I didn’t know what to do. My friend called out from the rail to sit up and put my hands down. Just knowing someone was there supporting me made me breath, and while Lucky was still trucking along, it was only at 400 mph, not 700…

To Be Continued…

Luck’s First TND – Part 2

Lucky and I had been fighting for 15 minutes about loading. I was concerned because I was alone on the farm. I couldn’t even ask someone to help me. Lucky had to self load on that trailer or we were not going anywhere. I would consider myself a pretty patient person, but Lucky was really pushing it. I was starting to get frustrated. I kept reminding myself to breath and just keep expecting the best. After 25 minutes of trying to get her on I was ready to pull my hair out. I had no choice but to keep trying so we just kept at it. When she would stop I would tap her behind the leg (either front or hind depending on how far back she stopped). She would then rear or fly backwards, I would take a breath, circle her and try again.

 

After almost 30 minutes Lucky just walked on. Seriously! I have no idea what changed, but suddenly she just walked on. I quickly put up the butt bar up and stepped back. I looked at my watch, it was 5:00. I could still show. I was completely and utterly rattled at that point in the night though. Showing must be fun for Lucky, but how could I make it fun when I was ready to cry. I took 3 deep breaths and put up the ramp while I walked to the cab trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I got in the passengers side, closed the door, and promptly started crying.

 

It wasn’t so much the I was crying about the fact that she wouldn’t get on, rather, I was upset that I was alone. I want a barn to show with. I don’t want to have to worry about this sort of thing. I want to put on my matching barn polo and sit at the barn having a cocktail as some groom loads my horse. Okay, not really, but at that moment that is what I was feeling. Don’t get me wrong, it is great that I can show on my own, but at that moment I needed support. I cried for a solid 5 minutes before I looked down at myself still in my work clothes. Lucky was screaming in the trailer. Was I going to give up so easily? Was I going to let a little blip of her not getting on the trailer ruin my night? I have more perseverance than any other horse person I know. Was I really going to give up now after everything I have been through? Heck no!

 

As I looked at my Lucky freaking out in the back I opened the door and told her to chill. She was going to a horse show and were going to have fun! She chose to ignore me. I took my show clothes and got myself ready. I promised myself that by the time I walked to the truck again I would have let go of the trailer loading about be totally focused on the show. I was true to my word and by the time we made the three minute drive to the show (and for the record I had thought about just riding her there, but I felt like that would be sending her a bad message) I was okay.

To Be Continued…

Lucky’s First TND – Part 1

So I have tried several times to do a TND show and it has never worked. Everything from Thunderstorms to the organizers accidentally giving away my times the day before has kept me away. I really needed this show to happen this year though because I have a Green Horse who gets nervous at a shows. I had been obsessing about the weather all week, and sure enough there was supposed to be thunderstorms during my rides. I didn’t care though. I needed to get Lucky out and about so I was going to that show hell or high water.

 

As I left work the sun was shinning so I smiled to myself thinking how silly I was to listen to the weatherman. As I turned on the road that would take me 40 of my 45 minute drive up to the barn my smile faded. While it was clear and sunny at work, the sky looked black up ahead. Did I mention that I was super determined to get to this show? I figured that thunderstorms only last for about an hour. I had about 2.5 hours until my ride time. I figured would be fine. It was a bit menacing to get out of my car and hook up my trailer in the pouring rain and lightening, but dammit it, I was going to the show!

 

When I got to Lucky’s I was totally on time. I figured I would give her a solid grooming and that would be enough. When I saw my girl my heart dropped. My Lucky who stays clean for days at a time? She had used the rain storm as an excuse to roll in the mud. She was filthy! It was too cold to bath her with only cold water so I did my best with brushes. At one point I was just moving the very wet mud around. Even after a lot of grooming Lucky still looked a mess. I looked at my watch, it was 4:15. I could just tack her up and not look so show ring ready, or I could keep trying fight the grime. I decided that a positive show experience was more important then looking show ring ready so on the saddle went. The rain had stopped, but I figured Lucky was going to get muddy at the show anyway since the ground was so wet. My goal had been to get to the show by 5. I was walking to the trailer at 4:25. I was so happy.

 

I marched her towards the trailer ready to have her self load. She started to trot, so I jogged with her until we got to the back of the trailer when I let got. I expected her to trot on. I expected wrong. I was surprised when she stopped dead with only her two front feet on. I had just moved to tap her legs with the whip when she ran off backwards. I was taken aback, but recovered quickly. Clearly I had not been prepared for her to stop and my lack of quick response was why she came off. No big deal. We would just try again. This time I didn’t even get her two front feet on before she tried to rear and jump off sideways. What?!?!?! Lucky is NOT AFRAID of the trailer! On our third attempt I got her two front feet on again, but the tapping of her back legs had her kicking out at me and running off again. We went back and fourth for another 10 minutes. She would slam on the breaks, back up, rear up sideways away from me (at one point I had thought it was my being on the left so I switched sides. Turns out she didn’t care where I was. She just didn’t want to get on the trailer). My arms and back were screaming. I was not letting go when she pulled away which meant that I was getting pulled along with her.

 

After that first 15 minutes of struggle I decided to go on the trailer with her in case there really was something she was afraid of. So I dropped the chest bar and went back around to put her on. Sure enough she came right up when I was with her. Hmm…so she wasn’t scared. I put the chest bar up and expected her to self load when we came around again. She didn’t. At this point my goals for the evening switched. Instead of doing well at the show my goal became just getting to the show. Lucky had a look in her eye that was telling me she wasn’t getting on the trailer. I had a look on my eye that was clearly telling her she was GOING ON THE TRAILER.

 

To Be Continued

My Saddle’s Mojo

I ride Lucky in the cheapy adjustable Wintec that I bought last year. Last year it fit okay, but my girl is getting buff. Her shoulders are popping out and her back is coming up. I have had trouble getting the Wintec to be okay. When the tree is adjusted to where it should be it doesn’t fit her shoulders and vice versa. Lucky is totally stoic, but any other horse would be bucking by now. I have tried using a variety of corrective pads, and they make it okay, but the saddle is not fitting great.

 

When I got an e-mail saying that Jochen Schleese was going to the area (to my friends barn none the less which is 10 min away) I thought “Perfect”. And about 5 seconds later I thought “No, never mind. I don’t want Lucky to get hurt”. You see, I think my Schleese is cursed. Think about it…

 

I got the saddle for Gen. I got the saddle in January, Gen was hurt and retired by March. That one I could shake off as just a freaky incident. When I made the appointment to get the saddle fitted to Lexi only to have him get injured and pass away before the appointment date…that made me think twice. Not one to be overly superstitious I got the saddle fitted to Phoenix. This time I actually had the saddle fitting appointment and my saddle went up to Canada got taken apart and put back together. I got the saddle back and not even 3 months later my lease with Phoenix was over.

 

That is THREE bad things that happened around this saddle. I love my Lucky. I am freaking out that if I get my saddle done, something bad will happen to her. I finally have a horse I can do stuff with. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.

 

Part of me wants to get my saddle done, but part of me thinks it is not worth the risk.

 

I decided to e-mail Schleese and see what appointment times are available. I can’t take off of work so it might be a non-issue. If they have an evening appointment I kind of want to do it. I just need the tree and flocking adjusted so it shouldn’t be a terribly expensive fix. Nothing feels as good as riding in your own saddle. That Schleese fits me perfectly, the Wintec is just an okay fit.

 

So what if they can do it? How can I get the curse off of my saddle. Someone told me to burn sage around it. I am willing to try anything at this point! Anyone else out there have ways to decurse a saddle? If I can’t use it I might as well just sell it. There is no need to have a very expensive saddle sitting in my basement…especially one I am worried about using…

I have decided against going to the show tomorrow…

The main reason being that it is really wet and soggy around here. The ground is MUSH and since the show grounds tomorrow is where I got stuck last year I figured it wasn’t worth the risk. Especially since earlier in the week I had decided that I was just going to show her in hand anyway. Getting stuck when I had someone to hold Lucky was one thing, but doing it all alone would be disastrous. I need to make every show a positive experience so I decided to forgo the chance at ribbons.

I also have other reasons. One is the fact that it is going to be 88 degrees with 100% humidity tomorrow. I melt in the heat and Lucky hasn’t fully shed out yet so that is a big reason not to push it. A second reason is that I have a horse show next Saturday. Three shows in 10 days is a lot. A third reason is that I kind of just want a day to clean my house and relax. I have been going non-stop and when I first toyed with the idea of not going tomorrow I actually realized I was looking forward to hanging out by the pool instead of standing in the sun at a show.

The only reason I am bummed about not going is really the ribbons. Not only do they have great ribbons at this show in general, they have the best year end awards!

Would it have been good to get Lucky out again to another show, I think so, but I am also fine with sitting this one out!

Goals for the show today…

So today I am going to do a TND show. I hate to call it a show because there is no dress code and no ribbons, but there is a judge and I don’t really have anything else great to call it. Weather permitting, Lucky and I are planning on doing Intro A and Intro B. The big difference for this show is that I am going to work all day before I get there. My job can be stressful so this might not be a very good thing to do. Since Lucky is not in heat anymore I have hopes for a more relaxed horse. Since I am going alone again, and this time I am really alone, no one is coming to watch or take pictures, I figured I would give myself a few goals to fixate on in the hopes it will help me stay focused at the show.

1) Stay calm when getting Lucky ready. When I am in a rush to ride after work I can get flustered grooming and tacking. Since I am not braiding and showing in a polo, I am not going to hold myself to “perfectly bathed horse” standards. Instead, I am going to just give her a good grooming and that is going to have to be enough. If I get flustered grooming and tacking her at home I am not laying the groundwork for a good away experience. I might not have a lot of time to spare getting ready, but I have enough time so I need to keep calm and relaxed.

2) Warm-up like my rope is there. Since I am going alone I cannot bring my awesome neck rope to remind me to keep my hands quiet. At home when Lucky starts to take over I can use the rope instead of my reins. That keeps my hands quieter and my horse happier. No one wants to be jerked in the mouth. I had wanted to use the rope to warm up this show and see if it makes a difference. Since I cannot have it for real, I need to pretend that it is there.

3) Be an active rider. Last show I got all stiff and didn’t ride well. I know that if I ride well, Lucky will go better, no matter what. That means that I need to not be afraid to make corrections both in the warm up and during my tests. Lucky is not a couch!

4) Get to the show by 5pm. I ride a 6 so it is okay if I get there later, but I am really going to try and get there by 5. I want Lucky to be able to take a breath and chill out before I get on her. My game plan is to be mounted by 5:30, the earlier I can get to the show the better!

5) Take care of myself. When I am alone at a show I found that I am not very good at just sitting for a minute and relaxing. I need to be able to drink water, take a breath, etc at a show. This is such a low key affair that it is the perfect way to practice being normal at a show!

Happy Birthday Gen

I can’t believe I nearly forgot Gen’s birthday! He is now 20 years old for real! I never thought he would live this long, but I am so happy he did! Someone is getting lots of cookies today!!!

Watching the Weather

So this week I am trying to do two special things with Lucky. One is a Thursday Night Dressage and the other is a fun show on Saturday. Mother Nature does not seem to be understanding my show plans!

I don’t think I am particularly weather obsessed. I watch the news in the mornings and if I catch the weather great, if not that is no big deal. When I get to the barn and it looks yucky I will pull out my phone to see if it is going to rain while I am there. For the most part, my approach to weather is that we cannot do anything to control it, so why worry about it? This week though I am throwing away my motto and instead have decided to obsess.

They are predicting thunderstorms on Thursday evening. I have no problem riding in the rain for a TND, but I draw the line at lightning. Lucky’s Owner had a horse get struck and die because of a lighting strike so between my normal slight paranoia and her very real concerns I know that I won’t go if it is going to be bad. I am going to plan to go, because honestly the weather people are often wrong, but I know that I will pull back and not go if there is a storm around. So that is one activity on the maybe list.

The second is the fun show. It is supposed to rain everyday this week. That is not good for my truck and trailer because the fun show parking is in a huge grass field. I don’t have 4 wheel drive on my truck. Mud and 2 wheel drive are not good together. If it is really wet I am going to have to scratch the show. I am really hoping that the rain goes away and that we have some beautifully sunny days for the rest of the week. It didn’t rain for 6 weeks straight this spring…we don’t need to make up for all that now in one week!

I really hope that I can do my two shows!

I know I should be annoyed…

that Lucky was running away from me (so the opposite of Gen who runs towards me) but I couldn’t be. It is not a very common occurrence, and it was close to dinner time (she was running towards her feed bucket) and let me be honest, it was adorable to see her feeling so good!

I mean, look, she has hang time in her canter now, even when she is just running around. She has some amazing gaits if I can just get them out of her when I am riding her! Notice her bff running right next to her and the cats who look like they are about to be run over.

Don’t worry, I caught her easily after taking this picture. We also had a very nice ride. I know that some people get annoyed when horses are not totally subservient, but not me. I do enjoy it when a horse is acting like a horse…in a safe way of course!

A 2012 Triple Crown Winner…

So I know that I am not alone in wanting a Triple Crown Winner in 2012. It has been 34 long years since we have had one (it hasn’t happened in my lifetime). Everyone has been saying that it cannot be done with how thoroughbreds are today, and maybe it can’t be, but man I hope that there is enough magic left in this magnificent breed for another triple crown.

Everyone says that Thoroughbreds are more delicate than they were in the past. Many of them only race a few times, not every other week like they did for 50 years ago. Most Thoroughbred owners complain of weak feet, but new improvements in shoeing mean that most race horses don’t have to worry about that particular deficit. The claims are that they colic more, they break more legs, tear more tendons, etc than they used too.

I know a lot of people who read my blog hate horse racing in general. I actually don’t. I think a lot of the things that happen are wrong, but I feel the same way about dressage and other horse sports. If it were not for racing I wouldn’t have Gennyral and Lucky in my life. Even my Phoenix is a byproduct of the racing injury.

So there have been other close calls, but none of them have meant as much to me as this year. I really, really want I’ll Have Another to win. Why you ask?

Because the third leg of the triple crown is on Ktlyn615’s wedding day!

Ktlyn615 on Lucky

I know I won’t be able to watch the race live, but I do think that it would be very lucky to get married on the same day that a new triple crown winner happens. Plus the horses name is I’ll Have Another. I know that it is in reference to cookies, but it still seems like an appropriate name to wish on for my best friends from college.

The thing is, I really think there is a good chance that this will actually happen. I’ll have another is a total closer who almost ran out of space in the Preakness. The Belmont is a mile and a half which I feel like is a better distance for him. Believe me, I understand all to well that is is going to be a challenge to keep I’ll Have Another sound and ready to go in just three weeks.

I just really hope that the stars align! Anyone else out there excited about another triple crown winner?