Ian Roberts Clinic Day One

I am falling so behind in basically everything right now! It has just been a blur of house showings (which means constant frantic house cleaning because a family of four plus animals can destroy a house in minutes) all the while trying to do real life with kids, meeting the demands of an ever-increasing work load and sneaking off to visit my horse.

My fluffy yak pre-body clip :) So. much. hair.

 Have you ever headed into a clinic with a clinician you did not know? I have been to enough clinics to know that the experience can greatly depend on the style of the clinician and how that meshes with you personally. Honestly, I just need a clinician to simply be nice. I do not learn from tough love--I am more likely to crumple into a fetal position and cry.

Post-clip pony! Do not look too closely--the clip is sketchy :P

So when I found myself on a horse that was possibly doing a magnificent piaf (if only this was a dressage clinic!) mixed with canter sidepass, I was happy to discover Ian Roberts was indeed nice.
He took Shiraz by the rein and led us around some scary things just to get her moving forward. That was enough support to get us both a bit more settled and I was then able to get Shiraz trotting around with the rest of my group.

Trotting through the scattered poles with some pretty cute springs!

Once everyone was warmed up, we started with an exercise over scattered poles. This was geared to getting the horse thinking about their own feet. We were to ride on the buckle and allow the horse to lower their head and figure out their own path. We progressed to riding down the row of poles with our eyes closed to emphasise our role of setting direction and pace, and then leaving their horse alone to do their job.


Settling and thinking while I leave her alone.

Then we tied in a log jump with the pole exercise. Shiraz settled nicely and I noticed the more we jumped, the more relaxed she got.


Heading towards the first jump of the day (AND happens to be the biggest jump we have done together!! What is that, like 2 feet high?!! HUGE!!!)

I was impressed with Mr. Roberts' ability to quickly assess a horse and rider, know how far to push and give clear instructions without making anyone feel overfaced or stupid.

The result for me was a feeling of pushing past my boundaries and seeing real advancement in Shiraz while not ever really feeling like what we were doing was too difficult.

By the end of clinic day one, I was completely exhausted but smiling from ear to ear because we had done the thing, no one got hurt and best of all there would be a day two!!

Count down is getting REAL!

Most of this past month horse-wise has been frustrating and filled with uncertainty. But every ride brought Savvy and I one step closer to me feeling pretty secure and capable of a starter level event without embarrassing myself.



For the record, I was always capable. - Savvy most likely

I was thinking, yyyaaaa...we can do the MEC event this weekend. I'm sure it will go fine.

But now I am getting excited!!!!

OMG if this sweet little duo can make it over the sticks, so can I!!!

MEC Y'ALL!!!!!! There is something about getting my ride times emailed to me that just makes it all very real, imminent and awesome!

Forecast for this weekend: rainy and cold. I don't even care. I am going eventing!

June Derby Recap - XC

The derby format for this weekend included dressage, pace and xc (no stadium) and riders could pick three options. To be eligible for year-end awards, one must include dressage as one of those three. I chose dressage and two xc rounds feeling confident enough not to need to do pace this time.

I had a lot of time after my dressage to relax, change, lunch and beer. I hand walked Savvy around to eat grass and really couldn't wait for my turn at the top of the hill. The course this time included some jumps I would find quite challenging to gallop at. I was torn between two thoughts: One, I could just go around them and resolve myself to having a fun outing despite disqualification. Or two, I could try the jumps. The ever-optimistic part of me was pushing me to remember that magical feeling last month on course. Savvy had really gotten into the game once on course and became a lot more brave than she would be otherwise. Maybe that would happen again and we could sail over the jumps I was worried about?

The course...

Jump 1: Nice friendly old log jump, only made slightly intimidating to me by the width of those ground poles. Savvy reluctantly left the start and proceeded to zig-zag down the hill like a drunk platypus (trying to turn back because she did not want to leave the other horses). The first jump resulted in a stop-and-pop special that unseated me so bad I fell on her neck. Err...no big deal though right? I was sure we would get into a groove soon. I sat up and got her cantering for the next fence.

Our second time out it went much better and Savvy over-jumped it by a few feet.

Jump 2: Large-AF feeder. Cantering up to this I thought, well...I am doing the course twice. Maybe this time I will just go around and let my face recover from the jump 1 smash up...

Second time out I thought I was GOING TO JUMP this. Savvy said no. Three times. So then we carried on around it.

 

To get to jump three we had to go through the bush to the right of this ramp jump. 

 

Jump 3: Savvy was SO worried that the ramp would eat her, and the trees would eat her, and the flags would eat her but we got through and enjoyed another 4-foot effort over a 2-foot log both times out.

Jump 4: This was named the raspberry jump and it scared the crap out of Savvy. I actually thought it looked pretty basic. We made it over the first time with some encouragement, but the second time out, Savvy decided at the last second she would dive right instead of over and took out the red flag.

 

Jump 5: This jump had actually scared me at the previous derby. It was not on our course last time, but it was in our practice the day prior and Savvy had seemed worried about it. I even ended up building something at home that looked like this one to practice with. Our first round this day, she did it very well, but the second time out I was so discombobulated from the duck-out Savvy had done at the raspberry jump, I decided to just go around this one and regroup.

 

Jump 6: A jump like this was so welcomed by this point. Thank you for being simple, #6.

Jump 7: This may not look very big, but just like jump #2, Savvy does not seem to understand how to answer a big, solid question like this yet. We decided to just go around this one both times out.

Jump 8: Are you fecking kidding me?!!  <:(    This is PRE-ENTRY people! I am not even entering. I could have sat down and had lunch at this beastly bench. No and no. Went far around it both times. May have given it the finger in passing.

Jump 9: Now something Savvy and I can do!! We walked peacefully over this log both times, down the bank and off into the field for our last jump.

Jump 10: Of course it is the fecking barn. No. just, no. Went around it the first time, and attempted it once the second time because I am a glutton for punishment. Savvy refused once and I decided to call it quits. I galloped up the hill to celebrate, cry, take stock and pat my grumpy pony.

Take-aways?

1. This course was a bit too challenging for pre-entry level by many of the experienced riders' standards who were there that day. That made me feel somewhat better for not quite being ready for the size and style of jumps we were presented with.

2. I know solid and wide structures like the feeder and barn are tough for Savvy mentally, so time to build more things like this at home and get practicing.

3. Poison Ivy. I took home poison ivy. uggghhh.

4. Savvy is a great little horse. Even when she doesn't want to try, or has hormone issues turning her brain to mush, she is still a reliable girl that I feel safe on and can have fun with while failing at all the things!

June Derby Recap - Dressage

I left derby day just beat. So exhausted.

So disappointed, yet happy, thrilled even, all of the feelings.

I came into the weekend expecting it to be like the last one - a fun, doable challenge. It was not that at all.

New course designer - completely different challenges. So many more larger obstacles.

But let's start at the beginning. Dressage.

Pre-test smiles

I kept my promise to myself: Show up early, get ready early and warm up really well for dressage. Savvy was very amped up and we certainly needed time to loosen up. I got tons of fantastic stretchy trot and over-tracking walk after about 15 minutes of work. Then canter; good transition, a bit unwilling to stay in gait. Trying again resulted in bucking. Hmmph. More trying, more bucking. Back to trotting and stretching to get this new funk out of her before our turn and a lot of mental work in my own mind to try to forget the bucking happened.

My turn to go--spooked at storage trailer beside ring. Spooked entire way along bush beside one side of ring. Prayed judge would not honk her horn for me to go as I was walking past her car. Finally time to head in.

Entry Test #1:

1. A enter working trot. Proceed down centre line without halting. Track right.

What really happened: We entered working trot, wiggled left. wiggled right. Four-leg-stop-spook-snort at a patch of dirt just past X. Carried on, tracked right.

2. B circle right 20m diameter working trot.

Nope. Forgot to circle. Carried on at trot down to A. Judge honked horn. I thought I was eliminated and started to leave. Judge called me back and told me my mistake. Started over from centre line near X at working trot. This time circled at B and it was decent.

3. Between F and A develop working canter.

Or not if you don't want to Savvy. Oh, three strides of canter? Thanks so much for participating pony.

4. A circle right 20 m diameter working canter.

Oh right, canter. Let's try again. A few more strides and at least the right lead. Good pony. Now where on earth were we supposed to go next...?

5. Between K and E develop working trot.

Already there bitches. We are so on point.

6. C medium walk.

*kick,kick,kick*  "F*$&#ing keep walking PONY!!" - side eye to see if judge's window is rolled down...oh, thank god it is up. <Savvy pins ears at me for daring to ask her to keep walking>

7. MXK change rein free walk on a long rein. Between K and A medium walk.

March pony! We are going to get across this box today. *so many more swear words...*

8. A working trot.

Doing the trot. No smiles, just want it to be over. Savvy half trying, half looking for escape routes.

9. B circle left 20 m diameter working trot.

Done and done.

10. Between M and C develop working canter left lead.

Running in to canter, got it!

11. C circle 20 m working canter. 

Keep going, keep going! <Savvy humps back and pins her ears> please don't buck, I will give you carrots if you just friggen canter, good girl! oh crap...trotting.

12. Between H and E develop working trot.

Ya, we know.

13. A down centre line. X Halt salute.

Thank god it is over.

The judge was SO generous. (I love you judge, thank you for being so kind, xoxo).

She never even mentions my swearing <3

At this point in the day I discovered Savvy was in heat. Her sides were very touchy, she was so distracted, emotional and crabby, and her answer to everything was "no". Not exactly the horse I needed for the challenges to come, but I am nothing if not optimistic at this point!

Derby Day!!

How can I even describe to you all of the excitement and happiness I had waking up to this day?!

 

My course walk with C would be at 8:00 a.m. and I arrived to the park with time to spare. The day before I had come back to the park after my lesson to volunteer with course setup. It had given me sort of an idea of where my jumps would be, but really with all the different levels we were putting up and doing it out of order, it was really jumbled in my head by the end and I did not know my course route.  

 

The adventure at hand - pink star is the start box

 

 

I was happy to confirm, most of the jumps were inviting logs of various sizes and numbers with a simple ditch half way through, one up-bank and the grand finale being THE BARN.

 

After the course walk I had plenty of time to get changed for dressage and prepare, perhaps too much time because I ended up putting off saddling to hang out with friends and hand graze Savvy. By the time I got dressed and tacked up, it was actually time for my dressage round and I ended up rushing up the hill to the dressage area just in time to not warm up, but simply circle the dressage ring and then go in for my test. She was tight and prancy, but I remembered at least where I was going and what to be doing. Honestly, it was a mess. I goofed. Lesson learned--pay attention to the time.

 





I also had plenty of time before my pace round which was after lunch. This time I planned much better and took Savvy out for a good warmup out in the field. The pace round would be a timed run of my Pre-Entry XC course, but without jumps.

Standing on top of that hill waiting for my count down was incredible!!!! I was the first rider to go and there was much 'woohooing' (mostly from me!!!--no shame!!) and I might have woohooed all the way down the hill once I started 'cause that is just how cool I am. :P

I mostly trotted around my pace round and tried to canter in some places that felt good. Coming back up the hill at the end and going through the finish was just as amazing and I had just enough time to wish my friend luck as she headed down the hill for her pace round.

I then had half an hour to catch my breath and consider running to the trailer and calling it a day before my XC round. My stomach started to flip and I was wondering how I would have the stamina to do the course with jumps, cause this sport is some serious cardio! This time I might have been a bit more quiet in the start box (and possibly a shade of green) and then headed down hill to fence #1.



Fence #1
 

This was an inviting (but a bit big/wide) jump that I had to pony club kick for a lovely hesitate-and-pop sort of deer leap maneuver.  We cantered away and headed through the bush over to fence #2.



Fence #2

Fence 2 went much better with no hesitation on Savvy's part and fence #3 was just as good.



Fence #3

However, there were a lot of spectators sitting along the trees that we did not see until coming to fence three and it was difficult to get Savvy's attention for the quick turn right we would need for fence #4.



Fence #4

I ended up needing to really push her to fence 4 but we made it and she was happy to head back to #5 which was in the direction of her trailer.



Fence #5

It was about at this point in the course that Savvy started to discover the game. It was so fun to see her little ears scanning the jumps in front of her and it was like she was seeking them out and enjoying it!

Fence #6

Fence 6 looked big to me in the course walk but was nbd to jump and we headed back through the trees to the ditch. This was a great moment to breathe and regroup as we walked down and trotted through the little meadow.

Fence #7

We got right back into an energetic canter and sailed over jump 8!

Fence #8

Jump 9 turned out to be the logs to the right of this ramp that had been numbered incorrectly and proved just as easy as all the rest had.

Fence #9

 After fence 9 I turned for home with a long canter through the field and then up the hill to the tiniest of step ups for #10!

Fence #10

 My plan all along was to skip the last jump. My thinking was that if Savvy did well with the simple course of logs, I should end on that good note for her first event. Right up until about 15 strides out, that still was my plan. I have no idea what came over me at that last moment when I decided 'f*%$# it, hold my beer--we got this!' and Savvy was game for it! We approached that barn perfectly and she flew over it like a pro.

Barns don't scare us!!

Hell yes, I cried!

My only two pics from derby day taken by a wonderful unknown spectator. Eehh, might have grinned from ear to ear the whole course...

Best wonder pony <3

Never could I have imagined just how fun this sport would actually be. I am hooked.

We ended up placing fourth overall for Pre-Entry. I had the slowest time in xc but my dressage score raised my placing (which I could not believe considering how bad I thought our dressage was!). Considering we cantered the whole xc course which felt fast to me, I was surprised to have time penalties. Going faster than we did is really going to take some more fitness for both myself and Savvy. The next derby is in a month and I can't wait to do it again, but this time knowing so much more!

EVENTING BINGO!!!!

This is a tale of two determined souls setting off on a journey full of struggles, testing each to their limits and bringing them together in a partnership that might just be unstoppable.

Disclaimer**NO ANIMALS WERE INJURED IN THE CREATION OF THIS STORY AND NONE OF IT IS REMOTELY TRUE (probably).

The ever creative Emma at 'Fraidy Cat Eventing has come up with the brilliant idea of Eventing Bingo. You can see her blog for more details for the best blogging game evar!!!

For the following story, I am using the winning path on my bingo card with the following:
1.  In first place after dressage
2.  Cheap rail in stadium
3.  FREE SPOT
4.  Your horse was 'THAT' horse in warm up
5.  Went swimming on xc

First, let me introduce you to the main characters:

Wendy:

Not quite middle-aged mother of three (that bit is true) who has realised her dreams of eventing success and is moving up a level from Intermediate to Advanced and attempting to make the Olympic team (haha, not true).

Savvy:

A plucky little Arab cross who can do so much more than any would expect.
Talent for DAYS and attitude to match (very true). Her canter pirouettes are on point and advanced level palisades make her yawn (maybe?).












Now we did not get to this day by accident. Many years of intense training in combination with a lucky windfall of money from LotoMax culminated to create the perfect opportunity for me to arrive at the Olympic qualifier, this year being held in Flin Flon, Manitoba.

As I drove up to the venue with horse trailer in tow, I could not help but feel the butterflies begin to stir in my stomach. I fought hard to relieve my nerves as I found Savvy's stall and tried to relax into the motions of settling in the night before our big day.

Once Savvy was safely tucked in for the night I was happy to run in to some friends I had competed with over in Boorghley the previous year. Nerves were high for us all but after a few mimosas we all relaxed into stories of past glories and funny mishaps. I knew it was only a matter of time before they got around to the retelling of my mishap from last year. I was three-quarters the way through on cross country approaching a jump with a deep ditch in front of it. Savvy was moving at a very good pace and I was feeling very optimistic of our placing. As we reached the jump and Savvy was about to take off, a bunch of ducks flew out from the ditch. Savvy's reaction was to jump even higher and as she landed on the other side, I was no longer with her. At the apex of the jump, she had been so high as for my vest to get caught on an overhanging branch and there I was, dangling in disbelief.

The embarrassing stories continued, but I had to call it an early night because I knew tomorrow would require my all. My dressage time was 9:00 am which meant a very early morning for me and Savvy.

 

The early morning turned into a bit of a rush after I slept through my alarm and arrived at the barn an hour later than I had hoped. Nevertheless I hurried through getting ready and headed over to the warm up area. Sleeping in meant missing the earlier quiet time I was hoping for. It was much more busy but I found a spot to at least practice our halt.

Upon entering that dressage ring Savvy felt like magic. All the outside world disappeared as we completed our personal best test. Every movement felt like perfection and we were really working as a team. Still, with our early go time I would have a long wait to hear how our scores would compare to the rest of the field. It would not be until just before stadium that I would discover Savvy and I were in first place after dressage!!

The high continued as we completed our round in stadium. Savvy was so adjustable and our round felt fantastic. I had not heard her touch any rails, so imagine my surprise when I discovered we had 4 faults. I just could not believe it, the rail on the fourth jump had come down. It was such a disappointment to have a cheap rail in stadium because Savvy had gone so well. Luckily many other riders were having trouble in stadium so we still had a chance.

After stadium, I was tied for the final qualifying spot. All I had to do was make it around xc and I had a chance to be on the Olympic team!

The cross country test was massive! Many of the obstacles were intimidating and required an aggressive ride to survive. Savvy was established in a good pace and she was eating up the jumps. The biggest test was yet to come with a huge jump down a bank into the water, with a massive log jump coming out of the water and a hairpin turn to a skinny and back up the bank. This would not only be physically draining, but very technical and would require damn good riding.

As we approached the bank I was feeling confident and knew we were going to kill this! But wait! What is that in the water...

As we splashed down into the water off the bank, a mother swan and her chicks were swimming by. The mother swan went into some sort of wild protect her babies mode and came after poor Savvy!

It all became a blur of splashing water, panicked horse, violent water fowl and then <splash!>.

NNNOOOOOOOOO!

My Olympic dreams came crashing down like the water splashing down in the pond I was now in. I had not planned on going swimming on xc.

Even though my dreams were washed away I was so excited to watch my good friend receive first at the awards ceremonies. It was a tough course and I was very proud of my horse at this event. We may have been beaten by water fowl yet again, but my Olympic dream perseveres and I know we will get there, some day.