On March 23rd, we got a chance to go to Longview for some cross country schooling! We warmed up over some starter fences and the proceeded to jump all BN jumps. Dezi did amazing! She didn't hesitate at anything and jumped well over everything I pointed her at. If anything, she had a good amount of hang time over the fences and hesitated before the gallop off, but a little encouragement fixed that pretty easily. The only problem we had was at the dreaded black mulch jump, and it was totally my fault. There was a group of people walking past the jump and instead of waiting for them to pass, I just kept cantering toward the jump and yelling at them to get out of the way. I should have circled and approached the jump correctly, but instead, I just kept going and she jumped the side (definitely wouldn't have been between the flags had they been there). She got it perfectly on the second attempt. And then I got a good talking to about how I need to make sure I do what's best for my green horse, especially making sure she has good confidence & appropriate approaches to the fences. The rest of the day was fabulous. Dezi doesn't hesitate at the water, but she would much rather trot through it than canter, so it usually takes us a couple tries to canter through the water. She did fine, though. We jumped all the BN jumps we could find! I was so proud of her. I wore my GoPro, but totally forgot to start it... whoops! I'll try to remember next time.
After our XC school, we started having some trouble picking up the right lead canter. The vet came out shortly after, and when he was doing chiropractic work on Dezi, he mentioned that her jumping saddle might be bothering her (he checked both). So the search was on for a new jumping saddle. I perused facebook, eBay, and every other website I could find to try to find a good fit. For some reason, I kept coming back to the Bates Advanta. When I was talking to Chris about it one day, she mentioned that CM is a Bates dealer and that they might have one that I could try out. I headed over there one weekend and sat in one and just absolutely fell in love. What I loved most about the saddle was that it is adjustable in every way possible, the gullet can be changed, the padding in the seat can be adjusted, and even the knee/back blocks can be adjusted to the rider. I made the commitment to buy it. And I stopped looking at saddles everywhere else so I wouldn't second guess myself when I would see something comparable.
On April 13th, we went to get the saddle fitted. There was another Longview XC schooling that day, and Chris also had a saddle fitting in the afternoon for her new Hulsebos saddle. Leah was out of town. Chris and I had discussed the possibility of going to get my saddle fitted around 9am, then going to Longview to XC school, and then going to Willow Creek for her saddle fitting appointment by 2:15pm. The saddle fitting appointment was interesting. He had me sit in the saddle on the rack first to make sure it fit me in every way, adjusting the knee blocks and the back blocks appropriately. Then we went out to Dezi. He put the saddle on her without making any adjustments. He had all his tools and was ready to change the gullet or adjust the panels. But when he put it on her back, it looked absolutely perfect. It was centered and straight. The only thing that was different was that it sat a good amount farther back than I was used to, but he assured me that the girth was still only touching her sternum and that it would be more ergonomic sitting behind her gigantic shoulder instead of on top of it. It would give her more freedom of movement. So then I got to ride in it! He attached the saddle to Dezi (without any pad, which I thought was kind of strange... and I don't think I've ever ridden in a saddle like that), I bridled her, and we started our ride in the unfamiliar outdoor arena. She was good. We had trouble with our right lead canter (story of my life lately...), but she eventually got it and we didn't have any more problems. Then, as we were cantering around, Chris said "Go jump that little vertical." I looked around the ring for a vertical and found one, but it was fairly large, probably 2'6" easy. I figured if Chris told me to take it, we probably would be able to no problem. And we did. No problem at all. I was impressed. And that saddle felt like I was sitting in a tub of butter. So comfortable! I bought some matching stirrup leathers and some leather cleaner and wrote a very large check. Sitting in the truck, I considered the consequences of potentially having trouble on cross country and how fair it was to a horse to ride XC in a brand new saddle. I also considered that we had 3 horses in the trailer and I think they would have charged me for every horse in the trailer to enter the property whether we were riding or not, seeing as there is no way for them to know who's riding and who isn't. We decided against it. Instead, we ran to Home Depot to get pain for Chris's jumps and Applebee's for salads for lunch. Chris and I had a good conversation about my weight and goals for the year. We decided that we would get a good base at BN and start thinking about showing novice in August or so. And I told her my weight loss goal. We decided that I won't think about competing or jumping novice jumps until I have lost about 40 pounds. I can do it. I know I can. We headed to Willow Creek and were able to get Chris into her saddle fitting appointment a little early. While she was doing that, I rode in my new saddle. Dezi picked up the right lead canter a little easier this time, only a couple tries before we got it. We hacked around the grass and just had fun in the new saddle. So far, it seems fantastic.
Then this weekend we went to RIO Equestrian Center for the first Twin Pony Productions show of the year (the March dressage/CT schooling show got rained out). Dezi and I would try our hand at our first BN CT. I took Friday off work so we could bathe and get the trailer and horses ready for the weekend. We left Chris's house around 1pm and got to the show grounds around 2. We let the horses get settled in their stalls and then rode. Leah wanted to have a jump school since we haven't had much chance to jump this winter. Dezi was a dream, as usual. And it was easier to pick up her right lead! Maybe she's realizing that the saddle isn't hurting her anymore! She jumped everything I pointed her at, but I was having trouble with our rhythm. I don't know why (Chris thinks it's after the Buck Davidson clinic, but I'm not so sure) but I've been rushing to fences lately. Maybe I think that if I leg her forward to the fence, she can't refuse. I don't know. She jumped all the warm up fences, a good sized oxer, & a bending line to a 5-stride combination no problem. Our kiddo, Leah, had a bit of trouble (she fell off at the oxer) but she ended up on a good note and we finished the evening with a fun trail ride exploring the property at RIO.
That night, I met my boyfriend and some friends at the dirt track to eat a walking taco and watch some races. It was an exciting night with 28 sprint cars (my favorite)!
Saturday morning, I woke up early to get to the show around 7:30am. Leah and I switched BN times so that she would have more time between her classes to get ready. Leah rode her BN dressage test first. Then we went to get ready for jumping. I called Anthony from the warm-up ring to see if he would make it (he had told me he set his alarm for 9am and the time was about 10:30, so it was possible...), but he was still in bed, so we just went with it. It ended up being a much longer wait than anticipated for the jumps to get changed to BN height, which foiled my plan to jump and then have enough time for a dressage warm-up. We did our jumping round and it went OK. We had some trouble at the oxer, but I think it went alright considering it was our first true BN round. I (again) had a lot of trouble regulating our rhythm. She was going too fast and as the course progressed, it felt like she was getting faster and faster. And instead of sitting back and making her slow down, I went with it (stupid, I know... hindsight is 20/20). Chris wasn't very happy with me. I'll work on it. I was stressed getting to my dressage test, but I kept reminding myself that the arenas were running a bit late. I had even told Anthony that the show was running a bit late and he would probably make it in time if he got there at 11:30 (my original ride time was 11:26). Little did I know, but there was a break that allowed the rings to get back on time. So not only did I have only a few minutes (2 riders) to warm up, but my boyfriend would likely not make it to watch. The test was alright. Nothing exciting, except that for the first time in my life, I messed up the test. The walk is supposed to be at the end of the test, but I managed to add it in the middle. +2 for me. We ended up with a 37.75. Chris was a little off when she guessed I would get a 38! ;P
We had a short break until our dressage Training Test 3. My goal was to remember the test. I got on with enough time to watch a bit of Leah's test before I warmed up. Dezi was riding pretty nicely in the warm up area. Then we went into the test. It was alright. She was very haunches in during my canters (but she picked up both leads correctly, no problem, though) and on her forehand during the down transitions and I rushed through the whole test. We ended up with a 65.86%. We watched a couple more people ride and then it was time to go home. We stopped at Sonic in Pleasant Hill. Chris and Leah agreed to help unload Dezi so I wouldn't have to drive the hour to the barn and the hour home. They're the best ever. I really appreciate them.
Then today, we did Easter Dinner as a family. Everyone brought something and we had a delicious feast! Horses got the day off.
I'll get better at blogging. I promise! I need to try to stay more up-to-date!
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