Last weekend, Dezi and I rode in a clinic with John Michael Durr, a top-level eventer from the east coast who has started to trek to the Midwest more often for clinics. This was our first time riding with him, and the only way I was able to justify it (financially) was because someone was offering their spot at a reduced rate, which I really appreciated!!
The week leading up to the clinic was hot hot hot! There was a bit of a breeze on Tuesday night, so we did an easy dressage ride. Wednesday was farrier day and super hot, so we also did a light dressage ride. We jumped on Thursday in the 96 degree heat and it took quite a while to cool her down. And then I gave her Friday off before the clinic.
Saturday was stadium jumping day at Wood's Edge Equestrian Center. Chris used her truck to haul our trailer there around 8AM to try to beat the heat. We watched some of the other groups ride and caught up with friends as Dezi happily grazed. When it was time to get ready to ride, I saddled her up and then put her in front of the fan. It was a really hot day and the air was hardly moving and the arena was basically a beach with sand footing and no shade available for a reprieve from the sun.
Our lesson went well. We ride with another rider from the area who I'm facebook friends with but was officailly meeting for the first time. She was riding a pretty green horse. And Dezi did not have the fitness for an hour lesson with only 2 riders. It was rough. Luckily, the jumps stayed relatively small and we got through it (when I was able to remember my courses). We focused a lot on protecting the canter, jumping the middle third of the fence, and creating turns with a series of no more than 3 straight steps on the approaches to the jumps, like a stopsign. Creating this arch would make it more possible to protect the canter by changing the track as needed instead of changing the horse's rhythm. As the lesson went on, Dezi and I got more and more fatigued. She started running around on her forehand and I started perching in the saddle and not keeping my shoulders up on the approach to the fences. But it was hot. When we finished, my friend Julie immediately took Dezi to hose her off and once she was finally breathing closer to normally, I was able to let her chill in front of a fan while I got my belongings where they needed to be. Chris drove Dezi home and I stuck around to watch a few more rides until the heat finally got to me and I retreated home to the AC.
Sunday was cross country day. Anthony let me use his truck to haul, because Chris was planning on riding in her own clinic. We were one of the later riders with a 1 PM ride time. When we got to Heritage Park, it was pretty empty. I guess everyone else was smarter than we were and chose to ride in the morning to beat the heat. We got there there just as someone was pulling out of the coveted front shady spot at the park, so that was super lucky. We spent the afternoon with a group of 3 of us just frolicking around the park and playing. It was a true equestrian's playground. We started in the water, jumped a few starter and BN jumps and then rode the novice track through the water, incorporating the mound. And then he did it. JM gave us a line to jump and gave us the option of our final jump being either the novice or the training house. What the hell? We're here right. Let's just do it. We jumped the training house and then I'm pretty sure almost everything we jumped from there was training level. So cool! Dezi was a badass. I'm so proud of her and happy with myself. We walked off the course with some much-improved confidence and tools to help us have future success. I was on cloud nine. It may have even been a better feeling than winning an event. A great cross country school is really good for the soul!
