Our First BN... Kinda

So this weekend was our first recognized beginner novice horse trial.

Let me just preface this story by reminding everyone that it has been raining for the last 2 weeks, if not more, straight. I mean every. Stinking. Day. Everyday. It's been horrible. Since our horses live on pasture and we have outdoor riding areas, we have had minimal ride time. We have done what we can with hauling to an indoor to make it work, but it has been quite a chore. Well, things were looking up! Mill Creek was this weekend, and all week, even until Thursday night, there was only 20% chance of rain predicted for Saturday and 10% Sunday. The organizers of the event even changed the schedule of the event so that we would have dressage in the arenas on Saturday and then stadium in the arena & cross country on Sunday to allow the XC course time to dry out a bit more before horses needed to run on it. Unfortunately, Friday morning, it all changed. Suddenly Saturday and Sunday both changed to 80%. Whoopee!
I took Friday off work and spent my morning at the boot repairman's shop. I had dropped off my boots 2 weeks prior to get a gusset added to the boot so that my left leg (DVT leg... Eff you, still, DVT) would fit into my boot. He thought he had finished it about a week ago, but when I went to pick it up, I could fit my entire forearm AND my left leg into the boot... not right. Pretty sure that's not right. So on Friday morning, I went and sat in his shop for about an hour until it was completely finished and perfect, and it was pretty darn close to perfect. Then I had to pack up my car and pick up Leah from school so we could organize the horse trailer and catch, bathe, & load our horses.


We got to Longview Horse Park around 5pm on Friday evening. We unloaded the horses, set up the stalls, and made sure that we had everything we needed to get in a quick warm-up ride. Then Leah and I went down to get our packets, but loe and behold, they had run out of Purina treats! Darn it all!

I only had to make about 3 trips back to the horse trailer to get things that I had forgotten for riding, but I eventually got there. Dezi and I had an amazing warm up! We had one incident in the crazy warm up ring where we nearly had a head on collision with another horse/rider combo, but everyone ended up unscathed, even if a bit annoyed. Sorry, whoever you are, for messing that up. But Dezi was listening, she was on the bit, and we had great rhythm during the majority of the warm up.  I was very happy with her. We fed the horses, walked the cross country course (which was pretty muddy in parts, but the jumps themselves looked do-able), and took off for the evening.

After the horse show, I had to run over to the pool hall to play in a pool tournament our Wednesday night team had qualified for a couple of weeks ago. It's a good group of people. We ended up winning! I am a handicap level 2 and I had to play someone who is a 3. I did it! I was really happy., but it was a double-edged sword because that meant I would have to play a match on Saturday afternoon at 3pm (in the middle of the horse show day). Hopefully the good vibes would continue to Saturday.


After about 4 hours of sleep, I got up super early to get to the horse park so I could braid Dezi and another horse of a friend. I didn't have a whole lot of time to chill out until it was time to get on for warm up. Dezi had a really nice warm up again. It was fairly easy to find our rhythm and we were doing really good transitions where she was on her haunches and listening to me. I kept checking the stands to see if Anthony had made it, but I guess we had stayed out too late on Friday night and he needed his beauty rest. We went into dressage and I felt really good about it. Our test was really good. I was thinking the whole time, I prepared for my transitions, my geometry was good, I showed good bend, and my rhythm was consistent. We did have a bobble in our right lead canter transition where I went forward too much and she ended up having to run into the canter instead of doing a good transition on her back end. Chris predicted that we would have a score around 34-35. Fair enough. I took Dezi back to the stall, and as soon as she was taken care of and relaxing, I started incessantly checking scores online.
As Leah was warming up for her dressage, we got news that they would be cancelling cross country and making the show into a combined test because of the wet & muddy conditions of the ground. I was bummed because not running cross country would make it more difficult to qualify for AECs, but I wholly understood. I'm doing this for fun, so if something bad happens on a wet XC course to me or my horse and I can't ride tomorrow, there's no point in doing any of this. I also got news that I was sitting in 1st place in my BN-Horse division on a 31.8 dressage score. Leah had a nice test, too, also with a bobble when she picked up the right lead canter. Unfortunately, her bobble caused her to be late in her transition. But she did get an 8.5 on her halt!


I spent the next few hours cleaning tack to get the dirt & mud of the arena off my saddle, girty, and everything else. It took forever! After we relaxed for a bit, I left the caring for Dezi to Leah and her mom, Karla, before I left to go play another match in pool. I got to the pool hall pretty early and ended up playing in the second match. I played against another lady whose handicap was 3 and beat her very quickly. She didn't even win a game. After I won, I told the team to text me as many updates as possible and went home to feed & let the dogs out, take care of the horses, & watch some of the upper levels do their stadium courses. After we walked the horses around the property for a while, I left to go back to the pool hall.

This was the last match of the tournament. If we won this round, we'd qualify for the world tournament at the end of May. And if we won that, we'd be able to represent Kansas City in Las Vegas in August. Baby steps. They played me in the third match when we were up 4-1 against the other team. I had to play someone who's handicap was 5, so I had to win 2 games before she on 5. If she swept me, the worst that could happen was that we would be tied 4-4. If I could win one game, we would be winning 5-3. and if I won both, it would be 6-1 or 6-2 depending on how many games she had won. Anyways, I lost the first game and started to get a bit down on myself. I won the next game and was on top of the world! Then she won a couple more games. And then it happened. I won my second game! Our team was up 6-1. My boyfriend, Anthony, needed to win one game in order to qualify us for the next tournament. And he did! Everyone was sitting around and I couldn't figure out if we were waiting on bar tabs or what. Apparently, we made money for winning this tournament! I'll take it!! Too bad it meant another night of minimal sleep.

I got to the horse park around 6:30 on Sunday morning. It was lightly raining, but nothing too terrible. We are eventers, after all. Leah and I cleaned our horses stalls and walked the grounds to get them out a bit. Then we went down to watch some of the Novice riders do their stadium rounds. I was a little enthralled and late to start getting ready for my own stadium round, but it worked out. By the time I got on, I had plenty of time to hack around the show grounds for a few minutes before doing some walk/trot/canter in the field outside our stalls. Dezi was being really good and listening to me well. We walked down to the arena as they were in the middle of the division before us. We would be the second pair to go in our division. Our warm up was good. We did knock one rail in warm up because I got her too close to the base of the fence and was over her shoulder. I could do better in the actual test.


 We went in for our round. The first jump was nice. The second jump was an oxer, so I obviously rode it correctly because it seemed a bit big. And then I got her too close to the base of the third jump and got over her shoulder. She knocked the rail. I was determined to make that our only rail and proceeded to ride the rest of the course really well. Everything else was clean and clear. That rail took us to third place! Oops! Fortunately for me, one of the girls who would have been placed higher than me had a few rails, so we ended up in second! I couldn't be more happy! If we had jumped clean, we would have been the Adult Rider low score for BN, but it is what it is. We're still learning. It'll get easier the more I get to know her. This is just the beginning for us, and to end it in 2nd place is pretty dang good. I couldn't be more proud of her! I know we didn't run cross country, but we got through the 2 harder phases in second place! How cool! And I got to lead the victory gallop because so many of the horses in our division went back to the barns when it started raining... so that was pretty fun!



 Unfortunately, Leah had a fall in stadium, so she was eliminated. The tone of the rest of the day was a bit somber because of it. We packed up, waited out a bit more rain, and then headed out. Chris offered to unload Dezi so I didn't need to drive the 100+ mile round trip to/from her barn. I appreciated the offer and took her up on it.

Anthony and I spent the rest of the day lounging and watching movies. Between second at our first recognized BN, a win in the pool tournament, and even finding some time to relax, I'd call that a pretty perfect weekend.

Unfortunately, because we didn't get to do cross country, we won't have enough cross country rides to be able to qualify for AECs in 2019. We'll have to change that so it becomes a goal to qualify for the 2020 AEC. I think we can do it. It would give us a lot more time to prepare and become confident at the beginner novice level before we got to the big stage. Our new goal will be to go double clear in our next stadium round. Luckily, we'll have a chance to do just that at RIO next weekend!

Beginner Novice Here We Come!

Mid-America Combined Training Association had a cross country schooling this weekend. We went. It was an amazing day.

We started it off with Chris taking a dressage lesson with Jana Waggoner. She and Gemma did very well. She looked great! And honestly, it was kind of nice to hear Chris take direction and get feedback that sounded very similar to what she tells me and Leah every time we take a dressage lesson with her.

Then we headed to Heritage Park. It was a beautiful day! 75 degrees, but the wind made it feel almost cold. The park was rocking when we arrived. So many people! We found a spot at the back and started getting ready. It took Leah a little while, because she was doing studs for her first time. Unfortunately, with studs, there isn't a great way to help.

Everyone gets a little nervous before cross country. Or I do. I always have. As I was walking and trotting Dezi while Leah put in her studs, I couldn't stop thinking about how this horse has never given me a reason not to trust her on cross country. After Leah was finished with her studs, we were able to get going. We went to the start box area where they had warm up jumps, but the smallest XC warm-up jump was a starter table. We were kind of hoping for something easier for starters. We headed down onto the course and found a little roll top. Dezi jumped it well several times. I just had to be careful not to get up over her shoulder, but after I got my position secured, we were fine. Then we jumped a painted chevron coup to a starter jump to the BN roll top. Dezi did great. We tried the nearby novice roll top. No problem. We proceeded around the course jumping every BN jump we could find... tables, ramps, hanging logs.

Dezi does not like cantering through the water. She doesn't stop, she would just much rather walk or trot through it. It took a couple of tries to get her to canter through so we could take a house on the opposite side of the water. Jumped the cordwood and the mushroom ditch to the roll top. Then we did the ramp to the half roll top. And then Chris said, "Why don't you try that jump? She can do it!" She was talking about the novice log jump between the bushes, always my bogey jump. I figured Chris wouldn't send me to it if she didn't think we could do it, so I sat up and put my big girl panties on. Dezi never hesitated. It was magical. She helps me fly. We finished the day with a big BN table (that always looked closer to novice height to me).

Talk about an ego booster. After such a successful day jumping BN cross country, I think we're definitely ready for beginner novice at Mill Creek in 2 weeks. She's just perfect. And I really think she enjoys it. And the new saddle seems to be really working for us. I love this horse so much. Dezi is amazing, and I couldn't be happier that she's in my life. We're going to have so much fun together!

Catch up! XC Schooling, New Saddle, & RIO Show!

It's been a very busy March/April, and I haven't been as good about keeping up with my blog as I was with Dieter. I will try to get better.

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!

Buck Davidson comes to KC

Buck Davidson came to Kansas City. And I got to ride with him! Little 'ol me and my new pony who I've only had for 6 months! What a treat! 

We rode in the green as grass/starter group. I'm glad I picked this group, because Dezi and I haven't gotten much ride time this winter and I can't remember how long it's been since we've jumped. 

I took Friday off work, so I could get everything ready. Grain/hay. Wash the pony. Clean tack. It felt like show season, like I was getting ready for a show. It was kind of weird that I was prepping alone, but Harold kept me company. We were all ready with the trailer loaded around 1pm. 

After a stop for gas and some lunch, we headed up north to West End Farm. As soon as we got there, Chris helped me get the stall ready and then I started tacking up to ride. Dezi was pretty good. She was responding well to my aides, but I was struggling with keeping her straight on the right lead. Julie, who was running the clinic, was riding at the same time. We've never ridden together, so it was a fun new experience! When she finished schooling and asked if I wanted to go on a trail ride, I couldn't resist! Dezi was so good tooling around a property she's never seen with horses she didn't know. I had a good feeling for Saturday. 

When I was finished riding, I braided Dezi, put on her sleezy for the night, and fed her. Then we headed to Lorna's house for our sleepover! 

5:30am came quickly on Saturday. We got dressed, stopped at QuikTrip, and headed to the barn. Dezi's sleezy was still perfectly in place and she looked ready for the day... after some breakfast, of course. We cleaned her stall, refilled water buckets, and then headed back to the warmth of the car until the last possible minute.

I wanted to be on my horse about 20 minutes early. We were in the first group (Green as Grass), so we had the luxury of being able to warm up before we had to perform. We walked, trotted a bit, and then Buck had us line up in the center of the ring and talk about ourselves. 

I said that I had had Dezi for about 6 months, we did a starter horse trial in the fall, and that it's been a tough winter and I haven't gotten the ride time I would have liked. All true. Chris said I should have added that she's jumped a lot of BN cross country jumps, but I felt like I gave a fair idea of our skill level. I should really practice that little intro speech for when I do clinics. That would have been helpful. Noted for future reference. If I ever remember. 

Our first exercise was one ground pole down centerline. At the end of the arena, turn. Next time you get to the end of the arena, turn the other way. Simple enough. Then he added 2 more ground poles placed at 12-foot strides. It took me some time to get the striding right. I think Dezi tends to err on the shorter side of strides. And then it took me a second to actually get to the center of the poles. So Buck did this really helpful thing by adding some narrow cones before the poles and at the far end of the arena to help guide. The cones stayed put for all the groups, because apparently I'm not the only one that struggles with center and straight sometimes. 

Next, we did the three canter poles, 1-stride to a crossrail. Then we did the three canter poles, 1-stride to a crossrail, 2-strides to another crossrail that later became a crossrail oxer. 

After we mastered the centerline exercise, he had us do several courses with lines of jumps placed just inside the side rails of the arena, including a 5-stride to a 4-stride with a hault at the end of the line, before our horse could turn either direction. After the halt, we were to turn towards the wall (to prep for roll back work). Dezi was a rockstar! She did everything well and actually stopped when she was supposed to without being too fussy. I was very proud!

I watched some of the other groups and then we stopped for pizza on the way to Lorna's house. We spent the night relaxing and catching up before an early bedtime. 

Day 2 was another early one. And cold. We got to the barn early to feed and get Dezi ready. There were a lot of jumps set up in the arena but the ones that particularly stood out were 2 stadium corners, a small plastic log jump, and a narrow wall. Most of the jumps were set on 20 meter circles on either end of the arena. I could see where this was going...

Before we did any jumping, we were to canter ground poles on the circle. Dezi stumbled a bit on the first attempt, as we've never done that before, but she figured it out pretty quickly. 

After everyone in the group had some success with the canter poles on the circle in each direction, Buck turned to the group and said, "Now! Just trot them up to that wall and continue around the circle jumping everything in your path." Like it was nothing. That's all there was to it. Instead of letting myself think about it too much, I decided to just go first. I knew I would have to sit up to the unfamiliar fences, but Dezi is generally pretty honest with jumping. 

We turned the corner to the wall. I knew what to do. Sit up. Leg on. Tube of toothpaste with my hands. She jumped it! No drama. No questions! I was so proud! Oh wait, keep going. More fences. Same sequence. Sit up. Leg on. Tube of toothpaste. Woot woot! We're doing it! We went around and around. No problem. She was absolutely perfect. Buck called me off the exercise. As we picked up the walk and I turned towards him to give me feedback, he just said "we're going to have a lot of horses do this exercise today, and that's the best we're going to see." He then proceeded to talk about how it's supposed to look effortless like a toy car on a track that just keeps going until you make it stop. That's exactly how it felt with Dezi. 

Unfortunately, going to the left, we had a bit more trouble, but I think I just wasn't taking the exercise as seriously because we had had so much success with it earlier. I was dropping her before the fences and getting over her shoulder. I'm so lucky she's pretty honest. The draft in her just makes her prone to dropping rails (or knocking over the wall) when I don't ride correctly. 

After the jumps on a circle, he started stringing together some courses that incorporated the circle on the other end of the arena with the stadium corners and an angled combination. Dezi was really good for all of it. You could definitely tell when she was getting tired, though, because she started knocking rails and it was harder to get her to pick her feet up over the fences. And after watching all the videos, I have GOT to stop saying "I'm sorry" when I mess something up. That's what clinics and learning is all about. That's why I'm there... To mess up and get feedback. If I don't mess up, I can't get feedback. And what's the point of that?!?

After our lesson, I went to take care of Dezi. I linamented her and put standing wraps on her for while she stood in the stall. Then I watched some more lessons and even became jump crew to try to stay warm. Sunday was much colder than Saturday (or maybe just more frigid), and we didn't have out nifty little log to sit on because it was being used for the jump course. We shivered all day, watching every group go, until it was time to go home. Buck worked on a lot of the same fundamental things in every group, which was cool to see for someone riding in the very lowest group. I think everyone walked away having learned something. 

At one point, I was able to catch up with him for a selfie. He also invited me and another girl to course walk with him at Rolex (Land Rover/Kentucky Three Day/whatever it's being called this year) saying that the course looks a lot different from inside the flags than outside. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to make it. But he also complimented me and Dezi saying that he appreciated how game we were for anything he threw at us. I think he liked us! Buck Davidson liked me and my horse! 

Hopefully Buck can make it back to KC soon! I really enjoyed this clinic. It was a total blast!

Winter is the Absolute Worst EVER!!!

Winter is the worst ever. Like literally the worst. 

First, Missouri likes to change it up and keep us guessing. 

And when winter finally officially arrived, everyone started complaining... Understandably so because we couldn't ride horses or go outside and we all gained weight. 

Fat. I got fat. You got fat. We all got fat. 

So you try to diet, and this is what happens...

And then you remember that dieting is hard and every so often, you give up a little. 

Until you realize that it's starting to get serious. You have to ride with Buck Davidson in less than a month and show season starts in 3 months. 

Balls to the walls, time to get serious. 

But you still can't stop thinking... 

Late Windermere Run Update

At the end of October (26th-28th), Dezi and I went to Longview Horse Park in Grandview, MO to compete in our first recognized horse show at the starter level. We were in a tough division with 19 riders in the Starter Senior division. Some were trainers, some were amateurs, but most of them were reputable riders whom I had heard of or competed against in the past. I had no expectations going in. My main goal with Dezi was to finish the competition on a number, rather than a letter. I wanted to have positive rides in each discipline, but that was my only goal.

Leah was riding in the Junior Starter division, so we took the day on Friday getting the horses ready, cleaning our tack trunks, bathing the horses, & loading all of our stuff into the trailer. When Chris got off work around noon, we headed over to Longview (about a 45 minute drive). We got to the show and set up the stalls pretty quickly. Then we got ready to ride. We rode on the grass in front of our stalls, and had decided long before the show that we would wear pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Dezi was a bit of a hot head. She seemed to have forgotten a lot of the work we had recently done to get her round and listening. We ended up with some good moments, though, and finished with a small trail ride around the property to get used to the environment.

Then we went to walk the cross country course. Everything seemed pretty straightforward. Nothing was too crazy, and the big jumps that Leah and I had been worried about didn't even look like they would be on the course at all... until we got to the end. The big-ish gray roll top and the ramp mulch jump were the last two jumps on the course! And directly before that, there was a simple jump with a large white lighthouse sitting next to it that might be a bit tricky. I reminded myself that Dezi had jumped all these jumps before and that her breeding & our relationship up until this point would give me confidence that she wouldn't refuse.

Leah was staying at my house that night. We made a quick run to McAllister's for dinner, then headed back to the barn to check on the horses and walk them before heading home for some serious shuteye.

Saturday was an early morning. We got to the barn early to feed, do chores, walk the horses, & watch some of the higher level dressage. About an hour before our ride time, I got Dezi ready and we headed to dressage warm up. I wasn't too concerned about the dressage test, because it was walk/trot only and I had a huge division. I just wanted a positive ride. She was warming up okay. Nothing too groundbreaking or exciting, but she was generally listening to me. She wasn't really bending well, but we just needed to make it through this test. During the test, she felt like she wasn't really paying attention to me and tried to take the reins from me several times. I generally ended up with neutral feelings about our test, but when I got out of the arena, Chris said we had done well. That was all I needed to feel better. And I guess she was right, because we ended up with a 28.4 putting us in 6th place. See our dressage test here: https://youtu.be/Ko5P6IUHzpA. Some of my friends had come, so it was fun to share a good score with them.

On to cross country! We found a good jump where we could leave my friends, and then headed back up to the barns to tack up. On cross country warmup, we did our 2-2-2s and then started jumping. I think I was nervous, and I was starting to trust Dezi too much. She was taking the stride away from me and I was just letting her. Like I did absolutely nothing about it. And then I started getting ahead of her as she was coming up to the fences. And then it happened. I was over her shoulder and she was running toward a stadium oxer. Until she wasn't. And I was on the ground looking up at her. Whoops. Welp, I guess I learned THAT lesson. Good thing I hadn't attached my air vest yet. The next jump we tried, she thought about doing the same thing, but I sat back and drove her over the fence. We didn't have any other issues.

When it was our turn to go out and run the course, we had a total blast! She was a bit hesitant to the first jump, but after she realized what we were doing, she was awesome! We had a bit of a bobble at the fourth jump. It was a simple log, but it had a portion of it that was light, like all the bark had been ripped off it. Dezi did not like it. She hesitated about 10 strides away, and almost ducked out at the last minute, but I was able to put leg on and she jumped it at an angle. After that, the course rode smoothly with a couple trot breaks, until we came out of the woods approaching the lighthouse jump. The pair that had gone out onto cross country in front of me was circling the jump, and it looked like it hadn't been the first time. Her horse refused. I was getting closer and started to get nervous that she wouldn't be out of the way by the time I got there, so I yelled "Coming up!" At that moment, the jump judges called her off the course. Dezi looked at the lighthouse a little, but then she finished the course beautifully. You can watch our ride here: https://youtu.be/EMUzG1pVe5E. She was really sweaty, though, so we had to take a lot of time cooling her down. I walked her a long time and continued walking while Leah rode her course. She had an unfortunate refusal at the lighthouse, but then started riding well and finished the course really well over the two jumps she was most concerned about. We finished the night by going out to eat before we went back to the horse park to walk the horses before bed. Dezi and I went to sleep sitting in 4th place with our double clear XC run.

Sunday morning, we got to the park early again to feed and do chores. Then, we started the morning with a bit of a photo shoot while we walked Dezi and Scooter around the cross country course.

We found spots next to the arena to watch all the upper level jumping until it was time to get ready. We got to the warm up arena really early, as usual. We walked for a long time and then got ready to take some jumps. The warm up arena wasn't nearly as crowded as it usually is, but even still, Dezi handled it like a pro. We took some warm up jumps and she was pretty good, nothing too exciting. And I remembered my lesson from the day before. Going into the ring, Dezi didn't look at anything. She took all the jumps, even the ones with funny standards she had never seen before and ones where my horrible eye lead her to terrible distances. She left all the rails up and we ended up with another double clear round.You can see our stadium round here: https://youtu.be/WdYNEGQUrwk.


I could not have been any more proud of her! She had a rockstar weekend! We ended up 4th in a huge class with 19 competitors, some of which were trainers! At her first show! She is the coolest horse ever. I can't wait to see what the future brings with this big girl.

       

Since then, she's gotten worked about 3-4 times a week with emphasis on dressage. We've worked on lots of transitions, rubber bands within the gaits, & even started on leg yields. She's been great and is really starting to figure out her job and how to use her body. I am so excited for the 2019 show season!

Cross country??? Yes, please!

Last weekend was a whirlwind, so I'm a bit late writing this post. Oh well. 

On Saturday, September 22, we attended the final RIO dressage & combined test. Leah is in the running for the starter horse of the year, so she was pretty excited to defend her honor. I entered Dezi in the green as grass combined test division. We had been jumping more and she was a champ. Honestly, we have learned that she tends to take jumps more seriously when they're more challenging. We kind of assumed she would knock every single crossrail during the show just as an act of defiance to let us know that crossrails are beneath her, but we registered anyway. And at the last minute, I entered her in the Intro C dressage test. That's right. A test that includes cantering. God help me. We also got news shortly before the show that they would have a mini cross country course set up, seeing as they would be hosting the Pony Club D rally on Sunday. Anyone entering the show could school the cross country jumps. No time like the present, right?

This time at RIO, we decided to work out of the trailer instead of stabling Friday night. Leah and Chris were amazing and loaded Dezi for me on Saturday morning so I could just meet them at the park. We immediately got to work. Leah rode around 8:30, so we got her ready and I hand walked Dezi up to the arenas to remind her where she was and to watch the competition. She was totally chill. Surprise, surprise.

After Leah's dressage test, we tacked up for some cross country schooling. We warmed up and jumped a couple baby warm up jumps. Then we proceeded to walk the cross country course (over the jumps that were safe to walk). Dezi walked over every log that I put in front of her. She couldn't care less. So we ran the mini cross country course and she jumped everything. She even got into a rhythm after the first couple and didn't even care about her buddies back at the start box. It was really fun! The only jumps she had trouble with were the stadium jumps that were in the XC field. They were obviously beneath her. We schooled those, but generally, I was very happy with her.

We went on to do the competition. Our dressage tests were OK. Nothing too exciting. Much improved from our last show. I think they were in the mid 30's. I ended up having to do my second dressage test in my jumping saddle, just because of the timing of the show. Our jump round was awesome. She knocked a rail, but I was very happy considering I was pretty sure she would plow through every single one. We ended up with a first place in our Intro C dressage test & second in our Green as Grass CT (only by .1 because of our rail... oops).

We went back to Chris's house where Leah and I spent the evening cleaning tack in preparation for the Mission Valley Pony Club schooling HT on Sunday, September 23rd.

It was an early morning, as horse shows usually are, but apparently Leah and I were excited because we woke up WAY too early. We caught the horses and made them pretty while we waited for Chris to wake up. We arrived at Longview pretty early, so we decided to let the horses chill in the trailer while we walked the starter cross country course. I had to do starter, because that was the lowest division this show offered. Originally, I had planned to just do a CT, but they accidentally signed me up for the HT (including XC) and we figured we'd go with it (and paid the difference), considering how successful she had been in the "XC course" at RIO on Saturday. Most of the XC jumps looked doable with the half roll top and the dreaded black mulch ramp being the only ones I was hesitant about. But she is fully capable, so I'd ride aggressively to those, sit in the back seat, and I assumed it would be fine.

Our dressage test was OK. Again. All the mistakes we made can be attributed to me. I get her too deep into the corners so she isn't able to balance herself enough to hold her frame and gets pissy at me. I messed up my left lead canter depart. But overall, we got a fair 36 (ish).

The stadium course was on grass and had some interesting distances. Most of the distances walked as in-between distances, so the plan was to just ride and keep collected so she could add strides and figure it out on her own. There was also a one-stride, which she had never done before, but whatever... let's try it! She was a champ. Jumps that other people (including people at our barn) refused, she jumped no problem. She jumped planks and a jump that looked like a zebra and never thought twice. We did have a rail, but I think it was just because it was a tough turn getting to that jump. We had to jump a combination and then make a 90 degree turn to the next fence, which is tough considering she can't keep her balance in corners. She's green. I couldn't be mad at her. But that one stride! She jumped it like she'd done it a million times.

Time for cross country. This horse has literally never run a cross country course. She has never done a cross country schooling. She has never seen jumps like these with max height 2'3". She had never seen water. But we were going to go for it. Why not? What could possibly go wrong?? 

As I was waiting for the OK to leave the start box, I turned to the little girl who was supposed to run XC after me. I told her that my horse had never been on cross country before and that we might have to try doing some of the jumps a couple of times. I told her to yell really loud if she was coming up behind me on course. Well, apparently I didn't need to give her any advice at all. Dezi got going and took every single jump on the course. She kind of stutter-stepped and hesitated at the second fence (the half roll top that I was worried about), but she was honest and did the best she could. She just didn't get a good distance and needed to do some quick footwork to be able to get over it. The rest of the course was great! She even jumped the dreaded black mulch jump without a problem. I tried to take her into the water (which she had never seen) and she didn't even hesitate. She stopped and proceeded to walk into the water, but had absolutely no interest in trotting or cantering through the water. I even hailed the taxi and used my whip to encourage her and she still didn't want to trot out of the water. She finished the course in good form. No problems at all. She still needs to figure out her distances, but in general, she did amazing. She surprises me every time I ask her something. She is so cool! We ended up in 4th place in our competitive starter division, but I could care less about the ribbon. This horse is worth more than ribbons. She's quite the gem.

This weekend (September 29th), we went schooling at Longview. Anthony surprised me with a GoPro Hero 5 Session for our anniversary, and we were able to play with it for a bit. However, I hadn't thought ahead enough to charge it long enough the night before, so it didn't even make it to any warm up jumps. Dezi warmed up nicely and jumped every starter jump I pointed her at, and even a few beginner novice jumps. She did banks up and banks down and the little ditch no problem. Our day unfortunately ended abruptly when Leah fell off at the ditch, but it ended on a high note for Dezi and me. I think she's ready for the starter division at Windermere, our first recognized show! And the GoPro will definitely be  making it's official debut! Ready or not, here we come!!

On Sunday, the ponies had the day off and Leah's birthday present to me was a mini Dezi photo shoot!! Happy birthday to me!!