Purple purple purple

Windermere Run HT 2020 was Dezi and my second recognized novice event on October 23-25 after a 10th place finish at Heritage Park earlier in the month.

Kansas City and the midwest in general are known for crazy mood swings when it comes to weather. The week before Windermere was typical fall weather until Thursday when temperatures hit the mid-80s! I didn't even ride that day, because I was worried our planned ride would be too much for Dezi with her full winter coat and a full week of work. And then Friday came and the temperatures dropped. Mid-40s and cloudy all weekend were what the weathermen predicted. Great. I can handle the 40s. That's not that cold! I live in the midwest. We're used to cold. I neglected to realize that mid-40s were the HIGHS for each day. It was cold. 

Because of the number of entries, they made the show a three-day. Prelim would do dressage and XC Friday with stadium Saturday. Training & novice did dressage Friday, XC Saturday, & stadium Sunday. And BN & starter would do dressage & XC Saturday and stadium Sunday. So for us, it was actually a three-day show. We would ride dressage at 4:54pm Friday, XC at 11:45 Saturday, & stadium around 11 on Sunday. 

I took Friday off work so that I could get Dezi and the trailer ready. I got to the barn around 9am. I opted not to bathe Dezi, because it was cold and I didn't want her to hate me for the rest of the forseeable future. But I did braid her from the comfort of our own wash rack instead of trying to get it done at the park. Good thing, too, because it took me about twice as long as it usually does because of my cold fingers that constantly needed breaks for warmth. We left around noon and headed to Longview. 

We set up the stall and made it look as purple as possible before we headed down to walk the cross country course. Everything looked pretty doable. There was nothing we hadn't jumped before except for the novice corner, which of course they decided to put directly after a ditch to make it even more of a question. I walked the course a second time before we watched some of the prelim riders go. 

When it was time, we headed back to the stall to prep for dressage. Dezi had been napping in the fresh shavings and was very resistant to getting up. After I finally convinced her that it was time to ride, I walked for a while in the grassy area near our stall before we started toward the warm up. Dezi was doing really well! She felt soft. She was listening to me. I was actually thinking and keeping her in a frame and working from behind. We heard that they were running ahead, so we headed up to the warm up area. In the small arena, we were still killing it. And then they told us to head to the warm up behind the arenas. I didn't realize that heading to that warm up meant that there would still be 3 whole tests before we would get to ride our test. I did the best I could to keep the momentum going, but Chris had relocated to the stands thinking that we would be going fairly quickly. Not the case. I don't know what I was doing or if Dezi just became agitated at the long wait, but I didn't feel like I was doing anything right. Going around the outside of the arena, she felt like she could take a deep breath. We headed down centerline and we had a nice test. I struggled with the things I would have predicted I would have trouble with. Our transition from stretchy trot to medium trot was not pretty at all. Dezi was very bracey. And then there was the free walk. Thank god it's not a coefficient anymore. I have really been working on the free walk, trying not to give her too much rein to allow her to get distracted and slowly picking the reins back up to get to medium walk. Well apparently I got too complacent in the test, gave too much rein and then tried to pick her back up too abruptly. She threw her head in the air, truly offended that I would possibly ask her to finish the rest of the test. We worked through it and came to enough of a compromise to finish the test. 37.6. I know it was bad, but I didn't realize it was quite THAT bad. Other than those 2 mess ups (which were totally my fault), the test was actually pretty nice. We were sitting in 9th place. Make your own assessment of the ride on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/2TPN-zSY4kM

I took my time putting everything away. I fed Dezi and just relaxed a bit. We went for a walk before I called it a night and headed home. I took all my jumping stuff with me so I could clean tack in the comfort of my own home, on the couch, while watching TV. Anthony and Paul were playing in a pool tournament and it was kind of nice to have the house to myself. 

The 5:30AM alarm came quick. I did my usual QT stop before I headed to the barn. My dog, Sophie wanted to come, and with Chris coming for our rides and then leaving, it would be nice to have the company. I fed Dezi, walked her around the property for a bit, and then Sophie and I headed down to watch some of the training level XC. The course was eating people alive! There were riders falling off, lots of refusals, and several people that just decided to withdraw in the middle. It was a very technical course and honestly, made me reconsider ever wanting to move up to training level from novice. Although, I guess that's a decision that can definitely be made at a later date, after we've established ourselves a bit more at this level. 

I headed back to the barn to find Dezi napping. Silly girl! But we had to get ready. We headed down to warm up. Alone. Sophie got to relax in the warm car while I was riding. I hadn't seen Anthony or Chris, but XC was running early, and I wanted to make sure I was there when it was my turn. It was nice to see Annetta, a familiar face, when I got down to XC warmup. Chris eventually arrived and we had a good warm up. Dezi was totally game to jump all the things. She felt really good. We headed out on course and she absolutely killed it. We weren't as close to speed fault time as we had been at Heritage, but I think it was mostly because of the hills, which were really testing her fitness. She rose the first jump really well and then proceeded to cross-fire most of the way to jump 2. She did the bank up (5) well and then hesitated a bit at the bench at 6. She swapped leads all the way down the hill to 7. It felt funky and I wasn't sure if I should be worried about her for some reason, but she didn't do that at all the rest of the course. I think we need to incorporate more hills and inclines in our fitness work. She jumped the ditch like a champ and then had locked onto the corner before I even needed to ask her. It's so cool how she loves her job and just looks for the next fence. She was a little slow up the hill to the lattuce and jumped it a little funky. We got to the water and she started to hesitate a bit, so we made the joint decision to trot it. She the refused to pick up the canter in the water, so we jumped 14 from a trot. We were fine on the time, so I let her relax for the last 2 jumps and she came down to a trot as soon as we crossed the finish line. She was done. Good girl, Dezi. Watch the GoPro video of our ride here.We went double clear to end up moving up to 7th place. 

Dezi got the afternoon off, linament, and lots of hay for munching. Sophie and I went shopping and then watched some of the BN cross country to see the people we knew and then watched the prelim riders do their stadium rounds. It was a really fun environment with almost everyone from the show there to support the top level riders! Dezi finished the night with a good walk, some food, and standing wraps. I headed home for a warm shower (still feeling like I would never be able to warm up), and then went to a friend's house to celebrate his birthday. I made it an early evening so that I could comfortably wake up early on Sunday when the alarm went off at 6AM. 

Another QT run before Sophie and I went to Longview. I fed Dezi, walked her, and got her wraps off before I went down to watch some of the show jumping. Since we were at the end of the novice divisions, I was able to watch all of the training riders before I headed up to get ready. 

It was cold. That morning, it was really hard to take off my layers of clothing! The show was running super early, and Anthony arrived right as I was getting on. We walked for a bit until it was our turn to head into warm up. Dezi was being good. We had a good rhythm and she wasn't second-guessing anything. She was ready. 

We went in for our round and she was really good, but I think we were both maybe tired. Typically, we race around stadium with reckless abandon, and then get a stern talking-to for being too on the forehand and nearly out of control. Well, I guess I overcompensated, because this round was too slow. Maybe we were tired. Maybe I was working too hard to keep her slow and paying attention, but we knocked a rail and then proceeded to get short spots to almost every other fence on course. Dezi didn't look at any of the jumps or question anything. She was a total champ (you can see, too, at this link: https://youtu.be/PxFQPTO-Vu8 ). The announcer announced that we had a double clear round, whcih was definitely not true. I made sure to ride over to the judge to make sure they had my rail marked- I couldn't imagine finishing on a score I hadn't earned. As we watched the rest of my division, it looked like almost everyone went double clear, but there were a few rails. We would see. 

We headed over to the grass arena for the awards ceremony. Again, like at Heritage, there were no numbers called so I didn't know if I would be getting a ribbon or not. I decided to take a chance and go in with the group. They announced 8th and my heart fell, I assumed my rail would take me down in placings. I was totally prepared to be that loser that is at the back of the victory gallop without a ribbon. And then they announced 7th. It was me! What? I ended up in 7th place! I guess people had more trouble than it appeared. I forgot that they had not had us go in numerical order, so the people placed ahead of me must have gone before me. And the best part about a 7th place ribbon?!? IT'S PURPLE!!!! PURPLE!!! It was destiny!! 

We got the stall torn down and headed home for a relaxing evening. It was a long weekend. 

We definitely have work to do this winter. I need to get into the dressage ring as many times as possible so that I can work on not going brain dead and continuing to think when I turn down centerline. We need to work on our stretch to medium transitions at the walk and trot. We need to figure out the proper rhythm for our stadium courses and maybe even go to some hunter/jumper shows to get in the ring and get that figured out, too. But until then, Dezi will have some time off. I hesitate to take the foot completely off the gas, though, because we typically are forced to take the entire month of January off (because KC weather). We shall see what we decide to do. But it's definitely time to look at our goals for the year and start thinking about all the big things we want to achieve next season. 

I could not be more proud of Dezi and my work this season. We've worked hard, and I'm so excited for the great things to come next year. We're just starting to figure it out, and we are going to accomplish amazing things. She's my girl, and we're true partners. #badasswomen

We're big kids now!!!!

We are official! Dezi and I are officially a novice pair! A novice partnership! Badass novice women! 

I have worked hard to lose weight in preparation for this weekend.  My goal was to lose 50 pounds before I allowed myself to show at the novice level, no matter how much I wanted to make the move up from BN & how prepared Dezi might be. I blew my goal out of the water by losing 68 pounds between January & October of 2020. I'm still not at my goal, but I'm much closer and I feel like I'm physically in a place to be able to help my horse run novice instead of hindering her along the way. We have put a lot of work into improving our fitness, and we were ready! 

This weekend was our first recognized novice HT at Heritage Park (thank you, Mid America Eventing Association for making this weekend happen!). 

I took Thursday and Friday off work as a birthday present to myself and to prepare for the show. I had a lengthy to-do list including laundry, preparing the trailer, riding Dezi, and just making sure I had everything packed and ready to go. Chris was home from work and gave me an awesome dressage lesson on Thursday morning. We really were figuring it out! I also got to throw some relaxation & fun in there, including a fun birthday party my pool friends threw for me that was topped by me winning my match that night. 

Friday morning, I got all the stuff from home packed into my car, got my blood tested at the doctor,  bought a pair of clippers from Family Center (it's about time, honestly), and headed to the barn for a relaxing tack cleaning & spa day. I took my time cleaning tack and preparing the trailer. About the time I was finishing up, the horses had decided to come in from the field. Destiny! I grabbed Dezi and we had a fun spa day. She got a bath, clipped, tail untangled, forelock rebraided, & then got to relax in the stall for a bit before Chris got home from work to take us to Heritage. We arrived around 5:30 pm, and with only a couple hours before sunset and a good dressage ride on Thursday, I wanted to make sure we got a chance to walk XC. 

Luckily, Heritage Park is one of our two "hometown" courses where we get to school relatively frequently, so we had jumped most of the novice jumps before this weekend. They decided to make it more technical, though, with several combinations throughout the XC course. Mostly 4-5 stride bending lines. I'm going to be honest. I was nervous. This is the first novice course that matters. I walked it once with Chris and then a second time with only my Course Walk app and my mind to keep me occupied. The more I walked it, the more doable it looked. I would just have to make sure to ride every fence and not trust her completely. 

By the time I was finished walking, it was almost dark. I took Dezi for a walk, fed her, and headed home for the night. I got to bed relatively early and dreamt about that combination at 11AB, a faux trakaener with a 6 stride to the big table that has always freaked me out on its own, and now it's part of a bending line! But the more I rode it over and over in my mind, the more doable it was going to be. I had a plan. Sit back between the fences. Be confident. 

I spend Saturday morning reminding myself that Dezi and I are beautiful badass women who have worked hard to get to this level. We're completely prepared. We've been jumping this height and these questions at home with no problem. We belong here. I used Saturday morning as an opportunity to become amazing at positive self-talk. I pumped myself up. Hardcore. 

Dressage was at 10:20. I took Dezi to the trailer to start putting in her studs around 8:30. I wanted to have enough time to do studs and tack up before I got on at 9:30. After I had put in her studs, while I was chilling out, reviewing my dressage test, and relaxing before I had to tack up and get dressed, there was an accident by the trailers. A woman got stepped on by her horse, who was tied to the trailer. She was lying on the ground and obviously not in great condition. A fire engine and police car came down the row of trailers. In the distance, I could hear an ambulance making it's way toward us. In my head, I'd rather by on Dezi and warming up near the dressage rings than chance her "bombproof"-ness with emergency vehicles in the vicinity. I got dressed and tacked up quickly and headed out to warmup earlier than expected. We walked a lot. Eventually, Chris arrived and we had an amazing warm up. Dezi was listening to me, she was soft, and she was really using herself well. And I was riding well, thinking, and keeping my position with short reins. I had a few friends come to the show from work. I circled them and talked for a bit before I went into the ring. 

Even as we trotted around the ring, I was confident and ready. And then the bell rang and we turned down centerline. I went brain dead. Suddenly I had no idea what dressage was. What's connection? How do you ride corners? What's shoulder fore? How do you ask for transitions? What is rhythm? How short are my reins supposed to be? Literally everything about riding dressage went out of my head. All of it. I suddenly had no idea what I was doing. I could feel it unraveling, but I couldn't fix it. I didn't know how to recover. She was counterbent. She was running through my hands. We looked and felt like we had never had a dressage lesson in our lives. It was bad. I ended up with a 32.1. Not a terrible score considering how terrible it felt. It's just so frustrating to have a beautiful warm up and work so hard on dressage between shows and then get into the ring and blow it. We are absolutely capable of scoring in the 20's and yet I have yet for it to happen. See for yourself on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zZE535BZuLU

We didn't have a lot of time between dressage and cross country, so we hung at the trailer. My friends helped me get Dezi's braids out and then we scoped out where we thought they would be able to see the most on the cross country course. I gave them the insider info that you get to see the most when you're standing on top of a prelim jump, because you have the added height. Then I headed back to the trailer, tacked up, changed Dezi's boots, and changed my clothes before I headed up to XC warmup. We got there kind of early, so we walked a lot. Then when it was time to jump, she was killing it. She felt like she was made for this. She knew what she was doing. She was getting perfect spots and our rhythm was just right. We were ready. Chris warmed us up, told us we were ready and that we should take one more jump when it was almost our turn to head out, and she left us to find a good spot on the course. 

Then we were called to the start box. It's amazing how long 2 minutes feels. I started the GoPro at 30 seconds and my watch at 5 seconds. I had no idea where my minute markers were, but I ususally have to push Dezi through the majority of the course on novice to make time. The first three jumps rode beautifully. The 4th jump was the hammock. Dezi got a bit of a short spot, so it was kind of an awkward landing, but we headed to the 5AB 5-stride bending line with as much bounce and show jumpiness as possible. She took the combination like a pro. All I had to do was bend her a bit to the left and she knew her job. The water rode fine, seeing as they had not flagged the actual water and we had the option of taking the gravel to the side of the water without having to get wet. It's not that I didn't think Dezi would take the water (she's gotten much better about water), but I figured that if we didn't have to get her feet and boots wet, she'd have more sure footing for the remainder of the course. I think it worked out. She was confident and sure- footed the rest of the course. She didn't questin the ditch to the roll top. On the way to the "pick-a-side" jump, I had a moment of excitement that we were running novice and actually making it happen. She took the faux trakaener & big table 6-stride combination (the one I had nightmares about) like it was a walk in the park. Just another day. After that combination, I looked at my watch and it said 3:08... I did some quick math and figured it would take us at least a minute to get through the last 4 fences. Speed fault time was 4:01. She got a short spot to 12 because there were people playing frisbee golf in the woods on the other side of the jump. She also got a short spot to 13 because I was trying to slow her down a bit (thinking we'd be too close to speed fault time). After I realized that she jumps much better at speed, I decided that we'd just go for it on the last 2 fences. She jumped the 14 kind of wonkey with a weird move with her hind end, and then she focused in on the final fence. She's jumped that fence enough that she knew the jump we were headed to and that she was almost finished. She jumped it really well! I crossed the finish line (my watch said 4:08) and immediately reminded Dezi that we're officially a novice partnership. My GoPro video is on YouTube! Check it out here https://youtu.be/zvjG0i84fuc

We did it! Now all I had to do for a couple hours was wait to see if we got speed fault time penalties. I thought we should be good, but it was the only thing that might be able to give us some penalties. After the scores came out and I saw that our official time was 4:05, I definitely breathed a sigh of relief. Dezi recovered pretty quickly. I walked her, covered her in cold water, took out her studs, and then covered her in linament before I let her chill in her stall for a while. We were still sitting in a tie for 9th place, because apparently almost all of our division had also gone double clear on XC. 

My friend Jess and I went exploring out on cross country to watch some of the novice and the starter riders. Then she helped me walk stadium. She had no idea what she was doing, but it was nice to have a buddy. After she took off, I walked Dezi, fed her, and then let her graze around me while I relaxed by the trailer until it was too dark to see her anymore. I put her in her stall and said goodnight. 

I had a very relaxing Saturday night. I got home around 8:30. I started laundry to wash my white clothes so I could wear them again on Sunday. I watched my GoPro video and got it posted in a facebook post celebrating our recognized novice debut. And then I went to bed. Hard. 

I woke up at 6AM Sunday morning. I got my clothes from the dryer and made myself a snack in case I would need it and headed out. I stopped at QT for a cappuccino, diet coke, and a slice of breakfast pizza. It was all part of the plan. Breakfast pizza on stadium day is like cheese on pizza. I got to the park, fed Dezi, organized my stuff, and then took her out to the back of the trailer parking for some bonding and grazing. We hung out out there for about a hour, talked to a lot of people, stalked a lot of people on social media, and we even played a little. When I went to trot her, she threw her head and cantered next to me. She knew she was a badass. She knew she was important to me and that I love her. She knew that she had done a good job. When stadium started, I let her chill out in her stall for a bit while I watched prelim. So cool! Maybe one day, Dezi. 

When they started setting the jumps for training, I decided to start getting her ready. They were moving pretty quickly. And if worst came to worst, I could have a good walk on her or even handwalk her for a while before it was our turn to jump. I'd rather be early than late. Plus, I wanted to put studs in (which is much easier when you've done it the day before). 

We got to the stadium jumping area as training was starting the second division. Knowing that we 'd be in the first novice division, I decided to go ahead and get on to walk her around a bit before it was our turn. When they were changing the course for novice, I had the gate keeper and a recent friend, hold Dezi so Chris and I could walk and discuss the course. Square turns to everything. Ride everything (almost) as an unrelated. Keep her bouncy (especially going down the hill to jump 5) instead of letting her get long and flat. Take my time. Typical stadium pre-game talk. Now to see if I could actually execute it. 

We did our 2-2-2s and then started jumping. In the warm-up, knocked a rail (hard) on a tall vertical. I didn't have the canter I needed on the approach and got her too long and flat. We proceeded to jump that fence and a training height oxer without issue. We were ready. I was determined to ride a dressage-y stadium course. Keep her bouncing up and down instead of long and flat. Ride every fence. The course started out well. I rode the shit out of the first 3 jumps. And then I was so concerned about the downhill to jump 5 that I didn't focus on 4 the way I know I need to... and we knocked a rail. But you better believe that I rode the shit out of the rest of the course. I was determined to let that be our only rail of the course. And it was! (See the video here https://youtu.be/m5yXFwFeWUo). We finished our first novice on a score of 36.1. 

We ended up 10th in the division. They had all of us come in for a victory gallop even if we didn't get a ribbon. That was a little embarrassing, but it was a fun bonding moment with the other novice riders. We pulled up the rear of the victory gallop and as we headed out of the ring, we were informed that Dezi and I tied with Katie and her horse Lenny for the MAEA reserve novice horse of the year award. So we did get a big red ribbon! Very cool!

So there you have it. We finished. And with a respectable score. A score that might have been competitive in a rider division (at this show, novice only had a junior and an open division). I'm very happy with it. We definitely belong at this level. Dezi and I are a novice team. We are exactly where we're meant to be. And I could not be more happy with how we showed up, all the hard work I've put in to lose the weight to get to this point, and how amazing it felt to complete at this level. We are truly beautiful badass women. Dezi will have most of the week off and then I'm so excited to see what Windermere Run HT brings in 3 weeks. 

First Recognized USEA Show of 2020- Feather Creek

We were planning to go to the Feather Creek Horse Trials in June of this year, but there were lots of riots happening in Oklahoma and around the country during the time when we would have been traveling. I had just bought my new horse trailer and my horse is my unicorn. She is my once-in-a-lifetime partner. I would have been beside myself if we had traveled and something had happened to her. We made the tough choice to scratch from the show, but were allowed the option of entering their show in August instead. Originally, I was worried that I wouldnt be able to do both Feather Creek and AECs, but when AECs got cancelled, it only made sense to make our way to Oklahoma. 

There was initially some drama, because Anthony, my fiance, was planning on taking me to AECs but would not be available for the weekend of Feather Creek (he had a pool tournament). I asked Chris if she would join me, and she immediately asked the day off work. It was amazing of her!

Last week, to prep, I rode light dressage rides at home on Monday and Tuesday (I loaded the trailer with feed/hay and all my clothes & show supplies after our rides), and we had a short but productive jump school on Wednesday. Dezi and I both had Thursday off. I set my alarm for 4:30AM on Friday morning so I could leave home around 5 and make to the Chris's house by 6. We had the horses fed, the trailer loaded up, and were on the road by about 7:15AM. After quick stops at Walmart & the hospital in Butler, we were on the road. It was a mostly uneventful drive with only one incidence of Chris attempting to force my bladder to explode when she passed a rest stop after I asked her to stop on the Oklahoma Turnpike and the next restroom wasn't for 45 miles. FML. We made it, though. She dropped me off at the door of the oasis- it was the least she could do!

We arrived at Feather Creek around 1:30PM. We got Dezi's stall set after some difficulty with the fan (I thought I had an extension cord, but apparently I was incorrect- luckily, Dynah at Feather Creek was amazingly accommodating). We decided to wait around until it got a bit cooler to walk XC & do a warm-up ride. I walked XC by myself around 4PM. It was pretty straightforward. We showed at Feather Creek in September of 2019 and there were only 3 jumps that were different... the roll top at 5 changed to a super cute tiger trap but stayed in the exact same spot (a quick left turn from the bank up/mound), the gate and ditch combination at 9 became an option, and there was an added little house jump before the water. Oh and the big table at 15 was no longer hot pink and had been painted a more natural brown. When Chris walked it with me, I asked her which jump to do at the option and she suggested we just go ahead and do both. Dezi had jumped both the last time we were here and it would be good practice for our novice move-up. They were a bit of an awkward line, but not too bad. After we finished walking the course (we only walked about half of it together), we caught up with some friends for a while and then I headed back to the barn to get Dezi ready for our warm-up dressage ride. 

I tacked Dezi up at the trailer and she screamed the entire time. She was the most energetic she's been in a long time while I was riding her, too. But it was a good ride. It's interesting how when she's a little more up, we always have a better ride. We just rode around our dressage ring for Saturday. While I cleaned Dezi's stall and fed her, Chris prepared dinner. We had paninis on the George Foreman grill and asparagus. We hung out with the dogs before heading to bed around 9PM. Right after I had arts and crafts time to make my number for my XC pinny!! 

On Saturday morning, we woke up at 6AM- I got ready, fed Dezi, and watched the prelim riders do their dressage tests. Then I headed to the barn to do Dezi's braids, which took me much longer than I would like to admit (about an hour). I was finished with my braids (which turned out very pretty) around 9:15 with a dressage test of 10:38. I was planning to be on around 10AM. I took Dezi to the trailer to get tacked up and ready to go. When I first got on for dressage, Dezi was still all hopped up and screaming incessantly. After we went down to the warm up area near the stadium jumps, she calmed down a bit. We had a great warm-up. We were ready. We headed in for our dressage test and I was very happy. It wasn't perfect, but I was happy that I mostly kept my reins short enough, our geometry was good, our centerlines were ridden correctly, and we had a nice hault. She changed her lead directly before our second downward transition & all of my downward transitions were abrupt. I need to practice riding in a small dressage ring more often, because it felt like everything was coming up pretty quickly. You can watch the whole test here: https://youtu.be/deWFGR8isL0

We got back to the trailer around  11AM after our dressage ride & were supposed to be doing our stadium round at 11:50. I wanted to get a 20-30 minute warm-up, so I didn't have much time to untack, unbraid (which depressed me because I was very proud of these braids), and retack. I was so concerned about putting boots on her and changing the saddle that I didn't even consider putting in studs. It wasn't until we were walking down to the stadium warm-up and walked on a bit of concrete that I realized that I meant to put studs in for stadium! Too late now. We got down to the warm-up area and they hadn't even started the BN junior division yet. They were running late. We had lots of time to stand around. Our warm--up was pretty good. She was jumping everything I pointed her at and she left all the rails up. We did one more oxer as the rider before us was starting her round and we were ready. However, I went into the ring like I had no idea what I was doing. I was not keeping the impulsion. I was not keeping her round. I didn't have her forward enough. I think she chipped into about half of the fences. We didn't truly figure out how to ride stadium until the 2-stride combination at the end of the course. Miraculously, though, we managed to leave all the rails up! Here's our stadium ride in case you're interested: https://youtu.be/WSx1sVe9Iyo

I think we ended up going in for our stadium round around 12:10 or so and were back at the trailer to untack around 12:25. My first priority would be studs. I would not forget studs for XC. As I was getting back to the trailer, I heard someone say that they were running about 20 minutes behind for XC. Originally, I was supposed to ride XC at 1:05, but if they were running late, it would be a good time to capitalize and let Dezi chill in her stall for a bit. She typically only drinks water in a stall and we all know she loves her fan. She appreciated the break. I headed back to the trailer and made sure I was changed and ready to go with all my XC supplies ready to go. In the meantime, Chris and I checked scores. Dezi and I had gotten at 34.4 on our dressage test, which put us in 5th place, and everyone in our division went double clear in stadium, so we were still sitting in 5th place. I started tacking Dezi up around 1PM and we headed down to the XC warm-up. 

Horse shows are all about hurrying up and waiting, right? We got down to the XC warm-up and they hadn't even started beginner novice yet. Dezi and I just chilled out and walked up and down the fenceline in the shade until we were ready to head to the jump warm-up. It didn't seem like many of the BN juniors were having trouble with the course, except for one girl who had a refusal at the ditch causng her horse's bridle to go over his head as he stopped to graze. Dezi was jumping well. Nothing too exciting. When it was our turn, we jumped the biggest roll top that was available to jump and headed to the startbox. While we waited our turn, a little cutie and her gypsy vanner were walking back from the water complex- apparently her pony had 3 refusals at one of the jumps and one previously. We headed to the startbox, circled it a few times, I remembered to set my GoPro, and we were off. Honestly, the course was pretty unremarkable. She took every jump that I pointed her at with no drama. She was preferring her right lead over her left, which is weird for her, and there was quite a bit of cross-firing happening between the fences. I think I'm going to try to have the chiropractor look at her before our novice recognized debut at Heritage Park in October. I trotted her into the water, and I think she only minimally hesitated because of the red coloring. Otherwise, she jumped everything well. We were a bit too fast coming to the finish line, so I slowed her up between jump 15 and 16 as we headed toward the finish line. Check out our GoPro video from the XC course! Dezi was an absolute rockstar! I love her so much!! 

Shortly after I got Dezi back to the trailer, got her studs out, and let her have a drink of water, I was able to catch up with another ride in our division, our new friend Laura. She said that she and her horse had had a successful XC ride except for one refusal at the new tiger trap (with the tight left turn from the bank/mound). We talked a bit about how much it sucks when we let our horses down as riders, but agreed that it's cool that we can recognize that and use it as a learning experience. 

Chris and I headed to Walmart for some supplies that we needed, drip pan for our steaks we were planning to cook on the George Foreman, snack food, and some other miscellaneous items. We took the dogs with us and Chris was concerned about leaving them in the truck with it running, even if we could lock it, so I sat with them while she ran inside. I was messing with the radio and radio and playing games on my phone when I considered that I should check the scores to see if they had updated with XC results. When I first checked, it showed that I was sitting in 3rd place, but when I did a double-take, I realized that our new friend Laura was placed above us and her refusal hadn't been reflected. I updated it again and startbox showed that I was in FIRST! FIRST PLACE! I was freaking out! And I was alone. I only had the dogs to share my excitement, and they just didn't get it! I tried calling Chris, but she had left her phone in the truck. I stated incessantly texting screenshots of the division results to my fiance and friends. I was so freaking excited! When Chris got back to the truck and opened the driver's door, I said "Want to see something cool?" and handed her my phone. She freaked out! FIRST PLACE! We both just couldn't believe it! So exciting!!!

We headed back to the horse park. We were going to wait for my ribbon before we realized that the results had just been posted and everyone would have 30 minutes no object or clarify things before the results were final. We headed back to the trailer and got hooked up. Chris took a nap while I checked on Dezi, made sure she was comfortable, paid up my dues for camping, and the walked to the show office where I picked up my pretty blue ribbon! I was so stinking excited! I fed Dezi, gave her a linament bath, and then hung out a bit before I decided that I wanted take Dezi for a walk. It's kind of tradition to walk on the XC course after XC day. If we were going to walk on the XC course, I wanted to walk the novice course. I saved the course map to my phone and we headed out. Dezi trotted circles around me and dragged me around the course the whole time we were out there. I walked like I was doing a workout... in cowboy boots. It didn't help that the horse flies were absolutely terrible. It wasn't until about jump 16 out of 20 that I decided that I had probably made a huge mistake. It was an experience, though, and I honestly think Dezi could have jumped all those novice fences. She's so cool! 

When I got back to the camper, Chris was working on dinner. I plugged in my phone and we were just hanging out when all of a sudden, the electricity went out. The generator was still working, but there was no electricity to the camper. We were sure we had blown a fuse. Chris said that there was no way she could sleep without electricity in the trailer for the night. She likes it super cold when she sleeps! We had resolved that we were going to have to make the trek home that night. We'd eat our steaks, which were thankfully finished cooking when the electricity went out, and then I could put her in standing wraps for the ride home. We'd hopefully make it home around midnight. As I was getting Dezi's standing wraps on and cleaning out her stall, I heard Chris yelling that she had figured it out. We had electricity again! I'm not sure what she did, but I was happy we didn't have to leave. I'd rather sleep and then travel when we were both fresh instead of being exhausted while driving. We got to bed relatively early after watching a movie about police horses in Germany turned dressage horses. Thanks for that one, Chris. 

On Sunday morning, we woke up at about 6AM and got ready to head out. Dezi was loaded up and we were ready to go by about 7AM. On the way, we stopped at Braum's for breakfast & we made one stop at the oasis on the Oklahoma Turnpike and one at a McDonald's south of Nevada. I'm actually kind of impressed by our ability to make minimal stops. We were back at Chris's house around 1PM. I redid Dezi's forelock braid so that it was secured with rubber bands instead of tied in with string in case she did anything stupid in the pasture and I was pulling out of the driveway and headed home by 2PM. Anthony and I went out to a early dinner at Brewbaker's where we sat on the patio and talked about our weekends- they had gotten to the finals in their pool tournament. And we relaxed the rest of the weekend. 

Such a good weekend! I have an amazing horse who would literally jump the moon if I asked her (and try to leave it hanging). I have an amazing friend/trainer in Chris. She's a lifesaver in more ways than one. I wouldn't be able to do any of the fun things I do without her support. And I have found a sport where I feel like I truly belong. I love my eventing family! And in Kansas City, we're all a family! 

Lainey Ashker is a badass. Clinic with her whenever possible!

Two weekends ago, Dezi and I went to a clinic at Longview Horse Park with Lainey Ashker. Thank you, Jessica Ptak and Mill Creek Pony Club for organizing. I signed up for the clinic after our novice run at the Heritage Park schooling show. I was feeling pretty on top of the world and signed up for a novice class despite having completed only one un-recognized novice horse trial. We had schooled most of the novice jumps at Longview, though, so I was hoping it would be OK. 

Chris and I got ready relatively early on Saturday, August 8, 2020. We made the short trek to Longview with her camper and my tiny 2-horse trailer in tow- it looks so silly! We arrived in the late morning on Saturday with enough time to get Dezi settled in her stall and watch some of the group before me before I had to start getting ready. They were doing XC. It was supposed to be the beginner novice group. Lainey had them jumping primarily novice & training questions. I was secretly shitting my pants. I thought I had signed up for novice. If I signed up for novice and this was the BN group, I was screwed. I've never schooled the prelim questions at Longview! We'd just have to see what happened. 

While I was getting ready, I was talking to Jessica, one of the other members of my 4 person group, and she reminded me to let Lainey know that we had only competed at the BN level when we were introducing ourselves to her. Apparently, Lainey is known for pushing riders past their comfort zone. We got ready and proceeded down to the XC area. Dezi and I had a good warm up- we didn't jump anything, but we had good, forward gaits at the walk, trot, and canter. We were ready. I even practiced my introduction speech in front of Chris. I was sure to mention that we had only showed recognized shows at the BN level and schooled some novice questions during XC schoolings. She remindedter ling  me to mention my difficulties, so I talked a bit about making sure Dezi was forward and I didn't jump ahead of her. I mentioned that we typically have more trouble with stadium than XC. I take jumping more seriously when I'm a bit nervous. I need to work on keeping her at a consistent, forward pace on the approach to the fences. 

Our first course was the BN mulch ramp to the novice barn to the new novice table to the training house to the training chevron in the typcial warm-up area around to the novice cross country warm up jump and ended with the training level step jump. Jessica went first and killed it. Tough act to follow. So we went for it. Dezi was incredible. She jumped everything I pointed her at without question. It was so freaking cool. We came back to Lainey when we were finished and she had nothing but good things to say. She said that we looked incredible and that our pace was good, I rode well, and she complemented us in every way. She the proceeded to remind me not to peak too soon. Little did she know what she had coming for her when we got to stadium. 

Our second course involved the water. We took the training house the opposite direction into the water complex with the novice roll top out, across the field to the training level barrels and back to the novice roll top, through the water and out over the training roll top. Dezi did great. This time I remembered to start my go-pro, which my fiance was very happy about. Again, Lainey didn't have much to say in terms of correction except that I should have anticipated the line out of the water to the training roll top a little more quickly with a better line through the water. But overall, Dezi was being incredible!

Our third course was at the bank complex. We jumped the starter training log to the BN/N up bank to the novice bench, left turn around the corner to the ramp up the bank complex, off the bank to the novice hanging log, across the field to the novice white step at the top of the hill, around the outside of the filed to the training pheasant feeder followed by the training black roll top. We finished with the bank up, two stride, bank down, two stride hanging training log. On our first attempt, Dezi trotted at the top of the bank complex and got the 2 strides to the hanging log but Lainey wanted us to maintain the canter even on top of the bank complex, so we tried it a couple more times before we were both too tired to try again. We got some time to think about it before we finally mastered it. And no one got video of that attempt, unfortunately (except Bridget, who has no way to send it to me), so basically, there's no photo evidence. 

Our fourth and final course was at the ditch. We were supposed to take the ditch at a trot. If that went well, we were supposed to turn around and take the ditch at a canter followed by the BN house up the hill. If that went well, we were supposed to turn around and take the BN house down the hill to the ditch to the novice house going up the hill. Dezi and I did everything well on our first attempt. 

Day one with Lainey was a success. Dezi and I killed it. We had confidence for days. She had us jumping plenty of training level questions and it went well! I couldn't have been more happy! 

Dezi got a good hose down, a good walk around the property, and I left her to chill in her stall while I watched some of the other groups ride. Chris and I went to the dinner that the pony club put on and then headed back to take care of Dezi and call it a night. I went to bed early. Chris stayed in her camper at Longview. Overall, it was a good day. I was very happy!

On Sunday, our group was supposed to ride at 6:30AM. SO EARLY! I set my alarm for 4:30AM and headed to the horse park only to find it locked. I eventually got the combination and let myself into the park. I wanted to have time to put in some quick braids before stadium to show Lainey my respect for her. I fed Dezi and started braiding. Braiding the dark is soooo difficult! I should have done it the night before! Our braids were OK, but nothing too fancy. I forgot that the sun doesn't rise until about 6:30 and couldn't find my head lamp, so the braids happened completely in the dark. 

We were on and ready to go at 6:30. Jessica mentioned that Lainey had still been very complimentary towards me and Dezi on the ride back to the hotel last night, which made me feel readlly good. However, stadium has never been our strong suit. I had just been telling Anthony that this would be the day we needed. Lainey would help us today. Stadium day. This was where we were really going to learn all the things. I didn't expect that the first thing she would have us do was a grid- one stride to 2 stride to one stride to 2 stride. I also didn't expect that it would take us like 6 times and minimal tears shed by me and a dressage whip over every jump to actually figure it out. I was so frustrated with myself. I couldn'd figure out how to get her to move forward with impulsion while still keeping my posture up and back. I was dropping her to the fences, for absolutely no reason. To this day, I don't understand why I can do these things in the XC field and not in the stadium arena. It's a constant struggle. 

We finally got the grid figured out, when it took everyone else in our group about 2-3 times to get it correct. Oh well. Then we moved onto 3 big oxers with 3 strides between each. Dezi and I were able to master that more quickly for some reason. Maybe we had the impulsion and rhythm figured out after all our attempts at the grid. Then we had to do the oxers to a 4- loop serpentine exercise with canter poles and oxers at each centerline around to the original grid. It's amazing how once we got the grid the first time, we were able to get it every time. It just stinks that it took so long (and so much emotion on my part) to get there. We were even able to get all our correct leads during the serpentine exercise. A first for anyone in our group (oh yeah, we had moved from second in the group to last because I didn't want to slow anyone up). The lesson ended on a positive note, but we definitely have a lot of stadium exercises to work on. We have a lot of improvements to make. If only I could mentally figure out how to make a stadium jump look like a big XC jump in my mind... I'm willing to take suggestions if anyone has them!

We got our picture with Lainey and I got my selfie with her! I took care of Dezi while it was raining for some of the other groups. I got her loaded in the trailer and Chris took her home for me while I watched the rest of the classes and helped be jump crew. I feel like I learned a lot. And even with out mess ups, Lainey still commented on my social media posts about the weekend with Dezi and me being the #VIPoftheweekend. I'll take it. She mentioned prelim goals for Dezi and me. She said that we're a good pair and need to work on fitness (lol go figure #draftcrossproblems). But it was cool to have a clinician who doesn't know us watch us and tell me that she has high expectations. Hopefully we can live up to those expectations. 

I learned a ton. Lainey was incredible. She was encouraging yet challenging. She didn't make anything easy. Everyone had some sort of trouble, and she was great about capitalizing on the troubles and using them as learning moments. I went into the weekend shitting my pants scared about what she was going to ask us to do and finished with confidence coming out the butthole. Now, I look at cross country jumps and think "that's nothing bigger than what I jumped with Lainey." It was a huge confidence booster and yet I learned a lot. It wasn't easy. It was never easy, mentally or physically. But I figured it out. And that's what's most important. I walked away from the weekend feeling like I could accomplish anything I wanted if I work for it and put my mind to it. 

I would recommend that anyone I know ride with Lainey Ashker if given the chance. I got so much out of our lessons, and I plan on making her very proud of us next year when she comes to KC! 

Check out the compilation video I made here on YouTube!!

NOVICE DEBUT!!!

This weekend, Dezi and I made our novice debut at Heritage Park. Mid-America Eventing (Combined Training) Association had a schooling one-day HT and we decided to just go for it! Dezi and I had been jumping novice jumps easily at all the recent XC schoolings. We figured we might as well put the pieces together and see what we needed to improve upon for the upcoming season. Honestly, my goal was to finish the competition. I have been riding a lot, but with Dezi being a draft cross, I'm always concerned about her level of fitness and whether it will measure up to the plentiful thoroughbreds at these shows. 

My morning started early when my alarm went off at 5:30am. I was at Chris's house in Butler by about 6:45 and we were on the road by about 7:30. We got to the park with just enough time to tack up and have about a 20 minute warm-up before my 9:48 dressage time. That should be enough. It was going to be a hot day, so my usual hour warm-up was totally unnecessary. There was some confusion with ride times (probably partly my fault, because I was going by the most recently printed ride times and had Chris get my number without double checking). I almost went into the ring too early, but we worked it out and the judge seemed forgiving. 

Our dressage test was pretty good. My tempo felt really good, but I always struggle with keeping my reins short enough. And especially after transitions, for some reason. But I did feel like my bend was spot on and my upward transitions were pretty good. My downward transitions definitely could have been better. My stretchy trot was pretty much non-existant (pretty typical for us- definitely an area of improvement). And my halt was base wide. Chris said that she thought my test would score 32-34. But apparently I'm too critical of myself and she's too critical of me, because I ended up with a 26.4 starting us off in 1st place in our division. Woo hoo! This is the best dressage score I've ever scored with Dezi, and I think my second best ever (after a 25.0 on Coco one year at Catalpa). I could not have been more happy. Onto the jumping. 

Dezi got to have a quick rest break at the trailer while Chris and I walked a bit of the cross country course that I was confused about. She also talked me off the ledge about one table that terrified me a bit, reminding me that I jumped a similar sized jump the day before. We relaxed for a little while my boyfriend and some of our friends arrived. 

I took my time putting in Dezi's studs and tacking up. Then we headed down to the stadium jumping area. The jumps looked really big, but they were novice. I trust that the organizers and volunteers setting the jumps know heights better than I do. They probably have measuring sticks and stuff to ensure everything is the right height. All the jumps were totally doable, though. Mostly verticals with a couple gates. The first jump was the only thing we haven't jumped in a while with a brick wall box in front of it.

Dezi jumped well in the warmup. Chris purposefully put the jumps a bit high to give me confidence going into the ring. The girl who went in front of me had a stop at the first fence, so between that and my previous apprehension about the first fence, I knew I had to ride it aggressively. When it was my turn, I did my courtesy circle and headed to the first jump. Dezi felt like she was hesitating a bit, so I smacked her pretty hard with the whip so she knew we were doing this. It was time. We're making our novice debut and we're going to jump all the fences. And she did. She launched that first jump! And then she proceeded to jump every other jump on the course well. We added strides in a couple places when I should have pushed her forward, I let my reins get a bit long (sound familiar?), and we did knock a rail in a downhill combination where I didn't have her working from behind enough. It was totally my fault. However, at our first novice, I have no problem with one rail! One rail in stadium is totally fine! We did it! We finished the course, and as Kristina, the MAEA president reminded me, we were 2/3 of the way to our first novice completion! My whole ride is on YouTube here!

After we got my boyfriend and friends settled with a good spot to watch a few XC jumps, Chris and I headed up to the XC warm-up. We talked about the horse's center of gravity and how her power comes from her butt and her hind end, so I need to make sure that her power is as close to her center of gravity as possible. And I need to help her by keeping my center of gravity as close to hers as possible. No running her off her feet. She could run as fast as she wanted, as long as her butt was doing the work!

There were 2 riders ready to go when we got to the start box. I had to ask for some clarification on how to get to jump 3 (we had only walked the second half of the course and I wasn't sure where jump 3 was located- thanks, Kelly!). Then I did a mini trot/canter warm up and jumped 2 XC fences before it was my turn to head out. I wasn't going to worry about time, but out of curiosity, I would use my stopwatch to see what happens. 

We shot out of the startbox. Probably my fault, because I was wanting to start in attack mode. We were doing this. We were jumping a novice course. We could totally do this. We've got this. The first 3 jumps rode nicely, then we galloped down a slight hill to jump 4. She listened to my half halt like a champ and jumped the hammock at 4 like a pro. We totally belonged here. Jumps 5-7 were pretty straightforward. And then we had the water. She jumped the ramp before the water and cantered into the water like she owned the place. I could tell she was struggling with the depth of the water, but we had to keep as much momentum as possible for the house that was a couple strides out of the water. She jumped the cordwood at 9 well. She was weirdly lookey at the first jump of the half coffin at 10, but we got over it no problem and the ditch was nothing to her. The scary table at 12 rode amazingly well! She looked a bit at the frisbee golfers and forgot what we were doing for a second at jump 14. And thend she finished strong! The last 2 jumps on the course were not small jumps and she killed them! I love this freaking horse! She was perfect! Absolutely perfect. We absolutely belong here. You can watch our whole XC round here on YouTube!!

I headed back to the trailer to take care of her and get some water on her before I took her studs out and organized the trailer. My trailer. Oh yeah, that's news. I got a trailer! For now, I'm using Chris's truck to haul it, but maybe one day soon, I'll get my own truck. My friends and my boyfriend took off while Chris and I relaxed a bit with Dezi to make sure she was cooled down and happy before we headed home. We used all of the water in my tank (between sponging her down & giving her drinks) to make sure she was happy. 

When we checked scores, it turns out our rail only took us to 2nd!!! So exciting! I was absolutely ellated! I could not have been more happy. I couldn't stop smiling all night and for several days after. Novice, we have arrived. We made it. I could not have done it without Chris believing in me. And losing 50# has improved my riding and my confidence in ways that I never would have expected. 

Dezi and I are officially a NOVICE team!!!

First Show of 2020!

The first show of 2020 was hosted by the Property Shoppe at Phalen Equestrian Center in Bonner Springs. 

Initially, we had all planned to go. Chris would take her 2 horses (Quill and Gemma), Leah would take Scooter, and I would take Dezi. Slowly, they started dropping like flies until Dezi and I were the only ones left. 

When we had all planned to go, we were going to get stalls and stable overnight so that we could be ready to go at our ride times in the morning. Chris and I both had to work full days on Friday, so we didn't get to leave until later. It wasn't until we made it to Harrisonville that we realized that we could leave in the morning and still make it with plenty of time to spare and prepare. Even if we had continued on, by the time we got there, it would be too late for me to get a chance to school and Dezi would have to spend the night in an unfamiliar stall 40 minutes from my house. This way, she could sleep in her pasture with her buddies. Chris offered to load her in the morning and meet me at Sonic so I would be able to sleep in my own bed.

We got to Phalen around 9:30. Dezi and I did a walk about to check out the facilities and where she would be staying and I got her settled into her stall. There was plenty of time for us to watch some rides and check in before I had to worry about tacking up. 

Our first ride was dressage: BN Test B, which I had never ridden before. I had looked at it intermittently throughout the week and studied it a bit on Friday night, but I took the time directly before I tacked up to make sure I truly had it memorized. 

I got her tacked up and got on about an hour before my ride time only to find out that they were running ahead. We did a short warm-up. She was riding really well- listening to everything I was asking, using her body well, and really showing off in this totally unfamiliar environment. She's such a rockstar. 

We went into ride our test a bit early. Dezi did a good job. We had decent transitions, decent geometry, and only one little spook in the corner near the judge. We ended up with a fair 33.3 from a tough judge. It put us in 2nd place in our division. 

There was a bit of time between dressage and stadium, so I let Dezi chill out in her stall while I spent some time exploring, catching up with old friends I haven't seen since last show season, and helping set the jump course. There was a huge change in the course between starter and BN. As I was helping them set it up, it was obvious that the people doing the work had never ridden a jump course before, or not recently. The had us taking some obscene turns and impossible paths from one jump to the next. After I got a bit frustrated with the whole thing, I called Chris over to help and she worked it all out. The course was still a bit strange, but at least we got it to a point where it was rideable. 

I proceeded to tack Dezi and get her ready to jump. After another short warm-up, she was ready to go. No need to get her all hot and bothered for one jump course. 

She rocked it! We started out with a good pace but as the course progressed, we got slower and slower. I'm not sure if she gets tired or if I get tired... or maybe it's a combination and I'm just thinking too hard to be able to actually ride well. Either way, despite a less-than-perfect pace, we managed to leave all the jumps up! Double clear! Chris and I agreed that if I had ridden at that pace last year, we definitely would have had rails. Chris thought that all the dressage work over the winter had really helped her learn how to accurately use her back end. I also did a good job this round of sitting back, waiting for the jump, and letting her jump up to me instead of dropping forward over her shoulder like I used to do. 

Overall, it was a great first show of the season. We ended up with a pretty red ribbon to take home, and later I got a fancy reserve champion ribbon mailed to me!

And now, I'm sitting in my house getting ready for a Stay at Home initiative by Kansas City. I'm not sure what's going to happen with this show season. Coronavirus has already wreaked havoc on the 2020 Eventing season with every cross country schooling in March and April cancelled already. We haven't heard about the Mill Creek Recognized show in May, but given that we haven't been able to ride much recently and may not be able to school cross country at all prior to that show, I don't know if it would even be smart to enter. The maximum I would be able to do would be beginner novice, IF I can get to a cross country schoolng somewhere... maybe a private facility...? 

So there are currently a lot of unknowns. I don't know if I'll be able to show at all this year. I don't know if I'll have a job next week (healthcare is pretty volatile right now). I don't know if I'll be able to ride when it's not considered "essential" (except for my sanity). I'm just trying to stay calm, keep my mind and body as busy as possible, and avoid eating everything in sight in the process. *FINGERS CROSSED*