Tbird Summer Fort Welcome 2025: The First Few Days

The start of our Canadian adventures didn't go so well, and kinda set the tone for the whole show. Tbird allows Sunday arrivals and Trainer M wanted to take advantage of that to let the horses have two schooling days before they started showing. M was teaching lessons till noon on Sunday, and wanted to leave by 1, but everyone in the barn knows she runs late so we thought if we left by 2 we'd be good. And we did manage to leave just after 2. It's a 6-7hr drive depending on traffic since we'd have to go through Portland, Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle, and then cross the border and traffic on Sunday afternoons is always better than Monday mornings. 

Setback #2

Trainer M realizing she forgot her passport and me having to swing by and pick it up was setback #1. Setback #2 was a tire blowing out on the golf cart trailer that one of the other ammys was hauling. I was behind her and pulled over to see if we could change it ourselves, but the jack she had in her truck wasn't quite big enough for the trailer and we didn't feel comfortable with it. So we waited about an hour and a half for AAA to send someone out. Thankfully he was able to swap out the tire pretty quickly and we got back on the road. Trainer M had pulled off a little farther ahead of us, but decided to keep going as the horses were not happy hanging out on the trailer. But since I had M's passport and all owners had to be present with the ponies at the border, M had to wait for us up there. We crossed the border just after 10pm, quickly got the ponies settled around 11:30 and then we all headed to bed to pass out. 

M up in the schooling ring

Monday morning saw us finishing setting up, checking in at the show office, and then schooling the horses. Two of our riders had issues with their Equestrian Canada paperwork, even though they had done everything correctly and the show wouldn't release their numbers. Apparently it was a widespread issue with EC as about a two dozen other Americans at the show had the same problem. Thankfully everything was cleared up by Tuesday morning, but that was a bit stressful for them. 

The show rings weren't open for schooling, but the warm up rings were so Trainer M took Cinder out in the hunter schooling rings. The ring designated for our show arena is bordered on one side by the other hunter schooling ring, and the other side has a wall of hedges and the backside of vendor row. You could hear and see people through the hedges and Cinder was 100% certain there were monsters out to get her. Especially the corner by the restaurant. A lot of time was spent with me standing in that corner with cookies for Cin every time they came around. M just flatted and Cinder, while tense, did seem to settle as they went along. 

I absolutely loved having real wash racks at a show. Cinder not so much. 

Tuesday was the start of the show, with clear rounds in the jumper rings and ticketed schooling rounds in two out of the three hunter rings. My ring was the third hunter ring, which was just open schooling all day. Trainer M did a little warm up in the schooling ring, then took Cin into the show ring. I do think that the ring we were in was probably the spookiest of the hunter rings. There was a willow tree with a pond at the far end, a tent for spectators, the judges booth, and a smaller tent for jump crew along one long side, and then a line of trees partially blocking a walkway along the other long side. So many things for Cinder to spook at. She didn't like that she could kinda see people and horses through the trees, and then they would pop up out of nowhere at the far end. The pond was obviously full of sea monsters waiting to eat her. And then the jump crew, who were all decked out in Tbird orange, were also monsters waiting to get her. I personally thought the rings were absolutely gorgeous, but what do I know. 

Screenshot of schooling day. You can see the willow tree over the pond at the far end, and the line of trees blocking the path.

Cinder was absolutely full of herself and Trainer M had to ask me what stronger bits I brought with me, as the French link was not cutting it. I ran golf-carted back to the stalls and grabbed the slow twist Dr. Bristol and we did a ringside bit swap. I asked if Cin needed a lunge and M didn't think so, she just needed something with a little more oomph in Cin's mouth to get her attention. And the Dr. Bristol did the trick. Cinder still wanted to spook, but would listen when M got after her and they were able to have a pretty decent school.  

More screenshots!

Our plan for Wednesday, the first actual day of showing for us, was for me to hand walk Cin in the ring in the morning while it was open and for M to take her in a few 2'9" classes at the end of the day. But that's a story for another day. 

So You Want to Horse Show in Canada

 Showing at one of the major west coast venues has been a bucket list item for years. The most realistic choice of venue for me in Oregon is Tbird, which is about a 7 hour drive away, but in Canada, vs Thermal which is a 20 hour drive. Trainer M's program usually goes once or twice a year to Tbird so I put us down on the list to go this year. 

Scoping out our arena for the week

Tbird entries open about three months before the shows and its a bloodbath trying to get in. Originally we were planning on going in May, sent our entries in an hour after they opened in February, but were put on the waitlist. We scratched May and tried for August and it was worse. The show sold out in under five minutes, but we managed to get two out of eight horses in.  Trainer M was persistent and called the show office multiple times in the months between, but it wasn't until about three weeks before the show that we actually got all the horses in. The two horses that were accepted both had minor injuries and scratched, so we were able to swap them out, and then a few others dropped out for various reasons, so we ended up only taking four horses. Thankfully we were able to find a decent Airbnb at the last minute, but it was a bit stressful waiting to see if we got in or not. 

loading up and heading out

I'm so thankful to be in a program that has gone up to Tbird for a few years and knew exactly what forms and documents we needed to cross the border. All the horses had their Coggins done in the spring, and the week before leaving we had the vet out for their vet checks and to get copies of vaccine records. Tbird itself requires a signed vet certificate which Trainer M had for all the horses. All I had to do was sign as owner on the copies. 

For the border crossing itself, we had to fill out a Canadian temporary admission permit, which basically states that the "goods" you're importing are just in Canada temporarily so you don't have to pay import tariffs on them. And god only knows what the tariffs are on any given day with this presidential administration. The only problem with this form is that the importer/owner has to be present when crossing the border with the horse into Canada. The US doesn't care when they cross back. There's different forms if you're sending your horse with a commercial hauler and/or you won't be present as they cross the border. And I think in those instances you might have to put money down that you'll get back once the horse go back to the US. Trainer M again had multiple copies for each horse and all I had to do was sign them.

The border is fairly empty when crossing at 10pm on a Sunday night

We also had to sign up for an Equestrian Canada membership. They have a reciprocal program with USEF, so our basic membership was free and we became authorized foreign competitors. If we wanted to get EC points we could pay for an actual membership. We were also required to do the EC version of Safe Sport and a concussion awareness training. Thankfully both were fairly easy to do online and took less than an hour. And the training is good for two years, so if I go back next year I won't have to renew my training. Ahem US Safe Sport.

Last but certainly not least, everyone has to have a passport and BRING the passport with them. We were literally opening the trailer doors to start loading horses when Trainer M realized she had left her passport at home. Thankfully, her house was just a mile off the freeway in the direction we were going, so she called her fiancé and I swung by their house to pick it up since I was driving my car and she was hauling the horses and the trailer wouldn't fit on her street.  

Hunter Creek Classic 2025: Amateur Hours

After our disastrous last show in April, and for this being our second rated show, I wanted a lower stress show so Cinder and I dropped back down to the 2'-23" long stirrup division for the Hunter Creek Classic. The division ran Friday-Saturday, with an open schooling round before each day that Trainer M took her in. 

All pro pics from McCool Photography

To be honest, I was completely stressed out Friday and don't really remember much. We had our two division rounds and the under saddle. I know in our first round, as we cantered across a right to left diagonal to the long approach single, I pulled too much with my right rein and Cinder gave me a lead change about a stride in front of the fence, so when we went in for our second trip all I thought was "do not pull the right rein" and we didn't have a swap. 

There were three of us in the over fences classes, and four in the flat, and we placed third in all three classes. Yay consistency? The other horses were all very nice, well seasoned schoolmasters so I'm not mad about placing behind them. And the judge took pity on us in the flat and had us trot half a lap, canter half a lap, reverse and repeat so it was the shortest flat class I've ever done. Thank you mister judge!

I was able to get my nerves under control for Saturday, and actually enjoy my rides. In our first round, Cinder decided to book it to a single on the far outside, but I managed to hold her to a deep distance instead of the flyer she wanted to take. That took all of her energy, she was tired and missed a lead change in our second round, but since there were five in my classes that day, we actually beat people and snagged a third and fourth. 

Sunday was Derby Day! My nerves were once again in full effect Sunday, and it didn't help that the walk for the derby was at the same time I needed to get ready, and that the other person from my barn was doing her 0.90m classic. I started walking before Trainer M made it over, but we had enough time to talk about some of the turns and approaches I had questions on. 

maiden voyage for the shadbelly

I was really happy with our classic phase, she was in front of my leg and listening and landed every lead. We scored a 74. Our handy wasn't as great, as the turns backed her off a bit and we missed two lead changes and scored a 53. I probably should have worn spurs, but oh well. We did manage to pull off a 4th out of 7. 

I was so happy will how well Cinder ended the week, considering the first few days were a little hairy. You could see her learn and relax each day and I think she really got the gist of rated horse showing. 

Hunter Creek Classic 2025: Pro Days

 Our summer show plans were slightly interrupted by Cinder's shockwave sessions. We had originally planned to haul in to one of the local rated shows for a day or two the week of her first shockwave, but USEF rules prevent the use of shockwave 3 days before showing. She got shocked on a Wednesday, so we would have been ok to haul in for Sunday, but we decided to wait to see how she'd handle the shockwave. And it was a good thing we did because a massive storm rolled in that weekend dumping rain and dropping temps by 25 degrees. 

All photos from McCool Photography. This show charges a $50 per entry photography fee and you get all digital downloads for free. It's one office fee I'm happy to pay. Cinder and Trainer M

The only other rated show series in Oregon cancelled their two weeks of showing, and our local venue picked up one of the weeks. They were already scheduled to host an outreach show that weekend that I was planning on going to, but I decided to switch to the rated show to give Cinder more experience. This would be her second rated show and since (spoiler alert) we're going to Tbird next week, I wanted to get her out at a rated venue for the exposure. 

There was one other amateur showing at the rated show from our barn, so the two of us took all our tack and show set up over on Monday and prepped the stalls. Both of us had work commitments and couldn't make it out on Tuesday so Trainer M hauled the girls over and schooled them for us. I got a report that Cinder spent the first 15 minutes rearing and spinning, then was perfectly well behaved once she started jumping. 

Trainer M entered Cinder in the USHJA 2'6" hunters on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as a schooling round before the division classes. Wednesday was the hottest day of the year (so far) so the show tried to start early and Cinder's projected show time was 9:40. I busted my ass at work for two hours then drove like a madwomen the 1hr+ to the show, only to see that people hadn't gotten their asses in gear and her class had been pushed back an hour. Which of course created a conflict with the other horse from our barn who was showing in the jumpers. After sweet talking the back gate people, we got our order of go settled and everything worked out. 

Cinder warmed up well, and their schooling round was pretty nice, earning an 6th out of 12. In their second trip, first round for the division, Cinder spooked at people clapping and hooting at the derby ring and bolted across the diagonal line. In her third trip, she spooked at a guy on an electric bike, stopping and then running sideways, causing Trainer M to have to circle. I told her as they came out of the ring that she's supposed to get better with every round, not worse. But that's why we came to this show, to get experience and to get her out. 

Thursday Cinder seemed a little more settled and they again had a schooling round and two division rounds, plus the under saddle. They pulled out a third in the schooling round, but missed a lead change in each of the division rounds. They did manage to snag an 8th in one of the rounds. But Cinder didn't spook and was much more comfortable in the ring which is what we were going for. The under saddle went really well and she earned a 4th out of some very nice horses. Despite her antics the day before, I was happy with how much Cinder learned and grew with each round, and with Trainer M's rides. 

Summer Shocker

 When we last left off over a month ago, whoops, Cinder was just back from getting her hocks and stifles done. She was feeling great, we had a plan for summer shows, and she had just gotten moved to a bigger paddock with more grass and was loving it.

I then got a call from Trainer M that Cinder was off. The vet was there for another horse and did a quick look at her and said she could come back two days later so I could be there for the exam. In that day between vet visits, Cinder got her feet done and by the time the vet looked at her she was 95% sound. Her feet had kinda exploded from the new grassier paddock and she probably should have been done on a 4-5 week schedule instead of a 6 week schedule. 

Her paddock is actually the one on the right in this pic

Cinder did get a chiro adjustment at that vet visit, and Doc wasn't super happy with how tight her whole topline felt. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but about two years ago Cinder started cribbing after being stalled across the aisle at our old barn from a horse who did it. Doc thinks the cribbing was causing her neck and back muscles to be super tight leading to her being out of alignment, and why she had a hard time really dropping down into the contact under saddle. 

Chestnut mare wonder twins, Cinder and Libra. Libra is the smaller, jumper version of Cinder. 

To try and break the cribbing cycle, Doc put Cinder in a grazing muzzle 24/7. We got a Flexible Filly one and cut the center hole a little bit bigger so she can eat her grain while in it. The first week or so Cinder was definitely going through withdrawals and was big mad. She has however gotten short periods without wearing the muzzle and hasn't cribbed, so it seems to be working. 

post shockwave drunk

To combat the tightness across Cin's topline, Doc wanted to try shockwave. She just got a new, top of the line machine that's the quietest shockwave I've ever heard. I was shocked (pun intended) at how powerful but quiet this thing is. For the first treatment we did Cinder's neck, back, and hips and then did two more treatments just on her neck. This was a total game changer. After the first treatment she was almost more lame than she was before, but once she was in front of your leg and moving correctly she felt good. Doc described it as breaking up scar tissue and having to work through the discomfort of going how she's used to going and fighting moving correctly. 

After the second treatment, she was moving absolutely wonderfully. Really dropping down and stretching in the trot, with a bigger more fluid canter. It felt awesome. Trainer M had been out of town for her best friend's wedding and hadn't seen Cinder go until after her third treatment and I got a phone call with how amazed she was with the transformation when she got back. I'm incredibly happy Doc suggested shockwave and with how well it worked. 10/10 would do again. 

Friday Foto Catchup

Instead of trying to remember, and in some cases not wanting to remember, what happened over the last couple of months, let's just have some pics instead. 

Cinder has had feelings about the tarps (barley visible in the right side of the pic just above the arena fence) that the barn owner had over her burn pile and garden this winter. Cinder is pretty sure they are death tarps and was very exuberant in her refusal to go anywhere near them. We have slowly (somewhat) conquered our fear of tarps and that corner, but the battle wages on. 

Trainer M aboard

We attended another show in April, and Cinder was fantastic. My riding left a lot to be desired. Friday Trainer M used Cinder as the guinea pig to see how the jumper courses rode and Cinder happily bopped around like a pro. Saturday I was supposed to do a 2'3" hunter round as warm up, then two 2'6" rounds, but I completely forgot how to see a distance, panicked, started to doubt every single life choice I've ever made, and then went and cried in my truck. You know, your normal amateur things.

M and Cinder again

Sunday I told M I just wanted to trot some cross rails in the warm up ring, and that's exactly what we did. And then I cried in my truck again. We hadn't really jumped a whole lot in the month between the shows, and nothing really at height, and I think between that and Cinder's inability to function in the outdoor due to the tarps, I didn't feel prepared and got overwhelmed. Trainer M schedules quarterly goal check-ins with her clients and we talked and made a plan going forward so hopefully future shows will go better. 

We lesson with Lily, the gray mare poking her head over the wall, on Thursdays and she and Cinder have a love/hate relationship. This day they were very much in love

 

Cinder got her annual hock and stifle maintance a couple of weeks ago. Last year she got them done in July and August, but we're hoping to show more in those months this year so I talked to our vet and moved them up. Our vet's pretty conservative with her rehabs, so Cinder got a week of hand walking, a week of walking under saddle, and we started trotting this week. If all continues to go well we can canter and I think even jump next week. 

Our assistant trainer barrel races and had set up the barrels for some of the lesson kids and Cinder walked the hell out of the pattern during her rehab

We have a tentative show schedule planned for summer, but we're waitlisted for Tbird in August (and who knows what crossing the border/the tariff situation taking horses across will be like) and my work schedule has shifted so I'm working six days a week every other week so fingers crossed we can actually make it to some shows.  

MDTE March 2025 Show Part 3

 Sunday arrived with a windstorm that wasn't predicted. Thankfully the rain held off till the end of the show, but the wind was brutal. Cinder was not amused during our hand walk in the ring at the big doors banging on the far side of the barn. There was much spooking and spinning involved. Thankfully someone closed and latched the doors by the time I rode. 

Both Cinder and I were tired but we kept to the plan and stepped into the 2'6" equitation. We were supposed to do two over fences, the flat, and the 2'6" medal. She warmed up great, really moving forward and jumping me out of the tack a bit. Our first round was going really well for the first three quarters, until I ran at the long approach single diagonal, saw it was going to be short, and then proceeded to do absolutely nothing to help Cinder out. Thankfully she saved my ass and chipped it, but that kind of took the wind out of our sails. The last two fences were nice, but a little underpowered. We earned a third out of four for that round.

purchased from Philippos Photography

Cinder was definitely tired and behind my leg for our second round and we added a stride in the one line on course. I knew I didn't have enough horse to make the strides, so at least this time I planned on the add instead of chipping it. Coming to the second to last fence we got a stuck in the corner and just didn't have enough power to find a distance to jump and had a stop. I circled and really dug into her and we made it over but it wasn't pretty. We rightfully came in last. 

As we came out of the ring I told Trainer M that we were done for the day. Cinder had been so good all weekend and was obviously out of gas and there's no point in making her do more. We had met all the goals I had set for us and there's always another show. M agreed and we scratched the flat and medal. I'm sad we didn't get to do the medal, but I'm so, so proud and happy with how the rest of the weekend went.