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. 

MDTE March 2025 Show Part 2

 Saturday was my turn to show. Jumpers were in the morning with hunters in the afternoon. I got to the show midmorning and took Cinder for a walk and hand graze and watched some of my barn mates show in the jumpers before grabbing lunch from the taco truck. I ate lunch on one of the comfy couches in the show office and talked to the woman running the desk. She had figured out how to hook her phone up to the sound system and was making playlists for the show and she said if I had a song I wanted played when I showed to let her know and she'd do it. Since Cin's show name, Bright Side slightly came from Mr. Brightside I had her put that down for us. 

All photos bought from Philippos Photography

We were showing in the 2'3" hunters on Saturday and planned to do the 2'3" hunter derby as well. Cinder was super relaxed and warmed up really well. The show ring was open for schooling and we schooled a few fences but not the whole course since she was being so good. As I was picking up the canter for our first round, I was able to hear our song playing and started singing along under my breath as we cantered up to the first fence, which we hadn't jumped in warm up. For whatever reason Cinder spooked at it like 3 strides out and I had an "Oh shit, I actually need to ride my horse" moment. I sat up and closed my leg and we made it over. The rest of the round went well and we earned a 3rd for our effort. Our second round contained zero spooks and we nabbed second. We then flatted and got another second earning us reserve champion for the division. 

There were only 2 of us entered in the  2'3"derby and 3 in the 2'6" derby, so they decided to combine the classes. It was the same course, a hunt and go format, for both heights so most of the fences stayed at 2'3" with a couple being bumped up to 2'6". Our plan for this show was if the 2'3" went well and felt small on Saturday, I would move up to the 2'6" on Sunday, so having a combined derby was perfect for me. I ended up going first because and had a decent round. Cinder was a little confused at why I brought her down for the trot fence and we landed on the wrong lead off it and had to counter canter a rather tight turn to the next fence, but I was pleased with the round overall. I didn't watch anyone else go, as I had to pee so badly and pretty much jumped off right after my round. 

spoiler alert

I was just starting to untack when the show manager came out with ribbons and yelled at me that they wanted us mounted for pictures. I asked if I could just hand walk Cin in the ring as I didn't want to get back on, and she very firmly told me to get back on because I would want pictures. They had us line up in the ring and announced placing in reverse order and what do you know, we won! And yes I was very glad I got back on for the pictures. 

We got to lead the victory gallop for the first time

MDTE March 2025 Show Part 1

 We had our first show of the season last weekend. It was the first in the series that our barn hosts at the fabulous Heirloom Equestrian Center in Washington. This year they adjusted the format so it was a three day show instead of two, but since our barn was running it, we actually went up on Thursday and made it a 3.5 day show. 

We had 6 mares (now collectively known as Estrogen Acres) from the barn going, 5 in Trainer M's trailer and I hauled Cinder in mine. We also fully loaded both tack rooms and truck beds with supplies and hay and headed up Thursday afternoon. We unfortunately left during the height of rush hour so by the time we got to Heirloom and got done unloading, it was 8pm. I grabbed dinner and headed to my hotel to get some sleep before heading back to the show by 8am the next morning to help set the course. 

Blurry screenshot of Trainer M and Cin

The new schedule had the show starting at 1 with just jumper rounds on Friday. After setting the course I played groom and lunged Trainer M's project mare who was having a meltdown and trying to climb her stall walls. Cinder was her neighbor and thought Trillium was being way over dramatic and was very happy to see her leave. Then one of the other mares lost her mind that Trillium was gone and that's when we decided that we need to bring an emotional support gelding next time. There was a lot of big feelings all weekend from most of the mares, but I'm very happy to report that Cinder did not feed into any of them and was one of the better behaved mares in our group. 

Obviously Cinder is not a jumper, despite our outings to Jumper Nights this winter, but I wanted her to go in the ring and do some schooling rounds on Friday with Trainer M. I wasn't sure how Cin would react at the show, since she was an idiot in warm up at both Jumper Nights despite having been to Heirloom multiple times. I took her for a hand walk in the ring during the cross rail warm up and she was totally chill. Trainer M was going to take her in the first 0.70m clear round and if she was good, do a second clear round at 0.80m, or do the 0.70m speed round if she was nutty. 
 

I promise there will be some pro photos in the next post

The outdoor arena was closed since it had been pouring all week, and off and on raining all day on Friday. Trainer M had wanted us to hand walk the horses for 10-15mins prior to her getting on to school during the breaks in the indoor, but right when I went to start walking Cinder the skies opened up and it dumped rain and wind on us. We retreated back into the stall and by the time it stopped, Trainer M was ready for Cinder. They warmed up great; Cinder was nice and relaxed and wasn't feeding off of other horses. Their 0.70m round was lovely and clear, so we scratched the speed round and put her in the 0.80m clear round. Their 0.80m was clear as well, but Cinder took a couple of peaks at the oxers and planks that hadn't been there in their first round. It was more of a "Oh, this is bigger and there's more stuff under here" situation and not that she was spooking. She got lots of cookies and praise for being so well behaved while I untacked her and put her up for the night. 

Cinder gets Catch Ridden

 There was another schooling jumper night at Heirloom last Saturday, and I had been on the fence about going. Showing in January is not for the faint of heart, and who knew what the weather would be. Then our weekend tech at work was out for medical reasons and I was working six days a week, and was scheduled to work the day after the show, with my one day off in two weeks being the day of the show. I decided to be a responsible adult and not go to the show. Being exhausted and overworked does not set one up for a successful show. 

The Sunday before the show Trainer M texted me asking if I would be ok with another amateur in the barn catch riding Cinder at the show in the .70m classes. J's gelding has a lot of show anxiety, especially at Heirloom as he used to live there, and she's decided to not show him there this year. She was hoping she could catch ride something so she could work on herself in the show ring. I said yes as J is a great rider and I knew she wouldn't be phased by any antics Cinder might throw at her. 

I ended up not having to work the weekend of the show, and decided to head up to watch and play show mom. It was sunny, but below freezing and Cinder was feeling a little spicy. She was a little wound up in warm up and Trainer M ended up getting on her for a bit, but J handled her antics well. She kept asking if she as doing anything wrong and was afraid she was going to ruin Cinder. I had to tell her that while Cinder can be a sensitive little flower sometimes, she's also a little dense and dumb and most things tend to roll right off her back and she'll forget about it immediately. There was zero chance of J ruining her.

The sun was shining pretty harshly through the windows and creating some epic blind spots and shadows and Cinder kept spooking at them, every time she went past. See above about forgetting things immediately. J did circle in their first round (which was a clear round class) at one of the spooks, but kept her forward and continued on fine. About half way through their second round (a speed class), you could see them click and things started to smooth out. Cin did have a rail in the second class at the butterfly fence above when they got in a little deep and she got lazy. They did manage to pull out a 7th in the class out of 12. 

Their third round was a jump off round, and it was their best round. They had a great pace, no spooks, and Cinder was listening and doing everything J asked of her. J is more of a hunter rider and rode a little deeper into her corners and took longer approaches, so they ended up with time faults and didn't make it into the jump off. Those of us from the barn standing at the back gate thought it was bullshit to have a tight time allowed at a schooling show .70m class, but they still earned a 6th. Trainer M told J that she rode the round exactly as it should have been ridden and that she wouldn't have changed a thing. 

I'm so so happy that they ended on a good note. J kept saying how nice Cinder is, and how fun she was to ride. Seeing Cinder make someone else happy and give them a good show experience makes all the issues we've had kind of disappear. It was validating in a way I didn't know I needed. And it also drives home how grown up she is now. To go to a show and get ridden by an amateur who has never ridden her before and have some good rounds is real, adult horse behavior. My little baby horse is all grown up. 

Heirloom Equestrian Center Jolly Jumper Night

 The barn that hosts the show series Trainer M runs has a new trainer and he decided to have a low key Jolly Jumper Night last weekend. They encouraged everyone to come out in their finest ugly sweater and had the place totally decked out with Christmas decorations. While Cinder and I are very happy in the hunter ring, I couldn't pass up the chance to show. It also helped that the show started at noon and had a flat fee including a stall.

Trainer M and Cin

I might have had a little mental breakdown in my lesson two days before the show, as one does. I was just way too in my head and overthinking everything. God bless Cinder for not giving a shit about her mom giving her very mixed signals and pulling out at almost every jump. Trainer M rides Cinder on Fridays, and asked if I could make it out to the barn to watch her ride/get on for a mini lesson. I was able to leave work early and watching M ride really helped. I was able to get on and only have one minor panic about a distance instead of melting down over every distance the day before. 

The "presents" were point values for the gambler's choice class

When we got to the show we took the horses in for hand walk to see the giant Christmas tree in the arena. None of the horses cared at all about it. I got Cinder tacked up for Trainer M to school and despite walking around the arena an hour before, and you know showing at this venue three times this year and twice last year, Cinder was convinced the far end of the ring was terrifying. She pulled some lovely spin/rear moves and I was very, very glad M had gotten on her first. They did manage to work through it and M rode her in the first 0.70m class. Cinder did spook a few times, once at the far end and then again at a banner on the wall that she had already passed multiple times. 

After M's round I was supposed to get on and do the other two 0.70m classes, but another of Trainer M's client's horse was having a meltdown and M stayed in the ring to help them through it. This horse has some major show PTSD from a previous owner and does a lot better with another horse (particularly mares) in the ring with him. So Cinder was his emotional support mare. Things were a bit hectic at the back gate since Trainer M had 4 out of the 6 horses in the 0.70s, and they were looking for people to go but the others were still learning their course. I told M to ride in the second round, an optimum time class, and if the spooking was gone I'd take her in the final class. Cinder was much better behaved in the second round and M took a tight inside turn and won the class. 

Supposedly one of the teens at the show was tacking actual pics, so maybe we'll get those later this week and you can see those instead of blurry screenshots

I got on and furiously tried to learn my course. The first two rounds were the same course, but the third was a jump off and a totally different course. I hadn't wanted to confuse myself with learning two jumper courses at once, and then had to scramble to learn the second course. The first two thirds of the course went fine, I was a little tentative and not quite trusting that Cinder wouldn't spook and we were very slow, but coming to an outside line I lost my nerve. The line walked in six and a half, M had told us to do a waiting seven, but when she rode it with Cinder they got eight. And of course I had been watching other horses get anywhere from a five to a nine in the line so I was totally fucked on how many strides it was supposed to be. It didn't help that were jumping it directly towards the "scary corner". I ended up circling before the second fence and then trotting it. We landed on the wrong lead and I panicked again that we couldn't jump on the wrong lead (we totally could have, the turn to the next fence wasn't tight at all) and then trotted the next fence. We did manage to canter the last fence and somehow ended up 4th in the class. I'm mad at myself for not trusting my horse more, but very happy that Cinder was able to pull it together and was foot perfect after her initial silliness. I think we just need more show miles with Winter Cinder to help get over my nerves. 

Freeman Farm November 2024 Show

 We managed to make it to one last show this season, at at venue I haven't show at in ten years.  The farm was established in 1921 and was owned by the same family till they sold in 2022, and I'm so happy the new owners managed to keep the same vibes and aesthetic while doing some much needed upgrades.  

Cinder got her first winter clip the day before the show. Not great timing, but at least she wasn't a sweaty mess at the show

I had asked Trainer M if she had trailer space to haul for me, as it would cost about the same in gas for my truck as her mileage fee, and that way I didn't have to get up at 5am. She did, and apparently Cinder took great offense to being loaded at 6am in the dark. She got loose from M and jogged around the front pasture to say hi to M's two year old stud colt. But once caught she loaded fine and settled into her day stall at the show. I arrived about 30mins after the horses got there and she was happily munching her hay. My classes were the last of the day so I helped my barn mates showing earlier and then took Cin for a little lunge in the round pen. Unfortunately the footing was full of rocks, so we didn't do much in there. We then went for a walk around the outdoor that was being used at the warm up ring. There was a pig and a very big rooster in a paddock next to the ring that had been causing multiple horses to loose their minds all morning, but thankfully both were in their shelter and didn't cause us any problems. 

She came into flaming heat on Monday, so that probably explains some of her behavioral issues on Saturday

In typical horse show fashion I thought I had enough time to order a burger from the concessions, but classes ran fast and I needed to start tacking up as soon as I got it. One of the teens from the barn was helping groom, and was helping me with Cinder while I scarfed down my lunch. I was standing about five feet from the stall eating as fast I could when I saw Cinder poke her nose out the unlatched door then take off. So for the second time that day Cinder was loose. She was easily caught by another trainer while I ran after her. She then lost all of her privileges and was tied up in the stall while I finished tacking up. 

This show was jumpers and equitation, and the eq only went up to 18". My main reasons for coming were to support the restarting of this show series, and to get her out to a new venue, since she's only shown at Heirloom this year, and Freeman Farm is completely new to her. I figured she'd be fairly distracted and up, and I was completely right. Trainer M hopped on her first and while she was a bit looney in warm up, she settled once they started jumping. They were allowing schooling rounds so M took her in one since she can't do the eq. Cinder looked great and they had a nice round. 

Spoiler alert

I got on and we went in for the flat. We held it together, but Cinder felt spicy and was very distracted by an open door at the end of ring. I was a little caught off guard in our first over fences round by how forward Cin was and got left behind at the first fence. The rest of the round was decent, but Cin kept building and it felt like trying to keep the lid on a pressure cooker. I dropped my whip before going in for our second round but Cin was even more wound up. I ended up making her do the adds in the lines, to emphasize the point that she has to listen to me and not blast around like a rocket ship. She also missed a lead change and then got mad and we ended up trotting a fence because she was too frazzled to pick up the correct lead. We definitely put the "schooling" in schooling show. There were only three in our division, so we ended up second on the flat and for our first over fences round, and third in the second round. 

To put the icing on the day, Cinder once again protested at having to load in the trailer to go home and got loose for the THIRD time that day. Her and Trainer M had a conversation involving a stud chain, and Cinder walked right on after that. I apologized profusely for my horse being a rank asshole, and we made a new rule that Cin must always have a chain when loading. I was expecting her to be spicy and fresh, what with being freshly clipped and the weather deciding it's really fall now, but I wasn't expecting her to be that bad. We might need to rethink how we deal with showing in fall/winter going forward. 

MDTE September 2024 Show

 Surprise! We went to a horse show. Cinder is finally feeling good enough that I asked my trainer her thoughts of doing a couple classes at the last MDTE show of year. We were in first place for the 2'3" hunters, and in third in the 2', for the circuit awards and as much as I hate being that person, I wanted to point chase. Trainer M thought a few classes would be doable, so off we went. 

Medal Finals participants got these nice glasses and having my morning coffee in them at work reminds me why I have to have a job to pay for these horse shows

To back things up, Cinder was cleared for jumping only two weeks ago. We had been doing a lot of pole work at the walk, and when we started trotting and cantering poles/cavaletti Cinder was quite enthused. Like, I was getting left behind and slightly run away with when we did a line of four trot poles and the first day we started cantering the 1' cavaletti I almost asked for a bigger bit. It was more funny and exciting that Cinder was so obviously happy to be back "jumping" than scary, but I did pull the ammy card and have Trainer M do the first official jumps back on her. But she was a perfect lady and jumped like she's been jumping all summer and didn't have a five month break. 

quick, pre-lesson power nap

Since I hadn't been planning on showing until the last minute, I had scheduled a dental for Peebs and agreed to feed dinner at his barn the day before the show. Trainer M had space in her trailer so she hauled Cinder and schooled her Friday at show without me. I know that's a fairly common occurrence in h/j land, but it felt so indulgent to me to just show up Saturday to the show and have my horse and tack all set up. I got a report that Cinder was foot perfect on Friday, and was even an emotional support horse to another of M's clients whose horse was melting down in the arena while schooling. 

hot mare morning walk

We decided to have Trainer M take Cin in a 2' class to see how she'd do, then have me do a 2'3" round. Cinder warmed up well. She was moving beautifully and hopped over the warm up fences with no problems. M's round went well, minus one corner when she went to rebalance and Cin tried to break to the trot, but they pulled out the win. M hopped off and Cin got a little break while I finished getting ready. 

Spoiler alert

I got on and did a quick walk/trot/canter and jumped like three warm up fences. M had told me the outside lines rode well, but the diagonal line was a little long and that I needed to make sure she was in front of my leg and that I had enough pace to make the six. So of course in our round I saw the waiting, quiet distance to the in of the line and then proceeded to sit there like a sack of potatoes and not make a decision of moving her up or holding for the add. God bless this horse for making the decision for me and getting down the line in a long six. Other than that the round was really nice. She landed all of her leads, we nailed the other lines and found nice distances to the other fences. There were only two in the class and we won. 

With those two rounds we were able to win year end circuit champion in both the 2' and 2'3" hunter divisions. Cinder won two nice leather halters with engraved champion nameplates. Honestly though, the halters were just icing on the cake at that point. Just getting to jump and show my horse again was amazing, and that she felt so good and was so professional and perfect plus winning two championships made the last five months of vet bills and rehab hell worth it. 

OHJA Medal Finals: Day 1

OHJA medal finals are held over two days, and have three phases. Phase one (a written knowledge test) and phase two (over fences) are held on Friday and phase three (a flat phase for the 2'3" and 2'6" medals, over fences for the higher medals) are on Saturday. The finals are held during a regular rated show, but I only did medal finals. The show was held about 20mins from the barn, and Maya has shown there a ton, so we decided to haul her in for those two days. 

We were supposed to take our written test between 7:30-9:30 Friday morning, and of course my round wasn't scheduled to go till 4:30pm. So I headed over to the show around 8, took the test, and watched a few short stirrup rounds go. There had been a study session held at the show on Wednesday night that I went to and was initially irritated by because it lasted all of 20mins, but the test was the exact questions they gave us at the session so it worked out. I got a perfect 10/10.

Everything was wet because it rained Thursday night and on and off on Friday

 I then went to the barn, hung out, cleaned, and organized my shit before we loaded Maya up around 2 to head over. Maya is a great traveler and was content to hang out in the trailer with a hay net while Trainer M and I watched the bigger medal classes and ate lunch. They opened up the course around 3 for a combined walk for the mini and foundation medals. We walked, made our plan then headed over to the trailer to start getting ready. 

All pro photos from McCool Photography. The show office charges each entry $35 for photos and you get digital downloads of all your pics. 

Trainer M hopped on Maya first, as she can sometimes be a bit spunky at the shows, and M would rather ride her through it instead of lunging her. Once I got on the nerves started to get to me a little. It didn't help that Maya was a little annoyed with me and tried to buck a couple of times. I was riding in her owner's saddle, that has a much deeper seat than mine, and I felt like I was sitting in a hole and slightly behind her motion. I was trying to be more in a half seat, but couldn't quite find my balance. We jumped a few fences, then went to watch a couple of rounds, planning on jumping one or two more right before going in. 

There was a posted order of go, but as the way of hunter ring, there was an open gate for about five minutes. I asked Trainer M if I could just go and get it over with, instead of sitting there letting my anxiety increase. She agreed, the back gate guy gave his blessing and off we went. I felt Maya perk up a bit, and once we picked up our canter she became all business. She really listened to me and was right with me every stride. I liked that the course was twisty as it gave me more to focus on instead of a lot of long straight lines. We landed every lead, and most of the distances came up well. I know I half halted a bit too strongly coming around the corner to fence 3, but otherwise everything else rode really, really well. It was honestly one of the best rounds I've ever ridden. I had given my phone to a friend to video, but it unfortunately died just after my round started so no video. 

We ended up with a 76, so combined with my 10 from the written test, we had an 86 earning us second out of thirteen. I was so beyond happy with our round and honestly don't think I could have done any better on Cinder, or if I had ridden Maya more. Maya got a lot of cookies while we untacked and cleaned her up, and then we headed home ready for round three the next day. 
 

MDTE Spring Show 2: April 2024

 So the week before Cinder colicked, we did our second show of the season. I was waiting for the pro pics to come in before posting about it, and then they came the same day she colicked and I never got around to posting about the show. 

All photos bought from Lark Photographs

We hauled up on Friday to school and settle in. This show was about double the size of the March show, and the biggest one yet for MDTE. I was lucky enough to get on Cinder during a lull in the ring, but she was a little wound up and kept spooking at the sun spots coming through the windows in the indoor arena. She was backed off when we jumped, and we ended up adding in the lines, but Trainer M was ok with it as I was giving her a good positive ride and not letting her antics work me up. 

Saturday Trainer M asked if she could do the first round of the 2' hunters and I happily handed over the reins. It had been warm and sunny all day, but a storm blew in with a lot of wind and sideways rain right as I started to get ready. Thankfully, as cranky about the rain as she was, Cinder seemed in a much better headspace than on Friday. She and Trainer M won their round together. I hopped on and did a quick w/t/c in the outdoor before going in for the second round. I don't remember how we placed, but we did get all our leads and made the strides in the line. I was really happy with the rounds. My last class on Saturday was the 2' derby and oops, I did it again and went off course. Stupid bending lines. The rest of the round was great, but apparently I can't remember where to go. 

Sunday we had the Fun Class and the 2'3" hunter division. The Fun Class for this show was Simon Says, and they broke it up into juniors vs adults again. The sun was back and we were in the indoor, which unfortunately had a bunch of bugs and bees flying around in it. We had just started the class by putting one hand on our heads and were trotting around when a few bees started buzzing us and Cinder took offense. I chose life and dropped my hand to grab my rein and was the first adult to get eliminated. 

They had a Mexican food truck come to this show and the pork nachos were the best horse show food I've ever had 

Cinder pulled her classic move of just barley tapping the rail of the first fence in our first 2'3" round and pulled it, but the rest of the round was great. Again, we were able to get all of our leads and made the strides. In the second round she spooked at the sun spot coming through the window again as I was picking up the canter, causing us to get the wrong lead, but the rest of the round was pretty darn perfect. I was really, really proud of us. The under saddle was also pretty darn perfect. I didn't let her break in the canter or pick up the wrong lead and we won! That with thirds in both the over fences rounds gave us the reserve champion for the division. It was a fantastic show and I was really so happy with both Cinder and myself. 

MDTE Gallops Saddlery Preview: Sunday

 I decided to sleep in Sunday and not play jump crew and it was nice to have a somewhat leisurely morning. I got to the show around 9 and watched the jumpers go before getting Cin ready. We had the 2'-2'3" medal and the 2'3" division on Sunday. 

 I did wear my spurs, which made Cin a little pissy about having to go forward, but more in an annoyed don't tell me what to do way, rather than an I'm exhausted way. We did a quick warmup, jumping like three fences, and then went in first for the medal. I almost forgot the halt after fence four, but was really happy with the rest of the round. We ended up winning!

Trainer M came in to hand out ribbons and give congratulatory scratches 

The medal has no oxers, but the 2'3" division does, and I'm not going to lie, they looked big standing at the back gate. I realized I haven't jumped an oxer since before my riding break, and I let that get in my head a bit. In our first round I didn't really count our strides, just tried to ride forward and keep my leg on and told myself the oxers were nothing to worry about. It worked, and we won the first round. Cin was getting tired, and despite my nice first round, I psyched myself out in the second and got a bit discombobulated. I ended up having to circle coming into one of the outside lines, but was able to fix our falling in issue and keep going. We rightfully placed fifth out of five for that one. 

I swear it looked bigger

I was determined to not let Cinder break in the flat, and to have crisp transitions and we almost did it. She was really good tracking left, and for most of our time going right. She did decide to break in the canter going right, just as we passed the judge. I did call her a bitch under my breath, hoping the judge wouldn't hear. Either she didn't see the break, or everyone else was way worse, because we placed second. With that, we ended up reserve champion in the divison. 

Despite our little bobbles, I was really really happy with how the show went. I was nervous showing after not riding for months, and switching trainers, but Cinder has grown up so much that everything was old hat to her. We know what we need to work on going forward, and I can't wait for our next show later in April. 

MDTE Gallops Saddlery Preview Show: Friday and Saturday

 While Trainer M's barn runs this show series, our home barn isn't set up to host shows, so most of the shows are at the gorgeous Heirloom Equestrian Center about an hour away in Washington. In the past, Trainer A and I hauled in for the shows, but Trainer M had a lot more clients going, and asked her riders to help out at show, so we got stalls for the weekend. M also arranges pretty much everything, so literally all I had to do to get ready was clean my tack. M loaded and hauled my tack trunk, her groom and working student set up the stalls, packed hay and grain, and did all the feeding and cleaning all weekend. I did end up hauling Cinder and one of M's lesson horses, so that way M didn't have to make two trips with her trailer.  It was nice to not have to worry about logistics, other than hauling the two, who were both perfect passengers. 

All pics bought from Lark Photography

I got to the show a few hours after the others did, and took Cin for a quick walk before putting her in her stall. She normally gets a pro ride on Fridays, and Trainer M said she'd school her at the show and I could hop on after for a mini lesson if I wanted. Cinder has grown up so much, and has been to Heirloom enough that I figured she'd be fine and I didn't want to do too much with her, so I told M that I didn't need to get on. M rode Cin for probably 20 minutes, hopped over two jumps, and declared her perfect and that she agreed that Cin didn't need to do more. 

My sleeve and glove were so wet after this class

Saturday morning was jumpers, and I played jump crew to help work off some of my show bill. I figured if I was going to be there anyways to watch, might as well make some money. This year the show is offering fun classes (rose all day, ride a buck, toilet paper relay) between the jumpers and hunters on Saturdays and M told all of us that were doing them. This show had the rose all day for the 21 and over group, and a post and pop for those underage. We were given a cup of water (because the show manager "Didn't want to waste perfectly good wine.") and sent out for a judges command type class. I was nervous about how Cin would do riding one handed, in a slightly chaotic arena, and with me holding something out to the side of her, but she was surprisingly good. We survived the two point, sitting trot, posting trot, canter and both trotting and cantering a cross rail. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad M made us do it. 

We had a couple hours between the fun class and my 2' rounds, so Cinder got to go back to her stall and I contemplated running to the Gallops trailer to buy new gloves because mine were so wet. I slowly got ready for the 2' and before I knew it it was our time to warm up. Cinder was little confused about having to go again, and a little behind my leg, but warmed up well. In both of our over fences rounds we had a case of first fenceitis, where I didn't get her forward enough and found crappy distances. In hindsight I should have put my spurs on. Most of the issues we had were from lack of pace and impulsion. We placed third in both classes. We also suffered from a lack of impulsion in the under saddle. Towards the end, in our right lead canter, Cin broke and would not pick the canter back up, so I nailed her with my whip. I knew at this point we were placing at the bottom of the pack, so why not school. M agreed with me when I came out of the ring. 

Our last class of the day was the 2' derby and I was determined to have her in front of my leg. The course was pretty fun, a canter in trot out line, a halt, and a bending line. Cinder was a little confused as to why I was suddenly asking her to trot in the line so our trot fence was meh, but I liked our halt. And I legged the crap out of her after the halt to pick the canter back up since we were going right past the gate. I was not about to have her suck back or break on me. So of course when I was so focused on her going forward, I completely forgot where I was going, and did the bending line to the wrong jump. Whoops. And had I jumped the correct jump, I probably would have won the class. Besides that stupid mistake, I was otherwise really happy with our round and glad we were able to end the day on a more positive note. 

MDTE Gallops Saddlery Preview Show: The Preview

 We went to our first show of the season this past weekend, and while I not so patiently wait for the pro photos, I'll give you a spoiler alert. 

The Oregon Hunter Jumper Association had a raffle drawing on Saturday, and I won! I got a nice Kerrits duffle bag, an OHJA hat, an OHJA garment bag (which was awesome my old garment bag that I got for free from SmartPak died that morning) and a leather halter. 

Our rounds Saturday were kinda meh, but I learned my lesson (and wore my spurs) on Sunday and we had some of our best rounds to date and cleaned up, earning reserve champ in the 2'3" hunters and winning the 2'-2'3" foundation medal. Medal finals here we come!

Rainier Equestrian Events: December 2023 Show

 At the end of November, right about when I stopped riding, Trainer A decided she wanted to take her new horse out to a h/j schooling show to get more rounds under their belts. She asked if I wanted to go as her groom/jumperland interpreter for the weekend and of course I said yes. We both were a little sad that I couldn't ride in it, then A asked if I wanted her to show Cin. I initially said no, as I still hadn't gotten my bill from the ER visit in September and I knew I had more medical bills looming. But my mom offered to pay for the show as an early Christmas present, so we entered Cin last minute. 

All photos bought from On Murden Cove Photography

Rainier Equestrian Events puts on USHJA Outreach shows on the west side of the greater Seattle/Tacoma area, and its about 3hrs from Cinder's barn. Neither A nor myself had been there before, but from what we could see online, their shows looked nice and they set fences to height. Most of the outreach shows around us tend to set soft, so this would be a good test for both Cinder and Surelock. 

 We left early Saturday morning, and it was absolutely awful in Portland. Pouring rain, strong winds, standing water on the roads, just flat out horrible weather. Thankfully the weather cleared up and when we made it to the show, it was sunny and dry, if still a little cold. We were lucky to get a good parking spot by the ring, and timed it right to slowly start getting Cinder ready after we checked in. It had rained earlier in the week in WA, so the outdoor arena that's usually used for warm-up was closed, and part of the covered arena had been blocked off for warm-up. It was a small space, but thankfully there weren't many horses warming up when A got on. Cinder was entered in a 2'9" round, and two 3' rounds and there was one other horse in the 2'9" and no one else in the 3'. 

Cinder was great in warm up. Walked right into the arena like she'd been there a hundred times before and got right to work. A big group of six riders came in to warm up for a costume contest/eq on the flat class and even with the small space and some wound up horses Cinder didn't care. I'm still so in awe at how professional she's become this year when showing. 

All three of A's rounds had the same course, so that made learning and discussing the course super easy. That, plus the lines being set on a 10' stride, would be my only complaints about this show. If you're going to offer two hunter rounds at the same height, make them different courses. And if you're setting to height, set the lines on a 12' stride, especially for the bigger classes. We've been working on getting Cinder to open up for the 12' stride without running off her feet, so to have to reel her back in for the 10' stride was a little challenging. 

Trainer A used the 2'9" round as their schooling round, to get a feel for arena and how the lines rode. Cinder was little distracted by people sitting outside the ring, but didn't care at all about any of the fences, or the shadows along the one far side. We knew the lines would ride tight, but overall both A and I were happy with the round. The other horse in the class was a very seasoned horse with a professional riding, and they rightly earned first. I asked A about doing one warm-up fence between the 2'9" and 3' to let Cinder know the jumps had gone up, but she didn't think they needed to since they had schooled 3' while warming up. I had my doubts, and was proven correct when Cinder jumped into the top rail of the first fence in the first 3' round. So now, even if A doesn't think we need to, I'm going to make sure we jump at least once bigger fence between rounds at different heights. Cinder also broke to the trot on the long approach to the single oxer when A asked her to settle a little, but they were able to pick the canter back up and had a decent distance to the fence. 

The third round was definitely their best round. Cinder was getting tired and the lines got a little tighter, and she missed a lead change, but even with the bobbles both A and I were super happy. Cinder was a total professional, marching right around a new arena with no hesitation or issues. She also settled into her stall after her rounds with no problem, and didn't care at all when Surelock left for his jumper rounds. I'm so glad we were able to take her, and hopefully we can make it back up to some of their shows next year. 

MDT Heirloom Show: October 2023

 We did our last show of the season on Saturday. It was a two day show, but we only decided to do one day as the body worker had already been scheduled for the second day. And despite a few bobbles, I'm really happy with how we ended our season. 

We had originally planned our move up to the 2'3" at this show, doing two rounds at that height plus an under saddle, but the show secretary posted their series points the week before and Cin and I were in the lead for year end champ in the 2'. And, as I told trainer A, I really wanted to point chase and get that series champ. So we ended up doing a 2' round, the 2' under saddle, and then a 2'3" round. 

Our lesson the day before the show

Trainer A was showing her new horse in the 1.0 and 1.10m jumpers earlier in the day, so we hauled over to the show with them and Cinder got to hang out in the trailer while A showed. She was perfect, happily munching her hay and not caring at all when Surelock left. Which was great, because Surelock had a massive meltdown when it was time to switch and he had to stay at the trailer when Cin left. Thankfully show management let A use an empty stall free of charge. Just one more reason we love this show series!

I was hoping the pro photos would be posted, but until they are have a blurry screenshot

 I let my nerves get to me a bit in warm up, but Cinder was foot perfect. Our 2' round was ok, I know I added in all the lines and didn't ride my best, but we nabbed a 3rd out of 7. When we went in for the flat, I heard one of the other trainers telling her kid that "Molly is a great hunter ride, just watch what she does and follow her." and that gave me a big kick in the ass to actually ride like I know what I'm doing. We had an unfortunate break in the right lead canter when I half halted without enough leg, but we still got a second.  

Spoiler alert

We walked around to keep Cin warm while they adjusted for the 2'3" and A asked if I wanted to jump anything else. I said no, but I should have because Cinder clobbered the first fence in our round. Now we know that when we do a warm-up round at a lower height we need to school the bigger height after. I was really, really happy with the rest of round. I did add in the first outside line, but picked up the pace and made the strides in the other line. We rightfully didn't place, but that's ok. Cinder felt like an absolute seasoned pro marching right around and not caring at all about me being a nervous wreck on her back. It was a great way to end our show season.  

MDT Heirloom Show: June 2023 Day 2

 I spent Saturday night at A's house and we talked for a while about what the plan for Sunday was. I had three over fences classes; a 2' hunter round, a 2'3" medal, and a 2' derby. We both agreed a martingale was getting used, but we went back and forth about what bit. We finally decided on a copper twisted Dr. Bristol full cheek. It was the best hunter ring legal bit we had in the tack room. 

For full disclosure, Cinder did get a tube of perfect prep before we left the barn on Sunday. She also ran around like an idiot with her pasture buddies Sunday morning, so she obviously wasn't too tired. When we got to the show we walked her around a little, before tacking up and getting on. I wanted plenty of time to warm up and try the new bit before going in the ring. She felt much more settled than on Saturday, and warmed up well. 

They had us do a victory lap for the derby and the medal class. Both my and Cin's first two victory laps!

The plan for the first class, the 2' hunters, was to trot into everything. We wanted to reinforce that she needed to listen and slow it down. If she tried to take charge, I was to trot in the lines. If she was good, she could canter the lines. She ended up being very, very good, and we were able to canter all the lines. I could take a bit of a feel with the Dr. Bristol and then push her forward into my hand, instead of trying to manhandle her mouth with the mullen. We ended up winning the round out of 9. 

So proud!

For our medal class, they had the test built into the first round. We had a halt and a trot fence. We did have a small spook in the same corner as the day before, only this time the windows were closed and it was very windy and the shutters were rattling. We also hit a rail, but didn't pull it. We ended up 6th out 8. When they were putting ribbons on for the victory lap I asked they not put it on Cin's bridle as it was bigger ribbon and I didn't trust she'd be ok with it on her face for a whole lap around the ring.  

For the derby, I played the first round pretty conservatively, as Cinder was starting to get tired and I didn't trust the spooky corner. They had one outside line set with high options, and I had thought about taking them, but once on course I totally spaced it and took the low option. We had jumped the low side for the other two rounds and I went on autopilot. They were announcing scores, but due to the wind it was hard to hear the announcer so I wasn't sure what my first round score was. They did bring everyone back for the handy round in reverse order, and I went fifth, so I was in fourth place out of 8. 

Very happy to be back home with her dinner

I decided to go for it in the handy, because why not.  The first fence was the second in a diagonal line, with a rollback to the last fence in the outside line. Pretty much everyone else was going the long way, but there was an inside turn and I was pretty sure if I squeezed the shit out of Cin I could keep her going through it. It worked, and I was really happy with it. We then had a bending line, rollback to a single diagonal trot fence, to the first jump in the diagonal line and then halt. Cin fell apart a little after the trot fence so we trotted the last one, but otherwise I was really happy with the round. They called us into the ring to present awards, and I was shocked when we were called second. I was so proud of us and so happy to end the weekend on that great note. 

And to top it all off, I found out once we were back at the barn that we had managed to pull off the 2' division champion. I'm not sure how that's possible, but I'm not going to say no to another champion ribbon or the gift certificate to the tack store that comes with it!

MDT Heirloom Show: June 2023 Day 1

 We actually made it to another show, without Cinder trying to destroy herself! We did another local/outreach show up at a gorgeous facility in Washington, about 45mins north of Cinder's barn. I had gotten a stall for the weekend, but we ended up just hauling Cinder back and forth both days as my classes were in the afternoon and Cinder very much appreciates getting turned out in the mornings. 

The show manager had sent out an estimated timeline Thursday for Saturday, and based off of that, we decided to haul up a little early and take advantage of the open schooling between the jumpers and hunters. For this show, the outdoor arena was being used for warm-up, and showing in the indoor, but they were opening up the indoor for schooling while resetting the course. Cin has never been to this facility before; A and I have and know it can be a lot for the horses to take in. 

We decided a little late that we wanted to put a ribbon in her tail, and there was a bucket of ribbons from TBird that IL was throwing away. We grabbed a red (1st place in Canada) and used that to make our ribbon. 

Cin hauled well and was good while we tacked up. A took her over to hand walk/do ground work in the indoor while I got my boots and helmet on, and then I went over and got on. The ring was a bit chaotic and Cin had nice hump in her back for the first few minutes walking around. But once I started to relax and put her to work, she calmed down. We only did walk/trot as both A and I felt it was a little too crazy to canter and this was just a "get to know the arena" pre-ride anyways. 

The one moment of cuteness

Cin then got untacked and got to hangout in the stall for about an hour while the cross rails division went. After getting re-tacked up, we warmed up outside and Cin felt pretty good. She was a bit strong, but not bad and I felt pretty good going into our only over fences round on Saturday. The course started with an outside line even though I've told the course designer, who is mostly a jumper, that hunters always start with a single fence. We cantered up to first fence with no issue, but Cinder landed and wanted to blow through my hand. I held her for the correct number of strides and continued on to the diagonal bending line. She landed off the third fence, gave me the middle hoof, and proceeded to morph into a giraffe/jumper hybrid. I got after her fairly hard because that is not acceptable hunter ring behavior. 

It was about here that I decided to ask A about putting a martingale on her, and possibly a different bit

I made the decision to trot into the next outside line to reinforce "you need to listen and slow it down". This outside line had potted bushes next to the standards that Cinder wasn't sure about and she drifted hard to the outside and ran out at the second fence. I brought her back around at the trot and we made it over. I decided to trot into the final diagonal line since at this point I knew we were out of the ribbons and we were just schooling. That line rode the best and I was a little mollified that we could recover. 

For our post round discussion, A and I agreed that we needed more bit than the loose ring mullen mouth for shows, and that trotting everything was the right call. We weren't sure if Cin got a little stage fright going into the ring alone, since she was chill in warm-up, or if she needs a longer warm-up, or if we should have done a cross rail round to get her in the ring first. Or some combination of the above. 

Not how the under saddle is supposed to end

I had been the first of 8 to go in the over fences, so we had a bit of wait for the under saddle. Cin was still a little tenser than I would have liked, but for the most part she flatted well. There was one moment going the first direction when someone got too close to us as we were coming down from the canter to walk and Cinder kinda slammed on the breaks and tossed her head, and I had to glare at the other women because hello, chestnut mare with a red ribbon in her tail. Stay far away. Going the second direction, as we were cantering around the corner next to the windows, Cinder caught a glimpse of the tractor driving down the road next to the arena and spooked hard. She spun in front of a jump and I started praying she wouldn't jump it. My right leg slid way back and my stirrup leather got caught behind my saddle flap and I knew if she jumped I'd fall off. She almost ran into the standard and I managed to cling to her neck and stay on. 

I was sure that was going to knock us way down the list. So imagine my surprise when we were called third out of eight. The announcer (who was sitting next to the judge) follows me on IG and after I posted the spook she messaged me and said that neither her nor the judge saw it. I told A as we walked out of the ring that we didn't deserve that ribbon, and she said I did for staying on. We untacked and started making a plan for Sunday on the drive home.