Stepping it Up

Our first show of 2026 is a month away, and Cinder and mine's first clinic together is two weeks away, so we're officially stepping things up. The tentative plan is for Trainer M to take Cin in the 3' Green Hunters and she's been jumping her bigger once a week or so and hot damn if Cin isn't rising to the occasion. 

They make it look so easy

We've also been in flying change boot camp which seems to finally be paying off. She's at the point now where she 100% knows what we're asking, she's just lazy and doesn't want to. And she get pissy, mostly on the flat, when you try to set her up too much before asking for them. She's better about getting them while coursing, and Trainer M even put us on a flying change ban on the flat for now, as to not anger the beast too much. 

I'm hoping to do the 2'6" with her at the show, but my main goal is go and have fun. We're heading south to Thermal for a week, and Indio/Thermal has been a dream show of mine for about *cough* 25 years so I know nerves and the intimidation factor will play a roll. I do think we have a better plan for Cinder's nerves (vet recommended big dose of ulcergard and some perfect prep the first few days) so hopefully her being more chill will help me be more chill. 

The countdown is on and final prep is being done and I can't wait! 

 

How to Prepare for a Horse Show

In the six weeks between our July show and our August show I think I jumped Peebs maybe four times, and only had one less than stellar lesson.  That's totally how you should prepare for the last show of the season, and a move up in fence height, right?

 After the July show I had planned to give Peebs about a week off.  It was going to be super hot and I figured he deserved it. I think I rode three or four times the next week before he lost a shoe in the pasture. It was a Friday night and my farrier was out of town that weekend. He said he could stop by the following week and put it back on, but his shoeing trailer blew two tires and he wasn't able to make it. And then it was four days before our regularly scheduled appointment, and I was going out of town, so I told him to not bother and Peebs could wait till our appointment.  So Peebs had another 10 days off for that.

Peebs loves his bestie Scottie

Then we hauled over to A's for a lesson and Peebs lost his shit. Normally he's not super phased by time off, but I should have given him the benefit of the doubt and lunged him. A rode before me and when she and Scottie left the arena, Peebs has a meltdown.  My trainer had to go find A and ask her to bring Scottie back so Peebs could have emotional support. We stuck to trotting cross rails for that lesson. I was pretty sure our planned move up to 2'6" at the August show was going down the drain at that point.

Did get some good work over poles, once the chickens crossed the road arena

Then it got super hot again, and smoke from fires in California, southern Oregon, Washington and British Columbia drifted our way and the air quality was firmly in the unhealthy range. My sinuses were killing me, I was having a hard time breathing, and felt bad about making Peebs work too hard in it. We did get a few nice days here and there and I was able to put some good rides in, but Peebs felt NQR.  Not lame, not off, but funky in the hind end and our left lead canter went to crap. And of course my trainer was on vacation so I couldn't ask her opinion. So I called the chiro who was only available to come out a few days before the show. I'm glad I did because he was dropped left in his hips (explains why he couldn't sit on that hind in the left canter). But I had to cancel our lesson before the show to fit the chiro in.  So when we headed up to the show on Friday last week I a touch nervous about how we'd do. Spoiler alert:  Peebs was amazing and I should worry less