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. 

Split Rock Portland 2: Long Stirrup Hunter

 Originally we had hoped that Split Rock would have a 2'3" junior/amateur division for me to show in. We're ready to move up from the 2', but not quite ready to debut at the 2'6" (and we plan to do that at a schooling show, not a rated one), but they didn't, so we entered the short stirrup division. Management said they would split the division into short and long if entries warranted, and thankfully they did. My division was supposed to run Saturday and Sunday, in the afternoons.

Barn friends that keep you and your horse hydrated are the best

Saturday I had two over fences classes that were scheduled to go at 1:45, but ended up going closer to 2:30. I was way more nervous that I thought I would be, and combined with the temps at nearly 90*, I was a hot mess, in more ways than one. Thankfully Cinder acted like the seasoned pro she's turning into, and was foot perfect for me in the warm-up. 

Our first round started with a longish approach to a single diagonal, and I nailed it. It felt perfect and I was so happy that I kinda forgot to ride to the next line. We had to come around past the in gate, to an 8 stride outside line along the judge's booth. As soon as we turned down the long side, I heard A tell me to ride her forward, and I did put my leg on, but not enough. I saw the long spot to the first fence and froze, instead of moving her up. I did realize that that was going to make the 8 harder and I tried to push her forward, but we got to the out long as well. The rest of the course rode well, minus having to do a simple change. We placed third out of five. Our second round had a couple of bobbles. I did ride her forward for the 8 better, but added a stride in the diagonal line and had to do another simple change. We placed fourth in that round. 

Final ribbon count for the week

Both Cin and I were hot and sweaty when we were done, and I started having doubts about Sunday. The heat wave was going to get hotter, with Sunday's forecasted high at 100*. A and I discussed it as we waited around for ribbons, and we decided to scratch. Neither Cinder nor I handle the heat very well, and as much as I love ribbons, it wasn't going to be worth it. There's only so much mesh shirts and show coats can do, after all.  We had survived our first rated show, and done well, so why not quit while we were ahead. I am still slightly disappointed at having to miss Sunday, but I'm so, so proud of how good Cinder was all week and I know it was the right decision. There's always another horse show. 

Split Rock Portland 2: Pro-Day 2

 Thursday was the second day of showing and Cinder had two over fences rounds to finish up her division. We once again went first thing in the morning for A's jumper rides, then ran back to the barn to grab Cinder for her divisions. Cinder had been very itchy Wednesday night, and since about half the horses in her division weren't braided, I had pulled her braids out. I really like the braided look, but it wasn't worth her being so itchy. 

Still cute sans braids

Cinder was pretty miffed about not being turned out, and was a bit of a brat to load. I had looped the lead rope around my hand, so of course she tried to run sideways instead of loading, and my thumb got a nice rope burn. Mr. Stud Chain them came out to play and Cinder loaded perfectly. 

At the show she was very well behaved, but very tired. She still tried her heart out, but she blew a lead change in both rounds. Flying changes are still relatively new for her, and I'm not surprised they were the first thing to go when she was tired. We're going to implement flying change boot camp this winter, because A wants to show her in the 3' next year but I've put my foot down and said she has to have a change for that division. Even with the missed changes, she placed 7th in her first round. Both A and I were very happy with her for still trying even when it was obvious she was exhausted. She got a very well deserved Friday off in the pasture before my division started on Saturday. 

Split Rock Portland 2: Warm-Up and Pro Day 1

 Cinder made her rated show debut and I made my return to the rated ring after 14 years last week. We went to the second week of the Split Rock Jumping Tour's Portland stop. I went to spectate last year and loved the show grounds and the atmosphere so it was #1 on my list for Cin's rated show debut. 

Heading out to school on warm-up day

The show is about 15mins away from Cinder's barn, and since I'm on a bit of a budget and stalls were $$ for the week, and looked smaller than the 10x10 they were supposed to be, we decided to just haul in. We did take Cinder over on Tuesday for ticketed warm-ups and to check in. Due to the VS outbreak in California, all horses had to be inspected before unloading and it was easier to get that out of the way on Tuesday vs Wednesday when she would be showing. 

From where trailers parked to where the hunter rings were was quite the hike. Trainer A was riding, thankfully, because Cinder was a bit impressed with the atmosphere walking around the grounds. There's a pond on the property and when we walked by on Tuesday, dogs and kids were splashing around and causing a ruckus that Cinder did not like. She thankfully settled once we got to the rings, and schooled in both rings like a pro. She took a little peak at one of the logs from the derby, but jumped it on the second try without hesitation. 

We went back home and she got braided Tuesday night. She was very confused why someone was standing on the stool next to her for so long, but she was a good sport about it. I was a bit worried she'd rub her braids out overnight, as she can be an itchy girl, but there was only one that came a little loose that I had to tighten up. 

Cinder got to meet her older half sister Izzy, and made her look like a pony. Izzy definitely didn't get their mom's height gene

Trainer A had another horse she was showing in the jumpers first thing in the morning, so we ran over to the show without Cinder for that. Split Rock requires formal attire for all their jumper classes, so there were quite a few hunters being shown in white breeches all week. We had just enough time after the jumper classes to run back home, grab Cin, and head back over to the show. 

Cinder was showing with A in the USHJA 2'6" hunters, and it was a full division with 13 entries. They had two over fences and the under saddle on Tuesday. Cinder warmed up well and A was able to watch a couple of horses go before heading in for their first trip. Cinder spooked at the photographer, who was wearing a neon green shirt, coming around a corner, but otherwise we were really happy with the round. She made all the distances, got her leads, and minus the spook, was pretty consistent. She didn't place, but I figured that would happen. 

All pro photos bought from Winslow Photography

Their second round was also very lovely, and earned them a fifth. Cinder marched around the ring like she'd done it hundreds of times before, and didn't look as green as she is. I was so proud of her and A, who was also doing her first rated h/j show. 

There were some lovely movers in the flat, and I honestly expected Cinder to place middle of the pack. A rode her a touch conservatively, but Cinder was getting tired and A was trying to hold her together versus asking for brilliance. So I was shocked to hear their number called in second. I still don't believe that I own a horse that can take a good piece of the hack, but I guess I do. I guess all that dressage does pay off. 

Pro day two, and my time in show ring, to come later this week! 

Bedrock Finale Show: August 2022

 Cinder and I went to our second show of the year last weekend. We joined up with Trainer M and her clients and had a great time. We didn't get the results I wanted, but we learned a lot, had fun, made friends, and have a better idea of what I need to do to set Cinder up for success.

The week leading up to the show didn't go to plan, as I was supposed to have a lesson on Monday, followed by A schooling her Tues/Thurs, then shipping over to the show Friday. A's dog was pregnant and decided to have her puppies a week early, so my lesson on Monday turned into me just flatting her and A had to cancel her training rides. I unfortunately had other commitments and wasn't able to swing going up and riding, so Cinder had Tues/Wed/Thurs off. I did free lunge her on Friday before heading to the show, and that was a very wise idea. 

Not thrilled about the small tent stalls

Cinder actually settled in pretty well at the show. We let the horses chill in their stalls for about an hour before M had me and the two other hunter riders tack up to school in the hunter ring. I was a little nervous, as this was the first time I would be doing all the riding at the show, and not having a pro school her first. And this was her first time at this showground. 

We started in the warm up arena flatting, before moving into the hunter ring to jump. I let M school the other two first, letting Cinder take a nice long walk around the ring before we jumped. The two juniors were doing the cross rails while I had signed up for the 2' so after a couple times over an x to start, M raised the fences and had us do a course. Cinder was a little looky but jumped everything and I was really happy with her. 

Early morning walkies

There were three different 2' divisions (open, short/long stirrup, and an eq division. I just entered the short/long stirrup as I don't want to kill my horse with that many rounds) going first thing Saturday morning and we were scheduled to go middle of the order. I took Cin out for a long hand walk and watched some of the earlier rounds go. When we finally got on, she felt a little more up than she had on Friday. The schooling ring was a bit chaotic but she settled and I felt ready going into our two rounds. Cinder decided the far end of the arena was pretty scary, and stopped at fence two. I don't think she was scared of the jump, just the extra poles and gates stacked along the rail outside of the ring, plus whatever was in the trees behind them. I let the stop get to me and didn't ride her forward enough on the second attempt and she stopped again. 

One of the two 2' fences we made it over

I was determined to come into our second round and ride better. The first fence felt great, and as we were cantering to fence two I thought we had it. But we had to go past the in gate, and Cinder decided we were done. She popped her outside shoulder and tried to spin left and exit the ring. I managed to stop her before leaving, circled, and she pulled the same move. I did manage to get her away from the gate but my nerves were shot. M had us jump a few fences in the warm up, then we discussed our game plan. The cross rail classes were going later that afternoon and we decided to enter those. The goal at this point was to get her in the ring and just go around. If she still pulled crap with me, M would get on her, but M felt like with I could handle her, especially with smaller fences that we were planning on trotting. 

Unfortunately the hunter ring was moving slower than molasses, and the jumper ring finished early, so the cross rails and trot pole classes were moved to the jumper ring. I was disappointed we didn't school in the jumper ring on Friday, and that we wouldn't be able to try again in the hunter ring, but getting Cin in the ring and going around was the goal. When we came out hours later for the cross rails, Cinder felt much more settled and tired and warmed up really well. She was still a little wary going into the jumper ring, but didn't spook. We jumped everything even though she tried to run out the gate after our last line in our first round, which was an outside line heading directly towards the in gate, while I tried to do a nice courtesy circle. She got spanked on the shoulder and my outside heel shoved into her ribs plus some growling, but she didn't pull that move for the rest of the weekend, so lesson learned. Our second round was very nice and I was happy with how we ended the day. We placed 4th in both cross rail rounds out of about a dozen. 

Realizing horse show life is hard

 

We decided to scratch the 2' on Sunday, and stick with the cross rails. The cross rails were first thing on Sunday morning, back in the hunter ring, and I wanted to get some good, solid rounds in and felt like I was more comfortable doing that with the cross rails. Cinder came out tired and quiet in warm up, but I didn't let that fool me. When we went in for our first round I took a nice long tour of the ring to let her see everything. She spooked a bit on the far side, like I expected her to, but we were able to get around both our courses. I was still trotting everything, because I didn't trust her to not stop or try to run out the gate. I thought our rounds were decent, but we didn't place in either of them. I was still happy that we ended on a good note and got around the spooky hunter ring. 

learning to hurry up and wait

I know if I had had a pro get on her and school her we probably could have gotten over the spookiness faster, but I want to show my horse so I have to learn how to ride her through it. This show had the biggest atmosphere of any show she's been to, and she's still a baby, so it makes sense she'd be a little wary. I'm still getting comfortable riding her through naughtiness and riding her away from home, so hopefully next year we'll come out better prepared and ready.

The Rest of our Spring Show Season

 As I'm sure most of you have heard, there's an EHV-1 outbreak on the West Coast. So far it's only in California, but I know of at least five Oregon barns that were showing at either Thermal (ground zero) or Rancho Murieta and have subsequently been exposed. I sincerely hope none of the Oregon horses got it and brought it up here, but if Covid has taught us anything, it's that viruses can travel very easily and  people are fucking stupid. 

I was toying with the idea of doing a schooling show in March, but I've scratched that idea. The people running the show were showing down at Rancho Murieta and brought their horses home to quarantine. Then two days later sent an email saying their still planning on having their show. Oy vey. 

To be fair, the show is being held at a different facility than their home barn, but this program typically brings a lot of clients to their shows and since they're "quarantining" the horses that were in NorCal at home, I have my doubts about their biosecurity and the health of the other horses on their property. Two weeks of quarantine is the minimum recommended, and in some cases it's 21 days, so having a show 18 days after your horses got home is cutting it very close.

There's a couple different shows in April that I was debating going to, another at the place we showed at last week, and another in a different venue as the people hosting the March show. Time will tell if April shows will be a go or not, but if we have to skip another month of showing, so be it. My horse's health is way more important than a horse show.

MDT Winter Show: Aka Ciner's Hunter Debut

 Cinder made her hunter and equitation ring debut last Saturday. The show series we did last fall added some hunter and medal classes to their prize list for this year, and since the facility is only about 15mins away from A's training barn, we figured it would be a good way to end Cinder's month up there. 

She was initially skeptical of people up there, but once she realized they wanted to pet her and tell her she's pretty, she was perfectly fine with them

 We signed up for the 2' hunters and the 2'3" medal class. Our classes were the last of the day, which was nice because I could sleep in. The show manager had sent out an email with class counts and approximate start times and when we pulled up to the show, they were on time. That's a first for a schooling h/j show!

All photos bought from Kayla Norene Photography

I hand walked Cinder around the indoor (where we would be showing) while the last of the jumpers schooled, then tacked her up. Unfortunately as we were walking to the outdoor to start warming up, they brought out the drag to drag the indoor. It made a huge grating sound along the ground behind us, and both Cinder and I spooked hard at it. I lost my nerve and asked A to get on to school Cinder first. She did (bless her) and said Cin was a little jazzed, but once she put her to work she settled down. Once the indoor was open for schooling A took her in, and other than a little gawking Cinder was fine. I got on to jump a few things and then it was show time. 

Our first round was our best. Cinder was a wiggly to the single diagonal off the right (the above fence) and tried to slowly duck out, but I pushed her forward and we got over it. The second round had a four stride bending line, that on paper looked doable, but in reality wasn't. We went first in both rounds so I got to be the guinea pig. I mean, if I had really angled the first fence and bent the hell out of the line, it was possibly doable. I did not do those things and ended up circling. At the end of the round the judge called down that the line was not ok and once they moved a fence out a bit, offered me a reride. We were able to make the line this time, but unfortunately had a rail down at another fence. 

The fences were a soft 2' and Cinder was less than impressed

 

There were six of us in the division and for the under saddle the judge had us all trot together, then split us for cantering. I was very happy with that decision, as there were two kids on ponies with questionable steering and the arena was small. Cinder was a little more up in the flat, not dropping her head as much I would have liked, but handled it like a champ. There were two very nice horses that I was sure would place above me, but we ended up second!
 

We went first in the medal and I could tell Cinder was tired. She held it together pretty well, except she pulled the wiggly/run out move again and this time I had to circle. It felt like an "I'm tired, do I have to?" stop, and once I re-approached and really put my leg on, she was fine. Once we were done I hopped off and since it had started to rain we untacked quickly and put Cinder back on the trailer. I figured I wasn't going to be called back for the test with a stop, and I was right, but when I went back to get ribbons, they were doing pictures and kept asking me if I wanted to bring Cinder out. We ended up fourth out of six for all our over fences classes. 

 

It was a great first outing and first hunter/eq ring experience. I'm so happy with how well both her and I handled everything and can't wait to get back out in the show ring.

SS Indoor Eventing February 2022

 If you follow me on social media, you probably saw that Cinder and I had our first show of the season over the weekend. Trainer A is hosting a series of three indoor eventing shows and the second one was this month. Since Cinder is living at the host barn, and has jumped some of the jumps already, I figured it was a good schooling opportunity for us. 

I had my regular Friday lesson and Cinder was a little wound up. Some people had started arriving for the show and were schooling, and a saddle fitter had driven down to the outdoor arena so he didn't have to carry saddles back and forth. What really set her off was the pile of jumps behind us in the above photo. She did kinda get over them, but the above moment was taken during her spooking at the saddle fitter starting his car, just out of frame near the pile of jumps. Cinder got really scared of that end of the arena after that, and after another spin spook, A suggested we head to the indoor and let her mind chill. 

The greenery was cut by A, the barn manager and myself Friday night. We took the gator up on the trails and whacked branches and ferns while consuming adult beverages and had a blast!

 Cinder was much happier inside and after a little flat work, A told me to do a gambler's choice and pick fences out as I went around the arena. We were showing in the Intro (18"-2') division, and even though I know A had set the courses soft, most of the fences looked tiny. Some of the BN fences looked doable to me. We schooled all the Intro jumps, except a pair of purple boxes and Cinder didn't care at all. I was feeling confident heading into Saturday.

Purple boxes of doom

 I longed Cinder Saturday morning, just in case, and then got on for the open schooling before the show started. Cinder was looky, she didn't like the horses standing outside the open side of the arena, and since the ring was a little hectic at times I mostly just walked and let her see everything. I did pop over a few fences, but not the purple boxes. I should have done more in warm up, including jumping every jump in our course, but next show I'll know better. Nicole came by to watch, video, and gave me some delicious cookies. Our second round video is below. Thanks Nicole!

Cinder was distracted in our first round, spooking at the door on the side of the arena, and then very politely ducking out to the left of the purple boxes. It was like she figured out it was easier to go around then over them. I brought her back around and she kind jumped/ran out the side again and instead of trying a third time, I continued on with the course. At the end of our round A ran out and made herself a human standard and had me do the boxes a couple of times. We took a quick walk break then stayed in the ring for our second round. It went much better as Cinder was more focused and didn't try to run out on the boxes. 

bought from KL Pet Prints

I had a lot of fun, and the show as a great low key learning environment. And while the Intro fences didn't look scary at all, I don't think I'll be switching to eventing any time soon.

MDT Jumper Schooling Show

Originally when we started planning for this little jumper schooling show, a few of A's other clients were going to come, but it ended up being just Cinder in the cross rails and A's gelding Metro in the 1.20m, ie the first and last classes of the day. I had gotten a day stall for Cinder because I don't trust her tied to the trailer, so at least she was able to hang out and I didn't have to worry about her. 

A came down again and schooled Cinder the day before the show

The facility was really nice with a huge indoor. There was a dressage rail set up along the perimeter of the arena, with room for people to sit and jump storage along the sides. Cinder had a couple hard spooks at the people along the rail, as well as a pile of planks, but once A got her going and started jumping she settled down. Cinder did stop at one of the fences that had these little picture frame boxes next to it. She stopped a good three or four strides out and had a bit of a tantrum about going forward when A asked. She did get over it, and in her typical fashion, acted like nothing happened when A approached it for the second time.

Uh oh, people

Cinder was fourth in the order so she had a few minutes to think and hang out in the warm up before her first round. We did have a moment of excitement when a naughty school pony jumped the dressage rail from the show ring into the warm up and almost ran into Cinder. Thankfully Cinder didn't bat an eye!

Actually people aren't that bad

 

Cinder was still a little green for the first round. Not bad, but a little looky and bulging out through the turns. But A did a really good job of just supporting her and letting her figure it out. They made it to the jump off and while A just let Cinder cruise around and made wide turns, they won the class. The second and third rounds were speed rounds, over the same course so A was able to refine the turns and their track. Cinder won the second round as well. By the third round she was totally chill and A and I briefly discussed me getting on her for it. I had brought all my stuff, but I decided to just leave A in the tack. Cinder was being so good, why change it up? And I do honestly love watching her go around so I didn't feel disappointed with not getting on.

 

spoiler alert

Unfortunately Cinder was a little too chill in the third round and pulled a rail. They were still the fastest four falter and scored fourth for their efforts. She did manage to pull off champion for the division and won a cool ribbon and a candle. She then got stuffed with cookies and put in a stall with a pile of hay while we waited for Metro to go. A had some great rounds with him and also ended up champion in the 1.20s. Go team!

They were both less than impressed with us wanting win pics

Scheduling for Two

 This is going to be a whiny, first world problems post so apologies in advance. Show season is staring to pick up here in the PNW and I've had a tentative schedule mapped out. 

And then the managers for our main local series announced today that they're changing dates. These are the USHJA Outreach shows that are normally held at the same time as our rated shows, so you get the rated show experience for a third of the price. But due to COVID regulations, and the fact that the Canadian border is closed and Thunderbird can't have their shows, a lot of people are going to be doing the Oregon rated shows this year. So show management decided to bump the Outreach shows to different weeks, and host them separately.

Peebs humoring me

I'm actually ok with the move, as far as it gives the Outreach shows more time and space. Usually the rated jumper classes go first and the Outreach jumpers have to wait to the very end of the day. But then I realized that for the first show in June, the date they bumped us to is the weekend after Cinder's second show. Trainer A's barn is doing a one day schooling horse trial and A is going to show her gelding in addition to Cinder. This will be the biggest group of students she's taken to a show, in addition to showing two horses herself and I know that in addition to grooming Cinder, I'll probably be helping to wrangle the kids.

"Just give me cookies already lady"

 

So, do I really want to spend one weekend as groom/owner on the ground, then show my own horse the following weekend, after working 40hrs during the week? There aren't any other local shows in June, so I would have to wait till July to show Peebs. Which isn't the end of the world, but I'm planning on bringing Cinder home in July and I know it'll take a bit to get into the swing of having two horses at home again. There are two local shows in July and two in August, and I'd like to do one or two of them if possible.  At least I'm not planning on showing Cinder this summer, maybe in the fall if we're ready. This scheduling shit isn't for the faint of heart!

FHF Fall Schooling Show: The Show that Wasn't

The morning of the day Peebs colicked I saw a FB even for a schooling show one of the H/J barns outside Portland was hosting. They had had one show this spring and were seeing if there was interest in having more.  For this show they had jumpers Saturday afternoon/evening, and hunter/eq all day Sunday.

They had 3 .70m classes, starting at 3pm. The entry fee were slightly higher than other shows around here, but they didn't charge a haul in fee and with a 3pm start time and our classes going first I wouldn't need a stall. So it worked out to being a fairly cheap showing opportunity for us. Once Peebs recovered from his colic episode I sent our entry in.

The facility was freaking gorgeous

A few days before the show I got an email from the show manager saying they were limited in parking, and that haul ins would have to park at the bottom of the hill, while the barn and show was at the top.  But they had some empty temp stalls, and I could use one to put Peebs in and unload my stuff and then go park. So I basically got a day stall without having to pay $65 for it. Score. And the night before the show she emailed everyone with current class counts and estimated start times for the later divisions. That's super rare for H/J shows and I thought it was super nice and helpful. A++ for show management.

Schooling the Halloween jump at A's earlier last week

This barn has a huge outdoor ring that was open for schooling, a small indoor that was being used for lunging/schooling if needed, and the big indoor which was the show ring. It was honestly one of the nicest barns I've been to in a long time and I was slightly taken aback by just how nice it was. The show ring was open for schooling prior to the start of the show so we had planned to school there before my classes. The course was set to .7-.75m when I went in and everything was built up, oxers, planks, boxes, skinnies, you name it, they had the fences decked out. They also had pumpkins at the base of all the fences painted with the fence numbers. Cue me starting to feel intimidated and like we don't belong.

I would happily take that outdoor arena home with me

They had doors on the long side of the arena, one that was being used as the in gate, and another that looked out to paddocks.  Peebs did one big spook when we walked past the paddocks the first time, then seemed to realize they were just horses and there was nothing to be scared of. Once I asked him to trot he settled more and was all business. There was a few other people schooling so my trainer lowered a skinny plank for us to warm up over. I'm not sure if Peebs didn't get his eye on it, or my slight unease trickled down to him, but he ran out the first time to it. We came back and got over it and on the third time I remembered (or my trainer yelling "other right" clued me in) that we were supposed to land and turn right in the course so we schooled that.

We then picked up a diagonal line that actually rode well, but I couldn't see the distance to the second fence for the life of me. I was starting to go fetal and lock my elbows so Peebs was shortening his stride and distance would be gone.  When I did actually sit up and let him go it was a perfect 5 strides. We tried another line and a single and I kept panicking about my distance and either pulling up or circling. It was like my brain switched off as soon as I started thinking about putting everything together.

Enjoy Peebs and Cinder sharing breakfast the morning of the show. Peebs spent a few days at A's last week

I was getting more and more worked up and finally asked my trainer if we could go take a break in the outdoor. Peebs was being a saint and didn't care about the fences, or me having a panic attack on his back, bless his heart. No one was in the outdoor so once I had walked and calmed down a bit my trainer set some tiny fences and had us work over those. She just wanted me to find a rhythm and let him go. It took a few tries, but I finally remembered how to ride and let Peebs do his job. Both Peebs and I were pretty tired and I asked my trainer if we could scratch. She agreed and said this was schooling and show, and we schooled. It doesn't matter if I didn't actually make it in the show ring, we had issues and schooled through them. Peebs probably could have gone in a done a round, but mentally I couldn't, so why push ourselves?

I walked Peebs out while my trainer went to scratch me and then we untacked and put Peebs away. Nicole stopped by as her barn is just down the street and some of her barn mates were showing. We chatted for bit before I loaded up and headed home. Did the day go as I had planned? Hell no. But my horse was a saint and took the best care of me, I didn't cry or fall off, and I was able to fix our issues in the schooling ring. I don't know what it is about jumperland that makes my brain shut off or intimidates me, but we're going to keep working at it. Show management said they're planning on 4 shows next year and we will definitely try to make it back for some of them. 

Team NW Bedrock Show August 2019: Day Two

To be perfectly honest, I woke up on day two of the show and wasn't feeling it.  I was considering scratching and just packing up and heading home.  But I rallied and told myself to longe Peebs and see what horse I had.  If he was still amped up I'd scratch, but if he seemed like his normal chill self we'd show.

Peebs played and cantered for a good long while on the longe. He doesn't buck but dolphin leaps and strikes out with his front legs. I can usually tell when he's got his crazies out and Sunday was no exception.  He finished playing, let out a snort and was back to his usual Peebs.  So I called my trainer with an estimated time of go and decided to stick it out.

I'm a bad blogger and got zero media from the show so enjoy Cinder and Scottie sharing dinner

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they actually had an interesting eq course for us.  Usually this show does the single/outside line/diagonal/outside/diagonal hunter course for their eq classes but this time they had a short turn to a diagonal fence we hadn't jumped in the other course set almost on the center line bending to an outside fence.  Exciting stuff!

When I got on to warm up Peebs felt like his normal first day at the show self.  Awake and energetic, but not spooky and he was listening to me.  We did have some issues over bending right and drifting left when we schooled over the warm up fence but I'll take that over running through my hands.  My trainer told me to let him go and ride forward, but I was still hesitant from the day before.  Our first round started off behind the pace till the fourth fence when I got myself in gear, but overall it was a decent round.  We did add a stride in the lines even though trainer told me we could have easily made it without the add, if I had let him go.

Our second round was the one with the bending line and while Peebs was behind my leg to the first fence I sat up and pushed him forward to #2 which was the start of the bending line. The line rode really well and I proud of myself for making the decision to push him forward.  I need to stop thinking that because he's short that we have to always do the add and let him flow a bit more.  He's capable of making the strides. We did have rub at the first fence in the diagonal line but I think that was Peebs just being lazy. 

There were 14 in my classes (they combined the juniors and ammys, damn them!) so we didn't place in either class. But considering the day before I was super happy with our progress. We might show in early October, or this might have been our last show for the year, but either way I'm planning on working on letting him go and getting the strides so we can hopefully be more competitive. And if we do this same show next year, and it's the same weekend as the Art and Air Festival, we're hauling up on Friday to avoid the balloon invasion!

Team NW Bedrock Show August 2019: Full of Hot Air

Every year my town hosts a weekend Art and Air festival. They have hot air balloons that take off Friday and Saturday morning and night, as well as Sunday morning. There's also booths with local artists, food, and drink plus bands.  I've seen the hot air balloons flying many times, but for the first time this year some of them landed super close to us.  Like in the field next to my barn close. My BO said in the 10yrs they've been on that property the balloons have never landed there.

My friend took this from her house, but the multicolored balloon and the red/gray one were landing next to my barn

Saturday morning I was hauling Peebs up to a show.  I got to the barn just as the balloons were starting to deflate.  Peebs had a direct line of sight to the balloons from his paddock, and he thought the alien invasion was upon us.  The BO has just fed but for the first time in his life Peeb was too upset to eat. He was standing at the back corner of his paddock with a bite of hay hanging from his mouth staring at the alien invaders. He would sporadically run circles screaming warnings to the other horses who thankfully didn't seem as worried as he was.

I had loaded the trailer Friday night so all I had to do Saturday was hook up and load Peebs, but I decided to toss a longe line in the trailer.  Normally Peebs doesn't need to be longed at shows, but with as upset as he was about the balloons I figured it was a good idea to take the longe line just in case. When we got to the show Peebs happily tucked into his breakfast and I left him alone for while to chill.  The show ended up being huge so we had plenty of time before my classes.  I did decide to longe and as we were waiting for the tractor to finish dragging the longe area a horse also waiting got loose from his kid and took a tour of the jumper warm up arena before running back to us.  He aimed directly at Peebs and I and poor Peebs shot backwards and into the fence. Seriously, not Peebs' day.

When I got on to warm up for my hunter classes Peebs was still a tense, hot mess.  We spent a long time walking around the warm up ring before trotting.  He was looking at everything, trying to find alien invaders or loose horses.  I finally just picked up the canter, got in a half seat, and let him canter it out. It kinda worked.  He was still looky, but started paying attention to me. When he gets like this there is almost no working him down, I could have longed him again for an hour and it wouldn't have made a difference.  So I popped over a warm up jump once each way and called it good.

Peebs was still looky and distracted once we were in the ring but I tried to stay zen about it.  Coming around to the first diagonal line, we had to go past the in gate and Peebs broke to the trot.  I knew kicking him back into the cater would lead to a disorganized zoomy Peebers so I decided to just trot into the line. Peebs apparently thought the aliens were hiding behind the first fence in the line and  got super wiggly and stopped.  I took a deep breath, circled and made it over on the second try.  In our second round I did a better job of anticipating where Peebs was likely to break and kept my leg on.  But our last line was down the long side towards the in gate and Peebs really wanted to be done.  He took a flyer at the first fence, started to charge down the line, and I pulley rein stopped him. I had already written off this day and I figured it was better to school my horse than worry about proper ring etiquette. We once again circled and jumped the fence fine on the second attempt.  I did make Peebs do a big courtesy circle at the end and walk quietly out of the ring.  We did place fifth and fourth in our rounds, out of five.

Originally the plan for the show was to do the hunters on Saturday as I was showing by myself and then do the jumpers Sunday when my trainer was available to school me. I called her Saturday as I was driving to the hotel and explained the day and how I wanted to scratch our jumper classes and do the eq on Sunday instead. She agreed with my new plan and we also decided that Peebs could go for another longe Sunday morning. I had felt pretty upset after my rounds Saturday, but once I had eaten dinner and talked it over with trainer I felt a lot better.  It just wasn't our day but I was happy with how I handled it and we had a plan for  Sunday.

Team NW Bedrock Show July 2019: Day Two

So day two of the show really started after my rounds on day one.  Trainer and I were back at the stall untacking Peebs when she told me she wasn't going to be able to make it up on Sunday.  Originally when I entered the show she wasn't going to make it Sunday, but then thought she would. I don't know if it was the adrenaline of being in the GP ring, or a bit of heat stress (it was in the 80s and humid for Oregon), or what but I almost immediately started internally panicking. All night I gave myself a stern talking to.  I've shown plenty of times by myself, but never over courses this complex and built up.

Sunday's jumper course

Our classes were first thing Sunday morning so after I fed Peebs I wandered down to the ring.  They were just finishing dragging and setting the course so once the tractor left we could walk.  It honestly looked like a sea of oxers and big fences even though I know it wasn't. The turn from 3 to 4 was almost a V and I spent a long time trying to figure out my plan for it. When I went back to tack Peebs up I felt slightly sick and anxious over it. Both Peebs and I were tired so I didn't do much warm up, trying to conserve our energy for the ring.  My plan was to have a good rhythm and pace and not have a death grip on his mouth.  But doing that and starting with a long approach to a single oxer wasn't easy.  I basically picked up a canter, put my hands forward, and let Peebs figure it out. Which, bless him, he tried to do but when he added a stride we ended up crashing into the fence.

Crashing into fences has always been my biggest fear. Not so much because I worry about getting hurt, but because I worry about my horses getting hurt, or their confidence getting shaken. Peebs has never stopped like that, never crashed a fence like that, and I was immediately convinced I  had ruined him. Once they rebuilt the fence we circled around and re-approached.  Only this time I panicked and pulled him away two strides out. It was a very long, sad walk back to in gate. I told the woman running the back gate that I was scratching our second round and then cried the whole walk back to the stall. I knew I needed to get back on and jump something but I had to take a breather first.

Much easier than a jumper course

Our regular hunter ring was just off the end of the row of stalls and I watched some little kids do trot pole courses.  I checked the class schedule on my phone and decided to add a couple equitation classes later in the day. I hoped being in our normal ring with a simpler course would help both Peebs and my confidence. Luckily I had brought my show garment bag and had a white shirt and hunt coat.  I didn't have my hunter show pad, but figured Peebs could rock the old school just-a-half-pad look.  Then I remembered I had Peebs' blue sparkly brow band on his bridle and didn't have a regular one. The one tack vendor at the show didn't have just brow bands so I ended up getting a whole new bridle. Which I do like better than my current one but it still sucked having to spend that money when I really didn't need it.

We redeemed ourselves

I'm pretty sure Peebs was pissed when I pulled him out again but he warmed up well and didn't seem at all phased about crashing into a jump.  It was definitely my confidence that was shaken, not his. He was very tired though. Our first eq round was really nice, except that when I asked Peebs to wait to the first fence he broke to the trot.  We managed a 4th out of 7 for that. His energy was pretty much gone for our second round and he broke twice during it and we got some ugly short spots. We got a very fair 6th out of 7. But we jumped everything without any hesitation, I actually rode and made decisions, and most importantly got my confidence back and proved to myself that I can at least do the hunters/eq sans trainer.