Eh

St Johns was okay. Bean and I were 4th of 6. So, not last. It wasn't the most enjoyable weekend for me, though I felt better when I figured out why. Bean is just not fun to event. So, I've decided I'm done competing her, though I may still do some local shows.

My event write up on Eventing Nation

I think I'm going to have to start wearing a hair net on XC. I hate my scragglies.

Synchronized

Banana and Bean synchronized

And from another moment:

And yes, Banana's bell boots are on upside down. They're for her bedsores.

Check another one off the bucket list

I have wanted to ride sidesaddle for forever. Today, thanks to our awesome favorite saddle fitter, who brought down her sidesaddles, I got to. Bean was unconcerned. When I got on though she didn't want to move off, convinced I wasn't all the way on yet :D

Finally the Flagstaff Pics

Bean, the fancy dressage horse:

Me, the horrible stirrup losing rider:

XC:

Revealing my secret freestyle

Bean and I had an excellent time at a local dressage schooling show on Saturday.

First we did Intro B:

We got 8's on four movements: both halts, our first turn, and the freewalk. Our collective marks were all 7's, except Impulsion where we got a 6. Best comment: "Elegant pair and well ridden test." 68.75%. We'll be the Year End Award winners for Intro Level.


Then I got to unveil the Secret Project I've been working on: our Dressage Queen/Dancing Queen Freestyle. Alas, I'm not posting the video because I don't want ABBA's lawyers coming after me.

It was so much freaking fun. I didn't adhere to any one level's movements so I made my own score sheet and called it "Fun Level." We got a 57%, but whatevers. We did pull it together in 6 rides. My personal favorite part was going into a canter from the first halt. The judge left us an amusing comment, "Lovely try at fun and freedom. Keep playing and dreaming girl!"

Every horse can teach you something

I've returned to riding Ellie the One-Eyed Wonder after taking off the summer. Riding her is not as fun as it once was, because I've been spoiled by the Taskmaster's horses. She's just not very well trained. She's just a basics horse: go, stop, steer. She does leg yield, but doesn't have one of her canter leads. However, because she's an Icy she does tolt and that beats out a lot of her missing training.

I ride Miss Ellie bareback for the most part. 1) I'm lazy 2) It's good for me to ride someone bareback. I have noticed in the last two weeks a big change in my riding that developed over the summer. I am absolutely balanced on her without needing to clench my legs. I just sit up perfectly vertical regardless of what she's doing underneath me, legs loose down her sides.

This week I rode Ellie Weds and Bean on Thursday. Bean and I were working on our Secret Project and I did some trot that was so collected it was almost piaffe. As I sat there, my hands up, totally balanced on Bean I realized it was exactly how I sit on Ellie when she tolts.

The moral of this story (which I was already quite aware of:) every horse can teach you something.

 Bean and I had a good, but slow, XC round. We took our time, I had decided solid round better than fast round. She gave me a crazy collected canter between fences 2 and 3 that just made me laugh. She spooked a bit every time she saw a person and did not like when we saw another horse through the trees, but she was really quite good. By about halfway through she stopped over jumping and I was able to ride proper like. I was shocked when we were approaching the last fence and there was a rope where there hadn't been when we walked the course, causing us to have to turn around, go back, and reapproach. Oh well.

Touching back on our stadium round: the Taskmaster had neglected to mention that Bean hadn't jumped a course of fences in ten years. And that she was the only one who had ever jumped her. Wish I'd known that Friday morning, as we could have schooled a stadium round and perhaps saved us the messiness of our one that counted.

All good though.

So Bean? Not going to be a long term event horse for me.

I like her, but I just don't have fun on her. We had an awesome dressage test and still only got a 41.5. For reference, that's Penny's best score. We got several 7s, enter working trot, working canter left lead, trot down center line, halt salute. Our best comments are "prompt" though my favorite is "frolicking"

Stadium.... well, I have to cut the mare some slack. We've never jumped more than one fence in a row and she did jump all the things. However, she jumps me out of the tack every freaking time and I lost my stirrup on fence 2 and never was able to regain it, so I did the rest of the course (through 8) with one stirrup. We had too slow faults, there was no way I could rock that course with one stirrup with a horse that jumps that big. The Taskmaster swears she doesn't over jump. I dunno... sure feels like it. She is 16.2 though and no matter how you look at it she's going to be a different jump than Penny.

I am really bummed about the time faults. We were in 3rd, now we're in 5th/last. I so didn't want to be last, but at least this time last will give me a pink ribbon. I've quite wanted one of those.

In other, even more horrible news, Meatball cut a foot long gash out of his leg to the bone.

XC Fun!

Bean is being ridiculous. This morning we walked over to stadium schooling with Lover Boy and his people and she piaffed the entire way. The Taskmaster told me I was under no circumstances to not allow her to piaffe if she wanted to, because she needed to express herself and that was it. Okay, except leading around a 16.2 piaffing horse? Hard on my thoracic outlet syndrome arms. My right arm was regularly high enough that it's starting to not work. This is not good.

Then I lunged her... crazy horse. Bucking, airs above the ground, running at full speed. I was starting to think the Taskmaster was nuts sending me out with her! Then I got on, and she was her normal, quiet, obedient self.

The people manning the XC schooling looked at me like I was nuts when I told them it was her first time out. First jump: stop. I wasn't shocked, she had No Idea what was going on. She jumped it from a standstill, whacking me in the mouth with her neck. Mental note: remember to wear the mouth guard. Second and third jumps she paused, but went over. By four she got it and on we went.

Not my best equitation

We got to school the water. I let her stop at the edge and put her nose down to it. She realized it was water, took a drink, and walked right in.

The next time we went in though she jumped into it with all four feet. It was hysterical.

Totally good over the rest of the fences and they let me go back and re-school the first three, which she did awesomely. So glad we did that.

Beanie and Banana

I really, really like Banana. She seeks contact and listens to your leg cues... in a nutshell, easier to ride than Penny. She's a totally cute mover too. We took it easy today, but I can totally see myself going places with her.

I also rode Bean and discovered after years of badly trained horses I suck at nice canter departs. I've got to work on those.

But! I had dreams!

It's hard when you think your friend might be done. Or, at least not up to what you'd like to do with them.

It's looking more and more like Penny was in some pain at Santa Fe. Needing her hocks done is sort of a no-brainer. Its almost been six months. The farrier was out yesterday and he said she's wearing her hind feet weird and he thinks there's something up with her back.

It's so hard with her, to figure out if she's being disobedient just because she wants to be disobedient or if she hurts. Even on the best of days she's still highly opinionated and you simply will not be making her do something she does not want to.  We've been chasing down possible pain in her for two years. She's had her poll x-rayed and ultrasounded, same with her hind legs. Nothing ever shows. We injected her hocks for the first time just to see if anything would happen: she got better, so now we're doing hocks. We had her on an NSAID for a month earlier in the summer and she was super. I could even ride her down the gravel road without shoes on. Alas, no NSAIDs for competing ponies.

I'm seriously considering retiring her from eventing. She loves the jumping parts, but she just hates dressage so much. Yes, I could compete her "for fun" but it's not much fun when she bucks during her dressage test. Also, it's a pretty expensive weekend with at least a 6 hour drive. We're always last unless other competitors get massive sj and xc faults. If there were more competitors in Area X we wouldn't have any ribbons at all.

For now, I'm taking Bean to Coconino at Pre-Comp and see what she thinks about XC. She's not a long term solution for a mount: she is 22. But, we'll do just fine and there's a good possibility we won't be last.

Dressage Show! Lots of Pictures

It has been almost ten years since I showed anyone other than Penny. I was supposed to show her yesterday at the local dressage show, but she's been off on her right hind since that day she set back. She's coming home Weds and the vet will be looking at her friday.

I was already planning on showing Meatball Intro B, so that didn't change. The Taskmaster was going to show Bean First Level, so I switched my entry on Penny to Bean. I've really only ridden her a couple of times, but while she's not an easy ride it's not because she misbehaves. she just only does what you tell her to do.

Meatball spent the night at the venue, a local boarding stable. He hasn't been off the taskmaster's property in a couple of years, so we tried to make it the least bit stressful on him we could by getting him comfy there. He was a nut while I lunged him that morning, so much so he was starting to scare me. When the Taskmaster got there I told her and she reminded me he's a nut until you get on him, then he settles. She warmed him up for me and sure enough, he settled.

Our ride... OMG, it felt awesome. I have harmony with that horse I don't have with anyone else, even Pony Toes. I knew we were trotting too slow, but I didn't care. It's the first dressage test I haven't done on fast forward (that's how Penny does them.) I was enjoying the slow balance on him. Of course, our score was low (55%) because we were not at all forward, but I could care less. It felt perfect. I came out of the ring almost crying because it was just so nice. I needed that ride desperately, to remind me that all dressage is not Penny throwing her head up, bucking when I ask for a canter, etc.

Most of the local ladies have only seen me on my pony and had no idea I could ride that nicely. Hearing their praises was awesome. The Taskmaster was very proud of us. That's her in the sparkly helmet. That's my doing. As I've told many people: I should not be left loose with glue and anything sparkly.

Meatball hugs you back if you hug him, as he's demonstrating in that last pic.

My ride on Bean didn't feel as nice as my ride on Meatball, but we got a far superior score: 72.5% on Intro B. I've only gotten a higher score once: Intro A on Penny at our first show 73.3%. I think that judge was being nice to us, though it was before our old trainer screwed her up. Bean and I got mostly 8s, including one for Rider's position, which I'm thrilled about, though I did get a comment about my overly rigid arms (big surprise there :D )  And yes, I changed my shirt. I had the dirty boob look going on and with a photographer there I decided that just wouldn't do.

It was an excellent show and I'm so glad I have horses to ride that make it a joy to ride dressage instead of an exercise in terror and embarrassment. I placed first on Bean and second on Meatball and there was another rider who got third. The Taskmaster is tickled pink by the fact that the 21 year old who is not really a dressage horse kicked the butt of the horse that came out of his mom built to do dressage.