The End is Near!

Finally, after a very, very long run of very, very cold temperatures... we're going to have a full week with highs above 30 degrees! I'm completely ecstatic to get back on Val tomorrow and start up with dressage again. I feel like shouting huzzah and dancing around in the streets, I'm so happy!

We should get in a solid week of work on our dressage, and then we'll probably have a lesson on Saturday. For the first ride back, I want to keep it simple and just work on our basics, making sure that we have forward and that he's really connected to the bit.

And you know, I did have plans to go on a snowy trail ride, but I couldn't get out when the snow was still fresh and fluffy. It was so deep by the time we came back from visiting family and there was a crust on the top, so our wonderful snow-trail ride plans were put on the back-burner. We'll have to hold on to hope for a nice, light, 3" of snow that we can go exploring in.

Upper-level Dressage and Event Riders Without Helmets

This is something that's been bothering me for a long time. It's my personal decision to wear a helmet every time, every ride. I've been on a horse without one once, for 10 minutes, because my trainer insisted I get on and feel the changes she'd made to my horse. It was almost a year ago, and I honestly think that today I would run and get my helmet before getting on. I doubt 2 minutes would really make that much of a difference. I remember the shame I felt when one of the boarders at my barn walked by and saw me; I was completely mortified and it spoiled any enjoyment I might have gotten from my horse, who did feel amazing: light, up, and forward. So, wearing a helmet is very important to me.

It doesn't bother me (much) when others around me choose not to. I feel it's irresponsible and a foolish risk, but I keep those feelings to myself, because everyone has a right to make that choice. My barn has only a few weird eventers like my trainer and I, and even she doesn't always wear a helmet.

One thing I love about eventing is that most of us are truly horse people who love having a partnership with the horse and enjoy spending the time to make sure our horses are properly cared for. For the most part, that respect and concern for our horses causes us in turn to respect and care for our bodies the best we can. Helmets are required in all three phases, except in upper-level dressage. Safety vests are required for cross country, and we have to wear our medical armband for both stadium and cross country. Helmets are actually required to be worn by anyone mounted on the event grounds.

I realize I'm making some generalizations about eventers, and I also realize that there are people who care about their horses and their own welfare just as deeply as some eventers do. My point is that, while I know it can't be said that all upper-level eventers are of the "every time, every ride" school of thought regarding helmets, I'm willing to bet there are quite a few who are. And if this is true...

Why don't they wear helmets during the dressage phase? If they care enough to ride with one every single time they're on a horse, why don't they do it during one of the competition phases? It seems incredible to me that anyone could set aside such a conviction for wearing helmets for one ride. It just seems that it sends the wrong kind of message to people who look up to them: "Once you get our level, you don't have to wear a helmet on the flat anymore." I also don't think that's the attitude that every single eventer has!

There has to be at least one upper-level rider who cares enough to wear a helmet 100% of the time. Why don't they wear a helmet during dressage? If someone like Karen O'Connor or Philip Dutton showed up wearing a helmet to a dressage test during a 4*, I'm sure people wouldn't stop talking about it for a long time, but they wouldn't be eliminated. EV114 in the 2009 rule book states that a top hat should be worn if tails are worn, but it also says that "protective headgear" may be worn without penalty. I don't know if that means they couldn't wear a shad belly, but either way, it's possible to do!

If there is one 4* eventer out their who believes helmets are to be worn every ride, why don't they wear them during the dressage phase? How could they worry so much about image or be so caught up in the status-symbol of wearing a shad belly and top hat that they put aside their beliefs a couple times a year? I just don't understand that frame of mind.

Also, no one wears helmets for Grand Prix dressage! Why? Sure, by the time you make it to the upper levels of these sports, you're probably not going to fall off if your horse spooks. Still, it's possible. What if your horse trips and falls? What if the judge's stand is blown down by a freak gust of wind and scares the bejeesus out of your horse?

I understand it will never be mandatory at that level, and I do think people at that level should have a choice about weather or not they were a helmet. They do have that choice, though, and no one does.

I would love to know why. And I would be really pleased to find out that I'm wrong and someone already does! Can anyone offer insight as to why no upper-level event or dressage riders wear helmets?

Redesign!

Well, I hadn't messed around in photoshop in forever and I was getting bored with the current layout so, ta-daa!

A product of snow boredom, but I think it's kind of pretty :) School has been canceled for the rest of the week! And although it is kind of nice, I'm getting bored. It'll be over all too soon, though, and then I'll be wishing we were out of school again! Although the way this winter's shaping up, I think we'll have at least a few more snow days.

I went out to take care of the boy and he was very happy to see me. He's definitely bored- he played with the fork while I was cleaning his stall, and when I blew on his nose, he raised it up and nuzzled me very gently in the face. His breath whoofed out and fogged my glasses, but it was pretty sweet. Very un-Val-like behavior, though. He's going crazy too!

Reminiscing...

Since I'm cooped up inside for the next few days, I thought I'd blog about one of our shows from last season: the Mill Creek Pony Club H.T.

The MCPC H.T. is held at Longview Horse Park, which is barely 30 minutes away. We get the opportunity to school there at least twice a year, and they also have combined tests from time to time. It's a beautiful facility, and it really kind of feels like it's our "home" show, more so than Heritage Park.

When I did my first BN there, I had high expectations. I'd ridden there a lot, and I'd schooled the entire BN XC course twice! Our dressage was going well, our jumping was going well... I wanted to win and I felt like we had the capabilities to pull it off. Of course, that didn't exactly pan out.

Dressage didn't go so well. We ended up with a 37.9, and it was just a rushed, blah kind of test. That score pretty much put us out of the running, but I still had hopes to finish well. XC and stadium can really change things up sometimes.

We went off to XC confident and assured. From the very first jump, Val was fantastic. It was the first time I ever felt him "lock on" to the jumps and really take me to them. We went through a whole 2/3 of the course foot perfect before we were flagged down and told we were eliminated.

To make a long story short, we had jumped the identical novice-sized fence that was right next to our beginner novice fence early on in the course; it had taken them that long to relay ahead and catch us! We successfully negotiated the ditch to up-bank combo, which made me pretty proud, as Val had only seen a ditch once before.

Anyhow, I can't even really explain how disappointed I was. One stupid mistake and it was all over! I really wanted to ride the next day, though, and my trainer pointed out that I could probably get a courtesy ride, since it was just a technical elimination.

I went up to the grounds jury, who immediately agreed to let me ride the next day. We had one of our best stadium rounds to date, except the one at the AECs! That show really taught me a lot, and even though we were eliminated, I still had a good time. I can't wait to go there again this year; I really think we'll do better this time.

I think this is pretty much the line up for the year:

May 15-16 Mill Creek Pony Club H.T. at Longview
Jun 12-13 Queeny Park H.T.
Jul 17-18 Heritage Park H.T.
Jul 24-25 Briar Fox Farm Summer H.T.

None of those are over 3 hours away! There was also talk of doing one out of town show; maybe heading back to Lamplight for either Wayne DuPage or Maui Jim, or possibly doing Champagne Run again. My trainer also mentioned a desire to see the Colorado Horse Park, and that falls on Queeny Park's dates, so it's all very up in the air. I'm getting very antsy being cooped up inside. This season is going to be so much fun! :)

Insanity

I honest to goodness feel like I'm being driven a little crazy. We have had some ridiculously cold weather here- the highs have been below twenty for a very long time now, and the temperatures have been too cold to ride. We've had well over 8" of snow and there are some drifts out at the barn that are at least 18"-24" tall! Even if the temperature does poke its nose above 20, the windchill gladly brings it back down to ridiculous.

The poor horses are going stir-crazy locked in their stalls, and I'm going crazy from being home from school for the past forever without the ability to ride! I love snow, but it's keeping me from the one activity I truly love to do.

To top it off, I keep day-dreaming about going to an event and doing cross country again. I can't get the idea of galloping out of that start box, cool, calm, and assured, out of my head. I can't wait until that moment. I hate that my last cross country round was so terrible, and I just feel like I need to get out there and rectify that.

So, I'm going crazy all around. Just for a weather update, if you're curious:
We're getting another 4-6" of snow tonight. The temperature tomorrow will be around 22. It'll be below 10 on Thursday with a low of -15 and the HIGH will be 0 on Friday, with a low of -12. The wind chill on Friday? -35 degrees! I don't even think I can comprehend how that is going to feel. Luckily, that's shavings day, so I'll have plenty of time traipsing around the barn to truly grasp it.

When the moisture in your nostrils freezes and you're reluctant to breathe in the air, you know it's cold.

Rant over. On the plus side, it might be above freezing on Sunday! All the snow might melt, and I might finally be able to ride again. Fingers crossed!

I am incredibly envious of anyone that's able to ride right now. Enjoy it, you lucky ducks! :)

2009 Reflections and 2010 Goals

2009 was an incredible year. We went to 5 different events and qualified for the AECs our very first year at beginner novice. Our lowest dressage score at an event to date is a 33.7, which we achieved at Briar Fox, also the event where we got our best placing to date: 3rd! Although we placed abysmally at the AECs, it was a fantastic experience and my riding was anything but abysmal that weekend. Overall, it was a wild, fantastic ride. My only goal was going to the AECs, and I am beyond glad that we accomplished that. We were so ready for that show, and my only regrets are about our cross country round. I would love to have a second chance at that course. Since that's not a possibility, I'll just have to go again next year! :)

So, for 2010, our goals are:

Complete our first novice

Get rid of my dressage nerves

Get our very first 1st place win at a horse trial

Start doing real conditioning with Val

Fine-tune jumping/galloping positions

Do First Level Test I at a recognized dressage show

Do all the "scary" jumps- size appropriate trakehners, ditches, ditch and brush; bigger downbanks...

Have a tri-fecta show- do the best we can do in all three phases!

And, maybe, go to the AECs?

I'm really unsure about that last one. The AEC course for beginner novice was definitely a challenge- max height, interesting jump combos, interesting turns, a technically illegal mini-coffin... but, fortunately, we were ready. The novice course there was definitely something I would not have been able to do. I don't know if we'll have enough experience at novice and be comfortable enough at that level to go to a championship-level show this year. Heck, we might not even be able to qualify! So, I have no idea what will happen. My main goal for this year is to get everything to come together- I want to have at least one show were we do the best we can do in all three phases. I'm more concerned about that than anything else.

So, happy 2010, everyone!

New Years Revolutions

2010 is just 3 days away. Looking back, it's great to see how far we've come as a pair, but what's almost more amazing is how far Val has come in his training.

At the beginning of this year, Val had just your basic training- he was good walk, trot, canter, could jump simple courses, could round up most of the time, and had some adjustability of stride. He could do okay leg-yields and shoulder-ins. He was hardly ever hot and he was the type of horse you had to push for every stride, unless he was on cross country.

Change was gradual the first four months or so of the year and gradually built up to the last month's crescendo. Although I (unfortunately) haven't been blogging about it, we've gone through some radical adjustments to Val's training.

The first lesson with some really "new" stuff in it was maybe a month and a half ago. We worked on lengthening and collecting the canter and the beginnings of his working, collected, and extended canter. Pinching knees are starting to mean, "collect!" and a slightly driving seat combined with light leg aids, "lengthen!" Val's becoming fine-tuned! The change just in the last month has been incredible.

With our move up to Novice probable sometime this show season, there's one big weakness we needed to explore and fix- Val's sluggishness. About a month ago, we had a lesson that focused on what I like to call Val's "rocket launcher." We were essentially teaching him to go from 0 to 60 as fast and balanced as possible. He's great at it- he really uses his hind end and comes up in front. But even more amazing to me, he maintains the speed. My sluggish Val has finally found his motor!

At BN, the fences are small (no more than 2'7") and the optimum times are pretty generous. Most horses can easily make the XC and show jumping times. Novice is a speed increase of 50-100 mpm, up to 350-400 mpm cross-country. It becomes even more important that the horse have drive and impulsion from the hind end. Although we've only had time penalties because of refusals and other difficulties (more to come on that later!), and only at two competitions, we've mostly been closer to the slow side. I definitely think we can make novice time XC now.

Our biggest speed problem has always been in showjumping, though. Even though we've only gotten time penalties twice during showjumping, we were still prone to crawling around our courses last year. When you consider that the slower we go, the more my position deteriorates, it's a big problem. You can't have a nice jump without impulsion, which we were lacking in most if not all of our showjumping rounds last year. So, that's probably where our new-found speed will help the most!

We've been practicing stadium jumping at faster speeds. Going back to the rocket launcher metaphor, I like to imagine that I'm aiming a missile at the jump. I lock him on, and then we go; no sluggish oozing over fences.

One of the most interesting lessons we had lately involved a fake Weldon's Wall-like jump. There was maybe a 2' wide fake ditch (created with the use of a handy sheet) in front of a 2'9" vertical, and we were expected to jump it the first time as a part of a combination. After it, there was one stride to an oxer of similar height, then two strides to a skinny vertical. This quadrupled the difficulty- in order to get the two strides to the skinny, Val would need a forward-reaching, fairly fast stride from the very first fence.

I'm not too ashamed to mention I was feeling very nervous of that fake Wall. Whenever I'm nervous about whether or not Val will jump a fence, my first instinct is to get a nice, collected, fairly slow canter. Sure, it probably doesn't have the impulsion it needs to make jumping whatever it is easy, but that kind of canter also doesn't have the impulsion to launch me off my horse if he stops! I'd rather knock it down the first time then get dumped on top of it at speed. Not really a good idea if you're cross-country, though, and a dangerous frame of mind to be in at all. Our instructions were to jump it like a cross-country fence and get the striding right the first time.

So, we went right to it- Val's "new canter" has a totally different feel, and although I was nervous, I could still tell that he wasn't. He hardly even blinked at the strange-looking fence, and we got over that and the oxer just fine. We got over the skinny, but we took three strides in between. We continued to do the line over and over again, but eventually both Val and I were tired and we still hadn't gotten the 2 strides. My trainer jumped on and got 2 strides the first time: the current hypothesis is that I'm landing slightly too early after the jumps and nicking him in the back, making him reluctant to step out like he needed to to get the distance. We've started work on that, but we haven't yet tried to get a two stride again.


Despite that minor failure of the day, it was still an amazing lesson and I got to really feel a forward horse. He was happy to be going at a good clip and happy to be jumping, and I was happy to not have to constantly nag at him with my leg.

That lesson started Valerius' personal revolution. He's become a completely different horse in the past month; his dressage has improved exponentially from the added impulsion. I'm able to apply my aids much more selectively when I don't constantly need to nagnagnag for more, smoothing out the communication between us.

We've started serious work on haunches in and out, as well as shoulder in and out. The half-pass has even been experimented with at the walk, and it's all looking good! I now understand the idea of riding forward to the bit a lot better and our connection is better for it, although he was getting really fussy about taking contact for a few days. That's been mostly resolved. I love his new-found responsiveness more than anything; I can't even explain how incredible it is that he's changed so quickly.

While Valerius has mostly finished his impulsion revolution, I'm just beginning a fitness one. My general lack of fitness is just not acceptable anymore; I can't demand fighting fitness of my horse and not of myself. Fitness has always been an off-and-on battle with me. Although it's probably the most important thing I could do for my riding, I've never really devoted myself to it for more than a month at a time. This is the end of the road for that; I've made a fitness pledge to myself and my horse for the very last time. This time it will be fulfilled.

See you in 2010!