Category Archives for Equestrian Sports

Breaking Down The Test

Photo by Tara Jelenic Photography

My mind is going more than a mile a minute right now. So many thoughts about this weekend. More thoughts than riding…but I really can’t ask Ike to give me 100% under saddle when the heat index is over a hundred. So he hides in his stall with his fan, and I mentally ride the test while pedaling the exercise bike.

Most of the movements in Fourth Level Test 1 are familiar. It will be the execution of those plus the new requirements that will determine if we can find the elusive 60th percentile.

Trot half pass, circles and shoulder in are all in our repertoire. The test designers are seriously testing your skills by placing shoulder in on centerline right after half pass and a circle. Clever people. If I can maintain control of Ike’s shoulders, we stand a chance at scoring respectably.

Canter half pass, countercanter and single flying changes are also familiar. Let us just hope that I execute my aids appropriately and someone is listening to those aids and he isn’t thinking about all the pretty mares at the show.

Now let’s chat about the “new” stuff. Those clever test writers have put the double coefficients on most of the new movements. Evil.

You start off the test cantering down centerline to a halt. If I do my part and keep Ike from falling on the forehand, we can make a good first impression. Good thing since the next movement is a beast for us.

Medium trot to sixish strides of collected trot back to medium. Hmm, if we get out of that movement with a 5.5 or a 6.0, I will be the happiest girl in the ring.

After the trot tour, we will appreciate the half circle of extended walk. Pray for us that Ike doesn’t decide to poop at this time. We lose that lovely swing in his back while he argues with me to stop and take care of business.

The double coefficient walk pirouettes are next. Hoping we can build on our recent improvement in our turn on the haunches. I am still grinning at the “correctly stepped the turns” comment from the last show.

The canter tour is next. More prayers that someone doesn’t decide he is a freight train. Half halts have no meaning when we are in train mode.

The final movements of this test will be the biggest test of our skills. Cantering a 20 meter circle? No problem. Showing six strides of very collected canter? That could be challenging. As we slow we get a little stiff and I am pretty sure that stiffness is not what the judges want to see.

Next comes the three changes on the long diagonal followed by cantering onto centerline for the final halt. It is that final turn that will be tricky. Imagine hitting the cloverleaf to exit the interstate cruising about 60 mph…

Too bad there is no score given for moves that make the judge giggle. We seem to have a knack for that.

See you on centerline!

alison

Taking Off The Training Wheels

So many times in life, we skip the questionable, more dangerous road and opt for the safe, albeit lackluster path. Why do we do this to ourselves?

Many times it is the comfort of knowing what you are going to get. Opting for the chicken option means that your digestive system will most likely not object to dinner. Ordering the beef carpaccio or tuna tartare means committing to eating raw meat. Scary it can be, but oh the party in your mouth you will get when you dare take that first bite.

How about signing up for the class with the professor who gives open book, multiple choice tests? Been there, done that, but did you really learn anything? Why didn’t you risk taking the class with a professor who asks thought provoking essay questions? Fear of failure holding you back?

Trying something new always means risking failure. “But what if I fail,” you ask, “Won’t people laugh at me?” Possibly. You might even find that you laugh at your mistakes or hiccups (like when your horse decides to poop in the middle of every single test and ruin two or three movements…) Or perhaps they will respect that you tried. Perhaps you might inspire them to take that next step towards their dream.

So, my friends, Ike and I are taking off our training wheels and removing the safety net. We are fully committed to riding our first ever Fourth Level test. It will be our only class each day at next month’s show. (I dropped our backup-in-case-I-chicken-out Third Level class tonight.) Good, bad, or ugly, we will give it a go. The butterflies are already starting to flutter.

Here’s to taking that scary first step towards our silver medal.

alison

Happy Gotcha Day Ike!

At approximately 8:00 a.m. seven years ago today, big man arrived in Virginia. Traditionally, the seventh anniversary gift is something made of copper. Hmm, I can think of nothing that Ike would appreciate that would be made of copper. I suppose that I could pay his board in pennies, but something tells me that neither Ms. C nor the bank would appreciate that gesture.

Ike almost celebrated his arrival with stall rest. He decided to run laps in his field when a couple of the ponies got fired up as a thunderstorm rumbled closer. He got a little off balance rounding the corner and lost his hind end. Whomp! Ms. C said he then showed off his sliding technique and ended up with his legs under the fence. Thankfully he did not panic. She said he used his ability to sit like a dog to extricate himself. He is missing some hair on his lower legs and had some minor swelling, but mercifully no lameness. He did not seem to appreciate my admonition of his antics.

Instead, we will be celebrating his anniversary with a lesson to finish preparations for our next trip down centerline. We are sticking with Third Level next weekend, but our sights are set on Fourth Level in September. I still marvel that the horse who had difficulty cantering a straight line as a three-year-old is prepping for Fourth. Somehow, despite my lack of coordination, Ike’s lack of fancy pedigree and a huge dollop of self doubt, we have slowly worked our way out of the lower levels.

The year to come promises to be a fun one. Poor Ms. C has to somehow teach the girl who almost twisted her ankle while standing still (there were witnesses in case you are wondering) how to do tempi changes. I wonder if there is a dressage trainer support group where they commiserate about their frustrations? “Hi, my name is Ms. C, and it has been 382 days that I have had to repeat the same comment to one client. When will she learn?!”

Here’s to slow progress forward,

alison

Coach McGinty Was Right – You Need Heart

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In the 2000 movie The Replacements, one of the final scenes is a sports reporter asking Coach Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) what the team needs to win the pivotal game. “We need heart.” The reporter asked again, and he repeated as he tapped his chest, “Heart, we need heart.”

I realized today as Ike and I got back to work after my vacation and some weather delays, that while he may not have the most brilliant gaits, what he does have a heart of gold. He tries to understand all my requests as feeble as they may be. After almost two weeks off, he gave me three clean changes on the long diagonal. We tried the trot tours for Third 3 and Fourth 1 with relative success. I smiled with glee at the straight lines and round circles in the freshly dragged ring. We moved through our paces as if we’d had no time off.

It is a shame that there is no score for heart because I would give Ike a 10 every time.

alison

The Face

So we just returned from a week of relaxation at the Outer Banks digging our toes into the sand with a cold drink in hand. On the day we arrived home, I headed out to check in on the big boys after just an hour spent unpacking and loving on the dogs who were overjoyed to see us.

In contrast to the exuberant greetings from the dogs, this is the face Ike gave me:

I surmise based on the faces Ike was making that he was either displeased at my absence or bothered by the fact that he received no souvenir from my travels. The week old carrot obviously was not enough to appease his majesty.

Thankfully his mood improved today, especially after I scratched his neck and withers for 15 minutes.

In other news, we are entered in a one day dressage show in mid-August. Time to focus on the white-fenced sandbox to earn our final scores for the USDF All-Breed Awards. If only someone would decide to host a dressage show at the oceanfront, we could combine the best of both worlds…

alison

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to guess what Ike’s weight is. Ike says he is glad that we did this now instead of when he comes out of winter with a little something extra around the middle. Guesses ranged from a svelte 1,211 pounds up to a full ton. My joints are extremely grateful that Ike does not top the scales anywhere close to 2,000 pounds. In total, we had 32 guesses.

And…without further ado…

The…

Winner…

Is…

Karen Siebert!

Her guess of 1,330 pounds was only 5 pounds away from his weight of 1,335 pounds.

Congratulations! I will be in touch so you can pick your prize.

alison

Squirrel!

Sadly, I have never outgrown the crazy horse girl phase even as I close in on my “vintage” years. I still have my original hobby horse from when I was a youngster. It was taller than I was for many years, but it was still my only horse until I was 37 years old. And, before you ask, I stopped riding him well before I was out of my early elementary school years.

My first horse. I seem to have an affinity for the brown ones.

I am that person who will call out, “Horse!” every time I see one in a field while driving. It is like breathing – involuntary and necessary. I smile when I see a truck and trailer headed down the road. There is a magnetic force that pulls my car into the parking lot of any tack store I find. Once inside, I am the kid in the candy store, deliberately stifling my excited squeals as I puruse the newest breeches and riding shirts. Put a horse in an advertisement and I will stop flipping channels.

In the office I am known as “the horse lady.” I am known for other things as well, but those things need not be shared here…my coworkers have (unfortunately) been indoctrinated into horse life. Sadly, no one wants to come to the barn on sheath cleaning day. Thankfully I have a very understanding supervisor who allows me to maintain my equine lifestyle even if he doesn’t fully understand the mystique.

In our neighborhood, I’ve also got the moniker of horse person. One lady saw my license plate with the horse head on the back of my car, and a few days later stopped by with a saddle rack and some horse decor. She used to own horses, no longer does, and so she thought I would like the items. The wreath she gave me now hangs in the front porch.

My dogs have squirrels; I have horses. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

alison

P.S. Don’t forget to get your guess in for Ike’s weight. Contest closes on Wednesday, July 11th.

Carnival Game Time

“Does this angle make my nose look big?”

If you have followed us for any amount of time, you have probably heard me call Ike various nicknames: Big Boy, Baby Huey, The Jolly Green Giant (while wearing his green winter blanket), or Blue Whale (while wearing his blue blanket).

Well now we know precisely what he weighs thanks to the scale at the clinic in Marshall…so, let’s do a contest to see who can guess his weight.

Contest Rules

  1. One entry per person.
  2. Enter by posting your guess (weight in pounds) in the blog comments, on Facebook in the comments for this post, or on Twitter by replying to the tweet.
  3. Winner will be the closest guess without going over.
  4. If more than one person has the right weight, the person who posted it first will win.
  5. Contest will run July 7, 2018 through July 11, 2018.
  6. Winner will be announced July 12, 2018.

Winner will have their choice of either a $10 Starbucks gift card or a $10 Dover Saddlery gift certificate.

Good luck!

So you want to go on vacation…what about the animals!!?

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It is July which means that summer is in full swing and most likely, the majority of us will be headed somewhere for vacation. But, before you put that final bag in the car and start the engine, have you made adequate plans for your furry family members? Two very unfortunate incidents (one to my brother and one to a friend) have put in stark focus the need to have plans in place for your pets. Here are things that we do before heading out of town. Please feel free to share your to-do list tips so that all of our pets have a safe vacation.

  1. Make sure you leave your contact information for your animal’s caretaker. We leave multiple cell numbers so that at least one person will have their phone on them and is reachable if an emergency should arise. We also leave the address and phone number of where we will be staying.
  2. Give your vet’s contact information to the barn manager, kennel staff or pet sitter. You should also consider noting where the closest emergency clinic is located.
  3. Let your vet(s) know you will be out of town. We call and tell them who is caring for our pets and who can make critical decisions if we can’t be reached. Yes, this is terrible to think about, but better you have it thought out rather than your animal suffer in your absence.
  4. I also work out payment options with our vets so the pet sitter does not have to worry about the cost. Some will let you pay when you return; others just keep our credit card information on file.
  5. Check the supply of critical medications and make sure you leave instructions for how to administer them. Don’t leave your pet sitter wondering what to do when your dog chews a raw spot due to his/her allergies.
  6. Is there enough pet food and supplements on hand to last through your vacation? Clear feeding instructions should also be left. If you have a pet that is a picky eater or who decides to have random hunger strikes (I speak from experience here), you should share that info so there is no undo worry for the sitter.
  7. Does your pet panic with storms or fireworks? Share with your sitter what can be done – wearing a Thundershirt, anxiety treats, happy drugs or what ever works for your animal.
  8. We have one dog who has to be kept separate from the others for behavioral reasons, so we leave clear instructions on how to manage him. Do you have an escape artist who likes to slip out the front door? Does your dog eat things they shouldn’t? Share any of those quirks with the sitter!
  9. Does your horse have shoes? Let the barn manager know who your farrier is in case your horse decides to play hide-the-shoe in his/her paddock.
  10. Make sure your fly spray supply is adequate. The green headed flies are out in force this year and the dive bomber horse flies are also lurking.

A little planning goes a long way for a restful vacation. Don’t forget to pack the camera and enjoy the journey!

alison