Tag Archives for Eisenhower

Midseason Show Reflections

Ike checking out the show barn.

Ike checking out the show barn.

Ike and I just survived our third licensed show of the year.  Three down, three to go.  Overall, I am thrilled with how our season is progressing, but as always, the perfectionist in me wants more.  But that must be tempered with reality.  Horses and showing are my hobby not my vocation.  I need to stop comparing my skills and performance against those who do it for a living.  I ride one horse four or five times a week.  I have a full time job, a house to maintain, a husband, dogs, family and friends.  I have (shockingly) other hobbies.  I also fight middle age aches and pains and fight my body when I ride.  Why won’t my body do what I want it to do??  In spite of my issues, Ike continues to learn and progress – a testament to his rideability and good nature.  It makes me realize that I did chose the right horse four years ago.

“You’ve come a long way baby.”

In fact, it was four years ago yesterday that Ike first stepped foot on Virginia soil and then promptly on my foot.

My first photo with Ike when we met in Florida.

My first photo with Ike when we met in Florida.

Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday when I first threw my leg over his back.  But then I look back at photos and video from those early rides and realize that we have made progress.  He has grown 5 inches at the withers (yes, that is the correct number) and put on a few hundred pounds of muscle.  Ten meter canter circles are now a reality.  Ike can now ride a straight line instead of looking like a worm wriggling down centerline.  I can actually execute a half halt and he knows what it means…even if he doesn’t always respond.

We are still in the early, formative years of our dressage education.  The work we do now will determine how far we can go in the future.  There is still much work to do with building strength and stamina in our collected work.  Comments from this past weekend’s tests tell us that we need to improve our lengthenings and medium gaits.  “Show more change.”  I thought we were?  “Out behind” was written more than once.  We will fight that forever based on Ike’s conformation, but I need to help him use his body better.  Time and patience.  I am not a very good grasshopper.

“You win some, you lose some.”

We came home with one blue and two red ribbons.  Even more importantly, we had our best score ever at First Level Test 3 at a licensed show, and cleared 60% at our first attempt at Second Level Test 2.  I think my favorite comment on my Second Level test was “Good effort.  Keep working on developing the gaits for more expression.”  It was nice to know that the judge acknowledged that we were trying our hardest to show her our best.  In all our tests, our best scores came from our lateral work.  I was tickled to get such solid scores on our shoulder in and travers!  Our collected trot still needs more oomph, our collected canter needs more jump, our medium gaits need more of everything, and our canter-to-walk transitions are then only part that needs less (trot steps that is).  Our turn on the haunches?  Let’s just say that our scores were better than the Fix-a-Test, but that there is still A LOT of work to be done.  If you really need to know the blow by blow of my tests, the show’s website now allows you to see the individual movement scores.  Talk about TMI – no secrets anymore.

Our canter work in First 3 also got good marks from the judge; what a difference a year makes since it was at this show last year that I had my melt down about our inability to ride the canter loops.  It gives me hope that we can head to the GAIGs in October and stand a chance at making a good impression at the regional finals.

“Know when to fold them.”

And, yes, there was to be another Second Level test on Sunday, but I decided that there wasn’t going to be enough juice from either of us to put forth our best effort.  Why put ourselves through the agony of a bad ride?  And after seeing my scores and comments from the day before, I knew there were not going to be any miracles 24 hours later.  So it was best to pack up and let Ike go home for a peaceful afternoon in his paddock.

The other significant take away from my Saturday ride was that we are definitely not ready for Second Level Test 3.  I had optimistically signed up for Test 3 at the 2 one-day shows in September thinking that I’d miraculously get my qualifying scores and ride in the Second Level championships as well.  Of all the voices in my head, the realist finally screamed the loudest and said, “rethink this nonsense!!!”  Sigh, I did.  We changed our classes to the First 3 test.  We will still try Second 1 and 2, but we will save test 3 for a later date when we both are a bit more confident in our collected work.  I can hear Master Po saying, “More patience grasshopper” so many times that he is forced into early retirement because he has gone mad.

Enjoy the final weeks of summer my friends!

alison

Bobbing for Apples

So I thought I would be clever and put some apple pieces in the water trough that Ike and Cigar share.  I figured they might find it fun to bob for a treat.  I. Was. Wrong.  Cigar gave me a look that basically said, “WTF?!  Why must you torture us with these stupid antics?”  Needless to say that while he watched Ike bob for the pieces, he refused to give it a go.  Ike was game and kept trying to grab the pieces.  After a few futile efforts, he turned to me with a mouthful of water and nudged my arm.  Okay I get it.  So I fished every apple piece out of the water and gave it to the boys.  I’m pretty sure that Cigar had a smug look going under his fly mask.  #equestrianfail

Duct Tape, Diapers, and Epsom Salt

That is an odd looking shoe on that right front hoof...

That is an odd looking shoe on that right front hoof…

So all my equine loving friends probably already know what I am about to tell you based on the title of this post…for everyone else, we believe that Ike is getting ready to blow an abscess.  Fingers are crossed that things resolve quickly and we will be back to work sooner rather than later.

Why do we think that this is the cause?  For my past 4 rides, Ike has been a bit of a pill.  There was no head bobbing until yesterday, but he had been unsteady in his contact and blowing through my aids for down transitions.  The theory is that his right front hoof has been sore and the disobedience was his way of letting me know that something wasn’t right.

Since I thought he was just being difficult, I scheduled a lesson for yesterday afternoon so Ms. C could help me…well, as soon as I picked up the trot, we knew that something was very, very wrong.  Head-bobbing lameness that was worse tracking to the right.  I hopped off and we put Ike on the lunge line.  Ugh!  Not pretty.  Thankfully, Mr. D was home and he was willing to test the hoof.  Ike was reactive to the hoof testers but it was not horrible.  We tried pulling a nail or two to see if there was a bad one, but in the end, the shoe came off and the soaking bucket came out.

Big man was fairly cooperative for the hoof soaking.  While the hoof was soaking, I fashioned is temporary bootie to protect the shoeless hoof.  The sole of the bootie was multiple layers of duct tape and a diaper became the bootie.  If diaper companies only knew what equestrians did with their diapers, they would totally reform their marketing strategies!  It is at this point I wish I was an octopus in order to have enough hands to hold my horse, hold up the hoof, place the diaper and duct tape sole, and then wrap the entire bootie with more duct tape.  I felt confident that it was secure and would last until morning…ha!

About 6:30 p.m. last night I received a message from Ms. C that a certain horse decided to whoop it up in his paddock.  He ran and bucked like a bronco.  Hmm, I guess the combo of shoe removal and Bute administration made someone feel better.  Sadly, the bootie was a casualty of the melee.  Better the bootie than my horse’s hoof.

Ike was in good spirits this morning.  Soaking was easy since he was busy eating his breakfast.  I constructed his new bootie and left him peacefully eating hay with the admonition that he was to behave until I returned after work to evaluate his status.  Someone was happily grazing when I returned.

Good News #1 – the bootie survived intact and was still in place on Ike’s hoof.

Good News #2 – Ike looked almost 90% sound at the trot when we lunged him.  The other 10% we blame on my makeshift shoe…I would run funny too if I was missing a shoe or had a diaper wrapped around my foot.

So, that begs the question, “was it the start of an abscess or a wonky nail or two that was causing the problem?”  Decided to still soak the hoof and fashion another bootie.  If Ike looks sound in the morning, the shoe will go back on as soon as possible.  If he is worse, then we will formulate a new plan.

Thankfully we have no shows scheduled until August, so if we had to have some down time, this was as good as any.

Fingers crossed that we are back to work by Thursday or Friday.

#equestrianproblems

Photo by S. Atkinson

Photo by S. Atkinson

It is all about the hashtag these days.  #this, #that, #andtheother.  If you are past a certain age like me, you still occasionally call it a pound sign…and get odd looks from the younger generation.  It was only last year that I dipped my toes into the Twitter pool.  I must admit that I am still not an effective tweeter, and properly hashtagging and tagging fellow Twitter users is not my forte.  The other challenging twist to Twitter is that you only get 140 characters in which to make your point, so it forces you to really think about your sentence structure and word usage – no superfluous words allowed.

My tweets are usually confined to my thoughts about horse ownership and barn life.  In case you are not on Twitter (if you are, you can find me at @wholovesike), here are some of my random thoughts that fall into the category of #equestrianproblems.

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Horse hair is: a fashion statement, a condiment, a home accessory, or all of the above?

Drug chemistry is a good thing…banamine to the rescue again.

Leaving your horse’s uneaten Stud Muffin in your pocket means you will be cleaning lots of little crumbs from the dryer.

60 minute lesson of mostly sitting trot =1440 minutes of soreness.

Alison+Ike=5 Horseflies=0 – why does it feel like we are still losing the Battle of the Flies?

Hot,humid weather+rubber reins+sweaty hands – riding gloves =loose reins+ pathetic half halts.

% $#% Apparently, my white show breeches decided to become pale blue in the washing machine.

Bleach removed the blue tint from my white breeches, but left behind a dingy yellow tint. Definitely .

That moment during your lesson when it feels like your graduate work oral exams when you don’t know the answer.

To wash my horse’s laundry with mine or do a separate load? That is the question.

That moment you realize your horse is going to bite the farrier before you can intervene.

Picking frozen mud out of my horse’s hooves is like chipping a concrete block with a butter knife.

Dressed warmly enough to handle the cold temperature at the barn, but I looked like Ralphie’s little brother in .

I don’t recommend driving with spurs still strapped to your boots.

Finding a shriveled carrot in the washing machine 2 loads later…

Yes I wore my fleece-lined winter riding breeches to walk my dogs. No I don’t care what people thought…I was warm!

Ending up dirtier than your by the time you are done currying and brushing off the crust of mud.

Leaving dirty barn rags in your new car=no more new car smell.

The realization that you are the one holding back your horse’s progress.

With the volume of hair in my car, it makes me think my have been taking my car for joy rides while I sleep.

Hearing from your barn that your removed the hot wire and fence between them so they could play…

Wiping your face with a towel then realizing you already used it to wipe dirt from your horse’s nostrils…

Forget the pumice stone, my feet need a hoof rasp to be sandal-ready.

When you horse is so tall you don’t see the dirt on his topline until you are mounted.

Paid my horse’s chiropractic bill yesterday so that he could act like a bucking bronco today.

Today’s lesson was all about the shoulders. Why must my have such massive ones that like to be bullies?

Watch out SI swimsuit models, I have my first tan lines of the year.

Going from First Level to Second Level is like jumping from elementary school to graduate school in a single bound.

When your trainer gets on your and says “We have work to do.”

My braiding skills leave much to be desired. My poor looks like a beauty school reject.

Thinking your white saddle pad is still white until you get a new one.

I think I blinded my husband with my pale legs…

Finding your underwear stuck to the Velcro of a polo wrap…after you get to the barn.

Why is breathing the first thing I forget to do when riding my test?

The trailer always looks like a crime scene after a show.

So desperate to ride that I rode in the rain until I could no longer see clearly through my glasses.

Putting on your riding helmet when it is still wet from your sweaty ride the day before…

Phew, offended myself when I wiped away the sweat on my face with my gloved hands…time to wash the gloves I suppose.

I need to set aside my perfectionist, OCD tendencies and be okay with being a “beginner” with my dressage work.

Feeling a Little OOC

Ike

The abbreviation OOC brings back memories of my laboratory days spent mixing chemicals, using acetylene flames and playing with really cool instrumentation.  All laboratory work done for regulatory purposes requires a lot of quality control in order to certify the results as true and accurate.  Of course, things don’t always come out as planned, and when you just cannot figure out why things went awry, those analyses were noted with the term “OOC” – Out of Control.  Basically, it means that you have no freaking idea why the analysis went south.

Ike and I sweated through our first lesson since last weekend’s show.  Ms. C and I spent some time discussing my Second Level rides and how we can improve upon those scores.  Mind you, we were both very pleased with last weekend since we hit our goal of getting in the 60th percentile with both my Second Level rides (64.242% and 61.212%), but now we need to refine the work and boost those scores a few more percentage points.  She was there to see my rides, so she can definitively tell me what we need more of – more jump in our canter, more oomph and engagement in our collected trot work, more of everything in our medium trot and canter work, more shoulder freedom in our shoulder ins, and less tension in my body.  That isn’t too much to ask now is it?

So yesterday’s lesson was about finding the latent gears in Ike’s trot work.  Ms. C kindly let me work in rising trot or I don’t think there would have been anyway we could have accomplished anything.  We started in a solid working trot.  Once we were stable there, I asked for a little more, and then more, and a smidge more, and then when I thought that was it, we went for another power push.  At that point an elephant could have charged out of the woods and would not have noticed.  I felt like we were riding the edge – barely in control – teetering on the brink of chaos.  A little OOC if you will.  Finally Ike really found that six gear in his hind end- Ah!  There was the engagement.  There was the lengthening of his frame.  Does anyone seriously think I can sit THAT trot?!

We finally had to take a break, not for Ike’s sake but for mine.  I really need to get my butt more aerobically fit to keep up with my horse.  Between figuring out how to sit Ike’s medium trot and remembering to breathe, I have a lot of work to do before I am capable of getting the most out of my horse.

And speaking of work to do, our turn on the haunches also has miles to go to get out of the 5-6 range in scoring.  We have better luck to the left than to the right.  Ike’s bully of a right shoulder really likes to get in the way and interrupt our flow to the right.  His hind end would rather shift to the left than put up a fight with that shoulder.  If I get to busy in the saddle, it confuses the situation even more and we end up with a small shuffling circle with the haunches doing most of the moving.  Not pretty.

But even with our issues, we are moving forward with our Second Level work.  Going to try Second Level Test 2 at a Fix-a-Test clinic in a couple of weeks.  It is the perfect opportunity to give that test a try and get some instant feedback from one of the local judges.  She was one of the judges last weekend as well, so I can’t wait to hear her advice for boosting our scores.

We have no shows scheduled for July, so we have plenty of time to practice before we go public again.

Stay cool!

alison

You’ve (Not) Got The Look

My best view while riding.

My best view while riding.

I love looking at photographs of other riders and horses, especially those who compete in the upper echelons of the sport.  The talent, the beauty, the power is awe inspiring no matter which discipline you select to admire.  I enviously look at their correct position in the saddle and how relaxed they appear.  I try to commit the images to memory to recall while I am trying to get Ike to elevate his front end while trying to keep my hind end securely in the saddle.  The riders aren’t inadvertently leaning forward or pushing themselves out of the saddle.  They are actually looking where they are going and not at their horse’s withers.  When you look at the riders’ faces, you can see the determination and focus.  In many photos, the riders are even smiling.   

Sadly, when I look at photos or videos of me riding, I look like I am in pain, constipated, or distressed.  I scrunch my nose as if I just sniffed milk past its expiration date.  I can look horrified as if I’m an actress in the new blockbuster horror film. Thank goodness Ike does not mimic my facial expression.  The judges would eliminate us in a heartbeat if he looked as pained as I do.  A Glamour magazine “don’t block” just might be necessary…or someone with some wicked good Photoshop skills to replace my pained look for a more pleasant facial expression.  I am not expecting any modeling contracts to be headed my way anytime soon. 

That "I smell something bad" look

That “I smell something bad” look

This wretched look is on my face no matter how the ride is going.  Even with my good blue-ribbon rides, I distort my face.  In the rare photo, I can conjure a neutral face – not happy, not sad, not pained, just mannequin expressionless.  Even with my final halt and salute photos, you see more relief and surprise than joy. 

Ms. C tells me that it is due to the fact that I am concentrating.  While that may be the case, why can’t I concentrate with a less distressful expression?  She said that we can certainly work on it during my lessons, but there are so many other issues to work out that it will fall far down in the list of things to think about while riding.  It is all I can do to think “half halt,” “turn,” “put my weight in my left/right  stirrup,” “where is my leg supposed to be,” and “BREATHE and RELAX.”   

I doubt this is something that I will fix anytime soon, so in the mean time, I will ask everyone to focus on Ike in the photos.  Big man can almost always look peaceful and focused, even when his mother is not.

alison

 

#RainRainGoAway

Rainy start to JuneWell as far as I can tell, Mother Nature and the month of June must be having one heck of an argument.  I am not sure what June did to piss her off, but someone needs to apologize so that the sun can return.  This has been the view from my windshield for the past 3 days.

Needless to say that there has not been much riding this week.  I did tack up and ride in the drizzle yesterday for 30 minutes, but once the rain started getting more and more steady, I threw in the towel because…1) I could barely see through all the rain drops accumulating on my eyeglasses, and 2) I really didn’t think it was wise to get a brand new saddle sopping wet.

Sad to think that I didn’t think twice about Ike or myself getting wet, but the saddle will be treated with kid gloves for some time to come.  We do not need a repeat of 9 years ago with my last saddle.  It didn’t involve rain, but watching a brand new custom saddle get flung onto the ground because your Thoroughbred won’t stand still for the girth is gut wrenching.  Four times it hit the ground and at least once it was the recipient of a hoof print on one of the billets.  Thankfully, there was no damage but for some dirt.  Also, thankfully, Ike is a bit more cooperative during the tacking process.

Our work was decent for what we were able to accomplish.  We are starting to school haunches in, turn on the haunches, and the countercanter work for the Second Level Test 2 test.  Hopefully by August we will be ready to give it a go.  Our turn on the haunches right now looks more like Frankenstein turning a corner and is not yet fit for public viewing.

Hoping for a lesson tomorrow if the rain will end early enough to allow the arena to drain.  Otherwise, does anyone have four flippers I can borrow for Ike?

The Results Are In

Ike

“So, where are all the peppermints I was promised?!”

Well, we did it!  We confidently rode down centerline in our best collected trot, performed a respectable Second Level test, and then collapsed with exhaustion after the final halt and salute.  We can now officially say that we have entered the ranks of Second Level horses and riders, right?

The test was not bobble free, but the judge commented that we did a fine job for our debut and that we are on the right track with our training.

It has taken me a few days of reflection to come up with the most important “take aways” from this ride:

1) Second Level is much harder than Training or First Levels.  It is much more mentally and physically challenging for horse and rider… at least it is for this rider.  Having ridden my First Level test only 15 minutes before my Second Level one was probably not the wisest move at this point.  Until we build up more strength and stamina for the collected work, I will need to be wiser in my warm up and riding before my Second Level rides.  We need to conserve as much energy as we can to get the most out of our ride. (I honestly did not know if Ike and I were going to make it to X for our final halt.)

2) With a few tweaks, we can easily boost our score another 3-4%.  Of course, those tweaks aren’t overnight fixes.  We need a better medium trot and medium canter.  We need to show a better change on our comebacks from the medium gaits.  We need to eliminate the trot steps into and out of our simple changes.  The judge was kind enough to offer some training exercises to help us with each of these.  Smaller canter loops and circles will help maintain engagement to teach the simple changes.  Train the medium gaits using shorter distances.  We’d better get busy since we are going to try this test again in June.

3) Breathing is very important.  I am pretty sure that I did take a breath or two during this ride, but I really need to practice my yoga breathing while in sitting trot.  I also need to remember to relax my arms and shoulders.  Much like the simple tweaks in our work, it is easier said than done.  I’m hoping that it will get better with my next Second Level ride since I’ve now got my initial fears behind me (LOL).

4) The new saddle was a good, albeit expensive, investment.  The hybrid foam/wool flocking innards and design of the saddle make sitting Ike’s trot much easier for me.  Even more importantly, Ike is more relaxed over his topline with the new saddle.  I am still hyperventilating over the cost and hope that I can get 9-10 years out of this one like I did for my last saddle.

In case you are wondering, the judge gave us a 64.545% for that test, and I have never been so excited to get back a score sheet.  I rarely save my dressage tests once the competition year is over, but I do secretly hoard the one’s that have the most meaning to me.  I do believe I will be saving this one.

Alison

Spring Is In Full Swing!

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My flower beds are abloom, the lilac bush’s fragrance perfumes the side yard, Ike is in the final throes of shedding, and show season has kicked into high gear.  It has already been over two months since the forced halt in riding due to the wretched February weather.  Soon enough we will start complaining about sweat in our eyes and getting buzzed by horse flies.  But for now we are enjoying the warmer and sunnier spring days whilst wiping away the yellow pollen that coats everything.

We now have one schooling show and one licensed show in the books.  I am thrilled with where Ike and I are in our First Level work.  Is there still work to do on our trot lengthenings?  You bet, but so many of the things that plagued us all last season are now garnering solid scores.  Our canter work last year was still one part Scooby Doo and one part young dressage horse.  We can now canter respectable 15 meter circles, show a canter lengthening and a come back, and best of all, the shallow canter loops no longer include flying changes or breaking into trot.  Here is our First Level Test 3 ride from Sunday.  It earned us our best Test 3 score to date at a licensed show.

My most exciting news from the licensed show last weekend is that we now have our second First Level qualifying score for the Regional Finals in October.  That is a huge monkey off my back which means that we can now concentrate our efforts towards our Second Level debut.

And speaking of our debut, I committed us to riding Second Level Test 1 at a schooling show on May 24th.  Yikes!  We are now on a tight schedule to improve our simple changes, counter canter, 10 meter canter circles, and our collected gaits.  Oh. My.  Is that all?!?!!  Am I certain that we will have a mistake-free test?  Nope, but at some point, you just have to take a deep breath and give it a go.  If we score in the low 50’s, we know that we have more work to do before trying Second Level at a licensed show.  If we can hit the 60th percentile, then we know we are on the right track.

Our lesson yesterday was fairly intense given our timeline and the work that needs to be accomplished; we have another one scheduled for Saturday.  We practiced pieces and parts of Test 1.  If I can establish a balanced collected trot, then we can actually make it through the first 9 movements of the test with very little drama.  When Ike’s alignment is right, he can rock his shoulder in…if I am off in my aids and Ike’s trot gets choppy, it is more of a “neck in.”  But once we get past the free walk, all bets are off on how the test will go.  Five simple changes means 5 places to pick up the wrong lead, look like a giraffe in our canter-to-walk transitions, and 5 places for a mental breakdown by the rider or horse.  Breathe in, breathe out, move on.

The work is physically and mentally harder now, so Ike tends to get a bit stressed and on the muscle.  He then turns into a sweaty worm that squirms with even the slightest movement of my leg or weight.  More breathing.  More exhaling.  Less tension for me is key.  Easier said than done, but even more necessary.  This is not the time for me to get emotional while in the saddle.  Stay calm, wait out the “worminess” and then get back to work.  I keep reminding myself that progressing up the levels is more of a marathon than a sprint.  There is no Olympic team medal riding on this performance.  There is no prize for being the fastest to get to or succeed at any given level.  We will take the time to do it correctly.  Success will come when the time is right.

Alison

Working My Way Out of the Quicksand

Ike

Finally, after feeling like we were mired in quicksand for way too long, Ike and I are making some tangible progress toward our goal of competing at Second Level.  The past week has given me a very optimistic attitude for the season ahead.

The schooling show last weekend was just the spark I needed to get the season started on an uptick.  I had forgotten what a wonderful thing a schooling show can be.  It was a low key and white-britches-free experience.  We arrived well in advance of our rides, but I wanted to give Ike plenty of time to “drink it in” as my friend D likes to say.  Instead of drinking anything, Ike opted to bury his muzzle in the grass in the parking area and ignore everyone.  If we’d left after that, Ike would have considered the day a success.

Warm up was a bit of Ike’s wild ride, but luckily we had Ms. C on the ground to comfort Ike with Mrs. Pasture’s cookies.  We’d signed up for First Level Test 1 and Test 3.  The rider in front of me scratched, so we opted to head down centerline early.

I was pleased with our first effort.  I goosed Ike on our first lengthening, and we had a bit of a spook on our left lead lengthening, but overall it was a solid test.  It earned us a 71.11%.  Our first ever First Level score over 70%.  I was elated.  The judge was very generous with both her written and oral comments.  Many of her comments were geared towards what we need to add for our transition to Second Level…I greatly appreciate all of her insightful words of wisdom.

We didn’t have long to wait for our second ride (another bonus for schooling shows).  I was a bit worried that the horses in the adjacent paddock might decide to have another gallop as they did for the rider ahead of me, but we lucked out with 7 minutes of calm.  My apologies, but I have not yet uploaded the second video to YouTube.  But I am happy to report that we received a 70.588% on Test 3 and managed to get a 7.0 and an 8.0 on our canter loops!!  Hallelujah!!  The girl has finally learned how to properly ride a canter loop.  There is hope yet for successful countercanter!

We also survived a visit with the saddle fitter with my saddle still adequately fitting Baby Huey.  She did have to stretch the tree which means if someone’s shoulders muscle up anymore, I am doomed as is my pocketbook…Since it appears that I am on borrowed time, I did test ride in a few of the newer models that Custom Saddlery ( http://www.mysaddle.com/ ) offers to see what my options might be.  There were a few that I immediately cringed as soon as I sat in them (a medium twist is NOT for me), but luckily my saddle fitter had about 30-35 saddles in her trailer.  I’m currently test riding in a Icon Flight model with hybrid memory foam and wool flocking.  It is the new design that will be available on their website soon.  Oooh, it is comfy.  The knee blocks put my leg in a very steady position and I was able to stay in sit trot for more than a couple of minutes.  Ike also seemed quite content with the fit.  He too “told” us when he did not like the fit of the demo saddles.  While I like it now, it will be interesting to see how I feel about it after 7 or 8 rides.

So I am looking towards our licensed show in two weeks with new found optimism; hoping that I can recreate the rides of last weekend for all our First Level rides.  I am also eyeing our Second Level debut for May 24th.  Full steam ahead!