Not-So-Speedy Dressage

Not This Time Either ...

7/17/2019

The first time here.

Our Third Level Test 3s were pretty similar to the Test 1s, if maybe slightly better. Still no 60%s, but again, if it weren't for that one movement ...

Seriously, doesn't this look familiar?

From Saturday's 3-3 test.

It should, because it looked exactly like the nonexistent left to right flying change during 3-1 (below) which earned a 1.0. Guess what the nonexistent change above scored? Bingo, another 1.0. And if we didn't get our 60% during test 1 with a non-flying change, we sure as heck weren't going to get it at test 3 with another non-flying change.

From Saturday's 3-1 test.

Aside from some disastrous changes, the Test 3s weren't too shabby. The walk and trot work was mostly where it needed to be. Our turns on the haunches scored 7.0, 6.5, 6.5, and 5.5 (not sure what happened on the last one, but it was wonky.) Our half circles earned 6.0s and 6.5s. Our last extended trot even earned a 7.0.

Entering at A, something we do pretty well. Why is there no score for that?

The trot half passes are still developing, but we did earn a 6.0 on one of them. The last section of the test - an extended canter to a collected canter to a collected trot and finished off with two left turns to the halt, is really fun to ride. We had a lone 5.5 for a transition from collected canter to trot, but outside of that, we earned a handful of 6.5s and even a 7.0 during those last four movements, both times. Too bad none of them carry a double coefficient.

I love the 10-meter half circles. This one earned a 6.5.

To my relief, we finally got both of the flying changes on Sunday's Test 3. We were rewarded with a 6.5 for the first one and a 6.0 for the second one. During one of the judge's breaks, she walked past me and congratulated me on getting the changes. The missed changes must have been pretty memorable for the judge to recognize me even in my shorts and Symphony Dressage sun shirt! I thanked her for her feedback and joked that changes are even harder when the canter is broken. She laughed good-naturedly and encouraged me to keep at it.

Speedy loves the center line.

No matter what kind of scores I get at a show, I always learn something. Being at a show causes my mental neurons to fire like crazy. I absorb everything like a gigantic sponge. In turn, I ride with this scary intensity as I struggle to put it all together. Struggle being the operative word.

At one point, Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, yelled something like think haunches in as you blah, blah, blah. I rolled my eyes at her as I cantered past telling her that I had no room for that last piece of advice as I was already trying to remember to do the other hundred things she had already told me to do. She laughed.

E Turn left, X Turn left, G Halt, salute (6.5)

Despite the teary moments, or maybe even because of them, I had a great time. And really, having fun has to be the number one goal at a show. If it's not fun, it's not really worth spending so much time and money doing it. I learned a lot that I've already used this week while riding both Speedy and Izzy, and I am eagerly looking forward to our next show in just over a week. While it is only CDS-rated, my feelings won't be hurt to earn a 60% there.

Below are the score sheets if you're interested - Saturday's on the left and Sunday's on the right. Below those are the videos of each day's Third Level Test 3 rides.

Third Level, Test 3: Top half of score sheets.

bottom half of score sheets.

Collective marks.

Final scores.

Saturday's Test 3 here.

Sunday's Test 3 here.

I do have one final thought: I am actually showing Third Level, and that fact on its own makes me giddy with happiness. If Second level sucks, Third Level is awesome!

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In a Word - Nope.

7/16/2019

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How is it possible to be so disappointed, yet at the same time, have the time of your life? Because that's what this weekend was all about; chagrin followed immediately by merriment. Despondency followed by hilarity. Plain old frustration followed by good natured laughter.

Morgan, Sarah, Chemaine, and me on Speedy (who looks as though he's falling asleep). Tons of laughter with these ladies!

Progress toward earning my USDF Bronze medal is the same as it was on Friday; we have our First and Second Level scores, but we're still missing the two scores from Third Level. I am not going to say we haven't made any progress though as I am gaining a ton of experience by missing the mark. It's expensive experience for sure, but showing is how I learn what we're good at and what needs improving.

He's a great partner. Opinionated, but always on my team.

I learned that our trot work, when I use the corners effectively and half halt at least occasionally, is Third Level worthy. We're not getting 8.0s, but we rarely did at First or Second either, and there is no shame in that. For Third Level test 1, our collected and medium trot work was firmly in the 6.0 - 7.0 range. The trot half passes at 3-1 were a bit sketchy on Saturday - we lacked a correction position, but I was able to mostly fix that for Sunday's test. We improved our scores from 4.0s/5.0s to 5.5s/6.0s.

Enter collected trot - Halt, salute - Proceed collected trot (7.0)

The rein back and the turns on the haunches were also just fine. We earned respectable 6.0s and 7.0s. I can hear you asking if you're so solid at Third, why aren't you pulling in those 60% scores? Well, I'll tell you. Speedy's canter got broken this weekend. The best example? He threw in a flying lead change during the medium canter. What the what?! was all I could say.

The judge generously called it a "lost lead." 4.0

I am not kidding. Here it is. I can sort of see how it was my fault as I was desperately trying to half halt him so I could get the collected canter. He felt me pick up that outside rein and thought Change? Now? Well if you insist.

On Sunday's Third Level Test 1, we would have had a qualifying score but for one movement. One movement. Speedy would not give me the flying change from left to right. He was set up for it, he looked and felt ready for it, but he would not. Out of sheer desperation, I rocked him back as hard as I could onto his haunches, and he still gave me an emphatic NO. By that point, I had run out of long side and needed to trot at C. What did it look like, that moment of rocking him back on his butt? A lot like this ...

Are you kidding me? Just do the damn change, Speedy!

We earned a 1.0 for our nonexistent flying change of lead. With a double coefficient, that movement is worth 20 points. We earned 2. Yeah, that will pretty much kill any shot at a 60%. Way back in the beginning, I had goals like no 5.0s on a test. That's pretty much my goal now except that I need to add a clarification: no 5.0s or lower!

A funny moment!

Like I said, highs and lows ... Just as we passed C, preparing for the medium trot (HXF), the judge rang her bell and told me that I was supposed to halt at C. Morgan, Chemaine's daughter, was reading for me, and I know the test pretty well. I was 100% certain I was NOT supposed to halt at C, so I sat at F waiting for the judge to realize her mistake. She gave an audible oops, and apologized profusely. This has actually happened to me before. The judge told me to carry on.

What made it so funny to me was that I didn't feel as though I had revved Speedy up sufficiently for the medium trot anyway. We were coming into it kind of flat, so once the judge sent me back around, I was able to get better organized. She gave us a 6.5 for the medium trot. I don't know if it was because it was a good medium or she just felt guilty. I was happy with the score either way. I usually find it's better to laugh than to get upset, and it was kind of funny.

Medium trot - 6.5

While I had a great time, I won't lie. I was pretty disappointed at missing that 60%, and there were some teary moments as proof. We're really close though. and it will happen. Maybe not this summer, but we'll get those two scores eventually. Here are both of the Third Level test 1 videos as well as the score sheets side by side. Saturday's 3-1 scores are on the left, and Sunday's 3-1 scores are on the right. The videos, if you're so inclined, follow.

Third Level Test 1 (top halves of score sheets).

Bottom halves.

Collective marks.

Final scores.

Saturday's Third Level Test 1 here.

Sunday's Third Level Test 1 here.

Third Level Test 3(s) tomorrow ...

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Third Level Test 3

7/15/2019

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Show recap tomorrow. In the meantime ...

Man, that sucker is intense. It's not hard in the way that Second was - Second Level, YOU SUCK!, but it's not easy either. The trot work is well within our wheel house; I even find it fun. The canter work is where it gets tricky.

A correct change, but still a bit wild and wooly.

Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, talked me into ditching 3-2 in favor of 3-3. There's not a whole lot of difference between the two until you get to the canter half pass. It's longer, wider, and you have to straighten it out before making a 10-meter half circle followed by the flying change at X (or near X).

A late change. He changed in the front before changing in the back - something we're struggling with from right to left.

Lateral work is Speedy's nemesis; he hates it. He's willing to offer softness OR a lateral movement, but not both at the same time. He's willing to half pass OR canter, again not at the same time. With a show only days away (I wrote this last week :0), I was feeling pretty frustrated. I might have even cried a little bit. Thankfully, Chemaine was able to come down for a lesson on Wednesday morning.

Having fun with the extended canter

One of the things I most respect about Chemaine as a trainer is that she always asks me how things are going, knowing that I am going to rattle off a list of what needs fixing. I so appreciate that she trusts my feelings about where we are. She doesn't just consult her agenda and insist we stick to that plan. And then, even though it's on the spot, she is able to instantly devise an exercise to address whatever struggle I am having. It's one of her super powers for sure.

That's more like it.

After I had finished with my little melt down, she had me work first on softness at the canter. That meant picking it up from the walk softly. If he braced, we came back to walk and did it again. If he hung on my inside rein AT ALL, we walked and did it again. It was amazing how quickly Speedy realized that why yes, he is able to canter and be soft at the same time.

You WILL half pass Speedy, even if it's at the walk.

Then we moved on to the canter half pass. The idea was the same. As soon as he made a mistake, and Chemaine was very clear that it wasn't me making the mistake this time, we walked, BUT WE KEPT HALF PASSING. That was the crucial part. Speedy has figured out that if he braces, I'll either whack him forward, or circle. In either case he gets out of the half pass.

With Chemaine's exercise, he had to half pass even if it was at the walk. And there was lots of half pass at the walk because as soon as he quit moving off my leg, I insisted he walk AND CONTINUE HALF PASSING. It never got perfect, but at least we were finally going in a somewhat recognizable sideways direction at the canter.

His medium trot is getting better and better.

Then Chemaine had me ride the second half of the test: 1) canter half pass left, half circle, flying change; 2) canter half pass right, half circle, flying change; 3) extended canter, collected canter, trot and centerline.

It is clear that we are still a "developing" Third Level pair, but at least the movements are there and worth scoring. Ww had follow-up lesson on Friday afternoon at the show. I'll let you know how we did.

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Chance #2

7/12/2019

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It's no secret that my main goal for this summer show season is to earn my USDF Bronze Medal. For those of you that don't show dressage, the Bronze Medal marks a pretty important milestone for riders. To earn one, you need two scores of 60% or greater from two different judges at First, Second, and Third Levels. It's hard to do, and for most riders, it takes a long time to do, if it even ever happens.

My progress.

We were so close at the June show. I missed my first score by just a few points. The very next weekend, after fixing some geometry issues, we earned a 62% and a 63% at a CDS-rated show. While the scores counted for a lot of other California Dressage Society (CDS) awards, they didn't count towards the medal, BUT it proves that we're right there.

Saturday's ride times.

We're leaving this morning for a 2-day, USDF/USEF/CDS-rated show at El Sueno Equestrian Center. With four tests over the weekend, I have four chances to earn a qualifying score. Since my scores need to come from two different judges, only one score can count. Do I want it? Yes, desperately. I can get it, I know I can. But if we don't, there's always a next show.

Sunday's ride times.

There's a lot to be said for the power of positive self talk. This weekend, I am going to do a lot of positive visualization and a lot of positive verbal affirmation. Speedy is a rockstar, I am a good rider, and we're ready!

Wish us luck!

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Operation Bubble Wrap - The End

7/11/2019

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Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I left the barn at 11:00 p.m. Friday night, only to roll back in at 7:30 a.m. the next morning. I hadn't received a text from the ranch owner so I knew that nothing was wrong, but I needed to check Speedy myself. At first glance, he looked relaxed, if a bit thin.

I left him to his breakfast and saddled up Izzy. Even he was a bit distracted by Speedy being in Pixie and Archie's dry lot. There was a fair amount of hollering at first, but eventually all of the horses settled down when they realized we were just going to the arena and no further.

Looking for Speedy.

After riding Izzy, I pulled Speedy out for a good going over making sure I hadn't missed anything. The night before, I had hosed him off, but it was too dark to see anything other than a gaping wound (of which he didn't have). In the light of day, I noticed that his pasterns looked crusty and scabby.

First aid

I now know why he was so sore the day before. The rubs weren't there on Friday, and he didn't wear the bell boots on Friday night, the night of the earthquake. I think the rubs just took a day before popping out. I filled a bucket with clean water and iodine prep solution. I grabbed a clean towel and a variety of ointments and skin topicals. Three of his four pasterns bore rub marks from the bell boots, the very items I used to protect him. They ranged in severity from very slight on the front pastern, to obviously painful in the back.

This one was the worst (as of Saturday), but it looked a lot worse yesterday.

We have a two-day USDF show this weekend, so I have been babysitting those rubs like crazy. The front one is no longer a concern, and one of the back ones looks pretty decent. The other one? It's a mess. He's sound, but it can't feel good. I am scrubbing them clean each day and coating them with coconut oil and adding a layer of Scarlex for good measure.

I think they're both happier.

he ranch owner and I had a long chat about Speedy. He's lost three pasture pals since last fall. First, Pixie was moved over to live with Archie, and then Willy was sold. Speedy's latest pasture mate, Rocky, only stayed a month or so before moving up to the mountains. Frankly, he's been quite stressed out by the loss of his companions.

We decided that Speedy might be happier if we moved him into half of Izzy's dry lot pasture. Izzy's field is crossed fenced with an open gate that allows him access to both sides. Both areas have their own access gate, lots of trees for shelter, and for Speedy, two mares live directly in front of the half that is now his. I dragged all of Speedy's particulars to his new home: his feed bucket, salt block, a water trough, and a tub for his hay. I am hoping this will keep him from feeling so isolated. And so far, the pacing and whirling have disappeared. Even when I take Izzy out he's not concerned.

Speedy's half of the dry lot field.

I've resisted putting my boys so close together out of fear that Speedy will grow too attached to Izzy and really freak out when I separate them. Jokes on me, I guess. The weird thing was that as soon as they were side by side, all three of us took a deep, relaxing breath. My sense of symmetry and balance was satisfied, and both boys looked instantly at peace.

Izzy's half of the field.

In summation, Operation Bubble Wrap was an epic failure. The only good thing that came out of it all was that Speedy now lives right next door to Izzy which makes things a little more convenient for me. Here's to hoping this is a long term fix for Speedy's anxiety. He could really use some quiet time.

And that's that.

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Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 3 of 4

7/10/2019

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Part 1
Part 2

So where were we? Oh, yes, Kern County had just been rocked by one of the biggest earthquakes in recent memory, and the neighbors were busy shooting off illegal fireworks the day after the 4th of July.

As of Saturday, Ridgecrest had had 1,352 earthquakes in the past 24 hours.

I've lived in California my whole life excluding being born in Alaska - my dad was in the army and stationed at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, and living abroad my senior year of high school. Earthquakes are just a thing. No one worries about them, and in fact, they generate a lot of excited buzz when one happens.

This one, this earthquake? It was HUGE. Unless you live in a cave, you've probably seen the video clips of water sloshing out of pools (ours looked like Fatty McFatso had just done a ginormous cannonball), cracked roads, and fires burning. We didn't just feel it, we braced ourselves against the wall and waited ... and waited ... and waited some more for the earth to stop heaving and rolling.

The orange area is how far from Ridgecrest the shaking could be felt.

We knew it was a big quake. A few weeks ago, we felt a 3.4 quake with an epicenter immediately below us. That was weird. I was riding Izzy during the 6.4 quake that happened on July 4th and didn't feel a thing. This one though, we felt it, and since we felt it in Bakersfield, 80 miles from Ridgecrest, we knew it had to be colossal. We were right.

About 30 minutes after Friday night's earthquake, I got a call from the ranch owner telling me that Speedy was in trouble. I threw on a pair of boots and hustled out there. Before I even made it to his paddock, I stopped by the feed room for a tube of Dormosedan that I'd been saving for an emergency.

The ranch owner had Speedy's halter in hand, but she hadn't been able to get close to him. I couldn't blame her. It was pitch black, and Speedy was simply terrified. Whether the earthquake had started the panic attack or not, the fireworks coming from across the river were driving it. Speedy bolted past me without even glancing my direction. Little by little I was able to affect his direction of flight until he suddenly noticed me. I quickly threw my arms around him and slid the halter on.

My med box is getting a lot of use this year.

He body was dripping a sticky, foamy sweat, his eyes were rolling about frantically, and the veins stood out in his neck. We moved him away from his paddock to the hay barn where I quickly shoved the syringe of Dormosedan under his tongue. It's a sublingual sedative that takes about 40 minutes to work.

We pushed Speedy to the back side of the barn where two of the ranch's senior citizens live. Speedy is great friends with Pixie and immediately let some of his tension go when he saw her. I grabbed a hose and started spraying him off hoping to cool him down as well as distract him. I tossed him a flake of hay and stood chatting with the ranch owner as Speedy's terror slowly dissipated.

The ranch owner moved Pixie and Archie to the grass pasture immediately adjacent to their dry lot so that Speedy could spend the night near them and away from the fireworks. The Dormosedan began to work much more quickly that I had expected, so within a half an hour, Speedy's head was hanging.

Bored selfies with a drunk horse and his tired girl.

By that time, the ranch owner had headed back to the house, and I was left to sit with my sedated snowflake. I eventually worried about how heavily sedated he appeared to be. I didn't want him to fall over, so I ran back to the feed room and grabbed my stethoscope. Public Service Announcement: if you don't yet have one, get yourself one and practice using it. Every few minutes I took Speedy's pulse. He clocked in at a slightly elevated 44 beats per minute (32 - 36 bpm is the normal resting rate for most equines). Once he found some hay scraps, it jumped to 52 bpm which actually made me feel better because it only spiked a few extra beats.

Relieved that he was relaxing but very tired.

Dormosedan lasts anywhere from 1 - 3 hours. After about 90 minutes, Speedy began perking up enough to wander around, sniffing out hay. I had tossed most of it to Pixie and Archie (sedated horses really shouldn't eat or drink), but there was a pile up near the fence in front of which Speedy settled himself. By that time, it was 11:00 p.m., I felt it was safe to leave him. The fireworks had passed, he had taken a long drink of water, peed, rolled, and was now hungry.

I went to bed hoping that Saturday morning would bring an end to Operation Bubble Wrap. It did not. To be continued yet again ...

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Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 2 of 4

7/9/2019

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Part 1

To my complete relief, the neighbors across the river didn't make a peep on the 4th of July. I was almost mad; I had done a lot of prepping to cover Speedy's body in "horse friendly" armor, all for nothing

July 5th, injury free!

Early the next morning, I pulled in to the barn to see Speedy pacing. He was not at all pleased about being kept in all night. I tried to explain to him that it was for his own safety, but it was all a bunch of yada, yada, yada, to him.

I pulled off his leg wraps, bell boots, and fly sheet. His body looked injury free, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. One of the tell-tale signs that he's been anxious over-night is that his coat will be crusty with dried sweat and dirt. So while I know he paced most of the night - the dirt in his paddock was all shoved out at the end, he hadn't worked himself up to a sweaty mess.

Clean and dry!

Knowing a long stretchy walk would do him good, I decided to tack him up and meander the neighborhood, something he always enjoys. From the first step, I knew something was amiss. His stride was short but evenly so on all four legs. He also acted like he'd been freshly trimmed. He minced forward, practically on his tippy toes.

It's hard to beat this view.

I urged him down the driveway, keeping to the pebble-free cement and grassy shoulder. Knowing that he was clearly uncomfortable, I circled back to the ranch, aiming for every grassy path I could find. While on grass, he seemed fine. Knowing that he had paced and whirled most of the night, I chalked up his tender-footedness to having walked too many miles the night before.

Sore, tired, and worn out.

I pulled Speedy's tack and sent him into the yard to graze while I rode Izzy. By the time I was finished, Speedy was standing in the grass half asleep with his lip drooping and his hind leg cocked. Knowing that he wasn't likely to cause much trouble, I decided to leave him turned out in the dry pasture rather than cooping him up yet again in his paddock. Since we had made it through the 4th of July relatively unscathed, I turned him loose with just a fly sheet and fly mask, no bell boots or leg wraps.

That would probably have been fine except that California chose that night to once again shake holy hell out of Kern County. As if that weren't enough, the neighbors across the river decided that fireworks post Independence Day paired nicely with a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. Speedy lost his marbles.

To be continued ...

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Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 1 of 4

7/8/2019

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Between the fireworks on the 4th and the continuing earthquakes, Speedy's last couple of days have been rather rough. He's okay, but he is definitely getting a few days off to recover.

If we're friends on Facebook, you already saw the machinations and launch of Operation Bubble Wrap (OBW). The 4th of July kind of sucks if you own horses and dogs. Everyone is okay - mostly, but it was a stressful holiday for team Speedy.

He's wrapped from head to toe!

Speedy does not like the 4th of July. He does not like barbecues. He's also not too fond of New Year's Eve. Basically, he's a big party pooper.

Stage 1: clean legs

Early last week, the ranch owner and I discussed how to get Speedy safely through the 4th of July holiday. We all know what he can do to himself on a day without explosions and flashing lights. The first thing that we always do when the activity level exceeds his threshold of acceptance is to restrict his movement.

Speedy's daytime quarters. There are neighbors behind the tress and across the river who like parties and music and loud things.

Speedy lives in a large paddock during the day, but at night his gate is opened to allow him turnout when things are quiet and not likely to press his over-react button. When anything unusual happens, like when the neighbors throw a party, he gets locked in at night. I've found that while he's protesting the noise by hurtling his body through space, he can't pick up as much steam in his paddock.

Booted up!

Given that limiting his space to run wild hasn't eliminated his ability to rip himself to shreds, I decided to cover as much of his body as possible. On July 3rd, many people start their fireworks display, so I did a dress rehearsal. I wrapped only his front legs hoping that he would leave the bandages alone. I didn't want to do all four legs at once in case he freaked out because of leg wraps.

The fly mask served as a helmet of sorts.

Then I started covering the rest of his body. He got his regular fly mask, and I covered him with a fly sheet that I had tried a few years ago. The first time he wore the flysheet HE. HATED. IT. which is why I never used it again. For this go-round, he acted as though he wears a flysheet daily. Win-win I figured.

OBW - dress rehearsal.

I left him on July 3rd with my fingers crossed that Operation Bubble Wrap would work. To my surprise, everything was still in place on the 4th. The sheet was undamaged, the wraps were snug and clean, and the bell boots were firmly velcroed.

Woohoo!

I took everything off, gave him a good grooming - he was ITCHY, and then rode him long enough to get him good and tired. I figured it couldn't hurt to wear him out a little. That alone can minimize his desire to run wildly. I gave him a bath, turned him out in the yard to graze while he dried, and then I reapplied everything, including the bell boots and wraps on his hind legs. Operation Bubble Wrap was launched, and I all could do was wait and see if it kept him safe.

I guess I didn't wear him out as much I thought!

To be continued ...

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Free Rein is Back!

7/5/2019

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Season three starts tomorrow! I hate to get so excited about a show for 12-year-old girls, but I am. Don't judge. Many of you are probably looking forward to season 3 as well, am I right?!

Starts July 6th

If you haven't seen seasons one and two, go watch them. It's a really cute show and definitely worth either binge watching the whole show in one day, or for me, just watching a half hour each day. As for me, I can't wait to see what kind of trouble Zoe and her friends get into this summer. Enjoy your weekend!

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Horses Are Expensive 3.0 - June

7/4/2019

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Summer, or show season as it should really be called, is usually the most expensive season for me as a horse owner. Speedy's recent "winter of woe" however, wherein he managed to rack up thousands of dollars in vet bills, really challenged my bank account. I just can't get those bills paid off. I say that, but the reality is that I could pay them off if I would make other (better?) choices.

June's expenses part 1

June's expenses part 2

My husband has been pretty supportive of the "pay it later" plan, especially given that I spent $681 on shows and another $230 on lessons last month. Not doing those two things would have enabled me to take care of my outstanding vet bill. I would have been miserable though. Whoever says money can't buy happiness is either wrong or just stupid.

At the end of June, I had to order a new box of Prascend at $277.00. The box will last 160 days, so at least I won't have to reorder until the fall. The Prascend is to treat Speedy's Cushing's Disease. That charge is getting added in with the other pay it later bills.

As I was planning the rest of my summer budget, I decided that it would be okay to do two shows each month in July and August. That will end our show season though which means I can then get my vet bills and the Prascend paid for in September. That will be a relief.

If we don't get our two bronze medal scores, there isn't another show until October, so I am hopeful that I can still pay those other bills in September, or at least one of them. Once those are paid, I can once again start saving for next year's show season or another winter of woe, whichever comes first.

Horses. They're expensive, you know?

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About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.
Welcome to my dressage journey.

Photo by Lori Ovanessian

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently showing Third Level for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

March 2019

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE

I love her stuff!

National Awards

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018

2nd Level Rider Performance, 2018

USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015

1st Level Rider Performance, 2015

USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

Training Level Rider Performance, 2013

State Awards

CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
CDS Second Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

Ruby Rider Award, 2018

2019 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USEF
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2019 Pending …
7/28/19 - TMC (*)
8/25/19 - TMC (*)
10/26-27/19 SCEC (***)

2019 Completed …
6/15-16/19 - El Sueno (***)
6/23/19 - TMC (*)
7/13-14/19 - El Sueno (***)

Qualifying Scores for 2019

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC)
3rd Level Qualifying
3 Scores/2 Judges:
Score 1: 63.514% Lindholm
Score 2: 62.105% Lindholm
Score 3:

CDS Championship
3rd Level Qualifying
5 Scores/4 Judges:
Score 1: 63.514% Lindholm
Score 2: 62.105% Lindholm
Score 3:
Score 4:
Score 5:

Working Towards:

CDS 3rd Level Horse Performance Award
3 Judges/3 Shows:
Score 1: 63.514% Lindholm
Score 2: 62.105% Lindholm
Score 3:
Score 4:
Score 5:
Score 6:

CDS Sapphire Rider Award
Third Level: 63.514%
Third Level: 62.105%
Fourth Level:
Fourth Level:

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

Not This Time Either ...

In a Word - Nope.

Third Level Test 3

Chance #2

Operation Bubble Wrap - The End

Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 3 of 4

Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 2 of 4

Operation Bubble Wrap - Part 1 of 4

Free Rein is Back!

Horses Are Expensive 3.0 - June

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