Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
I write for a lot of different reasons. I write to teach. I don't just teach elementary school; it's who I am as a person, so writing allows me to share what I know and have learned. I also like to write about particularly useful products or great sales; it's fun to pass that stuff around. I also like turning my disappointments into funny stories. When I tell on myself, someone out there thinks, hey, I am not alone on the struggle bus. And suddenly, we're all on a party bus headed to Vegas. All of that lends itself to entertaining content - I hope anyway, but the real reason I write is to articulate my learning to myself. While owning and showing horses is great fun, I am determined to do more than just have a good time. I want to be better, I want to ride better, and I want to get all the way to the top. Writing my thoughts down helps me organize my learning, and it forces me to self-evaluate where I am as a rider. Last week, I wrote this line, Instead of feeling like I am stuck at Training Level, I now see the basics as an avenue for helping Izzy instead of holding me back. As soon as I wrote that line, I realized what the truth was. The real truth is that I have spent this past year and a half feeling like Izzy is holding me back, like he is the reason I am not to Fourth Level yet. That realization was like a punch to the gut. Oof. If anyone is holding anyone back, it is so obviously me that I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. Izzy has four sound legs and oodles of natural ability. He's not holding anyone back from succeeding. If he had a more knowledgeable rider, he'd have passed Fourth Level long ago. Instead, he's the one stuck at the lower levels with me as his rider. You would think that realizing I am the weakest link in our chain would be depressing and demoralizing, but it actually has the opposite effect. I can't change Izzy, but I can certainly change myself. I can get better, and in fact, I am doing so every single day. Each week when I ride with Sean Cunningham, owner and trainer at STC Dressage, I see evidence of my progress. And I am not the only one. Sean sees it too. If I want to get to Fourth Level, I have to work harder. That's all there is to it. It's not Izzy's fault that we're not there, and now that I get that, the path forward seems wide open.
Regular servings of humble pie do a body good! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong 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. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy 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 showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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