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Again. This is at least the sixth time. While he might not always be going for death, I think dismemberment might be one of his goals as well. Let me recap:
Essentially, I hosed him off, walked away for minute, and heard grunting and scrambling. I turned around and ran back to the wash rack (20 feet) where I saw Izzy lying on his side with one of his front legs on one side of the wash rack's front leg and the rest of his legs on the other side. The cross ties had snapped free like they are supposed to do, thankfully.  Photo from January I realized that with the leg of the wash rack between his two front legs, he couldn't get up. I tried to pull his other leg forward, but he was too close to the post. He tried once or twice to get up, but I patted his neck and told him to wait. Izzy is brilliant in a jam as he never struggles but waits for help. He laid there patiently as I puzzled out how to get him up. If he wasn't as level headed as he is, things would not have turned out well. I tried sliding him over, but I quickly realized there was no way I could move him myself. Believe it or not, I didn't panic ... I never do, but I was deeply concerned. I realized that this had the makings for a real disaster. I finally dragged the rear mat out from under his butt and wedged it under his hind feet. He let me lift his hind legs without offering to struggle. When his toes had something to push on, I went back to his head and asked him to sit up. He gave a few big swings, but he couldn't quite get free of the bar between his front legs. I shimmied his hind legs and then his fronts, and with one final effort, he managed to free his front leg enough to use it to stand. Once he was on all four legs, he staggered out into the grass and hung his head. I quickly reattached his lead rope and looked for damage. Miraculously, all he had were a few minor scrapes on his legs and one nasty divot next to his eye. I hand walked him for the better part of a half an hour until his breathing was quiet and he was munching on the grass happily. I called the chiropractor before I left for home.  Izzy loves the chiropractor. Izzy got cast on Friday night, the evening before I left for Horse Expo. I gave him some Bute that evening and was pleased that he looked no worse for wear the next morning when I arrived to load up Speedy. Even so, I knew he was going to be sore. The chiropractor came on Monday, and I was right, Izzy was sore from nose to tail. It took more than hour to get him feeling better, but after some body work, Izzy was good to go.  This one took a lot longer than usual. To my relief, the chiropractor didn't find anything other than some muscle soreness. There was no heat or filling anywhere, and he trotted off sound. I rode him on Thursday and then again this past weekend. Other than being a jerk, he's as sound as can be. Not bad for a horse who keeps trying to break his own legs.
First of all ... HALLELUJAH ... If you've ever been without internet, you know my pain. We went silent on Thursday and weren't back up and running until Monday evening. It was the longest weekend of my life. It is amazing how much of our lives are conducted on the world wide web. I have an iphone of course, but checking bank balances, researching puppy food, and paying taxes are not so easy to do with a tiny screen and mini key board. I must apologize to my trusty modem - sorry, Dude, you weren't to blame after all. Anyone want to guess why we lost connectivity?  I can almost see the teeth marks. Why yes, yes it was little Miss Brienne of Tarth. Booger. The puppy found the internet line and worked on it until she successfully disconnected us from the world at large. The new line has been installed at about five feet above the ground. By the time she can reach it, she should be long past the chewing stage of life. While I am sure that you find all of this incredibly fascinating, it's not what I've been wanting to write about. And frankly, now that more than a week has passed, I am over the whole Expo thing even though I had tons of stuff left to share. I'll give it a shot though.  Tacking up Last week, I mostly talked about the nuts and bolts of Chemaine's program. By the way, before I forget to mention it, she's been invited to be the dressage clinician at Horse Expo in Sacramento in June. I am not sure if she has accepted the invitation or not, but I already know I can't go. As luck would have it, we leave for Italy that very same weekend. That's not on topic either. I leave the blogging world for an extended weekend and suddenly I am an incoherent writer.  Just like any other show ... What I wanted to say was that being a demo rider is really one of the coolest experiences that I've had. I can't imagine any show that I would attend ever being any more daunting than riding in an hour-long demonstration. What I most loved about it was that I was able to completely tune out the audience and just ride. I cannot begin to describe what a liberating experience that was.  Getting to work - I wish the hind end had joined us! Even though I tuned the audience out, I was still very much aware of the deficiencies in my riding. When I asked my best friend how we came across to the audience, I think she was honest in her response when she said we looked really good. I think she was actually a bit surprised at the quality of our ride - she's known me for more than 20 years, so she's seen all of the before. She wasn't saying we were brilliant or anything, and she quickly added that we have stuff to work on, but her point was that we looked like we belonged there. I think she was impressed by our progress. That was a huge relief to hear because I work hard, but I don't usually see the improvement.  A very distracting arena. Now the front's not going anywhere either! Knowing that we have said deficiencies made the whole endeavor feel so intimidating, but I approached it like I do this blog. From my own experience, I know there are far more riders out there like me, struggling, than there are finished riders. I rode for those people, the ones who need to see a horse and rider messing up because that's what happens to them at home. By watching me struggle, they were able to listen to Chemaine's corrections and maybe take away some ideas to help them fix something at home.  More inside bend ... MORE! So there you go - my final thoughts on being a demo rider at Horse Expo. There was much potential for humiliation and failure, but I focused on compartmentalizing those concerns and locked the doors tightly. Instead of riding with those fears, I focused on how I could help riders like me see solutions to our common problems. I hope I was successful.
While we consider ourselves to be fairly techie at my house, we also operate under the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. That means that we still have DSL at our house. Sort of. Last weekend, our modem 11-year old modem finally gave up the ghost. When I went to replace said modem, I was met with the reality that we are quite a ways behind the eight ball. Replacement modems of the sort that I need are no longer readily available on retail shelves. My internet provider had one, for a whopping $100, but the decision was made to simply upgrade to a cable connection. So. This morning, my DSL light blinked a steady red warning which meant I was forced to write a quick post from somewhere else. I have more to share about Expo, and I definitely want to reply to your comments. I also have some posts about Izzy trying to kill himself (spoiler alert: he's fine) and reviews about my new boots and breeches, but my updated internet service won't be hooked up until Monday afternoon. With that, have a great three day weekend, and I will see you all on Tuesday!  Regularly scheduled programming will resume on Tuesday ... Sunday dawned warm and sunny. I had been really anxious about the weekend, mostly out of fear of making Chemaine look bad, but after watching everyone else's rides on Saturday, the anxiety disappeared. Chemaine did a really good job of describing each rider's ability while also letting the audience know that each horse and rider team would perform the exercises differently, depending on the horse and rider's level of training. Knowing that the audience wasn't going to expect Speedy and me to look as good as Jackie on Chemaine's Grand Prix horse was very liberating.  He's such a show off! I am not sure what I am doing, but he sure looks good. (Photo by Stephanie Wilson) Back at the barn, all four of us saddled up together so that we could ride over to the arena in a group - safety in numbers! It was easily a half a mile walk to the arena, a good part of it through the crowd and past vendors. Our horses handled it all with ease.  Left to right: Shauna, Marie, Jackie, and me: Chemaine's demo riders for Sunday. Just so you can see what the warm up was like, here's a short video that shows the group that rode in front of us leaving the arena as we entered. The ring was a bit chaotic as they left and we started warming up. Speedy was a bit silly, and for a moment or two, I wondered if he was going to be able to focus on his job. Once it was just us riding, Speedy started to really settle down and focus on what I was asking him to do. He didn't turn into an upper level horse or anything, but he was pretty business like. Chemane started things off by giving a quick introduction of each of the riders. This clinic was titled, "The Horse You Rode In On," so Chemaine had a variety of breeds and disciplines represented. There was me on an Arabian who had started life as an endurance horse; Marie on her Quarter Horse, Frankie; Shauna, a jumper, riding Van; and of course Chemaine's assistant, Jackie, riding Chemaine's horse, Belle. As I was riding, I truly tuned out the audience and focused completely on demonstrating what Chemaine was asking for. It was actually quite challenging to listen to her lecture and try to keep up. Since Chemaine had asked me to be one of her riders, I felt very obligated to provide as good an example of the exercise for the audience that I could. We started with easy exercises like bending, but then we moved on to a counter canter exercise. We've struggled with this a bit, but with Chemaine's commentary, I didn't feel like a failure for not getting it the first time. In fact, if you listen to Chemaine's comment about my attempts, you get the sense that she expected us to need several tries, just like the audience would if they went home and tried it for themselves. I think that by having "real life" riders, and not just the finished product, the exercises looked more accessible for the average Joe/Josephina. Chemaine also took a moment to show the audience how to check if your horse is truly supple. She does this neat demonstration where she changes the bend while standing on the ground. Watch for yourself. My portion of the demo was to show the different ways you can ride 10-meter circles within a serpentine. As you ride a three loop serpentine, you can do a figure eight at the center line. We started with a trot on the three-loop serpentine, but we used the 10-meter figure eight to change the bend through a walk. After doing the exercise at a trot, we moved on to the canter. When we got to center line, I was supposed to canter a 10-meter circle, walk, change the bend, and pick up the new lead into another 10-meter circle and then continue on with the 3-loop serpentine, repeating the two 10-meter circles on the center line. This exercise is challenging. First of all, getting the geometry right is harder than it looks, Secondly, if you don't get a correct change of bend, the horse will pick up the wrong lead. While riding the exercise, I didn't stick to the structure of the exercise as much as I focused on getting the bend and the correct lead. Chemaine didn't hassle me about it even though I am sure she wanted the audience to see it done correctly. After I rode, Chemaine had each of the other ladies demonstrate a different exercise. Marie rode the 20-meter circle wth the 10-meter circles off to the side (think of a Mickey mouse head); Jackie showed off all of Belle's moves which included an unbelievable extended trot, piaffe, and passage; and Shauna showed how lead changes learned through Van's dressage work help her on a jumper course.  Working the Crowd While riding was undeniably awesome, visiting with the crowd afterwards was almost as much fun. I knew Speedy would totally dig this part as he is a total show off and loves his "fans." Again, not every horse would have been comfortable standing at the fence line as a crowd of people clambered down from the bleachers to get closer. All four horses took it in stride.
It was great fun chatting with the crowd. I met two blog readers (Hi, Ladies!) and a mother with her two young daughters. The youngest girl rode dressage while her slightly older sister was a jumper. They were simply adorable. I spent quite a bit of time asking them about their own horses as they stroked Speedy's neck and face. He ate it up, the little diva. All I can say is what a weekend. I can't thank Chemanine enough for giving me the opportunity to ride in such a "big" atmosphere. It was a great learning experience for both Speedy and me. Now we'll be ready for the big time! Before doing the demo ride on Sunday, I asked Chemaine if we could do a lesson on Saturday night. I was thrilled when she made time in her schedule to school us through the exercises that she wanted us to demonstrate the next day. I should point out that being one of Chemaine's demo rider ranks up there as one of the most enjoyable, exhilarating, and awesome things that I have had the opportunity to do with horses. And I have completed 100-mile endurance rides, ridden across the Irish countryside, galloped on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, jumped fallen redwoods in Redwood National Park, and ridden horses in at least five different countries. Even with all of that, being a demo rider was pretty damn cool. Even taking a lesson at the Fairplex was exciting. We rode in the racetrack's infield, just behind the main arena with music blaring and the announcer calling out introductions. As my lesson started, the track's lights came on, and the atmosphere became almost electric. Speedy sure felt it!  Chemaine had us start with a changing the bend exercise. Basically, it's a figure eight, but in the straight section, the rider 1) takes up the outside rein, 2) weights the new inside seat bone, 3) sponges the new inside rein to get a bend, and 4) RELEASES the new inside rein. The exercise can be done at the walk, trot to walk to trot, trot - change the bend - trot, canter to trot to canter, and even canter to lead change to canter. The video is super short, but it shows how we started: trot a 20-meter circle, walk, change the bend, trot the other 20-meter circle. The exercise just builds in complexity from there. After we warmed up by doing it at a trot, we moved on to the canter. For the canter, I brought him back to a trot and then a walk where I changed the bend and then changed the lead. As the exercise gets more complex, the downward transitions become canter to walk transitions in preparation for Second Level Test 1, and ultimately for flying changes. This little video clip is funny because my friends are heckling me as we struggle with getting the correct lead. I am including it just for fun. As it got darker, more and more riders came out onto the field in preparation for the evening program that was gearing up in the main arena. Speedy started woohooing, and my support team/photographer took a few minutes to poke fun at us. So, for all of the Speedy fans out there who don't believe that he can be a jerk, here's proof that he can be full of piss and vinegar. For the rest of the lesson we focused on the counter canter. I play around with counter canter all of the time, but not picking it up. If we're cantering on a left lead, I'll circle around and do a 20-meter counter canter circle but then return to a true canter. Chemaine wanted me to be able to pick up the counter canter on the long side for the demo ride. Speedy can pick up both leads equally as well when the direction of travel is obvious. If we're circling right, he gets the right lead. If we're circle left, same thing. On the long side however, I am not as good with my seat aids, so he simply defaults to a true canter lead, or a left lead if the option isn't super clear. In this last video, Chemaine was really encouraging me to look in the direction of the lead. For me, picking up the right lead was the most difficult as my right hip has trouble coming forward. I really enjoyed this lesson because we worked on some new things in a huge, wide open field with a lot of distractions. There were riders carrying flags, western horses schooling their stuff, lights, and the loudspeaker blaring music and voices. Through it all, Speedy mostly did what I asked. Even though we struggled with some of the exercises, I was really proud of him as a lot of other horses would have lost it in those conditions.  Working that counter canter! Tomorrow: the demo ride!
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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. 
Photo by Lori Ovanessian
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.
July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)
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.
March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)
FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
I love her stuff!
Watercolor Artist and Friend
Bakersfield Dressage approved!
National Rider Awards
USDF Bronze Medal - 2020
USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013
State Rider Awards
CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
State Horse Awards
Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
Speedy G - 2nd Level Horse Performance Award - 2018
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2022 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic (Q) Qualifier 2022 Show Schedule
(*) Tehachapi 7/24/22 (*) Tehachapi 8/28/22 2022 Completed … (*) Tehachapi 5/22/22 2022 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying 2 Scores/1 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Archives
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