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This weekend's El Sueno show was a lot of fun, and I never felt stressed about it. Of course I wanted to do well, but it didn't worry me. I am still coping with the migraine issue, but even though it was hot as blazes - great conditions for triggering a migraine, I was pain free all weekend. That alone counts as a win.  Chemaine Hurtado and me - she's no doubt smiling because we didn't screw up too badly! We were wearing Symphony Dressage Stable shirts, so it's important not to crash and burn! Since I am always on a budget, I go with the cheapest stabling option possible, but this time, Speedy got to stay in the main barn, a total upgrade from the portable stalls. Now that we've flown business class, I don't think we can ever go back to coach. Speedy's small enough that we don't need the bigger stalls when we show, but I think he appreciated the extra room.  Business Class stabling The best thing about stabling in the main barn was that it was completely shaded with a lovely breeze. We weren't hunkered down in the corner of the stall looking for a strip of shade. With warming up in the covered arena, I stayed cool enough to wear my coat even though coats were waived first thing in the morning.  El Sueno's covered arena. Ring one is just to the left of the grass. Chemaine was able to come out on Friday evening for a lesson, and she coached me through both tests on Staurday. I can go to a show without her of course - and I did that for a lot of years, but it's such a luxury to have someone coaching you through your warm up.  Heading into the ring. Photo by El Sueno's social media photographer. Besides having fun, my number one goal was to eliminate any score below a 6.0. We killed it on Saturday's Second Level Test 1 with nothing lower than a 6.0! In fact, we earned three 7s, and fourteen(!) 6.5s. We finished the test with a 64.242%. It's not a brilliant score, but it's approaching the mid-60 range which tells me we are definitely showing improvement.  Our first centerline - 7.0 The first couple of times I rode this test, and test 3, I needed a reader. A few shows ago, I decided to ride it on my own as I find that I do a better job if I am thinking about the movements rather than waiting for someone to tell me where to go. For this test, everything slowed way down, and I had time to prepare for the movements (to the best of my ability - Charlotte Dujardin I am not).  Circle right 10-meters - 6.5 with the comment "balanced" Our comments for this test were needs more over stride, needs impulsion, slightly lazy, and needs more ground cover. Yes, yes, and yes. There were other corrective comments as well like slightly off rail, think shoulder fore when on rail, and keep slight flexion right on right lead. Got it, will do. The judge was really kind and friendly to everyone. After every test she thanked the riders and often gave compliments loud enough for everyone to hear.  Collected canter left lead - a bit early but still "balanced, obedient" for a 6.5 The judge's further remarks were spot on, This is a nice horse to learn on - well balanced and obedient. Try to get him a little more up for medium canter and a quicker walk in between canter on serpentine. I had to laugh at the first part though - if she only knew what a butthead he was in the beginning. But yes, he is a great horse to learn on now that he's 14 and truly broke to ride. She could have filled the page with try to get him ____________. We have plenty of room for improvement, but I'll take the positive comments. Here's the test. Last week I ordered a gray dressage pad hoping that it might look good against Speedy's gray coat. The fun thing about having a grey-nearly-white, horse is that he looks great in almost every color. As it turns out, gray might not be for him.  gray pad fail The plan was to update my gray show coat to a nicer gray coat and then pair it with a gray pad. I think the combination could be stunning if only the pad were a pretty gray and not a gray tinged with lilac. The pad was sturdily built and had a nice contoured shape, but the gray color was off. In some lights, it looked like it had a purplish tint.  The drop was too long. Even though the color wasn't what I was wanting for showing, I could have lived with the pad for schooling, but it was just too big for Speedy. This is not a new issue. Finding dressage pads with a shorter drop has always been a challenge. Finding one with a shorter drop in just the right color is going to be even harder.
At this weekend's show, I ran into my pal, Valerie, who owns The Dressage Pony Store. She and her pony Clooney were sporting a fabulous white pad with navy and gold trim. It was stunning and fit Clooney's diminutive frame perfectly! Clooney is similar in size to Speedy, so I know the pad will fit. So, guess what's on its way to Bakersfield? Show update tomorrow ... Don't get me wrong; I love having a trailer, especially one that allows me to sleep on the show grounds rather than footing a hotel bill. With so many bells and whistles though come problems. Since last summer, I've been battling an intermittent trailer light issue. Last summer I was able to sand off the metal bits of the plug and receptacle which seemed to remove the corrosion allowing the lights to work. On Saturday morning, my brake lights and running lights worked great. When I loaded up on Sunday morning, none of the running lights worked, but I did have brake lights and blinkers. I went to the show anyway as running lights only come on when the headlights are on.  This is the plug receptacle causing all the trouble! On Wednesday morning, I decided that I had better figure out what was wrong as I'm leaving for a two-day show this morning. The last time the lights went wonky, I simply rubbed sandpaper all over the metal bits of the plug which got things working again. After an hour of sandpapering and climbing in and out of the truck bed to check the lights, I had only made the problem worse! None of the trailer lights were working, not even the brake lights. I'll admit to using a few choice words, most of which began with the letter "F."  A temporary solution Fortunately, Blue Truck has a second plug receptacle beneath the bumper for bumper pull trailers. When I plugged into that receptacle, the lights lit up as usual. That told me that something was wrong with the bed receptacle. I pulled out my truck's manual (as if that were going to help), and turned to the page dealing with the fuses. After tugging on a few and getting nowhere, I decided to get some help. The ranch owners are quite handy with vehicle issues, so I hunted them down and asked for some advice. It was agreed upon by all (why I contributed to the conversation I don't know as I clearly couldn't fix it) that I should take the truck and trailer in to have it repaired professionally.  It's true what they say about duct tape and bailing twine. Now we can add bungee cords and electrical tape. They fix anything! In the meantime, a bungee cord and some electrical tape are going to get me to the show and back. I made an appointment to have the wiring, and a few other things, checked out next week. Nothing like added stress as I head to a show!
We all know that Izzy is not an easy horse. He lacks confidence and is suspicious of anything new or different. I don't mind. I do all the showing I want with Speedy, so I don't feel any pressure with Izzy. I just keep working on whatever he needs on any given day. If you've been following along for any length of time, you know all about our bitting issue. Quick recap if you're new: I started him in a lozenge snaffle which worked fine until it didn't. Moved on to several ported bits that Izzy loved but that weren't legal dressage bits. Experimented with a legal bit that offered lots of tongue relief, but no control. When it seemed as though he was done with all of the jackassery, I finally decided to use the legal bit exclusively.  Late spring with non-legal bit. I wish I could say that the switch to the legal bit went without a hitch. It did not. You would have thought that I was starting over completely. Izzy's world simply fell apart. When he broke his headstall, I bought a new one never imagining that I would have to remind him how to be bridled. He knew it was new and different, and since he doesn't do new and different, he refused to be bridled. It took some patience and a few days, but he once again takes the bridle without any fussing. Bridling wasn't the only fight. With the legal bit, I have very little control, and Izzy figured that out quickly. We went from a long and stretchy back to a super short back with a tendency to bolt, again.  Early June with non-legal bit. Izzy brought out all of his old tricks: Balking, bolting, rearing, stiff jaw, running through my aids, and so on. Fortunately, I've seen all of these tricks before and know how to work through them. When he started balking, which leads to rearing, I brought out my whip and went to town. Every time he even thought about slamming on the brakes, I whacked him with the whip until he agreed to go forward. That's not always guaranteed to work though. One day, he decided to rear after I whacked him. As I was yanking his head to the side, my whip got hung up in my reins. As I struggled to free it, Izzy had a bit of a meltdown, and I experienced a very serous Oh, crap! moment. No one was injured though, and Izzy has since rethought the rearing thing.  An Oh, Crap! moment from last year. When the balking and rearing didn't work, Izzy decided to try bolting at random moments. We would be walking along quite nicely with a drape in my reins when all of a sudden he would launch forward into a bolt. Jerk! I worked him through that by using the pulley halt. I simply planted the knuckles of one hand into his mane and halted with the other. I sent him forward and then halted. Repeatedly. Many times. Eventually, he quit bolting.  An attempted bolt from last winter. I am happy to report that a month later, we seem to be back in business. We still have at least one Come Meet Jesus moment during our rides, but I've finally convinced him that I still have control with this bit and that the rules have not changed. During our last couple of rides, I've been able to ask for a lengthened stride, and I am getting more moments where he is asking to stretch down again.  Getting more relaxed even while tacking up. While I find it a bit frustrating that he is so incredibly sensitive to change, I am happy that he is willing to be talked off the ledge. Like I told my chiropractor the other day, it's not like I have anything better to do. And besides, I kind of like the big jerk.
I had one ride between my first test and second test so there was no time to go back to the warm up to fix anything. These afternoon rides are the hardest for us because it's so hot. Speedy is a happy enough guy, but he's also lazy in the heat. This creates a lack of forwardness which contributes to curling and being downhill. So instead of more schooling, which only serves to annoy the heck out of him, we stood and watched Chemaine Hurtado's ride (she earned the Open Point!).  First medium trot - 6.5 Not so long ago, I struggled with First Level's test 3. That thing is pretty hard. Now here we are at Second Level chipping away at its third test. Second Level is not easy, but I think its test 3 is comparatively easier than First Level's test 3. Again, it's not an easier test, but it makes a lot more sense than 1-3.  Second medium trot - 6.5 Even though my goal was no score under 6.0, we still earned a single 5.5. The rest of the test was filled with a long line of 6.0s, fifteen of them in fact. We earned ten 6.5s and a 7.0 for our final halt and salute. Our final score was 62.073%, which was higher than our score for 2-1. That always makes me happy.  I still love this braid! After watching the video, I think the judge was very generous when he scored my halts. I've been schooling the halt to trot to halt which has made Speedy very "jumpy" in his once very quiet halts. As a result, he's super antsy about the halt because he's expecting me to goose him forward into the trot. That's definitely something I need to work on quieting down.  Second serpentine - 6.0 While I am delighted about ditching the 4s and 5s that we started with, there are definitely a few things we can work on. Our simple change is still not confirmed. Sometimes we get it great, other times not so much. The upward transition to canter is pretty reliable. It's the canter to walk transition that's still not.  An exuberant walk to canter - 6.5 While our season has seemed to progress from insufficient (we've had more 4.0s than we've ever had before) to slightly better than satisfactory (we're getting some nice 6.5s and 7.0s), I am actually quite pleased with what we've done so far. We've earned seven scores in the 60% range. Those seven scores mean that we are now qualified for the California Dressage Society's Regional Adult Amateur Competition and the CDS Championship show. Speedy also has enough scores to earn CDS's new Horse Performance Award at Second Level; I just dropped the application in the mail.  Heading for our final halt and salute. We're going to another two-day USDF show this weekend. I am feeling like I have a much better handle on Second Level, but you know how that goes. My goal continues to be to eliminate any score below 6.0. We'll see what happens. Either way, I am really pleased with the direction we're heading. We haven't mastered the level, but it's no longer so intimidating. Here's the video. |
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)
Bakersfield Dressage approved!
My favorite breeches!
FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
I love her stuff!
Watercolor Artist and Friend
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: 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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