I am pretty sure I mentioned this a few months ago, but the day has finally (nearly) arrived! Early tomorrow morning we're headed to the 31st annual Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park. We bought our tickets months ago. We've been to Santa Anita Park twice this year, box seats (purple), but for this event, we had to settle for seats that were a little less grand.

Normally, box seats run about $15 each, but for this event, they were around $1,000 each, so um … no. We spent $125 (each) for the Club Apron seating (yellow seating), which is okay, but not quite the view we've come to expect. Basic grandstand seats, which are quite a ways from the finish line, are normally around $5 but were $75 for this weekend.

The Club Apron seats are just a little bit beyond the finish line, but the promoters guaranteed us a massive television screen for our area to improve the view. Hopefully it's as massive as they advertised! The photo below was taken earlier in the year, but the Club Apron seating is just down to the right from this view. The finish line is at the pole in front of and to the right of the gray horse.

Our ticket package arrived a week or so ago. The tickets are those big plastic things that require a lanyard. We also got brochures and discounts for Breeders Cup wear; hubby has already ordered a polo.

My husband has become the horse racing guru. He bets every weekend with his Twin Spires online account. He already has his picks for this weekend circled. Me, I am not such a big gambler (breeches to buy, dontcha know!) so I am taking $5 for each of the 12 races. I will however, be bringing along a little extra for my beverage of choice, of course.

A friend has a friend who has a horse running, Sweet Swap, ridden by none other than Corey Nakatani, so I am definitely betting on that horse. And of course, what Californian is not betting on California Chrome? 

I promise a full report later next week, and hopefully I'll get some decent pictures. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you all on Monday. 

Probably just four: two for schooling and two for showing.

Someone started a blog hop about the number of breeches that we all own. I don't generally participate in blog hops, not because they aren't interesting, but because I am too lazy to figure out how to add my URL to the list. But this topic, the number of breeches I own, is timely since I just added four new pair to my already ridiculous pile.

I should start with a short story …

When I first started riding endurance, back in 1996, I thought breeches were only for jumpers. After doing some conditioning rides in jeans, I discovered that ANYTHING other than jeans would have to be more comfortable. Since online shopping wasn't quite as easy back then, finding breeches was a little challenging. 

Instead of breeches, I opted for leggings from Target. They were black and far more comfortable than jeans, but they didn't last very long. They tended to get pretty thin and see through. Once I got to know a few endurance riders, I discovered that there were endurance vendors who sold riding tights geared for endurance. I was hooked.

My favorite pair were a super loud giraffe print. I had plenty of others in all kinds of wild colors and prints including electric blue, copper, shiny burgundy, and a cool pair of hot pink paint splatter (down below). I also had many pairs in standard black and brown.

I share this so you get a feel for my love of riding pants. I still own four pair of endurance tights, three of which are made by a company that have long since gone out of business. 

I answered my question from above: how many pair of riding breeches do I need. The more important question should be: how many pairs of breeches do I own? The simple answer is too many. Why I have so many pair is a mystery to me, especially since I like to wear one pair over and over. Somehow, being filthy makes them more comfortable.

Since I added a few new pair to the collection, I needed to empty out my two drawers set aside for breeches so that I could make room for the newcomers. Here is what I found.

I certainly don't need all of these breeches. As it is, I wear the same pair most of the week. And even though I ride five to seven days a week, it would still take me almost three consecutive weeks of daily riding to get through the entire pile. There is nothing else in my life that I hoard. As a general rule, I am frugal, conservative, and hate waste.

I guess we all have that one thing … So what was my total count?

I would really like to know how many pairs you all own. Is your count anything like mine?

If you only started following recently, Sydney has several nicknames. When things aren't going too well, he's Mr. Hyde. When he's right there with me, he's Captain Awesome all the way. Last week, we had a serious Jekyll and Hyde afternoon. It was so terrible that I didn't even want to write about it.

I jinxed myself, of course, because it came after a day that I had flippantly tossed out that Sydney's normal fall freak-outs had not happened (yet). Sure enough, the very next day, all hell broke loose. Not half way down the arena, on a loose rein while walking, Sydney spun violently to the right, his preferred direction for freaking out, and stood at full attention with his heart pounding beneath my thigh.

Shit. Pardon my language.

I spent the next 45 minutes riding a 2 x 4. I tried every single suppling exercise that I know, but nothing worked. Eventually, I felt that he wanted to canter, and I knew it would be good for him, if he could stay in control. I told him that he could canter, but it was going to be on the left lead, to the left. He tried everything he could to whip his head to the right, but I planted my inside rein on my knee and repeatedly asked for a left lead canter.

Finally, he let go through his neck just enough that he could pick up his inside shoulder and canter on the left lead. I let him burn off some of his tension in a good hand gallop, but then I slowly asked him to collect and get back on his haunches. By the time we finished, much of the tension was gone, but it took the better part of a week to get rid of the rest of it.

I rode him nearly each day, focusing solely on relaxation. He got better and better. On Monday afternoon. Captain Awesome finally showed up with his cape snapping smartly in the wind. He practically saluted me. We worked in the scary end of the arena for the first time in nearly a week. That's where the freak-out had occurred. We cantered the whole arena, we rode big looping circles, and even did 15-meter circles, all on both leads.

What a relief. I know I don't have an easy horse to ride, but it's always frustrating when Sydney takes ten giant backward steps. Those weird freak-outs are occurring less and less, but that doesn't make them any more fun to get through. 

When we finished our ride on Monday afternoon, Sydney got TONS of hugs and kisses followed by a handful of cookies. He looked pretty pleased with himself, and maybe even a bit surprised. I hope he remembers that feeling for the rest of the fall.

The Pied Piper being SmartPak. 

You might remember that I reviewed SmartPak's Piper Breeches a few weeks ago. I didn't love them, but I was considering re-ordering a different size.

As it happened, SmartPak had another sale the day I posted my review. I just couldn't quit on those breeches; I liked everything about them except the fit. My plan was to order one size down and get them in the long. I am not sure why I expected this strategy to work for me. If something doesn't fit in my standard size, tweaking with the sizing rarely works. And a long? I'm 5'3" - no one has ever suggested I need a taller size.

I couldn't help myself though. I really wanted those breeches to be The One. I placed my order for a pair of Military Green Piper breeches in a 28L and kept my fingers crossed. When they arrived, I laid the 30s on my bed and placed the 28Ls over the top see how they compared. As expected, the 28s were about two inches narrower at the waist and about two inches longer.

As I slipped them on, I prayed fervently that the fit would be right. To my surprise, they did fit a lot better, but that pesky sag was still an issue. It wasn't horrible, no belt was needed, but I did feel the need to do the occasional hitch up.

The color was really nice, almost a deep forest color - I guess military green (more brown than green though) is the best way to describe them. I liked them … a lot. Since jeggings are so popular right now, I knew I could get away with wearing them to work, and what better way to test them out than by wearing them ALL DAY LONG.

I paired them with a pair of black boots (fashion, not riding), a swooped-front, clingy black cardigan, and a white cami/tank. It was a really cute outfit that garnered several compliments. And you know, once I got to work, I found the breeches to be really comfortable. They needed to be hiked up every now and then, but so do lots of the jeans that I wear.

When I got home after work, I switched out of my top and kicked off my fashion boots. I threw on my paddock boots and was off to the barn. If nothing else, wearing your breeches to work is definitely a time saver. I had a lesson that afternoon, so those breeches got a full trial - all day at work followed by a ride. I wore them for more than twelve hours that day.

I liked them so much, aside from the occasional need to hike them up, that I got on the phone with SmartPak that night and asked what we could do to trade in the already worn and laundered 30s. I know SmartPak says they take anything back, but there is some fine print. Since they can't resell them, they offered me a partial credit. We negotiated the credit based on what I had paid, which I considered fair.

The credit was in my account before I could even return the larger pair of breeches. I packaged them up and sent them off, and then I re-ordered the anthracite with electric coral - they were just so darned cute, and then I went ahead and bought the navy with teal. I know. I am shaking my head in embarrassment; I don't know what came over me.

Can you hear that? I am sure it is a lilting tune from a flute that I hear ...

Er … metal shoes? 

Given that I spend way, way, WAY more on my ponies' shoes than I do on my own footwear, it's not surprising that I see horseshoes as valuable objects that deserve respect.

I mentioned the other day that I have moved to a new school. My last school didn't recognize a student of the month, but happily, this one does. The first student of the month passed without me being there.

When I realized what a great group of students I have this year, I decided that I wanted to honor their achievement of being THE STUDENT OF THE MONTH with a tangible trophy. And of course, upon what do we (equestrians) place a high value? Good feet of course. No hoof, no horse and all that. 

I asked my farrier, the World's Greatest if you'll remember, if he wouldn't mind leaving my boys' old footwear when he finished his work. To my surprise, and delight, he left me a stack of brand new horseshoes. I immediately set to work planning on how to turn a piece of gray metal into a trophy.

I bought some red spray paint (had to show ID), a black paint pen (had to show ID AGAIN!), and a roll of jute string. I spent two afternoons spray painting my horseshoes - fronts and backs. Later in the week, I attached the jute string and then used the paint pen to label my new Student of the Month trophies.

My school is named after a gentleman named Hart, and our mascot is a Hawk - we are the Hart Hawks. Our students of the month earn the Hawk Hero award - cute, huh? In my class, we are stallions so I decided to combine the two by painting "Hawk Hero" on a red horseshoe. Our school colors are red and black. I can't believe how cute these little trophies turned out! Take a look.

Jay Stevens, creator of Centerline Scores, has just come up with a new and brilliant idea. Well technically, it's an idea already used around the world, but it will be new for US dressage riders. He has devised a formula to rate riders, specifically those who are in the middle to upper levels.

I don't want to hijack his blog as he has explained the system and rationale better than I ever could. Normally, I have a lot to say about a lot of things, but this time, all I can say is WHAT HE SAID. Jay has explained his point quite well. If you're at all interested in how riders can be ranked, check out his blog here. It's worth the read; I promise.

On a different note, we're heading to the cabin again this weekend; we're in the middle of a construction project.  See you on Monday.

I teach 5th grade; no news there. I did change schools this year however, same grade, but it feels like I changed professions. I haven't been this happy at work in a very long time.

When all we do is give, give, give, we grow resentful and tired. After 20 years in the classroom, I had arrived at curmudgeonly and cranky. I didn't particularly enjoy my job, and I was focused on the countdown. I recognized that I needed a change.

Fortunately, I teach in a large enough district that changing schools is not really a big deal. I was also lucky enough to time my need for a change for a year where big boundary changes were already happening. My current school brought in about 10 new teachers this year from around the district. I am sure this has a lot to do with why I feel so energized. With so many new staff members, the school got a good shake up which seems to have refreshed everyone.

I say all of this because I once again feel my creative juices flowing. Instead of feeling that I am giving, giving, giving, I feel like I am receiving. With so much positive feedback from my students and their parents, I find myself looking for ways to spice up my classroom and make it as fun a place to be as possible. Not that I ran a sweat shop before, but seeing new faces in a new building encouraged me to shake the dust off and sweep away some cobwebs. 

So, here are some pictures from my classroom demonstrating the ways that I've brought my equine passion to my other passion.

I have one more equine inspired thing that I did new for this year, but it's so cool that it deserve a post of its own. Look for it next week.

Don't I wish ...

Well, no actually; I am happy enough with just a little bit of suspension. 

This is what Sydney feels like though when he throws a temper tantrum. And to be honest, I think his height above the ground rivals that of those horses of the Spanish Riding School.

The look on JL's face when we come back to Earth is always enough to convince me that we ain't fooling' around. That boy can get some air. We had a lesson on Monday where he put on a little show for the barn cats (all three of them) and Dexter, the dog.

Everything has been going really well. The right lead canter is back in place, thanks to my commitment to be solid with the outside rein (even if I have to use the bucking strap). The left lead canter is getting more and more uphill. Sydney is allowing himself to relax and bend at the poll, and most importantly, when he's upset, he readily comes back to me mentally.

This might not seem huge, but for me, it is. It's only been in the past few months that I can persuade Sydney that when he's anxious, the trot is a safe place to be. Way back in the beginning, I couldn't even convince him to walk without feeling like I was riding a rocket. So to find comfort in the trot is a big deal.

With everything going so well, JL proposed a new exercise. While at the right lead canter, she wanted me to get some outside flexion while not giving the inside rein, and then get some inside flexion without giving the outside rein. To do this, the horse has to rock back a little so that he can carry more weight on his haunches so that he can lighten his front end.

We picked up a right lead canter, established a rhythm, and then I asked for the outside flexion. Sydney gave it, as I knew he would, but when I I asked for the inside bend back, his body got rock hard and he dove into my hand. I used my inside leg to push him out and rocked that inside rein trying to get any kind of a bend.

This was a particularly tricky exercise for me because it required me to let go of the bucking strap as I rocked either the inside or outside rein. I must have still had a pretty solid feel on the outside because rather than spin to the right, which is Sydney's go-to, he launched straight up and bucked  hard. Kind of like the picture above, but with a much lower head.

Thank goodness for newly formed habits. Without even thinking about it (I was actually thinking about high high off the ground we were and about how much I hoped I didn't come off), I grabbed that bucking strap in my outside hand and sat up HARD. Sydney landed and came to a screeching halt.

I put my leg on and sent him forward into the trot. I looked to JL to confirm that we had indeed achieved some serious air, and all she could say was, "where did that come from?" For me, the best part of all of those shenanigans is that I no longer feel any fear. I am respectful of what he can do of course, but I am not afraid of him. I've learned how to keep control, which he really appreciates and needs.

We decided that maybe that particular exercise is a bit too much to ask for right now at the canter, so we schooled it from the trot. JL is going on vacation for the next week so my homework is to school the flex to the outside, flex to the inside exercise at the trot while she's gone.

We went to the cabin over the weekend, not horse related I know, but I do have a point. We don't have a phone, cell service, internet, or cable up there (serial killers, please leave us be …) which means we get to be unplugged from society. This is a very good thing.

Not having a connection to the outside world doesn't mean we have no electronics however. Hubby uses the iPad, I read on the Kindle, and we enjoy watching movies and TV shows on Blue Ray/DVD, which brings me to the dressage point to this post. I brought along my copy of On the Levels, USDF's video package that includes all of the tests ridden with a trainer's and judge's remarks.

I hadn't watched it in awhile as I've been hovering at Training Level for so long. Now that I am going to show First Level (Test One) in a few weeks, I wanted to see it ridden with a judge's scoring. I watched the test from C with the judge's comments and then again from E. What was most interesting was the differences in scoring. 

Just from the way it is filmed, I am pretty sure the judge gives his comments while watching a video of the ride. I say this because the same judge scored the ride from the C perspective and then again from the E perspective. It was the same ride, just videoed from the two different locations.

The score from the C perspective was quite a bit higher than from the judge at E (same judge). It was easy to see why. Several rider errors became obvious once you saw them from E or B. The biggest "error" was the 10-meter half circles at X; they were large ovals with four to five trot steps at X. This was the movement I most wanted to see ridden and scored.

Another "error" was in the cantering lengthening. The rider really asked for a lot of jump into the lengthening, and the judge marked her down for that. A friend pointed that very thing out to me earlier by saying it's not a hand gallop. The judge just wants to see if the horse is truly in front of your leg. 

The third thing the judge "picked at" was not having enough inside bend. We already struggle with that so it won't be a shock to see that on my score sheet. And maybe, since I am working on it, it won't be as bad as I think.

I am so glad I took the time to watch the DVD. Of course, I forgot to bring it home so I can't watch it again until we go back up this coming weekend. I learned a lot by watching the test and seeing an immediate score for how it was ridden. We're ready!

Last Wednesday's afternoon lesson left me walking home with that little glow of happiness; and the glow is still there after this weekend. Sydney was so good for the lesson. I think he's happy that I am remembering to support him with that outside rein. Knowing that I get such positive results when I am vigilant with that rein should motivate me to REMEMBER to do so. But alas … I am a slow learner.

JL and I spent a few minutes chatting while I walked Sydney, suppling his neck. Chatting during a lesson is a rather new thing. Lately, my lessons are not so much about JL actively instructing but serving more as my eyes on the ground and coaching me while I apply what she's taught. I am sure we'll return to the more intense lessons soon enough, but for now, it's kind of fun to just be relaxed while working.

Once I felt that Sydney had softened up through his neck and poll, I asked for a trot. His ears were flopping to the side, always a good sign, and he seemed genuinely happy to be working. As I asked for the canter, he took a wonky step which led to the flattest, most awkward canter possible. I rode it for a few strides before I realized that this kind of flat, strung out canter is what causes Sydney to start to feel unsupported.

I brought him back to a walk and put him back together. I was right. He immediately resisted the contact and stiffened his neck. He knew the first canter had been "wrong" and was now worried. JL and I continued to chat while I went back to work softening Sydney through his neck and poll. When I asked for the canter the second time, he lifted nicely into the departure (rather than falling into it), and immediately looked much better.

It was a nice canter, but he was also a bit behind my leg, so I decided to play around a little bit. Instead of staying at the working end of the arena, I pushed him out around the trot poles and around several jumps. This really woke him up so that I had to be much more active with my outside hand. I pushed him into a bigger canter and then asked him to be a bit more collected. When I asked for the downward transition to trot, he offered a really nice, floaty trot rather than lurching into the new gait. I was really proud of our work.

We walked for a minute and then began our work to the right. I immediately took hold of the bucking strap and set to work suppling his neck to the right. Even after offering such nice work, he was already tense and stiff knowing that he was going to canter right. As long as I was vigilant about keeping that outside hand fixed, he got soft. He did fuss a few times, checking to see where it was, but once he realized my hand was going to be there to support him, he got a lot happier.

Just before I could really ask for the canter (I was preparing for it), Sydney volunteered. It wasn't a perfect departure as it was more stretched forward than up, but it wasn't a bolt out of the starting gate either, which is what we've been struggling with. 

There were some tractor noises and barking dogs, so Sydney fussed with the outside rein and the rhythm for a bit, but as long as I had my outside hand firmly on the bucking strap, his worry about me letting go slowly slipped away. We picked up the right lead canter several times, and the departure got better each time.

I mentioned to JL that October has typically been the month where the afternoon anxieties rear their ugly head. That behavior hasn't shown up this year. For the first three years that I had him, autumn was a scary time because he always morphed from Dr. Jekyll into the infamous Mr. Hyde. By spring, the anxiety would begin to dissipate, and for the summer months he would be a mostly happy fellow.

I tried a lot of things to ease his fall/winter worry: I did daily turn out, 24 hour free choice hay, a daily calmer from SmartPak, lots of saddle time, lunging, no lunging, trail rides, and so on. Nothing really helped. I think the answer was for me to become a better rider, which has happened. Right now, he seems really happy with me. As long as I support him with that left rein, he gets more and more relaxed.

We're in a really good place right now!