Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Super quick post - I am officially back to work as of yesterday, but it seems as though both horses are over their individual maladies. Universe, I am knocking on wood, so please refrain from sending me some other inconveniently irritating issue with which to contend. When I got to the barn yesterday, Izzy had some dried tears on his face, but otherwise, his eye was clear with no swelling or obvious irritation. The cut in the corner looked much better. I didn't bother with syringing it since it looked perfectly healthy. I did cover his face with Swat though. Yesterday, Speedy, who has walked through about 10 miles of duct tape over the past week, looked like he was ready to be ridden. I trotted him in hand over grass and the hard packed driveway on Saturday, and he looked 98% sound. I actually considered loading him up for the drive to Paso Robles to try and make Sunday's portion of the show. Sunday is the RAAC. And then common sense reared its very adult head. The silver lining was that Speedy looked sound even if it was two days too late. I packed his foot with Numotizine over the weekend just in case there was a bit more of the abscess brewing. I saddled him up yesterday afternoon even though it was 95*. I did our usual walking warm up which now includes lots of half passing. When he felt sound, I asked him to pick up a trot. It was flat and lazy, but it was even without the hint of a hitch. My plan was to do as much as he was okay doing. Before I knew it, we did a few medium trots across the diagonal along with some shoulder in to half pass. And just to really check his soundness, I asked for a canter with some flying lead changes.
And darn it all if he didn't nail them perfectly! While the October show at SCEC was only on my calendar as a back up plan, I am now planning on going for sure. It's a two-day USDF show, so it gives me another chance at earning a Bronze Medal score. And then there's that show in December at El Sueno ...
As a horse owner horse is like a kid and kids get scratches all the time that's not an issue, However sometime the synthetic tack leads to itching and scratches, I prefer leather tacks, For details on leather tack you can visit - https://bit.ly/2TILUVc 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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