Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
I've written these word before, but here I go again: I might love this horse more now that I am not riding him. I thought I couldn't love him any more than when he earned us a USDF Bronze Medal; I was wrong. My heart simply melted this weekend as I watched him happily carrying "T" through her first ever dressage show. Speedy was simply perfect. A few weeks ago, T rode through several different tests so that we could determine which tests she should choose to show. While we've done all of the movements from Training Level, we haven't really worked on the leg yields or stretchy trot circle enough to show them, so we decided that she should do Introductory Level Test C and Training Level Test 1. The week before the show, we schooled both tests a few different times. We also spent quite a lot of time talking about how to show. If you've never been to a dressage show, it can look like everything is done in secret. We practiced everything she would need to do before she even started the test. Things like:
Once we'd done all that, T came out for a final warm up ride on Saturday. She did her twenty minute warm up (with me keeping track of the time), and then we ran through each test one last time. Afterwards, she gave Speedy a good bath, and we loaded the trailer. Then we sat down to map out her day. It's a little less than an hour and a half drive to the Bear Valley Equestrian Center, but things around me have a tendency to go haywire, especially lately, so we built plenty of extra time into the schedule. I ended up arriving a few minutes early, but nothing ever goes perfectly. T's gate pass didn't go through, so it took some extra time for me to make some phone calls to get the gate pass for her.
Bear Valley is a private, gated town, and all non-residents need a pass to enter. Most of the time the system works, but I always expect issues, and Sunday morning was one of those days where things didn't work out smoothly. Since I had built in extra time in our schedule. T arrived just after 8:30, but I already had Speedy unloaded with hay and water so there was no need to feel rushed. To be continued ... 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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