My second test of the day was just three rides after the first so I opted to hang out by the ring rather than walk back to the warm up. Izzy was tense and worried, but within minutes, he was walking nicely with a swinging back. And really, that's all I am looking for right now - relaxation at a show.

Due to my own inability to DELETE stuff, Best Friend was not able to capture the ride in its entirety. At just after a minute, my ipad ran out of space. Here's what she did capture. Pay close attention to the break to canter up center line. He can definitely sit deeply.

Overall, I liked this test better than any I've ridden so far. The score was low at 54.688%, but outside of the blooper moments, Izzy was far more in tune with me than he has been. It was like he suddenly realized I was up there. His show nerves were still raging, but I felt like I was actually riding him, not just piloting a rocket on a string.

His trot up centerline was clearly fussy, but he was much straighter and not trying to outrun his front end.

But this time, I just couldn't keep him in the walk. The jigging was back, but it was far less than in previous tests. Instead of jigging the entire way across the diagonal, it was only a step here or there, but there were enough of them to garner a 4.5.

While the judge wasn't in love with our 20-meter trot circles at E/B, I know they were much better than we've done in the past. Those circles are hard because they are in the middle of the ring rather than on the rail at A/C. Izzy likes to blow through his shoulder, so this is where he'll lose his balance and throw in a rear or a spook. I'll take the 6 for the first circle and a 5.5 for the second isn't too bad.

The one surprise that Izzy threw me was his refusal to halt at X at the end of the test. The halt has been something that he's been doing pretty well. While we don't have it on video, you can tell from the judge's comment that it took quite a while to get it. He simply wouldn't rest all four feet on the ground at the same time.

With Chemaine's words ringing in my ear, I decided to school him no matter how long it took. He backed up, I added leg. He stepped sideways, I pushed him back over. The halt took so long that I had time to have a conversation in my head about what to do. I figured that if he never halted, we were getting a zero. If he finally halted, no matter how long it took, I knew that the judge would have to give us at least a 1 for very bad.

I've never earned a zero, and I wasn't about to then either. I finally got all of his hooves to stay still long enough to give my salute. We earned a 4 which is only insufficient, but it's better than not executed.

While I started the day feeling pretty discouraged, I drove home feeling inspired to keep on trying. Best Friend once again stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. She's almost more of a Pollyanna than I am.  She gives me that kick in the pants or the smack to the face whenever she thinks I am being too hard on Izzy.

She only sees him every couple of weeks so she's always totally amazed at how different he is every time she sees him. She's quick to point out every little thing he does that's better than the last time. Look at how much hay he's eating, look at how quietly he's standing there, look at how he didn't spook when that Friesian passed by too closely ...

My scores weren't great, we finished in last place both times, but I drove home with a huge smile, grateful for an awesome friend and an amazing horse. I hope you're as blessed as I am.

What has thrown me for a loop was that Speedy's resistances were very subtle and quiet, but they created the same net effect - scores in the 58% range. We bounced around from 53% to 65% a lot. I would get one issue fixed, and then Speedy would come up with something else. We had a run of shows where he gave a gigantic spook during every test.

Before I wax any more poetic, watch the test ...

This was a California Dressage Society rated show with an R judge, licensed to judge through Fourth Level. That typically means the judging is a little more strict than at a schooling show, but not as strict as you would see at a USDF-rated show. We scored a 58.750%, just two points shy of a 60%. 

As I watched the video, I was surprised at how non-awful it looked. Izzy's tension is obviously visible, but I need to focus on the fact that it's not as bad as it feels to me while I am on him. I probably need to find a way to embrace the tension and make it a more positive tension. I am desperately in need of a lesson.

It's hard to be frustrated with a 6. For so long, my goal with Speedy was to simply not have any 5s. Izzy only had two of them on the front of the test and no 4s!

If you've been following along, you know my goal at the schooling show we did two weeks ago was to not get 4s on the walk. We were only partly successful. For this test, we got a 5 and two 6s for the walk work. That's progress.

The trot work also had some good moments. There were no spooks like we've had in at least two of the shows we've done. We earned a 6 and a 6.5 for our 20-meter trot circles.

The judge's Further Remarks were absolutely spot on: Nice horse but a lot of tension today. Concentrate on suppleness and relaxation. Working on it, sir, working on it.

Tomorrow ... Test B.

If you would have asked me on Saturday night how I thought Sunday's show was going to go, I would have said that I didn't even want to go. Why waste gas money when you know it's going to be a disaster?

Our ride on Saturday was terrible. Like knock down, drag down terrible. I spent 45 minutes trying every single thing I knew to get Izzy to let go of the bit. His jaw and poll were so locked that I had no steering and rode through bolt after bolt. All he could do was charge forward.

Eventually, after kicking his ass every way I knew how, I finally got off and threw him in the round pen and just sent him forward. I really wanted to just send him down the road, but a round pen by definition is ... round, so he kept coming back. To my dismay I should add.

After 5 minutes, I know because I timed it, he was heaving and sweating rivers. I got back on him and walked him for ten minutes hoping that he was at least thinking about relaxing.

After cleaning him up, I gave him a healthy dose of electrolytes with his Platinum Performance. When I turned him out into his paddock, I asked him to please just consider letting go of some of his tension.

This photo is not from Saturday, but I wanted to report back on the new fleece half pad. It's working great, and I really like it, but if I order another one, I think I'll go with the medium. My last one was a bit narrow so my saddle sat on the fleece trim instead of inside it. This one is a large, but it ran bigger than I expected.

I was a bit peeved when I untacked Izzy because my new half pad was dirty and sweaty. My girth was also soaked through, and I seriously considered scratching from the show. He was going to be a jerk anyway and my tack was already dirty ... somebody please call the wambulance!

I gave myself a stern, quit your whining! and proceeded to give my saddle and bridle a (half-assed) cleaning, but at least they looked presentable. I sent Best Friend a text letting her know to meet me at 5:30 a.m., and then I went home to try and start some positive thinking.

Since I am a bit of a Pollyanna, I was able to give myself an attitude adjustment. I was still peeved at Izzy the next morning, especially since he was a jerk as I was trying to groom and brush out his tail. As soon as Best Friend showed up, she got to hear all about how rotten he was being. 

And then he walked quietly onto the trailer. In the dark. With a grouchy owner. My heart softened immediately, and all I could see was my fabulous boy who just needed my help and encouragement.

When we arrived at the equestrian center it was chilly and we were alone. Izzy craned his neck looking at the horses in the corrals, but with Best Friend's help, he stood pretty still to be braided. We checked in, got his number, and headed for the warm up.

His nerves were all a twitter, but he never felt like he was going to lose it. He just couldn't keep his focus on his job. One of my Tehachapi friends said that if she hadn't known how old he really is, she would have thought he was just a four year old. That's good for me to hear because I think he should be acting like the eight year old that he is.

During the morning, several fans of Bakersfield Dressage made it a point to come and say hi and ooh and ah over my big brown (gold) horse. It was so nice to see them and even nicer to have their support. Having friends who root for our success is such a huge motivator for me.

Spoiler alert: Izzy did not show brilliantly, but many people encouraged me to stick it out with him; they were that impressed with his potential. I have trouble seeing it, but apparently Izzy oozes charm and has that certain sparkle.

Tomorrow: Introductory Test A.

After the "roaring success" that was Test A, I made it my goal to GET. A. WALK.

And that was it. That's all I cared about; I didn't care if he bolted, bucked, or left the arena. My two goals for the show were to 1) have a controlled warm up and 2) not get a 4 for the walk. We met our goal for the warm up, but we earned yet another 4.0 for the free walk in the first test. When the judge and I chatted after the first test, she agreed that getting a walk would go a long way toward improving our overall performance.

I'll let you decided if our free walk was improved.

Right?!?! How much better was that?????? There is so, so much wrong with that ride (unsteadiness in the bridle for one), but he walked! There was absolutely no jigging or piaffing. It was far from perfect, but it was so much improved over his first effort. The judge gave it a 6.0 (generous, but better than than the earlier 4.0) with the comment, not tracking correctly. I'll take it!

We have a long way to go, but I really want to celebrate our "wins." Did you notice our first halt? Honestly, that thing is getting really nice. We earned a 6.0 (tensing back), but I really like how square he is trying to be. This boy really does have talent.

And in case you missed it, this is proof that Izzy can walk. I've been schooling it at home during our warm up and cool down and any time he gets particularly tense. As we continue to work on it, it should start to appear during shows as well.

Of the eight tests that we've done since April, this test was definitely our best even though we earned the exact same score as our test B two weeks ago. Our total was a 58.438%, but we had no 4s! Izzy earned a 7.0 for Gaits and the judge awarded me a 7.0 for Rider's Position. The rest was a mix of different 5s and 6s. If Izzy keeps improving at this rate, we'll crack 60% soon.

Our next show is CDS-Rated. Maybe it will happen there!

After our mostly quiet warm up, I was feeling pretty excited to strut our stuff at walk/trot, and Izzy felt ready to actually work a little. We followed best friend down to the ring and walked up and down the walk way, waiting for the rider in front of us to finish.

After her final salute at X, I walked Izzy up the little rise and entered at A. In a nano second all of his tension came rushing back. The E side of the arena was nestled into an avocado grove that was being watered. I couldn't see the sprinklers, but they gave a very loud hiss down the entire long side. Izzy checked out, and I knew that I needed to just get him through the ride as quietly and tactfully as possible.

You can see for yourself what I mean:

I wasn't disappointed or frustrated with him at all. Those sprinklers scared him, and since he was already only barely coping with his nerves, I simply rode the horse I had. When I watched the video, I was actually impressed with how easy I made it look. I suppose others might think I simply looked ineffective, but believe me, riding a powder keg and looking happy while doing it is not as easy as it sounds.

When I finished my final salute, the judge asked to talk to me. The first thing she said was, "Are you an event rider or a dressage rider?" For a split second, I was horrified. I thought she said, Are you even a dressage rider? My brain hadn't processed the event rider part of her question. 

Then my brain clicked in, and I realized that she thought I might be an eventer. My head swelled so big that my helmet almost popped off. Eventers are BADASSES. The judge thinks I am a badass. Well who wouldn't after watching all that badassery going on?

I can't say for sure whether the judge thought I was as cool as all that, but she certainly thought my horse was. The next thing out of her mouth was how awesome his talent for the piaffe is. No really. And not only did she say it to me, she even wrote it down!

Best friend is new to dressage so doesn't always know when to start recording. In this case, she missed the judge's bell which means the first part of my test didn't make it on video. That's where most of the piaffe steps happened. I was a little disappointed to not see them, especially after hearing the judge gush over them.

You'll have to indulge me for a moment. This is my first encounter with a judge who LOVED my horse. I've had judges who thought Speedy was a nice horse, and he and I have earned comments like elegant pair, but wait until you see this judge's accolades.

While super engagement and uphill tendency are not necessarily glowing reviews, it's not often that you see those terms applied to an Introductory Level horse. Well, not unless you're riding my super awesome Izzy Zweibrücker!

This comment is all me and was earned for that spook demonstarted above. Even best friend said I was all business. Many thanks to Chemaine Hurtado for teaching me to sit those things out.

I shouldn't be surprised by clear talent for upper level work as Chemaine has said this to me on more than one occasion, but man-oh-man, it is soooo nice to hear it from someone that I am NOT paying.

And then there was this little gem: What a horse! Who doesn't want to hear that about their pony? Although after reading it, I was looking around for Charlotte as that's almost exactly what she says to save Wilbur from the butcher. But that's just me - my feet are solidly rooted in REAL LIFE. While I love, love, love these comments, I am also wondering if the judge was actually watching the ride.

While my common sense and deeply practical side want to discredit the judge's assessment of my horse, I am giving that side of my brain the finger. This judge completed the coursework that gives her the credentials to recognize a horse with potential and talent. I am going to whole heartedly accept her compliments and use them to keep myself motived.

During our discussion, she insisted that I keep working as this horse is more than worth the effort. In fact, she was so effusive in her praise that best friend said that everyone in the vicinity could hear her remarks.

As we walked back to the trailer, I grinned in joy and didn't even try to hide it. Those positive comments from the judge stayed with me as I went back into the warm up for our second test, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that part.

​Tomorrow: Introductory test B.

It took us twelve hours to do one schooling show: more than an hour to load and unload tack, six hours of driving, and four hours at the show itself. I think I got my money's worth!

Best friend and I loaded Izzy up at 6:30 a.m. for the nearly three hour drive to Thole Farms in the Ventura area. He loaded without issue and unloaded just as quietly. He stood lazily tied to the trailer and even munched the hay hanging in his hay bag. We both stared in amazement; in just two months he's figured out the trailering part of showing. Best friend and I headed down to the show office without a backward glance.

When I first started in dressage, I went to every show alone. Now that best friend is retired, it is amazing having her help. While I am dressing or grooming, she's right there ready to lend a hand. She hands me water bottles, dusts off my boots, holds my horse, fetches whatever, and cheers me on when I am discouraged. She teased that she is now Izzy's human goat - his comfort companion. When I said that she could take photos as well as video, she insisted on a raise.

Izzy has now done four schooling shows. For the first show's warm up, he was very quiet, but he was also alone. For the second show's warm up, he was a fruitcake. He was somewhat better at last month's show, so my goals for this show were twofold: have a relaxed warm up and no 4s at the walk for the tests.

It's not a great video, but here we are in the warm up. 

We also did some trotting, but I focused entirely on softening his poll and neck. I kept everything super slow and never let him jig or get heavy in the bridle. When he tried to brace or lean on my hands, I half halted until he softened to the rein. Sometimes that meant that the trot became a walk and the walk a halt.

Here's another video clip - look for the trotting horse and rider.

I was actually really pleased with the walk work. The quality wasn't fabulous, but he actually walked! That's a huge improvement. And while the trot work also has a lot of room for improvement, he kept his marbles in the jar and listened to me the whole time.

Well, there was one little moment ...

It was actually the silliest spook. We were walking along quite nicely and then we weren't. Here's the video (if it starts from the beginning, scroll forward to about 40 seconds):

Silly boy! Aside from that goofy moment, most of the warm up went quite well, if a little slow pokey. Eventually, we'll be able to get in there and actually do some real work. For now, this is the kind of warm up that an Introductory Level horse needs.

Tomorrow: Intro A and a talent for piaffe!

I don't have anything mind blowing to share about our second test other than we made it through without too many hysterics. In all honesty, I was surprised that the second test earned nearly the same score as the first. I didn't think it went as well.

That happens to me more often than I'd like actually. Sometimes, I ride a test and think that I've nailed it only to discover that the judge was less than impressed. The opposite is also true: I'll ride what feels like a horrible test only to get a 72% - true story.

Izzy was much more tense in this test, yet we earned a 58.438% which was only 0.5 points less than the first test. I am not criticizing the judge, but sometimes it's hard to see what they see.

I always try to take away some big idea after a show or clinic, but I didn't have any serious AHA moments this weekend. The one thing that I did realize was that my hard work is paying off. Even on our drive down to the show, I was feeling much more relaxed. Each time I take Izzy somewhere, he shows me that he's figuring out his job.

His confidence in getting on and off the trailer is growing, I am feeling confident in tying him to the trailer, and I love that he is now eating and getting a drink. His newfound awareness as to where I am is also encouraging. While he's still easily distracted, he is now paying attention to me as I groom and saddle, and he stood really well at the mounting block. All of these things show me that he is more self-assured or at least looking to me for guidance.

Showing me some growth is all I really need. I can deal with the tension and baby theatrics as long as there are forward steps. Right now, I am actually looking forward to the rest of our summer schedule. I have four schooling shows and one CDS show lined up along with at least two lessons with Chemaine. Mileage is what this horse needs now.

Things are starting to come together: his saddle fits, his hocks have been injected, his nutritional needs are being met, and his home life has been ... expanded.

What?!

More about that tomorrow!

In case you're not a dressage aficionado, Intro A is the lowest level dressage test that you can ride. It is a walk and trot test only. In fact, the purpose of the test is "to introduce the rider and/or horse to the sport of dressage. To show understanding of riding the horse forward with a steady tempo into an elastic contact with independent, steady hands and a correctly balanced seat. To show proper geometry of figures in the arena with correct bend (corners and circles)."

In other words, it's not rocket science. Even so, I was quite pleased with Izzy's Intro A Test. It's not beautiful, it's not rhythmic, the tempo was wonky, and the rider's hands were all over the place, but it was BETTER than the last two. Take a look.

That halt!  Not perfectly square, but it was so soft and forward thinking that the judge rewarded us with an 8! The rest was just so-so, but there was still much to like. Everything Izzy did was distinctly better than in the first two shows he did, and it wasn't because of the different judges. He's just developing confidence.

​Here are his scores from all three tests from this season. The last score shown is from this show.

• Enter working trot rising, medium walk: 5.0, 5.0, 6.0 Better
• Track right, working trot rising: 5.0, 6.0, 6.0 Showing some consistency
• Circle right 20-meters: 4.0, 6.0, 5.5 it felt pretty good
• Change rein across the diagonal: 5.0, 6.0, 5.5 my fault
• Circle left 20-meters: 5.0, 5.0, 5.5 no rearing or bucking
• Medium walk: 5.0, 6.0, 5.0 it felt okay to me
• Free walk: 4.5 (jigging), 4.0 (jigging), 4.5 he actually walked!
• Halt and salute: 6.0, 6.0, 8.0 I'll take it!

As I scrolled through the video, frame by frame, looking for bloopers, I had trouble finding any truly horrible moments. The shot in front of the judge was the most tense and ugly shot I could find. It wasn't a great test, but it wasn't bad either.

I am really excited about this show. Progress, even a little bit, is all I am looking for. My plan for the next few months is a lesson or schooling show every two weeks. I think we're finally getting somewhere!

Next up: the Intro B Test.

No matter what the scores say, I am so proud of Izzy. He was such a good boy at this weekend's schooling show. As the only adult ammie showing Intro A and B, we took home two lovely blue ribbons. I don't even care that we earned them with a 49.69% and a 52.50%. Izzy handled himself like a true rockstar.

My friend Laurel came with me and served as Izzy's groom and all around protector. I owe her much more than the Starbuck's scone and horse show lunch that she got for coming with me. She kept me laughing the whole day. 

The craziness started with my carefully planned out day - the one where I only left myself 5 minutes for braiding. How we even made it there in time to show is a mystery to me

As I laid in bed on Saturday morning thinking about my day, I was going though the schedule in my mind. I kept hitting a mental glitch when I got to the braiding part. I finally got out of bed and looked at what I had written. When I saw my miscalculation - no one can braid in 5 minutes! - I jumped in gear and got out of the house by 7:00.

I picked up my pace a little and saved a few minutes on my braiding by doing thicker and fatter braids. Laurel arrived a bit early, so even after a few minutes spent persuading Izzy to get the heck on the trailer, we managed to pull out right on time.

As we laughed and chatted our way down the two lane country highway, I realized I was looking at some unfamiliar territory; I had missed the turn which would take us towards Woodlake. I pulled over to the shoulder while Laurel used her phone's GPS to figure out where we were. It was to be the joke of the day - how many times could we piss Siri off by turning on the wrong road. Apparently, Siri loves the phrase, MAKE A U-TURN!

The last straw was actually making it to Woodlake only to encounter a detour that took us around the entire town. By that point, Laurel and I were in complete hysterics. It took us two iphones, a ticked off Siri, a crappy set of Google directions, numerous u-turns, and a full extra hour of driving before we pulled into the beautiful Sequoia Hills Stables.

I can't say enough about the show management and the facility. Parking was easy, the show office was clearly marked, and we were greeted by friendly and helpful volunteers. In no time at all we were back on schedule. While Laurel groomed Izzy, I switched into my show clothes and then tacked Izzy up. Laurel grabbed my bag of stuff while I led Izzy to an over-sized round pen.

Using Chemaine's strategy, I quietly lunged Izzy with the draw reins until he started to stretch his back and relax. Laurel kept me company by chatting over the fence. With her easy going conversation, I focused on keeping myself relaxed and confident, and Izzy followed suit. By this time, Laurel noted that Izzy kept looking to the two of us for reassurance. Wherever Laurel went, Izzy was happy to follow. We had quickly become his herd.

I had the warm up to myself, thanks to clever planning on the show manager's part (she knew this was Izzy's first show so we were first to go after lunch). I walked Izzy for quite a while just letting him look around. We eventually picked up a baby trot and simply focused on staying relaxed.

As my ride time approached, Laurel encouraged Izzy to follow her as we made the walk over to the show ring. He kept his nose right between her shoulder blades.

There were clearly problems during the test, but Izzy tried so hard to stay focused on me. This was the first time he's been in a show ring with the judge's tent and potted flowers. There was also a spectator's tent. Even with the tension and giraffing of his neck, you can see moments where he's kind of figuring it out. I can definitely see his potential. 

This judge didn't pull any punches. The slew of 4s and 5s that she gave us were what I expected. Some of the 5s might have even been a stretch. Had this been a rated show, the 49.69% that we earned would probably have been our score - I don't think the judge "softballed" any of her scores, and I am okay with that. Once Izzy learns to relax, our scores will go up. I am tickled that he actually did each movement without a meltdown.

My honest to goodness goals for the day were a) get him to stand somewhat still while I tacked up, b) let me get on without a rodeo, and c) trot in the warm up. There was no d) - I didn't even think we'd make it into the show ring.

After the horrible rides we'd had earlier in the week, I had seriously considered not even going. Chemaine, my trainer, talked me down off the ledge reminding me that it was just a schooling show and that Izzy needs experience.

So while some critics might scoff at the work we did in the ring, I couldn't be happier. Even Laurel, who sees him every day, was blown away by how hard Izzy tried. She hadn't expected me to be able to ride him either.

The judge's Further Remarks were quite accurate and are our blue print going forward, "Much tension throughout with very short strides in both gaits. Often above bit." Well yes, that's all very true.

Look for test B tomorrow. It was actually a tiny bit better!