Bakersfield Dressage
  • Home
  • About
  • Horses
    • Horses
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Imperioso
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Education
  • Local
    • Shopping List

Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

From Introductory to Bronze

5/2/2022

 
A few years ago, I saw this great video that someone put together where moments from the horse and rider's career were strung together. In the beginning, the horse was at Introductory Level, but as the video progressed, the horse was shown advancing through the levels. The video played like one cohesive dressage test with clips showing the horse's transformation from a green bean to a finished dressage horse at grand prix.

Someone shared it with me and said I should do something similar. I've certainly videoed many, many rides, but I don't have the time or energy to string together eleven year's worth of video, so instead, I picked favorite photos of Speedy in the trot work to see if I could spot the changes in his way of going.

I am certainly not an elegant rider, but even I can see the improvement in my position over the eleven years that Speedy and I competed together. The change in Speedy's body is even more interesting. I like seeing how his balance slowly shifts as his thrust and power grow. Maybe someday I'll be able to see Izzy morph from big brown horse to Wow, what a horse!
Picture
2010
Picture
2011
Picture
2012
Picture
2013
Picture
2014
Picture
2015
Picture
2016
Picture
2017
Picture
2018
Picture
2019
Picture
2020
I don't know how I got so lucky with Speedy, but I did. This horse allowed me to learn so much. Together, we journeyed from Introductory Level to Third Level and a Bronze Medal.

It's hard to ask for more.

Guess Who is 18 Today?

4/15/2022

 
Happy birthday, Speedy G! Yep, today is Speedy's 18th birthday. He's now able to vote and be charged as an adult. Just kidding of course.
Picture
Yes, you!
As each year passes, I appreciate more and more how very lucky I have been to be this horse's partner. I don't think I was ever grateful enough in the moment. While dressage is challenging in and of itself, having such a willing partner who never minded the atmosphere or stress of showing was a gift I never valued as much as I should have. Izzy is teaching me that lesson.

Over the past year and a half, since Speedy retired from showing, I have been able to finally appreciate what a rock star I have had in him. While he won't live as long as I want him to, I can promise that he will have whatever he needs to be happy and healthy.

​I love you, Speedy G! Mwah!

That's a Wrap

6/11/2021

 
Unbelievably, yesterday was my first day of summer break. I truly thought the day would never come. COVID has sucked on so many levels and for so many people that I hate to complain about the "inconvenience" it has caused me. I don't work at a grocery store - those people are saints for putting up with all the rigamarole with which they had to contend, and I am not a nurse or a doctor; they, too, have had a rough year.

When COVID first became a thing, there was an outpouring of support for teachers as parents suddenly had to spend the entire day with their kiddos doing reading and math and history and science and everything else. Once school resumed in the late summer, suddenly, the world hated teachers. We were all lumped in with "ban the police" crowd and the "we won't work" slackers. I guarantee that while that does describe some teachers (and waitresses and store clerks and mechanics and bankers ...), it was not how the majority of us felt. We wanted go back to work in person.
Picture
Hours spent on our distance learning platform: 1,166
I've been a teacher for twenty-seven years. I have never worked longer days, including every weekend, than I did this year. Not only did the year feel longer than every other year, it actually was. Since the district didn't know how to handle distance learning, the kids started the school year eight days after we did. In order to meet state requirements (and earn the money that comes from ADA - Average Daily Attendance), the district stuck those missed eight days at the end of an already arduous school year. 

On Wednesday afternoon, most of my staff met at a local Tahoe Joe's for a happy hour celebration. I expected to feel the normal sense of freedom that final day brings, but in truth, it was a pretty low key event. We were all tired. Even though yesterday was my first day of vacation, I still had to get up at dawn  to feed all of the horses at the ranch - long story, not mine to tell. That afternoon, I finally took some time for myself. I got a much needed pedicure and stopped off at my favorite mom and pop burger joint. I plopped down on the sofa and watched a stupid movie and started to feel as though I might truly be done with this school year.
Picture
Yesterday's early morning view.
Summer break is when I feel like my "real" life truly begins. As usual, this summer is already starting off with me being busier than I have time for.
  • ​Today, I'll ride Izzy early and then Speedy goes to the vet to check on his summer sore. I also have to stop by the feed store to get six bags of feed for the ranch owner, and then I have to be home in time to meet the appliance repairman; my dryer quit a week ago.
  • Saturday or Sunday I'll give at least one lesson on Speedy, maybe two, and ride Izzy.
  • Monday, and this one is HUGE, Izzy and I will be heading to STC Dressage for a lesson, but only I will be returning home. What? Right!? More on that to come.
  • Wednesday, my husband and I will be heading to Tennessee for a week. (And for those nefarious types who might be reading, don't even think about breaking in as we have a house/dog sitter and a really good alarm system.)
  • The Friday after we get back from the Volunteer State, I'll be heading south to SCEC for a warm up ride because Izzy and I will be showing that Saturday and Sunday.
Picture
From our last show at SCEC.
Just typing all of that makes me tired. The end of the school year always feels like the true year's end; December 31st is just practice. So for me, it truly does feel as though this year is over, and the new one has just begun.

I really hope the second half of 2021 is a lot more pleasant than the first half was.

Hello to 2020

1/1/2020

 
I've been looking forward to this date, January 1, 2020, for more than a decade. Y2K, an ominous year if there ever was one, started off as a year predicted to be filled with disaster. On the other hand, 2020, as a metaphor for perfect vision, has always seemed a year destined to bring clarity, opportunity, and a road paved straight and smooth. ​Will it? I don't know, but I like how things are shaping up.
Picture
Over the past week, I've been planning my show year. I've also spent hours and hours and hours working on things for our chapter of the California Dressage Society, the Tehachapi Mountain Chapter. As Vice-Chair, I've taken my job pretty seriously. Public service is not necessarily what gets me going, but I felt it was time for me to start giving back.

With "giving back" as my motivation, I've been working on a number of projects for the chapter. The first was making our chapter a lot more visible. I revamped the chapter's old website in favor of something a little fresher and then changed the web address; www.tmcdressage.org was the result. I am not a web designer by trade, so it is what it is, but I think it suits our needs.
Picture
A snippet of our home page.
Next, I launched our new Facebook Page. I am just going to say, I have trouble managing my own social media. Suddenly, I am the one responsible for keeping up on three pages, my own, a group I belong to, and now the Chapter's page. I'm turning into one of those people who's always checking her phone. But really, check out our Facebook page and give us a "like," especially if you live in California.
Picture
"Like" us!
The thing with being on a board is that the group represented has to have a reason for being, and the board has to bring to life that reason. For us, the sole purpose of the chapter is to put on shows. We don't have enough members, nor do we draw from a large enough pool, to put on USDF-rated shows. Our summer series of shows are CDS-rated which is a big attraction for our local riders.

Scores from CDS-rated shows can be applied to a lot of programs, all of which I've talked about many times. Your scores count for CDS Plates (which go on a plaque), rider awards (my Ruby Rider award is over there on the right), Horse Performance Awards (Speedy has one), the Regional Adult Amateur Competition, and the CDS Championship. The reality is that our members can do and earn a lot of things without ever having to participate in the pricey USDF shows.
Picture
11 pages of details.
Our chapter, which is based in the mountains of Tehachapi, is hosting 5 shows this year; we added a new show for here in Bakersfield. Well actually, we're reviving an old show that was run by someone else. They've agreed to join forces with us. Since our show manager retired, and we freshened things up, a new show premium had to be created. I volunteered. 

Holy moly, was it ever a lot of work! It's nearly done, but it has gone through at least 2 dozen edits, and it seems that we keep finding things to add. I will never look at a show entry the same way again! 
Picture
Where will we go?
Besides planning and organizing our Chapter's shows, I've also planned out my own show schedule. Although you know how that goes, "You make your plans and you hear god laughing." Even so, I need a direction in which to start, and since this is the year 2020, a year of clear vision, I am hopeful.

My plan is to get our last Bronze Medal score in the spring. That's certainly not a guarantee, but again, it's 2020. After that, I plan to take Izzy to all of the TMC shows and Speedy to the summer's USDF shows. We'll see how long my money lasts, but that way, I might have two horses qualified for the Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) in August. ​Izzy got his toes wet last summer. He's ready to start doing his job.
Picture
"Cause this hunk needs to start earning his keep.
I've been reading The left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, and last night something jumped off the page that really seemed appropriate for this new year. In response to something Estraven has just said, Mr. Ai responds, "I felt as he did. It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

Truer words could not be spoken. Happy New Year!

Goodbye to 2019

12/31/2019

 
I am not one to do year in review posts. Not anymore, anyway. Way back when I first started blogging, I did a few. Frankly, they're just too much work. I do feel a need to bid adieu to the old though as we welcome in the new. With that, I decided to choose my three favorite (equine) things about 2019.

#1 My Health
Picture
Left to right: my husband, me, and my dad
In 2018, the migraines that I had battled since childhood reached unmanageable levels. At one point, I had a migraine for 6 straight weeks. It became so severe that while at the doctor's office, my neurologist had me admitted to and treated in the ER. Shortly after that episode, I decided to lose weight. By the end of 2018, I had lost 40 pounds, and the neurologist was getting the migraines under control. 

In 2019, I kept most of the weight off; I think I've gained back 5 pounds over the holidays, and the migraines are now mostly controlled with medication. I take two daily prescriptions, and once a month I give myself an injection of a third medication. I still have the occasional headache, but they're easily treated. 

It has been so much easier to ride with that weight gone, and my head is clear. For so long I rode with a head throbbing in pain or fuzzy from medication. 2019 was the first year in a long while that I felt healthy while riding. 

#2 Third level
Picture
October
I say this every time Speedy and I advance to a new level, but showing at Third Level was something I only secretly aspired to and certainly never thought we'd ever achieve. It's been a real thrill to take my well-bred, but not dressage-bred, Arabian up the levels by myself. Yes, I have had wonderful trainers and clinicians coaching me along the way, but I am the one who does the daily riding.

I say this because it proves that anyone can "dressage". You don't need to board at a fancy training barn - I certainly don't, and you don't need a big fancy warmblood - you all know Speedy's an Arabian. You don't even have to show at Third Level. I was having just as much fun as an Introductory Level rider. I always wanted to get better, of course, but for me, First Level was always the big goal. So to be where we are now at the end of 2019 only makes my heart swell with pride. I love this horse.

#3 Breaking 60%
Picture
60% or Bust!
If you've been reading my blog for more than 10 minutes, you know that scores are important to me. For me, they're proof of improvement. Scores below 60% say we're not there yet. Scores of 60% say we're getting close. Scores in the mid-60s say we have a chance to win.

I wouldn't be so happy about Third Level if we hadn't managed to earn a few scores of 60%. Three of them were earned at CDS only shows, but they're still important to me. Those scores helped me earn my annual "plate;" with those scores, Speedy will earn his Third Level Horse Award - we need one more score; those scores will qualify us for the Regional Adult Amateur Competition and the CDS Championship Show - we need a few more; and if we make it to Fourth Level, the scores will help us earn the CDS Sapphire Rider Award - I already have the Ruby Rider Award.

​More importantly though, those scores are what we need to earn a USDF Bronze Medal, and we just need one more. We had to work really hard in 2019, but I am proud of what we were able to achieve. We're definitely still struggling at Third Level, but now I know we can break 60%.

That's It?
Picture
Bros and Frenemies
Well, no, but I did limit myself to my favorite three things. I could really go on and on since 2019 was filled with great things. Speedy is much happier since we moved him to a new field. Izzy is definitely happier. I got a new truck. Izzy went to a few shows and even earned 60% himself. He now goes in a dressage legal bit 95% of the time. Without looking back at every post, I can still say 2019 was a good year. I had fun with my horses, and I think they had fun with me. 

It's hard to ask for too much more than that.
<<Previous

    About the Writer and Rider

    ​I 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.
    Picture
    Photo by Lori Ovanessian
    Email Karen

    About Speedy G

    ​Speedy 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.
    Picture
    July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)

    About Izzy

    Izzy 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.
    Picture
    March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)

    Picture
    FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
    Picture
    I love her stuff!
    Picture
    Watercolor Artist and Friend
    Picture
    Bakersfield Dressage approved!

    National Rider Awards

    Picture
    USDF Bronze Medal - 2020
    Picture
    USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
    Picture
    USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
    Picture
    USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

    State Rider Awards
    Picture
    CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018

    State Horse Awards
    Picture
    Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
    Picture
    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:

    2022 Show Season

    Show Rating
    (***) CDS/USDF/USEF 
    (*) CDS
    (s) Schooling
    (c) Clinic
    (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic
    (Q) Qualifier
    2022 Show Schedule
    ​​(*) Tehachapi 7/24/22
    ​​(*) Tehachapi 8/28/22

    ​2022 Completed …
    ​​(*) Tehachapi 5/22/22

    2022 Qualifying Scores 

    Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC)  
    Qualifying 
    2 Scores/1 Judges/60%:

    Score 1: 
    Score 2:

    Archives
    ​By Topic

    All
    Abscess
    Art
    Arthritis
    Awards
    Books
    Cabin
    California Barn Life
    Captain Awesome
    CDL Class A License
    Centerlinescores
    Championships
    Chiropractor
    Clinics
    Clothing
    Cushing's Disease
    Defeating The Demon
    Dogs
    Double Bridle
    Dressage On The Trail
    EHV-1
    Endurance Photos
    Farrier
    First Level
    Fluphenazine
    Flying Changes
    Fourth Level
    Fox Hunting
    Freedom Feeder
    Frustration
    Gizmos
    Grooming
    Half Pass
    Headshaking
    Horse Maintenance
    Horses Are Expensive
    Horses Are Expensive 3.0
    Horses Are Expensive II
    Hunter/jumper Stuff
    Imperioso
    Introductory Level
    Izzys Leg
    Just For Fun
    Lessons With Chemaine
    Lessons With Lois
    Lessons With STC Dressage
    Local Stuff
    Memberships
    Micklem Bridle
    Mt. Self Doubt
    Musings
    My 5 Things
    My Horses
    Nesting
    On The Levels
    Photos
    Pivo Pod
    Platinum Performance
    Poles
    Polls
    Pulley Rein
    Raac
    Retirement?
    Rider Fitness
    Riding Figures
    Right Lead Canter
    Road ID
    Saddle Fitting
    Schooling
    Score Sheets
    Second Level
    Shopping
    Show Costs
    Showing
    Sitting Trot
    Sliding Side Reins
    Soldier
    Speedy's Leg
    Tack
    The Elephants
    The Jar
    The Warm Up Ring
    Third
    Third Level
    Tips From A Pro
    Toys
    Trailering
    Training
    Travel
    Ulcers
    Vet Care
    Video
    Videos
    Weird But True
    Year In Review


    Archives
    ​By Date

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011


Site Design: Karen Sweaney
  • Home
  • About
  • Horses
    • Horses
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Imperioso
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Education
  • Local
    • Shopping List