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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

Dressage at SCEC - Part 2

10/31/2019

 
Just to relieve you of any tension, we finally got a score above 60% at a Third Level test at a USDF-rated show. Not a huge amount over 60%, mind you. In fact, we earned a 60.405%, just 1.5 points over the necessary 222 needed for a 60% at Third Level Test 1. Do I care? Nope. We earned it fair and square.
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Two solid scores for our flying changes - a 6.5 and a 7.0.
As in everything Speedy and I do, Saturday's two tests, Test 1 and Test 3, were a mixed bag with both good and bad moments. Test 1 was filled with a very long list of mediocre 6.0s and 6.5s. We had a few 5.5s and a lone 5.0. Add that all up and you get 60%.
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Canter work was just so-so.
For test 1, we didn't make any real errors other than one. I hate to show everyone in the warm up ring our "ugly." It's the ugly that Speedy needs though to put on a better performance. He needs to know that I am going to smack him once or twice if he doesn't get his butt moving. I didn't smack him like I should have, so we had a lackluster performance.
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Not horrible, but not great either.
Don't get me wrong; I am not dismissing a 60% score as "lackluster." I have worked both our butts off to cross that magical line in the sand. In fact, when I got word that I had finally earned my first qualifying Third Level score, I burst into tears. Did I raise the roof, high five everyone in the barn, or do a happy dance. Negative, Buck Rogers. I bawled like a little kid.
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Not the best we can do, but it's something.
Weirdo. I know, right? I am just so damn driven that getting my bronze medal is all I can think about. And it's not like earning it means I am done with Third Level and moving on to bigger and better things. All it means is that I can cross that goal off my list so that I can really focus on owning the directives at Third Level and getting better. Here's the video.
Our second test of the day, Test 3, is just hard. While I didn't make any real mistakes, I just don't know the test well enough to ride it with confidence. Not like that's the only reason we didn't earn a 60%. Did I mention that it's hard? My goal between now and our next show in December is to know that test backwards and forwards. The better I know a test, the more effective I can be in riding it.
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3-3 - Medium trot
Our score for 3-1 was 58.375%, just 6.5 points shy of a 60%. Our entry and halt, one of the places we can easily score a 7.0, was not up to par. We earned a 5.5 for which I have no explanation. That was at least a 1.5 loss. Our trot half pass left was weird - we earned a 4.0. That score carries a double coefficient so we lost another 4 points. That's 5.5 of the the 6.5 points we needed for a 60%. 
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3-3 Halt, Rein Back
Could I have picked up another point along the way? Absolutely. Like I said, knowing the test a little better and not riding it while second guessing myself would really help improve my score.
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3-3, Half-circle left 10 meters
It wasn't a great test, but it wasn't a disaster either. We just have to keep working at it. Here's the video for Saturday's Third Level Test 3 ride.
While earning 4 scores of 60% or better at a show is always my ultimate goal, Saturday's 60.405% meant that I earned my goal for the show. With it, I now have the first of the two scores that I need for a Bronze Medal. That score is also a qualifying score for next year's Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC). It also means Speedy has the fourth score of 6 towards his CDS Horse Performance Award.  
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3-3 Canter after a flying lead change
At the end of a show day, I always like to formulate a new plan for Sunday. What can I do better? What needs to change? What went well? As hard as it is to let everyone watch me "school" my horse, I knew I needed to get Speedy in front of my leg and sharper to my aids. That meant I was going to have to annoy the heck out him and expect him to "show up."

Sunday's rides tomorrow ...
M
10/31/2019 07:27:13 am

Good job! Congrats on your score.

Bakersfield Dressage link
11/23/2019 07:05:29 am

Thank you! :0)


Comments are closed.

    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.
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    Photo by Lori Ovanessian

    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.
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    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.
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    March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)

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Site Designed and Managed by: Karen Sweaney

Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
  • About
  • My Horses
    • Horses
    • Imperioso
    • G Ima Starr FA
    • Sunshine
    • Nakota and Gideon
    • Corky
    • Sassy
    • Montoya DSA
    • Mickey Dee
    • Sydney
  • Show Results
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
  • Dressage Organizations
    • Dressage Organizations
    • Memberships
    • 2019 Dressage Tests
  • Local
    • Shopping List
  • Home