Dressage in the Valley/Day 1, T1

There were two rings on day 1 with two different judges.  I think everyone had the chance to ride with each judge.  I rode my Training Level test 1 with Gail Hoff-Carmona presiding, and for test 2 I rode under Laurel Bruun.  I was hoping to break 60% on at least one of the tests (or possibly both) so that I could chip away at the three remaining scores needed to earn my USDF Rider Performance Award.

The Rider Performance Award is awarded at Training, First, and Second Levels.  I need 4 scores of 60% or higher from two different shows and four different judges.  Saturday was a great opportunity to get two more scores. 

Deep sigh.  I didn't break 60% and was disappointed with my first test.  A quick check of movements 2, 3, and 6 will give you a good idea of what went wrong.  Explanation to follow (click photos for larger view).

Second Place Out of Two

The three 7s are really nice.

More forward to get back up. Yup. That sounds familiar.

... move your bloomin' arse!

So what went wrong?  I am glad you asked.  Enter at A, Halt at X, track LEFT at C you moron!  As I was tracking right while chanting track left, I thought to myself, I am going the wrong way.  Really?  No Sh*t!  It is so irritating to make such a dumb mistake.  The 4 we earned at movement 6 for our crummy stretchy trot?  No biggie.  We're working on it.  Yes, it has a coefficient of two and yes, it is hurting my bottom line, but we're addressing it. Deliberately taking a 4 when I could have had a six is just stupid.  I have no idea what I was thinking.

Did you see the 4 we earned for movement 3?  That was all Speedy's fault.  Just as I was preparing to ask for the canter, he stopped and POOPED!  I was kicking and whacking his sides, but he didn't care. Once he finished, he lurched into the canter.  Back tight ... uh, yeah!  That'll happen when your owner is whaling on you and thinking, C'mon Dover, move your bloomin' arse! (an appropriate, but obscure, reference from My Fair Lady.)

The rest of the test really wasn't too bad.  We earned 6s and 7s for our working trot and our second canter earned a 5.5 which is an improvement over the 4s we were earning just a few months ago.  There haven't been any bucks or kicks in a while so I am not feeling too bad about a nearly satisfactory. 

Without my error (add in 2 points) and if Speedy wouldn't have broken gait (add in 1 point), we still would have earned only a 58%.  I know we can do better.  For those who like to skip to the back of the book, day 2 was MUCH better.

Tomorrow - Test 2.

---