Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
El Sueno had a funny start. I’ve never done back-to-back shows before, and now I know why. It’s hard! I unloaded everything last Sunday only to start loading everything back up the very next weekend. As I was checking things off my list, I peeked into my trailer closet to look for a sweatshirt. No sweatshirt, but also not enough show shirts; there should have been two, not just one. Of course, I checked to see if it had fallen off the hanger. Nope. I knew it wasn’t in my closet at home as I had checked several times to make sure I had everything. I stood staring at the extra hanger wondering where in the world my second shirt was. Then it occurred to me that if a shirt was missing, so probably was my second pair of breeches. And why did I only have a single glove? Doh! All of a sudden it hit me; I hadn’t washed my white laundry since last weekend which meant that my other glove, shirt, and breeches were in the dirty clothes basket at home. I thought about it. Could I ride both days in the same shirt and breeches? Yes, but did I want to? And what would I do if I got bucked off and/or dirty? I finished loading the rest of my stuff and head back home. It would only take a half an hour which was nothing compared to riding in dirty, stinky clothes. Once at home, I quickly located the shirt and breeches right where I knew they would be. I also found my two “show only” sports bras, one white and the other gray, buried with the shirt, breeches, and glove. None of it was that dirty as I am famous for changing out of my show clothes as soon as my tests are completed. They weren’t exactly clean though. There wasn’t much I could do about the breeches, but I quickly dropped the shirt, sports bras, and lone glove in the kitchen sink and gave them a quick hand wash. I wrung out as much water as possible and wrapped everything in a towel. Back at the barn, I still needed to give Speedy a bath. While doing that, I laid everything out on my car’s trunk to dry as much as possible. It was a good thing that it was a very warm day! A second funny thing happened during the course of loading all of my stuff. The last over-night trip in the trailer revealed a stove-top burner malfunction; the front burner worked fine, but the second one had shot the flame six inches high. It didn’t strike me as too terribly safe, especially in a space smaller than some bathrooms. A co-worker who has a travel trailer and is, well, excuse my girlishness, a MAN who knows how to fix stuff, suggested I get a can of air and blow out the burner to remove any blockages. This seemed like a cheap and girl-friendly project that I could handle. He of course made the suggestion several weeks ago when I first brought it up. Leave it to me to wait until I am leaving for another trip before I try to fix things. So as I am loading up, I decide to blow out any debris from the burner with the air can. I have seen those cans of air before, but I have never actually used one. I read the directions carefully, but was a bit surprised to read something about spraying out the liquid before aiming at your intended target. I aimed away from the burner, sprayed, but no liquid came out. So I proceed to spray BOTH burners with what I hoped was air. I grabbed a fire-clicker, turned the gas switch to ignite, and nearly blew myself up! Apparently, there really is some sort of liquid that dispenses from the can. I am guessing that I covered the burners with said liquid, which from what I could tell, ignited into a roaring ball of fire. And when I say roaring, I mean it! It roared and then whooshed. Whether by instinct or pure luck, I let go of the clicker’s on button and the ball of fire disappeared. I leaned down to get a closer view and nearly passed out from the completely noxious fumes that rose from the stove stop. I leaped out of the trailer, grabbed a towel, and began fanning wildly. Once the air cleared, I could see that everything looked normal. My eyebrows were still there and nothing in the “kitchen” looked singed. I reignited the fire-clicker, stood back, and slooowly turned on the burner. A small blue flame spread around the ring in a perfect circle. Problem solved. Who says a girl can’t fix stuff? More tomorrow, but for now here are some photos of the grounds. By the way, I had the best campsite I have ever had at a show. Take a look.
Lori
4/14/2013 11:22:08 pm
What a pretty place! Sure a lot different than a ride camp, isn't it? :-)
Angela
4/15/2013 06:59:01 am
Quite an explosive build-up to your big show weekend! So glad to hear and see that it was a successful event; love the pictures and your campsite. They are great for dream building...:0
martinam peterson
4/15/2013 07:00:24 am
this looks like a vacation spot but I know you worked hard
cg
4/15/2013 02:27:22 pm
That is quite a place! I can't get over ALL of those jumps, and the palm trees!!! So unfair.
Karen
4/15/2013 10:24:08 pm
Well fire is a bit scary, I didn't think about being scared. I thought it was hilarious. After hearing some of your comments, I think it was pretty scary. :0) 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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