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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

First Level - Test 1

6/30/2015

 
I am all smiles today. Sort of. I am hot and sweaty from schooling Izzy through a sassy lesson, but once I cool off and get out of these stinky breeches, I'll return to the land of Basking in Success.

If we're friends on Facebook, you already know that Speedy kicked some First Level butt. That dude is a total rock star. He showed up and was nothing but business. I tied him to the trailer with his hay bag and a bucket of water and left to check in and visit with friends. Knowing that he will stand there for hours and hours without causing any trouble takes away so much stress and worry. I "heart" you, Speedy G. 
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The love is mutual.
Shows are a lot more fun when you know people, which is why the Tehachapi summer series is so much fun. I watched my friend, Wendy, ride her charming mare, Bloo. I also visited with friends who have seen Speedy and I morph from baby endurance horse to hey, that's an Arab doing dressage. Those friends are fun to visit with because they've seen how far we've come and can remind me of what we used to look like (and sometimes still do). 
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Safire Bloo and her rider, Wendy M.
Speedy is one of those horses who either needs thirty minutes to warm up, or just ten. The problem is that I never know until I am on him. For this show, he needed about 6 minutes. I've been his partner for so long now that I know when he's giving me all he has. When he offered a nice, rhythmic trot, a few steps of leg yield, and a canter transition that was relatively smooth. I dropped the reins and rode him up to the ring. Riding him more won't make anything better.  

Once again, I asked for a reader; being out of the country for two weeks didn't give me much time to work on memorizing the tests. I hate relying on a reader, but I have to say, I rode much better for having one. Instead of having that dual conversation running through my head ... half circle right 10-meters, returning to the track at M combined with inside leg, half halt, weight on the inside seat bone ... I was able to focus completely on riding my horse in every moment without worrying about where to go.
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Not fabulous, but clearly a very steady ride.
The ride started very steady although Speedy kept eyeballing the turned out horses off to our left. The judge caught it and noted that he was inattentive for the halt. After our entry and halt, he refocused and lost interest in what those horses were doing. From there, the ride got better and better. We even earned an 8 for our working canter left lead. 

If you've been following our journey for a while, you'll know that we s.t.r.u.g.g.l.e.d. with the canter departures for a long time. A 4.5 wasn't unusual, and eventually, a 5.5 was the normal. Then we started getting the occasional 6 and maybe even a 7, so to earn an 8 (and we did it on test 2 as well) shows pretty remarkable improvement.
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Movement 14 - scribe writes, "loses lead behind. Loses canter." Judge adds, " to correct lead"
The only mistake we made was in the right lead canter, and I call it a mistake because I could have ridden it better. I let Speedy get too heavy in the right lead, so when we made the 15-meter canter circle, he lost his balance and dropped the lead behind. I wanted our downward to trot to have a chance at a better score, so I had him trot and then picked up the canter again. 

I knew our 10-meter circle was going to get a low score anyway, but by fixing the canter and rebalancing, I was able to set Speedy up for a better downward transition at A. My strategy worked as the judge gave us a 7 for the transition.
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I know judges like to say something nice, which in our case is usually 'has potential,' so to see "elegant horse" instead made me smile.
When we saluted at G, I felt really good. We performed the test almost as well as we could have at this moment in our training. Of course it can be ridden better, but I was pleased. We finished with a 65.741%, which was good enough for a win ... out of two riders in the class.
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Very small classes
I was fortunate to have a friend (thanks, S!) shoot a couple of snippets of video. She didn't think the footage was "blog worthy," but as my mom likes to say, beggars can't be choosers. The video just shows bits and pieces of our ride, but happily, S managed to catch Speedy's "inattentiveness" at the beginning and the goofy 15-meter canter circle to the right. 
Tomorrow, look for First Level, test 2.
emma link
6/30/2015 01:06:29 am

congrats on your nice test! he looks great in the video! also, as someone who struggles seriously with the canter depart (routinely earning 5-5.5s), i'm heartened to see how much you've been able to improve yours.

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/30/2015 04:30:22 am

Thanks, Emma! I had almost giving up on getting a decent canter departure, but we stuck it out, and now they're looking pretty decent. One thing that helped me feel the "uphillness" that the canter departure needs was by cantering poles. Even just cantering one pole in "slow motion" will help you get the feeling. It must have helped Speedy too. :0)

michelle
6/30/2015 02:56:10 am

Congrats on a great ride! Loved the insight on looking ahead and setting up for success for your downward transition to trot instead of trying to forcing through on the right lead canter.

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/30/2015 04:34:41 am

Thanks, Michelle. I will say that not letting a bad movement spoil my test has aways been one of my strengths, even when we were still at Intro level. I know which movements are easier for us, so I try to do those really well and do my best on the weaker movements. So when I felt the 15-meter canter circle coming apart, I knew to just cut my losses there and fix it so the next movement would be better.

I've been told that judges appreciate it when the rider recognizes and corrects a mistake. I am not sure if that is true or not, but the judge did take the time to note it on my test.

Val
6/30/2015 03:52:33 am

It is exciting to see how far you have come together!

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/30/2015 04:35:23 am

It's slow progress, Val, but at least it's forward progress. :0)

Teresa link
6/30/2015 10:00:29 am

congratulations. It will be even more fun when you start showing 2 horses! :)

Bakersfield Dressage link
6/30/2015 11:24:29 am

And twice the price!!! I just filled out my entry for El Sueno - $374 + $175 for trainer lessons/coaching. Grand total to have a lot of fun ... $549. :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.
    Picture
    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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    Bakersfield Dressage approved!
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    My favorite breeches!
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    FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
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    National Rider Awards

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

    State Rider Awards
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    CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018

    State Horse Awards
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    Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
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    Speedy G - 2nd Level Horse Performance Award - 2018

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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