Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Or, in my world, the LLPOF CLub. I always tell my students to avoid being a member of the LLPOF Club, which is invariably met with nervous laughter. In reality, sometimes a lie is a good thing. I do worry, about a lot of stuff, but I just don't let myself pick at it or follow the train of thought for more than a minute. If I let myself indulge in playing out every horrific scenario, the next thing I know, I've led myself to believe that the apocalypse is imminent which means I will be faced with deciding if I would ever consider eating one of my horses for survival. Really. That's where my worries take me - eating my horse! I don't obsess about broken legs or colic surgery. Instead, I worry about the end of the world (with or without zombies) and having to barbecue my four-legged family - somehow the dog is excluded. Saying I don't worry would be saying that I don't care. That happens too. Sometimes I really don't give a rat's ass about something, but most of the time, I care too much. All of which means that I have to lie to myself by saying, it will all be okay. I KNOW it's a lie because it cannot be okay when the end of the world has arrived. But strangely, the placation is consistently proven to be RIGHT a week later. No, I never remember that part, but I do accept the lie so that I don't make myself ill with the fretting. When Speedy pulled a little butt muscle a few weeks ago, I was worried, but I suffered in silence as I tried to believe in the tenets of THE LIE. And you know what, it really turned out to be okay. Shocking, I know. I had a lesson last night, which was totally awesome, but that's how I know Speedy is back on track. Over the weekend, I schooled him lightly at the walk and trot, but I avoided the canter work as I was worried about him being NQR. Bolting around the arena during turn out is what caused him to be ouchy, so it seemed prudent to get back to work slowly.
Because I am such a lying chicken, I waited to canter until I was with my trainer. My rationale was this: if I am riding alone, I am focused solely on what he is doing and how he feels. Every step feels wonky when you're looking at it that hard. On the other hand, when I ride with my trainer, I am focused on what she's asking me to do and not worrying about how he feels. I just didn't tell her I was worried until part-way through the lesson. She hadn't seen a thing, but when I mentioned it to her, she had me do a few things to check him out. By the time we finished for the evening, we both agreed that he was fully sound. Whew! The world can now continue to spin. We love to talk hypothetically about the apocalypse, but it never involves bbq'ing the horses. Instead, Tim loads up on drugs at our local CVS within walking distance from my house while I get all the food they have. THEN we hide out in our house for a few days until it's safe to travel out to the farm where the horses become transportation and the land is for planting! Muhahahaha.
I like to think horse people are better equipped for life in after the apocalypse. After all, we're already familiar with the paths out of the city, know our way around a farm, and have access to and the knowledge to pilot around "transportation." ;) 11/25/2014 08:32:43 am
As outdoor people in general (camping, hunting, etc.), I alway feel that we'll do better than most if the apocalypse hits. Sometimes I want to force my husband to learn to ride so that we can actually ride the horses and not have to eat them. :0) Yes - we all worry, just to different extents. Normally I think I do a good job of keeping things in perspective and not getting overwhelmed with worry. But there have been times that I've failed and become distraught and experience physical symptoms of anxiety. Such is life sometimes. 11/25/2014 08:34:00 am
I used to be plagued by a variety of illnesses that were 100% stress related. I got control of the worry though and am much healthier (and happier!).
jenj
11/26/2014 01:37:57 am
When Paddy was off last month, I was shopping for Haffies online before my vet came out. Hubby was like "he'll be FINE STOP THAT!" and I was all "BUT I BROKE MY HORSE AGAINNNNN!!!!" Sometimes it's really hard not to go down that road, but if I start, I usually know it's time to call the vet and figure out what's really going on. I hadn't planned on any BBQ Haffie, though! 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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