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Since I didn't have a lesson on Saturday, I slept in. And since I wasn't going to ride, I piddled around the house, completed my mail-in ballot, and did some laundry. By the time I made it out to the barn, it was in the lows 80s with a clear blue sky. I decided that Speedy was due for some pampering.  I swear he read my mind. With Speedy, baths and grooming are part of a love-hate relationship. He loves to be clean and enjoys the attention, but he hates getting wet. He wouldn't walk through a puddle if his feet were on fire. My bathing station is next to his girl Allie, but it didn't matter; he was miserable for the entire bath. Even though I hurried, he was eventually a shivering pile of pissed off pony. Speedy has too much class to bite or kick or shove me around. Instead, he throws disgusted looks over his shoulder and reminds me that I am lucky to be allowed in his presence.  When he was squeaky clean, we hung out on the lawn so that he could dry off. I thought I could flip through TikTok and relax, but Speedy needed to remind me that I had hurt his feelings. Instead of grazing politely, he turned into a fire breathing dragon and put on an Arabian show. He huffed and puffed and piaffed in circles until I finally walked over and grabbed Izzy to join us. That wasn't the best plan either because then I found that I had a fire cracker in one hand and a tank in the other. Guess which one was which.  He so desperately wanted to turn his nose up at the grass, but he is a horse, so ... By the time Speedy was dry, I was a sweaty, dirty mess. Fortunately, he had enough tact to not stop, drop, and roll as soon as I put him away. It helped that I had thrown him some lunch, but I am quite sure he enrolled a good sandy roll once I had driven away.  He hasn't been this clean since last September. While I thought I would spend my Saturday differently, it was hard not to enjoy an afternoon with my best boy.
I tend toward the dramatic even though I yearn for ho-hum. Why is it that I seem to be perpetually putting out metaphorical fires? My inner voice says I must actually thrive on the drama even though I don't think I do. Nothing terribly dramatic has happened, I am just in a funk. No need to panic; It doesn't last long, and I'll probably be over it before you read this. The disappointment? frustration? melancholy? started last weekend. I wasn't able to get a lesson, but I felt really good about how I handled Saturday's ride and even my ride on Sunday. But then, each day's ride got a bit wonkier than the previous one. We had some really windy weather, and my arena is surrounded by cottonwood trees that shake and rattle in blustery weather. To top it off, the tree-lined side of the arena is lined with grass and weeds, so when it's windy, that fence line gives spooky horses all the cause they need to act up. And if all that isn't enough, it's also deeply shaded in the afternoon. It's basically a house of horror for the big brown horse.  So scary on a windy day. For several days, I rode with patience and talked Izzy through his tension. By Wednesday, I realized his behavior wasn't due to the windy weather, or at least not all of it anyway. No matter how many of my shiny new tools I used, he just wouldn't play ball. He was braced through his poll and couldn't do a training level transition no matter how patient I was. I realized that I needed to call out our favorite chiropractor. I also cancelled this Saturday's lesson. What was the point? It didn't make any sense to work on anything when Izzy is sore. This doesn't seem like a big enough deal to put me in a funk, but this horse is just tiring. I have never owned a horse who was so hard on himself. Without an adjustment at least every eight to twelve weeks, sometimes more frequently, he's just not rideable. I know that, and I have the chiropractor out as needed, but there are times - like this weekend, when the chiropractor is not available. We have a tentative appointment for this afternoon, but even if he can come, I haven't ridden since last Wednesday. Big deal, I know, but I was hoping to take Izzy to small show on Sunday.  If I am totally honest, the funk is partly to do with the fact that I have finally admitted that Izzy and I are never going to be as successful as Speedy and I were. I am disappointed. It's not a deal breaker though. I am becoming a much better rider than I ever would have been had Izzy been easy. It's a bit like the O. Henry tale, Gift of the Magi. The husband gives his wife a beautiful hair comb, but she has sold her hair to buy him a chain for the pocket watch he sold to buy the hair comb. In my version of the O. Henry tale, I am a much better rider, but I don't have horse who enjoys showing.
Hopefully the chiropractor makes it out today. If not, I doubt I'll bother with the show. Big sigh ... Do you remember that post I wrote about my artist friend, Karen Morovich? She gave me a beautiful painting that she did of Speedy. After seeing my reaction, Karen decided that the painting was even better than she had first thought. I think she started to see it through my eyes, biased as they are. I continue to be amazed at how beautiful the painting is. Anyway, she decided to get the image copyrighted. While I am not privy to all of the details, Karen did share with me that it is a lengthy and somewhat expensive process. Fortunately, she received the copyright sooner than expected. She sent me a copy of the Certificate of Registration yesterday.  A bit of the Certificate of Registration. The certificate lists a registration number, an effective date of registration, and a registration decision date, May 2, 2022. Karen applied for a copyright registration for a group of unpublished works. To help her with this, I "unpublished" the image of Speedy from that earlier blog post. Karen explained that it is more difficult to copyright an image if it is already in the public domain. Her copyright includes ten works in total - Speedy, a cow, a giraffe, a gorilla, and six other works. With her permission, I have republished the image she sent me and included the copyright information.  It's more than 3 feet tall. Not long after Karen gave me a super high quality scan of the painting, I ordered a large canvas. I hung it in the very first part of our hallway so that I can see it from nearly every part of our kitchen, dining, and living room. It brings me so much happiness as I walk past it. I don't think I will ever get used to seeing it. Each and every time I look at it, it fills me with joy. Later, Karen gifted me the original painting. A few weeks ago, I finally found the perfect frame for it. I know it's a little weird to have the same image hanging twice in your home, but the original is made even more beautiful by the blue-gray paint she used which produces a glittery sparkle. The paper she used, almost like cloth, adds another layer of depth to the work. I didn't think it would be possible, but the original brings me even more delight than does the canvas.  "Speedy" © 2022 Karen Morovich Karen has finally launched her website, www.karenmorovich.com, and it is now live. Some of her work is already available for purchase, and she has a lot of other interesting things on her site. You can even commission your own "Speedy."
Life has been a bit frustrating lately, but I am endeavoring to find those moments of happiness in the day to day struggle. Karen's painting of Speedy never fails to make me smile. Now that I think about it, isn't that what art is for? Thank you, Karen, for giving me this priceless gift. Over the past two years, the ranch has acquired a few domesticated-rabbits-turned-feral. The first two were brought by Reggie, the ranch's fix-all-the-things handyman. They both looked just like the rabbits you'd seen in a hutch - lots of white fur with patches of brown. The first one survived for quite a long time. She was pretty smart. The second one had no fear and didn't last long. We recently acquired a new pair of rabbits, but no one is sure how they got here. The ranch is in a rural neighborhood which is prime real east for dumping animals, but even so, we're at a dead end, and to get to the barn, there is a long driveway. We rarely get lost people, and when we do, they realize it at the top of the driveway, not down by the barn. However they arrived, we now have two reddish brown bunnies.  Bunny number 1. It's really hard not to try and domesticate our new feral friends. We've all learned not to try and pick them up because rabbits are tough little boogers; they bite and claw. Instead, we keep a water dish filled for them, and I leave them handfuls of rice bran. It has only been in the last week that they haven't high tailed it out of there when I show up. Our first bunny would tangle herself up in my legs until I fed her. She would allow me to stroke her back while she was eating, but that was it. Bunny number one, the larger of the two, won't let me anywhere near him (or her?). He has also lost most of his beautiful red coat. You can still see a tuft of it behind his ears. Bunny number 2 is still a beautiful reddish brown, and she (?) is less wary. On Tuesday, I left her a pile of rice bran, but I noticed the water dish, which is under the trailer, was low on water. Even though she kept her eye on me the entire time, bunny number 2 let me reach under to get the bowl, and she let me put it back all without bolting.  Bunny number 2 eating a pile of rice bran. While the bunnies are fun to have around, we don't want them to get too comfortable with us because then they become easy prey to the many coyotes, hawks, and owls that also live in the neighborhood. For now, they've taken up residence under the hay in the barn which is a safe place. As long as they stay close, they should be fine. Our very first bunny got braver and braver. I would see her nibbling the grass around the arena which is a long sprint back to the safety of the barn. Hopefully these two never gain that level of confidence.
Wouldn't it be fun if they were male and female? Maybe we'll get some baby bunnies. Over the past nine months, my Saturday mornings have included a lesson with Sean Cunningham, owner and trainer at STC Dressage. As much as I'd like to sleep in, at least for a little while, I enjoy the early morning lessons more than I need an extra hour in bed. This Saturday, Sean and several other clients were at a show in Temecula, so I didn't get a lesson. Did I sleep in? No, and not only did I not sleep in, I somehow made it to the barn a bit earlier than normal. While I missed having Sean in my ear coaching me around the dressage court, he was with me in spirit. I rode just the same as I would have had he been there virtually. As I sit and read that last sentence, I am chuckling. What strange times we live in. My coach, who's never even with me in person, couldn't even make it virtually. Is that weird or what?  I tend to keep my weekday rides a little shorter so that on Saturday, Izzy still has plenty of gas left in his tank. On Sunday, I usually only ride long enough to review what I learned the day before. Since I was on a horse with a full tank, I rode for nearly an hour doing what I know we would have done had Sean been "with" me. That might seem about as interesting as watching grass grow, but it has only been in the past few months that Izzy's I AM DONE meter has allowed us to work past 30 minutes. For so long the second half of the lesson has been all about figuring out how to re-engage him without getting sucked into the fight he so desperately wants to start. That I was able to get 50 minutes of solid work done without needing to refocus him, speaks volumes about our progress.  After my last lesson, Sean was able to help me identify yet another part of my body that needed some tweaking. My right shoulder and upper arm do not move with the same level of elasticity as does my left. Throughout the week, I focused on swinging my right arm more freely while walking, and I even did some "swimming arms" while walking back and forth from my classroom to the school's office. I am quite sure I looked a bit like a crazy old lady, but I didn't care. I also realized that I spend a lot of my day holding on to a computer mouse with my right hand which definitely creates a different amount of tension in my arm that my left never sees. While riding on Saturday morning, I spent a good deal of mental energy focused on my right arm. Was it moving? Was it moving as much as the left? Why was it stuck against my ribs? Move, damn you, move! The issue is not not fixed, but being aware of the fact that my right arms does not move like my left arm is information that has been filed away in the good to know category.  After doing some honest self-critiquing, I can say that I have definitely made some progress in addressing my unevenness. My arms move pretty well in the walk, and in the trot the horse's head is fairly stable so the "give" by the rider is different. It's in the canter where the rider really needs to follow with her arms. And by rider, I mean me. I find it very telling that it is often the right rein that is the stickiest in the canter. The right rein is the one that Izzy wants to lean on the most. Could that be because I've given him a place to lean on?
Now that I am aware that Izzy's lack of balance between both reins is partly my fault, I am working very consciously to make sure that I don't brace my right arm against my side. The result is that I find myself relying much more on my seat and legs to control the canter rather than using the right rein. I saw the effect in Izzy almost immediately. There has been more movement in his back, which means the canter is beginning to feel more like a rolling wave than a pogo stick. While I was able to be very effective on my own on Saturday, I'll be glad to be back on schedule with Sean. I am sure that "fixing" my right shoulder will only reveal the next crooked link in my riding. |
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. 
Photo by Lori Ovanessian
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.
July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)
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.
March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)
FOR THE SMALLER EQUINE ATHLETE
I love her stuff!
Watercolor Artist and Friend
Bakersfield Dressage approved!
National Rider Awards
USDF Bronze Medal - 2020
USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award - 2018
USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013
State Rider Awards
CDS Ruby Rider Award - 2018
State Horse Awards
Speedy G - 3rd Level Horse Performance Award - 2020
Speedy G - 2nd Level Horse Performance Award - 2018
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2022 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic (Q) Must Qualify 2022 Shows Schedule
(*) Tehachapi 5/22/22 2022 Completed … Pending ... 2022 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying 2 Scores/1 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Archives
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