Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
I spend a lot of time riding my horses, but I balance that with just hanging out with them, too. We go for hand walks, I let them graze on the lawn while I clean tack, and sometime I just sit on the fence and tickle their noses. Izzy's. Speedy's into standing close, but he's not into the touchy feely stuff. I rarely catch Speedy napping. I knows he lays down to rest at night because his face, belly, and butt get pretty muddy, and at shows, his tail gets filled with shavings. I just don't get to catch him at it. Izzy doesn't let me catch him napping on a regular basis, but he does like a mid-morning snooze. Izzy's a lot lazier than Speedy, so if I happen to catch him snoozing, he'll keep laying there as long as I don't seem like I am in any hurry. And if I am really respectful, he'll let me hug and pet him. After snapping a few awkward selfies though, he gave a me "to hell with this" look and heaved himself back up onto his feet. That was the end of that special moment. The rewarding thing about spending time just hanging out with my guys is that I get to experience a lot of quiet moments that I don't get to see when I am saddling quickly to beat the clock. While our resident bunny is still quite skittish, he greets me almost daily, begging for his handful of senior feed. On this day, he actually stood up on his hind legs right under Izzy's belly. I quickly tossed his treat underneath the trailer so that Izzy didn't inadvertently step on him and scare the crap out of them both. Whether it's in the dead of winter or the heat of summer, I like those non-riding moments just as much as the ones where each footfall is magical. Horses, man, they're in my soul.
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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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