Second Level Debut: Warm Up Ride

3/20/2018

But first, a little bit of a backstory ...

I've had migraines since I was a little kid. As I got older, they got worse like they sometimes do. For the most part, they had been manageable with the right prescription ... until last summer. My insurance plan took my prescription off the "approved list" and substituted it for a less effective generic.

Me on the left, Grandma, little sister to the right.

Over the summer, the headaches got worse, so I did some investigating. I got my eyes checked - new glasses were ordered, and I tried a bunch of different migraine medications. None of them worked. About 2 weeks ago, I got a migraine that lasted for 10 days. I missed a number of riding days and lived in excruciating pain. On Wednesday, I saw a neurologist, and on Thursday I had an MRI.

Even in pain that was so severe that I contemplated a lobotomy, all I could wonder was if I'd feel well enough for Sunday's show. The whole yeah my arm is broken, what does that have to with riding? thing. No, I can't see past the ring of fire that is searing my eyeballs, but my horse knows where C is. You get the idea. Once an entry is paid for, I am showing.

Fortunately for me, the neurologist got the pain under control, and by Friday I was feeling closer to normal. On Saturday, a group of us met at the show venue for a Ride-A-Test type clinic with Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables.

Preparing the ring for the dressage court. PC Gordon Walter

If you'll remember, I shared this post about being the local hack. It was written tongue in cheek, of course, but there was definitely an element of truth to it as well. So there I was already feeling way out of my depth, and then on top of that, my brain was so fuzzy that I could barely tell you my name.

Chemaine finished up with her first student and called me in. It had been more than six months since I'd schooled in an actual dressage court, so I really wanted to work on some of the trickier movements from Second Level: the three loop serpentine with simple changes at the center line and the 20-meter counter canter half circles.

I am not going to lie. I cried. I was just so overwhelmed by all that I needed to fix that I felt defeated before I had even heard the judge's bell. My brain just couldn't get the whole left lead, track right thing. I don't know how Chemaine keeps so positive when she's faced with such a pathetic mess.

Who wouldn't want to show here? PC Gordon Walter

But. I am not a quitter. I learned that while riding hundred mile endurance rides. You suck it up, you grit your teeth, you get it done. Chemaine finally got me to use my outside rein to balance Speedy, and suddenly, our counter canter was balanced, and our canter to walk to canter transitions were a bit clearer.

The next morning, as I was driving to the show venue, a song by Jarrod Niemann came on the radio. I have an awesome horse in Speedy G, so when I heard the chorus, I knew it was going to be okay.

Girl I got this
Don't got to think too hard
It's a can't miss
I know right where to start
Yeah the only thing I'm needin' is a girl to play the lead
In this cool movie that I'm dreaming up right now
And if you're down with that
I got this
Yeah, I got this

And Speedy? He's definitely got it!

3 Comments

Addie Kingsland link

3/20/2018 08:15:53 am

Firstly, you are going to rock this. No matter how well you score, doing things that are challenging and out of your comfort zone is ALWAYS impressive. Also, the only way to get better! The fact that you're doing it -through- migraines is also incredibly impressive.

Secondly, and hopefully I'm not butting my nose in too badly here, but I have a little bit of advice on the "insurance doesn't cover my brand name medication any more" dilema.

For background, here's a pretty good article on the similarities and differences of brand name vs generic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/generic-drugs-the-same-but-not/388592/

For -most- people, generics will work just as well, which is why the insurance stops covering brand name as soon as the patent runs out and generics appear on the market. That being said, it's a well-accepted fact that generics don't work for -all- people, and most insurance companies have a process to cover brand name drugs. They generally try to hide this process because it's more expensive for them.

I've been through this process with my insurance, and it's frustrating and long. I needed a doctor to vouch for me that the generic had undesirable side effects that were more than the result of placebo. A lot of doctors hesitate to do this, because it can be a risky move for their careers. So there will probably be a lot of appointments and working with your doctor and also red tape with the insurance, but it -can- be done.

In the meantime, I just bought the brand name out-of-pocket. I'm not saying you should do that, just that it's still an option. Some times the quality of life improvement is worth the $$.

I obviously don't know the whole story, and it sounds like you got your pain under control by another method. Again, I hope I'm not butting in too badly here. I just figured if the root cause of all of this was the brand name drug, it may be useful to know that you can get insurance to cover it if you're willing to jump through a lot of hoops.

Bakersfield Dressage link

3/29/2018 08:54:37 am

Thanks for the feedback - no offense taken. I have considered paying out of pocket, but if we can prevent them that would be even better. I am still having them for now though. Hopefully over the next few months we can figure things out. They are a bit of a pain.

Tracy link

3/21/2018 07:27:59 am

I got migraines as a kid, and they were the WORST. I'm so lucky that I grew out of them! Also, I love that song and I'm glad I'm not the only one who hears songs on the radio and instantly think of my horses, hah.

About the
Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime 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

Email Karen

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse and occasional trail horse. He is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

May 2018

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 schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand Zweibrücker gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.

Second Show - July 2016

Bakersfield Dressage approved!

National Awards

USDF First Level Rider Performance Award - 2015
USDF Training Level Rider Performance Award - 2013

Stuff I'm Working On ...

Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Scores
Second Level Scores:
Score 1: 63.485%
Score 2: 61.282%
Score 3: 62.879%

CDS Championship Qualifying
Second Level Scores:
Score 1: 63.485%
Score 2: 61.282%
Score 3: 62.879%
Score 4: 61.970%
Score 5:

CDS Ruby Rider Award
Training Level Scores:
Score 1: 70.179%
Score 2: 72.600%

First Level Scores:
Score 1: 66.093%
Score 2: 68.750%

Second Level Scores:
Score 1: 63.485%
Score 2: 62.879%

USDF Second Level Rider Performance Award
Score 1 - 62.879%
Score 2 - 61.970%
Score 3 -
Score 4 -

USDF Bronze Medal
First Level - 70.179%
First Level - 72.600%
Second Level - 62.879%
Second Level - 61.970%
Third Level -
Third Level -

2018 Show Season

Show Rating
(***) CDS/USDF/USE
(*) CDS
(s) Schooling
(c) Clinic
(t) Ride-a-Test Clinic
(Q) Must Qualify

2018 Pending …
7/22/18 Tehachapi (*)
7/28-29/18 El Sueno (***)
8/11-12/18 RAAC (Q ***)
8/26/18 Tehachapi (*)

2018 Completed …
1/14/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
2/10/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
2/24/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
3/17/18 Hurtado Clinic (t)
3/18/18 GEAHS (*)
3/31/18 Hurtado Clinic (c)
4/14-15/18 El Sueno (***)
5/27/18 Tehachapi (*)
6/16-17/18 El Sueno (***)
6/24/18 Tehachapi (*)