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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

So That's What Crow Tastes Like!

8/8/2011

 
No, not literally, but I have to admit that I am metaphorically eating crow.  You know ... when you admit that you're wrong.

If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you'll know that I really don't like leather products.  I try to avoid them whenever possible.  Leather is difficult to care for when you lead a busy life.  For more than a decade I have searched for, and found, the best synthetics possible.  My bridles, halters, breast collars, cruppers, and other tack have been made from Beta or washable materials like neoprene or wool.  My endurance saddles were leather, but they were covered with a high quality Merino sheepskin to protect them from the harsh conditions of the trail.

When I started to ride dressage, I bought a Wintec saddle and bridle.  I replaced that saddle with another Wintec saddle and a Tekna bridle with Beta reins.  The Wintec saddle has since been replaced by a much more comfortable and grippy leather saddle and my Beta reins are in the process of getting the proverbial boot.  

And here's where the eating of the crow begins. 

I'll admit it.  Synthetics may not be the best choice for dressage.  Synthetics wash easily, but that same property of washability makes them slippery.  I have a problem maintaining a steady contact.  As I ride, the reins just seem to drift down through my hands and before I know it, 12 feet of rein are flapping in the breeze.  

I didn't notice it initially with Speedy G because he's not "heavy" in my hand like Sydney is.  He's just fussy. During a recent schooling ride on Sydney however, I noticed that he had simply leaned hard enough to put slack in the rein.  Even with gloves, I couldn't keep a firm grip on the reins.

I had a spare set of web reins in the tack room so I swapped out my lovely, but obviously slippery, Beta reins for the cotton web reins.  Oh ... that's how you keep the "fence board" in front of his nose!  When he leaned, I was able to hold firmly to the rein without letting it slip through.  Until I rode Speedy on Sunday morning, it still hadn't dawned on me that this might be part of my inability to maintain a steady contact with him.  As he popped his nose out and sucked behind the vertical, the reins slithered through my fingers.  I was working incredibly hard to keep a grip on the reins.  Somewhere between a few craps! and a couple of damns!, the idea popped into my head that I needed a less slippery set of reins.  Hello!

As soon as I got home, I went online to SmartPak and ordered a well-reviewed set of cotton web reins with leather ends.  You can check them out here.  Until they arrive, I am switching my one set of web reins between the two bridles.  Goodbye synthetics!
martina peterson
8/8/2011 01:43:54 pm

That was just the funniest blog ever. You are so descriptive that it kept me in stitches. Go for it Karen. Ho Ra, it takes alot to change direction after having set ideas. I know you are determined to improve your riding skills. Love Mom




Karen Sweaney link
8/9/2011 03:15:17 am

Hi Mom! I hear people tell me all the time that some of what I write is funny. It's not intended, but then again, maybe it is! I do like to laugh at myself and maybe it shows in my writing. ;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.
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    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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    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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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
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    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
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  • Dressage Organizations
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    • 2019 Dressage Tests
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