Some Bloopers and at Least One OH MY!

10/5/2014

Holy cow, has this been a marathon week of posts! If you're still following, thanks for listening. Since this was the biggest show in which I've participated, and probably the biggest show that most other people have been to, I've had a lot to share. Today, I present a few mini-stories that weren't necessarily worthy of blog posts on their own ...

The Bloopers

The day before a show, I always get a little nervous that Speedy is going to lame himself in turn out, or that I am going to break an appendage (mostly this). I also go through this anxiety in the days before a big vacation. It's a phobia that is powerful enough to almost keep me at home. It is only through the sheer force of my stubbornness that I don't let it get the better of me.

On the day before I left for the championship show, I needed to turn Sydney out and let Speedy burn off some energy on the lunge line (no turn out for him; see the above fear of lameness). Sydney is not the easiest horse to turn out, and no matter how long I work with him, there are days where he jerks away from me as I slide the halter off. My method of control deserves a post in itself.

On this particular day, he whirled and jerked the rope before I even had my hand on the halter. And then he pulled a very dirty trick; he cow kicked me right in the belly and then pulled back. I won't go into detail, but I went home that night with a swollen and bashed up left hand, a rope burned right hand, and a purpling horse shoe print over my belly button. The next morning, it hurt to tie my shoes and button my jeans. I ended up being pretty sore for the first half of the show weekend.

Oh, but that's not all. To lunge Speedy, I used my super long, cotton rope lunge line. While Speedy was grazing, I dropped the line to pick something up that had fallen. As he tried to sneak away, I stepped on the line. When he felt the tension on the line, he whirled and wrapped the rope around a hind leg leaving a nice little rope burn. Crap.

How does all of that not reinforce my day before a show phobia? Fortunately, I toughed out the bruising and swelling and Speedy's leg never did much other than fill a little. But sheesh … what a day!

And Another One

The RV parking at the show was a total nightmare. Once you were there, getting out was actually impossible. Literally, people couldn't leave on the day they were supposed to leave. One of my claims to fame (not like there are that many) is being able to back my rig up ANYWHERE. And I mean it. I am sort of famous for my backing ability.

I think I just blew my record ...

Nose of trailer, meet rear window.

Completely spider webbed.

If you have to ask, you've never needed to jack-knife a gooseneck. It happens. I just wish it hadn't happened after already spending more than $1000 at the show. I drove all the way home from LA praying fervently that it wouldn't fall out on the freeway. Fortunately for me, there are some great mobile windshield replacement companies. It was replaced by Wednesday morning. Add another $230 to my list of expenses. Oh well ...

Oh My!

Did I mention that there were vendors at the show? There were, and they vended, a lot. I ended up with a gorgeous pair of Horze Grand Prix Full Seat Breeches and a Mountain Horse Victoria show shirt in white. Even though I had my tried and true show clothes, I decided to wear my new stuff for my HOY classes. Putting on such fancy stuff made me feel soooo good! Nice clothes can do a lot for your confidence!

Rafalca's Farewell

One of the more exciting things I was able to see at the show was Rafalca's farewell performance. She and Jan Ebeling put on a really dynamic and personal show. The video of the event is about 12 minutes long. The first part is Axel Steiner giving a small speech, but the rest is Rafalca's musical freestyle followed by some moments of her showing off a bit for the crowd. It was a great performance to see in person. Here's the video.

No You Didn't!!!

Oh yes I did! I bought Speedy a full-on blingy browband. Of course, I bought it after I was done showing, but I don't care; I love it, and I am going to use it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!

The Micklem bridle is really ugly on Speedy. The dropped nose band does absolutely nothing to flatter his face, but I like the functionality of the bridle in spite of how it looks. Finding a blingy browband that fits has been like trying to find the Holy Grail.

When I saw this browband by Red Barn, I was intrigued by the curve. My thought was that maybe it would close the gap a little created by the dropped noseband of the Micklem. I actually brought my bridle up to the vendor's trailer so we could compare the length of the browband to what I was already using. The size was almost a perfect match, so I bought it. And truthfully, at around $65, it wasn't a huge risk.

I tried to get a decent photo, but Speedy was not cooperating in the least, not surprising as that dude does whatever he wants.

A close-up.

Kind of a close-up.

The reason I couldn't get a decent head shot is that even with this lovely browband, the whole thing is still not very attractive. It's better, but still kind of awkward.

Why the long face?

Even more unflattering.

This was actually the best one of the bunch (I deleted more than a dozen.).

I have decided that having pretty things suits me. I am not such a fan of color, but I do like shiny black and white!

Tomorrow … some final thoughts on the CDS Championship Show.

10 Comments

Judy

10/5/2014 12:52:24 am

Why is it that Life always has a way of biting you in the butt when you would most like things to go smoothly?! I'm glad you weren't hurt any worse in Syney's mini tantrum! He's too big a boy for that kinda thing! I personally am hugely impressed by your ability to drive your pickup, towing a huge trailer on the freeways, much less parking the beast! I'm actually a bit famous among my peers...well, actually it involves attempting to parallel park my Subaru....anyway, LOVE Speedy's new bling! He needs a mirror in his stall to practice his posing before he heads out!

Bakersfield Dressage link

10/12/2014 08:34:15 am

That part about Speedy needing a mirror made me laugh out loud. I don't know how you know him so well, Judy, but you have him NAILED. Whenever we got to an arena with mirrors, he ADORES checking himself out. He definitely would LOVE his own stall mirror.

Alanna link

10/5/2014 01:31:29 am

Sad on your window! I'm glad you were able to get it fixed so quickly. Speedy looks great in his new brow band!

10/12/2014 08:34:43 am

Thanks, and oh, well. Crap happens. :0)

jenj

10/6/2014 04:27:10 am

Oh my, your poor truck! Glad that you didn't end up with glass everywhere and that it wasn't toooooo expensive to fix. Still, that sucks! And the bling browband... LOVE IT! Looks so nice on Mr. Speedy!

10/12/2014 08:37:12 am

I was very glad not to have to drive home WITHOUT a windshield, and I was surprised at how "cheap" the replacement was. No biggie. ;0)

And I am LOVING the new browband. Every time I ride I get all happy inside knowing that my boy has his very own sparkle. I don't do sparkly, so this is a big change for me - one that I like! :0)

Lauren link

10/6/2014 08:58:12 am

Love that browband! Red Barn products are fabulous, and it will last forever. Also, this post made me smile in general :)

10/12/2014 08:38:24 am

I know of the brand, but it's my first purchase. Glad to know it was probably a good long term buy.

Ashley Graham link

10/6/2014 06:23:08 pm

I hope you really gave Sydney what-for. I am constantly amazed by how much of a snot he sounds like. He may be pretty, but you don't deserve to be treated like crap. Regardless, Speedy's browband is awesome and I already told you on FB that I really like that bridle and I actually find that it looks quite fine on Speedy. Honestly. I like the last picture, the profile view. The bridle makes Speedy look like a PRO.

10/12/2014 08:43:27 am

Oh, yes. I did. I SMACKED THE HOLY SHIT OUT OF HIM more than once, twice, or thrice. Then, I smacked the crap out of this hind end as I convinced him that having his hip ANYWHERE NEAR ME was a SERIOUSLY BAD IDEA.

And then I went and felt bad for hitting my horse. I put him away, let him think about it for a while, and then I went and haltered him up for another lesson on how we behave when behind turned out. He was PERFECT, but I still gave him a very STERN warning. The problem is not totally fixed, but it's not like I haven't been working on it for THREE YEARS!

In three years, this is the FIRST time he has hurt me. He doesn't step on me, bonk me on the head, or crowd me so this was quite out of character. I am pretty sure I left an impression though as he has been quite respectful for the last couple of week.

And thanks! I really like the browband too. What a renegade I've become :0)

Not-So-Speedy Dressage