Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Aw, Santa, you are my hero! You remember my letter to Santa? Well, he came through. I got every single thing on my list, and then some! It took the combination of Christmas and my birthday to get it done, and I think the big guy passed some of the work around, but all in all, I am one lucky girl. The first thing I asked for was a Dover gift card; I got TWO of them from RM, my barn owner. One was for Speedy G and the other for Sydney. I know both boys really needed a rider who looked her best so I used them to buy two new Kerrits Ventilator shirts, which was the second item on my list. So score and double score. Hubby took care of items number three and four: a pair of Tough Rider Breeches and the Andis Freedom Cord clippers. Love them both! The final item on my list was a Stübben bridle, but really, who was going to spring for that? Santa got some serious help. As you already know, my mom stepped up to the plate and sent it for my birthday. How cool is that? I called Margaret Young, the Stübben distributor in this area and asked her advice on softening and conditioning the leather. Surprisingly, she said the best way to soften the leather was to get it warm by leaving it in a vehicle on a sunny day. I started the warming process that way, but once it got dark, I brought it back into the house and placed it under a heating pad. Every so often I reapplied Passier's Lederbalsam, but I did turn it off before bed. By the next morning, the leather was soft and warm (I reheated briefly) and ready to try on Speedy. Click on photos for captions and to enlarge. I was really pleased with how nicely this particular model fit Speedy. I have purchased at least five other bridles trying to find one that fit correctly. Most dressage horses have much thicker and longer heads than does the refined Speedy pony. The Stübben 1700 has very thin cheek straps as well as a slimmer browband and caveson. You'll also see that I chose no flash. After looking at the photo, I see that I need to drop the left cheek piece down a hole. But other than that, this bridle finally fits and looks quite lovely. Thank you, Mom!
lytha
1/7/2013 11:54:38 pm
in germany it is impossible to find a bridle without a flash or a crank. that is one sharp bridle on speedy g! i miss cleaning and oiling leather. i have one article of leather - a halter (ok and a crupper piece) and this week i cleaned and oiled it and now it's smelling up the room so nicely. oh, i also took it completely apart and for fun, forced my husband to reassemble it. *evil grin* biothane is great, but i sure miss the task of cleaning leather.
Karen
1/8/2013 10:34:17 am
Lytha! It is so good from you. :0)
Speedy, you are a handsome fella!
Karen
1/8/2013 10:36:44 am
The thing I miss MOST about endurance is always having lots of tack that FITS because you're right; endurance tack is made for ARABS. :0) Dressage tack is made for BIG guys, not petite Arabs!
Karen
1/8/2013 10:37:57 am
I was a bit worried about warming it, too. But it sure worked! And since I live in the capitol of WARM (aka as freaking HOT), I'll be doing a lot of conditioning over the summer. Comments are closed.
|
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
|