Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Finding your joy can mean keeping busy. When I first realized I was a bit like Peter Pan without a shadow, I gave myself permission to both stop riding every single day and not feel guilty about it. As my husband asked, what would I do instead? At first, I gave myself the opportunity to catch my breath and do a bit of vegging. That didn't last long though. By nature I'm not one who can sit around and relax for long, so I started to fill my days with a lot of other projects and activities. Tomorrow morning I am headed down to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center (LAEC) for the new test symposium being put on at the California Dressage Society's Annual Meeting. I'll be meeting my good friend Jen. Neither of us care much about the symposium itself - it's not like my test scores are going to go up by attending, but it's a great reason to spend a day with a friend. Since I'll be gone all day Saturday, I had to do my monthly feed store run yesterday. I might have been able to wait until Monday, but I had a tele-visit appointment yesterday which meant I didn't have time to ride anyway, the feed store is closed on Sundays, Monday is a holiday, and neither of my horses are too happy with me if I run out, so yesterday was the day. Since our daylight hours are short, before unloading all of the feed bags, I had to assess Speedy's poulticed foot. He's feeling much better, but he's still a little off. I couldn't get a reaction with the hoof testers, but I replaced the Numotizine poultice anyway. At this point, the abscess will slowly leech out which is a pain, but it should resolve over the next few days. Knowing that Speedy hasn't been moving around much - he detests the mud, I turned him loose in the yard while I unloaded the feedbags. I rolled my eyes in exasperation when I heard him go flying by - at a gallop. Repeatedly. Sheesh. He's sore, but he's not that sore. Check out that extended trot! All of Speedy's gallivanting around riled Izzy up who also hasn't done a lot with the heavy rain we've had. As Speedy flew by, I glance through the feed room window and caught Izzy doing some pretty spectacular airs above the ground. Thank you, sir, no chiropractic visit needed for you. He was doing some pretty impressive back cracking bucks, something I rarely see him do. Once both boys were tucked back into their paddocks with their buckets of feed, I closed up the feed room and walked over to my truck. Before I climbed in though, I glanced over at Izzy's pen to be sure he was eating and caught a view of the sky on fire.
I realized I no longer felt empty; my heart was filled with happiness and a sense of deep satisfaction. 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
|