Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
It was 110℉/43℃ on Monday, and Tuesday's high was 108℉. It's been in the mid 80s at 6:00 a.m. with humidity in the 40s. It's not like mid-80s is hot; it's that it quickly goes up another 20 or 30 degrees. It's not predicted to drop below 100 until Tuesday and then only down to 95. It's exhausting. Literally.
I know many horses in Bakersfield are having trouble dealing with this heat wave. Mine have been handling it quite well (for which I am grateful). Speedy has the finest hair you've even seen. As he moves, you can see his black skin peeking out through the hair. He's practically naked. His bright white coat, called gray, but it's definitely white, helps reflect the sunlight. Like most Arabians, his muscle mass is lean which allows him to cool off much more quickly after a work out. His veins are also very close to the service and pop out all over his body when he's working. This, too, helps eliminate heat while working. Sydney enjoys many of the same physical characteristics as Speedy: his coat is very thin, and his veins are even closer to the surface. He is more heavily muscled, but it's not excessive. It's no surprise that Sydney shares so many features with Speedy since the Thoroughbred can trace it's ancestry back to three Arabian stallions: the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian. Wednesday was my last day of summer vacation. My weekends will now be spent squeezing in as many morning rides as possible as the afternoons will continue to be very hot for the next few months. When it's below 100, I will ride after school. It doesn't look like I'll be able to do much riding next week, but I am hoping the weather forecasters are wrong and that this heat wave will break soon. I am off to my official first day back to work. Here's to cooler weather!
Sharon T
8/15/2012 11:29:28 pm
Hopefully your temps cool done soon. Here in the midwest we had unusually hot and dry conditions earlier this summer. Thankfully we've been back to more normal temps and are getting much needed rain.
Karen
8/16/2012 11:19:12 am
Unfortunately, this is our normal summer weather. Yuck! We don't mind it in the middle of winter when we're still riding in t-shirts! :0) Glad things have "cooler" in your neck of the woods! Comments are closed.
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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
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