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Not-So-Speedy Dressage

From Endurance to Dressage

What is Progress?

7/25/2016

 
I am a glass half full kind of person. I always look for the good in a situation, but that doesn't mean I don't feel the same kind of frustrations and disappointments that everyone else deals with. Lately, I've been feeling as though I am going to be stuck at Intro Level with Izzy forever.

This is actually quite humorous as I said those exact same words several years ago in regards to Speedy G. I said those same words again at Training Level, and I feel the same way at First Level as we're trying to move on to Second. 
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Introductory Level
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First Level
It's hard to feel progress when it's slow or when you're starting yet another horse. This idea of "spinning my wheels" and "getting nowhere" made me think about my years as an endurance rider...
​ 
If you don't know much about endurance racing, the first thing you should know is that it is probably the hardest thing you can do with a horse. Not only does the horse need to be super fit, but so does the rider. Once the horse is fit, keeping her sound and healthy is truly the hardest part.
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Montoya at a 100-miler in 2000
You've probably heard people say, "My horse would have been great at endurance racing. He has so much energy; he never gets tired." Don't believe it. Being energetic is only a small part of an endurance horse's job. Endurance racing takes a very special kind of horse, and they're really hard to come by. Finding a great endurance horse is like trying to find your next Grand Prix horse. How do you know you have one until you put in years of hard work?

What generally happens in the sport of endurance is that you start out with whatever horse you have. I was lucky. I had an Arab already when I first started out in the mid-90s. But like most everyone else, after ten or so 50-milers, it turned out that the sport was a bit too tough for her, so I moved her on as a solid family horse.

Most riders share this experience. A lot of horses get started in the sport, but not many make it. Sometimes it's because of their brains - they can't cope with vet checks, horses passing them, leaving their buddies, or being on the trail for 24 hours. Just as often, it's because their bodies can't do it. Endurance racing/riding is hard on joints and soft tissue.
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Sassy - Our second endurance ride, October 1996
When Sassy couldn't make it, I started over with another horse. This time, I picked an Arabian that had been scouted out by a local endurance trainer as one with potential. I got really lucky. I ended up with a "Grand Prix" horse, but it took a lot of time to get her there. She had been started as a youngster and then put out to pasture until I bought her as a nine year old. Sounds a bit like Izzy's start, huh?
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Montoya - just days after buying her in 1998
I first worked on helping her become a riding horse. Then she had to learn how to travel, stand tied over-night at the trailer, go through vet checks, and on and on. All the while, I also had to build her fitness level. Ultimately, she competed in hundred mile races and multi-days (50 miles a day for days in a row).
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18 years old - just 3 weeks after doing a tough 55-miler - 2007.
As my super-star began to age, I bought another horse as a back up. Once again, I started over. Mickey wasn't broke to ride at all. In fact, he was barely halter broke. I had to teach him everything. I competed on him for six years until he too started to have soundness issues. Montoya just kept going.
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Mickey Dee in 2006
So I started over, again. I bought Speedy G, another Arab who had also been scouted out by an endurance trainer. Each time I started a new horse, I had to go through all of the same steps. They each had to become safe trail horses, learn to deal with the pressure of hauling and standing over-night at the trailer, and then they had to become fit enough for at least 50 miles in a single day. The process took years.
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Yep - it's Speedy G and Montoya in 2009
Why was I so incredibly patient as an endurance rider, yet as a dressage rider, I am expecting a Grand Prix horse in just a year? Pretty unrealistic when you think about it. I really need to cut Izzy some slack, Speedy too. 

Starting a barely green broke horse in the sport of dressage is pretty similar to starting an endurance horse. It's going to take years to get Izzy where I want him, and that really should be okay. Like I said the other day, it's all about perspective, mine in particular.
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Dude's got moves for sure!
I keep reminding myself that we are making progress. It's just slow and steady, just like it would be if I was building my next 100-mile horse. From endurance to dressage - it all takes time.
Leah link
7/25/2016 06:31:43 am

I really like the comparison to endurance! I think all the various disciplines have way more in common than people think. In the moment it might feel like your progress is glacially slow (I feel like this often) but eventually the pieces all come together to make something beautiful. I also really love those intro/first level comparison photos!

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/25/2016 11:12:17 am

Thanks, Leah! I am sure you are right - every discipline has its challenges. I think I just happened to pick two of the harder ones to learn and master. :0)

Micaylah link
7/25/2016 09:25:48 am

I definitely commend you for your endurance experience

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/25/2016 11:14:33 am

A lot of years spent motoring down the trail, that's for sure. Someone asked me recently if I miss it. My immediate response was no, but that's only because I've replaced it with something else just as fun. I still get to travel with my horses, camp, and hang out with great people. If I couldn't do that, then yes, I would miss it. :0

Tracy link
7/25/2016 09:59:19 am

Patience is one of the many difficult things about owning and competing horses. I don't think humans by nature are very patient people, and it's a skill we have to both learn and practice. All the time.

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/25/2016 11:16:13 am

That is certainly the truth. Dressage moves at a glacial pace, so if you have any kind of a hurry bone (like me), it can be torture. :0)

SarahO link
7/25/2016 01:29:29 pm

I am so there with you. It's hard looking back on a year of riding and struggling to come up with concrete improvements. Especially in the lower levels, so much time is spent on developing individual puzzle pieces, we just need to have patience and trust that all the pieces will come together eventually.

Bakersfield Dressage link
7/25/2016 01:40:02 pm

One thing that has really helped is that I have friends who only see us every month or so. Their exclamations of WOW! this weekend really helped me see that Izzy is showing excellent, and more importantly, correct progress.

Justine Image
7/25/2016 06:21:47 pm

Sometimes it helps me to think in moments. One ride I might get a moment of something great (which I ususally need my instructor to help us create), then I might get a couple of moments, and a few weeks later maybe a whole 20m circle. So even when I get frustrated about how slow progress is I can acknowledge to myself that we are getting more of the better work.
I also find that with my fairly uneducated horse, it is too much to hope for directional control, rhythm and accepting contact all in the same ride. Usually my girl will only give me one of those per ride, and I just have to work with what she's offering and not be so perfectionist about the other stuff.
Again, lessons are really good at giving you a glimpse of the future when things can be put together properly - it's just a bit of a mental challenge to to cope with the less than perfect training rides between.

Teresa link
7/26/2016 05:42:50 pm

But I don't want to wait! I want it all now!

:). That's my tantrum.


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.
    ​Welcome to my dressage journey.
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    Photo by Lori Ovanessian

    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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    July 2020 (PC AJSK Photography)

    About Izzy

    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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    March 2021 (PC Tess Michelle Photography)

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Among other things, Karen is a Wife, Friend, Reader, Writer, Rider, Traveler, and Dog Lover
Contact her at bakersfielddressage@gmail.com
  • Home
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