Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
When I got to the ranch on Sunday, I saw this. Every horse owner loves to see her four legged friend take a good nap, but every single one of us has, at one time or another, gone into panic mode when the sleeper looks a bit too stiff legged. Our smile slips, and we look for the tell-tale rise and fall of the belly. We look to see an ear twitch, the tail shoo away a fly. It doesn't take much movement to reassure us that he's still alive; any little twitch will do. As I snuck up on Izzy, I prayed that he was still alive while also trying to be quiet in case he really was just resting. As morbid as it sounds, I continued snapping photos even as I worried that he had had a heart attack after breakfast but before I arrived. They get breakfast between 7:00 and 8:00. It was 9:30 when I got to the ranch, so if he had had a heart attack, it would have been in the past hour. How quickly does rigor mortis set in anyway? Even though I was trying to be very quiet, Izzy still heard me. He snapped his head up to see what monster was about to get him. I think we both took a quick look at the freshly dug hole. He was probably worried that I was about to push him in. I worried that he was going to fall into it and break his neck as he tried to get up. Once he saw that there was no monster, just me, he gave a deep sigh and relaxed. I crawled through the fence to sit with him. I tried to tell him he could go back to sleep, but the moment had passed. He hauled himself to his feet and looked for a cookie.
I love to watch my boys nap, but it gives me a heart attack each and every time. 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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