Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
While our arena is not the fanciest, I wouldn't trade it for almost any other place. There are only two things that I don't like about the space in which I ride. First, it's not covered, and second, it's 10 meters too short. Neither of those things is worth complaining about, especially when compared to the things I love. And really, how many privately owned properties have a covered arena, especially for what I pay in board? We don't have recycled rubber or shredded paper footing, but we do have firm, sandy footing with added DG. It drains really fast in the winter, and never gets deep. It is also rock free. Equally as important is that the ranch owner treats the footing regularly with ArenaKleen, a product that eliminates dust. Not having to water 10 months out of the year saves so much time, especially when riding after work in the fall. Last week we finally had time to drag and rebuild the dressage court. For about eight years, I would dismantle and rebuild the dressage court on my own, even when I boarded at the property across the street. A few years ago, the ranch owner asked if I'd like her help the next time I redid it. Of course I wanted help, but I never wanted to impose on her hospitality. It's a dirty job at best, and it involves a lot of walking back and forth. The first time we did it together, it took about two hours. Each time we do it though, we get quicker and quicker. This time, it took us 20 minutes to rebuild the court. Of course the entire job, including dismantling the old court, dragging the arena, and rebuilding the new court took two hours, but most of that time was spent watching Reggie on the tractor. I've yet to buy "real" letters as my water jug version works great and is cheap to replace. For several years I've been using 1 gallon water bottles as dressage letters. I cover the sides of the bottles with letters printed on paper and adhere them with heavy duty shipping tape. The last set of letters lasted through the heaviest rain year we've had since the 1990s. While they were still upright and full, the letters had since faded or fallen off though. They were due to be replaced. This is a cheap and easy DIY project that requires no skill and very few materials. A kid can do it. I start by buying 12, 1-gallon water jugs. I buy the cheapest ones I can which run right around a dollar, less if I catch them on sale. The ranch owner then uses her commercial grade printer to print out the letters from a PDF that I send her. I can print the letters myself, but my ink cartridges are really small. I use a small paper cutter to remove the excess paper from the top and bottom of each letter. I then lay each letter on a water bottle and tape it in place. To make them semi-waterproof, I tape over the entire letter which requires 4 to 5 strips of tape. I usually use almost the entire roll of tape. When I place the letters on the bottles, I make sure to lay the paper so that a letter appears on each side of the bottle. When I place them in their spots, I can see the letter whether coming or going. The whole job costs less than $20 and takes about half an hour to complete. The rails of the dressage court are made up of a mixture of materials. We have fence poles, PVC pipe of different diameters, and long 2x4s. We're trying to come up with a plan for replacing all of the many bits and pieces with longer PVC poles, but that's a slow burn project that's going to need time to mature into a definite plan. For now, what we have works great. I am always the first one to ride in the arena once it's been freshly dragged and rebuilt. If you need motivation to ride, re-drag your arena. It never fails to make me feel like a pro.
With that, I better get to it! 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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