After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the...
We had a great time at Hidden Brook Farm this past Saturday. I have had no time to write about it since I have been SO busy getting ready to start school on August 26. YIKES that is coming sooner than I would like!!
Usually we do not use the ear flymask thing, but the bugs in this rain have been AWFUL! Dreamy was much happier, even if she did look foolish. :)
Anyway, Dreamy was great at the show. We ended up second in Intro B with a 71.5%. All 7s with a couple of 8s. There were seven riders in my division and the first place winner beat me by .5% (she got a 72%). Best part is she is a professional on a very nice Dutch mare. :D
Then we ended up 2nd out of 4 in Training 1 with a 58.975%. That was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! My goal to score above a 55% was met! The judge really liked Dreamy and told me she had a ton of potential and once she figured out the canter would be a "very lovely dressage horse." That was fantastic. We even had to do the tests in an indoor, complete with mirrors EVERYWHERE. Dreamy has never been in an indoor except one other time. She was rather worried about the mirrors and the rain pounding the steel roof bothered her a bit, but honestly.....once we started the test (the judge gave us 2-3 mins. to warm up in the ring...which was generous) Dreamy was focused. I think her canter could have been better, BUT for being a little tense it was to be expected.
No matter what the scores, I like getting POSITIVE feedback from judges. The judge was fair and honest, telling me we needed to really work on our canter, but she was optimistic. For some reason, that really matters to me.
I have yet to really figure out how to tie my stock tie.....and with the rain I just got lazy and used the ratcatcher. Someone needs to teach me! LOL! :)
Here are a few pics....this was right after our Training test. It was way too dark in the indoor to do pics or a video. Too bad because they were both nice rides. Once we get that canter straightened out things will be looking good! And maybe next year we can aim for that 60% (plus) in Training.
I totally just cheat with the stock tie thing and get the pre-tieds. My European Style pre-tied is actually very comfortable! I got it from dressage extensions and have gotten compliments on it! Every year I swear I am going to learn to tie a stock tie...but I never do...so I have lots of unused stock ties lying around. Congrats on doing so well in the show!
ReplyDeleteHey OnTheBit! :) I love read about Genny and X on your blog. I hope Heart is doing OK! :(
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for making me feel better about the tie. Everytime I wear it (tied myself) I feel like an idiot! LOL! I always wondered if the pre-tieds worked well. Someone should hold a clinic on how to tie one! :D
hahaha..they so should! I would go...I learned dressage in college so I always had someone on the team to do it for me. When I graduated and was off on my own it was just not good...I tried the american style pre-tieds and they were UGLY! I am so glad I got my european style one to show in...at least until they have that stock tie clinic!
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