A thread going on on COTH about riding a strong, ex-GP horse got me thinking about this. Why are people so enamored with the idea of riding/owning ex-GP horses?
Why do we consider it something to be proud of to ride an "ex-GP" horse? Why do people, even if they may never jump higher than 3', say they want a 1.20m horse? What is it that makes us want to sit on this very specific kind of horse and more importantly, make us think we can ride them successfully? Is it vanity? Pride? Bragging points?
I ask these questions to myself because I too fell into the trap when I bought Arwen. She was an ex 1.40-1.50m horse, doing those classes in Mexico with her old owner who (according to some COTH feedback) is an amateur but one of the biggest amateurs in Mexico, meaning he could essentially be a pro. She did the 1.20m with her old owner, but we were told just didn't "want" to jump that height anymore. The old owner was rich so essentially was having a firesale on her. So, when I discovered she was within my budget I never really questioned why at the time. But I should have. Because when I purchased her she could have easily been doing 1.20-1.25m still (was only 13, still in her prime) however I REALLY wanted to believe that she was tired of doing the big stuff and wanted to be a partner to a relatively experienced adult amateur. And admittedly, I really did love her when I first tried her. Outside of jumping, she is super sane, safe and sensible. I can trail ride her, bareback at dusk, around the property with just a halter. However, as soon as we started jumping it was kind of a mess. Also admittedly, however, I was liking the fact I could tell people I bought an "ex GP" horse for pennies and was now riding her.
Dumb, right? And vain.
Because it takes a certain type of animal to do those big jumps. I know this now, though I don't think I really knew it at the time. Jumping that big takes a lot of athleticism, bravery, confidence in your rider, and well, some funky personality quirks. Every horse I have seen/read about that jumps at that level has something about their personalities (horsenalities?) along with extreme athleticism too, that gets them to that point. And I just don't think that makes most of them suitable to be jumping around at 3', with a rider who makes a lot of mistakes. They just don't have the tolerance for it. Its kind of like how you see very few pro athletes come back and want to coach some puny middle school team after being in the big leagues (if at all?). I know horses don't understand the meaning of something being beneath them, but I do think they can be bored, especially ones purpose bred and then trained to do a very specific job that not all horses can do. They are elite athletes, with the brain to be elite athletes (otherwise they would have washed out long ago).
I would say 80% of the time Arwen was really bored with her job with me. Bored, and it made her act out, in addition to not getting what she needed from me as a rider. She was used to non conflicting aids, that precise distance to a jump, and basically having more of a give-take relationship that I was prepared for. I still don't think I'm prepared enough to ride a horse like her. I rely a lot on my partner to be able to help me out and have the confidence to do it, which is where a good, solid 3'6" horse is a much more appropriate match for me. They don't have to be a world beater, or be able to jump the moon.
Something that has stuck with me for a couple years when starting the talks about breeding was a trainer who was offering up a solid 1.20 stallion for me to breed to. She said "everyone wants a 1.40 horse, but barely anyone needs one". She felt that the typical backyard/small breeder needed to breed for brains and the typical 3'-3'6" ammy market because in all honesty, it is a handful of very talented riders who will make it to the top. Not to mention just a handful of horses too! It is a statement that I brushed off at the time, but lately has really been ringing true. Especially as I don't have a horse to ride and have gotten to take lessons on some really amazing, but limited, horses who have taught me so much and I realize I would be perfectly happy owning (and they were never ex GP horses! OMG).
So I guess, where does it stop? Because despite me knowing what I know now, I am still trying to breed Arwen for that 1.40m baby. Maybe its just human nature, to want the best? And I am admittedly falling into that trap again.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Thermal and other updates
Again, I have been slacking on getting things written down. Nothing since December is no bueno.
First update: Thermal. Went down there for Week 3, riding a borrowed horse whose owner rode him Week 2. Super awesome 6 yo named Sitation who at such a young age is already a total packer. Well, maybe not a total packer but he is getting close. He saved my butt a couple times, and is as honest as the day is long. We showed in the low adult/child modified division, which is 2'11" (.90). Thermal sets a HARD 2'11" though and when I first got there, I thought the height looked huge. However, by the end of the week I felt like if I had been there another week, I would have been fine bumping up to 3'1" (.95).
The gist of the show was this: Biggest show I have ever been to in my life in terms of sheer number of riders (at least 35 in every class), jumps, and actual showgrounds. Thermal is SO spread out-if you don't have a golf cart, bike, etc you are going to get really tired just hoofing it (heh) around on. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I am so grateful that I got to go. That being said...I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon. It was just way above me in terms of competitiveness and while I definitely feel prepared to do local shows here (and do well) it was just a bit much for me down there. After all, I don't have my own horse, I have only been riding 3 times a week on mainly a hunter type ride and my fitness is generally sucking. I think maybe I wasn't really prepared for just how many people were going to be there and how tough it was going to be. Basically, I think my money is better spent at local shows (based on my current skill level and situation), since what I paid for Thermal equals two full weeks of showing here. Its possible I will want to go back at some point when I have a different horse, but for right now I am perfectly happy being a spectator there next year!
BUT...on a more positive note, I didn't forget any of my courses and actually put in some really decent rides that I am happy with at a height that is pretty much considered a "move up" for me. After all, I've only shown around the 3' level on William, the big grey ISH. So I'm happy with the way things turned out on the riding front.
More updates: Arwen is getting REAAAAAALLLY close to her due date now! 340 days puts her around June 1, so at the 300 day mark when we have to start watching will be end of April. Holy cow! That is like a month away. Time has gone by really fast. She is starting to look very pregnant too. I've also started looking closer at stallions to use for her next one and even though I said no frozen...I think we're going to go with another frozen one. Only because she did end up catching and the vet now knows what he needs to do to get her pregnant (oxytocin protocol!). So hopefully this time around she catches the first time.
Anyway, the stallion we're 99% sure we're going with is Con Capilot. He's a lovely young stallion that I see quite frequently at the big shows and has been coming a long super nicely. Jumps in great form, and is also clean and fast. His rider has been having some pretty good successes on him this last year, and he does have some young-ish offspring on the ground who look like they have a lot of potential. Not to mention his bloodlines should match up with Arwen's really nicely (he is Contender-Pilot, with Ramiro a couple generations, all lines that are supposed to produce super jumpers with good personalities/brains in combination with her Alme blood), and he has great conformation that I think will compliment her as well. He is dark bay with a lot of chrome, so I imagine it would be a bay baby as well (like her current one will probably be). The breeders also say he passes on the chrome, so I hope it will be something flashy! (although healthy is first and foremost)
First update: Thermal. Went down there for Week 3, riding a borrowed horse whose owner rode him Week 2. Super awesome 6 yo named Sitation who at such a young age is already a total packer. Well, maybe not a total packer but he is getting close. He saved my butt a couple times, and is as honest as the day is long. We showed in the low adult/child modified division, which is 2'11" (.90). Thermal sets a HARD 2'11" though and when I first got there, I thought the height looked huge. However, by the end of the week I felt like if I had been there another week, I would have been fine bumping up to 3'1" (.95).
The gist of the show was this: Biggest show I have ever been to in my life in terms of sheer number of riders (at least 35 in every class), jumps, and actual showgrounds. Thermal is SO spread out-if you don't have a golf cart, bike, etc you are going to get really tired just hoofing it (heh) around on. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I am so grateful that I got to go. That being said...I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon. It was just way above me in terms of competitiveness and while I definitely feel prepared to do local shows here (and do well) it was just a bit much for me down there. After all, I don't have my own horse, I have only been riding 3 times a week on mainly a hunter type ride and my fitness is generally sucking. I think maybe I wasn't really prepared for just how many people were going to be there and how tough it was going to be. Basically, I think my money is better spent at local shows (based on my current skill level and situation), since what I paid for Thermal equals two full weeks of showing here. Its possible I will want to go back at some point when I have a different horse, but for right now I am perfectly happy being a spectator there next year!
BUT...on a more positive note, I didn't forget any of my courses and actually put in some really decent rides that I am happy with at a height that is pretty much considered a "move up" for me. After all, I've only shown around the 3' level on William, the big grey ISH. So I'm happy with the way things turned out on the riding front.
More updates: Arwen is getting REAAAAAALLLY close to her due date now! 340 days puts her around June 1, so at the 300 day mark when we have to start watching will be end of April. Holy cow! That is like a month away. Time has gone by really fast. She is starting to look very pregnant too. I've also started looking closer at stallions to use for her next one and even though I said no frozen...I think we're going to go with another frozen one. Only because she did end up catching and the vet now knows what he needs to do to get her pregnant (oxytocin protocol!). So hopefully this time around she catches the first time.
Anyway, the stallion we're 99% sure we're going with is Con Capilot. He's a lovely young stallion that I see quite frequently at the big shows and has been coming a long super nicely. Jumps in great form, and is also clean and fast. His rider has been having some pretty good successes on him this last year, and he does have some young-ish offspring on the ground who look like they have a lot of potential. Not to mention his bloodlines should match up with Arwen's really nicely (he is Contender-Pilot, with Ramiro a couple generations, all lines that are supposed to produce super jumpers with good personalities/brains in combination with her Alme blood), and he has great conformation that I think will compliment her as well. He is dark bay with a lot of chrome, so I imagine it would be a bay baby as well (like her current one will probably be). The breeders also say he passes on the chrome, so I hope it will be something flashy! (although healthy is first and foremost)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Updates all around
And once more I have been terrible about updating...
On the horse front:
Went to another show for one day the weekend after the Halloween show. Had to do it to redeem myself! It was at the same facility, in the same ring but a much MUCH less packed show so the pressure to go fast and crazy was not as high. I also rode a different horse, a totally chill LARGE (he's probably 18.2) ISH who I rode exclusively for about a month earlier this year, and have occasionally carted over to show for fun. He's so easy and requires pretty much zero prep-I can basically just hop on him, and go cruise around 2'9"-3'3", no problem. Which, is NOT a reflection on how wonderful of a rider I am, this horse is just that point and shoot. So uncomplicated to ride, his thing is you just basically have to be able to get him going. Which I did for my first two classes (got a 3 and 4, was riding relatively conservatively). Then my last class, a 3' one, we ended up with a first but managed to go SO.SLOW. Something was up with him, he was just so dead and behind my leg but still got around clean like a good boy. Trainer thought he might have been colicing at first, but then we decided he was overheating. All the classes ran pretty much back to back, it was in the 70's and he basically had his full winter coat. So all around much better...I remembered all my courses (although they were all speed rounds, so relatively easy to remember!) and I rode well. Next up...THERMAL! Its going to be expensive and I'm not riding my own horse (which I would have loved to do) but I just love it down there. Its so fun, and warm when its the middle of winter up here. Its basically going to be a horse show and a vacation all rolled up into one! Another owner is graciously sharing her horse with me for the two weeks my barn is down there. He's a fun horse, young, but again, relatively uncomplicated. So hopefully it goes well!
Also: new horse is FANTASTIC. I freaking love him. He's just so cool-pretty much a schoolmaster with the exception of a sometimes gnarly left drift (I think its due to the injury, his left side is weaker). Once you get him packaged and going, he just goes. Like a metronome. Such a nice rythym, and super comfortable. Has only spooked once, at something totally random. Otherwise packs out in whatever type of weather, night/morning/afternoon, and deals with general barn mayhem without batting an eye. We're hoping he can get back to doing 3' stuff occassionally, but honestly I don't care if he stays at 2'6". I would love to jump bigger, don't get me wrong but I also get a lot of satisfaction from nailing a 2'6" course. Which, I am not consistently doing yet. So there is a lot of good stuff to still work on at the lower heights with him, that I think (hope) will later transfer to whatever horse I ride next who can hopefully jump a little higher. Because I'm still dreaming that someday I will do 3'6", although the more I ride the more I realize meh...jump height doesn't really matter!
Arwen is also still baking her little bun. Vet checked her, confirmed there is still a baby in there. Did some more research and decided I am going to try and register her baby KWPN. They have two books, A and B, and the B book allows foals from an approved dad with no requirements for the mare. I have also been looking like mad for the next stallion to breed her too, and keep coming back to either Baldev or Mezcalero. I REALLY like both of them, but they are pretty different. Baldev is much more modern looking (like Imothep) and young. Basically unproven in the ring with not a lot of offspring on the ground versus Mezcalero, who is an Olympic jumper and very proven. BUT (and this is a big one) he is a chunk. Like huge, and he apparently does pass that onto his offspring. Arwen is pretty well built herself, so I fear that we would end up with a big, bulky tank.
Oh, and FINALLY did my USEF membership so I can offically transfer Arwen to my name. Also, this means I won't have to pay $60 in association fees every show. Which, for a week long show its not horrible to pay but when I would trailer in for a day? OUCH.
On the fitness front:
Have been REALLY REALLY trying to go 3 times a week. Have succeeded a little more than in the past couple months, but still not as consistently as I would like.
The next couple weeks are winter skills testing and its definitely not going to be as good as it has been in the past for me. The lifting portion, maybe but the rest of it? Not excited. Only because my shoulder and my back are still bothering me, and so I've been doing a lot of modified stuff. Like pull ups? Back on the blue band. However, keeping it easy on my should has definitely been allowing it to recover, which is good. I also think once I get fitter (i.e. lose some weight too!) it will be better. I was just trying to push to do too much, when I hadn't allowed my muscles/body to catch up to my weight gain. I was still thinking in my head I was 15 lbs lighter, but my body was not conditioned for it. Again, my fault for slacking. But, with Thermal now on the horizon I definitely have more motivation to be consistent in the gym! And not only because I will be bringing a swim suit down there. EEK!
On the horse front:
Went to another show for one day the weekend after the Halloween show. Had to do it to redeem myself! It was at the same facility, in the same ring but a much MUCH less packed show so the pressure to go fast and crazy was not as high. I also rode a different horse, a totally chill LARGE (he's probably 18.2) ISH who I rode exclusively for about a month earlier this year, and have occasionally carted over to show for fun. He's so easy and requires pretty much zero prep-I can basically just hop on him, and go cruise around 2'9"-3'3", no problem. Which, is NOT a reflection on how wonderful of a rider I am, this horse is just that point and shoot. So uncomplicated to ride, his thing is you just basically have to be able to get him going. Which I did for my first two classes (got a 3 and 4, was riding relatively conservatively). Then my last class, a 3' one, we ended up with a first but managed to go SO.SLOW. Something was up with him, he was just so dead and behind my leg but still got around clean like a good boy. Trainer thought he might have been colicing at first, but then we decided he was overheating. All the classes ran pretty much back to back, it was in the 70's and he basically had his full winter coat. So all around much better...I remembered all my courses (although they were all speed rounds, so relatively easy to remember!) and I rode well. Next up...THERMAL! Its going to be expensive and I'm not riding my own horse (which I would have loved to do) but I just love it down there. Its so fun, and warm when its the middle of winter up here. Its basically going to be a horse show and a vacation all rolled up into one! Another owner is graciously sharing her horse with me for the two weeks my barn is down there. He's a fun horse, young, but again, relatively uncomplicated. So hopefully it goes well!
Also: new horse is FANTASTIC. I freaking love him. He's just so cool-pretty much a schoolmaster with the exception of a sometimes gnarly left drift (I think its due to the injury, his left side is weaker). Once you get him packaged and going, he just goes. Like a metronome. Such a nice rythym, and super comfortable. Has only spooked once, at something totally random. Otherwise packs out in whatever type of weather, night/morning/afternoon, and deals with general barn mayhem without batting an eye. We're hoping he can get back to doing 3' stuff occassionally, but honestly I don't care if he stays at 2'6". I would love to jump bigger, don't get me wrong but I also get a lot of satisfaction from nailing a 2'6" course. Which, I am not consistently doing yet. So there is a lot of good stuff to still work on at the lower heights with him, that I think (hope) will later transfer to whatever horse I ride next who can hopefully jump a little higher. Because I'm still dreaming that someday I will do 3'6", although the more I ride the more I realize meh...jump height doesn't really matter!
Arwen is also still baking her little bun. Vet checked her, confirmed there is still a baby in there. Did some more research and decided I am going to try and register her baby KWPN. They have two books, A and B, and the B book allows foals from an approved dad with no requirements for the mare. I have also been looking like mad for the next stallion to breed her too, and keep coming back to either Baldev or Mezcalero. I REALLY like both of them, but they are pretty different. Baldev is much more modern looking (like Imothep) and young. Basically unproven in the ring with not a lot of offspring on the ground versus Mezcalero, who is an Olympic jumper and very proven. BUT (and this is a big one) he is a chunk. Like huge, and he apparently does pass that onto his offspring. Arwen is pretty well built herself, so I fear that we would end up with a big, bulky tank.
Oh, and FINALLY did my USEF membership so I can offically transfer Arwen to my name. Also, this means I won't have to pay $60 in association fees every show. Which, for a week long show its not horrible to pay but when I would trailer in for a day? OUCH.
On the fitness front:
Have been REALLY REALLY trying to go 3 times a week. Have succeeded a little more than in the past couple months, but still not as consistently as I would like.
The next couple weeks are winter skills testing and its definitely not going to be as good as it has been in the past for me. The lifting portion, maybe but the rest of it? Not excited. Only because my shoulder and my back are still bothering me, and so I've been doing a lot of modified stuff. Like pull ups? Back on the blue band. However, keeping it easy on my should has definitely been allowing it to recover, which is good. I also think once I get fitter (i.e. lose some weight too!) it will be better. I was just trying to push to do too much, when I hadn't allowed my muscles/body to catch up to my weight gain. I was still thinking in my head I was 15 lbs lighter, but my body was not conditioned for it. Again, my fault for slacking. But, with Thermal now on the horizon I definitely have more motivation to be consistent in the gym! And not only because I will be bringing a swim suit down there. EEK!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Show Update and New Ride!
Well. The show was a learning experience, to say the least. I didn't ride as well as I did the previous weekend, not by a long shot. Honestly, I think that is what has been bothering me most about it. I let the OMG GO FAST! get in the way of having nicer riding rounds and I'm really annoyed with myself in getting waaaaaay to wrapped up in winning.
Don't get me wrong though-winning can be great. When I got my head together and rode the way I should be riding, lo and behold, we would place. But that happened in only 3 out of 8 classes total, when it should have been more!
So some definitely learnings were well, learned this past weekend.
1) to ride the way I was trying to ride (i.e. fast and efficient) I need to practice jumpoffs A LOT more than I have been. And this means more showing. Which honestly, isn't that realistic. So I think I just need to remember to ride as best I can, and let the chips fall where they may.
2) I have some serious flaws in my position. I got tossed loose by Ready more than a couple times. I know part of it is gripping with my knees when I'm nervous (thanks Arwen) instead of sinking down. I also tend to go fetal when trying to go fast, which doesn't help
3) got to get more comfortable with jumping sans irons, and retriving my irons when I do loose them. This also happened more than a couple times. I will say, I did end up jumping the last 4 jumps of the jump off during my last class without irons on the worlds most uncomfortable horse, so while its a fail its also a win? LOL
So I plan to work on at least the last two things over the winter, which is good because I have felt a little bit aimless and goal-less ever since I stopped working Arwen intensely about 9 months ago. With her I just always strived every day to be a better rider for her and since I haven't had to deal with her antics, I've gotten lazy. All the other horses I've ridden just seem so easy compared to her I have let A LOT fall by the wayside. So while I'm not going to ramp it up like I did before, especially since I'm thinking my next year's focus will be diverted to other things, I do need to get my head back into the game.
On that note, for now I have a new ride! Who should actually really let me focus on a lot of my positional issues while being a comfy, easy horse to ride. Trainer got a freebie from another trainer because the owner just couldn't really afford him anymore. He's a super sweet, 17 yo 17 hand or so former hunter/eq horse who has been on the road to recovery after a suspensory issue. Last night was his first night out at the barn and while he looked at things, there was no spook at all and just let me dink around on him at WTC and over some crossrails. What a good guy! He has a great trot and canter, although he does take a lot to keep him together (is a little long, and is just a bigger horse). So my goal with him is to get him jumping little things again, and work on getting him more fit on the flat. He needs a rider with a strong leg to help keep him engaged, so he's not technically a beginner horse although he definitely has the mind to cart beginners around (lazy and kind) Trainer said for the meantime I can treat him like he's mine (which makes me laugh a little-means I can pay for his shit! LOL) and I'll be the one mainly riding him. After that, I imagine he will be just a fun, easy horse to have around the barn for lessons and whatnot. We'll see! I'm kind of excited about him.
Don't get me wrong though-winning can be great. When I got my head together and rode the way I should be riding, lo and behold, we would place. But that happened in only 3 out of 8 classes total, when it should have been more!
So some definitely learnings were well, learned this past weekend.
1) to ride the way I was trying to ride (i.e. fast and efficient) I need to practice jumpoffs A LOT more than I have been. And this means more showing. Which honestly, isn't that realistic. So I think I just need to remember to ride as best I can, and let the chips fall where they may.
2) I have some serious flaws in my position. I got tossed loose by Ready more than a couple times. I know part of it is gripping with my knees when I'm nervous (thanks Arwen) instead of sinking down. I also tend to go fetal when trying to go fast, which doesn't help
3) got to get more comfortable with jumping sans irons, and retriving my irons when I do loose them. This also happened more than a couple times. I will say, I did end up jumping the last 4 jumps of the jump off during my last class without irons on the worlds most uncomfortable horse, so while its a fail its also a win? LOL
So I plan to work on at least the last two things over the winter, which is good because I have felt a little bit aimless and goal-less ever since I stopped working Arwen intensely about 9 months ago. With her I just always strived every day to be a better rider for her and since I haven't had to deal with her antics, I've gotten lazy. All the other horses I've ridden just seem so easy compared to her I have let A LOT fall by the wayside. So while I'm not going to ramp it up like I did before, especially since I'm thinking my next year's focus will be diverted to other things, I do need to get my head back into the game.
On that note, for now I have a new ride! Who should actually really let me focus on a lot of my positional issues while being a comfy, easy horse to ride. Trainer got a freebie from another trainer because the owner just couldn't really afford him anymore. He's a super sweet, 17 yo 17 hand or so former hunter/eq horse who has been on the road to recovery after a suspensory issue. Last night was his first night out at the barn and while he looked at things, there was no spook at all and just let me dink around on him at WTC and over some crossrails. What a good guy! He has a great trot and canter, although he does take a lot to keep him together (is a little long, and is just a bigger horse). So my goal with him is to get him jumping little things again, and work on getting him more fit on the flat. He needs a rider with a strong leg to help keep him engaged, so he's not technically a beginner horse although he definitely has the mind to cart beginners around (lazy and kind) Trainer said for the meantime I can treat him like he's mine (which makes me laugh a little-means I can pay for his shit! LOL) and I'll be the one mainly riding him. After that, I imagine he will be just a fun, easy horse to have around the barn for lessons and whatnot. We'll see! I'm kind of excited about him.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Arwen Update and Show Time Take Aways
So a few fun updates:
Arwen is still baking the bun in her oven. Its funny looking at the picture of her in the header because at this point, she looks nothing like that horse! That horse is fit and muscled, nice summer coat, good weight. Right now she is a furry beast with limited muscle and is FAT FAT FAT. She has been out to pasture with a pasture mate and apparently hogging all his food. I guess he's getting really skinny. What can I say...girl is eating for two!
Still haven't gotten on her back since she's been pregnant either. I was waiting for her bare feet to toughen up before sitting on her back, and that kind of morphed into me just being really lazy. I mean there isn't a reason why I really need to ride her at this point, other than for my own pleasure. Also, by the time I'm done at the barn I'm usually really tired (I will sometimes hack a couple horses in addition to my lesson) and ready to go home. So getting on Arwen's back is low on my priority list. I do go out there and check her over though, or give her a treat.
Since I don't have a horse to ride right now, I've been kind of riding whatever comes my way. I really wanted to do a show though before the season is over since DH and I are supposed to try getting preggers at the end of the year, and doing some shows before kids was on my pre-pregnancy bucket list. So since the horse I have been riding is privately owned and the owner wants to go to shows too, I'm back on the back of the first horse I rode at the barn! Its kind of a weird, bittersweet full circle kind of deal. This is the horse that basically took me from crossrails to jumping 2'6" courses, took me to my first show, and made me want to buy Arwen. He's seriously one of the kindest horses I've ever encountered and is equally good at taking care of a beginner as he is zooming around the jumper ring with someone who is more knowledgeable about riding. So while being back on him is a little like coming home since I know him so well, at the beginning I was like "crap, I have made no progress!". However, after taking at least once a week lessons on him for the past month or so I quickly came to realize just how much progress I had made, and how much I owe to Arwen, this horse and the others I've had the opportunity to ride for teaching me at various stages in my riding.
This horse, Ready, taught me so much about confidence and getting around a course. Arwen taught me so much about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, and how to feel what is going on under you. So now, back on Ready, not only have I become a much more confident rider again after Arwen kind of took that away from me, I have much more feel and understanding of what is required to get a good, winning ride.
This was proven to me at a one day show I took him and another horse to this weekend in preparation for the "bigger" show that is coming up later this week. I went in with my normal goals of a) getting around the course and b) not falling off/dying. I managed to do both! I rode in a total of 5 classes with the two horses. Only did two on Ready since it was more of a warmup for the show later, and then three on William, the other horse. This included my very first class with 1.00m jumps thrown in, and I've probably only jumped William 2-4 times in the last six months. In my lessons we've really been working on "going for it" i.e. making sure I have enough pace to my jumps, balancing well through tight turns, supporting my distances and then...galloping in jump offs! I really haven't practiced that much because there wasn't a real reason to. I have only shown 3 times in the last 4 years, so working on jump off strategy was not high on the priority list.
So when we got out there and trainer was talking to me about how to ride my track and jump off, I really really tried to remember and focus on sticking to my plan. I knew I was on some super trustworthy mounts who, as long as I told them what to do and where to go, would cart my ass around the classes I put them in. I had complete faith and trust in my horses, something that I haven't felt in a long time. Because of that, I was able to go out and really think about my ride instead of worrying that my horse might stop (like I constantly did with Arwen) and ultimately, I ended up with two seconds and one first out of relatively decent sized classes (10-15 people, some were on two cards though). Didn't make the jump off in two because of rails (at the same fence!) but that just told me that there was rider error going on. My horses ran their asses off for me that day, and its hard for me to put into words how much I appreciated that.
Going into next week I can only hope that my show goes as well as it did on Saturday, but if it doesn't thats okay too. I have never been a super competitive person and I realize even more now that I like showing because it not only shows my progress as a rider, but it really shows the partnership that can exist and that I got to experience on Arwen just once at the only show we went to together.
Arwen is still baking the bun in her oven. Its funny looking at the picture of her in the header because at this point, she looks nothing like that horse! That horse is fit and muscled, nice summer coat, good weight. Right now she is a furry beast with limited muscle and is FAT FAT FAT. She has been out to pasture with a pasture mate and apparently hogging all his food. I guess he's getting really skinny. What can I say...girl is eating for two!
Still haven't gotten on her back since she's been pregnant either. I was waiting for her bare feet to toughen up before sitting on her back, and that kind of morphed into me just being really lazy. I mean there isn't a reason why I really need to ride her at this point, other than for my own pleasure. Also, by the time I'm done at the barn I'm usually really tired (I will sometimes hack a couple horses in addition to my lesson) and ready to go home. So getting on Arwen's back is low on my priority list. I do go out there and check her over though, or give her a treat.
Since I don't have a horse to ride right now, I've been kind of riding whatever comes my way. I really wanted to do a show though before the season is over since DH and I are supposed to try getting preggers at the end of the year, and doing some shows before kids was on my pre-pregnancy bucket list. So since the horse I have been riding is privately owned and the owner wants to go to shows too, I'm back on the back of the first horse I rode at the barn! Its kind of a weird, bittersweet full circle kind of deal. This is the horse that basically took me from crossrails to jumping 2'6" courses, took me to my first show, and made me want to buy Arwen. He's seriously one of the kindest horses I've ever encountered and is equally good at taking care of a beginner as he is zooming around the jumper ring with someone who is more knowledgeable about riding. So while being back on him is a little like coming home since I know him so well, at the beginning I was like "crap, I have made no progress!". However, after taking at least once a week lessons on him for the past month or so I quickly came to realize just how much progress I had made, and how much I owe to Arwen, this horse and the others I've had the opportunity to ride for teaching me at various stages in my riding.
This horse, Ready, taught me so much about confidence and getting around a course. Arwen taught me so much about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, and how to feel what is going on under you. So now, back on Ready, not only have I become a much more confident rider again after Arwen kind of took that away from me, I have much more feel and understanding of what is required to get a good, winning ride.
This was proven to me at a one day show I took him and another horse to this weekend in preparation for the "bigger" show that is coming up later this week. I went in with my normal goals of a) getting around the course and b) not falling off/dying. I managed to do both! I rode in a total of 5 classes with the two horses. Only did two on Ready since it was more of a warmup for the show later, and then three on William, the other horse. This included my very first class with 1.00m jumps thrown in, and I've probably only jumped William 2-4 times in the last six months. In my lessons we've really been working on "going for it" i.e. making sure I have enough pace to my jumps, balancing well through tight turns, supporting my distances and then...galloping in jump offs! I really haven't practiced that much because there wasn't a real reason to. I have only shown 3 times in the last 4 years, so working on jump off strategy was not high on the priority list.
So when we got out there and trainer was talking to me about how to ride my track and jump off, I really really tried to remember and focus on sticking to my plan. I knew I was on some super trustworthy mounts who, as long as I told them what to do and where to go, would cart my ass around the classes I put them in. I had complete faith and trust in my horses, something that I haven't felt in a long time. Because of that, I was able to go out and really think about my ride instead of worrying that my horse might stop (like I constantly did with Arwen) and ultimately, I ended up with two seconds and one first out of relatively decent sized classes (10-15 people, some were on two cards though). Didn't make the jump off in two because of rails (at the same fence!) but that just told me that there was rider error going on. My horses ran their asses off for me that day, and its hard for me to put into words how much I appreciated that.
Going into next week I can only hope that my show goes as well as it did on Saturday, but if it doesn't thats okay too. I have never been a super competitive person and I realize even more now that I like showing because it not only shows my progress as a rider, but it really shows the partnership that can exist and that I got to experience on Arwen just once at the only show we went to together.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Pregnant!
The horse, not me. She has her 30 day heartbeat check this weekend though, fingers crossed she has held onto the baby. Will update after!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Skills Testing Week 1
Heavy lift week. Back squat, strict press and DL were on the schedule for me (also had the clean, but I never go on clean days so it was pointless to sign up)
Back squat I improved my number by 20 lbs and I feel like I probably could have even gone 5-10lbs heavier. Hit 225. Happy with this because when I did it 6 months ago, 205 was really really hard. 225 didn't go up super easy, but I also didn't feel like I wasn't going to get up out of the bottom.
Strict press I also improved by almost 20 lbs. Did 105, prior number was 87.5. Pretty happy with this too. This one was definitely harder, the 105 did not go up smoothly but all that matters is it got up there!
Missed the DL day due to being out of town. Kind of bummed about this because I really want my DL max rep number. Oh well, next time!
Back squat I improved my number by 20 lbs and I feel like I probably could have even gone 5-10lbs heavier. Hit 225. Happy with this because when I did it 6 months ago, 205 was really really hard. 225 didn't go up super easy, but I also didn't feel like I wasn't going to get up out of the bottom.
Strict press I also improved by almost 20 lbs. Did 105, prior number was 87.5. Pretty happy with this too. This one was definitely harder, the 105 did not go up smoothly but all that matters is it got up there!
Missed the DL day due to being out of town. Kind of bummed about this because I really want my DL max rep number. Oh well, next time!
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