Moving On...

I've been riding with the same eventing coach for the past 5 years. I've also been boarding at her house during the summer months and buying the majority of my equipment from her tack store. I joke that I might as well just sign my pay cheques over to her.

There has been ups and downs but lately it's been mostly a series of downs. I don't feel comfortable airing all the issues but it all comes back to the level of service. Scheduling has been a bit of a nightmare, communication is basically non-existent and I've been left out of a few activities that I would usually have participated in.

Cute pony pictures to break up all the text

She makes me feel like she is constantly doing me a favour, when in fact, I am paying for a service. I expect to be treated with consideration and respect. While we are friendly, I wouldn't call us friends. I'm not saying you can't be friends with your coach, but to me the coach part of the relationship is more important than the friends part.

So I've decided to move on.

I've been riding with a dressage instructor for the past few years and will continue. to ride with her, on both horses when I can get in (she only comes to our barn on Fridays and her schedule is always packed so I'm the first on the cancellation list with Ritchie).

I've also started hauling out for jump lessons on Dee. I've only had 2 lessons so far but I'm really enjoying them. My new instructor is strictly a jumper and is quite direct. She does not sugar coat anything but all of her students ride really well and are competitive. I'm excited to see how she will improve both of us.

This leaves me in capable hands for everything with Dee, except XC. Which is a little daunting when attempting to move up to Training this season. For now I'm going to just focus on clinics and try and haul down south to ride with Sandra Donnelly and my back up coach who is also down south. I may continue to catch the odd XC schooling with my old coach if the schedule works out and I am in the mood. But I will definitely not be making any extra effort to make it work out.

I'm also undecided what to do about jumping Ritchie. One of the new girls at the barn is bringing in her own jumping instructor so I may give a few lessons with her a whirl. For now, I'm content to just pop around the small stuff and build his confidence.

Dee's new (only) trick. 

In an effort to not burn any bridges and make it uncomfortable at the barn I have not spoken directly to my old coach. I've broached the conversation a few times and she just brushes me off or changes the subject. I don't normally avoid conflict but this is a fight I'm not going to pick. I'm going to just let it go away quietly and will address it if she ever brings it up.

I'm not sure it's the right course of action but for now it's how I'm moving forward. Have you ever had to break up with a coach? How did you do it?

Creepy Crawly Ick

I was born and raised in Alberta. Other than a brief gap-year in Ireland I've always lived in Alberta.

Alberta is pretty awesome. We don't have rats. No really, we don't. I never appreciated this fact until I lived in Ireland and the rats were the same size as my cat.

Another fact I've been pretty grateful for, especially as Lyme disease comes more to the forefront of the news, is the lack of ticks.

I'm not claiming Alberta doesn't have ticks, we do, but they are not very prevalent, especially in the Prairies. As you move north into the forest and west into the mountains you are more likely to encounter ticks.

Because of this I've managed to go nearly 30 years without ever personal experience with a tick. When I pulled Dee's blanket the other day I had to go get someone else to confirm that the black spot I found was in fact a tick. With some help (and the handy travel size tweezers in my purse) I managed to successfully remove the creepy little thing.

I'm not overly bothered by bugs. But something about a creature with it's head buried under the skin and still being able to see it's legs wiggle gives me the heebie-jeebies. Ugh. Just typing that made me vaguely uncomfortable.

Alberta has a Submit-A-Tick program in an effort to track and asses the risk of Lyme disease. (Most Alberta doctors refuse to admit we have Lyme in the province and as such it is nearly impossible for sufferers to get treatment, but that is a completely different story). I dropped off the tick and within a week they called to let me know it was a Winter Tick, likely transferred from a moose, and not a carrier of Lyme disease.

I still have no idea how Dee managed to pick it up and have it appear under her blanket in the span of 16 hours.

Here's to hoping I don't have any more tick encounters. Apparently I can never move. Sandra was telling us horror stories of her time in Virginia where they had to remove ticks from legs every single day. Just no. Ick.

Sandra Donnelly Clinic - Day 2

I'm a terrible blogger. I wrote this post, scheduled it and then went on my merry way. Blogger ate it and I couldn't summon the will to rewrite it. Every time a post disappears it kills my desire to blog. I may need to switch to a new platform.

Ritchie

Day 2 of the clinic started off with Ritchie. Shimmer-E was able to come and watch and get an education in jumper land (she is my favourite DQ).

Our flatwork started with going over the differences in full seat, light-seat, 2-point and driving seat. Sandra then put us through our paces, having us change our seat and demand a reaction from our horses. Turns out my light-seat has disappeared. 

Full seat? No problem. 2-point? Rock solid. Driving seat? Effective. Light-seat? Completely gone. I couldn't for the life of me allow my hips to move with him. Sandra told me that she's not surprised. Dee doesn't really let me practice light-seat without some fireworks. My homework is to keep working on it with Ritchie until I feel really solid in it. Then to work on it some more before I try and transition it to Dee.

Moving onto the over fences work, Ritchie really showcased the fact that Saturday's challenges were more of a test of my determination than fear or confusion. We jumped a skinny, brush boxes, a one-stride, a two-stride, planks and lattice. All which was new to him and he didn't say boo. We did have one drive by, the first time in the one-stride, but it was definitely a steering problem, not a jumping problem. 

It wasn't always pretty but we did everything successfully. And we did our first real courses!

My main goal for Ritchie during the clinic was just exposure. He stood quietly while others had their turn. He couldn't have cared less when the other riders forgot I was riding a young stallion and parked themselves quite close to us. I was super proud of him. For a young horse who's had very little exposure to new experiences and places he really couldn't have performed more admirably.

A somewhat accurate portrayal of our set up

Dee

For the first time ever with Dee we completely mastered the flatwork and weren't the remedial child! Sandra had us turn down the center line and leg yield back to the wall, and then do it the other way. We started out walking and she had very little to say to Dee and I that wasn't super positive. Next came the trot, still super positive. 

We then started asking for a walk transition while continuing to leg yield. This turned out to be super helpful for me because Dee and I really struggle with downward transitions (Dee is convinced we should only ever go faster). It was critical to keep her body straight while doing this, no allowing her to fall in (or out) in her right shoulder. When we were straight we had some incredible transitions.

Same exercise at a canter. Dee and I haven't schooled canter leg yields but you'd never know it. It was the most magical flatwork. If it hadn't been a clinic I probably would have called it quits there and floated around on cloud nine for the rest of the day. That's how good it was.

I normally go first because I am really good at remembering courses. Except here. This is not the course I was supposed to do. For the first time in well over a year I forgot my course.

We moved right into jumping. It wasn't long before Sandra had the fences set at 3'3" (and even one that was sneakily 3'6").  We were able to jump around and successfully nail a pace and keep my nerves from interfering. I was super good about not looking down because I picked a spot really high on the wall and did not take my eyes off it (otherwise the fences started to freak me out a little, which is silly, we are both more than capable).

We even jumped a giant (think 3'3" with a 4'3" spread) triple bar. Considering I've been scared of oxers and petrified of triple's and hog's back's I was really happy with how it went.

Ritchie is a very physically demanding ride. So by the time I rode Dee I was a little tired and my legs were very sure I shouldn't be doing anything. I ended up running out of steam near the end. It really showed up coming into the triple on one of our final go's. I had a good pace but was nervous and Dee backed off as we came to the base. I just wasn't able to add enough leg and we came to a graceful, if abrupt halt in front of it. Sandra told me she thought we had it and that Dee could have helped me out a little. We got it done in a second try but it was becoming obvious that Dee was backing off and I just didn't have the gas to really get it done.

You can see how it's starting to fall apart here, but we still get it done

Because Sandra is awesome she lowered some of the fences so we could end on a better note (the second fence in both of the related distances stayed up, but the first fence got lowered). It was completely the right thing to do. It was also really nice to know that it wasn't anxiety or panic that necessitated the drop, just a lack of fitness on my part. I can work on that. #goalbreeches 

Overall it was a great clinic. I couldn't have been happier with both horses. I can't wait until it's show season.

Sandra Donnelly Clinic - Day 1

We hosted our annual Sandra Donnelly clinic this past weekend. Apparently I'm a sucker for punishment because I signed up to ride both horses (and really who needs money?)

Dee
On Saturday I rode Dee first. Since the clinic didn't fill up there were only two of us in my lesson. It was me and Dee and barn-mates Isabel and Martini. They've been showing Training for the past couple of years and are schooling 3'6".

Dee and I had only jumped twice since the Jessica Phoenix clinic in November. Nothing like joining the big guns to up the ante.

As always, Day 1 started with flatwork and flatwork exercises. Sandra hasn't seen Dee and I since July at Herron Park and was very impressed by our improvement on the flat. All that Dressage focus is paying off!

We started with a simple 20 m circle in the center of the arena. We focused on the quality of the gaits. Sandra had me use counter-flexion to encourage Dee to stretch her neck and relax. Keeping a consistent rhythm was also a main topic, reminding me not to just coast along and let Dee pick the pace, but to insist that she keep with me.

We then moved onto the poles exercise. There were two tiny cross rails just over 90' apart. We had to canter down the line(treating the cross rails as canter poles) and count how many strides. Then we had to come from the other direction and get the same number of strides.

Turns our Dee has a bigger step going to the right. It required a much more aggressive half halt to get the 10 stride to the right. After we came through and had to add a stride. To the left it was easy to get the 11. To the right I ended up over correcting and getting a 12. So I got to do it until the 11 was easy.

Next we had to get one less than original. I was apprehensive about it, but turns out once I just softened and opened the step, the 9 was just there. I felt like the 8 was even doable. Considering Dee has really only had two speeds, turtle and zoom, this felt like a huge breakthrough.

We then moved on to jumping the diagonals (blue to brown to blue). Sandra almost always has us schooling angles. The first time through we did both lines in a 4 to a 4. I had to work at pushing Dee out around the corner and not letting her drop her shoulder and motorcycle around the corner. The 4's proved to be easy so we then did a 5 to a 4 on each line. Opening up the stride was not a challenge but it did result in some funky distances while we figured out exactly how much to open it.

Once that was smooth we moved onto doing a 4 to a 5. This is where I really struggled. The closest I ended up getting was a 4 to a 4 1/2. Sandra let us leave it there because I was able to compress her more than she initially believed I'd be able to (Dressage bootcamp for the win).

We finished up with going from the diagonal lines to turning up the center. (Let me tell you, that turn was super hard if Dee was not stood up straight). The last few times through the center the first jump was 2'9" and moved up to the oxer being 3'3".

I barely had an anxiety about the height of the jumps. I think I was too busy trying to put all the pieces together to focus on how terrifying the last oxer was.

Ritchie
Ritchie was in the last group of the day. Our group of 3 included a barrel racer who jumps a few times a year because it's fun and a barn-mate who has been jumping on a regular basis with her mare this winter (but had a wreck in the summer that shook her confidence).

The lesson started the same way. 20m circle with a focus on alignment and gait quality. Sandra had me really focus on Ritchie's uphillness. Apparently he cheats, he gives me a big moving pretty trot that is still on the forehand. He just has so much movement in his back (especially compared to Dee) that he can fake being light in the front by flinging his legs out. She had me focus on bringing the shoulder in and out in order to lift his withers. To successfully lift his withers I needed to lengthen the base of his neck. I once again used counter flexion to help with this.

When we moved onto the canter poles/cross rails Ritchie decided he didn't want to play. He stopped. Since everything was set small enough he could walk over it, I just kept closing all the other doors. Forward was the only option. He deer leaped over it. We came around and he stopped again.

Rinse and repeat. The jerk refused a ton. Now I know he's green over fences but  nothing was bigger than 12" and he's done a ton of cross rails in the lat month. Finally Sandra told me that Ritchie was bullying me. She said he knows the answer and was just testing me to see how determined I was. She told me I needed to be tougher, not meaner, just more black and white.

I don't care that it's blurry. Look at the cute, interested pony!

Two reins in one hand and a good solid crack with the whip in front of the fence resulted in Ritchie leaping over the little vertical we were at. And he didn't refuse another fence all weekend. That one piece of advice made the whole clinic worthwhile.

We proceeded to school the angle lines and then jumped his very first oxer. We never did get into a good rhythm and he spent most of the lesson deer leaping, but we did end on a very successful note.

Riding in the Dark

Dee and I have been having some less than stellar rides lately. I think we are both sick and tired of going around in circles in the indoor.

Don't get me wrong, spending the last few months focusing on dressage has been great for both of us but lately I haven't been feeling that excited for our rides. So last night when it warmed up to an unseasonably warm -4°C I grabbed my headlamp and quarter sheet and went for a trail ride.

We've got about 2km of trails that loop around the back of the property and lead to a field that we can ride in. I started with my headlmap on but turned it off once we go to the field. There was just a tiny sliver of moon, but it was enough light that I could make out the fence line. Other than that I let Dee figure it out.

On our way to the trails

We had a blast. I did not ask anything of Dee except which gait we were in. No collection, minimal contact, and no circles. It was so nice to just get out and play in the snow. I don't have any idea how long we were out there, or how far we went but I can tell you it was a much needed break.

Ritchie is new and exciting but Dee is still Best Pony. When I got back a couple of other boarders commented on how brave I was to ride in the dark. But I trust Dee so bravery isn't really something I factored in.

I took this at 5:46 and it was pitch black out already

I've forgotten how enjoyable riding in the dark is. Something about it just soothes the soul. There is nothing but you and your horse. It's like hitting the reset.

Dressage Pony Has Skills.... Rider is Mediocre at Best

I only have dressage lessons every other week since my instructor's (let's call her IY) schedule is packed full. My plan is to continue to ride Dee in these lessons since Stressage dressage is our weakest phase. Anytime someone cancels, I have first dibs on their spot to have the occasional lesson with Ritchie.

For the first lesson back after the holiday break I ended up riding Ritchie. I've been struggling with sitting in his saddle and wanted some help. It's got big thigh blocks and my knees keep trying to creep over them. I also wanted to get an outside opinion on some of the crookedness I've been experiencing.

Kentaur Elektra. I find it less than ideal

Unfortunately IY confirmed my suspicions about Ritchie's fancy new saddle (Shimmer-E bought it for him a couple months ago). While it fits him well and is an 18" seat, it is actually too small for me. It's got a fairly deep seat and rides small. I'm obscenely long from my hip to my knee for someone who is only 5'6" (for reference, my jumping saddle is an 18" with a long forward flap and it fits me wonderfully).

For now I will be doing all my riding in my jump saddle (thank goodness it fits both horses). I may struggle to keep my upper body tall while doing dressage in it, at least I actually fit in it.

My other main concern was straightness. With Dee I struggle to ride straight becuase what feels like straight is actually crooked. We've been working on re-training my perceptions and I was concerned this would colour my perceptions of Ritchie.

Thankfully my thoughts about when we were straight and when we were crooked were spot on. Ritchie is stiff to the left, wanting to bulge his ribcage in and drift through the left shoulder (completely opposite of Dee). To the right he's super bendy and I have to be careful to keep solid outside aids to ensure he's maintaining the correct bend.

Random smile photo to break up the text monologue.

IY really liked him though. She told me that he is going to make me a very quiet and effective rider since he is easily offended. She also laid into me harder than she ever has before (and I've been riding with her off-an-on for something like 7 years). She saw me bump him with my inside leg 3 times without getting any response. I know this is how to deaden a horse and I still do it. So she stopped me and had a frank discussion about how I need to be more assertive, ask once and then correct with spur or whip. Basically, I need to rise to the level this guy is capable of, not him sinking to mine.

Every lesson I have with her ends up with me having sore abs. Every. Single. One. Apparently I am lazy about my core without someone reminding me 8-million-times. Now you add in super bouncy, swingy fancy-pants-warmblood and my ab muscles were crying. But he's so sensitive it was really cool to see how much my core control affected his movement.

Basically by better engaging my core I was able to help him achieve more loft and swing in his gaits. It only lasted a few strides before both of our muscles would get tired and wimp out, but those strides were beautiful!!

Also, if anyone is looking for a pretty cool young horse, one of Ritchie's babies is for sale. She's super cute, scored well at her inspection (including an 8 for movement) and super personable. So pass it along if you know anyone looking, the weak Canadian dollar could make her someone's pretty cool bargain. (Also, when she sells, Ritchie and I get a bigger show budget)

Because when you're born on May 4th, you must be Leia

Ritchie's Visit With the Osteopath

Last night I had my osteopath out to work on Mr.Studly Pants. As a 4-year-old  Ritchie was strong, muscled and had a topline that was drool-worthy. In the last year, all of that has disappeared.

Now, obviously, a large part of re-developing this is just hard work and miles, but i wanted to ensure that Ritchie had the best possible base to start with. So enter the osteopath.

I fully believe in osteopathy but truthfully I mostly zone out as they discuss what's wrong and how to improve the movement. But Ritchie really seemed to enjoy his treatment. He was yawning and chewing right away.

He moved out of the frame as he yawned, but you get the picture

After the initial treatment, they had me saddle and mount. Then they worked on Ritchie under saddle. No matter how many times I see it, it's always fascinating to immediately see the differences. All of a sudden Ritchie was able to just step into a canter, rather than the rushing and falling he was doing before.

The same difference in his trot. All of a sudden we could get the big, powerful trot without me having to drive him into it. He can only hold it for about 3 strides, but as his muscles develop that will also improve.

Oh god, why can't I seem to look up

One of the biggest take-aways was that they felt Ritchie really needed his teeth done. When he yawns, chews or generally shifts his jaw it sounds like he is grinding his teeth. They also think his teeth are uneven, which is putting his jaw out of alignment, and they can't fix it until his teeth are done. He also has a sarcoid we need to get removed so it looks like I'll be hauling to my vet at the end of the month.


Then I got a mini-treatment, while in the saddle. I love these treatments (my osteopath was a human chiropactor for 20 years before transitioning into Equine Osteopathy). I could suddenly use my left seatbone without having to struggle.

Both Ritchie and I are set up to be able to succeed now. Bring on Friday's dressage lesson :)

Seriously, Who Can Have Just One?

So just before the holidays, Britt likened horse to potato chips, asking if it possible to have just one?

For me that answer is apparently no. I've had 2 horses since Sullivan was born. I figured that one senior performance horse and one young horse was the perfect combination.

Then we bought the acreage and in order to bring Sullivan home (and keep Dee boarded at an indoor for the winter) I needed to find a companion horse. I initially had intended to borrow one of my mom's 3 (apparently equine collecting is genetic), but when Mom let me know that Chase was looking for a job after his family had grown up and moved on, I couldn't pass up bringing my old man home.

So that makes 3. One performance horse, one youngster and one senior babysitter who can pack The Boy around. Perfect, right?

Of course, just when you think something is perfect life will throw you a curveball. (This is the absolute best kind though. It's basically a rainbow, glitter covered curveball)

Not long after we moved into our new place conversations were had between me and one of my best friends about her young stallion, LaBamba SE (Ritchie). Ritchie was being leased by a local trainer and Shimmer-E's life is currently in flux. She just started a new job, has a young daughter, her husband is working out of town during the week and it looks like they will be moving sometime this summer (closer to me!!!). With the lease on Ritchie about to expire, it was decided that since I now had a place that could work for a stallion, I would take over the ride on him.

After figuring out some logistical difficulties (I only have one water trough, one round bale slow-feeder net and the stallion pen won't be built until the spring), Ritchie arrived last Sunday.

He's a 2010 16.1 RPSI Stallion, with the sweetest and most cuddly personality.

I've ridden Ritchie a handful of times before he went to his lease, taking him to his very first show when we was a late 3-year-old. I absolutely love this horse. He has the most incredible mind and work ethic. I loved him so much that I bought one of his first foals within hours of him hitting the ground. Yup, Ritchie is Sullivan's sire. Having them both on the property really showcases how much Sullivan looks like his Daddy. I have hope he will eventually outgrow this ugly stage!

His first show, and the terrifying judges table

Ritchie's life so far has been almost exclusively dressage. He's coming 6, has sucessfully shown First level and was starting to school Third at the end of his 4-year-old year. In the last year he hasn't been out and about at all, so that is one of my biggest priorities for him. He's well schooled, but still very green about life outside of his little sandbox.

First time over fences with me.

In the past week he's hauled to the arena 6 times, has jumped x-rails twice and gone on his first trail ride with me (he's been on one or two walks down the road before). I'm really excited to see how he will take to jumping and eventing. Plus, it's really fun to ride a horse who doesn't struggle with dressage.

Brave enough to lead!

2015: A Year in Review

January

First Dee scratched her eye. Which was looking better by the time the vet was out.

We hauled 3 hours down to Cochrane to attend a Sandra Soklowski clinic and squeezed in some lesson with our alternate eventing trainer. I had my first fall off Dee when she popped over an oxer and I got jumped out of the tack.

We hosted a Sandra Donnelly clinic at our barn and Dee and I had a blast.

Sullivan got his feet done for the first time.

February

Dee came up super lame. A suspected collateral ligament injury (need an MRI to confirm) meant stall rest for at least 6 weeks. Since she weaves when she's bored or stressed, we set her up in an outdoor stall.

The Boy gets me a PS of Sweden High Jump bridle for my birthday :)

March

Hand-walking becomes challenging and I become convinced I own a Saddlebred-Kraken-Dragon-Kite cross. I start riding Martini and ponying Dee in an effort to keep all 4 feet on the ground.

Two days apart. Isn't Alberta great?

April

More handwalking.

Mid-month I get the OK to start Dee back into work, very very slowly.

First ride back

We move to our summer barn and Sullivan joins us.

May

Sullivan continues his training with the neighbour girl. He's finally turning into a respectable equine.

Dee and I attend our first Endurance ride, completing the 12 mile Intro division.

So much fun!

June

Dee has her first sidesaddle experience, including jumping. 

I splurge on another PS of Sweden bridle and a shwack of stuff from Beka.

We head to a Becky Lee clinic in Cochrane and school almost exclusively Training level jumps.

Attend a local jumper schooling show and take home some firsts

Complete our first event together, finishing on our dressage score.

July

I fall off the blogging train completely until October.

James Alliston clinic, where I fall off but manage to avoid all panic attacks.

Thompson Country HT, finish on our dressage score again.

Vacation and school at Herron Park with Sandra Donnelly.

Check compete at Rebecca Farm off my bucket list :) Finish on our dressage score again.

End up with a boot rub and cellulitis after the final day at Rebecca.

August

Complete Alhambra HT, crappy footing leads to a slip in front of the fence and we pick up our first XC penalties.

Had pro photos taken of the family, furred and humanoid alike.

September

Complete South Peace HT, finishing on our dressage score for the final event of the year

Favourite photo of the year

Sullivan hauls to a local RPSI inspection to get branded

Attend a local jumper show that offers good prize money. Kick butt and come home with coolers, cash and satin :)

October

Dee injures the same eye that she hurt in January.

The Boy and I buy an acreage and bring Sullivan home. Obviously Sullivan needs company so I acquire Chase. The month is rather quiet on the equine front since we spend most of it homeless and moving.

November

Another quiet month as we settle into our new place.

Take the whole herd to the vet. Discover Chase has ringbone and Dee is a very young 18.

Attend a Jessica Phoenix clinic and struggle with anxiety.

December

Sullivan goes to his first show!

I acquire a new lease pony! (More info to come in the New Year once I get photos!)

He's so very handsome!

Jessica Phoenix Day 3

Day 3:

After the disappointment of Saturday I was just hoping that things went a little better on Sunday. The XC exercises that were set up looked like a ton of fun so I had high hopes. Corners, angled lines, triple bars and skinnies are all elements that are challenging but exciting so I was pretty happy to see all of them in one arena.

Photo courtesy of Alberta Eventer

And turns out, XC is our thing, even indoors. I never felt anxious, Dee was highly rateable and aside from the occasional bobble with not committing to the big open stride it went really, really well.

There was a really large triple bar set up coming out of the corner that required a very forward ride, especially to get the 2 between the corners. (The 3 was acceptable, but I was working on being more comfortable on the bigger stride). I need to spend more time on the bigger strides because I feel like we are gunning it and in reality we've got a good rolling canter.

This was the biggest take away for me. In order to move up I need to stop choking Dee's momentum. Just because she can jump from a tiny 6' stride doesn't mean she should.

Day 3 was the best day of the clinic, it's where I really felt we got the best instruction for us. I hope Extreme Stables brings Jessica back in the spring  because I would love to ride with her on an actual XC course.

I love this photo of us, I'm not really sure why.

This is the only video I have and I grabbed it off of FB, so I hope it works :)

Renate Price and Dee being superstars at todays Jessica Pheonix clinic!!

Posted by Samantha Pritchard on Sunday, November 29, 2015