Buster Creek HT Recap

So this is long overdue. I was waiting on some photos but to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to recap this show. It was pretty much a disaster from the word go. And it ended in a spectacularly unfair way, which has left me very upset and bitter with Alberta eventing.

But I admire those bloggers who are consistently honest and give us glimpses into the good and the bad and there is really no point in only chronicling the good. It's super long, sorry-not-sorry for the word vomit.

Parking at this event is notoriously tight, the main parking was full by noon on Thursday (for a Friday start). I decided that rather than fucking around with my rig in a tiny space I'd just take the day off and head out early.

I was there and parked by 9:30. The parking guru parked me in a great spot, super close to the stalls, washrooms and in the trees so it'd be shady all weekend. Unfortunately, he also blocked me in from every side. Normally this wouldn't be a huge issue but I was riding in the second division (meaning I would be done by 10:30 on Sunday) and the rigs parked around me were in the second last division. Slightly irritating, but manageable.

I had a really great dressage school on Thursday afternoon in the insanely busy ring, was able to give my swamp monster a bath and then a XC course walk (Sandra was only there on Thursday and Friday, so she wouldn't be able to warm me up on Saturday).

My dressage ride time was 12:30 so I was able to get a good pre-ride (remembering I don't warm up for dressage). Unfortunately Dee was in a mood by the time I got on to head down to the ring and would not walk. I knew I was in for a pretty interesting test at this point. I spent the next 10 minutes doing plenty of transitions and small circles, just trying to get her focus. By the time we headed down the centerline we were slightly better, but as the test went on Dee just got faster and more inverted. I got tighter and quit breathing. Such a great combination.

Not relaxed but I love her expression
Photo by Sarah's Equine Design

There were really good moments on the test (an 8 for our first centerline), but also some really terrible ones (4.5's for all the walk work, which was actually quite generous as we did not actually walk). Someone asked me afterwards if I had a dressage coach :(

We ended up with a 55% (67.5 penalty points) and were sitting in 17 out of 19. Our worst score to date but not last. I'll take it. The photographer got some fabulous photos so that's a win.

Such love for this photo from Sarah's Equine Design

XC morning dawned and I was feeling pretty good. I had a plan, I felt good about the plan and I was going to beat down the anxiety demons and put down a clean (but slow) round. We were taking both options rather than attempt the corners to build some confidence.

Warm up started good, and then the nerves kicked in.  I reverted back to pulling and not breathing. Wonder Pony carted me around a few times but then she stopped. And stopped. (Not doing anything to fix it while representing was not a bright move, and remember my coach was not there). Thankfully Amy (who I'd done a mini XC clinic with the week before) stepped up to help me. We got back into a good rhythm and ended on a really good note.

Fence one was set at a hard 90° from the startbox and you had to cross the road. It made getting a decent canter very challenging. Add in my nerves and we had a stop. I represented and Dee deer-jumped from the shortest distance but we got over it.

Fence 2 and 3 were also set in ways that made a rhythm nearly impossible to find but we got it done. Both were galloping fences and we actually galloped, with minimal pulling.

Fence 4 is basically right behind the spruce tree on the right

Fence 4 was off another sharp turn but rode really nice.

There was a full minute gallop from 4 to 5. Dee took this to heart and boogied. I tried getting her back about 2/3 of the way and she was having none of it. It was a fairly narrow lane through the trees so there wasn't really anywhere to circle. We ended up blowing by fence 5(the faux keyhole) picking up our second 20. I ran her into th trees to get her back and came at it again. She ducked out to the left again and I barely managed to monkey myself back into the saddle.

At this point I was mad (at both of us) and I rode the snot out of the re-approach. We got over it, and the jump judges gave us the loudest cheer, making me smile.

Next onto the terrain question, it was a downhill turn to the left and then a steep uphill to a cabin at the crest of the hill. A sharp right turn to a very steep downhill again. Once again, I over-rode it, knowing we couldn't afford any more stops. Which caused us to get in close to the base but Dee isn't Best Pony for no reason.

7 was the corner, with a long option to an oxer. We took the option as planned and had a great ride through to fence 8, a max width table.

Fence 8 is beihnd the flower pot (you can just see the flags)

The corner is basically just to the left of this photo.
You come around the bend and it's just there, setting up for a great left run-out

Fence 9 was heading into the infield and rode lovely.

Photo by Sarah's Equine Design

This brought us into the twisty turny water. 10 was a ramp with a fairly short turn to 11, a drop into the water. The plan was to take the direct route, unless Dee was super amped, then we planned to take a big right turn to get her back and collected to drop into the water.

You can see the drop at the very edge of the left side of the photo

She's fabulous about dropping into water but the next fence was another corner that I was going to take the option, which meant as soon as we hit the water we needed to exit stage right, rather than cantering straight through.

Photo by Sarah's Equine Design

As she had already ran away on me once I took the safe route and added the circle. It rode really nice and we got a great turn in the water, heading to the ramp option.

Sandra later told me that this measures as a Prelim corner

13 was a large brush fence that rode great.

Fence 14 was a hanging log on a downhill slope that went very well.

15ABC was the coffin. My plan was to get very close to the tree line to get the straight line and then just ride for C. I once again probably over rode this, which resulted in a funky distance to the first fence but we got it done foot perfect otherwise.

C was giant!

16 was a bench alongside the parking. Sandra wanted me to over ride this one as the parking lot can be chaotic and distracting. This went well with how I was already riding but Dee couldn't' have cared less.

17 was a roll top off sharp turn on a hill. Turns out over riding everything allows me to really nail the galloping fences :)

18AB was an offset cabin line. I rode (according to plan) the first at a fairly steep angle to get a straight line to the skinny at B.

Up the hill to 19. We got in super close so it wasn't pretty but "over or through" right?

Down the hill and a wonky turn (you basically had to overshoot the jump to get the line) to 20 and into the water to a chevron on the way out.

By Fence 22 I was determined to finish and once again over rode it but we crossed the finish. 80 jumping and 26.4 time penalties, but still a number.

With the stops and the options I came in at 7:18 (OT was 6:07). I knew Dee was going to be hot and puffing, but the vet wouldn't take a baseline.

I walked her for a couple minutes before he pulsed her. She pulsed in high (104) but her respiration was already recovering.

Isabel and Martini crossed the finish at this point and vetted in with no issues. When they left Dee proceeded to have a melt down, screaming her head off and trying to run me over. Needless to say, when they pulsed her again, it was still high.

I told the vet I was going to run to the wash rack to try and get her cooled out with water (there was no water at the finish). He told me that I had to be back in 3 minutes to pulse again.

I made it back in just under 3 minutes but Dee was still being a twerp. He took her pulse but didn't tell me what it was and told me that I could go. His exact words were "Ok, you can go".

Back at the trailer we continued to get water on/off her because I knew she hadn't fully recovered. Within minutes of being beside Martini with some water to cool her off she was back to resting pulse and respiration. I was concerned about how long it took her to recover but everyone assured me that it was hot (27° with 80% humidity), she was out there for a over a minute than most and she was being a herd bound idiot.

Getting ready on Sunday morning for show jumping someone came and told me that someone had been looking for me at my stall.

There was a note on my stall from a member of the ground jury. I tracked her down and she told me that the vet had eliminated me with concerns about my horse's fitness. I was absolutely floored. I told her that I was not going to dispute it, as equine welfare always comes first but that why hadn't the vet said something to me, someone from the ground jury let me know earlier (this was 40 minutes before my ride time). She told me that they didn't' find out until late the previous night as the vet had just left them a note.

A thing to note, there is no Equine Canada rule about having to vet in at the finish. In fact, Alberta is the only place to require it outside of the international levels. There has been much discussion and debate about this non-rule stipulation. Many feel that it is a waste of time and money and that requiring us to pulse down before we have the opportunity to properly cool our horse off (almost none of the course have water at the finish) is counter productive. Because this isn't an actual rule, the vet does not have the grounds to eliminate someone. They can express their concern to the GJ and make recommendations but it ultimately falls to the GJ to eliminate someone.

Adorable dog to break up the text

This vet has a history of being a disruptive dick. He's eliminated people (an 8 year old to be exact) because their horse has an arrhythmia, despite having a health certificate that the horse is fit to compete. He's consistently rude and not a single person I spoke to had anything good to say about him.

I was extremely upset (cue the frustrated tears). Everyone who knows me was shocked, as my horse is very fit. My previous coach went so far as to tell me that she was sure my horse is probably the most fit out of our group of 6 riders and to not worry about it.

The more I considered it, the more angry I got. The vet had a concern about my horse. A legitimate one, as she was not pulsing down as she should. But he told me I was good to go. If I was less experienced I may have just tossed her back in her stall without additional cooling, which could have catastrophic implications.

As a vet he has an ethical responsibility to the welfare of the horse. As a paid contractor he has a legal responsibility to help mitigate Equine Canada and the organizers liability. He failed on both counts. This is what makes me the most angry. He should have been involved until Dee was actually fully cooled out and he was confident she was going to be ok.

I did end up speaking with the TD after I had calmed down and she was great. Once she understood that I was not trying to fight it she listened and was helpful. She was shocked that the vet had let me go without saying anything. I did tell her that if he had mentioned his concern I would have gone and grabbed her buddy so she would settle down. I also would have brought her back to get her checked out after I felt she was cooled out, even if I had known about the elimination because her welfare is the most important thing, not a completion.

Dee enjoying a nap while we waited to leave

And to add insult to injury my rig was blocked in, so I couldn't leave. I would have been able to leave by 10 but ended up pulling out at 4. Definitely not my best weekend.


TL:DR Crappy dressage with great photos. Even crappier XC, (3 stops), eliminated by a vet who apparently doesn't understand his responsibilities. Overall, shitty weekend. But hey, great photos!

Beaumont Horse Trials- Day 1

Alternate Title: Breathe Dammit

The plan was to move up to Training at Beaumont HT as it's generally soft (it's the first Alberta event of the year) and it's our home course.

Despite having a good plan, a great horse and a positive prep run two weeks prior at the Chase Creek back-to-back HT (I still need to post about that trip) I was really, really nervous. Like, I may vomit on my way to the startbox nervous. I don't think I've ever been so nervous for a show.

Our dressage was more relaxed than both of our tests at Chase Creek , which was my only goal. Our scores did not reflect any improvement but I was pleased with it. It was tense and Dee wasn't super consistent but at least I wasn't riding a runaway. So I refuse to dwell on the fact that we were 25th out of 26 going into show jumping.

My SJ warm up was really good. Dee was forward and hunting the fences. A long as I kept my body back, rather than letting her pull me forward, things went really well.

Then I went into the ring. And I've never been more grateful to be sitting on the Best Pony. The course wasn't giant but there were some challenging questions. I had a game plan, but it turns out it's really hard to execute a plan when you aren't breathing.

My lack of breathing resulted in stiffness and pulling. Dee toted me around but we did jump around by Braille (I think there were only 4 out of 12 fences we didn't rub). Miraculously we only had one rail come down.

Fence 1 was a ramped oxer heading away from the gate to a fairly long stretch to another oxer. Fence 3 was set off a left turn that invited drift due to the terrain, I actually did a god job of making sure we got a good line here. Next was a hard left turn to 4AB (a one stride heading towards the bushes). We jumped in from a crawl and I just sat there. It rode like she was going to put in one and half strides, and then at the last moment she took the long. I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. But I really do have the most tolerant pony.

Not my finest moment.

 
 Fence 5 was a big square oxer jumping towards the in gate and 6 was a tall vertical that required you to hug the rail by the gate to get the right line to it. It came down a lot over the course of the day, but Dee gamely launched over it. It was then a forward bending 7 to a 2 stride combination. My plan was to bend out for a forward 8 to give us a little more wiggle room. I didn't get a good line (and I can't remember how many strides I got) so we ended up jumping from the base of the first fence. Then I didn't add enough any leg, so we put in a tight 3. Somehow Dee got us through it.

The jumps look bigger than I remember them.

Before fence 8 I felt like I was going to fall off. My thought process sounded a little like this: I'm going to fall off. Why do I feel like I'm going to fall off. OH SHIT. BREATHE YOU IDIOT.

The last 3 fences (including the super spooky zebra vertical) rode much better when I actually was breathing, who knew?

Game faces

I was super pumped that Dee had babysat me through our first Training stadium course. This spring we've had a few stops or run outs if I'm not really on it so I couldn't be more proud of her stepping up to the plate when it was important. Now I need to get my shit together and make some hefty deposits into the trust bank.

Amberlea Spring Schooling Show

As I mentioned Dee and I played hooky from responsibility and attended a local schooling show on Sunday. The weather has been unseasonable warm so I even managed to bath the filthy creature on Saturday afternoon.

I had signed up for 2 rounds at 3' and one 3'3" round. I slept in, puttered around my house and then leisurely headed over to the barn to wash legs and load up. I arrived at the grounds (about 45 min away) at 11 and had plenty of time as they were just finishing up the 2'6".

Also, the grey dog attended her first show. This is what she did all day. I think she's going to be a great horse show dog.

We had a relaxed warm up outside before heading in to wait. And then they decided to drag the ring, so we waited some more. Then a quick warm up over the fences. We were able to school a vertical and then oxer-one-stride-vertical combination. The one stride really required an open step, so we put two in the first time through (no even a real chip, just two strides).

My entire game plan for the show was to just get successfully around the courses and to keep working on keeping the pace up, my hands level and being organized through the turns. When we stuck to this plan everything went really well. I really just wanted to get around a 3'3" course at a show before our upgrade to Training.

First course

The first course had me starting out a little under pace, resulting in some interesting jumps. As we got rolling it got better. I put 6 in the 5-stride (on purpose) but nailed the 2 and the 1 strides. Best of all? The 3'0" jumps looked small, really small, and I wan't nervous at all.

We ended up taking first in this class. Our time was over 3 seconds faster than the second place pair (also eventers). People sometimes underestimate us because Dee is small and decidedly not-fancy but we are handy and quick (and both of us are ultra competitive). I made an offhand comment how the navy of the second place ribbons was way prettier. Apparently Karma was listening and decided to provide.

Last two courses

The second course was the Jr/Am and it was the class where I really felt like I rode the best. It wasn't perfect but it had a good rhythm, was organized and just felt good. Except, I got lost. I completely blanked on which was fence 5 so I ended up throwing in a circle before continuing on my merry way. No one ended up making it to the jump off so I ended up with a second.

I was getting a little nervous for the 3'3" but figured if the 3'0" looked small I could totally jump one extra iPhone without any issues. I schooled the one stride in the warm up just to prove to myself that we could do it.

Requisite blurry video still at 3'3"

The 3'3" Jr/Am class only had two of us and I went first. It turned out to be our least pretty round. I spent a good potion of the course asking for more canter and having Dee completely ignore me. I knew we were underpowered and a backwards but without a whip or spurs (this is why I normally always ride with a whip) there wasn't much I could do to convince Dee that I meant it. Despite our issues with pace we got around fine until the last fence. I really rode for the one stride and completely missed the boat on bringing Dee back after in time to organize around the corner to the last oxer. We were just too discombobulated to get over it. She stopped (in slow motion) and I pet her, told her she was a good girl, picked up my canter and re-approached. The second time turned out to be one of our nicest fences of the day.

The stop left us with a second (out of 2) but I was really happy with the whole day. Sure there were pilot errors, and I think Dee was tired, which was why she was resistant to move up (we had a private dressage lesson on Friday and a private jump lesson on Saturday). But we showed at 3'3"! I was nervous but not rendered helpless by anxiety, which is a big improvement over this time last year.

We proved that the height is totally within our range. We were able to get around safely and successfully even when it didn't go perfect. We have 8 more weeks before our Training debut so we've got time to iron out the kinks (and start riding with spurs and/or a whip again)

Thanks to Shimmer-E for the media and to Erin and Isabel for the moral support!

Best picture!

Amberlea SchoolingShow Preview

It's the end of the semsester so I have final projects, presentations and finals. I should have worked on my paper on Sunday, instead I went to a show. Recap to follow, but here's a preview.

Be prepared to see this photo many, many times