We Did Fly!

Some say horses know when a show is approaching and manage to get themselves into interesting situations to avoid the shows on purpose. While I know enough about Thoroughbred antics to not be able to say that's totally true for mine, it would have been nice if someone told Czech last Friday that the horse show I had entered him in was postponed due to storm predictions.

Instead, I came out for morning chores to a bloody face looking at me.

Dang it.

Seven stitches later, Czech was declared off-duty for at least a few weeks. It seems like he rubbed his face scratching on something and pushed too hard the last rub. There are some t-posts on the back tree-filled fence line (holding horse mesh fence) that he could have rubbed on, so I spent a Saturday night acting as dinner for mosquitoes while gluing safety caps on everything that would stand still. My hubby also spent the afternoon sawing and removing low hanging branches in case that was an issue.

The show had been postponed only one week and I still wanted to go. I adore my family and I am so completely blessed to have the option to be with my kids daily. However, this mama needed a break, a day at the horse show was something I had looked forward to all summer.

Bandon was sound but I hadn't entered him to begin with for two reasons: One, I wanted a more relaxed show day knowing that July heat would be a factor. Having my horse trailer tie and load easily was something I looked forward to when taking Czech. Two, Bandon has only had one arena session with me, since our jumping training at Rivermont, over solid looking obstacles. We needed a lot more practice to be ready for Jumpers and Jumpers is what he really wanted to do.

My biggest fear bringing along this horse from scratch has been over-facing him. Bandon is honest, hardworking, and even though he loves being silly he has a heart of gold, trying his best to take care of me. The idea of asking him to do something that killed any part of his confidence or trust breaks my heart. At the same time though, there is such a thing as horses getting bored, not trying, and needing to be challenged in a way that's good for them. It's a delicate balance.

I scratched Czech and entered Bandon. We would do the one green flat class as a nice warm-up round to remind him that he didn't need to be a speed demon, then the crossrail classes that I hoped to do at a trot for the same reason, before the lowest level Jumpers class asked him to open up a bit.

Knowing our loading issues, I set out over an hour before the time needed to leave. Bandon unfortunately, took a lot longer to load. I found a combination that worked after I had become drenched in sweat, he had become drenched in sweat, and I had hosed him off speckling my show clothes with mud in the process. Once Bandon was on and stuffed full of horse cookies, I debated taking him back off and putting him up.

The past week I had a persistent cough that handling him in the heat was making worse. Did I really want to go through that loading up process again in the highest heat of the day at the end of a long show?

I decided to press on and we pulled up to the show, running much faster than it has in the past, judging was running on the class that was six ahead of ours! I got my entry check to Ashley then scrambled back to tack up straight off the trailer. Surely those at the show were thinking, "Didn't she have trouble loading last time? You'd think she'd plan better..." I wish I had a sign to flash "He took three times as long today! I swear I did plan! I thought we weren't in for another hour at least!"

Bandon came straight off the trailer to brushes and tack. I was up on him within 15 minutes of arriving. I could have kissed that horse a thousand times. Without all of our normal warm-up walking and seeing things, he was doing well. A little jigging, a little jacked up, but under a shade tree he was acting like a class show horse with his OTTB buddy, Joe. We were glad to see him and his owner, Mary Catherine.

In the green horse class with 4 other horses we found our space on the rail and my boy did what I asked him. He chewed his tongue and fidgeted, a bit too forward, but he listened to me off and on and I was happy with that. We won green horse. Crossrails he threw my plan to trot out the window and by our second round I was glad we entered those to collect ourselves over the smaller fences. The crossrail flat classes, hindsight, I should have not put him in. My thought process was more time for collection on the flat before asking for his full attention in Jumpers. What happened in reality is exactly what happened last time, with the larger entry, I couldn't keep Bandon in his own space and he stressed. Horses trotting up behind him, circling, crops waving at his eye level, it was tough for him. I didn't enjoy myself because he wasn't enjoying himself. We were glad for some placements but I think that's his last time in those.

Last was Jumpers. We had some time to water both of us and get a short rest. Thank goodness for Mary Catherine, idiot me brought my water in my stainless water bottle, it almost scalded my mouth when I went for a drink! She happily gave me a bunch of her cold bottled waters or I wouldn't have made it through that afternoon. My joints were getting sore and I had some muscle cramping that worried me a bit due to my lack of appetite. I wondered if my electrolytes were off from not eating coupled with working hard in the heat.

Back camped under a shade tree, we waited for Jumpers to start. Bandon LOVES shade trees, cool and food, what's not to like?

I can't remember, but I think we went first. I couldn't wait to do it! My first time in a Jumper division as well as Bandon's. He would see a panel but the wall jump was a bar for this course. We started very collected, then I let him stretch a bit, taking my time through big corners to set him up nicely. I would have made a much faster time if I asked him for more and turned tighter. On the other hand though, we might not have jumped clean and had such a positive experience for both of us. Our time was 42 seconds and good enough for second place.

I was in LOVE. Jumpers was so much fun and I think Bandon felt it too.

Back at the trailer we snagged some pics of our pretty OTTB's in their new ribbons, before attempting to load.

Five minutes after trying my super nice approach, I put the same pressure on Bandon that I had used an hour into loading that morning, a few more minutes and he was on. I don't like putting the pressure on him like that, doubt tugged at me. Mary Catherine was helping me load though and said she felt what I was doing was exactly enough. There were times he was driving straight into me that were dangerous and those were the times he got lots of pressure from me to yield. Anytime he went forward all pressure was gone, and once he was on (on a longe line I drove him forward onto the trailer with my dressage whip while I stayed on the ground behind and to the side) he settled in faster than he ever has. He didn't even paw while we loaded up easy-going Joe.

We'd done it. We'd run our first Jumpers with a great experience. I had lots of pretty new ribbons. My horse was sound and loaded. That's what got me through the hour and a half drive back as my physical condition deteriorated rapidly.

No appetite, I stopped off to buy some chocolate milk to see if that would help. The shooting pain through my muscles now combined with bone pain that made it horrible to sit there. I made it home, took care of my horse, then curled up on my bedroom floor still in my dirty clothes.

An hour later I couldn't breath to get enough air and had a super scary hyperventilating episode before my fever spiked to 103. Chris was an angel, having taken care of the kids all day for me, he (for the second time ever) had to go up and care for the horses' evening needs. By the time he got back, we suspected I needed to go to the hospital and were concerned that maybe I'd gotten something blood borne from the mosquitoes the week prior. I waited to see a doctor until the next morning and found out then I had pneumonia.

I'm on injections for the bone pain, steroids for my breathing, and of course those fabulously thick antibiotic injections. This morning I was able to care for the horses myself and properly thank Bandon for all he did for me Saturday. Reliving that Jumpers run in my mind while I rest, has been so wonderful. What this horse and I will do one day...