Fried To Champion

Is there anything better than the night before a show? All the possibility lying in front of you when even a bad trip is still a day outside on a horse. Joy creeps up on you when the beginning of the season lays out waiting to see what will happen.

I decided on show morning it was time for Bandon to move-up to actually being ridden in the warm-up ring. For those that don't know, warm-up is an entire afternoon's worth of riders of different levels with horses of different experience crammed in getting the nerves out of themselves (or their horses) and maybe attempting to fly over some jumps without wrecking.

Everybody is moving, in close quarters. For an off-track who is only schooled alone at home, this is a bit of a shock.

Before now I'd walk Bandon fully tacked around the arena to let him get a feel for the place before chaos erupted. I might back him once or twice, then get out of there. I mount at my trailer, and we warm-up in the fields. It was an okay plan, still I felt like we always did better after our first class was over and maybe if I could do that break-in ride in warm-up and he'd already be "on" for the first class.

We entered warm-up at a walk, halfway down the rail Bandon was straining to dance sideways and about that time a horse landed a jump right next to us and proceeded to canter off. It was way too much for Bandon. His fuse blew.

I got some circles to calm him and a little trot work before we left the ring. He was tossing his head the way he does when frustration takes hold. We went back in as soon as the ring cleared of all but one pony, and I asked him for a simple two jump line. He landed bucking and was hard to rein in. Backed again. Walked a bit. And warm-up was closed, our class was next.

Bandon was not at all mentally calm and we managed to disagree through two classes before a small jumping round where Bandon hit the end line at a dead run and coming off the last fence. I had no control except to one rein stop him. Deep breath, I hadn't come off and he was stopped, I asked for a nice long trot circle before exiting the ring.

With a blown fuse it was anybody's guess what to do. Time seems to heal it more than any action I've tried in the past so I sat on him under a tree awhile then took him to the side and asked for walk circles - verbally scolding the violent head tosses - then back under our tree. We did this until I was getting trot circles off to the side with no head tosses and I could halt him from a trot.

Next class I had the same jump line that he bolted on (a straight line heading for the entrance gate) and I made a plan to jump the second to the last fence, then immediately pull him off the line, circle another fence, and approach the last jump. I was riding now for training purposes and not worried about the judge. It worked. He was listening and softer. Every class after that he improved until we won a jumping round, won a flat class, and ultimately won a Championship in that division.

Looking back it's easy to see that some time and patience helped me succeed with him and it all sounds pretty plain. That's not being very fair to a rider reading this though and I'm compelled to add that a peek in my mind shows that this almost didn't happen at all.

I'm human. I think the things you think too. I sat on my horse after the last bad round, a horse who was no longer responding predictably, and I immediately thought I should scratch the day and haul home. I was mentally pouting while my face was smiling. Not only did I feel like I'd screwed up seriously by asking for the warm-up ring he clearly wasn't ready for, I was afraid. Dead running towards a jump wasn't a feeling I wanted to repeat.

I'd blown it. All the anticipation, the rides, the fees, the late night horse bath just to get ready, trailer packing, tack cleaning, for a terrible ride that showed my horse a bad experience and scared me.

Bandon, wearing the cooler that Whisper won years ago, after his pre-show bath

Then I reached down and draped my arms around his heavily-shedding neck and realized that he hadn't thrown me. Yes, his mind had clicked back to a place I didn't want it to be (demonstrated again when he pinned ears and tried to bite his TB show buddy) and I wasn't sure how to train out of it, but so what. Make a plan and get something done. Now.

And boy did he. Walking back to the trailer with our ribbons in hand a lady asked me if that was the same horse I'd been on earlier, I was proud to say it was.

Writer's note : Rivermont Farm shows now work with the Jockey Club and offer their Thoroughbred Incentive Program!

Show Season Closed

My show season should have been done last month when Czech had a spaz-fest in the Hunter flat classes where I got more compliments on my extraordinary dressage horse than anyone in history at a Hunter venue probably has.

Still it was a day on my horse and what could you do but laugh. He couldn't toss me or persuade me to give-up so his creative juices really got going and we put in an interesting performance to say the least.

The real last show of the year I planned to miss due to a conflict, until it was rained out and postponed. I decided to enter Bandon to jump and the very next day in practice we had a wreck. Heading to an oxer Bandon's front legs didn't clear the second pole and it fell perfectly in our landing path. As one of his front feet came down on the pole, he went down and my boot grazed the ground. He recovered and seemed no worse for the wear. We set poles went back and jumped it again before either of us could come up with a good reason not to.

Two days later, he refused every jump. Timid and not acting himself at all, I checked him again for soundess and came back with no reason for it, he'd just lost his wings.

At the show, I entered low rails first hoping to find his confidence. He came in the arena timid and slow. Each round he improved until the very last course he was driving full speed even at the panel.

We placed in every jumping class and won the Equitation medal. I came home with a better horse than I'd hauled in.

But even that wasn't my favorite part.

Leaning against him as he grazed by my side while high jumpers tore around the ring full speed, sitting on him with a totally slack rein while he rattled his nose at a pony dressed like a reindeer, leaving the ring from each round on a loose rein with a supple back, those are the things made my year.

10 months ago I'd left this show site with two broken halters, a busted rope, rope burned hands and blistered feet, both of us soaked with sweat and exhausted from the ordeal just to "be on site", I'm pretty sure I cried most of the way home and told a close friend I was a class A fool to think I could pull this off. He had big spooks and blow-ups if he saw another horse doing anything more than walking, never standing still he circled with endless pacing, and my personal favorite rearing in-hand. With all of it he made me better and I did the same for him.

We came from there to now and we're going to do a hell of a lot more. Watch and see, Conyers we're coming back in 2015...

Thank you, those that follow this blog and friends in general, for all your support this year. You've seen me through the rants, deaths, births, and successes over the years. The letters I get from you all drive me when I lose heart. I hope you tear into your own 2015 for all it's worth.

Courage

Fear : verb, to be afraid of someone or something as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening.

Courage : noun, the ability to do something that frightens one

I sat on Bandon's back as he weaved left to right at the arena rail watching the rider after us go through her course. As they came around a turn to a jump too fast and too close, the horse dodged and the rider flew over his shoulder and head first into the solid wood jump standard.

She was okay. Shaken badly, but could walk.

We were done with our courses for the day and I asked if I could go on back in and jump again, just once, as I felt the fear start to creep into me too.

If you talk to many riders over the age of 18, you'll begin to hear a common thread of lost nerves. I used to do... but now I just...

I'm guilty of that myself because I'll never jump cross country again. There is zero fun for me in that sport after my fall and I don't miss it at all. But if fear stands in the way of something you do love, something that makes you feel alive, how do you get rid of it?

Maybe the answer is, you don't. The fear is there and you use it to be smart, then go do it anyway.

On the way home from that show I thought back to a time when I could remember the invincible feeling of teendom. In those years I worked at Carnivore Preservation Trust in North Carolina under biologist Michael Bleyman.

Ocelot eating my oh-so-cool Keds

I worked with tigers and frequently went in enclosures with them. Fine print : I do not recommend that to anyone and yes I've seen Fatal Attractions on Animal Planet. At the time it's what we did. We worked with them handling on a routine basis so that for minor needs they didn't have to be sedated.

Hanging out with a very young Shalimar

Michael brought me in my first enclosure and the tiger surprised us and made a move on me within minutes. I countered and everything went as smooth as could be from there on. I had absolutely no fear, I knew what to do, and it never once occurred to me that I should be scared.

Then one day, we had to go into a large enclosure (3 acres) to clean some shredded toys out. There were three tigers in there, Hall, Shalimar, and Isabella. I knew them all, I had worked with them all. I even bottle fed one when she was little. Hall was the biggest tiger in that enclosure and  he was also the sweetest.

Michael with Hall, Izzy, and Shalimar, pic taken by my Grandfather on a visit

One rule was that you never let yourself get too close to the fence. As we worked to get the toys out without turning our backs to any tiger, Hall approached me. I stood with a safe distance between me and the fence behind me. He kept his expression soft as he chuffled and walked over, I turned so that we were perpendicular like I had been taught. Hall stopped and stood for a second. Then he shifted his weight and I was pinned against the fence.

Real fear crept through me for the first time like poison, it was completely tangible in every possible way.

I could not move until he allowed me to. There wasn't any negotiating or way out. It was up to him. He looked back over his shoulder at me while his ribs held the push against my legs. I stayed silent, trying not to show him I was afraid, and he decided to walk on.

There were many tigers I went in with after that day, including Hall. But I knew then that I wasn't ever really the one in charge of the outcome, only that I could make the odds better.

This face means you need to get tall and start moving towards her to diffuse it

Experiences like that open your eyes to your own mortality and can shut you down. After many of those triggers over the years, some people begin to live in a little safe box out of what has accumulated. Fear becomes a series of stop signs instead of an ignition to push you on.

As Bandon and I came back in to jump again, I knew the risks. I knew what a bad fall could result in. I also knew that my horse would do everything in his power to take care of me and that I had taken every precaution to make the odds as in our favor as they could be.  It wasn't guaranteed to be okay but it was guaranteed to bring me the high that life is for.

Courage isn't what the teenagers out there hurling themselves over any obstacle have any more than bravery is what I had before the incident with Hall. Courage is knowing the fear and carrying on in spite of it.

"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold" Helen Keller

The Blindfold Please

It's the first day of Autumn, the radio station put Randy Travis back on rotation, and I've got the whole morning to spend outside. It just doesn't get much better than that. It started perfect and early under a sky so full of stars it looked like they could just drip right down on you if you stood still too long.

Bandon was a willing accomplice, holding his own through the wind until the brush jump came down in one strong gust. My long-distance trainer reminded me recently to keep my leg on as he and I went through some speed disagreements and I was lucky enough to remember that at the same time I was thanking God for the 500th time that Bandon spooks hollow and forward.

The answer is always more leg.

As we went to work combination jumps, I continued to get on his forehand and stay there. My mind just gets going one step ahead, in the saddle or not, and being in the moment is nearly impossible. Crucial to good jumping, unattainable to me. There needed to be a way to turn my mind off and just feel Bandon's movement and move with it.

While the weather kept a mild sun and blowing wind on my young boy, I turned him back towards the line, squeezed my leg on, said a quick prayer, and closed my eyes.

Forward. Impulsion, His head's coming up now. Rear under. Up - airborne - front down, rear down, stride, rear under, up and airborne, eyes open - that was it. Bandon cantered off, creating enough wind all on his own that it wasn't necessary for me make any effort to breathe.

How many people use up a whole life and never feel that?

2 + 2 = That's right, more leg.

Get Over

Considering how much fun it is to go for a long canter on your horse...

How rewarding it is to jump obstacles that your horse finds success on after previous difficulty...

It's easy to see how something like ground pole work can fall to the wayside. Ground poles are an excellent way to work on all aspects of jumping without physically taxing your horse. I've used poles as stride markers a bit over the last year, but honestly not much more than that.

In my defense, we are predicted another harsh and wet (no jumping on wet ground or frozen ground) winter. I've been jumping while the sun shines humidity be damned. Not to mention that on my turf the poles easily roll and riding alone means getting off to reset them. A lot.

It was time to bite the ground pole bullet as two training issues were rearing their heads and I wanted to stop them for good.

One was Bandon getting careless with his feet.

The other was me. As Bandon learns the fine art of impulsion vs speed, I was getting forward leading into, through, and after combinations in an effort to balance with his speed instead of sitting back and getting the impulsion letting him jump up to me. I was equally trying to balance his forward motion (creating more) and feeling the need to heave him over the fence instead of trusting he would meet me halfway.

It's easy to sit here and say it now, already understanding the mechanics of how loading a horse's front end makes them come forward even faster (and could be contributing to him getting clumsy with his feet). It's much more difficult when you are in a combination line and everything in you wants to move with the horse to get them over the jump. Sitting back would feel like you were setting up a perfect crash into the jump.

So to fix me not coming back and to fix him not being careful, I brought out my measuring tape and set two lines of poles. One at trot distance and the other at a canter spacing for a 2 stride 2  stride 2 stride 1 stride.

Czech is coming along in his physical therapy, his stifles aren't clicking nearly as much as they did a few weeks ago. On him in the arena first, I put him over the poles. The action to pick his feet up would alleviate the boredom of our exercise routine and could help him build flexibility.

Czech turned into the trot pole line and my fire breathing dragon on fence approaches was under me! He tucked that head, cranked up behind the bit, leaped the poles two at the time, then cantered off all proud of himself.

I laughed at him, called him a big goober, and we went back at it intent on fixing some of his jumping issues. By the end of it he would hold a trot throughout before tucking up behind the bit as we came off them around a curve. I just love unintended teaching opportunities! This might be a great thing for Czech and I.

Bandon was up next and I learned from Czech that I should probably show him the poles by leading him the first time. Both boys have done them before, of course, it's just been awhile.

Bandon kicked the poles like each one was worth points.

Up on his back, he was Bambi on ice. He stepped over one, stepped on the next, jumped the fourth and fifth, by the time we were at the end he jumped the last two in one stride for good measure. A few more laps and quite a lot of half halts, he was trotting through and only jumping the last two.

On to the canter poles, oh my goodness. Halfway in, he was in a sprint race. I, not worried about crashing into a fence, could sit back and rate him with decent results. The horse can certainly jump if I can get paced correctly.

Next time out I walked Spotlight and Pegasus down to do the trot poles in hand. Spotlight is not known for his jumping prowess at all. In fact one of the main reasons he became ours is because he refused to do it. I assumed he would need some prodding and was completely wrong. He picked his little feet through the trot poles in perfect form without even creating a breeze to move one. Pegasus on the other hand pinned his tiny ears and went through them like he was gritting his teeth.

Czech made his way through, not cranking his head nearly as much and I felt good about progress while Bandon came off the canter poles bucking a few times and sent trot poles flying all directions.

Dull it is but certainly not a waste of time to spend a week or so on this ground level exercise again, maybe I'll ask Santa for real wooden poles this year...

"I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." Thomas Jefferson

The First Time

You know the moment when you realize that just a few days have passed in reality but in your world it seems like life was altered and a month's worth has happened? That's how Friday to Monday feels to me this weekend.

The Jockey Club started a program recently to help encourage more owners and riders to choose Off Track Thoroughbreds and as a result, give more racehorses a chance at a bright new career when they were done racing. The Thoroughbred Incentive Program offers classes just for Thoroughbreds across all disciplines.

Riding in Thoroughbred events has long been a dream. In dogs the dream was to win at the National Specialty for my breed (which we did!), this was the horse version of that. There are three in particular, the Thoroughbred Heritage Horse Show in Virginia, the New Vocations Show in Ohio, and the Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico in Maryland, that held my gaze. I watched an HRTV special on the first show at Pimlico last year and I was hooked. The leadline classes crammed full of little kids in silks perched like ticks on their big, sweet, Thoroughbreds made my heart melt. Listening to riders talk about how much they loved their horses and how proud they were just to have made it to the baby level divisions was equal with how I felt about mine. It was about the horse more than it was about the event. These were my people and I wanted to show with them!

The Thoroughbred Incentive Program would be another way to get a taste of this.

I had applied to the Jockey Club for TIP numbers on both Czech and Bandon last summer. After our schooling show journey had gone from uncontrollable to relaxed, I was comfortable with the idea of taking the boys out. I searched the database of events and didn't come back with very much. A few rated shows in my region offered the TIP but only for the highest overall horse at the entire show and we weren't likely to be in those leagues with professionals. The one show I found that offered the TIP in classes and divisions was a little over two hours away and I entered.

Czech was still on a slow return to work, increasing the strength in his rear to better support his stifles, so it would just be Bandon and I this time. I was half wondering if I was jumping in over my head and half excited to get our first time under our belts so we could gain experience to get closer to goals of a ribbon.

The class list was a little Greek to me. I picked it apart and determined that I had to make a choice. I wanted to do Jumpers. Bandon and I were ready to spread our wings at the lowest jump height after the schooling shows. However, the TIP division (a hunter division) that was appropriate for us would not allow us to jump higher at the same show. Jumpers is measured in meters putting us 1" above allowance to also enter the hunter division. I had to choose one.

I used the system I used for years deciding on dog events. "If this went terribly, would it still have been fun/worth it?" The only one I could say "yes" to was the Jumpers.

I entered Jumpers Warm-up, Low Jumpers, and one TIP OTTB In-Hand class.

I think Czech will be an excellent candidate for the In-Hand class the Jockey Club offers and since I had never seen it or tried it, Bandon would be my guinea pig to gain experience.

Not only was this a rated show that was HUGE, it was also at the Horse Park in Georgia where the Olympics were held in '96. Gone were our days of tacking up out of the trailer, Bandon would have to stall, something he hasn't done well for me off-site before.

To be there in time for our 8 am Jumpers Class to start, we would need to leave the house by 4:30 am at the latest. Having no idea if Bandon (who is reluctant anyway) would load into a floodlight-lit trailer, I started asking him at 3:30 am.

Clearly I am not sane.

My trailer training paid off and we were on the interstate by 4. At the show, he went into the stall on high alert but not spinning and covered in froth. I'll admit I had to find a bleary eyed fellow competitor to tell me how to open the stalls that were done in a way I'd never seen before. If our beginning was learning just how to open the stall, how was this going to go?

I left Bandon to go register and saw my first glimpse of the Jumpers arena. Holy bleep. Compared to my 4x4 post and pvc rail fences, these things were enormous. Solid. Very scary.

I texted my fears to a friend, breathed them out, and let them go. Bandon couldn't know I had any doubts. I had to have full confidence this was something we could do or I would not be fair to him.

When the course was posted, I left his side again (this time more agitated as a horse two stalls over screamed constantly) and went to conquer another show obstacle, memorizing the course.

Umm... what does Prem mean? JO? I know my class numbers... why are some A and B? OMG, is that a combination with an oxer? Bandon's never done that. Is that a two stride combo? Bandon's never done that either!

I walked the course after asking a really nice girl why there were two courses listed for my class number (one was the Jump Off round we were to do immediately if we jumped the first round - Preliminary - clean). I realize that some of  you may be asking, "How does she not know all this stuff?" right about now. I ask that you remember that I've never trained with a Hunter Jumper trainer. Even in my younger years of training I was doing Dressage and three-day. This was all new.

The jumps looked too tall. I wondered if I'd measured mine at home wrong (Sunday morning first thing I went out to my arena and measured, yeah, I had measured wrong).

I knew the course. I decided to trust that my amazing horse could do it and I went to get him.

It all happened very quickly from there. He fought me while tacking. Biting and once trying hard to kick me. In the scuffle I threaded his noseband on the off-side THROUGH the bit ring. I wouldn't find that out until later thought.

We got down to the ring. He stepped on me twice. Crowding me hard and fighting any cue I gave to back up and yield before giving-in to my communication and doing what was asked though never once dropping his head. I was on him and asking for movement, circles, turns, lines, leg yields. He was obsessed with the dozens of horses in the warm-up ring, shaking his head hard the way he does when he is stressed.

We warmed up our own way and when the gate steward called for my first class to go, no one said a word. All sitting on their perfectly still mounts pointed at the ring, I was the only one dancing and jigging in loops.

"I'll go"

Bandon has always taken care of me, Bandon has always thrown himself into his job. I believe we COULD do this.

First jump he seemed surprised at the height as his front legs grazed the top rail. We were running. His nose was trying to touch the arena roof. Jump two he didn't want to touch again and we jumped way over, I felt my heels anchor me to him and gave myself a moment of applause for some form of eq.

Jump 3, we were heading into a combination. Oxer B he leaped so hard he jumped me out of the tack and for a moment I remembered my fall while jumping and felt my heart rise in my throat like a big lump. We landed together and I was in awe of the power underneath me. Four, we were over. Five, Six, and Seven I was using my reins harder than I ever have with him as he was riled up in the moment. Eight was the last combination and as we headed for it I questioned how he was going to land the way he was traveling with such huge strides, and then clear the last solid looking jump.

He either felt my question or also questioned because he stopped dead in his tracks. Instead I asked him to go do one more fence before coming back to me and trotting out. I have no idea if I broke etiquette doing so, I just knew my horse needed to succeed before we stopped.

Bandon was borderline uncontrollable at that point. I was equal parts in total awe that we'd made it around and frightened a bit at this new beast under me. He was tapped into full war horse mode and I'd never been on that before. I wanted to loose rein walk him, I wanted to stay on his back until he settled, he was having none of it. I used a solid fence outside the arena to stop him for a second so I could get off. His eyes were distant and not at all connected to me. I was just a toy on the end of the bridle. The bridle. OMG. I see the noseband error for the first time and fix it.

Keeping him walking, I watch the riders behind me. I see some of the crazed frenzy that Bandon gave me as more horses go around the ring and leap the obstacles. I learn that this intensity is fairly normal... along with a lot of martingale use.

It felt like no time at all had passed when the steward asked if I was ready for my round. I felt my heart rise up my throat again. We had only done the warm-up trip over the course, the judged course was running now. I almost formed the word, "scratch", instead I got back on.

Moments later we cleared fence one, landed in a gallop that flew me past fence two in a blur as I pulled him up on the far side of the ring and didn't care about anything except making this positive for him. Our "show" was long over, this was about me and my horse as I trotted him through the course, past the jumps, asking him to breathe and think as he became tightly coiled each time we came near a jump.

We left the ring and I patted my horse.

In 30 seconds I'd learned more about him, about me, and about what real Jumpers IS than I had ever known.

Hours later, as we got ready for In-Hand, Bandon again was in biting and kicking mode. He didn't care about my space and I was feeling my calmness fleeting as nothing I did made me important to him and his world at this show. At one point I used a dressage whip to communicate space as a barrier at his chest, he almost broke it in half.

In his bridle ringside for the last part of our show day, a few moments of him appeared. He would drop his head or chew his mouth a moment, before going back to crowding and pushing. I tried to praise these moments though in hindsight I should have done it more. I was tired and a little miffed at the constant fight he was giving me, it was hard to find a soft place in me to connect with him genuinely when he did offer them. More praise is a goal for next show. I remind myself how Bandon drapes his body all over Czech in the pasture for reassurance and how Czech calmly tolerates it, only disciplining him when he crowds in ways that are rude to him. I make it a goal to learn the difference between rude/unsafe crowding and Bandon seeking reassurance.

His track trainer will tell you, Bandon is a fighter. He is open to having a conversation with you if he trusts you. He is also responsive to correction if he's getting out of line. If you break that treaty though, correct at an inappropriate time, he goes into self protection and can be very hard to get back. However, he's also super responsive to praise when it's earned.

The judge for the In-Hand class marveled at his dancing feet as we came in for the line-up, once asking me if I could please make him still. At one point she even took the reins a second and said, "here, like this... oh he's not going to be still, is he?" Nope.

I played with him and moved him enough to get him still for the line-up evaluation, though all four feet were not square for very long.

His jog was beautiful. We placed third in a large class and I had my Jockey Club ribbon.

Lessons I learned from that are: 1) Czech is definitely the show pony for that job 2) Wool jackets and tall boots are the devil's invention on a 94 degree day in full sun 3) ditto on the black gloves

Bandon loaded up quickly and we were headed home.

On the way, we became stuck in two major traffic jams on a highway and an interstate. I was so sad for my boy in the trailer back there, breathing all those fumes, hot, kicking at my trailer sides wondering why we were still. I cursed each driver that jetted in front of me as I'd left just enough space between myself and the car in front to be able to stop without hurting my horse.

I reconsidered my goals. These all Thoroughbred shows I dreamed about are each a day's full travel away. In this for my horse and our partnership as much as anything else, was that a fair thing to ask?

Bandon and I will again see the Jumpers ring at a large rated show. Thinking back on it here now I still am amazed at what we did. I had no idea it was going to be what it was, and I'm glad. If I had known ahead of time the challenges we'd face I probably wouldn't have entered there and may never have tried. It was very intimidating. Instead, we've done it. Going back to do it again with more experience and training will be so much fun!

Meanwhile, our goals are set for Czech and I to do Adult flat classes and TIP In-Hand. Bandon and I will come back to TIP in the lower hunter division and get our accuracy, confidence, and adrenaline working for us at that level to prepare us for Jumpers again.

The weekend taught both of us so much. When we come back again, it will be somewhat familiar, the first time is done.

"Horse Sports are the only athletic event where the athlete must be prepared that his/her equipment may be nervous. It's an entirely different mental game." Sports Psychology Study 2013

Back To School

As the kids went back to school, appointments were made and horses had grass stains curried out in preparation for their return to regular schoolings too.

Czech needed to most priming. I removed his facial stitches and he had shoes put on all the way around after our summer-long trial bare was clearly not going to work for him. A week later the vet came out to evaluate his movement.

Under saddle he was back to the way he was when I first got him last year, cross cantering and generally off with his hips. The vet determined that Czech had momentary upper fixation of the patella. Basically, his knee caps were not sliding the way they should but instead staying locked similar to what they do to sleep standing.

After he was warmed up and stretched, it was improved though all the sudden snapping when it engaged created inflammation throughout his stifle. Long term prognosis is great, if he's kept in muscle his own structure would support it nicely and he could even jump. Not being worked over a few months coupled with his bare feet limiting his free exercise in the pasture, meant he needed some help coming back.

He received injections to reduce the inflammation to allow healing to take place and is on bute for a week. He'll be brought back very slowly and I think he'll do just fine. The nicest thing about us and Czech is that he never HAS to do anything. He enjoys work, I enjoy working him, but he isn't required to do anything at all if that time comes. Happily, that time isn't now.

Our first ride a few days after the injections, Czech and I rode at walk through the pasture, with my daughter! This is huge to me. My kids have been riding well but I've never felt secure enough to be in a position off the ground where I couldn't help if their pony was naughty or yanked reins out of their hands. I also wasn't sure how their ponies would do riding along with my bigger strided horse. What if Czech started to get excited and jig? Would the pony then freak out? What if the pony ran up on Czech and he wanted to kick?

I decided it was time to try and saddled up Pegasus with a more secure western saddle, and Czech with strict orders to take it easy.

Czech and Pegasus were awesome. My daughter, Sage, was also wonderful, handling Pegasus's minor tantrums when he wanted to return to the barn. I was in heaven riding my horse with my daughter on her's.

Then Czech had another surprise, his breeder Iva came up for a visit and he adores her. Horses have an excellent memory and it was a  very sweet reunion.

Bandon tackled his first few back to school sessions with fierce intensity. A little too much intensity actually. Today we went back to taking one jump then halting after 15 strides just to slow his roll a bit. He's riding with a very forward fire he hasn't shown me often, partly a product of his rides being jumper's courses. Once he's "on", he's getting harder to communicate with, though I wouldn't trade forward for any other problem, I can direct forward! Over the weekend an easy bareback ride through the pasture turned into an adventure on him when he spooked (at a chicken, of course) and took off running, gotta love my baby horse.

Iva left behind some goodies (and scrapbooks that include Czech's baby pictures *sqeal!*) that she doesn't need since she is out of horses, her Stubben saddle was one of them.

Riders, try other saddles. Seriously. Even if you like yours. Just try. WOW. This saddle fits the boys nicely AND rides with a more secure feel for me than my Beval has ever delivered. Full appreciation for those that stress taking the time to find a saddle that fits you both, it certainly matters.

Pegasus and Spotlight have taken to their groundwork sessions without too much pony attitude and both have been ridden already a few times. Unfortunately the western saddle I used on Pegasus for our awesome Mother Daughter ride, rubbed him raw at the girth. I felt terrible about it and may or may not have gone through an extra handful of teddy grahams just for him.

Extra fleece covers have been added to their grazing muzzles. While they do the job to keep the weight nice, those muzzles also rub. Hoping to get all the kinks worked out and everyone comfortable soon.

After vet assessments, farrier fixes, barn water leaking and repairs, training schedules, and tack cleaning, we're ready to see where training takes us this season!

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...

Summer Vacation

It's been tricky finding time to do more than just groom and care for the horses this summer. While my kids love them, they are also great at getting into situations I can't handle when I also have my attention on the horse in front of me. The farrier came recently and it was misery handling their issues (he's touching me and won't stop looking at me!) while keeping each horse steady. The silver lining of summer comes in working with the kids and the horses to teach them skills one on one when we aren't swimming in the pool.

I find outlets for my soul on horse restriction by building jumps and doing improvements here and there.

Finally the weekend arrived with dry ground (a bit too dry but I'm not about to complain now) and my hubby home to watch the munchkins a few hours for me. Bandon's wound from Fourth of July had lost its swelling and now just had some surface abrasions left.

He was ready for some fun.

Our first ride since hauling to Rivermont for jumping, he was HIGH. Someone must have given him the memo that said he was in training to be a jumper. He fixated on the new jump the second we walked into the ring. Hand walking around it, I let him explore it, still once I was on his back he began to jig.

Jigging is a most uncomfortable gait that isn't a trot or a walk, but somewhere in between where the horse's motion is more upward than forward. Czech is a master at jigging, he holds the record for "longest jig in open spaces" on our Hunter Pace attempt. Bandon avoided the gait, for the most part, until this ride.

I put his mind to work on bending, using his rear, as each pass near a jump sent him tossing his head and light on his feet.

Off I went, on with a longe line. Bandon performed like a masterful artist, jumping and contorting in the air. Cirque De Soleil here we come! After he worked all the silliness out, I asked him to jump the new jump on his longe circle. Nope. He wasn't having any of that. He stopped after my 5th attempt and looked at me, "If you expect me to haul my body over that solid looking thing, you're going to have to go too."

Up on his back, we went straight for it before I changed my mind. Bandon cleared it with miles of room to spare, landing in a heap of bucking bay horse, he was nice enough to keep me on as I kept a fist full of his mane in a tight grip. We did a few other jumps before turning back to flat work with transitions as he became higher and higher each jump, approaching a little faster, feeling a little less under my influence. Cantering large loose circles he came back down to me.

Points in his favor : He only spooked once this ride, and was nice enough to get it out of the way while I was still on the ground. He also held a straight line approach to the new jump after having lots of time off from work and he kept me on though he was still a little ticked at me for having pulled his mane day before. Extra point for helping me find a baby turtle that I saw in the arena and wanted to show the kids!

Next up was pretty boy. Don't tell him, but Czech has gotten a bit fat during his time off...

Getting on his back gave me the same wash of peace that I think a lot of people feel when they come home after having been away.

Unfortunately, he was super stiff. I worried about his feet being tender. As we kept going though, he seemed to warm-up out of the stiffness, not characteristic of foot soreness. Asking for the canter was exactly the same as last summer and early fall, his hip wasn't moving in cadence.

Last Fall I'd had a chiropractor come out and adjust him since Czech was new to me and I was still learning what his issues were and what his history showed.  Working him consistently through the school year, Czech moved perfectly. Now after time off we were back where we were.

Did he have an underlying issue that suffered with lack of muscle tone?

The facts : Czech moves well in good tone. He had a full vetting Spring '13 including heat scanning that revealed he was sound for anything short of immediate Olympic trials. Czech was at an eventing barn for 4 years that ultimately seriously neglected him and we suspect did inadequate warm-up.When he is not muscled Czech cross canters until warmed up. He almost always plants one foot in front instead of together at a jump (this does not seem to be improved by hill work) and does so with me and in photos from years ago. He bolts through jumps and will avoid them altogether if they are on a turn instead of a line. (photo from last fall, excuse my EQ he is a freight train)

We'll do some more investigating to see if we can find what Czech is trying to tell us and the vet will be out to look him over Monday.

The ponies are doing great, Pegasus finds new and more interesting ways to remove his grazing muzzle while Spotlight keeps his on like a gentleman and has lost a lot of weight with no lasting issues due to his brush with laminitis. They both look like cannibal ponies with their muzzles covered in black straps. I'm pretty sure the new neighbors thought they might be...

"What if I fall? Oh but my darling...what if you fly?" - unknown

Conquering the Wall

Rivermont Farm in Lyerly, Georgia is a little more than an hour from here and where Bandon and I have been doing our shows the past few months. Ashley also opens the arena for rental between events for training purposes. She has a good substrate that doesn't cause the slick mud issues, pot holes, and slight inclines that I have on my turf, add-in her amazing jumps and it made for enough of a case to ask my hubby to haul out the kids with my horse and I on a sweltering morning for some jump schooling.

Bandon has been put over her crossrails with flowers underneath, my crossrails with flowers underneath, and my plain bar jumps, we needed to try some new things if we were serious about pursuing the Jumper ring. The panel jump and the wall jump were high on my list to try and it didn't seem fair to throw them at him in a show ring with no prior schooling at all.

For a horse who has never tried, the panel presents the challenge of trust. The horse can't see the ground on the other side and putting their legs and feet in danger is one of a horse's most primal instincts to avoid. The panel was set low, Bandon broke stride to hesitate then launched, putting me ahead of his balance, it was as good a start as any.

Rainbow jump was set a little higher and he was almost too eager to face it, we circled off once to gather our wits before jumping it.

Bandon bucked after landing a few times, his adrenaline/joy made me smile. He threw awkward strides and found his pace, even so we were able to stay out of each other's way.

The biggest obstacle was the wall. With limited riding over summer break, I've had lots of daydream hours and built up incredible confidence. I'd go so far as to say swagger. Yep. I was going to sail my horse over everything without batting an eye.

Then I was in front of the wall, feeling the swagger drain out of me like a popped pool float. Someday someone will have to explain to me optics because I'm sure it should have seemed smaller once up on my 16.1 hh horse's back, right? It didn't.

I wasn't afraid of the height, I was afraid of Bandon jumping me out of the tack. We'd done that before a few times on new jumps and if it hasn't happened to you it's hard to explain. Basically, one moment you are propelling your heart and your horse forward, then the next moment you are in the air and no longer connected to your horse, praying in that slow motion time that you'll somehow reconnect with the saddle as gravity claims you. It's worse when your horse leaps after pausing to look... Bandon was notoriously looky.

I sank my heels. I almost forgot, my heels! I had a brand new pair of boots to break-in today and let me just take a second and revel in just how AMAZING it feels to have really good boots! These are boots that under normal circumstances I never would have bought myself, I was lucky enough to win them and they are fan-tastic!!! The leather is all grippy and not like my cheap boots that may or may not have been made by WD40. I know that money doesn't make you a good rider, but apparently good boots help!

So, my heels are deep, my leg is on, and hands are following. I ask him, "Ready to jump, Bandon Boy?" He knows those words and I can feel him finding his 'go' gear as I point his nose towards the wall. Dear God, the wall. Breathing the fear out of me, because I don't want Bandon to think I won't jump with him, here we go!

Forward forward forward, he's going to do it... nope. Stopped dead right in front.

You might see a smile on my face, I was so glad to get that over with. He had never done it before and it was sort of an unrealized fear of mine what it was going to feel like when he did. I've had horses stop dead in a way that is pretty impossible to stay on. Others do this sort of rapid forward motion that changes to backwards sideways motion that also isn't fun to try and cling to. Bandon simply pulled his shoulders differently and I could adapt. He was nice enough to keep me on basically.

We aimed again, same response. Third time, same thing.

Fourth try and I was getting animated, asking him for it, "Come on boy, go! You've got this! Jump it! GOO!" and he did!

Woo-hoo!!!!

My baby did it! It wasn't flawless, but it was him and I together and our efforts towards new and better as we went over 5 or 6 times.

We ended on some simple lines, Bandon beginning to flatten a bit, then called it a day.

What I can take from today was well worth all the efforts to get there (and the hour it took to load him to come home when he decided he didn't like the trailer after all) and I'm so glad we were able to do it. I have some decisions to make now on how to enter the next few shows...