the season has started: event report
May. 11th, 2015 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
goddessfarmerWent to my first horse trials of the season yesterday. I was pretty nervous leading up to it, but once I got there, well, show nerves are show nerves and it wasn't any worse than usual. The weather was hot and not entirely unhumid, so I was drenched even before I put my clothes on for Dressage. Skip warmed up great, but as soon as we got onto the sand around the arena, he tightened up and felt like he had stones in his front feet. So I did the best I could with Skip behind my everything, and actually rode him during the test, as opposed to just riding the test. All I can say is that however not so great it felt, the judge really liked it because we came out of that with 26.8 penalty points (73.2%) and in second place. I had roughly an hour between getting done with that and Stadium Jumping, which I used to sponge Skip, sponge my face, and walk the stadium course again. I jumped exactly 5 jumps in the warm up, and then went in a rocked that course. It could have been a hunter equitation round. I really wish I had video. Given the way the rails were flying for others, it wasn't an easy course. I was still in second after that. Less that two hours later, I was warming up for cross country. I jumped 2 warm-up jumps, and walked until time.
He went very nicely out of the start box, and I didn't hurry to the first fence, which felt like a bigger jump than I was expecting, but ok, turn right and eye on the next. I hurried him across the field, but he felt a little slower than I'd like still. He backed off coming up to the second, a substantial table, so I just kept kicking and that was OK. Again, I felt he could have moved more quickly down the road, but I had to balance the gallop this time, and we came in a little close and he made a big effort at the log. I kicked on after, and I remember thinking that we were spending too much time jumping and not enough time moving. I balanced coming down to the trakener, and he didn't hesitate. That one felt good. Turn left and eye on the big solid table. Gallop, collect, jump. Big effort, but it's a big table. Right sweeping turn to the arrowheads, kick, oh my, that jump was bigger than I expected. gallop forward to the log going into the hollow, balance, sit up, neat small jump, feet on the dashboard to the bottom, pick up my reins going back up the little slope, turn right, kick on to the pair of houses, jump one two three jump and fly away across the field. Unfortunatly, that field was full of other jumps not for us, and he kept looking at them and asking if he should go there, so we had some slight zig-zagging and less actual speed than I wanted. He focused again when we got into the woods. I sat up and made him look at the firepit (a log with a cauldron hanging under it and stones for a ground line) and kept kicking. We got a pretty good jump there, but again more effort from him that I was expecting for not that huge a jump. I pushed him on speed after that, for the long gallop through the woods, then out into the back field. He was less distracted by the extraneous jump. I was breathing hard by this point, but still focused on task. The next able was another big one, and I feel like I held him coming to it a little too much. Nice gallop off afterwards though, and good approach without slowing down too much coming to the pair of benches with the bump in between. I pointed him in the right direction and he handled those very nicely. Curving back around the edge of the field, we had a good strong gallop that compressed somewhat but didn't slow down coming to the log oxer. I think this was our best jump on the course relative to getting a good distance, just the right amount of effort and not wasting any time. Continuing across the field back to the opening to the coffin. He slowed too much, and I didn't keep my leg enough, but we got through that - log 2-3 strides to ditch (a big one) then 3 strides to another log. It could have been done in 2 and 2, but not without being more forward than we were. A short road through the trees again, then back into the main field, turn right and to the coop. That was a fairly easy jump, and felt good. Left turn right away to the water. I was ready for him to take a good look, but he kept right on moving, compressed a little and jumped nicely in, cantered out, broke to a trot when I asked for the hard right, saw the skinny rolltop only 2 strides away and went for it. Good pony! Then straight ahead to the stone wall. I don't think he read it right, and I had a flash of thinking he might be banking it, and he certainly did hit the top of it with something, but I don't know what. It was fast, and then we were galloping up the woods road again. He might have been getting tired, I know I certainly was feeling muscle fatigue before the approach to the water, but I didn't push him for speed up the hill. We had an awkward jump at the log at the top, not bad, but not right either. Then on to the skinny log before the steep slide down. That one wins the awesome award - he jumped it boldly out of stride, stayed between my legs for getting the narrow line between the trees, and then went on down the hill. We got the right turn to the corner, jumped that just right, then off to the brush at the last which he also did very neatly.
We had a lot of time penalties, but I am still wicked thrilled with our go-round. We finished fifth.
He went very nicely out of the start box, and I didn't hurry to the first fence, which felt like a bigger jump than I was expecting, but ok, turn right and eye on the next. I hurried him across the field, but he felt a little slower than I'd like still. He backed off coming up to the second, a substantial table, so I just kept kicking and that was OK. Again, I felt he could have moved more quickly down the road, but I had to balance the gallop this time, and we came in a little close and he made a big effort at the log. I kicked on after, and I remember thinking that we were spending too much time jumping and not enough time moving. I balanced coming down to the trakener, and he didn't hesitate. That one felt good. Turn left and eye on the big solid table. Gallop, collect, jump. Big effort, but it's a big table. Right sweeping turn to the arrowheads, kick, oh my, that jump was bigger than I expected. gallop forward to the log going into the hollow, balance, sit up, neat small jump, feet on the dashboard to the bottom, pick up my reins going back up the little slope, turn right, kick on to the pair of houses, jump one two three jump and fly away across the field. Unfortunatly, that field was full of other jumps not for us, and he kept looking at them and asking if he should go there, so we had some slight zig-zagging and less actual speed than I wanted. He focused again when we got into the woods. I sat up and made him look at the firepit (a log with a cauldron hanging under it and stones for a ground line) and kept kicking. We got a pretty good jump there, but again more effort from him that I was expecting for not that huge a jump. I pushed him on speed after that, for the long gallop through the woods, then out into the back field. He was less distracted by the extraneous jump. I was breathing hard by this point, but still focused on task. The next able was another big one, and I feel like I held him coming to it a little too much. Nice gallop off afterwards though, and good approach without slowing down too much coming to the pair of benches with the bump in between. I pointed him in the right direction and he handled those very nicely. Curving back around the edge of the field, we had a good strong gallop that compressed somewhat but didn't slow down coming to the log oxer. I think this was our best jump on the course relative to getting a good distance, just the right amount of effort and not wasting any time. Continuing across the field back to the opening to the coffin. He slowed too much, and I didn't keep my leg enough, but we got through that - log 2-3 strides to ditch (a big one) then 3 strides to another log. It could have been done in 2 and 2, but not without being more forward than we were. A short road through the trees again, then back into the main field, turn right and to the coop. That was a fairly easy jump, and felt good. Left turn right away to the water. I was ready for him to take a good look, but he kept right on moving, compressed a little and jumped nicely in, cantered out, broke to a trot when I asked for the hard right, saw the skinny rolltop only 2 strides away and went for it. Good pony! Then straight ahead to the stone wall. I don't think he read it right, and I had a flash of thinking he might be banking it, and he certainly did hit the top of it with something, but I don't know what. It was fast, and then we were galloping up the woods road again. He might have been getting tired, I know I certainly was feeling muscle fatigue before the approach to the water, but I didn't push him for speed up the hill. We had an awkward jump at the log at the top, not bad, but not right either. Then on to the skinny log before the steep slide down. That one wins the awesome award - he jumped it boldly out of stride, stayed between my legs for getting the narrow line between the trees, and then went on down the hill. We got the right turn to the corner, jumped that just right, then off to the brush at the last which he also did very neatly.
We had a lot of time penalties, but I am still wicked thrilled with our go-round. We finished fifth.
