Poplar Place: In the Sandbox

Well.

Needless to say, dressage did not go as planned.

At Rocking 3, I discovered that the best amount of warmup for Dante was 20-25 minutes. Since my ride time for Poplar was 9:24, I got on at 9 am.

Only to discover that the FEI riders were not allowed in the main warm up, where we had ridden the previous day.

Um. Ok. Not great, but I guess we'll deal. Unfortunately, I spent the next ten minutes finding the FEI warmup, leaving me only about 15 minutes to actually warm up. Meanwhile, Dante is wide eyed because he is in a warmup he has never been in before (it generally takes about forty-five minutes to completely settle him in a warmup, so I always try to ride longer in the warmup the day before, which only works when I'm actually riding in the ring that I will warm up in). So tense the entire warm up. Great.

Go over to the main ring, and we get more tense. As I'm riding around the ring, I realize it feels like I'm riding a firecracker. Uh oh.

I managed to keep a lid on it for the trot work, and while our lateral work wasn't great, it wasn't really that below our usual standards. We just aren't great at lateral work yet. His medium trot was actually quite nice because all I had to do was let go instead of pushing him. Unfortunately, the walk work and canter work was tense. We mostly held it together, going for very conservative in our first medium canter. But the final medium canter, Dante GRABBED the bit out of my hand and galloped down the side, only relinquishing control when I wrestled him for the bit.

Awesome.

So yeah, 68.something, and I'm 24th out of 31. Someone notably did score a 91, so I was safe from being DFL.

Then Ellen and I walked the cross country course again, me taking pictures the whole way. I intended to post the course walk tonight, but other things got in my way.

I spent the afternoon watching dressage and unsuspectingly allowing my skin to bake to a nice lobster red. Hello, summer. Lots of beautiful dressage tests. Rebecca Howard sits the trot so amazingly well, I want to sit the trot like her one day. Clark's horse Loughan Glen is pretty fabulous too.

In the evening, a few of us went to dinner, then watched International Velvet in a hotel room. I had never actually seen International Velvet, and was quite unimpressed with the movie, although I thought random car explosion was random. And the fact that it was two hours was a surprise, as Ellen and I got back to our hotel at 1 am! Which is why no course walk tonight.

But here's a taste of the weather we've been getting here. Tomorrow's forecast? Scattered thunderstorms. Of course.

(The beautiful cross country fields of Poplar Place Farm.)

To top it off, my alma mater, UK beat their number one seeded opponent, Ohio State, tonight in the NCAA tournament. Elite Eight, here we come! CATS CATS CATS!

Living and Learning

Well, to continue my concerns about the weather from my last entry, I ended up changing my flight to Tuesday evening after the forecast continued to state there would be ice and snow on Wednesday. Luckily for me, when I called Southwest to discuss changing my flight, they happily informed me that I could get one free flight change in accordance with their bad weather policy. Three cheers for Southwest Airlines! I changed to Tuesday evening and it turned out to be quite a good call, as Wednesday classes ended up being canceled and flights were delayed and canceled. Chalk one win up to foresight!

So in the end, I only missed two extra classes instead of four. I got to come out to Florida on Tuesday night, jump and do a little XC on Wednesday, and go out to Ocala on Thursday. I also missed the cold weather in Texas! Hooray.

Anyways, as I mentioned, we arrived at the Florida Horse Park on Thursday and set up. I got on Dante and did a dressage school. He was excellent. I love riding dressage when he and I are meshing so well! I also golf carted around the course with my barn mate. I had been told that Ocala II was HUGE and TECHNICAL, all in capital letters. Unfortunately, I felt it was more of a move up course. Don't get me wrong, it was a very nice course and most definitely was an Intermediate course. It was just that I was expecting one thing and got another. Ah, well.

Friday we had dressage early in the morning. It was quite cool on Friday but I was nice and comfortable riding in my Underarmour. Dante and I were in Open Intermediate-A, which I'm pretty sure was the toughest division in the show. I rode against two WEG pairs (Mandiba and Port Authority) and several others who are running or about to run Advanced. That was pretty cool, I love telling non-horse people that I'm competing against Olympians on their Olympic horses! Of course that meant my dressage was most definitely not up to par.

Dante was actually very good for his test. He has a tendency to get a bit tense in new places, but I thought he stayed very relaxed for the most part. He's also gotten to the point where he's almost too obedient to my directions. This is not a bad thing at all, I just need to adjust myself and realized that instead of needing three strides to prepare for a transition, I only need one. We made three big mistakes, all my fault; the first, I caused him to halt rather than walk through the first simple change of lead. Then, without reorganizing, I asked him to canter again. Lately we've been working on picking up the lead that I ask for regardless of which direction we're going. Unfortunately, when I asked for the canter again, I didn't stop to specify a change in lead, so we picked up the lead that we had previously been on. So that was an epic fail, and we got a three on the movement. Then, on my right medium canter, my transition from medium to collected was too abrupt and Dante lost the connection and swapped for two strides behind. Finally, on the final (very tight) turn after the canter serpentine, he lost his balance a little and also swapped behind for a stride. Those things hurt us pretty badly and we ended up getting a 43.40, placing us 16th out of 20. The comments about all of the mediums stated that the movements were conservative. When I do my mediums, they don't feel conservative, they feel pretty powerful. However, watching the test back on video, I realized how conservative they really look. I could barely see any difference in my medium canters at all. It just goes to show how valuable it is to see yourself ride so you can see what the judge is seeing.

(The sun rises over the Florida Horse Park.)

On Saturday, I rode very early in the morning again. In fact, I was the 8th rider of the day for show jumping. I got up early enough to see the sunrise, which was beautiful with the fog floating out over the polo fields. Of course it was very cold, and when I stuck my feet into my tall boots (which had been outside all night), my toes just about froze off. Who knew Florida could be so cold? I can't complain though, even Texas is colder most of the time. Just my misfortune to ride SO early!

(Ocala show jumping.)

In any case, the course was lovely, although not terribly huge. Unfortunately, I am discovering that all my weaknesses in show jumping (which I'm pretty sure I had at Prelim too) are showing up now. At Prelim, Dante could jump clear, even when I screwed up. At Intermediate, he needs me to get it right! If I get him anywhere resembling a decent spot, he'll jump clear. If I bury him under the jump, or try for the long spot that doesn't exist, he can't get himself out of the way and we deservedly have a rail. Primarily I learned that when I have a related bending distance between the first and second jump, and it walks long, I need to learn to add a stride. Dante just gets a little tense when he first gets into the ring and his stride down the first couple of jumps is going to be twelve foot, not longer. I cannot keep trying to get the long stride because he doesn't have it then. However, after that first line, I can get the long stride and we have it for the rest of the course.

Needless to say, we had two rails. The first was at the second jump (again!). The line from one to two was a longer seven or a bending eight. When we walked, Mike originally said he thought it would be better to get the eight. However the few who went before me all got seven, so we changed our mind to seven strides. Not the right decision. I got seven and a half, thought he would jump from seven, dropped him, and of course he couldn't jump from where I asked and pulled the rail. Then, I got a tight spot into four, which was then a regular five to a square oxer at five. I panicked, decided it was a long five and I should try for six, thinking of the earlier line. However, he easily could have gotten the five and we got in way too tight to the oxer, pulling that too. It was definitely not our best round, but he didn't touch another jump, and I learned a lot about how to ride him.

I spent the rest of the day walking cross country. It was pretty straight forward, with lots of single fences interspersed with a few combinations. We had a bank complex which was a table, bending five strides left to a bank up, one stride, then off the bank and a turning left four strides to a wide wedge. There was a fun quarry question involving a jump down into the quarry, a left turn up out over a jump then three strides to a pearl/egg/thing. (As an aside, who finds a giant pearl in the forest? It was definitely an egg, despite other reports.) There was a medium table with brush on the top that made it about 4'6" tall. A hanging log, then bending right 6 strides to a corner. A hanging log, bending four strides left to another hanging log into the water, then out of the water over a corner. Finally, there was a sunken road complex which was a hanging Prolog, one stride down a bank, four strides, up over a bank then four strides bending right to a wedge. I walked a couple times and it seemed very fun and doable.

(The water complex. We jumped the hanging log just right of center. I was sad not to be jumping the big bank in.)

On Sunday I went at the relatively late time of 10 am, although I was still the first Intermediate horse in my barn to go. Dante was absolutely fabulous. We had one very bad moment at the second jump, which was a rolltop. I took it very much for granted. It's just a rolltop, right? WRONG. I figured it would be a nice fly fence, so I didn't slow down enough coming to it. We got a long spot to it and I let go, thinking he was going. However, Dante was busy being occupied with the shadow on the ground line and I ended up dropping him on his face (AGAIN!) and we stumbled over it, almost eating it on the back side. I'm an idiot, a giant idiot. I will NEVER again take a rolltop or second fence for granted. Anyways, after that scare it took a little bit to get our speed up to pace again, because I was trying to be careful.

The only other sticky spot was at the bank complex. Dante launched off the bank, landing well out off its base. Which meant the turn to the wedge was not very pretty. We added a stride, got right to the base, and Dante popped over it, with very good form I might add (I put the photo of the wedge on my website in the Gallery). At Rocking Horse we had a similar complex but the wedge was straight ahead. I think that when I have a bank complex, I need to be communicating to him that we will be turning before we jump off the bank, rather than after. He can be very enthusiastic about jumping off banks.

After that though, Dante and I were absolutely in sync and foot perfect. We rode every combination 100% according to plan, he was bold into the water, I found my spots to all of the tables. He was a fabulous, fabulous pony. We had a few time penalties because I had slowed down after two and took a few fences to build up steam again. We ended up sixth thanks to nine pairs choosing to withdraw before XC (because they are all running Advanced next weekend!).

So my goal for RH3 will remain the same as my goal for Ocala II: score in the high 30's for dressage, and finish on my dressage score. And above all, jump the second jumps on course correctly! I think it's something we can accomplish.

Let the Games Begin

I've returned from Florida after completing Rocking Horse Winter I! It was amazing. I finally understand why everyone makes the trek down to Florida to compete during the winter. The weather is beautiful, the skies are blue, the footing is so perfect that Dante ran XC for the first time in his life without any studs.

(A couple of unflagged XC jumps set in a small thicket of Spanish Moss.)

Of course, my weekend began Wednesday afternoon when I arrived at Love Field in Dallas, only to discover my flight had been delayed 40 minutes. This was worrying as I only had 35 minutes to make my connection in New Orleans. Luckily, many people on my flight were headed for Orlando, and so Southwest delayed the flight from New Orleans to Orlando so that we could all make our connection. We ended up making up much of the time in the air, and ended up only 10 minutes behind schedule. I figured, ok, we'll be taking off for Orlando in maybe 45 minutes. Hurrying to my gate, I was dismayed to see that my flight had been delayed...for an hour and a half.


This meant I arrived in Orlando at midnight, and my friend Jessica and I did not arrive back at Rocking Horse until 1:30 am, finally going to sleep at 2 am. I was to jump Dante at 8 am on Thursday, and so ended up getting up at 6:30am because of my unfamiliarity with the facility and trying to find all my stuff before my lesson. Dante felt fantastic during our jump lesson after he spooked at the egrets, the barrels on the ground, and the warm-up crossrail. He had a wonderful canter that felt like a coiled spring.

We then came back and I had a dressage lesson (brief) in the late morning. Dante again felt wonderful after the warm-up, and my confidence for a good dressage test on Friday morning was high. I wasn't necessarily hoping for a high placing, considering I was competing against many 3* horses and 4* riders, and even against my own assistant trainer on her fabulous Slate River (headed for Rolex later this spring) and Buck Davidson on his Ballynoecastle RM. My goal for this show was to compete against my previous tests and to score in the very low 40s or high 30s. Oh, and preferably not be last after dressage. :-)

Jessica and I walked the cross country course later in the day. It was helpful to walk the course with a friend who is currently running Advanced on her horse...she was able to say, 'oh that's not too big' when I felt my eyes were bugging out at the size of the fence. She even provided a long established nickname for the largest jump on the course, a very large table she called the BAT.

(Jessica stands next to the BAT...short for Big A** Table.)

Particularly interesting was the Irish bank, which came right after another particularly large table. After jumping the table, you turned left to the Irish bank, which was large enough that I could barely even see the tops of the flags on the third element while standing on the ground in from of it. In fact, in my photo, you can't see the flags at all. A couple of the other riders were worried about it, but I had the advantage of having ridden the Prelim Irish bank at Pine Hill, which Dante had handled easily.

(The view from the front of the Irish bank. What you can't see are the flags for C on the other side.)

We also had a pretty challenging first corner question with an angled skinny question, three strides to the corner. You could choose to do either to do the left side or the right side, which were identical questions. However, the right side was slightly friendlier. We also had a pretty challenging first water complex, with a hut, one stride to a set of logs mounted to the top of a bank to create a big drop into the water, then four strides through the water to a rolltop. I was incredibly glad we had practiced the drop question a week before at Gold Chip. As a result, I felt excited rather than nervous about the drop. The Intermediate course also had a set of tables with a bending four strides between, a rolltop then run into water, turning to a wedge out of the water, a set of angled skinnies set two strides apart, and a relatively easy coffin near the end.

Friday dawned slightly chilly as I prepared to ride dressage. I was very thankful that I was riding right before Heather and Roe, rather than right after. It's always intimidating to know you are following an excellent test! For the first time, I didn't feel nervous as I circled the ring, and neither did Dante. I think Dante and I easily put in our best Intermediate test to date! We scored a 40.4, which accomplished our goal. Although I was slightly disappointed with the score, I felt better after reading the judges comments (or trying to!). She wanted more angle in our haunches in (which is on our list of things to work on), more uphill medium canter (also on our list), and more uphill downward transitions, specifically the canter to walk and trot to halt (which is something that we began working on last week). I think she really nailed what we need to work on. I also received a 7 on rider position, the first time I have gotten a 7 since competing above Training. I'm very happy that working on my position is paying off. I still have a lot of work to go, but I feel much more correct already than I did before. Dante also received a 7 for freedom and regularity of gaits, which is great because it tells me he was relaxed enough to show off his gaits.

After dressage, I got ready for show jumping. When we walked the course, we found that almost every fence had a related distance....a long one. Dante has a twelve foot stride, but these were walking with more of a thirteen foot stride, except for the triple combination. Dante warmed up well, but he was spooking initially at the warm-up fences, and he didn't have the coiled stride that we'd had the day before. I really need to work to find a way to translate that coiled stride from lessons into the show ring. Anyways, we went into the ring, and I thought that we had a big enough stride. The very first line was the first fence then six bending, slightly forward strides to a vertical then four very forward strides to another vertical. Unfortunately, I did not have a large enough stride for the very first distance and we got there in six and a half and he punched through the rail. Somehow he then put five strides in and managed to get over the second vertical, and I figured out stride needed, so we jumped the rest of the course clear. However, it felt a bit strung out and flat, so I'm thinking now about ways to translate that coiled stride to the show ring, as I stated before.

(Look at those blue skies!)

After show jumping, I checked out the crepe vendor and the photo booth, finding a great stadium course. Jessica and I walked the cross country course for a third time then watched some Prelim show jumping.

I woke up on Saturday extremely nervous. I hadn't ridden cross country in almost nine months, since early May at Greenwood. This course was definitely bigger and more technical than any Intermediate I had ridden before (at Greenwood and Holly Hill), and I was wondering if maybe I should have entered the IP instead. I hadn't wanted to do that though, because many people told me Ocala was REALLY big and technical, so I felt I needed another Intermediate before tackling Ocala. I knew my horse was ready and could handle it; Dante is a cross country machine. I was wondering if I was mentally ready.

Deciding that I needed to stop thinking so hard about it and to just do it, I spent the morning watching some Training show jumping and trying to keep my mind off my ride later. I must have succeeded, as before I knew it, I was in the warm up and Dante was perfect. A few minutes later I was in the start box and off we went.

Dante was a total rock star, as usual. I needn't have worried. The course rode amazingly well. Don't get me wrong, we had a couple of tight spots and at least one spot that I would ride completely differently if I rode it again. I'll start with the bad so I can end with the good

The bad: We almost missed the third jump completely. It was set off a sharp right turn after a decent gallop and Dante was very focused on galloping in a straight line. After we relearned turning on that turn, he was pretty good about it the rest of the course.

The corner complex was tricky to read. It was the first real question in the course, the adrenaline wasn't pumping as much yet. Jessica had warned me after her ride that the horses had a slightly hard time reading the first part, the angled skinny. Sure enough, Dante felt hesitant there, although he jumped it fine. Not sure what I could do differently there, but I was happy that he jumped it despite not being sure.

I gave Dante a very bad ride at the second water complex. I was confident that he would be confident since he'd already been through the first water, it was a much easier than the first in, and it was a small rolltop. However, he was backing up the entire way to the rolltop and ended up practically crawling over it. I should have given him a confident, strong ride up to it and instead I sat there and hoped he would figure it out. In retrospect, I think he was backing because he always backs up at water, there was a sharp line where the new neon grass began about a stride before the rolltop, and I think he may have been slightly shell shocked from the first water and wondering if he was going to have that big drop again. Next time, don't stop riding!

The good: The attitude Dante came roaring out of the start box with. He was armed and ready for this course, and he tackled it like a champ.

All of the giant tables that Dante leaped over as if they were nothing. This included the mushroom table before the Irish bank, the several staircases on course, the skinny table near the end, and most notably the BAT. I found good strides to all of them too, which I was happy with. I have a great memory of making the turn t the BAT and knowing instantly that I had a good stride, good pace and impulsion, and then the feeling of the giant leap Dante gave me over it. It was amazing.

The ease with which Dante tackled the Irish bank. Irish banks are something the rider can't really help much with, other than getting a good stride to the base. They pretty much have to sit tight while the horse figures it out. Dante had jumped the one at Pine Hill, but this one was much more intimidating. My spot was maybe very slightly longer than I would have preferred, but Dante had no problem figuring out the question.

The ride I gave Dante through the first water complex and the way he responded. We came around to the first part and he back off slightly, his usual response to the sight of water. I rode him forward over the first element, and rode him forward through the one stride, tapping him once behind my leg and he took the one stride beautifully and dropped nicely into the water. Mike had warned me that the complex was riding slightly sticky, with a lot of horses chipping in, so I think it was great to have a good ride there.

The two large tables with the turning four strides between the tables. Slowed down from the gallop a few strides before the first table, jumped center to center with a perfect four strides.

The coffin rode well. Got a slightly short stride to the first element, but Dante handled it, jumped the ditch and made a nice turning three strides to the last skinny. Didn't really expect anything different because Dante has always handled coffins like a champ, but still, good to do it well once again.

Dante's fitness level was higher than I thought. I hadn't done any fitness work with him except a couple of 6 min slow gallops the Saturday before, so I had planned to let him pick his own pace. Well, that chosen pace was fast and try as I could, I couldn't really get him to slow down except before the fences. Smart horse. So we ended up only 8 seconds slow, which was the third fastest time in my division. I was worried about him cooling down, but he cooled down pretty quickly. All of this is good, as he will only get fitter now. I think I can go for time at Ocala.

In the end, I finished in 7th place. If I had finished on my dressage score, I would have been 3rd. I'm very thrilled with how this weekend went. :-)

I've added a couple pictures of Dante and I from this weekend on the gallery on my website. Probably won't update until after Ocala though, because the only thing I have going in the meantime is school and working out. Gotta keep in shape somehow without the pony here!