Don't forget your bridle -- Part 1

In the past two weekends, I have traveled to two horse shows in an effort to qualify for the Regional Amateur Championships in Dressage. I've tested Teddy's ability to stand tied to a trailer in 90 degree weather (he did well) and his ability to be forward in weather too hot to move in (he was forward!). We have passed the test and garnered the scores we need to qualify for the Novice Class at Training Level 4 in dressage. We will compete in June 6-8 at the Northern California show.

We started at Hossmoor, a lovely ranch in one of the more remote regions of Contra Costa County. It is a small facility, where I found to my surprise that Teddy is very well-known. Three of us got up early and trailored our horses over to arrive for the first class at 9:30 am. After I discovered that I had forgotten Teddy's bridle at home and managed to fashion a bridle from pieces I had in the trunk of my car, I borrowed a bit and we were ready to compete. The warm-up arena was haunted by a blue heron
(the San Francisco Bay is nearby), which kept Teddy's attention the whole time. 

Compared to the high temperatures and the blazing sun outside, the Hossmoor arena is a cool oasis. It was great relief to compete where you don't have to wear your sunglasses to see the judge. 

My worst fear is that Teddy will stop dead still in a show and I will not be able to get him forward. I have dreamed about this. Over the three years that I have had him, his desire to go forward and his understanding of what I want has improved more than 100 percent. However, the night before this show, I was gripped by the fear that I would be faced with horse that would come to the "halt, salute "and never move again -- not without an inelegant kick from me.

I was able to overcome this fear by telling myself to remain relaxed and even if he was behind the leg, we would look like we had at least "tasted" relaxation during our test. I was also too tired, after being up for several hours worrying, to be tense. The collective remarks for this test were "good forward horse." I felt relieved.

The second test collective marks were also a heartening "well done" with an exclamation point. The test also contained two eights for the last "halt, salute" which was square and another at the "working canter, left lead" after the shallow serpentine. Scores for both of these tests allowed us to qualify for the regionals.

Areas of difficulty for Teddy and me lay in showing a stretch over the topline in the "free walk" and "rising trot allowing the horse forward and down." Because both of these have a double coefficient in the tests, we only managed a second place. My first goal for the next show was to at least get a six on both of these movements. My second goal was to get a seven for position and seat. I was stuck at a solid six and I thought I could do better by relaxing, making my aids as quiet as possible while still being effective. My final goal was to remember Teddy's bridle.

To be continued.......

Photo by Max.

Comments

[smellshorsey]

Wonderful post! And congratulations on your good scores. (If the first place person wasn't there you would have been first, okay?)

Where did you get this fear of Teddy not moving forward at X? I thought I had every fear there is, but this one stumps me. You make me laugh! My fear is not landing square when I halt, and I have proved time and time again that this is a legitimate fear.

Bringing your bridle will make it easier.

Keep it up!