Stable View Day 2 - The Jompies

The above conversation about sums up our stadium round. 

The course was nice and loopy with a couple related distances. Five to six was a five. Then there was a two stride oxer to vertical for 7AB. Then eight to nine was a six. We went in and got it done, essentially. I'm back to believing that we're capable, which as another friend said, is 99% of the battle. 

There was A LOT to look at in the ring. Lots of extra jumps. Metal bleachers on one side, the VIP stands on another. A few trucks thrown in by the sponsors for funsies. It was good to have that atmosphere and feel that he is still the same horse. 

We had a 3.5 hour break before XC, so pony pants got hosed and then put back on the trailer to munch hay. He also got half a tube of Pre-Fuel and another dose of outlast. I'd managed to find a slightly closer spot with more horses around us, so his comfort level was better than Saturday. I went and walked XC twice more, getting to watch modified riders gallop around as I was walking. There was lots of great riding and only a couple of hairy moments. 

Insert cookie PLZ 

EM warmed us up for stadium, but then was heading 10 hours north to PA, so hit the road after our round. Which meant we were on our own for XC warm up. They were running a tiny bit ahead so we walked, trotted, went forward and back canter to gallop, and then popped over the warm up fences. He felt great and we were in a good rhythm. Gallop forward, then lightly sit with shoulders up to bring the balance up, leg on but not chasing, and he was good to go, popping over everything out of stride. 

The course took essentially the same route as it had a few years ago when Ben and I ran novice here
There is a bit of downhill then uphill terrain from 4-7. Then between 10 and 11 is a long gallop uphill. Which puts you in the flat top field for 11-18.

1- Log and box - After watching 2* and modified riders leave the box, I took a slightly different approach to leaving the box than I have in the past. We trotted in as she hit 2-1-have a great ride. This was much smoother I think and he left the box GOING to the point that I went "oh crap, half halt a tiny bit" so I brought my shoulders up and he pinged on over the first fence. I think it was the best first jump we've had out XC

Number 2 was the hammock tables

Mine. I remembered JT saying it was spooky for people but rode fine for horses. I put his nose on the slightly left hand section and told him to go get it and be brave for me and he did. Jumped it perfectly out of stride. 

3 was slightly uphill, went fine

4- turn downhill to the left hand fence here. He got wiggly and rolling. EM had warned me to sit up and feel like I was shortening his stride to this. I didn't do quite enough of this and he wiggled at the base. 

After 4, he ROLLED downhill around the right hand turn, to the point where I was worried he might slip. I did half-halt pretty strongly when I felt that, which helped, but he needed a second. He rolled along pretty quickly and a little spooky past the woods on our right hand side. 

5- he definitely felt a little squirrely to this. Kind of in a new, unfamiliar way. But that's why we do this, right? It was like his hamster had jumped off the wheel as his feet quickened down the hill and now his brain was going the speed of the runaway hamster and he wasn't used to it. 

6- Friendly enough jump before heading up over the mound and to 7. 

7- Chevron type thing. I did half halt coming down the little hill, but again not quite enough. He's honest so he went, but it wasn't beautiful. 

8- Brush, shared with BN. He did get a little spooky at the shrubs to the right, but I tapped him with the crop on the left. It was probably the sketchiest jump on course for us, but he went. Then I finally got a bit more serious about half-halting until his ears came up. 

9- Friendly enough little jump. Aim towards the tree to the left behind it, get 9 done before you even think about 10. 

10- corner - I picked the point I was going to ride to and we rode to that. He felt great. Then he POWERED up the hill in a way that I didn't quite expect. Ben did the same, but I thought pony pants might have more feels about galloping up a hill. He didn't. EM did warn me to assess the horse I had after the hill once we got to the top field and make sure he wasn't too worn out. 

11- There was a lot to look at behind this. He felt plenty energetic, but wiggled a bit. 

12AB- half coffin. He was a star. Jumped great over both. 

13- Either a bending five or a direct four from the ditch. He JUMPED the ditch but we landed a bit left, so I woahed for the five to the left hand side here

14- Good boy again

15A- water. He actually went a little sideways and alllmost attempted to skirt the water - which funny enough you could go through the flags without actually entering water. We very nearly did that. 

15B- nice log box plenty far enough from the water

16- Step table, again a good boy 

17- Double brush, we practiced our steeple chase feel here a bit and it was fun 

18- Make sure to jump the novice side! 

I did screw up a bit and looked at my watch before 18 and saw 4 something so thought we might be quick. I slowed down for 18 and then was trying to sort out where the finish flags were after we went over 18. They were freaking totems that were huge, but the flags were kinda sorta hard to see AND they were different than they had been for the modified riders I had watched earlier. I slowed down before them, unintentionally, but to the point that the end timer stopped me and told me I could get willful delay penalties for slowing down that much. My penalty was being 3 seconds over time, which was enough to drop us from 5th to 8th in this big division. I had already planned on NOT staying to pick up a ribbon. The twine I kept my ribbons on in my trailer kept falling, so I relocated it and in the process dumped a bunch of ribbons. I realized that with a few exceptions I don't want to start accumulating ribbons again (years of showing schooling dressage shows through college led to quite a collection, of which I have none now and no regrets about that either). Also, see above about huge division. My times were roughly in the middle, so waiting until the division finished AND then through the 30 minute inquiry time was gonna be a no go when we had another 7 hour drive home. 

I was SO HAPPY with him after cross country. It was SUCH a FUN course and we felt really in sync over the whole thing. It was a great prep for Hagyard this month. I iced his legs, let him eat some more Outlast and then take a little mosey around before putting him back on the trailer for the drive home. It was smoother since we were leaving from west of Aiken (as opposed to the farm that is slightly east of Aiken). We spent a tiny bit of time on I-20 to start and then the rest of the time on empty, nicely paved, mostly straight Georgia back roads. The ag inspection station entering Florida was unoccupied. We arrived home at 9 and I dropped him straight in the pasture with his buddies. 

Napping initially

But then awake and digging a hole while I went to refill waters

I did load the poor kid up again the next morning to go get his feet done. I would NOT have blamed him if he said no thanks, but he walked straight up to me and then straight onto the trailer. Thanks buddy, you are the best. 

Stable View - Day 0 and 1 - The Socialite

Butterball and I drove up to Aiken on Friday. We left at a pretty leisurely 10:30 AM. We were staying about 30 minutes from Stable View at a friend of a friend's farm. 

Butterball ate

And napped

Rainy as we pulled in 

The one thing Butterball didn't do while travelling was drink any water, which worried me. Fortunately as soon as we turned him out he took a nice long drink. Excellent. 

Trotting up to me, I love him 

He was in a pasture where he could see the permanent residents (two horses and a donkey) part of the time. I did find in the morning when they'd moved to the far end of their pasture where he couldn't see them that he had dug a bit of a hole in the corner closest to them. Sorry dude. I spent a somewhat restful night in the trailer. Note to self- the cozy spot under trees is NOT cozy in the rain because when the nice soft rain stops there will be LOUD intermittent drips falling from trees. 

We dressaged at 1:30, so I started the bath and braid process around 10 AM Saturday morning. The washrack had hot and cold water, which meant he got a nice WARM bath! Lucky pony! He was a little anxious in the barn solo braiding and then a little anxious when we pulled up. I was a little anxious when I discovered that he had probably spent the 30 minute trailer ride trying to rub out his braids. I should've known after his dramatic roll at Chatt as soon as we got back to the stall after dressage. Now I know. 

"I deny trying to rub these out. You just suck at braiding."

I have continually forgotten to take a pic of his last two braids - they get so white with his frosted mane, I find it just adorable

Mid-paw, his forelock braid was not my best work

I gave us about a 45 minute dressage warm up which was totally unnecessary. But he wouldn't even settle and eat grass near the trailer, so I was unsure how long the hack to dressage through tents and other potentially spooky stuff would take us. And also, for the first time ever, kind of unsure what kind of horse I was going to be sitting on. But he got to warm up and was like "Oh, we're here to dressage, got it." and was solidly lovely. So we walked a lot on a loose rein so I didn't use up the pony. He also met not just one adoring fan, but three. And ate it all up. He's hilarious. Even though people have never fed him cookies, he's always looking to catch someone's eye on the rail and be a complete ham. He marches right up, puts his nose alllllmost too far into their space, and then flirts with them. 

We were in the ring next to tents, but I put him to work around the outside and he didn't seem to care at all. Our dressage test was totally respectable, but not sparkling. It's all very pleasant now, so I need to ask for more. More trot, more softness. If we could bump just a couple of those trot scores up to 8's, the whole score would go up. 

31.4, good enough for 11-T out of 31 

I walked XC and stadium with EM after dressage and then took the pony back to his temporary home. This time we put him in a HUGE field more adjacent to his friends. He was IN LOVE with the donkey, Cotton. We let them meet over the fence and Butterball tried to touch the poor donkey an offensive amount. The donkey ended up moving away from the fence like "who is this weirdo and why is he obsessed with me??" 

Please may I have him?? 

Butterball did do some trotting around and mostly stayed on the side of the pasture closest to his new BFF. But overall he seemed more settled. I had a pleasant evening sitting outside of the barn, watching him move around in his pasture while I ate my dinner. 

I suffered the only casualty of the trip that evening. It was still... damp everywhere from all the rain and I stepped out of the trailer tack room onto the mounting block that was on slightly slanted ground and almost ate it. I didn't, but smacked the SHIT out of the medial part of my right ankle. The bruise is super fun colors right now. But at least it didn't tweak any ligaments in any way. So I'll take it, even if my boots did rub the bruise in a very special way on Sunday.